ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY.
VOL. XX.
GLOSSAEIES
OF
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE, KENT, AND
BERKSHIRE.
LONDON :
fat the $Mflttelt §intwt Jforiettj
KEGAN PAUL, TEUI3NER, & CO.
1886-7-8.
CONTENTS.
A GLOSSARY OF WORDS USED IN SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE
(Wapentake of Graffoe). By the RPV. R. E. G. Cole, M.A. :—
PAGE
Preface 1
Glossary 5
Addenda 172
A DICTIONARY OF THE KENTISH DIALECT AND PROVINCIALISMS.
By Chancellor W. D. Parish and the Rev. W. F. Shaw.
Introduction vi
List of Books used for Quotations xi
Dick and Sal at Canterbury Fair : A Tale in Verse . . xiii
Dictionary 1-194
A GLOSSARY OF BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. By Major
B. Lowsley, R.E.
Preface ix
Pronunciation 2
Grammar 5
Customs and Observances 14
Superstitions and Folk-Lore . . 22
Sayings and Phrases ... . ... 30
Place-Names .... ..... 35
Glossary ..... 37
A GLOSSARY OF WORDS
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE,
ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY.
SKETCH MAP OF LINCOLNSHIRE.
A GLOSSARY OF WORDS
USED IN
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE
(WAPENTAKE OP GEAFFOE).
THE REV. R. E. G. COLE. M.A.,
Rector of Doddington, Lincoln.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOE THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY
BY TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1886.
P 11 E F A C H .
TO those who are acquainted with the three Divisions of
which the County of Lincoln is composed, the district
from which the following Words and Phrases have been
gathered, may be sufficiently described as that Western
portion of the Parts of Kesteven, which forms the Wapentake
of Graffoe. Otherwise it may be described as the district
lying South and \Vest of Lincoln, extending from the South
Cliff range on the East to the borders of Nottinghamshire on
the West. Or its Western boundary might be extended to
the line of the Trent, for our list of Words necessarily applies
equally to those parishes of Notts, which lie to the East of
that river, and which are distinguished by no natural
boundary nor difference of dialect from the adjoining
parishes of Lincolnshire, and which thrust themselves up
between the Parts of Lindsey and Kesteven to a point
within four miles of Lincoln itself. It is not, of course,
professed that these Words are in any way exclusively used
in this district. They are merely words which are in
common everyday use in this neighbourhood, but which
have not been taken up into, or have been dropped out
PREFACE.
from, the standard English of our books. They are words
which would strike a stranger as peculiar, and in some
instances might even puzzle him to understand their
meaning. Some few, such as Andren (Lunch), Keal (Cold),
Lire (to Plait), are nearly obsolete ; others linger only on
the lips of the older inhabitants. The examples in all cases
are original, taken down at once just as they were spoken
in the course of ordinary conversation.
The pronunciation is somewhat broad, but by no means
so broad as in North Lincolnshire, where it much more
nearly resembles that of Yorkshire. Amongst its more
general peculiarities we may note the following :—
The vowels " e " " a " coming together before a consonant
are pronounced separately so as to form a dissyllable of
such words as Me-an, Me-at, Cle-an, Le-an, E-at, &c.
(Exceptions : Great, which is pronounced Gret, and Earn,
Learn, which are Arn and Larn).
In like manner when the vowels " a " " i " come together,
Drain (with a certain weakening) becomes Dre-un, Rain
Re-un, Chain Che-un. Similarly with words ending in " e "
mute :— Blame, Lame, Shame, Came, &c., become Bla-em,
La-em, Sha-em, Ca-em ; Cake becomes Ca-ek, Quite Qui-et,
Write Wri-et, &c. (Exceptions: Game, which is pro-
nounced Gam, and Take, Make, Shake, which are Tak,
Mak, Shak).
" Dd " is pronounced as "th ": so Dodder is pronounced
Dother, Fodder Fothcr, Ladder Lethcr, Bladder Blather or
PREFACE. hi
Blether, Shudder Shuther, and the surname Goddard
Gothard.
A preference for the hard sound : as Birk for Birch, Pick
for Pitch, Thack for Thatch, Scrat for Scratch, Screet for
Screech, Slouk for Slouch, Skelve for Shelve ; so Brig and
Rig for Bridge and Ridge.
A tendency towards the weakening of vowel sounds : thus
Ash becomes Esh, Halter Helter, Hasp Hesp, Grass Gress,
Dam Dem, Cast Kest, Wash Wesh ; Shell becomes Shill
Shelter Shilter, Hang Hing, Drop Drap, Slop Slap, Swop
Swap, Horse Herse, Mourning Murning, Shuttle Shittle.
A great facility in converting Nouns into Verbs : as " He
poored the land a deal ;" " He winters as many men as he
summers;" "Every mouthful she took, she sicked it up
again;" "They rag their clothes on the hedges;" "The
boys were noising, hammering out nails ; " " It didn't kill it,
it only sillied it a bit ;" " She keeps bettering and worsing."
R. E. G. C.
WORDS IN USE
IN
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE.
(WAPENTAKE OF GRAFFOE).
A.
A, very commonly prefixed to Participles or Verbal Nouns : as
" I was setten a-sewing a bit;" " They got a-gate a-trusting
on him ; " " The birds, they start a-whistling of a morning.''
ABEAR, v.— Bear.
They tak' to all manner of work, but schooling they can't abear. I
hate smoke-reek'd tea, I can't alear it. They couldn't abear her ; they
rantanned her out at last.
ABOUN, prep.— Above.
They'll not get aboun two loads offen it.
It's aboun a twelvemonth sin'.
ABOUT, prep. — So and so " has nothing about him," — a
common expression, meaning that he has nothing in him,
that he is up to, or good for, nothing.
She has no more about her than a bairn.
"When a woman has nothing about her, it's a bad job for a man.
I could see he had something about him.
He has a bit about him, he's a business man.
ABS and NABS.—" By abs and nabs," i.e., little by little.
We've gotten our hay by abs and nabs — a load nows and thens.
They had to finish the Church by abs and nabs.
ACCORDINGLY, adv.— In proportion, pronounced with
emphasis on the last syllable, as " I don't think it's dear —
not according/^ ; " "Oh, they're a lot cheaper according/;' ; "
4 ' It's according/)/ as they do it."
fi SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
ACROSS, adv. — At variance, in disagreement.
They'd gotten a little bit across.
ADDLE, v.— To earn.
She's no chanch to addle anything hersen.
She weshes the Hall, and addles a niced bit.
He addles a great wage.
They do no't ; they don't addle their salt.
I'm a disablebodied man, and can't addle owt.
ADDLINGS, s. — Earnings, wages received for work: " as I
doubt he wears all his addlings in drink."
AFORE, prep.— Before.
There's nothing afore bramble- vinegar (i.e., vinegar made of black-
berries) for a cough.
I reckon there's nowt afore spring watter.
AFTERNOON, adj.— Used in the sense of behind-hand
dilatory.
I call him nobbut an afternoon farmer ; he got no seed in last back-
end.
If the foreman's an afternoon man, it's not likely the men will work.
AGAIN (AGEN) AGAINST, prep.— Near to : as " They've
ta'en a farm agen Eagle Hall ; " " We were setten agen
the fire;" " They lived against Newark apiece." Also of
time: as "I got their teas ready agen they came home."
Also of opposition : as " He seemed to tak' agen the child ; "
" I've nowt agen him, but I've heard a many say a deal
agen him."
GATE, adv. prep. — Started with , about, going on.
I didn't get agate my work while noon,
They've gotten agate a-reapering.
It's that sets me agate a-purging.
It was a long time agate t but he got mester on it at last.
Doctor says he'll come unless he's confinements agate.
AISTRUP. — Local pronunciation of Aisthorpe (i.e., East
Thorpe), so Bestrup for Besthorpe : the Danish Estrup.
ALISSIMON. — Not an uncommon feminine Christian name,
as Alissimon Cutts, Alissimon Wilkinson, Alissimon
Rudkin ; shortened into Liz ; vulgarly supposed to be a
combination of Alice and Simon. Spelt Elisamond in the
Parish Register of Swinderby.
ALL OUT — completely, entirely.
She's very gain on five, if not five all out.
She stood on to twenty minutes, or all out twenty minutes.
Your Bill's nearly killed, if not all out.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 7
ALL THERE. — " To be all there," i.e., to have all one's wits
about one.
Oh, he's all there, safe enough.
She's not qnite all there ; she's not right sharp, poor lass.
ALONG OF, prep. — Owing to, because of : as "It was all along
of him that I happened this."
A MANY. — Commonly used in the same way as " a few."
There's a many happens it.
There's a many as can't raise a pie.
He's been offered the house a many many times.
A many will have a good long shift that day.
AMONGANS, AMONG-HANDS, adv.— Between them, con-
jointly, between whiles.
There's a woman as does the work, and waits of her among-hands.
We've setten some larch with spruce amongans.
It's it little belly and it teeth amongans.
The men have two lunches a day, and they want beer among-hands.
A'MOST, adv.— Almost.
He's been fit to die a' most.
It tears her to pieces a' most.
ANDERN, ANDREN, s. — Luncheon, refreshment taken
between meals, either morning or afternoon : as of har-
vesters, " They are going to get their andre-n." Or cor-
rupted into Andrew, as " Ain't you going to have your
andrew ? " But nearly obsolete here.
ANY, ANYTHING— used adverbially for At all.
It does not dry any.
It has sca'ce dried anything.
He's not worked any sin' June.
She can't sit up any.
He's never ailed anything.
ARN, v. — Earn.
They've nothing, no-but what they arn.
So Larn for Learn ; exceptions to the general rule that the vowels
" e a " are pronounced in distinct syllables.
ASK, adj. (sometimes HASK). — Harsh, dry, parched: as
"What an ask wind it is!" "How ask and parched I
am ! " " Oh, it's the weather, and the ask winds, and
that." See HASK.
AS. — In such phrases as " A week as last Monday ; " "I came
out a month as last Friday."
ASKED, part. — To be asked in Church, i.e. to have the Banns
vof Marriage put up ; So to be asked up, or asked out, to have
S SOUTII-WF.ST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
the Banns put up for the last time. Often pronounced Axe
and Axed, according to the antiquated form, but still more
commonly as follows :
AST, v. — Ask, Asked : as " I ast her what she was asting for
them ; " "I'd never ast him for nowt ; " They ast the
the mester for some guany-bags;" " Mr. M. was asting on
him about it."
ASWISH, adv. — Crooked, awry, on one side.
Why, you have set it all aswish.
You see it's aswish way ; it's not straiet, it's aswish.
AT, prep. — Used for To : as " What have you been doing at
the bairn?" "They've never done anything at it." It
wants a deal of doing at yet."
AT THAT HOW. AT THIS HOW, for In that way, In
this way.
She was born at that lion*.
I'm not a-going to work my belly out at this how,
If the weather holds at this how.
Why, you see, Sir, it's at this 1wu\.
AUBUR, local pronunciation of Aubourn, a village in the dis-
trict: as "He lived at Aubur a piece;" " They call him
Cook of Aubur." It is spelt * Aubur ' in the Parish Reg-
ister of 1789, and Auburg on the Church Plate of 1704.
AWKWARD, adj. (sometimes pronounced Awkerd). — Per-
verse, contrary, disobliging; not used in the sense of clumsy;
as " He's so awkward, with his men; " Things were as awk-
ward as possible;" "We call it, awkward St. Swithin's,"
said of a parish in Lincoln.
AWKWARDNESS, 5.— Perverseness, cross-temper,
It's nothing but a bit of awkwardness.
AWMING, adj. — Lazy, lounging.
A great awming fellow !
Don't stand awming there.
AWMOUS, s. — Alms : as " Oh, what an awmous ! " said ironi«
cally of a small gift of corn on St. Thomas' Day.
AWVE, interj.—The cry of the wagoner or ploughman to his
horses, when he wants them to turn to the left, as Gee, Ji
when he wants them to turn to the right. Awve, — towards
him ; Gee, — off. So " They have to take care in awtfiiig
and gee-ing,' that is,, in turning round at the end of the
furrows in ploughing.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. Q
AYCLE, local pronunciation of Eagle, a village in the district,
now used only by old people, but so spelt (Aycle) in
Domesday Book, (also Aclei, and Akeley).
AYE, NAY. — It is common to hear parents correct their
children for saying Aye and Nay (though they must doubt-
less have learnt it from the parents themselves), and tell
them they should say Yes and No. But there seems to be
no distinction made in their iue, whether as answers to
questions framed in the affirmative or in the negative.
IO SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
B
B— BULL'S FOOT.—" Not to know a B from a Bull's foot "—
a phrase expressive of great ignorance.
BAG KEN, v. — To retard, throw back.
It no-but backens them for a week or so.
BACK-END, s. — The latter part of the year, or a ;iumn ;
answering to the Fore-end, or spring.
I sew it wi' wheat last back-end.
If only we can have a dry back-end.
They're back-end ducks, not this year's birds.
Used sometimes of the latter part of the week or month, as "It was
towards the back-end of the week."
BAD, adj. — Hard, difficult : as " He's bad to light of," or, in
the common phrase, " Bad to beat."
BAD, BADLY, adj.— Sick, unwell: as "Bad of a fever;"
" Don't turn badly ; " " She's not fit to be with any badly
folks ; " " She's a many badly bouts ; " " He's nowt but a
poor badly thing ; " " She has two badly bairns, and hersen
badly too ; " " The nurse fell badly," i.e., was taken ill, not
had a bad fall.
BADLINESS, 5.— Sickness, illness.
There's a deal of badliness about.
It was the nurse as nursed me in my first badliness.
BAFFLE, v.— To thwart, put off: as " They seem to baffle us
off any-how."
BAG, s. — A cow's udder.
What a beautiful bag she has !
BAG O' MOONSHINE — an expression for nonsense: as
" Such bother ! why it's all a bag o' moonshine."
BAGGERMENT, s.— Rubbish ; nonsense.
It's a heap of baggerment.
A lot of bavgerment and rubbish will grow, if nowt else will.
He talked a lot of baggerment.
BAIRN, s. — Common word for child : as " Let me and my
bairns come ;" " You leave the bairn alone; " " She left
the poor bairn in the creddle ; " " It's bad going to bairns,"
i.e., to live with them. Often used to adults .as a term of
affection.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS, II
BAIRNISH, adj.— Childish : as " He has little bairnish ways,
for all he is so old."
BAKE-OVEN, s.— Common term for Oven.
We're building a small bake-oven.
We seem lost without a bake-oven.
It does for stack-steddling and bake-oven heating.
BALD-FACED, adj. — White-faced, or rather having a white
streak down the face : as "A bald-faced horse."
BALK, s. — A piece of stubble left high owing to the scythe
slipping over it in mowing, or a ridge of land slipped over
by the plough : as " We made a many balks in ploughing
to-day." Or the rifge-like beam which often projects
across the ceilings of old houses.
BAND, s.— String.
Gie us a bit of band.
It's only tied up xvi* band.
I've sent for a ball of band.
BANKER, s. — A navvy, or excavator — one employed in making
and repairing the fen banks.
She can swear like a banker.
Tom Otter who was hung in chains near Drinsey Nook in 1806,
and whose gibbet many can remember standing, is described as a
" banker."
BASH, v. — To give a blow with the open hand, or with some
blunt substance.
If he touched him, he would bash him on the mouth.
He took her by the hair, and bashed her head on the floor.
BASS, s. — The wild Lime, Tilia parvifolia, common in these
woods.
Bass and Birk are so tender.
BASS, 5. — A hassock for kneeling on ; or a basket made of
matting, as " He takes his books in his bass."
BASTARD-CROP, i.e., a crop grown out of due rotation : as
" They (oats) are a bastard-crop ; it fell to be turnips this
turn."
BAT, s. — A bundle of straw, or rushes, like a small sheaf, used
to cover stacks, &c.
I got some bats, and app'd it down well.
They're fetching a load of bats to cover down with.
He'd have bats ready, and bat the stack down, not thack them.
BAT, s. — Speed, violent motion.
He was going such a bat, he could not turn hissen.
12 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORt)S.
BATE, v. — To abate, lessen.
I doubt he'll not bate owt.
He wants a great raisement, but mebbe he'll bate a bit.
They reckon it's bating a deal.
BATH, v.— To bathe, give a bath, &c.
It was my duty to bath the children in.
BATTER, s. — The slope of a wall, bank, &c.
The dyke banks will never stan' wi'out they tak' more batter off,
i.e., unless they slope them more.
BATTLE-TWIG, s. — An earwig ; the first part of the word
apparently a form of Beetle.
Some calls 'em Battletwigs, and some calls 'em Earwigs, you know.
BAUSON, adj. — Swollen, protuberant : as " The old man's
gotten quite bauson ; " often applied to a pig, as "a bauson
Pig."
BEAST, s. — Used as plural instead of Beasts, as may be seen
in any advertisement of Sale of Stock, as " Three very
fresh beast ; " " The beast are all fresh, well-hair 'd," &c.
So Forby says of E. Anglia, " This word Beast, like Sheep,
is the same in the plural as in the singular number." See
also Levit. xxv., 7, " For thy cattle, and for the beast that
are in thy land."
BECK, s. — A brook, or stream of running water : as " A beck
runs down the town-street ; " " The houses all drain into
the beck." So also in the proper name of a brook, the
Swallow-beck ; and in the epitaph in Kettlethorpe Church,
on Rev. John Becke, Rector of Kettlethorpe, who died
in 1597:—
" I am a Becke, or river as you know,
And wat'red here ye Church, ye schole, ye pore,
While God did make my springes here for to flow ;
But now my fountain stopt, it runs no more."
BEDFAST adj. — Bedridden, confined to bed : as " He's been
bedfast these six days ; " " The doctor goes to them as are
bedfast;" "She was bedfast weeks last back-end;" "I
didn't know as he'd gotten to be bedfast ; " " My husband's
bedfast, I can't go out and leave him."
BEE NETTLE, s.— The White, or Purple Dead-Nettie,
Lamitim album, or L. purpuremn, so-called because their
flowers are much resorted to by Bumble-bees.
J3EGET, v. — To get, or come, to anything : as " I don't know
what has begot it.'*
SOUTH-WEST. LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 13
BEESTLINGS, s. — The first milk of a cow after calving, con-
sidered a delicacy for its richness, so that Skinner suggests
its derivation from Best, " quia vulgo in deliciis est !"
You can't mak' custards without eggs, leastways without you've some
bustlings ; if you've becstlins>s, mebbe you can.
The cauf got the first sup of beestlings itsen.
BEING, BEING AS, conj. — Since, considering.
Being he had a great family, and being he had been ill.
BeiM as the boy wanted to go.
Being as they asked so much.
Being as no letter came.
BELDER, v. — To roar, to bellow. Danish, Buldre.
Don't belder about so.
I should not begin to belder such a tale about.
BELFRY. 5. — The steddle, or stand raised on low pillars, on
which stacks are placed. The mediaeval Berfrey.
They stacked the oats on the new belfry.
BELK, v. — To roll over, fall down at length : as " The old pig
belks down, directly you rub it." " Huntsman has a pig
belks down like yon." So " I came down such a belk."
BELKING, adj. — Lounging, lying lazily.
He's a great idle belking beast.
BELL, v. — To bellow, to roar. A. S. BELLAN.
She did bell out all the way home.
BELLY-FUL.— " He's gotten his belly-ful," or " He's g'en
him his belly-ful," — said of one who has had as much or
more than he likes of anything, as of a fight or beating.
BELONG, v. — Used without a preposition following it: as
" Yon's the house belongs it ;" " It belongs that Spencer ;"
" He belongs the club ;" " It's the cat as belongs the
yard ;" " The woman what belongs the child."
BELT, s. — A strip of wood or plantation : as " Clements'
Belt ;" " They're cutting a ride down the belt."
BELT, v. — To belt sheep, i.e. to cut off the matted wool and
dirt from the hinder parts, so that the lambs may be able
to suck freely.
BEMUCH, v.~ To grudge: as " I did not bemuch the trouble
at all."
BENSEL, v.— To beat, thrash: as " Bensel that lad well;"
" I'll bensd. him, he's a sight too cheeky."
SOUTII-WEi
BENTS, s. — The dry flower-stalks of grass, left standing
cattle in pastures.
BERRIES, s. — Used commonly for Gooseberries, as also Berry-
bush for a Gooseberry bush : as " The berry-bushes are
well ragg'd to year;" "I've gathered a good few berries
for market."
BESSY, s. — Applied to an ill-behaved woman or girl : as " The
silly bessy !" " What a tiresome bessy you are !"
BESTED, adj. — Beaten, worsted: as ." I wouldn't be bested
with him."
BEST-FASHION, common term to express a person's being
in very good health ; " Oh, she's best fashion ;" " She's real
caddy ; best-fashion, she says."
BESTOW, v. — To stow, or put in a place : as " Bliiemt if I
know where to bestow it all."
BESTRUP, local pronunciation of Besthorpe, as Aistrup for
Aisthorpe.
BET, v. — Past of Beat : as " Well, sir, I'm clean bet, it has
fairly bet me at last ; " " What with my markets (marketings)
and my two little ones I felt quiet bet ; " "I was never so
bet in my life."
BETTER, QUITE BETTER, adj., used for Well, quite well :
as in the frequent reply to the hope that a person is better,
" Oh, no, I'm not better, but I'm not so bad as I was ; "
" She's not really better, but she's better than what she
were; " " He's mending, but he's not better yet ;" " I've
gotten it nearly better ; " " I reckon he's quiet better."
BETTER, adv. — More, often used with Nor : as " It's better
than a year sin' we lived yon-a-way," or " It's better nor
three weeks sin' ; " " He made better than a score on 'em ; "
" It'll serve her an hour or better ; " " We've setten out
better than 2,000 larch."
BETTERMOST, adj.— Of a better sort.
When I was young, I was in bcttermost places.
BETTERNESS, s. — Improvement, getting better : as " I doubt
there'll never be no betterness ; " " There's no real better-
ness for her."
BETWEEN-HANDS, BETWEENANS, adv. — Between
whiles, at intervals. A. S. BETWEONAN.
He only takes his medicine, and a little port-wine bctn'Mn-hands.
SOUTH-WES? LINCOLNSHlkE WOkDS. 1$
BIDDY-BASE — a boy's game, like Prisoner's Base. (Skinner,
in his Etymologicon, calls it Bayze or Bayes, " vox
omnibus nota, quibus fanum Botolphi sen Bostonium agri
Line, emporium notum est, aliis paucis. Credo a nomine
Bayes, Laurus ! ")
BIDE, v.— Abide, wait : as " Bide a bit," or " Bide you still."
BILE, s. — A boil, still pronounced according to the old
spelling.
There's another boy agate with a gum-bile.
BILL, 5. — Common term for a Bank-note: as "a ^"5 bill ; "
" I haven't any gold, I've no-but a bill."
BILLY-OF-THE-WISP— a Will-of-the-Wisp, called also a
Peggy-lantern, commonly seen on Whisby and Eagle
Moors before they were drained and cultivated.
BINCH, s.— Bench.
BINDERS, s. — The long hazel rods used for binding together
the tops of stakes in a hedge-row.
We've kep' out stakes and binders enew.
BINGE, s. — The large pocket or open bag, made of sacking,
into which hops were gathered.
Then it was, who could get her binge filled first.
BINGE, v. — To throw into the binge or pocket, a custom
practised by the women on any man who came into the
hop-yard on the last day of hop-picking.
He reckoned there was no woman could bingt him.
We had many a prank together in the hop-yard, binge ing folks and
playing.
Both the word and the practice have gone out of use with
the destruction of the Hop-garden in this parish (Dod-
dington), said to have been the only one in Lincolnshire.
BINGE, v.— To soak a wooden vessel in water, to prevent its
leaking.
Mind you binge that cask.
BIRD'S-EYE, s. — The Germander Speedwell, Veronica
Chamaedrys.
BIRK, s.— Birch : as " The kids are all birk ; " and " The Birk-
springs Farm," at Doddington.
BIT NOR SUP.— Common phrase for neither meat nor drink.
He's never g'en me bit nov sup.
They never brought him bit nor sup, nor went to see him.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
BLACK DOG.— " Now then, black dog ! " said to a sulky
child in allusion to the saying about a sulky person, " He
has a black dog on his back."
BLACK FROST. — A frost without rime, as opposed to a
White frost, or Rag- rime, and generally more severe and
lasting.
It clapped in a real black frost.
BLACK-LEG. — A disease among cattle, caused by wet
undrained land.
Why, I remember when all the cauves used to get the black-leg.
Madder's a fine thing agen the black-leg.
BLACK-THORN-WINTER. — A name given to the cold
weather which usually sets in just when the Blackthorn
is in blossom.
BLAME (BLAEM, BLAEMT), v.— To lay the blame on any-
thing.
I'm fit to blaeni it to him.
I always bldemt it to that.
He always bldems it to the waiter.
BLARE, or BLORE, v. — To low or bellow, as a cow does
when she has lost her calf ; Blare being, perhaps, rather
used of sheeps' bleating : as " The lambs were blaring
about, so I went to drive them away ; " " They lie blaring
agen the gate all night, them cades."
BLASHY, adj. — Thin, poor, weak, — said of tea or any other
liquor, sometimes called scornfully, " such blashment ! "
BLAST, s. — A long-continued frost ; used like Storm, for a
spell of severe weather, whether attended by high wind or
not.
A blast clapped in after Christmas.
There'll, mebbe, be a bit of a blast after awhile.
BLATHER, or BLETHER, s. — Common pronunciation of
Bladder, just as Lether for Ladder, Pother for Fodder, &c.
BLATHER, BLATHERMENT, s.— Rubbishy talk; but also
rubbish of any kind : as "I'm getting some of this old
blatherment off," i.e., loose dirt off the road.
BLAZE, s. — A white mark on a horse's face ; or a mark made
by slicing off a small piece of the bark of a tree, when it is
said to be Blazed, cither for felling or for preservation.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 17
BLEAK. — "The Bleak," used as a substantive, as we
say, " The dark," or " The open." So "It stan's in the
bleak here; " " The bleak catches it round the corner; "
"Standing in the bleak as they are ;" " It's just on the
bleak of the hill."
BLINDMAN'S HOLIDAY.— A term for dusk or twilight.
BLOOD, v. — To bleed or let blood : as " The farrier came and
blooded him."
BLOSSOM, 5. — Said of an untidy woman or girl, with ruffled
hair : as " Oh, what a blossom yon lass is ! " Cfr. Titus
Andron., iv. 2, " Sweet blowse, you are a beauteous
blossom, sure."
BLOTHER, 5.— Noise, loud talking.
The lads are so much for Mother.
We can't do with so much blather.
BLOTHER, v.— To talk loudly.
What a blathering body yon is !
She always was a blathering woman.
So Skelton (Colyn Clout, 65, 66), " Thus eche of other blather,
The tone against the tother ;" and as a noun, 774, " The blaber, barke
and blather."
BLOW s. — Blossom; as "Yon tree was white with blow;"
" There's a deal of crab-blow to-year." So Cherry-blow,
Bully-blow.
BLUE, adj. — Used for what might more properly be called
black or dark grey, as a blue pony, or a blue pig. So
" Bloo, lividus." Prompt. Parv.
BOARDEN, adj.— Boarded. An adj. in-en, like Wooden,
Woollen, Golden, Oaten, &c.
So you've gotten a baanlen floor.
They live in the boarden house at Thorney.
He's up at the town, making a boarden shed.
BOAR-THISTLE, a large common Thistle (Cnicus Lanceolahis,}
with purple flowers, and long strong prickles — so called
in distinction to the smooth, or soft-prickled, Sow Thistle
(Sonchus) which has yellow flowers.
BOBBIN-WOOD, s.— Underwood of poles fit to be cut up
into bobbins, or reels for cotton. So, in advertisements,
" Excellent Underwood, consisting of 26 acres of Bobbin-
wood, &c." Or " Capital Underwood, consisting of Ash-
poles, Bobbin-wood, &c." "Bobbin" is the common
word for a reel of cotton, as to a child, — " Hast'e gotten a
bobbin ?"
c
l8 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
BODGE, v. — To mend, patch up.
I could either b.)dge the old one up, or make it all new.
We must bodge it as well as we can.
BODKIN, s. — The case in which school-children keep their
pencils ; probably so called from its likeness to a bodkin
case.
BODKIN, used for a team of three horses, yoked two abreast
behind, and one in front, — what is sometimes called
" Unicorn ;" as " We have been ploughing bodkin to-
day." So a person sitting between, and rather in front of,
two others in a carriage is termed " Bodkin."
BODY, s — Halliwell says, " According to Kennett, p. 30, the
term is applied in some parts of Lincolnshire ' only for the
belly or lower part.' " So it is in the common phrase " the
bottom of his body." " I followed him up well with hot
bags at the bottom of his body."
BOGGLE, v. — To shy, start : said of a horse, as " He boggles
at anything by the road-side ; " " She boggles at the
water ; " " She always makes a bit of a boggle at them."
So
BOGGLE-EYED, adj.— Shying, or easily startled.
BOKE, v.— To belch.
I was that sick and badly, I had to boke.
There's such a stench, it makes me boke.
It makes me boke as if I should be sick.
It used to make me cough and boke.
BOLD, adj. — Said of Corn, when the grain is large and fine ;
as " The corn is so bold, I believe it'll yield well ;" " Our
wheat's as bold or bolder than what theirn is ; " " The
corn's a bit bolder to-year." Bold seems to be evidently the
adjective Bold, not the participle Boiled, from Boll, to
swell, as it is used only adjectively, " So bold," " very
bold," — not " So well boiled," or " Very much boiled."
BONEFIRE, s. — Common pronunciation of Bonfire, in accord-
ance with the early spelling of the word, and with its
derivation from Bone, Os.
BONE-IDLE, adj. — Thoroughly idle, idle to the very bone.
He's a real bone -idle old fellow,
He's bone-idle, — as idle as a foal,
Carlyle, in a letter, Feb., 1847, writes;" I have gone bone-idle these
four weeks and more; " and in his Journal, Oct.,' 1848, writes, " Idle I
throughout as a dry bone."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 19
BONNY, adj. — Well and plump, in good health : as " Oh, thank
you, she's bonny;" " Yon's a bonny little lass;" "He's
gotten a strange bonny man." Also used ironically in the
same way as Pretty often is, — " There's been a bonny
bother about it."
BOO, s. — Frequent pronunciation of Bough : as " There's a
boo up there splitten."
BOON, BOONDAY, 5.— To go a booning, or to give him a
boon-day — said when one farmer helps another by giving
him a day's work with his men and horses.
BOOTHS. — A name given to out-lying hamlets on the edge ol
the fens : as Branston Booths, Hanworth Booths ; mean-
ing originally slight, temporary buildings. Hence, perhaps,
the common village name — Boothby.
BOTTLE, s. — A bundle of hay, straw, sticks, &c., as much as
a man can carry on his back.
He's cutten a score of bottles of pea-rods.
I ast him to gie me a good bottle of straw.
We want 26 bottles of pea-sticks, and 4 bottles of bean-rods.
BOTTOM, v.— To get to the bottom, find out the truth about
anything.
Mr. Chairman, I think this wants well bottoming,
I really mean it to be bottomed.
BOUGHT-BREAD. — That is, Baker's bread, considered
inferior to home-made : as " My old man always said I
should come to yeat bought bread."
BOUND, part. — Must, must needs, sure to.
He's bound to get on.
The medicine's bound to be used.
BOW, s. — The ring or handle of a key ; so also the arch of a
bridge or gateway, as The Stone-bow, or Stan-bow, Lincoln.
BRACKEN, BRAKE, s.— The common fern, Pleris aquilina.
It's Bracken, but Lincoln folks tak' it for fern.
BRAIN-WRIGHT, s. — One who thinks, and does brain-work
for another.
I've had to be his brain-wright all along.
BRAMBLE, v. — To gather brambles or blackberries : as
'There's a sight of folks comes out brambling ; " " He
used to be fond of running a-brambling."
20
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
H RAMBLES, s. — Blackberries, the fruit of the bramble : as,
" We've gotten a good few brambles ; " " You've been
yeating some brambles, I know; " " The hedges are black
over wi' brambles."
BRAMBLE-VINEGAR,— that is Vinegar made of black-
berries : as " There's nothing afore Bramble vinegar for a
cough."
BRAN-IN-THE-FACE.— " To have bran in the face," that is,
to be freckled.
BRANGLE, v.— To dispute, quarrel
They got all bmngled together.
BRANGLEMENT, s. — Dispute, quarrelling.
There's been a deal of branglement.
Don't let's have any branglement about it.
BRASHY, adj. — Small and rubbishy, usually of small sticks:
as " Those birk kids are so brashy ; " or of larch tops,
" They're worthless stuff, so brashy ; " or " They're brashy
stuff, but they do for stack-steddling and bake-oven
heating."
BRANDRITH, s.— The framework, or " steddle," on which
stacks are raised.
He wants a new brandrith putten up.
The old brandriths were brick, with wood laid across.
There used to be some strange great brandriths in the stack-yard.
BRAUNGE, i?.— To strut.
She bmunges about with two or three necklaces on.
There's that sister of hers braunging about.
BRAVE, adj. — Well, in good health : as " Oh, I'm quite brave
again."
BRAZEN, adj. — Impudent, brazen-faced.
She's a real brazen wench.
The hounds are that brazen, they'll slive into the house, and run oft
with anything.
BRAZIL, s.— " It's hard as Brazil, as one may say ; " " The
ground's as hard as Brazil, one can scarce get the gableck
thruffit."
BREACH, s. — Misbehaviour, breach of manners or conduct.
She made a sad breach before she left.
BREAD-LOAF, s. — Common term instead of simple loaf: as
" Tak' us a bread-loaf when the baker comes."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 21
BREAK A RIB, BROKEN-RIBBED - " He's gotten
broken-ribbed to-day/' said of a man having his Banns of
Marriage published. So " He's gotten one rib broke," or
** He broke one rib of Sunday," when they are published
for the first time ; " He's gotten two, or three, ribs broke,"
for the second, or third, Sunday.
BREAK THE NECK OF.— To get the worst part of any:
thing done . as " I've about broken the neck of that job ; "
" I reckon I've broke the neck of it."
BREDE, s. — A breadth, or " land " in a field.
I should have that brede done right across.
The mester left several bredes without management, and there's
nothing on them.
BREEDER, s.— A boil.
I doubt its going to be a breeder.
She's got a breeder come on her leg, — a gathering like.
BREER, s. — Common pronunciation of Brier, the wild rose.
So Ang.-Sax. Brcer; and Chaucer's and Spencer's "Brere."
BREEZE, 5. — The moisture that collects on anything in damp
weather, or a change of temperature : as " The floor's all
of a breeze wi' the damp ; " or of eggs about to be hatched,
" A breeze comes out on 'em, like as if they sweat."
BRESSES, 5. pi. — Breasts. So Nesses for Nests, Crusses for
Crusts, and " It resses me," for It rests me.
BRIG, s. — Common form of Bridge, as Rig for Ridge ; this
form has established itself in the name of the Lincolnshire
town of Brigg, and still holds its own in common speech
against the modern spelling of Bracebridge.
I reckon that new brig has spoilt the street.
If he just goes over the brig he charges a shilling.
They live agen the brig at Aubur.
BRINK, s. — Brim : as " The hat looked very niced with its
stiff brinks ; " " The puppies tore his hat-brinks off."
BROCK, s. — The small green insect that encloses itself in froth,
called Cuckoo-spit ; whence the saying, " To sweat like a
brock."
Just look at the brocks on our hedge.
BROKEN-BODIED, adj.— Ruptured.
He's broken-bodied, and wears a truss.
When they're broken-bodied, there's always a substance.
22
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
BROOD, v. — To nurse, fondle, as a mother does her infant : as
" Must I brood thee then, my bairn ? " " Dost 'ee want
brooding a bit ? "
BROWN-SHILLERS, s. — Wood nuts, when they are ripe and
brown, and " shill," or fall out, easily.
BRUSH OUT, v.— To clear a ditch by trimming off the year's
growth of long grass, briers, &c , from the sides.
He's no good, nobbut to brush out the dykes.
The watercourse is clear, the dyke only wants brushing out.
He has trimmed the hedges, and brushed out the dykes.
BRUST, /*!*., BRUSSEN, v.— Burst.
The fox was brussen ; it had run while it brust.
BUBBLING, s. — A young unfledged bird : as " They're only
bubblings, let them be while they're fligged."
BUFF, v. — To boast, talk big : as " She did buff and bounce."
BUFFET-STOOL, s. — A wooden stool, or trestle, such as
are commonly used for resting a coffin on at the Church-
yard gate, or in Church. Skinner, 200 years ago, notes it
as " vox agro Lincolniensi usitatissima."
BUG, or BOOG, adj. — Proud, puffed up : as " They've raised
a boy at last, and the old man is fine and boog about it."
BUILD, v. — The " u " commonly pronounced, not as Bild ; so
also " Buelding " for Building.
BULL-HEAD, or BULLY, 5.— A tadpole.
BULLOCK, v.— To bully, talk loudly and threateningly.
He goes bullock ing about.
BULLY, 5.— The Bullace, or Blackthorn. So
BULLY-BLOW, or BULLY-FLOWER, s.— The Bullace, or
Blackthorn blossom.
The Bully-blows fall out, like as the Plum.
Some folks '11 call it Bully-blow, and some Sloe-blow.
BUMBLES, s. — The rushes with which chairs are bottomed,
i.e., Bulrushes, Scirpus lacustris, brought from Holland.
BUN.— Bound, past of Bind, as " Fun " of Find,
Grind.
So I bun up her little knees.
If any one '11 be bun for £20.
He feels it \\i' b-iiiig bun up so tight.
Grun " ol
SOUTH-WES1 LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 2^
BUNCH, I-.-—TO beat, push.
I feel as sore as thofe I had been bunched.
Yon lass bunched my bairn ; they are always bunching and bobbing
of her.
BUNKUS, s.— A donkey.
BUNTING, s. — A boys' game, played with sticks and a small
piece of wood sharpened off at the ends — Tip-cat.
BUSH-HARROW, v. — To go over land with a harrow made
of thorns, as Chain-harrow, with a harrow of chains.
BUSK, s. — Bush : hard form. Dan. Busk.
The place is full of thorn-busks.
We seed him running among them busks.
We're going to knock over them old busks, and post and rail it.
They've gotten busks, and are buskin? the fire out.
We used to hing our clothes on the gorse-busks.
BUTTONS, s.— Double Daisies.
Our pigs raved all the garden up, all but the Buttons.
Those Buttons look very bad.
BUTTONS.— " He's not got all his buttons on," said of a
person who is not all there, who has not all his wits about
him.
BUT WHY, or BUT \VHAT, for But that : « I don't know
but why I am as good as he ; " " It's a pity but what, &c."
BY ABS AND NABS, i.e., little by little. (See under Abs.
BY THAT.— By that time, at once, directly.
I just turned me round, and he was down by that.
He gave three gasps, and was gone by that.
They're in pieces again by that.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
CAD, s. — Carrion, stinking flesh. Dan. Kiod.
They've g'en me some ra^-broth from the kennels.
You can small that cad-house (place for boiling-down carcases haef
way down the laen). So
CAD-CROW, s. — A Carrion Crow, as distinguished from the
Rook, which is commonly called Crow.
CADDY, adj. — Hale, hearty, in good spirits.
The old lass seemed a niced bit better, she seemed quiet (quite)
caddy.
He's gotten quiet caddy again.
CADE, s. and v. — A pet, fondling; or to fondle, pet.
She makes quite a cade of it.
It's plain to see it's been caded a deal.
So Cfl^-lamb, — a lamb brought up by hand in the house ; as " Stolen
or strayed, since Oct. 7, 1881, a Black Cade Lamb." Sometimes
CADLE, s. and v. — As " It's such a cadle ; " " He cadles it a
deal."
CAFFLE, r. — To argue, prevaricate,— a corruption of Cavil (?).
Any sort of caffling tale.
He began to caffle about it.
Are we going to caffle over it in any form.
CAKE, s. (pronounced Ciiek.) — A small round loaf oi bread
baked on the sole. So i Kings, xvii. 12, 13.
CAKE, s. — A soft foolish person. Probably from the above in
the same way that such a person is styled Half-baked.
She must ha' had a good heart to start off like that ; it shows she
was not much of a ctiek.
CAKE, s. — Usual term for the Linseed Cake, used for fattening
cattle.
Some men run up a great ctiek bill their last year.
It was between caching and fothering time.
CALL, s. — Occasion, need.
You've no call to interfere.
I don't see as I've any call to do it.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 25
CALL, r. — To call names, abuse.
He called me shameful.
He began to call me as soon as I came in.
They didn't fall out, so as to call one another.
Mother called me for not coming by train.
He called me everything as ever he could think on ; I never was so
called in my life.
CALLED IN CHURCH.— To have banns of marriage pub-
lished : as " I'm not married, I've only been called in
Church."
CAMBRIL, or CAMRIL, s.— The curved piece of wood by
which carcases of animals are hung up ; also the hock of
an animal : as " We used to hopple them just above the
cambrils."
CANDY, s. — Name given to a hard rocky layer under the
gravel.
CANT UP, v.— To pet, make much of.
How she does cant that bairn up !
Why, she's so canted up at home.
Cant up is also used in the ordinary sense of Tilt up.
CAR, s. — Low, wet land : as the Car-holme, Car-dyke, Car
Lane ; and most of our parishes have their Cars, as
Doddington Car, &c.
CARL-CAT, 5. — A male, or tom-cat.
Some folks call them Toms, but the proper name is Carl-cat.
So Skinner, 1671, gives Karl-cat as " voxagro Lincolniensi usitatissima
pro Feli mare."
CARRY ON, v. — Usually of a girl flirting and romping: as
" That lass of Shaa's (Shaw's), she carried on shameful ;
she's a real brazen wench." " I reckon she carries on wi'
that young chap of Smith's." " She catched them carrying
on middling."
CASE-HARDENED, adj.— Utterly hardened, incorrigible.
He's that case-hardened, there's no doing owt wi' him.
CAST (often pronounced Rest), part. — Said of a sheep, when it
lies on its back, and is unable to recover itself.
The sheep get /test while the wool is offen them.
So Over-kest for Over-cast, with the same meaning.
Spenser has " Over-kest " to rhyme with Opprest (F. Q. iii. vi. TO),
and " Kest" to rhyme with Chest, Brest, Drest (F. Q. vi. xii. 15).
CASUALTY, pronounced Cazzlety, and used vulgarly as an
Adj. with the sense of subject to accidents and misfortunes :
so " Very cazzlety weather," that is, very changeable ; " A
very cazzlety horse," one often subject to illnesses and
accidents.
26 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
CATBLASH, s. — Anything thin and poor, as weak tea; hence
silly talk, weak argument.
Oh, my ! what catblash this is !
CATCHING, ^'.—Changeable, as applied to the weather : as
" It is a catching day ; " " It's very catching weather."
CATCHWATER, s. — A drain cut to catch the water from
higher ground, and carry it into a main drain without
flowing over the lower lands : as with the Catchwater
Drain at Skellingthorpe, which takes the higher waters
directly into the Witham. So, "A new outfall and drain
from the main drain to Torksey Lock, which would act as
a catchwater" (Lines. Chron., i$th December, 1882).
CATCH WORK, s. — Chance work, a day here and a day
there.
He has nowt but catch-woyk to depend on.
He can't get work, no-but catch-work.
He's only been at catch-work sin' he left the mester.
There's Tom B. at catch-work, and S. the same ; they've none on 'em
owt regular to do.
CAT-HAWS, 5. — Haws, the fruit of the Hawthorn.
They'd been eating a lot of cat-haws and such trash.
He (a squirrel) likes cat-haws ; he does scrunch 'em. So
CAT-HIP, s. — The Hip, or fruit of the Dog-rose.
CATSHINGLES, s.— The skin complaint, commonly called
the Shingles.
He began wi' the catshingles.
As soon as ever the Doctor saw him, he said it were the catshingles.
CAUF, CAUVES, s. — Common pronunciation of Calf, Calves :
as " I'd been to serve the cauves ; " " She's gotten a quee
cauf ; " " My maiden's gone for a bit of a halliday while
(till) the cow cauves ; " " She cauved of Saturday ; " " The
cauf's alive, so it'll want all the milk."
CAVE, or CAUVE, IN, v.— Said when the earth by the side
of a grave, or any cutting, is undermined and falls in,
leaving a cave-like hollow.
It cauves in as fast as I can throw it out.
CHAIN, pronounced Cheen ; so Dreen for Drain, Streen for
Strain, &c.
We must get some herses and chcens.
CHALLENGE, v. — To claim acquaintance with : as " He
challenged me at Gainsborough Station ; " "I met your
husband, and challenged him."
SOUTH-WE^T LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 27
CHAMBER, s.- — The invariable word for Bedroom, which is
seldom or never used, and which nowhere occurs in the
A.V. of the Bible.
The house has two low rooms and two chambers.
CHAMP, v. — To chew, masticate : as " Mind you champ it
well ; " " When he tries to champ ; " " I've gotten whereby
I can't champ."
CHANCH, for Chance : as Rinch for Rince, Minch for
Mince, &c.
I must chanch that.
He didn't gie me a chanch to ast it.
I'll chanch it while to-morrow.
There's two more as she's a chanch on.
CHANCHLING, 5. — A chanceling, or bastard child, one that
has come by chance, as it were, not in the lawful way.
CHAP, v.-— To answer saucily : as " She'd chap again at her;
she'd sauce her ; '' " She began to chap at me directly."
CHAPPY, adj. — Answering saucily, impudent : as " He's a
chappy young beggar ; " or, to a barking dog, " You're so
chappy, you rackapelt, you ! "
CHARM, v.—To gnaw.
Mice are worse than rats ; they charm so. They'll charm paper or
anything all to pieces.
There's a mess of silver-fishes (small moths) in the closet, and they've
charmed a hole in my woollen stocking; they've gnagged it all to bits.
CHASTISE, v. — To reprove, rebuke, correct verbally.
She was a good lass, and often chastised her mother for her badness.
CHATS, s. — Small things, or small bits of anything : as of
potatoes, " The chats will do for the pigs ; " or, of bits of
wood or sticks, "I'll go and pick up a few chats."
CHATTERBAGS, or CHITTERBAGS, s.— A chatterbox.
For the termination compare Shack-bags.
CHECK, inter/. — The call to a pig to come, as Houy in driving
one off.
CHEESES,s. — Name given by children to the round flat seeds
of the mallow, Malva sylvestris.
CHICKEN-WEED, s.— The chickweed. Stellaria media.
So I poulticed it wi' chicken-weed and groundsel, and followed it up
well wi' sauve (salve).
CHILDER, s. //.—Children : as " The childer got wetshed in
the dyke." " The poor childer have sca'ce a rag to their
backs."
28 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
CHILL, r. — To take off the chill, warm : as " I just chilled a
sup of beer and g'ed it him."
CHIMLEY, s.— Chimney.
When the fire's litten in the low room the smoke comes down the
chamber chimlcy.
It puthers down the chimley fit to blind one.
CHIP, v. — To squabble, quarrel : as " They chip out and chip
in," i.e. fall out and fall in.
CHISEL, s.— Coarse flour. Ang. Sax. Ceosol, Gravel, Shingle,
as in the Chesil Bank, Dorset.
When you get your corn grun, first comes the bran, then the chisel,
then the fine flour.'
It's real chisel bread.
I don't put all chisel, I put haef and haef.
CHIST, s. — Common pronunciation of chest, a box. Chaucer
has 'chist' to rhyme with 'list' (Freres Tale, 6982).
CHIT, 6. — The first sprout of seeds or potatoes.
I have set him to rnb off the chits.
CHIT,??. — To sprout, germinate: as of seeds or potatoes,
" They are beginning to chit," " They are chitting nicedly,"
" They're not chitted so much as I thought," "The corn
has not chitted a deal."
CH1TLINGS, s. — Part of the entrails of a pig, which are eaten
after being steeped in water, boiled and fried.
CHITTER, v. — To chatter, or shiver with cold,
He always cliitters so with his teeth.
CHUMP, 5. CHUMPY, adj.— Broad, stout, chubby: as of
children, " He's a real little chump," or •« She's a chumpy
little lass." So CHUMP-END, the thick end of a joint of
meat.
CHUNTER, r. — To mutter, or grumble to oneself.
He's such a man to chunter to hissen.
Teacher chunters if they cough in school. He keeps a-chuntering and
a-grumbling.
CHU'CH, — for church: as " They couldn't get to chu'ch, nor
nowt." So
CHU'CHMESTER.— Church-master, or Churchwarden.
They tell'd me he were Chu'chmcster to-year.
CLAG, v. — To daub, or clog together with sticky mud or clay
She was quite clagg'd when she got home.
Their boots and clothes are fairly clagg'd up. So
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 2Q
CLAGS, s. — Clotted, dirty messes.
Her petticut bottom's all in dags ; it hings in mucky rags.
CLAGGY, 0$.— Sticky, clogging.
The reen (rain) makes the ground so cloggy.
CLAM, v.— To seize, catch hold of, hold fast.
Now then clam hold on it.
I clammed hold on his back, and he sluth down me.
He clammed her by the arm, kicked her, and said
Defendant clammed him by the shoulder.
He dammed hold on the mane.
CLAM, or CLEM, v. — To suffer from hunger, starve.
The childer are well nigh clemmed.
He said he would clam first.
The horse was fairly clemmed, it was pined to dead.
Skinner notes this as "vox agro Lincolniensi usitatissima."
CLAMS, or CLEMS, s. — Wooden instruments, with which
shoemakers or saddlers clip their leather to hold it fast ;
also a kind of pincers with teeth and long handles by which
thistles are gripped and drawn out of the ground.
CLAMMOCKS, s. — An untidy, slatterly woman.
CLAP IN. v.^To come on suddenly, like a blow : as "I felt
the cold clap in on me;" "The storm clapped in on the
ist;" "And then the weather clapped in at this how,"
" Strange and sharp it has clapped in."
CLAP-POST, 5. — The post against which a gate claps or strikes
when shut, as distinguished from the post on which it
hangs.
Mebbe, it'll serve for a clap-post, it's not strong enough for the g,ate
to hing on,
CLARTY, adj.— Sticky, miry.
It's real clarty, heavy land.
CLAT, v. — To mess; as "Clatting about;" "She's always
doctoring and clatting;" "If I do clat, I like to do it of
Monday."
CLAT, s.— Mess, slop.
We've tried all sorts of clats.
It makes so much trouble and clat.
It's a deal of trouble, and a deal of clat, but I reckon it pays when all
is said and done.
I've had to get so many bits of clats for him.
It'll make all one clat.
CLAWK, v. — To snatch, claw up, clutch: as of a gleaner,
" Look at that crittur, how she clawks it up."
30 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE
CLEAN, adv. — Quite, entirely.
I'm clean bet.
He has letten her get clean mester on him.
It clean takes away my appetite.
CLEANING-TIME.— A well-known and definite period, just
before old May-Day, when all good house-wives give their
houses a regular yearly cleaning, before the farm-servants,
hired from May-Day to May-Day, leave their places.
It was just about last cleaning-time.
She always goes there to help at cleaning-time.
CLEANSE, CLEANSINGS, v. and s.— Of the afterbirth of a
cow : as " She cauved of Saturday, and never cleansed
while to-day.
CLEA, or CLEE, s. — Claw, as of a cat or bird.
The jay was caught by the clca.
So of Sheep, "It was the epidemic; all their cleas came off;"
" They've gotten new cleas."
CLETCH, s.— Clutch, or brood of chickens, &c.
There was only five in that cletch.
I've putten two cletches together.
There's a cletch got off in the wood.
CLICK, v. — To catch up, or snatch hastily, as mud in walking,
or on a wheel.
See how the mud clicks up.
I clicked the turnover (a small shawl) from her.
CLINKER, s. — A clincher, or clencher.
We had two clinkers (real good sermons) to-day.
I gave him a clinker (i.e., a convincing argument). So, "Well, that
was a clinking good one."
CLOCKS, s. — Little black insects, like beetles, which make a
ticking noise, often considered a token of death. But used
for any beetle-like insect, such as the Cockchafer : " It was
like one of them great flying clocks."
CLUB-TAIL, s. — Common name for the Stoat.
A club-tail fetched me six chickens outen that cletch.
CLUMPS, adj.— Idle, lazy.
We call them clumps when they waant work.
•' Vox agro Lincolniensi usitatissima." — (Skinner.)
CLUNCH, adj.— Gruff, surly.
He speaks so clunch to the poor bairns.
He was a very clunch man, and grumbled in his guts.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 3!
CLUNG, adj.— Stiff, heavy, clinging.
It's very wet and dun? down there.
The ground's too dung to set owt.
There's ten acres on it is ching ; it can't be dunger.
The land's too wet and clung for turkeys.
COARSE, adj. — Rough, stormy ; applied to the weather : as
" It's a very coarse afternoon."
COB, 5. — The stone of any fruit, as of the cherry.
Don't swallow the cobs.
The birds eat the cherries, and leave the cobs sticking on.
Also a small stack or heap of corn: as "They've no-but two wheat
stacks and a little cob."
GOGGLE, s. — A small round stone, pebble, cobble.
There's a many nasty coggles about.
I just catched my foot against a coggle.
It's the beautifullest coggle I ever seed, and the levellest.
We're just a-going to wash down the coggles.
COKES, s. — Coke, commonly used in the plural : as " We mix
a few cokes with the coal ; " " We've gotten a load of cokes
from Lincoln ; " " John fetched some cokes from Brace-
brig."
COLLOGUE, v. — To talk over, to persuade to some wrong or
mischief.
My daughter was collogued into it.
It was her parents as collogued him up there.
COME-BY-CHANCE.— A chanceling, or bastard child.
Why, you see, he was a come-by-chance ; she had him before she
married old B.
COME-INTO-PROFIT. — Said of a cow coming into milk : as
" She'll not come into profit while next month." Come into
use, has a different meaning, being said of a cow when
ready for the bull.
COME-THY-WAYS, i.e., Come along, said usually to a loiter-
ing child.
COME-TO-ONE'S-END.— To be about to die.
I thought no other but what I'd come to my end.
I doubt the old chap's come to his end.
COMPANY- KEEPER, s.— A companion.
She's gone to be company -keeper to old Mrs, S.
CONDEMNED, part. — Said of money spent, or owed, before it
is received : as " He has a pension, but it's mostly con-
demned before he gets it ; " " His week's wage is always
condemned beforehand ; " " Mr. H. asked if the £20,000
borrowed some nine years ago was all expended ; the
Mayor said it wras condemned." "Well, I have a horse,
but he's condemned ; I must sell him for the rent."
32 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
CONFINED MAN.— A labourer hired by the year, and so
confined to work for one master only ; a man in such a
situation is said to have a " confined place."
He was confined man at Aubur, and would like to get a confined place
again.
He's confined labourer to Mr. M. at Na'enby.
The men that's regularly confined, they're the best off.
COSH, 5.— The pod of Beans or Tares : as " Tars have such a
many coshes ; " hence also Cosh'd : as " How well the beans
are cosh'd."
COT, v. — To mat, become entangled.
Her tail cots so with the dirt.
His hair gets so cotted.
The sheaves are quiet green and cotted.
The 'tates are grown to a degree, real cotted together.
The wheat was all cotted together in the bags.
COT, s.— A mat, tangle.
The roots were all of a cot ;
The corn had grown that length, and was all of a cot.'1
A regular cot it was, I chopped a piece with a fir-bill.
COULD, v. — To be able ; as in the common phrase, Used to
could : as " I can't nip about, as I used to could ; " " Did
you, when you used to could work ? "
COURSE OF THE COUNTRY.— To see the course of the
country, a common expression for seeing the world.
He travelled about a deal when he was young ; he wanted to see the
course of the country.
It's a good thing for young folk to leave home ; they get to know the
course of the country.
COWGATE, s. — Pasturage for a cow, two cowgates being
reckoned for a horse's pasture.
They all have cowgates in the marsh.
There's nine cowgates in our latins (lanes).
COWLADY, s.— A Lady-bird.
The bairns are so fond of getting cowladies.
The children here have a rhyme, " Cowlady cay, Fly away."
COWS AND CALVES.— Name for the purple, and white
spikes of Arum maculatum, known sometimes as Lords
and Ladies, or Bulls and Cows.
CRAB-VARJUICE.— The juice of crabs pressed out, and used
as vinegar. After most of the juice was pressed out, water
was mixed with the pulp to make an acid drink, sometimes
palled Perry.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 33
CRACK, v. — To boast, talk big: as " He does crack so," or
" He's always cracking of hissen."
CRACK OUT, v. — To burst out laughing.
As for Tiz, she cracked right out.
CRACK. — " In a crack," i.e., in an instant, suddenly: as " He
might be snatched away in a crack " — of sudden death.
CRAM, v. — To crumple, tumble, disarrange.
Look, how my dress is crammed.
CRAMBLY, C RAMBLING, adj.— Shaky, tottering, decrepit.
What a crambly lot we are !
He walks very crambly.
I made the pig get up, but it seemed very wambling.
CRANKY, adj.— Merry, sportive.
How cranky the boy is ! he's full of quirks and pranks.
CRATCH, s. — The sort of hand-barrow or bier used to carry
a dead pig on.
Shep fetched a cratch from the mester's.
They each on 'em have a cratch.
CRATCHETY, Adj.— Ailing, infirm: "I'm always cratchety,
but I'm not to say worse than usual."
CRAZY, adj. — Rickety, dilapidated: as "A crazy old chair;"
" It was as crazy a lot as ever I clapped eyes on."
CREDDLE, s.— Cradle.
It's like a little creddle, she'll lig in it while she's three.
CREE, v. — To boil gently, set to simmer.
I was just creeing some wheat for the herses.
They cree the hinder ends for the pigs.
So, "Cree'd Wheat" — Wheat simmered till it is soft.
CREW, CREW-YARD, 5.— The yard where the stock is kept ;
as, " He has a rare lot of beast in his crew ; " " The mester's
out in the crew-yard; " " They lead the rakings straight into
the crew;" "The well ought to be reiet away from the
crews."
CRITCH, CRITCHY, adj. (the "i" pronounced long)— Stony,
full of flat stones: as " Cliff land is so critchy."
CROKE, s. — Refuse of anything: as, " It's only an old croke."
CROOKLED, adj.— Crooked.
We've been cleaning out that crookled dyke.
It's where there's that crookled chimney.
They cut out a lot of crookled oak.
D
34 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
CROODLE, v. — To cower, crouch down.
They found the old woman croodled up in a corner.
CROOK, s. — The hooked part of the hinge of a gate, that
which is fastened into the post.
The gate has been thrown off the crook.
He took two or three gates off the crooks.
CROP, v. — To pick, gather, — said of flowers.
They've been cropped sin' morn.
Joe has cropped them in the wood.
It's a posy the childer have cropped in the dyke.
And with that I cropped three roses.
She brought me some cropped flowers yesterday, some gillivers.
CROSS-CROP, v. — To grow crops out of due rotation.
When they began to cross-crop the land, they never did any more
good.
CROSS-CUT, v.— To plough across, at right angles to the
former ploughing.
They're cross-cutting fallows.
They don't fall to cross-cut clay.
The field was cross-cutten.
CROSS-EYED, adj.— Squinting.
I reckon the lass is a bit cross-eyed,
CROSS-HOPPLE, s.— To thwart, contradict, interrupt in
conversation, — a figure taken from a beast tethered by one
fore foot to the opposite foot behind, and so thwarted and
hindered in its movements.
Don't cross-hopple her now she's ill.
You're very cross-hoppling this morning.
They're oftens a bit cross-hoppling wi' her.
You can do nowt by cross-hoppling him.
CROW, 5. — Always applied to the Rook, the Carrion-Crow
being distinguished as Cad-crow.
The crows made work with the corn.
He's tenting crows on the ten-acre.
So the Crowholt, i.e., the Rookery.
CROW-BELLYFUL.— A morsel, very small quantity : used
in such sayings as " She has not a crow- bellyful of flesh on
her ; " " Thou'lt not get a crow-bellyful oi meat offen it."
CROWPOOR, adj. — Poor as a crow, very poor.
They kep' it only crowpoor, as you may say.
CROWFEET, 5.— The Meadow Orchises, Orchis Mono, and
0. mascula.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 35
CRUD, s.— Curd.
As white as any cnid.
That's what they mak' crud or cheese wi1.
CRUDLE, v. — To curdle: as " The cow's milk crudled in it's
inside.
CRUMPS, s. pi. — Small wrinkled or crumpled apples: as
" We'll give the crumps to the pig."
CUCKOO-FLOWER, 5.— The Lady's Smock, Cardaminc
iwatensis.
CULL, CULLS, s.— -Those culled, or picked out ; used of the
inferior sheep, weeded out of the flock.
He only sold some culls,
When you buy a lot like that, you must reckon to get some culls.
CULLIS-ENDED, adj. — Finished off with round ends or
gables, said of thatched stacks : as " Mr. P. had all his
stacks cullis-ended."
CUT, s. — One of the many words for Dyke or Drain, a channel
cut for water.
Jump into the cut, Jack, with thee (thy) new clothes on, and see what
thee mother will say to thee. Eh, feyther, thou'rt a funny beggar.
If any person shall at any time place any tunnel through any of the
said drains or cuts.
CUT, v. — To castrate : as " The pigs are not cut yet ; " " He
reckoned to cut them the fore-end of the week."
CUT, /.-.—To hurt, vex, mortify.
I was cut when they came and tell'd me they were dead.
I was real cut to think he should serve me so,
It would cut them to come on the parish.
I felt a bit cut about it.
It'll be very cuttin? for her to leave her home,
CUTMEAT, or CUTSTUFF, s.— Straw cut into short lengths,
or turnips sliced, as food for cattle : as " It's all corn, no
cut-stuff." " He fetched a seek of cutmeat out on the
yard." So Cut-house, the building in which it is cut.
He was found hanging by his neck in a cut-house.
CUTTS, s. — Pair of Cutts, the conveyance used for carrying
timber, &c.
A horse attached to a pair of cutts took fright,
Swinging on a pole behind a pair of timber-cutts.
He was fined for using a pair of cutts on the highway without having
his name painted thereon.
They brought two cutts and five horses, and fetched two cutts' load of
esh-poles.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
DA. — Common familiar term for Father, i.e., Dadda.
His Da says he's over-young.
Yon's my Da coming for me.
His Da heights him so.
DA', or DAA.— Day: as
come of Saturda'; " '
'She lit on him of Frida' ; " " He'll
They'll not flit while Mayda'."
'DACIOUS, 0$.— Audacious.
He's a 'dacious lad, that Bill T.
cfr. Owdacious and Dossity.
D ACKER, r.— To loiter, slacken speed.
They dackered a good bit on the way.
They dackered the horses after they passed Lincoln.
The Doctor has dackered agen their house.
Noted by Skinner as " Vox agro Lincolniensi usitata."
DADE, v. — To hold up, or lead, as children by the hand, or by
leading strings : as " We daded her between us." Hence
Dading-strings, for Leading-strings.
DAFF, DAFFY, adj.— Doughy.
How daffy the bread is !
Bread is bad for anyone when it is so daff.
DALLACK, v. — To dress smartly and gaudily.
How she's dallacft'd out !
She's none of your dallacking lasses. So
DALLACKS, s. — One who dresses smartly and gaudily : as
" What a dallacks yon is ! " (See Dawk, Dawks.)
DANG, v. — To throw down with violence : as "Dang it down;"
cfr., Bang and Spang.
DANT, v. — Daunt.
It's very danting for her, poor lass.
DAWK, v. — To dress smartly, but slovenly : as " How she
dawks hersen out ! " So
DAWKS, s.— " What a dawks she looks ! "
tions for Dallack and Dallacks above.
Perhaps contrac-
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 37
DAWL, v. — To tire, weary.
I'm quiet dawled out.
It's dawling work ligging so long in be.'.
The herses were strange and wouldn't eat, so they got dawled on the
road.
DAWN, 5. — Common pronunciation of Down, fur: as " She
left some dawn on the breers ; " " The dawn's beginning to
come (grow) again ; " " He doesn't want any of that white
dawn (cotton-wool) putten round him" (in his coffin).
DEAD, s. — Commonly used for Death : as "I'm hagged to
dead ; " " He was fit to hound me to dead ; " " It would
scare some women to dead ; " "It would 'a grieved you to
dead to see the bairn, he was haef pined to dead."
DEAD-HORSE.— " To work a dead horse," i.e., to work to
pay off a debt incurred, or for wages already spent ; " I
doubt he's working a dead horse."
DEAD-RIPE, adj. — Completely ripe, so over-ripe that all
growth has ceased ; commonly said of grain.
DEAF, adj. — Used not only of Ears of corn, meaning blighted
and empty, without grain in them : as " There's a many
deaf ears to-year ; " " They cut a sheaf or two that was
night-ripening, but it was like deaf corn ; " "A many ears
have nothing in them, they seem quiet deaf." But also of
other things, as " A deaf nut," that is, one without a
kernel ; " " Her cheek looked like a deaf cheek, as if it had
no life in it," said of one the side of whose face was
paralysed.
DEAL, s. — Used simply for a quantity without any qualifying
adjective : as "There was a deal of rain," or "not such a
very deal ; " " It's not hurten a deal," or " It's not good
for a deal ; " " He would have all cutten, and then there
came a very deal of wet."
DELPH, or DELF, s. — One of the many words for a Drain or
Dyke, a channel delved or dug to carry off water.
DEM, s. — Local pronunciation of Dam, an embankment.
They put a dem in the beck.
I've been dragging dems out on the dykes. So also
DEM, v. — To dam : as " They demm'd it higher up ; " "I fell
cross ways into the dyke, so I was demming up the water."
DEMMUCKED, ^'.—Diseased, said of potatoes ; probably a
corrupted form of Epidemick'd.
^,S SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
DIDN'T OUGHT, DOESN'T OUGHT, HADN'T OUGHT,
common local idioms for Ought not.
People have relief who didn't ought.
It doesn't ought to do so in that time.
She does ought to help me.
We hadn't ought to forego our claim.
They don't ought to be at that how.
DILL, v. — To soothe, ease, dull.
I'd take anything to dill the pain.
She had to walk about to dill the pain.
DINGLE, v.— To tingle.
My arm begins to dingle and feel that queer.
It's a nasty dingling pain.
I feel a dingling deadness in that thumb.
DISANNUL, v. — To disarrange, put in confusion: as " The
house is all disannulled."
DISCHARGE FROM, v.— To forbid, charge not to do.
He discharged him from going on his land
DISCOURSE, s.— Conversation.
His discourse was not fit to be heard.
She didn't think a deal on his discourse.
Their discourse was awful.
Whenever you talk to him, he always brings out some good discourse.
DISGEST, v. — Very commonly used for Digest ; so Disgestion
and Indisgestion.
Doctor says it's bad disgestion.
His stomach does not seem to disgest it.
DITHER, DIDDER, v.— To shake, quiver, tremble: as "See
how it makes the man's amis dither ; " " One leg's all a
dithering." Skinner, 200 years ago, noted Didder as " vox
agro Line, familiaris."
DITHER, s. — A trembling, quivering, shaking : as " I'm all
of a dither ; " " My back and all's all of a dither." One of
the many instances of " dd " being pronounced as " th."
DITTED, adj. — Begrimed, dirtied.
Some folks say grufted, and some say ditted.
Things soon get ditted up in a market town.
DO, sometimes DOMENT, s. — An ado, or to-do; used com-
monly of an entertainment or social gathering : as "It was
a beautiful do ; " " They had only a poor do at the Fair ; "
" They'd been to your Tea-do ; " " They have their Church-
do next week ; " " They telegraphted for him, but he was at
this do-ment." But used also in other senses : as " She's
just had a coughing-do " (i.f.t a fit of coughing) ; " They've
had two or three bits of do's (quarrels) already ; " "He
made but a poor do on it ; " " If it wasn't for the School
Board, we shouldn't ha' had all this do-ment."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 39
DOG-POOR, adj. — Very poor, extremely poor : as " The horse
was that dog-poor it could not get up."
DOLE, or DOLLUP, s. — A lump or quantity of anything : as
" Gie me a dole of paste ; " " Let me have another dole of
worsted," i.e., a skein of 8 ounces.
DOLLY, or DOLLY-TUB, s.— A wooden tub for washing
clothes, which are worked about in it with a Peggy.
DOOR-DERN, s.— A door frame.
I set my foot on the edge of the dooy-dcrn.
They even took down the door-derns, and burnt them.
Do the door-dern next.
I am sure the doors were in, leastways the dcnis were.
DOORSTEAD, s.— The threshold, or place of the door : as
Gatestead and Bedstead. So " He stood in the door-
stead ; " " The doorstead is so low, one is fit to knock one's
head."
DORCASED, adj.— Finely dressed out. No doubt derived,
ironically, from the so-called Dorcas Societies for making
clothes for the poor.
DOSSITY, s.— Spirit, animation.
The bairn seems weak and traily, she has no dossity about her.
She seems to have no mind, no dossity whatever.
Always pronounced Dossity, but perhaps a corruption of 'Dacity
(Audacity). See 'Dacious above.
DOTHER, DODDER, s.— The Corn Spurrey, Spergula avvensis,
a common weed in light corn-land, quite distinct from the
Dodder of Botanical Books.
The sheep ate out the dother, and left the wheat in drills.
There was more dother than barley.
An instance of " dd " being pronounced as " th," as in Dither, Pother,
Lether, &c.
DOUBT, v.— Used in the sense of Think, Fear : as " I doubt
we're wrong ; " " I doubt he's a bad 'un ; " "I doubt it will
rain ; " " That's not big enough, I doubt."
DOWK, v. — To stoop, hang down, duck: so " dowking "
applied to a cow whose horns hang down.
The leaves dowk down completely.
DOWN, adv. — 111 in bed : as " Down with a fever ;" " What, is
he down again ? " There are several down on it " (the small
pox).
DOWN-COMING, adj.— Ruinous, likely to fall.
It's a strange down-coming old place.
40 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
DOWNFALL, s.— A fall of rain, snow, or hail.
I doubt we shall have some downfall.
There'll be a downfall before it is warmer.
DRAG, v. — To work land with a Drag, a heavy harrow with
longer and stronger teeth, to break the clods, and with
Hailes, or handles, to guide it, like a plough.
They're a-gate dragging the far close.
I paid two-shillings for dragging and harrowing it.
DRAGGED UP. part. — Said of children brought up roughly
and carelessly : as " They're not brought up, they're
dragged up ; " " They've been dragged up anyhow."
DRAPE, s. — A cow that is barren, and so gives no milk ; also
applied to a barren ewe.
Why, she's a drape, so we're feeding of her.
So in sale bills : " Three in-calf cows, two drapes ;" or so many " drape
heifers."
"He was driving four sheep — drape ewes."
DREE, adj. — Long-continued, tedious, wearisome: As "Dull,
dree weather;" or, " A long dree day's work ;" or, " It was
raining very dree ; " We've stuck to it very dree to get it
finished." " He wears dree at his work : anyone who wears
dree at a thing may often get through a deal."
DRESS, v. — To cheat, deceive.
He waant try, no-but to dress people.
They'd sooner try to dress people out of their money than not.
DRIFT, v. — Stronger form for drive : as " I'll drift him," that is
" pack him off." " The officer drifted the boys."
DRIFT-ROAD, s. — A road used for driving cattle, in some
parts called a Drove.
DRINGLING,/w/. — Drizzling: said of rain or snow, when it
is small and fine.
DRIV, v. — Drove : past tense of drive.
Father driv plough there.
He either driv plough, or
I driv a many away my sen.
I driv and driv and driv.
DROLLASHUN, s.— A droll person.
Mrs. B. she is a drollashun.
DRUG, 5. — The wagon, capable of being lengthened, which is
used for carrying timber ; sometimes called a pair of cutts.
They haven't no drugs to lead wood with.
They'll never get their drugs and herses in there ; they'll have to trail
the poles out with a cheen.
SOUTH-WES1 LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 4!
DULBERT, 5.— A dullard, dunce.
DUNK, DUNKY, adj.— Short and thick ; said of a pig of that
shape.
Many would call yon pig dunky, but I don't reckon it's a real dunk,
DWINE, v. — To dwindle, waste away.
She just seems to dwine away.
DYKE, s. — The regular word for a Ditch : as " He's agate
brushing out the dyke ;" " She tumbled flat of her back in
the dyke;" "Don't go in the dykes and get yoursens
wetshed." " They reckon as the dyke belongs the hedge."
42 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
EAGRE, or AIGRE, s. — The Bore or tidal wave which rushes
up the Trent as far as Torksey.
EAR, 5. — The handle 01 a cup, jug, or pitcher : as in the
saying " Little pitchers'have long ears."
There was not a cup with an ear to it in the house.
She kep' moving the mugs and looking if their ears were clean.
So, "a tvfo-eared kit," a wooden vessel with two handles, used in
milking.
EARNING, s.— Rennet.
Mrs. E, used always^to put earning in.
Earning ; why, that's what they mak' crud or cheese wi' ; some folks
call getting wages, earning.
EASEMENT, s.— Relief.
I'd tak' anything whereby I could get some easement.
Mebbe it'll give him easement for a piece.
EAU, pronounced EA, EE, s. — A watercourse.
When the Withern Eau was ditched.
Leastways, it was not Moulton village, it was Moulton Ea-gate.
So, Bourn Eau, Risegate Eau, Eau-br'mk, and Eau-dyke. Hardly
known in this immediate neighbourhood, but "the Sincil Dyke at
Lincoln is called the Old Ea in old documents."
EDDISH, s. — The aftercrop of grass after the hay-crop has
been cut.
EKE, ».— To lengthen.
I mun eke her petticoat.
I shall have to eke it again ; I shall have to put a piece on it.
I've eked her little shimmy ^twice.
ELDER, s.— A cow's udder.
Her elder is as hard as hard.
The skin seemed to hing all about her elder.
" Vox in agro Line, oppidoque frequens," says Skinner.
'EN, — the old plural termination still heard in such words as
Closen, Housen, Placen, for Closes, Houses, Places ; some-
times re-duplicated into Closens, Housens, Placens.
He's got two p\a.cen on his hands while May.
There are three niced little gress closet to it.
On them clay closes it is bad.
She's stopped in her places well.
There are four clowns haven't a quarter to the acre.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 43
'EN, — the regular termination of the Past Participle in En or
'Ten, commonly retained in such words as Gotten, Cutten,
Letten, Setten, Hurten, Putten, &c.
It's not hurten a deal.
The house was \etten the day they flitted.
We've gotten our garden sett™,
I wouldn't ha' putten up wi' it.
I won't have the bairn hhten.
Oh, she was cutten up ; it has upsetten her.
END, v. — To finish make an end of, kill: as " The bairns
are that rough, they're fit to end one ; " " They're fit to
end anything about them ; " " No man should end her
money ; " " She'd been trying to end hersen."
END, s. — " To come to one's end ; " /.<?., to come to one's
death : as "I thought for sureness he'd come to his end
this bout."
END, 5. — " Not to care which end goes first " — a phrase for
reckless waste and extravagance.
They seem as if they did not care which end went first.
She's a sore woman ; she does not care which end goes first.
ENDLONG, adv.— Continually, all along.
They promised to continue it endlong whilst he lived.
They behaved endlong the same.
ENEW. — Common pronunciation of Enough : as " He didn't
make holes enew." " Have you got enew ? Oh, we've
gotten plenty."
ENJOY. — The term constantly employed with bad health : as
" Does she enjoy bad health ? " " They say there's one on
'em enjoys bad health."
ESH, 5. — An Ash-tree.
It would 'a grown oak and esh in the hollows,
Oak before Esh, — a deal of wet.
44
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
FAG, s. — A sheep-tick. So Fag-water, water mixed with
mercury (arsenic) and soft-soap, in which sheep are dipped
to kill the ticks.
FAIRLY, adv. — Completely, actually.
The land's fairly rotten.
I've fairly had to scrat it off.
FAIR-WALLING, s.— The level, smoothly-built masonry or
brickwork above the roughly-built foundations.
FALL, v. — In very common use for to Fall to the place or turn
of anything, or simply for Ought or Should.
That close falls to be wheat this turn.
He falls to have a man to help him.
That key does not fall to open it.
I fall to go to wash there next week.
She falls to be at school.
He fell to come yesterday.
She falls some money in April.
Any goose falls to lay by Old Candlemas Day — in allusion to the
saying : —
"New Candlemas Day, good goose will lay:
Old Candlemas Day, any goose will lay.
FALL TO PIECES. — A common phrase, used of a woman's
confinement : as " She fell to pieces last night ; " " She'll
fall to pieces before she gets there."
FALSE, FAUSSE, adj. — Sly, cunning, crafty
The cows are so false.
She's as false as a little fox.
My dog's as false as any man.
So of a horse, " He's asfausse as a man."
F AMBLE, v. — To stutter, to speak imperfectly or unintelligibly.
He f ambles so in his talk.
She seems to f amble, as if she could not get her words out.
FARDIN, s.— Farthing.
FAR-END, 5.— The last, the utmost : as " I should like to see
the far-end of her," i.e., see her till her death ; "I'm sure
it was the far-end of my thoughts," *.*., The last thing I
should think of.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 45
FAR-LENGTH, s.— Distance, furthest length.
That is about the far -length he goes.
FAR-WELTERED, part.— Cast, or thrown on its back, as a
sheep. See Weltered, and Over-weltered.
FAST, adj. — Stopped, hindered, tied : as " I won't see you
fast," i.e., Stopped for want of money, or want of work.
" I reckon they're fast for bricks," i.e., stopped for want of
them. " If she see'd I was fast, or owt ;" " I'm a real fast
woman, I've a great family," i.e., tied by family cares. But
also " He has got no fast job," i.e., no constant work.
FASTEN, or FASTENING PENNY. — Earnest money,
money given to fasten or confirm a bargain or hiring.
I ged a shilling fasten-penny.
He sent back his fasten-penny.
He tell'd him he might drink his fasten-penny.
He ged the mester back his fasten-penny.
FASTEN-TUESDAY, or FASTEN EVE.— Shrove Tuesday
the Eve of the great Fast of Lent.
FATHEAD, s.— A stupid fellow, dunce.
She called our George a fathead and a dunce.
FEAT, FEATISH, adj.— FEATLY, adv.— Neat, nice, well-
done : as " Yon's a feat little lass ;" " It's a featish bit of
work ;" " It's featly done ;" or ironically, " It's a feat mucky
job."
FEATHER-POKE, s.— The long-tailed Titmouse ; probably
so called from the pocket-shaped nest, lined with feathers,
which it makes ; or, perhaps, " from its way of puffing up
its feathers."
FEDBED, 5.— A feather-bed. So " Fedbed-makers," in " Cocke
Lorelle's Bote," temp. Henry VIII.
FEED, s. — Food, fodder for cattle : as " There's plenty of good
feed this turn ;" or the common bidding to an ostler :
" Give my horse a feed."
FEED, v. — To grow fat, or to make fat.
He is beginning to feed.
He eats well, so I hope he will soon begin to feed.
We shall begin to feed him next week.
He is feeding three small beast.
Milk -will feed anything quicker than water.
FEEDER, s. — One who grows fat.
The whole family of them are feeders.
So feeders, fatting cattle ; and feeding land, grazing land, on which
cattle can be fattened.
46 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
FEEDER, s. — A child's bib ; also a feeding-bottle, or cup with
a lip.
FELLOWSHIP, s.— Friendly conversation: as "We had a
little fellowship together." Dame Juliana Berners instructs
us that " a Felyschyppyne of yomen " is the proper term to
use.
FEN-OAKS.— Willows.
FERRAGE, v. and s. — With the sense of searching into, and
clearing out : as " I like to have a real good ferrage over
once or twice a year ;" " I've given all my places a good
ferraging out ;" " He begins to ferrage into things more'n
he did ;" " I've no man, so I mut ferrage out for mysen ;"
" There's plenty of work if they will but ferrage out for it ;"
"They don't ferrage the corners out;" "She's always
a-ferraging out the yard." One would think it merely a
corruption of Forage ; but the Ferraging Fork, the iron fork
used for moving about the hot embers in a brick oven,
seems to represent the old word Fruggin, or Fruggan,
having the same meaning. Cotgrave (1611) explains
Fourgon as "an oven-forke, termed in Lincolnshire a
Fruggin, wherewith fuel is both put into an oven, and
stirred when it is in it."
FETCH, s. — A false tale, imposition.
It's merely a. fetch to get relief.
Why, it was a fetch.
One wouldn't have thought a lady would make a. fetch like that
Thsre's a many fetches (used as a verb) sooner than hardworks.
FETTLE, s.— Order, condition.
The place is in strange good fettle.
What sort of fettle is it in ?
FETTLE, or FETTLE UP, v.— To put in order, make ready :
as "Just fettle it up a bit ; " " We'll fettle it up agen the
feast."
FEY, v. — To cleanse.
I munfey out that dyke.
It wants f tying out badly.
FEYT, v. -Fight.
A mother may fey 't through wi' bairns ; a feyther caant.
He ast him would hefeyt.
The bairn seems tofeyt for her breath.
FEYTHER, s.— Father.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 4.7
FIDDLE, s. — The name given to the " pasties," i.e., pastry
with jam inside which children bring to school for their
dinner. So, " Have you got your riddle ? " " Mother, do
make me a fiddle to-day."
FIERCE, adj.— Brisk, lively : as " The babe's quite fierce
again ; " " Oh, they were fierce ; they were as merry as
crickets."
FIND ONESELF, v.— To provide oneself with victuals.
His sister gives him harbour, but he finds himself.
She had nobut 35. a week to find her sen.
He got 145 a week and found himself.
FINGER and TOE,— said of Turnips when the root branches
out into the shape of fingers and toes instead of forming a
bulb.
Some odd ones are finger and toe-ing.
They've gone to finger and toes a good deal.
FIR-BILL, or FURBILL, s.—A bill, or bill-hook ; the common
name : as " Tak' and grind this 'ere fir-bill ; " " She got
the old fir-bill into it;" " I chopped a piece with a fir-bill."
FIRST LAMB,— "You notice which way the first lamb you
see looks and that-a-way you'll go to live ;" said to farm-
servants, with reference to their yearly change of service at
May-day.
FIRST OFF,— for the first thing, the beginning: as "The
first off of the morning," for the first thing in the morning ;
" It was the first off of his occupying the farm ; " " He
wanted the pigs killing first off."
FIT, adj. — Ready, inclined, sufficient, or likely to.
They're// to tear one to bits.
When the bairns all turn out bad one is fit to blame it to the parents.
Her father -was fit to flog her,
If she knew, she'd be a'mostfit to kill me.
FITTER, 5.— A small piece or fragment : as 01 a rusty iron
pipe, " It comes off in fitters."
FIXED, part.— Settled, provided for.
I doubt she'll be badly fixed if he happens owt.
I never thought I should be fixed at this how.
There's a many on 'em fixed at that how.
She has been badly fixed for a girl.
She has some brothers real -well fixed, and they've promised to fix her.
FLACKET, 5. — A small wooden barrel, used for beer by
labourers in harvest.
FLEAK, FLAKE, s. — A hurdle or sheep-tray.
4 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
FLECK, v. and s. — A spot, or to spot: as "The mare was
flecked with foam," or " She had a few flecks of white
about her." Skinner calls the word — " Vox agro Line,
usitatissima ; and indeed the words seem in common use,
though Webster pronounces them " obsolete, or used only
in poetry."
FLEET, s. — A shallow channel, or piece of water : as " The
Fleet," at Collingham, and " Holme Fleet," in the Trent,
near Rampton.
FLICK, s. — A flitch, or side of bacon.
FLIGGED, adj.— Fledged.
They're only bubblings yet ; let them be while they 're Digged.
FLIT, v. — To remove, change house.
We shan't flit while May Day.
They say it's ill-luck to flit a cat.
He has a brother as flitted from agen Kirton-Lindsey.
FLIT, FLITTING, s. — A move, change of house.
They made a moon-light flit on it.
So the sayings, " Two fittings are as bad as one fire ; " and " Friday
flit, short sit."
FLOURY, adj.— Light and powdery : as " The fallows are so
floury."
FLUSKER, v.— To flutter, or fluster : as of a hen, " What
with fluskering in going on, she broke one on 'em ; " or of
pigeons, " At the least noise they all flusker out."
FOAL-FOOT, s.— The herb Colts-foot, Tussilago Farfara, the
yellow flowers of which are gathered by country-people in
spring, and either made fresh into wine, or dried and made
into tea, — esteemed for their medicinal qualities.
The childer are as bad foal footing as brambling.
FOG, s. — Rank, coarse grass, not fed off in summer, or that
grows in autumn, after the hay is cut.
There wasn't haef so much old fog grown where that stuff was putten
on.
FOLLOW UP, v. — Common phrase for Persevere, Continue
with any treatment : as " We followed it up well with hot
water and poultices ; " " I've been following her up well wi'
some sauve;" "Doctor says, 'we must follow her up wi'
plenty of good support ; ' " " There's nowt better for inflam-
mation than Featherfew, if you do but follow it up;" "I
hope he'll be able to keep on following on it up."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 49
FOOT, v. — To trace by footmarks: as "There was snow on
the ground, and they footed him to the pond."
FOOT-BET, adj.— Tired out with walking.
Weston seemed quiet foot-bet as he passed along the rampire.
FORCE-PUT, s. — A matter of necessity, compulsion.
It's a real force-put, or I shouldn't 'a done it.
I shouldn't 'a sold it for that, if it hadn't been a. force-put.
FORE-ELDERS, s.— Forefathers, ancestors.
They buried her at H. with her fore -elders,
FORE-END, s. — The fore-part of the year, the spring,
answering to the Back-end : as " He came last fore-end ; "
" It'll be a year come next fore-end." Also used for the
fore-part of the week, or month, or the fore-part generally :
as "It was the fore-end of his being took ill ; " " I don't
know whether it was the fore-end or the middle of his
time ; " "It was somewhere at the fore-end of October."
FORENOON, s. — The later hours before noon, always
distinguished from the morning or earliest part of the
day, as is natural with those who rise very early.
There's breakfast in the morning, and then something in the forenoon.
Will there be preaching in the forenoon ?
FORSET (accent on the last syllable), v.— To upset.
He seems to want to do all he can to for set and bother us.
FOR WHY, — used commonly instead of Why: as "I don't
know for why she should get worse ; " "I said I could not
give him one, and he said * For why ? ' " " She blaemt it to
me, and I'm sure I don't know for why; " " I don't know
for why she didn't ; " " I'll tell you for why."
FOTHER, v. and s. — Common pronunciation of Fodder : as
Dother for Dodder, Lether for Ladder, Blether for Bladder,
&c., &c. "There'll be plenty of fother this turn;" "There
was only a small fother-stack offen twenty acres ; " " It was
betwen caaking and fothering time ; " " We get our teas
when Will comes in from fothering them."
FOUL, adj. — Used in such phrases as " When it rains in on
the bed it seems foul ; " "It were a very foul crash of
thunder came at last ; " " It's a foul place to cross in the
dark;" "It's a foul job, this flitting job;" "It's foul
having to shift of a Sunday ; " " They mend boots so foul ;
I hate to see them so foul." Or, " I reckon that land's
very foul ; " that is, full of weeds,
50 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
FOUMARD, or FUMMARD, s.— The Pole-cat, i.e., the Foul
Marten, from its stench.
FOUTY, adj. — Fusty, tainted ; applied to meat, bread, flour, &c.
It smelt rather foitty for want of air.
FOX'S-BRUSH,— a name given to the large Yellow Sedum, S.
reflexum, from the bushy shape of its leaf-spikes.
FRAIL, adj. — Weak-minded, timid, frightened : as " She was
born frail, poor lass."
FRAME, v. — To begin, promise.
He's new to the work yet, but he frames well.
It seems to frame right.
This one. frames to be as good as yon.
She thought she would see how she'd frame.
He don't seem to frame amiss.
That's what she seemed to frame for most.
FRATCHY, adj.— Peevish, irritable.
We call them fratchy when folks are nasty-tempered, and one don't
like to speak to them.
FREE, adj. — Free-spoken, affable, not reserved ; applied as a
term of great praise, and opposed to a "high." man, that
is, haughty and reserved.
He's a wonderful free gentleman.
She was a very free lady.
She seems very pleasant and very free.
FREE-MARTIN, s.— The female of twin-calves, male and
female, which, it is supposed, will not breed ; called also a
Martin-calf.
FRESH, adj. — Fat, in good condition: as "The beast were
very fresh ; " " Mr. M. sold a lot of very fresh bullocks ; "
" He reckoned the pigs weren't fresh enough for porkets."
So in Sale Bills, so many " he and she hogs, very fresh."
FRET, v. — To cry, weep.
She had to fret a bit.
She seemed a woman as couldn't fret — not tears.
She did not fret while we fretted, i.e., she did not cry till we did.
FRIDGE, v. — To fray, rub, chafe.
The horse's shoulder fridges sore.
He is skin-tight, so the collar fridges him.
The plaster has J 'ridged his leg a bit.
FULL, adv. — Quite, enough ; used as an intensitive : as " It's
full soon yet ; " " It's full early for barley."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 5!
FULL OF COLD, — common expression for having a great
deal of cold : as " The childer are all full of cold ; " compare
" Full of leprosy," St. Luke v. 12. So also " Full of
work:" as "Having the childer fills me full of work;"
" I've been out two nights, and that fills me full to-day."
FULLOCK, 5.— Force, impetus: as "What a fullock that
goes ! " So
FULLOCK, v. — To give force to a marble by thrusting forward
the hand in shooting it — a school-boy's term.
No fullock ing, that's not fair !
Why, I saw youfullocft.
FUN. — Found, past of Find : as Grim for Ground, Bun for
Bound.
We/Jin a lot more.
They soon/«w her out.
I think they've fun out their mistake.
I soon/«« out I was hurten.
52 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
GABLECK, s. — An iron crowbar, used or fixing hurdles in
the ground, &c.
One can sca'ce get the gableck thruff it.
They've splitten the tops with the gableck.
GAD, s. — The measure equalling half an acre, by which wood is
sold standing, as in Skellingthorpe Wood Sales.
GADWOOD, s. — Underwood, as distinguished from Timber
trees ; a word often used in advertisements of wood sales :
as " The Gadwood on 25 acres."
GAIN, GAINER, GAINEST, adj. and adv.— Near, handy,
convenient.
So gain as I live.
It's as gain as we can make it
He's very gain blind.
That's as yam as I can tell you.
His work lies a deal gainer.
Yon's the gainest road.
It's not them always does best as lives gainest of home. So —
GAIN-HAND, OR GAIN-OF-HAND.— Near at hand : as " I
laid it gain-hand somewhere ;" " She lives quiet gain of
hand."
GAINLY, adj. — Handy, clever: as " He's a gainly young
chap." The word from which the more common Ungainly
has been formed.
GALLEY-BAUK, OR BALK, s.— The cross-beam in a
chimney from which the iron hook for pots hangs ; so-called
from its resemblance to a Gallows.
Why it swings on the galley-bank.
GAM, s. — Game ; an exception to the usual pronunciation 01
similar words : as Lae'm, Taem, Blaem, &c.
Let's have a good gam.
He used to be so full of his gams.
So: " They \veregannjiing," that is, playing in fun,
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WOPDS. 53
GARTH, 5. — A yard, enclosure; commonly used in the names
of fields: as the Calf Garth, Far Garth, Willow Garth,
Vine Garth, Hall Garth, Play Garth, Coney Garth, &c.
Skinner describes it in this day as " vox adhuc in agro
Line, usitatissima pro Yard, et eandem cum Yard origin-
em agnoscit."
GARTH MAN, s. — A yardman, the man who takes care of the
stock in the crew-yard. Pronounced Ga'thman, and
frequently seen in advertisements as " Wanted a Garth -
man, &c." " Mester wanted a confined ga'thman, but R.
wmted to be off on ta'en work."
GA'THS, GA'THING, s.— Girths, Girthing: as " Shall I put
hinges or ga'thing?" "I reckon we want a new pair of
ga'ths."
GASFAULT, v. — Usual, and rather happy, corruption o
Asphalt.
They've gasfaulted the foot-pad.
He goes gasfaulting and gardening.
He often addles 303. a week gasfaulting.
GAS-TAR, 5. — The common term for the asphalted space
before the Old Corn Exchange, Lincoln : as " He has a
stall on the Gas-Tar ;" " He sells on the Gas-Tar of
Frida's ;" " It was sold on the Gas-Tar for 4d.
GATE, s. — Way or road : as " Go you your gate ;" "You mun
tak' that gate ;" and the many Streets at Lincoln and
Newark which bear the name : as Bailgate, Northgate,
Eastgate, Hungate, Saltergate, Kirkgate, &c., all which
refer, not to the entrances through the town walls, but to
the streets leading up to them. Thus at Lincoln the South
Bargate is the street leading to the South Bar, or entrance
of the city. Thus also Gate Burton is so-called because on
or near the old Roman road ; Halton Holgate because on
the " hollow way " between two pieces of sand-rock ; and a
Cowgate is a run of pasturage for a cow. Both the Prompt.
Parv. (1440), and Skinner (1668) distinguish between "Gate
or Yate, Porta," and " Gate or Wey, Via ;" and Skinner
calls the latter " vox agro Line, usitata."
GATESTEAD, s. — The place in which a gate stands.
There's a gatestead in. yon corner.
The snow's blown through the gatesteads.
How they got thruff the gatestead I don't know,
GEE, interj.—The cry of the waggoner or plowman to his horses,
when he wants them to turn to the right, as Awve is to the
left, See AWVE,
54 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
GET, r. — Used absolutely for Get-there or Manage to go: as
" I sliould like to 'a gone, but I couldn't get ; " " They did
not go, because they could not get ;" " He was to have
come of Saturda', but, mebbe, he could not get ; " " It
matters nowt, I cannot get."
GET-HER-BED, — common phrase for a woman's being
confined : as " She'll stop while she gets her bed ; " " She
reckoned to get her bed next month."
GET-IT-OUT-OF-THE-ROAD, -- common expression for
disposing of a pig, when killed, by making it into bacon,
pork-pies, lard, &c.
She wanted me to get her pig out of the road.
We're going to kill a pig next week, so we shall be throng getting it
out of the road.
It seems so soft when a man feeds a pig, and his wife can't get it
out of the road.
GET-THE-STEEL-OUT-OF,— that is, get the best part, the
goodness, out of anything: as " Old Mr. N. got the steel
out of that farm."
GET-THE-TURN, — that is, to begin to recover from an illness.
He mut have gotten the turn.
I understood as how he'd gotten the turn.
GET UNDER, v.—To understand.
It's so different, one can't seem to get under it.
GIBS, s. (G hard). — A Gosling (called "a Green Gib" when
very young.
They have only five gibs between them.
If she brings off any gibs, I shall rear them as cades.
GIE, G'ED, G'EN. — Give, gave, given.
See what a chanch it gie's us.
I'll gie ye two pills.
He g'ed her a smack on the face.
What has she g'en you ?
So I ge'd over.
GILLERY, s. (G hard).— Deceit, trickery, cheating.
Let's have none of your Cillery.
There was a bit of gillery at the sale.
There's a deal of gillery in horse-dealing.
There's gillery in all trades.
GILLIVER, a.— The Gilly-flower or Wall-flower ; more correct
than the common form, Gilly-flower.
She brought me some cropt flowers yesterday, some yillivers*
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 55
GILT, .s. — A female pig, called by this name till it has had a
second litter, when it is called a sow. In some parts it is
used for a sow rendered incapable of breeding, but not so
here.
Mester keeps those two gilts to breed from.
We'd one gilt pigged ten.
And in Prize Lists and Sale Bills: — " One, Gilt in pig ; " " G'V/>- in
pig or not ; " " One sow in pig, three gilts in pig ; " " She was a gill in
pig with her first litter."
GIMMER, or GIMBER, *.— (G, hard).— A female sheep in its
second year, but which has not yet had a lamb ; after
which it becomes an Ewe. So in Contracts — so many
stone of Wether or Gimmer mutton ; and in Sale Bills—
"372 in-lamb Ewes, 230 in-lamb Gimmers." "He found
a Gimber and her lamb, both dead."
GIRL, s. — Used for an unmarried woman in service, of any
age : " as " The Rectory Girls have been there a many
years." An American use also — " The girls, as women
servants, call each other, in America, households." — Cfr.,
" Democracy, an American Novel, p. 219.
GIVE, or GIVE AGAIN (Gie, &c.), v.— Said of a frost, or
of things frozen, when they begin to thaw and soften.
It's beginning to give again.
It!s not g'en a bit all day.
It's gieing a little in the sun.
GIZZEN, v. — To stare rudely, laughing and giggling.
GIZZERN, or GIZZEN, s. — The gizzard. Skinner has
" Ghizzard, vel ut Lincolnienses sonant, Ghizzern."
Prompt. Parv. has " Gyserne (of fowls) ; " and Cotgrave
" Guiserne of a bird."
GLAZENER, 5.— Glazier.
They have the masoners and the glaxemrs in the house } et
The glazener has come to the pump.
GLEG, v. — To look askance, spitefully or maliciously: as
" Look how she's glegging at you ! " So
GLEG, s. — A spiteful side-glance : as " See what a gleg she's
gen you ! "
GLENT, v. — Strong Past or Participle of Glean.
They glent the wheat close.
They're going to get it horse-raked before it's glent »
Thechilder, they got several pecks glent.
They glent a niced bit ; they glent between one strike and two,
She's gotten aboun a strike of glent corn,
56 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
GLIB, adj. — Smooth and slippery: as "Mind, the floor is so
glib;" "The causeway is so glib, one can sca'ce stand ;"
" I think it's more slape than ever ; it seems glibbier."
GNAG, v. — see Knag.
GNARL, v.— To gnaw.
When the pain begins to gnarl.
He has taken to gnarl and bite in the stable.
Ferrets are not like rats, they don't gnarl, i.e., gnaw through wood.
His bones aches and gnarls.
Also sometimes used for to Snarl.
GO, r. — To walk.
It's time he should begin to go.
He can't go yet, but he creeps about anywhere.
Tother child can't go very well yet.
Chaucer frequently uses Go for Walk, as opposed to Ride, as " When
I ride or go ; " "So mote I ride or go ; " " Nedeth no more to go or
ride," &c.
GOFER, s. — A kind of Muffin, or Pancake, with ridges raised
in squares, and made in an iron shape, called a Gofering
Iron ; eaten, buttered and toasted. The name Gofer was
also given to the wooden frame with pegs, used to plait the
broad frilled borders of caps, still sometimes worn by old
women : now superseded by Gofering Irons or tongs. Cfr.
The French Gaufre, a honey-comb, used also in both the
above senses.
GOISTER, or GAWSTER, r.— To talk and laugh loudly.
They stand goistering at the Churchyard gate.
GOOD FEW. — A fair quantity, more than just a few, but
hardly a good many : as " There are a good few berries to-
year," or " They've gotten a good few brambles." So also
" a goodish few," or " a niced few ;" " There was a nic'd few
folks there."
GOODING. — The custom of women going round to beg for
corn or money on St. Thomas' Day against the Christmas
Feast ; called also Mumping or Thomasing.
GOOD-WOOLED, adj. — A metaphor from a sheep with a good
fleece, and used for a good-worker, good-stayer, or a good-
plucked one, as we say, whether man or beast.
Why, I thought you were a good-wool' d one ! You are never giving
over yet !
GORE SAND, — a term applied to a sharp yellow sand, " sharp
sand, as'll run thruff your fingers ; " " It's that nasty gore
sand."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 57
GORINGS, s. — The uneven triangular bits at the side of a field
which does not form a parellelogram, and which are left till
last in ploughing.
We've gotten it all done, all but the gorings.
There's no-but 3 acres of gorings.
GOSSIP, s. — Still sometimes used in its original sense for a God-
father or Godmother ; as " I suppose the same gossips will
do for both," that is, for two children to be baptized together.
GOTTEN, — the old regular past participle of Get, still in very
common use : as u She has gotten another bairn sin then ; "
"They've gotten coat upon coat;" "He's gotten them
setten." Similarly Cutten, Letten, Setten, Putten, Hurten,
&c. See under 'EN.
GOUD, or GOLD, 5.— The yellow Corn Marigold, Chrysan-
themum segetum.
The corn is full of youds.
Chaucer speaks of " Jalousie, that wered of yelwe goldes a gerlond "
(C. T. 1931) ; and Drayton, of " The darnel flower, the blue-bottle and
gold," (Polyolb S. 15).
GOWL, s. — The thick gummy matter that collects in the eyes
of sick or aged persons. So Gowled, adj. — Gummed up,
filled with this secretion.
The gowl troubles him so in the eyes.
Her eyes have been clean gowled up.
Wipe off the gowl.
GOWT, or GOTE, 5. — A drain, or channel for water : as the
Great Gowt and Little Gowt at Lincoln, from which St.
Peter at Gowts takes its distinctive name.
GRAIN, 5. — The tine or prong of a fork : as " a two-grain fork,'
or " a three-grain fork." So also
GRAININGS, 5. — The forks, or joinings of the large boughs of
a tree.
GRANGE, s. — Used for any lone farm-house, as Halliwell and
Skinner before him observes : So Doddington Grange,
North Scarle Grange, &c.
GRAVE, s. — A pit in which potatoes, swedes, mangolds, &c.,
are pied, or covered down, to store them for the winter.
They're graved down, so they'll take no payment.
GREEN-PEAK, s.— The Green Woodpecker.
GREEN-SAUCE, 5. — The Sorrel, Rumex Acetosa.
58 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
GRET, or GREAT, s. — The gross, or quantity. To work by
the gret, being to work by the piece, by the job, not by the
day.
He has ta'en the gripping by the gi'ct.
I'm a-going to lay yon hedge by the gi'et.
You see he was not picking by the gret, but by the day.
Tusser uses the term in his Points of Husbandry, xlvii. 8, " To let
out thy harvest by great or by day ; " and xlvi. 8, " By gratis the cheaper,
if trusty the reaper."
GRET, or GREAT, «#.— Friendly, intimate.
While we were falling out, the bairns were as gret together, and
kissed one another.
They'd have been as gret together by that.
They used to be very gret wi' the keepers.
GRESS, s. — Grass. So Prompt. Parv., " Gresse, herbe."
GREW, 5. — A Greyhound.
He's a strange man for the grews.
He fastened up his grew -dog over-night.
GRIEVIOUS, adj. — Commonly used for Grievous.
It's grievious so to see them.
To me it's a very grievious thing.
GRIP, s. — A small ditch or channel, cut to let off surface water.
It wants some top grips making.
His horse put his foot in a grip.
He made grips at the end of all his furrows. A word probably in
general use. Hence —
GRIP, r. — To cut grips : as " They're going to grip that close ; "
" He has ta'en the gripping by the gret ; " " He ploughed
it up into lands, and kep' them well gripped."
GROCK, 5.— A very small child: as " What a little grock it
is"!" said of a new-born infant.
GROUND-ELDER, s. — The Goutweed, /Egopodium Podagraria,
a troublesome creeping-rooted umbelliferous plant, with a
leaf like that of the Elder.
GROUND-KEEPER, s. — A foreman put to reside in a farm
on which the tenant does not live himself.
He's gone to be ground-keeper to Mr. P.
He'll stay where he is, and have a. ground -keeper yonder.
GROUNDSILL, s.— The ground-sill, or threshold of a door.
We want a new ground-sill to our door-frame.
GRUFTED, adj.— Begrimed, dirty.
His hands are gr lifted up.
You'd take them for gipsy children, they're so grufted
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
59
GRUN. — Ground, past of Grind, as Bun for Bound, Fun for
Found.
When you get your corn grun.
GUIDE, v. — Restrain, govern : as in the common caution to a
child, when it is getting riotous, " Now then, guide your-
self; " " If you wont guide yoursen, I shall tell him."
GUIDERS, s. — The tendons: as " He has strained his
guiders," or "The guiders of his neck were stunned;"
" She runned it slap in among the guiders ; " " He's gotten
the guiders sprung."
GUIZENED, adj.— Gaudily dressed, bedizened.
60 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
H
HACK, v. — To cough frequently and distressingly : as " He
has been hacking like that all night;" "He has such a
hacking cough ; " " He has that nasty hack/ing cough and
raising.
HAEF, HAEVES,— for Half, Halves.
You've done Jiacf on it.
It looks haef pined to dead.
We went haeves at it.
HAG, v. — To cut, hew, hack : as, of woodmen, " They started
bagging last week ; " " The}'' do the nagging (i.e., cut the
underwood) in the winter, and the oak-pilling in the spring."
Perhaps the origin of the name of the " Old Hag " Wood
at Doddington, that is, a copsewood fitted for cutting ; or
it may be from the following :
HAG, s. — A marshy or miry hollow : as " The road was full of
hags ; " " If you get into one of them hags, there is no
getting out."
HAG, r. — To harass, weary, or tire out.
I'm quiet hagged out.
It bothers me, and hags me to dead.
I was that hagged, I didn't know what to do.
I hagged about after him, mowing and all sorts of things.
I let her go liagginy about all last harvest.
I've hayged at her such a mess o' times about it. So
HAG, s. — A harassment, burden.
It is such a hag.
The child's a great hag to her.
It's a hag, carrying it all that way.
HAGGLED, adj. — Wearied, harassed : as, of horses, " Poor
things, how haggled they look ! "
HAIL, v. — To pour.
The sweat hailed offen him.
So Skelton (Boke of Philip Sparowe, 24), "I wept and I wayled,
The teares down hay led."
HAILES, s.-^The handles of a plough.
SOUTH WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 6l
HAKE, v. — To idle about.
She'd as well been at school as liaking about.
I don't like my bairns linking about. So
HAKESING, adj. — Tramping idly about, from a s. Hakes, an
idle worthless fellow.
HALF-BAKED, HALF-ROCKED, HALF-SAVED.— All
terms for one who is soft or half-witted — who is not all
there, or has not all his buttons on, as they say.
He talks like a man hdef-baked.
His mother has half-rocked him.
He's a poor half-saved sort of creature.
H ALIDAY, s. — Holiday : as " I'm haliday-making yet ; " or,
to a child, "Hast 'ee gotten a haef-haliday ? " Prompt.
Parv. has " Halyday (halliday)." A. S. Halig.
HAMES, s. — The curved pieces of wood which rest on the
collar of a horse, and to which the traces are fastened.
Skinner calls it " vox qua? mihi solo in Diet. Angl.
occurrit ; " but it seems to be in general use.
HANDER, s. — A second, or backer in a fight, one who hands
on another to fight.
HANDFUL, 5. — As much as a person can manage or do with.
You are well aware I have a handful wi' the boys.
He has been a sore handful to her.
When there are two babbies, it is a handful.
HANDKERCHER, s.— Handkerchief : as "I've gotten a
handkercher tied round my knee ; " " He soon fun it out,
when his handkercher was wet."
HAND-WED,— weeded by hand : as " It'll be sooner all
hacked up than hand-wed."
HANKLED, ^7.— Twisted together, entangled.
He has got so liankled amongst them.
From Hank, a twist or skein of yarn.
HANSEL, HANSELLING, s.— The first use ot anything; or
the first purchase made ; or the first part of the price of
anything paid as earnest-money.
He is taking hansel of it, i.e., using it for the first time.
Won't you give us a hansel ? i.e., make a first purchase of our wares.
HANSEL, v. — To take first possession of, or make first use of
anything. So a "hanselling supper," given on occupying a
new house.
62 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
HAP, or Ap, v. — To wrap, or cover : as " Hap yourself up
well." " They happed the stack up." " I got some bats,
and happed it down well." " Our potatoes are well apped
up." " Hap up " is also frequently used for to bury ; as
" So you've happed poor old Charley up." Skinner gives
it as "vox agro Line, usitatissima."
HAPPING, or APPING, s.— Wrapping, covering.
One wants a deal of happing these cold nights.
We're short of happing, to hap the stacks with.
HAPPEN, or HAPPENS, adv. — Perhaps, may hap : as
" Happens, I may ;" " It's five years, happen, or happen
it's six ;" " It was a good job, happen, as she did go ;" " I
thought, happen, he'd got work elsewhere."
HAPPEN A THING.— To have something happen to you.
They've never happened owt yet.
He has happened a bad accident.
He happened a misfortune last back-end.
They were down together, but they happened nothing.
HAPPEN ON, — To meet with, come upon : as " I happened
on him last market ;" or without any preposition, " If
anything happened her ; " She won't stay yonder, if any-
thing happens him."
HARBOUR, 5. — Lodging, shelter, house-room.
His sister gives him harbour, but he finds himself.
They agreed to find her harbour, while (till) she could get work
to do.
One son will give him harbour.
There's no harbour at D, so they've ta'en a house at H.
There's no other harbour to be got.
One of the many places called Cold Harbour is in this district, in the
parish of Norton-Disney, about one mile from the Foss Road, and five
miles north-east of Newark ; another lies between Stow and Cammering-
ham, about one mile to the north of Till Bridge Lane, a Roman road.
HARDEN, 5. — A kind of coarse stuff, made of Hards, the refuse
of Flax.
Leastways it was not canvas, it was harden.
A. S. Heordan, heordes, Tow.
HARDEN, v. — To urge, encourage.
They harden one another on.
George kep' hardening on him on to come.
HARDSET, adj. — In difficulties, distressed, hard put to it.
You are well aware he was hardset wi' that mess of bairns.
They're often hardset for a meal.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 63
HARIFF, or HAYRIFF, s.— The weed Goose-grass, Cleavers
or Catch weed (Galium Aparine], the leaves and seeds of
which are covered with short bristles, which catch and
cleave to the hands and clothes.
We call that hariff ; when we were childer, we used to flog our
tongues wi1 it, to make them bleed.
Hayri/'s as much for gibs, as ants is for young pheasants. Prompt.
Parv. gives " Hayryf, herbe, Rubia."
HARLE, or SEA HARLE, s. — A fog or drizzle coming up
with the tide from the sea.
There was a kind of hark came up.
I think it's no-but a sea-haile.
Hark is the form used here, but Skinner gives Sea -Ha rr, as "Lincoln,
maritimis tempestas a mari ingruens."
HARROW, v. — To harass, distress, fatigue greatly : as " I'm
clean harrowed up ; " " It's fit to harrow one to dead ;" "I
was harrowed, taking up after my husband in one of them
closen."
HASK, adj. — Harsh, parched, dry: as " That cloth is stiff to
work? Yes, its hask, it's very hask." See ASK.
HAVER, 5.— The Oat-grass, or wild Oats.
HAVEY-QUAVEY.— " To be on the havey-quavey," i.e., to be
on the enquiry, questioning and doubting.
I've been rather on the havey-quavey after a little place at Eagle.
We've been havey-quaveying after it some time.
HAZE, v.— To beat, thrash.
Haze him well ; gie him a reiet good hiding. Used in Mark Twain's
works.
HEAD-ACHE, s.— The Scarlet Corn Poppy.
HEADLANDS, s.— The "lands" or breadths, at the top and
bottom of a field, on which the horses turn, and which are
ploughed after, and at right angles to the rest. Used by
Tusser, Husbandry, xx. 19, " Now plough up thy headland,
or delve it with spade."
HEALTHFUL, *#.— Healthy.
She was always a stout healthful woman.
We reckon it a very healthful place.
HEAR TELL.— For simple Hear ; Heaved, or Heerd for
Heard : as " I never heared tell of such a thing."
HEARTSICK, adj.— Mortally sick, sick to death.
She were real heartsick, the bairn was, sick for life and death.
64
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
HEARTSLAIN, adj. —- Heart-broken, exhausted by over-
exertion.
Mother, I feel quite heartslain.
He drove his horse while it dropped down dead, clean heartslain.
They got there, quite heartslain, on to midnight.
HECK, s.— A rack for fodder for cattle. " He lives at heck
and manger," said of one who has free quarters, the run of
his teeth.
HECKLE, 5.— An icicle.
Sometimes we've ever such great heckles.
There were heckles hinging from the pump spout, and from the tiles.
HEDER, s. — A male lamb, answering to the female Sheder.
Half on 'em were heders, and half sheders.
He shewed a nice pen of heder hogs.
HEEL, v. — To slope, or lean over on one side ; not confined to
ships, as it mostly is in literature.
The ground heels down to the dyke.
He felt the wagon heel over.
HEFT, s. — Haft, handle. "Heft" is the form given in the
Prompt. Parv. A.S. Hceft.
HEIRABLE LAND,— i.e., Entailed Property.
I thought it was heirabU land.
It's heirable land, or he'd have muddled it away long sin.
HELPED UP, part. — Used in the sense of hindered, or encum-
bered, held back.
She's so helped up with all that mess of childer.
See how soon poor fellows get helped up !
What wi' my lame arm, and the mester's rheumatis, and the childer
all down wi' colds, we were well helped up !
So Shakspere's " A man is well holp up that trusts in you " (Com. of
Errors, iv. i).
HELTER, s.— Halter.
He's a strange pony to roll ; as soon as I get the helter off on him, he
is down by that.
Prompt. Parv. spells it " Heltyr," and " Heltryn beestys."
HEPPEN, adj.— Clever, handy.
Bill Stirr (Storr) is a heppen lad ; he is wonderful heppen.
He was a deal heppener than I was ; I'd never done nowt o' sort.
Skinner calls it " vox agro Line, usitata."
HERBIGRASS, s. — The plant Rue, Shakspere's Herb of
Grace.
That's herbifjrass ; it's good for fits ; we offens make tea on it.
What dost 'ee want, my dear ? Mother wants to know if you've any
herbigruss.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 65
HERONSEWE, s. — A heron ; the name commonly applied to
the herons which breed in Skellingthorpe Great Wood.
Skinner gives Hernsue, as " vox quad adhuc in agro Line,
obtinet." Chaucer, who uses Heronsewe in his Squire's
Tale, was connected with this neighbourhood through his
marriage with Philippa Rouet, sister to Katharine, who
was wife, first of Sir Otes Swynford, of Kettlethorpe, and
afterwards of John of Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, and who was
buried in Lincoln Cathedral.
HERSE, s. — Common pronunciation of Horse: as "He has
gone with the herses ; " " He likes to be wi' the herses ; "
" He's never so happy as when he's among the herses;"
" It's hard work for the poor herses as is slape shod."
HERSPITAL, s. — Hospital : as Herse for Horse.
Everyone has a right to uphold the Herspital.
HESP, s. — Hasp or door latch. Hespe is the form given in the
Prompt. Parv. Used also as a verb.
HESP, v .— To fasten the latch : as " Just hesp yon gate."
HEYLADS.— " To be at heylads," or " They're all of heylads,
that is, at variance, disagreeing with one another.
HEZZEL, s.— Hazel.
The pea-rods are mostly hezzel.
So, " It's sort of hezzel land," applied to land neither stiff nor light,
from its usual colour.
HICK, v. — To hoist, hitch, jerk.
He broke his body wi' kicking corn.
Hi eking' s worse than carrying.
So "kicking barrow," the barrow or cratch by which a sack of corn
is " Jiicked " or hoisted on to a man's back.
" Running and Inching barrows " may be seen in any Sale Bill of
Farming Implements.
HIGH, adj.— Proud, haughty; opposed to Free.
He always was a very high man.
She seems a bit high, so I never go.
Yon woman was very high, when they first married.
No one can get on with him, he's so high-minded.
So Psalm ci. 5, " Him that hath a high look and a proud heart wil
I not suffer."
HIGHT, or HIGHTLE, r.— To dandle, or move up and down :
as of a child, "Just hight it up and down a bit ; " " He
wants highting, his grandmother hights him ; " " She was
hightling the bairn on her foot;" " They were hightling
one another on a pole." Or to a child, " You want to be
always on the hightle,"
F
66
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
HIGS. — " To be in one\ higs" that is, to be in a pet, to be out
of temper : as " He's gone to bed in his higs ; " " We're
all on us in our higs one while or other."
HILL, v. — To cover, as in the common phrase to " hill up
potatoes," that is, to hoe up the earth around them so as to
cover their roots; " He persuaded me to hill them down."
So in Prompt. Parv., " Hyllynge or coverynge; hylling or
happing."
HINDER-ENDS, s. (pronounced short, as in Hinder, to
impede). — Refuse corn, kept for poultry.
They cree'd all the hinder-ends for the herses.
The milners gie us the hinder-ends, and keep the best corn ; they gie
us the old hinder -ends.
HING, v. — To hang : as " The bairns hing about one so ; "
" The berry-bushes are as full as they can hing ; " " It
seems to hing for rain ; " " The jaw on one side seems to
hing;" "He seemed to hing so after a woman;" "She
hings hard for home."
H INGLE, 5. — The handle of a pot or bucket, by which it
hangs ; called also the Kilp.
The hingle is of one side, so the pot skelves.
HIPED (or HYPED), HIPISH, HIPY, adj.— Cross, out of
temper.
How hipy she is ! I thought she were a bit hipish.
He got quiet hiped about it.
He was hiped about it, the Doctor was.
HIS-SEN, pron.— Himself.
He was shutten up by Ms-sen.
Sometimes His-self.
HIT and MISS. — A name given to a kind of wooden windows
or shutters, used for stables, granaries, &c., made in two
frames fitted with bars or laths at intervals, and made to
slide one in front of the other, so that when the bars
coincide it is open, when they alternate it is shut.
HITTERED, adj.— Full of hatred or anger ; embittered.
He's that hitter ed against him.
They seem so hittercd, they'd do anything at him.
HOARST, adj. — Hoarse: as "The pig's rather hoarst in its
throat;" "He's as hoarst as owt ; " "I'm hoarst on my
chest — hoarst up, a'most."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 67
HOCKERED, part. — Crippled, disabled.
He was hockeml up before they'd haef got thruff the harvest.
What wi' my corns, and what wi' my bad knee, I'm quiet hockered up.
HODGE, s. — The inside of a pig's stomach (which is very
bitter).
Like the old woman who was told that nothing about a pig was lost,
so she tried a bit of the hodge, but that bet her.
HOG, s. — A lamb of a year old; " Ovis bimus, vel secundi
anni," says Skinner. Of frequent use in Sale Bills, &c., as
" 50 he and she hogs ;" " Five he-hogs in wool ;" "Amongst
the sheep the bulk were hogs, there being few ewes and
lambs;" "Some clipped hogs were exhibited in this
market."
HOLLIN, s. — The Holly, sometimes called Prick-bush, or
Prick-hollin. A. S. HOLEN.
HOLME, s. — Frequently occurring in place names, signifying
land rising from a plain or marsh : as Brodholme, Riseholme,
Sudbrooke Holme, Mickleholme Farm at Dunholme, Holme
Fleet in the Trent, the Holmes at North Hykeham, the
Holmes Common (Lincoln), the Nutholmes on Eagle Moor.
HOLT, s. — A small wood or plantation : as the Crow-holt,
Fox-holt, Brickkiln Holt; or " They fun in an osier holt
agen ."
HOME. — "Go home," or "Take it home" — common
euphemisms for a child's death : as " I'm sure it would be
a blessing if it went home again ;" " It was a good job the
child went home;" or "If it would please the Lord to
take it home."
HOMAGE, s. — Attention, deference : as " They want such a
very deal of homage, them inspectors."
HOOL, — common pronunciation of Hull, the town on the
Humber.
HOOZE, 5. — A hard breathing from cold, a wheeze.
One of the pigs has gotten a strange hooze on it.
The Prompt. Parv. has " Hoo&e or cowghe, Tussis."
HOPPER- CAKES. — Hot plum cakes, or seed cakes, given in
former days with hot beer to the labourers on a farm on
the completion of the wheat sowing. It was the custom to
place them, and hand them round, in the empty Hopper or
seed box, whence the name. So " Hopper-cake Night,"
.the night when this was done.
68 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
HOPPET, 5.— A small hand-basket with lids.
She has ta'en a hoppet with her lunch.
Skinner calls it a very common word in Lincolnshire — " vox agro
Line, usitatissima " — for a basket for carrying fruit.
HOPPLE, v.— To hobble: as "I couldn't hopple about
hardly."
Or to tie an animal's legs together, so that it can only Hop or Hobble
and progress slowly.
We used to hopple them just above the cambrils.
Skinner gives " to Hopple a hors, pedes fune intercipere, colligare.
Hence
HOPPLES, or COW-HOPPLES, s.— The rope for tying a
cow's legs at milking time ; and
HOPPLED, HOPPLING, HOPPLY, adj.— Lame, crippled,
hobbling.
Some was very nimble, and some seemed very hoppled.
He's so hoppling, he can't get about.
What, you're a bit hopply then !
HORSE-TANG, 5. — The horse-fly, or gadfly, so called from its
tang or sting.
HOT, v. — To heat or warm : as " I'll soon hot it up;" " She
hotted up his dinner for him;" "There's a tatoe-pie to
hot ; " "I kep' hotting bran."
HOT ACHE, 5. — A pain in the limbs from exposure to cold.
I oftens get the hotache in my foot, and very bad it is ; it comes on
when my foot's starved with hinging out the clothes.
HOTCH, or HUTCH, v.— To jerk along, to move in an awk-
ward, ungainly way: as " He went first, and the old
woman hotched along after him ; " or, of a child, " He
hutches on, one leg under the other;" "He sat on the
pole, and hutched hisself across;" "The mare hutched
him on to her shoulders."
HOTTLE, 5.— A fingerstall.
I put him on a hottle.
She can't bear a hottle on.
HOUND, r. — To urge, worry.
He's fit to hound one to dead.
He's always houndiny to carry him.
She almost made me cross wi' hounding at me so.
They hound me to go gleaning.
She's hounding after her bottle and her titty.
My lass hounds my belly out.
She never hounds me for dress
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORt>S. 69
HOUSE, or HOUSE-PLACE, 5.— The living room in a
cottage.
We were just white- washing the top of the house (i.e., the ceiling
of the living room).
There is the house-place, and a kitchen behind it.
The floor of the house is worse than the kitchen.
The room goes over the house and the two dairies.
We made him up a little bed in the house.
Some would ha' putten him in the kitchen, or in a chamber, but I
ha' kep' him in the house.
HOUSE-KEEPER, s. — Used of any person staying at home
in charge of a house : as, on knocking at a door, " Any
housekeepers ?" or " There's no housekeepers at home, is
there, missis?" So " My daughter's at home, so I've a
housekeeper;" " Charles has stayed at home to be house-
keeper a bit."
HOUSE-ROW, or TOWN-ROW.— Term for the old plan of
keeping men employed, when work was scarce, by rinding
them so many days' work at each house in the parish in
turn.
It used to go by house-row.
They used to go by house-row when feyther was agate.
HOUY, interj. — Cry in driving off a pig.
HOW, — used for Way, as we say Any how.
It is better that how than any ways else.
Her mother was this how.
We'll manage it one how or another.
He can't do it no how else.
He sits of this 'ere how.
HOWELLED, adj.— Splashed, dirtied.
See how howelVd they look.
HOWRY, or OURY, adj. -Dirty, filthy.
It is a howyy morning.
She's the howriest woman as ever I seed.
She's a real oury lass.
It's oury work this wet weather.
A. S. HORIG, filthy.
HUDD, — common pronunciation of the surname Hood — " Mr.
Hudd."
HUG, v. — To drag, or carry with difficulty, to lug.
Surely they'll never hug them things away.
They hugged it right a top of the seed stack.
If they didn't take and hug them away.
It's hard work, hugging bairns so far.
The pig always hugs the straw out into the yard.
7o
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE woRbs.
HUG-A-BED, 5. — A sluggard, lie-a-bed.
Eleven will do better for us hug-a-beds.
I doubt he's a bit of a hug-a-bed.
HUGGIN, s.— The hip.
He's gotten a strange lump on his huggin, where he fell on the gas-
faulting.
It bit a great piece clean out on it huggin.
I was always a poor shortwaisted thing, my huggins come up so high.
HUGGLE, v. — To hug, embrace, cuddle.
Do huggle me, mammy, I'm so starved.
So in the ancient Ballad of " Little Musgraveand Lady Barnard "-
" Lye still, lye still, thou little Musgrave, And huggle me from the cold."
HULL, s. — The husk, shell, or outer covering of seeds, &c. So
HULL, r. — To take off the husk or covering : as " I had just
set me down to hull the peas."
HULL, v. — To throw, cast.
I shall have to hull it into the wood.
He brushed out the dyke, and hulled the stuff over the hedge.
It's been hulling about the house.
If she was away for a day, it would hull her back so.
HUMLOCK, or HUMLEEK, s.— The Hemlock, but usually
applied to the common Chervil or Cow-Parsley, Chccro-
phyllum sylvestre. Prompt. Parv. has this form, " Humlok,
herbe, sicuta."
HUNCH, adj.— Harsh, unkind.
Sons and daughters are oft ens so hunch to old folks.
If there comes a cold hunch winter.
HUNCH, v. — To push off, snub, bunch : as " Don't hunch
her, poor little thing!" "She shan't be hunched;" "I
shouldn't like to be hunched about, now I'm old."
HUNGE, z;.~To long for, look wistfully after.
The herses stand hunge-ing about.
He comes hunge-ing after money.
HUSK, v.— To thrash.
The Newton lads reckoned they were going to hush us. So
HUSKING, s. — A thrashing : as " My word ! I will give that
boy a husking."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 7!
IGNORANT, a>1j.— Ill-mannered.
I thought it would look so ignorant to stop yon.
ILL-CONVENIENT, adj. — Commonly used for Inconvenient.
ILL-GAIN, adj. — Inconvenient, unhandy: as "It's an ill-gain
place." See Gain.
ILLNESS, s. — Used in the sense of an Epidemic.
It seems quite an illness going about.
I don't think its a cold, I think its an illness ; we've all had it.
She's gotten a cold ; I don't know if it's an illness or not.
IN CO. — Used commonly for In partnership : as " There was
two on 'em in co. together ; " or " It was an in co. concern."
IN DETRIMENT, 5.— Commonly used for Detriment, harm,
damage: as "It'll be no indetriment to him;" "I never
felt no indetriment wi' it."
ING, s. — A low-lying meadow : as " They're soughing the great
ing agen Skellingthorpe Wood ; " and frequently appearing
in names of fields, as the South Ings, Far Ings, and in
names of places, as Meering, Deeping, Ingham. Skinner
calls it " vox agro Line, usitatissima."
INNOCENT, adj. — Often applied to flowers, meaning small and
pretty : as " It's a pretty innocent flower ; " or " It looks so
innocent."
INSENSE, v. — To inform, give or gain information.
I thought right to intense him about it.
I shall wait while I get further insensed.
The blacksmith could do it if he were thoroughly insensed about it.
Shakespere usesincense with much the same meaning, as Henry VIII.
v. i, "I have incensed the Lords of the Council;" Rich. III. iii. i,
" Think you this little prating York was not incensed by his subtle mother."
ISEL, IZEL, s.— Smuts, blacks from the fire.
My word, how the isels come down !
My clean clothes were covered with isels.
What wi' the smoke and the isels, things soon get ditted up in a
market -town.
It's not only the smoke, it's the isels from the straw.
He sits in the corner wi' the isels flying on him.
Promp. Parv. has " Isyl of fire, Favilla."
72 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
IT, pron. — Used frequently in the place of Its : as " The bairn's
hurten it arm; " " I g'ed it it breakfast ;" " One side of it
little face, up to it little nose." So Shakspere in several
places.
IVERY, IV'RY, s.— Often used for Ivy: as "The ivery had
grown thruff the roof;" "The cows broke the fence, and
ate the ivery.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
73
JACK UP, v. — To throw up, throw over : said of an engagement,
bargain, job of work, &c.
He jacked his work up all last week.
I'll jack it up, I'll do no more.
Some reckoned he was very silly io jack it up.
He'd as good as ta'en the farm, but he jacked it up.
She used to go wi' that young Smith, but she jacked him up.
JACKET, v. — To beat, thrash, or, as we say, " dust his jacket : ''
as "By guy, young man, but I'll jacket you." So
JACKETING, s.— A beating, thrashing : as " He wants a solid
good jacketing."
JAY-BIRD, s.— A Jay.
JENNY - RUN - BY - THE - GROUND, JIN - ON - THE-
GROUND. — Names for the Ground Ivy, Glechoma
hederacea.
JET, v. — To strut, jerk oneself about, "jetting and jumping."
Used also for throwing stones, &c., with a twist or jerk of
the arm, distinguished from Pelting, or throwing with a
straight throw ; " The boys were pelting and jetting."
JIFFLEY, JIFFLING, ^'.—Unsteady, moving about.
If the cow's a \A\.jiffiey.
Childer are always jiffling about.
JIGGLE, v. — To jog, or shake about.
The pump seems io jiggle so when you work it.
Frequentative from Jog, Joggle.
J1TTY, JETTY, s — A narrow passage between houses.
It's bad in market towns, when the wind catches you in themjitties.
It's right on your way, if you turn up yon jitty.
They went into a narrow jetty, leading to Chapel Lane.
JOIST, or JEIST, v. — To agist, or pasture out stock on
another's land for hire.
They tak' in beast to joist.
\Ve\ejoisted them out by the Trent.
We've a lot of feist beast down here now. — "Vox agro Line, usita-
tissima" (Skinner).
74
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
JOLLY, adj.— Fat, stout, large.
Sh'e grown quite jolly.
She always was a very jolly woman.
Spenser's " A jolly person, and of comely view."
JUG, 5. — A stone bottle, such as is used for wine or spirits, not
such as a Milk-Jug, which is called a Pitcher. So " a 2-gall. "
or "a 4-gall. Jug." Shakspere speaks of "Stone-Jugs"
(Tarn, of the Shrew).
JUT, v.— To jolt.
The waggons did jut us ; I never knew such jutty work.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 75
K
KEAL, 5. — A cold ; called by Skinner " vox agro Line,
familiaris," and still known, but almost out of use in this
part of Lincolnshire, as is its compound, " Keal-fat," a
cooling-vat used in brewing.
KEB, v. — To sob, catch for breath.
He didn't cry, but he began to keb a bit when I came away.
I gie her a tap of the hand, and she'll keb.
KEDGE-BELLIED, adj.— Having the belly swollen, pot-
bellied ; commonly used of rabbits that have eaten too
much great food : as " Lor ! how kedge-bellied he looks."
KEEL, s. — The name given to Barges on the Trent, Fossdyke,
&c. So also Keel-man, Keel-owner, Keel's-lights. A. S.
Ceol, Dan, Keol.
KEEP, KEEPING, 5.— Food for sheep and cattle, such as
pasture, turnips, &c. : as " There's plenty of keep to-year ; "
or " They're hardset to find keep." So " Out at keep,"
i.e., out on hired pasture ; and in advertisements, " To let,
so much Grass-keeping till Lady Day;" "70 acres Grass-
keeping up to April 6th."
KEGMEG, s. — Refuse, offal — commonly used of bad food : as
" I can't call it nowt but kegmeg."
KEGGED, adf. — Grown and matted together.
The tates are quiet kegg'd together.
KELCH, s. — A thump, blow — said of a violent fall : as " He
came down such a kelch."
KELL, s. — The inside fat of a pig, that about the kidneys —
" not the pudding fat, but that as ligs close to the sides."
KELTER, s.— Rubbish, litter.
Some folks have a mess of kelter, I'm sure.
KEP', v. — Kept, past of Keep.
I kep' dipping of them in the lotion.
I hep' on while I was fit to drop.
76 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
KERNEL, s. — A lump under the skin : as " There seems quite
a kernel forming in her neck."
KETLOCK, s.— The yellow - flowered Charlock, or Wild
Mustard, Sinapis arvensis, — a too common weed in corn-
fields; whence the frequent expression, " The children are
gone ketlocking," that is, weeding out the ketlocks.
KEVASS, or KEVISS, v. — To run up and down, romp about.
They were hevassing about long enough.
KEX, KECK, or KECKSY, 5.— General name for any hollow-
stemmed umbelliferous plant, such as the hemlock, cow-
parsnip, &c.
As dry as an old kecksy.
KIBBLE, 5. — The knobbed stick or bat used in the game of
Knur, Spell, and Kibble, resembling Trap-ball.
KID, s. — A fagot, or bundle of sticks tied up for firewood.
The kids sold for six shillings the hundred.
He's leading kids out of the Old Hagg.
They've a queer name for kids in some parts ; Major C. says, where
he comes from, they always call them fagots.
Prompt. Parv. has " Kyd, fagot, Fassis;" and Skinner calls "Kid
vox agro Line, usitatissima."
KID, v. — To make up into kids or fagots.
He is kidding all the winter.
He will kid up the underwood at a shilling the score.
Probably the origin of the surname Kidder.
KID-STACK, 5. — A stack of fagots for firewood : as " The rats
find harbour undernean the kid-stack."
KIDNAPPER, s. — A nickname given to the School Attendance
Officer at Lincoln, in strict accordance with its original
meaning.
KILL, s.— A kiln.
They didn't use to burn it in a kill, they used to clamp it.
He malted in that kill for one-and-twenty years.
Skinner gives "a Kill, in agro Line, a Kiln," as if Kill were the
standard form in his day, and Kiln the Lincolnshire use.
Kiln is still more common here as elsewhere, but Kill is sometimes
used.
KILP, or POT-KILP, s. — The iron handle by which a pot or
bucket is hung.
KIMY, adj. — Fusty, tainted : said of meat or other eatables,
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 77
KIN', — frequent contraction for Kind of: as "What kin' chap
is he ? " " What kin' market was it ? " What kin' outs does
he make?" I don't know what kin' place it is, nor what
kin' folks they are ;" "I don't know what kin' taking we
are in ;" The Doctor knew what kin' place it was."
KIN-COUGH, or KINK-COUGH, s— The whooping-cough,
from the verb to Kink, to breathe with difficulty, labour for
breath, as in the whooping-cough. Skinner gives "Chin-
cough, Lincolniensibus Kincough," the Scotch Kink-host.
KINDLING, s. — Firewood, sticks used for lighting fires : as
" It's rough stuff, only fit for kindling;" or "Kindling is
sca'ce;" or " I thought we'd get in middling of kindling,
as it lay so gain."
KIT, s. — A large wooden vessel for holding milk.
She used to carry a two-eared kit on her head.
KITLING, s.— A kitten, "the true English form" (Skeat
The prompt Parv. has " Kytling, Catillus."
KITTLE, v. — To bear young, not confined to cats : as "Adders
kittle, other snakes lay eggs."
KNAG, GNAG, NAG, v.—To gnaw.
Turn it into yon long gress, and let it knag it down.
The sheep knag the young shoots.
There's a lot of rough coarse stuff, it'll do it good to knag it off.
They've knagged a little hole.
KNAG, GNAG, NAG, v. — To tease, worry, irritate, scold : as
" She's always a-nagging at one ;" or " A nagging pain ; "
and
KNAGGER, s. — A teaser: as in the phrase, "That's a
knagger."
KNAP, v.—To snap, break short off.
Better knap it off.
Many trees were knapped clean in two.
A rabbit will soon knap off a lot of little plants.
So Psalm xlvi. 9, " He knappeth the spear asunder ; " and Shakspere s,
" As lying a gossip as ever knapped ginger " (Merch. of Venice, iii. i).
KNAP, s. — A slight knock, rap : as " She fetched her a knap
on the knuckles."
KNAP-KNEE'D, adj.— Knock-knee'd.
A many men is knap-knee\l, and women too, only you don't see them
so well.
KNATTER, v.— See NATTER.
78 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
KNIT, v. — To unite, join together ;— the term commonly used
of the uniting of a broken bone : as " Its sure to pain him
when it begins to knit."
KNOLL, v. — To toll, as a Church bell for a funeral.
I heard the bell knoll a piece sin.
They sent up word to knoll the bell.
So Shakspere, Macbeth, v. 7, As You Like It, ii. 7, 2 Henry IV. i. i.
KNOP, 5.— The round head or bud of a plant : as " The clover
is all in knops ;" " The clover knops make good vinegar."
" It (a peony) has got two or three knops already." So in
our authorized version, Exod. xxv. 33, " Like unto almonds,
with a knop and a flower in one branch ;" and Kgs. vi. 18,
" Carved with knops and open flowers ;" — Knop in either
place describing the round bud as distinguished from the
open flower.
KNOPPED, adj. — Partly dried, rough dried ; — said commonly
of washed clothes : as '• How nicely knopped my clothes
have got ! " " Just as they had gotten knopped, the shower
came, and caught them;" "I got them knopped out of
doors, but had to finish them before the fire ;" " The pads
had just got nicely knopped, but this rain will wet them
again."
KNOW ONESELF, v. — To know how to conduct oneself,
learn proper behaviour.
There's nowt better than to know onesen.
I should like her a place where she would get to know her sen.
Oh, mother, I've gotten to knowmysen sin.
She was a proud stuck-up thing, she didn't know hersen a bit.
No one who knew their sens would do so.
KNUBBLY, adj. — In knobs ; said of coal when it is in knobs
or small lumps.
KNUR, s. — The wooden ball, or knot of wood, struck with the
Kibble in the game of Knur, Spell and Kibble — a sort of
Trap-ball.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 79
LACE, v. — To mix spirits with tea, &c.
Will you have your tea laced ?
Shall I lace it for you ?
They won't think much to it, unless their tea is laced.
LAD'S-LOVE, s. — The aromatic herb, Southernwood; called
also Old Man.
LAME, pronounced LAEM, adj. — Crippled in any limb: as
" He has gotten a laem hand wi' swinging ;" " He says he
has a laem arm." So
LAMED, pronounced LAEMT, part. — " So long as he gets his
belly-full, and don't get laemt."
LAND, s. — The ridge or raised ground between the furrows in
a field, thrown up by ploughing.
He ploughed it up into round six yard lands.
I'll walk down the next land.
You shall leave one land and do nowt at it.
LANDED, adj. — Covered with soil : as " Oh, dear, how landed
up you've gotten!" "The poor childer get quiet landed
up ;" " The grips are clean landed up," i.e., choked with
earth.
LAND-HORSE, s. — Term applied to the near horse which, in
ploughing with a pair of horses, walks upon the smoother
unploughed land, as distinguished from the off, or Furrow,
horse, which has to tread upon the last turned furrow.
We put him for the land horse ; his feet are a bit tender,
LANE-ENDS, — the common term for Cross Roads : as " The
Four Lane-Ends " and " The Five Lane-Ends ; " " It was
between the Four Lane-Ends and the planting ; " " I lit
of him just agen the lane-ends ;" " She made an end on
hersen, and was buried at Broughton lane-ends."
LANKREL, or LANGREL, 0$.— Lanky, tall and thin.
8o SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
LAP, v. — To wrap, cover.
I lapp'd it in cabbage leaves.
They lap it up in pounds.
Mind you lap up well.
She was lapped up as if she was badly.
They want straw so bad to lap down the stacks.
Used by Shakspere, Spenser, Milton, Dryden, &c. Prompt. Parv
has " Lappyn or whappyn in clothys, Involve."
LASS, s. — A girl : as " She's a wacken little lass ; " " She's a
rare good little lass;" " You be a good lass, and tak' care
of yoursen;" "They used to wear them when I was a
lass." Often used of old women, as " She was a neist
(nice) old lass, but a bit fond of drink ;" "I seed th' ode
(the old) lass in the yard."
LAT, 5. — A lath : as "I'll nail a few lats across ; " " I measured
it with a five-foot lat." So
LATTED, part.— Covered with laths : as " I'll have it studded
and latted."
LATTER-END, 5.— The latter part of the year.
It were some time in the latter-end, mebbe November.
You see they're latter-end birds, they weren't hatched while the
back-end.
They mut be latttr-end eggs.
LAUNCH OUT, r. — To fling or throw out, as a kicking horse
its heels.
The herse launched out with its hind legs.
He had not seen it launch out before.
LAY, s. — A parish rate or levy : as " They agreed to a two-
penny lay;" "It will just take a sixpenny lay;" or
" Received a threepenny lay," a frequent entry in old
Churchwardens' Books.
LAYLOCK, s.— The Lilac : as " Hast thou gotten a laylock ? "
to a child; " I call it French Laylock," said of the Red
Valerian. The old-fashioned pronunciation, so Max Miiller
remarks, " Roome and chaney, laylock, and goold, have
but lately been driven from the stage by Rome, china, lilac
and gold."
LEAD, ?;. — To carry with horse and cart ; said of harvest,
timber, coals, &c.
They started to lead this morning.
They've gotten all their wheat led.
They are leading bricks to the Hall.
She wants a bit of coal leading.
They're agate leading kids.
They charge as. 6d. a ton for leading.
So in the Doddington Churchwarden's Accounts " Leading the Ten
Commandments from Lincoln."
Prompt. Parv. has " Cartyn, or lede wythe a carte,"
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. Rl
LEAF, 5. — The inner fat of a goose, duck, pig, &c ; more com-
monly called " Kell " in a pig.
Its leaf (a duck's) was like a goose's.
LEARN, r. (often pronounced Larn.) — To teach, make to learn ;
as " His feyther larns him of a night ; " " It'll larn them a
lesson to year ; " " We don't want to learn them their
business ; " " I'll learn you to watch me: " so of a young
bull, " They want to larn him to lead," i.e, to teach
him to be led.
LEAST OF TIME, — common phrase for " In a moment," " In
the very shortest time : " as "It was done in the least of
time ; " " He might have gone in the least of time ; " " The
room was full of smoke in the least of time."
LEASTWAYS, adv.— At least.
Leastways without you've some beestlings.
LEE (so pronounced), s. — Lye, or water mixed with wood ashes
for washing ; also the watery matter which issues from a
wound or sore: as " It's more like lee than matter ;" " It
was not like matter that came out, it was more like lee
water ; " " Any sore will run lee before it runs matter."
LENGTH.—" To have one's length," or " Take one's length,"
that is, to do as one likes, have one's fling. So of an
infant, left to itself, " She's had to have her length ;" "I
let 'em tak' their length;" "You may tak' your length
while you go to school."
LESK, s.— The groin.
It was that fast in my lesk I could sca'ce walk.
My husband's broke his body, and it presses on his lesk.
Summut touched the horse on the lesk, and it launched out.
Skinner calls it " Vox agro Line, usitatissima."
Prompt. Parv. has " Flanke or Leske, Ilium, inguen."
LET, part. — Hindered : as " I was coming of Saturda', but I
was let." So often in the Bible (A.V.) and Prayer-Book.
LETHER, 5. — Common pronunciation of Ladder : as " I've
setten a crowbar agen the lether foot." So Blether for
Bladder, &c.
LIEF (LIEVE), LIEVER, adv.— Soon, willingly, rather.
I'd as lief stay as go.
I'd as lief have anything as tooth-ache.
I'd almost as lieve walk.
He'd as lieve be shut of us as of any one,
82 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS,
LIG, v. — To lie.
It ligs on the stomach.
He ligged abed while noon.
The fields lig wide.
The sin wouldn't lig at his door.
The bairn was lig^ing on my knee.
She wasn't ill so as to lig of one side.
The form always used by Chaucer.
LIGHT, LIT, LITTEN, v.— To light, lighted: as of a fire,
" We've only just litten it ; " or " It's just lit."
LIGHT OF, LIT, LITTEN, v.— To light on, come on by
chance, meet with : as " Mebbe, he may light of some-
thing ; " " If he could light of a little place ; " " She lit of
Frank of Frida' ;" " He has litten of a good thing."
LIKE, adj. — In the sense of Have to, be content to.
They rnut be like to put up wi' it.
He mut be like to come again.
They mut be like to do as well as they can.
He'll be like to get them made.
LIMB, v. — To tear in pieces, tear limb from limb.
The puppies had gotten hold of her doll, and there they were
limbing it.
LIMBER, adj. — Limp, pliant, flexible.
He were as limber as thofe he were alive.
Used by Shakspere and Milton, and by such modern writers as
Whyte Melville, Lord Beaconsfield, and " Mark Twain."
LIMMOCK, adj. — Limp, pliant, flexible,
The bandages may be ta'en off when they get limmock.
The further they walked, the limmocker they got.
LINE, s— Flax : as " That Line looks well. " Line or Flax
used td be more commonly cultivated in this neighbourhood
than at present ; men used to come round to buy it, as
they buy wool now, and special instruments were kept at
farmhouses to bruise the round " bolls," and extract the
" Line-seed," as it is called ; "I boil some line-seed with
a little milk for the cauves."
LING, 5. — The common name for Heather : as " The Moor
used to grow nowt but furze and ling." Skinner calls it
" vox agro Line, usitatissima." Johnson explaining it as
Heath says, " This sense is retained in the northern
counties ; yet Bacon ( ' Heath and ling, and sedges, ' Nat.
Hist.) seems to distiuguish them." Very properly, Ling
being the Heather, Calluna vulgaris, while Heath comprises
the two species of Erica, E. ciliaris and E. tetralix.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS, 83
LINTS, 5.— Lentils.
I sent the little lass for t"To-pennorth of lints to make broth on.
LIRE (pronounced Leer) v. — To plait ; a word known, but
almost gone out of use with frilled or plaited shirt fronts.
LITHE, v. — To thicken milk or broth with flour or oatmeal.
I lithe it with a bit of flour, and very niced it is.
The doctor said she might have a little milk lithed.
I like a sup of lithed milk my sen.
I boils some milk, and lithe s it for them.
One meal (i.e. one milking of a diseased cow) looked the same as
lithed milk— thinly lithed.
LIVER, v.— To deliver.
They've been livering corn all day.
They liver it at the station for that.
It was livered in of Saturday, so they soon got shut on it.
He's going to liver up the house to-morrow. — Germ. Liefern.
LIVERY, adj. — Said of soil when it cuts close and sad, like
liver ; opposed to floury.
LOADEN, part, of LOAD.— Loaded.
I've gotten the potatoes loaden.
So Isaiah xlvi. i, " Your carriages were heavy loaden."
LOB, v, — To eat, or sup up noisily.
How tiresome you are lobbing that there milk.
LODE, s. — One of the many words for a drain or Watercourse,
like Delph, Cut, Gowt, &c. A. S. Lad, a way, course.
LOOSE-END.—'' To be at a loose-end," said of one who
goes on unsteadily, as " They get hold of being at a loose
end ; " " She has been at a loose end ever sin ; " " She got
hold of a loose end after he died."
LOP, 5.— A flea.
The lops, they run about the chamber floors.
Skinner speaks of " a Lop, vox agro Line, usitatissima, a Dan.
Loppe, Pulex, hoc a verbo, to Loap or Leap.
LOPE, v. past. LOPED.— To leap.
I saw it come out of the wood, and lops the dyke.
He's fond of loping.
When I lived in the Fens we lasses had poles and loped the dykes.
He does lope away, he goes such a pace.
So, Lope-frog, for Leap-frog.
LOPPY, adj. — Full of fleas, swarming with fleas : as " I never
seed such loppy sheets in my life."
»4 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
LOPPER'D, part.—Sa,id of milk kept till it turns sour and
thick — " real lopper'd."
LOSE THE END OF,— to be without knowledge or tidings of.
As for the old man, I've lost the end of him ; I think he mut be
badly.
I've lost the end of him, so I must send down and see.
A metaphor, from losing the end of thread in winding off a skein.
LOST, part. — Utterly neglected ; quite at a loss.
You must not see her lost.
They say she was fairly lost ; there was not a shift (change of clothes)
nor a bit to eat in the house.
It's the most lost place as ever I clapped eyes on.
Clean ! Why, Lor' mercy, I'm lost in muck.
The childer seem lost when there's no school.
We seem lost without a bake-oven.
LOT. — Commonly used for a great deal : as " Oh, she's a lot
better; " " She has got him on a lot ; " " It's oftens a lot
colder in April."
LOUND, 5. (sometimes LAWN.) — Used in the names of
Woods: as "The Ash Lound, Doddington;" " Skelling-
thorpe Lounds;" "They've some good kids in the Esh
Lound." — Dan. Lund.
LOUTH. — The name of the town in Lindsey, so spelt, but
always pronounced in two syllables as Lowuth. A curious
instance of this may be seen in a New Zealand Paper, which
gives an account of the capture in New Zealand of a
Lincoln defaulter : having doubtless taken down the
information either from the prisoner himself, or from the
Lincoln detective who apprehended him, it prints : " He
is a native of Lowarth " (i.e. Louth), "in Lincolnshire." So
in the ancient song of the Cuckoo Loweth is spelt Lhouth
— " Lhouth after calve cu," i.e. Loweth after calf the cow,
as if the vowels were then pronounced separately, as a
dissyllable.
LOW, adj. — Short, not tall ; said of persons : as " She does not
grow a deal, she's low ;" " He's a very low man," that is,
in stature ; not low-lived. Used also in the sense of Lower
or Below: as "The house has two low rooms and two
chambers," that is, two rooms above and two below. " The
arrangement was made in the low room of the Inn."
" There's a low room, and a kitchen, and two chambers."
LOWANCE, s. — Allowance: beer allowed in return for work.
He's gotten his lowance.
They stopped to get thei" lowance at the Half Moon.
SOUTH-WES! LINCOLNSHIRE WOKDS. 85
LUCK-PENNY, subs. — A small sum of money returned " for
luck" on a purchase, a custom so general that its amount
is a matter of bargain.
LUNGE, v. — To lounge, idle about.
He lunges about all day, he's good for nowt.
He called him a skulking lunging blackguard.
LUNGEOUS, adj.— Ill-tempered, spiteful.
Ha' done, and don't look so Inngeous.
LUSKY, 0$.— Lazy, idle.
Gret lusky things, they're too idle to work.
86
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
M
MAD, adj. — Angry, enraged, as in Psalm cii. 8.
I felt that mad.
Some women would have turned up, and been very mad.
MAIDEN, 5. — Common term for a Servant Girl: as "My
maiden has left me;" "I have no maiden now;" "She
has gone to the Half-way House Stattis to seek a maiden."
So the Prompt. Parv. has both " Maydyn, Virgo;" and
" Mayden, servaunt, Ancilla."
MAK', v. — Make: as "It maks very little money;" "I don't
mak' much account of that." So Tak', Shak', for Take,
Shake.
MAK', or MAKE, ON, v. — To make much of, pet, caress.
It's a pity to pet bairns, and matt on 'em so.
When childer come, and mak' on you, you can't help loving of 'em.
I think I did not make on him, as I ought.
MAK', or MAKE, OUTS, v.— Used in such phrases as " Does
he mak' any outs ?" or "What kin' outs (i.e., what kind
of outs) does he make ?" That is, How does he get on?
does he make any progress ? said of a child at school, and
of a lad gone out to service. So " I don't think he maks
much outs at school yet;" " They don't make such good
outs as wi' tother ;" " Why, you did make bad outs at the
school;" " They made such poor outs last year."
MAK', or MAKE UP, or MAKE, v.—To close, stop, fill up :
as "The silt soon maks up the pipes;" "They've been
making up the hole, and levelling;" "My throat feels
quiet (quite) made up ;" " Her eyes are made up a'most
every morning;" "I was throng sewing, so I made the
door." This last phrase, " Make the door," is used by
Shakspere, As You Like It, iv. i ; Com. of Errors, iii. i.
MAK', or MAKE, WORK, v.— To injure, do harm to.
My word, it has made work with him.
These sharp nights will make work with the fruit.
It has not ;;.':•<& a bit of work with him.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 87
MALANDRY. — Fields at Lincoln outside the Bar Gate; so
called from the Malandry, Maladrerie, or Leper-house,
founded there by Bishop Remigius, and refounded by
Henry I.
MALICEFUL, adj. — Full of malice, malicious.
He seemed so maliceful, if he took agen a child.
Those Irish are so maliceful, I don't like them about the place.
He's not a maliceful lad.
I hate them maliceful tempers.
MANAGEMENT, s.— Artificial manure.
They led on a lot of management.
We open the ridges, and sow the management.
If lime and management won't do, I don't know what will.
He put in a deal of management, or there'd have been no corn at all.
Manure, French Manreuvre, Management.
MANDER, s. — Common pronunciation of Manner : as " Stock,
and corn, and every mander of thing;" u They'll eat any
mander of thing ; " " He's up to all mander of tricks."
MANDRAKE, 5. — The Red-berried Bryony, Bryonia dioica.
MANG, v. — To mix, mingle; usually used with "Mess:" as
" They've messed and manged it so."
MANNER, 5. — Common pronunciation of Manure, the accent
being thrown back on the first syllable.
MARCURY, s. — Mercury, A triplex, often cultivated in gardens,
and eaten as spinach. In a Lincoln Seedsman's Catalogue
it is advertised as " Marquery, or Lincolnshire Perennial
Spinach."
MARKETS, s. — Marketings, things bought, or to be sold, at
market.
I had just a few markets in my hand.
What with my markets, and my two little ones, I felt quiet (quite) bet.
MARKET-FRESH, MARKET-MERRY, adj.— Expressions
for that state of excitement from drink in which persons
too often come home from market.
MARKET-PLACE, s. — The front teeth: as "I'll knock
your market-place down your throat ; " or " She's lost her
market-place, she'll none get a husband " — said of a woman
whose front teeth are gone.
MARKET-TOWN, s.— The term by which a larger town is
distinguished, the simple term " Town " being applied to
any village.
88 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
MARL, or TAR-MARL, s. — Tarred cord used by gardeners
for tying up raspberries and other plants.
MARTIN-CALF, or MARTIN-HEIFER, s.— The female of
twin calves, male and female, which it is supposed will
not breed, and therefore is of less value : so " Don't buy
yon, I doubt she's a Martin-calf." Sometimes called a
Free-Martin. But what is the explanation of these terms ?
Halliwell quotes a saying, of a woman who has had twins,
" She has had Martin's hammer knocking at her wicket."
MARTLEMAS, 5.— Martinmas, or St. Martin's Day, Nov.
nth, or rather Nov. 23rd, Old Martlemas Day, on which
day servants are mostly hired in Notts, as here on Old
May Day.
It were a Martlemas hiring.
She's been with us two year, come Martlemas.
MASONER, 5. — A mason, or bricklayer: as " The masoners
can't come while next week ; " " They've the masoners and
glazeners in the house."
MASTY, adj. — Very large and big : as " They're a masty
family."
MATTLE, v.— To match : as " Yon just mattles it." So
MATTLER, s.— A match, or mate : as " We've sold the
other one, the mattler to that ; " " The mattler to the white
one has cauved " (calved).
MAUL, or MALL, s. — The common Mallow, Malva sylvestris,
the seeds of which are eaten by children, and called Cheeses
by them.
MAWK, 5.— A maggot.
MAWKY, adj. — Maggotty: as " The sheep are all mawky;"
or " They're full of mawks."
MAWKIN, 5. — A scare-crow, a figure made up of old clothes
and rags to frighten birds.
We mun set up a mawkin, or the birds'll get all the seed.
Hence a ragged slovenly woman is called a mawks.
MAWL. v. — To make dirty, to besmear or mess.
The roads are so muddy, one gets quiet mawled up.
So mawling and wet as it is.
How you've mawled your victuals about !
If you'd seen how maided I was wi' mucking out the pig-sty »
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS/ 89
MAY DAY,— that is, Old May Day, i3th May, from which the
annual hiring of farm servants is reckoned.
She'll be home this May da' week.
May Day's the unsettledst time there is.
MAYS, MAYSES, s.— The Wild Chamomile, or Mayweed, a
very common weed in cornfields : " They're them nasty
mayses."
M AZZLED, part. — Mazed, confused in the head, stupefied.
I felt quiet muzzled.
I don't want to die muzzled (with opium).
I feel that mazzled a-top of my head.
They get that mazzled wi' that nasty beer.
MEA.D, s. — A drink made from the washings of the honey-
comb, after the honey is taken out, boiled with spices, and
fermented with barm.
MEAL, s. — The yield of milk from a cow at one milking, as
"She has g'en a good meal this morning;" " She gives
two gallons a meal ; " "It taks one cow's meal to serve
the cade-lambs." Ang. Sax. Mcel. Dan. Maal, a part,
measure, hence the portion of food taken at one time.
MEBBE, adv. — Maybe, perhaps : as " Mebbe it'll gie thee
ease ; " " Mebbe, it'll do better this turn."
MEDDLE NOR MAKE,— that is, not to interfere nor make
mischief: as "He's one as never meddles nor makes;"
" I never hear tell on him meddling nor making wi' no
one ; " " She never meddles nor makes wi' no one." Used
by Shakspere, Merry W. of W., i. 4.
MEGRIMS, 5.— Fancies, oddities.
They're always in megrims.
They has such megrims, has little bairns.
MELCH, adj. — Soft, warm, said of close, muggy weather.
It's a mekh morning.
This mekh weather is all agen the pork.
MELL or MELLET, s. — A mallet ; compare the pronunciation
of Pall Mall.
MENSE, s. — A corruption of Immense, used substantively for
an immense quantity : as " What a mense of folks there
was ! " " Oh, dear, it runned a mense ! " " He's gotten a
mense outen it ; " " The rain has done a mense of good."
An example of what Max Miiller calls Phonetic Decay and
Dialectic Regeneration. (Science of Language, i., sect. 2.)
Similarly a Mount for an amount, " I've cutten out a
mount of wicken for stakes and binders,"
9O SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
MESS, 5. — A number, quantity ; by no means limited to four.
What a mess of lasses (family of daughters) he has, there mut be
five or six on 'em.
My word, there is a mess on 'em.
He came and chopped a mess of sticks for me.
Look what a mess of beautiful flowers there is ! They say it's a sign
of death in the house (when they flower out of season), mebbe it's me.
There was a mess stanning and talking at the corner.
A piece after that there was a mess more come by.
I wonder you like to be pestered wi' such a mess of bairns ; I don't,
though I have such a mess.
MESS ABOUT, v. — A term of common use, but difficult to
define : as " I've been doctoring and messing about wi'
her ; " " They've sell'd and messed about ; " " She wanted
to know why they were always going messing about at her
house ; " "I don't go messing about on parish pay."
MESTER, s.— Master.
Our mester' s not a bad mester.
Missises and mester s must be mesters.
It taks a deal of getting mester on.
He's well mester on it.
Also the usual term by which a woman of the lower classes speaks of
her husband: as "The mester's in the crew;" "The two mesttrs, her
mester and my mester, lifted her in."
MESTER-PIG, s. — The largest and strongest pig in a stye, as
contrasted with Under-lout or inferior pig. So mesterman,
for the Headman. In like manner Chaucer speaks of the
" Maister-strete," " Maister-Temple," " Maister-Tour."
MEW, v., (past tense of Mow) — Mowed : as "I mew it last
year." So Sew for Sowed, Snew for Snowed.
MIDDEN, s. — A dunghill. " Vox adhuc in agro Line, usitata,"
says Skinner. In the " Mayor's Cry," an old Proclamation
of municipal regulations for the City of Lincoln, all men
"that have any middings, dirt hills, or any other filth at
their garth ends," are ordered to remove them.
MIDDLING, — used as a Substantive: as "It made middling
of money ;" "She seemed to get middling of things;"
"She gives middling of milk;" "We've got middling of
herses ; " So the common phrase, "I'm no-but among the
middlings."
MILDER, v.— To moulder, decay.
The stone- work is so mildered.
It's clean mildered away.
The frost lays hold on it and it milders down.
It'll keep the rest from mildering.
So Skinner, " Moulder, agro Line, Milder*"
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. QI
MILN, 5.— Mill.
The man as belongs the miln.
They've tooken a miln for him at B ; he's a milner by trade.
So Skinner gives " Mill, vel ut Lincolnienses efferunt, Miln. Ang.
Sax. Myln, Lat. Molina. So.
MILNER, s.— Miller.
He goes round with a milner' s cart.
We've tried one milner for one, and one milner for the t'other.
It's not good enough for these great milner s.
Compare the surnames Milne and Milner.
MILT, s. — The spleen of an animal.
They put the beast's milt in the dunghill.
There's a many will eat a pig's milt, and a many reckons it's cits'
meat.
A. S., Milt, the spleen.
MIND, MIND FOR, v.— To have a mind for, that is, to wish
or care for.
He did not mind for the land at S.
I don't mind for drink so much.
I don't much mind the magazines.
The Squire does not mind his doing of it, i.e. does not like it.
I didn't much mind for her going so soon., i.e. did not much like it.
I don't think she minded (liked) to go away.
He doesn't seem to mind (wish for) a trade ; you see he's so fond
of going with the herses.
MINGLETY-PUR.— " It's all of a Minglety-pur," that is, all
rottenness and corruption, said of a rotten sheep, &c.
MINSTERHOLD, adj.— Held of the Minster, that is, under
the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln.
I reckon the house is minsterhold.
It was minsterhold, but they made it freehold.
MISDOUBT, v.- — To doubt, or suspect of wrong.
I misdoubted it at the first onset.
Used several times by Shakspere in this sense, as Merry \V. of
Windsor, ii. i ; Love's Lab. Lost, iv. 3 ; 3 Henry VI., v. 6.
MISHAP, 5. — Used euphemistically for miscarriage : as " She's
had two mishaps sin she's been married."
MISHEPPEN, adj.— Clumsy, awkward.
He's as misheppen a chap as ever I seed.
See Heppen and Unheppen.
MISLEST, v. — Frequent mispronunciation for Molest, no doubt
arising from the common use of the prefix Mis, in the sense
of wrong.
The bees won't mislest you.
I can't see as anything has been mislested.
They go two or three together for fear of being mislested. So
Q2 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
MISFIGURE, z>.— Disfigure.
She's misfigured worse than ever I seed her.
So Mislike, Mistrust, are commonly used instead of Dislike, Distrust.
MISSED AND WANTED.— " He'll be both missed and
wanted," the common phrase to express that a person's
loss will be felt.
MISTIME, v. — To put out of one's regular course.
With having the boys at home she has mistimed herself a bit.
I've lost my husband, and I feel very much mistimed.
MIZZLE, s. — A drizzle, a fine soft rain: as "There was a
bit of a mizzle." So
MIZZLE, v. — To drizzle, to rain fine rain.
It began to mizzle a bit.
There was a mizzling rain.
I thought there'd ha' been some downfall last night, it kep1 mizzling
about.
M'HAPPEN, MAPPEN, i.e., May-Happen, perhaps: as
" M'happen, it's a little rheumatis ; " " Mappen, he may
change;" "They've gotten somewheres yon-side o' the
Trent, — Norrnanton, m'happen."
MOAN'T. — Must not: "We moan't do at that how;" "You
moan't let out as I tell'd you on it ;" " Yer moan't mak' a
mess of yoursens."
MOG, v. — To move ; as, " Now then, mog off !" or " Mog on a
piece."
MOG OUT, v. — To dress oneself out.
Some folks do mog theirsens out a good deal .
I never did see how she was mogged out.
MOGGY, subs. — A slattern, dressed out untidily : " She did look
a moggy."
MOITER. — " He's always on the moiter," said of a sick or
dying person, who keeps always on the move in a half-
unconscious sort of way.
MOLER, 5. — A mole-catcher.
They've gotten a parish moler.
He and the moler have gotten across.
MOLING, ^.—Mole-catching.
He was round moling last week.
They pay him £10 a-year for moling,
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 93
MONKEY, s. — A mortgage, encumbrance.
Is the farm his own ? Well, yes, it's his, with a monkey on it.
There's sca'ce a house in the place, but what has a monkey on it.
MOON-EYED, adj. — Having a white spot or blemish on the
eye.
Old Jane, his first wife, was moon-eyed.
When folks are moon-eyed, they have to gleg at you (look askance) out
of the corner of the eye.
MOONLIGHT FLIT.— Going off with one's goods by night
to avoid paying rent or debts.
He took a moonlight flit.
They made a moonlight flit on it from their last place.
MOOZLES, 5. — A slow, slovenly person : as " She's no-but
a poor moozles ;" or " She's a great moozling thing."
MORPHREY, s. — The common contraction for a so-called
Hermaphrodite, that is, a Cart which may be used as a
Wagon also.
MORTAR, v. — To make dirt, tread into mud.
The bairns do mortar about so.
MOTHERY, adj. — Applied to the sour slimy state of bread
kept in a damp place ; or to beer or vinegar thick with a
mouldy sediment, called in the latter the " Mother of
vinegar."
MOULDS, s. — Mould, commonly used in the plural: as "A*
few moulds," for a little mould. So " The moulds fall on
to the pad ;" " I have putten on a good few more barrow-
loads of moulds."
MOULDYWARP, s., rather pronounced MOULYWARP.—
A mole, or mouldwarp.
Our cat brings in a moulywarp nows and thens.
MUCH, v. — To grudge, envy.
She envies them and muches them for everything.
They're sure to much one another.
See THINK MUCH.
MUCH MATTER, v.— To much like.
I've been weshing him, and he doesn't much matter it.
MUCK, s. — Dung, manure, or dirt generally.
They're leading muck outen the crew.
The bairns will find muck, if there is none.
What for muck and rags, they were fit only for the rag-bag.
It's a fine thing is pig-muck ; there's nowt better for a gathered hand
than fresh pig-muck ; it fetches out the fire and pain at wonst. So
94
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
MUCK-CART, MUCK-HEAP, MUCK-HILL, MUCK-
FORK, MUCK-CLOTH, &c.
I want the muck-cloth to clean the trough out.
If the muck's in the crew-yard you get nowt for it ; if it's on the
muck-hill it's so much a yard.
MUCK, v. — To put on dung.
The trees want mucking round.
I was reckoning of mucking the rasps.
MUCK OUT, i-.— To clean, or carry out dung : as " I've
mucked out the pig-stye mysen."
MUCK UP, v.—To cover with dirt.
I never seed a place so mucked up.
Liz, you muck me up ; you make me muckier than ever I was^
They muck the house up, going in and out.
Or, to a child, " Thou hast gotten theesen muck'd up."
MUCK-PLUGGING, adj.— Filling carts with manure.
We've been muck-plugging all day.
MUCK-SWEAT, s.— -Profuse sweat.
I was all of a muck-sweat.
Skinner gives " Muck, humidus, vox hoc sensu agro Line.
usitatissima."
MUCKY, adj.— Dirty, filthy.
It's a mucky trick to serve a man this-a-way.
I never knowed such a mucky lass.
Of all the lost mucky holes, it's the most lost mucky hole as ever I
seed.
How anyone can be so mucky, it beats me.
Used as a common term of abuse, " The mucky thing ! "
MUMPING, part. — Going round on St. Thomas' Day, begging
for money or corn.
She came mumping on Friday. See GOODING.
MUD, MUN, MUT, v.— Must ; the three forms seem to be
used indiscriminately: as " I mud do it if I could;" "I
mun be content ; " "I mut come home ; " " Somebody mun
do it, so as no one else will, he mun do it ; " " It mut be
five or six weeks sin';" "He mut be telling a lie;"
" Spring weather in January, we mut fear March ; " " They
all mut come and have a look." So the negative Mutn't :
" I mutn't be clean without tea this Mayda'." See
MOAN'T.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 95
MURN, r., MURNING, s. — Common pronunciation of Mourn,
Mourning. Ang. Sax. Murnan. This pronunciation makes
at least an useful distinction between " Mourn " and
" Morn," " Mourning " and " Morning."
MUSH, s. — A pulpy, decaying mass : as " It's all of a mush,"
said of over-ripe fruit.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS,
N
NA'ENBY, — The old local pronunciation of Navenby : as
" Na'enby Stattis," held in May. This, like most other
local pronunciations, is being gradually superseded, and
Navenby is now more commonly pronounced as spelt. In
like manner the local pronunciations South'ull and Tor'sey
have given way to Southwell and Torksey, and the old
clipped forms are mostly retained by the upper classes.
NAG, v. — See KNAG.
NAGNAIL,*.— A Corn.
She's gotten a nagnail, the bairn has.
Some calls them nagnails, and some calls them corns.
NAKED, adj. — Pronounced as one syllable, Nak'd, in fact,
pronounced as a participle of the old verb, To Nake, or
make naked.
He'll be nearly nak'd when he comes back,
We don't reckon to take a nak'd light into the yard.
He comes to the door nak'd, and his clothes are handed to him.
It won't look so nak'd when the leaves are out.
NASTY, adj.— Ill-tempered, cross.
You needn't be so nasty about it.
She's a strange, nasty-tempered cat.
Our cow was that nasty, it wasn't safe to milk her.
She seems so nasty wi" the old man.
NATION, adv. — Very, exceedingly ; no doubt softened from
damnation.
It's nation hot.
Yon's a nation neist (nice) horse.
NATTER, v., or KNATTER.— To be peevish, fretful, or fault-
finding.
The missis does natter and werrit so, I nat'ly can't put up wi' it.
She's a regular nattering old woman.
She was a strange nattering old lady, always nattering and, snarling.
NATL'Y, adv. — Shortened from Naturally, but used in the
sense of Really, positively : as " I nat'ly can't stan' the
frost;" "I nat'ly mut have it done;" "The doctor
said he nat'ly mut go out."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 97
NATURE, s. — Natural substance, succulence, or virtue : as
" The gress has no nature in it this time of year ; " or " The
new seeds were so full of nature they set the hogs wrong : "
or " His blood was so poor there was no nature in it ; " or
of old white-wash, " The nature has all gone out on it'."
NAY,— the usual form of negative : as " Nay, he says he
knowed better nor that;" " Oh, nay, I'll do for you for
nowt ;" " We durstn't hardly say nay."
NEAR, adj. — Mean, close, stingy.
He's that near, he took and sent haef a pound of rasps to be sell'd.
He's oftens been very near, and kep' us very near.
NEAR-FAT, s. — The fat round the kidneys in a sheep, pig, or
other animal, sometimes called the Leaf. Prompt. Parv.
has, " Neere of a beast, Ren."
NEB, s.— A bird's bill ; sometimes used for the Nose, as by
Shakspere, Winter's Tale, i. 2.
There were six chickens had their nebs out.
What, those long-nebbed ones ?
NECK, v. — Said of Barley, when the heads are bent down and
broken off by the wind.
The Barley's come so queer, there some fit to neck, and some quiet
green.
NEGLECTFUL, *#.— Negligent : " She's so neglectful, you
see."
NEIGHBOURING, part. — Going about visiting, and gossiping
with one's neighbours.
She was neighbouring somewhere.
I was never one for so much neighbouring and newsing.
NESH, adj. —Soft, tender, delicate.
He's a nesh sort of chap.
She's rather nesh, she can't stand agen the cold.
Alderney cows are so nesh for the winter.
The older I get, the nesher I get.
NESTLE, v. — To be on the move, fidget.
We're beginning to nestle, i.e., to prepare to move house.
Our labourers begin to nestle as soon as they hear the bell.
Bairns, they're always on the nestle.
He's never in one posture, always nestling about.
The mare nestles about in the stable wiih hearing the machine agate
NETTING, 5. — Urine, particularly when kept, as it is for
many purposes.
It stinks like old netting.
She killed her two swaarms of bees ; she poured netting on the hives.
IH
9° SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
NEWBEAR, or NEW-BARE, adj. (pronounced Newber or
Newby, with the accent on the first syllable). — A cow that
has newly calved.
They reckon to have two newber cows a year.
So in Sale Bills frequently, " Two newbear cows, two rearing calves ; "
or "New-bare cow, two reared calves, two rearing ditto."
NEWSING, 5.— Gossiping.
There's a deal of newsing goes on in that row.
She can't live without newsing.
NEWSY, adj. — Fond of news, gossiping.
What a newsy woman yon is !
I think she's a bit newsy.
NEW YEAR'S DAY.— Bring a bit of green into the house on
New Year's Day, and you won't want bread all the year ;
or, if you do, some one will bring you some. You must not
bring in anything dead, or you bring a coffin into the house.
Whatever you bring in first on New Year's Day, you will
never want all the year through ; so the custom is to bring
in coals or something useful.
NICE, adj. — commonly pronounced as Niced, or Neist.
I reckon it's very niced.
She'd something very neist about her.
So Neister, for Nicer ; " No one could be neister than they are."
So " It's a nice-fish place."
Compare Hoarst for Hoarse.
NICE, NICED, NEIST, ^'.—Particular, fastidious.
Some's very niced about what they'll do.
I reckon they're more niced than wise.
The mare won't be nice about kicking this morning.
Folks seem so niced, they waant do this, and they waant do that.
She's not nice as to what work she'll do.
NICKER, s. — A Woodpecker : as "Those nickers are calling
out ; they reckon it's a sign of wet ; " " There's a nicker hole
in yon tree."
NICKERS, 5. — The larger branches of tree tops, cut up for
firewood.
I never get nickers mysen ; I never get no't but kids.
I can't hew nickers up.
NIGHT-RIPE, adj. — Said of ears of corn which ripen without
forming grain.
There's a deal of corn night-ripe, so there'll be a many deaf ears.
It's mildewed and night-ripened together.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 99
NIP, v. — To move about quickly, to be nimble; as " Now then,
nip off;" " Nip about and get it done;" " He nipped out,
and the horse nipped on;" "He can nip about anywhere
now without his sticks ; " " He oftens nips past before I see
him ;" " Defendant nipped over the fence and got away ;"
" He nipped out, and nipped on to the wagon."
NIP UP or NIP OFF, v.— To snatch up quickly: as " She
nipped up the bairn in a moment;" "He nipped the
cushion offen the chair." " They nipped off their boots in
the least of time." " I used to nip it up, and nip it down."
NIPPER, s. — Term applied to a small boy: as "Come and
stan' agen these gates, nipper! "
NITS, s.— The eggs of lice.
She never has no nits in her head — never a louse nor yet a nit.
NO-BUT, adv. — Nothing but, only ; for None-but, as No-body
for None-body.
That's no-but a poor tale.
I'm no-but among the middlings.
She's no-but a wankle little lass.
NOGGIN, 5. — A thick slice or wedge, as of bread, pudding,
&c. So " Gie him a good noggin, and ha' done."
NONE, adv. — Not at all, never at all.
He'll none have it.
She'll none get a husband.
I'm feeling none so well mysen.
She mends none, I doubt she's come to her end.
The teeth haven't gone thruff none.
She's been none well sin'.
NOR, — used for Than, as Better nor, More nor, for Better
than, More than.
Yon are bigger nor these.
I reckon the tonups look better nor the swedes.
Often contracted into '«, as "It were more 'n three weeks sin' ;"
" There were better 'n a seek on 'em."
NORRAMBY, — local pronunciation of Normanby : as " Nor-
ramby-by-Stow," " Norramby-by-Spital."
NOT ALL THERE,— that is, " Not having all his wits about
him :" as "I could mak' nowt on him ; I reckon he's not
all there." So
NOT RIGHT SHARP,— which has the same meaning.
100
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
NOTHING, adv. — Not at all: as " There's nothing so many
goes out as did ; " " She ails nothing ; " " The snow wastes
nothing; " " I don't feel nothing as strong as I did."
NOWS AND THENS,-
and thens there is."
-for now and then : as " Mebbe, nows
NOWT, often NO'T, s.— Nought, nothing,
sort," nothing of the sort.
Ye know it's nowt o' sort.
I was as near as nowt done.
It's nowt, no-but it teeth.
There's no't worse than being so uneasy.
1 reckon the bairn grows nowt.
She's as near crazed as no't.
I can't do no't, to mean o't.
So " Nowt o
SoUTH-WESf LINCOLNSHIRE WORbs. loi
O
OAK-DAY,— the 2gth May, when school children wear Oak
leaves, and nettle those who have none ; they have a
rhyme, u Royal Oak Day, Twenty-ninth of May, If you
won't gie us haliday, We'll all run away."
OBEDIENCE, 5.— A child's bow or curtsy.
I always larn them to make their obedience.
Of course they made their obedience as soon as he came in>
Sometimes Obeisance, as in Gen. xxxvii. 7, 9.
Now then, children, where's your obeisance ?
Well, there he was, obeisancing at me again.
ODD, adj. — Single, lonely, standing by itself; as " An odd
house," or " An odd place."
He lives in an odd house agen the rampire.
It was a niced house, but it was so odd ; there wasn't a place of
worship within three mile.
It's no odder place than this, not so odd.
ODDLING, 5. — A single one, as a single duck or children left
out of a clutch.
ODDMENT, s. — A remnant, or piece left of anything.
When the oddment of potatoes were offered by auction.
OF, prep. — Used after verbal nouns, or " redundantly after the
participle active :" as " It doesn't pay for sending of them
to Lincoln;" "It's doing of him a very deal of good;"
" Mr. B. is doctoring of him." So Numb. xiii. 25, " They
returned from searching of the land ; " or 2 Chron. xxxv. 14,
" The priests were busy in offering of burnt-offerings;" and
Shakspere's, " The shepherd blowing of his nailes."
OF, pyep., for On : as " They've another sale of Saturda' ; "
" She lit of Frank of Frida' ; " " I only set her of ten eggs ; "
" It seemed to press of it overmuch."
102 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
OF, prep., — for For: as "I haven't had any medicine of a
fortnight ; " " It's not been done of a many years ; " " The
childer wait of each other at the lane-ends ; " " She's not
been up to D. of a long time." So 2 Chron. xxx. 5, " They
had not done it of a long time ; " St. Luke xxiii. 8, " Of a
long season ? " Acts viii. n, " Of long time ; " the two last
retained in the Revised Version of 1881.
OFFAL, — used adjectively for Waste, refuse, superfluous.
Trade's better now, so that'll mak' work for some of the offal men.
There was a many offal folks at the fair.
She'd only the offal birds to sell.
OFFEN, or OFF ON, prep.— For Off of : as " She's never had
it off on her head ; " ** They stopped two shillings off on
me ; " " They've gotten a deal of money offen it ; " " He'll
never mak' a living offen it ; " " Mebbe, it'll wear offen him."
OFFER, v.— To attempt.
He mut lig on the bed, and sit up on end a bit, afore he offers to
walk.
He must go about the house before he offers to go out.
If he offers to walk, his knee starts swelling. *
OFTENS. adv.— Often.
f^\
It's of tens the best for them.
I don't of tens get.
We clean 'em out of tens.
How oftcns it is they are cutten off in a moment.
OLD, adj. — Used without reference to age, and the general
epithet applied to a hare.
I reckon they've letten that old boy of ours off easy.
The old hares mak' work wi' the corn.
They fun an old hare, apped up in a dyke bottom.
She'd an old hen seat hersen in the hedge ; I said for sureness the old
fox would get her.
OLD-FASHIONED, adj. — Used in the sense of Intelligent,
cunning.
The rabbits are so old-fashioned.
For a shepherd-dog he's the most old-fashioned I ever saw.
She was that old-fashioned, she had the bottle up to her mouth.
He was so old-fashioned and so deep.
Or of a tame pigeon, " It's as old-fashioned as a bairn."
The pony was a bit old-fashioned, and could open the gate with his
mouth.
OLD MAN. — The herb Southernwood, called also Lads' -love.
ON, adv. — Used euphoniously for being in the family way : as
" I doubt she's on again, poor lass."
Est LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 103
*ON, prep.— For Of: as "That's the worst on it;" "I do
believe that on her ; " " There was a good few on us, there
was eight on us ;" " She gets her tea on him ;" " I've seen
so much on it ;" " I begged and prayed on him to stay;"
" I begged a sup of beer on the mester." So also the
Harvest Song, " None on 'em laem, and none on 'em
blind, and all on their tails hanging down behind." So
" Lest they should tell on us," i Sam. xxvii. n ; and
S akspere's, " Such stuff as dreams are made on," Temp,
i i, and " The bird is dead that we have made so much
o " Cynib. iv. 2.
ON, prep. — Used also in such phrases as " Sorely on it,"
"Sadly on it," for Sorely off, Sadly off; "Two or three
days ago I was strangely on it."
ONSET, s. — Outset, commencement.
At the first onset I tell'd him how it would Be.
Pigs oftens differ five or six shillings at the first onset.
It wasn't so cold at the first onset this morning.
They'd better have built a brick one at the first onset.
OPPEN, v. and adj.— Open.
It oppened a corner on it.
I've cutten the sleeves reiet (right) oppen.
I waant oppen my door to nobody.
It's reiet-a-way oppen to the thack.
You see the land's oppcner, it dreuns thruff it.
OPPEN-GILT, s. — An open gilt, or young female pig, not
rendered incapable of breeding.
ORIGINAL, — a male Christian name. " Original Skepper "
has appeared for many years among the Guardians of the
Lincoln Union. " Mr. Original Peart " was Sheriff and
Mayor of Lincoln during the Commonwealth. There was
an Original Sibthorp, of Laneham, temp. Eliz.
ORTS, s. — Scraps, fragments: as " Eat up your orts."
OTHERSOME, pron. — Others : as " Sometimes he's better
than othersome." So in Acts xvii. 18, retained in the
Revised Version.
OURY, adj.— Dirty, untidy.
She's a real oury lass.
It's oury work this wet weather.
See HOWRY.
lo4
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
OUT, adc. — Said of a river when it is flooded, or out of its
banks, as "They say the Trent is out." Or of a person
away from home on a holiday : as " It was when we were
out in the summer;" " I thought you must be out, I had
not seen you about." Or of an apprentice who has com-
pleted his time, and is out of his indenture : as " He'll be
out come Martlemas;" "The blacksmith's boy, he was
out yesterday, so they had a bit of a do."
OUTEN,/^.— For Out on, or Out of.
If I were you, I should get out en it.
They'll never get a deal outen it. See OFFEN.
OUTNER, 5. — A stranger, one out of the town or parish.
OUTS, — in the phrase, " To make outs," that is, to make
progress : as " I don't think he mak's much outs ;" " We
made sore outs last week." See MAKE OUTS.
OVER (sometimes OWERJ, o£r. — Too: as " He's over little ;"
" He's over heavy to carry ;" " The roads are over-soft ;"
" They're over-lazy to eat ; " " He's ower-old, and he waant
die ; " " She spent ower much time running after the chaps."
OVER-HULLED, /w/. — Over-thrown, or cast, as a sheep on
its back.
The yow was over-hulled, and the lamb was dead.
See HULL, to cast or throw.
OVERLOOK, v. — To bewitch : used in the same sense as by
Shakspere, Merchant of Venice, iii. 2, Merry W. of W. v. 4.
If they were badly or owt, they reckoned folks had overlooked them.
When you thought you were overlooked, you got a piece of wicken-tree.
There was a strange do-ment about being overlooked when I was a
gell ; folks would have bits of wicken in their bo-som or over the door-
stead.
OVERSET, v. — To get over, recover from.
He was badly last backend and he's never oversetten it.
I shall have to have some medicine before I overset it.
It upset me, and she never seemed to overset it.
If he'd been bigger he'd have oversetten it better.
OVERSET, v. — Also with the sense of Upset : a3 " It has
quite overset her ; " "A little thing seems to overset me ; "
OVER WARTlNG,fl#.— Contradictory, contrary. Probably the
same word as Overthwarting.
OVER-WELTED, pavt.— Rolled over; used of a sheep
overthrown or cast.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 105
OWDACIOUS, adj.— Audacious.
He's like most boys, he's so owdacious.
They're such an owdacious lot.
See 'Dacious and Dossity.
OWT, often O'T, 5.— Ought, anything.
He might have work if he were good for owt.
They let him down (into his grave) as nice as Ou'/.
I'll stick to it, whether I've owt to yeat or nowt.
He came home as drunk as oV.
If o't's the matter or o't.
io6
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
PACKY, adj. — Packed together, as heavy clouds before rain.
It looks packv-
I thought there'd be a storm the clouds looked so packy.
PAD, FOOT-PAD, 5.— A path.
There's a pad across the closen.
The footpad's a deal gainer.
Them^>tf^s, they want summas doing at.
He's done the garden pad up for me.
I was talking wi1 him a bit afore by the pad end.
PAD, r. — To make a path, tread down.
They have padded a way across it.
It'll be better walking now the snow's gotten padded down.
PAD ABOUT, v.—To move slowly, potter about.
That's what they want him for, to pad about in the garden.
He likes padding about by his-sen.
PADDLE, v. — To walk with short, toddling steps: as " I used
to come of a morning, paddling, scar'd for my life of falling
down." The lower part of Can wick Common at Lincoln,
used as a Cow-pasture, is known as the Cow-Paddle.
PAG, v. — To carry on one's back, to carry pick-a-back.
The bairns \\erepagging one another.
Moses pagged her up to school.
He \va.s pagging Joe round the table.
PAG-RAG-DAY.— An old name for the day after May Day,
that is, May i4th, when the farm-servants leave their
places ; so-called from their " pagging " or carrying away
their bundles of clothes on their backs.
PAN, 5. — The name given to a hard layer of soil between
the peat earth and the gravel, through which roots cannot
penetrate, nor water sink.
They'll do no good without you break thruff the pan.
PARISH, v. — It is said of an h an let or township that it
parishes to some other place, that is, forms one ecclesiastical
parish with it. Thus Whisby parishes to Doddington, and
Morton to Swinderby.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 107
PARLE, 5. — Talk, conversation.
What a park that woman made !
Some will make such a park when they come together.
He and the mester have had some long paries together.
PARSHEL, s. — Common mispronunciation of Parcel.
PASH, 5. — Rotten wood, sometimes called Touchwood.
The clap-post was all of a pash.
PASTY, s. — Pastry with jam inside, a sort of heavy puff which
children often bring to school for their dinners.
She'd gotten a pasty in her hand, and tumbled flat of her back in the
dyke.
Here's your bit of pasty you've left, bairn.
PAT, s. — The soft part of a pig's foot, not the horny part.
The gilt has laid on its hind pats, and laemt it. French, Pattc.
PAWKY, adj.— Sly, artful.
What a pawky crittur he is ! The Scotch, "pawky auld carle."
PAWT, v. — To paw about, handle or finger things.
Some lasses are always pawting things about they've no business
with.
I can't abear my things so pawted about.
So of a horse, "pawting about he got his foot fast in the fence."
PAXWAX, s. — A strong tendon that runs along the neck of
quadrupeds, sometimes called Paddywhack.
PAY, v. — To beat, that is, pay the blows, give the punishment
(due and deserved. (So Ps. xxvii. 5, " Pay them that they
have deserved.")
Pay the brute well.
The mare was stunt, and he paid her.
She was hitting and paying the poor lass all along the road.
The teacher pays her so ; she pays her shameful ; she never was paid
so much anywhere else.
PAYMENT, s. — Harm, damage : as " He'll tak' no payment,'
that is, take no harm, be none the worse ; " They'll tak' no
payment from the rain;" " The corn's taking no payment
at present ; " " I'm very healthy, so I think I'll take no
payment."
PEAKED, adj. — Said of trees blown on one side, out of the
perpendicular.
I've cutten out some peaked larch,
There's a many peaked, if not fallen,
When they're peaked, they do no more good,
io8 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
PEAR, 5. — The fruit, pronounced Peiir or Pere.
Peres you may eat, apples is never ripe.
They got agate of selling the pears outen the orchard.
Prompt. Parv. gives, " Peeve, frute."
PEART, adj. — Brisk, lively, pert without its bad sense ot
Impertinent: as " She's a peart little lass;" "The babe's
quiet peart again."
PEEK, v. — To peck or pick : as of chickens or young pigeons,
" They'll soon begin to peek."
PEEL, 5. — The long-handled shovel with which bread is put
into, or taken out of a brick oven.
PEFFLE, v. — To cough, not violently, but with a short, dry,
tickling cough : as "I oppened the window a little yesterday,
and she peffled all day ; " " He's gotten such a peffling
cough." Or as a noun, " She had another peffle."
PEGGY, 5. — A wooden instrument with projecting pegs, with
which clothes are worked round in the " Dolly-tub " to
cleanse them.
PEGGY-LANTERN. — Will of the wisp, very commonly seen
on Eagle and Whisby Moors before they were drained and
enclosed : called also Billy-of-the-wisp.
PEGGY- WASHDISH.— The Pied Water- Wagtail.
PEN-FEATHERED, adj.— Said of the hair, when in rough
and untidy locks ; Or of the skin, when rough and contracted
with cold, — the state sometimes called Goose-skin.
PENNY, adj. — Said of trees, when they become dead and bare
at top : as " They are growing so penny, I doubt they'll do
no more good ;" Or of birds when their skin is full of short
stubs, as " They're so penny;" "I'm dressing a fowl but
it's very penny ;" the Pen being the bare part as distinguished
from the plume part of the feather.
PENNY-TIGHT, adj.— Short of money.
He's a badly wife, and that's kep' him penny-tight.
PEPPER, s.~- A thief, cheat, or pickpocket.
There was a gang of Nottingham peppers at the Races.
PERISH, v> — To suffer or die of cold : as "Why, you're not
haef happed up : you must be quiet perished."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. IOQ
PERIWINKLE.— The Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major, is
considered good for sore breasts, the leaves being crushed
and applied to the part ; Also as a remedy for the cramp,
a piece being placed between the bed and the mattress !
PERK, v. and s. — A perch : or to perch. So Prompt. Parv.
" Perke or Perche."
PETTY, 5. — The common euphonious name for a Privy;
French, Petite maison, used in the same way.
PETTY, adj. — Pettish, out of temper : as " He was a bit petty
all day ;" " I scufted the old cat, so it's made her petty."
PICK, s.— Pitch.
It's pick, I'm just hotting it for the mester, he's clipping sheep.
She came home with a mess of pick in her pocket.
So Prompt. Parv. " Pyk or Pyche, Pix ; " and Skinner says of Pitch :
" Etiammum Lincolnienses efferunt Pick." So
PICK-POT, s.— Pitchpot.
PICK, v. — To pitch, throw ; used especially of pitching sheaves
up on the stack or wagon in harvesting : as " He picked all
last harvest ;" " When they're mates, some'll pick and some'll
team ; " I laem't my wrist wi' picking corn ;" " It seems as
if I should pick head-forwards." So Shakspere's "As high
as I could pick my lance." Coriol. i. i.
PICK, v. — To throw or cast prematurely, said of an animal
casting her young.
We'd a yow picked three lambs this morning : they were dead ; she
picked them.
A many has picked lambs this turn.
Mr. S. has more than 200 yows as has picked lambs.
The mare picked her foal.
PICKER, 5. — The man who picks, or pitches, up the sheaves
on the stack in harvesting.
He wanted Frank to be picker this harvest. So
PICK-FORK, s.— Pitchfork. Promp t. Parv. has " Pykkforke. '
PICK, or PICK AT, v.— To find fault, speak against : as " She's
always a-picking at him ; " " There's such a deal of picking
one can hardly live;" " She's rather a picky kind of
woman."
PICKLE, v.— To pick.
The place is sore, and he will keep pickling it.
The old cement \vantsplcklhtg out.
no
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
PICKPURSE, s. — A name given to the Bother, or Corn
Spurrey, Spergula arvensis.
PIE, s. — A heap of potatoes or other roots placed in a hole,
and covered down with straw and earth against the winter,
when they are said to be pied down or to be in pie.
Better buy a ton at once and pie them down.
PIECE, s. — A short space of time : as " I'll do it in a
piece ; " " They lived Loiith way a piece ; " " It were a
piece ago ; " " He's been ligging a-bed a piece ; " " They
flitted a piece afore harvest."
PIG-CHEER, s. — The pig's fry, pork pies, sausages, &c., which
are made when a pig is killed.
I mak' 'em a present of pig-cheer nows and thens.
I seed there was some pig-cheer on the go.
He was charged with stealing a hamper of pig-cheer.
PIGGIN, 5. — A small wooden vessel with one ear or handle,
used for milking, and carried under the arm ; Kit being
the larger vessel, with two ears, carried on the head.
PIG-GRASS, s. — The Knot-grass, Polygonum aviciilare, a very
common weed in cornfields and by roadsides.
PIG-NUT, s. — The Earthnut, Buninm flexuosum, dug up and
eaten by children.
PILL, v. — To peel, strip off the bark ; used most commonly
of the Oak-pilling, or stripping the bark of the oaks when
felled in spring : as " They'll not cut them while (till) the
bark'll pill ; " " They started pilling in April Fair week ; "
" There's not a deal of bark-pilling to year; " " Felling
and pilling 323. per ton." Prompt. Parv. has " Pyllyn or
pylle bark, or other lyke, Decortico."
PINDER, 5.— The parish official in charge of the Pin-fold
or pound, whose duty it was to impound stray cattle, — an
important office in former days when much land was
unenclosed.
PINE, v. — To starve or kill with hunger, Starve being used for
to perish with cold.
The yows were pined; they had not a bit of keep.
He pinched and pined him a'most to dead.
We're ciean pined out here.
Pined to dead, or to death, is a common expression for death from
hunger : as " He looks haef pined to dead."
PINE-HOUSE, s. — A place where animals are shut up to fast
the night before being killed.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. Ill
PINFOLD, 5. — The common word for a Pound : as " They live
close agen the pinfold ; " " They meet at the pin-fold at 7."
PINGLE, 5. — Used in names of fields for a small enclosure.
PINK, s. — A spink or chaffinch.
It's them pinks, they mak' such work \vi' the seeds.
PINK, v. — To wink, or peer with half-shut eyes : as " She goes
pinking about." So
PINKY-EYED, adj. — Having winking or half-closed eyes.
Cfr. Shakspere's " Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne."
Ant. and Cl. ii. 7.
PINKY-EYED JOHN.— A name given to the wild Heart's-
ease or Pansy, Viola tricolor or V. arvensis.
Why it's a small Pinky-eyed John.
PINNER, s.— Pinafore.
Come and let mother tie your pinner.
He holds it agen his pinner.
PINTOOTH, 5.— Eye-tooth.
He's just getting his pinteeth.
She's about her pinteeth ; she's gotten one nearly thruff.
It's dead on bronchitis in it pinteeth.
PIP, s. — A cowslip is said to have so many pips or separate
flowers in its umbel ; or a card has so many pips or spots.
PISMIRE, s. — The usual term for an Ant : as " The gress close
were full on pismire hills."
PITCHER, s. — Always used for a small jug, such as a milk jug:
as in the saying, " Little pitchers have long ears." The
term Jug is applied to large stoneware jars.
PLANET-STRUCK, «#.— Paralysed, blasted; as we say
moonstruck.
PLANISH, v. — To cover with things untidily or in disorder.
How you planish that table about !
They've every table a'most planished sometimes.
Perhaps the same word as Plenish.
PLANTIN', or PLANTING, 5.— A plantation.
He was laid agen the plantin' side.
They're soughing the little close agen the plantin'.
PLASH, v. — To lay a hedge by partly cutting through the stems.
Yon hedge wants plashing; it's not been plashed for a many years.
Them that were plashing, they can't do it for the storm.
112 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
PLASHER, s. — A labourer employed in laying hedges: as "He
was mostly a plasher, and a deal among the hedges."
PLAY UP, v. — To jump or frisk about : as of a horse, " He
plays up a bit when I fetch him up ; " " This pony does not
play up at the trams as the other did."
PLOUGH-JACKS, — a name given to the Plough-boys who
come round on Plough Monday, and who formerly used to
be dressed up to represent various characters.
PLOUGH MONDAY,— the Monday after Twelfth Day, on
which the Plough-boys come round for money.
POOR CREATURE, — common term for a person who is sick
and ill, and not up to much : as " He's a strange poor
creature, I reckon ; " " I'm oftens a poor creature mysen ; "
" She's nobut a poor crittur, poor old lass : Doctor says she
must have plenty of good support ; " that is, meat, wine, &c.
POPPLE, 5. — The Corn Cockle, Agrostemma Githaqo, a trouble-
some weed in corn.
PORKET, s. — A young pig, fit to kill for pork, but not large
enough for bacon : as " We're keeping on it for a porket ; "
" He reckoned as the pigs weren't fresh enough for porkets ; "
so constantly in Sale Bills,—" i Fat Pig, 5 Porkets," &c.
POSY, 5. — Common term for a nosegay or bunch of flowers :
as " The children have cropped a posy in the dyke ; "
" There's a many posies in the market now ; " " The
bairns ha' gotten a beautiful posy, and they're going to
help to trim the Church to-morrow."
POTTER OUT, v.— To poke or work out slowly and gradually.
The bad places in the plaster want pottering out.
The 'tales tak' a deal oi pottering out to-year.
If they get a hole, the bairns potter it out wi' their fingers.
The bricks had mildered away, so we pottered them out.
I was stood pottering the fire.
He hasn't pottered out no-but two shillings all winter.
POWER, 5. — A great deal, a large number or quantity : as
" There's been a power of rain ; " " There was a power of
folks at the fair."
PRATE, v. — To chatter, talk overmuch.
How he does prate to be sure.
He might have prated at him (i.e., given him a talking to), and let it
go by.
Said also of the cackling noise made by a hen when she has laid : as
" I heard her bvate and went out."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 113
PRICK, >?. — To dress up for show: so " Pricking the Church,"
i.e., dressing it up with evergreens.
PRICKBUSH, or PRICK-HOLLIN, s.— The Holly.
It's the house where there's that pointed prick-hollin tree.
PRICKLE, v.— To prick.
It seems to prickle and itch a deal.
So Spenser tells how " The Eglantine did spred her prickling arms."
F. Q. n, v. 29.
PRIMP, s. — The shrub Privet, Ligustrum vulgar e.
PRISE, v. — To force open with a lever.
I doubt I shall be like to prise it open.
PROFFER, v.— To offer.
She proffered me a bed.
I proffered to drive her to Church.
YLe proffered to lead the coal lor summut less.
tie proffered to wear so much more money on it.
PROFIT, s. — Said of a cow when in milk : as " She'll not come
into profit while next month ; " " They're allowed a cow in
full profit all the year, that's two profit cows."
PROPPED UP, part.— Said of a person who has to be supported
and kept alive by care and medicine.
He's no-but a poor propped up crittur.
She's been propped up these many years.
PROUD, adj. — High, forward, luxuriant: as of young wheat,
" The wheat's gotten so proud;" or of nails in a horse-
shoe, " The nails stand out too proud ; " or " The board's a
bit too proud, it wants spoke-shaving off." So Winter -proud y
said of wheat when too forward in winter.
PROUD-FLESH, s.— Mortified or unhealthy flesh in a sore.
PROUD-TAILOR.— A Goldfinch.
PUDGE, or PUDGE-HOLE, s.—A puddle.
She went reiet into the pudge.
The bairns will walk thruff all the pudge-holes.
PUFF, s.— Breath, wind.
She puts me out of puff sometimes, I seem sca'cely able to overset it
for a piece.
So " Short ofpu/," for short of breath.
PULID, s.—A kind of hawk,— a buzzard or kite ? Formerly
more common in these parts than now, when the name is
almost lost,
i
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
PULK, s.— A coward.
What a pulk yon chap is
He's a strange pulk.
He's a ulk at work as well.
PULL-BACK, s. — Drawback, disadvantage: as " I've had a
many pullbacks ; " " It's been a sore pullback for her;"
" They try hard for a living, but they've a very many pull-
backs."
PULP, s. — Mixed straw and turnips, cut small by the Pulper,
as food for cattle in the winter.
I was spreading pulp in the crew.
PUNCH, s. — Lemonade, or any other cooling drink for the sick.
PUNISHMENT, s.— Pain, suffering : as " He's done his work
in a deal of punishment ; " " Such punishment the lad was
in, I took him to the Doctor ; " " It was punishment for him
to put his foot to the ground." So " Put him out of his
punishment," i.e., out of his pain, by killing him.
PURR, 5. and v. — The long pole with which the hot embers in
a brick oven are "purred," or spread and stirred. More
usual terms here are Scale, and Scaling-rod.
We had a gret long purr to stir the oven.
We used to purr it about the oven, for you couldn't stan' very gain.
PUSH, 5. — (Pronounced short, as Rush.) — A pool, or puddle.
The watter all stood in pushes.
We'd such a push of watter agen our door, we had to let it off.
PUSSY-PAUMS.— The Catkins of the Sallow ; the so-called
Palm or Paum ; sometimes called Goslings.
PUTHER, v. — To puff; said of smoke : as " When the wind's
that away, the smoke all puthers out ; " "It puthers down
fit to blind one ; " " I'm forced to have the door oppen,
'cause it puthers out on the chimley ; " " As hard as ever
it could puther out." " The snow all came puthering off
the roof."
PYEWIPE, s.— The Peewit or Lapwing, which lays the well-
known Plover's eggs, and gives its name to the Pyewipe
Inn by the Fossdyke.
PYKLET, PYCLET, PIKELET, PIKLET, PYFLET,
5. — A crumpet, or kind of muffin, eaten hot and buttered.
Spelt in all the above ways.
Fresh muffins and pyklets every day.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
Q
QUAIL-MUTTON.— The flesh of sheep that have died of
disease, from drowning or natural causes. A.S. Cwelan, to
die.
There's nowt no better than quail-mutton — drownded mutton ; you salt
it, and put it in a pancheon.
QUALITY, s. — The gentry, or upper classes.
All the quality was there.
They'd gotten a tent setten out for the quality.
QUEE, adj. — Female, applied to calves.
She's had three quee cauves running.
QUEEN DICK.— "That happened in the reign of Queen
Dick ; " i.e., Never.
QUIET, adv. — Usual pronunciation of Quite, — in accordance
with its origin, the Latin Quietum.
I'm quiet hagg'd out.
They'd quiet a grand do.
QUIRKY, adj.— Playful, sportive.
He's such a quirky lad.
He seemed to me a very quirky man.
QUITE BETTER.— Always used for Quite well.
Oh, he's quiet better t he started to work of Monday.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
R
RACKAPELT, s. — A noisy riotous person : as " He's a tire-
some boy, a real rackapelt ;" or to a barking dog, " You're
so chappy, you rackapelt, you!"
RADDLE, v. — To redden, to mark or colour with red ochre.
It was my husband's work to raddle the lambs.
RAG, v. — To tease, rate.
We used to rag her a bit about it.
RAGEOUS, adj. — Outrageous ; of which it is probably a
clipped form, as 'Liver for Deliver, 'Lowance for Allowance,
'Dacious for Audacious.
RAGG'D, adj. — In rags ; always pronounced Ragg'd, not
Ragged. So Nak'd for Naked.
RAGG'D, adj. — Said of trees when covered with fruit : as
" The berry bushes are well ragg'd ;" " They're as ragg'd
as they can hing."
RAG-RIME, or RAG-FROST, 5.— A white or hoar frost. " It
was a real black-frost, — a lot sharper than a rag-rime."
So " It is a raggy," or " A ragg'd morning," when things
are covered with white frost.
RAG-ROSE, or RAG-JACK, 5.— The Oxlip, Primula elatior.
It's a rag-rose they've gotten in the wood.
RAISE, v. — To bring up phlegm, and spit.
She raises a deal.
He were coughing and raising all night.
RAISE, v. — To have a child born, or rear one up : as " They've
raised a boy at last ;" " She's raised a baby, I suppose ;"
" What have they raised this turn," meaning whether a
boy or a girl ; " She's a wankle little thing, I doubt we
shall never raise her."
RAISEMENT, 5. — Advancement, increase.
They've made a raisement in the rent.
He has never received the raisement yet.
She gets a raisement every year she stays.
He wanted a raisement, so they g'ed him the chanch to leave.
I paid the raisement (advance in the price of bread) on Tuesday.
So " They're going to raise him," i.e., raise his wages.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 117
RAITY, RAITED, or ROITY, «#.— Soaked and broken ;
said of straw that has been in use, or of hay that has got
often wet.
Last year's straw will be more raited.
RAKE, 5. — A range, run : as " Geese want a bigger rake ; "
RAKE, v. — To range, ramble.
Ducks are such things to rake away.
They rake off far enough down the dykes.
Prompt. Parv. has " Reyke or ydylle walkynge about. Discursus,
vagacio."
RAM MEL, 5. — Rubbish of any kind, but especially builders'
rubbish.
Lor ! what rammel it is.
They put a lot of old rammel a top on it.
It seems nowt but old bricks and old rammel.
So " Pde for leading rammel out of ye Church." (Churchwardens'
Accounts, Norton-Disney.)
RAMP, or ROMP, v.— To grow quickly, shoot up.
Well, you have romped up !
He keeps ramping on.
He has romped up a lot just lately.
RAMPER, or RAMPIRE, s.— A metall'd high road, applied
in these parts especially to the Fossway or Roman Road,
till lately the turnpike road between Lincoln and Newark,
perhaps expressing its originally raised rampart-like
appearance as it crossed the low open country.
He lives in an odd house by the rampire.
He seemed quite footbet as he passed along the rampire.
Keep along the main rampire while you come to yon trees.
RANGE, s. — A high fender or fire-guard.
They ought to have ranges wi' them little bairns.
He got that gret range round the fire to keep her off on it.
RANTAN, v. — To serenade with rough music, beating of pots,
and pans, &c., persons who are suspected of beating their
wives.
They rantan folks who beat their wives.
They've rantanned two or three at Eagle in my days.
If thgy rantan 'em once, they're bound to do it three nights, so I've
heard say.
A great disturbance was caused by a mob who were rantanning a
young man named H . The front windows of his house were broken,
and all kinds of old tins kettles, &c., were beaten to make a great noise." —
Line. Chronicle, ijth April, 1883.)
n8
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
RAP 5. — A swap, exchange, as of a horse, " He was about
making a rap wi' some one ; " "I shouldn't advise you to
make a rap on it."
RAP OUT, v.— To utter violently and harshly: as " He
rapped out a big oath ; " " She's such a woman to rap
out, she's as bad as a man."
RASH, adj. — Hasty-tempered : as " His father's so rash with
him."
RASH or RASH-RIPE, adj. — Said of grain in the ear, when
it is over ripe and falls' out easily.
RASPS, 5. — Raspberries.
He was that mean he sent a pound of rasps to be selled.
There are a niced few rasps this turn.
The wind's made work wi' the rasps, they're just in the bleak.
RATCH, v.— To stretch : as " It'll ratch a bit ;" " It's sure to
ratch wi' being new cord." Also to tell falsehoods, impose
on, over- reach : as " Why, he's been ratching you."
RAUM, v. — To shout : " Some does raum."
RAVE, s. — Trouble, confusion.
Cleaning time maks such a rave.
We've had one great rave with our drains, and don't want another.
It's been a strange rave, to be sure.
RAVE, or RAVE UP, v. — To tear up, put in confusion.
They'll have to rave up the streets again for the sewage.
When one begins to rave about, one always finds plenty of dirt.
Skinner gives " To Rave up, vox agro Line, usitatissima pro
Explorare."
REAPER, v. — To cut with a Reaper, or reaping machine.
I expect they'll put in a reaper, and reaper it down.
They've got a-gate 3,-reapering.
Father don't believe in reapering oats or barley ; he thinks they're
best mown.
REAR, adj.— Raw.
The meat was right down rear.
Prompt. Parv. has " Rere, or nesche as eggys, Mollis."
REARING-FEAST, 5. — A supper given to the workmen, when
the roof is reared on a new house: as "They reckon on
having their rearing-feast next week."
RE AST, v. — To wrest or lift with a lever : as " Reast it oppen : "
" If we reast it a bit, the soil will fall off."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. Iig
REASTY, adj. — Said of bacon, when it gets a rusty look, and
has a rancid taste. Prompt. Parv. has " Reest, as flesche,
Rancidus ; " and it is used by Skelton and Tusser.
RECKING-HOOK, 5.— The iron hook which hangs in a
chimney, in the reek or smoke, and on which pots are
hung over the fire.
There's only that little grate, no recking-hook, nor nowt.
RECKLING, 5, — The smallest and weakest in a brood or litter.
There's oftens a reckling or two in a cletch.
The pig as they took was the reckling, the others were ten shillings
better.
RECKON, v. — Think, suppose ; — a word of as frequent use, as
it is said to be in America.
He reckoned he was offering a good price.
He reckons he has got a place yon-side of Newark.
I reckon it's a niced pretty colour.
She reckoned she didn't know the way, I mut show her.
I reckon we shall have some downfall, t' kitchen floor's corned out so
white.
RECKON OF, or RECKON ON, v.— To intend, determine.
I reckon of doing it next week.
He reckoned of coming home of Frida'.
There was something I was reckoning of asking you.
When I was reckoning on leaving on 'em.
RECKON UP, v.— To make out, understand.
I seed him in the van, but I couldn't reckon him up ; I couldn't think
who he was.
I couldn't reckon up how he'd come.
I can't reckon them up ; I've tried all ways; I can't get under them
no how.
He says one thing and means another ; you can't reckon him up.
REEK, s. — A pile, heap, usually of snow.
They had to cut thruff the snow reeks in the town-street.
The hounds trailed his clean shirts into a snow reek, and there they
were while the snow went.
REEK, v. — To heap, or pile up.
The snow was that reek'd up.
It reek'd the snow up strange and deep.
So " What a reeking fire ! " i.e., heaped up, not smoking or steaming
REEFATORY, adj. — Common pronunciation of Refractory,
with the accent on the first syllable.
He was wonderful re/atory, going up to the asylum.
REMBLE, v. — To move, shift anything out of its place.
Skinner calls it " vox agro Line, usitatissima."
My lass scolds me for rembling my things about .
She's always rembling something.
120
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
RENDER, r. — To melt down fat, as when a pig is killed.
There was better than 5olbs. of leaf-fat, so it took a deal of rendering
down, and getting out of the road.
It's some scraps as I'm rendering down.
REST, v.— To sleep.
He eats well, and rests well.
He's rested well sin he's been hoem.
I can't rest while morning.
I can't rest o' nights, and that harries me o' days.
RETCH, v.— To reach.
I kep' her at hoem to retch and fetch for me.
You're well aware I can retch nowt for my sen.
The Prompt. Parv. spells it " Rechyn or Retchyn ; " and Skinner
gives " To Retch, Tendere, extendere."
REVEREND,—" The Reverend," or " Our Reverend,"—
common terms in speaking of a Parish Clergyman : as
" Our Reverend's a strange man for the bells ; " " Do you
ever hear owt of our old Reverend ?"
RIFT, v. — To belch. Skinner calls it " vox agro Line,
usitatissima."
RIG, s. — A ridge : as " He ploughed it up rig and furrow."
So the " Rig-tile " of a roof, or the " Rig-tree," the beam
that runs across. Prompt. Parv. has " Rygge of a lond,'
and " Rygge bone of bakke."
RIG, v. — To ridge up, or make ridges.
They're beginning to rig for swedes.
RIGS, s. — Tricks, jokes : as " To run rigs," or " None on your
rigs here !"
RIGHT, — pronounced Reiet : as "He doesn't seem reiet;"
" It goes reiet thruff my foot, and undernean." So
RIGHT-AWAY, adv.— as ''From the Stone-bow reiet-away
to the Butter house;" "I paid him reiet-away while
Mayda."
RIGHT. — " To have a right," used in the sense of Duty, not
of Privilege : as " She has a great right to be a good lass ; "
" He says the Squire has a right to send him another drake,
for the fox fetched the head off on his;" " If they wanted
to build, they had a right to find the money ; " " If they had
the money, they had a right to pay."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 121
RIGHTLE, v.— To set in order, put to rights.
If it's not right, you can rightle it next time.
My wife's been helping on her to get things rightled a bit.
I thought I mut get it rightled up.
I g'ed her a rightling comb to put her hair straight.
He can't even rightle his hair.
RIGHT-SHARP, adj.— Sharp-witted, having one's full senses :
usually in the phrase, " He's not just right-sharp," i.e., he
has not all his wits.
RIP, 5.— A whetstone or strop for a scythe, sometimes called a
Strickle.
RIP, v, — To rage, act violently.
He went ripping and tearing about.
He came home tipsy, ripping and s
Ripping and swearing and doing.
RIT, v. — To trim or pare off the edge of a path, &c., with a
" Ritting tool," made for the purpose.
RITS, s.— The entrails of a goose.
When you are dressing the rits, you find lumps of fat, and render
them down.
RIVE, v. — To split ; in common use, as of an oak-tree, " Will
it rive?" i.e., split so as to make rails;" " When I stoop,
my head feels fit to rive in two."
ROAD, — used for Way: as in the phrase, " Get it out of the
road," used for disposing of a pig when killed ; or " If I
can but pay my road ;" or " One mut speak when things
ain't going the right road."
ROAKED UP, part. — Heaped up, as snow, &c. Apparently
the same as Reeked,
ROAK, ROKE, s.— Mist, haze. So
ROAKY, adj.— Misty, hazy : as " It's roaky weather." "When
it's so roaky, he seems to get the fog in his throat." Prompt.
Parv. has " Roke, myste," and " Roky, mysty."
RODDING,/w£. — Cutting and peeling osier rods: as "They
kep' the childer away rodding."
ROIL, v. — To rile, vex, irritate.
The folks were a bit roiled at us.
If I never know it, it'll never roil me.
The best in the world is roiled some time.
122
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
ROMANCE, v.— To speak falsely or exaggerate.
She's a very romancing woman.
Folks romance so.
He's a very blustering man, and romances a deal in his talk.
ROOF. — " Under the roof," or " Under the same roof," said
of persons living in adjoining semi-detached houses : as
" They live under the roof wi' the grandmother."
ROPY, adj. — Stringy, glutinous, or viscous — a condition of
beer or bread, badly made or kept too long — seldom
occurring now that home-made bread and beer are so
commonly superseded by fresh-bought articles. It was a
belief in these parts that hanging up a piece of ropy bread
behind the door would keep further ropiness out of the
house.
ROT, v. — To discharge matter : as of a wound, " It rots
nicedly ; " "It kep' running and rotting a deal ; " " It keeps
rotting a little — just a little matter comes oat."
ROUGH, v.— To do a thing roughly.
I've no-but just roughed it over.
Those labouring men, they rough it over anyhow.
I just roughed up the cost.
RUE, v. — To be sorry for, repent, regret.
They say he's rued it, but that's neither here nor there.
I've never rued it but once, and that's ever sin'.
I doubt he's rued for it.
RUINATED, fart.— Ruined, dilapidated.
RUN, RUNNED, v. — As " It's one body's work to run them
out on the garden ;" " She's been and runned her place ;"
" It's so far off, it runs me about so."
RUMP and STUMP, adv.— Completely, entirely.
He's clean done up, rump and stump , they tell me.
RUTTLE, v. — To make a noise in the throat in breathing,
as a dying person often does.
He ruttles a deal in his throat.
She woke her husband ruttling.
He's been ruttling like that all night.
RUTTLING, 5. — The noise in the throat in breathing, caused
by want of power to raise the phlegm.
As soon as the ruttling stopped he was gone by that.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 123
SAD, adj. — Heavy, close-pressed: as "The land's so sad wi'
the heavy rain," or " The ground's sad undernean." Very
commonly applied to bread when the dough will not rise
properly : as " The grown corn maks the bread so sad ; "
" It's bad for any one to eat sad bread;" "The crust's as
sad as liver, it's too sad for a badly man." Spenser's " Sad
as lump of lead," F. Q. II. i. 45 ; and "More sad than
lomp of lead," F. Q. II. viii. 30. Prompt. Parv. has both
" Sad or hard, Solidus," and " Sad or sobyr, Maturus."
SADDEN, v. — To make heavy, consolidate.
The rain has saddened down the land.
Prompt. Parv., " Saddyn, or make sadde, Soh'do, Consolido."
SADLY OFF, or SADLY ON. — Common phrase expressing
that a person is ill, or in a bad way.
The bairn was sadly off last week.
She's sadly on, poor old lass.
I was sadly on, I could sca'ce trail about.
SAFFERN, s. — The shrub Savin, Juniperus Sabina, often given
by farm servants to their horses to make their coats shine.
I'd a mester had a Saffern tree in a pot.
We'd a little Saffern tree in our garden ; somebody clipped it one
night.
SAG, v. — To bend or sink down by its own weight : as " The
gate has sagged," or " It's sure to sag a bit." Prompt.
Parv. has " Saggy n or Satlyn, Basso;" and " Saggynge,
or Satlynge, Bassacio." Used by Shakspere and Drayton.
SAIL OVER, or SAIL THRUFF, v.— A coping stone or
projecting row of bricks is said to sail over the wall beyond
which it projects; or bricks that have got loose and project
are said to sail thruff the wall.
SATTLE, v. — Common pronunciation of Settle.
The stacks are beginning to sattle.
He seems to sattle wonderful that-a-way.
The frequent reason given by farm servants for leaving their places
is that they could not sattle.
This is the form given by Prompt. Parv. , "Satlynge idem quod
saggynge,"
124
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SATTLE, or SETTLE, v. — Usual term for receipting a bill:
as " Settled same time ; " I'll tak' the bill in and sattle it."
SAUCE, v. — To speak saucily or impudently.
He sauced me, so I slapped him.
She'd chap again at her, she'd sauce her.
It looks so bad when girls sauces thsir mothers.
SAUCY, adj. — Commonly used in the sense of Dainty : as
"They've got too saucy to eat bacon ;" " They're a bit
saucy, they want to pine a bit."
SAUM, i>. or s. — A singing noise, or to make such a singing
noise.
I've always a nasty sawn in my head.
Such a sauming noise, it's fit to saum your head off.
Possibly Psalm ; but more probably formed from the noise itself.
SCA'CE, SCA'CELY,— for Scarce, Scarcely.
SCALING-ROD, s. — A long pole with which the hot embers
in a brick oven are stirred about and spread, by some called
a Purr : From a verb, to Scale, to stir and spread about.
SCOPE, v. — Usual pronunciation of Scoop; " Scope a few
moulds out round the roots."
SCOPPERIL, s.— A tee-totum, made of a button-mould with
a wooden peg through it.
SCOTCH or SCORCH, v.— To fine, dock off, or keep back
part of a man's wages : as " He used to scotch them so
much."
SCOTCH, or SCORCH, v, — To put a stone or piece of wood,
&c.,to stop a cart wheel from running back on an incline.
SCRANNY, adj.— Crazy.
Oh, dear ! I'm well nigh scranny.
The bairns are fit to drive one scranny.
Scranny, not Stranny, is the form used here.
SCRAT, 5.— A scratch : as " The kitling's g'ed her a scrat."
SCRAT, v.— To scratch.
If he can but scrat on any how.
It'll be as much as he can do to scrat a living out on it.
So Scrat along, Scrat together, &c.
Prompt. Parv. has " Scrat tyn, or Scratchy ii."
SCRAWK, v.— To scratch.
She's scrawked it about ever so.
You can see the rats' scrawkings along the paint.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 125
SCRAWL, s. — " To give the scrawl," i.e. to do a person an
injury, or bad turn : as " He's g'en her the scrawl, he's tied
all his money up."
SCRAWM, v. — To scratch, scrawl ; as of a foot-rule packed up
carelessly with tools, — " They're scrawming it all over."
SCRAWMING, SCRAWMY, o#.— Awkwardly tall and lanky :
as of a plant, " It has grown so scrawmy ; " or of a girl
" What a great scrawming lass she has gotten."
SCREED, s. — A shred, or narrow strip of anything.
They've ta'en in a screed by the road-side.
There's quite a thin screed of fat on the hams. So
SCREEDING, s. — The edging, or bordering, as of a cap.
SCREET, v. — To screech : connected with Screech, as Scrat
with Scratch.
She screets out in her sleep.
It made her screet out finely.
For the first haef hour she screeted wi' pain.
He began to kick and screet again.
SCROGS, s. — Scrubby bushes, or places overgrown with
rough shrubs and bushes : as Corringham Scrogs, near
Gainsborough.
SCROODGE, v. — To squeeze, crush.
Five will scroodge into room for three.
There's a deal of scroodging in the butter market.
SCROOF, s. — Hardened or encrusted dirt, scurf. Commonly
used metaphorically for low, rough, scurvy fellows : as
11 Why, they're the scroof of the world ! " " He's with all
the scroof of the country;" "The races bring a lot of
scroof to Lincoln."
SCROOFY, adj.— Scurfy, grimy : as « What a little mucky
scroofy thing it looks ! "
SCUD, s. — Scum, that which scuds or skims on the surface of
water.
The scud used to gather at the top.
They put in a sough whereby the scud might dreen off.
The scud boils up on the watter in the pot.
SCUFFLE, v. — To draw the Scuffler or horse-hoe between the
ridges, to root up weeds.
SCUFT, v.— To cuff.
George scuffed her well.
If I scuft him he's back again by that.
Our cat jumped on the window and I scuffed hinx so he's a bit petty.
126 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SCUTCH, v. — To trim a hedge ; probably the same as
SCUTCH, v. — To flick or cut slightly with a whip.
He just scutched the old horse.
There was a squirrel by the side so I scutched it wi1 my whip.
SCUTCHEL, 5. — A narrow passage between houses.
SCUTTLE, s. — A shallow wicker basket used in gardens.
He brought in two scuttles full of 'tates.
SEA-HARLE, s. — A mist or drizzle coming up with an east
wind from the sea.
It's nowt but a sea-harle.
SEAM, s. — Lard. Used by Shakspere, Troil, and Cr. ii. 8 ;
and Dryden, ^En. vii. 867.
SEARCH, v. — To pierce, penetrate : as "A searching wind,"
or "A searching pain;" or "It seems to search one
through ;" " They're old wine-casks, and the wine seems to
search into the water."
SEAT, 5.— A sitting of eggs.
They laid about a seat apiece, and then ge'd over.
I could'nt have done better with one seat than I did.
I've had two or three seats of black ducks.
I set a seat of eggs which fell to come off of Friday.
I've three seats under, and two more near upon ready.
SECK. s.— Sack.
I've letten him have a seek of 'tates.
We glent rather better than a seek of wheat.
So Prompt. Parv. " Sek of clothe or lethyr, Saccus."
SEED, v. — Past of see ; saw.
I knowed that for sureness, for I seed it my sen.
I never seed a man wi' such a sperrit.
SEEDS, s. — Sown crops of mixed Clover, Rye-grass, &c., as
opposed to permanent pasture : as " To let, 441 acres of
Old Pasture, and 154 acres of Seeds;" " We've been
mucking those seeds ; " " Then there's the Seed-mowing."
SEG, s. — A boar pig castrated when full grown, so as to make
its flesh fit for eating.
SELDOM. — Used as a s. in the phrase, " Some odd seldoms ; "
i.e., now and then : " It mebbe may do so some odd
seldoms ;" " It will only burn some odd seldoms."
SELL'D,— for Sold : as " He tell'd me his-sen that he sell'd it."
SOUTH WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
127
SEN, SENS,/r0». — Self, selves: as ''Do it your-sen;" "I
tell'd her mysen ; " "If you can do for your-sen, I can do
for my-sen ; " " They do it within their-sens a deal."
SERRY, adj. — Mean, worthless, sorry in the sense of miserable.
It's a poor 5£W-looking thing.
SERVE, v. — To feed animals : as " To serve the pigs," i.e., to
give them their food ; " She'd been serving the cauves; "
" The beast were all right when I served them this
morning."
SERVE, v. — To occupy, employ.
It won't serve him for a day's work.
It served him two or three days.
It won't serve me five minutes to unpack it.
It served me for a quarter of an hour walking down.
I can mak' it sarve me and the bairn.
SET UP ON END. — In a sitting position, usually of a person
sitting up in bed : as " She was set up on end ;" or " I
had just set me up on end ; " " She wanted to sit up, but
Doctor said she'd better sit up on end a bit first."
SEW. — Sowed, the old strong prceterite of Sow : as Grew of
Grow, Knew of Know, and here Mew of Mow, Snew of
Snow.
We sew it wi' barley last week.
SHACK, or SHACKBAGS, 5.— An idle vagabond, called also
a Shacking fellow, and said to be on the Shack.
The father's a drunken idle shack.
A dreadful shack the son was all his time, — a regular shack-bags.
He's nothing, no-but a shack, — such a shack he wouldn't learn nowt.
SHACK, v.— To idle or loiter about.
He's fond of drinking and shacking about,
The father was shacking about the town.
SHACKING, SHACKY, adj.— Idle, loitering.
He'll do nowt but shacking work.
He didn't like the looks on him, he looked so shacky.
SHAFFLING, adj.— Idle, untrustworthy, shuffling: as "They
had a snaffling fellow set over the work."
SHAGFOAL, s.— A Hobgoblin.
She lit of a shagfoal with eyes like tea saucers.
SHAGMAREL, or SHACKMARELL, s.— An idle good-
for-nothing fellow.
All the shagmarells in the place can get relief.
128
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SHAK', v.— Shake : so Tak', Mak'.
He collars them and shaks them to dead.
The shak' o' the cart's fit to end her.
The Reapers will shak1 them on the clays to year; it will be shakky.
SHAMS, s. — Short gaiters ; perhaps so called from the Chamois
or Shammy leather of which they were made.
SHAN, adj.— Shy, wild.
The beast are so shan you can't go nigh them.
They're very shan wi' not being handled.
She's very shan when I go into the crew.
Skinner calls "Shan, vox agro Line, usitatissima."
SHAN, v. — To shy: as "The roan pony seemed to shan about
a deal."
SHATTREL, s. — A thing shattered; as of a tree struck by
lightning, or broken by the wind, — " Is it not a poor
shattrel?"
SHE, pron. — Used of a Clock: as "I reckon she wants
cleaning;" "She never wants cleaning, no-but once
a-year;" or of a sewing-machine, as "She's never been
mended yet;" " She wants a drop of oil, but she's a real
good worker."
SHEAR, v. — To reap, or cut corn with a sickle, as dis-
tinguished from Mowing with a Scythe, and the modern
Reapering with a Reaping-machine.
He can't mow, he can only shear, and they don't have a deal shorn
now-a-days.
He would always have a piece shorn by the wood side.
What a woman that was to shear ! she was clever at shearing.
So Prompt. Parv. has " Scheryn, or repe corn, meto."
SHEAR-HOG, s. (SHARRAG).— A lamb that has been shorn;
So " a Two-shear" a sheep that has been twice shorn.
SHED, v.— To part, divide.
When H . was a baby I could shed her hair, — quiet part it.
SHEDER, or SHEDER-HOG, s. and adj.— A female lamb in
its first year, answering to the male Heder.
He bought a pen of sheders.
I should have liked some of the sheder-hogs, but they went too dear.
Used also of other things, as " Heder and Sheder Wicken," i.e., the
male and female Mountain Ash.
SHELVINGS, 5. — The sloping rails, or ledges, added to a
cart or wagon for loading straw, hay, &c.
He was set on the shelving*.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 129
SHEP. — Common appellation for a Shepherd, as "Tell Shep
this," or " Shep says that ; " _" Is Shep bad ; " " Why,
Shep's wife she complained on it at the fore-end."
SHIFT, s. — A change of clothing : as " They've strange good
clothes, and a many shifts," i.e., changes of clothing.
SHIFTY, adj. — Changeable, in the sense of crafty, deceitful,
not to be depended on : as " He's a shifty chap, it takes a
deal to be up wi' him."
SHILL, r.— To shell off or out : as " It's shilled a lot off on
her head;" or of. ripe grain falling out of the ear, "The
wind maks the barley shill ;" "I never knowed the corn
shill out, as it does to-year ; " or of twitch and weeds,
when the ground is wet, and they will not come out clean,
« They will not shill."
SHILTER, v. and s.— Shelter.
We shiltered a bit by the planting side.
She corned in for a bit of shilter.
SHIRE, adj. — A shire egg, i.e., an egg that has not been
fertilised, without a tread in it.
There were three shire eggs, and only one bird.
They're not rotten, they're shire eggs ; there's no bird in them.
A. S. Scir, pure, clear.
SHIRY, adj. — Cutting ; " sharp and shiry," said of grass. A. S.
Scyran, to shear or cut.
SHITTLE, 5. — The common pronunciation of Shuttle, as in
Shuttlecock, and the surname Shuttleworth.
She has jumped her shittlecock into this here spout.
In Prompt. Parv. the word is spelt " Schytyl."
SHOEING-SUPPER, — a supper given on appointment to an
office, or entering on a tenancy, by way of paying one's
footing — " Shoeing the colt," as it were.
SHOP-THINGS,— common term for Groceries: as "He left
me my shop-things ;" " I g'ed her a few shop-things." ,
SHOTTEN-MILK, i.e., milk turned sour and curdled. Given
by Skinner as " Nobis Lac vetustate coagulatum." Still
understood here, but almost out of use.
SHORT-METTLED, adj. — Hasty, short-tempered.
He's so short-mettled, there's no saying owt to him.
SHOTTLES, 5. — Rails which fit into the morticed holes of the
post in a fence.
K
1 3o
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SHUCK, v.— To avoid, baffle, outwit: as "The fox went
through the crew, and shucked them ; " or " The fox gave
them the shuck ; " or, as in the game of Hide and Seek,
" We've shucked them nicedly."
SHUCKY, adj.— Tricky, crafty: as "He got so shucky, and
his herse got badly."
SHUT OF, or SHUT ON, adj.— Rid of.
I've gotten a cough, and I can't get shut on it.
I wish I were well shut of him.
She's gotten shut of her daughter, and she's fine and pleased.
They can't get shut on it whilst Lady Day.
Skinner gives, " To get shut of a thing," as " vox agro Line,
usitatissima."
SHUTHER, v. and s. — Shudder, shiver : as " Them nasty
shuthers." " He was took all of a shuther." So Pother
for Fodder, Dother for Dodder, Lether for Ladder, &c.
SHUTHERY, adj.— Shivery ; " I felt shuthery all day."
SHUTTS, s.— Shutters.
Put up the shutts.
We've not gotten the shutts oppened.
We'd gotten the shutts shut.
SIDE, adj. — Long : usually applied to a coat, as " Side coat "
for Great coat. " He has ta'en his side coat to put on
a-top of the tother." So Skinner says, " Side, agro Line.
Longum signat."
SIGHT, s. — A quantity, in the same way as Power, Lot, are
used.
There's a sight of peas to-year.
He has a sight of business.
They've a sight of men soughing.
They're getting on a sight too reiet.
SILE, v.— To strain: as " Tak' and sile it thruff a cloth;"
"We never had a drop of watter but what we siled;"
" We used to sile it thruff a towel ;" Also in the sense of
1 1 To sink down, to faint away": "She siled reiet away
off on the chair;" "He fun she was sileing on to the
floor." Or of rain, To pour down : as " The rain fairly
siled down." Skinner calls, " To Sile down, vox agro
Line, usitatissima, pro Sidere, Desidere, Residere."
SILE, 5. — A strainer.
Go and get the sile, the watter's a bit muddy.
When the butter comes in pin-heads, we tak' and put them thrufi
the sile
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 131
SILLY, adj. and v. — Stupefied, giddy, confused : as " It ma<
me quiet silly for a time ;" " It didn't kill it, it only silli<
made
. sillied
it a bit."
SILT, s. — Sediment ; that which has strained or siled through.
So the verb To Silt.
The pipes are choked wi' silt.
The soughs are clean silted up.
The mouth of Gautby Beck had been allowed to silt up.
SIN, adv. — Since: as "He were here a piece sin;" "He's
never addled owt sin."
SINGLE, z>.— To thin out, make single, as in the operation of
" singling swedes," i.e. thinning out the superfluous ones,
and leaving those which are to remain at proper distances,
T" mester wantsihim to single swedes. So
SINGLER, s. — One who is employed in singling : as " She's
gone singling, they can't get singlers enew."
SIPE, v. — To drip, drain slowly, as liquor from a leaky tap.
His hand kep' sipeing with blood all the time.
SISS, v.— To fizz, hiss.
I've always a sissing noise in my head.
If a sup o' rain were to fall, it would siss.
So " Sissing medicine," for an effervescent draught.
Skinner calls " to Siss, vox agro Line, usitatissima."
SIX O'CLOCK SLEEPERS.— Name given to the common
Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, because its
flowers close at that time.
SKELL, v. — To twist on one side, be awry.
I can never use it, it shells over.
The hingle's on one side ; so the pot shells.
SKELP, v. — To " tipe" or tip up a cart, so as to upset the load
at the back.
He skelpt the cart again.
He found his cart skelpt up against the Wash Dyke.
SKELP, v. — To strike with the open hand : as to a child, " My
word, my lass, but I'll skelp you ! " So
SKELP, s. — A blow with the open hand : as " I no-but g'ed
her a bit of a skelp."
SKEN, v.— To squint.
Look how you sken !
My lasses sken sometimes, they look outen the corners of their eyes
132 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SKEP, 6\ — An open basket of wicker-work, or wood, used for
garden and other purposes. So a Coal-skep, for carrying
coals ; a Bee-skep, a Bee-hive.
SKINCHED, adj.— Stinted, short of anything : as " Well, we
are skinched of bread this morning."
SKIME, v. — To squint.
Some would say skime, and some would say Squint.
SKINCH, v. — To stint, pinch, be short of anything.
He wants them to skinch their stock in every way.
Well, we are skinched of bread this morning !
SKREWBALD, 0$.— Skewbald.
SLABS, s. — The rough outside pieces of a tree-trunk, when it
is sawn up into planks.
SLAKE, v. — To half wash and dry plates or dishes, to smear
or clean them badly.
Why, you've no-but slaked them.
SLAP, s.— Slop.
The snow'll mak' a lot of slap.
She'll be all in a mess of slap and muck.
The pigs have had nowt but swedes and slap from the house.
SLAP, »'.-— To slop.
I've not letten her wash, she slaps her-sen so.
The bairns either slaps or mucks me up.
SLAMMING, adj. — Used to express violent motion, or action :
as " Look how he comes slamming through the hedge.''
SLAPE, SL APISH, adj. — Smooth, slippery : hence Sly, crafty.
The mare's shoes are a bit slape, she soon wears them down.
If your pony's slapish shod.
So of a half-sovereign, "Was it a slape one?" or "There are two
slape fourpennies."
So " Slape Ale," 'which seems to mean dead and flavour-less ; as
" That is slape ale, there's no fly in it at all," that is, it is not up.
Skinner gives Slape Ale, as "vox agro Line, usitatissima," but
explains it as '• Cerevisia simplex," unmedicated ; he mentions "Slape,
quod agro nostro Line. Lubricum seu Mollem signat."
SLARE, s. — A taunt, sneering hint or remark, literally a Smear.
It'll save the lass many a slare.
She's full on her nasty stares ; I don't like those slaying ways.
SLAKED, SLARY, ^/.—Smeared, dirtied.
The streets were rather slared.
The gravel's a bit slaty when it's wet.
It's not over-wet, only a bit slary at top.
The ceilings get slared so, i.e., in white-washing.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 133
SLAKING, adj. — Smearing: hence metaphorically Sneering,
taunting : as " Honey is such a slaring thing." " I don't like
those slaring ways."
SLART, v. — To taunt, insinuate: as " Out with it, don't slart."
SLATS, s. — The cross pieces of wood on trays or hurdles.
SLATTER, v. — To waste, throw away, said of money spent
with nothing to show for it : " It's been slattered away ; "
" It's better in the Bank than slatter'd away; " " Whatever
a man addles, it gets slatter'd away."
SLATTERING, SLATTERY, adj.— Wet and unsettled, per-
haps with the idea of wasteful : as " It's slattering weather;"
"It has been so slattering for the hay;'' "There has
been some showers, but it's not been to say a slattering
harvest ; " "It has turned out a slattering night ; " " When
it begins to be slattery it keeps on so long."
SLAUM, v. — To smear: as of mud scraped from the road,
" He slaums it about ; " or of whitewashing, " Lor', mercy,
how you've slaurned the walls."
SLED, v. — To drag: as "The doors all sled so;" "They
sled at the bottom :" " It's the bad foundation as maks
the doors all sled."
SLINK, v. — To slip one's work, idle over it.
Why don't you slink a bit ?
Nay, I could't do that, — not slink.
SLIPE, s.— The sloping bank of a dyke : as " To let, the grass on
the washes and slipes."
SLIPE, v. — To throw off on one side.
I can a'most slipe the watter off.
SLITHER v.— To slide, slip.
He simply slithered out of bed.
They slithered downstairs together.
Skinner gives, " Slidder pro Slide, vox adhuc in agro Line, usitata."
SLIVE, v. past SLIV. — To sneak, creep.
They'll slive away anywhere, them folks as doesn't like work.
He slives round and pricks it all over.
I hate to see anyone sliving about so.
There was one sliv in somehow.
Skinner says, "to Slive, vox agro Line, usitatissima."
SLIVER, s. — A short slop or frock, worn by bankers and
navvies.
134 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SLIVING, SLIVERING, «#.— Sneaking, loitering, idling
about.
SLOCKEN, v. — To smother, choke, suffocate.
He wasn't drowned, he was slackened.
The sheep got it nose in the watter, and it slackened it.
He found complainant nearly slackened with filth.
SLOOMY, SLOOMING, adj.— Sluggish, slow in moving.
This herse is every bit as sloomy in the stable as the other.
It's a sloomy thing ; I see it go slooming along.
He's the sloomiest idle beggar.
SLOT, s. — A wooden bar. So
SLOT, v. — To fasten with such bars: as "They got some
slots, and slotted it down." Skinner has " to slot a door,
vox agro Line, usitatissima, i.e.,januam dander e"
SLOUK, v. — To slouch: as " Slouking about," or " a slouking
fellow."
SLUR, s. — A slide : as " They've made slurs on the pond."
SLUR, v.— To slide.
They were slurring in the dyke.
It seems strange to see slurring\in March.
SLUTHER, v.— To slip, slide.
I caught him in my arm, but he sluthered down me.
We mut let the bricks sluther down a plank.
He'd gotten sluthered down in the tub.
I let him gradually sluther down.
SLUTHER, v. — To slur, in its ordinary sense.
He sluthered over it anyhow, i.e., he did it slovenly and carelessly.
She sluthers over her work, as if she didn't care whether she did it
or no.
He sluthers over it, he only cares to get his money.
SMITHY, s. — Used for any low dirty place : as " What sort of
a smithy is it they live in ? "
SMITTLE, v.— To infect.
We've one smittled the other.
I tell him he's smittled me.
SMITTLING, adj. — Infectious : as of any disease, " Do you
think it's smittling ?" or " Doctor says it's not smittling ;"
" It must be something smittling, for it has gone thruff the
house." Skinner gives " Smiting," as "vox agro Line,
usitatissima pro Contagious, infectious."
SMITTLING, s. — Infection : as " There never was no smittling
about it."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 135
SMOKE-REEK'D, adj. — Smoked, tasting or smelling of smoke.
I hate smokereek'd tea., I can't abear it.
SMOUSE, v. — To fondle, caress : as " Look, how he's smousing
of her."
SNAFFLE, v. — To speak through the nose, to snuffle.
SNAGGY, adj. — Cross, snappish, irritable : as it were, full of
snags, or sharp rough projections.
SNAIL, or SNEEL, s. — The name commonly given in these
parts to the different species of Slug, Limax, the shelled
Snail, Helix, being seldom seen.
I had to go only a sneel-gallop, as they say.
SNAKE-FLOWER, s.— A name given by some to the Wood
Anemone, A. nemorosa, by others to the Greater Stitch-
wort, Stellana holostea; with a slight preponderance in
favour of the former.
SNAPE, or SNEAP, v.— To snub, chide, check: as "Don't
snape the child ;" " He's not easily snaped."
SNARE, v. — To trim up the branches of a tree.
I shall snare that tree of Polly's.
Frank's been snaring the trees for me.
There are some trees want snaring by the footpad.
SNECK, 5. — The catch or fastening of a door, lifted by the
latch, or by a piece of string. So a False Sneck, a catch
without a latch, which can only be lifted from the inside.
SNECK, v. — To put down the sneck or catch so as to fasten
the door.
Just sneck yon door.
Why, it's snecked already.
We could not keep it snecked.
So " Unsneck," to unfasten the catch, as: "You go and unsnech
yon door."
SNECK, s. — A small projecting piece of land: as " That sneck
belongs Milner Smith;" "It all belongs the Squire,
no-but that sneck;1 " Broadholme seems to lie in a
sneck, in a ociner like."
SNERRUP, v.— To shrivel, draw up.
Her frock was all snerruped and drawn up wi' the fire.
They got some irons, and snerruped up their hair.
SNEW, v. — Snowed, strong prceterite of Snow. So Mew and
Sew from Mow and Sow.
136 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SNICKERSNEEZE, v.— A term, without meaning, used to
frighten children; " I'll snickersneeze you if you don't."
SNICK-SNARL, s.— A loop or t vist.
My line gets all of snick-snarls.
Any band will get of snick-snarls, if you don't take care.
SNOTS, 5. — A name given by children to the berries of the
}ew.
SNOWBONES, s. — The remnants of snow which linger in
dykes and furrows and on the north side of hedges when the
rest has thawed.
There's a lot of the old snowbones left ; I reckon more will come to
fetch the old away."
SNUB, v. — To check: as of weeds, " You should ha' putten
some salt on, it would ha' snubbed them anyhow."
SOAKING, adj. — Weakening, enervating: as " Ligging in bed
is so soaking;" "Moulding (in a foundry) is soaking
work."
SOCK, 5. — Soakage, drainage.
All the sock from the crew falls into it.
SOE, SOA, 5. — A large round tub, with two ears, used for
brewing or water-carrying.
SOFT, adj.— Silly, half-witted.
Shut your mouth, you soft thing.
She's got that soft lass to keep .
He talked such soft stuff as you never heard.
I doubt she's made nowt of hersen, poor soft thing!
I said, don't talk so soft as that.
SOFT, SOFT-HEAD, s.—A foolish fellow, simpleton: as
" He's a regular soft-head;7' -'He made a sore soft of
his- sen."
SOFTNESS, v.— Foolishness.
Such softness ! ye shan't do nowt o' sort.
SOGGING, adj. — Said of anything heavy; as " My word, it is
a sogging weight."
SOLE, s. — The brick floor of an oven.
Bread baked on the sole is so sweet.
When they're baked on the ash-sole, you have to wash them.
SOLID, adj.— Solemn, grave, serious.
So I looked solid at him and said, —
The bairn looked as solid as solid.
I g'ed him a look, and that made him more solid for a bit."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 137
SOLID, adj. — Real, sound : as " I g'ed her a solid good
whipping ; " "If there were a solid good rain, it would do
a sight of good ; " "I'll gie you a solid good hiding, for as
big as you are ; " " He said it was solid weakness I was
suffering from."
SOLIDLY, adv.— Really, positively.
I solidly waant have it, no how.
SOONER, adv.— Rather.
She mends worse sooner than better.
They'd sooner pine than come into the house.
I'd sooner have the pig than a sovereign.
I'd work for nowt sooner than do nowt.
SORE, adj. — Bad, sorry, grievous.
It's a sore shame.
They've gotten a sore job wi' her,
It maks sore work wi' the Church.
She was a sore woman, she didn't care which end went first.
They gave a sore account on it at Lincoln of Frida'.
SORELY OFF, or SORELY ON, adv.— Badly, grievously, in
bad state: as "The lad seemed sorely off;" ''I was
sorely on mysen ; " " We're sorely off wi' colds ; " " The
little bairn seemed sorely on it ;" " Oh, I've been sorely
on it."
SOSS, v. and s. — To slop, mess ; a slop or mess.
You're sossing about for ever.
You mak such sosses, for all the world like pigs.
SOSS, v. — To fall heavily and suddenly.
If they let it soss on the flour.
SOSSED, SOSSENED,/wtf.— Soaked, saturated.
The abscess ran a deal, he was nearly sossened with it.
SOUGH, r. (pronounced SUFF). — An underground drain.
They're putting in a sough.
The sough from the crew was quiet silted up.
I raved up the sough undernean the pig-stye.
SOUGH, v.— To drain.
They're a-going to sough the farm all over for him.
I reckon it wants soughing badly.
They are throng soughing at W .
When he's a.-soughing he can addle a bit.
SOUGH ER, 5. — A man employed in draining.
She has three soughers lodging there.
It was the soughers as tell'd him.
SOUR, adj. — Coarse, harsh ; applied to grass.
138 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SOUSE, 5.— Brawn, or Collared Head (called Collared Rind.)
I got a piece of souse on him, i.e., bought it of a man who came
round with pig-meat to sell.
SOWE, 5. — A wood-louse, monkey-pea.
The house had been shutten up, and it was full of sowes.
SOWLE, v. — To lug, or pull by the ears : as " I'll sowle your
ears well for you ; " " I'll gie you a good sowling." So
Skinner, " to Sowl one by the ears, vox agro Line,
usitatissima." Shakspere, Coriol iv. 5.
SPADE-BONE, s.— The Blade-boneor Shoulder-bone. Skinner
calls it, " vox agro Line, usitatissima."
SPANG, v . — To throw with violence, to bang : as " The door
spanged to ; " " You spanged the door in her face ; " " If
a door spangs, it seems to go thruff her."
SPARKLE, v.— To send out sparks. So "Larch-branches
sparkle about so, they're dangerous for childer."
SPEECH, v. — To speak to, have speech with.
So gain as I live, I never speeched her whiles Frida*.
She never speeches the woman.
I seed him a piece sin, but I never speeched him.
SPELL, s. — The trap used in the game called Knur and Spell ;
also the cross-bars of a chair; or the splints for bandaging
a broken limb.
SPELL, v.— To put on spells or splints : as " The Doctor did
not spell it while to-day."
SPERRIT, s.— Spirit.
She has no sperrit ; I tell her she has never a heart in her belly.
SPILE, s. — The peg which fills the vent, or Spile hole, at the
top of a barrel. So to Spile, v., to put in the peg.
SPINDLE, v. — Said of growing corn when it shoots up its
pointed sheath before coming into ear : as " The wheat is
just spindling."
SPINK, s.— The Chaffinch ; often called Pink.
SPIRY, adj. — Said of corn when it shoots up tall and thin : as
"It grows up weak and spiry."
T, s. — A spade's depth of earth: as " I dug it over two
spits deep ;" or, " Tak' a spit off on the top."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 139
SPITAL, or SPITTLE. — A corruption of hospital, occurring
in the names of Spital-in-the-Street, the Spital Charity,
Spittlegate at Grantham, and the surname Spittlehouse.
SPITTLESTAFF, s.— A staff with a spud at the end, to stub
up thistles with.
All old men used to carry a spittlestaff.
SPLAW, s.— A splayfoot.
Did you notice what a great splaw she had ?
I thought I never seed such a splaw in my life.
SPLOTHER, v. (SPLAWTHER.)— To spread out, or sprawl.
It's a splothering sort of tree.
It seems to splother about a good deal.
It's a little bit splothery.
SPLUTHER, 5. — A splutter, splashing.
SPOIL-BAIRN, 5. — One who spoils, — makes too much of—-
children : as " I'm none of your spoil-bairns."
SPOOL, s. — A reel, or bobbin : as " She'd gotten one of my best
spools of cotton."
SPRAG, s. — A large nail, such as is used to fasten the iron on
to a cart-wheel, or a spurn to a post. Cfr. Sprig, a small
nail.
He was putting a sprag in the wheel of one of the wagons.
SPREAD, v. — Commonly pronounced Spread or Spreed, the
past tense being more properly called Spred : as " They're
spreeding muck." Used in the sense of spread out, grow
broad or stout ; as " Well, we don't see her grow, but we
have said she spreeds." So Chaucer and Skelton spell it
Sprede, and make it rhyme with Mede, Rede, and Excede ;
and Dryden rhymes Overspread with Succeed.
SPRECKLED, *#.— Speckled.
It's one of those light-coloured spreckled ones.
SPRETCH, v. — To crack, as eggs do before hatching: as
"They are just spretching nicedly;" or " They were
beginning to spretch.'
SPRINK, v.— To sprinkle.
They sprinked it wi' the paint.
We sprinked it well wi' salt, and that banished the old dother.
I used to could whitewash, and not sprink my-sen, but now I can't
retch.
140 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SPUR. — "They've gotten a spur on" — said of being asked,
i.e., having the Banns put up in Church. Cfr. Speir, to
ask.
SPURN, s. — A piece of wood sunk in the ground at the foot of
a post, and nailed to it to keeping it from sagging or giving
way.
SPURRINGS, s.— Footmarks, traces. Ang. Sax. Spor. Dutch,
Spoor.
SQUABBLE, v. — To puzzle : as " I had to squabble it out by
my-sen."
SQUAD, s. (pronounced short as Sad, Bad, not as Quod or
Squadron). — Sloppy dirt, mud.
The childer will get among the squad.
The lass ran all among the muck and squad.
They were nowt but mud and squad up to the boot-tops.
SQUANDER, v.— To scatter, disperse : as " The whole family
are squandered about ; " or of planting young trees,
" Squander them a little more," i.e., put them further apart ;
or of a scattered village, " It's a very squandering place."
SQUIB, v. — To run about quickly, here and there.
Mary Ann does squib about ; she nips about when she is playing.
STAG, s. — A cockerel, or young cock.
The stags are strange ones to fight.
There were three stags and three pullets in the cletch.
It's wi' not getting fresh stags for the hens.
STAGE, adj. — Common corruption of Staid, steady, of mature
age : as " He should have a stage woman to keep his
house ;" " She's not so over-young, she should be a stage
girl ;" " She was quiet a stage person, this was — going on
for sixty, or sixty all out."
STALL, v.— To surfeit, satiate.
It's stalling stuff.
I've ta'en it while I'm fairly stalled.
Given by Skinner, as " vox agro Line, usitatissima, pro Exsaturare."
STANBOW,— the Stonebow, or Archway of the Guildhall at
Lincoln.
I was stood agen the Stanbcw.
STAN', v. — for Stand : as " We can't stan' agen it ;" " It stans
more in the bleak, it'll dry better;" "There was a mess
stanning and talking at the corner So
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 14!
STAN' NEED, — for Need, Have need: as "You don't stan'
need to think at that how ;" " One stans need to tak' care
of one's lasses now-a-days ; ""They stan' need to be
nipping," i.e., saving.
STANDARD, s. — An old inhabitant, one long established in a
place : as " Why, you're quiet an old standard at Lincoln ; "
" I reckon all the old standards are gone;" "Another old
standard has passed away."
STANG, 5.— A pole.
If I dropped owt in the watter, I should get a stang,
STANG, v. — To throb, shoot with pain, sting.
My thumb stangs a bit yet.
It's such a stanging cold.
STARK, STARKISH, adj.— Stiff, Stiffish : as "It's starkish
land ; " " The rheumatis' has left my leg a bit stark."
STARNEL, s.— A Starling.
START, v. — Common term for to begin : as " He started to
weep;" "His knee, it starts a-swelling;" "He'll start
a-crying ; " " The old lass is as well as when she started and
fell badly," i.e., as when she began to be ill ; " He started
to die about five in the morning."
STARTLE, v.—To start.
It made all the herses startle.
It made me startle just for the moment.
STARTLESOME, adj .—Easily startled: as "Some herses
are so startlesome."
STARVE, v. — To suffer or perish from cold.
Put on thee coat, thou'll be starved.
Why, they'll a'most nak'd, they'll be starved to dead.
You may stan' talking \vi' him while you are starved down.
My foot's starved with hinging out the clothes.
STATTIS, s.— The Statutes, or Statute Fair, such as at May
Day, at which farm-servants are hired for the year.
He'll easily get a place at the Stattis.
They shifted the Stattises from Bassingham to the Halfway House ;
it used to be a great Stattis then.
There's a kind of Stattis for confined men at Horncastle.
STAVE- AC RE, s. — The Corn Crowfoot, Ranunculus arvensis,
a troublesome weed in cornfields, distinguished by its
prickly seed-covers.
STAVVER, s.— A stave or step of a ladder.
142 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WOR]
STEDDLE, or STEDDLING, s. — The stand or foundation
on which stacks or anything are raised : as " They've
gotten some iron steddling for the stacks ;" or " The stones
mak' a good steddle for the brickwork ; " " We put another
steddle at the end of the stack ;" " It'll mak' good hay-
stack steddling;" "The kids do for stacksteddling and
bake-oven heating."
STEDLE, v. — To stain, mark with rust.
If the iron gets agen the linen, it'll stedle it.
STEEL, s. — A shaft or handle : as a " Besom steel," or a
" Rake steel."
STEEL. — " To get or take the steel out of anything," i.e., to
get the best, the goodness out of it : as " Old Mr. N. got
the steel out of that farm ; " " He felt of her pulse, and
said it had took the steel out on her."
STEELIONS, s. — A steel-yard, or balance for weighing;
more commonly called a Pair of Troys.
STEER-HOLE, s. — The position on the side of a stack, in
which the man stands who takes off the sheaves from the
waggon, and passes them higher up.
He was stood in the steer-hole.
STEM, v. — To soak a wooden vessel in water to prevent its
leaking.
Mind you stem yon tub before you use it.
STEP, v. — Steeped ; past tense of Steep.
I step it well.
I g'ed him some gruel and some bread step in wine.
STEPPINGS, s. — The footprints made by horses in soft
ground.
The steppings are so deep, the herses can sca'ce draw their feet
out-en 'em.
Cfr., Wheelings, the tracks made by wheels.
STIFF, adj. — Stout, stumpy, short and thick.
He's a little stiff chap.
The old gentleman's as stiff as he's long ; he's a very stiff man.
STILL, adj.— Quiet : as " He's a niced still bairn ;" " He's a
still steady chap."
STILT, v. — To put new feet on to stockings : as " I've heeled
them once, and now I'm going to stilt them."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 143
STINT, 5. — Limit, measure, task.
Have you done your stint ?
I set her a stint.
To the garden end is about my stint.
He has always a regular stint, no more and no less.
STINT, v. — To stop in growth, become stunted, small and
shrunken : as "I had the barley laid in swathe, and it
stinted so."
STIRKY, adj. — Stunted, undergrown : " It'll never be more
than a stirky tree ; " " When pigs are stirky they never
grow a deal."
STIRR, — Common pronunciation of the surname Storr : as
" Bill Stirr, he is a heppen young chap."
STITHY, 5.— A blacksmith' s'anvil.
STOCKDOW, s.— Stockdove, or Wood pigeon.
STOCKEN, v. — To check in growth by scanty nourishment.
Beast can't feed (i.e., fatten) when they're stockened.
He was stockened when he was a little bairn.
Bairns are a deal like little pigs ; when they're stockened they're long
before they overset it.
STONY-ON-THE-WALL.— A plant, Shepherd's Purse ? con-
sidered to be good for the gravel.
STOOL, v. — To shoot out, as stalks of corn from one root : as
" The wheat is well stool'd," or " is stooling well."
STORM, s. — A long-continued frost, or spell of severe weather,
irrespective of wind.
I don't mind if there is a storm, if the wind's not rough.
It's been so still all through this storm.
Then the long storm clapped in, and our pumps were all fast.
STORM-COCK, s.— The Missel Thrush.
STOUP, or STOPE, 5.— A post.
They'll put up stapes and rails.
He's never g'en us so much as a gate stoup.
So Bed-stoup, a bed-post ; and Stoup-Miln, a post-Mill.
STOWK, s. — The heap of corn-sheaves, set up ten together in
the field, after being cut and tied.
There are twelve- or fourteen stowks to lead and then the rakings.
Some's getting quiet green at the top of the stowks.
STOWK, v. — To set up sheaves in stowks : as " It's some they
had to stowk up again."
STRAMMACK, STRAMMACKING, s. adj.— Said of one
walking awkwardly, throwing their legs about.
What a gret strammack that lass gets.
She is a gret strammacking lass.
'H4 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
STRAIGHT, adj. — Pronounced broadly, as spelt, not Strate.
1 put her nose as straight as I could.
She g'ed it him pretty- straight.
STRANGE, adj. and adv. — Very, exceeding, uncommonly.
That's a strange niced horse.
They give him a strange good word.
She'd some strange gret sons and daughters.
The cletch came oft strange and well.
One on the kitlings is a sttange pretty one.
The bairn's strange and badly.
Strange and sharp it has clapped in.
STRAWJACK, 5. — The straw elevator, used with a threshing
machine.
STRICKLE, 5. — A wooden strop, roughened with emery, used
for sharpening scythes.
STRINDE, or STRIKE, 5.— A stride.
He saves his father many a strinde thislambing time.
STRINE, s. — The so-called Tread in an egg: as 'k There's no
strine in it ; it'll come to nowt." So Skinner has, " A
cock's Stride, vel ut melius in agro Line, efferunt, a cock's
Strine."
STRONG, adj. — Used with a variety of applications : as
" Strong land," i.e, heavy clay land ; " It's good land, but
strong land;" or " A strong lot," i.e., a large number; or
" Strong pigs," the common term for half-grown pigs, as
distinguished from those just taken from the sow ; " There
were a many strong pigs in the market, but no suckers."
STROP, v. — To milk cows clean, to the last drops, by pressure
of the finger and thumb. So the last milk is called the
Strappings, and cows are called Stvoppers when they give
only a few drops of milk before calving.
She doesn't strop them enew, she leaves all the cream in the elder.
We've nobut two, and they're stropping cows.
They're all stropping cows and the cream's so thin.
STRUNCHEON, s. — A droll, or comic song : as " Well, that
is a struncheon."
STRUNT, s — The bony, fleshy part of a horse's tail.
Its strunt's so long ; it's a pity but what it were docked..
The hair's cutten off close agen the strunt's end.
STUD and MUD. — Said of walls and houses built of wooden
upright posts, filled in with clay mixed up with hay : as
" The out-buildings are only stud and mud ;", " They are
principally built of stud and mud,"
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 145
STUDDED, adj. — Built with studs or posts : as " It's only
studded and boarden ; " " I'd have it studded and latted."
STUN, s. — Surprise, astonishment : as "It put a bit of a stun
upon me when he corned hoem."
STUNT, adj.— Obstinate, sulky.
He'll turn stunt if you say owt to him.
Agen the brig the horse turned stunt.
Also Blunt, abrupt : as " a stunt turn," that is, an abrupt bend, one
at right angles.
It's not at all a stunt turn.
I blaem it to their having made the wire turn so stunt.
I've broke the point and that maks it stunter.
Skinner calls it " vox agro Line, familiaris."
STUNT, v. — To turn stunt, become obstinate.
I spoke to him but he stunted directly.
STUPID, adj. — Used in the sense of Obstinate, not Dull.
He's that stupid there's no turning on him.
He's as stupid as stupid, and you can't mak' him neither.
She's that stufiid, she waant be ruled. So
STUPIDITY, s.— Obstinacy, not Dullness.
They understood it well enough ; it was stupidity, and nowt else.
STURDY MUTTON,— term applied to the flesh of a sheep
that has been killed because it is " giddy " (from water on
the brain.)
When a sheep has got silly in its head, they call it sturdy mutton : I
reckon it's the best of meat. Cfr. French, Etourdi.
STY-BARKED, adj.— Coated with dirt, as a pig in a dirty sty.
When a pig gets sty-barked it'll never do no more good.
SUMMAS, SUMMUS, SUMMUT, pron.— Somewhat, some-
thing.
It wants summas doing at it.
He always seems as thofe he wanted a bit of summas to yeat.
If she'd owt about her, she ought to be addling summus, she ought to
be doing summus for hersen.
I thought you mut be badly, or you mut be summut.
SUMMER or SUMMER-OUT, v.— To joist out cattle for the
summer in pastures, which are then said to be
SUMMER-EATEN, part.
This was summer -eaten, and yon was mown.
Mr. B's going to summer-eat it again.
SUMMER-TILLED,^.— Left fallow for the summer.
L
146 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
SUP, s. — A drop, or small quantity of any liquid : as " A sup
of rain would do good ;" " Mebbe, we shall have a sup
before it sattles ; " "I never had bit nor sup in the house ; "
" Publicans get sups and sups while they can't do without ; "
" I got a sup wi' sattling for my pig;" " If we wanted a
sup o' milk, and he'd a sup to spare, he'd gie us a sup in a
tin."
SUP, v. — To drink : as " Now then, sup it up ;" " They sat
down to sup a sup of broth."
SUPPER, or SUPPER UP, v.— To give stock their food for
the night.
When I went to supper 'em up.
SURENESS, 5. — " For sureness," common expression for
Surely, certainly : as "I knowed that for sureness, for I
seed it my-sen ; " " She didn't know, not for sureness, as
they were coming."
SWAD, 5. — A peas cod, or pod of peas.
There's some peas has purple swads.
I don't shill mine, I keep them in the swads.
" Cosh " is used for the pods of Beans or Tares.
SWAMP, v. — To subside, become thin : as of a dropsical person's
body, " It used to swamp of nights." Skinner gives Swamp
or Swamp, as " vox agro Line, usitatissima, fort, a Teut.
Schwank, Macer."
SWAP v. (pronounced as Snap). — To swop or change.
They got agate a-swapping.
"Vox agro Line, usitatissima." Skinner.
So Drap, Slap, &c.
SWARD, 5. — The rind or skin of bacon.
I always took the sward off.
I used to like the sward my-sen,
Prompt. Parv. " Swarde or Sworde of flesche, Coriana."
SWARTHE, s. — Sward, or ground covered with grass, as
distinguished from that which has been ploughed.
It's old swarthe.
That 1 8 acre close was swarthe.
They're ploughing swarthe.
We put them in a swarthe piece by the planting. So
SWARTHE, v.— To cover with grass.
It won't swarthe itself.
It was ploughed, but they've swarthed it down.
SWARTH, s.— The black or dirt.
They're mucked up with swarth and dirt.
It fetches off the varnish, but the swarth won't come off.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 147
SWATCH, s. — A piece or shred cut off as a pattern.
SWAUL, v. — To swill, or wash down with a lot of water.
There's not a deal of yard swanling.
It has been \va.ter-swaitled so.
SWEAL, v.— To waste away.
He somehow got poison, and seemed to sweat away.
The rabbits s wealed away and died in a few days after I'd g'en it
them.
"Vox agro Line, usitatissima." — Skinner.
SWELT, v. — To make faint, to overpower with heat.
It's so hot it's fit to swelt you.
It was fit to swelt the poor bairn to dead.
SWELTY, adj. — Close, hot and smothering.
It's so swelty : it does not sweat you.
SWITHER, v.— To parch, wither up.
It's such a swithenng day.
The plants are quite sivithered up.
SWIVEL, s.— The part of a flail that swings and falls on the
corn.
It's a swivel of a flail as belonged my husband.
SWIZZENED, adj.— Shrivelled, withered.
We none on us looks when we're old, as we do when we're young ;
we gets to look swizzened.
SYKE, s. — A low swampy place with a small stream in it,
found in place-names: as " Saxilby Sykes;" "Far Cock
Sykes Meadow," at Harby;" " Downsike Drain," Kettle-
thorpe.
148 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
TACK, s. — A taste or taint : as of meat, " It had a nasty tack
about it."
TA'EN, part.— Taken.
He's ta'en a little place on the Cliff.
He's ta'en no rent off on me, sin' I've been out of work. So
TA'EN-WORK.— Work taken by the piece or job, not paid for
by the day.
He wants it all ta' en-work.
, part. — Entangled, matted together.
The rope was in such a taffled state.
The corn was grown underneath, and taffled all together.
TAILINGS, TAIL-ENDS, s.— The hinder ends, or refuse of
corn, dressed out as not fit for market, but kept for poultry,
or for home use.
TAK', — common pronunciation of Take, as Mak' and Shak', for
Make and Shake.
They tak' a deal of shifting.
It's in two tabs; they have ta'en a bit off on it.
TAKE (TAK'), TAKE-OFF, t;.— Used for Take one's way,
Take oneself off: as, " He took off in a huff; " "They took
off of their own heads ; " " So he took off the next morning ; "
"He took up the street as hard as he could go." A Not-
tingham Paper describing the escape of a thief, wrote, " He
took up the Pavement, and disappeared" — the Pavement
being the name of a street in Nottingham.
TAKE (TAK'), v. — Frequently used as a mere redundancy :
as "He took and did ; " " He took and went ; " for He did,
He went.
TAKE ALL ONE'S TIME, -i.e., to be as much as one can do.
It'll tak' him all his time to overset it.
It taks me all my time to keep on the square.
It'll tak' the pig all it's time to weigh 12 stone.
She did not call out because it took her all her time to struggle.
The farrier says it'll tak' the mare all her time to get well.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. I_19
TAKE THE WRONG WAY— said of a sick person getting
worse instead of better : " I doubt he's taking the wrong
way."
TAKING, 5. — Difficulty, dilemma ; or simply, state, condition.
Eh ! poor thing ! it were in a taking.
The house is in such a taking, it's so wet.
I don't know what kin' taking we are in.
I'm never in that taking.
His clothes are in a taking, they're ragged up.
TANG, 5. — A taste or twang.
It had a bit of a tang, but I weshed and cleaned it well.
TANG, s.— A sting.
TANG, v. — To sting: as "It tangs a bit yet;" "A wasp
tanged it little bottom twice."
TANTLE, v.— To dangle, toddle as a child.
Thou tantles after me, and thou hinders me.
TAR-MARL, TAR-MARLINE, s.— Tarred cord, used by
gardeners, etc.
TAR, TARS, 5., — common pronunciation of Tare, Tares,
vetches.
There's such a quantity of wild tars to-year.
'TATES, TAETS, s.— The most common corruption of Pota-
toes: as, "The weather's all agen the 'taets;" " I shall
want to get my taets in." Also 'Tatoe : " He had nowt
but an old sad 'tatoe pie."
TAVE, v. — To toss, throw oneself about : as in the common
phrase, " Tewing and taving ;" " He was taving about all
night." Skinner calls it "vox agro Line, usitatissima."
TEAM, v.j past TEM. — To lead, or carry with wagon and
horses.
They started teaming this forenoon.
I don't know if they've gotten all the loads tern.
They tern a load after that. So
TEAM-WORK, 5.— Work done with wagon and horses ; a
regular item in a way-warden's Account Book.
TEATY, adj.— Peevish, fretful : as, " Babe's so teaty."
150 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
TEEM, v., past TEM. — To pour, as from one vessel into
another, or as of rain pouring down.
When I teem him some tea, he'll tak' and fling it at me.
I tern some tea into a cup.
I've tern kettles and kettles of boiling water down.
I tern a sup of oil down his throat.
It tern down wi' rain ; it did teem.
The rain tern down, and bet upon these windows all night.
Skinner has, " to Teem out, vox agro Line, usitatissima, significat
effundere, seu ab uno vase in aliud transfundere."
TEEMER, s. — The large bag into which gleanings are poured,
or teemed, out of the smaller bags carried at the waist.
TELL'D,— for Told, perf. of Tell.
Why, he telVd me so his-sen.
I telVd her she mut, so it mattered nowt.
I've never teU'd any living.
TEMSE, s.— A sieve.
We used to sile the beer thruff a gret temse.
Mother had a temse and a washtub, and dredged the flour on it.
TENDER, v. — To make tender: as "It'll tender him for the
winter ;" " Poulticing tenders it so."
TENT, v. — To tend, or look after: as " Jack's tenting crows;"
or " He's tenting wheat ;" or " His feyther wants him to
tent next week ; " or " It's bad for girls to have to tent."
TENTER, 5.— One who looks after, or attends to, whether to
cattle to take care of them, or birds to scare them off: as
"No cattle allowed in the lanes without a tenter;" "I
couldn't see any tenter with them ;" " They want a bird-
tenter for the seeds."
TEW, v. — To harass, weary, fatigue.
It tews me so.
I was quiet tewed out.
He has been out a bit, and it has seemed to tew him.
Doctor told me not to tew mysen, — not to do owt to cause any tewing.
She's not strong, and is soon tewed out.
TEW, s. — Harassment, fatigue: as " It puts me in such a tew."
TEW ABOUT, v.— To toss, or work about.
He always tews about like that-
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 15!
THACK, s. and v. — Thatch, to thatch.
It wanted summas doing at it : it were oppen reiet away to ihethack.
He's agate thacking stacks.
They lived in an old thacked house.
Prompt Parv. has " Thak, for Howsys : Thakyn Howsys ; " and
Skinner says of Thatch, " In agro Line, adhuc Thack effertur ;" and the
word is spelt Thack in the " Mayor's Cry," a set of Rules for the
municipal government of Lincoln, issued in the i6th and lyth centuries.
So Thack-peg, and
THACKER, s.— A thatcher.
THARM, s. — The gut or intestines, such as are used for
making sausages ; so described by Skinner, 1668, " Tharm,
vox agro Line, usitatissima, pro Intestinis mundatis ad
Botulos seu Farcinina paranda inflatis."
THAT, adv. — Used for So : as " He was that mean ; " "I was
that bad, and felt that dizzy, I could yeat nowt ; " " The
lass was that pleasant." Or " He is that," for He is so.
THAT-A-WAY, — common for That way.
When I'd gotten a piece that-a-way.
She couldn't hav gotten thruff that-a-way.
So This-a-way for This way.
THAT HOW,— for That way.
It's better that how.
It's no use knocking oneself up that how.
So This how, for This way.
THEAVE, s. — A female sheep in its second year, before it has
had a lamb, called also a Gimmer.
THICK, adj.— Friendly, intimate.
I could see as they were pretty thick.
THICK-END.— The greater part : as " It's the thick-end of a
mile;" "They've gotten the thick-end of their harvest."
THINK MUCH, v.— To envy, grudge.
They think much with me for my work, i.e., grudge my having it.
If you go to see one, another thinks much.
If they gi'e you owt, they think much with you.
The one thinks much, if the tother has owt.
One thinks much for fear I should think more of the tother.
THINK NO OTHER,— common term for Make sure, Feel
Sure.
I thought no other but what I'd come to my end.
We thought no other but what she would ha' died.
The horse was slape shod, and I thought no other than I should have
had him down.
152 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
THINK THEY WILL —common term for Like, Choose
They'll pay when they think they will.
He can do it reiet enough when he thinks he will.
She'd do it when she thought she mould.
She waan't if she thinks she wadn't.
THINK TO,— used for Think of: as " What do you think to
it ?" " I don't think a deal to him ;" "Folks ast me what
I thought to London, so I tell'd them I thought Doddington
was a very deal prettier place."
THIS- A- WAY,— for This way : as " It's a mucky trick to serve
a man this-a-way." So That-a-way.
THIS HOW,— for This way: as "When I put my leg this
how." So That how.
THIS TURN,— for This season, This year.
It falls to be whetit this turn.
A many berries there are this turn.
THOE, s.— Thaw : as, " I reckon it's a bit of a thoe." So
THO'EN, TH A WEN. —Thawed: "It'll be slape where it's
tho'en." Perhaps the word which Skinner gives as " Thone,
vox agro Line, frequens, significat sub-humidum seu
uvidum."
THOFE, conj., — common pronunciation of Though.
It's as thofe a dog had been gnarling at it.
It's not as thofe I'd a heap of bairns.
THOMASSING,— going round on St. Thomas' Day, Decem-
ber 2ist, to beg corn or money for Christmas, called also
Gooding or Mumping.
THOU, THEE, THY, pron.— The 2nd person singular
commonly used, with many contractions and corruptions,
in familiar conversation. This is very noticeable when, in
speaking to a deaf or sick person, one's You and Your is
repeated in the more familiar Thou and Thy: as "Thou
likest to hear Mr. C. read to thee ? Dost'ee mind what he
says?" or " Canst'ee tak' it in thee hand?" "Where fee
(art thou) going to now ?" " What hast'ee g'en him ? " So
" Haud thee noise;" "Eh, thou mucky old woman!"
" Why, thou's gotten to Jerusalem ;" " Eh, lad, thou'st not
fun the gainest road across that field " — to a lad who has
ploughed a crooked furrow.
THRAWL, 5. — A wooden stand for barrels.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 153
THREAP, THREP, v.— To argue, contradict: as "We were
just threaping a bit;" "I don't want to threap, but I
believe it was;" or to a child, "Don't threap." So to
Threap down, to silence by arguing or insisting upon a
thing : " The bairns threp her down that it was so."
Skinner gives "to Threap or Threapen," as "vox agro
Line, usitatissima."
THREAP, 5. — An argument.
We had a bit of a threap about it.
THRESH, v. — So pronounced, not as Thrash.
THRETTY, adj.— Thirty.
They could mak' a good brig for about thretty pund.
THRONG, adj.— Busy.
It's a very throng time.
I'm mostly throng.
He's been so throng that he nat'ly couldn't get.
She's fine and throng cleaning.
I was throng wi' finishing the weshing.
They're throng tonup-ing, so they don't come to dinner while three
(o'clock).
It's a good throng club.
THROTTLE (sometimes THROPPLE), s.— The throat, or
windpipe of an animal.
It's large for a cow's throttle.
^ She'd gotten a piece of to'nup fast in her throttle.
THROUGH-GROWN,— said of corn, when it is laid so that
the understuff grows up through it.
THRUP'F, prep. — Common pronunciation of Through, like
Enough (Enuff).
They have to go thru/ the house to it .
I could run my fist thru/ it.
It was all thru/ drink.
It was partly th ruff owe own neglect.
Have its teeth got through ? No, they haven't gotten thru/.
THRUM, v. — To purr, as a cat.
She's such a cat to thrum.
Some'll say purring, but we always say thrumming.
Any cat will sing three thrums.
THRUSTEN, or THRUSSEN, v.— To thrust.
We seemed all thrustened up of a corner.
The stocks were so thrussened up, one agen another.
They're forced to be thrussened up anyhow.
They mut be strange and thrussened up.
154 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
THUMB-TIED, adj.— Tied fast, as if by the thumb.
He's gotten her money, so she's thumb-tied.
THUSKY, THUSKING, adj.— Big, large; said of a person,
as " What a thusky woman that is ! ''
TICKLE, adj. — Uncertain, ticklish, not to be depended on: as
" It's very tickle weather ; " " She's always a tickle sleeper ; "
" The mare's tickle about the heels."
TIGHT, adj. — Tipsy ; used without any notion of its being
slang.
TIME OR TWO.— " A time or two" is almost invariably used
for Once or twice.
I ast him a time or two.
She won't be so keen when she's been a time or two.
TINE, s.— The prong of a fork.
TINED, adj. — Having tines, or prongs: as "A three-tined
fork;" " He was charged with stealing a steel-tined fork."
TIPE, v.— To tip, or tipple up.
One of the chimney pots was tipe-ing over.
The pancheons and pots all tiped up.
TIPE-STICK, s. — The piece of wood which fastens the body of
a cart to its shafts, and keeps it from tipe-ing or tipping up.
TITIVATE, v. — To tidy, clean, or dress up.
I began to titivate the poor bairns up.
They've titivated the house up as well as they could.
I'm going to titivate him some things up now.
TIZZY, — common short form for Elizabeth.
TO, prep. — Used in the place of For : as, " He had meat to his
breakfast ; " "I couldn't eat many mouthfuls to my dinner."
So in the Authorised Version of Judges xvii. 13 ; St. Luke,
iii. 8 ; Acts xiii. 5.
TOAD-PIPES, s. — The Field Horse-tail, Equisetum arvense, a
common weed in cultivated ground.
TOFT, TOFT-STEAD, s.— A piece of ground on which a house
stands, or has stood.
The people who had tofts on the Moor.
" It went by toft-stead," i.e. on the enclosure of the Moor allotments
were made to those who had tofts on, or adjoining it, in compensation for
their lights of grazing, turf-paring, cutting furze and ling.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 155
TOLDER'D-UP.— Dressed out in a tawdry way.
How those lasses are tolder'd-up !
TONER, s.— The one or the other.
I don't know whether it's this week or next, but it's toner.
TO'NUP, s.— Turnip.
She'd gotten reiet away among the to'nups.
The to'nups were wed twice over.
He's among the to'nup-sheep.
TOPPING, adj.— Well, in good health, excellent.
He's not been very topping, poor chap !
TORNDOWN, s.—A rough, riotous person.
He's gotten a strange torndown sin' he went to school.
She never see such torndown bairns in her life.
TOR'SEY,— local pronunciation of Torksey.
TOTHER,— commonly duplicated, as " The tother " for " the
other."
The one thinks much if the tother has owt.
She says the tother s mut do my jobs.
TOTTER-ROBIN, or TOTTER-BOBS,— the Quaking Grass,
Briza media.
TOWN, s. — Used of any village, however small, in exact
accordance with the "ton" in which their place-names
frequently terminate, a real town being distinguished as a
Market town.
The fox fetched two fowls in the middle of Harby town.
They flitted to Eagle town a year sin'. So
TOWN-END, s.— For the end of a village.
There's a pinfold at the town-end.
He lives agen the town-end. So
TOWN -STREET, s.— The road passing through a village : as
"He's raking up leaves in the town-street; " " Having a
frontage on the town-street of the village of Nettleham."
TOWN -ROW. — By Town-vow, or by House-row, was the term for
the old plan for keeping men off the parish when work was
scarce, by finding them so many days' work at each farm
in turn, according to its size.
TO-YEAR. TO-MONTH.— This year, This month, after the
fashion of To-day, To-night, To-morrow.
There's a sight of plums to-yeay.
It's very serious for the farmers to-year.
156 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
TRACE, v. — To wander, or walk aimlessly about.
I saw the bairn tracing about on the road, backwards and forwards.
TRADING.—" To live by trading," i.e., by prostitution.
Oh, there's no doubt they live by trading.
TRAGLIN, s. — A draggle-tailed woman, with clothes long and
t draggled with dirt.
TRAIL, v.—To drag, draw.
They kep' a pair of herses to trail the gentry about.
I'm not a-going to trail up there.
I remember him trailing about with a stick.
The herses did sweat wi' trailing.
I thought I'd trail round once more.
He trails to his work, but he can't wear it out much longer.
So, " I've saved you that trail, any -ways."
TRAILY, adj. — Languid, dragging oneself about like a sick
person: as "The lass seems weak and traily;" "I feel
real poorly and traily."
TRANSLATOR, s.— A term for a Cobbler, who works up old
shoes into new ones.
TRAPE, or TRAPES, v.— To run idly and skittishly about,
commonly occurring in its participle Trapesing.
She goes trapesing in and out in the wet.
I never knowed a woman go trapesing about like yon.
TRASH-BAGS, s. — A worthless, good-for-nothing fellow.
That son of hern's a regular trashbags.
Cfr., Shackbags, Chatterbags.
TRAUN, 5.— Truant.
You've been playing traun to-day.
There's not a many childer play traun about here.
He used to play traun when he went to Skellingthorpe.
TRAY, s. — A hurdle, or flake, commonly used for folding sheep,
and often called a Sheep-Tray. " We have to put a tray
across." So " Wheelwrights and Tray -makers."
TREDDLES, TRUDDLES, TRUTTLES, s.— The dung of
sheep, hares, &c.
TRIG, adj.— Tight.
It little belly was full, it was quiet trig.
TRIM, v. — To dress up, or decorate, as Churches with flowers
or evergreens: as " They was trimming the Church;" or
" So you've gotten the Church trimmed."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 157
TROUBLE, 5.— Pain : as " He's a deal of trouble in his
body ; " " I've done my work in trouble ever sin' ; " " When
the trouble's in the back, we mustard them on the spine."
TROYS, 5. — " A pair of Troys," that is, a Steel-yard, or balance
for weighing.
TUMBRIL, s. — An open rack for hay for cattle in the field or
crew-yard.
The hen set herself under the tumbril in the crew.
TURN,— "To get the turn," that is, to begin to recover from
sickness.
I understood as how he had gotten the turn.
TURNOVER, s.— A kind of small shawl.
I clicked the turnover from her.
TUSH, or TUSHIPEG, s.— A childish name for tooth : as
" He's gotten three tushes thruff;" " Let mammy feel it
little tushipegs."
TWISSENED,^.— i.e., Twistened, Twisted.
TWISTLE, v.— To twist. So Startle, Pickle, Prickle, for
Start, Pick, Prick.
The wind seems to twistle the straw out on the crew.
TWITCH, s. — The creeping Couch-grass, a most troublesome
weed in arable land.
It's no-but a heap of twitch.
They're burning twitch.
It's g'en them a good chanch to get twitch off-on the ground.
Whence
TWITCH, v.—To gather out twitch.
I must twitch and do my land for wheat.
I've been throng twitching and tatoing.
TWO-SIDES.— " They've gotten of two sides," that is, at
variance.
158 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
U
UGLY, UGLINESS, adj, 5.— Disagreeable, Disagreeableness,
commonly pronounced Oogly, Oogliness.
He's as oogly and awkward as can be.
Oh, the oogliness ! I don't wonder she don't like it.
He's a nasty ugly temper.
UNDER, prep.— Not up to.
I doubt he's under his work.
I was always under my places in service.
So ABOVE, in the sense of Too much for: "She had a sleeping-
draught, but the pain was above it."
UNDERBRUSH, s.— Underwood : as, " There's sca'ce any
underbrush;" or, "The underbrushings were not very
good."
UNDERLOUT, s. — The weaker or inferior; said of the weaker
pig in a sty, as opposed to the Master-pig ; " The blue pig
is the underlout ;" or of the smaller and weaker trees in a
plantation, " We kep' drawing and cutting out the under -
louts."
UNDERNEAN, /^., adv., and ^'.—Underneath.
Undernean yon tree.
The ground's moist undernean.
Her undernean clothes are all ragg'd.
I can't do wi1 that undernean muck.
I keep them as clean undernean as at top.
The wheat'll grow undernean the snow.
UNDERSOUGH, v. (pronounced SUFF).— Underdrain.
It wants under soughing badly.
See SOUGH.
UNDONE, adj.— In distress, at a loss.
I felt quiet undone about it.
His daughter was very undone about his marriage.
She was undone because she had not heard.
UNGAIN, adj. — Inconvenient, awkward.
The land lies so ungain.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 159
UNHEPPEN, adj.— Clumsy, awkward, unhandy.
Yon's a real unheppen chap.
He can use his arm all right, but it looks unheppen.
I'm so unheppen about a garden : I know nowt about it.
UNHONEST, ^'.—Dishonest.
She as good as said I was unhonest.
UNPLUNGE. — "At an unplunge," that is, unawares, un-
expectedly.
He came on me at an unplunge.
If I were to see her all of an unplunge.
UNSEEN, adj. — Used in the sense of Unheard of : " It's an
unseen thing."
UP-END, v. — To get on one's legs ; to place up on end.
Some one is sure to up-end about it, i.e., to get on his legs, and find
fault.
When the toast of " The Queen " was proposed, only two or three
of the company up-ended themselves.
We've got the corn cut, but not up-ended yet.
UPHOLD, v.— To support, keep up.
A house like yen taks summas to uphold it.
The Herspital taks a deal of upholding.
She upholds it (a cottage hospital) herself : no one else pays anything
to it.
She wants a wage to uphoud the three on 'em.
UP OF, — for Up on : as " He's gone up of the Moor ; " " When
we lived up of the haythe " (heath). So " Up of the mend,"
or "Up of foot."
UP OF HEAPS, or UP-HEAPS.— In disorder, in confusion.
We're all up of heaps.
I seem all up of heaps.
The kitchen's all up heaps.
UP ON END, — i.e., sitting up, usually of a person sitting up
in bed ; as " She's been up on end once or twice."
UPSIDES, adv. — " To be upsides with anyone, i.e., to be a
match for, or quits with any one.
I'll be upsides with him before I've done.
UPSYDAISY, inter] . — An expression used when lifting a child :
" Now then, upsydaisy ! "
USE, s. — Interest : as " He has money out at use ; " " They've
putten it out at use ; " " She has the use of it for her life."
l6c SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
USE, s. — " To be in use," or "to come into use," — said of a
cow, mare, &c., when " apta mari."
USE,?;. — " It didn't use," for it used not; "It didn't use to
mak' me at this how."
USED TO COULD.— Common phrase for used to be able.
I can't work now as I used to could.
I can't go trailing about as I used to could.
I useJ to could do it as well &s any one, one while.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. l6l
V
VAST, s. — A large quantity: "There's a vast of folks comes
to their do."
VENOM, v. (often Vemon). — To infect with veno;ii, poison : as
" I've venom'd my finger ket locking ; " " She's gotten a bad
hand, they think she venom'd it."
VOLUNTINE, s. — Common pronunciation of Valentine.
They rave them out sometimes, their roluntines.
A many folks gets ugly voluntines.
132 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
W
WAANT, v.— Won't, will not.
They wadnt try.
I wadnt let him off on it, I nat'ly wadnt.
Whether he'll come, or whether he wadnt.
He's ower old, and he wadnt die.
It's nowt o' sort, I wadnt believe it.
WAARM, v. — Warm, used in the sense of beating : as " I
tell'd her I'd waarm her if she did;" " My word, but I'll
waarm your little starn."
WACKEN, 0^.— Lively, active.
She's a wacken little lass.
No doubt connected with Wake, Waken, pronounced Wacken ;
" Wacken in the same mind as you go to bed on."
WAD, s. — A mark set up as a guide to plough straight by.
Hence Line, order, position.
He's gotten a little bit out of wad.
They get out of wad a bit, when they're so long away.
We shall kill a pig next week, and that'll put us in rather better wad.
WAFF, or WAFFLE, v.— To bark, yelp.
A dog ran waffling out.
It ran waffing at the horse's heels.
WAFF, s. — Whiff, scent, taste : as " The waff of the door was
enough to smittle one;" " Wi' John getting a waff from
the body he fainted reiet off."
WAFFY, adj. — Having a faint, sickly taste.
WAGE, s. — Wages : commonly used in the singular.
He takes a great wage to-year.
If there wasn't a machine agate, he'd only labourer's wage.
WAIT OF, v.— To wait for.
They wait of one another at the lane ends.
They mostly wait o/him.
I'll wait of you.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 163
WAIT OF, i'.— To wait' on.
His wife can't wait of him.
She caught it waiting of her childer.
He has two women to wait of him : he can't wait of his-sen.
I've nowt else to do but to wait of him.
She waits of me well.
WALLOW, WALLOWISH, adj.— Tasteless, insipid.
Oh, mother, how wallow this here bread is !
Why, bairn, I'd gotten no salt to put in it ; it maks it a bit wallowish.
Skinner giving wallowish, adds, " quod in agro Line, non wallowish,
sed Walsh pronunciant."
WANDING-CHAIR, 5.— A wicker-work chair for children,
into which they are fastened, with a ledge in front to
play on.
He used to sit and play in his wanding-chair.
You see few of them wanding-chairs now, they've wooden ones instead.
Skinner gives " Wanded-chair," with the same meaning.
WAN RLE, adj.— Weakly, delicate : as " She's only wankle ;"
" He's a very wankle man, he's oftens ailing ;" " They're
wankle, delicate little things, when they're first hatched."
WARN, v. — To summon.
I warned the meeting for Thursday.
The policeman warned me for the crowner's jury of Saturda'.
In old Parish Books the Churchwarden is often called the Church-
WARNT.— Was not.
WASH, v.t — commonly pronounced Wesh, and used without a
preposition with somewhat peculiar effect : as " She weshes
Mr. So and So," instead of Washes for him.
She has weshed him ever sin he came.
His mother weshes him ; his weshing all comes home.
There was two Irish wanted weshing ; I had to wesh them.
I learnt her to wesh when she were a little lass.
WASHBOARD, s.— Skirting-board.
We put that bit of washboard on.
WATER-BLEB, s. — The Marsh Marigold, Caltha palustris ; so
called probably from the Bleb, — blister or bubble, — like
shape of its seed vessels.
It's a posy of water-blebs the childer have cropped in the dyke.
WATERWHELP, 5.— A boiled dough pudding, made of a
piece of dough, which has been prepared for a loaf, cut off
and boiled.
164 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
WATH, 5. — A ford : occurring in place names : as Waddington
Wath, or the Wath-lane, Bassingham, or Spalford Wath-
bank.
WATTER, — common pronunciation of Water : as " The dykes
are bunged up wi' watter."
WAX, r. — To grow large, increase.
The plums are waxing nicedly.
To'nups want no more rain, while they begin to wax.
WAXPAIN, 5. — A growing pain.
I don't know whether it's a wjxpain.
WEAN, 5. — A young child : as, " When she was quite a little
wean."
WEAND, r.— To wean.
She's wednded hers, but I haven't began to wednd mine.
She came here to we find the baby.
WEAR, r. — To spend, lay out money.
He'd wear it all in drink.
He'll never wear a penny on it.
It wants a lot of money -wearing on it.
He waiint wear as many shillings on it, as the tother iveared pounds.
I never weared a penny on laudanum in my life.
All that money being weared, it ought to ha' lasted longer.
WEAR, 5. — A Decline, consumption ; as, " She's going in a
wear ; " "I doubt it'll throw her in a wear ; " " There was
one sister went in a wear."
WEAR, r.— To waste : as " The herses wore and wore," i.e.,
wasted away from influenza, " while they could hardly
stand ;" u I doubt I'm in a wearing sort of a way."
WEATHER-BET, «#.— Weather-beaten.
It gets weather-bet and stained.
Cfr. Foot-bet.
WEATHER-BREEDER, s.— An unseasonably fine day, re-
garded as a fore-runner of bad weather.
What a fine day it is ! Aye, I doubt it's a weather-breeder.
WED, i\— Past of Weed.
I wed it all last week.
We set to and got it wed.
The to'nups were wed twice over.
So HAND-WED, weeded by hand : " It would be sooner all hacked up
than hand-wed."
WEDDINGER, s. — A wedding guest, one of a wedding party.
I seed the weddingers pass.
Are you one of the weddingers ?
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 165
WEEKIN, 5. — The corner of the mouth.
The spittle runs out of the weekin of his mouth.
They slabber out-en the weekins oi their mouths.
Wihes and Wyhins are forms usually given, but IVcchin is the
pronunciation here.
WEEKSMAN, 5. — A man employed on a farm during harvest
by the week, and having his meals in the house.
He wanted to come in as -weeksman, but t' mester reckoned he'd do
better at ta'en work.
T' mester's gone to seek a weeksman.
We've a weeksman coming to-night, so we shall have another to do for.
Frank's gone into the house for a month as -wecksman.
WELKING, adj. — Fat and heavy, hulking: as " He's a great
welking boy."
WELL AWARE. — " You are well aware '' is the regular
phrase here for You know.
You are well aware it's been a coarse winter for us.
You are well aware we are throng this cleaning time.
You are tvell aware how hittered the missis was agen him.
WELTED, or WELTER'D, part.— Cast or overturned ; said
of a sheep that has rolled over on its back. So FAR-
WELTED, and OVER-WELTED.
WERE, v. — Was : as " She were ill ; " " He were here a piece
WERRIT, r. — To worry, fret, tease.
You're always a-werriting.
She's fit to werrit one to dead a-most.
If I werrit, I've something solid to wen- it upon .
She did nothing but whine and werrit all night.
WERRITS, s. — One who worries, teases : as " He's such an
old werrits."
WERRY, v. — To litter, or bring forth young ; used of such
animals as have many at a birth, as cats, rabbits, rats and
mice.
She's werried this morning.
WETHER-HOG, 5.— A male lamb of a year old, a " heder
hog."
WETSHED, adj.— Wetshod, or wet-footed.
They got wetshcd in the dyke.
They're always wetshed among the tonup sheep.
The bairns have been wetshed haef the time.
You're none wetshed, not you.
l66 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
WEZZLING, adj. — Careless, inattentive.
You little wezzling beggar !
She goes wezzling about.
WHANG, v. — To throw with violence : as " Whang it down."
Cfr. Bang, Dang, Spang.
WHEMBLE, v. — To turn over, turn upside down: as
" Whemble that dish when you've wiped it ; " " Whemble
your cup when you've done."
WHEELING, s.— The track made by wheels.
It's left a bit of a wheeling.
I've g'en the wheelings a good rolling.
If you've the reaper to barley, the wheelings end the clover so.
WHEREBY, conj.— Used in the sense of "So that."
Mak' yon door whereby it will shut.
I don't want to get whereby no one will look at me.
I wish it would come fine whereby I might get my taets up.
He sells them whereby he can't mak' much.
She's gotten whereby she can hing clothes out hersen'.
WHEWTLE, v.— To whistle softly, or under the breath.
How tiresome they are, whewtling about !
He kept whewtling, he didn't whistle reiet out.
WHIFFLE, v. — To be uncertain, change one's mind.
He ivhiffles about so, you don't know what he will be at.
WHIG, s.— Buttermilk.
Oh, lor! the milk's as sour as whig.
Ang. Sax. Hwceg, Whey ; though (the one is produced in making
butter, the other in making cheese.
WHILE, s. — Time, space of time.
We thought one while it did good.
There seemed to be no childer on the moor, — not one while.
There were nine on us one while at hoem.
He's been dead his-sen a niced while.
WHILE, WHILES, conj.— Until.
We'll let it stop while then.
I did not get to bed while one.
They won't flit while May.
I'll tak' care of him while he's able to tak' care of his-sen.
A very common and general use of the word, but we remember
hearing a Judge at Lincoln Assizes completely puzzled by it. A witness
had said of the prisoner, who was being tried for poisoning her husband,
" She did not fret whiles we fretted," meaning that she did not begin to
cry till the others did. This usage was explained to the Judge, but he
remained very incredulous, and in his summing he impressed on the jury,
who of course understood it perfectly, that though it had been attempted
to give this meaning to the witness's words, yet what she said was some-
thing very different.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 167
WHIMMY, adj. — Full of whims and fancies: as "He's so
whimmy ; " or " He's such a whimmy man."
WHITE-CORN,— that is, wheat, barley, and oats.
They've gotten all their white-corn in.
There seems more white corn out about here than elsewhere.
WHITE HORSE.— " Oh, come and spit for a white horse;
we're sure to have summas g'en us." "We shouldn't ha'
gotten this orange, if we had not spit for the white horse."
In allusion to the custom, among children, of spitting on
the ground and crossing the feet over it, when a white horse
passes, in the belief that whoso does so will shortly have a
present.
WHIT-TAWER, or WHITTOWER, s.— A harness maker,
one who taws or works white leather.
Shoe-makers and whittowers use clems to haud their leather.
I'd an uncle a whittower.
We've the whittowers in the house, they mend the harness by contract.
WHITTLE, v.— To worry, vex : as " It whittles me ; " "I felt
whittled about it ; " " She's been on the whittle ever sin'."
WICKEN, WITCH-WICKEN, s.— The Mountain Ash or
Rowan tree, Pyrus Aucuparia, to which the same superstition
of its being a spell against witchcraft, is, or was, attached
here as to the Rowan tree in the Highlands.
I've cutten out a mount (an amount) of w token at Thorney for stakes
and binders, — witch-wicken we used to call it.
We used to put a bit of wicken-tree in our bo-som to keep off the witch.
There's heder wicken, and there's sheder wicken, one has berries,
and the tother has none ; when you thought you were overlooked, if the
person was he, you got a piece of sheder wicken; if it was she, you got
heder wicken, and made a T with it on the hob, and then they could do
nowt at you.
WIDOW-MAN, 5.— A widower.
She's going to be married to a widow-man.
He lives with a widow-gentleman.
I think he's a widow-man, but I don't know if he's any childer.
He was a widow-man with four, and it's left him with five now.
WILLOW-BITER, s.— The Blue Titmouse.
WIME ROUND, r.— To cajole, get round by flattering.
Eh, that body can wine round a body.
WIND-A-BIT,— as, " Let's wind a bit," i.e., stop awhile to take
breath.
l68 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
WINDER, v.—To winnow.
He's helping to Kinder.
He's in the barn, winder ing corn.
We mut have a windy day, and I think I might winder them.
So "A windering sheet," i.e., a winnowing sheet.
WINDROWS, s. — The larger rows into which the swathes 01
hay are raked before making it into cocks.
It looked like windrows when it was mown, the grass was so thick.
WINTER-PROUD, adj.,— said of wheat when it gets too for-
ward in the winter: " It's gotten a bit winter-proud."
WIPPET, 5. — A puny, diminutive person: as, of a child,
" She's such a little wippet."
WISDOM. — "It wouldn't be wisdom," common expression for
It would not be wise : " It wouldn't be wisdom to have
them home ;" " I don't think it's wisdom to do so."
WITHIN THEMSELVES, i.e., with their own labour, or
with their own resources : " They reckon to get their harvest
within themselves," i.e. with their ordinary men;" "You
see we've a lot within ourselves," i.e. of our own growth or
making ; " " They do it within theirsens a deal."
WITTER, v. — To complain peevishly, grumble, find fault.
She's always wittering and knattering.
I thought she was a -wittering woman, when first I seed- her.
I witter my-sen at times, and my husband tells me I'm a regular
•wittering old woman.
WTVELLER, 5. — A weevil, grub in corn.
WOATS, 5.— Oats.
There's three on 'em with wo cits.
What are you tenting there, boy ? ]Voats.
WONG, s. — A low-lying meadow : as " The 13rig Wong,"
Aubourn.
WORD. — " To give a gcod word," or " bad word ; " — common
phrase for to praise or blame, to speak well or ill of: as
"He's g'en her a strange good word;" "I never heerd
anybody gie him a bad word."
WORK, i'.— To ferment, be in motion: as of beer, &c., " It's
just beginning to work;" or "It's just on the work."
Also of a throbbing aching pain, " Oh, how my head
wrorks ;" or " It little inside seemed all of a work."
WORK, s. — To make work with, i.e., to do harm or injury to
anything : as " These late frosses mak' work wi' the fruit,"
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 169
WOW, v. — To make a loud mewing noise, as cats sometimes
do.
He'll stan' agen the door and wow.
WRANGLE, v. — To go wrong, or get wrong.
The clock wrangled as we were flitting, and she's never gone right sin
WREAST, v.— To wrest, wrench. See Reast.
It's wreasted the hinge off.
We put in a chisel, and wreastcd it off without mislesting anything.
WRY, adj. — Wrong, cross, awry.
His mester's never g'en him a wry word.
It's not very pleasant, when things all go wry.
I7O SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
YAH, — Vulgar pronunciation of You; hence to Yah, to speak
rudely and contemptuously.
She called her andyah'd her agen her own fireside,
She began to yah, and to call me as soon as ever I came in.
YAMMER, v. — To scold, grumble noisily.
Deary me, how mother yammers about, she's always at it.
YANKS, s. — Gaiters or leggings coming down over the foot,
and strapped beneath it.
The mud was ower his yanks, reiet on to his knees.
YARK, v. — To snatch, jerk.
She yarked the babe up.
I yarked the bread and butter out on her hand.
You yark it away as if you were nasty (out of temper).
He yarked her down reiet on the stones.
Prisoner yarked two or three shillings from her.
She seemed to twitch and yark about.
He won't breathe, but he'll yark (said of a dying person).
YAUP, v. — To cry out, shout loudly.
There's a many does ; they yaup out bad.
They go yanping about.
What are youyauping about, you tiresome things.
YAWNEY, s.— A lazy, stupid fellow : as " What a great
yawney yon is ! "
YEAT, v.— To eat.
I couldn't seem to yedt ; I couldn't yedt a bit of nowt.
She went without owt to yedt, and without owt to yedt, while she
was clean pined to dead.
Bring the brambles hoem, but don't yedt a many.
YERB, 5., — common pronunciation of Herb.
I got a mess of yerbs.
She boils some yerbs, and doctors it.
YOCK, or YOCK OUT, v.— To yoke, or attach horses to a
wagon, or plough, for work.
They didn't yock out while noon.
She's not fit to yock out at night.
So Prompt. Parv. has " Yokke Jugum," and Yokke beestys, Jugo."
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 171
YON, pron. and adj. — Yonder, that there: as, "Whatever's
yon ? " " Hap it up under yon hedge ; " " Any house is better
than yon;" " Get some shingle to mix wi' yon sand;"
" We've had this, but we've not had yon." So
YON -A- WAY. — That way, over there.
We \ivedyon-a-way a piece.
So THIS-A-WAY, THAT-A-WAY.
YONSIDE.— That side over there.
It's somewhere yonside of London.
Skinner giving YON, YONDER, adds, — " Nobis prcesertim in agro
Line. Yonside."
YOURN, pron. — Yours : as Hern, and Theirn, for Hers, and
Theirs.
YOW, 5.— An ewe.
Theyows were pined : they had not a bit of keep.
Ang. Sax., EOWE.
YOWL, v. — To howl, as dogs do.
YUCK, s. — A jerk, snatch : as " Gie it a gret yuck away from
you." So
YUCK, v.— To jerk, snatch.
Briggs yucked the mare about, and she stood straight up seven or
eight times.
He clammed him by the shoulder, zndyucked him about the road.
YUCK, v.— To itch.
Such a nasty yucMng pain comes on in the legs.
So Skinner gives " Yuck, vox agro Line, usitatissima, Prurire."
172 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
ADDENDA.
A-SWISH, adv. — Slantwise. Two pair of cottages recently
built at Whisby slantwise to the road have received
popularly the name of " The a-swish houses."
B
BEAL, v. — To bellow, cry aloud ; used in this sense indis-
criminately with Bell and Belder : " My word, if you don't
stop that bealing ; " " They beal out fit to stun one."
BLUFF, s. — A blindfolding bandage ; Bluffs, Blinkers such as
are worn by cart-horses.
They cut a hole in his bluff to let him see a bit.
So the game is called Blindman's Bluff.
BLUFT, v.— To blindfold.
They bluft the child.
My lass gets blufted sometimes.
The bull was blufted to prevent him being frightened.
BOSSOCKS, s.— A fat heavy person.
They'd say of old Betty, Look what i
ever hear it now ; now they say, Look at
BROD, v. — To prick, pierce with a needle.
He was a strange man for brodding his old n
My foot was never reiet after he brodded it.
BUNT, 5.— The scut, or tail of a rabbit.
They'd say of old Betty, Look what a bossochs yon looks, but I sca'ce
ever hear it now ; now they say, Look at yon for a fat old stodge.
SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS. 173
D
DOTTEREL, s. — A little diminutive creature : as of a new-
born child, " Oh, what a little dotterel it is!" " Some is
little dotterels, and some is good big bairns."
DOZZEN, v. — To daze, stupefy, make dozy ; used of the effect
of Opium, which persons in this neighbourhood are
frequently in the habit of taking : as " It dozzens her so;"
" Really that old woman, she's dozzened up ;" " I'd never
be dozzened up wi' nowt of that sort." Dryden uses Doz'd
in the same sense, " Doz'd with his fumes, and heavy with
his load," Past. vi. 21.
F
FLAWPS, s. — An awkward slovenly person, who is said to go
" flawping about."
G
GAUP, v. — To gape, stare.
They'd all gaup at me.
They'll stan' and gaup about, as if they'd never seen no one before.
GEAR, GEARING, s.— A cart-horse's harness, called Tackling
in some parts.
The horses had their gears on all them hours.
" Gearing " for so many horses, a constant item in farm sales.
HEEL-TREE, 5. — The cross bar to which the traces are
fastened, and which hangs at a horse's heels in ploughing
or harrowing ; called in some parts Swingle-tree or
Whipple-tree.
Defendant was charged with stealing two heel-trees.
JANNICK, adj.— Right, proper, exact: " Well, that's just
jannick," said by anyone doing a thing correctly.
174 SOUTH-WEST LINCOLNSHIRE WORDS.
JAUP, v. — To splash, make a splashing noise ; said of the
sound made by water or any liquid in a bucket or barrel :
" How it jaups about."
JUSTLY, adv.— Just, exactly.
I don't know justly where the Doctor lives.
I can't say justly how many the mester has.
NOTE. — The term Graffoe, which gives name to the Wapentake and
Rural Deanery (not conterminous) in which the foregoing List of Words has
been compiled, seems to represent the Ang.-Sax. Groef-how (Danish, Gravhoi),
signifying a Burial Mound, and referring no doubt to some ancient and well-
known Mound, which was the original place of assemblage for the men of the
Wapentake. Mr. Streatfield, in his book on " Lincolnshire and the Danes,"
has pointed out that several of our Lincolnshire Wapentakes have a like
derivation. Such are Langoe (Langehow) the long how or mound, Treo
(Threhow) the three hows or mounds, and probably Wraggoe and Elloe ;
while Haverstoe (Hawardshow), Aslacoe (Aslac's-how), and Candleshoe
(Calnod's-how), may perhaps actually preserve the names of the men over
whom the mounds were originally raised. A similar instance is what was
formerly known as the " Binghamshou Wapentac " in Notts., where the
Hoe Hill, so-called, still conspicuously remains, though the appellation of its
district has been modernized into the Hundred of Bingham.
The Place-names in the Wapentake of Graffoe are of Anglo-Saxon and
of Danish origin in nearly equal proportions, names with such distinctive
Ang.-Sax. terminations as Bassingham, Boultham, Carlton (le-Moorland),
Doddington, Haddington, Harmston, Hykeham, Morton, Norton (Disney),
Waddington, occurring side by side, and almost alternately, with such purely
Danish appellations as Boothby, Coleby, Navenby, Skellingthorpe, Swinderby,
Swinethorpe, Thorpe (on-the-Hill), and Whisby. The remaining village
names, not contained in either of the above lists, are Aubourn, Bracebridge,
Eagle, Scarle, Skinnand, Stapleford, Welbourn, and Wellingore.
THE
KENTISH DIALECT.
A DICTIONARY
OF THE
KENTISH DIALECT
AND
PROVINCIALISMS
IN USE IN THE COUNTY OF KENT.
BY
W. D. PARISH,
CHANCELLOR OF CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL AND VICAR OF SELMESTON;
AND
W. F. SHAW,
VICAR OF EASTRY, KENT.
Honfoon :
PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY
BY TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1887.
LEWES :
FARNCOMBE AND CO., PRINTERS.
INTRODUCTION,
THE KENTISH DIALECT finds its expression in
peculiarities of phrase and pronunciation rather
than in any great number of distinctly dialectical
words. In many respects it closely resembles the dialect
of Sussex, though it retains a distinctive character, and
includes a considerable number of words which are un-
known in the neighbouring County.
The Kentish pronunciation is so much more coarse
and broad than that of Sussex, that many words which
are common to both dialects can scarcely be recognised a
few miles away from the border ; and many words of ordi-
nary use become strangely altered. As an instance, the
word elbow may be taken, which first has the termination
altered by the substitution of ber [ber] for bow [boa], and
becomes elber [el'ber]. The e is next altered to a, and in
Sussex the word would be generally pronounced alber
[al'ber], in which form it is still recognisable ; but the
Kentish man alters the al into ar [aa], and knocking out
the medial consonant altogether, pronounces the word
arber [aa-ber], and thus actually retains only one letter
vi. Introduction.
out of the original five. The chief peculiarities of pro-
nunciation are these, —
Such words as barrow and carry become bar and car [baa, kaa].
a [a] before double d is pronounced aa; as laader [laa'der] for
ladder.
a [a] before double / becomes o; 2^ f oiler [fol'er] tor fallow,
a [ai] before t is lengthened into ea; as pleat [plee'h't] for plate.
Double e, or the equivalent of it, becomes i ; as "ship in the fil"
[ship in dhu' fil] for " sheep in the field."
Then, by way of compensation, i is occasionally pronounced like
double e; as "The meece got into the heeve" [Dhu' mee's
got in'tu' dhu' hee'v] for " the mice got into the hive"
i appears as e in such words as pet [pet] for pit.
o before n is broadened into two syllables by the addition of an
obscure vowel ; as " Doant ye see the old poany be all skin
and boans " [doa'h'nt ye see dhu' oald poa'h'ny bee aul skin
un boa'h'ns].
oil is lengthened by prefixing a [a] ; the resulting sound being
[aew]. "The haounds were raound our haouse yesterday."
[Dhu' haewnds wer raewnd our haews yesferdai.]
The voiced th [dh] is invariably pronounced d ; so that, this, then,
though become dat, dis, den, dotigh [dat, dis, den, doa].
In words such as fodder (A.S. fodor), where the old d comes
between two vowels, the dialect has th [dh], as [fodh'er].
The final letters are transposed in wasp, hasp, and many words of
similar termination. Hence these become [wops, haps].
w and v change places invariably when they are initial ; as " wery
veil " for very well.
Peculiarities of construction appear in the case of a
large class of words, whereof "upgrown," " outstand," "no-
ought," "over-run" and others may be taken as types.
Almost every East Kent man has one or two special
words of his own, which he has himself invented, and these
become very puzzling to those who do not know the secret
of their origin ; and as he dislikes the intrusion of any words
beyond the range of his own vocabulary, he is apt to show
his resentment by taking so little trouble to pronounce them
Introduction. vii.
correctly, that they generally become distorted beyond all
recognition. Broad titus, for instance, would not easily be
understood to mean bronchitis.
The East Kent man is, moreover, not fond of strangers,
he calls any new-comers into the village " furriners," and
pronounces their names as he pleases. These peculiarities
of speech and temper all tend to add to the difficulty of
understanding the language in which the Kentish people
express themselves.
The true dialect of Kent is now found only in the
Eastern portion of the County, and especially in the
Weald. It has been affected by many influences, most
of all, of course, by its geographical position, though it
seems strange that so few French words have found their
way across the narrow streak of sea which separates it
from France.
The purity of the dialect diminishes in proportion to
the proximity to London of the district in which it is spoken.
It may be said that the dialectal sewage of the Metropolis
finds its way down the river and is deposited on the southern
bank of the Thames, as far as the limits of Gravesend-
Reach, whence it seems to overflow and saturate the neigh-
bouring district. The language in which Samuel Weller,
Senior and Junior, express themselves in the pages of the
Pickwick Papers, affords an excellent specimen of what
the Kentish dialect is, when it is brought under the full
influence of this saturation.
Our collection of Kentish words and provincialisms
has been gathered from various sources. Much has already
been done to rescue from oblivion the peculiarities of the
dialect. As long ago as 1736 Lewis published a glossary
of local words in the second edition of his History of the
viii. Introdwtion.
Isle of Tenet ; this was reprinted by Prof. Skeat for the
English Dialect Society as 'Glossary B n,' in 1874. Dr.
Pegge's attention was drawn to the subject at the same
time, and he compiled a glossary entitled ' Kenticisms,'
which remained in manuscript till it was communicated,
in 1876, by Prof. Skeat, to the English Dialect Society
and to the IX. Vol. of the Archaeologia Cantiana. The
MS. was purchased by him at Sir F. Madden's sale, and
will be presented to the English Dialect Society.
A large number of Kentish words were found in the
pages of Holloway's General Dictionary of Provincialisms
(1839), and also in Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and
Provincial words (1872); and when Professor Skeat sug-
gested to us a more complete glossary of the dialect, we
found that these publications had aroused such a con-
siderable interest in the collection of Kentish words, that
several collectors were at work in different parts of the
County, all of whom most kindly placed their lists of
words at our disposal. (One peculiarly interesting collec-
tion was given to the Society many years ago by Mr. G.
Bedo.) The learned Professor has never for a moment
abated his interest in our work, and has been always
ready with a helping hand. Meanwhile the great local
professor of the Kentish language, Mr. H. Knatchbull-
Hugessen, M.P., has given us the full benefit of his thorough
knowledge of the subject.
In order to exhibit the modern dialect more clearly,
references to the specimens of Kentish in the Early and
Middle English Periods have been avoided. It may,
however, be well to observe here that the peculiarities of
the phonology of the old dialect are well shown in some of
these. The most important are the following :
Introduction.
IX.
1. The inscription in the Codex Aureus, printed in
Sweet's Oldest English Texts, p. 174, and reprinted (very
accessibly) in Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader, Part II., p. 98.
This incription is of the Ninth Century.
2. Some Glosses in a copy of Beda (MS. Cotton, Tib.
c. 2), apparently in Kentish. Printed in Sweet's Oldest
English Texts, p. 179. Of the end of the Ninth Century.
3. Some of the Charters printed in Sweet's Oldest
English Texts, pp. 425 — 460. See, in particular, a Charter
of Hlothere, No. 4 ; of Wihtred, No. 5 ; of ^Ethelberht,
Nos. 6 and 7 ; of Eardwulf, No. 8 ; and the Charters
numbered 33 — 44, inclusive. Of these, Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
and 34 — 42, inclusive, are reprinted in Sweet's Anglo-
Saxon Reader, Part II., pp. 174 — 194.
4. Kentish Glosses of the Ninth Century, first printed
by Prof. Zupitza in Haupt's Zeitschrift, and reprinted in
Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader, Part II., pp. 152 — 175.
5. Five Sermons in the Kentish dialect of the
Thirteenth Century, printed in Morris's Old English
Miscellany, pp. 26 — 36. Two of these are reprinted in
Morris's Specimens of English, Part I., pp. 141 — 145. The
grammatical forms found in these Sermons are discussed in
the Preface to the Old English Miscellany, pp. xiii. — xvi.
6. The Poems of William, of Shoreham (not far from
Sevenoaks), written in the former half of the Fourteenth
Century, edited for the Percy Society by T. Wright, London,
1849. An extract is given in Specimens of English, ed.
Morris and Skeat, Part II., pp. 63 — 68.
7. The Ayenbite of Inwyt, or Remorse of Conscience,
finished A.D. 1340, by Dan Michel, of Northgate, edited by
Morris for the Early English Text Society in 1866. An
x. Introduction.
extract is given in Specimens of English, ed. Morris and
Skeat, Part II., pp. 98 — 106.
It may be added that the Psalter, known as the
Vaspasian Psalter, printed in Sweet's Oldest English Texts,
is now ascertained to be Mercian. It was first printed by
Stevenson for the Surtees Society in 1843-4, under the
impression that it was "Northumbrian" a statement which
will not bear even a hasty test. Mr. Sweet at first claimed
it as "Kentish" (Trans, of the Phil. Soc. 1877, Part III.,
p. 555), but a closer investigation proves it to be Mercian,
as Mr. Sweet has himself shown.
It may be mentioned that the collection of words
presented in this Dictionary has been in process of
formation for no less than fourteen years, and in the
course of that time we found many instances of folk lore
and proverbial expressions, which have been retained in
expectation that they may form the nucleus of a separate
work to be published hereafter.
At the end of this book a few blank pages will be found
perforated so as to be detached without injuring the rest,
and upon these we hope that many notes on Folk Lore and
Local Proverbs, and quaint words and anecdotes, illustra-
tive of Kentish dialect and character, may be jotted down
from time to time and forwarded to Rev. W. F. Shaw,
Eastry Vicarage, Sandwich, in whose hands they will help
to the completion of a work which promises to be one of
considerable interest.
LIST OF BOOKS
From which Quotations are frequently made in the course of
this Work.
LAMBARDE, WILLIAM. A PERAMBULATION OF KENT. 1596.
LEWIS, REV. J. HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES, AS WELL ECCLESIASTICAL
AS CIVIL, OF THE ISLE OF TENET, IN KENT. 1736.
SANDWICH BOOK OF ORPHANS. 1586 TO 1685. PUBLISHED IN
ARCH^EOLOGIA CANTIANA, VOL. xvi.
MS. ACCOUNTS OF S. JOHN'S HOSPITAL, CANTERBURY. 1511 TO
1647. COMMUNICATED BY MR. J. M. COWPER.
M S. ACCOUNTS OF THE CHURCHWARDENS OF S. DUNSTAN'S,
CANTERBURY. 1484 TO 1580. ARCH^EOLOGIA CANTIANA, VOL.
xvi.
OVERSEERS' ACCOUNTS, HOLY CROSS, CANTERBURY. 1642. TAKEN
FROM " OUR PARISH BOOKS," VOLS. i. AND IL, BY MR. J. M.
COWPER.
THE BARGRAVE DIARY AND VARIOUS M S. ACCOUNTS OF THE BOTELER
FAMILY HAVE BEEN KINDLY PLACED AT OUR DISPOSAL BY THE
MISSES BOTELER, OF BROOK STREET, EASTRY.
LISTS OF KENTISH WORDS
Have been kindly placed at our disposal, by the following Collectors
REV. PROFESSOR SKEAT.
MR. C. ROACH SMITH.
MR. H. KNATCHBULL HUGESSEN, M.P.
MR. GEORGE BEDO.
SIR FREDK. MADDEN (THE LATE).
MR. J. M. COWPER.
MR. HUMPHREY WICKHAM.
REV. G. R. BAKER.
MR. J. G. GOODCHILD.
MR. R. C. HUSSEY.
REV. CANON W. A. SCOTT ROBERTSON.
REV. J. BOODLE.
REV. F. HASLEWOOD.
MR. F. T. ELWORTHY.
Much information has also been given by Mrs. WHITE (Preston,
Salop), Capt. W. H. TYLDEN-PATTENSON, Rev. A. M. CHICHESTER,
and many others, to whom the Editors desire to offer their best thanks.
DICK AND SAL
\V/irAV^\ -j;\\ "<\ i\-. '-•'•'..;-••
AT CANTERBURY FAIR.
The following was written by the late Mr. John White Masters, who was brought
up in the neighbourhood of Faversham, under circumstances which gave him special
facilities for making notes upon the Kentish Dialect as it was spoken in the early part
of the present century. There seems to be internal evidence that the hero and heroine
of the tale started from the village of Sheldwick (with which Mr. Masters was connected).
The Verses were first published before 1821, but the exact date is unknown.
1. /"T"VHE bailiff's boy had overslept,
The cows were not put in ;
But rosy Mary cheerly stept,
To milk them on the green.
2. Dick staggered with a carf of hay,
To feed the bleating sheep ;
Proud thus to usher in the day,
While half the world's asleep.
3. And meeting Mary with her pail,
He said, " If you wull stay,
I'll tell ya jest a funny tale,
About my holerday."
4. 'Twas then by some auspicious hap,
That I was passing near 'im,
And as he seem'd a likely chap,
Thinks I, I'll stop and hear 'im.
5. Now, Mary broke her steady pace,
And down she set her pail ;
Dick brush'd the hay seeds off his face,
And thus began his tale :
XIV.
Dick and Sal
6. "Ya see when Michaelmas come roun,
I thought dat Sal and I,
Ud go to Canterbury town,
To see what we cud buy.
7. For when I lived at Challock Lees,
Our second-man had bin ;
And wonce when he was earring peas,
He told me what he'd sin.
10.
He sed dare was a teejus fair,
Dat lasted for a wick ;
And all de ploughmen dat went dare,
Must car dair shining-stick.
An how dat dare was nable rigs,
An merriander's jokes ;
Snuff-boxes, shows, and whirligigs,
An houghed sight o' folks.
But what queer'd me, he sed, 'twas kep
All round about de Church ;
And how dey had him up de steps,
And left him in de lurch.
n. At last he got into de street,
An den he lost his road ;
And Bet and he come to a geate,
Whar all de soagers stud.
12. Den she ketcht fast hold av his han',
For she was reythur scar'd ;
Tom sed when fust he see 'em stan',
He thought she'd be afared.
13. But one dat had a great broad soord,
Did 'left wheel' loudly cry;
And all de men scared at his word,
Flew roun ta let dem by.
14. And den de drums dey beat ya know,
De soagers dey was prancin ;
Tom told me dat it pleased 'em so,
They coud'n kip from dancin.
At Canterbury Fair. xv.
15. So I told feyther what I thought
'Bout gooing to de fair;
An den he told me what he bought,
When moder and he was dare.
1 6. He bought our Jack a leather cap,
An Sal a money-puss ;
An Tom an Jem a spinnin tap,
An me a little hoss.
17. Den moder drummin in my ear,
Told all dat she had done ;
For doe she liv'd for fifty year,
She'd never sin such fun.
1 8. So Sal and I was mighty glad,
Ta hear sudge news as dat ;
An I set off ta neighbour Head,
Ta get a new straa hat.
19. An Thursday mornin Sal an I,
Set out ta goo ta fair ;
An moder an day wish't us good bye,
An told Sal ta taak care.
20. But jest as o'er the stile we got,
She call'd har back agin,
An sed, ' Ya taak yer milkin coat,
Fer I're afared 'twull rain.'
21. Sal got de coat, an we agin,
Did both an us set sail ;
An she sed, ' Was she sure 'too'd rain,
She never oo'd turn tail.'
22. De clover was granable wet,
Sa when we crast de medder,
We both upan de hardle set,
An den begun concedir.
23. De Folkston gals looked houghed black,
* Old Waller'd roar'd about :
Ses I ta Sal, ' Shall we go back ! '
*Na, na,' says she, 'kip out.'
* This expression cannot be clearly explained.
XVI.
Dick and Sal
24. 'Ya see the lark is mountain high,
De clouds ta undermine ;
I lay a graat he clears de sky,
And den it wull be fine.'
25. An sure enough old Sal was right,
De Folkston gals was missin ;
De sun and sky begun look bright,
An Waller'd stopt his hissin.
26. An so we sasselsaiPd along,
An crass de fields we stiver'd,
While dickey lark kep up his song
An at de clouds conniver'd.
27. De rain an wind we left behind,
De clouds was scar'd away ;
Bright Pebus he shut-fisted shin'd,
And 'twas a lightful day.
28. We tore like mad through Perry 'ood,
An jest beyand Stone Stile,
We got inta de turnpik road,
An kep it all de while.
29. An den we went through Shanford Street,
An over Chartham Down ;
My wig ! how many we did meet,
A coming from de town.
30. An some sung out, ' Dare's Moll and Jan,'
But we ne'er cared for it ;
Through thick an thin we blunder'd an,
An got ta Wincheap Street.
31. I sed, 'We'r got here sure enough,
We'll kip upon de causeway ; '
But Sal sed, ' 'Tis sa plagued rough,
Less get inta de hossway.'
32. And so we slagger'd den ya know,
And gaap't and stared about ;
Ta see de houses all a row,
An signs a hanging out.
At Canterbury Fair. xvii.
33. An when a goodish bit we'd bin,
We turn'd to de right han' ;
An den we turned about agin,
An see an alus stan.
34. Sal thought it was de Goat or Hine —
I didn' know for my part ;
But when we look't apan de sign,
De reading was de 'White Hart.'
35. Den we went through a geat ya see,
An down a gravel walk :
An's we stood unnerneath a tree,
We heard de people talk.
36. So Sal, ya know, heav'd up her face,
Ad see 'em al stan roun,
Upon a gurt high bank an pleace,
An we apan de groun.
37. Den I gaapt up and see 'em all,
An wonder'd what could be —
Sa I turns round an says to Sal,
'Less clamber up an see.'
38. But she was rather scared at fust
Fer fear a tumblin down ;
An dey at tap made game an us,
An told us ta goo roun.
39- Jigger! I wooden give it up,
So took her roun de nick,
An holl'd her pattens ta de top,
An dragged her through de quick.
40. An den she turn'd erself about,
An sed 'twas rather rough ;
But when we found de futway out,
We went up safe enough.
41. An when we got to de tip top,
We see a marble mountain —
A gurt high stone thing histed up,
Jest like a steeple countin.
xviii. Dick and Sal
42. An dare we see, ah ! all de town,
Houses, an winmills grindin ;
* An gospells feeding on de groun,
An boys de dunnocks mindin.
43. How we was scared — why, darn my skin !
I lay dat dare was more
Houses an churches den we'd sin
In all 'ur lives afore.
44. An when we'd stared and gaap'd all roun,
And thought we'd sin 'em all ;
We turned about for ta come down,
But got apan a wall.
45. An Sal look't over as we past,
Ta see de ivy stick,
An if I had'en held her fast,
She would a brok 'er nick.
46. Den on we went, an soon we see
A brick place, where instead,
A being at top, as't ought to be,
De road ran unnernead.
47. An dare we pook't and peek'd about,
Ta see what made it stick up ;
But narn o' us cou'den' find it out,
What kep the middle brick up.
48. An Sal sung out, ' Why dis here wall,
It looks sa old an hagged ;
I'm mortally afared 'twill fall : '
And I was deadly shagged.
49. An when we got into de street,
A coach dat come from Dover,
Did gran nigh tread us under feet,
An Sal was 'most run over.
50. And so we stiver'd right acrass,
And went up by a mason's ;
An come down to a gurt big house —
I lay it was de Pason's !
* It is supposed that some error in printing may have created the two words
gospells and dunnocks, which occur in this stanza, for the most careful enquiries have
failed to identify them.
At Canterbury Fair. xix.
51. And den we turn'd to de left ban,
An down into de street,
An see a gurt fat butcher stan,
Wid shop chuck full o' meat.
52. Den all at once we made a stop,
I thought Sal would a fainted ;
When lookin in a barber's shop,
Sa fine de dolls was painted.
53. And dare was one an 'em I'll swear
Jest like de Pason's wife ;
Wid nose, an eyes, an teeth, an hair,
As nat'ral as life.
54. So dare we stopt a little space,
An sed ' How queer it looks ; '
But soon we see anudder place,
And dat was crammed wid books.
55. I sed ta her 'What books dare be,
Dare's supm ta be sin ; '
Den she turn'd round, and sed to me,
' Suppose we do go in.'
56. Now, Sal, ye see, had bin ta school —
She went to old aunt Kite ;
An so she was'en quite a fool,
But cud read purty tight.
57. She larnt her A B C, ya know,
Wid D for dunce and dame,
An all dat's in de criss-crass row,
An how to spell her name.
58. Sa in we went an down we squot,
An look't in every earner ;
Den ax't de ooman if she'd got
De book about Tom Harner.
59. It put Sal almost out a breath,
When fust we went in dare ;
De ooman was sa plaguey death,
She cou'den mak 'ar hear.
XX.
Dick and Sal
60. At last de man he hard us bawl,
So out ya know he coom ;
An braught de book, an gin't ta Sal,
An sa we carr'd it hoom.
61. An Sal 'as red it throo and throo,
An lint it to 'er brudder ;
An feyther loike to have it too,
An wisht we'd bought anudder.
62. Den we came to anudder street,
Where all was butcher's shops ;
Dare was a tarnal sight of meat,
An steeks, an mutton-chops.
63. An dare was aluses by swarms —
I lay dare was a duzen !
An he dat kep de Butcher's Arms,
Was old Jan Hillses cousin.
64. And so as Sal lookt purtty fine,
We thoft we'd goo in dare ;
An hav a sup a beer ar two,
Afore we went ta fair.
65. De landlord he lookt moighty brave,
Wid his gurt rosy cheeks ;
An axt us if we loike to have
A pound ar two a steeks.
66. Sa when we lickt de platters out,
An yoffled down de beer,
I sed ta Sal, ' Less walk about,
An try an find de fair.'
67. An's we went prowling down de street,
We met old Simon Cole ;
He claa'd hold on her round de nick,
An 'gun to suck har jole.
68. Now, dash my wig ! dat put me out,
For dare was Sal a squallin ;
I fedge him sich a tarnal clout,
Dat down I knockt him spraalin.
At Canterbury Fair. xxi.
69. Dare he lay grumblin in de gutter,
De folks day gather'd roun' us,
An crowded in wid such a clutter,
De same as if dey'd poun' us.
70. An dis was jist aside de shop,
Where all de picters hung ;
An books an sich like mabbled up,
An now an tan a song.
71. An dare we strain'd, an stared, an blous'd,
An' tried ta get away ;
But more we strain'd, de more they scroug'd,
An sung out, ' Giv 'em play.'
(^
72. Den Simon swore by all dats good,
He'd knock me inta tinder ;
An blow'd if I did'en think he ood,
Fer'e knockt me throught de winder.
73. An tore my chops most cruelly,
De blood begun ta trickle ;
You wou'den a know'd it had bin me,
I was in such a pickle.
74. Now jigger me tight ! dat rais'd my fluff,
I claw'd hold av his mane ;
An' mint ta fetch his head a cuff,
But brok anudder pane.
75. Den I was up, den I gun swear,
De chaps dey did jist laugh,
An Sal she stompt, an tore har hair,
An beller'd like a calf.
76. I thoft I'd fetch him one more pounce,
So heav'd my stick an meant it,
Jist to a' broke his precious sconce,
But through de winder sent it.
77. De books and ballets flew about,
Like thatch from off de barn ;
Or like de stra dat clutters out
De 'sheen a thrashing earn.
XX11.
Dick and Sal
78. An den de chaps dey langh'd agin,
As if old Nick had seiz'd 'em ;
An burn my skin ! if I did'en grin,
A'cause I seed it pleased 'em.
79. But paid gran dearly far my fun,
An dat ya knows de wust an't ;
I sed old Simon right ta pay,
A'cause he was de fust an't.
80. But when de master coom hisself,
He 'gun to say 'is prayers ;
' 'Twas ya,' said he, ' ya stupid elf,
I'll ha' ya ta de Mayer's.
8 1. Yees, ya shall pay, ya trucklebed,
Ya buffle-headed ass ;
I know 'twas ya grate pumpin 'ead,
First blunnered thro de glass.'
82. So den I dobb'd him down the stuff,
A plaguey sight ta pay ;
An Sal an I was glad enuff,
At last ta git away.
83. But when we got ta de Church-yard,
In hopes ta fine' de Fair ;
Ya can't think how we both was scared
A'cause it was'n dare !
84. So we was cruelly put out ;
An den de head pidjector
Av some fine shop, axt what we thoft
About his purty pictur.
85. Sal said she cou'den roightly tell,
An as you're there alive ;
Doe unnernead dey wrote it Peel,
I 're sure it was a hive.
86. I cou'd a gin de man a smack,
He thought we cou'den tell ;
Sa often as ya know we baak,
A beehive from a peel.
At Canterbury Fair. xxiii.
87. So den we stiver'd up de town,
An found de merry fair ;
Jest at de place dat we coom down,
When fust we did git dare.
88. Den I took Sarer by de ban',
An wou'den treat her scanty ;
An holl'd down sixpence to de man,
An gin her nuts a plenty.
89. An den, ya know, we seed de show,
An when we'd done and tarn'd about,
Sal sed to me, ' I think I see
Old Glover wid his round-about ;
90. An dat noo boat dat Akuss made,
And snuff-boxes beside ; '
So den we went to him an sed
We'd loike to have a ride.
91. An up we got inta de boat,
But Sal began to maunder ;
For fare de string, when we'd gun swing,
Shud brake an cum asunder.
92. But Glover sed ' It is sa tuff,
'Tud bear a duzn men ; '
An when he thoft we'd swung enuff,
He tuk us down agin.
93. An den he lookt at me and sed,
1 It seems to please your wife ; '
Sal grinn'd, and sed * She never had
Sudge fun in all her life.'
94. De snuff-boxes dey did jest fly,
And sunder cum de rem ;
Dangle de skin an't ! sed I
I'll have a rap at dem.
95. My nable ! there was lots of fun,
An sich hubbub an hollar ;
De donkeys dey for cheeses run,
An I grinn'd through a collar.
XXIV.
Dick and SaL
96. Den Sal she run for half-a-crown,
An I jumpt in a sack,
An shou'd a won, but I fell down,
An gran nigh brok my back.
97. Den we went out inta de town,
An had some gin an stuff;
An Sal bought her a bran noo gown,
An sed she'd sin enuff.
98. Jigger ! I wou'd buy har a ribb'n ;
So when we'd bin and got it,
I told 'er dat 'twas almost sebb'm,
An thoft we'd better fut it.
99. An somehow we mistook the road,
But axt till we got right,
So foun our way throo Perry 'ood,
An got home safe at night,"
100. Thus Dick his canister unpack'd —
I heard his oratory ;
And my poor sides were almost crack'd,
With laughing at his story.
DICTIONARY
OF
THE KENTISH DIALECT.
A.
A. Used as a prefix with a verbal sb., taken actively.
" She's always a making mischief about somebody
or another."
ABED [ubed-] adv. In bed.
" You have not been abed, then ? "
— Othello, act iii. sc. i.
ABIDE [ubei-d] vb. To bear ; to endure ; to tolerate ; to
put-up-with. Generally used in a negative sentence,
as :
" I cannot abide swaggerers." — //. Henry IV. act ii. sc. 4.
ABITED [ubertid] adj. Mildewed.
ACHING-TOOTH, sb. To have an aching-tooth for anything,
is to wish for it very much.
" Muster Moppett's man's got a terr'ble aching-tooth
for our old sow."
ACT- ABOUT, vb. To play the fool.
"He got acting-abouty and fell down and broke his leg."
ADLE [adT] adj. Unwell ; confused.
"My head's that adle, that I can't tend to nothin'."
B
2 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
ADRY [udrei*] adj. In a dry or thirsty condition.
AFEARED [ufee*rd] adj. Affected with fear or terror.
" Will not the ladies be af eared of the lion ? "
— Midsummer Nighfs Dream, act iii. sc. I.
AFORE [ufoa*r] prep. Before.
AFTERMEATH [aaft-urmee-th] sb. The grass which grows
after the first crop has been mown for hay; called also,
Roughings.
AGIN [ugin-] prep. Against ; over-against ; near.
" He lives down de lane agin de stile."
AGREEABLE [ugree-ubl] adj. Consenting; acquiescent.
" They axed me what I thought an't, and I said as
how I was quite agreeable."
AKERS [ai'kurz] sb.pl. Acorns.
ALEING [arling] sb. An old-fashioned entertainment, given
with a view to collecting subscriptions from guests
invited to partake of a brewing of ale.
ALE-SOP [arlsop] sb. A refection consisting of toast and
strong ale, hot ; customarily partaken of by the
servants in many large establishments in Kent on
Christmas day.
ALL-A-MOST [au-lumoast] adv. Almost.
ALLEMASH-DAY [aHmash] sb. French a la meche. The
day on which the Canterbury silk-weavers begin to
work by candle-light.
ALL-ON, adv. Continually.
" He kep all on actin'-about, and wouldn't tend to
nothin'."
ALLOW, vb. To consider.
" He's allowed to be the biggest rogue in Faversham."
ALLWORKS, sb. The name given to a labourer on a farm,
who stands ready to do any and every kind of work to
which he may be set.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
ALONGST [ulongst-] prep. On the long side of anything.
ALUS [arlus] sb. An ale-house.
" And when a goodish bit we'd bin
We turned to de right han ;
And den we turned about agin,
And see an alus stan." —Dick and Sat, st. 33.
AM. Used for are ; as —
gone to bed."
AMENDMENT [u'men-munt] sb. Manure laid on land.
AMMUT-CAST [am-ut kaa-st] sb. An emmet's cast; an ant-
hill.
AMON [ai-mun] sb. A hop, two steps, and a jump. A half-
amon, is a hop, step, and jump.
AMONGST THE MIDDLINS, adv. phr. In pretty good health.
" Well, Master lumber, how be you gettin' on now ? "
" Oh, I be amongst the middlins! "
AMPER [amp-ur] sb. A tumour or swelling ; a blemish.
AMPERY [amp-uri] adj. Weak ; unhealthy ; beginning to
decay, especially applied to cheese. (See Hamfery.)
AN. Frequently used for of.
" What do you think an't ? "
" Well, I thinks I wunt have no more an't."
ANDIRONS [and-eirnz] sb. pi. The dogs, brand-irons, or
cob-irons placed on either side of an open wood fire
to keep the brands in the places. Called end-irons in
the marginal reading of Ezek. xl. 43.
ANENTS [unents*] prep. Against ; opposite ; over-against.
ANEWST [uneu'st] adv. Over-against; near.
ANOINTED [unoi-ntid] adj. Mischievous ; troublesome.
" He's a proper anointed young rascal," occasionally
enlarged to ; " The devil's own anointed young rascal."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
ANOTHER- WHEN, adv. Another time.
ANTHONY-PIG [ant-uni pig] sb. The smallest pig of the
litter, supposed to be the favourite, or at any rate the
one which requires most care, and peculiarly under the
protection of St. Anthony.
ANVIL-CLOUDS, sb. pi. White clouds shaped somewhat like
a blacksmith's anvil, said to denote rain.
APS [aps*] sb. (i) An asp or aspen tree; (2) a viper.
" The pison of apses is under their lips."
AQUABOB [ai-kwu'bob] sb. An icicle.
ARBER [aa'ber] sb. Elbow.
ARBITRY [aa-bitri] adj. Hard ; greedy ; grasping ; short
for arbitrary.
AREAR [u'ree'r] adj. Reared-up ; upright.
ARRIVANCE [urei-vuns] sb. Origin ; birthplace.
" He lives in Faversham town now, but he's a low-
hill (below-hill) man by arrivance."
ARTER [aa*turj prep. After.
"Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water ;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling arter"
As. Is often used redundantly.
" I can only say as this — I done the best I could."
" I reckon you'll find it's as how it is."
ASHEN-KEYS [ash-nkee*z] sb. pi. The clustering seeds of
the ash-tree ; so called, from their resemblance to a
bunch of keys.
ASIDE [usei-d] prep. By the side of.
" I stood aside him all the time."
ASPRAWL [usprau-1] adj. Gone wrong.
"The pig-trade's all asprazvlnovf"
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 5
ASTRE [aast-ur] sb. A hearth.
Lambarde (Perambulation of Kent, Ed. 1596, p. 562)
states, that in his time this word was nearly obsolete
in Kent, though still retained in Shropshire and other
parts.
AUGUST-BUG [au-gust-bug-] sb. A beetle somewhat smaller
than the May-bug or July-bug.
Av, prep. Of.
" I ha' ant heerd fill nor fall av him."
AWHILE [u'werl] adv. For a time.
" He wunt be back yet awhile, I lay."
AWLN [au-ln, au*n] sb. A French measure of length, equal-
ing 5-ft. 7 -in., used in measuring nets.
Ax, sb. An axletree.
Ax, vb. To ask.
This is a transposition — aks for ask, as waps for wasp,
haps for hasp, &c. " I axed him if this was the way to
Borden."
"Where of the seyde acomptantis #.r alowance as hereafter foloyth."
— Accounts of the Churchwardens of St. Dunstaris, Canterbury.
B.
BACKENING [bak*uning] sb. A throwing back ; a relapse ;
a hindrance.
BACKER [bak-ur] sb. A porter ; a carrier ; an unloader.
A word in common use at the docks.
BACK-OUT [bak-out] sb. A backyard.
BACKPART [bak-paart] sb. The back, where part is really
redundant. " I shall be glad to see the backpart of
you," i.e., to get you gone.
" I will take away Mine hand and thou shalt see
My backparts ; but My face shall not be seen/' — Ex.
xxxiii. 23.
6 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BACKSIDE [bak'seid] si. A yard at the back of a house.
1 5 90 — 1592 . — " It' m allowed to ffrencham for mendinge
of a gutter, and pavement in his backside . . . xixd-"
— Sandwich Book of Orphans.
1611. — "And he led the flock to the backside of the
desert." — Ex. iii. i.
BACKSTAY [bak-stai] sb. The flat piece of wood put on
the feet in the manner of a snow-shoe, and used by the
inhabitants of Romney Marsh to cross the shingle at
Dungeness.
A stake driven in to support a raddle-fence.
BACKSTERS [bak-sturz] sb. pi. (Same as Backstay?)
BACKWAY [bak-wai] sb. The yard or space at the back of
a cottage.
BAG, vb. To cut with a bagging hook.
1677. — The working-man taking a hook in each hand,
cuts (the pease) with his right hand, and rolls them up
with that in his left, which they call bagging of pease.
— Plot, Oxfordshire 256.
BAGGING-HOOK [bag-ing-huok] sb. A curved cutting imple-
ment, very like a sickle, or reaping hook, but with a
square, instead of a pointed, end. It is used for cutting
hedges, &c. The handle is not in the same plane as
the hook itself, but parallel to it, thus enabling those
who use it to keep their hands clear of the hedge.
BAIL [bail] sb. The handle of a pail, bucket, or kettle. A
cake-te7 is the tin or pan in which a cake is baked.
BAILY [barli] (\}sb. A court within a fortress. The level
green place before the court at Chilham Castle, i.e.,
between the little court and the street, is still so called.
They have something of this sort at Folkestone, and
they call it the bale [bail]. The Old Bailey in London,
and the New Bailey in Manchester, must have been
originally something of the same kind, places fenced
in. O.F. bailie, a barrier.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BAILY [bai-li] (2) sb. Bailiff is always pronounced thus.
At a farm, in what is called " a six-horse place/' the
first four horses are under the charge of the wagoner
and his mate, and the other two, of an under-baily.
BAILY-BOY [barlibor] sb. A bailiff-boy, or boy employed
by the farmer to go daily over the ground, and to see
that everything is in order, and to do every work
necessary. — Pegge.
BAIN'T [bai-nt] phr. For are not, or be, not.
" Surely you bairit agoin' yit-awhile? "
BAIST [baai'st] sb. The frame-work of a bed with webbing.
— Weald. (See also, Beist,
BAIT [bai-t] sb. A luncheon taken by workmen in the
fields.
BALD-PATES [bau*ld-parts] sb. pi. Roman coins of the
lesser and larger silver were so called in Thanet, by
the country people, in Lewis's time.
BALK [bau-k] ( i ) sb. A raised pathway ; a path on a bank :
a pathway serving as a boundary.
BALK [bau-k] (2) sb. A cut tree.
BALLET [bal-et] sb. A ballad; a pamphlet; so called
because ballads are usually published in pamphlet form.
" Use no tavernys where the jestis and fablis ;
Syngyng of lewde ballette, rondelettes, or virolais."
— MS. Laud, 416, civ. Written by a rustic of Kent, 1460.
" De books an ballets flew about,
Like thatch from off the barn."
—Dick and Sal, st. 77.
BALLOW [bal'oa] sb. A stick ; a walking-stick ; a cudgel.
" Keep out che vor'ye, or ise try whether your Costard or my
Sallow be the harder."
— King Lear, act iv. sc. 6. (first folio ed.)
BALL SQUAB [bau-lskwob] sb. A young bird just hatched.
BANNA [ban-u], BANNER [ban-r] phr. For be not.
" Banna ye going hopping this year?"
8 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BANNOCK [ban-uk] vb. To thrash ; beat ; chastise.
BANNOCKING [ban-uking] sb. A thrashing ; beating.
" He's a tiresome young dog ; but if he don't mind
you, jest you give him a good bannocking"
BANYAN-DAY [ban-yun-dai] sb. A sea-term for those days
on which no meat is served out to the sailors.
" Saddaday is a banyan-day." " What do'ye mean ? "
" Oh! a day on which we eat up all the odds and ends."
BARBEL [baa-bl] sb. A sort of petticoat worn by fisher-
men at Folkestone. (See also Barvel.}
BARGAIN PENCE [baa'gin pens] sb. pi. Earnest money ;
money given on striking a bargain.
BAR-GOOSE [baa-goos] sb. The common species of shel-
drake.— Sittingbourne.
BARM [baa*m] sb. Brewer's yeast. (See Stzzn.)
BARREL DREEN [barrel dre-unj sb. A round culvert; a
sewer ; a drain.
BARTH [baa-th] sb. A shelter for cattle ; a warm place or
pasture for calves or lambs.
BARVEL [baa'vul] sb. A short leathern apron used by
washerwomen; a slabbering- bib. (See also Barbel
above.)
BAR-WAY [baa-wai] sb. A gate constructed of bars or
rails, so made as to be taken out of the posts.
BASH [bash-] vb. To dash ; smash ; beat in.
" His hat was bashed in."
BASTARD [bast-urd] sb. A gelding.
BASTARD-RIG [bast-urdrig-] sb. The smooth hound-fish,
mustelus Icevis. — Folkestone.
BAT [bat] sb. French Baton. A piece of timber rather
long than broad; a staff; a stick; a walking-stick.
The old Parish book of Wye — 34, Hen. VIII. — speaks
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 9
of " a tymber-&z£" Boteler MS. Account Books cir.
1664 — " pd. John Sillwood, for fetching a batt from
Canterb[ury] for a midle piece for my mill, o ios o."
Shakespeare, in the Lover's Complaint, has, " So
slides he down upon his grained bat" z'.^.his rough staff.
Some prisoners were tried in 1885, for breaking out
of Walmer Barracks ; when the constable said, " One
of the prisoners struck at me with a bat;" which he
afterwards defined as being, in this case, " the tarred
butt-end of a hop-pole."
BAT [bat] sb. The long handle of a scythe. A large
rough kind of rubber used for sharpening scythes.
The stick used for keeping the traces of a plough-
horse asunder is called " a spread bat."
BAULLY [bau-li] sb. A boat. (See Bawley.}
BAVEN [bavin] BAVIN, sb. A little fagot; a fagot of
brushwood bound with only one wiff, whilst a fagot is
bound with two.
" The skipping king, he ambled up and down
With shallow jesters, and rash bavin wits
Soon kindled and soon burned. . . ."
— Henry IV. act iii. sc. I.
And
" It yearly cost five hundred pounds besides,
To fence the town from Hull and Humber's tides :
For stakes, for bavins, timber, stones, and piles."
— Taylor's Merry Wherry Voyage.
BAWLEY [bau-li] sb. A small fishing smack used on the
coasts of Kent and Essex, about the mouth of the
Thames and Medway. Bawleys are generally about
40-ft. in length, i3-ft. beam, 5 -ft. draught, and 15 or
20 tons measurement ; they differ in rig from a cutter,
in having no boom to the mainsail, which is conse-
quently easily brailed-up when working the trawl nets.
They are half-decked with a wet well to keep fish alive.
" Hawley, Bawley — Hawley, Bawley,
What have you got in your trawley ? "
is a taunting rhyme to use to a foo^y-man, and has the
same effect upon him as a red-flag upon a bull — or the
poem of " the puppy pie " upon a bargeman.
io Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BAY-BOARDS [bai-bordz] sb. pi. The large folding doors
of a barn do not reach to the ground, and the inter-
vening space is closed by four or five moveable boards
which fit in a groove — these are called bay-boards.
BE [be] vb. For are, am, &c. " Where be you ? " i.e., " Where
are you?" "I be comin'," i.e.y "I am coming/' This
use of the word is not uncommon in older English ;
thus, in ist Collect in the Communion Office, we have
— " Almighty God, unto Whom all hearts be open, all
desires known, and from Whom no secrets are hid ; "
and in S. Luke xx. 25. " Render, therefore, unto
Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the
things which be God's."
BEAN-HOOK [bee'nhuok] sb. A small hook with a short
handle, for cutting beans.
BEARBIND [bai-rbeind] sb. \ Same as Bindweed.
BEARBINE [bai-rbein] sb. ) Convolvulus arvensis.
BEARERS [bai-rr'urz] sb. pi. The persons who bear or carry
a corpse to the grave. In Kent, the bier is sometimes
called a bearer.
BEASTS [bee'sts] sb. pi. The first two or three meals of
milk after a cow has calved. (See Biskins, Bismilk,
Poad-milk.}
BECAUSE WHY [bikau-z whei] inter og. adv. Why ? where-
fore ? A very common controversy amongst boys : —
" No it ain't " —
" Cos why ? "
" Cos it ain't."
BECKETT [bek-it] sb. A tough bit of cord by which the
hook is fastened to the snood in fishing for conger-eels.
BEDSTEDDLE [bed-stedl] sb. The wooden framework of
a bed, which supports the actual bed itself. " Item in
the best chamber, called the great chamber, One fayer
standing bedsteddle, one feather-bedd, one blanckett,
one covertleed." — Boteler Inventories in Memorials of
Eastry, p. 224, et seq. (See also, Steddle.}
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 1
BEE-LIQUOR [bee-likur] sb. Mead, made of the washings
of the combs.
BEETLE [bee'tl] sb. A wooden mallet, used for splitting
wood (in conjunction with iron wedges), and for other
purposes. Each side of the beetle's head is encircled
with a stout band or ring of iron, to prevent the wood
from splitting. The phrase — "as death [deaf] as a
beetle" refers to this mallet, and is equivalent to the
expression — " as deaf as a post."
BEFORE AFTER [bifoa-r'aaffr] adv. Until ; after.
BEHOLDEN [bihoa*ldun] vb. Indebted to ; under obliga-
tion to.
" I wunt be beholden to a Deal-clipper ; leastways,
not if I knows it."
BEIST, sb. A temporary bed made up on two chairs for a
child. — Sittingbourne. (Same as Baist.}
BELATED [bilartid] vb. To be after time, especially at
night, e.g., " I must be off, or I shall get belated."
BELEFT [bileff ] vb. For believed.
" I couldn't have beleft it."
BELOW LONDON, phr. An expression almost as common
as " the Sheeres," meaning simply, " not in Kent."
BENDER AND ARRS [bend-ur-un-aarz] sb. pi. Bow and
arrows.
BENERTH [ben-urth] sb. The service which the tenant
owed the landlord by plough and cart.
BERBINE [burbeen] sb. The verbena.
BERTH [burth-] vb. To lay down floor boards. The word
occurs in the old Parish Book of Wye — 31 and 35,
Henry VIII.
BEST, vb. To best, or get the better of.
" I shall best ye."
BESTID [bistid*] adj. Destitute ; forlorn ; in evil case.
1 2 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BETTERMY [bet-urmi] adj. Superior; used for "bettermost."
" They be rather bettermy sort of folk."
BEVER [bee'vur] sb. A slight meal, not necessarily accom-
panied by drink, taken between breakfast and dinner,
or between dinner and tea.
BIB [bib] sb. Name among Folkestone fishermen for the
pouter.
BIBBER [bib-ur] vb. To tremble.
u I saw his under lip bibber."
BIDE [bei-d] vb. To stay.
" Just you let that bide" i.e., let it be as it is, and
don't meddle with it.
BIER-BALKS [bee-r-bauks] sb. pi. Church ways or paths,
along which a bier and coffin may be carried.
BIGAROO [big-ur'oo] sb. The whiteheart cherry.
BILLET [bil-it] sb. A spread bat or swingle bar, to which
horses' traces are fastened.
BINDER [bei-ndur] sb. A long stick used for hedging ; a
long, pliable stick of any kind; thus, walnuts are
thrashed with a binder. Also applied to the sticks
used in binding on the thatch of houses or stacks.
"They shouted fire, and when Master Wood poked
his head out of the top room window, they hit him as
hard as they could with long binders, and then jumped
the dyke, and hid in the barn."
BiNG-ALE [bing-ail] sb. Ale given at a tithe feast.
BlRDES NESTES [birdiz nes'tiz] sb. pi. Birds' nests. This
old-world phrase was constantly used some few years
back by some of the ancients of Eastry, who have now
adopted the more modern pronunciation.
BiSHOP's-FlNGER, sb. A guide post ; so called, according
to Pegge, because it shows the right way, but does not
go therein. (See also, Pointing-post.}
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 13
BiSKlNS [bisk-inz] sb. pi. In East Kent, they so call the
two or three first meals of milk after the cow has
calved. (See also Beasts, Bismilk, Poad-milk.}
BISMILK [bis-milk] sb. (See Siskins.)
BLACK-RIND [blak-reind] sb. A small oak that does not
develop to any size.
" Them blackrinds won't saw into timber, but they'll
do for postes."
BLACKIE [blak-i] sb. A black bird. — Sittingbourne.
BLACK-TAN [blak-tan] sb. Good for nothing.
" Dat dere pikey is a regler black-tan."
BLAR [blaar], BLARE [blair] vb. To bellow ; to bleat ; to
low.
" The old cow keeps ail-on blaring after her calf."
BLEAT [bleet] adj. Bleak.
BLIGH [blei] adj. Lonely ; dull.
BLIV, or BLUV (corruption of Believe) vb. Believe ; believed.
" I bliv I haant caught sight of him dis three monts."
BLOOD [bludj sb. A term of pity and commiseration. In
East Kent, the expression, poor blood, is commonly used
by the elder people, just as the terms — " poor body,"
" poor old body," " poor soul," or " poor dear soul,"
are used elsewhere.
BLOODINGS [blud-ingz] sb. pi. Black puddings.
BLOOMAGE [bloo*mij] sb. Plumage of a bird.
BLOUSE [blouz] (i) vb. To sweat; perspire profusely. "I
was in a blousing heat," is a very common expression.
" An dare we strain'd an stared an bloused,
And tried to get away ;
But more we strain'd, de more dey scroug'd
And sung out, ' Give 'em play.' "
— Dick and Sal, st. 71.
BLOUSE [blouz] sb. A state of heat which brings high
colour to the face ; a red-faced wench.
14 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BLOUSING [blou-zing] adj. Sanguine and red ; applied to
the colour often caused by great exertion and heat,
" a Mousing colour."
BLUE BOTTLES [bloo bot-lz] sb. The wild hyacinth. Scilla
nutans.
BLUE-SLUTTERS [bloo-slut-rz]. A very large kind of jelly
fi sh . — Folkestone.
BLUNDER [blund-ur] (i) sb. A heavy noise, as of a falling
or stumbling.
" I knows dere's some rabbits in de bury, for I heerd
de blunder o' one/'
BLUNDER [blund-ur] (2) vb. To move awkwardly and noisily
about ; as, when a person moving in a confined space
knocks some things over, and throws others down.
" He was here just now blundering about."
BLUSTROUS, adj. Blustering.
" Howsomever, you'll find the wind pretty blustrous,
I'm thinking."
BLY [blei] sb. A resemblance ; a general likeness. [A.S.
bleo, hue, complexion.] (See Favour, which is now
more commonly used in East Kent to describe a
resemblance.)
" Ah ! I can see who he be ; he has just the bly of
his father."
BOAR-CAT [boa-rkat] sb. A Tom-cat.
BOBBERY [bob-uri] sb. A squabble ; a row ; a fuss ; a set
out.
BOBBIN [bob-in] sb. A bundle of firewood (smaller than
a fagot, and larger than a pimp), whereof each stick
should be about 18 inches long. Thus, there are three
kinds of firewood — the fagot, the bobbin, and the pimp.
(See also, Bamny Kilnbrush, &c.)
BOBBIN-TUG [bob-in-tug-] sb. A light frame- work of wheels,
somewhat like a timber- wagon, used for carrying bobbins
about for sale. It has an upright stick at each of the
four corners, to keep the bobbins in their places.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 15
BOBLIGHT [bob-leit] sb. Twilight.
Bo-BOY [boa-boi] sb. A scarecrow.
BODAR [boa-dur] sb. An officer of the Cinque Ports
whose duty it was to arrest debtors and convey them
to be imprisoned in Dover Castle.
BODGE [boj] (i] sb. A wooden basket, such as is used by
gardeners ; a scuttle-shaped box for holding coals,
carrying ashes, &c. (See also Trug.) The bodge now
holds an indefinite quantity, but formerly it was used
as a peck measure.
1519. — "Paied for settyng of iij busshellis and iij
boggis of benys and a galon . . . xvjd."
— MS. Accounts St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
BODGE [boj] (2) sb. An uncertain quantity, about a bushel
or a bushel and a half.
" Just carry this bodge of corn to the stable."
BODILY-ILL [bod-ili-il] adj. phr. A person ill with
bronchitis, fever, shingles, would be bodily-ill ; but of
one who had hurt his hand, sprained his ankle, or
broken his leg, they would say : " Oh, he's not, as you
may say, bodily -ill."
BOFFLE [bof-1] (i) vb. To baffle; to bother; to tease; to
confuse ; to obstruct.
" I should ha' been here afore now, only for de wind,
that's what boffled me."
BOFFLE (2) sb. A confusion; a blunder; a thing managed
in a confused, blundering way.
" If you both run the saame side, ye be saafe to have
~le" — Cricket Instruction.
BoiST [boist] sb. A little extempore bed by a fireside for
a sick person. Boist, originally meant a box with
bedding in it, such as the Norwegian beds are now.
(See Baist.}
1 6 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BOLDRUMPTIOUS [boa'ldrumshus or bold-rumshusj adj.
Presumptuous.
"That there upstandin' boldrumptious blousing gal
of yours came blarin' down to our house last night all
about nothin' ; I be purty nigh tired of it."
BOND [bond] sb. The wiff or wisp of twisted straw or hay
with which a sheaf of corn or truss of hay is bound.
" Where's Tom ? He's with feyther making bonds."
BONELESS [boa-nlus] sb. A corruption of Boreas, the
north wind. " In Kent when the wind blows violently
they say, 'Boneless is at the door.' '
BOOBY-HUTCH [boo-bi-huch] sb. A clumsy, ill-contrived,
covered carriage or seat.
BOOTSHOES, sb. pi. Thick boots ; half-boots. " Bootshoe
high," is a common standard of measurement of grass.
" Dere an't but terr'ble little grass only in de furder
eend of de fill, but 'tis bootshoe high dere."
BOP, vb. To throw anything down with a resounding
noise.
BOROW [boroa] sb. A tithing ; the number of ten
families who were bound to the king for each other's
good behaviour.
" That which in the West country was at that time,
and yet is, called a tithing, is in Kent termed a borow."
— Lambarde, Perambulation of Kent, p. 27.
BORSHOLDER [boss*oaldur] sb. A head-borough ; a petty-
constable ; a constable's assistant. At Great Chart
they had a curious custom of electing a dumb borsholder.
This is still in existence, and is made of wood, about
three feet and half an inch long ; with an iron ring at
the top, and four rings at the sides, by means of which
it was held and propelled when used for breaking open
the doors of houses supposed to contain stolen goods.
(There is an engraving of it in Arch&ologia Cantiana,
vol. ii. p. 86.)
BORROW-PENCE, sb. pi. An old name for ancient coins ;
probably coins found in the tumuli or barrows.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 17
BORSTAL [borstul] sb. "A pathway up a hill, gener-
ally a very steep one." (Perhaps from A.S. beorg a
hill, stal a seat, dwelling.) Bostal Heath, acquired by
the Metropolitan Board of Works for an open space
in 1878, is situated in the extreme south-eastern suburb
of London, and is one of the most beautiful spots in
Kent, abounding in hills, ravines, glens, and woods.
Snakes, owls, and hawks abound in its vicinity, and the
Heath was formerly occupied by a pure race of gipsies.
At Whitstable there is a steep hill called Bostal Hill.
BOSS-EYED [boss-eid] adj. Squinting ; purblind.
BOSTAL [bost'ul] sb. The same as Borstal.
BOSTLER [bost-ler] sb. A borsholder or constable.
" I reckon, when you move you'll want nine men and
a bos tier ; shaan't ye?"
BOULT [boalt] vb. To cut pork in pieces, and so to
pickle it.
BOULTING TUB [boa'lting tub] sb. The tub in which the
pork is pickled.
1600. — " Item in the Buntinghouss, one
with one kneadinge trofe, and one meal tub."
— Boteler Inventory, Memorials of Eastry. p. 228.
BOUNDS, sb. The phrase, no bounds, is probably the one of
all others most frequently on the lips of Kentish
labourers, to express uncertainty.
" There ain't no bounds to him, he's here, there, and
everywhere."
BOUT [bout] sb. A period of time ; a " go," or turn. In
Sussex, it answers to a "day's work;" but in East
Kent, it is more often applied to a period of hard work,
or of sickness, e.g. " Poor chap, he's had a long bout of it."
BOY-BEAT [boi-beet] adj. Beaten by a person younger
than oneself.
" My father, he carried the sway at stack building for
fifteen year ; at last they begun to talk o' puttin' me
up ; * Now I've done,' the ole chap says — 'I wunt be boy-
beat; ' and so he guv up, and never did no more an't."
1 8 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BRACK [brak] sb. A crack ; a rent ; a tear, in clothes.
1602. — "Having a tongue as nimble as his needle, with servile
patches of glavering flattery, to stitch up the bracks, &c."
— Antonio and Mellida.
" You tiresome boy, you ! when you put on dat coat
dare wasn't a brak in it, an' now jest see de state ids in ! "
BRAKE-PLOUGH [brai-k-plou] sb. A plough for braking,
or cleaning the ground between growing plants.
BRAKING [brai-king] vb. Clearing the rows betwixt the
rows of beans with a shim or brake-plough.
BRAND-IRONS [brand-ei-rnz] sb. pi. The fire-dogs or cob-
irons which confine the brands on an open hearth.
" In the great parlor . . . one payer of cob-irons or
brand-yrons." — Boteler Inventory, Memorials of Eastry, p. 225.
BRANDY cow [brand-i kou] sb. A cow that is brindled,
brinded, or streaked.
BRAUCH [brauch] sb. Rakings of straw.
BRAVE [braiv] adj. Large.
" He just was a brave fox."
BRAWCHE [brauch] sb. pi. Same as Branch, above.
BREAD-AND-BUTTER [bren-but-ur] sb. In Kent these three
words are used as one substantive, and it is usual to
prefix the indefinite article and to speak of a bren-
butter.
" I've only had two small brenbutters for my dinner/'
BRENT [brent] adj. Steep. In a perambulation of the
outbounds of the town of Faversham, made in 1611,
" the Brent " and " the Brent gate " are mentioned.
The Middle-English word Brent most commonly meant
" burnt ; " but there was another Brent, an adjective,
which signified steep, and it was doubtless used here in
the latter sense, to describe the conformation of the land.
BRET [bret] (i) sb. To fade away; to alter. Standing corn
so ripe that the grain falls out, is said to bret out. (See
Brit)
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 19
BRET [bret] (2) vb. A portion of wood torn off with the
strig in gathering fruit. (See Spalter.)
BRIEF [breef] (i) sb. A petition drawn up and carried round
for the purpose of collecting money. Formerly, money
was collected in Churches, on briefs, for various chari-
table objects, both public and private ; and in some old
Churches you may even now find a Brief Book, contain-
ing the names of the persons or places on whose behalf
the Brief was taken round, the object, and the amounts
collected. Public briefs (see Communion Office, rubrics
after the Creed), like Queen's Letters, have fallen into
disuse ; and now only private and local Briefs are
in vogue.
BRIEF [breef] (2) adj. Common ; plentiful ; frequent ; rife.
" Wipers are wery brief here," i.e., Vipers are very
common here.
BRIMP [brimp] sb. The breeze or gad fly which torments
bullocks and sheep.
BRIMS [brimz]. The same as above.
Kennett, MS. Lans., 1033, gives the phrase —
" You have brims in your tail," i.e., " You are always
restless."
BRIMSEY [brimz-i]. The same as above.
BRISK [brish] vb. To brush ; to mow over lightly, or trim.
1636. — "For shredinge of the ashes and brishinge of
the quicksettes .... vjd."
— MS. Accounts St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
BRIT [brit] vb. To knock out ; rub out ; drop out. Spoken
of corn dropping out, and of hops shattering. (See
Bret.}
BROACH [broach] sb. A spit. This would seem to be the
origin of the verb, "to broach a cask," "to broach a
subject."
BROCKMAN [brok-man] sb. A horseman. (See Brok.) The
name Brockman is still common in Kent.
20 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BROK, BROCK [brok] sb. An inferior horse. The word is
used by Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 7125.
BROKE [broak] sb. A rupture.
BROOK [bruok] vb. To brook one's name, is to answer in
one's disposition to the purport of one's name. In
other places they would say, " Like by name and like
by nature."
" Seems as though Mrs. Buck makes every week
washin' week ; she brooks her name middlin', anyhows."
BROOKS [bruoks] sb. pi. Low, marshy ground, but not
necessarily containing running water or even springs.
BROOM-DASHER [broom-dash-ur] sb. One who goes about
selling brooms ; hence used to designate any careless,
slovenly, or dirty person. " The word dasher is also
combined in haberdasher."
BROWN-DEEP [brou-n-deep] adj. Lost in reflection.
BROWSELLS [brou-zlz] sb. pi. The remains of the fleed
of a pig, after the lard has been extracted by boiling.
BRUCKLE [bruk-1] adj. Brittle.
BRUFF [bruf] adj. Blunt ; rough ; rude in manner.
BRUMPT [brumpt] adj. Broken; bankrupt.
" I'm quite brumpt," i.e., I have no money.
BRUNGEON [brunj-yun] sb. A brat ; a neglected child.
BRUSH [bruosh and brush] vb. To trim hedges ; to mow
rough grass growing thinly over a field.
" Jack's off hedge-brushing."
1540. — "To Saygood for brusshyng at Hobbis mea-
dow .... vjd."
— MS. Accounts St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
BRUSS [brus] adj. Brisk ; forward ; petulant ; proud.
" Dese 'ere bees be middlin' bruss this marnin', there
ain't no goin' into de garden for 'em, they've bit me
three times already."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 2 1
BRUT [brut] (i) vb. To .browse or nibble off young
shoots.
In the printed conditions of the sale of Kentish
cherry-orchards, there is generally a clause against
" excessive bruiting" i.e., that damage so done by the
purchasers must be paid for.
BRUT [brut] (2) vb. To shoot, as buds or potatoes.
" My taturs be bruited pretty much dis year."
BRUT [brut] (3) vb. To break off the young shoots (bruts) of
stored potatoes.
BUCK [buk] (i) vb. To wash.
BUCK [buk] (2) sb. A pile of clothes ready for washing.
It is now (1885) some 60 years ago since the farmers
washed for their farm servants, or allowed them a
guinea a year instead. Then the lye, soap, and other
things were kept in the bunting house ; and there, too,
were piled the gaberdines, and other things waiting to
be washed until there was enough for one buck.
Shakespeare uses the word <fe/£-basket for what we
now call "0 clothes basket."
" Fal. . . . They conveyed me into a buck-basket. Ford. — A buck-
basket! Fal. — By the Lord, a buck-basket j rammed me in with foul
shirts and smocks, socks, foul stockings, greasy napkins "
— Merry Wives of Windsor^ act iii. sc. 5.
BUCK [buk] (3) vb. To fill a basket.
BUCKING [buk' ing] CHAMBER, sb. The room in which the
clothes were bucked, or steeped in lye, preparatory to
washing.
BUCK- WASH [buk-wash] sb. A great washing-tub, formerly
used in farm-houses, when, once a quarter, they washed
the clothes of the farm servants, soaking them in strong
lye.
BUD [bud] sb. A weaned calf that has not yet grown into
a heifer. So called, because the horns have not grown
out, but are in the bud.
" His cow came to ye racks a moneth before Christ-
mas, and went away ye 2 1 of January. His bud came
at Michaelmas." — Boteler MS. Account Book of 1652.
22 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
BUFF [buf] sb. A clump of growing flowers ; " a tuft or
hassock."
" That's a nice buff Q^ cloves " (pinks).
BUFFLE-HEADED [bufH-hecHd] adj. Thick-headed; stupid.
" Yees ; you shall pay, you truckle bed,
Ya buffle-headed ass."
— Dick and Sal, st. 84.
BUG [bug] (i) vb. To bend.
BUG [bug] (2) sb. A general name for any insect, especially
those of the fly and beetle kind ; e.g., May-bug, Lady-
bug, June-bug, July-bug.
BULL-HUSS [bul-hus] sb. The large spotted dog-fish.
Scyllium catulus.
BULLOCK [bul-uk] sb. pi. A fatting beast of either sex.
BULL-ROUT [bul-rout] sb. The goby.
BUMBLE [bumb-1] vb. To make a humming noise. Hence,
bumble bee, a humble bee.
BUMBLESOME [bumb'lsum] adj. Awkward; clumsy; ill-
fitting.
" That dress is far too bumblesome."
" You can't car' that, you'll find it wery bumblesome.3'
BUMBULATION [bumbularshn], A humming noise.
BUNT [bunt] (i) vb. To shake to and fro; to sift the meal
or flour from the bran.
BUNT [bunt] (2) vb. To butt.
" De old brandy-cowr bunted her and purty nigh
broke her arm."
BUNTING [bunt-ing] (i) adj. The bunting house is the out-
house in which the meal is sifted. (See Bunt above.)
" Ite in the chamber over the buntting house, &c."
"Item in the Buntinge houss, one boulting with one
kneading trofe, and one meale tub." — Boteler Inventory;
in Memorials of Eastry, pp. 225, 228.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 23
BUNTING [bunt-ing] (2) sb. A shrimp.
BUNTING [bunHng]-HUTCH [huch] sb. A boulting hutch,
i.e., the bin in which the meal is bunted or bolted.
! 600.—" Ite in the buntting house, one Bunting hutch,
two kneading showles, a meale tub wth other lumber
there prized at vjs. viijd. — Boteler Inventory;
Memorials of Eastry, p. 226.
BURR [bur] (i) sb. A coagulated mass of bricks, which
by some accident have refused to become separated,
but are a sort of conglomerate.
BURR [bur] (2) sb. The halo or circle round the moon is
so called, e.g., " There was a burr round the moon last
night/'
The weather-wise in East Kent will tell you, "The
larger the burr the nearer the rain/'
BURR [bur] (3) sb. The blossom of the hop.
" The hops are just coming out in burr!'
BURY [berr'-i] sb. A rabbit burrow.
BUSH [bush] sb. Used specially and particularly of the
gooseberry bush. "Them there bushes want pruning
sadly/'
BUTT [but] sb. A small flat fish, otherwise called the
flounder. They are caught in the river at Sandwich
by spearing them in the mud, like eels. But at Margate
they call turbots butts,
BY-BUSH [berbush] adv. In ambush, or hiding.
" I just stood by -bush and heard all they said."
BYSACK [bei-sak] sb. A satchel, or small wallet.
BYTHE [beith] sb. The black spots on linen produced by
mildew. (See Abited.}
BYTHY [berthi] adj. Spotted with black marks left by
mildew.
"When she took the cloth out it was all bythy."
BYST [beist] sb. A settle or sofa. (See Baist, Boist, above.)
24 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
c.
CAD [kad] sb. A journeyman shoemaker ; a cobbler ;
hence a contemptuous name for any assistant.
" His uncle, the shoemaker's cad."
CADE [kaid] sb. A barrel containing six hundred herrings ;
any parcel, or quantity of pieces of beef, less than a
whole quarter.
" Cade. — We John Cade, so termed of our supposed father.
Dick. — Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings."
— II. King Henry VI. act iv. sc. 2.
CADE-LAMB [kaid-lam] sb. A house-lamb ; pet lamb.
CADLOCK [ked-luk] sb. Charlock. Sinapis arvensis.
CAILES [kailz] sb. pi. Skittles ; ninepins.
CAKE-BAIL. A tin or pan in which a cake is baked.
CALIVER [kaHvur] sb. A large pistol or blunderbuss.
1600. — "It in Jonathan Boteler's chamb1' fower
chestes wth certain furniture for the warrs, viz., two
corsletts, one Jack, two musketts, fur one Horseman's
piec, fur one case of daggs, two caliurs, fur wth swords
and daggers prized at .... iiij11." — Boteler Inventory;
Memorials of E as try, p. 225.
CALL [kaul] (i) sb. A word in every-day use denoting
necessity, business, but always with the negative
prefixed.
"There ain't no call for you to get into a passion."
CALL-OVER [kaul-oa*vur] vb. To find fault with; to abuse.
" Didn't he call me over jist about."
CALLOW [kal-oa] adj. Smooth ; bald ; bare ; with little
covering; also used of underwood thin on the ground.
" 'Tis middlin' rough in them springs, but you'll find
it as callow more, in the high wood."
In Sussex the woods are said to be getting callow
when they are just beginning to bud out.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 25
CARF [kaaf] sb. A cutting of hay ; a quarter of a stack
cut through from top to bottom.
" Dick staggered with a carf of hay
To feed the bleating sheep ;
Proud thus to usher in the day,
While half the world's asleep."
— Dick and Sal, st. 2.
CANKER-BERRY [kank*ur-beri] sb. The hip ; hence canker-
rose, the rose that grows upon the wild briar. Rosa
canina.
" The cancer-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses."
— Shakespeare — Sonnets, liv.
CANT [kant] (i) sb. A portion of corn or woodland.
Every farm-bailiff draws his cant furrows through the
growing corn in the spring, and has his cant-book for
harvest, in which the measurements of the cants appear,
and the prices paid for cutting each of them.
CANT [kant] (2) vb. To tilt over ; to upset ; to throw.
" The form canted up, and over we went."
CANT [kant] (3) sb. A push, or throw.
" I gave him a canty jus' for a bit of fun, and fancy
he jus was spiteful, and called me over, he did."
CANTEL [kant'l] sb. An indefinite number; a cantel of
people, or cattle; diminutive of cant (i). A corner or
portion of indefinite dimension ; a cantel of wood, bread,
cheese, &c.
" See how this river comes me cranking in,
And cuts me, from the best of all my land,
A huge half moon, a monstrous cantle out."
— King Henry IV. pt. I. act iii. sc. i.
CANTERBURY-BELLS, sb. pi. The wild campanula. Cam-
panula medicus. The name is probably connected with
the idea of the resemblance of the flowers to the small
bells carried on the trappings of the horses of the
pilgrims to the shrine of S. Thomas, at Canterbury.
There are two kinds, large and small; both abound in
the neighbourhood of Canterbury.
26 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CAP [kap] sb. Part of the flail which secures the middle-
band to the handstaffor the swingel, as the case may be.
A flail has two caps, viz., the hand-staff cap, generally
made of wood, and the swingel cap, made of leather.
CAPONS [kai-punz] sb. pi. Red herrings. (See the list of
Nicknames — Ramsgate.)
CAR [kaa] vb. To carry.
" He said dare was a teejus fair
Dat lasted for a wick ;
And all de ploughmen dat went dare,
Must car dair shining stick."
— Dick and Sal, st. 8.
CARD [kaad]. (See Cade.)
Lewis, p. 129, mentions a card of red-herrings
amongst the merchandise paying rates at Margate
harbour.
CARPET- WAY [kaa-pit-wai] sb. A green-way ; a smooth
grass road ; or lyste way.
CARRY-ON [karr'i-on] vb. To be in a passion; to act
unreasonably.
" He's been carrying-on any-how."
CARVET [kaa*vet] sb. A thick hedge-row ; a copse by the
roadside ; a piece of land carved out of another. Used
in the neighbourhood of Lympne, in Dr. Pegge's time ;
so also, in Boteler MS. Account Books, there are the
following entries — " Ye Chappell caruet at Sopeshall
that I sold this year to John Birch at 5 o o ye acre,
cont[ained] beside the w[oo]dfall round, i acre and 9
perches, as Dick Simons saith, who felled it." "I have
valued one caruet at Brinssdale at y1 o o ye acre, ye
other caruet at 6 o o the acre." "Ye one caruet
cont[ained] i yerd and i perch; ye other halfe a yerd
want [ing] i perch" \_i.e., one perch wanting half a yard].
CAST [kaast] sb. The earth thrown up above the level of
the ground by moles, ants, and worms, and therefore
called a worm-cast, an emmet-cast, or a mole-cast, as the
case might be.
"Them wum-caastes do make the lawn so weryunlevel."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 27
CAST [kaast] vb. To be thwarted ; defeated ; to lose an
action at law.
" They talk of carr'ing it into court, but I lay he'll
be cast."
CATER [kartur] vb. To cut diagonally.
CATERWAYS [karturwaiz] adv. Obliquely; slantingly ;
cross-ways.
" He stood aback of a tree and skeeted water caterways
at me with a squib/'
CAVING [kai-vin] sb. The refuse of beans and peas after
threshing, used for horse-meat. — W. Kent. Called
y toffy in E. Kent.
CAWL [kaul] sb. A coop.
CAXES [kaks'ez] sb. pi. Dry hollow stalks ; pieces of bean
stalk about eight inches long, used for catching earwigs
in peach and other wall-fruit trees.
CEREMONY [serr'imuni] sb. A fuss; bother; set-out. Thus
a woman once said to me, " There's quite a ceremony
if you want to keep a child at home half-a-day." By
which she meant that the school regulations were very
troublesome, and required a great deal to be done
before the child could be excused. — W. F. S.
CHAMPIONING [champ-yuning] partc. The lads and men
who go round as mummers at Christmastide, singing
carols and songs, are said to go championing. Probably
the word is connected with St. George the Champion,
who is a leading character in the Mummers' play.
CHANGES [chai-njiz] sb.pl. Changes of raiment, especially
of the underclothing ; body-linen, shirts, or shifts.
" I have just put on clean changes" i.e., I have just
put on clean underclothing.
1651. — "For two changes for John Smith's boy, o 4 o.
. For two changes for Spaynes girle, o 2 10."
— MS. Overseer? Accounts •, Holy Cross, Canterbury.
28 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CHANGK [chank] vb. To chew.
CHARNELL, CHARNAIL, sb. A hinge. Perhaps Char-nail,
a nail to turn on.
1520. — "For ij hookis and a charnelle ijd."
— MS. Accounts St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
1 63 1 . — " For charnells and hapses for the two chests
in our hall." —MS. Accounts St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
CHARRED [chaa*d] adj. Drink that is soured in the
brewing. If, in brewing, the water be too hot when it
is first added to the malt, the malt is said to be
charred and will not give its strength, hence beer that
is brewed from it will soon turn sour. The word
charred thus first applies properly to the malt, and
then passes to the drink brewed from it. To char is to
turn ; we speak of beer being " turned."
CHART [chaa*t] sb. A rough common, overrun with gorse,
broom, bracken, &c. Thus we have several places in
Kent called Chart, e.g., Great Chart, Little Chart, Chart
Sutton, Brasted Chart.
CHARTY [chaa-ti] adj. Rough, uncultivated land, like a
chart.
CHASTISE [chasterz] vb. To accuse; to examine; cross
question ; catechize.
" He had his hearings at Faversham t'other day, and
they chastised him of it, but they couldn't make nothin'
of him."
CHAT, sb. A rumour ; report.
" They say he's a-going to live out at Hoo, leastways,
that's the chat"
CHATS [chats] sb. pi. Small potatoes ; generally the
pickings from those intended for the market.
CHATSOME [chat-sum] adj. Talkative.
CHAVISH [chai-vish] adj. Peevish; fretful.
CHEE [chee], or HEN-CHEE [hen-chee] sb. A roost.
" The fowls are gone to chee."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 29
CHEEGE [cheeg] sb. A frolic.
CHEER [cheer] sb. Constantly used in N. Kent, in the
phrase, "What cheer, meat ?" as a greeting; instead of
" How d'ye do, mate ? " or " How 're ye getting on ? "
CHEERLY [chee-rli] adv. Cheerfully.
" The bailiff's boy had overslept,
The cows were not put in ;
But rosy Mary cheerly stept
To milk them on the green."
—Dick and Sal, st. I.
CHEESE-BUG [chee-z-bug] sb. The wood-louse.
CHEF [chef] sb. The part of a plough on which the share
is placed, and to which the reece is fixed.
CHERRY APPLES [cherr'i ap-lz] sb. pi. Siberian crabs, or
choke cherries.
CHERRY-BEER, sb. A kind of drink made from cherries.
Pudding-pies and cherry-beer usually go together at
these feasts [at Easter].
— Brand's Popular Antiquities, ed. Ellis i. 180.
CHIDLINGS [chid-linz] sb. pi. Chitterlings.
CHILLERY [chil-uri] adj. Chilly.
CHILL- WATER [chil-wau-tr] sb. Water luke-warm.
CHILTED [chilfid] pp. Strong local form of chilled,
meaning thoroughly and injuriously affected by the cold.
CHINCH [chinch] vb. To point or fill up the interstices
between bricks, tiles, &c., with mortar. — E. Kent.
CHITTER [chit'ur] sb. The wren.
" In the N. of England they call the bird Chitty
Wren."
CHIZZEL [chiz-1] sb. Bran.
CHOATY [choa-ti] adj. Chubby ; broad faced.
" He's a choaty boy."
3O Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CHOCK [chok] vb. To choke. Anything over-full is said
to be chock-full.
CHOFF [chof] adj. Stern ; morose.
CHOICE [chois] adj. Careful of; setting great store by
anything.
" Sure, he is choice over his peas, and no mistake ! "
CHOP-STICKS [chop-stiks] sb. pi. Cross-sticks to which the
lines are fastened in pout-fishing.
"Two old umbrella iron ribs make capital chop-
sticks!'— F. Buckland.
CHRIST-CROSS [kris-kras] sb. The alphabet. An early
school lesson preserved in MS. Rawl., 1032, commences
" Christe crosse me speed in alle my worke." The
signature of a person who cannot write is also so called.
" She larnt her A B C ya know,
Wid D for dunce and dame,
An all dats in de criss-crass row,
An how to spell her name."
— Dick and Sal, st. 57.
CHUCK [chuk] sb. A chip ; a chunk ; a short, thick clubbed
piece of wood ; a good thick piece of bread and cheese ;
the chips made by sharpening the ends of hop-poles.
CHUCK-HEADED [chuk-hed-id] CHUCKLE-HEADED [chuk-1-
hed-id] adj. A stupid, doltish, wooden-headed fellow.
CHUFF [chuf] adj. Fat ; chubby. (See Choaty above.)
CHUMMIE [chunri] sb. A chimney sweep.
CHUNK [chungk] sb. A log of wood.
CHURCHING, sb. The Church service generally, not the
particular Office so called.
" What time's Churchiri now of afternoons ? "
CLAM [klam] sb. A rat-trap, like a gin.
CLAMP [klamp] sb. A heap of mangolds, turnips, or
potatoes covered with straw and earth to preserve
them during the winter. It is also used of bricks.
" We must heal in that clamp afore the frostes set in."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 3 1
CLAMS [klamz] sb. pi. Pholades. Rock and wood-boring
mollusks.
CLAPPERS [klap-urz] sb. pi. Planks laid on supports for
foot passengers to walk on when the roads are flooded.
CLAPSE [klaps] sb. A clasp, or fastening.
1651. — "For Goodwife Spaynes girles peticoate and
waistcoate making, and elapses, and bindinge, and a
pockett, o i 8d."
— Overseers' Accounts, Holy Cross, Canterbury.
CLAT [klat] vb. To remove the clots of dirt, wool, &c.,
from between the hind legs of sheep. (Romney Marsh.)
(See also Dag.)
CLAVEL [klavl] sb. A grain of corn free from the husk.
CLAYT [klaait] sb. Clay, or mire.
CLEAN [kleen] adv. Wholly; entirely.
" He's clean gone, that's certain."
161 1. — " Until all the people were passed clean over
Jordan." — Joshua iii. 17.
CLEANSE [klenz] vb. To tun, or put beer up into the barrel.
CLEDGE [klej] sb. Clay ; stiff loam.
CLEDGY [klej-i] adj. Stiff and sticky.
CLEVEL [klevl] sb. A grain of corn, clean and free from
husk. As our Blessed Lord is supposed to have left
the mark of a Cross on the shoulder of the ass' colt,
upon which He rode at His triumphal entry into
Jerusalem (St. Mark xi. 7) ; and as the mark of a thumb
and fore-finger may still be traced in the head of a
haddock, as though left by St. Peter when he opened
the fish's mouth to find the piece of money (St.
Matthew xvii. 27), even so it is a popular belief in
East Kent that each clevel of wheat bears the likeness
of Him who is the True Corn of Wheat (St. John xii.
24). As a man said to me at Eastry (1887) — "Brown
wheat shews it more than white, because it's a bigger
clevel." To see this likeness the clevel must be held
with the seam of the grain from you. — W. F. S.
32 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CLEVER [klevur] adj. In good health.
Thus, it is used in reply to the question, " How are
you to-day? " "Well, thankee, not very clever" i.e., not
very active ; not up to much exertion.
CLITE [kleit] sb. Clay.
CLITEY [klei-ti] adj. Clayey.
CLIMBERS [klei-murz] sb. The wild clematis ; clematis
mtalba, otherwise known as old man's beard.
CLINKERS [klingk-urz] sb. pi. The hard refuse cinders of a
furnace, stove, or forge, which have run together in
large clots.
CLIP [klip] vb. To shear sheep.
CLIVER [klivr] sb. Goose-grass; elsewhere called cleavers.
Gallium aperine.
CLODGE [kloj] sb. A lump of clay.
CLOSE [kloas] sb. The enclosed yard, or fenced-in field
adjoining a farm house.
Thus, at Eastry we speak of Hamel Close, which is
an enclosed field immediately adjoining Eastry Court.
So, a Kentish gentleman writes in 1645 : "This was
the third crop of hay some closes about Burges had
yealded that yeare." — Bargrave MS. Diary.
The word is often met with in Kentish wills ; thus,
Will of Thomas Godfrey, 1542, has, " My barne ....
with the classes to the same appertaining, '
CLOUT [klout] (i) sb. A blow with the palm of the hand.
" Mind what ye'r 'bout or I will gie ye a clout on the
head/'
(2) A clod, or lump of earth, in a ploughed field.
CLUCK [kluk] adj. Drooping ; slightly unwell ; used, also,
of a hen when she wants to sit.
" I didn't get up so wery early dis marnin', as I felt
rather cluck!'
CLUNG [klung] adj. Withered ; dull ; out of temper.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 33
CLUTHER [kluth-r], CLUTTER [klut-r] (i) sb. (i.) A great
noise, (ii.) A litter.
" There's always such a lot of clutter about his room."
CLUTHER [kludh-ur], CLUTTER [klut-ur] (2) vb. To make
a noise generally, as by knocking things together.
Used also of the special sound made by rabbits in
their hole, just before they bolt out, e.g., " I 'eerd 'im
cluther" i.e., I heard him make a noise ; and implying,
" Therefore, he will soon make a bolt/' A variant of
clatter.
COAL-SHOOT [koa-1-shoo-t] sb. A coal scuttle.
COARSE [koars] adj. Rough, snowy, windy weather.
COB [kob] vb. To throw gently.
COBBLE [kob*l] sb. An icicle.
COB-IRONS [kob-eirnz] sb. pi. And-irons ; irons standing
on the hearth, and intended to keep the brands and
burning coals in their place ; also the irons by which
the spit is supported.
" One payer of standing cob-yrons." " One
payer of cob-irons or brand-irons." ..." Item in the
Greate Hall a payer of cob-irons." — Boteler
Inventories in the Memorials of Eastry.
COCK-BELL [kok-bel] sb. An icicle.
The Bar grave MS. Diary, describing the weather
in France in the winter of 1645 says, " My beard had
sometimes yce on it as big as my little finger, my
breath turning into many cock-bells as I walked."
COCKER [kok-ur] vb. To indulge ; to spoil.
Ecclus. xxx. 9. — " Cocker thy child and he shall make
thee afraid."
COCKLE [kok*l] sb. A stove used for drying hops.
COG-BELL [kog-bel] sb. pi. An icicle. (See Cock-bell
above); Lewis writes cog-bells; and so the word is
now pronounced in Eastry.
"There are some large cog-bells hanging from the
thatch."
34 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
COGUE [koag] sb. A dram of brandy.
COILER-HARNESS. The trace harness.
COLD [koald] sb. In phrase, " Out of cold."
Water is said to be out of cold when it has just got
the chill off.
COLLAR [kol-ur] sb. Smut in wheat.
COLLARMAKER [kol'ur-mai'kur] sb. A saddler who works
for farmers ; so called, because he has chiefly to do
with the mending and making of horses' collars.
COMB [koam] sb. An instrument used by thatchers to beat
down the straw, and then smooth it afterwards.
COMBE [koom] sb. A valley. This word occurs in a great
number of place-names in Kent.
COME [kum] prep. On such a day, or at such a time when
it arrives.
" It'll be nine wiks come Sadderday sin* he were
took bad."
COMPOSANT [konrpuzant] sb. The luminous appearance
sometimes seen on the masts and yards of ships at sea,
the result of electricity in the air.
" Besides hearing strange sounds, the poor fisherman
often sees the composant. As he sails along, a ball
of fire appears dancing about the top of his mast ; it
is of a bluish, unearthly colour, and quivers like a
candle going out ; sometimes it shifts from the mast-
head to some other portion of the vessel, where there
is a bit of pointed iron ; and sometimes there are two
or three of them on different parts of the boat. It
never does anybody any harm, and it always comes
when squally weather is about.
"Englishmen are not good hands at inventing names
and I think the Folkestone people most likely picked
up the word from the Frenchmen whom they meet out at
sea in pursuit of herrings." — F. Buckland.
CONCLUDE [konkleu-d] vb. To decide.
" So he concluded to stay at home for a bit."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 35
CONE [koan] vb. To crack or split with the sun, as timber
is apt to do ; as though a wedge had been inserted in
it. A derivative of Anglo-Saxon cinan, to split.
CONE-WHEAT [koan-weet] sb. Bearded wheat.
CONNIVER [konei-vur] sb. To stare ; gape.
" An so we sasselsail'd along
And crass de fields we stiver' d,
While dickey lark kept up his song
An at de clouds conniver'd?
—Dick and Sal, st. 26.
CONTRAIRY [contrarr'i] adj. Disagreeable; unmanageable.
" Drat that child, he's downright contrairy to-day."
CONTRAIRIWISE [contrai'r'iweiz] adv. On the contrary.
CONYGARTHE [kun'igaath] sb. A rabbit warren.
LambardCy 1596. — "The Isle of Thanet, and those
Easterne partes are the grayner ; the Weald was the
wood ; Rumney Marsh is the meadow plot ; the North
downes towards the Thaymse be the conygarthe or
warreine."
COOCH GRASS, sb. Triticum repens, a coarse, bad species
of grass, which grows rapidly on arable land, and does
much mischief with its long stringy roots.
COOL-BACK [kool-bak] sb. A shallow vat, or tub, about
12 or 1 8 inches deep, wherein beer is cooled.
" Item in the brewhouse, two brewinge tonns, one
coole-back, two furnisses, fower tubbs with other ....
vju. xiiij8." — Boteler Inventory ', Memorials of Eastry, p.
226.
COP [kop] sb. A shock of corn ; a stack of hay or straw.
vb. To throw ; to heap anything up.
COPE [koap] vb. To muzzle; thus, "to cope a ferret" is to
sew up its mouth.
COPSE [kops] sb. A fence across a dyke which has no
opening. A term used in marshy districts.
36 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CORBEAU [korboa] sb. The fish Cottus gobio, elsewhere
called the miller's thumb, or bull-head.
CORD-WOOD [kord-wuod] sb. A pile of wood, such as split-
up roots and trunks of trees stacked for fuel. A cord
of wood should measure eight feet long x four feet
high x four feet thick.
CORSE [kors] sb. The largest of the cleavers used by a
butcher.
COSSET [kos'it] vb. To fondle ; to caress ; to pet.
COSSETY [kos-iti] adj. Used of a child that has been
petted, and expects to be fondled and caressed.
COST [koast] sb. A fore-quarter of lamb ; " a rib/'
COTCHERING [koclruring] partc. Gossiping.
COTERELL [koHr'el] sb. A little raised mound in the
marshes to which the shepherds and their flocks can
retire when the salterns are submerged by the tide.
COTTON [kot-on] vb. To agree together, or please each
other.
" They cannot cotton no-how ! "
COUCH-GRASS [kooch-grass] sb. (See Cooch-grass.}
COUPLING BAT [kup-lin bat] sb. A piece of round wood
attached to the bit (in W. Kent), or ringle (in E. Kent),
of two plough horses to keep them together.
COURT [koart], or COURT LODGE [koart loj] sb. The
manor house, where the court leet of the manor is held.
Thus, Eastry Court is the old house, standing on the
foundations of the ancient palace of the Kings of Kent,
wherein is held annually the Court of the Manor of
Eastry.
COURT-CUPBOARD [koart-cub-urd] sb. A sideboard or
cabinet used formerly to display the silver flagons,
cups, beakers, ewers, &c., i.e.y the family plate, and
distinguished from " the livery cupboard," or wardrobe.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 37
In the Boteler Inventory r, we find that there were in the
best chamber " Half-a-dowson of high joynd stooles,
fewer low joynd cushian stooles, two chayers, one court
cubbard, &c." — Memorials of Eastry, p. 225 ; and again
on p. 227 : "In the greate parler, one greate table . . .
one courte cubbard, one greate chayer, &c."
"Away with the joint-stools, remove the court cupboard, look
to the plate." — Romeo and Juliet, act i. sc. 5.
COURT FAGGOT [koart fag-ut] sb. This seems to have been
the name, anciently given, to the best and choicest
kind of fagot.
1523. — "For makyng of x loodis of court fagot,
iij8., iiijd." — Accounts of St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
COVE [koav] sb. A shed ; a lean-to or low building with
a shelving roof, joined to the wall of another ; the
shelter which is formed by the projection of the eaves
of a house acting as a roof to an outbuilding.
COVED [koa-vd] adj. With sloping sides ; used of a room,
the walls of which are not perpendicular, but slant
inwards, thus forming sides and roof.
" Your bedsteddle couldn't stand there, because the
sides are coved."
COVE-KEYS [koa-v-keez] sb. pi. Cowslips. (See also Culver
keys, Horsebuckle, Peigle^}
COVEL [kovl] sb. A water tub with two ears.
COVERTLID [kuvurtlid], COVERLYD [kuvurlid] sb. The
outer covering of the bed which lies above the blankets ;
a counterpane.
In the Boteler Inventory we find " In the best chamber
.... one fether bedd, one blanckett, one covertleed.
Item in the lower chamber .... two coverleeds. Item
in the midell chamber .... a coverlyd and boulster."
— Memorials of Eastry, p. 224.
COVEN [koa*vn] adj. Sloped ; slanted.
" It has a coven ceiling." (See also, Cove, Coved.}
38 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
Cow [kou] sb. A pitcher.
Cow' [kou], COWL [koul] sb. The moveable wooden top
of the chimney of a hop-oast or malt-house.
COW-CRIB [kou-krib] sb. The square manger for holding
hay, &c., which stands in the straw-yard, and is so
constructed as to be low at the sides and high at the
corners.
CRACK-NUT [krak-nut] sb. A hazel nut, as opposed to
cocoa nuts, Brazil nuts, &c.
CRAMP- WORD, sb. A word difficult to be understood.
" Our new parson, he's out of the sheeres, and he
uses so many of these here cramp-words."
CRANK [krangk] (i) adj. Merry ; cheery.
CRANK [krangk] (2) vb. To mark cross-wise.
CREAM [kreem] vb. To crumble. Hops, when they are too
much dried are said to cream, i.e., to crumble to pieces.
GREET [kreet] sb. A cradle, or frame- work of wood, placed
on a scythe when used to cut corn.
CRIPS [krips] adj. Crisp. Formed by transposition, as
Aps for Asp, &c. (See Crup below.)
CRIPT [kript] adj. Depressed ; out of spirits. (See also,
Cruppish.}
CROCK [krok] (i) sb. An earthen pan or pot, to be found
in every kitchen, and often used for keeping butter,
salt, &c. It is a popular superstition that if a man
goes to the place where the end of a rainbow rests he
will find there a crock of gold.
A.D. 1536. — "Layd owt for a crok. . . ."
— Accounts of St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
CROCK [krok] (2) vb. To put away ; lay by ; save up ; hide.
" Ye'd better by half give that butter away, instead
of crocking it up till it's no use to nobody."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 39
CROCK BUTTER [krok but-ur] sb. Salt butter which has been
put into earthenware crocks to keep during the winter.
CROFT [krauft] sb. A vault.
CROSHABELL [krosh-ubel] sb. A courtezan.
CROW [kroa] sb. The fat adhering to a pig's liver ; hence,
" liver and crow " are generally spoken of and eaten
together.
CROW-FISH [kroa-fish] sb. The common stickleback.
Gasterosteus aculeatus.
CRUMMY [krurrri] adj. Filthy and dirty, and covered
with vermin.
CRUP [krup] (i) sb. The crisp, hard skin of a roasted pig,
or of roast pork (crackling) ; a crisp spice-nut; a nest.
" There's a wapses crup in that doated tree/'
CRUP [krup] (2) adj. Crisp.
" You'll have a nice walk, as the snow is very crup."
CRUPPISH [krup-ish] adj. Peevish ; out of sorts. A man
who has been drinking overnight will sometimes say
in the morning : " I feel cruppish."
CUCKOO BREAD, sb. The wood sorrel. Oxalis acetosella.
CUCKOO'S BREAD AND CHEESE, sb. The seed of the mallow.
CUCKOO-CORN, sb. Corn sown too late in the spring.
CULCH [kulch] sb. (i.) Rags ; bits of thread ; shoddy.
(ii.) Any and every kind of rubbish, e.g., broken
tiles, slates, and stones. (See also, Pelt.)
" Much may be done in the way of culture, by placing
the oysters in favourable breeding beds, strewn with
tiles, slates, old oyster shells, or other suitable culch
for the spat to adhere to." — Life of Frank Buckland.
CULL [kul] (i) vb. To pick ; choose; select.
40 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
CULL [kul] (2) sb. The culls of a flock are the worst;
picked out to be parted with.
CULVER KEY [kulvurkee] sb. The cowslip. Primula
verts.
CUMBERSOME [kumb'ursum] adj. Awkward; inconvenient.
" I reckon you'll find that gurt coat mighty cumber-
some."
CURRANTBERRIES [kurr'unt'berr'iz] sb. pi. Currants.
CURS [kurs] adj. Cross ; shrewish ; surly.
CYPRESS, CYPRUS [sei-prus] sb. A material like crape.
D.
DABBERRIES [dab'eriz] sb. pi. Gooseberries.
DAFFY [daf-i] sb. A large number or quantity, as "a
rare daffy of people."
DAG [dag] ( i ) vb. To remove the dags or clots of wool,
dirt, &c., from between the hind legs of sheep. (See
also Clat^)
DAG [dag] (2) sb. A lock of wool that hangs at the tail .of
a sheep and draggles in the dirt.
DAGG, sb. A large pistol.
Boteler Inventory, 1600. — "It. in Jonathan Boteler's
chamb1' : fower chestes wth certain furniture for the
warrs, viz., two corsletts, one Jack, two muskets
fur[nished], one horseman's piec fur[nished] one case
of daggs, two caliurs wth swords and daggers, prized
at iiij11." — Memorials of Eastry, p. 225.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 41
DAG-WOOL, sb. Refuse wool; cut off in trimming the
sheep.
DANG [dang] inter j. A substitution for " damn."
" Dang your young boanes, doant ye give me no
more o' your sarce."
DAWTHER [dau-dhur], or DODDER [dodh-ur] (i) vb. To
tremble or shake; to move in an infirm manner.
" He be gettin' in years now, and caant do s'much
as he did, but he manages jus' to dawther about the
shop a little otherwhile."
DAWTHER-[dau*dhur], or DoDDER-[dod-ur] GRASS (2) sb.
A long shaking grass, elsewhere called Quaker, or
quaking, grass. Briza media.
DAWTHERY [dau-dhur'i] adj. Shaky ; tottery ; trembling ;
feeble. Used commonly of old people — " He begins
to get very dawthery."
DEAD-ALIVE [ded-ulei-v] adj. Dull; stupid.
" It's a dead-alive place/'
DEAL [deel] (i) sb. A part ; portion. Anglo Saxon dcel,
from dcelan, to divide ; hence our expression, to deal
cards, i.e., giving a fair portion to each ; and dole, a
gift divided or distributed.
Leviticus xiv. 10. — "And on the eighth day he shall
take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb
of the first year without blemish, and two tenth deals
of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and
one log of oil."
DEAL [dee*l] (2) sb. The nipple of a sow, bitch, fox or rat.
DEATH [deth] adj. Deaf.
" It's a gurt denial to be so werry death."
" De ooman was so plaguey death
She cou'den make ?ar hear."
— Dick and Sal, st. 59.
DEATHNESS [deth-nes] sb. Deafness.
42 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
DEEK [dee-k] sb. A dyke, or ditch.
The i in Kent and Sussex is often pronounced as i
in French.
DEEKERS [dee-kurz] sb. pi. Men who dig ditches (deeks)
and keep them in order.
DENCHER-POUT [dench-ur-pout], DENSHER-POUT [den--
shur-pout] sb. A pout, or pile of weeds, stubble, or
rubbish, made in the fields for burning, a cooch-fire, as
it is elsewhere called.
DENE [dee-n], DENNE [den], DEN [den] sb. A wooded valley,
affording pasturage ; also a measure of land ; as in
Somner, Antiquities of Canterbury, p. 27, ed. 1703, where
we read : " The Manor of Lenham, consisting of 20
ploughlands and 13 denes:' This word den is a very
common one as a place-name, thus there are several
Denne Courts in East Kent ; and in the Weald
especially, den is the termination of the name of
many parishes, as well as of places in those parishes,
thus we have Bidden^;?, Benendk/z, Bethers^^, Halden,
, Smarden, Tenterden, Ibornden, &c.
DENIAL [denerul] sb. A detriment; drawback; hindrance;
prejudice.
" It's a denial to a farm to lie so far off the road."
DESTINY [dest-ini] sb. Destination.
" When we have rounded the shaw, we can keep the
boat straight for her destiny."
DEVIL-IN-THE-BUSH, sb. The flower otherwise called Love-
in-a-mist. Nigella damascena.
DEVIL'S THREAD, sb. A weed which grows out in the fields,
among the clover ; it comes in the second cut, but does
not come in the first. Otherwise called Hellweed.
Cuscuta epithymum.
DEWLAPS, sb. pi. Coarse woollen stockings buttoned over
others, to keep the legs warm and dry.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 43
DIBBLE [dib-lj, DIBBER [dib-ur] sb. An agricultural imple-
ment for making holes in the ground, wherein to set
plants or seeds.
DICK [dik] sb. A ditch. (See Deck, above.)
DICKY-HEDGE-POKER [dik-i-hej-poa-ker] sb. A hedge-
sparrow.
DICKY [dik'i] adj. Poorly ; out of sorts ; poor ; miserable.
"When I has the dicky feelins', I wishes I hadn't
been so neglackful o' Sundays/'
DIDAPPER and DIVEDAPPER. The dab-chick.
DlDOS [dei'doaz] sb. pi. Capers ; pranks ; tricks.
"Dreckly ye be backturned, there he be, a-cutting all
manners o' didos."
DIN-A-LITTLE, adv. Within a little ; nearly.
" I knows din-a-little where I be now."
DiSABlL [dis-ubil] sb. Disorder ; untidy dress. Fr.
Deshabille.
" Dear heart alive ! I never expected for to see you,
sir ! I'm all in a disabil"
DISGUISED, adj. Tipsy.
" I'd raather not say as he was exactly drunk, but he
seemed as though he was jes' a little bit disguised"
DISH-MEAT [dish-meet] sb. Spoon meat, i.e., soft food,
which requires no cutting up and can be eaten with
a spoon.
DISHWASHER [dish-wosh-r] sb. The water wagtail. Gen-
erally called " Peggy Dishwasher."
DiSSiGHT [disei't] sb. That which renders a person or
place unsightly ; a blemish ; a defect.
" Them there tumble-down cottages are a great
dissight to the street."
Do [doo] vb. To do for anyone is to keep house for him.
" Now the old lady's dead, Miss Gamble she goos in
and doos for him."
44 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
DOATED [doa-tid] adj. Rotten. Generally applied to wood.
"That thurruck is all out-o'-tilter; the helers are all
doated." (See also Doited^
DOB [dob] vb. To put down.
" So den I dobtfd him down de stuff,
A plaguey sight to pay." —Dick and Sat, st. 82.
DOBBIN [dob-in] sb. Temper.
" He lowered his dobbin," i.e., he lost his temper.
DODDER [dod-ur] vb. (See Dawther, above.)
DODGER [doj-ur] sb. A night-cap.
DOG [dau-g or dog] sb. An instrument for getting up hop-
poles, called in Sussex a pole-puller.
DOGS [dogz] sb. pi. Two pieces of wood connected by a
piece of string, and used by thatchers for carrying up
the straw to its place on the roof, when arranged for
thatching.
DOGS' DAISY, sb. The May weed, Anthemis cotula ; so
called, " 'Cause it blows in the dog-days, ma'am."
DOG-WHIPPER [dog-wip-ur] sb. The beadle of a church,
whose duty it was, in former days, to whip the dogs
out of church. The word frequently occurs in old
Churchwardens' accounts.
DOINGS [doo-ingz] sb. pi. Odd jobs. When a person keeps
a small farm, and works with his team for hire, he is
said to do doings for people.
DOITED [doi-tid] adj. Decayed (used of wood).
" That 'ere old eelm (elm) is reglar doited, and fit for
nothin' only cord- wood." (See Doated.)
DOLE [doa-1] (i) sb. A set parcel, or distribution ; an alms ;
a bale or bundle of nets.
" 60 awlns make a dole of shot-nets, and 20 awlns
make a dole of herring-nets." — Lewis, p. 24.
DOLE [doa-1] (2) sb. A boundary stone ; the stump of an
old tree left standing.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 45
DOLES [doa-lz] sb. pi. The short handles which project
from the bat of a scythe, and by which the mower holds
it when mowing". The several parts of a scythe are: (i.)
the scythe proper, or cutting part, of shear steel ; (ii.)
the trai-ring and trai-wedge by which it is fastened to
the bat ; (iii.) the bat or long staff, by which it is held
when sharpening, and which is cut peeked, so that it
cannot slip ; and (iv.) the doles y as above described.
DOLEING [doa-ling] sb. Almsgiving. (See Deal.)
DOLE-STONE [doa-1-stoa-n] sb. A landmark.
DOLING [doa*ling] sb. A fishing boat with two masts, each
carrying a sprit-sail. Boys, in his History of Sandwich,
speaks of them as " ships for the King's use, furnished
by the Cinque Ports."
DOLLOP [dol-up] sb. A parcel of tea sewn up in canvas
for smuggling purposes ; a piece, or portion, of any-
thing, especially food.
" Shall I gie ye some ? " " Thankee, not too big a
dollop."
DOLLYMOSH [doHmosh] vb. To demolish ; destroy ; en-
tirely spoil.
DOLOURS [dol-urz] vb. A word expressive of the moaning
of the wind, when blowing up for rain.
DOLPHIN [dol-fin] sb. A kind of fly (aphis) which comes
as a blight upon roses, honeysuckles, cinerarias, &c. ;
also upon beans. It is sometimes black, as on beans
and honeysuckles ; and sometimes green, as on roses
and cinerarias.
DOODLE-SACK [doo-dl-sak] sb. A bagpipe.
DORICK [doa-rik] vb. A frolic ; lark ; spree ; a trick.
" Now then, none o' your doricks."
DOSS [dos] vb. To sit down rudely.
DOSSET [dos-it] sb. A very small quantity of any liquid.
46 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
DOUGH [doa] sb. A thick clay soil.
DOVER-HOUSE [doa-vur-hous] sb. A necessary house.
DOWAL [dou'ul], DOWL [dou-1] sb. A boundary post. (See
also Dole-stone, above.)
1630. — "Layd out for seauen dowlstones . . . xviijd.
For .... to carrye these dowl stones from place to
place, ijs." —MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
DOWELS [dou-lz] sb. pi. Low marshes.
DOWN [doun] sb. A piece of high open ground, not
peculiar to Kent, but perhaps more used here than
elsewhere. Thus we have Up-down in Eastry ; Harts-
down and North-down in Thanet ; Leys-down in
Sheppey ; Barham Downs, &c. The open sea off Deal
is termed the Downs.
DOWNWARD [dou-nwur'd] adv. The wind is said to be
downward when it is in the south.
DRAB [drab] vb. To drub ; to flog ; to beat.
DRAGGLETAIL [drag-hail] sb. A slut, or dirty, untidy,
and slovenly woman.
DRAGON'S TONGUE [drag-unz tung] sb. Iris fcetidissima.
DRAUGHT [dr'aa-ft] sb. The bar, billet, or spread-bat, to
which the traces of all the horses are fixed when four
are being used at plough.
DRAWHOOK [drau-uok] sb. An implement for cleaning
out dykes, and freeing them of weeds, consisting of a
three- tined fork, bent round so as to form a hook, and
fitted to a long handle. — E. Kent.
1627 — " For mending on of the drawe hoockes''
— MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
DRAW-WELL [drau-wel] sb. A hole or well sunk for the
purpose of obtaining chalk.
DRAY [drai] (i) sb. A squirrel's nest.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 47
DRAY [drai] (2) sb. A word usually applied to places
where there is a narrow passage through the slime
and mud.
DREAN [dree-un] (i) sb. A drain.
DREAN [dree-un] (2) vb. To drip.
" He was just drednmg'wett when he came in."
DRECKLY-MINUTE [drek-li-min-it] adv. Immediately ; at
once ; without delay ; contracted from " directly this
minute."
DREDGE [drej] sb. A bush-harrow. To drag a bundle of
bushes over a field like a harrow.
DRILL [dril] vb. To waste away by degrees.
DRIV [driv] vb. To drive.
" I want ye driv some cattle ! " " Very sorry, but I'm
that druv up I caan't do't ! "
DRIZZLE [driz-1] vb. To bowl a ball close to the ground.
DROITS [droit-s]^.//. Rights; dues; customary payments.
DROKE [droa'k] sb. A filmy weed very common in standing
water.
DROPHANDKERCHIEF [drop-angk-urchif] sb. The game
elsewhere called "kiss-in-the-ring."
DROP-ROD, sb. " To go drop-rod" is an expression used of*
carrying hay or corn to the stack, when there are two
wagons and only one team of horses ; the load is
then left at the stack, and the horses taken out of the
rods or shafts, and sent to bring the other wagon from
the field.
DROSE [droa-z] vb. To gutter. Spoken of a candle flaring
away, and causing the wax to run down the sides.
Also spelt, Drosley.
"The candlestick is all drosed" i.e., covered with
grease.
DROASINGS [droa-zingz] sb. pi. Dregs of tallow.
48 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
DROVE WAY [droa*v wai] sb. A road for driving cattle to
and from the marshes, &c., wherein they pasture.
DRUV [druv] vb. Driven.
" We wunt be druv."
DRYTH [drei-th] sb. Drought; thirst.
"I call cold tea very purty stuff to squench your
dryth."
DUFF [duf] sb. A dark coloured clay.
DULL [dul] vb. To make blunt.
" As for fish-skins — 'tis a terr'ble thing to dull your
knife. " — Folkestone.
DUMBLEDORE [dumb'ldoar] sb. A bumble bee; an imitative
word allied to boom, to hum.
DUN-CROW [dun-kroa] sb. The hooded or Royston crow,
which is found in great numbers in North Kent during
the winter. Corvus cornix.
DUNES [deu-nz] sb. pi. Sand hills and hillocks, near the
margin of the sea. At Sandwich, thieves were anciently
buried alive in these dunes, or sand-hills. Boys, in
his History of Sandwich, pp. 464-465, gives us the
" Customal of Sandwich/' from which it appears that
" .... in an appeal of theft or robbery if the person
be found with the goods upon him, it behoves him to
shew, on a day appointed, how he came by them, and,
upon failure, he shall not be able to acquit himself.
.... If the person, however, upon whom the goods
are, avows that they are his own, and that he is not
guilty of the appeal, he may acquit himself by 36 good
men and true .... and save himself and the goods.
When the names of the 36 compurgators are delivered
to the Bailiff in writing they are to be distinctly called
over . . . and, if any one of them shall be absent, or
will not answer, the appellee must suffer death. But
if they all separately answer to their names, the
Bailiff, on the part of the King, then puts aside 12 of
the number, and the Mayor and Jurats 1 2 more, thereby
agreeing together in fixing of the 12 of the 36 to swear
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 49
with the Appellee that he is not guilty of the matters
laid to his charge. . . . The Accused is first sworn
that he is not guilty, kissing the book, and then the
others come up as they are called, and separately
swear that the oath which the Appellee has taken is
good and true, . . . and that he is not guilty of what
is alleged against him, kissing the book, . . . by
which the Appellee is acquitted and the Appellant
becomes liable to an attachment, and his goods are at
the disposal of the King. If, however, one of the 12
withdraws his hand from the book and will not swear,
the Appellee must be executed ; and all who are
condemned in such cases are to be buried alive, in a
place set apart for the purpose, at Sandown [near
Deal] called ' The Thief Downs/ which ground is the
property of the Corporation/'
DUNNAMANY [dun*umeni] adj. phr. I don't know how
many.
" 'Tis no use what ye say to him, I've told him an't
a dunnamany times."
DUNNAMUCH [dun-umuch] adj. phr. I don't know how
much.
DUNTY [dunt-i] adj. Stupid ; confused. It also sometimes
means stunted; dwarfish.
DURGAN-WHEAT [durg-un-weet] sb. Bearded wheat.
DWARFS-MONEY, sb. Ancient coins. So called in some
places on the coast.
DWINDLE, sb. A poor sickly child.
" Ah ! he's a terr'ble poor little dwindle, I doant
think he wun't never come to much."
DYKERS [dei-kurz] sb. pi. Men who make and clean out
dykes and ditches. (See also Deekers above.)
1536. — " Paid to a man for helping the dykers"
— MS. Accounts, St. Johrfs Hospital, Canterbury.
DYSTER [dei-str] sb. The pole of an ox-plough. (See Neb.]
50 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
E.
EAR [ee*r] vb. To plough.
" Eryng of land three times." — Old Parish Book of
Wye, 28 Henry VIII.
" Caesar, I bring thee word :
Menocrates and Menas, famous pirates,
Make the sea serve them, which they ear and wound
With keels of every kind . . . ."
— Anthony and Cleopatra, act. i. sc. 4.
EARING [eerr'ing] sb. Ploughing, i.e., the time of ploughing.
..." And yet there are five years in the which there
shall be neither earing nor harvest."— Gen. xlv. 6.
EARTH [urth] vb. To cover up with earth.
" I've earthed up my potatoes."
EAXE [ee-uks] sb. An ax, or axle.
ECKER [ek'ur] vb. To stammer ; stutter.
ECHE [ee'ch] (i) sb. An eke, or addition ; as, an additional
piece to a bell rope, to eke it out and make it longer.
So we have Eche-En^. near Ash-next-Sandwich.
1525. — "For ij ropes for eches for the bell ropys, ijd."
— Accounts, St. Dunstaris, Canterbury.
(2) vb. To eke out ; to augment.
EELM [ee-lm] sb. Elm.
EEL-SHEER [ee-lsheer] sb. A three - pronged spear for
catching eels.
E'EN A'MOST [ee-numoa-st] adv. Almost. Generally used
with some emphasis.
EEND [ee*nd] sb. A term in ploughing ; the end of a
plough-furrow. Two furrows make one eend. Always
so pronounced.
" I ain't only got two or three eends to-day, to finish
the field."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 51
EFFET [ef-itj sb. An eft ; a newt. Anglo-Saxon, efete.
ELDERN [eld-urn] sb. The elder tree, and its wood.
ELEVENSES [elevnziz] sb. A drink or snack of refresh-
ment at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. Called in
Essex, Beevors ; and in Sussex, Elevener.
ELLINGE [el-inj] adj. Solitary ; lonely ; far from neigh-
bours ; ghostly.
1470. — " Nowe the crowe calleth reyne with an
eleynge voice." — Bartholomceus de proprietatibits rerum.
ELVIN [el-vin] sb. An elm. Still used, though rarely.
EMMET [enrut] sb. An ant.
EMMET-CASTES [enrut kaa-stiz]. Ant hills. (See Cast.}
END [end] sb. (See Eend above.)
ENOW [enou-] sb. Enough.
" Have ye got enow ? "
ENTETIG [ent-itig] vb. To introduce.
EPS [eps] sb. The asp tree.
ERNFUL [urn-ful] adj. and adv. Lamentable. " Ernful
bad," lamentably bad; "ernful tunes," sorrowful tunes.
ERSH [ursh] sb. The stubble after the corn has been cut.
Ess [es] sb. pi. A large worm.
EVERYTHING SOMETHING [evrithing sup-m] sb. Some-
thing of everything ; all sorts of things.
" She called me everything something," i.e., she called
me every name she could think of.
EYESORE [ei-soar] sb. A disfigurement ; a dissight; some-
thing which offends the eye, and spoils the appearance
of a thing ; a detriment.
" A sickly wife is a great eyesore to a man."
52 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
EYLEBOURNE [arlboarn] sb. An intermittent spring.
" There is a famous eylebourn which rises in this
parish [Petham] and sometimes runs but a little way
before it falls into the ground." — Harris's History of
Kent, p. 240. (See Nailbourn.}
F.
FACK [fak] sb. The first stomach of a ruminating animal,
from which the herbage is resumed into the mouth.
FADER [faa-dur] sb. Father.
Extract from the will of Sir John Spyoer, Vicar of
Monkton, A.D. 1450. . . . "The same 10 marc shall be
for a priest's salary; one whole yere to pray for my
soule, my fadyr soule, my modyr soul, and all crystyn
soules." — Lewis, p. 1 2. This pronunciation still prevails.
FAGS [fagz], FAGGS, inter j. adv. A cant word of affirmation ;
in good faith ; indeed ; truly.
Shakespeare has: " T fecks" = in faith, in Winter's
Tale, act i. sc. 2, where we see the word in process of
abbreviation.
FAIRISIES [fai-r'iseez] sb. pi. Fairies. This reduplicated
plural of fairy — fairyses — gives rise to endless mistakes
between the fairies of the story-books and the Pharisees
of the Bible.
FAIRY-SPARKS [fai-r'i-sparks] sb. pi. Phosphoric light,
sometimes seen on clothes at night, and in former
times attributed to the fairies. Otherwise called
shell-fire.
FAKEMENT [farkmu'nt] sb. Pain ; uneasiness ; distress.
"Walking does give me fakement to-day." — Sitting-
bourne.
FALL [faul] (i) vb. To fell ; to cut down.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 53
FALL [faul] (2) sb. A portion of growing underwood,
ready to fell or cut.
FANTEEG [fanteeg-] sb. A state of worry ; excitement ;
passion.
" We couldn't help laughing at the old lady, she put
herself in such a, fanteeg"
•
FANTOD [fan-tud] adj. Fidgetty; restless; uneasy.
FARDLE [faa-dl] sb. A bundle ; a little pack.
Amongst the rates or dues of Margate Pier and
Harbour, Lewis gives — "For every far die .... id."
Italian, fardello.
FAT [fat] sb. A large open tub ; a vat ; a ton or tun.
"And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats
shall overflow with wine and oil." — Joel ii. 24.
FATTEN [fat-un] sb. A weed.
FAVOUR [fai-vur] vb. To resemble ; have a likeness to
another person.
"You favour your father," i.e., you have a strong
likeness to your father. (See also Bly.}
" Joseph was a goodly person and well-favoured" —
Genesis xxxix. 6.
FAZEN [fai-zn] adj. The fazen eel is a large brown eel,
and is so called at Sandwich in contradistinction to
the silver eel.
FEAR [feer] vb. To frighten.
" To see his face the lion walk'd along
Behind some hedge, because he would not fear him."
— Shakespeare — Venus and Adonis.
FEASE [feez] (i) vb. To fret; worry. (See also Frape.}
FEASE [feez] (2) sb. A feasy, fretting, whining child.
Formed from adj. /easy.
FEASY [fee-zi] adj. Whining; peevish; troublesome.
" He's a feasy child." (See also Tattery^)
54 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
FEETENS [fit-nz] sb. pi. Foot-marks ; foot-prints ; h(
marks.
" The rain do lodge so in the horses' feetens."
FELD [feld] sb. A field. — Sittingbourne. In other parts
of Kent it is usually fill.
" Which is the way to Sittingbourne ? " " Cater
across that ere feld of wuts (oats)."
FELLET [feHt] sb. A portion of a wood divided up for
felling; a portion of felled wood.
FELLOWLY [fel-oali] adj. Familiar; free.
FENNY [ferri] adj. Dirty ; mouldy as cheese.
FET [fet] vb. To fetch.
FEW [feu] adj. This word is used as a substantive in such
phrases as "a good few," "a goodish/ew," which mean
"pretty many/' or ua nice little lot."
FICKLE [fik-1] vb. To fickle a person in the head with this
or that, is to put it into his head ; in a rather bad sense.
FID [fid] sb. A portion of straw pulled out and arranged
for thatching. Four or fiveyfok are about as much as
a thatcher will carry up in his dogs.
FIDDLER [fid-lur] sb. The angel, or shark-ray.
" We calls these fiddlers because they're like a fiddle."
The following couplet is current in West Kent :
" Never a fisherman need there be,
If fishes could hear as well as see."
FILD [fild] sb. A field. (See also Feld.)
FILL [fil] sb. A field.
FlLL-NOR-FALL [fil-nor-faul]. An expression frequently
used as to any person or anything lost.
" My old dog went off last Monday, and I can't hear
neither fill-nor-fall of him."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 55
FINGER-COLD [firrgur koal-d] adj. Cold to the fingers ;
spoken of the weather, when the cold may not be
very intense, and yet enough to make the fingers
tingle. (See also Hand-cold^
" We shall very soon have the winter 'pon us, 'twas
downright finger-cold first thing this marning."
FINKLE [fin'kl] sb. Wild fennel. Faniculum vulgare.
FIRE- FORK, sb. A shovel for the fire, made in the form of
a three-pronged fork, as broad as a shovel, and fitted
with a handle made of bamboo or other wood.
" Item in the kitchen one payer of tongs,
one fire-forke of iron, &c."
— Boteler Inventory, Memorials of Eastry, p. 227.
FLABERGASTED [flab-urgastid] adj. or //. Astonished and
rather frightened.
FLAM vb. To deceive or cheat ; sb. a falsehood.
FLAW [flau] vb. To flay ; to strip the bark off timber.
"I told him to goo down into de woodjffawm', and
he looked as tho' he was downright flabbergasted."
FLAZZ, adj. Newly fledged.
FLECK [flek] sb. Hares ; rabbits ; ground-game.
" They killed over two hundred pheasants, but not
but terr'ble little fleck."
FLEED [fleed] sb. The inside fat of a pig, from which lard
is made.
FLEED-CAKES [fleed-kaiks] sb. pi. Cakes made with the
fresh fleed of a pig.
FLEEKY [flee-ki] adj. Flaky ; in flakes.
FLEET [fleet], FLETE (i) sb. A creek ; a bay or inlet ;
a channel for the passage of boats and vessels, hence
the name of North-fleet. Anglo-Saxon, fleot.
" A certain Abbot .... made there a certain flete
in his own proper soil, through which little boats used
to come to the aforesaid town [of Mynster]. — Lewis
p. 78.
56 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
The word is still used about Sittingbourne, and is
applied to sheets of salt and brackish water in the
marshes adjoining the Medway and the Swale. Most
of them have no communication with the tidal water,
except through water-gates, but they generally repre-
sent the channels of streams which have been partly
diverted by draining operations.
FLEET [fleet] (2) vb. To float. The word is much used
by North Kent bargemen, and occasionally by " in-
landers."
" The barge fleeted about four o'clock to-day."
FLEET [fleet] (3) vb. To skim any liquor, especially milk.
FLEET [fleet] (4) sb. Every Folkestone herring-boat
carries a fleet of nets, and sixty nets make a fleet.
FLEETING-DISH, sb. A shallow dish for cream. (See
Fleet, 3.)
FLEET MILK, sb. Skimmed milk. (See also Flit milk.}
FLICK [flik] sb. The hair of a cat, or the fur of a rabbit.
(See Fleck above.)
FLICKING-TOOTH-COMB [flik-in-tooth-koam] sb. A comb
for a horse's mane.
FLIG, sb. The strands of grass.
FLINDER [flind-ur] sb. A butterfly.
FLINDER-MOUSE [flind-ur-mous] sb. A bat.
FLINTER-MOUSE [flint-ur-mous] sb. A bat. This form is
intermediate between flinder-mouse and flitter -mouse.
The plural form is flinter-mees.
FLIT-MILK [flit-milk] sb. Skim milk; the milk after the
cream has been taken off it. (See Fleet milk above.)
FLITTERMOUSE [flit-ur-mous] sb. (See Flinter-mouse above.)
FLOAT [float] sb. A wooden frame, sloping outward,
attached to the sides, head, or back, of a cart, enabling
it to carry a larger load than would otherwise be
possible.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 57
FLOWER [floirr] sb. The floor (always pronounced thus).
FLUE [floo] adj. Delicate ; weak ; sickly. In East Kent
it is more commonly applied to persons than to
animals.
FLUFF [fluff] sb. Anger ; choler.
" Dat raised my fluff." —Dick and Sal, st. 74.
FLUMP, sb. A fall causing a loud noise.
"She came down with a flump on the floor/'
FOAL'S FOOT, sb. Colt's foot. Fussilago far far a.
FOGO [foa'goa] sb. A stench.
FOG [fog] sb. The second crop of grass. (See Aftermeath^}
From Low Latin, fogagtum, or foragium.
FOLD-PITCHER [foald-pich-r] sb. An iron implement, other-
wise called a peeler, for making holes in the ground,
wherein to put wattles or hop-poles.
FOLKS [foa-ks] sb. pi. The men-servants. — East Kent.
"Our folks are all out in de fill/'
FOLKESTONE-BEEF [foa-ksun beef] sb. Dried dog-fish.
" Most of the fishermen's houses in Folkestone
harbour are adorned with festoons of fish hung out
to dry ; some of these look like gigantic whiting.
There was no head, tail, or fins to them, and I could
not make out their nature without close examination.
The rough skin on their reverse side told me at once
that they were a species of dog-fish. I asked what
they were? * Folkestone -beef,' was the reply." — F.
Buckland.
FOLKESTONE GIRLS [foa-ksun galz] sb. pi. Folkestone girls ;
the name given to heavy rain clouds. — Chilham.
" De Folkston gals looked houghed black ;
Old Waller'd roar'd about ;
Says I to Sal * shall we go back ? '
' No, no ! ' says she, ' kip out.' "
—Dick and Sal, st. 23.
58 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
FOLKESTONE LASSES [foa-ksun las-sez] sb. pi. } Same as
FOLKESTONE WASHERWOMEN, sb. pi. J tlie above-
FOR [for] prep. Used in adjectival sense, thus, " What
for horse is he ? " i.e.. What kind of horse is he ?
"What/or day is it?" i.e., What kind of day is it ?
FORCED [foa-st] vb. Obliged; compelled.
" He's kep' going until last Saddaday he was forced
to give up."
FORE-ACRE [foru'-kur] sb. A headland ; the land at the
ends of the field where the furrows cross.
FORECAST [foa-rkaast] sb. Forethought.
FORE-DOOR [foa-r-doar] sb. The front door.
" He come to the fore-door."
FOREIGNER [furinur] sb. A stanger who comes out of
the sheeres, and is not a Kentish man.
FOREHORSE [foa-r-hors] sb. The front horse in a team of
four. — East Kent.
FORE-LAY [foa-r-lai] vb. To way-lay.
" I slipped across the field and fore-laid him."
FORERIGHT [foa-rr'eit] adj. or adv. Direct; right in front ;
straight forward. " It (i.e., the river Rother) had here-
tofore a direct and foreright continued current and
passage as to Appledore, so from thence to Romney."
— Somner, Ports and Forts, p. 50.
FORICAL [forikl] sb. A headland in ploughing. (See
Foreacre.}
FORSTAL [forstul], FORESTAL [foaTStul], FOSTAL [fost'ul]
sb. A farm-yard before a house ; a paddock near a
farm house ; the house and home-building of a farm ;
a small opening in a street or lane, not large enough
to be called a common. As a local name, forestalls
seem to have abounded in Kent ; as for instance,
Broken Forestall, near Buckley; Clare's Forestall,
near Throwley, and several others.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 59
FOUT [fou-t] vb. Fought ; being p.t. and pret., of to fight.
— Sittingbourne.
" Two joskins fout one day in a chalk pet, until the
blood ran all over their gaberdines."
FOWER [fou-ur] num. adj. Four. So pronounced to this
day in East Kent, and constantly so spelled in old
documents.
FOY [foi] sb. A treat given by a person on going abroad
or returning home.
There is a tavern at Ramsgate called the Foy Boat.
" I took him home to number 2, the house beside ' The Foy ; '
I bade him wipe his dirty shoes, that little vulgar boy."
— Ingoldsby Legends, Misadventures at Margate.
FOYING [foring] part. Victualling ships ; helping them
in distress, and acting generally as agents for them.
" They who live by the seaside are generally fisher-
men, or those who go voyages to foreign parts, or such
as depend upon what they call foying." — Lewis, p. 32.
FRAIL [frail] (i) sb. A small basket; a flail. The flail
is rapidly disappearing and going out of use before the
modern steam threshing machine. * It consists of the
following parts : — (i.) the hand-staff or part grasped
by the thresher's hands ; (ii.) the hand-staff-cap (made
of wood), which secured the thong to the hand-staff;
(iii.) the middle-bun or flexible leathern thong, wrhich
served as the connecting link between hand-staff and
swinge I ; (iv.) the swingel-cap made of leather, which
secured the middle-bun to the swinge I ; (v.) the swingel
[swinj-1] itself, which swung free and struck the corn.
There is a proverbial saying, which alludes to the hard
work of threshing:
" Two sticks, a leather and thong,
Will tire a man be he ever so strong."
FRAIL [frail] (2) adj. Peevish ; hasty.
FRAPE [fraip] (i) vb. To worry; fidget; fuss; scold.
" Don't frape about it."
60 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
FRAPE [fraip] (2) sb. A woman of an anxious tempera-
ment, who grows thin with care and worry.
" Oh ! she's a regular frape."
FRENCH MAY [french mai] sb. The lilac, whether white
or purple. Syringa vulgaris.
FRESH CHEESE [fresh cheez] sb. Curds and whey.
FRIGHT- WOODS, sb. pi. (See Frith.)
FRIMSY [frimz-i] adj. Slight ; thin ; soft.
FRITH, sb. A hedge or coppice. A thin, scrubby wood,
with little or no timber, and consisting mainly of
inferior growths such as are found on poor soils,
intermixed with heath, &c. Though some of the
old woods bearing this name may now, by modern
treatment, have been made much thicker and more
valuable, they are also still called, as of old, fright-
woods, as the Fright Woods, near Bedgebury.
In the MS. Accounts of St. Johns Hospital, Canter-
bury, we find frith used for a quick-set hedge — " To
enclose the vij acres wrt. a quyk fryth before the Fest
of the Purification/'
FRORE [froa-r] pp. Frozen.
The parching air
ffe
Burns frore and cold performs the effect of fire."
— Milton, Paradise Lost, ii. 595.
FRUZ [fruz] pp. Frozen.
FURNER [furn-r] sb. A baker. French, fournier.
FURRICK [furr'ik] vb. Same asfurrige below.
FURRIGE [furr'idj] vb. To forage ; to hunt about and
rummage, and put everything into disorder whilst
looking for something.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 61
G.
GABERDINE [gab-urdin] sb. A coarse loose frock ; a
smock frock, sometimes called a cow-gown, formerly
worn by labouring men in many counties, now fast
disappearing.
" You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,
And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine."
— Merchant of Venice, act i. sc. 3.
" Next he disrob'd his gaberdine,
And with it did himself resign."
— Hudibras, pt. I. canto iii.
GADS [gadz] sb. pi. Rushes growing in marshy ground.
GAFFER [gaf-ur] sb. A master.
" Here comes our gaffer ! "
GALLIGASKINS, sb. pi. Trowsers.
GALLON [gal-un] sb. Used as a dry measure for corn,
flour, bread, potatoes. In Kent these dry goods are
always sold by the gallon.
" I'd far rather pay a shilling for a gallon of bread
than have it so very cheap."
GALLS [gaulz] sb. pi. Jelly fish.
GALORE [guloa-r] sb. Plenty.
GALEY [garli] adj. Boisterous ; stormy. " The wind is
galey," i.e., blows in gales, by fits and intervals.
GAMBREL [gamb-ril] or GAMBLE STICK [gamb-1-stik] sb. A
stick used to spread open and hang up a pig or other
slaughtered animal.
GAMMY [ganvi] adj. Sticky ; dirty.
GANCE [gaans or gans] adj. Thin; slender; gaunt.
" Them sheep are doing middlin', but there's here
and there a one looks rather gance."
62 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
GANGWAY [gang-wai] sb. A thoroughfare ; a passage ;
an entry. Properly a sea term.
GARBAGE [gaa-bij] sb. A sheaf of corn, Latin garba ; a
cock of hay ; a fagot of wood, or any other bundle of
the product or fruits of the earth.
GARRET [garr'it] vb. To drive small wedges of flint into
the joints of a flint wall.
GARRETED, adj. The phrase, " not rightly garreted" means,
something wrong in " the top storey." Spoken of a weak
and silly person, whose brain is not well furnished.
GASKIN [gas-kin] sb. Prunus avium, a half- wild variety of
the damson, common in hedgerows, and occasionally
gathered to send to London, with the common kinds
of black cherry, for the manufacture of "port wine."
GATE [gait] sb. A way from the cliffs down to the sea : —
" Through these chalky cliffs the inhabitants whose
farms adjoin to them, have cut several gates or ways
into the sea, for the conveniency either of fishing, carry-
ing the sea ooze on their land, &c. But these gates or
passages, they have been forced to fill up in time of
war, to prevent their being made use of by the enemy
to surprise them, and plunder the country/' — Lewis,
Tenet p. 10.
GATTERIDGE TREE [gat-ur'ij tree] sb. Prickwood. Euony-
mus Europceus.
GAU [gau], GEU [geu], or Goo [goo], interj. An exclam-
ation, in constant use, expressive of doubt ; surprise ;
astonishment.
GAUSE [gaus] adj. Thin; slender.
GAVELKIND [gavl-kend] sb. An ancient tenure in Kent,
by which the lands of a father were divided among all
his sons ; or the lands of a brother, dying without
issue, among all the surviving brothers ; a custom by
which the female descendants were utterly excluded,
and bastards inherited with legitimate children.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 63
GAY [gai] adj. Lively ; hearty ; in good health.
" I don't feel very gay this morning."
GAYZELS [garzlz] sb. pi. Black currants, Ribes nigrum ;
wild plums. Prunis communis.
GEAT [ge*ut] sb. Gate.
GEE [jee] sb. A lodging ; roost. (Same as Chee.}
GEE [jee] inter j. Go to the off side ; command to a horse.
— West Kent.
GENTAIL [jen-tail] sb. An ass.
GENTLEMAN, sb. A person who from age or any other
cause is incapacitated from work.
"He's a gentleman now, but he just manages to
doddle about his garden with a weedin'-spud."
GIBLETS [jib-lets] sb. pi. Rags ; tatters.
GIFTS [gifts] sb. pi. White specks which appear on the
finger nails and are supposed to indicate something
coming, thus —
A gift on the thumb indicates a present.
„ on the fore-finger indicates a friend or lover.
„ on the middle finger indicates a foe.
„ on the fourth finger indicates a visit to pay.
„ on the little finger indicates a journey to go.
— W. F. S.
GIG [gig] sb. A billet, or spread bat, used to keep the
traces of plough horses apart.
GILL [gill] sb. A little, narrow, wooded valley with a
stream of water running through it ; a rivulet ; a
beck.
GlMMER [ginrur] sb. A mistress.
" My gimmer always wore those blue and white
checked aprons" (1817).
GIN [gin not}vs\\ vb. Given.
" I cou'd a gin de man a smack.'1 —Dick and Sal, st. 86.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
GIVE [giv] vb. To give way; to yield; to thaw. "It gives
now," i.e.y it is thawing. So, too, the phrase, " it's all
on the give^' means, that a thaw has set in.
GIVE OVER [give oa'vur] vb. To leave off; to cease; to
stop.
" Give over ! will ye ! I wun't have no more an't."
GiVEY [givi] adj. The ground is said to be givey when the
frost breaks up and the roads become soft and rotten.
GLEAN, sb. A handful of corn tied together by a gleaner.
GLIMIGRIM, sb. Punch.
"Tom Julmot, a rapscallion souldier, and Mary
Leekin, married by license, January 4th, 1748-9.
Caspian bowls of well acidulated glimigrim."
—Extract from Parish Register of Sea Salter, near Whitstable.
GLINCE [glins], GLINCEY [glins-i] adj. Slippery.
" The ice is terr'ble glincey."
Go [goa] vb. To get about and do one's work.
" He's troubled to go" i.e., he has great difficulty in
getting about and doing his work. " He's gone in
great misery for some time," i.e., he has gone about
his work in great pain and suffering.
GOD'S GOOD [Godz good] sb. Yeast ; barm.
It was a pious custom in former days to invoke a
benediction, by making the sign of the cross over the
yeast.
GOFF [gof] sb. The commonest kind of apple.
GOING [goa*in] sb. The departure.
" I didn't see the going of him."
GOING TO'T [goa-in tuot] i.e., going to do it; as "do this or
that ;" the answer is " I am going to't." The frequency
with which it is used in some parts of Kent renders the
phrase a striking one.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 65
GOL [gol], GULL, sb. A young gosling. (See Willow-gull.)
GOLDING [goa-lding] sb. A lady-bird, so called from the
golden hue of its back. (See
GOLLOP [gol-up] vb. To swallow greedily ; to gulp.
" You golloped that down as if you liked it."
GOODING [guod-ing] sb. The custom of going about asking
for gifts on St. Thomas' Day, December 21. Still kept
up in many parts of Kent.
GOODMAN, sb. An old title of address to the master of a
house.
1671. — "To Goodman Davis in his sicknes .....
o o 6." — Overseers' Accounts^ Holy Cross , Canterbury.
" . . . If the goodman of the house had known in
what watch the thief would come, he would have
watched/' — St. Matthew xxiv. 43.
GOODY [guod-i] sb. The title of an elderly widow, con-
tracted from goodwife.
" Old Goody Knowler lives agin de stile/'
GO-TO [goa too] vb. To set.
" The sun goes to."
GOULE [goul] sb. Sweet willow. Myrica gale.
GOYSTER [goi*stur] vb. To laugh noisily and in a vulgar
manner. A goystering wench is a Tom-boy.
GRABBY [grab*i] adj. Grimy ; filthy.
GRAN NIGH [gran neij adv. Very nearly.
GRANABLE [granai-bl] adv. Very.
" De clover was granable wet,
So when we crast de medder,
We both upan de hardle set,
An den begun concedir."
—Dick and Sal, st. 22.
GRANADA [gran*aada] sb. A golden pippin.
F
66 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
GRANDLY [grand-li] adv. Greatly : as, " I want it grandly."
GRANDMOTHER'S NIGHT CAP, sb. The flower called monk's
hood or aconite. Aconitum napellus.
GRAPE-VINE [graip-vein] sb. A vine which bears grapes.
In other counties, when they say vine, they mean a
grape-vine, as a matter of course; so, when they use
the word orchard, they mean an apple-orchard; but in
Kent, it is necessary to use distinguishing terms,
because we have apple-orchards, and cherry -orchards,
hop-vines and grape-vines.
GRATTAN [grafun], GRATTEN [grat-un], GRATTON [grat-un]
sb. Stubble ; a stubble field, otherwise called ersh, or
eddish, grotten, podder-grotten.
GRATTEN (2) vb. To feed on a gratten, or stubble field.
To turn pigs out grattening, is to turn them out to
find their own food.
GRAUM [grau-m] vb. To grime ; dirty ; blacken.
GREAT [gurt] (i) adv. Very; as "great much," very
much. Commonly pronounced gurt.
GREAT [grait] (2) sb. " To work by the great," is to work
by the piece.
GREAT CHURCH [grait church] sb. The Cathedral at
Canterbury is always so called at Eastry.
" That fil belongs to the Great Church" i.e., is part
of the possessions of the Dean and Chapter of Canter-
bury.
GREATEN [grai-tn] vb. To enlarge.
GREEDS [greedz] sb. pi. Straw thrown on to the dung-hill.
GREEN-BAG, sb. The bag in which the hops are brought
from the garden to the oast. (See also Poke.}
GREYBIRD [grai-burd] sb. A thrush.
GRIDGIRON [grij-eirn] sb. Gridiron.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 67
GRINSTONE [grirrstunj sb. A grindstone.
GRIP [grip] sb. A dry ditch ; but about Sittingbourne it
is applied to natural channels of a few feet in width,
in the saltings on the Kentish coasts.
" I crawled along the grip with my gun in my hand
until I got within a few rods of 'em."
GRIPING [grei-pin] vb. The name given in North Kent to
the operation of groping at arms' length in the soft
mud of the tidal streams for dabs and flounders.
GRIST [greist] sb. Anything which has been ground —
meal, flour.
GRISTING [grei-sting], GRYSTING, sb. The flour which is
got from the lease-wheat.
GRIT [grit] vb. To set the teeth on edge ; to grate.
GRIZZLE [griz*l] vb. To fret ; complain ; grumble.
" She's such a grizzling woman."
GROSS [groas] adj. Gruff, deep-sounding.
GROVETT [groa*vit] sb. A small grove or wood.
" Just by it is a grovette of oaks, the only one in the
whole island." — Lewisy p. 115.
GRUBBY [grub-i] adj. Dirty.
"You are grubby, and no mistake." (See also Grabby.]
GRUPPER [grup-ur] sb. That part of the harness of a
cart-horse which is called elsewhere the quoilers ;
the breeching. — East Kent.
GRUPPER-TREE [grup-ur-tree] sb. That part of a cart
horse's harness which is made of wood, padded next
the horse's back, and which carries the redger. — East
Kent.
GAGEY [gai-ji] adj. Uncertain; showery; spoken of the
weather.
" Well, what d'ye think o' the weather ? will it be
fine ? It looks to me rather gagey."
68 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
GUESS-COW [ges-kou] sb. A dry or barren cow.
GUESTING [gest-ing] vb. Gossipping.
GUESTLING [ges-lin] (i) sb. An ancient water-course at
Sandwich, in which it was formerly the custom to
drown prisoners.
GUESTLING [gest-ling] (2) sb. The ancient court of the
Cinque Ports, held at Shepway, near Hythe, and other
places.
" In July, 1688, the Common Council of Faversham
commissioned their Deputy-Mayor, two Jurats, the
Town Clerk, and a Commoner * to go to a guestling,
which was summoned from the ancient town of
Winchelsea, to be holden at the town and port of New
Romney, on Tuesday, July 2ist;' and 'there to act
on the town's behalf, as they should find convenient/
They were absent at the guestling five days."
— Archaologia Cantiana, xvi. p. 271.
GUILE-SHARES [gei-l-shairzj sb. pi. Cheating shares ;
division of spoils ; or shares of " wreckage/'
" Under the pretence of assisting the distressed
masters [of stranded vessels] and saving theirs and
the merchant's goods, they convert them to their own
use by making what they call guile -shares'' — Lewis,
34-
GULLIDGE [gul-ij] sb. The sides of a barn boarded off from
the middle ; where the caving is generally stored.
GUMBLE [gumb-1] vb. To fit very badly, and be too large,
as clothes.
GUNNER [gun*ur] sb. A man who makes his living by
shooting wild fowl, is so called on the north coast of
Kent and about Sheppey.
GURT [gurt] adj. Great.
GUTTER GRUB [gut-ur-grub] sb. One who delights in
doing dirty work and getting himself into a mess ; a
low person.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 69
GUTTERMUD [gut'urmud] sb. The black mud of the gutter,
hence any dirt or filth.
" As black as guttermud"
GUT-WEED, sb. Sonchus arvensis.
H.
HAAZES [haa-zizj sb. pi. Haws. (See also Harvest) Fruit
of Cratczgus oxyacantha.
HADN'T OUGHT [had-nt aut] phr. Ought not. (See also
No ought.}
" He hadn't ought to go swishing along as that,
no-how."
HAGGED [hag-id] adj. Thin ; lean ; shrivelled ; haggard.
"They did look so very old and hagged ; " spoken of
some maiden ladies living in another parish, who had
not been seen for some time by the speaker.
HAGISTER [hag'ister] sb. A magpie.
HAIR [hair] sb. The cloth on the oast above the fires where
the hops are dried.
HALF-AMON [haaf-ai-mun] sb. (See Amon.)
HALF-BAPTIZED. Privately baptized.
" Can such things be ! " exclaimed the astonished
Mr. Pickwick. "Lord bless your heart, sir," said
Sam, "why, where was you half -baptised ? — that's
nothin', that a'nt." — Pick-wick Papers, chapter xiii.
HALM [haam], HAULM [haum], HELM [helm] sb. Stubble
gathered after the corn is carried, especially pease and
beans' straw ; applied, also, to the stalks or stems of
potatoes and other vegetables.
HALMOT [hal'mut] sb. The hall mote; court leet or manor
court ; from the Saxon heal-mot, a little council.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HAME [haim] sb. Pease straw. (See Halm.}
HAMPER [hamp-ur] vb. To injure, or throw anything out
of gear.
" The door is hampered."
HAMPERY [ham-pur5 ij adj. Shaky ; crazy ; ricketty ;
weak ; feeble ; sickly.
HAND-COLD, adj. Cold enough to chill the hands. (See
also Finger-cold.}
"There was a frost down in the bottoms, for I was
right-down hand-cold as I come up to the great house."
HANDFAST, adj. Able to hold tight.
" Old George is middlin' handfast to-day" (said of a
good catch at cricket).
HANDFUL, sb. An anxiety ; to have a handful is to have
as much as a person can do and bear.
"Mrs. S. says she has a sad handful 'with her mother."
HAND-HOLD, sb. A holding for the hands.
" 'Tis a plaguey queer job to climb up there, there
an't no hand-hold,"
HANDSTAFF [hand-staaf] sb. The handle of a flail.
HANGER [hang-r] sb. A hanging wood on the side of a
hill. It occurs in the names of several places in
Kent — 'Retteshanger, Westeri/tanger, &c.
HANK [hangk], HINK [hingk] sb. A skein of silk or thread.
So we say a man has a hank on another ; or, he has
him entangled in a skein or string.
HAPPY-HO, adj. Apropos.
" My father was drownded and so was my brother ;
now that's very happy-ho!" meaning that it was a
curious coincidence.
HAPS [haps] (i) or HASP [haasp] sb. A hasp or fastening
of a gate. — P. (See Hapse.)
1631. — "For charnells and hapses for the two chests
in our hall." —MS.' Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 7 1
HAPS [haps] (2) vb. Happens.
" Now haps you doant know/'
HAPSE [haps] vb. To fasten with a hasp ; to fasten. In
the Weald of Kent hapse is used for the verb, and
hasp for the noun, e.g., "Hapse the gate after you!"
"I can't, the hasp is gone."
HARCELET [haa-slit], HASLET [haz-lit], sb. The heart,
liver, and lights of a hog. (See Acelot, Arslet, Harslet^)
HARD-FRUIT, sb. Stone-fruit ; plums, &c.
HARDHEWER [haa'dheur] sb. A stonemason.
The word occurs in the articles for building Wye
Bridge, 1637.
HARKY [haa-ki] inter j. Hark !
HARSLEM [haa'zlum] sb. Asylum.
"When he got to settin' on de hob and pokin* de
fire wid's fingers, dey thought 'twas purty nigh time
dey had him away to de harslem."
HARSLET [haa-zlet] sb. (See Acelot.)
HARVES [haa*vz] sb. pi. Haws. (See Haazes.)
HARVEST [haa*vist] vb. To gather in the corn ; to work
in the harvest-field, e.g., " Where's Harry ? " " Oh !
he's harvesting 'long with his father."
HARVESTER [haa-vistur] sb. A stranger who comes into
the parish to assist in the harvest.
HASSOCK [has-ok] sb. A large pond.
HASTY [hai-sti] adj. Heavy; violent. Often used of rain.
" It did come down hasty, an' no mistake."
HATCH [hach] sb. A gate in the roads ; a half-hatch is
where a horse may pass, but not a cart.
HATCH-UP [hach up] vb. To prepare for.
" I think it's hatching up for snow." " She's
hatching up a cold."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HAUL [hau-1] vb. To halloo ; to shout.
HAULMS AND FIGS [hau-mz und figz] sb. pi. Hips and
haws, the fruit of the hawthorn (Cratcegus oxyacantha]
and the dog-rose (Rosa canind).
HAVE [hav] vb. To take ; lead ; as, " Have the horse to
the field/'
" Have her forth of the ranges and whoso followeth
her let him be slain with the sword." — 2 Chron. xxiii.
14.
HAW [hau] sb. A small yard or inclosure. Chaucer has
it for a churchyard.
HAWK [hauk] vb. To make a noise when clearing the
throat of phlegm. An imitative word.
" He was hawking and spetting for near an hour
after he first got up/5
HAWMELL, sb. A small close or paddock.
HAYNET, sb. A long net, often an old fish net, used in cover
shooting to keep the birds and flick from running out of
the beat.
HEAF [heef] sb. The gaff-hook used by fishermen at
Folkestone.
HEAL [heel] vb. To hide ; to cover anything up ; to
roof-in.
" All right ! I'll work 'im ; I've only just got this
'ere row o' taturs to heal."
HEART [haat] sb. Condition ; spoken of ground.
" My garden's in better heart than common this
year."'
HEARTENING, adj. Strengthening.
" Home-made bread is more heartening than baker's
bread."
HEART-GRIEF, sb. Severe grief.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
73
HEARTH [hee*rth] sb. Hearing; hearing-distance.
" I called out as loud's ever I could, but he warn't no
wheres widin hearth."
HEARTS ALIVE ! [haats ulerv] inter j. An expression of
astonishment at some strange or startling intelligence.
" Hearts alive ! what ever upon earth be ye got at ? "
HEAVE [heev] vb. To throw ; to heave a card ; to play it ;
it being, as it were, lifted up or heav'd, before it is laid
down upon the table.
HEAVE-GATE [heev-gait] sb. A gate which does not work
on hinges, but which has to be lifted (heaved) out of the
sockets or mortises, which otherwise keep it in place,
and make it look like a part of the fence.
HEAVENSHARD [hevnz-haa-d] adv. Heavily; said of rain.
" It rains heavenshard."
HEAVER [hee-vur] sb. A crab. — Folkestone.
" Lord, sir, it's hard times ; I've not catched a pung
or a heaver in my stalkers this week ; the man-suckers
and slutters gets into them, and the congers knocks
them all to pieces."
HEED [heed] sb. Head.
HEEVE [heev] (i) sb. A hive; a bee-hive.
" I doant make no account of dese here new-fangled
boxes and set-outs ; you may 'pend upon it de old
heeves is best after all."
HEEVE [heev] (2) vb. To hive bees.
HEFT [heft] sb. The weight of a thing, as ascertained
by heaving or lifting it.
" This here heeve '11 stand very well for the winter,
just feel the heft of it."
HEG, sb. A hag ; a witch ; a fairy.
" Old coins found in Kent were called kegs pence by
the country people."
74 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HELE [heel] vb. To cover. (See Heal.)
HELER [heeler] sb. Anything which is laid over another ;
as, for instance, the cover of a thurrick or wooden
drain.
HELL-WEED, sb. A peculiar tangled weed, without any
perceptible root, which appears in clover, sanfoin or
lucerne, and spreads very rapidly, entirely destroy-
ing the plant. Curiously enough, it appears in the
second cut of clover, but does not come in the first.
(See Devil's Thread.) Cuscuta epithymum.
HELVING [helvin] partc. Gossiping, or " hung up by the
tongue/ ' — Tenter den.
"Where have you been helving?"
HEM, adv. An intensitive adverb = very, exceedingly.
" Hem queer old chap, he is ! "
HEMWOODS [henrwuodz] sb. pi. Part of a cart-horses'
harness which goes round the collar, and to which
the tees are fixed ; called aimes (hames) in West
Kent.
HEN AND CHICKENS, sb. The ivy-leaved toad-flax, other-
wise called Mother of Thousands ; and sometimes
Roving Sailor. Linaria vulgar is.
HERE AND THERE A ONE, adj. phr. Very few and scattered.
" There wasn't nobody in church to-day, only here
and there a one."
HERNSHAW [hurn-shau] sb. A heron. (See also Kitty
Hearn> Kitty Hearn Shrow.)
HERRING-FARE [herr' ing-fair] sb. The season for catching
herrings, which begins about the end of harvest.
HERRING-HANG, sb. A lofty square brick room, made
perfectly smoke - tight, in which the herrings are
hung to dry.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 75
HERRING-SPEAR, sb. The noise of the flight and cries of
the red-wings ; whose migration takes place about the
herring fishing time.
" I like's to hear it," says an old Folkestone fisher-
man, " I always catches more fish when it's about."
HETHER [hedh-ur] adv. Hither.
" Come hether, my son."
HEYCOURT [hai-koart] sb. The High Court, or principal
Court of the Abbot's Convent of St. Augustine's,
Canterbury.
HICKET [hik'it] vb. To hiccup, or hiccough.
HIDE, sb. A place in which smugglers used to conceal
their goods. There were formerly many such places in
the neighbourhood of Romney-marsh and Folkestone.
HIDE AND FOX [heid und foks] sb. Hide and seek; a
children's game.
" Hide fox, and after all." — Hamlety act iv. sc. 2.,
means, let the fox hide and the others all go to seek him.
HIGGLER [hig-lur] sb. A middleman who goes round
the country and buys up eggs, poultry, &c., to sell
again. So called, because he higgles or haggles over
his bargains.
HIKE [heik] vb. To turn out.
" He hiked 'im out purty quick."
HILL [hil] sb. The small mound on which hops are planted ;
a heap of potatoes or mangold wurzel.
HINK [hingk] sb. A hook at the end of a stick, used for
drawing and lifting back the peas, whilst they were
being cut with the pea-hook. The pea-hook and hink
always went together.
HIS-SELF, pron. Himself.
"Ah! when he's been married two or three weeks
he won't scarcely know his-self. He'll find the differ-
ence, I lay ! "
76 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HOATH [hoa-th], HOTH [hoth] sb. Heath ; a word which
is found in many place-names, as Zfo/Meld,
HOBBLE [hob-1] sb. An entanglement; difficulty; puzzle;
scrape.
"I'm in a reg'lar hobble."
HOBBL'D [hobl-d] pp. Puzzled; baffled; put to a difficulty.
HOCKATTY KICK [hok'utikik'] sb. A lame person.
HOCKER-HEADED [hok'ur-hed'id] adj. Fretful ; passionate.
HODENING [hod-ning] partc. A custom formerly prevalent
in Kent on Christmas Eve ; it is now discontinued, but
the singing of carols at that season is still called hoden-
ing. (See Hoodening.)
HOG-BACKED [hog-bakt] adj. Round backed ; applied
to a vessel when, from weakness, the stem and stern
fall lower than the middle of the ship.
HOG-HEADED, adj. Obstinate.
" He's such a hog-headed old mortal, 'taint no use
saying nothing to him."
HOG-PAT, sb. A trough made of boards.
HOILE [hoH] sb. The beard or stalk of barley or other
corn. (See lies.)
HOLL [hoi], HULL [hul] vb. To throw ; to hurl.
" Ha ! there, leave off hulling o' stones/'
HOLLY-BOYS AND IVY-GIRLS, sb. pi. It was the custom
on Shrove Tuesday in West Kent to have two figures
in the form of a boy and girl, made one of holly, the
other of ivy. A group of girls engaged themselves
in one part of a village in burning the holly-boy, which
they had stolen from the boys, while the boys were
to be found in another part of the village burning
the ivy-girl, which they had stolen from the girls,
the ceremony being, in both cases, accompanied by
loud huzzas.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 77
HOLP [hoalp] vb. Helped ; gave ; delivered.
"Assur also is joined with them, and have holpen
the children of Lot." — Psalm Ixxxiii. 8.
"What did you do with that letter I gave you to
the wheelwright ? " " I holp it to his wife."
HOLP-UP, vb. Over-worked.
" I dunno as I shaant purty soon look out another
plaace, I be purty nigh holp-up here, I think."
HOLT [hoa*lt] sb. A wood. Much used in names of places,
as Birc^0//, Knock^//, &c.
HOMESTALL [hoa'mstaul] sb. The place of a mansion-
house ; the inclosure of ground immediately connected
with the mansion-house.
HOMMUCKS [honruks] sb. pi. Great, awkward feet.
HOODENING [huod-ning] sb. The name formerly given to
a mumming or masquerade. Carol singing, on Christ-
mas Eve, is still so called at Monckton, in East Kent.
The late Rev. H. Bennett Smith, Vicar of St.
Nicholas-at-Wade, the adjoining parish to Monkton,
wrote as follows in 1876, — "I made enquiry of an
old retired farmer in my parish, as to the custom
called Hoodning. He tells me that formerly the
farmer used to send annually round the neighbour-
hood the best horse under the charge of the wagoner,
and that afterwards instead, a man used to represent
the horse, being supplied with a tail, and with a
wooden [pronounced ooden or hooden] figure of a
horse's head, and plenty of horse-hair for a mane.
The horse's head was fitted with hob-nails for teeth ;
the mouth being made to open by means of a string,
and in closing made a loud crack. The custom has
long since ceased." (See Hodening above.)
HoOGOO [hoo-goo] sb. A bad smell ; a horrible stench ;
evidently a corruption of the French haut gout.
" A Kentish gamekeeper, noticing a horrible stench,
exclaimed : " Well, this is a pretty hoogoo, I think ! "
78 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HOOK [huok] sb. An agricultural tool for cutting, of
which there are several kinds, viz., the bagging-hook,
the ripping-hook, &c.
HOP [hop] (i) vb. To pick hops.
" Mother's gone out hopping."
HOP (2) sb. Wood fit for hop-poles.
HOP-BIND [hop-beind] sb. The stem of the hop, whether
dead or alive. (See also Bine.}
HOP-DOG [hop-dog] (i) sb. A beautiful green caterpillar
which infests the hop-bine, and feeds on the leaves.
(2) An iron instrument for drawing the hop-poles out
of the ground, before carrying them to the hop-pickers.
HOPE [hoap] sb. A place of anchorage for ships.
HOPKIN [hop-kin] sb. A supper for the work-people, after
the hop-picking is over. Not often given in East Kent
. now-a-days, though the name survives in a kind of small
cake called huff kin, formerly made for such entertain-
ments. (See Huffkin, Wheatkin^)
HOPPER [hop-ur] sb. A hop-picker.
" I seed the poor hoppers coming home all drenched."
HOPPING [hop-ing] sb. The season of hop-picking.
" A fine harvest, a wet hopping." — Eastry Proverb.
HOP-PITCHER [hop-pichur] sb. The pointed iron bar used
to make holes for setting the hop-poles, otherwise
called a dog, a hop-dog, or a fold-pitcher.
HOP-SPUD, sb. A three-pronged fork, with which hop
grounds are dug.
HORN [haun] sb. A corner.
HORN-FAIR, sb. An annual fair held at Charlton, in Kent,
on St. Luke's Day, the i8th of October. It consists of
a riotous mob, who, after a printed summons, disperse
through the adjacent towns, meet at Cuckold's Point,
near Deptford, and march from thence, in procession,
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 79
through that town and Greenwich to Charlton, with
horns of different kinds upon their heads ; and, at the
fair, there are sold ram's horns, and every sort of toy
made of horn ; even the ginger-bread figures have
horns. It was formerly the fashion for men to go to
Horn-fair in women's clothes.
HORNICLE [honrikl] sb. A hornet.
.HORSE [hors] (i) sb. The arrangement of hop-poles, tied
across from hill to hill, upon which the pole-pullers
rest the poles, for the pickers to gather the hops into
the bins or baskets.
HORSE [hors] (2) vb. To tie the upper branches of the
hop-plant to the pole.
HORSEBUCKLE [horsbuk'l] sb. A cowslip. Primula veris.
HORSE EMMETS [hors enrutz] sb. pi. Large ants.
HORSE-KNOT, sb. The knap-weed ; sometimes also called
hard-weed. Centaurea nigra.
HORSE-LOCK [hors-lok] sb. A padlock.
A.D. 1528. — "Paid far & tors fob . . . vjd."
— Accounts of St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
HORSENAILS [hors-nailz] sb. pi. Tadpoles. Probably so
called because, in shape, they somewhat resemble
large nails.
HORSE PEPPERMINT [hors pep-rmint] sb. The common
mint. Mentha sylvestris.
HORSE-ROAD [hors*road] sb. In Kent, a road is not divided
as elsewhere, into the carriage-road and \\\e footpath ; but
into the horse-road and the foot-road. This name carries
us back to the olden times when journeys were mostly
made on horseback.
HORSES, sb. pi. To set horses together, is to agree.
" Muster Nidgett and his old 'ooman can't set their
horses together at all, I understan'."
8o Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HORT [hort] vb. Hurt.
" Fell off de roof o' de house, he did ; fell on's head,
he did ; hort 'im purty much, I can tell ye/'
HOTCH [hotsh] vb. To move awkwardly or with diffi-
culty in an irregular and scrambling way. French,
hocher, to shake, jog, &c. " He hotched along on the
floor to the top of the stairs/5 " I hustled through the
crowd and she hotched after me/' So, when a man
walking with a boy keeps him on the run, he is des-
cribed as keeping him hotching.
HOUGHED [huff-id] vb., past p. from hough, to hamstring,
but often used as a mere expletive.
" Snuff boxes, shows and whirligigs,
An houghed sight of folks." — Dick and Sal, st. 9.
HOUSE [houz] vb. To get the corn in from the fields into
the barn.
" We've housed all our corn."
HOUSEL [hous'l] sb. Household stuff or furniture.
" I doant think these here new-comers be up to
much ; leastways, they didn't want a terr'ble big cart
to fetch their housel along ; they had most of it home
in a wheelbar'."
HOVEL [hovl] (i) vb. To carry on the business of a hoveler.
HOVEL [hovl] (2) sb. A piece of good luck ; a good haul ;
a good turn or time of hovelling.
In some families, the children are taught to say in
their prayers, " God bless father and mother, and
send them a good hovel to-night."
HOVELER [hoviler] sb. A hoveler' s vessel. A Deal boat-
man who goes out to the assistance of ships in distress,
The hovelers also carry out provisions, and recover lost
anchors, chains and gear. They are first-rate seamen,
and their vessels are well built and well manned.
HOVER [hovr] adj. Light; puffy; raised; shivery; hunched-
up. Hence, poorly, unwell.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 81
HOVER [hovr] vb. To throw together lightly. There is
a special use of this word with regard to hops. In
East Kent it is the custom to pick, not in bins, but
in baskets holding five or six bushels. The pickers
gather the hops into a number of small baskets or
boxes (I have often seen an umbrella used), until they
have got enough to fill the great basket ; they then call
the tallyman, who comes with two men with the green-
bag; one of the pickers (generally a woman) then comes
to hover the hops ; this is done by putting both hands
down to the bottom of the great basket, into which the
hops out of the smaller ones are emptied as quickly
but gently as possible, the woman all the while raising
the hops with her hands ; as soon as they reach the
top, they are quickly shot out into the green bag
before they have time to sag or sink. Thus, very
inadequate measure is obtained, as, probably, a bushel
is lost in every tally ; indeed, hovering is nothing more
than a recognized system of fraud, but he would be a
brave man who attempted to forbid it.
HOWSOMEDEVER [hou'sumdevr], HOWSOMEVER [hou-sum-
evr] adv. Howsoever.
" But howsomdever, doant ram it down tight, but
hover it up a bit/'
HUCK [huk] (i) sb. The husk, pod, or shell of peas, beans,
but especially of hazel nuts and walnuts.
HUCK [huk] (2) vb.y act. and neut. To shell peas ; to get
walnuts out of their pods.
u Are the walnuts ready to pick ? " " No, sir, I tried
some and they won't huck."
HUFFKIN [huf kin], HUFKIN, sb. A kind of bun or light
cake, which is cut open, buttered, and so eaten. (See
Hopkm.}
HUFFLE [hufl] sb. A merry meeting ; a feast.
HUGE [heuj], HUGY [heuj-i] adv. Very. " I'm not huge
well." Sometimes they make it a dissyllable, hugy.
The saying hugy for huge is merely the sounding of
the final £, as in the case of the name Anne, commonly
pronounced An*ni. It is not Annie.
G
82 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
HULL [hul] (i) sb. The shell of a pea.
"After we have sheel'd them we throw the hulls
away/'
HULL [hul] (2) vb. To throw ; to hurl. (See Holl.)
" He took and hulled a gurt libbet at me."
HUM [hum] vb. To whip a top.
HUNG UP [hung up] vb. Hindered ; foiled ; prevented.
" He is quite hung up" i.e., so circumstanced that
he is hindered from doing what otherwise he would.
HURR [hur] adj. Harsh ; astringent ; crude ; tart.
" These 'ere damsons be terr'ble hurr."
HUSBAND [huz-bund] sb. A pollard.
Huss [hus] sb. Small spotted dog-fish. Scyttium canicula.
HUSSLE [hus-1] vb. To wheeze ; breathe roughly.
" Jest listen to un how he hussies."
HUSSLING [hus-ling] sb. A wheezing ; a sound of rough
breathing.
" He had such a hussling on his chest/'
HUSSY [hus-i] vb. To chafe or rub the hands when they
are cold.
HUTCH [huch] sb. The upper part of a wagon which
carries the load. A wagon consists of these three
parts : (i) the hutch, or open box (sometimes enlarged
by the addition of floats] which carries the corn or
other load, and is supported by the wheels ; (2) the
tug, by which it is drawn ; and (3) the wheels on
which it runs.
HUXON [huks-n] sb. pi. The hocks or hams.
HYSTE [heist] sb. A call ; a signal.
" Just give me a hyste, mate, when 'tis time to goo."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 83
i.
ICE [eis] vb. To freeze.
" The pond iced over, one day last week."
ICILY [ersili] sb. An icicle.
IKEY [ei-ki] adj. Proud.
ILES [eilz] sb. pi. Ails, or beards of barley. (See also
Hoik:}
ILLCONVENIENT [il*konveen*yunt] adj. Inconvenient.
INNARDLY [in-urdli] adv. Inwardly.
" He's got hurt innardly som'ere."
" He says his words innardly" i.e., he mumbles.
INNARDS [in-urdz] sb. The entrails or intestines ; an
innings at cricket.
"They bested 'em first innards."
INKSPEWER [ink-speu-r] sb. Cuttle-fish.
INNOCENT [in-oasent] adj. Small and pretty ; applied to
flowers.
" I do always think they paigles looks so innocent-
like."
IN 'OPES [in'oaps] phr. For in hopes. It is very singular
how common this phrase is, and how very rarely East
Kent people will say / hope; it is almost always, " I'm
in 'opes." If an enquiry is made how a sick person
is, the answer will constantly be, " I'm in 'opes he's
better;" if a girl goes to a new place, her mother
will say, " I'm in 'opes she'll like herself and stay."
IN SUNDERS [in sun*durz] adv. Asunder.
"And brake their bands in sunder."— Psalm cvii. 14.
INTERFERE [in-turfee-r] vb. To cause annoyance or
hindrance.
" I was obliged to cut my harnd tother-day, that's
what interferes with me,"
84 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
INTERRUPT [in-turrupt-] vb. To annoy; to interfere with
anyone by word or deed ; to assault.
A man whose companion, at cricket, kept running
against him was heard to say : " It does interrupt
me to think you can't run your right side ; what a
thick head you must have ! "
ISLAND [erlund] sb. In East Kent the island means the
Isle of Thanet.
" He lives up in the island, som'er," t.e.y he lives
somewhere in Thanet.
ITCH [ich] vb. (i.) To creep ; (ii.) to be very anxious.
IVY GIRL [ei-vi gurl] sb. (See Holly boys.}
j.
JACK IN THE BOX, sb. A reddish-purple, double poly-
anthus.
JACK-UP [jak-up] vb. To throw-up work ; or give up any-
thing from pride, impudence, or bad temper.
" They kep5 on one wik, and then they dMj'acked-up!"
JAUL [jau-1] vb. To throw the earth about and get the
grain out of the ground when it is sown, as birds do.
" The bothering old rooks have jauled all de seeds
out o' de groun5."
JAWSY [jau'zi] adj. Talkative. From the jaws.
JOCK [jok] vb. To jolt; (the hard form of jog).
JOCKEY [jok-i] adj. Rough ; uneven.
JOCLET [jok'lit] sb. A small manor, or farm.
TOYND" 1 STOOL [joi-nd-stool] sb. A stool framed with
J ~ ^ joints, instead of being roughly fashioned out
of a single block.
" It. in the great parlor, one table, half-a-dowsin of
high joind-stooles . . . " — Memorials of Eastry, p. 225.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 85
JOKES Y [joa'ksi] adj. Full of jokes ; amusing ; full of fun.
" He's a very jokesy man/'
JOLE [joal] sb. The jowl, jaw or cheek ; proverbial
expression, " cheek by jole "= side by side.
" He claa'd hold on her round de nick
An 'gun to suck har jole? \i.e., to kiss her.]
— Dick and Sal, st. 67.
JOLLY [joH] adj. Fat ; plump ; sleek ; in good condition,
used to describe the condition of the body, not of the
temperament.
JOSKIN, sb. A farm labourer (more especially a driver of
horses, or carter's mate,) engaged to work the whole
year round for one master.
JOSS-BLOCK [jos-blok] sb. A step used in mounting a horse.
JOUN [jou-n] vb. joined.
" He jouned in with a party o' runagate chaps, and
'twarn't long before he'd made away wid all he'd got."
JOY [jau-i] sb. The common English jay.
JUDGMATICAL, adj. With sense of judgment.
JULY-BUG [jeu-lei-bug] sb. A brownish beetle, commonly
called elsewhere a cockchafer, which appears in July.
(See also
JUNE-BUG [jeu-n-bug] sb. A green beetle, smaller than
the July-bug, which is generally to be found in June.
JUSTLY [just-li] adv. Exactly ; precisely ; for certain.
" I cannot justly say," i.e., I cannot say for certain.
JUST, intensive adv. Very ; extremely.
"I/^^was mad with him." "Didn't it hurtme/z^?"
JUST-SO [just-soa] adv. Very exactly and precisely ;
thoroughly ; in one particular way.
" He's not a bad master, but he will have every-
thing done just-so ; and you wunt please him without
everything is just-so, I can tell ye ! "
JUT [jut] sb. A pail with a long handle.
86
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
K.
KARFE [kaa*f] sb. The cut made by a saw ; the hole
made by the first strokes of an axe in felling or
chopping wood; from the verb to carve. (See Carf,
which is out of place on p. 25.)
KEALS [keelz] sb. pi. Ninepins.
KEEKLEGS [kee*klegz] sb. An orchis. Orchis mascula.
(See Kites legs.)
KEELER [kee-lur] sb. A cooler; being the special name
given to a broad shallow vessel of wood, wherein milk
is set to cream or wort to cool.
In the Boteler Inventory, we find : "In the milke
house one brinestock, two dozen of trugs, ix. bowles,
three milk keelers, one charne and one table."
— Memorials of Eastry, p. 228.
"Half a butter -tub makes as good a keeler as
anything."
KEEN, sb. A weasel.
KEEP -ALL -ON, vb. To continue or persevere in doing
something.
" He kep-all-on actin' the silly."
KEG-MEG [keg-meg] sb. A newsmonger ; a gossip ; a
term generally applied to women.
KELL [kel] sb. A kiln.
KENTISH MAN, sb. A name given by the inhabitants of
the Weald to persons who live in other parts of the
county.
KEPT GOING [kep- goa-ing] vb. Kept about (i.e.y up and
out of bed) ; continued to go to work.
" He's not bin well for some time, but he's kep'
going until last Saddaday he was forced to give up."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 87
KERN [kur-n] vb. To corn ; produce corn.
" There's plenty of good kerning\ax\& in that parish."
KETTLE-MAN [ket-1-man] sb. Lophius piscatorius, or sea-
devil.
KEYS [keez] sb. pi. Sycamore-seeds.
" The sycamore is a quick-growing tree, but trouble-
some near a house, because the keys do get into the
gutters so, and in between the stones in the stable-
yard."
KICK - UP - JENNY [kik-up-jin-i] sb. A game played,
formerly in every public-house, with ninepins (smaller
than skittles) and a leaden ball which was fastened to
a cord suspended from the ceiling, exactly over the
centre pin ; when skilfully handled the ball was swung
from the extreme length of the cord, so as to bring down
all the pins at once.
KIDWARE [kid-wair] sb. Peas ; beans, &c.
KILK [kilk], KINKLE [kingk-1] sb. Charlock. Sinapis
arvensis, the wild mustard.
KILN-BRUSH [kil-n-brush] sb. A large kind of fagot, bound
with two wiffs or withs, used for heating kilns. (See
Bobbin, Pimp and
KINDLY [kei-ndli] adj. Productive; used with reference
to land which pays for cultivation.
" Some on it is kindly land and som' on it ain't."
KING JOHN'S MEN, one of. A term applied to a short man.
" He's one of King John's men, six score to the
hundred."
Six score, 120, was the old hundred, or long-hundred.
KINK [kingk] (i) sb., KINKLE [kingk-1] sb. A tangle; a
hitch or knot in a rope.
" Take care, or you'll get it into a kink."
KINK [kingk] (2) vb. To hitch ; twist ; get into a tangle.
88 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
KINTLE [kint'l] sb. A small piece ; a little corner. So
Bar grave MS. Diary, 1645. — " Cutt owt a kintle." (See
also Cantle.)
KIPPERED [kip-urd] adj. Chapped ; spoken of the hands
and lips, when the outer skin is cracked in cold weather.
" My hands are kippered!'
KIPPER-TIME, sb. The close season for salmon.
A.D. 1376. — " The Commons pray that no salmon be
caught in the Thames between Gravesend and Henly
Bridge in kipper-time, i.e., between the Feast of the
Invention of the Cross [14 Sept.] and the Epiphany
[6 Jan.] and that the wardens suffer no unlawful net
to be used therein." — Dunkin's History of Kent, p. 46.
KITE'S LEGS [keets-legs]. Orchis mascula.
KITTENS [kit-nz] sb. pi. The baskets in which the fish are
packed on the beach at Folkestone to be sent by train
to London and elsewhere.
KITTLE [kit- 1] (i), KIDDLE [kid-1] vb. To tickle.
KITTLE [kit-1] (2), KITTLISH [kit-lish] adj. Ticklish ; un-
certain ; difficult to manage.
" Upon what kittle, tottering, and uncertain terms
they held it." — Somner, of Gavelkind, p. 129.
KITTY- COME - DOWN - THE - LANE - JUMP-UP- AND-KISS-ME, sb.
The cuckoo pint is so called in West Kent. Arum
maculatum.
KITTY HEARN [kit-i hurn] sb. The heron.
KITTY HEARN SHROW [kit-i hurn shroa] sb. The heron.
— Chi I ham.
KITTY-RUN-THE-STREET, sb. The flower, otherwise called
the pansy or heartsease. Viola tricolor.
KNOLL [noa-1] sb. A hill or bank ; a knole of sand ; a
little round hill; used in place names — Knowle, Knowl-
ton.
Dictionary of the Kentish, Dialect. 89
KNOWED [noa*d] vb. Knew.
" I've knowed 'im ever since he was a boy/'
KNUCKER [nuk-r] vb. To neigh.
L.
LACE [lais] vb. To flog. The number of words used in
Kent for chastising is somewhat remarkable.
LADY-BUG [lai-di-bug] sb. A lady-bird. (See Bug.) This
little insect is highly esteemed. In Kent (as elsewhere),
it is considered unlucky to kill one, and its name has
reference to our Lady, the blessed Virgin Mary, as is
seen by its other name, Marygold.
LADY-LORDS [lardi-lordz] sb. pi. Lords and ladies ; the
name given by children to the wild arum. Arum
maculatum.
LADY-KEYS [lardikee'z] sb. pi. Same as Lady-lords.
LAID IN [lai-d in] vb. A meadow is said to be laid in for
hay, when stock are kept out to allow the grass to
grow.
LAIN [lain] sb. A thin coat (a laying) of snow on the
ground.
" There's quite a lain of snow/'
LANT-FLOUR [lau-nt-flou-r] sb. Fine flour.
LASHHORSE [losh-us] sb. The third horse from the plough
or wagon, or horse before a pinhorse in the team. —
East Kent.
LASH OUT [lash out] vb. To be extravagant with money,
&c. ; to be in a passion.
" Ye see, he's old uncle he left 'im ten pound. Ah !
fancy, he jus' did lash out upon that ; treated every-
body, he did/'
go Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
LAST [laast] (\)sb. Ten thousand herrings, with a hundred
given in for broken fish, make a last.
LAST [laa-st] (2) sb. An ancient court in Romney Marsh,
held for levying rates for the preservation of the
marshes.
LATHE [laidh] (Anglo-Saxon, lath) (i) sb. A division of
the county of Kent, in which there are five lathes, viz.,
Sutton-at-Hone, Aylesford, Scray, St. Augustine's, and
Shepway.
LATHE [laidh] (2) vb. To meet.
LATH [? laidh or lath] sb. The name of an annual court,
held at Dymchurch. One was held i5th June, 1876,
which was reported in the Sussex Express of 1 7th June,
1876.
LATHER [ladh-ur] sb. Ladder.
" They went up a lather to the stage." — MS. Diary
of Mr. John Bargrave, Fellow of Peterhouse, Cam-
bridge, 1645. Mr. Bargrave was nephew of the Dean
of Canterbury of that name, and a Kentish man.
The family were long resident at Eastry Court, in
East Kent. This pronunciation is still common.
LAVAST [lavust] sb. Unenclosed stubble.
LORCUS- HEART [lau'kus - hart] inter j. As " O lorcus-
heart," which means " O Lord Christ's heart."
LAWYER [laa-yur] sb. A long thorny bramble, from which
it is not easy to disentangle oneself.
LAY, LEY [lai] sb. Land untilled. We find this in place-
names, as Leysdown in Sheppey.
LAY-INTO, vb. To give a beating.
" It's no use making friends with such beasts as
them (bulls), the best way is to take a stick and lay
into them.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. gi
LAYSTOLE [lai-stoal] sb. A rubbish heap.
"Scarce could he footing find in that fowle way,
For many corses, like a great lay-stall
Of murdered men, which therein strowed lay
Without remorse or decent funerall."
— The Faerie Queene, I. v. 53.
LEACON [lee-kun] sb. A wet swampy common ; as, Wye
Leacon, West well Leacon.
LEAD [leed] (i) sb. The hempen rein of a plough-horse,
fixed to the halter by a chain, with which it is driven.
LEAD [leed] (2) sb. Way ; manner.
" Do it in this lead," i.e., in this way.
LEARN [lurn] vb. To teach.
" O learn me true understanding and knowledge."
— Psalm cxix. 66 (Prayer Book version).
LEASE [leez] vb. To glean ; gather up the stray ears of
corn left in the fields.
LEASE- WHEAT [lee-zweet] sb. The ears picked up by the
gleaners.
LEASING [lee-zing] partc. Gleaning.
LEASTWISE [lee-stweiz] adv. At least ; at all events ; any-
how ; that is to say.
" Tom's gone up int' island, leastwise, he told me as
how he was to go a wik come Monday."
LEATHER, vb. To beat.
" Catched 'im among de cherries, he did : and leathered
'im middling he did/'
LEAVENER [levunur, levnur] sb. A snack taken at eleven
o'clock ; hence, any light, intermediate meal. (See
Elevenses.}
LEER [leer] sb. Leather; tape.
"I meane so to mortifie myselfe, that in steede of
silks I wil weare sackcloth ; for owches and bracel-
letes, leere and caddys ; for the lute vse the distaffe."
— Lilly's Euphues, ed. Arber, p. 79.
9 2 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
LEES [leez] (i) sb. A common, or open space of pasture
ground. The Leas [leez] is the name given at Folke-
stone to the fine open space of common at the top of
the cliffs.
LEES [leez] (2) sb. A row of trees planted to shelter a hop-
garden. (See Lew.)
LEETY [lee-ti] adj. Slow ; behind-hand ; slovenly. Thus
they say :
" Purty leety sort of a farmer, I calls 'im."
LEF-SILVER, sb. A composition paid in money by the
tenants in the wealds of Kent, to their lord, for leave
to plough and sow in time of pannage.
LEG-TIRED, adj.
"Are ye tired, maate ?" "No, not so terr'bly, only
a little leg-tired."
LERRY [ler-r'i] sb. The "part" which has to be learnt by
a mummer who goes round championing. — Sitting-
bourne. (See Lorry.}
LET, vb. To leak ; to drip.
" That tap lets the water."
LETCH [let-ch] sb. A vessel, wherein they put ashes, and
then run water through, in making lye.
LEW [loo] (i) sb. A shelter. Anglo-Saxon hleow, a
covering ; a shelter.
(2) A thatched hurdle, supported by sticks, and set
up in a field to screen lambs, &c., from the wind.
" The lambs 'ud 'ave been froze if so be I hadn't
made a few lews."
LEW [loo] (3) adj. Sheltered.
" That house lies lew there down in the hollow."
LEW [loo] (4) vb. To shelter, especially to screen and
protect from wind.
" Those trees will lew the house when they're up-
grown," i.e., those trees will shelter the house and
keep off the wind when they are grown up.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 93
LIB, vb. To get walnuts off the trees with libbats.
LlBBAT, sb. A billet of wood ; a stick.
1592. — "With that he took a libbat up and beateth
out his braines." —Warner, Albion's England.
LID [lid] sb. A coverlet.
LIEF [leef] adv. Soon ; rather ; fain ; gladly.
" I'd as lief come to-morrow."
LIEF-COUP [leef-koop] sb. An auction of household goods.
LIGHT [leit] (i) sb. The whole quantity of eggs the hen
lays at one laying. (2) The droppings of sheep. (See
also Tr eddies.}
LIGHT UPON [leit upon] vb. To meet ; to fall in with any
person or thing rather unexpectedly
" He lit on him goin' down de road."
LIGHTLY [lertli] adv. Mostly.
LIKE [leik] (i) vb. To be pleased with; suited for; in
phrase, to like one's self.
" How do you like yourself? " i.e., how do you like
your present position and its surrounding ?
LIKE [leik] (2). Adverbial suffix to other words, as
pleasant-/^, comfortable-//^, home-/z/&?, &c.
" It's too clammy-/**&."
LINCH, LYNCH [lin-ch] sb. A little strip of land, to mark
the boundary of the fields in open countries, called
elsewhere landshire or landsherd, to distinguish a share
of land. In Eastry the wooded ridge, which lies over
against the church, is called by the name of the Lynch.
LINGER [ling-ur] vb. To long after a thing.
" She lingers after it."
LINGERING [ling-uring] adj. Used with reference to a
protracted sickness of a consumptive character.
" He's in a poor lingering way,"
94 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
LlNGY [linj-i] adj. Idle and loitering.
LINK [link] vb. To entice ; beguile ; mislead.
"They linked him in along with a passel o' good-for-
nothin' runagates/'
LlRRY [lirr'i] sb. A blow on the ear.
LlSHY [lish'i] adj. Flexible ; lissome. Spoken of corn,
plants and shrubs running up apace, and so growing
tall and weak.
LISSOM [lis'um] adj. Pliant; supple. Contracted from
lithesome.
LIST, adj. The condition of the atmosphere when sounds
are heard easily.
"It's a wonderful list morning."
LITCOP [lit-kup] sb. Same as Lief -coup.
LlTHER [lidh-ur] adj. Supple ; limber ; pliant ; gentle.
LIVERY [livur-i] adj. The hops which are at the bottom
of the poles, and do not get enough sun to ripen
them are called white livery hops.
LOB [lob] vb. To throw underhand.
LODGE [loj] (i) sb. An outbuilding; a shed, with an im-
plied notion that it is more or less of a temporary
character. The particular use to which the lodge is
put is often stated, as a cart-lodge, a wagon-fodge.
" The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a
vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." —
Isaiah i. 8.
" As melancholy as a lodge in a warren."
— Much Ado About Nothing, act ii. sc. i.
LODGE [loj] (2) vb. To lie fast without moving.
" That libbat has lodged up there in the gutter, and
you can't get it down, leastways not without a lather/'
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 95
LODGED [loj-d] adj. Laid flat ; spoken of corn that has
been beaten down by the wind or rain.
" We'll make foul weather with despised tears,
Our sighs, and they shall lodge the summer corn."
— Richard II. act iii. sc. 3. (See also Macbeth, iv. 1.55.)
LOMPY [lomp-i] adj. Thick ; clumsy ; fat.
LONESOME [loa-nsum] adj. Lonely.
LONG-DOG [long-dog] sb. The greyhound.
LONGTAILS [long-tailz] sb. pi. An old nickname for the
natives of Kent.
In the library at Dulwich College is a printed
broadside entitled "Advice to the Kentish long- fails
by the wise men of Gotham, in answer to their late
sawcy petition to Parliament/' — Fol. 1701.
LOOKER [luok-ur] (i) sb. One who looks after sheep and
cattle grazing in the marshes. His duties with sheep
are rather different from those of a shepherd in the
uplands.
LOOKER [luok-ur] (2) vb. To perform the work of a looker.
" John ? Oh ! he's lookering"
LOOKING-AT [luok'ing-at] sb. In phrase, " It wants no
looking-at" i.e., it's plain ; clear ; self-evident.
LOOK UPON [luok upun-] vb. To favour ; to regard kindly.
" He's bin an ole sarvent, and therefore I dessay
they look upon 'im."
LOPE-WAY [loap-wai] sb. A private footpath.
LORRY [lor- r'i], LURRY [lur-r'i] sb. Jingling rhyme ; spoken
by mummers and others. (See Lerry^)
LOSH-HORSE, sb. The third horse of a team. (See Rod-
horse.)
9 6 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
LOVE [luv ; loov] sb. A widow.
" John Stoleker's loove."
— Burris History of Parish Registers, p. 115.
1492. — "Item rec. of Belser's loue the full
of our kene ...... xvjs viijd.
" Item rec. of Sarjanti's loue . . xiij8 ivjd.
" Item payde for the buryng of Ellerygge's
loue and her monythis mynde . . . iiijs.
— Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Dunstarts, Canterbury.
1505. — " Rec. of Chadborny's loove for waste
of ij torchys [at his funeral] . . . viijd.
" Rec. of Chadborny's widow for the bequest
of her husband ..... iijs iiijd.
— Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Andrew's, Canterbiiry.
'Low [lou] vb. To allow; to suppose, e.g., "I 'low not/'
for " I allow not."
'LOWANCE [lou-ans] sb. An allowance ; bread and cheese
and ale given to the wagoners when they have brought
home the load, hence any recompense for little jobs of
work. (See Elevenses.}
LOWEY [loa-i] sb. The ancient liberty of the family of
Clare at Tunbridge, extending three miles from the
castle on every side.
" The arrangements made by the King for the ward-
ship of Richard de Clare and the custody of the castle
appear to have given umbrage to the Archbishop, who
(circa, A.D. 1230) made a formal complaint to the King
that the Chief Justiciary had, on the death of the late
Earl, seized the castle and lowey of Tunbridge, which
he claimed as fief of the archbishopric."
— Archaologia Cantiana, xvi. p. 21.
Lows [loaz] sb. pi. The hollows in marsh land where the
water stagnates.
LUBBER HOLE, sb. A place made in a haystack when it is
three-parts built, where a man may stand to reach the
hay from the men in the wagon, and pitch it up to those
on the top of the stack.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 97
LUCKING-MILL, sb. A fulling-mill.
LUG-SAND [lug'-sand] sb. The sand where the lugworm is
found by fishermen searching for bait.
LUG [lug], SIR PETER, sb. A person that comes last to
any meeting is called Sir Peter Lug; lug is probably
a corruption of lag. (See Peter Grievous below.)
LUSHINGTON, sb. A man fond of drink.
" He's a reg'lar lushington, 'most always drunk."
LUSTY [lust-i] adj. Fat; flourishing; well grown; in good
order.
" You've growed quite lusty sin' we seed ye last."
LYSTE-WAY [list-wai] sb. A green way on the edge of a
field. This word occurs in a MS. dated 1356, which
describes the bounds and limits of the parish of Eastry,
" And froo the weye foreseyd called wenis, extende the
boundes and lymmites of the pishe of Easterye by a
wey called lyste toward the easte."
— Memorials of Eastry ', p. 28.
M.
MABBLED [mab-ld] vb. Mixed; confused.
" An books and such like mabbled up." — Dick and Sat, st. 70.
MAD [mad] adj. Enraged; furious.
" Being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted
them." — Acts xxvi. n.
MAGGOTY [mag-uti] adj. Whimsical ; restless ; unreliable.
" He's a maggoty kind o' chap, he is."
MAID [maid] sb. A little frame to stand before the fire to
dry small articles. (See Tamsin.}
H
98 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
MAN OF KENT, phr. A title claimed by the inhabitants
of the Weald as their peculiar designation ; all others
they regard as Kentish men.
MANNISH [man'ish] adj. Like a man ; manly.
• " He's a very mannish little chap/'
MAN-SUCKER [man-suk-r] sb. The cuttle fish. — Folkestone.
MARCH [march] sb. Called in East Kent "March many
weathers/'
MARM [maam] sb. A jelly.
MARSH [maa-sh] sb. In East Kent the Marsh means
Romney Marsh, as the Island means the Isle of
Thanet in East Kent, or Sheppy in North Kent.
Romney Marsh is the fifth quarter of the world,
which consists of Europe, Asia, Africa, America and
Romney Marsh. (See Mash.)
MARYGOLD [mar-r'igold] sb. A lady bird. The first part
of the name refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the
latter, gold^ to the bright orange, or orange-red, colour
of the insect. This little insect is highly esteemed in
Kent, and is of great service in hop-gardens in eating
up the fleas and other insects which attack the hops.
(See Golding.)
MASH [mash] sb. A marsh. (See Marsh, Mesh.}
MATCH -ME -IF -YOU -CAN, sb. The appropriate name of
the variegated ribbon-grass of our gardens, anciently
called our lady's laces, and subsequently painted laces,
ladies' laces, and gardener's garters. Phalaris arun-
dinacea.
MATCH-RUNNING, MATCH- A-RUNNING, sb. A game peculiar
to Kent, and somewhat resembling prisoner's base.
(See also Stroke-bias^]
MATE [mait, and also mee-ut] sb. A companion ; comrade ;
fellow-labourer; friend; used especially by husband or
wife to one another.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 99
MAUDRING [mairdring] vb. Mumbling.
MAUND (i) [maand, maund], MAUN [maun], MOAN [moan],
sb. A large, round, open, deep wicker basket, larger at
top than bottom, with a handle on each side near the
top (some have two handles, others of more modern
pattern have four) ; commonly used for carrying chaff,
fodder, hops, &c., and for unloading coals.
Shakespeare uses the word —
" A thousand favours from a maund she drew,
Of amber, crystal and of braided jet."
— Lovers' Complaint, st. vi.
MAUND (2) sb. A hay-cock is called a maund of hay (? a
mound of hay).
MAUNDER [mau-nder] vb. (i.) to scold; murmur; complain.
(ii.) To walk with unsteady gait ; to wander about
with no fixed purpose.
MAXUL [maks-1] sb. A dungheap ; also called max hi II ;
maxon ; mixon ; misken.
MAY-BUG [mai-bug] sb. A cockchafer, otherwise called a
July-bug.
MAY HILL [mai hil] sb. Used in the phrase, " I don't
think he'll ever get up May hill" i.e., I don't think he
will live through the month of May. March, April and
May especially, owing to the fluctuations of tempera-
ture, are very trying months in East Kent. So, again,
the uncertain, trying nature of this month, owing to
the cold east or out winds, is further alluded to in the
saying—
" Ne'er cast a clout
Till May is out."
MAY- WEED, sb. Anthemis cotula.
MAZZARD [maz'urd] sb. Prunus avium.
MEAL, sb. Ground wheat or any other grain before it
is bolted. In bolting, the bran is divided into two
qualities, the coarser retains the name of bran, and
the finer is called pollard.
ioo Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
MEASURE-FOR-A-NEW- JACKET, TO, vb. To flog; to beat.
" Now, you be off, or I'll measure you for a new
jacket."
MEASURING-BUG, sb. The caterpillar.
MEECE [mees] sb. pi. Mice.
"Jus* fancy de meece have terrified my peas."
MEACH [mee-ch] vb. To creep about softly. (Sometimes
Meecher.)
MEEN, vb. To shiver slightly.
MEENING [meerring] sb. An imperfect fit of the ague.
MEGPY [meg'pi] sb. The common magpie.
MELT [melt] sb. A measure of two bushels of coals.
MENAGERIE [menaaj-uri] sb. Management; a surprising
and clever contrivance.
" That is a menagerie ! "
MENDMENT, sb. (Amendment.) Manure.
MENNYS [men'is] sb. Same as Minnis.
MERCIFUL [mersiful] adj. Used as an intensive expletive,
much in the same way as "blessed" or "mortal" are
used elsewhere.
" They took every merciful thing they could find."
MERRIGO [merr'igoa] sb. A lady bird. (Corruption of
Mary go Id.)
MESH [mesh and maish] sb. A marsh. (See Mash.)
MESS-ABOUT, vb. To waste time.
" Don't keep ail-on messing-about like that, but come
here directly-minute."
METT [met] sb. A measure containing a bushel. Anglo-
Saxon metan, to measure.
1539. — " Paid for a mett of salt xjd."
— MS. Accounts, St. Johris Hosptial, Canterbury.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 101
MEWSE [meuz] sb. An opening through the bottom of a
hedge, forming a run for game.
MIDDLEBUN [mid-lbun] sb. The leathern thong which
connects the hand-staff of a flail with the swingel.
MIDDLEMAS [mid-lmus] sb. Michaelmas.
MIDDLING [mid-ling] adj. A word with several shades of
meaning, from very much or very good, to very little
or very bad. The particular sense in which the word
is to be taken for the time is determined by the tone
of the speaker's voice alone.
MIDDLINGS, sb. An instalment of shoe-money, sometimes
given to the pickers in the middle of the hopping time.
MILCH-HEARTED [milch-haat-id] adj. Timid; mild; tender-
hearted ; nervous.
" Jack won't hurt him, he's ever so much too milch-
hearted."
MILL [mil] vb. To melt.
MILLER'S EYE [mil-urz ei] sb. To put the miller's eye out
is when a person, in mixing mortar or dough, pours
too much water into the hole made to receive it ; then
they say, " I reckon you've put the miller's eye out
now ! " — Eastry.
MILLER' S-EYES [mil-urz-eiz] sb. pi. Jelly-fish. — Dover.
MILLER'S THUMB [mil-urz-thum] sb. A fish which is other-
wise known as bull-head. Coitus gobio.
MIND [meind] (i) sb. To be a mind to a thing; to intend ;
purpose; design it. The complete phrase runs thus,
" I'm a mind to it."
MIND [meind] (2) vb. To remember.
" Do you mind what happen' d that time up in
Island?"
MINE [mein] sb. Any kind of mineral, especially iron-stone.
io2 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
MlNNlS [min-is] sb. A wide tract of ground, partly copse
and partly moor ; a high common ; a waste piece of
rising ground.
There are many such in East Kent, as Swingfield
Minnis, Ewell Minnis ^ &c.
MINT [mint] sb. The spleen.
MlNTY [mint'i] adj. Full of mites, used of meal, or cheese.
MINUTE [min-it] sb. A Kentish man would say, " a little
minute" where another would say, " a minute." So,
" a little moment" in Isaiah xxvi. 20, " Hide thyself
as it were for a little moment, until the indignation
be overpast."
MINUTE [min-it] sb. Directly -minute, immediately. (See
Dreckly -minute^
MISCHEEVIOUS, adj. Mischievous.
MISERY [miz-ur'i] sb. Acute bodily pain ; not sorrow or
distress of mind, as commonly.
" He's gone in great misery for some time."
MISHEROON, sb. A mushroom.
MISKEN [mis-kin] sb. A dunghill. (See Mixon, Maxon,
Maxul.}
MlSS, sb. Abbreviation of mistress. Always used for
Mrs., as the title of a married woman.
MIST [mist] impers. vb. "It mists" i.e., rains very fine
rain.
MISTUS [mis-tus] sb. Mistress ; the title of a married
woman.
" My mistus and me's done very well and comfortable
together for 'bove fifty year ; not but what we've had a
misword otherwhile, for she can be middlin' contrairy
when she likes, I can tell ye/'
MiSWORD [mis'wurd] sb. A cross, angry, or abusive word.
" He's never given me one misword."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 103
MiTHERWAY, interj. phr. Come hither away. A call by
a wagoner to his horses.
MITTENS [mit'nz] sb. pi. Large, thick, leathern gloves
without separate fingers, used by hedgers to protect
their hands from thorns.
MlXQN [miks-un] (Anglo-Saxon, mix, dung; mixen, a
dung-hill) sb. A dung-heap ; dung-hill. Properly one
which is made of earth and dung ; or, as in Thanet, of
seaweed, lime and dung. Otherwise called maxon ;
in Eastry, maxul.
MiZMAZE, sb. Confusion ; a puzzle.
" Time I fell off de stack, soonsever I begun to look
about a little, things seemed all of a mizmaze."
1678. — "But how to pleasure such worthy flesh and
blood, and not the direct way of nature, is such a miz-
maze to manhood." — Howard, Man of Newmarket.
MOAN, sb. A basket, used for carrying chaff or roots for
food ; and for unloading coals. (See Maun, Maund.}
MOKE [moak] sb. A mesh of a net.
MOLLIE [moH] sb. A hedge sparrow ; otherwise called
dicky hedge-poker.
MONEY [muiri] sb. The phrase, " good money," means good
pay, high wages.
" He's getting good money, I reckon."
MONEY-IN-BOTH-POCKETS, sb. Lunaria biennis. The plant
otherwise known as honesty, or white satin- flower, as it
is sometimes called from the silvery lustre of its large
circular-shaped saliques, which, when dried, were used
to dress up fire-places in summer and decorate the
chimney-mantels of cottages and village inns. The
curious seed-vessels, which grow in pairs, and are
semi-transparent, show the flat disc -shaped seeds
like little coins within them, an appearance which
no doubt originated the name, Money -in-both-pockets.
IO4
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
MONEY-PURSE [mun-i-pus] sb. A purse.
" He brought our Jack a leather cap
An' Sal a money-puss" — Dick and Sal, st. 16.
MONEY-SPINNER, sb. A small spider supposed to bring
good luck.
MONKEY-PEA [murrkipee] sb. Wood-louse ; also the ligea
oceanica, which resembles the wood-louse, and lives in
the holes made in the stone by the pholades.
MONT [munt] sb. Month.
MOOCH [mooch] vb. To dawdle.
MOOR [moor] sb. Swampy and wet pieces of ground.
MOORNEN [moo-rneen] sb. A moor hen.
MOOT [moo-t] sb. The root or stump of a tree, which,
when felled, is divided into three parts; ist, the moot ;
2nd, the stem ; 3rd, the branches.
MORE [moa-r] adv. Used of size or dimensions ; as, " as
big more" i.e., as big again.
MORT [mor-t], MOT [mot] sb. Abundance ; a large
quantity; a multitude. A mort of money, apples,
birds, men, &c.
MOSES [moa-ziz] sb. A young frog. — East Kent.
MOST-TIMES [moa'st-teimz] adv. Generally ; usually.
MOSTEST [moa-stist] adv. Farthest ; greatest distance.
" The mostest that he's bin from home is 'bout
eighteen miles."
East Kent people seldom travel far from home.
MOTHER OF THOUSANDS [mudh-ur uv thou-zundz] sb.
Linaria cymbularia.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 105
MOTHERY [mudlrur'i] adj. Out of condition ; muddy ;
thick ; with a scum or mould upon it.
" The beer's got pretty mothery, seeminly."
MOVE, sb. An action or plan.
" Well, that's a middlin' silly move, let be how 'twill."
MOWL [moul] sb. Mould.
MUCH [much] (i) vb. To fondle ; caress ; pet.
" However did you manage to tame those wild
sheep ? " " Well, I mutched 'em, ye see."
MUCH [much] (2) adj. Used with regard to the state of
the health.
" How are ye to-day ? " " Not much, thank ye."
MUCH AS EVER [much az evr] adv. Hardly ; scarcely ;
only just ; with difficulty.
" Shall you get done (i.e., finish your job) to-day ? "
"Much as ever"
MUCH OF A MUCHNESS, advl. phrase. Very much alike ; as
like as two peas.
MUCK [muk] (i) vb. To dirty ; to work over-hard.
MUCK [muk] (2) sb. A busy person.
" De squire was quite head muck over this here
Jubilee job."
MUCK ABOUT [muk ubou-t] vb. To work hard.
" He's most times mucking about somewhere' s or
another."
MUCKED UP [muk-t-up] adv. All in confusion and dis-
order.
" I lay you never see such a place as what master's
study is ; 'tis quite entirely mucked-up with books."
MUDDLE ABOUT [mud-1 ubou-t] vb. To do a little work.
"As long as I can just muddle about I don't mind."
io6
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
MULLOCK [mul-uk] vb. To damp the heat of an oven. A
diminutive of Old English mull, which is merely a
variant of mould.
MUNTON [munt*n] sb. The mullion of a window,
is nearer to the medieval form munnion.
This
MUSH [mushj sb. A marsh.
MUSHEROON [mush-iroon] sb.
moucheron.
A mushroom. French,
MUSTER [must-r] sb. Mister (Mr.), the title given to an
employer, and often contracted into muss. The
labourer's title is master, contracted into mass.
" Where be you goin', Mass Tompsett ? "
"Well, -I be goin' 'cross to Muss Chickses."
N.
NABBLER [nab-lur] sb. An argumentative, captious person ;
a gossip ; a mischief-maker.
NAIL [nai'l] sb. A weight of eight pounds.
NAILBOURN [naHburn or narlboarn] sb. An intermittent
stream.
Harris, in his History of Kent, p. 240, writes, "There
is a famous eylebourn which rises in this parish [Petham]
and sometimes runs but a little way before it falls into
the ground;" and again at p. 179, Harris writes,
" Kilburn saith that A.D. 1472, here (at Lewisham)
newly broke out of the earth a great spring ; " by
which he probably meant an eylebourn or nailbourn.
"Why! the nailbourn' s begun to run a' ready."
NATCHES [naclrez] sb. The notches or battlements of a
church tower.
NATE [nait] sb. Naught ; bad.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 107
NATIVE [nai-tiv] sb. Native place ; birthplace.
" Timblestun (Tilmanstone) is my native, but I've
lived in Eastry nearly forty years come Michaelmas."
NATURE [nai-chur] sb. Way ; manner. " In this nature/'
in this way.
NAWN STEERS [naun steerz] sb. pi. Small steers. Cf.
French nain, dwarf.
NEAT [neet] vb. To make neat and clean.
NEB [neb] sb. A peg used to fasten the pole of an ox-
plough to the yoke. (See Dyster^]
NE'ER A ONCE, adv. Not once.
NEIGHBOUR, vb. To associate.
" Though we live next door we don't neighbour."
NESS [nes] sb. A promontory ; a cape ; a headland. Seen
in place names as ~Dungeness, Sheer/zm, &c. French,
Nez ; Scandinavian, Naze. So the English sailors call
Blanc Nez, opposite Dover, Blank-Tzm or 'Black-ness.
NET [net] sb. A knitted woollen scarf.
NEWLAND [neu-lund] sb. Land newly broke up or ploughed.
NICKOPIT [nik-upit*] sb. A bog ; a quagmire ; a deep hole
in a dyke.
NIDGET [nij-it] sb. A shim or horse-hoe with nine irons,
used for cleaning the ground between the rows of hops
or beans.
NIGGLING [nig-lin] adj. Trifling ; petty ; troublesome on
account of smallness.
" There, I tell ye, I aint got no time for no sich
niggling jobs/'
NIMBLE DICK [nimb-1 dik] sb. A species of horse-fly or
gad-fly, differing somewhat from the Brims.
NIPPER [nip-ur] sb. A nickname given to the youngest or
smallest member of a family.
io8 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
NISY [nei'si] sb. A ninny ; simpleton.
NIT, sb. The egg of a louse or small insect.
" Dead as a nit" is a common expression.
NOD [nod] sb. The nape of the neck. With this are
connected noddle, noddy; as in the nursery rhyme —
" Little Tom Noddy,
All head and no body."
NOHOW [noa-hou] adv. In no way ; not at all.
" I doant see as how as I can do it, not nohow."
NONCE [nons] sb. The phrase, "for the nonce" means
for the once, for that particular occasion ; hence, on
purpose with design or intent.
NONE [nun] adj. " None of 'em both," i.e.y neither of 'em.
NONE-SO-PRETTY, sb. The name of the little flower, other-
wise known as London pride. Dianthus barbatus.
NOOKIT, sb. A nook.
No OUGHT [noa aut] advbl. phrase. Ought not.
" The doctor said I no ought to get out." The ex-
pression " you ought not " is seldom used ; it is almost
invariably no ought. A similar use of prepositions
occurs in such phrases as up-grown, out-asked, &c.
No PRINCIPLE. This expression is only applied in Kent to
people who do not pay their debts.
NORATION [noar'ai-shun] sb. A fuss ; a row ; a set out or
disturbance by word or deed. (See also Oration.)
"What a noration there is over this here start,
surely e ! "
No SENSE, adj. phr. Nothing to speak of ; nothing to
signify.
" It don't rain ; leastways, not no sense."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 109
NOTCH [noch] vb. " To notch up" to reckon or count ;
alluding to the old method of reckoning at cricket,
where they used to take a stick and cut a notch in it
for every run that was made.
NOYES [noiz] adj. Noisome ; noxious ; dangerous ; bad
to travel on.
" I will it be putt for to mende fowle and noyes ways
at Collyswood and at Hayne." — Lewis, p. 104.
NUNCHEON [nunch-yun] sb. A mid-day meal. The original
meaning was a noon-drink, as shewn by the old spell-
ing, none-chenche, in Riley's Memorials of London, p.
265.
" When laying by their swords and truncheons
They took their breakfasts or their nuncheons."
— HudibraS) pt. I. canto i.
NURITY [neu-r'iti] sb. Goodness.
"The bruts run away with all the nurity of the
potato/' — West Kent.
NUTHER [nudh-ur] conj. Neither; giving an emphatic
termination to a sentence.
" And I'm not going to it, nuther" i.e., I am not
going to do it, you may be sure !
o.
OARE [oar] sb. Seaweed ; seawrack. This is the name
of a parish in North Kent, near Faversham, which is
bounded on the north by the river Swale, where pro-
bably great quantities of seaweed collected.
" To forbid and restrain the burning or
taking up of any sea oare within the Isle of Thanet."
— Lewis, p. 89.
OAST [oast] sb. A kiln for drying malt or hops, but
anciently used for any kind of kiln, as a bryk-,te/,
i.e., brick-kiln. — Old Parish Book of Wye, 34 Henry
VIII.
no Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
Canon W. A. Scott -Robertson, says, "This name
for a kiln was used in Kent long before hops were
introduced/' In a deed, dated 28 Edward I. (copied
by Mr. Burt, in the Record Office), we find, " Roger
de Faukham granting to William de Wykewane, and
Sarah, his wife, 3 acres of land which 'jacent apud le
Lymoste in parochia de Faukham/' " During Wat
Tyler's insurrection, some of the insurgents went to
a place called the Lymost^ in Preston-next-Faversham,
on the 5th of June, 1381, and ejected .... goods and
chattels of Philip Bode, found there, to wit, lime,
sacks, &c." — Archceologia Cantiana, III. 90. In a
lease, dated 1455, and granted by the Churchwardens
of Dartford to John Grey and John Vynor, we read,
" The tenants to build a new lime-oast that shall
burn eight quarters of lime at once." — Landale's
Documents of Dartford^ p. 8. Limehouse, a suburb
of London, seems to have been named from a lym-
oste ; it was not formed into a parish until the i8th
century. In a valuation of the town of Dartford, 29
Edward I., we find mention of "John Ost, William
Ost and Walter Ost"
OBEDIENCE [oabee'dyuns] sb. A bow or curtsey ; an
obeisance.
" Now Polly, make your obedience to the gentleman ;
there's a good girl."
'OB RABBIT IT [od rab-it it] inter j. A profane expression,
meaning, "May God subvert it." From French rabattre.
OF [ov] prep. Used for with, in phrase, " I have no
acquaintance of such a person."
OFFER [of -ur] vb. To -lift up ; to hold up anything for the
purpose of displaying it to the best advantage.
I once heard a master paperhanger say to his assist-
ant, when a customer was inspecting some wall-papers,
" Just offer this paper up for the lady to see."
OFF FROM, vb. To avoid ; prevent.
" I couldn't be off from going, he made such a point
of it."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 1 1
OLD, adj. This word is constantly applied to anything or
anybody without any reference to age.
OLD MAN, sb. Southernwood. Artemisia abrotanum.
ONE-EYED, adj. Inconvenient ; a general expression of
disapproval.
" That's a middlin' one-eyed place."
" I can't make nothin' of these here one-eyed new-
fashioned tunes they've took-to in church ; why they're
a' most done afore I can make a start."
Oo [oo] sb. In phrase, " I feel all of a oo," i.e., I feel ill ;
or, " That's all of a oo" i.e., that is all in confusion.
OOD [ood] sb. Seaweed ; also wood.
ORDER, sb. To be "in order" is a common expression for
being in a passion.
" When the old chap knows them cows have been
out in the clover he'll be in middlin' order ; he'll begin
to storm and no mistake ! "
ORNARY [aun-ur'i] adj. Ordinary ; common ; poor ; in-
ferior ; bad.
"Them wuts be terr'ble ornary"
OTHERSOME [udh-ursum] phr. Some others.
"And some said, what will this babbler say? Other-
some, he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods."
— Acts xvii. 1 8.
OTHERWHERE-ELSE [udh-urwair'els-] adv. Elsewhere.
OTHERWHILE [udh-ur-werl] adv. Occasionally. " Every
otherwhile a little," i.e., a little now and then.
" And otherivhiles with bitter mocks and mowes
He would him scorne." — Faerie Qtteen, b. 6, c. vii. xlix.
OURN [ou-urn] poss. adj. Ours. (See Hisn.}
1 1 2 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
OUR SAVIOUR'S FLANNEL [Our Saivyurz flairl] sb. At
Bridge, near Canterbury, this name is given to Echium
vulgare (L.), and at Faversham to Verbascum thapsus
(L.) — Britten's Dictionary of English Plant Names.
OUT [ou-t] adj. A north, north-east, or east wind.
" The wind is out to-day," i.e., it is in the east, north-
east, or north. (See also Upward^}
OUT- ASKED [ou-traa-st] adj 7. phrase. Used of persons whose
banns have been asked or published three times, and
who have come out of that stage unchallenged.
OUTFACE [outfai-s] vb. To withstand ; resist face to face ;
brazen it out.
OUT-OF-DOORS, adj. Out of fashion.
"I played de clarrynet, time we had a band in church
and used to sing de psalms ; but 'tis all upset now ;
dere's nothing goos down but a harmonium and a
passel o' squallin' children, and dese here new-fangled
hymns. As for poor old David, he's quite entirely put
out o' doors."
OUTROOPE [outroo'p] sb. An auction of household goods.
— Sandwich Book of Orphans.
OUTRUNNINGS, sb. pi. Straggling wood beyond a hedge-
row, not measured-in with the part to be cut.
OUTSTAND [outstand-] vb. To oppose; to stand out
against, either in making a bargain or an assertion.
(Foreright, Upstand, &c.)
" He outstood me that he hadn't seen him among de
currants."
OVEN [uvn] sb. "To go to oven" is to bake. (See also
Forge.}
OVER [oa*vur] prep. To. " I'm gooing over Oare," i.e.,
I'm going to Oare.
OVER-RUN [oa-ver'un] vb. To overtake and pass.
OXBIRD [oks-burdj sb. The common dunlin. Tringa
variabilis. Called Oxybird in Sheppy.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
PADDOCK [pad-uk] sb. A toad.
PADDY [pad-i] adj. Worm-eaten.
PAIGLE [pai-gl] sb. Cowslip. — East Kent. (See also Pegle.}
PALM-TREE [paa-mtree] sb. The yew tree.
Dr. Pegge says : " They will sometimes, on Palm
Sunday, dress a church with yew-branches, which I
think very strange, because this was always esteemed
a funeral tree, but after they once called it the palm-
tree^ the other mistake follow'd as it were on course."
— See Gentleman's Magazine, December, 1779, p. 578.
To this day (1885) the old people in East Kent call
the yew-tree the palm-tree, and there is, in the parish
of Woodnesborough, a public-house called "The Palm-
tree" which bears for its sign a clipped yew tree. —
See Memorials of Eastry, p. 1 16.
PALTER [pau-ltur]. To wreck or pilfer stranded vessels
and ill-use shipwrecked sailors.
PANDLE [pand-1] sb. A shrimp. (Low Latin, pandalus.}
PARCEL [paa-sl] sb. A portion ; a quantity; as "a. parcel
of bread and milk." (See also Passel.}
" He took a good parcel of bread and milk for
breakfast."
PARGE [paa-j] vb. To put on an ordinary coat of mortar
next to brick-work and tiling.
PARGET [paa-jit] sb. Mortar.
PAROCK [parr'uk] sb. A meeting to take an account of
rents and pannage in the Weald of Kent.
"When the bayliff or beadle of the lord held a
meeting to take account of rents and pannage in the
Weilds of Kent, such meeting was called a parock."
— Kennett MS. Parock is literally the same word as
paddock.
H4 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
PART [paat] sb. This word is frequently used redundantly,
especially after back, e.g., "You'll be glad to see the
back part of me," i.e., to see my back, to get me gone.
PARTIAL [paa-shul] adj. Fond of.
" I be very partial to pandles."
PASS THE TIME o' DAY, vb. To salute those you meet on
the road with " good morning," " good afternoon," or
" good evening," according to the time of day.
" I don't know the man, except just to pass the time
o' day."
PASSEL [pas-1] sb. A parcel ; a number. .
u There was a passel o5 boys hulling stones."
PATTERN [pat-rn] vb. To imitate.
" I shouldn't think of patterning my mistress."
PAWL [pau-1] sb. A pole ; a stake ; a strut or prop, placed
against a lodge or other building to support it.
PAY-GATE [pai-gait] sb. A turnpike gate.
PEA-BUG, sb. The wood-louse. (See Monkey-pea.}
PEA-HOOK [pee-huok] sb. The implement used in con-
junction with a hink for cutting peas. It was like a
ripping -hook, only mounted on a longer handle.
(See also Bagging-hook, Sickle.}
PEART [pi-urt] adj. Brisk; lively.
" He's bin out of sorts for a long time, but he's
gettin' on better now ever s'much ; he's quite peart
this mornin'."
1592. — "There was a tricksie girle, I wot, albeit clad in gray,
As peart as bird, as straite as boulte, as freshe as flowers
in May." — Warner, Albion's England.
PECK [pek] sb. A heading knife, used by fishermen.
PEDIGREE [ped-igree]. A long story ; a rigmarole.
" He made a middlin' pedigree over it."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 1 5
PEEK [peek] vb. To stare ; gape ; look at.
"An dare we pook't and peeked about
To see what made it stick up." — Dick and Sat, st. 47.
PEEKINGS [pee-kingz] sb. pi. Gleanings of fruit trees.
PEEKY [pee-ki] adj. Looking ill, or poorly ; often used of
children when out of sorts. French, pique.
" He's peart enough to-day agin', but he was terr'ble
peeky yesterday."
PEEL [peel], PEAL, sb. A long-handled, broad, wooden
shovel, used for putting bread into the oven.
1637. — " Payed for a peale for the kitchen, js iijd."
— MS. Accounts, St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
PEELER [pee-lr] sb. A round iron bar, used for making
the holes into which hop-poles or wattles are placed.
(See also Fold-pitcher^]
PEGGY [peg-i], PEGGY -WASH -DISH [peg-i-wash-dish] sb.
A water-wagtail.
PEGLE [pee-gl] sb. A cowslip. Primula veris. (See Cul-
ver keys, Horsebuckle.)
"As yellow as a pegle."
PELL [pel] sb. A deep place or hole in a river.
PELT [pelt-] sb. Rags ; rubbish, &c. (See Culch.}
PENT [pent] sb. (French, pente, a slope or declivity.)
There is a place called " The Pent,' on a hill-side, in
the parish of Postling.
PERK [purk] vb. To fidget about restlessly.
" How that kitten doos V&vp perking about."
PESTER-UP, vb. To bother ; to hamper ; to crowd.
" He'd got so much to carry away, that he was
reg'lar pester ed-up, and couldn't move, no form at all."
PET, sb. A pit.
1 1 6 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
PETER -GRIEVOUS [pee-tur-gree-vus] adjL phr. Fretful;
whining ; complaining. (See Sir Peter Lug, where
the name, Peter ; is also introduced ; hence, it would
seem not unlikely that the words were first used sar-
castically of ecclesiastics.)
PETH [peth] vb. To pith ; to sever the spinal cord or
marrow of a beast.
PETTYCOAT [pet-ikoat] sb. A man's waistcoat.
PHARISEES [farr'iseez] sb. pi. Fairies. (See Fairisies^
PICK UPON [pik up'on] vb. To tease ; annoy ; make a
butt of.
" They always pick upon my boy coming home from
school."
PIG-POUND [pig-pou-nd] sb. A pig-sty.
PiKY [pei'ki] sb. A turnpike traveller ; a vagabond ; and
so generally a low fellow.
PILCH [pilch] sb. A triangular piece of flannel worn by
infants.
FITTER [pit'ur] vb. To loosen the earth or throw it up
lightly ; to throw it up gently ; also in phrase " To
pitter about," meaning to go about fussing or fidget-
ting. Sometimes miswritten pither.
PILLOW-BERE [pil'oa-bee'r] sb. A pillow case.
PILLOW-COOTS [pil-oa-koo-ts] sb. pi. Pillow coats or
pillow cases.
Amongst other linen in one of the chambers at
Brook-street, we find " syx pillow-coots."
— Boteler Inventory in Memorials of Eastry, p. 229.
PIMP [pinrp] sb. A small bundle of cleft wood, used for
lighting fires. (See Kilnbrush, Wiff.}
PIN-HORSE [phrus] sb. The second horse of a team, next
in front of the rod-horse. — East Kent.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. \ \ 7
PINIES [pei-niz] sb.pl. Peonies. Paonia.
PINNER [pin-ur] sb. The little button or fastening of a
cupboard door. Allied to pin and pen.
PiNNOCK [pin-uk] sb. A wooden drain through a gateway.
(See Thurrock.}
PITTERING-IRON [pituring-eirn] sb. A poker.
PLACE [plais] sb. A barton ; a courtyard.
PLAGUESOME [plai-gsum] adj. Troublesome.
PLANETS [plan-its] sb. pi. " It rains by planets," when
showers fall in a small compass, in opposition to
general rain.
PLASH [plash] vb. To repair a live hedge, by cutting half
through some of the stems near the ground and then
bending the upper parts down, and keeping them so
by means of hooked sticks driven into the bank.
1536. — " Payd .... for dykying and plasshing off
a hedg." —MS. Accounts,St. Johrts Hospital, Canterbury.
PLATTY [plat'i] adj. Scattered ; uncertain ; here and
there ; uneven ; fastidious. Used of a thin crop of
corn, or of a child who is sickly and dainty.
PLAY [plai] UPON, vb. To dwell upon ; to work ; to worry.
" It plays upon her mind."
PLAYSTOOL [plai-stool] sb. An old word which apparently
meant a public recreation ground, though certainly lost
as such now, yet the word is very common throughout
Kent as the name of a field which was once parish
property. It is easy to see that playstool is a corruption
of playstall, i.e., a play place, exactly as laystole is a
corruption of laystall. The plestor at Selborne, men-
tioned by Gilbert White, is the same word.
PLAY THE BAND, phr. Instead of saying " The band is
going to play," it is common to hear " They are going
to play the band."
II*
Diditmary <>/ I In: /w •////•.// l)tnft;l.
PLENTY [plent'i] sb. A plenty ; enough.
" There, there, that's a plenty."
PLOG [plogj (i) sb. The block of wood at the end of a
halter, to prevent its slipping through the ring of
the manger. An intermediate form between plug
and block. Elsewhere called a clog.
PLOG [plog] (2) vb. To clog; to hamper; to retard; to
b«: a drawback or dr,ad vanf a^<:.
" I reckon it must plog him terribly to be forced to
goo about wid a 'ooden-leg."
PLOT [plot] sb. A plan ; design ; sketch ; drawing.
" Given to Mr, Vezy for drawing a plot for an house,
02 OO OO." —Bxpeme Book of James Master i Esq. i \byb-y.
[plump] adj. Dry ; hard*
"A plump whiting," is a dried whiting. "The
way, an- />///>///>," lli«- road-, an: hard.
h] vb. To tread the ground into holes as the
in wet weather. (See Putch.}
I'OAMIY poa-rlii| ml/. I'ulJ of puddl«-,. I ><-v ript ion of
Around win- . b«:«;ii trampled into mud by lli<:
JIM:!, of c.altlir.
POAD MILK [poa'd milk] sb. The first few meals of milk
that coma from a cow lately calved. (See also
Beasts, Biskins> Bismilk.}
POCKET [pok'it] sb. A measure of hops, about i68-lbs.
l'om>l I' ' pod-i •,//. A n.it.M- -iv. n lo b«-an-., p«-a.-,, Ian-,,
vetches, or such vegetables as have pods.
roimi-.K M'Ain:; | pod-r tM-ofn | ',//. i'odd«-r -,t ubbl.- ; tin:
stubble of beans, peas, Sec. (See Grotten.}
PODGE [poj] ^. A pit or hole ; a cesspool.
POINTING-POST [poi'nting-poast] sb. A sign-post, finger-
post, direction post, standing at a corner where two or
inon- ways m<-«-l, and /v/////////; oul the road lrav«-J)«-r,
slioulcJ
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 1 9
POKE [poak], POOK [pook] sb. (i.) A sack. Hence, the
proverbial phrase, " To buy a pig in a poke" i.e., to
buy your pig without seeing it; hence, to make a bad
bargain.
" His meal-^/iv hang about his neck
Into a leathern whane,
Well fasten'd to a broad bucle,
What was both stark and strang."— Robin Hood, i. 98.
The word is also specially used for the " green-bag"
in which hops are conveyed from the garden to the
oast.
(ii.) A cesspool.
J'oi.DKR [poa-ldur | sb. A marsh; ;i pircn of bogtfy soil.
" In Holland the peat polders are rich prairies
situated below the level of the sea, containing a
stratum of peat more or less thick." There is in
Eastry a place now called Felder land, but anciently
" Polder land." There is also a place still called
Polders, between Sandwich and Woodnesborough.
POLP [poa'lp] sb. Pulp. The name given to a modern
food for cattle, consisting of roots, chaff, grains, fodder,
&c., all mashed and cut up small, and mixed together.
—East Kent.
POLRUMPTIOUS [polrunvshus] adj. Rude ; obstreperous.
POLT [poa-lt] (i) vb. To knock; to beat ; to strike.
(2) sb. A peculiar kind of rat-trap.
(3) adj* Saucy ; audacious.
PONGER [pong-ur] sb. The large edible crab, Cancer-
pagurus, is best known by this name in North Kent ;
the name crab being restricted to the common shoe-
crab. (See Pung.)
POOCH OUT [poo-ch out] vb. To protrude. Rarely used
except in speaking of the lips.
"When I axed him for a holiday, I see his lip pooched
out purty much ; didn't like it much, he didn't."
POOCHY [poo'chi] sb. A bathe; a paddle in shallow water.
"Let's go and have &poochy"
120 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
POOK [poo-k] sb. The poke or peak of a boy's cap.
POOR [poo-r] adj. Bad. As, "poor weather;" " a poor
day/' " 'Tis terr'ble poor land."
POPEING [pea-ping] partc. To go popeing is to go round
with Guy Fawkes on the 5th of November.
"Please, sir, remember the old Pope!"
POPY [poa-pi] sb. The poppy. Papaver.
POST-BIRD [poa-st-burd] sb. The common spotted fly-
catcher. Muscicapa grisola.
POST HOLES [poa*st hoalz] sb. pi. Holes dug in the ground
for the insertion of gate or fencing posts ; it is used in
North Kent as a comic word for nothing.
" What have ye got in the cart there?" "Oh! only
a load of post-holes." — Sittingbourne.
POTHER-HOOK [podh-ur-huok] sb. A hook used for cutting
a hedge. (See also Hook, Bagging-hook, &c.)
POTHERY [podh*uri] sb. Affected by a disease to which
sheep and pigs are liable ; it makes them go round
and round, till at last they fall down.
POUNCE [pou-ns] sb. A punch or blow with a stick or the
closed fist.
" I thoft I'd fetch him
So heav'd my stick an' meant it."
— Dick and Sal, st. 76.
POUT [pou-t] (i), POWT, sb. A small round stack of hay
or straw. In the field hay is put up into smaller heaps,
called cocks, and larger ones, called pouts; when carted
it is made into a stack.
POUT [pou-t] (2) sb. The phrase, " Plays old pout,"
seems equivalent to " Plays old Harry," and similar
expressions. Probably a variant of pouk, which, in
Middle English, means " the devil."
" I've been out of work this three days, and that
plays old pout with you when you've got a family."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 2 1
POUTERS [poirturz] sb. pi. Whiting-pouts. — Folkestone.
PREHAPS [pree-hapz] adv. Perhaps.
PRESENT [prez-unt] adv. Presently ; at present ; now.
PRETTY BETTY, sb. Flowering Valeriana rubra.
This plant grows luxuriantly at Canterbury, on some
of the walls of St. Augustine's College.
PRETTY NIGH [purt-i nei] adv. Very nearly.
" Tis purty nigh time you was gone, I think/'
PRICK UP THE EARS, vb. A proverbial saying is " You
prick up your ears like an old sow in beans."
PRICKLE [prik-1] sb. A basket containing about ten
gallons, used at Whitstable for measuring oysters.
Two prickles equal one London bushel. One prickle
equals two wash (for whelks). But the prickle is not
exact enough to be used for very accurate measuring.
PRICKYBAT [prik-ibat] sb. A tittlebat.
PRIM [prim] sb. The privet. Ligustrum vulgar e.
PRINT [print*] adj. Bright; clear; starlight; light enough
to read by.
" The night is print;" "The moon is print; " "The
moonlight is very print."
PRITCHEL [prich-1] sb. An iron share fixed on a thick
staff for making holes in the ground.
PRODIGAL [prod-igl] adj. Proud.
" Ah ! he's a proper prodigal old chap, he is."
PROLE [proa-1] vb. To prowl, sb. A stroll ; a short walk,
such as an invalid might take.
" He manages to get a liddle prole most days, when
'tis fine."
PROPER [prop-ur] adj. Thorough ; capital ; excellent ;
beautiful ; peculiarly good or fitting.
" Moses . . . was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw he was a proper child." — Heb. xi. 23.
122
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
PROPERLY [prop'urli] adj. Thoroughly.
"We went over last wik and played de Feversham
party; our party bested 'em properly ', fancy we did!"
PRULE [proo'l] sb. A gaff-hook. — Folkestone.
PUCKER [puk-er] sb. A state of excitement or temper.
" You've no call to put yourself in a pucker."
PUDDING-PIE, sb. A flat tart made like a cheese-cake, with
a raised crust to hold a small quantity of custard, with
currants lightly sprinkled on the surface. These cakes
are usually eaten at Easter — but a Kent boy will eat
them whenever he can get them.
1670. — "ALB. And thou hadst any grace to make
thyself a fortune, thou wou'dst court this wench, she
cannot in gratitude but love thee, prethee court her.
" LOD. I'll sell pudding-pies first."
— Benjamin Rhodes. Fiords Vagaries (a comedy).
PUDDOCK [pud-uk] sb. A large frog. (See also Paddock
and Puttock^
PUG [pugj sb. Soft ground ; brick-earth, ready for the
mould.
PULL
de
[pul] vb.
bilitate.
To pull up before the magistrates ; to
" If he knocks me about again I shall pull him."
" The ague's properly pulled him this time."
PULL-BACK [pul-bak] sb. A drawback ; a hindrance ; a
relapse after convalescence.
PUMPIN [pump'in] sb. Pumpkin.
" I know 'twas ya grate pumpin 'ead
Fust blunnered through de glass."
— Dick and Sal, st. 81.
PUNG [pung-], PUNGER [punj-ur] sb. The same as ponger.
PUNNET [pun-it] sb. A pottle, or small basket, in which
strawberries are sold.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 123
PURTY TIGHT [purt'i tei't] adv. phrase. Pretty well ; very
fairly.
" Now, Sal, ya see had bin ta school,
She went to old aunt Kite ;
An' so she was'en quite a fool,
But cud read purty tight? — Dick and Sal, st. 56.
PUTCH [puch] sb. A puddle ; pit or hole.
A putch of water.
PUTTICE [put-is], PUTTAS [put'us] sb. A weasel ; a stoat.
PUTTOCK [put*ok] sb. A kite.
So Puttoc&'s-down, a place in the ancient parish of
Eastry, now in Worth parish, means kite's-down.
PUTTOCK-CANDLE [put'uk-kand'l] sb. The smallest candle
in a pound, put in to make up the weight.
PUT-UPON [put'-upoir] vb. To worry and bother a person
by giving him an unfair amount of work, or exacting
from him time, strength, or money, for matters which
are not properly within his province.
" He's so easy, ye see, he lets hisself be put-upon by
anybody."
Q-
QUANT [kwont] sb. A young oak sapling; a walking stick;
a long pole used by bargemen.
QUARRELS, sb. pi. Quarries, or panes of glass.
" Item for newe leadinge of the wyndow and for
quarreles put in in Tomlyn's hale [hall] wyndowe,
beinge 20 foote of glasse and 28 panes . . . vijs viijd."
— Sandwich Book of Orphans.
QUEER [kwee-r] vb. To make or cause to feel queer; to
puzzle.
" It queers me how it ever got there/'
"I'll queer 'em."
" But what queered me, he said, 'twas kep
All roun about de church." — Dick and Sal^ st. 10.
I24
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
QUEER-STREET [kwee-r-street] sb. An awkward position ;
great straits ; serious difficulties.
" But for that I should have been in queer-street."
QUERN [kwurn] sb. A handmill for grinding grain or seed.
" Ite in the mylke house . . two charnes, a mustard
quearne ...'/' — Boteler Inventory , Memorials of Eastry.
QUICK [kwik] sb. Hawthorn, e.g., a quick hedge is a haw-
thorn hedge.
QUICKEN [kwik-en] sb. The mountain ash. Pyrus aucu-
paria.
QUID [kwid] sb. The cud.
" The old cow's been hem ornary, but she's up again
now and chewing her quid."
QUIDDY [kwid-i] adj. Brisk.
QUILLY [kwil'i] sb. A prank ; a freak ; a caper.
QUITTER FOR QUATTER [kwit-r fur kwat-r] phr. One
thing in return for another. (See Whicket^}
QUOT [kwot] pp. or adj. Cloyed ; glutted.
R.
RABBIT'S MOUTH [rab-its mouth] sb. The snap-dragon.
Antirrhinum majus.
RACE MEASURE [rais mezh-r] sb. Even measure ; as dis-
tinguished from full measure, which is 2 1 to the score,
as of corn, coals, &c. ; while race measure is but 20.
But full in this case has reference to the manner of
measurement. When the bushel is heaped up it is
full ; when struck with strickle and made even it is
race measure.
RACKSENED [raks-nd] adj. Overrun with ; given up to.
" That oast yonder is racksened with rats."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 2 5
RAD [rad] sb. A rod; a measure, i6j feet. A rod of
brickwork is i6j feet square ; but the ancient rod
seems to have been 20 feet.
"And then also the measurement of the marsh [i.e.,
Romney Marsh] was taken by a rod or perch, not of
i6j feet, which is the common one now, but of 20 feet
in length." —Harris's History of Kent, p. 349.
RADDIS-CHIMNEY [rad-is-chinrni] sb. A chimney made
of rods, lathes, or raddles, and covered with loam or
lime.
RADDLE-HEDGE [rad-1-hej] sb. A hedge made with raddles.
RADDLE [rad-1] sb. A green stick, such as wattles or
hurdles are made of. In some countries called
raddlings. Raddle is simply the diminutive of rad
or rod.
RADE [raid] adj. or adv. Coming before the usual time ;
early. Milton has rathe.
" Bring the rathe primrose that forsaken dies."
— Lycidas^ 1. 142.
RADICAL [rad-ikl] sb. A wild, ungovernable, impudent,
troublesome fellow.
" He's a rammed young radical."
RAFF [raf] sb. Spoil ; plunder.
RAFT [raa-ft] sb. A crowd of people ; a rabble.
" There was such a raft of people there."
RAGGED JACK [rag- id jak] sb. Meadow lychnis. Lychnis
flos-cuculi.
RAMMED [ram-d]. A substitute for a worse word.
RAN [ran] sb. A Folkestone herring net, which is about
thirty yards long, is made four rans deep ; and there
are sixty meshes to a ran.
RANGERS [rai-njurz] sb. pi. The bars with which the
herring-hangs are fitted. Upon these rangers are
placed the spits upon which the herrings are hung up.
126
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
RAPID, adj. Violent ; severe ; as applied to pain.
An old woman in Eastry Union Workhouse, who was
suffering from sciatica, told me that " It was rapid in
the night;" where there was no allusion to quickness
of movement, but to the severity of the pain.
RASTY [raa-sti] adj.
butter or bacon.
Rank ; rancid ; rusty ; spoken of
(See
RATTLEGATE [rat-lgait] sb. A hurdle or wattle.
Raddle-hedge above.)
RAVEL-BREAD [ravl-bred] sb. White-brown bread.
RAW [rau] adj. Angry. — Sittingbourne.
REACH [reech] sb. A creek.
REASTY [ree'sti] adj. Rusty ; rancid ; rank. (See Rasty^]
RECKON [rek-un] vb. To consider; to give as an opinion.
" I reckon " is an expression much used in Kent to
strengthen observations and arguments.
" I reckon we shall have rain before night."
REDGER [rej-r] sb. A ridge-band; a chain which passes
over a horse's back to support the rods.
RED PETTICOAT, sb. The common poppy ; sometimes also
called red-weed. Papaver.
REECE [ree*s] sb. A piece of wood fixed to the side of the
chep, i.e.y the part of a plough on which the share is
placed.
REEMER [ree-mur] sb. Anything very good.
" I wish you'd seen that catch I made forty year
agoo, when we was playin' agin de Sussex party.
Ah ! that just was a reemer, I can tell ye ! Dey all
said as how dey never seed such a catch all their
lives."
REEMING [ree*ming] adj. Very good ; superior.
REEVE [reev] sb. A bailiff. (See Reve.}
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 2 7
REFFIDGE [ref-ij] adj. Refuse ; good-for-nothing ; worth-
less.
" I never see so many reffidge taturs about as what
there is this year."
REFUGE [ref-euj] adj. Refuse; the worst of a flock, &c.
(See Reffidge.}
" I sold my refuge ewes at Ashford market for thirty
shillings."
REMEMBERING, partc. To go round with Guy Fawkes
on 5th November is called remembering. (See also
Hoodening and Popeing^]
" George and me went round remembering and got
pretty nigh fower and threepence."
RENTS [rents] sb. pi. Houses ; cottages.
A.D. 1520. — "For a key to Umfrayes dore in the
rentis." —Accounts of St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
There is a street in London named Fullwood's Rents.
REVE [reev] sb. A bailiff.
1596. — "In auncient time, almost every manor had
his reve, whose authoritie was not only to levie the
lord's rents, to set to worke his servaunts, and to
husband his demeasnes to his best profit and com-
moditie ; but also to governe his tenants in peace,
and to leade them foorth to war, when necessitie so
required." —Lambarde's Perambulation, p. 484.
REXON [reks-n] pp. To infect, as with the small-pox, itch,
or any other disorder. (See Wrexon.]
REZON [rez-un] sb. A wall-plate ; a piece of timber placed
horizontally in or on a wall, to support the ends of
girders or joists.
RIB [rib] sb. pi. A stick about 5 -ft. long and the thickness
of a raddle. Ribs are done up into bundles, with two
wiffs, and are used for lighting fires and making raddle-
fences.
RIBSPARE [rib-spair] sb. The spare rib.
128 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
RlCE [reis] sb. Small wood ; a twig ; a branch. (See
Roist.} Hamble, in Hants, is called Hamble-le-ra/.
RID [rid] vb. Rode.
" He rid along with him in the train o' Tuesday."
RIDDLE-WALL [rid-1-waul] sb. A wall made up with split
sticks worked across each other.
RIDE [reid] (i) vb. To rise upon the stomach.
" I caan't never eat dese here radishes, not with no
comfort, they do ride so."
RIDE [reid] (2) vb. To collect ; to ride tythe, is to ride about
for the purpose of collecting it.
RIDE [reid] (3) sb. An iron hinge on which a gate is hung,
and by which it swings and rides.
" It'm pd for makinge a newe doore in John Marten's
house, the rydes, nayles and woork, ijs, viijd."
— Sandwich Book of Orphans.
(See also Archceologia Cantiana iv. 220.)
RIDER [rei-dur] sb. A saddle-horse.
" He kips several riders!'
RIG [rig] sb. The common tope. Galeus vulgaris. —
Folkestone.
RIGHT, sb. The phrase, "To have a right to do anything,"
means, it is right that such a thing should be done.
"I sed old Simon right to pay
A'cause he was de fust an't."
— Dick and Sal, st. 79.
RIGHTS [reits] sb. pi. To go to rights ; to go the nearest
way.
To do anything to rights, is to do it thoroughly.
RING [ring] sb. A row. (See Ringe, 2.)
RiNGE [rinj] (i) sb. A large tub containing 14 or 16
gallons, with which two servants fetch water from a
distant place ; a pole, which lies upon the shoulders
of the bearers, being passed through two iron rings
or ears.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
129
RiNGE [rinj] (2) sb. (i.) Wood, when it is felled, lies in
ringes before it is made up into fagots, &c.
(ii.) A long heap in which mangolds are kept for
the winter.
RINGE [rinj] (3) vb. To put up potatoes, mangolds, &c.,
into a ringe.
" Well, Job, what have you got to do to-morrow ? "
" I reckon I shall be ringeing wurzels."
RlNGLE [ring-1] (i) sb. A ring put through a hog's
snout ; and generally for any ring, such as the ring of
a scythe.
A.D. 1531. — " Paid for a ryngle to a cythe .... jd."
— Accounts of St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
RlNGLE [ring-1] (2) vb. To put a ring through a pig's snout.
RlNGLE [ring-1] (3) sb. An iron ring which forms the
bit of a horse at plough.
RIP [rip] (i) vb. To reap. So pronounced to this day.
In one of the Boteler MS. Account Books (1648-1652),
we have, " Disbursed from ye beginning of harvest . .
It. more for ripping of pease, 6 shil. ... It. for ripping
of wheat at 3 shil. and 4*." (See Ripping-hook^]
RIP [rip] (2) vb. To cover a roof with laths and tiles, &c.
Thus, to unrip the roof of a stable or outbuilding, is
to take off the tiles, slates, &c., and to rip it, or new
rip it, is to put on fresh laths and replace the tiles.
May 3rd, 1850. — "Visited and ordered the north
and south side of the chancel roofs to be ripped and
relaid ; a window in the south side of the church to
be generally repaired once every year .... James
Croft, Archdeacon/' —Memorials of Eastry, p. 206.
1640. — " For ripping of Broth. Vause's house."
—MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
RIP [rip] (3) sb. A pannier or basket, used in pairs and
slung on each side of a horse for carrying loads, such
as fish, salt, sand, &c. (See Ripper below.)
" Two payer of ripps, five payells, &c."
— Boteler Inventory, in Memorials of Eastry, p. 226.
K
130 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
RIPE [reip] sb. A bank ; the sea shore, as " Lydd Ripe."
In East Kent, the village of Ripple derives its name
from the same Latin word, ripa.
RIPPER [rip'r] sb. A pedler; a man who carries fish for
sale in a rip or basket.
RIPPING-HOOK [rip-ing-huok] sb. A hook for cutting and
reaping (ripping) corn. Unlike the sickle, the ripping-
hook had no teeth, but could be sharped with a whetstone.
RISK [rish] sb. A rush.
" There be lots o' rishes in them there meyshes."
RlT [rit] vb. To dry hemp or flax.
RiTS [rits] sb. pi. The ears of oats are so called, and if
there is a good crop, and the ears are full and large,
they are said to be well ritted.
RlVANCE [rei-vuns] sb. Last place of abode. " I don't
justly know where his rivance is," i.e., where he came
from or where he lived last. — East Kent. Short for
arrivance.
ROAD-BAT [roa*d-bat] sb. A bat or piece of wood that
guides the coulter of a plough. (See Bat (i), Spread-
bat.}
ROAD-PROUD, adj. Crops which look well from the road,
but are not so good as they look, are said to be road-
proud.
ROBIN-HUS [rob'in'hus] sb. The small spotted dog-fish.
Scyllium canicula. — Folkestone.
ROBIN-ROOK [rob*in-ruok] sb. A robin redbreast. (See
Ruddock.}
RODFALL, sb. Sometimes in a wood there is a belt of wood
about a rod (i6j-ft.) deep, not belonging to the same
owner as the bulk of the wood, and felled at a different
time ; as,
"The wood belongs to Mus' Dean, but there's a
rod/all joins in with Homestall,"
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 3 1
ROD-HORSE [rod-us] sb. A horse in the shafts or rods.
The four horses of a team are called — ( i ) The rod-
horse ; (2) the pin-horse; (3) the losh-horse; (4) the
fore-horse.
RODS [rodz] s. pi. The shafts of a cart or wagon.
" He was riding on the rods when I see'd him/'
ROIL [roil] vb. To make a disturbance ; to romp in a
rough and indecent manner.
RoiST [roi'st] sb. A switch ; brushwood, before it be made
up into fagots. Called also Rice.
ROMANCE [roamans-] vb. To play in a foolish manner ;
to tell exaggerated stories.
" My son never romances with no one." — Weald.
ROMNEY MARSH [Runrni Maa-sh] sb. Romney Marsh is
considered to be a place so completely by itself, that
there is a saying in Kent and in East Sussex, that the
world is divided into five parts — Europe, Asia, Africa,
America and Romney Marsh.
ROOKERY [ruok'ur'i] sb. A dispute accompanied with
many words; a general altercation.
" He knocked up a hem of a rookery."
ROOK-STARVING, partc. Scaring rooks.
" The boy, he's rook-starvin down in the Dover field/'
ROOMS [roomzj sb. pi. Mushrooms ; as they say grass for
(asparagus) sparrowgrass.
ROOTLE [roo-tl] vb. To root up.
" The pig must be ringled, or else he'll rootle up all
the bricks in the stye."
ROUGH [ruf] (i) sb. A small wood ; any rough, woody
place.
ROUGH [ruf] (2) adj. Cross ; of uncertain temper ; difficult
to please.
" I lay you'll find 'im pretty rough!'
132 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
ROUGHET [ruf-it], ROUGHIT, sb. A small wood.
ROUNDLE [roirndl] sb. Anything round ; the part of a
hop-oast where the fires are made, which is generally
circular.
ROUND-TILTH, sb. The system of sowing of land con-
tinuously without fallow.
ROWENS [rou-inz] sb. pi. Stubble. (See Ersh.}
The second mowing of grass ; the third cut of clover.
— East Kent.
1523. — " Rec. of Cady for the rowen gras, xiiijd."
— Accounts of St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
ROYSTER [roi-stur] vb. To play about roughly and noisily.
From sb. roister, a bully ; French, rustre, a ruffian. —
Cotgrave.
" That there old Tom-cat has been ^-roysteriri all
over de plaace, same as though he was a kitten ; I
reckon we shall have some weather before long."
RUBBER [rub-r] sb. A whetstone. The mowers always
carry one in a leathern loop attached to the back of
their belts.
RUBBIDGE [rub-ij] sb. Rubbish; weeds.
RUCK [ruk] sb. An uneven, irregular heap or lump ; a
wrinkle or uneven fold in cloth, linen, silk, &c.
About Sittingbourne, when a man is angry, he is
said "to have his ruck up.5'
RUCKLE [ruk-1] sb. A struggle.
RUDDLE [rud-1] vb. To make a fence of split sticks plaited
across one another.
RUDDLE-WATTLE [rud-l-wat-1] sb. A hurdle made of small
hazel rods interwoven. (See Raddles.}
RUDDOCK [rud-uk] sb. The robin redbreast.
" The ruddock would
With charitable bill — O bill, sore-shaming
Those rich-left heirs that let their fathers lie
Without a monument ! — bring thee all this."
— Cymbeline, act iv. sc. 2, 224.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 133
RUDE HEART, abv. By heart.
" She read the psalms down ; but lor ! she didn't want
no book ! she knowed 'em all rude heart."
RUDY [reirdi] adj. Rude.
RUGGLE-ABOUT [rug'l-ubou't] vb. A term used by old
people and invalids to express walking or getting
about with difficulty.
" I'm troubled to ruggle-about"
RUMBAL WHITINGS [runrbul wertingz] sb. pi. " The
present minister, Mr. Sacket, acquainted me with an
odd custom used by the fishermen of Folkestone to
this day. They choose eight of the largest and best
whitings out of every boat, when they come home
from that fishery, and sell them apart from the rest ;
and out of this separate money is a feast made every
Christmas Eve, which they call rumball. The master
of each boat provides this feast for his own company,
so that there are as many different entertainments as
there are boats. These whitings they call also rumball
whitings. He conjectures, probably enough, that this
word is a corruption from rumwold ; and they were
anciently designed as an offering for St. Rumwold,
' to whom, a chapel,' he saith, ' was once dedicated,
and which stood between Folkestone and Hythe, but
is long since demolished.' "
— Harris's History of Kent^ p. 125.
RUNAGATE [run-ugait] sb. A wild, reckless, dissolute young
man ; a good-for-nothing fellow. Corruption of rene-
gade. French, renegat.
" But let the runagates continue in scarceness." —
Psalm Ixviii. 6. (Prayer Book version.)
RUN AGIN [run ugin*] vb. To run against, i.e., to meet.
" I'm glad I run agin ye."
RUN-A-HEAD [run-uhed-] vb. To be delirious.
" He was running-a-head all night long."
RUNNET [run -it], RENNET, sb. The herb Gabium verum,
yellow bed-straw.
134
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
RUNNING [run-ing] sb. (See Stroke-bias?)
RUNT [runt] sb. A small pig ; a diminutive or under-
sized person.
RUSH [rush] sb. The rash, or spotted fever.
RUSTY [rust'i] adj. Crabbed ; out of temper.
RUT [rut] vb. To keep a rut. To be meddling and doing
mischief.
RUTTLE [rut-1] vb. To rustle ; to rattle.
" I doant like to hear him ruttle so in his throat o'
nights ; I am most feared he wun't be here long."
s.
SAFE-SOWN [saif-soan] adj. Self-sown ; said of corn
which comes up from the previous year's crop.
SAG [pron. sag; saig; seg] vb. To sink; bend; give way;
to be depressed by weight. A line or rope stretched
out sags in the middle. The wind sags. Compare
Anglo-Saxon sdgan, to cause, to descend.
" The mind I sway by and the heart I bear,
Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear."
— Macbeth^ act v. sc. 3.
SAGE [saij] sb. They have a saying round Appledore
that when a plant of sage blooms or flowers then
misfortune is nigh. It rarely flowers, because house-
hold requirements generally keep it well cut. My
informant told me of a man who saw the sage in his
garden in bloom ; he wras horrified, and told his
daughter to cut off all the blossoms, but before she
could do so, he met with an accident, by which he
was killed.
SAIME [saim] sb. Lard. (See also Seam?}
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 135
SAINT' S-BELL [sai-nts-bel] sb. The small bell, which is
rung" just before the service begins.
" The only Saint' s-bell that rings all in."
— Hudibras IIL c. 2, 1224.
1678. — In the Character of a Scold we have — " Her
tongue is the clapper of the Devil's saint' s-belly that
rings all into confusion."
Saint's -belly is simply the old sanctus-bell, formerly
rung at the elevation of the host, and now put to a
different use.
SALTERNS [sau-lturnz] sb. pi. Marshy places near the sea,
which are overflowed by the tide. — North Kent. (See
also Saltings, Salts.)
SALTINGS [sau-ltingz] sb. pi. Salt marshes on the sea-
side of the sea-walls ; generally rich alluvial land,
but too much cut up by grips to be of much use for
grazing. — North Kent.
SALTS [salts] sb. pi. Same as Salterns.
SALVEY [sal-vi and saavi] adj. Close ; soapy ; spoken of
potatoes that are not floury.
SAND-RATE [sand-rait] sb. The Ray. Raia clavata. —
Folkestone.
SAP [sap-] vb. To catch eels with worms threaded on
worsted ; elsewhere called Bobbing.
SARE [sair] adj. Tender ; rotten ; worn ; faded ; as " My
coat is very sare." (See Sere.}
SARTIN [saat-in] adj. Stern ; severe ; stedfast.
" He knowed there was something up, he did look
that sartin at me."
SAUCE, sb. For sauciness.
" I don't want none o' your sauce."
SAY [sai] ( i ) vb. To try ; to essay.
"When a hog has once say'd a garden, you'll be
troubled to keep him out."
136 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SAY [sal] (2) vb. " Give us something to say" means,
give us a toast.
SAY SWEAR [sai swair]. In the phrase, " Take care or I
shall say swear," i.e., don't exasperate me too much,
or, "if you go on, I shall say swear" i.e., I shall be
thoroughly put out and use any amount of bad
language.
SCAD, SKAD [skad] sb. A small black plum, between a
damson and a sloe; a bastard damson, which grows
wild in the hedges. The taste of it is so very harsh
that few, except children, can eat it raw, nor even
when boiled up with sugar.
SCADDLE [skad'l] adj. Wild ; mischievous ; spoken of a
dog that worries sheep ; of a cat that poaches ; of a
cow that breaks the fences ; and of a boy that is
generally thievish, inclined to pilfer, mischievous
and troublesome. From the verb to scathe.
SCALLION [skal-yun] sb. The name given to the poor and
weakly plants in an onion bed, which are thinned out
to make room for the growth of better ones.
SCARCEY [skarrsi] adj. Scarce.
SCAREFUL [skarrfl] adj. Frightful ; that which tends to
scare.
SCEDDLE [sked-lj adj. Another form of Scaddle.
SCHOAT [shoat] sb. A kneading trough.
SciMMlNGER [skinrinjur] sb. A piece of counterfeit money.
SciTHERS [sith-urz] sb. Scissors.
SCITTLE [sit-1] adj. Skittish.
SCOASE [skoa'us] vb. To exchange.
" I'll scoase horses with you."
SCOPPEL [skop-ul] sb. A broad wooden shovel used by
the threshers. (See Scubbit, which is the word used
in East Kent.)
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 137
SCORF [skau-f] vb. To gobble ; eat greedily. (See also
Scoff.)
"You've scorfed up all the meat purty quick, ain't
ye?"
SCORSE [pron. skoa-us] vb. To exchange. (See Scoase.)
SCORE, sb. In East Kent oxen and pigs are sold by the
score ; sheep and calves by the stone of 8-lbs.
Score was properly a cut ; hence, twenty was denoted
by a long cut on a notched stick.
SCOTCHEN, sb. A badge ; shortened from escutcheon.
" For ij dosen skotchens of lede for the poore people
of the citie [of Canterbury], that they myght be knowen
from other straunge beggars."
— Historical MSS. Commission^ Appendix to Ninth Report, i'SSa-
SCOURGE [skurj] vb. To sweep with a besom.
SCOUT [skou-t] sb. A kneading trough. Also called a
shoat.
SCRAN [skran] sb. A snack of food ; the refreshment that
labourers take with them into the fields.
" What scran have ye got ? "
SCRAP [skrap] vb. To fight; restricted to the encounters
between children.
SCRAPS [skraps] sb. Herrings which, being broken, cannot
be hung up by their heads to dry. Also called tie-tails.
— Folkestone.
SCRATCH [skrach] (i) vb. To do anything in a hurried,
hasty, scrambling way.
" I scratched out of bed and struck a light."
SCRATCH [skrach] (2) sb. A rough pronged prop, used to
support a clothes' line ; a pole with a natural fork at
the end of it. An older form of the word Crutch.
138 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SCRATCH ALONG [skrach ulong] vb. To pull through hard
times.
" Times is bad, but I just manage somehows to keep
scratching along"
SCREECH-OWL [skreech-oul] sb. The common swift.
Cypsellus apus. — Sittingbourne.
SCROOCH [skrooch] vb. To make a dull, scraping noise.
SCROW [skroa] sb. A cross, peevish, ill-natured person.
SCROUGE [skrou'j], SCROOGE [skrooj] vb. To squeeze or
crowd ; to push rudely in a crowd.
" An dare we strain'd an' stared an' blous'd,
An tried to get away ;
But more we strain'd de more dey scrougd
An sung out, ' Give 'em play.' "
— Dick and Sal, st. 71.
SCRUMP [skrump] sb. A stunted, badly-grown apple ; a
withered, shrivelled, undersized person. — North Kent.
" This orchard isn't worth much, one sieve out of
every four 'ull be scrumps."
" The old gen'lman does look a little scrump, doant
he ? "
SCRUNCH [skrunch] vb. To crunch.
SCRY [skraai and skrei] sb. A large standing sieve, against
which, when it is set up at an angle on the barn floor,
the corn is thrown with a scubbit to clean and sift it.
It is used also for sifting coal.
SCUBBIT [skub-it] sb. A wooden shovel. That form of
scubbit now used by maltsters and hop driers has a
short handle; that formerly used by farmers for
moving corn on the barn floor, prior to the intro-
duction of the threshing machine, had a long handle.
SCUFFLING [skuf-ling] adj. A scuffling apron is one to
do hard or dirty work in.
SCULCH [skulsh], SCULTCH [skulch] sb. Rubbish ; trash.
Generally used with reference to the unwholesome
things children delight to eat. A variant of Culch.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 139
SCUPPER [skup-ur] sb. A scoop or scooper.
SCUT [skutj sb. The tail of a hare or rabbit.
SCUTCHEL [skuch-ul] sb. Rubbish. (See also Scultch.)
SEA COB [see kob] sb. A sea gull.
SEA GRAPES, sb. pi. The eggs of the cuttle-fish.
SEA KITTY [see kit-i] sb. A sea gull.
SEAM [seem] (i) sb. Hog's lard.
SEAM [seem], SEME (2) sb. A sack of eight bushels is
now called a seam, because that quantity forms a
horse-load, which is the proper and original mean-
ing of seam. The word is used in Domesday Book.
" To Mr. Eugh, a twelve seames of wheate at twenty
shillings the seame. ... It. vnto Mr. Eugh, a twenty
seames of peas and tears pi*., tares] at thirteene the
seame." —Boteler MS. Account Books.
SEA-NETTLES, sb. Jelly-fish. — Dover.
SEA SNAIL [see snarl] sb. A periwinkle.
SEARSE [seers] vb. To strain or shift, as through a sieve
or strainer.
SEASON [see*zn] vb. To sow corn. Also said of the
condition of land for sowing.
" I'm going wheat seasoning to-day."
" That Dover fill's nice and plump now after the
rain. We shall get a season."
SEA STARCH, sb. Jelly-fish. — Dover.
SEA-WAUR [see-waur] sb. The wrack, ore or sea weed
used largely in the Island of Thanet and elsewhere,
for making maxhills.
SECOND-MAN, sb. Amongst farm servants there is a
regular gradation of ranks; the first -man is the
wagoner, par eminence, who has charge of the first
140 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
team and is assisted by his " mate ; " the second-man
has charge of the second team and is assisted by his
" mate/' and so on ; whilst there is generally a
"yard man/' whose duty it is to look after the stock
in the yard, and an odd man whose title, "all work,"
describes his duties. When a number of men are
going along the road with their respective teams
the first man will be found leading, the second man
next, and so on ; each walking with his horses.
SEE [see] pt. t., SEED [see-d, sid] vb. Saw.
" I see him at Canterbury yesterday."
SEED-CORD [seed--kord], SEED-KOD [seed--kod] (Boteler
MS. Account Book, 1653) sb. A box or basket used
by the sower for holding the seed, and suspended from
his neck by a cord or strap. It was an instrument of
husbandry in common use before the invention of the
seed drill, and generally contained some five or six
gallons of seed.
SEED-LIP [seed-lip] sb. The wooden box, fitting the shape
of the body in which the sower carries his seed. (See
Seed-cord.]
SEEMING [see-ming], SEEMINGLY [see-mingli] adv.
Apparently.
SEEN [seen] sb. A cow's teat.
SELYNGE [seHnj] sb. Toll ; custom ; tribute.
" The Prior of Christ Church, Canterbury . . . used
to take in the stream of the water or river Stoure, before
the mouth of the said Flete, a certain custom which
was called Selynge, of every little boat which came
to an anchor before the mouth of the said Flete."
— Lewis ) p. 78.
The parish of Sellindge, near Hythe, probably takes
its name from some such ancient payment.
SEN [sen] vb.pp. Seen.
" Have ye sen our Bill anywheres ? "
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 141
SENGREEN [sin-grin] sb. Houseleek. Sempervivum tectorum.
Anglo-Saxon singrene, ever-green ; the Anglo-Saxon
prefix sin, means " ever."
SENSE [sen's] adv. phr. Used with the negative to mean
"Nothing to signify;" anything inadequately or
faultily done.
" It don't rain, not no sense" i.e., there is no rain to
speak of.
SEP [sep] sb. The secretion which gathers in the corners
of the eyes during sleep. Allied to sap. — Eastry.
SERE [seer] adj. Dry, as distinct from green wood ;
not withered, as sometimes explained. The term is
generally applied to firewood.
" They say that Muster Goodyer has a lot of good
sere fagots to sell." (See Sare.}
SERVER [survr] sb. Where there are no wells, as in the
Weald of Kent, the pond that serves the house is
called the server, to distinguish it from the horse-
pond.
SESS, SESSE [ses] sb. A levy ; a tax ; a rate ; an assessment.
1648-1652. — "It. to John Augustine, i8s., for a
church sesse. ... It. to Mr. Paramore, 178. and 6d.,
for a sesse to ye poore." — Boteler MS. Account Book.
SESSIONS [sesh-nz] sb. A disturbance ; a fuss.
" There's goin' to be middlin' sessions over this here
Jubilee, seemin'ly."
SET [set] (i) vb. To sit; as, " I was setting in my chair."
SET [set] (2) sb. A division in a hop-garden for picking,
containing 24 hills.
SET [set] (3) adj. Firm ; fixed in purpose ; obstinate.
" He's terrible set in his ways, there ain't no turning
an 'im."
142
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SET-OUT [set-out] sb. A great fuss and disturbance; a
grand display ; an event causing excitement and talk.
" There was a grand set-out at the wedding/'
SET UP, vb. A word expressing movement of several
kinds, e.g., a man " Sets up a trap for vermin," where
they would ordinarily say, " Sets a trap ; " a horse sets
up, i.e., he jibs and rears ; whilst the direction to a
coachman, "Set up a little," means, that he is to
drive on a yard or two and then stop.
SEVEN- WHISTLERS, sb. The note of the curlew, heard at
night, is called by the fishermen the seven -whistlers.
" I never thinks any good of them, there's always
an accident when they comes. I heard 'em once one
dark night last winter. They come over our heads
all of a sudden, singing, * Ewe-ewe,' and the men
in the boat wanted to turn back. It came on to rain
and blow soon afterwards, and was an awful night,
sir; and, sure enough, before morning a boat was
upset and seven poor fellows drowned. I knows
what makes the noise, sir; it's them long -billed
curlews ; but I never likes to hear them."
SEW [soo] (i) adj. Dry. "To go sew" i.e., to go dry;
spoken of a cow.
SEW [soo] (2) vb. To dry ; to drain ; as, " To sew a pond,"
i.e., to drain it and make it dry.
SEWELLS [seu-elz] sb. pi. Feathers tied on a string which
is stretched across a part of a park to prevent the deer
from passing.
SHADDER [shad-ur], SHATTER [shat-ur] vb. To be afraid of.
SHAGGED [shag- id] adj'. Fatigued ; fagged ; tired out.
" An' I was deadly shagged?— Dick and Sal, st. 48.
SHALE [shall] sb. The mesh of a fishing-net.
SHALINGS [sharlingz] or SHALES' s [prob. shailz] sb. pi.
Tenements to which no land belonged. — Lewis, 75.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 143
SHATTER [sh at -ur] (i) vb. To scatter; blow about: sprinkle.
" Shatter your leaves before the mellowing year."
— Milton, Lycidas, 5.
SHATTER [shat-ur] (2) sb. A sprinkling, generally of rain.
" We've had quite a nice little shatter of rain."
" There'll be a middlin' shatter of hops."
SHATTER (3) vb. To rain slightly.
SHAUL [shau-1] (i) adj. Shallow; shoal.
SHAUL [shau-1], SHOWLE [shou-1] (2) sb. A wooden tub
with sloping sides. The shaul was of two kinds, viz.
— (i) The kneadinge showle, used for kneading bread,
generally made of oak, and standing on four legs,
commonly seen in better class cottages. Of which
we find mention in the Boteler Inventories — " Ite. in
the bunting house one bunting hutch, two kneding
showles, a meale tub wth other lumber ther, prized at
vjs. viijd." — Memorials of E as try, p. 226. And 2nd,
the washing shaul, made of common wood, without
legs.
SHAW [shau] sb. A small hanging wood ; a small copse ;
a narrow plantation dividing two fields.
SHAVE [shaiv] sb. Corrupted from shaw, a wood that
encompasses a close ; a small copse of wood by a
field-side. (See also Carvet.)
SHAY [shaai] (i) adj. Pale; faint-coloured.
" This here ink seems terr'ble shay, somehows."
SHAY [shaai] (2) sb. A shadow ; dim or faint glimpse of
a thing ; a general likeness or resemblance.
"I caught a shay of 'im as he was runnin' out of
the orchard, and dunno' as I shaant tark to 'im next
time I gets along-side an 'im."
SHE [shee] sb. In phrase, "A regular old she; " a term
of contempt for anything that is poor, bad or worth-
less; often applied to a very bad ball at cricket.
144 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SHEAD [sheed] sb. A rough pole of wood.
" Sheads for poles."
SHEAR [sheer] sb. A spear; thus they speak of an eel-shear.
SHEAT [sheet] sb. A young hog of the first year.
"John Godfrey, of Lidd, in his will, 1572, gave his
wife one sowe, two sheetes."
SHEEL [shee-1], SHEAL, vb. To peel; scale off; used of
the scales or flakes of skin peeling off a person who
has been ill of measles, scarlet fever, &c. Allied to
scale, shell; and used in the sense of shell in Bar grave
MS. Diary j 1 645 : " Before they come to the press the
walnuts are first shealed, then dryed in the sunne."
'SHEEN [shee-n] sb. Machine.
" Or like de stra dat clutters out,
De 'sheen a thrashing earn." — Dick and Sal, st. 77.
SHEEP-GATE [ship-gait] sb. A hurdle with bars.
SHEEP'S TREDDLES [shipz tred-lz] sb. pi. The droppings
of sheep.
" There's no better dressing for a field than sheep's
tr eddies''
SHEER [shee-r] adj. Bright ; pure ; clear ; bare. Thus,
it is applied to the bright, glassy appearance of the
skin which forms over a wound ; or to the appear-
ance of the stars, as an old man once told me, " When
they look so very bright and sheer there will be rain."
SHEERES [sheerz], SHIRES [sheirz] sb. pi. All parts of
the world, except Kent, Sussex or Surrey. A person
coming into Kent from any county beyond London, is
said to " Come out of the sheer es ; " or, if a person is
spoken of as living in any other part of England, they
say, " He's living down in the sheeres som' 'ere's."
SHEER-MOUSE [shee'r-mous] sb. A field or garden mouse.
Probably a mere variation from shrew-mouse.
SHEER- WAY [shee'r-wai] sb. A bridle-way through grounds
otherwise private. So Lewis writes it, Shire-way, as a
way separate and divided from the common road or
open highway.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 145
SHELL-FIRE [shel-feir] sb. The phosphorescence from
decayed straw or touchwood, &c., sometimes seen in
farmyards. (See Fairy sparks.}
SHENT, SHUNT, vb. To chide ; reprove ; reproach.
"Do you hear how we are shent for keeping your
greatness back ? " —Coriolanus, act v. sc. 3.
SHEPPEY [shep-i], sheep-island, sb. The inhabitants of
the isle at the mouth of the Thames call themselves
" sons of Sheppey" and speak of crossing the Swale
on to the main land, as "going into England;" whilst
those who live in the marshes call the higher parts
of Sheppey, the Island, as indeed it once was, being
one of the three isles of Sheppey.
SHIDE [sheid], SHYDE, sb. Along slip of wood; a plank;
a thin board, &c.
1566. — " For a tall shyde and nayle for the same
house, jd." —Accounts of St. Dunstaris, Canterbury.
SHIFT [shift] (i) vb. To divide land into two or more
equal parts.
SHIFT [shift] (2) sb. A division of land. (See above.)
SHIM [shim] sb. A horse-hoe, used for lightly tilling the
land between the rows of peas, beans, hops, &c.
SHINGLE [shing-1] sb. A piece of seasoned oak about 12
inches long by 3 inches wide, £ inch in thickness ;
used in covering buildings, and especially for church
spires in parts of the country where wood was
plentiful, as in the Weald of Kent.
SHINGLER [shing-lur] sb. A man who puts on shingles ;
a wood-tiler.
In the Parish Book which contains the Church-
wardens' Accounts of the Parish of Biddenden, we
find the following entries : —
March, 1597, "To Abraham Stedman, for
nayles for the shingler to use about the
shingling of the church at Biddenden, at
iiijd. the hundred 28
146 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
August, 1600, "To the shingler for 2000
shingles at i6s. the thousand . . 32 o
To him for the laying of the two thousands 1 2 4
July, 1603, " Itm payde to Newman the
shingler for 2000 [r] of shingles . .280
It may be noted that one of the Editors has before
him a shingler s bill for repairing a church spire in the
present year (1887), in which the following items will
shew that the prices have " riz " considerably in 300
years : —
2of-lbs. copper nails, at is. yd. . . .1128
150 new shingles, at id. . . . .192
Time, 14 J days, at 45. ; 12 \ days, at 55. . 6 o 6
SHINING STICK [shei-ning stik] sb. A thin peeled stick,
formerly carried by farm labourers at statute fairs,
to shew that they sought work for the coming year.
" He sed dere was a teejus fair
Dat lasted for a wick ;
An all de ploughmen dat went dare
Must car dair shining stick"
—Dick and Sal, st. 8.
SHINY-BUG, sb. The glow-worm. (See also Bug.)
SHIP [ship] sb. pi. sheep. The word sheep must have
been pronounced in this way in Shakespeare's time,
as we see from the following : —
" Twenty to one, then, he is shipped already,
And I have play'd the sheep [pronounced ship] in loving him."
— Two Gentlemen of Verona, act i. sc. I.
SHIP-GATE [ship-gait]. A sheep-gate or moveable hurdle
in a fence.
SHIRE- WAY [sheir-wai] sb. A bridle- way. (See Sheer-
way.)
SHOAL-IN, vb. To pick sides at cricket or any game.
" After the match, they had a shoal-in among their-
selves."
SHOAT [shoa-t], SCOUT [skout] sb. A kneading trough.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 147
SHOAVE [shoav] sb. A kind of fork used to gather up
oats when cut.
SHOCK [shok] sb. A sheaf of corn.
" I see that the wind has blowed down some shocks
in that field of oats/'
SHOE-MONEY, sb. When strangers pass through a hop-
garden their shoes are wiped with a bundle of hops,
and they are expected to pay their footing, under
penalty of being put into the basket. The money
so collected is called shoe-money, and is spent on
bread and cheese and ale, which are consumed on
the ground the last day of hopping. The custom of
wiping the shoes of passers-by is also practised in
the cherry orchards, in the neighbourhood of Faver-
sham and Sittingbourne.
SHOOLER [shoo'lr] sb. A beggar.
SHOOLING [shoo-ling] part. Begging. " To go a shooting."
SHOOT [shoot] sb. A young pig of the first year. (See
Sheet.}
SHOP-GOODS, sb. pi. Goods purchased at a shop, especially
groceries.
SHORE [shoar] (i) sb. A prop ; a strut ; a support.
" M.E. schore — Icel. skorda, a prop ; stay ; especially
under a boat .... so called, because shorn or cut off
of a suitable length."
SHORN BUG [shorn- bug], SHARN BUG [sharn- bug] sb.
The stag beetle. (See also May bug, &c.)
SHORT-WORK [shaut-wurk] sb. Work in odd corners of
fields which does not come in long straight furrows.
SHOT [shot] sb. A handful of hemp.
SHOT-FARE [shot-fair] sb. The mackerel season, which is
the first of the two seasons of the home fishery. It
commonly commences about the beginning of May,
when the sowing of barley is ended.
148
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SHOT-NET [shot-net] s&. A mackerel net.
SHOTTEN [shot-n] adj. " The proprietor of the Folkestone
hang told me that at the beginning of the season all
the fish have roes ; towards the end they are all
shotten, i.e., they have no roes/' — F. Buckland.
SHOTVER-MEN [shot-vur-men] sb. pi. The mackerel fishers
at Dover ; whose nets are called shot-nets.
There is an old saying —
" A «orth-east wind in May
Makes the shotver-men a prey,"
The N.E. wind being considered favourable for fishing.
SHOUL [shou-1] sb. A shovel (not to be confounded with
shaul).
SHOUN [shou-n] vb. Shone.
" And glory shoun araound."
SHOWS FOR [shoa-z fur] vb. It looks like.
" It shows for rain."
SHOY [shoi] adj. Weakly ; shy of bearing ; used of plants
and trees.
SHRAPE [shraip] vb. To scold or rate a dog.
SHREAP [shreep], SHRIP [shrip] vb. To chide ; scold.
SHRIVE [shreiv] vb. To clear the small branches from
the trunk of a tree.
" Those elm-trees want shriving."
SHROCKLED [shrokl-d], SHOCKLED [shokl-d] pp. Shrunk ;
shrivelled ; wrinkled ; puckered up ; withered.
"A face like a shrockled apple."
SHRUGGLE [shrug-1] vb. To shrug the shoulders.
SHUCK [shuk] (i) sb. A husk or shell ; as bean shucks, i.e.,
bean shells. (See also Huck.) It is sometimes used as
a contemptuous expression, as, "A regular old shuck."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 149
SHUCK [shuk] (2) vb. To shell peas, beans, &c.
SHUCK [shuk] (3) vb. To do things in a restless, hurried
way, as, e.g., to shuck about.
SHUCKISH [shuk'ish] adj. Shifty; unreliable; uncertain;
tricky.
" Looks as though we be going to have a lot of this
shuckish weather."
SHUCKLE [shuk'l] vb. To shuffle along, or slink along, in
walking. (See Shuck.)
SHUT [shut] (i) sb. A young pig that has done sucking.
(See Sheet.)
SHUT [shut] (2) vb. To do ; to manage.
SHUT-OF [shut-of] vb. To rid oneself of; to drive away.
" I lay you wun't get shut-of him in a hurry."
SHUT-OUT [shut-out] phrase. Exceedingly cold.
"You look quite shut-out."
SICKLE [sik-1] sb. A curved hook for cutting corn. The
sickle or wheat-hook [whit-uok] had a toothed blade,
but as it became useless when the teeth broke away,
the reaping-hook [rip'ing'-uok], with a plain cutting
edge, took its place, only to give way in its turn to
the scythe, with a cradle on it.
SIESIN [see*zin] sb. Yeast ; barm. (See Sizzing.)
SIEVE [siv] sb. A measure of cherries, containing a
bushel, 56-lb. In West Kent, sieve and half-sieve are
equivalent to bushel and half-bushel.
SIFTER [sift-ur] sb. A fire shovel.
SiG [sig] sb. Urine.
SIGHT [seit] sb. A great number or quantity.
" There was a sight of apples lying on the ground."
150 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SIMPLE [simp'l] adj. Silly ; foolish ; stupid ; hard to
understand.
"Doan't be so simple, but come along dreckly
minnit."
SlMSON [sinvsun] sb. The common groundsel. Senecio
vulgar is.
SlN [sin] adv. Since.
" Knowing his voice, although not heard long sin"
— Faerie Queen, b. 6. cxi. xliv.
SiNDER [sind-ur] vb. To settle or separate the lees or
dregs of liquor.
SINDERS [sind-urzj adv. Asunder.
SIPID [sip-id] adj. Insipid.
" I calls dis here claret wine terr'ble sipid stuff."
SlSSLE [sis-1], SiSSLlNG [sis'ling] vb. To hiss or splutter.
" De old kettle sissies, 'twun't be long before 'tis tea-
time, I reckon."
SIVER [sei-vur] sb. A boat load of whitings. — Folkestone.
SIZING [sei-zing] sb. A game with cards, called "Jack
running for sizing."
SIZZING [siz-ing] sb. Yeast, or barm ; so called from the
sound made by beer or ale in working.
SKARMISH [skaanrish] sb. A fight ; row ; bit of horse-
play.
SKEER'D [skee-rd] adj. Frightened.
" Dractly dere's ever so liddle bit of a skirmish he's
reglur skeer'd, he is."
SKENT [skent] vb. To look askant ; to scowl.
SKEVALMEN [skevulmen] sb. pi. From scuffle, a shovel.
Men who cleaned out the creek at Faversham were so
called in the town records of the seventeenth century.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 5 1
SKILLET [skilit] sb. A stewpan or pipkin.
SKIP- JACK [skip-jak] sb. pi. The sand-hopper. Talitrus
saltator. — Folkestone.
SKIVER [skivurj sb. A skewer. In East Kent, in winter
time, men come round, cut the long sharp thorns from
the thorn bushes, then peel, bleach and dry them, and
sell them to the butchers to use in affixing tickets to
their meat.
SKUT [skut] vb. To crouch down.
SLAB [slab] sb. A rough plank ; the outside cut of a tree
when sawn up.
SLACK [slak] adj. Underdressed ; underdone ; insuffi-
ciently cooked ; applied to meat not cooked enough,
or bread insufficiently baked.
" The bread is very slack to-day."
SLAGGER [slag-ur] vb. To slacken speed ; to walk lame ;
to limp.
" An so we staggered den ya know,
An gaap't an stared about ;
To see de houses all a row,
An signs a-hanging out." — Dick and Sal, st. 32.
SLANT [slan-t], SLAINT [slarnt] vb. To miscarry ; to give
premature birth ; to slip or drop a calf before the proper
time. In Eastry it is pronounced slaint.
SLANK [slangk] sb. A slope or declivity.
SLAPPY [slap-i] adj. Slippery through wet. The form
sloppy, meaning wet but not slippery, is common
everywhere.
SLATS [slat's] sb. pi. Thin ; flat ; unfilled pea-pods.
SLAY- WATTLE [slai-wat-1] sb. A hurdle made of narrow
boards.
SLICK [slik] adj. Slippery.
SLIMMUCKS [slinruks] sb. A slinking fellow.
152 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SLIPPER [slip-ur] (i) sb. A curious eel-like fish, with an
ugly pert-looking head, and frill down the back (like
the frill to an old beau's dining-out shirt), and a
spotted and exceedingly slimy body. So called at
Herne Bay, because it slips from the hand so easily.
(See Life of Frank Buckland, p. 171.)
SLIPPER [slip'ur] (2) sb. The small sole. — Folkestone.
SLIVER [slivur] (i) sb. A thin piece of split wood; a
slice ; a stiff shaving ; a splinter. Allied to Slice,
from Slit. Anglo-Saxon slefan, to cleave.
" There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds
Clambering to hang, an envious sliver broke."
— Hamlet^ act iv. sc. 7.
SLIVER [slivur] (2) vb. To slice ; cut off a thin portion.
SLOBBED [slob-d] //. Slopped; spilt.
SLOP [slop] sb. A short, round smock frock, of coarse
materials, slipped over the head, and worn by work-
men over their other clothes.
SLORRY [slorr'i] sb. A slow-worm, or a blind worm.
SLOSH [slosh], SLUSH [slush] sb. Dirty water ; a muddy
wash; liquid mud. They are both formed from the
sound, hence slosh represents rather " a muddy
wash/' which makes the louder noise when splashed
about, and slushy "liquid mud/' which makes a duller
sound.
SLOY-WORM [sloi-wurm] sb. A slow- worm. Anguisfragilis.
(See Starry.)
SLUB [slub] sb. A slimy wash ; liquid mud.
Lord Hale, in his work, De Jure Marts et Brachio-
rum Ejusdem, pt. i. c. 7., alludes to "The/sw alluvionis,
which is an increase of land by the projection of the
sea, casting and adding sand and slub to the adjoin-
ing land whereby it is increased, and for the most part
by insensible degrees."
SLURRY [slurr'i] sb. Wet, sloppy mud.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 153
SLUTHERS [sluth-urz], SLUTTERS [slut-urz] sb. pi. Jelly-
fish ; also called water-galls, miller's-eyes and sea-
starch.
SMAAMER [smaa-mur] sb. A knock.
SMACK-SMOOTH [smak-smoodh] adv. Flat ; smooth ; level
with the ground.
" The old squire had the shaw cut down smack-
smooth."
SMART, adj. Considerable.
" I reckon it'll cost him a smart penny before he's
done/'
SMICKERY [smik-ur'i] adj. Uneven ; said of a thread
when it is spun.
SMIRK [smurk] vb. To get the creases out of linen, that
it may be more easily folded up.
" Oh ! give it a smirking, and you'll get it smooth/'
SMITHERS [smidh-urz] sb. pi. Shivers, or splinters.
SMOULT [smoa-lt] adj. Hot; sultry.
SMUG [smug] vb. To steal.
SNAG \_pron. snag ; snaig ; sneg. — East Kenf\ sb. A name
applied to all the common species of garden-snails, but
especially to the Helix aspersa. (Anglo-Saxon snceg-el ;
snag is a variant of snakey a creeping thing.) In West
Kent the word is applied to a slug, whilst snails are
called shell-snags.
SNAGGLE [snag-1] vb. To hack, or carve meat badly ; to
nibble.
SNATAGOG [snatugog] sb. A yewberry.
SNEAD [sneed] sb. The long handle or bat of a scythe.
— West Kent.
The family of Sneyd, in Staffordshire, bear a scythe
in their arms.
154
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SNIGGER [snig-ur] vb. To cut roughly, or unevenly.
SNIRK [snurk] vb. To dry ; to wither.
"You had better carry your hay or it will all be
snirked up, sure as you're alive/'
SNIRKING [smirk-in] sb. Anything withered.
" As dry as a snirking."
SNOB [snob] sb. A cobbler. By no means a term of
contempt.
SNODGOG [snod-gog] sb. A snodberry, or yewberry ; just
as a goosegog is a gooseberry.
SNOODS [snoodz, or snuodz] sb. pi. Fishing lines.
The lines laid for ness-congers are seventy-five
fathoms long, and on each line are attached, at right
angles, other smaller lines called the snoods ; twenty-
three snoods to each line, each snood nine feet long. —
Folkestone.
SNYING [snering] adj. Bent ; twisted ; curved. This
word is generally applied to timber.
So [soa-] interj. of correction or assent. Thus it is used
in the way of correction, " Open the door, the window
so" i.e., open the door, I mean the window. It is also
used for assent, e.g., " Would you like some drink ? "
" I would so"
SOB [sob] vb. To soak, or wet thoroughly.
" The cloth what we used to wipe up the rain what
come in under the door is all sobbed with the wet."
SOCK [sok] (i) sb. A pet brought up by hand; a shy
child that clings to its nurse, and loves to be fondled.
SOCK [sok] (2) vb. To shroud or wrap a corpse in grave-
clothes ; to sew a body in its winding sheet.
1591. — " Paid for a sheet to sock a poor woman that
died at Byneons, is. 6d." —Records of Faversham.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 155
.^" Bought 2 ells of canvass to sock Margaret
Abby in, o 2 6."
1668. — "For Dorothy Blanchet's funeral, for laying
her forth and socking, o 08 o."
— Overseers'1 Accounts^ Holy Cross, Canterbury.
SOCK-LAMB [sok-lam] sb. A pet-lamb brought up by hand.
SOCKLE [sok-lj vb. To suckle.
SOIL [soi-1] (i) sb. Filth and dirt in corn; as the seeds of
several kinds of weeds and the like.
SOIL [soi'l] (2) vb. To scour or purge. The use of green
meat as a purge gives rise to this old East Kent
saying —
" King Grin (i.e., green),
Better than all medcin'."
SOLE [soal] sb. A pond, or pool of water. Lewis says,
"A dirty pond of standing water;5' and this it pro-
bably was in its original signification, being derived
from Anglo-Saxon sol, mud, mire (whence E. vb.
sully], allied to the Danish word sol, and German
suhle, mire. It enters into the name of several little
places where ponds exist, e.g., Barn^/^, Butts^,
Maiden^/^, *50/£-street, &c. The Will of Jno. Frank-
lyn, Rector of Ickham, describes property as being
" Besyde the wateringe sole in thend [i.e., the end]
of Yckhame-streete."
SOME'RS [sunrurz] adj. Somewheres, for somewhere.
" Direckly ye be back-turned, he'll be off some'rs
or 'nother."
SOME-ONE-TIME, adv. Now and then.
" 'Taint very often as I goos to Feversham, or
Lunnon, or any such place, but some-one-time I goos
when I be forced to it."
SONNIE [suiri] sb. A kindly appellative for any boy.
" Come along sonnie, you and me '11 pick up them
taturs now 'tis fine and dry."
156
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
Soss [sos] (i) sb. A mess. If anyone mixes several
slops, or makes any place wet and dirty, we say in
Kent, " He makes a soss."
Soss [sos] (2) vb., SOSSEL [sos-ul] vb. To mix slops, or
pour tea backwards and forwards between the cup
and the saucer.
" When we stopped at staashun, dere warn't but
three minuts to spare, but howsumdever, my missus
she was forced to have a cup o' tea, she was, and
she sossed it too and thro middling I can tell ye, for
she was bound to swaller it somehows/'
SOTLY [sot-li] adv. Softly.
Sow BREAD [sou-bred] sb. The sowthistle, or milkthistle.
Sonchus oleraceus.
SOWSE-TUB [sous-tub] sb. A tub for pickling meat.
SPADDLE [spad-1] vb. To make a dirt or litter ; to shuffle
in walking".
SPALT [spau-lt or spolt] adj. Heedless ; impudent.
SPALTER [spolt-ur] vb. To split up and break away, as
the underside of a branch when it is partially sawn
or cut through, and then allowed to come down by
its own weight. (See Spoil.)
SPAN [span] vb. To fetter a horse.
SPANDLE [spand-1] vb. To leave marks of wet feet on
the floor like a dog. The Sussex word is spannel.
SPANNER [span'ur] sb. A wrench ; a screw-nut.
" Hav' ye sin my spanner anywheres about ? " " Yis,
I seed it in the barn jest now/'
SPANISH [span'ish] sb. Liquorice.
" I took some Spanish, but my cough is still terrible
bad, surely/'
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 157
SPARR [spar'] sb. The common house-sparrow; as, arr
for arrow, barr for barrow.
" Who killed cock-robin ?
I said the sfiarr^
With my bow and arr."
SPAT [spat] sb. A knock ; a blow.
" He ain't no ways a bad boy ; if you gives him a
middlin' spat otherwhile, he'll do very well."
SPATS [spats] sb. pi. Gaiters, as though worn to prevent
the spattering of mud.
SPEAN [speen] sb. (See Speen.) (i.) The teat of an animal.
(ii.) The tooth or spike of a fork or prong.
SPEAR [spee-r] (i) sb. A blade of grass, or fresh young
shoot or sprout of any kind.
SPEAR (2) vb. To sprout.
" The acorns are beginning to spear." (See Brut?)
SPEAR [spee*r] (3) vb. To remove the growing shoots of
potatoes.
" Mas' Chuck's, he ain't got such a terr'ble good
sample of taturs as common ; by what I can see,
'twill take him more time to spear 'em dan what
'twill to dig 'em up/'
SPECK [spek] sb. The iron tip or toe of a workman's boot.
SPEEN [spee*n]. (See Spean.)
SPEER-WORTY [spee-rwurt-i] adj. The liver of a rotten
sheep when it is full of white knots, is said to be speer-
worty. There is a herb called speer-wort \Rangniculus
lingua, great spear-wort ; R. flammula, lesser spear-
wort], which is supposed to produce this disorder of
the liver, and from thence it has its name.
SPILLED [spil-d] pp. Spoilt. And so the proverb, " Better
one house filled than two spill 'd."
158 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SPILT [spil-t] vb. Spoilt.
" I are goin' to git a new hat ; this fell into a pail of
fleet-milk that I was giving to the hogs and it got spilt."
— Sittingbourne.
SPINDLE [spin-dl] sb. The piece of iron which supports
the wreest (or rest) of a turn-wreest plough. (See
Under spindled?}
SPIT [spit] (i) sb. A double or counterpart.
" He's the very spit of his brother/'
SPIT (2) sb. The depth of soil turned up by a spade or
other tool in digging.
"The mould is so shallow that it is scarce a spit
deep."
SPITS [spit's] sb. pi. Pieces of pine -wood, about the
length and thickness of a common walking-stick, on
which the herrings are dried. (See Herring-hang and
Spit.]
SPLASH [splash] vb. To make a hedge by nearly severing
the live wood at the bottom, and then interweaving it
between the stakes : it shoots out in the spring and
makes a thick fence.
SPLUT [splut] vb. Past of split.
" It was splut when I seed it."
SPLUTHER [spludh-ur] vb. To sputter.
SPOLT [spol-t]. To break.
" A terr'ble gurt limb spotted off that old tree furder
een de laane las' night." (See Spatter.)
SPONG [spong] vb. To sew ; to mend.
"Come here and let me spong that slit in your
gaberdin."
SPONSIBLE [spons*ibl] adj. Responsible; reliable.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 159
SPOTTY [spot-i] adj. Here and there in places ; uneven ;
scattered ; uncertain ; variable. Said of a thin crop.
"The beans look middlin' spotty this year/'
SPRAT-LOON [sprat-loon] sb. The red-throated diver ; a
bird common on the Kentish salt waters. — North Kent.
SPREAD-BAT [spred-bat] sb. The bat or stick used for
keeping the traces of a plough-horse apart.
SPRING, sb. A young wood ; the undergrowth of wood
from two to four years old.
SPRING-SHAW [spring-shau] sb. A strip of the young
undergrowth of wood, from two to three rods wide.
SPROCKET [sprok-it] sb. A projecting piece often put on
at the bottom or foot of a rafter to throw the water off.
1536. — "Payed for makyng sproketts and a grunsyll
at Arnoldis . . . ijd."
— MS. Accounts, St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
SPROG [sprog] sb. A forked sprig of a tree. — Sittingbourne.
SPROLLUCKS [sprol'uks] sb. One who sprawls out his feet.
SPRONKY [spronk-i] adj. Having many roots.
SPRY [sprei] (i) sb. A broom for sweeping the barn -floor;
formerly used in the threshing of corn. (See also Frail,
Scubbit, Toff-sieve.) Allied to sprig.
SPRY [sprei] (2) adj. Smart ; brisk ; quick.
SPRY -FOOT [sprei -fuot], SPRAY -FOOT [sprai-fuot] adj.
Splay foot.
SPRY- WOOD [sprei-wuod] sb. Small wood ; spray-wood.
SPUD [spud] (i) sb. A garden tool for getting up weeds.
SPUD [spud] (2) vb. To get up weeds with a spud.
SPUR-FISH [spur-fish] sb. The pike dog-fish. Spinax
acanthias. — Folkestone.
160 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SQUAB [skwob] (i) sb. A pillow; a cushion; especially
the long under-cushion of a sofa.
Lewis, p. 158, in his account of the way in which
Mrs. Sarah Petit laid out ^146 towards the ornament-
ing of the parish church of S. John Baptist, Thanet,
mentions,
" Cushions or squabs to kneel on, O51 , o8s . ood."
SQUAB [skwob] (2) sb. An unfledged sparrow.
SQUASHLE [skwosh-1] vb. To make a splashing noise.
" It was so wet, my feet squashled in my shoes/'
SQUAT [skwot] (1} vb. (i.) To make flat.
(ii.) To put a stone or piece of wood under the
wheel of a carriage, to prevent its moving.
SQUAT [skwot] (2) sb. A wedge placed under a carriage-
wheel to prevent its moving.
SQUATTED [skwot-id] pp. Splashed with mire or dirt.
SQUIB [skwib] (i) sb. A squirt ; a syringe.
* * He stood back of the tree and skeeted water at
me caterwise with a sc
SQUIB [skwib] (2) sb. Cuttle-fish; so called, because it
squirts sepia. (See Squib above.) Sepia officinalis.
SQUIRREL-HUNTING, sb. A rough sport, in which people
used formerly to assemble on S. Andrew's Day
(3oth November), and under pretence of hunting
squirrels, commit a good deal of poaching. It is
now discontinued.
STADDLE [stad-1] sb. A building of timber standing on
legs or steadies, to raise it out of the mud. Poor
dwellings of this kind were formerly common enough
in small fishing towns, such as Queenborough. The
word occurs repeatedly in the Queenborough Records
of the time of Queen Elizabeth, as for instance, " De
viginti sex domibus que vulgariter vocantur, the old
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. \ 6 1
staddeles, or six and twentie houses/' Staddle is now
used only for the support of a stack of corn (see Steddle
below.) It is a derivative of the common word stead.
Anglo-Saxon stede, Icel. stadr, a stead, place ; and
Anglo-Saxon stathol, a foundation, Icel. stddull, a shed.
Stead can still be traced in ^Ljnsted, Frins/^/, Wrinsfed,
Beared, and other names of places in Kent, and in
such surnames as Bens/^/, Max/^, &c.
STADEL, sb. The step of a ladder. (See also Stale, Stath.}
STALDER [stau-ldur] sb. A stillen or frame to put barrels
on.
STALE [stail] vb. To put stales or rungs into a ladder.
1493. — "Item payde to John Robart for stalyng of
the ladders of the churche, xxd."
— Accounts of Churchwardens of St. Dunstaris, Canterbury.
STALES [stailz] sb. pi. The staves, or risings of a ladder,
or the staves of a rack in a stable. From Anglo-
Saxon steel, stel, a stalk, stem, handle. Allied to still,
and stall ; the stale being that by which the foot is
kept firm.
STALKER [stau-kur] sb. A crab-pot, or trap made of hoops
and nets. — Folkestone.
STAND [stand] vb. To stop ; to be hindered.
" We don't stand for weather/'
STANMEL, STAMMEL, adj. The name given to a kind of
woollen cloth of a red colour.
" It'm paied to George Hutchenson, for a yard and
a half of stanmel cloth to make her a petticote, at
Xs. vjd. the yard, xvs. ixd/' —Sandwich Book of Orphans.
STARF TAKE YOU, interj. phr. An imprecation in Kent,
from Anglo-Saxon steorfa (a plague). " What a starf
be ye got at now ? " is also another use of the same
word.
M
1 62 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
START [staat] sb. A proceeding ; a business ; a set-out.
"This's a rum start, I reckon."
STARVE-NAKED [staav-narkid] adj. Stark naked. Starved
in Kent, sometimes means extremely cold, as well as
extremely hungry.
STATH [stath] sb. A step of a ladder.
STAUNCH [stau-nsh] vb. To walk clumsily and heavily.
STEADY [sted-i] adv. and adj. Slow.
" I can git along middlin' well, if I go steady."
STEAN [steen], STEENE, vb. To line, or pave with bricks
or stones. Hence the name of the Steyne at Folke-
stone and at Brighton.
In Faversham Churchyard we read, " In this steened
grave rest the mortal remains, &c."
STEDDLE [sted-1] sb. A frame on which to stand anything,
e.g., a \>e&steddle, i.e., a bedstead ; especially a frame-
work for supporting corn stacks.
" Item in the best chamber, called the great chamber,
one fayer standing ledsteddle" " Item in the chamber
over the buntting house, two boarded bedsteddles"
— Boteler Inventory in Memorials of Eastry, p. 224, 225.
STEEP [steep] vb. To make anything slope. To steep a
stack, is to make the sides smooth and even, and to
slope it up to the point of the roof.
STENT [sten-t] sb. A word used by the oyster dredgers
in North Kent, to denote that amount or number of
oysters, fixed by the rules of their association, which
they may dredge in one day. This quantity, or
number, is much less than it would be possible to
get up ; hence, stent is probably formed from stint,
and means, a restricted amount.
STILLEN [stiHn] sb. A stand for a cask, barrel, or wash-
ing-tub. (See Stalder.)
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 63
STILT [stil-t] sb. A crutch.
In 1668 we find the following entry: "For a paire
of stilts for ye tanner, o oo 3d."
— Overseers' Accounts, Holy Cross, Canterbury.
STINGER [sting-ur] sb. A jelly-fish.— Dover.
STINK- ALIVE [stink-ulei-v] sb. The whiting pout ; so
called because it soon becomes unfit to eat after
being caught. — Folkestone.
STIPERS [stei-purs] sb. pi. The four poles at the sides of a
bobbin-tug, which stand up two on each side, and keep
the bobbins in their places. — East Kent.
STIVER [stivur] vb. To flutter ; to stagger ; to struggle
along.
" An so we stivered right acrass,
An went up by a mason's." — Dick and Sal, st. 50.
STOCK [stoach] vb. To work about in the mud and dirt ;
said of cattle treading the ground when it is wet.
" He's always stochiri about one plaace or t'other
from mornin' to night."
STOCK [stokj (i) sb. Cattle of all sorts.
(2) The udder of a cow.
STOCK [stok] (3) sb. A trough ; a stoup ; usually in com-
position, as a holy water-.$7fo/£ ; a briue-sfock ; a pig-
stock. Probably so called because it was originally
made by hollowing out the stock of a tree.
" For a stock of brass for the holy water, 7s."
— Fuller's History of Waif ham Abbey, p. 17.
" Item in the milke-houss, one brine-f£v£, &c."
— Boteler Inventories.
STOCK [stok] (4) sb. The back of the fireplace. And since
this is generally black with soot, hence the phrase,
" Black as a stock," is a very common one.
STOCK-BOW [stok-boa] sb. A cross-bow.
STOCK-LOG [stok-log] sb. The larger piece of wood which
is laid behind the rest on a wood fire to form a back
ing for it.
164 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
STODGER [stoj-ur]. A sturdy fellow able to get about in
all sorts of weather.
STODGY [stoj-i] adj. Thick; glutinous; muddy.
" The church path's got middlin' stodgy."
STOLDRED [stoa-ldurd] sb. Stealth.
1657. — "Some little corn by stoldred brought to
town. — Billingslefs Brady-martyrologia, p. 107
STOLT [stoalt] adj. Brisk and hearty ; stout (Anglo-Saxon
stilt, firm). This is a word in common use among
poultry keepers,
" This here lot of ducks was doin' onaccountable
bad at first going off, but now they'm got quite stolt."
STONE [stoan] sb. A weight of eight pounds.
STONE-FRUIT, sb. Plums, peaches, cherries, &c.
Fruit is classed as — Hard-frutt, apples and pears.
Stone-fruit, as above, and Low -fruit, gooseberries,
currants, &c.
STONE-REACH, sb. A portion of stony field, where the
stones for a considerable distance lie very much
thicker than in any other part. These stone -reaches
are fast disappearing in East Kent ; the stones have
been so thoroughly gathered off the fields, that stones
for road purposes are scarce, and have risen consider-
ably in price during the last twenty years.
STOTCH [stoch] vb. To tread wet land into holes. (See
Stochy Poach.]
STOUNDED, adj. Astonished.
STOVE [stoa-v] vb. To dry in an oven.
STOW [stoa]. Same as the above.
STOW -BOATING [stoa-but-in] vb. Dredging up stone at
sea for making Roman cement.
STRAIGHT [strait] adj. Grave; serious; solemn; shocked;
often used in phrase, "To look straight," i.e., to look
grave or shocked.
" He looked purty straight over it, I can tell ye."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 165
STRAMMERLY [stranrurly] adj. Awkwardly ; ungainly.
STRANDS, sb. pi. The dry bents of grass run to seed.
STRAY [strai] sb. A winding creek.
STRIKING-PLOUGH, sb. A sort of plough used in some parts
of Kent.
STRICKLE [strik-1] sb. A striker, with which the heaped-
up measure is struck off and made even. The measure
thus evened by the strickle is called race measure, i.e.,
razed measure.
STRIG [strig] (i) sb. The footstalk of any flower or fruit,
as the strigs of currants, gooseberries, &c. ; the string
of a button.
" Now doan't 'ee put the oherry-strig in's mouth."
STRIG (2) vb. To take the fruit from off the stalk or strig;
as to strig currants, gooseberries, &c.
" Will you help me strig these currants?"
STRIKE [streik] (i) sb. The same as Strickle above.
STRIKE [streik] (2) vb. " To strike a bucket," is to draw a
full bucket towards the side of the well as it hangs by
the chain of the windlass, and land it safely on the
well-side.
STRIKE [streik] (3) vb. To melt down, to re-cast, and so
make smooth (as of wax). One sense of strike, is to
stroke ; to make smooth.
1485. — " Item for strykyng of the pascall and the font
taper, ijs. iijd."
— Churchwardens' Accounts, St. Dunstarfs, Canterbury.
STRIKE-BAULK [streik-bauk] vb. To plough one furrow
and leave another.
STRIP-SHIRT [strip-shur't] adv. In shirt sleeves. A man
is said to be working strip-shirt when he has his coat
and waistcoat off.
STROKE-BIAS [stroak-bei'us] sb. An old sport peculiar to
Kent, and especially the eastern part of the county ;
1 66
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
it consisted of trials of speed between members of
two or more villages, and from the description of it
given in Srome's Travels over England (1700), it
appears to have borne some resemblance to the
game of prisoners' base.
STROOCH [stroo-ch] vb. To drag the feet along the ground
in walking.
" Now then ! how long be ye goin' to be ? D'ye
think the train '11 wait for ye ? stroochin along ! "
STUB [stub] (i) sb. The stump of a tree or plant.
" Ye'll find a pretty many stubs about when ye gets
into de wood. Ye must look where ye be goin'."
STUB [stub] (2) vb. To grub up ; used of taking up the
stubble from a field, or of getting up the roots of a
tree from the ground.
STUD [stud] (i) sb. A stop ; a prop ; a support. The feet
on which a trug-basket stands are called studs.
STUD [stud] (2) sb. The name given to a row of small
trees cut off about two feet from the ground, and left
to sprout so as to form a boundary line. (See Dole.}
STULPE [stuolp] sb. A post ; especially a short stout post
put down to mark a boundary. Sometimes also spelt
stoop and stolpe.
1569. — " Ij greate talle shydes for stulpes, iiijd."
— Accounts, St. Dunstaris, Canterbury.
STUNT [stunt] adj. Sullen ; dogged ; obstinate.
STUPPIN [stup-in], STUPEN [stup*in] sb. A stew-pan or
skillet.
STUPPNET [stup-nit] sb. A stew-pan or skillet. (See Stuppin
above.)
In Boteler Inventory, Memorials of Eastry, p. 226,
amongst other kitchen furniture, we find, " Fower
stuppnetts, five brass candlesticks, five spitts, &c."
" In the Sandwich Book of Orphans, it is spelled
stugpenet."
" It. Rc'd for a brass stugpenet, oo 02 oo."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 167
STURM [sturm] adj. Stern ; morose.
SULING [seu-ling], SULLING [suHng], SOLIN [solin] sb.
A Domesday measure of land which occurs only in
that part of the Domesday Record which relates to
Kent. It is supposed to contain the same quantity
of land as a carucate. This is as much land as may
be tilled and laboured with one plough, and the
beasts belonging thereto, in a year; having meadow,
pasture and houses for the householders and cattle
belonging to it. The hide was the measure of land
in the reign of the Confessor; the carucate, that
to which it was reduced in the Conqueror's new
standard. From Anglo-Saxon sulk, a plough.
"The Archbishop himself holds Eastry. It was
taxed at seven sulings." — Domesday Book.
SULLAGE [suHj], SuiLLAGE [swiHj ] sb. Muck ; dung ;
sewage ; dirty water.
1630. — " To the Prior and his sonne for caryinge out
the duste and sullage out of Sr. [Sister] Pett's house
.... vjd." — MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
SUM [sum] vb. To reckon ; to cast up accounts ; to learn
arithmetic. So the French sommer.
SUMMER-LAND [sunrr-land] sb. Ground that lies fallow
all the summer.
SUMP [sunrp] sb. A small cove ; a muddy shallow. The
Upper and Lower Sump in Faversham Creek, are
small coves near its mouth where fishing vessels can
anchor. The word is the same as swamp.
SUMMUT [sum-lit] sb. Something.
SUNDAYS AND WORKY-DAYS, i.e., all his time ; altogether.
A phrase used when a man's whole time is taken up
by any necessary duties.
"Sundays or worky-days is all one to him."
SUN-DOG [sun-dog] sb. A halo round the sun ; seen when
the air is very moist ; generally supposed to foretell
the approach of rain. The same as Sun-hound.
68
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
SUN-HOUND, sb. Same as the above.
SUPM [sup-m] sb. Something.
" I sed ta her * what books dere be,
Dare's supm ta be sin ; '
Den she turn'd round and sed to me,
'Suppose we do go in.'"
—Dick and Sal, st. 55.
SURELYE [sheirrlei] adv. Surely.
" Well, that ain't you, is it ? Surelye ! "
SWALLOWS [swal*oaz] sb. pi. Places where a stream
enters the earth and runs underground for a space,
were formerly so called in the parish of Bishops-
bourne.
SWAP [swop] (i) vb. To reap with a swap-hook.
SWAP [swop] (2) sb., or SWAP-HOOK [swop-huok] sb. An
implement used for reaping peas, consisting of part
of a scythe fastened to the end of a long handle.
SWART [swaurt], SWARTH [swaurth] (Anglo-Saxon swearf)
adj. Of a dark colour.
" The wheat looks very swarth."
SWARVE [sworv] vb. To fill up ; to be choked with sedi-
ment. When the channel of a river or a ditch becomes
choked up with any sediment deposited by the water
running into it, it is said to swarve up.
SWATCH [swoch] (i) sb. A channel, or water passage,
such as that between the Goodwin Sands.
"As to the Goodwin, it is by much the largest of
them all, and is divided into two parts, though the
channel or swatch betwixt them is not navigable, except
by small boats." — Lewis, p. 170.
SWATCH [swoch] (2) vb. A wand.
SWATCHEL [swoch-1] vb. To beat with a swatch or wand.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 169
SWATH [swau-th], SWARTH [swau-rth], SWEATH [swee-th]
sb. A row of grass or corn, as it is laid on the ground
by the mowers.
" And there the strawy Greeks, ripe for his edge,
Fall down before him like the mower's swath"
— Shakespeare — Troilus and Cressida, act v. sc. 5.
SWAY [swai] sb. To carry the sway, is to excel in any-
thing; to be the best man.
"No matter what 'twas, mowin', or rippin', or crickut,
or anything, 'twas all the same, I always carried the
sway, time I was a young chap."
SWEAL [sweel] vb. To singe a pig.
SWEEPS [sweep's], SWIPS [swip's] sb. pi. The sails of a
windmill.
SWEET-LIQUOR [sweet-lik-r] sb. Wort ; new beer unfer-
mented, or in the process of fermentation.
SWEET- WORT, sb. Same as the above.
SWELKED, pp. Overcome by excessive heat.
SWELTRY, adj. Sultry ; excessively close and hot.
SWIFTS [swiffs] sb. pi. The arms, or sails of a windmill.
(See Sweeps.)
SwiLLiNG-LAND, sb. A plough land. Same as Suling.
SWIMY [swei-mi], SWIMMY [swinvi], SWIMMY- HEADED
[swim-i-hed-id] adj. Giddy ; dizzy ; faint. (Anglo-
Saxon swima, a swoon ; swimming in the head.)
" I kep' on a lookin' at de swifts a gooin' raound
and raound till it made me feel quite swimy, it did."
SWINGEL [swinj-ul] sb. The upper part of the flail which
swings to and fro and beats the corn out of the ear.
(Anglo-Saxon swingel, a beater.)
SWISH-ALONG [swish-ulong-] vb. To move with great
quickness.
SWOT [swot] sb. Soot.
170 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
T.
TAANT [taa-nt, taa-unt] adj. Out of proportion ; very
high or tall. This is a nautical word, usually applied
to the masts of a ship.
TACK [tak] sb. An unpleasant taste.
TAFFETY [tafiti] adj. Squeamish ; dainty ; particular
about food. — East Kent.
TAG [tag] sb. Tagge, a sheep of the first year.
TAKE [taik] vb. A redundant use is often made of this
word, as " He'd better by half take and get married."
— East Kent.
TALLY [taH] sb. A stick, on which the number of bushels
picked by the hop-picker is reckoned, and noted by
means of a notch cut in it by the tallyman.
TALLYMAN [taHmun] sb. The man who takes the tallies,
notches them, and so keeps account of the number of
bushels picked by the hop-pickers.
TAMSIN [tanrzin] sb. A little clothes' horse, or frame, to
stand before a fire to warm a shirt or a shift, or child's
linen. Tamsen, Thomasin, Thomasine, is a woman's
name, and is here used as though the "horse" did the
work of the servant of that name. For the same reason
it is otherwise called a maid, or maiden. It is not only
called Tamsin, but Jenny, Betty, Molly, or any other
maiden name ; and if it is very small it is called a girl.
TAN [tan] (i) sb. The bark of a young oak.
TAR-GRASS [taa-graas] sb. The wild vetch. Vicia cracca.
TARNAL [taa-nl] adj. A strong expletive, really " eternal,"
used to denote something very good or very bad, gene-
rally the latter.
" Dare was a tarnal sight of meat."
—Dick and Sal, st. 62.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 7 1
TAS [tas], or TARSE [taas] sb. A mow of corn.
In Old English taas was any sort of heap.
" An hundred knyghtes slain and dead, alas !
That after were founden in the taas."
— Chaucer, Troilas and Cressede. 1. iv. c. 30.
TASS-CUTTER [tas-cut-r] sb. An implement with which to
cut hay in the stack.
TATTER [tat-r], TATTERY [tat-ur'i] adj. (i.) Ragged, (ii.)
Cross ; peevish ; ill-tempered ; ill-natured.
" The old 'ooman's middlin' tatter to-day, I can tell
ye."
TATTY [tat-i] adj. Testy. (See above.)
TAULEY [tau-li] sb. A taw or marble.
TEAM [teem] sb. A litter of pigs or a brood of ducks.
TEAR-RAG [tair-r'ag] sb. A rude, boisterous child; a romp;
one who is always getting into mischief and tearing
his clothes, hence the name. — East Kent.
TED [ted] vb. To make hay, by tossing it about and
spreading it in the sun.
1523. — uFor mowyngand teddyng of ye garden, xijd."
— Accounts of St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
TEDIOUS [tee- jus] adj. and adv. Acute ; violent ; excessive ;
" tedious bad ; " " tedious good/' Also, long, but not
necessarily wearisome, as we now commonly under-
stand the word.
" Within me grief hath kept a tedious fast."
— Shakespeare — Richard II. act ii. sc. i.
"He sed dare was a teeju s fair
Dat lasted for a wick." —Dick and Sal, st. 8.
TEEN [teen] vb. To make a hedge with raddles.
1522. — "Paied for tenying of a hedge [_t.e., trimming
it], vjd." — MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
172
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
TEENER [tee-nur], TENER, sb.
in order a raddle-fence.
A man who teens or keeps
1616. — "For bread and drink for the teners and
wood-makers."
— MS. Accounts St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
TEES [teez] sb. pi. A part of a cart-horse's harness ; the
draughts which are fixed to the hem woods of the collar
and to the rods of the cart. — East Kent. (Literally, ties.)
TEG, sb. A sheep of the first year. (See Tag.)
TELL [tel] vb. To count. " Here's the money, will you tell
it out on the table ?" The teller in the House of Com-
mons is one who counts the number of members as
they go into the lobby.
" And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn in the vale." — Gray's Elegy.
TENTER-GROUND [tent-r-grou-nd] sb. Ground where tenter-
hooks were placed in former times for stretching skins,
linen, &c.
TERRIBLE [terbl or tarbl] adv. Extremely ; exceedingly.
" He's a terrible kind husband, and no mistake."
"Frost took tops terrible, but 'taint touched t' roots
o' taters."
TERRIFY [terr'ifei] vb. To annoy ; to tease ; to disturb.
A bad cough is said to be " very terryfying." And
the flies are said "to terrify the cattle." The rooks
also "terrify the beans."
TETAW [tet*au] sb. A simpleton ; a fool.
THAT [dhat] adv. So ; to such a degree.
" I was that mad with him, I could have scratched
his eyes out."
" He's that rude, I doant know whatever I shall do
with him."
THEM [dhem] phr. Contraction from theym, i.e., they am.
" How be um all at home ? " " Them all well, without
'tis mother, and she be tedious bad wid' de brown
titus." (See Am.)
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 173
THICK THUMB'D [thik • thumd] adj. Sluttish; untidy;
clumsy.
THIS-HERE, den. pron. This. (An intensive form.)
" That there man was a sittin' on this- ere wery
chair, when, all of a suddent, down he goos in one
of these 'ere plexicle fits. * Who'd 'ave thoft it!'
said the missus."
THOFT [thoft] vb. Thought.
THOVE [thoa-v] vb. Stole. (The perfect tense of thieve.)
THREDDLE [thred-1] vb. To thread a needle.
THRIBLE [thrib-1] adj. Treble ; threefold.
THRO [throa] prep. Fro ; from.
THROT [throt] sb. Throat.
" He's throt was that bad all last week, that he was
troubled to go to and thro to work."
THROWS [throaz] sb. A thoroughfare ; a public way.
The four-throws, a point where four roads meet.
THUNDERBUG [thun-durbug] sb. A midge.
" The thunderbugs did terrify me so, that I thought
I should have been forced to get up and goo out of
church."
THURROCK [thurr'uk] sb. A wooden drain under a gate ;
a small passage or wooden tunnel through a bank.
In Sheppy, if the hares gain the refuge of a thurrock,
before the greyhounds can catch them, they are consi-
dered to have gained sanctuary and are not molested.
(See Pinnock^]
TICKLER [tik-lur] adj. Particular.
" I lay he's not so tickler as all that."
TIDE [teid] sb. The tithe. This is a remarkable instance
of the way in which th is converted into d in Kent, as
wid for with, &c.
174 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
TIDY [tei'di] adv. Considerable. " A tidy few/' means a
good number.
" It's a tidy step right down to the house, I lay."
TIE [tei] sb. A foot-race between two competitors. The
expression, " Ride and tie" is commonly interpreted
to mean, that when two people have one horse, the
first rides a certain distance and then dismounts for
the second to get up, so that they always tie or keep
together.
" Sir Dudley Diggs, in 1638, left the yearly sum of
^20, to be paid to two young men and two maids, who,
on May igth, yearly, should run a tie at Old Wives'
Lees, in Chilham, and prevail. The lands, from the
rent of which the prize was paid, were called the
Running Lands." —Hasted, ii. 787.
TIE-TAILS [tei-tailz] sb. pi. Herrings, which being gill-
broken cannot be hung up by their heads ; they are
therefore tied on the spits by their tails. Though they
are just as good eating as the others, they fetch less
money; and when I was in the hang, a tiny child
came in and addressed the burly owner thus, " Please,
sir, mother wants a farthing's worth of tie-tails for her
tea." She got two or three, and some broken scraps
into the bargain. — F. Buckland.
— Curiosities of Natural History, 2nd series, p. 274.
TIGHTISH LOT [tei'tish lot] pkr. A good many. (See
also Tidy.)
TIGHT-UP, vb. Make tidy. (Dight.}
" My missus has gone to tight-up."
TILL [til] adj. Tame; gentle.
TILLER [til'ur] sb. An oak sapling, or other young timber
tree of less than six inches and a quarter in girth.
In other places it is called teller. Anglo-Saxon telgory
a branch, a twig.
TILT [til't] (i) sb. The moveable covering of a cart or
wagon ; generally made of sail-cloth or canvas.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 175
TILT [til-t], TILTH [tilth] (2) sb. Condition of arable land.
" He has a good tilth" or, " His land is in good tilth."
TiLTER (out-of) sb. Out of order ; out of condition.
" He's left that farm purty much out o' filter y I can
tell ye."
TlMANS [termunz] sb. pi. Dregs, or grounds poured out
of the cask after the liquor is drawn off. Literally
teemings, from the Middle -English word temen, to
pour out, to empty a cask.
TiMBERSOME, adj. Tiresome ; troublesome.
TiME-o'-DAY [teim-u-dai] sb. " To pass the time-o'-day"
is to salute a person whom you chance to meet on the
road, with " Good-morning;" "A fine day;" "Good-
night," &c.
" I an't never had no acquaintance wid de man, not
no more than just to pass de time-d-day."
TIMMY [tinri] adj. Fretful. (See Timbersome, from which
this is probably abbreviated.)
TIMNAIL [tinvnail] sb. A vegetable-marrow. — East Kent.
TINE [tein] (i) sb. The tooth, or prong of a rake, harrow,
or fork.
TINE [tein] (2) vb. To shut ; to fence.
TIPTOE [tip'toa] sb. An extinguisher. — West Kent.
TIP-TONGUED [tip-tung-d] adj. Inarticulate ; indistinct in
utterance ; lisping.
" He tarks so tip-tongued since he've come back from
Lunnon, we can't make nothin' o' what he says other-
while."
TIRYEN [tiryun] sb. An anagramatical form of Trinity.
Thus, " Tiryen Church," Trinity Church. — East Kent.
TlSSlCK [tis-ik] sb. A tickling cough.
TISICKY, adj. Tickling. " A tisicky cough,"
176 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
TlTHER [tith-ur] vb. To trifle ; e.g., to tither about, is to
waste time.
TlVER [tivur] sb. Red ochre for marking sheep.
TO-AND-AGIN [too-und-irgin] prep. phr. Backwards and
forwards ; to and fro.
" Ah, I likes to goo to church o' Sundays, I doos ;
I likes to set an' look [at de gurt old clock, an' see de
old pendylum goo to-and-agin ; to-and-agin ; to-and-
agin, Sill de while."
TOAR [toar] sb. Long, coarse, sour grass in fields that
are understocked.
TOBIT, sb. A measure of half a bushel. (See Tovet.}
TOFET or TOVET [tof-it or tovit] sb. (See above.)
TOFF [tau-f] sb. The pods of peas, and the ears of wheat
and barley, after they have been threshed. — East Kent.
(See Caving
TOFF-SIEVE [tauf-siv], TOFT-SIEVE [tau-ft-siv] sb. A screen
or sieve for cleaning wheat.
TOFT [toft] sb. A messuage ; a dwelling-house with the
adjacent buildings and curtilage, and the adjoining
lands appropriate to the use of the household ; a piece
of ground on which a messuage formerly stood.
To IT [too-t or tu-ut] phr. Omitting the verb do, which
is understood. Remind a Kentish man of something
he has been told to do, but which you see is still undone,
and the chances are he will reply, " I'm just a going to
it," i.e., I am just going to do it.
TOLL [toal] sb. A clump ; a row ; generally applied to
trees ; so a rook-toll, is a rookery.
" There was a toll of trees at Knowlton which was
blown down in the great November gale/'
TOLVET [tolvit] sb. (See Tovet.}
1522. — "Paied for vj busshellis and a tolvettoi grene
pesen, price the bushell, xd., sm., vs. vd."
— Accounts of St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 177
TOM, sb. A cock.
" I bought a torn and three hens off old farmer Chucks
last spring, but I never made but very little out of 'em
before the old fox came round."
TOMMY [tonri] sb. A workman's luncheon.
" One of these here pikeys come along and stole
my tommy, he did."
TON [tun], TUN, sb. The great vat wherein the beer is
worked before it is tunned, or cleansed.
" Item in the brewhouss, two brewinge tonns, one
coolbacke, two fornisses, fower tubes with other
lumber, vj11. xiijs."
— Boteler Inventory, in Memorials of Eastry, p. 228.
TONGUE [tung] (i) vb. To use the tongue in a pert, saucy
and rude way ; to scold ; to abuse.
"Sarcy little hussey! I told her she shouldn't go
out no more of evenings ; and fancy, she just did turn
round and tongue me, she did."
TONGUE [tung] (2) sb. The projecting part of the cowl of
an oast, which causes it to turn round when acted on
by the wind.
TOOAD [too-ud] sb. A toad.
TOOAT [too-ut] sb. All ; an entirety.
" The whole tooat av't." (? the total.)
TORF [tauf] sb. Chaff that is raked off the corn, after it
it is threshed, but before it is cleaned. (See Toff.)
TORTOISE [tau-tus] sb. The cuttle-fish. — Folkestone.
T'OTHER DAY [tudh'r dai] sb. The day before yesterday.
A most correct expression, because other, in Early
English, invariably means second, and the day before
yesterday is the second day, reckoning backwards.
It is remarkable that second is the only ordinal
number of French derivation ; before the thirteenth
century it was unknown, and other was used instead
of it.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
TOVET [tovit] sb. Half a bushel. (See Tofet.) Etymolo-
gically, vet is here the Anglo-Saxon fatu, pi. of feet, a
vessel, a native word now supplanted by the Dutch
word vat. A vat is now used of a large vessel, but the
Anglo-Saxon fat was used of a much smaller one. In
the present case, it evidently meant a vessel containing
a peck. The Middle-English e represents the Anglo-
Saxon ce.
ToviL [toa-vil] sb. A measure of capacity. This word
looks like a corruption of two-fill, i.e., two fillings of a
given measure.
TO-YEAR [tu-yur] adv. This year ; as, to-day is this day.
TRACK [trak] vb. To tread down ; mark out the road ;
as is the case with a snow-covered road, if there has
been much traffic on it. At times, after a heavy fall
of snow, you may hear a person say, " I couldn't get
on, the snow isn't tracked yet."
TRAY RING [traai ring] sb j Th fasteni b which
TRAY WEDGE [traai wedj] sb. )
the scythe is secured to its bat.
TREAD [traid, or tred] sb. A wheel-tread; a rut ; a track.
Called in Sussex the trade [trai-d].
TREDDLES [tred-lz] sb. pi. The droppings of sheep.
TREVET [trivit] sb. A trivet ; a three-legged stand
whereon to set a tea-kettle, or saucepan. "As right
as a trevet" because, unless the trivet be placed just
upright, it will lob, or tilt over. Literally, " three feet/'
Compare Tovet, " two vats."
" Ite. in the kitchen, seavin brass kettells . . . two
greedyrons, one trivett with other lumber there, &c."
— Boteler Inventory r, Memorials of Eastry, p. 226.
TRILL [tril] vb. To trundle a hoop, &c.
TROLE [troa*l] vb. To trundle a hoop.
TROUBLED TO GO [trub-ld tu goa] phr. Hardly able to
get about and do one's work.
" Many a time he's that bad, he's troubled to go."
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 179
TRUCKLEBED [truk-1-bed] sb. A bed that runs on truckles,
or low-running wheels, i.e., castors, and is thus easily
run in and out under another and higher bed. In
the day-time the trucklebed was stowed away under
the chief bed in the room, and at night was occupied
by a servant or child. Hence, the word is used con-
temptuously of an underling or low bred person.
" Yees, ya shall pay, ya trucklebed j
Ya buffle-headed ass ;
I know 'twas ya grate pumpkin 'ead,
First blunnered thro' de glass."
— Dick and Sal, <&. 81.
TRUG [trug], TRUGG, sb. A kind of basket, much used by
gardeners and others ; formed of thin slivers of wood,
with a fixed handle in the middle, somewhat like the
handle of a bucket, and with studs at the bottom to
keep it steady. (See also Sliver, Stud.) Etymolo-
gically connected with (or the same word as) trough.
" Ite. in the mylke house, a bryne stock, a table,
two dowsin of bowles and truggs, three milk keelars,
two charnes, a mustard quearne with other lumber,
then prized at xx8."
— Boteler Inventory, Memorials of Eastry, p. 226. (See also p. 228.)
TRULL [trul] vb. To trundle. (See Trole.)
TRUSH [trush] sb. A hassock for kneeling in church.
In the old Churchwardens' Accounts for the parish of
Eastry the entry frequently occurs, "To mending the
trushes;" and the word is still occasionally used.
TRUSSEL, sb. A tressel ; a barrel-stand.
TRY [trei] vb. To boil down lard. (See Srowsells.)
TUG [tug] sb. The body of a wagon, without the hutch ;
a carriage for conveying timber, bobbins, &c. (See
Bobbin-tug.)
TUKE [teuk] sb. The redshank; a very common shore-
bird on the Kentish saltings. — Sittingbourne.
TUMBLING-BAY [tumb-ling-bai] sb. A cascade, or small
waterfall. — West Kent.
i8o
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
TUMP [tump] sb. A small hillock ; a mound, or irregular
rising on the surface of the pastures. Often, indeed
nearly always, an old ant-hill. — Sittingbourne.
" Ye caan't make nothin' o' mowin', all de while
dere's so many o' dese here gurt old tumps all over
de plaace."
TUNNEL [tun*l] sb. A funnel for pouring liquids from one
vessel into another.
TURN-WRIST-PLOUG [pro., turn-rees-plou] sb. A Kentish
plough, with a movable mould-board.
TUSSOME [tus-um] sb. Hemp or flax. — West Kent.
TWANG, sb. A peculiar flavour ; a strong, rank, unpleasant
taste ; elsewhere called a tack.
TWEAN- WHILES [twee*n-weilz] adv. Between times.
TWIBIL [twei-bil] sb. A hook for cutting beans. Literally,
" double bill."
TWINGE [twinj] sb. An ear- wig.
TwiNK, sb. A sharp, shrewish, grasping woman.
" Ye've got to get up middlin' early if ye be goin'
to best her, I can tell ye ; proper old twink, an' no
mistake ! "
TWITTER [twit-rj (i) vb. To twit ; to tease.
TWITTER [twit-r] (2) sb. A state of agitation ; a flutter.
Thus, " I'm all in a twitter," means, I'm all in a flutter,
or fluster.
Two [too] adj. "
different from himself; so angry, that he won't seem
My husband will be two men," i.e., so
limself;
to be the same person.
TYE [tei], TIE, sb. An extensive common pasture. Such
as Waldershare Tie ; Old Wives' Lees Tie.
1510.— " A croft callid Wolnes Tie"
— MS. Accounts, St. Dunstarfs, Canterbury.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 181
u.
UMBLEMENT [umtrulmunt] sb. Complement.
" Throw in another dozen to make up the umblement."
— Hundred of Hoo.
UNACCOUNTABLE [un-ukount-ubl] adj. and adv. Wonder-
ful ; excessive ; exceedingly.
" You've been gone an unaccountable time, mate."
UNCLE-OWL [unk-1-oul] sb. A species of skate. — Folkestone.
UNCOUS [un-kus] adj. Melancholy. (See Unky.)
UNDERNEAD [un-durneed-] prep. Underneath.
" Den on we went, and soon we see
A brick place where instead
A bein' at top as't ought to be,
De road ran undernead? — Dick and Sal, st. 46.
UNDER -SPINDLED [und-r-spind-ld] adj. Under -manned
and under-horsed, used of a man who has not sufficient
capital or stock to carry on his business.
In Sussex the expression is under -exed; ex being
an axle.
UNFORBIDDEN [un*furbid-n] adj. Uncorrected ; spoiled ;
unrestrained ; troublesome.
" He's an unforbidden young mortal."
UNGAIN [ungain*] adj. Awkward; clumsy; loutish.
" He's so very ungain."
UNHANDY [unhand- i] adj. Inconvenient; difficult of access.
"Ya see 'tis a werry unhandy pleace, so fur away
fro' shops."
UNKY [un-ki] adj. Lonely; solitary; melancholy. (See
Ellinge.)
"Don't you feel a bit unky otherwhile, livin' down
here sill alone, without ne'er a neighbour nor no one
to come anigh ? "
1 82 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
UNLEVEL [unlevl] adj. Uneven ; rough.
UNLUCKY [unluk-i] adj. Mischievous.
"That child's terr'ble unlucky surelye ! He's always
sum'ers or 'nother, and into somethin'."
UNTHRUM [unthrunr] adj. Awkward; unhandy.
UPGROWN [up'groan] adj. Grown up. " He must be as
old as that, because he's got upgrown daughters." (See
Foreright^} — East Kent.
UPSET [upset*] vb. To scold.
" I upset her pretty much o' Sunday mornin', for she
kep' messin' about till she got too late for church."
UPSETTING [upset-in] sb. A scolding.
" His missus give him a good upsetting that she did/'
UPSTAND [up-stand] vb. To stand up.
" That the members shall address the chair and speak
Upstanding." —Rules of Eastry Cottage Gardeners' Club.
UPSTANDS [up-standz] sb. pi. Live trees or bushes cut
breast high to serve as marks for boundaries of
parishes, estates, &c.
UPWARD [up-wurd] adj. The wind is said to be upward
when it is in the north, and downward when it is in the
south. The north is generally esteemed the highest
part of the world.
Cczsar's Commentary, iv.28, where "inferiorem partem
insulae" means the south of the island; and again,
v. 13, " inferior ad meridiem spectat."
URGE [urj] vb. To annoy ; aggravate ; provoke.
" It urges me to see anyone go on so."
USE [euz] (i) vb. To work or till land ; to hire it.
"Who uses this farm?" "He uses it himself," i.e.,
he keeps it in his own hands and farms it himself.
To use money is to borrow it.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 1 83
USE [euz] (2) vb. To accustom.
" It's what you use 'em to when they be young."
USE-POLE [euz-poal] sb. A pole thicker than a hop-pole,
and strong enough to use for other purposes.
v.
VALE [vail] sb. A water-rat ; called elsewhere a vole.
VAMPISHNESS, sb. Frowardness ; perverseness.
VAST [vaast] adv. Very ; exceedingly. This word is often
used of small things : " It is vast little/1 " Others of
vastly less importance."
VIGILOUS [vij-ilus] adj. Vicious, of a horse; also fierce,
angry.
VILL-HORSE [vil'urs] sb. The horse that goes in the rods,
shafts, or thills. The z>z7/-horse is the same as the
fill-horse, or thill-horse.
VINE [vein] sb. A general name applied to the climbing
bine of several plants, which are distinguished from
one another by the specific name being prefixed, as
the grape-vine, hop-vine, &c. (See Grape-vine^}
w.
WACKER [wak-ur] (i) adj. Active "He's a Backer little
chap." (2) Angry; wrathful.
" Muster Jarret was wacker at his bull getting into
the turnip field."
Anglo-Saxon, wacor, vigilant.
184 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
WAG [wag] vb. To stir ; to move. The phrase, " The dog
wags his tail," is common enough everywhere ; but to
speak of wagging the whole body, the head, the tongue,
or the hand, is local. " There he goes wagging along."
" Everyone that passeth by her shall hiss and wag
his hand." — Zeph. ii. 15.
WAI [wai] vb. Word of command to a cart-horse, meaning
" Come to the near side." — East Kent.
WAISTCOAT [wes-kut] sb. This word, now restricted to a
man's garment, was formerly given to an under-coat
worn by either sex. (See Petticoat.)
" Item more paid (for Thomasine Millians) to George
Hutchenson for iiij. yeardes of clothe to make her a
petticote and a waste cote, at ijs. vjd. the yarde . . . xs."
— Sandwich Book of Orphans.
WAKERELL [wai-kur'ul or wak-ur'ul] BELL, sb. The waking
bell, or bell for calling people in the early morning,
still rung at Sandwich at five a.m.
" Item for a rope for the wakerrel .... iijd."
— Churchwardens? Accounts, St. Dunstarfs, Canterbury, A.D. 1485.
It was otherwise called the Wagerell bell, and the
Wakeryng bell.
WALE [wail] sb. A tumour or large swelling.
WALLER'D [wol-urd] sb. The wind.
" De Folkston gals looked houghed black,
Old waller1 d roar'd about." — Dick and Sal, st. 23.
And again —
" De sun and sky begun look bright,
An waller ]d stopt his hissin'." — St. 25.
WAN [wan] sb. A wagon, not necessarily a van, as
generally understood. — Sittingbourne.
WANKLE [wonk-1] adj. Sickly; generally applied to a
child. A man said of his wife that she was " a poor
wankle creature."
WAPS [wops] sb. A wasp. So haps for hasp, &c.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 185
WARP [waup] sb. Four things of any kind ; as a warp of
herrings.
WARPS [waups] sb. pi. Distinct pieces of ploughed land
separated by the furrows.
WARP-UP [wau-p-up] vb. To plough land in warps, i.e.,
with ten, twelve or more ridges, on each side of which
a furrow is left to carry off the water.
WAR WAPS [waurwops] phr. Look out ; beware.
WASH [wosh] (i) sb. A basket used at Whitstable for
measuring whelks, and containing about half a prickle,
or ten strikes of oysters. Amongst the rates and dues
of Margate Pier, Lewis gives, "For every wash of
oysters, 3d." A prickle is twenty strikes, a strike is
four bushels.
WASH [wosh] (2), WASH -WAY [wosh-wai] sb. Narrow
paths cut in the woods to make the cants in a woodfall.
A fall of ten acres would probably be washed into six
or seven cants.
"You've no call to follow the main-track; keep
down this here wash -way for about ten rods and
you'll come right agin him."
WASH [wosh] (3) vb. To mark out with wash-ways.
WASTES [wai-sts] vb. Waste lands.
WATER -BURN [waa-tur-burn] sb. The phosphorescent
appearance of the sea.
It is much disliked by the herring-yawlers, as the
cunning fish can then see the net and will not go into
it. — F. Buckland.
WATER-GALLS [waa-tur-gaulz] sb. pi. Jelly-fish. — Dover.
WATER-TABLE [waa-tur-tai-bl] sb. The little ditch at the
side of the road, or a small indentation across a road,
for carrying off the water.
WATTLE [wot*l] sb. A hurdle made like a gate, of split
wood, used for folding sheep.
1 86 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
WATTLE-GATES [wot-1-gaits] sb. pi. Same as the above.
WAUR [waur], WAURE, sb. Sea-wrack ; a marine plant
(Zostera marina), much used for manure. (See Oare.)
Anglo-Saxon, war, waar. "Alga, waar ;" Corpus
Glossary (8th century).
WAX-DOLLS [waks-dolz] sb. Fumaria officinalis. So called
from the doll-like appearance of its little flowers.
WAY-GRASS,^. A weed; knot-grass. Polygonum aviculare.
WEALD [wee-Id] sb. The Weald of Kent is the wood, or
wooded part of Kent, which was formerly covered with
forest, but is now for the most part cultivated.
WEASEL-SNOUT [wee-zl-snout] sb. The toad flax. Linaria
vulgaris.
WEATHER, sb. Bad weather.
"'Tis middlin' fine now; but there's eversomuch
weather coming up."
WELFING [welfun] sb. The covering of a drain.
WELTER [welt-ur] vb. To wither.
" The leaves begin to welter."
WENCE [wens'] sb. The centre of cross-roads. (See Went.}
WENT [went] sb. A way. At Ightham, Seven Vents is the
name of a place where seven roads meet. The plural
of wents is frequently pronounced wens. (See above.)
Middle-English, went, a way ; from the verb to wend.
WERR [wur] adv. Very ; " werr like," very like.
WERRY [werr'i] sb. A weir. The Abbot of Faversham
owned the weir in the sea at Seasalter. It was called
Snowt-werry in the time of Hen. VII., afterwards
Snowt-weir.
WET [wet] vb. "To wet the tea" is to pour a little boiling
water on the tea ; this is allowed to stand for a time
before the teapot is filled up. " To wet a pudding" is
to mix it ; so the baker is said to wet his bread when
he moistens his flour.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 187
WET-FOOT [wet-fuot] adj. To get the feet wet or damp.
" He came home wet- foot, and set there wid'out
taking off his boots, and so he caught his death."
WHAT-FOR [wot-fur] inter, adv. What kind or sort of ?
" What-for day is't ? " i.e., what kind of day is it ?
" What-for a man is he ? "
" What-for a lot of cherries is there this year ? "
So in German, was fur.
WHAT'N, inter, pron. What sort ; what kind.
" Then you can see what'n a bug he be ? "
Short for what kin, i.e., what kind.
WHATSAY [wot-sai] interog. phr. Contracted from "What
do you say ? " Generally used in Kent and Sussex
before answering a question, even when the question
is perfectly well understood.
WHEAT-KIN [wit-kin] sb. A supper for the servants and
work-folks, when the wheat is all cut ; the feast at the
end of hop-picking is called a hop-kin.
WHEAT-SHEAR [wee-t-sheer] vb. To cut wheat.
WHER [wur] conj. Whether.
" I ax'd 'im wher he would or not, an he sed, ' No.' "
WHICKET FOR WHACKET [wik-it fur wak-it]. A phrase ;
meaning the same as " Tit for tat."
WHIFFLE [wif-1], WIFFLE, vb. To come in gusts ; to blow
hither and thither ; to turn and curl about.
" 'Tis de wind whiffles it all o' one side."
WHILK [wilk] (i), WHITTER [wifur] vb. To complain; to
mutter. (See Winder, Witter.}
" He went off whilkin when I couldn't give him
nothing."
WHIP-STICKS [wip-stiks] adv. Quickly ; directly.
1 88 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
WHIRTLE-BERRIES [wurt-1-berr'iz] sb. pi. Bilberries.
WHISPERING THE DEATH OF A PERSON. When the master
or mistress dies, or other member of a family, where
bees are kept, it is customary (in Eastry) for some one
to go to the hives and whisper to the bees, that the
person is dead. The same custom is observed with
regard to cattle and sheep, as a writer in Notes and
Queries thus notices : " For many years Mr. Upton
resided at Dartford Priory, and farmed the lands
adjacent. In 1868, he died. After his decease, his
son told the writer (A. J. Dunkin) that the herds-
men went to each of the kine and sheep, and
whispered to them that their old master was dead."
WHIST [wist] adj. Quiet ; silent.
" Stand whist ! I can hear de ole rabbut ! "
1593. — " When all were whist, King Edward thus bespoke,
1 Hail Windsor, where I sometimes tooke delight
To hawke and hunt, and backe the proudest horse.'"
— Peele: Honor of the Garter.
WHITE-THROAT [weit-throa-t] sb. The bird so called is
rarely spoken of without the adjective jolly being
prefixed, e.g., "There's a jolly white-throat."
WHITTEN [wit*n] sb. The wayfaring tree. Viburnum
lantana.
WHORLBARROW [wurl-bar]. Wheelbarrow.— West Kent.
WHOOT [woot] vb. Word of command to a cart-horse,
" Go to the off side."— East Kent.
WIBBER [wib-ur] (i) sb. A wheelbarrow. Short for wilber,
a contraction of wheelbarrow.
WIBBER [wib'ur] (2) vb. To use a wibber.
"I wibber' d out a wibberiull."
WlD [wid] prep. With. " I'll be wid ye in a minnit,"
e.g., I will be with you in a minute. So widout, for
without.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 189
WIFF [wif] sb. A with, withy or bond, for binding fagots.
Formerly only the large kind of fagot, which went by
the name of kiln-bush, was bound with two wiffs, other
smaller kinds with one. But now, as a rule, all fagots
are tied up with two wiffs.
WlG [wig] vb. To anticipate ; over-reach ; balk ; cheat.
WIK [wik] sb. A week.
" He'll have been gone a wik, come Monday."
WILLJILL [wil-jil] sb. An hermaphrodite.
WILK [wil-k] sb. A periwinkle. (Anglo-Saxon, wiloc.)
WILLOW-GULL [wil'oagul*] sb. The Salix caprea ; so called
from the down upon it resembling the yellow down of
a young gosling, which they call in Kent a gull.
WIMBLE [wimb-1], WYMBYLL, sb. (i.) An instrument for
boring holes, turned by a handle ; still used by wattle
makers.
X533- — "For a stoke [stock, i.e., handle] for a nayle
wymbyll" —Accounts of St. Johris Hospital, Canterbury.
(ii.) An instrument for twisting the bonds with which
trusses of hay are bound up.
WIND [weind] vb. To twist; to warp. Thus, a board
shrunk or swelled, so as to be warped, is said to wind;
and when it is brought straight again it is said to be
" out of winding'' So a poor old man in the Eastry
Union Workhouse, who suffered much from rheuma-
tism, once told me, " I had a terrible poor night surely,
I did turn and wind sb."
WIND -BIBBER [wind-bib-r] sb. A haw. The fruit of
Crat&gus oxyacantha.
WINDER [wind-r] (i) vb. To whimper. (See Whelk, Witter^
" 'Twas downright miserable to hear him keep all on
windering soonsever he come down of a morning, cos
he'd got to go to school."
190 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
WINDER (2) sb. A widgeon.
WINDROW [wind-roa] sb. Sheaves of corn set up in a row,
one against another, that the wind may blow betwixt
them ; or a row of grass thrown up lightly for the same
purpose in haymaking.
WINTER-PROUD, adj. Said of corn which is too forward
for the season in a mild winter.
WiPS [wips] sb., for wisp ; like waps for wasp. (Middle-
English, wips, a wisp.) Anything bundled up or
carelessly thrown up on a heap ; as, " The cloaths
lie in a wips" i.e., tumbled, in disorder. The spelling
wips occurs in the Rawlinson MS. of Piers the Plowman,
B. v. 351, foot note. (See Waps, Haps.)
WIRE-WEED, sb. The common knotgrass. Polygonum
aviculare.
WITTER [wit'ur] vb. To murmur; to complain; to wimper;
to make a peevish, fretting noise. (See Whilk, Winder?)
WITTERY [wit-ur'i] adj. Peevish ; fretful.
WITTY [wit-i] adj. Well-informed ; knowing ; cunning ;
skilful.
" He's a very witty man, I can tell ye."
" I, wisdom, dwell with prudence and find out know-
ledge of witty inventions." — Prov. viii. 12.
WlWER [wivur] vb. To quiver ; to shake.
WODMOLE, otherwise WOADMEL, sb. A rough material
made of coarse wool.
" . . . . One yeard of greene wodmole for an aprune
at xijd." — Sandwich Book of Orphans.
WONLY [won-li] adv. Only.
WOOD-FALL, sb. A tract of underwood marked out to be
cut. The underwood for hop-poles is felled about
every twelve years.
WOOD-NOGGIN, sb. A term applied to half-timbered houses.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 191
WOOD-REEVE [wuod-reev] sb. (i.) A woodman; wood-
cutter; forester; an officer charged with the care
and management of woods.
(ii.) Sometimes, in North Kent, men who buy lots
of standing wood and cut it down to sell for firing,
are also called wood-reeves. (See Wood-shuck below.)
1643. — The following extract uses the word in the
first sense : " Spent upon our wood reefe for coming to
give vs notice of some abuses done to our wood/'
— MS. Accounts, St. John's Hospital, Canterbury.
WOOD-SHUCK [wuod-shuk] sb. A buyer of felled wood.
(See above.)
WORKISH [wurk'ish] adj. Bent upon work; industrious.
" He's a workish sort of a chap."
WORKY-DAY [wurk'i-dai] sb. Work -day, in contradis-
tinction to Sunday.
" He's gone all weathers, Sunday and worky-day,
these seven years."
WORM [wirm] sb. A corkscrew.
WORRIT [wurr'it] vb. To worry.
" He's been a worritin' about all the mornin' because
he couldn't find that there worm." (See above.)
WORST [wirst] vb. To defeat; to get the better of; to
overthrow.
" He's worsted hisself this time, I fancy, through
along o' bein' so woundy clever."
WOUNDY [wou-ndi] adv. Very.
WREEST [reest] sb. That part of a Kentish plough which
takes on and off, and on which it rests against the land
ploughed up. (See Rice.)
WRAXEN [rak-sun], WREXON [rek-sun] vb. To grow out
of bounds (said of weeds) ; to infect ; to taint with
disease.
192 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
WRING [ring] (i) vb. To blister.
" I wrung my shoulder with carrying a twenty-stale
ladder/'
WRING [ring] (2) vb. To be wet.
WRONGS [rongz] TO, adv. Out of order. " There's not
much to wrongs." The antithetical phrase to rights is
common enough, but to wrongs is rarely heard out of
Kent.
WRONGTAKE [rong-taik] vb. To misunderstand a person.
Wux [wut] vb. Word of command to a cart-horse to stop.
— East Kent.
Wuxs [wuts] sb.pl. Oats.
Y.
YAFFLE [yaf-1] (i) sb. The green woodpecker.
YAFFLE [yaf-1] (2) vb. (See Yaffle.)
YAR [yaar], YARE [yair] adj. Brisk ; nimble ; swift.
" Their ships are yarej yours, heavy."
— Antony and Cleopatra, act iii. sc. 7.
YARD [yaa-d] sb. A rood; a measure of land. " A yard
of wood" costs 6s. 8d., in the Old Parish Book of Wye.
(See Lambarde's Perambulation, p. 257.)
YAUGH [yau-1] adj. Dirty; nasty; filthy.
YAWL [yau-1] vb. When the herrings come off Folkestone
the boats all go out with their fleet of nets "yawling,"
i.e., the nets are placed in the water and allowed to
drive along with the tide, the men occasionally taking
an anxious look at them, as it is a lottery whether they
come across the fish or not. — F. Buckland.
Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect. 193
YAWNUP [yairnup] sb. A lazy and uncouth fellow.
YAX [yaks] sb. The axle-tree. Anglo-Saxon, eax,
pronounced nearly the same [yaaks].
YELD [yeld] vb. To yield.
" 'Tis a very good yelding field though it is so cledgy."
YELLOW- BOTTLE [yel-oa-boH] sb. The corn marigold.
Chrysanthemum segetum.
YENLADE [yen-laid] or YENLET, sb. This word is applied
by Lewis to the north and south mouths of the estuary
of the Wantsum, which made Thanet an island. The
Anglo-Saxon, gen-lad, means a discharging of a river
into the sea, or of a smaller river into a larger one.
(See Beda, Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. c. 8.)
YEOMAN [yoa*mun] sb. A person farming his own estate.
"A knight of Cales [i.e., Cadiz],
A gentleman of Wales,
And a laird of the north countree ;
A yeoman of Kent
With his yearly rent
Will buy 'em out all three." — Kentish Proverbs.
YET [yet] adv. Used redundantly, as " neither this nor
yet that/'
YET-NA [yet-na] adv. Yet ; as " he is not come home yet-
na." Here the suffix na is due to the preceding not.
Negatives were often thus reduplicated in Old English.
YEXLE [yex-1] sb. An axle.
YOFFLE [yof-1], YUFFLE [yuf'l] vb. To eat or drink
greedily, so as to make a noise.
" So when we lickt de platters out
An yoffled down de beer ;
I sed to Sal, less walk about,
And try and find de fair." — Dick and Sal, st. 66.
YOKE [yoak] (i) sb. A farm or tract of land of an uncertain
quantity. It answers to the Latin, jugum. Cake's Yoke
is the name of a farm in the parish of Crundale. It
would seem to be such a measure of land as one yoke
of oxen could plough and till.
194 Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect.
i(H
YOKE [yoak] (2) sb. The time (eight hours) for a team to
work. Thus, when the horses go out in the early
morning and work all day till about two o'clock, and
then come home to their stable, they make what is
called "one yoke;33 but sometimes, when there is a
great pressure of work, they will make " two yokes,"
going out as before and coming home for a bait at ten
o'clock, and then going out for further work at one and
coming home finally at six p.m.
YOKELET, sb. An old name in Kent for a little farm or
manor.
YOUR'N [yeurn] poss. pron. Yours.
YOWL [you-1] vb. To howl.
" Swich sorwe he maketh, that the grate tour
Resouneth of his youling and clamour."
— Chaucer , Knight es
Farncombe & Co., Printers, Lewes.
A GLOSSAEY
OF
BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES
A GLOSSARY
ERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES.
11 Y
MAJOR B. LOWSLEY,
Royal Engineers.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY
BY TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1888.
TO HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY
THE QUEEN,
THIS GLOSSARY OF PROVINCIAL WORDS USED IN
THE COUNTY OF BERKSHIRE,
IS, BY SPECIAL PERMISSION, MOST
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY'S MOST
OBEDIENT, HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
PACK
PREFACE ix.
INTRODUCTION : —
Pronunciation 2
Grammar 5
Customs and Observances .. 14
Superstitions 22
Folk-Lore 27
Sayings and Phrases 30
Place-Names 35
GLOSSARY , .. 37
PREFACE.
IN 1852 my late father, Mr. J. Lowsley, of Hampstead
Norreys, compiled a small Glossary of Provincial Words
used in Berkshire, which was published in that year by
Mr. John Gray Bell, of Bedford Street, Covent Garden,
London, together with tracts of a similar nature for a few
other counties. The little work undertaken, at the request
of the Publisher, contained such words as happened to be
collected in the very short time then available. Only sixty
copies were printed. Additional Words and Phrases have
been since noted, and the present Glossary, with local
notes, is submitted. My brother, Mr. L. Lowsley, of
Hampstead Norreys, has given me valuable assistance.
B. LOWSLEY,
Major, Royal Engineers,
Hampstead Norreys, Berks,
March, 1888.
THE following is a list of Glossaries ot Counties adjoining
Berkshire, published by the English Dialect Society : —
HAMPSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. Compiled and edited
by the Rev. Sir WILLIAM H. COPE, Bart.
OXFORDSHIRE WORDS. By Mrs. PARKER.
OXFORDSHIRE WORDS (SUPPLEMENTARY). By Mrs.
PARKER.
SURREY PROVINCIALISMS. By G. LEVESON-GOWER, ESQ.
WILTSHIRE WORDS. From Britton's Beauties of Wiltshire, 1825 ;
compared with Akerman's Glossary, 1842.
Many words used in Berkshire have been noted in some of
these Glossaries with — as might be looked for — differences in
pronunciation and even signification. All as now submitted I
have heard spoken in Mid-Berkshire.
B. L.
INTEODUCTOEY.
IN his work on the classification of the English Dialects, as
published by the English Dialect Society, Prince Louis Lucien
Bonaparte says : — " Southern characters I call : The use of
I be, thou list, he be, we be, yon be, they be, for ' I am,' &c. ; the
periphrastic tenses replacing the simple, as / do love, for / love ;
the prefix a before the past participle, as / have aheard, for /
have heard ; the permutation of the initial /, 5, sh, and thr, into
v, z, zh, and dr; the broad pronuuciation of the Italian ai,
replacing the sound of the English ay, as in May, pronounced
as the Italian adverb mai."
These characters appear in the BERKSHIRE DIALECT with
modifications as follows : / be, thou Ust, he be, we be, you be, they
be, would run / be, thee bist or 'e be, he be, we or us be, thee or 'e be,
thaay be or them is.
There is no replacing of simple tenses by periphrastic
tenses, as / do love, for / love, generally in Berkshire ; instead of
/ love her, a man would say / loves her, or emphatically / loves
'she.'
The prefix a takes place before the present participle as well
as before the past participle, as a-goin', a-thinkm', a-callin', &c.
As regards the permutations of the specified initial letters,
v is always substituted for /, z is substituted for 5 when the
latter is followed by a vowel or w, and in many other cases also
the sound given to the s is roughened almost to the sound of z ;
dr is used instead of thr.
The letter A is generally given the broad pronunciation
of ai in the Italian mai. When the pronunciation is thus given,
the English sound has been represented in the GLOSSARY by
aay, or by aai where the a precedes i.
B
INTRODUCTORY.
I.
PRONUNCIATION.
As regards Vowels and Diphthongs the sound of e in term is
often given to the letters. Thus 'farm' is pronounced verm;
1 part,' pert ; ' mark,' merk, &c.
In words where the letter a is given the sound of aay there
is also sometimes a sub-division of the word into two syllables
as follows : — ' Game ' is pronounced both gaayme and ge-um ;
* shame,' both shaayme and she-urn; 'name,' both naayme and
ne-um ; ' face ' is both vaayce and ve-us. The two pronunciations
are equally common.
In a few cases only o takes the place of a, as in ronk for
1 rank' ; lonky for * lanky.'
U is substituted for a thus : — We say vur instead of * far ' ;
scur instead of * scar ' ; stur instead of ' star' ; etc.
Au, as in ' sauce,' is given the sound of a in the word ' fate' ;
' sauce ' is pronounced zace.
A r is given the sound of aa : Thus 'parsnips' are called
paasmips or paasmets ; ' parson ' becomes paason ; etc.
Aw final is pronounced as ay or aa : Thus 'law' is pro-
nounced lay or laa ; ' draw ' dray or draa.
I and y are commonly sounded as e : Thus we have pegs for
' pigs;' vleng for ' fling ;' zence for '.since.' Sometimes i has the
sound of u : Thus ' rabbit ' is pronounced rabbut, and ' stirrup '
sturrup.
le has the sound of a in ' fate ;' 'grieve' becomes grave;
and ' believe ' belave.
0 takes the sound of a very largely.
pramise ; ' crops ' are craps ;
and always before /, it becomes aw : Thus ' old ' is awld ;
rawll ; and ' toll ' tawll ; etc.
O, following some consonants, is pronounced as wo : Thus
' boy ' becomes bwoy; ' toad ' becomes two-ad ; and ' post ' becomes
pwo-ast.
Oa takes the sound of oo, as in moor : Thus we have boor for
« boar '; and sometimes makes a sub-division into syllables — as
lo-ad for ' load.'
'Promise' becomes
morning' is marnin\ In some cases,
roll'
PRONUNCIATION. 8
Oa, when initial, as in ' oats' or 'oath ', is sounded aso/«, the
words mentioned being pronounced wnts and wuth respectively.
Oi is pronounced as i or as wi : Thus ' spoil ' is spile or spwile ;
' boil ' is bile or bwile.
Oo becomes shortened into u — as stup for ' stoop '; brum for
* broom.'
E sometimes has the sound of a in tar : Thus ' certain ' is
pronounced zartain, and celery zalary.
Where e would usually take the sound of a in gate, it
becomes in Berkshire Dialect aay. Thus * they ' is pronounced
tliaay, and ' obey' becomes obaay. It is sometimes pronounced
as i : Thus ' end ' becomes ind ; ' every ' iv-ry ; ' enter ' inter ;
' kettle ' kittle ; etc. Also it becomes u : Thus vurry is spoken
for ' very '; murry for * merry '; burry for * berry.'
Ea is given the sound of aay or a, or else there is a sub-
division of the syllable : Thus ' break ' is pronounced braayke or
bre-ak ; ' mean ' is maayne or me-an, and sometimes mane ; ' clean '
is claayne, cle-an, or clam. The different pronunciations noted
above will be found even in the same village.
Ee is sounded as j, or there is a sub-division into two syllables :
Thus ' feet ' becomes vit or ve-ut; * seems ' zims or ze-ums ; ' keep '
kip or ke-up.
Occasionally ee take the sound of a in fate : Thus ' bees '
would be baze or be-uz ; ' sweep' swape or sive-up.
Eiis pronounced as a in fate : Thus ' receive' becomes recave;
1 ceiling' sailin*.
In * George ' we find the sound of the eo broadened into
Gaargt, or shortened into Gerge indifferently.
On takes the sound of aa — as zaate for k sought,' wraate for
' wrought'; but there are exceptions, as vowt for ' fought.'
The sound of the oo in ' moon ' occurs for ou or o when
followed by r ; thus ' court ' becomes coort ; * sword ' zoord, and
' porch ' poorch. But there are exceptions — ' four ' is pro-
nounced vawer, and ' sour ' zower.
Ore is pronounced oor, as in moor : Thus ' more' becomes
moor ; l sore ' becomes soor ; ' before ' bevoor.
Ir, or, and ur, coming within a word, take the sound of u.
We have vust for ' first ' and wnst for ' worst' ; puss (rhyming with
' fuss') for ' purse,' etc.
For un the substitution of on is common : Thus, instead of
' undress ' we say ondress ; ondo for * undo '; ontie for ' untie '; etc.
4 INTRODUCTORY.
U is sometimes pronounced as e : Thus « crush ' becomes
cresh, ' brush ' bresh, and ' strut ' stret.
W is sometimes replaced by o : Thus ' woman ' becomes
ooman ; ' sword * becomes zoord.
The letter b occasionally has v substituted for it : Thus
1 disturb ' is pronounced disturve.
D undergoes change to n : Thus * wonder ' is pronounced
wunnev ; ' London ' Lunnon ; ' thunder ' tkunner.
D is also often added to the final consonant of a word :
Thus ' miller ' becomes millerd ; l gown ' gownd ; but it may be here
mentioned that on the other hand the final consonant, when
preceded by another consonant, is very often dropped : Thus
* kiln ' is pronounced kill ; ' kept ' kef ; ' pond ' pon.
It has been noted that /, when initial in a syllable, is always
pronounced as v. When final in a first syllable of a word it is
not pronounced at all : Thus ' afternoon ' is rendered atevnoon ;
1 afterwards } atevward.
Similarly we have the letter / dropped ; ' already ' becomes
already; ' almost' a'mwo-ast ; 'almighty' a* mighty.
The final g in words of more than one syllable terminating
in ing is always dropped : Thus * ringing ' becomes ringin' ;
* smelling ' smellin*.
H is never aspirate by right of its position as heading a
syllable, words commencing with h or a vowel are aspirated
when emphasis may be desired to be given.
Y is substituted for h initial in some cases : Thus * head ' is
pronounced yead; l heard ' yeard ; and occasionally the full sound
of wh takes the place of h : Thus ' home ' is always who-am.
K final is pronounced as t in some instances : Thus * ask '
becomes ast, and « mask ' mast.
T is often added superfluously to words terminating with
n : Thus ' sudden ' is pronounced zuddent, and ' sermon ' becomes
zavment as well as zarmon.
Bl is sometimes curiously substituted : Thus we have
gimblet for ' gimlet ' and ckimbley for ' chimney.'
Ow final is pronounced as er or y : Thus * window ' becomes
winder or windy ; l yellow ' yallev or yally ; ' widow ' widder or
widdy.
Ard final in words of more than one syllable is pronounced
ut : ' Orchard ' becomes arckut, and « Richard ' Richut.
GRAMMAR. 5
Pur is substituted for pre or pro : Thus ' pretend ' becomes
purtend, l preserve ' purzarve, ' provide ' purvide, &c.
Transformations as to order of letters occur thus : Hunderd
is used for * hundred,' childern for ' children.'
In counting pronunciation goes as follows : — One, two, dree,
vawer, vive, zix, zeven, aayte, &c.
II.
GRAMMAR.
ARTICLES.
A does not become an before a vowel or h mute ; thus,
instead of " Give me an apple " would be said Gie I a apple.
The fact of an being thus never used may be accounted for
by the liability to give the aspirate when emphasis is required,
and so the practice may have grown that a shall do duty in all cases .
The article the is omitted in cases where there can be no
doubt as to what place, &c., may be referred to. " Have you
been to the farm this morning?" becomes "Hast a-bin to verm
this marnin'P " " He said he would be at the cross roads" becomes
"A zed as d*d be at crass ro-ads."
NOUNS.
Where s alone would be usually added, plurals are often
formed by adding also es as a separate syllable in place of s : Thus
twos-es, threes-es, wops-es (i.e., wasps), be-ast-es ' beasts.' And in
some cases a second es is added : Thus * posts ' may become
pwoast-es or pwoast-es-es, * joists ' jist-es orjist-es-es, l beasts ' be-ast-es
or be-ast-es-es.
En is occasionally used in forming plurals : Thus we have
peas-en for ' peas,' hous-en for ' houses ' ; but this form is now only
adopted by old people.
ADJECTIVES.
As regards comparison of Adjectives some irregularities are
introduced as follows : —
Positive. Comparative. Superlative.
Little Littler Le-ast or littlest
Vur (far) Vurder (farther)... Vurdest (farthest)
or vurdermwoast
Bad Wusser or wuss...Wust, or wussest,
or wustest
Top Toppermust
^RODUCTOi
Adjectives which denote the material of which a thing is
composed commonly take the termination n or en : Thus we
have a leathern bottle or a leather-^ bottle, a eldem pop-gun, a
beech-en plank.
PRONOUNS.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS [as regards cases] .
First Person.
Plural.
Singular.
Nom I
Poss Mine
Objec. ...I or us
Singular.
Second Person.
Poss Thine ov yourn
Objec. ...Thee or 'e
Nom We OY us
Poss Ourn
Objec. ...We or us
Plural.
Norn., Thee or 'e
Poss Yourn
Objec. ...Thee or 'e
Third Person (Masculine).
Singular.
Nom He or a
Poss Hissen
Objec. ...'E or 'in or un
Plural.
... Asfor
Plural.
Nom Thaay or them
Poss Thaayrn
Objec. ...Thaay or them
or um
Thiyd Person (Feminine).'
Singular.
Nom She
Poss Hern
Objec. ...She, when em-
phatic. Her, when
not emphatic
Third Person (Neuter).
Singular. Plural.
Nom Ut or he or a. Nom....| As for
P°ss Hissen P°ss- - masculine
Objec. ...Ut or 'm or un Objec.. .)
As examples : Us waants what be ourn an' thaay had best gi't to
us or we — i.e., We want what is ours and they had better give it
to us.
Dwo-ant hev nothin' to zaay to she — i.e., ' Don't have anything
to say to her.'
PRONOUNS. 7
// thee casn't mind thee awn taayke keer o1 thaay rn — i.e., * If you
cannot mind (i.e. attend to) your own take care of theirs.'
I gi'd thaay two vrocks as belonged to she — i.e., ' I gave them
two frocks that belonged to her.'
The knife yent hern 'tis hissen; I gin ut to'n (or 'in] — i.e., ' The
knife is not her's, 'tis his, I gave it to him.'
I tells 'e what 'tis — i.e., ' I tell you what it is.'
RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
As is used instead of who, which, and that: Thus, * He is a
man who saves money ' would be rendered 'He be a man as
zaayves money.'
Whosen is used in place of whose, and who in place of whom ;
I wunt zaay whosen it be — i.e., * I won't say whose it is.'
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.
The possessive pronouns stand thus : my, thy or tJtee, his or
hissen, her or hern, our or ourn, thy thee or yourn, thaayr or
thaayrn.
For example, sentences would go as follows : ' Whose cap be
that ' ? ' Did 'e ax whosen' ? l Ees Me-ary zes she lost her cap.'
* Well, that ther be hern taayke un alang.' * Be that tkee
raayke' ? ' Ees that be ourn, that ther yander be yourn.'
'Thyself becomes theezelf ; 'himself and 'itself become
hiszelf; ' yourselves ' theezelves, and ' themselves ' thaayrzelves.
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS.
' Each ' is not in common use — icrey one takes its place ;
am is used for either, also narn is substituted for ' neither.' For
example — ' Hev 'e zin arn on um ' ? ' No, narn (or narra one] on
um yent come.'
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.
For ' this ' is used this yer ; for ' that ' that they; for ' these '
the-uz yer ; for ' those ' them ther.
For example : ' Theuz yer wuts (oats) be wuth double o*
them ther.'
The yer and ther are always inserted as shown above
where there is intention to particularize or to give emphasis, but
may be omitted where such intention does not at all exist. For
' Are these the ones ' ? would be said however, Be the-uz uns
thaay P
INTRODUCTORY.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.
}E or a body is used for one. ' One can't act like that ' would
be 'E caan't act like that ther.
1 One's heart is not in it ' would be A body's hert yent in 7.
Am is used for * any.'
Nam for « none.'
' Alone' is never used ; by hiszelf, &c., would be substituted.
' Hev 'e killed arra rat' ? ' No, I 'ent killed narn (or narra one)
a big un run awaay but a zimmed to be yer by hiszelf.'
VERBS.
Conjugation of Verbs.
TO HAVE.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
Singular.
1. Pers....I hev or I has
2. Pers....Thee or 'e hast,
has or hev or hevs.
3. Pers....He, a, or she, or ut,
hev, hevs, or has
Singular.
I had
Thee or 'e had or had'st
He etc., had
Singular.
I hev a-had
Thee ov 'e hast a-had
He etc., hev a-had
Plural.
. Pers....We or us hev
. Pers....Thee or 'e hast,
has or hev, or hevs
. Pers....Thaay or them, or
um hev, hevs, or has
Impevfect Tense.
Plural.
1 . We or us had
2. Thee or 'e had or had'st
3. Thaay or them, or um had
Perfect Tense.
Plural.
1. We or us hev a-had
2. Thee or 'e hast or hev a-had
3. Thaay or them, or um hev
or has a-had
Pluperfect Tense.
Singular. Plural.
I had a-had i. W7e or us, had a-had
Thee ov 'e, had or had'st
a-had
He etc., had a-had
i
2. Thee or 'e had, or hadst
a-had
3. Thaay ov them, ov um had
a-had
VERBS.
First Future Tense.
Plural,
i. We or us shall, 'ooll or hev
Singular.
1. I shall or 'ooll hev
2. Thee ov 'e shat, 'oot, 'ooll, j 2. Thee or 'e shat, 'oot, 'ooll
or 'oollt hev or 'oollt hev
3. He &c., shall or 'ooll hev 3. Thaay or them, or um shall
or 'ooll hev.
Second Future Tense.
This is as the First Future Tense, with the addition of
a-had to each person.
IMPERATIVE MOOD.
Singular.
2. Hev thee or do thee hev
Plural.
2. Hev thee, or do thee hev
POTENTIAL MOOD.
Present Tense.
Singular.
1. I med or can hev
2. Thee or 'e medst, can or
canst hev
3. He &c., med or can hev
Plural.
1. We or us med or can hev
2. Thee or 'e medst, can or
canst hev
3. Thaay or them, or um med
or can hev
Imperfect Tense.
Singular.
1. I med, could, or 'ood,
should hev
2. Thee or 'e med or medst,
could or couldst, 'ood
or 'oodst, or should or
shouldst hev
3. He etc., med, could,
'ood, or should hev
Plural.
1. We or us med, could, 'ood,
or should hev
2. Thee or 'e med or medst,
could or couldst, 'ood
or 'oodst, or should or
shouldst hev
3. Thaay or them, or um med,
could, 'ood, or should hev
Perfect Tense.
This is as the Present Tense of the Potential Mood, with
the addition of a-had to each person.
Pluperfect Tense.
This is as the Imperfect Tense (Potential Mood), with the
addition of a-had to each person.
10
INTRODUCTORY.
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
Singular.
1. If I hev, hevs or has
2. If thee or 'e hast, has,
hev or hevs
3. If he etc., hev or hevs
Plural.
1. If we or us hev or hevs
2. If thee or 'e hast, has, hev
or hevs
3. If thaay or them or um,
hev or hevs
If zo be as is usually used for if in the Subjunctive Mood.
For example — // zo be as I hevs any I 'ooll gie 'e zome.
Imperfect Tense.
This is as the Imperfect Tense of the Indicative Mood, with
the addition of if (followed by zo be as) to each person; the
remaining tenses of this mood also follow the same tenses in the
Indicative Mood, with the above-named addition.
INFINITIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
To hev
Present or Active.
A-hevin'.
Perfect Tense,
To hev a-had
PARTICIPLES.
Perfect or Passive.
A-had
Compound Perfect.
Hevin' a-had
As regards the negative forms of this conjugation,
' I have not ' becomes / ent, aint, hev'nt or yent.
* Thou hast not ' becomes thee or 'e hasn't or hevn't.
' He has not ' becomes he ent, aint, hevn't or yent.
The plurals of the above tense follow as in the singular
except as regards the pronouns.
I Thou,' ' ye ' or ' you hadst not ' become thee or 'e hadsn't.
I 1 shall not ' or l will not have ' becomes I shall not, ool not or
wunt hev.
1 Thou shalt ' or ' wilt not have ' becomes thee or 'e shattent
^oottent oy wunt hev.
' May not ' becomes me-dn't, as also generally does ' may'st
not,' though this is sometimes medsent.
1 Canst not ' becomes casn't\ * would not,' oodn't.
VERBS.
11
Singular.
1. I be
2. Thee bist or 'e be
3. He, a, she, or ut be
TO BE.
INDICATIVE MOOD.
Present Tense.
Plural.
1. We or us be
2. Thee or 'e be
3. Thaay be or them or um is
Singular.
I was or wur
Thee or 'e was, wast, or wur
He etc. was, or wur
Singular.
I hev a-bin
Thee or 'e hast or hev a-bin
He etc. hev a-bin
or be.
Imperfect Tense.
Plural.
1 . We or us was
2. Thee or 'e was, wast or wur
3. Thaay or them OP um was
Perfect Tense.
Plural.
1. We or us hev a-bin
2. Thee or 'e hast OP hev a-bin
3. Thaay or them or um hev OP
has a-bin
The rest of the conjugation of this verb is on similar lines
to that of the verb to have.
As regards the negative forms,
' 1 am not ' becomes / bent, be-ant, ent, or yent ;
* Thou art not ' becomes thee or '0 bent, be-ant or bisn't ;
1 He is not ' becomes he bent, be-ant, ent, or yent ;
1 We are not ' becomes we or us bent, be-ant, ent, or yent ;
1 You or ye are not ' becomes thee or e bent, be-ant> or bisnt;
1 They are not ' becomes thaay or them or um bent, be-ant, ent,
or yent.
TO DO.
The Present Tense (Indicative Mood) of the verb to do runs
thus: —
doos,
Plural.
1 . We or us do or doos
2. Thee or 'e does, doos, dost,
or doost
3. Thaay or them or um do,
does, or doos
In the negative form " do not " becomes dwo-ant, and in the
second person singular and plural the negative form is doosn't,
dwo-ant ^, or dwo-ant thee.
Singular.
1. I do, or doos
2. Thee or 'e does,
dost, or doost
3. He, a, she, or ut door doos
12
INTRODUCTORY.
The plural form is given to all verbs in the Present Tense
of the Indicative Mood thus : — ,
Singular.
1. I loves
2. Thee or
i .
Plural.
We or us loves
'e loves 2. Thee or 'e loves
He etc. loves 3. Thaay or them or um loves
The following are examples of the way in which some verbs
form their Imperfect Tense and Perfect Participle, the recognised
form being attached in brackets where differing: —
Present.
1 begins (begin)
I knows or knaws
(know)
I blaws (blow)
I waaykes (awake)
I bends (bend)
I busts (burst)
I casts (cast)
I comes (come)
I deals (deal)
I drays (draw)
I drinks (drink)
I vails (fall)
I vorzaaykes
(forsake)
I gives (give)
I hides (hide)
I hurts (hurt)
I mawes (mow)
I re-ads (read)
I runs (run)
I zees (see)
I zetts (set)
I slits (slit)
I strides (stride)
I swims (swim)
I tells (telJ)
I tears (tear)
I treads (tread)
Imperfect.
I begun (began)
I knawed (knew)
I blawed (blew)
I waayked (awoke)
I bended (bent)
I busted (burst)
I casted (cast)
I come (came)
I dealed (dealt)
I drayed (drew)
I drunk or drinked
(drank)
I veil or veiled (fell)
I vorzaayked
(forsook)
I give or gived
(gave)
I hided (hid)
I hurted (hurt)
I mawed (mowed)
I re-a-ded (read)
I run (ran)
I zee, zin, or zeed
(saw)
I zetted (set)
I slitted (slit)
I strided (strode)
I swimmed (swam)
I telled or tawld
(told)
I teared (tore)
I treaded (trod)
Perfect Participle.
begun
knawed (known)
blawed (blown)
awaayked (awakened)
bended (bent)
busted (burst)
casted (cast)
come
dealed (dealt)
drayed (drawn)
drunk or drinked
(drunk)
veil or veiled (fallen)
vorzook (forsaken)
give or gived (given)
hided (hidden)
hurted (hurt)
mawed (mown)
re-a-ded (read)
rund (run)
zin or zeed (seen)
zetted (set)
slitted (slit)
strided (stridden)
swimmed (swum)
telled or tawld (told)
teared or tored (torn)
treaded (trodden)
ADVERBS. 18
ADVERBS.
In adverbs the termination ly is usually dropped : Thus
' They were dressed very prettily' would become thaay was dressed
vurry pretty ; ' He was walking quickly ' becomes he was a-walkin'
quick.
INTERJECTORY PHRASES.
The interjectory phrases most commonly in use are —
Lark o* massy (astonishment) ;
Massy me (slight astonishment) ;
To be zure (implying assent) ;
Well, to be zure (surprise) ;
Lawk (astonishment) ;
Zartin zure (corroboration) ;
I'll be dolled (surprise) ;
Dally now (remonstrance) ;
Bless my zawl alive (astonishment) ;
Massy on us (surprise with fear).
What shall I zaay and A matter 'o are both inserted to give
emphasis thus, He be wuth, what shall I zaay, p'raps a matter 'o
twenty thousand pound ;
Raaly now (mild remonstrance) ;
Come, come (good humoured doubt). This, however, is also
used to call one sharply to attention.
Larva massy me, Lack a daayzy (slight astonished).
SYNTAX.
RULE i. — It has been seen in the conjugation of verbs that
in Berkshire Dialect the verb does not agree with its nominative case
in number and person, and that such phrases are used as / sings,
We loves, The bwoys plaays, &c.
RULE 2. — Two or more nouns or pronouns in the singular number
joined by a copulative conjunction expressed or understood do not have
verbs agreeing with them in the plural number. For example, one
would say, * Jemps an' Richut was there,' and not ' James and
Richard were there.'
RULE 3. — As is often used for who, whom, which, and that, as
illustrated by the following examples : * This be the man as I res-
pects; « He be he as zarved I bad' ; * I be a man as wishes 'e well.'
RULE 4. — Active verbs govern the nominative case, thus: 'They
love us ' is rendered Thaay loves we ; « He hates them' becomes He
haaytes thaay.'
14 INTRODUCTORY.
RULE 5. — Participles of active verbs govern the objective case, the
pronoun being preceded by 'on,' thus: 'I am tired of seeing him'
becomes * I be tired o' zeeing on un ' ; « He was teaching them '
becomes ' He was a-tachiii' on 'um.'
RULE 6. — Two negatives are often used to give simple negative
signification. l I was not there two minutes ' becomes, / wasn't
not thaayre two minnuts, ' I won't have any such doings ' becomes
I want hev no such doins.
RULE 7. — Prepositions sometimes govern the nominative case, as
shown in the following examples, ' From them that hate you
expect malice ' becomes From thaay as haaytes ye, &»c., ' From him
that is cunning expect deceit ' becomes Vrom he as is, &c.
Looseness in construction not infrequently occurs, as thus :
On inquiring who a certain man was, I have received for reply,
That be the new man zur as belongs to V elder Verm. By this it was
intended to inform me that the man I inquired about had
recently become the owner of Velder Farm.
III.
CUSTOMS.
I give some notes relative to time-honoured customs and
observances, superstitions, folk-lore, &c., which may seem to
have kinship or association with the GLOSSARY itself.
HARVEST- WHOAM. — At the home-bringing of the last load of
corn as many of the labourers as possible ride on the top of it,
others walking in on either side, or following. Their song, repeated
at short intervals is : —
Well ploughed, well zawed,
Well ripped, well mawed,
Narra lo-ad awverdrawed.*
Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, harvest whoam.
{Repeated.}
In the still summer evening this is heard in the adjacent
parishes. The festivities of the night, commencing with a most
substantial supper, are of the heartiest character, all who have
taken part in the harvest, together with all members of their
families, being present. After suppsr the first song is the
" Harvest-Home Song :"
* Overthrown.
CUSTOMS. 15
I.
Yer's a health unto our Me-uster
The Vounder of our Ve-ast ;
We hope his zavvl to God will go
When he do get his rest.
Maay iverything now prosper
That he do taayke in hand.
Vor we be all his zarvants
As works at his command.
(CHORUS.)
Zo drink bwoys, drink,
An' zee as 'e do not spill.
Vor if 'e do 'e shall drink two,
Vor that be Me-uster' s will.
II.
Yer's a health unto our Misteress
That giveth us good aayle ;
We hopes she'll live vor many a year
To cheer us wi out vaail.
She is the best Provider
In all the country round,
Zo taayke yer cup an' drink it up,
Narn like her can be vound.
(CHORUS.)
Zo drink bwoys, drink,
An' zee as 'e do not spill :
Vor if 'e do 'e shall drink two,
Vor that be Me-uster' s will.
[Repeated.']
The transcriber of this was born on Harvest Whoam Night
at Hampstead Norreys, and the event was duly announced to the
250 guests at supper. From that moment the approved singer
of the above song was in deep thought, with the result that a
third verse in honour of " Our Little Me-uster born to-night"
was given. It is unfortunate that this effort, which fairly
brought down the house, was not recorded.
ON VALENTINE'S DAY bands of little children go round to
the houses in the villages, singing : —
Knock the kittle agin the pan,
Gie us a penny if 'e can ;
We be ragged an' you be vine,
Plaze to gie us a Valentine.
Up wie the kittle down wi' the spout,
Gie us a penny an' we'll gie out.
(i.e., stop this singing.)
1G INTRODUCTORY.
4
The penny is at once forthcoming ; in some cases an orange
a-piece is given also.
GOOD FRIDAY. — On Good Friday the children sing the
well-known verse of —
One-a-penny two-a-penny hot cross buns.
The commencing line, however, is : —
When Good Friday comes the awld 'oomen runs.
ON SHROVE-TUESDAY the children go round singing : —
Snick-snock the pan's hot,
We be come a shrovin'.
Plaze to gie us zummut,
Zummut's better'n nothin',
A bit o' bread a bit o* chaze,
A bit o' apple dumplin' plaze.
ON THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER parties go round to collect
wood for their bonfire. They carry a figure of well-known
type as representing Guy Fawkes. The rhymes used are various
and parts are general.
Remember, Remember the Vifth o' November,
Gunpowder trason an' plot.
Pray tell muh the rason why gunpowder trason,
Should iver be vorgot.
*
Our Quane's a valiant zawljer,
Car's her blunderbus on her right shawlder,
Cocks her pistol drays her rapier,
Praay gie us zummit vor her zaayke yer.
A stick an1 a staayke vor Quane Vickey's zaayke,
If 'e wunt gie one I'll taayke two,
The better vor we an1 the wus vor you.
(CHORUS.)
Holler bwoys, holler bwoys, maake yer bells ring,
Holler bwoys, holler bwoys, God zaayve the Quane.
Hurrah ! hurrah ! (ad lib.)
The part about " the Quane " is, of course, an adaptation.
The original rhyme is very old, and at the end of it, " God
zaayve the King" formerly came to rhyme with " Maayke yer
bells ring."
CUSTOMS, 17
In other rhymes and in the " MUMMERS' PLAY" local poets
have been in the habit of inserting lines respecting important
recent events, and thus many pieces have become modernized.
We have also —
Guy Vawkes an' his companions did contrive*
To blaw the House o' Parliament up alive,
Wi' dree scoor barr'ls o' powder down belaw,
To prove Awld England's wicked awver-draw ;
But by God's marcy all on um got catched,
Wi' ther dark lantern an' ther lighted match.
Laaydies an1 gentlemen zettin' by the vire,
Plaze put hands in pockuts an1 gie us our desire ;
While you can drink one glass, we can drink two,
An' that's the better vor we an' none the wus vor you.
Rumour, rumour, pump a derry,
Prick his heart an' burn his body,
An' zend his zawl to Purgaterry.
And—
Guy Vawkes, Guy — 't was his intent
To blaw up the Houses o' Parliament ;
By God's marcy he got catched,
Wi' his dark lantern an' lighted match.
Guy Vawkes, Guy — zet un up high,
A pound o' chaze to chawke un ;
A pint o1 beer to wash ut down,
An' a jolly good vire to ro-ast un.
Up wi' the pitcher an' down wi1 the prong.f
Gie us a penny an' we'll be gone.
THE PLAY OF THE "MUMMERS,"
As acted in MID-BERKSHIRE at Christmas-tide.
DRAMATIS PERSONA.
MOLLY : A stalwart man, dressed in woman's gown, shawl, and bonnet,
with a besom in hand, with ludicrous imitation of a
woman's voice.
KING GEORGE : A big man dressed as a- knight with home-made helmet,
sivord, &c.
FRENCH OFFICER : A thin man with cocked-hat, sword, epaulettes, and uniform.
DOCTOR : Arrayed in very long tail coat, with pig tail, hnee breeches, &c.
JACK VINNY : Dressed as a jester, and with a kind of tall fool's cap.
H \PPY JACK : In tattered garments.
OLD BEELZEBUB: As Father Christmas.
'•'•• i.e., plot, t This means that the time is one for drinking beer, and not for work.
C
18
INTRODUCTORY.
The Mummers having arrived, singing is heard outside the
house.
God bless the Me-uster of this house,
I hopes he is athin —
An' if he is praay tell us zo
An' we ull zoon begin.
(Chorus) With hey dum dum,
With hey dum dum de derry ;
Vor we be come this Christmas time
A purpose to be merry.
I hopes the Misteress is athin
An' zettin' by the vire
A pityin' we poor mummers yer
Out in the mud an' mire.
(Chorus) With hey dum dum,
With hey dum dum de derry ;
Vor we be come this Christmas time
A purpose to be merry.
We dwoant come yer but once a year,
An' hopes 'tis no offence ;
An' if it is praay tell us zo
An' we 'ull zoon go hence.
(Chorus) With hey dum dum,
With hey dum dum de derry ;
Vor we be come this Christmas time
A purpose to be merry.
Then permission and invitation being given, MOLLY first
enters the kitchen or hall (where the spectators are assembled)
with a hop, step and jump, and flourishing an old broom, or
walking round at times pretending to sweep with it, sings —
First Character.
MOLLY. A room, a room, I do presume
For me an' my braayve men ;
For we be come this Christmas time
To maayke a little rhyme.
An' yer we comes at Christmas time,
Welcome or welcome not,
Hoping awld Veyther Christmas
Ull never be vorgot.
Laast Christmas daay I turned the spit,
Burned my vingers an' veels on't it.*
A spark view awver the staayble,
The skimmer hit the laaydle.
Ah ! zes the Gridiron caan't you two agree,
* i.e., of it yet.
CUSTOMS.
19
I be the Justice bring 'em avoor me,
An' now we shows activity of youth, activity of aayge,
Zuch actin' you never zee upon another staayge,
An' if e' wunt belave what I hev had to zaay,
Walk in bawld KING GAARGE an' clear the waaye —
[King Gaarge enters.
Second Character.
KING GEORGE : I be KING GAARGE a nawble Knight,
I lost zum blood in English vight ;
I keer not vor Spaniard, Vrench, nor Turk,
Wher's the man as can do I hurt ?
An' if bevoor muh he durs stan',
I'll cut un down \vi' this deadly han'
I'll cut un an' slash un as small as vlies,
An' zend un to the cook-shop to maayke mince pies,
And zo let all yer vices zing,
As I'm the Royal British King. [Enter French Officer.
Third Character.
FRENCH OFFICER : I be a bowld Vrench Officer,
Beau Slasher is my naayme,
An' by my sharp zoord at my zide,
I hopes to win the gaayme ;
My body's lined wie lead,
My head is maayde of steel,
An' I am come vrom Turkish land,
To vight thee in the vield.
KING GEORGE
MOLLY
DOCTOR :
Oh, Slasher, Slasher dwooant thee be too hot,
For in this room thee' 11 mind who thee hast got,
Zo to battle, to battle, let thee an" I try,
To zee which on the ground vust shall lie.
(They fight, their swords clapping together with great
noise. After a little fighting the French Officer
hits King George on the leg and down he falls.)
Doctor, doctor, maayke no delaay,
But maayke thee haayste an' come this waay.
Doctor, doctor, wher bist thee,
King Gaarge is wounded* in the knee,
Ten pound if that nawble DOCTOR was yer.
[DOCTOR thereupon comes in.
Fourth Character.
I be the nawble Doctor Good,
An' wi' my skill I'll stop his blood,
My vee's ten pound, but awnly vive,
If I dwoant raaise this man alive.
(Feels his pulse, shakes his leg, and then says) —
Pronounced to rhyme with "sounded."
20
INTRODUCTORY.
This man be not quite dead see how his leg shaaykes,
An1 I've got pills as cures all ills,
The itch, the stitch, the palsy an' the gout,
Paains 'athin an' paains 'athout,
An' any awld 'ooman dead zeven year,
If she got one tooth left to crack one o' theuz yer.
(He then Inlds up the box, shakes it to rattle the
pills, and finally opening it, takes a large one
out and stuffs it into Kin" George's mouth,
saying] —
Rise up, King Gaarge, an' vight agaain,
An' zee which on 'e vust is slaain.
(King George jumps up forthwith into attitude to
fight; this time they fight longer, and with
even move clattering of swords — at length King
George hits the French Officer, ivho falls down
flat.}
MOLLY : Doctor, doctor, do thy part,
This man is wounded* to the heart ;
Doctor, can 'e cure this man.
DOCTOR : No, I zees 'e's too vur gan.
MOLLY : Then walk in JACK VINNY.
[Jack Vinny enters.
Fifth Character.
JACK VINNY : My naayme is not Jack Vinny '
My naayme is Mr. John Vinny,
A man of faayme, come vrom Spaain,
Do moor nor any man agaain.
DOCTOR : Well, what can'st thee do, Jack ?
JACK VINNY : Cure a magpie wi' the tooth-aayche.
DOCTOR : How ?
JACK VINNY : Cut his yead off an' draw* his body into the ditch.
DOCTOR : Well, cure this man.
JACK VINNY : If he 'ull taayke one drap out o1 my drug bottle,
Which is one pennoth o' pigeon's milk,
Mixed wi' the blood of a gracehopper,
An' one drap o' the blood of a dyin' donkey,
Well shaayken avoor taayken ;
I'll be bound 'e 'ull rise up an' vight no moor —
Gie I my Spectacles !
(7s handed a pair of wooden spectacles}.
Gie I my Pliers !
(Is handed a large-sized pair of pliers, with which,
making much parade, he proceeds to draw one of
the French Officer's teeth, and at length ex-
hibiting a large horse's tooth.}
* Pronounced to rhyme with " sounded."
i.e., ilirow.
CUSTOMS.
21
Yer's a tooth enough to kill any man,
But he 'ull cure this man ;
I comes vrom Spaain an' thee vrom Vrance,
Gie us thy hand, rise up an' dance.
(French officer rises. The two then execute a dance,}
MOLLY : Walk in, Happy Jack.
[Happy Jack comes in.
Sixth Character.
HAPPY JACK : I be poor awld Happy Jack,
Wie wife an' vamly at my back ;
Out o' nine I yent but vive,
An' hafe o' thaay be sturved alive.
Roast be-uf, plum pudden an' mince pie,
Who likes them ther better 'n I.
The roo-ads be dirty, my shoes be bad,
Zo plee-uz put zummut into my bag.
MOLLY : . Come in, Veyther Beelzebub,
Who on thy shawlder cars a club,
Under thee erm a drippin' pan,
Bent 'e now a jolly awld man.
[Entev Beelzebub.
Seventh Character.
BEELZEBUB : Yer comes I as yent bin 'it*
Wie my gurt 'yead an' little wit ;
My yead's zo big an' my wits zo small,
Zo I brings my Viddle to plaaze 'e all.
(Commences to play on the fiddle, and all dance a
reel, from which Molly walks out to collect from
the lookers on.)
The foregoing is the rendering of the MUMMERS' PLAY,
generally given in Mid-Berkshire, but the Mummers of most
parishes have slight variations. For instance, we find the
Compton Mummers have amongst their dramatis persons a Turkish
knight in place of a French officer. He thus announces himself :
Yer comes I, a Turkish Knight,
Come vrom Turkey land to vight ;
I myzelf an' zeven moor
Vaught a battle o' 'leven scoor —
'Leven scoor o' well-armed men
We never got conquered 'it by them.
To whom King George replies :
Whoa thou little veller as talks zo bawld,
"Bout thaay other Turkish chaps
I've a bin tawld.
Dray thee zoord mwoast parfic knight,
* i.e .,yct.
22
INTRODUCTORY.
Dray thy zoord an' on to vight,
Vor I'll hev zatisvaction avoor I goes to-night.
My yead is maayde o' iron,
My body maayde o1 steel,
An' if 'e wunt bele-uv muh
Jus' dray thee zoord an" veel.
(They fight.}
In the performance by the Steventon Mummers we find
King George announces himself as the"Africky King." His
antagonist, however, is Beau Slasher, the French officer.
The Brightwaltham Mummers have Molly given the title
of Queen Mary.
IV.
SUPERSTITIONS.
Superstition is more deeply rooted than might be supposed
by any not born and bred amongst the people. Education has
lately done much, and there is a tendency to conceal faith
in the Super-natural, but this concealment is not quite dis-
belief. Many of the superstitions in Berkshire are almost
universal. Those common are —
A dog howling betokens death.
With thirteen sitting down to a meal, death is certain to
happen to one of the party within twelve months.
In the locality where you first hear the cuckoo, you may
probably spend the greater part of the year, and some important
event of your life will happen there.
A cinder falling alight from the fire in the shape of a coffin
signifies death, in the shape of a cradle — a birth, and in the
shape of a purse — wealth.
A spark in the candle means a letter ; if you snocks it down,
it falls towards the person who will get the letter. Letters were
probably few and far between when this superstition arose.
White spots on the finger nails : If on thumb a gift ; first
finger a new friend ; second finger a foe ; third finger a letter
from a sweetheart ; fourth finger an enforced journey.
SUPERSTITIONS. 28
Knives across each other at table indicate a quarrel.
If the creases of a table cloth are diamond shape, this is a
sign of death.
Furniture creaking betokens serious illness.
Where martins build their nests poverty never reigns : No one will
take the eggs of a martin nor kill these birds, and good luck and
prosperity are believed to come under the roof around which
they build. Their nests are only destroyed when feathers pro-
truding from the side aperture show that sparrows have taken
possession and turned out the rightful owners ; then a long pole
is brought and the mud structure poked to pieces to the
destruction of the eggs or young family of the pirates. It is
considered a sign of bad luck to those living in a house if
martins having once built around the roof discontinue to do so.
If a horse be found in the stable in a sweat in the morning
it is believed that he has been taken out and ridden by a Witch
or Evil Spirit during the night. A horse shoe nailed on the
outside of the stable door will prevent this, but it may be noted
that belief in the efficacy of a horse shoe nailed on a door seems
widespread, for in the West Indies many are nailed on doors of
even official quarters to keep away yellow fever or cholera.
Finding a horse shoe will bring good luck to the finder.
A stalk swimming in your tea shows that a stranger is
coming, it is placed on the back of the hand and the wrist
patted. If it should fall at the first pat the stranger will arrive
that day, if, at the second pat, on the second day and so on.
You then repeat the operation to ascertain the hour ; the first
pat referring to one o'clock, the second to two o'clock, &c. If the
stalk be a hard one the stranger will be a man, if a soft one, a
woman. If the stranger be not welcome to come, the tea stalk
must not be placed on the hand, but should be taken out of the
teacup and thrown under the table.
If your nose itches you will be shortly kissed, cursed, or
vexed.
If your fight ear burns someone is speaking good of you ; if
your left ear burns evil is being spoken of you.
A cock crowing at an unusual time, shows that a stranger
is coming.
24 INTRODUCTORY.
At first sight of the new moon, a piece of money should be
taken out of the pocket and turned over in the hand, this will
ensure a prosperous month.
A first sight of the new moon through a window forebodes
forthcoming bad luck.
As regards the number of magpies seen at one time, the
following rhymes are used :
One sorrow,
Two joy,
Three a wedding,
Four a boy.
And
One sorrow,
Two mirth,
Three a wedding,
Four a birth.
The superstition as regards the necessity to announce the
death of the master of a house to the Bees is deeply rooted. Any
omission to do this would give them such umbrage that they
would certainly all die. My brother tells me that at the death
of my father in 1855, the old nurse in the house (Mrs. Barr),
came to him and said, " The bees should at once be waked, sir."
He scouted the proposal, but she continued to beg to be allowed
to do it. At length she went away to one hive placed amongst
many others in the kitchen gardens. She tapped this hive three
times, and then said, " Wake, your master is dead ! " she
explained that the bees of this hive would at once inform all the
others, and that all was now satisfactory.
A piece of wedding-cake passed through a bride's ring and
placed under the pillow will make a girl plainly to see her future
husband in a dream.
If a person requires money ardently, and should say the
Lord's Prayer backwards three times, and shall afterwards prick
his finger and write on a paper with the blood, " Beelzebub,
Beelzebub, three pounds from thee," and place the paper under
his pillow, he will find the paper gone in the morning, and
money will certainly shortly come to him, but his soul has
become the property of the Evil One.
On certain nights of the year it is believed that the Fairies
dance around the " Fairy Rings " of a different coloured grass
from that usually found on the Downs, and on arriving at any of
SUPERSTITIONS. 25
these " Rings " one should walk round them rather than across
them.
Birds pecking at a window announce a death. The
coincidences I have known in respect of this are certainly so
remarkable as almost to justify the superstition. I was in a
house, where at daybreak a large number of pigeons settled
themselves along bedroom window ledges, making great pecking
and noise, and awakening the inmates. About two hours later
it was announced that the master of the house had died about
the time referred to.
Some look with great foreboding on the appearance
of a raven ; others think there is sad news conveyed by the
pecking of a robin at the window, but where the robin has been
encouraged to come by feeding him with bread crumbs, no
harm is thought of. Robins are regarded almost with veneration
bj/" many. They are supposed to be incapable of doing any
damage to crops, &c., and they are believed to witness evil
deeds when no other may be near. It is certainly the case that
although the robin is not a bird of the woods, yet if a person
should make a tapping or other unwonted noise in any secluded
spot, a robin shortly appears on the scene and takes an interest
in the proceedings.
* '}' -I' -r
Few villages are without their ghost stories. The White
Lady who rides on a White Horse along secluded lanes at
Well House is much dreaded. But such matters fortunately
often admit of being fully cleared up to the satisfaction of the
most superstitious.
A short time ago some persons had been frightened by
a ghost said to appear in Hampstead Norreys Churchyard.
It was reported slowly to raise its head to a gigantic height,
make some unearthly noises, and then quickly disappear. At
length, on investigation, the ghost proved to be a large white
Turkey Cock that had taken to roosting on a white tombstone.
On the approach of any one he had raised himself from his
sleep, and with gobbling and flapping of wings had vanished
behind his resting-place.
1 will conclude this with a short account of the satisfactory
laying of a ghost.
26 INTRODUCTORY
At South Moreton, seventy years ago, there was a house where
the most extraordinary occurrences took place. Those who ven-
tured to sleep in the house reported that at times their candles
would burn blue and sometimes go out with a great flash of light,
that when lying in bed gravel would be thrown over them and
about the room by unseen hands, and that a large family Bible lying
on a shelf would of its own accord fly about the room and even
hit them when in bed.
These things made such a stir that my father asked to
be allowed to investigate. He went to the house at nightfall,
taking a supply of candles with him ; he stipulated that the
occupiers of the house should not be near it during that
night, though these latter had strongly urged that the ghost had
shown no disposition to hurt them personally, but that the same
forbearance would not be exercised towards others who might
go there to set a supernatural power at defiance. My father was
accompanied by a friend, Mr. Thomas Humfrey ; they kept
good watch, and nothing extraordinary happened during the
night.
In the morning they made a careful examination.
They found under a piece of matting by the bedside a small
portion of floor-board neatly inserted that was removable from the
room below ; thus, by standing on the table of the underneath
room the board in question was taken out and gravel scattered
as desired over the bed and bedroom.
Some of the candles left in the house were found to have
been cut in two, a small portion of the wick abstracted,
and a gunpowder mixture inserted in the hollow ; the candles
had then been most neatly joined again ; this accounted for
the candles burning blue and going out with a flash.
The shelf whereon the Bible was lying was secured to a
partition wall, and at the same height in the room on the
other side of the partition wall a row of wooden pegs was fixed.
One of these pegs had been made to pierce quite through the
wall at the spot on the shelf where the Bible was resting, and
by a sharp knock on this peg the Bible might be sent flying
about the bedroom.
It subsequently appeared that the occupants of the house
had reason to believe that their rent was about to be raised and
FOLK LORE. 27
had wished to deter others from taking the house in case they
should propose to give it up. .Supernatural aid had been
enlisted accordingly.
V.
FOLK-LORE.
In BERKSHIRE the little blue Tit-mouse is styled the "King
of Birds." The legend as commonly told runs thus :
The eagle summoned all kinds of birds together, to choose
their king ; it was agreed that the one which could fly highest
should be elected.
The Rook flew so high that he called out,
Caw, caw, caw,
I can zee it all.
The Lark flew quite up to heaven's gate, and there sung a
sweet song of triumph.
But whilst these trials were going on the little blue Tit-mouse
crept under the feathers of the eagle and hid itself there. When
the eagle's turn came he soared far higher than any of the
others and remained stationary at that point, looking proudly
downwards. At length when quite exhausted with the prolonged
effort, he was obliged to commence to descend — at that moment
the little blue Tit-mouse flew out and mounted still higher than
the eagle had done, with its pert note of
" Tit, tit,
Higher it,
Tit, tit,
Higher it."
All the birds were therefore obliged to acknowledge that the
little blue Tit-mouse must be their King.
The title of King of Birds has somewhat similarly been
sometimes claimed for the wren, but this is not so in Berkshire.
# * * *
There was once a King who determined to have the
question decided as to which of the animals should be called
the " King of Beasts." So on a certain day he had all the different
INTRODUCTORY.
kinds assembled and turned into a large arena. He then had it
proclaimed that at a given signal they might all fall to fighting,
and that the one which survived should win the title of
" King of Beasts " for his descendants for ever.
The word was given ; all the animals began fighting furiously,
and as one was slain, the victor would seek another antagonist.
At length the Lion, crippled, bleeding, and scarcely able to stir,
thought himself to be the sole survivor, but on looking round to
make sure that this might be so, he espied an old Donkey standing
with his head thrust into a corner of the arena. The Donkey had
run thither in very great fright at the commencement of the fray.
The maimed Lion with great difficulty crawled along to where
the Donkey was standing. The latter waited his opportunity, and
when the Lion came close up to him, lashed out with both his
heels, striking the Lion full on the head and rolling him in the
dust.
The Donkey, therefore, became the " King of Beasts."
* # •-;; *
The Magpie has always been the highest authority amongst
the Birds in the art of nest-building. Its own extensive nest of
twigs is not surpassed by anything of the kind in the woods,
the ' Squirrels Draw ' alone approaching it in appearance.
The poor Wood Pigeon knew not how to build a nest at
all, and in her tribulation besought the Magpie to teach her.
The Magpie consented, so some sticks were collected and the
lesson began.
" One stick this waay, t'other stick that waay, one stick
a-thurt, t'other stick across," chattered the Magpie.
" That 'ooll do-o-o-o, that 'ooll do-o-o-o," coo'd the Wood
Pigeon, highly pleased with what had been done, and feeling
that this was as much as she could possibly manage to remember.
" No t'wunt, no t'wunt, one stick here, t'other stick there,
and one betwixt," replied the Magpie, suiting the action to the
word.
" That 'ooll do-o-o-o, that 'ooll do-o-o-o," said the poor
Wood Pigeon again, now quite confused and utterly unable to
follow the teaching any longer.
" Well, if t'ool for thee t'wunt vor I," responded the
Magpie, out of patience with so inapt a pupil, and off she flew.
FOLK LORE. 29
Thus it arises that the Wood Pigeon's nest has never
been properly constructed, and that it consists only of a few
twigs roughly laid across each other.
* # # *
It is said locally that a Dog's Nose and a Woman's Elbow are
always cold, never being otherwise when there is good health.
This is accounted for as follows : — In the days of the flood the
Ark sprung a small leak and Noah, who had forgotten to bring
carpenter's tools on board with him, was at his wits' end how
to act. His faithful Dog had followed him to the place where
the leak was, and stood watching the influx of water. In his
trouble Noah seized the Dog and crammed his nose into the
leak.
This stopped it, but in a few moments Noah perceived
that the Dog must die if kept in this position any longer. By
this time Noah's Wife had come up and was standing by his side
watching what was taking place. Noah thereupon released the
Dog, and taking his Wife's arm stuffed her elbow into the crack.
The danger was thus averted, but a Dog's Nose and a
Woman's Elbow will remain cold as long as the World lasts.
The above legend seems to have nothing specially of a
Berkshire character about it, but I have never heard it told
outside the county.
* * * *
Amongst country folk the notes or calls of many birds are
given their eqvivalents in phrases. I remember an old shepherd
at Hampstead Norreys, " Shepherd Savoury," who seemed to
have words or phrases for all birds.
As an instance, he one morning said he had been
walking down a lane with his gun (a recent conversion
from a flint arrangement), and found there a small flock of
sparrows flying along the hedge in front of him. When
these birds saw some one coming, they began to argue as to his
identity ; some said " 'tis he, 'tis he," to which others replied,
" t'yent, t'yent." This discussion went on until the birds fell
a-fighting over it, and all flew close together in their struggle,
as their manner is. " Then," said the Old Man, " I thate the
time had come vor to show um " 'tis I," an' zo I let vly an' killed
a dozen on um."
BO
INTRODUCTORY.
VI.
SAYINGS" AND PHRASES.
Dwoant never buy a Peg in a Pwo-ak. — This proverb is very
common ; it signifies that one should not make a bargain
without previous thorough knowledge of what one is acquiring.
A whistlin' 'Ooman an a crawin' Hen
Be-ant good vor God nor it vor Men.
This is quoted with reference to a woman who attempts to do
anything which would be more properly performed by a man.
Whistling is held to be unwomanly, and it may be added that
there is almost as strong a feeling in some communities in
Berkshire against men or boys whistling on Sundays as there
may be in any part of Scotland.
As proud as a Hen wV one Chick. — A very common saying with
reference to one who is not able to conceal pleased pride about
some matter, such as the success of a child at school, &c.
Raain avoor Zeven vine avoor 'Leven is a very common weather
proverb.
" Zing avoor Breakvus' Cry avoor Night" is the phrase which
greets those who commence the day with buoyant spirits
too audibly apparent to others.
To require anything, as mtich as a Two-ad wants a Zide-pockut, is
the expression to indicate that the thing asked for is quite
unnecessary and unsuited to the person who makes the
application.
What be good vor the Haay be bad vor the Turmuts. — This saying
has special reference to the fact that fine hay- making weather
B bad for the young turnips, which require warm rain, but it is
commonly made use of with respect to anything that may be
good in one way and bad in another.
There are many "sayings" respecting thrift, which is
looked on as a very high virtue indeed. Commonly quoted by
prudent housewives we have —
Two-ast yer Bread
An' rasher yer Vlitch,
Art as long as e' lives
Thee 'ooll never be Rich.
11 New Bread, new Beer, an' gre-an 'Ood, 'ull bring Ruin to any
mans house."
" SAYINGS" AND PHRASES. 31
Also
Never go who am
Wi'out Stick or Stwun.
# * * *
Children hold a buttercup to the chin to see if one likes
butter — if there be a bright yellow reflection the liking exists — if
there be none, they then try whether any reflection comes from
the centre of a daisy, and this would indicate a liking for cheese.
A shining face usually shows the liking for butter.
After children have finished eating cherry-pie or cherry-
pudding, and accumulated cherry stones around the edge of the
plate, they try to determine what kind of a house they will spend
their lives in. On touching the first cherry-stone they say,
" Great-house," on touching the second " Little-house," at the
third " Pig-sty," and at the fourth " Barn," and so on again.
The word spoken on touching the last cherry-stone, indicates
the nature of the future residence.
There are similarly other sayings with cherry-stones. A girl
thus seeking the status of her future husband, says, ''Tinker,
tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar, thief."
Also as regards the time of her marriage — " This year, next
year, now, or never."
Then for her dress — " Silk, satin, muslin, rags."
For her mode of conveyance, " Coach, carriage, wheel-
barrow, dung-cart."
If there be one of whom she thinks favourably she will
test by touching cherry stones and saying, " He loves me ;
he don't ; he'll marry me ; he won't ; he would if he could ; but
he won't 'cause he can't."
Girls ascertain how many years will elapse before they will
get married by blowing at the seeds on a dandelion stalk. The
number of years will correspond with the number of puffs
required to get rid of all the seeds. Those with the best lungs
would appear to have the best chance of getting married soon.
Amongst old Servants there is a crustiness of temper that
seems inseparable from the honest, sterling devotion to those
whom they serve. No affront is ever taken, the old servants
being privileged. On days on which this crustiness of temper
is specially apparent fellow servants and others try to keep clear
32 INTRODUCTORY.
as much as possible. As an instance, I may mention an old
carpenter called " Jemps Burgess," who, with his son Dick, was
employed about Hampstead Norreys Farm to do all small
repairs and services. His duties ranged from mending dolls'
legs and arms to framing buildings ; he used to come in daily at
noon, with his son, for the regulated pint of beer. He was
greatly esteemed and liked.
One day he came in, not accompanied by his son Dick
as usual.
The girl who brought his beer said quite civilly, " Oh,
Jemps, wher be Dick to-daay?" to which Jemps replied,
" Who d'ye mane by Dick ? beant ut enough vor 'e as his
godveythers an' godmothers christened un Richut, &c. ? The
maid hastily disappeared. Up till this time none had ever known
" Dick" under any other name.
A touch of the same spirit existed in Dick himself ; it was
usual to take him off his regular work for any odd messages,
&c., and one day he had several times been sent with notes or
messages to a house in the village where the occupants were on
very intimate terms with the family of his master. On another
note being at length handed to Dick he turned it over as if not
understanding, and then said to the servant maid, "Tell urn
plaze as I dwoant know my waay."
About fifty years ago there lived at Hagbourn Mr. Robert
Appleford. He was a Pig dealer by trade, was a " Character,"
and was well known throughout the county as " Bob Applevord."
Bob caused to be circulated far and wide notification that he
had, at Hagbourn, a prime fat Pig which he intended to present
to any man who could prove that he had always strictly minded
his own business. For some time nobody responded to the
invitation, and the one or two who at length did so had weak
claims, which fell through.
But there was a man at Didcot of remarkably taciturn
disposition, and his neighbours told him he was the right
man to claim the Pig. Accordingly he one morning
went over to Bob Appleford's Pig-yard at Hagbourn, and
accosted him with, "I be the man as minds my awn business
an' be come vor1 that ther Peg." " Well," says Bob Appleford, " I
'"SAYINGS" AND PHRASES. 33
be glad to zee 'e then. Come an' look at un." They accord-
ingly went to the sty where the celebrated Pig was, and for
awhile both gazed admiringly.
Bob Appleford then stroked the Pig and remarked, " A be a
vine un' jus' as I zed vor, be-ant a ? " " Eese, a rayly be," said
the claimant from Didcot ; " Zurely a 'markable vine Peg, an'
med I ax 'e what 'e hev a-ved* un on to maayke — ." " That
be my business an' not yourn, good marnin'," replied Bob
Appleford interrupting.
"No one else claimed the Pig."
The Mid-Berkshire rebuff to a Busybody is and is likely to
be, " You'll never get Bob Applevord's Peg."
THE WELL-HOUSE, ZWILLY-HAWLE.
" Willum, ther's zummut puzzles I —
Med-be as you can zaay vor why
The waater yer, runs unner groun',
An' dwoant vlaw ont as can be voun.' "
(2)
" Well, Richut, I hev yeard um tell
As that ther hawle goes like a well ;
Down in the yarth, an' zome zes droo'
The vurry bottom on un too."
(3)
" Oh, Willum, you a joke hev tried,
The yarth ent got no bottom zide,
An' that mus' prove, ther yent no doubt,
As what vlaws in atop comes out."
(4)
" Now, Richut, thee zims sherp enough,
But what's the good o' tawkin' stuff ?
Thess zettle 't, an' t'yent no girt zin —
Thess get a duck an' put un in.
(5)
"Athout the waater ke-ups inzide,
E med-be zure as he wunt bide ;
If that ther stre-am comes droo' a-top,
Athin the yarth that bird wunt stop."
(6)
Now, whilst um zo did argivy,
A vlock o' ducks comes paddlin' by.
" Why, Richut, look ! Why, theuz be zent
Jus' pat vor our experiment,"
*~i.e.. fed,
3-4 INTRODUCTORY.
(7)
" But, Willum, that ud be a wrong
To shove one down that hawle along,
An' what 'ull awld Daayme Bushell zaay
If us do zar un zuch a waay " ?
(8)
" Well, Richut, larned chaps do z waay re
As what's vor vindin' out be vaair,
Zo thess hev hopes the Daavme wunt vret,
She'll hev but one the less to yet."*
(9)
By now the ducks was handy got,
An' Willum jumped among the lot,
An' ketched a vine un — scotched his pawle,
An' zent un quackin' down the hawle !
(10)
Vor moor'n a we-uk urn zarched aroun'
Vor any duck as med be voun' ;
But ater all was zed an' done,
Daayme Bushell's brood stood shert by one.
But bym-by comes a taayle to town.
Zome carter bwoys at Ivrinton, |
A baaythin in the river ther,
Had zummut zin as struck um queer.
(12)
Vust vloated veathers vast an' thick,
An' zome time ater zad an' zick,
A dyin' duck zo woebegone
Wi' narra zingle veather on.
(13)
Willum an' Richut went to zee
That duck as shawed zuch mizeree ;
Ther a was scotched acrass the pawle,
As thaay'd adone at Zwilly-Hawle.
(14)
Zo that poor mortal duck had voun'
His longvul waay all unner groun',
An' prooved as how that stre-am do run
From Zwilly-Hawle to Ivrinton.
* i/-, Eat, t Everington, a hamlet more than two miles from Well- House.
PLACE NAMES. 35
VII.
PLACE-NAMES.
It may be of. interest to record the various ways in which
the names of Berkshire towns were spelt in the middle of the
seventeenth century. In preparing the Berkshire notes for
the new edition of Boyne's Seventeenth Century Tokens I have
classified the spelling found on the Tokens, with the following
result :—
ABINGDON is spelt
5 times ABINGTON,
4 times ABINGDON,
i time ABBINGTON,
i time ABINDON.
BLEWBURY is spelt
3 times BLEWBERY,
1 time BLEWBEREY.
BUCKLEBURY has but one token, whereon the spelling is BUCKLEBERY.
COOKHAM was spelt as at present.
COXWELL was spelt COXALL (LITLE Cox ALL).
FARINGDON is spelt
5 times FARRINGDON,
3 times FARINGDON,
2 times FARINDON,
i time FARINGTON.
HAGBOURN was spelt
i time HAGBORN,
i time HAGBORNE,
i time HAGBVRNE.
HARWELL was spelt as now.
HUNGERFORD was Spelt
3 times HVNGERFORD,
i time HVNGER FORD,
i time HUNGERFORD.
ILSLEY was spelt as now.
LAMBOURN was in all four cases spelt LAMBORNE.
LONGCOTT was spelt as now.
LONGWORTH has not changed.
MAIDENHEAD was spelt
3 times MAYDENHEAD,
i time MAYDENHAD,
i time MAIDEN HEAD.
INTRODUCTORY.
NEWBURY was spelt
READING is spelt
SONNING is spelt
6 times NEWBERY,
4 times NEWBRY,
i time NEVVBVRY,
i time NEWBERRY,
1 time NEWBVRYE.
37 times READING,
10 times REDING,
f> times READINGE,
6 times REDDING,
2 times READINE,
i time REDIN,
i time REDDEN.
i time SVNNING,
i time SVNNING TOWNE.
WALLINGFORD is spelt
12 times WALLINGFORD,
2 times WALLINGFORDE,
i time WALLING FORDE.
WANTAGE is spelt
WINDSOR is spelt
14 times WANTAGE,
2 times WANTING, „
i time WONTAGE,
i time WANTIDGE,
i time WANTINGE.
5 times WINDSOR,
3 times WINSOR,
2 times NEW WINDSOR,
2 times NEW WINSOR.
WlNKFIELD is Spelt WlNKFEILD.
WOKINGHAM is Spelt
6 times WOKINGHAM,
4 times OCKINGHAM,
2 times WOCKINGHAM,
i time OKINGHAM,
i time OAKINGHAM.
Those who issued the Tokens and spelt the names of towns
as above were principally inn-keepers and leading tradesmen.
A GLOSSARY
BEEKSHIEE WOEDS
A. — 'A' is commonly used as a prefix to the present and past
participles. The following are illustrations of its use thus : —
" I be rt-gwaain " (I am going).
" I've a-zed what I've a-got to zaay " (I have said what I have to say)
" Thaay be d-vightin' " (they are fighting).
A. — A is also used for 'he' or 'it', thus :—
" If zo be as a zes a wunt, a wunt " (if he says he won't, he won't).
AAYGIN. — Getting old in appearance.
" Mother's a-bin aaygin vast laaytely ater her cawld at Kursmas."
AAYKERN.— The acorn.
When the acorns fall pigs are turned into the woods aaykernin.
AAYPE. — To simulate or copy.
" He aaypes the gurt man " (he tries to appear the great man, /.<?., is
consequential).
AAYPRUL VOOL. — The almost universal custom of making
one an "Aayprul Vool" on the ist of April by leading him
to look for something which turns out to have no foundation
obtains throughout Berkshire. But this trick cannot be
attempted after noon, for then the proposed victim would
respond with " Aapryl Vools gan' paast, an' you be biggest
vool at laast."
ABEAR, or ABER.— ' Can't abear ' means ' can't tolerate ' or
" greatly dislike." Abide is used much in the same sense.
" I can't abeav zuch a vool as he be."
A-BED.— In bed.
" If a lez a-bcd o' marnins a wunt never graw rich.''
ABIDE. — To put up with, to tolerate.
" I can't abide such me-un waays."
38
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
A-BIN. — Been ; used superfluously thus : —
" I've a-bin an' broke a jug."
" The bwoy hev a-bin an' cut his vinger."
ABOVE A BIT.— Considerably, to an important extent.
ABRO-AD. — Corn or hay is said to be layin' abro-ad when
scattered about, and neither in cocks nor zwaths.
A farmer is sometimes described as gone abro-ad when walking in
the fields.
ACAUSE.— Because.
" A wunt come acanse thee bist yer " (he won't come because you are
here).
ACAWLD.— Cold.
" I be a-veelin acawld."
ACCOUNT.— Worth, value.
"That ther yent much account" or ('count), i.e., "That is worth
little " or of no avail.
ACELET.— Parts of the offal, as the heart, &c., of a hog
roasted to form a dish.
ACRASS.— Not on good terms.
" Gaarge an' his brother hev a-bin a bit acrass laaytely."
ACTIN-ON'T. — Pretending, also doing wrong.
" Zo you bwoys hev a-bin act in on't agin, hev 'e "? (so you boys have
been in mischief again, have you ?)
ADAM. — "As awld as Adam" is the common phrase to denote
great age or antiquity.
AD AMS-AAYLE.— Water fit to drink.
ADDER'S TONGUE.— The leaf of the common bracken.
ADDLE- YEADED.— The reverse of quick witted ; stupid.
ADONE.— Stop! desist! It is often followed by 'then' or
'now.'
A girl would say " AAone then! " or " A done !" or " A done now ! " on
her sweetheart attempting to snatch a kiss.
ADRY.— Thirsty.
" I be adry " (I am thirsty).
AFF.— Off.
AGG. — To cut unskillfully.
" What be at a-aggin the me-at like that ther 'tvvunt go hafe zo vur."
AGIN. — Near to or anighst.
" I left the prong over agin the staayble door." Also used for ' in
view of.'
" I hev a-got money put by agin a raainy daay."
BERKSHIRE WORDS, H'J
AGOG. — Eager, ready.
11 Thaay was all agog to maayke a stert."
AGOGGLE. — Having the head shake with palsy. An old
man named Tailor West, of Hampstead Norreys, was spoken
of there as being ageggle ; he was the terror of little children
from this involuntary shaking of the head at them.
AGOGS.— White-thorn berries.
AGONE.— Departed.
" *Thaay've a-bin agone this dree hour."
AGRA-ABLE. — Consenting, willing.
" I be agra-able vor um to get married if urn be agra-able on t'other
zide."
AGROUND.— Into a hole.
" The vox be gone aground."
AGWAAIN, sometimes AGWINE.— Going.
" I bent agwaain ther no moor" (I am not going there any more) ;
"I be jus' agu'aain to "t," means "I am about to" or "I will do it
directly."
AHUNGERD.— Hungry.
" I be a-veelin' ahungtfd" (I am feeling hungry).
AIT, or AAYTE. — A river, island, or flat on the bank with
osiers growing.
ALANG O'.— On account of.
" Ut be all alang-o' that ther coortin' as a dwoant do no work o' no
account."
ALANG WI1. — In company with.
When a young man is accused of flirting with some one he will
perhaps sheepishly say, " I zartney did go alang wV her a bit at one
time, but tent nothin'."
ALE, also YELL and AAYLE. — Always used with reference
to beer of a strong description.
" Ooll 'e hev a glass o' aayle or a glass o' beer" ?
ALF. — Short name for Alfred.
ALL, also AAL or AEL. — Very commonly used in formation
of compound words or phrases as in the cases following, —
ALL-A-HO. — Standing awry.
A rick is said to be all-a-ho when settled out of the perpendicular.
ALL-A-MANG. — Mixed together in a most confused manner.
ALL-A-MUGGLE. — With things out of place, in great
disorder and confusion.
40 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ALL AS IS. — A decisive expression used when giving an order.
" All as is you hev a-got to work laayte till I tells 'e to stap."
ALLEY. — A « tawl' used by boys at marbles, when having red
streaks it is called ** a blood-alley."
ALL IN A CHARM. — A confused noise as when children are
talking and playing together around one.
ALL IN BITS.— In small pieces.
A carriage badly smashed by an accident is said to be all in bits.
ALL IN RAGS. — One with clothes worn out is said to go
about " all in rags."
ALL MANNERS. — Various kinds. Generally used in dis-
paragement.
" Thaay was a-zaayin' all manners o' things about her," (they
were speaking evil of her).
ALL ONE. — The same thing, or, making no difference.
" "Tis all one to me wher (whether) e' goes or not."
ALL-OVERISH.— Feeling" confused or abashed.
ALLOW, ALLOW. — Thus shouted twice to a dog to incite
him to chase anything.
ALL TO SMASH.— Totally wrecked.
ALLUS.— Always.
ALL VORNOTHIN1.— Quite in vain.
AMINTED. — In the humour to, willing to.
" If e beant amintedto do what I axes e, e med vind a plaayce zome
'er else."
AMOVE. — Where' there is much game.
A copse is said to be "amove wi' gaayme " (amove rhymes with
" rove.")
AMSIAM. — The sign " &" always thus called by children, and
named after the letter " Z " when saying the alphabet.
AM WO AST.— Almost, nearly.
My bwoy be amwoast as tall as I be.
AN.— On.
AN-E-ATH.— Beneath.
ANEOUST. — Just about, near against, almost.
"I zin 'in aneoust the chake pit " (I saw him near the chalk pit).
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 41
ANIGHST or ANIGH.— Near to.
" Best not come anighst that ther boss, med be he'll kick *e."
ANTICKS.— Mischievous actions.
A PE-US O'VVORK. — Something causing trouble, or making
damage ; a fuss.
A PICKY BACK. — A way of carrying one on the back, with
his arms around the neck, and legs under and supported by
the carrier's arms.
APPLE-PIE BED. — A bed made up by removing one of the
two sheets and turning up the other from the bottom, so
that when a person gets into bed his feet can go no farther
down than the middle of the sheet thus turned up.
APPLE-PIE ORDER.— Arranged with great regularity; it
corresponds with the naval term " ship shape."
APPLE SCOOP. — A scoop made by cutting away part from
the knuckle bone of a leg of mutton. The flavour of
apples is best brought out when eating them with such a
scoop.
A-PURPOSE.— Intentionally.
" A drowed I down a-purpose " (he threw me down intentionally).
ARCHUT, or ERCHUT.— An orchard.
AREADY.— Already.
ARGY, also ARGIVY.— To argue.
To " argivy nothun' " means " to have no weight," " not to tend to
convince."
" What a chap like that ther zes dwoant argivy nothun'."
ARLY.—Early.
ARLY BWONE.— The hip bone of a pig."
ARN, also ARRUN or ARRA-ONE.— One at all, either of
them.
ARNEST.— Earnest.
The "arnest" or " arnest money" is a shilling given on hirin^ a
servant ; it completes the contract.
AS. — Is used in place of relative pronouns thus, " It was he as
tawld I " (it was he who told me).
AS ZO, and AS HOW, are also very similarly used.
" A telled muh as zo his ship was sheared las' Tuesday."
42 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
AS EVER I.— As I possibly.
" I'll do 't as zoon as ever I can " (I'll do it as soon as I possibly can).
AS LIEV. — As readily, as soon.
" I'd as liev be killed as vrightened to death."
ASPRAAL. — Falling down with legs and arms helplessly
extended on the ground, is said to be " vallin' all aspraal"
AS SHOULD BE. — Quite correctly, properly ; as ought to be
done.
" That bed yent maayde as should be." (That bed is not made
properly.)
AST, also AXT.— To ask.
ASTED. — Having the banns published in church.
" Thaay was asted at church laast Zunday."
ASTOOR.— Shortly, very quickly.
ASTRADDLE. — Astride, sitting with legs wide apart, generally
one leg on each side of a thing.
ATER.— After.
ATERMATH, also LATTERMATH.— The second crop of
grass, i.e., " Aftermowth."
ATERNOON.— Afternoon.
ATERWARD.— Afterwards.
ATHIN.— Within, in the house.
" Be the me-uster athin "? " Naw, he be just gan avield.".
ATHOUT.— Unless.
" I wunt go athout thee comes too."
ATHURT.— Across.
"I zin 'in run athurt the pe-us o' turmuts."
ATOP O'.— On the top of.
" Get atop o' the taayble."
ATWE-UN, or ATWANE.— Between.
" Thaay haaved (halved) the apples atu'e-un urn."
ATWE-UN WHILES.— At odd times.
" I never smokes my pipe when I be at work, but hevs a bit o' baccy
• zometimes atwe-un whiles.''
AT WHOAM.— At home.
ATWIST.— Twisted.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 48
ATWIXT.— Between.
" He was caught atwixt the ge-ut an' the ge-ut-pwo-ast."
ATWO. — In two parts.
" Cut the taayters at wo avoor 'e plaants "urn."
AUX. — To cut a slit at the back of a hare or rabbits' leg, so
that the -other leg may thereby pass through it, and a
number of them be carried on a pole by a keeper.
AVEARD.— Afraid.
" 'E bent aveard be 'e ?" (You are not afraid are you?)
AVIELD. — IN the field. A farmer is said to be " gone avield "
when he has gone to walk about his farm.
AVOOR.— Before; AVORN is "before him," and AVOORT
is " before it."
AVRESH.— Over again.
" Thee hast done the job zo bad thee mus' do 't avresh."
Unknown before, new.
" A be a-doin' things in the parish as be quite avresh."
AVRONT.— In front.
" Thee get on avront o' I, ther yent room vor us bwo-ath in the
paath."
AWHILE, or AWHILES.— A short time ago.
" He was yer awhiles, but 'ood'nt waait no langer."
AWLD. — " Awld" is specially used as a term of familiarity, or
even endearment. Thus a man would say of his wife, " My
awld 'ooman 'ooll hev dinner jus' ready vor us."
AWLD HARRY.—" To plaay Awld Harry " is to perform wild
pranks, or commit wilful damage.
AWLD MAN'S LOVE.— The plant, Sothernwood.
AWVER. — Over. There are numerous compounds of this.
AWVER DRAW.— To overthrow.
AWVER-LAAY.— To kill by accidentally lying upon.
A sow not infrequently " awver-laays " one of her litter.
AWVER-NIGHT.— The night before.
" Mind as 'e comes to us awvtr-nigfyt, zo as we can maayke a stert
early in the marnin'."
±± BERKSHIRE WORKS.
AWVER-RIGHT.— Opposite to, adjacent.
" I left the rabbuts as I shot awver-right a crooked bache (beech) tree."
AX. — To ask. 'Asked' becomes "axt." See also " AST" and
" ASTED."
AXIN. — Asking or requesting.
" She med be had vor the axin " (she would readily consent to an
offer of marriage).
BERKSHIRE WORKS. 45
B
-
BAA LAMB. — A term used by children for sheep generally,
and specially for lambs.
BAAYBY.— A baby.
BAAYKERS DOZEN.— Thirteen.
BAAYLEY. — A farm bailiff or overlooker of labourers.
BAAYSTE.— To flog.
" A baaystin " means a whipping.
" I'll gie 'e a baaystin byn by if e' dwoant look out."
BACHELORS' BUTTONS.— The common name for the wild
Scabious.
BACK BOORD. — A board which children are made to place
behind their shoulders holding the two ends in their hands
to improve their figures.
BACKERDS.— Backwards.
" A veil down backenls."
BACKIN. — Moving in a backward direction, used of a horse
principally.
BACK OUT. — Withdrawal (unworthily) from an agreement.
BACK ZIDE. — Premises adjoining the back of a house. The
term occurs, with others, in an indenture dated 26th June,
1691, wherein Mr. John Lowsley leases property at Kingston
Backpurze to Richard Bagoly and Richard Cripps. The
lease refers to house property and land called " MiddJetons,"
and the lawyer made his description very full ; it ran thus :
" All and singular-Houses, barnes, stables, orchards, gardens, " back
sides," lands, meadows, pastures, commons, hades, layes, moores, trees,
woods, underwoods, fishings, wayes, waters, easements, profitts,
comodities, advantages and hereditaments whatsoever."
BACK SOORDIN.— Single stick. This is still kept up in
Berkshire and the counties westward. A most graphic
account of this is given in Hughes' " Scouring of the White
Horse."
•1C BERKSHIRE WORDS.
BACK UP. — A person very angry and ready to fight is said to
have his "back up." Many animals, as cats, ferrets, &c.,
elevate their backs when ready for action.
BAD.— Always used for " ill."
"A was bad vor a year or moor avoor a died."
BAD DOER. — An animal that, no matter how well fed, never
thrives. A GOOD DOER is the reverse of this.
BADGER. — To worry or teaze.
" If a badgers 'un any moor a ooll get his back up."
BAG. — A cow's udder.
" She's got a good bag, i.e. (gives much milk).
" To bag " is also used (by boys principally) for ' to purloin.'
BAG-O-BWONES. — A person who has become extremely thin.
BALK.— To thwart.
" He balked muh jus as I was a-goin' to shoot by callin' out like that
ther."
BALLET. — A long string of songs on a single sheet sold by
itinerant vendors.
BALLY RAGGIN'.— Loud continuous fault-finding and
scolding.
BALSER. — The largest size stone marble, specially used by
boys for " long taw."
BAMBOOZLE. — To deceive ; to hoodwink ; to make a fool of
one.
BAME.— Balm.
BANDY. — The game hocky or hurling is so called.
BANG.— Quite; totally; decisively.
Thee'd best go bang awaay.
" A bang " is also any sharp loud noise.
BANGER. — Something very large ; an exaggerated story,
hence a lie.
" A banger " on the yead means a resounding blow.
BANGIN'. — A very large quantity.
" He gin I a bangin' helpin' o' plum pudden."
BANSKITTLE.— The little fish also called stickleback.
BARBERED. — To have barber's service, such as having one's
hair cut, &c., performed.
" I be a-g\vaayn to be barbered.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 47
BARK. — To knock the skin off; also to cough.
BARLEYOYLES.— The beards of barley.
BARM, or BERM.— Yeast.
BARREL TOM-TIT.— The long-tailed tit-mouse, so called
from the shape of its nest.
BARROW HILL.— An ancient tumulus. There are very
many of these in the county.
BAW TO A GOOSE.— One is said to be not able io say " baw
to a goose " when stupidly shy and reserved.
BASTE. — To tack children's sewing together for them.
BAT, or DRUGBAT.— The iron shoe chained to the wheel of
a waggon or cart to impede rotation when going down-hill.
BATE. — To lower the price at first demanded ; to whip.
BAVIN. — A bundle of very small brush wood.
(i A bavin " difters from a faggot in having the brush wood of much
smaller description.
" Bavins " are used principally for burning in kilns, and for lighting
kitchen fires.
BAZE, or BE-UZ. — Bees. The following may come from the
same hive in a summer — swarm, smart, cast, and hitch-
but this does not often happen. " A maiden swarm " may
also come out of the first swarm.
BE. — Always used for " are."
BE-AT. — Tired out ; completely puzzled.
" I be dead be-at,"
Also to walk a field in search of game.
" Which pe-us o' turmuts shall us be-at vust."
BE-AT MY NAAYBOUR OUT O' DOORS.— The game of
cards, "beggar my neighbour ," is so called (" doors " rhymes
with " moors ").
BEAUTIFY. — To make one's toilette very carefully.
BECALL.— To vilify ; to abuse.
BEDDERD. -Bed-ward.
" Lets get bedderd, an' zo be up in the marnin'."
BED-GOWND.— A night-dress.
BEDIZEN D. — Decorated very gaudily and with showy
ornaments.
48 BERKSHISE WORDS.
BEDWINE.— Wild Clymatis.
BEE-UCH GALL, or BACHE GALL.— A hard lump on the
leaf of a beech tree.
BEE-UCH MAASTS.— Beech nuts.
BEER. — Pith, worth, solidity.
"That zarment zimmed to I vurry small beer (i.e., poor and unin-
teresting).
Naturally beer is much thought of.
In the " Scouring of the White Horse " we find lines go —
" Zartinly the sixpenny's the very best I've zeed yet,
I do not like the fourpenny nor yet the intermediate."
At the Manor House, Hampstead Norreys, there is a pair of quaint
old drinking horns. On the first is painted a yeoman of the olden
time, and from his mouth comes the legend, " I love good beer ; " on
the other is similarly painted a labourer, who responds, and " So do I."
A country brewing is thus locally described —
" Vorty gallons o' Never Year,
Vorty gallons o' Taayble beer,
Vorty gallons o' Wus nor that,
An" vorty gallons o' Rattle tap"
The Never Year is strong beer.
The Rattle Tap is poor stuff indeed.
In haymaking time or harvest a man who drinks beer would require a
gallon a day.
BEERY.— Partially intoxicated.
BEGGAR. — To impoverish ; to make bankrupt.
"That beggared I" (i.e., made me bankrupt).
BEHAWLDEN.— Under obligation.
" I wunt be behaivlden to the likes o' thaay."
BELIKE. — Very probably, perhaps.
" Now ut raains a wunt come belike."
BELLOCK. — To roar loudly ; to shout words in a coarse
manner.
" When I wolloped un' a bellocked zo 'e med year'n a mild awaay."
BELLOWSES.— Bellows ; also the lungs.
BEN NETS. — The long stalks of a species of grass with seeds
thereon wherewith children make " beniiet-baskets."
BENT, or BE- ANT.— Am not.
41 1 be-ant a-gwaain to stan' "t," i.e., " put up with it."
BERRY. — A rabbits warren (a corruption of « burrow'),
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 49
BE SHERP. — Be quick and careful. In giving orders to an
inferior, who is lazy or negligent, the order often
terminates with, " An be sherp about ut."
BEST. — To get the advantage of.
" A tried to best I but I was too sherp vor'n ; " also " bested " is used.
BEST VOOT VORRUD.— To put ones "best voot vorrud" is
to walk at a very quick pace.
BE'T AS T'OOLL.— Be it as it will; in any case.
"Be't as t'ooU I be a-gvvaayn to zell them ship to-daay " (be it as it
will I am going to sell those sheep to-day).
BETTER. — " To better " one's self is the expression for getting
higher wages. This term however seems almost universal.
To beat. — If one player makes a high score at skittles it is
common to remark to the player following, " Thee wun
better that ther."
BETTERMWOAST.— The greater part.
" We was the bettermwoast haafe of a daay a-doin' *ont."
BETTER NOR.— Greater than, more than.
" Ut be better nor two mild vrom Yattendon to Bucklebury."
BE US.— Are we ?
BE-USTINS. — The milk first drawn after a cow has given
birth to a calf.
BIBBLE. — To tipple; to take alcoholic drink at short intervals.
BIDE.— To stay.
" I wunt bide no langer."
BILE THE POT.— To cook.
" If I dwoant ketch a rabbut to-night I shan't hev nothin' to bile the
pot to-morrer."
BILL HOOK. — A cutlass with top turned inwards used for
cutting up fire wood and lopping branches.
BILLY COCK. — The wide-awake hat commonly worn.
BIN. — The corn chest in the stable (always secured by a
padlock).
" A-6/« " is the preterit of the verb " to be."
BIS'NT.— « Art thou not ?"
BIST.— "Art thou?"
E
50 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
BIT. — A short space of time.
" Stop a bit, he'll zoon be yer."
A little piece.
The word bit is always used for ' little ' in cases as above
referred to.
BlTEL. — The long-handled wooden mallet with top iron
bound, used for driving wedges when splitting up large
clumps or stumps of wood.
" The Bitel and Wedges " obtains as a public-house sign.
BITTER ZWE-UT.— When a spiteful thing is done with a
sunny friendly face this term is used.
BIVER. — The quivering of the under lip, which precedes
crying.
" Thee hast Vronted 'un now, zee how a livers," would be said to
one who had spoken in a way to cause a child to begin to cry.
BIZZOM. — A bezom or birch broom.
BLAAYRE. — To shout out anything in a coarse manner.
BLAB. — To tell of any wrong doing ; to betray a secret. This
word seems almost universal.
BLACK-BOB.— A black beetle.
BLACK VRAST.— Frost without rime.
BLAST. — A common imprecation. " Blast-naaytion " is also
so used.
BLAWED. — Animals in the dangerous condition of having
their stomachs distended by eating too much green or
forcing food are said to be blaived.
BLE-ADIN' HEART.— The name of a common bright red
wall-flower.
BLIND MAN'S HOLIDAY. — In darkness so great that
nothing can be seen.
BLINK.— A spark of fire.
" Tker yent a blink left " (the fire is quite out).
This also is used to signify light enough to see a little.
" 1 Cciu't zee a blink " (it is quite dark).
BLIZZY.— A blaze. The fire is said to be alfof a "Mizzy"
when pieces of wood have been inserted amongst the coal
to make it burn cheerfully.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 51
BLOOD ALLEY. — The favourite marble taw (pronounced
tawl) used by boys. Its name arises from the streaks of
red in it.
BLOODY WARRIOR.— A wall-flower of rich dark red colour.
BLOWZY.— Bloated and red-faced.
BLUBBER. — To cry ; almost in general use.
BLUR. — A blot causing indistinctness to anything beneath it.
BLURT OUT. — To speak out a thing unexpectedly and
inopportunely.
BOB — A quick downward motion.
" The bird bobbed just as I shot."
A quick curtsey is also so called.
A Timber Bob is often shortly called a "bob."
BOBBERY.— A fuss; a disturbance.
BOBBISH.— Cheery and well in health.
" I be pretty bobbish, thenk 'e, how bist thee ?"
BOB-CHERRY. — The game of taking the end of a cherry stalk
between the teeth, and, holding the head perfectly level,
trying to get the cherry into the mouth without using the
hands' or moving the head.
BODY HOSS, or BODY HERSE.— The horse of a team next
in front of the " thiller."
BOGGLE. — To hesitate about agreeing to anything.
" A boggled a goodish bit avoor I could get 'un to zaay eese."
Also opening and shutting the eyes, as if troubled by a strong
light, but this signification may appear common.
" The good Saint Anthony " boggled " his eyes,
So firmly fixed on the old black book,
When Ho, at the corners they 'gan to rise,
He could'nt choose but have a look."
BOGY. — A sort of ghost.
Children are kept quiet by " If 'e dvvo-ant ke-up still an' go to sle-up
Bogy 'ooll come."
The reflection of sunlight from water on the wall of a room is also
sometimes called Bogy by children.
BOLT. — To rush away quickly.
"To bolt a rabbit " is to drive it quickly from the warren into the
open. Any noise outside a warren stops rabbits from " bolting."
BOOARD.— To foretell.
" I dwo-ant booard no raain to-daay (I expect no rain to-day).
52 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
BOOBY TRAP. — Placing abasin of water on topof a partly open
door so that one who pushes the door to enter receives it on his
head. This trick however is not unknown to school boys in
other parts.
BOOIN'. — The noise made by men and boys to interrupt any
speech which is displeasing to them. This appears almost
general.
BOORIN' ALONG. — Rushing along rapidly and without
moving aside for any one.
BOOZE.— To carouse.
BORN-DAAYS.— Life time.
" I never zin zuch doins in all my born-daays."
BORN-VOOL. — One who is intensely stupid, an idiot almost.
" A must be a born vool to do like that ther."
BOTTOM.— The lowest part of a valley.
" Moor likely 'e '11 vind a haayre (or her) on the brow 'an in the
bottom.''
The expression " to have no bottom " is used to signify the
the reverse of sturdiness ; this may be almost general.
BOUGHTEN. — Bought, used to distinguish, from WHOAM-
MAAYDE.
" Us ent had no baazkin' vor a wake an1 zo be a-yettin' bougliten
bre-ad."
BOUNCE. — Swagger ; also to move hastily, roughly, and
noisily.
BOUT. — The termination of a round at back swording ; "bout"
is called out by one of the combatants as a notice that the
round is ended.
BOWZEY. —Very large or bulky ; nearly intoxicated.
BRAAIN-PAN.— The top of the head.
" A got a cut on the braain-pan" (a blow on the top of the head).
BRAAY. — To neigh as a horse does.
BRAAYKE, or BRE-AK.— " To braayke with a person " is to
be no longer on friendly terms with him. This word is
occasionally pronounced "breek " in the Vale of Berkshire
by some who " aaype to tawk viner'n ther naaybours."
BRAAYVELY.— Well in health.
" A zes a veels quite bmayvely this marnin'."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 53
BRAAYVERY.— Fine dress.
BRAAYZEN.— Bold in its bad sense.
" A brauyzen huzzey " is a bold immodest woman.
BRAAYZEN OUT. — To carry a bold and innocent face after
doing a wrong or dishonourable thing.
BRAN NEW. — Perhaps a corruption of " brand new" i.e., with
the brand not worn away.
BRASS VARDEN. — There is the expression, "Not wuth a
brass varden," used with respect to anything of no value
whatever. It has been suggested to me that this expression
may owe its origin to the fact that the brass tradesmen's
farthings, so commonly issued about the middle of the
seventeenth century, became quite valueless when copper
halfpennies were first issued in 1672.
BRE-ATH. — " To vetch bre-ath " is to pause ; to consider.
In recommending cautious procedure one would say, " Let's vetch
bre-ath a bit awver't " (let us pause to consider about it).
BREN-CHAZE.— Bread and cheese.
" I was a-yettin" my bren-chazeS' usually is said for, " I was eating
my mid -day meal."
BRESS-PLOUGHIN'.— Breast ploughing. This is done by
men pushing a kind of spade from the shoulder. The
object of it is to burn the surface of the soil, when this
might not be effected sufficiently by the ordinary method
of ploughing.
BREVETTIN' ABOUT.— Prying ; a quick searching move-
ment.
"I zin 'un a brevcttin* about alang the hedges up to no good, I warn
'e " (warrant ye).
BRICK. — Applied to a good-hearted, generous fellow, who can
be relied on ; almost universal.
BRICK-BATS.— Broken bricks.
BRICK-KILL.— A brick kiln.
BRIMMER.— A hat.
BROAD-CAST.— The act of sowing seed by casts from the
hand as distinguished from ' drilling ' it.
BROCK.— A badger.
BROKEN-MOUTHED.— Having the front teeth wanting*
54 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
BROW.— The part below the crest of a hill.
BRUKKLE.— Brittle.
BRUM.— A broom.
BRUM OUT O' WINDER.— Hanging the " bruin out o' winder "
is a sign that the wife is away from home and that the
husband will give hospitality to friends.
BRUMSTWUN.— Brimstone.
BRUSSLES.— Bristles.
" A got my brussles up," means " He made me very angry."
BUCK. — The large wash of house linen, &c., in a farm-house.
Articles are kept for the " buck wash," which cannot conveniently be
dispcsid of at the " dab " or small wash.
BUCKIN'. — Extensive washing of linen.
" I vound the house all of a caddie wi1 the buckin' on."
BUCK-JUMPER.— A horse that jumps like a stag, with the
four feet all rising at the same time.
BUCKLE TO. — To set to work in down-right earnest ; also to
get married.
BUCKLE UNDER.— To give way somewhat humbly after
opposition ; to acknowledge superiority.
" Knuckle under " has a somewhat similar signification.
BUCKZOME.— Jolly, full of spirits ; often followed by "like."
" A zimmed got quite well an' buckzome like."
BULLOCK.— A heifer is so called.
BULLASSES. — Small sweet green plums, the size of marbles.
BUMBLE BA.— A specie of bee that does not sting.
BUMMIN'. — A rumbling or humming noise.
BUMPIN'.— Large.
" A gid I a bumpiii' lot " (he gave me a large quantity or number).
A noise caused by thumping ; also a hard push.
" A was a*bumpin' my yead agin the wall when I called 'e."
BUMPTIOUS. — Swaggering, proud, assuming superiority.
BUNCH. — A bow of ribbons ; the posy of flowers placed in a
button hole.
" O dear, what can the matter be
Johnny zo long at the Vaair,
A pramised to buy muh o' bunch of blue ribbon
To tie up my bonnie brown haair."
BERKSHIRE W6RDS. 55
BUNDLE. — To run hastily away (often after having done
mischief.)
"Us bundled pretty sherp I can tell "e."
Also to cause to start off in a great hurry.
" I had to bundle 'um all aff avoor thaay'd done yettin'."
BUNGERZOME.— Unwieldy, clumsy.
" That ther bundle o' zacks be too bungerzomc vor I to car."
Also " A be a bungerzome zart o' chap."
BUNK.— Be off!
" You chaps 'ud best bunk avoor I maaykes 'e."
" I zin 'um was a-gettin' quarrelzome an' zo bunked it zo as nat to
get mixed up wi* "t."
BUNNY. — Name for a rabbit ; children always use this term.
Almost universal.
BUNT. — To push with the head or horns. Young animals
pushing the udder with the head to make milk flow freely
are said to " bunt"
" Gie us a. bunt up " is the phrase used by a boy when he wishes
another to raise him from the ground on his attempt to mount a tree.
BUNTIN,— The wood-lark.
BUSINESS.— Fuss.
" A maayde a gurt business about um a-taaykin' his spaayde wi'out
axin."
BUST, or BUSTED.— Burst.
There is a rhyme common with boys, the one having anything
to give away calling out —
" Billy, Billy Bust,
Who spakes vust."
BUSTER. — An improbable story ; a lie ; anything very large.
BUTTER-VINGERED.— Clumsy in handling and allowing
things to slip from the fingers.
BUTTRY.— The pantry or place where butter, &c., for home
consumption is kept.
BUTTS. — Old archery butts still give their name.
At Reading we have the well-known part of the town called "St.
Mary's Butts.'"
BUZZY, or BUZLY.— Rough and bushy, like a fox's brush.
56 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
BW UN. —Bone. The expression " to bwnn," meaning to make
a petty theft is almost universal. " Bwim in my leg," good
humouredly used to children to express inability to do
something they ask.
" I caant do 't vor 'e now I've a-got a bwun in my leg."
BYM BY, or BYN BY.— By and by, presently.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 5?
CABBAGE. — To appropriate without permission ; to crib, but
not applied to a serions theft.
" I zin a lot o' apples laayin' unner a tree an' zo cabbaged this yer un."
CADDLE, or CATTLE. — To hurry so as to confuse.
" Dwoant 'e caddie me an' maayke me do 't all wrong."
" In a caddie " is ' in great confusion.'
CADDLIN'.— Untidy, slipshod.
" A done that ther job in a caddlin' waay."
CADGER. — A beggar, a loafer of dishonest appearance.
CAFE.— A calf.
CALL. — Occasion.
" Thee hasn't no call to spake to I like that ther."
CALLER, or CALLOW.— Naked, to " lie caller" is to lie bare
or without crop.
" Young birds are always described as " caller " when first hatched.
CANKERED. — Cross grained, misanthropic. A cut or wound
is described as "cankered " when it begins to present a bad
appearance through being neglected.
CANTANKEROUS.— Easily ruffled in temper, obstructive,
with petty obstinacy ; almost universal.
CAN'T BE OFF. — The usual phrase to indicate impossibility
of mistake.
" If 'e goes athirt the vield o' vallers , e' cant be off a zeein' the haayre
as I telled 'e about a zettin in her vorm."
CAP.— To outdo.
" That ther caps all " (that outdoes all that has gone before).
CAPPENTER.— A carpenter.
CAR.— To carry.
CARDIN.— According.
CARLINE.- Carolina,
58 BERKSHIRE WORDS}.
CARPIN'.— Fault finding.
CARROTTY PAWLE.— A red-haired person.
CAS'NT.— Can'st thou not ?
CASTLES. — A game at marbles where each boy makes a small
pyramid of three as a base, and one on the top ; they aim
at these from a distant stroke with balsers winning such of
the castles as they may in turn knock down.
CAT IN PAN. — One who changes sides for selfish reasons.
In the old song, " The Vicar of Bray," we have : —
" When William our Deliverer came
To heal the nation's grievance,
Then I turned Cat in Pan again
And swore to him allegiance."
CAT OUT O' THE BAG.— Letting the "cat out o the bag " is
the making known something that has been kept secret.
CATS CRAAYDLE. — A game played by means of string
across the fingers of the two hands. The players have to
take the string from each other under different arrange-
ments, without making any mistake.
CATTLE. — Hurry ; confusion. Vide CADDLE.
CA-UV-IN, or CAAYVIN.— Chaff and short straw, as collected
from a barn-floor after threshing.
CAW, also CAWNEY. — A very stupid fellow, almost an idiot.
CAWLD-COMFORT. — Cold words or deeds, making one's
troubles appear greater.
CESS TO 'T.— Used to encourage a dog to eat anything.
CHAAIR, or CHEER.— A chair.
CHAAYKE.— Chalk.
CHAAYNGES.— Shirts and under-clothing generally.
CHACKLIN'.— A noise made by a hen after laying an egg.
" I yeard 'un a-chacklin', zo a mus' hev a ne-ust zome 'er yer."
CHAFF-CUTTER.— The machine for cutting straw into short
lengths for use as chaff.
CHALKERS, — Boys' marbles held in the lowest estimation,
being made of chalk or of chalk and clay mixed ; tho^e
next above these in value are called " stoners."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 59
CHAM. — -To chew; there is also in use the expression " A
chammed awver't a goodish bit ; " this expresses hesitation
and unwillingness to do a thing.
CHAP. — Any man of no great consideration ; but we say
equally.
"A goodish zart o' chap," and " a poorish zart of a chap;" where
a number of men in any station of life may be banded together they
are called chaps, the expression then running " thejn (descriptive
title) chaps.1'
CHARLOCK. — The wild mustard, which grows to the detri-
ment of corn crops.
CHASS, or CHERLES.— Charles.
CHATTER AT.— To scold.
" Meuster 'ooll chatter at 'e when a comes to knaw on "t."
CHATTER-WATER.— Tea.
CHAY, or CHAW.— To bite one's food.
"A be got awld an1 can't chay nothun' now.
CHERM. — A mixture of noises of various kinds. " Clwrmiii*
the baze " is the act of ringing a stone against a spade or
watering can ; this music is supposed to cause the bees to
settle in the neighbourhood ; another object in doing this
is to let the neighbours know who the bees belong to if they
should chance to settle on adjacent property.
CHEERY. — Chary, careful in a mean or stingy sense.
CHE-UZZES, or CHAZES.— Seeds of the mallow.
CHICK A BIDDIES.— Fowls ; but this word is principally
used by children.
CHICKEN'S MEAT.— The broken grains of corn used for
feeding poultry.
CHIDLINS, or CHITLINS.— Chitterlings.
CHILDERN,— Children.
CHIMBLEY, — A chimney: a chimney sweep is a " chimbley
swape."
CHINKIN'. — Metallic rattling noise as of a chain dragged
over stones.
CHIN MUSIC.— Impertinence.
" Dwo-ant gie I none o' thee chin music," is a common retort*
60 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
CHIP IN. — To break into a conversation going on between
others.
CHIPPY, also CHIRPY.— In good spirits.
CHIT. — To sprout ; also a sharp troublesome little girl.
CHIVVY.— To chase, shouting the while.
CHIZZLE.— To cheat.
CHIZZLE BOBS. — The bugs found under decaying wood or
old bricks, &c.
CHOCK VULL.— Full to overflowing.
CHOICE, or CHICE.— Difficult to suit as regards food. A
choice or pampered child is teazed by being called " Gaargie."
CHOP.— To exchange.
CHOPS. — The jaws. " Cut on the chops " means a blow on
the lower part of the face.
CHOUSE. — To cheat ; a dishonest action.
CHUCK.— To toss carelessly.
CHUCKLE YEADED.— Very stupid.
" A chuckle yeaded vool."
CHUMPS. — Thick pieces of wood for burning. The chump
end of a thing is the thicker end.
CHUNE.— Tune.
CHUNE-UP. — «• Commence singing " or " Sing more loudly."
CHUNKS. — Split pieces of firewood of more uniform thickness
than " chumps."
CHURCH-VAWK.— Those who attend the Parish Church are
so called. Those who attend Dissenting Places of Worship
being given the general title of MATiNERSor CHAPEL-GOERS.
CHURLUT.— Charlotte.
CIPE.— A large basket.
CIRCUMBENDIBUS.— A round about route.
CLACK. — A woman who is always chattering.
CLAGGY.— With sticky mud,
CLAM.— 'To hustle, so as to prevent movement,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 61
CLAMMED.— Chocked up by over-filling.
If an aperture be too small for grain to run through freely it is said
to be " clammed; " also a surfeit from over-feeding is so called.
CLAMBER, or CLIM.— To climb.
" Clamber " would be used for getting up a rock, and " dim " for
climbing a tree.
CLAMP. — To tread noisily. An arrangement of bricks piled
for burning without a kiln is so called.
CLAMPUTTIN', or CLUMPUTTIN'.— Stumping about.
CLANG. — A resounding noise, as the report of a gun.
CLAP. — To place quickly.
" Clap 'un down an* be aff."
" Clap on your hat."
Also, in cold weather, to "clap," is to get warm by beating the arms
across each other.
CLAP-ON.— To overcharge.
" A allus claps-on wi' I, acause a thinks I shall try to be-at un down
a bit."
CLAPPER.— The tongue.
CLAPPER CLAWED.— Scratched by a woman.
CLAPPERS.— Shallows in a river. The clappers between
Reading and Caversham are known to all upper Thames
boating men.
CLAPS.— To clasp.
CLAPS-NET. — A net where the two parts close together, such
ar, that used for catching sparrows at night around the
eaves of ricks, etc.
CLAT. — A patch of dirt or cow-dung thrown against a wall or
door.
CLAVER. — An instrument to chop bones of meat ; a cleaver.
CLAY, or CLAA.— To claw.
" To clay hawld on 'un " is to seize a thing with hands or claws.
CLE-AN, or CLANE.— Entire, absolute, altogether.
" A missed 'un cle-an^ (he missed it altogether), as applied to a shot.
CLE-AN AN' HANZOME. — Has the same meaning as
" cle-an " given above, but with stress on the " Miss " being
remarkable.
62 BERKSHIRE WORDS,
CLE-AN AN' ZIMPLE.— Wholly ; thus, if a dog gets on a table
and eats the whole of the dinner, he is said to have " yetted
ut all cle-un an' zimple.'*
CLENTED OR CLENCHED.— Turned back upwards as in
the case of a nail.
CLICK.— Completely ; thorough.
" A done we click " (he took us in completely). I have heard this
word used for " select " or " out of the common way," thus : — It was
observed that on an occasion when entertaining guests, a certain dame
of the middle class appeared to be very affected in her manner. One
of her neighbours remarked afterwards, " 'E zees that ther be jus' her
click party, an' that be how 'tis she dos like that." That was an annual
party to which the lady invited some guests of higher social standing
than most of her friends and neighbours.
CLICKUTTY-CLACK.— The noise made in walking where a
clog or patten is loose from the shoe.
CLIM.— Vide CLAMBER. To climb.
GLIMMERS. — Climbers ; -i.e., iron spurs having the point pro-
jecting from the instep, used to assist in climbing trees
which have no branches.
CLINK. — Straightforward. A man who is not to be depended
upon, or who would take advantage of one in dealing is
said to be ' not quite dink.'
Also a resounding blow.
" I gid 'un a clink en the yead."
CLINKERS.— Over burnt bricks.
CLITTER-CLATTER.— Such a noise as made by knocking
plates and dishes together when removing these from the
table.
CLIVERS.— Goose grass.
CLO-AZ PRAP.— A pole with a fork at the top used for
supporting clothes lines.
CLOD HOPPERS.— Country folk are thus sometimes
disparagingly termed by townsmen.
CLOG. — A kind of over shoe or sandal used by women to keep
dirt from their shoes when walking short distances.
" Pattens " are used when the dirt is very deep.
CLOGGY.— Dirty.
CLOSE.— Reserved, also stingy.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. GS
CLOSE VISTED.— Not willing to part with money for any
charitable purpose.
CI OT. — A clod. There is the expression " Ut laays pretty
clotty" when unbroken clods lie on the surface of tilled
land.
CLOUT.— A blow.
" I gid un a clout aside the yead."
A piece let into a garment ; " a dish-clout " is a cloth used for
wiping dishes.
CLOVER-LEY.— Clover field lately mown.
CLUM PETTY. — Used as regards lumps of earth to indicate
that they are not friable.
CLUMPY. — Stupid. A pair of boots is said to be "clumpy"
when clumsily made and with very thick soles.
CLUNG. — Heavy, stiff, adhesive (applied to the soil).
CLUTTERY.— " Cluttery weather " is when it is raining, with
thick clouds all around.
COBBLE.— To stitch coarsely.
COBBLES. — Small round lumps of anything ; also pebble
stones used for paving.
COBBLY. — Having lumps mixed with fine matter.
COCKCHAFFER.— The May bug.
COCKEY. — Conceited, arrogant, bumptious ; also applied to
a little man who marches about with an important air, he
goes by the name of Cockey, his surname following.
COCKED.— Nearly intoxicated.
COCK-EYED. — Cross-eyed, squinting.
COCK HORSE.— Children are said to ride cock horse when
riding cross wise as on a horse.
COCK O' THE ROOST.— The one who is at the head of a
party.
COCK ZURE.— Quite sure.
COCK SHY. — To throw at anything after careful aim is to
" Taayke a cock shy."
CODDLE.— To pamper.
C4 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
CODGER. — A testy old man ; an old man having queer habits.
COKERS. — Stranger labourers going about on piece-work.
COLLAR.— To make a petty theft.
" Them apples looks zo good, I me-ans to collar one."
COLLARED-ZOUSE.— Brawn is always so called.
COLLOP.— A rather thick slice of meat.
COLLUTS.- Young cabbages.
COMBE.— A hollow in the Downs.
COME.— To achieve.
" I can't quite come that " (that is beyond me).
" Come ! come!'' is an expression often sharply used to hurry a child
or an inferior.
At advent of.
" I shall hev a-lived under the Squire vorty year come Laaydy Daay."
" In churning butter is said to ' coins.' "
COME BACK.— These words are imagined in the note of the
Guinea Fowl or Gallini, and children worry these fowl to
get them to repeat this just as they also run after Cock
Turkeys calling, " What d'ye hang yer vather wi'," to get
the reply " Holter, holter, holter."
COME AFF.— To happen.
" That ther wunt never come a/."
COMETHER.— Come hither.
" Comether 'oot," or " comether wut," is an expression used to horses.
To put the " comether " on a person is to restrain him.
COME O' THAT. — To get the better of something not
desirable. If a young girl carries herself awkwardly, it is
said that she will " come o* that" as she grows older.
COMIN'-AN. — Growing, improving, ripening, coming to
perfection.
" Our bwoys be a-comm' an now, an' mus' zoon go to schoold."
COMIN' ROUND. — Getting into good temper again after
anger ; recovering from illness ; won over to one's way of
thinking.
CONDITION. — This word is used to describe degree of fertility
in land ; fatness in cattle ; capacity to do work in horses.
" Out o' condition " indicates an unsatisfactory state.
CONTAAIN MEZELF.— To show no outward sign of my
feelings.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. -G5
CONTRAAYRY.— Cross-grained, obstructive.
" A. turned coniraayry an' 'ood'nt lend his herse, an' zo us cood'nt go."
CONVOUND.— A form of imprecation. Both syllables are
very long.
" Convound that chap ! a pramised I to come an' a never did."
CONVOUNDED. — Used as an expression of anger or
annoyance.
"That convonnded bwoy's moor plaaygue nor a's wuth."
CONVOUNDED LIKE.— Confused. It is often preceded by
" zart o'."
"When a tawld I as Dannul was 'listed vor a zawljer I was zart o
con rciin Jed like, an' cood'nt zaay no moor."
CONZAIT.— To think ; to be of opinion.
COOB. — Coop. A hen-coop is a "hen-^oi."
COOBIDDY.— The call for fowls to come to be fed. (In the
call the first syllable is much prolonged.)
COODNST, or COOS'NT.— Could you not ? Could not.
" If I dwoant do't I be zurethee coos'nt."
COOST.— Could you ? *
" Coost tell I which be the ro-ad (or rawd) to Alder, plaze ?"
(" Could you tell me which is the way to Aldworth, please ?")
COPSE. — A wood (not applied to a small wood only). The
large wood named " The Park Wood," at Hampstead
Norreys is generally called " The Copse," whilst other woods
near are given their distinctive names, as ' Laycrofr,'
( Beech Wood,' &c.
CORD WOOD. — Wood split up for firewood and stacked
ready to be sold by " the cord."
COTCHED.— Caught.
" Us cotcii'd um at ut." (We caught him in the act.)
COTCHEL.— Part of a sack full.
COTTER ALUGG.— A bar across the chimney breast to which
is fastened the pot-hook.
COUCH. — Rank grass ; quitch grass.
COUCH-HE-AP. — A heap of rank grass roots stacked in the
field for burning.
COUNT, or ACCOUNT.— Utility, value, proficiency.
" A yent much count at cricket " (he is a poor playe ).
F
G6 BERKSHIRE WORDS,
COURAGE-ON.— To incite.
" A couraged-on them dogs to vight."
COW-CALF.— A female calf.
COW-LAAYDY.— The lady bird.
COW-PIE. — A favourite dish with children, made by having a
thin layer of paste on the bottom and sides of a pie dish
whereon custard is poured. This is then baked.
COW7 PARSLEY. — Wild parsley obtained and given as a
favourite food to tame rabbits.
COW STALL. — A wooden arrangement for securing a cow's
head whilst it is being milked.
CRAAYZY.— Dilapidated ; out of repair.
CRAAYZY WE-UD. — The plant crow's-foot, so called because
it spreads about so wildly.
CRACK.— A sharp blow.
" I gid 'un a crack a top o' the yead."
" To crack up " is to extol.
" In a crack," in a minute.
CRACKLIN'. — The scotched skin of roast pork ; this is also
sometimes called the " scrump."
CRACKY. — Peculiar ; not quite right in one's mind.
CRANKS. — Aches and slight ailments. A person is said to be
full of " crinks and cranks" when generally complaining of
ill health.
CKANKY. — Out of health; for machinery out of gear; for a.
structure, in bad repair, likely to give way.
Also sometimes used to mean out of temper.
CRAP.— Crop,
CRASS.— Obstinate, contrary.
CRASS -GRAAINED. — Opposing from obstinacy or bad
temper.
CRASS-PATCH. — The name a child calls another that is out
of temper to teaze him.
CRAW. — The crop of a bird ; the maw or receptacle for food.
CRE-AMY VAAYCED, or CRAMY-VE-USED.— Having no
roses in the cheeks — white faced.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 07
CRE-pP-MOUSE, or CRAPE-MOUSE.— A game played
with little children, tickling them to make them laugh.
CRIB BITER.— A horse given to the vice of biting away his
manger ; almost universal term.
CRICK. — A sharp noise. I have heard this term used of the
noise made in the knee joint when one is kneeling down.
A " crick in the neck " is a temporary stiffness in the neck,
or inability to move the head freely.
CRIMMANY. — An exclamation (good-humoured) of surprise.
CRINKLE. — To crease ; to rumple.
CRINKLY. — With marks as having been crumpled.
CRINKS.— See CRANKS.
CRISP. — Pork crackling. See also SCRUMP.
CRITTENS. — The crittens are small pieces of lean meat
strained from lard when it is melted ; these are chopped
fine and mixed together with sugar and spice, then flour is
added and the whole made into a pudding.
CROAK. — To give out the worst view of things ; one who does
this is called " a croaker."
CROCK. — An earthenware pot as distinguished from an iron
one.
CROOK, or CRUCK.— To bend.
" Crook yer back zo's I med get on top and be carr'd awver the brack."
CROWNER.— Coroner.
CRUMBLES.— Crumbs.
CRUMMY. — Short and fat, or squatty; also a term applied to
one who has money saved up.
CRUNCH.— To break between the teeth, also to press to
pieces with a breaking noise, thus one would say of a snail
" Crunch 'un wi" thee boot."
CRUSTY.— Surly, snappish.
CUBBY HAWLE.--A cave or recess of any kind wherein
children may creep to hide when at play.
CUCKOO VLOWER.— The wild Lychnis floscnli, so called
because it blooms at the time the cuckoo comes.
CUCKOO'S MAAYTE,— Cuckoo's mate. The male cuckoo,
08
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
CUDDLE. — To hold with one's arms closely around.
CULLS. — Sheep picked out from a flock on account of not
agreeing with the others in appearance.
CUPBOARD LOVE.— Such love as children have for those
who give them sweetmeats, cakes, etc.
CUP-CUP-CUP.— The call to a horse when in a meadow.
CUPS. — The bottom part or holder of the acorn.
CURVEW BELL.— This is not quite obsolete. At Blewbury
it has been the custom for this to be rung regularly between
Michaelmas and Lady Day, and many a time those who
have been lost on the adjacent downs have hailed the sound
of this bell.
CUSSEDNESS. — Obstinacy, wickedness.
CUSTOMER. — Always applied to a person in a disparaging or
invidious sense, as "a shaaydy customer,'" "a sly customer" &c.
CUT.— A blow.
" I took 'un a good cut \vi' a stick."
It has several combinations, as "cut awaay," "run away;" " cut
up," " much distressed."
CUTE. — With capacity for learning ; having ability.
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
D
DAAK. — Filthy, covered with dirt ; slimy.
DAAYME. — Dame. An old-fashioned farmer thus usually
styles his wife when calling to her, or speaking to her ; he
rarely uses her Christian name. Also in a more humble
position an elderly woman has her surname preceded by
this title.
DAAYZIES, or DE-UZIES.— Daisies.
DAB. — A small insignificant wash, not including the house
linen set aside for the " buck-wash." A blow.
" I catched 'un a dab in the vaayce."
A detached piece of anything.
" Our good Quane Bess, she maayde a pudden,
An' stuffed 'un vull o' plumes,
An' in she put gurt ' dabs ' o' vat
As big as my two thumbs."
DABB'D.— Blotted over with stains.
DABBY. — Flabby ; also anything containing small portions of
a foreign substance is said to be " dabby '' with the strange
matter.
" This yer pudden be dabby wi' zuet."
DAB-CHICK.— -The water hen.
DABSTER. — One who excels greatly.
Thus a man is saict to bs a " dabster " at back-swording or skittles.
DADDACKY.— Decayed or rotten.
" The bern doors be ' daddacky ' an' wunt stan' mendin '."
DADDY-LONG LEGS. — The common local nickname for a
boy with long. legs ; the insect which so easily leaves one
of its long legs behind it being well known by this name.
DADS AWN BWOY.— A son having his father's peculiarities,
" A chip of the old block."
DAFFIDOWNDILLY.— The Daffodil,
DAFT. — Stupid, slow of comprehension,
70 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
DA1N. — Tainted, putrid, bad smelling.
DALL.— The smallest pig in a litter.
"Dall 'urn" is a mild form of imprecation; thus on a lady saying
" How pretty the Poppies look amongst the corn," the reply was
" Purty be 'um dall um."
DALLED. — A swearing expression.
DALLERS.— A fit of melancholy.
DALLY. — A swearing expression.
DAMPER. — A saddening circumstance.
DANCE. — The expression " led I a dance," means, gave me
much trouble. (Almost universal.)
DANDER UP. — Temper raised.
" A got my dander uf>, an' I was 'bliged to gie 'un a cut."
DANDLE. — To move a baby up and down in the arms.
DANG 'UN. — A swearing expression.
DANK.— Unhealthy.
DANNUL.— Daniel.
DASH UT. — An imprecation.
DAWDLE. — A woman who idles over her household work.
DAYL.— Deal ; much.
" Us had a dayl o' trouble last vail."
DE-AD. — There are many expressions to signify quite dead ;
those mostly used of animals are " de-ad as a nit," " de-ad as
a door-naail," &c.
DEAD ALIVE. — Sluggish, sleep> looking.
DEAD AN' GONE. — An expression sadly used of one who
has died.
DEAD AS DITCH WATER.— Is said of beer that is flat to
the taste.
DEAD RIPE. — Used with regard to fruit perfectly ripe.
DE-AN. — The common name for a field with rising ground on
each side of it, but I have not known a case where more
than one field in a parish is so called.
DEDDENST.— Did you not ?
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 11
DEDST, or DIDST.— Did you ?
DEEDILY.— Earnestly, intently.
" A looked at I maain deedily as though a had zummit to zaay."
DEEDY.— Industrious.
"Us was dee Ay at ut all daay."
DELVE.— To dig (but nearly obsolete).
DEMIREP. — A word applied to a woman for whom contempt
is felt.
DERLIN'.— The smallest pig in a litter. The same as " DALL.''
DERN. — An imprecation.
DESPERD.— Very great, desperate.
" A zimmed in a desperd hurry."
DEW-BIT. — A small meal that perhaps could equally well be
done without.
DEWSIERS. — The gristle of valves adjoining a pig's heart.
DIBBLE. — A gardener's implement. To hole for planting
seeds ; also to fish by dropping the bait on the surface of
the water, and then alternately lifting it and letting it fall.
DIBS. — A game played with the small knuckle .bones taken
from legs of mutton ; these bones are themselves called
dibs.
DICKY. — " Upon my dicky" is a phrase sometimes used in
support of an assertion.
DICKY-BIRDS.— Children's phrase for all wild birds.
DIDDLE. — To cheat ; to play a trick ; to out-wit.
DIDDLED.— Out-witted.
DIDN'T OUGHT.— Ought not.
" A didn't ought to tawk like that ther' avoor the childern."
DIFFICULTER.— Comparative of difficult.
" This yer be difficulter to maayke than what that ther' be."
DILL, or DILLY. The call for ducks, either word is repeated
about four times in the call.
" Pray what have you for supper, Mrs. Bond ?
Ge-us in the larder an' ducks in the pond.
Dilly, dilly, dilly, dilly, come an' be killed,
Passengers around us an' thaay must be villed."
72 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
DILLONS. — Earth heaps to mark boundaries on the Downs.
DING. — To impress repeatedly.
" A dinged ut into I zo as I was glad to get awaay."
DING DONG.— Men who in fighting hit hard and do not
trouble to guard are said to go at it " ding dong."
DINGEY (" G " soft).— Coated with dirt.
DINGIN'. — A noise in the ears.
DIP, also DE-UP, or DAPE.— Deep, crafty, cunning.
DISH. — To cheat, to acquire by sharp practice.
" A dished I out o' all the money as I had."
DISH O' TAY. — Very commonly used for "cup of tea."
" I mus' ax my awld dooman to gie I a dish o' tay avoor I do's any
moor work."
DISHWASHER.— The Water Wag-tail so called from being
always busy in the road side puddles.
DISREMIMBER.— To be unable to call to mind.
" I disvcmimber now azackly what a zaid."
DOCIT.— Intelligent.
DOCK. — To cut anything short.
DOCTOR.— To adulterate anything.
DOCTOR'S STUFF.— Medicine.
DOER. — "A good do-er" is an animal that thrives well and
keeps in good condition even when not well fed. "A bad
do-er " is the reverse.
v DOG-IRONS. — Upright irons on each side of an open fire-
place, with a bar laid across them, whereon may rest
chumps of wood in such way that the air gets freely under-
neath to feed the fire.
DOG ROSES.— Wild roses.
DOGS. — Irons for lightly fastening split parts of timber
together to prevent these flying apart when wedges are
driven farther along the slit. Dogs also serve to increase
the splitting power of the wedges.
DOG-TIRED.— Thoroughly tired out.
DOINS. — Proceedings of an exciting character; sometimes of a
not quite creditable character,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. B
DOLE, — To entice ; " Tole " is also used in the same sense.
DOLLOP. — A large lump of anything. Vide WALLOP.
DOLLY. — A binding of rag around a hurt finger.
DONE. — Out-witted ; " done up " means tired out.
DO OMAN. — " Ooman " (woman) is thus pronounced only when
preceded by " awld."
DOUBLE TONGUED.— Showing duplicity in speech.
DOUBT.— To foretell ; to expect.
" I doubt the craps 'ooll be but thin athout us gets zome wet zoon."
DO UP.— To tie or fasten up.
DOUSH. — To throw water over.
" A doushed water awver her to bring her to."
DOUT. — To extinguish a candle or a fire.
DOWDY. — A shabbily-dressed woman, or one wearing a dress
out of fashion.
DOWN.— Dejected.
" A looked down in the mouth " is a common expression.
DOWN-ARG. — To contradict in such a down-right way, and
so lay down the law, that the person opposing can say
nothing farther.
DOWN-STRIT. — The opposite direction in the main road
through a village from UP-STRIT.
DOWN-VALL.— A fall of rain, hail, or snow.
DOWSE. — To immerse in water ; also a blow.
" I gid un a dowse on the vaayce."
DOWSIN'. — A ducking or immersion in water.
DRABBUT. — A swearing expression.
DRAG. — A large kind of harrow.
DRAGGLED. — With the lower part of the dress wet and
muddy.
DRAGGLE TAAIL. — An untidy dirty woman.
DRAP INTO.— -To beat, to assault.
" If 'e zes any moor I'll drup into 'e vvi' this yer stick,"
VI BERKSHIRE WORDS.
DRAP O' DRINK.— To have had a dvap o' drink means to be
partly intoxicated.
" I zartney had had a dvap o' drink when I done that ther."
DRAT. — A common imprecation.
DRATTLE. — A swearing expression ; also to throttle.
" Drattle his neck; a pretty nigh drattkd I."
DRAY, or DRAA, or DRAW.— A squirrel's nest.
" To dray " a cover is to turn in the hounds and work them through
to try to find a fox.
DRECKLY MINUT.— Immediately ; on the instant.
" Gie I that ther knife drechly minut, else I'll muchabout drap into 'e."
DREE.— Three.
DRESH.— To thrash.
DRESS. — A butcher " dresses " the. carcase of an animal when
he removes skin and offal and prepares it for sale. Land is
"top-dressed" with manure, when this is allowed to lie on the
surface.
DREW. — Sleepy, inactive.
DRIPPIN'. — Beef drippin' is much used on bread instead of
butter.
DRIPPIN' WET. —The usual expression when one is
thoroughly wet from rain is, "I be got dvippirf wet."
DRIZLY. — Raining in very small drops.
DRO-AT.— The throat.
DROOTY.— Looking downcast.
DROUGH, or DROO'.— Through,
DROW. — To throw, making preterite DROWED.
DROWN DED RAT.— One soaked with rain is said to look
like a dvownded-vat.
DROWTHY.— Thirsty.
DRUV.— Driven.
DRY, or A-DRY.— Thirsty.
" I be ii'dry, gie us a drink o' water."
DRY-CRUST.— A crust of bread without any butter.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 75
DUBBY.— Thick, blunt at the end.
An unusually chubby-faced boy is generally nick-named " Dulby " by
other boys.
DUBERSOME.— Doubtful.
DUCK. — To lower the head to avoid a blow ; to immerse
another in water.
DUCKIN'.— A wetting, whether from rain or immersion.
DUCKS AND DRAKES.— The jumping out of water of a flat
stone when thrown nearly horizontally.
DUDDERED.— Stupefied.
DUMVOUNDERED.— Surprised or perplexed, so as to be
unable to speak.
DUMBLEDORE.— The humble bee.
DUMMLE. — In animals, sluggish; in corn or hay, damp; in
persons slow of comprehension, stupid.
DUMMY-NETTLE, or DUNNY-NETTLE.- A nettle which
does not sting.
DUMPS.— Low spirits.
DUMPY. — A short person is called a dumpy ; also anything with
a blunted point is said to be dumpy.
DUNCH.— Deaf.
DUNCH PASSAGE.— A cul de sac ; the term "blind passage"
is sometimes used in this sense.
DUNNY. — Deaf, not sharp. See DUMMY-NETTLE or DUNNY-
NETTLE.
DUN'T.— Did it.
" It wan't I as dun't 1 tell 'e " (It was not I who did it I tell you).
DUST.— Fuss.
" Dwo-ant 'e maayke zuch a dust about ut."
Ready money.
" Down wi' yer dust if 'e wants to buy 'un."
To " dust your jacket" is to whip you.
DUSTIN'.—A whipping*
76
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
DUST MAN. — Sleep. When a child, near bed time, looks
very sleepy it is told the " dust man " is coming.
DUTCH. — Any speech not comprehended is said to be "Dutch"
DWO-ANT, or DWUNT.— Don't.
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
77
'E.— Thou, thee, you.
" If V wunt go I'll gie V zixpence " (if you won't go I will give you
sixpence).
EARTH-STOPPIN', or YARTH STOPPIN'.— Stopping up
foxes holes before the hounds come to hunt, so that
foxes may not run to ground.
E-AST DUMPLINS.— Plain dumplings of boiled dough, cut
open and eaten with sugar and butter.
EDDERD.— Edward.
EDGE- WISE. — The expression, " I coodn't get a word in
edge-wise" is used when others have monopolized the
conversation.
EEN-A'MWOAST.— Almost, nearly.
" I een-cfmwoast ketched a young rabbut, but a slipped into a hawle."
EESE, or E-US and 1SS.— Yes.
EFFUT.— An eft or newt.
EGG-HOT. — A hot drink taken before going to bed to cure a
cold, it is made of beer, eggs, sugar and nutmeg.
EGG ON. — To incite ; to urge on.
" A eggd 'un on to vight a good bit avoor a "ood."
EKKERN, or AAYKERN.— An acorn.
ELBAW GRACE. — Energetic work with hands and arms.
" Thee must put in a bit moor eJbaw grace when 'e rubs down yer
hosses."
ELBAWS. — The expression " out at elbaws " is used with
respect to one who has become poorly off.
ELDERN. — Made of elder wood ; such things are very
common amongst boys on account of the convenient hollow
left by the removal of the pith.
ELLOOK.— Look here !
78 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ELL-RAAYKE. — The large sized rake used for raking hay left
behind where "cocks" have been "pitched" into the
waggon.
ELLUM.— The elm tree.
ELLUMS. — Straw made ready for thatching.
ELN OR,— Eleanor.
EMMUT.— The ant.
EMMUT'S-HILL, or EMMUT-HUMP,— The ant's nest.
EMPT, or ENT.-~ To empty.
ENTIN.— Emptying.
" Two on 'e be to go entin dung-cart."
ERRIWIG.— An ear-wig.
ERZELL.— Herself.
11 She med do't erzell, vor I wunt."
ET, also YET.— Eat.
" A.' wunt et nothin'." (He won't eat anything,)
ETHER. — The brushwood interwoven in forming a hedge.
The couplet is commonly quoted,
" Eldern staayke an' blackthorn ether,
Maaykes a hedge vor years together."
ETTIN, or YETTIN. — Eating. We have also in the preterit
" etted," or "yetted."
EVER. — Commonly used in the sense of " at all," thus, " Hev
'e zin ever a rabbut to-daay ?" (have you seen a rabbit at all
to-day.)
Also " as ever I can " is used for ' as I possibly can.'
" I 'ooll come as zoon as ever I can"
EVERLASTIN'LY.— Continually.
" She was everlastingly a-yangin' at un an' zo at last a run awaay vrom
whoam."
EYE, or NI. — A brood of pheasants.
EZACKLY, also EZACKERLY.— Exactly.
F
The letter " F," when initial to a word or syllable,
is always pronounced as " V." No Berkshire words are
therefore given under the letter " F."
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 79
GAA. — Used to children to indicate that a thing is nasty or
not to be touched ; (common.)
GAAM. — To besmear.
GAAMY, or GAAMED. — Besmeared with wet or sticky
matter.
" He'd a-bin at the cupboard, vor his vaayce uas all gaamy wi' jam."
GAARGE, or GERGE.— George.
GAAY. — In good health ; brisk.
" I be a-veelin' quite gaay this marnin', thenk 'e."
GAAYBY. — A stupid-looking person, usually applied to one in
the habit of keeping the mouth open.
GAAYPES. — The most fatal disease in chicken.
GAB.— Talk.
The phrase, "Stop thee gab" is used for "hold your tongue,"
" shut up."
GABBARD. — Large and old, as applied to buildings ; also,
out of repair.
GABBERN.— Comfortless.
GABBLE. — To speak so hastily and indistinctly so as not to
be understood.
A nurse would say to a child, " Dwoant 'e gabble yer praayers zo,
else um wunt do 'e no good."
GADABOUT. — One who goes from one to another gossiping,
the opposite of a " staay-at-whoam."
GALL. — To make sore by rubbing.
" I mus' get a new zaddle, that there un allus galls muh."
A " gall " is a sore caused by rubbing.
GALLINI.— The Guinea fowl.
80 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
GALS. — The servants in a farm house are often called " the
gals,n or MAAIDS ; formerly also they were called the
WENCHES.
" Call the gals into praayers."
GALLUS,— Very.
" Agattus bad chap."
Also large.
" A gattus lot on 'um " (a large number of them.)
GARN. — To garner.
GAWKY. — A tall ungainly person.
GAWLDEN CHAAIN.— The flower of the Laburnum tree
is so called.
GE-AMS, or GAAYMES.— Games, tricks; an attempt to play
a practical joke would be met by the phrase " None o' yer
ge-ams now."
GE-AMSTER, or GAAYMESTER.— One who is skilled at
single stick. The " Scouring of the White Horse " describes
what an " awld geamster " should look like.
GENTLEMAN. — Used to express one's condition when doing
no work.
" I hurt my leg an' be agvvaain to be a gentleman vor a wake."
GET AWVER.— To recover from, to surmount.
" A be maain bad an' I doubt vvher a'll get auver 't or no."
GE-UP, or GAAYPE.— To gape ; to pry into. " What be at
ge-npin' at what I be doin' on ? (what do you mean by prying
into what I am doing?'')
GE-UT, or GAAYTE.— A gate.
GE-UT PO-AST. — The phrase, " Betwixt thee an' I an' the
ge-ut poast" is a very common one as prefacing a confidential
communication or a bit of scandal.
GHERN.— A garden.
GID. — Gave. Vide GIN.
GIDDY. — A disease of the brain in sheep. A sheep thus
attacked is at once killed for food, as the mutton is not
considered to be affected.
GIE. — Give. " Gie I a massel " (give me a little piece).
WORDS. 81
GIE OUT. — Stop! A boy cries, "gie out" to another who
persists in striking him. A barrel of beer which stops
running, or becomes empty, is said to "gie out."
To " gie it " is to scold or whip.
To "gie the zack " is to dismiss a servant.
GIGGLIN'. — Laughing in a silly way without adequate cause.
A crusty old man will remark, " What can 'e expect vrom
thaay, a passel o' gigglin' gals."
GIN, or GID (With " G " pronounced hard).— Gave.
" I gid 'un a knife vor the spaayde as e' gin I." (I gave him a knife in
exchange for a spade.)
GINGERLY. — Cautiously, very carefully ; (common.)
GIPSY'S COO-UMS.— The spiked production on the top of a
long stalk of a species of dock.
GLADE, or GLAAYDE.— To look slily at.
GLO WERY. — Looking out of temper ; glum.
" 'A looks maain glowery about ut."
GLUTCH. — To swallow with palpable throat effort.
GNARLEY.— With knots and twists.
" Them planks be too gnarley for the plaayne to work."
GNAWTIN. — A griping pain in the stomach.
GO. — Predicament.
There is the phrase " to go agen," meaning to oppose; one would
also say " His leg goes agin un when a walks up hill " (he finds his leg
pain or trouble him when going up hill.)
To "go from one's word " is " to break faith."
GO AT. — To work at, to be employed on.
A labourer enquires in the morning, " What be I to go at to-daay ? "
GOBBLE. — To eat greedily and without biting, as a duck does.
GOBBLER.— A cock turkey.
GO BY. — To give one the "go by" is to go a-head of him.
GOD A'MIGHTY'S COCKS ANT> HENS.— Robins and Wrens.
It is considered wicked to hurt either of these little birds.
" Cock Robins and Jenny Wrens
Be God Amighty's Cocks an' Hens>"
GOINS ON. — Proceedings of a merry or sometimes of a
scandalous character.
" I wunt hev such goins on in my house."
G
GO KERT.— A child's cart.
GONY. — A very stupid person.
GOOD. — This word has various significations.
" Gie us a. good helpin' o' pudden," i.e., a large helping.
" Vor good " means "finally," not to return, and in this sense the
phrase is often extended to " vor good an' all."
GOOD DOER. — An animal that shows well by its condition
the benefit of the food given. The reverse of a BAD DOER.
GOODISH. -Rather large.
GOOD 'UN. — An improbable story. When such is told the
observation, " that be a good 'un " is common.
" To run a good 'un is to run very quickly."
GOOD VEW.— A considerable number.
GO ON AT. — To administer a prolonged and irritating
scolding. One who has been scolded greatly for having
done work improperly may retort,
" If 'e goes on at I any moor 'e med do the job yerzelf, vor I wunt."
GOOSEBERRY.— The devil is called " Awld Gooseberry:'
There is also the phrase " Plaayin' up awld Gooseberry " to
indicate wild pranks. Common.
GOOSEGOGS.— Gooseberries.
GORE. — Level low-lying land. Most parishes have a field
called the " Gore," this being, perhaps, even more common
than such well-known names as the Dean, the Litten, the
Piddle, or the Slad.
GOWGE. — Gauge, measure.
" I took gowge on 'in when I vust zin 'in an1 knawed as a was a bad
lot."
GOWND.— A gown or frock.
GO ZO VUR.— Go so far ; last so long.
" That chaze wunt go 20 vuy if 'e lets the childern two-ast ut,"
GRAAINS. — The forks of a prong, thus: a dung prong is a
tbree-graained prong.
Malt after all the goodness is extracted in brewing,
GRAB.— To seize quickly.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 83
GRABBLE. — Is perhaps best explained by a phrase " I
drowed the apples among the bwoys an' let um' grabble vor
um ;" thus grabble partakes of the two words "grab " and
" scramble."
GRACE. — " Grease," and also " grass " are so pronounced.
GRAMMER. — Grandmother, always preceded by " awld."
GRAMNAERED.— Begrimed with dirt.
GRAMVER, or GRENVER.— Grandfather, always preceded
by " awld."
GRAW.— To produce.
" That ther land wunt graw be-ans."
To cultivate successfully.
" 'Tyent no good tryin' to graw turmuts yer."
GRAWIN' WEATHER.— Alternate showers and sunshine.
" Vine gyawin' -weather zur."
GRE-A-ZY, or GRACEY. — Slippery. The roads are said to be
gve-a-zy when there is a slight surface thaw after a hard
frost.
GRE-UN HORN, or GRANE HORN.— A youth who is very
easily imposed on.
GRIB. — An unexpected bite, as when a horse slinks his ears
and gives one a pinch.
GRIDDLE. — To broil a piece of meat on a grid-iron.
GRINE.— Groin.
GRINSTWUN.-Grindstone.
GRINTED. — Dirt pressed into anything is said to be ^grinted*
in.
GRIP. — To bind sheaves of corn, also a handful of corn in
stalk held to assist in the action of reaping.
GRIPE. — A small open ditch.
GRIPES. — Pains in the stomach.
GRISKIN.-— The lean part of the loin of a pi«r»
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
GRIST. — Corn brought to the mill for grinding.
Sometimes capital or means ; if a man is not able, from want
of these, to work a farm properly, the expression is common,
" A wants a bit moor gyist to the mill."
GRISTY.— Gritty.
GRIT. — Good courage ; reliable.
" A be a man o' the truegyit," i.e., sound and reliable in every way.
GRIZZLE.— To grumble.
GROUND ASH.— A straight ash stick, usually about the size
of one's finger, cut from underwood ; it is very tough and
pliant, and much selected for purposes of castigation.
GROUTS. — Sediment left at bottom of a cask of beer or some
other liquors.
GRUB.— A dirty little child is called " a young grub."
GRUBBY. — Dirty, as regards the person.
GRUMPY. — Surly, complaining, fault-finding.
GRUNSEL.— The raised door sill.
" This little peg went to market,
An' this little peg staayed at whoam ;
This little peg had zome ro-ast me-atr
An' this little peg had none.
This little peg went ' week, week, week, week,
I can't get awver the gntnsel.' "
A line of the above is quoted on pinching each of the toes on
a child's foot, beginning with the " big toe."
GUGGLIN'. — The gargling noise which liquor may make in
the throat.
GULED. — Amazed, bewildered.
" The noise thaay childern raaade quite guled muh."
GULP. — To drink rapidly or greedily.
" A gulped ut all down wi'out vetchin' bre-ath.
GUMPTION. — Energy, activity, and resource in one's work.
Common sense.
GURT, or GRET, or GIRT.— Great.
GURT-KWUT.— A great coat.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 85
GURTS.— Saddle girths.
GUTTER. — When melted grease forms in the top of a candle,
and at length overflows down one side, the candle is said
to " gutter:'
GUZZLE. — The hole for slops outside cottages.
To drink.
GUZZLER. — One who is constantly drinking alcoholic liquors,
86
WORDS.
H
HA, or HEV, or HEY.— Have.
" I wunt ha [or hev, or hey] nothin' to do wi't."
HAAIN. — To abstain from, or hold off from.
" Us 'ool haain aff vrom taaykin' any notice on't vor a daay or two,
praps a wunt do't no moor."
HAAK.— A hawk.
HAAM, or HAULM. — Stubble or straw of vetches, peas, or
beans.
The " Ha am " rick in the Vale of Berks, is of bean or wheat straw,
and there they do not usually speak of a " vetch haam rick " as in the
hill part of the county.
HAAYNIN. — The removal of cattle from pasture land to allow
the crop of Hay to commence growing.
In the case of " Hobbs versus The Corporation of Newbury," as
reported in the "Newbury Weekly News" of February i6th, 1888,
Mr. Walter Money, F.S.A., explained that the word " Hayned" is an
old English term signifying to lay in ground for hay by taking the
cattle off, &c., and is repeatedly made use of in that sense in the
records of the Court Baron. With reference to the above-named case,
there was also read a presentment of the jury to the Court Leet of
1830 as follows :— " We present that- no owner or occupier of land in
Northcroft has a right to hitch, enclose, or feed any of the lands there
from the usual time of hayning to the customary time of breaking.
And if any cattle be found in Northcroft contrary to the usual custom,
we order the hay warden to impound them."
HAAYSTY PUDDEN.— A pudding of boiled dough ; sugar
and butter, or else treacle, being usually added when eating.
HACK. — To fag or reap vetches, peas, or beans.
HACKER. — To be unable to speak properly from confusion
or fear. One is said to " hacker and stammer " when
answering disjointedly on account of having no excuse or
explanation forthcoming.
HACKIN'. — Hardsounding. "A hackin' cough" is a frequent
cough often accompanying consumption,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 87
HACKLE. — To conspire ; a conspiracy. Labourers are said to
be "all of a hickle " when making agreement together to
get higher wages or shorter time for work.
The straw covering over a bee-hive.
HAFE-A-TWO. — Cracked or cut so as to be in danger of
breaking.
" The led o1 the box be hafe-atwo an' wunt stan' no mendin'.
HAFT.— The handle of an axe.
HAGGAS.— The fruit of the Hawthorn.
HAGGED. — Worn out ; looking thin faced (a corruption of
" Haggard").
HAGGLE. — To chaffer in dealing. Sometimes also it is used
in the sense of * to hesitate in reply.'
" A haggled a good bit avoor a'd tell I wher a'd a-bin " (he hesitated
a good deal before he'd tell me where he had been) .
HAINT, or HEV'NT.— Have not. " We haint got narn " (we
have not got one).
HAMES, or HAAYMES. — The wooden portions of cart-horses'
collars to which are joined the traces.
HAMMER. — The expression " dead as a hammer " is very
common.
"I chucked my stick at that ther rat an' killed un as 'dead as a
hammer.' "
HAMPERED. — A lock is said to be hampered when out of
repair so that the key cannot work it.
HANDLE.— To use dexterously.
" I can't handle a gun no zense " means " I cannot shoot well."
HANDLIN'. — In love making, where the swain may not have
flow of language, he may sometimes attempt to put his
arm round the girls waist; this is called '* handlin* on her "
and would probably be met by the command to " Adorie
now," or a more decided " Gie out!"
HANDY. — Conveniently near. " A little me-ad lez handy to
the house " (a little meadow is conveniently near the house).
Also intelligent in work.
" He be a handy zart o' chap."
HANGER-ON. — A person who waits about others better off
than himself for such benefits as he may get. Common.
00 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
HAN GIN'. — The rounded slope or over -hanging part of a hill.
" E'll vind moor partridges on the hangin* yander 'n anywher."
HANGLE. — An iron hook over the fire to suspend pots from.
HANGY. — Sticky, as regards soil. See CLUNG.
HANG UP HIS HAT.— The usual meaning of this is that one
is an accepted suitor, but it also sometimes is used to
denote that one is very intimate and is granted freedom of
the house.
HANKERCHER.— A pocket-handkerchief.
HANKERIN'.— Longing.
HAPS.— A hasp.
To hasp or fasten by hitching a thing around or over another.
The withy tie used to secure hurdles to " vawle staaykes "
or to each other.
HARD O'YERRIN.— Deaf (hard of hearing).
HARL. — To entangle, an entanglement.
" If 'e dwoant mind thee 'ooll get that string in a hart."
HARNESS TACK. — A swinging cross tree placed in a stable
for harness to be hung upon.
HARPIN.- — Continually speaking about some distasteful matter.
HARVESTERS. — Harvest bugs, prevalent just before harvest
time.
HARVEST WHOAM.— The festival which winds up harvest
work. (An account of this is given in the Prefatory
Notes).
HAT. — A small ring of trees, but usually called a VOLLY when
in a conspicuous position, as on a hill.
HA'T, also HEV UT.— Have it, allow it, believe it. " I tawld
'un I zin 't myzelf, but a ood'nt ha't (I told him I saw it
myself, but he wouldn't believe it).
HATCH.— An opening which may be closed by a wooden slide
or door, used for passing articles through by hand.
HATCH GATE.— A gate at the junction of Parishes or
Manors. The hatch-gate of Hampstead Norreys is where the
Manors of Hampstead Norreys, Eling, and Bothampstead
meet.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 89
HAW. — A dwelling enclosed by woods.
HAWLD HARD. — Stop ! There is a game commonly played
about Christmas time where a number hold a piece of a
handkerchief. One then moves his hand round the
handkerchief, saying, " Here we go round by the rule of
Contrairy. When I say " hawld hard," " let go," and when
I say "let go," " hawld hard'," forfeits are paid by those not
complying with the above order, which is said suddenly
and in a loud tone so as to confuse the players.
HAWLE.— A hole.
HAWLT.— Hold. " I can't get hawlt on 'in " (I can't get hold
of him).
HAWS.— The same as HAGGAS.
HAZZICK. — A wood usually of Scotch firs with much coarse
rank grass. There is a " hazzick " on the Little Hungerford
estate, Hampstead Norreys.
HEAD.— The face.
HEAL.— To cover.
HEART ZICK.— -Sadly out of spirits through trouble.
HECCATS. — A short dry wearing cough.
HECCATTY.— One having the « heccats."
HEDGE-POKER.— A hedge sparrow. The name " hedge-poker "
may have been given because the bird pokes about a hedge
and will fly no distance away.
HEDGIN'. — A common sport, where boys go on either side of a
hedge when the leaves have fallen, with long light poles.
On seeing any bird fly into the hedge a-head, one gives the
word, and both beat the hedge from opposite sides; the
bird gets too confused to fly out and is generally killed by
branches knocked against it ; ten or twelve birds are often
killed in an afternoon's " hedging
HEFT.— To try the weight of a thing by lifting it. A woman
selling a turkey will say " heft 'un," i.e., " Lift it to see how
much it weighs."
HEN-US. — A house fitted round with rows of compartments
for hens to lay eggs in, and with perches for them to roost
upon.
90
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
HEPPERN. — An apron. At old-fashioned village schools the
usual punishment for a child was to be pinned to the
" heppem " of the schoolmistress ; when in this position a
" thimble-pie " would be the punishment for levity or
further misconduct.
HERN.— Hers.
HERRIOTT.— A fine, payable by a tenant of a leasehold
property on succession at death of previous holder. As an
example, in an indenture, dated 23rd December, 1743,
between Mr. Joseph Lowsley and Mr. Thomas Horde lands
were leased for 99 years or three lives on payment of
" One fatt capon at Christmas and Herriott upon decease of each
life."
HEV AT. — To encounter, to undertake earnestly.
" I me-ans to Jiev at killin' down thaay rabbuts avoor long 'um be
a-yettin all the young kern."
HEY.— Have. See also HA, or HEV.
HIDE.— To whip, to beat.
HIDIN'.— A flogging ; a beating.
HIGGLE. — To demur, to repeatedly raise objections.
To chaffer.
HIGH JINKS. — Vagaries, merry doings.
HIGHTY-TIGHTY.— Conceitedly proud, stuck up'; also easily
taking offence, huffy.
HIKE. — " Move off ! " Always used peremptorily.
" What be you bwoys at ther, hike aff that ther ladder an' be aff."
HINDER.— To prevent.
" I me-ans to do't, an' who be a-gwaain to hinder muh."
HIPS. — The seed pods of the dog rose. Children thread these
together to form necklaces and bracelets.
HIST-UP. — ("/" pronounced as in " higL.") A command
given to a horse to lift up a foot for inspection ; also
shouted to a horse when it stumbles.
HIS-ZELF.— Himself. " A wunt go by his-zelf" (he won't go
alone).
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 91
H1S-ZEN.— His.
HITCH.— To fasten loosely.
" Hitch yer herse to the gaayte po-ast an' come an" help I get this
nitch o' straa upon my back."
HIT.— Cast, throw.
14 Hit it away, tent vit to yet " (throw it away, 'tis not fit to eat).
HIT IT. — To be in accord.
" Them two dwoant zim to //// it now as um did avoor Kersmas '
(those two do not seem on such good terms now as they were before
Christmas).
HO. — To long for, to care greatly for.
HOBBLE DE HOYE.—
" A chap be called a " hobble de hoye,"
As be shart of a man but moor'n a bwoy."
HOBBLES. — Shackles; to prevent a horse or donkey straying
far when turned into a lane or roadside to feed ; by these a
fore leg is often fastened to a hind leg.
HOCKERD. — Awkward, clumsy, obstinate, contrary.
" A was maain hockered an I cood'nt persuaayde un to do 't " (he was
very obstinate and I could'nt persuade him to do it).
HOCKLY. — Awkwardly helpless, having no notion how to do
a thing properly.
HOCKSEY.— Deep with mud.
HOCKSIN'. — Walking clumsily, or making a noise impertinently
in walking.
" When I scawlded un a went hoksiri awaay wi'out a-stoppin' to year
what I was a-zaayin'."
HODMEDOD. — A scarecrow; usually a figure with a hat on,
holding a stick to represent a gun.
HO-GO. — A game played by children, each having a number
of marbles. The first holds up a number in closed hand
and says, " Ho-go ;" the second says "Hand full;" the
first then says " How many ?" The other guesses. If he
should guess correctly he is entitled to take them all ; but
otherwise he must give the difference between the number
he guessed and the number actually held up to " make
it so."
92 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
HOG-TUB. — A tank at a part of the farm-yard nearest the
kitchen, into which all kinds of edible refuse are thrown.
The " hog-tub " has stock of barley meal, and at feeding
time the pigs assemble eagerly at the call of " shug,"
" shug," " shug," and the mixture is then bailed out by
means of a sort of bucket, with a very long wooden handle.
HOG-WASH.— The liquor of the HOG-TUB.
HOLLER. — To call out loudly. In the rhyme sung by boys
going their rounds on Guy Fawkes' Day we have —
" Holler bwoys, holler bwoys, maayke yer bells ring,
Holler bwoys, holler bwoys, God zaayve the Quane."
One would say also, " Holler to 'n to come along quicker."
HONESTY.— The wild clematis is always so called.
HOOD. — The bonnet worn by women at field labour. It is a
poke bonnet which shades the face from the sun, and
which has an enormous flap covering the neck, shoulders,
and upper part of the back.
HOOSET. — A horse's head curiously dressed up, and carried
about by men and boys at a " Hooset Hunt.1"
HOOSET HUNT.— When persons are believed to be guilty of
incontinence, men and boys assemble for a " Hocset Hunt"
they take with them pots or pans or anything wherewith
to make discordant noise, and this they call " Rough
Music," they also carry the "Hooset" on a pole. On
arrival at a house to be visited, the " Rough Music " is
vigorously played, and the " Hooset" shaken in front of all
the windows, and even poked into them if any be open.
HOOST.— Lift up. " Hoost up thee end o' plank a bit (lift up
your end of the plank a little).
HOOT.—4' Hold to it."
An expression used to horses.
HOOTCHER.— A stick with a bend or turn at the top, used to
pull down branches when gathering fruit.
HOPPERS.— Mites in bacon.
HOPPETTY.— A little lame.
" I hev a-bin a bit hoppetty zence the hammer veil on my voot."
HOP, SKIP AN' JUMP PUDDEN'.— A plum pudding where
plums have been inserted very sparingly.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 93
HOSS-PLAAY. — Rough, noisy play, approaching practical
joking.
HOSS-POND. — A pond appertaining to the farm yard ; from its
situation the water is often too impure for animals to drink.
HOUSEN.— Houses.
HOWSOMEVER.— However.
" A \vunt never do 't ho-wsomever a med try."
HUCK. — To poke, as by inserting a stick under anything and
on pushing it to give a lifting motion.
HUCK-MUCK. — Confusion caused by all things being out of
place. On visiting a small house on cleaning day the
apology comes " 'E vinds us -in a gurt buck-much to-daay,
zur."
HUD. — To take off the outer covering.
" Get them warnuts hudded agin I comes back."
The outer covering of nuts, walnuts, &c., is called the " hud."
HUFFY.— Easily taking offence.
" A, be a huffy zart o' chap."
HUGGER, also HUGGER-MUGGER.— To hoard.
" A ke-ups his money pretty much hugger-muggered up an' dwoant
spend none hardly."
HULLS.— Husks.
HULLA-BALLOO. — A loud confused noise raised by a number.
HUNCH.— To attack with the horns.
" The cow tried to hunch muh."
HUNK, sometimes HUNCH.— A thick piece of bread,
bacon, &c.
HUR, or HAAIR.— Hair.
HURDLE-HERSE. — A hurdle horse; the frame fixed on the
ground having holes for the uprights of hurdles ; the
brushwood used in making " vlaayke hurdles" is woven
horizontally between these uprights.
04 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
I. — Is used for " me."
" Gie / one o' them apples?"
IF ZO BE AS.— If.
" If zo be as you can come an' hev tay wi' we to-morrow, I hopes you
"ooll."
IMP. — " Young imp" is a common name for a mischievous boy,
as also a " young rascal."
IN, or UN. — To be " in" with a person is to be intimate ; well
liked, and-to have influence.
Also " him," " I gin 'in wernin' " (I gave him warning).
IN-AN'-IN. — A term used to express close relationship with
reference to cattle breeding.
IN-BETWANE.— Used for "between."
"I veels a stwun in-betwane my shoe an zock."
INLY.— Inwardly.
INNERDS.— " Chitterlings" as frequently go by the name of
" peg's innerds " (pig's inwards).
INONS.— Onions.
INVITIN'. — The word is used in homely welcome thus : — As
the food is placed on the table the host will say to his
guest, " Now you zees yer dinner avoor 'e, an' I hopes as
'e wunt want no invitin'." This is intended as a wish that
the guest will eat heartily, ask for what he may want, and
" maayke his-zelf at whoam."
IRE.— Iron.
I SPY. — The game hide and seek. In the way of playing this
the seeker has to call "/ spy" to the one he finds before
he may start to run " home."
IT. — Yet. " Be thaay comin' it " ? (are they coming yet ?)
IT AWHILE.— For a short time.
11 Ut hev a-bin a-raainin' zo as a mus1 ha bin hindered a-s'artin'
an' I dwoant expec' un yer it awhile.'9
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 9o
T
JAA.— The jaw.
JAANTIN.' — Going off on pleasure.
JAAYNE.— Jane.
JABBER. — Silly rapid talking.
JACK. — The male, as "
A contrivance for raising an axle-tree of a cart, &c., so that
the wheel on that side is off the ground and can turn freely.
A child whose face is begrimed with dirt is reproached by
being called " Jack nasty vaayce."
The word is much and commonly used in combination.
" Jack in office," " Cheap Jack," " Jack of all trades," &c.
JAMMED. — Squeezed. As by having, one's hand caught
between a door and door post ; also would be said, " Jam
down the zugar zo as to get ut all into the baaysin."
JAN.— John.
JANDERS.— Jaundice.
JAWLTER-YEAD.— A blunderer, one very stupid.
JEMPS.— James.
JENNY SQUIT.— The Jenny Wren.
JERKIN.— A short all-round coat.
JE-UD, or JAAYDE.— Jade.
JIFFY. — A short space of time ; immediately.
" 'T wunt taayke I moor'n v. jiffy to clim to that ther bird's ne-ast."
" I'll be back in a jiffy.'*
JIGGAMY. — Any implement or tool.
" Gie us the jiggamy as stans1 to yer han' ther" (referring to an
implement, the name of which one ' disremimbers ' at the moment).
00 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
JIGGETTY. — A sharp up and down motion. There is the
old children's rhyme —
" To markut, to markut, to buy a vat hog,
Whoam agin, whoam agin, jiggetty jog."
" Jiggettin' " is moving up and down quickly, as in riding a child on
the knee, this is always called "jiggettin' " the child.
JIMCRACKS.— Trifling personal belongings.
JIMMANY. — An exclamation of astonishment. Often, "Oh!
jimmany."
JIMP. — With well formed waist, applied to a woman in a
complimentary way.
JIS, or JUS'.— Just.
" 'Ooll 'ejls stop a minnut while I axes if me-uster be at whoam."
JIST. — (The " i " pronounced as in " rice.") A joist.
JOB. — A. thing difficult of performance.
" Thee 'oolt hev a job to car' that ther' zack o1 taayters to Newbury."
JOCKEY.— To get the better of one.
" A jockeyed I last time I had dalins wi'n, an' zo I wunt hev no moor."
JOG. — To nudge ; to touch one confidentially.
" J°S tne man t'other zide on e', plaze, vor'n to look at I."
JOGGLE.— To shake.
" K joggled the taayble while I was a writin', an' zo ut beant vit vor 'e
to look at."
JOG TROT. — An ordinary trot, rather slow than quick. A
"jog-trot " wray of going on is a way likely to last long and
incur no great trouble.
JUMPER. — A sheep with the vice of springing over the hurdles
of the fold is called a "jumper"
JUMPIN' STALK. — An arrangement of two sticks fixed per-
pendicularly in the ground, with another across the top to
test height to which competitors can jump.
J U N KETTI N S',— Merry-makings.
JUNKS. — Thick pieces. " Chumps " are sometimes so called.
A frugal housewife will say to her good man,
" Dwoant 'e help the me-ut in junks, ut dwoant go hafe as vur/1
feERKSHIRE WORDS. [)7
JUS' NOW. — A little time ago. In Berkshire this is invariably
used of the past, never of the future, though elsewhere I
have often heard the expression refer to the future as thus :
"He will be here just now" meaning "immediately" or
" shortly."
JUST ABOUT. — Expresses something large or important.
" Ther was just about a lot o' rats " (there was a very large number
of rats).
" A had just about a tumble " (he had a very severe tumble).
98 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
K
KAAYLE.— Caleb.
KECK.— To make a choking noise in the throat.
KECKER.— The gullet.
KEER.— Care.
KERD.— A card.
KEKKY.— Irritable.
KERN.— Corn.
KERT.— Cart.
KETCH. — To catch. To KETCH IT is to incur punishment.
" He 'ooll ketch it when the me-uster knaws what a hev a-bin an'
a-done."
KETCHY WEATHER is showery weather.
KE-UP, or KAAYPE.— A cape.
KE-UP, or KAPE, OR KIP.— To keep. Keep, i.e., food in
quantity that will last some time for sheep or cattle.
14 1 be zellin' my ship vor my turmuts be vaailed an' I ent got no
winter ke-uf."
KIBBLE. — Sweepings as from garden paths and court yards.
KICK. — To become irritated.
"If 'e zes anything about his wife lockin' the door an' a-tawkin'
to 'n out o' winder a kicks preciously." This had reference to a man
who was so treated because he came home later at night than his
spouse approved.
KID. — To produce pods. Peas and beans are said to "kid"
well when bearing large numbers of pods.
KILL.— A kiln.
KILL-DEVIL.- — An artificial bait used in spinning for Pike
when natural baits are not forthcoming.
KIND.— Profitable to breed from.
" That ther be a kind lookin' yowe (ewe)."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 09
KINKETTY. — Matters not going on smoothly are referred to
as being "a bit kinketty."
KIT.— The whole lot.
" I hev got a puppy an' dree verrets, an' a mag-pie, an' e med hev
the kit vor a crownd if e 'ooll."
KITKEYS.— The fruit of the ash.
KITTLE. — Not strong, not firm, not safe ; requiring gentle
treatment.
KLICK. — A sharp noise as caused by the shutting of a pocket
knife.
KNACKER. — A wretched looking horse past work.
KNOCK AFF.— To stop operations.
" E can knock aff ploughin' te-ams at dree o'clock."
KNUCKLE DOWN.— To succumb ; to give in.
KOFER. — A chest for keeping old dressss, &c. in, when these
are stowed away for a time.
KURSMAS.— Christmas.
KWUT.— A coat.
100 BERKSHIRE XVORDS.
LAAY. — To wager ; to bet.
"I'll laay 'e a quart ('beer' understood) as my donkey 'coll go
vaster nor thee pawny."
To lie down.
" I be a-gwaain to laay down, vor I be a-veelin' out o' zarts."
LAAY HAWLT.— " Take hold," receive in your hand.
" Laay hawlt o' t'other ind o' the rawpe.''
LAAY BY.— To save.
" Times be zo bad, I can't laay by nothun."
LAAYCE. — To whip. A "laaycin* " is a whipping.
" Thee 'ooll get a laay tin* when me-uster zees what e hev a-bin at."
LAAY DOWN.— To sow with seed that will not require
annual renewal.
" Stock be a-paayin' zo well as I me-ans to laay down zome moor
land in grace next year."
LAAYDY-BIRD. — Coccinella septempunctata. Children never kill
this pretty harmless insect, but holding it on the hand
say —
" Laaydy-bird, laaydy-bird, vly yer waay whoam,
Yer house be a-vire, an' yer childern's at whoam."
The hand is then moved sharply upwards, and the " laaydy-bird "
takes flight.
LAAYED-UP.— Said of a ferret when, having killed a rabbit
and eaten part of it, it lies down and goes to sleep in the
rabbit-hole.
LAAY INTO.— To beat.
'• If thee doosn't do what I tells 'e I'll laay into thee."
LACKADAAYSICAL,— Full of fanciful airs and affectation,
LACKADAAYSY ME.— A mild expression of surprise, used
generally by old women of the poorer class.
LAKE ALL AWVER THE VAAYCE.— With the whole face
'showing merriment,
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 101
LAG. — Last. Boys playing at marbles call out " Lag" when
wishing to play last.
LAMMAS, and LAM MAS-DAAY.— This word was explained
in the following terms, in the case of " Hobbs versus The
Corporation of Newbury," as reported in the " Newbury
Weekly News " of the i6th February, 1888. " The Lam-
mas Day obtained its name from a supposed offering or
tything of Lambs on the ist August, the Festival of St.
Peter in Chains, as a thanksgiving for the first fruits of
the new * Bread Corn.' These fields (i.e., certain fields
referred to in the law suit) are what are known as Lammas
land, i.e., Commons on which the inhabitants of Newbury
have the right of Pasturage, formerly commencing on
Lammas Eve, the day before the festival of Lammas Day,
the ist August, till Lady Day, the 25th March."
LAND. — A portion of land delimited by furrows in ploughing.
Families take lands as portions for reaping.
LANDLORD. — An inn-keeper is so called.
LANE, or LE-AN. To lean ; also the lean of meat.
LARDY CAAYKE.— The plain cake much sweetened and
containing lard.
LARN.— To teach.
" Do 'um lavn 'e zummin (arithmetic) at schoold ?"
LARRA MASSY. — A common interjectory expression.
LARRUP.— To beat.
A larmpin is a beating.
LATTER MATH. — The second crop of grass. Vide ATERMATH.
LAUK. — An expression of wonder.
LAVE, or LE-AV.- Leave.
LAVENDER.— To put away in " lavender " has the extended
meaning of putting anything of value very carefully away.
LAW. — A common expression of surprise.
LAY, or LAA. — Law.
" I wunt go to lay about ut."
1O2 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
LAY-YER, or LAA-YER.— A lawyer. The blackberry bush
is called a " laa-yer^ because when any part of it takes
hold of one there is no getting free from the bush without
being seized by other parts. There is a paradoxical
quotation very common when blackberries are coming in
season, " Blackberries be allus red when um be gre-an"
LE-AST-WAAYS, or LASTE-WISE.— At all events.
" Me-uster be a-gwaain to begin plantin' ze-ad tayters next wake,
le-ast-ivaays a zed as a 'ood."
LEATHER.— To flog. A katheriii is a flogging.
LEATHERY.— Tough.
" This rae-at be maain leathery.''1
LED. -Betted, wagered.
" I led 'un a penny as a cood'nt dim that ther tree."
A lid.
LEER.— Empty, hungry.
" I wishes 'um "ud gie we zome dinner, I be a-veelin' maain leer."
LEG UT. — To run away very quickly.
" I maayde 'un leg ut pretty sherp, I can tell 'e."
LEG UP. — To give a "leg up" is to give one help from
underneath on ascending a wall or tree, &c.
LEM-VIGS.— Imported figs.
LEN'. — " Lend " is always so pronounced.
LESS, or THESS.— " Let us," "Let me."
" Less zee what 'e got ther."
LET ALAWNE. — Moreover, in addition to.
" He ood'nt len' we no money, let alawne mwoast likely a yent got
none to len'."
LET ALAWNE AS.— Is used for " and taking into con-
sideration also that."
" She hev a-had two new gownds this zummer, let alaivne as she had
dree put by avoor, zo she wunt want no moor vor one while."
LET IN.— '' Begin!" ''goto work!"
" Now if you chaps be ready let in wi'out any moor tawk."
LET VLY. — To shoot. Perhaps a phrase from archery days
when the arrow winged its way on being released from the
bow.
LE-UZ. — To glean. " Le-uzin " is gleaning.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 103
LEY. — Growing grass ; grass lands which are not for annual
breaking up ; this applies to sanfoin, clover, &c., which
come under the general term " grass."
LEZ. — Lies or lays.
" I never lez a-bed o' marnins " (I rise early in the morning),
LICK.— To beat.
" A lickin' " is a beating.
LIDDY.— Lydia.
LIEV. — As soon.
" I'd as liev go as stop at whoam."
LI EVER.— Rather.
" What 'ood 'e liever be, a zavvlger or a zaailer ? "
LIFT.— A free ride.
LIKE. — Placed sometimes in a modifying or apologetic way.
" Plaze, zur, I wants to maayke my house a bit smarter like if e'll
gie I zome white-wash an' brushes to do 't wi'."
LIKE-ER.— More likely.
" He's like-er to come 'an not."
LIKES O'. — Persons or things of that stamp or quality.
" I wunt taayke no trouble vor the likes o' thaay."
LILL. — The act of projecting the tongue as with a dog after
running.
" Look how that ther dog lills, a mus' ha' had a smartish hunt ater
the wounded haayre."
LIMBER.— Active, tough.
" If thee vights 'un thee'll get wusted, vor a be a maain limber zart o'
chap." Sometimes used as meaning " limp " also.
LIMBO.— Jail.
" If thee be-ant moor keervul thee 'ooll vind theezelf in limbo avoor
long."
LIMMERS.— Base; low.
LIMP.— Flaccid.
Wanting in firmness.
" A be a limp zart o' man if 'e sticks out he'll gie in."
LISSOM.— Active ; pliant.
LITTEN. — A small meadow adjoining a parish church yard,
available for churchyard extension.
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
LITTER. — To " litter down " is to lay down straw for horses
to sleep on for the night, this straw bedding being called
•"Utter," and this word is also applied to all sorts of
things lying confusedly about.
LITTOCKS.— Rags and tatters.
" His kwut got tore to littochs in the brambles when the donkey
drowed 'un an' dragged 'un along by the sturrup."
LIVE-UNDER.— To hold a farm from ; to be tenant to.
LOCK. — A small quantity of hay not so dry as the remainder
of the crop.
LODGED.— Corn beaten down by storms is spoken of as
« lodged."
LOGGERYEADS.— To be " at loggevyeads " with another is to
have a feud with him, to have quarrelled.
LOLL. — To lean lazily.
" Lollin' about " is the reverse of sitting or standing upright, and
looking ready for work.
LOLLOP. — To slouch. The meaning is analogous to that of
" LOLL." " Lollopin " is " slouching."
LONG. — Great or large. A " long figure" means a great
price; "long-headed" is applied to one far-seeing or
calculating (common).
LONGVUL.— Wearisome.
" Thee hast a-bin awaay vrom whoam a lengvul while."
LONG-TAAILED-'UN.— A cock pheasant.
LONG-TAWL. — A game at marbles where each takes aim at
the other in turn, a marble being paid in forfeit to which-
ever of the players may make a hit.
LOOBY.— A stupid looking youth.
LOP. — Branches cut from the main stem of a tree by a
bill-hook ; the expression " top, lop, an' vaggot," includes all
of the tree except the timber.
LOPE.— To idle about.
LOPPETTIN'.— Walking with an ungainly movement and
heavy tread.
LOP ZIDED. — Standing out of the perpendicular,
With weight not equally distributed,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 105
LORDS AN' LAAYDIES.— The arum.
LOT. — The feast time at some villages.
Drayton "Lot" is well kept up.
" A vat lot " is an expression of doubt.
"I be a-gwaain to zee Me-uster an' tell 'un I wunt bide wi1 un a
minnut longer." To this would be made the jeering rejoinder, " A vat
lot you 'ooll I'll be bound."
LOTS. — Many, the greater number.
11 Lots on us can't come a Monday 'cause o' the crickut match, but
all on us 'ood come a Tuesday."
LOUCHET.— A large piece.
«' Thee hast gin I moor of a louchet 'n I can yet " (you have given me
a larger piece than I can eat.)
LOUT. — A stupid, ungainly man.
LOVE AN' IDLE.— The Pansy.
LOVE-CHILD.— One born before wedlock.
LOVE VEAST. — A tea meeting held in dissenting chapels,
after which members in turn tell their religious experiences.
LOW.— Out of spirits.
" I was a-veelin" a bit low acause my zon as is abrade ent wrote to I
vor a long time."
LOW BELL. — A bell formerly rung at villages in the Vale of
Berkshire at day break by the herdsman appointed to take
charge of cows to be turned out on the downs for grazing
during the day. At the sound of the " low bell " the cows
were delivered to him. (Low rhymes with « cow.')
LUBBER, or LUBBER-YEAD.— One very stupid indeed.
LUCKY BAG. — A bag always at country fairs. On payment
of a penny one puts in the hand and draws forth a prize of
some kind.
LUG. — A pole or perch. The pole which secures barn doors
by being fixed across ; to carry.
LUMBERIN'. — A dull heavy prolonged sound.
LUMMAKIN' — Proceeding with slow ungainly motion.
LUMP.— To thump with the fist.
A "lump of a chap" is a big fellow, perhaps somewhat
ungainly.
10G
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
LUMPY. — Heavy in appearance; clumsily formed; also
looking sullenly cross is described as " lookin' lumpy
awver 't."
LUSH. — To drink freely of intoxicating liquors.
LYE. — Water which has been filtered through wood-ashes, and
so rendered soft for washing purposes.
LYE-LITCH. — The tub used to contain the ashes and water
when " lye " is made.
LYNCHES. — The green banks or divisions of " lands."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 107
M
MAAIDEN. — This word is used in combination as thus, maaiden
Downs are natural Downs, i.e., never planted nor broken up.
Woods are said to be stocked with maaiden timber when there
has been no previous felling.
MAAIDS. — Servant girls in a farm house. Vide also GALS.
MAAIN. — Very, extremely.
" I be maain tired ater that ther job."
The greater part.
" I thinks we hev a-killed the maain o' the rats up at Breach Verm
an1 ther bent none left to zi'nify."
MAAM. — To besmear ; as a child may besmear face or hands
with jam.
MAAMY. — Soft soil which is not very wet, but where the foot
sinks in, is thus described.
Also * besmeared.'
MAAY.— The flower of the Whitethorn. In the "Maay" the
leaf appears before the flower, whilst the Blackthorn shows
the flower before the leaf.
MAAY HAP.— Possibly, perhaps.
MAAY HORNS. — These are made by boys from the rind of
the Withy, wound round and round ; a smaller piece being
wound also and inserted at the smaller end. They give
forth a most doleful but far reaching sound.
MAAYRY, or ME-A-RY.— Mary.
MAAYKE AWAAY \VI'.— To kill.
" I be a-gwaain to maayhe awaay wi' my dog, vor thaay tells I as a
goes ater the ship o1 nights."
To spend too freely.
MAAYKE HAAY. — Boys use this expression when heaping
together the miscellaneous belongings of another who has
made himself obnoxious and pouring water over the whole.
" To maayke haay while the zun shines" is to set to work vigorously
at a thing when circumstances are favourable.
108 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
MAAYKE NOTHUN'.— To fetch no money.
" Whate wunt maayke nothun' now, an' we only got to lc
stock."
MAAYKE UP. — A youth is said to " maayke up " to a girl when
he first attempts to pay addresses to her. This expression
is the counterpart of a girl " setting her cap."
" I zaay, Daayme, doos'nt think young Jack Robins be a.-maaykin' up
to our Maayry ? "
MAAYKE WAAYTE.— « Make weight." A small quantity
or scrap added by butchers and others to make up or
increase weight.
MAAYRE, or MER. — The expression " the graay maayre be
the best herse " is commonly used either as denoting that
the wife is head and heart of the house or that a man is
'henpecked.'
MAAYRES TAAILS.— Light fleecy clouds.
" Maayres taails an' mackerel sky,
Not long wet nor not long dry."
MAAYZY. — Not clear headed, confused, muddle-headed.
Generally followed by "like."
" When I yeared what 'um had done I was zo took aback as to veel
quite maayzy-like.'"
MACKEREL SKY.— Sky mottled with clouds.
MAD. — Very angry ; greatly annoyed.
MAG. — Troublesome tongue.
" Hawld thee mag " is a retort.
A magpie.
MAGGOT. — " To have a maggot in the yead " is to hold very
strange and unusual notions.
MAGGOTTY.— Fidgetty, having eccentric notions.
Also frolicsome.
MAMMERED. — Amazed, confused, puzzled.
" I was quite mammered zo many on 'um spakin' at once.''
MAMMY ZICK. — In distress on account of being away from
the mother or home.
MANDERIN'. — Muttering threats or grumbling to one's self.
MANNISH. — Used in ridicule of a youth giving himself airs
such as strutting when walking.
MARVELS. — ' Marbles ' are so generally pronounced by boys.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. lOl)
MASH. — A marsh. The Mash is sometimes a fine meadow, as
at Newbury.
MATH-THA.— Martha (equally, commonly, " Patty.")
MATIN'. — Service at a dissenting chapel is so called.
" Be 'e a-gwaain to Matin' at Compton to-night ?"
Members of the congregation are sometimes called Milliners, as
distinguished from Church Vawk or those who attend Church.
MATTER O'. — Quantity or number, but used redundantly.
" I shall hev a matter o' vorty pegs to zell about Kursmas time."
MATY, or ME-A-TY. — Used as expressing that animals are in
good condition for the butcher.
MAUL. — A wooden hammer, as used for driving beer-taps into
barrels.
MAUNDERIN'. — Continuing to talk without showing know-
ledge or sense.
MAUNT.— Must not.
" A zes I maunt go to Vaair athout I works awvertime vor a we-uk
avoorhand."
MAWKIN. — An implement for cleaning out the oven.
MAWKISH.— Flat to the taste.
MAWKY. — A woman who is very dowdy and ungainly in
appearance is said to be " mawky"
MAYSTER, or ME-USTER.— Master ; the farmer is always
called the " Mayster " by his men.
MAYSTERVUL. — Domineering, arrogant, assertive.
" Our Gerge be got that maystervul ther yent no doin' nothun' wi'
'un."
MAZINLY, or MAAYZINLY, or ME-UZ-INLY.— Much,
extremely.
" That ther bwoy o! ourn bs grawin' mas inly now to be zure."
MAZZARD.— A big head.
" Did e1 zee what a raayre m.izzard that ther chap had a-got ?"
ME-AD. — A meadow.
" A be gone down in the me-ad " (always pronounced in two syllables),
ME-AT, or MATE,— Meat.
MED. — May, might.
" I tawld 'un a med do't if a wanted to't."
110
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
MED-BE. — Perhaps, possibly.
" Med be you be a-gwaain to Reddin to-morrer, zur ?"
MEDDLE. — To touch, to take an active interest in.
" If thee meddles wi' what yent belongin' to 'e agin, I'llgie 'e alarrapin."
The expression meddle normaayke is used as thus : " I wunt meddle nor
maayke wi' e but me-ans jus' to mind my awn business."
MELT. — Part of a pig, the spleen. A favourite supper where
a pig has been killed is, " heart and melt" the melt which is
rather fat being crammed with savoury stuffing, and the
heart also stuffed.
MERE. — A bank or boundary of earth.
MERE-STWUN.— A stone dividing two properties.
A Mere path thus divides two properties at Hagbourn.
MERRY GO ROUNDS. —These, composed of revolving
wooden horses, always put in an appearance at fairs and
merry-makings.
MESS. — A child is told " not to mess it's food," i.e., not to
continue to touch it with its fork or spoon without eating.
MESSENGER. — A sunbeam coming through a long crack into
a rather dark barn or loft.
MESSY. — Food which is uninviting in appearance is thus
described : " I can't et (or yet) that ther pudden' a looks
< messy.1 "
Soft or pulpy.
ME-UT, or MAAYTE.— A mate.
MICKLE. — Used in a proverb very common among the thrifty
folk of Berkshire.
11 Many a little maaykes a mickle."
MIDDLIN'. — Not well and strong in health; a degree or two
worse than " tarblish."
" The reply to inquiries after health may commonly be : " I be but
middlin' zur, thank 'e; the rheumatics be bad agin."
When work is said to be done " but middling" it means that
it is rather badly done.
MIFF. — In a temper, in a huff.
" A was in a miff amwoast avoor I begun to tell'n how 'twas."
MILD.— Not strong.
" This yer chaze be vurry mild," i.e., not strong in flavour.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. Ill
MILD. — A mile, miles.
" Ut be better nor zeven mild vrom Hampstead to Newbury."
MILLERD.— A miller.
The common white moth.
MILLERDS THUMB. — The name most commonly given to
the small fish, Bull-Head or Tom Cull, so much hunted for
by boys in streams where drought has stopped the water
running for a time.
MIM. — Silent, not easily induced to talk.
" She zet ther zo mim as I cood'nt get on no how, an' zo I got up
an' come awaay."
MIMMAM.— A bog.
MINCIN'.- -Affected.
" She be too miiicui* a zart of a gal vor my money " (she is too
affected for my taste).
MIND. — Know to one's cost. In the play of the Berkshire
Mummers we have —
" Now, Slasher, Slasher, dwoant thee be too hot,
Vor in this room thee'll mind who thee hast got."
MINDS.— Remember.
" What do a me-an by tawkin' to I like that ther, why I minds when
a was but a bit of a bwoy."
MINT. — Large quantity or number, a great deal.
" That chap run zo hard, a gin I a mint o' trouble avoor I ketched
(un."
MINTY.— Musty, mouldy.
Cheese with mites therein is commonly described as " minty"
MISCHIEF. — To "play the mischief" with anything is to spoil it.
Mischievous or mischlevious is much used, the accent being
on the second syllable. Mischievul is also very commonly
used instead of "mischievous."
MISDOUBT.— To mistrust.
MISSUS. — A working man so calls his wife, In speaking to
others of her he will say " My missus.'" The farmer's wife
is styled " The Missus."
" Be the Missus at whoam if 'e plaze ?'*
MISSUSSY. — Used by girls to each other as indicating " taking
too much on oneself;" analagous to MAYSTERVUL.
112
BERKSHIRE WORKS.
MISWORDS.— Quarrelsome words.
" Us had a misword or two an' ent spoke to one 'nuther zence."
MIXED UP.— Taking part' in.
" I wunt be mixed up wi' zuch doins as them."
MIXEN. — A place where garbage from the kitchen is thrown.
MIZZLE.— "Be off!"
" You bwoys had best mizzle avoor I gets a stick to "e."
To rain steadily in extremely minute drops and without wind.
MOIL.— To labour.
" I hev a-got zome money put by, an' dwoant look to toil an' moil al
rny daays."
MOINE.— A dung-hill.
MOLL-HERN.— The female heron. The male heron is called
the "jack hern," but in districts where herons are not often
seen both male and female are called " moll-herns"
MOLLY-CODDLE. — A man who fusses about the house with
matters more properly dealt with by women.
MONKEYS' LOWANCE.— A whipping.
MOO-COW. — Children call a cow thus, as they call a sheep a
" baa-lamb."
MOOR.— More.
MOOR ZACKS TO MILL.— A favourite game with children
at Christmas time, when wishing for one of a romping
character.
MOP VAAIR. — A fair for hiring servants and farm-labourers.
MORT. — Very great, a large quantity.
" When I met 'un a zimmed in a mort of a hurry."
'• Ther was a mart on 'un ther, I never zin zuch a lot avoor nor
zence."
MORTAL. — Excessively, great.
" I be a-gwaain to get zome doctor's stuff, vor I was a-veelin' ntorta
bad awhile back."
MORTLY.— Extremely.
" I be mortly aveard a wunt heV the money to paay up."
MOSES. — A mouse is often so called.
" Come an' look yer, I got moses by the taail an' a Can't get ifato his
hawle.'*
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 113
MOSSLE. — A morsel ; anything very small. At table would
be said —
" Gi' I a mossle moor vat if you plaze."
The least.
" T'yent a mossle o' good axin' muh, vor I tells 'e I wunt."
MOTHER-LAA.— Mother-in-law. The " in " is similarly
omitted in father-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law,
when these titles are used, but this is rarely the case,
the names being usually substituted, and " My missus'
vath-er " used for " father-in-law."
MOTHER'S ZON.— Everyone without exception.
" A turned every mother's zon on um out o1 the house."
MOTHERY.— Covered with mildew.
MOUCH.— To eat ; to pilfer.
MOUCHER. — A cat that steals provisions is called a moucher,
one good at catching mice is a mouser.
MOUCHIN' ABOUT.— Prying about with intent to pilfer ?
"What was 'e maudlin? about in the hen 'us vor ?"
MOUGHT.— Might.
MOUSER. — A cat good at catching mice.
MOUTH. — " Down in the mouth " signifies looking depressed.
MOW. — Corn or straw stacked in a barn. " The Barley Mow"
is the sign board of an old Inn.
MUCH-ABOUT. — Indicates magnitude almost the same as
"just about."
" Ther was much-about a lot o' rats in the whate rick as us took in
to-daay."
MUCK. — A perspiration.
MUCKER.— A failure.
" A maayde a mucker on't."
To besmear with dirt.
MUCK HE-UP, or MUCK HAPE.— A heap of farm yard
manure.
MUCKY. — With wet sticky dirt under foot.
" The ro-ads be maain mucky jus' now."
MUDDLE-YEADED.— With no power of perception, having
confused ideas, very stupid.
i
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
MUFFLED. — When an old bell-ringer dies it has been the
custom for each of the others to tie a stocking round the
clapper of his bell and so to ring a " muffled " peal.
MUFFLER. — A woollen cravat wound several times round
the neck and worn in cold weather.
MUG. — As a schoolboy's expression to work hard, and one who
does so is somewhat contemptuously termed "a mug" by
others who prefer play to work.
A cup of the same size -round from top to bottom.
MUGGLE. — A muddle, confusion.
"The children had nobody to look ater 'um an' hev maayde zuch a
muggle as you never zee."
MUGGY. — "Muggy weather," is damp, hot, close weather.
"A thing is said to taayste "Muggy," when it has a flavour the
reverse of acid."
MUH. — Me. " I,'* is however much used in the objective case,
and always so when there is stress on the pronoun.
MULL. — To make a failure of any attempt.
A profuse perspiration is described as a "mull."
MULL- YE AD. — A very stupid person who makes a mess of
everything he tries to do.
MULLIGRUBS. — Out of sorts and temper ; out of spirits ; a
slight indisposition.
MULLOCK.— Wet straw.
Dirt of all descriptions when heaped together.
MUM. — Silent as if from a desire to keep a secret, or to abstain
from speaking freely on a matter.
MUMCHAUNCIN'.— Sitting without speaking as tho' offended.
After one has acted in this way the question is asked,
" Wliat was he a mumchaunciri1 about I wonner ?"
MUMMERS. — A company of village actors who go the round
of the principal houses in the neighbourhood at Christmas
time.
The words of the play are given elsewhere.
MUN.— Man.
"What beat ther mun?"
Sometimes " you" is similarly used.
" What be at ther " you ?"
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 115
MUNCH. — To eat something which bites crisply.
MUSCLE-PLUM. — A long shaped plum, sweet but without
much juice, which separates very widely from its stone
when ripe.
MUST.— To mildew.
" Them pots o' jam be beginnin' to must,"
MUTE. — A dog is said "to run mute" when it does not give
tongue in pursuit of game.
MU V. — Move. When the word " move '' is used, as is sometimes
the case, it is pronounced as rhyming with " rove."
MUZZY. — Stupefied by drink. Weather is "muzzy" when no
clear through mist or fog.
MWILE.— Mire.
" A's a-gettin' vurder an' vurder in the mwite" i.e., he's going frog
bad to worse.
MWOAST-LY.— For the most part, frequently, generally.
"Thaay mwo-ast-ly allus has ther dinner avoor 'um sterts, zo ther
yent no call vor we to hev none ready vor 'um."
MWOAST IN GINRAL.— Generally.
" I mwoast in ginral goes to chapel at Compton o' Zundays."
MWOAST TIMES. — More often than not. Often used where
" most in general" would equally be used.
116
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
N
NAAIL.— To secure.
" I managed to naail the rat by the taail jus' as a was a-gettin1
inside his hawle."
NAAIL-PASSER. — The usual name for a gimlet.
NAAYTION.— Great, large, extreme.
" Ther was a naaytion lot o' paple at Vaair to-daay to be zure."
NAAYTION ZIGHT.— A great deal.
" I'd a naaytion zight zooner hev dree gals to bring up nor one bwoy."
NAB. — To detect, surprise, or seize in the act.
" I nabbed 'un jus' as a was a-maaykin aff wi' the taayters on his
shawlder."
NAG.— To say irritating things.
" She nags at I zo's I wunt bide at v.hoam moor 'n I be 'bliged to "t."
" Naggin at " is the habit above referred to.
NAISTY.— Spiteful.
" A zims inclined to be naisty toward us, zo thess kape out o' his
waay."
NANNY GO-AT.— The female goat; the male being the
BILLY GO-AT.
NAPSY.— An abscess.
NARN, or NARRUN, or NARRA-ONE.— Not one.
These are the negatives respectively of tl arn," " arnm" and
" arra-one."
" Be ther arra prong in the staayble?" "No, ther bent narn ther,
but I'll zee if ther be arra-one in the bern."
NAT.— A knot.
When I wants to mind zummit, I ties a nat in my pockut hankercher "
(when I wish to remember something, &c., &c.)
N ATOMY. — Contemptuously applied to a small thin person,
thus,
"Dost think anybody 'ud mind a natomy of a chap like thee ?"
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 117
NATTY. — Said of a woman who is very trim and perhaps a
little coquettish in her dress.
NEAR.— Stingy.
" A mus' be wuth a good bit o' money vor a allus was near."
The " near" side of a horse is the side on which the carter
walks when driving his team. The " off" side is the other
side.
NE-AST EGG. — A single egg left to prevent hens from
deserting the nest. It is supposed that hens are unable to
count or remember how many eggs they have previously
laid, for they will daily go on laying until they have laid
their number as long as a single egg remains, but if all were
to be taken they would desert the nest and sometimes even
stop laying for a time.
The " ne-ast egg" is often for convenience an addled egg, or
an egg-shaped piece of chalk, the hen being content with
such substitution.
NEDDY.— A donkey.
NETTLE-CRAPER.— The small White-throat ; doubtless so
called from its habits.
NETTLED. — Stung to anger ; irritated.
NEVER A ONE.— Not one at all.
" I never zee never a one avoor in all my bern daays."
NEVVY.— Nephew.
NEWVANGLED. — Spoken as regards new ideas or manners.
It is always used disparagingly.
NI. — A brood of pheasants. See also EYE.
NICE. — Very curiously coupled by women — " nice and warm ; "
"nice and frosty;" "nice and clean;" in fact, "nice, and
anything that is gratifying."
NICELY. — To be " doing nicely" is to be getting better after
illness.
NICK. — To knock off a small fragment.
NIGHT CAP. — A glass of hot spirits and water just before
going to btd.
NIGHT-JAR.— -The bird, « goat-sucker."
NIGHT NIGHTY.— A very friendly "Good-night;'' used
also generally to young children,
118 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
NINCOMPOOP. — A silly, stupid person, who will believe any
nonsense that is told him.
NIP. — A quick painful pinch of a small piece of flesh.
" He give I a ' nip ' an I give he a punch.1 '
To cut closely, as to " nip " off a small piece of loose skin with
scissors.
NIPPER. — A boy is often so called, rather contemptuously.
"That young nipper 'ull never be a man if a dwoant larn how to
handle his prong better."
NITCH. — A bundle to be carried on the back, as "a nitch of
stray " for night littering for horses.
NOBBLE. — To seize quickly. To commit a petty theft.
" Jus' as a nobbled a apple out o1 my jackut pockut I nobbled he."
NOD.—" In the land of nod " is " gone to sleep."
NODDLE.— The head.
" A caught ut on the noddle," i.e., he received a blow on the head.
" To noddle the head " is to shake the head upwards and downwards.
NO GO. — Of no avail ; in vain.
" I tried to persuaayde 'un to come'an' zee 'e, but 'twant no go."
NO GOOD ON.— Of no value.
" Drow them things I hev put in the bucket to the pegs, thaay beant
no good on."
NO HOW. — Anyhow, in any possible way.
" The rabbut be gone a-ground an' us can't get 'un out, no how.''
NO MOOR'N.— Except that.
" I likes un vurry well no moofn I vinds un a bit akkerd at times."
NOODLE. — A very silly person.
NOR.— Always used for 'than.'
" My whip hev a-got a better thong nor thine."
NORAAYTION. — A long rambling account, as when a poor
old woman, greatly interested in her troubles, relates them
very fully.
NOT. — Smooth, even, without irregularity.
"That ther vield be not, be-ant a?" (that field is well tilled, is it
not?")
A " not cow " is a cow without horns.
NOTCH. — When one is added to the score of a game, as
cricket, &c., it is called a "notch." A batsman is asked,
" how many notches did 'e maayke ? "
BERKSHIRE WORDS. Il9
NO WAAYS.— Net at all.
"I yers as a zed zummut bad about muh, but I be-ant no waays
affronted wi' zuch a poor noodle."
NOW AN' AGIN. — Intermittently, once in a way.
" I zees a haayre in the yields now an' agin, but ther be-aut many on
'um this year."
NOWSE, — Ideas of management, ability to act with energy.
" T'yent no good to ax he to do't, vor 'e a yent got no nowse."
NOWT.— Nought, nothing.
" All as I do's this year zims to come to nowt."
NOWZEL. — To nestle closely for protection or warmth.
" Zee how the puppy an' the cat nowzels down together avoor the
vire this cawld weather."
NO ZART NOR KIND O' USE.— Used to express emphati-
cally " no use at all."
" A be that ther peg-yeaded t'yent no zart nor kind o' use to argivy
wi'n."
NOZZLE. — The top of a spout.
11 The nozzle o' the taaypot be zo chawked up as no taay hardly wunt
come droo."
The nose of a horse.
NUBBLY. — Where fine or powdered matter has hard lumps
mixed with it.
NUDGE. — To touch with the elbow in order to draw attention
confidentially to some matter.
NUMBED.— Benumbed.
NUNCHIN'.— Luncheon.
NUTHER.- Indeed!
" No, a wunt nuther !" i.e., no, he will not indeed !
" Nuther " is only used for ' indeed ' in such cases as the above, coming
thus at the end of a sentence to make it more emphatic.
NUTTERIN'. — A hard sounding disconnected noise made by
a horse, which sometimes precedes whinnying.
120 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
o
O'.— Of, in the.
" Them be a vine lot o' ship, zur, be-ant 'urn."
" Ut be cawld o' marnins now."
" ON " is used also for " of" as before 'urn (them).
" Ther be a gurt lot o' rabbuts in the 'ood ; I zee a wondervul zight
on 'um out at ve-ad last night "
OAK APPLE.— The oak gall.
OBADIENCE.— Curtsey.
" A labourer's little girl on being called in to see a lady visitor would
receive orders from her mother, " maayke yer obadience to the laaydy."
OBSTROPPELUS.— Restive under authority, assertively
making a disturbance.
" The bwoy was got maain obstroppelus an' zo I zent 'un to schoold to
be broke in a bit."
OBVUSTICAAYTED.— Confused from any cause ; somewhat
stupefied by drink.
OCEANS, or AWCEANS.— Used exaggeratively to express a
large number or quantity.
" That was a vinebaskut o' plums 'e zent I this marnin'." " Eesean'
ther be oceans moor wher thaay come vram."
ODD DRAT-UT.— An angry expression. " Odd drabbut ut " is
similarly used.
ODDS. — Affair; business.
" What thaay do's yent no odds o' mine nor yourn nether."
ODDY.— Well in health, lively.
On being asked how he is, an old man will reply, " Quite oddy, thenk'e."
ODMEDOD.— See HODMEDOD.
OFFISH. — Reserved ; refusing to receive advances.
" At vust I tried to maayke vriends wi' 'un, but I vound 'un maain
offish an' zo now I lets 'un alawne."
ON.— Of. See O.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 121.
ONACCOUNTABLE. — Commonly used as expressive of
magnitude.
" Ther be a onaccountabk crap o' apples this year to be zure."
ONBEKNOWED TO.— Without the knowledge of.
" I be come to vaair unbehnowed to my Missus, as ool wunner wher I be
got to."
ONBELAVIN.— Obstinate.
" That ther bwoy be got onbelavin an' wunt mind what I tells 'un zo I
be agwaain to gie un a larrapin."
OKKEPAAYSHIN'.— Work.
" Ther yent no okkepaayshin' vor a Want Ketcher Blewbury waay."
ONCOMMON.— Used instead of " very " and " extremely."
" Them ship be a uncommon vine lot to be zure."
ONDERVOOT.— Used thus :
" The roads be slushy ondervoot to daay."
ONE O'CLOCK.— " Like one o'clock" means " very quickly."
" The awld herse stretched hiszelf out an' brought us whoam like
one o'clock."
ONE WTHILE. — For a long time to come.
" Ater what I zed to'n a wunt try to argy wi' I one while I warn.'
ON ST. — Once, whenever.
" Oust I vinds the right ro-ad I warn I wunt lose my waay agin'.'
'OOD.— Would.
" A 'ood come if a was axt."
'OODST.— Wouldst, would you.
'OOL, or WOOL.— Will.
'OOMAN. — WToman. When " awld " precedes 'ooman the " d "
is carried on, and " 'ooman" is sounded "-doornail."
'OOMAN'S TONGUE.— Both the Aspen and Quaker Grass are
given this name, because motion is caused by the lightest
breeze, and so they are always on the move.
'OOT, or 'OOLT.— Wilt thou, will you.
'OOTENT.— Wilt thou not, will you not.
ORNARY.— Common.
11 1 got zome tayters I be a-gwaain to zend to Shaw (i.e., to exhibit),
thiay be quite out o' omary like."
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ORTS.— - Odd pieces.
OURN.-Ours.
OUT. — Result of an attempt.
" I zet un to do zome gardnin', but 'a maayde but a poor out on't.
OUT AN' OUT.— Wholly, entirely, beyond comparison.
" I got out art out the best o' the bargain wi' 'un."
OUT AN' OUTER.— Something very extraordinary or pre-
posterous ; one who does very extraordinary things.
OUT-AXT. — When the Banns have been put up in Church for
the third time, the couple are said to be out-axt.
OUT-COME.— The result.
OWLISH.— Sleepy, stupid.
OXER.— A logget.
A short thick stick with a lump of lead or iron at the end.
A blow from a thick stick.
OX-SLIPS. — The flowers of Cowslip roots as produced when
these roots are planted upside down, and with cow-dung or
soot around. The manure doubtless accounts for the tint
produced.
WORDS. 123
PAAM.— Palm.
PAASNUPS, or PASMETS.— Parsnips.
PAAST ALL.— Beyond.
" The waay as a goes on be paast all puttin' up \vi'."
PAAY.— Prosper.
" Zuch doins as them wunt paay."
PAAYNCHES.— Broken pieces of crockery.
PAAY-NIGHT. — The night on which farm labourers draw
their weekly wages.
PAAY OUT. — Common expression for 'retaliate.'
PADDLE. — A spud used for clearing the plough, when
ploughing.
PAM. — The knave of clubs at five-card loo.
PAN K.— To pant.
" Panting " is termed "pankin\"
PANTNEY.— A pantry.
PARLOUR. — The reception room in farm-houses was called
the "best parlour"
PARSONS NOSE.— The tail joint of a goose, duck, or fowl.
PARTLY. — Somewhat, am inclined to.
" I partly thinks a wunt do't at all now a hev a-bin zo long about ut."
PASSEL. — A number, a lot. The word is always used some-
what contemptuously, " a passel o' vools."
PAT. — Readily, without hesitation.
" When I taxt 'un wi' 't a tawld muh a lie pat."
PAT-BALL. — -A child's name for a ball, or for the simple game
of throwing a ball from one to another.
PATCHY.— Often and easily fmt out of temper.
124 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
PATER.— Peter.
PATER GRIEVOUS.— One is so called who goes about with
a melancholy face.
PATTENS. — Sandals raised on iron frames worn by women to
keep their shoes out of the dirt.
PATTERN.— An example.
" If I zees any moor zuch bad doins I'll maayke a pattern on "e."
PATTY.— The familiar name for Martha.
PAULS. — The expression as " awld as St. Paul's " is used to
denote great antiquity.
St. Paul's is the best known of any of the " zights o' Lonnon
Town."
PAUNCHY.— Stout.
PAWLE.— A pole.
PAX. — The school boys word for " surrender " or wishing to
" make friends " again.
PEART.— Bright, full of life ; also impudent.
PEAZEN, or PAZE, or PE-AZ.— Peas.
PE-AZ PORRIDGE.— Pea soup.
PECK. — A pick-axe.
PECKER.— Mouth ; visage.
" A bit down in the pecker " means " in bad spirits."
PECKIN'.— Faultfinding.
" She was allus a-peckin' an' yangin' at muh zo as I cood'nt bide
wi" her no longer."
PECKISH.— Hungry.
PECK-UP. — To loosen ground with a pick-axe.
PEE-BO. — The first game for babies, consisting of alternately
hiding and showing them the face.
PEEK-ED, or PEEKY.— Thin in the face, as from illness. ,
" A be a-lookin' maain/fi&y, med-be a wants moor me-at to yet."
PEEL. — A long-handled implement for removal of loaves from
an oven*
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 125
PEEP-SHAW.— A paper case with glass over, filled by children
with flowers pressed against the glass ; there is a paper lid
which is raised for a " pin a peep."
PEE-WHIT. — The Lap-wing, thus called from its note.
"There is a primitive musical instrument made by boys called a
pee-whit; a small stick is split and an ivy leaf inserted, blowing on this
produces a curious sound.
PEFFLE. — In a nervous state ; in a condition of hurry and
confusion.
" A zimmed in zuch a peffle as a did'nt knaw what awasa-zaayin'on,"
PEG.— A pig.
In " The Scouring of the White Horse " we have —
" Then as zure as pegs is pegs
Aayte chaps ketched I by the legs."
" Peg away " is a common encouraging phrase for " commence
eating," or " eat heartily."
PELT.— Temper.
" I zimmed in a girt pelt about ut."
The skin of an animal.
To throw.
" I zee the bwoys apeltin1 the hens wi' stwuns."
PEN — To prevent escape.
" Ther be zome bwoys in the archut a-got at the apples, let zome on
us go roun" t' other zide on "urn an' zo pen 'urn.''
PEND.-Depend.
PENNYWINKLE.— Periwinkle.
PEPPER. — To strike with shot or a number of missiles at once.
" I properly peppered a rabbut but a managed to crape into his hawle."
PEPPERY.— Irascible.
PERKY. — Assertive in manner, conceited, inclined to be saucy
or impertinent.
PERTAAYTERS, or TAAYTERS.— Potatoes.
PERZWAAYDIN'. — Repetition of invitation.
" Now do 'e come an' zee us zoon, an' bring yer missus wi' 'e, an'
dwoant 'e want no perzwaaydiri ."
PE-US. — Piece ; a field of arable land is so called.
126
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
PE-US O' WORK.— Fuss.
" A maayde a ter'ble pe-us o' -work when I tawld 'un as a cood'nt hev
the donkey to-daay."
PHAYBE, pronounced FABY.— Phoebe.
PICK-A-BACK. — To go on another's back with arms round
his neck and legs supported by his arms.
PICK-ED.— Sharply pointed.
" A run a pick-ed staayke into his voot."
PICKLE. — A mischievous child.
To have a " stick in pickle " is to keep one ready to beat such a child.
PIDDLE.— A small enclosed field, as the " Church piddle " at
Hampstead Norreys.
PIES. — Fruit tarts of all kinds when cooked in dishes are so
called, the word " tart " being confined to the small open
tarts.
PIGEON'S-MILK.— It is a joke to send a child to a shop for
a pennyworth of "pigeon's milk.'1 There are others of the
same kind, such as sending it to its mother to tell her
" to tie ugly up;" or to say that it will " die after " having
slightly scratched its finger.
PIGEONY. — Small pimples, showing specially at back of the
neck in elderly people ; sometimes also called " goosey."
PIGGIN' UT, or PEGGIN' UT.— Living in a very dirty
way with poor surroundings.
PIG-KE-UPIN', or PEG-KE-UPIN'.— Pig-keeping ; driving
pigs to corn stubble and having whips to prevent them
from straying ; this work is much appreciated by boys.
PIG PUZZLE, or PEG PUZZLE.— A gate fixed to swing
both ways to meet a post, so that an animal pushing it from
either side cannot get through.
PIG-RING. — A game at marbles where a ring is made about
four feet in diameter, and boys " shoot " in turn from any
point in the circumference keeping such marbles as they
may knock out of the ring, but losing their own " taw " if it
should stop within.
PINCH. — To be good " at a pinch " is to be ready of resource,
or equal to any emergency.
PINCH AND SCREW.— To try to avoid expenditure by
extreme carefulness and even meanness.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 127
PINCHERS.— Pincers; the tails of an Earwig are called his
"pinchers"
PING. — The noise of any hard substance striking against
metal,
PINNER.— A child's pinafore.
11 Put on the childerns' pinners avoor 'um zets down to taayble zo as
'urn wunt spile ther vrocks."
PINS AN' NADLES.— The prickling sensation caused by
returning circulation after any part has been benumbed.
PIN YON. — Belief in, opinion of, confidence in.
" I ent got no pinyon o' that ther veller zence I knawed as a cabbaged
zome o' my zeed taayters."
PIP.— A small seed.
A disease in poultry.
PIT-A-PAT. — A noise as of treading quickly but rather lightly.
PITCH.— To "Pitch Wuts"isto raise oats in the straw into
a waggon by means of a coarse-grained prong ; the man
who does this is called the "pitcher," and the quantity of
oats taken on the prong is called the "pitch." The prong
when constructed in a special way is called a "pitch fork."
PITCH AN' NOSTLE.— The game of ' pitch and toss.'
PITCH-PAWLE. — A very common sport with children, other-
wise called " head over heels."
PITCH PIPE. — A pipe used formerly in village churches to
give the key-note for congregational singing.
PIT-HAWLE. — The grave is always so named to children.
PITS. — These are extremely common in fields in the " Hill
Country " of Berkshire. They owe their origin to the
practice of sinking Wells or making excavations in order to
obtain Chalk as a "top-dressing" for the soil; the sub-
sequent filling in caused pits to be formed.
PLAAYGUE.— A trouble.
There is the expression " What aplaaygue the childern be," and to a
child is often good-humouredly said, " Thee be moor plaaygue 'n all
my money."
PLAAYGUEY.— Very extremely.
" My awld 'ooman be got plaayguey vond o' vinery to be zure."
PLAAY IN. — Take your turn and join in.
128
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
PLAAY-SHERP. — To get an advantage over another by some-
what unfair and ungenerous action.
PLAAY-UP.— Play with vigour.
PLASTERED. — The common expression when clothes are
coated with mud.
" Your trowsers be plastered an' I mus' hev urn dried avoor urn can
be brushed."
PLATTER.— A plate or small dish.
" Jack Sprat cood yet no vat,
His wife cood yet no le-an ;
An' zo betwixt 'urn bo-ath
Thaay kep' the platter cle-an."
PLAZE GOD. — Very commonly inserted in a sentence or added
to it.
" I hopes, plaze God, as ther 'ool be a better vail o' lambs this year 'n
ther was laast."
PLEAZURIN'. — Enjoying one's self, not working.
" If a goes SL-pleazurin' about zo much a wunt be aayble to paay his
waay much longer.
PLUCK.— Courage.
A part of the offal of a bird or animal.
PLUM.— Level with.
" The plank along this zide yent plum wi' the one on t'other zide."
PLYMMED. — Enlarged, swollen, expanded by damp or wet.
" The leathern strap be got plymmed an' wunt work backerds an
vorruds in the buckle no moor."
Seeds are said to have " plymmed" when swollen ready to
sprout.
POBBLE. — The noise made by the bubbling of water when
commencing to boil.
POD. — A large stomach.
POKE. — Poke about, to look about inquisitively or with a view
to pilfering : thus, if a person be caught without lawful
business in a place where hens would be likely to lay eggs
he would be greeted by, " What be at pokin* about yer."
POKEY. — Insignificant, small, out of the way.
" A zed as he'd gi' muh a good present an' awnly brought muh a
pokey little work-baskut."
POLLARD. — The ground husk of wheat ; medium size ; is so
called, the coarsest size being " bran " and the finest being
" toppins."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 129
PON'.— Pond.
POORLY.— Out of health.
POORTM ANKLE.— A portmanteau.
POP. — To "pop " a whip is to clang it.
A "pop on the yead " is a blow on the head.
To "pop awaay " a thing is to secrete it hurriedly.
POPPIN' ABOUT.— Applied to the frequent shooting of
unskilful sportsmen.
Moving quickly from one place to another near at hand.
POSSUT. — A kind of gruel ; " trade-possut " and " inon-/0ss«* "
are considered excellent remedies for a cold.
POSSEY.— A large number.
" Ther be apossey o' volk gone to Vaair, to-day, to be zure."
POSTER.— To strut.
" To zee that ther chap poster along, thee 'ood zay a was a Lerd ! "
(" Poster " is pronounced to rhyme with "coster" in "costermonger.")
POSTERIN'.— Walking conceitedly, strutting.
POT-A-BILIN'. — Keeping continually in progress or in onward
motion.
POT-BELLIED.— Stout.
POT-DUNG. — Farm-yard dung.
POT-LUCK.— A meal without notice or much preparation.
POT-LIQUOR.— Water in which meat has been boiled.
POTSHERDS. — Broken pieces of earthenware.
POTTER.— To busy one's self about trifles; to act in a
shiftless way and without energy.
POTTERIN' ABOUT.— Fidgetting or idling about to the
detriment or annoyance of others.
POUND.— To pummel with the fists.
As regards the arrangement in the " Village Pound " for
imprisonment of stray cattle, vide TALLY.
To knock continuously with a stick or implement, so as to
make as much noise as possible.
180 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
POWDER-HORN. — The flask for carrying gun-powder when
shooting with a muzzle-loading gun.
POZER. — Something not easily overcome ; a very puzzling
question.
PRAAYIN' VOR. — When a person is very wicked he is said
to be " pretty nigh past pyaayin* vov"
PRECIOUS.— Very, extremely.
" A hawle got knocked in the bo-at an' I precious nigh got drownded."
PRETTY. — Is used extensively and somewhat curiously, thus :
" Dwoant them ther bells go pretty?"
"Thee bist a pretty 'un thee bist" (said sarcastically or con-
temptuously).
" If a dwoant come we shall be in a pretty bad mess."
NOTE. — The first syllable of "pretty" rhymes with " fret."
PRETTY VE-AT.— Middling quantity, a fairly sufficient
number or quantity.
" I shall hev a. pretty vc-at lot o' turmuts vor my ship to yet bym by."
PRIAL. — Three playing cards of different suits but the same
value.
TRIGHT.— Upright.
" Stan' up quite 'pright an' thess zee how tall 'e be."
PRIME. — In the case of a good joke or witty story, the
expression "that ther be prime" is often used as
denoting appreciation.
A "prime chap," is a thoroughly good fellow.
PRIZE. — To raise by insertion and leverage.
" Ooll 'e get a chizel an' prize the led o' this yer box vor I? A be
stuck down an' I can't awpen 'un.''
PROD. — To prick for with an iron instrument as searching for
something hidden underneath.
A short prong or other pointed implement.
PROG. — Food ; used mostly by boys in this sense.
To search for by pricking, used equally with PROD.
PRONG. — The metal part of the implement for moving hay,
straw, &c. The wooden part is the " prong -handle." The
ordinary prong has two forks, whilst the dung prong has
three*
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 13l
PROPER. — Expresses magnitude.
" A proper lot o' pegs," means a large number of pigs.
" A proper hidin'," means a severe whipping.
" A proper scamp " is a thoroughly bad character.
PUCKER.— In a confused state.
"If 'e maaykes a pucker o' things like this yer agin zomebody else
med put 'um to rights vor 'e vor I wunt."
PUCKERED.— Confused; wrinkled.
" Puckered " as regards a dress is the same as " gathered."
PUDDENY.— A child is thus called when its cheeks are very
large and project forward. " Pudden-vaayced " is similarly
used.
PUDDEN-YEAD.— One having a stolid stupid look.
PUFF BALLS. — Fungi full of light dusty matter.
PUG. — The name by which a ferret is always called when
required to come to hand.
PULLED-DOWN. — Reduced in condition by illness or
melancholy.
PULLY-HAWLLY.— The word given to men to pull hard
and all together.
PULL UP.— To stop.
To summons before a court of law.
" A was pulled up once vor stalin' turmuts."
PUMMEL.— To beat with the fist.
PUR, or PAAIR.— A pair ; a pear.
" I'll gie 'e a bushel o' purs vor a. pur o' boots."
PURLER. — A tumble head over heels ; a fall from a horse.
" My herse stopped shcrt at the ditch, an1 I went a purler awver his
yead."
PUSS.— A purse.
" What a life t'ood be to us,
Wife at whoam an' child to nuss ;
Not a penny in the puss
Smart young bach'lers."
PUSSY-CATS.— The bloom of the nut-tree.
PUT. — To find the best market for.
" I allus zells my herses bettern 'n thee acause I knaws wher to put
urn better."
132
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
PUT ABOUT. — Disturbed as regards one's ordinary arrange-
ments ; ruffled in temper.
" She zimmed a goodish bit put about 'acause I happened to ketch
her a-workin' at the wash-tub."
PUT BY.— To save, to hoard.
" I vinds I can't put by no money in thaze yer hard times."
PUT ON. — " To beptit on " is to be made to do more than one
fairly should.
" To put on " is to give one's self airs.
PWOSTISSES.— Posts.
PYANNER.— A piano.
l',RRKSHIRE WORPS. 133
0
QUAAYKER GRACE.— Vide SHIVER GRACE.
QUAG, or QUAGGLE.— To shake.
" Cant 'e veel this yer boggy ground quag as us walks'awver "t."
QUAMES.— Qualms.
QUANDAIRY.— A predicament; a fix.
" I be in a gurt quandairy, an' zo be come to ax 'e to tell I what to do."
QUANE. — The title of Her Majesty is so pronounced.
QUARREL. — A small diamond shaped pane of glass as fixed
in cottage windows.
QUAT. — Used sometimes instead of "squat."
QUATCH. — To keep absolute silence as regards a certain
subject, whether that subject may be mooted before one, or
whether others may try to extract information respecting it.
QUEASY.— Rather sick.
" I was a bit queasy this marnin1, an' zo led in bed till ater breakvast."
QUEER-STRATE.— In a difficulty; in trouble.
" Thee 11 vind theezelf in Queer-strate if 'e dwoant be moor keervul
what 'e be a-tawkin about."
QUICKS. — The young cuttings planted to form a quickset
hedge.
QUID. — To suck vigorously.
QUILT. — To swallow a lump of something with very palpable
distension of the throat.
To whip.
QUILTIN'. — A beating. It may have been observed that the
number of words relative to corporal punishment is large,
indicating that in by-gone days it was perhaps not usual
" to spare the rod and spoil the child."
184
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
QUIRK.— To make a noise as from pain.
QUOD.— To put in jail.
" As zure as ever I ketches 'e in my archut agin I'll quod 'e."
QUOP.— To throb.
" I can veel as the donkey quops, zo a beant de-ad it."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 135
RAAIL-HURDLES. — Another name for SPARRED HURDLES.
RAAINY DAAY. — A day of trouble or need. To " put a little
by vor a raainy day" is to save money.
RAAYRE, or RUR.— Underdone.
" Ooll 'e hev a slice well done or raayre ?"
Excellent.
" I hev got zome may re craps o' turmuts this year."
RABBIN RED BRE-AST.— The Robin is thus called in full,
and not simply " a Robin."
RABBUT 'E.— A mild form of imprecation.
RABBUT'S-STOP.— A rabbit's hole of short length, con-
taining a rabbit's nest formed of her " vleck," and the
young rabbits.
RABBUTTIN'. — Going in pursuit of rabbits with ferrets and
nets, and perhaps a gun also.
RACK AN' RUIN.— In great disrepair.
RACKET, or RACKUT.— Fuss, disturbance, upset.
" If 'e disturves any o' his things a 'ooll maayke a gurt rackitt when a
comes whoam."
RACKETTY. — Full of spirits, and perhaps with a liking for
practical jokes."
" A be a quiet awld man now, but vorty years ago I minds "un as the
mwoast racketty chap in our perts."
RACK-HURDLES. — Hurdles of substantial lathing or split
wood ; these are made by carpenters ; there are uprights
placed at such distances apart that a sheep can just put
his head through to obtain the food enclosed.
RACKIN'.— Throbbing with pain.
" My yead's a.-rackin' zo as I can't spake to "e."
RACK-UP. — To close the stables for the night after littering
the horses and giving them their " vead."
" Rackin'1 up time " marks the conclusion of the days' work for
carters and carter-boys.
186 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
RADICAL. — Used generally as a term of reproach.
" That little chap be a proper young Radical, a wunt do nothun' his
mother tells un,"
RAFTY.— Rancid.
RAG. — Is commonly used in combinations, thus : one's dress is
said to be in " rags an' tatters " when very much torn or
worn into holes.
" Not a rag to put on " is a phrase used by a woman signifying only
that she has no dress suitable for the occasion in question.
" Tag, rag, an' bobtaail " refers to the lowest class of the community,
who may have no regular calling or work."
RAG-A-MUFFIN. — A troublesome or mischievous little boy.
RAG-BAG. — A large bag hung up in the kitchen of a farm-
house to receive odd pieces of linen and cuttings from
calico, &c. This "rag-bag" is resorted to in case of a cut
finger, or in any of the numerous instances where the
contents are useful.
RAGGIN'.— A scolding.
RAKERS ATER.— The women who rake up what may be left
behind by the Pitchers at barley cart, oat cart, or hay cart.
RAMPAAYGE.— A wild temper.
" A be in a vrightvul rampaayge about what 'e hev a-done to 'un.'-'
To give vent to one's anger very audibly.
" Rampaaygious " and " Rampaaygin* about " are also commonly used
RAM PIN'. — A crazy longing.
RAMSHACKLE. — So much out of repair as to be tumbling to
pieces.
" That ther bern be got zo ramshackle I me-ans to pull 'un down an1
build a new 'un."
RANDIN'.— Piece-meal.
R ANN EL. — Hungry to excess, voracious.
RANTERS. — A religious sect mustering somewhat strongly in
some neighbourhoods is so called ; they are fervid and
demonstrative in their services.
RASCALLY.— Scampish.
" A rascally chap like that ther got no business to be wi' we as yarns
a honest livin'."
RASTLE, or WRASTLE.— To wrestle.
" If 'e thinks 'e be a man I'ooll msth 'e vor a quart,"
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 187
RAT IT. — To run away quickly (a cant term).
RATTLE. — One who talks continually and rather frivolously.
RATTLETAP. — Very poor beer. It is sometimes described as
"Taaystin' o' the water."
RATTLETRAP.— A worn-out, poor-looking carriage.
RATTLER.— Something very excellent.
" You did'nt like the whale-barrer I maayde vor 'e avoor, but I hev
maayde 'e a rattler this time."
A great lie.
A very common name for a cart-horse.
RAWLLY - PAWLLY PUDDEN. — A pudding made by
spreading jam on dough and rolling over and over.
RAY, or RAA. — Raw (cold, damp weather).
RAYLE.— Real.
RECKON.— Expect; think.
RED-LAAYNE. — The throat. Generally used to and by
children.
RED WE-AD.— Poppies are so called.
REFTERS. —A field of ploughed land is sometimes called a
" pe-us o' refters."
RENSE.— To rinse.
RENT. — To let. One says " I rents my me-ad to a butcher."
RESPECTABLE.— All of the lower middle class are so styled.
REVEL. — An annual village merry-making, as Chapel Row
"Revel.''
RHEUMATTICS.— Rheumatism.
RICHUT.— Richard.
RICK, or WRICK.— To sprain.
" I ricked my thumb a liftin' a zack o' be-ans."
"Rick" is always used for Stack ; we speak of a "haay-m/V a
" barley -rick," &c.
" A rick-cl&th " is a waterproof sheet placed over the top of a
rick to keep out the wet until such time as the rick may be
thatched.
188 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
RICKUTTY. — Having parts loose and out of order.
" That ther chaair be rickutty, best hev 'un done avoor a comes right
to pe-usses."
RICK YERD. — Attached to all farm homesteads, being the
place where ricks are made.
RIDDLE.— A sieve of large mesh.
To sift.
" Riddle that ther barley a bit to get the dust out on't."
RIDE. — A cutting in a wood for shooting purposes.
RIG. — An eccentric frolicsome deed.
RIGHTVUL.— Just.
" He hev a-got his rightvul dues at last."
RIGHT ZIDE.— To place a thing " right zide upperds," is to
stand it straightly and properly when it may have been
before upside down.
To get the right zide of a person is to work on a weak point, or
at a favourable opportunity.
RIGHTS.— Justice.
" We shan't never get rights athout us tells 'un zackly how 'tis."
To RIGHTS means, " in order."
" Our house hev never a-bin to rights zence Meary went awaay."
RIGMARAWLE. — A detailed uninteresting story, often
disconnected and not quite easy to comprehend.
RILED. — Annoyed ; made angry. This word is commonly
used in Berkshire, but seems general.
RIME.— Hoar frost.
RINE.— Rind.
RING. — To "ring the Pigs" is to have a ring placed through
the snout, to prevent them from doing damage in fields and
gardens by routing up the ground in searching for what
has been planted.
The game of marbles, " ring-taw," is commonly called " ring "
for short. There is also the game of marbles called
"big-ring."
" To ring the baze " is to hammer with a stone on a watering
can or iron shovel when a swarm takes place. Vide CHERM.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 180
RINK.— A trick, a dodge.
" That ther bwoy be vull o' rinks an' ther yent no gettin' upzides
wi" 'un."
RIP.— To reap.
" To plough an' to maw,
An* to rip an' to zaw,
An' to be a vermer's bwoy-oy-oy."
(Old Berkshire song.)
To split off bark or covering.
To split wood with the grain.
A worthless animal or person, it is generally preceded by
" awld."
RIP-HOOK.— A sickle.
RIPPER. — Something very excellent.
" That ther herse o' yourn be a regular ripper."
A lie.
An extraordinary anecdote or story.
A reaper.
RIPPIN'.— Very, extremely. It is often followed by " good."
" That ther was a rippin* good kern-bin as a maayde vor I."
RISE. — The mist rising from a marsh or river."
" Zee what a rise ther be to-night down in the Kennut Me-ads."
RISK.— A rush.
" If thee goes at the ditch wi' a risk thee 'ooll get awver all right."
ROCK.— The small blue wild pigeon.
ROD HURDLES. — Hurdles made of brushwood. Vide
VLAAYKE HURDLES.
ROLLAKY.— Boisterous.
" Ther was a lot o' rollaky chaps maaykin' a nize in the strit las
night zo as I cood'nt get no slape."
ROMPSIN'.— Romping. Rough play.
" A.-rompsin' Molly on the haay."
(Old song.)
RONK. — Rank. " Ronk grace " is " sour grass."
Rancid, putrid.
ROOM.— In place of.
" I hawpes as e'll gie I time to myself to-morrer in room o' the
awver-time as I done to-daay."
140
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
ROOPY.— Hoarse.
" I got a cawld isterdaay an' be maain roopy this marnin'."
ROORER. — A horse affected in the wind which makes a
roaring noise internally when hurried or frightened,
ROORIN'.— Very great, excellent.
ROPY. — Underdone pie crust or bread is thus described.
ROUGH. — To rough a horse is to turn the extremities of the
shoes in order to prevent slipping when the roads are
frozen.
ROUGH MUSIC.— The beating of pots and pans and other
discordant noises made in a " Hoosset Hunt."
ROUNDERS. — A game with a hard ball, each player throwing
it at any other as he may happen to get it.
ROUNDLY. — Very openly, fully and plainly.
" I telled 'un roundly what I thate about his doins."
ROUSER. — A loud explosion.
" 'E must hev lo-aded yer gun heavy, a went aff a vrightvul rouser."
There is also " ROUSIN." A " rousin " clap of thunder is a very
loud clap.
ROUSETT, or ROWETT.— Rank dry grass.
RUBBIN STWUN.— Bath brick or sand stone.
RUBBLE.— A species of hard chalk.
RUCK. — To rub, so as to roughen or bruise the surface.
" Ther be a darn in my stockun' as hev nicked my heel vurry bad."
RUCKUT. — To disturb by poking with a stick or other
implement.
" Ther be a rat got under the boordin', len' us yer stick zo as I can
ruckut 'un out on't."
RUCKUTTIN'.— A noise made as by animals scratching
boards.
"The rats kep' I awaayke by the ruckuttin' thaay maayde in the
. roof."
RUCTION.— A disturbance.
Wind on the stomach.
RUDDLE. — The red paint used for marking sheep after sheep-
shearing.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 141
RUDGE-WAAY. — A road of ancient times, still to be traced
by its banks over the Berkshire Downs.
RUFFLED. — Put out of temper somewhat.
RUINAAYTION.— Ruin. "RUINAAYTED" isused for "ruined."
RUM, or RUMMY. — Curious, uncommon; somewhat un-
satisfactory.
" E'll vind ut pretty rum when 'e gets to town wi' no money in yer
pockut."
RUMBUSTICAJL. — Opposing, obstructive, swaggering.
RUMMAGE. — To search hastily, turning things about and
leaving them in disorder, as when going to a drawer
with miscellaneous contents, to find something.
RUMPUS.— A disturbance.
" When the Missus zees how thee hast rummaged that ther drawer
about, ther 'ooll be a rumpus I can tell 'e."
RUMPLE.— To disorder with the hands.
" A rumpled her haair an' she zes she wunt never spake to 'un no
moor."
RUN. — The track of an animal made by repeated usage, as* a
hare's " run."
RUNG, or RONG. — A spar or bar of a ladder.
RUSHLIGHT. — A small and inferior kind of candle formerly
always used by farm servants and in cottages.
RUSTY.— Out of temper.
RUSTY BAAYCON.— Bacon turned rancid and yellow.
RUTS. — Deep tracks made by wheels in country roads.
RUTTIN'-TIME.— -The spring time with deer.
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
The letter " S " is pronounced as " Z v when followed by A, E, I, O,
U, Y, and W. All words commencing thus are therefore transferred
accordingly.
In many other cases also the sound of " S " is roughened so as closely to
approximate to that of " Z," but this roughening varies greatly even
amongst persons in the same village, and is not thought to warrant the
substitution of " Z " for " S " in the GLOSSARY.
SCAAYLE.— To weigh.
To strip off the surface coating.
SCALLIONS. — Old onions replanted the second year.
SCAMBLE. — To run hastily and irregularly.
SCANDALOUS. — Very extensively used for " very great " in
a disparaging sense.
" Ut be scandalous work to hev to dig up ground as be zo stwuney."
SCAUT. — To dig one's heels into the ground so as to resist
being pushed or forced from where one is standing.
" I took 'un by the scruff o' the neck, but a scauted zo as I cood'nt
but jus1 get 'un out o' the door."
A horse is said to scant, when in drawing a heavy load down a
steep hill he from time to time digs in his feet to stop the
cart behind him from gaining pace and pushing power.
SCHISM SHAPS.— Those belonging to the Church of England
thus sometimes style other places of worship in a village
than the Parish Church.
SCHOLARD.— One educated.
" I beant no scholard, zur, but I hawpes to hev zome schoolin' vor my
childern."
SCHOOLIN'.— Education.
SCOOP. — A wooden shovel as used for shovelling corn after it
is threshed.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 143
SCOOR. — (Rhyming with " moor.")
To cut lightly across as with the skin of pork for roasting.
Vide SCOTCH.
Twenty pounds weight.
SCOTCH.— To score. Vide SCOOR.
SCOUR.— To purge.
Diarrhoea in cattle and sheep.
SCRAAYPE. — An arrangement for the destruction of birds in
severe weather. Scraaypes are of two kinds, the first is an
old door supported by a stick under which corn is placed,
and the stick being pulled by a long string the door falls on
the birds. The second is made by placing corn where snow
has been swept away, and the birds, when congregated, are
shot in numbers, being enfiladed along the " scraaype."
SCRABBLE. — To move out the hands as if to reach something.
To make clutchings with the hands.
The expression "Us hopes to scrabble along somehow," is often used
in hard times, and means " We hope to make shift till better times come."
SCRAG. — A piece of tough and shrivelled meat.
SCRIMMAGE. — A harmless fight, arising hastily, conducted
confusedly, and soon at an end.
SCROOP., — To make a noise, as with a gate turning on rusty
hinges.
SCROOPETTIN' is the noise made when anything scyoops.
SCROW. — Angry looking ; perhaps related to " scrowl."
" A looked maain scrow when I tawld *un what I'd a-done."
SCROWGE.— To squeeze ; to huddle together.
A village school mistress of by-gone days would say, " What be all
you childern a scrowgin' on that ther vorm vor, when ther be another
'un handy vor zome on 'e?"
SCRUFF.— The hair on the back of the neck.
" If e' hawlds a rat by the scruff a can't never bite 'e."
SCRUMP.— To bite with a noise.
" That ther yent the waay to yet lollipops, e' should zuck 'um an' not
scrump 'um."
The crackling of pork.
SCRUNCH.— To crush between the teeth.
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
SCRUNCHLIN'.— An apple stunted in growth and wrinkled.
A scntncJilin'1 is very sweet in flavour.
SCUT. — The tail of a rabbit or hare.
SCUTTLE. — To run away with short quick steps. A squirrel
is said to scuttle up a tree.
\
SHAAYKES. — A person or thing is said to be " no gurt
shaaykes," when of little consideration or account.
SHAAYVER. — A term rather disparagingly applied to a boy.
" That ther young shaayver hev a-bin up to mischuf agin."
SHAG-GED. — Rough and unkempt.
Shaken.
SHAKKETTY. — Loose and shaky from want of repair.
Shakketty is applied to implements, whereas ramshackle is
applied to buildings.
" The box o' the chaff-cutter be all shakketty an' I mus' get a bit o'
boord an' mend 'un."
SHAM AAYBRAHAM.— Shamming sickness.
" Ther beant nothun' the matter wi 'n, ut beawnly Sham Aaybraham."
SHAMMAKIN' — Walking in a slouching ungainly manner and
with the air of being ashamed of one's self.
" I zin in a-shammakin' along down the laayne up to no good I'll
warn 'e."
SHANKS' MAAYRE.— By walking.
" If zomebody dwoant gie I a lift I shall hev to go to town on shanks
maayre."
SHAT.— Shalt.
" If thee brother Willum wunt do 't vor muh thee skat.""
SHAT-BAG. — The leathern shot pouch carried with muzzle
loading guns.
SHATTENT.— Shalt not. The negative form of " shat."
" Thee shattent I tells 'e, an' zo tent no zart o' good to argify no
vurder."
SHAW-AFF. — To give one's self airs ; to act affectedly ; aiso
applied to a horse when prancing about.
SHAY, or SHAA.— A shaw.
Applied to a small coppice or double hedgerow containing
timber trees as well as underwood.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 145
SHEALIN'. — A rough lean-to shelter-shed, open in front.
SHEEN IN'. — Working with a threshing machine.
" He hev a-bin awaay sheenin', an' wunt come whoam vor moor nor a
wake it."
SHED.— Should.
" I dwoant knaw what us shed do wi'out our Bill."
SHEK, or SHAAYKE.— To shake.
" Hawld yer gun steady, be zure as a dwoant shck."
SHEKEL. — A sickle or reap-hook is sometimes so called.
SHEKKY, or SHAAYKY.— Dilapidated, ready to fall.
In bad health.
Doubtful, not quite to be believed.
" The stawry as a tawld I about ut zimmed maain shaayky."
SHELFY. — Applied to one who is getting old and remains
unmarried.
SHEPHERD. — A man who is a shepherd has that title prefixed
to his surname, his Christian name being dropped : thus we
speak of " Shepherd Savory," "Shepherd Vidler."
SHERP.— To sharpen.
" Sherp this knife vor I'ooll "e."
SHERPS. — The shafts of a waggon or cart.
SHERP-ZET.- Extremely hungry.
SHERT.— The reverse of tough.
" Thaze yer young radushes bites nice an' short ."
Curt.
" A was out o' temper an' maain shert when I wanted to spake wi'n."
SHEWELL. — A scarecrow, an arrangement on a stake to
frighten birds, but not necessarily the figure styled the
"hodmedod."
SHICK-SHACK-DAAY.
" The twenty -ninth o' Maay
Shick-shack-daay . "
Oak leaves are worn in the button hole up to twelve noon, and
should any boys appear without these they get pinches from
the others.
After twelve noon the oak is discarded and ash leaves are
worn until sunset »
L
116 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
SHILLY-SHALLYIN'.— Acting with indicision. A mother
will keep her daughter out of the way of a man she may
think is skilly -sliallyin\
SHIMMY.— A chemise.
SHINDY. — A noisy little quarrel or disturbance ; a fuss. "To
kick up a shindy" is the phrase usually adopted with respect
to this word.
SHIP. — Sheep in both singular and plural.
SHIP D1PPIN'.— Washing the coats of sheep to cleanse the
wool before sheep shearing.
SHIP-SNOUT TREE. — The name given an apple tree bearing
a rather small favourite eating apple, the tail of the apple
bears resemblance to a sheep's snout.
SHIRKY.— Not to be depended on. " Shirkin' about" is
prowling about with dishonest intentions.
SHIRTY.— Angry, enraged.
SHIVER-GRACE. — A kind of grass set in motion by the least
breath of air, sometimes known as QUAAYKER GRACE.
SHOCK. — A few sheaves of corn placed together in the field,
so that the ears and straw may dry in the sun before the
rick is formed.
To SHOCK-UP is to form the sheaves into shocks.
To SHOCK OFF is to break off.
SHOCKIN' BAD.— Ordinarily used for « very bad."
" Ther 'ull be a shock-in' bad crop o' turmuts if us dwoant get zome
raain."
SHOE-MOUSE. — The shrew-mouse, or long-nosed field mouse,
found about disused cart-ruts and meadows generally.
SHOOT.— Used instead of " shot " when applied to the firing of
a gun.
" I killed dree sparrers at a shoot.9'
To "shoot " a horse out of a cart is to unharness and take it
out of the shafts.
SHOP, or SHAP. — " To go to shap" is to make purchases at
the village shop after the weekly pay-night of farm labourers.
SHOP-BREAD.— Baker's bread as distinguished from home-
made bread. It is esteemed a treat by those who usually
eat bread of their own making.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 147
SHOWL.— A shovel, to shovel.
"S ho wl up the whate into a hape."
SHRAMMED.— Benumbed with cold.
" Let I come to the vire, I be so shrammed a bidin1 zo long in the
kert."
SHROUDED. — A tree is said to be shrouded when branches
are lopped off it as it stands.
SHROVIN'. — Children go round the principal houses in the
village on Shrove Tuesday singing the rhyme noted in the
introduction with other local rhymes.
SHUCK and SHUG. — Repeated several times as a call for pigs
to come and be fed.
SHUCK-DOWN.— A hastily made up bed.
SHUMMED, or SHAAYMED, or SHE-AMED.— Ashamed.
SHUM-VAAYCED.— Looking awkwardly shy.
SHUT, or SHET. — To get shut of a person or thing is to be
well rid thereof.
"A went on a-tellin' I zuch stupid things as I was glad to get shut
on 'in."
SHUT IN.— Close.
" The daays shuts in arly at this time o" year."
SHUVVY-HAWLE.— A boys' game at marbles. A small hole
is made in the ground and marbles are pushed in turn with
the side of the first finger, these are won by the player
pushing them into the " shuvvy-hawle"
SHY. — To " plaay shy " or to " vight shy " is to avoid.
SKELLIN'. — A lean-to shed from a main building or a wall,
sometimes called SHEALIN also.
SKERLUT.— Scarlet.
SKESS.— Scarce.
" Patridges be oncommon skess acause o' the wet bradin' ze-a-zon."
SKEWT, or SKEWT-WISE.— Aslant, crossing.
" Them vloor-boords be led down all skewt, e' maunt naail 'um to the
jists like that ther."
SKIMMER. — A cook's ladle for removing surface matter from
anything boiling.
" Praay, mother, gie I zome dinner,
Else I'll knock 'e down wi' the skimmer."
Old Nursery Rhyme,
148 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
SKIMMER-CAAYKE.— A flat pudding made with surplus
dough, eaten with butter and sugar.
SKIMPIN'.— Small, insignificant.
" I be maain hungry, vor all a gin I vor dinner was a shimpin* bit o'
baaycon."
SKIM-PLOUGH.— To plough, so as to move the soil but
little in depth. This kind of ploughing is so light as often
not to turn the soil over.
SKIMPY. — Stingy, begrudging.
"If'e be zo shimmy towards we, none on us wunt gie thee nothun'
when us has got ut."
SKIN-DAPE.— Not seriously affecting one.
" His trouble be awnly skin-dape, an' he'll be hiszelf agin in a wake."
SKINNY.— Lean, thin.
SKITTLES. — Always played with four large heavy pins, and
the wooden ball is thrown and not rolled.
S KITTY. — Not to be depended upon.
Inconstant.
Lively, freakish.
SKRIMPY. — Niggardly, small and poor in quantity (almost
similar in meaning to SKIMPY).
SKRUNGE.— To squeeze hardly together.
" I shrunged the rat atwixt two boords an' zo killed 'un."
SKUG. — A squirrel is thus called.
SLAB. — The outside irregular slice of timber (inside which is
sawn boards or planks) is named the " slab."
Any short piece of thick planking is also called a " slab."
SLACKUMTWIST.— An untidy, slatternly woman.
SLAD. — A low lying strip of land between two hills. Many
villages and farms have a "slad"
SLAER, or SLIAR.— A sly look.
" I zin her gie 'un a slaer as maayde muh think as 'um had a-zin one
'nuther avoor."
SLAM, — To shut with a great noise.
SLAMMAKIN'.— Slouching,
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 149
SLAP. — Fully; precisely; unreservedly,
" The stwun hit I slap on the yead."
" A veil slap down."
Slap-up is ' excellent ' (common),
SLAPE-MOUSE.— The dormouse.
SLAPEY. — Sleepy, applied to fruit which has not much juice.
There is a kind of pear called the " slapey pear." The flat
taste and want of juice styled " slapey" sometimes arise from
decay at the core.
SLAPEY-YEAD. — A term of reproach applied to one who
shows little energy.
SLAPPIN.' — Very great; much to be appreciated.
"We shall hev a slappin' lot o' graaypes on our graaype-tree this
year."
SLASH. — A blow with a whip ; a cut with a knife.
SLASHIN.'— Dashing, large.
"The man had ro-ast bafe vust an' a slashin' gurt plum pudden
ater "t."
SLAW-WORM. — The blind worm — deemed venomous.
SLICK. — Completely, thoroughly, entirely.
"That ther awld vixen gin the houns the go-by agin slick."
SLICKUT.— A thin slice.
SLINK. — To drag the hind quarters heavily.
"The dogs hev had hard work to daay, zee how thaay slinks."
SLIP. — A slip of a girl is a girl hardly arrived at womanhood.
A woman's or child's under garment.
A covering for a pillow.
SLIP-ON.— To don quickly.
SLIPPETIN'. — Going along quickly and without noise on
treading.
SLIPPY.— Slippery.
To be slippy is to make haste.
SLIP-SHAD. — Untidy ; incomplete.
SLIT.— A rent.
" Ooll 'e plaze mend a slit in my kwut."
SLITHERY. — Slippery as from grease.
SLOCKUT. — To commit a petty theft ; to pilfer.
150 BERKSHIRE WORDS,
SLOP.— Dirt. One who comes into the house with dirty boots
is said to make a slop all over .the place.
To slop work is to do it badly and incompletely.
SLOUCH. — A man is so called who does not do a fair amount
of work.
SLUCK-A-BED. — An idle person who lies in bed late in the
morning. Stuck may possibly be a corruption of " slug " or
" sloth." When anyone lies in bed late, boys will commonly
sing—
" Sluck-a-bcd, sluck-a-bed, Barley Butt,
Yer yead be zo heavy 'e can't get up."
SLUDGE. — Snow partly melted and forming snow-mud.
'.' Sludge "ooll get droo' yer boots an' maayke yer vit wet when nothun'
else wunt."
SLUMMACK. — A dirty, disreputable looking person.
SLUMMAKIN'.— Used sometimes for SLAMMAKIN'.
SLUSH. — Soft mud as where sheep have been driven along a
wet road. Roads thus dirty are said to be " slushy."
SMACK. — Fully, completely ; often used similarly to SLAP.
" A slipped an' veil down smack."
SMACKIN'.— Very large.
" Ther' be zome smackin' big apples on our tree."
SMALL-BEER.— Weak beer ranking after "'aayle." Any-
thing poor or insignificant is said to be " vurry small leer"
SMASH. — A complete breakage ; a heavy resounding fall.
" A let the tay-pot vail an' broke 'un all to smash."
SMERTISH.— Rather great, somewhat important.
" A smertish bwoy " means a boy of good growth and size.
"Us vound a smertish lot o' patridges on the brows, but none at all
down in the bottoms."
Pretty well in health.
" My lumbaaygo begone, an1 I be smertish agin now."
SMIRK. — To smile as trying to curry favour.
SMOCK.— The " smock-frock " is so called always. It is the
main or over garment of carters, carter boys, and some farm
labourers.
SMOCK - VAAYCED.— Mild looking; often applied also
somewhat contemptuously or disparagingly.
" Vor all a looks zo smock-vaayced a be a bad chap."
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 161
SMUDGED.— Besmeared.
" The bwoy's vaayce be all smudged wi' jam."
SMUG.- Secret.
" Mind e' kips smug about what I jus' telled 'e."
SMUTS. — Small pieces of soot flying about and settling on
things, called " blacks " also.
SNAAILS'-PAAYCE.— Advancing very slowly.
SNACK. — A small piece, a small quantity.
SNAPPER. — To crackle, to make a sharp short sound.
SNATCH.— A small quantity.
" I got jus' a snatch of breakvus avoor I sterted, an' that's all I had to
yet to-daay."
SNE-AD. — The main pole of a scythe.
SNICKER.— To sneer.
" If 'e snickers at I I'ooll maayke 'e laugh t'other zide o'yer mouth,"
SNICKS.— Shares, halves.
SNIGGER. — To laugh in a silly way.
SNI FFLE. — To make a noise when inhaling through the nose.
A dog is said to sniffle at a rat hole when smelling to know
if there be a rat there.
SNIP. — There is the expression, "she 'ood zaay snip to his
snap," i.e., "she would readily accept an offer of marriage
from him."
SNIVEL. — The noise a child makes when commencing to cry
before breaking out loudly.
SNOCK. — To give a downward blow on the head or top of
anything.
" A allus snochs the candle to put 'un out zo's 'e can't light 'un agin."
SNOOZLE-DOWN.— To nestle down as a child does to go to
sleep.
SNOUL.— A thick piece.
" Thee hev gin I a snoitl o' baaycon an' no mistaayke."
SPAAYDE. — The gummy deposit at the corner of the eye.
SPADGER.— A sparrow.
SPAKIN'-VINE.— The attempt to speak otherwise than in the
dialect (in town fashion).
SPAN KIN'. — Very rapid ; very great ; very numerous.
" We was a comin" along at a spankin* raayte."
SPARKLES. — Large sparks of fire or small burning pieces of
wood or straw flying upward.
SPARRED -HURDLES.— Hurdles made of shaved wood,
morticed and nailed. Vide also RAAIL-HURDLES.
SPARRER-GRACE.— Asparagus.
SPAT. — A slight blow in the face with the open hand.
SPECKS.- — Suspects; expects; spectacles.
SPEELS.— Small pieces of light matter on fire floating in the
air.
SPELL.— A space of time.
SPET.— To spit.
SPIFLICAAYTED.— Thoroughly confused; at one's wits end,
SPIKE-BIT.— The carpenter's "centre bit."
SPILE.— The vent peg of a beer barrel.
To spoil.
SPILL. — A paper pipe-light ; a fall from a horse.
SPLATTERED.— Splashed.
" How did'st get thee kwut all splattered wi' mud ? "
SPLENDAAYCIOUS.— Very splendid, making a great show.
SPLIT.—- To halve. To " split the difference " is the common
expression for the price midway between that offered and
demanded.
SPLITTIN'.— The head is said to be splittitf when racking
with pain.
SPLODGIN'.— Splashing.
" A went splodgin' droo the dirt when a med ha1 gone clane-voot
t'other ro-ad."
SPLOTCH.— A dab of dirt adhering to anything, such as
might be thrown from a carriage wheel.
SPLUT.— To make a fuss.
SPLUTTER. — To eject small drops of saliva in hasty speech.
SPOON ME-AT. -Broth or soup.
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 153
SPOUT. — The expression "in great spout" is used to denote
that a person is in a boisterous humour or much elated.
SPRACK, also SPRANK.— Full of energy and spirits.
SPREADER. — The stick or wooden bar which keeps the chain
traces between waggon horses wide apart.
SPREATHED.— Chapped.
" Zee how my hands be spreathed wi' the cawld."
SPREE. — This word is commonly used just as elsewhere to
denote a frolic.
SPUD. — An instrument having a minature spade attached to a
long light wooden handle, it is sometimes carried by old-
fashioned farmers when they go through fields in order to
root up thistles.
SPUDDLE. — To stir up liquid matter by poking.
SQUAAYLER. — A short stick with a knob of iron at the end
used by boys to throw at birds, squirrels, &c., it goes head
first breaking any small branches in its way.
SQUAAYRE. — To settle a matter corruptly ; on the squaayre,
means openly and fairly ; to stand up ready to fight.
" Squazyn dalins " are " equitable dealings."
SQUAKER. — A young partridge able to fly but not fully
grown. Vide also VLAPPER.
Swifts are also called squakers from the noise they make.
SQUASH, also SQUISH.— To squeeze into a pulpy mass.
SQUASHY or SQUISHY means soft and pulpy.
SQUAT.— A hare in her form is said to be "squattin."'
A dint.
" A let vail our metal tay-pot an' maayde a squat in un."
A squatty person is one short and thick.
SQUAWK.— The cry of a hare when caught.
SQUELCH.— The peculiar noise made when walking in boots
which have taken in water.
To step quickly on any soft substance.
SQUENCH.— Quench.
SQUIRM. — To writhe under pain, mental as well as bodily, as
when having one's misdeeds made public.
154
BERKSHIRE WORDS,
SQUIRT. — To eject a thin stream of liquid. A syringe is
called a "water-squirt."
SQUISH.— 7*W* SQUASH.
STAAY. — Something eaten when a meal is too long postponed.
" Our dinner \vunt be ready vor dree hours zo thess yet a nossle o'
bre-ad vor a staay."
STAAYLE VALLERS.— Stale fallows, i.e., land that has been
ploughed some time since, and allowed thus to remain to
take in sun and rain.
"When asked if hares are likely to be found on a piece of ploughed
land a keeper might reply, "No, sir, them vallcrs beant staayle enough."
STABBLE. — To leave footprints from boots covered with dirt.
" A bin a-stabblin' all awver my nice cle-an kitchen."
STADDLE. — A stand for a rick, to keep the corn off the damp
ground and in some measure to prevent rats and mice
obtaining access to it.
Hayricks are not usually built on " staddles" but have a
foundation of straw and bavins to keep the lower course
dry.
STAKE or STAAK.— A stalk.
STALL. — A covering made for a wounded thumb or finger.
STAMPS.— Gun-wads.
STAMP-CUTTER.— The punch for cutting gun-wads.
STAND. — To " stand " to a child is the term for becoming a
sponsor.
STEEL.— To sharpen a carving knife on a steel. This
operation often commences after the joint is placed on the
table, and follows after Grace.
STEP.— A distance.
" A goodish step " means rather a long distance.
STEPPER.— A horse that goes quickly is called a stepper.
STERK. — Stiff. The expression " stiff an sterk " is commonly
used with reference to one who has been dead some time.
" /Sta^-staring-mad " means quite mad.
STERT. — An event or episode.
" Ther was a rummy stert up at verm, zomebody took all the vawkses
kwuts awaay whilst um was at work."
STEW.— A difficulty.
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 155
STICK. — To " cut your stick " is to get away as quickly as
possible.
STICK IN THE GIZZARD.— To rankle.
"What a zed sticks in my gizzard, an1 I shan't hev no pe-us till I be
upzides wi' un."
STICKLER. — One very firm or even obstinate.
" A be a gurt stickler vor what a thinks be his right."
STICKIN' PE-US.— The part of the neck of an animal where
the knife is inserted.
STICK UP. — A youth is said to " stick up " to a girl when he is
commencing to pay addresses to her.
STINGER.— A hard blow.
STIRRIN'.— Tilling.
" That ley 'ooll want stirrin* zoon."
STIRRUP GRACE.— A whipping with a strap.
STITCH. — A pain in the side caused by running quickly.
STOBBLE.— To stop the flow of a liquid ; to caulk.
STOCK. — To " stock " a farm means to get it in working order
in all ways. About £"io. per acre is roughly considered
necessary.
STOCKS. — A frame work with apertures for hands and feet of
offenders, placed in the centre of villages.
STOCKY.— Thick set and strong.
" That ther be a stocky chap, a can car a zack o' whate."
STODGE, or TODGE.— Thick soup.
To defeat ; to nonplus.
" A zimmed quite stodged when I tawld 'un as I cood'nt gie 'un no
moor money."
STODGEY. — Sustaining; applied to soups, &c., containing
solid or thickening matter.
STOMACHY. — Irritable, headstrong. When applied to a
horse it signifies difficult of control.
STOOLS. — The roots of trees which have been felled.
STOOP. — To stoop a cask is to cause it to be tilted so that the
remaining liquor may run freely through the tap.
STOOR PEGS.— Pigs ready to go for fattening.
156
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
STOORY.'' — To " hev a stoory" with a person is to visit and
hear the somewhat rambling account of ailments and
troubles.
STOPPLE. — The stopper of a Field beer barrel or earthenware
jar.
STOUT.— The horse fly.
A "stoutish lad" is a well grown lad.
STRAAIN.— Breed.
STRAAITS. — In poor circumstances.
STRAAYGHT.— Soon.
"Thee had best stert on an' I'll voller straayght"
STRADDLE.— To get astride.
STRADDLE WISE.— With legs wide apart.
STRAKE.— Streak.
STRAME or STRE-AM. — A stream. Most of the streams in
Berkshire cease to run at a certain time of year, and the
" old folk " have a good deal to say or prophecy on this
matter.
They say of the Lambourn, that " the earlier it dries up, the higher
will be the price of corn." The reason for the saying no doubt is that
dry weather is favourable for corn. "Drought never bred famine in
England."
The "Pang" which rises at Touchums Pond, at Hampstead Norreys,
never begins to rise much before the shortest day, nor to sink much
before the longest day.
STRAP-OIL.— A beating with a strap.
STRAPPER. — A journeyman labourer coming for work at
harvest time or hay making.
A big strong person.
STRAY, or STRAA.— Straw. " Down in the stray" refers to
the time of an animal bringing forth young.
STRE-ANGER, or STRAAINGER.— The expression, "we
wunt maayke no stre-anger on 'e" is the cordial invitation to
a guest to feel himself at home, and indicates also that
there is no extra preparation or ceremony on his account.
STRIDE. — To pace in order to ascertain distance. " I strided
ut " is held conclusive with reference to assertion as regards
distance.
A distance.
" Ut be a smartish stride, e knaws, vrom my house up to verm."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 157
STRIKE. — The wooden roller passed evenly over the standard
bushel corn measure to make the surface corn level and
measurement precise.
STRIPPIN'.— Clearing the bark off oak trees. The time of
year when this is done and when the sap is up is called
" strippin'-time."
STRIT.— A street.
STROKE. — A game at marbles where each player places a
certain number on a line and plays in turn from a distance
mark called " scratch," keeping such as he may knock off.
STUB. — To grub up roots of small trees or underwood. Where
underwood has been cut the short lengths protruding from
the ground are sometimes called "stubs" of wood.
STUBS. — Stubble. A field lying in stubble is called a " pe-us
o' whate-sta&s " or a <( pe-us o' wu.t-stubs" &c., as the case
may be.
Vide also STUB.
STUCK. — Unable to proceed, puzzled, perplexed.
" I vound out what 'e wants to knaw zo vur as I tells 'e, an' then I
got stuck."
STUFFY. — Partly stopped up ; somewhat choked up.
" I hev got a bad cawld, an' veels maain stuffy about the dro-at this
marnin1."
Devoid of ventilation ; close.
STUMP. — To make a noise by walking heavily.
To grub up roots of trees.
STUMPS.— Legs.
" To stir your stumps " is to make haste.
STUMPY.— Short and thickset.
STUNNER.— Anything excellent.
" Stunning'' is also used to denote excellence.
STUNNY.— To deafen.
"The noise as the childern maaykes stunnys muh zo's I can't yer
myzelf spake."
STUPE.— A stupid person.
" You be a stupe to go on like that then"
STWUN.— A stone,
STWUN-BLIND.— Quite blind*
158 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
STWUN-DEAD.— Quite dead.
STWUNNERS. — Boys' marbles made of grey stone. These
are of less value than " alleys," but of greater value than
" chalkers."
STWUN-KERT.— Carting stones off a field. In the hill
country in Berkshire this is a periodical agricultural
operation ; women pick up the stones and pile them in
heaps, and they are then carted off for road mending.
STWUNUS.— A stallion.
STYE. — A "wisp" on the eye, commonly supposed to indicate
that one thus suffering is very greedy.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 159
TAAIL. — The refuse of wheat or barley not good enough for
market.
" Taailins " is also used,
TAAIL-BOORD. — The removeable board at back of cart or
waggon.
TAAILOR.— The Village Tailor often has this title prefixed to
his surname, his Christian name being dropped.
TAAY, or TAY.— Tea.
TAAYKE-IN.— To " taaykc-in " a rick is to thresh out the corn.
TAAYKE-ON.— To give full vent to one's own grief.
TACKLE.— To overcome, to outwit, to get the best of. With
regard to drinks such as beer, &c., the expressions are
common.
" That ther be poor tackle."
11 That ther be precious good tackle."
TAG.— To tie, to add.
"If us tags on a bit to the ind o' that ther rawpe a 'ooll rache as vur
as us wants un to 't."
TAKIN', or TAAYKIN'.— In a state of excitement; much
affected temporarily.
" She zimmed in a gurt takin1 acause I tawld her as her dater was
agwaain out to zarvice."
TALLER.— Tallow.
TALLUT.— The loft over a stable where the hay is kept.
TALLY. — -When an animal has been found trespassing and is
brought to the village pound, the pound-keeper cuts a stick in
half, and, keeping the one half himself, gives the other to the
person who has sustained damage by the trespass ; the half
thus given is called the "tally" and the impounded animal
can only be released by the owner producing this tally in
token that he has satisfied claims for trespass.
TAM-CULL,— The " Millards Thumb,"
160 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
TAMMUS.— Thomas.
TAM TIDDLER'S GROUND.— Perhaps the most favourite
game with little children.
TAM-TOE.— The great toe.
TAN.— To whip.
A " tannin'"' is a whipping.
TANG. — The measured sounding of a bell.
" I yerd the bell tang dree times zo ut mus' be a man as has died."
NOTE. — It is customary for the bell to "tang" three times on
the death of a man, twice for a woman, and once for a child,
and the tolling of a deeper toned bell follows after. It
should be mentioned that three strokes on four other bells
usually precede the numbers "tanged" as above referred to.
TANGLE.— Confused ; knotted.
" I be veelin' in a tangle zomehow an1 wants to thenk a bit."
TAP- UP.— To top-up. To put the top to a rick.
The end of a meal.
" Ater ro-ast be-af an' plum pudden us tapped-up wi' zome good
Stilton chaze."
TARBLE, also TARBLISH.— Tolerable^; in fairly good health.
" I be a veelin' pretty tarble now zur, thenk 'e kindly vor axin."
TARNAAYSHUN. — Very extremely ; very great or numerous.
TARNAL. — Expressive of magnitude; used similarly to
" tarnaayshun."
TAWL.— A " taw " of the game of marbles.
TAYCHIN'— Education.
" I didn't hev no toy chin' when I was a bwoy."
TAY MATIN. — A meeting with prayer in Dissenting Chapels
with tea and cake, &c., for those assembled.
TAYTERS, or TAAYTERS.— Potatoes.
TAYTER-TRAP.— The mouth.
TE-AD. — To spread hay, &c., for the sun to dry.
TEARIN'. — Very great ; very excessive.
TEART. — Very tender to the touch as when there is surface
inflammation.
TEENY-TINY Very small indeed.
11 1 awnly yetted a teeny-tiny bit on 't but ut maayde I bad."
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 161
TEER.— To tear,
TEG. — A sheep one year old.
TELL.— To count.
" Tell them ther ship 'ooll 'e an' let I knawhow many ther be on um."
" I yerd tell " means " I have heard it stated," and " I hev
yerd zaay" has a similar signification.
TELLED.— Told ; contented.
'TENT, or 'TE-ANT, or TYENT.— It is not.
TERBLE or TERRAAYBLE.— Very great.
" Ther be a terraayble lot o' young rabbuts this year to be zure,"
TERT.— Harsh and abrupt.
Acid.
TETTERS. — Small pimples ; also small ulcers.
THAA.— To thaw.
THAAY.— Those, them.
THATE VOR, — i.e., thought for, expected, anticipated.
" Them wuts bent turned out as well as I thate vor,"
THAT THER.— Used for " that."
THE-AVES.— Two toothed ewes.
THEE.— Used for "thou" and "you."
THEE'ST.— Thou hast, you had, you have.
" Thee'st best be aff avoor I gies 'e zummut as 'ull maayke e."
THEM.— They.
THEM THER.— Those.
THEN. — Very commonly used superfluously at the termination
of a sentence, but is intended to give emphasis.
11 What I zes I means then."
THER NOW.— " That settles the question."
" If e' zes another word I'll zack 'e, ther now"
THESS, or LESS.—" Let us."
THE-UZ YER, also THE-UZ-UN.— These.
THICK. — Stupid ; slow of comprehension.
Intimate.
" The two vamilies hev allus a-bin thick wi' one 'nother,"
M
162
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
THICK-YEAD.— One is contemptuously so called who does not
comprehend quickly, or who has made a stupid mistake.
THICK MILK.— Milk boiled and thickened with flour and
sweetened with sugar or treacle.
THICK SKINNED.— Not quick to take offence ; the reverse
of " thin skinned."
THIEF.— A " thief in the candle," is a detached piece of the
wick which becomes ignited and, sinking down as it burns,
causes the candle to go to waste.
THILLER, or VILLER.— The shaft horse of a team.
THIMBLE-PIE.— A rap on the top of the head from the
thimbled finger of the school mistress. The Dame who
kept a village School, doing needlework the while, kept
those children likely to require such chastisement con-
veniently near her.
THIN.— Used to express a poor show as regards quantity or
number.
" The whate crap zims thin on the hills."
THING-A-MY, or THING-UM-BOB.— Anything is so re-
ferred to when its proper name cannot be called to mind
at the moment.
THIN-SKINNED.— Easily affronted.
THONG.— To twine or twist together.
THREDDLE.— To " threddle " a needle is to pass thread through
the eye of it ready for sewing.
THRETTY.— Thirty.
THUMP.— A loud noise ; a blow.
To chastise.
THUMPIN'.— Very large.
" Ther be a thumpm' lot o' nuts in the copses this year."
THURT. — In a contrary mood, ill-tempered.
" I allus vinds un zo thurt as I wunt go an1 ax un nothun' no moor."
THURT OVER. — Obstinate and cross, used very similarly to
TICE.— To entice, to attract.
TICKLISH. — Requiring skill or tact in performance.
" T'ull be a ticklish job to perzwaayde un to do what us wants un
to't;"
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 163
TID. — A " tid-bit " or a " tit-bit " is a choice morsel of food,
Cunningly reserved.
" I ax'd un what was the matter, but a was maain tid about ut."
TIDDLE. — To bring up by hand. A young lamb is tiddled from
a milk bottle.
TIDDY.— Very small ; also very softly.
" Mind 'e goes into the room vurry tiddy or 'e med waayke the
baayby."
TIDLY.— Very small and helpless.
An old woman will say " I had un in my arms when a was a tidly
little chap."
TIDY.— Considerable.
" A have got a tidy bit o' money put by."
Clean looking and respectable. The word in this sense is
usually applied to a woman.
T IFFY.-— Touchy; huffy; easily affronted.
TIGHT. — Of a neat, compact figure.
" She be a tight lookin' little body."
Intoxicated.
Stingy.
" A wunt gie 'e nothun, a allus was a tight man."
TIG-TIG-TIG.— A call for pigs.
TILT. — To raise one end of anything by leverage.
" Full tilt" means full speed or " with a bold front."
TILTED KERT. — A covered cart such as is used by the
village carriers to keep goods dry when being brought from
the market town.
TILTH.— Tillage. Land in good tilth is land well ploughed
and worked and in a good state of cultivation.
TIMBER-BOB. — A timber carriage consisting of a simple
arrangement between two wheels to which part of the tree
is chained, the remainder of the tree dragging along the
ground.
TIMBERSTICKS.— Trees lying in a confused heap to season
are so called.
TIMBERZOME.— Timorous, fearful, nervous.
TIME. — The period of service for which engaged.
" My time 'ooll be up come Martinmas."
To bid anyone " the time o' daay " is to say good morning.
164 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
TIMELY.— Seasonable, anything is " not timely" when earlier
or later than usual.
TIND.— To add fuel to the fire.
" Tind the vire else a'll go out."
TINES. — Iron spikes as of a harrow.
TINGLIN'. — A curious nervous sensation.
" I hev got a tinglin' in my legs vrom zettin quiet zo long."
TING-TANG.— The smallest and highest hung of the bells in
a church tower. It is rung last of all before service
commences, following the " zarmon-bell."
TINKER. — To mend temporarily. To tinker anything " up a
bit " is to mend it for an occasion.
TIP. — To " tip awver " is to turn over, to upset.
" If e drives the kert zo quick awver the ruts we shall tip awver."
TIP-CAT. — A favourite game with boys, a bale of wood
being forced upward from the ground by a blow on one end
of it, and then hit to a distance as it is falling.
TIPPED AN' NAAILED.— Boots for field wear have the soles
thus furnished, there being heavy iron tips at toe and heel,
and hob-nails between.
TIP-TOE.— Walking lightly on the toes, so as not to be heard.
TIP-TOP.— Very excellent, the best.
TIT, or TET, or TITTY.— A teat.
TITCH.— To touch.
TITCHY.— Easily offended.
TIT-LARK.— A species of lark.
TIT-TAT-TOE. — The first game taught to children when they
can use a slate pencil, the words,
" Tit-tat-toe,
My first go,"
being said by the one who first makes three crosses, or noughts
in a row.
TITTER.— To laugh a little.
TITTI VATE. -To dress one's self with a view to effect.
TITTLE. — Very lightly. A gin or trap is said to be set very
tittle when it will strike on the slightest touch,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 165
TITUP. — A term used at Loo. When but one player has put
into the pool a single card is dealt round face upwards,
and all but the person holding the winner have to subscribe
to a fresh pool.
TIXTE.— Text.
TO BE ZURE. — A very common phrase, meaning "certainly,"
" indeed."
TODGE.— Vide STODGE.
TODGEY.— Short and fat.
TO-DO. — A fuss ; an unusual event involving excitement and
confusion.
TOGGERY. — Dress. One says in preparing for a visit, " I
mus' put on my bes' toggery."
TOKEN. — Something unusual and a bad omen, as birds
pecking at the window, dogs howling, &c.
TOLE.— To entice.
" Car a bwun zo as to tole the puppy whoam wi' "e."
TOM. — Male of any farmyard bird.
" How many Toms and how many hens bether in the brood o' Turkeys?"
TOMMY.— Food ; used chiefly by boys.
TOM PODLIN'.— Fussing.
" A be allus a.-tom podlin' about at whoam when a should be awaay
at his work."
TONGUE. — The small moveable iron spike of a buckle, which
fits into holes in the leathern strap.
Dogs are always said to "give tongue " when in active pursuit
of game.
'T'OOD.— It would.
T'OOD'NT, signifies ' it would not.'
TOOK.— Gave.
" 1 took un a knock on the yead wi1 this yer stick."
Taken.
TOOK BAD means " became ill," and TOOK Wuss signifies
serious illness.
TOOK TO.— To have liking for.
" I never took to that ther chap."
"TOOL, or "FULL.— It will.
TOOT H - AN '-N A AIL. — Most vigorously, ferociously.
" She went at un tooth-an'-naail an' a was glad to get awaay >"
166 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
TOOTHZOME.— Pleasant to the taste.
TOP-DRESSIN'. — A specially rich manure spread over the
surface of land.
TOPPER.— A hat.
Something very excellent.
An anecdote told to beat one that has been related immediately
before it.
TOPPIN'. — Large, extreme, also rapid.
" A was ridin' along at a toppm* raayte."
TOPPINS.— The ground husk of wheat finest size. That
next in coarseness is called "pollard."
TOPPLE AWVER.— To fall over by slight disturbance as
regards the position of centre of gravity.
TOPZAAYER. — One having influence over his fellows or being
in a position of importance.
The derivation is simple. When sawing timber into planks
the man working the upper handle of the saw and standing
on the tree is the "topzaayev" and guides, whilst his
partner working the lower handle is stationed below in the
saw-pit.
TOPZY-TURVY.— Upside down.
TO-RIGHTS.— All in proper place.
TOSTICAAYTED.— Intoxicated.
TO'T. — To do it. In reply to an order to start at once to
school, a good-for-nothing boy will say, " I dwoant want
totr
TOT-BELLIED. — Applied to a man who is corpulent.
T'OTHER.— Always used for " the other."
TOTTED.— Added up.
" Us totted up our recknins an' thaay did 'nt tally.''
TOUCH. — When a dog first scents game he is said to " touch."
TOUCH 'OOD. — Dry, decayed wood that continues to
smoulder if ignited, but which will not burst into flame.'
Boys have games called " touch 'ood" and " touch-iron," where
anyone not touching either of the substances named is
liable to be caught by the one standing out and has to
stand out accordingly.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 167
TOW-ART.— Towards ; forward.
" When a come a little tow-art I could zee as t'was apawle cat an' not
a verrut."
TOW-ART-LY.— Encouragingly.
" She looked at un a bit toiv-art-ly.''
TOWELIN'.— A whipping.
TOWER. — A partridge is said to "tower" when after being
struck on the head by a shot it mounts straight upwards
and then falls quite dead.
TOWERIN'.— Very great.
" Ther 'ooll be a towerin' lot o' tayters vor markut when us hev got
um all dug up."
TRAAYPESSIN'.— Flaunting ; walking about affectedly and
conceitedly.
TRAMMEL NET. — A long net dragged above the ground
used in the night to catch larks and sometimes by poachers
to catch partridges also.
TRAMP. — The term applied to an itinerant beggar.
" Ther be a tramp at the door, tell un ther yent nothun' vor un.''
TRANSMOGRIV1ED. — Transformed in appearance, disguised.
Surprised, greatly astonished.
TRAW. — " Trough " is so pronounced ; thus we have, " Peg-
traws" " Ship-traws" and " Herse-traws."
TRAY.— A tree.
TRAYDLE. — The rest for the foot wherefrom action is given
to a tinker's wheel, or other similar arrrangement,
TRENCHER MUN.— One who eats heartily is called a good
" trencher mun."
TRIGGED OUT. — Dressed very gaily. A girl when going to
a fair is said to be " trigged out in her best."
TRIM. — The expression "trim one's jacket" means to
administer a whipping.
TRIMMER. — Anything very excellent is so styled.
A night line for catching Pike.
TRIMMIN'.— Very large, excellent.
"I've a-bm in the 'oods an' cut a ttimmin* good knobbed stick or
two."
168 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
TROLL. — To bowl along the ground ; to trundle.
TROTTERS.— Pigs' feet.
TROUBLED. — Used with reference to anything supernatural
or of delusions.
TROUNCE.— To whip.
To denounce.
TRUCKLE TO. — To try to curry favour by subservient
behaviour.
TRUCKLE-BED.— On a low wooden bedstead.
TRUMPUTS. — Boys make these by scraping a dandelion stalk
thin at one end and blowing at that end. Also from the
stalk of the "dummy-nettle" cut off above a notch, and
with a short slit through the side.
TUCK. — To trim. A rick is said to be " tucked" when raked
down so as to take off loose surface straws, and leave the
others neatly lying in the same direction.
To pull.
" Gie her shawl a tuck to maayke her look round."
TUFFUTS. — Grassy hillocks ; disused ant hills over-grown
with turf.
TUNNEL.— A funnel is so called.
TURMUTS.— Turnips.
TURN. — To "get a turn " is to be suddenly overcome through
fear or surprise.
TURRIVY.— Toteaze.
" What dost want to turrivy the child vor, gie un back his marvels,
an' let 'un alo-an."
TUSSLE. — A short struggle, in which the hands and not
weapons are used.
TUTTY. — Tufty. A tuft or bunch of flowers is described as
being in bloom " all of a tutty" See TUTTYMEN.
TUTTYMEN, or TUTTIMEN.— The tythingmen who bear
bunches of flowers at Hocktide proceedings at the town of
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 160
Hungerford are so named. Vide TUTTY. The duties of a
Tuttiman are fully explained in the following extract from a
contribution by an ex-Tuttiman to " Chamber's Journal ":—
" The constitution of the governing body of the town of Hungerford,
Berkshire, is as follows : High-constable, feoffees, portreeve, bailiff,
tit king-men, and the Hocktide jury. No one can serve the office of high-
constable until he has served the offices of tith ing-man, bailiff, and
portreeve. All who have filled these offices are eligible, and the
Hocktide jury have the power to elect. The High-constable is during his
term of office Lord of the Manor, and likewise coroner for the borough,
and no town business can be settled without his sanction. The bailiff
has to collect all market and other tolls ; and the portreeve has to
gather in all quit-rents, the same to be handed to the high-constable.
The ' tithing-men,' or in common speech, 'tuttimen ' are selected from
the tradesmen of the town ; and their duties are somewhat unique.
Before the establishment of the county police, they had to act as
constables, and assist in preserving order in the town. In addition to
this, on ' Hockney Day ' — which is the Tuesday following Easter
week — they have to visit each house in the borough and demand a coin
of the realm from each male ; and have the privilege of taking, if not
freely given, a kiss from each woman. As a rule the ladies take the
salute in good part, as the writer of this can testify, having served the
office, some are coy and run away, but generally allow themselves to be
caught. The said tithing-men carry each a staff about six feet long,
bedecked with choice flowers, and having streamers of blue ribbons ;
the whole being surmounted with a cup and spike bearing an orange,
which is given with each salute, and then replaced by another one.
The proceedings of Hocktide are of a very festive character, and begin
on the Friday preceding ' Hockney Day ' by the holding of what is
called the ' Audit Supper ' at the 'John o'Gaunt Inn.' The guests on
this occasion are those who bear office in the town. The fare is macaroni,
Welsh rabbits, and water-cress, followed by steaming hot punch.
The following Tuesday, Hockney Day, is ushered in by the blowing
John of Gaunt's horn from the balcony of the town hall. At nine
o'clock, the Hocktide jury having been summoned, assemble in the
town-hall ; and having chosen a foreman and being duly sworn, the
ancient rules and regulations of the court are read over by the town
clerk ; after which the names of the free suitors and commoners are
called over ; those who do not answer to their names have to pay a
penny, or lose their right of commons and fishing for the ensuing year.
The High-constable then presents his accounts; the vouchers of
expenditure are passed to and examined by each juryman ; and if these
be found correct, the jury attach their signatures to the balance-sheet.
This being done, the High-constable for the ensuing year is chosen,
and the other officers are also elected. In addition to those
already named, are three water-bailiffs, three overseers of the port
downs, three keepers of the keys of the common coffer, two ale-tasters,
hay ward, hall-keeper, and bell-man. Presentments as to encroachments
(if any) on the town property are made and discussed, and any matter
relating to the welfare of the town considered. The business concluded,
the retiring High-constable invites the jury to luncheon at the 'Three
Swans' Hotel." A substantial cold collation is provided, followed by
bowls of punch.
On the following Friday morning, the officers are sworn in ; and in
the evening, the newly elected High-constable gives a banquet to his
fellow-townsmen to the number of from sixty to eighty. The banquet
is a right royal one, there being everything in season, and a profusion
of the choicest wines. On Saturday, the festivities are brought to a
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
close by a lancheon at the ' Three Swans' Hotel,' again followed by
punch ad libitum. The whole of the Hocktide proceedings come to an
end on Sunday, when the High-constable and Corporation meet in the
town-hall and walk in procession to the parish church to attend Divine
Service."
TWADDLE.— Unreliable information.
TWANG. — The term for accent, whereby one knows what part
a man comes from.
'T'WANT.— It was not.
" A tawld I 't'want no good to try."
TWIDDLE, or TWISSLE. — To turn round in a small space.
To twiddle one's thumbs is an expression denoting " sitting
idly."
TWIG. — To understand quickly.
TWIRE. — To gaze wistfully and beseechingly.
TWIST. — A long loaf of bread formed by twisting two pieces
of dough together.
The usual handle for a carter boy's whip ; it is made of tough
twigs twisted together, and is pliant and lasting.
The appetite.
TWISTER.— An improbable story ; a lie.
A great difficulty.
TWIT. — To try to teaze one by sly or irritating allusions.
TWITCH. — An instrument for holding a horse by the nose
when administering a ball or other form of medicine.
TWITTER. — To be in a nervous state of expectation or
excitement.
" She was all of a twitter whilst us was waaitin' vor urn to come."
The sharp note of some small birds.
TWO- AD.— One very ungrateful.
" A turned out a gallus two-ad, an' run awaay vrom who-am."
TWO-ADS CHE-UZ.— The toads'-stool.
TWO-TOOTHS. — Applied to sheep of age, as thus shown by
the teeth.
" I hev got a hunderd two-tooths as I mus1 zell to paay my rent."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 171
TWO VAAYCED.— Insincere, false.
'TWUNT.— It will not.
'TYENT.— It is not. Vide TENT.
TYZICK.— A hanging cough.
There is a verse in an old drinking song,
11 Brandy cures the gout,
The colic an' the tjtzick,
An" it is allowed to be,
The vurry best o' physick."
172 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
u
UM.— They, them.
" If urn zes urn wunt do 't agin let um alo-an." (If they say they
won't do it again let them alone.
UN, or IN.— Him, it.
UNKED. — Feeling dull; in low spirits usually from a sense of
loneliness.
"The little gal veels linked like now her brother be gone to schoold."
NOTE. — The word "linked" is generally followed by " like,"
as in the above phrase.
UNNERCONSTUMBLE.— To understand.
UP. — In a state of effervescence.
A person is said to be " up " when the temper is roused.
UP-IND. — To raise one end of a thing so that it shall stand on
the other end.
UPPERDS.— Upwards.
UPPER-ST AWRY .—The head.
" A bit wake in the upper-stawry " means " having little sense."
UPPIN'-STOCK. — A log, or bench, or large stone lying near
the front door of a house wherefrom horses are mounted.
UPPISH. — Giving one's self airs ; conceited ; arrogant.
" A zims to be got zo uppish laaytely as I wunt hev nothun' moor to
do wi' un."
UP-STRIT. — Towards one end of the village along the main
road in it is spoken of as "up-strit" and towards the other
end is " down-stfnY."
UP-TO. — A common term with reference to activity of mind or
body, generally used disparagingly.
" That ther chap yent up-to no good, I warn 'e."
UPZET. — Confusion; disorder.
" We was all in a upzet wi' the washin' when a come to zee us."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 178
UPZIDES WI'.— To retaliate ; to have tit for tat.
"I'll be npzides ivi' un vor been zo spitevul to I."
To be so sharp as not to be outwitted.
" 'T 'ool be hard to be upzides ivi1 zuch a rawgue as he be."
US.— We.
" Shall us go?"
USHER. — An assistant master in a boys' school. The word,
formerly very common, seems falling into disuse.
174
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
V
The letter " V " as an Initial does duty for the letter " F " as well as for
itself.
VAAILS. — Money given to domestics after a visit to a house.
VAAIR DOGS.— Fair play ; fair dealing.
" Thess hev vaair doos an' not try to best one 'nother."
VAAIRIN' — A present brought from a country fair by one who
is fortunate enough to go, to another obliged to stay at
home.
VAAIRISH. — Pretty well ; nearly recovered.
" I be a-veelin' vaarish now zur, ater my lumbaaygo, thenk 'e kindly."
VAAIRY-R INGS.— Rings of grass of a different colour from
the remainder, found on the Downs. Some suppose that
these rings are formed by Fairies dancing round and round
in the moonlight.
VAAYCE, or VE-US— The face.
VAAYCER. — A blow direct in the face ; a very downright
rebuff.
VAAYLE. — The country along the Thames valley, as about
Blewbury, Hagbourn, Moreton, Didcot, &c., &c., is so
called. The other part of the county is styled " the Hill
Country."
VAAYVOUR.— To resemble.
" The child vaayvours the mother moor'n the vath-er."
VADDY.— Full of fidgets or fancies.
VAG. — To reap, but not applied to reaping wheat.
" When the straa be long, vaggin' wuts be better'n mawin1 on um."
VAGABONDlZIN ABOUT.— Wandering and doing no work,
VAG'D. — Looking unwell and as though overworked.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 175
VAGGOT. — A good-for-nothing woman. It is generally pre-
ceded by " awld."
A bundle of lop wood or underwood containing branches of
larger size than those in a " bavin."
VALL.— -The Autumn.
A good "vail o' lambs " signifies a good breeding time.
To " try a vail" means to have a bout at wrestling.
VALLALS. — Ribbons, &c., worn by women when gaily dressed.
VALLERS. — A " pe-us o' vallers " is a field of ploughed land.
VALLY.— Value.
VAMPLUTS.— Short gaiters.
VAN. — A machine for winnowing corn, worked by hand.
VARDEN. — A farthing. " A yent wuth a varden " and "A yent
wuth a brass varden " are common expressions to denote
worthlessness.
VARDICK.— Verdict.
VARRUD.— Forward, early.
" Varrud taayters" are potatoes arrived at maturity early in the
season.
VATH-ER. — Father. Perhaps the most common local riddle
for children is —
" Vath-er, mother, zister, an' brother,
All run roun1 the taayble an' cood'nt ketch one "nother."
The answer being a "wind-mill."
VATTY-GUED.— "Fatigued " is so pronounced. It was a
specially favourite word with Mrs. Lucy Newland, formerly
school mistress at Hampstead Norreys.
VATTY-YEAD.— A stupid person.
VAUTY. — Anything having a flaw or with part decayed is so
described.
VAWER.— Four.
VAWK. — Folk ; field hands are thus spoken of when mentioned
collectively.
" Taayke the beer up to the Vawh at dree o'clock."
VAWL,— A foal.
176 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
VAWLE.— To pen.
" Ther wunt be no turmuts left to vawle the ship in ater to-morrer."
A " ship-rawle " is a " sheep-fold."
VAWLE-STAAYKE.— A stake driven into the ground when a
sheep pen is being formed, for the purpose of supporting the
hurdles which are fastened thereto by " hapses."
VE-AD. — Feed. One says to an ostler, " Gie the herse a ve-ad o'
kern," and a fixed measure is understood thereby.
Green crops for sheep, as turnips, swedes, rape, &c., are called
" ve-ad"
A horse is said to be " out at ve-ad" when turned into a
meadow to graze.
VEARD. — Afraid. See also AVEARD.
VEART-SPRANK.— A good sprinkling, or a rather large
parcel.
" We shall hev a veart sprank crap o' apples this year."
VE-AST. — The annual village merry-making usually held on
the Dedication Day of the Parish Church, thus we have
" Hagbourn Ve-ast," &c., &c.
See also LOT and REVEL.
VE- AT.— Rank to the taste.
" This yer mate taaystes ve-at, 'e med gie ut to the dog."
Middling ; fair.
VE-ATISH.— Rather large ; considerable.
" Reck'nin um up one waay an' t'other, ther be a ve-atish lot on um."
Well and in good spirits.
" I be got rid o' the doctor, an' be a-veelin' quite ve-atish like now."
VECKLE. — Spirits ; energy.
" I hev a-had zome bad news, an' beant a-veelin' in veckle this
marnin'."
VELLER.— Fellow.
VELTIVER also VELDER BIRD.— The bird " Field-fare."
VEN. — A word in frequent use by boys at marbles, &c. It
means "I forbid." If one player says, "ven knuckle-
down," this means that his opponent must shoot his marble
without resting his hand on the ground.
VEND. — To " vend off" anything is to take preventive measures.
" E should be keervul to vend o^taaykin' cawld at this time o' year,"
BERKSHIRE WORDS, 177
VERM. — Farm. To "verm high" means to keep much stock
and to manure the land well.
VERRETIN' ABOUT. — Searching for. In the Berkshire
Chronicle of November 6th, 1886, this expression is thus
used by Martin Philpotts, gamekeeper, who gives evidence
that certain dogs were " verretin' about" after game.
VESS. — Active, lively, well and strong.
" Why, 'e looks quite vess this marnin.' "
VETCH.— The price obtainable is thus referred to. There is
the saying, " Things be awnly wuth what um 'ull vetch."
VETTLE.— Condition ; full of energy or strength.
" I be jus' in vine vettle vor a vight if a wants to't."
See VECKLE also.
VICAR OF BRAY. — The term applied to a turncoat.
The Vicar of Bray, who is the subject of a song known far beyond
Berkshire, lived in the reign of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and
Elizabeth. He was first a papist, then a protestant, then, under Queen
Mary, became a papist again, and at length, in Queen Elizabeth's reign
died a protestant. When accused of being of a changeable turn he
replied, " no, I am steadfast, however other folk change I remain Vicar
of Bray." It may be noticed that the reigns quoted in the old song do
not correspond with those above given.
VIDDLE VADDLE.— To trifle ; to make show of doing work
with no result.
One who fusses without doing much is called a "viddle vaddle
or viddk mddler"
VIDGUTS. — Nervousness. The attack of " vidguts " is usually
shown in a woman by sitting down and patting her foot on
the ground.
VIGS.— Raisins.
VILE. — An old person.
"That awld vile be got maain canstankerous laaytely, an' I can't do
nothun' wi'n."
VILLER. — The horse of a team which comes within the shafts.
Vide THILLER.
VINE.— To find.
Fine. To "tawk vine" is the expression rather contemptuously
applied by those speaking the Berkshire Dialect to their
fellows who commence trying to speak English as more
generally recognised.
" She med ha bin to zarvice in Lunnon, but us wunt hev her come
back a-tawkin' vine to we."
N
178 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
VINGER STALL. — A covering for a wounded finger.
VINNIKIN'.— Fidgetting about small matters ; trifling.
" I can't get along wi' a vinniftm' zart o' chap like that ther."
VINNY.— Mouldy, mildewed.
VIR-APPLES.— Fir cones.
VIRKIN. — The scratching of a dog or other animal with the
point of its paw for fleas.
VISTICUFFS.— A fight with fists.
VIT.— Feet.
VITTEN.— Fit, proper.
" If us be agwaain to vight, turn the women-vawk out, this yer be-ant
no vitten plaayce vor thaay."
VITTLES. — Food, a meal — as breakfast or dinner.
" I wunt do no moor till I had my vittles."
VIXEN.— The female fox. *
VIZZLE. — To effervesce. To " hev no vizzle " is to have no
energy or spirit.
VIZZUCK. — To administer an aperient. Physic generally is
known as " doctor's stuff."
VLAA. — A flea. A " vlaa in the yer " means chastisement.
" If thee spakes back to I any moor I'll zend thee awaay ' wi' a vlaa
in thee yer.' "
" Vlaa-\>\i" as regards dogs, &c,, means having a coat of light colour
sprinkled with darkish spots.
VLAAYKE-HURDLES.— Hurdles made of brushwood. Vide
also ROD-HURDLES.
VLAAYRE.— To burn up ; to flame.
" The candle wunt vlyaare till a done gutterin'."
VLAAYRE OUT.— To use intemperate language.
VLABBERGASTED.— Dumb-founded ; amazed so as to be
powerless to speak or move.
VLAG-BASKUT. — The limp basket made from river-side
flags used for conveying fish, &c.
VLAP. — To strike with any broad light article.
" A gin I a vlap on the yead wi' a writin' book."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 179
VLAPPER.— A young partridge just able to fly.
Applied in joke to a girl of the bread-and-butter age.
See also SQUAKER.
VLECK. — The fur of a hare or rabbit.
" To vleck " either of these animals is to shoot and wound so
that the fur lies scattered about the spot."
" I vlecked a rabbut zo's I thinks the dogs 'ull ketch un."
VLEM. — The lancet with projecting cutter used for bleeding
horses. The mallet by which it is struck is called the
VLEW. — Delicate in constitution. Vide also VLUFF.
VLEY. — Pigs' fat used for making lard.
VLIBBERTY-GIBBERTY.— Flighty, unreliable.
Full of lively nonsense.
VLICK. — To strike with the end giving a sort of return
movement at the same time. Schoolboys " vlick " with a
towel.
VLID.— Flew.
" Two patridges vlid by muh jus' as I was a-loadin' my gun."
VLING— To throw.
" Vling a stwun at the dog an1 maayke un run awaay."
To rling one down is to throw one down.
VLISK. — Made by carters from hair taken out of a horse's tail,
bound on a short handle.
A vlisk is found in all stables, being used to " vlisk" flies off
horses in hot weather.
VLITTER-MOUSE.— The common bat-mouse.
VLITTERS.— Rags.
" My kwut got tore all to vlitters."
VLOOKS. — Small worms in sheep suffering from a certain
disease of the liver.
VLOP. — To fall without rebound or movement.
" A veil vlop on the groun', and I thate a was de-ad."
" To flop " a thing on the ground is to throw it down without
care as to how it may fall.
VLOUT. — To express anger by action.
To treat with disdain,
180 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
VLUFF, or VLEW.— Refuse off bedding or cloth.
VLUFFY.— With refuse of wool, or cloth, or feathers adhering.
" Yer kwut be all vluffy, let I gi'n a brush."
VLUMMERY. — Flattery ; attempt to get over one by blarney.
A kind of Blanc-mange.
VLUMMOXED. — Astonished past action ; at one's wit's end.
VLUMP. — This word has much the same meaning as VLOP,
except that " vlump '' usually indicates also that there was
dull sounding noise in the fall."
VLURRY. — Confusion of mind and trepidation.
VLUSH.— Young birds are said to be vlush when their feathers
have grown and they are ready to fly from the nest.
Level, even.
VLUSTER.— To be in a " vluster'' is to have lost presence of
mind.
VLUSTRAATION. —Worry.
VOGGER. — A farmer's groom, who also is responsible for
feeding pigs and cattle.
Perhaps this name is a corruption of " feeder" or "fodderer."
VOGGER'S JINT.— The perquisite of the vogger who assists in
pig killing. It is the tail of the animal with a small portion
of meat adjoining.
VOLLY.— To follow.
A circular group of fir trees on the crest of a hill. There are
three such " vollys " at Hampstead Norreys on the " Volly
Hill."
VOOTERY.— Deceitful, sly, false.
" A be a vootery zart o' chap an' I want trus' un vurder'n I can see un.M
Slippery.
" Thero-ads be maain vootery ater the thaa."
VOR. — Is added superfluously at the end of a sentence, thus :
" The bwoy be stronger nor I thate vor."
VOR-ALL-THAT. — This expression is in common use as sig-
nifying " in spite of the utmost having been done."
" A zes I be to be turned out if I dwoant vo-at as a tells muh, but I
wunt vor-att-that"
VORM.— The lair of a hare,
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 181
VOR'N, or VORRUN.— For him ; for it.
VORRIGHT.— Honest, straightforward; opposite to. In Mr.
T. Hughes' "Scouring of the White Horse" there are lines
in u The Lay of the Hunted Pig," thus —
" Up vorright the Castle mound,
Thaay did zet I on the ground,
Then a thousand chaps or nigh
Runned an' hollered ater I." • •
VORRUD.— Forward; advanced.
VORRUDNESS, also VORRUDDER.— Advance, progress.
" Us works hard, but dwoant zim to get no vonudder wi'this yer job."
VORRUSS.— The leading horse in a team.
VOT OUT.— Rescued. May be a corruption of "fetched out"
or " fought out."
VOUSTY.— Mildew on any kind of food.
VOUT.— Fought.
VRAAIL.— A flail.
VRASTED.— Used for " frost bitten" with reference to turnips,
&c.
VRIGLIN'. — Insignificant, trifling, petty.
" I wants to zee e do zummut as 'ooll bring in zummut and not be
vriglin'1 about lookin' ater viewers."
VRIT.— Frightened.
VRI/Z.— Frozen.
VROW.— See VRUM.
VROWSTY. — Having an unpleasant smell from dirt.
VRUM or VROW.— Brittle, crisp.
VRUNTED.— Affronted, confronted.
VUDDLED.— Stupified by drink.
VUR.— Far.
A deposit formed in a tea kettle wherein hard water has been
boiled.
VUR IND.— The point farthest away.
"Taayke hawld o' the vnr ind o' the ladder an' help I to car un."
VURBELAWS. — Gay trimmings and appendages of women's
dress.
182 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
VURDER.— Further.
VURDERMWOAST.— Farthest off.
" E'll vind my prong laayin' at the vurde-rmivoast ind o' the hedge."
VUST.— First.
A schoolboy when willing to give something away will call out
to his playmates,
" Billy, Billy, Bust.
Who spakes vust ? "
VUST BEGINNIN.'— The very commencement.
" Thess stert vaair at vust beginnin' an' then us 'ull zure to do 't right."
VUZ. — Furze or gorse. There is a common saying, "When
the vuz be out o' bloom, kissin' be out o' vashun.' " The
origin of this saying is that whilst the " vuz " bursts into its
golden splendour in spring and early summer there is
yet no time of the year when a little bloom may not be
discovered by diligent search.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 183
W
WAAY.— Distance.
11 E med zee a gurt waay vrom the top o' our church tower."
WAAYRE.— Beware ; " take care ! "
WAAYZE.— To ooze.
" The ile waayzes out o' the cask, ther mus be a crack zome'er."
WABBLE, or WOBBLE.— To sway awkwardly from side to
side.
WABBLY means " tottery."
WABBLES.— Spots floating before the eyes.
WAD. — A small cock or heap of hay or straw.
WA-DY (Weedy). — With a weakly constitution.
WAG. — To move away.
" Dwoant 'e wag vrom yer till I tells 'e to "t."
" Her tongue wags too much," means " she speaks indiscreetly."
WAGGLIN'. — Rolling to and fro, but without moving to
another spot.
WAKE-LIN'.— A weak child.
WALLOP.— To whip.
A lump. Vide DOLLOP.
WALLOPPIN'.— A whipping.
Very large.
WANT.— A mole.
WANTING. — A former name for the town of Wantage. It is
found thus spelt on some Tradesmen's Tokens as late as
the seventeenth century. It may be noted that a Bust of
Alfred the Great, who was born at Wantage, obtains on
two modern Tokens, vizt. : — On the celebrated and rare
403. Gold Token issued by J. B. Monck, Esq., of Reading,
in 1812, and on the Silver Frome Selwood (Somersetshire]
Tokens issued in 1811.
184 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
\YAPS.-A wasp.
Wasps are WAPSES.
WAPSY. — Spiteful, saying bitter things of another.
Testy, hot-tempered.
WARM.— To whip.
"I'll warm thee jacket vor thee bym by."
Having money laid by.
WARN, or WERN.— To warrant, to guarantee.
" Times 'ool mend avoor long I'll warn 'e."
WARNTY. — The warrant as to soundness as given of a horse.
WARNUTS.— Walnuts.
WARP. — To miscarry as applied to an animal.
WAR-\VOPS. — The cry raised in attacking wasps with
branches when burning out their nest.
WATCH UT.— With the boots and socks wetted through as by
walking on swampy ground.
WATER. — "To water" horses or cattle is to take them to
drink.
" Water bewitched an' wine begrudged," is the expression
used of grog made too weak.
WATER-EFFUT.— The water-newt.
WATER-SQUIRT.— A syringe.
WATTLE. — To weave brushwood, as in hurdle-making.
W AUNT.— Was not.
" A zes as a waunt ther at all, zo ut cood'nt ha1 bin he as done 'ut."
WAW-BEGAN.— Woe begone.
WAWL1N' ABOUT.— The cry of cats is so described.
WAX. — " In a wax " is in a temper.
Waxy means wrathful.
WAY JAWLTIN1.— See-sawing with a plank.
WAY-WUT.— The command to a horse to stop.
WAZE. — A wisp of straw for rubbing down a horse.
WELL. — The rising up and overflowing of any liquid, just as
water rises and flows from a spring.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 185
WELL-LOOKIN'.— Handsome.
" What a well-look-in' man a be to be zure."
WELL-TO-DO. — In good circumstances.
WELT.— To beat.
A WELTIN'. — A beating.
WEN. — A hard swelling on the neck.
WENCHES. — Female servants and young women of humble
class. See also MAAIDS.
WETHER. — This word has similar signification to that given
in other counties, except that young Wethers of the first
year, when set aside to fatten, are called HOGGETS.
WEVVER.— However.
" E hev a-done I a good bit o' harm by actin' like that ther, wevver us
wunt zaay no moor about ut this time."
WHACK.— Full quantity, share.
" I've got my whack an' zo dwoant want no moor."
A blow.
WHACKER.— A great lie.
Something very large.
WHACKIN'.— A beating.
WHATE, or WrHE- AT.— Wheat.
WHAT'ST.— " What hast thou ?"
" Wkat'st got hid under thee kwut ?''
WHAT'S WHAT.— To know what's what is to be very keen and
to have had great experience.
To teach a person what's what is to rebuke him sternly for
misconduct.
WHEEL, OR WHALE.— Haze round the Moon, said to
indicate wet weather.
WHER. — Whether, also where.
" I can't zaay it wker I be agwaain or not " (I can't say yet whether I
I am going or not).
WHICKER.— To neigh a little; to whinny.
WHILE.— Is used instead of " time."
" What a while a be gone whoam to his dinner.''
186 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
WHIMPER.— To cry a little ; with hounds " to give tongue "
slightly.
WHINNY.— 7*^ WHICKER.
WHIP. — To do a thing very rapidly.
" Whip thee knife out o' yer pockut an' cut the string."
WHIP-HAND.— The mastery.
" A wunt get the whip-hand o' I vor all a med try."
WHIPPER SNAPPER.— A conceited, insignificant little
fellow.
WHIRL-I-GIG. — A merry-go-round, as seen at fairs.
WHIRTLE BERRIES.— Bilberries are always so called.
WHISK. — To snatch anything off very quickly.
WHISKUT.— A small stick; a twig.
WHISTLE.— The mouth. To " wet one's whistle " is a common
phrase, meaning to imbibe something.
WHISTLES — Are made by boys of withy or chestnut at spring-
time, when the sap is rising and the rind comes off easily.
WHIT AND DUB. — Musical instruments, formerly used in
Berkshire villages ; these are like the Pipe and Tabor of
Scripture.
WHITE HORSE.— The " Scouring of the White Horse " is
the operation of clearing afresh the trenches which make
up the outline of a horse on the hill-side of the Downs near
Uffington. The figure is about 125 yards long. It is
supposed to have been constructed in commemoration of a
victory gained over the Danes on this spot.
The festivities accompanying the " Scouring of the White
Horse," which ceremony takes place as occasion may
require, have been fully described by Mr. Thomas Hughes
in his work bearing the title.
WHITE MOUTH.— The children's disease "thrush."
WHITTER.— Used to describe the cry of small birds when
uttering doleful single notes.
WHITTLE.— To flog lightly.
" A had no call to maayke zuch a bellerin' vor I awnly gin un a bit of
a whittle."
WHIVER.— To hover.
" I zin the haak whiverin' wher I knawed zome young partridges was."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 187
WHO-AM.— Home.
WHO-AM-MAAYDE. — Made at home, as distinguished from
BOUGHTEN.
WHOORD.— A hoard.
WHOP.— To flog.
" As zure as e doos ut agin I'll whop e."
WHOPPIN'.— Very large.
A flogging.
WHO ZAAY.— Uncertain report.
" Tis awnly zart o' who zaay an' I wunt belave ut."
WHOZEN.— Whose.
" This yer be-ant my billycock, whozen be un ? "
WHUR. — A loud whizzing noise.
"The 'shenin' maaykes zuch a whur as I can't yer 'e spake."
"Where" is always pronounced WHUR or WHER.
WIDDER-OOMAN or WIDDY-OOMAN.— A widow.
WIGGIN.'— A scolding.
WIGGLE. — To move a little with a twisting motion.
" A adder allus wiggles till the zun goes down no matter how much e
med kill 'n."
WIK. — A week. " Wreak " is pronounced " wake."
WILD-GOOSE-CHAAYSE.— A futile quest.
WILLUM, or WOOLLUM.— William.
WILLY-NILLY.— Undecided ; also ''whether or no."
WILTERED.— Withered.
" The grace be a lookin' main wittered like, an' wants raain bad."
WI'N,— With him, with it.
WIND. — Is used commonly in expressions,
"To tell which waay the wind blaws," is "To watch keenly
the drift of events."
" To get wind of anything," is "to get some information
respecting it."
WIND-VALLS.— Fruit blown off trees by wind.
Unexpected riches.
188 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
WIN KIN'. — Used to denote great rapidity.
" A bolted like winkiii as zoon as a zee I a-comin round the corner."
WINNICK.— The shrill cry of a dog when hurt.
" I yerd un winnick an* thate as a med be caught in a rabbut trap."
WI'OUT.— Unless.
" I wunt go wi'oiit mother goes wi' I."
WIPE. — " To wipe one's eye" is a common expression for
shooting and killing after another has shot and missed.
WISHY-WASHY.— Pale, colourless.
" She be got maain ivishy-washy zence she hev a-bin in the town to live."
Poor in quality, as applied to anything to drink.
" This tay be vurry wishy-washy " (i.e., is very weak).
STY.
A handful of straw, as used for rubbing down a horse.
WITH. — (Rhymes with "myth.") Brushwood made tough by
being twisted, used to bind up a faggot or bavin.
WITHY.— The Willow. This and the Chestnut are used by
boys for making whistle pipes, because when the sap is up
the rind comes off very easily on being bruised a little.
WITHY-BED.— An ozier-bed.
WITHY- WINE.— The wild convolvulus.
WIVEL MINDED.— Fickle, capricious.
WIZZEND.— The throat.
With shrunken appearance as from bad health.
WIZZEN-VAAYCED is a term of contempt, indicating a small
mean-looking physiognomy.
WO-AB. — An expression used to a horse — " Wo-a about!"
"Steady!"
WOLF. — " Us shall kip the wolf vram the door a bit," means
" We have food enough in the house to last a long time."
" Wolfish " signifies " very hungry."
WON NERVUL.— Very large, great.
" Ther be a wtnnevvul crap o' apples this year to be zure."
WOOT, or 'OOLT.— Wilt, wilt thou.
WOP-ALL.— Confusedly, " all of a heap."
" She missed her vootin1 an' tumbled down wop-all*"
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 189
WORLD.— Large quantity.
" Ther be a world o' zense in what a zes."
WORKUS.— The workhouse.
WORK-A-DAAY. — Common, for ordinary occasions.
" I hev awnly got my work-a-daay kwut on."
" Work-a-daays" are week days.
WORM. — To attempt to obtain information by close questioning.
" I tried to worm ut out on in but a kep' what a knawed to hiszelf."
WORRUT.— To worry, to teaze.
" If 'e womits the child zo, 'e ooll maayke un cry."
WORTLEBERRIES.— Cranberries.
WRAATHY.— Angry; bad tempered.
WRACK.— Brunt, trouble.
" Thee 'ooll hev to stan' the wrack o1 this yer job," i.e., "The con-
sequences of this will fall on you."
WRAPPY.— Crumpled, creased.
•'You hev a-vaulded un up zo as to maayke un all wrappy"
W7RUCK.— A crease.
" Ther be a wruck in the leather o' my boot as maayde my voot zoor."
WUGD. — An expression to a horse, meaning " Move further
off sideways."
W UK.— Awoke.
WUM. — A worm.
WTUNT.— Will not.
WURT.— A wart.
A supposed way of getting rid of Warts which I have known
practised, was to cut on a short stick notches corresponding
with the number of Warts ; this stick was then thrown away
where none could find it, and as it rotted the Warts
disappeared.
WUS. — Worse. The word seems curiously declinable — the
comparative being " Wusser," and the superlative " Wust "
or " Wnssest."
190
BERKSHIRE WORDS.
WUSTED. — Getting the worst of it in any matter, just as
" bested " signifies gaining an advantage.
WUTH.— Oath.
Also " worth " is so pronounced.
WUTS.— Oats.
WUZBIRD. — A good-for-nothing person. Perhaps a corrup-
tion of either " wust bird," or of " whore's bird."
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 191
YAA. — An interjection, commonly preceding a contemptuous
remark,
" Yaa ! I knawed as 'e cood'nt car a zack o' berley."
" Yaa ! Zo 'ebe come back athout gettin' what e axt vor."
YANDER.— Yonder.
YANGIN'. — Saying irritating or teazing things.
" She be allus a yangin at un, an' that's what maaykes un go awaay
zo much."
YAP. — A dog is said to "yap " when giving a short surly bark
accompanied by a snap.
Also when dogs give tongue falsely in hunting they are said
to be " yappin' about."
YARBS.— Herbs.
YARN.— To earn.
" I hopes to yarn a bit o' money vor rent come Michaelmas."
YARNINS are " earnings."
YARNEST. — Earnest. "Yarnest money" is the is. given on
hiring a servant of any kind. The gift of this shilling seals
the contract.
YARWIG or YERRIWIG or ERRIWIG.— An earwig.
YAUP-— To yawn.
YEA. — A command to horses. " This way." The reverse
of WUGD.
YEAD or YUD.— The head.
YEAD-GO. — The highest score made, as in a game of skittles.
YEAD-LAN'— A headland. The part ploughed at the head or
top of the main ploughing.
YE-AP or YEP.— A heap.
192 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
YEBBLE.— Able.
"I be got awld an' be-ant yebble to do much now."
YECKER.— An acre.
YELDIN. — A good-for-nothing woman.
YELLOOK.— Look here !
YELM. — To straighten straw in readiness for thatching.
YELPINGAL.— The woodpecker.
YENT, or ENT.— Is not.
YEOMAN. — This title is still occasionally seen painted on the
back of the " gig " of one who owns land he farms, following
the printing of his name.
YEPPATH.— A halfpenny worth.
" A yent got a yeppath o' zense " means " he is very stupid."
YER.— To hear ; here.
YERD.— Heard. See TELL.
YET, or ET.— Eat ; heat.
" Eaten " is YETTED.
" I ent z-yetted nothun1 zence isterdaay marnin'."
YETTIN' HIS YEAD AFF.— Said of a horse eating food in
the stable but doing no work.
YIELD.— Produce.
" Whate maaykes poor yield this crap."
YOU. — A term of address in accosting one.
" I zaay You wher bist thee agwaain ?"
YOURN.— Yours.
YOWE.— An ewe.
YOWLIN'.— Howling.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 193
" Z " takes the place of " S " when the latter is initial to a syllable,
and followed by either A, E, I, O, U, W, or Y.
ZAA. — A saw. An application was made at a farm-house
thus —
" 'Ooll the Me-uster be zo good, an' zo kind, an" zo obligin', an' zo
condescendin' as to len' we the mate-zaa vor to zaa our me-at ?"
It may be noted in the above sentence that the same word is
pronounced both " mate " and " me-at " ; such dual
pronunciation in analogous cases is not uncommon.
ZA.ACE. — Sauce; impertinence.
ZAACE-BOX. — An impertinent person is so called, but the
term is often applied good temperedly.
ZAAT.— Salt.
ZAAY. — " I've a-had my zaay" means " I've given my final
opinion."
ZAAYFE.— Certain.
A gun is " zaayfe to go off " when there is no chance of it " missing fire."
ZAAYVE-ALL. — A tin box nailed up in a kitchen for short
candle-ends to be put into, so as to be used for greasing
boots, &c.
A short length of marble or crockery, matching a candle in
size and colour, having a pin at the end, whereon candle-
ends may be placed so that these may be quite burned out.
ZACK. — To dismiss. When a servant is dismissed he is said
to " get the zack"
ZACKIN' ALONG.— Walking rather hastily.
" I zee un a zackin' along wi' the box unner his kwut, an1 axed un
wher a got un vram."
ZAD IRON. — A smoothing iron.
ZADLY.— Out of health.
" My awld ooman hev a-bin zadly laaytely, but be tarblish to-daay."
194 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ZAFT.— Soft ; silky to the touch.
Silly ; credulous.
Not harsh.
" I hev alus a-bin vurry zaft wi' un."
ZAFTY. — A person very easily imposed upon.
ZAG. — To sink from its own weight. A rope is said to " zag
when being drawn tight between two points it afterwards
loosens a little and sinks at the centre.
ZAMMLE.— Samuel.
ZAP. — The layer of timber coming between the heart and bark
of a tree is so called.
ZAPPY.— Lusty.
" A be grawed a gurt zappy chap an' I should'nt hardly ha' knawed
un agin."
ZAR. — To serve ; to feed cattle.
" I mus' zar the pegs avoor I do's my rack in' up.''
Zard is " served."
To impregnate.
ZARMON BELL.— The bell sounded before the TING-TANG as
a call to church. It denotes that there will be a sermon in
the service to follow. If there is to be no sermon the
«' zarmon bell is not rung. It should also be here noted that
in many parishes a bell is rung at the termination of morning
service ; this is to annouce and remind that there will be
service in the afternoon.
ZARTIN ZURE, also ZARTNY.— Certainly.
" A zes as a 'ool do what a pramised this time zartin' zure."
ZART.— Sort.
" Thems yer zart " means " those are exactly what you want."
" I cood'nt get none o' no zart nor kine," means " I could not get any
whatever."
ZART O'.— Means somewhat.
" I velt zart o' convounded-like " (I felt somewhat confused).
OUT o' ZARTS is "in temporary bad health," also * out of
temper ' or irritable.
ZAR VENT ZUR.— Used to be the common salutation from
one in humble position to a superior, accompanied by a
curtsey or touch of the brim of the hat. It has fallen into
disuse.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 195
ZAWL. — Soul. " Bless my heart an' zawl " is a common
expression of astonishment.
ZAWNEY, or ZAANEY.— A very stupid person.
ZE-AD LIP. — A box supported by a strap which contains the
seed when sowing is being done by hand and is * broad cast.1
ZED AN' DONE.— This expression is used thus:
11 When all's zed an" done 'e cood'nt expect no good vrom zuch a caw
as he be."
ZEE, or ZEED, or ZIN.— Saw.
ZEE-HO. — The cry given in coursing when a hare is dis-
covered sitting in her form.
ZEEIN'S BELAVIN'. — A common phrase on seeing some-
thing astonishing.
ZENCE.— Since ; sense.
ZENSIBLE O'.— Comprehend.
"A be zo dunny ut be maain hard to maayke un zensibU o' what I
wants un to do."
ZESSED.— Assessed.
" My zessed taxes comes vurry high this year."
Estimated.
" I zessed the vally o' the land twice as high zence the raailwaay be
come."
ZET.— Sit.
To ZET STOOR BY, means " to value."
" I dwo-ant zet no stoor by them ther things; e 'med hev urn to kape
if e likes."
ZETTIN' DOWN. — Severe rebuke given for presumption or
bad conduct.
"I gin her zuch a zettin' down as "ooll maayke her moor keervul
what she doos."
ZETTIN ROOM. — A room in a farm house where the family
have meals, &c.
ZETTLE. — A long wooden bench to accommodate several
persons ; it is found at way-side public houses and in outer
kitchens or brew-houses of farm houses.
ZETTLER. — A conclusive argument or blow.
" A tawld muh if I zed any moor a 'ud gie muh the sack, an' zo that
was 3, zettler an' I come awaay."
196 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ZETTY. — A " zetty " egg is one that has been sat upon by the
hen for a short time and so rendered unfit for food.
A "zetty hen" is one that persists in sitting on the nest after
the eggs have been taken. When there were no eggs to
give her the somewhat barbarous cure used to be to put her
head under her wing, sway her until she was asleep, and
then throw her into a horse pond. This was believed to
cause her to forget her former desire to zet and she would
then go on laying again.
ZEY.— The sea.
ZIAS.— Josias.
ZICK AN' ZAAYTED.— Unable to eat some kind of food on
account of having had it so often.
" I be zick an' zaayted wi' rabbuts, an' hawpes us 'till get a bit o'
butcher's me-at to-morrer."
ZICKNER.— A bad experience.
ZIDLE. — To advance sideways.
To " zidle up " to one is to try to ingratiate one's self in hope
of obtaining favours.
" The child come a-zidlin* up, an1 I could zee as a wanted zummut."
ZIGHT. — A very large number or quantity.
" Ther was a zight o' vawk at Vaair to-daay, to be zure."
ZI KNAWS ON.— " That I am aware of."
" Ther yent nobody about yer got no vishin'-tackle zi knaivs on."
ZILVER SPOON.— To be born with a " zilvev spoon in one's
mouth " is to be born to riches.
ZIM.— To seem.
ZIMMINLY.— Apparently.
" A dwoant mane to come zimminly, vor a yent answered my letter."
ZING SMALL.— To humble one's self.
" A gin I plenty o' tawk at vust but when a vound I knawed all about
his goins-on a begun to zing small."
ZINKERS.— Stockings without feet.
ZINNIVY.— To matter ; to be of importance.
" Wher a comes or wher a dwoant, dwoant zinnivy to we."
ZISTS.— Insist.
" If e zists upon 't I 'ooll do *t."
ZISTER LAA,— Sister-in-law. Vide MOTHER-LAA.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 197
ZIZZLE. — To fizz ; the hissing noise as made by ginger beer
when " up."
Also water under the action of boiling is sometimes said to
ziexle.
ZO AS THAT.— Such like, of such kind, in like manner.
" Nobody never gies we nothun' moor'n a awld paair o' boots as um
dwoant want therzelves, an' zo as that."
ZOBBLE. — To soak so as to soften. One speaks of " zobllin "
one's bread in milk or gravy.
ZOCK. — Completely, unreservedly.
" A. veil zock aff the whate-rick an' hurt his back."
A blow with the hand.
" I took un a zock a-zide o' the yead."
ZODDEN.— Boiled so as to be flabby and tasteless.
ZODGER, or ZAWLGER.— A soldier. One who has enlisted
, is said to be " gone zodgerirf '."
ZOGGED. — Soaked with moisture or rain.
11 The clo-aths as I hung out to dry be all zogged wi' the raain."
ZOGGY.— Boggy.
ZOLID. — Very grave or grim.
" I thate zummut had a gone wrong wi1 un, a looked zo zolid."
ZOLOMON'S ZALE. — Solomon's Seal, a plant common in
the woods.
ZOME. — Is added to a word to indicate inclination or aptitude,
thus a dog is said to be "trickzome" when easily taught
tricks.
ZOMEBERRY.— " Somebody " is so pronounced.
ZOONER. — Always used for " rather." ZOONEST is similarly
used.
" Ood e zoonest go to Newbury or stop at whoam wi' I ? "
ZOOP.— To drink.
ZOOR. — Annoyed.
" A veels maain zoor acause us left un out when us axed zome o'
t'other naaybours."
ZOP.— To soak.
" Zap yer bad vinger in hot water avoor I binds un up wi' rag."
ZORREL. — The name given to the light chestnut colour of
horses. Agricultural horses of this colour often bear the
name " Zonel"
198 BERKSHIRE WORDS.
ZOUGHIN'.— The moaning noise made by the wind.
ZOUND.— A term applied to indicate perfect health or state of
repair. " As zound as a bell " is a common expression.
ZOUNDLY.— Thoroughly ; completely.
" A dwoan't do nothun zoundly."
ZOUR. — Grass is said to be " zour" when of rank growth and
uneatable by cattle.
ZOUR ZOP.— A bitter remark.
ZOUSE. — To immerse in water.
" The puppy be got all awver dirt, taayke un an' zouse un to maayke
un clane."
The ears, trotters and hocks of a Pig. Brawn is always called
"collared zouse.'''
A blow with the hand.
41 I gin un a zouse on the chaps," i.e., a blow with the fist on the face.
ZU-ATTY PUDDEN,— A suet pudding.
ZUCTION.— Drink.
" I veels as I wants zome zuction an' be a-gwaain to get I a glass o'
beer."
ZUGARED.— Sweetened.
" Be your tay zugared as much as 'e likes ut ?"
ZUGAR TE-AT.— Sugar tied in a rag and given to a child to
suck to quit it.
ZULK. — A term applied to a horse that will not try to do what
is required of him.
ZUMMER'S DAAY. — A phrase in common use, thus —
" As pretty a lass as e'll zee on a zummer's daay."
ZUMMIN'.— Arithmetic.
" A hev a-bin at schoold vor a year an' thaay tells I a be maain sharp
at his zummin."
ZUMMUT. — Something. It often has a mysterious signification.
" I zin zitmmut last night," would be said for " I saw something
supernatural last night."
ZUNDAY CLAWES.— Best suit of clothes.
" I be agwaain into Readin' an zo mus' put on my Sunday clawes."
ZUP.— To eat supper.
ZUPT is used as preterite.
BERKSHIRE WORDS. 199
ZURPLUS.— A surplice.
ZWAAYRED. — Swore, the noise that an angry or frightened
cat makes.
ZWAD. — A layer of hay lying just as cut. See ZWATHES.
ZWACK. — A resounding blow or " whack."
ZWANKY. — Self-satisfied, somewhat swaggering.
" That chap be got zo zwanky laaytely a wants to be vetched down
a peg."
ZWATHES. — Rows of hay as lying before made up into
" cocks." Vide ZWAD.
ZWEELIN'. — Singeing the hair off a hog by means of burning
straw.
ZWEET-WORT. — Beer in the early stage of brewing, no hops
being yet put in.
ZWIG.— A drink.
ZWILL. — To drink a quantity or habitually.
" A zwills like a vish."
ZWILLY-HAWLE.—A hole whereby a small stream of water
disappears into the ground. There is a Zwilly-hawle at
Well-house, a hamlet of Hampstead Norreys.
ZWIMS. — The expression, " My yead zwims " is used for " I
am feeling giddy."
ZWINGEL.-The top part of the threshing flail.
ZWINGIN'. — Very large, very excellent.
" I hev done a zwingin' good daays work to-daay."
ZWIPES.— Very poor beer.
ZWISH. — A little tough stick as used with a riding horse,
ZWITHIN'S-DAAY.— " St. Swithin V Day is the day on which
the apples are christened. If it should rain then it will
rain also on the forty days following.
ZWIZZLE.— To drink.
ZWOP. — To exchange (common).
v
BUTTERWORTH AND CO., PRINTERS, MANCHESTER.
Cole, Robert Eden George
1959 A glossary of words used
G73C65 in South-West Lincolnshire
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11