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SUFFOLK  WORDS 


AND 


PHRASES; 


OR, 


AN   ATTEMPT 


TO  COLLECT 


THE  LINGUAL  LOCALISMS 


OF  THAT  COUNTY. 


By  EDWARD  MOOR, 

PRINTED  BY  J.  LODEB, 

FOR  R.  HUNTER 

NO.  72,  ST.  Paul's  church-yard, 
LONDON. 

1823. 


•  :  I .       .  ^ 


Ji    vT  >  > 


TO 

^THOMAS  SHERLOCK  GOOCH,  ESQ. 

ONE  OF  THE 
HONEST  AND  INDEPENDENT  AND  ABLE 
BEPEESENTATIYE8  IN  PARLIAMENT 
OF  THAT  COUNTY, 
THE  PECULIAR  PHBA8BOLOOY 
OF  WHICH  IS  HERB 
ATTEMPTED  TO  BE  PRESBRVBD-— 
THIS  COLLECTION 
OF 

SUFFOLK  WORDS  AND  PHRASES, 

AS  A  TRIFLING  TRIBUTE 

OF  RIISPBCT 

FOB  HIS  PUBLIC  AND  PBIYATE  VIRTUES, 

AND  OF 
GRATITUDE   FOR   KINDNESSES    RECEIVED, 

IS  INSCRIBED  BY 

EDWARD  MOOR. 

Grcai  Bealir^s, 
2nd  June,  1838. 


{ 


V    ■■^'f 


.     ■  i 


•  « 


> 


I     t        •    ^  ^^ 


m 


PREFACE. 


It  has  been  said^  that  if  Prefaces  were  interdicted^ 
fewer  books  would  be  published*  I  believe  this 
to  be  true-— feeling,  that  were  I  prohibited  offer- 
ii^  something  introductory  and  apologetic,  I  should, 
on  this  occasion,  refrain  from  appearing  in  the 
diaracter  of  an  author.  Not  that  I  presume  to 
flatter  myself,  that  if  what  I  have  written  be  un^ 
suited  for  publication,  what  I  may  thus  prefix  can 
render  it  less  so.  Nor  is  it  my  object  to  deprecate 
criticism — who,  indeed,  would  think  of  breaking 
such  a  literary  fly  as  this  on  the  critical  wheel  ? 
Still  I  wish  to  be  allowed  to  explain  how  it  has 
fallen  to  my  lot  to  compile  and  put  forth  a  work 
that  so  many  others  are  more  competent  to.  I, 
therefore,  crave  leave  to  enter  on  what  I  conceive 
to  be  a  necessary  preliminary  explanation,  which  I 
hope  will  not  be  long  or  tedious. 

After  an  absence  of  twenty  years  from  my  na- 
tive county,  in  regions  so  remote,  in  a  line  of  life 
so  active,  and  in  society  so  general,  as  to  allow 
but  little  retention  or  renewal  of  early  local  recol- 
lections, I  was  much  struck,  on  my  return,  by  our 

a  S 


VI  PRBFAOB. 

provincialisms.  The  recunriog  sound  of  a 
forgotten  word,  produced  a  sensation  similar  to  the 
welcome  sight  of  an  old  friend.  There  was  this 
difference,  perhaps— but  few  of  the  latter  seemed 
to  be  altogether  lost.  I  was  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  so  many  still  current;  and  that  so  many 
were  the  words  of  Shakespeare.''^  The  continued 
habit  of  perusing  this  never-tiring  writer,  and  tHe 
ever-recurring  frequency  of  words  common  to  him 
and  my  county-folk,  induced  me  to  note  such 
words  in  both,  and  the  passage  and  phrase  in 
which  they  occurred.  The  result  is  the  book  id 
the  Reader's  hand.  But,  I  did  not  stop  exactly  at 
this  point.     It  is  true,  that  for  several  years,  while 

*  I  have  §ome  pride  in  recollecting  that  the  first  book 
which  I  ever  purchased  with  my  own  money,  (except  of 
conrse  Rdbinson  Cfusoe  and'th^  Pilgrim's  Progress,  when 

with  satchel  on  my  back,  ^ 

Creeping  nnwillingly  to  school—) 

was  Shakbspearc.  Not,  indeed,  a  perfect  copy.  Six  of 
Theobald's  eight  Tohimes,  at  half  a  mpee  a  volome,  was  a 
sofficienUy  heavy  charge,  at  that  time  of  day,  on  the  ex- 
chequer of  a  iCadet  Does  my  reader  ask  '*when?" — in 
1783— <' Where  ?^  At  Madras.  Having  made  this  little  offer- 
ing to  pride— or,  if  you  please,  vanity— let  me  make  one  of 
gratitude.  I,  at  or  about  the  same  time,  purchased  Karnes' 
Elements,  and  Blair's  Lectures — and  it  is  to  the  frequent 
perusal  of  these  works  that  I  owe  what  little  I  know,  on  the 
subjects  therein  so  agreeably  handled.  The  Reader  may  rate 
that  knowledge  as  lowly  as  he  likes— his  judgment  will  ndt 
be  disputed. 


PAKPA€tV  ¥U 

4llMGolkctiM  ^m^  m  progress,  I  little  thooght  of 
piiMfa%/  and  for  semral  years  more  as  little  of 
puMishM^  it('  i  puiPposed,  at  some  indefinite  and 
pnAMf  ^mot^  period,  to  print  it  for  prirate 
dreidation-  amoiig  my  county  and  other  literary 
AiendB*-  Thh  may  serve  to  account  for,  and,  if  ne- 
(Mwyv  I  hope  to  excuse,  an  air  of  Aimiliarity  that 
mofuppewf  sometiroeflf  too  freely  and  unresenrediy 
adopted,  in  pagea  not  originally  intended  for  the 
piMic  eye.  It  was  not,  indeed,  till  the  appearance 
0(F  Mrb  Wilbraham's  Cheshire  Glossary  in  -vol. 
xiX'.of  Archaeologia,  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
pttUisb  .whatF  I  had  collected. 

^  I  then  presumed  to  hope  that  the  venerable  and 
learned  Society  of  Antiquaries— of  which  I  have 
the  joomerited  honor  of  being  a  Fellow^might  be 
premledi  on'  to  admit  also  my  poor  attempt  si- 
milarly to  explain  the  lingual  peculiarities  of  Suf- 
folk; and  I  applied  myself  to  an  arrangement 
of  ray  Collection,  heretofore  in  mass ;  but  soon 
fMnd  it  expanded  to  a  degree  wholly  incompati- 
ble with  the  limited  extent  of  an  article  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  in  question^  however 
itkiuigently  it  might  be  disposed.  In  point  of 
huctf  notwithstanding  the  humble*— and  therefore 
appropriate— size  and  appearance  of  my  volume, 
few  modern  quartos  contain  so  much  matter.     I, 

of  course,  mean  typographic  matter. 

My  pursuits  a»d  limited  reading  not  \\^m% 


VIU  PmSFACB* 

led  me  that  way,  I  was  unaware  that  to  miMh 
had  been  written  on  local  phraseology  as  I  qpw 
found  before  the  public.  I  had,  indeed;^  seen 
Ray — and  this  was,  I  believe,  nearly  the  extent  of , 
my  researches.  The  recent  series  of  Scottish 
novels  exhibited  many  words— *I  was  before  aware 
of  some— ^common  to  Scotland  and  Suffolk.  And 
on  looking  into  Jamieson's  excellent  dictionary,  X 
found  many  more  than  I  expected.  I  have,  how- 
ever, to  lament  that  my  book  was  printed  before 
I  was  aware  of  the  existence  of  the  quarto  edition 
of  that  admirable  work.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  as 
well  that  I  did  not  know  of  it ;  for  1  might  have, 
been  tempted  to  borrow  illustrations  to  an  incon- 
venient length. 

It  is  curious  to  see  so  many  words  common  to 
Scotland  and  Suffolk— and  perhaps  intermediatdiy 
unknown — more  probably  than  are  common  to 
Sufiblk  and  Essex.  Supposing,  as  we  are  well 
warranted  in,  that  a  great  majority  of  our  archaic 
words  are  of  Saxon  origin,  this  seeming  anomdiy 
may  be  accounted  for. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  original  language 
of  England— -*or  rather,  what  it  was  before  the  com- 
plete conquest  of  the  country  by  the  Saxons — it  be- 
came in  the  course  of  time  mainly  Saxon,  or 
Anglo-Saxon;  and  continued  so  until  about  the 
period  of  the  Norman  invasion ;  when— say  in  the 
11th  or  12th  century— the  language  of  northern 


p«MA»:  is 

Pmek  htAoH^  inCermiitd  yridk  ify  wai  in  AM 
dKUMfMfy  iimpfsmded  it.  Bat  it  is.  not  to  be 
sB)j»pd8ti»-^llHrt  ifcg  tr8ai8itioii.froiiizoiieiaiignage  to 
aAMM^or  Iny  iaciiiiato  intannixtare,  can  be  otbor* 
nrftfe^tMn  padmi  and  slow.  And  we  tdU  dit- 
c6i«^  iiitiMflting  remains  of  oor  old  dialects  fixed 
firdify  in  the  langnage  of  the  day ;  as  well  as  the 
lingeriii^  iading  relies^  that  such  little  collectioni 
at 41s  endeavour  to  prevent  the  total  loss  oL 

^^Gkite  established  in  districts  so  comparativeljf 
■WttAte and^ msulated  as  Scotland. and  the  eastern 
aMg^  4tff  England ;  die  difficulty  of  access^  end 
the^litthi  disturbance  that  languages  so  located 
nM-witb'from  the  intrusive  collision  of  othei»; 
not  ta  mention  the  probable  comparative  duratioo 
cf  ftet-SbOEOB  goi^ernmffldt  or  influence^  accoont 
ftM^Ihe^  I019  retention  of  so  many  of  the  vocables 
bP  dtait^latiguageA  Eases  and  inland  counties  maj 
ncWr  bafve  adopted  so  many;  or  if  they  did^  the 
pi&AlAif  of'tbe  capital^  or  the  possesion  ci 
<sMeiS4Md  eaihedrals>.  and  easier,  intercommonica^ 
don,  and  other  disturbing  forces^  mi^  have  coBi- 
eiMldiii  pavgiilg  their  dialects  of  what  may  have 
bMW'  ^deeined  vulgarisms^  impurities^-  or  nnwel* 
ceHiii  fuMgif  'luiio^ations. 

' ' '  Affet  leadings  •■  Ray,  and  Jamiesoi^  honest  old 
TUsM^V  eurions  ^  Five  Hundred  Points^''  fell  in 
H^  ^keifi  Tuaser  waa  a  Sndfolk  farme^-^-and  his 
fX^i  -contain  mswy  words  still  current  among  us. 


The  only  edition  that  I  ha?e  seen,  ia  that  of '>Or.^ 
Mavor^  8vo.  181d.  '  I  cannot  butunah-^howorer 
oontemptnolttly  Dn  M.  may,  if  li«ing-«Maai  I4iQpir 
he  is — ^think  of  such  with— ^that  he  had  pf6ier$«(ft 
the  ordinal  orthography  of  Tusser.  I  have'' no 
access  to  an  early  edition ;  but  I  am  stroi^yief 
qjunion  that  the  industrious  editor  is  sonietiiaeir 
in  error  in  his  explanation  of  words,  which  prdJM^ 
Uy  the  original  mode  of  spelling  would  eoableiHif 
to  emend.  •''^''-<^'^ 

Tussei^s  work  is  curious  beyond  mens  wofds;^ 
The  mode  of  husbandry  of  his  day — about  \56Q^ 
is  very  interestii^.  What  a  strange  thin^  itifii 
t)Mife)be  relates-*- not  as  a  piece  of  informatioii^bot 
as  a  veil  known  iaot-^that  *^  ia  StdSTolk  whadt 
never 'grew/'*— See  of  this  uwkrwticler  TAxmb 
'ir'of  diis  CSollection.  >  ^i  ii 

r- At  this  period  of  the  progress  of  my  CoHecttoi^ 
I  purposed  to  run  my  eye  over  some  of  our  earifp 
poeteTf*in  view  to  cull  from,  them  som«iUustr»k 
InHioiMyas  I  had  already 'done  from  Shakrapeiom 
Cfaaiicer  and  Spenser,  1  eq>ecially  expected  wocdil 
not  only,  yield  me  some,  but  possibly  derive  sont 
from  my  work— 4w  I  presume  to  believe  that 
Shakespeare  may.  But  the  appearance  of  Arch** 
deacon  Nares's.  Glossary  furnished  me  with  mxi» 
iUustratiQiis  fipom  thoae,.  and  -  many  other  andiors^ 
dian  I  coidd,  by  any  exertions  of  my  own,  or  from 
any  other  source,  have  availed  myself  of.    It  mli 


FREYACB.  Zi 

b^.  teeo^  that  mj  peges  are  enridied  by  aiach  cu» 
rmia  loatter  from  this  Teij  valuable  and  entertain- 
if^  ««  wall  asinstmctire  work;  whether  or  not, 
lhqr««Aect  any  thing  in  retom. 

\nie8e  are  the  chief  of  my  aoorces  of  obligatioo. 

Greie*8  Provincial  Glossaiy  is  itself  mostly  a 

conflation — and  not  a  very  judicious  one-^rom 

Sagf^  Bailey^  and  other  authors  easily  accessiUe ; 

and  I  deem  his  authority  but  slight.    I  was  at 

.first  somewhat  surprised  to  read  in  Grose's  Pl'o- 

faoc^  that  ^' the  East  country  scarcely  affords  a  suf- 

ficiMcy  of  (local)  words  to  form  a  division"-— to 

iMtagmA  it  from  others.    My  opinion  was  di- 

fMiIy<op|xMate — to  the  length,  indeed,  of  thinlttBg 

thai  y£ast  Anglia  netained  more  lii^ual  localtsma 

Ifamidl'the  other  portions  of  England  collectivdy. 

It  is  probable,  that  my  ''  wish  was  fiither  to  drat 

thoof^V."    The  truth  may  lie  between  these  con- 

ffoiiiq;  opinions.  But,  perhaps,  the  Reader  who 

QN^lioiior  this  Collection  with  an  examinatioii, 

fls^y  M>t  deem  such  opinion  altogether  extravaganl. 

^Ebdeadiiqr  words  in  this  Collection — as  Suffol- 

mnas— ^exceed  two  thousand  five  hundred. 

i'  It  may  be  thought  that  I  have  -tidmitted  words, 

not  of  local  usage  ;  but  generally  known  through- 

OHi'Eo^and.    On  examination  this  will,  I  think, 

brfiwmd  not  the  case ;  or,  if  so,  such  admissions 

are  rare.    It  will  be  found,  that  in  Suffolk  such 

doubtful  words  are  used  in  a  sense  different  from 


•  i 


Uioir  common  aioceptatioQ ;  or-  that  d^  illiotrate^ 
or  Ke9^ivei^l|^tfAti9ll;4x>Q^80ale:pa49agef  prpbaUjr 
h^ietoforQ^obscur^^ip  Ap  old  author.  Af^dfyt^^rr- 
words  in  commoa  uaage  in  SMiffidk  Al^.  in,  di(i- 
tant  oountieay  or  in.ScoUand  perhapi ^  and  interme- 
diately unknown  in  the  same  sense^  are  subjeott, 
as  alremly  hintedj  of  philological  curiosity'— and  a 
iMfiird  of  them  and  of  the  fact^  may  be  uaefu};  if 
e^er.an  attempt  be  made,  on  an  extended  sqalf^of 
4;pbil<^phical  history  of  our.  cqmnion  laiiguage 
...TheBoader  may,  perhaps,  qot  be  amoi^ 
who  attaph  much  importance  to  the  proceiss  of 
philological  deduction.  But,  considerit^'UK)  iptfh 
r$$Ami nature, of  e^yipolpgica|  p^r8uitSy  qr:the.pFi3^ 
lypi:  :Of,|tracii][g  war(]s:  froqi.  their  'Source  ^  ^l^ 
|[|iag^  to  its  cradl^j,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  %tilf 
there  be  many  who  find  no  inconsiderable  amiM^- 
JOeutand  instruction  in  the  process  and  its  resulta. 
,The  spread  of  cognate  language  is  seen  with  somie 
,SMrpnse.;  extended  indeed,  is  (he  iinguAl  chaw, 
which  in  remote  ages  seems  to  have  cpopectod 
jcountries  widely  distant,  and,  apparently^  ahnoat 
unknown. to  each  other.  India,  Arabia,. Persia, 
Qreece>  Germany,  Britain,  Russia,  and  perhaps 
all  contiguous  nations,  have  so  many  words  radi- 
cally aiiqilar  in  sound  and  sense,  as  to  leave  little 
dQjubt  that  this  chain  must  have  extended  itself — 
thpugh  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how— >to  and  from 
all  thpse.r^(ions;  but  never,  perhaps,  at  any  one 


PBBFACB.  nil 

period  connectedly.  Toward  the  restoretioo  of 
•ny  raiaring  linlu^  such  humble  Collections  as  this 
may  pouibly  contribute. 

Refirence  could  easily  be  made  to  writers  of 
eminence  who  have  viewed  the  subjects  of  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph^  including  Collections  of  Provin- 
cialiams,  in  no  unimportant  light. 


■  I  have  given  very  few  words  which 

I  have  not  myself  heard  in  actual  use,  or  imme- 
diately from  others  who  have  heard  them :  and  the 
phrases  are  almost  all  genuine.  Some  given  by 
Ray,  and  others  after  him,  as  Bast  country,  or 
Soflblk  words,  I  have  omitted ;  not,  on  inquiry, 
fincBng  authority  for  their  present  usage. 

In  some  few  instances,  it  may  perhaps  be  noted, 
drat  I  have  given  mere  corruptions  or  vulgarisms,  so 
obvious  as  scarcely  to  require  explanation.  Such 
as  dew  for  do— cfea^ifi  for  doing.  This  may  be 
true ;  but  as,  in  the  currency  of  my  work,  I  have 
more  than  once  said  that  where  a  word  occurs,  in 
eiplanatory  phrases,  not  readily  understood  by  the 
Reader,  that  he  is  referred  to  that  word,  I  have 
been  induced  to  give  such  words  a  place  and  an 
eiplanation ;  in  case  such  reference  should  be 
made. 

It  may  be  farther  said,  that  I  have  admitted 
merely  vulgarisms  in  pronunciation.  If  it  be  so, 
I  believe  they  will  be  found  in  most  cases  illustra- 
tive of  a  local  peculiarity  beyond  the  mere  corrup- 

b 


aUV  PREFACE. 

tion*  Thus,  in  Somersetsbire,  the  substitutioD^^of 
the  initial  z  for's  may  be  deemed  a  mere  vulgar 
nam ;  but  he  would  not  be  an  acute  observer^  wha> 
ID  a  topographical  work  on  that  county^  "should 
overlook  such  a  peculiarity ;  or  a  faithful  recorder^ 
who  should  omit  it.  '  Buty  if  the  Reader  persist  in 
the  accusation,  I  shall  not  be  disposed  pertina- 
ciously to  deny  it. 

Should  it  strike  the  Reader  that  I  have  not  made 
the  best  arrangement  of  my  materials,  I  shall  per- 
haps admit  the  justness  of  his  judgment.  I  do 
not  allude  to  the  alphabetical  arrangemen(>-«lhat 
evidently  arranges  itself;  but  to  my  own,  and  th^ 
borrowed,  matter.  If  it  exists,  the  cause  of  com- 
plaint may  be  thus  explaiined.  I  had  put  together 
nrjr  own  materials  before  1  consulted  any  otb^ 
source  of  information.  I  then  added,  withotil 
much  method,  what  I  could  gather  from  Shaketf^ 
peare,  Ray,  Wiibraham,  Tusser,  Nares,  8cc.  -  la 
doing  this!  added  and  interpolated  as  I  best  couid^ 
such  gathered  matier,  to  and  among  my  various 
articles ;  and  perh^  not  in  the  very  best  places  iff 
regard  to  effect.  I  have,  without,  as  far  as  I  trail 
recollect,  in  any  instance,  materially  omitting  what 
1  had  written,  added  and  nterpolated  the  inforiha^ 
tion  thus  acquired — I  hope  to  the  reader's  edifica- 
tion and  amusement.  1  could; manage  this  n^ 
better  witlumt  re-writing  my  own  materials;  wlucb>^ 
not  altogether  from  indolence,  I  was  unwilling  to: 


PBBVAOB.  XV 

do^  and  which  it  it  perhaps  better  not  to  have 
4w9«  i  would  not  Have  shiriced  the  trouble  of  re- 
f^i$taDgMny  own  Collections^  had  I  felt  that  I  could 
Iberebj  have  rendered  my  book  more  acceptable 
toyitbft  public. 

^ .  It  ma;,  perhaps,  be  remarked  that  I  have  sweU- 
9d  my. book  unnecessarily,  by  lengthened  quota- 
tions. This  may  be  true.  But  I  cannot  but  feel 
}bat  such  a  .work  as  this,  in  such  hands  as  mine, 
jpuft  be  doll— -very  dull.  In  the  hope  of  rendering 
ll  not'-insufferably  so,  I  have  indulged  in  quoted 
iUttilntion,  especially  from  Shakespeare's  fiEUcinatp> 
iag  pages :  and  with  the  like  view  I  have  occasio- 
ndlj  durown  in  a  remark-— if  not  absolutely  called 
for^  atill  I  trust  not  altogether  inapplicable  or  uOf^ 
a|ipffopriate;  but — servii^,  it  is  hoped,  to  render  my 
book  somewhat  less  repulsive  than  it  might  have 
bciWf  had  I  confined  myself  to  a  dry  catalogue  of 
words  and  a  mere  explanation.  As  hinted  in  an 
earlier  paragraph,  compression  has  not  beenrudat* 
tended  to.  A  critical  eye  may  detect  some  arti- 
fices to  that  end,  not  altogether  compatible  with 
the.modem  refinements  in  the  appearances  of  press- 
work.  A  critical  reader-^if  my  pages  be  honored 
with  sucb-^may  also  discern,  that  matter  given  in 
lale  articlesi  would  have  been  given  with  more,e& 
feet,  and  with  less  repetition,  in  earlier.  Such 
matter,  and  to  a  considerable  extent,  was  obtained 
during  the  progress  of  printing.    And  1  may  add 


XVI  PREFACB« 

timt  mach  more  has  been  omitted ^  which  I  deem 
not  incurious,  in  consequence  of  the  extent  .16 
which  my  book  has,  most  unexpectedly,  expanded. 

My  long  absence,  and  temporary  forgetfufaie^ 
of  my  native  provincialisms,  are  not  disqualifyii^ 
points  as  a  future  collector  of  them ;  rather  indeed 
the  reverse.  I  have  even  thought  absence  almost 
a  necessary  qualification  in  a  compiler  of  such  things 
as  I  now  present  ta  the  Reader.  A  constant  resident 
becomes  so  familiar  with  the  local  phraseology,  that 
he  runs  considerable  ri^  of  ceasing  to  be  awar^  of 
what  is  so,  and  what  may  be  unsuited  to  a  ckuisi^ 
cal  toi^ue.  It  is,  indeed,  sometimes  startling  tO 
hear  persons  of  education  unwittingly  use  quaifil 
and  ungrammatical  provincialisms.  Every^each^ 
Dont^otsght-^see  under  those  articles)— *and  othe# 
e^foally  uncouth  expressions,  I  hav6  heafkl,  in  s^ 
rioos  parlance — not  at  first  without  sifrprise — froni. 
the  lipfs  6f  educated,  travelled,  and  ev6n  Reverend 
ofatots. 

To  those  who  have  ftinch  tofididered  topogram 
piiieat  Works  and  total  usages,  it  is  well  know^ 
tfait  most  counties  in  England  retaifi  some  peculiar^ 
dpinions — ^^br  prejudices,  or  superstitions,  as  ihey 
ifilay  be  called— -and  sotiie  practices  grovving  ouft  of 
th^ifi.  We  retain  out  share,  and  I  have  octasioh- 
illly  touched  on  somef  of  thtst ;  but  it  was  no  part^ 
of  my  plan  to  collect  them. 

As  in  other  counties,  we  have  a  habit  of  alter-' 


PREFACE.  XVll 

iiq^ia  discourse  the  names  of  places.  For  instance, 
East  Bergbolt  we  call  Barfel;  Bargb,  Bath; 
Brttisyartf,  Bridjit;  Dunoingwortfa,  Dunnafer; 
Onmdisbai^hy  Grundsburra;  Lowestoffe,  Lays- 
tiff;  MoDowden,  Mulladen ;  Waldringfield^  Wan- 
nafid,  Sec.  &c. 

To  peculiarity  of  language  I  may  add  a  remark 
on  an  extraordinary  elevation  and  depression  of 
▼oice — a  sort  of  whine — altogether  uncalled  for  in 
any  emphatic  sense^  strikingly  observable  in  our 
common  discourse.  This  is  not  to  be  described 
io  writing;  sometimes,  indeed,  a  very  every-day 
sort  of  a  speech,  so  far  as  the  language  and  intend- 
ed effect  are  concerned,  might  be  set  to  music. 
This  is  not  always  unpleasing.  But  in  some  fami- 
liesra  sort  of  semi-grunt,,  or  straining,  prevails  on 
tl»most  common  occasions.  I  have  heard  a  yomig 
parioa,  in  reply  to  **  what's  o'clock?''  deliver 
*f  imif  pkiBt  eleven ;"  in  a  tone  denoting  as  modb 
nnbappiness  and  distress,  as  might  have  suflSced 
had  it  been  the  precise  moment  fixed  on  for  the 
ampatationof  a  finger,  or  the  extraction  of  a  tootb-^ 
though  the  party  was  in  perfect  health,  and  nothing 
win  in  fact  meant  more  than  met  the  ear,  in  the 
didinary  power  of  the  words.  These  little  matters 
ar^  ttrScing  to  foreigners ;  who  have  farther  n^led 
that  we  are  a  diminutive  race  of  mortals,  and  eat 
no  vegetables  at  our  meah.  See  PoaNCH,  in  the 
Appendix. 


XfUl  PmBFACB. 

I  htve  generally  noticed  the  prevalence  of  Sut 
f<rik  words  in  Scotland,  and  in  the  **  Scottish 
novels."  Teaching  the  latter,  I  will  indulge  in 
one  farther  remark.  In  the  Pirate,  the  fbUownig 
verse  of  a  song,  sung  by  the  Buccaneers  while 
rowing  off  from  Zetland  to  their  vessel  for  the  last 
time,  was  quite  familiar  to  me.  I  have  sung  it  a 
hundred  times  on  the  eastern  shores  of  England-— 
diough  not,  nor  had  I  thought  of  it,  perhaps,  for 
more  than  twice  twenty  years 

It  was  a  sbip^  and  a  ship  of  fame^ 
Launched  off  the  stocks^  bound  to  the  main  ; 
With  a  hundred  and  fifty  brisk  young  men. 
All  pickM  and  chosen  every  one. 

I  do  not  note  this  from  any  peculiar  merit  in 
the  song.  ^'  The  thing,  we  know  is  neither  new 
nor  rare,"  &c. ;  but  this  verse  seemed  to  ''  unlock 
the  secret  cells  where  memory  slept ;"  and  more 
verses  rushed  on  my  recollection.  It  seemed  to 
excite  feelings—^''  the  same  in  kind  though  differing 
in  degree—"  such  as  Robinson  Crusoe  felt  when  he 
discovered  the  foot-print  on  the  sea-shore. 

I  have  touched  slightly  on  the  prevalence  of  the 
Saxon  in  our  lingual  peculiarities.  It  is  in  that 
language  that  the  source  of  English  must  be  sought. 
1  had  thrown  together  a  few  borrowed  remarks, 
on  this  prevalence ;  but,  considering  what,  in  point 
of  bulk,  is  already  in  the  Reader's  eye,  they  may 


PREFAC£.  XIX 

w^l  be  spared     I  will  indulge  in  one  qnotation 
firoiD  the  Prefoce  to  Baile/s  valuable  Dictionary. 

■  '  ■*■  "  And  hence  be.  Dr.  Wallig,  accounts  why 
ike  names  of  the  divers  sorts  of  cattle  are  Sazon«  as  ox, 
caw,  calf,  sheep,  hog,  boar,  deer,  &c.  and  yet  their 
flesh  when  dressed  for  eating  is  French,  as  beef, 
veal,  mutton,  pork,'brawn,  venison,  &c. ;  the  reason 
of  which  may  probably  be,  that  the  Norman  sol- 
diery forsooth  did  not  concern  themselves  with  pas- 
tures, parks,  and  the  like  places,  where  such  ani- 
mals were  fed  and  kept,  so  much  as  with  markets, 
kitchens,  feasts,  and  entertainments,  where  their  food 
was  either  sold  or  prepared  for  them/^ 

But  it  is  time  to  put  an  end  to  this  desultory 
Pre&ce. 


^^7 


''•■J'- 


svrroXpS  wo^bs. 


A. 

As  an  abbreviation  this  letter  is  used  with  us,  in 
several  modes. — ist.  and  oftenest  iiy  the  place  i>f 
he.  2.  as  or.  3.  as. our.  4.  asi^.  5*  asoi^.  6. 
as  of.  7.  as  have,  S.  vls  of.  I  will  give  some 
examples  in  each  of  these.  1.  as  lie.  *'  There  'a 
go." — *'  'A  live  'a  bin  house?' 

We  are  usefully  reminded  of  the  season  of  the 
Cuckoo  by  the  following  homely  lines^  similar,  as 
in  respect  to  the  length  of  the  month,  to  the  well 
known  ''  thirty  days  hath  September,'*  &c. 

In  Aperil — *a  shake  *a8  bill, 
lu  May — *a  pipe  all  d«y. 
In  June — ^*a  change  'as  tune. 
In  July — awah  'a  fly. 
Else  in  August — awah  *a  most. 

I  will  take  this  early  occasion  to  notice  one  of 
the  most  common  peculiarities  of  the  Suffolk  dia- 
lect ;  which  is  the  substitution  of  the  plural  of  a 
verb  for  the  singular  in  the  third  person. .  Of  this 
several  instances  have  already  occurred — **  there  'a 
go'' — for  "  there  he  goes.'*  And  many  others  will 
be  noticed  in  this  and  future  articles.  One  is 
often  surprised  to  hear  this  localism  from  the  lips 
even  of  educated  and  travelled  people. 


As  he^  several  of  our  old  writers  use*A.     I  give 
some  instances  in  Shakespeare. 

*  A  will  make  the  man  mad.     Tarn,  of  the  S,  IV.  5. 

Cenfessy  confers,  hath  he  not  hit  you  here  ? 
'A  bath  a  little  gaird  me  I  confess.    Id.  V.  2. 

That  is  my  brother's  plea  and  none  of  mine. 

The  which  if  he  can  prove,  *a  pops  me  oat 

At  least  from  gofl4iKve  hundred  pounds  a  year. 

K.  John.     I.   1. 

"Who  are  you  ? — 
One  that  will  play  the  devil,  Sir^  with  you, 
An  *a  may  catch  your  hide  and  you  alone.     lb.  II.  1. 

He  is  but  a  Knight,  is  'a?     K.  Hen.  6.  IV.  1. 

And  then  my  husband — heaven  be  with  his  soul — 
W  was  a  nierrv  nian.     Eom.  and  J.  L  3. 

And  sproeiimes  comes  she  with  a  tithe-pig's  fail 
'J^ickling  a  parson*s  nose  as  *a  lies  asleep.     16. 

An  'a  speak  any  thing  against  roe,  1*11  take  bihi  down 
iiii  'a  wrerc  lustier  than  he  is.  ..  lb.  II.  4. 

Shallow.  I  riei^i&inber  at  Mile-end  green,  there  was  a  little 
quiver  lellow ;  and  *a  would  manage  3'6q  his  piece,  thus;  and 
'a  would  about  and  about,  and  come  3'ou  in,  and  come  3011 
in: — ruhy  toil,  la/i,,  would  'a  say;  and  bounce  would  *a  sav; 
and  away  again  would  *a  go,  and  again  would  'a  come : — I  shall 
ne'er  see  such  a  fellow.  K.  Hen.  4.  P.  S!.  III.  2. 

And  so  in  many  other  places. 

2.  as  or,  "  Wutha  'a  wool  'a  nae.^'  Whether  he 
will  or  not. 

3.  as  our  or  at.  "  'A'l  go  out  of  'as  farm  next 
a-Lady."  : 

4.  as  if.  **  ril  gi  ye  a  dunt  i  *  the  hid  'a  ye  dew 
so  no  more."     This  is  equivalent  to  the  **an  if  of 

-   If 

some  of  our  >oid  writers.     An  instance  occurs  in 
one  of  the  above  quotations  from  Romeo  and  Juliet. 

5.  as  oh.     "  Well  go  'a  Sunday." 

0.  as  in  or  at.     *'  'A  live  *a  Yim  \io\x?.e  " 


7.  as  have.  **Yan  inouglit  as  well  'a  dunt  as 
nut/'    You  might  as  well  have  done  it  as  not. 

8.  as  of.  *A'v  a  touch  'a  the  Sheers  in  urn.'' 
He  has  a  touch  of  the  Shires  in  hhn.  See  Sheers. 

I  will  take  this  early  occasion,  also,  to  note  that 
when,  in  the  examples,  I  use  a^word  not  fsimiliar 
to  the  reader,  he  will,  taking  it  as  a  localism,  find 
it  explained  in  its  place  in  this  Collection. 

Prefixed  to  a  participle  the  letter  a,  in  Suifolk, 
as  inmost  other  counties,  denotes^ a  continuance 
of  action,  a  crying,  a  walking,  a  running,  6cc. 

In  other  ways,  not  readily  explainable,  it  is  also 
in  use  among  us.  *'The  house  is  ail  of  a  Tire/' 
"What  a  plague  would  yow  be  a  dewin"? "  **  What 
a  piezen ;  "  **  What  a  mcnden/'  are  a  sort  of  mo- 
derated imprecations.     See  Ambndbk.  ^ 

Aadle.  To  prosper  or  flourish.  Fruit,  com. 
Sec.  promising  to  ripen  well,  are  said  to  aadie. 
"  Ta  dont  fare  ta  aadle,''  implies  the  reverse.  It  is 
probably  ^e  same  word  which  Ray  thus  explains, 
^*  To  Adle  or  Addlei  to  earn ;  from  the  ancient 
Saxon  word  Ed-lean,  a  reward,  recompense  or  re- 
quital.^'    E.  W.  p.  13. 

Tnsser  uses  the  word,  only  once  I  believe,  and 
spells  it  addle» 

From  Ma  J  till  October  Icarc  cropping— For  vriiy  r 
In  Woodsere  whatever  thou  croppcBt  will  die. 
Where  ny  embraces  the  tree  very  sore, 
Kill  iv^r,  or  else  tree  witl  addle  no  mure.     p.  151 .. 

By  "  cropping,"  Tusser  means,  as  we  do,   lop- 

pinp,     '*  Woodsere/'  seems  to  mesLU  summet-Wmt,, 
See  Sare. 


In  Scottish  to  Addk  is  *'  to  nuMsten  the  roots  of 
plants.'*  J.  with  the  view  of  causing  them  to  flou- 
risli :  so  that  in  every  case  the  word  seems  to  have 
reference  to  prosperity  or  promise. 

I  know  no  other  passage  where  this  word  occurs, 
nor  did  I  ever  hear  of  it  in  any  other  sense,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  an  addled  egg :  and  this  perhaps 
is  no  exception,  as  it  promises,  or  has  prospered, 
too  much. 

Aata.  After. — Atanune,  afternoon.  This  being 
^e  first  occurence  of  the  acute  t£,  for  the  open 
sound  of  00,  I  will  remark  that  this  is  a  very 
.common  and  striking  substitution  in  Suffolk.  We 
»ay  butes  for  boots,  mune  for  moon^  fule  for  fool : 
as  in  more  particularly  noticed  under  Butes,  where 
many  instances  of  it  are  enumerated. 

AcRE-spiRE.  The  sprouting,  or  chicking,  of 
barley  in  the  process  of  germinating  into  malt.  It 
is  also  Scottish  J. 

Acre-sprit.  Potatoes  shooting,  when  laid  up, 
or  from  remaining  too  long  in  the  ground.  This 
and  the  preceding  word  are,  I  believe,  interchange- 
able :  their  sense  not  being  precisely  definable. 

Afeard.  An  old  and  good  word  for  afraid.  It 
is  still  much  used  in  Suffolk ;  as  it  is  by  Shake- 
speare»  and  other  older  writers. 

Art  tboo  rfeard 
To  be  the  same  in  thine  own  act  and  Taloar, 
At  tboa  art  in  desire?  Macbeth,  J.  7. 

.    Tie,  my  Lord— 
Asoldiert  and  afeard,  16.  V.  1. 

Anvtafitmrdi  the idi« is  fidl  of  i^oVks. 


",'■■■*■»■. 

"K«ch  t'-cniblinc:  Ipnfc,  am!  whi«»Irti<r  winH  tlj«y  lirKitr, 
As  ghastly  bug.  doe:)  greatly  ibciii  afftwc. 

Spenser.  F.  Q.  11.  iii.  ?0. 

Afferd  in  Scottish  J. 

Aftermathe*  The  feed  left  on  meadows  or 
grass  lands  afler  having  been  mown.  We  also  call 
it  Rowetu  or  Rowitis  which  see.  The  latter  is  the 
word  written  Rouyliins  by  Ray,  >\ho  makes  it  simi- 
lar to  Aftermaths.  E.  W.  p.  14.  and  gives  them 
as  North-country  words.  Tusser  has  tlie  w^r<i 
Aftermath,  and  it  is  not,  I  beltev?',  in  vcrv  conlinel 
use. 

A-6AH.  The  ague.  **  The  agaren  fever  ;**  ague 
und  fever.     Ayoe  in  Cheshire.  A\'. 

Aginn.  Against,  in  its  several  senses.  **  'A 
live  over  agin  the  stile.'*  **Agin  ne\t  Sunday.'* 
**  'A  struv  agin  urn  as  long  as  *a  could."  It  is  thf* 
vulgar  pronunciation  of  again.     *'Agin  an  Agvf.' 

We  have  a  common  habit  t,f  thus  pronoupcinc:: 
one  of  the  sounds  of  a,  and  of  the  common  ^onni 
of  e.  Hiti  for  hen,  ind  for  end,  6ri\  of  which 
several  examples  are  given  under  Amsnd. 

Agon.     Ago,  agone.  **  Tis  three  months  agmi.' 

AiNt  or  Aaint.  To  anoint ;  a^  for  the  itch, 
Ac.  It  is  also  used  figuratively  to  denote  a  drubbing. 
**  111  aaint  yar  hide  for  ye,^"  threatens  so  hearty  a 
threshing  as  sliall  overspread  the  offender's  skin 
with  wales  or  oiarks  of  blows,  as  comple^tely  as  it 
would  be  covered  if  rubbed  over,  or  aainted, 
.  1  know  not  if  my  countrymen  be  noted  for  pu^- 
aacious  propensities ;    bni  Our  VfKiabuWj  \!&  \w^ 

B  J 


copious  in  trordflf  of  a  thraatening  offensive  stamp. 
)  will  here  put  down  such  as  hnmediately  occur 
to  me ;  that  in  &ture  articles,  tvhen  such  recur  a 
iready  reference  to  this  may  -be  made,  and  save  re- 
petition. Thus  beginning  with  Aint,  and  going  on 
al]ihabetically,  we  hav«  baste,  bob^  bump,  clap, 
ciick^  dip,  clink,  clout,  ciunch,  crack,  dint,  ding, 
douse,  dunsh,  dunt,  fan,  flick^  hide,  knap,  lace, 
lather,  larrup,  lanna,  lick,  line,  lump,  pelt, 
pounce,  poonch,  poult,  strop,  squaj,  swack,  sweat, 
swinge,  thwack,  thrip,  thrum,  wap,  welt,  yerk; 
and  others,  most  likely,  which  have  escaped  me, 
in  addition  to  the  more  common  threatening  verbs 
active  of  bang,  box,  cuff,  dress,  lash,  slap, 
$mack,  thrash,  thump,  &c.  &c.  every  where 
understood. 

In  Cheshire  the  sense  firist  given  in  this  article 
is  current,  but  the  word  is  not  so  much  shortened — 
*'  Nointy  to  anoint;  figurately  to  beat  severely."  W. 

Aitch-bone.  Pronounced  H  bone.  The  edge 
bone,  so  named  perhaps  from  its  hatchet  shape. 
'*  The  H  bone  of  heef,"  "An  ice-bone,  a  rump  of 
beef.  Norf."  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  79.  It  is  the  Oa 
innominatum  of  the  Pelvis. 

AiYAH.  The  iiat  about  the  kidney  of  veal  or 
inutton.  It  is  etUo  called  Niyah,  and  sometimes 
Ear  and  Near, 

A'l  or  U'll.  He  will.  See  examples  in  the 
first  article. 

A  Lady.  Lady-day.  Our  Lady.  See  the  first 
article. 


Alawk.  ALA'Vi^va.  Alack;  Akt.  lmmk,and 
Lawbadazy^  are  Mher  ejaculations;  the  latter.  1 
thinjc)  rather  of  surprise  or  pleasure  or  uyrn^ 
path^^,  leng^tbened  and  modulated  to  suit  the 
casion. 

Alegar..  Vinegar,  made  from  beer.  Ale-aigre, 
like  vin-aigre. 

.  Ale-stal^  Th^  horse  or  stool,  on  which  casks 
of  beer,  wine,  &g.  are  placed  in  cellars.  I  do  not 
recollect  the  word  gtaU  applied  to  any  other  des- 
cription of  horse  or  stool. 

All-sales.    All  times.    See  Sales. 

Allus.     Always. 

Alp  or  Olp.  The  bull-finch.  Also  Blood-alp^ 
and  Blaek-cap.  Cocker  says  Alp  is  a  north  coun- 
try name  for  this  bird.  Ray,  among  his  S.  and  £. 
country  words  says,  *' An  Alp  or  Nope  is  a  bull- 
finch. I  first  took  notice  of  this  word  in  Suffolk, 
but  find  since  that  it  is  used  in  other  counties,  al- 
most generally  all  over  England."  £.  W.  p.  69. 
By  "  this  word  "  Ray  probably  means  Alp.  Nope, 
I  never  heard  or  saw  elsewhere.  In  Scotland 
''  Cole-hooding  is  the  Black-cap."    J. 

Amenden.  a  sort  of  oath,  equivalent  to  a 
plague,  or  a  more  gross  word,  now  disused. 
"  Amendm  take  ye."— where  amenden  ar  yeow  a 
goen?  *'  Sometimes  a />ie2«n — a  poison  I  suppose. 
'*  What  a  piezen  ar  yeow  a  dewin."  What  a  rot — 
What  a  fire — By  gom — By  goms— By  gosh — I'll 
be  blamed  if  I  dew — I'd  see  you  fiidda  fust-r-are 
other  moderated  imprecations  or  anathemas. 


8 


Anin^nX).  An  end.  "  *A  reared  right  up  flntuwc/" 
— said  of  a  horse.  *•  Rise  the  htdder  up  aninndJ* 
In  «everal  words  we  substitute  the  i  for  e.    Thus — 

BHss     for     Bless 
Cill  Cell 


Hid 

Is 

Innd 

Filld 
Friee 

Midda 
Min 

Kivva 

.Shill ' 
Shilld 
Siller 

Tbrid 


Wixnm'm 


Head 

Yes 
End 

Field 
Freeac 

Meadow 
Men 

Never 

Shdi 

Sheltd 

Cellar 

Tlircad 


Women 


Yit 


Vet 


And  we  hare  a  countervail- 
ing (>ermutation  in  probably 
as  luan^  cases,  and  substitute 
e  or  te  for  the  sounds  of  /. 
Thus  we  sa^— 


Hredge 

for     Bridge 

Ded 

Did 

Dednt 

Did  n»t 

Deove 

Dive 

l>reep 

Drip 

Fell 

Fill 

Feller 

FJ  ler  . 

Heeve 

Hive 

Hell 

Kiln 

Leece 

Lkc 

Led 

Lid 

Mell 

'  Mill 

Me<;cc 

Mice 

J\'cb 

Kit.'    . 

Pet 

Pit 

Rt'dge 

Ridge 

Set 

'        Sit 

Stoits 

•Stiit* 

Stent 

Stiot 

Then 

'Itiiu,  Sec, 

and  doubtless  many  others,  which  do  not  occur 
to  me. 

In  some  other  words  the  sonnds  of  letters  are 
arbitrarily  changed. — 

Cheen,  for  chain— Dreen,  Drain — Kfeeve,  Cave 
— Shet,  Shut— Cowd,  Cold— Cowt,  Colt— Gowd, 
Gold — Howd,  Hold.  The  last  fotir  are  common 
to  Cheshire:  and  the  word  at  the  head  of  this 
article  is  there  pronounced  Aneend.     W; 

But  our  commonest,  and  I  think  most  strikins 


9 


pecHliarity,  is  the  acute  m  for  oo.    Of  Una 
instances  are  given  under  BuT£8. 

Antrums.  Affected  aivs,  insoi?Bces,  yHkima, 
maggotoy  **  'As  in  'as  antrmms  this  morning/'  would 
he  said  o^a  rude  person  as  well  as  of  a  skittisli 
horse.  TmUruam.  is  a  similar  word.  In  Cheshire 
Aninm$  and  TmUerum.  have  a  like  meaning.   W. 

Apibcbs.  To  pieced.  **  Tn  crumble  ail 
apieces."  The  word  is  so  used  by  Chapman, 
aad  Beaumiont  ai»d  Fletcher^  as  cit^d  by  Nares. 

Afpu^ack,  or  Afpls-John,  or  Fi<ap-^Jack, 
or  Turnover.  These  are  various  names  for  the 
same  good  thing — to  wit— sugared  apples,  baked 
without  pan,  ia  a  square  thin  piece  of  paste,  with 
two  oppoake  corners  turnd-over  the  apple,  or  flap- 
ped,  BO  as  to  form  a  "three  sqxi9,vt*'  FUq^Jaok 
or  Turn  wer:  I  do  not  recollect  having  beard  these 
names  out  of  Suffolk,  or  but  of  Suffolk  company — 
but  they  have  not  escaped  Shakespeare-what 
good  thing  has  escaped  him  ?  He  has  both  i^jplt- 
John  and  Flt^  Jack, 

Drawer,  What  the  devil  hast  thou  gitt  there?  Apple-Jokstf 
thou  koowebt  Sir  John  Ci  nnot  endure  an  Apple-.ToHn. 

fd.  Drawer,  Maui  thoa  sayst  true :  the  prince  once  wt  a 
dbbof  Apple-Jobnn  bi'ibre  bira  anci  sold  him  there  were  fire 
more  Sir  Johns.     K.  U,  4.  P.  3.  11.  4.    ' 

And  in  Peir*  Pr.  of  Tyre — if  indeed  that  be  Shake- 
speare's— 

Thou  shalt  go  home  with  me,  and  we'll  have  flesh  tor  holHavfly 
fish  for  fasting  days,  and  moreover  puddings,  and  f  iapJwNit* 
•nd  thou  shalt  be  welcome.    II,  1. 

*'  Flap- Jacks" — saitb  a  Commentator  on  this 
passage-r-^'  a  sort  of  pan-cake."  In  Suffolk,  we 
should  ^€»Aim,  J  doubt,  but  a  **  puddeAr\tt44a4 


10 

fellow*'  who  did  not  know  a  Flap-jack  from  a 
Pan-cake. 

Arr  A  WIGGLE.  The  ear-wig.  This  unwelcome 
reptile  in  the  north,  according  to  Ray,  is  called 
"  ForktH-roblnn,  from  its  forked  tail.*'  £•  W.  p.  30. 

Atwin.    Atwixt.    Between,  betwixt. 

A VEL  The  beard,  or  awms  of  barley.  The  com 
is  said  to  be  avely  if,  when  dressed  for  market,  a 
portion  of  the  awms,  adhere  to  the  grains.  I  have 
written  the  word  awms,  as  I  think  we  generally 
pronounce  it ;  but  Ray  among  his  N.  Country  words 
has  "  AwM,  Aristae — the  beards  of  wheat  or  bar- 
ley. In  Essex  they  pronounce  it  ails."  £.  W.  p.  15. 
In  Scottish  **AvmSf  the  beards  of  corn."  J. 

A'tonce.  Pronounced  as  one  word,  at  once. 
Thus  Spenser — 

And  all  attonce  her  beastly  body  raisM.     P.  Q.  IL  i.  4^. 

AvBLLONG.  Workmen — reapers  or  mowers — 
approaching  the  side  of  a  field  not  perpendicular 
or  parallel  to  their  line  of  work,  will  have  an  un- 
equal portion  to  do — ^the  excess  or  deficieney  is 
called  **aveUong  work/' 

AviZEB.    AwiZEB.     Informed,    apprized,    ad-   . 
vised.     "Ar  yeow  atot2«(2  (Hit?"    itvi^eif,  occurs  in 
the  Scottish  dialect   in  Guy  Mannering,  II.  235.  > 
"Are  you  avised  of  that?  "     Advised  is  generally 
used  by  merchants  in  a  like  sense ;  and  the  French 
have  aviser,  nearly  the  same. 

Ax.    Ask.  Out  axt,  banns  of  marriage  thrice  pub • 
}isbed.  Ase,  according  to  Nares,  though  now  a  mere 
mlgarism,  ia  the  original  Saxon  iotm»  wi^  \k%^^  Vn 
Chaaccr  md  others,   of  v\i\c\i  Vie  i^w*  ^^^^^V"^^^ 


11 


B 

Baalamb. — A  lambkin:  used  chiefly  and  ge- 
nerally by  children:  also  a  quaint  name  for  an 
ass — but  it  is  then  pronounced  Baiam,  of  obvious 
origin. 

Tabbing.  Catching  crabs  by  drawing  them  to 
the  surface  of  the  water  by  a  string  baited  with  the 
innards  of  a  chicken,  or.  a  piece  of  kit,  &c,  and 
let  down  close  to  their  holes  in  the  muddy  sides  of 
a  river,  creek,  &c.  A  hand  net,  or  more  com- 
monly with  boys,  a  hat,  is  then  insinuated  under 
the  victim  before  he  be  drawn  out  of  the  water. 
This  word  may  not  be  local.  We  have  all  read  of 
him,  who, 

.His  hook  had  baited  with  a  dregon*s  tail 
And  sat  upon  a  rock  and  tabbed  for  whale. 

But  all  may  not  know  precisely  what  the  diver- 
sion is.  On  recollection  I  am  not  sifre  that  I  have 
not  mis-quoted  the  last  line.  I  have  no  immediate 
means  of  determining — it  may  be  bobbed. 

Bach  eloR's-buttons.  The  Lycltnis  sylvestris ; 
more  extensively  known  by  this  name  thaii  by  its 
trivial  appellation,  the  Campion.  B.  B.  is  an  old 
name.  Some  reason  for  its  being  so  called,  and 
examples  of  its  adoption  by  some  of  our  old  writers, 
are  given  in  Nares*  Glossary. 

'■  Backstriking.  a  mode  of  plowing,  in  which 
the  earth  having  been  previously  turned,  is  turned 
back  again. 

Tusserin  Ins  monthly  directions  for  the  ptoce^^es 
of  husbandry  applies  Strike  to  plowing ;  aiiA  as>\ic 


12 

was  a  practical  farmer,  meant  probably  the  sai^. 
thin^.     Ttiis  is  hU  verse — 

••'J  lii:r>li  rrcvJ,  «U'   Ut  ui.iiiiiu  .*'  Sppifiii'  ••    uiib  cry, 

To  li.irrow  'hti  ri(W«  »    t-rt-  i  vt-r  \r/»/>vfee, 

!» i»ii<-  puvr  ot  lui»l»uiiHrv  Suttolk  «iurh  likr.     j».  16. 

We  also  call  it  Strike — See  under  that  \^rcl. 
And  uiider  Vann,  for  an  explanation  of  what  Tus- 
ker means  by  fanning. 

Ba^tm,  or  Bawm,  or  Barm.  Yeast,  or /]W«t  as 
we  sonietimes  call  it,  and  Burgad:  not  local  per- 
haps Barm  is.  used  in  Scotland,  and  Cocker  says 
.  that  it  is  a  Saxon  word.  It  occurs  in  the  Midsum- 
mer Night's  Dream.  Robin  Goodfellow,  among 
other  mischievous  pranks,  is  accused  by  Puck  of 
being  he  who  sometimes 

*' — makes  the  drink  to  beap^no  harm.*'*    II.  1. 

Ray  has  it  in  a  Yorkshire  proverb.  "  His  brains 
will  work  without  harm*'  p.  179.  And  in  his 
'<  Collection  of  English  words  not  generally  used  " 
he  says  that  "  Gosgwood,  i.  e.  yeast  or  barm,  is 
nothing  hut  God* s  good  (bonum  divinum)  as  they 
pronounce  the  word  in  Sussex  and  Kent,  where  it  is 
in  use :  it  is  also  called  Beergood,**  p.  12.  See  Bur- 
gad.  And  among  his  S  and  £.  country  words  is 
*' God*s  good,  yeAst,  barm.  Kent,  Norf.  Suff."  E. 
W.  p.  77.  I  never  heard  such  a  word  :  or  the  fol- 
lowing— "  Newivg,  yeast,  or  barm.  Essex."  ib.  p. 
82.  or  ** Rising ;  yeast,  heitrgoodS*  ib.  84.  Both  are 
of  obvious  derivation.  So  is  his  '^Sizzing,  yeast  or 
barm,  Sussex."  ib.  85.  See  Sizzle.  In  Scottish, 
JBarmy  means  passionate,  cVkolene,  ftQfm  VXv^Yxv.- 
g'Jjsh,  barm,  yeast,     J. 


B At K4.    Tobacco.    **  Kchom '^backm.*'  Aqutd. 

BACKAa.:  The'luaick^bouse^  or  wash-bouse — or 
perhaps  bake-house. 

BadgbTs  The  Badger.  Also  Brock.  Badget 
is  a  cbmmoB  nanie  for  a  cart-horse.  The  barbardua 
cvdora  of  bifclget-baithig,  is  irlth  bull4>ailiiig»  iaUeu 
mocb  into  disuse  iri  the  eastern  cduolies.  I  do'  tot 
think  that  we  have,  if  ^e  ever  bad,  the  vulgar  no- 
tion of  other  parts  of  England,  touching  the  legs  of 
this  animal  being  shorter  on  one  side  than  the  other* 
On  this  see  Nares,    G.    Under  Badger. 

Bafplbik  Standing  corn,  or  grass,  knocl^d 
irregularly  about  by  wind,  or  stray  cattle,  would  be 
said  to  be  '*  bajffkd  about  ''•—or  bujffied,  perhaps. 
Kftckled,  SnaiBed,  and  Walled,  are  other  terms  ap- 
plied to  the  Irregular  position  of  standing  com.  See 
under  those  words.  I  believe  bmjffle  might  have  been 
added  '4o  the  terms  of  offence  enumerated  under 
AINT;  for  of  a  man  knocking  another  person,  or 
a  horse,  &c.  repeatedly  on  the  bead,  it  would  be 
said  *^'i3Lbajfied  em  abort  the  hid.''  It  b  an  old 
word.    See  Nares.    G. 

Bag.  The  udder,  or  milk-bag  of  a  cow.  It  is 
perhaps  in  a  somewhat,  though  not  very,  difiereut 
sQise,  that  it  is  used  as  a  verb  in  the  following  line 
quoted  from  Nares,  who  says  *•  To  tag — to  breed,  to 

become  pregnant" — 

Well,  Veiuu  shortly  bagged,  and  ere  long  wai  Cupid  bred. 

Alb.  Engl.  VI>  p.  148, 

Bahd.    a  bird— *'baiids-nec2eii"  Vuds-ae^Sn^. 

Balk.  ., See  Bavk. 

C 


14 

\ 

tlmt  ift  rri  amweif  tot  it,  or  hkii.  tail^boirttfge. 
Thus  Lord  Byron, 

^     Thetfaam^cHesofiottlikbapelessftAiitf. 

It  is  a  Saxon  word  for  sctrrwir*    See  NaiM.    6w. 

'9ANDT<^rrf•eBBT.  A  gams  ¥ri^  bate^  or  stnte^ 
fl^  Mi;  like  erieket^biit  wilb  brielM,  us«s(l)y  ;  «r» 
Iff  thcsur  absenee,  tmkh,  instead  of  baleis  and  stuiips^i 
Air  wickets. 

.  BuiNO.  Tive  poorest  and  hmkst  kind  oiSmfftth 
cheese  is  so  eati^.  W«4ive  somewhat  tender  mi^tkief' 
failjject  of  Gheese-^forwhicli^  of  our  own  gnmt^^e 
bave  seyeral  other  .names^-rlri^  and  u>enmiU,i  amon^ 
tlii|m.  ''  Tbiee  tifnefs  skiiAiMd  Ay«b1«e  **  is  a  t^utid^ 
abouti  and  not  very  flattenng,  descriptloit  soiiieiiuiea 
l^en  of  our  hom^-madie  article-:  but  is  4!videntFf 
aiore  applicable  to  the  aEure  liquid  of  which  k  isr 
Hiade.  It  was  this  sort  of  ware^  I  iiHagiiie,  that  t&e 
poor  hungry  sow  was  vainly  endeavouring  to  mak^ 
aft  impression  on,  wben  she  was  commiseratingly 
Noticed  by  our  poet»  Bloomfield,  in  his  Fartner'g 
Boy,    He  describes  our  bang,  as  being 

Too  Jacge  to  swallow  and  too  bard  to  bite. 

Babd.  The  beard.  ''  The  buni  a'l  pa[y  for  the 
shaven"^-4i  comtBon  adage,  implying  that  the.  pro- 
duce will  be  equivalent  to  the  labour* 

Bargain.  A  load  of  a  waggon-— (without  refer^^ 
encie  to  a  purchase  or  sale)-^nular  to  Jag.  "  I  'd 
three  bargains  off 'a  that  there  small  iilld"-^that  iS| 
three  waggon  loads ;  of  hay,  barley,  oat's,  M,  Bar^ 
gain,  is  also  an  indefinite  good  quaoftity,  or  tfofmber* 
'Tve  a  fairish  bargain  'a  Iambs  U  ^%.ax«* 


IS 


•Barkabse.  Tb^gol^-J^Hgf  or  My-lurf) :  aIup 
9|i)ipp-barjiey :  wkich  «$«•  Tiiis  prettj  little  4fid 
iMfy  usefiU  ioteict,'  is  tfpd(erjy*reffucded' byxwr  fihiM- 
Dfpi.  One  settlhig'on  a  child  it  alvayiB  lenl  aauor 
witif^Jftm^^  vaiedicitioiii*- 

?aeif  dea-bjo^f  G^trdea-bagi  ^  n^^  bpqM-7 
ar  hoase'is  babnt  deoVn  An  yir  cMIdeta  dl  ^oHe. 

-^Itls'sifte  tb  fly'bffWthe  thiM  rei^ethioii-  ' 

S^trrit  ddwK  gttes  gttitt  iniop6  to  our  cmint j  «u- 
']^onic'twtmg;'  altbgether  'thexpressiUe  in  Xfjitr 
haiimJt  deeyown,  conies  as'  mfar  to  it,  'as  my  AiM  in 
'Ofthography 'twill  liltow. 

Ray  10  his  ;S/aim%.  eotiftitiy  words  lias  ^HHk-^ 
**Buk&p,  tfaetfrtte^pbtteid'teeiie/cotiimoiily  edkid 
'tbeiady-xifnD,  br  iady  tird.  I  haveliean)  tfirs  iitsect 
in  other  places  called  Gokten-ftmop,  and  doubtlefts  la 
other  countries  it  huth  other  names.^  £.  W.  p.  fO» 
'Croiden-brngh  the  common  Sdfiblk'imme. 

%!ARNACLES.    Spectades-^whfch  afre  also  tnore 
'<dbTiou5iy  called  Sights,     fiatna^le  and  Batgaitd^^r 
are  Suffolk  names  for  the  Solan-goose. 
%AKN%D.    iSonteS  in  fhe  bftm. 

fiAR^^rARD.  ^c  ^mw-ydrd'i>y  tlfet>at^aoMi. 

"BMLRRA-pfG.    'IPhe  littlest  pig  6f  a  Kfteh    t 

tfCKr  heatd  'the  vi^brd^£amt'  dppli^d  bKt  to  A  "p'lTt 

and  I  have  no  clue  to  its  origin  without  '^<^id^  to  ^a 

-pedantic  distance;  1><rtr  Wtil  «^etiture  ju^  to'tibtice 

.^4Mt:t)i':the  akidem>^  bf^tadla,  Iftitaitis  iei 

'•■•■■•■■•■•  c-2'-  •••    -^  ■■    ;  •  ■  : 


swintt  as  it  doies  alsb  in  some  modem  dialecfs,  Wr 
describe  the  youngest  of  other  broods/  by  oth«r 
terntt^-^jptfl  hatkei^  for  instance,  tindpifman  to  the 
'  Jfourigest  child  of  a  famify-i^-niMf  gulp^  to  the  *'t^€ak- 
cst  tenant  of  a  n^ :  ^  &c.  ^t.  but  JKarra-pig,  as  1 
bare  said,  exdusireljr,  to  the  sraaHest  and  shrillest 
grunter  of  the  litter.  Itf  Ray  is  given  a!i  a  S.  and  E. 
country  word»  one  which  I  nevei^  heard — "A  Cad- 
sua,  the  kttst  of  .the  pigs  which  a  sow  bath  at  one 
fiire ;  commonly  thcj  haye  one  which  is  signally  less^ 
than  the  rest;  it  is  al^  called  ih^' WIUnaMckC'  E» 
W.  p.  72.    See  Winnick.  . 

In  Scottish,  **Crooi,  is  a  puny  Heebie  child-*— the 
,  youngest  and  feeblest  of  a  nest  or  of  a  litter.    In  the 
Si.ojf  Scotland,  wrig  has  a  like  meaning."    J. 
. .  EA93BL.    The  time,  or  season,  of  sowing  barley : 
Barleg  taU.    See  Sales. 

Base.     Shred9  of  matting,  with  which  gardeners 
tie  up  lettuces,  flowers,  &c.     In  Scottish  JBosk  is  a- 
mat  ifsed  for  packing— from  the  Teutonic  hasty  car- 
to.   J.      Base^  or  Prison-base,  is.  a  game  among 
young  people. 

Baste.    To  beat.    Similar  to  lathering^  licking, 
&c  ;figuratively  derived,  like  akUing,  from  the  idea 
of  such  a  liberal  profusion  of  punition  as  shall  spread 
itself  all  over  th^^  superfices  of  the  offending  subject. 
See  AiNT.  .....,• 

.  •  JBiis^eis  also  an  operatioin  in  sewing.  It  is  the 
.doubling  down  the  edge  of  the  {article  in  hand,  pre- 
paratory to  hemming ;  or  rather  when  so  doubled 
down,  running  a  needle   and   thread   length-waya 


Iff 

flniig  tbe  line  •£  work,  to  be^  it  in  J^  proper  place, 
for  a  young  or  uoakjlAil  stiDpatresa. 

in  Scottish  ^<  JMsim^  a  drubbing."  J.  As  in  the 
loose  first  given. 

Patch.  The  quantity  of  bvead  made  lU  one 
baking :  and  sometimes  extended  to  other  produco. 
We  sboiild  s^^  <*ah  !--^  pretty  batch  of  lambs  "-*-or 
qiiaiDtljr*  ''a  precious  te^cA  of  rogues.''  It  is  not  ^ 
local  word.    3hdkespeare  has 

Thpu  cru9j^  ^afch  of  natare.      TroU,  and  Crtu.  V.  !• 
In  Clieshire  .the  sense  o{  the  word  is  nearly  simi- 
lar.    W. 

Batlins.  The  Iqppings*  or  stowins  of  trees,  for 
firing,  or  hedging,  or  hurdle  making — when  tied  up 
into  faggots,  they  are  called  Bavem,  Wrongs  is 
another  name  for  boughs.    See  Bole. 

Bavens.  Brushwood — faggots— thus  happily  ap- 
plied by  Shakespeare, 


-rash  bavin  wits. 


6o«i  kftidled,  and  Hocm  buMrnH. 

K,  Hm,  4.  P.  1.  III.  ^. 

*^  Bavin  "  8a}«  a  CoQunentator  **  is  brushwood-^ 
which  fired  " — he  kindJy  adds — '*  burns  fiercely,  but 
is  soon  out.*' 

Ray  notices  this  among  hb  S.and  £.  country  words* 
**  jPavertt  brush -faggots,  with  the  brushwood  at 
length,  or  in  general  Brusliwood/'  £.  W*  .p.  7p. 
He  ad  lis  "  Neeoio-aniq*  4»" 

Tosser  uses  it — 

Jn  stacking  ofbapin,  and  piling -of  logs, 
-*Ma1(e  mider'thy  'baviii,  a  ftovtl  for  hdgs ; 
.  •  A^cl  wftFinlj  ei^Gl^fl^  it  «11.  eaviag  tbe  month, 
And  that  to  stand  open,  and  full  to  the  soutli.  p.  18'^. 

C3 


18 

•  •  •  • 

Tusse r's  ^*  hovel  for  bogs  "— is,  I  suppose^  what 
we  call  a  hog^i-hobble.    Which  see. 

Nares  quotes  a  line  from  **  Mother  Bombie,  1  ^94*' 
in  which  bavins  occurs ;  and  notes  that  they  are  still 
kdvertised  for  under  that  name«  by  some  of  our  pub- 
lic offices. 

Bauk.  Bawk.  Baolk.  Balk.  The  con- 
triTance  in  our  Nettusa  (or  milkinff  hautet)  for 
confining  the  cow's  head,  while  being  milked. 
"  Bawk  up**  is  the  command,  readily  understood  by 
the  obedient  creatures,  for  thrusting  their  heads  into 
the  bawk,  which  is  composed  of  an  upright  piece^  or 
beam,  fixed  on  the  floor  and  to  the  top  framing;  of 
a  second  piece  of  the  same  length  and  size,  and  when 
upright  about  a  foot  apart  from  and  parallel  with 
the  other.  It  moves  on  a  pivot  in  the  floor  frame, 
and  when  released  from  its  top-latch  (or  catch)  falls 
iu  the  framing  so  as  to  form  an  angle  of  or  about  ZS 
or  40  degrees  with  the  right  up.  As  soon  as  the 
cow  has  adjusted  her  head  between  these  two  pieces, 
the  inclined  one  is  pushed  to  the  left  by  the  milk* 
maid,  to  the  perpendicular,  and  having  its  top-edge 
duly  bevelled,  it  raises  a  latckt  which  falls  over  and 
retains  it  in  that  position — allowing  the  animal  a  free 
up-and-down  ad  libitum  movement  of  its  head  to 
the  rack  or  to  the  floor — but  no  lateral  or  sidaus  li- 
berty. When  done  u'ith,  the  latch  is  lifted — the 
moveable  piece  falls  to  its  limited  inclination,  and 
the  animal  is  free.  1  have  been  thus  minute,  but  I 
hope  intelligible,  in  this  description^  because  I  have 


19 

noticed  in  different  parts  of  £tig;laiid,  other  modes 
of  detaining  cows  while  under  the  bjp^ration  of  being 
milked  or  sucked,  less  effectual  ahd  simple.  The 
number  of  bamkt  are,  of  course,  equal  to  the  nnm- 
'ber  of  cows  that  may  require  detention,  and  are  a 
yard,  or  so,  apart. 

Bawkmg,  is  also  a  particular  mode  of  ploughing 
land  for  fallow,  whereby  it  is  laid  in  ridges  or  bawh. 
In  this  mode  the  land  b  not  all  stirred — a  portion  is 
passed  wtr.  And  in  this  sense  of  pamng  aver,  the 
word  is  farther  applied — for  bawk  or  meer-baukt  is 
also  an  untilled  strip,  of  about  a  yard  wide,  left  be- 
tween two  properties;  or  occupants,  in  the  same  open 
field,  and  tilled  by  neither.  Few  of  these  bawh  are 
now  seen,  compared  with  their  frequency  thirty  ot 
forty  years  ago,  when  in  a  field  of  ten  or  a  dosen 
acres,  as  many  of  these  unprofitable  boundaries  or 
divisions  might  have  been  seen ;  ofteuer  crooked  than 
strait;  and  they  must  have  been  great  bmuiki  or 
hindrances  to  farmers  in  tilling  their  lands  so  use- 
less!?  sulKlivided. 

In  this  sense  of  pamng  over,  or  being  baulked,  we 
apply  the  word  to  ooe  who,  in  coursing,  passes  a 
sitting  hare,  without  crying  Sohof  For  this  he  is 
rebuked  for  **  hawking  the  hare."  "  Why  how  cum 
yeow  to  bawk  that  there  hare?  "  In  Scottish  baulk 
appears,  as  with  us,  to  be  an  unplougbed  ridge  of 
jland.     See  T.  of  my  L.  2i»d.  Ser.  III.  6. 

Cocker,  in  his  dictionary,  says  "  balk  is  a  Saxon 
word,  meaning  a  little  land  left  ttnp?owcd/'    And 


20 

3^^Jp^,  thfi  latter  word^proooui^^d  teidb,.  it  com- 
jpMi  in  the  same  8eii3e«  not  ^jafinei'  to  foreign  tini- 
p^.  Straight  ypung  trees  wben.lelleil  are  ^led 
elm  batoks,  oak  bausks,  ash  batDh$.  When  staodii^ 
they  are  called  stands.  Fir  6at0i^«  Spvrs/iers  and 
yf(f(^h  are  I  think,  nearly  the  ^aiue.^ 

Ilaiy  has  'f  Make  not  6iaj!j^#  of  ^od  grpimd,"p,  75:; 
and  ag^in  in  p.  300  as  a  Scottish -Proverb  "Mak(e  Jip 
^^Aes  of  good  bear-land/'  'And  he  notea  *\A  balth 
\jdLU  Scamnum:  a  piece  of  earth  which  the  ploif  slips 
.Qiier;witbout  turning  yp  or  breaking.  It  is  also  us^ 
^  p^rrow  sljps  of  laod  left  4uij>lowed  on  purpose  ia 
f^v^npipn  cQunliesy.  between  men's  lands,  or  some 
Ather  convenience." 

Amoug  his  North  coun|try  words  Ray  has'  "The 
jPaik  or  Bqwk;  the  si^mner-beam  or  Dornum* 
Jlf^fk^,  Buwks,  poles  laid  pfer  a;  fhtble  or  other 
ii^uilding  for  the  j^qof^  a.  JSelgifio 'dad  Teuton.  iB<nlk» 
JM^9  tignum.''  £.  W  ;p.  l6.  And'ip  his  $.  and  £• 
country  words  we  find.  "A  Lyncluptt,  a  gr^m  Balfi 
to  divide  lauds/'  ib.  p.  8  j .  And  in  the  s^ne  .page 
**A  Mfir^t  9^  L^nek^'*  In  Scottish  <^A  JBawi,  a 
l»try[>  pf  -land'  left  unplougbed  ;twp  or  ^uree  iee|  in 
brea^rb/'  J. 
,  JJ^W.     Boy.     See3opp. 

j&AWDA*     To  abuse  grossly.    To  5<^fiUr. perhaps. 

To  rag,  is  another  verb  of  similar  import.    See  Rao. 

I  hai^e  spelled  the  word  bawda,  »s  it  is  mostly  pro- 

jaouDced.    'it  might  bewrilUn  border,  viVv\QlvYiowl(d 

approach  the  Scottish  Bourd^  lo  Jest,  to  moc\— ox 


21 

substanfively  a  scoff— which  Jameison  derives  from 
the  French  htmrdrtr^  of  similar  meaning ;  an  abbre- 
iriation  he  thinks  of  hdumd-irt  to  jast  #ith  lances, 
JM^ard,  or  bokord,  being  a  gothic  word  used  by  old 
Norman  writers. 

In  Nares'  Glossary,  which  is  bat  just  come  under 
my  notice,  I  find  our  two  kin  words  Bmoda  or  Bcr^ 
der,  and  Rmg,  brought  together.  **  BedngM,  for 
hordrug$9  or  ftordrajrln^f :  border-incuraions.'* 

No  wftUing  there  nor  wretchedneM  ia  beard— 
Ho  nightljf  hodrugt,  nor  no  hoe  and  cries. 

Spent,  Colin  CI.    V.  515. 

Yet  oft  annoyed  with  sondry  hordragingt 
OfneighboiirSooU.    Jh.  F.Q,    II.  z.  63. 

Now,  with  every  deference  to  the  learned  Arch- 
deacon, who  evidently  suited  his  interpretation  to  the 
apparent  sense  of  the  passages,  I  am  c^sposed  to 
think  that  the  Bodrag  and  Bin'draging  of  Spenser, 
were  written  rather  in  the  Suffolk  feeling  of  noUy 
abuie,  and  iiuult,  than  in  that  in  which  his  gloss  has 
given  it.  It  is  true,  we  never  coiiuect  the  words  as 
Spenser  has  done :  but  we  should  whiningly  com[rfain 
of  having  been  "bawder'd  and  ragg'd  m  a  shameful 
waah."  « 

In  Scottish  BuUiragg  has  a  like  meaning.    J. 

Bat.  'I'he  divisions,  or  spaces,  between  the  main 
beams  of  a  barn.  Warburton  in  his  notes  on  a  pas- 
sage in  Measure  for  Measure,  II.  1.  where  this  word 
occurs,  says  that  it  signifies  "the  squared  frame  of  a 
timber  house,  each  of  which  divisions  or  squares^  is 
c^leda3ay.  Hence  a  building  of  so  man^  bax^sr 
r  never  beard  it  applied  to  any  building  but  %  bwu» 


a2 

.A  Squirrel's  ^al  we  call  a  hay.   Ujl  other  pail8«  }t 
<fippears  to  be.called  4myi»    TbiisCowpter,  in  ojoie  ^f 
his  fables. 

Climb'd,  like  a  sqairrel  to  bis  drapf 
'  Andi  bOBe  .the  MreraMest  piiae  -mmmj, 

^LraoBieifArU  of  ««AUe,  imnlermg'aB  ViKUk, 
i4ike  ^lieU-^iiek  is  oalM  £ay*diiek; 

*  BtiASBit.    A-glass»  or  4iiafcd^;^^e08e}»  itanMd 

possibly, '  from  >itS'4ieisA<(yiie  4po«t^  wliea  odDmestic 

^yi^Si^s  n^ere  Qot  so  varied  as  now,  and'ifolks  drank 

.  out  of  wha^t  they  drew  into.     Biicker  app/ears  to 

be  the  same  w«^d  ^In '^S^^ttish  {  I  4h>p«<  not  from 

'«iiy  obrious  ^uree,  -^ieh  is  ncVt^  hiiked,  ^l&ely 

''in  BO  sober  a  country  asr^cotktnd.    It  o<eiirs>l«e- 

quently  in  Tales  of  my  Lindierd.     In  fi^nb^,  €. 

1287.  it  i»  written  'Bee»^  as  with  «s,  hut'lhe^MMe 

^f  the  dialogue  in  which  k  occurs,  is,  if  I  «ec<llieet 

•right,  ^En^lifth. 

in  Jamets^n  w^e  ^^find  '*  Bicker^  a  bowl  or  diih 
-'JBE>r  contaming  ^liquor,^^  and  wolrds  of  like  souiid 
tMd  flignifioation  4li  many  £ttr<^an  languages,  in 
Scottish  also,  as  Ih  English,  the  word  denotes 
^'conteifttion,  4Stnfe.''  it  m^ -be  beared  that  the 
>6up  aad^e'Cohtentio|i,fhaTe'vGombin«d  in  the  dom* 
fKlskion  of  ^e  -varied  senses  of  thiB  moifd, 
■''  Beans.  I  introduee  4Ihs  word  ^merely  •i(NP.'liie 
>p«rpo6e  of  introducing  theifoUowing  quottttioBi£mn 
^9^' 01iMsaiy. 

yi^at  J9  tjlie  ^}gjffi  x>f  ibis  yflmm^l  CQpt>imti9ni 


2»: 
least  it  is  6f  long  standing. 


S»t-*Yet»  like  three  bkM  beaito  k,  •  lOeei  Madded  ftMjhi' 
Uaddefy  rattle. 


mcy' 

That  putting  all  bb  words  together^ 
T^tme  Mue  beims  in  om  4Shie  biiKM(Br.* 

OmIu  I.  V.  «fl' 

Thus  far  Nares.  To.llus  1  hat«  to  a«ld>  tinriCr 
^'^HMtfMtie  betos  in  a  bluft  bkddi^i.  r^tlte  bltfd- 
dcr^retllef'-'-thRM  .rtpeated^  is  aiMdW^a  froUclc^ 
Boote :BOii<)r6«ff(>tkt;sMbi»biQlh  te:!  oa*  BeebUeM^ 
and  is  still  frequently  heard*. 

Beast.  . :  A  •huUockr  o£t.an|r..descripttioa — not  I 
tUnk.a.buU. :  *'A  cow^beasf' — a  cow  fattening 
for  the  buto^*^m)i  when  in  jnuOUbor  breeding. 

Begun.  A  home-^a  place  to.^  tn.  *'IfI 
cotdd.but.gi$,a.(eeM^,I  can.iislierate  loM.tdy^^*' 
I  will  liere  agaJ9  note  ihat-wheie  worils  occur, not 
readU|f  underslood  by.  the  Umnffiiflked.  reader,  •  he 
is  to  take  them,  as  Buffoieuma  and.  is  referred  i% 
such  words  in  this  4:(rflectkm..#  See  therefore  FisU'* 

BRATB. 

BsESTiKi^  iThe  TDSSk.  of  the.firiftt  1^6/  or  milk- 
ing after  a  cow  have  calved.  It  is  then  reckoned 
liet  fit  for  use.  Dr.  Mftvof  iil  a  note  oti  a  pai^i^e 
lA  Ttisser-^  whc^  ho>ivev'er  does  not  tise  the  word — 
says  *'  BedsHHgs,  or  milk  imniediiltely  after  cslvhlg/> 
In  Scottisli  '<  BeUt,  BifUtgn;  the  first  milk  of  a 
cdw  affef  iht  has  Miftd.    Aftg.  Satx.  b^<Ht\  hi^U ; 


24 
Teut.    iMti,   Kete*»efeft,  (cokMtnun.)*'  J.    See 

3BEZUNS. 

Beetle.  A  large,  heavy,  wooden  hamaer, 
liooped  with  iron  roand  its  heads,  and  studded  all 
OTcr  with  nails,  for  the  purpose  chiefly  of  riomg 
wood  (See  Rite)  with  iron  wedges.  In  Scotland 
an  article  of  the  same  sort  is  called  Bittle.  See 
Pirate,  I.  128.  Tusser,  in  his  catalogue  of  farm- 
ing implements  has  a  plough-beetle.  See  under 
Gk>OF.  verse  11.  and  note. 

'<  BiUill--9L  b^etle^a  heavy  mallei.''  Scottish  J. 
Nares  describes  *'a  three  man  beetle,"  a  figure  of 
which  is  delineated  in  the  Supplement  to  Shake<> 
speare.  Vol.  I.  p.  190. 

If  I  do,  fillip  me  with  a  three-man  beetle. 

Hen.  4.  P.  S.  I.  S. 

Beezlins.  The  milk  of  the  third  or  fourth 
fneal,  or  milking,  after  calving.  It  is  then  particu- 
larly sweet  and  thick,  and  is  deemed  strengthening 
by  rustics.    It  is  also  called  BeezHn  milk. 

It  is  I  suppose  this  description  of  milk  that  is 
alluded  to  in  these  lines  of  Ben  Johnson  in  his  Pan's 
Anni^'crsary — as  quoted  by  "Nares — 

So  may  the  first  of  all  oar  fells  be  thine» 
And  both  the  betttning  of  our  goats  and  kine. 

But  the  learned  Archdeacon,  gives  **  Beestning 

or  Beesting  as  the  iirst  milk  given  by  a  cow  or 

other  milch   beast.     A   rustic  word,    sometimes 

made  in  biesting^  and  even  bresting.''*    Gl.     Such 

first  meai  or  milking,  we  caU  ficestins,  v<\v\c\v  ?,^^» 


*fisGbKS.  ^Woth,  aged,  tkeiQred;  *^]ie  timtrU 

Beholden.  OWged-^ikvored.  ^^lonthtkhe- 
'MSen  to  em.'' 

"ite^iT^  -'Bents.  BnmcN.  Bsntleb.  -Vese 
is  B  coarse  unprofitable  frass— 4he  triiieum  jwt- 
^um.    Both  word  and  weed*  for  it  ir  little  better, 

areweH  known' beyofld-SafioUc^  where- it  is  indif* 
ferentlycalled^eiitandjffeiUy.   ''BeMei,'ianB$aat 

given  to  ;|be.l9.w^8iM^4y  fl^^ttj|hjl?«d^p^  the  sea 
^||^re,,f|0^ilM|a»i,|^f  j(^4g^iurdr^i^^,l^ap^ 
Hto»  «*teMriJilW*»vff  |fce^u^,(5|^t,  ^^^i«:n,,a|)d 

Ibreed  ap  by  winds  j^  ;wajKps,^  wh^r^^pt^^  J^ut 
Jt^KO^seji^yJgfftt^f^t;ffSlfa,J^^  gfow. 

♦iP«Mt«WMge.  :  ^«Hppf>s€^^he  ^^e  is.  naip^d.fl^r  ifM 
-only  «?»p.  j'Jhis^^i^wJi^stil^  t^ard— 

The  dow  sh^.^w  jao  ^rn^w  know. 
Until  she  d ew' a  "terrff n  go.  '-"  "^ 

'That  is,  ontil-  otberc  food  failing,  she  behferced 
to  betake  hcMcif  to  'the  seeding  ^enHes,  where 
she  finds  but  scurvy* fere. 

"Bent  is  a~  Scottish  word, 

T)ie  breexe  that  treMblea- thcough  the  whkt\\ng  bmtt. 

.  ijqifUniificenti  of  Infancy, 

Bent  or  &«rr,  on  the  N.>W.  coast  e£  England, 
and  especially  in*  Lancashire,  is  a  coarse  re^y 
ahnib — like  Ours  ^pyBrhap.s-:-^^  ^ome  J^piportance 
formerly,  if  not  now,  on  the  sandy  blonJiPSif^dA 
of  those  cqiiMijti^.  lis,  fibrosis  roots^  give  i^ome  co- 
hesion to  the  silieioifs  soil,  *  By  the  1&  M^^i^* 
//.  c^  33.  'ffplackingup  ^^ijC9at^f%^  •w«3  Start 


26 


or  Bmii»  or  hamg  it  in  po88es8ipiv.<i^t^  ^^^ 
Millet  of ,  the  9fiiid  .^141b,"  was  ponishal^le  by  fine, 
iaqpriflofiment,  and  whipping. 

Lookii^  into  Walker^s  Dictionary  I  jGnd  "  B^ 
frass  '*^^Muid  "  Renting  time "' — the  latter  explaii^ 
MS  *'The  time  when  pigeons  feed  on  Bentt,  before 
pease  are  ripe.''    - 

And  in  Ray  i  find  the  saw  above  recorded  (as  | 
anjqposed  for  the  first  time)  with  a  slight  alteration- 

The  pidgeoa  never  knoweth  wo. 

But  when  she  doth  a  bentmg  go.  p.  S8. 

It  wonld  appear  from  the  same  authority,  that 
in  the  north,  Benis  are  called  Wrimgle-ttreai  and 
IRndfe-tfmiof.    E.  W.  p.  OT. 

It  may  not  be  altogether  unnecessary  to  remnrlL 
that  the  pigeon  we  call  Dow,  for  JDooe;  we  make 
It  rhyme  to  haw,  though  we  give  it  a  lengthetfi^ 
drawling  soimd — deaw,  or  deeyaw,  especially  iifhcn 
it  is  a  final  word.    See  Dow. 

Bestow.  To  put  away — to  place — to  dispose 
of*^to  stow  away.  '*  Where  did  yow  bestow  that 
there  hahm?" — Also  putting  a  woman  to  bed, 
'^She  yf^Bbetiowed  last  week."  In  the  first  sense 
we  find  the  word  in  Macbeth — 

We  hear  our  bloody  coasins  are  butimtd 
In  England  and  in  Ireland    III.  1. 

And  in  Hamkt,  who  having  killed  Polonious,  says^ 

I  will  dettoio  him»  and  will  answer  well 
Jhfi  death  I  gave  him.    III.  4. 

Again— 

Where  the  body  is  bestowed,  mv  Lord, 
We  caxmot  get  from  him.    lb.  IT.  S. 

Again— 

^    Cqne»  aiy  Loid,  we  will  he$i9to  yon  m  some  better  place, 
ntter  tot  dcuesty  sad  for  cnkj  age.    K.  Een\  6.  in.  S. 


I 

X 

I 

i 


Agaia  is  Letr-^- 

Come,  frther»  FU  ieieM  yo*  villi  •  ftiend.  IT.  «. 
Tasser  uses  the  word,  in  his  directions  for  dis" 
poAkg  of  newly  sawn  boarding,  with  sticks  inter^ 
posed  that  it  may  season. 

Bestow  it  and  stick  it,  and  lay  it  aright,     p.  SS. 

And  all  manner  of  straw  and  litter  about  a  ferm- 
yttfd 

In  pii,  full  of  water,  the  same  to.  bettoMK 

Where  l^-ing  lo  rot,  thereof  profit  may  grow."  p.  50. 

Bever.  The  afternoon  mack  of  harvest-men  and 
other  workers.  It  is  probably  derived  from  the 
French  ftotfvetfr,  a  drinker,  or  from  the  Italian  bevere, 
to  drink — or,  to  go  farther,  all  from  the  Latin  it- 
bere;  and  ought,  therefore,  and  perhaps  usually  is, 
confined  to  a  whet, — Bever,  1  take  to  be  the  same 
thing,  astheybrzei — that  b  taken  about  4  P.  M.  In 
more  carnivorous  <iays  it  may  have  been  a  time  of 
meat,  and  the  word  may  be  deducible  from  Beeve, 

Beef. 

If,  as  noticed  under  Costard,  we  have  a  num- 
ber of  designations  for  the  head,  and  under  Aint, 
that  we  have  not  a  few  significant  of  offence  thereto 
— so  have  we  no  reason  to  complain  of  any  lack  of 
terms  to  distinguish  one  of  its  most  agreeable  and 
important  operations — namely,  eating  or  feeding. 
.  It  is  amusing — not,  indeed,  strictly  so  in  the  se* 
quel  to  all  parties  perhaps — but  it  is  still  sometimes 
amusing,  at  least  to  witness,  the  practices  of  a  set  of 
joum^men  and  apprentices  (carpenters,  bricklayers. 
Sec)  turned  into  a  gentleman's  house — par  eoiample 
— onder  reparation  or  embellishment*    If  they  have 


Ihctr  fiill  ^^ing,  88  18— or  used  to  be  ffQmetmi^  tl^ 
case — one  •  cannot  easily,  fancy^-^'^on  this  side  tfi^ 
moon'' — many  more  pleasant,  social,  or  agjreesbjle^ 
assemblages.    We  wUl  not  here  speak  of  toork^  h^^ 

* 

more  especially,  of  food;  for  bein^.sofar  from4um^. 
the  Ge^mlemanf^—oTy  better  and  better  still — the  No^^, 
hkmm^^%M£.  his  $te%r|ii^,  m  view  to  cconemyiin  timlr 
— iYvsX  most  valuable  of  all  commodities — allows  tktm 
theirmeals-thzt ii^linprimis^-^hnfkUst,  about eigbt,^ 
if  the  servants  be  up  in  time — if  not  the  woiJcmeHf 
as  we  must  for  distinction  call  them — will  accommo*- 
datingly  wait  in  the  hall.  Item — the  ^levener — this» 
as  the  sound  implies,  is  the  interstitial  «nacA  between^ 
tljc  prime  and  llie  next — Item — noonins  which,.  als». 
eaplaiping  itself,  is  a  ternary  mid-day  mouthful,,  be^ 
fore  the  ser.raiits  dine ;  which  may  be  reckoned — (as 
it  is  wholesomest  to  make  a  pretty  equal  distributioa 
of  time) — about  two  o'clock,  when  the  family  orei 
out.  Item — the  fourzes.  (we  pass  over  dinner  as 
a  thing  of  course).  Our  "  copious  rliel'ric" — i»  not 
c(^piim$  merely — but,  like  our  feeding,  is  emphatic 
or  expressive,,  combining  sense  with  sound — (p0t 
^notnatopoeifm  as  the  learned  call  it.  The  reader 
will  pardon  the  omission'  of  Greel^  type  on  this  ^<mm# 
subject.)  It  is  therefore  scarcely  necessary  ta  not* 
that  foorxes  refers  to  the  seasonable  return  oi.  4 
P.  M .  Perhaps  Bever''--Lun€h^Nmngbr'^w[kd  iVaisr. 
sAtm,  may  iacoguatioa,  belong  to  the  same  intarest^ 
ing  period-^but  I  am  not  fMy  initiated  ia  tliia 
specious  Q{free>  numm^i  or  they  m^  hjj  possihilkjp^ 


2ff 

em  MMTt&f  toiKmt  iU^Jbe  Mpiumfe  or  speeyie  va^ 
lieties  of  the  ffmetia  all-important    operation  of 
FUDINO.     tf  the  ieeond  table  of  a  nobleman's  or' 
gentleman's  family  dine  at  five  or  six.  *tis  hard  if 
acne  of  the  operative  individuals  in  question  may 
not  cut  in  for  something  nieiih,  or  a  glass  of  ale  or 
wine    or  as  the  Ltnmamen  call  it»  nmetking- short ;' 
but  it  would  not  be  discreet  to  **make  emmt  on  itJ*' 
If,  IB  addition  to  these,  the  liberality  of  the  ftmily— or' 
the  consideration  of  the  servants  Tor  their  lord's  re- 
putation, should  superadd  a  bit  of  supper,  good— >- 
'tis  ''behaving  like  a  gentleman.*' — But,  unless  the* 
people  be  really  unreasonable,  it  is  not  expected:  at 
any  rate  not  a  hoi  supper;  except,  indeed,  on  Satur- 
days^ or  on  the  commencement  or  completion  of  any 
important  or  particular  or  interestini;  process  of  the 
job.     The  gentleman   must  however  look   pretty 
closely,  or  he  will  be  lucky  if  there  be  not  a  line  in 
the  master's  bill  for  Lawans^  or  so  much  in  the 
pound  on  the  gross  wages  of  the  indtutrioMs  work"- 
mem,  for  beer. 

Let  us  now  endeavour  to  enumerate — omitting 
the  regular  breakfast,  dinner,  and  occasional  supper,, 
which  all  the  world  know  of-^the  various  appella- 
tions by  which  extra  stimuli,  or  their  removal,  are 
distinguished  in  our  parts.  'Levener — Nooiiins— 
Nonsh — Lnnsh — Nunshen — Bever-^(tDhet,  and  bait^ 
and  gmap,  and  snaek^  and  match,  altogether  extra 
interpolations,  need  not  Be  regularly  reckoned ) — and 
Foorzes.     Some  two  or  ^re  of  these  may  be  the 

same,  as  before  noticed:  and  there  may — mercy 

D3 


30 

In  CU«hire  ml  LmcmUn^  Bag^ktffimtk  '^ 
<'  die  time  of  dw  %ft«nioo»  LuikeImciii*'^  W 

Honest  old  Tusiet  djA  »oi  ^«ito^  tK«  |i^ai!i>< 
tifdk^  of  wolkoMn  in  the  «i^<(l«-  ^  4tiet«  t  woiM- 
not  be  iuiden»toodi  in  utrhet  I  asiy  nadk  qneW»  iy» 
itfen^iAg  '^wiUi  disdeiafiil  inuk*  the  lo«g  ami 
a9»ple  ftediAg*  of  the  poov'^-^if  I  ma^^  lie  eSofn^ 
so  to  parody  a  Uuk,  Qm/e  &Mt  Uae^  Would  it 
tvetfe  qnfde  to  &U  \  Let  u«  not  &)rg«t  tbe  iyqioiriMeo 
of  th«  wattev  to  those  wboae  pleasure*  are  few^  apA 
not  ioteiHeotttak 

Thqugh  aeirer  s(rfnxK;h  ^  gqo4  &i«iwi£9  (Ip  c^re^ 

That  sttch  as  do  labour  have  husbiindlj  fare  ; 

ITet  £eed  them*  snd  ^ni  them*  tUt  parte  M  lacl  okial^ 

No  spoon-meat  no  betly-Cnil»  labourers  think.  Tutser,  p.  13i. 

Po^s  he  meMi  that  they  expect  to  be  grouted 
after  all? 

Nared  in  his  ctirious  and  valuable  Gloi^ary  gives 
a  dHferent  meaning,  as  to  the  timfif  from  what  ob- 
tains in  Suffolk,  '*  Sever f  n  and  v,  Aq  intenne- 
diate  refreshment  between  breakfast  and  dinner^ 
From  bever^  to  drink ;  Span,  and  Ital. 

AppetituSt — Yeur  gallants  nerer  sup,  break fasfy    nor  hever 
Kriihout  me.  Lingua,  iHd  Fla^  V.  149. 

He  is  none  ef  those  same  ordin^rjr  eaters,  %hfi.\  will 
devour  three  breakfasts,  and  ds  raanj  dinners,  without  any  pre- 
ju<Kce  to  their  ft«verr,  drinkingsy  or  suppers. 

B.  and  Ft.  Wcm.  Ha$er,  I.  3; 

In  a  Sermon  priisted  in  1Q217,  ei^titled  ''The 
Widk  of  Faith,"  this  passage  oecurs — *'  Why  should 
nolt  the  Soul  have  her  due  driuki^,  breakfasts^ 
meals,  under-n^eals,  hvert,  and  after-meals,  an 
well  as  the  Body  r*; 


> 


m 

I 


3\ 

BszuB.  To  drioh  gceedUy.  Htfipily  com- 
pounded  of  beast,  and  guzale,  Tbe  ivord  like  the 
pmcUoe  i»  «tt4  la  Nare^  we  h»ve  £iez7/e  of  ^iafe» 
t^  4mk  t»  exceed.     Todd  derives  it  from  old 

*       w*SfcMkt»  I  wonder  lio«r  the  inside  of  a  tayer^  looks 
now.  Oh !  when  shall  I  Htle,  hhle  f      Honett  Whure,    Part  S. 

Time  fviff  conte 
When  wonder  of  tbj  error  will  striie  damb. 
Tbj  ^etd'd  lense.  Malcimimt.  Old  PI.  IV.  4f . 

i.e.  thy  besotted  understanding. 

That  divine  part  Is  soakt  awaj  in  slnne^ 
IHkiCOWMlkhMta  and  »Mn\gj»i  beaeUt^. 

MartfoiCi  Scourge  of  V.  Lib.  II.  SaU  7. 

It  is  also  used  9s  a  substantive ;  a  drunkard  be- 
ing called  "foule  drunken  bezzle^  Skinner  says 
perhaps  for  keaj^h,  i.e.  to  make  a  beast  of  one's 
self^**  Gl.  It  is  but  seldom  heard  in  Suffolk,  in  tbis 
sense — ^bvt  sinqe  this  article  was  in  the  press  I  heard 
the  word  used  in  that  of  to  ^eve/,  or  to  slope;  in  re- 
ference, not  to  the  deviation  from  the  perpendicu- 
lar^  or  the  gradual  diminution  of  the  thickness  of  a 
wall;  ^  is  commonly  understood  by.^e^; — but 
referring  to  a  set-off ,  or  immediate  diminution  of 
its  thickness. 

Bib.  a  child's  chin-cloth«  or  pinafore*  *I^c 
first  is  called  slaveren-bib. 

BiBBLE.  To  Tipple — BMle,  in  Scottish.  J. 
The  etymology  is  obvious — from  bibere,  to  drink. 
Lat.  **  Bibbeler  or  Bibber,  one  who  drinks  often.** 

I  uerceivc  von  are  no  great  hyjbler,  ( |.  c    reader   of 
the  Bible  )  Pauphilo; 

Fkn.— Yea^  8if^  *si  excellent  good  kibbeler,  'upeciallj  Uk  a 
hoUU.         *  GiUCinenfi't  Worha,  5^.  C.  1.  Narei'  G. 


32 

Bibb.    Abide — stay — stop — ?rait.   "  Dew  yeow 
hide  there  till  X  cum  tec  ye." 

BiEST.  The  burr,  or  wen-like  protuberance,  on 
the  stem  of  growing  trees — also  figuratively  any 
small  excrescence  or  protuberance.  It  sounds  like* 
a  good  expressive  word,  and  such  a  one  is  wanted 
in  its  place  in  our  language.^  It  seems  compounded 
of  bidl  and  bunt, 

BiG-iND.  The  greater  part.  "The  Hig-ind  of 
an  hour."  I  note  this  as  a  Suffolcism  from  having 
heard  it  only  once,,  and  that  since  this<  work  was- 
in  the  press.  It  was  applied  by  a  landlady  to  the 
expected  arrival, of  a  stage  coach.  **  'T'ont  be 
here  for  the  big-ind  of  an  hour." 

Bill.    A  curved  iron  long-handled  implement 
for  brushing  fences — then  called  a  brush-bilL    The 
short  handled  tool  commonly  called  hook,  is  sbme-^ 
times  called  biU-hook,  from  having  a  projectii^g, 
hook  like  the  bill  of  a  bird,  for  catching  and  re- 
taining bushes.     Tusser  has  the  word  bill,  and  it 
is  not  I  believe  local.    See  under  Goof,  verse  8.^ 
and  note. 
Bine-bine.    Bye  and  bye.    ' 
BiNG.    A  binn.     Chm  bing,  chaff  bing,;  reeep* 
tades  for  those  articles. 

Binn.  The  receptacle  for  loose  (unsacked)  com,, 
chaff,  &c.  "A  com  bin."  **The  chaff-bin."  See 
Bing. 

BiNND.  A  bind-^any  thing  to  tie  up  a  bundle 
witb*— particularly  hazle,  or  bramble  for  bavtn9>~^ 
or  what  shoves  of  wheat  or  beans  are  bound  up 


I 


38 

iHthi  ''Wufo  bkHtd^r  a.  ooblei^  Mmki^i  HvtmA^ 
The  word'  it:  sameliitteft  pnuMMiAoedi  JSiaiir  ilii  tliv 
usual  mode* 

BlBBDP'BOkRlf KK  TStegoUHi  bug.  S^e^ BUR- 
KitBBS.  la-Taswi^StteB  umwelooittBr  giie8t»iiiitb» 
dauyt—Us.  enuneratea  ''theBttfaop  that  haniatii!' 
({ip.  Iii0^  144v)  m.a»  aaMguoiia  way-,  whioh  -hia 
eaaaafioMxnrdoBB  not  render  at  ailj  clean  T  mnnor 
heard  of  this  calumniated  insect  being  an»  unwalf 
eonm  ^nes^  mi  Hie  dBirj>— but  Bikhop-bame^  or 
bmBBcy^.  aBdiBniiabaey.  oe  Bbnmbeo,  andiBiriM^ 
tlnifr'faunietil — seem^  inthe absence  o£-«(plan8lioai 
lai  het  nsariy  vdated^— in'Soand  atany  ratck  Uad#r 
BiAOViiBna-ifewilk  b».  aaen  thob  lmrm$t^  heac  sMi^ 
comieetioft  witk  th»  hiatoojM  o&thit  pnttyj  iaseoti 

BukBBUU  Idly  taUnng^*«-bid>MiBgK.-<duiittoriog. 
To  blab — ^to  leir  oa^  tu  saovafek 

Bljucs-xacx.  Xh^-  laatyydt  tiamug,  commonly 
so^caBtedL-afin^  ./acii:.    So  Tusser — 

TrmmLdktmJb^bamsljt.  nttdny^  not  tDtIaok« 

Wliere  ttune  is  no  JMter^  take  tankard  ai|d  jfiQk»  Q*  t^ 

It  is  probable  that  iheMiaek-japk  vfasform^i^  of 
leathec — of  which  bombard,  was  another  name  j^,  or 
another  sort  of  veft^el.  I,  surmise  this.  from,  v^  ]^-> 
sage  cited  by  Nares  from  Shirley's  IVbrty^d 
.Soldier— 

Hb  boots  as  widhB  as  the  hlock-jtuiht 

Or  bombards  tossed  b^^  the  King's  guard«i^ 

BiiiucKi-sujKwiv^.  Puddingy  usnuijly  BpMide  in* 
»kini — liue^^  dusCiagpreUient  is.  til^e  Uood  of  swiao* 

EUJOtf «  Aaoia.oB  Um  8kia--»n<|t  i%w^  ^ook^^ 
explains  Blamy  as  ''a  painful  PvsAoc  i^ore."    Bu^. 


34 

with  us  a  Pmih,  is  a  gatlidriii^  of  matter, '  with  in- 
ftamation — a  blain  rather  a  snpeHicial  affection— 
Chill-blain,  is  generally  known. 

BtAMB.  .An  imfireGatory  word,  of  which»  m 
mitigated  force»  we  have  rather  ;a  copious .  aasosl^ 
ment,  as  noticed  under  Ajcbmdbn.  ^Blmme^mt 
if  I  dont '— «a'U  be  Mmaud  if  I  dew"-r^«r«  «9V^ 
dently  commendable  softenings  of  vary  prophanc 
phrases* 

Blarb.  Blorr*  To  cry  atovd-^^  What' i 
hharem  yow  dew  keqp** — ^said  to  a  moaning  ornois) 
child.  Bhre  is  rather  applicable  to  the  moaning 
of  a  eow  after  her  severed  calf — one  of  the  dis^ 
mallest  oi  rural  sounds :  or  of  the  wennel  after  hei 
data :  but  both  worda  sure  in  c<Hnnum  use.' 

The  first  is  not  wholly  ours.  Elton  in  a  trans* 
lation  from  Claudian  introduces  it— 

>M  a  soldier  irtarted-  at  the  hUtre 


Of  trampetf..  Specmen$*  IL  Sf3. 

The  words  seem  a  combination  in  sound  and 
sense  of  hellom  and  roar.  In  German,,  bkterr-^  is 
of  9nport  similar  fb  our  blare. 

Blast.  Wheat  mildewed  or  blighted,  is  said 
to  have  got  the  blast,  or  tu  be  blasted. 

BLAZiiS.  Used  as  a  vulgar  comparison  for  any 
thing  done  very  4|uickly  or  furiously.  **'A  ride 
like  bUutes" 

Blind.  Infertile  blossoms,  of  the  strawberry, 
gooseberry,  apple,  &c.  are  said  to  be  blind.  Also 
a  nut  without  a  kernel.  In  Cheshire  the  latter  is 
said  to  be  deaf.  W. 


35 

BtiNOHOB4    Hie  game  of  bibd'Hian'f-biiflr. 

EUNi>-woRM.  More  commonly  called  the 
SimoHoarm,  which  see. 

Bliss.  Bless^  Blissed,  blessed.  I  had  put 
this  among  oar  other  ordinary  corrupt  substitu- 
iioiMi  of  i  for  e  as  noticed  under  Aninnd,  bnt  I 
find  IB  Nares  that  we  might  quote  some  authority 
for  die  word  in  question. 

**  BlUt  for  fileH.  This  b  one  of  the  liberUe*. 
Ihoi^ht  allowable  in  the  sixteenth  century  for  the 
sake  of  rhyme. 

And  now  the  ground  he  kist 
Wherein  it  writtea  wa99  and  how  himself  he  bHit, 

bpetKcr^  IV.  vii.  4G. 

That  he  bad  fled,  long  time  he  never  wisty 
But  when  far  run  he  had  discoverM  it, 
UiBtelf  for  wondef  with  iiii  hand  he  blitt. 

Faiff.  TawK  sUl  29. 

Bix>B.  A  blunt  termination  to  a  thing  that  is 
usually  more  pointed.  A  parrot's  tongue  is  said 
to  be  Blob-indid  or  to  have  a  Blob  end.  A  person 
who  by  biting  his  or  her  naib,  injure  the  shape  of 
the  fingers,  would  be  called  Blob-Jinger'd.  **  'As 
fingers  ar  naun  but  Bhbt"  The  word  is  some- 
I  ^  times  applied  hyperboUcally  to  a  blunt  needle  or 
pin. 

Blood-alp.    The  bnU-finch.    See  Alp. 

Blossom.    A  ewe,  when  mom  a/>p6/eii«.     ^*  * 

Blown-herring.  So  called,  it  is  said,  be- 
cause  they  are  sold  by  retail,  when  only  partly 
cured,  from  having  been  blown  off  their  strings  by 
wind.  In  Scotland,  Blawn-codf  seems  to  have 
obtained  its  name  similarly.  J. 


^r  vegf^Me.    ^^eix^  povmd-6f  hkw§^  to*  t«ir>g4itoiii 
iof  water/'  is  the  receipt 'fer  *4Hmilip  -^^^iiglc 
"wine. 

HfttimT.    "At  l0p9/it^«iir'^ev^niyftaMPa}f^«llt 
i6f theimiid'ivitliodt^spUiiiing ^'^MMtVadMiiifr  ^ 
forget  if  there  be  much  ^rmny  4iiRer(»etf  b^lnWWU 
^a'^Bfon^o&d'a  JfilMf/^n^s  miitler. 

^BttJflTCR'-'Wdi^D.  '-Thefchoot^^f'^riiit^^iiMvaMr 
shrubs  that  require  to  be  pruned  otit.  '/Q/iii*ji4t 
not  have  been bkuUdor  dead  waod»  oj^igividly ? 

BLiriroi^BLtv.    Believe.     "IbiuvnuW    I  be- 
lieve not. 

Bob,  '•**BeBra-tei/'-^l^«  brisk,  • -Aliare  to  sfoop. 
—In'  the*  latter  sense  it  is  more  commonly  pro- 
nounced Bcp — tvhich  see,  "  Bear  a  bob,**  is  also  a 
^"Cheshire  phrase.  W.  Sob,  with  «s  aAd  perhaps 
in  other  couhties,  is  'the  pear-shaped  piece  of  lekd 
'at  Ike  end  of" th^  line  6f  a  carpenters  orvin^dii's 
'  level. 

'Sometimes  it  is  us^d  iil'the  sense  of  a  blow'  or 
smack,  particularly  on^lhe  motifth.  *  "A  Ihbi'^tht 
chops," — Perhaps  Tusser  uses  it  in  this  sense, 
when  d^tailiiig;  the  miseries  of  school, 

Q  painfal  tune!  for  every  come, 
'What  touzed  ears,  like  baited  bears! 
i'Wbftt  4fobbeA.lipg,  iwliat>>eik8«  fubat  olps !  •>  p;  ^S. 

^  Jerks/  and  nips,  are  still  woVds  afid  acts  vdth  us. 
'BOBBISH. '  Well-^heartyJ-bifsk.   '  ITie  saiiMi  in 
Cheshire,  W, 


37 

"Bobbery.  Noise^  tumult,  disturbance — t  roto. 
)  liave  certaiuly  heard  this  word  several  times  lately 
'out  of  true  Suffolk  mouths,  but  cannot  think  of  it 
t^therwise  than  of  recent  import ;  for  it  is  in  conunon 
and  extensive  use  in  India  in  exactly  the  same  sense* 
It  is.thelre  used  in  somewhat  of  a  quaint  vulgar  way;, 
and  is  not  a  dictionary  w6rd,  though  its  derivation 
may  be  easily  traced  in  the  languages  of  the  East. 

Bod.  Bid — bade — offered.  ^'I  bod  em  tew 
shiilings  fort."  So,  rod  for  rid.  In  Scottbh  bode, 
and  io  German,  bot,  have  the  same  meaning. 

Bodge.  Doing  any  thing  unskilfully,  or  in  an 
unworkmanlike  manner.  Bod^tn-bunglingly.  ''Dew 
!it  kiender  tidily  now,  an  dont  make  a  bodge  ont." 

Thus  Shakespeiire 

With  this  we  charged  again ;  but,  (hit,  alas! 
We  bodged  again,  asl  have  seen  a  ISiikn 
'With  bootless- labour  swim  against  the  tide. 

A*  Hon,  '6.  p.  3*  I«  4. 

We  also  use  ifotch,  which  is  I  suppose,  a  varied 

i     proDunciatton.    So  does  Shakespeare. — Dr.  Johnson 

I     thinks  bodge  in  the  above  passage  a  misprint  for 

budge.    But  in  Suffolk  we  at  ooce  recoguize  H^as  aii 

expressive  appropriate  word.  ' 

It  18  not  well  iDended--it  Is  but  kdtched,    T.  <ifA,  IV.  3. 

Bo K  B.  Bulk — body-^mass.  **  The  boke  o*  the 
load" — the  swell  qk  protuberant  part  of  a  loadf  of 
com  in  the  straw,  or  of  hay.  "Great  boke'oteatB** 
means  mueh  straw  compared  with  the  probable  pro* 
duce  of  grain.  '*  Ta  rise  well  according  to  the  bake' 
«iea«8  that  the  mass  or  bulk  of  straw  yields  weU  at 

^e  threshing* 

is 


38 

lo  Ray*s  Proverbs  is  this — 

•.(  ,6tidtb6tchevifi« to, the  trout— 

.  My  head  *8  worth  all  thjr  bouk,    p.  40. 

The  chevin.  Cocker  says,  is  the  '*Chub — t  fish 
with  a  great  head.*' 

Bowk  b  used  in  Scottish  for  hUk  and  body.  See 
Glossary  to  the  Antiquary.  And  in  Tales  of  my 
Landlord,  drd  S.  II.  22p,  this  phrase  occurs  ** Bon- 
nie bowk  of  a  man's  body/'  And  again  in  p.  248. 
''  Down  he  fell,  wi  a  his  bowk  abune  me/'  In  tFa- 
meison  many  similar  meanings  are  given  of  Bouk  and 
Bulk.  He  derives  them  from  the  Teutonic  beuck,' 
truncus  corporis. 

It  appears  to  be  archaic— ^for  Rowley  ( i.  e.  Chat- 
terton )  in  the  Tragedy  of  Goddwyn,  uses  it  in  the 
sense  of  body, 

Goe  to — goe  to — you  do  ne  nnderstonder— 
They  yeave  mee  lyffe ;  and  did  mie  bowkU  kepe. 

Perhaps  Swift's  "  beggar's  brat  on  bulk  begot  "— 
refers' rithet  to  the  exposed  boards  in  front  of  stalls 
htshopi.-^Bulk'heads  on  ship  board  ar^  the  dinsioM 
between  cabins,  store-rooms,  or  difierent  parts  of 
the  ship:  but  I  do  not  know  that  boards  of  an^ 
description  are  any  where  called  baulks,  or  by  any 
name  approaching  to  the  sound  of  the  word  liow 
tinder  consideration.-  See  Bauk* 
^  'Nares  has  **Bnlk,  body— fitom  the  Dutch  buleke, 
thorax/' 

■ 

-  ^  'Bat  smotfaerM  it  within  my  panting  bulk*    Bich.  3^  1^  4. 

'    BoLB.    The  stem  of  a-  tree.  'We  seem  to  bave 

)ocM}isiDS  for  divers  parts  of  this  glory  of  i^sti«iiy» 

As  well  as  bole  we  call  the  stem  ox  tmsk  Vbavv^^ 


30 

^p— the  large  branches  toron^t — the  iPMjlef^Pintbia 

^tter-busJte9 — the    lower    smalt    braocbei  iceiib- 

honghs — the  crooked  parts^  €f«fefte»r~sbort  prc^emtiag 

stunted  shoots,  ^pan-^knoth  W^sis— r|he  hvi!k,ipill 

— ^branches  lopped  ofiV.f#otreii#.— -Among  bis  nortii 

cooDtry  words  Ray  has  *' Hie  Boll  of  a  tre^  the 

body  of  a  tree»  as  a  thom-boUt.jkfi..,  BoHimg  trees. 

18  used   in  all  countrieB  for   pollard  trees,    whvee 

beads  and  branches  are  cut  off  and  only  the  bodies 

left*''  E..W.  p.  1^.   ,See  Poi^jLAED.,.  .  „> 

BoNNKA.  Large-^trapping-r^appliedMto:  yfloag 
persons,  especially  girls.  Similar  to,  'Swti€^m*^t^ 
Whacken.  ''What  a  Bannka  that  there  wiomtha 
dew  grow." 

Can  this  phrase  in  the  following  quotation  from 
the.  old  marriage  ceremony  used  in  and  before,  the 
time  of  Richard  the  2d,  have  any  reference  to 
B0imka  in  its  Suffolk  sense  l  '*  Iche  N*  take  the  M* 
to  my  weddid  husbond  to  havn  and.  to  b<4den."  dsc; 
^fprbettur  for.wora'*  &c  ^tohehamekandlrnxom 
at  bed  and  at  horde,  tyl  detheV  Scc.^.  ...  n<<     ^iv. 

Boodle.  The  com  marygold — Chnftanthemum 
fagehim.  It  is.  a  great  plague  to.  farmers— <the 
greatestt  according  to  Tusser,  in  these  lines— ^ 

The  May- weed  doth  bum,  and  the  thistle  doth  fret* 
The  fitches  pull  downward  both  rye  and  thewheat ;    ..} 
The  brake  and  the  cockle,  l>e  noisome  too  much. 
Yet  like  unto  hoodie^  no  weed  there  is  such.     p.  152. 

■  " » 

Tb<^  May-weed  is  still  known  by  that  name* 

BooLK.    See  Bfltf^ocK. 

BooNCH    A  buacb.    So  poonch  for  pnncVi.    Iti 

K.2 


40 

compeDsaf ion  we  sat  brum  for  broom ;  tuff  for  reof< 
&c.    See  BvTE8. 

BooNDLE.    A  bundle. 

Bopp.  To  bow  the  head-^sloop.  **  It  sah*- 
Gran-paa!  ded  yeow  see  that  there  guse  hap  under 
thegatewah?**— ''Aab— Jim  baw." 

Bap  is  2X\io  father — as  it  is  likewise  {Bap,  or 
Bawp)  in  some  East  India  dialects. 

BoR  DS  R .  This  wooldy  perhaps,  be  the  regular  way 
of  spelling  the  word,  by  which  we  often  designate 
mkum:  but  as  it  is  commonly  called  Bawda,  I  have 
given  the  explanation  under  that  word. 

Bosky.    Tipsy. 

BaTCH.    See  Bodge. 

BouD.  Rhyming  to  loud,  a  weevil.  The  in- 
sect that  injures  grain  and  flower  and  malt  in  milts 
and  granaries.  Such  grain  is  said  to  he  baud  toMu 
In  Rees'  Cyclop.  1  find  **  Bauds — the  epithet  under 
which  the  weevil  is  distinguished  in  some  counties," 
taken  perhaps  from  Ray,  *' Bauds,  i.e.-  wemis,  an 
insect  breeding  in  malt.  Norf.  Suff.  Essex."  £.  W, 
p.  71.    Thus  in  Tusser 

Good  bread-corn  and  drink-corn,  full  twenty  weeks  kept. 

Is  better  than  new,  that  at  haryest  is  reapt : 

But  foisty  the  bread-corn,  and  bowd-eaten  malt, 

For  health  or  for  profit,  find  noisome  thou  shalt.**    p.  40. 

Best  dried,  best  speeds — lil  kept  bowd  breeds.    258. 

Long  kept  in  ill  soller  (undoubted  thou  sfialt) 

Through  bowds  without  number,  lose  quickly  thy  malt.**  259. 

Solkr  formerlyjeas  in  common  use,  and  meant  an 
upper  appartment — a  loft — it  Iras  been  derived  from 
planum. 


41 

Booiv  ,  A^  iuaif  ia^floiigbing-'»*A  hmU^it.  ^uram, 

or  rather  the  o|Mration.>of.nMliinf  ainrrair.  fJEtar 

bonti  4a  a . yard  ■ '  «tMis  .4bat .  the- 4>lough.i  moves  or 

loins  over  nine  iacb—  iofvgoii  in  ^ch.  bamti  'i<  * .    ■  \ 

■  :  Spve^  ancieiitr people. JMirote.i|»«llM'backwardr.MNl 

/onvard  inanner»«^iiMuiUy  'desoribed- .by  theifiMniliar 

operation  iu  husbandry  ''from  cigbt  toieft  and'fnMn 

left  to  right  as  ploughmen^ trace  Ihein.  furnnm^'-— 

This  met hoi{  wav^B  use  among  the  aneient  Greeks, 

who  called  it  Boustrapkedon  Bowrrfiti^of.     It  bsaid 

to  have  been  disused  about  46(X  B.  C. 

Words  were  sometimes  likewise  read  both  ways-«- 
hence  JDipuc  was  a  name  of  Cupid.  The  most 
perfect  specimen  of  B&ustrapkedott  writing  now  'ex- 
isting is  the  Sigean  inscription  discorered  in  the Troad 
by  Consul  Sherard,  and  published  by  Dr.  Chishull, 
with  an  elaborate  commentary.  '  '  ' 

Anv  one  desirous  to  trace  the  descent  of  the  bifut 
of  the  modem  Suffolk,  ploughman,  from  Xhe  Boui- 
irophedon  of  the  -ancient  Greeks;  may  consult  Plu- 
tarch in  Solon  Vit. — ^Aul.  Gel.  Noc.  Att.  Lib.  Q.  c.  12. 
Astle  on  writing  pp.  70.  7^*  .De  Vdines  Diet;  Raisou. 
deDiplom:     Home's  Bibliog.  1.36.  lO/. 

Bow  KB  or  Bow  BR.  An  arbour-^-being  made  of 
bou§bs — sometimes  BowrU,  Nares,  remarks  that 
hovore  formerly  meant  a  chamber'^Rosamond's  bower 
was  such ;  but  the  word  seems  now  not  to  be  used 
iu  that  sense.  ■^••\ 

BaACKLE.  Brackly.'  Ripe  cora^  especially 
wheats  is  said  to  hrackle,  and  to  ''fare  bracktyf^ 
when,  from  having  quickly  ripened,  or  from  other 


-vtiaei^  dii  stenii  are  brittle,  and  tiN^  diofft  odl^ 
wtAtt  tiie  acUe,  or  the  gleaner's  hand. 

Bkakbs.  The  common  name  for  the  fern  whidt 
ffmws  so  luxuriantly  and  beautifully  oo  poor  aaady. 
toils.  The  Scotch  call  them  brakes — a  very  poet- 
ical word.  Ray  says  that  BrakeB  is  a  wiurd  of  gene- 
:ral  use  all  over  England.  £.  W.  p.  19*  but  I  rather 
doubt  it    Tusser  has  it 

.  A  wieak  for  the  pease»  and  to  swinge  np  the  brake. 

See  under  Goof — verse  14  and  note.    Also  under 
Make.     ** Bracken,    Brechen — the    female  fern — 
.polypodhun  JUix  foemina.  Linn*    In  Sweden  ^oe- 
ken."  J. 

I  am  rather  surprised  at  Nares  saying  that  Brake 
is  a  word  formerly  used  in  many  different  senses,  but 
since  become  obselete  or  little  known,  in  all  but 
that  of  a  thicket  or  tkom-buik.  He  gives  several 
senses;  and  the  lastybnt;  and  adds,  as  the  sense 
now  in  Ube,  a  busk.  Now,  I  was,  and,  indeed,  still 
am,  disposed  to  think  that  the  Brake,  where  the 
word  is  known,  rarely  if  ever,  means  a  husk,  or 
tkom-busk.    Nor  h^Lsfem  that  meaning. 

Brand  or  BaANDEO.  Smutty  corn — from  the 
Dutch  probably — burnt* 

Brank.  Buck-wheat — Polygmnum  fagopiprum. 
**  Brank,  buck -wheat*  Ess.  Suff.  In  some  counties 
of  England  they  caH  it  Crap  J'  Ray.  £.  W.  p.  71. 
Among  his  S.  and  E.  country  words,  he  adds  **Crap, 
Darnel,  Suffolk.  InWorcestersh.  and  other  counties 
they  call  Buck-wheat,  Crap^'  £•  W.  p.  74*  1  never 
heard  it  so  called. 


4» 

* 

filM-KBW.    Quite   new^    siiBiUir  4o  9piek  er 
tpmu    We  say  bran-new^  -as  well  as  brantpun'ttew — 
nd  spoM-new  aod  gpick  an  span  new.     See  under 
tinne  words.     In  Scotland  Brand-new  and  Brent- 
new,   are  tlie.  sanie^    Jameison  says,  as  tpick  and 
^pcn:-— quite  new.. 

Brawn.  A  boar:  as  well  as  the  edible  delicacy 
well  known  by  that  name.  A  boar  is  also  sometiiuefl 
called  a  brimm, 

E&AWTCH.  The  bent  and  twisted  and  pointed 
piece  of  faaasel,  willow,  or  other  flexible  young  twig, 
with  which  thatchers  fix  the  straw  on.  the  roofs  of 
houses,  stacks,  barns,  &c.  In  Cheshire  these  ar« 
ticks  are  more  obviously  called  Tkatdi-prieki,  W« 
To  hrawtch  is  also  to  broach  a  cask,  &c. 
Brat.  To  pound  any  thing  in  a  mortar.  1  find 
by  Nares*  Gl.  that  it  is  from  the  French  braier,  mean- 
ing just  the  same  thing ;  and  it  seems  confined  to  that 
precise  sense.     He  quotes  two  passages— 

•— *  Twonld  grieve  me  to  be  br€ttt*d 
In  a  huge  mortar,  wrought  to  paste,  &c. 

Albumasor,  Old  PI,  VIZ.  161. 
Would  T  were  brwf*d  in  my  own  mortar,  if 
I  do  not  call  th*  in  question  the  next  term. 

Ordinary,  Old  PL  X.  StU 

Break-up.  The  happy  period  of  the  regular 
holidays  of  schoolboys.  *'  When  do  yeow  break-up?  ** 
"  We  broke-up  last  Monday,'* 

Bred.  The  flat,  and  usually  circular,  piece  of 
board  laid  on  a  new  cheese  while  under  pressure.--- 
The  mould  in  which  cheeses  are  made  or  pressed— 
which  is  commonly  turned  out  of  onepiece  .of  woihI 
^-we  call  ya#i  or  cheese-fat-^-or  vat;  the  open  or 


44 

upper  part  of  wbich  is  "somethiiig  larger  tbaii'the 
bmd,  that  .from  its  pressure  into  it,  the  whey  maybe 
squeezed  out  of  the  cheese.  .    « > 

Bredgg.     Bridge — as  noticed  under  Annind*' 
'Brepkust.      Breakfast — used   by  farmers   and 
people  above  the  labouring  class. — So  wap$  for  4ir«|p 
•-^"per  anagrammatismuni'*  as  Ray  says.  See  Shuck« 

Brew.  The  field  side  of  a  ditch — 'the  brii», 
brow,  i>r  berm,  as  elsewhere  called*  See  instaneta 
of  thb.  peculiarity  of  pronunciation  under  BuTBS. 

Brick-noggin.  An  old  strong  mode  of  building 
with  frequent  wooden  right-ups,  or  studds,  filled  m 
between  with  bricks.  It  is  not  wholly  disused — and 
is  sometiipes  called  noggin*  -; 

Brimm.  a  boar.  A  sow  when  mains  appetena^ 
is  said  to  "go  to  brimm,"  or  to  "  be  brimmen.**  Thus 
in  Ray  "  A  sow  goes  to  brimm^^  i.e.  to  boar — of  use 
jdso  in  the  Noith,"   E.  W.  p.  71. 

In  Scottish  wBrim  and  J^reme,  have  cognate^ 
though  not  exactly  similar  meanings.  In  Suffolk,  as 
in  other  parts,  Brim,  as  an  abbreviation  of  brim- 
stone, perhaps^  is  applied  to  a  prostitute.  Females 
of  the  canine  species  are  said  to  be  proud  as  well 
as  mlt,  when  in  this  predicament.  Pembroke  in  his 
Arcadia,  as  cited  by  Nares,  iises  brim  figuratively 
in  the  sense  of  proud;  ov fierce,  as  the  archdeacon 

judges—        Let  not  pride  make  ihee  brim, 

Becaui>e  tiiou  iiast  ihy  lieliow  overgone. 

in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  Brimming  is  used  in 
the  sense  first  given.  W.  / 

Brimming.  Up  to  the  6rt»i-— ^'ni/ic^^.  A^niiH 
mer — a  bumper. 


45 

BltocK.    Tht  kadget  or  badger.  <«'A  stiiik  like- 

t  iroek."    Shakespeare    uses    the  word.    Il  is  a 

MiffaH^ooDtry  name  also,  for  the  animal^  which  is 

Ibere  likewise  called  A  Pate.  Ray.   £.  W.  p.  48. 

"The  animal  is  lrioDyraoiis»    Badger,    Brodk,  or 

Chmf.**  lb.  100.    The  last  is  not  a  name  with  us; 

but  we  siqf  **  as  grey  as  a  badger  "-*of  one  whose 

head  is  **  silvered  o'er  with  age,*'  or  approaching 

thereto. 

Brogues.     Breeches.    I  have  not  heard  this 
word  of  some  years.  ('*  Cy  some  years'' — is  I  believe 
East  Anglian^-and  b  as  good  as*  if  not  better  than, 
**foT  some  years."  Both  are  awkward.)    lu  former 
times  a  number  of  Dutch  Skutes  (as  we  used  to  call 
them)  or  Schuytes,  used  to  frequent  the  rivers  and 
creeks  of  our  eastern  coast,  and  the  Skippers  used 
to  wear  enormous  breeches;  so  much  unlike  ours 
that  probably  another  name  was  thought  eji^pcdient 
for  them;  and  we  called  them  Brogues,  and  gave 
the  name  occasionally  to  our  own  less  capacious  ha- 
biliments.   Talking  of  capacity,  the  Belgic  articles 
adverted  to  were,   not   to  mention  their  ordinary 
contents,  equal  to  the  convenient  conveyance  of  six 
or  eight  or  ten  bottles  of  Rhenish,  which  the  honest 
Skippers  would   deliver  themselves  of  with  great 
gravity,  one  by  one,  to  the  infinite  delight  of  their 
grinning  friends.     I  am  not  sure  tbat  all  this  was 
exactly  right,   even  at  that  day-^and  i  speak  of 
nearly  half  a  century  ago— (or  agim  as  we  say).- The 
wine— or  perhaps,  the  giu,  as  the  case  may  have  been 
—K>r  possibly  tea^ — was  not  sold.    It  was  a  presen^^^^ 


46 

# 

anid  this  may  have  been  the  '*  flattering  unctiQa^**  laid 
to  tiie  souls  of  those  who  would  not  have  smugsled* 
The  grateful  farmer  in  return  presented  to  his  wortihiy 
silent  friend  a  Ipad  of  carrots,  or  turnips,  and  the 
amicable  account  current  was  readily  ac^usted.   :    ■ 

Brok — hraec^-'hraecor — brycean — bri^ — hrodgei 
hreeks — are  words  of  like  import,  in  divers  dialects 
from  Scotland  and  Ireland,  to  Gaul,  Sweden,  &c. 

Brow  n-Stu  dy.  A  half-musing  half-melancholy 
listless  mood.  Or,  as  Nares  better  describes  i^,  *'  a 
thoughtless  absence  of  mind."  He  remarks  that  this 
singular  phrase  is  far  from  beiug  new — and  quotes 
these  lines  from  Ben  Johnson — 

Faith  tliia  brown-study^  suits  not  with  your  black,         r 
Your  habit  and  jour  thoughts  are  of  two  colours. 

Case  AUeted.  IV.  1. 
Bruff.     Hearty — well,  or  better,  in  healths 

Brum*    Broom — growing  or  made* 

Brumble*    Bramble.    See  under  Butes. 

Bru m  b  le-g  eld  er.  a  farmer — of  course  a  con- 
temptuous appellation. 

Bru  m  per.  ^  One  who  thievishly  lops  or  stomffht 
\  trees  in  the  night.    See  Stow. 

Brumps.  j  The  faggots,  the  produce  of  such, 
too  common,  work.  May  these 
words  be  derived  from  **  Obrumpent  (  Latin)  to  des- 
troy or  break  1  **  Cocker. 

Brunn.     Bran.    See  under  Butes. 

Brush.  To  cut  down  with.anold  scythe,  or  brush* 
bill,  nettles,  &c.  weeds  in  fences— or  brakes-*-or 
fog  in  meadows.  ^  See  Bill. 

A  brosh-scythe  aiid  grass-scythe.'    Ttfiser.  p.  14.. 

See  under  Goof,  verse  14. — and  note. 


47 

BRU88BU.  Bristles — ''hog's  brussels."  An  an* 
gry  mall  is  said  to  *'  bnusel  up'^— *>or  to  "set  'as  frnct* 
lali  tp  like  a  riled  boir." 

'  Buck.  The  body,  or  top  part,  of  a  waggon  or 
cart.  "  Full,  up  to  the  bucks^* — boke,  or  body,  per- 
haps originally. — See  Boke.  A  skittish  horse  is 
said  to  btick,  when  disposed  to  botiVfd,  buck-like. 
"Th'  oud  mare  buck'd  like  a  cowt "— ■«•  He's  a 
iitcker,  een't  'a?"  «*'A  buck  tew  much  for  me." 

"The  Buck,  the  breast.  Suffolk.  It  is  used 
for  tbe  body  or  the  trunk  of  the  body ;  in  I>utch 
and  old  Saxon,  it  signifies  the  belly,  the  buck  of  a 
cart,  i.e.  the  body  of  a  cart."  Ray,  E.  W.  p.  Tl. 

Buck-basket.  The  great  linen  or  washing 
basket — so  connected  with  the  laughable  sufferings 
ofour  fat  friend — Falstaff.  In  some  counties  ^ucifc-^ 
ing  means  washing,  but  I  do  not  think  we  have 
such  a  verb  in  Suffolk.     See  Leech. 

It  appears,  however,  to  have  been  formerly  Suf- 
folk ;  for  among  the  items  of  expences  at  Hengrave 
Hall  in  1572  is  this,  "  For  a  bucking  tubbe,  iij*, 
viijrf."     Gage*8  Heng,  p.  197.  ** 

Ray  quotes  a  proverb  from  Chaucer,  in  which 
the  word  occurs  in  this  sense ;  quaintly  implying 
that  a  majority  of  daughters  is  not  desirable— or 
it  may  peradventure  have  some  other  meaning— 

He  that  hath  more  smocks  than  shirts  in  a  huehingi 
Had  need  be  a  man  of  good  fore^ooking. 

BucKER.  The  bent  piece;  of  wood  by  which 
slaugbtered  she^  or  hogi^  are  hting  up  by  their 
s^Lpanded  hind  legs,  hfSore  bebg  cut  out.     The 


^8 

Vfotd  is  commonly  used  proverbiaUy  or  com)>ai1ft- 
tively,  among  certain  classes.  ''As  bent  as  a 
Imcker,'*  The  following  riddle  I  can  recollect  as 
far  back  as  I  can  recollect  any  thing,  but  I  have 
forgotten  the  solution. 

As  straight  as  a  may-pole   as^htle  as  a  |ma-^ 
An  beitt  at  a  buch^Vp  and  as  round  as  a  ring. 

I  do  not  recollect  having  heard  the  w(Nrd  out  of 
^ufiblk^  Gambrel,  is  a  word  of  like  meaning — or 
iB(eems  to  have  been  so.  I  .never  saw  it  but  in  R^y 
— who  has  this  proverb — "  Soon  crooks  the  tree» 
that  good  gambrel  would  be" — and  he  thus  ex- 
pounds the  word — 

'''  A  ffumbrel  is  a  crooked  piece  of  wood  on  which 
'butchers  hang  up  carcases  of  beasts  by  the  legs, 
^om  the  Italian  word  ^m6a,  signifying  aleg."p.93» 

In  Jameison  I  iind  several  words  Uke  bucker  de- 
duced from  a  Teutonic  word  buck-en  to  bow,  to 
bend.  But  bucker:,  in  the  Suffolk  sense  does  not 
appear  to  be  Scottish. 

The  word  gambrel  used  above  is  the  same  most 
likely,  as  the  subject  of  the  following  article  in 
Nares'  Glossary. 

"Cambrils.  a  ward  which  I  cannot  find  ac^ 
knowledged  in  any  dictionary,  but  evidently  mean- 
ing, in  the  following  passage,  legs-;  perhaps  browed 
legs  particularly,  from  <Mmbre,  crooked,  French^ 
in  describing  a  satyr  it  is  said 

But  he*8  a  ver  j  ^fed  goat  beIo# 

Hit  crooked  cambriU  arni*d  with  hoof  and  liaipw 

Dra^.  Jffjmphal.     15 IP.** 

Und^  *^Gambrel orGaimbril,'*  however,  be cih* 


#  4« 

rectlj  describes  a  huA^;  only  he  places  it  be- 
tween the  shcmlderSf  instead  of  the  hind  legs.  He 
Migr»  it  is  *' A  stack  ]>laeed  by  butchers  between  the 
•hottlders  of  a  sheep  nerwly  kiDed  to  keep  the  car- 
case open,  by  phuoiiinf  the  fore-legs  back. 

Spied  fwo  of  them  faimg  ont  At  a  aUrfly  with  a  gnmbrtl  thnint 
from  shoulder  to  shoulckr.  Tike  a  sheep  that  was  new  flaved. 

Ckgpm.  Ment.  D*Ol.  Act  III.  end.* 

I  do  aot  know  tke  work  here  quoted— bat  I 
b^erethe  "two  of  thein*'  reler  fo  mem,  slain  aa^ 
exposed  in  the  maaser  described — and  that  thoagli 
Ae  pamhrel  <iT  btntkef  mn,9  **  thrust  from  shoulder 
to  shoulder "  ia  thcSn,  it  is  aot  its  positioa  fai  a 
"'  new  flayed  sheep."  A  Hmiffkt  piece  of  stick  is 
so  thrust  by  butchers  to  expose  iavonrably  the  in- 
side of  a  bullock,  sheep,  or  calf  while  hangiag  on 
tire  hucker.    Ia  Sufi^Hc  ft  is  called  a  sff . 

*'  To  CrcmftW/*'*— Nares  continues— is  "  to  extend 
with  a  stick,  in  the  manner  abote  described^^ 

L*y  by  yww  scWli  and  prid«,  they'w  scurvy  ^[wrfkiei^ 
And  neet  iue«  or  1*11  box  jo«  while  I  have  joii. 
And  carry  you  gambrii*d  thither  fike  a  muttOD. 

#i*f*.  Nice  VaUtm,  IV,  1. 

Uaraasoaably  loa^  as  lkt»  article  fmwi  a^^tam 
1  m»k  iodaced  to  leaftk«»  it  by  a  ftf (her  ^oi4|lMi 
frcxn  Nares,  shewi^that  Bvieker^  aad  CisaiM/aad 
<iibnHiri/ we  oearty  aHiadk '  ^ 

*^  A  CXailacK.  A^fadie^tma?  aifoaeffook^^ 
«»ean«  ar  k»te  ol  tM)eir  uaed  m  skii^MUiag;^  ^fra* 
¥toM  Kam^  Wekk  and  iSvae^ifo*  ea^i^^  , 

Bitter  th«  U^ssom  wfaen  t^  itak  'mMmttf 

And  early  crool^^'d  that  wiflf  a  eamock  he.     Drayt,  "Eel  T» 

Btit  timcSyf  madam,  crooks  the  tree  that  will  be  a  camodtf 
'■ad  .TOinig  4k  pncka  that  will  be^  a  thorn.     IMlfs  Endimion, 

F 


no  • 

Camoeki  must  be  bowed  with  sleight  not  strength. 

Jd.  Sappho  4-  Ph.  1591. 
Full  bard  it  is  a  camoche  straight  to  mnke. 

Engl.  Pam,  repr.  in  He  iconia.  p.  556. 

But  I  well  know  that  a  bitter  roote  is  amende^ 
with  a  sweet  graft,  and  crooked  trees  prove 
good  Cammocks,  and  wild  grapes  make  pleasant 
wine."     Euph.  and  his  EngL  C,  3. 

In  Scottish  we  find  Camok  to  mean  crooked ; 
Cammock  to  be  a  crooked  stick,  and  Cam-nosed^ 
hook-nosed.  J.     See  under  Gambrel. 

Buck-heading.  Cutting  down  live  fences  t^ 
within  two  or  three  feet  of  the  ground.  In  Norfolk 
it  is  called  buck-stalling. 

Buck-wheat.    See  Brank. 

Bud.  a  yearling  calf — when  the  horns  begin  1^ 
hudj  I  suppose.  On  enquiry  I  ^m  told  that  calves^ 
male  or  female,  are  called  Buds  while  between  one 
and  two  years  old — the  female  then  becomes  a  heifer 
— and  after  having  a  calf,  she  is  a  cow.  The  bull- 
calf  we  also  call  a  hulking  which  see — a  "tew  yer 
owd  bull,**  "a  three  yer  owd  bull,"  &c.  are  farther 
distinctions  that  we  make.  "A  budy  a  weaned  calf 
of  the  first  year.  Sufi^.  Because  the  horns  are  then 
in  the  bud.*'  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  72. 

Buffet.  A  corner  cupboard,  especially  one  for 
the  display  of  glass  or  cheeny.  A  sideboard.  The 
word  was  much  in  use  in  rcy  recollection,  but  is,  as 
well  as  the  ihing  itself,  going  out  of  fashion.  A  low 
square  stool  we  call  a  buffet  stool  It  has  been  sur- 
mised to  be  a  Norman-frencli  word — beaufet:  hence 


jttf  (tie  iemtfei:  whimsically  though  not  peifaaps  vm* 

mpropiiately  altered  to  Beef-eaten. 

We  retain  this  word  in  the  sense  of  a  blow  or 
s^oke :  sometimes  abbreviated  to  buff*  Nares  quotes 
tiiese  two  instances  of  its  early  usage  in  this  sense — 

There  was  a  shock 

To  have  buff*d  oat  the  blood 

Of  aught  but  a  block.      JB.  Jonton. 

Naibelessy  so  sore  a  buff  to  him  it  lent.     F.  Q.  II.  v.  6. 

BuFFLED.  Com  growing,  or,  when  ready  for 
the  sickle  or  scythe  not  standing,  even  or  gain, 
to  be  cut,  is  said  to  be  buffled  or  baffled  about.  It 
(seems  to  h&ve  the  meaning  of  confused — for  w« 
sometimes  hear  of  a  stupid,  muddled  sort  of  a  per- 
son, described  as  being  "kienda  buffle  hiddid." 
It  has  also  a  sense  of  a  blow : — such  a  one  as  may 
ccmfuse  the  unlucky  recipient.     See  Bafflbd, 

Bulk.     See  Bokp.. 

BuLKiN.     A  bull-calf.     So  Tusser 

Lamb,  hulchint  and  pig — 
Geld  under  ihe  big.     p.  81. 

Nares  gives  the  word,  spelled  as  ioTusser — noting 
that  as  a  diminutive  of  bull,  it  ought  to  be  bull-kin. 
He  quotes  from  four  of  our  older  writers,  who  all 
spell  it  bulchin.     See  Bud. 

BuLL-FiEST.     The  puff  ball,  Lycoperdon,  called 

in  other  counties  puck  Jiest,  fuz-ball,  mully-puff, 

'frog  cheese,  and  probably  by  other  names.  Bull  Jiest, 

the  German  Bqfist,  and  the  Bovista  of  Dillenius 

are  derivable  from  the  idea  which  gave  rise  to  the 

old  name  of  Crepitus  lupi,  on  which  Lycoperdon  is 

so  far  an  improvement  as  being  less  intelligible.   It 

F  2 


52 

!« tilt  L.  yiganitftm  Atat  wt  nrt  now  comiiterii^. 
It  is  esteemed  oftfttwej  m  eases  lof  h«iiK>nft(ag«  ; 
and  ftota  seeing  Tt  octftskmally  hvmg  up  vn  stafcles, 
itinity  petliaps,  like  u  ^stone  tvttti  a  lidle  in  it,  Irare 
some  occult  ViiiNie. 

In  Scotland  it  is  called  "SUnd-nmn's-ball,  Bevti's 
anuff'box,  and  jB/tnrf-m<m'<Heeft^  i.«.  eyes;  and,  ac- 
cording to  Linn,  an  idea  prevails  lihrongh  fbe  'wbole 
dtSwedien  iSsieit  tbe  dmit  cf  4liis  pHaat  oaws^s  t>liiid- 

ff  m 

BU1.L0CK  or  Baoi£.  Te  ^brase  <«  -donmeer^* 
to  bully.  Also  totfafrob  fa  ihe  case  etf  nlflanimitUoft 
or  a  Push, 

^kdvd  or  Gaher,  is  a  word  of  siffiiiftr  tepoi^— 
JVifdk,  another.  ThefolloM^ngiBa^BiHne'speeclli 
of  an  old  lady.  *'l  ha  ^t  sHdIi  -a  lamentaable  p«N^ 
an  ta  boolk  sadly,  an  at  night  ta  itch  an  ta  fPik:k, 
an  ta  gaa-alvnt.**  Hiis,  as  delivered  with  the  true 
Suffolk  intonation,  tti«ry  be  trcft  to  tmtsic. 

BuMBASTi^  BuM&ausH*  Words  that  suffici* 
eiilly^Kplaiii  themselves— e^cially  to  school-boys. 
The  ibrnier  is  given  by  Nares,  who  quotes  a  line» 
shewing  it  not  to  be  very  local  or  modern.  The 
9euie  is  pretty  universal, 

J  shall  buwhaste  yon,  vom  mocking  knave. 

f(ti:MrftL&-ve%.  Also  ImifMe-^ — ^flie  fine  tawl- 
^wne^w^H  knoifmineHif€Tous4nsect,itaned4eiilAteii 
from  ^is  9onoroQs,%oommg,  fitrmmfng,  note.  Iffaws 
(Mitinds  5ofaRS0D'scmij«di»re,  thaft  ^his  weaponed  be* 
was  c^ei  himU/tt  ^imat  faring  m  '^iog:  asd  «iij^ 


63 

Igests  humming  as  the  source  of  its  name;  or  bumble^ 
as  m  this  line  from  Chaucer— 

And  as  a  bitore  bumbkik  in  the  roire.     Wife  of  Bath, 

The  bitore  is  doubtless  the  Bittern,  or  Buttle^  as 
ire  call  it — sometimes  termed  the  booming  Bitterd, 
and  in  Scotland  called  Mire'drum.     See  BuTTLE. 

BuMBT.  A  quag,  a  quagmire,  the  contents  of  a 
privy.  Wet  insolid  land  will  be  thus  described  '*  ta 
quail  like  a  bumbg"  "A  bumby,  a  deep  place  of 
mire  and  dung,  a  filthy  puddle."  Ray,  £.  W.  p.  71. 

Bump.  A  blow,  a  stroke ;  also,  as  inother  parts, 
.  the  rising  of  the  flesh,  in  consequence  of  a  blow. 
This  we  more  commonly  call  a  bunny,  (which  see) 
especially  if  on  the  head.  As  well  as  a  blow,  ge- 
nerally, and  in  common  with  so  many  other  words, 
as  enumerated  under  Aint,  Bump  has  a  specific 
and  peculiar  application  of  its  own.  The  punish- 
ment of  a  school -boy  for  telling  tales  or  for  any  act  of 
treachery,  coming  immediately  under  the  summary 
jurisdiction  of  his  peers,  is  bumping :  and  this  is 
performed  by  prostrating  the  coatless  culprit  on  his 
back,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  large  block  of 
wood,  or  of  a  wall.  A  strong  boy  seizes  the  right 
ancle  and  wrist,  another  the  left,  and  lift  him  off 
the  ground ;  and  after  a  preparatory  vibration  or 
two  to  give  a  due  momentum,  he  comes  in  violent 
contact  with  the  block,  a  pos  eriori.  Tliis  is  re- 
peated six  or  eight  or  more  times,  according  to  the 
enormity  of  the  otFence,  or  the  just  resentment  of 

the  executioners. 

F    3 


ration  is  inflicted  in  joke*  M,  stated  .periods  it  49 
usual  fer  parish-oflicers,  attended  hy  many  idly- 
disposed  boys  and  men,  to  go  a-baunding,  that  is 
along  (and  to  notice  and  mark)  the  bounds  of  the 
parish.  This  useful circumambulation  is  in  some  case 
annual,  in  others  biennial,  triennial,  &c.  And  at  its 
extremities,  where  a  marked  tree  has  generaHy'been 
trained  up,  boys  are  soundly  bumped,  to  impreaa 
on  their  memories,  &c.  the  terminal  feet.  A^trstnger 
passing  at  the  time,  without  a  due  coasideration  tm 
the  part  of  the  bounders  of  who  he  may  be,  tuns 
an  imminent  risk'  of  having  similar  impremmtflaauie 
on  his  mind,  &c, — for  it  is  a  sort  of  saturnalia ;  a 
little  drink  being,  perhaps,  allowably  charged  m 
the  parish  accounts,  superadded  to  the  social  col- 
lections of  the  bounders  and  bumpers,  and  sometimes 
even  of  a  good-humoured  bumpee. 

Bump  is  also  Scottish,  "a  stroke,"  "He  came 
bump  upon  me,*'  he  came  upon  me  with  a  stroke. 

Iclendic  bomps,  a  stroke  against  any  object-^ 
bomp-a,  cita  ruina  ferri.  J. 

With  us,  however,  the  phrase  of  coming  bump 
upon  one,  would  not  mean,  as  in  Scotland,  with  a 
stroke  or  blow,  but  as  coming  quickly,  violently, 
unexpectedly,  and  not' pleasantly;  round  a  comer, 
or  at  a  considerable  angle,  and  jostling,  or  nearly. 

BuMSHUS.  Refractory,  insolent.  Also  Gumskus 
and  Rumgumshus.  The  first  is  more  common  in. 
Norfolk. 


55 


oloMite  ins'haiiiidh  is  called  kum^ed,  w  bm^ 
HUiai^'or  a  htntg  d^ck,  TbM  kertiUe  castom  is 
not  yet  quite  disused.  I  can  recollect  when  crack 
loBMs  0f  •ifr'fineiwcMS^wefe  oomaftcnil^  seearthas 
iflpomi— hily nmlikited ;  and I-ftgnetto say  tlntt aow 
aid  ithen  a  s4allieii  w  s4ttl  •extubked  ahaflaeifidly 
**  cnrtHikd  of  4m0  fiur  ^proportions." 

'^mnc AS .  A  iiim^er  of-  b« js,  or  o^er  'perimw^ 
cdPectiiig  conlttseffly  t«»g«tiier.  ''%iiiier! — mhat 
a  fjfta&ca»  on  em.^' 

Bunks.  A  rabbit,  'fmm 'fttmn^,  and  con^,  [ler- 
dnps;  Hiid  ftna^firoBi' the. "Shortness  of  its  iaii.  ^ee 
ikxMUt  «rtides. 

iJtoNNT.  ATalibtt — also  BunkiWA^  C&netf:  ako 
the  swelling  in  the  head  incident  to  a  rap,  especially 
itom  a  schoolmaster's  ruler.  The  indentation  be- 
tween two  such  bunnies,  or  indeed  any  such  indenta- 
tioa,  is  a  doke,  (which  see).  Hicke's  in  his  preface 
to  has  Saxon  grammar,  cited  by  Ray,  says  that 
Muimy  is  a  Saxon  word,  meaning,  as  here,  a  swell- 
ing  &om  a  stroke  or  blow  on  the  head,  &c.  which 
he  parallels  with  the  Oothic  banff»,  and  the  Ice-^ 
laodish  ban,  a  wound.  In  Essex  they  call  it  "  a 
Mne  on  the  head." 

BuN-WEBD — otherwise  Bund-weed,  or  ButUm- 
ioeedt  or  Biue'^Uon—*!  believe  the  cow-parsnip>  or 
sH€r4Uleum^kendylium---^r  eke  the  Seneciojucobaea. 
Or  does^  the  latter  apply  more  to  the  Rag -wort,  or 
^0lg'weedi    la  Scodand,   according  to  JomeisoD^ 


56 

Bunevjand,  Bun-wandy  Bun-wede,vaidi Bin'Voeed,W[t 

m 

names  of  these  plants.  The  latter  he  thinks  to  be 
the  Polygonum  convolvultui,  which,  in  Sweden  b 
called  Bifida. 

The  herb  that  we  call  Bine-weed,  or  Bindweed, 
is  perhaps  of  the  Tamus,  or  Smilax,  genus.  We 
sometimes  call  it  Blue-bin,  and  Bell-bin,  It  bears  a 
blue,  bell-shaped  flower.  Knot  grass  is  another  of 
these  troublesome  weeds.  It  is  fi(bmetimes  made  use- 
ful for  t}  ing  up  bean  shoofs.  We  never  call  couch 
grass  by  this  name,  as  they  do  in  some  counties. — 
We  always  call  it  speargrass. 

Burg  AD.  Yeast.  Ray  derives  *the  word  from 
Beer-good;  but  I  see  no  analogical  grounds  for 
agreeing  with  him.  We  also  call  it  Bahm,  which 
see. 

Burr.  The  adhesive  troublesome  flower  of  the 
Arctium  lappa,  which  we  appropriately  call  burdock. 
Throwing  them  **  in  holiday  foolery'*  on  girl's  cloth- 
ing, or  rubbing  a  handful  of  them  well  into  the  long 
haired  (and  the  odds  in  my  young  days  were  also 
lousy)  scalp  of  a  boy,  were  common  pieces  of 
wickedness  The  mischief  I  dare  sav  remains,  but 
such  has  been  the  exterminating  persecution  waged 
since  the  time  I  wot  of,  against  Ihe  otfending  race 
of  pediculi,  that  a  specimen  is  now  scarcely  to  be 
met  with,  except  in  the  cabinets  of  the  curious.  It 
is  not*  indeed  genteel  to  sound  its  name  in  the  pre- 
sence of  **ears  polite,"  and  I  ought  perhaps  to 
apologize  for  even  writing  it.     But  to  return  to 


57 


Mmrtty   fihnkrjpfiTf  let  juotUng  in  naiaee 

How  admirable  is  the  allitsioii  to  the  i^puJity  of  thi^ 

bitrr,  in  .this  tUalogiuie. 

JSLoulwd,    Hew  foil  of  briars  is  ihis  working-day  world ! 

CeZia.  They  are  but  hum,  coosin,  thrown  on  theejn  holiday 
fbflieiy :  W  we  walk  ii0t  in  the  troMen  pal^  our  ytxj  petttosl* 
laU  catch  ^hem. 

TtMalind.  I  coold  shale  them  off  my  coat : — these  Tmrrt  are 
ia  ogr  lieait.  At  ym  Uhe  k,  Ik  S^ 

Agein  in  IVotlM  tad  Oremda,  HL  '2. 

0«r  Vndred.  ihoagh  they  he  4oiig  ose  fliey  be  <iioO^  Hkmf 
are  constant  being  won;  ihey  ate  kuml  can  tell  you;  theyll 
stick  where  they  are  thrown. 

Tusser,  among  the  annoyances  to  fieurmers,  in- 
dlndes  the  &ttrr« 

*GTas9»  thistle,  and  mostard-^eedy  hemlock*  and  huTT.  p,  t54l 

md  speaking  of  the  dtvefs  ^Ifevers  of  Aunnei^i 
property,  *he  «ays 

Lord!  if  y<e  do 'take  .(hem,  wjiatstnra? 

How  hold  they  together^  like  bum  9    p.  208. 

ift  .Scotland  ^Bwr-thrisad  :i8  the  spear  thifttLe;* 
€!mdina  Umc&^him"  J.  Burr  in  Sufiblk  mtnm 
ake  <die  weft-like  jFOugh  escreecence  .<ui  old  troeiu 
cJuia  >eipecia%.  But  ^we  jnore  commonly  caU  it 
MktMtf  "viduch^iee. 

ftusK.  £a8k.  ''Tha' love  ^to^fM&i'th*  sun." 
Bcftfi.  fCiss.-<-Tys  wojsd  Nares  remarks,  tho* 
now  only  used  in  familiar  or  ''vulgar  langua^  waa 
form^y  •thought "of  lufficient^ignity  to  rank  among 
tjHigtcid  eiqpiscfisions.  Cut  it  had  already  suffenad 
Mtae  .degradation  when  Herrick  wiote  this.^igiam 
iq>Qnit«»« 

JCiflMDg  and  hmti^g  diflSer  both  in  this--« 

1/Ve  husie  our  wantons,'but  our  wives  we  kiss.**  Wothz.  p.  tl9« 


58 


BussEN  BELLY.  Ruptured.  I  can  recollect  chil- 
dren in  Suffolk,  drawn,  in  a  particular  mode;  and 
M'ith  certain  ceremooies,  through  a  cleft  tree,  as  a 
cure  for  this  malady.  Ceremonies  similar  have  been 
noticed  among  the  Hindoos :  indeed  this  superstition 
of  forcing  a  passage  through  a  fissure,  or  cleft  ori- 
fice, is  of  very  extensive  prevalence — and  in  eyes 
and  minds  prone  to  mystery,  has  been  viewed  in  a 
very  profound  light.  But  this  is  not  the  place  to 
dilate  on  a  matter  far  from  uninteresting. 

BcTES.  Boots.  "  Ta  bute:'  To  boot.  «•  Fll  gie 
ye  a  crown  ta  bute.  This  beint  the  first  leading  word 
under  which  wc  have  had  occasion  to  notice  our  com« 
mon  substitution  of  the  acute  u  for  the  ordinary  sound 
of  OQ,  I  will  here  notice  such  words  as  occur  to  me 
in  which  this  striking  localism  is  most  remarkable- 
premising  that  names  of  persons  do  not  escape.  Our 
worthy  county  member  is  noi  unfrequently  styled 
Master  Gewch;  nor  does  the  name  of  the  Collector 
of  these  words  always  escape  similar  transtonation* 

Among  the  words  in  which  the  acute  u  is  thus  sub- 
stituted, are  the  following — cule,  culer,  dew,  fule, 
guse,  hew,  lewse,  mune,  nunc,  nuse,  sbue,  shute,  skule, 
smuthe,  snuze,  stule,  sune,  tew,  tule.  There  may 
be  several  others. 

1  do  not  find  that  we  have  followed  any  rule  in 
this  change  of  sound,  though  we  are  pretty  uniform 
and  general  as  to  the  words  changed,  ft  may  be 
remarked,  indeed,  that  no  words  ending  with  d^fy  k, 
m,  p,  or  r,  occur  to  me  as  subjected  to  it*     Blood, 


59 

book,  brook,  coop,  door,  food,  floor,  good,  groom, 
hoop,  hoof,  look,  proof,  poor,  roof,  room,  scoop, 
wood,  &c.  presefve  their  rights.  Broom,  we  pro- 
oonnce  brum,  and  roof,  ruff ;  but  never  give  those 
words  the  sound  of  the  acute  ti. 

L,  fi,  8,  and  t,  final,  it  will  be  seen  above,  are 
subject  to  tlie  Suffolk  penuU  sound ;  but  not  always. 
Wool,  full,  bull,  (sounded  alike  though  spelled  dif- 
ferently) foot,  loan,  moan,  root,  tone,  and  are  never, 
I  think,  changed. 

I  am  disposed  to  maintain  against  respected  au- 
thority,  that  spoon  is  never  spune.  i  think  I  never 
heard  it.     It  is  sometimes  spun. 

In  a  few  viords  we  change  the  sound  somewhat 
differently.  For  blowed  and  crowed,  we  say  blew 
and  crew.  The  first  is  not  local ;  auci  for  crew,  we 
have  the  best  authority.  Mowed  with  us  is  mew; 
brow,  brew ;  snowed,  suew  ;  thawed,  thew ;  gnawed, 
gnew;  owed,  ewe.  Some  of  these  may  be  defended 
on  analogy.  Sundry  orthoepic  compensations  are 
observable  among  us.  Thus,  as  we  say  ewe  for 
owed,  so  for  ewe  we  say  vow ;  and  we  interchange  t 
with  ee;  deeve  fur  dive,  ship  for  sheep,  &c,  as  no- 
ticed under  Aninnd. 

In  Yorkshire,  according  to  Ray,  b  vicious  pronun- 
ciation, similar  to  that  the  chief  subject  of  this  sur- 
ticle,  is  current.  **  In  some  words  for  oo  they  pro- 
nounce eu;  as  ceul,  feul,  eneut^h,  for  cot) I,  fool, 
enough,  in  other  words,  instead  of  oo,  or  a,  ox  oa 
they  pronounce  ee  ;  as  deer  for  door,  fleer  for  flooi*. 


60 

«fcff«ed  for  abroad,  ge  for  goy  se  fei^iBo^  »  kt  ae.f 
*E.W.p.  126. 

Ib  SorfFolk  none  of  tbcfe  hitter  cluMiges  are  heacfL 
The  Scotch,  in  many  if  not  in  the  Mime  worda^ 
change  as  we  do  the  aoiuid  of  §o  into  tk  Pinr,  lNuk» 
Biair,  he. 

I  will  add  under  this  aiticle,  for  the  aake  of  readjf 
reference  from  others,  that  we  have  a  farther  chaage 
in  sound  respecting  such  wordf  as  the  followtag'^ 
boouch,  boondle,  nioonth,  pooneh;  for  buocH 
btindle,  month,  punch.  Broom  and  roof  are  noticed 
above  :  bran  we  call  brun ;  bramble,  bramble ;  a 
mule,  mole;  musick,  mosick.  Some  otlier  persHi* 
tations  of  sound,  e  for  t,  and  t  for  c,  arc  noticed  un- 
der Aninnd,  aa  above  referred  to, 

BuTTAH.    Better.  '^Ah-'adont  know  n&^/oA.'* 

Buttle.  An  acqoatic  or  'river  bird,  described 
nearly  as  big  as  a  Haknsey — seldom  seen.  It  is  loug 
legged,  and  long  necked,  stands  very  erect,  and  hat 
a  large /ore#cp,  or  head  tuft,  in  colour  brownish.— 
Its  note  is  called  blowing,  or  the  ''  Bultle-^^oia* '  I 
suspect  it  to  be  the  Bittern, 

It  is  somewhat  curious  that  in  the  very  same  hour 
in  which  I  wrote  down  the  above  description  of  the 
Buitle  from  the  mouth  of  a  person  who  boasted  of 
having  once  shot  one  at  Butley,  near  Woodbridge-^— 
H  is  somewhat  odd  that,  without  at  all  looking  for 
it,  t  should  have  hit  on  this  passage  among  Ray's  S. 
and  £•  country  words, 

«•  A  MiUUd,  or  Bittern^  k  Lathno  Bmt«9K    In  ikt 


61 

ftorth  m  SBan-drmC  E.  W.  p.  n.    The  Bittern  fe 

somewhere  callefl  "  the  booming  Bittern,'*  I  suppose 
from  some  peculiar  hollow  oote,  and  hence.  |>erbapsy 
and  from  its  frequenting  net  miry  place%  the  name 
of  Mire  drum,  ^t  under  BuMBL£-B£B,  for  some- 
thing that  has  occurred  since  the  above  was  written. 

BUTTRICE.  A  toiH  used  by  farriers.  It  is  enu* 
merdied  by  Tu^^ser  as  one  ot  the  implements  that  a 
fiimer  ouj(Jit  to  be  iti  possession  of.  See  under 
Goof,  verse  4,  and  note. 

BuTTRT.  Tite  place,  even  in  a  cottage,  where 
the  bread,  cheese,  butter,  crockery,  &c.  is  kept«p^ 
Thus  Tusser— 

Such  ke^s  lay  up  safe,  ere  ye  take  ye  to  rest. 

Of  dairy,  of  butteiy,  of  cupboard,  and  chest,  p.  268. 

Buzz  A  R  D.  A  large  species  of  hawk  or  kite,  other* 
wise  called  the  Bald-kite.  We  have  the  phrase  "as 
bTind  as  a  buzzard,"  and  '*  a  blind  buzzard  '* — we 
have  also  "  as  blind  as  a  beetle,'*  and  '*  between  hawk 
and  buzzard **'-^bI1  these  are  perhaps  in  extensive  use. 
Referring  to  the  sharp-sighted  hawk  for  a  comparison 
of  blindness,  may  seem  odd — but  the  fact  is  that  it 
is  the  cock^^^iafer  or  black  beetle  that  has  given  rise 
to  these  sayin^  ^ — and  to  that  of  "as  dull  as  a  beetfe.'' 
These  insects  t^  very  elumsily,  and  are  called  buz* 
Kmrd$,  fVom  their  hwnsdug  noCe.  This  I  learned  from 
Nnres'  Glossnry.  He  §ii^e»  seveml  amusing  qn^ta- 
liens  in  proof. 

Bt  gom — By  goms-^Bv  gosh.  Improvements 
ott  grosser  oalhs :  of  whieb  softenings  we  have  iMny. 
Set  Ambnden^ 


62 

By  the  walls.  An  unburiecl  corpse.  "Poor 
John  Smith !  he  lie  by  the  walls/'  Said  only,  I 
believe,  of  a  human  subject. 

C. 

Cabobbled.  Confused — puzzled— •*  Why  yow 
wholly  cabobble  nie.'* — Stam  is  a  verb  something  si- 
milar, but  nieaniug,  rather  amazed,  confounded^ 

Cack.  To  ease  one's  self — particularly  a  child, 
who  is  commonly  invited  to  the  chair  or  door  by  tte 
word,  among  the  lower  orders.  Also,  -but  less-^om- 
monly,  the  soil  itself.  In  some  Eastern  languages 
Kakh  (pionounced  open  and  long  instead  of  «hoft 
and  sharp  like  the  Suffolk  word)  means  soil,  though 
noinigfU  soil.  It  is  obviously  derived  from  the  LatiD 
Caco. 

Cackle.  The  noise  made  by  a  hen  on  laying  .an 
egg. — Also  the  gabbling  of  women  or  children-*-or 
of  a  verv  talkative  man.  Not  locnl  perhaps.  Hence 
the  wholesome  advice  "  when  ye  lah  an  f gg,  tho'  ta 
be  a' gowd,  dont  cackle** — against  giggling  when 
making  any  relation,  though  it  border  on  wit  or 
humour.     Thus  Tusser  in  both  senses — 

—as  cackling  hen  with  noise  bewrays  her  nest. 


Even  so  go  tlioa,  and  blaze  thy  deeds,  and  lose  thou  all  the  rest. 

Cad  DAW.  The  Jackdaw — the  Caw-daw — or 
( Ja)ckdaw.  Possibly  Caddow  or  Kaddaw  may  be 
an  original  word,  of  which  the  unmeaning  Jack-daw 
may  be  a  corruption.  There  is,  I  think,  or  was  a 
Caddaw,  or  Kadowe  Castle  in  Scotland.  "A  CW- 
daw,  a  Jack-daw^'NorfoIk,    In  Cornwall  they  call 


the  GmUttam  a  JKddoio/'  lU;.  E.  W.  p.  72.  What 
u^  the  GwilHam?'' 

Kill  crowy  pie,  aod  epdowp  tookp  bumrdf  ind  nmau 

TVmmt.   p.  ISf. 

Again— 

Stack  pease  opon  bovelly  abroad  in  tbe  yard. 

To  cover  it  qaickly  let  owner  regard ; 

Lett  doTe  and  the  cadowt  there  finding  a  smack, 

With  ill  stormy  weather,  do  perish  thjr  stack,  p.  187. 

Cail  or  Cale. — ^To  throw.  ''*A  caird  a  stone 
i^ht  at  my  hid."  Cap^  ding,  huU^  are  other  suni* 
lar  words. 

Call  A — or  CaHer— or  Callow.  The  surface  of 
the  laud  removed  to  dig  for  stones,  &c.  Uncalla — to 
remove  thb.  It  seems  to  have  more  exteusively  the 
sense,  or  to  be  derived  from  it,  of  lading  or  beii^ 
hture — a  **  callow  brood  "— *of  unfledged  birds,  &c. 

CAMETHEa.  An  imperative,  by  which  the  lead- 
sag  horse  of  a  team  is  turned  to  the  left.  It  is  equi- 
valent to  Heit.  which  see.  As  horse  drivers  generally 
walk  on  the  left  side  of  the  team,  this  word  was  pro- 
babl\,  Comekither:  but  it  seems  now  to  have  no 
reference  to  approach,  as  it  would  be  used  if  the 
driver  were  uu  the  right  or  behiud  Reeee,  or 
Wooo-reeet  with  a  lengthened  shake,  turns  the 
leader  to  the  right. 

Camp      A  ^me  formerly  much  in  use  among 

schoolboys,  and  occasionally  played  by  ti>eii  in  those 

parts  of  Suffolk  on  the  ^ea  coast — niur«  especially  in 

the  line  of  Holles'ev  Bay  between  the  Rivers  Orwell 

and  Aide— sometimes  school  against  school,. or  parish 

againstparish.    It  was  thus  played^- 

Q  2 


64 

Goals  were  pitclied  at  f be  disfiiutfe  iof  150  6t  200 
^ards  from  each  other— 'these  were  generally  formed 
•f  the  thrown  off  clothes  of  the  competitors.  Eactf 
party  has  two  goals,  ten  or  fifteen  yards  apart.  The 
parties,  ten  or  fifteen  on  a  side,  stand  in  line^  facing 
their  own  goals  aad  -each  otber^  at  vboiit  10  jardls 
distance,  midway  between  the  goals,  and  hearest  that 
ef  their  adversaries.  An  indifferent  spectator,  agreed 
on  by  the  parties,  tfirows  up  a  ball,  of  tfae  size  of  a 
common  cricket  ball,  niidway  between  the  confronts 
players,  and  makes  bis  escape,  ft  is  the  object  bf 
the  players  to  seisK  and  convey  the  ball  between  thcilr 
own  goals.  The  rush  is  tfaerefore  very  great ;  as  !b 
sometimes  the  shock  of  the  first  onset,  to  catch  the 
falling  ball : — be  who  first  can  catch  or  sei^e  it  speedk 
tberefore  home  pursued  by  his  opponents  (thro'  whom 
ie  has  to  make  his  way)  aided  by  the  jositirig^  tM 
irarious  assistances  of  his  own  sides^inen.  If  cab^h 
and  held,  or  in  immtneut  danger  of  being  caught,  lie 
throws  tlie  ball — but  must  in  no  case  give  it — tb'% 
less  bekhgured  friend,  who,  if  it  be  not  arrestcd**fii 
Its  course  or  he  jostled  away  by  the  eager  and  w^tch- 
liil  adversaries,  catches  it;  and  heKaslehs  homeward, 
in  like  manner  pursued,  annoyed,  and  aided — will- 
aing  the  noteh  (or  snotch)  if  he  contrive  to  carry- 
not  throw — ^it  between  his  goals.  But  this  in  a  well 
matched  game,  is  no  easy  achievement,  and  often 
tequires  much  time,  many  doublings,  detours,  and 
exertions.  I  should  have  noticed  tliat  if  the  lioMer 
of  the  ball  be  caugfit  with  the  h>aH  in  his  possessienn 


65 

be  ioses  a  nu^ch,  if*  therefore,  be  be  hard  pressed, 
he  throws  it  to  a  cooveDient  friend,  more  free  and  in 
breath  than  him^if  Ar  the  loss  (or  gain)  of  a  snaich, 
a  recommence  takes  place,  arranging  which  gives  the 
parties  time  to  take  breath.  Seven  or  nine  notches 
are  the  game — and  these  it  will  sometimes  take  two 
or  three  hours  to  win. 

It  is  a  most  noble  and  manly  sport ;  in  the  whole 
little,    if  at  all,  inferior  to  cricket,  or  hunting,  or 

horse* racing.     The  eagerness  and  emulation  excited 

• 

and  displayed  in  and  by  the  competitors  and  towns- 
men, are  surprising.  Indeed  it  is  ver}  animating  to 
lee  twenty  or  thirty  youths,  stripped  to  the  skin,  and 
displayiiig  the  various  energies  that  this  game  a<lmits 
pf;  rushing  with  uplifted  eye,  breast  to  breast,  to 
catch  the- descending  ball,  and  all,  at  once,  running 
lull  ding  to  gain  a  point,  and  when  nearly  gained,* 
half  falling  over  the  stumbling  object  of  purnuit  (for 
tLe  game  is  always  played  where  the  grass  la  short 
and  slippery)  and  alter  much  scuffling  to  see  the  ball 
again  in  the  air,  thrown  to  a  wily  distant  sidesman 
—and  seized  and  carried  m  the  contrary  direction — 
backwards  and  forwards  perhaps  half  a  score  times, 
amid  i  he  shouting  and  roaring  of  half  the  population 
of  the  contiguous  villages. 

Soiiiftimes  a  large  tout-ball  was  used — and  the 
game  was  then  calkd  ''kicking  camp*' — and  if  played 
with  the  shoe^  on,  *'  >avuge  camp  *' 

The  ftport  and  name  are  very  old      The  ''Camping 

pighter*  occurs  in  a  deed  of  the  30  Heo»  6.— -about 

03 


66 

1488.  CaHmn's  Hawstead^  p.  llS.  wbere  Tosser  h 
quoted  in  proof,  that  not  only  was  the  exercise  nmnlj 
and  salatarv*  but  good  aiso  for  the  pightel  or  meadow. 

In  meadow  or  pftetore— ^to  grvw  tbe  more  fine) 
Xiet  caiii|)erfl  be  camping  iii  anj  ot  thine^ 
Which  if  ye  do  suffer  when  low  is  the  springs 
Yqvl  gain  to  yomne]  i  a  conoMdioui  du&g.    p.  65« 

And  he  83)^3  in  page  66, 

Get  campers  a  bafi« 
To  camp  i  herewithaJl. 

Kay  says  that  the  game  prevails  in  Norfolk,  Suf- 
folk, and  Elssex ;  and  he  derives  it  from  the  Saxoi^ 
Camp,  to  strive.  The  Latin  Campus,  a  field,  or^ 
according  to  Ainsworth,  a  plain  Jield,  may  have  its 
share  in  the  name. 

Since  this  was  written  a  friend  informs  me  that 
this  game  fell  into  disuse  in  Suffolk,  in  consequence 
pf  two  men  having  been  killed  at  Easton  about  forty 
or  fifty  years  ago,  in  their  struggles  at  a  grand  matcb^ 

In  Scotland  we  find  that  Camp  and  Kemp  and 
Campy,  mean  to  contend;  bold,  brave,  beroical; 
a  champion.  In  ancient  Swedish  kaempe,  athleta.— ^ 
In  Danish  kempe  a  giant.  Kemp^  Kempin,  and 
Kemper,  farther  mean  in  Scottish,  the  act  of  striving 
for  superiority,  and  one  who  so  strives ;  but  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  harvest  field.  J. 

Canker.  The  common  red  field  poppy.  Papaver 
Rhceas — called  also  Copperoze.  An  internal  sore  or 
blister  in  the  mouth,  this  is  likewise  calle«!  Canker  fret. 

The  Canker  is  the  pest  of  light  land  farmers — there 
is  no  keeping  our  hedges  and  fields  iree  from  them; 
wheat  and  pea  crops,  especially.    Surely  the  com«- 


•4.-, 


e7 

ttienhitew hnvt inisfaken  Shakespeare  in  this  passage, 

Pd  rather  be  a  canker  in  a  hedge  than  a  rust'  in  hie  grace. 

Af.  Ada  A.  S.  I.  J— 

wLeti  they  say  that  "a  canker  is  the  canker  rose 
— dog  rose — cytiosbatos  or  hip,'*  ti.e  aiitithf.>is  is  not 
strong  enough;  for  ihe  hip  is  a  beiiiitirul  and  useful 
thorn:  hut  it  is  admiiabie  if  we  tuke  Sliake>|>eare'8 
Cknker,  as  "we  du  in  Sutiolk  for  the  Papaver  Rliceas. 
The  foilowiog  passage  b  i  think  farther  coufirma* 
tory  of  this  euieudation — 

Hotspur,     bm  I  will  lift  this  down  trod  Mortimer 

As  high  i*  th*  air  a«  this  ui.thankl'ul  king» 
As  chii  ingrate  and  canker'd  tiolingbruke. 

K,  Hen.  4,  P.  1.  I.  3. 

Notwithstanding  the  respected  authority  of  Nares 
is  ID  favor  of  the  above  commentary,  I  caunnt  resist 
retaining  the  belief  that  Shakespeare  did  not  mean 
*<the  coniinou  wild  rose,  or  dog-rose,  cynosbaton." 
See  Glossary. 

Canker  feet.  Copper  oxydized.  A  copper 
saucepan  requiring  to  be  tinned  is  said  to  have  got  a 
Canfcerfret — or  the  tongue  or  gums  sore  or  blistered 
•—especially  of  a  child  suspected  of  having  idjy  put 
a  copper  coin  into  its  mouth.  Fretten  means  disfi-  ^ 
gured  by  small  pox,  or  by  freckles. 

Ca  nsby.  a  causeway,  or  foot  path  a  little  raised. 
The  first  syllable  is  much  lengthened,  and  nasally 
drawled  and  modulated. 

Cant.  Cantrail.  Cantle.  A  cant  is  a 
triangular  piece  of  wood.  A  square  rail  sawn  into 
two  in  the  line  of  its  greatest  diameter,  that  is  from 
angle  to  angle,  forms  two  mn^-rails,  or  cantles.   We 


68 

4 

also  use  cant  as  a  verb,  as  they  do  on  board-ship, 
to  place  or  set  any  tbin^  an  ed^e — hence  may  have 
ariseii  I  lie  nante  'f  ihe  up  edged  rail,  or  cantle. 

M^\  lint  th'iN  give  us  a  clue  to  the  meaning  of  a 
passage  ill  Shakespeare,  on  which  the  commentators 
are  undecided. 

The  greater  cantle  of  the  world  is  lost 
With  ver^  ignorance.  Ant.  ^  Cleop,  III.  8. 

Pope  says,  "  cantle  is  a  piece  or  lump." — John- 
son — •*  Cantle  is  raih»  r  corner.  Csesar,  in  this  play, 
mentions  the  three  nooked  world.  Of  this  trianga* 
lar  world  everv  triumvir  had  a  comer."  Johiisoa 
was  very  nearly  right — for  I  am  inclined  to  think 
Shakespeare  had  a  Suffolk  sense  of  cantle,  and  (with 
sufficient  peuriiity,  I  admit)  compared  the  triumvi- 
rate, M.  Antony,  Oct.  Caesar,  and  M.  Mim\.  Lepidus, 
endeavouring  to  stem  the  inroads  of  assailants  to  a 
rail  or  bulwark ;  and  having  a  rail  in  his  mind*^  eye, 
saw  i)  tatif  rail — and  when  fortune  frowned  on  An- 
tony, the  leader  in  the  triumvirate,  makes  one  of  his 
partizaiis  call  him  '*  the  (>reater  cantle^' — that  is, 
the  nio!>it  powerful  of  the  three  |)ersons  fortiting  th« 
opposing  rail  or  bulwark,  the  triune  defence  of 
Rome. 

Nares  says,  '<  Cantle  is  a  part  or  share;*'  and 
give^  -several  quotations — that  above  from  \,  6i  C« 
among  them,  as  authorities.  But  1  am  not  disposed 
to  strike  out  what  is  above  offered. 

Cap.  a  challenge  -a  defiance.  **  I 'II  set  yeow 
a  cap.''    I  will  do  a  thing  that  you  dare  not  imitate. 


69 

-  -    <».-• 

""IfterfTjili  ftgf  ffit  ye^    Iti Seofbfid,  To  cap,  to 
e^f^eU  J. 

Caffsr.  Tbe  liardish  crttst  fmned  jOD  recentlj 
hamywed  faed,  by  the  faM  of  lieavy  rain,  qoidklj 
^|i9iHl>ed  and  •evaporated. 

*  ■ 

Cappsr'b.  Oeani  is  fiaid  to  be  eappet'd  wben, 
from  from  the  heat  of  the  weather  er  impurity  of  a 
¥es9E4v  it  ooa^ate  and  ^wftl  not  readily  mix  with 
tea*     Windy  wea^r  b  understood  to  produce  tint 

rflrrf 

.CAPPSlt^LAWINO.  Fighfii^  and  vcratcbing — 
f«3fingcaps.  Sometimes  dapper-ciatomg.  If^eiie 
iprere  -c^ispcMed  to  be  very  discrkntiiaitve  tbe  hrttet 
lyay  be  supposed  applicable,  more  especially  to  -a 
tmrimin  iecture  of  a  severe  sort,  wbere  the  venom  of 
<^.toB«iue  is  brought  hi  aid  of  the  keenness  of  the 
muls.  i  heard  it  lately  applied  to  a  wtght  wbo  had 
bdeo  "  whetting  his  sickle  "  somewhat  too  fradyy  in 
aBticipatii^n  of  what  he  might  expect  on  reaching 
his  home  and  helpmate — ''  Ah — ^yah — be  '11  git 
{i«irely  olapper-ehwed  when  'a  git  home/^  So  Shake* 
4pi^re — 

How  they  ave  oapptt'^dhwk^  eae  >aa9flwr.    TroU,  k  Creu^  X,^ 

Cabt-racks.  The  ruts  in  roads. — Cart-tradk 
perhaps.  Thus  Ray — **\Cart-rahe — Essex.  ACarN 
tracks  in  some  countries  called  a  Cari-rut,  but  mott 
improperly,  for  whether  it  be  Cart-rake,  or  originally 
Cart-track,  the  etymology  is  manifest,  but  not  86 
of  cart-rut."'  E.  W.  p.  72. 

Carr.    a  wood  with  a  wet  subsoil.    Wet*  land 


70 

teems  essential  to  a  Canr.  Analeler-eaiTbcoiiiaMMilj 
heard  of.  It  is  also  a  north  country  word.  '*A 
Carre"  Ray  explains  as  *'a  tiollow  place  where  water 
stands."  £.  W.  p.  21 — and  as  '*a  wood  of  aiders  or 
trees,  in  a  moist  boggy  place."  lb.  p.  72 — the  first  a 
north  country,  the  last  a  S.  and  £•  country  explana- 
tion of  tlje  word. 

Cast.  Vomit.  "  'A  eagi  'as  stomach  an  'as 
biitta.*'  Sometimes  it  is  quaintly  said  of  one 
who  has  puked— '<  He  'as  cast  up  his  accounts." 
To  C0tt  a  horse,  is  to  throw  him  down  by  a  rope 
disposed  in  a  particular  manner,  for  the  purpose 
of  bei  ?g  cut,  fired,  or  any  operation  requiring  con* 
finement  of  limbs. 

In  the  first  sense,  I  find  in  Nares — *'  To  CAST 
was  sometimes  used  for  to  cast  vp — to  reject  firom 
the  stomach." 

These  versps  too,  a  poj^fon  on  'em.  I  can't  abide  'em,  tbey 
make  nie  read^-  to  cast,  by  the  banki  oi  Helicon. 

B  J  out,  Poetatt,  Li. 

r 

Let  him  C'itt  til!  his  maw  came  up,  we  cun*  :>ot. 

B.  4f-  Ft,  "ipofi.  Cur,  \y,  7. 

The  porter  in  Macbeth  quibbles  between  this 
sense  of  the  word  and  that  which  implies  to  throw 
a  person  in  wrestling.  Speaking  of  the  wine  he 
had  drunk,  he  says — 

Thotigli  he  took  up  luy  legs  sometimes,  yet  I  made  shift  ts 
east  hill).        Macb,  \i,  3, 

III  the  above  quotation  from  Ben  Jonson,  not 
only  the  Suii'olk  word,  but  a  Suffolk  oath,  occurs. 
*'  A  piezen  on  'em,"  is  pure  Suffolk.    See  Piezen. 


71 

Cat.  a  Ferret.  •«  A  cop'd  cat," — a  ferret  inui- 
SEJedf  to  prevent  its  laving;  bv  to  eat  its  gnme. 

Ca  r's-c  Ai>LE.  A  chililien*s  )/astiiut*.  It  con* 
lists  ill  varinuslv  Hisposing  of  a  piece  of  slriii!^  joined 
atlLc  ends,  on  the  fingers  and  tliumbs  of  b'«!lj  hands, 
to  be  taken  (»ff  in  a  different  form  b\  both  bands  of 
another  of  the  parly.  Each  of  these  forms  has  a 
particular  name.— That  at  the  head  of  this  article  is 
ooe—barn-diiors,  bowling  green,  hour-glass,  pound, 
aet,  diamonds,  fi^^b  pond, fiddle,  I  recollect  arc  others. 
A  supposed  resemblance  originated  them. 

Nares,  under  '*Cratche,  an  old  word  for  a  manger," 
deems  it  to  be  the  origin  of  the  name  of  this  game— - 
which,  however,  he  calls  Scratch-Cradle.  "  But  it 
clearly,*'  he  says  <*meant  originally  the  Craich-cradte; 
the  manger  that  held  the  Holy  Infant  as  a  cradle.'^ 
I  cannot  say  that  this  is  clear  to  me. 

Caul.  I  do  not  introduce  this  as  a  Suffolk  word, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  remarking  that  the  old  su- 
perstition respecting  a  child's  can/,  is  still  retained 
ampog  us.  One  for  sale  is  occasionally,  though 
but  rarely,  advertised  in  our  county  newspapers. 
It  is  supposed  to  secure  good  fortune  to  the  wearer; 
and  to  be  a  preservative  from  drowning. 

The  following  quotations  from  Nares  I  am  in* 
duced  to  give,  though  several  of  my  preceding  ar* 
tides  have  extended  to  an  unexpected  length. 

**  Cau  .  A  thin  membrane,  found  encompassing 
the  head  of  some  children  when  bom:  supeisti- 
tioosly  supposed  to  be  a  token  of  good  fortune 


72 

throughout  life.  These  cauls  were  even  imaghied 
to  have  inherent  virtues,  and  were  sold  acrordingly, 

nor  i      Mt'  -■j.tr  !in»  II  .^-lili  t-xiiiKt,      ■  ''tise* 

meiJ'  ••■  lljt*  sale  oi  them  are  slill  it  i  *,..  liioa. 
Mr  *»  <kt  lestities  tht-  same.  They  are  aU-  consi- 
dered as  preservatives  from  dr<t\vning,  and  ior  that 
purpose  are  sold  to  seafartog  people." 

Were  we  not  born  with  rou/t  upon  our  heads? 

Elvira,  O.P.  xii.  211. 

For  either  shei t  wis  spread  the  caule 
That  <iuih  the  infant^  tate  inthrall. 
When  ii  is  born  .  bv  Muue  ensi^l*d 
The  luckie  omen  uf  the  chiM. 

Htrrieks'  Hesper,  p-.  IMk 

While  tills  ailicle  wvs  h\  the  press  (8epl.  1822)  I 
saw  placoid<<t  on  llie  Wiills  of  Lomlon,  b  Hit  reused  to 
captains  n.ercliants,  an<t  sefifaring  people,  a  child's 
cani  to  be  sold  for  15  guineas ! 

Cay  e.  To  fall  in,  as  the  si<le  of  a  pif,  ditch,  &c. 
usually  pronounced  iiCeei?ey  which  see,  and  8hoshin^ 
111  Scottish  to  Cave  or  Keve  over,  is  lo  fall  over 
suddeni}'.  J. 

Cavey.  Peccavi.  "  *A  begun  to  cry  Caucy."— 
he  begun  to  knock  under — to  moderate. 

Caving.  The  refuse,  uuthreshed,  unripened 
ears  of  corn,  thrown  to  fowls,  &«.  at  the  burn-door. 
Caving -sieve — a  large  sieve  with  wide  interstices  to 
retain  such,  letting  the  grain  through.  See  Coldbr. 

Catvf.  a  floating  perforated  cage  or  box,  in 
which  lobsters  and  Nancj/'s  are  put,  as  caught ;  and 
in  which  they  are  kept  alive  a  day  or  two,  or  a 
week  perhaps,  till  wanted.  This  is  an*  Aldbro' 
word,  and  is  probably  common  to  other  fishing 
towns  on  our  Eastern  coast. 

Caw-hoo — Caw-hoo.  The  common  call  or  cry 
ibr  scaring  crow».  Croio,  €orv&,  and  (^ewhoe,  are 
nieai*ly  cognate;  Magara  and  Maha  ar-e  East  In- 
dian names  for  the  scune  bird.  All  seem  to  ha>e 
originated  inrits  cacopkonic  note. 


73 

CftA-LDSR.  A  chaldroH  (of  coa}s»  \m(t,  At.) 
be  same  in  the  plnral  "  ten  chalder."  *'  xvij 
lalder  of  seacoles/'  occurs  in  Gage's  Hengrave^ 
.  211,  in  an  inventory  of  1630. 

Champ.  To  bite — to  chew  or  grind  with  the 
eth— or  a  horse  ehmmping  the  bit — an  old  word» 
id  not  very  confined  perhaps  f  n  its  usage.  In  Nares 
eiind  ''Chamfer,  of  nncertain  meaning.  I  have 
mnd  It  only  in  the  following  passage.  Perhaps  eaters^'' 

I  keep  ehmmpen  in  mj  botse  xva  tbew  your 
Lordship  some  pleaaurc.     Mad  World,  O.  P.  V.  33i» 

Our  Suffolk  word  Champ  seems  to  bear  out  the 
>ove  conjecture. 

Chap.  A  person— usually  said  rather  disre-* 
lectfuUy*  '*  He's  an  idle  chap*'  '*  A loUoppen 
ktfp."  A  chap  is  also  a  purchaser^  la  the  first 
mse  Tusser  uses  the  word. 

Let  such  hsve  eouugh^  that  follow  the  ploagh. 

Give  serTants  no  dainties,  but  give  him  enoughy 

Too  many  chapi  walking  do  beggar  the  plough,  p.  f60, 

Thia  is  also  a  specimen  of  what  is  farther  noticed 
nder  Goof,  Terse  11,  and  note;  respecting  the 
hove  forced  rhyming  of  plough  and  enough.  We 
oiw  write  tlMlvordSy  as  they  are  proaounced^  phw, 
nd  eH0W4 

Chary.  Careful,  prudent,  cautious.  Shake> 
peare  has  umekary  in  a  contrary  sense— and  chariest 
1  this  passage, 

llie  charitMt  maid  is  prodigal  enough. 
If  she  unmask  her  beauties  to  the  moon.     Hamlet*  I.  3> 

I  add  another  quotation  from  Nare<<, 

Nor  am  I  chairy  of  my  beaotjf's  hue. 

But  that  1  am  troubled  with  the'  tooth-ache  sere* 

Oewge  a  Grten.  O.  P.  III.  $(K 

Chates  or  Craits.  Broken  victuals-^the  re* 
nains  of  turnips  ot  other  food  left  by  fetting  sheep^ 
ke.  to  which  leaner  or  move  hungry  stock  is  turned 
n  '*  to  pick  up  the  chaits^*'  or  orts^ 

Chats  or    Chatter   nt7SH£g»     Protruding 

u 


74 

•tnisiMt  of  blackthoni»  &c.  mmiiiig  iiito  ■  -field  from 
the  fence ;  or  the  lower  straggliog  branches  oftttme, 
%ihich  we  otherwise  call  $prawU.  Hny  has  ehaU  as  a 
north  couDtr^f  word,  meaning  k^g  of  trees,  as  ash 
ichati,  sycamore  diots,  &c.  £•  W.  p.  22.  See  fiou* 

Chaw— -or  Chow.  To  chew~<<¥ow  don't  iiaif 
diaw  yar  wittuls."  Nares  says  it  is  an  old  form  of 
the  word  jaw — hence  ehauie^  the  jaw,  or  jawboyie. 
See  Chow. 

Chben.  a  chain.  Like  dieen  for  drain,  &c.  as 
noticed  under  Aninnd.  In  Scotland  chain  is  pro« 
noonced  ckenyie  and  chemft.  I. 

Chbbnt.    China.    Both  ware  and  country.  - 

Chicked.  Com— sown  or  malted— just  sprout-* 
mgf  or  germinating,  b  said  to  have  chicked.  See 
Acre-sprit.    • 

CuiLL.  To  warm  an;  thhg.  "  D'ye  l<^e  your 
beer  chiUedf — that  is  to  be  set  near  the  fire,  to  t^e 
off  the  chill. 

Chimley.  Chhnney.  So  in  Scottish.  Chimbh 
lug,  the  fire-side.  In  Cornish^  TMmbla,  a  chmt- 
ney«    J. 

Chink.  Loosening  or  separating  «arth  that  is 
too  compact,  is  called  chinking  it,  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  in  quick — or  to  itrow  over  the  roots  of  yoai% 
tftees,  shrubs.  Sec.  when  transplanting  tliem. 

Chitterlins«  The  mesentery  of  a  pis ;  which 
fried,  and  eaten  with  sugar,  mustard,  anavine^e^ 
used  to  be  reckoned  a  good  dish.  The  frill  of  a  shirt, 
when  not  crimped,  or  gathered  into  close  plaits,  but 
ironed  flat,  somewhat  re^^embles  it,  and  is  aKo  called 
ChUterUn.  When  crimped  in  small  plaits,  the  shirt 
frill  is»  said  to  be  Gojetd     See  GoFBR. 

Chobby.  Threshing  wheat,  when  many  of  the 
grains  adhere  to  the  chaff»  the  corn  is  said  to  be 
cAoMy. 

Chop.    To  change  •H^tuifair  to  $imip.  InCliesUte 


76 

and  IB  Seotlaod,  to  cope,  liu  ■  like  metimig.'   Stt ' 

Chovee.  ''A  smali  beetfe  of  a  bright  cbesoQt 
cotour,  with  a  green  gilded  head  aod  corselet."  Sear^ 
daug  harticola.  Cu^mn'B  Hawitead.  I  do  not 
think  I  ever  heard  the- word; 

Chow.  To  chaw — '*  'A  can't  cAoio  it«''  Abo 
used  as  a  substantive,  and  then  eqiiival<!^nt  to  a  qnid-^ 
*•  Give  us  a  chow  *a  bakka.'^    See  Chaw; 

Chhistmas.  Holly ;  being  used  at  that  season 
for  decorating  churches  and  houses.  It  is  as  com- 
monly called  Hulva^  which  see. 

CfiUBBT.  Angty-^threatening-— cross.  An  im- 
patient parent  is  dbtMjf  at  the  noise  of  his  children. 
Snabby  is  perhaps  nearly  similar.  Chub  is  the  im- 
perative of  the  verb  silence  in  one  of  the  commonest 
languages  of  India;  and  some  connection  may  be 
faiicied  by^  earnest  etymologists; 

Chuck.  A  term  of  endearment  to  children,  par- 
tioilarly  girls — altered  from  Chich,  perhaps.  It  is 
50  uoteo  by  Nares. 

Chuii  p.  a  hard  log  of  wood — the  root  end  of  a 
tree ;  the  lifter  is  commonly  distinguished  by  a  venr 
Tttlgar,  tho'^expressive,  word.  For  a  Suffolk  word,^ 
but  I  never  heard  it)  Ray  gives  "  Chuck,  a  great  chip. 
In  other  countries  they  call  it  a  chunk**  £.  W.  p.  72. 
We  sometimes  call  an  irregular  lump  or  block  of 
wood  a  chock.  Chip,  dtuck,  chock,  chunk,  chump, 
have  a  family  likeness^  ^  See  under  Goqf.  verse  11, 
and  note. 

CiLL     Cell — as  noticed  under  Annind.    The 

deor-ct//>^window-t:t/f,  &c.  See  Grounsel. 

Clam.    See  Clammd. 

Clamber.  To  climbs— to  ascend  quickly.—- 
<*Coine,  clamber  up— clamber  up.''  Pease  clamber 
up  sticks — boys  up  trees.  Tusser  spells  it  climber. 
gjt^a  yotattai  under  Wax. 

h2 


•  76 

Stftrved,  or  neaiLy/.M^;''  Einacuiled. 
''  I'm  clammd  ta  dead  amost/'  I  never  heard  tiik 
word  used,  and  had  doubt  of  its  being  a  Suffolk 
word ;  but  an  observant  friend  assured  me  he  had 
heard  it,  and  gave  me  the  above  phrase.  He  thought 
Uini ' ht  have  arisen  from  one's  keying  that  extre|i|^ 
emaciation  would  allow  of  his  internals  collapsmg, 
and  adhering  or  sticking  clammily  together,  f  &o 
not  altogether  admit  the  probability  of  this  deri^ 
tioo.  Mother  friend  tells  me  that  elam  is  used^ 
rihe  sense  of  starvation  in  .Derbyshire,  and  that  ijt 
is  Danish. 

Potatoes  put  under  ground  with  a  tumnlug.  raiff d 
over  them  in  wbter,  we  call  a  elaM^  ako  a  jMe,;and 
ac/amp.  In  Cheshire  such  heap  is  called  a  hogi^.yf^* 
And  m  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  Clem  meWs 
starved.   lb.  ^J , 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  find  in  Ray  thisrt* 
iu4ong  his  N.  country  words— >'*  Clemld  or  Clmm^A 
starved ;  because  by  famine  the  guts  and  bowd^ 
are  as  it  were  clammed  or  stnclL  together.  Scupet- 
times  it  signifies  thirsty,  and  we/know  in  thirst  ,]j|ie 
mouth  is  very  often  clammy."  JEL  W.  p.  22.  And 
Oleamt  he  says  is  a  word  in  frequent  use  in  Lin- 
colnshire, signifying  to  glue  together — and  as  usiud^ 
be  goes  to  learned  lengths  for  its  origin.  In  Yo^ 
•hire  to  ekam  or  clame  is  he  adds  to  spread  thiclutr 
'^he  eleamed  butter  on  his. bread'' — ".the  colows 
are  laid  on  as  if  they  were  clmmed  on  with  a  trow^,^^ 
spoken  of  colours  ill  laid  on  in  a  picture.   Jd.    .-^ 

But  we  have  not  yet  done  with  this  wordr*^ 
Nares'  Glossary  we  read  "To  Qlem  to  starve rii^ 
a  neuter  verb — 

•Hard  U  the  choice,  wbon  valiant  men  ma$t  eat  t||^ 
atnii  or  clem.      B.  Jotts.  Every  Man  cut  of  H,  III.  6. 

As  a  verb  active —  "'■' 

I  caooot  eat  ttones  and  tnriit  aa^^What,  will  be  eltm  ne 
1^  iBj  followers  ?  Ask  him  an  ke  will  eUm  me  i  do,  go.      •:  "l: 

U,  PeetmttT.  1*% 
K4w  Osa^*  Mf-eJMI  Mttnyaf  i^ar  for  food. 


77 

CBm  in  Ae  fidlowing  passage,  'seems  to  be  th^ 
same  word: 

•when  jny  entrails 


Were  c2aaMiV2  with  keefung  a  perpetual  fasl^>- 

MoMtinger,  Rom.  Aetor*  II.  f  ^ 

''I  shall  be  dammdf"  for  starv'd,  is  still  provin- 
cislly  used  in  Staffordshire.*' 
'  In  'another  sense  Cidm  is  used  iti  some  parts  of 
En^aild,  but  not  I  thmk  in  Suffolk.  What  in 
bell-ringing  is  more  commonly  ^nn^,  that  is  strik- 
ing all  at  once,  a  sort  of  voliey,  is  dse  where  called- 
dimming.  See  Nares'  Glossary,  under  Clamour.* 

In  Cocker's  dictionary  is  "  Vlemb^dr^old  word — 
BtuVd,  thirsty.*' 

While  this  article  was  under  my  pen,  I  read  in 
a  newspaper  a  report  of  a  trial  at  Lancaster  (Aug.- 
Id22)  in  which  a  witness  said  ''she  was  nearly 
dammed  to  death.''  And  in  Gage's  Hengrave,  p.  49, 
the  term  f'Ciamp  pf  brick"  occurs  in  a  bill,  dated 
1680.  It  seems  to  mean  what  we  term  a  Kellen, 
or  one  burning.  •  In  p.  ^  is  (1535)  ''Item,  paid 
toHary  Bondis,  and  his  men,  for  setting  and  burn- 
jnf  fk'dampe,  as  aperythe  by  another  book  x\x\j«. 

Since  the  above  was  written  I  heard  the  expres- 
sion "  wennigh  clemm'd/'  used  in  Staffordshire  by 
an:old  soldier  who  had  lost  a  leg  in  the  first  Ame- 
ricanf  war.  He  was  woriung  on  the  roads ;  but 
suspended  his  labour  while  "  he  fought  his  battles 
o*er  again."  It  was  among  his  transatlantic  suffer-. 
ings  that  he  was  ipe//  nigh  starved.  Now  he  is  pen- 
sioned on  a  shilling  a  day;  had  his  earnings. 
besides,  and  seemed  very  happy. 

Clamp.  A  pit  for  preserving  potatoes,  carrots, 
Ac.  in  winter  They  are  separated  and  well 
covered  with  straw,  and  the  whole  is  covereil 
smoothly  over»  in  a  pyramidal  or  obloug  shape,  with 
the  raised  earth,  and  called  a  clamp — sometimes  a 
pie.    See  Clammd. 

ChAP*    A  blow,  a  stroke—"  Til  gi  ye  a  dap  i  •  the 

113 


78 

hid,  *%  ye  dw  sa  lo  moreJ'  'lUg  is  one  of  the 
maay  terms  for  offence^  enumerated  under  AlKT* 

In  Scottish  Clap  is  a  stroke — dedis  clap^  the 
stroke  of  death.  In  Btlgu^  Kiap^  it  sh^p,  a  hex  on 
the^ear.     J. 

Clapper-claw^.    See  CAppBit-CLAwnta. 

Clapping-post.  The  smaDer  of  a  pair»  or 
father  of  two^  gate-posts^  against  whkh  the  ^te 
ctftses  or  claps^  The  other  is  called  the  j^^fjffg- 
jfont,  for  an  equally  obvioua  reason. 

Claw.    See  Clow. 

Clean.  Quite,  entirdty.  '* 'A eat  *a»  oaia  dmm 
up." — ''Clean  through  and  through" — whkh,^  hew-t 
^er»  we  should  pronounce  '*  threw  an  threw.."  ^'A 
cu»  'em  clean,  threw  the  guts."    Thus  Shftk£qp«a«e^ 

Running  dean  through  tb«  baunds  of  Asia,     Conti  ef  £r.  K  1^ 

Clear.  To  render  pure  and  unsuspected;  id 
this  sense:  a  girl,  or  other  person^  whose  fiur 
AQpne  have  heen  aspersed,  commonly  cornea  before 
a  justice  "  to  clear  my  character." 

Clever*  Handsome — good-looking;  withmii 
reference  to  intellect  or  talent.  *'  A  clei>er  hoss!^^ 
A  clever  gal."  &c. 

Cl  E  V ERS.  The  tussecks.  or  tufts*  o£  eoarse  grass;, 
or  roots  of  rushes,  with  earth  adhering,  that  aret: 
turned  up  by  the  plough  on  recent  grass  landsi— *^ 
The  word  is  more  commonly  pronounced  Cimtrtfos:;^ 
and  in  Norfolk  clods  are  so  called. 

Click.  A  blow-*"  a  diek  of  the  bead."  One 
of  the  many  offensive  homonymes  in  use  among  ns^. 
as  enumerated  under  Aint. 

Clicket.  Like  Clack,  and  Clacket,  is  applied 
to  the  ^nrrulity  and  chattering  of  women  and  childrenrk' 
"  Howfl  ya  tongues — don't  keep  keepsich  a  elickttten*^ 
— is  a  frequent,  but  unheeded  in  proportion  to  ite.' 
firequency,  admonition  from  a  mother*  or  nurse,  cur 
fichooUmistress. 

CuFT*    A  cliff*— This  is  pcrhiqps  the  oapml 


79 

fpelliog;  denotiBg  g<»aethia9  V^^  ^  aewettd,  or 
dtft  ia  ScotUmd  CUrf  is  a  ftMure,  and  a  eieft 
between  hills  or  of  a  tree.  Icelandic  Kloff^  a 
fissare.  i. 

Cli  NK.  A  blow. — Similar  I  suppose  to  Click,  and 
nun^  otiier  woith  under  the  artit  le  f  hence  referred  to. 
lo  boxing,  if  one  boy  give  bis  adversary  a  severe  blow 
— *'  That's  a  clinker/'  would  denote  the  exultation  of 
the  friends  of  the  fortunate  party.  In  Scottish  Clink 
h  also  a  smart  stroke  or  blow.  Janieison  derive:}  it 
from  the  Taetooie  KUneke^  of  like  import. 

C  LiNKBRS.  White  bricks^  of  the  usual  siae,  burnt 
hard  for  the  flooring  of  stables,  &g. 

.  Clip.  A  process  by  which  schoolboys  determine 
the  first  choice  of  sidesmen,  innings,  ftc.  at  play.  .  II 
is  thus  dooe-^The  two  l^ders  retire  six  or  eighf 
psces  fr6m  each  other,  face  to  face — then  placing 
one  fbbt  straight  before  the  other,  heel  to  toe,  one 
cries  ••toe!"  the  other  "buckler  Approaching^ 
each  cither  by  altenfatdy  bringing  a  foot  forward 
heel- to  toe,  the  choice  is  determined  by  the  position 
of  tbefbot  of  the  last  stepper.  If  it  touch  or  come  very 
near  the  toe  of  his  adversary,  so  as  not  to  leave  rooni' 
for  the  interposition  o^  the  foot,  he  that  cried  toe, 
^ios — if  there  be  not  room<  for  the  foot,  and  it  over- 
lap toward  or  to  the  buckle,  he  that  crierl  buekh^. 
wins.  Since  the  disuse  of  buckles  this  description  of 
Sortet  is  becoming  obsolete.  I  do  not  recollect  this 
custom  any  where  else,  or  having  seen  the  word  used 
in  this  way. 

CHp  with  us  is  also  a  blow ;  or  smart  stroke  with 
a  whip,  making  the  lash  or  lanner,  go  round  or  enlace 
or  embrace  the  suffering  party.  It  is  one,  as  well  as 
igce,  of  our  many  words  denoting  offence,  as  noticed 
under  Aint, — "  That's  a  clippei''  is  a  sort  of  term  of 
amplification ;  and  would  be  said  of  a  sbaq)  lie  as' 
well  as  of  a  blow. 

Jti  the  sense  of  einbracing  or  encompassing ,  Shake* 
qpeare  frequently  used  Clip — 

OsstionI  tbttthoQCOuld'st  remove! 

That  HeptDoe't  anas-  who  clippeth  tbee  aboxit» 


80 

Would  bear  thee  from  the  Liiowlei%tf  of  thj  lelf. 

And  grapple  thee  unto  a  pagan  shore*    K,  Jdm*  V.  f  •    . 

You  have  all  shewn  like  Hectorsi 
Kilter  the  citj,  ctip  your  wiTes,  your  friends; 
Tell  theiD  your  feats.     AnL  i  CUop,  IV.  8,    . 

She  shall  be  buried  by  her  Anthony  i 
No  grave  upon  ibe  earth  shall  c(tp  in  it. 
A  pair  so  famous.     Ih.  Sc.  last. 

O9  let  me  cUf  you 
In  arms  as  sound  as  when  I  woo*d :  tn  he^rt    - 
As  raerry  as  when  our  nuptial  day  was  donot 
And  tapers  bum*d  to  bed-ward.    CoritL  I.  6. 

Aod  so  in  C^.  II.  3.  W.  Tafe.V.2.  aod  several 
other  places. 

Ray  has  a  Proverb  io  which  this  word  Is  used  in 
the  sense  of  embracing — "  The  ape  so  long  clippeik 
her  young  that  at  last  she  killeth  them.**  p.  1. 

In  Scottish  to  Clip  or  Cbfp  is  to  embrace,  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon — and  to  Ci^  or  Clepe  is  to  call»  to 
name,  from  the  like  source.  J.  So  that  both  the 
Suffolk  senses  are  retaitied  in  Scotland. 

Cocker  has  **  Cieaped — a  Saxon  word. meaning 
named  J  called.'^  Hence  our  Clip  in  the  sense  first 
given ;  and  the  ancient  *yclept. 

Clogsomb.  Heavy  roads ;  when  the  clayey  soil 
adhere  to  your  shoes,  &e.  are  expressively  de-> 
scribed  as  clogwme. 

Clog-wheat.    The  bearded  species  of  wheat; 

Clout — Clouts — Clot^  Clout  is  a  blow— a 
thump.  "Til  catch  yoew  a  clout  i*  the  hid'* — mean? 
iflg  such  a  one,  pfobabiy,  as  will  produce  cloutg  or 
chU  of  blood.  It  is  alsti  a  %erb,  equivalent  lo  cujffi 
&c.  as  noticed  under  At  NT.  So  iu  Scotland,  "  a  c^oiil 
is  a  cutf,  a  blow ;  and  to  dout  is  tu  beat,  to  strike, 
properly  with  the  hands — from  the  Tuetonic  Klot9* 
en,  pulsare.**  J. 

Clouts  or  ClotSt  are  drops,  or  a  greater  quantity  of 
blood,  iu  a  coagulatf'd  state.  Recent  or  liqui<^  it 
would  be  called  "  a  gore  of  blood.**  Shakespeare 
has  gouts. 

And  on  the  blade  and  dadgeoa  geutt  of  blood. :  Meefr.  IL 1. 


81 

This  it  the  same  probably  as  the  French  gauttei. 
As  in  other  counties^  ^^oui»  with  us,  are  flat  pieces  of 
iron  affixed  to  the  sides,  to  strengtheu  the  tires  of  wheels. 

Clow  or  Claw.  To  Scratch.  "  Td  a  twiddle 
an  I  clawed  it'*— accounts  for  an  inflamed  leg.  In 
this  sense  C/ioto  haabeeta  extenai^ely  used. 

''Scratch  my  breech  and  111  ctoto  your  elbow." 
Ray.  p  154.  ChWf  is  also  a  slice,  of  bread, 
eheese,  &c. 

Cluck  or  CiocK.  The  cackling  noise  made 
by  a  hen  when  she  has  "laid  up  her  latter/*  and  wants 
to  sef .  In  Scottish  "  To  Clock,  to  cluck,  to  call 
chickens  together."  J. 

Clt^nch.    a  thump.    SeeAiNT. 

Cluno.  Shrunk,  dried,  shrivelled-— said  of 
apples,  turnips,  carrots,  &c.  when  from  their 
juices  having  been  evaporated,  their  sides  collapse. 
Carrots  are  reckoned  more  wholesome  for  horses, 
&(•  when  a  little  clung,  th^n  when  too  resh* 

In  the  sense  of  shrunk  or  dried,  Shakespeare 
employs  the  verb  emphatically — 

Maeheth,  ■  If  thon  speakett  false, 

Upon  tbe  next  tree  thoa  shalt  hang  alive. 
Till  famine  cling  thee.    V.  5. 

Steeven*s  says  "  to  cling  is  to  consume  to  waste 
away."  But  this  is  not  explaining  Shakespeare. 
In  the  Suffolk  sense  the  passage  is  infinitely  more 
appropriate  and  impressive  than  the  commentator 
was  aware  of.  Clung  is  not  commonly,  if  at  all, 
applied  to  the  shrivelled  or  wrinkled  human  coun- 
tenance. It  is  said,  under  such  predicament,  to 
be  wizzend. 

Ray  says  *^  in  the  north  eluvg  means  closed  up 
or  stopped,  spoken  of  hens  when  they  lay  not. 
It  is  usually  said  of  any  thing  that  is  shrivelled  or 
dried  up ;  from  clingJ*   £.  W.  p.  23. 

Cbmf,  preserves  nearly  the  Suffolk  sense  in 
Sootlmd.    *'JEmpig,  applied  to  the  belly  after 


82 

long  fitfting.'^  J.  Crinkled  is  also  a  Suffolk  word^ 
related  to  a  sense  of  shrivelled.  CrmUded,  is 
Scotlanri. 

Clumps.  Hardish  clods  of  land — or  small 
blocks  or  diumps  of  wood.  ''  Clump$  of  the  even- 
ing/' means  late.    See  Thredeoal. 

Clutch.    A  covey,  or  a  number,  of  partridges. 

Cluvvas.    See  Clevers. 

Coals.  '*  To  haul  over  the  coals.**  To  caD  to 
a  sharp  account.  The  same  in  Scotland,  and  it  is 
supposed  by  Jameison,  to  refer  to  the  ordeal  by  fiie. 

Cob  or  Sba-cob.  A  small  species  of  sea-golL 
Also  the  flowers  or  heads  of  clover  containing  the 
seed.  Separating  these  from  the  straw  or  ttmvva 
(stover)  is  called  coMnrtg,  Cob  is  likewise  a  basket 
used  in  broad-casting  seed  com.  **  A  Cob ;  a  wick%r 
basket  to  carry  upon  the  arm.  So  a  Seed-cob  or 
Seed-lib  is  such  a  basket  for  sowing.*'  Ray,  E.  W. 
p.  73.  A  small,  compact,  punchy,  powerful  horse, 
we,  as  well  as  others,  call  a  Cob. 

A  large  sort  of  nut,  we  call  a  cob-nut.  It  is  not'a 
very  good  sort,<  as  the  cobble  seldom  fills  the  thick 
shell.  It  is  also  called  bond-nut.  Nares  says  that- 
Cob,  is  used  in  composition  to  express  large — as  cA^ 
nut,  cobhaf,  &c.  In  respect  to  the  Sea-cob  and  the 
horse,  we  find,  however,  that  it  rather  expresses 
small 

Cobble,  The  kernel  of  a  nut — the  stone  of 
any  wall  or  other  fruit,  such  as  peach,  nectarine, 
apricot,  cherries:  or  rather  perhaps. the  meat  of 
such  stones.  Ray  isays  that '' Coi&S/e  is  a  pebble* 
To  cobble  with  stones,  to  throw  stones  at  any.  thing*" 
£.  W.  P;  23.    We  have  no  such  sense. 

CoBio  or  CoBiT.    Cu|Hd.    See  Spinx. 

COBIRON.  The  same,  .1'  believe,  with  Andirom. 
These  were  domestic 'Utensils  used  by  our  ancestors 
for  receiving  and  retaining  logs  of  wood  to  bum  in 
Ifaeir  large  grateless  chinmies*.  They  turned  up^n 


83 

at  a  foot  or  more^  and  had,  among  the  quality^ 
nx  tops  ornamented  with  the  family  crest  in  silver 
brass.  In  families  without  armorial  bearings,  dog's 
ids  uere  the  usimi  ornament — hence  they  were 
p  called  Doff»;  as  indeed,  tbe>  still  are,  %vhere 
IT  seen.  Ray  says  Cobiron  is  an  Essex  and  Lau* 
shire  Avord.  E.  W.  p.  73.  It  was  also  Suffolk, 
Migh  now  of  coorse*  rarely  heard.  Andiron,  is 
obably.  but  a  corrtiption  of  hand  iron.  In  an 
pcutory  of  the  fnrnitare,  &c.  in  Heugrave  House, 
38,  are  these  entries — "  Itni,  two  payer  of  and* 
rpoes,  with  lieads  ^nd  fore  parts  of  copper ;  one 
yer  being  lesse  then  the  other.^  Gages Hengrave, 
37.  in  p.  28  is  "  one  payer  of  andyemt  '*  In 
29  they  are  called  andyoms,  and  in  p.  32  andyrons^ 

Cock.  A  sort  of  familiar  term  of  accosting — or 
metiines  of  defiance.  "  I  sah  corA: — where  ar  yeow 
^ooenT'  *'  Ab  yah,  coc^-^I  cent  afeard  4  yeow 
tba*^ 

CoCK-A-Boop.  This  phrase  is  not  easy  to  ex- 
lin— -nor,  perhaps,  is  explanation  necessary.  I  give 
to  shew  that  it  is  in  use  with  us,  as  |ierhaps  in 
Mt  parts  of  England.     "  He's  all  Cock-a-hoop  to 

Z'* — means  he  is  in  high,  flighty,  gay,  spirits.-^ 
ence  can  this  phrase  have  come  ?  Can  it  be  from 
t  gaiety  of  a  farm  yard  cock  crowing  on  a  cask  % 
t  Nares,  under  Cech-on-Hoop* 

Cockerel.  A  young  cock — thus  good  old  nurse 
Romeo  and  JuUeL 


it  had  upon  its  htow 


A  lamp  u  big  as  t  ^oang  cockereVi  stone.    1.  3. 

We. should  call  such  a  lump  a  bunny:  which  see.-** 
lakespeare  uses  this  word  again  in  the  Tempest ^ 
.  1.    See  Narei. 

Cockle.  The  AgtOBtemma  gUhago,  which  ob- 
ides  itself  so  much  into  barley  crops  Shakespeare 
M  this  word  in  a  bold  aristocratical  figui 

jfbr  (he  mutabile  rank^-scented  niatiy^I  say  again, 
n  ioothli^  tlwat  we  Boiidsh'*gaiiift  ottrieDatei 


84 

The  ctlde  of  rcbcUioSr  insolence,  sedition) 

\\%ich  we  ourselves  have  ploughed  for,  iow*d  and  scaUer*df 

Bj  mingling  them  with  usi^— tliehouoi'd  number.    Cor>  III.  1. 

Cocks.  A  pastime  of  children.  It  ia  placed 
Vfith  the  grown  up  stems  of  the  broad-leaved  plan- 
tane  (Plantago  iamceolata,  or  P.  m^or,)  One 
holds  a  stem,  and  the  other  strikes  on  it  with 
another.  Cutting  off  the  head  of  your  adversary's 
cock,  is  of  course  a  winning  strd^.  The  tall  erect 
stems  are  called  Cocksj  as  well  as  the  auHisement. 

Codger.  *'  A  familiar  expression  for  a  mean 
old  person^  from  Cddger  a  huckster  or  low  trafficker." 
I  have  taken  this  explanation  from  Nare*8  Glossary. 
It  is  our  Suffolk  sense  of  the  word.    See  Kiddier. 

Coin  or  Quoin.  In  masonry  the  angle  or  comer 
of  a  wall.  In  Nares  we  read  *'  Coigne'^n,  comer 
stone ;  the  finish  of  a  building  at  the  angle.  Coing, 
old  French* 

Sec  you  yon  coigne  6*  the  capitol  ?    yon  corner  stone  ? 

CorioL  V.  4. 

writteft  also  Coin  and  Quoin,'* 

In  the  edition  of  Shakespeare  before  me,  it  is 
written  <*yond'  coigne." 

Colder.  Light  ears  and  chaffs  left  in  the  Co* 
ing-sievey  after  dressing  corn.  It  is  also  called 
Caving  or  the  Cavings ;  and  Cosh* 

Collar- BEAM.  The  up}>er  beam  of  a  bam  of 
other  building  ;  called  also  wind-beam, 

CoLLARDS.  Coleworts.  In  Scottish  "  Ctir/te^i 
because  the  leaves  are  curled.^  J. 

Collogue.  To  assemble  or  combine  for  a  bad 
purpose.  To  colleague  I  suppose;  bnt  the  mahu 
animus  is  essential.  I  have  heard  the  word,  som«' 
what  quaintly,  but  forcibly,  applied,  by  a  farmer  to  <1 
tlock  of  ro<)k»  which  he  apprehended  had  a  bad  de- 
sign on  a  nei<:bbf>uriag  corn  ik Id — <*'Kindal — See 
them  there  toads  coUbguehig  together  *' 

The  word  is  in  Nares ;  and  is  explained  pretlv 
much  as  above.    **  To  tolk  closely ''together,  as  if 


85 

1d|^  sonetluB^.  From  CaHloqiiw^  LaJt«^The 
I  is  still  retained  by  the  lower  classes.** 

Praj  go  ki ;  and  SMter^  salve  the  natter, 
CoUogue  whh  her  again,  and  all  ^hall  be  welK 

Green's  T«  Quoq.  O.  PK  Vlt.  8(5. 

look  ycf  y/e  must  vollogue  somellntes,  forswear  sometimes^ 

Malcmit.  O.  P.  IV.  94. 

3LL1ER.  A  black  insect,  injurious  to  growing 
s :  named  probably  from  its  colour.    It  would 

curious  article  were  the  many  words  collected 
;h  have  the  initial  sound  of  Col  or  Kut,    and 

a  sense  of  blackness,  or  darkness.  Every 
uage  would  perhaps  iuraish  some.      And  afl 

probably  be  traceable  to  the  Sanskrit  Kal^ 
RiBg  time — night — chaos — black— dark — &c. 
bre  senses. 

ocKER'D  or  ScQcker^d.     Timber  iusolid^  from 
bark  or  sap  running  into  it. 
OME.     A  term  in  churning  "  Is  tlie  butter  come  i'^ 
The  butter  ont  oome"-^"  Ta  cent  oo«ie>" 

OME-BACK.  The  gailina  or  guinea  fowl.  Evi- 
ly  so  called  from  its  note. 

OMMANDEMENTS.  The  (ten)  commandments. 
ss  gives  tlie  word>  and  thinks  he  has  heard  it  so 
.en  by  old  peo|)le.  {  have  ofteu^  by  both  old  and 
\g,  but  only  I  think  referring  to  the  decalogue. 
:|uotes  Spenser 

e  wretched  woraan,  whom  anliappy  Iioure 

ith  now  njadc  thrall  to  your  commaudement.  F.  Q,  I.  ii.  29. 

From  her  I'a^  re  eya  he  took  commandeinent.  lb.  iii.  9. 

he  word  is  s|>e11e(l  in  four  syllables  in  Gage's 
igrave  in  a  Suffolk  letter  written  1548 — "  Not 
bting  the  country  to  be  qnyet  and  nicfryc,  if  the 
^ssioners  will  dyligentlie  accowplislie  their  com- 
lementsgyven  to  them  by  the  King's  most  lionor- 
!  councell."  p.  137.  And  hi  p.  145  "  Tlie  Quenes 
estie's  comandement"  occurs.  'How  the  word  was 
lottncedy  is  not,  among  the  prodigality  of  our 
sstors  in  letters,  easily  discemable. 

i 


86 

CoNCiTB.  (Conceit)  Belief— fancy.  "  I  dew 
concite." 

Coney.  The  rabbit — this  is  perhaps  pretty  uni- 
versal and  is  a  Scripture  word.  The  word  is  also 
in  use  among  us  in  the  same  sense  as  the  like  sound 
in  Latin.  A  rabbit  we  also  call  Bunny  which  see 
and  Bunks,     The  first  is  an  old  Suffolkism. 

In  the  charges  at  Hengrave  Hall  in  1572  is  "  to 
the  warriner  for  c  c  coneys  del.  by  him  this  qrt. 
xliiijs.*'    Gages  He»g.  p.  192, 

CoNsiM  IT.  CoNsiMMED.  A  moderated  impre- 
cation-^consume  it.  Ot  others  see  under  Amenden, 
very — extremely — greatly — generally  in  a  bad  sense. 
*'  Tis  cansimmed  hard.'*  Equivalent  to  confoundedly. 

CooFFKN.     A  Coffin 

Coomb  or  Comb  or  CooM.  Four  bushels.— 
**  A  coom-sack."  This  iii  not  a  Suffolk  word  only, 
but  it  is  perhaps  more  used  there  than  any  where 
else.  All  our  corn  is  sold  by  the  comb.  Ray  writes 
**  A  Coomb  or  Coumb  of  corn  ;  half  a  quarter." — 
H.  W.  p.  73.  Tusser  spells  it  Coom.  See  under 
Goof,  verse  7,  and  note. 

Coot   .The  water  bird  coniraonlv called  moor-hen. 

Cop.  To  throw.  In  Cheshire  and  Lancashire, 
Cob.  W.  Cail,  Ding,  Hull,  and  other  similar  words 
are  current  in  this  sense  in  Suffolk. 

Coped.  Muzzled.  A  ferret  with  its  mouth  con- 
fined— which  is  sometimes  effected  by  needle  and 
thread — to  set  after  rats  or  rabbits,  is  called  "a  coped 
cat." 

CopPEROZB.  The  common  red  field  poppy.  Sec 
Canker.  Ray,  among  his  north  country  words,  has 
"  Coprose,  called  also  Head-wark — the  Papaver 
rhaas.'*  £.  W.  p.  24.  In  Scotland  "  Cock-ro^,  is 
any  wild  poppy  with  a  red  fiower."  J. 

Corncrake.  The  latid^rail — Rallusctox.  In 
Scotland  also. 


87 

Again  the  ruthless  weapon  sweeps  the  ground 
And  the  graj  eorn-craik  trembles  at  the  sound.** 

LeydtrCi  Sc,  of  Inf. 

!)€6  v/RAKB« 

Cosh.     The  same,   I  believe,  as  Colder,  which 

Cosset.  A  lamb  brought  up  by- hand:  a  pet 
lamb.  See  Pet.  The  term  is  extended  sometimeb 
to  a  child  when  much  indulged.  "  'Twas  costeited 
tew  much  by  half.**  In  the  North,  Cade  seems  to 
have  the  same  meaning.  Ray  thus  explains  tho  word, 
"A  cosset  lamb  or  colt ;  i.e.  a  cade  lamb ;  a  lamb  or 
colt  brought  up  by  the  hand.  Norf.  Suff.  The  word 
Dr.  Hammond  in  his  annotations  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment, p.  356.  Acts  vii.  derives  from  the  Hebrew 
signifying  a  lamb."  E.  W.  p.  73.  I  have 
not  access  to  Dr.  H's  annotations,  but  a  reference  to 
Acts  vii.  discovers  nothing  applicable  to  any  thing  in 
this  article. 

Nares  gives  the  above  meaning  to  the  word  Cosset: 
which,  as  lie  shews,  is  used  by  Ben  Jon«<on  and  Spenser. 
It  is  periiaps  pretty  general  almost  all  over  England. 

Cost  or  Coast.  The  ribs  of  cooked  meat — par- 
ticularly it  M'ould  ap|>ear  of  roast  Iamb.  ''Do  you 
chuse  shoulder  or  coast?**  This  question  wc  hear 
from  educated  and  travelled  people :  and  it  is  a  good 
word ;  evidently  from  the  Latin  Costa,  a  rib»  In 
Wales  Coast  is  the  neck  of  mutton,  lamb,  or  veal.  In 
Scotland  '*Cost  and  Coist  is  the  side  in  the  human 
body/'  J.  Nares  cimfirms  this  derivation,  and  quotes 
B.Jonson«  who  writes  "  betwixt  the  costs  of  a  ship/' 

Costard.  The  head.  "  1  *11  gie  ye  a  lump  o*  the 
co$tard."    So  Shakespeare — 

Fse  try  whether  year  eottard  or  my  bat  be  the  harder. 

Lear.    IV.    6. 

Take  him  ov^r  the  ofttard  with  the  hilt  of  thy  sword. 

H,  the  3rd.   I.  4. 

.  We  have  several  other   quaint  names   for  the 
head — Jowl,  Mazzard,  Nob,  Nowl,   Pate,   Fowl, 

12 


Pimple,  Pipkhi,  Sconce,  among  them.  See-imder 
those  words.     Shakespeare  has  most  of  them. 

Among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words.  Raj  ha» 
"  Costard,  the  head.  It  is  a  kind  of  oppsobious 
Word,  used  by  way  of  contempt."  E.  W.  p.  73. 

In  Cheshire  Push  is  the  head.  W.  Not  so,  I 
ihink  with  US. 

Nares  shows  that  Costard  is  used  by  Ben  Jonson 
and  B.  and  Fletcher.  It  occurs  nve  times  in 
Shakespeare. 

Cot.  a  covering  for  a  cut  thumb  or  finger ;  a 
thumb-stall:  called  also  Hud/cin,  which  see.  A  cot 
is  likewise  the  straight  small  cross  piece  which  serves 
ioT  a  handle  or  tiUer  of  a  shovel  or  shuppet.     See 

TiLLBR. 

Covey.    Cover — for  game* 

CowD.  Cold.  As  noticed  under  Butes.  And 
the  same  in  Cheshire.  W. 

CowD-CHiLL.  The  cold  fit  of  an  ague,  &c.--» 
**  'Av  got  the  cowd-chill  now  on  em." 

Cowlick.  The  feather  of  hair  that  sometimes' 
stands  almost  upright  on  one  side  of  a  child's  fore< 
head.  It  is  pronounced  keyowlick.  In  Cheshire 
cowlick  has  the  same  meaning.  VV.  Aud  in  Scot- 
land. J. 

CoWT.  Colt.  So  in  Cheshire.  W.  And  in  Scot* 
kmd.  J.     See  under  Butes. 

CozEY.  Snug,  comfortable,  warm ;  feeling  at 
ease  with  one's  self  and  all  the  world.  The  same  in 
Scotland. 

Crack.  A  blow — or  a  threatened  blow;  **  'A 
yeow  don't  behave  no  butta  Til  et^ack  on  te  ye  'itrues 
yeour  alive.**  This  may  require  translating — If  you 
behave  no  better  I'll  crack  on  to  you  ad  true  as  you*re 
alive.  Of  our  varied  words  of  threat  see  under  AiNT« 
In  a  crack — in  a  trice— in  a  jitfy--are  e^vM^t 
phtases. 


89 

i  Cracklin.  The  bard  akiD  of  roast  pork.  Ice  ia^ 
said  to  crackle  when  a  fracture  rau  from  side  to  side 
of  a  pond. 

Crag.  The  masses  of  marine  shells  (supposed  to 
be  antediluvian)  both  bivalve  and  univkle — common 
along  the  coasts,  and  for  eight  or  ten  miles  inland,  of 
Suffolk,  imbedded  in  sand.  A  "  Cra^  pet*'  is  a  valuable 
thing  on  *'a heavy-land  farm^* — the  decomposed  shells 
and  the  sand  acting  chemically  and  mechanically  on 
the  land,  over  which  good  farmers  spread  it.  But  it 
is  an  erroneous  practice  to  mix  it,  as  we  sometimes  see, 
with  dung. 

Crakb.  The  Corn-crake,  which  see.  The  word 
is  used  also  in  the  sense  of  boasting  or  bragging.  "I 
don't  cra^  about  my  character" — "You  needn't  cruise 
about  your  character.*'  It  is  in  this  sense,  perhaps, 
that  Tusscr  declares  **  Two  good  hay- makers — worth 
twenty  crakers:^  p.  168. 

*  In  Scottish,  Craik,  as  well  as  the  name  of  the  Land* 
rail,  means  also,  as  a  verb,  "  to  denote  the  cry  of  a 
hen  after  laying.''  J.  This  is  what  we,  and  many 
others,  I  suppose,  call  cackling.  Jameisoo  derives 
Craiki  from  the  Teutonic  Kraeck-en,  crepare,  slre- 
pere. 

Nares  gives  the  word  in  the  sense  of  boasting,  brag- 
iug:  and  shews  that  it  is  used  by  Spenser,  and  othtr 
old  writers. 

Crakbr.  a  child's  rattle.  A  good  word — de- 
rivable probably  from  an  adoption  of  sound — as  iu 
the  Corn-crake,  Bumble-bee,  &c.  A  boaster.  In 
Scottish  Crakkar  is  the  same ;  which  Jameison  de- 
rives from  the  Belgic  Kraecker,  id.     See  Crake. 

• 

Cram  p-bone.  The  Patella  of  a  sheep  or  lamb. 
This  charm  is  still  in  use  by  some  few  individuals, 
though  confidence  in  its  efficacy  has  doubtless  greatly 
decreased.  It  is  carried  in  the  pocket — the  nearer 
the  skin  the  better,  of  the  credulous  person,  or  laid 
under  the  pillow  at  night.     1  have  heard  that  some 

Id 


90 

of  Strong  D^rve,  resolving  to  prerent  the  upproMh  of 
so  udwelconie  an  assailant  as  the  cramp,  haire  been 
known  so  temerarious  as  to  wear  the  more  potent 
spell  of  a  human  patella.  But  such  a  defiance  of 
natur  w(»uld  iu  these  more  pious  days,  be  thought 
highly  profane — and,  if  ever  worn,  it  was  done  most 
likely  with  great  privacy  and  caution. 

Cramp-rings.  '*  The  superstitious  use  of  CrAmjN 
rtngs,  as  a  preservative  against  fits,  is  not  entirely 
abandoned  here.  A  recent  instance  has  occurred 
where  nine  young  men  of  the  parish  each  subscribed 
a  sixpence,  to  be  moulden  into  a  ring  for  a  young 
woman  affected  with  this  malady."  Gage's  Hengrave^ 
1822.  p.  7. 

Reference  is  made,  on  this  subject,  to  Brand's 
Popular  Antiq.  11.  59^  The  use  of  Cramp-rmg^ 
'm  Suffolk,  has  not  come  within  my  notice. 

Cranch — or  Crutish,  or  ^cran^.  To  break  any 
thing  to  pieces-— especially  a  stone  or  bone  between 
the  teeth.    See  Skransh. 

Cratgh.  •  An  old  word  for  a  manger — for- 
merly used  in  Suffolk,  but  believed  to  be  now  obsolete. 
In  some  early  translations  of  scripture  the  word  is  said 
to  be  used  instead  of  manger.  It  occurs  in  Popular 
Antiquities,  p.  981.  See  Cats-cradle.  Nares  in 
his  Glossary  gives  a  curious  article  under  Cratch* 
It  is  from  the  French  Criehe — a  manger,  a  crib. 

Creel.     A  basket — a  crate — not  often  heard. 
In  Scotland — '*  an  ozier  basket — panmiers  are  also 
called  creels.'*  J. 

Creeple.  To  compress — to  squeeze — to  put  an 
animal  to  inconvenience  by  such  compressure.  A  stack 
of  corn  is  said  to  creeple  when  it  assumes  an  irregHlar 
form  from  irregular  pressure.  CrippleA'ike  perhaps. 
When  it  lean  on  one  side  it  is  said  to  hi$i,  which  see. 

Crew.  Crowed.  **The  cock  crew.''  For  this 
there  is  the  best  authority,  though  it  be  now  provfa* 
da!  or  vulgar. 


91 

It  was  Bbont  to  speak  when  the  cock  erew.    Hamlet. 

See  utider  Butbs. 

Crewdi.e  or  Ci'vddle  To  crouch  together,  like 
frightened  chickens.     The  same  ia  Cheshire.  W. 

Crbwbls.  Workifis;  in  u  finer  sort  of  worsted  is 
called  workin:;  in creice^.  Sh  ikespe.^re,  B.Jonson,aiid 
Beau,  and  Fletcher  use  the  word  for  worsted,  as  shewn 
by  Nares.  In  an  inventory  of  the  furniture,  &c.  in 
Hengrave  House,  A.  D.  1603,  are  these  entries  **  Itni. 
fewer  and  twenty  hye  joined  stooles,  covered  with 
carpet  work  like  the  carpets,  frynged  with  crewelL 
Itm,  iij  long  cushions  of  needle  H'ork  in  crewelL  lUn, 
two  chayers,  covered  with  like  work,  and  frin^e<l  with 
crewelL  Itiu,  one  payer  of  crewell  raynes  "  Gage*s 
Hemgrave,  pp.  26, 29, 35.  The  word  occurs  frequently 
'  io  lliat  entertaiiung  work. 

Crib.  The  lodging  place  for  calves  or  children. 
"  2%c  Calvei'  eribr  In  Cheshire  Cauf-kit  or  Crib. 
W.  And,  according  to  Ray,  Kidcrow  is  a  Cheshire 
word,  meaning  *'a  place  for  a  sucking  calf  to  be  in." 
£.  W.  p.  39.     Crib  occurs  in  Isaiah.  1.  3. 

Crick  or  Krink.  A  stiff  neck:  or  the  head 
somewhat  turned  aside  thereby,  either  from  a  cold,  or 
a permatient affection — "Vs  got  shrink  i'  the  neck." 
Between  these  words  and  Kink  and  Kench,  there  is, 
I  think,  iu  the  sense  of  a  turn  or  twist,  some  relation* 
ship. 

Cri  nklbd.  Twisted — irregulir — shrunk — shri- 
velled— or  crumpled.  In  Scottish  *'  to  cruukle  is 
to  cress,  to  rumple,  to  shrivel,  to  contract.*'  J.  See 
Clumo. 

Cftlss-rRoss-Row.  The  Alphabet — also  Cross- 
row.  In  Nares  we  are  told  that  "  the  alphabet  was 
called  t  h^Christ  cross-row  because  a  cross  was  prefixed 
to  the  alphabet  in  the  old  primers  *.  but  probably 
from  a  superstitious  custom  of  writing;  the  alphabet 
in  the  form  of  a  cross,  by  way  of  a  charm,  i'his 
was  even  solemnly  practised  by  the  Bishop  in  the 
(BOinecFation  of  a  churdu    See  Ptcart's  Rel.  Cet«  1% 


92 

131.  It  was  also  called  in  French  Croix  de  par  Dieu. 
It  was  pronounced  crU-crot,  Shakespeare  calls  it  the 
croiS'Tow. 

And  from  the  crois-rpio  pluck  the  letter  G.  Rich,  Si.  I.  1/* 

Crissy.  Crisis.  "Well! — things  are  come  to  a 
fine  CrinMyT 

Crock.— ^rocA* — Crook — Hake — Stock — TVom- 
mel,  I  have  put  these  words  in  one  article  from  their 
seemin*;  connexion — and  that  hi  articles  alphabet!- 
callv  subsequent,  what  I  have  to  notice  thereon  may 
be  readily  and  collectively  referred  to. 

Crock,  in  Suffolk,  is  the  plate  or  bricks  of  a  fire- 
back.  *'  As  black  as  ihe  crock" — and  "  as  black  as 
the  stock''  are  common  phrases  of  comparison.  **  As 
black  as  the  crook*'  occurs  several  times  in  Scottish 
phraseology,  in  T.  of  my  L.  In  SomBrsetshire,  **Shel 
as  soon  part  with  the  crock  as  the  porridge,"  jRatf, 
275,  seems  to  refer  to  the  pot — from  crockery,  per- 
haps. Indeed  in  t^e  same  page  the  following  occurs, 
<*  Where  there  is  store  of  oatmeal,  you  may  put  enough 
in  the  crock,"  (/)o^.)  Somerset:'* — and  in  p. 74,  among 
S.<&  E.  country  words,  this — "  A  Crock;  an  earthen 
pot  to  put  butter  or  the  like  in — ab  Angl.  Sax.  Croca, 
Tuet.  Krug."  (<!fec.  &c.  Ray  is  somewhat  too  prone  to 
such  etymologies)  **  To  Crock;  Essex.  To  black  one 
with  soot,  or  black  otf  a  pot  or  kettle,  or  chimney- 
stock.  This  bliick  or  soot  is  commonly  called  crocA." 
Cocker  says  that  croc  is  a  Su&sex  word,  meaning  "  to 
black  with  soot,  or  a  pot." 

Crocks,  with  us  in  Suffolk,  are  the  sooty  flakes 
falling  from  chimney  tops,  or  flitting  about  a  room 
with  a  smoky  chimney. 

CVoo^ — is  the  name  of  the  yrell  known  implement 
so  common  in  the  writings  of  pastoral  poets,  as  apper* 
t dining  to.  shepherds.  It  is  of  a  crosier-like  shape, 
for  catching  sheep  by  the  neck;  but  is  now  rarely 
seen.  It  retains  its  name.  No  doubt  but  it  is  an 
implement  of  great  antiquity ;  and  in  the  Crosier  of 
Bishops,  or  Cardinals,  refer  to  the  mystical  hbtor; 


93 

of  our  Great  Shepherd.  Crux,  Cruz,  Croix,  CroM^ 
aud  Crook,  seem  cognate. 

In  Scotland  CrooA  is  the  '*  chain  terminated  by  a 
hook  suspended  in  a  chimney  to  serve  the  purpose  of 
the  modern  crane.'*  Monastery,  I.  136.  Such  chain 
13  still  seen  in  our  cottage  chimneys ;  and  is  1  think 
sometimes  called  Crook,  but  of  this  I  am  not  certain. 
It  is  commonly  called  Hake  ;  also  TrammeL 

In  the  North,  according  to  Ray,  "  a  Gaily  bawk  is 
the  iron  bar  in  chimneys  on  which  the  pot-book, 
or  recham  hang — a  Trammel**  E.  W.  p.  31 — and  in 
p.  39.  is  "Kilps,  pot-hooks."  Of  Gally-bawk,  Reek-- 
ans,  or  Kilps,  I  know  nothing  farther^  Ray  speaks 
of  them  as  if  they  were  familiar  things  to  him.  Jamei- 
son  has  no  such  words — nor  Crock,  Hake,  or  Tram" 
mel:  nor  indeed  any  of  tho^ie  discussed  in  thb  article. 

A  Hake  in  Suffolk,  is,  as  above  noted,  the  iron  on 
which  the  pot  whangs  over  the  fire.  The  word  ba» 
also  another  meaning,  not  connected  with  our  present 
aabject,  and  therefore  not  noticed  here.  See  under 
Hakb. 

The  Trammel  appears  to  be  a  sort  of  flat  iron--* 
not  a  chain,  with  holes,  into  which  the  Hake  is 
lK>oked,  a  little  higher  or  lower,  as  wanted.  The 
word  Hake,  I  surmise  to  be  formed  from  hook  and 
erook;  and  I  think  the  three  words  are  occasionally 
indifierently  applied  to  the  same  hooked—'-crooked—^ 
hake.  Among  his  S.  &  £.  country  words  Ray  has 
"  CoHrel;  Cornwall  and  Devonshire :  a  Trammel 
to  hang  the  pot  in  over  the  fire.  Also  used  in  the 
north,'*  p.  73.  **Hale;  Suffolk;  i.e.  a  Trammel  m 
the  Essex  dialect."  ib.  p.  78.  '*  Trammel,  an  iron 
instrument  hanging  in  the  chimney,  whereon  to  hang 
pots  or.  kettles  over  the  fire-«-£8s^x."  ib.  p.  6i9. 

Cottrel  and  Hale  are  words  unknown  to  me,  and 
I  believe  in  Suffolk. 

Croft.  A  small  meadow  or  pightle  near  a 
house.  In  Scotland  Crqft,  is  the  word.  Jameisoa 
derivea  it  ftom  the  Aug*  Sa^  Croft--^f  like  mean^ 


94 

ing.     Cocker  says  it  U  "  a  little  close."     Ray  "  A 
small  close  or  inclosure."  E.  W.  p.  100. 

I  have  seen  and  heard  Caraft,  used  as  a  vessel  * 
of  contents,  "  a  water  caraft "  I  think  ;  but  foi|;et 
where. 

Nares  has  **  Croft  a  small  home  close  in  a  farm. 
Some  derive  it  from  Crypfa,  but  it  is  pure  Saxon. 

This  liave  I  learnt 

Tending  my  flocks  hard  by  i*  th*  iiidy  creftt,     Comus,** 

Cromr.  a  hooked  stick  or  fork — a  nnuck-eronie 
— turnip-crome — crome-stick — niud-croom.  Tusser 
has  dung-crome.     See  under  Goof. 

hi  Scotland  Cummock  is  a  short  staff  with  a  crooked 
bead.  J.     Such  as  our  crome'Stick* 

Crone.  An  ewe  ^heep,  which  has  had  one  Iamb 
or  more,  and  lost  her  teeth.  It  is  sometimes  dis- 
respectfully applied  to  an  old  woman.  It  is  used  la 
the  latter  sense  hy  Shakes|)eare,  W,  Tale.  II.  3.— < 
and  Nares  gives  that  as  its  first  nic  aning,  adding  that 
**  some  s^y  it  origitiailv  meant  an  old  toothfess  sheep." 
^e  have  no  othername  for  such.     See  Dans. 

Croonch.  Encroach.  * '  DoaX  Croonch** — often* 
est  used,  perhaps,  by  bo^s  at  marbles,  on  suspicioa 
of,  or  to  prevent,  unfair  approach. 

Crooper.  a  Crupper — we  are  (en  croup)  cor- 
rect : — Crupper  is  the  vulgarism.  In  Scotland  Crcm^ 
pievy  though  not  noticed  by  Jameison,  has  a  cognate 
meaning. 

Cross-row.  The  Alphabet.  Also  Criss-cross* 
row — which  see. 

Crotch.  Forked — the  joined  part  of  any  things 
furcated — the  joining  of  boughs — the  thighs,  where 
they  join,  which  the  French  call  la  fourcke,  **  A 
crotch-tail,  a  kite."  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  73. 

Tusser  says 

A  lesson  good,  save  crotchet  of  wood — 
However  je  scotcby  save  pole  and  crotch,  p.  79« 


95 

••  Save  step  for  a  stile  of  the  crotch  of  a  bough." 
p.  138.     See  Hulva. 

I  oug:ht  to  notice  that  a  crotch  ^ith  us  is,  as 
"With  Tusser  probably  and  others,  a  post  with  a  fork 
for  receiving  the  plate,  or  horizontal  piece  c)f  tim- 
ber, on  which  the  lower  end  of  the  bearers  of  a  roof 
(of  a  shed,  &c.)  rest. 

Crotch  Ki>.  Obstinate — ill-conditioned — said  of 
a  lad,  or  a  horse.  Of  crookctl  wavs,  probably — sub- 
stitulin)^  the  ch  for  k,  as  is  soof  ten  remarked .  Crotckrd 
iiiaj  pernaps  be  only  rtooAW,  differently  pronounced. 

Crowd.  Push,  or  shove — or  press.  Ilenceawhrei«> 
barrow  is  called  i\Crudburra,orKudburray  orCrowd-a. 
Croud  wrfs  formerly  in  use  in  the  sense  of  fonlng— 
it  occurs  in  a  medical  work  <  f  KHO,  u  here  an  account 
is  given  of"  mercury  crouded  into  the  crural  veiu  of 
a  dog/'  It  is  still  commonly  used  in  the  active  sense 
on  occasions  of  a  pressure  at  the  door  of  a  4heritre — 
*•  don't  crowd  so"  is  often  urged  by  I  hose  hi  advance, 
to  the  centre  and  rear  ranks.  Show,  or  Sheoiv,  for 
S  ove,  is  of  like  nieamng. 

Ckudburra.  a  wheelbarrow — i.  e.  a  crowd- 
barrow :  one  that  is  crowded  or  shoved  along.  Sec 
Crow  d.  Kudlfurra,  is  however,  the  more  common 
word. 

Crumpled.  Twisted — rumpled,  crooked.  «*The 
etm  with  the  crumpled  horn."  Crinkled  and  Ciinklc'^ 
crankled  are  words  of  like  import. 

Cbunsh.  Crush — squeeze — break — "  How  a 
crunched  the  bones.*'    See  Skrunsh. 

Crony  A.  Coroner.  Query  Crownyer?  or 
Crewner?  as  Nares  suggests,  as  a  word  still  in  use  in 
the  lower  class  of  society — thus  in  Handet,  Clown^ 
Bntb  this  law]  2d  Clown,  Aye,  marry  is't — crowner's- 
qnegt  law. 

Crussbl  or  Skrossbl — the  edible  cartilage  of 
roast  veal,  drc. 

Cuckoo-flower.    The  beautiful  wild  Lych- 


96 

MIS  jftoftculu  iTvhich  appearing  about  ihe  tkne  of  the 
cuckoo's  early  note,  has  probably  tbeiice  obtaiae^  iti 
name.  Or,  possibly  from  another  cause,  iiotieed 
under  Snake-spit. 

CucKOO'SPiT.  The  delicately  white  frothy  mat- 
ter seen  in  <arly  spring  on  certain  wild  flowers,  par- 
ticularly on  the  L\ CHILIS  Jlosculi,  We  a^  often  call 
it  Frog -spit,  and  Snake  spit.  See  under  Ihe  latter 
word. 

Cuddle.  To  get  together  like  chickens  under  a 
hen.  Huddle  is  nearly  the  same.  In  Scotland  to 
embrace.  J. 

CuLCH.     See  Gdlsh. 

CuLE.  Cool — "  'tis  kienda  cule  this  morning.'* 
See  a  variety  of  instances  of  the  substitution  of  «  for 

00  under  Butfs. 

CuRRRL.  A  rill — or  drain— or  diminutive  run  of 
water.  Compounded  prubably  of  current  and  rill. 
Drindle  is  nearly  the  same — and  is  also  the  bed  of 
buch  a  ciirrl,  cr  a  small  furrow. 

Cushat.     The  wood-pigeon — or  as  we  call  it 
Ring 'daw* 
1  give  this  word  somewhat  doubtingly  — for.altbougk 

1  have  heard  it  w^-^k'^  lately  in  Sufiblk,  it  was  by  a 
travelled  person,  anJ  [  fear  it  is  of  recent  importation. 
I  say /ear,  because  it  is  so  poetical  a  name,  that  1 
cannot  but  hope  it  i«»  our  own. 

Walter  Scctl  uses  it  several  times— last  in  Ilalidon* 

hill  .  ■.  in  silence  follow. 

Fcare  not  the  hare  that's  couchant  in  her  rorm — 
The  cnshal  from  her  nest — brush  not,  if  possible, 
The  dew-drop  from  the  spray.     I.  2. 

One  cannot  help  sometimes  letting  an  etymology 
as  well  as  a  pun.  In  this  case  the  iirst  may  suffke« 
I  was  disposed  to  derive  this  pretty  word  from  CSw- 
chat — that  is  Cooing  and  Chattering — as  Cuceo — 
—  Whin-chat,  ^c.  This  was  however,  somewhat 
deranged  by  hearing  a  correct  Scot  iM-ouoonce  the 


97 

>rord  C^mft-at-^iayins  all  the  emphasis  oo  the  first 
syllable,  and  pronounciog  it  as  rhyming  to  plush.  I 
shall,  still,  leave  my  surmise  till  I  hear  a  better. 
Jameison  spells  the  ^vord,  rather  uDCouthly  Cowschot^ 
Cuschette,  and  Kotvschot,  as  well  as  Cushat;  and 
the  bird  is  also  called  in  Scotland  Cuskie-dow,  and 
Jameison  derives  its  name  from  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Cusceote,     This  is  rather  against  my  surmise. 

Custard.  Tlie  term  quaintly  applied  by  school- 
boys to  the  pa^on  the  paliu  of  the  hand,  intlicted  by 
the  pedagogue  with  an  implement  called  a  patter.  It 
is  the  usual  punishment  for  bad  or  negligent  writing. 
The  delicate  edible  of  this  name,  we  call,  rather  grossly, 
but  perhaps  not  very  incorrectly,  gvstard.  It  is 
in  soch  great  demand  in  the  Whitsun  holidays  as  to 
cause  a  scarcity  of  eggs,  and  consequently  a  consider- 
able rise  in  price ;  of  which  good  hussifs  take  due 
forethought. 

Cute.  Shrewd — clever — sharp.  A  shortening  of 
acute  "  'A*s  a  cute  chap/'  The  same  in  Scottish.  J. 

Cuts.  To  drato  cuts^,  is  to  draw  lots  ;  which  is 
usually  done  by  each  person  pulling  out  of  the 
closed  hand  of  another  a  piece  of  paper  or  straw, 
nil  of  which  pieces  are  of  equal  length  and  appear- 
ance visibly,  though  of  unequal  lengths.  I  borrow 
from  Nares,  under  this  word,  the  following  quota- 
tions, to  ^hew  the  antiquity  of  this  phrase  and 
practice. 

We  will  draw  cuts  for  the  senior.     Com..rfEr.  Sc.  last 

After  supper  we  drew  cuts  for  a  score  of  apricots;  the  longest 
out  still  to  draw  an  apricot.     Malcont,  p.  P.  IV.  10. 

I  think  it  best  to  draw  cuts  and  avoid  contention.    Com,  Angler, 

It  occurs  in  the  old  Scottish  song  of  Bessy  Bell 
and  Mary  Gray,  where  the  lover  thus  settles  his 
wish  for  both  lasses — 

Wae's  ine,  for  baiih  I  canna  get. 
To  ane  by  law  were  stented, 
I'hen  I  '11  draw  cuts,  and  lake  my  fate> 
And  be  with  ane  contented^ 
K 


98 

D. 
Daabing.  Smearing — dirtying — covering  over 
— daubing.  Daabing  is  a  particular  mode  of  cover* 
ing  walls  of  cottages  and  farm  buildings  with  a  com- 
position of  ciay,  a  little  lime,  and  straw  well  mixed. 
It  is  very  durable,  lasting  forty  or  fifty  or  more  years, 
daahed  over  latb,  hazles,  or  any  sticks  witii  small 
interstices.  Ray  has  a  homely  proverb  referring  to 
this  process  "There's  craft  in  dawhing'* — or  (as  he 
explains  it)  *' there  is  more  craft  in  dawbing  than 
throwing  dirt  on  the  wall."  p.  93.  But  I  take  the 
pith  of  the  proverb  to  be  this — that  even  in  dawbing^ 
easy  as  it  may  seem,  some  craft,  or  skill,  may  be  shewn. 
In  Tusser's  time,  this  process  was  called  Tamp'Hng^ 
(See  under  Goof,  verse  16,  and  note) — or  it  may 
mean  only  tempering  or  preparing  the  clay. 

Da  AT  A  or  Dahter.     Daughter.     See  Fdlla. 

Dab.  a  frequent  application  of  a  co(»Iing  liquid 
on  a  wetted  cloth  or  rag  to  an  inflamed  eye  or  spot 
is  called  dabbing  it — **  dab  it  often." 

The  word  means  also  a  blow,  or  pat.  **  A  dab 
i*  the  chops."  But  it  is  not,  I  perceive,  included 
among  the  variety  of  offensive  manipulations  enu- 
merated under  AiNT.  In  Scottish  Dab  means  to 
peck,  as  birds  do — and  a  stroke  from  the  beak  of 
a  bird.  J.     It  has  the  same  meanings  in  Suffolk. 

Dabchick.  A  small  inedible  water-fowl — called 
also  Dldapper, 

Dabs.  Agricultural  implements  of  wood  shod 
with  irt»u,  for  making  conical  holes  to  receive  the 
seed  corn  dropped  in  by  hand.  They  are  used  for 
pease,  beans  and  wheat.  One  is  held  in  each  hand 
of  the  operator,  who  walks  backwards  while  dabbing. 
It  is  also  called  dibbling,  and  the  instrument  a  dibble* 
The  latter  word  is  used  by  Shakespeare. 

Dad.  Daddy.  Father — Tad  German.  Also 
Bop.  The  words  easiest  pronounced,  which  -^relabials* 
are  those  in  most  languages  found  to  meau  parents : 
Mum,  Mam,  or  Ma— Pap,  Bop,  Pa. 


Dafftdowndillt.    The  Daffodil. 
.  So  Tusser—*<  Daffodils,  or  daffddondillies.**  p.  122. 

Dag.  The  morning  dew.  In  Cheshire  <'  Dagg  is 
an  old  word  for  dew.  In  Norfolk  a  shower  of  rain 
is  called  a  Dagg  for  the  turnips.  Johnson  calls  it  a 
low  word  ;  it  is,  however,  in  common  use  in  Ciiebhire 
and  elsewhere:  daggle-tailed  is  also  comuion.**  W. 
Ray,  who  says  it  is  Anglo  Saxon,  has  this  periplirasis 
as  he  calls  it, "  for  one  drunk."  "  He  is  dag(fdy*  p.  69. 
This  may  be  equivalent  to  beincj^^f^//,  a  more  mo- 
dem "periphrasis"  of  a  iike  preilicanicnt. 

Among  his  S.  and  E.  country  words  Ray  has  "  Dag^ 
dew  upon  the  grass.  Hence  dagg le-i ail  is  spoken  of 
a  woman  that  hath  dabbled  her  coats  with  dew,  wet, 
or  dirt.''  E.W.  p.  74.  We  now,  I  think,  say  draggle- 
tailed,  of  such  a  person. 

In  Scottish  *^  Dag  is  a  thin  and  gentle  rain,  also 
a  thick  fog  or  mist.  As  a  verb  it  means  to  rain 
gently — Icelandic  daugg,  pluvia ;  Swedish  dagg,  a 
thick  or  drizzling  rain/'  J. 

Dahnashun.     The  softening,  probably,  of  a 
common   imprecation.      It   is    sometimes  farther 
softened  by   dropping   the  first  syllable—**  Why 
what  a  nashtin  fule  yow  aar  "  is  as  superktive  as  , 
dahnashun^    See  Nashun. 

Dainty.  Too  particular  in  the  matter  of  eating. 
It  is  very  common  to  say  this  of  any  one  disposed  to 
epicurism  in  its  usual  sense.  Also  of  any  well-fed 
horse,  beast,  sheep,  dog,  &c.  that  reject  any  ordinary 
food.  It  is  sometimes  said  of  a  female  who  have 
refused  several  good  offers  of  marriage,  that  '*  she  is. 
too  dainty"  -It  is  seldom  used  in  a  good  sense— 
though  one,  not  being  hungry,  or  requiring  to  have 
the  palate  tiekled,  will.say  of  himself,  *'  I  am  rather 
dainty.**  This  word  is  so  familiar  to  me,  and  I  believe 
all  over  Suffolk,  that  I  was  somewhat  sbrprised  to 

Srceive  Nares  treating  it  rather  as  an  aucoromon  one. 
e  shews,  however,  that  it  is  used  by  Shakespeare, 
Beaumont  aud  FIetc(ier,  and  Spenser. . 

k2 


100 

'    Damnifed.     Indemnified.      "  Teent  nawn  tn 
him — he's  damnijfied.'' 

Dane.    Noise — clatter — disturbance:  din. 

Ray  has  "  to  make  a  dinn,  i.  e.  a  noise,  which  w^ 
in  Essex  pronounce  Dane,  and  is  in  frequent  use." 
E.W.  p.  Tiii.         ' 

Dan  k.  Moist,  damp,  as  to  the  weather,  meadowa, 
&c,  "  A  dank  rafty  morning."  Shakespeare  uses 
the  word  in  this  sense  in  K.  H.  the  4ih.P.  1.  II.  1» 

Carrier. — Pease  and  beans  are  as  dank  here  as  a  dog,  -and 
that  IS  the  next  way  to  give  poor  jades  the  bott.  .     . 

Again — 

■  b  it  physical 

To  walk  unbraced,  and  sock  up  the  bumonrs 
Of  the  danfc  morning?    Jul.  C,  II.  1. 
Again — 

Ere  the  sun  advance  his  burning  eye. 

The  day  to  cheer,  and  night^s  dank  dew  to  dry. 

Rem.  ^  /.  XL  3. 

"  Dank — wet,  rotten,"  says  a  commentator^ 

Dank  Hug,  furguf,  will  quioUy  rot.     Tuuer.  p.  55.-  ,- '     - 

In  Scottish  Dank  has  a  like  meaning.  Jametsoii 
explains  this  word — **  damp — in  English  dank — r 
moisture,  perhaps  mouldiness.  In  the  ancient 
lanj^uage  of  Sweden  dank-en.'*  Dank  is  a  good 
poetical  word,  and  will  come  again  into  use. 

Now  that  the  fields  are  dank  and  roads  are  mire.  IdMton,  Sdnnet. 

I  am  surprised  that  this  word  should  have  ti^ 
caped  Nares. 

Dans.  Yearling  lambs — such  as  are  intended 
at  a  year-old  to  be  fatted  for  the  butcher.  Fanners 
who  buy  in  lambs  at  the  August  or  September  fairs^ 
and  sell  them  in  the  following  spring  or  early  sum.- 
mer,  are  said  to  "Dan  'em.''  Query,  from  ih^ 
French  D'an? 

It  would  be  curious  to  see  at  one  view  the  various 
names  in  use  in  the  different  counties  of  England » 
for  lambs  and  sheep,  to  distinguish  their  various 
ages  and  conditions.  I  will  here  enuiherate  sudt 
as  occur  to  nib^  thus  used  in  Sufic^k — 


101 

Sam  and  Ewe  I  take  to  be  in  common  usage 
eveiy  where  for  the  male  and  female.    While  young 
and  used  the  former  is  called  Tup,  pretty  exten- 
sively ;  now,  as  well  as  in  Shakespeare's,  and  earlier 
days.     A  young  ewe  is  a  Theavc. 

Male  lambs  as  soon  as  cut  we  call  Wedders. — 
And  this  name  they  retain  through  life.  Hog  and 
Haggety  distinguish  both  sexes  in  their  second  year, 
or  till  after  their  second  shearing.  One-shear ^  TWo- 
sheaTy  and  Three'sbear-sheep  also  denote  their  ages. 
Shearlands,  or  Shearlings,  mark,  the  period  between 
the  first  and  second  shearing,  or  clipping,  in  both 
sexes.  Crone  is  the  name  of  the  breeding  ewe  after 
she  have,  had  lambs  and  lost  her  teeth,  and  this 
name  she  retains  through  iife.  When  their  teeth, 
get  bad  or  they  have  lost  them,  and  they  are  no 
longer  fit  for  the  breeding  flock>  they  are  termed 
Old-crone$.  By  some  I  have  been  told  that  it  is 
the  loss  of  teeth  which  marks  the  Crone,  in  either 
sex.     See  Crhne  and  Wedbbr. 

What  I  have  called  Wedders,  is  evidently  but 
mother  pronunciation  of  Wethers.  Both  terms  are 
in  use,  with  us — but  the  first  is  most  common.  In 
Jameison  we  find  that  "Dinmont  is  a  wedder  in -the 
second  year,'*  in  Scotland. 

Not  being  quite  certain  as  to  the  exact  application 
of  the  term  Crone,  I  have,  since  that  article  was 
in  the  press,  made  enquiry  of  a  company  of  *'  lamb 
erowers,"  as  we  sometimes  call  flock-masters — and 
it  is  odd — but  great  differences  of  opinion  were  en- 
tertained on  the  question.  Some  very  intelligent 
men  affirmed  that  a  Crone  is  necessarily  a  ewe — a 
toothless  dam.  Others,  equally  intelligent,  declared 
that  a  toothless  wedder — if  one  by  accident  should 
be  suffered  to  live  long  enough  to  become  toothless, 
which  is  seldom  the  case — would  become  a  Crone. 
I  miist  thus  for  the  present  leave  the  question. 

Darnak  or  Dahnak.     A  thick  leather  hedging 
le/Sr-hand  glove.         % 
Darnel.    A  species  of  coarse  grass,  or  weed^ 


102 

of  the  genus  Lolium,    The  L.  arveme — perha^v^ 

It  is  troublesome  on  strong  soils,  as  it  is  not 
easy  to  keep  wheat  and  rye  crops  free  from  it. 
Farmers  on  those  soils  will  accord  with  Virgil  in 
calling  it  Infelix  Lolium.  There  were  anciently 
some  fabulous  legends  connected  with  this  half- 
grain — half-grass :  and  in  modern  times  it  has  a 
mixed  history — for  as  well  as  being  a  noxious  weed» 
it  is  sometimes  forced  into  the  service  of  man.  Its 
seeds  have  a  narcotic  quality ;  and  it  is  not,  or  a 
few  years  ago  was  not,  very  uncommon  for  our 
workmen  who  brewed  at  home,  to  mix  them  with 
their  malt.  This  quality  has  not  altogether  es- 
caped public  brewers,  for  Stowe  remarks  it  as  a 
custom  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth  for  the  London 
brewers  to  do  the  like,  **  to  make'*  as  he  says  "  the 
drinkei*s  thirsty  that  they  might  drink  the  more." 
Ray  seems  to  have  confounded  Darnel,  Brank,  and 
Crap.     See  under  Brank. 

Dash.  To  snub,  or  check  one's  forwardness 
before  company.  **  Lawk !  how  yow  dew  dashone,^ 
Also  an  oath — **  I'll  be  dasht  if  I  dew." 

Daw,  a  beetle — Scarab,  Particularly  the  large 
black  **  shard- born  beetle."  Nares  has  **J?ur,  a 
drone  or  beetle." 

"What  should  I  care  that  every  dor  doth  baz 

In  credulous  ears?        B.Jon.  Cynthia*  $  Reveh.  IIL  3.. 

We  pronounce  it  I  think  as  much  Dor  as  Daw, 
Dawbing.    See  Daabino. 

Dawble.  a  slatternly,  untidy,  unprofitable 
housewife.  Dawdlin,  Idling — doing  of  nothing — 
"  IIow  yow  dew  dawdle  about "  is  often  in  the 
mouth  of  a  bustling  body,  by  way  of  fillip  to  her 
servant  or  apprentice.  See  Owlen — and  Nonna- 
RBN.  Ray,  as  a  north  country  word  has  ''  Dawgos 
or  Dawkin  ;  a  dirty  slattering  woman."  £.  W.  p.  25. 
Also  Daffoch,  ib. 

In  Scottish  they  have  several  words  of  similar 
sound  and  meaning — ^*  Doddle,  is  to  do  any  :«rork 


i03 

in  a  slovenly  way.  Dawdie,  a  dirty  slovenly  woman : 
IhuMfy  in  old  English: — Iclandic  dawda,  doppa^ 
foemella  i^ava. — To  Dawdle,  to  be  indolent  or 
slovenly."  J. 

Dawzey.  Stupified — sleepy — dozey,  perhaps. 
"  A  dawzey  hidded  fellah."   Dozzled  is  perhaps  the 

same  wordL 

• 

Dead.  Death— to  dead-^to  death.  ''  She  dol- 
lopp't  ar  child  ta  dead," 

Deal.  A  quantity — and  comparatively,  a  great 
quantity.  **  A  deal  o'  money,"  is  more  commonly 
heard  than  a  great  deal — or  a  good  de^l.  The 
epithet  is  implied.  A  sort,  or  a  sight,  in  combi- 
nation, are  phrases  equivalent  to  a  deal.  See  under 
those  words. 

Death.     Deaf — **as  death  as  a  beetle." 

Deb.     Did — Dednt — did  not — also  dint, 

Deeve.  Dive  or  dip.  "  Deere  yar  hand  in."  So 
heeve — for  hive — and  in  many  other  instances,  some 
of  which  see  under  Aninnd. 

Deft.  Handy — nimble — dexterous  or  neat.  A 
word  not  often  heard  in  Suffolk.  Nares  shews  that 
it  and  deftly,  are  used  by  Shakespeare,  and  other 
writers  about  his  time. 

Delf.  a  ditch — not  common — hence  to  delve, 
to  dig  ;  but  this  is  becoming  obsolete  in  Suffolk. — 
In  Scottish,  A  delf  is  a  pit,  a  grave — from  the  Bel- 
gic  delve,  a  pit,  delver,  to  dig.  J. 

DftNT.  The  worst  of  any  thing — \he  pinch.  After 
a  very  loud  clap  of  thunder,  a  woman  said  '*  'Tis  all 
over.     1  knew  that  was  the  dent  of  it.** 

Devil's  dung.  Assafoetid^  **  DeviFs  dun*^ 
pi!)jV"  In  Scottish  DeiFs-dung,  according  to  Ja- 
meisotty  has  a  like  appropriate  meaning. 

Deviltry.  Roguery,  wantonness,  mischief. — 
A  field  or  fence  over-run  with  weeds  will  be  said  to 
have  "  all  manner  of  deviltry  in  it" — or  "  all 
manner  of  roguery.*' 


•      104 

Devlin.  A  species  of  swallow  or  swift,  tLat 
frequents  old  buildings.  It  is  I  believe  the  Uirvndp 
apvs, 

Drw.  Do — does.  "Dew  it  rain?"  **  Is,  ta 
dric."     See  BuTRS. 

Dewin.     Doing. 

Dibble.  The  operation  of  dropping  grains  of 
corn,  wheat,  beans,  and  pease  generally,  into  holes 
made  by  dibbles  or  dabs.     See  Dabs. 

The  operation  is  otherwise  called  dropping ;  more 
commonly  so  called,  and  indeed  more  properly,  for 
dibbling  is  in  strictness  making  the  holes.  It  is  an 
old  word,  and  more  extensively  used  than  I  was 
aware  of.  Among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words 
Ray  has  ''  A  dibble,  an  instrument  to  make  holes  in 
the  ground  with,  for  setting  beans,  pease,  or  the 
like — Of  general  use.*'  E.  W.  p.  74. 

Nares  notices  the  word,  and  describes  the  tool 
as  still  in  use :  and  shews  it  to  occur  in  Shake- 
speare— 

1*1!  not  put 

The  dibble  in  the  carih  to  set  one  slip  of  them.  Win,  T.  IV.  S* 

And  in  Tusser — 

Through  cunuing,  with  dibble,  rake,  mattock,  and  spade. 
By  line  and  b^  level,  trim  garden  is  made. 

biBLES  or  DiABLEs.  Difficulties — distresses 
— vexations — Dibles  rhymes  to  libels — Diables  to 
liable — pliable.     The  etymology  is  obvious.   . 

Dicky.  An  ?ss.  In  some  counties  it  is  called 
Neddy. 

Dicky  BAHD.  The  general  term  for  any  small 
bird — not  confined  to  Suffolk,  but  prevalent  probably 
over  most,  or  all,  parts  of  £ii«;land.  I  should  not 
have  introduced  it  but  with  the  view  of  giving  the 
following  article  from  Mr.  Wilbra ham's  Cheshire 
Glossary — *'Jack  Nicker — a  Gold  Finch;  why  so 
called  1  cannot  conjecture.  It  is  particular,  hoMevrr» 
to  observe  the  appl'opriation  of  christian  luimes  to 


105 

natiy  kinds  of  birds.  Thus  all  little  birds  are  by  children 
ealled  Dicky-birds.  We  have  Jack-Snipe,  Jack-Daw, 
Tom-Tit,  Robin  Redbreast,  Poll  Parrot,  a  Gill- 
liooter — a  Magpie  is  always  called  Madge ;  a  Starling, 
Jacob;  a  Sparrow,  Philip;  and  a  Raven,  Ralph.**  W. 
These  names  all,  I  believe,  obtain  in  Suffolk,  except 
perhaps  the  last  two  or  three,  and  the  first.  In  com- 
pensation wc  have  Jack  Curlew,  Jenny  Wren,  and 
Betty,  the  consort  of  Tom  Tit.  And  in  the  absence 
of  Jack  Nicker,  we- have  King  Harry. 

DiCKY-Bi  LV BR.  The  perrivvinkle.  The  flower- 
PerviTica.  Tutson,  which  see,  is  another  Suffolk  word 
for  this  pretty  flower — the  shell  fish  being  appro- 
priately called  pin-^tch. 

D I  DAPPER.  The  small  water  fowl  which  we  also 
call  dabchick,  Nares  gives  both  these  names  as  well 
as  Dive-dapper,  equivalent,  he  surmises^  to  small-^ 
diver — 

This  dandy-prat,  this  dive-dapper.  Middleton  An.  Dr,  IV.  372* 

DiDDY.  The  female  breast  of  milk.  Giving  a 
child  the  Diddy  is  suckling  it.  The  same  in  Cheshire. 
W.  In  some  dialects  of  India,  dood  is  milk;  and 
giving  a  child  the  doodo,  has  the  like  meaning  as  the 
word,  now  under  consideration  with  us.  With  etymo- 
logists, vowels  are  known  to  stand  fur  nothing — and 
it  has  been,  rather  smartly,  said,  that  with  many  of 
them  consonants  stand  for  very  little.  To  such  there- 
fore these  words,  so  distantly  used,  will  appear  cog- 
nate if  not  identical. 

Diddles  or  Didjdlins.  Ducklins,  very  young. 
Sometimes  applied  endearingly  to  children,  or  any 
young  creatures. 

Dike.  A  ditch.  The  same  in  Scottish.  J.  We 
do  not  use  this  word  as  iii  Scotland,  Holland,  .&c. 
in  the  sense  of  a  wall  or  rampart,  or  any  thing 
raised.  With  us  the  word  seems  merely  a  substitu- 
tion of  a  hard  for  a  soft  termination — similar  to 
Perkf  which  see. 


106 

Dills.  Teats — "  A  pig  to  every  dill"  is  a  goo4 
character  for  a  store  (or  breeding  )  sow.  "  Mort- 
pigs  than  dilh "  is  said  of  a  large  family  and  small 
means,  in  the  same  figurative  sense  in  which  a  pa^ 
triot  applied  a  like  phrase  to  his  drained  country : 
it  gives  a  title  also  to  a  print  of  some  humour  in  the 
London  show  windows,  where  a  very  promising 
"  store  beast'*  is  grunting  and  reclining  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  her  rapacious  offspring ;  who  are 
depicted  more  numerous  than  her  sources  of  supply> 
in  the  effigies  of  certain  ministers,  placemen,  pen* 
sioners,  &c.  sucking  and  squabbling,  and  squeaking 
for  the  *'  milk  and  honey,"  of  the  typical  treasury. 

Connected  with  this  word  Dill,  is  perhaps  the  £h7- 
litig  of  Cocker,  who  explains  it  as  the  same  as  ^'dar^ 
linr/,  the  youngest  child,  or  one  born  when  the  parents 
are  old."  This  we  call  Pinbasket.  I  am  not  aware 
that  this  word  is  known  out  of  Suffolk — nor  did  I 
ever  see  it  in  print.  In  Nares  under  Dilling,  are 
some  quotations,  seeming  to  imply  relationship. 

Saint  Hellenes  name  doth  bear  the  dilling  of  her  mother. 

Polyalbion,  Song  2. 

Tb  make  up  the  match  with  my  eldest  daughter,  my  wife's 
diUingf  ^Vhooj  she  longs  to  call  mud  am. 

Eastw.Hoe,  O.Play.  IV.  206. 

Nares,  however,  thinks  with  Cocker  that  the  word 
is  the  same  as  darling,  which  these  quotations,  and 
another  which  he  gives  from  Drayton,  do  not  oppose. 
But  the  idea  of  nurture  may  also  be  inferred. 

Di  LLY.  A  term  at  a  game  called  Cocks»  that  has 
Ueen  falling  into  disuse  for  more  than  half  a  century-^ 
and  is  now  scarcely  known  in  the  county.  This  game 
of  Cocks  was  played  with  pieces  of  lead — not  with 
the  tough,  tufted,  stem  of  the  plantane.  See  CoCKS. 

DjLVBRD.  Confused — heavy — unwell — out  of 
aorts. 

Ding.  Throw — like  cop  or  hull.  Also  to  dash, 
to  ride  bard.  "  'A  clapp't  spars  to  Vs  boss  and  awah 
''d  went  full  ding,'*  The  word  also  exteuda  to  a  thiunp 


107 

the  head.  Like— Dint,  Dnnt,  Dnnsli,  &c.  Sih* 
NT.  It  is  Scottish — •'  He  gars  liis  awn  wand  ding 
n.**  Ray  p. 294.  He  also  denotes  Ding  as  a  verb 
suing  to  beat^  a  north  conntry  word.  E.  W.  p.  20. 

a  S.  and  £.  country  word  lie  also  gives  it  in  a 
Ferent  sense.  "To  ding,  to  sling,  Essex/*  E.  W. 
74. 

Nares  gives  the  following  explanation  and  quota- 
ns  of  "  Ding — to  strike  violently  down,  to  dash." 

3rooght  in  a  fresh  siippl^^  of  halbardiers, 

^hicti  paancird  bis  horse  and  din^d  him  to  the  ground. 

Span,  Trag,  O.  P.  III.  133. 
The  hellish  prince,  grim  I^ufo,  with  his  mace, 
Oing  down  my  soul  tu  heU.  Buttle  of  Alcazar.  D.  4.  Gloss, 

We  have  still  the  word  paunc/id  in  the  above  sense. 

DiNX^LE.  A  lowish,  irregular,  vale- like,  confined 
*ce  of  land.  Ray  ^jyves  it  as  a  norf  h  country  word, 
suing  **  A  small  cleugh  or  valley,  between  two  steep 
Is."  E.  W.  )i.  26.  It  occurs  in  Halidon  Hill,  in  a 
e  sense.  I.  2.  In  Nares  dimble  is  given  as  the 
lie  word.     I  never  heard  it. 

DiNJi  N.  Showery.  Weather  untit  to  lioe  wheat 
—as  the  weeds  do  not  die.  Mizzle,  Smither  and 
uir  are  other  words  implying  moisture.  Dinjin 
alher,  we  also  cM  falling  'mm]  following  weather. 
iis|>ect  some  relationship  between  ding — dunsh — . 
i\ — dank. 

Dint.  Did  not.  "What!  did  he  dew  that  there?" 
lo— 'a  dint,*'  '*  I  dint  sab  no  such  ihing." 
Dint  is  also  a  blow,  a  thump,  similar  to  dunt.  See 
NT  and  Dunt.  Alsoa  dcnf,  or  indentation,  which 
however  call  a  doke.  The  word  Dint,  in  the 
96  of  a  blow  or  wound,  1  find  in  Fanshawe*s  trans*^ 
oh  of  the  Lusind  of  Camoeus.  The  poet  is  de- 
ibfog  a  combat  between  Gama  and  the  red-capped 
STres  of  Africa.     It  is  Gama  who  relates  it. 

A  cloud  of  arrows  and  sharp  stones  they  rain 
And  hail  upon  us,  without  any  stint; 
"t^ot  were  these  uttered  to  the  air  in  vain> 
P«r  in  thb  leg  I  there  received  a  dinU 


108 

But  vire,  as  prickt  with  smart  and  with  disdalii> 
Made  them  a  ready  answer,  so  in  prini 
That  (I  believe  in  earnest)  with  our  raps> 
We  made  their  heads  as  crimson  as  their  caps. 

Dunt  and  Dunsh  are  words  of  nearly  similar  ini« 
port.  Dint  is  Scottisli.  "  The  dint  of  a  elotli  yard- 
^haft."  Monastery.  I.  8. — but  it  does  not  occur  in 
that  sense  iu  Jameison's  excellent  dictionary. 

DiTCHi  NG.  The  common  term  for  making  fences 
— especially  of  feying  out  mnsh  ditches. 

Docii.isiST.  This  curious  word  I  never  heard 
but  once — and  it  was  then  in  speaking  to  the  charac' 
ter  of  a  couple  of  live  Cross^hills,  Loxin  Curvirostra; 
the  owner,  who  wanted  to  sell,  afiirmitig  they  were 
'*  the  most  docilisist  bahds  I  ever  see".  It  is  a  curious 
instance  of  the  super  superlative,  or  ultra  extreme. 

Dock.  The  tail;  the  hindtBr part.  Podex.  Docked^ 
as  in  other  counties,  means  to  cut  off,  to  curtail.  "  A 
bung  dock,"  means  a  horse's  tail  cut  off  and  seared 
close  to  his  haunches.  A  villainous  custom  nowhap» 
pily  lapsing;  into  disuse — but  which  has  been  suffered 
too  long  to  disgrace  our  county.     See  BuNG. 

DoDDY.  Little— small — as  to  bulk,  not  number. 
*'A  doddy  bit."     Al>o  Totty. 

DoDMAivf  or  HoDMANDOD,  which  see,  a  suail. 

DoDGK.  To  seek  a  person  or  animal  trying  to 
avoid  you.  A  man  will  dod^e  a  hare^— a  baiiey,  a 
creditor. 

Dogs.  An  iron  iniplement  used  by  sawyers  about 
a  foot  long  and  as  thick  as  a  thumb,  with  a  point  an- 
inch  long  projecting  at  a  right  angle  at  each  end.  One 
point  is  stuck  into  the  log  to  be  sawn,  the  other  into 
its  supporting  roller,  to  keep  it  steady  and  finii.  The 
ancient  Cobirons,  seen  in  old  hails  and  housses,  were 
and  are.  called  Z>o^s-— whereof  see  under  Cobiron. 

Doit,  A  small  Dutch  coin  that  used  to  be  often 
seen  on  our  eastern  coast,  when  our  intercourse  with 
Holland  was  more  intimate.     It  was  deemed  equal 


109 

lo  half  a  farthiog,  and  was  current  as  such.  It  was 
•ometimes  called  Duick-doit.  In  Jameison  we  find 
^  Daii  ;  a  small  copper  coin  formerly  current  in  Scot- 
land." But  I  am  not  awarie  that  such  a  coin  was  ever 
struck  in  England. 

DoKB.  The  indentation  made  in  a  bed  to  lie  in 
—the  concavity  between  any  two  swellings,  or  smal! 
risings — (see  Bunny.)  The  pit  or  pet  or  hollow  uf 
the  stomach.  See  Nuddlb.  '*  A  Doke,  a  deep  dint 
or  furrow.  Ess.  Suff."    Ray.  E.W.  p.  75, 

Dole.  Share — portion — any  thing  doled,  or  per* 
faaps,  dealed  out.  i  think  the  word  imports  a  scauty 
portion. 

DoLLOPT*  Badly,  or  too  much,  nursed.  See 
Dbad. 

DoNKS.  At  pitch-halfpenny  or  hussel-cap,  is  the 
same  I  believe  as  Doogs  at  marbles.     See  Doqgs. 

Don't  open  your  mouth  tew  wide.  An  ad* 
monitibn  of  an  incipient  purchaser  to  the  owner  of 
the  desired  ware — not  to  ask  too  a  high  a  price  for 
the  same. 

DoNT  OUGHT.  Ought  not.  '*  Ue  doni  ought  \o 
go.**  lf»  however,  as  hath  lieen  contended,  ouyht  be 
the  preterite  of  ^o  otiTe,  this  may  not,  iu  strictness,  he 
a  vulgarism,  but  a  refinement — "  He  dont  ovght'* 
(i.  e.  doth  not  owe  it  to  himself)  "  to  go.*'  But  this 
may  rather  be  deemed  grammatical  trifling. 

Dont  think.     A  very  common  substitution  for 
a  positive  afhrmation — for  uto  think.     **  He  eent  tew 
year  owd  I  dont  think** — "  Yow  eent  a  dewin  a'  no 
good  theie  1  dont  think"    This  application  of  two 
negatives  is  not  uuusual  even  with  people  of  good, 
education.    "  She  is  not  at  home  I  dont  think,"  or  a 
like  phrase,   as  well  as  "Dont  oijght"  and  "Every' 
each"  (^e  those  articles)  are  sometimes  heard  with^ 
surprise — such  is  the  force  of  example.  -  - ' 

DooGS.    A  party  of  two  or  three  or  more  play-. 

L 


110 

ing  at  marbles,  and  putting  two  or  three  or  more  • 
each  in  the  ring*  he  who  knocks  out  the  number  be 
put  in  is  said  to*  have  *'  got  his  doogs.  '*  I  a'  lost 
tew*' — *'  I  a'  won  tew" — **  I  a'  got<  my  €fo#^«y  *  i.  e.  nei- 
ther won  or  lost.  Doogs  is  a  Bury  word.  Donks  I 
lately  heard  at  Wood  bridge  in  nearly  the  same  sense, 

DooTBD.  Timber  is  said  to  be  dooted  when  not 
sound  from  Assures  b.y  lightniug,  ^ind-shakes,  or  other 
causes.  .  Tiiis  word  is  not  local^it  is  used  (doated) 
in  a  sense  of,  decay'in  Pike's  Exploratory  Travels  in 
Louisiana.  The  word  is  spelled  dotard  iu  a  like  sense 
for  dead  or  decayed  treesin  Cullum's  Hawstead.  The 
reverend  author  refers  to  the  word  so  spelled  in  a  sur- 
vey of  the  possessions  of  the  Archbishopric  of  Canter- 
bury taken  in  1646.  Bib.  Topi  Brit.  No:  XII,  ap, 
p,  54.    Thus,  dotard,  for  a  decayed  imbecile  person. 

Doddered  seems  to  be  the  same  Wdrd. 

So  it  fareth  with  the  same  tree  in  its  decay :  for  it  become 
sapless  and  doddered,  one  knoweth  not  well  wherefore. 

StanihursVs  Prose  Worhs,  343. 
And  thus  in  Scott's  Halidon  Hill — ; 

— ' a  most  notorious  knave,    • 

Whose  throat  I've  destined  to  the  doddered  oak 
Before  m^  castle.  I.  2.     • 

Dop.  To  curtsey.  "  Dop  a  curtsey"  to  a  girl,  is 
equivalent  to  "  doff  your  hat"  to  a  boy  :  but  neither 
words  are  now  iiiuch  heard.  Nares  has  "  Dop,  for 
dip,  a  very  low  bow;"  but  I  do  not  know  the  word 
in  that  sense. 

•  Do$s.  The  hassock  for  kneeling  on  at  church. 
Also  the  tussocks,  or  large  knots,  of  coarse  sour  rusfay 
grass  in  boggy  low  lands.  The  first  being,  iu  coun^ 
try  churqhes,  usually  made  of  Segs,  or  rushes,  has  pro- 
bably given  the  name  to  the  other^  to  which  it,  indeed, 
bears  some  resemblance.  To  doss,  is  likev^ise  to  toss» 
or  butt  with  the  horns.  In  Cheshire  a  hassock  is 
<^l|ed  JBoss,  and  Mr.  W.  apprehends  Grose  to  be  in 
error  in  calling  it  Doss  or  Poss,  As  far  as  regards- 
Doss,  he  appears  to  be  right.  In  Scottish  Dnsh  is 
fopmb,  as  a  ram,  ox,  &c.  J. 


Ill 

Dossers.  Panniers. — I  give  this  word  doubtingly,. 
as  to  its  being  SufFcIk.     See  under  Pfd. 

Double  tom.  A  double-breasted  plough^  used 
for  drawing  water- furrows,  landing  up  potatoes,  tur- 
nips, &c.  in  drills  or  ridges.  It  is  also  called  a 
Tommy. 

Dow.  The  pigeon — dove— 'Ring  dow,  the  wood 
pigeon,  from  the  white  ring  round  its  neck.  Dow- 
house — the  dove  cote. 

As  a  S.  and  E.  country  word  Ray  gives  *'  Culver, 
a  pigeon  or  dove — ab  A.  S.  Cutfer — Coluniba."  E.W. 
p.  74.  I  never  heard  Ctt/uer.  See  Bent.  In  Scot- 
lish  Dow,  is  the  dove ;  and  Jameisoii  derives  it  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon  cfuua.  InGage\s  Hengnive,  p.  193, 
we  read  **  For  xx  culevers  xvij  /i" — but  it  is  evident 
from  the  price  that  pige<ms  are  not  meant.  Being 
coupled  with  "powder  and  matche,"  a  species  of  fire- 
arm is  probably  designed. 

Dowdy.    A  slovenly,  slow-paced  woman.    See 

DA-WDLE. 

DowLY  or  Dwiley,  Flannel,  &c.  for  rubbing  fur- 
niture.    See  ToWLEY. 

Down  i'  the  mouth.  Low  spirited.  In  the 
dumps.     Not  local  perhaps. 

Dowse.  A  cuff — a  blow.  •'  Fll  gi  ye  a  dowse  V 
th'  chops.**  See  an  enumeration  of  divers  of  such 
ofiensive  terms  under  Aint. 

In  Scftttish,  according  to  Jameison,  Doyce  and 
Donss,  are,  like  the  English  douss,  a  dull,  heavy 
stroke ;  a  blow. 

Doxy.  A  girl — a  mistress — rather  an  equivocal, 
if  not  a  disrespectful  word.  Nares  has  some  curious 
old  quotations  under  this  word — tempting ;  but  my 
growing  matter  reminds  nie  of  the  sinalhiess  of  my 
adopted  page. 

DozsLEO.   -Stupid — heavy.     See  Dawzby. 

Draff.    Chaff— refuse  straw— hog-.wasli — swilL 

l2 


11^ 

.  *'  Draffe  is  good  enough  for  swine/'    Ray  p.  99.  285. 
He  gives  it  as  a  Scotch  proverb.    Shakespeare  has 

Drof  and  basks.    JC.  H.  the  4  P.  1.  IV.  2. 

In  Scottbh  **  Draff,  grains — draff-pack,  a  sack  for" 
carrying  grains.'^  J.  "Dro^— hog-wash,  or  any  such 
coarse  liquor.  Milton  uses  the  word,  and  it  can 
.hardly  be  reckoned  obsolete.'^  NarBs  GL  Several 
quotations  are  given  from  our  old  writers  who  use 
the  word— «by  Drayton  spelled  draugh. 

Da^lFT.     a  copy  of  a  writing  or  picture. 

Draggle-tail BD.  A  female  untidy  ^bout  the 
petticoats.  Ray  calls  it  Daggle-tailed,  and  derives 
it  from  dag,  dew.     See  under  that  word. 

Dranes.  Grains — from  brewing — what  beer  has 
drained  from. 

Drat  it.  A  good  humoured  sort  of  half  oath. 
An  abbreviation  perhaps  of  Od  rat  it»  or  Od  rot  it. 
Rabbit  it,  or  'Drabbit  it — or  Ods  rabbit  it ;  are  others 
of  equivalent  meaning,  or  no  meaning.  Of  these 
demi-oaths  we  have  a  good  many,  as  noticed  under 
Amenden. 

Draw.  A  proof  of  strength  and  bottom  to  which 
the  Suffolk  breed  of  cart  horse  was  formerly  put. 
"  Drawing  matches**  or  "  a  drawing"  were  frequent 
in  former  days,  but  are  now  perhaps  wholly  discon- 
tinued. In  that  entertaining  piece  of  topography^ 
Cullum*s  Hawstead,  the  term  ''drawing  match^*  occur* 
ring,  there  is  this  note. 

**  I  transcribe  an  advertisement  of  these  matdies 
from  the  Suffolk  Mercury  of  22  June,  1724. 

«<  On  Tbarsday  July  29  1724  there  will  be  a  Drawing  at  Is* 
worth  PickareU  for  a  piece  of  plate  of  45  shillings  valuet  ^.vA  they 
that  will  bring  five  horses  or  mares  may  put  in  for  it,  and  they 
that  can  draw  20  the  best  and  fairest  pulls  with  their  reins  ap» 
and  then  they  that  can  carry  the  greatest  weight  ov^r  the  Uock 
with  fewest  lifts  and  fewest  pulls»  shall  have  the  said  plate*  by 
such  judges  as  the  masters  of  the  teams  shall  choose.  You  are 
to  meet  at  12  o*clock  and  put  in  your  names  (or  else  to  be  debarred 
from  drawing  for  it)  ^^^  subscribe  balf  acrown  a  peoe  to  hepwd 
to  the  aecond  best  team.** 


113 

Some  parts  of  the  above,  the  reverend  author  adds 
nay  perhaps  require  a  commentary. 

"The  trial  is  made  with  a  waggou  loaded  with  sand,  the  wheeli 
ft  little  sunk  into  the  groand,  with  blocks  of  wood  laid  before 
them  to  increase  the  difficulty.  The  first  efforis  are  made  with 
Uie  reins  fastened  as  nsaal  to  the  collar ;  but  the  animals  cannot 
when  so  con6ned,  put  out  their  full  strtfngth :  the  reins  are  there* 
fure  afterwards  tlirown  loose  un  their  necks,  when  they  can  exert 
their  utmost  powers,  which  they  usually  do  by  falling  on  their 
knees  and  drawing  in  that  attitude.  That  they  may  not  break 
their  knees  by  this  operation,  the  area  on  which  they  draw  is 
strown  with  soft  sand."  p.  323. 

The  Pickarel,  is  still  the  sign  of  the  public-house 
at  I X worth. 

Draw  cuts.    See  Cuts. 

Drawk  or  Drake.  A  species  of  grass  or  weed, 
troublesome  in  strong  soils.  Like  darnel  it  is  diflicult 
to  keep  wheat  clear  from  it. 

Drawl.  \  slow  affected  mode  of  speaking — also 
slowness  of  motion.  "  She's  a  drawling  thing,"  im- 
plies lack  of  briskness  in  a  maid-servant,  <!tc.  In 
Scottish  it  means  *'  to  be  slow  in  action.  Teutonic 
drael-en,  cunctari."  J. 

Dreens.  Drains,  in  land :  the  work  is  called 
dreening. 

Dree  p.  Drip.  Also  the  fall,  or  descent  in  this 
sense — "Three  inches  in  a  foot  is  suilicieiit  dreep  for 
pantiles."    That  is  a  sufficient  fall  to  carry  off  rain. 

Drench.  A  drink  for  a  sick  horse.  I  have  had 
occasionin  many  instances  to  notice  this  interchange  of 
ksuad  ch.  See  under  Pbrk,  where  a  few  are  enumer- 
ated. As  elsewhere  we  use  the  word  drench  as  a  verb, 
implying  to  wet  thoroughly.     See  Drouched. 

Dresser.  The  kitchen  table  or  side-board  where- 
on the  cook  prepares  her  meats,  8ic, 

Dribble.  A  drop — small  rain.  Driblin,  and 
drizlin,  also  mean,  as  elsewhere,  light  rain.  Mizzle, 
and  Suiither,  are  other  names,  for  it.  See  under  those 
words. 

l3 


114 

Drindle.  a  small  slow  run  of  water,  orratber  its 
bed — a  drill  6r  small  furrow  for  receiving  seed-corOf 
&c.  It  differs  from  a  Currel,  or  Cnrrl  I  believe  in 
this — that  the  latter  must  be  of  running  water.  The 
word  is  sometimes  heard  figuratively  *'He  is  the 
drmdlest  man  I  ever  did  business  with**— that  is,  a 
slow  man.    See  Grip. 

DrI  ppEN.  The  drippings  or  gravy  of  roast  meat 
caught  in  the  **  Latch  pan"  which  see.  In  Scottish 
we  find  ''  Dreip,  to  distil  in  drops,  from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  dryp-anJ^  J. 

Driv.  Drove.  " Ah— 'a  driv  a  raretrade.**  " Yow 
driv  yar  pigs  finely  i'  the  night.''    That  is  Snored. 

Droppen.  The  operation  of  dropping  grains 
of  wheat,  pease,  or  beans,  into  holes  made  by  the 
dahs  OT  dibbles.  See  under  those  words.  Droppers 
are  always  women  and  children ;  and  as  the  dibbler 
generally  takes  the  job  by  the  acre,  the  earnings 
of  a  family  at  this  work  are  considerable.  It  is 
surprising  with  what  quickness  and  accuracy  drop- 
ping is  executed  by  a  good  dropper.  One  will 
sometimes  carry  three  holes  at  once;  children  sel- 
dom more  than  one  hole :  such  portion  of  work  is 
called  a  rocket.  "  That  is  yar  rocket.'* — **  This  is 
my  rocket." 

Dro  u  c  hed.  Drenched — with  rain.  Droukit,  in 
Scottish. 

Drouth  or  Drout.  Dryness — ^aridity— thirst. 
J>row*A6y— thirsty,  dry.    Thus  Shakespeare 

Crickets  sing  at  the  oven's  mouth 

As  the  blither  for  their  drouth.    Per,  P,  rfT.  III.  1. 

Ray  gives  it  in  a  Scottish  proverb  "Drink  and 
drouth  comes  sindle  together."  p.  285.  **  Drouth, 
drought,  thirst— droM^Ay,  thirsty" — in  Scotland.  J, 

Drownded.    Drowned. 

Drug.  A  vehicle  for  the  conveyance  of  heavy 
timber.  The  timber  is  kiid  on  the  Drug,  and  it  fa  tims 


115 

dbtinguistied  from  a  Jim.  The  Drug  is  composed  of 
two  axietreeA  atid  two  pair  of  wheels -r  the  hinder  pair 
movable  nearer  to,  or  more  distant  from,  the  fore 
pair  on  a  pole.  The  Jim  has  but  one  pair  of  wheelA^ 
and  carries  the  timber  under  the  axle.     See  Jim. 

In  Scottish  we  find  "Drug,  to  pull  forcibl)^ — a 
rough  pull.**  J. 

Drugstkr.     a  druggist. 

Dubs.  Doublets  at  marbles.  A  player  knock- 
ing two  out  of  the  ring  cries  **  dubs  ! '' — to  authorize 
his  claim  to  both.  So  Tribs,  Fobs,  and  Fibs,  for 
the  following  numbers.  If  the  adverse  party  can 
first  cry  "  Fen- dubs ! " — Fen-tribs !  "  &c.  it  averts 
the  player^s  claim.    See  Fen. 

Duck.  To  stoop,  or  dip  the  head  suddenly.  It 
b  I  believe  in  extensive  use. 

Ducks.  Almost  any  very  young  small  animal; 
said  even  to  chickens  endearingly  "ah — my  ducks — 
my  diddles/'  Ducklings  wheu  very  young  are  called 
diddltns. 

Ducks  an  Drakes.  A  boyish  pastime,  played 
by  casting  stones  onto  the  surface  of  a  still  piece 
of  water,  slantingly,  that  they  may  dip  and  emerge 
several  times.  If  once,  it  is  "  a  duck  "—if  twice, 
''a  duck  an  a  drake" — if  thrice,  ''a  duck  an  a 
drake  an  a  fie'penny  cake  " — four  times,  is  **  a  duck 
an  a  drake  an  a  fie 'penny  cake  an  a  penny  to  pah 
the  baker."  If  more  than  four,  **  a  duck" — "  a 
duck  an  a  drake,**  &c.  are  added.  These  distinc- 
tions are  iterated  quickly  to  correspond  in  time,  as 
nearly  as  may  be,  with  the  dips  of  the  stone.  jJl 
flattish  stone  is  evidently  the  best  for  this  sport. 
.  From  this  pastime,  which  however  dull  in  de- 
scription, is  animating  and  not  to  be  despised — 
has  probably,  arisen  the  application  of  the  term  to  a 
spendthrift— of  whose  approaching  ruin  we  should 
thus  speak — ''Ah!  he  'av  made  fine  ducks  and 
dnkes  of  a*8  money— that  'a  have."    As  much  as 


HG 

to  say  he  has  cast  his  means  upon  the  water ;  or 
to  the  winds. 

DuDDLK.  The  maternal  indulgence  which  an 
animal — a  sow  for  instance — extends  to  its  young, 
by  layin<^  along  and  letting  them  suck  or  run  about 
or  slumber  on  her.  It  is  probably  extended  to  wi 
infant  child,  tho'  this  is  oftencr  called  CuddHng, 
1  never  heard  Duddle  but  once,  and  it  was  then  ap- 
]>lied  to  the  first  named  animal  in  the  following 
phrase  (the  teeming  old  j^runter  had  been  apparently 
sfinficy  to  her  squeaking  train,  and  this  was  the 
defence)  **  Aa — she  fare  ta  stunt  em  neeeyeow — but 
she*!  lah  down  an  duddle  em  present."  The  eu- 
phony of  the  neeeyeow  (now)  is  not  to  be  conveyed 
thro*- the  eye. 

Dudgeon.  Offence — anger  '*  He  took  it  in  dud- 
ijeon' — now  not  often  heard.  It  is  an  old  word — 
and  formerly  meant  a  weapon  of  pffence,  as  \iell  as 
the  feeling.  It  occurs  in  Shakespeare — and  in  a 
quotatitm  in  this  collection  under  Clout.  In  Nares' 
(glossary,  under  Dudgeon,  the  reader  will  find  a  very 
curious  article. 

Dd  FFEL.  A  coarse  woollen  stuff  of  which  jackets, 
gaiters  or  buskins  are  made.  A  great  coat  made  of 
it  is  called  Wadmul — which  see. 

DuMM.  The  down,  or  fur,  of  a  rabbit  or  hare. 
See  Fleck. 

Dumps.  Nearly,  or  perhaps  quite  similar,  to 
"down  i*  the  mouth."  "In  the  dumps*' — or  "io  the 
dismals'* — or  "  in  the  dolefuls,"  are  like  phrases— cur* 
rent  perhaps  almost  all  over  England.  In  Nares' 
Glossary,  the  word  dump  is  curiously  handled. 

Dunderhead.  A  stupid,  dull,  fellow :  p  block- 
head. So  in  Scotland — J.  aud  in  most  parts  of  £i>g« 
land.  We  shoud  most  likely  say  dundaidd  or  dum^ 
dakhiddid. 

DuNSH.  A  shove — a  punch.  So  inScottish  "Ye 
needuu  be  dunskin  that  gate."  T.  of  my  L  3  S»..ilp 


117 

209.     "  Dftnch,  to  push  or  jog  with  the  elbow.**  J. 
Ihmi,  nod  Dint,  are  similar  words ;  which  8ee«  and 

AlNT. 

Ddnt.  a  stroke  or  blow — especially  oo  the  back 
of  a  rabbit's  neck  to  kill  It.  Numb — stupid — a  sheep 
moping,  from  a  disordered  head,  is  said  to  be  Dunt. 
A  dull  boy  is  said  to  be  "  kiender  dunt  hidded/' — 
Dwnt  is  a  blow  in  Scottbh,  according  to  this  proverb 
from  Ray  "  Words  are  but  wind — but  Jhmts  are  the 
devil."  p.  307 ;  and  according  to  Jameison.  Dunt 
19  with  uSy  as  elsewhere,  the  quick  way  of  pronouncing 
done  ii»    Thus  in  that  most  terrible  scene  in  Macbeth 

Lady  M, — Had  he  not  resembled 
My  father  as  be  slept>  I  bad  done't,    II.  2. 

Dint^  and  Dunsh,  are  words  of  nearly  like  mean- 
ing, as  noticed  under  Aint. 

DuTFiN.    A  cart  horse*8  bridle. 

DwiLY.    A  towel.    See  Towley. 

E. 

Ear.  The  kidney,  or  its  neighbouring  fat ;  par- 
ticularly of  roast  veal.  It  is  also  called  Near,  or 
Neah — Aiyah,  and  Niyak, 

Earnest.  A  sum  given  by  a  master  on  hiring  a 
servant.  A  shilling  is  the  usual  sum.  It  is  still  a 
notion  that  if  Earnest  be  not  given  and  taken,  it  is 
not  a  complete  hiring :  that  no  proof  exists,  perhaps^ 
of  the  parties  being  in  earnest.  We  usually  pronounce 
it  arnest.  The  Suffolk  sense  of  this  word  will  I  think 
lead  to  a  better  understanding  of  a  passage  in  Pastor 
Fido  E.  1. — quoted  by  Nares. 

Earth.  One  plowing.  So  two  earths — three 
clean  earths.  To  ear,  according  to  Nares,  is  to  plow, 
to  till.  Hence,  he  thinks,  earable,  fit  for  cultivation 
with  com,  now  turned  to  arable;  and  earth,  he  de- 
daces  from  to  ear,  as  tilth  from  to  till.  See  his 
valuable  Glossary  under  these  words. 

£A«r.     YcasU    See  Bahm, 


lis 

EoDTSH.  A  crop  taken  out  of  due  course  is  called 
"  an  Eddish  crop"  or  **  a  stolen  crop."  The  word 
seems  to  mean  a  field  after  a  crop  is  carried  off.  "A 
bean  eddish,*  is  often  applied  to  such  a  one.  In  Ray 
I  find  it  equivalent  to  Stubble.  Among  his  S.and  £• 
country  words,  we  have  ^*Ersh;  the  same  Xhal*  Ediths 
the  stubble  after  the  corn  is  cut.  Sussex.  Edisc  is 
an  old  Saxon  word  signifying  sometimes  Roughmgi^ 
Aftermathes."  E.W.  p  75.  J^tidtsA  seems,  therefore, 
but  a  softei.ed  pronunciation  of  the  Saxon  word. 
Roughing  appears  to  have  been  of  old  pronounced  as 
rhyming  to /i/oii72na'.  SeeRowEN.  In  Ray  again  utre 
have  "  A  Grattan ;  an  Ersh  or  Eddish,  Sussex.  Stub-  - 
ble,  Kent."  ib.  p.  77. 

In  Tusser  we  have  **  Edish  or  Etch" — 

Seed  first  go  fetch— For  Edi&h  or  Etch. 
Soil  perfectly  know — Ere  LVw/i  ye  sow.  p.  25. 
Again — 
Where  wheal  upon  "Edish  ye  mean  to  bestow,*!* 
Let  that  be  the  first  of  the  wheat  ye  do  sow. 
White  wheat  upon  pease  etch,  doth  grow  as  hewould, 
"But  fallow  is  best,  if  we  did  as  we  should,  p.  32. 

Etch,  occurs  again  in  a  quotation  under  Plash, 

Eechannonnum.  Each  one  of  them.  Every 
one  of  them.  Eechannonnus,  each,  and  evei'y,  one 
of  us. 

E'ENT.  Am  not —is  not.  "  I  e'ent" — *'  He  cent" 
— "She  eent."     T'eent,  it  is  uot. 

Ees.  Yes — pronounced  long  and  drawling.  A, 
short  and  sharp,  is  also  Yes. 

Effij.  a  likeness — a  strong  likeness.  **He  is 
the  very  Ejffrj  of  his  father."  Evidently  from  the 
Effegies  used  the  century  before  last  for  picture  or 
portrait. 

Ek  e  out.  To  use  sparingly.  Shakespeare  writes 
it  EcJie,  and  makes  it  rhyme  to  Speech,  in  a  passage 
quoted  by  Nires.  The  hard  and  soit  sounds  of  k 
and  ch  final,  are,  as  noticed  in  other  places,  frequently 
interchanged.     See  under  Perk. 

•  With,  or  at,  perhaps  was  meant. 

-f  Bestow,  to  plac^,  to  pul — Sce'fti.^tO'w . 


119 

ElboW'GREAse.  Hanf  rubbing,  or  work,  with 
the  arms.  'I  he  same  in  the  Scottish,  and  ])robubIy 
othefy  dialects. 

Elder.  The  alder  tree.  Elh-r,  in  Scottish.  I 
am  not  aware  that  we  have  the  dislike  to  the  eldrr, 
that  was  formerly  prevalent,  in  consequence  of  the 
supposition  that  this  was  the  tree  on  which  Judas 
hanged  himself.  See  Jew*s  ear.  Nares  in  his  (jil, 
has  some  curious  extracts  from  Shakespeare  and 
others  on  this  matter. 

Elvish.  Theivish — mischeivous — not  industrious. 
Applied  sometimes  to  bees  in  unbiooming  weatiier. 
See  Stingy  and  Tkichy.  Elinsk  is  evidently  <le- 
rived  from  the  rural  niytholog:y  of  earlier  days,  which 
peopled  every  hill  and  dale  with  poetical  inhabitants. 
This  feeling  is  not  yet  quite  extinct  in  Sufi'olk. 

Em  or  Um.    An  abbreviation  of  him,  and  of  them. 

Em  PCS- AND.  The  copulative  character,  &. 
Nares,  in  his  first  article,  shows  that  a  per  se,  a; 
operse,  o;  and  iper  se,  i;  as  well  as  and  perse  and, 
are  used  by  our  early  English  writers.  The  latter,  he 
justly  observes,  to  signify  the  contraction  6:,  substi- 
tuted for  that  conjunction,  is  not  yet  forgotten  in  the 
linrsery.  Empus-and,  however,  I  never  heard  or  saw 
out  of  Suffolk.  A  by  itself,  a ;  I  by  itself,  i,  &c. 
were,  in  my  recollection,  the  mode  of  teaching  ortho- 
graphy in  village  schools ;  and  are,  perhaps,  still  re- 
tained. 

Endurable.  Durable — lasting.  This  is  not  a 
useless  word. 

Enow.  Sufficient — enough.  This  is  an  old  and 
a  good  word — and  likely  to  become  less  and  less  ob- 
solete ;  as  Scott  and  some  other  good  writers  have 
lately  used  it.  In  Suffolk,  it  is  I  think  mostly  refer- 
able to  mtmber,  as  it  ought  to  be — enough  should  be 
confined  to  quantity.  **  Men  enotv* — **  Corn  enough" 
This  sounds  well  to  my  ear — and  the  converse  is 
grating.   In  some  of  our  old  English  authors  enough 


120' 

is  nradc  to  rh}'me  to  plough.  See  something  of  (his 
uoder  Goof — note  to  verse  11  of  a  poem  of  honest 
old  Tusser. 

He  sometimes  makes  enough,  and  plough,  rhyme*— 
and  ploughings  and  roughings.  But  he  also  uses 
enow,  in  reference  to  number  as  well  as  to  quantity— 

Where  twain  be  enow,  be  not  served  with  three. 
More  knaves  in  a  company,  worser  they  be.   p.  265. 
Maids — fritters  and  pancakes  enom  see  ye  make.  271. 

Under  Plash  and  Rowbn  something  farther  oc- 
curs on  the  topics  of  this  article. 

Nares  says  there  is  no  doubt  that  Enow  is  now 
obsolete,  except  in  some  provincial  dialects.  I  can- 
not help  thinking  otherwise.    It  is  used  by  Sir  William 

Jones. 

Bones  enow  to  fill  a  cart.     Inst,  of  Menu, 

Eth^r.  Rhyming  to  whether — as  a  verb,  de- 
notes the  operation  of  running  a  line  of  hazel  or 
other  flexible  wands  irrtertwiningly  along  the  top  of 
a  hedge,  to  keep  it  more  firmly  within  the  he^ge 
stakes  '*  Mind  you  ether  it  right  strong.*'  As  a  sub- 
stantive, Etfters  are  the  things  so  used. 

In  his  Glossarium  Northanhymbricum,  Ray  calls 
it  a  Saxon  word,  and  spells  it  Yeather;  and  notes 
Eathering,  as  described  above,  as  a  iSbie/^em  prac- 
tice.   E.  W.  p.ll3. 

Tnsser  calls  it  Edder. 
Save  edUier  and  stake — strong  hedge  to  make.  p.  79. 

The  word  occurs  again  in  a  quotation  under  PoL* 
LARD. 

Every  EACH.  Every  other.  "  He  preach  a  ser^ 
mon  every  each  Sunday."  See  DoNT  Think.  In 
Scottish  "  Everich,  every ;  everichone,  every  one."  X 

EvfcRY  FUTNON.      Every  now  and  then.      S€< 

FUTNON. 

EwE.  The  perfect  tense  of  owe.  "  He  eice  mi 
five  pound."    See  Owe. 

Ex.    An  axe»     A  broad  ex — that  of  the  commbi] 


121 

«8e.  One  narrower,'  longer,  and  thicker  (I  am  9peakf> 
ingof  the  metallic  part)  for  felling  trees,  or  for  cleaving 
wood,  is  called  a  lump  ex. 

ExTRY.  Axletree.  Axtree,  in  Scottish.  J.  So 
in  Nares — 

— — — —  Such  a  noise  they  make 
As  tbo*  iu  sunder  heavens  huge  ax-tree  brake. 

Drayt.  Mooncalf,  p.  47d.  * 

F. 

Fags.  Or  Pfags. — a  sort  of  oath,  equivalent  to 
*faith,  and  expressions  of  that  sort.  Of  these  mode- 
rated imprecations  we  have  divers,  as  noticed  under 
Ambnbbn. 

Fain.  Willing — desirous — gladly — "  He'd  fain 
have  had  her.'* 

Fairing.  A  present  at  or  from  a  fair.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  word  /are,  may  have  heen 
derived  from  the  feasting  and  good  cheer  formerly 
found  at  fairs  a: id  wakes. 

Fan.  a  quaint  word  for  the  frequent  application 
of  a  whip  to  a  horse  '*  Fan  uni  along.'*  Likewise  a  corn- 
winnowing  implement ;  called  also  Van,  which  see. 

Fanset.     See  Fawcit. 

Fapes.  Gooseberries.  *'  Fapc  tart."  In  Nor- 
folk ThapeUt  or  1/ieheg.  Ray  says  "  Tliepes  is  the 
8ame  with  Fcbos  or  Feaberries — i.  e.  Gooseberries." 
Carberry  he  gives  as  th«»  north  country  name.  E.  W. 
p.  21.  Again,  **  Feabes  or  Feabenics,  gooseberries, 
buft*.  Leicestersh.    Thebes  in  Is'orfolk."  ib.  p.  16, 

Fape  wine  was  probably  much  drank  by  our 
nira]  ancestors ;  and  not  unwisely,  for  there  are 
fe^v  wines  better.  INiay  not  this  help  us  to  the 
meaning  of  a  word  in  Sliakospciire  which  has  puz- 
kled  his  commentators.  In  the  M.  W.  of  W.  I.  1. 
Bardolph  says  that  Slender  was  Fap — **  moaning  I 
believe  "-^ Johnson  says  **  drunk.  The  word  is  not 
^  however  to  be  found  in  any  of  our  old  comedies." 
And  Nares  sought  it  in  vain. 

M 


122 

Fap,  or  Fapey,  may  formerly  have  meant  •*  much 
bemus'd  "  in  gooseberry,  or  fape-unne.  As  dagg'd 
and  foggy,  have,  or  have  nad^  a  like  allusion; — 
See  Dag.  .j 

Fare.  Feel — seem — "  How  do  yeyarc?  "  This 
is  a  good  word — and  is  not  lost  to  general  usage — 
we  retain  it  in  Farewell.  Fahren — Gennan.  This 
may  be  the  same  word  thus  noted  by  Ray  **  Farand 
is  used  in  composition,  as  fighting -jar and  in  a 
fighting  humour."  E.  W.   p.  2. 

Fare  is  also  a  litter  of  pigs.  '  See  Farrow. 

Fareing.  Seeming — feeling.  "  Ive  had  sich 
fareings  myself  "  will  be  said  by  an  experienced 
dame  of  the  indescribable  ailments  of  a  love-sick 
damsel.  We  pronounce  it  faren,  it  being  usual 
with  us  thus  to  terminate  words  ending  in  ing, 

Farrisee.  Pronounced  like  Pharisee — a  Fairy. 
Fairidge  in  Norfolk.  The  green  circlets  in  pastures 
we  call  Farrisee-rings, 

Farrisee  rings  or  Fairy  rings.  The  green 
circles  «een  in  grass  lands;  in  and  round  which  it 
has  been  fancied  the  fairies,  or  farisees,  dance  by 
moonlight.  The  cause  has  been  variously  sought 
by  philosophers  ;  and  in  vain,  I  believe,  ^till  Dr. 
Wollaston  ascertained  it  to  be  a  species  of  expand- 
ing mushroom.     Sheep  and  cattle  avoid  it. 

.This  is  not  overlooked  by  Shakespeare — . 

Ye  demi-puppets,  that 

By  raoon-light  do  ihe  green  sour  rin«>lets  make, 
Whereof  the  ewe  not  bites.     Temp.  V.  1 . 

Farrow.  A  litter  of  pijjs—- also  used  as  a- verb 
to  denote  the  parturition.  We  sometimes  say  afare, 
for  a  litter.  In  Ray's  S.  and  E.  country  words,  we 
find  the  following  article.  **  A  fare  of  pigs  is  so 
many  as  a  sow  bringeth  forth  at  one  time.  To  far^ 
row  is  a  word  peculiar  to  a  sow's  bringing  forth  pigs. 
Our  language  abounds  in  unnecessary  words  of  t£is 
and  other  kinds.     So  a  sheep  is  said  to  yean,  a  cow 


123 

to  calve,  a  Hiare  to  foal,  a  bitch  to  whe^^  &c, — 
All  which  words  signify  no  more  than  parere,  to 
bring  forth.  So  for  sexes  we  have  the  like  super* 
fluous  words,  as  horse  and  mare,  bull  und  cow, 
ram  and  sheep,  dog*  and  bitch,  boar  and  sow,  &c. 
whereas  the  difference  of  sex  were  better  signified 
by  a  termination."  E.  W.  p.  75. 

i  do  not  altogether  agree  with  Ray  that  such 
variety  of  terms,  distinguishing  the  nature  of  the 
birth,  is  any  fault  in  our  language.  To  yeaning ,  foal- 
ing, &c.  he  might  have  added  kittle  or  kindle,  as 
applied  to  the  hare  and  rabbit. 

Farther,  Expressive  of  repugnance — or  a  mo- 
derated oath  or  vow.  "Til  hefartfier  if  I  do" — "I'd 
see  you  farther  first."  The  same  in  Cheshire.  W. 
I  was  reminded  of  this  word  by  seeing  it  in  Mr.W.'s 
Glossary.  It  is  in  common  use  in  Suffolk;  e^^pecially 
among  females,  who  may  demur  at  using  a  stronger 
asseveration.  On  examining  the  expressions  <i;iven,  the 
reader  will  observe  that  the  substitution  of  one  word 
(a  gross  one  certainly,  and  though  still  too  much  used, 
less  so  than  formerly)  will  convert  this  very  hioderate, 
into  a  very  offensive,  oath: — and  extending  far^Acr 
to  a  superlative  sense,  would  lead  us  to  sad  lengths. 

Fudda  is  Suffolk  for  farther — and  tliis  word  used  by 
one  of  a  lower  class,-  would  of  course  be  so  pronounced. 
As  observed  under  several  other  words  we  have  a 
variety  of  moderated  imprecations.     See  Am  en  den. 

Fast  and  loose.  A  shuffling,  shacking,  dis- 
honest fellow — when  **  there  is  no  knowing  whereto 
have  him,"  is  said  to  be  **  playing  at  fast  and  loose." 
Necres  shows  this  to  have  been  the  name  of  an  old 
swindling  game,  by  which  gypsies  and  other  vagrants 
ch^ted  the  uninitiated.  He  describes  it ;  and  gives 
sevcial  curious  quotations  in  illustration.  As  well 
as  the  phrase  above  given,  we  should  also'  say  tha€ 
•ucfa  a  fcUpw  was  ''playing  at  peep-bo:''  a  term 
borrowed  from  the  nursery.    See  Peep-bo. 

M2 


124 

Fat -HEN.  Muck-weed^  or  goosefoof.  Chtna- 
podium  album.  It  has  been  derived  from  Fat-Henry 
- — or  bonus  Henricus. 

Father  Johnson.    See  Finis. 

Father  long  legs.  The  very  long-slender- 
legged  spider  which  makes  its  appearance  in  the 
month  of  Juty ;  it  is  otherwise  called  harvest-man. 
In  Norfolk  Harry-long-legs. 

Fawcit  or  Fanset.  The  wooden  pin  and  tap 
of  a  cask.  Faucette — French.  **  Spicket  and 
Fanset."  The  Fawcet  is  the  tube,  the  spicket, 
the  little  spike.  Siiakespeare  uses  fawcet.  We 
commonly  call  it  "Tap  and  Fansit."  Faucet,  is  a 
pretty  general  term.  In  Scotland  "  Cock  and 
Pail,  is  a  spigot  and  faucet.*'   J.    . 

Fay  or  Fey.  To  clean  out  the  inside  of  a 
decayed  tree,  or  a  pit  or  a  ditch.  **  Fay  it  out." 
Applied  to  a  ditch,  outhauling  is*  a  more  common 
word.  Fey  is  an  old  and  a  good  word.  Tusser 
uses  it. 

Such  muddy  deep  ditches  and  pits  in  the  field, 
1  hat  all  a  dry  summer  no  water  will  yield ; 
By  fieing,  and  casting  that  mud  upon  heaps. 
Commodities  many  the  husbandman  reaps,   p.  166. 

At  midnight  try — foul  privies  Xofye.    p.  44. 

Foul  privies  are  now  to  be  cleansed  and^J/'d, 
Let  night  be  appointed,  such  baggage  to  hide  ; 
Which  buried  in  garden,  in  trenches  a-low. 
Shall  make  very  many  things  better  to  grow.    p.  52. 

In  Cheshire,  according  to  Mr.  Wilbraham,  Fay 
or  Faigh  is  used  as  a  substantive,  meaning  ^^  the 
soil  before  you  reach  the  marl.  To  Fay^  is  to  re- 
move it." — Ray  says  **  To  fey  or  feigh  it:  "  to  do 
any  thing  notably.  To  fey  meadows  is  to  cleanse 
fbem:  to  fey  a  pond,  to  empty  it.  A  north 
country  word."  E.  W.  p.  29. 

Feed— Feeding.  Grass  food.  Pasture.  "Fetd 
is  very  short  ta  year." 


125 

Fell.  Fill — like  many  other  changes  of  e  for  i, 
aa  Doticed  under  Annind.  Also  the  (all  or  drop  of 
lambs.  **  Of  the  first  fell"  means  of  the  earliest  drop- 
ping. This  must  I  think  be  the  nieauiug  of  the  line 
in  Jonsou's  mask  of  Pan*  Annicersanf — mistaken,  I 
presume  to  think,  both  by  Nares  aod  Todd.  It  is  a 
promise  to  Pan — 

So  shall  the  first  of  all  out  fells  be  thine. 
Tliat  is  the  first  of  the  first./e//-r-or  fall  of  lambs — 
not  the  first  or  best  hill,  as  Todd  seems  to  believe  ; 
or  the  first  skin  or  Jleece,  as  Nares. 

Fella  or  Feller.  The  shaft-horse  of  a  cart 
or  tumbril — the  Jiller — he  remaining  while  it  is 
filling,  the  other  horses  being  taken  off  to  draw  the 
filled  cart.  Also  Thiller  and  Thill-horse.  The 
geer  worn  by  the  Feller  or  Thiller  are  called  Thill- 
bells.     See  Thill. 

Felt.  A  bank,  or  a  field,  foul  from  spear  jrrass, 
or  roots  of  weeds,  is  said  to  be  "  like  a  /c/^*'  or 
V  all  of  a ^e//'* — implyinsi^  possibly  that  the  fibres 
are  as  intimately  intertwined  as  in  the  /<*//  (if  a  hat. 
In  Scotland  felt  is  the  **  creeping;  wheat  grass."  J. 
Truck  is  a  word  nearly  equivalent  iofelf. 

Fen.  a  preventive  exclamation,  inijieratively 
used  to  negative  or  prevent  any  undesirable  action. 
A  boy  at  marbles,  his  taw  slipping,  cries  **  slips 
over  again  !"  to  authorize  another  attempt;  uhich 
his  adversary  averts  by  sooner,  or  more  c|uickly, 
exclaiming  **  Fen  slips  over  again."     See  Di.BS. 

Fence.  A  live,  or  other  hedge,  in  the  c«niiuion 
sense  of  keeping  stock,  ^c,  in  or  out  of  inch>sures. 
Also  as  to  keeping  wet  out  of  boots,  sKoes,  c\:c.-»- 
"  Dew  yar  hntes  fence  ?  '* 

Fey.     See  Fay. 

Fibs.    See  Dubs. 

FiEST.     See  Fyst. 

Fifers.  ■  Fibres — roots  or  shoots  of  trees,  weeds^ 
grain,  &c, 

m3 


126 

File.  Defile.  Rendering  water  turbid — RUe, 
also  describes  tbis  more  commonly.  See  Rile.— ^ 
**  *AJile  as  stuwa" — said  of  a  borse  wbo  scnb  bis 
hay.  Tbe  Scotcb  bave  "  Sbe's  a  foul  bird  that 
fyles  her  own  nest."  Ray.  p.  304.  Tbis  is  also 
Suffolk.  **  A  scabbit  sheep  files  all  the  fiock." — 
Scottish.  Ray.  p.  279.  Defoul  and  defile  were 
formerly  used  in  the  same  sense.  ''  Undefouled  ** 
occurs  in  Caxton,  Legend,  338.  So  that  JHe^ 
whence  filth,  was  the  same  as  foul. 

In  Lyndsa^'s  dramas  of  the  ancient  world  the 
word  occurs  m  a  cognate  sense. 

Adamr^Yea,  let  me  hope 
I  gaze  upon  a  vision-- that  the  breath  , 

Of  the  blasphemer  doth  not  file  the  air 
So  near  the  courts  of  Eden.     Cain, 

Nares  gives  several  quotations  in  proof  that  il 
and  fyle  are  merely  contractions  of  defile.  And 
Jameison  gives  both,  showing  that  in  Scottbh  they 
mean  to  sully,  in  a  moral,  as  well  as  a  physicu 
sense. 

FiLLD.     A  field.     See  Mew. 

Finis.  On  arriving  at  this  part,  or  word,  that 
is  at  the  end,  of  a  book,  boys  used,  and  probably 
still  do,  recite  tbis  unmeaning  sort  of  formula — 
made  up,  it  will  be  perceived,  by  supposing  each 
letter  to  be  the  initial  of  a  word— forward  and 
backward — 

Father  lohnson  Nicholas  lohnson^s  Son — 
Son  lohnson  Nicholas  lohnson's  Father. 

So  that  getting  to  Father  Johnson,  was  equivalent 
to  finishing  the  book.  "  How  far  aVe  ye  got  1'*  "  To 
Father  Johnson."  I  marvel  if  this  idle  usage  be 
known  beyond  Suffolk. 

FiNNiKEN.     Trifling — idling. 

FiRBAUKS.  Straight  young  fir  trees,  fit  for 
ladders,  scaffolding,  &c.  »The  same  I.  believe  as 
Yofers  and  Spurshers. 


\ 


127 

Fire.  This  word  forms  a  sort  of  oath.  ^' What 
a^re  ar  yeow  a  dewin  on" — as  noticed  with  other 
reflated  imprecations  under  Amen  den. 

FiSHERATE.  Provide  for — probably  officiate — 
"I  een't  able  to  fisherate  for  em  all."  The  word 
occurs  in  a  phrase  under  Beein.  It  is  very  often 
heard. 

Fissle      a  thistle. 

Five  fingeks  The  appropriate  name  for  the 
dried  remains  <:f  the  star-tish  or  sea-star  found  on 
our  eastern  and  other  coasts.  In  Cocker  we  read 
"  Five  Jingersy  a  fish  like  a  spur-rowel,  destructive 
to  oysters,  to  be  destroyed  by  the  admiralty  law." 
Such  a  notion  and  such  a  law,  may  have  existed ; 
though  now  perhaps,  forgotten.  It  is  also  a  disease 
in  turnips,  which  we  call  Hanbury,  which  see. 

Fiz.  A  flrish — a  hissing  noise — also  fizzle. 
Fix,  fiest,  and  /uz,  are  perhaps  nearly  alike  la 
meaning.     See  Fyst. 

Flabber-gasted.  Astonished — confused. — 
**  I'm  wholly  fli;bbergasted."  Stamm'd,  is  of  like 
meaning. 

Flack.  A  blow :  also  flick — lather — kulp — hide 
— and  a  variety  of  others,  as  enumerated  under 
AiNT,  where,  however,  Jlack  is  omitted. 

Flacket.  Women's  ribbons  or  loose  geer,  are 
said  to  "  riackct  about."  It  is  more  expressive 
than  flap — the  latter  word  denoting  rather  an  agree- 
able motion — such  as  the  wings  of  a  bird,  the 
swinging  of  a  gate  or  door,  &x.  A  dressy  loose 
woman  would  have  the  former  word  figuratively  ap- 
plied to  her.     **  She  go  flacketen  about." 

Flag.  Turf — sod — the  portion  of  clover  land 
turned  at  once  by  the  plough.  **  One  hole  on  a 
flag  " — ^means  one  row  of  holes  dabbed  or  dibbled 
on  eftch  of  such  portions  for  dropping  the  seed 
wheat  into.     *'Two  holes  on  a,  Jlag'' — are  also 


/ 


128 

common.  Cocker  has  •*  Flags— -a  Norfolk  word — 
turfs  pared  off  to  burir."  Ray — "  Flags  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  which  they  pare  off  to  bum, .  the 
upper  turf.  Norfolk."  E.  W.  p.  76.  *'  Flag  "—in 
Scottish — "  piece  of  green  sward,  cast  with  ^ 
spade."  J. 

Flap-jack.  The  same  as  Apple-jack^  .which 
see — Since  that  article  was  printed  Nares',  under 
Flap-jack,  has  come  to  my  notice.  Had  I  seen  it 
earlier,  I  should  have  omitted  a  piece  of  flippancy, 
which  any  one  who  may  compare  my  Apple-jack 
and  Nares*  Flapjack,  will  think,  with  me,  might 
have  been  spared.  The  point,  however,  that  it  is 
not  a  pancake,  I  cannot  give  up. 

Flappers.  Young  rooks  (and  perhaps  other 
birds)  just  able  or  beginning  to  flap  or  try  their 
wings,  ere 'they  fly.  **  Full  flappers" — very  near 
flying.  **  Ar  yar  rooks  fliers?"  •*  No — but  th*ar 
full  flappers" — It  is  then  the  nick  of  time  for  rook- 
shooting.  The  word  is  expressive — denoting  the 
time  when  they  are  trying  their  strength  of  wing, 
just  before  daring  to  fly. 

Flats.  The  smooth,  oozey,  level  shor-e,  left  by 
the  sea  on  the  Suflblk  coast  in  winter  or  at  spring 
tides — about  Bawdsey  particularly. 

Fleck.  To  deprive.  **  I  fleck!t  him  of  all  his 
marbles  " — pluckt,  perhaps.  Fleck  is  also  the  soft 
fur  of  rabbits  or  hares — the  same  I  believe  as  dumm. 

Fleckered.  Variegated,  of  two  or  more  colours, 
descriptive  of  domestic  poultry.  Flecker' d — ^Gay 
— Pied  or  Piebald — Shell  and  Spreckled — are  terms 
implying  nearly  the  same  thing,  but  are  not  in 
every  case  interchangeable 

Flecker  d,  spreckled,  and  gah  or  gay,  seem  ap- 
plicable to  the  feathered  race,  chiefly— especially 
to  domestic  fowls  and  the  magpie. 

Shell  is  descriptive  chiefly  of  the  species  of  duck. 

A  horse  with  much  white  on  his  face  would  be 


129 

called  Pie-bald;  and  I  think,  but  am  not  sure, 
Fiecker'd. 

A  cat  is  never  either  Jlecker^d,  pied,  or  shelled — 
she  may  be  gay  otgah,  as  a  variegated  cow  would  be. 

And  foil  of  gergon  as  aflecken  pie.  Ordinary.  O.  P.  X.  235— 

"  means  "-^Nares  says — **  full  of  chattering  as  a 
spotted  magpie."    See  Ga h — Pi  e  d — and  Shell. 

Fledjers.  Young  birds  just  fledged.  At  a 
more  advanced  plumage  they  are  called—- young 
rooks  especially — Flappers  c  which  see. 

Fleeches.  The  portions  into  which  a  tree  or 
piece  of  timber  is  cut  by  the  saw,  in  its  first  position 
over  the  saw-pit.  Fleech  in  the  singular.  Wheb 
turned  and  ripp*d  or  rippevCd,  that  is,  cut  into  smaller 
■portions,  such  portions  are  called  Scantlins,  in  Suf- 
folk and  extensively  elsewhere.  It  is  likely  Xh'dt  fieeeh, 
zvid  flitch,  and^tcAf,  and  Jleak,  and  flake,  and  Jlank 
may  be  closely  cognate,  if  not  identical — meaning  a 
side,  or  a  portion  of  a  side.     See  Flick. 

Fleer«  To  look  jeeringly  or  scornfully  at  one. 
Shakespeare  uses  it — M.  ado  about  N.  v.  1.  Jul.  Caes. 
i.  3.     Othello,  iv.  1. 

Fleet.  A  shallow  piece  of  standing  water. — 
"  Is  it  deep  ?  No,  'tis  quite ^ec^."  When  deep  we 
call  such  a  piece  Meer,  When  very  shallow,  and 
only  the  collection  of  wintry  wet.  Splashes.  Nares 
says  Fleet  is  Saxon  ;  **  a  small  stream."  Our  words 
Flet,  and  Fletsher,  I  take  to  be  related  to  Fleet. 

FleT.  Milk  skimmed  or  fletied  is  called  flet^ 
milk'—q.  fleeted?— i.e.  made  shallower.  Cheese 
made  of  this  milk  is  called  Flet-cheese*  The  flet- 
ting  implement  is  called  Fletting-dish  and  Skillet. 
See  Won  mill.  In  Cheshire  **  Fleetings,  or  Flet" 
Hngs,  or  Fleetmilk,  is  part  of  the  refuse  milk  in  the 
process  of  cheese  making.  Belg. —  Vlot  melch-^ 
Skinner*  Etomolog.  Ling.  Aug."  W. 

^  Fletsh  er  or  Fletshard  or  Fletshud.    A  young 
fea.'podf  ^or  peskud^  or  peascod.    This  may  come 


130 

from  the  flatness  or  fleetness  of  the  early  peascod, 
FlaU  like  a  shard,  or  piece  of  tile  or  pot.  Tiles- 
hard  and  Potsherd  are  both  common.  Shard 
appears  to  have  formerly  meant  a  broken  piece  df 
any  thing  thin  and  flat.  **  The  shard-born  beetle," 
means  probably  born  under  (or  if  *'  shard-Aonf«, 
borne  on)  such  a  fraction.     See  Potshad. 

Flick.  The  flake  or  flank  of  a  hog — ^thc  fat  oflT 
the  ribs — or  loins  and  crops.  It  is  usually  sialted  flnd 
put  in  a  tub,  which  is  called  a  Powdering  tub — and 
the  operation  **  Powdering  down."  "Dew  ye  powder 
all  yar  Jlick  ta  yearl"  See  Powder.  Flick  and 
Flitch  are  perhaps  the  same  words.  Many  old  words 
begiqning  or  ending  in  k,  and  ck,  are  now  softenetl. 
See  Perk.  Mr.  Steeveus/in  a  note  on  Shakespeare^ 
says  a  Jleak  of  bacon  signifies  difiitch.  See  under 
Fleeches. 

Flick  is  also  a  blow,  like  lick;  as  is  noticed  under 
A I  NT.  It  may  perhaps  have  originated  in  the  sense 
first  given — a  blow  applied  to  the  flake,  or  flank,  or 
flick,  or  fleak,  or  flitch,  or  side. 

Flicker.  To  flutter  or  flitter  rapidly,  as  a  bat 
or  butterfly.  Light  glimmering  through  the  um- 
brage of  trees,  would  be  called  "  a  flickering  light." 
It  is  an  old,  and  a  poetical  word.  Nares  givep 
several  quotations  from  Shakespeare,  Jonson,  and 
others,  in  which  it  occurs.  B.  Jonson  calls  the 
bat  Flicker-mouse,  and  Flitter-mouse. 

Come ;  I  will  see  the  flicker-mouse ;  my  fly.     New  hin»  III.  1. 
And  girldy  flittcr-mice,  with  leather  wings.    Sad  Shep.  11.  8. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  I  have  heard  these 
names  in  Suflblk :  but  if  so,  certainly  not  of  many 
years. 

Flight.  The  second  or  third  migration  from  a 
bee-hive.     The  first  only  is  called  a  Stcarm. 

Flip.  A  favorite  potation  compounded  of  beer, 
gin,  and  co.drse  sugar.-  It  used  to  be  the  principal 
ingredient  in  the  festivities  of  harvest  suppers.    It  is 


131 

to  be  Undented  that,  since  gentlemen  have  turned 
farmers,  and  farmers  have  turned  gentlemen  (a  trans- 
forniation  that  both  perhaps  besin  to  repent)  these 
scenes  of  jollity  and  merriment  have  in  loo  many 
cases  been  shifted  from  the  farm  house  to  the  ale-  - 
house:  and  have  consequently  degenerated  from 
harmless  happiness  lo  debauchery  and  mischief. 

Flip  means  also  a  smart  blow — a  fillip.  In  this 
hyperbolical  sense  it  is  used  by  Shakespeare  hi  a  line 
quoted  under  Beetle.  But  I  have,  I  perceive, 
omitted  it  in  the  enumeration  of  similar  utfeusive 
terms  under  Aint. 

Flocks.  The  particles  that  fly  about  a  chamber 
when  the  beds  are  made,  or  blankets,  bestirred  about. 
Also  the  wool  stuffing  of  a  mattress. 

Flock Y.  An  over-ripe,  or  badly  ripened,  apple  or 
turnip,  or  orange — when  not  crisp  and  juicy  under 
the  tooth — as  if  it  were  woolly,  or  dry  and  .stringy. 

Flop.  Pounce,  drop — as  a  hawk  on  a  biid — or  a 
clumsy  person  into  a  chair.  A  fall.  *•  i  li  gi  yeow 
'iiftop"- — I'll  throw  you.  **  \floppl  his  aflectious"  on 
such  a  one — quaintly  meaning  he  ,'ell  in  love  with  her. 
*^^\\^  Jioppt  down  into  ar  scat ' — ^eated  hcr.-elf  un- 
gracefully or  scornfully.  Flump  is  nearly  similar  to 
Flop. 

Flue.  The  coping  of  a  gable  or  top  end  of  a 
bouse,  barn,  stack,  &c. 

Flump.  To  fall  flatly  or  heavily  *«'A  kWfiiimpr 
A  hawk  flumpa  or  flops  on  a  bird.  An  uugraceJul 
person ^tt7i7/>.^  into  a  chair.  "A  come  down  sitch  a 
flump  r     See  Flop. 

Fobs.     See  Dubs. 

Fog.  Coarse  sour  grass  that  cattle  will  not  eat, 
till  it  be  frost-nippt — or  till  little  else  be  left  on  the 
pasture.  So  Ray,  among  Lis  north  country  words — 
"  Fogge  ;  long  grass  remaining  in  pastures  till  winter." 
E.W.  p.  30. 

Nares  calls  it  "rank  strong  grass'' — and  says  that 
in  Yorkshire^  cheeses  made  from  it  are  called  fo«- 


132 

cbeesesy  as  in  other  couiitjes  they  are  called  eddbh* 
cheeses. 

Foggy.  A  quaint  term  for  one  "somewhat  be- 
mused in  beer :"  not  very  clear-headed.    See  Dag. 

Following  time.  A  wet  season — in  which 
sbowers  follow  each  other  in  quick  succession. 
**  Following  season,"  is  used  similarly.  It  is  some- 
times pronounced/aZ/in^r.     See  DiNJiN. 

FooKY.  Insolid.  When  wheat  is  ripe,  or  nearly 
so,  or  reaped,  it  is  said  to  be  Fooky,  when  the  quan- 
tity of  grain  is  deemed  inadequate  in  quality  to  the 
promise  of  the  boke  or  bulk.  Unsound,  boggy  land 
is  said  to  be  Fooky. 

FooLEN  or  Fooling.  The  space  between  the 
usual  high  water  mark  in  a  river  and  the  foot  of  the 
wall  thrown  up  along  its  banks,  to  "keep  it  from 
occasionally  overflowing  the  neighbouring  lands. 

FooRZES.  The  snack  at  4  o'clock.  Bever, 
^Leveners,  Noonins,  Lunch,  are  other  expressive 
terms  of  the  like  recreation  from  labour.  See  under 
Bever,  In  Scottish,  "  Fourhours,  is  the  time  of 
drinking  tea ;  four  being  the  ancient  hour  for  the 
afternoon  beverage."  J. 

Footen.  a  fee  or  fine,  or  present,  to  be  paid 
or  given  to  his  fellow  workmen,  on  a  novice  com- 
mencing any  business.  **  Shewen  the  cowt"  is  an 
expression  of  a  like  meaning  with  "pahen  his  foot- 
en. 

Forcing.  Forwarding  cattle,  poultry,. &c.  for 
a  speedy  market  by  high  keeping.  In  a  like  sense 
the  word  is  perhaps  extensively  used  in  reference 
to  fruits  in  a  hot  house. 

Forelow.  a  horse  standing  in  an  unfavorable 
position,  with  his  M7a//w  lower  than  his  rump,  would 
be  said  to  be  standing  forelow :  a  posture  in  which 
no  judicious  seller  would  allow  him  to  be  exhibited. 

FoRETOP.  The  toupee  of  a  man,  or  the  ^relock 
of  a  horse. 


133 

Forfeits.  The  curioiM  article  in  Narec'  Gioi^ 
sary^  under  "Forfeits  in  a  barber's  shop/'  reminded 
me  that,  upwards  of  forty  years  ago,  I  saw  a  string 
of  such  rules  at  the  tonsor's  of  Alderton,  near  the 
sea.  I  well  recollect  the  following  lines  to  have 
been  among  them ;  as  they  are  also  in  those  of  Nares, 
said  to  have  been  copied  in  Northallerton,  in  Yoi:k- 
shire— 

First  come,  first  serve — then  come  not  late; 
And  when  arrived,  keep  joar  state-^ 
Whoever  comes  in  boots  and  spurs, 
IVlost  keep  his  seat— for  if  he  slirs. 
And  gives  with  armed  heel  a  kick, 
A  pint  he  pajs  for  every  prick. 
Who  checks  the  barber  in  his  tale 
Must  paj  for  each  a  pot  of  ale. 

Nares'  **  Rules  for  seemly  behaviour"  contain  a 
variety  of  others — but  the  above  are  all  that  I  have 
a  perfect,  though  s(Hne  of  the  others  I  ha^e  a  faint, 
recollection  of.  I  dare  say  both  sets  were  alike. 
The  Alderton  barber  was  a  stranger — and  his  rules 
were,  I  know^  new  also  in  those  parts. 

Form  or  Fourm.  The  seat  of  a  hare.  See 
Smouse.  Cocker  has  both  words  under  the  same 
meaning.  The  first  occurs  under  Cushat,  in  a 
quotation  from  Halidon  Hill. 

Forth  on.  In  continuation,  for  an  indefinite 
period.  ''Come  a  month  on  liking,  and  if  we  agree 
you  may  sVay  forth  an,'*  This  is  a  very  general  idiom, 

FotJREY-LElST.  The  crossing  of  two  roads — 
four  ways  meeting — or  as  commonly  called  **  four 
cross  ways."  Leet  is  an  old  term  for  a  meeting. 
**  Court  leet,"  a  meeting  of  copy-holders  ;  but  is 
now  seldom  or  never  used  unconnectedly.  Among 
his  S.  and  E.  country  words  Ray  has  "  A  three  or 
four  way  het ;  trivium  vel  quadrivium,  where  three 
Or  four  ways  meet."  E.  W.  p.  80. 

FouR-SQUARE«      Quadraugular-^Cubical — die- 

r\re.    The  term  occurs  frequently  in  Exodus,  in 
imitmctions  for  the  ark  of  the  covenant:  also 

N 


134 

in  Revektions,  XXI.  16.  But  I  do  not  recollect 
having  heard  it  out  of  Suffolk.  *'  Three-square''  is 
also  a  Suffolk  term,  and  1  have  heard  it  in  Ireland 
—meaning  shaped  like  the  blade  of  a  bayonet — or 
small  sword.  Four-square  is  Scottish,  sometimes 
called  foumeukit, 

FowM  ART.  The  pole-cat,  or  stoot,  or  mouse-hunt, 
or  some  one  of  this  offensive  tribe  of  vermin.  I  have 
heard  the  word  in  Suffolk;  and  I  think  but  once« 
In  his  north  country  words  Ray  has  **  Foutnart,  a 
fitchet,''  »E.W.  p.  30.  And  in  p.  96,  among  local 
words,  he  writes  it  **  Fowmart,  a  polecat.  Martei 
is  a  noted  beast  of  this  verminous  kind,  desired  for 
their  furs,  whence  perchance,  the  polecat  might  be 
denominated^^inar^,  q.  foulmart?  from  its  stink- 
ing smell."  ** /oil? war*,  a  polecat'* — Scottish.  J.  He 
derives  it  from  old  French—^/,  fetid ;  and  merder,  a 
martin.  Nares  shews  the  word  to  be  spelled  Jul' 
mart  by  B.  Jonson,  and  fulimart  by  Isaac  Walton. 
I  suspect  Ray's  foutnart  to  be  a  misprint. 

Frackshus  or  Fractious,  Crying,  uneasy,  un- 
comfortable, in  a  child :  quarrelsome,  ill-tempered, 
in  a  boy.  or  man.  See  Teedus.  In  Scottish, 
**  fractious,  peevish,  fretful,  from  the  Latin 
fractus"  J. 

Frail.  A  shapeless  flexible  mat  basket,  for 
sending  presents  of  game,  &c. — without  bottom,  or 
handle,  save  two  eyelets  in  the  mat.  Raisins  are 
imported  from  Spain  in  frails.  It  may  perhaps  be 
merely  an  unsubstantial,  weak  basket.  In  India 
and  Arabia  a  package  something  similar  of  coffee 
is  called  Frazzle  or  Frazil.  Frail  is  also  a  term 
used  by  spinsters,  in  the  same  sense  as  ravvle  and 
frazzle:  it  is  otherwise  pronounced  yraii?/,  denoting 
that  from  unskilful  hemming,  the  threads  pull  out 
lengthways. 

Jagging  and  chicking,  or  checking,  are  words  of 
similar  import  in  this  last  sense,  among  spinsters. 

In  thr^  first  sense,  of  a  weak  basket,  Nares  gives 


135 

tevertd  quotations  from  B.  and  Fletcher,  and  other 
old  writers,  shewing  that  figs,  raisins,  and  sprata, 
were,  in  their,  and  former  days,  packed  in  fraile»m 
The  word  seems  to  be  derived  from  the  Italian 
froffHt  and  the  old  French  frayel^  meaning  the 
same  thing.  A  package  for  sprats  we  call  Kit, 
which  see. 

Frank.  The  large,  slow-flying,  fish-eating, 
heron,  seen  probably  all  over  England,  on  the 
banks  of  lakes  and  pools.  Our  name  is  probably 
derived  from  its.  monotone — which  is  supposed  to 
be  like^  aaa  nk.  It  is  as  commonly  with  us 
called  Hahnseyy  which  see. 

I  may  be  deemed  fanciful,  but  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  in  the  following  passage  in  the  Mirror 
for  Magistrates,  the  allusion  is  to  the  fish-crunshing 
Frank,  though- Nares,  from  whose  Glossary  I  take 
the  quotation,  says  it  <<  apparently  means  to  eat 
or  crush  with  the  teeth." 

A  tmKH—franching  the  fish  and  frie  with  teeth  of  brass. 

That  is,  devouring  them  as  a  Frank  would.  The 
ek  and  k  final  are  so  commonly  interchanged,  or 
pronounced  alike,  as  to  offer  little  or  no  objection, 
to  this  reading.     See  under  Perk. 

Frap.  To  beat — not  very  commonly  heard,  and 
getting  more  and  more  into  disuse.  It  is  evidently 
from  the  French.  This  word  might  have  been 
added  to  the  list  of  similar  vocables,  given  under 
AfNT.  It  and  its  derivatives  are  shown  by  Nares 
to  have  been  in  use  among  our  writers,  of  about 
Shakespeare's  day. 

Frawl.  For  all— in  spite  of— "  'Al  do't  Jrawl 
yeeow" — He  will  do  it  for  all  you,  or  in  spite  of 
you.  Frawl  means  also,  like  frail,  and  Jrazle,  an 
unskillful  mode  of  sewing. 

iFRAWN.  Frozen.  "  Vmfraum  ta  dead  amost." 
See-FRORE. 

Frazle«.    In  hemming,  cloth  is  said  to  frttzle 

n2 


1S6 

wliea  the  threads  for  want  of  selvage  pull  oal 
length  ways.  ''  Dont  rawel  your  work,^  dont  so 
pull  out  the  threads.  Also  to  unravel  a  skein  of 
thread,  &c.  improperly — to  entangle.  Frawl,  frail, 
rawle,  tout,  and  fuzzy,  are  words  closely  allied 
in  these  meanings ;  but  I  cannot  precisely  distin- 
gtush  their  differences,  if  they  have  any. 

Freedom.  At  tops,  a  top  being  pegged  out  of 
the  ring,  its  owner  gives  one  spin  as  a  chance  to 
his  adversaries — "  Come,  give  us  your  freedom*' — 
or  a  return  for  your  deliverance  from  the  thraldom 
of  the  ring. 

Free-martin.  Twins  of  different  sexes,  or 
rather,  it  is  believed,  the  female  of  twin  calves.  It 
is  generally  known  in  Suffolk  that  the  martin  will 
not  breed — both  of  a  sex  prove  fertile.  A  curious 
fact.  See  hereon  Hunter  in  Phil.  Trans,  vol.  LXIX. 
for  1779,  and  Selections  from  Gen.  Mag.  II.  117. 

Fresher.  A  young  frog.  In  Essex  frosh. — 
Hoppentoad  is  the  common  name  for  a  toad. 

Fretten.      Spotted marked— -pocA:-;/rette», 

marked  with  the  small-pox.  **  Pock-fretten,  in 
Cheshire — an  old  word."  W.  Fretten  is  also 
ircckled — in  Scottish,  faimtickled  has  the  like 
meaning.  Canker- fret  is  a  sore  mouth.  See 
Canker.  Fret  in  Scottish,  means  to  devour.  In 
scripture  it  occurs  "  as  a  moth  fretteth  a  garment." 

Frinjel,  also  SwiNJEL.  That  limb  of  the 
flail  which  falls  on  the  corn.  The  other  is  the 
hand-staff.  We  have  many  names  for  the  hand- 
staff  of  different  implements,  of  which  see  under 
Haft  and  Tiller. 

Frit.  Fright — in  this  I  believe  only — **l  was 
all  of  afrit. ^^ 

Fritters.  Pancakes  of  a  smaller  size,  with 
apple  intermixt.  The  common,  broad,  thin  pan* 
cake  we  caXLfroize. 


137 

Frizb.  'Freezes.  "  Ta  frize/'  it  ifreezes.  It 
ifaymes  to  prize. 

P&OG-SPIT.  "  The  frothy  matter  frequently  seen 
on  the  leaves  of  plants."  This  is  the  nieaiiin<>[  given 
by  Jaineisou  of  aoufk-spittle :  gowk  being  Scottish 
■for  the  cuckoo,  iVe  have  several  names  for  this  frdthy 
matter.     See  under  Snake-spit. 

Froizk.  Pancakes.     "  A  pancake  with  bacon 

nltermixt."  Cocker.     We  have  no  bacon   in  our 

pancakes.  With  apples  intermixt  we  call  them 
fiitterg. 

Trore.  Frozen — similar  to  frawn.  It  is  an 
did  poetical  word — 

His  beard  all  white  as  spangles  /Vorf, 
That  clothe  Pliarnnni()n*8  forests  hoar. 

}Varton*8  Orooe  of  King  Arthur, 

Walter  Scott  also  uses  it.  And  Nares  shows 
fiwy^  the  same,  he  says,  as  frore,  to  be  used  by 
Spenser  and  Fairfax. 

Frosted.  The  operation  of  turning  down  tlic 
hinder  part  of  horses  shoes  in  hard  frosts  to  j>revent 
slips.  "Ar  the  bosses /ro«f erf?"  Thus,  anioiij;  tiie 
ex|)ences  at  H engrave  Hail,  in  December,  1572,  is 
this  item — ''  For  frosting  the  cart  horses  at  TiietforJ, 
going  with  the  litters  to  Hysing  for  Mrs.  Soulbwcl!, 
vd."  Gages  Heng,  p.  192. 

Frummety.  Wheat  boiled  in  milk,  with  cinna- 
mon and  sugar ;  an  excellent  thing.  A  eayii:^ 
recommending  forecast  runs  thus — **  When  ta  rain 
Frummety  mind  ye  heent  a  dish  ta  seek."  It  is 
readily  derived  from  Jrumcntum, 

"Frumenty''  saithohl  Cocker,  "  is  broth  of  milk 
and  wheat ;  the  chief  entf*rtainment  on  St.  Luke's 
day,  at  Horn-fair,  kept  at  Charlton,  near  (ircen- 
wich.'*  It  is  worth  enquiry,  if  such  practice  be 
still  kept  up. 

Tusser  knew  of  the  good  thuig,  and  calls  it 
fitrmenty^^ 

n3 


138 

Remember  thoa  therefore^  thongli  I  do  it  notf 

The  seed-cakeny  the  pasties^  ttadfiirmentjf  pot.  p.  278. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  caused  enquii^ 
to  be  made  at  Charlton^  and  learn  that  althou^ 
Horn-fair  is  still  continued  mtth  undiminished  iai" 
iivity,  frumenty  is  not  among  the  good  things  which 
now  contribute  thereto. 

Frummicate  or  Frimmicate.  To  give  one's 
self  airs.  To  be  uneasy  or  fretful  at  trifles.  See 
something  of  this  under  Frump. 

Frump,  Frumpy,  Frumpish,  Frumps.  The 
first  term  is  of  reproach,  and  generally,  applied  to 
a  cross  old  woman,  **  An  oldjrump"  If  insolent 
withal,  she  would  be  said  to  he  frumpy,  or  frump^ 
ish,  or  "  in  her  frumps.*'  Fretful,  peevish,  cross, 
proud,  uncomfortable,  seem  to  be  the  senses  in 
which  these  words  are  understood. 

Shakespeare — M.  W.  of  W.  ii.  2 — uses ^ampo2r 
in  the  sense  of  unhappy — uncomfortable — Mrs.  Fore 
is  said  to  lead  ** a.frampold  lire"  with  her  jealous 
husband. 

Frummicate,  may  with  us,  have  a  meaning  and 
origin  somewhat  similar:  and  so  may  Cocker's 
** Frumps;  taunts,  jeers,  flouts." 

The  Portugueze  have  from^ — ( I  know  not  hov. 
they  spell  it)  meaning  to  jret,  or  be  angry,  Se 
Frummicate. 

Among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words  Ray  ha. 
**frampald  or  frampard;  fretful,  pgevish,  cross, 
froward.^  £.  W.  p.  76.  In  another  place  he  spella 
It  f'ampold. 

Under  the  latter  word  Nares  gives  a  curious  ar- 
ticle. His  first  sense  is — ^vexatious,  saucy,  pert — 
and  under  the  first  word  he  shows  frump  to  be 
derived  from  the  Dutch  "frumpelen,  to  curl  up 
the  nose  in  contempt." 

FUB.  At  marbles — an  irregular  mode  of  pro- 
jecting the  taw  by  a  corresponding  eflfort  of  the 


139 

whole  hand,  instead  of  the  thumb  only.  **  Dont 
fitb''—*'  No/uMen."  Also,  to  put  off  deceitfully. 
*'Ah  yah,  baw,  1  eent  to  hefubb'doff  so — nutha.*' 
Shakespeare  uses  it  in  Hen.  4th  P.  2.  II.  1.  exactly 
in  this  latter  sense. 

FuDDAH.  Farther.  "Where  are  yow  a  gooinl" 
*'So  far  an  no  fudda^"  is  sometimes  the  rude  or  fa- 
miliar reply  to  such  a  query.  It  serves  also  as  a  sort 
of  oath.  "  ril  be  fudda  if  I  dew — "  I'll  see  you 
judda  fust."  Politer  people  of  course,  s^y  farther. 
We  have  a  great  many  softened  imprecations,  as  no* 
ticed  under  Amendbn.     See  Farther. 

Fudge.  To  stir  any  thing  with  the  end  of  a 
stick,  &c.  "  I  fudged  him  with  my  stick  to  wake 
him." 

FULE.  Fool.  **  What  a/tife  yeow  ar."  Of  this 
common  substitution  of  u  for  ooy  see  under  fiUTES. 

FuLLA.  Fellow.  The  day  on  which  1  write  this, 
the  followinw  conversation  passed  between  me  and  an 
honest  neighbour,  a  labourer.  "Why,  that  there 
daater  'a  yars  grow  a  fine  swacken  gal." — **  Ah,  she 
dew — she'll  be  a  wappa  if  she  git  on  thussens." — 
"  Wha's  she  the  pitman,  eh  T* — **  Is — no — why  1  dont 
fare  ta  know — she's  a  twin — I've  theytt//a  tew  ar  a 
toom." 

Fust.  First.  " Til  see  yeow  fudda,ytMf ."  What 
in  another  place  I  called  the  bull-Jiest,  is  as  often 
called  bull-Just.    See  under  Fyst. 

Fusty.  Musty — ill  smelling.  I  should  not  have 
supposed. this  a  provincial  word,  had  1  not  seen  it  as 
such  in  Nares.     It  is  very  common  in  Suffolk. 

FUTNON.  Now  and  then.  **  Every  Futnon," 
which  see.  Ray  calls  it  a  Sussex  word,  ''  Fct'n 
anon.''  It  may  be  derived  from  future  and  anon — 
after  and  soon — "  Every  foot  anon.  Every  now 
and  then."     Cullums  Hawstead.  p.  200. 

Fuzz.  To  flash—*'  Ta/M#d[  i'  the  pan"— A/z. 
Bee  Fyst. 


140 

Fuzz-ball.    One  of  our  nfeiffitfs  for  the  SlilK 
fi€8t,  which  see, 

Fuz z Y .  The  fine  ends  ofsilk  or  cotton,  in  tbre&d 
or  piece,  in  using  or  Wearing,  Jstre  distingtiisheflliiy  * 
this  term.  Such  ends  when  they  stppear  make  the  , 
article  "  wear  fuzzy  "  "It  is  not  a  very  elegaut,  bnt^ 
it  is  an  expressive  word.  "Consim  this' here thn^/ 
— how  ta  fnzz."    See  Frazle. 

Fyst  or  Fiest,     "A  corruption  of  feist,  which 
was  a  jocular  term  for  a  Windy  discharge  of  the 
most  offensive  kind.'*  N.     To 'Jizzle,  is  also  recog^" 
uised  by  this  author  in  the  like  sense.    Under  Bull-  ; 
FIEST,  and  Fiz,  sufficient  is  said  to  show  that  maiiy^ 
words  beginning  with  F  are  cognate  in  sound  ana 
sense.     In  the  sense  of  a  small  wind  or  noise,  this 
passage  in  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  ought  probably 
to  be  read — 

These  arc  things 

That  will  not  strike  their  topsails  to  ^fditt,  PhiUat€r»  V.  4. 

G. 

Gab.  Prate— idle  talk.  Hence  "  the  gift  of  the 
gab,*^  applied  to  a  very  fluent  person.  "Howd 
your  gab,^*  is  equivalent  to  hold  your  jaw.  In  Scot- 
land gab  is  the  mouth,  the  taste — also  a  verb,  like  - 
ours;  with  many  derivations.  Gob  is  likewise  the 
mouth  in  Scottish,  according  to  Jameison,  as  well  as 
Irish :  but  not  I  think  with  us.  We  have,  however, 
gob  (which  see)  in  a  sense  not  remote.  We  have  also, 
like  the  Scotch,  **  gibble-gabble,  for  noisy  confused 
talk."  J. 

Gad.  "All  upon  the  gad."  Roving,  frolicking 
— inconsiderately  gadding  about  as  if  stung  by  a  gad^ 
fly.  Shakespeare  had  something  of  this  ide^  of  hasty 
inconsiderateness  in  his  mind,  when  he  describes  Lear^ 
rash  resolves — 

Ail  this  done 
Upon  trf^ai^.    Lean  I.  2. 

''To  do  upon  the^oJ/  saith  Johnson,-  '^ is  to  ttdt 


HI 

by  the  sudden  stimulation  of  caprice ;  as  cattle  run 
madding  wiien  they  are  stung  by  tbe  gad-fly/' 

Gah.  Gay.  Gahs,  pictures  in  a  book.  **  Gay, 
a^ print  or  picture,  still  current  in  Norfolk."  Nares, 

Gaudy — speckled— applied,  like  fleckerd,  to  a 
fowl,  pigeon,  &c.  '*  A  gah  hinn  ;"  a  speckled  hen. 
See  Fleck ERD.  We  should  also  say  a  gah  cow.  In 
Scottish,  gairy  means  streaked  with  different  colours; 
and  a  gairy  cow,  a  cow  thus  streaked.   J. 

Gain.  Handy — convenient — tractable — profit- 
able. **  That  filld  lie  kiender  gain'^ — ''  I  come  by't 
pretty  ^atn."  Ongain,  tbe  reverse — unpromising. 
€hnn  is  given  in  a  like  sense  as  a  north  country  word 
by  Ray  :  he  says  it  is  "  applied  to  things  convenient, 
to  persons  active,  expert,  to  a  way  near,  short :  used 
m  many  parts  of  England."  £.  W.  p.  31. 

The  word,  spelled  gone  and  gayn  by  Jameison,  has 
nearly  the  like  meanings  in  Scotland  as  in  Suffolk. 

Out  word,  in  a  sense  of  inconvenient,  occurs  in  the 
article  Buffled, 

Gal.     a  vulgarism  for  girl. 

Galkabaw.  This  uncouth  word  can  be  ex- 
plained only  by  detailing  how  it  was  heard.  On  a 
girl  being  asked  who  she  was,  she  replied  a  galka- 
haw:  meaning,  as  it  appeared  on  further  interroga- 
tion, a  girl-cow-boy.  The  first  and  last  syllables  are 
pare  Suffolk— the  medial,  a  convenient  abbreviation. 
I  know  not  if  the  compound  be  legitimatized  in  our 
vocabulary. 

Gall'd.  Chafed — rubbed — both  literally  as  to 
tbe  ttkin  of  man  or  beast,  the  bark  of  a  tree,  &c.  as 
well  as  metaphorically — "'A  far'd  a  good  deal  gall'd 
by  what  I  said."  Chafe,  rub,  sore,  galFd,  and  pro- 
bably other  words,  are  in  extensive  and  nearly  com- 
mon, use.  The  latter  word  occurs  in  a  quotation 
under  the  first  article  of  this  Collection. 

G  ally  trot.  This  is  the  name  of  an  apparition, 
or  csttodaemon,  that  has  sorely  frightened  many  peo« 


142 

pie  in  (he  neiglibourhood  of  Woodbridge.  If  some- 
times assumes  the  shape  of  a  dog;  and  give^  cbaae 
to  tiiose  whose  alarm  impels  them  to  run.  Its  appear- 
ance is  sometimes  as  big  as  a  builock — generally 
white — and  not  very  definable  as  to  outline.  Its 
haunts  are  more  particularly  at  a  place  called  Bath- 
slough,  meaning  a  slough  or  bog  in  the  parish  of 
Burgh.  But  the  place  in  question  is  not  in,  or  very 
near  that  parish,  nor  is  there  any  slough.  I  can 
make  nothing  of  the  name;  nor  much  of  the  story, 
though  I  have  heard  it  related  by  more  than  one 
person  who  had  suffered  from  the  appairltidn. 

Galt.  Clay — brick-earth.  Galty;  wet,  boggy^ 
clayey  land. 

Galya  or  Galvbr.  To  throb.  A  push  is  said 
to  galva,  or  galver,  or  boolk.     See  Bu  llock. 

G  AMBREL.  The  crooked  piece  of  wood  on  which 
the  carcases  of  slaughtered  beasts,  hogs,  and  sheep 
arc  expanded  and  suspended ;  another  name  of  which 
is  hucker.  Under  that  word  a  long  article  is  given. 
When  that  article  was  printed  1  had  no  notion  that 
gambrel  was  a  Suffolk  word  :  hut  1  have  since  found 
that  it  is.  Some  butchers,  on  being  asked  the  ilame 
of  the  article  in  question,  at  once  called  it  gambrel 
— others  gamhel — others  bucker.  Others  affirm 
that  the  articles  differ  in  this — that  the  bucker  is  of 
wood ;  the  gambrel  of  iron  : — both  used  for  the 
same  purpose,  viz.  to  suspend  ^heep,  hOgs,  and  calves 
— ^but  not  beasts,  which  are  always  hung  up  by  a 
straight  piece  of  wood,  called  a  Tree,  See  under 
that  article,  for  any  thing  farther  that  I  may  be  able 
to  gather  on  this  matter  by  the  time  that  the  print- 
ing of  this  Collection  shall  be  so  far  advanced. 

Gang.  Go — or  come,  as  in  Scottish.  Gow  i« 
nearly  similar  perhaps,  but  rather  means  go,  or  come, 
along  with  me.  We  also  say  a — "  'dgang  of  harrows'* — 
and  "a  gang  of  feet,"  for  making  jelly  withal.  It  is, 
not  dissimilarly,  given,  both  as  a  verb  and  substantive 
by  Ray,  among  his  north  country  words — Ihos,  *'a 


143 

gung  is  a  row  or  set,  of  teetb,  or  the  like.  It  is  lo 
this  sense  a  general  word  all  over  England.  To  gang  ; 
to  go  or  walk,  from  the  low  Dutch  gangen ;  both 
originallv  from  the  Saxon  gan^  signif>iug  to  go.'* 
E.  W.  p.  32. 

Gant.  Scanty.  According  to  Ray,  in  his  S.  and 
£.  country  words,  it  means  "  slim,  slender — a  word 
of  general  use."  E.  W.  p.  77.  I  have  very  seldom 
heard  it. 

Gabget.  a  disease  in  calves  and  cows.  ''The 
garget  have  seized  her  dug." 

Gashful.  Ghastly— or  as  in  Nares  "horrid, 
frizbtful." 

V 

Gast.  a  cow  not  seasonably  in  calf  is  said  to  be 
fMf.  The  appellation  is  applied  also  lo  other  infer- 
tile animals,  but  most  commonly  lo  a  cow.  Among 
the  items  of  stock  at  Ilen<;rave  Hall,  in  1007,  under 
the  head  of  "great  cattle,"  we  see  "gasticare  of 
the  last  remaynle  ij."  Gages  lleng.  p.  211.  These 
I  suppose  were  cows  not  seasonably  in  calf.  Ware 
is  a  word  rather  extensively  applied  in  Suffolk,  to 
many  articles  of  store  or  manufactory. 

The  following  occur  in  "  A  true  and  perfect  note 
of  remembrance  of  the  customes  of  the  parish  of 
Campsey-Ash,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,"  in  1G02 — 

•'  Item — for  every  gast  beast  and  heifer,  gast  ware 
and  bud,  three  half  pence  a  piece." 

And  in  the  pleadings  in  the  Exchequer — IVI.  'I\ 
26,  Geo.  II.  Bishop  v.  Barham,  in  a  tithe  cause  of 
the  above  parish,  is  this — "  For  every  gast  beast,  or 
beifer^a^,  wear  buds.  Id.  halfpenny  each." 

These  passages  are  taken  from  "Colieclions  to- 
wards the  History  of  Elmeswell  and  Campsey-Ash, 
in  the  county  of  Suffolk" — forming  No.  52  of  volume 
V.  of  that  valuable  mass  of  local  historical  materials 
10 10  volumes  410,  entitled  Bibliotheca Topographica 
Britaoiiica. 

YfbaX  are  wear  budst  See  under  Bud  and 
Wakb. 


144 

Id  Scottish  a  cow  not  in  calf  is  called  ^  Terry* 
cow.  J. 

Gathering  or  Gahthering.  Raking  mowft 
bay  or  corn  into  cocks  or  rows  for  pitching  on  the 
waggons.  Also  raking  up  clean  after  the  pitchers. 
See  Gavel. 

Gat  LESS.     Heedless — careless — thoughtless. 

Gatteridge.  The  spindle  tree.  In  Ray's  S. 
and  E.  country  words  is  this — "  Gatteridge-tree  is 
comus  foemiiia  or  prick-wood,  and  yet  gatteridge- 
berries  are  the  fruit  of  euonymus  theophrasti,  i.  e. 
spindle-tree  or  louse-berry."  E.  W.  p.  77. 

G  ATT  I  KEN.       Gawky — clumsy — awkward — "  a 
.  great  gattiken  maw  the  r." 

Gavel,  To  gather  mown  barley,  or  oats,  or  hay, 
with  hand -rakes  into  rows  and  small  loose  cocks, 
ready  to  pitch  on  to  the  waggon.  The  persons,  gene- 
rally women,  who  do  this  are  called  gavellers,  and 
the  corn  in  such  rows  is  said  to  lie  on  the  gavel,  or 
in  gavels.  The  word  is  archaic,  and  was  nmch 
in  use  among  our  ancestors,  in  one  sense  cognate 
with  its  present  meaning  in  Suffolk;  in  anotljcr 
different.  Gavel-kind  (or  gavel-kin — give-all-kin 
according  to  Verstegan)  rather  meant  dispersion  than 
gathering. 

Gaw^kv.  Awkward — clumsy — "a  great  gatclty 
maw  the  r." 

# 

GEEorJEE.  Fit — suit.  Oftenest  used  negatively. 
**Ta  dont  fare  iajee"  The  same  in  Cheshire,  and 
Lancashire,  **  from  the  old  word  to  gee  or  to  gie,  to 
go."  W.    We  say  gee  to  horses  to  make  them  go  on. 

Gennetten.  An  early  apple— the  same,  per- 
haps, or  nearly  as  the  margaten.  Some  of  us  call  it 
juneaten — that  is  eaten  in  June ;  and. quote  this  to 
prove  the  comparative  lateness  of  our  seasons  in  these 
**  degenerate  days" — for  early  as  it  is,  it  is  rarely  or 
never  edible jn  June.  Cocker,  however,  countenanees 
this  traditionary  commendation — "  Gennettings,  or 


145 

jwi/Mings^  small  apples  ripe  in  June.''  His  diction^ 
ary  was  published  about  1700. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  name  is  detivable  from 
joMeitan,  a  French  apple,  or  from^'tm^f. 

Gentlbs.  a  maggot  or  grub  found  under  putre- 
scent matter,  used  as  a  bait  by  anglers.  '*  Gentil^  a 
ma^ot  for  fishing."  Cocker.  Tusser  oft^n  mentions 
^'gentils  that  crawl."  pp.  142, 144, 162. 

Geusb  or  GvsE.  Goose — in  the  ordinary  sub- 
stitution  of  the  sharp  u  for  oo — as   noted    under 

BUTBS. 

Gbw-gog.    a  gooseberry.     Also  Guse-gog. 

GlBBLB-GABBLE.     Idle,  noisy,  talk.    See  Gab. 

Gifts.  The  white  spots  on  the  finger  or  thumb 
nails.  Miuiy  of  tbeui  give  rise  to  certain  hopes  or 
«spectations. 

Gill-hooter.    See  Jilly-hooter. 
GiM.     See  Jim. 

GIMMLRS.      SeeJlMMBRS. 

GiNGBKBRBAi)  DOTS.  Gingerbread  nuts,  uf  a 
dampy  form — not  flat. 

GiNT.  Gave  it — "I  gint  em  properly" — rated 
him  soundly. 

Glade.  An  open  space  in  a  wood,  or  in  a  game 
cover.  Slay,  which  see,  is  a  word  nearly  equivalent. 
The  first  is  not  a  very  confined  word.     Si'c  Nares, 

Glead.  A  species  of  hawk — the  same  perhaps 
as  puttock.  Ray  notices  "glead  as  a  term  for  a  kite, 
and  thinks  it  probably  derived  from  gliding.''  E,W. 
p.  vii.  In  Scottish  "  gled,  the  kite."  J.  Under 
glede  or  glead,  Nares  shews  it  to  be  from  the  Saxon 
gUda.  **  The  glede  and  the  kite''  occurs  in  Deutron, 
xiv.  13. 

GleNT.     Gleaned.      "That  there  filld  cent  half 

?}ient;^  also  a  glimpse—"  I  just  got  a  glent  of  him." 
B  the  latter  sense,  ^/t;<^i  is  sometimes  the  word  used. 

o 


146 

In  JaiiK'ison  we  find  both  words  in  these  senses — "to 
glance — a  transient  view — a  moment — from  theTeu- 
tpnic  giants,  splendour." 

Glib.  Smooth,  slippery.  Applied  to  a  smooth 
tongue,  as  well  as  to  ice,  and  to  other  similar  matters. 
In  Scottish  we  find  "  glib-gabbet,  having  a  ^lib 
tongue,"  and  **  glad,  and  glid,  slippery — glid-ice,** 
See,  J.  Nares  shews  glib  to  be  an  old  word,  of 
extensive  usage  in  senses  different  from  that  known 
in  SufTolk ;  but  he  gives  it,  as  well  as  glibbery,  in  a 
smooth  slippery  sense. 

Glister.  Glisten.  «*Tee'nt  all  gowd  that  glis- 
ter,** '  So  Shakespeare — 

Away !  and  glister  like  the  god  of  war,    . 

"When  he  intendeth  to  become  the  field.  K.  John.  V.  1. 

And  Spenser — 

It  all  above  besprinked  was  throughout 

With  golden  aigullets  thai  glisterd  bright.   F.  Q, 

So  in  Scottish,  "  Glister,  lustre — from  the  ancient 
Swedish  glistra,  scintilla."  J. 

Gloat.  To  look  very  intently,  with  a  gross  de- 
gree of  desire.     It  is  now  very  seldom  heard. 

Glout.  To  look  or  be  sulky  and  ill-humoured. 
This  and  ghat,  are  noticed  by  Nares,  as  of  probably 
similar  origin,  and  use. 

Glum,  (ilooniy — low  spirited — sulky.  "'A  fare 
kiender  glum.*' 

Gkkvv.  Gnawed.  In  use  anciently.  SeeNoNCE. 
So  crew,  mew,  snew,  thew,  ^c.  as  noticed  under 

BUTES. 

Gob.  a  gross  bit  of  fat,  or  of  meat,  i^c.  An 
old  Suliotk  song,  not  a  very  delicate  oue,  I  guess,  had 
this  verse — . 

What  great  ^065  of  mutton  and  pieces  of  fat, 
M^  mother  gave  me  when  1  was  a  brat. 

This  word  is  also  vulgarly  used  in  a  phrase  almost 
too  gross  to  write  •*  a  gob  of  snot" — mucus  lianum*, 
See  following  words  beginning  with  gob. 


147 

Gob  BEN.  Talking,  chattering,  idling — *'  Yeow 
tew  e*cnt  a  dewin  a  nawu — you  only  go  gobben  about 
all  day."  This  is  somehow  deduced  from  jabbering, 
gibberishy  gab»  gob.  **  The  gift  of  1  he  gab"  we  have 
in  use,  as  well  as  our  neighbours.  See  Gab.  And 
perhaps  the  gulping,  gurgling  vociferation  of  a  turkey- 
cock  is  very  extensively  called  gobbling,  and  our  apt 
name  too — Gobble  cock,  for  the  bird  himself. 

Gobbets.  A  derivative  from,  and  diminutive  of, 
gob.   Thus  in  Shakespeare — 

— — — —  like  ambitious  Scjlla,  overgorgM 
With  gobbets  of  tby  mother'n  bleeding  heart.  K,  Hen,  6.  IV.  1. 

Again Meet  I  an  infant  of  the  house  of  York, 

Into  as  many  gobbets  will  I  cut  it. 

As  wild  Medea  young  Absyrtus  did.  Jb.  V.  9, 

,  *'  A  gob  ;  an  open  or  wide  mouth.  Hence  to  /»oft- 
ble,  to  swallow  greedily  or  with  oj)en  mouth.  Gob, 
in  the  south  signifies  a  large  morsel  or  hit ;  so  wc 
say  a  good  gob,  i.  e.  a  good  segment  or  part.  The 
diminutive  wliereof  is  gobbet ;  cut  into  gobbets,  per- 
chance from  the  Greek  ko'ttIco,  tcof^ixx."  Ray,  E.  W. 
p.  101.     "Gappocks,  gobbets."  Scottish.  J. 

Gab,  and  all  the  words  here  given  beginning  with 
gob,  seem  allied :  as  well  as  jib,  jabber,  gibberish, 
&e.     See  Nares  under  Gibber, 

Gobble.  To  eat  too  fast — '*  how  yeow  dew 
gobble  yar  wittels."  A  girl  taking  stitches  too 
long  in  a  hem,  would  be  reproached  with  a  similar 
word:  or  she  would  say  **  I  hate  work,  so  I  gobble 
it  over  as  fast  as  i  cem,"  Wabble  is  cognate  in 
sense  and  sound.     See  it. 

Gobble-cock.  A  Turkey  cock.  Bubbly  Jock, 
in  Scotland.  Both  derived  probably  from  the  caco- 
phonic  notes  of  this  odd-mannered  bird. 

Gofers.  A  sort  of  crimped  pie-crust-cake.  A 
noted  maker  lives  at  Stratford  St.  Andrews,  where 
and  whereabouts,  this  name  is  general.  At  the 
window  of  a  bouse  near  Uie  old  theatre  at  Bury  St. 
Edmunds,  is  (1818)  a  card  stuck  up  with  this  no- 

o  2 


148 

lice — "  Gofering  done  here."  On  enquiry  the 
word  was  pronounced  "  goferin  "  and  was  found 
to  mean  plaiting  or  crimping  shirt  frills  or  other 
finer  sorts  of  gear.  So  that  the  word  appears  to 
be  connected  with  puffing,  puckering^  crimping. — 
Whence  its  derivation?  I  am  told  (182i)  that 
gofering  is  a  word  used  in  London,  as  descriptive 
of  a  mode  of  "  getting  up"  frills,  &c.  not  in  the 
crimped,  but  in  the  open  flattened  mode  :  when  it 
is  like  a  Chitterlin,  which  see. 

Golden-bug  or  Gawden-btig.  The  bdy-bird, 
otherwise  called  Barruibee,  which  see. 

GoLLOP.  Gallop.  Golhppen^  galloping.  A 
little  phraseological  anecdote  is  pleasantly  remem- 
bered of  a  late  eminent  medical  practitioner,  noted 
for  his  steadiness  of  pace  as  well  as  practice.  He 
was  urgently  called  up  in  the  night  by  a  lad  from  the 
country,  to  aid  his  mistress ;  and  not  moving  quite 
so  rapidly  as  the  lad's  dutiful  eagerness  desired,  was 
several  times  requested  to  brush  on  a  little ;  but  in 
vain.  He  was  gently  rebuked  by  my  steady  paced 
friend  with — **Ah  yah,  baw — If  trotten  ont  save 
her,  galloppen  ont." 

GoM.  An  imprecation.  "  By  gom" — or  **  by 
goms" — also  **  by  gosh" — Very  gross  imprecations, 
of  which  these  are  probably  modifications,  are  sel- 
dom heard  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  Sufiblk  pea- 
santry.   See  Amenden — and  Farther. 

GoN.  Gave — given.  "  'A  heent  gon  em  nawn;'* 
he  has  not  given  him  any  thing. 

GoocHY.     India  rubber. 

Good  outs.  Doing  well.  "  No  outs,"  the 
reverse.  •*  We  made  pretty  good  outs  ont." 
(gleaning  in  such  a  field) — **  We  made  no  outs 
ont." 

Goof  or  Goaf.  The  mass  of  corn  in  the  straw 
in  a  barn.  "  Riding  the  goof,"  is  the  work  of  a  boy 
on  horse-back,  to  compress  the  corn  as  thrown  oq 
the  goof.    Bailey  has  the  word,  which  he  8|>eUa 


149 


it 


geoff — a  mow  or  rick  of  hay  or  com."  "  Gofc 
ladder,"  is  moitioned  by  Tusser  as  an  implemeDt  of 
hasbaiidry,  as  the  ladder  so  used  is  still  called  in 
Sufibik.     He  uses  the  word  (Gove)  also  as  a  verb. 

In  goving  at  harvest  learn  skilfully  how 
Each  grain  for  to  lay  bj  itself  on  the  mow: 
Seed  barlejr  the  purest  gove  out  of  the  way, 
AM  other  nigh  hand,  gove  just  as  ye  may. 

"A  goffv,  a  mow  of  hay  or  corn.  Essex."  Hay. 
E.W.  p.'77. 

Having  looked  over  Tusser  since  I  read  Ray,  I 
extract  at  a  length,  that  I  can  in  no  otlier  instance 
find  room  for,  a  considerable  portion  of  his  list  of 
implements  in  what  he  calls  **  A  Di<2[ression  to  Hus- 
bandly Furniture :"  as  in  almost  every  line  a  term 
stili  in  use  will  be  observed.  I  prefer  giving  the  long 
quotation  in  this  place,  and  inuking  occasional  refer- 
ences to  it,  to  inserting  shorter  extracts  under  the 
seemingly  more  appropriate  places,  where  many  of 
the  words  occur,  in  my  work.  In  some  lines  more 
than  one  required  word  will  be  found — and  partial 
extracts  would  in  the  end  be  longer,  and  much  less 
intelligible,  than  if  given,  as  now,  at  length. 

To  the  quotation  from  Tusser,  I  will  add  a  few 
notes  on  each  verse,  explanatory  of  the  terms  used  by 
bim,  and  now  in  use  among  us ;  and  of  such  other 
matters  as  seem  to  require  notice. 

1.  Bam  locked,  gofe-Iadder,  short  pitch-fork  and  lon^, 
Flail,  straw-fork  and  rake,  with  a  fan  that  is  siruim; 
Wing,  cartnave  and  bushel,  peck,  sti  dee,  ready  hand. 
Get  casting  shoueiy  broom,  and  a  sack  witii  a  band. 


1.  Almost  all  the  imp'emeuts  named  in  this  verse  are  siiii  so 
called  in  Suffolk.  The^un  we  iitoiecoiiimoniy  call  rnn.  a  wickt  r 
corn-winnowing  article.  A  guuse-wiiig  iij  still  used  fui  bushint; 
the  dust  off  corn  in  the  operation  of  dresain*:  It.  ll  is  hI!)()  u  do- 
ine«tic  dusting  implement.  I  do  not  know  (hat  a  cattti-ive is  now 
uediii  ihe'baro.  The  itrike,  or  ttrtek,  as  ue  also  call  it,  is  for 
striking  off  the  corn  even  with  the  top  of  the  bu^fhtii  or  peck.  A 
cssling-shoul,  is  for  casting  or  throwing  corn  t'luiu  bide  to  side 
of  a  bariiy  in  which  process  the  lieavy  gruius  go  Cu  the  heap>  the 

o  3 


150 

5.  A  pitch-fork,  a  dung-fork^  sieve,  skep^  and  a  bin— > 

4.  A  buttrice  and  pincera,  a  hammer  and  nail. 
And  apron  and  scissors  for  head  and  for  tail*— 
Whole  bridle  and  saddle,  whitleather  and  nail. 
With  collar  and  harness  for  thiiler  and  all. 

5.  A  pannel  and  wanty,  pack  saddle  and  ped, 
A  line  to  fetch  litter  and  halters  for  head : 
With  crotchets  and  pins  to  bang  trinkets  thereony 
And  stable,  fast  chained  that  nothing  be  gone. 

6.  Strong  axle-treed  cart  that  is  clouted  and  shod. 
Cart-ladder,  and  wimble,  with  perser  and  pod. 
Wheel-ladder  for  harvest,  light  pitch-fork  and  tough. 
Shave,  whip-lash  well  knotted,  and  cart  rope  enough. 

7.  Ten  sacks,  whereof  every  one  holdeth  a  coomf 
A  pulling-hook  handsome  for  bushes  and  broom : 
light  tumbril  and  dung-crome,  for  easing  Sir  Wagy 
Shouel,  pick-axe,  and  mattock,  with  bottle  and  bag. 

light  ones,  dust  and  dirt,  fall  short.  The  modern  dressing 
chines  are  s>o  useful  that  the  old  mode  of  castin<;.  brushing,  wing* 
ina,  skrecning,  &c.  will  become  obsolete,  lender  the  worSi 
Pitch-fork,  Rake,  Showl,  Strike,  andFa^t,  something  farther  on  the 
subjects  of  this  verse  will  be  found. 

3.  See  Skep,  and  13ing. 

4.  A  buttrice  Is  a  farrier^s  tool,  for  paring  the  bottom  of  the 
hoof;  still  used  and  so  called.  Of  tohit-leather,  see  under 
Knacker.  Of  no//  I  know  nothing — Mavor  says  it  is  a  coliar- 
roaker'sawl.     Oi' thillerf  sec  under  Thill. 

5.  I  know  not  what  a  wanty  is,  except  from  Mavor,  who  says 
it  is  a  leather  tie.  We  should  call  it  a  whang,  which  see.  Ped^ 
a  small  pannier;  see  Peo.  Crotchets  are,  I  suppose,  large  pegs^ 
or  spurkets  as  we  call  them.     See  Crotch  and  Spvrkbt. 

6.  Wimble  is  a  sort  of  gi.mlet  or  small  auger :  some  say  it  is  a 
centre-bit — Perser,  another  sort  of  gimlet — a  piercer,  probably. 
The  pronounciation  of  perse  for  pierce,  we  retain  t  and  our  sail- 
makers  and  workers  in  canvas,  call  a  sharp  instrument  for  making 
eye-let  holes  a  purser — piercer,  no  doubt.  Persons  of  the  name  of 
Pearce  we  call  Purse,  or  shorter  Pus ;  as  we  say  boss  for  horse. 
See  PuHSB.     A  Pod,  Mavor  says,  is  a  leathern  bottle  to  hold 

frease.  We  have  such  a  word,  but  I  do  not  see  its  applicability 
ere;  unless  from  its  round,  belly-like  appearance.  See  Poo. 
A  ihave  is  a  well  known  carpenter's  tool ;  and  the  other  articles 
named  in  this  verse  are  also  common.  Ladders,  and  wheeUladden 
I  may  note,  are  the  moveable  projections,  fitted  to  waggons  and 
carts  in  hay  and  harvest  times,  to  increase  their  capacity. 

7.  A  caomf  or  comb,  is  the  measure  by  which  all  com  is  sold 


151 

8»  A  grindstone^  a  whetatone>  a  hatchet  and  bill. 
A  frower  of  iron  for  cleaving  of  lath. 

11.  A  plough-beetle,  ])Iough-stuff,  to  farther  the  plough. 
Great  clod  to  asunder  thul  hreakclh  so  ruugii  j 
A  sled  for  a  plow,  and  another  lor  blocks. 
Fur  chimney  in  winter  to  burn  up  their  docks. 


and  bought  in  Suffolk.  Sec  Coomr.  Of  the  dung-crowe,  see 
under  Crome.  Sir  Wag,  I  suppose,  par  ticellence,  as  bci:ig  the 
largest  carriage  on  the  furm.  We  still  use  these  lumbering, 
bungling,  machines  called  waggons;  which,  when  empty,  weigh 
a  ton,  or  more;  with  wooden  arms  to  the  axle-trees.  \Vc  are  half 
a  century  behind  the  Scotch  in  farming  machinery,  as  well  as  in 
some  farniing  processes.  I  have  a  beautiful  Scotch  cart  and 
Scotch  plough  on  my  farm ;  but  my  men  will  not  use  them,  al- 
though I  have  offered  some  handsome  temptations.  We  are  so 
unhappy  as  to  fancy  ourselves  the  best  farmers  iu  England.  In 
regard  to  corn-crops,  we  may  be  among  sucli — but  as  to  green 
crops,  we  are,  I  doubt,  among  the  worst.  And  in  regard  to  im- 
plements, our  waggons  and  tumbrils,  compared  with  Scotch  carts, 
prore  that  few  things  travel  quore  slowly  than  agricultural  im- 
IRoremcnt. 

The  other  articles  of  verse  7  are  still  well  known.  Of  Shouel^ 
see  V.  1,  and  note,  and  under  Sri  owl. 

8.  A  bill.  Sec  under  that  word.  Also  under  Brush.  Under 
the  former  wonl  I  have  given  what  I  had  to  say  thereon.  The 
lathe-cleaving  frower,  is  known  among  us  now  by  the  name  of 
ihroMter:  oftencst  applied  to  the  implement  with  which  hurdle- 
stuff  is  cleaved  or  riv.     See  Riv. 

11.  A  plough-beetle,  appears  to  have  been  a  large  wooden  ham- 
iner,  then  perhaps,  appertaining  to  the  furniture  of  a  p!<)w,  "great 
duds  to  asunier.**  Such  are  sometimes  still  used  in  Sutiolk. 
See  Bf.etlf.  To  our  wheel-plows,  a  plow-hammer.  Is  still  an 
appurtenance.  Ihe  phiii»h-8tn(f  is  not  in  use  with  us.  It  is  in 
liisbes.  A  tied  is  a  woiKleu  convenience — a  sied^e — on  which 
wheelless  plows  are  slid  frout  field  to  field,  \c.  Se<'  .SLti). 
It  is  now  bcldoni  or  never  u^ed  lor  hhtcks*  Dochs  ute.ui  the 
grouud  ends  of  trees.  We  retain  it  in  tlie  same  scn»e  of  tail 
oroetbcr  end.  Applied  to  horses,  the  word  is  perhaps  general. 
See  Bung.  In  reference  to  i  he  docks,  or  champs,  or  nellier  ends, 
bf  trees,  we  do  not,  in  common  parlance  use  i/uc/c-end,  so  often 
IS  another  more  gross  epithet,  wliich  I  !>hall  not  precisely  express 
or  explain,  for  a  reason  that  may  be  found  (ihotigh  tlic  reader, 
mthout  referring,  will  be  scarcely  able  to  guess  wherefore,)  under 
Rm G-Dow',  where  I  have  seen  occasion  to  substitute  cntb-tail  for 
a  less  delicate  appellative.     See  also  Chump  an<l  11  h  l  v f. 

To  this  loug  note,  and  on  this  v.  11,  I  have  still  to  add  a  little 


152 

12.  Scdi;;o  '•oilars  for  plougli  horsp.  f'-r  l»ghtne«  of  neck* 
i:>.  A  slintT  fo.-  A  nriollier,  a  how  for  a  boy. 

14.  A  l^rnsli-srytlio  and  grass-scytho,  with  rifl<»  to  stand, 
A  era' 1 1.'  fur  i)urlev«  with  rub-siono  and  sand. 
Sh.irp  sifkle  r.nd  woeding-hooki  hay-fork  and  nikr, 
A  Diccik  for  (he  pease,  and  to  swinge  up  the  brake. 

15.  .Sliort  r:il;cs  for  lo  cather  up  barley  to  b:n<?, 
/.nd  jrre;:ior  to  take  up  the  leaviniis  behind  ; 
A  nikr  lor  lo  hale  up  the  fitcl  ej>  that  lie, 

A  j»ike  ior  to  pike  them  up  handsome  lo  dry. 


coiD)nc>nt  on  ilie  ultimate  words— /)/oji;*/i  and  ronirh,  5»!ich  at- 
tempts as  this  to  force  words  of  no  common  reiation*^hip  in 
sound,  though  looking  alike,  into  rvthmical  fwVition,  may  have 
been  tlte  origin  of  several  local  and  perhsips  erroneous  modes  of 
p'"n>:)unciation.  Enoto  for  eiiou^^  to  make  it  rhNUie  to  pUmgh 
is  allowable  and  legitimated.  See  Know.  /V<no  is  indeeo  &o 
i.lviou.sly  a  better  mode  of  wiiting  the  word,  that  one  i>  surprizerl 
t'^at  the  other  should  have  been  so  long  retained  :  especially  as 
^ 'c  have  scripture  authority  for  the  emendation  **The  plowers 
pU)wed  on  my  back  and  made  long  furrows.'^  Ps  cxxiz.  3.— 
1  .'otigh  and  rough,  however  closely  allied  to  vision,  can  never,  I 
tl.'uk,  become'* bib  thegiiher"  in  sound, though  we  see  them  made 
so  in  V.  11.  above.  Tusser  has  also  **Stub  root  so  tough  —  lor 
breaking  of  plough."  p.  82,  And  in  a  quotation  under  Chap 
we  have  plough  and  enough — in  another  under  Pr.AMi  the  same, 
in  combination  with  p!ow  and  cow.  See  something  farther  uf  this 
under  Rowfw. 

it.  ScJge- collars,  we  now  call  Seggen-collart,     See  Seg. 

i:i.  Mother.  This  word  we  pronounce  Mawthtry  which  see; 
meaning  a  girl.  But  we  never  give  them  sliutis,  or  boys,  bows, 
for  keeping  crows  or  birds  otf  corn,  as  they  appear  to  have  done 
ia  Tusser*s  time. 

14.  A  hrush'Scyihe,  we  still  use.  See  note  on  v.  8— and  the 
artich'S  thence  referred  to.  BijUe  and  Crudle,  I  believe,  are  a 
sort  of  basket-work  about  the  insertioiYS  of  the  iron  and  w(K)d  of 
a  scythe — used  in  the  S^heers^  buf  not  in  Suffolk.  They  carry  or 
drive  along,  the  severed  gras?,  barley,  &c.  into  regular  rows,  and 
are,  I  think,  good  things,  as  scattering  ltjiss,  &c.  less  than  scythes 
without  such.  The  ruf>  sfmie  i!>indiiipensahle.  See  Hub.  Of  a 
«*  Meak  for  the  pease,**  see  Makf,  and  Hmakp,  and  Swing  p. 
Mavor,  in  a  note  on  this  word,  Meuky  says  that  "me<tth  is  a  hook 
at  the  end  of  a  handle  about  five  feet  long,  to  hackle  up  pease." 
We  never  call  it  meitth. 

15.  The  process  of  gathering  up  barley  we  call  gavelliDf ;  and 


153 

16.  A  skuttle  or  screen  to  rid  soil  from  the  corny 
And  shearing  shears  ready  for  sheep  to  be  shorn; 
A  fork  and  a  hook  to  be  tampring  in  clajs 
A  lath-hammer,  trowel^  a  hod  or  a  tray. 

19.  Sharp  cutting  spade,  for  dividing  of  mow. 

With  skuppet  and  skavell,  that  marsh-men  allow; 

A  sickle  to  cat  with,  a  didall  and  crome. 

For  drauoing  of  ditches,  that  noyes  thee  at  home. 

SI.  Solesy  fetters,  and  shackles,  with  horse-lock  and  pad, 
A  cow-boose  for  winter,  so  meet  to  be  had ; 
A  stye  for  a  boar,  and  a  hogs  cote  for  hogy 
A  roost  for  thy  hens,  and  a  couch  fur  thy  dog. 


Goose-grass.  The  weed  argentina,  or  galium 
aparine.     We  commonly  call  it  guse-grass. 

wliat  Tutser  calls  fitches  are  what  we,  I  surmise,  call  gavels.  See 
GATBit.  '*  A  pike  to  pike  them  up,**  is  a  pitch-fork ;  still  called 
a  pike  in  some  counties.*     See  hereon  under  Pitch-fork. 

16.  **  A  Skuttle  or  Screen.**  I  think  I  have  heard  the  com  • 
lereen  called  a  skuttle  many  years  ago,  but  I  do  not  find  it  now 
known  by  that  name :  the  large  barn  wooden  <<  casting  shoveP*  is 
M  called.  **  Tampring  in  clay**  is,  I  imagine^  what  we  call  daiU>' 
ing.  Temperitig  is  a  necessary  preparation.  See  under  those 
words. 

19.  Of  Skuppet  and  Scaffle  and  Crome,  see  under  those  words. 
Soch  things  are  as  well  Known  now  as  in  Tusser*8  time,  about 
1550.  I  can  make  nothing  ofdidalL  Mavor  says  it  is  a  triangular 
^ade  fbr  catting  and  banking  up  ditches.  I  think  it  must  have 
been  a  draining  tool ;  as  the  things  enumerated  in  this  verse  seem 
mostly^  if  not  all,  to  be  of  that  description.  I  cannot  but  ba 
sorry  that  Dr.  Mavor  saw  fit  to  modernize  Tusser*8  spelling.  The 
intelligence  and  interest  of  his  curious  work  are,  I  think,  consider- 
ably diminished  thereby.  I  have  no  convenient  access  to  an  early 
edidon.  To  what  is  said  under  Crome,  I  may  add  that  drainers  use 
SBch  an  implement,  for  pulling  out  of  the  drain>  pieces  of  flag,  &€. 
that  may  have  fallen  therein. 

21.  Tusser  makes  a  distinction  between  a  stye  and  a  hcg*s  cote. 
So  do  we;  as  will  be  seen  under  Hobble.  Hogs  cotCt  we  do  not 
nie:  cote  seems  to  imply  an  abode — as  in  dove-cot,  &c. 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  in  the  verses  quoted  under  this 
artidCy  many  tools  and  implements  are  enumerated  as  necessary 
in  husbandry,  which,  from  the  division  of  labour  and  multiplica- 
tioa  of  handy  crafts,  are  no  longer  so.  Of  this  see  something 
noder  Knacker,  in  the  omitted  verses  are  many  more,  which 
fumert  now  find  no  occasion  to  possess. 


154 

Gore.  Bloody.  "  He's  all  of  a  gore.**  Blood 
in  a  coagulated  state  is  called  clout».     See  ClOUTi 

Gosh.  A  moderated  imprecation,  like  By-gom^ 
which  see, 

'  GosLiNS.  The  beautiful  early  blossom  of  the 
salixy  ivhich  having  the  same  colour,  and  appearing 
at  nearly  the  same  time,  as  the  interesting  brood  pi 
the  goose,  has  obtained  the  same  name. 

GoTCH.  A  jug  or  pitcher  with  one  ear  or  handle. 
It  is  also  Scottish,  though  I  do  not  find  it  in  Jameison. 
See  Rant e r .  **kgotcK^ — according  to  Ray,  among 
his  S.  and  £.  country  words — is  *'  a  large  earthen  qi 
stone  drinking  pot,  with  a  great  belly  like  a  jug." 
E.  W.  p.  77. 

Go  TO.  This  phrase  is  oddly  used.  A  knife,  &€. 
"  Don't  go  to  open,"  i.  e.  is  not  made  to  open :  **  don'l 
go  to  shut."  "  Don't  go  to  eat,"  inedible*  -  "  Don  1 
go  to  come  out,"  and  so  of  many  verbs  passive.  "Ti 
don't  go  ta  come  oflf,  dew.it?"-r-"  Is — ta^dew.**  . 

Gow.  Come.  This  nsed  to  be  very  common. 
It  is  less  so  now.  Ray  hitched  it  into  a  proverb, 
*'Do  not  say  go,  but  gaw — i.  e.  go  thyself  alon^,* 
p.  9.  Either  he  did  not  understand  the  word,  or  h€ 
does  not  use  it  in  a  Suffolk  sense.  With  us,  it  is  no! 
come  hither — but  come  along  with  me — accompany 
Die. 

GoWD.  Gold.  So  in  Cheshire.  W.  "  A  gow- 
d.en  guinea."  So  we  say  cowd  for  cold  ;  houd  foi 
hold;  cowt  for  colt,  &c. — as  noticed,  with  othei 
peculiarities,  under  Aninnd. 

Gow^DENBUG.  The  golden-bug,  or  lady-bird— 
otherwise  Bamahee,  which  see. 

Grace  Widow.  A  woman  who  had  "  a  child 
for  her  cradle  ere  she  had  a  husband  for  her  bed." 
It  ought  rather  to  be  grace  less. 

Graves.  The  gross  refuse  of  tallow  chandler^a 
stuff,  not  fit  to  be  worked  up  into  candles. 


i:5 

»  Green.  Throttle — choak.  A  ti^ht  collar  is 
Rud to ^een  ahorse.  See  Quezzen  and  Quackle. 
.  "  To  rrain  or  grane  "  is  given  by  Ray  among  his 
[  &  and  .E.  country  words,  and  exphiiued  "  to 
i  choak  or  throttle."  E.  W.  p.  77. 

I  Greeze.  To  keep  fatting  cot  tie  or  sheep. 
I  Fanners  who  keep  fatting  stock  are  called  p^reezers — 
from  grazing  no  doubt.     ''  I  dont  greeze  ta  year/* 

Grey-beard.  The  appropriate  name  for  a  fine 
■large  handsome  stone  bottle,  hold ifi<]:  perhaps  three  or 
foor  or  more  gallons,  having  its  hundle  terminating  in 
a  venerable  druidic  face.  In  my  younger  days  most 
&nn  houses  and  others,  near  the  sea  coust  of  Suf- 
folk, had  a  grey-lieard  of  Hollands  in  the  closet. 
It  was  I  believe  of  Dutch  make.  1  have  not  seen 
or  heard  of  one  for  many  years.  It  appears  to  have 
been  "an  old  fashioned  name  in  Scotland  for  an 

I  earthen  jar  for  holding  spirits."  Monastery  I.  204. 
The  same  thing,  I  daresay,  as  tlie  Suffolk  bottle. 
Of  certain  East-Anglian  transactions  with  our  op- 
posite friends,  see  scmicthing  under  Ukogues. 

Gret  Parson.  A  lay  impropriator  of  tithco — 
as  not  wearing  a  black  coat. 

Grift.     Slate  pencil. 

Grig.  The  cricket — "  as  merry  as  dLgrig,"'  I 
am  not  sure  that  ^rig  is  the  cricket  only.  I  rather 
think  the  name  is  also  given  to  little  eels — as  it  is  in 
Cocker.  Nares  shows  that  it  was  originally  '*  as 
Berry  as  a  Greek.*' 

Grill  an  Grizzlk.  To  snarl  or  snap.  "How 
them  there  tew  warnient  dew  grill  an  grizzle  at  one 
mother."  Said  of  two  quarrelsome  puppies  or 
children. 

Grime.     Dirt— filthy.     "  Grimy  hands/* 

Gbinnstun.    a  grind-stone. 

Grip  or  Groop.    A  small  open  meadow  ditch. 


) 


156 

for  a  nin  of  water.  "  A  grip  or  gripe,"  Ray  gm 
a  north-country  word — "  meaning  a  little  dit< 
trench."  E.W.  p.  34.  And  grtpe  he  says  is 
same  Bjs^grupe,  ib.  p.  vii.  And  among  his  S.  ai 
country  words  he  has  "  A  grippe,  or  grindie 
small  drain,  ditch,  or  gutter,"  ib.  78.  We  call  i 
small  drain,  a  drindle,  which  see. 

Grist.  Com  carried  to  a  mill  to  be  ground 
the  consumer,  not  Sot  sale — also  the  portion  th< 
retained  by  the  miller  for  his  fee.  A  *'  grist  ] 
distinguishes  a  mill  where  such  small  portions 
taken  in  to  be  ground,  from  the  mill  of  a  whoh 
breaker  of  corn.  In  Scottish,  and  perhaps  e> 
sively,  grist  means  the  miller's  fee. 

Grits.    See  Groats. 

Groats.  Oatmeal.  The  same  perhaps  as  g 
Ray  says  that  "  Groats  for  great  oatmeal  is  a  gci 
word."  E.W.  p.  viii.  The  word  is  pronounc^ 
rhyme  with  oats.  I  dare  say  it  is  compounde 
grits  and  oats.  In  Scottish — **  Groats;  oats, 
theliusks  taken  off."  J. 

Groft.  Growth — produce.  ''Labour  now 
all  the  groft  of  the  farm." 

Groope.     a  Grip — which  see. 

Grope.  In  remote  country  villages  there  is 
io  my  early  day,  was)  a  person,  generally  an  old 
man,  exclusively  possessing  the  secret  of  determi 
whether  or  not  a  goose  were  duly  impregnated, 
this  end  she  gropes  in  a  peculiar  mode  with  her 
ger : — the  operation  is  called  gropeing,  I  can  n 
iect  few  things  that  I  ever  more  enjoyed  than  p 
ing  a  gander  on  a  sapient  beldame  of  this  descrip 
witnessing  her  sage  researches,  and  listening  witi 
wicked  compeers  to  her  remarks.  A  ballad 
composed  on  the  occasion :  the  earliest  effort, 
bably,  of  any  of  the  conspirators,  at  tagging  a  rii 
Some  lines  of  the  compound  production  still — i 
the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century — float  io  my  n 


1&7 

kctioii ;   but  are  not  worthy  of  record  except  in  the 
f^lsme  of  the  brain. 

I  did  not  expect  to  have  any  more  to  say  on  this 
word,  or  that  any  one  bad  ever  said  aught  thereon  in 
print  before  me.  But  I  was  in  error.  The  practice 
n  of  antiquity,  and  the  word  proverbial :  for  in  Ray, 
p.  103,  we  read  "Teach  your  grandarae  to  grope  her 
dncks^^—which  by  some  learned  and  equivaleut  phrases, 
we  find  tantamount  to  teaching  her  to  **  suck  eggs." 

Gkounsel.  The  weed  Sen&no  vulgaris ;  which 
we  likewise  call  Simsou.  Also  the  threshold  of  a 
door — the  ground-ci^l ;  or  ground-sill,  as  it  is  spelled 
ia  Nigel  in  a  Scottish  speech  of  King  James. 

Grout.  A  masonic  process  of  filling  up  the 
iaterstices  betweeh  bricks  or  stones,  by  pouring  fluid 
mortar  over  each  course  or  two,  to  saturation. 

It  is  also  pleasantly  applied  to  one  at  table  who 
iday  happen  to  eat  any  thing  fluid  late  in  the  meal : 
or  to  the  "  filling  up  the  chiuks,"  by  drink.  To 
this  some  allusion  is  made  under  BiiVER. 

Grouts.  The  sediment  of  cofiec,  beer,  tea,  &c. 
called  variously  Gulsh,  Hilis,  and  Jign,  which  see. 

Grower.  A  farmer — *'  a  great  grower."  "  A 
lamb  grower ' — a  flock  master. 

Grub-felling.  Fclh'ng  trees  with  a  portion  of 
the  roots.  The  felting  axe  used  for  this  purpose,  we 
call  a  Lump-ex. 

Grub  LI  ns.     Laying  a  child  on  its  l>clly.    A  nurse 
iaji  a  crying  child  grubfins  on  her  lap  to  quiet  it.     "  I 
nil — dew  yeou  lali  that  there  child  gruhlins — 'tull  far 
Uw  buttah  faught."     That  is  "do  you  lay  that  child 
\    00  ita  belly,  'twill  fare  the  better  for  it." 

Grumpey.  In  bad  temper  or  spirits — similar 
perhaps  to  Otuan^  or  Snaggy — the  latter,  however, 
(which  see)  is  more  especially  applicable  to  temper. 
I  lately  heard  "my  stomach,  fare  kienda  jnanpegf'*— - 
mepiMQg  ovt  of  Aorts-^cbolicky. 


158 

Grutch.  Grudge.  ••  He  ewe  *eni  a  gmieh**' 
We  learn  from  Nares,  that  tlie  former  is  tbe  niore- 
aucieut  and  original  form  of  llie  word. 

GuLLioN.  An  acute  disorder  in  horses — chor 
licky  perhaps.  '*The  strong  gullion"  denotes  tlni 
severity  of  an  attack.    ^ 

Gulp.  A  gross  swallow,  as  in  other  parts.  Also 
a  young  nestling  bird,  while  its  callow  body  is  dispro* 
portionately  large.  The  smallest  of  such  nestlings  is 
called  Seest  gulp,  which  see'.  In  Scottish  **  Goog  u . 
an  unfledged  bird  ;'*  and  **  Gulp,  a  big  unweiUiy 
child."  J. 

GULSH.     Dregs,  sediment,  deposit — of  somethUig 
uncleanly — made  wines,  or  beer.    JJeuce  heavily  or 
heaviness — "  'a  fell  plunipendicular  down — gulsh/^ . 
Jigs,  hills,  and  grouts,  are  words  of  nearly  similar ' 
sense ;  and  squhh  seems  also  coguate  in  sense  and , 
sound.     In  Scottish,  "  Glush  is  any  thing  in  tbe  state ' 
of  pulp:  snow  when  beginning  to  melt.''  J.     Nare^, 
under  this  gross  word  Gulsh,  gives  some  curious  mat- 
ter ;  but  does  not  ap|iear  to  have  met  with  the  wor<l 
in  its  genuine  Suffolk  sense.  ' 

Gum  BLED.  Awaking  in  the  morning  the  eyes  are 
said  to  be  gumbled,  when  uof  easily  opened — or  from 
measles  or  small-pox. 

Gum  SHUN.  Cleverness,  talent — used  quaintly. 
*'  He  has  some  gumskun  in  him''  is  as  much  as  to  say 
ho  18  no  fool.  1  his  word  seems  to  be  in  use  in  other 
parts.  Gumption  occurs  in  the  Bridal  of  Triernuiin» 
Canto  I.  and  in  other  recent  Scottish  works.  *'  A» 
muckle  gumpshiou  as  Tammy,"  I  lately  read  in  a 
Scotch  Magazine.  *'  Gumption,  uuderstandiog."* 
Scottish.  J. 

GuMSHUS  or  RuMGUMSHUS.  Quarrelsome,  of- 
fensive, obstinate.  **  Come — dont  you  be  rumguni- 
shus" — "A  fared  kienda  rumgumshus'' — this  would 
apply  to  an  unmanageable  man  or  horse.     Bumshu 


159 

IS  sufficiently  cognate  in  sound  and  sense.  See  onder 
those  articles. 

GusE.     Goose — acute  ii. 

GusEBERRT-FuLE.  The  well  known  delicacy; 
the  oo  of  which  we  so  coniinouly  change  into  the 
acute  «9  as  noticed  under  Butes. 

GusEGOG.     A  gooseberry — also  gew-gog. 

GusTARD.  Custard — which  see.  This,  although 
a  valgar*  may  be  a  correct  pronunciation,  derived 
probably  from  Guitus — Gtisto — hence  Govt  in  the 
French,  and  similar  words  in  several  other  £uro|)eaM 
languages. 

.  Guzzle.  To  drink  excessively  or  often — **  a 
ffMzzien  fellow."  '  Bezzle  is  another  similar  word— 
seMoni  used. 

H. 

Haapny.  a  half-penny.  HaapenSf  half-pence. 
Haaperth,  a  half-penny  worth. 

Hackle.  The  fastening,  usually  made  of  hair 
irith  an  eye  at  one  end  and  a  toggle  at  the  other, 
round  the  fetlocks  of  a  cow  to  prevent  her  from 
kicking,  when  being  milked.     A  shackle. 

Haferen.  Unsettled — unsteady— in  act  or  talk, 
from  love  or  idleness — but  not  necessarily  immoral. 
"  *A  go  haferen  about." — In  Scottish,  haver,  is  to 
tolk  rooliahly.  J. 

Haft  or  Heft.  The  handle  of  a  knife  or  other 
smaD  tool.  Of  a  hatchet,  or  axe,  helve  is  the 
handle — of  a  flail,  hand-itaff-^oi  a  spade,  tiller — 
of  a  whip,  whipgtiek — of  a  fork  or  skuppet,  stale. 
Under  those  severa]  names  something  farther  will 
be  found.. .  Stock  is  also  the  holding  part  of  some 
other  things,  as  well  as  of  a  gun. 

Heft  is  Scottish — 

The  grey  batrs  still  stuck  to  the  heft.       Btimt,  Allotoay  Kirki. 

But  Jameison,  though  he  has  both  haft  and  fieft^ 


1«0 

foUowiDg  among  his  proverbial  sentences^— 

When  all  is  gone  and 'nothing  left,-    • 
.    What  avails,  the  da|;ger  with  the  .dad^op-&^.?  ..  p.  5» 

.  This  is  quotedy .  somewhat  ditferent!];,  by  iNaros^ 
in  his  curious  article  dudgeim,\ifhere  hafi^  oc  ht^t^ 
is  shown  to  be  used  by  several  of  our  old  authors ; 
but  he  gives  ii6  article  under  that  word. 

Hahk  or  BawhM.  The  i^tubble  6f  Wheat*  ,  It 
Isiaked  toffethi^r  in  heaps,  by  ^omi^n  g^etbft^,'  ai 
ttd.  or  iBd.  aik.a<!;re.  If  doiie  b'eloi'^  It  l/e  d  ntA^ 
ftosMd,  it  i^  man's  viot\  M^A  a  Scythe  ;  thd  tfoicit$ 
not  having  perished,  do  not  easily  come  ujp.  Ti&e 
r£g]M  of  potatoes  and  of  pease  we  a3so  ^M'HMik'^ 
ts  Well  as  the  renn(iaiit  of  beatfifs,  when  they  hmtt 
been  cut  by  the  sickle,  as  th^y  sometimes  aire?  ftifti 
sometimes  pulled  up  by  the  roots,  when  the  field 
requires  no  hahming.  The  irunners  of  potatoes, 
(lease,  and  strawberries,  ^e  call  also  Risp ;  '^hlch 
see* 

In  Cheshh-e  ^  wyz^if,  ai^  the  green  ^Urtl  of 
potatoes.  Randl^  Mo)tti«,  in  Ms  Academy  t^fHt^ 
mory,-  calls  th^in  wisdtttl^^^Qnd  vitf^  fh«  teM-  €6 
carrots  and  tiimips.  WHzti  h  ri^e  QenHkik  fyt 
corn,  as  fiolm  is  for  straw.  Peas-holm  is  stiH  io 
Dse."  Ww    ..     ■■.•..  ;.,  ,.f  -«i     /.     z:  it 

Among  Ray's  8^  afid  E.  tigu^  ;Woi^;l^  gives 
**  kaulm  or  halm;  stubble,  ^athereti  jErft^f.thttGfM 
is  inned:  ab  A.  Su  Healm*  HidmS'  £.W.  P«7A;j«uid 
in  j>.  83,  he  says  peascrstraw  ?is  ca)ied  PffiUe^U^ 
in  Essex.  ,  Jffdulm  occiirs  frequeiiUj  in  Tjusser. 

Moir  htnM  \o  }fnnfr^o  senre  thy  turn.i;p.  1,7^. 

Mown  JumitKr  ht\ug  dry^No  longer,  let  Ite.  .ib^  . : 

Get  hotat  ttiy:ft^M>- While  weather  H  yrHrm.  lb. 

The  Aoulm  is  the  stkiiw  dif  thle  If hMit  Or  ibe'fy^i 

Which  once  being  reaped,  they  mo#  by  atid  bj^.    p.  185, 

He  iBVidently  ifteans  the  stubble,  not  the  simw. 
HAdNET  or  Harnet.    The  hornet*.    There  ia 


a  sajing  in  Suffolk  that  '*  nine  hahnets  *al  stin^  a 
hoss  ta  dead."  "  A  karnicle.  Hornet.  Suff." 
Ray,  E.  W.  p.  78.     I  never  heard  iMmicle. 

Hahnsby.     The  large  heron.     Tiie  first  vowH 

is  drawled  out  in  the  pronunciation.     It   is  also 

called  from  its  monotone,  ^ly/tilr,  or  fraaank.  Ham- 

My  is  ttn  old  word,  and  is  perhaps  whut  Shakespeare 

meant  and  wrote,  when  he  makes  Hamlet  say — ''  I 

know  a  hawk  from  a  handsaw:** — in  which  he  is 

followed  by  Ray,  p.  1S)(I.      Spenser,   H.  J<»hnson, 

find  other  English  writers  of  about  that  4hiy,  writer 

it  hern-shaw,    hern-shew,  A^c.    as   is   shown   by 

Nares  ;  where,  and  in  the  c<»innicntarics  on  Shake- 

8peare*s  passage,  a  deal  of  curious  matter  may  be 

found  on  this  word.     Ilerusha.'i  is  an  en  stem  woid 

for  a  species  of  falcon,  used  in  hawkinir — meaninsr 

**  king  of  deer" — antelopes,  and  oilier  such  game 

being  so  taken.    It  may  have  been  iutrcxluced  fn^m 

Persia,  where  hawking  is  so  much  in  \<)i>:ue.     An 

East  Indian  coumion  name  for  a  ^oose  is  liaknn^-^ 

cognate  nith  the  amtcr  of  the  Latins.     IJansa  is  tin*. 

Sanskrit  name  of  a  mythological  bird  on  wliich  \\u* 

god  Brahma  rides — Ins  consf)rt  also  ri<ies  a  s:oosp, 

or  a  heron,  which  are  indifferentlv  calle<l  hahnsa ; 

or  hahtu,  for  shortness.     In  Aral)ia  and  Alivssiiiia 

the  heron  or  hem  is  called  a  ho  hanttes 

&ther  goose.     Hence,  the  Suffolk  word  seems  one 

used  of  old  and   very  extensively,  foV  the   hiroii. 

Among  the  expences  of  Hengrave  Hall,  in  I57*i,  we 

read — •*  Payed  to for  presentinii:  a  fteru/*sea'c 

and  a  feasant,  xij.d."     Gashes  Umaranr,  p.  191. 

Hake.  The  dentnted  iron  head  of  a  foot- 
plough,  serving  to  adjust  the  depth  to  which  tjhe 
land  is  to  be  stirred.  Also  an  iron  hook  ou  which 
the  pot  han^s  over  the  kitchen  or  cottHjje  tire.  Of 
this,  suihcicut  is  a^iven  under  Crock;  which  see.  I 
might  there  have  added  that  iu  Scottish,  heUhn-uk, 
is  the  name  of  the  **  ciiKik  for  holdmg  vessels  over 
a  fire."     J. 

p  3 


Hallaqaloo.    Anoise*-r^iapr(>ar--rabtf 

Hamper.    To  pasAe^  perplex*  txonble.  . 
MUy  Inmper'd/'  means  in  uneasy^  .confined,  c 
-itanoes.    A  lock  hamperd,  is  when  the  key 
be  turned  of  taken  out. 

HaKtbitrt.  The  disease  to  which  growfl 
Wps  sre  subject,  caused  by  imecfts(  it'alhews  r 
iKOttli  globular  excrescences  on  theit  skfn.  1 
thfe  ata^te  are  said  to  have  got  the  Aan-ftury, 
tttry.  It  is,  I  beliefe,  the  same  thlit  in  the  n 
termed  five-fingers — so  that  handrherry^  may 
terfti ;  though  onev^does  not  see  exactly  why. 

Hand-smuthe.  Well  wearing  any  thing 
be  smooth  as  the  hand,  or  thread-bare.  An; 
very  smooth. 

Handstaff.  The  appropriate  name  i 
longer  limb  of  the  flail — ^the  shorter,  which  i 
com,  being  called  frinjel,  or  stvinjeL  W 
specific  names  for  almost  every  variety  oi 
handle ; — of  which  see  under  Haft.  In  Sc 
**  hand-^taff,  is  the  upper  part  of  a  flail.'^  J. 

Hang.  A  crop  of  nuts.  "IV  a  fairish  / 
nuts  ta  year." 

Hank.  The  fastening,  or  latch  of  a  ga 
verb  also,  '*  Hank  the  gate.''  "  A  hank  of  th 
a  skein.  Hatch,  which  see,  is  another  name 
catch  or  latch  of  a  gate  or  door.  In  Scottish, 
is  to  fasten,  also  a  skain.  J.  Hasp,  is  auothe 
with  us  for  the  fastening  of  a  door ;  or  rather,  1 
of  a  gate;  formed  of  a  short  piece  of  chain, 
verb  also,  like  hank.    See  Hasp,  and  Snacj 

Hansel.  First  wearing  a  new  coat,  go 
any  thing  else,  is  hanselling  it.  It  is  extei 
used,  and  always  in  a  sense  of  first  using-— or 
tpry-— the  first  coin  taken  in  the  day  by  A  pe< 
shopkeeper,  is  hansel.  It  is  also  used  as  a  ve: 
i^  not  a  local  word.    I  find  it  in  Cocker's  dicti 


163 

8to.  1724,  3d  edit  thus  *'  Hansel  or  handsak,  tb« 
first  money  taken  in  a  morning.''  In  Scottisn, 
hmdml  has  a  like  meaning.  J. 

.  Hanspeke.    a  hand-spike  which  we  usually  call 
Xeirer. 

Happy  is  the  bride  thai  the  sun  shine  on — ^hap- 
p^  18  the  corpse  that  the  rain  rain  on.  The  same  is 
given  m  Ray.  p.  272. 

Harber.  The  Horn-beam.  Carpinl  s  belulus. 
It  was  formerly  called  hard-beam. 

Hards.  The  calx  of  coal — after  undergoing  the 
intense  heat  of  a  blacksmith  s  forge.  In  Scotland, 
JDamden  are  the  refuse  of  a  smith  s  fire,  J. 

Hare.    To  hear.    Hard — heard.    See  Lkstly. 

Hash.  Harsh,  severe.  **  A  hash  master'* — *'  ""a 
fiired  keinder  hash  with  em."  Rough — rigid — 
"that  towly  is  so  hash." 

Hasp.  A  fastening  of  a  gate,  also  a  verb.  See 
Hank.  Hasp  and  hesp  are  in  Scottish,  as  with  us, 
a  clasp  or  hook,  from  the  German  Iiespe,  and  Swedish 
Aaipe,  of  like  meaning.  To  hexp,  to  fasten.  Both 
words,  according  to  Jameison,  arc  also  a  hank  of 
jfarn ;  but  not  so  with  us. 

Hassock.    The  article  on  which  we  kneel  in 
churehl^;   otherwise  called  Doss,  which  see.     In 
Scottish,  Hassock  is  a  large  round  turf  used  as  a  seat. 
J.     It  would  appear,  from  what  has  been  said  under 
Doas,  that  the  hassock  is  made  of  rushes.    The  read- 
ers of  Spenser  have  been  puzzled  withtho  word  kaske 
— "  fishes  haske*' — EcL  Xoveinber,  v.  14.     A  com- 
mentator says  haske  is  a  "wicker  ;>er/.*'     Another 
writer,  Davison,  has  the  same  term ;  and  Ash  doiines 
it  "any  thing  made  of  rushes  or  wicker,'*  and  derives 
it  from  the  German.     From  all  this  1  tliink  it  likely 
that  the  hassock  and  haske  arq  the  same  thing :  and 
4o9S  being  also  the  same,  hence  dossers,  peds,  or  pan- 
niers;    Rush-work  and  wicker-work,  are  easily  con  • 


164 

founded.     See  something  farther  on  ilie  subjeet  of 

this  article  under  Peb  and  Segs. 

• 

Haste.  Haslet.  The  pluck  or  fiy — eapeciallr 
af  a  pig.  In  Scottish  it  is /raise ;  and  karigaidi.  J. 
Nares  explains  haslet,  "the  princi]>al  entrails  of  a 
hog.'*  With  us  it  is  the  pluck,  lie  quotes  from 
Ozell's  Rabelais,  a  passage  where  the  word  occurs — 

'lliere  was  not  a  hog  killed  within  three  |mrUhei  of  bia^ 
whcreuf  he  had  not  tome  part  of  the  hastet  and  puddiii^^s. 

B.  iii.  ch.  4l. 

Johnson,  he  remarks,  has  the  word,  but  without 
an  example :  adding  that  it  is  not  quite  obsolete,  and 
is  sometimes  called  harslet.  See  Domestic  Cookery, 
p.  01. 

H  ATCH.  The  catch  or  latch  of  a  door.  "  Hatch 
the  door:*'  also  a  door  itself,  partii;ularlv  a  haif 
door.  Though  it  be  now  local,  this  word  has  been 
extensively  used,  both  as  a  substantive  and  a  verb. 
We  still  hear  of  a  "halfpenny  hatch"  near  London — 
and  Shakespeare  (P.  P.  of  Tyre,  iv.  3.)  **  'twere  not 
amiss  to  keep  our  door  hatched,'' 

The  commentators  on  this  word  recognize  it  as 
meaning  a  Aa/^*c2oor;  but,  after  long  notes,  spoil  the 
sense  of  the  passage,  by  not  taking  it  as  a  verb, 
though  the  context  seems  to  require  it. 

There  was  a  proverb  current  in  Shakespeare's  davt 
which  he  either  made  or  l>orrowed,  by,  or  in,  the 
above  quotation.  Ray  preserves  it — *'  It's  good  to 
have  a  hatch  before  the  door."  p.  11 7. 

Hath  AT  AW  AD,  Hitherto- ward — strongly-  ac- 
cented on  the  penult:  to  the  present  time,  or  nearly 
to  it.  Hitherunto,  occurs  in  a  letter  written  1581, 
given  in  6ra^e'«  11  engrave,  p.  182 — in  the  same  sense, 
as  regarding  lime,  as  Hathatawad:  but  1  never 
heard  it. 

Have.  lias.  This  is  a  very  common  substitution, 
even  among  educated  people,  of  the  plural  for  the 
third  person  singular  of  a  verb.     ^*  Mr.  Jolinsoa  be 


166 

bifet^dsbiis^— ** Mr.  Jones faesay.**  In tfie  '^Joiirtial 
of  WilliaiuDoXfniig,  Ptirliaineiitary  visitor  fOr  diemo- 
li^DgsuperstUioQB  ornaments  in  churches  in  Suffofk/' 
made  in  1663-4;  speaking  of  Brundish,  he  says  **The 
Tjckar  have  two  livings/*  p.  11.  «*  Ordered  the  par- 
son to  level  the  steps  in  the  chancel.  He  preach  bat 
once  a  day."  p.  12.     See  He. 

.Hawkino.  The  indelicate  throat-clearing,  ex- 
pectormfing,  efforts  of  a  husky  person/in  the  morning. 
Thus  Shakespeare — 

ShBli'wfl  dap  to  our  song  roDndJy,  withoni  hawkhgat  spitHngy 
or.aajing  we  are  hoarse,  which  are  the  only  prologues  to  a  bad 
ipoice..    AsymiHkeit.  V.  3, 

Hat.  a  hedge  or  fence.  A  quick  hay — alive 
fence.  It  is  growing  obsolete;  but  has  probabty 
bceii  fn  extensive  use.  Hay-net  is  still  common  Ui 
iSiiAolk,  for  a  hedge-net.  It  may  be  derived  from  the 
f^rench  haie,  a  hedge. 

Chaucer,  in  his  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  shows  tis 
that  it  is  at  least  500  years  otd.  In  the  following 
lipes^  i|e  has  tieveral  words  that  remind  u»  of  moderu 
Suffolk  phraseology — 


"  it  is  in  May 


That  al  things  ginneth  waxen  gay  ; 
Fur  there  is  ndther  buske  nor  hay. 
In  May  that  it  n*ill  shrouded  bene» 
And  that  it  with  newe  leiris  wrene — 

We  retain  wax,  in  the  sense  of  to  grow;  and,  al- 
though we  have  not  the  hard  termination  in  Inuh,  as 
above,  we  have  it  in  some  other  words.  See  Perk. 
llie^rren^  of  Chaucer,  is,  probably,  pur  reen,  to  reign, 
flourish,  Ac    See  Reen. 

In  Scottish  I  find  Haining  means  hec^g^s,  enclo- 
sures. J.  And  in  Nares,  hay^  in  the  meahihg  of  a 
hedge,  is  used  by  B.  Jonson,  and  other  old  Engiibb 
authors — and  also  of  a  net. 

Hay-jack.  A  little  bird  of  (Yassage  that  builds 
generally  in  reeds  or  segs. 

Hay-net,    A  long  low  net-^Miy  thifty  or  forty 


166 

yards  by  one  yard  high — placed  apright  by  sUkei 
filong  hedges,  or  in  slayst  cut  through  whlo  covers, 
&c.  to  prevent  the  transit  of  rabbits  from  side  to  8ide» 
wheo  hunted  by  dogs.    See  Slay. 

Hatsel.  The  time  of  hay-harvest,  flzf-wk. 
See  Sales. 

Haze.  Land  drying  after  having  been  tonied  up 
by  the  plough,  is  left  to  haze  before  it  be  hanromd ; 
or  a  stiff  clay  dry  bank  newly  turned  up,  is  not  ft 
to  be  patted  smooth  (with  the  back  of  the^pade)  **^titt 
*tave  hazed  a  little*'  after  being  wetted  with  rain. 

He.  We  have  a  strange  way  of  interpolating  this 
pronoun  unnecessarily  after  naming. an  individuiii — 
which  is  best  explained  by  examples—*'  Mr.  Smith  he 
say,"  for  Mr.  S.  says.  <<Mrs.  Scott' she  sleep's  hip 
bai.*'  '*  Jack  he  go  to  skule."  '*  Hew  owe  tbi^ 
boss?'*  "Mr.  Brown  he  owe  it."  Touching  the  Verb' 
in  the  above  phrases,  see  Have.  .      ' 

'    Head  stall.    See  Stall. 

•  Heent*  Has  not — have  not.  *«  'A  heent  got 
a  wad  ta  sah  for  'as~^elf."  See  OoK,  for  another 
example, 

Heeve.  Hive.  To  heve  a  swarm  of.  bees.  So 
deeve  for  dive — like  Italian  pronunciations  as  noticed 
under  Aninnd. 

Heevy.     Heavy. 

Heft.    See  Haft. 

Heit  or  Height.    A  command  by  which  emit ' 
horses  are  turnecT  to  the  left.     Ree — lengthened  into 
JReeee,  with  a  shake,  causes  a  movement  to  the  r^ht. 
See  Camether,  Ree,  Wooh. 

Hait  and  Ree  are  probably  very  old  words-*-an4 
formerly  in  more  extensive  use  than  now. 

They  saw  a  cart  (hat  charged  was  witli  hny, 
I'h'e  which  a  carter  drove  furthe  on  the  way : 
])epe  was  the  way,  for  which  the  cart  still  stode ; 
The  caiter  smote^  and  cryde  as  be  wc<e  w<^e| 


I 


167 

*  *HdtScol! — HeitBiok!  what — spare  ye  fortlienone«? 
*^Tbe  iend  je  fetch,'*  quolli  he,  «♦  botiy  and  bouos.** 

Chauckr — the  Freer* s  Tale. 

Scot  and  Brock  are  stil!  SufTolk  iiniues  of  rart 
hones*  Of  nones,  a  verjf  conniion  word  wilh  us — 
see  Nonce. 

..  HBtvs.  The  haDflle  of  a  large  tr>4)i— an  axe,  or 
a'pfiade — va  baO  or  heft  is  of  tho.^e  of  a  smaller  sinrt ; 
of  a  kiiife  orchissel.  Ifeire  is  uii  old  word.  Kay  gives 
ii  ki  a  Cliesbire  proverb — "Afraid  of  the  hatchet 
lest  tlie  kelioe  stick  in  his  eye**  p.  174.  1  have  not 
iodeed  quoted  Kay  faithfully  in  respect  (>f  the  last 
word*— he  b  here,  as  in  many  instances,  too  gross 
for  exact  quotation.     See  Haft. 

-Het.  Heated.  "Ta  Ae^  i  th'  goof?"  Also  au 
abbreviatioQ  of  have  it.  '*1  oont  liet."  '*  Yeow 
»bant  het/'  lu  the  first  ^ensc,  of  heated,  het  is  used 
bj  Cliaucer. 

Hew.  Hooed:  also  who.  "Hew  hew  them 
there  talinups.*'  *'  John  Smith,  he  hew  em."  The 
usual  mode  of  prooonncing  the  preteiit  of  verbs  end- 
ing iu  00,  or  ow,  ••  He  mew  that  there  stuvva."  Ewe^ 
for  owed — snew,  for  snowed — thcw,  for  thawed. 
•*  Ta  thew"— <•  Ta  snew,"  <S:c.     See  Butes. 

Hew  D.  Held.  **  'A  niwa  hewd  upa's  hid  aalcr.*' 
Also,  who  would,  abbreviated.  See  S WAD,  for  au 
example. 

HlCCUP-SNiCKUP.     The  Hiccough,  or  hiccup. 
The  following  charm,  thrice  repeated,  holdin«;  the 
breath,  is,  or  used  to  be,  with  us/  a  cure  for  this  ' 
diapliragmatic  convuUion : 

Hiccup-sniccup — look  up — riohr  up — 
'  Three  drops  in  a  cup — is  good  tor  the  hiccup. 

One  of  Shakespeare's  drunken  characters.  Sir  Toby 
Belch  in  Twelfth  Night,  used  the  word  "sneckup" — 
iuterjcctively,  in  an  unconnected,  and,  to  the  com- 
nieotators*  in  an  accountable,  sense.  On  the  stage 
Sir  Toby  was  probably  represented  as  frequenUy 


i 


168 

hiccopipgy  ttnd  was  verbally  iostracted  to  smartly 
exclaim  Meckup,  at  each  return  of  the. throe;  ^  a 
sort  of  charm,  then  well  known,  against  the  recurrence 
of  the  symptom.  The  exclamation  is  printed-^tlie 
instruction,  not.  In  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  tbe 
word  is  also  used ;  but  I  know  not  where,  as  I  cite 
from  Steevens'  notes  on  Shakespeare^  who  gives, no 
reference.  It  there  seems  to  have  a  conoectioa  with- 
hiccup  or  drunkenness. 

Let  yoar  father  go  meckup — he  shall  never  come  between  a 
pair  of  sheets  with  me  again  whilst  he  Jives. 

HiCKLE.  To  make  shift*with  indifferent  quarten 
or  lodgings — to  double  up,  as  two  beds  in  a  room. 
To  hickle  one's  self  into  lodgings — or  a  pig  into  « 
sty,  already  sufiicieutly  occupied. 

H 1  o  D.  Head  :  foremost  or  best.  *'  Hid  man^'^^ 
foreman.  '*Hidd  beast'' — the  master  bullock,  cbwr, 
Sic,  of  a  herd.     See  under  Aninnd  and  Buffi.BD. 

HiDR.  To  beat  "  V\\  gi  vow  a  good  hiden.*'  Of 
many  of  these  offensive  threatenings,  sec  under  Ai  NT. 

Hide  AN  finr.  The  game  better  known  else* 
where  called  hide  and  seek.  The  phrase  is  also  ap« 
plied  to  one  not  willing  to  be  seen.  "  He*s  pfaheii 
at  hide  an  iind."  Fast  an  loose — and  Peep -bo,  arc 
terms  in  that  sense  nearly '  equivalent.  See  those 
articles. 

Higgledy-piggledy.  Intermixed  —irregular — 
indiscriQiina:tely — heads  and  tails,  like  f:uddLing  pig3. 
We  have,  as  well  as  others,  many  phrases,  thus  formed 
by  repeating,  with  some  little  variation,^  the  first  woed 
or  svllable.  This  wa$  remarked  by  Hay,  who  Qn.^juB 
phrase  before  us  adds — "  We  have  in  our  language 
many  of  the  like  conceited  rhyming  words,  or  redu- 
plications, to  sir^nify  any  confusion  or  mixturc-^as 
hurly-burly,  hodge-podge,  mingle-mangle,  arsy.-yersy, 
kim-kara,  hub-bub,  crawly-mauly,  hab-nab.'*  p. 272. 
To  which  he  might  have  added,  of  nearly  a  similar 
description^  criucum-craucum,  criivkle-crank)c,  fiuu- 


169 

flam,  fiddle-faddle,  gibble-gabble,  harum  scariun,, 
helter-skelter,  hiccup- suick up,  hocus-pocus,  hotch- 
potch, husger-mggger,  hum-drum,  hum-strum,  hurry- 
skarry, jibber-jabber,  prittle-pratlle,  shilly-shally,  tit- 
tle-tattle, to)S$y-turvy,  and  perhaps  as  many  more 
that  might  -  be  tedious  to  enumerate.  In  another 
place,  he  has  givea  these,  as  peculiar  to  Kent, 
"whicket  for  whacket,  or  quittee  for  quattee,  i.e. 
quid  pro  quo."  E.  W.  p.  90. 

Many,  perhaps  most  of  the  above,  are  in  use  in 
Suffolk,  but  I  shall  not  insert  them  in  separate  arti- 
cles. Under  Biccupmickup,  and  Hocus-pocus,  some- 
thing will  be  added.  The  Scotch  have  such  duplica- 
tions of  sound  iu  a  greater  variety  than  we  southrons. 

HiGHLows.  High  shoes,  or  low  boots,  tightly 
laced  ia  front,  midleg  high-— differing  only  in  their 
tightness  and  a  greater  number  of  holes,  from  mo- 
dem Wellingtons.  The  lace  or  thong,  «ve  call  Whang, 
which  see. 

HiGLBR.  An  itinerant  dealer  in  small  wares. 
The -origin  of  this  name  has  been  variously  sought. 
A  distinction  has  been  fancied  between  a  higler  and 
a  huckster,  iu  this — that  the  higler  is  a  vender  of 
edibles — a  hucksti^r  of  wares.  The  higler  s  mer- 
rhandize  has,  by  this  description  of  etyniologisls^ 
been  restricted  to  imultry  and  their  appurtenances — 
and,  to  bring  the  word  to  bear,  it  has  been  confined 
to  eggs — hence  Egglcr — hence  Higler.  But  this  is 
scarcely  fair.  Others,  rejecting  these  Ilniitations  of 
the  Ihgler'strd^e,  extend  it  to  icares  also,  and  main- 
tain that,  so  far  fiom  one  article  giving  a  name  to 
this  craft,  that  its  name  is  in  fact  derived  from  the 
variety  of  his  mercliandizc ;  ^^hich,  being  made  up 
of  small  articles,  were  rather  indiscriminately  mixed 
up  in  his  cart  (»r  baskets,  all  higgle-dey-pi^gMy  as 
it  were,  andlicnce  his  appellation.  This  is  also  open 
to  objection.  If  there  be  much  distinction  I  am  not 
at  present  able  to  point  it  out  between  the  East 
Angliciflins  Higler^  Unckster,  Pedlar,  Jobber^  and 

Q 


jear^  t>r  between  the  following/  as  quote 
Kay's  South  and  East  country  words,  p.  84  '^. 
yer;  a  Pedder,  Dorser^  or  Badger,  Sussex 
We  may  suppose  the  Pedlar  and  Pedder, 
or  to  have  been,  ped-estrians — the  Dcrser  t 
ciirried  his  pack  on  his  back,  dorsally — the 
we  leave  to  the  greater  ingenuity  of  et}iuo 
Undc'r  Ktddier  and  Peb  something  farther 
on  this  subject. 

HiLD.  Held.  This  would  manifestly  seei 
a  mere  corruption,  or  vulgarism — but  Nares 
that,  for  the  sake  of  rh}me,  this  ki^id  of  licet 
frequeutiy  taken  by  Shakespeare,  Spenser,  an 
writers  of  that  day.  It  is  a  very  common  n 
expression  iu  Suffolk,  as  noted  under  ANt^ 
But  I  do  not  think  we  ever  use  hiug  for  h 
appears  to  have  been  llie  case  formeily  by  '. 
aud  Scotch  authors. 

Hills.     Lees,  dregs,  settlings,  of  betTj  wl 
Heels,  probably,  or  wliat  remaiiis  after  heel 
keeling.     Hills,  jigs,  and  guUb,  are  iit>arly 
same  meaning.     See  those  words. 

H I  MP  I N.  Lame — limping.  *•  Poor  fulla- 
bimpin  about." 

Hinder.     Yonder.     "  Hinder  *a  go.*' 

HiNN.  A  hen.  Also  that,  or  yniu  "*i 
Jdnn  house."  •*  Dew  the  hin  set?"  for,  "di 
hen  sit?"  is  a  triple  specimen  of  our  local  ] 
oiogy.     See  Aninnd. 

HiPPEDDEHOY  or  Hobbledehoy  or  Hobb\ 
*'  Twixt  a  man  and  a  boy."  In  some  cc 
and  I  believe  in  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  tb 
■never  heard  it,  an  overgrown  lad  is  said  to  l 
ple>bigh — hop-pole,  perhaps— long  and  s 
Hobble-de-hoy,  may  be  hence  derived.  Hu 
is  a  word  of  similar  meaning.  In  Cheshire,  ''J 
Aoy  is  an  awkward  stripling  between  man  av 
Tusser  calls  it  Hobart  de  Hoigh.    I  believ 


171 

he  4UBp||y  Hobby  the  Hoyden,  or  Robert  the  Hoj** 
da.  The  word  hoyden  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  female  sex ;  anciently,  indeed,  it  is  believed 
to  have  been  confined  to  the  male  sex,  meaning  a 
nde,  ill-behaTed  person.  See  Todds*  Diet,  in  voce 
Hoiden."  W. 

In  Ray  1  find  a  hober-de-hojf,  half  a  man  and^ 
half  a  boy.  p.  57.  And  in  p.  255.  he  speaks  of  a 
phrase  as  *'  applicable  to  persons  very  tall,  espe- 
cially if  they  have  hopple  height,  wanting  breadth 
proportionable."  Among  his  north-countiy  word» 
be  has  *'  a  kaspai  or  haapenald  lad  ;  between  a  man 
and  boy.;*    £.W.  p.35. 

Referring  toTusser,  I  find  the  following  passage, 
worth  quoting  for  its  quaintness — 

A  man^t  age  divided  here  ^e  have 

By  prenticethips,  from  birth  to  grave. 

7.  The  first  seven  years,  bring  up  as  a  child, 

14.  The  next  to  learning,  for  waxing  too  wild, 

^1.  The  next  keep  under  Sir  Hobbard  de  lioy, 

28.  The  next  a  man,  no  longer  a  boy— — &c.  dec.  p.l9e^.. 

We  retain  the  verb  wax  for  grow. 
In  Scottish,   Hobbledehoy  (and  this  is,  I  think, 
our  commonest  pronunciation)  is  a  *'  stripling.*'  J. 

Hire.  We  use  this  word  in  a  way  diflTeriug,  as  I 
was  told  in  the  Sheers,  from  others.  We  sav  to  hire 
a  fann,  or  a  house,  as  well  as  »  servant ;  whereas  to 
reni  a  farm  or  a  house,  is  said,  and  I  believe,  jusllv, 
to  be  more  correct  and  usual. 

His*N.    His.     Youan,  yonrs. 

Hitch.  A  move.  ^  Hitch  the  gotdi— hitch  it 
thb  waah."  **  A  hitch  uppards,"  promotion — a 
move  towards  London.  Hitch  is  also  to  hop,  on 
one  foot.  In  Scottish  ''a  hitch  is  a  motion  hy  a 
jerk— 4ind,  metaphorically,  augmentation."  J. — both, 
in  fact,  Suffolk  senses. 

HivviN.  Heaven.  The  following  asservation  is 
looked  upon  in  so  properly  solemn  a  light,  that  its 
appJication  to  a  falsehood  would  throw  great  disre* 

Q2 


172 

pate,  on  the  ^mendacious,  indiyidual-^''  'Struts  God's 

Hob.  The  flat  side  of  a  fife  grate,  for  placing 
a  kettle  or  any  thing  on,  when  taken  off  the  fire* 

•  Hob  or  Nob.  Two  persons  taking  a  social  cup 
tbgetber.  It  is  I  believe  an  extensively. used  phrase: 
and  its  origin  has  been  variously  sought*  Bdbhe  or 
NiMe  appears  to  have  been  the  earlier  term- — if  der- 
sirous  to  sec  farther  on  this  matter  the  reader  will  do 
ivell  to  consult  Nares' Glossary. 

Hobblb.  a  place  for  hogs.  .  Bpg^f  hobhle ;  the 
same  probably  that  Tuss^r  calls  -X^'<  oo^e.,  .See 
liiider  Goof,  v.  21.  and  note*— and  in  an  extract 
under  Baven,  he  writes  **  hovel  for  hog&'^-^nt 
hog's-Itobble,  probably.  A  hobble  differs  from  a  sty 
in  this,  that  it  is  not  a  place  for  either  faitting  or 
farrowing — but  a  lodge,  without  a  door,  for  swine- 
to  run  in  and  out  of  at  pleasure.  A  horse  is  ssud 
to  be  hobbled  when,  to  prevent  his  straying,  or 
doing  mischief,  a  hind  and  forefoot  of  the  same 
side,  are  connected  by  a  rope  or  thong.  .  When 
feet  of  different  sides  are  so  brought  somewhat 
closer  together,  the  beast  is  said  to  be  YanglecL — 
See  Yangle.  I  may  add  that  with  us,  as  else- 
where,. **  getting  into  a  hobble,"  and  "getting  into  , 
a  scrape,"  are  alike.  And  in  Scottish,  a  fioBble  il 
a  state  of  perplexity.    J. 

Hobbledehoy.    See  HiPPEDDEttOY. 

HoBBLY.  Rough — uneven — such  as  a  atu^p^. 
road  quickly  frozen — the  asperities  are  chifed 
hobbles.  Ice  frozen  in  undulations  or  ridges  is  caHdd 
hbbbly.  v  Hence  the  rough  nails  of  rnstic  shoes  may 
have  derived — or  they  may  have  here  given — tbfeir 
appellative  of  hob-nails. 

Hobby.    A  poney. 

Hobby  lantan.  Hob  with  a  lantern— Jack  a 
lantern-*  Will  with  a  wisp — ^iq  otb^r  words.  See  WisPy 


173 

Hockey.  A  hanrest-honie  frolic.  Ineverhesrd 
le  word,  nor  do  I  thiuk  it  is  in  use,  in  Suffolk,. 
Blew  it  be  oo  the  very  borders  of  Norfolk,  where 

19  said  to  be  still  heard.  In  Ga^e*8  Heugrave,  it 
I  spoken  of,  however,  as  a  word  and  thing  still  ex- 
laL  I  quote  the  pleasing  passage.  "  The  custom 
fkcr  harvest  of  crying  largesse  prevails  generally 
moBg  the  people  in  this  neighbourhood ;  but  the 
oekojf,  or  harvest-home,  since  the  introduction  of 
isk-work  at  the  reaping  season,  begins  to  fall  into 
isuse.  When  this  good  old  custom  is  kept  herv 
fith  doe  solemnity,  besides  the  usual  homage  paid 
» the  master  and  mistress  of  the  house,  a  ceremony 
ikes  place  which  affords  much  mirth :  a  pair  of 
tin V boms,  painted  and  decorated  with  flowers,  is 
arried  in  triumph  niun<i  the  festive  board ;  and  as 
ke  fr»re»ter  who  had  killed  the  deer  was  honored  of 
lid  with  the  buck's  horns  and  saluted  with  a  ditty 
As  you  Like  it.  IV.  2.)  so  the  harvest-man  of  lien- 
fav«  having  finished  his  laliours  is  crowned  with  tlio 
im's-faoms,  and  greeted  with  a  song  which  has  the 
ame  point  as  the  other,  though  more  coarsely 
^pressed."    p.  7. 

It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  many  of  our  old, 
DBocent,  mirth-exciting  frolics  are  so  falling  into 
ion-observance.  Dissent,  in  its  various  forms  of 
nethodism,  fanaticism,  enthusiHsni,  &c.  &c.  in  tlse 
loly  line;  and  refinement  as  to  dress,  reading,  <Vc. 
lave  been  among  the  causes  of  this,  1  wish  thcv 
nay  have  introduced  something  better  than  what 
hc^  have  superceded — but  1  doubt  it.  I  fear  \^e 
ire  become  too  good,  and  too  \%ise,  to  be  liappy. 
)r  rather  that  cant,  and  various  sorts  of  humbug, 
lave  made,  or  will  make,  us  otherwise. 

In  Norfolk,  as  well  as  the  merry-making  of  reapers 
ifter  harvest,  there  is  said  to  be  a  game  called  Hockey. 
KnA  Hock'Zeitj  1  am  told,  is  a  game  or  holiday  in 
Gremiany— connected  with  the  viutage,  perhaps.^ 
See  Lasgesw 

Q.3 


174 

Since  thifi  was  writf en  cNares^  article  ^o«JI^<uie'  ftas 
come  under  my  eye.  He  notes  that  the  festival  h^ 
still  observed  in  Suffolk,  Cambridge^  and  the^ 
neigbbouring  counties,  under  tbe  corrapited=  nameii 
of  nawkey,  hockey,  or  horky.  I  am  induced^  how- 
ever, to  let  what  1  have  said  above  remain.  Nares^ 
article,  with  its  references,  is  interesting. 

Hocus-pocus.  A  phrase  not  easily  explained^ 
tho'  generally  understood.  See  Higgledy-pig- 
gledy. Like  "  Please  the  pigs,"  the  phrase  hocus- 
pocus  may  be  derived  from  the  exposures  which  tlie 
reformation  led  to,  or  which  led  to  the  reformation. 
Hocus  pocus  was  probably  in  derision  of  the  Hoc  est 
corpus  of  transubstantiation.  But  Nares  reasonably 
contends  for  a  different  origin. 

Hod.  a  wooden  vessel  with  a  handle  for  holding 
coals — also  a  mortar  board.  A  bricklayer  is  called 
a  trowel-man — his  labourer  a  hod-man;  not  locally 
perhaps.     We  call  a  hodman,  a  Slab,  which -see* 

HoDMANDOD.  A  snail :  this  word  seems  in  uni* 
versal  usage  in  Suffolk — and  although  not  confined 
to  that  county,  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  it  in  print, 
except  in  the'Bath  Guide — Ansley  was  a  Suffolk  man, 

as  quiet  and  weil, 


And  as  snug  as  a  hodiuandod  rides  in  his  shell.' 

'  A  snail  is  also  called  Dodman  in  Suffolk  and  Nor- 

^     ,      • 

folk.  "  A  dodman,  a  shell  snail  or  hodmundod — 
Norfolk."  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  74.  78.  «  A  mogge,  a 
snail,  Sussex.''  ib.  p.  86. 

Nares  gives  no  article  under  Modmandod,  but  he 
deems  hoddy-pike,  to  have  been  synonymous ;  a  snail*. 
And  he  notes  it  as  remarkable  that  Bacon  enumerates 
hodmandod  or  dodman,  among  fish  that  cast  their 
shells :  what  he  means,  Nares  adds,  is  doubtful. — 
These  extracts  have  fallen  under  my  eye  since  my 
remarks  on  this,  not  very  inapt,  name,  were  written. 

Hog.  a  lamb,  male  or  female,  between  one  and 
two   years  old.      Hogget,  also.     A  similar  word 


175 

MfiAnSy  sbniewhat  whinisically,  to  be  so  applied 
rf)riosl  all  over  England :  "A  Iwg,  a  sheep  of  a  \ear 
okF — ^orth  country  word  :  used  in  Northampton  and 
Leicester  shires:  where  they  also  call  it  a  Hoggrd." 
Ray.  E.  W.  p.  37.  **  Hogs;  younij  sheep — North- 
ainptfln,  York."  ib.  p.  78.  "  A  Tagge;  a  sheep  of 
the  first  year."  ib.  88.  "  A  T/ieave ;  an  ewe  of  the 
first  year."  ib.  p.  88.  This  is  al«o  Suffolk.  "  A  fup- 
hog,  13  a  ram  of  one  year  old  ;  a  o^immer  hog,  a 
ewe  of  the  same  a^e;  a  twinter,  is  a  ho:;  two 
year  old."  ib.  p.  103.  Of  these  various  namei 
sec  something  under  Crone  and  D\NS  and  Wed- 
DKR.  In  Scottish,  Jameison  explains  a  Hog  to  be 
a- young  sheep,  before  it  has  lost  its  first  fleece. 

Nares  says  "kogrel  is  a  rustic  nan\e  for  a  .'^licep  of 
two  years  old — at  one  year,  they  ar«  hog<i.'\ 

HOG-OVER-HIE,     The  game  of  leap  frog. 
Hogs-hobble.    See  Hobble. 

HoLL.  A  ditcfi— a  drv  ditch.  To  clean  out  or 
fey  a  ditch  is  called  out-holling  (or  out  hauling)  it. 
See  Fey.     In  Scottish  Holl,  is  to  excavate.  J. 

Home.  Well — much — roundly — perfectly.  "  Is 
the  nail  home?  " — is  it  driven  up  to  the  head.  "  I 
gave  it  him  home."  I  rated  him  roundly,  or  well. 
In  Scottish  like  senses  are  given  by  Jamerson— 
"  close,  urgent."    , 

HOMEBREDS.  Young  kinc,  bred  at  home,  or 
on  the  premises. 

Home-done.  Meat  fully  cooked — well  roasted. 
"  Do  you  loveyo^r  meat  home-done  or  rear?  "  See 
Love — and  Rear.  In  Norfolk,  meat  well  cooked 
is  said  to  be  *'  i'  the  main."  Reer  meat  is  in  Suffolk 
whimsically  said  to*  be  "  too  much  under  done." 

HoMESTALL  or  HOMESTEAD.  The  farm  yards 
and  buildings,  collectively. 

Hoo.  A  word  liot  colloquially  used — but  foynd 
not  uncommonly  terminating  names  of  villages  in 


i 


176 

SuflFolk,  ftifuated  on  a  hill.  Nares  sliows  that  hogk 
is  Diitcb  for  a  hill ;  and  that  a  place  near  Plyniontb 
«iras  so  called,  and  haw,  Sfienser  (F.  Q.  ii.  x.  2QL) 
calls  it  the  "  western  hogh  " — Drayton — (  Poiifolb,) 
the  hoe: 

Near  Woodhridge,  Hoo,  and  Dallinghoo,  ar^ 
tUliiges  in  elevated  situations. 

Hook.    A  hill  hpok — See  Bill. 

Hop.  This  word  appears  b^f  a  quotation  given 
under  Lop,  formerly  to  have  meant  wt><>d  fit  for 
hop-poles.  I  never  heard  it — nor  do  I  know  that  it 
Is  now  in  use. 

Hope  Heljied— "Ta  cant  be  hope" — "  I  liope 
bim."  We  hafe  the  best  authority  for  hoipen — and 
Shakespeare  uses  holp' 

lliree  times  to  day  1  h»lp  biro  to  his  horse.     K.  H.  the  6th  V.  *5. 

Sir»  how  cams^t  that  thou 

Hare  Ao/j)  to  make  this  rescue,     dtr.  III.  1. 

You  hare  holp  to  ravish  your  own  daughter.  '  lb.  IV.  5. 

'J  hou  art  niy  warrior ;  I  Ao/p  to  frame  thee.     lb.  V.  3* 

Holp  and  hoipen  are  the  old  preterite  and  parti- 
ciple of  to  help — and  we  preserve  them  in  hope. 

HoppBNTOAD.  The  toad — hopping  toad.  ^ 
young  frog  is  calle<l  Fresher.  v^ 

Horn.  This  word  is  sometimes  used  in  a  low- 
life  slang  sort  of  a  phrase — "  In  a  horn  " — that  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  render  intelligibke.  One 
asking  another  to  do  any  thing,  or  if  he  will  do  so 
and  so,  will  receive  that. answer  in  a  contemptuoua 
mode  of  expression — "Is — in  a  horn.'*  The  word 
is  pronounced  haum,  but  I  can  make  nothing  of 
either.  The  phrase  implies  a  decided  negative-** 
equivalent  perhaps,  to  "  I'd  see  yow  iiidda^  fii^t/' 
or  to  something  more  emphatic. 

HoRN^PiB.    The  Peewit  or  lapwing. 

Hoss.    Horse. 


177 


•  Ho v.Blf J .  Blown-^paff 'd  up,  disttessuigly — a  in>w 
hcriiig  eaten  greedily  of  growing  clover»  especially 
wken  la$h,  h  apt  to  be  Iiovcn  or  blown,  from  its 
mpid  fermeutation  in  her  stotuacb.  The  word  is 
used  by  Tusser,  in  a  like  sense — 

Tom  Piper  hath  Iwven  and  puiTed  up  cheeks,     p.  143. 

HoUNCK.  An  ornament  fastened  across  on  the 
shoulders,  or  wallU  of  horses  in  a  team.  It  is 
of  leather — about  a  yard  long — thicker  than  one's 
arm,  and  usually  decorated  with  long  red  worsted 
fringe.  All  the  horses  of  a  team  carrying  corn  to 
market,  or  whenever  likely  to  be  seen  by  many,  are 
houHced.  Ray  has  a  similar  tei*m  among  his  S.  and 
£.  country  words.  "  Behovucfid,  tricked  up  and 
made  fine ;  a  metaphor  taken  from  a  horses  hounces, 
which  is  that  part  of  the  furniture  of  a  cart-horse, 
which  lies  spread  upon  his  collar.  Essex — ironically 
used."  E.  W.  p.  70. 

HouzBN.  Houses.  Probably  a  regular  old 
plural. 

HowD.  Hold.  So  in  Cheshire.  W. — and  a  like 
pronunciation  obtains  also  in  cold,  gold,  sold,  &c. 

Howes.  Haws.  The  berries  of  the  white,  or 
haw,  thorn.  Hawses,  sometimes  in  the  plural. — 
Howes  or  hawes  is  also  Applied  to  the  oat,  when  just 
sfaodting  into  ear.  I  cannot  tind  that  it  is  applied  to 
ddy  t>ther  gnmr.  We  should  at  that  time  say  oar^, 
ot  the  cSHrig,  of  wheat  or  barley— ^biit  hows  or  the 
hawing  of  oats.  We  have  a  saving  in  which  this 
word  id  introduced.  It  is  fancied  that  fleas  arc  par- 
ticulariy -fitirring  and  troublesome  thrice  a  year — 
these  times  are  "Oat- sowing,  o'^t-howing,  and  oat- 
mowing.*'  ■  We  make  the  words  jingle — hahwen— 
mahwen — sahwen. 

HowzLiCK.  The  house-leek.  Sempervivum  teo 
toiiim — frequently  seen  on  cottage  roofs.  This  is  a 
very  ancient  usage,  as  defensative  against  lightning « 


178    . 

Hub.  a  knife  or  fork  or  any  sucfa  thing  stiKk 
into  tbe  ground,  as  a  point  to  lay  near  in  playing  a( 
*'  pilch  haapny/'  or  at  quoits,  is  called  a  hubf  Jt 
means  also  the  |)oint  of  insertion  of  the  blade  and 
haudle  of  a  knife:  "  up  to  the  hub,"  a  knife  so  stuck 
into  any  thing.  This  reminds  us  of  a  threat  of  $t 
blackguard  in  Dublin,  "1*11  he  up  to  Lamprey  in  ye/' 
Lamprey  was,  and  perhaps  is,  a  great  knife  cutkr  in 
Dublin^  his  name  across  the  blade  near  the  handkiv' 
explains  this  emphatic  threat. 

HUCKLE  BONE.    The  hip  bone,  or  j<Mnt. 

Hdckstbr.    a  pedlar;  or  Eigler,  which  see. 

Huddle.  To  get  close  together — ^like  chickens 
under  a  hen.  Cuddle  is  about  the  same  thing.  lo 
Cheshire  to  RvAik  has  a  like  meaning.    W«    See 

HuDDBiN.  A  large  youth,  or  young  man,  grown 
awkwardly  tali.  A  hobbedehoy,  or  Hippeddekau, 
which  see.  In  Scottish,  Hudderin  means  slovenly  m 
person — Hutherin,  a  stupid  fellow.  J. 

HuOKlN.  A  cap,  or  cot,  for  a  cut  finger  or 
thumb,  wliether  made  of  that  part  of  a  glove,  or  of 
Nnen-^-query  Hood-kin  ? — kin  to  a  hood.  Cot  and 
9tall  are  words  of  similar  meaning. 

Huff-cap.  Any  thing  strong  and  good  in  the 
way  of  drink^^humming  ale — good  punch,  &c.*- 
Nares  notices  this  term  as  a  cant  one  for  strong 
«le ;  and  gives  a  reason  and  quotes  authority  for  it. 

Hugger-mugger.  In  a  concealed  way*-not 
manly  or  fair.  Of  various  phrases  of  this  sort  see 
Higgledy-piggledy.  Nares  shows  that  hu^er- 
mugger  is  used  by  Shakespeare,  and  others  of  onr 
old  writers. 

Hulk.  Taking  the  innards  out  of  a  bare  or 
rabbit  is  called  hulken  it.  Also  a  fall :  *'  I  come 
clown  sich  a  hulk*' — as  if  I  should  shajie  my  in* 
^ards  oat — perhaps. 


179 

.  BtrUEtN.  A  lazy  overgrown  idle  fellow — abo, 
Bomewhat  contradictorily,  a  piece  of  skin  dialed 
off  the  hand  by  hard  \vork.  '•  *A  worked  'till 
hUhnu  came  off  of  his  hands/* 

Hull.  To  throw — hurl — cail— cop — ding— and 
sky  are  of  nearly  similar  meaning. 

Hulls.  Husks  of  peas — or  shells  of  nuts,  ^c. 
The  words  hull  and  skefi  seem  cognate — Hulse  is 
6hell  or  pod  in  German  :  hulien — to  cover.  With 
us  a  slight  coffin  is  called  shell.  *'  The  huh  of 
€orn»  i.  e.  the  chaff  or  covering ;  from  Hill,  to 
cover."  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  VI II.  I  do  not  think  Ray 
very  happy  here. 

HULYA,  HoUy.  We  call  it  also  Christmas, 
from  its  l)eing  then  in  full  )>erry  and  heauty,  for 
decorating  our  churches  and  houses.  In  the  fol- 
lowing passage,  I  think  with  Dr.  Mavor,  that 
*f  usser  meant  hulva* 

Where  soil  b  of  sand — Quick  set  out  of  Laiul. 

To  plov-nut  full — Add  brauibic  and  hull.  pp.  30.  103. 

Dr.  M.  notes  that  Chaucer  uses  hv/fere,  for  holly— 
The  wood  of  the  hulva  is  verv  hard,  and  is  es- 
teemed  for  the  swinjel  of  flails  ;  so  is  the  wood  of 
the  whitethorn,  as  is  noticed  by  Tusscr  in  these 
discriminating  lines — 

Save  elm,  ash,  and  crab-tree,  fur  cart  and  for  plough, 
Swe  s'ep  for  a  stfle  uf  the  crotch  of  the  bough  : 
Save  hazel  for  forks — save  sallow  lor  rake ; 
Save  halvtr  and  thorn,  thereof  flail  to  make.     p.  138. 

If  the  words  Crotch  and  Sallow  be  not  ^liliar  to 
the  reader,  and  he  desire  to  know  their  meanings 
he  will  find  something  explanatory  under  those 
words  in  this  Collection.     See  also  under  Plash. 

Humble-bee.  The  Apis  lapidaria.  We  call 
it  al^  Bumble-bee,  which  sec. 

HvMB.  A  hymn.  Possibly  the  early  promm- 
ciation,  firom  the  Greek. 


180 

tiuNCH.    A  good  big  slice,  or  luJtap^  of  bread 
or  meat. 

Hunkers.  The  hams  or  heels — I  scarcely 
know  which,  as  I  never  heard  the  word  used  other- 
wise than  as  describing  a  person  .squatting  or 
sitting  on  his  heels — a. posture  not  very  common 
m  Europe — but  very  much  so  in  Asia.  A  dog  or  hare 
sitting  up  on  its  hind  legs,  would,  alsq^be  described 
as  **  sitting  on  its  hunkers."  In  Jameison,  1  find 
"thc^word.  '*  Huckie-buckie,  a  play  in  which  chil-f 
dren  slide  down  a  hill  on  their  hunkers,]*  '*  Hunkers 
— to  sit  down  on  one's  hunkers,  is  to  sit  with  the 
hips  hanging  down-wards."     '  • 

Hurdle.  Moveable  fencing  with  whicTi  sheep 
folds  arc  made  :  called  Flake  in  Scotland.  Also  a 
verb  descriptive  of  the  operation  of  putting'the  foot 
of  a  hare  or  rabbit  through  an  incision  in  the 
sinews  of  the  other  leg,  for  the  convenience  of  car- 
riage. This  is  called  '*  Hurdling  the  hare."  In 
Cheshire  hurdles  appear  to  bie  called  Raddles,  W. 
We  have  Sawn-Hurdles — Rift- Hurdles^— and  Wan- 
Hurdles.  See  RtFT  and  Wan.  Hurdle  ican, 
means  the  ivdfids  of  hazle,  &c,  fit  for  such  work. 

HussiF.  The  convenient  case  of  leather,  or 
other  sort,  in  which  women  keep  together  needles, 
thread,  &:c,  at  hand  or  in  the  pocket.  Also  the 
mistress  of  a  family ;  evidently  a  rapid  pronun- 
ciation of  housewife.  Tusser  oiten  uses  the  Suf- 
folk word. 

Hutch.  A  chest.  The  **  corn-hutch." — The 
^*  flour-hutch,"  It  is  Scottish  and  used  by  Walter 
Scott — 

And  late  snatch'd  spoils  be  stowed  in  hutch  apart.  ■ 

Brid.  of  Tr.  p.  226. 

By  Shakespeare  also.  P.  Henry  in  that  incom- 
parable scene  (the  whole  act  is  indeed  unique)  of 
K.  H.  the  4th  II.  4."  thus  alludes  lo  ouf  friend 
Falstaff,  **  Why  dost  thou  converse  with  that  trunk 


181 

«f  humours,  4hat  bolting-hutch  of  beastliness/' — 
'*  The  large  wooden  trough  "  says  a  commentator 
"into  which  the  flour  passes  from  the  bolter^  is 
called  the  hutch" 

The  eje  of  the  master  enrlcheth  the  hutch. 
The  eye  of  the  mistress  availeth  as  much; 
Which  e^e.  if  it  govern  with  wisdom  and  skill. 
Hath  servant  and  service,  at  pleasure  and  wilU 

Tusur.  p.  XX xr. 

Where  all  thinf  is  common,  what  needcth  a  hutch  f 
Where  vranteth  a  saver,  tltere  havock  is  much.     J6.    350. 

Though  scouring  be  needful,  yet  scouring  too  much, 

Is  pride  withoat  prbfitt  and  robbeth  thine  hutch,    lb»  JS56. 

Neither  Nares  nor  Jameison  notice  the  word. 

Htke.  a  brief  imperative  equivalent  to  be  off! 
nway!  **  Come — hyke  ofR" 

I. 

Fm  sewer,  a  redundancy  commonly  postfixed 
to  a  Veply.  **  Whaf  s  a  clock  1  "— "  I  don't  know, 
Ym  sewer." 

IndeR.  ^uch — generally  in  reference  to  money 
or  property.  *'  An  Inder  of  money  '* — *'  He's  worth 
an  Inder  of  gowd.''  It  lias  been  suggested  that  the 
*'weallh  of  India"  may  have  given  this  allusion.— i- 
Inder — or  more  correctly  ludra — is  the  Hindu  lord 
of  wealth,  but  a  mythological  source  is  perhaps  too 
far  to  bring  it  from.  1  lately  indeed  heard  **  We  'av 
sJtch  an  Indtr  of  poor." 

Ingan.     Onion — as  in  Scotland. 

In  KLIN.  A  hint,  a  surmise.  "  Cant  yeow  gi  me 
an  inklin  'a  what  'as  coming  about>" — <'  I  ha'  got  aa 
inklin obU^    Thus  Shakespeare-— 

I  can  give  vou  inkling 
Of  an  ensuing  evil.      A  Hen.  the  8th.  U.  f» 

Innards.  Entrails — intestines — one's  inside.-^ 
*^An  i»iiiird  hurt." 

INND.  End.  **  Well  then— there's  an  tftfN^  ont.*^ 
8eeAMiNN0. 

R 


182 

Inqutration.     Eoquiry.     **  Hpi*  yeow  made 

inquiration  ?  " 

Iss.    Yes,    Sec  Wool.    It  rhymes  to  hiss. 

IvvA.  Ever.  So  Nivva  for  never,  /wfr,  before 
a  vowel.     "For  ivver  an  iwa,"    See  Nivva. 

IzzARD.     The  last  letter  of  our  alphabet. 

J. 

Jabber.  Idle  confused  talk.  Like  Gab,  or  Gob, 
wliich  see. 

JACK.  A  Black-jack,  which  see.  The  lackered 
tin  Jug  so  called,  in  Nares*  Glossary^  under  Jack, 
some  curious  particulars  will  be  found. 

Jackanips.  An  affected  puppyish  young  man. 
What  is  now  called  a  Dandy.  In  my  younger  days 
we  used  to  call  these  puppies,  macaromfit.  Nares 
u rites  it  Jackanape$,  and  shows  that  such  word  was 
used  by  our  old  writers,  in  the  sense  here  given. 

Jack  at  a  pinch.  A  sudden  unexpected  call 
to  do  auy  thing.  "  Well — if  I  be'ent  set  lew  regular 
1  on't  come  Jack  at  a  pinch." 

Jack  Robinson.  "  Before  you  could  say  Jack 
Robinson/*  is  said  of  any  thing  done  very  quickly  or 

smartly. 

Jacks.    The  turnip  fly. 

Jag.     a  waggon  load  of  hay,  or  straw,  or  corn  in 

the  straw — or  of  thorns,  or  bushes,  or  whins — **  Two 

ja^fs  an  acre."    The  following  item  occurs  in  Culluni^s 

Hawstead— p.  163.      "Sept.   1700.— Carried   the 

widow  Smith  one  jagg  of  thorns,  0£,  12«.  Od.'* 

It  is  not  applicable  to  a  man's  load — or  to  a  cart 
load.  In  Ray  s  Proverbs  it  is  said  of  a  drunken  man 
that  "  He  has  a  jag  or  load" — p.  68 — as  much  as  he 
can  carry.  In  Cheshire,  *'  Jag  or  Jagg,  is  a  parcel, 
a  small  load  of  corn.  In  Norfolk,"  it  is  added  "  it 
is  called  a  Bargain,''  W.  Both  terms  are  4^ommop 
in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.    See  Bargain.    Grose  says 


183 

llwt  io  Norfolk  **Jag  is  a  parcel  or  load  of  an^f  thing, 
whether  on  a  man^s  back  or  in  a  carriage." 

Jahnet.  a  da^f's  work — in  agriculture,  means 
what  was  formerly  expressed  by  a  "a  Yoking"— 
"  one  jahncy  a  day "  is  when  the  horses  do  their 
whole  day's  ploughing  at  once.  **  Tew  jabneys"  is 
leaving  off  work  about  noon  and  resuming  it  at  two 
o'clock.  Two  journies  a  day  used  to  be  the  good 
summer  practice  of  Suffolk  husbandry — but  hi  these 
times  when  ''more  pay  and  less  work"  is  the  ''uni- 
versal toast"  it  is  nearly  obsolete.  During  the  war 
the  scarcity  of  labourers  resulting  from,  or  increased 
bj^  the  high  price  of  agriculturul  produce,  rendered 
servants  rather  dainty :  and  "  tew  jahnies  "  was  ob- 
jected to  by  many.  The  cause  has  ceased,  but  not 
the  efiect;  and  the  day*s  work  now,  summer  as 
well  as  winter,  usually  is  from  f-past  7  to  f-past  2. 

In  Scotland  "  Jomeye  is  a  day*s  work — fromjotir- 
nee,  French."  J. 

Jakes.  A  privy — its  contents  we  call  Bumhyt 
whrcb  see.  Nares  says  the  term  is  now  ahnost  for- 
gotten. But  it  is  not  so  in  Suffolk.  *'  Jakes ;  a 
hoose  of  office — a  cacatorium.*'  Groge. 

Jaw.  Coarse  idle  language — as  in  Scotland. — 
See  Gab. 

Jazey.  a  wig;  an  article,  as  well  as  the  word 
now  growing  out  of  use.  We  do  now  and  then  see  the 
lingring  relic  of  former  usage,  at  market — but  always 
covering  a  corresponding  pate,  in  respect  to  antiquity. 
The  line  so  well  known  formerly  in  a  flash  song, 
"  Your  Jasey  pays  the  garnish  "  will  soon  require  tiie 
aid  of  annotators. 

Jbnnettbn.  See  Gennetten. 

Jenny-wren.  The  wren:  the  reputed  consort 
of  Robin-redbreast.  According  to  Grose,  Jennv- 
cnidle  is  the  wren  in  the  south — and  Jcuny-hulet,  the 

£2 


184 

oml  in  Yorkshire.    Under  Digky-baUd  is  skown 
the  propensity  to  giving  Christian  names  to  birdie 

Jbricho.    This  word  is  vaguely  used^  impiyilig 
a  great  way  off,  rather  than  at,  or  to»   that  spedfie- 
plaee.      "I'd  see  you  at  Jericho  fust^'-^is  pretty 
nearly  the  same,  I  suppose  as  "  I'd-  see  yeow  fad<& 
fust/'    See  FuDDAH. 

Jerk.    A  smart  blovr^^^ne  of  a  dtawtng  sort-^ 
such  as  a  clip  with  a  whip  under  a  horse's  ribs.     H 
occurs  in  a  quotation  from  Tusser,  given  under  Bob. ' 
Terk,  I  take  to  be  the  same  word.    Of  dft ers  other 
see  under  Aint;  where,  however,  JerAf  is  omitted. 

j£T«  A  ladle  of  a  large  size,  for  raising  water 
from  a  pond ;  swill  from  a  cistern,  &c. 

Jbw's-ears«  a  fungus  of  a  beautiful  bright  red 
colour,  found  in  old  banks  adhering: to  sticks^  iin- 
rieula  Judae.  Cocker  says  ''  Jew's  ears^  or  Jud^tt* 
ears — an  excrescence  about  elder-root^  on  wbicb  tree- 
it  is  supposed  Judas  hanged  himself."  I  never  heard 
of  the  &ble  or  fact  in  Sufinlk  ;  though  the  former  is 
not  very  confined.    See  Elder,  in  Nares. 

J  E  w  *s  -  EYE.     *  *  TTis  worth  ^LJew's-eye  " — means  a  - 
great  deal ;  or  as  much  as  might  be  extorted  from  a 
Jew  to  save  an  eye,  in  danger.     Nares  ahcvn  tbe 
source  of  the  phrase. 

JiBCE.  A  small  quantity:  apindi  of  snufiv^or.  a 
diaw  of  tobacco.  It  rhymes  to  mice^— but  is  some- 
times pronounced  Jkt, 

JiFPLE.  A  quickish,  bustling,  unsettled,  motion, 
of  a  person  or  thing;  a  maid  undressing  an  nngtii 
child  will  say,  "  don't  jt^e  about  so."  «*  How  you 
keep  jijfflin  about." 

Jiffy. — "  In  a  jifly  " — the  same  ^'  as  in  a  trice " 
**  in  a  crack." 

JiGGS.  Dregs,  in  a  tea  or  coffee  cup.  In  a  lai^er 
mass,  as  of  a  cask  of  beer,  &c.  it  would  'be  called 
GtUsh,  or  Hilb.   See  tbo^e  words.    There  may  per* 


185 

te  more  distinction  between  Jigs,  Guhh,  and 
than  I  am  aware  of.  GuUh  is,  indeed,  too 
io  sound  to  apply  to  Xh^  jigs  of  coffee,  &c.  in 
;  and  jigs  perhaps  too  delicate  for  the  gro9S 
r  beer  or  wine.    Squish  is  another  similar  word. 

LY  HOOTER.  The  owl.  Madge  is  another 
for  this  interesting  bird.  Mr.  Wilbraham 
;  the  Cheshire  name  Gil-hooter  and  Gill-hooter; 
lodge  in  that  county  is  a  Starling.  Jilly  hooter 
as,  is  also  applied  to  a  Pheasantj  shot  by  «cct- 
li  September.     It  is  bagged  and  no  more  said 

it. 
ly  flowers  are  said  to  be  so  called  because  tliey 
in  July ;  and  Jonquils  and  Jeneftens  refer  to 
:  do  owls  hoot  most  musically  in  July? — if  so, 
may  be  the  clue  to  this  Souhriquet, 
y  notes  Gill  houter  as  a  Cheshire  name  of  V\e 
E.  W.  p.  38.  For  some  remarks  on  Christen 
s  given  to  birds,  see  Dicky-bajid. 

M.  A  machine  composed  of«n  axle,  two  wheels 
I  pole,  for  moving  timber  under  it.  With  four 
Is  the  timber  is  laid  on,  and  it  is  called  a  Drug; 
1  see.  In  Norfolk  the  machine  which  conveys 
IT  beneath,  is  called  Jill,  the  Drug  being  called 
.  'I  be  latter  being  a  common  and  extensive 
!  for  several  machines,  Jill  mav  have  been 
ted  for  distinction,  and  the  origin  of  Jim.  Jhu 
universal  use  in  Suffolk. 

le  following  epitaph  in  Hoxne  Churcliy<»rd  I  was 
ingly  favored  with  by  a  noble  and  greatly  res- 
td  friend — since  deceased. 

memory  of  Wiliiaiii  Catling  who  departed  this  Life  August 

BO? — aged  '20  ^ears — 

1  was  on  my  journey  returning  homei 
And  little  thought  wliat  wa^  to  be  luy  doom, 
So  as  the  rolling  Jim  did  me  control 
The  Lord  above  have  mercy  on  my  sou!. 
Short  was  my  stay,  the  longer  is  my  rest> 
God  took  me  hence  becaune  he  iliought  it  best-*- 
Therefore  dear  fi  lends  lament  for  me  no  moiey 
J  aoi  not  lost,  but  gone  awhile  before. 

r2 


189 

f  give  also  the  note  of  the  copier  ( who,  by  the 
beauty  of  the  writing,  I  judge  to  be  the  8choc4 master) 
— it  containiog  a  provincialism. 

"  J.  Larter*s  duty  to  his  Lordship«  have  sent  enclosed  the 
copy  of  Wm.  Catling*s  gravestone  as  requested.** 

JlMMERS.  Hinges — of  doors,  <&c.  In.  Somerset* 
jhire  Jemmies  and  Jimmels  mean  the  same.  Grose 
kk  his  GJossary  says  it  is  a  north  country  word.  It 
has  been  derived  ixomjumelle^  a  twin :  but  it  is  rather 
forced.  Jimbels  is  in  extensive  use  for  a  certain  des- 
cription of  hinges,  such  as  ship  compasses  traverse 
on,  with  double  pivots,  by  which  they  always  pre- 
serve their  horizoiitality. 

Ray  gives  Jimmers  as  a  north  country  word— 
meaning  as  in  Suffolk,  ''jointed  hinges;  in  other 
parts'*  he  adds  *' called  wing  hinges.''  It  is  very 
likely  that  Jimmers  and  Gimmels,  on  which  so  much 
has  been  written  are  cognate,  in  the  sense  of' 
joints.  In  Suffolk  we  say  '*a  gate  is  off  the  joints* 
— it  is  the  door  hinge  that  we  most  commonly  call 
Jimmers,  The  word  gimmel  occurs,  and  I  believe 
only  once,  in  Shakespeare — 

I  think  by  some  odd  gimmel  or  device 

There  arras  are  set  like  clocks,  still  to  strike  on. 

K.  Hen.  6.  I.  2. 

"  A  gimmel "  says  Johnson  on  this  passage  "  is  a 
piece  of  jointed  work,  where  one  piece  moves  witjbin 
another  " — So  far  right  perhaps—but  is  the  following 
so] — "  whence  it  is  taken  at  large  for  an  engine.  It 
is  now  by  the  vulgar  called  a  gim-crack.^*  I  think 
Johnson  at  fault  here.  Take  Shakespeare's  gimmel 
in  the  sense  of  ourjtmmers,  meaning  that  on  which 
any  thing  hinges,  hangs,  or  turns,  and  it  will  do, 
though  not,  perhaps,  very  aptly. 

I  have  little  doubt  but  the  word  is  cognate  with 
gemini — or  gemellus — twin,  or  much  alike,  I  far- 
ther think  Bay  is  not  correct  in  giving  a  similar 
sounding  word  gimmer  a  different  sense,  "  A  gimmer» 
Jamb  "  he  says  *'  is  an  ewe  lamb    a  gammer  lamb — 


187 

gammtr  h  n  contraction  of  god-mother."  £.  W.  p.  83. 
If  the  initial  of  gimmer  be  pronounced  hard,  I  have 
nothing  to  say  to  this  derivation — if  soft,  I  should 
suspect  it  to  mean  not  a  ewe  but  a  ticin  lan^b.  Sec 
Ho6.  Since  this  was  inritteu  Nares' Glossary  has 
ikMefi  into  my  hands.  I  refer  thereto,  under  Gemel 
and  Gimmel,  for  something  farther  on  this  matter. 

JiN^o.  By  Jingo — a  well  known  oath — some- 
times, I  thiiik,  by  St.  Jingo,  I  was  not  aware  there 
was  snch  a  Saint>  or  of  the  origin  of  the  oath ;  until 
circumanibniating  the  lake  of  Geneva,  we  came  to  a 
town  beautifully  situated  opposite  Vevay,  called  St. 
Ging<»ulpb,  and  pronounced  like  our  Jingo,  with  the 
initial  softened. 

Job.  a  piece  of  husbandry  *'  taken  "  at  a  fixed 
or  stated  price.  This  is  called  **  working  by  tlie  job." 
See  Tar  EN*  Job  and  jobben  we  also  use  in  the 
sense  of  striking,  or  pecking.  Fowls,  or  birds  job 
at  any  thing  hard — or  a  man  picking  up  a  road  with 
a  mattock  or  pick.  Jub,  or  jubbiag,  would  also  be 
applied  to  this  last  operation,  especially  if  lazily 
done,  by  the  day.  See  Jub.  Tusser  applies  job- 
bing to  the  pecking  of  turkies.    See  under  Wax. 

JOBANOWL.  A  thick-headed  fellow.  iVoti^/isa 
■ame  of  the  head  with  us.  See  under  Costard. — 
Under  Jobbemoule^  Nares  explains  it — "  thick-head, 
block-head;  from jebbe,  dull  in  Flemish,  and  cnel, 
a  head,  Saxon :  used  as  an  appellative  of  reproach." 
He  gives  several  quotations  from  old  English  writers^ 
where  the  word  occurs — among  them  this — 

Now  miller,  rorller,  dustipoul, 

I  *1]  clapper-claw  tby  jobbemouL     Old  Play* 

Powl  is  a  Suffolk  word,  and  Clapper-claw,  which 
see.  1  have  beard  a  miller  calle(«  dusty -powl,  tho' 
it  did  not  occur  to  me  'till  I  saw  the  term  in  Nares, 
which  was  not  'till  afler  the  articles  under  D.  in  thb 
Collection  were  printed. 

JocKBT.    To  exchange ;  any  thing  as  well  as  a 


188 

horse.     It  does  not  appear  to  differ  from  Swop,  or 
Chop,  which  see. 

Joggle.  To  disturb  by  pushing,  shaking,  or 
jogging—"  Dont  joggle  me  so " — "How  ( lengthened 
into  h~a-a-ow  )  yeow  dew  joggle  me.** 

John  »fe  Joan.  An  hermophrodite.  (pig,  &c.) 
In  Cheshire  it  is  WiU-^Jill,  or  Will-Gill  W.  In 
the  north  "  Scrat,  used  of  men,  beasts,  and  sheep." 
Ray.  E.  W.  p.  52. 

JoLLACKS.  An  appellation  applied  somewhat 
irreverently,  and  therefore  ever  improperly  to  a 
clergyman.  It  has  been  pleasantly  derived  from 
jawlicks;  as  if  it  were  inferible  that  the  clergy  arc 
especially  addicted  to  good  eating. 

Joss.  A  command  to  a  horse  to  sidle  up  to  a 
block  or  gate  that  the  rider  may  the  easier  mount. 
Such  block  is  called  Jossenblock,  and  was  formerly 
seen  near  the  door  of  most  farm  houses,  with  three 
or  four  steps  leading  to  its  top,  railed  in  on  two 
sides.  These  conveniences  have  fallen  into  disuse 
with  the  pillion. 

Jounce.  The  shock  of  a  carriage  sinking  into 
deep  ruts  (or  racks)  or  any  inequality,  on  the  road. 
A  jolt  generally.  Jum  is  sometiiues  used  in  the  same 
sense — especially  in  Norfolk.  **  I  was  good  tidily 
jounced  in  the  Trolly.**  "  Houncy-jouncy  *'  in  a 
clumsy,  jumbling  maimer.  I  lately  heard  this  sen* 
tence  in  an  evidence  in  a  court — "  He  got  him  down 
^ud  jounced  on  him,**  which  the  witness  explained 
to  mean  that  the  defendant  bore  violently  and  repeat- 
edly with  his  knees  on  the  assaulted  person.  An  up 
and  down  motion  seems  to  be  understood  by  the  word. 
—One  gets  "a  good  jouncing ''  on  a  rough  trotting 
horse.  A  lady's  feathers  on  hor?eback,  would  be 
described  as  ^*  jouncing  about.**  Surely  Shakespeare 
^rote  jounce  in  this  passage — 

I  was  not  made  a  horse— 
And  now  1  bcur  a  burden  like  an  ass, 
6pttr-gall*d  and  tired  hy  Jouncing  Bolingbroke. 

Rich.  IL  V.  S. 


189 

SfeeTens^  on  this  passage,  says  thBtjatmce  and 
jmmt  were  syncnimous.  But  he  gives  no  authority 
or  reason,  or  worse  than  none,  for  so  saying.  Write 
ii/oMietfi^  and  a  Suffolk  reader  would  at  once  feel 
its  happy  adaptation.  Nares,  on  the  same  passage, 
also  thinks  Xhat  jaurU  was  useci  forJauKce-— the  latter 
he  explains  *'  to  ride  hard ;  from  fancer,  old  French, 
to  work  a  horse  violently.*'  This  is  against  my  read- 
ing— but  if  I  be,  even  now,  convinced,  it  is  ''  against 
my  will." 

Jowl.  The  head.  "  Chick  by jawV*  Close  to- 
gether. We  have  many  names  for  the  head«  as 
noticed  under  Costard. 

JuB.  A  pace  of  a  horse  between  a  trot  and  a  walk 
— a  sluggish  amble.  *'  K*there — how 'ago  jubben 
along.''  It  seems  to  mean  a  slow  sort  of  an  up  and 
down  motion.     See  Job. 

JtTLK.  A  hard  blow.  **  Ta  give  era  sich  a  jiilk 
ta  kiird  em  stotie  dead,"  was  said  descriptive  of  a 
child  killed  by  a  wind-mill  sail.  In  the  sense  of  a 
blow,  this  word  is  omitted  in  the  list  of  similar  vo- 
cables under  A  int. 

JUM.  Injury  from  a  fall,  of  a  horse,  &c. — or  a 
squeeze — Jamb,  probably.  "  'As  boss  fell  upon  em, 
an  *a  got  a  sad  j'lcm.*'    See  Jounce. 

JiTNKET.  Junkets.  Junketten.  Viands — 
provisions— delicacies.  Generally  used  I  tiiink  in 
a  reproachful  sense,  as  if  implying  wHste — or  at  any 
rate,  the  absence  of  thrift.  It  will  be  said  of  a  "great 
house^*'  "  Rare  deewius  I — nawn  but  Junketten," — 
especially  by  those  who  do  not  share  in  the  good 
cheer.  In  Scotland  Sunket  seems  to  imply  the  same 
— and  the  word  is  sometimes  so  pronounced  in  Suf- 
folk. See  Sunket. 
Shakespeare  writes  the  word  Junket,  and  in  our 
I     Suffolk  sense,  of  extra  good  cheer. 

You  know  there  wints  no  junketi  at  the  feaat* 
f 


190 

I  am  disposed  to  think  that  in  the  following  quota- 
tion fr(Hn  ITusser,  he  had  jollification  in  his  e;ye — and 
by  Jankin  and  Jenykin,  did  not  merely  mean  *'  ser* 
vants  in  general/'  as  Dr.  Mavor,  not  UBrea$ouably> 
I.  admit,  supposes — 

Delight  not,  for  pleasure,  two  houses  to  keep« 

Lest  charge,  without  measure,  upon  thee  do  creep  ^  . 

And  Jankin  and  Jennykin  cozen  thee  so. 

To  make  thee  repent  it,  ere  jear  about  go.     p*  xxx. 

In  Nares*  Glossary  we  read  **  Junket,  or  Juncake; 
a  sweetmeat  or  dainty.  Giuncaia,  Italian,  The 
▼erb  to  Junket  is  growing  obsolete  very  fast,  if  it  be 
not  so  already/'  It  is,  however,  stiil  u^d  in  Sufiblk. 
Grose  gives  Suncate  as  the  Suffolk  word  for  a  dainty. 

K. 

Ka.  Quoth — Katha — quoth  he.  Ka  Jack,  said 
Jack — Ka  Jim,  &c. 

Ka  here.  Look  here — Ka  there — look  there— 
Ka  inda  or  Kinda — look  yonder — "  K '  there  now — 
'a  what  hae  yeeow  done  ?  " — in  a  fault  finding  tone. 

Kaddaw.    The  Jackdaw.     See  Caddaw. 

Kadb.     See  Kid. 

Kalmy  or  Kammy.  Wine  or  beer  or  vinegar, 
in  cask  or  bottle,  is  said  to  be  kalmy  or  eammy  when 
it  have  a  thickish  scum  on  the  top.  It  is  also  said  to 
be  mothery  in  this  state ;  and  such  top  gathering  is 
called  the  Mather,  which  see. 

K  AMBUCK.  The  dry  fibrous  stalk  of  hemp  after 
having  been  peeled.  It  was  until  lately  much  in  nse 
to  light  pipes  withal.  Also  the  dry  stalk  of  the  hem- 
lock. "  As  dry  as  a  kambuck  *'  is  used  proverbially: 
and  sometimes  in  derision  of  legs  lacking  a  goodly 
calf—"  His  legs  are  like  Kambucks."  The  dry 
hemlock  stalk  is  also  called  Kex,  and  KiSK — 
which  see. 

Kedgb.  Kedjy.  Well— hearty— hale-*' How 
d  *  }C  fare  ]  "— "  Thanky,  kiender  kedjy r    "  A  hedgy 


191 

maa  for  his  years  " — or  "  *A  fare  kieiuler  hedge  still.** 
•*£edge;  brisk,  budge,  lively.  SuflV  Ray.  E.  W. 
p.  79.     Kedgie  iu  Scottish  is  cheerful.  J, 

Keep.  Growing  fo'od  for  sheep,  or  other  live 
stock.  "Three  weeks  keep,"  Also  the  place  of 
cue's  residence.     "  Where  de  yeow  keep?** 

Keeping-room.  The  room  usually  sat  or  kept 
in  by  the  family. 

Kbbvb.  To  cave  or  fall  in,  as  the  side  of  a  pit, 
ditch,  &c.  See  Cave  and  Shoshins.  In  Cheshire 
**  To  Keeve  is  to  overturn,  or  to  lift  up  a  cart  so  as 
to  uoload  it  all  at  once.  Ash  calls  it  local.''  W.— • 
The  idea  of  an  avalenche  is  conveyed  by  our  word 
Meeve, 

Kell.     a  kiln.    A  brick-kell — a  nialt-kell.    The 
letters  e  and  i  fi^qucntly  change  places — as  noticed 
under  Aninnd.     So  in  Cumberland  a  ilea  is  a  fly, 
and  a  fly  a  flea.     Kelt  is  no  novel  pronunciation. — 
Tusser,  in  his  directions  about  malting  says — 
Take  heed  to  the  keZZ — Sing  out  as  a  bell.    p.  i>58. 
Let  Gillct  be  siiigingy  it  doth  very  vi'ell. 
To  keep  her  from  sleeping,  and  burning  tl:e  kell.  ib. 

Malting  appears  to  have  then  been  a  connnon  do- 
mestic process.     No  malt-tax  in  those  days. 

Kellen.  The  quantity  of  bricks,  or  ware  of 
that  description,  burnt  at  one  tinte  ;  equivalent  to  a 
hatch  of  bread. 

Kench  That  portion  of  work  which  a  digger, 
SiC,  carries  on,  or  through,  before  he  recommence. 
Thus,  if  be  were  digging  or  hoeing  a  field  and  he 
carried  it  on  a  rod  wide — that  would  be  called  a 
kench — when  done  be  begins  another  kench  or  turn. 

It  may,  considering  the  general  proneness  as  no- 
ticed ander  Perk,  to  interchange  ch  and  k,  have  been 
kink,  which  on  board  ship  and  elsewhere,  means  a 
flint  or  twist  in  a  rope.  In  Cheshire,  **  Kench  is  a 
twist  or  wrench^  a  strain  or  sprain.''  W.  See  C&ick, 
aad  Pebk 


192 

Kernels.  G  rains  of  coru — or  the  pips  ofapploft 
—but  not  I  lie  kernels  of  fruit  stones;  tbe«e  are  called 
Cobble,  which  see. 

Kex.  Dry — hollow :  particularly  a  hemlock 
stalk.  Also  Kisk.  Perhaps  Keks,  and  Kesk,  are 
the  same — merely  a  change  of  the  final  sound ;  like 
waps  for  wasp.  Kex,  Kisk,  and  Kambnck  are 
names  of  a  Hry  hemlock.  See  under  those  words. 
In  Walker's  Diet.  I  find  kex  and  kexsy  as  Stafford- 
shire names  of  the  hemlock,  or  any  otlier  hoUow- 
jointed  plant.  And  Ray  says  that  kex  is  "a  dried 
stalk  of  hemlock,  or  of  wild  cicely  " — and  he  has  *'as 
hollow  as  a  kex"  p.  222.  Dryness  and  hollowness 
seem  implied  by  the  word. 

Nares  has  "  kex  or  kexsie — a  dry  stalk  of  hemlock^ 
and  sometimes  of  other  kinds — 

And  nothing  teems 
But  hateful  docks,  roligh  thistles,  htclitiet,  bun. 
Losing  both  beauty  and  utility.     Uen,  5.  v.  2. 

Burr,  which  see,  is  a  Suffolk  word. 

Keys.  The  seed  of  the  ash  or  sycamore  trees, 
from  their  shape  and  hanging  in  bunches.  In  the 
north,  according  to  Ray,  they  are  called  Chats, 
which  see. 

KiCHEL.  A  flat  Christmas  cake,  of  a  triangular 
shape,  with  sugar  and  a  few  currants  strow'd  over 
the  top — difiering,  only  in  shape,  I  believe,  from  a 
bun.  Cocker  sa\s  "  Kichel  is  Saxon —  a  kind  of 
cake  or  God's  Kichel,  a  cake  given  to  God-children 
when  they  ask  blessing  of  their  God  father." 

Kick.  The  fashion— the  go.  "  That's  all  the 
kickr 

Kick  the  bucket.  To  die — this  is,  I  believe^  a 
phrase  in  use  very  extensively :  though  one  does  not 
f  eadily  see  the  origin  or  reason  of  it. 

Kickshaws.  Useless  trifles.  Also  freDchitied 
unsubstantial  dishes  at  table.  The  word  may  be 
fancied  from  the  quclque  chases,   of  our  Norman 


192f 

vUiton;  and  to  have  been  adopted  iu  derision  by-'dt 
antigallican  Anglians. .  An  improved  light  Scotch 
curt  was  attempted  to  be  substituted  on  a  fdrni,  for 
our  cumbersome  waggons,  weighing  a  ton,  with 
wooden  extrees,  but  was  mnch  opposfed  by  the 
bigotted  vrorkmen,  who  called  it  a  Kickshawlu  sort 
of  a  thing.  Evidently  meaning  a  gimcrack — as 
defective  in  utility  when  compared  with  our  own. 
Of  this  s6e  something  under  Goof,  note  to  verse  7. 

Kid.  a  small  cask,  or  keg,  in  which  flour  is 
kept  for  domestic  current  purposes.  The  larger 
flour  vessel,  or  chest,  is  called  Hutchy  which  see« 
We  sometimes  call  the  small  flattish  keg  in  which 
pickled  salmon  is  kept,  Kid ;  but  more  commonly, 
1  think.  Kit,  which  see.  Red  herrings  and  sprats 
are  also  packed  in  Kid$  or  Kits:  and  we  sometimes 
call  those  packages  Kades  or  CadeSy  which  as  we 
learn  from  Nar<:s,  was  the  original  name  for  the 
herring  vessel.  He  says  the  word  Cade  is,  no 
doubt,  as  well  as  keg,  from  Cadus,  notwithstanding 
Nash's  fanciful,  or  rather  jocular  derivation — 

The  rebel  Jack  Cade  was  the  first  that  dcirised  to  pat  redde 
herrings  m  cadet;  and  from  him  thf*,y  have  their  name. 

Praise  of  Red  H err,  1d99, 

Shakespeare  has  turned  tlie  derivation  the  con- 
trary  way. 

We  John  Cade,  so  termed  of  our  supposed  father — 

Dick,     Or  rather  of  stealing  a  cade  of  herriu'gs. 

K.  Ihn,  6.  P.  2.  IV.  J. 

Cade.j  1  iind  is  an  old  Suffolk  word.  Among  the 
expences  of  Hengrave  Hall,  in  1572,  is  this  item — 
**  for  viij  cndes  red  herrings  at  vij«.  viijrf..  the  cade 
iij/.  xvjd:"  Gages  Hen.  p.  192.  From  Cade  or 
Kidt  may  be  derived  the  name  of  the  itinerant 
pedlar,  called  Kiddier,  which  see.  Cocker  says 
\h»iCade  is  from  the  Italian,  meaning  *'  500  her- 
'ings,  1000  sprats,  a  pipe  or  two  hogsheads.''  In 
ui^er'old  dictionary,  anonymous,  is  **  Cadf  of 

s 


194 

red-herring— the  quantity  of  500."    In  Scotland 
"  Orane  is  a  barrel  of  herrings."    J. 

Kidder.    See  Kiddier. 

KiDDiER  or  KiDYER  or  KiDjER.  A  travelling 
vendor  of  small  wares — a  hawker,  huckster,  or 
higgler ;  or,  as  we  sometimes  call  him.  Codger, — 
Bailej  has  **  Kidder  pr  Kidjer,  a  seller  ot  corn, 
victuals,  Ac." — according  to  Ray — **  A  Kidder  is  a 
Badger,  Huckster;  a  carrier  of  goods  on  horse- 
back. Ess.  Suff."  E.  W.  p.  79.  Grose  says  a 
Kidder  is  a  forestaller.  What  Nares  gives  under 
Cadge  applies  to  this  article — "a  round  frame  of 
wood,  ou  which  the  Cadgers,  or  sellers  of  hawks, 
carried  their  birds  for  sale.  See  Bailey.  Cadger 
is  also  given  as  a  meaning  of  Huckster,  from  which 
the  familiar  term  Codger  is  more  likely  to  be  de- 
rived than  from  any  foreign  origiu."  Perhaps  the 
modern  word  Cage  may  be  the  same — those  who 
made  or  used  them  for  hawks,  may  have  been  called 
liawkers,  and  Cagers,  easily  changed  to  Cadgers; 
and,  that  being  an  uncouth  word,  to  Cadger,  Kid- 
ger,  or  Kiddier,  These  cages  or  frames  were  made 
of  wicker  or  rushes  (easily  confounded  ) — so  were 
Peck  or  Cades;  and  I  have  fancied  that  hence  may 
have  been  derived  the  term  Corfe  or  Pet  lamb : — 
or  Cosset,  which  see.  A  Doss  is  likewise  of  rushes 
or  wicker,  otherwise  called  Hassock,  another  term, 
as  well  as  Dosser,  for  a  rush  or  wicker  convenience 
carried  about  by  the  vendors  of  small  wares.  See 
Doss,  Dossers,  Higgler,  and  Ped. 

At  the  risk  of  being  tedious,  and  perhaps  not 
intelligible,  1  will  venture  farther  to  note  another 
coincidence  or  two  in  the  names  of  things  discussed 
in  this  article,  not  apparently  connected ;  or  if 
CQunected,  rather  unaccountably  so.  The  youngest 
child  of  a  family  we  call  pi7-man,  and  pin- basket : 
the  youngest  is  usually  the  pet-ed  one — the  cosset ; 
or  cade,  as  a  pet  is  elsewhere  termed.  Under 
^*^«^N^ICK,  our  term  for  a  little  sicklv  '^hild,  it  is 


195 

shown  that  it  is  given  by  Ray  and  Grose,  as  a  N. 
country  word,    meaning   '*  a  kit  or  pail  to  carry 
milk  in  '* — and  in  another  place — "  the  smallest  pig 
of  a  litter."     Under  Barra-pig,  our  name  for  tlie 
littlest  pig  of  a  litter,  it  is  again  shown  from  Ray, 
that  it  is  called   Wkinnock  in  other  parts — also 
Cad-trn,    We  here  iind  Wmnick  to  be  a  sickly  little 
child — a  pit-man  or  pet: — to  be  also  a  kit  or  pail — 
a  kit  or  cade  or  cadge  to  be  a  rush  or  straw  package, 
a  sort  of  basket,  or  ped — pin-basket  and  cad-ma  arc 
shown  to  be  names,  in  different  parts  of  England, 
for  the  same  thing.    Of  pail,  or  kit,  or  kid,  or  cade, 
or  ped,  or  pannier,  or  cadge,  or  cage,  which  we 
see  mean  the  same  thing,  it  may  be  noticed  that 
they  are  all  made  of  wicker,  or  rushes,  or  straio — 
ancl  it  may  have  been  from  the  French  paille,  straw, 
that  the  "  kit  or  pair'  obtained  such  a  name.    Its 
alledged  purpose  '*  to  carry  milk  in/'  is  rather  po- 
sing, as  applied  to  a  straw  package — but  our  kid  or 
kit  for  pickled  salmon,  is  pail  shaped  ;  and  a  man 
having  a  pai7  in  his  mind's  eye,  and  puzzled  with 
contrariety  or  conformity  of  names  and  purposes 
(as  appears  to  be  our  case)  may  easily  fill  it,  un- 
authorizedly,    with   imaginary    milk.      Grose   has 
*'  Kit,  a  milking  pail — and  Whisket,  a  scuttle,  bas- 
ket, or  shallow  /jec/."     The  letters  F.  anil  P.  are 
occasionally  confounded.     Under  Fkail,  a  flexible 
weak  basket  made  of  straw  (or  paille)  in  which 
sprats  are  packed,  I  have  notice<l  that  we  pack 
them  in  Kits — or  Rids — this  in  passing  without  far- 
ther comment — and  the  same  as  to  Doss  or  Hassock, 
and  Dossers — things  made  of  rushes  or  straw  ;  and 
the  latter  being  a  ped  or  pannier.     See  IIassoc^. 
It   may   scarcely   be    allowed   roe  to    remark~it 
may  be  deemed  too  trifling  or  remote — that  kit  with 
us  is  a  kitten,  the  commonest  pet  with  children — 
a  diminutive  of  kitten.     So  may  the  reference  to  a 
quotation  under  Barra-pig,  showing  that  in  Scot- 
land "  Croot  is  a  puny  feeble  child — the  youngest 
and  feeblest  of  a  nest  or  litter  ** — the  same'as  umin^ 

S  2 


196 

MeXr,  or  pm4msk€t,  or  emZ-ma,  or  cade,  or  pei^^ 
and  that  between  croot  and  erate,  the  latter  being 
a  weak  or  frail  flexible  package  or  cage,  or  basket, 
'  or  cradle,  is  a  connection  of  ideas  tending  to  ia- 
fancy,  or  a  ptf  <man,  or  pin-^Huftet,  or  pei,  or  cade, 
or  cossel^  4>r  ikt^,  &e.  diminutive  or  endearing,  terms. 

There  seems  no  end  to  names  designative  of  this 
greatly  increased  and  increasing  race  of  itinerant 
vendors  of  small  wares.  Grose  has  ''  Ripper,  a 
higgler,  pedder,  dorser,  or  badger.''  Ripper  he 
gives  as  a  S.  country  word.  I  can  make  nothing  of 
it.  Badger  may  come  from  hag;  fL%  Cadjer  and 
Cbdjer,  seem  to  have  done  from  Cad,  Cade,  Cadge, 
or  Keg — and  Kidjer  from  KlD.  Or  the  pedder  may 
formerly  have  been  compelled  by  law  to  carry  a 
badge,  as  he  noW  is  to  carry  a  licence. 

This,  I  cannot  but  percieve,  is  a  very  desultory 
article — like  its  subject — *'  a  thing  of  shreds  and 
patches."  Allow  us  then  td  recapitulate  and  show 
in  some  synthetic  shape,  how  the  names  and  thing't 
herein  discussed,  connect  themselves  with  each 
other — 

1.  Barra^pig,  cade,  cadma,  cosset, '  croot,  kit, 
pet,  pinbasket,  pitman,  and  winnick,  appear  to  mean, 
in  different  parts  of  England,  the  same  thing— im- 
pl  viog  infancy  and  weakness. — (  We  usually  say  pet, 
for  pit — hence  ptf-man  may  be  merely  the  pet-ed, 
petAi — or  little,  man,  as  a  child  is  commonly  called.) 

2.  Cad,  cade,  cadge,  cage,  cradle,  crane,  crate, 
dosser,  frail,  hassock  or  haske,  kid,  kit,  ped,  and  win- 
nick,  are  nearly  the  same  thing — (not  to  mention  pail 
or  pailte,  straw)  formed  of  wicker,  rush,  or  straw;  be- 
ing varied  designations  of  a  weak,  frai),  flexible. pack- 
age^  pannjer,  pail,  or  basket ;  all  nearly  coi^uected, 
iohie  identical,  with  the  infantine  names  of  series  1. 

3.  The  persons  who  use  the  artiples  epi^^ieratrd 
in  series  2,  are  variously  called  bac|gers,  cad^rs» 
codgers,  dorsers,  hawkers,  higglers,  hucksters,  kid- 
jers,  pedders,  pedlars,  rijppers ;  who,  in  the  ssiid  f^4il 


197 

convoiieDGes,  carry  about  herrings,  sprats,  sa1nioii« 
crockerv,  ^e.     See  Higolkr. 

4.  The  words  cside,  cosset,  cradle,  kit,  kitten, 
milk,  pail,  patlle  or  straw,  |>et,  pig,  &c.  of  series  I.  2. 
appear  to  be  connected  with  each  other,  more  «)r 
less  remotely,  in  their  relationship  to  weakness  or 
infancy. 

But  a  truce  to  this  trifling,  as  some  of  my  readers 
will,  I  d«iubt,  deem  it.  The  terms  here  discussed 
have,  however,  piizzle<l  philologists  and  lexirogra* 
phers;  which  may  excuse  this  endea^otir  tn  show  how, 
JQ  the  lapse  c«t'  time  and  the  mutcitioii  at'  liii.siia*;e, 
words  c»f  very  common  use  amf  ofditurent  origin  and 
meaning,  may  become  cognate  in  sense  and  sound. 

KiDDS.  Panniers— ^or  baskets.  Such  as  are 
carried  about  by  a  Kiddier,  which  see,  and  Kid. 
So  Pedi  are  what  Pedlars  carry  their  ware  in.  Kid, 
Cad,  Cade,.  Cadge,  Kit,  and  i'ed,  appear  to  meuii 
nearly  the  same  thing.  « 

KiENDEft.  Rhyming  to  finder.  As  it  were — 
rather.  "  Kiender  cowd/  ratlier  coM.  "  Kienda 
snaggy,"  rather  cross.  It  is  perhaps,  khid  a\  tor 
kind'of^—\,  e,  inclined  to — sort  of.  ll  is  :i  vers  com- 
moD  term,  and  often  onmrs  among  our  examph's  of 
local  phraseology.  SceBuFi«Lh;o.OuNT,un(l  Khdge. 

Killer  or  Keeler.  A  shallow  lul),  for  wasii- 
ing,  milk,  &c.  '•  wa>h  killer  "— '*  n.ilk  killer  ' -^ 
''brewing  killer.**  "While  greasy  Joan  dotli  Keel 
the  pot"  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  luht 
merry  words-  in  Love  s  Labour  Lost,  are  cognate 
with  our  Suffolk  tenn,  tho'  I  cannot  very  satisfac* 
torily  show  their  relatiounhip.  Coninientat(»rs  do 
not  agr^  as  to  Shakespeare  s  meaning,  (ioldsmita 
saya  that  tbe>  word  is  still  used  in  Ireland,  and  sig- 
ninea.  to ;«ct/i»  the  pot.  But  most  of  the  commen- 
tators incline  to  the  opinion  that  it  signities  to  cool 
<^but  .they  do  not  agree  in  the  mode  oi*  "  keeline 
the  pot."     We  sometimes   call   the   shallow   tu^  * 

S  3 


198 

cooler^  or  i^cording  to  our  feshion,  aioce  commonly 
euler,  which  is  confirmatory  of  the  gloss. .  Thiere  ia^ 
howeter,  in  our  language  a  verb  to  keel,  though  I 
do  not  know  at  this  moment^  where  to  find  it,  .  It 
conveys  to  my  mind  an  idea  of  turning  a  thing  out 
of  its  norizontalitv — tilting  it ;  and  whenever  I  think 
of ''greasy  Joan  I  see  her  scouring  the  pot  with 
its  bottom  inclined  conveniently  jfor  that  operation ; 
or  heeling  it  in  the  position  of  a  ship  rolling  so  as 
to  almost  show  her  keel  out  of  the  water^ , 

Ray  does  not  give  Keeler  as  a  local  word,  bat  he 
uses  it  casually,  '^  A  gwill,  a  keeler  to  wash  in» 
standing  on  three  feet/'  £.  W.  p.  60.  Our  keelers 
are  sometimes  raised  on  three  feet,  particularly 
those  in  dairies;  but  are  not  necessarily  so. 

Nares  has  an  instructive  article  undef  Keel:  but 
this  of  mine  is  so  long,  that  I  can  only  refer  to  it. 

Kilter.  The  property  -in  a  plough  of  bein^ 
used  sidous  (sideways)  out  of  the  exact  line  of 
draught—**  'Ta  oont  kilta  "—or  "  ta  kilter  well." 
In  his  S.  and  £.  country  words  Ray  has  **JKeUer  oi( 
Kilter — frame,  order"  E.  W.  p.  79 — and  morej^ 
added  which  I  do  not  understand,  and  wiQ,  not 
quote,  denoting  that  his  is  the  same  word,  though 
not  explained  similarly,  as  mine.  I  am  not  si^ri^ 
that  the  meaning  which  I  have  given  is  the  only,  or 
even  the  exact  one.  Nares  has  **Keiter;  order, 
good  condition,  or  arrangement.  '  If  the  organs  of 
prayer  be  out  of  Kelter,  how  can  we  pray  ? ' — JBar- 
raw.  **l  have  not"  he  adds  "met  with  it  else- 
where. It  is  said  to  be  provincial  and  to  be 
derived  from  the  Danish."  Grose  under  the  word 
Kelter  or  Kilter,  gives  this  explanation,  noting  it 
as  a  N.  country  word,  '*  frame,  order,  condition. 
Hence  helter-skelter,  a  corruption  o^heUer  to  hang, 
and  kelter  order ;  i.  e.  hang  order,  or  in  defiance  of 
order.  **  In  good  kelter " — in  good  case  or  con- 
ditk>n."    I  cannot  accord  in  this  derivation.    See 

TiLTER.  * 


199 

KrLV  A  or  Kilvsr.  The  shivering  of  an  ague  fif, 
or  the  "  kilvering  heat  "  of  its  successor.  See 
Galva. 

KiNDA«     Look  yonder.     See  Ka  here. 
Kjndlb/   See  Kittlr. 

Kino  Harrt.  The  gold -finch.  Very  common 
in  Suffolk  \(i  a  wild  state.  In  Cheshire  this  pretty 
bird  is  called  Jack  Nicker — and  Mr.  Wiibraham  has 
an  interesting  note  touching  the  propensity  of  giving 
Ciirbtian  names  to  birds^  of  which  see  under  Dicky 
Bahd. 

KiSK.  The  dry  stalk  of  the  hemlock.  It  is  I 
believe  a  word  more  used  in 'Essex  than  in  Suffolk. 
See  Kex,  and  Kisky. 

KiSKY.  Dry — thirsty; — from  fever  or  watch- 
ing, or  travelling  in  dusty  weather.  In  Persian  and 
other  eastern  languages,  a  similar  word  has  mean- 
ings denoting  aridity.  Kooshky,  is  a  dry,  burnt 
up  plaiur— also  rice  boiled  dry  for  the  table. — 
Hence,  that  is  from  a  sense  of  dryness,  our  Kisky, 
Kisk,  and  Kex  may,  somehow  or  other,  have  been 
derived. 

KissiNG-CRUST.  The  part  where  two  loaves  or 
rolls^  join,  meet,  or  kiss,  in  the  oven. 

Kit.  Carrioiv — especially  horse-flesh  for  dogs. 
A  wheel  placed  horizontally  on  an  upright  piece  of 
wood,  on  which  such  meat  is  commonly  kept  for 
hounds,  is  called  hit-pole.  Kit  is  likewise  the  name 
of  a  straw  or  rush  package  for  red-herrings  or  sprats; 
as  is  also  kid,  which  see.  Kit  has  the  farther  mean* 
Jng,  especially  as  applied  to  children,  ot'  the  whole, 
in  this  phrase,  where  however  it  seems  redundant — 
*•  the  whole  kit  on  em."  In  the  army,  the  contents 
of  a  soldieff*s  knapsack,  his  whole  supposed  property, 
is  called-  his  kit ;  and  hence  our  word  may  have  come. 
We  abo  say  ".the  whole  toot  on  em" — for  totals  per- 
haps.  So  in  Scottish  v  A*  the  kit^  or  the  luiill  kist,  all 


200 

taken  to^elher/'  J.  We  call  a  youna:  hare  a  kit;  io 
kittle  bein^  the  verb  vrhich  denotes  the  parturition 
of  that  animal,  of  a  rabbit,  &c.     See  Kittle. 

As  noticed  under  Kid,  Cade  is  another  name,  for 
a  package  of  herrings  and  sprats.  According  to 
Ray  **  Hit  or  Whi7inock,  is  a  N.  country  word  for 
a  pail  to  carry  milk  in."  E.  W.  p.  104.  With  us 
Wirtnick,  which  see,  is  a  very  different  thing.  In 
Scotland  a  Crane  of  herrings,  is  a  barrel  of  them.  J. 
See  under  Kiddier. 

Kit-cat.  A  pame  played  by  b<Tys :  easier  to 
play  than  to  describe.  Three  sniaM  holes  are  made 
in  the  ground,  triangularly,  about  20  feet  apart,  to 
mark  the  position  of  a-  many  boys,,  who  each  holds 
a  small  stick,  about  2  feet  ion«i^.  Thi*ee  otlier  l>oys 
of  the  adverse  side  pitch  successively  a  piece  of  slick, 
a  little  bigger  than  one's  thmuh  called  cat,  to  be 
struck  by  (hose  holding  the  sticks.  Ou  its  beijig 
struck,  tiie  boys  run  from  hole  to  hole,  dipping  tlie 
ends  of  their  sticks  in  as  they  pass,  and  comitincj, 
one,  two,  three,  <*fec.  as  they  do  so,  up  to  31,  whicli 
is  game.  Or  the  greater  mmiber  of  holes  ;;>ained  in 
the  inninirs  may  indicate  the  winners  as  at  cricket. — 
If  the  cat  be  struck  and  caught,  the  striking  party 
h  out,  and  another  of  his  sidesman  takes  his  place 
— if  the  set  be  strong  enough  to  admit  of  it.  If 
there  be  only  6  pla\ers,  it  may  be  previously  agreed 
that  three  put  outs  shall  end  the  innhigs.  Another 
mode  of  putting  out  is  to  throw  the  cat  home,  after 
being  stiuck,  and  placing;  or  pitching  it,  into  an  un- 
occupied hole,  while  the  in-party  are  running.  A 
cerlai)!  nvimber  of  misses  (not^striking  the  cat  ).may 
be  agreed  on  to  be  equivalent  to  a  put  out.  The 
ganie  may  be  played  by  two,  placed  as  at  cricket^ 
or  by  four,  or  1  believe  more. 

KiT-CAT-CANNio.  A  sedentary  game,  played 
by  two,  with  slate  and  pencil,  or  pencil  and  paper — 
like  kit-cat,  easier  learned  than  described^'  it  is  woW 
by  the  pvrty  who  cau  first  gel  three  marks ':(o*8  orx.  V) 


201 

in  a  line :  the  marks  beinji;  made  alternately  by  the 
players  o  or  x  io  one  of  nine  spots  eqiii-istaut  in 
three  rows,  when  complete.  He  who  begins  has  the 
advaiilage,  as  he  can  contrive  to  ^t  his  mark  in  the 
middle. 

K IT-KARL.     Careless — quit  of  care  ? 

Kit-pole.    See  Kit. 

Kittle.  To  produce  young — conBned  chiefly 
I  think  to  parturient  hares,  rabbits,  cats,  mice,  and 
"such  small  deer.**  It  is  also  Scottish,  *'  to  litter ; 
to  bring  forth  kittens."  J.  He  deduces  it  from  the 
Swedish,  or  Icefcindic.  I  do  not  recollect  whence 
I  took  this  line. 

The  hare  sail  kittle  on  my  hearth  ttaoe. 

It  is  an  affecting  prophecy  of  the  domestic  deso- 
lation fore-shadowed  in  the  moody  mind  of  a  north- 
ern bard  on  whom  the  *' Seers  sad  spirit"  had 
fallen.  Kindle  is  another  Suffolk  word  of  like  im- 
port with  kittle ;  or  it  may  be  still  more  confined  to 
hares  and  rabbits.  Shakespeare  uses  it  in  the 
Suffolk  sense — 

Orlando,    Are  yoa  a  native  of  this  place  ? 

"Rosalind,     As  the  coney,  that  you  see  dwells  where  she 
is  kindled.       At  you  Like  it.  III.  3. 

The  act  denoted  by  these  words  is  described  by 
seveial  others,  of  which  see  something  under  Far- 
BOW.    We  call  a  young  hare  a  ArtV,  which  sec* 

Kitty.    A  kitten. 

KivvA.  Rhyming  to  river.  A  frank — cover. 
"  Dew  squire  look  in  every  fut*non  while  1  'm  awah 
an  give  my  dame  a  Kivva."  Said  to  one  of  our 
worthy  county  members,  by  an  uxorious  neighbour, 
about  absentmg  himself  from  home,  and  desirous 
of  hearing  occasionally  firom  his  rib,  without  the 
expense  of  postage.  Mr.  Wilbraham  says  ••  Kiver; 
verb,  and  subst.  used  by  Wickliffe  in  his  M.S. 
translation  of  the  Psalms" — but  does  not  say  for 


.202 

what  it  is  used.    With  us  it  is  both  verb  and  sub- 
stantive. 

K  N  ACK .     A  ready  way  of  doing  any  thing  useful. 

'  Knack£:r.  a  cart-collar  and  harness  maker. 
Query,  from  nag,  or  neck,  or  nick?  laib  told 
that  in  some  parts  of  France,  I  think  particularly 
in  Ardennes,  a  saddler  and  collar  maker  is 
called  Sellier  et  Knackeur.  Tusser,  who  wrote 
about  the  middle  of  the  16th  century  (1560  perhaps) 
dividing  the  corn  produce  of  a  farm  into  ten  por- 
tions allots 

One  part  for  ptougb-wriglvt,  cart-wjigbt,  htackerf  and  smUh. 

p.  195. 

And  perhaps  it  may  then  have  been  given  in  kind ; 
for  in  the  infancy  of  agriculture  most  people  had, 
and  have,  a  similar  mode  of  sharing  in  the  produce 
of  the  soil.  In  India  it  is  still  extensively  the  usage 
to  allot  portions  in  kind,  to  the  lord  of  the  soil,  to 
the  Drahman  or  priest,  to  the  bard  or  prophet,  the 
registrar  or  scribe,  the  watchman,  the  carpenter, 
the  smith,  the  barber,  the  washermau,  and  the 
night*mau. 

Among  his  S.  and  E.  country  words  Ray  has  this 
— **  Knacker;  one  that  makes  collars,  and  other 
furniture  for  cart  horses.''  E.  W.  p.  79.  He  is  dis- 
criminating in  confining  the  name  to  a  mak^r  of 
furniture  for  cart  horses.  A  regular  **  coach  and 
harness  maker ''  would  be  offended  at  being  called 
€l  knacker,  as  grievously  as  a  '*  boot  and  shoemaker." 
would  at  being  styled  a  cobler. 

In  Staffordshire  Whitiawer  b  equivalent  to 
knacker  in  Suffolk — sometimes  tawer  only.  This 
I  heard  derived  tho'  not  satisfactorily,  from  whit- 
leather.  Tusser,  in  his  catalogue  of  necessaries  lor 
a  farmer  to  possess,  includes  whit-leather — See 
Goof,  v.  4.  and  note  on  v.  21. — and  the  tawer — 
(or  worker  ? )  of  this  article,  may  hence  have  de- 
rived his  cognomen. 

Knacky.     Handy— useful,  out  of  one*s  parti- 


203 

lilar  place.  Having  a  knack,  perhaps,  of  doing; 
everal  things.  In  Scottish  Knacky,  means  quick 
X  repartee,  acute,  entertaining.  J.  But  vie.  do 
lot  use  the  word  in  either  of  those  senses. 

Knap.  A  Uttle  thnmp:  between  a  knock  and 
Liap,  and  hence  perhaps,  compounded.  "A  knap 
m  the  knuckles.*'    So  Tusser — 

Knap  boy  on  the  tlmmbs— And  save  him  his  crumbs,  p.  f61. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  similar  terms  'of  which 
ire  have  such  a  variety,  as  noticed  under  Aint.  In 
Scottish  Knap  is  a  slight  stroke.  J.  Knap  or  nap 
is  with  us  also,  as  with  others,  the  pile  on  cloth, 
Hit  the  beaver  on  a  hat. 

Knap  PISH.  Snappish — iu  man  or  dug — spite- 
ful, snarling,  So  in  Scottish  from  the  Teutonic, 
knappen,  to  bite.  J. 

Knoll.  A  little  hill — or  its  roundish  summit. 
A  pretty  general  word  perhaps.  Kay  gives  it  as  a 
N,  country  word.  **  A  knoU,  a  little  round  hill." 
E.  W.  p.  40.  The  same  souud,  better  perhaps 
spelled  Nowl,  which  see,  is  a  Sutlolk  term  for  the 
head.  Ray  also  gives  knoll  as  a  Kentish  name  for 
a  turnip,  ib.  p.  79.  It  is  I  belie\e  a  Dutch 
word- 

Knot  grass,  a  troublcs<»me  weed  in  strong 
M>^,  but. not  the  conchy  or  as  we  call  it,  spear-gruss. 
See  Bun-weed.  In  Scotland  the  tail  oat-grass  is 
called  knot  grassp  Ours  is  I  believe  the  polyyonutn 
wdculare. 

K-RINGLE.  To  shrivel  up— parchment  held  near 
the  fire  will  Krimgle.  Krinkle,  or  CHnkle^  which 
see,  I  imagine  to  be  nearly  the  same.  ClamnCd 
Ckmgt  and  Wizzind,  are  words  denoting  shrivelled 
or  shrunk,  though  used  difl'erently.  See  the  articles 
under  those  words.  In  Scottish,  bread  br<fuglit  from 
Norway,  is  called  kringle.  J.  It  may  be  because 
it  is  dried  and  shiivelled  up. 


;■  s  i'  -ZL  rer\'  and 


ciriu  place.  Having  a  hirnck,  perhaps,  nf  doing; 
wvnal  thiDga.  In  Scuttii^li  Knaeky,  meantt  (juic-k 
U  reparlce,  acute,  entertain  in  g.  J.  I)ut  we  do 
■ot  use  the  wurd  in  cillier  ut'  those  sen»ies. 

Kn'AP.  a  little  tlinmp:  between  a  knoek  aiid 
tfap,  and  hence  perhaps,  compounded.  "Akniip 
on  the  knuckles."  So  Tusser — 
£hp  boy  (in  ilic  t1inmbi~ADd  •»«  hiiQ  lih  crumbs,  p.  SlJI. 
This  is  one  of  the  many  similar  terms  ot'  whi4!h 
m  have  such  a  variety,  as  noliced  nniler  Aint.  Iu 
Scottish  Knap  is  a  sliglit  stroke.  J.  Knap  or  nop 
ii  with  us  also,  as  with  others,  the  pile  on  eliilli, 
01  the  beaver  on  a  hat. 

K>'J>PPISH.  SnapptHh — in  man  or  dni;— spiie- 
M,  snarliii",  Su  in  Scottish  from  the  Tentuuie, 
i»MppcH,  to  bile.  J. 

Knoll.  A  litHe  hill — or  its  roundish  summit. 
A  pretty  (;enerul  word  perhaps.  Kmv  giies  it  as  u 
N.  country  nurd.  "  A  itiol/,  a  little  round  liili." 
E.W.  p.  "40.  The  same  sound,  belter  |ierliiip-s 
spelled  A'otr/,  nhich  see,  is  a  Sullolk  term  tor  the 
head.  Ray  also  gnett  liHoU  as  a  Kentish  iiaii;e  Ibr 
r^^Sfaip.  ib.  p.  la.  It  is  1  believe  ii  Duleh 
WjnJ. 

Knot  grass.  A  troublesome  need  in  strung 
lojb,  but.not  tbc  coiirk,  i«  as  we  eall  it,  speur-fcrass. 
See  RtTN-WEED.  In  .Scuthind  the  tiill  oiit-tjriisB  is 
'  called  htol  grau.  Uurs  is  I  believe  the  polj/i/oiium 
nieulare. 

'hrivel  up — pfuri'hment  held  near 

!.     Kritkle,  or  Cnnhle,  which 

be  searly  the  same.     C/amm'd 

dM^<aie  vurds  denoting  shrivelled 

^  MMdjffereiitly.     See  tlie  articles 

roraa.  ■^^Cottiah,  bread  brifught  from 

'"'^Wihffe-  ■!•    It  '^y  ^  because 


r 


.204 

Krink.  Similar  to  Crick,  which  see*-^  toni 
or  twist  iu  the.  neck — or  a  stiffi^neck.  moved  with 
diihculty, 

KuDBURRA  or  Krvdburra.  a  wheelbarrow. 
We  also  callitCVotiTcb,  or  Crawder — Crowd -barrow. 
See  Crowd.  A  bed  is  said  to  be  mude  '*  Kudburra 
fashion*' — though  1  do  not  exactly  perceive  why— 
when,  letting  oft'  a  practical  joke  on  a  friend,  you 
so  dispose  the  sheets,  by  turning  up  the  foot  part 
under  the  pillowj  as  to  prevent  his  longitudinal 
extension. 

KuLP.  A  blow — a  cuff.  Suffolk  would  seem  a 
pugnacious  county  for  its  vocabulary  is  very  copious 
iu  words  of  this  offensive  stamp — some  of  which 
are  enumerated  under  AiNT— but  Kulp  is  not 
among  them.  Under  Cmlpy  Grose  gives  this  ex- 
planation ''A  kick  or  blow;  irom  the  words  mem 
culpa,  being  that  part  of  the  popish  liturgy,  at 
which  the  people  beat  their  breasts/' 

L. 

Lace.  A  verb  implying  to  beat,  or  punish,  with 
a  Whip,  or  something  flexible,  "111  lace  yar  jacket 
for  ye — that  I  wool  " — is  this  metaphor  continued 
almost  into  allegory.  Of  such  threatened  manipu* 
lations  see  under  AiNT. 

Laced  mutton.  A  loose  woman.  As  mutton 
means  the  same,  |>erhaps  the  prefixture  may  have 
designated  one  who  had  undergone  the  discipline 
of  being  laced  or  whipped — or  it  may  have  feferfed 
to  her  linery — or,  in  pity  to  her  forlorn  condition, 
may  have  meant  lost-sheep.  Shakespeare  plays  • 
on  this —  f 

Ay>  Sir:  I«  a  lost  matton,  gave  ycmr  letter  to  her,  a  Uced 
gaiutton,  and  she,  a  laced  luutttm,  gave  me,  a  lost  fuulton^  no- 
thing for  my  labour.     Two,  O.  vfV,  I.  1. 

See  Nares,  whence  1  have  taken  most  of  this 
article. 


205 

Ladt-bird»  One  of  onr  names  for  the  Golden- 
bog — othenvise  called  Bana-beey  which  see.  in 
Scottbh  this  pretty  insect  is  called  '*  Landen,  or 
Lady  kmden,  as  appropriated  to  the  Virgin  Mary."  J. 

La  dy*s  smock.  One  of  the  early  field  flowers, 
sometimes  called  Cuckoo-flower-^and  Canterbury - 
bell — it  baving  the  property,  like  the  latter,  of 
throwing  its  seeds  to  some  distance.  It  is  probably 
the  same  that  Shakespeare. had  in  his  eye  when  he 
tied  up  the  pretty  bouquet  in  the  last  song,  in  Love's 
Labour  Lost. 

—  daisies  pied,  and  violets  bliie» 

And  Ladie  sniockes  all  silver  white,  Ac. 

Lag.  As  elsewhere,  as  a  verb  in  its  commote 
sense ;.  but  sometimes  as  implying  far  behind,  or  too 
late-^"  lie  is  lag  of  me/*  He  is  not  so  forward  {7n 
his  work  }  as  I  am.    Thus  Edgar  in  Lear — 

I  am  twelve  or  fourteen  mooushinea 
Lag  of  luy  brother.     I4  1. 

We  also  say  of  a  brisk  forward  lad  not  easily 
knocked  up,  or  of  a  stout  horse  *'  there's  no  lag  m 
'em."  £ag  or  Lag^gooie,  is  a  name  of  the  common 
wild  or  grey-goose. 

Lagabag.  a  lazy  one — one  disposed  t6  lie  a 
bed.  Also  the_  hindmost  of  a  drove,  Sec.  as  in 
Scotland. 

Lah.  Lay.  See  Lah  on  and  S&T.  So  pah 
for  pay,  sah  for  say,  gab  for  gay,  mah  for  may,  &c. 

Lah  on.    To  fallen  well.     '''A  lah  on  purely"  ^ 
•^»aid  of  a  fattening  beast,  means  that  he  thrives — 
that  he  IttyB  on  the  fat  I0  the  ribs.     <'  I  '11  lah  on  te 
ye,"  is  a  threat  equivalent  to  **ril  larrup  ye,"  &c. 
For  many  terms  of  like  import  see  A  int. 

Lau  up  Laying  nearer  the  ring  at  marbles :  also 
knowing  where  a  bare  is  sitting  without  disturbing 
ler,  in  view  to  a  coursing.  A  ferret  is  also  raid  to 
'lah  up^' when  it  seize  and  stay  by  an  earthed  rabbit* 

T 


;204 

Krink.  Similar  to  Crick,  which  see*--^  toni 
or  twist  iu  the.  neck — or  a  stiff-neck^  moved  with 
diiHculty, 

KuDBURRA  or  Krvdburra.  a  wheelbarrow. 
We  also  callitCVotiTcb,  or  Crowder — Crowd-barrow. 
See  Crowd.  A  bed  is  said  to  be  made  **  Kudburra 
fashion*' — though  I  do  not  exactly  perceive  why — 
when,  letting  oft'  a  practical  joke  on  a  friend,  you 
so  dispose  the  sheets,  by  turning  up  the  foot  part 
under  the  pillow^  as  to  prevent  his  kingittimnal 
extension. 

KuLP.  A  blow — a  cuff.  Suffolk  would  seem  a 
pugnacious  county  for  its  vocabulary  is  very  copious 
in  words  of  this  offensive  stamp — some  of  which 
are  enumerated  under  AiNT*-biit  Kulp  is  not 
among  them.  Under  Cmlp,  Grose  gives  this  -ex- 
planation ''A  kick  or  blow;  irom  the  words  mem 
culpa,  being  that  part  of  the  popish  liturgy,  at 
which  the  people  beat  their  breasts." 

L. 

Lace.  A  verb  implying  to  beat,  or  punish,  with 
a  Wliip,  or  something  flexible,  "111  lace  yar  jacket 
for  ye — that  I  wool  " — is  this  metaphor  continued 
almost  into  allegory.  Of  such  threatened  manipu* 
lations  see  under  A  INT. 

Laced  mutton.  A  loose  woman.  As  mutton 
means  the  same,  perhaps  the  prefixture  may  have 
designated  one  who  had  undergone  the  discipline 
of  being  laced  or  whipped — or  it  may  have  referred 
to  her  linery — or,  in  pity  to  her  forlorn  condition, 
may  have  meant  lost-sheep.  Shakespeare  plays 
on  this —  / 

Ay>  Sir:  I«  a  lost  matton,  gave  ycmr  letter  to  her,  a  Ueed 
gaiutton,  and  she,  a  laced  luutttrnt  gave  me,  a  lost  mutton^  no- 
tiling  for  my  labour.     Tivo,  G.  vfV,  1.  1. 

See  Nares,  whence  1  have  taken  most  of  this 
article. 


205 

Ladt-bird»  One  of  onr  names  for  the  Golden- 
hug — otherwise  called  Bama-bee,  wliich  see.  In 
Scottish  this  pretty  insect  is  called  <*  LanderM^  or 
Lady  landen,  as  appropriated  to  the  Virgin  Mary."  J. 

La  dy*s  smock.  One  of  the  early  field  flowers^ 
sometimes  called  Cuckoo-flower-^and  Canterbury - 
bell — it  having  the  property,  like  the  latter,  of 
throwing  its  seeds  to  some  distance.  It  is  probably 
the  same  that  Shakespeare. had  in  bis  eye  when  he 
tied  up  the  pretty  bouquet  in  the  last  song,  in  Lovers 
Labour  Lost. 

—  daisin  pi^f  and  violets  bliie» 

And  Ladie  sniockes  all  silver  whitOi  Ac. 

Lag.  As  elsewhere,  as  a  verb  in  its  commok 
sense;  but  sometimes  as  implying  far  behind,  or  too 
late-^''  lie  is  lag  of  me.''  He  is  not  so  forward  ilh 
his  work  )  as  I  am.    Thus  Edgar  in  Lear — 

I  am  twelve  or  fourteen  mooushinea 
Lag  of  my  brother.     I.  1. 

We  also  say  of  a  brisk  forward  lad  not  easily 
knocked  up,  or  of  a  stout  horse  *'  there's  no  lag  in 
'em.''  Lag  or  Lag-^gooie,  is  a  name  of  the  common 
nild  or  grey-goose. 

Lagabag.  a  lazy  one — one  disposed  t6  lie  a 
bed.  Also  the_  hindmost  of  a  drove,  Sec.  as  in 
Scolland. 

Lah*  Lay.  See  LAli  ON  and  SfiT.  So  pah 
for  pay,  sah  for  say,  gab  for  gay,  mah  for  may,  &c. 

Lah  on.     To  fallen  well,     **'A  lab  on  purely"  ^ 
-^said  of  a  fattening  beast,  means  that  he  thrives — 
that  he  IttgB  on  the  fat  1o  the  ribs.     <'  I  '11  lah  on  te 
ye,"  is  a  threat  equivalent  to  **ril  larrup  ye,"  &c. 
For  many  terms  of  like  import  see  A  int. 

Lah  up  Laying  nearer  the  ring  at  marbles :  also 
knowing  where  a'  hare  is  sitting  without  disturbing 
ber,  in  view  to  a  coursing.  A  ferret  is  also  said  to 
l^lah  np^wben  it  seize  and  stay  by  an  earthed  rabbit* 

T 


206 

XiAiD  np  her  latter^  This  is  said  oCthe  last  laid 
€gg  of  a  hen  or  a  turkey.  *'  She's  laid  up  her  latUr 
and  she'll  sune  set/'  We  pronounce  the  last  word 
open  or  broad  ;  and  it  may  be  the  same  that  Grose 
gives  as  a  N.  country  word,  rather  vaguely,  thus— 
*'  Laster,  or  Lawter,  thirteen  eggs  to  set  a  hen." 

La  l.    a  dawdling,  cossetted  child,  hanging  about 
its  mother,  is  thus  called,  rather  reproachingly — 
.  "Its  such  a  ImI" — or  "  *Tis  a  poor  lallen  thing." 
It  rhymes  to  SaL 

Lamb's  leg.  A  nasal  excremenlitlous  particle — 
indeicribable,  except  in  tlie  language  of  Spenser,  as 


>>drtune  bye  foorefyngre  foortlie 


From  jiuose  iott'  schoolebo^e. 

Lamentable.  Though  not  used  very  im- 
properly, is  used  very  often.  *•  Lamentable  bad  " — 
**  Lamentable  lame,'*  &c. — always  in  a  bad  sense, 
and  the  penult  lengthened  doubly,  or  more.  See 
Begoke  and  BuLLf>CKj  where  this  word  occurs  in 
other  phrases. 

Lanna  or  Lanner.  The  thong  or  lash  of  a 
whip.  Sometimes  its  -cipplication  also  **  1  '\liaiiua  ye." 
See  many  of  such  threatening  words  under  AlNT. 

In  Scottish  laynere  is  at  hong.  J.  who  derives  it 
froin  the  French  laniere, 

Largks.  a  ^ifl  in  harvest  time  usually  of  si  shil- 
ling to  the  reapers,  who  ask  and  expect  it  of  visitors 
to  the  harvest  iield.  For  this  the  reapers  assemble 
in  a  ring«  holding  each  other's  hamis,  Hud  inclining 
their  heads  to  the  centre.  One  of  the  parly — the 
Coryphee — detached  a  few  yar<ls  calls  loudly  thrice, 
"HollaLarl—HoIldLar!— Holla  Lar!~j  e  e  s''^ 
lowering  the  voice  at  the  last  lengthened  syllable. — 
Those  in  a  rii.g  lengthen  out  o-o-o-o  with  a  low 
sonorous  note  and  inclined  heads,  and  then  throwing 
their  beads  up,  vociferate  a~a-a-  h !     This  is  thrice 

repeated,  and  at  the  last  "thank  Mr. "  so  and 

-''  for  his  iarges  '*  is  interpolated  by  the  caller. 


2or 

This  ceremony  of  crying  larges,  is  called  "  Haller- 
ing  larges.**  A  man  receiving  a  shilling  will  ask  you 
if  you  "chuse  to  bave  it  hallered  ?  "  If  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  he  collects  his  fellow  workmen  and 
they  kailer  it  forthwith.  Otherwise  thoy  haller  the 
whole  day*s  receipts  toward  the  close  ot  tin*  evening. 
There  are  few  rural  sounds  more  pot'tioal,  more 
pleasing,  or  more  affecting.  HollaM— or  liulioed,  I 
soppose*  Some  have  sup|>osed  it  to  he  liaUoivedj 
and  have  fancied  it  connected  with  a  halleluyah,  or 
thanksgiving.  *' A  Largess,  Largilio:" — says  Kay  "to 
harvest  men  who  cry  a  larges  so  often  as  there  are 
pence  given."  £.  W.  p.  79.  Thrice  for  a  shilling  is 
the  established  exchange  in  Suffolk. 

It  would  appear  that  gloves  were  formerly  given 
to  harvest  men  by  their  employer.    Tnsser  says 

Give  gloves  to  thy  reapers  a  largess  to  cr^.   p.  183. 

So  that  **  hallering  "  appears  also  of  old  standing.  In 
the  parts  of  Suffolk  bordering  on  Norfolk,  the  meet- 
ing of  tlie  harvest  men»  sometimes  with  their  wives 
at  the  parish  alehouse,  to  "spend  their  larges  money'' 
(a  universal  custom)  b  called  Hockey,  which  see. — 
See  also  Cullum's  Hawstead.   p.  227. 

The  word  Larges  was  formerly  in  extensive  usn<;e 
— ^and  is  not  even  now  very  confined,  though  the 
above  custom  is  believed  to  be  local. 

In  the  household  book  of  the  5.  Earl  of  Northum- 
berlaody  A.  D.  1512,  printed  in  the  4ih  vol.  of  the 
Aotiq.  Rep.  there  is  this  entry — "  Item — My  Lord 
Dseth  and  accustomyth  to  gyf  yercly  upon  new  yere's 
day  to  his  Lordship*s  officer  of  Armes,  Arrold,  or 
Pursyvaunt,  for  crying  Larges  before  his  Lordship 
the  said  new  yere*s  day,  as  upon  the  xijth  day  foN 
lowuig  after,  Xs.  for  an  day."  p.  257.  And  in  p^ 
324  of  the  same  volume,  it  is  sai<i  that  '*  the  cere- 
mony of  crying  Larges,  by  the  Heralds  is  still  kept 
up  at  the  creation  of  Knights  of  the  Garter  and  of 
the  Bath.'*  By  creation  is  probably  meant  installa- 
tion or  iovestiture. 

t2 


/ 

cooler^  or  i^cording  to  our  fashion,  more  cottimoiily 
euler,  which  is  connrmatory  of  the  gloss.  Thiere  ia^ 
howeter,  in  our  language  a  verb  to  keel^  though  I 
do  not  know  at  this  moment^  where  to  find  it.  It 
conveys  to  my  mind  an  idea  of  turning  a  thing  out 
of  its  horizontality — tilting  it ;  and  whenever  I  think 
of '*  greasy  Joan ''  I  see  her  scouring  the  pot  with 
its  bottom  inclined  conveniently  for  that.opemtion ; 
or  heeMng  it  in  the  position  of  a  ship  rolling  so  as 
to  almost  show  her  keel  out  of  the  water^ . 

Ray  does  not  give  Keeler  as  a  local  word,  but  he 
uses  it  casually,  '^  A  sunll^  a  keeler  to  wash  in, 
standing  on  three  feet/'  £.  W.  p.  60.  Our  keelers 
jare  sometimes  raised  on  three  feet,  particularly 
those  in  dairies;  but  are  not  necessarily  so. 

Nares  has  an  instructive  article  undef  Keel:  but 
this  of  mine  is  so  long,  that  I  can  only  refer  to  it. 

Kilter.  The  property  -in  a  plough  of  being^ 
used  sidous  (sideways)  out  of  the  exact  line  of 
draught—**  'Ta  oont  kilta"— or  "  ta  kilter  well." 
In  his  S.  and  £.  country  words  Ray  has  ^^ Keller  of 
Kilter — frame,  order*'  E.  W.  p.  79 — and  more. is 
added  which  I  do  not  understand,  and  w^l  not 
quote,  denoting  that  his  is  the  same  word,  though 
not  explained  similarly,  as, mine.  I  am  not  sur^ 
that  the  meaning  which  Ihave  given  is  the  only,  or 
even  the  exact  one.  Nares  has  **  Keller ;  order, 
good  condition,  or  arrangement.  '  If  the  organs  of 
prayer  be  out  of  Keller,  how  can  we  pray  ?  '•— JB«r- 
row.  "  I  have  not "  he  adds  ••  met  with  it  else- 
where. It  is  said  to  be  provincial  and  to  be 
derived  from  the  Danish."  Grose  under  the  word 
Kelter  or  Kilter,  gives  this  explanation,  noting  it 
as  a  N.  country  word,  **  frame,  order,  condition. 
Hence  helter-skelter,  a  corruption  oi' heller  to  hang, 
and  kelter  order ;  i.  e.  hang  order,  or  in  defiance  of 
order.  **  In  good  kelter " — in  good  case  or  con- 
dition."   I  cannot  accord  in  this  derivation.    See 

TiLTER. 


199 

KiLV  A  or  KiLVBR.  The  shivering  of  an  ague  fit, 
or  the  "  kilvering  heat  "  of  its  successor.  See 
Galva. 

Ktnda.    Look  yonder.     See  Ka  here. 
Kindle/   See  Kittlr. 

King  Harrt.  The  gold -finch.  Very  common 
in  Suffolk  in  a  wild  state.  In  Cheshire  this  pretty 
bird  is  called  Jack  Nicker-— and  Mr.  Wiibraham  has 
an  interesting  note  touching  the  propensity  of  giving 
Christian  names  to  birds^  of  which  see  under  Dicky 
Bahd. 

KiSK.  Tlie  dry  stalk  of  the  hemlock.  It  is  I 
believe  a  word  more  used  in  Essex  than  in  Suffolk. 
See  Kex,  and  Kiskt. 

KiSKY.  Dry — ^thirsty; — from  fever  or  watch- 
ing, or  travelling  in  dusty  weather-  In  Persian  and 
other  eastern  languages,  a  similar  word  has  mean- 
ings denoting  aridity.  Kooshky,  is  a  dry,  burnt 
up  plain: — also  rice  boiled  dry  for  the  table. — 
Hence,  that  is  from  a  sense  of  dryness,  our  Kisky, 
Kisk,  and  Kex  may,  somehow  or  other,  have  been 
derived. 

Kissing-crvst,  The  part  where  two  loaves  or 
rolls,  join,  meet,  or  kiss,  in  the  oven. 

Kit.  Car rioiv— especially  horse-flesh  for  dogs. 
A  wheel  placed  hori2ontally  on  an  upright  piece  of 
wood*  ou  which  such  meat  is  commonly  kept  for' 
hounds,  is  called  kit-pole.  Kit  is  likewise  the  name 
of  a  straw  or  rush  package  for  red -herrings  or  sprats; 
as  is  also  kid,  which  see.  Kit  has  the  farther  mean* 
jng,  especially  as  applied  to  children,  of  the  whole, 
in  this  phrase,  where  however  it  seems  redundant — 
**  the  whole  kit  on  em.*'  In  the  army,  the  contents 
of  a  aoldief^s  knapsack,  bis  whole  supposed  property, 
IS  called-  his  kit ;  and  hence  our  word  may  have  come. 
We  also  say  '*.tlie  whole  toot  on  em** — for  totals  per- 
haps.  So  in  Scottish  "A*  the  kit^  or  the  Imill  Ail,  ail 


200 

taken  tocelher."  J.  We  call  a  younu  hare  a  kit;  to 
kittle  being  the  verb  ¥fhich  denotes  the  parturition 
of  that  animal,  of  a  rabbit,  <5lx.     See  Kittle* 

As  noticed  under  Kid,  Cade  is  another  name,  for 
a  packag-e  of  lierrings  and  sprats.  According  to 
Ray  **  Kit  or  Whiitnock,  is  a  N.  country  word  for 
a  pail  to  carry  milk  in.'*  E.  W.  p.  104.  With  us 
Wi/inick,  which  see,  is  a  very  different  thing.  In 
Scotland  a  Craae  of  herrings,  is  a  barrel  of  them.  J. 
See  under  Kiddier. 

Kit-cat.  A  pame  played  by  iwrys:  ea«jier  to 
play  than  to  describe.  Three  sniad  boles  are  made 
in  the  ground,  triangularly,  about  20  fi:et  apart,  to 
mark  I  he  position  ofa^  many  boys,,  who  each  holds 
a  small  stick,  about  2  feet  ion*?.  Three  other  boys 
of  the  adverse  side  pitch  successively  a  piece  of  slick, 
a  little  bigger  than  one's  thumb  called  cai,  to  be 
struck  by  those  hohting  the  sticks.  Ou  its  being 
struck,  the  boys  run  from  hole  to  hole,  dipping  tlie 
ends  of  their  sticks  in  as  they  pass,  and  comiting, 
one,  two,  three,  <*fec.  as  they  do  so,  up  to  31,  which 
is  game.  Or  the  greater  number  of  holes  j»ained  in 
the  innings  may  intiicate  the  winners  as  at  cricket. — 
If  the  cat  be  struck  and  caught,  the  striking  party 
is  out,  and  another  of  his  sidesman  takes  his  place 
— if  the  set  be  strong  enough  to  admit  of  it.  If 
there  be  only  6  pla>ers,  it  may  be  previously  agreed 
that  three  ^mt  outs  shall  end  the  innings.  Another 
mode  of  putting  out  is  to  throw  the  cat  home,  after 
being  stiuck,  and  placing  or  pitching  it,  into  an  un- 
occupied hole,  while  the  in-party  are  running.  A 
ceriai^  number  of  misses  (not^strikhig  the  ca/). may 
be  agreed  on  to  be  equivalent  to  a  put  out.  The 
game  may  be  pla>ed  by  two,  placed  as  at  cricketj 
or  by  four,  or  1  believe  more. 

KiT-CAT-CANNio.  A  Sedentary  ■  game,  played 
by  two,  with  slate  and  pencil,  or  pencil  and  paper— 
hke  kit-cat,  easier  learned  than  descrit>ed.  It  is'woh 
by  the  pnrty  whocaniirst  jgetthrceniarks -(o's  orx  V) 


201 

in  a  tine :  the  marks  bein<;  made  alternately  by  the 
players  o  or  x  in  one  of  nine  spots  eqiii-istaut  in 
three  rows,  when  complete.  He  who  begins  has  the 
advantage,  as  he  can  contrive  to  get  his  mark  ki  the 
middle. 

KiT-KASL,    Careless— quit  of  care? 

Kit-pole.    See  Kit. 

Kittle.  To  produce  young — confined  chiefly 
I  think  to  parturient  hares,  rabbits,  cats,  mice,  and 
"such  small  deer."  It  is  also  Scottish,  **  to  litter ; 
to  bring  forth  kittens.'*  J.  He  deduces  it  from  the 
Swedish,  or  Icelandic.  I  do  not  recollect  whence 
I  took  this  line. 

The  hare  sail  hittle  on  my  hearth  stane. 

It  is  an  affecting  prophecy  of  the  domestic  deso- 
lation fore-shadowed  in  the  moody  mind  of  a  north- 
em  bard  on  whom  the  ''Seer's  sad  spirit"  had 
fidlen.  Kindh  is  another  Suffolk  word  of  like  im- 
port with  kittle :  or  it  may  be  still  more  confined  to 
hares  and  rabbits.  Shakespeare  uses  it  in  the 
Suffolk  sense — 

Orlando.    Are  joa  a  native  of  this  place  ? 

Hoialind,    As  the  coney,  thsit  you  see  dwells  where  she 
is  kindled.       Am  you  Like  it.  III.  3. 

The  act  denoted  by  these  words  is  described  by 
sevei  al  others,  of  which  see  something  under  Far- 
bow.     We  call  a  young  hare  a  kit^  which  sec. 

Kitty.     A  kitten. 

KlvvA.  Rhvminff  to  river.  A  frank — cover. 
"  Dew  squire  look  in  every  fut'non  while  I'm  awah 
an  give  my  dame  a  Kivva."  Said  to  one  of  our 
worthy  county  members,  by  an  uxorious  neighbour, 
about  absentmg  himself  from  home,  and  desirous 
of  hearing  occasionally  from  his  rib,  without  the 
expense  of  postage.  Mr.  Wilbraham  says  **  Kiver ; 
verb,  and  subst.  used  by  Wickliffe  in  his  M.S. 
translation  of  the  Psalms" — but  does  not  say  for 


.202 

¥?hat  it  is  used.    With  us  it  is  both  verb  and  sob-i 
stantive. 

Knack.     A  ready  way  of  doing  any  thing  useful. 

■  Knacker.  A  cart-collar  and  harness  maker. 
Query,  from  nag,  or  neck,  or  nick?  I -am  told 
that  in  some  parts  of  France,  I  think  particularly 
in  Ardennes,  a  saddler  and  collar  maker  is 
called  Sellier  et  Knackeur.  Tusser,  who  wrote 
about  the  middle  of  the  16th  century  (1560  perhaps) 
dividing  the  corn  produce  of  a  farm  into  ten  por- 
tions allots 

One  part  for  pluugb-wrlglit,  cart-wxlgbt,  h*acker$  and  snvUh. 

p.  195. 

And  perhaps  it  may  then  have  been  given  in  kind ; 
for  in  the  infancy  ol  agriculture  most  people  had, 
and  have,  a  similar  mode  of  sharing  in  the  prbduce 
of  the  soil.  In  India  it  is  still  extensively  the  usa^e 
to  allot  portions  in  kind,  to  the  lord  of  the  soil,  to 
the  Brahman  or  priest,  to  the  bard  or  prophet,  the 
registrar  or  scribe,  the  watchman,  the  carpenter, 
the  smith,  the  barber,  the  washerman,  and  the 
night*man. 

Among  his  S.  and  E.  country  words  Ray  has  this 
— **  Knacker;  one  that  makes  collars,  and  other 
furniture  for  cart  horses."  E.  W.  p.  t9.  He  is  dis- 
criminating in  confining  the  name  to  a  maker  of 
iurniture  for  cart  horses.  A  regular  "  coach  and 
harness  maker"  would  be  offended  at  being  called 
e.  knacker,  as  grievously  as  a  "  boot  and  Jshoemaker" 
would  at  being  styled  a  cobler. 

In  Staffordshire  Whittawer  is  equivalent  to 
knacker  in  Suffolk — sometimes  tawer  only,  This 
I  heard  derived  tho'  not  satisfactorily,  from  whit- 
leaf  her.  Tusser,  in  his  catalogue  of  necessaries  fer 
a  farmer  to  possess,  includes  whit-leather — See 
Goof,  v.  4.  and  note  on  v.  21. — and  the  tawer— 
(or  worker  ? )  of  this  article,  may  hence  have  de- 
rived his  cognomen. 

Knacky.     Handy— useful,  out  of  one*s  parti- 


203 

cidar  place.     Having  a  knack,  perhaps,  of  doin^ 
several  things.     In  Scottish  Knacky,  means  (|uick 
■  at  repartee,   acute,    entertaining.    J.     But  we  do 
not  use  the  word  in  either  of  those  senses. 

Knap.  A  little  thump :  between  a  knock  and 
a  rap,  and  hence  perhaps,  conipouuded.  "A  knap 
on  the  knuckles.*'    So  Tusser — 

Knap  boy  on  the  thambs'>- And  save  him  his  cniiubs.  p.  261. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  similar  terms  'of  which 
we  have  such  a  varietv,  as  noticed  under  Aint.  In 
Scottish  Knap  is  a  slight  stroke.  J.  Knap  or  nap 
is  with  us  also,  as  with  others,  the  pile  on  cloth, 
or  the  beaver  on  a  hat. 

Knappish.  Snappish — iu  man  or  d»ig — spite- 
ful, 8naTlii)<!,  So  in  Scottish  from  the  Teutonic, 
kuappen,  to  bite.  J. 

Knoll.  A  little  hill — or  its  roundish  summit. 
A  pretty  general  word  perhaps.  Kay  gives  it  as  a 
N.  country  word.  **  A  knoll,  a  littlo  round  hill." 
E.  W.  p.  40.  The  same  sound,  better  perhaps 
spelled  Novel,  which  see,  is  a  SuHolk  term  fiir  the 
head.  Ray  ali»o  gives  knoll  as  a  Kentish  name  for 
a  turnip,  ib.  p.  79.  It  is  1  belie\e  a  Dutch 
word. 

Knot  grass.  A  troublcvsome  weed  iu  strong 
80,il8,  but.uot  the  couch,  or  as  we  call  it,  spear-grass. 
See  Bun-weed.  In  Scotland  the  tall  oat-grass  is 
called  knot  grass.  Ours  is  1  believe  the  poly(jonut/i 
aviculare. 

Kringle.  To  ishrivel  up— parchment  held  near 
the  fire  will  Krimgle.  Krinkle,  or  Crinkle,  which 
see,  I  imagine  to  be  nearly  the  same.  ClamnCd 
€bmg,  and  Wizzind,  are  words  denoting  shrivelled 
or  shrunk,  though  used  difl'erently.  See  the  articles 
under  those  words.  In  Scottish,  bread  bnfught  from 
Norway,  is  called  kringle,  J.  It  may  be  because 
it  is  dried  and  shrivelled  up. 


;204 

Krink.  Similar  to  Crick,  which  see*— a  tura 
or  twist  iu  the.  ueck — or  a  stUfrneck,  moved  witk 
difliculty, 

KuDBURRA  or  Krudburra.  a  wheelbarrow. 
We  also  QsAlitCrowda,  or  Crovcder — Crowd-barrow. 
See  Crowd.  A  bed  is  said  to  be  made  '*  Kudhurra 
fashion  ** — though  I  do  not  exactly  perceive  why — 
when,  letting  off  a  practical  joke  on  a  friend,  you 
so  dispose  tne  sheets,  by  turning  up  the  foot  part 
under  the  pillow;  as  to  prevent  his  longitudinal 
extension. 

KuLP.  A  blow — a  cuff.  Suffolk  would  seem  a 
pugnacious  county  for  its  vocabulary  is  very  copious 
iu  words  of  this  offensive  stamp — some  of  which 
are  enumerated  under  Aint— bnt  Kuip  is  not 
among  them.  Under  Onlp^  Grose  gives  this  ex- 
planation ''A  kick  or  blow;  from  the  words  mem 
culpa,  being  that  part  of  the  popbh  liturgy,  at 
which  the  people  beat  their  breasts." 

L. 

Lace.  A  verb  implying  to  beat,  or  punish,  with 
a  whip,  or  something  flexible,  **  V\\  lace  yar  jacket 
for  ye — that  I  wool  " — is  this  metaphor  continued 
almost  into  allegory.  Of  such  threatened  manipu* 
lations  see  under  AiNT. 

Laced  mutton.  A  loose  woman.  As  mutton 
means  the  same,  perhaps  the  prefixture  may  have 
designated  one  who  had  undergone  the  discipline " 
of  being  laced  or  whipped — or  it  may  have  referred 
to  her  iiiiery — or,  in  pity  to  her  forlorn  condition, 
may  have  meant  lost-sheep.  Shakespeare  plays, 
on  this — 

Ay,  Sir :  I,  a  lost  matton,  gave  your  letter  to  her«  a  Uced 
anutton,  and  she^  a  Jaccd  mutton,  gave  me,  a  lost  niultoDy  iio« 
thing  for  my  labour.     Two,  O.  ofV,  I.  1, 

See  Nares,  whence  I  have  taken  most  of  this 
article. 


205 

Ladt-bird.  One  of  onr  names  for  the  Golden« 
bog — otherwise  called  Bama-bee,  which  see.  In 
Scottish  this  pretty  insect  is  called  '*  Landerit  or 
Lady  hnden,  as  appropriated  to  the  Virgin  Mary."  J. 

Lauy*s  smock«  One  of  the  early  field  flowers, 
sometimes  called  Cuckoo-flower— and  Canterbury- 
bell — it  having  the  property,  like  the  latter,  of 
throwing  its  s^eds  to  some  distance.  It  is  probably 
the  same  that  Shakespeare. had  in  his  eye  when  he 
tied  up  the  pretty  bouquet  in  the  last  song,  in  Love's 
Labour  Lost. 

—  daislf^  pied,  and  violets  bliie» 

And  Lodie  smock ei  all  silver  white,  Stc. 

Lag.  As  elsewhere,  as  a  verb  in  its  commoii 
sense;,  but  sometimes  as  implying  far  behind,  or  too 
lale— **  lie  is  lag  of  me."  He  is  not  so  forward  {In 
his  work  )  as  I  am*    Thus  Edgar  in  Lear — 

I  am  twelve  or  fourteen  mooushines 
X^g  of  my  brother.     I.  1. 

We  also  say  of  a  brisk  forward  lad  not  easily 
knocked  up,  or  of  a  stout  horse  "  there's  no  lag  m 
'en)»''  Lag  or  Lag-goate,  is  a  name  of  the  common 
wild  or  grey-goose. 

Lagabag.  a  lazy  one — one  disposed  tb  lie  a 
bed.  Also  the.  hindmost  of  a  drove,  &c.  as  in 
Scotland. 

Lah.  Lay.  See  Lah  on  and  SfiT.  So  pah 
for  pay,  sah  for  say,  gab  for  gay,  mah  for  may,  &c. 

Lah  on.     To  fatten  well.     "'A  lah  on  purely"  ^ 
-^said  of  a  fattening  beast,  means  that  he  thrives — 
that  he  Itiys  rni  the  fat  to  the  ribs.     "  I  '11  lah  on  te 
ye,"  is  a  threat  equivalent  to  "I'll  larrup  ye,**  &c. 
For  many  terms  of  like  import  see  A  int. 

Lau  up  Laying  nearer  the  ring  at  marbles :  also 
knowing  where  a  liure  is  sitting  without  disturbing 
her,  in  view  to  a  coursing.  A  ferret  is  also  said  to 
l^laii  up^'when  it  seize  and  stay  by  an  earthed  rabbit* 

T 


206 

Xaid  np  her  latter.    This  fs  sbUI  of  the  last  laid  h 

€gg  of  a  hen  or  a  turkey.     "  She's  laid  up  her  luttiar  ^ 

and  she'll  sune  set."     \Ve  pronounce  the  last  word  " 

open  or  broad  ;  and  it  may  be  the  same  that  Grose  > 

gives  as  a  N.  country  word,  rather  vaguely,  thus —  j 

**  Lottery  or  Lawter,  thirteen  eggs  to  set  a  hen."  ^ 

La  l.    a  dawdling,  cossetted  child,  hanging  about  ^ 

Its  mother,  is  thus  called,  rather  reproachingly —  - ' 

"Its  such  a  ImI'* — or  '*  *Tis  a  poor  lallen  thing/'  > 

It  rhymes  to  Sal.  « 

Lamb's  leg.     A  nasal  excrementitions  particle —  ■ 
indescribable,  except  in  tlie  language  of  Spenser,  as 


•draune  bye  foorefjngre  foortlie 


From  nuose  i>tf  schoulebo^e* 

Lamentable.  Though  not  used  very  im- 
properly, is  used  very  often.  **  Lamentable  bad" — 
•*  Lamentable  lame,"  &c. — always  in  a  bad  sense, 
and  the  penult  lengthened  doubly,  or  more.  See 
Begone  and  BuLLoCKi  where  this  word  occurs  in 
other  phrases. 

Lanna  or  Lanner.  The  thong  or  lash  of  a 
whip.  Sometimes  its  application  also  •'  I  'l|/!aw«aye." 
See  many  of  such  threatening  words  ui»der  A  INT. 

In  Scottish  laynere  is  at  hong.  J.  who  derives  it 
from  the  French  laniere, 

Largks.  a  ^ift  in  harvest  time  usually  of  a  shil- 
ling to  the  reapers,  who  ask  and  expect  it  of  visitors 
to  the  harvest  tield.  For  this  the  reapers  assemble 
in  a  ring,  holding  each  other's  hamls,  and  inclining 
their  heads  to  the  centre.  One  of  the  parly — the 
Coryphee — detached  a  few  yards  calls  loudly  thrice» 
"  Holla  Lar!~-HolId  Lar !— 'Holla  Lar!— 7  e  e  »*'— 
lowering  the  voice  at  the  last  lengthened  syllable. — 
Those  in  a  ring  lengthen  out  0-0-0-0  with  a  low 
sonorous  note  and  inclined  heads,  and  then  throwing 
ffaeir  heads  up,  vociferate  a-a-a-  h !     This  is  thnce 

repeated,  and  at  the  last  "thank  Mr. "  so  aud 

80 — ''for  his  iarges"  is  interpolated  by  the  caller. 


207 

.  This  ceremoDy  of  crying  larges,  is  called  '*  Haller- 
ing  iarges."  A  man  receiving  a  shilling  will  ask  you 
if  you  *' chuse  to  bave  it  halleredV  If  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  he  collects  his  fellow  workmen  and 
they  halier  it  forthwith.  Otherwise  th(*v  halkr  the 
whole  day*s  receipts  toward  the  close  of  t\\v  evening;. 
There  are  few  rural  sounds  more  piMMicHJ,  more 
pleasing,  or  more  affecting,  iiolla'd— or  halloed,  I 
soppose.  Some  have  sup|>osed  it  to  he  hallowed^ 
and  have  fancied  it  connected  with  a  hallelu^'ah,  or 
thanksgiving.  *' A  Largess,  Largitio:** — says  Kay  "to 
harvest  men  who  cry  a  targes  so  often  as  there  are 
pence  given."  E.  W.  p.  79.  Thrice  for  a  shilling  is 
the  established  exchange  in  Suffolk. 

It  would  appear  that  gloves  were  formerly  given 
to  harvest  men  by  their  employer.    Tnsser  says 

Give  gloves  to  tby  reapers  a  largess  to  cr^.    p.  183. 

So  that  **  haltering  "  appears  also  of  old  standing.  In 
the  parts  of  Suffolk  bordering  on  Norfolk,  the  meet- 
ing of  the  harvest  men,  sometimes  with  their  wives 
at  the  parish  alehouse,  to  "spend  their  targes  money'' 
(a  universal  custom)  b  called  Hockey,  which  see. — 
See  also  Culluurs  Hawstead.   p.  227. 

The  word  Larges  was  formerly  in  extensive  usn^e 
— and  19  not  even  now  very  confined,  though  the 
above  custom  is  believed  to  be  local. 

In  the  household  book  of  the  5.  Earl  of  Northnni^ 
berlaud,  A.  D.  1512,  printed  in  the  4ih  vol.  of  the 
Aotiq.  Rep.  there  is  this  entry — "  Item — My  Lord 
nseth  and  accustomyth  to  gyf  yercly  upon  new  yere's 
day  to  his  Lordship's  officer  of  Armes,  Arrold,  or 
Pursyvauiit,  for-  crying  Larges  before  his  Lordship 
the  said  new  yere's  day,  as  upon  the  xij  th  day  fol- 
lowing after,  Xs.  for  an  day.''  p.  257.  And  in  p. 
324  of  the  same  volume,  it  is  said  that  '*  the  cere- 
mony of  crying  Larges,  by  the  Heralds  is  still  kept 
up  at  the  creation  of  Knights  of  the  Garter  and  of 
the  Bath.*'  By  creation  is  probably  meant  installa- 
tion or  investiture. 

t2 


208 

5bake9|>eare  uses  the  word,  more  than^oDcei  I 
dare  say,  'though  one  place  only  00%^  occurs  to  mc* 

I    m  I  over  und  beside 
Signer  Baptista't  Uberaiity» 
I  *11  mend  it  with  a  iargeas.    T.  of  the  Sh,  I.  2. 

In  Scottish  Larger  means  libera^ty.  J.  It  ha9 
the  same  meaning  in  other  parts;  but  in  Suffolk  it  is 
used  only  in  the  way  first  noted. 

Larrup.  To  beat — similar  to  lace»  lather,  and 
80  many  other  words,  some  of  which  are  enumerated 
muder  Aint. 

.  Lash  or  Lashy.  Wet — as  apfplied  to  a  meadow, 
indicative  of  the  quality  of  its  feed,  causing  young 
cattle  to  be  lash.  Very  young  clover,  o^  very  early 
leed  on  wet  pasture  is  said  to  be  **  tew  lash"  for  cattle. 
The  word  occurs  under  Hoven.  It  may  have  the 
same  origin  as  Lax.  Autumnal  grass  is  said  to  be  ' 
Uuk  for  horses— or  to  miake  them  Idsk^ — that  is^  acts 
as  an  aperient.  In  Ireland  a  horse  tn.tfaat.pifedica* 
ment  is  said  to  have  **got  Xht'lax.'*  Relaxed  may 
be  the  source  of  th^  Tatter. 

-  In  Tusser  we  have  **  A  medicine  for  the  cowh 


Seeth  water,  And  phimp  therein  plenty  of  sIoe9, 
M ik  chalk  that  is  dried,  in  powder  with  those ; 
Which  so,  if  je  give,  with  the  water  and  cbalk. 
Thou  makest  the  lax  fro  thy  cow  away  walk*    p.  40. 

See  Lax  and  SKdTtA. 

Lastenest.  Most  lasting.  Oak  we  should  say 
is  the  lastenest  wpod — or  the  most  endurable.  We 
have  some  rather  curious  superlatives — most  docU- 
imty  for  instance. 

Latch.  To  light  or  fall  on  any  thing- -a  cat  is 
said  proverbially  to  "alius  latch  00  her  legs."  The 
falling  catch  of  a  door  or  gate — "  Latch  the  door^" 
See  Hank  and  Hatch.  The  pan  into  which  the 
drippeu  or  gravy  of  roasting  meat  falls  or  dripf  we 
ca//  Zaich-paMf  which  see.  I  am  disposed  to  tbii^ 
tbat  SAakespeare  had  the  'ide«i  oi  i^V&w^  qx  <iFipp«ig 


209 

ia  his  mind  when  be  penned  thb  passage  in  the  Mid- 
summer  Night's  Dream — 

Bat  hast  thou  vet  Iatch*d  the  Athenian's  eye» 
With  the  LoTC-juice? 

The  orders  to  Puck  were  to  anoint  the  eyes  of  the 
Athenian.  And  the  coinmetitalors  are  dispost;d 
to  derive  the  word  latch  froni  the  Froncli  lechery  lo 
lick  or  lacker — but  it  is  doubtful.  Puck  let  fail  the 
luve-juice — dropped  it;  aud,  as* we  should  s«y,  it 
htch^dt  in  the  Athenians  e\es. 

The  word  occurs  again  in  Macbeth,  and  again 
equivocally — 

But  I  have  wonis 
That  would  be  bawled  out  in  the  de«ert  air, 
"Where  bearing  should  not  Zafr/i  thcni.    1L£.  4. 

Since  this  was  written  Narcii'  Glossary  has  been 
published.  He  was  not  aware  of  our  existiug  Suffolk 
sense  of  the  verb;  ami  says  to  latch  is  to  calcli 
generally. 

Latch-pan.  The  dripping  pan — the  gravy  or 
drippen  of  roast  meat  latching  in  it.  Sec  Latcu. 
and  PUDDEN  POKE. 

Lather  or  Lutha.  To  heat.  It  may  be  to 
leather^  or  strap  one — or  to  beat  one  till  in  a  lather 
of  sweat.  A  much  heated  horse  is  said  to  be  '*  all  of 
a  lather.^*  Of  a  variety  of  these  striking  vocables, 
see  under  Aint.  In  Scottish  to  leather  is  to  lasii 
to  flog.  J.  In  the  north  *'  Leather,  to  beat.  I'll 
leather  you  heartily."    Grose. 

Lathy.  Thin,  in  person  or  appearance.  This 
would  be  said  of  man,  woman,  horse,  or  beast — 
meaDing  as  thin  or  slender  a^  a  lath. 

Lavrock.  The  lark — as  in  Scotland :  not  com- 
mon with  us. 

Law.  Lawk.  Lawkus  or  Alawk — or  a  Lawk  a 
dazeg — Ejaculations  of  surprise  or  pleasure,  or  syiu- 
pdtby — lengthened  and  modulated  to  suit  ihe  oec^- 
jifcM^  fis  is  noticed  luider  Alawk*     We  so\ue\\tv\t\ 

t3 


MO 

exclaim  Xstos/— as  in 'Cheshire,  accordiag  to  Mr«  W. 
who  says  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  L(i» 

Lax.'  a  flux  in  cattle — Aiore  commonly  called 
Lath:  which  see.  The  final  sound  was  transposed 
by  our  old  writers,  who  called  it  lask,  as  is  shown 
by  Nares.     See  Waps. 

"  Later.  A  field  of  clover  or  grass — it  being  **  laid 
down  '^ — also  young  white  thorn,  or  other  small 
shrubs  or  trees  laid  in  to  fences.    See  Spring. 

Lat-ovebs  for  medlerg,  A  reproving  reply  to 
an  illrtimed  curiosity  or  inquisitiveness  on  the  part 
of  a  child — in  answer  to  **  what's  thati "  What  we 
otherwise  call  Apple-jack,  and  Tum-ovet*,  we  some- 
times call  Lay-over — and  Grose  uggests  that  the 
edible  so  designated  may  formerly  have  been  made 
of  median^  as  well  as  of  apples ;  and  that  hence 
may  have  arisen  the  reply  now  under  discussion.  I 
have  nothing  better  to  ofier.     See  Apple-jack. 

Leantoo.  a  penthouse — a  sloping  projection 
from  the  eaves  of  a  bam,  house,  &c. 

Learn.  For  teach,  is  perhaps  too  common  a 
substitution  of  a  passive  for  an  active  verb,  to  call 
for  notice  as  a  localism:  we  may  just  observe  in  pas- 
i^ing  that  Desdemoua  is  made  to  say-r* 

My  life  and  education  boih  do  Uam  me 
How  to  respect  yoa.     Othello.  I.  3. 

But  such  little  barbarisms  grate  sadly  on  the  ear. 

Leastt.     Dull  wet  weather. 

Leather.    See  Lather.  * 

Led.  Lid — a  pot-led.  The  interchange  of  i  and 
f,  is  common— of  which  see  under  Aninnb. 

Leece.  Lice.  So  meece  for  mice,  &c.  See 
Aninnd. 

Leech  or  Letch.  A  wooden  vessel,  containing 
about  a  gallon,  the  bottom  pierced  with  many  small 
boles^  tot  holding  wood  ashea^  for  the  purpose  of 


211 

making  washin<;  lye.  Water  is  poured  on  ihc  as!ie% 
and  h  softened  by  filtration  into  a  tub  beneath.  In 
bis  S.  and  E.  country  words  Ray  has  "  A  Letch  or 
Lech;  a  Tessel  to  put  ashes  in  to  run  water  through, 
to  luake  Lee  or  Lixivium  for  washing  of  clothes.  A 
Buck."  E.  W.  p.  80.     Of  "a  Buck  "  see  Buck- 

BASKET. 

JLkef.  Lesve.  Lief.  Lever.  Leefbr.  Words 
of  comparison — as  willingly — as  readily — **  I'd  as 
leeve  go  as  stay."  Rather — in  preference — **  I'd 
lever  go  than  stay."  This  is  an  Archaism.  "  I  had 
le%'er  thy  neck  were  in  a  band  " — occurs  in  a  piece 
of  old  poetry  called  "S)r  Goughter"  written  before 
tbe  inveotioo  of  printing.  See  Gen.  Mag.  Vol.  X. 
p.  370.  Falstafi;  describing  his  "  ragged  regiment/' 
says  "  they  had  as  Zee/* hear  the  devil  as  a  drum."— - 
K.  H.  the  4.  P.  1.  IV.  2.     Again— 

She,  good  soul)  has  as  lief  ste  a  toad,  a  very  toad,  as 
see  him.     Rom.  and  Jut,  II.  5. 

Again — 

I  had  at  lief  not  be,  as  Ihe  to  he 

In  awe  of  such  a  thing.    Jnl*  C.  I.  3. 

It  is  also  Scottish. 

I*d  liefer  lie  a  yfar  my  lane, 

llian  lie  an  hour  wi  yoa.     Old  Sccttuh  S^iig. 

-  Ray,  among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words,  has  this 
article,  "  As  Leeve  or  Leoc;  as  willingly,  as  good, 
spoken  of  a  thing  equally  eligible.  Lever,  in  Chau- 
cer rather,  though  this  comparative  be  not  now  in 
use  with  us.^'  E.  W.  p.  80.  With  us,  it  is  now  in 
use.  I  should  think  that  Tusser  in  the  following 
passage,  uses  it  iri'lhe  sense  of  rather — comparatively. 

Let  sheep  fill  flanic — Where  corn  Is  too  rank: 

In  woodland  lever — In  champion  never,     p.  145. 

In  Scotland,  according  to  J.  Lief  or  leif,  is  wil- 
ling— Lever,  rather,  as  in  Suffolk.  Spenser  uses 
feoer  io  the  same  sense.  F.  Q.  I.  ix.  32.  as  is  shown 
by  Narcs;  and  that  Shakespeare  and  B.  Jonson  uses 
it  adterbifdlys  at  Uef,  in  the  sense  of  willingly. 


212 

We  sometimes  say  "IM  as  liv  **  for  as  leaf^  or  as 
have:  and  Nares  shows  that  this  also  occurs  in  au 
old  play,  (irose,  as  S.  country  words  has  **Leef  or 
Lief',  wiilingiy.  I  had  as  leef  not  go/*  And  as  a 
N.  country  word  **Liever,  rather.    From  the  Saxoo." 

Leet.  Mectinjj — a  place  of  mcetmg — ^not  vety 
common.     See  FouREY  leet. 

Left  or  LiFTr  A  p\\e  which,  having  no  hinges, 
IS  lifted  into  holes  in  rhe  lift  posts,  A  Left-gate, 
swings  ob  hinges  or  joints,  and  is  lifted  into  holes  or 
niches  in  the  dapping  post.  Also  a  trick  or  tacli  at 
whist  or  other  games  at  cards.  "The  odd  lift"* — 
"two  by  tacks."  A  **  lift  of  pales"  is  the  quantity 
between  two  posts — called  also  a  loop.  *•  A  Lift,  i.e. 
a  stile  that  uiay  be  opened  like  a  gate.  Norfolk."— 
Eay.  E.  W.  p.'eo.     See  Loop. 

LeG'B^il.  To  run  away  from  one's  creditors^ 
or  other  urgent  enquirers.  So  in  Scotland.  J.  and. 
|)erhaps  pretty  exlensively. 

Lestly.  Hearing  clearly.  **  I  hard 'cm  as  lestly 
as  I  hare  yeow  speak." 

Letch.    See  Leech. 

' Levener.  The  snack  before  noon — See  Bever. 
Foorzes,  Lunch,  Noonins,  Nunch,  arc  other  words, 
meaning  an  interstitial  snap  between  meals.  In 
Scotland,  "  Eleven  hours,  a  luncheon."  J. 

Lewcome.  a  window  projecting  in  the  roof — 
generally  a  "  Lewcome  window  " — but  the  word  is 
applied  to  the  gable  end  of  a  house,  aud  has  been 
thence  perhaps  extended  to  a  peaked  window. — 
Derived  possibly  from  an  old  Norman  word  Lueame, 
a  garret  window.  It  occurs  in  the  beginning  of  Le 
Diable  boiteux,  and  in  title  deeds  the  word  is  some- 
times seen,  spoiled  Lucum.  Since  wriling  the  pre- 
ceding, I  have  seen  the  term  "Lucarne  windows,"  in 
Turner's  Tour  in  Normandy,  vol.  !.  p.  189,  where 
it  seems  to  apply  to  wiuduws  iu  the  roof. 


213 

■ 

Lew  BR.    A  liaiid$|]ike. 

Xil  B .  A  basl^e  t  fo  r  Ii  oUi  i og  seed  corn .  A  seed  lib. 
lam  ill  doubt  of  this  word  beiog  now  used  in  Suffolk. 
See  Cob  and  Maund. 

LiCENBSS.  Licence — to  m^ny,  sboot,  ^c^— 
^'That  there  fulla  heent  taken  out  a  liceneis  ta  shute 
ta  year,  have  *a  1  '* 

Lick.  A  blow — a  beating.  **  A  good  licken  " — 
"a  lick  i' the  hid.**  Flick,  is  also  a  blow,  but  less 
frequently  used  than  lick.    See  under  Aint. 

At  a  recent  rustic  merry  making,  the  aged  scraper 
was  noable  to  hold  out  as  long  asthe  juvtuile  dancers; 
a  backsome  damsel  exultingly  exclaimed,  '*  We  have 
fairly  Ueked  the  iidler.*'  In  Scottbh  *' To  lick,  to 
itnke,  to  beat.*'  J. 

-Lief.    See  Leef. 

LiG. .  Lift — lug — pull.  One  noticing  the  ex- 
ertioD  required  to  raise  water  by  hand  out  of  a  deep 
well,  said  " 'Tis  a  good  tight  lig" — "A  good  tidy 
lig^"  implies  the  same  thing. 

■ 

LiGGER.     A  night  hook  laid  in  for  a  pike  or  eeU 

Likely.  Good  looking.  "  A  likely  young 
fdlow."  "A*  likely  gal.*'  It  is,  I  think,  confined  to 
hdinanity.  And  as  we  say  love  for  like — see  Love— 
so  we  here  perhaps  by  likely  mean  lovely :  or  one 
likely  to  be  fallen  in  love  with,  or  to  make  a  favora- 
ble  impression. 

Li  MM.     Likeness — fondness,     "lamalimmfor 

« 

roast  beef— "She  is  sich  a  limm  for  gin." 

LiMPEY.  Lithe — not  stiff!  Linen  not  suffici- 
ently starched  in  the  wash,  is  said  to  be  limpy, 

Lin e.  To  thrash,  or  beat — **  I 'II  line  ye  "— likft 
rope's. ending*  on  board  ship.  To  lace  one,  has  a  like 
lueauing.  Of  many  of  these  words  See  under  Ai  NT« 
To  line,  is  to  beat,  in  Scottish.  J. 

Lino;    The  turf  of  heath  pr  heather.     It  is  cut 


214 

for  fuel,  and  to  lay  in  drains  in  wet  land.  L^inge 
in  French,  and  Liung  in  Danish,  are  names  for  heath* 
In  Scottish  Ling  is  a  species  of  rush^  or  thin  long 
grass.  J. 

Links.  Sausages — very  general — from  being  so 
formed  and  hung  up  chain-like  when  first  made,  f 
never  heard  this  otherwise  than  as  a  Suffolk  word.-— 
It  does  not  occur  in  Ray  as  a  local  word ;  but  he 
uses  it  pamiskas,  as  we  should  say,  under  **  Ropg, 
guts— lu  the  South  the  guts  prepared  and  cut  out  for 
black-puddings  or  links,  are  called  Ropes,'*  £•  W. 
p.  51. 

LiNTY.  Lazy.  "  Ah!  he's  but  a  Linty  one."— 
This  is  not  common  but  I  have  heard  it  lately. 

Lissome.  The  same,  I  believe^  as. Lithe,  whicli 
<8ee. 

Lithe.  Supple — flexible — said  of  an  active  lad 
•—soft  leather,  &c.  "  As  lithe  as  lutha."  Lissome, 
is  of  like  import :  liti>esome  or  lightsome,  probably. 
In  Cheshire,  Licksome,  or  Lissome,  is  Lightsome^ 
pleasant,  agreeable.  Lissome  often  means  actif)e^  ' 
agiU»  the  same  as  hinge.  W.  We  have  no  such 
word  as  hinge  in  this  sense.  In  Cheshire  Litke  is 
used  as  a  verb.  ''  To  lithe  the  pot"  is  to  put  thick- 
euings  into  it.  W.  This  is  not  Suftblk.  Ray  among 
his  S.  and  E.  country  words  has  "  Lither,  light,  flex- 
ible : — lazy,  slothful.''  £•  W.  p.  80.  I  never  heard 
it  in  the  latter  sense. 

LiY  or  Li  EVE.    See  Leef. 

Lo  A c H .     We  call  a  little  fish  by  this  name,  other-  ■ 
wise  groundling :  it  is  a  species  of  the  Cobitis,    We 
call  it  also  Stone-loach^ 

Shakespeare  could  not  have  been  thinking  of  the ' 
fish  merely  when  he  penned  that  most  humorous 
scene,  the  1  of  Act  11.  of  the  first  Part  of  K.  Henry 
4 — which  surely  no  mortal  but  he  could  ever  hava 
written — 

9ni  Cmrwr,     Why  they  will  allow  us  Qe*er  a  joHrden,  sod 


2ld 

tKen,  see*  we  feak  in  jonr  chimney ;  and  joor  cliainbcrlio  breedi 
ieu  like  a  loach, 

l^ares,  however,  in  a  curious  article  under  tliifi 
word,  thinks,  with  Malone,  that  the  Ittach  is  a 
Tery  prolific  fish.  Hence  a  clue  to  Shakespearc*s 
comparison. 

Lob.  a  clumsy,  tall  lad,  not  erect  in  his  per- 
iwn.  A  tired,  or  heavy  headed  horse,  would  he 
said  to  "  lob  'as  bid/'  •*  A  lob  of  a  fellow,"  means 
a  clown — a  lubber.     Lob-cock  is  used  similarly, 

Shakespeare  has  lob — 

And  their  poor  jades 
IjOh  donm  thdr  heads^  dropping  the  hide  and  hips. 

litn.  V.  IV.  «. 

LobVpounD.  The  bridewell.  I n'Na res' Glos- 
sary uirfer  1  his  word  ;iiid  Lo6,  some  quotations  are 
given  showing  them  to  have  been  in  use  among  our 
earlier  writers. 

Loft.  Au  upper  apartment,  not  used  as  a  do- 
mestic room.  "  A  hiiy  loft " — "  A  cock  kft  '*  is  not 
a  place  for  poultry,  but  rather  a  small  lumber  room. 
The  word  is  not  local. 

LoGG  ER.  The  irregular  motion  of  a  wheel  roimd 
its  axle.  When  it  deviate  from  the  per|)endicular  of 
the  plane  of  its  axis,  it  is  said  to  logger,  I  know  of 
Dot>tlier  word  to  express  this  rotatory  irre«:ularity, 
except  Wabble,  and  this  is  not  so  precise,  or  well 
known. 

Lollop.  To  louiJ2;e,  idling  away  time.  "He's 
but  a  lolloppen  sort  of  a  chap." 

Lone-woman.  A  widow,  without  children.  A 
melancholy  description  of  humaniiy.  An  aged  single 
woman  would  similarly  describe  hcrsell*. 

Loop  of  pales  or  Lift.  The  quantity  between 
two  posts.  See  Left.  Among  his  S.  and  C.  coun- 
try words  Ray  has  "  A  Loop,  a'^rail  of  pales,  or  bars 
joined  together  like  a  gate,  to  be  removed  in  and 
oat  at  pl^ure."  E.  W.  p.  BO.         ^ 


21C 

Lop.  The  faggot  wood  of  a  tree ;  as  $lop  is.  the 
undehvood  of  a  grove.  "  Top  and  lop"  Bieans  ail 
of  a  tree  except  tlie  parts  that  come  into, measure 
as  timber.  There  seem  to  be  many  local  terms  for 
the  different  members  or  parts  of  a  tree  aq  notice} 
under  Bole.     Shakespeare  uses  lop — 

From  every  tree,  lopt  bark  and  part  o*  ilie  timber. 

if.  Hen,  ike  8.  L  2. 

And  a  commentator  notes — **Zop  signifies  the 
branches  of  a  tree.  The  word  is  still  used  in  leases^ 
&c.  .All  timber  trees,  top  and  lop.*'  Iti  Cheshire 
Lop  is  the  perfect  tense  and  participle  of  the  verb 
to  leap,     W. 

The  word  occurs  frequentlv  in  Tusser,  iu  the' 
sense  first  given — both  as  substantive  and  verb.* — '• 
See  a  quotation  under  Poll ArD. 
•  "Aprils.  1740.  Be  it  remembered  that  John 
Green  has  agreed  with  the  fooffes  for  Gombs  Laiid^ 
for  a  timber  tree  and  hop  of  the  same^'  and  the. hop 
wood  of  all  the  pollard  trees  as  has  been  formerly- 
cropped  or  lopped)  growing,"  <^€.  This  is  taken 
from  *'  History  of  Elmeswell  in  Suffolk  ** — in  the- 
same  work  and  part,  p.  11.  quoted  and  referred  to 
at  length  under  Gast. 

*'  i/op  of  the  same,"  and  "hop  wood "  probably 
mean  «^r/^' fit  for  hop-poles.  Hops  were  formerly 
grown  iu  great  quantities  in  and  about  Elmeswelfi 
Combs,  Siowmarket,  and  in  other  parts  of  Suffolk. 

Lords  and  Ladies.  The  earfy  species  ofArum: 
common  in  meadows  or  oid  grassy  banks. 

Lov^.  Like — prefer — ."  Do  you  love  cold  apple 
pie.'* " — or  strong  tea,  or  roast  pig,  Ac.  Thus  Tusser 
&aysof  c'ditle — 

Serve  I  hem  wiih  liRv  while  ihe  strnw  stover  last 

Then  /ore  thev  no  »irnw— ihe^  had  rather  lo  fast.    p.  60. 

So  in  the  Two  Gen.  of  Verona.  IIL  1.  '     • 

'      Speed.     Item.     She  hath  no  tt«etb. 

Lauiice*    I  care  not  for  that*  for  I  f0t«  crosto. 

See  LiKBLT,  and  Home-done 


817 

1,0  w  ANS.  Aq  item  put  into  a  bricklayer's  or  car- 
penter's bill,  meaning  an  allowance  of  so  nmcb  in 
Ibe  poond  in  lieu  of  beer  to  bis  workmen ;  tbo'  pro- 
bab^  tbe  job  Las  been  lengthened  out  to  the  greatest 
possible  extent  in  view  to  Uie  four  meals  a  day  which 
the  procrastinating  knaves  look  for  in  ''  in-door" 
work.     See  Beykiu 

Lov^RY.    Threatening  to  be  wet— H>vercast. 

Lowra.    Low  level  land. 

LtJGSOMB.  A  heavy  road  is  expressively  said  fo 
l>e  lug9ome. 

LumMuckem.  Large,  heavy,  awkward ;  applied 
mostly  to  a  boy  or  man-HSometimes  to  a  horse. — 
Lombersoine  is  a  word  of  like-  meaning.  These 
remind  us  of  Gay's  Lubberkin.  Laimnacken  is  also 
applied  to  a  fall,  **  *A  cum  lummaken  down  staiht 
vpmtop  to  bottom/' 

Lump.  As  well  as  in  the  usual  sense  of  a  large 
awkward  bit,  this  word  is  one  of  the  many  which 
in  Suffolk,  import  a  blow  or  thmmp.  **  Lump  on 
tew  um.''  "  Give  nm  a  right  good  Ijumpen.  Of 
this  redundancy  of  offensive  epithets  see  under 
AiNT«  Licmp  also  implies  a  clumsy,  or  awkward 
ikil.  *'  *A  cum  deown  sich  a  lump."  Hence  ijump* 
me,  is  our  name  of  a  narrow  long  bladed  felling-axe* 

Lumps.     White  bricks  burnt  hard  for  flooring. 

« 

Lunch.  Luncheon.  An  extra  meal — between 
others — mostly  in  the  forenoon  or  between  breakfast 
and  dinner.  See  Bever.  Lteac^eon  is  also  a  lump 
of  meat  or  bread,  or  cheese.  In  Essex,  according 
to  Bay  '*  A  Slnllf  is  a  Inneheam ;  a  great  piece  of 
bread,  cheese,   or  other  victuals.**  £.  W.  p.  87. 

LUNNUNNERS.  We  tilua  distinguish  the  citikens 
of  our  vast  metropolis.  There  is  nothing  that  1  can 
remember  farther  back,  than  the  contempt  (1  beg 
pardon)  which  1  waJi  taught  to  entertain  for  the  i^no- 
faiice  of  the  Uimnkmnen,  compared  with  bursefves, 

u 


>  218 

In  one  particutnr.  It  was  their,  preferring  ton?, 
straight,  regularly  shaped  carrots,  to  the*  furcated 
vringted,  ikranihtin  diminutive  one&,  ^hicti  we  (who 
tilled  ourselves  once  or  twice  every  da^ith  theraw 
article  while  in  season)  knew,  by  the  best  of  all  tests« 
to'  be  so  natch  superior.  To  sec  our  people  pick 
out  ship  loads  of  the  well  shaped  roots,  to  send  to 
town>  rejecting  for  us,  as  it  were,  those  above 
described,  so  much  superior,  was,  a  stfmding  joke ; 
and,  as  1  have  said,  excited  both  our  contempt  i^nd 
pity. 

Lure.  Rhyming  to  skewer — a  handspike :  a 
lever. 

Lust.  An  inclination — a  list — "  ta  lust  lament- 
ably ''  is  descriptive  of  a  stack  out  of  its  p^rpeudi- 
jixkhkx*  I  suspect  that  this  was  the  original  luode 
of  pronouncing  the  word  which  our  fastidious  ear« 
have  euphonically  and  I  admit  profitably  cKauged 
to  list^  in  the  sense  of  inclining,  wishing,  dettiring, 
fanryingy  &c. 

Thus  in  our  Psalm  73.  v.  7.  **  Their  eyes  swell 
'lulh  fatness  :  and  they  do  even  what  they  hist,** 

So  in  Tusser — 

S«  w  timely  iliy  wliilfi-wtieat,  «ow  rye  in  the  dust, 
i.xit  seed  have  his  ioiigmg»  Jet  soil  have  her7it«. 

Ill  htiswifiTv  tnisteih     — Tohihi  and  lo  fier 

Go(xl  Iniswilery  lusteXh — Herself  fur  lo  stir.  p.  227. 

See  Cheeple. 

LuTHA.  Leather.  Binding  an  exchange  of 
articles  between  school-boys,  the  following  f4)rmula 
renders  it  irrevocable.  **  Wha's  yar  shews  niade  on  ? 
JLutha,     Bahn,  bahn  for  ivva,  nivver  onchange  no 

more."   To  Iniha  or  lather,  is  to  beat.  See  LATHER. 

•     .  .  •  .1 

Lyen.  The  place  in  which  one  lies — as  htein  is 
a  place  to  he  in.  See  Beein.  A  servant  under 
examination  touching  a  burglary,  in  answer  to  a 
question  of  how  .he  deported  himself— did  he  give 
any  alarm  when  he  heard  the  robbers  ?  si^id  "  No^ — 
I  kept  my  fyen  ind  shuck.*^  *  -  -.  - 


219 

•  ■   .    M.    . 

Ma  AMBLE.  When  the  soil  stickB  to  the  dabs  in 
the  operatioii  of  dibbling  seed  coniy  and  falls  off 
in  lumps  so  as  to  leave  the  holes  irregular  in  shape; 
it  19  said  to  maamide.  lu  digging  strong  land  also, 
when  it  stick  to  the  spade. 

•  Maandrbn.  Fretful— tetchy — of  a  child.  The 
first  syllable  is  much  lengthened  and  modulated. — 
In  an  old  anonymous  dictionary  is  **  To  mautwUr, 
to  gnimble- or  mutter."  •     . 

*  Maa^l  or  MbwL.  A  mole — mawl-warp,  earth 
thrown  out  by  moles,  also  mawl'put$»  Tusser 
spells  it  mowl — 

Strike  uff  the  qowIs — Of  delving  mowU,   p«  103. 

See  under  Moldwahp  and  Plash. 

Madge.  Mag.  Meg.  A  nia^u^pie.  Mitdge  in 
Cheshire.  W.  In'Kent»  Hagester.  K^y  E.  W.  p.78. 
In  an  old  anonymous  dictionary  I  perceive  *'  Madge- 
kewle^t  a  sort  of  owl."  Tlie  propensity  to  giving 
Christian  names  to  birds  .is  noticed  under  Dicky- 

BAHD. 

Magical  music.  A  pleasaut  drawing-room 
evening  amusement.  See  under  Move  all,  for  a 
list  of  many  of  our  juvenile  sports. 

M  AH.  May — so  prah  for  pray ;  sah  for  say ;  pah 
for  pay,  Sic, 

Maiden  hair.  A  delicate,  tremulous,  $i>ecies 
of  grass,  or  fern,  of  the  genus  Tribhomanes, 

Main.  A  good  dealr^on  the  whole.  **  He's 
pretty  well  behaved  i'  the  mbin."  lu  Norfolk  and  in 
the  bordering  patts  of  Suffolk,  under-roasted  meat  is 
Sivid  to  be  "in  the  main" — "the  nieat's  i*the  mahif 
"Home  done"  means  sufficiently  roasted.  Oittbis 
important  matter  see  Homil-donb,  -^lud  Reak'. 

•Mak  e.'  Asort'of  long  handled  .ho0k  to  gttther  up 
ripe  pease  at  harvest.  The  operation  is  called  makiny. 
f^peafmake^  b  the  conmipn  nam^  for  th^  impleuieut. 

u2 


220 

In  Ray  I  find  "  A  Meag^  or  Meak^  a  pease-hook, 
EMez/'  £.  W.  p.  81.    AndiaTuMer 

A  weoA  for  the  pease,  and  to  twingeaip  tbe-bnk#»  p^  t4#. 

See  mider  Goop,  vene  14^  and  note :  «iid<BRviK&s% 
We  alio  use  the  word  maA€«  as  Shokeapeare  jdio^i 

Now,  Sir,  whftt  make  jou  here?    iltyoH  L.  It*  L  1^ 

and  lo.  several  other  passages*  for  wJiiil  ai?^  you 
doing?,  or  what  brought  yoi^  hmi^}.  Others io(  cmt 
old  authors  use  the>word.sii)Qil«rlyi  a«  is  shqw^^by 
Nares.  In  the  meaning  first  gtiveAJifiAjd;iii.a».  ol4 
apony motis  dictionary,  **  S.,mwlf  jor  Pimff» .  a  tocdU  to 
mow  peaseji  hrajtej^  ^<^-'' 

M AKB-covNT.  To  intend — to  reitkon .  on,  aaj 
thing.    *^  I  make  eount  ta  dew  it  a*  Sunday. 

Mallard.  T^-  male  wild < dock— not*  local  t 
believes 

MAMMUCiCi  To  cot' and  haek  viotnate  waste- 
fully.  To  cruitthle  bread,  linthririily*  Milton  uses  tke 
word  in  a  like  sense^  in  his  "  Considerations  toneh^g; 
the  likeliest  meaias  to  remove  Heresies  out^of'tlie 
Church." 

jBiit  w|iil^  Prote^li^ittJb- to,  ayqid  the.  diic;,Iabfur^x)if  ^^4^« 
StaQcjiog  tlieir  o^n  rejigion,  are  conteut  to  lodge  it  in.ihfi  brf^t, 
or  rather  ill  the  books  of  a  Clergymani  and  to, take  it  tl|<uice^ 
scraps  and  nuanmocks,  as  he  dispenses  U  in  his  Sunday't  dJ^^ 
the  J.  will  be  alwajs  learping,  ai^d  uc^ver  k(^pwu^g.  ^c 

In  an  old  dictionary,  anonymous,  is  '*  A  mamn^tHiki 
a  piece  or  scrap.''  And  in  Cocker  '*  Mqifnmqckf^ 
pieces,  fragments.*' 

Mammy.  Or  mummy,  or  mum,  or  m^m^oi  ma: 
mother.  In  most  languages  this  sound  refers  to  ma* 
ternity,  it  being  the  most  simple,  the  easiest,^  and 
therefore  the  earliest,  efibrt  at  articulation.  In 
Scottish,  **mammie,  a  childish  term  for  mother^  a 
nurse,  a  midwife,  from  the  Teutonic  mamme^  the 
breaat.'^  J.  A  very  old  Sufiblk  song  entitled 
•'  Jockey :  to  the -FaiFy"  has<.tlus  Jine^^. 

My  dad  and  nMUB  is  fast  asleep. 

M ANBtKRv    Rkb  mould  of  any  kind  coHeef ed»^ff 


221 

fit,  for -the  purpose  of  bring  mjxed  uith  mufk,  vr 
dunjj;,  for  m.mureJ  Dil';;:!!?^  up  ihe  brow  (or  as  we 
call  it  liie  ffreu?)  of  ditches  to  be  bo  mixtid  b  toniied 
.••  iii;iiin(*rin  up." 

.    iViARriN.    See  Fre<>martin. 

Marvki^.     Boys'  marbles. 

Mash.    Mashrs.     T*ch  laud^especially  if  near 
llie  sea'or  a  river — marshes. 

Maul.     A  iarf^e  iron,  hamm/r  with  which  but- 

tchersi  slay  btfa>!!».  A  woof^Ji  one  for  **  riviij^  af 
bloeks"  is  calie-l  Deetle,  whirh  see.  The  1/1/7//  is 
MiMietimes  called  meif,  as  ii  is  !•)  Sciitlinid.  MaUef 
may  pr<»bat>l\  he  a  (liiniiiullve  of  muU,  **  Me.ly  a 
mallet  or  beetle.  Malleus.  *  Hiiv,  as  a  N.  rotinl.v 
word,  p.  44.  And  in  p.  102. — he  «ays  "  MeN :  .i 
W4»o'1eii  sledj^e  or  ht»etle:  ab,  \ni».  S;i\.  well,  c/w.<", 
from  the  exact  resemblance  of  the  head  and  hand  e 
f«>«  cross." 

X  ;To  maul  a  person,  implies  severe,  h'ows,  siirh 
l^rh«ps.as  a  mail  would  intiiet.     lo  Stuttriah,  maiiuif, 

•is  ail  injury,  a  hurt;  meil,  a  maul;  a  h!ow  witn  a 

•maul,  fiom  mall-eus,  J. 

Spenser  uses  the  word  in  both  our  Sufl'olk  senses 

.of  a  large  iron  hammer  and  as  a  ^erb-^ 

EfiAOcmed  one  cf  tliose  vtllain^  ilid  hi<i)  nip 
r         Upou  his  lieaii-pk'ce  witii  Ms  hen  tutiU.    t\  Q.  IV.  v.  4i 

•    '  — — —  nnfl  with  mtuhl y  mull 

The  monster  niercile»:»c-  auiuic  him  («>  laU.     lb.  1.  iiu'dl. 

But  die.sad  jiteele  scizM  not,  whtro  it  \va«5  I  iiiht, 
Upt-u  ilif.  chil(i»  bur  soincwiuNo  siiori  did  fall. 
And  lighting  on  hi;:i  in  ric's  licud^  fiiiii  (|uitc  i:i«i  mall. 

Ih.  V.  ii.  3. 

*'See  Nares,  under  3IalL 

.,.  MaunJ).  Alargesort  ofbaitketout  of  which.secd 
coru  is  sown  by  bfoadrust — any  larne  <»peii  bubket 
perhaps.  Th^  word  may  have  M>me  con. lectioir  with 
Mauuday Thursday;  the  bi:ead,  CJ:c.  b^iiii;  then  dis- 
tributod  out  of  such  baskets.     Ray,  anu>ng  his  north 

U  3 


222 

country  words,  says  **  A  mmmdis  a  ban^baakct 
with  two  lids:  Saxon  Jlfeiu^-^ernian  Mandi^^^^ 
£•  W.  p.  43*  Our  mound  has  no  lid.  Ray^  in  his 
S«and  £.  country  words,  has  farther^  **  X  Leap  or 
lAb,  half  a  buslieL  Sussex.  Id  Essex  a  Seed  ieap 
or  Lib,  b  a  vessel  or  basket  to  carry  corn  in,  on  ihe 
arUi  to  sow..  Ab  A,  Saxon Saed-kM,  a  seed-^skel.'^ 
£.  W.  p.  80.  In  an  inventory  of  nimiture  in  Heor 
grave  Hall  in  1630,  we  find  "one  little  rounde  deep 
wumnde  for  herbs.*  <*A  liand  basket/'  the  author 
notes.    Gaffe's  Hen,  p.  37. 

Nares  says  **  Maund,  a  basket,  from  the  Saxon, 
file  word  is  also  [hitch  and  old  French." 

A  thocsand  favors  from  a  fommd  the  drew.  Shaketptttre. 

With  a  mofiiid  charged  with  househuid  merchandbe.   Hal{^  Satf 

Behold  for  a»the  naked  Graces  stay 

W|th  mounds  of  rosea  for  to  strew  the  way.   Hprrich^ 

'*  Hence  Maunday  Thurflday,  the  day  preceding 
Good  Friday,  on  which  the  King  dbtdbutes  aims  to 
a  certain  number  of  poor  persons  at  White-hail,  so 
named  from  the  maunds  in  which  the  gifb  wer.e  con- 
tained.    To  maund  is  to  beg.''  GL 

Mavis.  The  thrush— as  in  Scotland,  and  in 
many  of  our  old  English  poets.  TJirostle  is 
likewise  a  poetical,  and  a  Suffolk,  name  of  the 
thrush.  See  Throstle.  Nares  says  that  the 
mavis  is  properly  the  song  thrush,  as  dbtinguished 
from  the  screech-thrush  or  large  missel-thrush.^— 
Hence  this  distinction— 

The  thivah  rrplj^esf  the  movti  descant  plays. 

Spent.  Epkhal,  I.  81. 

We  call  the  larger  bird  missal-thrush,  sometimes 
missletoe- thrush ;  we  do  not  apply  the  name  of  aturiff 
to  both.  The  term  missletoe- thrush  is  not,  I  find, 
i^culiar  to  us.  In  an  old  anonymous  dictionary- 
IS  ''  A  mistle-Mrd,  a  kind  of  thrush  that  feeds  oa 
mistletoe,  or  missel-toe." 

Maw.    a  girl— an  abbreviation  of  Mmwiker,. 


223 

svbiefa  Bee— and  Mawkim.  It  is  ^o,  as  elsewhere, 
the  stomach,  or  paunch.  In  Cheshire  maw  is  the 
stbmacli.  **  It  is  1  believe  pretty  general.  Maw-* 
bcmatiy  in  that  county  means,  in  a  cow,  costive* 
nen."  W.  Ray  refers  it  to  the  stomach  in  this 
Proverb.  **  TfaAt  is  not  always  good  in  the  maw 
th»t  is  sweet  in  the  month."  p.  134;    See  Cast.- 

Mawkin.  a  scare^erow— any  thing  dressed  up 
to  excite- feaf.  In  an  old  anonymous  dictionary,  is 
"  Maulkin  or  Mmwkin,  an  oven  mop,  a  scare-crow, 
a  -nasty  yvench."  la  Cheshire  ''  Mawks  is  a  dirty 
fiflfure,  or  mizturCr  Ash  calls  it  colloquial.''  W. 
Under  MalHn,  Nares  says  that  it  is  *'  a  diminutive 
of  Mary;  of  sia('. and  Artn,  used  generally  in  con* 
tempt.  Hence,  a  stuffed  figure  of  rags  was,  and 
in  some  places  still  is,  calleda  malkin*  It  signified 
likewise  a  kind  of  mop  made  of  rags  for  coarse  pur- 
poses,- which  was  probably  so  called  from  perform- 
isg  the  tasks  otherwise  belonging  to  Molly.  Mai- 
itisand  muLukin  are  the  same.  See  Minshbw. — 
Other  derivations  have  been  attempted,  but  with 
much  less  probability/'  Shakespeare  uses  Jlfai!^m 
more  than  once,  I  have  had  occasion  to  quote  it  in 
a  passage  under  Reek,  which  see. 

As  we  use  the  words  Maw  and  Mawlher  for  a 
girl,  and  call  a  scaie-crow  a  Mawkin^  Nares*  de- 
rivation is  thus  strengthened. 

Mawskin.  The  stomach,  or  rather  the  paunch, 
of  a  calf.  It  is  used  to  contain,  or  to  make,  rennet^ 
an  acetous  liquid  by  which  milk  is  turned  to  curd 
in  the  process  of  cheese-making. 

Mawther.  A  giri,  used  familiarly,  or  rather 
cpntemptuously :  and  generally  applied  to  one  just 
grown  or  growing  to  womanhood ;  as  hobble-de 
Soy,  in  lads.  In  Ray's  Collection  of  Proverbs  he 
spells  the  word  Modkdher  in  this  homely  string  of 
adages.  '*  In  the  Elast  part  of  England  they  use 
tile  word  Mothther  for  a  giil^  and  they  have  this 


224 

foud  oKl'saw:e,  ii?ciiic^c»  are  tinker's  bih>bes,  ghieg 
jBite  pedlar's  trulls,  and  inhdhdhers  are  Jionestiueu's 
dangliters.*'  p.  58.  It  would  thus  seem  that  mair* 
titer  or  moththei' was  not  always  a. degrading  ^}- 
jljellation. 

Shakespeare  has  walhin  iu  our  sense  of  maiather. 
!^ee  Mawkin  and  R£EK.     Ray  has  rather  a  lan^ 
article  in  p.  81  of  hh  S.  and  E.  country  words  on 
ithis — *iA  Mulher,  cr  Moddtr,  or  Mothther,  a  girl, 
K)r  young:  wecch  ;  used  all  over  the  eastern  parts  of 
.Englaod.    Bss.Suff.  Novf.  Camb.    Vrom  the  an- 
cient Danish  word*^  Moer,  qvomodo  (  saith  Sir  //. 
i^pelman  in  Gloi.^arioy*  tic.  Arc  learnedly  iracina: 
4he  term  fiom  the  Scaldic  mner;    to  the  Norfolk 
wother,  over  ground  that  I  will  neither  attempt  to 
ibllo^yi^  him,  or  Uy  lead  the  reader^ 
i    Tusser  spells  the  word  M**lker:    of  which  see 
.under  Goof,  verse  13,.  and  note. 
.  r  It  has  not  escaped  Nares,  from  whose  ijlossarv 
■  1- quote  the  following — **  Mawthery   a  girl.     The 
w^ord  is  stiil  used  ia  Norfolk  and -Siift'otk ;  -some- 
times corrupted  to  m oilier.      Its  connection  with 
Norfolk  is  here  marked  : 

P,     I  am  u  mjthtr  tliat  do  wnnf  a  »trvice. 

Qu,     ()  thoui't  aXorfilk  woman  (crv  th^e  mercv) 
<  Where  inaid»  are  raotiterSf  aiid  mothtirs  arc  tuairlfi. 

.  H.  Bnmus  Eh^L  Ai<  or,  iii,   i  . 

Written  also  modder: 

• 

What?  will  Phillis  ihcn  cousunic  her  voutii  as  an  nnkre^iiC 
.Sc<»nnn;!»  dainiie  Venus?  U  ill  Fhillis  be  still  a  wi't/f/er. 
And  out  care  to  bo  catl'U  by  ilie  deare.sweete  iiamfura  mu'.her? 

A.  Fruuhce^s  Ivy  Church,  A.  4.  b. 

«  ■ 

Away  !  you  talk  like  a  fot'lish  muuihcr. 

B.Jon.  Atch.  lY.  r. 
•     Kastrel  says  it  to  his  i^Jister. 

'  And  Richard  says  to  Kate,  in  Bloomfield^s  Suf- 
folk ballad. 

When  oure  a  gijjglJng  mavther  yon»  ' 

And  I  u  rcd'taced  chubby  boy.  Rural  TaUt,  180^.  p.  5. 

.  May.    TUc  hawthorn — especially  when  in  blow 


225 

ot^  flower — probably,  from  tbe  period  or  meoth.  of 
its  usual  effloreseencef  In  the  Nortfaf,  tbe  btwthom 
tppears^  to  bear  the  lUier  naiM^  The  foUoiriiig  is  a 
eanticifr  suBg  about-the  streets  of  Newcastle  early 
oa  May-day-mom  by  persons  bearing  garlands  or 
bunches  of  May  to  sell,  (  but  it  i&>  rajc^^bMniai  iu 
Suffolk  so  early,  as  May-day )r— 

'  Rise  up  maidens— fie  for  ».haine ! 
IWO'lbeta  four  long  mile*  /rum iiA«ie« . 
I>9vbeei|.|^t|i4ring  garlands  gajr, 
yj)  fair  maKU  and  ta^  jyar  Mvy,    Pop^  A»U  pt  190. 

Miltoii|»ebably;aUiide0  .to.  sonetiuag^of  -thisiooit 
when  iie^aescfihes  > 

Zephyr  with  Aurora  plfi|irig»r. 

Ai  he  met  hier  once  a  Maying*    L  JUegro, 

Stoyr,  in  his  sunrey  of  I/>ndon  tells  us,  'Uhaton 
May-day  in  the  morning  the  citizens  used  to  walk 
into  the -sweet  meadows  and  green  woods,  there  to 
rejoice  their  spirits  with  the  beauty  and  saTour  of 
•weet  floweiis/'  And  he  quotes  from  Hall  an  ae- 
count  of  Henry.  YIHtb  riding,  a  Maying,  from 
Greepw^cK  tQ  Shooter's  Hilt  with  Q.  Katherine,  ac- 
coQ^panied .  by  many  lords  and  ladies.  And  that 
"every  p^Uh^'and  jK>mjetimes  t\HO  or  three  parishe9 
joining  together,  had  their  several  Mayings,  and 
did  fetch  jn,  Maypoles,  with  diverse  warUke.showd. 
with  good  archers j  morris  dancers,  and  other  de- 
vices, for  pastime  air  the  day  long;  and  towardM 
evening  they  had  stage  plays -and  bone-fites  in  the 
streets/'   p.  73. 

How  much  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  the  innocent 
rusticities  of  our  fore&thers  should  in  thfe  lapse  of 
years  degenerate  into  intemperane,  profligacy,  and 
nuisance* 

Mat  WEED,  A  troublesome  low  acrid,  perea- 
ial  weed  with  a  white  flower,  resembling  wild 
camomile*    See  BooiNUS. 

Mazzard.      The  head—*'  E^  yeow  dent  take 
'  ewe  baw  ni  gee  ye  a  lum])  i*  thtc  maszard;^*    Aliio 


926 

Sconce^  Fowl,  Pipkin,  Costard.  &c,  as  noticed 
under  the  latter  word.    Thus  Hamlet — 

Chapless — and  knocked  about  the  mazzard  mhh  a  8ezton*t 
spade — «vh^  does  he  suifer  this  rude  knave  now  to  knock  hiia 
About  the  sconce,  &c.     V.  1. 

And  in  Othello- 
Let  me  go»  Sir,  or  I  Ml  knock  jou  over  the  maxzard,.  II.  3. 

"  Mazzards,  black  cherries,  West  Country." — 
jRay.  E.  W.  p.  81.  Not  so  with  ns.  We  call  the 
little  black  cherry  the  Polstead ;  not  from  any 
reference  to  the  head,  but  from  a  village  of  that 
name  near  Ipswich,  where  this  late  cherry  is  said 
to  grow  abundantly.     See  Nares. 

Meak.    See  Make. 

f  •  

.  Meal.  A  milking — that  is  one  milking.  '^  Sbo 
gon  a  pail  brim  full  at  a  meal.''  If  this  w,ojtd  he 
•now  local,  it  appears  not  to  h^v,e  been  so  fomierly. 
It|.the  Tale, of  a  Tub,  Loj*d  Peter,  in  ridicule  .of 
some  Popish  miracle  is  made  to  swejar,  that  he  'Ihad 
a  cow  at  home  which  gave  as  much  milk  at  a.  mealy 
as  would  fill  three  thousand  churches."  iSec^.  4. 

A  better. sort  of  cheese  made  in  Suffolk  is  c^Ied 
Wonmel  cheese — this  must  be  tlie  new  milk  of  one 
meal  or  milking.     See  Wonmel. 

•In  Cheshire  "  Meal  is  the  appointed  time  when 
a  cow  is  milked.  *Shegivei3  so  much  at  a  meal.' 
Anglo  Saxon,  Mael,  portio  aut  Spatium  temporis. 
Somner  Diet.     Sax.  Lat.  Ang."  W. 

•  Nares  says  that  *'  wca/e  is  still  used  in  the  coun- 
try for  the  quantity  of  milk  given  by  a  cow  at  one 
milking."     Wc  find  it  in  Brown's  Pastorals  : 

Kach  shepherd's  dauulucr  wiih  her  cleanly  peale. 
Was  come  a  field  to  milk  the  morniug's  tneale.    B.,  I. 

.  Mealy-mouthed.  Shy-— modest-- in  this  sense 
chiefly,  as  descriptive  of  one  who  is  supposed  to 
have  missed  a  desirable  acquisition  from  backward- 
ness in  asking.    The  phrase  is  not  local  perhaps. 


227 

It  is  sometimes  appliod  to  one  of  a  very  soft  or 
delicate  mode  of  speakinir,  in  some  such  homely 
phrase  as  this — **  Ah,  yah  !  she's  a  mealy-mouthed 
an — she  fare  as  if  hutter  would  ut  mdt  in  her 
mouthy  but  cheese  \vo4id'ut  choke  her  *' 

Meeoe.  *  Mice.  So  leece  for  lice;  heeve  for 
hive,  as  a  verb.  Of  divers  of  these  vuriations,  see 
under  Aninnd. 

Mrer.  a  small,  deep,  lake,  or  piece  of  water, 
especially  if  a  rivulet  runs  in  and  out  of  it.  A  stagp* 
iiant  shallow,  piece  we  c^ill  a  f'ie(U,.  winch  see.—r 
3l€er,  is  also  a  boundary,  but  is  j^ettin^  JLiito  disuse. 
Meer-hauk^  we  sometinies  hear,  )vhich  means  a 
divisiim,  or  ridge,  between  lands.  See  Bauk.  We 
sometimes  spell  it  were;  and  such  pools  give  names 
to  the  neighbouring  handets— Rushmere  is  a  \i!lage 
near  Woodbridge ;  Livermere  aud  Sicklesmere,  near 
Bury,  where  also  is  lliishbrook'.  In  Scottish  mere 
is  a  boundary,  derived  by  Jameison  fnmi  the  Ang^. 
Sax.  meara.  In  our  northern  counties  some  of 
their  beautiful  Jakes  retain  this  name.  - 

Nares'shows  that  it  is  used  by  Spejiserand  others 
of  our  old  poets  in  the  sense  of  a  boundary  or  di- 
vision: Sih.o  meersto.'ii*'^- 

lie  (h  bnylvc)  knou^  \unv  to  bounder  land,  rikI  con  .ts  it  k 
haynous  uAtnce  to  rciiiovc  a  mcrc^toue,     HalstoiistalU  Cliar.  'JO. 

Tlie"ful-i«iis  Teaiii,  Hia'r.  on  the  CamlJrian  side,'' 
J)<nii  dliropNliire  a^a  meur  iroiii  llcrctor'!  <livi(1e. 

Dnnjton,   Holyalh,    I.  807. 

"  3Ieer  stones,  what  jilivides  lands  between  the 
several  proprietors."     Cocker, 

Mker-bauk.    See  Bauk  and  Meek. 

Meeve.  Move.  **  Let  it  'bide— if  ye  take  it 
awah  t*  ul  onlybe  t»  meeve  aginn."  lu 'this,  and 
most  examples,  1  giviv  a  genuine  speech.  1  did  not 
expect  that  this'  ivas  any  thing  but  a  'VQ^risni;-^ 
Ncd^,  however,'  shows  that  k  is  arcliaic-*-**  Meve 


228 

OT  Meeve,  for  to  move.     Thk  occun  only  in  tb« 
ol(kr  writings — 

I  coutd  right  well 
Ten  t^mes  .sooner  all  that  have  beleyT^> 
Than  ihe  teiuli  p6rt  of  all  that  he  haveviaevfd. 

A  {>ledge  30U  did  require  when  Damon  hi»  sait  did  niei^fr 

Damon  and  FUhia$.   O.  PL  I.  904. 

O  mightie  kinge,  let  some  pittie  your  noble  hafteruMMe.  Ih,  .S4f*  • 

M  BLL.  A  mill.  So  fell,  for'fill.  Sic.  Mallft,  a 
miller.  Mcll  is  also  a  name  of  a  large  iron  ham- 
mer or  A/nic/,  which  &ee — and  under  A^lNND^Ibr 
sundry  interchanges  of  f  and  «. 

Menden.  See  AmrndEN— the  a  being  a  prer 
fixture  of  enforcement  to  petty,  or  (>retty,  oaths, 
as  they  have  be^  deemed.  '*  What  a  inenden  Ir— 
what  a  piezen !  "  equivalent  to  '*  whikt  a.p —  *'  put 
into  the  parts  even  of  genteel  cbmedy  in  the  hut 
century. 

Mew.  Mowed.  '^1  mew  that  there  filld.'*  Sb 
sncw  for  snowed — thew  for  thawed,  "&c.  Ill  refer- 
ence to  similar  words,  such  as  knew  and  blew  as 
preterites  of  the  verbs,  mew  is  analogous.  Knowed 
is  used  in  Suffolk  for  knew.  We  say  gnew  for 
gnawed .     See  G  n  e  w. 

Mewer.  Modest — unassuming — ^^demure.  Of 
the  latter  word  it  is  probably  an  abbreviation. 

Mewse.  The  beaten  path  of  a  hare  through  a 
fence.  Thus,  Ray  in  a  Proverb  exemplifies  the 
known  cunning  of  a  hare^— 

Find  you  wiihont  an  excuse, 

And  find  a  bare  without  a  mtife.  p.  188* 

Nares  shows  that  this  is  an  old  poetical  word. — 
It  is  he  says  "the  opening  in  a  fence  or  thicket 
through  which  a  hare  or  other  beast  of  sport  is  ac- 
customed to  pass.     Muset,  French." 

The  proverb  above  quoted  from  Ray,  is  given  as 


229 

one  in  FuQer*s  CoUec4ioa«  No.  6081 — and  in  Uow- 
els  it  runs  thus — 

Take  a  fiare  without  a  mtoea 

And  a  knave  wiUiout  e;(ca8e» 

And  hang  them.'    Eng.  IWmu  p.  12. 

It  seems  n  faroorite,  for  Nares  quotes  it  Jn  ano- 
ther form— 

*ns  as  hard  to  find  a  hare  wfthont  a  mute,  as  a  woman  without 
ascQse.   Oreeue'4Thkwt§'fail^oHt,4^.   HarUMite.Ylll,3a7, 

The  word  occurs  in  several  other  of  our  old 
authors.  Commentators  have  been  puzzled  by  the 
application  of  the  epithet  quick  to  it — and  the 
leanted  Archdeacon  is  in  doubt  about  it.  Were  he 
aware  of  our  Suffolk  use  and  sense  of  that  word, 
his  doiibt  would  probably  be  removed.     See  Qu i cK. 

In  an  old  dictionary,  anonymous,  is  **  A  mu9e  or 
musetf  the  place  through  which  a  hare  goes  to  re- 
lief.'^  In  Suffolk  imewae^ '  which  see,  has  the  same 
meaning. 

MiDDAH.'  A  meadow.  Of  the  common  substi- 
tution of  t  for  e,  and  e  for  i,  see  under  Aninnd. 

MiDDLESTED.  The  central  part,  or  threshing 
floor  of  a  bam,  between  the  Xyio  gofes.  The  word 
"  middenstead  "  occurs  in  nearly  the  same  sense  in 
Scottish.    T.  of  my  L.  3rd  Ser.  111.  268. 

Sted  seems  to  mean  place — we  say  home- at ed  for  ti 
farm  yard,  or  home-stali,  Nares  informs  us  that  sted, 
or  stead,  in  Saxon,  means  place. 

Milch.  Milk — but  only  in  the  sense  of  a  milch 
cow — "  a  good  milcher"  is  our  common  character, 
when  commending  onr  cattle.  Another  instance  of 
the  tendency  to  interchange  ch  and  k,  as  noticed  un- 
der Perk.  In  Cheshire  **  melch  means  mild,  soft; 
perhaps  from  milk^  either  through  the  medium  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  meoic,  or  the  Belgic  melkJ'    W. 

Mild.    A  mile — tew  mild,  two  miles,  &c« 

MiN.  Men.  Wimmin,  women — a  common  sub- 
stitution, of  which  see  under  Aninnd. 

MiMS*    Mj  bouse— my  farm.    **  I  hope  sune  to 


230 

see  yoo  at  mine"  ^  I  vrkh  Vd  sich  «  in«ok1e  at 
mivuT — a  farmer  would  say  of  a  desintble  niuck* 
heap.     See  OuR^.. 

Mi  NO.  To  mingle  or  mix— -especially  the  ingre- 
dieots  for  making-  bread.  Thus  amopg  the  expen* 
ditiire  at  Hengrave  Hall,  In  l607,  is  this  item, 
"  Rie,  del.  to  minge  with  wbeate  to  make  mistlen  for 
seed,  V<^f  ijb«"  Gages'  Hengrave^  p.  208.  Co  mepns 
roombf  which  see.  lo  Scotland^  to  ming,  or  mengf 
is  the  same,  to  mix,  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  meng-ak* 
J.     And  Nares — *'  tning  or  mingg,  to  mix. 

—  which  never  mingt 
I  With  other  streams.     Sir  A.  Ge9rge*s  Liican, 

She  carries  it  f^ne  and  mtit^  it  thick.    DranU 

For  the  perfect  tense  of  this  verb,  we  say  mung. 
^  She  mutig  up  that  bread/* 

MiNiFEB-piN.  The  smallest  sixed  pio,  of  the 
common  sort;  ^\so  minikin-pin.  Minikin^  in  otj^^r 
dialects,  has  a  sense  ot  small,  delicate.  Nares  says, 
it  is  a  diminitive  of  min,  which  in  German^  Scutch, 
&c.  means  small. 

And  for  one  blast  of  thy  minikin  mouth 

Thj  sheep  hhall  take  no  harm.     K.  Lear,  III.  6. 

He  adds  that  min,  mains,  and  all  this  family  of 
words,  seem  to  come  from  minor. 

MiMIKlN.      See  MlNIFER. 

Mint.  To  endeavour,  to  strive.  **  I  see  what 
Jie  is  minting  at.'*  **  Dew  them  there  young  tal- 
kies pick  yet  V  "  No,  tiiey  mint  at  it  now  an  ten. 
So  Ra}'  and  Grose,  as  a  north  country  word — "  To 
Mint  at  a  thing,  to  aim  at  it>  to  liave  a  mind  to  it." 
E.  W.  p.  44.  And  in  Scottish,  "  To  mint  at,  to 
aim  at,  to  attempt—  from  the  German  meinta,  in- 
temtio:'    J. 

MiRE-BRUM.  A  name,  but  I  am  in  some  doubt 
if  a  Suffolk  name,  although  I  have. been  told  so,  of 
the  bittern.  We  call  it,  1  know  nut  why,  Buiile, 
which  see.  In  Scotland  it  is  called  mirtirhumper, 
from  mirCf  Jameison  says^  and  the  Icelandic  bamp^a^ 


»» 


S3 1 

to  strike  agimst.  Grose  gives  mlrt'dtum,  as  a  Nor- 
folk naiue  of  the  bittern. 

MissBL-THRUSH.    See  Mavis. 

MissBS.  The  usual  way  of  speaking  of  one's 
wMe*— **  my  misset;*'  or  of  addressing  a  woman^  es^ 
pecially  a  matron — **  prah  take  a  pinch  99iM«e«.*'-— 
For  miatrtsMi  no  doubt. 

Mitts.  Worsted  gloves  with  a  thumb  and  no 
fidgers^  With  fingers  they  are,  or  used  to  be,  mit* 
t^ns ;  but  the  words  and  the  articles  are  going  out 
of  use. 

Mizzle.  Small  rdin»  mist — '*  A  Scotch  mist* 
that  will  wet  an  Irishman  to  the  skin/'  is  a  common 
saying  among  us — meaning  something  more  than  a 
mizzle.  Smiiher  and  Snmr  are  other  terras  of  like 
import;  implying  something  short  of  positive  rain. 
}n  Cheshire  also,  mizzle  is  "  small  rain.  Dr.  Ash 
admrtff  The  verb  to  mizzle,  but  rejects  the  substan< 
tivc.*'  W.  We  admit  both.  "Dew  it  rain?"  No— 
**  ta  mizzle.'^  In  the  north  hazr.  seems  to  have  the 
same  import.  "  It  hazes — it  misles^  or  rains  small 
rain."  Ray./Ej.Yf,  p.  38.  In  Scottish,  dacklin 
means  '' a  slight  shower ;  a  cf<?cA:/in  of  rain."  J.  See* 
Dag.  **  To  mizzle,  to  rain  in  small  drops."  Old 
dictionary,  anonymous. 

Moil.  Labour,  toil.  "  Toil  and  moil  "—Tur- 
moil. Poor  old  Tusser  uses  the  word,  when  he 
relates  that  he  took  a  SuflTolk  wife,  and  a  Suffolk 
farm,  and  'f  first  devised  his  book." 

Then  iook  I.wife,  and  )ed  my  iife,- 

In  Soffollc  soil : 
;  There  was  I  fain,  rovself  to  train. 
To  learn. too iong,  the  farmer^  song. 
For  hope  of  pelf,  iike  worldly  elf. 

To  moil  and  toil.  p.  319. 

He  psoceeds  rather  in  a  dolorous  strain,  to  give 
a  fisurther  '^Sketch  of  his  life,"  in  which  he  highly 
voBipliments  Suffolk,  and  Ipswich  particularly, 
xatber  at  the  expense  of  our  sister  county.  He  loat 
his  first  wife  at  Ipswich,  and  married  bis  second  in 

X2 


^      « 


232 

Norfolk.  His  ^' Sketch^  is  highly  'aaiiriiigv-^and 
though  tempted  to  make  an  extract^'!  most  not  do. 
it  here.  ,    ■ 

Moile  is  aa  old  name  of  the  hard^woiked  animal 
that  we  call  mole — a  mult ;  and  henpe  Nares  thinks, 
may  have  come  the  word  in  the  sense  first  giv^ 
above.  In  an  old  dictionary,  *  anonymous^^l  £nd 
''A  moil^  a  great  mule,  a  beast  of  burden.''  And' 
in  Grose  is  **  Mayle,  a  mule — Exmoor  dialect.  To 
moyley,  or  moyle  and  toil :  to  labour  hard  like  a. 
mule." 

MoLB.  A  mule,  reversing  the  o  and  v-r-ia  refer*- 
ence  to  mune«  guse,  &c.  as  noticed  under  BVTBS. 
A  mole  we  call  maawl.  In  Scotland  a  mule  is  called 
mull,  J.  Our  old  writers  call  this  useful  animal 
moile,  as  is  shown  in  a  curious  article  by  Nares.  See 
Moil,  in  this  Collection.  I  find,  from  the  tamejor- 
structive  and  amusing  Glossary,  that  moie  for  mple 
is  not  altogether  our  vulgarity.  "  Mooies  perhaps 
for  mules,  t  confess  I  do  not  understand  the  live- 
in  which  this  word  occurs — 

Content  the  (thee)  Daphoe,  mooles  take  mads,  but  men 
know  mooles  t6  catch.     Wamer*s  Alb,  Eii^»  B;  II.  p.  41. 

Perhaps  mules   take  inad*  fits,  but  yet  men  know  bow  to 
catch  them.     N. 

In  an  old  dictionary,  anonymous,  is  **  Mads,  a 
disease  in  sheep,"  I  know  not  if  this  may^end  to 
clear  up  the  obscurity  in  Warner. . 

MoLEWARP  or  MowLWARP.  The  earth,  cast, 
or  warp*d,  or  put,  out,  by  a  mole;  we  also  call 
such  heaps  mole-puts,  Shakespeare  and  others  of 
our  old  writers  call  the  purblmd  aniioal  itself  by 
the  name  of  mold-warp.  Hius  Hotspur,  in  the  Ist 
P.  ofK.  H.  VIII. 

I  cannot  choose:  sometimes  he  angers  me 
Witb  telUng  me  of  the  mold-wtrp  and  the  ant. 

Steevens  on  this  pftssage  quotes  the^  Mirror  for- 
Magistrates  to  show  tfie  origin  df  'Hotsptlr*s 
speech. 


238 

A  pfopftct  cam<;  (n  vengeance  fake  them  ali !  ) 
AmrmiBgHeiiry  to  be  Gogiuagogp 
■  'Whom  MerKn  doth  a  mould-wurpc  ever  call. 

MottJd-^arp  is  not  a  bad  riAme  for  a  mole — but 
in  Suflfolk  We  always  apply  it  to*the  hills,  or  putts. 
hi  Scottish  *'Modywart  or  ATodeivart,  is  a  mole,  from 
the  Ang.   Sax.  mold,  terra,   and  wrot  an,  versare 
roatro/'  J. 

Nares,  spelling  the  word  mold-warp,  says  it  is  a 
mole,  from  the  Saxon,  turning  the  mould.  Some- 
times mouldiivarp — 

Comfort  thyself  with  other  men's  misfortunes— as  the  mouldi' 
varpe  in  JEsop  t old  the  fox.     Bttrt*  Anat.  ot' Mel.  310. 

We  do  not  pronounce  this  word  so  broad  and  open 
as  we  do  the  name  of  tlie  animal,  which  we  call 
fKaavol.  Id  Bedfurdshire,  accordiiip;  to  Grose,  thf. 
mole  is  called  movlde-rat.  This  differs  hut  little  iii 
sonnd  fvbro  the  Siaxon  wrot,  or  tlie  Scottish  wart. 
On  another  termination  warp,  I  muy  note  that  it  is 
a  word  that  in  some  parts  of  Ent^land  means  an  »l- 
loyial  deposit  of  unctions  or  argillaceous  mattev  ; 
sandy  or  siiicions  <leposit  being  called  si7f. 

MoNTH's-MIND — is   still  occasiniiHllv  used;  but 

in  the  sense  of  strong  desire  or  inrliualiou — not  nt* 

being   reminded,  as  was   the  case   formerly,  when 

masses  or  pra\ers  recurred  at  the  inlervcils  of  moiitl)^, 

^Cm  for  the  repose  of  souls  departed  in  p<tpucy.    Wo 

savy  **  I've  a  month s-mind"  to  do  so  nnd  so.     Mind 

for  remember  is  common  in  Scotland, — 

"  t'rastoriuiu  here  praetorian  there!—]  mind  the  higgen  ont." 

Antiquary. 

luQage's  Hengrave,  we  read  that  "Thomas  Usher, 
tn  the  1st  ^ear  of  Hen.  VHI.  directed  that  no  public 
m^nilCn-mind  should  lie  had  for  him,  but  only  a  se- 
crct  one,  and  left  six  shillings  and  cightpence  to  Uie 
high  altar  at  Hengrave."— G«f^e'«  Hen.  p.  60.  and 
in  p.  112-  is  a  Tcr^  curious  account,  entitled  "  Coosts 
laid  out  at  the  montkes-mind,  1540. ''  It  is  interest- 
:]0g  to  stt  Hotr  uniformly  the  hmnan  mind  is  acted 
ou  in  uncoanected  countries.    Ail  the  world  over« 

X3 


S34 

perhaps^  where  priesfb  have  the  age^daticj,'ybii  will 
find  usages  similar  to  the  moi^li's-niiiid,  weekV 
mind,  year's-inind,,  ^c.  of  papacy^  Amoiig  the 
Mahommedans,  Hindoos,  and  other  rei^ote  jpeople^ 
the  like  credulity,  as  to  the  efficacy  of  piacular 
interpositions  between  the  sinner. and  his  Sayionrg 
may  be  noted.  The  Hindus  especially  have  vica- 
rial expiations  at  the  recurrence  of  stated  periods — 
weeks,  fortnights,  months-^nd,  for  t^ie  ricb^  years — 
nor  do  the  dead,  or  rather  their  heirs  and  property* 
escape  even  then.  Seven  years,  and  I  believe. even 
longer,  are  the  rich  held  in  mind  by  the  tenacious 
Brahman.  But,  here  again  all  agree-—*'  no  pence 
no  paternoster."  This,  however,  is  lio  place  for 
such  speculations. 

Nares,  under  this  word,  gives,  a  curious  article, 
shewing,  of  course,  the  superstitious  U8a(;e ;  and 
adds — "  but  month' s-mind  h  much  more  cbnmionly 
used,  and  is  not  yet  quite  disused,  in  the  s^se  of  ap 
eager  desire  or  longing.''  He  shews  that  it  occurs 
in.  Shakespeare,  and  others  of  his  time,  in  that  sense. 

I  see  yoa  have  a  month*s-mind  to  them.     Two  G»  o^  F.I.  2* 

And  if  a  trumpet  sound,  or  drum  beat. 
Who  bath  not  a  month' s-mind  to  combat. 

Hudibras,  P.  T.  Cant.  2. 

Moo  or  MoE.  The  lament  of  a  coiv  after  her  ^ 
calf.  Caliban  uses  the  word,  **  like  apes  that  oim 
and  chatter  at  me."  Temp.  H.  2.  It  here  appears 
to  mean  mouthe,  or  mock;  in  Scottish  tnow  is  a 
word  of  like  meaning ;  and  to  mue  or  moo  Jameison 
gives  in  the  first  sense — "  to  low  as  a  cow,  from 
the  German  mu,  vox  vaccae  naturalis ;  muk-en, 
mugire.''    See  Blars;  and  Nares  under  Moe^ 

MooDA.     Mother. 

MooNTH.  Month.  So  poon^h  for  punch, 
boonch  for  bunch,  &c. 

MoosicK.  Musick — also  musical  instruments: 
as  noticed  under  jBu^eff. 


235 

Moppet.  A  term  of  endearment  to  a  young  girl. 
Map^  and  Mojuey,  are  shown  by  Nareg,  to  be  of 
the  same  lamily— ''  Often  used  to  girls  by  way  of 
endearment.     It  is  fully  explained  in  the  following 


As  In  oar  triunaphalsi  calling  familitrly  upon  oor  mose,  I 
odlcd  her  moppe^ 

Bol  will  jou  weet. 
My  little  nin«e»  my  pi^ttle  mflppe. 
If  we  shall  af gates  change  our  stuppe, 
Chose  me  a  sweot. 

TJndentanding  by  this  word  moppe  a  Utile  prety  lady,  or  ten- 
der yoimg  thing.  For  >o  we  call  little  fishes  that  be  nijt  come  to 
their  fuU  growth  nutppet,  as  wliiting-niuppeo,  giiriitfrd>nioppet. 

PulUnh.  Arte  of  Eiig.  P0€s,  184. 

" Moppet f'*  Nares  adds  "was  used  in  the  same  way 
as  moppe,  and  hardly  yet  obsolete."  Witli  us  Pop^ 
pet,  IB  also  in  use,  in  a  like  sense. 

In  an  old  dictionary,  anonymous,  1  find  "  Mop* 
pet  or  Mopxey,  a  little  young  iufant." 

MOPSICAL.  Low-spirited,  drooping,  moping. 
Cocker  says  "  Mopsical,  mopeyed,  which  cannot 
see  distinctly.*' 

MoRAU  Model,  most  likely,  originally;  but 
now  meaning  likeness  or  similarity.  "  The  very 
moral  on  em."  *'  The  very  moral  of  his  tat," — 
This  I  find  from  Nares  is  not  altogcUier  our  own 
cormption-— "  Moral  was  also  sometimes  con- 
founded with  model,  and  used  for  it ;  and  I  believe 
still  is  by  the  ignorant — 

Fooica  be  they  that  inveigh  Against  Mahomet, 
Who's  but  a  marral  of  love's  monarchie. 

II,  Cmut*  Decad,  4.     Sonn^  4. 

More  right  upper.    More  upright. 

MoRT,  Mortal,  Mortashus,  Mortashun. 
These  words  are  used  in  the  sense  of  many^  much, 
exceedingly — '•  A  mort  of  folks."  Sort,  is  I  be- 
lieve,  nearly  equivalent — or  it  may  be  nmcb,  rather 
than  many;  quantity  rather  thuu  qumben    Sight 


23e 

is  another  similar  word — **  What  a  mortal  light  oo 
CD]/'  "  I  am  mortal  hungry  "—or  **  1  am  mfifim' 
iku$  hungry."  "  There  was  a  mortaahwi  sight  'a 
|ieople  at  the  fair."  I  am  not  aware  of  any  differ* 
eiice  between  these  two  words.  An  old  Norfolk  and 
Suflblk  iiaw  may  be  given  here. — '*  One  i&  none — 
tew  is  some — three  is  a  sort — four  u  a  niort."  it 
would  seem  hence  that  mort  implies  something  be* 
yond  sort.  This  may  have  been  current  when  Uie 
notation  of  the  Cast  Angliaos  went  not  much  far- 
Uier.  We  have  other  terms  of  amplification-^ctoA^ 
uoMhuVt  tahnashun,  and  woundy ;  softcnhigs  mostly 
of  a  grosser  word.  **  What  a  tahnashiiH  fule  yeow 
ar."     See  under  those  words. 

In  Cheshire — **  Mortacious — mortal; — mortacious 
bad."     W. 

Johnson  noticed  this  class  of  word?.  Oa  this 
equivocal  passage  in  As  you  Like  it,  U.  4. — 

We  that  are  true  lovers,  run  into  strange  capen;  but  as  all  U 

mortal  iu  uature,  bu  b  ail  nature  iu  love  mwtal  in  fully—- 

he  notes  *'  mortal  from  mort^  a  great  quantity,  is 
used  in  the  midland  couirties,  as  «  particle  of  ara* 
pi  ideation  ;  as  mortal  tatf,  mort  til  little*'  We 
bhould  also  say,  **  he*s  a  mortal  little  fellow  of  his 
years." 

Mother.  The  thick  tough  glutinous  scam  on 
vinegar  or  beer  in  bottles,  &c.     **  It's  all  mothery." 

In  Scotland  *'  the  mother  on  beer,  &c.  is  the  lees 
^vorking  up.'*  J.  Under  the  article  Kalmy^  1  have 
noted  that  beer,  &c.  in  that  state,  is  the  same  as 
being  mothery;  but  since  that  article  was  printed, 
1  am  told  that  I  was  wrong.  Kalmy  or  Ca/nmy,  is 
descriptive  of  white  smal)  particles  which  collect  on 
pickles,  if  left  much  exposed  to  air,  or  on  beer  or 
vinegar;  such  particles  are  called  the  Cam.  In  an 
old  dictionary,  anonymous,  I  find  ^'Mother,  the 
dregs  of  oil,  wine,  &c." 

MOUOHT.     Mi^ht.  :   g^MoUT.    . 


237 

Mo98B  RiTiiT.  A  sort  of  weasel  or  pole-cat*  'It 
ii  fbmid  in  corn  stacks  and  stack  vards,  and  is  lose- 
angrily  looked  on  than  others  of  that  tribe,  as  the 
fiomers  think  its  chief  food  and  game  are  mice  (or 
meeoe  as  we  call  them)  and  not  poultry.  It  is  a. 
smafi  species,  brown  on  the  back,  the  belly  white* 
Stooty  Stint,  Stink,  Fitchet,  Fowmart,  are  names 
of  oiliier  of  ^ese  vermin.    See  under  the  latter  word* : 

Shakespeare  uses  the  compound  word  rather - 
eqiiivocally — as  is  shown  by  Nares — who  says  thatr 
'^  Lady  Capulet  does  not  exactly  mean  a  hunter  of 
mice,    but  evidently  alludes  to  a  different  olbject 
of  pursuit ;  such  as  is  called  mouse  only  in  playful 
endearment : 

Ayey  you  liare  been  a  mouse-hunt  in  your  time, 
Bot  I  ¥rUl  watch  you  from  such  watching  now. 

120111.  and  Juliet,  IV.  4. 

"  The  commentators  say  that  in  some  counties  a 
weasel  is  called  a-  mouse-hunt**  N. 

On  this  passage  Steevens  says  that  mouse,  was 
once  a -term  of  endearment  applied  to  a  woman — as 
in  Hamlet—        '^ 

Finch  wanton  on  your  cheek,  call  you  his  nufute. 

But  my  late  learned  and  much  regretted  friend 
and  neighbour  Dr.  Henley,  in  his  notes  on  Shakes- 
peatv,  says  the  mouse-hunt  is  the  martin. 

.  f/ioVT  or  MouGHT.  Might.  "  Yeow  moughi  as 
well  a*  dunt  as  nae.*'  This  is  an  oid  English  mode 
of  spelling.  In'Stow*s  Annals  (black  letter)  it  is' 
mostly  so  spelled.  The  Scottish  has  mocht  for 
juight  in  the  same  sense.  J.  And  Nares  remarks 
that  "mote,  for  mi^ht,  properly  belongs  to  a  more 
funcient  time  than  that  to  which  this  work  (his  Olos«> 
sary)' refers — 

Now  mvte  ye  understand.     Spent.  F.  Q.  VL  viii.  46. 

Fairfax  fa;as  monght,  which  is  still  provincial — 

Yet  would  wiih  death  them  chastise  tfciough  heMmi^ht, 

F.  Tano,  xili.  TO.**  N. 


238 

Move  all.  A  juvenile  gftme,  scmetbkig  like 
my  lady's  toilette.  We  have,  and  no  donbt^  so* 
have  other  counties,  a  gpreat  variety  ctf  dronsinr 
games,  active  and  sedentary.  I  onee  intended  to 
endeavour  to  describe  them,  bat  so  many  years  have 
elapsed  since  I  was  much  of  a  performer,  Uiat  aiter 
ttymgmy  hand,  very  unsatisfactorily,  at  two  orthree,! 
resolved  to  relinquish  the  attempt.  SeeCAMP.  DifCKS 
andDRAKBs<  Kit-cat.  Kit-<;at-cannio.  I&nmd 
that  to  enable  me  to  describe  them  intelligibly  1  mivst 
releam  them — the  latter  indeed,  seemed,  th^easier  of 
the  two.  I  must  thereibre  be  content,  and  I  hope  it 
will  content  my  reader,  if  I  give  a  catalogue  of  mach 
pastimes.  Omitting  games  so  universal  as  Cricket, 
Leap-frog,  Marbles,  &c. — we  have  All  the  birds 
in  the  air,  and  All  the  fishes  in  the  sea — Bandy, 
Bandy-wicket,  Base-ball,  Brandy-ball,  Bubble-hole, 
Bull  in  the  park  (this  I  suspect  to  be  the  same. as 
Frog  in  the  middle)  Blind-hob,  Blind-mans- buff, 
Bob-cherry,  Bos,  Buck  buck  how  many  horns  do  I 
hold  up? — C^oss  questions  and  crooked  answers^ 
Cross  bars,  Cat  after  the  mousey— Dropping  the 
letter,  Dum  crambo,  Dutch  concert — English  and 
French — French  and  English  (different  games) — 
Frog  in  the  middle  (see  Bull  in  the  park)  Follow  my 
leader.  Foot  ball.  Five  stones — Gull — Handker- 
chiefs, Hats,  Hide  an  find.  Hie  cocolorum  jig,. 
H itchy  cock  ho,  Hocky,  Hog  over  hie.  Honey  pots. 
Hop  scotch.  Horny  hie,  Hot  cockles.  Hunting  the . 
hare.  Hunt  the  whistle.  Hunt  the  slipper — I 
spy  I — Jack's  alive.  Jack  be  nimble.  Jib  job  Jere- 
miah— Kick  the  bucket — My  lady's  toilet,  Magi- 
cal music — Niddy  noddy.  Nine  holes — Oranges 
and  lemons — Prisoner's  base.  Poor  tanner.  Prison 
bars,  Plum  pudding  and  roast  beef.  Puss  in  the 
corner — Ilakcs  and  roans.  Robbers — Salt  eel,  Snap 
dragon.  Snap  apple — Threadiug  the  tailor's  needle, 
Tom  Tickler's  ground,  Three  jolly  butchers — 
What's  my  thought  like  t  Work  at  one  as  1  da. 

There  are  doubtless  many  more  juvenile  sports 


239 

Biid  pastimes  that  do  not  occur  to  me— but  the 
above  may  suffice.  It  is  not  un pleasing  thus  to  see 
at  a  glance  such  a  variety  of  recreations  tending  to 
excite  innocent  gaiety  among  our  young  )>eople.— 
lie  is  no  friend  to  his  felhtw  creatures  who  desire 
to  curtail  them;  on  the  contrary  I  iiold  him  a  bene- 
iatrtor  to  his  county  who  introduce  a  new  sport 
among  us. 

Muck.  Farm  yard  manure,  or  other  com|K)st, 
ahie  any  thing  nntidy.  **  How  yeow  han\e  put  yar 
-clothes  on — why  yecw  look  all  of  a  n)U(-k/'  ludi- 
viduals  subject,  like  our  fat  friend  Sir  John,  "  to 
))erpetual  dissolution  and  thaw/'  would  in  the  di^g- 
da}8  exclaim  "O  lawkus  !  I'm  ail  of  a  muck." — 
And  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this  phrase,  indicative 
f>f  a  high  and  moist  personal  teni|H;raii)eiit,  l>\  which 
Mrs.  Bruin  introduces  herself  to  the  audience,  is 
still  he^u'd  among  us  oftener  than  one  would,  con- 
sidering the  progress  of  reiinement  and  sentiment- 
ality, be  led  to  ex(>cct.  In  exemplitication  of  this 
progress  1  may  note,  that  my  chamberniaitl  t;j.kos 
Theov  and  Aspatia  in  nuiiibeis  from  an  itinerant 
bibliopole;  a  work  which  from  its  title  I  prcsun:e  is 
of  a  very  refined  and  sentimental  sort. 

A] lick  is  given  by  Ray  as  a  Lincolnshire  and  N. 
country  word,  of  similar  nieanino;  as  io  Sntf<»ik,  aud 
|>erha|»s  all  over  Enginnd.  In  the  Sheers,  however, 
and  in  Scotland,  dung  is  the  more  common  term  for 
what  we  call  77/ McA.  We  never  use  the  more  grohs 
word  ;  nor  do  those  we  advert  to  confine  its  meau- 
iiigto  stercoraceous  matter.  In  Scotland  both  words 
are  in  use — "  To  mvck ;  to  carry  out  dung ;  from  the 
ancient  Swedish  mock-a,  stabula  purtrare."  J.  It 
is  a  Verb  also  with  us.  From  this  i^mss  word  mav 
probably  have  been  ilerived  Muckinja,  a  kerchief. 
See  under  that  word. 

A  muck-heap,  or  midden,  as  the  Scotch  term  it,  we 
call  Muckle^  which  see.  A  crooked  fork  for  pulling 
the  article  out  of  carts  on  to  heaps  we  call  muck-* 
crome.    See  Crom^. 


24a 

Mu(;kinja  or  Muckinjer.  A  handkerchief, 
especially  a  cfaild's-*R  cfaio  cloth — ^*  Mackender;  a 
handkerchief.''    Johnaon, 

Kerchief  appears  formerly  to  hav^  heen  the  word 
for  the  neck  clothing — uhen  refinement  extended 
the  convenient  article  to  the  hand,  the  compound 
word  explains  itself.  IKeck-hand-kerchief  is  evi- 
dently an  erroneous  compound,  though  until  of  kite 
not  uncommonly  used.  Out  of  all  these  muckinjer 
may  have  been  put  together;  or  may  the  French 
tmac/ioire  have  had  any  share  in  it?  In  Cheshire 
muckmda  is  explained  to  be  *' a. dirty  napkin  or 
pocket  handkerchief.  In  Orlus  Vocubulw^uw^  we 
have  muchedtr,  mete  cloth  or  towel.  Littleton  has 
muckinger.*'  W.  On  the  whole  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  muck  may  formerly  have  meant  unseemly 
secretions,  or  generally  any  thing  uncleanly ;  and 
the  word  under  consideration,  or  one  sounding  hke 
it,  a  receptacle  for  the  same,  as  noticed  under  Muck-. 

An.on^  Ray*s  S.  and  £.  country  words  we  read 
"  A  miickinder,  a  cloth  hung  at  children's  girdles  to 
wipe  their  noses  on,  from  mucus  tunium ;  from 
which  word  comes  also  our  EUiglisb  word  muc^,  used 
especially  in  the  north.  Muckaon  up  to  the  Huckaon 
— Devonshire.  *'  Dirty  up  to  the  knuckles."  £.  W. 
p.  H2. 

In  Nares  I  find  the  following  article — ''  Muckimn 
der,  a  jocular  term  for  a  handkerchief,  from  muCk, 
dirt. 

Be  of  good  comfort,  take  my  muckindetf 

And  dry  thine  eyes.    B,  Jm,  Tate  of  T.  III.  1. 

We*Il  have  a  bib  for  spoiling  of  thy  doublet. 
And  a  fringM  muekender  hang  at  thy  girdle. 

B.  and  FL  Capt.  III.  5. 

Muckiter  seems  to  be  a  corruption  of  the  same 
word — 

Onely  upon  his  mucldttr  and  band  he  had  an  F. 
.  By  which  I  did  suppose  his  name  was  Ferdinand. 

WeaJteft  ^i  to  Walt, 

MuckUer§  ^lp'<n£  Oqad^.  N.W\ttc»C%'D\G.\« 


241 

Tn  Barratfs  AlveaHe,  mueketer  is  referred  to  bib  ; 
but  Cotgnive  says,  **  a  muckender  is  a  bavaretU,  or 
mueketer,"  N.  Tn  an  old  diet,  anony.  is  **  Mucken' 
der,  a  child's  handkerchief." 

MucKLE.  A  heap  of  muck,  or  compost — murX:- 
A»Z4  no  doubt.  See  Muck.  It  is  called  midden  in 
Scotldiindy  and  miskin  in  other  parts  of  Britain.— 
Narcf  says  that  the  word  is  properly  mixen,  Saxon, 

And  wootd  you  luelloMr  my  .young  pretty  mistress 
In  SQcb  a  mitkeu,     B.  aud  Ft.    NighX-Wulker,  iil  1. 

This  is  another  instance  of  the  transposition  of 
letters,  as  noticed  under  Waps. 

MtD-CltoOM.  A  small  crooked- fined  fork  used 
for  removing  pieces  of  turf«  <&c.  when  draining;  land. 
See  Crome. 

MUJODLE.  To  confuse,  perplex,  disturb,  tum- 
ble about.  A  woman  nicely  dressed,  would  repress 
any  rough  approach  with  **  dou't  muddle  me '' — or 
•*  how  yeow  dew  muddle  one."  "  Muddles  and 
troubles"— perplexities  and  diiliculties.    Sec  MuD- 

MuiDDlBD.  Heated  and  bnlf  tire<l  with  exercise 
or  work,  confused — "  brinus'd  in  beer."  A  wo- 
man fatigued  with  many  chi'dren  would  say  "  I'm 
muddled  ta  dead  amost.' — Mojwical,  Owley,  and 
Waped,  are  words  of  thr  same  sort,  thoui^  tuud" 
died  is  oftcnest  used,  and  is  referrible  jnore  to  the 
effects  of  drinks  "A  fare  alius  to  bie  half  mud- 
dled." In  an  old  diet.  anon.  1  find  "to  muddle,  to 
nuit  with  the  biil  as  j^reese  do— to  fuddle  or  make 
tipsey."  Fou,  fuddled,  mnddled,  may  have  been 
mixed  up  somehow  together.  Muddy  is  quaintly 
used  for  a  state  of  inebriety,  and  in  several  East 
Indian  dialects  mud  means  the  same  thing.  With 
us  the  term  is  doubtless  irom  an  idea  of  thicknens, 
want  of  clearness.  So  foggy  means  not  «(>V>cx, 
See  Dao,-  To  one  about  to  render  water,  "View*  Qx 
407  J^aid,  turbid,  we  should  say  ««  dotf  t  mxiA^ 

Y 


242 

it  " — or  "  don't  puddle  it  "—evidently  mcanirtf^ 
doirt  make  it  thick  or  muddy,  or  like  puddle  See 
Muddle,   Buffled,  and  Puddlb. 

MuDjKN.  Clay  fit,  or  used,  for  the  purpose  of 
mixing  with  rubble,  or  chalk  rubbish,  and  stiaw, 
for  building  cottages,  garden  walls,  &c. 

Mull.  At  tpps— if  the  top  fly  away  out.of  the 
halkid  without  spinning  it  is  a  mulL  **  Tha's  a  mull 
-— yow  lah  in."  The  penalty  is  depositing  the  &uity 
top  in  the  ring  until  pegged  out  by  the  adversaries. 
A  btuni  is  I  believe  nearly  the  same  thin^  as  a 
mull. 

MuLLA.  Mellow,  ripe — "  mulla  pears."  Also 
a  miller.  ^ 

Mulsh.  A  thick  mixture  of  earth  and  water  for 
moistening  roots  of  shrubs  and  plants  when  re- 
moved or  transplanted.  The  word  is  also  applied 
disparagingly  to  any  thick,  slabby,  semi-.liquid. — 
*^  Mulch:  straw,  half  rotten."  Hay.  E.  W,  p.  82. 

MuLTA  or  MuLTER.  Land  laid,  in  ridges  (or 
ringes)  exposed  to  the  air  and  frost,  that  it  may 
become  pulverized  and  fine,  when  next  ploughed, 
is  said  to  multa — or  ''  to  be  laid  to  multa."      ' 

MuLLY-GRUBS.  Fancied  or  non-descript .  ail- 
ments— ill  humours,  affectation.  **  Why  yeow  fiure 
to  ha'  got  the  muUy-grubs  and  can't  eat  chopt  hay/' 
is  a  common  taunt  at  persons  afflicted  with  such 
tantrums.  In  Scottish  muUy-grub,  molli-groby 
moUi-grunt,  and  moUi-grant,  have  the  same  mean- 
ing of  "  whining,  complaining,  from  the  Icelandic 
mogl-a,  murmur,  and  graun,  os  et  nasus."  J. 

Mum  or  Mummy.  Mother.  This  appears  a 
convenient  abreviation,  corresponding  with  dadL-^ 
"  Where's  your  mum? — "Where's  your  dad?  See 
Mammy. 

MuNE*  The  moon — like  guse  for  goose,  chang- 
ing in  many  words  the  oo  into  the.  acute. i^  af 


243 

noticed  imdeir  Bates.  We  retain  an  old  dislikr  to 
a  new  moon  on'  Friday .  and,  in  our  own  way,  per- 
petuate it  by  the  recollection  of  an  old  saying — 

.    .  ■         Fridav^s  mune 

'     .    Come  when  ta  woul,  cume  tew  sune. 

— —  tnoay  s  muue 
^       _-,    .       Once  in  seven  vear  como  tew  »une. 

MvNO.    The  past  tense  of  to  Ming,  which  see, 

MvsHARtJNB.  A  Mushroom.  Toadscap  is  the 
distinction  between  the  inedible  and  edible  tribe's  of 
fongi.  It  appears,  by  a  quotation  in  Nares  to  have 
been  formerly  called  mushrump — 

Bot  caiyiot  bear  a  ni^ht-gronn  mushrump. 
Such  a  one  as  ray  lord  of  C  riiwiiK  is, 
Sbonic^bearusdown  of  the  nobility.  Edw.  TT.  O.  Pl.ii.  236. 

Mus6T.     Mercy.     "  Mussy  on  lis." 

Hy  tiADT^s  TOILET.  A  pastime  mostly  played 
i>7  yonng  ladies-^for  a  list  pf  a  variety  of  such»  for 
males  and  females^  active  add  sedentary*  see  under 

MOVEALL. 

Na.  Pronounced  as  in  nation — not,  no«  "  Wuthar 
'a  wool  *a  na/'  whether  he  will  or  not.  See  MouT. 
This  sound  seems  one  of  negation  in  many  lan- 
guages ;  throughout  Europe  and  beyond  it. 

Nabble.  Nibble.  Corn  growing  near  a  cover, 
will  be  nobbled  by  the  hares,  &c. 

Nackbr.  Generally  spelled  Knacker,  which 
sec  a  cart-collar  and  harness  maker.  Grose  gives 
Naeker  as  a  Norfolk  word,  for  this  craft. 

•NALib  Under  the  article  Goof,  note  to  verse  4^ 
I  bave  said  that  1  knew  not  this  word,  fiut  on  en- 
quiry since  1  am  told  that  it  is  still  in  use  with  us> 
as  the  name  of  an  awl.  And  the  far^searching  Nares» 
gives  the  same  quotation  from  Tusser  that  I  bave 
referred  to  above — and  another  from  B.  and  Fl. — 
adding,  '' ZVatr/,  an  awl;  by  a  familiar  and  easy 
In'niimntation,  a  nawl  instead  of  an  awL'*  Ot  this 
under  Nope,  and  Nottamt. 

y2 


244 

There  iihaU  !>e  no  more  ahoe'iafBdiiig  ; 
Cvery  -Ban  shall  hare  a  special  care  of  his  own  soiil» 
And  la  his  pocket  carry  hU  two  coniessorst 
His  lingel  and  bis  nawL      Wammt  PUioTd,  IV.  li 

Nanct.  a  small  lobster.  ^  Have  ywt  |utj 
lobsters  ?  "• — "  No,  we've  only  Nancys*" 

Nannarbk.    See  Nokn akbn. 

Nap.    Or  rather  perhaps  Knap,  wliteb  tec—- 

a  little  thump,  a  rap. 

Napper.  The  liead.  We  have  many  name* 
for  the  bead»  of  which  see  under  COSTABD  ;  where, 
however,  I  have  omitted  Napper* 

'  Nashun  or  Nation.  Many — much — great^- 
^*  A  nation  sight  of  folks/*  *' What  a  nashuii  fule. 
yeow  arJ'  Mort^  Mortation,  Sighi^  Sart^  are 
members  apparently  ofthe  same  family.  SeeMoaEtT. 
Nashun  means  also  one's  own  town  or  neighbour- 
hood. A  lad  was  lately  hired  out  of  the  parish  of 
Alderton  near  the  sea ;  and  for  the  first  time  cros- 
sed the  intervening  heath,  of  several  miles  in  ex- 
tent, to  enter  his  service  at  Wood  bridge.  The  boy, 
under  a  strong  feeling  of  nostalgia,  was  wretched  : 
and  to  the  enquiries  of  his  fellow  servants  could 
only  say  **  I  fare  to  be  out  of  my  nashun'*— 
the  first  syllable  long  and  modulated.  Flis  appe- 
tite and  health  declined,  and  his  maladie  du  pay^ 
could  be  removded  only  by  sending  him  home. — 
Nashun,  is  sometimes  substituted,  as  abm^e,  for 
JDahnation,  which  sec.  Native,  the  last  syllable 
acute,  and  rhyming  to  five,  and  both  syllables 
pronounced  long,  is  used  pretty  much  as  NasknTt-,, 
or  Natien.  Thus  a  ser^'ant  maid  will  decliae  going 
with  her  master's  family  to  a  new  residence  tu-enty 
or  tliirty  miles  froia  lier  own  parish  antl  pareuts. 
not. liking  to  go  so  far  from  her  na-tive^ 

Natha  or  Nutha.     Neither.     See  Cock. 

Nather  a'  both.  Neither  of  both — not  eithej* 
of  any  two  things— aoTnelim.<ii,.  however,  of  more 
(h^fB  two.  .      V 


•'      J245 

NATETKi    See  Nashun.  '  - 

m 

Natur.  Providence — dc'stiny.  ^Con-frary^ — 
stronglj  accenting  the  medial  <*  to  natur."  I  was 
tl*yin^'to  explain  to  rather  aii»  i'nfe)li|»;ent  j^mier, 
how  lightnings  ^fts  bfbught  from'  a  cloud,  Ks-  |>rac» 
tised  by  Franklin  and  others,  but  he  was  ^hocked 
at  the  impiety  of  the  attempt;  saying  it  wtw  ".con- 
trary to  natur."  Some  of  us  are  predestiriarians, 
and  think  vaccination,  and  indeed  all  attempts  to 
lurrest  the  progress  .of  disease  or  to  change  ils 
character    *•  contrar^     to   natur."     See    CkXMP- 

BONE.  .. 

Nawn.  Nothing.  "'A  eeiit  g(H>d  for  nawn.*' — 
See  GoN. 

Near  or  Neah.  The  same,  T  believe  as  Aif/ak, 
Ear,  Bnd^Siyah,  which  see. 

Neat.  Homed  canle  The  following  is  a 
quotation  from  Nare*s  GU»ssary  **  AW/ — Ibirned 
cattle  of  the  ox  species.  Pure  Sunoii.  h\  Scotland 
corrupted  to  nolt  and  noict.    See  Jameuon, 

And  yet  the  stocr  tlit  hei'cr  an*}  the  calf 
Are  ail  call'd  ntat.       Wnd.  Talc.  ii.  'i. 

Shakes})eare  there  pwns  upon  it;  tiic  same  word 
•afforded  a  quibble  abo  to  Sir  John  Harrington  : 

The  pride  of  C nit »  now  ip  fzrown  m)  ere^it, 

^he  beeka  to  be  bininutM  Galls  the  ucat : 

But  who  her  luerits  bJiiill  aiid  iiianiicri  scnn, 

IVIaj  think  the  tcriu  is  due  to  her  gciud  iiiiiu. 

Ask  you,  which  wav  ?    Mfth'iiks  your  wiis  arc  dull. 

My  fboemaker  resolve  \('(i  cini  at  full. 

NtaCt  leather  is  both  uxe-hide,  cow,  and  T*rill. 

Kpigraim,  B.  rii.  48. 

That  is,  he  was  to  be  considered  as  a  neat,  a 
horned  beast.  The  word  is  now  obsolete,  but  is 
sufficiently  illustrated  by  Dr.  Johnson.  Neat-herd, 
is  also  well  known.'' 

We  taow  seldom  bear  neat-herd  in  Suffolk,  but 
neai  beasit  and  tieat  cattle,  are  '^Try  coiuniow  co^« 
pounds.     The  cow- house  we  call  JN^ettus,  \.  e.  ucaV 

Y  3 


246      ^ 

Adieu;   as  we  <Sall  the  bide^Kmse,  Bmchta.    Sec 
those  words.    Neat*fl-foot-otl,  is,  I  sippcMie,  a  ge- 

■eralterm. 

,....,   ..•■ 

Nbb.  ,The  bill  or  beak  of  a  birdr^tbe  poiat  or 
nib  of  a  pen — also  quaintly  the  huoMm :  noae^  So 
^akeapearCf 

How  she  holds  up  the  nehf  the  hil)»  tehim  t 

And  arms  her  with  the  boldaess  of  a  "wife 

To  her  allowmg  hasband.       Winter'i  Tale.  I.  t. 

Ray  says  that  "  Nebi»  of  frequent  use,  tho' not 
for  the  nose  of  a  man»  yet  for  the  bill  of  a  bird> 
and  metaphorically  for  the  point  of  a  pen,  or  the 
long  and  slender  nose  of  any  vessel.^  £.  W.  p.  Viii. 
Kares  ^hows  that  Drayton  uses  the  term  '*  iiharp- 
Beb*d  hecco,"  meaning  the  woodpecker. 

In  Scottish  "  Neb  is  the  nose ;  used  ludicrootlj 
lang-nebbit»  sharp-nebbit — from  the' Anglo-Saxon 
neft,  Icelandic  nef,  nasus.  It  is  also  the  beak  bf  a 
fowl."  J. 

Mebst.  Nest — "A  bahd's  necst*"  In  Cheshire 
Neest  is  the  same,  and  boys  go  hird's-neezing.  W» 
or,  as  we  callit^  6aAd's-neezin. 

Neest-gulp..  The  weakest  bird  of  a  brood. — 
The  youngest  or  weakest  pig  of  a  litter  is  called  the 
barra-pig — the  youngest  of  other  anunals,  pitman 
or  pinbasket,  A  weakly  animal  is  also  called  Win^ 
nick.  See  under  those  words.  In  Cheshire  ^*  the 
least  of  a  brood  is  called  RuckUng"  W. 

T!i%EZRJJ,orbahd*S'ne€zing — seekiitg  bird's  nests- 
See  Neest. 

Neezle.  Insinuating  one*s  self  into  something- 
anug  or  desirable — from  nestle,  no  doubt.  The 
same  in  Cheshire.  W»  And  in  other  counties  pro* 
bably. 

Nettled.  Provok'd,  anger'd.  **  'A  was  rude 
^poimy — 'a  nettled  me."  As  if  stung  by  a  nettle. 
Tbia  avenging  weed  is  the  source  of  other  figurative 


247 

phnuies,  tfaat  are  bettor  unexplained.    See  Nam 
■nder  NsTTLE. 

Nbttus,  or  NsTTAS.  The  building  wherein 
eows  are  milked.  Neat-hafue  perhaps.  See  of  thi» 
nnder  Bauk,  and  Neat.  We  learn  from  Nare5 
that  in  the  days  of  Massinger,  the  Neat-komte  was 
a  celebrated  garden  and  place  of  entertainment  at 
Chelsea.    The  garden  was  famous  for  musk-melons. 

The  neat'houu  for  musk-meloiia,  and  the  gardens 

Where  we  traffic  for  asparagas,  are  to  lue 

In  the  other  world.     Matting,    City  Mad,  III.  1. 

Newiltrt.  An  Annuity.  But  I  suspect  it  to  be 
only  an  individual  vulgarism,  and  not  a  word  in  use. 
I  have  heard  it  but  once— and  it  was  thus — "  Well, 
how  is  poor  naabor  Smith  1  "  **  Purely  well — why 
he's  come  into  a  newiltry."  I  was  thus  once  puc- 
sled  by  a  labourer  lamenting  that  his  son  was 
''  draawn  for  the  Oakleys/*  meaning,  1  found  on  en- 
quiry, the  Local  Militia. 

NbW8*D.  Published  in  the  newspapers.  *'  Ta 
mah  ma  well  be  newsM  a*tonce."  News  and  Oath, 
as  verbs,  are  I  should  think  peculiar  to  Eastern 
Anglia. 

Nice.  We  say  "what  a  nice  man** — meanin«; 
pleasant,  agreeable,  without  adverting  to  any  idea 
of  daintiness  or  delicacy  or  particularity :  in  which 
senses  we  also  use  the  word  like  other  people. 

NiCKLED.  Wheat  is  said  to  be  nickled,  or  ntc*- 
ley  when  root- fallen  or  partially  beaten  down  by 
hail,  &c.  so  as  not  to  coiue  gain  to  the  sickle — or 
when  the  stem  is  too  weak  to  support  the  ear. — 
Snaffled  h»s  nearly  the  same  nieaiiiug:.  Waited  is 
aterm  s<»r:  e\>hat  similar,  descriptive  of  the  irregular 
standing  <'t' other  com,  or  of  grass,  <l^c  hut  means 
rather  a  regular  inclination.  S/iuc'^ief  is  another. 
See  under  the  words  in  Italics,  and  Baffled. 

NlFFLlN.     Whining,  unhappy— said  of  a  child-^ 


24a 

**  a  poor  nifilin  thiiig.*'  It  hr  ^o  used  ih  t)t«  ^eiue 
of  trifling,  but  not  rhyming  to  that'-'Word;^^'-  Niures 
gives  several  quotations  and  references  showing  4;hat 
Nifle^  is  used  by  Chaucer  and  others  inthe  sense  of 
a  trifle:  from  a  Norman  word  nifle.  Henc^  Ni^^ng^ 
trifling — 

Fur  a  poor  niflmg  toy,  that's  worse  than  nothing.  : 

Lady  Aiimtmy,  £.-  S«  lit. 

These  words  were  perhaps  pronounced  nijffie! 
for  Nares  adds  "  A  niffiing  fellow  is  sometimes  said 
even  now,  in  contempt  and  means  probably  the  ^ame* 
The  expression  is  current  in  Devonshire." 

Nigger.     The  neighing  of  a  horse — or  rather 

the  fondling  welcome  of  a  mare  to  her  foal ;    or 

'dt'    two    friendly    horses  after    a  separation — or 

ihe  eagerness  of  a  horse  hearing  the  corn  rustling 

'iii  the' sieve.     The  word  occurs  in  a  li^Le  sens^  in 

iiigiel.  -^  Ye  needna  nigher  that  gait,  Uke  a  coujqser 

at  a  coup  of  corn."      Snigger  is  sometim|Bs.  used 

.  with  us  in  nearly  a  like  sense. 

V,    In  Scottish  according  to  Jameison  **  /liieW,  neig^ 

ift^T*    (uuttural.X  nicker,    to   neigh — Anglo  Saxon 

gnaeg-en,  I  eel.  hnaegg-ia,  id.  or  to  laugh  in  a  ioud 

and  ridiculous  manner." 

NiggleI  a  snidrl  afl^ected,  mincing,  pace,  or  gait. 
^' Ka *there~h'ow  she  niggle  along*'  Also  to  make 
spare,  "  We  make  )tiut  poor  outifof  our 'lowans— we 
niggle  it  out  as  well  as  we  can."     See  Good-outs, 

Nares  thus  explains  this  word — ^*  to  trifle  or  play 
with,  also  to  squeeze  out,  or  bring  out  slily — 

I  had  bat  one  poor  penny,  and  that  I  was  oblis;cd  to  niggie  oaU 

Honest  Wh.  b.  PI.  111.  42f . 

Nine-holes.  "  A  rural  game,"  says  Nares, 
"played  by  making  niue  holes  in  the  groutid  in  th« 
angles  and  sides  of  a  square,  and  placing  stones  and 
other  things  upon  them  according  to  certain  roles.*^ 

This  is,  I  believe,  accurate  as  far  as  it  go^s^  of 
ouc  Sufiblk  game:  a  hole  in  the  middle  is  necewry.- 


249 

Nares  quotes  several  authors  to  sbow  Ibe  aiiti4|uity 
of  tliB  game — among  them  Herrick, 

Ksipe  playes  of  nine-holesy  and  *tit  known  he  gets 
If  any  a  tester  by  hU  game*  and  bets*    p.  178. 

He  shows  that  the  nine-mens-morrice  of  oor  ait- 
^estors  was  but  another  name  for  nine-holes. 

Nine,  a  favourite  and  mysterious  number  every 
where»  prevails  in  games.  We  have,  like  others, 
nme^pins,  which  we  rather  unaccountably  call  ten- 
phUf  or  rather  Tempins,  which  see;  although  I 
never  saw  more  than  nine  used  iu  the  game.  For 
am  enumeration  of  the  names  of  some  of  our  rural 
juvenile  pastimes,  see  Move  all. 

Ninny.  A  simpleton-r-also  Ninny-hammer, 
and  Niucum-poop — used  extensively,  perhaps,  and 
vaguely. 

Nip.  *'  To  press  any  thing  between  the  finger  and 
tfanmb,  not  using  the  nails ;  or  with  an  instrument 
that  is  flat,  as  tongs  or  the  like.  To  press  between 
things  that  are  edged  is  called  pinching."  I  have 
taken  this  word  and  explanation  from  Ray*s  English 
Words,  p.  viii.  The  word  is  used  in  Suffolk,  I  be^* 
lieve,  exactly  as  explained  by  Ray.  It  had  escaped 
me.  It  occurs  in  Tusser,  perhaps  in  a  like  sense; 
in  a  passage  quoted  under  Bob. 

NivvA  or  NivviR.  Never — evidently  only  a 
vulgarism.  So  iwa  for  ever.  The  following  phrase 
is,  or  used  to  be,  often  heaid,  in  the  way  of  putting 
off  the  expectant  interrogatories  of  a  child  as  to 
when  such  and  such  a  hope  might  be  realized — 
"Tomorrow  come  nivva — when  the  dead  crow  fly 
over  the  river." 

The  first  portion  of  this  *'  Tomorrow  come  never*' 
t  find  in  Bay,  p.  2Q8,  but  the  poetical  termination 
seems  to  be  our  own. 

NlYAH  or  Near.  Rhyming  iofire  and  ear,  tfa«» 
fat  siuTcmndinff  the  kidney  of  a  roast  loin  of  veal, 
•r  mnttofl.    Alq/o  the  kidney  itself    Thei^  jfJ^  va.- 


250 

lious  ways  of  pronouncing'  these  words,  A  if'th.  Ear, 
ABd  Nia. 

Noah's  ARK8.  Clonds  in  an  arkite  form  wbich 
sonietitHes  spread  extensively  in  I  he  heavens.  It  is 
believed  among  us  that  such  a  cloud  imuiedkltely 
preceded  and  prefigured  the  deluge— and  we  8|iJl 
confidently  expect  rain  on  its  re- appearance.  I  will 
note  that  the  figure  or  form  of  the  cloud,  which  is  that 
of  a  joined  parenthesis  ()  or  o  is,  or  has  been,  am<Hiig 
all  nations  and  people.  East  and  West,  of  the  mOst 
mysterious  import.  Volumes  have  been  written 
on  the  properties  and  allusions  of  this  mystical 
diagram,  and  many  more  may  be  written,  before 
the  subject,  which  I  think  a  very  iuteresting  one,  be 
exhausted 

Nob.  •  The  head.  See  under  Costard  for  several 
Suffolk  names  for  the  head. 

Nobble.  A  bit — off  a  loaf,  &c.  '<  I  cut  her^i 
^eat  nobble  off  the  loaf,  and  she  axed  me  if  wee'd 
any  warmin  that  ad  eat  it,  for  she  would'nt/'  This 
was  said  of  a  sturdy,  thankless  beggar. 

Noble.     The  navel. 

Noddle.  The  head — not  local  perhaps.  We 
have  many  names  of  the  head,  of  which  see  under 
Costard:  where,  however,  I  have  omitted  this.     ' 

Noddy  A  Simpleton.  In  which  sense  Shake- 
speare and  other  of  our  old  writers  use  it — 

S, — She  did  nod,  and  I  daid,  I. 

P.*— And  that  set  together  is  noddy, 

$• — Now  you  have  taken  the  pains  to  set  it  together,  take  it 
for  your  pains.     Two  G.  of  V.  I.  1. 

We  have  also,  like  our  ancestors,  a  game  call- 
ed noddy y  the  same,  I  believe,  which  we  call  niddy^ 
noddy;  another  name  of  which  is  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  Coventry.  It  is  played  with  cards,  and 
differs  intirely  from  cribbage,  pairs,  one- and  thirty, 
quinze,  vingt-un,  all  of  which  have  been  surmieied.bv 
Commentators  on  the  passages  in  which  this  game  k 


251 

mentioo^I  by  our  old  writersp  to  be  the  same.  Nares 
gives  a  curious:articIe  ou  this  matter.  Under  Move- 
all  I  have  enumerated  some  of  our  ^ames,  but  I 
have  Dot  included  games  on  the  cards.  PJuyiiig  at 
the  game  under  our  notice,  great  emph.iMst  i^  laid  on 
the  final  syllable — niddy-noddte ;  aiMJ  the  vocal 
parts  are  sometimes,  among  familiar  friends  sung  or 
chaunted  ;  aflFording  considerable  aniubemeut.  But 
few  months  have  eiupsed  since  I  made  one  at  a  very 
merry  g^me  at  nidUy-noddy — and  as  so  much  has 
beeo  said  hereon,  i  will  endeavour  briefly  to  des- 
cribe  it. 

Any  number  canpla^ — the  cards  are  all  dealt  out-— 
the  elder  hand  plays  one,(of  which  he  hath  a  pair  or 
a  prialf  if  a  go(Ml  plaver) — ii;i\iiig  or  singing  "  there's 
a  good  card  for  thee,"  pHSbing  it  to  his  right  hand 
neighbour — the  person,  next  in  succession  who  holds 
it*  pair  covers  it.  sa^hig  "  there*8  a  fttill  better  than 
be*' ;  and  passes  both  onward — the  person  holding  the 
third  of  the  sort  (ace,  six,  queen,  oruhat  not)  puts 
it  on  with  '*  there's  the  best  of  ail  three":  and  the 
holder  of  the  fourth  crowns  all  with  the  emphatic-— 
•*  And  there  is  Niddy-Soddeee" — -He  wins  the  tack, 
turns  it  down,  and  begins  again.  He  who  is  first  out 
receives  from  his  adversaries  a  fish  (or  a  bean  as  the 
case  may  be)  for  each  unplaced  card. 

I  do  assure  the  reader  ihat,  however  dull  in  des- 
cription, this  is  an  animating  and  a  niirtli-cNciting 
amusement:  and  is  a  good  game  with  >ouiig  folks, 
being  very  easy.  I  had  nearly  forgotten  to  ni)le  that 
the  fourth  player,  in  some  partit's,  for  the  last  or  win- 
ning card,  substitutes  the  slow  chauut  of  "  and 
there's  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Cov-en-treee." 

Noggin  Building,  with  bricks,  between  the 
studs  or  upright  timbers.  It  is  also  called  Brick" 
noggin^  which  see. 

lu  Clieshire  "  the  filling  up  the  interstices  between 
the  limber-work  in  a  wooden  building  with  sticks 
and  clay  is  called  the  nagging.**  W.       •      - 


252 

It  n  a  very  old  and  durable  stile  of  building.  The 
wood  seeras  to  outlast  the  iuterstitiai  masonry.  It 
pretailed  I  believe  over  raosi  parts  of  England,  but 
is  not  much  adopted  in  modem  times.  Sometimes 
the  timber  is  laid  diagonally  instead  of  perpendicu* 
larly.  Tlie  town  hail  of  Aldborough  is  an  ancient 
specimen  of  of  Noggin.  In  Normandy,  it  is  a  very 
common  stile  of  building,  and  in  parts  of  Franee^Ger- 
many,  Swisserland  and  the  Netherlands.  The  word 
does  not  occur  iu  Gkage's  Heograve;  but  the  follow- 
ing quotation  refers  to  the  stile;  which  is  now  rarely 
seen  in  London.  The  item  is  among  the  expences  or 
payments  at  Hengravc  Hall  in  1574.  *'  For  plaster* 
ing  and  whitening  the  fore  front  of  my  mr.  his  house 
in  Coleman  street  and  the  court,  with  the  blacking 
the  timber  work,  Xlij«.  Vj^."  p.  202.. 

In  Staftbrdshire,  and  probably  in  the  neighbouring 
shires,  this  mode  of  building  is  called  Paney — from 
resembling  the  pattts  of  windows.  Some  very  elabo- 
rate and  lofty  specimens,  in  patterns,  with  the  timber* 
work  blackened,  as  heretofore  in  Coleman  street,  are 
still  seen  in  Stafford,  and  other  towns  in  that  quarter. 
It  is  not  inaptly  named  alter  the  tracery  or  paneM  of  - 
windows.  In  Scottish,  pans  is  described  by  Jamei- 
son  as  a  similar  stile  of  building. 

No  MATTERS.  The  first  syllable  of  matters 
open  and  long — not  very  well.  •*  1  don't  fare  no 
matters."     **  *A  don't  behave  to  me  no  matters," 

Nonce.    See  Noonce. 

NoNNAK.  Light  irregular  work,  or  jobs,  little 
better  thdu  idling.  "'Aeentable  to  dew  a  day's 
work — 'a  nonnak  about  now  and  ten.'* 

NoNNAKEN.  IdliujL',  dawdling.  See  Dawdle. 
Nannakeiit  is  sometimes  heard.  "  Come,  store, 
store,  don't  keep  nannaken  yar  time  awah.*'  JSaW' 
neyken,  is  a  similar  word. 

NoNNAKS.    Jibes — fears*    "  Come,  none  'a  yir  . 
aoDoaks  uow»^* 


253 

No6NCB.  Piiiposely«— designedly— -for  the  par- 
|NMie ;  geoeraily  in  a  bad  »ense.  "  A  did  it  for  the 
nooDce"  or  maliciously.  It  is  archaic,  but  not  used 
exclttsirely  in  a  bad  sense,  as  in  Suffolk. 

Chancer  often  uses  it,  spelling  it  nones. 

The  mSPer  was  a  stout  raan  for  the  uone$. 

Full  big  was  he  of  hraun  and  eke  of  bunes.     Can.  Tales* 

Again  in  a  quotation  under  Heit.  , 

In  Ritson*s  Metrical  Romances,  the  following 
couplet  occurs  in  a  ballad  detailing  some  of  the 
exploits  of  our  Richard  in  Palestine — this  was  eat* 
ing  a  Saracen's  head — 

The  King  ate  the  flesh  nnd  gnow  the  bonesy 
And  drank  weil  after  for  the  uones, 

Gnew,  which  see,  is  also  Suffolk. 

In   a  little  ilialop:iic  called  "  'Tis  merry  when 
gossips  meet,*'  printed  in  LGOO,  this  verse  occurs 
in  the  confession,  or  rather  boasting,  of  one  of 
'  them — 

Then  if  he  sees  me  ont  of  pjiiicncf  once, 
Then  do  1  sijih  to  urievo  him  f<ir  the  noH(\\ 

1  never  heard  the  word  out  of  Suffolk,  where  it 
is  in  every  day  use.  l>iit,  somewhat  curiously,  after 
the  comuton  disuetude  of  centuries,  it  is  now  again 
coming  into  literary  usage.  It  has  lately  been  a- 
dopted  in  modern  pari»ncc  by  one  of  (»ur  leading 
fjuarterlv  vehicli:*  of  critieisui — and  ajjain  in  a  dia- 
l(»gue  of  the  time  of  the  Crusades  in  Ivanhoc — not 
in  a.  bad  or  complaiuins:  sense.  *'  I  fear  "  said  the 
RIack  Knight  **  that  there  is  no  one  here  qualified 
to  take  upon  him  for  the  nonce,  the  character  of 
Father  Confessor  "  11.  \\)\J. 

It  is  now  likely  to  be  again  restored,  if  not  in 
speech,  in  the  pages  of  legendary  writers.  Junius, 
Skinner,  Walker,  Johnson,  and  other  Lexicogra- 
phers have  some  discussions  on  this  word.  Walker 
calls  it  "  obsclefe** — but  says  "  it  is  still  used  in  fa- 
-miliar  conversation.*' 

z 


254 

It  occurs  several  times  in  Sbakespeare.  The  King 
in  Hamlet  says, 

•  •    •  »  ,  * 

When  he  calls  fot  drinky  1*11  have  piefeirM  him  a  chafice  fur 
the  nonce;  whereon  but  nipping*  &c«   iv. 7. 

Poins,  Our  risors  we  will  change :  and  Sirrah*  I  have  caiea 
of  buckram  for  the  nonce,  to  inmask  our  noted  oatward  gar* 
nentf.     1.  K.  H.  4.  i.  3. 

On  this  passage  Tyrrwhit  notes — "  That  is»  as  I 
conceisefforthe  occaaion.  This  phrase,  which  wat 
very  frequently,  though  not  always  very  precisely, 
used  by  our  old  writers,  I  suppose  to  have  been  oii« 
ginally  a  corruption  of  corrupt  Latin — from  pre^ 
nunc,  I  suppose  came  for  the  nune^  and  so  fw  the 
nonce ,  just  as  from  ad-nunc  came  a-nan*  The  Spa- 
nbh  entonces  has  been  formed  in  the  same  manner 
from  in  tunc'* 

For  the  nonce,  occurs  again  in  K.  H,  6*  ii.  5*  fai 
Scottish  "  Nanee,  or  Nanifs :  for  the  nanys,  on 
purpose.  From  the  Swedish  gothic  naeMM-a^  to  pre- 
vail with  one's  self  to  do  a  thing  *'  J. 

Since  the  preceding  was  written  Nares*  Glosaanr 
has  come  into  my  hand :  he  notes  that  the  word^ 
which  he  spells  nonce  and  nones,  is  of  doubt&i  ety-^ 
mology — and  quotes  passages  where  it  occurs  from 
Shakespeare,  Drayton,  Bishop  Latimer,  and  the 
Mirror  for  Magistrates. 

We  give  the  oo  a  full  open  sound — and  variously 
pronounce  the  word  noonce,  noones,  and  noonsi. 

NooNiNS..  The  lunch,  or  nunch,  about  noon-«* 
the  snack  at  other  times  of  the  day  have  significant 
names. — See  Beyer  and  Nunch.  "  Nooning,  re- 
pose at  noon-^a  cant  word."     Walker, 

Nope.  I  am  told  that  this  is  a  Suffolk  name  of 
the  bull- finch,  but  I  nevelr  heard  it.  We  call  it 
Alp  or  Olp,  and  by  other  names.  See  Alp.  I 
quote  the  following  from  Nares. 

<*  Nope,  a  hull-Jinch.  *  Rubicilla,  a  bull-fiiieli, 
a  hoopi  and  buU-spink,  a  nope*     Merretfs  Pmau 


2S5 

•  * 

p.  1741.  One 'of  many  provincial  names  given  to 
tliat  bird. 

To  philorael  the  next,  the  linnet  we  prefer. 
And  b\  that  warbling  bird  the  wood*lark  place  we  then^ 
•The  recl'8|>amiw.  ihe  noiptt  the  red-breast,  and  the  wren^ 
The  yd  low- pate.     Urayi.  PolyoLb.  xiii.  915. 

"By  the  red-sparrow,  he  probably  meant  what  is 
now  called  the  reed  aparrow  The  yellow -pate  is 
the  yeilow-hammei.'' 

The  last  named  bird  we  call  the  Yullahammant, 
which  see.  We  have  the  reed -sparrow,  but  no 
red-sparrow. 

-  I  may  note,  that  o/p,  if  pronounced  ope,  as  it 
fometunes  is,  may  be  the  origin  of  nope;  an  ope, 
and  a  nope,  difter  as  tittle  as  possible.  So  it  has 
been  surmized  that  an  awl,  and  a  nail,  are  the  same. 
See  Nall,  and  Nottamt.  ^ink  seems  to  be  a 
name  for  the  finch  tribe,  pretty  extensively ;  but 
not^soy  I  think,  with  us.  The  chathnch  we  call 
Spinx,  which  see. 

NoTTAMY  or  NOTTAMIZE,  A  skeleton.  "  *Tis 
nawn  but  a  Nottomize*'— "  He*s  wasted  to  a  Not- 
tamy."  Said  of  a  ver^  thin  horse,  or  of  a  wasting 
nian. 

It  is  probable  that  Ottomy,  or  Attoray,  which 
occur  in  our  old  writer^}, '  are  the  same  corruptions 
of  anatomy.  An  otamy,  or  a  notamav,  are  as  like 
as  possible.  Simiiarl>  an  ope  and  a  nope ;  an  awl 
and  a  nawl,  have  been  confounded.  See  Nall  and 
NOPB.  Nares,  under  Atomy,  gives  a  quotation 
from  Shakespeare,  to  our  present  purpose-*- 

D0I,     Goodman  death,  good  man  bones. 
Hoit.    Ihoo  atonuf  thou,     ft  K,  Hen,  4.  v.  4. 

Nous.  Sense,  understanding,  cleverness.  "Ah, 
*a  don*t  want  for  nous.*'  This  is  good  Greek  as 
well  as  good  Sufiotk — fova. 

KoWANTEN.  Now  and  then — occasipnally.-*- 
Sae  Hmt  and  Nonnak. 

22 


266 

NowL.  The  head.  It  is  said  to  be  &  S^ioli 
word :  hence  Knoll  for  a  head  land  or  a  mound  of 
earth.  We  have  a  great  many  quaint  names  for 
the  head ;  of  which  see  under  Costard. 

Shakespeare  uses  nowl,  for  head — 

An  asses  nowl  I  fixed  on  his  head.     Mid,  N,  JO.  in.  t. 

And  Tusser — 

Strike  off  the  nowh^Of  delring  mowb.  p.  103. 

la  Scottish  ''Know;  a  little  hill,  from  the  Ten* 
tonic  knoUe,  a  hillock.''  J.  Jobanmoi,  which  see,  is 
a  thick-headed  fellow. 

As  well  as  in  Shakespeare  this  word  is  found 
among  other  of  our  early  authors. — ^I  take  the  fol- 
lowing from  Nares. 

Then  came  October  fall  of  merry  glee. 

And  yet  his  nomlc  was  totty  of  the  must 

"VVh^h  hp  wa«  treading.    Sftens,  F.  Q.  VII.  viL  59. 

i  mean  iu6  bastard  h\v*brood«  which  eaa  moUifie* 
AU  Icinds  of  causes  in  their  craftie  nolet»  ■ 

Afirr.  Mag.    p.  407. 

Nozzle.    See  Nuzzle. 

Nub.  The  back  part  of  the  neck,  just  nnder  the 
occiput.  Ntxcldle  n  I  believe  the  same;  the  nap€  as 
it  is  called  elsewhere.  As  well  as  nape,  we  also  say 
the  scuffs  or  skruff  of  the  neck ;  all  I  fancy  mean  the 
same  part.    See  Nuddle. 

NupDLE.  The  nape  of  the  neck  ;  which  we  call 
a;l$»o  th^  iV?^^»  Skuff',  and  Skrvff,  which  see.  Ihc 
following  is  a  popular  cure  for  the  ague.  '-'  Cut.  a 
lock  of  hair  from  the  nuddle  of  the  neck  and  hang 
it  in  the  doke  of  the  slummock  "  See  Doke.  But 
the  charm  is  not  good  without  certain  words  and 
ceremonies  that  I  have  fi^rgotteu  or  am  ignorant  of. 
Nuddle  is  also  used  in  a  sense  of  stooping  to  a  tire- 
some degree.  Reaping  wheat  which  was  waited  or 
laid,  I  lately  heard  a  man  say  '*  twas  sich  riuddlm 
work."  Another  would  perhaps  have  said  mtuOim^ 
heating,  tiring,  perplexing. 

NUPGB.    To  jog  one:  a  man  snoring  would  be 


257 

nuiged  by  his  wife  with  her  elbow,   or  vL  ver.    It 
'4mn  from  fudge.    The  latter  is  rather  to  poke  or 
<ii8torb  with  a  stick. 

NuMPOST.  A  deafness  or  disorder  in  the  ear  or 
head. — *•  Numpost  i  'the  hid."  Am  imposthume  pro- 
bably. 

NuNCH.  The  same,  perhaps,  as  Lunch.  Nunch- 
eoiiy  and  Lunchebn,  are  old  words,  l^his  may 
have  been  nooneJieon^  or  no&nitis — See  the  latter 
word.  "Nuncion — an  afternoon's  repast.**  Cocker. 
VITA.  3rd.  Ed.  **  Noonshun,  written  also  Nvnch- 
"ion  ;  a  repafit  taken  at  noon,  usually  between  other 
meals. 

Harvest  folks,  with  curds  and  cluuted  creame. 

With  cheese  and  butler  cakes,  wud  cafes  enow, — 
On  sheaves  of  come  vicre  ar  their  fnumshunu  close. 

Brou^i,  hnt.  Fast.  P.  t.  p.  9. 

Nunckion  is  in  Hudibras.  See  Johnson."   Nare$'  GL 

The  word  enow,  as  a  noun  of  number,  is  in  com- 
mon use  with  us.  See  Enow  iu  this  Collection: 
and  in  Walker's  dictionary. 

NuNE.  Noon — Aataiiune,  afternoon.  One  of 
the  substitutions  of  the  acute  u  for  oo,  as  noticed 
under  Butts, 

Nut.     Not.     "I'd  rutha  nut." 

NUTHA.     Neither.     !t  rhymes  to  mofker.      See 

Natha. 

Nuzzle.  Applied  to  any  thing  done  with  the 
nose.  "  Let  nm  alone,  hell  nuzz!e  it  out** — would 
be  said  of  a  dog  keenlv  seeking  game  or  vermin. 
One  disposed  to  pry  about  his  neighbours  concerns, 
or  as  the  vulgar  phrase  is  '*  poking  Itis  nose  about,*' 
would  be  !»aid  to  be  '*  alius  a  nuzziin  about.***  The 
nozzle  of  the  bellows  and  the  spreading  top  of  the 
candlestick,  we  are  apt  to  call  the  nuzzle.  The 
word  is  also  used  in  the  sense  of  nestle,  or  nurslc' — 
thus  a  child  nestling  cloiie  to,  *or  in  its  mother'^ 
breast,  would  be  said  to  nuzzle  tlieie., 

z3 


258 
o 

OAT-PLIGHT  or  Flights.  The  light  chtff  of 
oatsi  used  sometimes  for  the  stuffing  of  bed  pick- 
Uiif  or  ticking,  in  the  lack  of  feathers. 

Oath.  We  use  this  word  rather  singularly,  I 
think,  as  a  verb,—"  'Tis  true— I'll  oath  it."  Ado« 
ther  of  our  verbs  is  unusual.    See  Nbwsd. 

Obstropolus.  Obstreperous.  I  quote  the 
following  as  a  humourous  illustration;  but  do  not  re- 
fer to  my  authority,  as  the  less  it  is  known  the  better. 
*'  I  was  going  my  rounds,  and  fouud  this  here  gem- 
man  werry  obstropolos,  whereof  I  comprehended 
him  as  an  auspicious  parson." 

Occasion.  **  Gone  for  his  occasion/*  or  '*  on 
his  occasional  in  a  particular  sense  of  nettssittfy  not 
demanding  further  explanation. 

Od  rat  it.  Od  rabbit  it.  Moderated  impre- 
cations, of  which  we,  and  others,  have  many.  Od 
rot  itp  od  rottle  it,  drot  it,  &c,  among  them ;  of  which 
some  notice  is  taken  under  Amenden. 

Of.    We  use  this  preposition  in,  I  think,  an  unu-  ' 
.sual  way — redundantly — "  I  missed  of  him"— **Tastc 
of  it." — **  He  is  leaving  of  him." 

Op  a  fire.  On  fire — "'Twas  all  of  afire  in 
a  moment.*' 

Off-corn.  Light  grain — not  fit  either  for  mar- 
Itety  seed,  or  grinding.  It  is  usually  given^to  poul- 
try, or  other  stock.    So  Tusser — 

Such  off-corn  as  cometh  give  wife  to  her  fee ; 

Feed  willingly  such  as  do  help  to  feed  thee.    p.  262. 

OtD  KICK.  The  devil;  pretty  generally  perhaps. 
For  the  origin  and  spread  of  this  name  Nares  may 
be  profitably  consulted  under  Nicholas. 

Old  scratch.  Satan*-8o  named,  probably^ 
from  his  formidable  claw9,  as  popularly  depicted* 
md  recognized.    Owd  Scratch,  Owd  Nick,  is  our 


259 

|>roBiiiiciation.     Owd  an,  for  Old  nne,  par  excelience, 
itflootfaer  Dame  of  this  polyonoinous  personage. 

Olp  bow.  That  species  of  millepedes  which,  on 
being  touched,  «>r  interrupted,  rolls  itself  up  in  tb« 
•faape  and  size  of  a  pill.  It  is  sometimes  swallowed 
M  a  cure  for  the  a^ue. 

Olo-wi  I  CH.  That  species  of  cock  chafer  which 
the  bo^s  spin  bv  tke  hard  <»lie<ith  of  its  wint?,  on  a 
pill.  The  unfortunate  name  may,  perhaps  have  led 
to  the  practice  ;  and  to  a  diminished  feeling  of  com- 
misseratiou  for  the  sufferings  of  the  spinnet.  This 
sluggish  stupid  animal  is  sometimes  called  buzzard^ 
wbkh  see ;  and  dtiw^  another  name  for  a  beetle. 

Good  faith,  i  am  no  wiser  than  a  daw.     1  K.  tL  6.  ii.  4. 

Olp.  The  bull-finch,  pronouuced  sometimes 
Opf.  This  hiteresting  bird  is  abo  culled  Nofc, 
which  see ;  and  Aip. 

ON.  Of—"  The  whole  toot  on  em."  Also  the 
privative  particle  len,  a.'s  showed  in  several  articles 
following. . 

Omchangb.  Unchange — change  or  rechange. 
Like  unloose,  this  word  seems  to  have  a  redundant 
sellable.  In  clinching  a  bargain  between  two 
boys,  the  following  formula  renders  it  irrevocable. 
"  VVha's  var  shues  made  on]" — Ans.  **  Luthar" — 
**  Bahn-bahn  lor  ivva — niver  onchange  no  more.*' 

On  DENIABLE.  Undeniable — Undisputed.  "An 
ondenyable  toot  path."  "  An  onden^able  plant'*-— 
plenty  of  vourg  clover,  carrots,  corn,  &c.  In  Che- 
shire, undeniabie  is  "  good;  with  which  no  fault  can  be 
found..  An  undeniable  road  i:*  not  only  a  long  esta- 
blished road,  but  also  one  in  perfect  repair."  W« 
This  is  precisely  our  Suffolk  sense. 

One-shbar-ship.  a  sheep  between  one  and 
two  years  old :  Shearling  or  Shearland,  is  another 
name  for  a  sheep — (or  ship,  both  in  the  singnlar  and 
l^oral  with  as)--of  a  year  old»    Of  this  see  under 

Daks. 


260 

0N6AiN.  Unsteady — unprofitable — ttoproiiiMing 
—unhandy.     See  Gain. 

Onpossible.  Impossible.  Unposslble  we  cMi- 
■lonly  use ;  cts  did  our  ancestors. 

Onsen SED.  Senseless^  from  a  blow — faintiug, 
Jkc.     Also  demented,  from. insanity. 

Ontoward.    Unsteady — similar  to  Ongain, 

OpSN.  Not  spayed — a  sow  or  a  co\i — especially 
the  former. 

Oranges  and  Lemons.  A  juvenile  pastime, 
playable  by  both  b<>>s  and  girls.  I  believe  it  is 
nearly  tbe  same  as  plumb-pudding  and  roast  beef. 
See  under  Move  all  for  a  catalogue,  and  why  I  do 
not  attempt  a  catalogue  raisonnee,  of  our  variety  of 
sportive  gaities. 

Oration.  A  public  talk,  a  noisy  rumour.  One 
lately  arraigned  for  theft,  said  be  intended  to  res- 
lore  the  goods  thivt  he  pretended  to  have  found — as 
he  '*  expected  there  would  be  au  oration  about 
them,  sune,'* 

Orts.  Rhimiutr  to  shorts.  Leavings,  frag- 
ments, of  turnips,  &c.  left  by  sheep  or  cows.  Shake- 
speare uses  it. 

lis  some  poor  fragment,  some  slender  art  of  bis  rcinainfUr. 

T.o/A.  iv.  3» 

Again. — 

The  fractions  of  her  faith,  ortt  of  her  love. 
The  fragments,  scraps,  the  bits  and  greasy  relics 
Of  her  o*er  eaten  faith.     Tro.   ^  Cress,  v.  2. 

Ray  has  this  economical  Proverb,  *'  Evening  arts 
are  good  morning  fodder.*'  p.  103.  And  in  p.  285, 
he  gives  it  as  a  Scotti>h  Proverb.  Jameison  gives  it 
as  a  verb.  "To  Ort;  to  throw  aside  provender: 
4frda  in  Irish,  a  fragment." 

Nares  saya  "  Ort ;  a  scrap  or  trifling  fragment  of 
any  thihg;  of  obscure  derivation.  It  is  sufficiently 
illustrated  by  Dr.  Johnson  and  his  last  Editor^  wka 


S6l 

anurk  it  as  obedete.    I  think,  hoiwmer,  that  it  is  uot 
quite  disused.    It  is  seldom  found  iu  the  singulmc 

Let  him  ha^e  a  beggar's  ortt  to  crave. 

Shaka*  Rape  tflMcrcee.  531. 

Sanelio  had  in  a  short  time  choked  biiuseif  with  the  ingurgi- 
tated reliqnet  and  •rfi  of  the  Canon's  provision.  Cayt,  Fnt. 
Ndet.  p.  S84.'* 

I  am  not  aware  of  much,  if  any,  difference  between 
Oris  and  Chatea^  which  see.  The  singular  is  not 
heard.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  I  find  **  Oris,  mammocks 
or  scraps  of  meat*'    Mammuck  is  a  Suffolk  word. 

OvD  or  Owo.  Old — So  gowd,  cowd,  for  gold, 
coI<t  &c.    See  Aninno. 

Ours.  Our  house.  "  We  shall  be  glad  to  see 
you  at  ours."    See  Mine. 

Out  a  heart.  Worn  out,  as  applied  to  land — 
or  down  hearted,  to  a  man.  Land  over-cropped, 
requiring  rest,  tUth,  and  manure,  would  be  so  de- 
signated. I  was  reminded  of  this  phrase  by  seeing 
it  in  Tusser — who  'though  not  aware  of  the  import- 
ance of  alternating  white  and  green  crops,  had 
found  out  that  two  successive  white  crops,  was 
unprofitable  husbandry. 

Where  barley  ye  sow  after  rye  or  else  wheat. 

If  land  be  unlusty  the  crop  is  not  great : 

So  lose  ye  your  cost,  to  your  corsie  and  smart, 

And  land  (overburdened)  is  clean  out  (f  heart,  p.  56. 


Who  slacketh  his  tillage  a  carter  to  be. 

For  gruat  gut  abroad,  at  home  ihaii  lose  three ; 

And  80  by  his  doing  he  biings  out  of  heart. 

Both  land  lor  the  corn,  and  his  horse  fur  the  cart,  p.108. 

Corsie  is  a  strange  word  to  me.  By  "  groat  got 
abroad,"  he  means  letting  horses  to  work  for  others, 
in  neglect  of  one*s  own  land. 

Out  a  the  wah.  Out  of  joint— the  shoulder, 
ancle,  wrist,  &c, — something  wrong.  *'  'A  put 
Vs  sheowda  out  o'  the  wah."  **  I  think  ytow  ar 
werry  much  out  a  the  w^h  if  ye  saU  so.'' 


dS2 

OVT-AXT.  The  bancs,  or  sibrii,  of  a  |Niir  ha^^ 
iog  been  (brice  piihli>hed,  thev  are  said  to  be  Mil« 

€9i'      Sec  SiBRIT. 

OUT-HAWL.  To  scour  out  or  clean,  or  fey  a 
ditch,  or  pond.     See  Fay. 

Oins.     ^eeGooi)  outs,  and  Poor  outs. 

OvERGiVE.  To  exude  or  ferment;  or  becom- 
icg  moist.  Ginsferhread  losing  \U  orispness  in  damp 
weather,  or  salt  or  sus-ar  becoiiiin<!  moist,  are  said 
to  overgive — or  frost  breaking;  up.  In  Norfolk,  frost 
breaking  up,  or  a  tendency  to  tJiaw,  is  said  to  for^ 
give.  The  words  have  probably  a  common  origin — 
though  whence  I  know  not. 

OvSRPFER.  Projecting,  as  a  coping  brick^  or 
the  eaves  of  a  house.  Evidently  overlook^  in  which 
•ense  Shakespeare  uses  it  in  Coriolanus,  ii.  3. 

■       The  dust  on  antique  time  would  He  answep^ 
And  mountainous  error  be  too  highly  heaped 
For  truth  to  overpecr. 

Again,  in  1  J^.  Hen.  6.  i.  4. 

In  yonder  tower  to  overpetr  the  city. 

And  again  in  3.  K.  Hen,  6.  finely  typifying  prot- 
trate  monarchy — 

Thus  yields  the  cedar  to  the  axes  edge. 
Whose  arros  gave  shelter  to  the  princely  eagle* 
Voder  whose  shade  the  ram;>in{£  lion  slept ; 
Whose  top-branch  ofotr  petr^d  Jovc't  spreading  tree. 
And  kept  low  shrubs  from  winter's  powerful  wind.    v.  3. 

Thus  Nares.  •*  To  overpeer  ;  to  peer  over,  or  over- 
hang. 

The  pageants  of  the  sea 

Do  over-peer  the  petty  traffickers.    M»  of  V,h  1. 

OvBRWART.  Ploughing  laud  across.  See 
Wart.  The  proper  word  is,  no  doubt,  Overthwari  ; 
tinder  which  Nares  gives  several  illustrative  quota- 
tiops.  He  explains  it  **  cross,  contradictory,  contra- 
ry. It  is  rather  extraordinary,*'  he  adds  *'  that 
this  word  which  appears  to  have  been  io  great  favor 


wkh  many  of  his  contemporaries,  is  not  once  used 
bjr  Shakespeare.*' 

OwD  Shub  An  old  shoe;  which  I  introduce  for 
the  purpose  of  noticing  that  we  still  retain  the 
phrase  of  "  throwing  an  owd-  shue  aater  one"  for 
good  luck.  1  da  not  suppose  that  the  custom  is  ac- 
tually in  use,  if  it  ever  was.  I  quote  the  following 
from  Nares 

ShothOid,  To  throw  an  old  shoe  after  a  person  was  consider- 
•das  lucky.  This  cupersti  lion  is  nutlet  X  believe  extinct* 
I  lunre  formerly  known  examples  of  it. 

Hurl  after  an  uH  shoe, 

ril  be  merry  what  ever  I  do. 

B.  Johtu.  Masque  of  Gijnieit  VI.  i4. 

He  gives  several  other  quotations  showing   the- 

Srevalence  of  the  phrase;  and  refers  to  others  in 
Irand's  Pop.  Anfiq.  4to.  II.  490. 
I  may  here  add  that  I  have  seen  a  horse-shoe  nail- 
ed on  a  cottage  threshold  as  a  preservative  against 
a  witch — the  idea  bein<;  that  she  could  not  step 
over  cold  iron.  We  retain  a  number  of  )>opular 
superstitions  that  might,  perhaps,  be  profitably  eol- 
Jected. 

Owe.     Owns — possesses,  "  Hue  owe  that  there 
hoss?" — "  Mr.  JohiisoD  he  owe  it."     See  He.     It 
is  as  common  a  word  in  Suffolk  as  in  Shakespeare. 
W^t  art  thoa  that  keepest  me  from  the  house  I  owe  f  Com,  wfKr. 

2  am  not  worthy  of  the  wealth  I  owe. 

Aid  W.  that  Endt  W.  ii.  &. 

lliis  is  no  sound  that  the  earth  owti.     TempaU  • 

All  perfections  that  a  man  may  owe.     L.  L.  Z..  ii.  1. 

■I    That  all  the  miseries  Mrhich  nature  ome» 
MTeie  mine  at  ouce.     Ail'*  W.  that  Ends  W,  iii.  2. 

He  died 

Al  one  that  hath  been  studied  in  his  deaths 
To  throw  away  the  dearest  thing  he  ow*d. 
As  'twere  a  careless  trifle.    Macbeth f  i.  4. 

You  make  roe  strange 
Even  to  the  disposition  that  I  Moe« 
IVkSD  now  I  think  yoo  can  behold  such  sights 


264 

Ab<1  keep  the  natural  roby  of  yourcbeeksf 
While  mine  are  blanch'd  with  fear.     Ifr.  SL  4b 

Be  pleased  then 
To  pay  that  duty,  which  you  truely  owe 
To  him  that  owes  it.     K,  John,  ii«  2. 

I  will  not  harm  thine  eyes 
For  all  the  treasure  that  thy  uncle  awe$.    lb.  It.  1. 

Bear  our  hack*t  targets  like  the  men  that  oim  them. 

Ant.  j-  CUo]^  It.  8. 

Not  poppy  nor  mandragora* 
Nor  all  the  drowsy  syrups  of  the  world. 
Shall  ever  raedVine  thee  to  that  sweet  sleep 
Which  thou  owedest  yesterday.    OtheUo  ui*  f . 

Where  were  you  bred  ? 
Andliow  8chie\d  you  these  endowments,  which 
You  make  more  rich  to  owe?     P.  P.  ofTyrt  ▼.  1. 

Lend  less  than  thou  owett — Lear  1.  4. 
So  Romeo  would,  were  he  not  Huroeo  called^ 
Ketain  that  dear  perfect i>>n,  which  he  otM< 
Without  that  title.     R.  4-  J.  i.  4. 
Falsteff — Sirrah,  what  says  the  doctor  to  my  water? 
Pttge*     He  said,  Sir,  the  water  itself  was  a  good  healthy  water 
— but  for  the  party  that  owed  it,  he  mi^ht  have  more  diseases* 
than  be  knew  of.     S.  K*  H.  4.  i.  1. 

And  in  twenty  other  passages. 

Nares  gives  examples  of  the  use  of  this  word  from 
Shakespeare,  B.  <^.  Fl.  Massiiiger,  PetMbroke, 
and  Drajton,  in  the  sense  of  **  to  own,  have  or 
posses's.'*  He  adds  **  This  sense  is  extremely  com- 
nton  in  Shakespeare  and  all  his  contemporaries.  So 
in  the  authorised  translation  of  the  Bible — Actsxxi, 
11. 

So  shall  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  bind  the  man  that  owetk  this 
girdles 

This,  and  manv  other  old  uords,  have  been  tacit- 
ly  changed  in  the  modern  edition;  but  1  find  owetk 
here  as  late  as  1708." 

Ewt,  which  see,  is  our  perfect  sense  of  the  verb 
to  owe* 

OWLEN.  Prying — examining.  Owling — like  en 
owl.  Of  an  inquisitive,  pr\ing,  idle  person  it  will 
be  said  *'  *A  go  owlen  about." 


.   265 

OwLGULLBRiN.    The  same,  or  nearly  as  Owlen. 

OwLT*  Half  stupid,  tired,  "  I  'a  bin  up  all  night 
an  fare  kienda  Owly  this  morning/'  Disposed  to 
mope  perhaps,  as  an  owl  is  said  to  do  in  the  day 
time.  "  The  moping  owl  does  to  the  moon  com- 
plain.'* But  1  do  not  like  to  hear  my  favorite  bird 
^okenof  disparagingly^    See  Muddle. 

Own.  Acknowledge:— in  this  sense — a  parent 
neglecting  his  or  its  offspring  is  said  not  to  own  it. 
A  yow,  for  instance,  refusing  to  suckle  its  lamb-— 
'*  She  o*ont  own  it."  A  ferret  refusing  to  go  into 
a  rabbit's  burrow — it  will  not  ^o  in  if  there  be  no 
rabbit  in  it — "  'a  p'ont  own  it."  1  lately  heard  the 
following  said  to  a  neglected  child  by  its  grand  r 
father,  "  If  yar  dad  o'ont  own  ye.  Jack  bawh,  I 
wool." 

in  the  Ed.  Rev.  vol  .31.  p.  IB,  it  is  remarked  on  a 
Scottish  idiom, ''  that  the  verb  to  own  is  not  used 
in  England,  in  the  sense  which  it  bear:^  here;  name- 
ly, to  supp&i't  or  to  favor.  It  is  not  to  be  found  in 
Janieison.  This  Scottish  acceptation  of  the  word 
is  easily  derived  from  one  of  its  English  significa- 
tions, in  which  it  is  svnonvmous  with  to  avow,'* 

It  is  true  that  in  England  generally  the  above 
verb  is  not  in  usage— but  it  is  extremely  common 
in  Suffolk,  in  the  same  sense,  or  very  nearly,  as  in 
Scotland.  I  think  the  above  etymology  by  no  means 
happy.  **  He  owns  it" — i.  c.  acknowledges  it  for 
his  own.  **  He  won't  own  il,'*  or  confess  it  to  be 
his. 

OwT.     Ought.     See  Pa/. 

Oxter.    The  arm  pit. 

Oynt,  or  Aint,  which  see — lo  anoint.  So,  or 
oyhnt,  in  Scottish.     J. 

Oyster.  One  is  really  sometimes  at  a  loss  how 
to  explain  words  so  as  not  to  offend  the  delicate 
sensibilities  of  one's  readers.  The  word  now  under 
eoDsideratioDy  like  Gob  and  Lamb's-frg,  is  scarcely 

2  a 


1 


266 

describable.     It  is,  in  brief,  a  gross,  thick,  viscid, 
expectoratiou. 

Pa.  An  abbreviation  of  pa-pa.  Pretty  ^leneral 
perhaps.  It  is  sometimes  rather  comic  to  hear  a 
great  chuckie-headed  lout — paa-ing  his  father — or 
maa-mg  his  mother.  Oat  of  their  teens,  it  is,  per- 
haps, as  well  if  young  ladies  even  were  to  drop  this 
apparent  affectation  of  infantine  phraseology.  But 
it  is  not  affectation.  It  is  merely  a  continuance  of 
a  habit. 

Paddock.  A  small  piece  of  pasture,  near  home. 
It  is  also  a  toad,  of  which  see  under  PoODOCK. 
The  first  is  the  name  in  Scotland,  though  not  given 
by  Jameison ;  who  has,  however.  Paddock- stool ^  the 
Agaricua  in  general,  especially  the  varieties  of  the  A^ 
Jimetarwa,  Tnetonic,  Paddon-stoel^  fungus.  And 
he  has  Pade  as  Scottish  for  a  toad;  from  the  Ang. 
Sax.  Pade  and  German  Padde,  id. 

Pah.  a  monitory  exclamation  to  a  child  to  avoid 
stepping  into  any  thing  unseemly  in  its  path,  or 
generally  to  avoid  any  thing  unbecoming.  It  i» 
also  a  particle  of  reprehension,  consequent  on 
certain  untidy  infantine  occurrences;  re-iterated 
during  the  process  of  shifting  the  unsavoury  swad- 
lings.  Pronounced  less  open  and  broad  than  in  the 
preceding  sense  it  means  pay ;  so  sak  for  say ;  lak 
for  lay.  Pah  is  sometimes  equivalent  to  a  blow,  or 
a  beating,  "  That's  right — pah  um  right  well."  In 
Scottish  "  Pay,  a  drubbing."  J. 

Pahmacitt.    Spermaceti.     So  Shakespear< 


And  telling  me  the  sovereign^st  thing  on  earth 

Was  parmacity  for  an  inward  bruize.     1.  K.  Hen*  4.  i.  S. 

Pahpus.    Purpose*    ^'  I  cum  a  pahpus.*'     See 
Wool. 

PaH'YARD.    The  straw  yard.  Qa.  horn  P.aiUe? 
or  from  Pah,  uncleanly.    See  under  the  latter. . 


267 

Paj  or  Pahj.  Pronounc'c<l  very  short.  A  purge 
In  all  iU  senses;  substautive  and  verb.  '*  *A'v 
taken  a  piy  this  mawnin,  an  'a  fare  but  kiemtcr 
tuly."  lliis  is  evidently  a  reply  to  an  enquiry  into 
a  neighbour's  health.  The  following  is  a  \%  hole- 
some  piece  of  advice  as  to  falloM'iug  a  field.  '*  Ta 
owt  ta  be  stored  ahly  an  then  lah  ta  paj.'*  1  do 
not  know  if  this  requires  translation ;  but  if  ta  dew, 
the  following  is  the  same  in  common  English,  M'ith 
an  interpolated  gloss— >*'  It  ought  to  be  stirred 
(ploughed)  early,  and  then  lay  to  purge"  (itself 
of  weeds,  to  be  ploughed  in  at  the  second  ploughing.) 
Of  a  horse  we  should  say  "  *a'v  got  a  Pahjen,  *a 
eeent  well."  Or  "  'AV  got  the  Skuttasr  The 
effect  in  man  or  beast  without  medical  cause  is  also 
called,  as  elsewhere  perhaps,  tharrayonimble.  See 
Skutta. 

Palava.  Idle,  deceptive  talk — "  Come  now, 
none  of  yar  palava."  The  word  has  got  into  very 
extensive  use  from  Spain,  through  England,  to  the 
shores  of  India ;  and  to  the  interior  of  America.  In 
Scottish  "Palaver^  idle  talk.   Spanish,  palabra'^  J. 

Pamiskas.    See  Pramiskas. 

PammenTS.  Thin  square  whitish  bricks,  for 
paTements. 

Pample.  Trample.  Sheep,  footing  or  tramp- 
ling, over  a  new  bank,  &c.  as  they  are  wont,  are 
stud  to  **  pample  it  about." 

Pane.  A  portion  or  aWp  of  measured  work  set 
out  for  labourers  to  dig.  '*  Have  you  done  digging 
in  the  orchard?  "  No — we  are  on  the  last  pane." 
Kench,  is  a  word  something  similar. 

Pannikin  A  little  vessel  or  pan  for  warming 
children's  pap,  &c.  A  diminutive  of  pan :  like  lamb- 
kin, bul-kin,  &c.  and  Shakespeare's  canniken  in 
Othello. 

Pat.  A  stroke ;  used  somewhat  hyperboltcally ; 
as  *'  a  pftt  i'  the  head"  is  sometimes  a  serious  matter. 

2A2 


268 

It  it  tnt>re  especially  the  punishment  inflicted  by  a 
pedagogue  ou  the  palm  of  unruly  boys,  with  an 
implement  contrived  for  the  purpose,  appropriately 
called  a  pattet:  Custard  is  a  quaint  name  for  this 
species  of  pat ;  which,  I  find,  I  have  sufficiently 
noticed  under  that  word.  In  Scotland  **  Pawmie,  is 
a  stroke  on  the  hand  with  a  ferula."  J. 

Pate.  The  head — one  of  our  names,and  I  believe 
not  a  very  confined  one,  as  noticed  under  Costard. 

Paunch.  We  use  this  word  as  a  verb  as  well  as 
a  substantive.  **  Paunch  that  rabbit*' — but  we 
hnlk  a  hare.  See  Hulk  and  Wbzzen.  PauncVH 
occurs  in  a  quotation  under  DiNO. 

Paupusses.    Paupers — a  sadly  increasing  shoal. 

Pawhts  or  P  AHTS.  Flat  pieces  of  board,  about 
a  foot  square,  fastened  on  the  feet  by  strings  or 
thongs,  to  enable  the  wearer  to  walk  over  soft  mud 
or  ooze  at  low  water  in  rivers,  when  pinpatching, 
babbing  for  crabs,  &c  See  B  A  being.  .The  word 
is  sometimes  pronounced  J^oits,  and  Poets,  In 
Cheshire  and  Lancashire  the  verb  "  Pote  or  Pawt  is 
to  kick  with  one  foot."  W.  In  Scottish,  *•  Pout, 
to  paw — a  stroke  on  the  ground  with  the  foot.>^ 
Tuetonic,  patte,  the  paw  of  a  beast."  J. 

Pawky.  An  awkward,  tall,  two-left-legged  lad, 
or  man. 

Paxwax.  The  strong  tendinous  ligament,"-  or 
aponeurosis,  in  the  neck  of  browzing  animals.—- 
Ligamentum  nuchae — especially  that  portion  in  a 
neck  of  veal,  llav  says  this  word  is  common  all 
over  England.     Linnaeus  uses  it. 

Pay  the  pepperidge.  A  school  boy  having 
on  a  new  suit  of  clothes  is  subjected  to  have  a  but- 
ton pulled  off  unless  he  "  pay  the  pepperidge,"  by 
giving  a  douceur  to  his  play  fellows. . 

*  Peagle,     The  cowslip.     Peagle  wine  is  a  verv  - 
delicious  beverage;.      "As  yu|la  as- a  peaglo"  is 


269 

said  of  a  Ballow  atrabilious  pers<)n.  "  As  blake 
( i.  e.  yellow)  as  a  paigle  "  is  given,  b^  Ray»  as  a 
Yorkshire  proverb,  p.  277.  Among  his  S.  and  £• 
country  words  he  has  ''  A  Paigle,  a  Cowslip  ;  in 
Essex,  Middlesex,  and  Suffolk :  Cowslip  with  us 
signifying  what  is  elsewhere  called  an  Oxsllp" — 
£<  W.  p.  83.  1  never  heard  Oxslip  in  Suffolk,  but 
I  have  heard  it  asserted,,  tho*  not  well  supported » 
that  the  Peagle  is,  not  the  Cowslip,  but  the  yellow 
butter-cup.  Tusser,  among  his  **strcwing-herhs," 
enumerates  *' Cowslips  and  Pa;i:gles,''  p.  121 — and 
in  p.-125,  among.'*  Herbs  and  Flowers,  for  wiiuIow.» 
and  pots ''  are  *'  Paggles,  green  and  yellow/*  But  I 
do  not  exactly  see  what  he  means. 

Under  Pagle,  or  Paigle,  Nares  lias,  "  A  cowslip, 
Gerard  particularly  applies  the  name  to  the  double 
cowslip. 

Bloe-belUy  pagtes,  pansies,  calamlnth.     B.  Joiis^  Mntq, 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  Paigles,  or  cowslips.'* 

Peakin.  Sickly — said  mostly  of  a  drooping 
child.  "  Peaking,  that  is  of  a  sickly  conslitutioiL*' 
Old.  Diet.  An. 

Pea-makb.    See  Make. 

Pbasen.  Pease.  Peason  occurs  very  often  in 
Tusser.  It  is  perhaps  the  Saxon  plural.  Although 
peas  be  a  sutHciently  analogous  plural  ot'pe'/?,  some 
anomaly  has  crept  into  our  old  writers  in  this  mat- 
ter, as  is  sljown  by  Nares — a  pease,  is  used  by 
Spenser,  and  B.  &  Fl.  and  others.  But  \  must  be 
content  to  borrow  the  following  r|uotaii(H)  only — 

A  green  goose  serves  Easter  whli  gooseberries  drest; 

And  July  aifoid  us  a  dish  of  ^reeii  pcason  ; 
A  collar  of  brawn  is  a  ncw-vear*s  tide  feaj>t; 

But  sack  is  for  ever  and  ever  in  season* 
EttP  ptrpetua,  H»  Crompton. 

Peckish.  Hungry — an  inclination  toward  the 
jieck-loaf,  perhaps. 

.,  Pfili^      A    basket — a   pannier — hence,  perhaps, 

9  A3 


27a 

pidA^x,  or  ene  who  travel  a  foot;  with  such  a  basket. 
In  Norwich  an  assemblage  whither  women  btiuf^ 
their  small  wares  of  eggs,  chickens,  &c.  to  sell,  is 
called  the  Ped-market.  In  Dorsetshire,  panniers 
are  called  dorsers — dorsal  possibly,  from  being  car- 
ried on  the  back.  Ray  says  *'  Dorsers  are  pedB' or 
panniers  carried  on  the  backs  of  horses,  on  which . 
higlers  used  to  ride  and  carry  their  commodities/ 
It  seems  this  homely,  but  most  useful  instrument, 
was  either  first  found  out,  or  is  the  most  generally 
used,  in  fhis  county,  (Dorset) ;  where  fish  jobbers 
bring  up  their  fish  in  such  contrivances,  above  an 
hundred  miles,  from  Lime  to  London."  p  240. 
In  his  N.  country  words  he  has  ''  A  wMsket,  a  bas- 
ket, a  skuttle  or  shallow  Perf."  E.  W.  p  66.  See 
HiGLER.  Tusser  uses  Ped,  See  Goof,  verse  5. 
In  Scottish  "  Pedder,  a  pedlar,  from  the  barbarous 
Latin  pedar-ius,  nudis  ambulans  pedibus."  J. 
Nares|explains  "  Ped,  a  basket"  and  illustrates  it  with 
this  quotation.  '*  A  haske  is  a  wicker  ped,  wherein 
they  used  to  carry  fish."  Gloss,  to  Spenser,  He 
adds  that  /^fd  occurs  in  Tusser.  See  Todd — artd 
that  "  Johnson  derived  ped-lar  from  petti/'dealer, 
by  contraction:  it  is  more  probably  from  carrying  a 
ped.  Minshew  from  aller  au  pied,  still  worse.**  GL 
Under  former  articles  1  have  said  enough,  per- 
haps too  much,  on  this  subject.  See  HlGLER,  and 
KiDDiER.  If  these  should  not  sufhce,  the  reader 
may  profitabl>  consult  Nares,  under  Dossers,  Fronr 
his  article  Pinbouke,  I  will,  however,  make  one 
other  short  extract,  as  bearing  on  the  latter  part  of 
my  article  last  referred  to.  It  is  he  sa\s,  "  a  sort  of 
vessel.  When  Moses  brought  water  out  of  the  rock^ 
the  Israelites,  says  Drayton,  ran  to  catch  it,  and 

In  paiid,  kits,  di&hcs  basons,  "pin'houkes,  bowls. 

Their  scorched  bosoms  nierrilj^  they  baste.     Moset.     B.  iu.** 

Peel.    The  long-handled    shovel   with  which* 
bread,  &c#  is  thrust  into  a  hot  oven,  or  taken  out. 


271 

It  is  an  old  word;  «b  appears  in  Nares,  who  quotes 
iki$  passage  from  B.  Jonson — 

O,  he  has  those  flashes  of  his  oven — a  notable  hot  baker, 
when  he  plied  the  peel.     Bart.  Fair.  iii.  1. 

Peep-bo  A  nursery  pastime,  in  which  a  child  ia 
aniiised  by  the  alternate  hiding  and  exposure  of  the 
lace;  "  suitinjs^  the  uord  to  the  actiou/*  The  term 
is  extended  to  the  occasioual  obscuration  of  a  debtor, 
or  of  one  accused  of  any  thing  rendering  his  visibi- 
lity inconvenient.  **  He's  pla\ing  at  Peep  boo" 
"  Fasc  and  loose/'  is  another  term  of  equivalent 
force,  as  noticed  under  that  article.  Another  is 
"  Hide  an  find"  which  see. 

Peewit.  The  crested  plover,  or  lapwing,  evi- 
dently from  its  pleasing  note :  so  in  Scotland  "  Pee- 
foii,  from  the  sound,  or  allied  to  the  Swedish  wipa, 
a  lapwing.*'  J.  We  also  call  it  Horn-pie.  I  sup- 
pose the  following  entry  among  the  expences  at 
Hengrave  Hall  in  1574,  refers  to  this  interesting 
bird,  which,  however,  I  did  not  imagine  was  car- 
nivorous. **  For  iij  livers  for  the  puets  and  the 
other  mewed  fowls  vjd.'*    Gage*s  Hen.  p.  202. 

Peg.  a  quaint  word  for  a  blow  or  thump  ;  and 
especially  for  that  operation  m  boxing,  which  in 
certain  societies  in  London  is  called  jibhing,  and 
ekancerying.  We  use  pe^  in  another  sense: — 
*'  Come,  peg  off,"  be  off,  away  The  word  is 
similarly  current  in  Scotland  :  and  is  derived,  in  its 
first  sense,  by  Jameison,  from  the  Icelandic  piack-a, 
firequenter  pungo.  This  word  peg,  is  omitted  in 
its  pugnacious  sense  in  the  list  of  offensive  vocables 
given  under  Aint. 

Pelt.  A  word  of  offensive  import,  like  so  many 
enumerated  under  Aint.  *'  Til  ^ie  ye  a  pelt  i'  the 
hid."  Also  to  throw,  annoyingly,  as  in  other 
parts. 

Peltry.  Skins — "  A  dealer  in  peltry .*'  Cocker 
has  '*  Pdt  the  skin  of  a  dead  sheep."    In  Scottish 


272 

**  Peltry,  vile  trash,  from  the  Swedish  pa!iar,  old 
ragf,  or  pelt,  a  skin."  J.  .         . 

Pend,  Pressure,  strain, force,  stressu  ''There's 
the  pend'':  the  point  of  pressure. 

Pennywagtail.  The  water-wagtail.  Mcta- 
cilia  hoarula. 

Pen  n  ywi  nkle.  The  highly  flavoured  little  shell- 
fish called  else-where  perriwinkle;  and  by  us,  more 
commonly  and  more  appropriately.  Pin-patchy 
which  see. 

Pens  BY.  Complaining,  sickly,  dull,  thoughtful^ 
from  the  French  penatr,  probably. 

Pent  IS.  A  pent-house  or  lean-to.  Also  a  can- 
vas or  tarpawlen  to  lay  over  stacks  when  being  raised, 
or  corn  on  a  waggon.  This  word  I  imagined  to  be 
a  mere  vicious  pronunciation  of  pent -house- —but 
Nares  shows  that  we  have  authority  for  it— 
*•  Pendice,  a  pent -house  or  covering;  pentice, 
Italian.  Feniice  was  also  used,  which  makes  it 
probable  that  pent-house  is  only  a  corruption  of  this. 

And  o*er  tlierc  beads  an  iron  pefiiicc  vast 
Tbev  built  b^  Joining  man^  asbield  and  targe. 

Fairf.  Tat,  xi.  33. 

"Again  in  xviii,  74.  wheve  pent  icle  also  occurs^  as 
synonymous  with  it."  Gl. 

Pepper.  A  quaint  verb,  implying  a  thumping. 
We  should,  indeed,  pronounce  it  pupper,  or  puppa, 
as  we  are  apt  to  drop  this  liquid  final,  unless  before 
a  vowel.  "  Tha's  right — pupper  *em  right  well.-' 
Among  the  offensive  words  enumerated  under  Aint^ 
this  is  omitted. 

Pepperidge.     The  Barberry.      I   perceive  no 
connexion  between  this  word  and  "  Pay  the  pep- 
peridge,"  which  see.     Pepperidge  is  a  botanical 
name  of  the  Berberis.  Linn.  Gen,  442.     ''Pm- 
peridges^  Barberries— Eases..  ^uttoWu  Roif ,  E.  W» 


273 

Pbrk/  a  perch  for  fowls;  also  a  verb,  to  perch^ 
lo  Scottish  to  pm'kf  is  the  same.  Under  several 
articles  ia  this  Collection  I  have  referred  to  this 
article  for  examples  of  a  frequent  chnnge,  or  inter- 
change, of  the  k  and  ch,  initial  and  fihal  of  words. 

I  will  therefore,  here  note,  a  few  of  such  examples 
Those  in  italics  mark  that  such  words  hitve  furnish- 
ed  articles  in  this  Collection,  and  examples  of  this 
usage.  Akes,  aches — bu»k»  bush — See  Hay* 
church,  kirk  ^chin-cough,  kiuk-cough — churn,  kern 
and  quern — chop,  cope — crotch,  crook — crvtched, 
.crooke<l-^carte»  char t---(/rencA,  drink — dtkf,  ditch-— 
drenched,  droukit — eke,  each—flick,  flitch — fork, 
forche — kink,  kench — kerris,  cherries — kist,  chest-— 
miich,  milk — notch,  nock.  See  S notch.  Pike, 
pUchr—plamh,  plank — pitch,  and  pickk>,  pitchy— 
jpoAf,  pouch,  poche — pianshet ,  plank — quicks  qmxech 
— -rreAy,  reechy — akreek,  screech,  or  shriek — sic, 
such — thatch,  thack — &c.  &c.  A  recollection 
of  such  interchanges  may,  haply,  sometimes  aid  an 
etymologist  in  his  derivations. 

Spenser  has  perke,  as  is  shown  by  Nares,  who 
thinks  that  it  means  pert;  perhaps  from  perking  up 
the  head. 

They  woont  in  the  wind  wa^^ge  their  wiggle  tayles, 
Pcrke  as  a  peacock.    Shep,  Kai, 

**  See  Todd*s  Johnson.  Mr.  T.  thinks  it  is  still 
in  use  among  the  vulgar,  but"  continues  Nares  **  1 
much  doubt  it."  GL 

We  still  use  perk  in  the  sense  of  arrogance,  or 
disdainful  airs.  "There  she  was — perked  up,"  would 
be  said  of  a  such  assumption  in  a  woman.  In  an  O, 
D.  A.  1  find,  **  to  perk  vp,  to  lift  up  the  head,  or 
appear  lively."  We  should  in  this  sense  say  of  the 
convalescence  of  a  sick  person — "  Ah,  *a  fare  to 
perK  up  a  little." 

Per  LIN.     The  piece  of  timber  which  runs  along 
under  the  middle  part  of  the  spars  or  beaters  oi  ^ 
/w^  ta  give  such  bearers  additional  sUen|^lV\.    Ot 


274 

if  the  roofbe  deep,  the  central  ends  of  the  bearers 
rest  on  the  Perlin. 

Perrtmedo  ll.     The  Campanella  pyramidal  is. 

Peskad.  Peascod.  When  .young,  before  the 
pease  are  full  grown,  we  call  it  Fletsher,  which  see. 
—-Peascod,  is,  I  believe  used  extensively :  and  was 
of  old.  I  cannot  but  think  that  Shakespeare  wrote 
sheli'd  peascod  in  Lear,  i.  4.  and  not,  as  it  is  now 
printed  sheaVd  peascod — that  is  a  peascod  with  the 
pease  out — the  hull  or  shell  merely.  See  Hulls. 
Shakespeare's  figure  is  aptly  and  bitterly  applied 
to  poor  Lear*s  sad  condition  by  the  fool.  It  is  how- 
ever sheal'd  in  the  folio  edition  of  1623.  Ray  has 
^  Swads;  pods  of  pease  or  the  like  pulse.''  S.  &  E. 
Country  words,  p.  88.  I  do  not  think  that  swad  is 
DOW  known  among  us  in  that  sense. 

Under  the  article  Peascod  in  Nares>  we  read 
'•'  The  shell  of  pease  growing  or  gathered :  the  cod 
being  what  we  now  call  the  pod. 

I  remember  the  wooiDg  of  a  peascod  instead  of  her. 

As  you  L,  ft  il  4. 
In  peascod  time»  when  hotind  and  home 
Give  ear  till  buck  be  kiird.     England*s  Helicon, 

''  *^  Hence''  he  adds,  confirmatory  of  my  surmize  a 
*'  sheal'dpcascod{Lear  i.  4)means  an  empty  husk."  GL 

Pet.  Pit — in  the  mode  of  our  frequent  inter- 
ehange  of  e  and  t,  as  noticed  under  Aninnd. 
"  The  pet-fiUd  "—the  pit  field.  We  have  also  Pet 
in  the  common  sense  of  a^t7on7e,  or  cosset:  a,  pet 
lamb,  one  neglected  by  its  dam,  and  brought  up  by 
hand ;  a  petted  or  spoilt  child.  Shakespeare  spells 
it  peat — 

A  pretty  peat.     T,  of  the  Shrew,    i.  1. 

using  it  in  the  sense  of  a  spoiled  child ;  and  John- 
son derives  peat  or  pet  as  a  word  of  endearment 
from  the  French  petit,  as  if  it  meant  "  pretty  little 
thing;"  In  the  old  play  of  King  Leir  (not  Sbake^ 
speare's)  the  word  occurs — 

-  Oimeril,    I  marvel  Began,  how  jou  can  endare 

To  see  that  proud  pert  peatp  ouryoimgeit  nfttr*  Ice 


275 

Stoeven^s  deems  the  word  of  Scotch  extraction, 
and  quotes  a  proverb  of  that  country—- 

lie  has  fault  of  a  wife  who  marries  main's  pet. 
!■  the  north,  according  to  Ray, 

A  pet  and  a  pet  larab,  is  called  a  cade  lamb.    £.  W.  p.  48. 

SeeCossET,  and  Kiddibr.    In  Scottish  *'To pet, 
to  fondle,  to  treat  as  a  pet."  J. 

In  the  sense  of  pet,  Nares  shows  that  peat  is 
used  by  several  of  our  old  writers ;  among  them 
Shakespeare — 

A  prettj  peat  (  *tis  best 
Put  finger  in  the  eye— an  she  knew  why.     T.  of  the  S,  i,  1. 

PbTBRMAN.  The  name  by  which  we  formerly 
called,  and  perhaps  do  still,  call,  the  Dutch  fish- 
ing vessels  that  frequented,  or  frequent,  our  eastern 
coast  and  ports — particularly,  as  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, Bawdsey-ferry,  and  HoUesley-bay.  They 
were  also  called  Peter- boats. 

From  Nares  I  find  these  terms  not  local — 

PeteT'tnan,  a  familiar  term  for  a  fisherman  on  the  Thames ; 
from  the  occupation  of  St«  Peter. 

Yet  his  skin  is  too  thick  to  make  parchment ;  'tw«ald  make 
good  boats  for  a  Peter-man  to  catch  salmon  in. 

.  Easttoard  Hoe*  O.  PI.  ir.  ft7* 

Moreover  there  are  a  great  number  of  other  kind  of  fishermen 
belongfaig  to  the  Thames,  called  Hebbermen,  Petermenf  and 
Tiawlermen.        H<mel*4  Londinop. 

"I  have  also "  Nares  adds,  " seen Peterboat  for 
a  fishing  boat." 

Phisket.    SeeSpiNX. 

Pick*  The  appropriate  name  of  a  pointed  mat- 
tock« 

PiCRLiN  or  Pickling.  A  coaise  sort  of  bed 
ticking:  also  the  operation  of  re-gleaning  a  wheat 
stubble^— such  stubble  having  been  gleaned  is  called 
a  pieUe,  or  picklin  field.  So  it  seems  to  be  stiU 
iiied  in  ScoUand. 

ThOH  most  fi«lc2e  in  thine  ain  poke  nook* 

7.  ofnuf  Lmd,  Sd.  Ser.  UI.  74. 


276 

See  Poke.    Jameison  has  ^'Pickle,  a  grain  of  corn, 
a  small  quantity.*' 

PiCKAREL.  A  young  pike.  Under  the  article 
Drawj  it  appears  that  this  fish,  on  a  sijErn-post,  in 
Suffolk,  has  lon^  vibrated  in  unison  with  the  feel- 
ings of  the  thirsty  traveller. 

Nares  observes,  among  other  things,  under,  the 
word  Pickerellf  that  ''  Isaac  Walton  speaks  of  a 
weed  called  pickeral  weed ;  because,  according  to 
Gesner,  pikes  are  bred  in  it,  by  the  help  of  the 
sun*s-heat ! " 

Pickarel'Weed  is  still  well  known  in  Su^olk  and 
Cambridge — and  the  idea  that  the  sun's  heat  helpg 
the  breeding  of  pike  in  it,  is  common.  Not  how- 
ever, that  the  weed  and  warmth  are  alone  sufficient 
to  effect  that  end. 

Pie.  a  sort  of  harrow  raised  over  potatoes,  or 
beet,  fleetly  buried  in  alternate  layers  of  straw,  for 
preservation  in  winter.  We  also  call  it  Clam.  In 
Cheshire  it  is  called  a  Hog,  from  its  occasional 
resemblance  probably  to  a  .hog's  back.  W. 

Pied.  Variegated — party  coloured. '  "  The 
pied  mare."  Horn-pie,  Mag-pie,  the  daisy  pied, 
and  such  words  may  have  had  their  origin  in  this. 
Possibly  the  Pea-fowl,  may  have  come  from  the 
pUd  or  coloured  fowl,  tho'  it  seems  usually  1  think 
confined  to  two  colours.  Fleckered  is  another  Suf- 
folk word  of  nearly  similar  import,  but  extendinj^ 
to  more  tbau  two  colours;  and  it  is  not  I  think 
applied  to  a  pie-bald -horse  So  that  pied  seems 
to  mean  of  two  coXox^s— fleckered  of  more.  See 
Flecker'd. 

I  was  once  disposed  to  think  that  in  the  gross 
abuse  which  Gloster  applies  to  the  Bishop  of 
Winchester  (I.  K.  Hen  6.  i.  3.)  Shakespeare  wrote 
**  Pied  priest,"  that  is  leprous,  scabrous,  disco- 
loured, from  disease,  instead  of  "  PieVd  priest," 
as  it  is  now  printed.  \t  \s  Viovievet  j^ield  in  the 
foJio  edition  of  1623. 


277 

The  office  ftnd  reputation  ^f  the  Prelate  who,  aa 
Olosterteilshim  "  givs't  whores  indulgencies  to  sin"  'i( 
may  have  indelicatelj  influenced  the  ducal  vitupe* 
mtion. 

On  tbe wmrds  **  piel  M  priest,**  an  annotator  ¥mte« 
^■Cai  pelles,  vel  pili  omnes  ex  morbo  aliquo,  pne* 
•ertiiu  h  luc  venerea,  defluxerunt/'  And  on  the  line 
Moted,  Pope  notes  that  ''  the  public  stews  were 
nmnerlyvnder  the  district  of  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester." But  Shakespeare  probably  meant  shors 
<Mr  bald;  for  in  Scottish  peild  is  still  used  in  the 
latter  sense.    See  Pill. 

PiKZEN.  A  sort  of  oath.  *'  Why,  haw,  what  a 
piezen  ar  yeow  a  dewin."  See  Amenden.  "A 
piezenon  em."  This  is  the  same  oath  that  is  quoted 
from  Ben.  Jonson  under  Cast.  In  auother  article, 
I  have  noticed  the  seeming  grossness  of  our  prede- 
cessors in  using  indelicate  oaths  and  exclamations, 
and  in  tolerating  them  iu  (^entec)  parts  on  the  stage. 
In  respect,  however,  to  thai  more  iinnictliately  ad- 
verted to,  it  ought  to  be  recollected,  that  the  small"  * 
pox  was  until  lately  called  the  poxe,  from  its  pocks 
or  pustules.  This  is  fully  continued  by  Nares;  who 
gives  many  illustrations,  among  thcni  what  follows-— 

Thus,  says  Dr.  Fariiicr,  D.ivii'on  has  h  canzonet  on  his  "Lady*! 
sickness  of  the  jwdie;*'  &iui  Dr.  Donne  writes  lo  his  sister  "At 
my  return  from  Kent,  I  ibiind  Pigge  hud  ihe  pMC — I  humbly 
ihuak  God  it  has  not  muoh  disii<j;urcd  her/* 

"But,"  the  Author  of  the  Glossary  adds,  "  I  fear 
the  ladies  did  not  quite  (discard  the  exptession,-wbea 
it  liiid  obtained  a  much  coarser  meaning.  Use  recon*- 
ciks  strange  thini^s." 

PiG-BACK,  or  a  pig-bach — one  person  carryinj^ 
anotlier  straddling  on  his  back.  Cockcr-<le-hoy,  in 
Scotland,  is  carrying  one  on  the  shoulders.  J. 

^1  have  heaa^  it  coXM  pick-back;  and  I  think 
Somfhej  in  one  of  his  humourous  tales  ca(ls  it  ";  a 
pie  a  pack.**    Perhaps  it  may  be  on  the  pic,  ot 
peak^  jKrJu^f^  of  the  hsLck  ;  or  may  Y^avQ.  oiSi^\- 
jtaMt  la  the  idea  of  a  high-shouldered  ox  Wtw^- 

2  B 


'278 

backed  person  having  a  peaJe  or  load  therep»4 — 
Some  spinal  delbnnities  have  cei;tainly  a  peo^-like 
appeaiance. 

Pigeon's  milk.  By  way  of  quiz  or  hoax/aa 
unsuspecting  lad  is  sent  by  his  wicked  playmates  to 
a  shop,  generally,  I  think^  a  shoemaker  s,  for  tew 
punnath  ( two  pennyworth)  of  pigeon^s  milk,  or  of 
gturrupyle  (which  see.)  A  good  strapping  by  the 
interrupted. and  initiated  artbt,  it  the  usual  result 
of  this  piece  of  waggery. 

Pig 'I  RON.  A  j9at  piece  of  iron,  which  the  cook 
interposes  between  the  fire  and  meat  roastin;;*,  when 
she  wants  to  retard,  or  put  back  that  oporatioo.  It 
is  hung  on  the  bars  by  a  hook. 

Pill.  Peel,  or  bark — "  pilled,"  peeled.— 
"Orange  pill."  "  Pi!l  it" — orange,  apple,  &c. 
"  What  business  are  you?" — **  I'm  a  bark  pillcr 
by  trade."  See  Wan.  In  this  sense  the  word  is 
used  ill  Ray's  proverbs,  p.  41.     **  Pill  a  fig  for  your 

.  friend  and  a  peach  for  your  enemy,**  as  a  translation 
of  the  Italian,  "  Al  aniico  cura  li  if  fico;  al  inimico 
ilpersico" — but  I  cannot  say  that  I  gather  ihe  wit  or 
aptness  of  the  sayins;.  Nares,  hdwever,  since  this 
was  written,  has  fully  taught  me.  A  poisoned  fig 
was  notoriously  employed,  in  Spain  particularly,  for 
secretly  taking  ofi^  an  obnoxious  person.  He  gives 
several  curious  illustrative  allusions  to  thit  fatal  fig. 

.The  proverb  is  used  probably  in  a  derisory  sense.  To 
peel  is  now  becoming  a  quaint  or  vulvar  word  in  the 
sense  of  strip :  in  which  it  is  given  by  Nares ;  who 
says  "peeVd,  stripped  or  bald,  whether  by  shaving 
or  disease.  Hence  applied  to  monks  and  other 
ecclesiastics — 

Peel*d,  priest!     1.  K,  Htn,  6.  i.  3. 

"  Skinner  derives  PilUgarlick  from  peel*d-gaf- 
lick,  a  person  whose  head  was  smooth  liked  peel  'd 
garlic."    01. 

Under  my  article  PiED,  I  have  stimiie^  that  ui 


279 

the  tpeech  above  quoted,  Shakespeare  niuy  ba\e 
written  **pi0d  priest;"  not  piel'd,  as  it  Ih  in  the 
edttioDs  to  which  I  have  access.  Naros,  He  see 
above,  quotes  it  peei'd.  And  pilled,  lie  explains, 
baie>  as  if  picked  or  strip|>ed— quotiiig  Coryat  in 
iUustiatioii — 

The  ostriches  neckes  are  much  longer  than  cranr.o,  and  pllledf. 
kaiving  none  or  Ihile  feathers  about  them.  Also  their  legs  are 
piUed  and  bare    I.  39.  Uepr. 

In  an  O.  D  A  I  find  "  Pilled,  bare  of  hair,  or 
that  has  the  wool  shorn  off."     See  Poll. 

Pillow -BEER.  A  pillow  case,  or  cover.  This 
it  I  believe  not  local — tho'  I  do  not  recollect  having 
heard  the  name  out  of  Suffolk.  In  the  inventory 
of  furniture  at  Hengrave  Hall,  in  1G03,  we  tiiid  '*  two 
pillow  teres,  wrought  all  over  with  black  silike.*' 
Gage*9  Hen.  pp.  32.  33.  A  bier  we  call  byer, 
rhiming  to  fire. 

Pimple.  One  of  our  variety  of  appellations  of 
the  head — of  which  some  are  enumerated  under 
Costard.  One  can  scarcely  imagine  a  reasonable 
derivation  of  this  word ;  unless  from  an  extreme 
hyperbole;  degrading  the  noblest  part  of  the  human 
figure  to  a  comparison  with  the  meanest  eruption 
on  ita  surface. 

Pin-basket  or  pitman.  The  last  child  of  a 
finnily,  or  the  smallest  of  a  brood  -or  litter.  See 
Barra-pig,  Nebstgulp,  and  Win  nick,  also- 
under  Kiddibr.  In  Scottish,  "  Pock-thakings,  the 
yoongest  child  of  a  family."  J. 

Pinch.  Any  thing  severe,  or  pressing;  as  is 
usual  elsewhere,  but  not  I  think  so  common  as  in 
Suffolk.    Shakespeare  uses  the  word,  just  as  we  do-^ 

There  cannot  be  a  pinch  in  death 
More  .sharp  than  this.     Cymbeline»  i.  2. 

We  have  a  queerish  term  '*  Jack  at  a  pineh/- 
which  see. 

Pinfold.    Sheep  fold— /}«ii-fold. 

2  B  2 


290 

PiNGLE.  To  eat  a  little^  witboiit  app^tite^  "  I 
hee^iit  no  stummach  for  my  wittelsl  I  jest  fingU 
a  bit." 

Pin  of  the  throat.  Thi»  phrase  I  never 
lieitfd  used  hut  in  describing  a  relaxed  state  of  tbe 
wmla^  thus — ''  The  pm  of  the  throat  in^  dowa.^ 
And  l}ie  disease  is  sometimes  called  the  ^'  the  pin." 
A  dborder  so  called  by  Shakespeare  is  said  by  hui 
commentators  to  be  of  the  eye.  This  is  the  pas* 
sage — 

This  is  the  foul-fiend  Plibbertigibbet — he  begins  at  curfew 
and  walks  ^dll  the  first  cock — he  gives  the  web  and  the  pm — 
tqulnts  tlie  eye,  and  makes  the  hare-lip;  mildews  thewthite 
wheat*  and  hurts  the  poor  creature  of  earth.     lMt»*  m,  4i        , 

Nares  in  his  article  Pin  and  Web  suffieientl;^  il^ 
lustrates  the  term.  In  ati  O.  D.  A.  I  ^A  **  Pbk^ 
a  web  in  the  eye." 

Pi n-p ATCH.  The  perriwinkle— shell  fish—  Turbo 
liitoreus.     We  sometimes  call  it  Pcnnytvinkle, 

Pipe.  A  chafge,  of  powder  or  shot,  for  a  fowl- 
ing^ })iece.  Some  30  or  40  years  ago,  the  conveni*- 
eiices  of  patent  powder-flasks  and  shot-belts^  with 
suitable  charges,  were  not  much  used  among  us; 
aiixl  we  carried  our  powder  in  one  bag,  and  our  shut 
in  another,  with  the  bowl  of  a  tobacco  pipe  in  one 
or  both.  Now  every  gunner,  poachers  inchided, 
possess  the  conveniences  above-mentioned;  but  the 
term  pipe  is  sometimes  still  heard  to  express ^e 
qiiantum  of  a  charge,  though  tlie  thing  be,  in  fact, 
no  longer  used.  Of  a  long  duck-gun  I  lately  heard 
it  said  **  she'll  carry  tew  pipei^  of  each."  A  gun  ia 
a  Iways  feminine. 

Pipkin.  One  of  our  various  names  for  the  head 
— as  enumerated  under  Costard.  It  is  th^  name 
also  of  an  earthen  domestic  utensil.  An  aptitude 
to  getting  cracked  may,  pcradventure,  somehow  or 
oCtiur,  have  connected  the  idea  of  both  with  the 
iiame;  though  pne  does  t\o1  teadily  see  wh;^  the 
/lead  should  be  thus  ca\k^. 


281 

PlStSRIL.      A  pistol. 

(''ITCH-FORK.  A  long  fork  with  (wo  Hues,  used 
for  pitching  com  in  the  straw,  hay,  &c.  into  wag- 
gons. Those  who  thu9  use  it  are  called  pitchers'— 
UOse  who  unload  the  same  int<»  the  stack  or  Goof, 
are  called  unpitckers.  See  Goof,  v.  1.  and  note. 
la  Devonshire,  the  pitch-fork  in  called  pihe.  See 
Rake.  In  Yorkshire  pitch  is  pioiiniiuccd  pick: 
thatch,  thack:  chest,  kist,  6:c.  Kay,  £.  W.  p.  12t». 

■  -Pith.  In  the  common  medullary  sen.*e,  as  np- 
plied  to  vegetation,  we  ol' course,  have  pith — hut  we 
iilso  use  it  in  the  sense  of  courage,  ttirength,  nian^ 
hood — "'A  've  no pithin  em,"  will  be  snid  of  a  slug- 
gish, spiritless,  man  or  horse — *•  *A  waul  pith.'* — 
So  Othello— 

For  since  tliese  arms  of  mine  Iiad  aeyen  jcars  pith,  i.  ?• 

lu  Scottish  "  Picht,  pith,  force ;  from  the  Ang. 
Sax  ,pitha,  id."  J.  ~ 

Pitman.  SeePlWBASKET  There  is  an  Ftalinn 
proverb— primo  porco — ultimo  cane — the  first  pig 
o^the  last  pup. 

Placket.  A  petticoat :  but  I  have  not  heard 
the  word  of  many  years,  and  do  not,  on  enquiry, 
find  it  now  recognized.  I  should  altogether  have 
forgotton  and  omitted  it,  had  not  its  occurrence  in 
Nares,  who  amply  illustrates  it,  recalled  it  to  my 
recollection.  He  says  **  generally  an  underpetti- 
cOat^' — and  this  I  think  it  was  with  us,  and  pro- 
bably still  is,  though  I  cannot  ascertain  the  fact. 
Among  Nares*  illustrations  are  these — Love  is  ad- 
dressed by  Shakespeare — 

Liege  of  ail  loiUTcrs  and  malcontents, 

J>fead  prince  oiytacktts,  king  ot— .kc.     L,  L.  L.  Hi.  1. 

Is  there  no  manners  left  aiuonj  niHids?  will  they  wear  their 
flaicklth  where  ihey  should  wear  their  faces  ?     Wint,  T.    iv.  ,>. 

If  the  niaides  a  spinning  goc, 
Burn  the  Qax^nd  fire  the  toe» 
Scorth  iheii  plackttu    Herri(;k.  ^»  37  V 

2  B  S 


282 

Mr.  Steevens  quotes  an  author  wBo  makct  it  the  e^eaing  of 
the  petticoat  (in  Lear^  iii.  4.)  Bailey  says  it  was  the  fore-part  of 
iSm  shift  or  petticoat ;  but  it  was  neither.  It  is  sometinei  used 
fiMT  a  feniaiey  the  wearer  of  a  flmckti,  as  petticoat  now  u. 

Was  that  brave  heart  made  to'  pant  for  a  placket  f 

B»  and  Fl,  Hum.  Ltetit*  !▼•  S. 

On  farther  enquiry,  since  the  above  was  writteii, 
I  learn  that  the  word  is  not  now  understood  lo 
mean  a  petticoat,  but  a  shift,  or  as  my  informant 
expressed  it,  a  smock:  he  knew  it  in  that  sense 
iome  years  ago  in  Norfolk.  And  in  an  O.  D.  A.  I 
fiild  *'  Placket,  the  fore-part  of  a  woman's  petticoat 
r^a  piece  of  armour  that  covers  the  breaii^t*plate/' 

PLANSHER.  The  floor  of  a  bed  room ;  especially 
the  part  near  the  bed*s-foot.  This  word  is  evidently 
from  the  French  plancher^  a  floor — a  board — a  plank. 
A  paled  gate,  we  called  a  planched-gate :  as  does 
Shakespeare — M.  for  M.  iv.  1. 

Nares  shows  that  others  of  our  old  writers  use  tlie 
won  I,  in  our  and  the  French  meaning.  We  some- 
times pronounced  it  planshard.  This  word  affords, 
another  instance  of  the  substitution  of  the  hard  for 
the  soft  ch,  as  noticed  under  Perk. 

Plash.  To  cut  down  a  quick  fence  when  grown 
old  and  stubby,  and  intertwining  some  of  the  lower 
branches. — It  includes  also  the  operation  of  out- 
bawling  the  ditch  and  heightening  the  bank. 

Tusser  in  his  "  February's  husbandry,'*  directs 
plashing  to  be  done. — I  will  quote  two  or  three 
other  verses,  containing  words  which  are  explained 
in  this  Collection. 

«*  Eat  (i)etch  ere  ye  plow — with  hog  sheep  and  cow. 

Boy  follow  the  plough — and  harrow  (2)  enou^^. 

Sow  pease  not  too  thin — ere  plough  ye  set  in ; 

Late  sown,  sore  noyeth — late  ripe>  hog  (S)ttrmfetK 

Cut  vines  and  osier — pUuh  hedge  of  enclosure. 

Oo  strike  off  the  (4)  nowls — of  delving  (5)  motets. 

Too  wet  the  land — let  {5)  mowl-hiW  stand. 

Trench  meadow  and  (6)  redge — (7)(fyfte, quickset  and  hedge. 

To  (8)p/(Kf  not  fttU^add  hramhie  a«4  {9)kHlL**  p.  101. 

Of  the  words  io  italic*  niunbered^Sct  of  1.  on* 


383 

dcr  SUM.  %  nmfer  €M^,  EnOw,  tnd  Rawm. 
.S*  Siry»  4.  fhwL  5.  Iffaawi*  6.  Redge.  7. 
JDtte.     8.  Phi.    9.  Huha. 

I  will,  on  this  word,  add  a  quotation  from  N&rea-*- 
■*  To  phah — to  interweave  branches  of  trees. 

For  nature  loath,  so  rare  a  jewei*s>  wracke, 
Seem'd  as  she  here  and  there  bar!  ploih^d  a  tree* 
If  poasible  to  hinder  destiny*    Browne,  Brit,  Past,  iLlSO. 

JoliBson  quotes  Evelyn  for  it.  Also  for  what  we  now  eall  !• 
iplath,  that  is  to  dash  water  about  with  a  noise.  Hence,  pkift,  a 
fiiiallow  pool  or  coiJection  of  water— 

-  He  leaves 

A  tfaallow  p/osft  to  plunge  him  in  the  deep.  T.  oftheSA.  4.** — OU 

Such  shallow  pools  we  call  Splashes,  which  see. 
So  in  Cheshire.  W.    See  Pulk  und  Pleach. 

Play  the  rogue.  To  be  annoying— -joking 
practically — not  necessiirily,  viciously. 

Pleach.  Is  described  to  be  a  branch  of  white-^ 
thorn  brought  down  and  laid  huriz(»ntaliy  in  a  fence 
To  thicken  a  weak  part.  It  is  notched  (or  snotched) 
at  the  point  of  tact  with  the  earth  which  is  loosened 
to  encourage  the  pleach  to  strike  root,  and  to  which 
it  13  kept  fixed  down  by  a  hooked  (or  cronie)  stick, 
or  peg.  This  operation  is  called  pleaching^  and  it 
more  used  in  Norfolk  than  in  Sufi'ulk,  and  if  there 
more  talked  of  than  used. 

'  Shakespeare  uses  the  word  several  times,  as  is 
Aown  by  Nares,  who  explains  it  to  mean  to  inter- 
twine, or  weave  together. 

And  bid  her  steal  into  the  pleached  bower, 
V^here  honey-suckles,  ripen'd  by  the  sun. 
Forbid  the  sun  to  enter.     M,  ade  ab,  N»  i.  4. 

Please  the  pigs.  A  quaint  vulgar  expret* 
Jiofi;  corrupted  probably,  from  pyx,  the  vessel  in 
which  the  host,  or  consecrated  elements,  are  kept  ia 
papist  ehapelf.  From  th^  extravagant  reverence 
with  which  the  pyx  and  its  superstitious  contents  are 
adored,  the  iiliterate  may  easily  have,  like  their. 


284 

bftteri,  confounded  their  Creator  wifh  n  wafer  t  aiid« 
aided  by  the  tempting  alliteration,  said  *' please  the 
pjx : "  not  in  the  loose  and  rather  reprehensible  maii«> 
uer  of  those  who,  SHtiricaliy  perhaps,  adopted  the 
expression  under  consideration  It  is  not  local.  See 
•omethutg  more  of  this  under  Hocus  POCUS^ 

Plot.  A  spot — a  place — a  plat.  Pretty  gene- 
rally in  use  perhaps.  "  A  grass-plot."  **  Dew  yeow 
•tab  I  that  that  there  plot,  till  I  come  back."  We  also 
•ay  a  "  sore  plot."  The  word  occurs  frequently  m 
Ray  and  Tusser.     See  a  quotation  under  Plash.   ' 

Nares  shows  it  to  be  used  in  the  sense  ofplacSp 
by  Shakespeare  and  B.  and  Fi. 

A  preit^  plot  we'll  chose  to  build  upon.    2.  Hen,  6.  i.  4» 

This  little  plot  i*  tli*  country  lies  most  fit 

To  do  his  grace  such  serviceable  uses.     Noble  Gent.  iii.  1. 

Plow.  A  field  ploughed — but  not  seeded.  "Mr. 
Smith's  plow." 

Plum.  Right  up  and  down.  Also  in  a  line 
straight  with  another ;  that  is  in  prolongation,  not 
parallel. 

Plump.  A  sn)art  blow — a  plumper.  "  'A  gon 
em  a  right  good  plump  i'  the  bread-basket."  Al- 
tbough  I  have  given  what  I  thought  a  sufficiently 
long  list  of  such  terms  of  offence  under  Aint,  this, 
and  many  others  are  there  omitted.  See  AiNT..  in 
the  Addenda,  or  Appendix, 

pLUMPANniKKALLA.  Perpendicular,  straigbt, 
upright,  right  down.  **  A  floppt  Plumpandikfceila 
down— gutsh."     See  Flop. 

Plum  pudding  and  roast  beef.  I  do  not  ofTcr 
these  as  local  words  or  things — heaven  forbid.  It 
18  here  meant  only  as  the  name  of  a  pastime,  nearly 
the  same  I  think,  as  **  English  and  French."  Would 
ihat  all  these  names  and  things  were  ofltner  plea- 
Bantly  associated.  TVke  uamti^  oi  ^  ^^Uty  of  our 
jurenih  games  ar^  enumct^leA  vB>^^t'^5>N'fe>AA** 


28$ 

Pod*  The  bdly — or  pauncb,  of  a  man  disposed 
to  i^b^ty^  Such  a  one  would  say  "  I  am  'a  gitten 
kii^ida  jMN&J^."  Podjel:  nearly  the  same,  but 
perhaps  of  a  less  rotund  description.  Tusser  uses 
podf  and  Mavor  think  it  means  a  box  or  perhaps  a 
leather  bottle  to  hold  cart-iniplcments  or  grease. 
It  may  have  been  so  called  from  its  riiape.  See 
■nder  Qoof,  verse  6.  and  note. 

Poor  AM »  A  word  that  has  not  been  mueh 
huopd  till  of  late  years,  though  I  believe  it  not  to 
be  of  recent  coinage:  indeed  I  am  pretty  sure  I 
have  seen  it  somewhere.  It  is  now  generally  ap- 
plied by  vulgar  church- men  to  dissenters  of  diffe- 
reat  denominations..  Not  however  to  papists, 
jews,  or  quakers.  The  remark  that  the  mutual  ran- 
cour of  conflicting  sects  is  inversely  as  their  degree 
of  difl^rence,  holds  good  all  die  world  over.  Chris;- 
tians  hate  each  other  more  tiian  they  do  Jews  or 
Mahommedans.  And  the  latter,  however  invetenate 
against  Christians,  are  yet  still  more  so  mutually, 
in  regard  to  sectarial  difference:  though  in  fact 
such  difference  be  unimportant,  and  compromising 
no  point  of  &ith,  beyond  who  was  the  fittest  man  ta 
succeed  Mahommed  in  the  Khalifiit,  or  civil  and 
pontifical  supremacy.  Even  the  tolerant  Hindus, 
who  admit  no  proselytes,  and  aver  that  all  mankind 
are  mere  or  less  Hindus,  have  had  desolating  waia 
among  themselves  on  points  of  faith  and  practice ; 
and  hate  each  other  with  considerable  intensify; 
Ipreatly  exceeding  what  they  feel  towards  Christians, 
or  Mahommedans.  It  has  been  reserved  for  the 
Hindus  to  carry  on  merciless  wars  of  extermination 
on  a  question  of  physiological  function.  Yet  such 
are  points  of  history  and  1  believe  of  fact.  The  ori- 
ginal question  was  whether  their  Jupiter  or  Juno 
were  the  most  potential  in  the  infancy,  or  before 
the  in&ncy,  of  society ! 

POKK.    A  bag— Ie«4fr  than  a  coomb  sack.    Ilia 


386 

for  the  Bo£t  <A  as  noticec)  ander  Pkrk— in  pouch,  or 
pocke,  tbo'it  Is  not  used  in  Suffolk  in  the  same  sense 
with  pouch  or  pocket.  In  other  counties  probal>ly 
it  is — **  Foote  from  his-  poke  A  shilling  took."— ^ 
It  is  a  verv  common  word  in  •'Suffolk  for  any  bag. 
**  Pudden  poke,"  which  see.  **  Pig  in  a  poke,"  is 
common  every  where-^even  where  the  alUt'eratioii 
does  not  hold — the  French  say  *'  chat  en  poche.*' 
Ray  has  this  Proverb,  *'  when  a  pig  is  proferred, 
hold  up  the  poke,'*  p-  146'.  A  Scottish  malediction 
runs — "  Sarie  be  your  meil  poke  an  ay  your. fist 
r  the  nook  of  it."  Ray,  p.  30-i.  Again,  "  ye  breid 
o*the  millers  dog— ye.  lick  your  mouth,  or  the 
pok  be  open" — ib.  p.  308.  See  PiCKLlN.  Among 
his  North  country  words,  he  again  discusses  this 
more  elaborately  than  is  usual  with  him. 

ApohCf  a  sack  <r  bat;.  It  is  a  general  word  in  this  sense  ail 
orer  England,  tho'  mostly  used  ludicrousijy  as  are  gang  and 
Itealf  he.  becauRe  borrowed  of  the  common  people.  Hence 
pteket,  a  little  pohe;  and  the  prorerbs  « to  buy  a  pig  in  a 
poke*'  and  **  when  the  pig  is  proferred  hold  up  the  poke.**  Mr. 
Brokesby  informs  me  that  with  them  in  the  East  Riding  of  York« 
shire,  (he  word  suck  is  appropriated  to  a  poke  that  holds  four 
bushels,  and  that  poke  is  a  (general  word  for  all  measures ;  hence 
a  met-'poke,  or  three-bushel  poke,  &c.**   E.  W.  p.  49. 

Keal  and  met-poke,  are  new  to  me. 

Nares  notices  to  potch,  or  poche,  as  nearly  allied 
to  poke,  in  the  sense  of  to  thrust  at  with  a  pointed 
instrument.  It  occurs  in  Shakespeare,  CorioL  i.  10'. 

I  may  note  that  poke,  as'^a  verb,  we  use  signifii 
cative  of  a  thump — **  111  lend  you  a  poke  i'  the  hid.** 
This  did  not  occur  to  me  when  I  wrote  the  list  of 
similar  words  given  under  Aint.  That  list  might 
have  been  nearly  as  long  again.  See  Appendim 
under  Aint. 

Poll.  The  head ;  not  local  perhaps.  We  com* 
nouly  pronounce  it  powl:  and  a  hornless  cow  or 
sheep  we  call  •'  a  powled  cow" — "  a  powled  ship.** 
A  pollard,  or  stowed  tree  we  call  "a  powled  tree.**. 
See  Pollard.     Pow,  is  the  head  in  Scottish. 

Naret  shows  that  poll  is  an  old  word,  neMUBg 


287 

to  (curtail  the  head  of  its  ornameitt ;  and  to  strip  or 

yUlage. 

PSlling  and  p0U!mg  h  grown  out  of  request  since  plain  pilfer- 
ing came  into  fashion.  Winvoooa^t  Mem* 

.  I  should,  however^  be  disposed  to  read  this  pas- 
^agc,  peeling,  (  or,  as  we  now  call  it,  pilling )  the 
stem,  and  polling  the  head  of  the  oaks ;  and  not  in 
the  general  sense  of  pillage.     See  Fill. 

Aad  when  he  p^Ud  his  head  (for  it  was  at  <»very  years*  end 
tbat  be  polied  it>  because  the  hair  was  heavy  on  hiiu,  therefore 
he  polled  it)  he  weighed  the  hair  of  his  liead  at  two  hnndrtd 
shekels  after  the  king's  weight.     2*  Sanu  xiv.  26. 

K^ther  shall  the  priests  shave  their  heads  nor  suffer  their  • 
locks  to  grow  longy  they  shall  only  poll  their  heads. 

£tefe.  xliv.  f#. 

And  by  these  polled  locks  of  raine,  which  while  they  were  long 
were  the  ornament  of  ray  sexe,  now  iu  their  short  curls  the  testi- 
■tonie  of  my  servitude.     Pemb.  Arcad,  187. 

*'  Powler,  for  poller ;  that  is  one  who  polls  or 
cuts  the  hair. 

B«    I  know  him  not ;  is  he  a  deaft  barber  ? 

G.    O  yea ;  why  he  b  mistrisis  Lamia's  poioler, 

Pronun  and  CauandraJ*    Qi, 

Pollard.  A  tree  having  had  its  leading  shoot 
and  branches  lopp'd  off  when  young — Polled,  See 
Fowled.  This  barbarous  custom  has  destroyed 
much  of  the  beauty  of  Suffolk,  and  of  other  coun- 
ties. A  century  ago  few  landlords  thought  of  the 
ntlue  of  timber ;  and  tenants  did  as  they  pleased. 
Aa  indeed,  in  this  particular,  they  still  do — for  it  is 
lamentable  to  see  fine  young  trees  with  their  tops 
refUHitly  lopp'd.  It  is  easily  accounted  for— the 
lopping  of  a  stow'd  tree,  or  the  stowins,  are  the 
tenant's — if  left  as  timber  ,the  tree  will  be  worth 
the  landlord's. notice.  See  Stow.  It  is  an  oldish 
word :  it  occurs  in  the  sense  of  a  polFd  tree  in  a 
lease  dated  1638,  as  noticed  in  Cullum's  Hawstead. 
The  word  Pollard  is  used  by  Ray,  who  seems  to 
deduce  it  froni  Boll.  E.  W.  p.  18.    See  Bole. 

.T!IVB9cr  iq[>pears  to  mean  the  same  thing  by  Pol- 


38S 

Now  lop  for  thy  fuel,  old  poUetiger  grown> 

That  hinder  the  corn»  or  the  grass  to.be  mown; 

In  lopping  and  feilinp,  save  edder  and  stake. 

Thine  hec^es,  as  nccdeth,  to  mend  or  to  make.  p..f  9. 

Edder,  we  commonly  call  Ether,  wbidi  see— ^and 
Lpp .  *'  Pollard  "  aecording  to  Nares,  meuis  *^ way 
thing  that  is  polled,  or  stripped  at  the  top ;  usually 
applied  to  trees.  Here  to  a  stag,  or  rather  to  a  miui^ 
jocularly  compared  to  a  stag : 

1.  C.     He  has  no  horns,  Sir,  has  he  ? 

3.  C.    No,  Sir,  he's  a  pollard,     fi.  f  FL  Philatter,  ▼.  4. 

'*  A  clipped  coin,"  he  adds,  ''^was  also  caUed  a 
pollard.'' 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  I  find  "Polders,  old  trees  lopped," 
and  *' Pollard,  a  stag  that  cast  his  head,''  meaning, 
1  suppose,  his  horns,  "  Pollard  or  PoUenger,  ^ 
tree  that  has  been  often  lopped." 

PoLLYWiGGLE.  The  tad-pole— inlNorfolk  call- 
ed potladle. 

PoNiSH.  Punish — like  boonch — pconch — for 
bunch— ^punch,  &c.  as  noticed  under  Butes. 

PooNCH.  Punch,  so  boonch  for  bunch  — 
boondle  for  bundle.  In  compensation  we  say  brum 
for  broom— ruff  for  roof.  See  under  Butes. 
Pooneh  is  also  a  gentle  pu&h  or  nudge  with  the 
elbow — but  is  not  altogether  confined  tu  such;  for 
•'  a  poonsh  'i  th  guts,"  is  no  joke.  This  is  one  of 
the  many  words  of  like  offensive  import  enumerated 
under  AiNT.  In  Scottish,  **  to  punch,  to  jog 
with  the  elbow ;  from  the  Swedish  huak-a,  cum 
sonitu  ferire."  J. 

Poor  outs.  Making  poor  outs  ont — or  no 
outs — doing  badly.     See  Good  outs. 

Pooh    tanner.     A    juveniie    oastime.     See 

MOVEAIX. 

Pooty.    Putty. 

Poppet.  A  term  of  endearment  te  a  yoitsg 
girl :  siioiiar  to  Moppet,  which  lee. 


2d8 

Po^PSK.  IVvtaHlble  abottt^'  Ivith  ft  quick  mo- 
taoB-««ich-Miui>8pple,  or  a  small  bit  of  wood,  &e; 
in  water.     A  poplar:  is  sometimes  called  a  popple. 

PoRTMANTLE.  A  portmanteau.  In  Scottish 
jMoA-Mfttn/eaic,  •  cloke,  bag.  J.  lu  both  cases,  it 
Id  I  Bttppose,  A  poke  for  the  mantle,  or  maiitet)u,-of 
oloke.  rfifld,  unexpectedly,  that  we  have  some 
authority  for  our  pronunciation;  for  in  an  O.-D. 
A.  »  "  pofFtmantU^  a  cloke-bag.** 

'Pass,  ^fk  oold^in  the  head."  Ray.  I  give  this 
ward  in  some  doubt  of  its  being  now  in  use.  Hay 
faeaB  it  among  his-Sotith  and  E^st  country  words — 
adding  to  the  preceding  quotation,  "  that  causes  a 
running  at  the  nose''  £.  W.  p.  83  This  is  pre« 
cLsely  my  i^iea  of  our  word. 

Under  Poge^  Nares  says — 

AooMor  riefluxicui  from  ihe  bead,  ihe  flioiicQl  name  of  which 
is  &tryzth  under  which  uord  Ker^ex  thus  dofiues  it — **  The  ^m^ 
the  falling  down  of  a  sharp,  salt,  and  thick  humour,  out  ul' the 
bead,  ii{Kia  the  noitrii.s  mcnith.  iiin|j[«,*'  ac. 

By  the  fOic  in  th^  nose — And  the  lituit  in  thv  toe«. 

i).  auii  Ft.  Chancts,  v.  3. 

Me^g  yesterday  was  troubled  with  a  po^c, 
'UJiich'lhis  night  hardened,  &uddcis  ujrhrr  nose. 

Her  rick,    p.  S5i, 
•  •  jirow«> 

The  agoe,  congh,  the  )v^un\,  the  pose,     Httiwood, 
TiKPelwhde's  Cornish  vocabulary  it  occur^^  us  pause.    OV. 

Since  this  was  written,  I  iearn  that  pose  is 
still  in  use  in  Suffolk ;  but  now  nioslly  confined 
to  the  disorder  ih  horses,  incident  to  a  cold.  Atid 
in  an  O.  D.  A.  <  iind  **  A  poge,  a  cold  in  a  hor&e*s 
head"~r>and  *'  Pose,  a  rheuwin  the  head  '* 

Pot  hooks  and  hanqers.  Very  indifferent 
pcBmanship. 

POTSHAPf.  A  broken  piece  of  earthen-ware. 
Pat'skard.  This  word  occurs  in  gc«i|»ture.  Job 
in  bis  'unseemly  distress  t.>«>k  a*  pot  shard  to 
seraph bimtdf  v^ithal.  Tile-iUnd  is  a\so  ui^^d  in 
Sbifolk;  fbr  «  piece  of  tiic.    Sc6  -Fii^T shIbr,  for 

2  c 


g»0 

some  notice  of  the  word  iSSAorif.    ^ee  nlBa.SifAltD. 
Spenser,  as  quoted  by  Nares»  calls  it  pettkare. 

They  bew^d  their  helmes.  and  plates  asunder  braked 
Astne^r  had  ptUharet  been.     F.  Q.  ▼!•  1*  37. 

touLT  or  POWT.     \  blow— ^a  thump.    **  A  gon 
>tai  a  right  good  pout  i*  the  hid."     $ee  mider  Aint. 
In  an  O.  D.  A.     1  find  "  to  pttit  one^  to  beat  or 
bang  him.*' 

Pounce.  A  thump  on  the  head. '  One  of  oar 
many  words  of  like  import,  of  which  a  list  is  giT^n 
under  Aint.  Pounce  is  not  so  often  used  ai$  most 
of  the  others.  It  may  be  the  same  word  or  nearly 
as  pooncA,  which  see. 

Pout  or  poult.  A  young  turkey,  fit  for  the 
table  but  not  full  grown — a  turkey-poult.  In  Scot* 
tish,  *'  Pout  is  a  young  partridge,  or  moor-fowl ; 
from  the  French  pouiet,  a  pullet.**  J.  Poult  or  pout 
b  a  blow  or  thump.    See  Ain  r. 

Powder.  Loaf  sugar  beaten  fine  is  called  pcW" 
der  sugar.  Putting  pork,  &c.  into  a  tub  with  salt 
for  future  use  is  called  "  powdering  doum"  The 
receptacle  is  a  "powdering  tub.*'    See  Flick. 

Thougn  I  never  heard  this  word  used  in  the  sense 
ofpresertnng  out  of  Suffolk,  it  has  been  so  used. — 
Lord  Bacon  in  his  advice  to  King  James  touching  the 
bequest  of  Mr.  Sutton,  for  founding  the  Charter 
House  School,  has  the  following  curious,  and  not 
very  happy,  passage. 

This  act  of  Mr.  Sutton  seemeth  to  me  as  a  sacrifice  without 
salt;  having  the  materials  of  a  good  intention,  but  not  powdered 
ytiOi  any  such  ordinances  and  institutions  as  maj^  presence  the 
same  from  becoming  corrupt,  or  at  least  from  becoming  anmi* 
▼oury  and  of  liitie  use. 

It  is  still  more  curious  to  see  Bacon  opposing  th^ 
foundation  of  this  schco)  on  aclassical  basis, "  lest  to6 
many  should  be  brought  up  scholars,  so  as  to  rob 
the  plough  of  ils  labourers.''  This  unhappy  allegory 
c/ Bacon's  (which  a  punster  would  say  savouretn  of 
bi$  name)  may,  peiadveuVuie,  \»n^  v;&i;j|gt»Xt4  AIM 


291 

w^ll  kttowQ  figure  of  Dr.  Johnson,  ds  recorded  by 
bis  Uidefiitigable  biog^pher.  **  Being  asked  his 
opinion  of  a  certain  poem''  (  I  quote  from  memory 
not  having  at  this  moment  access  to  the  work  )  "  he 
•aid  *Sir  it  has  not  salt  enough  to  keep  it  from  stink- 
ing*' But  recollecting  perhaps  that  I  his  phrase  was 
too  ttodignified,  immediately  repeated  the  srntiment 
in  the  following  pompous  phraseology,  'Sir  it  has 
not  vitality  sufficient  to  preserve  it  from  put  refaction." 

But  to  retuni  to  Suffolk — every  farm  house  and 
thrifty  family  have  their  powdering  tub,  and  we  find 
the  article  and  the  process  more  than  once  mentioned 
tki  Shakespeare.  In  Measure  fur  Measure^  iii.  2. 
speakuig  of  a  pn>cure8s — 

Cloum.  Traih,  Sir,  slie  hath  eaten  up  all  her  beef»  end  if 
hersell  in  ihe  lob. 

Lucio,  Wbjr  'tis  good— it  is  right.  Ever  joar  fresh  whore 
and  ytiur  powdered  bawd. 

This  is  intelligible,  but  Johnson  may  not  have  seen 
it  in  the  right  ^ense  when  he  wrote,  on  this  passage, 
"  The  method  of  cure  for  venereal  complaints  is 
grossly  called  the  powdering  ivb^  It  was  so  called^ 
no  doubt,  and  is  perhaps  so  still — as  well  as  *'  pick- 
ling tub."  But  1  doubt  if  Shakespeare  so  meant  it. 
In  the  following  passage  he  hits  off  exactly  our  Suf- 
folk word — "£mboweird ! " — exclaims  honest  John 
Falstaff-— 

SmbowelI'd! — if  thou  embowell  roe  to  day  IMl  give  thee 
leave  to  powcfer  me,  and  eat  me  too,  tomorrow. 

1.  K»  Hen*  4.   ▼;  4. 

In  the  north  ''  Kimnel  or  Kemlin  is  a  powdering 
tub'*  Ray.  £.  W.  p  39.  " To  powder,  to  season 
witli  salt.*'  O.  D.  A.  *'  To  sprinkle  with  salt—to 
salt  meat  in  any  way.  Hence  a  powdering  tub  for  a 
vtessel  in  which  things  are  salted.  Also  powdered 
beefy  for  saltetl  beef.  These  words  are  hardly 
obsolete."    Nareu, 

Ib  SuHblk,  where  the  words  are  as  common  ^  >\i^ 
pnctke,  wo  do  not,  1  ihmk,  apply  powder  \o  «xk^ 

2c2 


203 

process  save  saltiag  meat  in  a.  iuhior.  atoM;  or 
io  describe  any  tub  but  its  recipient     See  Salt. 
B,  and  Fl.  allude  to  the  operatien  id  tlus  passage-^ 

They  come  witbcbopping  knivefy 


To  cat  me  into  rands,  and  sirloioa,  and  io  pomiiw 

Aitnds,  which  see,  is  a  Suffolk  word. 
Powju    The  head.    See  Poll. 

Fowled.  So  pronounced^  bat  imtiBUpoikdi 
without  horns;    See  Poll. 

Po4fV.     A  nosei-gay. 

Fb!ah.  Pray^  This  p^rottuacaation  obiaina^iit 
most  woVds  of  like  sound.'  Lah— mah^-^pah-t-sah 
— drc.  Prah,  we  sometimes  use  redundantly^ — 
•*Wfell  John,  how  are  yow?— "Pdre  well,  thanky 
Sir;  prah  how  de  yeow dew,  prah." 

Pbamiskas  orpAMisKAS.  One  is  soinetimetf 
startled  at  thin  word  (promucuaus),  in  the  sense  of 
uointentionalty,  by  accidenti  casoally.  In  the  lajpsa* 
of  years,  1  think  it  likeVy  to  become  a  legitiiaate 
£iigU:ih  wordj  however  curiously  ittbe  naw  ^pplied^i 

Pray,  or  Praise,  or  Prize,  or-  Pijf^  T6  lift  any. 
thing  with  a  lever — the  lever  is  called  a  pray^  or 
Ifwer.  **  Pray  away  " — u'praUe  perhaps.  To  pray 
a  door  or  ltd  open,  is  to  open  it  with  a  handspikcv 
or  lever  of  any  sort.  In  Scottish  "  To  prtse  up,  ta 
force  open  a  lock  or  door :  from  the  French  preiner^ 
to  force."  J. 

Present.  Presently.  See  EKvoolb^  .  for  an 
€:(aniple. 

Prial.     Three  cards'of  u  sort,  at  the  gmae  of 
commerce    particularly : .  a  corvuptioa^  prdbabfejFj^ . 
of  pot'r-roj^a/.     Under  the  latter 'term,  Narea  co«i>* 
firoiM  this  derivation,  and  givestmany  qtlotattona,'*iB.^ 
illustration  of  the  word. 

Pbihin<ii~  Prunii^'  the  low^rv  or^  fr<idMboogh^ 
ofaftree; 


293 

PaiMMlNNERRT.  Perplexity— confiision—-dis- 
(resi— derived*  no  doubt,  somehow  from  premunire. 

Prikts.     Newspapers.     So  in  Scottish.  J. 

Prison  bars.  A  school-boy's  game.  I  have 
giTen  a  list  of  a  sort  :  i  these  amusements  under 

MOTEALL. 

Prisoner's    base.      A   juvenile    sport.      See 

MOVEALL. 

pRITCH,  A  deutated  instrument  to  strike  and 
hold  eels.  Also  a  heavy  pointed  iron  for  makin{v 
boles  in  the  earth  for  hurdle  >takes,  &c  This 
IS  called  a  fold-pritch.  Also  the  sensation  of  throb- 
bing or  itching.  '*Ta  boolk,  an  ta  itch  and  ta  pritch,*' 
said  of  a  push  or  boil.     See  Bullock. 

Prog  A  spike,  a  goad,  a  prong ;  especially  at 
the  end  of  a  stick  used  by  drovers  **  A  progged 
stick.''  In  Scottish  prog,  a  sharp  point.  J.  With 
us  it  is  also,  as  elsewhere,  a  quaint  term  for  food. 

Proud.  Hot— in  the  sense  of  Salt — which  see, 
and  Brimm. 

.  Pry.    See  Pray. 

Pucker.  Confusion— fright — in  dishabille — *'  I 
was  all  of  a  pucker." 

PuCKBTS.  "  Nests  of  caterpillars.  Sussex." 
jRay,  S.  and  E.  country  words,  p.  83.  I  have 
heard  it  in  Suffolk — but  have  doubt  of  its  genuiness 
there. 

PuCK-FlEST.  The  species  of  Lvcoperdon,  more 
commonly  Bulljiest,  which  see.  Under  this  name 
of  Puck'jtst,  Nares  notice>  its  other  names  of  puff- 
Jisi,  puff-ball,  Juz-ball,  and  puck-foist.  He  says 
that  it  i^  aictaphoricully  a  term  ot  reproach,  cquiva- 
leiit  to  *'vile  fundus" — **  scum  of  the  earth." 


But  that  this  puck-Jist, 


This  Universal  rutter.     B.  <j^  FL  CusL  of  Country,  i.  $. 

a  goose,  Ailosto  a  pm-hjist  to  me* 

FertTs  Love^i  Sacrifice^  u.  1, 

2c3 


294- 

Of  pttiiptrM>bioiDdr%<»  iBb^Btetf  ttp^tlu*^^^ 

tdiddUt.  MoreDkfihmW.  ik.  5. 

PtTDDEN'-HiDnRO.  Stupid,  thick  traded  See 
Apple-jack. 

PubDKN  POKE.  A  very  small  bird;  so- nemed, 
no  doubt,  from  its  nest  being  shnikir  to*  the  almost 
dbcarded  article,  onre  in  such  geberal  use  in  Sufiolk^ 
I  conjecture  the  nest  was  originally  so  called ;  and 
the  bird  the  '*  Pudden  poke  bird  " — but  b^ing  rather 
huig,  it  has  been  conveniently,  tho*  not  very  cor- 
rectly, abbreviated.  We  hear  constantly  of  the 
**  Pudden  poke's  nest,"  which  la  perhaps  the  most 
curiouslv  elaborated  of  any  similar  production  of 
the  feathered  tribe.  The  Purlden-poke  lays  15  or 
iO  beautiful  eggs,  nearly  resembling  pearls.  I  crave 
to  be  allowed  one  line  of  lamentation  over  the 
article  bo  unmeritedly  discarrted,  the  '*  Puddhtg^ 
Poke,"  which  I  hope  the  reader  requires  not  to  be 
told  was  a  long  taper  bag,  in  which  that  esteemed 
edible  was  boiled  of  yore — and  much  better  boiled 
than  it  ran  be  in  the  round  form  of  the  present 
fashion.  By  the  time  that  the  centre  of  a  round 
pudding  "  is  enough,"  the  circumference  is  boiled 
to  insipidity.  We  may  regret  the  departure  of  the 
idays  when  the  pudding,  of  ample  longitude,  was 
turned  out  into  the  savoui^  browned  **  latch-pan ;  " 
and,  garnished  with  hard  dumplings,  came  smoak- 
ing  to  table  as  the  first  dish !  The  expressive  old 
saying  **  You  must  eat  another  yard  of  pudden  first," 
i.  e.  l^fore  you  be  man  enough  to  do  so  and  so,  will 
soon  be  obsolete,  and  unintelligible.    See  Latch* 

PAN. 

Puddle.  A  dirty  pool,  or  small  piece  of  water*^ 
<^  As  thick  as  puddle,"  is  a  common  phrase,  not  con- 
fined, perhaps,  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  kingdom. 
Also  a  verb,  to  render  water  furbid,  similar  to 
Muddle  and  RUe,  which  see.  /'  Don't  pnddki  the 
water."    Used  likewise  in  a  sense  of  mental  perlur- 


295 


)iatio»— *^What^a  pviddfe  liei*  in'*— or  of  fr  dull  in*> 
tellecty  "  A  pttddle-biddid  fulla."  Thus  Desdeiiiona 
sajs  of  heir  toble  lord's  moodiness — 

Sonnet bing  «>«re  of  state-^some  unhatched  practiocf 
H&tb  pudfiUd  his  clear  spirit*    OUuUo.  iii.  4. 

-   PV0O13CK.     A  toad.     Scottish  also — 

Ak  min  as  May  puddockM.     Annmti  *fthe  PomlU  p.  d6t« 

and^agaiu  by  the  same  author  in  Sir  Anchrewl^lie* 
IL  8^  It  seeiiisa  current  word  and  phrase  in  Scot- 
Iftsd;  Sliakespeare  has  Paddock^  which  the  cooi^ 
OMBtators  agree  is  a  toad.  Cocker  has  Paddoeki 
which  he  8a\s  b  Dutcb,  and  meaits  *'  a  tn»^  or  • 
toad  **  '*  A  Paddocks  a  fro;;  Essen.  Minth^w 
de/ketU  k-  Beig*  Padiie,  Bufo.  t\  Paddeck^  or 
Pv^docky  is  also  a  little  park,  or  iiiclusuret.''   Rhy, 

£.  w.  p.  aa. 

I' quote  the  following  irom  Nares.     *'  Paddimky  a 
toad ;  used  by  Drydeu ;  but  perhaps  not  since— 

Would  iroin  a  paddAck  irom  a  bat.  a  gib. 
Such  dear  coitceriiiugs  hide.     Hamlti*  iii,  4. 

Ko  certainly}  a  March  (marsh)  frog  kept  thy  Dotber^ 

And  thou  art  but  a  montiter-par/f/ocrc. 

Muwingtr*  Very  W<nnan,  iiL  S. 

Sometimeii  a  frog : — 

l^addodiU,  todes»  and  \valer>>nakps. 

Ckapmani  OmM,  and  Pomfi, 

Iz.  Walton  talks  of  <<  the  padock  or  frog  padcckf  which  usoally 

kecp4  or  breeds  on  land    and  is  very  large,  and  boney  and  bigL 

Part  I.  ch.  viii. 

By  Shakespeare  it  is  made  the  name  of  a  familiar 
spirit: 

■    Paddock  calls— Anon,  Anon.     Mach,  i.  1.— Nv  Gfi 
I  do  not  think  that  we  ever  call  a  frog  by  this 
name,     A  young  frog  we  call/re«Aer.     In  an  O.  0. 
A.  is  '*  Paddock^  a  hu«^e  toad."    See  Paddock  and 

POTTOCK  * 

The  notion  that  a  toad  **  though  ugly  aud  rono- 
mous  wears  yet  a  precious  jew  el. in  his  crown/'  is  ooft 
a  Suffolk  persuasion — but  we,  in  common  with 
Shiakespeare.  belie?e  that  spiders  aixl  toads  *'  iOfk 
fhepoifton**of  tbe  carth--a  sentiment  put  into  the 


20ff: 

fine    ftfieeeli  of    Richard  U*  on  iiislaadioK    ia 
Eughuid— « 

—  Weeping,  smiling,  ^reet  I  ihee,  my  etrth: 
Feed  not  thy  sovereign's  foes  my  gentle  earth ; 
But  let  thy  spiders  that  suck  up  thy  venom. 
And  heavy  gaited  toadsy  lie  in  thftir  way.     R.  f .  iii.  f .  . 

PUGGY.  Tb]<;k,  warm,  mugf^y  weather-^pre- 
coding  a  tempest.     *'  P"|;gy  bands/'  dirty,  clammy* 

PuiiLEN.     Poultry  in  general.     In  oldiaL  writera 
it  is  not  unusual  to  see  hens  for  poultry*     We  have^' 
in  fact,  no  specific  name  for  the  comm«>n  domestic 
jTowK     Between  pullet  and  hen,  I  suppose,  PulUm 
has  been  formed.    Tusser  u^s  the  word — 

Where  jmlten  use  nightly  to  perch  in  the  yard. 

There  two-legged  foxes  keep  watches  and  ward.     p.  265. 

The  word  is  not  now,  I  think,  much  in  use,  tho* 
I  have  heard  it  lately.  The  practice  hinted  at,  is 
not  obselcte.  /Vner- leggetl  foxes,  we  have  none  of 
abont  Wood  bridge. 

PuUen,  like  peason,  may  perhaps,  l>e  an  old  Anglo' 
Saxon  plural  of  fowl  or  poulle;  they* and  p  being 
interchangeable. 

''Pullam  or  Pullen,  poultry.  A  word  still  used 
in  the  north.'*   Nares.     He  quotes  from  old  plays — 

A  rogue*  ih  it  has  fed  upon  me,  and  the  fruit  of  my  wit,  like 
fuUen  from  a  pantler*b  chippings.     Miseriei  oj  Inf.  Afarr. 

She  can  do  pretty  well  in  ihc  pastry,  and  knows  how  puUen 
should  be  crammed      B.  &  F.     Sconif.  Lady,  v.  T, 

PULK.  A  little  standing  pool,  or  splash,  or  pud- 
die  of  water — a  diminutive — Poolkin,  perhaps,  like 
Bulkin,  Lambkin,  or  Hoodkin.     See  Hcdkin. 

Pulk  is  a  north-country  word,  meaning,  accord- 
ing to  Ray,  "  a  hole  of  standing  water,  also  a 
slough  or  plash  of  some  depth.*'  £.  W.  p.  49.  Sets 
Plash. 

PuLTERNOTS.  OfikI,  or  lefusc,  of  hemp  or  tow 
BOt  worth  spinning. 

Pummel.  To  beat  soundly,  with  the  fist,  origi- 
nating, probably,  from  a  stroke  with  the  pommel 


297 

Of  h#dwt4Al  #f  tbt'  swbrdi  Tfaif  woM  is  omitted 
in  tlie  very  iocomplete  list  of  similar  wordt  gifCB 
under  AinT.     See  under  that  word  in  the  Appeadisu 

PUMMELTRBE.  A  whippietree  for  two  or  more 
lorses.  Pondleiree  is  I  believe  another  pronimcian 
IkiB  of  it' 

PvmiT.  Soft,  imstable»  inaolid,  as.  bofgji 
ffpond:  generjiliy  used  comparatively — "  soft  asiii 
ponuuij.*'  It  does  not  appear  what  Is  specificalii^ 
nieailt  by  the  word.  "All  of  a  pummy/'  i  have  jiiifi 
heard,  as  descriptive  of  the  crushed,  rotted  stat«b 
of  the  bottom  of.  a  heap  of  over-ripened  pearsw 

PuKNAH  or:  PuKNATH.  Pennyworth—**  Six 
pwuuura  haapens.'' 

Punch.  A  blow— as  noticed  more  particnlarly 
under  P#(mdL 

PuNGLBO.  Whettt,  from  mildew,  or  other  cauaefi 
neil  beinf^  plnmp  grained,  is.  said  to  be  pungled-^ 
sometimes  ptn^M. 

PuppA.    Peppen     PnpfMt-'box,  a  pepper  castor* 

PURDY.  Proud — ostentatious.  "  'A  fare  sahigp 
and  io  purdy  tha*s  no  speaken  tew  em/* ' 

Pure  Very— ia  a  goodsenaei  "  Pure  weH.^ 
Purely — very  well.     See  Lah  on,  and  Prah. 

Purse  ThisJs  oar  pronunciatioa.of  piercs;  and 
of  PeajF^a  mains  name:  it  is  indeed  generally  short- 
ened intoptfs,  as  we  say  boss  for  liarse.  A  sail*, 
maker's  needle  is  called  a  purser:  as  remarked  in  a 
note  on  verse  6  of  article  Goof,  in  this  Collection. 

FuBRY.  Fati  short,  dumpy,  and  rather  bdrdr 
breathing.  In  Scottish,  "short-breathed  and  fi&t; 
from  the  old  French.  p<mrcif\  id.*'  J.  In  an  Q«  Q* 
A.  is**  Pursy,  over  fat,  short  winded/* 

PII9H4     Aboil     See  Bullock. 

PtJSS  IS  THE  cornbr.  An  active bustlingin- 
dt^dr  p^»tiine— not  local  perfai^ps.  S^t  v^ex 
MovRMt  for  a  list  of  such  recreaticniv. 


29S 

Puts.  Mole-warps,  which  see.  In  Scottish  to 
jmt,  is  to  push,  to  thrust.  J.  Heooe  probably,  our 
moh-pmU:  what  a  mole  puts  forth,  or  out. 

PUTTAH  or  PUTTER.  There  are  some  words 
which  are  difficult  to  exphiih  otherwise  than'  by 
giving  them  in  a  phrase  or  speech.  This  is  one  of^ 
them,  it  seems  to  mean  a  sort  of  in  termed!  ing,  or 
inqnisitiveness,  or  interference.  The  following  is 
the  genuine  account  of  an  even-tempered  cook  of 
her  master  s  too  often  repeated  directions,  advice, 
&c.  '*  I  let  'em  dew  jest  as  'a  like — 'a  <:o  puttah, 
puttah,  ptni^^er  about — alawkus!  I  don't  mind  *ein." 
This  seems  to  be  the  same  word  that  i  find  in  an  (>• 
D.  A.  "  A  pudder,  a  bustle  or  noise ;  as  to  make  or- 
keep'  a  great  pudder  about  trifles.*' 

PuTTUCK.  A  large  species  of  hawk.  Puttuck- 
kite,  or  Puttock-hawk.  Shakespeare  uses  the 
name,  in  a  degrading  sense,  tho'.to  be  sure,  it  is^ 
in  comparison  with  an  eagle — 

T  I  chose  an  eagle 

And  did  avoid  a  puUoch,     Cymbeline,  i.  9. 

The  commentators  agree  that  puttock  is  the  kite* . 
Warwick's  fine  speech  in  K.  Hen.  6.  iii.  2.  puts 
indeed  the  thing  beyond  dispute — 

Who  fin<i8  ihe  heifer  dead  and  bleeding  fresh. 
And  sees  fast  b^  a  butcher  with  an  axe. 
Bat  will  tiuspect  *twas  he  who  made  the  slaughter? 
Who  finds  the  partridge  in  the  puitociCi  nest. 
But  will  imagine  how  the  bird  was  dead. 
Although  the  kite  soar  with  unblooded  beak. 

Tusser  uses  the  word,  figuratively,  and  not  very 
clearly — 

Such  rarening  jmttoekt  for  vtctuals  so  trim* 

Would  have  a  good  master,  to  -puttock  with  him.  p.  286. 

Some  complexity  has  arisen  between  the  words 
pvttack,  puddock,  and  paddock.  .  The  two  latter 
are  tl^e  toad  with  us,  as  well  as  with  Shakespeare. 
See  PuoDOCK.     In  an  O,  O.  A.  is  *'JPuiiQQk,  a 


299 

kind   of  loDg-wittded  kite."  Naret  illii«tratef  the 
word  with  hw  usual  felicity. 

Pytle  or  PiOHTLE.    A  small  meadow. 

Q. 

•  

Qu  ACK L£.  To  suffocate  or  choak—^particularly 
by  drink  *'  going'  the  wrong  way" — or  by  smoak — 
**  I'm  quackled  ta  dead  a  most."  Sometimes  quag- 
gie.  To  green  is  to  suffocate  by  strangulation. 
See  QuEzzEN.  Quackle  is  the  common  term^  as 
I  suppose,  for  the  obtuse  guttural  note  of  a  duck ; 
and  henee,  combining  sound  with  sense,  we  desig- 
nate the  rattling  singultus  of  semi-suffoeation. 

Quag.  Soft,  shaking,  wet  land.  A  quagmire. 
In  the  North  "  mizzy,  a  quagmire."  Ray,  £.  W. 
p.  44.  In  Devonshire---;if^^/em€ar.  ib.  79.  In 
Scotland  ^'quhawe,  a  marsh,  a  quagmire."  J.  Quabbe 
is  an  old  term  for  the  same  as  is  shown  by  Nares. 

QuAGOLE.    See  Quackle. 

Quail,  Wet,  insolid  land,  that  trembles  under 
the  foot,  will  be  said  to  quail: — if  very  much,  "to 
quail  like  a  humby."  See  Bumby.  An  ill  made 
baked  custard  is  said  to  quails  when  it  is  insolid 
with  a  liquid  deposit.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  ioquaiU 
to  curdle,  as  milk  may  do."  Ihe  word  seems  to 
have  its  origin  in  a  sense  of  quaking,  or  shaking 
through  fear ;  in  which  it  appears  in  both  ancient 
and  modm'n  authors — by  ancient,  I  mean  to  speak 
like  a  Suffolk  man,  of  two  or  three  centuries  agon. 
Thus  Shakespeare — 

Do  this  suddenly— 
And  let  not  search  and  inquisition  quaU, 
To  bring  again  these  foolish  runaways.    At  You  L.  t(.  ii.  ^. 

In  this,  quail  seems  to  stand  in  a  sense  of  faiU 
Again — more  directly  in  the  Suffolk  sense. 

Thy  daughter 
For  whom  my  heart  drops  blood*  and  my  false  spirits 
Qu*U  to  remember.     Cymbeline  ▼.  5. 

'^Quail*'  saiUi  Steepens  on  thb  passage  ''is  to  sink 
into  d^ection.  The  word  is  common  to  many 
authora ;  among  the  rest  to  Stanyhursl^  in  his  trans- 


300 

}atioff>of  dfttseeendbdiA  of  life  Xnied.--'*^  With 
nightly  silence  was  I  quaiied,  B.M  greatly  with^lior* 
ror."    Old  Tusser  uses  it  piously— 

Make  icaHy  to  God-uaifi,  let  t»itli  never  quail,     p.  375. 

Bui  even  aseartlien  {>ots>  with  rvei \  fillip  fails; 

So  fortune's  favuar  fliis  and  lame  with  honor  qwnlt,     308. 

It  seems  to  be  coming  again  into  -use  in  a  sense 
of  failure,  or  disgrace. — Walter  Scott  uses  it;  and 
a  Poet  of  our  own,  of  whom  we  are  deservedly 
|ktoiid,  m  his  spirited  address  to  the  Gallic  £agle — 

Tfine's  i'avurite  uiiiiion — i he  th^ne  of  hei  siorv — 
HowquaHed  is  thy  ptninn^**h(m  soiled  its  glory .'-^-B.  Bafton, 

Fams  by  on  'Aimattw* 

Nares  illustrates  the  verb  in  the  saises  of  to  over- 
po^vef  ,  or  to  faint — 

Tat  as  world  wore  on,  and  w«xed  old. 

So  yirtue  fii«i^'^.  and  vice  be);an  to  grow. 

Taticr.  and  Gitm.    O.  PI.  ii*  185* 

Spenser,  he  adds,  useci  it  oi'ten  in  both  ways:  -and 
guayedi  for  ^trai/^r/- or  subdued. 

Quandary.  An  unpleasant  predicement-^a- 
primminery,  '  It  has  been  derived  from  that  state 
of  perplexity  which  may  induce  a  Frenchman  to 
say  **qu  eti  diraije''?    What  shall  I  say? 

Quarry.  A  pane  of  glass.  Also  an  angular, 
or  case- bottle.  Quarrel  used  to  have  a  like  mean- 
ing of  four  square,  as  is  sho\*n  by  Nares,  who  de- 
rives it  from  the  French  earreaU,  a  square — applied 
to  many  thinffs  of  that  shape:  and  among  them, 
especially  to  "a  square  or  lozenge  of  glass ^  as 
used  in  the  old  transom  or  transenne  windows.'' 

The  lozenge  is  H  most  beautVful  tigure,  being  in  his  kind  aqoad- 
rangle  rever:»t.  with  his  point  upward,  like  to  a-  quarreU  of  glass. 
Putttnh,   B.ji.  eft.  U. 

QuEECH  or  Squ EECH.  An  untilled,  rough  busfaey 
comer  or  irregular  portion  of  a  field — with  or  with- 
out trees  or  underwood.  ''  Queacfi'  according  to 
Cocker  is  " an  old  word-^a- quick. set  hedge  ;  a 
thic£«bushey  plot  of  grovnd."  ^See  Quick.  In  an 
0«  p.  A.  1  find  *'  hqitedch  a  thick;  bnsfay/  plot' of 


301 

ground.**  Naret  under  queaeh,  explaias  it  a  thicliet. 
§o.  Cdles  in  his  dictionary  **  queack  (a  thicket) 
dumetom.'* 


-Where  behind  some  queich 


He  breaks  bis  gaJl.  and  rutteth  with  his  hind. 

Buay  D*Ambm, 

.In  tbe  nonage  of  the  world*  mankind  had  no  other  habitaiion 
than  woods*  groves*  and  bushy  queaches* 

•  We  have  also  queech  in  the  sense  of  squeak  or 
shreech:  more  particularly  applied,  I  think,  to  the 
heart-rending  agonies  of  a  dying  or  terrified  hare. 
Nares  shows  that  it,  or  a  word  nearly  similar,  was 
used  by  lord  Bacon,  in  the  same  sense — 

The  lads  of  Sparta,  ol  ancient  time  were  wont  to  be  sconrged 
upon  the  altar  of  Diana,  wiihuut  so  much  as  queching,** 

Essayst  40, 

I  have  also  heard  queak,  in  this  sense  of  queed%r^ 
such  change  of  termination  being  common,  aa 
noticed  under  Peri^.  A  variety  of  words  of  near- 
ly a  like  acute  sound  are  to  be  found  to  be  cos- 
nate  in  sense  also — queek,  queech,  siiriek,  skrcecn, 
•kreek,  squeek,  squeel. 

Qu££K.    See  Qu£ECH. 

QuEZZEN.  To  smother  or  choak.  It  seems  to 
differ  from  quackle,  in  as  far  as  quezzm  is  applied 
to  the  smothering  or  choakin;;  of  weeds  by  cover- 
ing them  with  sand  or  earth.  A  man  may  be 
quackVfi,  but  not  quezzeud — weeds  may  be  quez' 
zen^dp  not  qf>ackl'd,  (irecnd  again  differs  from 
both.  A  man  cannot  be  said  to  be  green'd  by 
smoak — nor  is  greeii'd  applicable  at  all  to  weeds. 
See  Green  ;  which  rather  means  to  throttle  by 
manipulation,  or  pressure  on  the  wtzzen.  As  we 
sometimes  say  squench  for  quench,  so  we  ^ay, 
squezzen  for  quezzen;  particularly  in  regard  to  per- 
sonal suffocation  or  strangulation. 

Quick.    Young  white  or  black  thorn  (haw  and 

2D 


302 

sAo^-^CrtUaegus  oxyacaniha  and  Prunus  spiuom)  for 
making  a  live  fence ;  called  also  Spring  and  Layer. 
The  word  Quick  is  mostly  confined  to  tlvB  young 
haw  and  sloe  thorns,  though  young  oaks  laid  iu 
with  them  will  be  also  called  qtUek:  oak  quick* 
Spring  is  likewise  applied  to  young  whins,  orjwrze, 
or  gone — these  two  words  are  scarcely  known  in 
Suffolk.  A  "quick-set-hedge/'  b  not  confined  to 
the  eastern  parts  of  England,  though  I  am  not 
tiware  that  the  word  quick  is  similarly  applied  mnch 
beyond  them.  Thicks^-hedge,  is  also  with  us,  a 
live  fence  of  white  or  blackthorn :  but  it  is  not  now 
so  much  used  as  formerly.  Cocker  says  that 
"  Queach  is  an  old  word  for  a  thick -set  hedge."  It 
is  remarked  in  another  place  how  interchangeable 
the  ch  and  k  are.  See  Perk.  Quick  is  easuy  de- 
rivable antithetically  as  opposed  to  dead — *'A  quick 
fence — a  dead  fence/'  Queeck  and  Quick  and 
Quiekget  and  Thickset,  may  have  been  jumbled  to- 
gether. In  Cheshire,  Quick  is  explained — "  Quid^- 
set.  Quicks  are  plants  of  quicksets."  W.  See 
fartiier  of  this  in  Nares'  Glossary. 

QuiNCH.  I  think  this  word  was  formerly  known 
to  me ;  but  I  had  ftirgotton  it.  Seeing  it  in  Nares 
in  the  sense  of  to  wince ,  or  unnek,  reminded  me  of 
my  supposed  old  acquaintance :  tho*  of  its  present 
usage  I  am  not  aware. 

Quite.  Quiet — peace — rest.  A  mere  corrup- 
tion of  the  first :  as  Nares  notices  queate  to  be — 

To  whom  Cordelia  did  succeede,  not  iftignlsg  long  in  ^ate. 

Warn,  Alb.  Engt:  p.  66. 

Quiver.  To  shiver  or  shake  with  cold  or  fear. 
We  also  use  the  word  in  a  sense  of  briskness*  smart- 
uess— *'  He's  a  quiver  little  fellow.'*  We  should, 
indeed,  in  our  distaste  of  the  r  final  pronounce  it 
^rtftova.  Under  the  first  article  in  this  Collection, 
this  word  occurs  in  a  quotation  from  Shakespeare, 
in  out  Suffolk  sense  of  an  agile,  nimble  fellow. 


803 

R. 

Rabbbt.  Od  rabbet  it.  A  good  hiitnourea 
8ori  of  a  demi-oaih,  of  which  we  have  maoy.  See 
under  Amenden,  and  Od. 

Race.  Of  ginger— and  perhaps  of  other  spices : 
^sniftll  portion,  a  piece.  **  Race  of  ginger*'  is  not 
locals  we  .see  it  in  dictionaries,  and  '^liakespeare 
uses  it  several  times  '*  Razes  of  ging(^r"  also. — 
1.  K,  JB.  4.  ii.  1 .  On  which  Theobald  says  that 
"  Jiace  means  no  more  than  a  single  root:  bnt  a 
rofe  18  ihe~  Indian  term  for  a  bale  of  it/'  One  can- 
not help  flimiling  at  seeing  a  word  explained  as  being 
"/Ae  Indian  term."*  **  T%e  European  term,**  is  not 
M)  vague. 

Nares,  under  Nutmeg,  quotes  this  passage 


And  I  will  give  thee 
A  gilded  nutmeg,  and  a  race  of  ginger.     Affect.  Sheph,  C«  2. 

and  unider  Raze^  shows  that  some  have  fieuicied  a 
large  Quantity  implied  by  that  term.  Nares,  how- 
ever,  aoes  not  think  that  the  words  are  really  dif« 
ferent,  both  being  derived  from  the  Spanbh  rmfz, 
meaning  a  root. 

.  Rack.  Low,  drifting,  heavy,  dark,  rainy, 
slee^,  .clouds,  passing  with  the  wind.  It  is  a  tnt 
poetiod  word,  and  is  so  Used  by  several  of  ilvr 
writers— thus  in  Scotland 


the  hooded  Erne 


Climbf  on  strong  winds  the  storm,  and,  screaming  high* 
Ridts  tlie  dim  tack  that  sweeps  the  darkened  sky. 

LeydtnU  Scenet  afh^tmc^. 

Leave  not  a  rodEc  behind.    Ttmp,  it, 

B«t  it  is  too  fine  a  word  to  be  only  once  used  by 
Shakespeare — how  beautifully  he  applies  it  in  thess 
passages,  and  probably  in  others — 

That  which  is  now  a  horse  eren  with  a  thought 
The  ftfcic  dhlimns,  and  makes  it  indistinct, 
As  water  is  In  water.    Ant,  ^  Cleop.  iv.  19. 


304 

At  we  often  see  Ugainst.some  shower*     . 

A  lilence  in  the  heaYCD»— the  radt  ttaods  atiU,  See. 

A  probably  origin  of  Rack  is  hinted  at  nndet 
Reek,  which  see*  and  Roke* 

Nares  shows  that  it  is  found  in  B.  and  Fl.  anitt 
Ben.  Jonson,  adding  that  it  is  not  now  in  use*  It 
is*  however,  in  use  with  us. 

Rack  is  also  a  verb  with  us — meaning  to  deciittt 
wine*  &c.     '*  Rack  it  off  clear." 

Rack  and  Manoer.  Extravagant  house-keep-» 
ing:  likened  to  cattle  having  both  rack  and  manger 
superfluously  filled  at  once-r-a  similar  figpire  as 
'lighting  the  candle  at  both  ends.'  Nares  shows 
that  the  term,  in  the  sense  of  hving  without  restraint^ 
is  of  old  standing. 

Racket.  A  seldom  heard  term  for  a  blow — 
when  heard,  generally  in  thb  sense*  **  'a  son  'em  a 
right  good  racketten" — the  meaning  is  mdefinite* 
and  may  mean  a  scolding,  as  wiell  as  a  beating.  It 
is  a  Scottish  word,  meaning  a  smart  stroke*  and  is 
derived  by  Jameison  from  the  Belgic  ixtcken,  to  hit. 
Xhis  word  is  not  included  in  the  list  of  similar  wiords 
given  under  Aint, 

Racks.  The  ruts,  or  rucks;  or  tracks  perhaps* 
of  wheels  ^  on  roads.  .  'Cart-rft.cksi  ^he^l- racks* 
The  Scottish  has  a  term  between  rack  and  rut— 
**  Itat,  cart-rat :  from  the  Teiktoiiic  rate^  incisfrtijj-' 
and  the  Swedish  ratta  a  path.''  J. 

Raffle.  To  stir  the  blazing  faggots,*  "&c/iri  an 
oven.  The  wooden  instniment  with 'which  this  is 
don 6  is  called  the  Raffien  pole.  Brushing  off  ripe 
walnuts  is  also  called  RdfflhfiM/"'Res8e(  or 
Russel  is  also  used  for  the  latter  operation;  In  the 
North,  our  Raff/en-pole,  bears  the  uncouth  nam^ 
of  a  'a  Fruyym;  the  pole  with  which  they  ativ- 
ashes  in  an  oven."  Ray.  E.  W.  p.  31. 

RafTy.  a  windy,  cold  and  wet  morning,  or 
day.     <'  Ta  fare  kienda  rafty  this>  moming.**. 


305 

Ra«*  To  aboie— or  bawda,  whicb  see — "  'A 
imgged  me  so."  In  Scottish  "  Rag  means  to  rally 
Id  reproach/'  and  **  Buliirag,  to  rally  in  a  cou- 
temptaoQS  way,  to  abuse  one  in  a'  hectorbg  nian- 
•erj."  J.  The  learned  author  deduces  the  latter 
fljUable  from  the  Icelandic  raegia,  to  reproach. 

In  a  newspaper  report  of  a  trial  at  the  assizes  at 
Eieter,  July,  1822,  I  observed  the  term  bully-rag 
used  by  a  witness ;  and  it  was  explained  to  mean 
abuse.  And  in  an  account  of  the  humours  of  Donuy- 
farook  fair  in  the  Dublin  Morning  Post  of  September, 
lOStey  the  term  ba/lg  ragged  occurs  as  Irish^  and  is 
explained  to  mean  scolded  in  English  These  in- 
stances of  the  use  of  the  tenn  in  Devonshire, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  occurred  feince  the  article 
Bawda  was  printed  off. 

An  uncouth  word  in  Nares  seems  to  have  relation-. 
ship  with  bawdfty  and  rag,  **  Hibaudrons,  or 
ftbawdred;  obsc.ene,  filthy.  Ribaldrous,  Coles. — 
Ribauderie,  old  French.  Ribaudrie,  was  also  used 
in  English. 

.    A  ribaudrous  and  filthie  tongue.     J^artett^s  Alvearie^ 

Yon  rihaudred  nag  of  Egypt, 
Whom  leprosy'  oVr  laLe.     Aut.  ^  I  Icop.  iii.  8. 

Kaowebd  or  Ragwort.  The  Seneciojaeobea  ? 
See  BUNWEBD  it  is  called  by  boUi  naii)es  in  Scot- 
landy  and  perli-dps  pretty  generally,  intermediately. 
^nt  the  names  of  weeds,  unless  very  well  knowj^^  are 
but  vaguely  determiiiitble  b^  inquiry  of  rustics. 

Rain.     "Well,  naaba,  how  d  ye  fare?  "—"Why 
.1  Ve  got  the  rimmittis,  aud  ta  rain  over  me  lament- 
ably/'   To  reign  or  tyrannize,  |)erhaps. 

Rakb  "  Ttiin  as  a  rake  "  i>  i.ot  an  infrequent 
comparison  with  us:  which  1  should,  unaided,  have 
thought  meant  simplv  as  the  slim  handle,  or  stale  as 
we  call  it>  of  the  rake.  On  tltis  passage  in  Corio« 
lami!^  j.  1 — 

Vet  as  tereuge  ttits  with  onr  pikes  ere  we  become  raket-^ 

2d3 


306 

Commentators  have,  and  I  camiot  but  deem  need* 
lesslv,  put  forth  a  deal  of  learoiug.  Steevens  has  I 
think  hit  on  the  author's  meaning,  which  in  Suffolk 
we  shouM  Na\  is  "as  plain  as  a  pike-staff/*' and ahowa' 
the  proverb  **  thin  as  a  mke'*  to  be  aa  old  as  Shaken* 
speare's  day,  and  that  be  referreti  mereU  to  the  tapen- 
handltfd  tool.  The  above  phrase  occurring  iu  the 
levcUing  s|)eech  oi  a  rustic  radical  ia  confirmatory  of 
the  honielinesb  of  the  allusion. .  - 

I  nia\  note  that  the  long  handled  tool  that  we 
eall  a  piieh  fork — which  see — used,  it  appears,  to  be 
calleti  a  pike,  and  is  still  ao  called  in  Devonshire ; 
being  little  el>e  than  the  not  uncommon  interchange^ 
of  the  hard  k  and  ck;of  which  see  under  Perk. 

In  Tttsser  we  find  Pike  used  both  for  the  imple- 
ment and  the  action.  See  under  Goop,  verse  15; 
and  note. 

Rakes  and  roans.  An  out  door  juvenile  sport* 
See  under  MovEALLfor  the  names  of  manv  of  such 
pastimes  current  in  this  and  doubtless  other  coun- 
ties. This  game  is  often  called  Rakes  only,  and 
is  the  same  probably  that  in  an  O.  I).  A.  is  thus 
alluded  to — "  To  play  Reaks,  to  domineer,  to  show 
mad  pranks  "-  -for  our  sport  is  very  boisterous  and 
racey — the  jest  of  it  is  to  be  carried  domineeringly  ^ 
home,  a  pig- back ^  by  the  less  swift  wight  who  you 
may  be  so  happy  as  to  catch. 

R^yp.  Bending  a  piece  of  iron  upwards  to 
adapt  it  to  wood- work,  of  a  gate,  &c.  is  calle4 
ramping  it.  "  Ta  oont  dew  aooins,  you  must  ramp 
it."  It  is  a  French  word,  ramper — en  ramp — hence 
our  rampant,  and  the  Scottish  rampaging,  as  ap- 
plied to  soldiers  and  blustering  people ;  explained 
by  Jameison  to  mean  to  prance  about  with  tury.  It 
b  an  English  dictionary  word,  with  several  deriva- 
tions ;  primarily  of  a  sense  of  raising,  elevating. 

In  a  sense  nut  altogether  dissimilar,  Nares  shows 
rampe  to  be  used  by  our  early  writers.  He  exj^laias 
it  "  a  ramping,  or  rampant  creature  ^  an  impudent. 


307 

wottaa,  a  luurlot.    Cole  tnutslates  it,  grassatrix. 

Nmjr»  fj^  im  tliee,  thoa  rampt,  thou  ryg,  with  all  thai  take 
tbj  ]MWt»    G«a».  Gttnk  O.  PI:  ii.  43. 

AlthoQi^h  she  We^e  a  lu»i>  l>ouncitfg  rtimpt^  lomewhat  like 
Galftneta   or  Maid  Marian.     Gabr^  Harvey, 

^What  ▼Ictlert  tolluw  Daccbu8*cauipe»? 
Foolv,  fidlerty  paiiders.  pimpS.  aud  rampts. 

Lyiy,  bapho  imd  Pi.  iii.  f . 

MQtonBtes  romp  as  a  ttubstaDtive  tor  the  spring  or  attack  of 
a  lion.  Sawu.  Agon  v.  139;  and  the  verb  to  ramp,  for  to  spiiug 
up,  P.  L.  iv.  343«    GL 

Ran  ds  ^t  the  coDclusion  of  the  article  Powder, 
I  noted  my  belief  that  rand  was  a  Sulfolk  word.  It 
was  brought  to  ni>  recolkclion  b\  Nares,  for  I  bad 
not  beard  it  of  iiiany  years.  On  eiM|uir>  I  find  it 
well  kfiowiiy  indeed  in  cuinnioii  ikie,  anioug  the 
craft  li  is  the  narrow  piece  of  leather  interposed 
between  the  heel  and  quarter,  as  the  welt  is  between 
the  sole  wnd  upper  lettther—the  rand  and  welt  being 
stitched  t<»  the  superior  and  inferior  portions,  strength* 
eo  the  work, 

A  rarid  ul  beet  i^  defined  by  Kt  rsey  to  be  *  a  long  fleshy  piece, 
cttt  out  between  the  flank  and  tlie  bullock.*  Cole  translates  it 
*ptn  ciuHium  bubaiorum  carno&a'  probably  something  like  a 
beef-steak.**  Gl 

Nares  then  gives  the  quotation  from  B.  and  Fl. 
which  I  have  borrowed  in  the  article  Powder:  and 
adds  **  it  is  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Saxon 
randt  meaning  a  border,  which  was  technjpally 
applied  also  by  shoemakeis  to  the  seam  of  a 
shoe." 

In  an  O.  D  A.  I  find  **  Raud^  the  team  of  a  shoe 
— a  rand  of  beef;  a  piece  cut  out  between  the  flank 
and  the  buttock."  In  the  sense  of  a  piece  of  beef  or 
of  a  shred  of  leather,  the  quoted  passage  is  suffici- 
ently apfilicable — but  not  in  that  (»t'  a  seam,  which 
I  am  disposed  to  think  the  poets  B  and  FL  did  not 
jfiiean  or  think  of. 

Ranmt.  The  loDg-nosed,  small-eyed*  fetid, 
shrew  or  iSeld  moQse«-*ifiuf  araneui*   'iknce  any 


308 

thing  long  nosed  is  called  raonj-iKMed.  .  ''Th# 
ranny-no0ed  plough"  describes  an  admirable  imple- 
ment which  I  procured  from  Leith ;  but  useltssiyy 
for  none  of  m^  sapient  workmen  will  handle  it.  lit^ 
share  projects  more  than  the  Suffolk  plough.  *'Tlie 
tanny-nosed  sow."  A  woman  is  likewise  sometimes 
so  described  if  full  in  the  promimtorym 

Ranter.  \  large  ju^  to  draw  beer  into-^a 
smaller  ju(;  to  place  on  the  tahle  is  called  OoTCH. 

Rap  and  Rend.  **  'A  spend  every  tbing  'a  can 
rap  anH  rend  " — that  is  all  he  can  get.  It  is  proba- 
bly rip  and  rmd — both  words  meaning  to  tear  or 
tDoste.    See  Rend;  and  Rip. 

Rasp.  The  steel  of  a  tinder  box ;  especially  if 
the  part  on  which  the  flint  strike,  be  rough,  like  a 
file,  or  rasp. 

'  Rattles.  The  alarming  sin^nUus  in  the  throat 
that  indicate  speedy  dissolution. 

Ravle.  To  pull  out  the  threads  unnecessarily  in 
faemiiiing  cloth.     "  How  ^ow  dew  ravle  your  work.'' 

Ravvlk.  To  confuse,  or  entangle,  a  skein  of 
thread  or  silk.  Ravel,  and  unravel  have  indeed 
become  iigurative  verbs  exieiisivelv  in  our  lunsruage. 
Thus  in  Scottish  "Speak  her  fair  and  canny,  or  we'll 
have  a  raweWd  hasp  on  the  yarn  w indies."  Pirat^. 
I.  116.  And  in  Jameison  "  Ravelled*— a  ravelled 
hesp — a  troublesome  or  intricate  business." 

Sleep — tliat  knits  up  the  raveled  sleeve  of  care. 

Machtth,  11.  d. 

that  is  smooths  the  ruffled  or  unhemmed  sleeve  of 
the  figurative  garnieut  of  care.  Again  in  this 
passage — 

Musi  1  do  so?  must  I  rax^rl  out 
My  weav'd  up  lollies?     ^  K.  Hen,  iv.  !• 

It  is  not  easy  to  accurately  explain  such  words. 
Thb  of  ravel,  or  rawle,  is  scarcely  to  be  diatin* 
guished  from  Frazle,  F'wissg,  Towt,  (see  those  wortis) 
however  nnpoetical  the  Jaiter-jnay  be. ' 


309 

Reach.    See  Rbbcu. 

Bear  or  Rbbr.  Meat  **  too  mach  Qoder  done'' 
it  called  reer.  When  sufiiciently^  or  perhaps  too 
HMcby  roasted  it  is  said  to  be  Home'done,  which  see. 
Naiea  shows  this  to  be  an  old  word  "  Reare,  under* 
dreis^ ;  not  yet  quite  disused  as  applied  to  meat, 
from  the  Saxon,  Aner^— 

There  we  complaine  of  one  reore-roasted  chick» 
Hcmneat  worse  oook*t  nere  makes  us  sick.  Har.  Ep,  It.  6. 

-  We  apply  the  word  to  meat  only:  and  not  as  in 
ao  O*  D.  A.  to  an  e^g— -''  Rere-boiled,  half  boiled, 
as  a  rere-boiled  egg.'* 

Bed.  Ridy  in  the  sense  of  a  riddance — "  I  could 
hardly  get  red  on  em.*'  Several  of  these  substitu- 
tions are  noticed  under  Aninnd.  i^ed-iieif— bed- 
ridden. "  Bed-red  women  '*  occurs  in  p.  11.  of  the 
same  part  of  Bib.  Top.  Brit,  as  is  referred  to  at 
length  under  Gast.  In  Scottish  Red,  has»  among 
many  others*  the  sense  first  given,  of  a  riddance.  J. 

Redoe.  :  Ridge — of  ploughed  land— or  of  a  hoUse. 
It  i$  so  spelled  and  pninounced  by  Tusser  in  a  quo- 
tation under  PUuh.  And  is  again  so  spelled,  where 
INTonunciation  is  indifferent  in  p.  109.  of  his  "  Five 
himdred  Pointy"  in  Norfolk  ridges  of  land  are 
^led  rigs.  . 

REI11NKI4B.  Common  red  tape  with  which 
bundles  of  papers  are  usually  tied. 

Ree.  An*  imperative,  commanding  the  leading 
horse  of  a  team  to  turn  or  bear  to  the  right.  Beit 
and  Camether,  turn  or  incline  them  to  tlfe  left.  See 
those  Words.  **  Riddle  me,  riddle  nie  ree ''  is  thei^« 
fore.  Riddle  me  right. 

Rbecm.  Stretch,  not  only  in  the  sense  of ''reach 
fortji  thy  hand,''  &c.  but  as  extending  the  size,  of 
any  thing.  If  your  hat  be  too  small  it  will  **  reech 
V  the  wearing.'^  A  pair  of  small  shoes  require  to  be 
reui^ed.    We  ferther  use  the  word  as  in  this  quots^ 


310 

iioB  from  au  Q.JD.  A.  *'  To  reteh  or  reach,  U^  h^vtk, 
to  have  a  motion  to  vomit."  See  Cast — HawkiHg - 
— and  Reek. 

Reed.  A  wood,  or  a  wood^  piece  or  strip*  of 
land.  Squeecb,  Shaw,  DiDgle,  and  otiier  words 
vrhich  do  not  occur  to  me,  mean  nearly  the  same 
thing.    SeeSguEECH 

Reek.  Steam,  of  a  teakettle,  or  of  a  hot  house, 
or  the  exhalation  of  a  muck  heap,  or  of  a  heateil 
stack.  "Alawk!  how  that  there  muckle  dew  reek" 
The  profnse  perspiration  of  a  man.  Shakespeare 
uses  it  in  all  these  senses — 

As  hateful  as  the  redb  of  a  lime  kiln.    H.  W,  if  W,  iii.  3. 

Sir,  1  would  advise  you  to  shift  a  shirt ;  the  riolexice  •£  action , 
have  made  you  reek  as  a  sacrifice.    CymbeUne*  Hi.  9. 

You  common  cry  of  curs !  whose  breath  I  hate 
As  ruk  o*  the  common  fens.     Coriolosaa.  iii.  5. 

Yen  remember,  how  under  my  oppretsioa  I  did  retHu 

K.  H.  8.  ii.  4. 

That  is  struggled  til)  I  reeked ;  figuratively. 
•  In  Suffolk  we  have  a  wa\  of  softening  the  hard  k, 
to  cA.     Shakespeare  has  done  so  with  this  word— 

The  kitchen  mallcih  phis 
Her  richest  Jockram  round  herrcee^  neck.     Cwiol,  ii.  1* 

ReecA^^  kisses.     Hamlet,  iii.  4*— 

are  said  by  Steevens  to  mean  smoky;  not  sarelY» 
smoky  in  the  common  sense;  but  ultra-warm^  reek' 
ing:  a  very  potential  mode  and  figure,  albeit  not 
over  delicate  "something  like  our  mvc/r,  perhaps, 
which  see. 

I  do  not  think  that  we  have  the  word  malkin  for 
kitchen  wench,  our  word  is  mawtker.  We  call  a 
scarecrow,  vl  mawkin.     See  Mawkin,  and  Maw- 

THER. 

"  A  Reek  "  says  Ray,  **  signifiesi  not  a  smoak,  bnt 
a  steam  arising  from  any  liquor  or  moist  ihiag 
heated."  £.  W.  p.  viiL  And  as  a  north  country 
word  he  says  "Rooky,  Is  misty,  a  Yariation  of  dialect 


311 

for  reeku.    Sedc  is  a  general  word  for  i team  or 
vapour.'*  E.  W.  p.  61. 

In  Scottish,  Reik,  seems  to  mean  smoke — reikie, 
smoky.  Hence  the  endearing  application  of '  Auld 
Reikie/  to  Fdinburgh.  Jameison  derives  the  wordd 
from  the  Anglo  Saxon  rec  an  and  the  Swedish  roek^ 
mnoke.  Reik  is  also  in  Scottish,  equivalent  to  our 
reach — a  farther  instance,  in  addition  tu  Shakes- 
peare*s  reechv  for  reeky  or  reeking,  of  the  frequent 
mutation  of  the  bard  and  soft  ch:  as  noticed  under 

Perk. 

With  us  the  past  or  perfect  tense  of  this  verb 
reek,  b  Ruck,  wbicb  see.  In  Scottish  rak,  rawk, 
rdik,  rook^  are  words  meaning  a  thick  mist  or  fof ; 
from  the  Icelandic  rak-ur,  humidus — ^Teutonic  roooA, 
vapour.  J.  Our  word  Rack^  which  see,  is  proba- 
bly hence  de>icended — and  Roke, 

Nares  explains  "  Reechy,  as  smoky,  black  with 
smoke ;  from  recan.  Saxon.  The  same  word  from 
which  to  reeAr  is  made;  written  also  reeky,  as  in 
Rom.  Sf  Jul.  iv.  1." 

Reen.  To  droop  the  head.  An  ear  of  ripened 
com  is  said  to  reen  when  it  droop  from  its  weight. 
"Ta  doon't  reen"  is  therefore  an  unpromising  cha- 
racter oi  a  field  of  uncut  corn.  This  figurative 
epithet  may  have  been  derived  from  the  position  of  a 
horse's  bead  when  tightly  reined  up.  The  reins  of 
a  bridle  we  call  reens — and  the  worse  than  useless 
operation  of  tight-reining  up  draught  horses  we  call 
re&dng  tbem  up. 

Ah  observant  lady,  hearing  the  above  surmize,^ 
added  ''so  barley  is  said  to  bridle,  exactl}r  in  the 
same  sense."     I  never  heird  the  expression. 

Under   the  article  Hay,  I  have  referred  to  this, 
tutt  on  looking  back  I  perceive  no  good  reason  for . 
Lffving  done  so. 

Rrbns.    Reins,  of  a  bridle,  &c.    See  Reen. 

Rb«r.    See  Rear. 

Reesty.    Bacon  somewhat  rancid,  or  rusty,  as 


312 

we  otherwise  call  it. '  I  had  supposed  it  a  corruption 
of  ours;  but  Nares  shows  that  it  is 'not  so  local. 
He  notes  reasty  as  apparently  the  same  word  as 
ruity,  which  is  now  used ;  and  quotes  Tasser — 

Lay  flitcheji  a  salting. 

Through  full^  Um»  beastly* 

Much  bacon  is  reetty,     Novem,  Abt, 

Other  old  writers  have  reezed^  and  reasy^  in  a  like 
sense. 

Reffej.  Refuse.  Sheep  picked  out  of  a  lot, 
when  sold,  as  inferior — so  picking  them  out  is  said 
to  be  ^*  to  reff^  *em."  The  reffi^  are  of  course 
sold  at  an  interior  price.  In  buyinj^  a  lot,  say  of 
100  sheep,  a  bargain  will  be  made  for  so  much  a 
bead,  but  to  be  allowed  to  reff^  a  certain  number. 

Rend.  To  tear,  or  rip.  **Rend  it  ta  bits.' 
See  Rap  and  Rend.     Not  to  cut.    Thus  Tusser — 

Not  rend  off,  but  cut  oftt  ripe  bean  writh  a  knifey 
For  hinderhig  staf k  of  her  vegerive  life.     p.  171. 

Render.  The  operation  of  melting  fat  or.snet 
for  the  purpose  of  preservation,  is  called  rendering  it. 
So  in  Scottish  "To  rind  or  rynd,  to  dissoWe  any  fat 
substance  bv  the  heat  of  the  fire,  also  render — Ice- 
landic,  rinde,  liquefacere.''  J.  In  Cheshire  and 
Lancashire  "  To  render,  is  to  separate,  or  disperse. 
It  is  commonly  used  as  in  the  phrase .'  to  render  suet,' 
which  is  to  break  it  to  pieces,  cleaii*fe  it,  and  melt 
it  down,"  W.  Ill  Suffolk  He  have  the  verb  in  ano- 
ther sense ;  daubing  the  mortar  over  lathing,  or 
over  brick -work  to  render  it  smooth,  is  called  rett- 
deriny  it.    See  Daabing. 

Rennet  or  Runnet.  The  acidulous  liquid  ge- 
nerated and  kept  in  the  mawskin,  as  we  call  it,  of 
a  calf,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  milk  or  cream 
into  curd  to  make  cheese  withal.  In  Scottish  **Reid 
or  Rede^  the  fourth  stomach  of  a  calf,  used  for  ren- 
net.*' J.  "  Rennet  or  Runneth  a  calf's  maw^.  used 
to  turn  milk  for  cheese  curds."  O.  D.  A. 


313 

ftssH*  Fresh — recent.  Carrots  ate  flometiuirs 
too  resh  for  cattle^  when  just  taken  up,  with  a)i 
ibeir  moisture  in  them.  They  are  more  wholeson)e 
when  a  little  clung.  See  Clung.  Green  clover, 
when  recently  cut  is  also  too  resh,  for  kine,  &c. 

Ressle.  The  oi>eration  of  brushing  ripe  wal- 
BUts  off  the  tree  with  a  long  resselling  pole.  I  do 
not  recollect  having  heard  this  word  applied  in  any 
other  instance.  May  it  be  from  the  rustling  noise 
of  this  wrest Hng 'like  process  ]  I  think  1  have  heard 
it  also  called  rafflen  the  walnuts.  See  Raffle.  In 
Scottish,  "  Reis&il  or  rissle,  means  to  make  a  lou<l 
clattering  noise— to  beat  soundly,  from  the  Tea- 
tonic rys9el'€n — Ang.  Sax.  hristl-an,  crepcre,drc/'  J. 

Rib  ROAST.  To  beat — a  figure  or  flourish  Iwr-^ 
rowed  from  the  same  source  as  to  haste*  Of  iniiiiy 
of  these  threatening  or  offensive  applications  see 
under  AiNT;  wheie,  however,  ribroasiing  is  omit- 
ted. This  is  no  new  thing.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "To 
ribroast  one ;  to  cudgel  or  bang  him  soundly.'' 

Riddle.  A  sieve  with  large  inters#ees  for  se\\a^ 
rating  corn  from  the  cosh  or  colder.  Riddle  is 
Scottish,  as  appears  by  a  proverb  quoted  under 
Sibrit,  It  appears  to  be  Irish  aiso;  tor  in  a  piece 
of  low  Irish  humour,  at  which  1  have  laughed 
heartily,  a  wontan  <  heapenitig  a  remnant  of  doth 
and  urging  its  coarsuess,  is  Jiiade  to  say  ''>ou  may 
riddlr  bull-dogs  through  iL"  Kay,  in  a  note 
rather  too  long  and  learned'to  extract,  <icduces  it 
from  the  Anglo  Saxon  hriddel.  E.  W    p  84. 

Rife.  Abuhdant — pU^ii'iiiii.  1  ha^c  her  rd  the 
word  ill  thib  >ei»e,  in  >uf)<)ik  ;  btil  it  is  tht-re,  I  be- 
lieve, tesi»  €•  niiuoii  (hall  in  some  otiiet  pa  ti»  of  Eng- 
land.' Nares  shows  Jls  oriji^in  in  a  Saxon  word-;  and 
that  it  is  used  by  Milton  and  several  other  authors. 
Glares  seems  to  think  it  now  obsolete. 

2  E  * 


314 

Rift.  Riv«i— orsplit,  orcfe/i;  notiawn.  '*Rift 
hurdfes  '* — made  of  s^plit  or  riv^,  not  ofsatim,  stvfF. 
See  Rive.  Hurple.  Wan.  Shakespeare  uses 
the  word  in  this  sense,  in  a  fine  figure — 

wars*iwixt  ^oii  twain  woold  be 


As  if  the  world  sihould  cleave*  and  that  slain  men 
Should  solder  up  the  ri/it.     Ant.  4*  C/eop.  iii.  4. 

Rig.  RiDJiLLON.  An  animal  half-castrated. 
Cocker  has  r?c/^i7— Ray,  riggilt,  E.  W.  p.  103.**- 
Jameison^  Riglan — Rig  land — An  O.  D.  A.  Rig^ 
JRidgeling,  or  Ridgel — all  of  the  same  meaning. 

Right.  In  the  sense  of  effectnal)  complete, 
very,  thb  word  occurs  in  many  of  our  old  writers — 
right  good — right  well — right  hot,  &c. — generally ^ 
but  not  always,  in  a  good  sense;  for  we  also  say 
right  rotten.  It  occurs  in  Scripture- 
Then  should  Jacob  rejoice,  and  Israel  should  be  right  glad. 

Ptmhn.  S3,  v.  S. 

We  also  use  it  in  a  more  peculiar  sense — in  that  of 
ought,  incumbency—**  He  have  a  right  to  pay  his 
debts"—-"  He  have  a  right  to  be  hung,  and  doa*t 
ought  to  beipariloned.''  This  last  is  a  curious 
triple  specimen  of  our  local  phraseology.  He  have 
-^a  right — dont  ought.  See  Dont  oVGHTy  and 
Have. 

Right  on.  Downright — in  this  sense  "  He's  a 
right  on  devil.'*  This  was  said  of  a  very  wild,  vi- 
cious youth — **  a  very  devil." 

Right  ups.  Any  thing  perpendicular — es- 
pecially the  timber  in  a  building,  or  the  stems  of 
larees— uprights.  The  boughs  of  trees  are  called 
Wrongs,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Right  upt* 
See  Wrongs  and  Bole. 

Rile.  To  disturb — to  anger — "  don't  you  rile 
the  water."  Of  an  irritable  person  it  will  be  said, 
**  'A  was  lamentably  riled."  This  word  seems  to 
have  been  transplanted  to  America.    '*  We  were 


315 

9 

* 

nughtily  roiled "  ifl  the  expression  of  ad  American; 
which  Li  explained  by.  Mr.  Fearon  to  mean  vejced. 
Sketches,  p.  9.    See  File  and  Fcjddlb. 

Rii>LY.  The  dado  of  a  room.  **  Dust  the 
rilly." 

Rime.  Hoar  frost^^a  rimey  morning/'  when 
the  frost  breaks  floatingly  into  mist.  Rimer  was 
the  Saxon  god  of  sleet  and  frost.  It  is  Scot- 
tish— 

And  in  the  maribes  hang  his  cold  damp  bed  $ 
Hiar  rimp  IocJch  by  blasts  of  winter  tost. 
And  atiif^iiiig  garments  rattlhig  in  the  frost. 

Leyden's  Sc,  of  Inftmcy. 

"  Rime,  a  iw,  a  white  dew,  a  mist."  Cocker.-^ 
"  A  Rime,  a  railing  mist  that  dissolves  by  degrees." 
0,  D.A. 

RiMMiTTls.    The  rheumatism. 

RlNGDOW.  The  wood -pigeon — evidently  from 
its  beautifully  decorated  neck.  Dow,  we  rhyme  to 
hew;  or  rather  pronounce  it  deoio,  like  yeaio,  for 
you.  \\V  liaH  a  ^wucy  sn:t  nf  a  viHiinr  j^liraf-c  thwt 
I  recollect  as  far  baick  as  i  can  recollect  any  ihiiig ; 
and  which  is^  1  doubt  not«  still  kept  up  in  the  same 
circles.  It  is  this — '*  Cuckoo,  Ring-deow — Cat's  tail 
luss  yeow."  1  admit*  however*  that  I  have  modi- 
fied one  member  of  this  sentence.  In  the  originaU 
catVtot'/  was  expressed  in  a  less  delicate  periphrasis* 
And  i  will  farther  confess  that  although,  out  of 
icqpect  to  my  readers,  1  have,  chastened  the  menry 
iaw,  I  do  not  think  that  in  other  points  I  have 
amended  it.  It  has  to  my  perception  lost  some  of 
its  raciness  with  all  its  grossnessi  See  under  GooF* 
terse  11,  and  note. 

RiKOB.  A  row — "  plant  em  in  ringes*"  or 
Yidfes. 

.  -RlllO- FINGER.  As  elsewhere*  the  third  finger 
of  tbt  left  band.    We  have  a  persuasion  that  this 

2E2 


316 

finger  was  thus  selected^  because  an  artery  «omes 
direct  to  it  from  the  heart— a  distinclion  enjoyed  by 
no  other  di<;it.  This  is  hot  a  pecuIiHr  belief—as  we 
learn  from  Nares — who  says — "  Sir  Thos.  Browne 
has  a  whole  chapter  on  this  finger  of  the  left  hand, 
which  he  thus  begins — 

An  opinion  there  is  which  magnifies  the  fourth  finger  of  the 
left  handy  presuming  therein  a  corduU  rttation,  that  a  particular 
yessels  nerv^'i  or  artery,  is  conferred  thereto  from  the  heart,  and 
therefore  that  especially  hath  the  honnur  to  bear  our  rings  : 
which  not  only  Chiistians  practice  in  nuptial  contracts,  but  ub- 
serTed  by  heathens^  &c.     Pseudodoiia,  IV.  iv. 

"  He,  however,"  Nares  adds,  "  contests  the  fact 
of  such  communication  with  the  heart,  by  anatomi* 
cal  discussion ;  and  gives  from  Macrobius  a  much 
better  reason  for  the  choice  of  this  finger,  on  either 
hand."    GL 

The  curious  reader  will,  no  doubt,  be  edified  by 
this  better  reason,  if  he  see  fit  to  examine  the  woiks 
referred  to. 

Rip.  To  tear  or  rend  any  thing  lengtliways :  a 
piece  of  cloth  into  threads,  or  a  pit^c^  of  wood  into 
laths.  The  word,  aiid  rippendy  occur  under 
Fltcches,  "  A  rip  of  a  fellow  "  is  one  in  the  high 
road  to  ruin — a  roue,  **  Rip  and  rend,"  extrava- 
gant! '*  He'll  come  to  no  good — he*s  all  rip  aa 
rend,"  or  rap  an  rend,  which  sec.  In  Scottish,  rip 
means  any  thing  base  or  useless — also  an  ozier 
basket.  J.  This  latter  sense  of  the  word  I  was  not 
aware  of  when  my  earlier  articles  Higgler,  KiddicTj^ 
and  Ped,  were  printed  ;  or  it  would  have  served  me, 
as  shewing  what  I  was  at  a  loss  for  ;  a  source  of  the 
word  ripper,  as  applied  to  a  pedlar,  &c.  which  is 
not,  however,  in  Jameison. 

Nares,  under  Hippar  or  Ripier,  has  an  article  so 
much  to  my  purpose,  on  this  latter  subject,  that  ( 
am  induced  to  give  it  at  length  ;  although  I  have 
already  been  tedious  with  my  own  lucubrationci 
hereon.     **  It  is"  he  says— 


317 

m  r^  Drtte—A  MMm  wko  htktn  flih  from  the  coast  to 
m,  the  interior.  Mtnk.  Cow^ll,  m  hii  Law  Bictioiiarj, 
|i  fee  calls  them  ripmH,  derives  the  name  *'  hJueeUa  otUl 
mitmnn  fiacHmu  utumiwt,  in  English  a  ripp.'*  The  other 
>logj  seems  preferable.     He  and  others  quote  Camden  lor 


in  send  yoa  speedier  advertisement  of  her  constancy  by  tho 
rifitr  thatirides  that  way  with  mackarel. 

Wtd.  Tean,  O*  PL  ti  157. 


Like  a  rippUr**  legs  rowfd  up 


In  boots  of  hay-ropes.      Chap*  Busty  lJ*Amk,  £.  9* 

theyeie  155?»  the  Hppan  of  Rie,  and  other  places*  solde 
fresh  fi^h.  in  Leadenboll  market. 

Stotn't  Loni,  1699,    p.  147. 


Where  now  you*re  fain 


'        To  hire  a  ripptr*$  raare.     B»  j^  FL  NobU  Cmt.  v.  1. 

ice,  Nares  add^.  perhaps  the  familiar  term  of  a  rip,  for  a 
orse  i  such  as  ni^iers  used.  Rip  is  still  proviodal,  for  a 
»f  basket  to^  co»&te  a  ben. 

n  en<furr>  I  find  that  we  hare  the  word  in  the 
given  sense — bu<i  pronotince  it  rib ;  and  a»  wdl 
be  open-worked  hen  €as;e,  it  nieans  als9  a 
et  in  which  oranges,  lemons,  &c.  are  ha\Tked 
t ;  and  perhaps  seyeral  other  sorts  of  open-* 
;ed  baskets. 

r  a  bad  horse  we  say,  *'  what  a  rip** — or  of  an 
omising  lad,  **  a  precious  rip," 

.  au  O.  D.  A.  is  "  Ripler,  one  that  brings  fish 
the  sea  coasts,  to  stfll  in  (he  inland  parts..''     f 
set  Ripler  to  be  a  misprint  for  Ripper:  as  I 
r  saw  the  word  elsewhere. 

the  same  work  is  another  name,  similar  appa- 
y  to  one  class  of  the  persons  who,  under  Kiddier, 
hewn  to  have  so  many  appellations — "  Tranter$ 
piers,  a  sort  of  fisht*rmen.'' 
id  in  Nares  we  have — 

frvHiit'or  fratt*.  To  traffick  in  ah  itinerary  manner  like  » 
r*  Bailey,  and  some  others,  confine  it  to  the  carrying  of 
bat  it  is  alleged  to  have  been  general. 

2e3 


318 

AiH  had  some  trauniing  merchant  to  hU  sire, 
Ili«t  trafficked  both  by  water  and  by  fire* 

HalCiSatiret,lV,i\, 

TrauMttrt,  persons  who  so  traffick.  Blonht  describet  them 
thus : — 

Ripan'i— those  that  bring  fish  from  the  sea-side,  in  Wales,  to 
the  midland.     Elsewhere  called  ripiert,    GlMtographia. 

**  But  this/'  Nares  adds  "  i>  too  limited  ao  ac- 
count  of  them.'*     GL 

Ripe.  Reitdy.  prepared,  matured  for  any  parti- 
cular purpose.  Til  18  is  perhaps  a  pretty  general  me- 
tmphor.  Nor  is  the  verb  to  ripe  for  to  ripen  con- 
fiaed  to  us.  We  lay  our  apples  "  up  chamber  to 
ripe/'     So  Donne,  as  cited  by  Nares—: 

__-,  1  ill  death  as  lay 

To  ripe  and  mellow  there,  we*re  stubborn  clay. 

Ripper.    See  Rip. 

Risp.  The  green  straw  or  runners  of  growing 
pease,  and  of  potatoes.  We  also  call  both  by  the 
common  name  of  Hahm,  which  see. 

RiST.  A  rising,  asceat,  or  swelling,  in  land,  a 
road,  &c.  Also  a  rise  in  price.  "  Corn  ha'  got  a 
little  rist."  Like  Riz,  I  had  supposed  Rist  to  be 
a  vulgarism  of  our  own,  but  Nares  again  shows 
thai  we  have  authority  for  the  word— 

where  Rother  haih  her  rist 

Ibber  and  Crawley  hath.     Drayl,  Polyolb.  xxvi.  p.  1176. 

Riv.  The  preterite  of  the  verb  rice.  This 
inymes  to  sieve.     The  other  to  hive.     See  RiVE. 

Rive.  To  split — **  to  rive  blocks"  of  wood.  See 
Rift.  Slift.  Slivver.  Ra\  has  these  Proverbs — 
"  All's  lost  that's  put  in  a  riven  dish."  p.  161.  *'  He 
rives  the  kirk  to  thatch  the  quier.  Scottish  "  Rive 
is  a  fine  expressive  word — more  so  than  gpUi* 
Hocks  and  blocks  are  riven:  boards  are  split:  nuttf 
cracked;  heads,  broke:  so  that  in  completion  of 
climax,  our  language  requires  riven,  or  as  we  call 
it  riv.    The  latter  word  we  rhyme  to  /ire.  Rive 


319 

to  hive.  Sliakespeare  uses  the  word  in  a  bold 
figure — 

Ten  thousand  French  hare  ta'en  the  sacrament 

To  ritte  their  daiigeruns  artWlerv 

Upon  no  Christisn  8«>ul  t>ui  Talbot.     K.  H.  the  6.  ir.  f. 

*'  JRiee"  says  a  tame  commentalor  "  seems  here  to 
meaa  to  charge  their  guns  so  much  as  to  endanger 
thor  bursting  or  riving.*' 

The  Scottish  has  "^Rive,  a  rent  or  tear,  from  the 
Icelandic  ryjf."  J.  but  not,  it  would  app«'ar,  as  a 
Terb.  Nares  notes  it  as  a  verb,  to  apii  ;  nd  says 
that  it  cannot  be  reckoned  obsolete,  though  not  at 
present  in  common  use.  Spenser  uses  it  for  the 
participle  rioen — 

Thar&em'd  a  marble  rocke  asunder  could  have  rive, 

F.  Q.  V.  xi.  5. 

As  we  say  rio,  which  see. 

Riz.  Risen.  "  Candles  is  riz."  We  are  not 
▼ery  particular  in  our  numbers.  Nares  shows  that  it 
is  not  a  mere  corruption  of  ours.  "  Risae,  used  by 
S.  Jon.  for  risen — 

When  yon  have  penetrated  hills  like  air. 

Dived  lo  the  bottom  of  the  sea  like  tead» 

And  rtste  again,  like  cork.     Masq.  of  Fort,  Ulet.'" 

Robbers.  A  youthful  sport.  See  Move- 
all. 

Rock—  or  Rock  of  Gibraltar.  Cakes  of  inspis- 
sated treacle,  streaked,  somewhat  curiously,  with 
light  liues  of  flour,  are  sold  under  these  uames  iu 
Suffolk,  and  in  vanou<$  parts  of  England. 

Rocket.  A  portion,  or  stent.  In  dabbing  or 
dibbling  corn  each  child  or  woman  has  one  or  two 
M»ws  of  holes  to  drop  after  the  dabber :  such  por- 
tion is  called  the  rocket  of  each  person.  See  DaOP- 

Rod.  Rode.  '<  'A  rod  the  boss  ta  dead  almost/' 
So  bod  for  bid. 


320 

RoKB.  Or  Sea-mike,  which  see— a  cald  fog  or 
mist,  which  sometimes  rapidly  spreads  itself  <»vtr 
the  vicinity  of  our  eastern  shares.  It  witl  reach 
eight  or  tea  miles  inland ;  and  is  an  unwelcome  vi- 
sitor, as  well  from  the  uncomfortableness  of  the 
fttling  it  exckes,  as  that  it  is  supposed  to  be  hiirt'- 
fid  to  herbage.  It  is  sometimes,  fVoiu  that  idea, 
called  a  blight  It  has,  1  dare  «ay,  some  relatioa- 
ship    to    Hwh^   and   Rd$k,     See    uader    those 

W0fd8« 

RoR  ZLT  or  R AWSLT.  A  gravelly  sub-soil  thinly 
covered  with  mould.  *' Tl^in  skinned"  lajad.  I 
<Hdt  not  expect  to  have  found  this  word,  or  such  a 
one,  in  print ;  but  Ra>  has  it  among  his  S.  and  £• 
country  words.  *'  Rosil  or  Rasilfy  ;  sot! — land  be- 
tween sand  and  clay,  neither  light  nor  heavy.'* — 
E.  W.  p.  84. 

RossBM.    Roshi. 

Rot.  Rot  it—Od  rot  it— 'Drot  it— lH  be  rot— 
are  tempered  oaths  or  as^ervatians,  substituted  for 
others  of  a  more  gross  sort.  Of  this  improved  de- 
scription we  have  a  variety,  as  noticed  under 
Am£N]>en,  and  Mort. 

Rot-gut.  Bad  small  beer — "  poor  roUgut 
stuff."  For  the  sake  of  a  wretched  rhyme,  this  re- 
proachful verse  is  remembered — 

Beer-a- bumble— 
Turool'  bus t  y ar  gats,  afo re  t*ai  make-  ye  tvniMe. 

Roundly.  Scolding.  *^Igaveitto  him  roundly." 
i.e.  rated  or  scolded  him  severely.  In  this  sense 
the  King  in  Hamlet  bid»  the  Queeir  be  tmatd  with 
her  SOB. 

Rout.  Coarse  grass,  which 'looks  brown  and 
sare  in  the  meadows  in  spring.  It  differs  irem  Fog 
in  this,  that  the  latter  is  green  and  sour. 

RovK.  A  seab>  Also  a  mode  of  ploughing, 
nearly  similar  perhaps  to  baulking.    See  Bavk.— ^ 


321 

*'  Three  eleta  earths  and  a  rove"  is  a  ttipulatioii  to 
an  outgoing  tenant  in  a  lease  dated  1740.  Cullura's 
Hawstead.  p  217.  The  Scottish  "  Reif,  or  reft, 
an  erufHion  on  the  skin,  from  the  \ng  Sax.  Areo^ 
scabies.**  J.  may  be  the  same  word,  or  nearly.  W^ 
however,  confine  rooe  to  a  scab  Jameison  adda 
that  *'  the  itch  is  by  Way  of  eminence  " — a  '  bad 
eminence,'  1  trow — *'  called  the  reif." 

ROWRN  or  ROWINS.  The  aHermatb,  or  latter- 
mathe,  or  after-grass  of  mown  meadows.  I'lie  same 
word  prolinbty  which  Ra>  writes  roughinsj  E  W.  p. 
14 — ^and  in  p.  S4.  am«)iiif  his  S.  and  E.cnuntry  words, 
he  has  "  Rotigkings :  latter  p^n^ss,  after -mathes." 
See  mider  Goop,  ver«e  11  and  note,  and  under 
Plash.  Tusser  spells  it  roufchin,  but  it  is  evident 
he  means  it  to  he  pronounced  rowing  or  rowen-^fbr 
he  makes  it  rhyme  to  ploughing;  and  indeed  be 
more  than  once  spells  it  so. 

Which  ever  ye  sow — That  first  eat  lovr  s 

The  other  forhear — For  rowtn  to  spare,     p.  176. 

Cora  carried,  let  such  as  be  poor  go  and  glean; 
And  after  th>  cattle,  to  mouth  it  up  clean ; 
Then  »pBre  it  lor  rowfn  till  Michael  b**  past. 
To  lengthen  thy  dairy  no  better  ihuu  ha!»t.     p.  187. 

He  here  extenfis  the  meanius:  of  the  word  to  the 
after  produce  of  corn  fields,  as  well  as  of  grass 
lands.  •  See  Rddish  and  Enow. 

Rub.  The  gritty,  silicious  aggregate  with  which 
''  the  lusty  mower  whets  his  scythe."  It  occurs  in 
verse  14,  of  a  quotation  from  Tusser,  under 
OooF. 

iluBBLE.  Chalk  rubbish.  The  refuse  of  a  lime 
kiln. 

Ruck.  An  inequality — but  in  a  confitjed  sense. 
"  A.  ruck  in  the  bed  '*  menns  the  bed  clothes  lying 
tineveo.  It  is  also  a  verb  about  equivalent  to  rumple 
aisd  t9i«fN--or  rather  to  urease,  which  means  (though 


322 

I  liave  omitted  to  notice  it  in  its  place)  to  make  a 
mark  in  a  piece  of  paper  or  silk,  by  folding.  Also 
the  perfect  or  preterite  of  to  reek, 

**  A  THck  like  a  boas.**  An  amplification  of  a  man 
being  extremely  beated ;  of  which  see  q.  s;  under 
Reek. 

Ruck,  in  Cheshire,  is  explained  "  to  get  close, 
or  huddle  together  as  iFowls  do."  W.  I  do  not 
think  it  is  equivalent  to  huddle  with  us.  In  Cheshire 
and  Lancashire,  Ruck,  as  a  substantive,  nieans  a 
heap,  W.  We  have  no  such  meaning  of  it.  But  in 
the  sense  of  sitting  close  or  squatting,  we  should 
say  of  a  hare,  or  ot  a  man — '*  ^^^  ruck*d  down"-— 
"  a  ruck*d  down."  Cart-rucks,  we  sometimes  say 
for  roc^s.  See  Hacks.  In  an  O.D.A.  is  "  Tc 
ruck,  to  squat  down  '" 

HuD0LE.  A  mixture  of  red  ochre  and  pitch, 
with  which  in  Oxfordshire  and  other  counties  wea- 
ther boarding  is  smeared  and  protected.  The  term 
is,  1  believe,  known  in  Suffolk  ;  where  a  similar  mix- 
ture is  called  iiecer  or  fiver ;  rliyiiiin<»  to  diver.  Ti- 
▼er  is  also  with  us  ochre  it^lf.  Ray  has  **  liud,  a 
sort  of  blood  stone,  used  in  marking  sheep,  from 
the  red  colour/'    p.  103.     See  Teeva. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  **  Ruddle,  a  sort  of  red 
chalk." 

RuDDUCK.  I  give  this  word  doubtingly,  for 
a  Suffolk  name  of  the  Robin  red- breast,  as  this  fe- 
vourite  bird  is  calletl  in  other  counties;  and  by  se- 
veral of  our  poets — thus  Shakespeare — 

The  ruddock  would,  with  charitable  bill^ 
Bring  thee  all  this.     Ct/mb,  iv«  2. 

And  Spenser — 

The  thrush  replies,  the  mavis  descant  plajs. 
The  ousel  shrills^  the  ruddock  warbles  soft. 

These  I  quote  from  Nares,  who  adds  that  the 
golden-ruddock  is  the  gold-fiucb. 


323 

lu  an  O.  D.  A.  is  **  Ruddock,  a  bird ;  a  land 
toad/^  I  sns|)ect  the  latter  nieaoiDg  should  have 
been  under  Puddocf ,  ^^  hirli  see 

RuDLB.  A  beverag:e  composed  of  warm  beer 
«ad  gin  uith  sugar,  and  a  slice  of  lemon  peeL 

Rue.  Re))ent  "  YouM  rue  it  if  yun  (few.** 
T1ii$  IS  not,  I  believe,  a  local  sense.  The  Scotch 
qietl  it  rew,  as  a  verb  and  substantive — repent,  re- 
pentance, pity,  from  the  Anii^l  Sax.  hreowe,  poeni- 
tenfia.  J.  The  name  of  the  herb  of  sadness  is 
probablv  hence.  I  should  rather  have  saiH  the  herb 
€f  grare:  so  our  forefathers  termed  it,  as  we  learu 
/rem  Nares;  conjectured  to  be  so  called  because 
used  in  exorcisms  against  evil  spirits.  And  be  suf- 
ficiently illustrates  by  quotations  both  herb  and 
▼erb. 

RuELBONB.  I  have  noted  this  word  as  one 
fcmneiiy  known  to  me ;  but  I  do  not  find  it  now 
known  by  others.  It  has  been  thought  to  be  the 
same  as  the  Warrel-bane,  which  see. 

Ruinate.  To  ruin.  We  sometimes  hear  this 
unwelcome  Word,  and  ruinated,  used  in  a  very  in- 
teresting description  or  relation,  that  1  shall  not  di-^ 
late  on.  lliey  are  not  local  in  their  usage  or  very 
particular  in  their  application. 

RuMGUMSHUS.  Out  of  humour — quarrelsome, 
letchy — boisterous.  SeeGuMSHUS  and  Eu]\iSHU5>. 
In  Scottish  an  equally  uncouth  word  Ramgunshoch, 
means  rugged;  derived  from  the  Icelandic  ram-ry 
fortis,  and  gunni,  vir  pu^nax.  J.  In  that  dialect 
Rumgumption,  and  Rummilgumtian,  have  the 
meaning  of  common-sense — as  Gumshun,  which 
see,  has  with  us. 

Rumple.  To  ruiBe,  or  derange,  clothes,  &c» 
to  crease  them,  by  laying  them  away  carelessly. 

Bun-counter.    A  man  or  beast,  doing  what 


324 

one  would  not  have  liiin,  is  said  to  run-counier — \o 
act  contra,  no  doubt.  In  Nares,  under  Hunt  counter, 
our  siniilHr  plirHvse  ocrurs>  iu  a  quotation  from 
Shakespeare — 

A  hound  that  rutit  counter.     Com,  rfEr.  iv.  2. 

Runt.  An  obstinate  old  cow — and  aometimti 
applied  to  an  ill-conditioned  woman      See  RU|(tt« 

Runty  Obstinate— angry— ill-\%illed  It  is 
applied  to  persons  as  well  as  to  beasts.  "  Ao  old 
Runt*'  is  Suftblk  and  Scottish  for  an  ill-conditioned 
old  woman  livm  is  the  name  iu  both  for  a  smal), 
stinted,  hard-fed,  race  of  beasts  from  ^e  high- 
lands of  Scotland,  of  Fileshire,  and  of  Wales;  and 
is  probablv  the  origin  of  the  word.  Being  not  so 
well  used  as  a  more  protitable  breed,  they  are  pro- 
bably less  tractable.  Shakes};eare*s — Aroint  thee — 
rump-fed  ronyon,  (  Mu(b,  i.  3  )  reminds  us  of  some- 
thing Runty,  though  1  cannot  precisely  explain 
how. 

Mr.  Wilbrabam,  in  his  Cheshire  Glossary,  so 
often  referred  to,  has  the  following  article  on  these 
words — **  l\ynt,  roint,  runt,  to  get  out  of  the  way. 
R'ynt  thee,  is  an  expression  used  by  milkmaids  lo  a 
cow,  when  she  has  been  milKcd,  to  bi<i  her  get  out 
of  the  way.  Ash  cbXU  it  local.  It  is  used  by 
Shakespeare,  and  puzzhs  the  commentators.  Pos- 
sibly it  may  owe  its  (;rijiin  to  the  old  adverb  aroit7ie, 
found  in  Promptoiiuni  parvulorum  Clcricorum,  and 
there  explaine*!  by  remote,  seorsum;  or  from  ry- 
man  or  run>(an,  Anglo  Saxcai,  to  get  out  of  the 
way.  !  yra  thysum  men  setl,  give  this  man  place. 
Saxon  G<>s|iei.s,  Luke  c.  14.  v.  9.' 

In  Jan»eison  >\e  find,  anuaig  other  mtanings, 
"  /??/??/,  a  c(nileMiptu<>us  (lei?i2;»;atio!t  lor  a  t'emale, 
more  generalh  applied  to  uue.  advanced  in  life, 
with  avid  prefixed — also  an  old  cow  ;  one  that  has 
given  over  breeding  :  from  the  German  rindf,  an 
ox  or  cow."     J. 


32S 


s. 


Rhyming  with  hrau.  Saace,  not  merely 
oyiter^  apple,  kc.,  accoropanimeDti  to  cod's  head, 
or  goofe*— but  vegetables  generally.  Turnip  or  cab- 
Im^  is  saace  to  *'  bielM  beef."  It  ii  opr  term 
too  for  rudeness  or  insolence  of  speech,  Mudnaf. 
"Come,  now,  don't  give  us  any  a'yar  saace/* 

Saanteren.  Idling,  loitering,  sauntering.  The 
latter  word  is  common  and  general  enough — and  the 
practice  implied  by  this  class  of  words,  is  now  (1829) 
getting  also  too  common  and  general  in  this  here- 
tofore industrious  county.  But  let  that  pass.  Our 
pronunciation  is  somewhat  singular,  as  I  have  endea* 
vbUred  to  shew,  in  the  mode  of  spelling  the  word.  I  do 
not  think  that  I  should  have  introduced  it  at  all,  not 
being  local,  but  for  the  sake  of  giving  the  following 
quotation  from  Ray's  S.  and  £.  Countrv  Words. 
''  To  tahier  about,  or  go  santering  up  and  down*  It 
is  derived  from  saincte  tare,  i.  e.  the  holy  land,  be* 
csQse  of  old  time,  when  there  were  frequent  expe- 
ditions thither,  many  idle  persons  went  from  place 
to  place  upon  pretence  that  they  had  taken,  or  in- 
tended to  take,  the  cross  upon  them  and  to  go  thi- 
ther. It  signifies  to  idle  up  and  down ;  to  go  loi- 
tcriBg  about."    E.  W.  p.  84. 

Ikttodlin,  Ncomaken,  Nonnaken,  Satoneyken,  and 
otliers  of  like  import,  are  terms  with  which  we  re- 
prove idle,  unprofitable  chaps. 

Saaz  or  Sars.  Neighbours,  firiends,  in  a  familtav 
way,  from  a  farmer  to  his  workmen,  bespeaking  their 
attention — ''I  sah,  Saaz."  Probably  Sirs;  said,  how«> 
ever,  sometimes  to  women.  *'  Cup,  Sars — store, 
stOR— -cup,  cup,"  The  latter  perhaps  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  come-up.— It  occurs  frequently  in  the  recent 
Scottish  novels,  addressed  both  to  men  and  women. 

Safe.  A  smaller  larder,  usually  of  canvas  or 
wire,  for  keeping  meat,  and  broken  victuals  in— ''A 
meat-safe." 

3  r 


d26 

Sag  or  Sec.  To  bend,  decltQe»  droop.  A  rocjf 
bending  or  sinking  from  insufficient  strengtb,  or 
decay  in  the  rafters,  is  said  **  to  sag  i'  th'  midd^'^ 
One  declining  in  health  or  years  is,  poetically,  said  to 
kig^  "  How  is  neighbour  Jones?"  '' Why«  'a  farc^ 
kcdgy— but  'a  begin  to  sag,  keinder." 

It  may  be  derived  from  seg,  a  reed  or  runh,,  pro- 
verbially easy  to  bend,  as  well  as  an  emblem  of  ary-« 
ness ;  which  latter  sense  the  word  implies  in  several 
European  tongues.  See  Seg.  Shakespeare  uses  the 
#ord  in  a  Suffolk  sense — 

Tlie  mind  I  sway  by,  and  the  heart  I  bear, 

Shall  never  wgg  with  donbt,  nor  shake  with  fear; ' 

The  Scottish  has  **  to  segg,  to  pull  down,  from  the 
Icelandic  sig-a,  subsidere,  and  to  seygt  to  sink.'^  J. 

Nares  says  *'  To  sagg,  to  hang  down,  as  oppressed 
with  weight ;  to  swag  is  now  used,  and  is  perhaps 
more  proper.  To  sagg  on,  to  walk  heavily.'*.  We 
never  use  swagg  in  the  sense  of  sag;  but  it  is  a  Suf- 
folk word. .  In  addition  to  the  passage  above  quoted 
from  Macbeth,  Nares  gives  several  others— 

which  when  I  blow, 
Draws  to  the  sagging  dug  milk  white  ai  snow. 

Broum^s  BrU,  Pasi,  ii.  p.  145. 

When  Sir  Rowland  Rnsset-coat,  their  dad,  goes  togging 
every  day  in  his  round  gascoynes  of  white  cotton. 

2V(uA'«  Pierce  Pennil,  in  Cens,  XM,  vii.  15. 

Dad  is  commonly  used  by  us  for  father. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  '^  to  sag,  to  hang  down  on  one 
side"— ^and  "  to  swag,  to  force  down,  or  to  bear 
downwards  as  a  weight  does.''  The  latter  is  more 
our  sense  of  sag, 

Sah.  Says.  ''  Mr.  Johnson  he  sah,''  Mr.  John- 
son says.  We  have  a  habit  of  interpolating  a  re- 
dundant pronoun  before  a  verb  active  in  the  third 
person.    See  He. 

Sales.  Seels.  Time,  season.  Haysel,  the  time 
of  hay-making.  Barsel,  or  barley  sale,  is  sometimes 
heard.    All  sales,  at  all  times.    "  He's  a  shacking 


3fi7 

4«^w — a's  about  all  sales  o'  the  night'' — applicable 
t6  a  suspected  poacher,  or  to  a  servant  of  irregular 
babiti. 

**  Seel  or  Seal,  time  or  season.  '  It  is  a  fair  ieel  (or 
ywi  to  come  at/  i.  e.  a  fair  season  or  time;  spoken 
ironically  to  them  that  come  late.  Essex.  Ah.  A.  S* 
SmU  time—*  What  seel  of  day  V  what  time  of  day  ?" 
Rt^,  £.  W.  p.  85. 

Since  this  was  written  I  heard  this  question  put 
by  one  farmer  to  another,  enquiring  the  character 
Of  a  servant—"  How  are  his  seels  V 

Sallow.  A  species  of  salix,  very  profitable  to 
iprow  in  moist  grounds,  for  hurdles  or  any  rough 
work.  One  species  is  called  the  water-sallow.  It 
is. an  old,  and  probably  not  a  very  local  word* 
llie  yellow  hue  of  its  flower  may  have  been  the  orl^ 
gfti  of  the  word,  descriptive  of  a  sickly  complexion* 
Such  flowers  we  call  goslins,  which  see.  See  Hulta, 
where  Tusser  recommends  the  Sallow  for  rakes.  We 
generally  make  our  rake-heads  and  teeth  of  it. 

Salt.  A  bitch  (dog  or  fox)  is  said  to  be  sali 
when  in  heat.  It  is  applied  only,  I  believe,  to  the 
canine  species ;  unless,  in  bitterness  and  grossness 
of  tauoty  Tituperatively  to  a  woman.  Thus  Shakes- 
peare puts  it  into  the  mouth  of  Pompey  in  a  very 
energetic  speech—- 

■  May  all  charms  of  love 
SdU  Cleopatra,  soften  thy  wan'd  lip  I 
I^t  witchcraft  join  with  beaut  j— lost  with  both. 

Ant.  4*  Cleop.  if.  1. 
Again — 

Were  they  as  prime  as  goats,  as  hot  as  monke^^ 
As  $aU  as  wolves  in  pride.  OtheUOf  ill.  8* 

Again  in  Timon's  bitter  anathema,  addressed  to  the 
lii^utiful  Phrynia  and  Timandra— « 

'..'..  Ba  a  whore  still !    The j  love  thee  not  that  nse  thee ;  . 

Give  them  diseai et,  leaving  with  thee  their  lust. 

Blake  nie  of  thy  sol/  hours :  season  the  slaves 
-   '  ^  Far  tnbs  and  baths ;  brina  down  rose-cheeked  youth 
i%ir.  Sbibe  tab-fiist  and  the  diet.  T.  ^A.  iv.  5* 

-it  i^.  •*     •  2  F  3 


9AQ 

I  will  not  quote  the  long  annotations  on  this 
speech,  but  just  notice  that  the  "  tub-fast  and  the 
diet"  have  made  the  terms — *'  i'the  powdering*tub" 
— "  i'  th'  pickling^  tub''-*in  allusion  to  the  iotiiratiTe 
process  in  Shakespeare's  dny,  current  phrases  €nam 
that  time  to  this.    See  Powder. 

Salt  eel.  One  of  our  numerous  recreation^  of 
which  a  list  is  given  under  MoveaU,  This  is  some- 
thing like  hide  and  find.  The  name  of  Salt  eel  may 
have  been  given  it  from  one  of  the  points  of  the 
game,  which  is  to  haste  the  runaway,  individu&l 
whom  you  may  overtake,  all  tlie  way  honie "with 
f  oar  handkerobief  twisted  hard  for  that  purpetf^. 
SaUcd  implies,  on  board  ship,  a  rope's  ending,  tad 
OQ  shore,  an  equivalent  process.  ''  Yeow  shaS  hate 
mk  ed  for  supper,''  is  an  emphatic  threat,  vefeiring 
to  the  back  rather  than  to  the  belly. 

'SAKrutR  or  Saampler.  The  A.  B.  C,  &c.  wiA 
generally  some  religious  verses,  and  the  nam*  an'd 
age  of  the  ingenious  artist,  which  girls  of  most 
conks  were,  a  certain  nu mber  of  years  > ago,  expected 
to  vork  on  canvas  at  school,  to  be  fram^  and  himg 
«p  and  admired  at  home.  Such  things  are  still  ex- 
tant, though  not,  i  believe,  still  worked.  The  name 
is  probably  from  the  French  exemplaUrep  a  copy,  a 
pattern.  **  Samplar,'*  says  Cocker,  is  **  an  exemplar 
or  pattern  of  needle  work." 

Sanlans.    Sand-lands.    See  Woodxanz>s. 

Sappy.  Silly,  shallow-pated.  A  sap-sculL  This 
word  is  derived  from  the  outer  portion  of  timber 
next  the  bark,  being  less  solid  and  weaker  than  the 
inner.  The  weak  insolid  part  we  call  the  sap.  In 
aquaring  timber  by  the  sawyers,  such  outer  portions 
ere  cut  off  as  inferior,  and  are  called  tlaba.  If  a 
sufficient  thickness  of  slab  be  not. cut  off,  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  tap  be  left  in  the  squared  timber,  we  call 
such  timber  cocker'd  or  scockered.    See  Slab. 

In  Cheshire  ''  sapy  means'  foolish ;  perhaps  only 
sappy  ill  pronounced.    Sap-sciill  \^  cwsv\aj«v'^  W* 


9^0 

Sapscull.    a  silly  shallow  fellow.    See  SappV. 

Sare  9r  Seak.  Withered,  dry.  An  old>  good, 
poetical  word,  still  in  general  use  in  Suffolk.  It  is 
used  by  many  of  our  old  writers,  and  will  be  re- 
stored again  to  our  poetry.     It  is  a  Saxon  word. 

The  following  beautiful  lines  of  Shakespeare  are 
in  every  recollection-^ 

I  have  lived  long  enough — 
My  may  of  life  is  fallen  into  the  hot,  the  yellow  leaf. 

Mtubethf  V.  3. 
Again-^ 

Thy  crown  doth  gear  my  eye-balb.    Jh.  W.  $. 

Tlfat  is,  blinds  me,  as  if  dried  up  by  hot  iron  ;  the 
dd  and  extensive  mode  of  practising  this  barbarity 
on  royal  competitors,  real  or  apprehended.  Milton 
in  his  Lycidas  has  "  Ivy  never  sere."  And  Scott, 
in  his  Bridal  of  Trierman,  "  Brushwood  sere,**  p. 
dSI.  Ray,  among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words,  has 
i"  :§ear,  dry ;  opposed  to  green ;  spoken  only  oT 
.wood,  or  the  parts  of  plants,  from  the  Greek  (n^^, 
i(Bri4ua,  Hence  perhaps  wood-scar,*'  E.  W.  p.  15. 
;jSlee  WooD-sEAB. 

.  Kares  writes  the  word,  like  most  of  our  authors 
who  use  it,  **  Sear,  dry,  withered.  Saxon.  As  a 
substantive,  a  state  of  dryness.  Hence  to  sear,  still 
in  use,  is  to  dry  up  a  wound  by  the  force  of  fire.^' 
He  adds  the  following  illustrations— 

Old  age 
Which,  like  uar  trees,  is  seldom  seen  affected. 

B.  is  FU  Wit  without  Mm,  iii.  1. 

My  body  bndding  now  no  more ;  uar  winter 
Hath  seal'd  that  sap  np.       Id»  Moni.  Thomas,  ii.  5. 

NooDe*day  and  mid-night  shall  at  once  be  seene ; 
Trees  at  one  time  shall  be  botli  sere  and  greene. 

iferrkk,  p.  64^ 

Yet  shall  thy  sap  be  shortly  dry  and  seer» 

DraytoUy  EcL  II« 

So  beauty  peep'd  through  lattiee  of  seared  age.  ' 

Shakegp.  Comply  of  a  Is^k 

SAJtMONtr  A  Sermon,    So  in  CheshVre,    X^  * 

2  f3 


330 

Sam.    See  Saaz. 

Savik-trbb.  The  Juniperus  sabina  of  Linn.  Sup- 
posed to  have  the  power  to  procure  abortioa.  Lyi^ 
nys  something  to  that  purport  of  it. 

And  when  I  look 

To  gather  fruit,  dud  nothing  hot  the  Mrtm  tree» 

Too  frequent  in  nnnne's  orchard!,  and  thore  ptanl^dy   ' 

By  all  eoi)|ecturey  to  destroy  fruit  rather. 

The  above  is  from  Nares.  The  notion^  whether 
true  or  false  I  know  not,  that  the  Savin  possess^ 
the  quality  ascribed  to  it>  is  in  full  feroe  in  fiaflPott. 
A  few  years  ago,  my  gardener  pointed  out  the  jaiaxt 
to  me,  with  an  expression  of  abhorrence ;  and  aaid 
that  it  ought  to  be  eradicated  by  act  of  parliameil^ 
I  had  never  before  seen  the  lowly  plant — not  a  tree-— 
nor  heard  its  bad  character.  Its  character  is  not, 
however,  universally  bad ;  for  in  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  $s» 
vine,  an  herb  good  to  cure  ulcers.^ 

Sawnbt.    a  silly,  half-witted,  idle  lout — ^henee 

Sawnetken.  Idling,  lounging,  saunterhtg. — 
*'  Heow  yeow  dew  go  sawneyken  about.*'  2>at&3tti, 
nonnaken,  and  taanteren  are  words  of  similar  import. 

Sawzles.  Slops  or  drinks,  given  injudiciously  to 
sick  persons. 

Sat.  a  taste,  growing  into  a  habit.  Cows  having 
broken  into  a  field  of  clover,  pigs  into  potatoes,  &c., 
will  have  "  got  a  say  onV'  and  be  not  easily  kept 
out.    It  is  also  applied  to  any  early  irregularities. 

I  never  heard  this  word  out  of  Suffolk,  where  it  is 
still  common.  It  occurs  in  the  following  passage  in 
l^emoirs  of  the  Court  of  Queen  Elizabeth : 

The  splendid  hunt  then  concluded  according  to  th6  esta- 
blished laws  of  the  chase,  by  the  offering  of  the  knife  to  the 
princess  or  first  lady  of  tlie  field  ;■  and  her  iMmg  ^mtg  (so 
printed,  I  know  not  whence  taken)  of  the  buck,  with  her 
own  fair  and  royal  hand. 

.  Say  or  sah  is  also  substituted  for  says  or  said,  in 
the  third  person  singular — *'  John  he  say—,"  as  is 
usual  among  us,  and  as  is  explained  under  Have  and 


83L 

Sah.  Looking  latterly  over  Ray,  I  fiod  it  among 
hisS.  and  £.  country  words,  at  in  the  following  quo- 
tation— "  Say  of  it,  i.  e.  taste  of  it,  Suffolk.  S(^ 
for  assay,  per  aphoeresin,  assay  from  the  French  es- 
sayer,  and  the  Italian  assaggiare,  to  try,  or  prove,  or 
attempt ;  all  from  the  Latin  word  sapio,  which  signi- 
fies also  to  taste/'  £.  W.  p.  84.  In  Scottish  is  <'  sey 
or  foy,  a  trial ;  an  attempt  of  any  kind.''  J. 

Nares  has  a  long,  and  as  usual,  an  instructive  ar- 
ticle on  this  word.  In  his  second  sense  he  ap- 
•proaches  our  SuflS>lk  meaning,  as  it  is  fairly  given 
lyiRay. 

-'  'Any  for  ostiqr,  test  or  speeimen.    ^  A  My -« 'specimen :  siy 
n^«,  deliba  illad,  pnelilia.'    JE.  ikies.    Thoa  to  gwe  tks  ssy 
al  «ii«rt  was  lor  the  royal  tatter  to  declare  the  goodntss  m 
tlM  wioe  or  dishes. 

~  Or  to  take 

A  aiy  of  venison,  or  stale  fowl  by  your  nose. 

Mnt8.  Uimai.  Comb.  ill.  L 

It  appears  formerly  to  have  mi^ant,  as  well  as 
taile,  or  relish,  as  in  Lear,  v.  S 

And  that  my  tongae  some  say  of  breeding  breathes, 

^mj  attempt  or  effort,  especially  a  first ;  to  try,  in 

'general ;  even,  as  Nares  remarks,  to  try  the  fitness 

of  clothes**- 

Sh'  admires  her  cuoniog ;  and  incontioenf, 
'Sayes  OD  herself  ber  oianly  ornament. 

Sylv.  Dubari.  p.  StI. 

Our  existing  assay-master  is  hence  derived. 

Scald  bead.  Scurfy  or  scabby-headed,  and  con- 
sequent partial  baldness.  Nares  shows  that  the  older 
word  is  scall,  used  by  Chaucer  and  in  the  authorized 
version  of  the  Bible  ;  derived  from  skalladur,  bald, 
Icelandic. 
A  dry  aesllf  a  leprosy  on  the  head.  Levtf .  xiii.  20, 
Scald  implies  other  diseases.    See  Scaly. 

ScALLiON.  A  shalot.  Not,  perhaps,  a  confined 
word ;  certainly  not  very  noodern,  as  is  shown  by 
Nares,  who  sufficiently  illustrates  it. 


032 

ScALT.  A  shabby  mean  fellow.  A  vagfue  ternf, 
derived  probably  from  the  discredit  incident  to  a 
disease  formerly  called  scall,  or  scald ;  not  precisely 
eon6ned  to  what  we  now  call  scald'head.  It  may  be 
inferred  from  this  quotation  from  Massinger : 

My  three  court  codlings  that  look  parboird^ 
Ab  if  they  came  from  Cupid's  scalding  house. 

Old  taWf  ill.  t. 

Of  this  something  under  Pied  and  Powder, 

ScAMBLE.  A  word  rather  vaguely  used^  for  some- 
thing done  irregularly.  I  have  heard  it  used  in  sn 
order  to  one  harrowing  land,  "  drive  faster ;  scamhk 
it  about'' — meaning  scatter  perhaps.  And  I  have 
heard  it  also  as  descriptive  of  an  aukward,  loose 
mode  of  a  horse  carrying  his  legs  when  trotting. 
This  may  be  likewise  a  sense  of  scattering,  opposed 
to  closeness.  In  this  sense  I  recollect  once  meeting 
with  the  word  in  a  translation  of  Tavernier's  travels : 
describing  an  Indian  city,  it  is  called  "  a  great  scam- 
hling  city."  And  in  an  O.  D.  A.  it  occurs  in  exactly 
the  same  sense — **  A  scambling  town ;  a  town  in 
which  the  houses  stand  at  a  great  distance  one  from 
another." 

Nares  illustrates  the  word  by  several  quotations, 
in  a  sense  apparently  of  scramble. 

Scandal-broth.    Tea. 

Scant.  This  is  not  an  uncommon  word;  too 
common  in-deed  as  well  as  in  word.  We  use  it  as 
a  substantive  and  verb.  "I  am  scant  of  stuvva  ta 
year.**  "  He  should  not  be  scanted  of  pocket  mo- 
ney." Sometimes  as  an  adverb:  *'I  scant  knew 
him."     So  in  Hamlet, 

He's  fat  and  icani  of  breath,    v.  3. 

Be  something  aeanter  of  your  maiden  presence.    Id,  u  5. 

Therefore  I  semU  this  breathing  courtesy.    M,  <^  V,  v.  U 

ScAVEL.    See  SkaVfei..  % 

ScocKERD.    Timber  insolid,  from  being  sappy,  is 


J 


333 

ittd  to  be  icocher'd,  or  cocktr^d.    See  that  word, 

ScoKCB.  The  bead,  for  which  we  have  many 
namety  aa  noticed  under  Costabd.  Sconce  is  several 
timea  uaed  by  Shakespeare^ 

Mast  I  go  ibew  tbem  my  nabarbed  9conuf    CwUi.  iii.  3. 

Again  in  a  passage  q^uoted  under  Mazzard. 
So  Fanshawe*— 

TV  tnteed  poyson  working  in  his  iemna*    iMmad^  viii.  51. 

In  this  sense,  saith  Nares,  it  is  perhaps  still  occa- 
Bidnally  used  in  familiar  language. 

ScoiB.  To  mark  any  thing,  especially  with  a 
daahing  sort  of  mark.  The  carcase  of  a  slain  sheep 
if  tcared  with  the  knife ;  living  sheep  are  scored 
with  ochre.  Of  a  man  who  may  haply  chop  on  to 
tiwoduiners,  it  is  whimsically  said  he  must  be  chalk-t 
ed  or  Mcortd  on  the  back.  To  scotch,  is  a  word  near* 
]y  aimilar. 

Soot.     A  Scotch  beast  or  bullock. 
Scotch.    To  notch,  or  cut.    Thus  Macbeth — 
We've  tcirfdk'd  the  snake,  not  kill*d  it.    iiLs. 

With  us  it  farther  means  to  mark  with  stripea. 
''  Scotch  him  on  the  back,''  is  so  to  chalk  a  man. 
To  score  is  equivalent  in  the  latter  sense.  See  that 
word.  Nares  under  Scotch,  says,  to  score  or  cot  in 
a  ilight  manner ;  and  in  addition  to  the  above  quo- 
tation, gives 

Ba  aopM^d  and  notchM  him  like  a  carbonado.    Cmitl,  iv.  S. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  *'  to  scotch,  to  cut ;  as  to  scotch  a 
6ah  to  the  bone.'' 

ScoTCH-HOB.  The  game  pretty  generally  played 
in  England,  by  hopping  and  kicking  a  bit  of  tile 
from  M  to  beft  of  a  diagram  of  this  fashion. 


334 

It  18  in  other  parts  called  hop-scotch.  But  in  Sg<j^ 
land,  the  game  is  described  by  Jameison  UD4er  i^ 
northern  name  of /)a//a//.  >  <>>: 

Scour.  The  operation  of  cleanin^^  or  fsyingbtA 
ditches,  wet  or  dry.  Thus  in  Gage's  HengFaire> 
among  the  expenses  of  the  Hall  in  1572  is  tut  item 
''for  scouring  liiij.  roddes  of  ditching  work  at  the 
mill,  s^  ij(f.  tJie  rodde,  ix*."  p.  192. 

.  ScRAD,  Scratch,  erase.  A  dog  scrahi  a  rabbit 
from  its  burrough ;  a  boy,  a  blot  from  his  copy* 
book,  or  a  pimple  on  his  leg.  *'  Let  it  alone  ;  donH 
YOU  scrab  it ;"  or  claw  would  perhaps  be  morfi  Uke*- 
fy  in  the  latter  case.    See  Clow. 

r 

Scrag.  The  neck.  '' A  scrag  of  mutton  ;**  the 
thin  end  of  the  neck.  '<  The  scrag  end.''  •  Scrd^ 
means  a  thin  person,  particularly  if  thin  about  iS^ 
bosom.    In  Scotland,  crag- is  the  neck.    J. 

Scraps.  As  well  as  in  the  common  sense,  this 
word  is  in  Suffolk  particularly  descriptive  of  the 
small  pieces  of  fat  pork  remaining  after  the  opera- 
tion of  boiling  for  the  purpose  of  extracting  the  lard 
for*store  for  domestic  use.  Some  gross-feeding  per^ 
sons  like  those  remaining  die-shaped  pieces,  fried. 

Scransh.    See  Skranch. 

Scruff.    See  Skruff. 

Scuff.    See  Skruff. 

Scullery.  The  room,  or  place,  where  plates,  8cc 
crockery  in  domestic  use,  are  washed.  Scutlion,  used 
to  be  the  appellation  of  the  hard-worked  girl  who 
washed  them  ;  but  as  it  had  a  disrespectful,  and  an 
unfeeling  sound,  it  is  properly  disused. 

Scut.  The  tail  or  brush  of  a  hare  or  rabbit.  I 
think  I  have  heard  it  also  called  fud,  as  it  is  in  Scot- 
land. Scut  is  a  Shakesperian  word,  and  is  perhaps 
common  all  over  England. 

Sear,    See  Sare. 


SB5 

SxA-ROKB.  A  fog  or  mist  suddenly  approaching 
»di  the  direction  of  the  sea ;  not  uncommon  on 
tife  eastern  coast.  A  lady  linguist  hearing  this  word 
Qsed  for  the  first  time  in  company,  amusingly  ima- 
gined i^  cognate  with  the  .Stroc'  of  Italy.    See  Roke. 

'  Sbbdy.  a  thin,  lean,  long-legged  horse-^-extend- 
^to  man  and  other  animals  occasionally :  like  run- 
ning up  to  seedy  as  it  were. 

Sbels.  a  part  of  a  cart  or  plough  harness.  The 
wooden  exterior  of  the  collar.  Of  the  same  mean- 
ing also  in  regard  to  times,  as  Sales,  which  see. 

-  'Seg.  Seos.  Rushes,  reeds,  sedges ;  "  a.  seggen- 
bollom'd  chair.''  "  A  seggen  collar,'^  a  collar  made 
of  rushes;  an  economical  substitute  for  the  common 
collar;  used  also,  from  its  dryness  and  buoyancy^ 
bjT  boys  learning  to  swim,  who  thrust  their  head 
and  arms  through  ;  but  it  is  a  bad  way  of  learning ; 
for  if  the  collar  slip  down  Wards,  it  is  apt  to  submerge, 
instead  of  keeping  up,  the  head.  "  A  sedge-coWsLT.'* 
JSuser,  p.  13.     See  under  Goof,  verse  19,  and  note. 

It  does  not  appear  in  Jamieson's  Dictionary  that 
Mtg\9  a  Scottish  name  of  the  rush ;  though  bull-seg, 
ia  well  as  the  Cheshire  meaning,  is  "  the  great  cat- 
tail, or  reed-mace,  Typha  latifolia  of  Linn."  In 
Cheshire  a  bull  cut,  when  full  grown,  is  called  a  seg; 
also  in  Lancashire  and  Scotland.     W. 

I  do  not  think  that  we  have  the  word  in  that  sense, 
Nares  explains  Segs,  as  sedges,  or  the  water  flower  de 
luce,  from  the  Saxon — and  thus  illustrates  the  word : 

t  — —  Then  ou  bis  legs 

lAe  fetters  hang  the  under-growing  segs.    Brit,  Past.  ii.  22. 

-— *i5^s,  rank  bulrush,  and  the  sharpened  reed. 

Drayt,  Mou8» 

Hid  in  the  segges,  fast  by  the  river's  side. 

tVeakest  goes  to  W.  C.  4.  b. 

Iwove  a  coffin  for  his  corse,  of  s^s 

tliat  with  the  wind  did  wave.    Cornelia^  O.  P.  ii.  366* 

*■  Sbketta.    An  executor ;  not  an  executioner. 
SxNSHUN.    See  Simson. 


S99 

.  Sk«  a  game  «t  wkiftL  ^'Whdt  da»e  fthi^« 
■et?"  The  rubber  and  poinU  ikre  still  uokiioin»«b 
some  card  tables.  We  say  sei  for  ik,  as  aoliieed'  ib 
•ome  variety  of  words  under  Aninb]>.  *'  Dew  thift 
there  owd  bin  set  ?"    '^  No ;  sbe  lab/' 

Set-fast.  In  use — not  at  liberty,  "  Retdi  me 
the  black  jack.''  '*  You  cant  bet ;  'tis  set  fast ;  f^MI 
a  burgad."    Sometimes/Mif,  witbout  the  prefa. 

Set-ope.  Any  thing  by  which  a  gate  or  dooTt  or 
any  thing  on  jimmers,  is  set  open^  or  kept  open* 
"  The  gate  oont  keep  back;  the  set-^apt  is  gone/' 

Settee.  A  sopha,  or  moveable  window-seat ;  in 
more  modern  language  called,  I  believe,  conversa- 
tion stooL  I  have  not  heard  the  word  of  iB«n'y 
years,  and  believe  it  is  going  out.  What  genteder 
people  called  settee,  more  lowly  folk  would  perbapa 
call  settle,  which  see. 

.  Settle.  The  long  circular  wooden  bench  or  sett 
of  a  public  house  kitchen,  with  a  high  back,  to  in- 
crease the  comforts  of  the  fire-side.  The  same  in 
Scotland.  The  word  occurs  frequently  in  Tales  of 
my  Landlord,  Ivanhoe,  the  Monastery,  &c.  In  the 
latter  named  novel,  I.  134,  it  is  the  fire-side  seat  of 
a  private  house :  it  is  sometimes  so  with  us.  As  a 
N.  country  word,  Grose  has  "  Ssttie  or  Lung'SetHe, 
a  long  form  with  a  back  and  arms,  usually  placed  In 
the  chimney  corner  of  a  farm  house/' 

When  I  first,  which  was  lately,  heard  the  word  in 
Suffolk,  I  thought  it  local,  as  I  did  not  recollect  ever 
having  heard  or  seen  it  elsewhere ;  but  I  have  since 
frequently  met  with  it.  It  occurs  in  Bracebridge 
Hall,  ii.  I5d« 

Nares  says  *'  Settle  for  a  bench,  though  usedbv 
Dryden,  is  now  little  known.  Johnson  quotes  this 
instance : 

A  common  settle  drew  for  either  gnest. 

Iq  Ezekiel,  Nares  continues,  zliii.  14, 17,  settle  seems  to 
be  used  for  a  kind  of  ledge  or  flat  portion  of  tbe  altar.— The 
clearest  account  of  tbe  settle  seems  to  be  in  the  asMflib^ 


337 

IMHalttHim-k*  Hie  Ikbrick  of  it  leeiiis  to  be  thns ;  one  cnbit 
iMfhiVTM  tbe  baiity  or  footi  or  bottome,  botome,  or  Miffe:— 
ffSiKk  Uieooe  two  cvbits  to  the  reimd  ledge,  or  bene b,  or  tettU 
c^.^  evbit  broad,  that  went  round  about  it.'  In  £^k.  zlv. 
iil^,  the '  four  comers  of  the  «€f(2eof  the  altar'  are  mentioned. 

A  smaller  piece  of  furniture  of  a  superior  sort  in 
.{jrirate  houses^  afibrding  accommodation  for  two  or 
1bree,.we  used  to  call  in  Suffolk  settee.    See  that 

word* 

Id  iln  O.  !>.  A.  is  *'  A  setile,  or  settle-bed,  a  kind 
of  bed  to  be  turned  up."  What  we  now  more  cpm- 
monly  call  a  bureau-bed,  from  its  appearance  wheqi 
not  in  use,  we  sometimes  call  a  settle-bed. 

■ .  Sbw.  To  ooze  out.  Water,  from  wet  land — ^blood, 
£KMi»abound-up  wound. ''  Ta  sew  out,  stamminly"— 
Le*.  it  oozed  or  flowed  out  surprisingly. 

Shack.  The  corn  left  in  a  barley  or  pea  field, 
tfter  the  crop  has  been  carried.  Pigs  and  poultry 
are  then  turned  in  "  to  shack.".  '*  Tha's  good  shack 
ID  that  there  fiUd."  "  A  shacken  fellow'^  describes 
lOnewho  has  no  fixed  home,  or  hangs  too  much  on 
:  hi*  friends.     He  is  sometiihes  called  a  shackabaek. 

'  -  i  .Yoke  s^om  thy  swine  while  shock  time  do  last, 

• :    For  di?ers  nusfortnnes  that  happen  too  fast   Ttuser,  p.  S3. 

■  "  Shaktime,  or  Shaketime,  is  after  harvest,  when 
-mast,  &c,  is  to  be  picked  up.''  Mavor,  on  the  above 
passage.    I  do  not  accord  with  this  etymology. 

Shackaback.    See  Shack. 

Shanks's  nag.  On  foot.  Shankies  nag,  in  Scot- 
tish. 

*.  Shannt.  Wild,  frolicsome,  unruly  (not  from  vice), 
liigh  spirited,  romping,  joyous,  flighty.  Or  one 
^step  beyond  these,  bordering  on  mental  insolidity. 
'Ib  the  north,  "shandy,  wild."  B/iy,  E.  W.  p.  53.  In 
Scottish,  skan,  silly.    J. 

Shard.  A  broken  piece  of  tile  or  pottery.  See 
Fletsher  and.PoTSHAD. 

,  Shakespeare  writes  shard-borne  in  this  well  known 
pissftge: 

2  G 


Madfdh,  Ere  the  bat  liath^owo 

His  clouter'd  flight ;  ere  to  black  Hecate's  8ammoii9> 
The  ahard-borne  beetle,  with  his  drowsy  boin^ 
Hath  mug  oights  yawning  peal,  there  shall  be  done 
^  A.deed.ofdmdfuliiiote,  iii.  2. 

Again,— 

Often  to  oar/icomfort  shall  we  find 
The  sharded  beetle,  in  a  safer  bold, 
Uma  b  the  full-winged  eagle.        CymbeHnef  nl.  5. 

That  is,  says  Steevens,  the  beetle. hatched  among 

shards  or  broken  tiles. 

Again, ^ 

^They  are  his  shards,  and  he  their  beetle. 

jint.  and  CUop*  iii.  2. 

This-riather  obscure  and  affected  passage,  seems 
ta  imply  shard-2K>nitf,  not  bom.  It  is  applied  X^  tbk 
shuffling  adulation  of  Lepidus  toward  iiis  co-*trium« 
yirs,^]Vt,  Antony  and  Oct.  Caesar^  . 

Thi^  industrious  Ray  has  got  this  word  jinto  one.  of 
his  proverbs: 

When,  Tom's  pitcher*a  broken  I  sball  bave.the  shitmds. 

p.  S74. 

Nares  says  "  Shard,  a  fragment  of  a  pot  or  tile ; 
hence  potsherd,  vfTiiXen  potsheard,  in  the  early  edi« 
tions  of  the  Bible.  Job^  ii.  8y  &c.  From  the  Saxon, 
or  from  the  Flemish  ^c^aercf^. 

For  charitable  prayers, 
Shards,  flints,  and  pebbles,  should  be  thrown  upon.her. 

Hamlety  v.  1. 

Cowshard  appears  to  mean  only  th^  hard  -scales  of  dried 
cow-dmig.  '*  The  humble-bee  taketh  no  scorn  to  lodge  in 
a  cow's  roule  shard,**  Shard-borne,  Nares  adds,  is  not  there* 
fore  *  6om|imong  shards,'  as  Dr.  Johnson  once  supposed,  bnt 
carried  by  shards. 

In  Scripture  it  is  written  sAerd* 

So  that  there  shall  not  be  found  ii^  the  burning  of  it  (the 
potter's  vessel)  a  sherd,  to  take  fire  from  the  hearth,  or  to  take 
water  withal  out  of  the  pit.  Isaiah,  xxx,  14. 

^hoH  shalt  even  drink  it,  and  suck  it  out,  and  thou  shall 
break  the  sA^rds  thereof.        £zek,x%m,S4. 

In  botli  these  passages,  Nares  adds,  it  wa^sAfordv  inthe 
early  editions. 


339 

'  Sh4RMin6.  a  confused  now,  ai  clin>  a  buzzing ; 
such  as  is  made  by  chattering  or  unruly  children. 
*'  What  a  sharmin  them  there  children  dew  keep/' 
I  suspect  it  is  the  same  as  swarming,  being  borrowed 
from  the  confused  noise  of  bees  in  that  curious  ef- 
fort of  domestic  economy  :  for  both  words  are  ap- 
plied (though  one  sees  not  why)  to  the  operation  of 
cKmbing  aboughless  tree,  and  to  leaping  over  a  gate 
with  but  a  slight  touch  of  the  hand. 

Shaw.  A  small  wood  or  grove ;  one  lying  open 
to  a  fields  seems  mostly  thqs  designated.  *'  A  ikaxv, 
a  wood  that  encompasses  a  close.  Sussex.  Ab.  A«  S. 
SevtfMi  umbra;  a  shadow.''  Ray,  E.W.  p. 85.  In 
Scottish,  sckaiw,  $c1iagh,  a  wood,  a  grove.  J.  Ac- 
cording to  NareSy  **  shaw  is  a  thicket,  or  small  wood. 
iPhe  word  is  still  in  use  in  StaflTordshire,  and'  is  fre- 
quent in  the  composition  of  n^tae^,  as  Aldershaw, 
Gtntkthaw,  &c. 

^Thither  to  seek  some  flocks  or  herds  we  went, 
Ferhaps  close  hid  beneath  the  green-wood  duio* 

Fauf.  ToMto,  irui.  59. 

'  We  have  several  other  words  for  a  small  enclosed 
thicket — Dingle,  reed,  queech,  squeech,  among 
them* 

Shear.    To  reap  corn,  or  to  clip  sheep. 

Although  rcapi  and  c/ip,  or  cut,  are  now  the  verbs 
most  commonly  applied  to  operations  on  field, 
fleece,  or  poll,  yet  our  ancestors  oftenest  used  shear, 
variously  spelled  shetVy  sheir,  shere,  as  is  shown  by 
Nares.  The  Thursday  before  Easter,  called  Maun- 
day  Thursday,  was  called  Sheer  Thursday,  from  the 
custom  of  shearing  or  shavini^  the  beard  on  that  day. 
The  name  is  thus  accounted  for — 

For  that  in  old  fader's  days  the  people  would  on  that  day 
i>irg  theyr  hedes,  and  clyp  theyr  berdes,  and  pool  theyr 
faeedeSy  and  so  make  them  honest  ayenst  £a8ter  day. 

Old  Homily,  cited  in  Bourne's  Pop,  Ant.  1. 1S4. 

Shore  is  our  past  tense  of  the  verb.    See  Poll. 

2g^ 


340 

Sheabland.  a  lamb  or  sheep  a  year  old ;  also 
shearling*    See  Dans. 

Shed.  A  sheath  of  a  knife^  &c. ;  the  praeputiutn 
of  a  horse* 

Sheer,  "^holly^  exclusively,  pure,  absolutely* 
*'  He  did  it  by  sheer  strength,"  or  **  out  of  sheer 
mischief.''  In  one  of  these  senses,  direct  or  Egura- 
tive,  this  passage  of  Shakespeare  must  be  read — - 

Thou  skeefy  immaculate,  and  silver  fonntain. 
From  whence  this  stream,  tlirongh  muddy  passage^ 
Hath  held  his  current.    K,  R.  the  2tf.  v.  3. 

Steevens,  on  this  passage,  says  that  "  sheer,  is  pure; 
transparent,*  Pure  it  may  be,  but  not,  I  think,  in 
any  other  than  a  figurative  sense.  *•  Out  of  pure 
niischii:r'  would  do  as  well  in  Suffolk  as  '*  sheer  mis- 
chief." I  question  if  the  word  by  Shakespeare  or  in 
Suffolk  was  ever  used  for  transparent.  We  should 
certainly' say  "  j/i^er  through"  for  "  c/ear  through** 
or  "  right  through ;"  but  still  not  apply  it  to  trans- 
parency or  translusence. 

I  confess,  however,  that  the  respected  authority  of 
Nares  being  directly  against  me,  I  have  less  confi- 
dence in  my  own  reading. 

Sheer,  he  says,  clear  and  transparent,  like  pure 
water.  The  sense  of  the  word  is  hardly  expressed 
in  Dr.  Johnson's  first  definition  or  examples.  After 
the  above  quotation  from  Shakespeare,  Nares  gives 
these  from  Spenser's  F.  Q.  and  Golding's  Ovid,  Met* 

Who,  having  vi.ewed  in  a  fonotain  shere 
His  face,  was  with  the  love  thereof  heguyl'd. 

F.  Q.  III.  ii.  44. 

The  water  was  so  pure  and  aheere.    Gold.  O.  M,  iv. 

"In  the  metaphorical  sense  of  pure  and  unmixed, 
it  is,"  N^res  adds,  "  still  used  ;  as  sheer  sense,  sheer  ar- 
gument. In  the  sense  of  quick,  clean  (as  an  adverb) 
it  is  preserved  by  the  usage  of  Milton.  See  Johnson^ 

Sheers.  Shires;  the  counties  of  England  ending 
with  shire,  excluding  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  and  Essex* 


341 

The  farmers  of  these  three  counties^  especially  of  the 
two  former,  are  disposed  to  think  disparagingly  of 
the  talents,  stock,  and  implements  of  the  neighbour- 
Hig  and  distant  shires.  This  is  remarked  by  Mr. 
Wilbrafaam,  in  his  Glossary  of  Cheshire  words. 
"  A'y  a  toach  a*  the  sheers  in  *em,"  is  a  very  male- 
nUent  character  to  give  of  a  horse,  and  is  not  safely 
to  be  uttered  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  a  Suffolk 
owner. 

'  Shell.  Pied.  Shell-duck,  shell-horse.  It  differs 
from  flecker'd,  I  believe,  in  this — that  shell  (or  sheld) 
is  pied,  of  two  colours ;  flecker'd  is  gay,  of  more 
than  two ;  but  I  am  in  doubt  if  this  hold  universally 
"good. 

In  the  sense  of  husk,  we  commonly  use  hulL  See 
under  that  word.  Our  old  writers  have  shale  and 
hheai  as  a  verb,  in  the  like  sense,  as  is  shown  by 
Nares. 

That^s  a  aheaVd  peascod.    Lear,  i.  4. 

In  saying  this,  the  Fool  points  to  Lear,  meaning  to  say  (hat 
lie  was  an  empty  useless  thing.    GL 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  Swad,  a  peascod-shell." 
The  following  quotation  from  Nares  will  expUin 
eur  word  shell  in  the  meaning  first  given. 

SkMf  as  explained  by  Coles,  is  'interstinctus,  discolor,^  i.  e. 
SfMttted,  variegated  in  colour :,  which  explains  botii  sheld' 
^ffUf  and  fringiila,  a  chaffinch ;  and  also  sheldrake,  a  weU- 
known  name  for  a  beautifully  coloured  duck. 

It  wa^  my  purpose,  to  have  given  here — or  under 
SheU'duck,  which  see — some  extravagant  relations  of 
the  Shell-duck,  or  Scotch-goose,  or  Ba^nade-goose, 
or  Bargander,  from  Giraldus,  fol.  £d.  1588,  and  from 
the  commentators  on  the  passage  in  the  last  scene  of 
Act  iv.  of  the  Tempest.  But  my  intended  little  book 
having  swelled  to  its  present  unexpected  bulk,  and 
threatening  farther  unlocked  for  expansion,  I  must 
abstain. 

-  The  shell-fish,  so  well  known  to  seamen,  called 
•SiBimaclcs — Lepds  anatifera-— are  not  only  supposed 

2g3 


342 

to  turn  to  geese,  but  divers  eye-witnesses  to  the  fea- 
thers thereof  and  to  the  process  of  transformation 
may  be  quoted.  That  very  singular  species  of  Lepas 
may  well  from  its  appearance  give  rise  to  wonder- 
ment ;  and  hence  some  of  the  most  monstrous  fables 
that  ignorant  admiration  ever  gave  rise  to. 

I  may  note  that  Sheldrake  is  a  common  man's 
name  in  Suffolk  ;  Shelduck^  never.  I  have  written 
this  word,  as  we  pronounce  it,  shell ;  but  sheld  ap- 
pears to  be  the  correct  mode,  as  above.  Grose  has 
"  sheld,  party-coloured,  flecked,  or  speckled ;  thence 
sheld-dr&ke,  and  sheld-^owV* 

Something  farther  on  this  party-coloured*  matter 
will  be  found  under  the  articles  Boy,  Fleckered,  Gah, 
Pied,  Shell-duck,  Skew-bald,  and  Tree-goose,  of  this 
Collection. 

Shell-duck.  The  Anas  tadorna.  This  variegated 
species  of  duck  is  seen  remote  from  water  on  arid 
heaths,  where  they  breed  in  deserted  rabbit  holes. 
In  Norfolk,  and  on  the  borders  of  Suffolk,  it  is  also 
called  bay-duck.  '*  Sheld,  flecked,  party-coloured  ; 
Suffolk.  Shel-drake,  and  sheld-fowle ;  Sussex."  Ray 
E.  W.  p.  85.    See  Shell. 

Shelve.  To  remove  the  surface  of  land  with  a 
shovel.  You  shove  oc  shelve  it,  which  is  different 
from  the  operation  of  digging  with  a  spade.  We 
say  sheowfor  shove,  and  showl  for  shoveL  Tusser  has 
both  showl  and  shohe.     See  Showl. 

■  Sheow  or  Show — rhyming  to  now.  Shove,  push; 
crowd.  See  under  the  latter  word.  A  w  final  for  v, 
is  not  an  uncommon  substitution  with  us,  as  dow  for 
dove :  but  we  have  not  extensively  adopted  the  vul- 
garism of  the  initial  w  for  v.  In  Scottish,  to  schow, 
is  to  shove.  J.  It  appears  to  be  pronounced  sliow, 
being  derived  from  the  Belgic  scuf.    See  Showl. 

Sheowda.  The  shoulder.  This  being  merely  a 
vulgar  pronunciation,  I  should  not  have  noticed  it, 
but  having  said  that  whenever  au  unintelligible  word 


343 

occurred  It  might  be  considered  as  Suffolk,  and 
found  in  this  Collection ;  and  this  word  having  oc* 
GUrred  in  a  local  phrase,  and  being,  perhaps,  not  im- 
mediately intelligible,  I  have  given  it  a  place  and  an 
explanation. 

Shepherd's  Sun-dial.    The  scarlet  pimpernel. — 
Anagallis  arvensis. 

SfiET.    Shut.    See  many  changes  in  pronuncia- 
tion under  Aninnd. 

Shew  or  Shub.  A  shoe.  So  mune  for  moon ;  fule^ 
schule,  gevrse,  bute,  &c.  as  noticed  under  Butes. 

Shewen  the  cowt.  Shoeing  the  colt — a  quaint 
phrase  for  the  social  exaction  of  a  fine,  on  the  intro- 
duction of  an  associate  to  any  new  office.  If  he 
meet  his  companions  at  a  periodical  dinner,  a  bottle 
of  wine,  or  a  bowl  of  punch,  in  a  certain  rank  of 
life,  is  a  common  fine  on  the  colt'%  health  being 
drank.  "  Pahen  his  footen"  is  an  equivalent  phrase 
and  practice. 

Shews.  Shoes ;  in  the  common  change  of  the  oo 
for  the  acute  u,  as  noticed  under  Butes.  See  Lutha. 
"  Ah,  deeow,  hull  an  owd  shew  aaler  me  for  good 
lack.''  The  superstition  of  throwing  an  old  shoe 
after  one,  we  retain  in  phrase,  but  I  am  in  doubt  if 
'we  practise  it ;  as  probably  our  ancestors  did.  See 
•Owd  Shue. 

Shill.      Shell.     Cockk'sliills — Shells  in  general; 
which  we  also  call  cockle- tops.     As  noticed  of  many 
words   under  Aninnd,   we  say  shilVd  for  shelled. 
'  "  Shill  the  pease.''     "  Ar  the  beans  shill'd  ?" 

Shim.  A  white  mark,  of  a  particular  shape,  other- 
wise called  a  blaze  or  a  star,  on  a  horse's  forehead. 
We  have  shimmer,  in  the  sense  of  shining — and  say, 
'*  the  stars  shimmer.'*  So  in  Scottish  "  to  shimmer, 
to  shine."  J.  In  Essex  the  Hobby  lantan  is  called 
Mm,  "  To  shimper;  to  shimmer,  or  shine."  Sussex. 
'u  Itay,  E.  W.  p.  58. 


344 

Abd  baabetks  wifh  their  burnished  fold 
That  ahimmer^d  foir  and  free. 

ScotVs  Lmrd  qfthe  IsUa. 

Thie  dewe-droppe  ahimmereth  in  the  raye. 

5A0p.  Gar.  1597. 

These  meaniogs  are  all  traceable  to  the  Saxon 
schima^  splendour^  brightness ;  and  thence,  perhaps, 

to  the  Arabic  fMM*Mti  shems,  or  the  equivalent  Hebrew 
tt^Dtl^  shemesh — the  sun. 

Shingle.  The  small  stones  upon  the  sea-beach, 
rounded  by  attrition.  On  the  eastern  coasts  the  accu- 
mulated mass  is  immense. 

IShip.  Sheep,  in  the  singular  or  plural.  'Shakes- 
peare puns  on  this  pronunciation — 

Twenty  to  one  then  he  is  shipped  already,  and  I  have 
played  the  sheep  in  losing  him.        Huw  Gen,  ^  Vtr* 

The  adage  **  to  lose  a  ship  for  a  haaporth  of  tar,'' 
will  apply  both  to  the  animal  and  the  vessel.  Our 
substitution  of  i  for  ee,  and  the  converse,  is  noticed 
in  many  instances  under  Aninnd. 

Shive.  This  word  we  have  altered  to  shiver,  or 
shivva.  See  Shiver.  I  do  not  think  that  we  have 
shive  in  the  sense  of  a  slice  off  a  loaf^  &c. 

Shiver.  This  is  not  an  uncommon  or  local  word  ; 
but  in  Sufiblk  we  use  it  somewhat  singularly,  and 
quaintly,  and  hyperbolically ;  not  to  say.  poetical)}'^ 
in  the  sense  of  a  piece  or  slice,  A  boy  will  say, 
"  Come  give  us  a  shivva'*  off  a  cake  or  loaf.  And  I 
rather  think  that  in  strictness  the  fragment  should 
be  broke,  not  cvt,  off.  Slivva  is  liearly  the  same. 
Shakespeare  uses  the  word,  or  one  closely  cognate,  in 
the  sense  of  cut,  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting,  at 
needless  length,  the  passage  in  which  it  occurs. 

She  is  a  woniau,  therefore  may  be  woo'd  ; 
She  is  a  woman,  therefore  may  be  won ; 
She  is  Lavinia,  therefore  must  be  lov'd. 
What,  man !  more  water  glide Ih  by  the  mill 
Then  wots  the  miller  of,  and  easy  'tis 
Of  a  cut  loaf  to  steal  a  shicc,        TiU  And,  ii.  l. 


345 

The  last  line  has  given  rise  to  a  proverb,  or  was 
thence  derived,  which  Ray  has  preserved.  It  is  very 
significant — meaning  more  than  meets  the  eye, 

Tis  safe  taking  a  shine  of  a  cat  loaf.  p.  48. 

The  like  may  he  said  of  the  penult,  which  Ray  has 
also  given — "  Much  water  goes  by  the  mill,  the 
miller  knows  not  of" — and  he  quotes  an  Italian 
adage  of  like  import.  "  Assai  acqua  passa  per  il 
TDolino  che  il  molinaio  non  vede.''  p.  136. 

In  a  prudential  maxim  the  word  likewise  occurs 
among  Ray's  Proverbs.  "  Give  a  loaf  and  beg  a 
shwe/'  p.  192. 

In  Scottish  **  scheave  is  a  slice,  from  the  Belgic 
sch^,  a  round  slice."  J. 

Sbock.  a  shoof,  or  sheaf  of  corn  ;  also  to  place 
the  sheaves  of.  wheat  recently  sheared,  upright  to 
dry,  which  is  called  "  Shockin  the  shooves."  Shock 
is  a  scripture  word  for  a  sheaf. 

Like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  bis  season. 

Job,  V.  26. 

In  Suffolk,  it  is  seldom  that  any  other  corn  but 
wheat  and  beans  are  shocked;  oats  are  sometimes.  I 
never  saw  barley  so  harvested.  But  it  was  not 
unusual,  it  appears,  in  Tusser's  time. 

The  mowing;  of  barley,  if  barley  do  stand, 
Is  cheapest  and  best,  for  to  rid  oot  of  band : 
Some  mow  it,  and  rake  it,  and  set  it  on  cocks, 
Som^  mow  ity  and  bind  it,  and  set  it  ou  ahoeks,  p.  185. 

Shod.  A  shed.  *'  The  cart-shod."  Also,  as  in 
other  parts,  shoed.  Dry-shod — wet-shod.  The  lat- 
ter is  pronounced  wtt-shud. 

Shoof.  a  sheaf  of  wheat — also  Shock.  ShooTes 
in  the  plural.     See  Shock. 

Shooven.  a  calf  or  colt  is  said  to  be  shoovin, 
when  parting  with  its  early  teeth ;  trees  putting  forth 
their  leaves  are  also  shooven. 

Shoee.    The  preterite  of  shear,  which  see.     It  is 


946 

inore  usual  with  us  to  apply  shearing  to  wheats  thflin 
reaping,  "  He  heent  shore  te^v  acres  as  yit.'' 

Shoktning.  Suet,  or  butter^  in  cake,  crust,  or 
bread.     Cakes  so  made  are  called  short-cake. 

Shoshins.  Aslant,  sloping — "  Dew  yeeow  cut  that 
there  dreen  shoshins  athelse  t'al  keeve.''  In  common 
English — do  you  cut  that  drain  sloping,  or  else  it 
will  cave  or  slip. 

Shot  or  Shoat.  A  young  swine.  In  Cheshire 
"  shoat  or  shot  is  a  young  pig^  between  a  sucker  and 
a  porker.  It  is  also  a  term  of  contempt  when  applied 
to  a  young  person."  W.  We  have  it  not  in  the 
latter  sense.  "  A  sheat  a  young  hog,  Sufiblk.  In 
Essex,  shote,  both  from  shoot"    Ray,  E.  W,  p.  85. 

Among  the  stock  at  Hengrave  Hall  in  1670,  under 
the  head  of  "  Sowes—^Hoggs — Shotts"  is  this  entry — 

'  Sowes  of  the  latt  remaynte,  viij— lioggs,  zij — shotts,  adjiy. 

Gage's  Ueng,  p.  911. 
In  Scottish  shott  is  an  ill  grown  ewe.  J. 

Shoul.     See  Showl. 

Show.     See  Sheow. 

Showl.  Rhiming  to  owl — a  shovel  or  skuppit. 
Thus,  in  that  minor  classic,  "  The  death  of  cock 
robin,"  a  work,  whatever  may  be  its  metrical  merits, 
which  excites  as  much  interest,  perhaps,  as  any 
poem  in  our  language — 

Who'll  dig  his  grave  ? — 

I,  said  the  owl,  with  my  spade  and  showl, 

And  111  dig  his  grave. 

Showl  is  an  old  word.  It  is  used  by  Tusser,  who 
also  calls  it  shelve. — See  under  Goof,  verses  1  and  7. 
It  is  likely  I  think,  as  well  as  shovel,  to  have  derived 
its  name  from  the  mode  of  using  it.  You  do  not  dig 
with  a  shovel;  you  push,  or  shove,  or  sheow,  or 
shelve  loose  soil  or  corn  with  it.  You  dig  with  a 
spade.    See  Shelve. 

As  in  Scottish  to  sckow,  is  to  shove,  so  schule  or 
'shool  is  a  shovel,  from  the  Belgic  school,  id.  J.    See 


347 

EiEow.     I  find  showl,  ir\  a  quotation  in  Nares,  under 
iner,  an  old  name  for  a  pioneer— 

Bf^.pinen  eke  were  pratt  with  »h§ml  and  spade* 

Aftr,  JUig^.  p.  Idt*  .- 

Sbrags.  The  ends  of  sticks— of  the  birchen  twigs 
I  fr  broom ;  or  of  whins  or  furze.  "  Yar  brum  owl 
I  ha'  fine  shrags/'  This  was  said  to  a  man  about 
>  dress  recently  thrashed  barley  for  market.  The 
ippings  of  live  fences. 

Shrayyel.    Dry^  sare^  faggot-wood.    The  same, 
believe,  as  shruff.     ShraveT  occurs  in  this  sense 

I  CuUum's  Hawstead,  p.  216,  in  a  lease  dated  in 

793. 

Shrike.  The  Lanis  excubitou  We  call  it  also  the 
atcher-bird — appropriately  named  from  its  habit  of 
iipaling  snails,  small  birds,  and  other  victims,  o^ 
lorns  before  it  devours  them.  It  is  called  the  mur- 
sripg  pie  in  other  counties.  Shrike  is  not  a  very 
>nfinea  name ;  it  was  given  probably  from  the 
\nek  or  screetch  of  the  incubating  female,  by  which 

is  supposed  to  endeavour  to  deter  from  approach. . 

Sbrvck.  Shreeked.  ''  Ashruck  like  a  stuck  pig." 
.mong  the  v^ords  which  somehow  have  suffered 
lUlflCtion,  of  the  k  and  ch,  are  probably  shriek  and 
reeich.    See  Skreek. 

Skbufp.  Light  sare  wood,  sticks,  reeds  and  coarse 
raas;  called,  also  shruff^stuff,  usually  claimed  by 
sdgers  as  their  perquisite.  It  is  the  same,  I  believe, 
(  ahravvel  \  and  perhaps  the  same  also  as  **  Scruff^; 
tUe  sticks,  coals,  &c.  which  poor  people  gather  for 
*Wfl  on  the  sides  of  the  river  Thames.*'  O.  D.  A. 

ml  * 

Som^  Shook— shaked.  "  'A  shuck'  'a's  hid  " 
A  gon  it  a  good  shuck.*'  See  Lyen. 
Shtckf  is.  also  a  husk,  or  shell,  or  hull.  "  A 
uck,  an  husk  or  shell,  as.  bean-^At^c^^,  bean-shells, 
T anagramm<iiMmum  rS  husk*  forte**  Rny.  £.  W.  p«. 
U  -OD>Rayfs  notion  of  transposition,  we  have* 


34U 

brefkust  for  breakfast — waps  for  wasp,  &c.  See 
Waps. 

Shuckled.  Growing  beans  are  said  to  be  shuckfd 
when  beaten  down  by  bail  or  wind.  Baffled,  nickled, 
mqffled,  and  waited,  are  other  words  alike  descriptive 
of  other  growing  grains  so  beaten  down.  Thas  there 
appears  to  be  separate  names  for  every  variety  of 
agricultural  phenomena  in  the  ^<  Copious  rhetoric''  of 
Suffolk.  Nickled  is  root-fallen.  Walied,  inclined 
or  beaten  down.     See  those  words. 

'  Shug.  Shake  "  Shug  it  right  well.''  A  labourer  en- 
deavouring on  a  frosty  day  to  clear  a  plot  of  ground 
from  spear-grass,  by  forking  it,  said  **  ta  ont  shug*" 
Shttck,  which  see,  is  the  past  tense  of  the  verb;  but 
we  are  not  precisely  uniform  in  its  application. 

Sht.  Wild,  starting.  A  shying-horse.  Said  aho 
of  a  young  timid  girl.  It  is  likewise  descriptive  of 
the  peculiar  appearance  of  one's  hair  when  recently 
cut.  "  Shie  or  Sfw,  apt  to  startle  and  flee  from  you, 
or  that  keeps  of^  and  will  not  come  near.  Ital. 
Schito,  &c."  Ray,  E.  W.  p.  85.  Also  to  throw. 
See  Sky. 

SiBRIDGE.      See  SiBRIT. 

SiBRiT.  Banns  of  matrimony.  This  word  has 
been  derived  from  Sib,  said  to  mean  akin ;  and  to 
imply,  that  by  banns  the  parties  have  a  right  to  be- 
come akin,  that  is,  sib-right.  Some  say  it  is  rib^right, 
the  right  to  take  a  rib.     Ray  has  this  proverb  : — 

'  As  much  8ibb*d  as  seive  and  riddle  that  grew  in  the  same 
wood.  p.  225. 

And  he  says  that  ''  sibb*d  means  akin,  and  that 
in  Suffolk  the  banes  of  matrimony  are  called  sibbe- 
tidge/'  which  is  correct ;  though  sibrit  be  most  com- 
mon. Both  are  in  extensive  use.  Sibrit  is  said  in 
Sir  Thomas  Browne's  tract  "  Of  Languages"  to  be 
a  Norfolk  word.  Sir  Henry  Spelman  derives  it  from 
sib,  akin;  and  In^ht,  manifest:  hence,  he  says,  to 
bruit,  to  divulge,  to  spread  abroad.     Ray  derives  it 


349 

from  fib  and  ritus,  "  Syb,  or  syhbe,"  he  says^  *'  is  an 
ancient  Saxon  word  signifying  kindred^  alliance,  af- 
iinitj.  Sibberidge,  or  Sibbered ;  the  banes  of  ma- 
trimony. Suffolk.  Jb  A.  S.  syb,  sybbe,"  Ray.  £.  W. 
pp.  B3g  85. 

,.Nares  has  not  Sibrit  in  his  Glossary.  He  suffi- 
vCidntly  illustrates  sib  and  sibbed,  in  the  sense  of 
kinsman.  Sib  is  also  Scottish.  ''  Sib,  sibb :  related 
by  blood — from  the  Ang.  jSas^,  sib^  consanguineous ; 
iSmum,  a  relation  ;  sibncs,  propinquity  of  blood,  re- 
lation.'' J.  It  occurs  twice  in  the  sense  of  relation* 
diip  in  Scottish  colloquialism  in  Guy  Mannering.  11. 
183/S19.  It  occurs  also  in  the  Antiquary*  III.  7$^ 
*'  By  the  religion  of  our  holy  church,  they  are  ower 
ribb  tbegither/'  Again,  "  they  may  be  brought  to 
think  themselves  sae  sibb  as  no  christian  law  will 
plermit  them  wedlock.''  And  in  the  Glbssary,  sibb 
is  explained  "  related  to.''  I  do  not  find^  howeveir, 
that  sibrit  or  sibridge  is  Scottish. 

In  Cheshire  and  Lancashire,  sibbed  is  adverbially 
current  in  the  sense  of  related  to — of  kin  to.  "  Sib 
or  tibbe  is  a  good  old  word  for  relationship,  still  re- 
tained in  gossip,  or  God's  sib,  Sibbe,  qffinitas,  Teuto-* 
nic."  W.  When  the  sibrit  have  been  thrice  published, 
we  aay  the  parties  are  out-axt,  which  see. 

A)ler  all,  the  word  is  deduced  from  the  beginning 
of  the  banns,  as  they  used  to  be  published  in  Latiii'-r- 
"  Si  quis  sciveret,"  &c.  If  any  one  knows,  &c. 
This  happy  derivation  was  suggested  to  me  by  a 
learned  and  reverend  friend. 

Sic^  or  SiTCH.  Such. — **  Sich  a  sight  on  em  !" 
Such  a  number  of  them.  The  Scotch  classically  re- 
tain the, hard  final,  and  say  sic.    See  under  Perk. 

Our  final  sound  is  always  soft — sitch,  Nares 
shows  that  Spencer  writes  it  sike — 

Bnt  sike  fancies  weren  foolerie.  Shep,  Kal, 

Spelt  also,  he  says,  sich. 

SiDLX.  To  move  or  incline  right  or  left  to  one 
side.  It  is  1  believe  also  a  north  country  word.  I 
have  made  use  of  it  in  the  article  Joss. 

2  H 

■A 


»  -J 


3(0 

SiD  U8.  Sideways^  on  one  *  side, .,  not .  straight* — 
**  Kiender  sidous/'  inclining  to  be;  crooked.  Or, 
''  Sidous  kiender/'  in  which  the  first  syllable  is 
lengthened  and  strongly  accented. 

Sight.  Many — much.  "  What  a  sight  of  peo- 
ple!'' "Sich  a  sight  of  money !"  Similar  to  mart  and 
$art,  which  see.    *'  A  nashun  sight.*' 

Sights.  Spectacles — glasses.  Barnacles  is  another 
name  for  them,  as  noticed  under  that  word.  Since 
it  was  printed,  I  have  read  it  in  the  Fortunes  of 
Nigel.  •' What  d'ye  lack  ?  What  d'ye  lack  ?—H:lock», 
watches,  barnacles ;  bfl^rnacles,  watches,  clocks  ?"  I 
suppose  sights  are  meant. 

SiLE.  Soil — night  soil.  '*  Sile:  filth,  because 
usually  it  subsides  to  the  bottom."  Ray.  £•  W.  p. 
85..  I  do  not  recognise  the  wherefore  of  Ray's,  .^r 
cduse. 

Siller.  Cellar — as  noticed  of  many  other  simi-. 
larly  sounding  wor(]|s  under  Aninnd.  . 

Silt.  Sand  left  on  meadows  by  a  land  flood,  or  on 
a  road,  by  the  washing  of  rain.  In  some  parts  of 
£ngland,  soil,  and  night  soil,  are  called  Sikh :  not  1 
think  with  us. 

SiMsoN.  The  common  name  of  the  groundsel-* 
the  scnesio  vulgaris,  which  we  also  as  commonly  call 
senshun,  of  classic  origin  probably.  "  Simsan, 
groundsel — Scnecio,  Essex.  Suffolk,"  Ray,  E.  W. 
p.  85.     We  also  call  it  groundsel. 

Sin.  Seen ;  also  since.  Sin  Michaelmas.  A 
week  sin.  We  should  thus  awkwardly  express  our- 
selves— *'  I  seed  um  about  tew  weeks  agon,  an  I 
hee'nt  sin  um  sin."  With  sundry  other  words,  I 
was  disposed  to  reckon  this  a  mere  vulgarism  of  our^ 
but  Nares  again  corrects  me.  In  its  second  sense 
Spenser  uses  it  — 

StftyHuce;  a  northern  term. 

Knowing  his  voice,  although  not  heard  loiig  m,  : 
Sde  sadden  w^s  revived  therewithal!.    F.  Q.  VI.  xi. 


351 

Sgm  k  fttHI  cnmDt  in  Scotland,  in  tlie  same  sense.    Oi, 

SiNiTABLE.  A  syllable.  ''Wahda  'a  tew  siona- 
blea.'* 

SusRABA.  A  hard  cruel  blow.  "  'A  gon  em  sich 
a  titerara  'a  the  bidd.''  I  have  fancied  that  Uiif 
may  be  traced  to  the  cruel  act  of  the  scriptural  Jael 
on  the  unhappy  Sisera,  as  related  in  Judges,  iv.  21. 
This  word  miffht  have  been  added  to  the  list  of 
thumping  vocables  given  under  Aint. 

SiTHB.    A  sigh.     In  Scottish  sike. 

.  SizBs  AN  k^BVENs.  To  Icavc  things  at  sixes  and 
sevens,  is  equivalent  to  leaving  them  in  disorder.  It 
is.commonly  with  us  thus  extended — *'  At  sixes  an 
sevens,  as  the  owd  'oman  lefl  her  house.''  This  is 
no  new  phrase.  Nares  shows  that  the  first  member 
of  it  is  used  by  Shakespeare — 

^All  is  even, 

Andevery  thing  is  left  at  six  and  seven.     Rich,  IL  ii.  f  • 

He  thinks  it  may  have  been  taken  from  the  game 
of  backgammon ;  and  gives  a  fair  reason  for  it.  A 
wlriter  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  li.  p.  367, 
quotes  the  whole  of  our  extended  phrase  as  given 
above,  and  in  our  sense  of  negligence  and  disorder.^ 
At  whist,  the  parties  being  at  six  and  seven,  it  is' 
very  common  to  hear  the  extended  proverb,  though 
not  very  applicable. 

Sizzle.  The  half  hiss,  half  sigh  of  an  animal ;  of 
an  owl  for  instance.  Also  the  effervescence  of  brisk 
beer,  &c.  through  a  cork.  Or  the  alarming  hissing 
of  lightning  very  near  one.  Ray  says  that  yeast  is 
ealira  sizzing  from  the  sound  of  the  working  beer, 
£.  W.  p.  85.  Since  this  was  written  I  heard  the 
word  tnus  used — "  If  we  heen't  rain  in  another 
Week  we  shall  be  all  sizzled  up."  This  evidently 
meant  burnt  up,  as  it  was  spoken  in  a  season  of  fearful 
aridity,  and  it  led  me  to  conclude  that  this  word  is 
derived  from  the  noise  made  by  the  sudden  decom« 

9  B  3 


052 

pmtioQ  of  water  when  applied  to  hot  metals.  It  b 
usually  applied  to  suddjen  evaporation^  or  to  ^ome 
soiiiTid  i'einihding  one  of  it — ^something  hissing  or 
hot.     See  Bahm  and  Fiz. 

'     "  '  •   . 

'  ^  Skaffel.  a  small  spade  or  skuppet  usedj  in  iSrain*- 
ing,  and  in  ou't*hawling  or  feying  narrow  l>ot|omed 
ditches.  It  differs  from  a  spade  in  not  tapering  to- 
ward the  edge«  and  in  having  its  sides  slightly  turned 
up.  It  has  a  cot  for  the .  handle  like  a  jscuppit*  I 
never  heard  the  word  but  in  Suffolk^  nor  skw  it  but 
in  Tusser.  It  is  named  Among  fars  list  of  Gaining 
tools,  See  under  Goof^  verse  19.  He  spells  it  «fca- 
vell.  .  See  Skuppit.    . 

Skelp.  a  blow — a  word  which  might  have  been 
iadded  to  the  numerous  offensive  vocables  in  wlucli 
bur  lingual  peculiarity  abounds^  given .  under  Aint. 
In  Scottish^  "  to  skelp,  to  strike  with  the  open  hand, 
to  beat,  to  drub.''  J. 

Skep.  a  basket  without  a  ltd,  with  short  bandies. 
*'  A  bushel  skep."  '*  A  bee  skep."  In  ^  iScotTand 
the  latter  is,  I  believe,  ysed  for  bee-hive.'  '  1  have 
seen,  but  I  forget  where,  this  Scottish  saying,  "  my 
head  is  biizzing  like  a  bees  cap,''  which  is  probably 
the  same  word ;  but  I  do  not  think  skep  is  mjiich  in 
use  out  of  Suffolki.  where  it  is  universal  in  the  sense 
here  given.  Among  Ray's  S.  and  £.  country  words 
1  find  "  A  skip  or  skep,  a  basket,  but  not  to  carry  in 
the  hand ;  a  bee-skip,  a  bee -hive."  E.  W.  p.  86. 
Ray  is  right — a  common  hand-basket  is  never  called 
skep.  Tusser  uses  the  word.  See  Goof,  verse  3. 
-  In  the  inventory  of  furniture,  &c.  in  Hengrave 
Hall  in  1603,  we  find  "  one  skeepe  to  put  in  sand." 
«  A  basket,"  notes  the  author.  Gage's  Hengrave, 
p.  31. 

In  Scottish  '*  Skep,  a  bee-hive  made  of  twisted 
straw — old  Swedish  skaepp-a,  a  seed  vessel— Gaelic, 
jj^ip,  a  bee-hive."  J. 

^n  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  skepe,  a  flat  and  broad  basket 


363 

to  winnow  corn/'  This  we  call  Fan  and  Van,  which 


Skewbald.  Pie-bald,  as  a  horsci  &c.  In  Cheshire 
""  Jtew  or  skewbald  is  a  piebald  horse.''  W.  We 
have  several  other  words  for  variegated  animals,  as 
noticed  under  Shell.  Skew-bald  is  not  often  heard  ; 
and  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  applied  to  any  thing  but 
ahorse. 

Skillet.  The  thin  brass  perforated  implement 
used  for  skimming  or  fletting  the  cream  o£P  milk. 
See  Flet. 

Also  a  small  brass  saucepan  on  feet,  used  for  boil- 
ing preserves,  &c.  The  latter  sense  is  not  local. 
Shakespeare  had  the  domestic  utensil  in  his  eye, 
wlien  be  made  Othello  exclaim — 

Let  hoiuewives  make  a  tkilUt  of  my  helm,    i,  S^ 

In  Sussex,  according  to  Ray  '^  siiifhei  is  a  pomet, 
orMUet/'  E.  W.  87.  I  find  "po«»e<  a  skillet,"  in 
^n  old  anonymous  dictionary — but  never  heard  or 
ttw  stiifnet  or  pomet,  in  any  other  places. 

Skink.  To  spy,  or  peer  about ;  to  sky  through  a 
teleacope :  quaintly  for  squint,  but  not  in  a  cross 
eyed  sense.  Also  to  shine  or  glimmer,  as  a  glow- 
worm* In  Scottish  to  skinkle,  to  sparkle.  J.  Spy, 
wfy,  ikime,  skink,  squint,  squink,  &c.  are  related  in  tne 
eense  of  seeing,  and  not  exactly  definable  perhaps 
a»  to  their  several  meanings.    See  Sky  and  Squink. 

Skip-jack.  A  pert  puppyish  sort  of  a  whipper- 
snspper  fellow.  It  is  also  a  skipping  toy  for  chil- 
dren made  of  the  merry-thought  bone  of  a  goose. 
The  bone  itself  with  the  meat  on  it  is  also  called 
skipjack;  and  I  can  recollect  the  time  when  this 
portion  was  so  desirable,  that  to  avoid  partiality  at 
table,  we  lads  used  to  take  our  turns  to  being  helped 
to  this  savoury  joint;  in  view,  however,  more  to  the 
future  osseous  sport  than  to  the  fleshy  flavour. 

.  Skitb.    Merdis  aspergere.    The  same  word,  per- 
haps, as  the  *'  Conskite  or  Conskitt'*  of  Nares. 

9h3 


354 

lliej  gripe  all,  deTour  all,  conskite  all. 

Rabekna  Az,  B.  f^^  cb.  11. 

Tlie  company  began  to  stop  their  nose ;  for  he  bad  con- 
MtUd  himself  with  mere  anguish  and  perplexity. 

/6;  B.  2.  cb.  It. 

I  do  not  think  we  have  the  prefix.  The  word 
tinder  consideration  is  rather  quaintly  used,  or  as 
Ml  attempt  to  be  somewhat  delicate  in  expression — 
not  chusing  to  sound  so  gross  a  word  as  the  rhyme 
to  the  liBitter  6f  Nares.  I  think  skite.  is  a  word  used 
by  Dutchmen.  See  something  of  this  under  Skutta. 
In  Scottish  '*  to  skite,  to  eject  any  liquid  forcibly — 
from  the  Icelandic  skvetta,  id.  and  the  Swedish  skift 
exoDorare  ventrem;  also  the  dung  of  a  fowl.''  J« 
The  initial  sk  and  sh  are  often  interchangeable.  In 
an  O,  D.  A.  is  "  to  squitter"  another  pronunciation  of 
the  verb^  implying  what  need^  not  be  further  ex- 
plained. 

Skransh.  The  act  of  cbewing  or  munching  any 
thing  that  sounds  short  under  the  tooth,  green  ap- 
ples, raw  carrots,  hard  biscuits,  &c.  "  How  *a  dew 
skransh  em.''  Also  grinding  any  hard  substance 
between  the  teeth,  such  as  a  ston^  in  a  niince  pie. 
Cranch  is  sometimes  substituted,  and  Crunsh.  In 
Scotland  "  to  crinch  the  teeth"  is  to  grind  or  gnash 
with  them.  Jamieson  deduced  it  from  the  French 
grino^er  les  dents.  And  crump,  he  explains  "  to  make 
a  crashing  noise  in  eating  what  is  hard  and  brittle  : 
crumple  being  any  thing  hard  and  brittle."  He  has 
also  Hansh,  explanatory  of  the  noise  made  foy  a  dog 
in  eating.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  *'  to  scranch,  to  crack 
or  break  any  thing  between  the  teeth."  Here  ap- 
pears a  considerable  family  of  words — cransh,  crunch, 
skransh,  scrunsh,  skranshlin,  skrunshlett,  which  are  no- 
ticed in  their  places  in  this  Collection — besides 
crinch,  crump,  hansh,  &c. — I  have  omitted  crump,  but 
it  is  a  Suffolk  word  in  this  sense. 

Skreck.  Shriek,  skreech.  A  somewhat  curious 
instance  of  orthographical  and  orthoepical  permu- 
tation, of  which  some  notice  is  taken  under  Pebk. 


355 

Thus  in  Scpttish  skreigh  or  screik,  is  to  shreek,  from 
the  ancient  Sweedish  skrik-a,  vociferari.  J.  In  an 
O.  D.  A.  is  "  to  screak  or  screek,  to  make  a  noise 
like  a  door  that  has  rusty  hinges^  or  the  drawing  of 
a  saw/'  In  Cheshire  and  Lancashire^  skrikc  is  to 
shriek  out  loud.     See  Queech. 

Skreet.  Half  a  quarter  of  a  sheet  of  writing 
paper.  I  know  not  if  the  Scottish  **  skreed  to  rend^ 
or  the  act  of  rending,  or  the  thing  that  is  torn 
oP*  J.  be  related  to  our  skreet,  which  seems  to  be 
a  thing  rent  or  torn  ofF. 

.  Skrigglb.  To  struggle,  to  wriggle.  "  'A  ketched 
an  arrawiggle  an  ta  skriggled  an  got  awah.''  "  A 
skrigglen  eel."  To  me  it  seems  a  very  expressive 
i^ord^-it  differs  from  both  struggle  and  wriggle ; 
being  indeed  a  participant  in  both. 

Skrimp.  Scanty,  short.  So  in  Scottish  ''  skrimp, 
scanty,  narrow  ;  contracted ;  applied  to  clothes  :  or 
as  a  verb  to  straighten,  as  to  food  or  money,  and, 
in  a  general  sense,  from  the  ancient .  Swedish 
skruwip^a,  corrugari."  J. 

Srringe.  Screw,  shrink ;  in  this  sense,  sheep 
clipped  in  cold  weather  are  said  to  skringe  their 
bdcks  up. 

Skrowj.  To  push  one,  to  squeeze  one  by  press- 
ing, *'  Don't  skrowj  so."  Crowd  seems  to  be  nearly 
the  same  word,  except  that  it  may  more  especially 
be  limited  to  shoveing,  and  not  extended  to  squeez- 
iflg.     Squeefd,  is  about  equivalent  to  Skrowfd* 

Skruce.  a  truce ;  an  imperative  demanding  a 
cessation  of  play.  A  boy  having  lost  the  ball,  cries 
ikruce,  skruce;  or  wanting  breathing  time,  or  aces- 
sation  from  any  cause. 

Skjiuff.  The  back  part  of  the  neck,  the  occiput. 
*'  'A  seized  am  by  the  skruff  a'  the  neck,  and  shuck 
%m  right  well."  In  Cheshire,  skufft  is  the  back  of 
the  neck.  ,W.     In  Scotland  cuff.  3. 

Stuff  and  skruff  me^n  scurf  with  us ;  so  in  Scottish, 
"  scntfe,  a  thin  crust  of  any  kind,  from  the  ancient 


i 


356 

Swedish  zkorf,  the  scurf  of  a  wound/'  J.  We  say 
Kt^  of  the  neck^  as  often  as  skruff.  See  Nub  and 
NuDDLE,  other  names  of  the  same  partw 

Skrunchlen.  a  diminutive  green  shrivelled  apple 
stunted  in  its  growth.  Such  are  shrivelled^  and 
crisp^  and  sweetish,  before  the  crop  be  ripe.  Munch- 
ing them,  or  raw  carrots,  is  called  "  skraanchen  em/' 
or  "  skrunchen  em/'     See  Skransh. 

Skrummage.  a  battle,  a  fray ;  probably  skirmish, 
"  I  think  I  hard  a  skrummage  at  sea/'  In  Scottish 
scfymmage  is  a  skirmish.  J. 

Skrumshus.  Skrewing,  stingy,  in  an  avaricious 
sense.  I  never  heard  this  word.  It  was  furnished 
to  me  by  a  friend. 

Skrussle.  The  hard  skin  of  a  roast  loin,  &c.  of 
pork,  or  the  edible  cartilage  of  a  breast  of  veal,  &c. 
The  former  is  also  called  Cracklin  and  Crusscl,  as  per* 
haps  are  both. 

Skuff.     See  Skruff. 

Skule.  School,  in  the  accustomed  mode  of  sub- 
stituting the  acute  u  for  double  o.  So  in  Scottish 
Sckule.    See  Butes. 

Skufpit.  a  shovel  or  spade,  of  uniform  width, 
the  sides  turned  a  little  inward.  A  spade  tapers  to- 
ward the  cutting  edge.  The  tiller  handles  too  differ 
— the  scuppit  having  merely  a  cot  on  the  top  of  the 
tiller  thus  J ,  and  the  spade  havine^  the  top  of  ita 
tiller  perforated  ^,  which  is  called  an  eye  tiller* 
The  Scuppet  is  sometimes  used  for  digging,  as  well 
as  the  spade,  but  is  not  so  suitable  for  flag  or  strong 
land.  For  turning  over  muckles,  or  shovelling  or 
scooping,  it  is  more  suited.  The  word  has  been  de- 
rived, not  inaptly,  from  scoop-it,  Tusser  writes  it 
skuppet.  See  Goof.  v.  19,  and  note.  A  skaffel  is  a 
smaller  implement,  differing  both  from  spade  and 
skuppit,  as  described  under  that  word. 

• 

Skurry.  Haste,  impetuosity.  "  What  a  skurry 
you  ar  in."  *'  Gently,  gently,  no  hurry-skurry/' 


-i^^^^^P^^  U3CS  skin,  ^  in  a  sense  implyiog 
brjpjcne^  haste. ,  . 

Send  out  morie  horsQs,  jfctrr  (he  coantrj  ronnd. .  . 
J       ,  ^  MoiliihL  y.  3. 

^  Sdoiit,  perb^psj,  ia  our  present  tnilitary  sense. 

^  Skutchineal.  Cochineal.  This  is  an  old,  and 
p^b^bly  ^8^9,  a  geseral  mode  of  pronouncing  the 
word. 

^KUTTA.  Skitta.  SauiTtEK.  Thcsc  words  are 
pretty  nearly  the  same ;  and  imply  a  lashness  or 
diarrhoea,  especially  in  a  horse  or  cow.  Skutteu  is 
the  name  of  the  ailment.  "  Av  got  the  skuitas,^* 
ftc.  Pqf  and  Pc^en  apply  to  the  same  class  of  intes- 
tinal derangement.  See  Paj  and  Skfte.  Under 
Lash  and  Lax,  something  farther  of  this  matter  oc- 
curs. 

SxutTLE.  As  mentioned  in  the  note  to  verse  16 
of  the  quotation  from  Tusser  given  under  Goop,  I 
am  pretty  sure  that  we  were  used,  near  the  sea,  to 
call  the  skreen  for  dressing  corn,  a  skuule,  as  Tusser 
does;  but  I  do  not  find  the  word  now  recognised  in 
tile  neighbourhood  of  Woodbridge.  The  well  known 
article  for  containing  the  coals  for  immediate  use^ 
we  like  others  call  by  this  name — also  the  large 
<$asting  shovel  used  in  barns,  generally  shod  or 
rimmed,  at  bottom  with  brass,  for  moving  threshed 
corn;  and  particularly  for  casting  it  from  side  to 
ttde  of  a, barn,  the  whole  length  of  the  dressing 
floor,  that  light  grains  and  dust  may  fall  short,  and 
be  separated  from  the  heavy  marketable  grain. 
Tbsser  calls  it  "  casting  shouel"  in  verse  1  of  the 
quotation  above  referred  to.     See  Showl. 

Skuty.  I  never  heard  this  word,  but  I  am  told 
that  it  is  in  use  in  the  sense  of  small — in  irregular 
aaaall  pieces. 

Say.  To  look,  or  peep,  probably  to  spy.  A 
telescope  is  called  a  skyen-glass.  *'  Sky  about." 
'f  ]4^  av  a  sky,."  let  me  look.    To  shf^  is  also  to 


358 

.        « 

throw — similar  to  cail«  cop,  ding,  hull,  shy,  &q^ 
Id  Norfolk  to  skimc  is  to  look  asquint.     See  Skink. 

Slaata.  Spittle,  saliva.  Slaavmn  bib,  a  bit  of 
doth  under  a  child's  chin.  It  is  more  vulgarij, 
called  slobberin  bib.  Muckinja,  which  8ee«  is  aDO^ 
ther  name  for  this  article.  The  word  saliva,  seemi^ 
to  be  the  parent  of  a  large  family  of  words,  of  which 
see  something  under  Slobbbr. 

Slab.  A  bricklayer's  labourer.  He  that  ia  other 
parts  is  called  a  hodman,  to  distinguish  him  from  a 
trowelman.  To  the  slabs  and  apprentices  is  assign-' 
ed  also  the  important  process  of  making  the  mortar  ; 
and  to  this  may  be  ascribed,  with  other  concurrent 
causes,  the  little  durability  of  modern  masonry.  In 
point  of  fact,  we — I  speak  of  SufFolk-— have  lost  the 
art  of  making  mortar,  and  -the  art  of  using  it.  ^Oinr. 
walls  are  supported  by  their  weight  and  by  bond' 
timber;  not  by  any  principle  of  adhesion  in  the 
mortar.  Our  chalk-lime  is  comparatively  bad ;  we 
are  careless  as  to  using  it  freshly  burned  or  stale, 
and  we  are  equally  indifferent  what  description  of 
sand  be  used,  and  the  quantity.  All  these  are  iq^- 
portant  points ;  so  also  are  the  quantity  of  water^ 
and  the  quantity  of  labour,  mixed  up  with  the  ^Dt 
gredients.  I  may  safely  say,  that  generally  foujc 
times  as  much  water  as  is  necessary  is  used,  and. 
not  not  one  quarter  of  the  labour,  in  the  admixture. 
And  when  the  compound,  such  as  it  is,  is  got  toge- 
ther, it  is  very  improperly  used.  A  little  of  it  is 
laid  round  the  oi|ter  edges  of  the  bricks,  leaving 
considerable  interstitial  space  in  the  interior  of  the 
wall,  so  that  water  is  in  time  admitted;  and  if  it 
lodge  and  freeze  there,  no  masonry  can  resist  its  ex- 
pansive force;  and  down  comes  the  wall.  Or  if  it 
stand,  it  requires  collateral  support  and  frequent 
pointing.  But  all  this  is  irrelevant,  and  I  confess  out 
of  place. 

As  in  other  counties  slab  means  also  tb^  odtsjde^ 
cut  of  a  piece  of  timber,  sawn  into  boardsjr  fit  only 


359 

for  ordinary  rough  work.  And  in  the  sense  of  a 
thick  liquid^  we  should  use  it  like  Shakespeare:*— 

Make  the  gmel  thick  and  ilab,    Macb.  it.  1. 

Bat  this  is  not  common.  Slabby,  pappy,  daaby^  are 
nearly  of  the  same  meaning,  and  referring  to  the 
hands,  &c.,  imply  that  they  are  in  a  dirty,  uncom- 
fbrtablej  puggy,  gritney,  state. 

Tasser  spells  the  word  slap,  as  applied  to  the 
outer  cut  of  timber. 

Save  f/op  of  thy  timber  for  stable  and  stye.  p.  tS. 

Niares  has  ''  Slab,  a  contraction  of  slabby,  havinf^ 
aik  adhesive  and  glutinous  moisture  like  wet  clay  ;** 
and  quotes  the  above  illustration  from  Macbeth. 

Slabber.     See  Slobber. 

Slabby.  Dirty,  as  applicable  to  the  hands — 
pappy^  daaby,  slappy,  muggy,  puggy,  are  other  ex- 
preiaive  descriptions  of  the  like  state  of  discomfort ; 
not  however  meaning  dirty  merely,  but  clammy 
withal.     See  Slappy  and  Slobber. 

Slade.  a  small  open  hanging  wood;  aUo  called 
reed,  ahaw,  &c.  In  Scottish,  a  hollow,  a  den. 
Slaid,  a  valley.  J.  Slade  is  seldom  heard  with  us 
and  those  who  think  tbey  know  the  word  confound 
it  with  dingle  and  squeech.  See  those  words.  Nares 
has  ^*  Slade,  a  valley,  from  the  Saxon.  Drayton 
uses  it.  -  I  have  not  remarked  it  in  others. 

Down  through  the  deeper  sZade«.'' — Polyolb,  ziv* 
And  satyrs  that  in  tlades,  and  gloomy  dimbles  dwell.  Id*  ii. 

Slam.  To  shut  a  door  violently,  or  to  let  it  slam 
to  of  itself.  We,  however,  more  commonly  use 
bang.     "  Don't  bang  the  door  so.'* 

Slammaken.  a  gawky,  dawdling,  untidy  wench. 
**  A  great  slammakin  mawther.'^  In  Scottish 
**  ilammikin,  a  drab.''  J. 

Slappy.  Bread  insufficiently  baked  is  so  called. 
J^^.dofwy,  dougbey.  Slappy  likewise  means  dirty. 
I^.Slabbt. 


360 

Slashen.  a  word  meaning^  dashing,  smaflhiog, 
spunky,  applied  to  young  fellows  and  girls,  like 
several  others ;  some  of  which  are  enumerated  under. 
Spanker.  ') 

Slat.  Slate,  either  that  used  at  school,  or  to  roof 
houses,  or  what  is  found  among  coals.  All  are  in-^ 
deed  the  same  article.  Slats  are  dark  blue  bardish 
ooze  left  dry  by  the  ebb  of  the  sea. 

Slay.  A  lane  or  way  cut  through  a  whin,  or 
broom,  or  other  cover,  for  the  purpose  of  admitting 
a  vehicle  to  receive  and  convey  away  the  fag^ola  or 
cuttings ;  or  for  admitting  a  range  of  hq^neit  to 
catch  rabbits,  hunted  from  side  to  side  of  (be  eorer 
by  dogs;  or  for  gunners  to  place  themselves  in,. to 
snoot  or  slay  them  as  they  dart  across.  See  Hat 
and  Haynet. 

Sled.  Anything  without  wheels,  in,  or  on,  which' 
another  is  drawn  or  slid ;  a  foot  plough  to  and  from 
the  field.     A  sledge  probably.     Thus  in  Hamlet :— . 

When  ID  an  angry  parle, 
He  smote  the  sledded  Polack  on  the  ice.  i.  1 

18  said  by  the  commentators  to  be  the  sledged  Pd- 
landers. 
A  sled  for  a  plough  and  another  for  blocks.  Tusser,  p.  13. 

;  See  under  Goof,  verse  11,  and  note. 

The  sled  for  blocks  is  a  sledge-hammer,  or  what 
we  call  a  beetle,  which  see.  Nares  fully  illusti*ate8 
the  word  in  both  senses.  I  do  not  think  that  w« 
now  call  a  beetle,  sled. 

Pitch  bars  of  silver  and  cast  golden  sleds,  Browne^  BrU^ 
Past.  II.  iii. 

Upon  an  ivory  sled, 
Thoa  Shalt  be  drawn,  among  the  frozen  poles. 

Tambwrlaine, 

In  the  latter  sense  it  is  from  the  Dutch  sledde,  or 
th^  Danish  slaed. 

Sleeper.  The  dei»d  stub  of  a  tree,  in  a,bank#  &c. 
Also  the  beams  under  barn,  and  other  flpors.  See 
Stub. 


'  TftbSKfBUUi.  Uasueceisfiil,  Id  thb  MtnMty  aii4. 1 
nifer  heard  it  in  any  Qlher-^«  sleetitkH  <rnHi4> 
Booilsift  is-another  ierm  nearly  nmilar^  The  latter 
might  he  traced  to  some  probable  aource ;  hutWeqw 
km  has  puaszled  a  great  many  commeiitatcu^  af  nay 
be  seen  in  Nares'  Glossary. 

Slift.  a  slip  eff  a  growing  plant  or  shrub,  rent, 
not  cut  off  It  is  a  good  word,  and  not  superinous 
in  our  language.    See  Slivya. 

Sum.  Slender,  slight,  lathy — a  person  or  animal. 
**  As  slim  as  a  greyhound.''  In  Scottish,  sHm, 
sKgbt.    J. 

Slpnk*  Lank,  slender;  combined  with  awkward- 
ness, ««  A  long  slink  of  a  fellow/'  So  in  Scottish, 
dimiief  tall  and  slender,  lank — ^from  the  Danish^ 
§hmlm»  lank;,  scraggy.  J. 

SuT*  A  short  rent  iu  any  thing,  a  gown,  petti- 
east,  &c.  A  longitudinal  hole.  If  the  rent  extend 
through  to  the  edge  or  selvage  of  the  gown,  &c.>  it 
would  be  called  a  shred,  or  in  shreds.  A  roundish 
hole  is  not  a  slit. 

m 

SuTER.    See  SuwA. 

SLmKBE.    See  Sliyva. 

Slhtta*  Sliwer.  Sliver.  A  sharp  small  splinr 
ter«  or  piece,  rent,  ript,  or  torn  off,  from  deal  partii- 
cnlarly ;  which  is  said  to  be  a  sliwery  woodi  "  t 
hwf  got  a  sliwa  in  my  finger;"  pr,  "  I  ha'  slivra'd 
my  finger."  ''  'Tis  broke  all  ta  slivvas,"  would  be 
said  01  wood  rio  longitudinally  into  fibrous  shreds 
by  lightning ;  but  it  would  not  be  said  of  the  Angu- 
lar fragments  of  a  shiwered  dish  or  bowl.  l%us 
Shakespeare,  exactly  in  the  Suffolk  sense,  though 
figuratively; 

She  that  hers(;lf  will  sUver  and  disbranch 
Fkvm  her  material  sap,  perforce  must  wither. 

Lev,  ir«  % 

The  word  thus  used  we  make  rhyme  to  quMftrj 
but  in  fhie  sense  of  a  slicCf  we  say  sliver,  rhyming  f 

2  I 


362 

diifer,  '*  A  siiver  off  the  cake'' — in  this  seme^  tho^^gh 
somewhat  quaintly^  we  also  use  zhivoer.i  whicli.s^ 

"  SHoer,  in  Cocker  is  said  to  be  '*  aa  c4d  word 
meaning  a  good  piece  of  meat.'' 

Tusser  seems  to  apply  it  to  a  block,  or  pieces  oiBTa 
block. 

When  frost  will  not  snffer  to  dike  and  to  hedge. 
Then  get  thee  a  heat  with  thy  beetle  and  wedge ; 
Once  hallowmass  comei  and  a  fire  in  the  haUi 
Sach  Blwen  do  well  for  to  lie  by  the  wall.        p.  58. 

Nares  thinks  sliver  requires  no  exemplifying.  Mr. 

.  Todd  has  shown,  he  says,  that  both  verb  and  sub- 
stantive are  good  old  English ;  and  that  'they  are 
certainly  not  altogether  obsolete.  As  a  substantial^ 
sUver  occurs  in  Hamlet,  iv.  7,  and  as  a  verb  in  Mae^ 

.  beth,  as  well  as  in  the  above  quotation  from  Lear. 
The  passage  in  Hamlet  has  the  word  in  our  Su^lk 
sense.  It  is  in  the  Queen's  account  of  the  sad  fiile 
of  poor  Ophelia,  so  villainously  ill-used,  as  I  caonoi 
help  thinking,  by  her  equivocal  son— - 

There  on  the  pendant  boaghs  her  coronet  weeds 
Clambering  to  hang,  an  enviong  sUver  broke ; 
When  down  her  weedy  trophies,  and  herself,  . 
Fell  in  tlie  weeping  brook.  iv.  7.  ' 

Clambering,  I  may  note  in  passing,  is  how  we 
should  describe  the  wild  act  of  the  ^unhappy  girL 
See  Clamber. 
In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  /'  a  sliver,  a  thin  slice.'' 
Perhaps  sliwer  is  the  right  pronunciation  in  these 
passages. 

Slobber.    Slobberrt.    Slobberin.     To  do  any 
thing  in  an  un-tidy,  or  un -workmanlike  manner. 

It  is  a  grossness,  derived  from  Slaava,  which 
see.  A  slobberin-bib  is  the  piece  of  cloth  under 
the  chin  of  an  infant. 

Kissing  children  in  a  fulsome  manner,  would  be 
described  in  one  of  these  words,  by  a  person  not  ad- 
miring such  a  practice.  Wet,  boggy,  slumps  liuid, 
would  be  called  slobbery,  or  slubby.    See  Slub.    In 


I 


303 

Seottish  ^slabber,  a  slovenly  fellow  —  from  the 
Teutonic  slabboT'Cn,  to  slabber/'  J.  Slobhety  is  ex- 
pHtined  by  Nares  to  mean  sloppy^  wet.  Slobber,  he 
says^  is  a  corruption  of  slaver. 

Thus,  adverting  to  the  English  power  in  France^ 
Shakespeare  makes  Bourbon  say, 

If  tbev  march  along 

Unfouglit  withal,  I  will  sell  my  dakedom 

To  bny  a  AMery  and  dirty  (arm 

In  that  nook-shotten  isle  of  Albion.    Hau  V.  iiL  5. 

lliis  is  a  very  extensive  and  old  family  of  dirty 
wards.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  are,  "  A  slab,  a  puddle ; 
the  ootside,  sappy,  board  sawn  off  a  piece  of  tim- 
ber. To  dabber,  to  daub  with  foul  water ;  to  driveL 
Mbby,  full  of  puddles  or  dirt.  To  slubber  over, 
to  do  a  thing  carelessly .'' 

•  -As  noticed  under  s^ava,  a  corruption  doubtless  of 
mUha,  that  is  the  parent  of  this  uncleanly  set  of 
word»-r-extending  to  slab,  slabby,  slabber,  slappy, 
dohbery,  slobberin,  slaverin,  slub,  slubber,  sktbby, 
sbMerm,  dop,  sloppy,  &c.  Of  some  of  which,  see 
under  Slub.  Perhaps  shish,  slushy,  slud,  sludje, 
dump,  skimpy.  Sec,  may  be  cousin-german ;  and  slutf 
slatierth  &c.  not  very  distant  relations. 

Many  of  the  foregoing  words  will  be  found  in 
their  places  in  this  Collection. 

Sloon.  The  sloe.  *^  I  sab,  bawh,  where  ar  yeoir 
a  ifooen }"  **  Why  a  sloonen.''  That  is,  gathering 
sloes. 

**  Her  eyes  are  as  black  as  sloons"  They  are 
called  slahns  in  Northamptonshire.  The  sloe,  the 
reader  requires  not  to  be  told,  is  the  fruit  of  the 
fahck-thorn,  oxprunus  spinosa  ;  of  which  quick  fences 
are  made.    See  Quick. 

Slop.  The  white  hempen  smock  frock  (or  loose 
onter  shirt)  worn  by  labourers,  especially  by  horse- 
drlrers  and  shepherds.  Also  a  wood  or  grove  of 
vtikfA  extent,  whence  underwood,  likewise  called 
diipf  or  slop-wood,  or  lop,  is  occasionally  or  pertodi- 

2  i2 


304 

clAy  cuti  for  firing,  hurdTes^  iraiuftcke$i  &c*   :£ 

LdP,    Shakespeare  uses  the  word  as  an  article 

dress ;  and  the  commentators  think  it  means  *'}Br\ 

wide-kneed    breeches;'*  "and  hence/*  they^  • 

'^the  ^sp  shtjpB  lock  their  name/*    But,  as  Sbak 

peare  uses  the  word,  I  belieye,  in  this  sense  a 

once,  and  then  applies  it  to  Ct^id,  I  think  them  i 

happy  in   th^ir   elucidation.    Whoever  heard 

Cupid  in  "large,  itide-ktoeed  breeches  ?" 

The  i)tf8iSage  1h  Shakespeare  is  Sufficiently  < 

siiidre;  it  runs  thus — 

O  rhymes  are  guards  on  wanton  Capid'a  hose : 
Diafigare  not  his  «l^    IiOve's  L;  L.  hr.  S. 

Hoic  and  vl  Slop,  may  nbt,  perhaps,  be  deeine 
Hiiich  more  appropriate  dress  for  "  wanton  Cap 
than  the  "  large  wide-kneed'*  inexpressibles  of 
dommeiitators-^btit,  in  truth,  the  Suffolk  "  sme 
frock,**  or  $ht}^t  slop,  sometimes  now  worn  byfl 
ft3M  lad8,-is  not  much  unlike  Cupid*^  classic  t^l; 
tfym€s  biit  just  below  the  ittiddk^ — is  6ccasioA^ 
seen  of  milk  white  hetnpen  stirff,  and  neatly '4 
broidered  or  stitched  -Over  the  shoulders,  round 
wt'ist-bands,  neck,  bosom,  &c. :  it  sits  rather  C)i 
and  is  a.  very  becoming  pretty  outer  garments 

Ahbte  of  Steevens*s,  though  hot  on  this  word; 
plains  it,  as  used  by  anbther  author  of  about  Sh*l 
peare's  day,  and  knay  amuse  my,  as  well  as  Steefci 
readers. 

Among  Oascoigne's  poems,  I  find  one  entitled,  *  Cma 
gwen  <o  Maiaier  Barthohmekt  H^UhipoU  a  lUtle  btfore  ftis 
ter  journey  to  Gemu,  1572.*    The  following  lines  may, 
hapSy  be  acceptable  to  the  reader  who  is  carious  enong 
enquire  abotit  the  fashionable  follies  imported  in  that  age 

Kow,  Sir,  if  I  shall  see  yonr  mastership 

Come  home  disgnis'd,  and  clad  in  quaint  array ;-« 

As  with  a  pikeotooth  by  ting  on  yonr  lippe ; 

Vour  brave  mustacliios  tnrn^d  the  Tnrkie  way ; 

A  coptankt  hat  made  on  a  Flemish  blocke ; 

'A  night-gowne  cloak  down  trailing  to  your  toes  ; 

A  slender  shp  elose  crouched  to  your  dock  ; 

A  enrtolde  slipper,  and  a  short  silk  hose,  &c. 

The  iincurrent  words  in  the  above  quotation,  c 
tankti  cuUolde,  &c.  are  amply  illustrated  by  Nares 


305 

6lot.  The  marks  of  a>  hare's  feet  on  the  soil : 
called  also  her  footen.  Sportsmen  ted  me,  how- 
ever>  that  in  strictness,  slot  is  applicable  only  to 
Ihe  imprint  of  a  deer's  feet.  But,  as  Suffolk  can  no 
longer  boast  of  stag-hounds,  we  are  fain  not  to  drop 
id!  relics  of  the  sport,  and  apply  slot  occasionally  to 
the  mark,  that  the  times  still  lea?e  us. 
.  Nares  gi?es  several  quotations ;  all  applicable  to 
the  deer  only. 

Slow- Worm,  or  Sloe^Worm.  The  harmless  rep- 
tile,'which  in  other  counties  is  called  \}[it  blind  worm. 
A  commentator  on  this  passage  in  Timon  of  Athens, 

IT*  3. 

The  black  toad,  and  adder  blue^ 

The  gUded  neat,  and  eyeless  venom'd  worm— 

aaya  the  "  eyeless  venom'd  worm,  is  the  serpent, 
which  we,  from  the  smallness  of  his  eyes,  call  the 
Mimd  worm,  and  the  Latins  Cacilia.^^  It  may  be 
ao  i  but,  in  Suffolk,  we  do  not  believe  that  this  rep- 
tile is  venomous.  The  deqf-adder  is  another  Eng- 
Ibh  name  for  it.  In  the  Linnsean  system  it  is  the 
migtiisjragilis.  '*  Blind  worm,  called  also  slow  worm, 
A  little  snake,  with  very  small  eyes;  still  much 
.dreaded  by  the  common  people,  though  perfectly 
harmless. 

Newts  and  blind  worms  do  no  wrong. — Mids.  N,  D,  ii.  a« 
Adder's  fork  and  blind  worm's  sting. — Maeb,  iv.  1. 
The  small^yed  slow-worm^  held  of  many  blind. 

Dratfton*s  Noah's  Flood,  p,  1538.    JVores*  0/. 

• 

Slub.  Slubber.  Mire,  mud,  the  thick  puddle 
on  roads.  *'  How  slubbery  ;*'  or,  *'  how  slushy  the 
roads  are."  "  The  roads  are  all  of  a  slub,"  or 
sludge,  or  slush.  Wet,  poachy  tjround,  recently 
trodden  by  cattle,  is  said  to  be  slubby,  or  all  of  a 
shib.  Sludge  is  also  a  composition  of  clay  and 
water,  for  moistening  the  roots  of  plants  and  young 
trees,  when  undergoing  transplantation ;  similar  to 
Mulsh,  which  see.  Slub  is  used  as  a  verb.  Walls 
raised  from  the  ooze  of  rivers  require  to  be  sbibVd 

3i3 


d06 

^M^,  ttlit  H,  Ibe  ifilftNtitlal  ohinks  or  fiife^res  canted 
hf  ^Bp&t^ti&n^  require  to  be  fiUed  up  with  more  of 
the  iM,  of  JeLlitiVial  de^oftit. 

hk  one  of  these  ietises  Shakespeare  hta  the  word 

Ydtt  tnast,  fher^r^rey  be  (Content  id  itiihher  fh^^&tttf 
your  new  fortnnes  with  tUis  more  boidtetous  aod  sttibboni  d^ 
l^tkm.    OtheUOf  i.  S.     * 

Tusser  uses  a  similar  word  for  uncledtily,  untidy; 

III  huswife,  tmskilfnll,  to  make  li^r  owil  eheesOy 
Tbroagh  tmstini;  of  others,  hath  this  for  her  fees— 
Her  milk-pail  and  cream-pot  so  slabbered  and  sost, 
That  batter  is  wanting,  and  cheeite  is  half  lost,  p.  l4l. 

In  our  sense  of  slushy,  the  Scottish  has 

Skuhf^  applied  to  work  that  is  both  wet  and  dirty;  to 
Mashf  to  give  a  slabbering  kiss.    To  sluhber^  to  Swallow  so  ti 
to  make  a  noise  with  the  throat ;  from  the  ancient  SweMi' 
MtMf'af  avide  deglatire ;  Danish  «lti6f-e,  moUia  ingnrgitareb' 
iS/asA,  plashy  ground ;  snow  in  a  state  of  liqnelaction.    J« 

Nares^  under  Slubber,  explains  it  *'  to  do  any  thing^ 
in  a  slovenly  way.  Johnson  says,  perhaps  froth 
lubber;  rather,  probably,  from  slaver,  as  in  its  other 
senses,  like  slabber  and  slobber. 

Slubber  not  business  for  my  sake. — M,  rf  V,  ii.  8. 

With  my  vain  breath,  I  will  not  seek  to  slubber^ 

Her  angel-Uke  perfections.    31erry  Detil^  O.  P«  v.  ft6% 

See  more  of  this  under  Slobber. 

Slud^  Sludge.  Thick  puddle,  or  mire,  on  roads> 
&c.,  nearly  siinilar  to  Slub  and  Slush,  which  see. 

Slump.  Wet,  boggy.  Such  a  meadow  is  said  to 
be  clumpy.  Ray  gives  it  as  a  north,  south,  and  east 
country  verb.  *'  To  slump ;  to  slip  or  fall  plum 
doWn  in  a  wet  or  dirty  place.**  E.  W.  p.  55*  In 
Suffolk.,  we  should  say,  "  I  slumped  into  the  ditch 
up  to  the  crotch'* — or  "I  cum  in  sich  a  slump!** 
Ray  add8>  somewhat  pedantically,  though  not  inaptly^ 
that  *'  it  seems  a  word  made  per  onomatopoeian^from 
the  sound.**  lb,  p.  86»    See  under  Slub. 


687 

Bvjin.  Lite  skib  and  tSad,  which  iee,  is  th«  thick 
#kt  drt  ^oads,  ailer  much  rain  or  snow.  Slush  it  alie 
hog-wslsb,  or  any  thing  grossly  uncleanly.  Siushy  it 
a  tegular  deri?atiye;  a  state  of  slushinens.  Under 
dobber,  sufficient  is  said  of  this  unin?iting  class  Of 
wordfl. 

Slut.  A  slattern — an  untidy  woman.  In  Scottish 
*'  sbiie,  sWenly ;  from  the  Teutonic  slodde,  sordida 
et  inculta  inulier:  aUuirie,  slo?en1y.''  J.  Under 
Siohber,  it  has  been  surmised,  perhaps  incorrectly, 
that  slui  may  be  a  member  of  an  extensife  race  of 
titicleanly  t ocables. 

Sm ALB.  The  form  or  seat  of  a  hare ;  also  smik* 
^ee  Smewse. 

4 

8mash.  a  confused  loud  noise  or  crash.  A  blow, 
Specially  such  a  one  as  may  crush  something. 
^niiskcr,  one  who  so  strikes ;  or  figuratively,  a  swag- 
gering, bullying  fellow  :  or  a  smashin  slashin  fellow. 
All  iosmashen — to  shivers.  So  in  Scottish,  "gmash, 
Ui  shiver,  to  beat  severely — from  the  German  schmeiss' 
en,  to  beat.''    J. 

Smashen.  Slashing,  dashing;  a  young  fellow 
likely  to  make  a  smash  or  noise.     See  Spanker. 

Smewse.  The  same  I  believe  as  mewse  and  smouse: 
the  beaten  track  above  ground  of  a  hare  through  a 
fence  or  bank.  The  underground  way  of  a  rabbit 
through  a  bank  is  called  throushot.  What  I  had  to 
say  on  this  matter,  I  have,  I  see,  given  under  the 
earlier  article  Mewse. 

SmcKET.  Shift — chemise.  A  delicate  pronuncia* 
tioo  of  smock;  but  never  applied  to  the  smock-frock 
er  flop>  of  men.  See  Slop.  Smicket,  occurs  under 
flackct. 

'  Smile.    The  same,  I  believe,  or  nearly,  as  Smale; 
the.^9mi  otfourm,  or  seat  of  a  bare.    See  Form. 

SImiter.  One  who  does  any  thing  with  energy ; 
or  in  a  striking  manner.  I  have  heard  it  apj^lied  to  a 


388 

divine,  who  preacbed  with  unusual  unction — ^^He't 
.a  imiter."  A  sort,  I  suppose,  of  a  knock- me-down 
orator.  Such  a  one,  possibly,  as  Wesley  spoke  of 
with  complacency,  when  with  more  point  than  de- 
cency, he  commended  him  for  "  flashing  hell-fire  in 
the  face'*  of  a  congregation  of  reprobates.  Or  al- 
luded to  in  Hudibras — 

When  pulpit,  dram  ecclesiastic, 
Was  beat  with  fist,  instead  of  a  stick. 

Smither.  Light  small  rain ;  a  Scotch  mist,  per- 
haps, or  something  short  of  it.  "  Dew  it  rain  ?"— 
'*  No,  ta  smither/'  Smur  is  nearly  similar ;  an 
euphonic  abbreviation  probably  of  the  other.  Mph 
tie  is  of  like  import ;  and  dribble,  and  drizzle^  and 
tpiiter, 

Smous.  a  Jew.  I  can  discern  no  relationship 
between  the  Israelite  and  the  traok  of  a  hare  through 
la  thicket  or  fence,  which  we  also  call  smouse. 

Smouse.  The  same,  I  believe,  as  Smetote,  or 
.Mewse;  the  track  of  a  hare  through  a  fence,  on 
which  I  have  sufficiently  dilated  under  Mewse. 

Smur.  Small  rain ;  similar,  perhaps,  to  smither. 
So  in  Scottish,  "  Smurr,  or  drizzling  rain.  Teutonic 
smoor,  fumus,  vapor."  J.  Dribble,  drizzle,  and  spitier, 
are  other  terms  for  small  light  rain.  Dingin,  I  have 
also  heard  applied  to  wettish  weather. 

Snack.  A  generic  name  for  a  hasty  snap  or 
mouthful  between  meals.  Bever,  levener,  lunek, 
noonins,  forzes,  are  specific  varieties ;  all  are,  in  re- 
ference to  regular  meals,  interstitial.  It  is  labourers 
chiefly  to  whom  these  varied  periods  of  refreshment 
are  habitual ;  and  never  perhaps,  are  all  observed, 
except  in  harveij^t  time.  In  Scottish,  "  snack,  a  alight 
repast.''  J.  Also  snatch;  the  words  are,  indeed, 
but  another  instance  of  the  hard  and  soft  termina- 
tion, noticed  under  Perk.  Of  our  various  names  of 
extra  feeding,  see  under  Bever. 

Snacks.    To  share ;  "  to  go  snacks"  in  any  thing. 


369 

.pirtic'idarly  in  edibles^  is  to  share  and  ibaie  alike  in 
.itjMksty  palticipation.    See  Snack. 

-  vSifAVFLED.  Ripe  corn,  wheat  particularly,  par- 
Mly  beaten  down  by  wind  or  hail,  so  as  to  make  it 
aiore  difficult  to  be  reaped,  or>  as  we  call  it,  to  Bhear. 
Il  U  the  samei  I  belie?e>  as  nickled.  Baffled,  huffled, 
shttckicd,  and  waited,  are  other  words  of  nearly  like 
import :  and  something  is  said  under  each  of  those 
Words. 

Snaggt.  Snappish,  short,  ill-humoi/^^^'  snarly. 
*•  How  is  a'  this  morning  ?"  *'  Kiende  Jnaggy.** 
"  Why  he*s  got  the  snags.''  "  How  is  your  wife, 
neighbour }"  "  She's  kiendah  snaggy  :  we  has  got 
.41  great  wash  about/'  We  make  wash  rhyme  to  lath. 
In  Scottish,  "  to  snag,  to  snarl ;  sna^y,  sarcastical. 
Icelandic,  snagg-a,  litigare."  J. 

Snags.  The  shortened  parts  of  pruned  boughs  or 
il^ppts.  Hence  may  arise  the  word  snaggy,  explained 
ID  diat  article  as  applied  to  temper;  or  thence  this 
'.inay  have  been  derived.  That  mode  of  pruning 
which  leaves  the  snags  is  called  snag-pruning,  in  dis- 
tihction  from  close  pruning.  In  Scottish,  snugs  are 
man  branches  lopped  off  from  a  tree.  J.  In  an  O. 
jX  a.  is  **  a  snag,  a  knot,  a  nob,  or  bunch." 

Snak^-spit.  Small  masses  of  delicately  white 
ftolby  matter,  seen  on  leaves  of  weeds  or  ifrHd 
flowers,  in  the  spring  mostly ;  popularly  believed  to 
be' the  saliva  of  snakes.  We  sometimes  call  it,  as  in 
t>tlrer  counties,  cuckoo-spit,  from  being  seen,  pro- 
Imbly,  about  the  time  of  the  first  appearance  of  that 
welcome  bird ;  or  rather  of  first  hearing  its  cheer- 
ibg  note.  Frog'Spit,  and  toad-spittle,  are  other  names 
for  this  froth,  the  origin  of  winch  has  considerably 
)(>o22led  rustic,  and  indeed,  other  philosophers.  Its 
fM^ular  names  will  show  the  results  of  the  lucubra- 
tlona  of  the  first  description  :  and  those  of  the  latter 
may  be  settled  and  reconciled  by  the  following  pas- 
sage from  that  very  instructive  and  entertaining 
.Work,  Booth's  Analytical  Dictionary. 


370 

woodman  or  Enihipli^  is  a  name  given  to  a  sort  of  white 
froth  found,  hi  the  spring,  on  the  leaves  of  certam  plants. 
In  some  coanties  it  is  called  toad^ittle ;  bat  more  gene- 
ral^ cockowi^pit,  from  the  ancient  belief  that  it  was  thfe 
spittle  of  that  bird ;  and  hence,  also,  different  plants  on  which 
this  froth  is  more  nsnally  fonud,  have  been  called  cackow- 
flowers.  These  are  particularly  the  Lychnis  floscuU,  Mea* 
dow-pink,  or  Ragged-Robins;  and  Cardahine  praams. 
The  common  catchfly,  or  com  campion,  (Silemb  MgUeo^^iB 
likewise  a  nsual  receptacle  for  the  Frothapit,  and  on  that  ac- 
count has  had  tlie  name  of  spatling-poppy.  Neither  toads 
nor  enc.  aave,  however,  any  tbiug  to  do  with  this  frt>lh. 
It  is  exu^^'n  the  manner  of  excrements,  by  the  lanra  of  ja 
insect,  (CJada  sjwmoria,)  called  the  frog-hopper,  which  is 
sometimes  dot  unappropriately  termed  the  flea-grasshopper; 
lor  although  it  is  only  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  tt  wtt 
dear  five  or  six  feet  at  a  single  spring.  The  froth,  whidl 
completely  covers  the  insect,  ia  snpposed  to  be  its  |>rotectloi| 
from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  as  well  as  from  its  enemies.  The 
CtMdtf  of  the  Latms,  and  the  Tettigea  of  the  Greeks,  llv^ 
among  trees,  and  are  Uierefore  erroneously  translated  by  onr 
word  Grasshoppers.  lo  warm  countries  they  are  the  meal 
noisy  of  all  insects;  but  the  notes  of  some  of  the  species  are 
'extremely  musicaL  The  Dutch  in  Surinam  call  them  lyre- 
players,  because  their  sounds  resemble  those  of  a  vibratlnff 
wire.  Aiiacieon  describes  this  creature  as  the  emblem  ot 
felicity,  ever  youne  and  immortal,  the  ofisprins  of  Phoebus^ 
and  the  darling  of  the  Muses.  The  Athenians  kept  them  Ih 
inges,  (as  is  yet  done  in  some  countries,)  for  the  sake  of  thdr 
song,  and  called  them  the  Nightingales  of  the  nymphs*  As 
in  the  case  of  birds,  they  are  the  males  only  that  sin|g;  and 
hence  Xenarchus  used  to  ascribe  their  happineas  to  their  hav* 
'^kig  silent  wives. 

The  classical  elegance  with  which  so  popular  and 
humble  a  subject  is  bandied  in  the  above  quotatioiiy 
has  tempted  me  to  the  indulgence  in  a  longer  extract 
than  I  can  often  afford. 

In  Scotland  the  frothy  substance  in  question  b  cal- 
led gowk's-spittle :  gowk  is  the  cuckoo. 

Woodsare  occurs  in  the  above  quotation  from 
Booths  as  a  name  of  the  delicate  froth  under  our  no- 
tice. I  never  heard  or  saw  it  elsewhere  so  applied. 
It  has  other  meanings,  of  which  see  under  tnat  ar- 
ticle. 

Snap.    A  snack,  which  see.     Also  any  sbarfii 


371 

«|uick,  short  motion.  '*  Snap  your  whip/'  **  Snap 
jour  eye."  In  Scottish,  "  to  map,  to  eat  hastily-— 
to  lay  hold  of  suddenly — in  a  map,  in  a  moment. 
BelgiCy  met  em  snap,  id — ancient  Swedish,  mapp'-u, 
to  catch  hastily.''    J. 

Snap  Apple.  A  mirth  exciting  frolic ;  in  which 
catching,  or  rather  not  catching,  an  apple  in  your 
mouth,  while  twirling  on  a  stick  suspended  on  its 
^ntre,  with  a  candle  at  the  other  end  of  it,  is  the 
jet  of  the  sport.  Bob-cherry,  is  I  believe,  nearly 
the  fame.    See  under  Movball. 

Shap-Draoon.  An  evening,  domestic,  wintry 
.flfolic  among  young  folks.  Raisins  are  put  into  a 
hrge  dish  with  brandy,  which  is  set  fire  to.  The 
mrty  stand  round  the  table,  and  boldly  snap  out 
find  eat  the  blazing  plums.  This  must  be  done 
quickly  as  boldly — leaving  it  optional  whether  you 
bom  your  fingers  or  your  mouth.  A  little  salt  flung 
into  the  weakened  flame,  heightens  the  jollity,  by 
giving  a  very  cadaverous  aspect  to  the  happy  mces; 
tod  has  farther,  the  good  eflect  of  averting  any  risk 
of  the  liquor  being  drank.  Nares,  under  flap' 
dragon,  describes  the  sport  similarly ;  and  gives  se- 
veral quotations  from  Shakespeare  and  others,  show- 
ibg  its  antiquity  and  spread. 

.  Snap  your  Eye.  Wink,  or  squink — not,  however, 
precisely  a  wink,  but  the  act  of  nictitation ;  for 
#hich,  in  common  parlance,  I  do  not  know  of  any 
verb  in  our  language.  It  is  a  word  scarcely  known 
hot  to  anatomists.  To  nictitate  would  be  thought 
pedantic,  and  what  else  have  we  ?     See  Squink. 

'  Snast,  or  Sneest.  The  snuff  of  a  candle  or  lamp. 
This  is  an  old,  and  was  not  always  a  local,  word. 
Lord  Bacon  uses  it,  though  I  cannot  refer  to  the 
place.  Browne,  in  his  Vulgar  Errors,  introduces 
the  word  in  the  fuUowing  pedantic  passage : 

Tlie  fongous  particles  about  the  wicks  of  candles  indi- 
cate a  foaoHt  and  pluvioiu  air ;  which  hinders  the  avolatton  of 
Hm  light  and  favUlons  particles,  whereapon  they  settle  upon 
the 


372 

This  is  (''philosophy  run  mad/')  to.  account  for 
ivhat  is  popularly  called  a  Thief  in  the  candle — ^whlch 


Among  bis  south  and  east  country  words.  Ray 
has  **  snaste,  the  burnt  week  op  snuff  of  a  candle/' 
E.  W.  p.  55—86. 

We  call  it  sneest  ofiener  than  snasL 

Snatch.  A  mouthful  between  meals-— asnocifc  and 
a  map  are  similar  terms.    Thus  Tusser, 

Call  serranti  to  breakfut,  by  day-star  appear; 

A  muich  and  to  work^-feUows  tarry  not  here.  p«  S49. 

See  of  this  class  of  words  under  Bever. 

Snec^.  The  latch  or  catch  of  a  door.  Also  to 
make  it  catch,  or  fast.  "  Sneck  the  latch.''  It  is 
sometimes  pronounced  snack  and  snick.  Hasp,  hesp, 
and  hatch,  are  other  names  for  the  latch  or  catch  of 
a  door.  See  those  words.  In  Scottish  **  sneck,  snick, 
the  latch  of  a  door,  a  small  bolt — to  sneck  the  door, 
to  6z  it  by  a  latch.   Teutonic,  snack^en,  captare.'*  J. 

Nares  says,  that  Cole  has  a  snatchet  for  the  fasten- 
ing of  a  window.  This  is  little  else  than  the  diffe- 
rence, in  sounding  the  hard  or  soft  ch,  as  noticed 
under  Perk.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  **  a  snacket,  a  kind 
of  hasp  for  a  casement.^' 

Sneeser,  or  Sneezer.  A  severe  blow.  Such  a 
one  as  may  make  a  man  sneeze  perhaps.  It  also,-  in 
a  like  figurative  mode,  means  a  dram.  There  is  no 
,end  to  dang  names  for  the  last  article.  Who,  un- 
initiated, would  suppose  that  "  a  kick  i  the  g^ts," 
could  mean  such  a  thing  ?  lliis  is  a  jeu  demot,  fbr 
stomachic.  Reverting  for  a  moment  to  sneeser,  I  may 
note  my  recollection  of  the  term  in  a  humorous 
Irish  song,  entitled,  "  The  Night  before  Larry  was 
stretched,''  descriptive  of  the  valedictory  visits  of  bis 
condoling  comrades,  who 

Helped  their  poor  friend  to  a  sneeser 
To  warm  hit  gob  ere  he  died. 

In  the  first  sense,  the  word  might  have  been  in- 
cluded among  others  of  like  meanmg,  giren  in  the 
early  article  Aint. 


S7S 

'SHBfesf.    See  Sna<t. 

SmeestIt.  Snappish^  churliftb,  as  applied  to  a 
inab>  a  dog,  &c.  In  Scottish  misty,  saucy  in  lan- 
guage or  demeanor.    J* 

Sneuze.    a  noose,  a  running  knot. 

Smew.  ..  S»QW«d.  '  '*  Ta  sne^nr."  And  t))i».jB  fpn- 
sonant  with 'tb*  analogy  of  our  tongue.  We  have 
blew  for  blowed>  knew  for  knowed,  crew  for  crowed, 
&c. ;  and,  in  Suffolk,  we  follow  it  up  wjth  mew, 
snav,  hew,  &c.  While  writing,  with  icy  fingers^ 
(January,  1823,)  this  phrase  occurred.  '*  Tis  queer 
wutha  ta  be  sewer.  Ta  thew  i  the  mawnin,  an  ta 
■new  afore  nune/^    See  under  Butes. 

-'  Smiccvp.  Under  Hiccup-Smicku?,  I  have  vcn- 
teredtoofier  a  reading  of  a  passage  in  Shakespeare. 
I  had  not  then  seen  what  Narea  has  giren  under  hit 
article  Sneckyp,  where  he  very  fully  and  amusingly 
illustrates  the  word.  It  is  probable  that  iny  con- 
jecture is  fanciful,  but  I  aip  not  quite,  convinced 
thereof. 

SHIFFI.EN.  Whining,  complaining,  uneasy.  A 
aicUy  child  would  be  called  "  a  poor  snififlen  thing.'' 
The  same  as  sniwilin  perhaps. 

-  SmeGSiu  Sniggeren.  Exulting,  boasting,  jeer- 
mi^.  '' Sneeren  an  sniggeren,"  speaking  contemp- 
tuously of  others,  and  valueing  one's  self.  Some- 
tifpea.we  hear  it  rather  in  the  sense  of  laughing  in  a- 
jeering  way,  or  giggling  disrespectfully.  In  an  O. 
D.  A.  is  "  To  snicker  or  snigger,  to  laugh  in  one's 
alecve."     Nigger — which  see,  \s  nearly  similar. 

■  Ship.  To  curtail — to  shorten— tcut  a  piece  off. 
f*  Snip  ii  off."  This  is,  perhaps,  a  common  sense 
'  of  the  word ;  and  hence,  a  tailor- is  called  snip.  In 
aa  0«  D.  A.  is  "  A  snip,  a  little — give  me  a  snip  of 
it — to  snip  off— to  cut  off  with  a  jerk."  But^  in 
^ilplkft  we  use  the  word  figuratively,  for  .citecked, 
mipped,    **  The  frast  ha  snip't  them  tab.- 

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374' 


nups.''  ''The  cowd  watha  snip  the  chicken^.'' 
And  also  in  the  sense  of  cheeking^  rebuking j  equiya- 
knt  to  inuhhing,  a  word  we  are  not  without.  See 
Skvb. 

In  the  latter  sense  Falstalf  uses  it ;  hut  Shakes- 
peare spells  it  aneap. 

My  Lord.  I  will  not  tindergo  this  muap  witfaont  reply. 

2.  JT.  H.  ir.  it  1. 

Pope,  in  his  notes,  says  it  is  '*  a  Yorkshire  word 
for  rebuke.^*  Steevens>  that  "sncap  signifies  to  check; 
as  children  are  easily  sneaped;  herhs  and  fruits 
sueaped  with  cold  weather"^- exactly  as  we  use 
tnq>.  Ray,  among  his  north  country  words^  has 
''to  snape,  or  sneap;  to  check;  as  children  easily 
sneaped;  herhs  and  fruits  sneaped  with  cold  weather. 
It  is  a  general  word  all  over  England/'  £.  W.  p.  55. 
But,  if  so  general,  why  give  it  as  a  localism  I 

Snipe.  A  low  sort  of  a  hrisk  unmeaning  answer, 
implying  a  decree  of  impertinence  in  the  question  ; 
though  it  mostly  centers  wholly  in  the  reply.  "  What 
were  you  saying  ?''  Snipe,  The  Scottish  has  mipe, 
a  sarcasm ;  ^nzp^  tart  in  speech.  J.  And  the  learn- 
ed author  quotes  Icelandic  words  nearly  similar  in 
sound  and  sense. 

Snip  Snap  Snorum.  A  game  at  cards — ^some- 
thing like  Pope  Joan.  Of  many  of  our  juvenile  re- 
creations, see  their  names  under  MovealL 

Sniwel.  To  cry  or  whine.  "  A  snivvilen  child" 
or  "fellow,"  means  one  sickly,  or  poor-hearted. 
Sniffien  is,  perhaps,  the  same  word. 

Snood.  That  part  of  an  angler's  line  to  which 
the  hook  is  affixed.  It  is  sometimes  made  of  hair.* 
Has  it  any  connection  with  the  interesting  and  poe- 
tical Scottish  word  ^noo^— that  beautiful  portion  of 
Highland  costume  ?  so  unpoetically  called  also  c^k^ 
■ernony.     Snood,  in  Scottish,  is 

A  sbort  hair  line  to  which  a  fishing-hook  is  tied,  as  well 
as  the  fillet  with  which  the  hair  of  a  young  woman's  k#tfd  Is 


376 

boand'tfqiH-froin  the  ancient  Swedish  mod,  fanicnlns,  tm  ttf 
twist;  and  the  Aog.  Sax.  mod,  vitta.  J. 

Ooe  can  easily  see  how  such  articles,  though 
seemingly  remote,  may  become  connected  in  the 
mind  of  an  ensnared  swain. 

Snooze.    A  noose — the  same  as  snewse. 

Snotch.  a  notch.  '«  Cut  a  snotch  in*t."  Also, 
I  think,  a  knot.  At  cricket  or  bandy-wicket,  we 
say  ao  many  Muotches.  In  Scottish,  nock  is  a  notch 
•—a  common  variety  of  termination  as  is  noticed 
under  Perk.  Nock  is  an  old  \rord,  and  used  by 
many  of  our  writers,  in  this  sense,  as  is  shown  by 
Nares. 

Snub.  To  rebuke — to  check.  See  Snip.  Under 
Sneapf  Nares  says,  probably  the  same  as  to  sneb,  snib, 
or  snub,  to  check  or  rebuke ;  which  come  from  the 
Swedish  snubba. 

Snudjb.  To  snudje  over  the  fire,  means  to  creep 
dose  to  it.  **  I  heent  bin  out — I  ha'  bin  snudgin 
over  the  fire  all  day.*'  **  'A  cent  well — ^*a  set  snu(^tn 
up  i  the  corner  all  day.'*  Nares,  under  this  word, 
gives  first  the  sense  of  a  miser,  or  curmudgeon; 
«md,  after  divers  illustrations  of  that  sense,  adds^— 
"  Herbert  has  the  verb  to  snudge,  meaning,  ap- 
parently, to  lie  snug,  which  may  probably  be  the 
origin  of  the  word." 

It  may — but  in  our  copious  vocabulary,  we  have  a 
verb  applicable  to  that  act  also — we  say  snuggle,  for 
lying  snugly,  or  creeping  close  together  in  bed  ii^ 
cold  weather,  &c. 

Snuggle.  To  lie  snug  in  bed — or  to  get  close 
together  in  bad  weather.  Or  a  nurse  hugging  a 
child  warmly  and  kindly,  would  be  said  to  snuggle  it. 
QiddlCf  Duddle,  and  Huddle — see  under  those  words 
rrbave  each  their  appropriate  application.  See 
also  Snudje.  In  an  O.  D.  A*  is  ''to  snuggle,  to  lie 
close  together  in  bed.** 

•:  tftw«  :To  wipe  or  suck  up  any  liquid.  '*  Sob  it  up.'* 

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37« 

^'The  krttd  is  8o'dry  ta;  «ob  ap  the  rain  as  iint  tis  ia 
fall/'  The  word  partakes  of  afrsor^,  and  tbe  natiU^ 
cal  st9ab»    It  is  sometimes  sounded  sop. 

•  SoMDV.  Sandy,  in  reference  to  colour.  "  Sondy 
hidded/'     *'  A  sondy  cat*'— inclining'  to  carrots, 

SooiNs,  So — in  that  or  this  manner.'  *'  Yow 
muai  doit sooin^^  or '* thussens." 

Sot.  SopsY.  Wet,  boggy,  swampy ;  applied  to 
hmd-^in  this  sense — ••  there's  ho  getting  on  to't — 
^s  all  of  a  sop"  Land  in  this  soppv  state,  when  not 
to*o  touch  so,  is  thought  by  some  to  be  in  the 
most  favorable  condition  for  receiring  seed.  This 
persuasion  has  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  is  per- 
petuated by  this  proverb — 

'*Sow  i  th*  sop-^'Vdl  be  hcevy  a  top." 

Slop  and  sloppy  are  nearly  equivalent. 

We  use  the  words,  the  subject  of  this  article,  like 
•thers.  Such  as  a  sop  i'  the  pan  — sops  and.  slops 
for-siek  people,  meaning  gruel,  &c.  liquid,  thin  diet 

Soke.  Very — exceeding.  "  'Tis  a  sore  little  to 
hickle  on  woth" — a  phrase  which  I  have  just  heard. 
It  is,  probably,  a  sense  of  sorry,  Hickle,  evidently 
tn^ans  to'make  shift  with,  though  I  have  not  given 
that  sense  under  the  article.  Niggle,  which  see, 
^te  as  likely  to  have  been  used  as  hickle. 

Sorrel.  Chestnut-coloured,  as  applied  to  a  horse  ; 
though  not  well  described  by  either  word.  I  am 
not  aware  that  sorrel  as  a  colour  refers  to  any  other 
animal  or  thing.  The  Suffolk  breed  of  cart-horse  i6 
uniformly  sorrel,  and  some  two  score  years  ago  was 
as  uniformly  so  described — now  chestnut  is  some- 
times used,  "  The  sorrel  horse"  is  not  an  uncom- 
mon sign  for  an  ale-house ;  but,  I  never  saw  il  out 
of  Suffolk,  or  heard  the  appellation. 

,  Since  this  was  written  I  observe  in  Aubrey'-s 
Lives,  written  about  1680,  the  word  us^d  in  a  de- 
scription of  the  person  of  Butler,  author  of  Hudi- 
bras— "  a  head  of  sorrell  haire."    And,  in  Gage's 


377 

Heng^ye,  p.  5,  we  read  of  "  Bucks,  Sores,  SorrcU^ 
Pryketts,  Does,  and  Fawnes."  It  appears  then, 
(1587,)  to  ha?e  described  some  sort  of  deer. 
:  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  *'the  sorrel  colour — in  horses  is 
lighter  than  a  light  bay,  inclining  to  a  yellow/'  lA 
Scottish,  '*  sore,  a  sorrel  or  reddish  colour.  French 
saure,  id/'     J. 

Sort.  Many — much.  "  A  sort  of  loads."  "What 
a  sort  of  people  V*  Sort  is  used  in  this  sense  both 
by  Spenser  and  Shakespeare,  but  I  cannot  refer  to 
the  passages.  Nares'  most  entertaining  and  instrac- 
tJTe  Glossary  comes  in  here,  as  in  so  many  other  in- 
stances, to  my  aid.  He  is  not,  however,  quite  right 
in  saying  that  sort  is  out  of  use — in  Suffolk  we  hear 
it  every  day.  He  gives,  among  others,  the  follow- 
ing illustrations : 

Remember  ^hom  yon  are  to  cope  withal — 

A  fori  of  vaga  bonds,  rascab,  ana  runaways .  Rick.  Ill,  v.  S. 

A  wort  of  poor  folks,    fi.  and  Fl,  Beggar's  Bnshf  if.  1. 

Some  mile  o'  this  town,  we  were  set  npon 

By  a  awf  of  country  fellows.    B,  Jons,  T,qf  a  Tubp  ii.  f  • 

We  have  several  other  terms  of  nearly  similar 
signification  as  sort;  importing  much,  many.  Such 
as  a  deal,  mort,  nashun,  sight,  &c. — see  under  those 
words.  There  is  one  of  this  class  of  a  very  uncouth 
appearance  and  sound — it  is  Bunkos,  which  see. 

SouB  Alb  in  Summer.  A  comparison  of  degrada- 
tion* '''A  mend  like  sour  ale  in  summer*' — that  i», 
gets  worse  and  worse, 

SowjA.  Soldier.  The  name  also  of  the  shell- 
fish, whelk  or  whilk. 

We  have  a  curious  old  sortes  Jibulara,  if  such  a 
phrase  may  be  tolerated,  by  which  the  destiny  of 
sebool-boys  is  fore-shadowed.  On  a  first  appear- 
ance with  a  new  coat  or  waistcoat,  a  comraoe  pre- 
dicts your  fate  by  your  buttons,  thus :  sowja,  sailor, 
tinker,  tailor,  gentleman,  apothecary,  plow-boy, 
tbief— beginning  at  top,  and  touching  a  button,  like 

2  K  3 


«78 

dropping  a  bead,  at  each  epithet.  Tbat  vhitb  ap^ 
piles  to  the  lower  button  is  your  pf omiied  or 
threatened  avocation  in  life. 

Another  reading  gives  this  course — ^tinker,  tailor, 
iowja,  sailor,  rich  many  poor  man,  plow-boy,  pot- 
ticarry,  thief. 

Young  ladies  gather  similar  results  as  to  the  sta- 
tion and  character  of  their  future  husbands;  by 
taking  hold,  in  lack  of  buttons,  of  a  bead  of  their 
own  or  school- fellow's  necklace,  touching  and  pass- 
ing one  onward'  to  the  end.  The  tallying  of  the 
last  bead  with  the  word,  denotes  that  which  ''makes 
or  mars  them  quite/' 

SowLB.  To  seize  a  swine  by  tfte  ear.  **  Wool  *a 
sowle  a  hog  ?''  is  a  frequent  enquiry  into  the  qua* 
lifications  of  a  dog ;  though  one  does  not  perceive 
any  manifest  advantage  in  possessing  it,  otfaer\yi8e 
than  as  a  mark  of  courage.  A  low  bred  mongrel 
will  attack  the  porcui  d  posteriori;  but  this  is. .not 
genuine  sowleing,  and  a  ooy  would  blush  to  own  so 
base  an  animal.  It  is  a  useful  word,-  if  such'  ati 
operation  must  be  expressed ;  as  it  will  puzzle  the 
i^der  without  it  to  describe  the  process  of  seizing  a 
hog  by  the  ear,  otherwise  than  by  such  a  circumlocu* 
tory  phrase.  Shakespeare  happily  uses  the  word  in  the 
exact  Suffolk  sense.  "  He'll  go,  he  says,  and  sotole 
the  porter  of  Rome's  gate  by'jhe  ears,'*  Coriolantis, 
iv.  5.  The  last  three  words  would  be  redundant  to 
a  Suffolk  audience.  * "  To  sowle,"  says  a  tame,  igno- 
rant commentator  (ignorant  1  mean  of  Suffolk  phra- 
sedogy)  "  is  to  pull,  to  drag.'*  Among  his  north 
country  words  this  occurs  in  Kay ;  and  his  explana- 
tion I  will  give  at  lengfli — 

**  To  8owl  one  by  the  ears,  Lincolnshire,  i.  e.  Awre^tianma 
tA  veUere  ;  credo  a  sow,  i.  e.,  Awes  anipere  et  veUeref  ut  nndiii 
eones  soUnt.    Skinner."   £.  W.  p.  56* 

This  has  proved  a  tough  subject  to  commentators, 
who  hssve  tugged  at  in  vain.  Nares  eVen,  cah 
mako  but  little  of  this  word.    He  furnishes   me 


379 

iritb  another  illastration,  from  Heywood,  cited  by 
Steevens— 
Vemu  will  sowle  me  by  the  eari  for  this,  law^g  Midreu. 

Under  Lugge^  Nares  gives  as  a  Lincolnshire  phrase 
when  a  mastiff  is  set  upon  a  hog — *'  Sole  him'-^ 
seize  him  by  the  lug/^ 

SowsE.  A  blow-^about  equivalent  to  a  doyjse,  I 
suppose.  I  have  omitted  soxvse  among  the  other  8i« 
milar  vocables  enumerated  under  Aint.  So  many 
are  omitted  there,  although  I  thought  the  list  pretty 
copious,  that  as  many  more  perhaps  have  occurred 
since  that  article  was  printed ;  and  they  will  be 
found  under  Aint  in  the  Appendix. 

In  an  O.  I).  A.  is  "  a  sowse,  a  great  blow«— to 
ifotose  or  dowse  one,  to  buffet  hiln  soundly.'' 

Space.  To  measure  ground  by  paces.  "T^s 
jest  ihahty  rod — I  spaced  it/'  In  Scottish/  "to 
space,  to  measure  by  paces."    J. 

SPADErBOUE.  The  bladc-bone,  or  edge,  or  etch- 
bone  ;  that  is,  the  shoulder  bone — particularly  of  a 
joint  of  mutton.  The  spade-bone  of  the  right  shoul- 
4}er  of  a  ram  was  formerly  used  in  divinations,  as 
w$  learn  in  Nares  by  a  passage  cited  from  Drayton. 
Other  authors  allude  to  it.  We  appear  to  haire. 
learned  it  from  the  Dutch ;  but  I  never  heard  in 
Suffolk  of  any  necromantic  property  in  this  bone* 

IRy  the  shoulder  of  a  ram  from  off  the  rjgbt  side  p2LT*df 
Whidi  usually  they  boil,  the  spade-bofi^  bj^U^hnfd, 
Which  when  the  wizzard  takes,  and  gazing  thereopon^ 
Things  long  to  come  foreshowes,  as  things  long  done  agone. 

Po^W.  v.  re(x 

Spahs,  or  Spars.  Spurs.  "  Butes  and  spahs." 
We  have  a  saying  that  I  do  not  recollect  having 
heard  or  seen  elsewhere. — *'  A  spar  'i  tb*  hi4»  is 
wath  tew  'i  tli'  heel :"  implying  evidently,  that  **the 
race  is  not  always  to  the  swift."  Spars  occurs' in  a 
phrase  in  the  earlier  article  Ding, 

Spalt.  •  Short-grained,  brittle  wood ;  sappy,  unfit 
to  be  used  for  endurable  work.     Grose  gives  ^oli  as 


380 

ft  Norfolk'  word  —  **  wood  grown  brittle  through 
dryness." 

Sfank.  a  blow,  especially  with  the  open  hand, 
d  posteriori.  It  is  abo  a  verb  threatening  such  ap- 
plication, under  its  vulgarest  denomination.  Spank^ 
ing  means  large,  fine  ;  generally,  if  not  always,  in  a 
good  sense ;  a  spanken  gal,  a  spanken  fuUa,  &c.  See 
Spanker.  In  the  first  sense,  the  word  might  have 
been  included  among  other  similar  ones  enumerated 
in  the  early  article  Aint, 

Spanker.  Large,  strong,  lusty.  *^  A  spankin 
gal."  '*  A  spankin  boss."  "  She's  a  spanker,  i' 
fags."  Seldom  said  in  a  disrespectful  sense.  We 
have  several  similar  words ;  a  bonnka,  a  smashen 
gal,  or  smacken,  slashen,  smashen,  whacken,  wap- 
pen,  &c.  We  usually  drop  the  g  in  pronouncing 
such  epithets  as  these. 

Span-new.  Quite  new.  Ray  gives  this  among 
his  S.  and  E.  country  words.  *'  Span-new,  very  new, 
that  was  never  worn  or  used.  So  spick  and  span- 
new."    E.  W.  p.  86. 

Under  this  word  Nares  shows  that  it  is  used  by 
our  old  writers ;  and  that  the  commentators  are  at 
a  loss  for  any  satisfactory  derivation  of  it.  It  occurs 
in  Hudibras,  in  Chaucer,  and  in  B.  and  Fl.  In  the 
latter  thus — 

Am  I  not  totally  a  span-new  gallant, 

Fit  for  the  choicest  eye  ?  FaUe  One,  iii.  2. 

In  Chaucer —  • 

This  tale  was  aie  span-newe  to  begin.    Tro,  and  Cress,  iii. 

Under  Bran-new  in  this  Collection,  that  compound 
appears  about  equivalent  to  span-new,  Brcm-span" 
new,  and  spick  an  span-new,  also  in  use  in  Suffolk^ 
are  perhaps  superlatives — or  super-superlatives,  to 
which  we  are  somewhat  prone.  We  say  lastenest, 
for  most  lasting ;  lessest,  and  sometimes  lessest-Uule, 
for  smallest.    See  Docilisist.    Under  Spick  an  Span 


381 

something  farthef  will  be  found  on  the  general  sob- 
ject  of  this  article. 

Spars,  or  Spxps.  ;Spur8— as  well  the  ioijfetkrs,  as 
the  short  sinall  twigs  projecting  a  few  inches  from 
tbc  bole,  or  the  boughs  of  trees;  particularly,  I 
think,  the  pear-tree. .  Pope,  in  his  annotations  on 
Shakespeare,  says/on  a  passage  in  Cymbeline,  iV.  2. 
that  spun  16  en  bid  word  for  the  ^«  of  a  trei?.  This 
is  the  passage — 

I  do  note. 

That  grief  and  patience,  rooted  in  him  both, 

Miag&e  thtirifwra  together. 

I  would,  however,  suggest  transposing  the  comma 
ftova  aftejf  both,  to  OHe  preceding  hitn.  A  spar  way, 
libs •  a  bridle-road,  means  where  there  is  room  and 
right  to  ride,  not  to  drive.  In  Sussex,  ''  A  whapple^ 
tMiy  is  where  a  cart  and  horses  cannot  pass — by 
bprses  only."  Ray,  E.  W.  p.  90. 

Spat.  The  cartilaginous  membrane  by  which  ah 
ojsl^er  adheres  to  its  shells.  Cocker  says,  "  the 
spawn  of  oysters.*' 

Spear-grass.  The  coarse,  sour  grass  so  trouble- 
some to  light  land  farmers;  called  couch,  squitch, 
ahd  quitch,  in  other  counties.  It  is  the  triticum  re- 
pens.    The  Scotch  call  it  ronnachs.  J. 

Speke.  a  spike.  Hand-speke — which  we  more 
commonly  call  lewer,  for  lever. 

Speken.  The  diminutive  of  speke.  A  small 
spike,  or  larfi;e  nail.  The  peg  of  a  boy's  top  we  call 
speken* 

iSpEND.  To  expend  or  use.  "  To  spend  all  the 
stover,  straw,  and  turnips  on  the  land,'*  used  to  be  a 
Mbamoh  covenant  in  leases.  In  this  sense  Falstaff 
s^ya  to  the  unwilling  recruit — 

*-'Go  to— peace,  Monldy— you  shall  go,  Moaldy-^it  is  time 
.  Yon  were  spent.  2  K,  H.  the  Fourth^  iii.  1. 

'«9^w, 'a  military  man   ^A'ould  e^y  expended.    So 
Trtfecr,  Snr  his  "September's  Abstract," or  advice^ 


882 

Now»  fiiend,  as  ye  wish^  Go  sever  thy  6di ; 
When  friend  shall  come.  To  be  sore  of  some* 
Thy  ponds  renew»  Pnt  eels  in  stew, 

To  leaye 'till  Lent,  And  then  to  be  sji«ii#.  p.  6. 

And  in  "  December's  Husbandry,"  thus — 

Both  salt  68h  and  ling  fish  (if  any  ye  have) 
Through  shifting  and  drying,  from  rotting  to  save; 
Lest  winter  with  moistness  do  make  it  relent. 
And  put  it  in  hazard,  before  it  be  ipetU,  p«  61* 

Again,  in  Murch — 

Now  leeks  are  in  season,  for  pottage  foU  good. 
And  spareth  the  milch-cow,  and  purgeth  Sie  blood : 
These  having,  with  peason,  for  pottage  in  Lent, 
Thon  sparest  both  oatmeal  and  bread  to  be  speii, 

p.lSt. 

Peason  is  still  a  Suffolk  word  for  pease,  in  the 
plural.  Spent,  for  expended,  occurs  very  often  in 
Gage's  Hengrave,  in  curious  old  accounts  of  expen*' 
diture  of  Hengrave  Hall. 

Spere.  Sphere.  We  are  apt  to  drop  the  mediaf 
h*    See  Spins:. 

Sperit.    A  ghost,  the  soul^  lightning.    A  spirit. 

.  Sperket.  a  wooden,  hooked>  large  peg,  not 
much  curved,  to  hang  saddles,  harness,  &c«  on. 
"  Spurget"  according  to  Ray,  *'  a  tagge,  or  piece  of 
wood  to  hang  any  thing  upon  ;"  but  we -always  pro- 
nounce the  k.  It  is  hke  perk,  but  the  latter  is  sup^ 
ported  at  both  ends  for  fowls  to  perch  on.  Tusser'f 
crotchets  I  take  to  be  the  same.  See  mider  Goop, 
verse  5. 

I  do  not  recollect  hearing  sperket  out  of  Suffolk  ; 
or  seeing  it  any  where  except  in  Grose's  Provincial 
Glossary,  where  he  gives  Spurkit,  as  Suffolk  for  a 
peg;  and  under  the  word  Nemis,  another  which  I' 
never  heard  or  saw  elsewhere,  he  gives  the  following 
explanation  and  illustration  — 

Nemis— least,  for  fear ;  Suffolk*  Manther,  gang  tiie  griceu 
into  the  yannceroof,  briog  my  hat  from  off  the  spmrketf^^^ 


983 

lliedoor  after  j<m  neniiis  tbe  at  tboiild  get  in  and  eat  the 
•micate. 

This  he  thus  translates,  and  it  required  translation 
tome — 

Girl,  girl,  go  np  stairs  into  the  garret,  and  fetch  niT  hat 
Irom  off  tbe  peg ;  shut  the  door  for  fear  the  cat  should  get 
io  and  eat  the  dainty. 

Grizzen  and  vatmceroof  may,  as  well  as  neniis,  be 
Suffolk  words  for  aught  I  know,  but  I  never  heard 
them.  O^tnaxvther  and  sunket,  see  under  those  words. 

Spert.  a  sudden,  unpremeditated  action.  ^*  'A. 
did  it  on  the  spert."  "  'Twas  only  a  spert.'*  In  an 
O.  D.  A.  is  ''  A  jpurt,  or  fpirt ;  a  sudden  turn  or  fit.'' 
Tbe  more  modern  word  spree,  seems  nearly  of  the 
•ame  meaning. 

Spick  an  Span.  The  same,  I  believe,  as  bran" 
MMm ;  meaning;  quite  new,  or  without  speck,  perhapa. 
rftio  is  postfixed;  bran-span-new — spick  and  span 
mw:  sometimes  span-new.  See  under  that  word. 
This  has  been  derived  from  the  Italian,  ^'  spiccata 
da  la  tpanna"  which  although  literally  meaning 
''  snatched  from  the  hand,''  is  equivalent  to  our 
'^fi^from  the  mint." 

Spick  nnd^pan  is  not  peculiar  to  Suffolk,  but  it  is 
ootnmon  there ;  so  is  bran-span,  which  see* 

Under  Spick  and  span  new,  Nares  explains  it  *'  quite 
new  I  an  expression  not  entirely  disused ;''  and  shows 
that  it  is  used  by  B.  Jonson,  and  others,  and  the 
fiihire  of  all  who  have  attempted  to  trace  its  source. 

Sfickbt  a'Nd  Fansit.  The  spigot  and  fawcit  of 
other  parts.     See  Fawcit. 

jlriPLiCATE.  A  low  quaint  word  ;  ''  I  am  whollv 
spiflicated^' — surprized,  astonished,  stamm'd:  whicn 


Spilb.  a  peg  at  the  end  of  a  cask  of  liquor.  Spik" 
hole;  the  receptacle  for  the  same.  On  the  top  it  is, 
as  elsfewhere,  the  vent-peg.  Spile  is  also  a  pile, 
cJciFcn  in  wet  foundations,  or  Ui  embankments ;  or 


$64 

iOTca»ing  dofwn  the  side  of  a  jahd  ^  dily  pit.   '  ti  ir 

likewise  our  pronunciation  of  spoiL  *       *"*^- 

'  •  •  ■ 

Spilling  the  Salt.  This  ominous  accident  is 
still  felt  in  its  full  force  amon^  us ;  but  the  threatened 
result  inay  be  in  part  averted  by  thcowing  alttl^fi^of. 
the  spilled  article  over  your  left  shoulder..    Thft  iia- 

Sortant>  all-pervading,  article  of  salt,  has  been  long 
eld  in  mystic  reverence,  or  in  some  superstitious 
regard,  very  extensively  ;  half  the  world  orer  per- 
haps. This  may  be  accounted  for.  It  is  a  point  of 
some  little  curiosity  to  inquire  into  the  antiqcHty'of 
the  idle  feeling  incident  to  the  omen  first  noted.  If 
it  ever  has  been  done  I  know  not  where.  Do  the 
Latin  or  Greek  classical  writers  make  any  mention 
of  it?  The  earliest  allusion  to  it  that  lean  call  to 
mind  is  in  the  Last  Supper  by  Leonardo  ^^yitici, 
where  Judas  is  heedlessly  upsetting  the:  saltrceHaiP* 
AaxHher  of  our  little  superstitions  has  some  referenda 
to  the  subject  of  that  immortal  picture.  I  have 
known,  and  now  know,  persons  in  genteel  life,  wiiO 
did,  and.  do,  not  sit  down  to  table  unmoved  .wiih 
twelve  others.  And  so  far  is  this  feeling,  earned  that 
one  of  the  thirteen  is  requested  to  dine  at  aside 
table !  The  liast  sad  supper  adverted  to  may  jen/uiy 
have  furnished  materials  for  this  superstition.  Ouc 
notion  is  that  one  of  thirteen  so  part^kiog,.  Will  die 
ere  the  expiry  of  the  year.  The  mamer  of  tbft 
death  is  happily  not  foreshadowed — it  is  not  necea-t 
sarrly  Iscariotisli,  Hence  also  may  have  arisen  the 
phrase  of  the  devil's  dozen.  Thus  in  Scottish* 
"  DeiVs  dozen,  the  number  thirteen :  apparently 
from  the  idea  that  the  thirteenth  is  the  devil's  lot!**  J, 
Thirteen  is  likewise  called  a  baker's  dozen.  In 
vulgar  eyes  this  tradesman  is  too  oflen  contemplated 
in  connection  with  the  devil. 

-  Spilth.     The  spill,   overflowings,  waste.     Thus 
Shakespeare — 

Our  vaults  have  wept 
With  drtiDkeD  sfdlth  of  wine;  T.t^A/n^t^. 


886 

first  shoots  up  its  pointed  sheatb,  previously  A6^tlifrd*«> 
Tdkrpmnetit  of  )hc  ear. . 

SMmnV^.  a  stfial^  longi^^b,  iM'eglilar  pf fee  «f  Hmd, 
f^etgrotmn  trfth  bfusli^ir^^  fbr  g;airie:  N^res  vtMltt 
^nct,  explains  it  a  sttall  wood/frdm  Ae  LittiA'Sf)^-' 
Mttift:  aftd  quotes  B.  Jonsoti  as  an  exatnpte  of' its 
Ifte— 

A's^rlodgad  10  a  little  «ptii€f ,  by  wbieh  ber  nMutitjr  and 
te  pitnce  were  to  come;  ad^nmeed  fab  bead'  above  ^ 
gMfl(  #o*deriD^  &C  l%rM[^y#wiaRiiilb-  ' 

.  A  tptan^r  Itares  adds,  has  still  tbe  same  mettniog 
in  several,  counties:  and  probably  tpin^Mnay  have 
be^n  pronounced  nearly  like  it 

Spmi^  Tbe  chaffinch.  The  origin,  of  this  ap- 
pettatfoq  is  difficult  to  imagine,  and  would  perhaps 
bff.ifnpossibie  to  trace.  This/  it  is  true,  is  our  way 
tf  pronouncing  the  name  of  the  Tbeban  roojiater ; 
but^his  helps  us  little.  We  do  not  patter  much  in 
Igj'ptian  lore,  and  are  not  very  accurate  in  our  my- 
tfulbgical  enunciation.  Cobid,  we  read, .  and-  in 
■leaking  without  book  we  say  Cobit,  perhaps:  and 
dfe  puzzhng  name  of  his  consort  we  usually:  pro- 
nounce Phisky.  Until  lately,  indeed,  such  heathenish 
Itames  were  nearly  unknown  among  us;  but  tbe 
o^ension  of  our  military  arm,  the  interchangfe  of 
itiilitta  regiments,  the  prevalence  of  Siinday  and  na^ 
tional  schools,  and  novels,  and  circulating  libraries, 
lifcire  gone  near  to  level  the  current  literature  of  town 
ind  country. 

:  Bewicke  I  perceive  calls  the  GoidBnch,  G^AA-lspink. 
And  iji  Jamieson  I  find  Goud-spink  is  the  same  in 
Scottish. 

In  a«  O.  D.  A.  is  a  name  of  the  chaffinch,  wbkh 
n^ever  heard,  or  saw  elsewhere — "  SkddapU^  orcbftf- 
iHtb,  a  singing  bird;"  May  it  be  from  our  sense  of 
Iked,  or  sheld,  1.  e.  phd,  of  two  colours,  as  the^baf- 
fincfa  is,  and  other  fiiMthes  of  mope-^and  a  corrup- 
t(M"or"diodification  of  ope»  om^f  In  the  same 

2l 


386 

book  if  ''  §uki»,>  the  gpreen*finch"-*and  **  tpink,  a 
Ghaffitvch* 

Birds  indifferent  counties  get  different  names; 
but  no  genus  has^  Ithink,  obtained  so  many  designa- 
tions as  the  finch — Fringilla:  and  no  species  so 
many  as  the  chaffinch — F.  calebs. 

Under  the  articles  i^/p^  and  Nope,  instances  of  this 
may  be  seen  referring  to  the  bull-finch ;  which^  how- 
ever, ornithologists  do  not  class  as  of  the  F.  genus. 
The  Warwickshire  name  of  the  gold-finch,  is  very 
odd— proud'iailor,  I  do  not  know  that  the  local  va- 
rieties in  ornithological  nomenclature  were  ever  col- 
lected. It  would,  I  think,  with  etymologies,  be  a 
curious  article ;  or  rather  work.  See  something  of 
this  under  Dickt-bahd. 

Spit.  A  spade  depth.  "  Spit  deep."  *•  I  spit- 
ted it*' — dug  it  with  a  spade.  ''  Tew  spit  deep* — 
two  spades  deep.  '*  Yow  may  spit  it,'^  that  is,  dig 
it  with  a  spade : — or,  if  the  ground  be  so  hard,  dry, 
or  gravelly  as  to  require  previous  picking,  ''Yow 
can't  spit  it/'  A  blade,  is  sometimes  used  for  ^it, 
"A  blade  deep*'— or,  *'  I  drew  it  a  blade.*'  We 
say,  "  draw  it  tew  spit  deep."  Iii  Derbyshwrc,  draft 
seems  to  mean  the  same  as  our  spit,  i.  e.  a  spade* 
depth. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  our  sense  of  this  word  occurs — 
*'  A  spit-deep,  as  much  ground  as  may  be  digged  up 
with  the  spade.    A  spitter,  a  spade." 

Spitter.  Small  rain — or  the  commencement  of 
a  shower.  Dribble,  drizzle,  mizzle,  smither,  smur, 
are  other  terms  indicating  something  short  of  actual 
rain.    In  Scottish,  "  spitter,  a  very  slight  shower."  J. 

Splashes.  Shallow  accumulations  of  water  from, 
wintry  wet,  in  the  low  parts  of  meadows  or  mashes. 
Plashes  has  the  same  meaning:  also  in  Cheshire. 
W.  The  words  may  be  derived  from  boys  plashinff 
or  splashing  about  in  such  convenient  and  safe 
places,  at  play,  or  when  bathing.  Other  pieces  of 
water  we  call  Fleet,  Mecr,  Plash,  and  Ptdk^^ue 
under  those  words. 


387 

Sfomg.  An  irr€gular«  narrow,  projecting  part  of 
field,  whether  planted  or  in  grass.  If  planted,  or 
unning  to  underwood,  it  would  be  called  a  squeech 
»r  queech.  Spirmy  is  another  indefinite  word  ap- 
plied like  dangle,  reed,  shaw,  &c.  to  irregular  busby 
)lots  or  pieces  of  land. 

S^ooN-PUDDENS.  Otherwise  called  drop-dun^Iings 
—both  are  good  names  of  a  good  thing.  They  arc 
nanufactured  by  simply  dropping  spoonfuls  of  bat- 
er,  with  or  without  currants,  into  boiling  water. 

Sprank.  a  flaw  or  crack,  or  split,  in  a  rail  or 
other  piece  of  wood.  In  this  condition  it  is  said  to 
be  spranked. 

Sprat-barley.  The  species  of  barley  with  very 
long  beards  or  awois,  or  au v*  The  Hordeum  mil* 
g/u:fi  of  Linn. 

"  Sprawls — or  Spraaowls — if  the  reader  can  imagine 
the  pronunciation  of  such  an  assemblage  of  letters ; 
in  expressing  which,  the  mouth  must  open  and 
dose,  and  suffer  distortion  to  the  extent  almost  of 
circamgy ration.  It  means  straggling,  sprawling 
branches  of  trees,  shrubs,  &c.  Shakespeare  had  this 
f^nre  in  his  mind  when  he  wrote 

A  halter,  soldiers,  bang  him  on  this  tree ; 

And  by  his  side  his  fitiit  of  bastardy — 

First  bang  the  child,  that  he  may  see  it  ^inrnolf 

A  sight  to  vex  the  father's  soul  withal.    Tit,  And,  ?.  1. 

Sprat-Bricks — or  Splay-Bricks,  are  made  with  a 
bevil  for  reducing  the  thickness  of  a  wall.  They 
arc  otherwise  called  set-off  bricks.  I  believe  our 
names  are  from  display,  though  that  may  not  be 
deemed  the  most  appropriate  term.  ;^ 

:  Spreckled.  Speckled;  especially  a  variegated 
hen  ;  or,  as  we  say,  a  gah  hin.  Under  the  articles 
Fkcker^d,  Gah,  Pied,  and  Shell,  sufficient  is  s^id  on 
subject.     I  will  just  note,  that  to  these  nearly 

2l3 


38ft 

synotiyoimit  irq«d«  in  me  «mM^  ut^  may  btf^Mtd 
fraiq  Naves,  *f peekkd  fw  speckkd,** 

Jacob,  the  patriarke,  by  tbe  force  of  ima^atioiiy  wde 
pecldid  Iambs,  laying  veckUd  ro^  before  his  sheep. 

It  is  also  used  by  Isaac  Walton.     See  7b<f^. 
In  -Scotlj^fa  tprcekkd,  means  speofeted;  Iromtbe 
ancient  Swedish  spreeilot,  id.  J. 

Spree.  X  had  put  this  <iown  for  a  Sufibl|c  wonl« 
as  I  first  heard  it  there  ;  but  I  find  that  it  is  a  flash 
word  in  London  ;^  and -probably  all  over  Eiigtamd, 
since  tbe  spread  of  Tom  and  Jerry  rsm.  My  note  of 
it  runs  thus :  "  A  frolic — something  spirited  or  heed- 
less— done  in  fun  or  merriment.'*  "  Lets  have  a 
spree.**  Trom  EiEpnV  probably:"  And  this  1$,  If 
suppose^  pretty  mucf^  the  meaning  of  the  word 
every  where.  We  have  speri,  which  see,  in  nearly 
tt^!fi«iii€^eBae.  T 

Spring.  Young  white-thorn  quick — called  spring, 
perhaps,  from  the  usual  season  for  planting,  or  lay- 
ing, it  for  quick-fences.  We  also  call  it  Layer,  which 
see,  and  Quick,  Other  young,  three  or  four  yeai 
did,  stuff  of  that  sort,  is  also  called  spring.  Black- 
thorn spring — whin-spring  or  layer,  or  quick,  al- 
most indifferently,  if  ihe  wx^rd  £/t/^>U6ed  above,  be 
strange  to  the  reader,  so  usedf  he  is  referred  to  that 
word  in  thU  Collection,  for  in9t$inces  of  its  extensive 
usage  among  us.  As  well  as  for  layer,  we  should 
adopt  the  term  spring  for  a  whrte-tborn  or  tiaw- 
ijhorn  at  any  age. 

I  do  not  think  that  spring  is  much  ^nown  to  our 
lexicographers  or  commentators  in  the  Suffolk  sense 
— though  some  of  our  old  writers  appear  to  me  to  use 
the  word  as  we  shovild.  The  foUowiug,  forii^tAnce, 
is  perfectly  intelligible  to  every  Suffolk  jqq^o,  wbe 
^«uld  not  fiupp^,  9»  foarive  have,  that  a  wood  syaa 
meant,  though  it  may  have  been — 


389 

-»—  Unless  it  were 
The  irightingale  among  the  thick  leav'd  spring f 
That  tits  alone  in  sorrow,  and  doth  sing 
Whole  nights  away  in  mourning.    Fletch*  FmUf.  Skep*  ▼•  1* 

We  at  once  see  her  in  a  hawthorn,  among  the 
thick  leav'd  spring. 

I  have  taken  the  above  quotation  from  Nares, 
who  gives  many  illustrations  of  the  word  under  our 
consideration,  but  none  in  its  most  obvious  Suffolk 
sense.  The  white  or  haw-thorn,  we  also  call  May, 
which  see. 

Sprite.    See  Wood-Sprite. 

Spud.  A  small  weeding  spade  at  the  end  of  a 
stick — long  or  short. 

^    Spun.  .  A  spoon — not  often  heard  except  in  com- 
bination Vf  Mh  full — di  spun-full. 

.  Spunb.  Spoon — in  the  usual  mode  of  substitut- 
ing the  acute  u  for  oo  ;  but,  in  this  word>  it  is  the 
se)domest  used  of  any  with  oo,  I  am  inclined  io 
think  that  spoon  is  very  rarely,  if  ever,  so  pro- 
nounced; but  I  have  been  over-ruled  in  this  opinion 
by  positive  judgments  to  the  contrary.  At  any  rate, 
I|uine,.gew8e,'  skule,  fule,  bute,  shue,  are  much  more 
commonly  heard  than  spune.     Of  this,  see  under 

BUTES* 

•  Spunk.  Tinder — tmichwood — also  a  spark.  It  is 
Sottish  in  the  latter  sense ;  and  spunkie,  is  in  that 
liiakct,  as  well  as  in  ours,  and  others,  "  a  lively 
yoQDg  fellow— mettlesome.''  J.  We  do  not  at  all 
confine  it  to  a  young  fellow,  but  extend  it  in  the 
sense  of  spirited,  smart,  amorous — easily  irritated  or 
moved.  See  Spurk.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  sponk  or 
sMtit,  touchwood — spunk,  half  rotten  wood  ;  a  match 
tor  guns.'' 

Spurk.  Brisk,  smart:  in  this  sense,  ''Come, 
spark  up,  here's  your  sweet-hart  a  coming."  I  be- 
Mieve  spunk  up  was  the  term  of  ];ore ;  and,  indeed, 
it  is  still  heard  ;  but  generally  we  have,  become  too 

2l3 


fastidious  to  toli^rate  so  gro^s  a  pihrase.  Se^  ^rasiu 
"  To  ipurk  up :  to  spring  or  brisk  up.*'  !%» S..  jM^d 
S.  eoiHtfrj  iv^rdb  .p.  86. 

£lpoRKKr.    See  Sferket, 

Spurshers.  Straight  young  fir-trees,  the  same^  I 
believe,  as  firhauha  aod  gqfprs*  Stofbdle  and  stand 
are  other  names  of  young  growini;  trees.  See  under 
time  words. 

SauAi^i^pronouneed  short.  To  scourge,  or  whif  , 
or  punish.  '*  'A  gon  em  a  right  good  squqfm,  an  Vt 
desarv'd  it.''  A  boy's  whipping-top  we  caQ  a 
Mquqjcnjop.  This  word  souaj,  sivad,  and  p^*,  are 
pronounced  very  short.  Of  many  similar  words  of 
offensive  import,  see  under  Aint. 

Sat/ABB.  To  put  one's  self  in  a  bo^dnff  attltudtf-^ 
to  offend  by  that  attitude.  ^  'A  squar'a  at  me,  and 
I  gon  em  a  poonch  i'the  guts.*'  It  is  not,  -I  believe, 
an  uncommon  word  in  that  sense,  in  the  followkig 
|>a9sage,  Shakespeare  probably  meant  the  same 
thing,  or  perhaps,  the  next  stage  of  a  quarrel-— 

And  now,  they  never  meet,  in  grove  or  green. 
By  fonntaiB  clear,  or  spangled  starl^ht  sheen. 
Bat  they  do  aquune,  Jftct  N*  D,  ii.  1, 

.  Once  by  mishap,  two  poets  fell  a  sqwaring. 

Harringl.  Ep»  i«.37. 
I  have  taken  these  quotations  from  Nares,  who 
gives  many  other  illustrations  of  the  word,  as  a  verb 
and  substantive;  and  derives  it  from  the  French,  ae 
quarrcr-y  or  contrecarrer, 

SauASB.  Splash — to  which,  as  a  verb,  it  rhymes. 
.Children  ate  enjoined  not  to  dabble  in  wet,  by 
"  Doat  squash  about." 

SauAT.  SauAO-TED.  Settled— rcomposed^—dertii^ 
probably  from  the  squatting  or  settling  ofa  jtftre  uq 
her  foorm.  Squat  pills;,  opiates,  or  composiug,  or 
iseilUng  pills.  "  Ah^that  al  squ^j^t  'era."  It  is  WQimi 
sijcal  to  see.  some  of  pur  East  AngUcismis  legitixpated 
in  the  back  settlements  of  North  Ameriici^  where 
settlers  are  pretty  generally  called  squatters.     Such 


iMA  wefte  pf^bably  eitrried  Mtheir  by  «oiAe  of  ^r 
cMt-migrMiti. 

Nfires,  under  Quai,  shows  it  to  have  been  of  yore* 
of  the  sftme  meaning,  and  applied  to  the  sitiing  of  m 
bare;  beings  be  ^»y$,  only  a  corruption  of  squQi, 
.  In  the  sense  first  given  of  settled^  or  rather  per* 
haps  satiated,  be  quotes — 

Bnt  to  the  stomach  if sitfM  xrith  dsintiss,  all  delicates 
seem  qaeat ie.  Eupkme$f  c,  8.  b. 

•^.i..  In  the  first  conrte,  when  your  t tommaeh  was 
BOt  fwatted  with  other  daintier  rare,    Brii,  BibU  ii.  439. 

HiM/cA  is  given  by  Nares,  as  another  probable 
ciomiption  of  ifuat,  in  a  sense  of  llatlless — 

ft  is  like  a  barber's  chair,  tiiat  fits  all  bottockt ;  the  pin* 
bsttodu'the  fvefcApbattock,  the  brawn-bnttock,  or  any  but- 
lode  AW9Wfa/u.t. 

SouEBCH.  A  sort  of  irregularly  shaped  corner  or 
projection  of  a  field,  untilPd,  and  overgrown  with 
bushes,  &c»  as  a  cover  for  game.  It  is  also  called 
quieeck,  Dmgie,  reed,  shaw,  slade,  spinny,  and  sponge 
are  other  terms  for  such  small  coverts  or  pieces. 

Squeej.  About  equivalent  to  skrowje,  *'  I'm 
Bjjue^d  a  most  ta  dead/'    A  variety  of  squee2^e. 

-  SouBBL.  To  shriek,  or  cry  loud — to  squeak.  A 
sportive,  rather  than  a  painful  elevation  of  voice.  It 
is  also  l^ottish  in  a  like  sense — 

ArroDod  him  pressing,  kissing,  tpeeliag. 

Transported,  laiigliin,  daflSn,  squealing.    Blackwood's  Ma^* 

SauENCH.    To  quench-— fire  or  thirst. 

Sqitezzbnd.  Choked — suffocated.  *<  Yow^l  sqaez- 
2en  OS  ta  dead."  When  referring  to  the  chobipg  or 
killing  of  weeds,  the  word  more  commonly  used  is 
qitfmpi,  .ifhich  see. 

-  Squink.  Squint — wink.  "  Squink  your  eycf** — 
*»'Snap  your  eye*'-r-the  act  of  nictitation,  for  wbitb 
we  seem  to  want  a  collbqcrial  word.  In  Cheshire 
sken  is  to  squint.  W.     See  Squinny,    f^or  want  of  a 


392 

definite  verb  io  this  case^  there  are  a  variety  of  words 
expressive  of  ocular  obliquity.  Amon^  them  askew, 
peer,  pink,  wink,  sky,  snap,  squint,  squinny,  squink, 
sken,  and  scarcely  one  precise  in  its  meaning. 

Squinny.  Lank,  thin,  narrow.  Squmt^^giiU,  a 
thin  person.  Also  to  look  askew  or  jeerin^y,  with 
the  eye-lids  nearly  closed.    Thus  poor  old  liear— 

Dost  thoa  Mqidimif  at  me  ?  iv.  6. 

I  do  not  find  that  the  commentators  have  made 
any  thing  of  this  word,  though  it  seems  rather  in- 
viting. Askew,  squink,  sky,  squy-winnikint  atid 
squinny,  appear  to  have  lent  and  b'Orrowed  soiae- 
thing  to  and  from  each  other.  In  the  sense  of  tbin> 
shrivelled,  squinny  and  wizzenJ,  are,  I  think,  nearlv 
synonymous — or  wizzend,  may  refer  more  to  the  ef-. 
fects  of  age  on  the  face.^  Clung  and  kringle  are  other 
members  of  the  same  family.  Under  the  above, 
words  distinguished  by  italics,  something  wiU  be 
found  on  this  matter. 

Nares  merely  gives  "  Squinny,  a  colloquial  change 
of  the  verb  to  squint;"  and  the  above  quotation 
from  Lear. 

Squizzend.  Squeezed  —  rumpled  —  crumpled^ 
''  Lawk,  how  yeow  haave  squizzind  that  cap'' — so 
squeezed  it  as  to  have,  as  it  were,  squezzend,  or 
crushed  or  destroyed  it. 

Squlsh.  a  person  falling  heavily,  is  said  to 
"  come  down  squish.^'  It  seems  only  a  variety,  and 
not  a  very  elegant  one,  of  ^Ish.  As  Ray  says  of 
slump,  it  seems  to  be  per  onomatopoeian, 

Squywinniken.  Awry — goreing  —  a»kew —  not 
straight.  The  last  portion  is  sometimes  pronounced 
wanniken.    See  Squinny. 

Staddle.  What  any  thing  stands  on — the  stones 
or  supports  of  a  corn-stack — the  horse  for  casks,  &c. 
Ray,  as  a  north  country  word,  says  it  is  "  the  bot-s 
tom.of  a  corn-mow,  or  haystack.''  E.  W.  p.  51. 

Thus  Tusser-^ 


' HfitlNirkioiBdMll,  '  Ere  HiiifcT  3pe  feH: 
Hm  tty»igfcte»l^  y  kD^vi>  For  tLMlm  Itt  grow.    p.  tM. 

AnA  in  p.  td7,  he  ases  it  m  a  verb  also— he  is  gpving 
directions  about  ''  stadling  of  woods''-*-  -- 

Then  see  it  well  iiadM^  withoat  and  within. 
IjNnt  growing  fordadktf  the  Ukest  and  best. 

He  here  means  y<Ning  trees  to  be  stands,  or  stad' 
dk§;  «nd  indeed  these  tfiM>  words  seem  in  many 
casct  nearly  synonymous.  See  Stand.  Nares  thus 
has  it — 

:  4^44^  a  snppqrt.  .S^xop•    V«ed  ^  SS^^oier  for  a  staff. 

OUijrlnuM|fL|S4Wpr|b«94  9S» 
— : T-  his  weak  steps  govemiufi:, 

.  And.agsd  fiaubs  on  ejpctsse  stadle  stoiit.    F.  Q.  i.  Ti.  14. 

'SkdU,  Nares  eonlinnesy  is  ased  bj  Tosser  and  others,  for 
m  fovng -jpawing  tree,  left  in  a  wood  after  catting.  Skmils  is 
DOW  nsed,  I  think,  for  the  stone  supports  on  which  a  rick  is 
laiaM*  Ash  eaplains  it  of  the  wooden  frame  which  rests  on 
4KMe  le§^  which  seems  partly  confirmed  by  Fragnu  Antiq* 
T'  *•••>  •*'«'«^  It  Is  esdled  a  Derbyshire  word. 

I  think  Ash  is  m  error,  nxy  loea  or  staaaie,  or 
sffldlc,  i9  of  something  standing.  In  an  O.  D.  A.  is 
'*  sta4dles,  young  tender  trees.  Such,  in  thinning 
ifo^dsj  are  left  to  tiller;  which  see.  Bed- stead,  may 
^'9ve  arisen  from  the  sense  o^  support.    See  Stead. 

JSxAifE.  The  long  wooden  handle  of  a  rake  or  long 
fork — not  of  a  common  short  three  tined  muck-fork 
— or  of  a  spade  or  skuppet.  These  are  called  tiller; 
vbich  see.  In  Cheshire,  "  stele  or  steal,  is  the  stalk 
pf  a  flower,  or  the  handle  of  a  rake  or  broom :  stele, 
Aifglp-tSa^^on.     Ash  calls  it  local.''  W. 

in  Scottish,  "steil,  a  handle,  as  of  a  plough — from 
the  Teutonic  steely  caudex.''  J. 

I  couclude  the  steel,  in  the  following  quotation, 
which  I  borrow  from  Nares'  article  "  Shak-fork,  a 
b^y*fork>  a  fork  for  shaking  up  the  grass,  is  the 
saoie  '^  pur  word — 

lilE'st  a  strawne  scare»erow  in  the  newwsewne  field, 
1U^*d  on  some  sticke  the  tender  cqrne  to  shield. 
Or  if  that  semblance  salt  not  eyerie  deale, 
Like  a  broad  shak-forke,  with  a  slender  steeU 

Ball.  Sai.  iii.  T. 


394 

I  may  Dote  that  amodg  our  stlperlatiTes' we.have 
lastfhesi,  for  most  lasting  :  likest,  for  most  like :  la- 
sest,  for  smallest — sometimes  kasest,  and  lessesi-lUtU. 
See  DociLisisT. 

Nares  under  Siele,  says  it  is  the  stem  or  stalk  of 
any  thing,  from  the  Saxon,  stela.  The  Dutch  i»  the 
same.    Both  perhaps  from  aTnXn — 

The  stalke  or  stetUe  thereof  (of  barley)  is  smaller  than  the 
wheat  stalke.  B,  G<ntg^s  HereAachtUaf  foL  M.    . 

Thus  also  the  stem  or  body  of  an  arrow-— 

A  shaft  hath  three  priocipal  parts,  the  ttele,  the  fethers,  and 
the  head.  Aseham'sToxopMUifp.lSU 

Among  his  S.  and  E.  country  words^  Ray  has, 
"the  steal  of  any  thing ;  i.  e.  manubrium.  The 
handle,  or  pediculus,  the  foot-stalk:  d  Belg.  sfeel,- 
stele.    Teut.  stiel,  petiolus"  E.  W.  p.  97. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  ''  the  sneath,  or  handle  of  a 
scythe — a  stale,  the  round  of  a  ladder — and  th^^MU 
AT  handle  of  a  rpooo."  I  ^o  not  think  we  have 
either  of  the  words  in  those  senses.  Stawk  is  some- 
times beard  in  Suffolk,  for  the  handle  of  a  whip — a 
whipstawk,  and  perhaps  of  other  articles — altered 
from  stick,  or  stacke,  probably.  We  see  above  that 
stalke  and  steak,  or  steal,  are  synonymous  in  more 
than  one  author.  Among  so  many  unimportant 
names,  precision  cannot  be  looked  for. 

I  will  enumerate  some  of  those  varieties  of  names 
of  tool-handles — cot^  haft^  heft,  helve,  stale,  stawk,  or" 
stock,  tiller.  All  these  are  current  in  Suffolk ;  and 
under  those  words  in  this  Collection,  sufficient  will 
be  found  on  the  subject.  Siuake  may  be  added  for 
the  handle  of  a  pump,  and  handstaff,  for  the  longer 
limb,  or  holding  moiety,  of  a  flail.  And  just  as  I 
was  sending  this  page  to  the  press  a  final  inquiration 
led  me  to  the  knowledge  of  another  discriminative 
name  of  a  tool-handle  in  use  among  us — in  strict- 
ness, a  long  pitch- fork  handle  is  not  the  stale,  but  the 
sheath.  This  may  be  the  same  with  the  sneath  of  the 
O.  D.  A.  .  The  handle  of  a  scythe  we  commonly  call 
scythe-stick. 


395 

Stall.  Af  >svell  as  for  th^  division  of  a  8ta*ble,  we 
use  this  word  very  differently.  Ale-staU,  for  the 
stool,  or  horse,  on  which  beer-casks  stand.'  One 
does  not  see  how  the  place  for  a  horse,  and  a  horse, 
came  thus  to  be  confounded.  A  covering  for  a  cut 
finger,  we  call  a  tkimib'Stall.  Cot  and  Hudkin — see 
under  those  words — are  other  names  for  the  last 
named  article.  Head^stall,  for  the  frontlet  of  a 
horse's  bridle,  is  I  believe  common  almost  over  Eng- 
land. Jamieson  explains  it  to  mean  in  Scotland, 
"  the  band  that  forms  the  upper  part  of  a  horse's 
cellar"  The  house  and  buildings  of  a  farm,  we  call, 
collectively,  liomestall,  or  homestead, 

Siall,  is  sometimes,  though  but  rarely,  confounded 
with  stale,  the  handle  of  a  tool ;  for  which  we  have 
several  names.     See  Stale. 

St  AM.  To  surprise,  to  astonish,  to  confound. 
'*  Fm  wholly  stamm'd."  *'  He's  a  stammin  fellah.'' 
Thb  is  a  very  common  word  ;  but  I  do  not  recollect 
inipeting  with  it  any  where,  save  in  Suffolk  colloquy. 
CahohUed,  and  Jlabbergasted,  which  see,  are  other 
onconth  terms,  oenoting  surprise,  or  confusion ;  and, 
perhaps,  astonishment. 

'  Stand.  The  early  active  little  fish,  otherwise 
called  Tantickle,  and  Stickleback,  from  its  sharp  dor- 
sal iBn  probably.  The  upright  position  of  that  fin 
n^ay.bave  given  its  other  name.  In  Cheshire  it  is 
called  Jack  Sharp.  W. 

Sfuind  is  also  a  young  tree,  unpolled.  Staddle, 
which  see,  is  nearly  the  same.  See  .Pollard.  A 
beer  cask,  not  made  in  the  usual  barrelled  form,  but 
get  on  its  smaller  end,  we  also  call  a  stand:  "  a  beer 
barrel  set  on  end,"  is  so  called  in  Scottish.  J. 

Stand-still.  A  stoppage;  a  cessation.  "Things 
are  qome  to  a  stand  still." 

Stank.  A  dam ;  a  bank  to  retain  water.  "  Stank 
it^'tip.'*  tlay  gives  the  word  in  the  same  sense.  £•  W. 
p.\87«  In  Scottish,  "  stank  is  a  pool  or  pond."  J. 
Nsires  has  this  article — 


906 

•take,  or  fiooden  bar,  or  poBt» 

An'inmidation  that  o'erbean  tUe  banks 
Aod  bounds  of  all  religion:  ff  sbtneffoNdBi 
Shtm  their  emergent  heads^  like  Seth^4i  ^tt'tfalitote^ 
Th'  are  monamentB  of  thy  devotion-goQie.     . 

Fletcher's  ^^r.p^tlSr^  . 

With  ua  a  stank  is  not  necessarily  of  wood :  rather 
indeed,  otherwise.  Such  a  sta&e^  or.  posl— -not  a 
bar — as  Nares  adverts.to-4-wie.€aUa«eK(p>.wMefa)6ce'*( 
or  Detvel  in  the  Appendix. 

Star.  Stare.  "  Starring  ey&t/'  "  HoW.  ytoa 
dew  star  at  one.**  "A  staiyd  likfe  a  fit^ck  )%.* 
This  sad  simile  is  used  oh  alndth<*r  bccaiiidh.  9c6 
fepucK. 

Startlt.  a  starting,  shying  horse,  is  so  appro- 
priately designated. 

>  Staunch.  To  stop  a  bleeding— or  leaking*-^ in 
inan,  beast,  cask,  &c.  Stint  is  a  verb  of  like  impMl; 
but  confined  mostly  to  the  stoppage  of  a  hemoriiiaget 

Stawk.  Or  Stock;  the  handle  of  a  wbijn'.;  and 
perhaps  of  some  other  implementis — of  wb^h>  act 
under  Stale. 

Stated.  Steady — sedate.  <^  A  staid  womia/'  I 
have  not  met  with  this  word  in  this  sense#-  save'  in 
an  O.D.  A.  where  is  "  stayed;  grave,  serious  sdber.^' 

dTEAD.  Aid,  assistance,  usefulness  :  in  this  sehlN*. 
"  It  stood  me  in  some  stead" — instead  of  soniething 
pdsdibly.  The  word  does  not  occur  to  me  rn  any 
^thep  ii^i'ase  in  that  sense.  But  we  u^  it  ih  due  otr 
f#o  instances  for  plait^^^^  hbcnestedfid^,  op'  homt^Hi^ 
Seie  under  tLH»  latter  word,  and'MiDDLEsrBAi>,  and 
Stedded.  Bed-stead  is  universal,  td'tb^  sense  ota 
Mipport,  or  stand,  or  staddk,    Sdb  under  thc' kilter. 

Stedded.  Suited — engag^.  '"I  can't  gli  lio 
work-^the  farmers  are  air«rec/dr(i'^  Sttd  andtfao^ 
aie  used  by  Shakespeare  In  the  sense  of  's^e,  A«^* 
B0iti.  and  J.  iiiv  8.  Otidh^  i.  ft;  T6  utand  4MH| 
in  some  sted  or  uead/u  stiUm4Me4nr^ffotk.>.  Ami 
Stead. 


397 

'  Stblts.  Stiltfl— -as  noticed  under  Aninnd  ;  with 
many  other  similar  substitutions  of  e  for  i,  and  the 
converse. 

Stent.  An  allotted  portion — a  day's  work — a 
stint,  but  not  in  a  sense  of  curttiilmenti  "Fellen 
a  score  load  a  day  is  our  stent''  The  word  stented 
occurs  in  a  Scottish  quotation  under  Cvts,  in  a 
sense  of  limitation  or  restriction.  **  Stent ;  a  task,  a  . 
glint."'    J.  / 

We  may  on  this  word,  as  in  most  others,  accord 
with  Nares,  who  says. 

Stent,  probably  for  atint,  a  mere  change  for  the  sake  of 
the  rhyme,  or  else  an  abbreviation  of  extent, 
Emythius  that  in  the  cart  flrgt  went, 
Had  even  now  attained  his  journey's  stent, 

Mir,  for  Mag,  p.  956. 

and  cursing  never  stent 

To  sob  and  sigh.  lb.  p.  261. 

Stetch.  The  ploughed  portion  of  land  between 
two  furrows,  which  is  greater  or  less,  according  to 
ihe  heavy  or  light  quality  of  the  soil.  In  strong 
lands,  we  go  eight  furrows  to  a  stetch,  which  is 
called  "  eight  furrow  work."  The  reader  (though 
happily  no  farmer)  will  probably  know  that  what  the 
plough  makes  at  every  bout  is  called  a  furrmu  till 
filled  up  by  the  next  bota.    See  Bout. 

Stickleback.  A  little  prickle-back  fish,  other- 
\ir1sc  called  Stand  and  Tantickle — which  see. 

StId.     Stead — instid.     See  Sturrupyle. 

i-SriFEY.  Rhyming  to  ^/n/ey.  Stifling — suffocating 
•^*  how  stify  the  room  is.''  Stithy  is  a  similar  word. 

-  Stiff.     See  Stith. 

'  Stingy.  Snappish — waspish — unruly — ill-tem- 
pered— quarrelsome — said  of  a  dog,  or  of  bees,  of 
ften  or  women,  or  a  penurious  person.  The  word  ori- 
glffiates  doubtless  from  sting— Wit  g  having  become 
■^  by  the  accidents  of  time  and  usage,  and  from 
Hnjriial  analogy.  The  propensity  of  bees  to  hoard 
aim  resent  is  proverbial.  Sharp,  unsettled  weather, 
inclining  to  ram,  would  also  be  called  stingi^ :  such 
probably  as  one  would  be  prone  to  <\uarrel  wilh. 


398 

And  it  is  curious,  t^at  in  Clieshire,  **  litigiqus  jis  a 
term  applied  to  weUtber  tiiat  impedes  the  harvest, 
but.it  is  probably  only  a  cant  term,  and  not  a  true 
county  word."  W.  The  sense  is,  we  see,  common  to 
both  these  distant  counties,  but,  perhaps,  not  inter- 
mediately. Ray  says  "stingy  means  pinching,  sor- 
did, narrow  spirited.  I  doubt  whether  it  be  of  an- 
cient use  or  original,  and  rather  think  it  to  be  a 
newly  coined  word."    E.  W.  p.  ix. 

It  has  occurred  in  some  of  our  articles — see  under 
Duddle  and  Tetchy, 

Stint.     See  Stoot,  and  Stunt. 

Stith.  Rhyming  to  piM.  A  smith's  anvil.  Stkhy^ 
a  blacksmith's  shop.  These  words  are  comtnon  in 
Suffolk,  are  archaic,  and  have  been  extensively  in 
use.     Stithy  occurs  in  Shakespeare  as  a  verb — 

By  tlie  forge  that  siithy^d  Mars  his  helm. 

Troil.  and  Ores.  ir.  5. 

And  in  Hamlet  as  a  substantive — 

My  imaginations  are  as  fonl  as  Vulcan's  Mky, .  ili.  f,- 

"  Stithy,"  say  the  coTnmentators,  "  is  a  smith's 
anvil  ;**  but,  under  correction,  they  are  wrong.  Stith 
is  the  anvil — stithy  his  shop.  The  poet  is  very  cor- 
rect— a  smith's  anvil  is  rarely,  if  ever, /om/ — his  shop 
always.     So  it  was,  we  may  infer,  with  Vulcan*. 

The  words  occur,  I  believe,  several  times  in  the 
"  Scottish  novels."  I  have  noted  it  but  once,  where 
I  confess  it  countenances  the  commentators.  "The 
iron  was  never  forg'd  on  stithy  that  would  hand 
her."  ■  Pirate,  I.  115.  On  stithy  must  be  the  anvil, 
pot  the  shop. 

Again  in  Halidon  Hill,  we  have  a  like  phrase — 

Never  did  armourer  temper  steel  on  stithy^ 
That  made  sure  fence  against  an  English  arrow  ; 
A  cobweb  gossamer  were  guard  as  good 
Against  a  wasp-sting.  i.  9. 

Some  of  our  blacksmiths  corrupt  the  word  to  stiff. 

Ray  gives  the  word  stithy  as  of  north  country,  and 
hs  authority  is  in  favour  of  Shakspeare's  commenta- 
tors; but,  I  will  let  my  opposed  opinion  standi  as  it 
is  not  given  pre8umpV\xou?\^. 


399 

^*  A  Mhff,  an  anvil,  d  predict,  A.  S."  (Me^iiing,  1  be- 
lieve, Anglo-Saxon.)  '*  Siidh,  rigidua,  dunts,  Qwd  enim 
mcude  durka  T*    Ray,  E.  W.  p.  58. 

[  expected  to  have  found  stithy  in  Jamieson  ^  but 
do  not  in  tbe  meaning  of  an  anvil.  He  has  "  study, 
stuthy,  styddy,  an  anvil.    .Icelandic^  stedia,  incus.'' 

Nares  affords  us  this  : 
A  stithe  or  stUhy  an  anvil ;  from  r>tib  hard,  Saxon. 

Whose  hammers  bet  still  in  that  lively  brain. 
As  on  a  stUhs,  Surrey's  Poems,    E.  1  • 

And  strake  with  hammer  on  the  stiihe, 

A  canning  smith  to  be.    TubertUls,  (1570)  c.  3. 

*'  Stitky,*'  he  adds — in  aid,  be  it  noted^  of  my 
reading  of  a  passage  in  Hamlet,  already  quoted — 
"  is  the  shop  containing  the  anvil,  now  called  smithy, 
from  stith,"  Nares  quotes  the  said  passage ;  also 
that  from  TroiLand  Cress.  \^  5,  in  illustration  of  the 
verb  "to  stithy,  to  employ  an  anvil.** 
.  I  mav  note,  in  passing,  that  bet,  quoted  above  from 
Surrey  s  Poems,  for  beat,  is  a  Suffolk  idiom. .  So  we 
say  het  (which  see)  for  heated;  and  that  in  an  O. 
DI  A.  is  "  a  stithy,  a  smith's  anvil.*' 

'  It  may,  perhaps,  be  thought  that  I  go  rather  out 
^'my  way ;  and,  if  so,  I  crave  excuse,  when  I 
sote,  that  as  we  sometimes  say  stiff  ^or  stith,  as 
pneoiioned  above  ;  so,  if  we  suppose  others  to  have 
conversely  used  tith  for  stith,  in  the  sense  of  stiff  or 
strong,  we  shall  restore  some  passages  in  our  ancient 
aothors  that  are  not  otherwise  quite  intelligible — 

"  She's  good  mettle, 

Of  a  good  stirring  strain  too :  she  goes  tith,  sir. 

B.  and  FL  Loyal  Sulff.  iii.  4. 

Then  take  a  vridow, 
A  good  stanch  wench  that's  tith.    Id.  Moos.  Thomas,  ii.  9. 

I  have  taken  these  two  quotations  from  Nares ; 
who  says,  "  Tith :  seemingly  put  for  tight  or  strong.** 
The  reader  will  see  how  in  tbe  above  passages  tith 
may,  without  altering  the  sound,  have  been  put 
for  stith. 

"f'STfTHE.  Rhyming  to  ft'Mtf.  Hot^^oppresive — as 
Hfyplied  to  a  crowded,  ill  ventilated  room.  "  The 
■BtMe^  fery  oppressive.** — "  Tbe  room  is  very  stithy." 

8.M  3 


400 

Sttfty  is  nearly  the  ssime  word  ;  the  i  in  both  pro- 
nounced open  acute  and  long. 

Stithy.  See  Stith — in  the  sense  of  an  anvil, 
or  smith's  shop ;  and  Stithe,  in  the  sense,  of  the 
oppressive  heat  or  closeness  of  a  crowded  room. 

Stock.  The  plate,  or  place,  at  the  back  of  the 
lire,  or  immediately  above  it.  "  As  black  as  the 
stock''  is  a  very  common  comparison.  See  Crock. 
It  appears  to  mean  also  the  handle — we  sometimes 
hear  of  the  whip-stock  or  whip-stawk,  but  it  may  only 
be  a  variation  of  stick,  or  stalk.  See  Stale.  Grose 
as  a  N.  country  word,  has  "  stowk,  q.  stalk,  the 
handle  of  a  pail." 

Stodjt.  Thick — clayey — clogsome.  Such  as  a 
heavy  road. 

Stonas.    An  entire  horse. 

Stond.  Stand.  "  Stond  still— wool  ye**— scold- 
ing a^'a^m.  horse. 

Stone  dead.     Quite  dead — as  dead  as  a  stone. 

Stoot.  a  species  of  pole-cat  or  weazle — ^tbat  per- 
haps, which  we  also  call  mousehunt,  which  see.  Stint 
is  another  name  for  it  in  Suffolk  and  other  counties ; 
and  it  is  also  appropriately  called  Stink.  Stint  is,  I 
believe,  a  name  among  us  for  a  species  of  plover— 
"mallards,  curlews,  teales,  knothes,  plover,  and 
stintcs,"  Gage's  Hengrave,  p.  195.  This  quotation 
refers  to  1572. 

Stoke.  Stir.  Stored,  stirred.  "  *A  cent  storen 
az  yit."  He  is  not  stirring,  as  yet :  that  is,  not  up. 
Another  specimen  of  the  use  of  this  word  occurs 
under  Nonnaken  and  Paj, 

Store,  applied  to  a  domestic  animal,  especially  to 
a  sow,  means  one  kept  for  breeding.  "  A  store  sow." 

Thus  Tusser — 

Sow  ready  to  fare^-Craves  baswife's  care. 
Leave  sow  but  five^-The  better  to  thrive. 
Wean  such  for  store — As  suck  before.  p.  81. 

Repeated  in  p.  95. 

.  Of  one  sow,  together,  few  rear  above  five* 
And  those  of  theftoxeiX,  «ii4\\\L«iit(i  thrive.  ... 


401 

Ungelt  of  the  best,  keep  a  conple  for  tiare^ 

Ooe  boar  pig  and  sow  pig,  that  sncketh  before*    p.  95. 

We  retain  the  persuasion  that  the  pig  which  sucks 
the  fore  dill  is  the  best.  See  Dills.  The  last  born, 
called  Barra  pig,  which  see— -is  the  weakest,  and 
sucks  behind.  These  preferences  are  probably 
grounded  in  experience,  and  are  of  extensive  preva- 
lence.    See  Pitman. 

Stover.     Pronounced  Stuvva,  which  see. 

Stough.  Stoughins.  Under  Stow  and  Stowins,  I 
have  given  what  I  have  to  say  of  these  words.  The 
beading  of  this  article  is  merely  a  variety  in  spel- 
ling— like  Rougkings  for  Rowens, 

Stound.  To  long — todesire — to  pine  after.  Beasts, 
&c.  tired  of  turnips  in  spring,  are  said  to  ''  stound 
after  grass  food,"  Recently  weaned  children  "stound 
after  the  breast."  The  word  has  also  a  meaning  of 
time — but  is,  I  think,  then  generally  Stounds,  which 
see. 

Stounds.  Time — in  this  sense  :  **  I  was  axt  some 
stounds  ago."  I  never  heard  the  word,  but  I  under- 
stand it  is  in  use  in  high  Suffolk — that  is  to  the 
northward  of,  and  about,  Framlingham.  In  Scot« 
tish  "stound,  a  small  portion  of  time.  Teutonic 
sUmd,  tern  pus,  momentum."    J. 

Nares  thus  explains  and  illustrates  the  word — 

Stimnd,  Time,  moment,  occasion,  exigence.  A  Chance- 
rian  word,  in  which  author  it  bears  this  sense.  Scunb.  SaxoD. 

O,  who  is  that  which  brings  me  happy  choyce 
Of  death,  that  here  lye  dying  enery  stound. 

Spena,  F.  2.  I.  viii.  38* 

His  legs  coold  bear  him  but  a  little  stound. 

Fair/.  Tasso,  xix.  2B^. 

In  the  A/iiT,  fot'  Magis.  it  is  written  stowne* 

When  once  it  felt  the  wheele 

Of  slipper  fortune,  stay  it  might  no  stowne,  p.  440, 

Stow.  Rhyming  to  now.  To  cut  the  boughs  of 
a*^ pollard  tree  close  to  the  head.  The  cuttings  are 
called  stowins.  See  Pollard.  When  stolen  the 
staifiins  are  called  Brumps,  the  thieves  Brumpers, 
which  see.  In  Scolti:^h  ^'to  stow,  stowe,  stoo^  lo 
crop,  to  lop — siowin,  stolen."  J.    See  Ston«\^%% 

2  M  3 


402 

Stowins,  The  loppings  of  a  pollard-tree.  To 
stow  a  tree  is  to  lop  it.  Under  Batlin^  and  Bole, 
this  word  Stowins  occurs.  When  these  loppings 
ftre  thievishly  cut  in  the  night  they  are  called 
Brumps — the  knaves  Brumpers,  which  see.  Under 
Stow,  we  see  that  slowin  means  stolen.  The  word 
under  consideration  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  met 
with  any  where  else. 

Stradlins — or  Stradlegs,  Stradling — especially  the 
position  called  pig-back.  In  Scottish  *'  to  striddle,  to 
straddle.  Danish  strett-a,  pedibusdivaricare — stride- 
Jggs — stride' lingis,  astride."     J. 

Strapper.  Great—  applied  particularly  to  a  well 
grown  girl.  "  She's  a  strapper.'*  **  She's  a  spank- 
er"—or  "a  wapper/'  are  nearly  equivalent.  See 
those  words. 

Streek.  To  iron  clothes — a  common  pronuncia- 
tion in  some  of  its  senses  of  Strike,  which  see. 

Strinklin.  a  sprinkling  I  suppose — but  gene- 
rally used  with  us  hyperbolicaliy,  meaning  not 
scanty.  "  A  pretty  strinkling  of  turnips,"  means 
a  goodish  plant  ail  over  the  field.  "  A  pretty  strink- 
lin of  partridges,"  or  of  hares,  or  apples,  means  a 
fair  promise,  or  rather  above  it.  It  is  also  used  as  a 
verb  in  the  sense  of  sprinkle. 

Strike.  A  bushel  measure :  also  the  flat  or 
round  implement  by  which  all  the  grain  above  the 
rim  is  struck  off.  We  also  call  it  streek.  Knowing 
meters  receive  with  a  round  strike,  and  issue  with  a 
flat  one.  In  strictness,  strike  in  the  first  sense, 
means  rather  the  contents  than  the  measure  itself. 
"  A  strike  of  barley,"  or  of  malt,  &c.  Komstreiche 
is  a  Teutonic  word  for  a  corn -measure,  according  lo 
Ray,  who  explains,  under  his  north  country  words — 
"  A  strike  of  corn,  a  bushel,  four  pecks."  E.  W.  p.  59. 

Strike  is  also  a  mode  of  plowing.  We  call  it  hack- 
striking,  which  see.  Tusser  notices  it.  He  also  notices 
the  implement  under  that  name.  See  Goop,  verse  I. 
In  an  O.  D.  A.  is  "  a  strike,  2l  measure  of  four 
bushels,  the  same  as  strickle  and  uritcheL** 

Stroke.    Used  in  V.V\e  %fcu%e  o^  ^oxviv^m^^ — 
jreat.     *'  A  good  stroke  o?  Viusvw^*^'* 


403 

Strook.  Struck.  "  'A  strook  em  right  hard." 
This  is  an  old  and  a  good  word.  In  the  Morte 
d' Arthur,  as  quoted  in  a  modern  popular  work,  the 
word  occurs  in  an  eulogy  over  the  body  of  a  gallant 
knight ;  ''  and  thou  were  the  kindest  man  that  ever 
strook  with  sword." 

Strop.  To  beat — to  strap — but  the  threat  need 
not  be  confined  to,  or  be  carried  into  effect  by,  a 
strap  or  strop.  It  is  one  of  the  many  threatening 
words  which  abound  in  our  local  vocabulary,  as 
noticed  under  Aint.  "  'A  yeow  dont  mind  ye'U 
catch  a  good  stroppin" 

Strow.  To  strew.  "  Let's  strow  the  waah  over 
with  flowers,"  is  the  way  in  which  we  join  in  this 
Epicurean  chorus.  The  operation  of  spreading  I'e- 
cently  mown  grass  is  sirowwin  it.  Similar  perhaps 
to  tedding  in  Scotland. 

Struts.  As  true  as — thus  used  in  combination* 
*'  Stru's  yeowr  alive."  See  under  Crack  for  an  ex- 
ample, and  under  Hi  win  for  another. 

Struv.     Strove.     See  an  example  under  Aginn. 

Stry.  To  spoil — waste — injure.  *Stroi/,  perhaps, 
abbreviated  from  destroy.  Sityance,  the  liability  of 
being  stry'd,  "  Ta  lie  ta  stryance ;"  I  recently  heard 
said  of  a  carrot-field  expo.-ed  to  depredation.  The 
following  speech  of  a  deceased  neighbour,  a  gross 
feeder,  is  remembered,  but  is  not,  perhaps,  worth 
recording.  He  fancied,  that  taking  gravy  out  of  a 
dish  with  a  spoon,  was  bad  practice;  (and,  in  refer- 
ence to  hot  gravy  and  a  cold  spoon  he  was  not 
wrong,)  and  was  used  to  tilt  or  keel  the  dish,  and 
pour  the  s^ravy  on  his  plate.  A  waiter  brought  him 
a  spoon,  but  was  repulsed  with — "  A  spune  !  no- 
why  yeow  fule  Val  stiy  the  drippen." 

Confirmatory  of  its  being  an  abbreviation  of  de^ 
stray,  we  may  quote  from  Shakespeare,  Antony's 
speech  to  his  fascinating  ruin — not,  to  be  sure,  very 
intelligible  on  the  whole — 

O,  whitlier  hast  thou  led  me,  Egypt  ?    See 
How  I  couvey  my  sliam^  out  cf  thine  eyes 
By  looking  back  od. what  I  left  behVud, 
S^'d  in  dishonour.  Ant.  aiidClMp%i&»^. 


404 

In  the  norlhy  strushion  for  destruction,  seems  ex* 
actly  equivalent  to  our  stryance,  "  It  lies  in  the  waj 
of  strushion,  i.  e.  in  the  likelihood  of  being  destroyed/' 
JRmf,  E.  W,  p.  59.     Tusser  uses  sfr(^ — 

Diff  garden,  siroy  mallow,  now  may  ye  at  ease. 

And  set,  as  a  dainty,  thy  rnncival  pease.  p.  86. 

If  shepherd  would  keep  them  from  stroying  of  corn, 

The  walk  of  his  sheep  might  the  better  be  borne,  p,  140. 

And,  again,  in  a  quotation  under  Plash,  In  Scot- 
tish •*  to  stray,  to   'estroy.*'     J. 

Strtancb.     See  Stry. 

Stub.  A  small  old  post — the  part  of  an  old  post 
left  in  the  ground — old  ends  of  trees  in  hedge  rows, 
&.C. — these  we  also  call  sleepers.  "  Stub  em  up." 
"Stub and  grub  em  up.*'  Tusser  uses  the  word  very 
•oAen,  in  the  latter  sense.  As  a  boundary^  a  post  is 
called  a  Stulp,  which  see. 

Stwck.  Killed,  or  nearly  so.  "  'A  starr'd  as  if  *a 
was  stuck*' — would  be  said  of  one  whose  looks  de- 
noted the  extreme  of  amazement,  or  fright.  The 
idea  is  borrowed  from  the  horrible  operation  of  kill- 
ing a  hog.  '*  'A  shruck  like  a  stuck  pig/'  is  another 
phrase  of  comparison,  borrowed  from  the  same  too 
familiar  source.     See  Star. 

• 

Stuff.  Medicine,  of  any  sort  of  liquid — not  used 
disparagingly.  "  Doctor's  stuff."  "  Have  you  seen 
the  doctor?"  *'  Is — 'a'v  sent  me  some  stuff,  ta  dew 
it  woth."  Wood  for  building,  making  gates,  pales, 
&c.  is  also  in  the  mass  called  stuff,  "  Ta  oont  dew 
ta  make  em  tew  then — 'tis  best  ta  take  s/m^  enough." 
"  There's  stuff  enough  in  that  there  barn  to  make 
tew."  "  Garden  stuff"  is  also  common.  I  have 
-indeed  heard  vegetables,  or  what  we  otherwise  call 
saace,  called  for  at  a  "  good  man's  feast,"  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  garden  stuff. 

On  this  passage  in  Othello,  i.  2 — 

fago.  Though  in  the  trade  of  war  I  have  slain  meo^ 
Yet  I  do  hold  it  very  stuff  o*the  conscience 
To  do  no  contrived  murder — 

Johnson  says — 

Tliis  expression  to  common  te«L^ex«  %^«i\&&\Axd^%  ^  %Vq£E 


405 

of  the  coDsdeDce"  is  subttanee  or  ctamce  of  the  comcience* 
8h^  18  a  word  of  great  force  io  the  Teatonic  langnsgetf. 
Tlie  elements  are  called  in  Dutch  hotfd  stoffen,  or  head$t^ff8. 

lago's  speech  is  not  at  all  "  harsh''  to  me,  albeit  a 
"  common  reader/'  Id  the  Suffolk  and  Dutch  sense 
of  materials,  it  seems  to  read  smoothly.  It  is  against 
my  conscience — against  the  very  matter  or  consti- 
tution of  my  conscience  to  premeditate  murder.  By 
the  elements,  Johnson  means  the  papal  host.  As  in 
Suffolk,  stuff  \%  here  manifestly  used  not  in  a  dispa- 
raging sense.  And  we  also  use  head  (or  hid)  gene- 
rally par  excellence.     "  Hid  post,"  &c.  See  Hidd. 

We  likewise  say  "  household  stuff,"  for  furniture  ; 
so  does  Shakespeare,  in  that  most  amusing  mad-cap, 
Petruchio.  We  do  not  indeed  apply  the  term  quite 
so  extensively  as  to  our  wives — 

She  18  my  goods,  my  chattels ;  she  is  my  house, 
My  htmuhold  stuffs  my  field,  my  bam, 
My  bone,  my  ox,  my  ass,  my  any  thing  ;— 
And  here  she  stands--touch  her  whoever  dare. 

T.qftUSkremfVX.%. 

In  the  sense  first  given,  we  find  an  item  of  ex- 
penses at  Hengrave  Hall,  in  1573 — 

To  the  poticary  for  certain  poticary  •itf^e  for  my  m''*  and 
my  m^.  hv.  xd. — Gage's  Heng.  p.  199. 

Stule.  Stool — in  a  sitting,  &c.  sense,  in  all  its  va- 
rieties— verb  and  substantive. 

Stulp.  a  short  stout  post,  put  down  to  mark  a 
boundary,  &c.,  or  driven  into  the  ground  for  any 
purpose.  In  the  sense  of  a  meer  or  boundary,  dewel 
is  a  more  common  word;  which,  however,  I  have 
omitted  in  its  place  in  this  Collection.  See  under 
that  word  in  the  Appendix,  In  Scottish  '*  stoop,  a 
post  fastened  in  the  earth."  J.  Also  in  Nares,  who 
g^ives  precisely  the  same  words,  as  a  quotation  from 
Say's  N.  C.  words,  adding,  "  He  derives  it  from  the 
Latin  stupa" 

It  may  be  known  ;  hard  by  an  ancient  stoop, 
Where  grew  an  oak  in  elder  days  decay'd. 

Tancr.  and  Gism,  O.  PI.  ii.  201. 

Stoop  and  Stulp,  are  evidently  closely  cognate,  if  not 
identical.    Under  the  latter  word,  Nares  has  this — 

s,/Sjkitw,  .QfhP  Posts, stamps,  or  lomethmf^ oi th^lVjok^. 


406 

**  Bridgewarde-wilhin,  %o  called  of  London  Bridge,  which 
bridi^  is  a  principal  part  of  that  warde,  and  beginnetb  at 
the  itulites  on  the  soath  end  by  Southwarke,  &c.** — Stam^$ 
Lond,  p.  167. 

This  wordy  Nares  adds,  is  repeated  in  the  improved  edition. 
hj  Stowe  himself,  and  again  by  his  continuator  Styrpe,  bnt 
without  any  intimation  of  its  meaning.     GL 

Its  meaning  is  well  understood  among  us,  where 
it  is  a  very  common  word.  Sitdf,  has  a  similar  signi- 
fication. 

Stummack.  The  stomach — but  I  include  the 
word  in  this  Collection,  because  we  use  it  in  rather  a 
singular  or  quaint  sense ;  thus,  of  a  man  to  whom 
something  unpleasant  hath  occurred,  we  should.say, 
"  Ah,  'a  cant  stummuck  it'' — or  "  Let  um  stummuck 
that  if  'a  can" — equivalent  to  swallow^  perhaps,  or 
digest,  as  others  sometimes  put  those  phrs^s. 

Stun,     A  stone — weight;  not  a  pebble. 

Stunt — Stunty— Stunted — Stinted.  I^topped, 
curtailed^  short.  A  tree  or  a  child  stunted  in  its 
growth. 

Nurse^  And,  pretty  fool,  it  stinted  and  said  aye. 
Juliet,  And  stint  thee  too,  I  pray  thee,  mirse>  say  L 

With  us,  stunty  means  also  cross,  snaggy.  "  *A  fare 
kiender  stunty  this  morning,"  See  Duddle.  JRun/y 
might  be  substituted  in  the  last  speech.  Stinted  we 
also  apply  in  a  particular  case  to  mares,  in  a  sense 
of  held,  retained. 

In  Lincolnshire,  according  to  Ray,  stunt  means 
stubborn,  fierce,  angry,  from  the  Ang.  Sax*  stunta, 
stunt;  stuhus,  fatuus,  &c.     £.  W.  p.  59. 

In  the  sense  of  stopping  or  checking,  we  should 
apply  the  word  stint,  in  this  case — **  'A  bled  stam- 
minly,  an  'a  coudnt  stint  it,"  for  staunch  it— exactly 
in  the  sense  of  this,  among  many  illustrations  of  stint 
in  Nares — 

The  blood  stinted  a  little  when  he  was  laid. 

North*8  Phitardi. 

In  the  article  Duddle,  above  referred  to  sli^^  i« 
u^d  iu  the  sense  of  snub  or  snip.     See  those  acticlef* 

5rt;nRy{>YLB.  SUcrup-oW.   K  N^^^^^ivda^ereen-- 


407 

hern  to  the  cobbler's  or  knackcr^s  for  a  haapatk  of 
aiumfyle.  The  artist  being  up  to  it,  gives  the  skrig' 
glen  wight  a  good  dose  of  the  "  sturrup  lutha  in  stid" 
Sending  for  pigeon's  mi1k>  is  another  good  joke  of 
old  standing.      See  Pigeon's  Milk. 

In  Scotland  a  similar  i^ort  of  tangible  jocularity 
may  be  presumed  from  Jamieson's  explanation  of 
"Oil  of  hazel — a  sound  drubbing/* 

Stuwa — or  Siover,  Clover  made  into  hay — but 
we  rarely  confound  a  "hay- stack''  and  a  ''stack  of 
•tuvva/'  The  latter  appearing  to  be  confined  to 
clover;  or  extended  sometimes  to sanfoin  and  other 
artificial  grasses.     It  is  an  old  word. 

Thus  Shakespeare — 

Ceres,  most  boanteons  lady,  tby  rich  leas 
Of  wbeaty  rye,  barley,  vetchen,  oats,  and  pease ; 
Tby  turfy  mouotains  where  live  nibbling  sheep. 
And  flat  meads  thatch'd  with  sioceff  them  to  keep — 

Tempesty  iv.  J. 

The  poet  seems  not  to  make  the  distinction  that 
we  do :  in  his  day«  but  little  was  known  of  artificial 

frasses.     Nor  is  the  distinction  very  perceptible  in 
'usser-^for  the  same  reason  probably.     He  often 
uses  the  word. 

•  Tliresh  barley,  as  yet  but  as  need  shall  require, 
■Fresh  threshed  for  stover ^  thy  cattle  desire — p.  47. 

Serve  rye-straw  out  first,  then  wheat^traw  and  pease, 
Then  oat-straw  and  barley  ;  then  hay  if  yon  please : 

•  Bnt  serve  them  with  iiay,  wliile  the  straw  stoter  last. 
Then  love  they  no  straw  —they  had  rather  to  fast.  p.  60. 

The  word  love  is  used  above,  by  Tusser,  in  ita* 
still  retained  Suffolk  sense.     See  Love. 
R^y,  among  his  S.  £.  country  words,  has 

Siover;  fodder  for  cattle;  straw,   or  the  like.    Essex. 
■From  the  French  estouver ;  fovere  according  to  Cowel.  Spelp. 
nftSD  reduces  it  from  the  Kreiicli  estoffe,  tnateria,  and  estoffer^ 
necesiaria  svppeditare,    p.  88. 

Under -S/oa^er,  in  Nart-s,  we  have  what  follows — 

Fodder,  and  provisions  of  all  sorts  for  cattle;  from  estovers^ 
law  term,  which  is  so  explained  in  the  Law  dictionaries. 
Both  are  iierived  from  esiowier,  in  the  old  French^  defined 
by  R^vefort  **  Convenance,  n^cessit^,  provuion  de  toot 
ce.^  est  n^cessaire.*' 

In  addition   to  some   ef  tbe  \\\usV.T?A\oiv%  ^\\^\v 


408 

above»   Nares  has  the  following    quotation    from 
Drayton — 

And  others  from  their  cartf  are  hosily  aboat 

To  draw  oat  sedge  and  reed^  for  thatch  and  atwer  fit. 

Polyolh,  xxxT.  p.  1158.  . 

I  have  not  the  means  of  referring  to  the  above 
quotation  from  Drayton — ^but  I  conjecture  that  by 
car,  he  means,  as  we  do  by  that  word«  a  boggy,  low 
wood — especially  an  aTtier  car.  See  Carr.  Such 
places  may  furnish  sedge  and  reed  for  thatch>  but 
not  9tover  in  our  sense  of  that  word.  .Does  Drayton 
mean  fit  for  thatching  a  stover  stack?  Sedges  we 
call  Segs,  which  see. 

Sty — or  Styney.  A  troublesome  little  excrescence 
or  pimple  on  the  eye-lid.  We  fancy  that  the  ap- 
plication of  gold,  especially  of  a  gold  ring,  and  more 
especially  of  a  wedding-ring,  is  a  cure. 

Nares  tells  us,  that  it  is  from  a  Saxon  word — and 
shows  that  both  the  word  and  the  fancy  above,  are 
found  in  B.  and  Fl. 

I  have  a  sty  here,  Chilax. 


Chu    I  have  no  gold  to  cure  it ;  not  a  penny. 

Mad,  Lot,  V.  4. 

There  is  a  8tie  grown  o'er  the  eye  o'  th'  bnll. 
An.     Put  a  gold  ring  iu's  nose,  and  that  will  cure  him. 

Id.  Elder  Bro,  if.  4. 

Stye.  The  place  for  hogs — a  pretty  general  word 
perhaps.  Under  Hobble,  it  is  shown  that  we  have  a 
distinction  in  pig's  apartments.  In  the  Exmoor 
dialect,  according  to  Grose,  "  Looze  is  a  hog-stye.'' 
Of  the  disease  in  the  eye,  see  Sty. 

Suckers.  A  longish  sort  of  a  sweety,  enjoyed  by 
children,  in  the  mode  denoted  by  the  name. 

SucKLiN.  White  or  Dutch  clover.  Also  the 
honey-suckle. 

SucKREL.  A  sucking  colt.  The  word  is  scarcely 
ever  applied  to  any  thing  else. 

Sugar.  Not  sAugar  as  commonly  pronounced  in 
England,  and  so  written — shukker — /*  through  Asia. 

So  we  say  sewer,  for  sure — not  ^^ure. 


409 

SuMFUN.  Something.  It  is  sometimes  used  in' 
rather  a  strange  phrase.  One  expressing  to  another 
that  he  uoulH  have  been  belter  pleased,  had  some- 
thing else  been  done,  would  say — "  Ah  ;  if  ye'd 
done  so  ami  so,  Vd  a  said  sumfun  te  ye:*  that  is, 
something  commendatory. 

SuMMAT.     Something — somewhat. 

SuMMERLAND  —  or  Summerlay.  Fallow  land — 
ploughed  and  laying  through  the  summer ;  or,  if 
suited  to  the  plant,  till  turnip  sowing  time,  uncrop- 
ped.  ''Making  of  summerlands,^'  is  one  of  the 
lieaviest  operations  in  farming. 

SuNE.  Soon.  "  Yeow  ar  tew  sune.'*  This  is 
one  of  our  usual  substitutions  of  the  acute  u,  for  the 
oo,  as  noticed  under  Butes. 

SuNKET.  A  child  sickly  and  unpromising  is  so 
called — *'  Ah  !  'tis  a  poor  sunketing  thing."  The 
word  sometimes  means  good  cheer — but  junket,  is 
then  more  common.  See  Junket.  In  Scottish, 
Sunkit  appears  to  mean  food — 

The  horn  that  now  blaws  tlie  shepherd  to  his  sunkit  on  the 
hill  fide,  had  it  been  set  to  a  Lyddal's  lip  would  have  touted 
oat  two  hundred  helmets,  with  as  many  bauld  Lyddals  and 
Hallidays,  all  on  their  barbed  steeds,  with  their  mail  coats 
on,  and  their  swords  by  their  sides. 

Twelve  Tales  of  Lyddahross,   Lon,  Mag, 

Sunkets,  provisions  of  whatever  kind.  J. 

Suncale  occurs  as  a  Suffolk  word,  in  a  quotation 
under  Spbrket. 

Supernaculum.  A  word  well  known,  and  occa- 
sionally heard  in  social  circles  in  Suffolk — generally 
understood  to  mean  little  else  than  an  excellent  bot- 
tle— something  supercurious.  Few  of  us,  I  ween, 
were  aware  of  its  origin,  which  Nares  shews  in  a 
very  curious  article,  copiously  illustrated  by  quota- 
tions of  passages  in  which  the  word  occurs.  It  js  a 
kind  of  mock  Latin,  intending  to  mean  on  the  nail; 
and  is  thus  explained  in  a  quotation  I'rom  Pierce 
Pennilesse — 

2   N 


410 

Drinking  super  nagvhim  ;  .a  devUe  of  drinking,  new  come 
ont  of  Frauiice,  which  is,  after  a  man  hath  turned  up  the  bot- 
tom of  the  cup,  to  drop  it  on  his  naile^  and  to  make  a  pe>irle 
with  that  is  left ;  which  if  it  slide,  and  he  cannot  make  it 
itand  on,  by  reason  ther*8  too  much,  he  mast  drink  again  for 

The  whole  schoole  (I  mean  schola  hibendi)  follow  that  way 
to  a  drop,  which  is  called  in  the  most  authentic  and  empha- 
tical  word  they  have,  tuper^mjoculum, 

Gtiif's  Feat.  Noies^  p.  103. 

It  is  thus  described,  without  being  named,  in  a  book  of  odd 
biimoars — 

Hea  tooke  nphiscnp  of  tweWe  quarts — ^and  then  bee  set  it 
to  his  mouth,  stole  it  off  every  drop,  save  a  little  remainder, 
which  hee  was  by  custom  to  set  upon  his  thnmbe's  oailei  tod 
ycke  it  off,  as  he  did.-— i>t8c.  of  a  New  fVorld^  p.  53* 

It  has,  Nares  adds«  been  the  subject  of  a  regular 
discussion,  in  a  little  tract  printed  at  Leipsic  in  1746, 
4to.  entitled  *'  De  Svpemaculo  Anglorum.''  The  de- 
rivation is  there  thus  stated ;  "  Est  vox  hybrida^  ex 
Latina  prepositione  stqter  et  Germano  nagel  (a  nail) 
composita.^^  And  he  refers  to  Pop.  Ant,  IL  228, 4to. 
£d.  Sometimes  the  emptied  glass  was  made  to  ring 
against  the  thumb-nail ;  alike  evincing  the  fact, 
tending  to  perpetuate  the  phrase,  and  perhaps  con- 
tinuing the  festive  practice. 

SussACK.  A  fall.  ''  I  cum  down  sich  a  sussakr^** 
such  a  souse,  perhaps.  In  Scottish  "  soss  is  the  flat 
sound  caused  by  a  heavy  but  soft  body,  when  it 
comes  hastily  to  the  ground.^'  J.  With  us  it  also 
means  a  blow,  but  is  not  often  heard  in  that  sense. 
"  'A  gon  em  a  right  good  sussack  i'  the  guts.*'  Thh 
elegant  word  might  have  been  given  among  its  fel- 
lows under  Aimt,  but  was  forgotten.    It  is  no  verb. 

Sus-Sus.  The  invitation,  appropriate  enongfa,  to 
a  sow  or  swine,  to  partake  of  its  stoill.  In  Leices- 
tershire pur  is,  or  was,  a  similar  invite,  as  N^frea 
shows  in  his  curious  article  under  Pur ;  and  Wfa^l 
may  be  thought  farther  curious,  he  illustrates  it  by 
an  extract  from  a  sermon  of  bishop  Latimer,  who 
was  a  Leicestershire  man — 

They  say  in  my  country,  when  they  call  their  hogges  to 


411 

(be  awine^fovgk,  '*  C^mo  to  thy  miiisla  OMiigto— come  fiTy 
comeimr." 

This  sermon  must  be,  I  should  think,  rather  a  sin- 
gular eptscopalism. 

I  may  note  in  this  artiele  of  porcine  invitation, 
having  omitted  it  in  its  prop^  place,  a  particle  of 
swinic  repulsion  or  propulsion.  In  driving,  or  in 
any  way  persuading,  this  obstinate  race  of  animals, 
we  have  no  other  imperative  than  hooc,  hooe,  in  a 
deep  nasal,  guttural  tone,  appropriately  compounded 
of  groan  and  gp*unt. 

SwABBLEK.  A  quarrelling,  loud-talking,  swagger- 
ing, bullying  sort  of  a  person,  is  called  "  a  swab- 
lin  fellow"-^from  squabbling  perhaps. 

SwACK.  A  blow,  a  thump,  a  fall.  ''  I'll  gi  ye  a 
swadL  i  the  chops/'  Also,  au  contraire,  a  shake  by 
the  hand.  ''  Ab !  give  us  a  swack  a'  your  hand.'' 
We  say  also,  a  smack  of  the  hand;  and,  I  believe, 
^(wack  is  occasionally  substituted  in  reference  to  the 
lips.  The  following  is  a  genuine  speech,  commu- 
nicated by  a  friend.  ''  The  haw  Sparrak  shuvv'd 
the  mawther  Sal  swack  down  off  'a  the  stule  an 
crackt  ar  sconce :" — implying,  that  the  boy  Spar- 
rowhawk  pushed  the  girl  Sally  off  a  stool,  and  hurt 
her  head.  In  the  first  sense  many  other  words  are 
enumerated  under  Aint.  In  Scottish  **  to  swak,  to 
strike — a  hasty  and  smart  blow."    J. 

SwACKEN.  Large,  thumping,  jpUy-r-in  a  good 
sense— <>"  a  swacken  child."  "  A  fine  sw^ken  fel- 
low"-^^  A  swacken  gal."  Sometimes  the  penult 
sound  is  softened,  and  swashen  has  a  like  meaning. 
The  latter  word  occurs  in  the  same  sense  in  Nigel,  as 
a  Scotticism.  See  Fulla  for  a  specimen  of  the  use 
of  swacken.  It  may  have  some  relation  to  Swack, 
which  see,  and  Swashen. 

.SwAD.  Sword — ^pronounced  short  and  sharp. 
"  lliere  *^  go,  with  a's  swad  by  a's  side ! — hewd  'a 
tbowt  it !"  This  was  said  of  a  swaggering  volunteer 
officer,  the  first  of  his  family  who  ever  wore  a  sx»ad. 

2  N  2 


412 

Swag.  To  swing  backward  and  forward — as  a 
gate^  or  the  handle  or  swake  of  a  pump/  ^'  Dont 
swag  the  gate."  It  may  have  been  borrowed  from 
the  ostentatious  movement  of  the  arms  in  the  walk  of 
a  swaggering  fellow.  Of  such  a  one  it  would  be  said — 
"  K'there — what  a  swag  'a  cut." 

Swake.  The  handle  of  a  pump.  This  word  and 
9xoag  appear  related.  Grose  has  *'  Swapc,  the  handle 
of  a  pump."  Norfolk.  Pr,  Gl.  See,  of  divers  handles 
of  implements  and  tools,  under  Stale. 

Swale.  A  gentle  rising  of  the  ground— like  rist, 
but  with  a  corresponding  declivity — a  swell.  In 
Norfolk  it  means  shade.  "  Let's  walk  i'  the  swale*' — 
but  I  never  heard  the  word  in  this  sense. 

Swap — or  Swop.  To  change — to  chop.  It  is  Scot- 
tish also.  Plicate,  I.  218,  and  perhaps  intermediately, 
not  infrequent.  "Wool  ye  swap  ?"— According  to  Ray, 
in  the  north,  "  coup  is  to  exchange  or  swap,  .^  £.  W. 
p.  24 — and,  in  p.  73,  he  says,  "  to  cope,  i.  e.  to  ch(^ 
or  exchange,  used  by  the  coasters  of  Norf.  Sufi^  &c* 
as  also  Yorksh."  I  never  heard  cope.  In  Scottish,  "  to 
coup,  is  to  exchange  ;  to  swap,  the  same."  J.  In  an 
O.  D.  A,  is  "  to  swap,  to  barter,  or  exchange  one 
thing  for  another." 

Chop  and  cope,  are  perhaps  only  different  pronun- 
ciations of  the  same  word ;  the  hard  and  sofl  sounds 
of  ch  and  k — being  very  common,  as  noticed  under 
Perk.  Chop,  Jockey,  and  Swap,  are  nearly,  I  think, 
equally  common  in  Suffolk.  See  under  the  two 
former  words.  Nares,  under  Chapman  and  Copeman, 
shows  that  they  are  the  same — referring  to  change  or 
barter — both  from  ceap,  a  market. 

Swarm.  A  person  climbing  the  stem  of  a  bough- 
less  tree,  is  said  to  *'  swarm"  it,  as  the  French  do  up 
the  mats  de  cocagne.  Leaping  over  a  gate,  rail,  &c. 
assisted  only  by  a  slight  touch  of  the  hand  is  swarm- 
ing over.  Without  touching,  it  is,  of  course,  jump- 
ing or  leaping.  It  is  sometimes  9alled  Sharming — 
which  see. 


413 

SwASHXN.  Similar  to  Swackm  and  Slashen,  which 
see.  I  have  heard  swashen  and  slashen  in  Ireland. 
In  Scottish  ''  to  swash,  to  swell — from  the  ancient 
Swedish  swassa,  to  walk  loftily.'*    J. 

It  is  found  in  our  old  dramatic  poets^  as  shown  hy 
Nares ;  exactly,  he  observes,  as  we  now  say,  dashing, 
spirited;  calculated  to  surprise. 

We*ll  have  a  swaAing  and  a  martial  outside, 

At  many  other  maunish  cowards  have.    As  you  L*  iiy  i.  3. 

We  should  also  use  the  word  in  the  sense  of  a 
hard,  severe  blow,  as  in  the  following  passages : 

Gregory,  remember  thy  swatting  blowt    Rim,  md  J.ll, 

I  do  confess  a  swashing  blow.    B.  J<ms.  Staple  o/N,v,i. 

The  old  editors  have  a  **  washing  blow  ;*'  bnt,  as  that  is 
nonsense,  swashing  is  very  properly  substituted.    GU 

Swathb-Raking.  The  operation  of  hand-raking 
between  the  swathes  (or  mown  rows)  of  barley  or 
oats,  to  collect  on  to  such  swathes  the  loose  stalks  or 
ears  scattered  in  the  mowing.  From  a  habit  of 
transposing. harsh  consonants,  as  noticeable  in  bref- 
kust  for  breakfast,  waps  for  ivasp,  &c. ;  the  word 
now'iinder  consideration  is  sometimes  pronounced 
Swake-rathmg  and  rake-swathing.    See  Waps. 

Swat.     A  balance,  or  lever — seldom  heard. 

SwATPOLE.  A  long  moveable  beam,  swinging 
obliquely,  but  not  equipoised,  on  its  centre,  up  and 
down  a  well,  for  raising  water — a  bucket  or  pail  is 
hung'  on  a  hook  at  the  end  of  a  chain,  or  bar,  or 
rope,  pendent  from  the  high  end  of  the  sway-pole 
when  at  rest.  The  other  end  is  heaviest,  loaded 
perhaps ;  and  helps  to  raise  the  bucket,  which  is 
pulled  down  by  hand  to  the  water  to  be  filled  and 
swayed  up. 

Sweat.  Or  rather  swet,  as  usually  pronounced^- 
has  a  meaning  of  to  beat.  "  'A  gon  em  a  right 
good  swetten/'  is  well  understood  in  this  sense :  a 
figurative  one,  peradventure,  as  implying  the  ex- 


4r4 

udftting  eflect  of  fiich  «n  operation  on  ihc  smMee. 
Of  ft  variety  <if  these  rhetorical,  &c.  flourishes*— 
Uiese  urgumenai  ad  hominea-sce  under  Aint,  in  the 
^ippendix. 

Sweeties.  Sweetmeats— sweet  things  of  an  j  sort, 
especially  sickening  things  for  children.  In  Scot- 
tish iweeties,  sweetmeats.    J. 

SwiDGE.    "Sfec  Swig. 

Swig— or  Swij,  A  little  water,  beer,  &c.  (not  a 
draught)  running  or  being  improperly  on  the  floor, 
table,  &c.  The  roof  leaking,  a  room  will  be  said  to 
be  "  all  of  a  swic^^'-^this  is  commouer  than  swig. 
If  a  beer-barrel  leak,  *'  The  siller  is  all  of  a 
swidje.''  Such  a  word  is  wanted  in  our  language, 
and  this  is  not  a  bad  one.  In  the  sense  of  guzzle,  ire 
have  smgt  hotb  as  a  verb  and  substantive.  Both, 
as  well  as  the  practice,  are,  I  fancy,  in  pretty  ex- 
tensive usage.  To  swill  is  equivalent  and  appro* 
priate. 

Swii.    See  Swrc. 

Swill.  The  liquid  food  of  swine — bog- wash— 
the  omnium  of  domestic  thrift.  *'  Swill-tub'' — the 
cistern  or  receptacle  of  the  same.  It  is  also  used  as 
a  verb  to  stigmatize  inordinate  or  indelicate  drink- 
ing, as  it  is  in  a  figurative  sense  by  Shakespeare, 
who  had  evidently  the  true  Suffolk  notion  of  this 
word  ;  which  is  not,  perhaps,  local — 

The  wretched,  bloody,  and  usurping  boar. 
That  spoils  your  summer  fields  and  fruitful  Tines  ; 
SwUU  your  warm  blood  like  trosA,  and  makes  bis  trough 
In  your  embowell'd  bosoms.  R»  Srd.  v.  3. 

Guzzle  and  Swig  are  verbs,  in  extensive  use,  per- 
haps, of  like  import — so  is  Bezzle.  See  under  those 
words — and  under  Draff,  for  a  similar  substantive. 

SwiNFUL.  Sorrowful — wistful — longing.  "  Poor 
thing — ta  looked  so  swinful  aata  me.''  The  speech 
of  a  nurse,  referring  to  a  weaned  child. 

Swinge.    A  blow.    Tusser  uses  the  word  in  i^ 


415 

eiMe^  in  which  we  use  brush.    *'  Swinge  brambles 
md  brakes."  pp.  160—174.    See  Goof,  verse  14, 
ind  note. 
Si^kespeare  also— for  a  blow  or  beating — 
I  will  have  you  sonndly  awioged  for  this,  yoa  bkU'biiille 

Blue*bottle,  perhaps,  refers  degradiiigly  to  the 
>bscene  fly  commonly  so  called.  Smnge  occurs  in 
;he  list  of  terms  of  offence  given  under  Aimt. 
Shakespeare  again  in  the  like  sense — 

St.  George  that  MDii^4  the  dragon,  &,  John,  ii.  i* 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  are 

TofiPMjgf,  to  whip  or  bangsooodly,  to'matil— nvli^tflWy 
tiQge^  exceeding  great — a  twingery  any  thing  that  is  of  a  very 
iu^soe — to  iwmgle,  among  flax-dressers,  to  beat<Hi«i»tiiy<f- 
tttjF'f  a  stick  to  beat  flax  with* 

SwiNGEL.  That  limb  of  the  flail  which  falls  on 
the  corn  in  the  straw.  It  is  also  called  FrinjeL  The 
long  limb  is  called  the  hand-staff.  For  other  names 
of  handles  of  tools  and  implements,  see  under  Stale, 
FiLLBR,  and  other  articles  thence  referred  to.  In 
Cheshire,  *'  Swippo  is  the  thick  part  of  a  flail.  In 
Scotch  swap  is  a  sharp  stroke.*'  W.  We  have  not 
vwap  in  that  sense — our  wap  may  be  equivalent. 
We  reckon  hulva  or  holly  one  of  the  best  of  wood  for 
Diakjiig  swingels.    See  Hulva. 

SwiNjiN.  Large — ^bouncing.  *'-  A  swinjin  gal." 
It  is  not  local  perhaps.  We  have  several  other 
wordb  applicable,  in  not  an  un pleasing,  though 
rather  in  an  unfeminine,  sense,  to  our  healthy, 
buxom  damsels,  of  the  useful  class.  Among  them 
-— aa  well  as  bouncing,  and  other  universal  epithets — 
strappen,  swacken,  slasheo,  spanken,  swashen,  wap- 
pen,  at  once  occur  to  me. 

^9wiBK.  A  jerk.  Sometimes  a  blow — a  genUe 
switch  perhaps. 

SwniL.  A  waving  motion  with  the  hand  :  not, 
however,  of  itself  conveying  any  very  definite  idea. 


416 

Switch.  As  well  as  a  small  stick,  and  as  descrip- 
tive of  the  tail  of  a  horse — we  use  this  word  to  de- 
note a  smart,  sharp,  clipping  stroke  ;  such  a  one  as  a 
switch  would  inflict.  "  Switch  him  right  well." 
"  'A  gon  'em  a  right  good  switchin."  For  other  si- 
milar words,  see  Aint  in  the  Appendix. 

SwiTHiN,  St.  The  notion  current,  I  believe, 
pretty  extensively,  that  if  we  have  rain  on  this  day, 
not  one  of  the  next  forty  will  be  wholly  without,  is 
still  in  full  force  among  us.  Nares  notices  it  as  an 
old  and  often  revived  superstition ;  referring  to 
ample  illustrations  thereof,  in  Pop,  Ant,  where  it  is 
not,  however,  mentioned  that  B.  Jonsqn,  in  his 
''Every  Man  out  of  his  Humour*'  introduces  it.  In 
Alban  Butler's  Lives  of  the  Saints,  Swithin  is  recorded 
— but  nothing  is  said  of  the  rainy  prodigy. 

Swop.     See  Swap. 

Swoop.  The  long  sweeping  stroke  or  cut  of  a 
scythe.  Nares  explains  the  word,  "  a  sudden  de- 
scent of  a  bird  upon  its  prey.*'  This  passage  in 
Macbeth  may  have  guided  most  commentators  in 
this  interpretation — but-  Shakespeare  sometimes  in-, 
termixes  metaphors — 

Oh-4iell.kite— all— 
What  f  all  my  pretty  cbickeos,  and  their  dam. 
At  one  fell  swoop,  iv.  3. 

I  do  not  think  that  we  know  the  word  in  this  sense 
of  stoop,  or  pounce.  As  a  form  of  the  verb  sweep, 
Nares  and  H.  Tooke  are  disposed  to  consider  swoop 
in  its  Suffolk  sense.  The  word,  though  uncommon, 
Nares  adds,  is  not,  perhaps,  obsolete.  Dryden  has 
used  it.  Drayton  applies  it  as  a  verb,  to  the  sweep- 
ing motion  of  a  river : 

As  she  goes  swooping  by,  to  Swale-dale  whence  she  springs. 

Polyolb,  xjLviii.  p.  1199. . 

SwouNDED.  Swooned.   So  drownded,  for  drowned. 
Sythe.    Rhyming  to  hlith—'dL  sigh. 


417 

T. 

a\  This — *'la  year" — this  year.  Also  Io.t— 
Tittle.  Also  t#— <*  ta  frize  "  ( rhyming  to 
e)  it  freezes — "ta  thow"  rbymiDg  to  throw—^it 
vs — **  ta  snew  '* — it  snowed.  Our  insignificant 
icle  t7,  forms  an  awkward  idiom  as  applied  to 
^spherical  phenomena — it  rained — it  blew — it 
?ed — it  thawed,  &c. — what  rained — blew — 
red — or  thawed?  "Ta  year/'  seems  but  an 
nsion  of  tomorrow,  to  day,  to  night — another 
ward  incongruous  idiom^  indicating  a  paucity 
inguage.  Other  European  nations  are  as  badly 
in  this  particular. 

know  not  if  the  author  of  the  Diversions  of 
ey  took  this  anomalous  it  in  hand :  he  would 
mbly  have  made  somethii^  of  it.  *^  Is — ta  dew" 
ir  provincial  "  Yes — it  does."  "  Dew  it  rain  ?  " 
ta  dew."  "  Ta  crumble  all  ta  pieces,"  Ex- 
les  of  this  phraseology  may  be  found  under 
gain,  Feed,  and  other  articles  in  this  Collection. 

ACK.  A  trick,  at  cards — not  a  frolic.  *'  1  'vc 
six  tacks."  Lift  or  Left  is  another  term  for  a 
e  at  cards.  See  Left.  Both  trick  and  lift 
1  more  appropriate  and  significant  than  tack,  of 
:h  I  see  no  reasonable  derivation  unless  from 
!6.  Winning  a  game,  at  whist,  &c.  we  call 
ling  a  set:  points  and  rubbers  are  not  yet  of 
ersal  usage  at  whist  tables  in  Suffolk.  I  per- 
*  1  have  used  tack  for  trick,   in  the  article 

Scottish  tuck  is  the  act  of  seizure — a  flight 
.    J. 

AG,  The  end  of  a  lace  for  women's  stays,  or 
ien*s  highlows,  &c.  stiffened  by  a  piece  of  tin 
:ned  on  it.  In  Scottish  tag  is  a  iatchet,  or  any 
^  used  for  tying.  J,  In  the  north— ^*  Jlab^  the 
Let  of  a  shoe."  Hay*  p.  ^1. 

AHNATION.    The  same,   I  bdievc,  a«  Jktk 

2o 


418 

ftation — which  see — a  softened  exclamation,  or 
oath ;  of  which  we  have  divers,  as  noticed  under 
Amenden,  We  also  sometimes  use  this  for  the 
purpose  of  amplification  "A  tahiuuhun  sight  of 
folks."    See  Sight. 

Taken.  A  piece  of  husbandry  work,  not  done 
by  the  day.  "  'Tis  taken  work — I  ha'  took  it — I 
dew  it  by  the  job."  We  also  say  of  a  man  or  beast 
taken  suddenly  ill,  that  '*  he  is  taken " — illness  is 
understood.  Shakespeare  uses  the  word  in  this 
sense — though  in  his  day,  such  attacks  were  often 
imputed  to  witchcraft — that  vampire  of  social  life. 
It  is  amply  illustrated  by  Nares. 

Take  on.  To.  lament,  or  grieve  bitterly,  or 
vociferously.  "  *A  take  on  wemmently."  We  some* 
times  use  it  also  for  anger.    As  does  Shakespeare — 

Dame  Quickly.  Alas  the  daj!  Good  heart!  She  does  so 
take  oil  with  her  men.     M.  W.  of  W,  iii.  5. 

Again — 

"ilrt.  Page.  Why  woman,  your  husband  is  in  his  old  lunes 
again:  he  so  to^ei  on  jonder.     16.  iv.  3. 

These  were  less  '*  in  sorrow  than  in  anger."  On 
this  passage  Johnson  says  *'  Take  ori,  which  is  now 
used  for  to  grieve^  seems  to  be  used  by  Shakes- 
peare for  to  rage.  Perhaps  it  was  applied  to  any 
passion."  "To  take  on.  To  grieve  violently; 
rather  vulgar  than  obsolete."  Nares. 

Take  up.  Reforming — said  of  an  extravagant 
thoughtless  person — "  Ah — yah — 'a  mah  take  up 
binebiue — tha's  no  woo  in  'em  as  yit."  See  Bine- 
bine;  and  Woo.  Take  up,  seems  to  be  derived 
metaphorically  from  the  operation  of  stoppmg  a 
runaway  horse ;  which  is  said  to  be  took  up. 

Tamer.  A  team.  This  is  more  of  a  Norfolk 
word — and  not  much  used  in  Suffolk. 

Tang.  The  point  or  tongue,  or  tooth.  The 
tang  of  a  shoe  buckle  used'to  be  that  point  which 
passing  through  the^strop  confined  it  to  the  rim ; 


419 

like  a  harness  buckle.  I  can  recollect  when  our 
rustic  shoe  buckles — and  whaJK^  male  or  female 
then  went  without? — had  only  one  tang^  or  tongue, 
as  it  was  indifferently  called.  This  word  may  be 
compounded  of  tongue  and  tine,  a  tooth  or  prong. 
Another  part  of  the  buckle  was  called  the  chltfe ; 
another  the  anker. 

Tangled — sometimes  Twangled.  A  rumpled 
skein  of  thread  or  silk — or  a  mass  of  cord,  or  un* 
combed  hair.    Thus  Shakespeare — 

Thn  18  that  very  Mab 
That  plats  the  manes  of  horses  in  the  night; 
And  bakes  the*  elf-locks  in  fuul  sluttish  hairs. 
Which,  once  untangled,  much  misfortune  bodes. 

Rom,  ^  JuU  i.  4 

The  word  is  not  locals  I  believe. 

Tang  lesome.  Discontented — obstinate — fret- 
ful^-not  essentially  different  from  Tankersome. 

Tankersome.  Fractious— ill-humoured — fret- 
fnl.  ''How  tankersome  yeow  dew  fare*' — mostly 
to  a  froward  child. 

Tannaps.  Tmmips.  The  first  a  is  sounded 
broad«^laAnap«. 

Xantickle.  a  little  fish,  otherwise  called 
Stieklehack  and  Stand — which  see.  It  is  the  ga»' 
terofteus  acukatus  of  Idnn*  In  Scottish  **  Ban* 
stickle,  the  three-spined  stickleback."  J, 

Tantrums.  Affected  airs — ^whims-^maggots, 
insolenciiBS— »''  He*s  in  his  tantrums."  Antrums, 
seems  of  nearly  the  same  power.  This  is  not  per- 
haps a  very  confined  word.  In  Scottish  the  same 
is  explained  "  high  airs,  from  the  French  tantran, 
nick-nack."  J. 

Tares.    Tears.    SeeTRiNKLB. 

Tat.  Father.  Also  Bop,  and  Dacf— which 
8«6 ;  and  Moral  for  an  example  of  7W. 

Taters.  Potatoes.  There  are  old  people  now 
Integ  in  my  parish  of  Great  Bealings,  who    rec 

2o2 


420 

lect  the  time  when  this  common  root  was  altogether 
miknown  there.  And  my  Father  was»  as  it  is  be- 
lieved, the  first  man  who  ventured  to  grow  a  crop 
of  them  in  a  field,  in  the'  county  of  Suffolk,  I  re- 
collect it ;  and  think  it  must  have  been  in  the  year 
1777 — in  a  three  or  four  acre  field  adjoining,  or 
near,  the  hnck-kell  at  Alderton.  The  eroig  was  of 
course  shipped  to  London :  and  we  marvelled  what 
could  be  done  with  such  a  quantity. 

In  an  O.  D.  A.  Potatoe  is  explained  *^  a  kind  of 
West  India  root." 

The  notion  that  this  excellent  root  is  of  a  pro- 
vocative tendency — (  Aphrodisiacally)  is  pretty  well 
passed  away  with  its  scarcity.  In  Shakespeare's 
day  it  was  very  common,  as  several  of  his  con- 
temporaries shew — 

Let  tbe  aky  rain  potatoet ;  let  it  thunder  to  the  tune  of  Green- 
sleeves;  hail  kissing  comfits,  and  snow  eringoes :  let 'there  come 
a  tempest  of  proTocation.     M,  W.  rfW.  v.  5. 

Those  who  desire  to  seek  farther  in  this  matter, 
may  consult  Nares  under  Green-sleeoes,  and  Pota- 
toes,  I  will  crave  leave  to  note  a  curious  fact,  not 
unconnected  with  the  increase  in  the  growth  of  po- 
tatoes. The  fathers  of  the  living  race  of  men  could, 
and  can,  recollect  when  Suffolk  importecL  part  of 
the  wheat  for  its  consumption.  In  Tusser — a  very 
curious  work — it  is  asserted  that  **  wheat  never 
grew*'  in  Suffolk,  which  now  exports  as  much, 
perhaps,  as  any  county  in  England — 

In  SuflTolk  again,  whereas  wheat  never  grew. 

Good  husbandry  used,  good  wheat  land  I  knew— 

This  proverb  experience  long  ago  gave, 

**  That  nothing  who  practiselh,  nothing  shall  have."  p.  33. 

T'ave.  It  has — it  have — or,  it  hath.  Ta,  is 
our  common  word  for  it — and  how  we  use  have,  is 
shown  under  that  word. 

Taw.  a  rare  sort  of  marble,  believed  to  be 
foreign,  with  which  school  boys  play  at  their  favo- 
rite game.    It  is  sometimes  prettily  marked,  or 


.  421 

ispoUed*  with  a  yellowish  or  reddish  tint  An  aUej^ 
is  a  somewhat  different  species^  being  actually 
made  of  marble,  which  the  common  ones  are  not. 
A  known  |;ood  alley  will  be  worth  30  or  40  common 
marbles.  They  are  sometimes  deeply  streaked 
with  red,  and  are  then  more  valuable,  and  called 
blood-alleys.     See  Fen. 

Tawer.  I  do  not  give  this  as  a  Suffolk  word; 
nor  do  I  think  it  is — but  having,  under  the  article 
Knacker,  noted  it  as  a  Staffordshire  word,  mean- 
ing probably  a  worker  in  leather,  I  will  here  observe 
that  I  have,  since  that  article  was  written,  met  some- 
thing cotpfirmatory  of  that  surmise.  Tawer  and 
Whit'tavoeT,  it  appeared,  mean  a  cart  collar  and 
harness  maker ;  or  a  Knacker,  as  we  call  him.  In 
"Scottisl^ 

— To  taw  u  to  lay  hold  of,  to  tumble  about«  from  the  Icelandic 
fbc-a,  carpere  lanam — taws,  a  whip,  a  lash,,  froni  the  Icel.  tou^, 
lorum.    J. 

Here,  then,  is  a  satis&ctory  source  of  the  Staf- 
fordshire tawer,  as  one  who  lays  hold  of,  and 
works  up,  wJdt,  and  other  leather.  To  which  may 
be  added  from  Nares — 

To  tawcm  to  beat  and  dress  leather  with  alum ;  a  process  used 
witb  toJMiP  leather  instead  of  bark.  Metaphorically,  to  harden, 
or  make  toogh,  like  white  leather — 

His  knuckles  knobbed,  his  flesh  deep  dinted  in. 
With  tawed  hands,  and  hard  y  tanned  skin. 

Htrr.  foi  Mag,  Sackv.  Induction, 

For  lie  make  greatness  quake.  He  tawe  the  hide 

Of  thick-skinn'd  Hugenes.     Marttori's  What  you  Will, 

**  Metaphorically,''  Nares  add«  **  to  torment  "-:- 
like  the  lanam  -carpere,  above. 

Although  confessedly  out  of  place,  I  will  add 
^^tket  authorities  iot  this  word. 

To  tawe»  to  tan  or  dress  leather.  A  tawer»  or  taw^t  one 
that  it  employed  iu  tanning.  To  tew-taw  hemp^  to  beat  or 
dress  it.    0. 1).  A, 

'  To  Uwt  or  pull  or  tow ;  a?80  to  work  hard.   N.  country  word 

^Tdwed^  beatep,    Grose, 

2  o3 


422 

A  boners  hide  iMoed  was  bougHt  la  1389*  for  dne  thOling.— 
tmoed  it  diessed  white,  with  aliunit  '  tawen  of  Uther'*  are  men> 
tioued  among  the  artificers  ill  a  statots  of  23  Edward  IIL 

CuUunCt  Hawttead*  p.  f  18. 

Tawny.  Of  a  yellowish,  sandy  colour — a  per- 
son tanned  by  exposure  to  the  sun  would  be  called 
tawney.  Hair  inclining  to  reddishness  is  some- 
times called  tavontft  as  well  as  sorufy.  We  do  not 
Mty  **  an  orasge*tawney  beard '' — as  Shakespesure, 
I  believe^  does. 

Tawtah.  To  shake— totter — '*  'A  fere  ta  taw- 
tah  ''—he  seems  to  totter^  said  of  an  infirm  person. 
ntticumtawta,  the  game  of  see- saw. 

Teebus.  Tiresome— fretful ;  said  of  a  crying, 
fractious  child. 

Teen.  To  teaze — tire — ^worry.  I  have  noted 
it  as  used  by  Shakespeare,  in  the  sense  of  trouble, 
grief t  but  have  not  marked  the  passage,  unless  ft 
be  in  that  admirable  scene  in  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
where  that  divine  creature  ( I  cannot  now  cbuse  but 
^hinkof  one  'whose  like  we  ne'er  again  shall  look 
upon*)  is  first  introduced.  Good  old  nurse,  in  a 
punning  humour,  says — 

I  *li  lay  fourteen  of  ray  teeth— 
And  yet  to  my  teen  be  it  spoken,  I  have  but  l|tor~- 
She  is  not  fourteen — ^i.  3. 

*•  Teen — sorrow.'*     Commentator, 

In  Cheshire  and  Lancashire  "  Teen  is  anger."  W« 
So  Ray,  among  his  north  country  words,  "  Teen, 
angry,  ah  A,  S.  Tynan  to  provoke,  stir,  anger, 
or  enrage.  Good  or  fow  teen,  Cheshire.  Good  or 
foul  taking."  E.  W.  p.  61.  Under  the  article  Tine 
I  have  fancied  some  relationship  between  that  word 
and  Teen,  in  a  figurative  sense.  It  may  bethought 
fanciful.  In  Scottish,  however  to  "  teen  or  teyne,  is 
to  vex,  to  irritate— sorrow,  vexation."  J.    . 

I  take  the  following  from  Nares — 

Teene ;  grief,  misfortune — from  the  §axon. ' 

Eighty  odd  years  of  sorrow  have  I  seen, 

A nd  each  hoar's  joy  wrecked  with  a  week  <ff  «B€tt.    ' 

RUih.  m.  if  1. 


4SB 

■'    Back  to  reitara  to  that  grtat  fairy  qu^ta,  "* 

And  her  to  serve  six  years  in  warlike  wife«  ^ 

Gainst  tliat  preod  Pajnim  king  that  works  her  teen, . 

Spent,  F,  Q.  I.  xjt.  18. 

From  that  day  forth  I  cast  in  carefal  mind 

To  seek  her  oat  with  labour  and  long  tyne,  lb,  I.  Iz«  15. 

Tb&nt.    It  is  not.    See  Ebnt. 

Teeva.  Red  ochre — the  earthy  oxyd  of  iron 
widi  which  sheep  are  usually  marked,  called  Rud* 
die,  in  some  parts  of  England.  We  pronounce  the 
word  sometimes  rhiming  toyever,  sometimes  to  diver » 
The  name  Ruddle  is  not  much  used  in  Suffolk  for 
ochre.  We  sometim«s  so  call  a  mixture  of  ochre 
and  pitch  or  tar,  as  well  as  Teeva  or  Tiver»  See 
Ruddle. 

Tell.  Ck>unt — reckon — "  Tell  yar  money/'— 
**  Ded  yeow  tell  the  ship  ?  ''  This  was  perhaps  an 
.original  sense — though  the  word  be  now  falling 
into  disuse.  The  Tellers  of  the  Exchequer,  retain 
'the  liame,  though  not  perhaps  the  fact  or  practice. 
We  find  it  too  in  Shakespeare — 

While  one  with  moderate  haste. 
Might  tell  a  hundred.     Hamlet,  i.  2. 

Tale,  in  the  sense  of  buying  or  receiving  articles 
by  the  fale,  or  by  counting,  instead  of  by  weighing 
or  poising,  is  still  in  general  use.  So  in  Scottish 
'^  tail  or  tak,  account ;  from  the  Ang.  Sax.  telron, 
to  reckon.''  J.  Hence  a  tally,  a  thing  on  or  by 
which  such  a  reckoning  is  kept. 

Tempering.  To  intermix  one  thing  with  ano- 
ther, so  as  to  render  it  more  suitable  to  the  purpose 
in  view.  Mortar  is  tempered  by  adding  more  sand 
or  water.  Clsiy  or  earth,  in  building  walls,  or 
making  brick,  is  tempered  to  a  due  degree  by  simi- 
lar admixture.  Earthy  matter  when  not  stiff  or 
strong,  or  clayey,  enough  for  any  purpose  is  said  to 
be  too  tender,  and  to  require  tempering,  S^ 
Daabing — and  Goof,  verse  16,  ana  not^  **Vo 
.  temper i  to  qualify,  to  mingle.''  OiD.  A.      . 


424 

Tbmpins.  The  game,  called  elsewhere,  and 
somethnes  by  us^  nine  pma.  Why  i¥e  give  it  ano- 
thdr  name — ten-pins  I  presuine — ^I  know  not,  see« 
ing  that  we  always  play  the  game  with  nine.     See 

NlUB-HOLES. 

Tench.  We  have  a  notion  very  prevalent  that 
this  fish  has  a  healing  quality ;  and  that  the  pike 
when  wounded*  cures  itself  by  rubbing  against  the 
tench,  which  is  not  therefore  devoured  by  this, 
otherwise  indiscriminating  ''fresh  water  shark,'' — 
Nares  shows,  from  Walton  and  others,  that  this  nor 
'  tion  has  been  widely  entertained.  Another  is  that 
this  fish  though  good  plaister  is  bad  nourishment — 
that  "  being  laid  to  the  soles  of  the  feet  they  ofteh 
drive  away  the  ague,  but  are  unwholesome  fi^od." 
Nares  adds  that  they  are  now  much  more  frequently 
put  into  the  stomUoh,  than  applied  externally.  We 
have  no  prejudices  against  them  that  I  ever  heard 
of. 

Ten  toes.  A  conveyance,  similar  to  $9uaM 
nag. 

Terrify.  Flies  tormenting  horses  or  kine,  are 
said  to  "terrify  em  sadly." 

Tester.  The  fixed  top  and  head  parts  of  a 
bedstead.  Tester,  in  the  meaning  of  the  head  part, 
may  have  been  derived  from  the  old  French  teste^ 
the  head,  which  gave  its  name  to  a  coin  that  bore 
such  impression,  worth  about  sixpence.  Tester 
and  tizzy  have  been  cant  terms  in  England  for  a 
sixpence.     See  Nares  under  Testeme, 

Tetchy.  Snappish — peevish — something  simi- 
lar to  stingy,  except  that  tetchy  is  not  applied  to 
penuriousness :  both  are,  to  angry  bees.  Teteky 
is  not  a  local  word.     See  Elvish  and  Stingy. 

It  is  perhaps  touchy :  taking  fire  like  touch-wood. 
•*  Techy  or  touchy,  apt  to  find  fault  with  every 
thing.''  O.  D.  A,  The  following  is  from  Nares' 
Glossary — 

Techy f  Teacher  or  Tetchy—m  all  which  waj^s  it  h  ipeUed  in 


425 

some  editions  of  Shakespeare,  lignifiea  froward»  iretfal»  easBy 
oHendedy  like  a  peeyish  child.  It  is  probably  the  same  at 
touchy t  which  is  now  used.  Bftiley^s  diet,  has  tech^  for  tauekt 
nmrked  as  oU.  In  Colons  diet*  it  is  again  raried  into  *  titeky ; 
inoxosiisy  diffidlis — to  be  titchy ;  asperis  moribus  esse.*  It  b 
clear  that  tbej  are  all  of  one  origin. 

Tetchy  and  wayward  was  thy  infancy.     Rich.  III.  it.  4. 

It  is  again  used  in  Tro.  and  Cress,  i,  1. 

TlaeXty^  Tetchy^  touchy,  peevish,  cross ;  apt  to  be  angry.   Ofvie. 

Thahty.    Thirty.    See  Space. 

'  Tharragonimble.    a  diarrhoea — used  qaauit* 
ly^  like  the  Wooly-ummbles,  in  Scotland. 

Thbave.  a  young  ewe.  I  was  reminded  of 
tbis  word  by  seeing  it  among  Ray's  S.  and  £%  coun- 
try words.  See  HoG»  In  Scotland  a  ewe  of  two 
years  is  called  a  gimmer ;  a  contemptuous  term  also 
for  a  woman.  J.  I  do  not  think  that  theate  is  so 
very  common  with  us  as  it  is  in  other  parts  of  Eng- 
land. As  hinted  under  Dans  there  is  no  end  to 
£n|;lish  names  for  sheep  of  different  ages  and  con- 
ditions. Quinter  and  twirter,  I  have  recently  met 
with. among  others.  Of  this  see  something  under 
Wbdder. 

Then.  Thin — the  initials  pronounced  the  same; 
being  merely  a  substitution  of  the  e  for  t — of  which 
ibaby  instances  are  given  under  Aninnd. 

Thennum.  That  time— "  by  thennum"— by 
then.  "  Dee  yeow  dew  that  there  job,  and  by  then- 
num I'll  be  woo  ye  aginn.'' 

Thew.  Thawed.  Similar  to  snew,  mew,  &c. 
''Ta  blew,  an  ta  snew»  and  ta  thew  all  atonce." 
See  Ta — and  Atonce. 

Thews.  Sinews — muscle — strength.  Thiswotd 
k  now  rarely  heard.     Shakespeare  uses  it«-» 

"for  Romans  now 
Hate  tJuwet  and  limbs  like  to  their  ancestors.    /«  Cm.  I  ^ 

For  natnre,  does  not  grow  alone 
.    Xa  tftewet  and  boU.    HtoMtU  U  8*  - 


426 

The  word  is  used  again. by  Falstaff  in  the  2  Hen,  4. 

*' l%cw€s^'  saith  Steevens  "is  an  old  obsolete 
wordy  implying  nerves  or  muscular  strength.*' 

If  now  heard  in  Suffolk  it  is  more  confined  to  the 
draught  part  of  harness,  than  to  living  muscle. — 
Nares  most  amply  illustrates  it :  but  i  have  said 
enough  on  a  word  of  doubtful  locality. 

Thicks.  Groves  or  woods,  with  close  under- 
wood— thickets.  Ufford  thicks^,  is  a  well  known 
game  preserve  near  Woodbridge.  We  never,  I  think 
nte  the  word  in  the  singular,  as  Spenser  does  in  this 
passage  quoted  by  Nares — 

Mf'hich  when  the  warrior  heard,  dkroountiosstraight 
Jrom  hit  tall  steed  he  rosht  into  the  thick,    F,  Q.  IL  i.  3A. 

No  other  service,  satyr,  bot  thy  watch 
About  these  thicki,  lest  h«ra|lesB  people  catch 
Mbchief  orsad  mifchance.    FL  Faithf,  Shep*  ▼«  1. 

Spenser  has  it  in  other  places.  It  is  common  witir 
Drayton  too : — 

And  throQgh  the  cumbrous  thichs  as  fearfullv  he  makes, 
lie  with  his  branched  head  the  tender  sapplmgs  shakes. 

Pohfclb,  xiii.  p.  917. 

Thief  in  the  candle.  A  defective  wick, 
which  not  being  equably  consumed,  causes  the  can- 
dle to  gutter  and  waste.  A  coming  letter  is  foretold 
by  a  prdjectiug  spark  on  the  snaste.  See  Snastb.  I 
do  not  note  these  so  much  in  the  idea  of  their  being 
local  notions,  as  to  show  their  spread. 

Thill.  I  am  not  sure  that  we  now  have  this 
word  in  use  unconnectedly.  It  formerly  appears 
to  have  meant  <<  The  thill,  the  beam  or  draaght- 
tree  of  a  cart — hence  thiller  or  thill-kcrse,  die 
horse  that  is  put  under  the  thtllJ*  O.  D,  A,  Thil- 
ler and  Thill  horse,  are  common  in  Suffolk  ;  where 
thill-bells,  is  that  chain  part  of  the  thill-horse^i 
harness  which,  fixed  on  the  seel  or  wooden  fore- 
part of  .the  collar,  hooks  on  the  tugs  of  the  shafts* 
We  commonly  call  them  JtU-bells, 

"  Thiller''  says  Cocker^  ''  the  horse  that  is  near 


427 

the  ihills  or  fore-part  of  the  cart/'  We  call  him 
also  theJiUer ;  or,  as  we  are  disposed  to  pronounce 
it,  fella — which  see — the  horse  which  remains  in 
the  shafts  or  thills,  while  the  cart  is  beine  fill'd,  or 
ftlVd.  Every  body  recollects  poor  old  Gobbo*8 
thiU-hone — 

'  Worshipp'd  might  he  be ! — What  a  beard  bast  thoa  got ! 

Tbos  hast  more  hatr  on  thy  chin,  than  Dobbin,  roj  thiU-honef 
lus  OB  hjs  tail.     Jf.  of  Ven.  ii.  1. 

Dobbin  is  still  a  favorite  cart-horse  name  in  Suf- 
folk. See  Heit,  for  other  names  of  the  present, 
and  of  Chaucer's,  day. 

Thill-bells.    See  Thill. 

Thiller:    See  Thill, 

Thill-hobse.    See  Thill. 

Think-shame.  a  compound  used  in  this  sense 
**  I  should  think-shame  to  'a  done  so** — i.  e.  have 
felt,  or  feel  shame.  So  in  Scottish  "  to  think'$hame, 
to  feel  abashed,  to  have  a  sense  of  shame.''  J. 

Thinskinnd.  Land  with  a  thin  superstratum 
of  good  soil,  is  expressively  so  called.    See  Rorz* 

Thirteen.  An  unlucky  number  to  make  one 
of  at  dinner.  Even  now  some  persons  not  otherwise 
remarkable  for  deficiency  of  intellect,  if  they  do 
not  actually  decline  making  one  of  this  unlucky 
dozen,  or  request  one  of  the  youngest  to  sit  at-  a 
side-table  (as  I  have  known  done)  do  not  make  so 
comfortable  a  meal  as  among  a  less  inauspicious 
number.  •  This  superstitious  feelinff  is  I  believe,  or 
rather  has  been,  pretty  extensive  \n  England  ;  and 
perhaps  beyond  it.  It  may  have  arisen  from  the 
laflt  sad  supper  of  the  twelve  and  our  Saviour. 

Like   spilling  the  salt,   eating  with  twelve  has 

.been  inauspicious  since  the  days  of  Leonardo  da 

Vinci — See  under  Spilling — where  thirteen,   or 

die  baker's,  or  deil's  dozen  is  noticed*    Our  notion 


'428 

M  that  one  of  the  thirteen  so  indiscreetly  partakings 
9riU  die  ere  the  year  be  out. 

Thow.  Rhyming  to  mow.  Thaw.  See  Thbw. 
"  Ta  thow,"  it  thaws.  See  Ta.  In  Scottish  "  to 
thow,  to  thaw."  J. 

Thowl.  The  elevations  in  the  gunnel  of  a  boat 
to  receive  the  oars  of  the  rowers :  sometimes  fixtures^ 
sometimes  shiftable  peg^.  In  Scottish  *'  Thmod, 
the  nitch  or  hollow  in  which  the  oar  of  a  boat  acte — 
Ang.  Sax.  thole,**  J.  "  The  tbowh,  in  a  boat ;  the 
wooden  pins  between  which  the  rowers  put  their  oazs 
when  they  row."  O.  D,  A^ 

Thowts.  The  seats  of  rowers  in  a  boat— 4he 
thwarts  perhaps ;  or  what  go  across.  **  The  thoughts 
— the  seats  of  rowers  in  a  boat."   O.  2>.  A. 

Threading  the  tailor's  needle.  One  of 
our  juvenile  games — for  a  list,  although  an  imper- 
fect one,  see  under  Moveall. 

Thredegal.  Unsettled,  as  applied  to  weather 
—and  I  never  heard  the  word  applied  to  any  thing 
else.  1  lately  heard  this  speech.  "  The  weather 
fare  ta  look  thredegal,  and  the  clumps  of  the  even- 
ing are  coming  on."  I  am  not  a  sufficient  linguist 
to  trace  this  strangely  sounding  word  to  any  pro- 
bable source :  and  I  never  saw  it — or  one  like  it. 

Three-blue-beans.    See  Beans. 

Three  cocked  hat,  A  cocked  hat — a  name 
seldom  heard ;  and  a  ridiculous  thing  now,  luckily, 
seldom  seen,  among  us. 

Three  JOLLY  butchers.  A  juvenile  sport* 
See  Moveall. 

Three  shear.  A  sheep  of  two  or  three  years, 
having  been  thrice  shorn.     See  Dans. 

Three  square.  Triangular — like  a  bayonet  or 
small  sword  blade.  Four  square — die-shaped ;  a 
G«be.    See  Four  square. 


429 
TxatMVf AUTUMJ^.    Through. aadlhroug^  St^ 

C«A4N. 

Xhbid*  Thread.  '<  What  ca»'t  yaow  thxid  jar 
needh?''  See  Tout. 

TmUiFT.  The  looae  aeovf  (fiUnduff )  <Mh  the  skia 
^  aft  Ulrgroomecl  horses. 

Tkbif.  a  8BMWI  ciifpiug  stroke.  0€  aach  acs 
itemr. — *'  *A  gOB  em  ar  thnp  untWi  the  short  nhe*" 
In  Cheshire  <<  thrippa,  to  beat."  W.  lu  the  ScoU 
tisbtaod  ooi^eni  dialests,  ta  threpe,  seeBM  to  uieaa 
to.  cbido  oc  otBBucey.  on  rebuke.  Ray.  and  Nates 
derivo.it  6*001  Iho  Sa^oik  Ray  has-'Tli  thigftm 
Ihoo— rU  heat  thee.    CIteshire.**  p.  G2, 

XiMMMSJi.  ISiresh— Of  bea^  '*  A  right  good 
tkroshin/'  a  hearty  beating.  The  variety  of  aaiuov 
for  thia  offeneive  manipulation  seems  to  impht  a 
propensity  in  ua  East  Angliaas  to  pugnacity.  See 
under  Aint. 

Throstle.  The  thrush — as  in  Scottish,  and  in 
other  ancient  poetry.  It  is  so  nice  a  word  that  it 
frills  be  doubtless  ere  long  restored  to  our  rural  po- 
etics. The  musical  Thomas  of  ErcUdoune  (as  cited 
in  Peter's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,  11.  31B.  for  I 
iMti^e  not  read  his  poems)  seems  to  apply  Ibis^  pretty 
fptfd*  to  some  ot^  bird — 

I  taw  the  throttyl  and  the  jay. 
The  mavis  moved  of  her  saoge^ 
l^he  wood  wale  sang  notes  gay, 
Thait  ail  rile  wood  about  range. 

Bewick  ealls  the  thrush  by  the  names  of  Throstle 
MdP  Bffims.    We  apply  them  certainty  to  the  Turdu$ 

I  borrow  the  following  from  Nares — 
'Btmmin    A  dtfuab^  propiniy  the  miaMi-thmh,  baft  often 
ledi  fHCb  latiudo  £oc  any  of  the  g^nus. 

The  U^rottle  with  his  note  so  tmei^ 

The  wren  with  little  quilU  Mid,  If.  Dr.  ilT.  1. 
K  a  libtnHe  8iiig»  he  fklb  straight  a  CBpering^  M\  rfV,  u  9* 
Ifciiilh  mtdu    Th«inelethru9h« 

Tkmtkrc9th*<»cK  by  breaking,  of  the  dtay» 

tOr  hi*  tw/Mt  full  many  a.  lovely  lacy* 

J>rtii,  Skep,  GiKti- 
2  P 


430 

The  ooflel  and  the  throttU'Cochf  chief  rnvnicke  of  oar  Maye.  Ih, 
These  aames,  Nares  adds^  are  still  current  in  some  counties. 

This,  with  what  is  offered  under  Mavis,  may 
suffice  of  this  beautiful  and  interesting  bird.  I 
sometimes  cannot  help  wishing  that  they,  and  their 
oo-operatives  the  owsel,  did  not  spoil  so  many  of 
my  cherries;  but  they  make  ample  atonement  in 
what  Drayton  justly  denotes  *'  full  many  a  lorely 
lacy." 

Throushot.  The  hole  of  a  rabbit  under 
ground  through  a  bank.  It  is  an  expressitpe  word, 
where  the  animal  has  shot  through  It  is  also  ap- 
plied to  a  spendthrift — **  a  through-shot  sort  of  a 
fellow.'*  The  path  of  a  hare,  is  called  Smeme,  or 
Mewse.    See  Mewse. 

Thrower •  A  sort  of  knife  used  for  cleaving 
lath  or  hurdle  stuff.  It  appears  to  have  been  form- 
erly called  grower.  See  under  Goof,  verse  8,  and 
note. 

Thrum.  To  beat — ^not  common.  "  To  thrum 
one,  to  beat  or  baug  him.''  O.  D.  A.  Of  such 
words  see  Aint. 

Thumbstall.  a  covering  for  a  cut  thumb  or 
finger — called  also  Cot  and  Hudkin»  See  under 
Stall. 

Thumping.  Or  as  we  commonly  pronounce  it, 
thumpen.  Large — heavy — "  a  thumpen  boy"— of  a 
newly  bom  infant.  Lumpen  is  about  equivalent. — 
This  class  of  words  I  suppose  not  to  be  very  con- 
fined in  their  usage.  "That's  a  thumper" — a  pal- 
pable lie.  * 

Thundbr  pipe — Thunder-boH — Thunder-pic — 
or  Thunder  stone,  Lithic  Cylinders,  or  frustra  of 
cones,  two  or  three  inches  long,  and  about  the 
thickness  of  a  black  lead  pencil,  are  so  called ;  and 
are  picked  up  and  looked  on  with  some  reverence, 
among  us.  The  true  sort  are  straight,  and  are,  1 
believei  classed  by  udturalists  among  the  Brontia, 


4ai 

or  Bekmnites.  But  generally,  most  small  stones 
of  a  cylindrical  form,  are  csdled  bv  one  of  these 
names.  We  fancy  some>  of  them  rail  in  thunder 
storms — and  I  am  not  sure  that  we  are  altogether 
in  error.  Some  of  them  may  possibly  be  aerolites* 
The  persuasion — I  had  written  superstition,  but 
crossed  it  out — is  old  and  perhaps  extensive. — 
Shakespeare  has  the  word  and  feeling  as  in  Suf- 

lolk—       Fear  no  more  the  lightning-flash 

Nor  the  alUdrcaded  thunderstone,     Cymheline,  ir.  1* 
I  have  bared  my  bosom  to  the  thunderttone,  JuL  Catar.  i.  f, 

Thussens.  In  this  manner — thus — "  Yeow 
must  dew  it  thussens  " — like  Sooins — in  that  man- 
ner. In  Cheshire  *'  Tkis'n,  in  this  way.  Thafn*^ 
a  thafn,  in  that  manner/'  W. 

Thwack.  To  beat — as  noticed  with  divers 
other  similar  words  under  Aint.  This  is  not  local 
perhaps  nor  modem — **  To  thwack,  or  bang  one's 
sides  lustily."    O,  D.  A, 

Tib  or  Tibby.  A  calf— appellations  of  endear- 
ment. Grose  has  *'  Tib,  a  young  lass — TUfby,  a 
cat" — but  I  do  not  think  we  have. 

Tidy.  Considerable — much — "A  good  tidy  bit" 
a  largish  piece.  **Good  tidily."  "Tha's  a  good 
tidy  dag  this  morning."  See  Dag.  Also,  as  in 
other  parts,  cleanly,  neat.  In  the  quotation  below 
from  Tusser,  he  seems  to  use  the  word  in  reference 
to  quantity — tho'  his  commentator  says  "  tidy  means 
neat,  proper,  and  in  season."  With  us  a  tidy,  is 
m  little  bag  for  receiving  odds  and  ends  of  thread, 
silk,  bits  of  cloth,  &c.  of  female  work,  which 
would  otherwise  be  left  littering  about  in  an  untidy 
manner.  In  Scottish  tydy,  means  neat — as  well  as 
in  season.  J.  "  Tidy,  handily,  cleanly,  neat."— 
O.  D.  A. 

If  weather  be  fair,  and  if  tidy  thy  grun, 
Make  speedily  carriage,  for  fear  of  a  rain; 
For  tempests  and  showers  decdveth  a  many^ 
And  lingering  labbers  lose  many  a  penny,   p.  18^ 

Tiff.     An  angry  fit  or  mood — **  'A  fare  ta  be  in 

ip2 


432 

a  tiff.^  Ttff  meftfis  also  tt  isup,  or  as  i9t  Aan^-c^XL 

it,  a  §oap^  of  driiHc :  espe€ially»  I  llmik  of  ^Enmcli. 

**  A  tiff  'a  poonch/'    la  th«  first  sense  \  iiave1ie«rA 

m^— but  tiff  is  more  coimnon.     hi  tlie  seeMi 

•ense^  or  nearly,  of  drink,  ?^ares  gives  a  qootsMcMi 

from  Bii^op  Corbet — 

And  8s  ^e  conduits  iftfi 
W&h  claret  fit  itfaetcofontrtiaiiy 
So  let  joor  channels  flow  with  single  Mff. 

It  did  not  then  mean  pimcli«  l>ut  the  poor  small 
sinffle-beer  for  which  the  first  college  in  Oxford  h^ 
and  has  for  centuries  been,  so  lamenta'bly  contracted 
with  itfl  rival  at  Cambridge,  in  respect  to  its  'hum- 
mittg  audit,  and  other,  double  X. 

Tight.  Well— hearty— "  kienda  tightfeh"— 
pretty  hearty — Tpurely  tight  '^^-rmuch  amended. 

TiLDfR.  A  madbiBe  in  a  ^oeUar,  yvectee-ibffHMB^p 
for  being  interposed  betvreen  a  4saak.  -ana  the  wall 
behind  it,  to  tild^  or  a'l^  it  up.  "IHie  arfide  ip 
called  Tilder^  and  the  operation  to  tilld  or  iUtm 

TiuusHAJM).  Pronounced  generally  TUeshud-^ 
A  broken  piece  of  tile — like  PotihaiC  which  «e(u 
«nd  Shard. 

TllXER.  The  handle^  ^^  wooden  pari;,  of «  £a/tm 
jdiovel,  or  skuppet,  or  spade,  or  skaffd.  It  does 
not  occur  that  the  ivord  is  applied  to  the  kaadsiaff 
ofsjxy  other  implement  As  noticed  under  Sand- 
sta^  we  have  appiopriate  names  for  almost  eveiy 
Tariety  of  tool-^ndle — see  that  word — ^and  under 
Baft — Helve — Stale — Skiqipit — and  Skqffelt  for 
their  specific  application.  We  have  two  sorts  of 
Tillers — a  skuppet  and  skmffel  have  a  cot*iiIler  ten- 
nanted  on  the  top  for  a  handle — ^T — a  Sjpade  an  qfe 
tiiier — Y — of  one  piece.  Tiller  ts  also  expressive,  as 
a  verb,  of  the  process  of  germination  in  inspect  to 
gpindlin^,  or  the  uprearing  of  the  sipindle  or  sheath 
of  grain.  See  Spin D lb.  Jn  this  sesse  ft  is  occa- 
sionally heard  ajppfied  to  the  shooting  ^  of  trees. 
In  thinning  woods,  the  young  standM  or  Mtaddkt  are 
left  to  #t^-*-to  grow  iatif 


433 

Naresy  under  Tiller,  notices  this  last  sense,  as 
mentioned  by  Theobald — *'  of  a  stand ;  a  small  tree 
lefi;  in  a  wood  for  growth,  till  it  is  fellable.''  This 
sense,  Nares  adds,  is  found  in  Evelyn  on  Forest 
Trees — and  he  refers  to  Todd's  Johnson.  OfStaddle 
and  Stand  see  under  those  words  in  this  Collection. 

Ray,  among  his  S.  and  £.  country  words,  has 
"  Snathe,  the  handle  of  a  sithe."  E.  W.  p.  86.  I 
never  heard  it.  The  scythe  handle  we  call  scythe- 
stick  ;  and  seldom  or  never  give  it  either  of  the 
above  specific  names. 

The  tiller  of  a  boat  or  ship's  rudder,  is  the  com- 
mon nautical  name  for  that  important  article. — 
There  may  be  some  relationship  between  it,  and 
our  word. 

Tilt.  To  lift  up  a  little  on  e  side,  or  end,  of 
any  thing — a  cask,  &c,  I  have  used  the  word  un- 
der Stry,  Tild,  is  a  similar  verb — and  Tilder, 
which  see,  is  an  article  to  tilt  or  tild  withal. 

TlLTER.  Under  the  article  Kilter,  I  have  re- 
'  ferred  to  this.  1  was  not  quite  certain  of  the  pre- 
cise meaning  of  the  latter  word ;  nor  am  I  now, 
though  I  have  made  farther  enquiry.  Some  plough- 
men have  affirmed  that  tilter,  describes  a  {Particular 
mode  of  ploughing  out  of  the  ordinary  line  of  draught. 
Tilt,  and  tild,  which  see,  have  meanings  not  very 
remote — as  being  out  of  the  usual  level — but  they 
are  not  applied  to  a  plow. 

TiMBERSOMK  or  TiMMERSOME.  Timid — tim- 
orous.    The  latter  is  Scottish. 

TiMMY.    To  me.    See  Nettled. 

Tl  NE.  The  prong  of  a  fork — "  A  tew-  tined  fork" 
— *^  A  three-tined  fork."  In  the  sense  of  furcated, 
it  is  also  a  Scottish  word — "  a  buck  with  ten-tyned 
branches  "  occurs  in  the  T.  of  my  L.  3rd  Ser.  I.  80. 
And  again,  by  the  same  writer,  in  an  English  dia- 
logue of  the  age  of  the  Crusades-^ 

Haog  the  glove  on  the  tine  of  yonder  branched  antlerf. 

Jmn?ioet  II.  245. 
2p3 


4d4 

tn^^t  he»A  k  Qised  ^  ISaffoA  in  Wf  oUbtr  %ray 
Hiaii  ft9  applied  to  n.fork,  emd  to  the  teeth  of -tar- 
Ympt,  It  niimes  to  mine.  Teen  b  a  different  %e¥d, 
which  see^  and  is  never  a  prong--— though  in  Olite 
nense  some  relationship  may  be  discerned*  Of  a 
toan  who  leads  what  Shakespeare  calls  *'  a  franinold 
life/'  with  a  jealous  or  termagant  wile,  it  win  be 
aaid  that  "  'a  fare  like  a  toad  under  a  harrow.^  Of 
frampold,  see  under  Frump.  In  Scottish  '*  fynd 
in  a  narrow  tooth,  firom  the  ancient  Swedish  fifMe, 
the  same ;  or  any  thing  sharp  like  a  tooth/'  J* 

TiNEY.  Little— this  is  old  and  not  local — from 
Tenuis,  perhaps.    Thus  Shakespeare— 

When  I  was  a  little  tiney  boy.     Lear, 

Tip-top.  The  very  top— or  topmost.  *'  He's  a 
tip-top  fellow" — means  a  very  hearty  jovial  soul:— 
ever  in  tip-top  spirits. 

Tit.  a  horse,  or  rather,  I  believe,  a  pon^y,  or 
small  horse.  It  is  also  extended  to  a  nice  amart 
girl.  Neither  sense  is  perhaps  very  local:  or  tiitvp, 
a  hand-gallop,  or  canter. 

TiTEUMUP.  Put  in  order.  **  1  tited  em  up  a  lit- 
tle," would  be  said  by  a  maid  servant,  having  put 
things  in  order  in  a  deranged  drawer ;  or  having 
brushed  up  a  room ;  or  prepared  children  for  an 
airing  or  for  exhibition.  It  is  derived  perhaps  ftwgi 
tidy — cleanly — neat — orderly  in  appearance.  See 
Tidy. 

TiT-FAGGOTS.  Small  short  faggots  for  kindling 
— "  What  de  yeow  ax  for  them  there  tits  ?  "  Kit, 
according  to  Ibailey,  is  a  north  country  word  for  a 
small  brush  faggot.  And  according  to  Ray  Kid  is 
the  word — **  a  small  faggot  of  underwood  or  brush* 
wood."  E.  W.  p.  39. 

Tits.  See  Tit-faggots.  A  quaint  term  also, 
for  horses. 

Tittus.  Tickle.  '<  'A  tittkd  me  t^  ^dead 
amoat.'* 


TiTTLB  ur  VAKOt.  Tiie  pftMj  Bide  be«H*s 
we*     Ftd2a  trio^for. 

TltinrKUMTAWTA'H.  The  game  of  see-Hsaw— oti 
j^bmk,  supported  on  its  center.  Children  ^Mftiflfe 
goring  this  recreation,  have  a  song  of  approprf- 
as  cadence — tbe  burden  of  which  is — 

Tittj-koffl-tawtah — the  dacks  in  the  water, 
Thtykumtahtah the  geese  follow  aater, 

TiTTY-WREN.  The  interesting  little  bird  ttett 
e  look  on  with  reverential  dfeetion.  It  is  protected 
f  fills  old  traditional  verse — 

3ttk  Bobin  and  Titty-wren — Are  the  Almighty's  cock  and  hen, 

Aobin  Redbreast  and  Jenoy  Wren  are  other  nainef, 
4  «ver  England  perhaps,  for  these  pretty  birds. 
4  this  see  something  under  Dicky- bahd.  In 
DoCland  the  wren  is  called  Kitty  wren — aorother  in- 
ABce  of  the  appliance  of  Christian  names  to  birds, 
I  noted  in  the  article  just  referred  to. 

TlVER.      TlVA-*- TlEVEK*— TEBVKR-*.rilyniing 
early  to  div^r  and  fsvtr;  red  ochre.    See  Teeva. 

To.  Close— shut — in  this  sense — *' Is  the  door 
^V'-i.e.  is  it  shuti  "Put  the  door  to.*'  So 
put  the  horftes  to" — implies  to  the  carriage — or 
you  may  put  to."  Thus  in  Scottish — "  jTo— shut. 
be  door  is  tue — from  the  Belgic  toe.  Id.  De  duur 
toe:'    J. 

Toad  in  a  hole.  An  uninviting  name  of  a 
3ry  good  thing-— beef-steaks  baked  in  batter,  with 
e)>per  and  salt.  A  dish  and  name  not  very  confined 
srhaps  in  its  spread. 

ToadVcap.  The  fungi  which  grow  so  ndme- 
>usly  in  meadows,  or  over  the  roots  of  trees.  I 
now  of  no  other  names  for  the  varieties  of  this 
enus,  but  Toad's-cap,  or  Toad^S'toe,  or  Toad's-stool, 
Ad  Musherune,  The  Scoteh  call  this  speclei  of 
iffaricus,  Paddock* stool,  of  which  see  und^  Pad- 
o^K.  *'  Toed'o-stool,  a  kind  of  moshrootift." 
>.  D.  A.    Of  Toad'S'spit,  see  under  5KAi£B»MTr 


436 

ToD«  The  chump-end  of  a  tree,  either  sawn  off 
for  firing,  or  growing.  See  Chump.  Such  .sawn 
tods  may  be  either  top  or  root  ends.  But  the  word 
is  oftenest  heard— or  at  any  rate  read  of — connected 
with  its  frequent  ivy  decoration,  and  as  the  abode 
of  the  bird  of  wisdom.  So  common  indeed  is  this 
combination  that  the  name  of  the  tod  itself  is  given 
to  the  ivy ;  or  we  have  transferred  the  name  of  the 
tuft  to  the  chump. 

No  rural  poet  ever  existed  in  England  who  did 
not  introduce  this  interesting  bird  into  his  effusions. 
Nothing  can  be  '*  most  musical^  most  melancholy/^ 
without  it.  Its  beautiful  abode  is  also  well  suited 
to  the  eye  and  language  of  rustic  bards.  Many 
pages  might  be  extracted  in  illustration  and  proof 
of  this — ^but  such  licence  b  out  of  the  present  ques^ 
tion.  The  reader  will  not,  perhaps,  be  displeased 
with  two  or  three.  I  select  them  from  Nares* 
Glossary — 

There  valiant  and  approved  men  of  Britain 
Like  boding  owls,  creep  into  tods  of  ivy» 
And  boot  tbeir  fears  to  one  another  nightly. 

B.  4-  FU  BMducca.  u  1. 
Michael  Van  Owie,  hew  dost  thou  ? 
In  what  dark  barn,  or  tod  of  aged  iry. 
Hast  thou  Ij^en  hid?     lb.  Rule  a  Wife,  iv.  3. 

The  bat  then  served  the  owle 

That  in  her  tod  did  stand.    Warn,  Alb*  Eng,  vii.  ST. 


-youT  ladyship  Dame  Owie, 


Did  call  me  to  your  tod,     lb,  185. 

then  forth  she  yode 
Oat  of  the  covert  of  an  ivy  tod,  Browne,  Brit,  Past,  i»  4. 

Mr.  Weber  in  the  English  PoetSt  quotes  the  following  lines  as 
still  popular ;  but  I  never  met  with  them  elsewhere ;. 
How  Cain  in  the  land  of  Nod, 

When  the  rascal  was  all  alone^ 
Like  an  owl  in  an  ivy  tod. 
Built  a  city  as  big  as  Roan.     II.  495. 

The  last  quotation  I  believe  is  part  of  a  blasphe- 
mous'ballad;  which  I  shall  make  no  more  direct 
reference  or  allusion  to-^save  that  it  begins  with 
th^  word  Eeligion. 


437 

'TMTDift.  To-walk  ifiiirtea^--«iiit;hiM^i  earlj 
tCMUpte.    'The  Bftme  in  Scottish. 

Tomboy.  A  Iroiden-— a  romping  girl,  more  S]»> 
fioaed  to  boy's  play  4luui  to  themnMscments  befittuig 
mriex. 


Hoif  XT— ^  Z^MtUe-ToM,  irUok  mst  k  4d«U» 
breasted  plough. 

TOfk  1* ICKTL^&'s   GRoimD.     A  JQvclfife   ^rt. 

9ee*H6y£ALL. 

IToM  TOE.    Hie  great  toe  of  ekher  foot* 

IWMGV«ii.  Snudl  soles-^swch  as,  ikboi^^k  «h 
4BMi|pa«ably  the  best,  afe*-4ike  crmglcd  casi^^ts-^ 
•nftt  te  the  London  mafhet.  See  Lunnunn«bs. 
In  the  western  parts  of  India,  the  sole  is  called  tfae 
UaguefiA:  Jib  ^  mutchu — ^*^ being  the  tongue; 
atod  tfaie  sail  so  called  by  us,  is  there  ihe  tongue 
$a£l.  llie  fish,  and  t^e  sail  so  called  are  doubtless 
ftom  the  shape.'  It  is  a  somewhat  curious  coinci- 
dence as  to  the  -fish.  And  farther,  we  have  the 
word  Jib,  in  the  sense  of  W&n^ue — **  Held  ^arjeft"^ 
but  this  may  be  only  a  softening  of  gdb-'-or  a  re- 
filicttient  on  jibe,  erjcMet,  or  -^bemh^  See  OAb. 

Toon  or  To  jTe.  Rhiming  to  tfpoon.  Too— la&6— 
likewise.  It  is,  farther,  equivsflerit  to-HMie— or  the 
ene,  in  conlnrdistinction  to  Ihe  0thet\  T  one  and 
t'other,  occirhi  a  hundred  times  in  Tte^ser. 

'^  Xh^Y  Imow  btttta  than  tbtft  t&tm  "~ln  the  iirst 
iMse^'-^fi  the  hitter,  take  ffie  Ibfiowtog  Hhi^trafiMs 
from  Nares — 

Aitdikat-«ith  i»rce,  with«oinHi^»  iter  wkk  paiaoy 
Hhe  «fiie«f  then  oovld  iMik«  the  other  j^iekl. 

Hm-.AriHX'te. 
'Sft  was  TJUmmh  ffisde  a  woolfe ;  and  Jore  became  a  boll, 
Thatameiat  vsing  craeltie,  the  tather  for  his  trull. 

Codding'i  Ovid,  ^rrf. 

Its  (reqaent  correlatiTe,  Nares  adds,  is  tother,  a  WOrd  <ff  A- 
laihtr  Hfiffa-^tL  cootraetion.    %t  is  'stfll  hi  use. 

We  mr  ^^mnha  tone  nor  tdther^'-^eqaMUliSt  tb 


438 

Toot.  Total — the  whole — '*  the  whole  toot  on 
tm/*  It  isy  no  doubt,  an  abbreYiatioo  of  totaL 
Thus  the  total  of  expences  of  the  splendid  marriage 
^between  Lord  Darcy  and  Mary  Kytson,  of  the  Hen- 
grave  family,^  in  1583,  is  thus  given  in  Gage's  Hen« 
srave.  *l  Som.  tot.  of  the  whole  charges  of  mj 
dauter  Mary's  apparell  and  Jewells  against  her  mar- 
riage, vjc.  IxijZi,  vj*.  xjd."     p.  214. 

In  a  like  sense  we  say  "  the  whole  kit  on  em/' 
See  Kit.  And  we  have  a  rather  curious  word  in 
this  meaning — "  the  whole  bilen  on  em.*' — I  have 
omitted  this  latter  word  in  its  place.  It  is  mostly 
used  in  a  disparaging  sense.  May  it  be  from  boiimgf 
— ^which  we  pronounce  bilen :  i.  e,  as  much  (of  good) 
as  could  be  extracted  were  such  folks  or  things  even 
boiled  or  distilled, 

I'op  LATCH.  The  thong  which  passes  through 
holes  in  the  seel  of  a  horse's  collar,  and  serves  to 
fasten  it;  or  to  loosen  or  tighten  it,  as  may  be  ne- 
cessary. It  is  also  the  rising  and  falling  latch  whicfa^ 
catching  the  moveable  part  of  the  cow-bauk,  eon- 
fines  her  when  being  milked.     See  Bauk. 

Topple,  To  tumble  over — to  fall  down.  A  de- 
ceased Suffolk  poet  has  a  verse  to  this  effect — 

Thus  then  I  muse,  and  castles  baild  in  air ; 

And  when  they  tqpple  down  let  fancy  them  repair* 

A  crested  hen  we  call  topple-croivned. 

I  find  this  word  in  a  quotation  in  Nares,  descrip- 
tive of  the  old  English  game  of  Quintaiae,  from 
Laneham's  letter  from  Kennilworth — 

The  specialty  of  the  sport  waz  to  see  ;  how  sum  for  biz  slack- 
ness had  a  good  bob  with  the  bag,  and  sum  for  hia  haste  too 
toppl  dooun  right,  and  cum  tumbling  to  the  post,  &c.  &c. 

Kennel,  lUtatr,  4to.  p.  19. 

Bob  is  now  used  in  Suffolk  in  a  like  sense  of  a 
sharp  thump.     See  Bob. 

In  Nares  we  find  to  topple,  farther  illustrated,  as 
a  nentral  and  active  verb,  from  Shakespeare — 

Thoogh  castlei  toppU  on  their  werdea's  beads.  M^bAw,  U 


43d 

And  topplu  down 


Steeples  smd  moss-grown  towers.  -  1  Hen,  IV.  iii.  !• 

TopPLE-cROWN.  Any  of  the  feathered  race 
having  plumed  heads  w<e  call  topple-crowned.  A  heo» 
the  peacock,  the  peewit,  &c.  la  Nares  we  find 
€oppie-crown  as  the  same  word — 

And  what's  their  feather  ?  — — 


like  the  copple-crovm 


The  lap-wing  has.    Randolph.  Amt/nt,  ii.  S. 

O  sweet  lady-birds ! 
With  capple-crovms,  and  wings  but  on  one  side.    Ibid, 

In  Scottish  Tappit-hen,  is  a  crested  hen.    J. 

ToPSlTivvY.  Topsiturvy.  In  Scottish  Tapsal- 
teerie,  is  the  same.  J. 

Tosh.  A  tooth,  so  large  or  projecting  as  to  be 
unseemly. — ^Tusk  and  Tush  are  probably  the  same 
words ;  affording  another  instance  of  the  change  of 
initial  and  final  sounds  in  such  words;  as  noticed 
under  Perk. 

To't.  To  it — not  local.  I  give  it  chiefly,  I  sus- 
pect, for  the  sake  of  introducing  the  following  little 
madrigal — original,  as  I  believe — 

TO   MY   FIDDELL. 

When  on't  I  pi  ah — an  to't  I  sing. 
I  makes  the  woods  and  wallejs  ring--^ 
An  folk  dew  sah — though  yeow  ma  smile-* 
Ta  mah  be  hard  amost  a  mile* 

Although  I  heard  and  saw  this  niorceau  in  Suffolk, 
and  in  Suffolk  only,  "I  cannot  say  how  far  we  may 
claim  the  exclusive  merit  of  the  composition. 

Totty.  Little — also  Tot  and  Doddy — fondling 
appellations  to  young  children.  In  Scottish  ''  Tot^ 
a  fondling  designation  for  a  cliiid.''    J. 

Touch  wood  and  whistle.  A  boy  havmg 
been  guilty  of  a  certain  indelicacy,  subjects  himself 
to  be  pinched  by  his  offended  compeers,  till  he  do 
what  is  noted.  This,  under  such  an  operation — not 
Tery  angrily^  though  smartly  inflicted — is  not  an 


440 

cm  matter.  At  somt'sehMyb  tt  i»  ''  (ouch  bone  and 
ivhtstle;"   Tonchiog  a  txiQth  will  answer  in  lliia  cafe. 

Tout.    SccTowt. 

Toward.  Tractable — we11-d1%posed — steadj'^ 
a  young  person — or  a  horse.  See  OntowaiW 
We  also  use  the  word  (rhyming  in  al!  cases  to  cmi^ 
ard)  for  thts-wmfward^to  u^-wurd^^in  rhe  sense  <rif 
this  line  of  Shakespeare's*— 

Here*8  a  noble  feast  toward,     Tim,  of  A.  ui.  6. 

Tliat  is  approaching — coming.  We  have  also  Ai- 
thertaward^r  hitfaertiH— See  liA'raATAWAl»<«-Huid 
Warb*  In  a  quotation  from  Shakespeare  under 
Gip,  to  bed'Wanl  occurs. 

Towel.  A  cudgel— generally  with  the  f^r^fift^of 
oaken.  To  be  rubbed  down  by  such  a  thwg^  i}  % 
fiffure  more  to  be  approved  for  its  qpainloess  ih^^ 
admired  ibr  its  application.  Something  of' this  is 
noted  under  Wipe. 

Towlby.  Towler.  Twily.  Dowlt.* 
DwiLY.  A  towel.  A  small  after-dinnec  glass  nkor 
kin  is  called,  perhaps  extensively,  Daity^ — and  I  sug^ 
pose  all  these  words,  and  Toilette,  probably,  are  re^' 
lated,  though  I  may  not  be  able  to  trace  the  parentage; 

Towt  or  Tout — rhyming  to  pout.  Cotton  or 
silk  thread,  when  not  pleasant  to  work  wilhal,  from 
short  ends  sticking  out,  or  a  thread  breaking,  is  said  to 
towt,  or  to  be  totUyy  or  to  fuzz,  oe  to  be  /aCi^-« 
**  Consim  this  here  thrid;  how  ta  tout  J* 

Tout  is  a  Scottish  word  ;  but  not,.  I  believe^  usedi 
in  this  way.  It  occurs  under  Sunket,  in  the  melo- 
dious and.  not  confined  sense,  I  believe,  of  the  toot' 
ihtooing  of  a  horn. 

In  Jameison,  however,  I  have  more  recently  hit 
on  this  approximation — **To  towt,  to  pot  hadiaoirdier^ 
lo  teaae,  to  vex." 

Fnaxk,  Fwaof^,  aad  jKaff&*^whick  see*— an  tonM 
aaariy  a-kini  to-  towt, 

Towz££.    To  pull  oae  aboat-^espeeialFf  a  ft* 


441 

iule — indeeorouilj.  '*  Why  dont  towile  me 
ft  nther  refen  to  deraJ^'ng  the  clothes^  &c;  In 
Scottish  **  to  tousle,  to  pui|W>  disorder;  to  mm- 
ple  ■  towxie^  disordered,  disE^tijed — tomzk^  rough 
dplliaBce.''  J.  '*  To  towze,  to  titg  or  pull  about,  to 
nunple — ^to  towze  tpooi,  to  card  or  dress  it*"  O. 
JD«  a.  Shakespeare  has  lose;  explained  by  the 
tonimeiitators  to  mean  break  im  pieces — but  our 
word  stops  short  of  that. 

Traffic.  The  transit  of  carriages^  or  travellers* 
Ofer  a  road.  **  A  deal  of  tru^e  pass  this  wah"— ^ 
without  re/erence  to  trade ;  although,  no  doubt,  an 
idea  of  Inuineu  originated  tlie  term.  So  tmek  is 
fftsed  in  a  like  sense;  handed  down  to  us,  perhaps, 
from  the  times  when  by  traffic,  truck,  or  barter, 
iMMt  of  our  wares  changed  hands ;  instead  of  by  the 
iMUversal  cash  payments  of  the  present  day* 

Trailing  Bebr.  A  donation  to  laboutrers — of 
RMMiey  usually — during,  or  before,  hay  harvest,  by 
may  one  who  may  have  passed,  or  be  passing,  over 
IIm  growing  grass ;  as  it  makes  the  crop  in  that  part 
More  difficult  to  mow.  it  is  commonly  asked  and 
given  in  reference  to  the  desired  preservation  of 
sach  partridge's  nests  as  may  be  met  with,  scythe  iu 
tend. 

Tram.  Horses  are  satd  to  be  *'  on  the  tram,'* 
when  at  work.  It  is  mostly  used  to  express  a  long 
day's  work.  '*  Thah  ha'  bin  on  the  tram  ever  sitt 
6  o'clock,"  This  may  be  from  Tramp,  or  Trammti. 
See  under  those  words. 

• 

Trammel.  A  sort  of  hook,  moveable  up  and 
down,  on  a  perpendicular  plate  or  bar  of  iron,  in 
eottage  and  farm  house  chimnies,  for  hanging  a  pot 
or  iht  kettle  on,  over  the  6re.  But  in  this  me^mng 
of  the  word  sufficient  is  given  under  the  article 
Crt^ek,  which  see.  1  will,  however,  just  add  from 
tui  p.  D.  A.  *\  Trmmmel,  a  chimney  iron  to  faftng 
p0U»  on.** 


442 

t 

In  the  leose  of  beings  epi^fiiied  or  tliA^klcdy.  tfa^ 
irard  is  nsed  bj  writm^^-'firpeakm  oi^^ 
ud  distant  coidities,.  as  j^X  ai  of  m^  present  .d^.^ 
And  we  abbreviate  andi^tepd  it  to  &  tiorse  bci 
ialiis  harness  6r  M^^work,  th|is  *'^A've  bpen  on-  _^ 
Irm  all  ^ay.^'<---orf  this  may  rather  be  from  ftnom 
a  more  common  word.  We.sometimef  say  "  in  4f 
Irove"  or  "in  the  l^t»er/[  inst^  -of  on  the .lr»|^ 
See  Tram— TRABfP— and  Travb. 

The  following  quotation  from  Nnres,  will, be 
found  applicable. to  our  present  article,  as  well*  as 
to  another  in  this  Co)lection<<— 

The  mode  of  frMimettuf  a  horao  to  teach  hlon  to  ambl^  Ji 
esactljF  described  ia  G.  Mariham*s  Vfmj  to  IVea/clL  p.  48*  ^ 
mmouuc  of  which  U  this ;  that  having  •irang  pieca  of  |^ft  web^ 
and  juqpqr.ttrapa  pnd  buckles,  joa  are  to  Sulen  :thea»  "  Qns  to 
Ills  beer  fbro>leg«  and  his  neer  hinder-leg*  the  oihec  to  hiSjfofTji 
fure-legaiid'hisfaiTe  liinder-leg,  which  Is  calfed  among  h^vw* 
men  trMMXmgi  with  these  you  shall  let  him  walk  in  tome  piieee 
of  ground^  tUl  he  can  ,so  perfectljr.  go  in  ^be  same,,  that  wbep  it 
any  time  you  offer  to  chace  him,  you  may  see  him  amble  swiftly, 
and  truly  t — then  yon  shall  take  him  back  and  ride  him  with  the 
•jgne  Vrmmxht  at  least  thvee  or.  fbure  times  a  day,  'till  jon  flod 
he  is  so  perfect,  tl^t  no  way  can  be  so  ronghand  nnsren  aftljo 
compel  him  to  alter  his  strokf  or  to  go  nnnimbly."* 

Thii  be  says  is  the  only  certain  and  true  way  to  make  a  hon9 
amble,  tbongh  many  others  are  pretended,   ul. 

It  is  probable  that  Markham  is  right  as  to  this 
being  the  best  mode  of  teaching  that  pace :  for  , as 
well  as  being  in  extensive  practice  in  England,,  I 
have  seen  it  in  common  and  effective  use  among  an 
equestrian  people  at  our  antipodes. 

We  have  several  modes  of  traMmeilingi  horses  foe 
other  purposes — some  of  which  are  called  Yang* 
See  Y  AN  OLE. 


Tramp.  Oofoot — ^walking.  "On  the  tramp? — 
seeking  employment.  A  word  and  custom  liow  ]be* 
come  too  common  in  our  late  iudustfious' bounty. 
Trmm,  Tram,  and  Tramnut,  seem  to  bear  relation;^ 
ship  to  thb  word.  Tramper  is  an  evident  derivative» 
for  one  on  the  iramp*    1  wai  disposed  to  think  that 


443 

11^74^/i)lireaiA%  ^I^Uta^  or'luddier,  ;^8>'inere 
lUl^tEbta  of 'the  other— ^but  ain  instructed  bv  Karei^ 
Att  U'ls;a  Vfifferent  Woitl;  though  not ' aUb^tl^er 
il^aiiiktribr  in  itteanihg.  'In  addition  to  Wtiat  is'oV 
Mfihieil  iibder  Hip,  I  may  liote  that  "Grose  has 
"Crockers — forestallers ;  called  also,  X:u2(2er»  and 
WmtiNr .  T'siiip^t  crocltei'Xo  be  an  iiine^tit'  ven- 
itii^'of 'e*h>6kery — iiot  a  forestaller.  -'Grose  pf  ^id/ier 
Ms*"  a'forestalf^r— idso  a'persdn  employed  by/tlie 
^^dtoera'to  gather  )>ease.*'  I'robably  bedau^'^  Chejr 
carried  them  away  in  kids^  or  peds.  But  'of  tliis 
matter  I  have  said  eDbu'gb/if  not  liiore  th^b'^hodgh^ 
^kiiSmt  KiMUr,  and  ilrtidies  fh^ee'tefefred-io.' 
■^  [^^RAT^L^8 — or  Tt'0itle$.  The  globular  eiicrenAen* 
ti^otts  droppings  of  shetep.  The  followiilg  3ft  the 
ooly  similar  words  that  I 'have  met  With—*'  TtrcUn 
or  Jreadies, .  or  treddi€»»  the  diiiig  of  a.  sheep. 
Thfif/to,  the  dang  oif  aMbbet  or  Motley."  *O.I>.'A. 

Travb.  Horses  harnessed  ready  for  work,  are 
iaid'to  bt  •'*  id'fhfe  lrrfVe"-^F,  "  in^'fiWai  "-i-at 
Untk,  '^on  the 'f rtiifi.'*  SeeTtt'ASiff.  IMMi  ddciM^IJi 
Ifaat  tery  p>etty'|ii<icedf  fdp6grli|»liy,  Ob/AMiBUMu 
MUtUlt'p.  142.  in  a  description  of  a  gentlemiWk 
bcMHb  in  Soffolk,  written  ib  1581.  It  seefm.fd 
i/km  a  placieforexercisinj^  bones*  It  14^  added^Aat 
^*  ITl'^iei,  lis  the  dictionaries  sayt  are  a'sort  of^^kM 
Mr  aliOrBe  that  is  tiidght  to  amble  or  pace/'  TIMe 
w«  jpaill,  TVaminei  and  Yangfe.    See  ihoiie,  Words*  - 

kn  fttai'Cycloposdia  it  is  sud,  under  lirave,  that  it 
is  ^'  'Ae'samie  with  Yi^rriers  as  Trwice."  See  Tbjiv- 
r'A.  '^*A  Trdve  ot  TVavMe,  an  englAe  or  enctosure 
to  ^tfofe  kn  nnhily  hor&ie  in.?  0.  D.  a. 

^  TftAVTiB.    The  shoeing  anti-room  of  a  farri^'s 
shop*    It  b  not  local.    See  under  Traotcr  in  J2M^ 
C^^.    It  is,  however,  not  there  fised  hi  the  .{M^lk 
•eute  r  bift  is  deii^ribed  as  the  Ikxn^Uylfbfi^ 
closure,    seen  d^nfttife.  blacksmiths' '-Isboiis  ifor^con- 

2^2 


444 

tamg  unnily  haneg  while  uiidergoiii|^  the  optaAkm 
of  b«2off  shoed.  la  tome  remote  parts  of  FnglMidj 
it  if  nid,  this  is  called  a  break  ;  and  in  Frems  Ira- 
Mrtf.  With  us.  at  in  London,  a  (freak  h  a  dUcfcat 
thins;  and  the  place  deMrihed  in  Rees^  we  mB 

The  word  treH$8  it  used  in  Scotland  appartndt 
at  in  Suffolk^  or  in  one  nearly  coaneeled  wiu 
hoiMfl.  See  r.  0^  my  L.  Sd  S.  III.  9.  Under  IWa, 
IVammelg  Tramp,  and  IVove,  aoBMthing  iarther 
may  be  toiight  hereon. 

TftAtTTH.    A  trough  of  any  tort, 

TftKB.  A  straight  atout  piece  of  wood,  Ott  which 
the  carcases  of  slaughtered  beastt  are  hung,  saspended 
by  the  sinews  of  Umr  hind  legt,  extended  to  the 
'ends  of  the  tree.  A  shorter  crooked  article  ifer 
sheep,  calTC^  Ao.  b  called  a  Bad^m  Sonetanet 
this  latter  is  of  iron;  and  it  is  then  a  GmmkraL  See 
4iiider  those  words.  From  the  latter,  lefcitsnce  is 
latade  to  4his.  I  have  nothkig  fhrther  to  offer  on 
this  matter. 

*rRBB-0Q08B.    Under  the  article  Betrmaala,  I 

have  noticed  it  as  a  name  of  the  Solatf»goose    and 

under  8heU-duekt  mention  is  made  of  the  carious 

Togetative  origin  that  has  been  extensively  ass^aed 

t^  this  fabulous  combioation.    The  tenn  of  3m« 

gooee,  1  do  not  think  is  now  at  all  used,  and  bat 

very  little  known,  in  Suffolk.    Formerly  I  believe  it 

was.    Avery  curious  article,  as  earlier  alluded  to, 

might  be  easily  compiled  out  of  the  woaderfiilly 

cr^uious  persuasions  eeai  relations  of  our  fore-fa- 

titers  on  this  matted.    Thouf^h  this  b  no  place  fer 

it,  I  cannot  resist  die  temptation  of  borrowing  a  few 

lines  ftom  Kares,  as  a  specimen  of  what  such  an 

itrticle  might  be— 

Trt^-geete,  A  name  given  to  barfhielef  Aom  ihcb  snppoied 
wettBHirplKMifi  whieli  ii  00  where  more  miaiitety  dotcribed  ia 
verso  thwk  by  Drejrton  i 

Wl^raas  thoM  •cstttr'd  traeib  which  natbmiljr  pwtaks 
The  fotnsM  of  tbeioit  (in  nisy  nifiRiy  kU 


445 

TKi^  roMi  io  d'ee]^  foSk^d)  dfend  fibiA  thtir  itbdcj  BbnigH 
-A  ioft  and  fBppnr  giiiii«  fttmi  wUch  thate  Tre^^teup  grow 
CtU 'dbviiades  by  at*  which  UJqbH  jell  J  first    .  ' 

"^  the  hebolder  leein*  tl^en*  by  the  flux  are  nurst,  ^ 

\latAtX  aod  gfeater  tbriVea  untii  you  well  may  see  '  ' 

m  tvHiM  fo  ^feet  fowls^  wh^  droppiiig  (nOk  the  t^ 
Ittte  the  merey  pond>  %hich  lirider  them  doth  lie, 
\f  W*>  f^»  BBd  taking  Wing*  away  in  flobks  do  fly ; 
^ : ,  wiiich  well  oar  ancitats  did  among  oar  ¥roiidergplace»  ictJ ' 

Polydlb,  uViS* 

•.,  ■** trot^  this  fable *^  Nares  adds,  '' Lwiubub,  )ipM 
formed  bis  iriml  name — anatifera,  Ooote — or  Duc)^ 
heaHng"-^oi  the  barnacle. 

'.  TllBieifi  This  wdfd  is  now  nearly  disused  in 
•Sofiblky  .md  is  but  litUe  knoiinu  It  used  to  tneap 
woodOu  1  know  oi  no  liidgnai  derivation^  and  ber 
UeiFt  it  to  be  from  tree;  as  #ood-en  is  from  or  id 
jKOod.  IVceit  is  an  old  EngKdi  phiral  of  tree,  as  is 
.■Mown  bj  Nares^  in  several  qnotatiohs  to  that  effeet 
•^bnt  this  is  not  exactly  the  sense  in  which  we  rfre 
Aow  considering  the  word — bat  in  another  to  which 
the  fi>Uowing  apply — 

Tftiik^iHibAta :  fbacle  6f '  the  matf er  of  *  tMi.  **  PuHikaf^ 
•l  great  Tat»  or  treeae  vessel*  conteiBing  b6t  or  coid6'  nirater  fi 
Nithhi.**    Ah,  FUmwg,  NmneneL 

['  Wiitis  after  this  bride   cairii  t hear  by  t66  and  t66,  a  .d6ieii 
dansels  for  brJde-maids ;  that  foi  tiirtir,  attyr^^  for  tncibii  an& 
■leaalinesy  were  as  meele  for  ft^ch.a  bride,  as  a  treen  ladl  for  a 
•  l^ge'pot.    LtmektmCi  Let,  Kenniiw,  lU,  p,td, 

TMei*  tilled  the  word  fi^qiiently  in  thi^  kei^  of 
wooden.  **  Treen  dishes/'  occurs  iii  a  (Juotalioii 
itttiw BfAck^uck'.  Treen  pltfteir,  or  pttftiers,  I ietk» 
io  b«  ahereil  td  trenikeri—thtifty  snrticfes  not  qprite 
diisnsed  in  Suffolk.    iSee  Trencher. 

*^  Treen-ware,    earthen  vessels."    Grqife*    I  be- 

'"ieve  he  U  wrong — misled,  pirobably  by  Ray,  who 

says  the  same  thing  in  as  many  woros.    The  c)iief 

'  j|>i  Groae's  Provincial  Glossary^  is  indeed,  fromjftay. 

TRENCHERS.  Wooden  plates^  or  fikiUeffif  nbi^ 
rtMdm-seen;  butwh?ch  I  catf  retoUect  in  general 
use  in  farm  houses,  and  in  genteel  kitchens.    Thi^ 

2q3 


446 

are  not  wholly  dbused;  fmr  h  ror  pwa  iwrttb  we 


hmy  a  Ycrj  worthy  old-fiuhioned  man,  who^  for 
ihcte  three  score  and  ten  years  has  never  voluntarily 
eaten  off  any  other.  lYenchers  used  to  be  nuMfe- 
mostly  of  maple;  esteemed  for  its  whitenesa  and 
•ckMcness  of  grain.  Alder  was  neat  in  estinwtion: 
and  when  kept  nicelycleaned  they  are  not  unpleasant 
tUnga  to  eat  off.  The  cheapness  of  crockery;  the 
cooqparative  easiness  of  keeping  it  clean,  ana. the 
deamesa  of  wood,  have  rendered  fraieftera  less 
economical  now  than  ■  ft>rmerlT.  And  the  progress 
of  notions  of  refinement  ana  gentility  haa  nearly 
hanished  the  thrifty  article.  Even  in  Tusser^a  di^ — 
aay  1550— 4hey  were  not  reckoned  gaUtd:  for  ma 
quotation  given  under  Blmdc-jaok^  be  aays — ^*  Treen 
dishes  be  homely  ."--This,  by  the  way,  is  assuming 
the  point  that  trencher  is  derived  from  tretn, 
wooden;  of  which  see  under  Treau  I  borrow  the 
following  from  Nares— 

Treiiefcer— a  wooden  platter,  loog  used  kttead  of  m^Uic^ 
ebina,  or  earthen  plates.  It  was  even  considered  as  a  stride  of 
luxarj,  fvhen  trenchers  were  often  changed  In  one  meal.  In 
the  Satumian  age  it  is  said— 

The  Venetian  carved  not  his  meat  with  a  silver  pitofa  fo|lE» 
neitl^r  did  the  sweet-toothed  Englishman  shift  a  doaen  of 
trmehen  at  one  meal.    Dtcker'$  GuCm  H.  B,  ch.  i. 

And  with  an  humble  chaplain,  Nares  adds,  it  was  aocordiag  to 
Bishop  Hall  **  expressly  stipulated  that  he  never  change'  kia 
treneker  twice."  The  term,  a  good  trencheT-maiit  was  then 
equivalent  to  a  hearty  feeder,    GU 

So  it  is  now  in  Suffolk — I  have  heard  it  a  hundred 
times :   similar  to  **  playing  a  good  knife  and  fork^'' 

Tress  ELS — or  Trussels.  Long-legged,  narrow- 
topped  stf>ols,  for  placing  planks  or  boards  on  to 
support  brick la>ers  wlien  working,  at  some  distance 
from  the  ground ;  or  for  the  killers  of  washerwomen. 
Kot  local  perhaps.  '*  A  tressel  or  trussel — a  prop  ; 
a  three-fooled  stool ;  a  frame  to  bear  up  tables, 
scaffolds,  5cc"  O.  2).  A*  Oura  ar^  often  four« 
legged. 


447 

TlUiWiT*  A  trivet,  for  resting  a  kettleor pot ob^ 
;Over  the  fire.  ,  **  Trew^  or  Tnteia;  parteqs  for  w»- 
tniM* :  Suffolk;'  Bay,  £.  W.  p;.  89.  I  never  hmid 
^,p&ikem  so  called.  The  iron  rims,  or  bottoia,  of  wo- 
'.wn^  pattens  are  sometinies  crinkle^siiaped^  like 

tmriU;  and  most  likely  the  name  of  one  aiticte 
:ttBj  thus  have  been  taken  from  the  other;    Jbm* 

Ihm,  €Qhp  eoMran,  hobmkd  hobirom,  are,  I  belief«^ 

different  words  for  the  same  article ;  t.  e*  the  fire- 

u^.tremii  or  irirei. 

•:-  l^UBS.    Triplets  at  marbka.    SeeDllM« 
Trickbt.    a  game  at  cards — something  like  Ioo» 

.TBlCii^ET.  Playful,  frolicksome — always  in  a 
jKK^'  sense.  Also  a  girl  or  young  woman  neatly  at- 
tmdf  or  tricked  out.  Nares  explains  it — neat, 
l^droit,  elegant-*-quptiog,  in  illostratioo-*- 

ld{y  trtdtf<y  spirit.    Ttmp,  t,  1. 
Harnr,  iodeed,  there  is  a  trtcfttetfairl. 

Grim.  theCoUi^,  O.Pl.zi.  fS^. 

As  well  as  to  a  playful,  frolicsome  girl,  we  should 
j^jiply  the  term  to  a  skittish  mare.' 

Trim.  To  beat  smartly.  "I'll  trim  ^jacket 
Ibr  ye^— that  I  wool." — '*  'A  desarv  a  right  good 
trimmen.*'  This  word  is  omitted  in  the  lut  of  of« 
fensive  terms  given  under  AiNT. 

.  Tinkle.    Trickle—**  The  tares  trinkkd  down 
%^t  cheek.*'     In  Scottish  *<  to  trinkle,  to  trickle."  J. 

Trip.  New  soft  cheese,  made  of  milk — but  not 
y/AkOk  made  ol  cream.  **  Is  that  a  cream  cheese'l " — 
^  No,  it  is  only  a  trip.*  It  is  made  somewhat  thicker 
than  .cream  cheeses  usually  are.  Bang,  Flety  and 
Wommilf  are  other  names  lor  Suffolk  cheeses.  See 
Ihosie  words. 

TaiVEt,  More  commonly  called  Tv'^W/ — which 
see.  A  convenience  for  resting  a  kettle  or  sauce- 
pan on,  or  before  the  fire. 

Troli/)P.  a  dirty,  coarse,  vulgar  slut.  A 
compound  of  truU  and  trapes,  probably.'  See 
Trundle. 


Tbout.  a  Mnfcet  eart.  "  Bifch  rbhAI  We 
Mtnral7iMiicerfrthefn>%."  ^JotTHtii:  '^t» 
TVaff;  to  ihindle:  ^xr  cotONioiimemt  StuMab" 
Jliy.  E.W.  p.e9.  Our  TMfy  Bwy  M  j^Wi 
nccttFwoidi.    SmTroddlb.  .-'' 

A'* 

Tbottlm.    See  TiiATTtM.  ■■*■ 

Tkodnci.  Tobeat— Botloctlptrh^.  "TlbtiUi 

wn  right  well."  For  miny  limilar  worn  wee  Allrt— 

Truck.  RDbbufa-*<somethmg  norlhless,  or  worse. 
A  field  or  bank,  foal  from  spmr-grass,  docks,  SiC. 
WOBid  be  nid  to  be  "  ftill  'a  trmdc."  "  Nawa  bof  * 
bergaiD  'a  Intck,^  describes  any  collection  of  rubbiaB. 
TVMci  is  also  a  imrk  of  a  machiac  for  moving  tinl- 
ber.  Tlie  timber  h  laid  on  It.  Drug  is  anotber 
name  for  it.  Tbe  roachibe  for  moviog  limber  tm^ar 
it  we  call  Jtm.  See  those  words.  And '  uAder 
Deviltry  aud  Felt,  for  further  illuatraiioa  of  tht 
iirirt  given  wiiie  of  the  word.  In  another  lenie  of 
tnrf&c,  or  biuinew,  tnttk  ia  agafai  brought  mfcf  uM. 
See  Tbasfic, 

TRtiLLiBUBS.  A  low  coarse  term  among  tiatefa- 
era  for  the  entrailareneratty  of  animal*.  "  "fHp^t 
wd  truHibubs,"— "rte  bladigttard  espreuion  at  .*^4 
watch  and  cfaarna  "  for  the  heart  and  plock,  oir  p^r- 
hapi,  the  bead  and  pluck,  of  a  sheep  or  calf,  is  eMB* 
non  in  Londoo.  Or  the  latter  i«  eomeHtnei  qoaintly 
dcNgaated  "  An  aldermaa  hmg  is  cljaiu,"  NartI 
baa  tbii  article— 

TrlUUmb — a  sort  of  cant  eipraluoD  for  inj  Itiing  my  tlUtl^ 

I  hope  my  gnts  will  hotd,  and  tbaVt  e'cD  dl 
A  gem  tern  ui  cm  luok  foi  of  loch  trUIibnb. 

Mat.  OU  tai;  uI,  f. 
Mr.  Ciflord  qatrie*  Shiilej  fsi  iti 


449 

Am  wQvdi  of  tbb  low  ttamp*  Naret  addt»  are  peediarlj  1mU» 
to  cqtraptlont  we  meet  with  the  Tsriationi  of  treiJSibvAi  and  tml* 
*ij  acknowledgecl  bj  the  eUu^ad  Capt.  Grose  under 'tiM 
It  phraae  of  « tripes  and  truUibuU:*    To  this  form  of  the 
J^elding's  Parson  2>tU/t6er»  doubtless  owed  hit  name,  61. 


3Ve%-Vgf— tripe.  Cumberi.    Gnu. 

But  enot^h  of  thii  repalsive  tribe  of  words.  Far* 
tlier^  if  desired,  may  be  found  tbereoo  under  JWm* 
die,  and  otber  articles  thence  referred  to. 

Tbunblb*  To  ^ive  a  rototary  motioa*-bnt  I 
do  Mit  rec<4lect  having^  beard  the  word  applied  to 
any  thing  but  a  boy  tnundiing  his  hoop— and  a  maid 
tnuMimg  or  twirling  her  mop.  This  latter  opera- 
tkm  b  aidroitly  done  on  the  arms,  without  lumdHMg  : 
attd  with  a  new  mop  and  a  skilfiil  girl,  it  is  (eqpeci^ 
allY  if  she  be  handsome  and  one  be  disposed  to 
pmiosopbise)  an  interesting  anjd  apt  illustration  of 
tlie  ceatriiugal  force. 

Perhaps  &e  old  word  iromi,  in  one  of  its  forms» 
if^ay  be  cognate-— 


TlMa  doth  she  tri«<f  to  BMe  the  bowle. 

I]iM«  taken  this  line  from  Nares :  who  diows 
dUit  to  troU  a  catch  or  a  ballad  was  in  ose  for* 
BMily.  And  I  may  add  that  trawling  now  describes 
a  node  of  angling  with  a  wheel — all  implying  rota-^ 
tMNi.  So  possibly  troiiy,  a  cart,  may  have  some 
rdptioiiship-— so  may  truU  and  pruliUnihg:  trollop 
and  trape$;  but  I  shall  not  endeavour  to  show  ho|r» 
My  very  recent  enquiry  has  led  me  to  the  know- 
ledge that  otber  round  rototary  articles  are  oalled 
ttwAle,  A  portion  of  a  linen-doll  (for  washing) 
aad  a  mill-gear,  are,  among  other  things,  so  called. 
lUmndnes^  or  gyration  seems  always  the  prevailing 
sense  in  this  class  of  words.    See  Worrel-bonb. 

Trussels.    See  Trbssels. 

TavTHY.    Veracious — to  be  believed^  r^liedj  or 
<fepended  on-*^ot  a  bad  word* 


450 

TuLL.    It-wUli^alsahooo/,  ortotMot  ^SeettUt 

TFUCY.  Toorly— .••TulyAtttitia^h^a:*'  "A-trell^ 
naaber— how  de  yeow-farel**  '".Wa'-MibaMbiiit 
liil)f."  Id  Somersetfthire  (Twify  means  'r«s#jet»-«mie 
same  word  perhaps,  in  the  sense  of  toUy,- o^p9Md 
to  re$t  or  eate.  See  Paj.  ^B^y,  vmong  his  S.  and 
£«  country  words  has  **'Tewly  or  Tuly:  tender,  sick; 
Tuly-8toBsacfaed,'we«k-StoBi»ehttd."  £.W.  pJ9b. — 
Whence,  probably, '  Gvase  has  tttken  his  *'  IVtt^liy 
paorly,  twtakly,  tenderly.  ^W.^eount^.  TMy^  nh^ 
der,  aichly ; :  a  totly  man  <  cnr « womaii.  JSoiqMlk.*^^ 
Pr.-'GL  Sh9hf,  we  ahould,  (probably,  prttMAMe 
imfymiitmlmf^  in  ouraecustomed  modie'of  etal^Uiip 
#0  intocthe  acute *«c:;  aBi|fOtte«d'und«rd9icAii. 

'Tvtn>A.    Tiiideir.  *The'fimab-^6tti?* 

T(7P.  Aram.  TlUa  is  common,  rb(eHeve,  1ialf» 
if-ndtall,  oVer1Sn|(land.  '^Itoccunseyerietlt&Qieaiii 
Othello— and  the  commentators  tfabdght  It  "ex- 
pedient to  teU  os'that  ^'VLftam  hs^ctAMimiup  among 
the  -sheep l>reeden  in  some  counties** — and  this  is 
wh^  f  gave  it « iplace  -hereb  '  la  'Sootlish  "  V^,  a 
nun.''  J.    See  Daks. 

Tda  n-ov»r.  -A  mame  of 'the  good  flridg  oAer- 
wise  called  Apple-jaek,  'and  d^qv  jfoeft,  ^and  JiMV' 
mmri    See  those  attades.      %^      :  "'* 

Tussle.  A  contecft---'of  wK»flitfg,  ot  My  odi^ 
num-hakdling  operatifm.  *'  'A  hewd  em  4t  )^ht 
good  tmsle** — <opposed  "or  resisfted  bim  iaaiifk^. 
«*  7\mle:  a  stmggle.  We  had  a  nmk  fbr  it.  N; 
aad  S.  <;ountry  word.^  GfoBe. 

TossDCKs.  The  rushy  knots  of  c(^rse  ^e&w 
grass,  in  swampy  lands.  They  lare  also  callea 
Xkaues^    Se6  Doss — and  HassOCK.    In  Scottish 

7\utochf  (of  wheat).  A  tvKt  of  wheat  hi  a  com  Md,  |;ene. 
rally  owing  to  the  vegetation  of  the  nett  or  ^ranaij  <ef  »  Md 
mouse — {rom  i^e  Welch  tuftP,  »  tuft^  tutumwg,  hating  a  toft 
or  bundle.  J. 


451 

ptitiBbmd9'n%B^, ,  rather  tkan  .tO'.ini»  jo  wmIa*. 
'  I  jioi  induced  rto.  add  ithe  foUowing..fTom(NacMh— 
as  afiplicable  to  the  word  biDfore  .us^^nd  of  anotliAK 
IB  eommoii  use  among  us— (not  .to  mention  its  own 
CHiksing  matter.) 

Tll/uttek,  I^a$ock,  and  TOimeh,  A  ttift'of  fbote  liair:  or  .-m 
tttft  #f-my  lort^  Jphnton  on  tht  latter  'vrord,  sapposet  it'  is  a 
^launotiTe  of  tut ;  but  that  it  hardly  an  aeknovf  MglMl  <wt)td'«'«  • 

Xhongh  we  haye  not*  expresse  mention  in  Scriptnm^.  ngqfntt 
WM^h  laying  oat  of  the  hure  in  t&uMtfcfca -and  tufts,  yet  we  have 
iBf^criptiire  expre^^e  mentioB  dt  tortif  «niM6iM»  of  writhioi'haire 
thMtf.U.  iioif  the  nonce  forced  to  curie.  .  Lafimeri  ,S&mi. 

What  a  snbject  for  a  bishop  to  .haadk)<  jn  ja  lae&i 
moiil:770f  other /Words  jused  above^.isee  Noovcc, 
aoil.WRrrH.,.  ^ 

TuTSON.  The  periwinklf  (flower)  Vikcui  or  Pfb- 
vifffia.  Not  the  shell-fish,  which:  we  .sigoificcntly 
call  fdn^-patch^i .  Trom  .Pernaua  An.  dmnhi^-ih^ 
Ft&iahfmitenfk^  (the  aature  of  that  language  being 
to.  fofleA'the  hi^rd. c )  and  our  retentive  •  pfnwbkle. 
S^netiniesy  however^  we  soften  and  they  do  nat; 
l^lhmkirk  or  r/^nt^Her^tae-— which  means  the  JktU 
eku^rehf  they  have  retained  the  hard  soundyl  like  the 
ScotcU-T-and  we  have  softened  it>  initial  and  finals 
in.gor^  Church.    See  Perk. 

Of  the  word  more  immediately^  before  us.  I  may. 
note,  that  I  know  not  of  its.  wider  rusage^  unless  it 
be  ill.  this,  instance — *'  Tutgan  or  Tuta»,  an  e](cci-^ 
leaiiyfonnd  h^rb.**    O.  D*  A.. 

TtJTTAH.  TrouWe— -work— /o-cte.  '"A  might 
as  well  keep  another  Ceoic-^ha*s  as  much  tutta  tai 
tS'dew  about  one  as  about  tew  "-*f  Cows.) 

Twang.,.  A  pull,  especially  by  the  uose<**eqm- 
Thlent  to.j^  if icea/r  perhaps.  T wangling  is  also  a 
eoftfuBed  jingiing-jaugliagy  of  bells.  Nares  under 
th|^  latter,  word  s&ys  it  is  a  ridiculous  derivative 
fyim  Iwiw^r,  noisy  jingling. 

Sometfanes  a  thousand  fioai^JiR;  instrnmenti 
Will  ham  about  nine  ears|  and  sometimes  roices. 


452 

-   tf  oittn^  penooadog  a  nnticiaii,  it  called  by  the  pettdaiit 
kathariiM  «<rascal,  fidler,  tiMi^fiti^  jack.**  T.  rfthe  S%.  u.  1.  Qt 

Tw ANGLE.  Entaogle — ^ruffle.  *'How  jrar  luie 
n  twangled  ** — Uncombed  hair  will  invite  the  tamtt 
half-reproachfiily  epithet. 

TwsBTCH— or  Twitch.  The  same  I  belie?e  ur 
tqmeecht  or  ipear  grass.  But  the  latter  is  the  coai- 
moa  name ;  and  the  others  are  very  little  used  or 
known,  in  Suffolk. 

'  Twiddle.    A  pimple.    See  Clow. 

TwiLT.  A  quilt — as  in  Scotland.  T.  f^mp  Li 
3  &r.  II.  296.  Among  die  furniture  of  Hengrave 
Hall  in  1603 


Itm,  one  large  twill  oi  Tcllovr  mtten  embroidered*  Itns  4me 
looge  ^jiU  of  crimaon  and  taffyt ye  larsenet  of  the  one  aide^  aad 
tawn^wrtenet  of  the  others  twitted  very  finely  of  botb  tidct* 
and  perfumed.  ltm«  One  UaiH  of  tawney  taffata  sarsenetty  em- 
broydered  all  orer  with  twiste  of  yellow  tilke»  with  tbe  taioA* 
cbeont  of  Sir  Tboi.  Kytson*!  and  my  Udye*i  ams. 

Gaget  Utngrwe,  p.  St.  3S» 

Tdumey,  I  take  to  be  yellow,  or  of  that  hue.  See 
Tawny.  "  A  beard  of  orauge  tawney/'  I  have 
somewhere  read  of;  but  never  heard  of,  or  saw, 
such  a  thing.  « 

TwiNK.  An  abbreviation,  I  suppose,  of  twink-* 
ling.  It  is  used  to  denote  the  smallest  imaginable 
portion  of  time.  '*  In  a  twink  " — ^.is  more  enotphatic 
than  in  a  trice,  in  a  jiffy»  in  a  crack,  and  such 
phrases.  Nares  explains  it  in  its  obvious  sense  of 
**  the  wink,  or  sudden  motion  of  an  eye  or  eye-lid. 
Twinkling  b  now  substituted  for  it  "• — 

'  Then  in  a  twink  she  won  me  to  her  love^    T,  rf^  5&.  ii.  1. 

him  a  pereless  pf  ince, 
Sonne  to  a  iing>  and  iu  the  flower  of  youth. 
Even  with  a  twinkt  a  senselesse  stocke  I  saw. 

Ftrrex  and  Porres,  O.  PI.  i.  14S. 

We  say  twink  for  twinkle.  **  The  stars  twink.*' 
As  a  verb  we  also  have  squink  and  map,  to  denote 
the  act  of  nictitation.    See  those  words. 


453 

Twister.  To  twist,  or  tarn  ;  but  especially  the 
former*  I  have  used  it,  I  perceive,  io  the  article 
ffSm.  We  have  twiule  or  twizzle,  in  a  like  sense. 
Sci!  TWISZLE. 

Twit.  To  reproach — to  throw  in  one's  teeth — 
«*  JA  twitted  'a  wo't,  an  ta  ril  *d  ar/'— "  To  twit,  or 
hit  one  in  the  teeth  with  a  thing."  O.  D,  ii,— 
Spenser  uses  tmght  in  the  same  sense. 

And  ererraore  she  did  hitn  sharpelj  tw^t 

For  breach  of  faith  to  her,  which  be  had  firmely  plight. 

F.  Q.  V.  vi.  12. 

Twitter.  I  know  not  if  this  word  be  local — 
bnt  x^th^r  fancy  not.  It  is  a  pretty  one,  denoting 
the  collective  chirping  of  happy  little  birds  of  a 
snnuner  evening — delightful  music !  In  the  follow- 
ing quotation  did  the  poet  mean  tmUght,  qt  the 
time  of  the  merry  meeting  alluded  to  ?  It  is  from 
Nares — 

Twiitet'light — twilight;  so  oscd  in  the  following  instance,  but 
I  Kttownoother: 

.  Then  cast  she  np 

Her  pretty  eye,  and  wink'd: — the  word  met  bought  was  thfen, 
•»Come  not  till  iwitter-lightr     Middleion\  More  Disc.  jii.  1. 

We  also  use  the  word — not  in  a  very  di^isimiiar 


has  "  Twitter,  to  tremble — k  Tuet  tittent.,  tremcre, 
both  from  the  sound  produced.  A  M'ord  of  gene- 
ral use.  -My  heart  twitters,  I  am  all  in  a  twitter/' 
Pr.  VI 

Twizzlk.  Twirl — quick  rotation.  The  symp- 
toms of  a  disease  that  sheep  are  liable  to,  would  be 
thus  described — "  Ta  fared  dunt,  an  ta  twizzled 
about  stamminl)'."  This  word  comes,  perhaps, 
from  our  twister,  to  twist  or  tyrn. 

Two  SHEAR.  This  term  prefixed  to  ship  de- 
nottes  a  lamb  of  two  years ;  or  that  has  been  twice 
shorn*    See  under  Dans,  for  more  on  this  subject. 

TwoOL.  It  will — see  Sop.  TuU,  is  the  same 
cocrttfttion.  2  R 


454 


Valkntia.  The  tin  machine  used  for  lifting 
beer,  wine,  &c«  out  at  the  bung-hole  of^a  cask j  by 
pressing  the  thumb  on  the  small  hole  at  top;  Tii 
some  places  it  is  called  tkumhpump.  I  hai^e  iiever 
heai4'tt  called-  Valentin  out  or  Suffolk. 

Since  this,  was  written  I  have  met  with  the  word 
in  print,  spelled  VaHneh.  The  Roman  goddet* 
Vaientia,  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the  Grecian 
Hyffeia,  can  scarcely  connect  herself  with  a  beer 
barrel. 

■*  ■ 

.Valentines — And  Valentine's  day,  used,  withifi 
m^  If  collection,  to  be  among,  the  most  agitating 
articles  and  periods .  of  the  Suffolk  year.  Th^  aipo^ 
7QUS  billets,. didy.  ornamented  and  illuminated,  are 
still  sent — but  I  believe— and  I  am  sorry  for  it — 
the  expectations,  hopes,  &c,  excitements,  are  less 
ajcd^nt — so  I  am  infonped  at  l^ast — then  they  used 
to  be.  And  the  post-masters  tell  me  the  frequen^sy 
of  transmission  through  their  media,'  is  fallen  off 
considerably. 

Under  Valentine  in  Nares'  Glossary,  some  curious 
particulars  on  the  antiquity  and  other  pleasantries 
of  this  sanctified  day  will  be  found;  I  dare  only 
extract  this  consoling  passage  ;  warned  by  the 
alarming  number  at  the  top  of  my  page —    ' 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  number  of  letters  sent  on  VcJen- 
tine^t  day,  makes  several  additional  sorters  necessary  at  the  post- 
office  iR  London. 


m 


Valure,  Worth — rvalue :  and  sometimes  nearly 
the  sense  of  consideration.  ''I  woud'nt  do't  for 
the  valur  of  a  guinea." — •*  Why — 1  don't  care  wutha 
I  dew  a'  nut — ^for  the  valure  of  that*' — it  here  seems 
equivalent  to  matter.  Nares  shows  that  several  of 
our  old  writers  so  wrote  the  word,  in  the  senses 
firsi  given.  Although  it  is  not  generally  a  Suffolk 
vulgarism  to  substitute  the  initial  ttr  for  v^  the  word 
now  mider  out  notice,  I  must  confess,  is  often,-  and : 
p^haps^  mostlyt   pronounceil .  WajUfi*     it  does 


4ii6 

not  always  refer  to  price  or  worth ;  but  sometimes 
tp  quantity — "The  wallah  of  a  rod  and  a  half." — 
**  The  walla  of  iive  peck$  an  acre."  In  Cheshire 
Valut  is  similarly  used.  W. 

Van.  a  fan-shaped,  fiat  basket  for  winn6wuig 
com.  We  call  it  also  Fan.  This  b  in  an  O.  Y>*  A. — 
''  Van  or  Fan^  an  instrument  to  winnow  corn  with." 
Between  yan,  and  winnow^  the  word  may,  .haplv, 
jmre  been  compounded.  It  is  Van  in  French. 
Tnsser  calls  it  Fan.  See  under  Goof.  v.  1.  ati'd 
note.  Also  a  four-wl^eeled  oovered  carriage  for 
the  conveyance  of  passengers  and  parcels ;  of  less 
dignity  than  a  stage  coach.  Carravan,  abbreviated, 
may  have  given  us  this  word — which  we  sometimes 
call  Wfui.  Wain^  and  Wagg(m,  and  WiOi  seem 
cognate.  See  Wain.  VaJian,  pronounced  some- 
wi^t  short,  is  in  several  East  Indian  languages  a 
vehicle  of  conveyance — but  not  confined  to  on<e  on 
wheebf  Van,  according  to  Grose,  is  a  Glou- 
cestershire word,  in  the  sense  first  given. 

Fdm— French — vannur,  Latin ;  a  wianowing  fan ;  a  '^Sble 
for  com.     Bailey. 

Under  the  early  article  Baek'ttrikmg  reference 
is  made  to  this  to  show  what  Tusser  meant  by^H- 
ning.  In  the  quotation  there  given  from  Tusser, 
a  mistake  has  been  overlooked — for  farming  read 
fanning. 

Varment.  Vermin — not  always  confined  to 
the  vermnious  class  of  animals — but  extended  to 
any  annoying  or  troublesome  ones.  See  Warmbnt* 

Varsal.  The  whole;  a  vulgar  corruption  of 
universal.  "  Vm  sewer  I  heent  a  farden  i'  the 
varsal  wald."  Shakespeare  puts  this  phrase  into 
,the  mouth  of  good  old  nurse  in  Romeo  and  Juliet — 
and  Mrs.  Davenport  gives  it  every  effect  in  the 
humourous  speech  containing  it — 

Slie  looks  as  pale  as  any  clout  in  the  vanal  world,   ii.  4. 

V auncbroof.    A  garret ;  according  to  Grose, 

2K2 


456 

ajSuffolk  word;  and  I  give  it  solely  on  his  authority 
as  I  never  heard  it.  It  occurs  in  a  quotation  from 
his  Pr.  GL  under  the  article  Spbrket  in  this  Col- 
lection. As  this  sheet  was  going  to  press  I  met 
with  this,  as  a  Norfolk  word,  in  Marshairs  Rural 
Economy  of  that  county — "  Vance-roof  ^  the  garret.^ 

Vbnt«  The  hole  of  a  cask  for  the  reception  of 
a  vent-peg.  It  has  also  an  extended  and  general 
cognate  windy  meaning ;  referring  to  animals  of  all 
sorts — not  fishes— that  need  not  he  particularly 
explained.  Also  to  a  chimney.  We  likewise  use 
it  in  the  sense  of  vend  or  sale — **  Is — I've  a  pretty 
sprinklin  a'  carrots  ta  year — but  then  tha's  no  veat 
for  'em." 

Virgin  mart  thistle.  The  beautiful  and 
magnificent  Cardmu  Benedicbu,  or  Blessed  Thistle. 
Its  oroad  bright  leaves  are  marked  with  white  wdt 
defined  spots,  as  if  they  had  held  milk.  Our  po* 
pular  legend  accounting  for  this  pleasing  variety  is, 
that  Our  Lady»  when  thirsty,  met  with  a  cow  •;  and 
being  at  a  loss  for  a  vessel  for  receiving  the  milk, 
perceived  this  species  of  thistle— but  not  then  varie- 
gated—at hand — and  using  its  broad  leaf  as  a  con- 
venient cup»  she  willed  that  the  species  should,  as 
a  grateful  testimony  of  its  well-timed  utility,  ever 
indelibly  retain  the  marks  it  then  received  from  its 
useful  application ;  and  bear  also  the  name  of  its 
pure  patroness.  This  legend  is  not  confined  ia 
Suffolk :  it  is  found  current  in  Devonshire,  and 
was,  most  likely  imported  from  a  more  poetical 
country.  About  Teignmouth  it  is  called  Lady*s 
Thistle,  and  the  story  is  somewhat  varied :  some 
of  our  Lady*s  milk,  having  somehow  fallen  on  the 
leaf,  is  thereabout  said  to  have  left  its  holy  and 
indelible  marks. 

Tusser  in  his  "  March's  abstract,"  among  divers 
**  herbs  and  roots  for  sallads  and  sauce,"  includes 
the  '^  Blessed  thiblle  or  Carduus  benedictus.'*^!  am 


457 

not  sware  ihat  this  beautiful  weed  is  now,  any 
where,  considered  as  an  edible. 

ViEREL.     See  WORREL. 

VltTiFtL.  A  corruption  probably  of  indhndkal 
*^ln  this  seiise — *'  tie's  so  weak  ^a  can't  dew  a  vit- 
fifiil  thing/' 

VucK*  A  blow — more  commonly  Flick,  which 
see.  6ro8e  gives  both  words ;  and  explains  them 
••  1  blow  with  a  stick  "^-and  as  W.  country  words. 

Voider.  A  pail-n&e  article,  of  wood  or  wicker, 
into  which  bones,  &c.  are  shelved  or  thrown, 
during  a  meal.  It  is  not  a  modern  word ;  nor, 
perlia|>s,  in  very  confined  usage.    Thus  Nares— 

Voider — a  basket  or  tray  for  carrying  out  the  relics  of  dinner, 
o^  other  neal^ 

ViM^f  Ploughman  laid  the  cloth,  and  Simplicity  brought  fn 
the  «piiav    Sedcer, 

So  in  a  burlesque  speech — 

fn^lead  of  teats,  let  them  pour  capon^sauce 
'Ppon  my  hearse,  and  ^alt  instead  of  dast, 
JManehett  for  stones  i  for  others*  glorious  shields 
Give  me  a  voider,    B.  j*  Fl.    Woman  Hater,  u  3. 

So  in  an  O.  D.  A.  ''  Voider,  a  table  biasket  to 
hpld  plates,  dishes,  &c."  Sometimes  we  call  by 
this  name  the  mahogany,  brass-bound,  open-topped' 
convenience  usually  pfaced  under,  or  near,  side- 
boards in  a  dining  room,  for  the  reception  of  bot^ 
ties.  This  description  of  Voider  is  going  out  of 
fashion. 

Voider;  a  table  basket  for  plates,  knives,  5cc.    Bailey, 

u.  ^■ 

tiL — or  Al.  He  will,  "  *U1  run  awah,  'strus 
yeowr  alive." 

Um.  Him — them — em.  also.  Common  abbre- 
viations. 

UMBERt    Number.     '*I*ve  got  my  umber^' — 

2R3 


458 

Grose  gives  this  word  in  the  same  sense^  as  of  the 
Exmoor  dialect. 

Umble.  The  same,  perhaps,  as  the  common 
word  hnmble;  but  used  tvitb  us  in  a  literal  sense  of 
yielding,  bending,  and  intermixing.  It  is  the  pro* 
perty  or  facility  of  flexibility  or  fitheness.  Com- 
paring reeds  and  4itraw  for  mixing  with  earth  for  a 
wall,  the  workmen  agreed  that  straw  was  the  best, 
for  that  it  would  "  umble  best.'' 

Un.     One — referring  to  an  individual.    The  fol- 
lowing phrase  recently  occurred — *'  He*s  a  bad  un . 
yeow  mah  apend  ont." 

Unbethowt.  Unpremedilated,  unmtentionally. 
"  ^Twas  wholly  unbethowt  'a  mc  " — that  is,  on  roy 
part.  Grose  has  it  in  a  contrary  sense — **  Unbethowt ; 
reflected,  remembered.''    Pr.  GL 

Unchanoe— or  as  we  generally  pronounce  it 

Onchange — which  see.    Here  seems  a  redundant 

syllable— -but  not  exactly  so-^for  we  use  it  in  the 

sense  of  changing  again,  re- changing .    See  Lutha, 

^or  an  instance. 

Undeniable.    See  Ondeniaele: 

Underming.  Undermine — to  let  clay  or  sand, 
for  example,  cave  or  keeve  do\vn  into  a  pit. 

Under  the  wind.  So  situated  behind  a 
bank,  house,  &c.  as  not  to  feel  the  wind.  The 
wind  blowing  over  you,  as  it  were. 

Ungain;  Inconvenient^  awkward — unhandy 
— unsteady.  See  Gain.  We  commonly  pronounce 
it  Ongain,  which  see. 

Unloose.  Loosen.  This  word  and  Unsirip, 
exhibit  in  the  refined  phraseology  of  the  present 
day,  a  redundant  syllable,  but  in  time  of  yore  the 
prefixture  was  not  deemed  inelegant.  Unloose — 
occurs  in  many  of  our  best  authors  and  in  Scrip- 
ture. 


459 

Unpossiblb.  Or,  as  we  sometimes  pronounce 
it,  Onpauible,  does  not  require  much  explanation. 
We  are  rather  apt  thus  to  give  the  privative;  of 
which  see  On,  and  some  following  articles.  As 
far  as  may  regard  wmouible,  we  are  warranted  bj 
authority.    Under  that  word  in  Nares  we  read— • 

Now  dunged  ia  common  use  to  impouibU — 

'  Fcff  US  to  levy  power,  proportionate  to  the  enemj. 
If  ail  unjMtttl/f .     Rich,  II.  it. 

In  the  pnblic  Tersion  of  the  Bible,  it  has  been  silently  changed 
to  impoitibte,  where  it  was  at  first  tutpotriMe.    See  Tod^ijJm^ 


We  should  likewise  say  undraw  the  curtains— 
unpatient — unperfect — unproper — unrepairable — 
unresistable — unrip —  unstrip — unloose —  nnsincere 
— unsolid  — -  unstop  —  unsufferable — unsweet — un- 
tolerable — un  toothsome — untoward—  unchange— 
unready — &c.  Some  of  which  are  given  and  illus- 
trated in  this  Collection  under  words  beginning 
with  On  or  Un. 

Unrbaot.  Not  dressed.  The  following  quo- 
tations in  Nares  from  Shakespeare,  and  other 
writers  of  about  his  day,  fully  show  our  sense  of 
this  term,  as  well  as  its  antiquity,  <&c. 

'  (/atreoify— undressed.    To  dress  being  often  a  part  of  maUng 
readyy  t»  undress  was  called  to  make  imrcoiy. 

How  mo'wj  nlj  Lords,  what  all  unnady,   1.  Hen.  VI.  ii.  i . 

This  is  said  to  the  French  lords  on  seeing  them  leap  from  the 
walls  in  their  shirts. 

Why  I  hope  you  are  not  going  to  bed ;  I  see  jon  are  not  jet 
unread ji.    Chapman, 

Enter  James,  unready^  in  hu  night-cap,  garterless. 

Stage  Directions, 

Come — where  have  jou  been  wench  ?  make  me  unready: 
I  slept  bat  ill  last  night.    B.  and  Fl. 

A  jonng  gentle-woman  was  in  her  bed  chamber,  making  her* 
acK  unready,    Puttenhoe»  , 

Good  day,  my  lore,  what  op  and  ready  too  ? 
Both,  n^  dear  lord,  not  ail  this  night  made  I 
Myself  unready,  or  coold  sleep  a  wink.    Chapman* 


m 

Hc«  rtimyiiad  irikh  hit  daughter  to  i^fe  hii  ^iHadoinn^ 
retdyiag  hmM    Pembreike. 

Unsbnsed.    See  <)ns£NS£d. 

UffSTiL.     in  motion.    See  Jif^lS; 

Unstrip.    Strip. 

Upinnd.  To  set  a  cask  or  any  tiling  on  it$  end. 
*•  Upinnd  it."  See  under  Aninnd  for  many  in- 
stances of  our  substitution  of  t  for  e. 

Uppkn.     Mention — reveal — disclose.      "  Teow* 
didntuppen  it  did  ye  ?  *' — "  Be  sewer  don't  upp^Q  it 
ta  nobody.^  This  word  is  niuch  tfs$ed  aboi&t  Aldbib*. 

Uppish.  A  man  prose  to  take  offence  is  sidd  to 
be  uppish: — orpepperish;  apt  to  be  hot :  or  SHng^f 
which  see. 

tJpEiGHT.  On  his  own  means.  "  'A  Kve  up- 
r%ht  on  'a's  forten'' — that  is,  he  lives  without 
business  or  profession.  We  make  a  queer  phriase 
of  this  word — **  More  right-upper  '* — which  means 
less  inclined :  more  upright.  We  have  also  tsrans^ 
posed  the  syllables,  and  call  upright  things  Riffht 
ups — which  see,  and  Wrmgt. 

Upshot.  The  insult,  thje  end,  the  i^siie,  of 
any  business  or  matter.  /-^  And  thafs  the  upshot 
ont." 

W. 
Waah.    Way.    See  Wa'h. 

Wabble.  A  Sempstress  in  hemming  is  said  to 
wabble  her  work,  if  she  overlay  the  folds  so  as  to 
make  ber  work  thicker  in  one  place  tbau  iu  another* 
Such  inelegant  hem  would  be  called  a  wabble.  We 
also  apply  it  to  the  process  of  <jiflicult  mastication. 
A  cow  chewing  a  turnip  aukwardly,  is  said  to 
**  wabble  it  about  in  'ar  mouth" — or  "  wamble  it'' — 
which  is  I  conclude  the  same  sort  of  thing.  And  it 
was.  this  operation^  I  ima^ine^  that  Bloomfield's  sow 


461 

with  the  Suffolk  cheese  was  engaged  on  when  the 
poet  describes  her  tenacious  morsel  as--^ 

Too  large  to  8w«]low  and  too  hard  to  bite. 

The  poor  aoimal  must  of  necessity  therefore  have 
**  wambled  it  about"  'till  she  could  haply  detach  a 
frustrum  of  it.  Wimble  and  Wibble,  I  take  to  be 
more  delicate  or  refined^  modes  of  describing  similar 
processes.  I  lately,  for  instance,  heard  it  said  of  a 
goldfinch,  Uffgi  it  Wimbled  a  piece  of  thread  about 
in  its  bill;  and  when  I  noticed  the  word^  the 
pronunciation  was  altered  to  Wibble.  Grose  has 
"  Wibbk,  bad  drmk." 

In  something  like  our  sense  I  find  in  an  O.  D.  A, 
*'  to  WabbU;  to  wriggle  about  like  an  arrow  in  the 
air."  This,  indeed,  is  nearer  to  our  Logger,  which 
see.  We  should  also  apply  the  term  TFa66/e,  to  one 
who  walked  badly,  or  not  straight.  **  To  Wobble^ 
to  boil.  Pai' wobbler,  one  who  boils  a  pot."  Grote. 
Of  dumplings  tumbling  about  in  the  ebullition  of 
the  boiler,  we  should  say  "  how  they  woUop  about  ** 
and  we  might  use  tcabble  also  for  this  phenomenon. 
See  Wallop,  *[J^o  wabble :  Sqxoil  To  totter; 
as  a  top  almost  spent  in  spinning — also  to  wr^gle^ 
as  an  arrow  flying."    Bauey. 

Wad.  Word — pronounced  short.  See  HsfiNT. 
We  pronounce  it  rather  open,  though  short — wahd 
— ^like  swad  for  sword. 

Wadm u L.  A  great  coat  made  of  the  stuff  called 
Duffle — which  see.  Also  the  stuff  itself.  Raysays 
that  "  Woadmel  is  a  hairy  coarse  stuff  made  of 
Iceland  wool,  brought  thence  by  our  seamen  to 
Norfolk,  Suffolk,  &c."  E.  W.  p.  90.  Grose  fol- 
lows Ray  exactly.  And  in  Zetland  scenery,  in  the 
Novel  of  the  Pirate,  we  find  a  similar  stuff  called 
Wadmaal,  and  Wadmaarel — 

Her  upper  gariuent,  which  dropped  with  water,  was  of  a 
coarse  dark  coloured  stoff  called  Wadmaarel,  then  moch  juicA  itk 
the  Zeilaad  islaads,  as  also  in  Iceland  and  Norway.   1. 118* 

In  p.  "318  waadmal  means  a  similar  stuff—and  in 


462 

p.  23i,  the  very  same  cloak  that  in  p.  118  is  calied 
nadmaarelis  e?L\\td  Wadmael.  The  stuff  in  Zetladd 
seems  to  have  been  of  a  blue  dark  hue.  In  Suffolk 
W&dmal  is  mostly,  I  think,  light.  The  name  dif- 
ferently spelled,  as  above,  occurs  half  a  score 
times,  or  oftener,  in  tiie  Pirate. 

Vadmdlt  a  species  of  woollen  cloth  maBufactured  uid  trorain 
the  Oirknejrs.    Icelandic,  vodtnaa/— ^pannas  nisticus.  J. 

WaddemcU',  Woddemel;  Woddenel;  eoii^  stuBT  used  for 
covering  the  collars  •£  cart-horses*     Bailey. 

Tliis  is  one  of  the  uses  to  which  we  now  lUiiver- 
sally  apply  it. 

Wage.  To  wager.  "Til  wage  fi'.pouDcl.'*-— 
Thus  in  Shakespeare — 

His  taints  and  honors 
Wa^d  equal  with  him*    Ant,  and  Cleop,  iv,  12. 

That  is,  Nares  observes^  to  be  oppoted^  as  equal 

stakes  in  a  wager. 

To  wage — toagent  Oerman.    To  lay  a  wager.     Beileym 

Waggle.  A  sense  of  to  wag.  Wiggle-waggle, 
which  see,  is  commonly  heard,  of  such  up  and  down 
'motions  as  the  tail  of  the  Water-wagtail.  Or  of  a 
dog  we  should  say  "  'A  waggled  'a's  tail."  In  an 
O.  D.  A.  is  to  **  waggle;  to  joggle,  to  move  up  and 
down."  The  Scottish  has  a  number  of  words  of  like 
sound  and  sense — 

To  waehte,  to  move  backwards  and  forwards.  Wti^gle»  a  bog 
or  marsh.  Teutonic  waggle-euy  agitare,  motitare.  WaigUf 
Weeggie,  to  waddle,  to  waggle — Swedish  wackla,  motitare.  To 
wiggle,  to  wriggle.  Wringle,  a  writhing  motion.  J. — ^To  wag" 
gle — Saxon — to  joggle,  or  move  up  and  down*     BaHetf, 

Wah.  Way — pronounced  long,  wa-ah.  So,  sab, 
lah,  pah,  &c. — "  this  wah-wad,"  means  this  way — 
this  way-ward — or  toward  this  way.  We  also  say 
Aa^^faitf^— hithertoward.  See  WARD.  Waak 
occurs  under  the  article  Bawda,  of  ttii«  Collection. 

Wahahoo.    See  Kahahoo  in  the  Appendix. 

WAHTS*^pronounced  short.    I  know  no  English 


463 

woi4.rhyA^g  exactly  to  our  prpnifnaation  oi*  Ibis. 
I^'  iiie^n^  an^:  edible  greens ;  especiallj  cabbage 
SDfpQt^  turnip-topsy  &c,  "  What  av  ]^  got  Jror 
^ffiiei;r  ^'r-r"  Pork  an  wahul*  In  SQubdtQff ;  porft, . 
the.r  isDot  of  much  use  to  us.  ITor^  is  me  re^l 
WQjni  under  discussion:  it  is  preserved  elsewhere  in.. 
Cpie-worts^  called  by  us  Coliards,  which  see. 

.  If  Off;  io. general  an  herb,   Saxon.    Baileif, 

Wain.  A  waggon — also  Wan  —  and  Vaji'^ 
which  see.  Wain  is  perhaps  a  pretty  general  word 
-T-as.  is,  Charles'.  Wain^  for  th^  great  be^.  In  Scot- 
la.nditbey  call  it  "  Chartewon  and  Ckarkwai^ne — and 
the  Plough.  In  Anglo-Saxon  Carleaswagn — ^in  old 
Swedi^l^.  Kf^rlwagn — in  Danish,  Karlvagn"  J-^ 
narking  the  extent  of  this  appellation.  In  Suffolk, 
wje  also  call  the  constellation  the  Plough.  Nares  • 
sbow9  that  the  name  of  Charles*  wain»  applied',  to 
t^  sevtin  bright  stars  in  Ursa  major,  was  in  honor 
of  Charlemagne. 

Waldathoutind.  World  without  end-— applied 
to  a  long,  tiresome,  piece  of  work,  or  business;  or 
story — "Ah — that's  a  Waldathoutind  job'' — an  un- 
promising, bootless,  undertaking. 

The  like,  used  as  an  adjective,  is  used  by  Shake- 
apeace-^ 

Now,  at  tbe  latest  minute  of  the  hoar,    . 
Grant  us  jomi  lo^es. 

A  tine,  methinks,  too  short. 
To  make  a  world'ioiikout-end  bargain. in.. 

L.  X.  Lt    V.   2. 

^Wale— Weel— or  Wheal.    See  Weal. 

Walla.    Value.    See  Valure.     . 

Walus.  The  higliest  part  of  a  horse,  except 
hia  bend  when  up-~tbe  point  he  is  measured  at-^jost 
at  4he junction  of  the  neck  and  back^  The  withers. 
It  is .  sometimes  pronounced  waUaje.  In  Norfolk, 
".WaUaee;  the^withersofahorse."  Mar$kairMR.E. 
I  bave.  used  waUii.UK  .the  article  FareUno^ 


464 

WalIop.  a  blow — the  same  perhaps  or  nearly, 
MM  wmp,  though  not  so  oAen  heard.  It  means  alto 
an  trregnlar  motion,  not  easily  explained— like  Xs^ 
gtf  or  fFcMIe — ^which  see.  We  should  farther  appfy 
the  word  to  dumplios  in  the  ebullition  of  a  boUer-— 
or  to  ot^ier  things  similarly  circumstanced.  Heaoe» 
possibly,  or  thence,  the  pot-wallopper  of  other  times 
and  places.    I  find  the  word  in  an  O.  D.  A. — 

A  iMUopy  a  thick  pieoe  of  fat — to  wdlop^  to  bobble  up  ia 
boiling — to  wamhU,  to  rise  up,  as  boiling  water  cloe»— a  «aai- 
kfingf  or  qoalm  In  the  stomaai. 

Waihpt  a  roll  of  fat.  To  team&If ,  to  more  or  stiri  as  the  sots 
do  Mmetimes  whh  wind,  or -at  water  that  boib  gentlj.  Bottty. 

So  fai  Scottish — 

To  Wtdiopt  or  walopt  to  move  quiclilj,  with  much  agitation- 
Teutonic  val-wppt^  cursus  gradarius.  To  womdie,  to  more  in 
an  undulating  manner — ^Icelandic  vamhku  To  tccnifrfe*  to  reet  #. 

In  one  of  the  senses  above,  and  related  to  almost 
all  of  them,  I  recollect  a  verse  in  a  Scottish  ballad, 
in  which  the  word  occurs. "  I  write  it  from  memory, 
and  may  not  be  very  correct — for  a  great  portion  of 
half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  I  saw  it — 

She  lifted  up  her  kirtle  wee1» 
An  ihowd  her  bonnie  couts,  so  sroa^ 
An  waUopped  about  the  reel. 
The  lightest  lilter  o*  tliem  a*. — 

We  thus  see  that  Wabble,  Wallop^  and  WmnhUf 
are  related.  And  perhaps  the  Walm,  or  ^Wayfm, 
of  Bailey ;  explained  as  "  a  Himiuutive  or  moderate 
boiling  or  seething — ^a  little  boil  over  the  fire" — may 
be  so  likewise. 

Walls.  ••  By  the  walls.'*  Dead  and  not  buried. 
"  *A  lie  bi*  the  Walb" — said,  1  believe,  only  of  a 
human  subject. 

Walnut-trke.  We  have  a  current  persuasion 
that  whipping  a  Walnut-tree  tends  to  its  improve- 
ment, both  as  to  produce  and  flavour  of  the  fruit. 
Such  persuasion  is  strengthened  and  perpetuated  by 
a  distich — with  us  not  not  an  unusual,  and  indeed  a 
useful,  mode,  of  imprinting  any  6ict  on  the  memory^ 


465 

do  not  enquire  whether  the  notion  adverted 
t  or  be  not  grounded  in  obBermnce :  I  presome 
from  not  having  heard  of  it,  or  seen  any 
ion  to  it.  elsewhere ;  and  from  the  monstrous 
rines  which  make  part  of  the  memento  in  ques* 
It  is  this— - 

A  Woman,  a  Spanid;  and  a  TTaMirt^lree-* 
Tbe  mere  you  whip  tlieni  the  better  thej  be. 

have  been  told,  since  this  was  written,  tliat  the 
'e  piece  of  poetry  is  in  print,  and  that  tbe  moral 
it  local.  We  have  no  particular  desire  to  claim 
merit  either  of  the  poetry  or  the  philosophy, 
following  quatrain  was  recited  on  the  same  sub* 
—as  of  equal  merit — 

Three  things  bv  beating  better  prore— > 

A  Nuty  an  Aaa»  a  Woman) 
The  cadgely  from  their  back  remove^ 

And  they*l  be  good  for  no  mm* 

Talteo.  Grass  or  corn,  is  said  to  be  waited^ 
a  it  do  not  stand  fair  and  erect  to  the  scythe  or 
le ;  from  stock  or  dogs,  or  children  having  run 
'  it,  or  when  laid  by  thie  wind.  It  differs  from 
led  in  this — nickled  corn  is  when  the  stem  is  ita« 
cienlly  strong  to  support  the  ear,  and  gives  way 
*  the  groumi. 

find  "To  watt,"  in  Ray  among  his  north  coun- 
words  with  this  explanation — 

I  totter,  to  lean  one  way,  to  overthrow,  from  the  old  Saxon 
tally  to  tumble,  or  rowl,  whente  omr  weltering  in  blood ;  or 
«  from  the  Saxon  Wealtlan^  to  reel  or  stagger.  £•  W*  p.  M. 

»ttr  word  may  therefore  be  supposed  of  a  like 
in.     la  Scottish — 

waH  sheep  means  a  fallen  sheep — Aaai^  to  let  fall.  AvaJUer^ 
Udown;  French.  In  old  Swedish  a^a4<apiiu>  ToawHtert 
tit ;  to  welter,  to  roll,  to  overturn — from  the  gothic  vU^mt, 
>n,  Teutonic  we/ter-fn,  Swedish  weUr-tf,  to  oreitum. — 
'£rer,  one  who  overturns.  To  waller,  to  overturn— Teutonic 
\€r<th  voltttare.  J. 

'alt,  to  totter,  or  lean  one  way  $  tb  ovetthraw— wbtaoe  our 
iri$tg  in  blood,    £iorfolk«    Grose. 

2s 


46G 

To  fHk,  in  MB  langva^Bo— wben  a  sh^  Juis  not  het  due  oiiiti- 
tttjr  of  ballast  to  enabla  hor  to  boar  her  tails  to  keep  her  atiff* 

We  have  difierent  words  to  express  thb  ineliiuUioiL 

of  corDf  &c.  but  I  am  not  sure  that  we  are  ajt  aH 

exact  in  their  application.    Under  the  words  JStif" 

fed,   JBuffled,  Nickkd,   Smffled,   md   ShwckUd^ 

something  is  said  hereon.    See  also  Wabt. 

Wamble.    See  Wabble. 

Wan — rhyming  fd  nttm.  A  van,  wain  6t  ckfnvUk. 
See  Van — ^and  Wain.  Also  ht/rdjeis  not  sawn  or 
f^;  but  ttbittend  of  bazi^-wandr,  ^bente  fbt 
name  probably.  See  HT7Rt>LE,  Rift,  tend  TwistS!r» 
We  call  them  ^an-Aurcf/et » and  Wkns,  and  Wattles^^ 
the  same  things,  which,  are  I  believe  Itt  Scotland 
called  Flakes.  We  also  call  them  ikeep-kurdles. 
It  is  probably  the  same  in  Warwickshire,  and  may 
have  taught  Shakespeare  ibis  -tine — 

The  skilful  shepherd  peelM  me  eertain  womfs. 

Jtf,  iff  Venice,  i.  3, 

Alluding  to  the  stratagem  of  Jacob,  where  {Gen. 
XXX.  37.  38.)  be  is  described  as  having 

—taken  rodi  of  green  pdplar  and  of  the  hazel  and  choabiut 
tree,  and  pilled  white  strakes  in  them,  and  set  the  rods  which 
he  had  pilled  before  the  flocks. 

See  Pill. 

In  Scottish  wand  has  similar  meanings — ''  Wand, 
a  rod — Gothic  tranc?;  Danish  vaand,  bacUlus;  virga. 
Wand'bed,  a  wicker  bed.''  J, 

Wanes — or  Weens.  Floor,  or  other,  boarding, 
not  being  square  at  the  long  edges — (the  outside 
planks  if  too  many  be  taken  oif  a  round  log  are 
otherwise  in  some  parts  of  their  length) — are  said  to 
be  weeny,  and  such  discontinuities  of  outer  edge,  are 
called  Wanes,  or  Weans. 

Wangher — or  Wonoher.  Large — strapping ; 
a  girl  especially.  Perhaps  the  uncouth  word  Bonn-- 
ka,  which  see    may  be-  the  same*    As  shvfping 


467 

mf^  be  d^ved  from  Uie  idesi  of  ability  to  itrap^  or 
i>e^t  fttCy  90  wkanger,  may  be  nmilarly  ffooit  to 
vofii^g  or  bang.  See  Strapper^  and  Whang. — 
jjS^Myfccr,  f^ajfliper^  Whaeier  —  sfee  under  those 
woras — may  be  of  like  origin. 

Want.  A  moie.  I  have  doubl  if  this  word  be 
used  in  Suffolk ;  althougb  I  have  been  recently  told 
ao.  If  at  all,  it  is  on  the  border  of  Norfolk. — 
Giipse,  after  Ray,  gives  it  as  a  Norfolk  word,  from 
tbm  Saxon  wand;  and  watUitump,  or  anti-tump,  a 
moLe-iiiU  in  Gloucestershire.  See  Molbwarp. 
Naresy  giving  the  same  explanation  as  Ray,  adds 
these  iUostrations — 

•L» — Shce  hath  the  cares  of  a  want, 
P. — Doth  thee  want  eares? 

X.--I  tay  the  cafes  of  a  vtant,  a  mole.  Ijfly*i  Midat,  v.  !2. 
>    Tulpu,  ^  mole,  vant  or  wont*    Merrefi  Pinms,  168. 

Bat  then,  my  lords,  consider,  be  delights, 
Xo  vaale  hU  grace  to  us  poor  cart  lily  «Hmfs,    . 
io  simplest  shrubs,  ind  to  the  dunghill  plants. 

UinforUag.    413. 

Tfimt-^Sazon  t  meaning  to  turn  Qp«— n  mole ;  becauso  U  turns 
up  the  .earth.    BaUty. 

He  pve^  Oa^  same  reason  for  th^  n$JDie  otWffp* 

.  Wap.  a  blow—-''  I  'U  gi  yeow  a  wap  T  the  chops*" 
Wtifpen,  a  beatiog*    So  in  Scottidi — 

Af$0p  iri  a  comer  stane  o*  Waifs'  crag  wad  defy  the  doctor. 

T.  rfwnf  L.  5rd8.  U.  37f. 

In  German  Wappm  means  arm  generally. 

Wap  sometimes  means  a  fall.  **  I  com  down  sich 
It  wap**^  See  Wap?&n— and  Aint  in  the  Appfo^ 
iakf  for  many  words  implj^og  a  beating.  In  Jamei* 
son  is  '*  fVap,  a  quick  and  smart  stroke."  See 
Tapper. 

Wap'd.     SeeWAPES. 

Wapes.  The  ▼apoucs—4ow  spirited — nervous — 
solitary— yawning — "Oh  dearl  i>€  got  the  Wapes*'' 
^  'Tis  so  doleftome  a  plaee  I'm  wap'd  ta  dead 
aaost*"    SeetWAiTBK. 

2s2 


468 

Wappen.  Shakespeare  uses  a  word  which  I 
suspect  to  haye  been  meant  for  this ;  tho*  his  com- 
mentators have  not  confirmed  my  suspicion,  Timoii 
finding  gold,  introduces  into  his  bitter  speech  this 
phrase — 

this  bit 

That  make*  the  iM|i|)efi*(2  widow  wed  again.  r.^fJUfr.il.    '. 

/'Wap'd  or  wappen'd"  saith  Warburtoo,  but 
gives  no  authority  or  reason  for  saving  so,  *'  aigni* 
fies  both  sorrowful  and  terrified,  either  for  die  loss 
of  a  good  husband  or  by  the  treatment  of  a  bad.-^ 
But  gold,  he  says,  can  overcome  both  her  affectioa 
and  her  sorrow.^  Whatever  Shakespeare  may 
have  said  or  meant,  his  right  reverend  commentator 
has  left  the  Word  just  where  he  found  it* 

In  Suffolk  we  have  wappen,  meaning-«-iieith^ 
torrowfid  or  terrified,  but — siaui,  robutt,  lutiy*  Wi^h- 
ping,  is  I  suppose,  the  word — "What  a  wappem 
fellow  'a  is  grown"— that  is  gtcut,  strm^^  able 
to  give  a  good  wap,  or  blow :  equivalent  to  strap* 
pi€^  or  iwacking,  as  applied  to  a  child.  See 
Wanghbr. 

If  Shakespeare  really  wrote  wappeiCd,  I  may 
leave  the  word  pretty  much  as  the  learned  bishop 
has  done — but  if  it  were  wappen,  it  is  quite  de* 
scriptive  of  a  hearty.  Bouncing,  buxom,  Suffolk 
widow:  of  whom,  if  she  be  large  and  strapping 
withal,  we  should  say  "  She's  a  wapper.'* 

The  following  is  from  Nares— 

Wappen* d^  or  Wapptr'd;  probably  the  tame  word,  and  sintU 
fjing  worn  or  weakened.  The  latter  is  given  in  Grose  P.  gL  at 
a  Gbocestersh.  word*  and  explained  '^restless,  or  fatigued— » 
spdcen  of  a  sick  person.** 

this  (gold)  it  is 

That  makes  the  wapptn*d  widow  wed  again.     T.  rfA* 

Here  we  find  it  is  a  compound ; 

We  come  towards  the  gods. 
Young  and  tfi»«iMi|>per*d,  not  halting  under  crinca, 

B.  and  FL  Twe  Nob.  Kwm^it'.  t. -k 


Both  words  have  been  doubted  by  the  oommeiitatoiay  huHl 


469 

ItDQJir  not  a^  we  c«n  make.Any.thlAi  bettor  t^(  Utenu  Many 
comeetaret  inay  be  letti  In  the  noterqu.  ^e  foniier  passage,  bnt 
n«|bYfial'are  msfactitry'.  II  i^ems  tteart  at  ^Mt^  that  bdth 
ihMildbe.ipeltaBke.  v  .  J*      . 

'  Widi  'due  defecence,  I  ihink  not.  I  cannot  still 
help  opfaiing  that  wappACa,  applied  to  a  widiovr^ 
means  wapen*d  and  h  equivalent  to  our  ttnap^d;  and 
that  wapper'd,  implies,  like  wapp^d,  a  beating.  See 
WAP<r->WAPSS^and  WitPi^EB.  i 

Wapp^r/  Lam,  .string;  robust—- especially  a 
young  woman  or  wMow.  'We  Have  many  words  de« 
sci^ive'  of  soch  persons.  See^''uQder  Whan6er 
^diWAPPSNl  Our  sense  stems' to  refer  to  such  a 
person  asiiottld  gife  one  a  wappen;  that  is  a  beating. 
f*Wkapper,  «' large  man  or  woman :  any  thinjg  large, 
a  thumpei'.'*  Orose,  The  latter  word  remmds  me 
that  of  a  gross  falsehood,  we  should  say /"That's  a 
.wappi^ 'V-^4ttivalept  to  abowcer  or  a  thumper— 
a  lotfp,  being  a  thump  or  blow.    See  VV^ap — ^nd 

^THUffPING. 

■JffAJPS*  A  wasp.  It  is  not  uncommon  with  ijis  to 
transpose  two  harsh  consonants — thus  brejku^, .  for 
bir^kfast — liceness,  for  licence,  and  some  othen 
wliich  do  not  now  occur  to  me.  See  those  wofdf,: 
aii^  .under  JCex,  Laga^  and  Shuck,  for  some^  notice  of 
Ij^is  pironepess  to  transposition.  And  in  reference  )p 
j^tj^er  counties,  Ray  in.  his  S.  and  £•  country  wor^^ 
s^ys  thiat  in  Sussex  for  **  hasp,  clasp,  wasp,  tb^^y 
pronounce  Aap«e,  elapse^  toapse^\  &c,  £.  W.  p.  91.-^ 

W^p*9  a  wasp.     Wopf  m  the  £xmoor  dialect.    Groie. 
WtqmCf  a  wasp,  or  bee.  Cocker. 

So  the  Scotch  and  others  say  mUken,  or  mixen:-^ 
€ce  MucKLE. 

War-beetles.  *•  Large  maggots  bred  in- tlife 
backs  of  cattle.  Norfolk:"  MqrshqlNti.  ¥^  ^his 
I  am  told  is  also  a  Suffolk  name-^biit  1  do  not 
tfaint'I  ever  he«Ard  it^certainly  not  lately: ' 

283* 


470 

W0g,  mors  than  is  geneiral-*«s  m  to^wrii^W^i 
infted,  proaotfimit  short-— icmkE.  **  Ipddge-^md:^ 
^-toward  Ipswieh — ibis  way-waid^-^faat  way-wad  ■■> 
•Aartatoioail<whi<^  8ce)tli|i8  way.  See  Toward**^ 
aod  Wah.  Under  Clip,  it  a  quotatifui  fiom 
(Lakcipeare  ia  whi^h  he  uses  it —   .  ..    .  , 

Wkea  tapers' bun  to  bed-t«ar«i. 

In  Scottish  '*  Wmri,  ia  iioraposition  of  adterbs^  is 
the  same  with  the  E)i^lish  ward;  as  inwart^  in-wwd» 
Aug.  Sax.  loeord^  loelaad.  vert,  Tersifs***  J. 

Ware.  Any  britde  things  are  so  called  ia  oontr 
poMCion,  as  in  other  parts.  But  I  thsric  We  W^J 
It  sngly  in  a  way  not  general.  The  variety  of  ar- 
ticleft  manufactured  at  a  hrkk^hell,  we  call  spttf«, 
collectively:  and  to  other  stock  in  trade';  some- 
times even  to  live  stock.    See  Ga3T.     , 

Wabm.  Rich— i»  eomfoitable  ckcumstaires. 
i^  Well  ta  dew."^ 

Warmrnt.  Venning  in  general-— applied  alsa 
vitaperatively  to  an  tnUcward  hoy,  girl,  dog,  &c. 
See  Grill  an  Grizzle.  An  ill  bred  dog  would 
be  stigmatized  with  the  character  of  *^  downright 
warment. 

Warr.  An  abbreviation  probably  of  ^eiMti^— 
'*  Warr,  horse  "•— 41  caution  to  a  hound  in  danger  of 
bdng  trodden  on.  **  Warr,  sheep  '* — warns  hhii 
from  aggression.  ''Warr,  heads" — would  be  ex- 
claimed by  a  boy  throwing  any  thing  into  the  air, 
which  in  its  fall  might  endanger  or  annoy  his  play- 
fellows— if  but  in  a  trifling  degree  the  caution  would, 
probably,  be  given  too  late. 

Wart.  Ploughing  land  across  the  line  of  the 
last  fiirrow,  is  called  Wartiiig — or  weruHort.  From 
4Uhiwari  probably.  ''Tow  must  waxt  it."  It  is  a 
process  in  making  &II0WS,  to  get  the  spear  grass 
out.  In  Cheshbe  **  IVari  or  rather  wait,  and  in 
Lancashire  fFosrf,  is  to  overturn,  and  a  sheep 
mwalt,  is  a  csist  sheep;    Skinner  derives  it  from  the 


471 

ferfamlie  VaUer.  W.  Usdor  WaMi,  I  licr# 
Mkited  a  tense  offaUm  ia  Suffolk ;  and  all  theee 
•woida  may  have  tlie  same  lomrce;  tho*  it  it  cuiioaa 
toitfuak  kow  they  have  been  thus  dispersed.  See 
OvBEWABT.    Tuster  wrilet  it  Overthmari — 

Hide  lieullandt  with  mtttk,  if  ye  will,  to  the  kiMeSi 
So  dripped  »od  sbedowM  with  boshes  aad  tress  i 
Bare  plots  fell  of  gallsi  ifje  plow  nerAmarU 

■  And  oonpas  it  then*  is  b  husliaadlj  pert,    p^  156m 

■I — . . 

Totter  always  wtitet  compat  for  compott.  A  wart, 
on  the  handt,  Ac.  we  call  wrii. 


-BOUGHS.  The  lower  ttnggling  brtoches 
of  trees.  CkaH,  and  Sprawis,  tre  1  believe  aetrly 
the  tao^  thing.  See  those  words :  and  ooder  BojLE 
for  varioas  Si^lk  names  of  the  various  portions  of 
a  tree. 

Wasc.    a  paviovr't  rammer. 

Waspish.  Tetchy — stingy — see  those  wor^t — 
Irritable.  -  It  is  often  used  by  Shakespeare,  in  thit 
sense. 

. ;  .yiTATSR-BSWiTCHED.    Very  weak  grog :  or  poor 
tipple  in  general. 

^WATBR8LAIN.    Land  retentive  of  surface  water, 

«nd  leqairing  to  be  drained,  is  thus  well  described* 

/We  shoQld  say  poisoned— or  rather  **fiezeiCd  with 

water''— whence  kUled  or  f/om,  by  an  easy  proceis. 

Wattle.  The  operation  of  intertwining  hade 
or  other  flexible  young  wood  into  trajt«,  or  wai^ 
hurdles:  or  of  younc:  live  stuff  ia  fences  to  thicken 
them.  Hurdles  of  this  sort  are  called  waHle$,  at 
'well  as  by  the  name  just  given.     See  Wan. 

Bay  gives  Wattles^  as  a  Sussex  word,  bat  de« 
.^qribes  the  article  differently,  as 

' '  •Masde of vplit wood,  in fashton of getes»  wbeieby  tbejused 
.  4»  SM  sbeep^  es  elsewhere  \m  hordlet-^b  A.  S.  watdu,  cnX9$^ 


4?2 


rood;  i^^iboiacook;  tne red flei)i.pnaer a tpr|e|rls nff^ 

V*  0«  if*' 

-'TTaftfeiy  liordlet;  also  tlie  lowest  part  of  acock^s  coteK 

Woir. 


The  latter  is  also  a  Suffolk  sense  of  the  word.«-* 
Bailejh^  **Wattkd:  -Saxoa — made  with  wmMes  or 
hurdles.  Wuhlu;  apleeted  grates  or  Imidles; 
also  folds  for  sheep,  made  with  split  wood.  Also 
the  gills  of  a  cock,  and  the  red  puggered  desh  that 
)iaags.iinder  a  turkey  eock's  neokV^  ^BAWadHeSf 
of  a  cock  or  hog ;  in  nearly  the  same  jneaning. 

Wax.  To  grow-:-*.*  ta  wax  "—-or  the  .reverse — 
*'  ta  doa*t  fare  ta  wax/'  '*  'A  wax.^arm  ^'  ,v|fe  mie 
in  ftfl  common  sense.  'VHow  dew  Rotiin  iPl9<Mfi- 
fie^gitOB?''  *<'Awax.'''  Thus  £ba^p^er- 

As  this  temple  waxes 
The  inward  service  of  the  mind  and  soul 
Grows  wide  withal.    Bamlft.XJi* 

Ai^d  we  aay  .*'a  lad  of  wax  "-r-nieanittg  a  aniart 
cjicvensh  feil0W.  Girl's  say  this  of  young.ieikmi^ 
like  nurse  to  Juliet,  of  Paris — 

A  man>  ^oung  lad^  l^-Lad^Trspch  a  man. 
As  all  the  world — why»  he*s  a  man  of  war.    £.  ^  J,  u  3.  . 

Those  who  have  heard  Mrs.  Davenport  speak 
these  two  lives,  will  n^t  rc^adily  forget  tbe  im« 
pression :  yet  what-  little  effect  would  be.. expected 
from  them,  by  an  ordinary  .ajad  careless  i^eader  1 

Tusser  uses  it  in  the  sense  of  ^roip-rrhe  writes  it 
wfx,  for  the  rhyme- 
Stick  plenty  of  boughs  among  rnncival  pease. 
To  climber  thereon,  and  to  branch  at  their  ease ; 
So  doing,  more  tender  and  greater  they  wfx. 
If  peac(M^  and  turkeys  leayejobbing  th^r  bez*  p.  .100. 

For  climber,  we  should  say  clamber.  Jofihing^  we 
use  in  the  same  sense.  See  Job.  Bex,  is  evidently, 
the  plural  of  beak.  See  Clamjbbr — SlivvAt— and 
Hay.  "To  wax;  Saxoo — to  grow,  to  become^ 
to.,encrease."  .9ai/cy. 

Wbal.    The  rise  or  seam  on  theuskin  whickfoW 


473 

bniBa  blow  inth  a  stick  of  wlitp  on  a  muscular  port 
I  kmm  of  no  other  name  for  thu  temporary  sird- 
Bng,  nnless  it  be  weU,  which  is  not  I  beueve  a 
fweral  word.  I  once  heard  an  Irishman  say 
*«  111  welt  you  like  a  beagle.*" 

Thft  swelling  on  the  head  incident  to  a  thump  in 
that  quarter,  we  call  Bmnmf:  which  see;  and 
AuU  in  the  Appendix:  **  IVaib,  marks  in  the  skin 
after  beating."  O.  D.  A.  "  A  wbrni  or  wkM,  a 
push  or  pimple."  lb.  The  following  b  from  iy^v«t— 

Wkdk;  the  mom  at  W0i€,  or  wheal,  from  the  Smon-xSCripef^ 
inailub  diwolonrmtionf . 

Q^  Bardolph — hit  face  it  all  buboklesy  and  tokeOdg  and 
Imoln^  and  coalt  of  fire.    Hen,  V«  iii.  6. 

Chaocer  bad  united  whelkt  and  knobt— 

That  might  him  helpen  of  his  whelket  white. 
Ne  of  the  knobbet  uttiog  an  hit  cheekes.  Can,  T, 
WheOctf;  ttreakedy  striated;    from  whelk — wheal-^ot  waUi 
the  mark  of  a  lash  on  the  tkin. 

We  should,  perhaps,  pronounce  this  word  in* 
differaitly,  wak,  we$i,  or  wheal;  but  not,  I  thinks 
whelk.    See  Whilk. 

WxARiNO.  Tiresome-^tedious— see  TnEDua— 
applied  to  the  aching  of  a  tooth,  the  continued  wail 
of  a  nckly  child;  or  any  **  tangible  tribulation"  of 
adistressmg,  wearying,  or  worrying  nature.  The 
Soottbh  has  a  word  nearly  similar — 

Wearp;  fbeble;  ms  b  weary  haimt  a  ehild  that  it  declhibff. 
Aog.  Sax*  werig,  lassas-<-Texatioa9,  eausing  trooble — Tesed, 
•orrowfiilt  Weeryuip  pronounced  wcar^ewp  causing  pain  or 
trouble.    J. 

See  Whsurit. 
WsAZBN.    See  Wezzen. 
Wbd.    Weeded.  «' Hew  wed  that  there  spring  f* 

IVedper.  a  cut  male  sheep.  Yow  being  the 
female.  Under  Crone,  Dans,  Hog,  and  Them^ 
I  have  hinted  at  the  great  variety  of  names  that 
might  be  collected  as  used  in  different  parts  of 
England^  for  the  various  ages  and  condition  of  this 
molt  usefii]  class  of  inunals :  and  I  havfl  refenrtd 


m 

to  this  article-*tfift;  I  do  no^  fiad  f|^i  |  tun^  ^7 
ibliij^  farther  to  s^y.  I  may  iust  a4d  ihf(|  ^^||Hm» 
mapy  other  namep  ip  Scgtland  ^|9  U  $t  rfUD^^-aad 
4)l|iii(er«  an^  ewe.  WetUher,  is  t^e  niore  ccHviinoB 
and  perhaps  correct  pronunciation  of  pther  coiffi&cs 
T-;-Bailey  ^)e)|»it  ao-^-but  derives  the  word  from 
the  Saxoq  me^tkx,  or  Dutch  widfier-^'*  a  male  shciep 

Wss.  Small.  '' A  wee  bit  of  a  thing^— ^^M 
to  a  ehildy  and  to  almost  every  littl«  ^ng.  it  U 
fBommon  i^  Scotti9h,-rr  apelUd  Wf,  9O€0,  wph  we^» 
Nares  under  Wee^  explains  it  ^*  snmlly  shrank  up  : 
etymology  doubtful*'— HBtnd  gives  the  foUowing  ilMa- 
trations  and  information — 

He  hath  b^^  a  little  wee  face»  with  ^  little  yellow  l^efffd. 

.  M,W.rfW.  u  4. 

It  is  common  ia  t^e  Scottish  dialect  ^d  in  the  north  of 
EnglanI, 

They  raise  a  «ee  before  the  cocky 
And  wy iiely  (hey  sliot  the.  lock . 

GaherluMxie  Man.  Percff,  u»6U 
A  wie  mouse  will  creep  under  a  mickie  comstack. 

Kellfi  ^eottiih  Proverbi.  A.  178. 
It  Is  not  yet  entirely  disused  in  very  famtlar  language* 

Ij^  SufiR>!k  weezen^df  or  wizzen'd,  which  see^  lias 
th^e  .above  sense  of  «AnenA:. 

Week.  Squeek:  especially  the  di$n>al  feeble 
plaint  x>f  a  sickly  child;  or  of  a  pig.  I^  Scotliali 
'^to  wbeafc,  fs^x  week,  to  squeak,  to  whu(L,e."  J. 

Weft.  Waved—"  'A  weft  'as  hand."  « I  weft 
him  off" — put  him  off,  with  some  excuse.  The 
Scottish  has  waif  in  a  like  sense.  The  inter- 
weaving  of  hair  on  a  string  to  be  made  into  wiffS— 
or  imtki«ff  the  artic^le  so  prepared — is  called  nmfl  in 
^uffgdky  and^  perhaps,  elsewhere.  In  .our  old  au- 
thorB  waft  jus  us^d  in  the  sense  first  giyen-^TtuM 
jSftakespeftre,  ,^n  these,  and  other,  passiagesr^ 

■'.  ButjK>fi-^who  wfu  usyondeic?    Com,  ofjkr,  !!•  t. 
One  4o  I  P^'^^yai^c  of  Xupon's  Xrarne* 


47ft 

AiMl8|pedt|ier-^it^d  by  Nare«,  w 
mi  iHb  iMitieiple  of  #a¥ed^  put  fmfdife-^ 

WsUi  TA  DEW.  Well  to  do-*doing  well— that 
if,  bamg  the  means  of  living  comfortably. 

Wblt.  As  a  verb-^to  beat  severely — so  as  to 
mise  wales  or  weals-^See  Weal;  and  Aint^  in 

Wkmmentlt.  Violently  —  sadly  —  especially 
mpCcable  to  the  lamentations  of  sorrow.  See 
Take  on.  I  had  supposed  this  word  to  be  a  cor- 
n^itioa  of  vehemently — -but  the  Scottish  "wayming, 
wayment^  wofnenting,  lamentation.**  J— seem  lo 
imply  fan  originality  of  word.  And  in  Nar^  we 
Iiavci— "  Wtiyment:  lamentation''— 

She  miide  no  piteous  mone  and  deare  wnftneht, 

F.  Q.   III.  iir.  55: 

Tow^^^mait;  to  lament.  It  occon  in  Chancer,  and  octailon* 
ally  in  later  authors — 

Eor  what  beotes  !t  to  weepe  and  to  wiyment, 
When  ill  b  chaonsty  bat  doth  the  ill  increase* 

Spent.  F.  Q.  II.  I.  16. 

Wennel.    a  weaned  calf, 

Cnrst  tattle  that  norteth—Poor  wennel  soon  hurtetb. 

Tutur.  p.  45% 

Again— 

Give  cattle  their  fodder  in  plot  dry  and  warm. 
And  count  them  for  mixing,  or  o(her  like  harm : 
Y6ung  colts  with  th j  wenneU  together  go  serve^ 
Lest  lurched  by  others,  they  happen  to  sterve.    16.  .59* 

I^nch  never  thy  wenneh  of  water  and  meat   Ik  156. 

And  Cocker  says  **Weantl  or  Weanling  b  ayoung 
creature  newly  weaned/' — "  Wewnel,  a  young  beast^ 
ox,  bully  or  cow.    Ess.  and  Stiff.''  Chroee, 

Tbis  wolvish  sheepe  woolde  catcben  his  prey» 

A  lamby  or  a  kid^  or  a  vteanetl  wast.    Sp,  Sk,  KaL 

Wen SDAY .     Wednesday.    So  in  Scottish  " from 
the  B^lgic  weeiiidagh,  Icelandic  w&ntdag,  the  d^f 


476 

iMilHecrtted  to  Wodeiu*'  And  among  the  Hhidooi 
Boodwar  is  Wednesday,  Che  day  of  Bood  (Budm 
mort  correctly)  the  Woden  or  Mercury  of  fiaateni 
heathens. 

Wot.  Rain.  "  Dew  it  wet  t^— "  Iss— ta  dew.* 
«'  No-^ta  don't — ta  fare  ta  mizzle/'  See  MizzifB, 
for  other  words  denoting  any  light  rain. 

Wet  Qitaker.  One  of  the  very  respectable 
society  who  may  not  always  be  so  abstemious  in 
the  article  of  good-fellowship  as  the  Friends  usually 
are.  fVei-panen  b  also  sometimes  applied  to  a 
Clerk  suspected  of  similar  deviations  from  the  path 
of  strict  prudence. 

Wbtshud.  Wet-shod-*-wet-shoed.  In  Cheshire 
«'  Wetehei  or  Wetd^ed^ynet  shod— wet  in  the  feet*** 
W.  **  IVatcket,  wetshod,  wet  in  the  fea.  Oxford- 
shire." GroH. 

Wet  the  sickle.  Driiiking  in  a  public  house 
the  amount  given  by  a  farmer  to  his  labottrers,  as 
eamegtf  on  taking  their  harvest.  This  is  usually  a 
shilling  a  pieces  See  Earnest:  and  Capper- 
CLAWiNG,  where  this  phrase  occurs.  We  have 
also  Wet  your  whistle,  in  this  Scottish,  and  probably, 
in  an  extensive,  sense — "  To  wet  one*s  whistle,  to 
take  a  drink."  J. 

Wezzbn.  The  wind  pipe.  "No  more  thanky 
— -Fm  up  to  the  wezzen  a  most  already." — Jutqu  k 
gorge.  This  is  an  old  poetical  word.  It  may  have 
been  the  wheezing  pipe  :  we  sometimes  say  wezzen 
pipe,    Shakespeare  uses  it  alone — 

Batter  hia  skull,  or  paanch  him  with  a  stake,  or  cot  hit  wet" 
xand  with  thy  knife.     Temp,  iii.  2. 

We  too  have  paunchy  as  a  verb  as  well  as  a  sub- 
stantive.   See  Paunch. 

The  Wea$and,  the  throat- pipe  or  gullet.     0.  •!).  A 

The  same  in  Bailey.  In  Scottish  "  Wizen,  the 
throat.''   J.  —  *Weasand,   more   recently  written 


.Il '±t 


477 

i^:th€  throat;  from  the  Saxon.*'   Nareu 

.V  •'^-liad  his  wwmd  been  a  little  wider.    Sp.  Sk.  Kak 

'i-i.i7^.JBec>use  the  tbintie  swainr,  with  boUow  hand, 
Conveied  the  streame  to  weet  his  dire  wta»and. 

Hall.  Sat.  II.  1.  ▼.  5. 

'  *t  \iipyr  not  if  Quezzen — ^wbich  see — meaning  to 
choak,  be  cognate  with  wezzm,  the  throat.  Qu^zen 
ia  nearly  the  Scotch  mode  of  pronouncing  the  latter 
utord;.  Jameiflon  writes  it  wizen.  With  us,  wizzen 
it  a:  different  thing.  See  Wizzen.  Nares  says 
that.  Wizzie  is  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  we* 
gandf  or  weazan;  but  1  do  not  think  1  ever  heard 
itiil  Suffolk.     He  gives  this  illustration — 

Forbid  the  banns,  or  I  will  cnt  your  wixselp 
And  tpoil  yoor  iquiring  in  the  dark. 
•  .  City  Match,  0.  P.  ix.  243. 

IVhack.  Whacker.  Whacken.  A  blow — 
lit  thbmp.  A  wacken,  a  beating.  Of  such  words  we 
have  a  great  assortment.  See  Aint,  in  the  Appendix. 
Whacker,  is  large,  strapping — "  a  whiicben  gal " — 
Simikar  to^Swacken,  and  Bonuka. — Slasher,  Smasher, 
^tdtpfier.  Swinger,  Wapper,  are  other  denominations 
<if  the  like  class :  seldom,  if  ever,  used  in  a  Imd  sense, 
unWsa  indeed  for  a  "whackeu  lie'* — equivalent  to  a 
zmacker,  or  a  thumper.  Bailey  has  "  llhisking, 
very  great,-   swinging;    as  a  whisking  lie.'*     See 

SWINJIN. 

^.In  the  first  sense,  the  Scottish  has  "To  whauk,  to 
thwack."  J. 

Whacken.    Robust — large — See  Whack. 

.Whang.  The  thong  or  lash,  or  as  we  call  it  the 
tanner  of  a  whip — or  the  leather  tie  of  a  shoe,  or  of 
i^ighlows.  See  Highlows — and  Lanna.  But 
more  especially,  I  think,  that  which  serves  to  Jay  on 
to.  an  unruly  one.  A  slight  cane  imported  from 
China  is  by  ns — I  know  not  if  by  the  Chinese  also, 
but  it  sounds  like  a  Cliinese  word — called  a  whang- 
hee.  What  does  Shakespeare  mean,  in  his  Prince  of 
Tyre>  if  indeed,  that  play  be  his,  by  this  threat  I — 

Look  how  thou  stirrcst  now!  come  away,  or  1*11  fetch  thee 
wUhawanni<nu    ii.  1. 

2  T 


478 

**  I  liave  heard  "  says  a  commentator  on  this  w<mnI 
<«  amongst  the  vulgar  in  Devonshire,  the  verb  to 
wan  or  to  tvang,  used  for  to  beat  or  to  thresh  soundly. 
Perhaps  from  the  German  wannen,  to  fan  or  to  win- 
now" In  Suffolk  we  have  the  word  wang  m  the 
Devonshire  sense:  and  *'fan  em  along"  is  not  an 
uncommon  hint  to  a  driver  to  fiog  his  horses.  See 
Fan.  It  may  refer  to  the  cruel  frequency  of  his 
acty  like  the  movement  of  a  fan  in  the  hand.  B^ 
and  V — are  convertible  letters — v  and  u  the  like — 
the  words  in  question  may  therefore  be  derivable 
from  bang. 

In^the  sense  first  given  we  fidd  it  in  Scottish — 

Of  other  men^s  leather  oieii  takes  large  whtmgei,  Ray,  p.  301. 

*' A  whang;  Lamm  A.  S.  Shoe-whang."  ib.  E.  W, 
p.  112.  And  in  Jameison  is  '*  Quhayng  or  whaiig, 
a  thong — to  whang,  to  fiog:  Ang.  Sax.  thwangT 
"  Whangs,  leather  thongs,  Norf."  Gtvse,  See 
Goof,  verse  5,  and  note. 

The  question  which  I  put  above,  I  am  no  farther 
able  to  answer.  Nares  illustrates  the  phrase  quoting 
divers  authorities.  But  does  not  accord  with  Mr. 
Bosweirs  conjecture  "  with  a  winnowing " —  for  a 
beating. 

What  yeow?  I  can  scarcely  explain  how  this 
is  used — but  it  is  sometimes  heard  in  a  quaint  and 
not  unpleasant  way.  A  lad  or  man  being  interro- 
gated in  a  familiar  or  friendly  vein — **Ah — what. 
Jack!  '' — will  quickly  reply — "what  yeow?" — as 
much  as  to  say  **  Ah — hah — that's  you  is  it? 

WheLk.    See  Whilk. 

Whelm.  A  hollow  tree-— or  more  correctly  half 
a  hollow  irte—whelmed  down  under  a  gate  way,  as  a 
water  course — serving  the  place,  though  but  badly, 
of  gutter-bricks.  **  Whelm  it " — is  to  turn  any  thing 
hollow  (a  chest  or  basket  without  a  top  or  lid)  bottom 
upward,  or  rather  mouth  downward.  It  is  a  good 
word.  I,  rather  unexpectedly,  read  it  in  Ray — but 
not  given  as  a  localism — 


479 

To  whoave — Cbeshire — to  cover  or  whelm  over.  We  will  noC 
kill  bot  whoave — Cbesh.  Frov.  spoken  of  a  pig  or  fowl  that  they 
have  overwhelmed  with  some  vessel  in  readiness  to  kill  it. 

E.  W.  p.  60. 

In  Scottish  these  words  may  be  little  else  than  our 
whelm,  with  a  little  change  of  the  final  soond-^ 

To  whummel,  tDhomtlp  or  quhemle,  to  turn  upside  down ;  Swe» 
^ish  whummel.  J. — To  whelm,  or  whelve,  to  cover.    0. 1>.  A, 

Grose  has  it  as  a  Norf.  and  Saff.  word — for  the 
uses  first  given  above.  And  under  Whoave  he  quotes 
the  explanation  above  given  from  Ray.  "To  whelms 
or  to  whelve:  Saxon — to  turn  or  cover  the  open  side 
of  a  vessel  downwards."  Bailey.  We  thus  find 
whelm,  whelve,  wlioave,  whomeU  and  other  nearly 
similar  sounds,  cognate  in  the  same  sense. 

Whelp,  An  impertinent  puppy  of  a  boy.  Bai- 
ley preserves  this  sense — which  is  not,  probably,  a 
•connncd  one.  » 

Wherrit.  a  sharp  blow,  or  cufi^.  This  is 
omitted  in  the  list  of  similar  words  under  Aint. 
See  that  word  in  the  Appendix.  The  word  is  not 
common  in  SuiSblk.  1  do  not  recollect  seeing  it 
any  where  except  in  Nares,  who  has  this  article — 

Wherret,  or  whirrit ;  a  smart  blow  or  box  on  the  ear. 

Troth,  now  Vm  invisible,  I'll  hit  him  a  sound  whefteton 
the  ear.     Puritan,  iv.  1. 

How  meekly 
This  other  fellow  here  received  his  whirrit, 

B.  and  Fl.  Nice  Valour,  iv.  last  sc. 

Derivation,  uncertain — Naret  adds — See  Todd*8  Johruon.  It 
appears  by  an  example  there  given  that  Bickerstaff,  In  L.  in^ 
.Vil.  used  wherret  for  the  common  colloquial  word  worrit ; 
vrhich,  I  conceive  is  not  made  from  this,  but  a  mere  corruption 
of  worry. 

See  Wearing  —  Worret  — and  Worry.  I 
have  just  found  this  in  Bailey — "  A  wherrit;  a  box 
on  the  ear,  or  slap  on  the  cnops.  To  wherret;  to 
give  such  a  box  or  clap." 

Whet.  A  morning  dram  or  draught: 'also  a 
hasty  snap.    Of  these  matters  see  under  Beyer.  An 

2t2 


480 

idea  of  toketting  or  sharpening  the  appetite,  and  of 
"moistening  the  clay,"  probably  gave  rise  to  this 
wordf  and  Wet,  which  see,  and  Whistle. 

Whilk— or  Whblk.  The  fish  of  the  cooHnon 
ceckie,  or  Buecmum.  It  is  eatable;  and  taming 
red  when  boiled,  the  name  of  Soldier  is  commonly 
applied  to  it.  We  pronounce  the  word  Stmrfa,  whi<^ 
see.    Nares  has  this  article — 

Whelky :  streaked,  striatedy  from  tokelk, 

Nc  ought  tlje  whelky  pearles  esteemeth  bee, 
IVhicb  are  from  Indian  seas  brought  faraway. 

Speng,  Virg,  Gnat,  t.  105. 

And  whelk,  he  explains  ''  the  same  as  ufaU,  or  wheals 
stripes,  marks,  discolorations/'  See  Weal.  I  shoald 
rather  have  imagined  the  epithet  whelky  to  have 
referred  to  the  Jielly  origin  of  the  gem.  Cockles, 
Shells,  and  Cockle-shells,  are  synonimous  with  us. 

Wheal,  or  Whdk,  Saxon,  a  push  or  pimple.    Bailey. 

Whin.  Furze,  or  gorse,  in  other  counties — In 
Softtland  this  beautiful  bush  is  called  vchin  as  with 
us.  It  is  an  old  name.  See  WiSP.  "  TFAtn;  a 
hJirub  called  knee-holm  J'  Bailey,  This  last  word  is 
new  to  me. 

Whin-chat.  A  pretty  little  bird,  that  twitters 
iiiostlv  among  whins.  The  same  perhaps  alluded  to 
by  Ray  in  this  jrassage,  "  Whinner-neb,  a  lean  spare 
faced  man.  Whinner,  1  suppose  is  the  name  of 
some  bird  that  usually  builds  in  whins,  having  a 
blender  bill  or  neb."  E.  W.  p.  m. 

Bill,  Neb,  and  Twitter,  arc  Suffolk  words;  and  may 
be  found  in  their  places  in  this  Collection. 

Whinjer.  a  weapon — especially  a  large  sword. 
The  word  is  now  rarely,  if  ever,  heard  :  but  I  have 
heard  it  in  Suffolk,  as  well  in  the  sense  given,  as  in 
that  of  expressing  other  large  strong  things ;  a  girl 
particularly  —  and  swinger  also.  For  a  weapon, 
whinyhrd  used  also  to  be  a  Suffolk  word — and  hy- 
perbolically,  for  a  knife ;   like  Whittle,  which  see. 


481 

lo  Scottish  **  Whinger,  vhiitgar,  a  short  hanger 
used  as  a  knife  at  meals,  and  as  a  sword  in  broils.'*  J. 
Nares  amply  illustrates  toMnyard;  adding  '^Tlie 
Seottish  dialect  has  whinger  in  the  same  sense,  which 
erideatly  must  have  come  from  the  same  origin." 

■   Whinnock.    See  Winnick. 

Whinny.  The  half  neigh,  half  nigger  **6{  a  horse, 
mare,  or  colt.    See  Nigger. 

T6  whhmey,  to  neigh,  as  a  horse  does.  O.  D.  A, 

Whumeringt  neighing.    Camb.     Gro$e. 

To  whuuty;  to  neigh ;  as  a  horse  or  yoong  colt.    Baifmf* 

Whip  belly  vengeance,  Poorsub-acid  beer, 
or  any  tbin  drink.  Rot-gut ,  is  another  of  these  low 
sTang  Xexm^—Whiitle-helly  another. 

Whipstawk.  a  whip  handle — otherwise  whip-- 
Hick,  or  ttockt  oi;  staik.  See  Stale,  for  a  variety 
of  tool  or  implement  handles.  I  find,  very  unex- 
pectedly, the  following  article  in  Nares;  showing 
that  our  names  are  not,  as  I  was  disposed  to  think, 
mere  localisms,  or  vulgarisms — 

WhipttBck;  the  stock  or  handle  of  a  whip,  but  frequeaUy 
pot  for  the  whip  itself;  particularly  a  carter*t  whip. 
MalYolio*8  nose  is  no  tohipstock,    Tw,  N,  ii.  3. 

■  Fhcebns,  when 
He  broke  his  tchipstockf  and  exclaimed  against 
The  horses  of  the  son.     B.  and  Ft,   Two  Nob,  Kim,  i.  2. 
For  by  his  rusty  outside,  he  appears 
To  have  practised  more  the  tchipstock  than  the  lance. 

Pericles,  ii.  2. 
Beggars  fear  him  more  than  (he  justice,  and  as  much  as  the 
whipttock,  Earle^t  Microc.  p.  60. 

Bought  you  a  whistle  and  a  tohip-stalk  too. 

To  be  revenged  on  their  villainies.  Span.  Trag,  O.  P.  iii.  180. 

-  It  itt  Nares  adds,  once  or  twice  used  as  a  name  of  reproach 
ibr  B  carter — "  base  whipstock." 

Whipstick.    See  Whipstawk. 

Whik.  The  sound  of  any  thing  in  rapid  motion 
-—a  ball  through  the  air,  or  the  rising  of  a  phea* 
tant— "  Ta  whurr'd  by  me."  Whiz'd,  would  be 
iuied  irithout  much   discrimination — and   perhaps 

2t3 


482 

wus^d.    ^Whur:  wHmx;  in  Falconry'-the  Mttaring 
of  partridges  or  pheasants  as  they  rise.*'  BaUhf. 

Whirl-bone.    See  Worrel-bonb. 

Whisk.    See  WisK. 

Whiskers.  Tbe  hair  oo  the  upper  lip--«9  ustil 
latelyi  I  believe^  all  over  England.  Now,  the  hair 
under  the  eiars — sometimes  under  the  eyes  also— 
bear  this  term;  and  the  labial  comae,  are  called 
moustacheif  or  some  such  name. 

A  tchitker,  »  tuft  of  hair  on  a  man's  upper  lip.     O.  D.  A, 

Whiskert;  lit^lQ  tn(U  of  hair  at  the  corners  of  the  month  on  the 
upper  Up.    BaVey, 

Whisket.  I  am  told  that  this  name  is  not  un- 
known in  Suffolk  Tor  a  basket :  but  I  never  heard 
it,  and  am  in  doubt  It  occurs  under  the  articles 
Kiddier  and  Ped  in  this  Collection.  See  under 
WiNNicK.  Nares.says  that  he  dc^es  not  recollect 
having  seen  this  wora  in  use,  but  Coles  acknow- 
ledges it  thus — 

A  whisketf  corbis,  cophinos.  Lat.  Diet,  Baxter  also  has  it 
under  Bascauda — unda  fit  (he  adds)  quod  Viniinei  cophini  genus 
agrestibus  Angiis  dicitur  tohUhet,     Gloss.  Antiq,  Brit, 

Whistle.  Wet  your  whistle,  or  moisten  your 
clay,  and  other  quaint  invitations  to  good-fellowship, 
scarcely  require  explanation.  See  Wet  the  sickle 
— and  Whet. 

White-powder.  A  notion  is  very  common,  or 
was,  for  1  have  not  heard  of  it  lately,  that  poachers 
and  people  who  commit  deeds  in  darkness,  use  a 
noiseless  white  gunpowder.  I  know  not  if  such  a 
thing  ever  existed — but  Nares  shows  that  it  was  an 
old  fancy.  Sir  T.  Browne,  he  adds,  does  not  deny 
that  such  a  powder  might  be  formed ;  but  says  that 
it  would  be  useless — 

Such  poTvder  contrived  either  with  or  without  salt-petre,  will 
surely  be  of  little  force,  and  the  effects  thereof  no  way  to  b« 
feared :  for  as  it  omits  of  report,  so  Mvill  it  of  effectual  exclusion  | 
and  80  the  charge  be  of  little  force  which  is  excluded.  Vulg,  Errm 
II.  p.  92, 


48a 

Oov  9Sin  to  laj  five  kimdicd  povads  that  jw  vtttt  killed 
wi.tb  a  M»tol  charged  mith  white  powder,  B,  and  FL  Hon. 
Man' 9,  Foirt,  U.  2. 

The  idea>  Nares  addsf  ^Kna»  very  prevalent.  Some  conspuratort 
in  Queen  £lizabeth*s  time  confessed  that  they  had  intended  to 
mafder  the  Qtieen-  with  fire  arms  chti^ged  with  whit$  pewder  ; 
but  it  is  not  pretended  that  any  tnch  proparatioa  was  found  in 
their  paBsession*  There  is»  however^  an  old  poem  by  May, 
called  T^  White  Powder  Plot,  printed  in  1669, 

White  tape.    Gid. 

WuiTSTBR.  A  whitesmith — ^not  common.  Nares 
explains  it  "a  bleacher  of  linen ;  one  who  whitens 
it:  from  white.*\  The  word  he  thinks  not  out  of 
use ;  but  the  authorities  for  it  are  few.  It  occurs 
in  the  M .  W.  of  W.  iii.  2. — and  the  time  of  bleach- 
ing is  there  called  whUing 'time.  See  Whittle, 

Whittle.  To  peel  sticks  in  a  peculiar  maniier, 
hy  boys — but  I  forget  exactly  how^— and  believe  the 
word  is  nearly  obsolete  or  lost.  A  knife  is  some* 
times,  tho'  rarely  now  called  tDhitile.  It  is  used  in 
Hudibrasy  and  in  other  of  our  ludicrous  poems,  in 
derision,  for  a  sword.  In  Timon  of  Athens,  v.  1.  It 
occurs — but  is  not  easily  to  be  quoted  briefly  and 
intelligibly.  It  is  used  by  Walter  Scott,  and  by 
other  recent  writers,  quaintly,  in  the  sense  of  blade, 
weapon,  knife. 

In  Ray  I  read  "  To  whittle  sticks — to  cut  off  the 
bark  with  a  knife,  to  make  them  white.  Hence  also 
a  knife  is,  in  derision,  called  a  Whittle*^  £.  W. 
p.  viii.  It  is  amusing  to  find  exactly  the  same  sense 
retained  to  this  day  ;  and  to  note  Ray's  accuracy  of 
observation.  In  another  place  Ray  gives  a  farther 
explanation  of  the  word  Whittle,  Among  his  S. 
and  E.  country  words  he  says  ''  A  whittle  is  a  double 
blanket,  which  women  wear  over  their  shoulders  in 
the  west  counlry,  as  elsewhere  >hort  cloaks — ab,  A. 
S.  Hwital,  Sa^a,  Sagum,  Lcena,  a  kind  of  gar- 
ment or  cassock,  an  Irish  mantle,  &c.'*  £  W.  p.  90. 

'A  whittle,  as  described  by  Ray  is  a  comfortable 
square  or  oblong  warm  article  tbrowd  ofer  the 


484 

fthdulden  of  all  ranks  io  Saffolk,  and  I  believe 
other  parts  of  England.  It  is  of  woollen,  and,  as  I 
have  said  warm  and  comfortable;  but  never  ap- 
proaches the  ''double  blanket  '*  of  Ray.    In  Scottish 

Whittle,  a  kniib— Tfctip|i<i— 7%£tot<(e/,  a  large  knifo.  Jkn%, 
Sex.  kuAtel,  id.  ihwUant  coitello  leaecare.  J* 

Whittle;  Saxon.  A  sort  of  basket^  also  a  little  knife — a 
child's  blanket,  or  one  worn  by  women  over  their  sbonlden.  Ta 
vhittU ;  to  cut  slicks  into  small  pieoes*    Bailey, 

A  whittle,  a  small  knife;  a  double  blanket  worn  hj  some 
country  women  over  their  shonlders.  To  whittUf  to  cat  aticks 
into  small  pieees — wkittledg  cut  in  that  manner.    O.  D.  A* 

Whittle,  a  knife.    Not  folk.     Grose. 

A  whittle ;  a  small  clasp  knife>  CtUteUos — CoU$*  A  Saxon 
word.    Naret, 

WiBBLE.  A  delicate  pronunciation,  I  imagine, 
of  Wabbie,  which  see. 

Wiggle-waggle.  A  tremulous  undulating 
motion— of  the  tail  of  a  bird,  more  especiaU7«-^in 
illustration  of  which  the  followhog  vej^se  may  be 
quoted  firom  a  well  known  juvenile  bucolic — 

Little  Robin  redbreast         ■    Set  upon  a  pole: 
WiggU'Waggle  went  his  tail— And — 

~but  the  finale  is  too  familiar  perhaps  to  require 
quotation.     See  Waggle. 

WiLCH.  The  sediment  or  lees  of  beer,  home- 
made wine,  &c. — also  a  brewing  utensil.  In  the 
first  sense,  Chtlsh,  Hills,  and  Jiggs,  which  see — 
are  also  in  use. 

WiLL-JiLL.  I  am  in  doubt  if  this  term  be  cur- 
rent in  Suffolk,  though  I  have  been  told  so,  for  an 
hermophrodite.  It  is  so  in  Cheshire.  W.  The  term 
is  given  in  an  O.  D.  A.  and  in  Bailey,  and  similarly 
explained — though  in  phrase  as  well  not  to  quote. — • 
It  is  scarcely  worth  \\hile  to  seek  far  for  the  origin 
of  this  term — Will,  auri  Jenny,  perhaps;  like  our 
usual  John  and  Joan,  which  see. 

Wimble.  The  borer  of  a  center  bit.  See  un- 
der  GooF^  verse  6,  and  note,     *'A  wjl/nbk,,^ 


48S 

pkareer  to  bore  holes  KtiikV*  O*  D.  A«    la  Bidiey 
the  same.    See  Pubsb. 

Wind.    Wine. 

WiND'BEAM.  Tke  upper  cross-beam  of  a  roof 
^-called  also  Collar-beam.  The  same  in  Bailey. 
The  lower,  or  main  beams,  we  call,  as  elsewhere, 
Tk-beanu. 

WiND-£66.  A  hen's  or  other  egg,  with  the  film 
or  amnion  only.  Where  hens  have  not  access  to 
calcareous  matter,  the  shell  is  imperfectly  formed, 
or  not  elaborated  at  all. — ^  A  udnd'egg,  an  addle 
egig  that  has  taken  wind."  O.  D.  A.  Our  ancient 
friend  was  not  much  of  a  natural  philosopher. 
Bailey,  however,  gives  the  same  explanation. 

Wi N  D-'ROW,  Mown  grass,  or  barley,  laid  loosely 
in  rows^  exposed  to  the  sun  and  wind  to  be  dried, 
is  said  to  be  in  windrintt.  According  to  Ray»  in 
his  S.  and  £.  Country  Words*— 

A  vindrow  is  the  gceeM  %t  bordefs  of  a  fteld  dug;ub,  fn  order 
to  the  cafryfaig  the  earth  on  to  the  land  to  mend-it.  It  i»  cM^ 
Wind-roWf  b^ase  it  is  laid  in  rows  and  expoeed  to  the  wind. 
E.W,  p.  90. 

With  us  the  borders  of  a  fields  the  brew  of 

ditches,  &c.  so  dug  up,  is  called .  mannertn^.    In 

Scottish — 

Wfnraw,  hav  or  peats  pot  together  in  long  thin  heaps,  for  tlie 
purpose  of  bemg  more  easily  dried.  J. — Wmd^row^  a  rank  of 
mowed  grass  or  bay,  raked  up  in  order  to  be  cocked.    O.  D.  A. 

WiNKKN.  Used  comparatively  for  speed  or 
quickness — **  'A  rid  like  winken" — as  quickly,  pet- 
baps,-  as  one  can  wink,  or  squink  the  eye. 

WiNKiCK.  To  cry— to  fret.  A  sickly,  droop- 
ing child  is  said  to  be  "  a  poor  winnicken  thing**-^ 
'*  Alius  a  winnicken.*'  Ray  says  the  smallest  p^ 
of  a  litter  is  called  a  Whinnick,  We  call  it  the 
barru-pig,  or  the  pitm€m,  or  pmbasket.  See  those 
words.  In  another  place  (North  Country  Words, 
p.  104*)  Ray  gives  ^  WMmoek,  or  KU,  a  pail  to 
0ttrty  milk  in." 


486 

Under  the  article  Kiddier,  and  otbers  thence 
referred  to,  I  have  however  ^one  into  sufficient  disr 
cussion  of  this  class  of  words.  And  shall  only  add 
that  Grose  gives,  as  Norfolk  Words,  an  exact 
transcript  of  the  above  quotation  from  Ray — and 
Whisket,  he  explains,  "  a  basket,  skuttle,  or  shal- 
low ped.  Norf. —  Whiskin,  a  shallow,  brown,  drink- 
ing bowl."  Pr.  GL    See  Whisket. 

.  Wipe.  Chie  of  those  ^  ar^iimenta  ad  homines,' 
of  which  a  copious  enumeration  is  exhibited  under 
AiNT,  in  the  Appendix,  This  is,  similarly,  a  figu- 
rative flourish  of  '  an  oaken  towel,'  by  which  an 
offender  is  metaphoricallv  '  rubbed  down ;  *  or  as  in 
the  case  of  Ainting^  *  rubbed  over.'  See  TowEL. 
The  verb  in  question  may  not  be  strictly  local. 

Wipe,  in  the  sense  of  at  blow  is  Scottish.  I  have 
read  it  in  a  Scottish  colloquy,  "  Wipe,  a  blow,  or 
reproach."  Grose,       ,   * 

Wjp'd  his  eye.  In  shooting,  if  one  miss  the 
bird,  and  a  companion,  firing  after,  kill  it,  the 
lucky,  or  more  skilful,  gunner,  is  said  to  wipe  the 
eye  of  his  disappointed  friend.  The  same  feeliog 
is  discovered  in  this  article  in  Nares-^ 

To  wipe  a  pers$rCs  nose  ;  to  cheat  him. 

Such  cunning  masters,  must  be  foord  sometimes.  Sir, 
And  have  their  worship^s  noses  wip^d,  *tis  healthful. 
We  are  but  quit.  B,  and  FL  Span,  Curate,  iv.  5. 

*Sfoot,  lieutenant,  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  nose  to  be  wtp*d,  of 
this  great  heir.  Chapm,  May  Day,  Anc,  Dr,  iv,  1 10* 

WiPPjiE-TREE.  The  wooden  bar  to  which  the 
traces  of  harnessed  horses  are  affixed  at  plough  or 
harrows.  This  is  not,  I  believe,  a  local  word. 
Pummel-tree  is  a  similar  article,  except  being  of  a 
different  length. 

WisK— OR  Whisk.  To  move  nimbly  or  rapidly. 
"  Th*  owd  fulla  whiskM  about  like  a  young  un."  A 
ttisk  or  whisk  is  also  a  light  broom  or  brush — ami 
it  used  to  be  a  part  of  female  dress,  to  go  about  the 


487 

iieck»  like  the  modern  toAi^ie  perhaps.    In  Scot- 

tWQ—- 

To  wiskj  to  hurry  avray»  as  if  one  quickly  swept  off  any  fidng 
iMtli.t  besom.  Gothic^  hwisk,  twUh,  a  besom— ^iift^  a.  quick 
tfiodoa.  J. 

A  whUkt  a  brush  made  of  olive  twigs  $  a  sort  of  neckcloth  for 
To  vfhiskf  to  brush  off  the  dust  with  a  whisk.  O.  D.  A, 


A  w^tffc— Saxon.  A  brush  made  of  ozier  twigs ;  abo  a  sort 
t>f.neck  dressy  formerly  worn  by  women — also  a  quick  motion 
of  a  twjg.  To  whisk;  to  brush  with  a  whisk — to  give  a  slight 
brtish  with  a  slight  motion,  as  a  fbx  with  her  tail,  a  woman 
wkh  her  petticoats.  Baileg* 

■■  Wi  SP.  A  hand  ful  of  straw,  either  loose  or  platted; 
to  rub  down  horses  withal.  Hence ."  Will  with  n 
wisp" — of  lighted  straw  probably.  Tin's  phenome- 
non in  Suffolk  b  called  Hohhy-lantan — which  see. 
Hob  with  a  Lanthorn.  Wisp  is  an  old  word — it 
occurs  in  the  Vision  of  Piers  Ploughman — "  Aiid 
wished  it  had  been  wiped  with  a  wisp  of  firzes"-^ 
or  whins  as  they  are  called  in  Suffolk  and  Scotland. 

Wisp  is  used  with  us,  in  the  farther  sense  of 
rudely  handling  any  delicate  thing-*-'^  Dont  wisp 
it** — a  precaution  (dont  handle  it  as  you  would  a 
wisp  of  straw)  for  instance,  by  a  ^hild  fearful  of 
having  its  cap  or  bonnet  compressed  by  a  careless 
hand. 

As  a  verb,  and  in  the  sense  first  given  above» 
Ray  has  it  in  this  proverb,  ''  A  short  horse  is  soon 
wxsp'd"  p.  122.  This  is  but  the  leading  limb  of 
the  proverb — the  other  may  not  be  exhibited  in 
these  decent  days.  Ray  is  indeed  frequently  too 
gross,  one  would  think,  for  any  day.  In  p.  287, 
he ^ uses  it  again  as  a  Scottish  Proverb — "Good 
wine  needs  not  a  wispe." 

Wisp  in  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  Scottish,  may 
have  served  the  pdrpose  of  a  bush.--* 

With  stravr-vfisp  and  pease-bolt,  with  fern  and  the  brake. 
For  sparing  of  fuel  some  brew  and  do  bake»        Tusser,  p.  40. 

Pease-fto/f,  is  evidently  our  hakm,  which  sec. 
We  frequently  heat  the  oven  with  it. 


488 

*^Witp,  aliandfiil  of  straw  or  hay ;  a  wreath  to 
carry  a  pail,  &c.  on  one's  head/'  O.  D*  A^  The 
aame  ia  Baitev. 

Advei ting  tor  a  moment  to  Hofaby*]antaiH^Jack 
o'  lantern — and  Will  o  th'  wisp,  it  is  not  unanrasing 
to«ee  the  two  last  thus  translated,  "  GuHelmns  de 
Wispo»  alias  Johannes  de  Lanterna.''  Nares  telb 
us  that  a  "  Wisp^  or  small  twist,  of  straw  or  hay, 
was  often  applied  as  a  mark  of  opprobhim  to  an 
immodest  woman,  a  scold,  or  similar  pfFenders; 
even  the  shewing  it  to  a  woman  was,  therefore, 
considered  as  a  gprievous  affront,''  He  gives.several 
amusing  illustrations  of  it.  Perhaps  in  former 
times  a  wisp  exhibited  in  a  window,  may*  have  been 
a  signal  of  invitation  to  amorous  passengers ;  and 
hence  even  shewing  it  to  a  woman  have  been  ofien- 
sive.  To  a  thirsty  passenger,  we  see  above^  that 
it  acts  as  an  invitation  in  Scotland.  The  itavera 
and  brothel  were  more  commonly  united  formerly 
than  now. 

WiSTER.  A  prospect — a  f  iew — rather  on  affec- 
tation— probably  VUta, 

With— or  Wythe.  A  hinnd  of  hazel,  willow, 
or  other  flexible  shrub,  to  tie  up  -faggots -withal. 
Cowper  uses  the  word — 

There's  not  a  chain. 

That  hellish  foes,  confederate  for  his  harm, 
Can  wind  around  him*  but  he  casts  it  off, 
With  as  much  ease  as  Samson  his  green  withes* 

Winter  MorHWg  WaPc* 

Cowper  took  it  from  Scripture — 

And  Samson  said  unto  her,  If  they  bind  me  with  seven  green 
lottos  that  were  never  dried,  then  shall  I  be  weak,  and  be  as 
aaother  man* 

Then  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  brought  up  to  her  seven 
green  wWis  which  had  not  been  dried^  and  she  bound  him  witb 
them. 

(Npw  there  were  men  Ijing  in  wait,  abiding  with  her  in  the 
chamber.)  And  she  said  unto  him.  The  Philistines  be  upon 
thee,  Samson.  And  he  brake  the  withs,  as  a  thread  of  tow  is 
hrokea  when  it  toucheth  the  fire*  Judge*,  vru  7.  8.  9.. 


489 

The  word  is  pronounced  in  Suffolk^  with,  as 
rhyming  to  pith ;  and  wythe,  as  rhyming  nearly  to 
sc^fihe. 

It  is  also  a  Scottish  word :  andwtvs  in  use  hereto- 
fore pretty  generally.    In  Hall's  Satires  we  read  of 

■    dried  flitches  of  some  smoked  beeve 
HaDg'd  on  a  wriihen  wythe  since  Martinis  eve. 

Similar  words  are  found  in  Scottish,  &c — 

Wethy$  a  halter — also  wtd^Cf  a  rope  made  of  twtgs  of  willoNr ; 
used  to  denote  a  halter — Gothic,  widia,  vimen  from  'wide,  saliz  ; 
Ang.  Sax.  mthig,  id.  J. — A  with,  a  twig  of  the  withj*trce. 
O*  D.  A.  A  withy,  a  kind  of  willow-tree.  lb. — Withy,  a  willow^ 
tfee.  Glouc    Grote, 

Jflthet  a  sort  of  rash.     Withy f  an  ozter.     Bailey, 

.    We  have  also  Writh,  used  ahove — which  see. 

Nares  on  this  matter  has»  under  Twisted,  an  in- 
etrftctive  article,  from  which  I  take  what  follows*^ 

The  twisted  tree  or  with,  brought  in  the  week  before  Easter, 
was  the  usual  substitute  for  palia  branches,  borne  on  Palm  Sun- 
day, and  used  to  decorate  churches  and  houses.  It  Is  thus 
mentioned  by  Stowe — 

.  '  In  the  weeke  before  Easter  had  yee  great  shewes  made  for 
the  fetching  in  of  a  twisted  tree  or  wkh,  as  they  teriQed  it,  out 
t>f  the  woodes  into  the  King^s  house,  and  the  like  into  every 
nan's  house  of  honour  or  worsLip.*  StowA  Loud,  72. 

It  was,  in  fact,  Nares  adds,  a  branch  of  the  common  with  or 
withy,  a  species  of  willow.  The  withy  is  the  first  of  its  genus 
spoken  of  by  Evelyn — Sylva,  chap.  xx.  Gerard  reckons  the 
common  withy  to  be  the  Salix  pertitalis.    Herbal,  p.  1393. 

I  do  not  recollect  having  heard  the  willow  called 
the  withy* 

WiTTOL.  A  tame  cuckold,  knowing  himself  to  be  so— 
B  Saxon  word  derived  from — to  know ;  because  he  knows  his 
disgrace.  It  is  now  disused,  though  found  in  some  Comedies 
since  the  Restoration. 

Cuckold! — wittol ! — cuckold!  the  devil  himself  hath  not  su  (At 
B  name.    M,  W,  of  W.  ii.  2. 

Mark,  how  the  wittol 
Stares  on  his  sometime  wife  1  Ford's  Farce$»  ii.  1. 

2u 


490 

A  cuckold}  says  Lenton,  is  a  harmtesse  horned  creature,  but 
lutf  homes  haog  nut  in  his  eiesy  as  your  t0t(tai*s  doe. 

Character,  Si,  1631 

The  above  is  from  Nares.  We  use  Wittol  in 
Suffolk  for  a  "  contented  cuckold** — and  it  i»  not 
long  since  1  heard  an  unlucky  wight  of  this  de- 
scription console  himself,  or  affect  to  do  so, 
by  repeating  a  common  saying  that  *'  conteated 
cuckolds  go  to  heaven." — "  Wittal,  or  wittol; 
Saxon.  One  who  knows  himself  to  be  a  cuckold 
and  is  contented."  Bailey. 

WizziN*D.  Shrivelled-*from  age,  or  other  cause. 
Applied  to  the  human  face  chiefly.  Fmit  shriveled 
from  the  evaporation  of  its  juices,  is  said  to  be 
Clung,  or  KHngled.  See  those  words.  WizuM'd, 
and  oqyinnyt  are  nearly  synonimous.  In  Scottish — 

To  mtent  or  wyuin,  to  wither,  to  become  dry  and  hard — pro- 
nounced toixteH — to  be  parched,  in  consequence  of  thirst.  Apg. 
Sax.  Wisn-ian,  tabescere,  luarcescere — Icelandic  vUn'Ot  id. 
To  iDixsen,  lo  become  dry.  J. 

Nares  under  Wearish,  weerisk,  or  werisk,  ex- 
plains them,  ''  small,  weak,  shrunk."  It  answers, 
ne  says,  to  what  is  now  sometimes  called  wizen,  or 
wither *d.    He  gives  many  illustrations.    See  Wee. 

WoE-BEGONE.  Deeply  afflicted.  Common  in 
Suffolk.    Thus  Shakespeare — 

Even  such  a  man,  so  faint,  so  spirilless. 
So  dull,  so  dead  in  look,  so  tooe-begone. 
Drew  Priam's  curtain  in  the  dead  of  night. 

2.  Hen.  VI,  i.  1. 

-    He  saw  his  life's  joy  set  at  nought. 
So  woe-begotie  was  he  with  pains  of  Iomc.   F.  Taiso.  i.  9. 

I  have  taken  the  last  quotation  from  Nares,  who, 
of  the  term  in  question,  says — 

Several  of  the  commentators  have  thought  it  necessary  to  ex- 
plain  this  word  j  but  I  do  not  believe  it  to  be  wholly  disused. 
It  means  deeply  involved  in  woe. 

Wolf.  I  can  recollect  certain  women,  oldish 
ones  I  thinks  wbo  were  generally  believed — by  boys 


491 

and  girls  I  mean — to  have  a  wolf  in  their  stomachs* 
The  notion  was  encouraged  by  the  women  them* 
selves  ;  who,  it  may  be  imagined »  more  disposed 
to  eat  than  work,  thus  accounted  for  an  inordinate 
appetite,  and  obtained  commisseration  and  relief. 
1.  have  not  heard  of  this  species  of  imposition  or 
disease  of  many  years — but  1  question  if  it  be 
wholly  obsolete. 

WoNMiL  Cheese.  Cheese  made  of  unskimmed 
milk — of  skimmed  milk  it  is  colled  Jiet-cheese — that 
is  from  milk  Jletted,  or  fleeted,  perhaps.  Hmirnil 
is  probably  one  mealy  or  one  milking ;  the  quantity 
of  milk  produced  by  one  meal,  or  feeding,  of  the 
cow.  See  under  the  words  Bang — Flet — Meal 
— 'and  Trip,  in  this  Collection,  for  sufficient  on 
this  subject ;  which  is  rather  a  sore  one  to  us 
Suffolk  farmers. 

Woo.  With.  See  Thennum.  "  I'll  sune  be 
wo*  ye  aginn." 

Woodcock  Soil.  Strong  clayey  land,  retentive 
of  moisture,  such  as  Woodcocks  love.  "  P^wit 
Land — in  Cheshire — is  moist,  spongy  ;  such  as  the 
Pewit  usually  frequents."  W.  In  Suffolk  we  call 
the  Lapwing,  Horn-pie ;  as  well  as  Petvit  or  Peewit, 
from  its  note — but  with  us  it  frequents  dry  heathy 
soils,  directly  the  reverse  of  Woodcock  soil. 

Among  his  S.  and  £.  Country  words  Ray  has 
"  Woodcock-soil ;  ground,  that  hath  a  soil  under 
the  turf  that  looks  of  a  woodcock  colour,  and  is 
not  good."  E.  W.  p.  90.  Bailey  has  exactly  the 
same  words. 

WooDLANS.  Wood-lands.  The  description  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  that  part  of  Suffolk  laying 
to  the  north  of  the  high  turnpike  road  to  Yarmouth. 
Tlie  soil  is  strong  and  deep,  and  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  timber ;  and  thirty  or  forty  years  back, 
those  parts,  called  also  High  Suffolk,  were  very 
finely  timbered.      But  high  prices  and  increased 

2  u  2 


492 

facilities -of  trangport  have  nearly  denuded  them. 
The  term  Woodlana  is  not  so  much  used  or  known 
in  High  Suffolk,  as  near  the  Coasts,  or  in  Ihe 
Sankms  (Sandlands)  as  the  Wood-landers  call  that 
tract  of  country  bounded  by  the  rivers  Orwell  and 
Aide  and  the  aforesaid  road — the  hundreds  com* 
prised  therein  being  mostly  of  a  sandy  light  soil, 
poorly  wooded. 

One  does  not  see  why,  but  the  fact  is,  that  the 
natives  of  what  is  g'enerally  called  High  Suffolk  do 
not  much  relish  the  appellation.  It  is  usually  said 
to  begin  in  the  next  parish^  enquire  where  you  will 
in  those  parts. 

Wood-sere.  I  am  not  certain  that  this  is  a 
Suffolk  term — Sere-wood,  is  common  enough ;  but 
wood- sere  seems  to  have  a  different  meaning  in 
some  of  our  old  authors.  It  occurs  in  a  quotation 
from  Tusser,  under  the  article  Aadle  in  this  Col- 
lection ;  apparently  meaning  as  there  noted,  sum* 
mer-time — "  from  May  to  October."  It  occurs 
again  in  Tusser  in  the  following  passage — in  a  like 
sense — 

I'he  bushes  and  thorn,  with  the  shrubs  that  do  noy, 
In  wood-sere  or  summer,  cut  down  to  destroy  3 
But  whereas  decay  to  the  tree  ye  wiil  none. 
For  danger  in  wood-sere,  let  hacking  alone,    p.  165. 

Dr.  Mavor  does  not  understand  the  word  in  this 
sense — nor,  I  think,  under  correction,  at  all :  he 
seems  to  think  it  means  pollard  trees.  "  A  wood- 
sere,  an  insect."  O.  D.  A. 

"  Wood  sere,  decayed,  or  hollow  pollards;  also 
the  month  or  season  for  felling  wood.  Essex,  and 
Suffolk."  Grose.  1  do  not  rely  much  on  this  au- 
thority.    **  Wood  sere;  an  insect."  Bailey, 

See  under  Sake,  and  Snake-spit,  for  some- 
thing farther  on  this  compound,  anomalous,  word. 

Wood-sprite.  The  Wood-pecker.  It  is,  I 
believe,  sometimes  called  simply  Sprite,  but  much 
oftener  Wood-sprite,     Nares  shows  that  Speight  is 


493 

an  eld  name  for  the  large  black  wood-pecker^  from 
the  German  spedkt-^— 

EvCy  walking  forth  about  the  forrests,  gathers 
Speights,  parrotSi  peacocks,  estrlch  scattered  feathers. 

Sylv,  DubarU  Handicn^i» 

It  is  called  SpitCy  and  Wood-spite  in  some  parts 
of  England. 

WooH — or  Woo-E.  An  imperative  to  stop  cart 
horses.  Also  signifying  a  stop,  or  check,  or  end, 
to  the  career  of  an  unpromising  young  man. 
"  There's  no  woo  in  him  as  yit."  See  Take  up. 

The  word  has  I  think  been  used  in  this  sense  by 
Shakespeare — 

Love  *s  a  mighty  lord — 
I'here  is  no  woe  to  his  correction.   Two  G,  of  V,  ii.  4. 

This  speech  has  been  made  strange  work  of  by 
the  commentators,  who  have  taken  woe  in  its  usual 
dolorous  acceptation :  but,  spell  the  word  woo, 
and  apply  it  as  we  do  in  Suffolk,  and  it  explains 
itself  and  the  phrase.    Nares  has — 

lilioe,  used  for  Ho,  in  the  phraso  *  there  was  no  ho  with  hitn.* 

He  was  mad,  mad,  no  whoe  with  hira. 

Burt.  Anat,  of  Mel,  p.  1?5. 

And  under  Ho,  Nares  has  a  long  arflcle,  whence 
I  extract  this  passage — 

Ho,  Originally  a  call,  from  the  interjection  ho  !  afterwards. 
rather  like  a  stop  or  limit,  in  the  two  phrases  out  of  all  ho,  for 
out  of  ail  bounds ;  and  there^s  no  ho  with  him.;  that  is,  he  ia  not 
to  be  restrained. 

Of  the  latter  phrase  Nares  quotes  illustrations 
from  Honest  If  A.  O.  P.  iii.  353. — Lingua,  O.  P. 
V.  172.  Harl.  Misc.  VF.  p.  160.  Swiff  s  Jour,  to 
Stella.  Let.  20. — All,  1  think,  tending  to  show  that 
the  Suffolk  word  woo  being  substituted  in  the  sense 
of  a  stop  or  limit,  would  make  the  passages  in- 
telligible ;  which  they  scarcely  are  otherwise. 

For  other  terms  of  the  Houyhnhmn  dialect  see 
under  Cametheb,  Heit,  and  Ree,  of  this  Col- 
lection. 

2U  3 


494 

Wool.  Will.  '*  Will  you  have  this  woman 
&c.?  said  a  Divine  in  the  colloquy  commoa  to 
such  happy  occasions.— **/ti?ao/" — smartly  rejoined 
the  happy  groom, — I  cum  a  pappus."  ''  Say  yes" 
—said  the  patient  gownsman.    "Well — iss — then." 

**  You  did  not  shake  it,  did  you  John  ?  *'  en- 
quired a  master  of  his  lad  who  was  handing  a  hot- 
tie  of  Port.  "  No — but  I  wool " — said  the  boy — 
shaking  it  heartily* 

Ta  wool — or  twool — or  tull — it  will. 

We  have  a  local  antipathy  to  a  Saturday  new 
and  Sunday  full  moon,  which  is  perpetuated  by 
the  following  distich — 

Saturday *s  new  and  Sunday*s  full. 
Was  never  fine,  nor  never  wool. 

This  antipathy  is,  however,  wearing  away — and 
it  is  not  every  one  who  now  can  tell  whether  Fri- 
day or  Saturday  be,  astrologically,  Ihe  unlucky 
day.     See  under  Mune. 

Woolgathering.  "  Your  wits  are  gone 
a*  woolgathering*' — said  of  an  absent  inattentive 
person. 

WoosH.  An  imperative  commanding  the  fore- 
horse  of  a  team  to  bear  to  the  left.  Woosh  is  more 
a  Norfolk  word.  It  has  been  derived  from  the 
French  Gauche.  Our  common  word  is  Heit^  which 
see,  and  Wook, 

Woo-WAH.  Irregular — not  straight — one  plough- 
ing unskilfully  as  to  straightness  of  furrow,  would  be 
said  to  •*  woo-wah  about'' — to  waver  perhaps  from 
the  right  line.  Thus  in  Scottish — "  To  waver,  or 
wawer,  to  wander— u?aw,  wave."  J^ 

Word  of  mouth.  Or,  by  word  of  mouth — 
drinking  out  of  a  bottle ;  mouth  to  mouth. 

Work  at  one  as  I  do.  A  mirth-exciting,  in- 
door, juvenile  game^-for  the  names  of  many  of 
which,  see  under  Moyeall.    Although  I  call  this. 


495 

and  divers  others,  juvenile  games,  I  have  oftea 
known  **  children  of  larger  growth*'  join,  or  assist, 
at  them — and  hope  I  shall  again. 

Work-ways.  Convenient  or  proper.  Of  a 
gate  it  would  be  said  *'  'twould  be  mere  warkwmfg 
to  hang  it  on  that  post" 

World  Apple.    See  Worrel  Apple. 

Worm-puts — or  Warm-casts.  The  unsightly 
soil,  worked  up  by  worms  to  the  surface  of 
grass  plots,  in  spring,  and  in  rainy  weather — they 
axe  otherwise  called  Molewarps,  which  see. 

Worrel.  The  round  metallic  end  or  ferrel,  of 
a  walking  stick — umbrella,  &c.  I  have  never  heard 
this  word  out  of  Suffolk — where  it  is  very  common. 
**  An  ivory  headed  cane  virled  with  gold" — which 
occurs  in  Sir  Andrew  Wylie,  III.  35,  may  be  the 
Scottish,  and  perhaps  best,  pronunciation  of  it. 
"  Virle ;  a  small  ring  put  round  any  body  to  keep 
it  firm.  Old  English,  vyroU ;  French,  virolle"  J. 
It  is  likely,  I  think,  that  our  worrel-bone;  and  pos- 
sibly our  woi'rel-apple — which  sec — may  be  con- 
nected in  origin,  with  the  subject  of  this  article. 
•*  Verrel,  or  Ferril,  a  little  ring  at  the  end  of  a 
cane,  &c."  O.  D.  A.  **  Verrel,  or  Verril: — virole, 
French — a  ferrel;  a  little,  small,  brass,  or  iron 
ring  at  the  end  of  a  walking  cane,  or  the  handle  of 
some  working  tool."  Bailey. 

Worrel  Apple.  A  fruit  that  is  believed  to 
take  two  years  to  ripen.  It  certainly  resists  decay 
heyond  any  other  of  Pomona's  gifts.  It  will  keep 
the  year  round — or  till  the  re-turn  of  the  apple 
season — and  hence  possibly  the  origin  of  its  name 
— worrel — virle,  and  similar  words,  having  mean- 
ings connected  with  ideas  of  roundness,  or  circu- 
larity, or  rotation,  or  returning.  See  Worrel- 
bone.  We  sometimes  call  the  fruit  the  iVorld- 
apple.  It  is  very  globular — and  flattened  at  its  poles. 

Worrel-bone.  The  osfemoris.  It  has  been 
surmized  to  6e  from  whirl,  or  turning,  in  reference 


496 

to  the  ball  and  socket  motion  of  the  superior  ar- 
ticalation.  Or,  less  likely,  from  world,  referring 
to  its  globular  terminations  ;  connected  again  with 
an  idea  of  rotundity  and  rotation.  Thus,  the 
ii7orr^/-appIe  is  sometimes  called  tror2e2-apple — 
some  say  from  its  globular  form ;  others  because  it 
will  keep  till  the  t^-turn  of  the  apple  season. 
Sometimes  we  call,  or  used  to  call,  this  bone,  the 
Ruel'bone ;  but  I  have  not  heard  It  lately.  This  is 
not  very  different  from  worrel — and  may  be  still 
connected  with  a  rotatory  sense,  from  roll — or  the 
French  rouelle,  a  wheel  ? — We  also  sometimes  call 
the  patella,  the  worrel-bone.  So  Cocker  "  the 
whirl-hone  of  the  knee.'* — **  The  whirl-bone ;  the 
round  bone  of  the  knee.''  O.  D.  A.  In  Nares 
is  this — 

Jllurl-bonei  the  roond  bone  of  the  knee,  called  the  knee  pan 
or  patella — 

Woman  was  once  a  ribbe  (as  Truth  has  said) 
Else,  sith  her  tongue  runs  wide  from  every  point, 

I  should  have  deemM  her  substance  had  been  made 
Of  Adam^s  whirl-bone,  when  Uwas  out  o*  joint. 

Bancroffs  Epigrtunt, 

The  whirUbone  of  the  knee;  the  patella.     Coles*  Lat.  Diet, 

In  Jameison — this  Scotticism — 

Whorle;  a  very  small  wheel — the  fly  of  a  spInning-wheel^ 
English  whirl — Old  Swedish  hworla,  rotare. 

Rotundity,  or  rotation,  seems  to  be  preserved  in 
all  the  senses  and  languages  in  which  this  sound 
occurs.  The  virelai  of  French  writers,  corres- 
ponding with  our  roundelay,  and  the  virlay  and 
virelay  of  our  old  authors,  may  be  cognate — So 
may  the  Scotch  virle  and  our  worreL  See  under 
the  latter  word  :  and  Nares  under  Virelay:  Vircr, 
to  turn  and  lay,  a  song ;  still  'preserving  the  idea 
of  rotation. 

WoRRET.  Tiresome  —  troublesome.  "  Yow 
worret  me  ta  dead*' — xcoiry,  perhaps.  See  Wear- 
ing, Whkrrit,  and  Worry. 

Worry.  To  teaze,  cr  fatigue,  or  tire.  A  dog 
iJJling"  or  chasing  sheep  is  said  to  worry  them — ana 


497 

tbk  is  tiie  most  usual  appUcatios  of  th^  word, 
which  is  not  local.  Ray  says  "  To  be  worriedf: 
to  be  choked^  Worran  in  the  ancient  Saxon  sig- 
nifies to  destroy y  in  which  sense  we  still  say  **  a 
dog  worries  sheep."  E.  W.  p.  67.  See  Wearing. 

WoRSER.  The  comparative  degree  of  bad : 
the  final  liquid  is  redundant. — Shakespeare  uses 
the  word  often — once  perhaps  in  the  superlative 
degree — 

The  strongest  suggestion 
Our  toorser  genius  cau>  shall  never  melt 
My  honour  into  lust.     Temp,  iv.  1* 

Nares  notices  it  as  an  irregular  comparison,  now 
justly  exploded:  and  that  Twiss*s  Index  gives 
twelve  instances  of  it  in  Shakespeare.  It  is  Used 
also  by  Dryden,  and  others  of  our  poets.  We  go 
farther  and  say  worsest,  which  see. 

W^ORSEST.  Worst.  SeeWoRSER.  We  are  rather 
unhappy  in  our  superlatives — Lastenest,  for  most 
lasting,  or  durable — lessest,  littlest,  and  leasest,  for 
least  or  smallest — dodlisist,  for  the  most  docile — 
eatingest,  the  most  devouring  or  exhausting — &c. 

WouLDERS.  Bandages.  *'  Teent  quite  well, 
I'm  forced  to  keep  the  woulders  on."  Wowld  is 
also  used  as  a  verb. 

"  IVoulding,  among  seamen  ;.bindin]^  ropes  round 
about  a  mast,  &c.  after  it  has  been  strengthened.'' 
O.  D«  A.  This  I  beUeve  is  atiU  a  nautical  term. 
Bailey  has  the  word  in  the  same  sense. 

WouNDY.  Excessive— "woundy  hot" — "woundy 
cold'^ — generally,  I  think,  in  a  bad,  or  dis-praising 
sense — tho*  **woundy  strong'*  may  be  predicated  of 
good  beer,  &c.  We  have  many  of  such  words  of 
amplification,  of  which  see  something  under  MoRT. 

**  Woundj/,  very  great.  S.  Country."     Grose. 

Wranglesome.  Quarrelsome.  A  good  word 
— a  propensity  to  wrangling. 


498 

Writ.  A  wart.  Iii  Scottish  '' fVrat,  a  wart— 
Belgic,  icrattle:'  J. 

Writh.  a  wifk,  or  withe,  bound  round  any 
thing,  would  be  said  to  be  writhed  round  it.  Jt 
rhymes  to  pith,  and  seems  to  mean  twisted  or 
curled.  It  is  sometimes  heard  as  a  substantiTe, 
like  with,  but  is  then  commonly  pronounced  wrythe* 
"  Writhen  wythe,"  occurs  in  a  quotation  under 
With.  Writhe  and  twist  are  cognate  verbs;  in 
some  senses  identical.  In  a  cur/y  sense,  see  Tus- 
socks. *^\Vrithen;  Saxon.  Wrung,  twisted."  Bailey, 

Wrongs.  The  larger  boughs  of  timber  trees. 
In  measuring  trees  the  stem  is  called  body  timber-^ 
the  boughs,  wrongs.  Sometimes  the  wrongs  of 
oak,  where  applicable  to  ship-building  when  they 
obtain  the  name  of  crooked  timber,  are  as  valuable 
nearly  as  the  body  or  right  up  timber.  In  contra- 
distinction  to  the  rigfit  tip  part,  these  may  have, 
luid  their  appellation  of  wrongs.  This  surmise 
received  confirmation  by  a  similar  opinion  given  by 
an  intelligent  carpenter,  who  had  just  felled  a 
timber  oak.  He  called  the  boughs,  wrongs:  on 
being  asked  why — said,  he  supposed  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Right  ups.  He  also  called  them 
JBatlins, 

The  sense  of  opposition  to  the  upright  or  straight 
timber  is  preserved  in  Norfolk.—"  Wrong,  crooked ; 
a  wrong  man  or  woman.  Norf."  Grose,  Under 
Bole,  will  be  seen  that  we  are  very  discriminating 
in  our  names  for  the  various  parts  of  a  tree.  In 
l^ailey  1  find  "  Wranglands;  misgrowing  trees  that 
will  never  prove  timber,  q.  d.  Wrongers  of  land.'* 

Wrot.  Wrote.  "  I  ha  wrot  era  tew  letters  an 
I  heent  hard  from  um  as  yit." 

WuTHA.  Whether—"  Wutha  \a  wool  a'  no.'* 
See  A.     Also  weather.  See  Snew, 

Wythe.    See  With. 


499 

Y. 

Ya — Yah — or  Yar.  Rhyming  to  the  a  in  far — 
your.  Yahs,  your  bouse — yours — Yewan,  is  also 
yours — h'ke  hisn,  his. 

Yaffle.  Snatching,  or  taking,  illicitly.  A  poach- 
er s  dog  snapping  up  a  bare  would  be  said  to  yojfie 
it;  or  a  loose  baud  snatching  a  fowl,  en pcissant, — 
**  Yaffling,  eating.     Cant  word,"  Grose, 

Yah.    See  Ya. 

Yalkn.  Crying — fretting — like  a  sick  or  pained 
child.  '*  To  yell,  to  cry  out  hideously,  to  howl." 
Ray.   £.  W.  p.  viii. 

Yanglb.  a  triangular  yoke,  composed  of  three 
pieces  of  wood  about  two  feet  long,  fastened  at  their 
intersections,  about  the  neck  of  a  sow,  so  as  to  have 
the  base  of  the  triangle  horizontal,  and  the  apex  over 
her  head,  to  prevent  her  breaking  through  fences. 
The  animal  so  circumstanced  is  said  to  be  yangled. 
The  hog*s  Yaiigle  is  also,  indeed  more  commonly, 
called  a  Yoke. 

Horses  are  also  Yangled  when  ontoward.  Side 
yangling  is  when  the  fore  and  hind  feet  of  the  same 
side  are  connected  by  a  chain  and  two  shackles. 
Fore-yangling  is  when  the  two  fore  feet  are  so  chained 
— Cross-y angling,  the  fore  and  hind  feet  of  different 
sides.  The  latter  is  rare,  from  its  severity.  Some- 
times the  side  yangling  is  called  hobbling.  In  Scot- 
land "  langet  and  langel  are  names  of  the  rope  by 
which  the  fore  and  hinder  feet  of  a  horse  or  cow  are 
fastened  together."  J.  Under  the  article  Trammel, 
more  occurs  of  this  matter — also  under  Hobble.  . 

Yappe:^,  Snarling — snapping — like  two  quarrel- 
some puppies  or  children.  In  Cheshire  **Yaff,  is  to 
bark.  <<  A  little  fow  yaffliMg  cur"  is  a  little  ugly 
barking  cur.  Scotch,  Jameison.  Gaf — Anglo- 
Silxon,  a  Babbler."  W.     In  Jameison  we  find — 

To  yaffi  to  bark;  properly  denoting  the  noise  made  by  a 
smftU  dog — to  yelp — Ang.  Sax.  ytttlp^Hf  ekclaniari — Yamph, 
yawf,  to  bark — Yaup^  to  yelp.    J, 


600 

A  yapf  a  little  dog«  To  yelp,  to  cry  like  a  dog  or  fox.  O.  D.  A* 

YaMppmgy  crying  in  despair,  laqientiag;  applied  to  cMckens 
lamenting  the  absence  of  their  parent  hen.  Norf.  Grote» 

Yar,    SeeYA. 

Yard.  A  garden.  **  Yeow  'a  got  a  good  yard 
to  yar  bouse."    It  is  a  Saxon  word. 

Yard  of  puddeIn.    SeePuDDEN  Pokb. 

Yarmouth  capon.  A  red-berring^— oiie  of 
tbe  best  of  edibles. 

Yean.  To  produce  Iambs.  ''  The  jyows  are 
yeaning."  "  T6  eon,  to  yetm ;  Saxon.  To  bring 
fortb  lambs."  Bailey.    So  Shakespeare-^^ 

Who  then  cdhceiVing  did  in  eaning  time 

Fall  party-coloured  lambs,  arid  those  were  Jacob's. 

■all  the  ethilings  which  were  streaked,  and  pled, 
Should  fall  as  Jacdb*s.     M«  rf  V.   i.  3. 

See  Fell— Pied— Pill— ««ki  Wan. 

Yearlan — or  Yearling,  A  lamb  between  one 
and  two  years  old.  See  Dans — and  Weuder. — 
**  A  yearling,  a  beast  a  year  old."  O.  I>.  A.  and 
Hailey, 

Yelk.  Levelling  and  ramming  clay,  &c.  well 
down  for  a  floor,  or  against  the  foundation  of  ma- 
sonry, is  called  yelking  it.     "  Yelk  it  well." 

Yelm.  To  arrange  straw  in  parallel  layers  to  be 
tied  up  in  a  bundle  for  thatcher's  ittimediate  use — 
or  hay  to  be  carried  away  in  a  bundle.  In  the  first, 
the  thatcher^s  boy  pulls  it  out  of  a  stack  or  heap, 
and  lays  it  on  his  rope,  or  chain.  This  he  calls 
•*  yelming  it." 

Yelt.  Yielded—*'  'A  yelt  Vs  self  up.'*  "  Ta 
yelt  a  matter  a'  tew  coom  an  acre."  The  a  in  mat* 
ter  we  pronounce  very  broad — mahtter, 

Yeow — ^Yow— or  Yeeow— rhyming,  or  nearly, 
to  bough.  You.  Of  this  vicious  pronunciation 
many  examples  are  given  in  the  preceding  pages. 


601 

It  is  sometimes  prououneed  in  a  long  nasal  drawl— 
scarcely  expressed  adequately  even  by  the  last  ortho* 
graphical  attempt — yeehow,  slightly  aspirated,  may 
be  nearer. 

Yerk.  a  smart  blow — a  cat  with  a  whip— par- 
ticularly  of  that  kind  where  it  is  a  drawing  cut-^ 
from  jerk,  perhaps.  "  'A  gon  em  sich  a  y^rk  under 
the  3hort  ribs."  This  would  apply  to  a  suffering 
horse  or  man.  Many  other  words  importing  a  blow 
are  enumerated  under  AiNT  in  the  Appendix.  In 
Scottish — 

To  yark,  to  beat: — toyerkp  to  bind  tigbtlj»  as.ivitb  a  tmall 
cord — to  beaty  to  strike  smartly — ycrk,  a  imart  blow,  a  jork« 
Icelandic  hreck^ia,  to  beat.  J. 

A  yerk,  a  jerk  or  lash— to  yerk,  ta  jerk  or  whip.  O.  D.  A. 

The  foilowiog  illustrations  ojf  this  word,  I  am  in- 
debted to  Nares  for.  He  explains  it  **  to  kick  put 
strongly — doubtless  a  mere  substitution  for  jerk,** 

While  their  wounded  steeds 
Fret  fetlock  deep  in  gore,  and  with  wild  rage, 
Yerk  out  their  aimed  heels  at  their  dead  masters. 

Ben,  V.  iv,  f . 

Thej  ^t,  they  yerk ;  they  backward  flace  aod  fling, 
As  though  the  devil  in  their  heels  had  been. 

Drayt,  Moene.  p.  513. 

Kcxt  to  advancing,  you  shall  teach  your  horse  tayerfcbthind 
in  this  manner.     G.  Mark,     Wuy  to  get  Wealth,  p.  ^6. 

By  the  directipas  given,  Nares  remarks,  it  appears  to  be  a 
nice  matter  to  teach  a  horse  to  yerk  properly. 

Also,  he  adds,  to  lash  with  a  whip — 

"Whilst  1  securely  let  him  overslip, 

Nere  yerking  him  with  ray  satyric  whip.  Martton,  Sat.  i.  3, 

Spenser  writes  it  yirk — 

But  that  same  foole,  which  most  increast  her  paines, 
Was  Scorn  ;  who  having  in  his  hand  a  whip. 
Her  thcicwith  yirks.     F»  Q.  VI.  vii.  44. 

Bailey,  explains  Yerk,  as  ''  the  flinging  kick  of 
a  horse.*' 

2  w 


502 

YiT.  Yet — in  the  common  mode  of  substituting 
t  for  f ;  as  noticed  under  Aninnd.  See  an  example 
under  Takb  up. 

YoFERS.  Straight  fir  poles,  for  scafiblding,  lad'^ 
ders,  &c.  Yew-firs  perhaps.  The  same,  I  believe, 
as  Firbawki,  and  Spurshwn — which  see — and  Bank. 

Yoke.    See  Yangle. 

You  AN.  Pronounced  yetran— yours — HtVn— his. 
Thusien$ — ^thus.  Sooins — so.  This'n — this.  See 
Thussbns,  and  Ya. 

Youngster.  As  well  as  in  the  common  way  for 
a  youth,  or  yunker,  we  use  youngster,  or  yungster, 
as  the  younger  of  two — brothers  in  a  school,  for 
example.  In  superior  schools  minor  is  of  course 
the  word — ^but  I  can  well  recollect  when  one  of  my 
school-fellows  was  always  distinguished  by  *'  young- 
ster Parker,"  from  his  elder  brother. 

Yow— or  Yeow — in  a  drawling^  nasal  tone — 
You.    See  Ybow. 

Yow.  Rhyming  to  blow,  an  Ewe.  In  Scottish, 
'*  Vow,  Youe,  a  ewe.  Ang.  Sax.  eown,  Belgic  ouwe, 
id.''  J.  For  many  names  of  sheep  of  difierent  ages 
and  conditions.  See  Crones— DANs-and  Wedder. 

YuLLA.    Yellow.     "  As  yuUa  as  a  peagle." 

YuLLAHAMMANT.  The  yellow-faammer.  See 
Nope.  In  Scottish  Yeldring,  Yeldrin,  and  Youlring, 
are  names  of  this  bird.  J.  **  Yold-ring,  a  yellow- 
hammer.  Norf.'^  Grose,  I  never  heard  these  names 
in  Suffolk. 


AFPEITDZX, 


CONTAINING  SUCIf  MATTERS  AS  HAVE  OCCURRED  WHILB 
THE  PRECEDING  PAGES  WERE  IN  THE  PRESS;  AND 
CORRECTIONS  OF  SUCH  ERRORS  AS  HAVE  BEEN  BE" 
TECTED    IN    TUEM. 


A. 

AiNT.  Under  this  word  a  copious  list  is  given 
of  others  alike  denoting,  a  blow,  to  beat,  or  a  beating. 
I  thought  this  list  not  only  copious  but  curious.  In 
the  currency  of  my  work,  however,  many  more 
have  occurred  to  nie  of  cognate  meaning;  and  I 
am  induced  to  throw  them  altogether  in  this  place. 
Commencing,  then,  with  Aint,  and  proceeding  al- 
phabetically we  have  of  our  own  the  following 
pugnacious  words — 

Baffle,  baste,  bnffle,  bob»  bum-brush,  bump-— 
Clap,  click,  clink,  clip,  clout,  clunch,  crack— Dab, 
dash,  ding,  dint,  douse,  dunsh,  dnnt — Fan,  flack, 
flick,  frap — Hide — Jerk,  julk — Knap,  kulp — Lace, 
lanner,  lah  on,  larrup,  latha,  lick,  line,  lump — 
Maul — Pah,  pat,  peg,  pelt,  pepper,  poke,  poonch, 
poult,  pounce,  plump,  pummel — Racket,  rib-roast 
•—Salt-eel,  siserara,  skelp,  smash,  sneezer,  sowse, 
spank,  squaj,  strop,  sussack,  swack,  swash,  sweat, 
swinge,  swirk,  switch — ^Thrip,  thrum,  thwack,  trim, 
trounce — Vlick — ^Wallop,  wale,  wap,  wask,  weal, 
welt,  whack,  whang,  wherret,  wipe — Yerk  — 
and  divers  others  no  doubt  which  have  escaped 

2  w  2 


604 

me — in  addition  to  the  common  threatening  verbs 
active  of  bang,  box,  cuff,  dress,  lash,  slap,  smack, 
thrash,  thump,  &c.  &c.  every  wher€  understood. 

AiNT.  In  the  last  line  of  that  article,  fot 
figurately,  read  figuratively.  Page  5,  line  2  from 
bottom,  for  countrymen,  read  county  men. 

A'Lady.  Our  Lady — or  at  Lady — as  already 
noticed,  **  The  five  and  twentieth  daye  of  March 
(commonly  called  Alady  daye)'* — occurs  in  the  vol. 
V.  p.  10  of  the  work  Bib.  Top.  Brit. — quoted  and 
referred  to  under  Gast. 

Alawk.     Last  line — for  casion,  read  occasion. 

Allen.  Unenclosed  land  that  has  been  tilled 
and  left  to  run  to  feed  for  sheep.  It  is  a  common 
word  about  Snape  and  Aldborough :  as  I  am  told ; 
but  I  never  heard  it. 

Alley.    A  select  or  favourite  marble.  See  Taw. 

An  BERRY.  A  disease  in  turnips;  described 
under  Banbury ^  which  see— ^but  this  is,  I  believe, 
the  more  correct  name  of  it.  *'  An  Anbury,  a  kind 
of  even  or  spongy  swelling  in  a  horse" — O.  D.  A> 
— is  probably  tlie  same  word.  Looking  into  Rees* 
Cyc.  I  find  tiie  turnip-disease  minutely  described 
iinder  Anbuiy. 

Anker*  That  part  of  a  shoe  buckle  which  con- 
fines it  to  the  strap  to  which  it  is  first  applied* 
The  chafe  is  the  outer  rim.  "Anchor,  of  a  buckle, 
tlie  chape,  ^loust."     Grose, 

B. 

Back  STRIKING.  Page  12,  line  3 — for  farmings, 
read  fanning. 

Bailey.  A  bailif,  or  steward,  or  manager  on  a 
farm — also  a  Sheriff*  *s  officer.  Among  the  ex- 
penses of  Hengrave  Hall,  in  1572,  is  this  entry — 
•*  Payed  to  Frank  bayley,  for  his  charges  at  Mil- 
denhall  fayer  \d,  and  at  Ipswich  fair  iiijrf." 
Gage's  Heng.  p.  190. 


505 

Barnabee.  Under  this  word,  and  Gcwden-Intg, 
our  common  name  for  the  pretty  little  Lady-bird « 
I  have  expressed  my  ignorance  of  any  probable 
origin  of  the  word.  May  it  not  be  from  Baim-bee  ? 
i.  e.  children*8-bee — it  being  soch  a  favorite  with 
them.  I  am  disappointed  at  not  finding  this  ist 
Jamieson.  This  derivation  is  countenanced  by  a 
soubriquet  of  Saint  Nicholas,  who  from  being  such 
a  favorite  with  boys,  was  called  the  Boy-bishop^ 
and  the  Bame-bishop,  The  Golden  bug,  as  well 
as  Barnabee,  is  called  Bishop-barney,  What  I 
have  before  offered  under  Barnabee — Bishop-bapiey 
— combined  with  this  article,  and  what  may  be 
found  in  Nares  under  Nicholas,  SahU,  will,  I 
think,  confirm  my  conjecture  as  to  the  origin  of 
Barnabee.  I  must,  however,  trespass  a  little 
longer  on  the  patience  of  my  Reader,  while  I  ask 
and  take  leave  to  add  the  medial  verse  of  a  three 
stanza'd  poem  in  the  Morning  Herald  of  Dth  April, 
1823 — evincing  that  the  sentiment  of  the  distich 
quoted  under  my  article  Barnabee^  is  not  alone 
Suffolk^. 

Lady-bird!  Lady^bird! — fly  awty  home!— 
Thy  house  is  a-fire,  thy  children  will  roain — > 
list — list ! — to  their  cry  and  bewailing  :■— 
The  pitiless  spider  is  weaving  their  doom — 
Then  Lady-bird ! — Lady-bird ! — fly  away  home. — 

Barb — or  Bear.  A  chump,  or  piece  of  wood 
of  little  worth,  which  a  labourer  filter  his  day*s 
work,  or  jobs,  connected  with  such  things.  Is 
allowed  to  carry,  or  bear  home.  If  no  such  pieces 
arise  out  of  his  job,  of  hedging,  say — he  is  allowed- 
generally  to  carry  away  a  faggot  or  bavin,  or 
brump,  as  it  is  generally  called.  The  latter  word 
is  however  more  commonly  bestowed  on  a  stolen 
or  stowed  faggot.    See  Brumper— and  Stow. 

Barra-pig.     Under  this  article,  and   others 
therein  mentioned  and  referred  to,  several  names . 
are   given   for  the  youngest  animal  of  a  family. 
Grose  gives  Anthony  Pig^  as  the  Kentiih  designa- 

2  wd 


506 

tion  of  ''  the  favorite^  or  smallest  pig,  of  the  litter 
or  farrow'* — and  Barra  or  Barrowt^  as  the  term  in 
the  Exmoor  dialect,  of  a  cut  pig. 

Beah*s  bar.  The  eavty  red  aurieula — which 
we  abo  call  jprimmify-^Primula.  Beards  ear  is  not 
a  Tery  confined  name  for  the  **  eartiest  rose  of 
spring," 

Beat.  This  word  is  curiously  used  at  Yarmouth, 
and  on  the  Suffolk  side  of  the  Yare — and  perhaps 
sti]l  farther  westward — in  the  sense  of  mend — but 
confined  to  the  mending  of  nets*  A  beaUter^  is 
one  who  mends  nets. 

Bbezlins.  Line  2  firom  bottom — for  in,  read 
into. 

Belated,  Benighted— or  not  extending  quite 
so  far  into  the  evening.  ''  'A  yeow  dont  brush  on 
yow*l  be  belated." 

Bever,  Page  28,  line  2  from  bottom— for  spe- 
cious, read  species. 

BiLEN.  The  whole  of  any  thing — or  party,  or 
family — as  explained  under  Toot. 

Blood  Alley.    A  select  marble.    See  Taw. 

Bloodfallen.    The  chilblains. 

Bone-cart.  Rather  a  curious  verb — it  means 
to  carry  on  the  shoulder,  articles  more  fitted  from 
their  weight  to  be  moved  in  a  cart.  "  I  coudn't 
av  a  horse — so  I  was  fohst — (forced) — to  btme-eart 
cm." 

Botty.  Proud.  I  find  nothing  farther  in  my 
notes  on  this  word — which  I  do  not  recollect  ever 
to  have  heard ;  nor  whence  I  had  it. 

Bump.    Page  64,  line  6 — for  case,  read  cases. 

Byer.  Rb^^ming  to^re — a  bier.  See  Pillow- 
beer. 


507 

Cahm-— or  Calm. — ^The  scum,  or  gathering,  on 
the  surface  of  ifnegar  or  made  wmea.— It  is  then 
said  to  be  cammy*  See  KALMY-*-and  Mother. 

Clout-hiddid.  Equivalent  to  dunt-hidded. 
See  DuNT.    Dull,  stupid.   '<  A  clont-biddid  chap." 

Come.  To  this  article  I  might  have  added  that 

the  word  is  used  by  Ben.  Johnson  in  the  same 

sense.     I  take  the  passage  from  Nares'   article 
Puck'-' 

These  were  wont  to  be 

Your  mala  achievements,  Pug ;  jovl  hare  some  plot  now 
Upon  a  tonning  of  ale,  to  stale  the  y^at ; 
Or  keep  the  churn  so,  that  the  batter  come  not 
'Spite  o'  the  housewife's  cord,  or  her  hot  spit. 

Devil  is  an  Ass,  i.  1. 

Crease.  A  mark  left  from  the  doubling  of 
paper  or  linen — also  a  split,  in  a  board,  &c.  A 
Ruck — which  sec — is  different — it  implies  a  tiiing, 
in  cloth  or  clothes,  or  sheets,  from  having  been 
doubled,  or  spread,  incautiously. 

Cricket.  A  child's,  or  other,  two-legged 
stool,  of  an  oblong  form ;  having  its  legs  or  ^et 
as  wide  or  nearly,  as  the  narrow  side  or  end  of  its 
seat  or  top.  I  do  not  find  any  other  description 
of  stool  called  by  this  unaccountable  name. 

Crotchet.  Cross — crooked,  perhaps,  but  some- 
what figuratively.  *'  Things  go  kienda  crt>tchet 
with  us  at  this  time." 

Cup.  An  abbreviation,  perhaps,  of  come  up — 
or  come.  "  Cup-baw — mind  what  ycowr  about'' — 
"  Cup — cup — lets  'a  none  'a  yar  jaw."  See  Saaz. 

D. 

Dahnet — Danget.  Varieties  of  moderated 
imprecations,  of  which  we  have  a  great  variety,  some 
of  which  are  noticed  under  the  articles  Amenden, 
Dahnashun,  Piezen,  and  others  thence  referred  to* 

Dash.  One  of  our  mitigated  imprecations — 
'*  dash  it"— <<  111  be  dasht  if  1  dew."  It  is  also  a 
blow  or  slap. 


508 

Dewel.  I  have  omitted  this  word  in  its  place 
-—though  it  has  been  long  knowmuto  me^  as  a  post 
set  into  the  ground  to  mark  the  division  or  boun- 
dary of  lands.  Under  the  articles  Bauk — Meer — 
Siank — and  Stulp,  something  of  this  Occurs.  I  do 
not  recollect  having  heard  dewel,  elsewhere — or  to 
have  seen  the  word.  May  it  be  dual,  as  apper- 
taining to  two  ?  It  is  used  either  by  itself,  or  in 
combination ;  dewel-post, 

I  have  lately  learned  that  dooles  or  doles,  mean 
in  Norfolk,  dividing  posts.  Our  dewel  is  therefore, 
only  our  Suffolk  substitution  of  the  u  for  oo  as 
noticed  under  Butes,  In  *a  History  of  Yarmouth 
a  contract  is  given  for  the  due  setting  out  land  by 
doles  or  dooles.  The  sense  is  sufficiently  obvious-^ 
to  portion — to  allot— to  divide — to  dole  out — shares, 
or  portions,  or  allotments.  In  Yarmouth  the  word 
dole  in  this  sense  is  retained  rather  curiously  in 
apportioning  the  proceeds  of  its  fishery,  which  are 
thrown  into  a  common  fund  and  divided  according^ 
to  ancient  usage  among  the  adventurers. 

Di  D  ALL.  In  the  note  to  verse  19  of  the  quotation 
from  Tusser,  given  under  Goof,  I  have  remarked 
that  I  know  nothing  of  such  an  article.  I  have 
made  frequent  enquiry,  but  cannot  find  any  such 
thing  as  a  Didall,  used  or  known — in  Suffolk.  But 
I  recently  learned  that  at  Yarmouth,  and  perhaps 
generally  in  Norfolk,  a  Dydle  is  in  use  and  well 
known.  It  is  a  cromed  draining  tool;  and  is  most 
likely  known  also  on  the  eastern  borders,  of  Suffolk.^ 
"  Dydleing:  mash  ditches  " — is  a  process  in  cleaning 
or  JOT  faying  them.  See  Fay.  And  a  Dydleing 
machine,  is  also  used  for  cleaning  rivers. 

In  Marshall's  R.  E.  of  Norf.  is  "  Dydle,^  a  kmd 
of  mud-drag."  And  in  Grose  "  JDidal,  a  triangular 
spade,  as  sharp  as  a  knife;  called  also  a  dag-prick, 
in  Norfolk  and  Essex." 

Dogged  —  Doggedly,  Very  —  excessive  — 
<*  dogged  hot"  —  "doggedly  cold."     Amplifying 


509 

terms,  of  which  we  have  many;  as  noticed  under 
Mort^  Sight,  Sawi,  and  others  thence  referred  to. 

DusSENT.  Dare  not — durst  not.  Two  boys  of 
nearly  equal  calibre,  half— or  less — inclined  to  box, 
would  be  egg'd  'on  by  a  more  eager  compeer,  with 
such  a  phrase  as  this — (insiduously  aside  in  a  low 
▼oice,  but  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  the  consider- 
ing, incipient,  combatants) — **  tone  is  afeard  and 
tother  duss'ut.'^  I  write  this  at  a  time-*-(early  in 
April,  1823) — so  critical  as  to  pugnacity  or  peace^ 
with^  France  and  Spain,  that — not  to  speak  it  pro- 
fanely— I  am  irresistably  reminded  of  a  somewhat 
similar  feeling  apparent  between  nations  and  boys 
and  their  respective  ^rieitd^.  If  certain  words  here 
used  be  not  altogether  intelligible,  see  Toon — ^ante^ 
and  Egg'd — ^infra. 

E. 

ft 

Eatenest.  I  have — under  several  articles — 
noticed  some  of  our  rather  curious  superlatives.  But 
since  all  were  written  1  fteard  one,  I  think,  surpass- 
ing. Walking  over  a  ploughed  iield  with  a  rustle, 
and  noticing  some  spear-grcus,  he  said^ — '<  it  is  the 
eatenest  thing  that  grow'' — that  is,  the  most  exhaust>> 
ing,  or  devouring  of  the  soil — or  the  pabulum  of 
plants.    See  DociLisisT— Lastenest-— LsssEST 

WORSEST. 

Eddish.  In ,  Hampshire,  according  ta  Grose, 
Aish  is  a  stubble.  Bailey  gives  Eddish  as  a  Saxon 
word,  and  explains  it  '*  the  latter  pasture  or  grass 
which  comes  after  mowing  or  reaping.''  See  Eddisr. 

Egg'd.  Incited — persuaded — generally  used  in 
a  baddish  sense.  See  Dussent,  above, — Reluctant 
boys  are  egg'd  on,  to  fight ;.  or  to  other  unsuitable 
acts  by  their  superiors  in  such  matters. 

Fast.  In  use — not  to  be  had.  ''  Retch  me  the 
gotch."—" 'Tis  fast  — you  can't  het."  See  Sbt- 
fast. 


516 

Fleckerd.  Our  sense  of  this  word  is  probably 
derived  from  the  German  ^cA«  a  spot. 

Fogs.  **  So  many  fogs  in  March — so  many  frosts 
in  May.''  A  prevailing  belief  in  Suffolk — and, 
without  binding  us  to  precision,  the  adage  may  be 
grounded  in  shrewd  observance. 

Froslin.  Any  thing  —  a  lamb,  a  goslio^  a 
chicken,  an  apple,  &c.  nipped,  or  pinched,  or  ia- 
jnred  by  frost.  Nares  quotes  a  passage  from  Skel- 
ton's  Elinor  Rumming,  '*  where  the  word  wretheock 
appears  applied  to  miserable  starved  goslings  '* — and 
yvhere  Jroslings  also  appear  in  the  like  sense-— 

Another  brought  two  goslings 
That  were  nought j  JrotHngu 

Probably,  Nares  notes,  checked  and  stunted  bj  frost. 

Frosts.  Of  May-frosts  commensurate  with 
March  fogs,  see  under  Fogs. 

G. 

Gally^trot.  Under  thb  article  I  have  noted 
a  fearful  apparition  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wood- 
bridge.  I  have  not  seen  or  heard  of  it  since — but 
in  Grose  I  find  several  words  beginning  like  this,  and 
denoting  something  frightful.  The  initial  sound  may 
have  a  daemoniac  origin,  although  I  know  not  where 
to  seek  it.  *'  Gallibagger — a  bugbear.  Gallied — 
frightened.  Galliment,  a  great  fright.  Exmoor 
dialect."— Pr.  GL 

It  might  be  deemed  too  pedantic  to  imagine  that 
the  Phrygian's  frights  of  Grecian  and  Roman  my- 
thology—  and  indeed,  of  history — the  mutilated 
priests  of  Cybele,  called  Galli,  could  have  had  any 
hand  in  furnisbiog  us  with  this  name. 

Gibbet.  A  violent  descent  or  fall — **  a'l  come 
down  with  a  rare  gibbet."  1  his  phrase  reminded 
me  of  a  barbarous  act — I  trust  not  custom — of 
earlier  days — not,  let  us  hope,  of  the  present — of  lay- 
ing a  frog,  or  bird,  or  mouse,  &c  equipoized  on  a 


511 

piece  of  wood  across  a  gate,  and  striking  one  end 
violently.  The  animal  is  projected  high  into  the  air, 
and  probably  suffers  but  little  in  the  fall.  This  was 
called  ''gibbet ten  'em." 

GooM.  In  a  blacksmith's  bill  just  brought  to 
me  is  this  item.  "  A  saw  goom'd — 6d."  On  en- 
quiry he  said  that  "  the  goom  had  riz^  and  ta  wanted 
goomin.**  Farther  enquiry  led  me  to  understand 
that  it  is  usual,  before  a  new  cross-cut  saw  be  used, 
to  break  off  some  of  its  teeth  about  half  way,  or 
more,  of  their  length.  It  cuts  the  better.  The 
portion  so  bluuted  is  called  the  goom.  When  the 
teeth  are  so  worn  down  by  use,  as  to  be  almost  as 
low  as  those  broken  o£P,  the  saw  requires  gooming. 
This  is  done  with  a  file ;  and  a  villainous  operation 
it  is  to  be  near, 

Grizen.  Under  the  article  Sperket^  I  have 
noticed  that  I  never  heard  or  met  with  this  word 
except  in  Grose — who  has  "  Grizzen — the  stairs. — 
Suffolk."  I  have  since  found  it  in  Marshall's  R.  £• 
of  Norfolk — "Griiion — the  stairs  or  staircase." 

H 

Hacken.  Commonly  used  in  this  phrase — **  a 
hacken  cough*' — that  is  which  cuts  or  tears  one  to 
pieces,  as  it  were— AacA  being  in  extensive  use  in 
the  sense  of  cut,  or  mangle* 

Halla.  Halloo—"  Halla !  boys  halla !"— So 
— "  haUaren  a*  larges.''     See  Larges. 

Heap.  I  have  omitted  this  word  in  its  place, 
where  it  ought  to  have  becix  given  in  the  sense  of 
n.ang,  much.  "  What  a  heap  a'  bullocks !"  Mort 
— sight — and  sort,  are  as>^ikely  to  be  used.  See 
under  those  words. 

Hoo-E.  A  pig-propelling  imperative.  See  ante 
Sus-Sus — and  Woo:  and,  mfra,  Od-rottlb. 

HowsTRU  ?  How  true  is  it? — or  how  is  it 
true? — a  common  interrogation  to  the  fact  of  a 


612 

doubtful  relatioii.  The  ready  and  expected  answer 
orpledgeis  ^'Stru'sGodfiinHivvn,"  See  HivviN 
*-^nd  'STRlfs. 

Hulk.  I  know  not  how  confined  orextensiye 
the  application  of  this  verb  may  be  to  the  opemtion 
of  taking  the  innards  o«t  of  a  ha^e  or  n^it— 
but  I  find  the  word  in  Nare^,  under  his  article 

POULTER— 

I  coald  hulk  your  graccy  and  band  yon  up  cross^legM 
like  a  hare  at  a  poulter's.    B.  diid  Fl.  PhitatUu  t.  1. 

He  gives  no  illustration  of  the  word  under  HuLK 
— not  perhaps,  thinking  it  an  unusual  one.  I  ^od 
it  in  Bailey — *'  To  kuUc ;  to  take  out  (iie  garbage 
of  a  hare  or  coney.*'  I  know  not  where  else  to 
4ind  it;  and  I  never  heard  it  out  of  Suffolk. 

Hurdle.  As  a  W.  country  word,  Grose  ha^ 
**  Harle — to  cut  and  insiauate  one  hind  leg  of 
a  rabbit  into  the  other,  for  the  purpose  of  oarrying 
it  on  a  stick."  The  same,  probably,  ^as  our  Stnrdk 
—which  see. 

I. 

Innards.  Entrails-^  inwards.  So  in  Shake- 
speare— 

logo,    I  do  suspect  the  lusty  Ttfoor 
Hath  leapt  into  my  seat:  the  thought  whereof 
Doth,  like  a  poisViotis  mineral,  gnavr  my  inwards* 

OtktUo.  u.  f. 

J. 

Jackson.  A  silly,  stupid,  fellow — equivalent 
to  Jackass,  perhaps— but  intended  as  a  less  ofien* 
sive  allusion. 

K. 

• 

Ka-ha-hoo.  The  vociferation  of  a  crow-keeper ^ 
as  we  call  a  child  employed  to  scare  away  de])re- 
dators  from  com  recently  sown,  or  grain  or  seeds 
nearly  ripe.  I  was  reminded  of  fhis  by  the  follow- 
ing article  in  Narcs — which  may  be  t>f  a  sitnilar 
matter— 


5^13 

Wahahow,    R.  C.  a  writer  ia  Camden*s  Remains  (S\r  Robert 
Cotton)  stays' t\uit^e  n%e  wMh&ide,  in  h^llobing,  as  ah  inter- 
jection.   Rem.  p.  33.    I  have  been  cnrioas  to-find  an  exaAiple  ' 
of  it,  bat  have  not  succeeded.  .  ^ 

KiDDira.  In  page  194,  last  line— fbr  ViNNidK, ' 
(hi  soitie  eopiesj  read  Whi^kigk. 

LjiscffiST*  Least  Sdm^mes  ^Mmeiff-^ftiiM-r' 
l699e$t-Hule-r-9and  liitieit.  Se^  £  ati^  fesr,  in  this 
Appendix,  and  the:  articles  tb^^ce^rdferred  to. 

«  a- 

o: 

Od  ROTTi^E^-Mtght  have  been  added  to  odrot 
-^rAt — drot — &e.  See  Drat.  The  following 
geQifiae  spdech  was  hand^  to  me  by  a  neigUbotrr-^ ' 
**.  Hooat — I  sah  maW — if  that  thefe  old  seow  hemt 
eetall  them  tahniips-^<>d  rot  tie  ar — Hooe!  Hooal  i 
— yeow  warment  yeow  !"  For  other  swinic  phra* 
se6logy  se^  S*us-Sbs. 

Other  some.    See  Other  where. 

Other  whtere..  In'  sofme  other  plat^.  '*  He 
eenft  th^re— he's  othtir  wbcte*— or'  "sotoc  othtr 
whet-fei*'    Thus  Shakesp^feirte — 

HoSv  if  your  husband  start 

Some  other  vohertt    Com,  tfE.  H,  1. 

•  •  I* 

We  have  also  **  other  some'' — in  this  sense,  of 
some  other — 

•  .       .     Ho*  happy,  sdine  6'^r other  sbme 

Can  be.     Uid,  N.  D.  i,  1. 

Own.  In  the  sertseof  to  adtnowl«!ge--4o  re*' 
cognize,  r  was  told' that  a  line  Ih^  the  beaiftiM' 
episode  of  the  faithfhl  Argiis  in  the  OdySi^ey,  ruiit  • 
thus — 

The  faithful  creature  HoH*d  his  lord  and  di^.- 

But  it  is  not  Po];]te's  line.    We  should  say  iff  a  i 
dog  recognizing  his  master  after  aA'absence^-i-''  the 
poor  dumb  cratuire  ownM  ^m  atqpce."   * 

2  X 


514 

PooNCH.  Ill  addttioii  to  tlie  senses  of  this 
imif4,  given  m  its  plaoe,  I  might  have  noted  tbut 
it  is  descriptire  of  not  only  oar  celebrated  raee  of 
cart  lioraest  lint  also  of  onr — possibly  less  cele- 
brated—race of  m^i  and  women.  We  are  botli«-for 
rather  all  three — said  by  foreigners  to  be  nonUed 
on  rather  a  small  scale — and  Punchy  is  the  term 
bjr  which  they  hnte  seen  fit  to  designalje  o«fr  alM^d 
dmmmttve  stature.  This  wepronoonee  »  ournMtel 
way.  PoSMfty.— «<  A  Suffolk  PooDch**---or  «' A  im6 
Suffolk  meeowld** — are  phrases  well  undersHood  by 
us.  Our  hofses  are,  however^  no  l<mger  small  and 
compact,  whstever  our 'men  nnd  wommrare. — A 
team  of  our  true  original,  or  Norman,  stock  of 
pundiy  horses  is  now  rarely  seen — and  I  doubt  if, 
in  Ipsing  their  distinguishing  character,  they  knve 
gained  -any  diing  adequate  m  exchange.       - 


PuBDEH  POKE.  This  pretty  Inrd  ui  t&e  iLcmj^r 
tailed  Titmouse — Parui  eaudatm.  It  is  reckpfied 
the  smallest  of  Brilish  birds,  except  the  Ooldeti- 
crested  Wren.  It  has  Tarious  names  in  different 
counties— *  among  them  Feather>poke*--Mumruffin 
— Huck-muck — Bottle  Tom — besides  Long^tailed 
M^,  and  seireral  others  derived,  like  the  French 
jLkliteMnge  i  Umgue  ^pteue,  from  its  most  striking 
iiptiendage.     ' 

Rellt.  a  sieve,  with  very  large  intersticm*^ 
or  made  of  wood — for  rellying  carrots,  &c  through, 
to  clean  them  for  horses,  &c.  I  beUeve  it  is  nearly 
the.  same  as  Riddle,  which  see.  **  To  riddle: 
Saxon  hHddel — to  sift  in  a  sieve."  Baiky. 

Bip.  I  might  have  added  to  this  article,  the 
following  illustration,  firom  that  justly  iidlkiu^ed 
iMiuery  classic  The  Pemcaek  «l  hom^^       '  '&-  ' 

Th6  turkey,  poor  9011I,  wts  confin'd  to  the  R^  ;    '* 
For  all  her  yisqikfMri  bad  just  ftllM  wilhtkrfap.  > 


515 

A  machine,  «  note  iafinrnt  a%  «sed  in  poultry  yvds,  wMter 
wkich  it  it  QsinU  to  coailae  the  mother  biid»  till  the  yoong  biood 
]i«»s  jMH^ttired  strength  to  foUovr  her.  The  wonJ,  it  it  kamedlj 
•4<lccl9  is  derived  fron  the  Saxon  kript  a  coveriog — a  (»roteotioa. 

Rift.  '*  A  dift,  chink,  or  crack.  To  rt/%— 
Saxon — to  split,  to  cleave.'*  Baiiey*  Tliis  tthtn 
to  my  atticles  CHft-^Rifi-^BXid  Rw. 

■  Riz:  Farther  authority  might  hata  baen  qa«te«l 
for  the  use  of  this  wi»ti,  or  ru^  ia  the  sense  of 
rtten,  or  roie— from  Cowley — ^who  did  not  mcaa 
bombast — 

He  tpoke«*an<l  •▼ey?  thing  that  ii, 
IVoai  oat  the  vo»h  of  fertile  Nething  rti. 

Sbard.  a  learned  firiend  Imm  suggestetf—wilft 
great  plausibilil^^at  Sbahespeare;  not  eadi^  la 
bt^.yejry  correct  in  what  the  beetle  was  home  by, 
}%eiiea  its  supposed  wings  to  a  piece  of  brokjeo 
pottery ;  to  which  th^  cates,  or  sheath,  or  shield^ 
or  shell,  of  a  beetle's  wings  are  sufficiently  similar. 
1q  happy  opposition  to  the  '^  full  winged  eagle,'* 
)ie  ijegradingly  adverts  to  the  **  shardecTbeette/* — 
I  am  not  aware  that  the  wings,  or  the  wing  caaea^ 
of  any  volant  animal  are  any  where  directly  eaDcid 
Ehard — nor  is  it  necessary  for  Shakespeare's  danyig 
similitudes  that  they  should  be.  It  may  not  be 
worth  noting  that  a  case  or  aheath^  we  call  Am^ 
which  see,  and  Shard. 

,  Sbirl.    Shrill.    '' Sitch  a  ahirl  voice;*' 

Shrikb.    For  JCoBtf,  read  Xaaitft.    It  is  pro 
bable  that  our  Shrike  is  not  the  £.  excMtor* 

;  ^l^aiT.  .  This  word  has  been,  perhaps^  sufici- 
«Dtly  discussed  in  its  place.  In  the  concluipng 
paragraph».  I  somewhat  exulted  in  a  happy  etymo- 
logy, as^auggestedby  a  learned  firiend*  I  afterwards, 

2x2 


510 

however,  thought  it  as  well  to  confirm  myself  in 
this  apparently  obvious  deriydtioh44}ut '  oip '  cqn- 
sulting  some  Latin  Liturgies  I  was  di^appointqii  ui 
not  finding  the  word  wanted — Sciveni-^vrhich^'hf 
the  way,  is,  in  some  copies,  mispripted  Sciveret.) 
Si  quis,  is  common  enough  in  a  scoie  of  instahcei. 
IVhere  I  expected  to  find  si  quia  Sidverit,  ok  si 
Sciverit,  &c.  I  found  Si  cut  vesir&m  tnitolefcai 
causa,  &c.  In  my  dilemmii  -I  troubled  my  kind 
informs^nt  with  some  queries  on  tliis  matter — ^nd 
he  favoured  me^with  a  c^nipoimic^tion  of  some 
length,  and  much  interest,  tiiereon-^fron^  wt^gj^^ 
though  without  leave,  I  make  the.  following  ex- 
tract— 

I  must  freely  own  that  I  cannot  refer  you  to  any  ritual  for  my 
authority  for  Si  sciverit  aliquit^    I  thought  this  derivation .  of 
Siberwli  to  natural  that  I  have  been  ever  ready  to  entertain  it — 
but  since,  jou  have  set  me*  to  thlnkipf  mote  tpbedy  ahoQt.It*  I 
am  almost  diiposod  to  give  it  up »  fuad  ^t^  ifvptk  the  Ide^  |k|t 
we  ought  to  go  to  the  Saxon  tongue  rather  than  to  %.c  Latiii  for 
the  derivation  of  our  vulgarisms.      You  are  aw4re.  Uttt  Sir 
Thomas  Browne  left  this  word — Sibrit — upon  record  for  posterity 
to  thii^e  Qut  (among  some  others} ;  and  that  the.  great  Dr. 
George  Ilickes,  in  his  Grammatico  Critical  and  Archaaological 
Dictionary  of   the  anoint  northern  laiigaages,  pnblitfacd  at 
Oxford  In  1706,  in  9  vols,  folio — a  work  which  would  be  cheap^ 
bought  now  at  twenty  guineas — makes  it  a  compound  of  5t6  and 
kyrlitt — *  Sib,  or  ^ibit,    8£«ith  he,  <  meant  relation,  affinity,  or 
Alliance,  and  bifrht,  U  manifest  j  so  that  the  two  wordsy  con- 
jointly, make  up  the  Idea  of  a  manifest  alUaDCCj  or  relationafasj^* 
This  1  cannot  understand.     The  learned  J[ohn  IjSay  In  his  Preface 
to  ^  A  Collection  cf  hard  words  not  generally  used,'  has  noticed 
tiMSC  vJuch  Dr.  Hickes  has  set  forth  aa  peculiar  to  .the  Eii^- 
Angle-Counties,  and  not  of  general  use;  and  he  t^iqks  ti|e 
word  in  question  is  detived  from  Sibf  with  Dr.  II*  but  he  would 
tack  to  it  the  word  ritus;  evidently  from  being  unable  to.make 
any  sense  of"Dr.  Ilickes*  derivation.     But  how  absurd   this  is, 
I  need  not  point  cut  j  seeing  that  It  Is  thus  made  a  catqapouiid  of 
two  words — one  from  the  Saxon,  the  other  from  the  Latin. 

As  I  fear  I  must  give  up  my  favourite  derivation,  I  will  now 
give  you  my  conjecture  on  the  word,  as  derived  fro^  the  Siacn. 
—It  must  come  from  iAbbet  as  our  old  friend  Bailey  tetU  us ; 
who  notes  it  especially  as  a  Suffolk  word  j  and  spells  Itiih^eted^ 
or  sibberedge.  >i'ow,  siblte,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  be  taken  hefc 
in  the  sense  of  atlinncti  not  ajjimlifi  or  actual  rcUtiouship>  iu 


5ir 

tile  nme  way  that  i^ftif  meant  an  alUaacc  in  God— Om^»  and 
fjflie— because  at  the  baptisai  of  ^hild  there  U  an  alliance 
formed  by  the  tpiritnal  £itner  and  mother }  that  is,  by  the  god« 
fiither  and  godmotiier)  as  there  before  vras  between  me  natnral 
Isther  and  mother.  Suppose*  then,  iibbe  to  be  translated  into 
the  word  alliance,  we  have  only  to  add  to  it  the  Saxon  word 

*  riht,  which  my  Saxon  vocabulary  tells  me  means JiMftif» 
reefvs;  and  is  our  English  rigki,  and  we  have  for  tlie  compo«Ad^ 
m  jntt  and  lawful  aUiance,  A  Siibritf  then,  means  the  holding 
forth  the  names  of  two  persons*  as  wnether  proper  or  not*  t» 
enter  into  a  just  and  lawful  alliance.  .  What  think  you  of  this  f — • 

—  The  tantamount  word— or  words — now  in  use* 
are  '  banns  of  matrimony* — that  is  to  sa}>  *  a  proclamation*-'— 
(thrice  made) — <of»  or  concerning,  just  and  lawful  matrimony.* 
Here*  it  is  observable,  that  the  compilers  of  our  liturgy  did  not 
linow  the  meaning  of  the  Saxon  word  ban,  when  they  made  the 
Sibbtrit  to  run  in  the  form  of  <  I  publish  tlie  banns  of  **• -lee. 
It  should  fHther  be  *l  publish  the  (intended)  matrimony — the 
just  and  lawful  alliance— the  $i66eriV- between  such  ami  Sttcfi 
persons — If*  8cq. — It  is  not  strictly  correct  to  speak  of  the 

*  banns  being  asked*— though  the  Kubrick  sanctions  the  ex- 
pression— for  bam  means  proclamation. 

Thus  far  is  the  informatioiiy  and  ingenious  specu- 
lations, of  my  learned  and  esteemed  friend — to 
which  I  can  add  nothing.  I  may  be  allowed  to 
Bote  that  1  do  not  think  this  puzzling  word  has  ever 
before  been  so  satisfactorily  traced.  In  reference 
to  a  former  ''  favourite  derivation,"  1  may  be 
forther  allowed  to  observe  that  although  the  word 
Soiverit  does  not  occur  in  any  of  the  Latin  Liturgies 
or  Rituals  which  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  ex- 
amining, it  may  yet  have  been  used  in  publishing 
the  Sibrit;  for  in  fact  such  publication  was  not» 
and  is  not  now  in  Roman  Catholic  churches,  a 
matter  of  Ordinance — given  in  a  form  not  to  be  de- 
viated from.  It  was,  in  ourearlv  churches,  left,  like 
other  more  important  portions  of  the  service,  to 
%he  extemporaneous  effusion  of  the  pastor.  And 
I  do  not  yet  despair  of  finding,  in  some  missal  or 
book  io  Roman  Catholic  chapeb,  the  very  words 
in  question — 8i  ^is  sciverit, 

*  Where  this  Appendix  is  printed,  there  is  no  Saxon  foii(i    . 

2x3 


618 

f  must  cpnfess  that  I  ougltt  ia  &el  9fmm  -*-  lOoai- 
puuciious-  visutings/'  if^  after  having  i^ahea  mj 
kind  friend's  eontidence  in  a  <'  fttvonrite  d^emation," 
I  again  weaken  his  fair  and  rea^n^ble  jceliancie  on 
another.  But — even  be  it  so — he  will  take  it  a»  it  is 
lueaat— our  common  pucMiit. being  the  Truth-;  an 
olHect  always  worth  seeking,  albeit  the  inunediate 
subject  be  apparently  unimportant. 

But-^the  term  under  discussion  has  puzzled  so 
many  learned  and  ingenious  men,  that  a  satis- 
factory explanation  of  it,  is  not  altogether  inglo- 
rious. For  myself,  I  dare  not  claim  even  the 
attempt — my  only  boast  is  that  my  ignorance  may 
haply  serve  as  a  forge  on  which  to  sharpen  the 
edge  of  successful  enquiry  in  others. 

Skewbald.  I  lately  heard  a  neighbour  call  his 
bleed  of  red  and  white  horses  Sktwbdld:  and  he 
seemed  to  think  that  he  should  not  so  call  them 
were  they  black  and  white.  And  I  have  been' as- 
sured by  an  observant  neighbour  that  the  above  dis- 
tinction is  correct.  Fleckered,  is  more  applicable  to 
a  variegation  in  smaller  spots  than  the  larger,  defined 
patches  in  pied  or  skewbald  horses — rather  of  a 
flea-bitten  description,  from  the  German ^ecAe,  a 
spot.  In  Cheshire  we  find  *'  Skew,  or  Skewbaldy  a 
pie- bald  horse."  W.  On  this  matter  I  have  suffici- 
ently dilated  in  the  articles  Flecker  d — Gah  — 
Pied — Shell — and  others  theuce  referred  to. 

Skuty.  I  have  recently  heard  this  word  in  the 
sense  of  small ;  used  in  this  phrase — '^  What  a  little 
skuty  fellow" — which  on  enquiry  was  explained  to 
mean  what  elsewhere  would  be  called  a  dandy — 
confined,  however,  as  was  particularly  noticed,  to 
a  dandy  on  a  small  scale ;  for  that  the  term  could 
not  be  applied  to  a  grenadier.  Our  shity  is 
eviciently  from  **  Skute  {Schuyte — Dutch) — a  small 
boat."    Bailey,    See   something   of  Skute,  under 

BR0GU£S. 


519 

In  a  sense  given'  in  the  driguKkl  article^  iartfuur 
ea^uify  has  led  we  to  the  knowledge  that?  ifihiQii  m 
a  distiaetuMv  of  an  irregularly  akapod  field'/  Ose 
with  its  ifenees  or  sides  lunning  in  angles  would  las 
so  called  :  and  without  reference  to  size.  A  tai^ 
acre  field  so  shaped  is  called  ''  the  Skuty  closa.'' 

Some  other  where.  See  Other  whbre^^ 

,Sfinx.  I  have  met  with  the  name  SisloMp  as 
one  still  current  for  the  F.  Spinus — in  the  Penc&s^ 

They  ne^er  wltoeisM  such  fTisking<~« 
-  And  how  wrcing-in  the  Green-finch  to  flirt  with  the  5u^., 

Sometimes)  it  is  added  in  a  note  called  the  Barley  bird* 

As  noticed  under'tbci  latter  name,  we  caA  the 
Nightingale  the  B«rkyrtnr4 — but  it  is,  I  belfeve, 
applied  varjiousJiy» .  even  in  our  iCoiinly .  '*  SisiitL; 
.the  hii^d  called  a  gxtem^iatch-^Spinx ;:  a.  chaii]B|di, 
a  bi^d."  Bwiey. 

Spur&hers.   'Line  2— for  gofers,  read  yofen.  • 

Swill.  An  open-topped,  double,  coarse,  wicl(jr 
basket,  much  used  in  Yarmouth  and  its  neighbo^r- 
hood  for  conveying  chips — and  I  suppose  other 
bulky  things.  It  differs  from  Ped — Kid — DosserV 
Rip — Skep — and  all  the  variety  of  baskets,  dfes- 
cribed  under  Ummsc  artieks,  and  others  th^ce 
referred  to, 

T.  * 

Ta.  Norfolk  and  SuflToIk,  from  their  contiguity^ 
and  the  similarity  of  condition  as  to  duration 
under  the  Heptarchy,  have  many  archaic  localisms 
in  common.  I  am  glad  to  hear  th^t  a  CoUeotioiA  of 
Norfolcisms,  is  in  progress,  in  Norfolk  I  laicfy 
heard  Ta  ha  bin,  in  our  Suffolk  sense — it  has  beem* 
Noticing  this  afterwards  in  company,  the  following 
little  anecdote  was  given  in  illustration— It  is^ 
perhaps,  fanciful.  Rural  Mayors  have  long,  in- 
cbnsiderately,  been  deemed  fair  game. — ^The  Cor*- 
poration  of  Norwich  had  occasion  to  carry  up  ai 


5iiO 

Address  to  oorlate  King.  The  f;ood  Monarch, 
with  his  usual  affability,  observed  to  Mr.  Mayor, 
that  Norwich  was  a  very  ancient  ciiy — to  which 
his  Worship  replied — "  please  your  Miyesty  ta  km 

Mil. 

Taters.  Page  428,  last  line  —  for  r^c,  read 
recol. 

Tees.  Iron  holdfasts  in  the  shape  of  tbeti^ 
of  the  letter  T,  pendant  on  short  chains  from  the 
seels  of  a  horse  s  collar,  or  from  the  thiltbttts. 
Tliey  are  thrust,  one  end  first,  throuf^  staplea  on 
the  shafts. 

Throshel.    The  threshold. 

TiDDUN.  A  word  often  combbed  with  tgp; 
and  rarely,  if  ever,  heard  without  it  **  Tldwoi 
top" — means  the  very  highest  twig  of  a  tree— er 
the  pinnacle  of  a  spire— of  which,  however,  as  aa 
Ecclesiastical  decoration,  our  County  is  lamentably 
deficient.  Tip-top,  as  in  other  Counties,  may  mean 
aearly  the  same  thing — but  ttddlin-top^  marks  the 
▼ery  extreme.  *'  Lawk !  kinnda !  dew  look  at  that 
there  bahd — 'kthere — on  the  iiddlin'top,  a'  that 
tree."  (Gewuine.) 

TiLTER.  At  the  moment,  almost,  in  which  I 
vnrite  this,  I  heard  this  woid  thus  used — *'  The 
grinstun  is  out  a*  tilter ' — which  was  explained  to 
mean  out  of  order  :  and  that  it  would  be  applied 
alike  to  any  implement  or  thing  in  a  similar  state* 
See  Kilter— and  TiLTER. 

Tbicret.  As  well  as  a  game  at  cards,  this  is 
also  a  name  of  a  species  of  humble  cricket,  des- 
cribed under  Bandy-wicket 

Twall.  a  twirl — a  whim.  The  word  occurred 
lately  in  a  speech  of  a  farmer  of  the  old  school, 
referring  to  one  disposed  to  experiment  and  im- 
provement— **  Ah — 'tis  one  a*  his  twalls." 


525 

JIf/rr.  Mag.    f  Mirror  for  Magistrates.  1610. 

Mares  Ant.    f  More*s  Antidote  against  Atheism. 

JV.  North— prefixed  to  *'  Country  Words" — or 
S.  or  £.  or  W.  denote  these  designations  by 
Ray  in  hb  "  EngUsh  Words."  See  E.  W.  above. 

Nares.    "Nares*  Classical  Glossary,  4to.  1822. 

O.  D.  A.  Old  Dictionary,  Anonymous  (by  J.  K.) 
8th  edition,  in  12  volumes. 

O.  PL  t  Old  Plays— Dodley's  Collection.  Reed's 
edition,  in  12  volumes,. 

Pereu  ReL  *  Bishop  Percy's  Relics  of  Ancient 
British  Poetry.  1794. 

Polyoib.    t  Drayton's  Polyolbion. 

Pr.  Gl.    Grose's  Provincial  Glossary,  8vo. 

Ray.  Collection  of  English  Proverbs— 4th  edition^ 
8vo.  1768. 

S.    South-country  Words.    See  N.  above. 

SkaJkgpeare.  An  edition  in  14  volumes  12mo.  by 
Manley  Wood — generally. 

Stowe's  Lon^.    f  Stowe's  Survey  of  London.  1599. 

T.  J.    *  Todd's  edition  of  Dr.  Johnson's  Dictionary. 

Tusser.    Dr.  Mavor's  edition,  8vo; 

W.  After  Cheshire  or  Lancashire  Words  or  Illus- 
trations, refers  to  a  Glossary  of  Cheshire 
Words  in  vol.  XIX.  of  Archaeologia,  by  Roger 
Wilbraham,  Esq. 

W.  Prefixed  to  "  Country" — denotes  West-coun- 
try Words.    See  N.  above. 

Other  works  occasionally  quoted,  are  referred 
to  with  sufficient  precision. 

2y 


J.  Loder,  Printer,  Woodbridge. 


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PBINTEO    FOR   H.  HUNTEB,    72,    ST,    PAUL's 

CHUBOH-YABD. 


I.  A  NARRATIVE  of  the  OPERATIONS  of  CAP- 
I'AIN  LITTLE'S  Detachment,  and  of  the  Mahratta  Army 
rommanded  by  PARASU  RAM  BHOW,  during  the  Confo- 
deracy  of  l79!S!-3,  against  TIPPOO  SULTAN.  Inclading 
occasional  Remarks  on  the  Manners  and  Country  of  the 
Mahrattas  and  others.  By  EDWARD  MOOR,  LiewUmni 
on  the  Bombay  Establishment.  Qtior^o— Map  and  Plates^ 
1/.  lis.  6d. 

II.  A  COMPILATION  of  all  the  GOVERNMENT, 
GENERAL,  BRIGADE,  and  GARRISON  ORDERS ; 
MINUTES  OF  COUNCIL,  Commands  of  the  Hon.  £.  I. 
COMPANY,  and  REGULATIONS,  from  whaterer  Autho- 
rity  promulgated,  from  the  Year  1750  to  the  Year  1804,  that 
are  now  in  Force  and  Operating  on  the  Discipline  or  Eipen- 
diture  of  the  Bombay  Army.  Arranged  according  to  priority 
of  date  under  Appropriate  Heads ;  with  a  CoifioiiB  Index  in 
the  manner  of  a  Digest  or  Code.  Compiled  from  tlie  Re- 
cords of  the  Public  Offices,  and  interspersed  with  Refer- 
ences  and  Explanations.—By  Ci^am  EDWARD  MOOR. 
Printed  at  Bombay :  by  Order,  and  under  the  Patronage  of 
GoTemment*— JFoho,  81.  B$» 

III.  The  HINDU  PANTHEON.  An  Investigation  of 
the  MYTHOLOGY  of  the  HINDUS :  illustrated  by  nearly 
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exact  imitation  of  the  Original  Images,  Pictures,  EzcaTations, 
Medals,  &r.  in  One  Hundred  and  Five  Plates.  By  Mt^or 
EDWARD  MOOR.  F.R.S.  F.A.S.  Member  of  the  Asiatic 
Society  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland — of  the  8o€Uti  Anaiique 
of  Paris — of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Calcutta — of  the  Literary 
Society  of  Bombay — and  of  the  Sotieti  d^EmuUttion  of  Cam- 
bray. — Rmfol  QuartOf  5L  5s. 

IV.  HINDU  INFANTICIDE.  An  account  of  the  Mea- 
sures  adopted  for  Suppressing  the  Practice  of  the  Syaitnuitic 
Mwder  by  their  Parents  of  Femaie  Ifffants,  With  incidental 
remarks  on  other  customs  peculiar  to  the  Natives  of  India. 
By  EDWARD  MOOR,  F.R.S.  &c.  Author  of  the  HINDU 
PANTHEON.— Quarto,  ll.  1  Is.  6d. 

V.  SUFFOLK  WORDS  and  PHRASES.  An  Attempt 
to  Collect  the  Lingual  Localisms  of  that  County.  By  ED- 
WARD MOOR,  F.R.S.  F.A.S.  &LC,-^Duod6€vno. 


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