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Title: A Glossary of Words used in the Country of Wiltshire
Author: Dartnell, George Edward, Goddard, Edward Hungerford
Language: English
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* * * * *
GLOSSARY OF WILTSHIRE WORDS
Oxford
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
A Glossary of Words
USED IN THE
COUNTY OF WILTSHIRE.
BY
GEORGE EDWARD DARTNELL
AND THE
REV. EDWARD HUNGERFORD GODDARD, M.A.
London:
PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY
BY HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE.
AMEN CORNER, LONDON, E.C.
1893.
[_All rights reserved._]
PREFACE
The following pages must not be considered as comprising an
exhaustive Glossary of our Wiltshire Folk-speech. The field is a
wide one, and though much has been accomplished much more still
remains to be done. None but those who have themselves attempted such
a task know how difficult it is to get together anything remotely
approaching a complete list of the dialect words used in a single
small parish, to say nothing of a large county, such as ours. Even
when the words themselves have been collected, the work is little
more than begun. Their range in time and place, their history and
etymology, the side-lights thrown on them by allusions in local or
general literature, their relation to other English dialects, and
a hundred such matters, more or less interesting, have still to be
dealt with. However, in spite of many difficulties and hindrances,
the results of our five years or more of labour have proved very
satisfactory, and we feel fully justified in claiming for this
_Glossary_ that it contains the most complete list of Wiltshire words
and phrases which has as yet been compiled. More than one-half of
the words here noted have never before appeared in any Wiltshire
Vocabulary, many of them being now recorded for the first time for
any county, while in the case of the remainder much additional
information will be found given, as well as numerous examples of
actual folk-talk.
The greater part of these words were originally collected by us
as rough material for the use of the compilers of the projected
_English Dialect Dictionary_, and have been appearing in instalments
during the last two years in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_
(vol. xxvi, pp. 84-169, and 293-314; vol. xxvii, pp. 124-159), as
_Contributions towards a Wiltshire Glossary_. The whole list has now
been carefully revised and much enlarged, many emendations being
made, and a very considerable number of new words inserted, either
in the body of the work, or as _Addenda_. A few short stories,
illustrating the dialect as actually spoken now and in Akerman's
time, with a brief _Introduction_ dealing with Pronunciation, &c.,
and _Appendices_ on various matters of interest, have also been
added; so that the size of the work has been greatly increased.
As regards the nature of the dialect itself, the subject has been
fully dealt with by abler pens than ours, and we need only mention
here that it belongs to what is now known as the South-Western group,
which also comprises most of Dorset, Hants, Gloucester, and parts
of Berks and Somerset. The use of dialect would appear gradually
to be dying out now in the county, thanks, perhaps, to the spread
of education, which too often renders the rustic half-ashamed of
his native tongue. Good old English as at base it is,--for many a
word or phrase used daily and hourly by the Wiltshire labourer has
come down almost unchanged, even as regards pronunciation, from his
Anglo-Saxon forefathers,--it is not good enough for him now. One
here, and another there, will have been up to town, only to come back
with a stock of slang phrases and misplaced aspirates, and a large
and liberal contempt for the old speech and the old ways. The natural
result is that here, as elsewhere, every year is likely to add
considerably to the labour of collecting, until in another generation
or so what is now difficult may become an almost hopeless task. No
time should be lost, therefore, in noting down for permanent record
every word and phrase, custom or superstition, still current among
us, that may chance to come under observation.
The words here gathered together will be found to fall mainly under
three heads;--(1) Dialect, as _Caddle_, (2) Ordinary English with
some local shade of meaning, as _Unbelieving_, and (3) Agricultural,
as _Hyle_, many of the latter being also entitled to rank as Dialect.
There may also be noted a small number of old words, such as _toll_
and _charm_, that have long died out of standard English, but still
hold their own among our country people. We have not thought it
advisable, as a general rule, to follow the example set us by our
predecessors in including such words as _archet_ and _deaw_, which
merely represent the local pronunciation of orchard and dew; nor
have we admitted _cantankerous_, _tramp_, and certain others that
must now rank with ordinary English, whatever claim they may once
have had to be considered as provincial. More leniency, however, has
been exercised with regard to the agricultural terms, many that are
undoubtedly of somewhat general use being retained side by side with
those of more local limitation.
The chief existing sources of information are as follows:--(1)
the Glossary of Agricultural Terms in Davis's _General View of
the Agriculture of Wilts_, 1809; reprinted in the _Archæological
Review_, March, 1888, with many valuable notes by Prof. Skeat;
(2) The Word-list in vol. iii. of Britton's _Beauties of Wilts_,
1825; collated with Akerman, and reprinted in 1879 for the English
Dialect Society, with additions and annotations, by Prof. Skeat;
(3) Akerman's _North Wilts Glossary_, 1842, based upon Britton's
earlier work; (4) Halliwell's _Dictionary_, 1847, where may be
found most (but not all) of the Wiltshire words occurring in our
older literature, as the anonymous fifteenth-century _Chronicon
Vilodunense_, the works of John Aubrey, Bishop Kennett's _Parochial
Antiquities_, and the collections by the same author, which form
part of the _Lansdowne MSS._; (5) Wright's _Dictionary of Obsolete
and Provincial English_, 1859, which is mainly a condensation of
Halliwell's work, but contains a few additional Wiltshire words;
(6) a Word-list in Mr. E. Slow's _Wiltshire Poems_, which he has
recently enlarged and published separately; and (7) the curious old
MS. _Vocabulary_ belonging to Mr. W. Cunnington, a _verbatim_ reprint
of which will be found in the Appendix.
Other authorities that must here be accorded a special mention are
a paper _On some un-noted Wiltshire Phrases_, by the Rev. W. C.
Plenderleath, in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_; Britten and
Holland's invaluable _Dictionary of English Plant-names_, which,
however, is unfortunately very weak as regards Wilts names; the Rev.
A. C. Smith's _Birds of Wiltshire_; Akerman's _Wiltshire Tales_; the
_Flower-class Reports_ in the _Sarum Diocesan Gazette_; the very
scarce _Song of Solomon in North Wilts Dialect_, by Edward Kite,
a work of the highest value as regards the preservation of local
pronunciation and modes of expression, but containing very few words
that are not in themselves ordinary English; the works of Richard
Jefferies; Canon Jackson's valuable edition of Aubrey's _Wiltshire
Collections_; and Britton's condensation of the _Natural History of
Wilts_. In _Old Country and Farming Words_, by Mr. Britten, 1880,
much information as to our agricultural terms may be found, gathered
together from the _Surveys_ and similar sources. Lastly, the various
_Glossaries_ of the neighbouring counties, by Cope, Barnes, Jennings,
and other writers, should be carefully collated with our Wiltshire
Glossaries, as they often throw light on doubtful points. Fuller
particulars as to these and other works bearing on the subject will
be found in the Appendix on _Wiltshire Bibliography_.
We regret that it has been found impossible to carry out Professor
Skeat's suggestion that the true pronunciation should in all doubtful
cases be clearly indicated by its Glossic equivalent. To make such
indications of any practical value they should spring from a more
intimate knowledge of that system than either of us can be said to
possess. The same remarks will also apply to the short notes on
Pronunciation, &c., where our utter inexperience as regards the
modern scientific systems of Phonetics must be pleaded as our excuse
for having been compelled to adopt methods that are as vague as they
are unscientific.
To the English Dialect Society and its officers we are deeply
indebted for their kindness and generosity in undertaking to adopt
this _Glossary_, and to publish it in their valuable series of
County Glossaries, as well as for the courtesy shown us in all
matters connected with the work. We have also to thank the Wilts
Archæological Society for the space afforded us from time to time
in their _Magazine_, and the permission granted us to reprint the
_Word-lists_ therefrom.
In our _Prefaces_ to these _Word-lists_ we mentioned that we should
be very glad to receive any additions or suggestions from those
interested in the subject. The result of these appeals has been very
gratifying, not only with regard to the actual amount of new material
so obtained, but also as showing the widespread interest felt in
a branch of Wiltshire Archæology which has hitherto been somewhat
neglected, and we gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity of
repeating our expression of thanks to all those who have so kindly
responded. To Dr. Jennings we owe an extremely lengthy list of
Malmesbury words, from which we have made numerous extracts. We have
found it of special value, as showing the influence of Somersetshire
on the vocabulary and pronunciation of that part of the county. To
Sir C. Hobhouse we are indebted for some interesting words, amongst
which the survival of the A.S. _attercop_ is well worth noting. We
have to thank Mr. W. Cunnington for assistance in many ways, and for
the loan of MSS. and books, which we have found of great service.
To Mr. J. U. Powell and Miss Kate Smith we owe the greater part of
the words marked as occurring in the Deverill district. Mr. E. J.
Tatum has given us much help as regards local Plant-names: Miss E.
Boyer-Brown, Mr. F. M. Willis, Mr. E. Slow, Mr. James Rawlence,
Mr. F. A. Rawlence, Mr. C. E. Ponting, Mr. R. Coward, the Rev. W.
C. Plenderleath, Mr. Septimus Goddard, Mrs. Dartnell, the Rev. C.
Soames, and the Rev. G. Hill must also be specially mentioned. We
are indebted to Mr. W. Gale, gardener at Clyffe Pypard Vicarage, for
valuable assistance rendered us in verifying words and reporting new
ones.
We take this opportunity of acknowledging gratefully the assistance
which we have throughout the compilation of this _Glossary_ received
from H. N. Goddard, Esq., of the Manor, Clyffe Pypard, to whose wide
knowledge and long experience of Wiltshire words and ways we owe
many valuable suggestions; from the Rev. A. Smythe-Palmer, D.D., who
has taken much interest in the work, and to whose pen we owe many
notes; from Professor Skeat, who kindly gave us permission to make
use of his reprints; and last, but by no means least, from the Rev.
A. L. Mayhew, who most kindly went through the whole MS., correcting
minutely the etymologies suggested, and adding new matter in many
places.
In conclusion, we would say that we hope from time to time to publish
further lists of _Addenda_ in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_ or
elsewhere, and that any additions and suggestions will always be very
welcome, however brief they may be. The longest contributions are not
always those of most value, and it has more than once happened that
words and phrases of the greatest interest have occurred in a list
whose brevity was its only fault.
GEORGE EDWARD DARTNELL,
_Abbottsfield, Stratford Road, Salisbury_.
EDWARD HUNGERFORD GODDARD,
_The Vicarage, Clyffe Pypard, Wootton Bassett_.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION xiii-xix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xx
GLOSSARY 1-186
ADDENDA TO GLOSSARY 187-204
SPECIMENS OF DIALECT:--
EXTRACTS FROM THE REMAINS OF WILLIAM LITTLE 205-208
THE HARNET AND THE BITTLE 208-209
THE VARGESES 210
THOMAS'S WIVES 210-211
MANSLAUGHTER AT 'VIZE 'SIZES 211
HOW OUR ETHERD GOT THE PEWRESY 211-212
GWOIN' RAYTHUR TOO VUR WI' A VEYTHER 212-213
NOTHEN AS I LIKES WUSSER 213-214
PUTTEN' UP TH' BANNS 214
THE CANNINGS VAWK 214-215
LUNNON AVORE ANY WIFE 215-216
KITCHIN' TH' INFLUENZY 216
APPENDICES:--
I.--BIBLIOGRAPHY 217-223
II.--CUNNINGTON MS. 224-233
III.--MONTHLY MAGAZINE WORD-LIST 234-235
INTRODUCTION
The following notes may perhaps serve to give some slight indication
as to pronunciation, &c., but without the aid of Glossic it is
impossible accurately to reproduce the actual sounds.
* * * * *
_A_ is usually lengthened out or broadened in some way or other.
Thus in _hazon_ and _haslet_ it would be pronounced somewhat as in
_baa_, this being no doubt what the _Monthly Magazine_ means by
saying that '_a_ is always pronounced as _r_.'
When _a_ is immediately followed by _r_, as in _ha'sh_, harsh,
and _paa'son_, parson, the result is that the _r_ appears to be
altogether dropped out of the word.
_Aw_ final always becomes _aa_, as _laa_, law, _draa_, draw, _thaa_,
thaw.
In _saace_, sauce, _au_ becomes _aa_.
_A_ is also broadened into _eä_.
Thus _garden_, _gate_, and _name_ become _geärden_, _geät_, and
_neäme_.
These examples may, however, be also pronounced in other ways, even
in the same sentence, as _garne_, _yăt_, and _naayme_, or often
_ne-um_.
_A_ is often softened in various ways.
Thus, _thrash_ becomes _draish_, and _wash_, _waish_ or _weish_.
It is often changed to _o_, as _zot_, sat, _ronk_, rank.
Also to _e_, as _piller_, pillar, _refter_, rafter, _pert_, part.
In _vur_, far, the sound is _u_ rather than _e_.
The North Wilts version of the _Song of Solomon_ gives frequent
examples of _oi_ for _ai_, as _choir_, chair, _foir_, fair, _moyden_,
maiden; but this is probably an imported letter-change, _chayer_ or
_chai-yer_, for instance, being nearer the true sound.
* * * * *
_E_ is often broadened into _aa_ or _aay_.
Thus _they_ gives us _thaay_, and _break_, _braayke_.
In _marchant_, merchant, and _zartin_, certain, the sound given is as
in _tar_.
_Ei_ takes the sound of _a_ in _fate_, as _desave_, deceive.
_Left_, _smell_, and _kettle_ become _lift_, _smill_, and _kiddle_.
In South Wilts _ĕ_ in such words as _egg_ or _leg_ becomes _a_
or _ai_, giving us _aig_ and _laig_ or _lăg_. Thus a Heytesbury
Rosalind would render--
'O Jupiter, how weary are my legs!'
by 'O-my-poor-vit'n-laigs!' uttered all in one gasp. In N. Wilts the
_e_ in these words is not perceptibly so altered.
The _ĕ_ in such words as _linnet_ usually takes the _u_ sound,
giving us _linnut_. In _yes_ it is lengthened out into _eece_ in S.
Wilts, and in N. Wilts into _cez_.
Long _e_ or _ee_ is shortened into _i_, as _ship_, sheep, _kippur_,
keeper, _wick_, week, _fit_, _vit_, feet, the latter word sometimes
being also pronounced as _ve-ut_.
_Heat_ becomes _het_, and _heater_ (a flat-iron), _hetter_; while
_hear_ is usually _hire_ in N. Wilts.
* * * * *
_I_ short becomes _e_, as _breng_, bring, _drenk_, drink, _zet_, sit,
_pegs_, pigs.
Occasionally it is lengthened into _ee_, as _leetle_, little.
In _hit_ (_pret._) and _if_ it usually takes the sound of _u_, as
_hut_ and _uf_ or _uv_; but _hit_ in the present tense is _het_, and
_if_ is often sounded as _ef_ in N. Wilts.
At the beginning of a word, _im_, _in_, and _un_ usually become _on_,
as _onpossible_, _ondacent_, _oncommon_.
In present participles the sound given varies between _un'_, _en'_,
and _in'_, the _g_ almost invariably being dropped.
* * * * *
_O_ very commonly becomes _a_, as _archet_, orchard, _tharn_, thorn,
_vant_, font, _vram_, from, _carn_, corn.
Quite as commonly it takes the _au_ or _aw_ sound, as _hawp_, hope,
_aupen_, open, _cawls_, coals, _hawle_, hole, _smawk_, smoke.
In such words as _cold_ and _four_, the sound is _ow_ rather than
_aw_, thus giving us _cowld_ and _vower_.
_Moss_ in S. Wilts sometimes takes the long _e_, becoming _mēsh_,
while in N. Wilts it would merely be _mawss_.
_Know_ becomes either _knaw_ or _kneow_.
_O_ is often sounded _oo_, as _goold_, gold, _cwoort_, court,
_mwoor'n_ or _moor'n_, more than, _poorch_, porch.
_Oo_ is sometimes shortened into _ŭ_, as _shut_, shoot, _sut_,
soot, _tuk_, took.
Very commonly the sound given to _ō_ is _wo_ or _woä_. Thus we
get _twoad_, toad (sometimes _twoad_), _pwoast_, post, _bwoy_, boy,
_rwoäs_, a rose, _bwoän_, bone, _spwoke_ (but more usually _spawk_ in
N. Wilts), spoke.
_Oa_ at the beginning of a word becomes _wu_, as _wuts_, oats.
_Oi_ in _noise_ and _rejoice_ is sounded as _ai_.
In _ointment_ and _spoil_ it becomes _ī_ or _wī_, giving
_intment_ and _spile_ or _spwile_.
_Ow_ takes the sound of _er_ or _y_, in some form or other, as
_vollur_ and _volly_, to follow, _winder_ and _windy_, a window.
* * * * *
_U_ in such words as _fusty_ and _dust_ becomes _ow_, as _fowsty_,
_dowst_.
* * * * *
_D_ when preceded by a liquid is often dropped, as _veel'_, field,
_vine_, to find, _dreshol_, threshold, _groun'_, ground.
Conversely, it is added to such words as _miller_, _gown_, _swoon_,
which become _millard_, _gownd_, and _zownd_.
In _orchard_ and _Richard_ the _d_ becomes _t_, giving us _archet_
and _Richut_ or _Rich't_; while occasionally _t_ becomes _d_,
_linnet_ being formerly (but not now) thus pronounced as _linnard_ in
N. Wilts.
_D_ is dropped when it follows _n_, in such cases as _Swinnun_,
Swindon, _Lunnon_, London.
* * * * *
_Su_ sometimes becomes _Shu_, as _Shusan_, Susan, _shoot_, suit,
_shewut_, suet, _shower_, sure, _Shukey_, Sukey.
* * * * *
_Y_ is used as an aspirate in _yacker_, acre, _yarm_, arm, _yeppern_,
apron, _yerriwig_, earwig. It takes the place of _h_ in _yeäd_, head,
_yeldin_, a hilding; and of _g_ in _yeat_ or _yat_, a gate.
* * * * *
Consonants are often substituted, _chimney_ becoming _chimbley_ or
_chimley_, _parsnip_, _pasmet_, and _turnip_, _turmut_.
* * * * *
Transpositions are very common, many of them of course representing
the older form of a word. For examples we may take _ax_, to ask,
_apern_, apron, _girt_, great, _wopse_, wasp, _aps_, the aspen,
_claps_, to clasp, _cruds_, curds, _childern_, children.
* * * * *
_F_ almost invariably becomes _v_, as _vlower_, flower, _vox_, fox,
_vur_, far, _vall_, fall, _vlick_, flick, _vant_, font.
In such words as _afterclaps_ and _afternoon_ it is not sounded at
all.
* * * * *
_L_ is not sounded in such words as _amwoast_, almost, and
_a'mighty_, almighty.
* * * * *
_N_ final is occasionally dropped, as _lime-kill_, lime-kiln.
* * * * *
_P_, _F_, _V_, and _B_ are frequently interchanged, _brevet_ and
_privet_ being forms of the same word, while to _bag_ peas becomes
_fag_ or _vag_ when applied to wheat.
* * * * *
_R_ is slurred over in many cases, as _e'ath_, earth, _foc'd_,
forced, _ma'sh_, marsh, _vwo'th_, forth.
It often assumes an excrescent _d_ or _t_, as _cavaltry_, horsemen,
_crockerty_, crockery, _scholard_, scholar.
* * * * *
_H_ has the sound of _wh_ in _whoam_, home. This word, however, as
Mr. Slow points out in the Preface to his Glossary--
_Bob._ Drat if I dwon't goo _wom_ to marrer.
_Zam._ Wat's evir waant ta go _wimm_ var.
_Bob._ Why, they tell's I as ow Bet Stingymir is gwain to be
caal'd _whoam_ to Jim Spritely on Zundy.--
is variously pronounced as _wom_, _wimm_, and _whoam_, even in the
same village.
As stated at page 72, the cockney misuse of _h_ is essentially
foreign to our dialect. It was virtually unknown sixty or seventy
years ago, and even so late as thirty years back was still unusual
in our villages. _Hunked_ for _unked_ is almost the only instance to
be found in Akerman, for instance. But the plague is already fast
spreading, and we fear that the Catullus of the next generation will
have to liken the Hodge of his day to the Arrius (the Roman 'Arry) of
old:--
C_h_ommoda dicebat, si quando commoda vellet
Dicere, et _h_insidias Arrius insidias ...
Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,
Iam non Ionios esse, sed _H_ionios.
Touching this point the Rev. G. Hill writes us from Harnham Vicarage
as follows:--'I should like to bear out what you say with regard to
the use of the letter _h_ in South-West Wilts. When I lived in these
parts twenty years ago, its omission was not I think frequent. The
putting it where it ought not to be did not I think exist. I find
now that the _h_ is invariably dropped, and occasionally added, the
latter habit being that of the better educated.'
_H_ becomes _y_ in _yeäd_, head.
* * * * *
_K_ is often converted into _t_, as _ast_, to ask, _mast_, a mask,
_bleat_, bleak.
_T_ is conversely often replaced by _k_, as _masking_,
acorn-gathering, from 'mast,' while sleet becomes _sleek_, and pant,
_pank_.
* * * * *
_S_ usually takes the sound of _z_, as _zee_, to see, _zaa_, a saw,
_zowl_, soul, _zaat_ or _zate_, soft, _zider_, cider, _zound_, to
swoon.
* * * * *
_Thr_ usually becomes _dr_, as _dree_, three, _droo_, through,
_draish_, to thrash.
In _afurst_, athirst, and _fust_, thirst, we still retain a very
ancient characteristic of Southern English.
_T_ is always dropped in such words as _kept_ and _slept_, which
become _kep'_ and _slep'_.
* * * * *
Liquids sometimes drop the next letter, as _kill_, kiln; but more
usually take an excrescent _t_ or _d_, as _varmint_, vermin,
_steart_, a steer, _gownd_, gown.
* * * * *
_W_ as an initial is generally dropped in N. Wilts in such cases as
_'oont_, a want or mole, _'ooman_, woman, _'ood_, wood.
Occasionally in S. Wilts it takes the aspirate, _'ood_ being then
_hood_.
* * * * *
Final _g_ is always dropped in the present participle, as _singin'_,
_livin'_, living; also in nouns of more than one syllable which end
in _ing_. It is, however, retained in monosyllabic nouns and verbs,
such as _ring_ and _sing_.
* * * * *
_Pre_ becomes _pur_, as _purtend_, pretend, _purserve_, preserve.
* * * * *
Sometimes a monosyllabic word will be pronounced as a dissyllable,
as we have already mentioned, _ne-um_, _ve-ut_, _ve-us_, and _ke-up_
being used concurrently with _naayme_, _vit_ or _fit_, _veäce_, and
_kip_ or _keep_.
* * * * *
The prefix _a_ is always used with the present participle, as
_a-gwain'_, going, _a-zettin' up_, sitting up.
* * * * *
The article _an_ is never used, a doing duty on all occasions, as
'Gie I a apple, veyther.'
* * * * *
Plurals will be found to be dealt with in the _Glossary_ itself,
under _En_ and _Plurals_.
* * * * *
Pronouns will also be found grouped together under _Pronouns_.
* * * * *
_As_ is used for _who_, _which_, and _that_.
* * * * *
Active verbs govern the nominative case.
* * * * *
Verbs do not agree with their nominative, either in number or person.
* * * * *
The periphrastic tenses are often used in S. Wilts, as 'I do mind
un,' but in N. Wilts the rule is to employ the simple tenses instead,
merely altering the person, as 'I minds un.' In S. Wilts you might
also say 'It be a vine night,' whereas in N. Wilts ''Tes a vine
night' would be more correct.
* * * * *
In conclusion we would mention that we hope in the course of the next
year or two to be able to deal with the grammatical and phonological
sides of our Dialect in a somewhat more adequate manner than it has
been possible to do on the present occasion.
A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL ABBREVIATIONS USED.
[For full titles of works see Appendix.]
(A.) Words given for Wilts in Akerman.
(B.) " " Britton.
(C.) " " Cunnington MS.
(D.) " " Davis.
(G.) " " Grose.
(H.) " " Halliwell.
(K.) " " Kennett.
(M.) " " Monthly Magazine.
(S.) " " Slow.
(Wr.) " " Wright.
N. & S.W. North and South Wilts, the place-names following
being those of localities where the word is reported as being
in use.
* An asterisk denotes that the word against which it is placed
has not as yet been met with by ourselves in this county,
although given by some authority or other as used in Wilts.
WILTS GLOSSARY
=A=. He; she. See ~Pronouns~.
=A=, pl. =As= or =Ais=. _n._ A harrow or drag (D.); probably from
A.S. _egethe_, M.E. _eythe_, a harrow (Skeat).--S.W., obsolete. This
term for a harrow was still occasionally to be heard some thirty
years ago, in both Somerset and Wilts, but is now disused. Davis
derives it from the triangular shape of the drag, resembling the
letter A.
=A-Drag=. A large heavy kind of drag (_Agric. of Wilts_). Still used
in South Wilts for harrowing turnips before the hoers go in.
=Abear=. To bear, to endure (S.). 'I can't abear to see the poor
theng killed.'--N. & S.W.
=Abide=. To bear, to endure. 'I can't abide un nohow.'--N. & S.W.
=About=. (1) _adv._ Extremely. Used to emphasize a statement, as
''T'wer just about cold s'marnin'.'--N. & S.W. (2) At one's ordinary
work again, after an illness. 'My missus were bad aal last wick wi'
rheumatiz, but she be about agen now.'--N. & S.W.
=Acksen=. See ~Axen~.
=Adder's-tongue=. _Listera ovata_, Br., Twayblade.--S.W.
=Adderwort=. _Polygonum Bistorta_, L., Bistort.--S.W. (Salisbury, &c.)
=Afeard=, =Aveard=. Afraid (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Agalds=. Hawthorn berries. (_English Plant Names._) _Aggles_ in
Devon.
=Agg=. (1) To hack or cut clumsily (A.B.H.S.Wr.); also ~Aggle~ and
~Haggle~.--N. & S.W. (2) To irritate, to provoke.--N. & S.W.
=Ahmoo=. A cow; used by mothers to children, as 'Look at they pretty
ahmoos a-comin'!'--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Ailes=, =Eyles=, =Iles=, &c. The awns of barley (D.); cf. A.S.
_egle_, an ear of corn, M.E. _eile_. Hail in _Great Estate_, ch.
i.--N. & S.W.
=Aisles of wheat=. See ~Hyle~.
=All-a-hoh=. All awry (A.B.C.H.Wr.); also ~All-a-huh~. Unevenly
balanced, lop-sided. A.S. _awóh_. 'That load o' carn be
aal-a-hoh.'--N. & S.W.
=All-amang=, =Allemang=, =All-o-mong=. Mingled together, as when
two flocks of sheep are accidentally driven together and mixed up
(A.B.G.H.S.Wr.). Seldom heard now.--N. & S.W.
=All one as=. Just like. 'I be 'tirely blowed up all one as a
drum.'--N.W. Compare--
''Twere all as one to fix our hopes on Heaven
As on this vision of the golden year.'--TENNYSON.
=All one for that=. For all that, notwithstanding, in spite of, as
'It medn't be true all one for that.'--N.W.
=Aloud=. 'That there meat stinks aloud,' smells very bad.--N.W.
*=A-masked=. Bewildered, lost (_MS. Lansd._, in a letter dated 1697:
H.Wr.).--Obsolete.
'Leaving him more masked than he was before.'
FULLER's _Holy War_, iii. 2.
=Ameäd=. Aftermath. See note to Yeomath.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
*=Anan=, ='Nan=. What do you say? (A.B.); used by a labourer who does
not quite comprehend his master's orders. ='Nan= (A.B.) is still
occasionally used in N. Wilts, but it is almost obsolete.--N. & S.W.
=Anbye=. _adv._ Some time hence, presently, at some future time. 'I
be main busy now, but I'll do't anbye.'--N.W.
=Anchor=. The chape of a buckle (A.B.).--S.W.
=And that=. And all that sort of thing, and so forth. 'Well, he _do_
have a drop tide-times and that.'--S.W.
=Aneoust=, =Aneust=, =Anoust=, =Neust=, or =Noust=. Nearly, about the
same (A.B.G.).--N. & S.W.
=Anighst=. Near (A.S.). 'Nobody's bin anighst us since you come.'--N.
& S.W.
=Anneal=. A thoroughly heated oven, just fit for the batch of bread
to be put in, is said to be nealded, i.e. annealed.--S.W.
=Anoint=, ='Nint= (i long). To beat soundly. 'I'll 'nint ye when I
gets home!' See ~Nineter~.--N.W.
*=Anont=, =Anunt=. Against, opposite (A.B.H.Wr.).
=Any more than=. Except, although, only. 'He's sure to come any more
than he might be a bit late.' Usually contracted into ~Moor'n~ in N.
Wilts.--N. & S.W.
=Apple-bout=. An apple-dumpling. (Cf. ~Hop-about~.)--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Apple-owling=. Knocking down the small worthless fruit, or
'griggles,' left on the trees after the apple crop has been gathered
in. See ~Howlers~, ~Owlers~, and ~Owling~.--N.W.
=Aps=. _Populus tremula_, L., Aspen; always so called by woodmen.
This is the oldest form of the word, being from A.S. _æps_, and is in
use throughout the south and west of England. In _Round About a Great
Estate_, ch. i. it is misprinted _asp_.--N.W.
=Arg=. To argue, with a very strong sense of contradiction implied
(S.). 'Dwoan't 'ee arg at I like that! I tell 'ee I zeed 'un!' See
~Down-arg~.--N. & S.W.
=Arms=. 'The arms of a waggon,' such parts of the axle-tree as go
into the wheels (_Cycl. of Agric._).--N.W.
=Arra=, =Arra one=, =Arn=. See ~Pronouns~.
=Array=, ='Ray=. To dress and clean corn with a sieve (D.).--N.W.
=Arsmart=. _Polygonum Hydropiper_, L., and _P. Persicaria_, L.--S.W.
=Ashore=, =Ashar=, =Ashard=. Ajar. 'Put the door ashard when you goes
out.'--N. & S.W.
=Ashweed=. _Aegopodium Podagraria_, L., Goutweed.--N. & S.W.
*=Astore=. An expletive, as 'she's gone into the street _astore_'
(H.). Perhaps connected with _astoor_, very soon, Berks, or _astore_,
Hants:--
'The duck's [dusk] coming on; I'll be off in _astore_.'
_A Dream of the Isle of Wight._
It might then mean either 'this moment' or 'for a moment.'
=At=. (1) 'At twice,' at two separate times. 'We'll ha' to vetch un
at twice now.'--N.W. (2) 'Up at hill,' uphill. 'Th' rwoad be all up
at hill.'--N.W.
=Athin=. Within (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Athout=. Without; outside (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Attercop=. A spider. A.S. _atter-coppa_.--N.W. (Monkton Farleigh),
still in use. Mr. Willis mentions that _Edderkop_ is still to be
heard in Denmark.
*=Attery=. Irascible (A.B.).
=Away with=. Endure. This Biblical expression is still commonly used
in Wilts. 'Her's that weak her can't away with the childern at no
rate!'
=Ax=. To ask (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Axen=. Ashes (A.B.); =Acksen= (_MS. Lansd._: G.H.Wr.).--Obsolete.
=Babies'-shoes=. _Ajuga reptans_, L., Common Bugle.--S.W.
=Bachelor's Buttons=. (1) Wild Scabious (A.B.), _Scabiosa arvensis_,
L., _S. Columbaria_, L., and perhaps _S. succisa_, L.--N.W. (2)
_Corchorus Japonica_ (_Kerria Japonica_, L.).--N.W. (Huish.)
=Back-friends=. Bits of skin fretted up at the base of the
finger-nails.--N.W.
*=Backheave=. To winnow a second time (D.).
=Backside=. The back-yard of a house (A.B.).--N. & S.W., now obsolete.
=Backsword=. A kind of single-stick play (A.H.Wr.). Obsolete, the
game being only remembered by the very old men. For an account of it
see _The Scouring of the White Horse_, ch. vi.--N.W.
=Bacon=. To 'strick bacon,' to cut a mark on the ice in sliding; cf.
to strike a 'candle.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Bacon-and-Eggs=. _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax. Also
called Eggs-and-Bacon.--N. & S.W.
*=Bad, Bod=. To strip walnuts of their husks (A.B.H.Wr.); cf. E.
_pod_.--N.W., obsolete.
*=Badge=. _v._ To deal in corn, &c. See ~Badger~.--Obsolete.
'1576. Md. that I take order of the Badgers that they do name
the places where the Badgers do use to badge before they
resieve their lycens.... Md. to make pces [process] against all
the Badgers that doe badge without licence.'--Extracts from
Records of Wilts Quarter Sessions, _Wilts Arch. Mag._ xx. 327.
*=Badger=. A corn-dealer (A.B.); used frequently in old accounts in
N. Wilts, but now obsolete.
'1620. Itm for stayeinge Badgers & keepinge a note of there
names viijd.'--F. H. Goldney, _Records of Chippenham_, p. 202.
Compare _bodger_, a travelling dealer (Harrison's _Description of
England_, 1577), and _bogging_, peddling, in Murray. (Smythe-Palmer).
=Bag=. (1) _v._ To cut peas with a double-handed hook. Cf. ~Vag~.
'They cannot mow it with a sythe, but they cutt it with such a
hooke as they bagge pease with.'--Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 51, ed. Brit.
(2) _n._ The udder of a cow (A.B.).--N.W.
=Bake, Beak=. (1) _v._ To chop up with a mattock the rough surface
of land that is to be reclaimed, afterwards burning the parings
(_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii). See ~Burn-beak~. *(2) _n._ The curved
cutting mattock used in 'beaking' (_Ibid._ ch. xii). (3) _n._ The
ploughed land lying on the plat of the downs near Heytesbury, in
Norton Bavant parish, is usually known as the ~Beäk~, or ~Bake~,
probably from having been thus reclaimed. In the Deverills parts of
many of the down farms are known as the ~Bake~, or, more usually, the
~Burn-bake~.--S.W.
=Bake-faggot=. A rissole of chopped pig's-liver and seasoning,
covered with 'flare.' See ~Faggot~ (2).--N.W.
=Ballarag, Bullyrag=. To abuse or scold at any one (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Balm of Gilead=. _Melittis Melissophyllum_, L., Wild Balm.
=Bams=. Rough gaiters of pieces of cloth wound about the legs,
much used by shepherds and others exposed to cold weather. Cf.
~Vamplets~.--N. & S.W.
'The old man ... had bams on his legs and a sack fastened over
his shoulders like a shawl.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p.
141.
=Bandy=. (1) A species of Hockey, played with _bandy sticks_ and a
ball or piece of wood.--N. & S.W. (2) A crooked stick (S.).
=Bane=. Sheep-rot (D.). ~Baned.~ Of sheep, afflicted with rot
(A.B.).--N.W.
=Bang-tail=, or =Red Fiery Bang-tail=. _Phoenicurus ruticilla_, the
Redstart.--N.W. (Wroughton.)
*=Bannet-hay=. A rick-yard (H.Wr.).
=Bannis=. _Gasterosteus trachurus_, the Common Stickleback
(A.B.H.Wr.). Also ~Bannistickle~ (A.B.), ~Bantickle~ (A.Wr.),
and *~Bramstickle~ (S.). 'Asperagus (_quoedam piscis_) a
ban-stykyll.'--_Ortus Vocab._ A.S. _bán_, bone, and _sticels_,
prickle. (See N.E.D.).--S.W.
*=Bannut=. Fruit of _Juglans regia_, L., the Walnut (A.B.).
=Bantickle=. See ~Bannis~.
*=Barber's Brushes=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel (Flower's
_Flora of Wilts_). Also Brushes.--N.W.
=Bargain=. A small landed property or holding. 'They have always been
connected with that little bargain of land.'--N.W., still in use.
Sir W. H. Cope, in his _Hants Glossary_, gives '_Bargan_, a small
property; a house and garden; a small piece of land,' as used in N.
Hants.
=Barge=. (1) _n._ The gable of a house. Compare architectural
_Barge-boards_.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) _v._ Before a hedge can
be 'laid,' all its side, as well as the rough thorns, brambles, &c.,
growing in the ditch, must be cut off. This is called 'barging out'
the ditch.--N.W.
=Barge-hook=. The iron hook used by thatchers to fasten the straw to
the woodwork of the gable.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Barge-knife=. The knife used by thatchers in trimming off the straw
round the eaves of the gable.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Bargin=. The overgrowth of a hedge, trimmed off before 'laying.'--N.
& S.W.
=Barken=. The enclosed yard near a farm-house (A.B.); ~Rick-Barken~,
a rick-yard (A.), also used without prefix in this sense (_Wilts
Tales_, p. 121).
'Barken, or Bercen, now commonly used for a yard or backside in
Wilts ... first signified the small croft or close where the
sheep were brought up at night, and secured from danger of the
open fields.'--Kennett's _Parochial Antiquities_.
~Barton~ was formerly in very common use, but has now been displaced
by _Yard_.--N. & S.W.
*=Barley-bigg=. A variety of barley (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._, p. 304).
*=Barley-Sower=. _Larus canus_, the Common Gull (_Birds of Wilts_, p.
534).
=Barm=. The usual Wilts term for yeast (A.B.M.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Barn-barley=. Barley which has never been in rick, but has been
kept under cover from the first, and is therefore perfectly dry and
of high value for malting purposes (_Great Estate_, ch. viii. p. 152).
=Basket=. In some parts of S. Wilts potatoes are sold by the
'basket,' or three-peck measure, instead of by the 'sack' or the
'bag.'
=Baskets=. _Plantago lanceolata_, L., Ribwort Plantain.--S.W. (Little
Langford.)
=Bat-folding net=. The net used in 'bird-batting,' q.v. (A.): more
usually 'clap-net.'
=Bat-mouse=. The usual N. Wilts term for a bat.--N. & S.W.
=Batt=. A thin kind of oven-cake, about as thick as a tea-cake, but
mostly crust.--N.W.
*=Battledore-barley=. A flat-eared variety of barley (Aubrey's _Wilts
MS._, p. 304: H.Wr.).
=Baulk=. (1) ~Corn-baulk.~ When a 'land' has been accidentally passed
over in sowing, the bare space is a 'baulk,' and is considered as
a presage of some misfortune.--N.W. (2) A line of turf dividing a
field.--N.W.
'The strips [in a "common field"] are marked off from one
another, not by hedge or wall, but by a simple grass path, a
foot or so wide, which they call "balks" or "meres."'--_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ xvii. 294.
=Bavin=. An untrimmed brushwood faggot (A.B.S.): the long ragged
faggot with two withes, used for fencing in the sides of sheds and
yards; sometimes also applied to the ordinary faggot with one withe
or band.--N. & S.W.
*=Bawsy=, =Borsy=, or =Bozzy=. Coarse, as applied to the fibre of
cloth or wool. 'Bozzy-faced cloth bain't good enough vor I.'--S.W.
(Trowbridge, &c.)
=Bay=. (1) _n._ A dam across a stream or ditch.--N.W. (2) _v._ 'To
bay back water,' to dam it back.--N.W. (3) _n._ The space between
beam and beam in a barn or cows' stalls.--N.W.
*=Beads=. _Sagina procumbens_, L., Pearlwort.--N.W. (Lyneham.)
=Beak=. See ~Bake~ and ~Burn-bake~.
=Bearsfoot=. Hellebore.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Beat=. 'To beat clots,' to break up the hard dry lumps of old
cow-dung lying about in a pasture.--N.W.
=Becall=. To abuse, to call names. 'Her do becall I shameful.'--N. &
S.W.
=Bed-summers=. See ~Waggon~.
=Bedwind=, =Bedwine=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy.--S.W.
=Bee-flower=. _Ophrys apifera_, Huds., Bee Orchis.--S.W.
=Bee-pot=. A bee-hive.--S.W.
'Lore ta zee zom on'ms hair,
Like girt bee pots a hanging there.'--SLOW'S _Poems_, p. 43.
=Been=, =Bin=. Because, since; a corruption of _being_ (B.S.). 'Bin
as he don't go, I won't.'--N.W.
=Bees=. A hive is a ~Bee-pot~. ~Bee-flowers~ are those purposely
grown near an apiary, as sources of honey. Of swarms, only the first
is a ~Swarm~, the second being a ~Smart~, and the third a ~Chit~. To
follow a swarm, beating a tin pan, is ~Ringing~ or ~Tanging~.--N.W.
*=Beet=. To make up a fire (A.B.C.G.). A.S. _bétan_, to better; to
mend a fire (Skeat).--N.W., obsolete.
=Beetle=. (1) The heavy double-handed wooden mallet used in
driving in posts, wedges, &c. ~Bittle~ (A.H.). ~Bwytle~ (S.). Also
~Bwoitle~.--N. & S.W.
'On another [occasion] (2nd July, 25 Hen. VIII) ... William
Seyman was surety ... for the re-delivery of the tools,
"cuncta instrumenta videlicet Beetyll, Ax, Matock, and
Showlys."'--_Stray Notes from the Marlborough Court Books_,
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xix. 78.
(2) The small mallet with which thatchers drive home their
'spars.'--S.W.
*=Beggar-weed=. _Cuscuta Trifolii_, Bab., Dodder; from its
destructiveness to clover, &c. (_English Plant Names_).
=Bellock=. (1) To cry like a beaten or frightened child
(A.B.).--N.W., rarely. (2) To complain, to grumble (_Dark_, ch.
x.).--N.W.
*=Belly vengeance=. Very small and bad beer.--N.W.
'Beer of the _very smallest_ description, real "belly
vengeance."'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 40.
Cf.:--
'I thought you wouldn't appreciate the widow's tap.... Regular
whistle-belly vengeance, and no mistake!'--_Tom Brown at
Oxford_, xl.
=Belt=. To trim away the dirty wool from a sheep's
hind-quarters.--N.W.
*=Bennet=. _v._ Of wood-pigeons, to feed on bennets (A.).
'They have an old rhyme in Wiltshire--
"Pigeons never know no woe
Till they a-benetting do go;"
meaning that pigeons at this time are compelled to feed on the
seed of the bent, the stubbles being cleared, and the crops not
ripe.'--_Akerman._
=Bennets=, =Bents=. (1) Long coarse grass or rushes (B.).--N.W. (2)
Seed-stalks of various grasses (A.); used of both withered stalks of
coarse grasses and growing heads of cat's-tail, &c.--N. & S.W. (3)
Seed-heads of Plantain, _Plantago major_, L., and _P. lanceolata_,
L.--N. & S.W.
=Bents=. See ~Bennets~.
=Bercen= (_c_ hard). See ~Barken~. 'This form of the word is given in
_MS. Gough_, _Wilts_, 5, as current in Wilts' (H.K.Wr.).
=Berry=. The grain of wheat (D.); as 'There's a very good berry
to-year,' or 'The wheat's well-berried,' or the reverse. See _Old
Country Words_, ii. and v.--N.W.
=Berry-moucher=. (1) A truant. See ~Blackberry-moucher~ and ~Moucher~
(A.).--N. & S.W. (2) Fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry. See
~Moochers~.--N.W. (Huish.) Originally applied to children who went
mouching from school in blackberry season, and widely used in this
sense, but at Huish--and occasionally elsewhere--virtually confined
to the berries themselves: often corrupted into ~Penny-moucher~
or ~Perry-moucher~ by children. In _English Plant Names_ Mochars,
_Glouc._, and Mushes, _Dev._, are quoted as being similarly applied
to the fruit, which is also known as Mooches in the Forest of Dean.
See Hal., sub. _Mich._
=Besepts=. Except.--N. & S.W.
'Here's my yeppurn they've a'bin and scarched, and I've a-got
narra 'nother 'gin Zunday besepts this!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 138.
=Besom=, =Beesom=, =Bissom=, &c. A birch broom (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Betwit=. To upbraid (A.B.).
=Bide=. (1) To stay, remain (A.S.). 'Bide still, will 'ee.'--N.
& S.W. (2) To dwell (A.). 'Where do 'ee bide now, Bill?'
'Most-in-general at 'Vize.'--N. & S.W.
=Bill Button=. _Geum rivale_, L., Water Avens.--S.W.
=Bin=. See ~Been~.
=Bird-batting=. Netting birds at night with a 'bat-folding' or
clap-net (A.B., Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 15, ed. Brit.).
Bird-battenen (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Bird's-eye=. (1) _Veronica Chamaedrys_, L., Germander Speedwell.--N.
& S.W. (2) _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W. (3)
_Veronica officinalis_, L., Common Speedwell.--S.W. (Barford.)
=Bird's-nest=. The seed-head of Daucus Carota, L., Wild Carrot.--N. &
S.W.
'The flower of the wild carrot gathers together as the seeds
mature, and forms a framework cup at the top of the stalk, like
a bird's-nest. These "bird's-nests," brown and weather-beaten,
endured far into the winter.'--_Great Estate_, ch. vii. p. 137.
'The whole tuft is drawn together when the seed is ripe,
resembling a bird's nest.'--_Gerarde._
=Bird-seed=. Seed-heads of Plantain.--N. & S.W.
=Bird-squoilin=. See ~Squail~ (S.).
=Bird-starving=. Bird-keeping.--N.W.
'This we call bird-keeping, but the lads themselves, with
an appreciation of the other side of the case, call it
"bird-starving."'--_Village Miners._
=Birds'-wedding-day=. St. Valentine's Day.--S.W. (Bishopstone.)
=Bishop-wort=. _Mentha aquatica_, L., Hairy Mint.--S.W. (Hants bord.)
=Bissom=. See ~Besom~.
=Bittish=. _adj._ Somewhat. ''Twer a bittish cowld isterday.'--N. &
S.W.
=Bittle=. See ~Beetle~.
=Biver=. To tremble, quiver, shiver as with a cold or fright (S.).
Cp. A.S. _bifian_, to tremble.--N. & S.W.
'Bless m' zoul, if I dwon't think our maester's got the ager!
How a hackers an bivers, to be zhure!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 55.
=Bivery=. _adj._ Shivery, tremulous. When a baby is just on the verge
of crying, its lip quivers and is 'bivery.'--N.W.
=Blackberry-moucher=. (1) A truant from school in the blackberry
season (H.). See ~Berry-moucher, Mouch~, &c.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
'A blackberry moucher, an egregious truant.'--_Dean Milles'
MS._, p. 180.
(2) Hence, the fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry. See
~Berry-moucher, Moochers~, &c.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
*=Blackberry-token=. _Rubus caesius_, L., Dewberry (_English Plant
Names_).
=Black-Bess=. See ~Black-Bob~.
=Black-Bob=. A cockroach (S.). ~Black-Bess~ on Berks border.--S.W.
=Black-boys=. (1) Flower-heads of Plantain.--N.W. (Huish.) (2) _Typha
latifolia_, L., Great Reedmace.--N.W. (Lyneham.)
*=Black Couch=. A form of _Agrostis_ that has small wiry blackish
roots (D). _Agrostis stolonifera._
=Black Sally=. _Salix Caprea_, L., Great Round-leaved Sallow, from
its dark bark (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv). Clothes-pegs are made from
its wood.--N.W.
*=Black Woodpecker=. _Picus major_, Great Spotted Woodpecker (_Birds
of Wilts_, p. 253). Also known as the Gray Woodpecker.
=Blades=. The shafts of a waggon (S.).--S.W.
=Blare, Blur=. To shout or roar out loudly (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Blatch=. (1) _adj._ Black, sooty (A.B.).--N.W. (2) _n._ Smut, soot.
'Thuc pot be ael over blatch.'--N.W. (3) _v._ To blacken. 'Now dwon't
'ee gwo an' blatch your veäce wi' thuc thur dirty zoot.'--N.W.
=Bleachy=. Brackish.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Bleat=. Bleak, open, unsheltered. 'He's out in the bleat,'
i.e. out in the open in bad weather. See K for examples of
letter-change.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Bleeding Heart=. _Cheiranthus Cheiri_, L., the red Wallflower
(A.B.).--N.W.
=Blind-hole=. _n._ A rabbit hole which ends in undisturbed soil,
as opposed to a Pop-hole, q.v. (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vi. p.
120).--N.W.
=Blind-house=. A lock-up.
'1629. Item paied for makeing cleane the blind-house
vijd.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 204.
=Blind-man=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, L., &c., the Red Poppy, which is
locally supposed to cause blindness, if looked at too long.--S.W.
(Hamptworth.)
*=Blink=. A spark, ray, or intermittent glimmer of light (A.B.). See
~Flunk~.
*=Blinking=. This adjective is used, in a very contemptuous sense, by
several Wilts agricultural writers.
'A short blinking heath is found on many parts [of the
downs].'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.
~Compare:--~
''Twas a little one-eyed blinking sort o' place.'--_Tess of the
D'Urbervilles_, vol. i. p. 10.
*=Blissey=. A blaze (A.H.Wr.). A.S. _blysige_, a torch.
=Blobbs, Water Blobs=. Blossoms of _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., Yellow Water
Lily (A.B.); probably from the swollen look of the buds. Cf. ~Blub
up~.
=Blood-alley=. A superior kind of alley or taw, veined with deep red,
and much prized by boys (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Bloody Warr= The dark-blossomed Wallflower, _Cheiranthus Cheiri_, L.
(A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Blooens=. See ~Bluens~.
=Bloom=. Of the sun; to shine scorchingly (B.); to throw out heat as
a fire. 'How the sun do bloom out atween the clouds!'--N.W.
=Blooming=. Very sultry, as ''Tis a main blooming day.'--S.W.
(Salisbury.)
=Bloomy=. Sultry. ~Bloomy-hot.~ Excessively sultry (A.B.).--S.W.
=Blooth, Blowth=. Bloom or blossom.--S.W.
=Blossom=. A snow-flake. 'What girt blossoms 'twer to the snow
isterday!'--N. & S.W.
'Snow-flakes are called "blossoms." The word snow-flake is
unknown.'--_Village Miners._
=Blow=. Sheep and cattle 'blow' themselves, or get 'blowed,' from
over-eating when turned out into very heavy grass or clover, the
fermentation of which often kills them on the spot, their bodies
becoming terribly inflated with wind. See the description of the
'blasted' flock, in _Far from the Madding Crowd_, ch. xxi.--N. & S.W.
=Blowing=. A blossom (A.B.H.Wr.). See ~Bluen~.--N.W.
=Blowth=. See ~Blooth~.
=Blub up=. To puff or swell up. A man out of health and puffy about
the face is said to look 'ter'ble blubbed up.' Cf. Blobbs.--N.W.
Compare:--
'My face was blown and blub'd with dropsy wan.'--_Mirror for
Magistrates._
=Blue Bottle=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth.--S.W.
=Blue Buttons=. (1) _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--S.W.
(2) _S. Columbaria_, L., Small Scabious.--S.W.
=Blue Cat=. One who is suspected of being an incendiary. 'He has the
name of a blue cat.' See ~Lewis's Cat~.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Blue Eyes=. _Veronica Chamaedrys_, L., Germander Speedwell.--N.W.
=Blue Goggles=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth. Cf. ~Greygles~
or ~Greggles~.--S.W.
=Bluen= or =Blooens=. _pl._ Blossoms (S.). Also used in Devon.--N. &
S.W.
=Blue-vinnied=. Covered with blue mould. See Vinney. Commoner in
Dorset as applied to cheese, &c.--N. & S.W.
=Blunt=. 'A cold blunt,' a spell of cold weather. See Snow-blunt.
Compare _Blunk_, a fit of stormy weather, which is used in the East
of England.--N.W.
=Blur=. See ~Blare~. In Raleigh's account of the fight in Cadiz Bay,
he says that as he passed through the cross-fire of the galleys
and forts, he replied 'with a blur of the trumpet to each piece,
disdaining to shoot.'
=Board=. To scold, to upbraid. 'Her boarded I just about.'--S.W.
(occasionally.)
=Boar Stag=. A boar which, after having been employed for breeding
purposes for a time, is castrated and set aside for fattening (D.).
Cf. ~Bull Stag~.--N.W.
=Boat=. Children cut apples and oranges into segments, which they
sometimes call 'pigs' or 'boats.'
=Bob=. In a timber carriage, the hind pair of wheels with the long
pole or lever attached thereto.--N.W. In Canada 'bob-sleds' are used
for drawing logs out of the woods.
*=Bobbant=. Of a girl, romping, forward (A.B.H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Bobbish=. In good health (A.B.S.). 'Well, an' how be 'ee to-day?'
'Purty bobbish, thank 'ee.'--N. & S.W.
=Bob-grass=. _Bromus mollis_, L.--S.W.
*=Bochant=. The same as ~Bobbant~ (A.B.G.H.Wr.).
=Bod=. See ~Bad~.
=Boistins=. The first milk given by a cow after calving (A.). See
N.E.D. (~s.v. Beestings~).--N.W.
=Bolt=. In basket-making, a bundle of osiers 40 inches round.
(_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv. p. 69).
=Boltin=, =Boulting=. A sheaf of five or ten 'elms,' prepared
beforehand for thatching. 'Elms' are usually made up on the spot, but
are occasionally thus prepared at threshing-time, and tied up and
laid aside till required, when they need only be damped, and are then
ready for use. Cf. ~Bolt.~--N.W.
=Bombarrel Tit=. _Parus caudatus_, the Long-tailed Titmouse (_Great
Estate_, ch. ii. p. 26). Jefferies considers this a corruption of
'Nonpareil.'--N.W.
=Book of Clothes=. See ~Buck~ (_Monthly Mag._, 1814).
=Boon Days=. Certain days during winter on which farmers on the
Savernake estate were formerly bound to haul timber for their
landlord.
*=Boreshore=. A hurdle-stake (S.).--S.W.
'This is a kind of hurdle stake which can be used in soft
ground without an iron pitching bar being required to bore
the hole first for it. Hence it is called bore-shore by
shepherds.'--_Letter from Mr. Slow._
*=Borky=. (Baulky?) Slightly intoxicated.--S.W.
*=Borsy=. See *~Bawsy~.
=Bossell=. _Chrysanthemum segetum_, L., Corn Marigold (D.). ~Bozzell~
(_Flowering Plants of Wilts_).--N. & S.W.
=Bossy=, =Bossy-calf=. A young calf, whether male or female.--N.W.
=Bottle=. The wooden keg, holding a gallon or two, used for beer in
harvest-time (_Wild Life_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W.
=Bottle-tit=. _Parus caudatus_, L., the Long-tailed Titmouse.--N.W.
=Bottom=. A valley or hollow in the downs.--N. & S.W.
=Boulting=. See ~Boltin~.
=Bounceful=. Masterful, domineering. See ~Pounceful~.--N.W.
=Bourne=. (1) _n._ A valley between the chalk hills; a river in such
a valley; also river and valley jointly (D.).--N. & S.W.
'In South Wilts they say, such or such a bourn: meaning a
valley by such a river.'--Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 28.
Ed. Brit.
(2) _v._ In gardening, when marking out a row of anything with pegs,
you 'bourne' them, or glance along them to see that they are in
line.--N.W.
=Box= or =Hand-box=. The lower handle of a sawyer's long pit-saw, the
upper handle being the ~Tiller~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Boy's-love=. _Artemisia Abrotanum_, L., Southernwood (A.B.).--N. &
S.W.
=Boys=. The long-pistilled or 'pin-eyed' flowers of the Primrose,
_Primula vulgaris_, Huds. See ~Girls~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Bozzell=. See ~Bossell~.
*=Bozzy=. See *~Bawsy~.
=Brack=. _n._ A fracture, break, crack (S.). 'There's narra brack nor
crack in 'un.'--N. & S.W.
=Brain-stone=. A kind of large round stone (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist.
Wilts_, p. 9, ed. Brit., H.Wr.). Perhaps a lump of water-worn fossil
coral, such as occasionally now bears this name among N. Wilts
cottagers.
*=Bramstickle=. See ~Bannis~ (S.).
=Brandy-bottles=. _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., Yellow Water-lily.--S.W.
(Mere, &c.)
=Brave=. _adj._ Hearty, in good health (A.B.).--N.W.
=Bread-and-Cheese=. (1) _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow
Toadflax.--N. & S.W. (2) Fruit of _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common
Mallow (S.).--S.W. (3) Young leaves and shoots of _Crataegus
Oxyacantha_, L., Hawthorn, eaten by children in spring (_English
Plant Names_).--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Bread-board=. The earth-board of a plough (D.). ~Broad-board~ in N.
Wilts.
=Break=. To tear. 'She'll break her gownd agen thuc tharn.' You still
_break_ a bit of muslin, but to _tear_ a trace or a plate now grows
obsolete.--N.W. Similarly used in Hants, as
'I have _a-torn_ my best decanter ... have _a-broke_ my fine
cambrick aporn.'--COPE'S _Hants Glossary_.
=Brevet=, =Brivet=. (1) To meddle, interfere, pry into.--N.W.
'Who be you to interfere wi' a man an' he's vam'ly? Get awver
groundsell, or I'll stop thy brevettin' for a while.'--_Dark_,
ch. xix.
(2) _To brevet about_, to beat about, as a dog for game (A.).--N.W.
Also ~Privet~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard; Castle Eaton, &c.)
'_Brivet_, a word often applied to children when they wander
about aimlessly and turn over things.'--_Leisure Hour_, Aug.
1893.
*(3) To pilfer. 'If she'll brevet one thing, she'll brevet
another.'--N.W. (Mildenhall.)
=Bribe=. To taunt, to bring things up against any one, to scold.
'What d'ye want to kip a-bribing I o' that vur?'--N.W.
=Brit=, =Brittle out=. (1) To rub grain out in the hand.--N.W. (2) To
drop out of the husk, as over-ripe grain (D.).--N.W.
=Brivet=. See ~Brevet~.
=Brize=. To press heavily on, or against, to crush down (S.). A
loaded waggon 'brizes down' the road.--N. & S.W.
=Broad-board=. See ~Bread-board~.
=Broke-bellied=. Ruptured.--N.W.
=Brook-Sparrow=. _Salicaria phragmitis_, the Sedge Warbler; from one
of its commonest notes resembling that of a sparrow (_Great Estate_,
ch. vii; _Wild Life_, ch. iii).--N.W.
'At intervals [in his song] he intersperses a chirp, exactly
the same as that of the sparrow, a chirp with a tang in it.
Strike a piece of metal, and besides the noise of the blow,
there is a second note, or tang. The sparrow's chirp has such
a note sometimes, and the sedge-bird brings it in--tang,
tang, tang. This sound has given him his country name of
brook-sparrow.'--JEFFERIES, _A London Trout_.
=Brow=. (1) _adj._ Brittle (A.B.C.H.Wr.); easily broken. Vrow at
Clyffe Pypard. Also ~Frow~.--N.W. *(2) _n._ A fragment (_Wilts Arch.
Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Brown=. 'A brown day,' a gloomy day (H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Bruckle=. (Generally with _off_ or _away_.) _v._ To crumble away, as
some kinds of stone when exposed to the weather (_Wilts Arch. Mag._
vol. xxii. p. 109); to break off easily, as the dead leaves on a dry
branch of fir. Compare _brickle_=brittle (_Wisdom_, xv. 13), A.S.
_brucol_=apt to break.--N.W.
=Bruckley=. _adj._ Brittle, crumbly, friable, not coherent (S.).--N.
& S.W.
=Brush=. 'The brush of a tree,' its branches or head.--N.W.
=Brushes=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel. See
~Clothes-brush~.--N. & S.W.
=Bubby-head=. _Cottus gobio_, the Bullhead.--N. & S.W.
=Buck=. A 'buck,' or 'book,' of clothes, a large wash--N.W.
=Bucking=. A quantity of clothes to be washed (A.).--N.W.
*=Buddle=. To suffocate in mud. 'There! if he haven't a bin an'
amwoast buddled hisel' in thuck there ditch!' Also used in Som.--N.W.
(Malmesbury.)
=Budgy=. Out of temper, sulky. A softened form of _buggy_,
self-important, churlish, from the Old English and provincial
_budge_, grave, solemn, &c. See _Folk-Etymology_, p. 42
(Smythe-Palmer).--N.W. Cp. Milton,
'Those budge doctors of the stoic fur.'--_Comus._
=Bullpoll=, =Bullpull=. _Aira caespitosa_, L., the rough tufts of
tussocky grass which grow in damp places in the fields, and have to
be cut up with a heavy hoe (_Great Estate_, ch. ii; _Gamekeeper at
Home_, ch. viii).--N.W.
=Bull Stag=. A bull which, having been superannuated as regards
breeding purposes, is castrated and put to work, being stronger than
an ordinary bullock. Cf. ~Boar Stag~.--N.W., now almost obsolete.
=Bulrushes=. _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold; from some
nursery legend that Moses was hidden among its large leaves.--S.W.,
rarely.
=Bumble-berry=. Fruit of _Rosa canina_, L., Dog-rose.--N.W.
=Bunce=. (1) _n._ A blow. 'Gie un a good bunce in the ribs.'--N.W.
(2) _v._ To punch or strike.--N.W.
=Bunch=. Of beans, to plant in bunches instead of rows (D.).--N. &
S.W.
=Bunny=. A brick arch, or wooden bridge, covered with earth, across a
'drawn' or 'carriage' in a water-meadow, just wide enough to allow a
hay-waggon to pass over.--N.W.
=Bunt=. (1) _v._ To push with the head as a calf does its dam's udder
(A.); to butt; to push or shove up.--(_Bevis_, ch. x.) N.W. (2) _n._
A push or shove.--N.W. (3) _n._ A short thick needle, as a 'tailor's
bunt.' (4) _n._ Hence sometimes applied to a short thickset person,
as a nickname.--S.W.
=Bunty=. _adj._ Short and stout.--N.W.
=Bur=. The sweetbread of a calf or lamb (A.).--N.W.
=Bur'=, =Burrow=, or =Burry=. (1) A rabbit-burrow (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
(2) Any place of shelter, as the leeward side of a hedge (A.C.). 'Why
doesn't thee coom and zet doon here in the burrow?'--N. & S.W.
=Burl=. (1) 'To burl potatoes,' to rub off the grown-out shoots
in spring.--N.W. (2) The original meaning was to finish off cloth
or felt by removing knots, rough places, loose threads, and other
irregularities of surface, and it is still so used in S. Wilts (S.).
=Burn=. 'To burn a pig,' to singe the hair off the dead carcase.--N.
& S.W.
*=Burn-bake= (or =-beak=). (1) To reclaim new land by paring and
burning the surface before cultivation (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch.
xii). See ~Bake~. (2) To improve old arable land by treating it in
a similar way (_Ibid._ ch. xii). ~Burn-beke~ (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist.
Wilts_, p. 103. Ed. Brit., where the practice is said to have been
introduced into S. Wilts by Mr. Bishop of Merton, about 1639). (3)
_n._ Land so reclaimed. See ~Bake~.--S.W.
=Burrow=. See ~Bur'~.
=Burry=. See ~Bur'~.
='Buseful=. Foul-mouthed, abusive.--N.W.
=Bush=. (1) _n._ A heavy hurdle or gate, with its bars interlaced
with brushwood and thorns, which is drawn over pastures in spring,
and acts like a light harrow (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv).--N.W. (2)
_v._ To bush-harrow a pasture.--N.W.
=Butchers' Guinea-pigs=. Woodlice. See ~Guinea-pigs~.--S.W.
=Butter-and-Eggs=. (1) _Narcissus incomparabilis_, Curt., Primrose
Peerless.--N. & S.W. (2) _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax
(_Great Estate_, ch. v).--N. & S.W.
=Buttercup=. At Huish applied only to _Ranunculus Ficaria_, L.,
Lesser Celandine, all other varieties of Crowfoot being 'Crazies'
there.
=Butter-teeth=. The two upper incisors.--N.W.
=Buttons=. Very young mushrooms.--N. & S.W.
=Buttry=. A cottage pantry (A.B.).--N.W., now almost obsolete.
=Butt-shut=. (1) To join iron without welding, by pressing the heated
ends squarely together, making an imperceptible join (_Village
Miners_). See ~Shut~. (2) Hence a glaringly inconsistent story or
excuse is said 'not to butt-shut' (_Village Miners_).
=Butty=. A mate or companion in field-work (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=By-the-Wind=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy.--S.W.
(Farley.)
*=Caa-vy= (? Calfy). A simpleton (S.).--S.W.
=Cack=. See ~Keck~.
*=Cack-handed=, *=Cag-handed=. Extremely awkward and unhandy: clumsy
to the last degree (_Village Miners_). Other dialect words for
'awkward' are Dev., _cat-handed_, Yorks., _gawk-handed_, and Nhamp.,
_keck-handed_. Cf. ~Cam-handed~.
=Caddle=. (1) _n._ Dispute, noise, row, contention (A.); seldom or
never so used now.--N. & S.W.
'What a caddle th' bist a makin', Jonas!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 82.
'If Willum come whoam and zees two [candles] a burnin', he'll
make a vi-vi-vine caddle.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 42.
(2) _n._ Confusion, disorder, trouble (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.
'Lawk, zur, but I be main scrow to be ael in zich a caddle,
alang o' they childern.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 137.
(3) _v._ To tease, to annoy, to bother (A.B.C.). See ~Caddling~. 'Now
dwoan't 'e caddle I zo, or I'll tell thee vather o' thee!' 'I be main
caddled up wi' ael they dishes to weish.'--N. & S.W.
''Tain't no use caddlin I--I can't tell 'ee no more.'--_Greene
Ferne Farm_, ch. viii.
(4) _v._ To hurry. 'To caddle a horse,' to drive him over-fast.--N.W.
(5) _v._ To loaf about, only doing odd jobs. 'He be allus a caddlin'
about, and won't never do nothin' reg'lar.'--N. & S.W. (6) _v._ To
mess about, to throw into disorder. 'I don't hold wi' they binders
[the binding machines], they do caddle the wheat about so.'--N. &
S.W.
=Caddlesome=. Of weather, stormy, uncertain. ''T 'ull be a main
caddlesome time for the barley.'--S.W.
=Caddling=. (1) _adj._ Of weather, stormy, uncertain.--N. & S.W. (2)
_adj._ Quarrelsome, wrangling (C.).--N. & S.W.
'His bill was zharp, his stomack lear, Zo up a snapped the
caddlin pair.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 97.
'A cadling fellow, a wrangler, a shifting, and sometimes an
unmeaning character.'--_Cunnington MS._
(3) _adj._ Meddlesome (S.), teasing (_Monthly Mag._, 1814);
troublesome, worrying, impertinent (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
'Little Nancy was as naisy and as caddlin' as a wren, that a
was'.--_Wilts Tales_, p. 177.
*(4) Chattering (_Monthly Mag._, 1814): probably a mistake.
=Caffing rudder=. See ~Caving rudder~.
*=Cag-handed=. See ~Cack-handed~.
=Cag-mag=. Bad or very inferior meat (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Cains-and-Abels=. _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., Columbine.--S.W.
(Farley.)
*=Calf-white=. See ~White~.
=Call=. Cause, occasion. 'You've no call to be so 'buseful'
[abusive].--N. & S.W.
=Call home=. To publish the banns of marriage (S.).--S.W.
'They tells I as 'ow Bet Stingymir is gwain to be caal'd
_whoam_ to Jim Spritely on Zundy.'--SLOW.
*=Callow-wablin=. An unfledged bird (A.).--S.W.
=Callus-stone=. A sort of gritty earth, spread on a board for
knife-sharpening (Wilts Arch. Mag. vol. xxii. p. 109).--N. & S.W.
(Cherhill, &c.)
=Calves'-trins=. Calves' stomachs, used in cheese-making. A.S.
_trendel_. See ~Trins~. Halliwell and Wright give _'Calf-trundle_,
the small entrails of a calf.'--N.W.
*=Cam=. Perverse, cross. Welsh _cam_, crooked, wry.--N.W.
'A 's as cam and as obstinate as a mule.'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
138.
'They there wosbirds [of bees] zimd rayther cam and
mischievul.'--_Springtide_, p. 47.
=Cam-handed=. Awkward.--N.W.
*=Cammock=. _Ononis arvensis_, L., Restharrow (D.).
=Cammocky=. Tainted, ill-flavoured, as cheese or milk when the cows
have been feeding on cammock. See ~Gammotty~ (2).--S.W.
=Canary-seed=. Seed-heads of Plantain.--N. & S.W.
=Candle=. 'To strike a candle,' to slide, as school-boys do, on the
heel, so as to leave a white mark along the ice.--S.W.
=Cank=. To overcome (H.Wr.): perhaps a perversion of _conquer_. The
winner 'canks' his competitors in a race, and you 'cank' a child when
you give it more than it can eat.--N.W.
=Canker=. Fungus, toadstool (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Canker-berries=. Wild Rose hips. ~Conker-berries~ (S.).--S.W.
(Salisbury, &c.).
=Canker-rose=. The mossy gall on the Dog-rose, formed by _Cynips
rosae_; often carried in the pocket as a charm against rheumatism
(_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.
*=Cappence=. The swivel-joint of the old-fashioned flail, _Capel_ in
Devon.--N. & S.W.
=Carpet=. To blow up, to scold; perhaps from the scene of the
fault-finding being the parlour, not the bare-floored kitchen.
'Measter carpeted I sheamvul s'marning.' 'I had my man John on the
carpet just now and gave it him finely.'--N.W.
=Carriage=. A water-course, a meadow-drain (A. B. G. H. Wr.). In S.
Wilts the _carriages_ bring the water into and through the meadow,
while the _drawn_ takes it back to the river after its work is
done.--N. & S.W.
=Carrier=, =Water-carrier=. A large water-course (_Wild Life_, ch.
xx).--N. & S.W.
=Carry along=. To prove the death of, to bring to the grave. 'I be
afeard whe'er that 'ere spittin' o' blood won't car'n along.'--N.W.
=Cart=. 'At cart,' carrying or hauling, as 'We be at wheat cart
[coal-cart, dung-cart, &c.] to-day.--N.W.
=Casalty=. See ~Casulty~.
=Cass'n=. Canst not (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Cassocks=. Couch-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.).
=Casulty=. (1) _adj._ Of weather, unsettled, broken (_Green Ferne
Farm_, ch. i). ~Casalty~ (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109).--N.
& S.W. (2) Of crops, uncertain, not to be depended on. Plums, for
instance, are a 'casalty crop,' some years bearing nothing.--N.W.
*=Cat-gut=. The ribs of the Plantain leaf; so called by children when
drawn out so as to look like fiddle-strings (_Great Estate_, ch. ii).
=Cat-Kidney=. A game somewhat resembling cricket, played with a
wooden 'cat' instead of a ball.--N.W. (Brinkworth.)
=Cat's-ice=. White ice, ice from which the water has receded.--N. &
S.W. (Steeple Ashton, &c.).
'They stood at the edge, cracking the cat's-ice, where the
water had shrunk back from the wheel marks, and left the frozen
water white and brittle.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p. 153.
=Cats'-love=. Garden Valerian, on which cats like to roll.--S.W.
*=Cats'-paws=. Catkins of willow while still young and downy.--S.W.
(Deverill.)
=Cats'-tails=. (1) _Equisetum_, Horse-tail (_Great Estate_, ch.
ii).--N.W. (2) The catkin of the willow.--N.W. (Lyneham.) (3) The
catkin of the hazel.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Catch=. (1) Of water, to film over, to begin to freeze. ~Keach~,
~Keatch~, ~Kitch~, or ~Ketch~ (A.B.C.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
'A bright clear moon is credited with causing the water to
"catch"--that is, the slender, thread-like spicules form on
the surface, and, joining together, finally cover it.'--_Wild
Life_, ch. xx.
Also see _Bevis_, ch. xl. (2) To grow thick, as melted fat when
setting again.--N. & S.W. *(3) 'To catch and rouse,' to collect
water, &c.
'In the catch-meadows ... it is necessary to make the
most of the water by catching and rousing it as often as
possible.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xi.
*(4) _n._ The same as Catch-meadow (_Ibid._ ch. xii).
*=Catch-land=. The arable portion of a common field, divided into
equal parts, whoever ploughed first having the right to first choice
of his share (D.).--Obsolete.
*=Catch-meadow=, =Catch-work meadow=, or =Catch=. A meadow on the
slope of a hill, irrigated by a stream or spring, which has been
turned so as to fall from one level to another through the carriages
(_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).
=Catching=, =Catchy=. Of weather, unsettled, showery (_Agric. of
Wilts_, ch. iii. p. 11).--N. & S.W.
=Caterpillar=. A cockchafer.--N.W.
=Cattikeyns=. Fruit of the ash.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Cave=. (1) _n._ The chaff of wheat and oats (D.): in threshing,
the broken bits of straw, &c. ~Cavin~, ~Cavings~, or ~Keavin~ in N.
Wilts.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To separate the short broken straw from
the grain.--N. & S.W.
=Cavin, Cavings=. See ~Cave~ (1).
*=Caving-rake=. The rake used for separating cavings and grain on the
threshing-floor.
=Caving= (or =Caffing=) =rudder=, or =rudderer=. *(1) The winnowing
fan and tackle (D.).--S.W. (2) A coarse sieve used by carters to get
the straw out of the horses' chaff.--N. & S.W.
=Cawk=, =Cawket=. To squawk out, to make a noise like a hen
when disturbed on her nest, &c. 'Ther's our John, s'naw [dost
know?]--allus a messin' a'ter the wenchin, s'naw--cawin' an'
cawkettin' like a young rook, s'naw,--'vore a can vly, s'naw,--boun'
to coom down vlop _he_ war!' ~Caa-kinn~ (S.).--N. & S.W. (Clyffe
Pypard; Seagry, &c.)
*=Centry=. _Anagallis tenella_, L., Bog Pimpernel.--S.W. (Barford.)
=Cham=. To chew (A.B.C.S.). 'Now cham thee vittles up well.' An older
form of _Champ_.--N. & S.W.
=Champ=. To scold in a savage snarling fashion. 'Now dwoan't 'ee gwo
an' champ zo at I!' Used formerly at Clyffe Pypard.--N.W.
=Chan-Chider=. See ~Johnny Chider~.--S.W.
=Chap=. (1) _v._ Of ground, to crack apart with heat.--N & S.W. (2)
_n._ A crack in the soil, caused by heat.--N. & S.W.
=Charm=. (1) _n._ 'All in a charm,' all talking loud together.
A.S. _cyrm_, clamour (A.H.S.), especially used of the singing of
birds. See Kingsley's _Prose Idylls_, i. Also used of hounds in full
cry.--N. & S.W.
'Thousands of starlings, the noise of whose calling to each
other is indescribable--the country folk call it a "charm,"
meaning a noise made up of innumerable lesser sounds, each
interfering with the other.'--_Wild Life_, ch. xii.
Cp, Milton,
'Charm of earliest birds.'--_P. L._, ii. 642.
(2) _v._ To make a loud confused noise, as a number of birds, &c.,
together.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ 'To charm bees,' to follow a swarm of
bees, beating a tea-tray, &c.--N.W. (Marlborough).
=Chatter-mag=, =Chatter-pie=. A chattering woman.--N. & S.W.
=Chawm=, =Chawn=. A crack in the ground (A.).--N.W.
=Cheese-flower=. _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow.--S.W.
=Cheeses=. Fruit of _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow.--N. & S.W.
*=Chemise=. _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--S.W. (Little
Langford.) This name was given us as ~Chemise~, but would probably be
pronounced as ~Shimmy~.
=Cherky=. Having a peculiar dry taste, as beans (_Village
Miners_).--N. & S.W.
=Cherry-pie=. _Valeriana officinalis_, L., All-heal, from its
smell.--S.W.
=Cheure=. See ~Choor~.
=Chevil= (or =Chevril=) =Goldfinch=. A large variety of goldfinch,
with a white throat. See _Birds of Wilts_, p. 203, for a full
description of the bird.--N. & S.W.
=Chewree=. See ~Choor~.
=Chib=. 'Potato-chibs,' the grown-out shoots in spring. See
~Chimp~.--S.W.
=Chiddlens=, =Chiddlins=. Pigs' chitterlings (H.S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
=Children of Israel=. *(1) A small garden variety of _Campanula_,
from the profusion of its blossoms (_English Plant Names_). (2)
_Malcolmia maritima_, Br., Virginian Stock, occasionally.
=Chilver=, =Chilver-lamb=. A ewe lamb (A.).--N.W.
=Chilver-hog=. A ewe under two years old (D.). The word hog is now
applied to any animal of a year old, such as a hog bull, a chilver
hog sheep. 'Chilver' is a good Anglo-Saxon word, 'cilfer,' and is
related to the word 'calf.' A chilver hog sheep simply means in the
dialect of the Vale of Warminster, a female lamb a year old. See
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xvii. 303.--N. & S.W.
=Chimney-sweeps=. Flowering-heads of some grasses.--N.W. (Lyneham.)
=Chimney-sweepers=. _Luzula campestris_, Willd., Field
Wood-rush.--N.W.
=Chimp=. (1) _n._ The grown-out shoot of a stored potato (S.); also
Chib.--S.W. (2) _v._ To strip off the 'chimps' before planting.--S.W.
=Chink=. _Fringilla coelebs_, the Chaffinch; from its note.--S.W.
=Chinstey=. _n._ The string of a baby's cap.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) A
horse's chin-strap.--S.W. Compare:--
'Oh! Mo-ather! Her hath chuck'd me wi' tha chingstey [caught
me by the back-hair and choked me with the cap-string].'--_The
Exmoor Scolding_, p. 17.
=Chip=. The fore-shoot of a plough.--S.W.
=Chipples=. Young onions grown from seed. Cf. ~Gibbles~ and
~Cribbles~.--S.W.
=Chisley=. _adj._ Without coherence, as the yolk of an over-boiled
egg, or a very dry cheese. When land gets wet and then dries too
fast, it becomes chisley. Compare:--'_Chizzly_, hard, harsh and dry:
_East_,' in Hal.--S.W.
=Chism=. To germinate, to bud (A.B.C.). 'The wheat doesn't make much
show yet, John.' 'No, zur, but if you looks 'tes aal chisming out
ter'ble vast.'--N. & S.W.
=Chit=. (1) _n._ The third swarm of bees from a hive.--N.W. (2)
_v._ To bud or spring (A.B.C.). 'The whate be chitting a'ter thease
rains.'--N.W.
=Chitchat=. _Pyrus Aucuparia_, Gærtn., Mountain Ash.--S.W.
=Chitterlings=. Pigs' entrails when cleaned and boiled (A.B.);
~Chiddlens~ (H.S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
=Chivy=. _Fringilla coelebs_, the Chaffinch.--S.W. (Som. bord.).
=Choor=. (1) _v._ To go out as a charwoman (A.); ~Cheure,
Chewree-ring~ (H.Wr.); ~Char~ (A.S.). Still in use.--N.W. (2) _n._ A
turn, as in phrase 'One good choor deserves another' (A.). Still in
use.--N.W.
=Chop=. To exchange (A.B.S.). 'Wool ye chop wi' I, this thing for
thuck?' (B.).--N. & S.W.
*=Chore=. A narrow passage between houses (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f. 2);
see N.E.D. (~s.v. Chare~).
=Christian Names=. The manner in which a few of these are pronounced
may here be noted:--_Allburt_, Albert; _Allfurd_, Alfred; _Charl_ or
_Chas_, Charles; _Etherd_, Edward; _Rich't_ or _Richet_, Richard;
_Robbut_, Robert; &c.
=Chuffey=. Chubby. 'What chuffey cheeks he've a got, to be
showr!'--S.W.
=Chump=. A block of wood (A.B.); chiefly applied to the short lengths
into which crooked branches and logs are sawn for firewood (_Under
the Acorns_).--N. & S.W.
=Ciderkin=, ='Kin=. The washings after the best cider is made.--N. &
S.W.
=Clacker=. The tongue (S.).--S.W.
=Clackers=. A pair of pattens (S.).--S.W.
=Clangy=, =Clengy=, or =Clungy=. Of bad bread, or heavy ground,
clingy, sticky.--N.W.
=Claps=. _n._ and _v._ clasp (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Clat=. See ~Clot~.
=Clattersome=, =Cluttersome=. Of weather, gusty.--S.W. (Hants bord.)
=Claut=. _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold (A.H.Wr.).--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Clavy=, =Clavy-tack=. A mantelpiece (A.B.C.).--N.W., now almost
obsolete. Strictly speaking, _clavy_ is merely the beam which
stretches across an old-fashioned fireplace, supporting the wall.
Where there is a mantelpiece, or _clavy-tack_, it comes just above
the _clavy_.
=Clean=. 'A clean rabbit,' one that has been caught in the nets, and
is uninjured by shot or ferret, as opposed to a 'broken,' or damaged
one. (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi. p. 212).--N. & S.W.
=Cleat=, =Cleet=. (1) The little wedge which secures the head of an
axe or hammer.--N.W. *(2) _n._ A patch (A.B.C.).--N.W. *(3) _v._ To
mend with a patch (A.B.C.)--N.W. *(4) Occasionally, to strengthen by
bracing (C.).--N.W.
=Cleaty=. Sticky, clammy; applied to imperfectly fermented bread, or
earth that will not work well in ploughing.--N.W.
=Cleet=. See ~Cleat~.
=Clengy=. See ~Clangy~.
=Clim=. To climb (A.S.). A cat over-fond of investigating the
contents of the larder shelves is a 'clim-tack,' or climb-shelf.--N.
& S.W.
=Clinches=. The muscles of the leg, just under the knee-joint.--N. &
S.W.
=Clinkerbell=. An icicle.--S.W. (Som. bord.) occasionally.
=Clitch=. The groin.--N.W.
=Clite=, =Clit=. (1) _n._ 'All in a clite,' tangled, as a child's
hair. A badly groomed horse is said to be 'aal a clit.'--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ To tangle. 'How your hair do get clited!'--N. & S.W.
=Clites=, =Clytes=. _Galium Aparine_, L., Goosegrass (A.). Usually
pl., but Jefferies has sing., ~Clite~, in _Wild Life_, ch. ix.--N. &
S.W.
=Clitty=. Tangled, matted together.--S.W.
=Clock=. A dandelion seed-head, because children play at telling the
time of day by the number of puffs it takes to blow away all its
down.--N. & S.W.
=Cloddy=. Thick, plump, stout (H.Wr.).--S.W.
=Clog-weed=. _Heracleum Sphondylium_, L., Cow-parsnip (_Amateur
Poacher_, ch. vi).--N.W.
=Clot=. A hard lump of dry cow-dung, left on the surface of a
pasture. See ~Cow-clat~.--N.W.
'On pasture farms they beat clots or pick up stones.'--R.
JEFFERIES, Letter to _Times_, Nov. 1872.
'1661. Itm p^d Richard Sheppard & Old Taverner for beating
clatts in Inglands, 00. 04. 08.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p.
226.
*=Clote=. _n._ _Verbascum Thapsus_, L., Great Mullein (_Aubrey's
Wilts MS._).--Obsolete.
=Clothes-brush=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel. Cf.
~Brushes~.--S.W.
=Clottiness=. See ~Cleaty~. Clottishness (_Agric. Survey_).
'The peculiar churlishness (provincially, "clottiness") of a
great part of the lands of this district, arising perhaps from
the cold nature of the sub-soil.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii.
p. 51.
=Clout=. (1) _n._ A box on the ear, a blow (A.B.C.S.). See ~Clue~.
'I'll gie thee a clout o' th' yead.'--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To
strike.--N. & S.W.
=Clue=. 'A clue in the head,' a knock on the head (_Village Miners_).
A box on the ear. Cf. _clow_, Winchester College. See ~Clout~.--N.W.
=Clum=. To handle clumsily (A.B.), roughly, boisterously, or
indecently (C.).--N.W.
=Clumbersome=. Awkward, clumsy.--N.W.
=Clumper=, =Clumber=. A heavy clod of earth.--N.W. (Marlborough.)
=Clums=. _pl._ Hands. 'I'll keep out o' thee clums, I'll warnd I
will!'--N.W. ~Clumps~ is used in S. Wilts in a similar way, but
generally of the feet (S.), and always implies great awkwardness,
as 'What be a treadin' on my gownd vor wi' they girt ugly clumps o'
yourn?'
=Clungy=. See ~Clangy~.
*=Cluster-of-five=. The fist. ~Cluster-a-vive~ (S.).--S.W.
=Clutter=. _n._ Disorder, mess, confusion. 'The house be ael in a
clutter to-day wi' they childern's lease-carn.'--N. & S.W.
=Cluttered=. (1) 'Caddled,' over-burdened with work and worry.--N. &
S.W.
'"_Cluttered up_" means in a litter, surrounded with too many
things to do at once.'--JEFFERIES, _Field and Hedgerow_, p. 189.
*(2) Brow-beaten. Said to have been used at Warminster formerly.
=Cluttersome=. See ~Clattersome~.
=Cluttery=. Showery and gusty.--S.W.
*=Clyders=. _Galium Aparine_, L., Goosegrass.--S.W.
*=Clyten=. *(1) _n._ An unhealthy appearance, particularly in
children (A.B.C.).--N.W., obsolete. *(2) _n._ An unhealthy child
(C.).--N.W., obsolete.
*=Clytenish=. _adj._ Unhealthy-looking, pale, sickly
(A.B.C.H.Wr.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Clytes=. See ~Clites~.
*=Coath=. Sheep-rot (D.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Cobbler's-knock=. 'To do the cobbler's knock,' to slide on one foot,
tapping the ice meanwhile with the other.--S.W.
*=Cob-nut=. A game played by children with nuts (A.B.).--S.W.
=Cockagee=, =Cockygee= (_g_ hard). A kind of small hard sour cider
apple. Ir. _cac a' gheidh_, goose-dung, from its greenish-yellow
colour (see N.E.D., ~s.v. Coccagee~).--S.W. (Deverill, &c.)
=Cocking-fork=. A large hay-fork, used for carrying hay from the cock
into the summer-rick.--S.W.
*=Cocking-poles=. Poles used for the same purpose.--N.W.
=Cockles=. Seed-heads of _Arctium Lappa_, L., Burdock.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard).
=Cock's Egg=. The small eggs sometimes first laid by pullets.--N. &
S.W.
=Cock-shot=. A cock-shy: used by boys about Marlborough and
elsewhere. 'I say, there's a skug [squirrel]--let's have a cock-shot
at him with your squailer.'--N. & S.W.
*=Cock's-neckling=. 'To come down cock's-neckling,' to fall head
foremost (H.Wr.).--Obsolete.
=Cock's-nests=. The nests so often built and then deserted by the
wren, without any apparent cause.--N.W.
*=Cock-sqwoilin=. Throwing at cocks at Shrovetide (A.Wr.). See
~Squail~.--N.W., obsolete.
'1755. Paid expenses at the Angel at a meeting when the By Law
was made to prevent Throwing at Cocks, 0.10.6.'--Records of
_Chippenham_, p. 244.
=Cocky-warny=. The game of leap-frog.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Cod-apple=. A wild apple (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xiv. 177).
=Codlins-and-cream=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy
Willow-herb; from its smell when crushed in the hand. Cf.
~Sugar-Codlins~.--S.W.
*=Coglers=. The hooks, with cogged rack-work for lifting or lowering,
by which pots and kettles were formerly hung over open fireplaces.
Now superseded by _Hanglers_.--N.W., obsolete.
=Colley=. (1) A collar.--N. & S.W. *(2) Soot or grime from a pot or
kettle (A.B.). Compare:--
'Brief as the lightning in the collied night.'--_Midsummer
Night's Dream._
'Thou hast not collied thy face enough.'--JONSON'S ~Poetaster~.
=Colley-maker=. A saddler. See ~Colley~ (1).--N. & S.W.
=Colley-strawker=. A milker or 'cow-stroker.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Colt's-tail=. A kind of cloud said to portend rain.--N.W.
'The colt's tail is a cloud with a bushy appearance like a
ragged fringe, and portends rain.'--_Great Estate_, ch. viii.
*=Comb=, =Coom=. (1) _n._ The lower ledge of a window (Kennett's
_Paroch. Antiq._). (2) _n._ Grease from an axle-box, soot, dirt, &c.
~Koomb~ (S.).--S.W.
=Comb-and-Brush=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel.--S.W.
=Combe=, =Coombe=. (1) The wooded side of a hill (D.); used
occasionally in this sense in both Wilts and Dorset.--N. & S.W.
(2) A narrow valley or hollow in a hillside. This is the proper
meaning.--N. & S.W. Used of a narrow valley in the woodlands in
_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. i.
=Come of=. To get the better of, to grow out of. 'How weak that child
is about the knees, Sally!' 'Oh, he'll come o' that all right, Miss,
as he do grow bigger.'--N. & S.W.
=Come to land=. Of intermittent springs, to rise to the surface and
begin to flow (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).--S.W.
=Comical=. (1) Queer-tempered. 'Her's a comical 'ooman.'--N. & S.W.
(2) Out of health. 'I've bin uncommon comical to-year.'--N. & S.W.
(3) Cracky, queer. 'He's sort o' comical in his head, bless 'ee.'--N.
& S.W. 'A cow he's a comical thing to feed; bin he don't take care
he's very like to choke hisself.'--N.W. (Marlborough.) It should
be noted that Marlborough folk are traditionally reputed to call
everything _he_ but a bull, and that they always call _she_!
=Coney-burry=. A rabbit's hole.--S.W. (Amesbury.)
=Coniger=, =Conigre=. This old word, originally meaning a
rabbit-warren, occurs frequently in Wilts (as at Trowbridge) as the
name of a meadow, piece of ground, street, &c. See _Great Estate_,
note to ch. ix.
=Conker-berries=. See ~Canker-berries~.
=Conks=, =Conkers= (i.e. _conquerors_). (1) A boy's game, played
with horse-chestnuts strung on cord, the players taking it in
turn to strike at their opponent's conk, in order to crack and
disable it.--N.W. (Marlborough.) (2) Hence, the fruit of _Aesculus
Hippocastanum_, L., Horse-chestnut.--N.W.
=Coob=. A hen-coop (H.): invariably so pronounced.--N. & S.W.
=Cooby=. A snug corner. See ~Cubby-hole~.--N. & S.W.
=Coom=. See ~Comb~.
*=Coombe-bottom=. A valley in a hillside (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).
See ~Combe~.
=Coom hedder=. (A.S.). See ~Horses~.
=Coop! Coop!= The usual call to cows, &c., to come in.--N. & S.W.
=Coopy-house=. A very small house or cottage (S.). See
~Cubby-hole~.--S.W.
*=Cooted=. Cut slanting, sloped off, as the ends of the upper part of
an oblong hay-rick (D.).
'Hayricks are usually made round; sometimes oblong with cooted
ends, not gable ends.'--_Agric. of Wilts._
=Cord=. 'A cord of plocks,' a pile of cleft wood, 8 ft. long and 4
ft. in girth and width (D.).--N.W.
=Corn-baulk=. See ~Baulk~ (1).
=Corndrake=. _Crex pratensis_, the Landrail; almost invariably so
called about Warminster and in some parts of N. Wilts.--N. & S.W.
*=Corn-grate=. The Cornbrash formation (_Agric. of Wilts_, p. 164).
*=Corn Grit=. Quarrymen's term for one of the building stone beds of
the Portland series (Britton's _Beauties of Wilts_, vol. iii).
*=Corn Pop=. _Silene inflata_, Sm., Bladder Campion.--N.W. (Enford.)
=Corruptions=. Some of these are curious, and perhaps worth
recording, as _Rainball_, rainbow (always used at Huish);
_Lattiprack_, paralytic; _Nuffin-idols_, Love-in-idleness; _Polly
Andrews_, Polyanthus. Also see _Nolens-volens_. Bronchitis is
always _Brantitus_, and Jaundice always _The Janders_, plural.
Persuade is always _Suade_. The crab-apple is usually _Grab_ in N.
Wilts. At Etchilhampton we find _Plump_ for pump, and _Moth_ for
moss, while at Huish and elsewhere proud flesh is always _Ploughed
flesh_. _Pasmet_, parsnip, and the universal _Turmut_, turnip, may
be noted as illustrating a curious letter-change. _Varley-grassey_,
gone green, is evidently from verdigris. In _Great Estate_, ch. iv,
Jefferies traces _Meejick_ ('a sort of a _Meejick'_=anything very
strange or unusual) back to menagerie. Cavalry becomes _Cavaltry_,
meaning horsemen, and crockery is usually _Crockerty_. Other more or
less common perversions of words are _Patty Carey_, Hepatica; _Chiny
Oysters_, China Aster; _Turkemtime_, turpentine; _Absence_, abscess
(Cherhill); _Abrupt_, to approve (Huish); _Tiddle_, to tickle;
_Cribble_, a cripple; _Strive_ (of a tree), to thrive (Steeple
Ashton); _Hurly-gurly_, a hurdy-gurdy (S.W.); _Midger_, to measure;
_Cherm_, to churn (_Slow_, S.W.); _Rumsey-voosey_, to rendezvous,
as 'He went a rumsy-voosing down the lane to meet his sweetheart';
_Dapcheek_, a dabchick; _Drilly-drally_, to hesitate, to dawdle over
anything; _Kiddle_, a kettle.
=Couch=, =Cooch=. Couch-grass in general.--N. & S.W. ~Black Couch~,
_Agrostis stolonifera_ (D.); ~White Couch~, _Triticum repens_ (D.);
~Couchy-bent~, _Agrostis stolonifera_ (D.); ~Knot Couch~, _Avena
elatior_.
=Couchy-bent=. See ~Couch~.
=Count=. To expect or think. 'I don't count as he'll come.'--N.W.
*=Coventree=. _Viburnum Lantana_, L., Mealy Guelder rose.--S.W.,
obsolete.
'Coven-tree common about Chalke and Cranbourn Chase; the
carters doe make their whippes of it.'--AUBREY'S _Wilts_, p.
56, Ed. Brit.
*=Coward=. _adj._ Pure: used of unskimmed milk. Cf. 'cowed milk,'
Isle of Wight (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 110).--N.W.
(Cherhill.)
*=Cow-baby=. A childish fellow, a simpleton (S.).--S.W.
=Cow-clap=. A form of ~Cow-clat~, q.v.--N.W.
=Cow-clat=, =Cow-clap=. A pat of cow-dung (A.).--N.W.
*=Cow-down=. A cow-common (_Agric. Survey_).--Obsolete.
=Cows-and-Calves=. (1) _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--S.W. (2)
When a saw has alternately long and short teeth, they are known as
_cows_ and _calves_ respectively.--N.W.
=Cowshard=. Cow-clat.--N.W.
*=Cowshorne=. Cow-clats. Obsolete.
'The poore people gather the cowshorne in the
meadows.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 192.
*=Cow-white=. See ~White~.
*=Crab=. To abuse (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 110). Compare
North Eng. _crab_, to provoke, and _crob_, to reproach. Originally
a hawking term, hawks being said to _crab_ when they stood too
near and fought one with another. See _Folk-Etymology_, p. 81
(Smythe-Palmer).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
*=Crandum=. The throat (S.).--N.W.
'I first heard this word near Hungerford, where some farm hands
were having a spree. There was a six-gallon jar of beer on the
table, which they were continually smacking with their hands,
whilst they sang in chorus:--
"Let it run down yer crandum,
An' jolly will we be," &c.
I have only heard it applied to the human throat, never to that
of an animal.'--_Letter from Mr. Slow._
*=Crap=. Assurance (H.Wr.). There is probably some mistake here.
=Craw=. The crop of a bird; hence, the bosom (A.). 'A spelt th' drenk
down 's craw,' he spilt it down his bosom (A.).--N.W.
=Crazy=, =Craisey=, =Craizey=. The Buttercup (A.B.H.Wr.). Buttercups
in general, _Ranunculus acris_, _R. bulbosus_, _R. repens_, and often
_R. Ficaria_ also, but at Huish never applied to the last-named. In
Deverill the term _Craizies_ is restricted to the Marsh Marigold. See
N.E.D. (~s.v. Crayse~).--N. & S.W.
=Crazy Bets=. (1) The general name all over Wilts for _Caltha
palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold; apparently always pl. in form.
~Crazy Betties~ (_Great Estate_, ch. ii) and ~Crazy Betseys~ are
occasionally used, the latter at Little Langford, S.W. Cf. 'Pretty
Bets,' Oxf. and Nhamp., for Red Spur Valerian and London Pride, and
'Sweet Betsey,' Kent, for the former. In Glouc. Marsh Marigold is
merely a _Crazy_.--N. & S.W. *(2) Mr. Slow says that 'Crazy bets'
is applied to the 'buttercup' in South Wilts. *(3) _Chrysanthemum
leucanthemum_, L., the Ox-eye Daisy.--S.W. (Hampworth.)
=Crazy-mor=e, =Crazy-mar=, or =Crazy-moir=. (1) _Ranunculus repens_,
L., Creeping Buttercup. _More_=root or plant.--N.W. (Devizes; Huish.)
(2) At Clyffe Pypard, N.W., and probably elsewhere, ~Crazy-mar~ means
a plant of any kind of buttercup.
=Crease=. A ridge-tile.--N.W.
'From the top of Aland's house ... a slate ridge-crest
(or crease, as it is provincially termed) ... was carried
northwards about 40 yards.'--_The Great Wiltshire Storm, Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. vi. p. 378.
=Creed=. _Lemna minor_, L., Duckweed (_Great Estate_, ch. ii).--N.W.
*=Creeny=. Small (A.B.H.Wr.).
*=Creeping Jack=. _Sedum_, Stonecrop.--N.W. (Lyneham.)
=Creeping Jenny=. (1) _Linaria Cymbalaria_, Mill., Ivy-leaved
Toadflax.--S.W. (Salisbury.) (2) _Lysimachia Nummularia_, L.,
Moneywort.--N. & S.W.
*=Cresset=, =Cressil=. _Scrophularia aquatica_, L., Water Figwort
(_Great Estate_, ch. iv).
=Crew=. The tang of a scythe-blade, fastening into the
pole-ring.--N.W.
=Cribble about=. To creep about as old people do.--N. & S.W.
=Cribbles=. Onions grown from bulbs. See ~Gibbles~ and
~Chipples~.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Crick crack=. People who try to talk fine language, and cannot, are
said to use 'crick crack' words. ~Crick crach~: words not understood
(S.).--N. & S.W.
'Crink-crank words are long words--_verba sesquipedalia_--not
properly understood. See _Proceedings of Phil. Soc._ v.
143-8.'--COPE'S _Hants Gloss_.
=Crink=. A crevice or crack.--N.W.
*=Crippender=. Crupper harness.--S.W. (Bratton.)
=Critch=. A deep earthen pan (S.). Also used in Hants. Fr.
_cruche_.--S.W.
=Crock=. A pot; especially an earthen one (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Croud=. See ~Crowdy~.
=Croupy down=. To crouch down (S.) as children do when playing
hide-and-seek.--N. & S.W.
=Crow-bells= (pl. used as sing.). _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth
(H.Wr.).--S.W. This is probably the flower referred to in Aubrey's
_Wilts_, Roy. Soc. MS., p. 126 (p. 52, ed. Brit.), under the same
name:--
'In a ground of mine called Swices ... growes abundantly a
plant called by the people hereabout crow-bells, which I never
saw any where but there. Mr. Rob. Good, M.A., tells me that
these crow-bells have blue flowers, and are common to many
shady places in this county.'
=Crowdy=. A kind of apple turnover (S.). ~Croud~ (H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
=Crow-flower=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth.--S.W. (Hants
bord.)
=Crow-hearted=. Young cabbage and broccoli plants that have lost
their eye or centre are said to be 'crow-hearted.'--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Crowpeck=. (1) _Scandix Pecten_, L., Shepherd's-needle (D.).--S.W.
(2) _Ranunculus arvensis_, L., Corn Crowfoot.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Crow's-legs=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth.--N.W.
=Crump=. To crunch or munch.--N.W.
=Crumplings=, =Crumplens=. Small, imperfectly grown apples.--N. & S.W.
=Cubby-hole=. A snug corner, a sheltered place (A.S.). Also ~Cooby~;
cf. ~Coopy-house~.--N. & S.W.
=Cuckoo=. About Salisbury _Saxifraga granulata_ is known as ~Dry~ (or
~Dryland~) ~Cuckoo~, and _Cardamine pratensis_ as ~Water Cuckoo~,
from their respective habitats. The use of _Cuckoo_ in a plant-name
always implies that it flowers in early spring.
=Cuckoo-flower=. (1) _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock.--N. &
S.W. (2) _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone.--S.W.
=Cuckoo fool=. _Yunx torquilla_, the Wryneck.--N.W. (Broadtown.)
=Cuckoo-gate=. A swing-gate in a V-shaped enclosure.--N. & S.W.
=Cuckoos=. _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone.--S.W. (Hamptworth.)
*=Cuckoo's bread-and-cheese=. The young shoots of the Hawthorn
(_Great Estate_, ch. iii).--N.W.
=Cuddickwaay=! Order to a horse to 'Come this way.'
=Cue= (1), _n._ An ox-shoe (A.). Only used on flinty lands.--N. &
S.W. (2) _v._ To shoe an ox.--N. & S.W.
=Cull=, or =Tom Cull=. _Cottus gobio_, the Bullhead (A.B.).
=Culls=. Sheep or lambs picked out of the flock, as inferior in size
or in any other way, and sold. Fairs at which they are sold are
called '_Cull Fairs_.'--N.W.
=Curdle=. A curl of hair (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Curly-buttons=. Woodlice.--S.W.
=Curly-cob=. The Bullhead, _Cottus gobio_--S.W. (Bishopstone.)
=Curry-pig=. A sucking pig (H.Wr.). Also ~Cure-pig~.
=Cushion-pink=. _Armeria maritima_, Willd., Thrift; the garden
variety.--N.W.
*=Cushions=. _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--N. & S.W.
(Enford, &c.)
*=Cusnation=. An expletive (A.).
'Ha' done, Jonas! Dwon't 'e be a cussnation vool! I'll call
missus!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 83.
=Cut-finger-leaf=. _Valeriana_, All-heal. The leaves are good for
application to sluggish sores, whitlows, &c. Mr. Cunnington quotes it
as _V. dioica_.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Cutty=. _Troglodytes vulgaris_, the Wren (S.).--S.W.
=D=. (1) In comparatives, &c., _d_ is frequently added to liquids,
as _coolder_, cooler; _thinder_, thinner; feeldins, feelings; and
_scholard_, scholar. In _Chronicon Vilodunense_, fifteenth century,
we find _jaylarde_, a gaoler. (2) It is also used for _th_, as
_draish_, thresh; _droo_, through; _dree_, three. (3) _D_ not sounded
after a liquid; examples:--_veel_, field; _vine_, to find; _dreshol_,
threshold.
=Daak=. See ~Dawk~.
=Dab=. An expert at anything; sometimes used ironically, as 'He's a
perfect dab at gardening,' he knows nothing whatever about it.--N. &
S.W.
=Dabster=. A proficient (A.). See ~Dapster~.--S.W.
=Dack=. See ~Dawk~.
=Daddick=, =Daddock=. _n._ Rotten wood (A.B.G.).--N.W.
=Daddicky=. _adj._ Of wood, decayed, rotten (A.B.S.). Cf.
~Dicky~.--N. & S.W.
*=Daddy's Whiskers=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy.--S.W.
(Farley.)
=Daffy=. The usual name in N.W. for the wild Daffodil.
=Daggled=. See ~Diggled~.
=Daglet=. An icicle (A.H.S.Wr.). See ~Daggled~.--N. & S.W.
'Thatched roofs are always hung with "daglets" in
frost.'--_Village Miners._
=Dain=. Noisome effluvia (A.B.C.H.Wr.). Formerly applied mainly to
_infectious_ effluvia, as 'Now dwoan't 'ee gwo too nigh thuck there
chap; he've a had the small-pox, and the dain be in his clothes
still.' (See _Cunnington MS._). Now used of very bad smells in
general.--N.W.
=Dainty=. Evil-smelling. 'That there meat's ter'ble dainty.'--N.W.
=Dall=. An expletive (S.).--N.W.
''Od dal th' vor'n ungrateful varment!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 50.
=Dandy-goshen=. See ~Dandy-goslings~.
=Dandy-goslings=. (1) _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple Orchis. See
~Gandigoslings~, &c.--N.W. (2) _O. Morio_, L., Green-winged Meadow
Orchis. ~Dandy-goshen~ at Salisbury (_English Plant Names_), also at
Little Langford.--S.W.
*=Dane=, =Daner=. In Kingston Deverill there was an old man who
called red-haired men 'Danes,' or 'Daners,' as 'Thee bist a Dane.'
This being in the centre of the Alfred district, the term may be a
survival. In Somerset red-haired men are often said to be 'a bit
touched with the Danes.'
*=Dane's Blood=. _Sambucus Ebulus_, L., Dwarf Elder (Aubrey's _Nat.
Hist. Wilts_, p. 50, ed. Brit.). It is popularly believed only to
grow on the ancient battle-fields, and to have sprung originally from
the blood of the slain Danes.
=Dap=. (1) _v._ To rebound, as a ball.--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ The
rebound of a ball.--N. & S.W.
=Dap on=. To pounce down on, to take unawares.--N. & S.W.
=Daps=. (1) 'He's the daps on his feyther,' the very image of him
(S.).--S.W. (2) 'He got the daps o' he's feyther,' he has the same
tricks as his father.--N.W.
'~Dap~, a hop, a turn. The daps of any one would therefore be
his habits, peculiarities, &c.'--JENNINGS, _Somerset Gloss_.
=Dapster=. *(1) A nimble boy.--S.W. (Deverill). (2) A proficient
(S.). See ~Dab~.--S.W.
*=Dar=. _n._ 'To be struck in a dar, to be astonished or
confounded.'--_Cunnington MS._ Apparently from O.E. _dare_, to
frighten birds.--N.W., obsolete.
'Never hobby so dared a lark.'--BURTON, _Anatomy of Melancholy_.
*=Daver=. To fade, fall down, droop, as flowers or leaves on a hot
day.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Dawk=, =Dack=, =Daak=, =Dauk=. To incise with a jerk, or insert a
pointed weapon with rapidity (H.Wr.). To stab and tear together as a
cat's claw does. To puncture.--N.W.
'Should a savage cat tear out a piece of flesh from the hand,
she is said to "dawk" it out. Dawk expresses a ferocious stab
and tear combined.'--_Village Miners._
Also used of a baker marking loaves:--
'Prick it and dack it and mark it with T,
And put it in the oven for baby and me.'--_Nursery Rhyme._
This seems to be identical with A.S. _dalc_, _dolc_, Dutch and Danish
_dolk_, Icel. _dálkr_, Germ. _dolch_, all meaning a sharp piercing
instrument, a skewer, a dagger, &c. (Smythe-Palmer).
=Dead hedge=. A wattled fence (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. x).--N.W.
=Dead pen=. A sheep pen is occasionally so called in S. Wilts.
=Dead-roof=. A skilling roof made of bavins and thatched over.--N.W.
=Dead year=. Often used with possessive pronoun, as 'his dead year,'
the year immediately following his death (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol.
xxii. p. 111). A widow should not marry again 'afore the dead year's
up.'--N.W.
=Deaf-nettle=. _Lamium album_, L., the Dead nettle. Cf.
~Dunch-nettle~.--S.W.
=Deaf-nut=. A rotten or empty nut. _Deaf_=useless, inactive.--S.W.
=Deedy=. (1) Industrious, busy, as 'He's a deedy man.'--N.W. (2)
Intent, as 'What bist looking so deedy at?'--N.W.
*=Dee-gee=. Mr. William Cunnington writes us as follows:--
'"Twas a Dee-gee" was the name of a kind of dance, which our
old nurse taught us as children, mostly performed by moving
sideways and knocking the feet together.'
This would seem to be a survival of the Elizabethan _heydeguies_. See
Spenser, _Shepherd's Calendar_, June.--N.W., obsolete.
*=Densher=. To prepare down-land for cultivation by paring and
burning the turf (Aubrey's _Wilts Nat. Hist._, p. 103, ed. Brit.).
See ~Bake~ and ~Burn-bake~.
=Desight=, =Dissight=. An unsightly object (H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Devil-daisy=. _Matricaria Parthenium_, L., Common Feverfew, and
_Anthemis Cotula_, L., Stinking Camomile, from their daisy-like
flowers and unpleasant odour.--S.W.
=Devil-in-a-hedge=. _Nigella damascena_, Love in a mist.--N.W.
=Devil-screecher=. _Cypselus apus_, the Common Swift.--N. & S.W.
=Devil's-ring=. A kind of hairy caterpillar which curls up on being
touched (_Wild Life_, ch. xvii).--N.W.
'Devyls-gold-rynge, the colewort worme.'--_Huloet._
'Oak-egger and fox moths, which children call "Devil's Gold
Rings."'--KINGSLEY, _Chalk-stream Studies_.
=Dew-beater=. A man who has large feet, or who turns out his toes, so
that he brushes the dew off the grass in walking (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
Compare:--
'The dew-beaters [early walkers, pioneers] have trod their way
for those that come after them.'--HACKET'S _Life of Williams_,
i. 57.
=Dew-bi=. A very early breakfast (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Dew-pond=. A pond on the downs, not fed by any spring, but kept up
by mist, dew, and rain. Such ponds rarely fail, even in the longest
drought. Also ~Mist-pond~.--N.W.
*=Dewsiers=. The valves of a pig's heart (A.B.G.); a corruption of
O.F. _jusier_.
=Deyhus=, =Da'us=, =Day'us=. A dairy, a cheese-room (A.B.). From
_deye_, a dairymaid; Icel. _deigja_ (Skeat). In this and similar
words, as Brewhouse, Woodhouse, &c., _house_ is always pronounced
as A.S. _hús_ (Akerman), the _h_, however, not being invariably
sounded.--N.W.
=Dibs=. A game played by boys with sheep's dibs or knuckle-bones
(S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Dick-and-his-team=. The Great Bear.--N.W. Compare Jack-and-his-team.
'I know the north star; there it is.... And the Great Bear; the
men call it Dick and his Team.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. vi.
=Dicker=. (1) To bedeck. 'Gels be allus a dickerin' therselves up
now-a-days.'--N.W. (Huish.) (2) 'As thick as they can dicker,' very
intimate.--S.W. (Amesbury.) 'All in a dicker (or 'digger'),' very
close together.--S.W.
=Dicky=. (1) Of vegetables, decayed. (2) Of persons or plants,
weakly or in ill-health (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 110). Cf.
~Daddicky~.--N.W.
=Dicky-birds=. _Fumaria officinalis_, L., Common Fumitory.--S.W.
=Diedapper=. _Podiceps minor_, the Dabchick; _Divedapper_ in
Shakespeare. In common use at Salisbury until quite recently. Before
the streams running through the city were covered over, it was an
every-day occurrence to see a dripping urchin making for home, with
an escort of friends at his heels yelling 'Diedapper, Diedapper,
Diedapper, die!'--S.W.
*=Diggle=. _v._ To grow thickly together. 'They weeds be a coming
up agen as thick as ever they can diggle.' See ~Dicker~.--N.W.
(Potterne.).
=Diggled=, =Daggled=. Covered over or hung thickly with anything.
Compare ~Daglet~. 'Thick may-bush be aal diggled wi' berries.'--S.W.
(Salisbury.)
=Diggles=. _n._ Abundance, plenty (S.). 'Let's go a blackberryin';
there's diggles up Grovely.' See ~Diggle~.--S.W.
=Dill=, =Dill Duck=. A young duck.--N. & S.W.
=Dillcup=. _Ranunculus Ficaria_, L., Lesser Celandine (S.).--S.W.
=Diller=. The shaft-horse (H.Wr.). See ~Thiller~.--N.W.
=Dills=. See ~Thills~.
=Dimmets=. Dusk, twilight.--S.W.
=Ding=. To strike violently (_Dark_, ch. xv).--N.W.
=Dishabille=. A labourer's working clothes. The word is not used in
Wilts in its ordinary sense of undress or negligent costume, but a
common excuse for not appearing at church is that a man has nothing
but his _dishabille_ to wear. Fr. _déshabillé_.--N.W.
=Dishwasher=. (1) _Motacilla flava_, the Yellow Wagtail (A.S.).--N. &
S.W. (2) _M. Yarrellii_, the Pied Wagtail (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Do=. 'To do for any one,' to manage or keep house for him.--N. & S.W.
*=Dock=. _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow (A.). Now restricted
to _Rumex_.
=Dodder=, =Dudder=, =Duther=, &c. (1) _v._ To bewilder, to deafen
with noise (A.B.H.S.Wr.). 'I be vinny doddered, they childern do
yop so.'--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ 'All in a dudder,' quite bewildered
(H.).--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ To deaden anything, as pain. 'It sort o'
dudders the pain.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Doddle-grass=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking Grass (_English Plant
Names_).
=Doddler=. 'A bit of a doddler,' a small boy.--N. & S.W.
=Dog, how beest=? This phrase seems worth noting. At Clyffe Pypard
a person complaining of loneliness, or the want of sociability or
kindness amongst the neighbours, will say, 'There isn't one as 'll so
much as look in and say, "Dog, how beest?"'
=Dog-Cocks=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint. Compare _Dogs-dibble_
in N. Devon.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Dog-daisy=. Any large daisy-like white flower, such as
_Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy.--N. & S.W.
=Dogged=. (2 syl.) Very, excessively; as _dogged cute_ (A.).--N. &
S.W.
'Maester was dogged deep, but I was deeper!'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
110.
*=Dog out=. To drive out anything, as a sheep out of a quagmire, by
setting the dog furiously at it (_Great Estate_, ch. viii).
=Dog's-mouth=. _Linaria vulgari_s, Mill., Yellow Toadflax.--N.W.
*=Dom=. A door case (H.Wr.): probably a mistake for _Dorn_ or _Doorn_.
=Domel=. See ~Dumble~.
=Doner=. A man, animal, &c., 'done for' and past hope (S.). 'Thuck
old sow be a dunner; her 'll be dead afore night.'--N. & S.W.
*=Donnings=. Clothes (A.B.).
*=Dooke=. (2 syl.) Do ye, will ye. 'Be quiet, dooke' (H.M.Wr.).
'Obsolete, having been superseded by _do 'ee_. It was
pronounced as a dissyllable.'--SKEAT.
=Door-Drapper= (i.e. Dropper or Dripper). The piece of wood fastened
to the bottom of cottage doors to shoot the water off the 'Dreshol'
(threshold).--N.W.
*=Doorn=. A door frame (H.Wr.). Also ~Durn~ (S.). At Warminster
applied only to the sides of a door-frame.--S.W.
=Double=. 'He is a double man,' i.e. bent double with age or
infirmity.--S.W.
*=Double-Dumb-Nettle=. _Ballota nigra_, L., Black Horehound.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
*=Double-ladies'-fingers-and-thumbs=. _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L.,
Kidney Vetch.--N.W. (Enford.)
=Double-mound=. A double hedge (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi; _Wild
Life_, ch. ix. p. 152). See ~Mound~.--N.W.
*=Double Pincushion=. _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W.
(Barford.)
=Doublets=. Twin lambs (_Annals of Agric._).--N.W.
=Dough-fig=. The same as ~Lem-feg~. A Turkey Fig.--N.W.
=Dout=. To put out, as 'Dout the candle' (A.B.S.): to smother or
extinguish fire by beating.--N. & S.W.
'An extinguisher "douts" a candle; the heel of a boot "douts"
a match thrown down. But the exact definition of "dout" is to
smother, or extinguish by beating.'--_Village Miners._
=Dowl=. The fine down of a bird.--N.W.
'Coots and moor-hens must be skinned, they could not be plucked
because of the "dowl." Dowl is the fluff, the tiny featherets
no fingers can remove.'--_Bevis_, ch. vii.
=Down=. To tire out, to exhaust. 'That there 'oss's downed.'--N.W.
(Wroughton.)
=Down-along=. 'He lives down-along,' a little way down the street
(S.), as opposed to 'up-along.'--S.W.
=Down-arg=. To contradict in an overbearing manner (A.B.S.), to
browbeat.--N. & S.W.
=Down-dacious=. Audacious (S.). 'Her's a right downdacious young
vaggot, that her is!'--S.W.
*=Down-haggard=. Disconsolate (S.).--S.W.
=Down-hearten=. To feel disheartened. 'A be vurry bad, but I don't
down-hearten about un.'--N.W.
=Dowse=. A blow (A.B.C.S.), as 'a dowse in the chops.'--N. & S.W.
=Dowst=. (1) Chaff or cave. ~Dust~ (D.). (2) 'To go to dowst,' go
to bed, perhaps from _dowst_ (chaff) being used to fill mattresses.
Heard at Huish occasionally, but not traced elsewhere.
=Dowst-coob=. The chaff cupboard in a stable.--N. & S.W.
=Drag=. A harrow (D.).--N. & S.W.
=Drail=. (1) In a plough, the iron bow from which the traces draw,
and by which the furrow is set (D.).--N.W. (2) _Crex pratensis_, the
Landrail.--N.W.
*=Drainted=. Of dirt, ingrained (H.Wr.).
=Drang=, =Drangway=, =Drung=. (1) A narrow lane. ~Drun~
(H.Wr.).--S.W. (2) A narrow passage between walls or houses. Drun
(H.Wr.).--S.W.
=Drangway=. See ~Drang~ (S.).
=Drashel=, =Dreshol=, &c. A flail (D.). The correct term for a flail
is a _drashel_, but '_a pair o' drashells_' (or 'dreshols') is more
commonly used, as two men generally work together.--N. & S.W.
*=Drattle=. Much talk (S.).--S.W.
=Draught=. A cart-shaft. ~Draats~ (S.).--S.W.
=Draughts=. Hazel-rods selected for hurdle-making (D.). A 'draught'
is not a rod, but a bundle of long wood suitable for hurdles or
pea-sticks, bound with a single withe.--N.W.
=Drave=. 'I be slaving an' draving (i.e. working myself to death) for
he, night and day.'--N. & S.W.
=Draw=. (1) A squirrel's dray or nest.--N.W. (Marlborough.) (2)
Rarely applied to a large nest, as a hawk's. Compare:--'_Draw_, to
build a nest (_Berners_),' an old hawking term.--N.W. (Marlborough.)
=Drawing=. See ~Drawn~.
=Drawn=. In a water-meadow, the large open main drain which carries
the water back to the river, after it has passed through the various
carriages and trenches.--S.W. In every-day use about Salisbury, and
along the Avon and Wiley from Downton to Codford, but rarely heard
elsewhere.
'Many of the meadows on either length [near Salisbury] abound
in ditches and "drawns."'--_Fishing Gazette_, July 18, 1891, p.
40, col. 2.
'I ... descried three birds, standing quite still [at Britford]
by the margin of a flooded "drawing."'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xxi.
229.
=Dredge=, =Drodge=. Barley and oats grown together.--S.W.
=Dribs-and-Drabs=. Odds and ends. 'All in dribs and drabs,' all in
tatters.--N. & S.W.
=Drieth=. See ~Dryth~.
=Drift=. A row of felled underwood (D.).--N.W.
=Dripple= See ~Waggon~.
=Drive=. Of manure, to stimulate growth. 'Thur, that'll drive th'
rhubub, _I_ knaws!'--N. & S.W.
=Drock=. (1) A short drain under a roadway, often made with a hollow
tree.--N. & S.W. (2) A broad flat stone laid as a bridge across a
ditch (_Amaryllis at the Fair_).--N.W. (Castle Eaton, &c.)
'Drock, a water-way, or sometimes the stone slab over a narrow
ditch.'--_Leisure Hour_, Aug. 1893.
'1674. Item Paid Richard Serrell for a Stone to make a
Drocke.--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 230.
*(3) A water-course (H.Wr.). A water-way (_Leisure Hour_, Aug.
1893).--N.W. (Castle Eaton, &c.)
'Where meaning a water way, it is usually spoken of as
a Drockway, "drock" alone being the passage over the
ditch.'--MISS E. BOYER-BROWN.
*(4) Used in compounds such as ~Well-drock~, windlass.
=Drockway=. See ~Drock~ (3).
=Drodge=. See ~Dredge~ .
*=Dromedary=. (1) _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--S.W.
(Barford St. Martin.) (2) _Centaurea Scabiosa_, L., Hardheads.--S.W.
(Barford St. Martin.)
=Dropping=. 'A dropping summer,' one when there is a shower every two
or three days (_Wild Life_, ch. ii).--N.W.
=Drove=. A green roadway on a farm.--N. & S.W.
=Drown=. To turn the water over the meadows.--S.W.
=Drowner=. The man who attends to the hatches, managing the supply
of water, and turning it on and off the meadows at the proper
times.--S.W.
*=Drowning-bridge=. A water-meadow sluice-gate (A.B.G.H. Wr.).
=Drowning-carriage=. A large water-course for drowning a meadow. See
~Carriage~.--S.W.
*=Droy=. A thunderbolt (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._, H.Wr.).--Obsolete.
*=Drucked=. Filled to overflowing (S.).--S.W.
=Drug=. (1) 'To drug timber,' to draw it out of the woods under a
pair of wheels (D.).--N.W. (2) 'To drug a wheel,' to put on some kind
of drag or chain.--N.W.
*=Druid's-hair=. Long moss (H.Wr.).
=Drun=. See ~Drang~ (H.Wr.).
=Drunge=. (1) _n._ A crowd or crush of people (H.Wr.)--N.W. (2) _v._
To squeeze (S.).--S.W.
=Drunkards=. Flowers of _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold;
probably from the way in which they suck up water when placed in a
vase. The reason assigned by children for the name is that if you
look long at them you will be sure to take to drink.--S.W. (Som.
bord.)
=Dry Cuckoo=, or =Dryland Cuckoo=. _Saxifraga granulata_, L., White
Meadow Saxifrage. See ~Cuckoo~.--S.W.
=Dryth=, or =Drieth=. Dryness, drought.--N.W.
'1633. The cryer ... to give warninge to the inhabitants to
sett payles of water at their doores in the late tyme of drieth
and heate.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 206.
=Dub=. To pelt with stones. 'Just dub that apple down out of the
tree, will 'ee?' See ~Frog-dubbing~.--S.W.
=Dubbed=. Blunt, pointless (A.B.).
*=Dubbing=. 'A dubbin' o' drenk,' a pint or mug of beer (A.B.H.Wr.).
=Dubby=. Oily.--N.W.
=Duck's-frost=. A very slight white frost.--N.W.
'That kind of frost which comes on in the early morning, and is
accompanied with some rime on the grass--a duck's frost, just
sufficient to check fox-hunting.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch.
vii.
=Duckstone=. A game played by boys with stones (S.).--S.W.
=Dudder=. See ~Dodder~.
=Dudge=. (1) A bundle of anything used to stop a hole.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.) *(2) 'Peg the dudge,' tap the barrel (A.B.G.H.Wr.).
=Dudman=. A scarecrow.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Dumb-Ague=. A kind of ague which is not accompanied by the usual
shaking fits. ''Tis what 'ee do caal the dumb-agey.'--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Dumble=. Stupid, dull (A.B.H.Wr.); also ~Domel, Dummel, &c.~--N.W.
'Severe weather ... makes all wild animals "dummel" in
provincial phrase,--i.e. stupid, slow to move.'--_Gamekeeper at
Home_, ch. vii.
=Dumbledore=, or =Dumble=. The Humble-bee (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
'Th' mak'st a noise like a dumbledore in a pitcher.'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 68.
=Dumb Nettle=. _Lamium album_, L., White Dead-nettle.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
=Dump=. (1) _n._ 'A treacle dump,' a kind of coarse sweetmeat.--S.W.
(2) _v._ To blunt, as 'I've dumped my scythe against a stone.'--N.W.
(3) A pollard tree, as 'Ash-dump,' or 'Willow-dump.'--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Dum-put=. See ~Dung-pot~.
=Dunch=. (1) Deaf (A.B.C.); now rarely so used. In _Cunnington MS._
said to be at that time the usual N. Wilts term for _deaf_.--N & S.W.
'Ah! Molly, ye purtends to be as dunch as a bittle, but I
kneows 'e hears ev'ry word I zays.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 81.
(2) Stupid, heavy; now the common use. 'The wapses gets dunch' in
late autumn. A labourer who can't be made to understand orders is
'dunch.'--N. & S.W. (3) Of bread, heavy (_Wild Life_, ch. vii). Cf.
~Dunch-dumpling.~--N. & S.W. ~Dunchy~ is frequently used in S. Wilts
instead of ~Dunch~, but usually means deaf.
=Dunch-dumpling=. A hard-boiled flour-and-water dumpling (A.B.C.) See
~Dunch~ (3).--N.W.
=Dunch-nettle=, =Dunse-nettle=. (1) _Lamium purpureum_, L., Red
Dead-nettle. ~Dunch~=stupid, inactive. Cf. ~Deaf-nettle~.--S.W. (2)
_Lamium album_, L., White Dead-nettle.--S.W. (Barford.)
=Dung-pot=. A dung-cart (D.); rarely ~Dum-put~. See ~Pot~.--N. & S.W.
*=Dup=. 'To dup the door,' to open or unfasten it (_Lansd. MS._
1033).--Obsolete. Cf. :--
'Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door.'--_Hamlet_, iv. 5.
The word now means the very reverse.
=Dutch Elder=. _Aegopodium Podagraria_, L., Goutweed.--S.W. (Farley,
&c.)
=Duther=, =Dutter=. See ~Dodder~.
=Ea-grass=. After-grass (D.); Lammas grass as well as aftermath.--S.W.
=Eass= (sometimes =Yees=). An earthworm.--S.W.
*=Edge-growed=. Of barley, both growing and ripening irregularly; the
result of a want of rain after it is first sown (D.).
=Eel-scrade=. A kind of eel-trap.--S.W.
'A trap used to catch eels, placed near a weir. The water is
turned into the scrade when high, and the fish washed up to
a stage through which the water finds an outlet, the fish,
however, being retained on the platform by a piece of sloping
iron.'--F. M. WILLIS.
=Eel-sticher=. An eel-spear.--S.W.
'Wishing to secure [a Little Grebe] in summer plumage, I asked
the old "drowner" in our meadows to look out for one for
me--and this he very soon did, fishing one out from under the
water between the spikes of his eel-sticher, as it was diving
under the water.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xxii. 193.
=Effet=, =Evet=. _Lissotriton punctatus_, the Newt (A.S.)--N. & S.W.
'She ... sometimes peered under the sage-bush to look at the
"effets" that hid there.'--_Great Estate_, ii.
=Eggs-and-Bacon=. _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax. Cf.
~Bacon-and-Eggs~.--N. & S.W.
*=Eggs-eggs=. Fruit of the hawthorn.--S.W. (Farley.)
*=Elet=. Fuel (H.Wr.). *~Ollit~ (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._).--N.W.,
obsolete.
=Elm=, =Helm=, or =Yelm=. (1) _v._ To make up 'elms.'--N. & S.W.
'Two or three women are busy "yelming," i.e. separating the
straw, selecting the longest and laying it level and parallel,
damping it with water, and preparing it for the yokes.'--_Wild
Life_, ch. vi.
(2) _n._ (Almost invariably pl.,'elms' being the usual form). Small
bundles or handfuls of fresh straw, damped and laid out straight for
the thatcher's use (_Wild Life_, ch. vi). See _Wilts Arch. Mag._
vol. xxii. p. 111. According to Prof. Skeat _yelm_, seldom now
used in Wilts, is the correct form, from A.S. _gilm_, a handful.
About Marlborough it is usually pronounced as _Yelms_, but at Clyffe
Pypard there is not the slightest sound of _y_ in it. Elsewhere it is
frequently pronounced as _Ellums_.--N. & S.W.
=Eltrot=. _Heracleum Sphondylium_, L., Cow-parsnip (S.). *~Altrot~ at
Zeals.--S.W.
=Emmet=. The Ant (S.). 'Ant' is never used in Wilts.--N. & S.W.
=Emmet-heap=. An anthill.--N. & S.W.
=En=. (1) _pl. termination_, as ~Housen~, houses; ~Hipsen~,
rose-berries; ~Keyn~, keys; ~Facen~, faces; ~Wenchen~, girls;
~Bluen~, blossoms; ~Naas'n~, nests (rarely heard, _Nestises_ being
the usual form); ~Pigs'-sousen~, pigs'-ears.--N. & S.W.
'In North Wilts ... the formation of the Plural by affixing
_en_ to the Noun is almost universal, as house housen,
&c.'--_Cunnington MS._
(2) _adj. term._, as ~Harnen~, made of horn; ~Stwonen~, of stone;
~Elmin~, of elm wood, &c. '~Boughten~ bread,' baker's bread, as
opposed to home-made. 'A ~dirten~ floor,' a floor made of earth,
beaten hard. 'A ~tinnin~ pot.' 'A ~glassen~ cup.' ~Boarden~, made of
boards; ~Treen-dishes~, wooden platters, &c. 'There's some volk as
thinks to go droo life in glassen slippers.'--N. & S.W.
'Almost as universal too is the transformation of the
Substantive into an adjective by the same termination as ... a
Leatheren Shoe, an elmen Board, &c.'--_Cunnington MS._
(3) See ~Pronouns~.
'The pronoun Possessive too is formed in the same way, as hisn
hern Ourn theirn.'--_Cunnington MS._
=English Parrot=. _Picus viridis_, the Green Woodpecker (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 251).--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Ether=, =Edder=. The top-band of a fence, the wands of hazel, &c.,
woven in along the top of a 'dead hedge,' or wattled fence, to keep
it compact (A.B.). A 'stake and ether' fence. A.S. _edor_.--N.W.
'Mughall [Midghall] had nothing to doe withought [without]
the Eyther [hedge] between Bradene Lane and Shropshire
Marsh.'--1602, MS., _Perambulation of the Great Park of
Fasterne, N.W._, in Devizes Museum.
'An eldern stake and blackthorn ether
Will make a hedge to last for ever.'--_Wilts Saying_ (A.).
=Eve=. See ~Heave~.
=Even-ash=. Ash-leaves with an equal number of leaflets, carried by
children in the afternoon of the 29th May (_Wild Life_, ch. v). See
~Shitsac~.--N.W.
=Evet=. See ~Effet~.
=Ex=, pl. =Exes=. An axle (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Eyles=. See ~Ailes~.
=F=. (1) _F_ for _th_. Examples :.--_Fust_, thirst; _afust_, athirst.
An old characteristic of the Western and South-Western groups of
dialect. (2) F, at the beginning of a word, is frequently sounded as
_v_, as fall, _vall_; flick, _vlick_; font, _vant_.
=Fadge=. See ~Fodge~.
=Fag=. See ~Vag~.
=Faggot=, =Fakket=. (1) A woman of bad character is 'a nasty stinking
faggot (or vaggot).' Often used in a milder sense, as 'You young
vaggot! [you bad girl] what be slapping the baby vor?'--N. & S.W.
'Damn you vor a gay wench, vor that's what you be, an' no
mistake about it; a vaggot as I wun't hae in _my_ house no
longer.'--_Dark_, ch. xii.
(2) A rissole of chopped pig's-liver and seasoning, covered with
'flare': also known as ~Bake-faggot~.--N. & S.W.
'Tripe an mince meat,
Vaggots an pigs veet,
An blackpuddins stale, on which to regale.'--SLOW'S _Poems_, p. 26.
=Falarie=. Disturbance, excitement, commotion.--N. & S.W.
'"Look'ee here, there 've bin a fine falarie about you, Zur."
He meant that there had been much excitement when it was
found that Bevis was not in the garden, and was nowhere to be
found.'--_Wood Magic_, ch. ii.
'Used about Wilton, but not so extensively as its synonym
_rumpus_.'--_Letter from Mr. Slow._
=Fall about=. _v._ Of a woman: to be confined. 'His wife bin an' fell
about laas' night.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Fall down=. Of arable land: to be allowed to relapse of itself into
poor rough pasture.--N.W.
'Some of the land is getting "turnip-sick," the roots come
stringy and small and useless, so that many let it "vall
down."'--_Great Estate_, ch. i. p. 6.
=Falling=. _n._ A downfall of snow. 'I thenks we shall have some
vallen soon.' Only used of snow.--N. & S.W.
=Falling-post=. The front upright timber of a gate. Occasionally
heard at Huish; ~Head~, however, being the more usual term
there.--N.W.
=Falsify=. Of seeds, young trees, &c.: to fail, to come to
nought.--N.W.
=Fancy man=. A married woman's lover. 'He be Bill's wife's fancy man,
that's what _he_ do be.'--N.W.
*=Fang=. To strangle; to bind a wounded limb so tightly as to stop
the flow of blood (A.B.H.Wr.).
=Fantag=, =Fanteague=, &c. (1) _n._ Fluster, fuss. ~Fantaig~
(S.).--N. & S.W. (2) Vagaries or larks, as 'Now, none o' your
fantaigs here!' At Clyffe Pypard, N.W., 'a regular fantaig' would be
a flighty flirting lad or girl, a 'wondermenting or gammotty sort of
a chap.'--N. & S.W.
*=Fardingale=. A quarter of an acre (H.Wr. _Lansd. MS._). The old
form is _Farding-deal_ (Wr.). Compare _Thurindale_, &c.--Obsolete.
'1620. Itm, to the same Thomas & Nicholas Lea for theire helpe
to laye the Acres into ffarendells.'--_Records of Chippenham_,
p. 202.
'1649. Twoe ffarthendels of grasse.'--_Ibid._ p. 217.
=Farewell Summer=. The Michaelmas Daisy.--N. & S.W.
=Fashion=. The farcey, a disease in horses (A.H.Wr.). Fr.
_farcin_.--N.W.
'An old Wiltshire farmer, when his grand-daughters appeared
before him with any new piece of finery, would ask what it all
meant. The girls would reply, "_fashion_, gran'váther!" when
the old man would rejoin, "Ha! many a good horse has died o'
th' fashion!"'--_Akerman._
=Favour=. To resemble in features, &c. 'He doesn't favour you,
Sir.... He is his mother's own boy.'--N. & S.W.
=Featish=. Fair, tolerable (A.B.). Used of health, crops, &c. 'How be
'e ?' 'Featish, thank 'e.'--'There's a featish crop o' grass yander!'
(A.). M.E. _fetis_ (in Chaucer), O.F. fetis, _faitis_.--N.W.
'The worthy farmer proceeded to ask how the children got on
at the Sunday-school. "Oh, featish, zur ... Sally, yander ...
her's gettin' on oonderful."'--_Wilts Tales_, pp. 139-140.
'"How's your voice?" "Aw, featish [fairish]. I zucked a
thrush's egg to clear un."'--_Greene Ferns Farm_, ch. i.
'"Ees, this be featish tackle," meaning the liquor was
good.'--_Ibid._ ch. vii.
'A' be a featish-looking girl, you.'--_Ibid._ ch. i.
*=Fern Buttercup=. _Potentilla Anserina_, L., Silverweed.--S.W.
(Zeals.)
=Fess=. (1) Of animals: bad-tempered, fierce. A cat with its back up
looks 'ter'ble fess.'--N. & S.W. (2) Cocky, impudent, confident. Also
used in Hants.--S.W., occasionally. (3) Proud, stuck-up (S.).--S.W.
=Fet=. See ~Preterites~.
=Fevertory=. _Fumaria_, Fumitory, from which a cosmetic for removing
freckles used to be distilled.--S.W.
'If you wish to be pure and holy,
Wash your face with fevertory.'--_Local Rhyme._
=Few=. 'A goodish few,' or 'a main few,' a considerable quantity or
number.--N. & S.W.
'I ferrets a goodish few rabbits on bright nights in
winter.'--_Amateur Poacher_, ch. vii.
=Fiddle-strings=. The ribs of the Plantain leaf, when pulled out. See
~Cat-gut~.--N.W.
*=Field=. The space, or bay, between beam and beam in a barn, as 'a
barn of four fields.' (D.).
=Figged= (_two syll._), =Figgedy=, =Figgetty=, =Figgy=. (1) Made with
a few 'figs,' or raisins, as 'viggy pudden.' Figged Pudding, Plum
pudding (_Monthly Mag._, 1814). Figgetty Pooden (S.).--N. & S.W. (2)
~Figged.~ Spotted all over, as a pudding is with plums.--S.W. A
true-born Moon-raker, describing his first night in 'Lunnon,' where
he made the acquaintance of numerous members of the 'Norfolk-Howard'
family (_Cimex lectularius_), spoke of his face as being 'vigged aal
auver wi' spots an' bumps afore marning.'
=Fighting-cocks=. _Plantago media_, L., and other Plantains. Children
'fight' them, head against head.--N.W.
=Filtry=. Rubbish. 'Ther's a lot o' filtry about this house.'--N.W.
=Fine=. Of potatoes, very small.--N.W.
=Fingers-and-Thumbs=. Blossoms of _Ulex Europaeus_, L., Common Furze
(S.).--S.W.
*=Fire-deal=. A good deal (H.Wr.).
=Fire-new=, =Vire-new=. Quite new (A.)--N.W.
=Firk=. (1) To worry mentally, to be anxious; as 'Don't firk so,' or
'Don't firk yourself.' A cat does not _firk_ a mouse when 'playing'
with it, but the mouse _firks_ grievously.--N.W. (Marlborough). (2)
To be officiously busy or inquisitive, as 'I can't abear that there
chap a-comin' firkin' about here.' A policeman getting up a case
_firks about_ the place, ferreting out all the evidence he can.--N.W.
*=Fitten=. A pretence (A.B.).--Obsolete. Compare:
'He doth feed you with fittons, figments, and
leasings.'--_Cynthia's Revels._
=Fitty=. In good health. 'How be 'ee?' 'Ter'ble fitty.'--N.W.
*=Flabber-gaster=. _n._ Idle talk (S.).--S.W.
=Flag=. The blade of wheat.--N.W.
'The wheat was then showing a beautiful flag.... The flag is
the long narrow green leaf of the wheat.'--_Great Estate_, ch.
i. p. 8.
=Flake=. _n._ (1) A frame, barred with ash or willow spars, somewhat
resembling a light gate, used as a hurdle where extra strength is
needed (_Bevis_, ch. xii; _Wild Life_, ch. iv). 'Flake' hurdles
are used to divide a field, or for cattle, the ordinary sheep
hurdles being too weak for the purpose.--N.W. (2) _v._ To make
'flakes.'--N.W.
=Flamtag=. A slatternly woman.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Flare=. (1) The flick, or internal fat of a pig, before it is melted
down to make lard.--N. & S.W. (2) The caul, or thin skin of the
intestines of animals, used for covering 'bake-faggots,' &c.--N. &
S.W.
=Fleck=. See ~Flick~.
=Flews=. A sluice is occasionally so called. See ~Flowse~.--S.W.
=Flewy=. Of a horse, troubled with looseness. 'He's what we calls a
flewy 'oss, can't kip nothing in 'im.' Cf. North of Eng. _Flewish_,
morally or physically weak. In Hants a horse of weakly constitution
is said to be _flue_ or _fluey_ (Cope).--N.W.
=Flick=, =Fleck=. (1) _n._ The internal fat of a pig (A.B.C.S.).--N.
& S.W. *(2) _v._ To flare (S.).--S.W.
=Flig-me-jig=. A girl of doubtful character. 'Her's a reg'lar
flig-me-jig.'--N.W.
=Flirk=. To flip anything about (H.Wr.), as a duster in flicking a
speck of dust off a table (_Village Miners_). Flirt is the S. Wilts
form of the word.--N.W.
*=Flitch=. (1) Pert, lively, officious (A.B.H.Wr.).
'Right flygge and mery.' _Paston Letters_, iv. 412.
*(2) To be _flick_ or _flitch_ with any one, to be familiar or
intimate (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Flitmouse=. The bat. A shortened form of _Flittermouse_.--N.W.
(Marlborough.)
=Flitters=. Pieces. A cup falls, and is broken 'aal to
vlitters.'--N.W.
*=Floating= or =Flowing meadow=. A meadow laid up in ridges with
water-carriages on each ridge and drains between (D.). A lowland
meadow watered from a river, as opposed to Catch-meadow (_Annals of
Agric._). ~Floted meadowes~ (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 51, ed.
Brit.).
=Flod=. See ~Preterites~.
=Flop-a-dock=. _Digitalis purpurea_, L., Foxglove.--S.W. (Hants
bord.)
=Floppetty=. _adj._ Of a woman, untidy, slatternly in dress or
person. ~Flopperty~ (S.).--S.W.
=Flowing Meadows=. See ~Floating Meadows~.
=Flowse=. (1) _v. act._ You 'flowse,' or splash, the water over you
in a bath.--N. & S.W. (2) _v. neut._ Water is said to be 'flowsing
down' when rushing very strongly through a mill hatch. A horse likes
to 'flowse about' in a pond.--S.W. (3) _n._ The rush of water through
a hatch.--S.W. (4) _n._ Occasionally also applied to the narrow
walled channel between the hatch gate and the pool below.--S.W.
=Flucksey=. _adj._ 'A flucksey old hen,' i.e. a hen who makes a
great fuss over her chickens.--S.W. (Bishopstrow, &c.) Cope's _Hants
Glossary_ has:--'_Flucks_, to peck in anger like a hen.'
=Flump=. 'To come down flump, like a twoad from roost,' to fall
heavily (A.B.S.); also used alone as a verb, as 'Her vlumped down in
thic chair.'--N. & S.W.
=Flunk=. A spark of fire; probably a form of ~Blink~, q.v. ~Vlonker~
(S.).--S.W.
=Flush=. *(1) _n._ Of grass, a strong and abundant growth (_Agric.
of Wilts_, ch. xii). (2) _adj._ Of grass, &c., luxuriant.--N.W. (3)
_adj._ Of young birds, fledged (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Flustrated=. (1) Taken aback, flustered.--N.W.
'A didn't zay anything ... but a looked a leetle flustrated
like.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 119.
(2) Tipsy.--N.W.
=Fluttery=. Of weather, catchy, uncertain, showery. ''T ull be a main
fluttery hay-making to-year, I warnd.'--N.W. (Huish.)
*=Fodder=. A labourer 'fodders' his boots--stuffs soft hay into them
to fill up, when they are too large for him (_Village Miners_).
*=Fodge= (rarely =Fadge=). In packing fleeces of wool, when the
quantity is too small to make up a full 'bag' of 240 lbs., the ends
of the bag are gathered together as required, and the sides skewered
over them, thus forming the small package known as a 'fodge.'--N.W.
=Fog=. _v._ To give fodder to cattle. Cf. Welsh _ffwg_, dry
grass.--N. & S.W.
'_Fogging_, the giving of fodder ... from a Middle English root
... is common in Mid-Wilts.'--_Leisure Hour_, Aug. 1893.
=Fog off=. To damp off, as cuttings often do in a greenhouse.--N.W.
(Marlborough.)
=Fogger=. A man who attends to the cows and takes them their fodder
morning and evening (_My Old Village_, &c.). A groom or man-servant
(H.Wr.), the duties of groom and fogger being usually discharged by
the same man on farms about Marlborough.--N. & S.W.
*=Foldsail=, =Fossel=. A fold-shore (D.). See ~Sails~.--N.W.
'A fold stake, locally called a "fossle."'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._
xxi. 132.
'The "fossels" means the _fold-shores_, or the _stakes_ to
which the hurdles are shored up, and fastened with a loose twig
wreath at the top.'--_Ibid._ xvii. 304.
=Fold-shore=. A stake pitched to support a hurdle (D.H.).--S.W.
=Follow or Follow on=. To continue.--N.W.
'If you do want a good crop, you must _follow on_ a hoeing
o' the ground; but you can't do no hoeing so long as it do
_follow_ raining.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 111.
=Folly=. A circular plantation of trees on a hill, as 'Harnham
Folly,' or 'The Long Folly' on Compton Down. This seems quite
distinct from its more general use as applied to a tower or other
building which is too pretentious or costly for its builder's
position and means.--N. & S.W.
'"Every hill seems to have a Folly," she said, looking round.
"I mean a clump of trees on the top."'--_Greene Ferne Farm_,
ch. vi.
*=Foot-cock=. The small cock into which hay is first put (D.).
=Footy=. Paltry (A.B.), as a present not so large as was expected
(_Village Miners_).--N.W.
=For=. Often affixed to the verbs _say_ and _think_. ''Tean't the
same as you said for'; 'I bean't as old as you thinks for.'--N.W.
=Fore-eyed=. Fore-seeing, apt to look far ahead (S.).--S.W.
=Fore-spur=. A fore-leg of pork (S.).--S.W.
=Forefeed=, =Vorfeed=. To turn cattle out in spring into a pasture
which is afterwards to be laid up for hay.--N.W.
=Foreright=, =Vorright=. (1) _adj._ Headstrong, self-willed. 'He's
that vorright there's no telling he anything.'--N. & S.W. (2) _adj._
Blunt, rude, candid.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) (3) Just opposite. 'The
geat's vorright thuck shard.'--N.W.
*=Forel=. The actual cover of a book, not the material in which it is
bound. This is the usual term in Som. Old Fr. _fourrel_, a sheath,
case.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Fork=. The apparatus used by thatchers for carrying the elms up to
the roof.--N.W.
=Forester=. (1) A New Forest horse-fly.--S.W. (2) Any very tall
thistle growing among underwood.--N.W. (Marlborough.)
*=Fossel=. See ~Foldsail~.
=Fot=. See ~Preterites~.
=Frame= A skeleton. 'Her's nothing in the world but a frame.'--N.W.
*=Frea=, =Fry=. To make a brushwood drain (D.).
=Freglam=. Odds and ends of cold vegetables, fried up with a little
bacon to give a relish. Compare Lanc. _Braughwham_, cheese, eggs,
clap-bread, and butter, all boiled together.--N.W., obsolete.
*=French Grass=. _Onobrychis sativa_, L., Sainfoin.--N.W. (Enford.)
=Fresh liquor=. Unsalted hog's-fat (A).--N.W.
=Frickle=, =Friggle=. (1) To potter about at little jobs, such as an
old man can do. 'I bain't up to a day's work now; I can't do nothing
but frickle about in my garne.'--N. & S.W. (2) To fidget, to worry
about a thing.--N.W.
'He freggled [fidgetted] hisself auver thuck paason as come a
bit ago.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. vii.
=Frickling=, =Friggling=. _adj._ Tiresome, involving much minute
attention or labour. Used of fiddling little jobs.--N.W.
=Friggle=. _n._ A worrying little piece of work. 'I be so caddled
wi' aal these yer friggles, I caan't hardly vind time vor a bit o'
vittles.' See ~Frickle~.--N.W. (Huish.)
=Frith=. (1) _n._ 'Quick,' or young whitethorn for planting
hedges.--N.W. *(2) _n._ Thorns or brush underwood (D).--N.W.
'1605. Itm to James Smalwood for an Acre & halfe of
hedginge frith out of Heywood.... Item for felling the same
frith.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 194.
(3) _v._ To make a brushwood drain, as opposed to ~Grip~, q.v. (D).
=Froar=. Frozen (A.B.S.); generally ~Vroar~ or ~Vrŏr~ in N.
Wilts, but the usual form at Wroughton, N.W., is ~Froren~. A.S.
_gefroren_.--N. & S.W.
=Frog-dubbing=. Boys throw a frog into a shallow pool, and then 'dub'
or pelt it, as it tries to escape. See ~Dub~.--S.W.
=Froom=. See ~Frum~.
=Frout=. Of animals: to take fright. 'My horse frouted and run
away.'--S.W.
=Frouten=, =Froughten=. To frighten (S.).--N. & S.W.
'Lor, Miss, how you did froughten I!'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch.
vii.
=Frow=. See ~Brow~.
=Frum=, =Froom=. Of vegetables, grass, &c.: fresh and juicy (A.B.);
strong-growing or rank. A.S. _from_, vigorous, strong.--N.W.
*=Fry=. (1) _n._ A brushwood drain (H.Wr.). See ~Frith~ (3).--N.W.
(2) _v._ To make a brushwood drain (D.). Also ~Frea~ and ~Frith~
(D.).--N.W.
'1790. For 234 Lugg Hollow frying in Englands
2.18.6.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 248.
=Fullmare=. _n._ In my childhood I remember being told more than
once by servants at Morden, near Swindon, N.W., that a colt which
was playing about in a field near was 'a fullmare.' Could this
possibly have been a survival of the old word '_Folymare_, a young
foal,' which is given by Halliwell and Wright as occurring in a
fifteenth-century MS. at Jesus College, Oxford? I have never heard
the word elsewhere.--_G. E. D._
=Fur=. _n._ The calcareous sediment in a kettle, &c.--N. & S.W.
=Furlong= (pronounced ~Vurlin~). The strip of newly-ploughed land
lying between two main furrows.--N.W. (Lockeridge.)
=Fur up=. Water-pipes, kettles, &c., when coated inside with 'rock,'
or the calcareous sediment of hard water, are said to 'fur up,' or to
be 'furred up.'--N. & S.W.
*=Furze-hawker=. _Saxicola oenanthe_, the Wheatear.--N.W.
*=Furze Robin=. _Saxicola rubicola_, the Stonechat (_Birds of Wilts_,
p. 150).--N.W. (Sutton Benger.)
=Fuzz-ball=. _Lycoperdon Bovista_, L., Puffball.--N. & S.W.
=Gaa-oot!= See ~Horses~ (A.).
=Gaam=. (1) _v._ To smear or bedaub with anything sticky. ~Gaamze~
(_Village Miners_). (2) _n._ A sticky mass of anything. See
~Gam~.--N. & S.W. Many years ago, at a Yeomanry ball in a certain
town in N. Wilts, the Mayor, who had done his duty manfully up to
then, stopped short in the middle of a dance, and mopping his face
vigorously, gasped out to his astonished partner, a lady of high
position, 'Well, I don't know how _you_ be, Marm, but _I_ be ael of a
gaam o' zweat!'--N.W.
=Gaamy=, =Gammy=. Daubed with grease, &c., sticky. In Hal. and Wr.
'~Gaam~, _adj._ sticky, clammy,' is apparently an error, _gaamy_
being probably intended.--N.W.
=Gaapsey=. _n._ A sight to be stared at. See ~Gapps~.--N.W.
=Gaapus=. _n._ A fool, a stupid fellow. 'What be at, ye girt
gaapus!'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Gabborn=. Of rooms or houses, comfortless, bare (B.C.). ~Gabbern~
(A.H.) and ~Gabern~ (_Great Estate_, ch. iv. p. 78). This term
always denotes largeness without convenience or comfort (_Cunnington
MS._).--N.W. ~Gabberny~ on Berks bord.
*=Gage-ring=. An engagement ring (_Great Estate_, ch. x).--N.W.
=Galley-bagger=. A scarecrow (S.).--S.W.
=Galley-crow=. A scarecrow (A.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
'"Maester," said the child, "wull 'e let m' chainge hats wi'
thuck galley-crow yander?" ... pointing to a scarecrow at the
other end of the garden.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 103.
=Gallivant=. To be gadding about on a spree with a companion of the
opposite sex (S.): to run after the girls, or 'chaps,' as the case
may be.--N. & S.W.
=Gallow=. See ~Gally~.
=Gallows= (pronounced _Gallus_). *(1) A pair of braces. (2)
Exceedingly. Used with any adjective; as 'Gallus dear,' very
expensive (_Great Estate_, ch. iv. p. 75).--N. & S.W.
'A gallus bad wench her be!'--_Dark_, ch. xviii.
*(3) 'He's a gallus chap,' i.e. plucky.
=Gallows-gate=. A light gate, consisting only of a hinged style,
top-rail, and one strut.--N.W.
=Gallus=. See ~Gallows~.--N.W.
=Gally=, =Gallow=. To frighten or terrify. ~Gallow~ (B.H., _Lansd.
MS._), ~Gally~ (A.B.S.), Pret. _gallered_, astonished, frightened
(A.B.C.S.) 'He gallered I amwost into vits.' Still in use about
Marlborough and in S.W. From M.E. _galwen_; A.S. _agælwan_, to
stupefy.--N. & S.W.
'The wrathful skies
Gallow the very wanderers of the dark.'--_Lear_, iii. 2.
The word is still commonly used in the whale-fishery:--
'Young bulls ... are ... easily "gallied," that is,
frightened.'--MARRYAT, _Poor Jack_, ch. vi.
=Gam=. A sticky mass, as 'all in a gam.' See ~Gaam~ (2).--N. & S.W.
In S. Wilts the _a_ in this word and its derivatives is usually
short, while in N. Wilts it is broad in sound.
=Gambrel=. The piece of wood or iron used by butchers for extending
or hanging a carcase (A.). ~Gamel~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Gamel=. See ~Gambrel~.
=Gammer=. A woodlouse.--S.W.
=Gammet=, =Gamut=. (1) _n._ Fun, frolicsome tricks. 'You be vull o'
gamuts.'--N.W. (2) _v._ To frolic, to play the fool. See ~Gammock~
and ~Gannick~. 'Thee bist allus a gammetting.'--N.W. (3) _v._ To play
off practical jokes; to take in any one.--N.W.
=Gammock=. _v._ To lark about, to play the fool, to frolic. See
~Gannick~ and ~Gammet~.--N.W. (Marlborough.)
=Gammotty=, =Gammutty=. (1) _adj._ Frolicsome, larky. See
~Gammet~.--N.W. (2) _adj._ Of cheese, ill-flavoured. See
~Cammocky~.--N.W.
=Gammy=. (1) Sticky. See ~Gaamy~.--S.W. (2) Lame, crippled, having a
'game leg.'--N. & S.W.
=Gamut=. See ~Gammet~.
=Gander-flanking, To go=. To go off larking or 'wondermenting.'
Perhaps a corruption of _gallivanting_.--S.W. (Upton Scudamore.)
=Gandigoslings=. _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple Orchis. Compare
_Gandergosses_ in _Gerarde_ (_Appendix_), and _Candle-gostes_
in _Folk-Etymology_. Also see ~Dandy-goslings~, ~Dandy-goshen~,
~Goosey-ganders~, ~Goslings~, ~Grampha-Griddle-Goosey-Gander~, and
~Granfer-goslings~.--N.W.
=Gannick=. To lark about, to play the fool. See ~Gammock~.--S.W.
(Warminster, &c.)
=Gapps=, =Gaapsey=. To gape or stare at anything. 'Thee'st allus a
gaapsin' about.'--N.W.
=Garley-gut=. A gluttonous person. Perhaps connected with _gorle_, to
devour eagerly (see Halliwell).
'"Let's go to bed," says Heavy-Head,
"Let's bide a bit," says Sloth,
"Put on the pot," says Garley-gut,
"We'll sup afore we g'auf" [go off].'--_Nursery Rhyme._
=Gashly=. See ~Ghastly~.
=Gate=. _n._ Excitement, 'taking.' 'Her wur in a vine gate
wi't.'--N.W.
=Gatfer=. See ~Gotfer~.
=Gauge-brick=. A brick which shows by its change of colour when the
oven is hot enough for baking. Cf. ~Warning-stone~.--N.W.
'She knew when the oven was hot enough by the gauge-brick:
this particular brick as the heat increased became spotted
with white, and when it had turned quite white the oven was
ready.'--_Great Estate_, ch. viii. p. 152.
=Gawl-cup=. See ~Gold-cup~.
=Gawney=. A simpleton (A.H.S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
'Leave m' 'lone y' great gawney!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 83.
=Gay=. Of wheat, rank in the blade (D.).--N.W.
=Gee=, =Jee=. To agree, to work well together (A.B.).--N.W.
=Genow=. See ~Go-now~.
*=Gentlemen's-and-ladies'-fingers=. _Arum maculatum_, L.,
Cuckoo-pint. Cf. ~Lady's-Finger~ (2).--S.W. (Farley.)
=Ghastly= (pronounced Gashly). This word is used in many ways, as
'Thick hedge wur gashly high, but it be ter'ble improved now.'--N.W.
(Huish.) At Etchilhampton, N.W., a 'gashly ditch' is one that is cut
too wide.--N. & S.W.
=Gibbles=. Onions grown from bulbs. Cf. ~Chipples~ and
~Cribbles~.--N. & S.W.
=Gicksey=. See ~Kecks~.
=Giggley=. See ~Goggley~.
=Gigletting=. _adj._ Fond of rough romping; wanton. Used only of
females. 'Dwoan't ha' no truck wi' thuck there giglettin' wench o'
his'n.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Gilcup=. Buttercups in general; occasionally restricted to _R.
Ficaria_. Cf. ~Gold-cup~.--S.W.
*=Gill=. A low four-wheeled timber-carriage (_Cycl. of Agric._).
*=Gilty-cup=. _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Gin-and-Water Market=. See quotation.
'Some towns have only what is called a "gin-and-water" market:
that is, the "deal" is begun and concluded from small samples
carried in the pocket and examined at an inn over a glass of
spirits and water.'--_The Toilers of the Field_, p. 28.
=Gipsy=. Carnation grass, _Carex panicea_, L., because it turns so
brown.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Gipsy-rose=. _Scabiosa atropurpurea_, L., the Garden Scabious.--N.W.
=Girls=. The short-pistilled or 'thrum-eyed' blossoms of the
Primrose, _Primula vulgaris_, L. See ~Boys~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Gix=, =Gicksey=, &c. See ~Kecks~.
=Glory-hole=. A place for rubbish or odds and ends, as a housemaid's
cupboard, or a lumber room.--N.W.
'This has nothing to do with Lat. _gloria_, but is connected
with M.E. _glorien_, to befoul (_Prompt. Parv._). Compare Prov.
Eng. _glorry_, greasy, fat. Thus _glory-hole_=a dirty, untidy
nook. See _Folk-Etymology_, p. 145.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
*=Glox=. This is given by most authorities as a noun, and defined as
'the sound of liquids when shaken in a barrel' (A.B.H.Wr.); but it
is really a verb, and refers to the motion and peculiar gurgling of
liquids against the side of a barrel or vessel that is not quite full
(C.). In Hants _gloxing_ is the noise made by falling, gurgling water
(Cope). Cf. ~Lottle~.--N.W., obsolete.
'Fill the Barrel full, John, or else it will glox in
Carriage.'--_Cunnington MS._
=Glutch=. To swallow (A.B.C.S.). According to _Cunnington MS_, the
use of _glutch_ implies that there is some difficulty in swallowing,
while _quilt_ is to swallow naturally.--N. & S.W.
=Glutcher=. The throat (S.). See ~Glutch~.--N. & S.W.
*=Gnaa-post=. A simpleton (S.).--S.W.
=Gnaing=. To mock, to insult (S.). Also used in West of England and
Sussex.--S.W.
=Goat-weed=. _Polygonum Convolvulus_, L., Black Bindweed.--N.W.
*=Gob=. (1) _n._ Much chatter (S.).--S.W. (2) _v._ To talk.--S.W.
*=Goche=. A pitcher (H.Wr.). Perhaps a mistake, as Morton (_Cycl. of
Agric._) gives _gotch_ under Norfolk.
=Gog=, =Goggmire=. A swamp or quagmire. Cf. ~Quavin-gog~. 'I be all
in a goggmire,' in a regular fix or dilemma.--N.W.
'In Minty Common ... is a boggie place, called the _Gogges_....
_Footnote_. Perhaps a corruption of _quag_, itself a
corruption of _quake_. "I be all in a goggmire" is a North
Wilts phrase for being in what appears an inextricable
difficulty.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 271.
=Goggle=. (1) _n._ A snail-shell. Cf. E. _cockle_ (Skeat).--N.W.
'=Guggles=, the empty shells of snails--not the large brown
kind, but those of various colours.'--MISS E. BOYER-BROWN.
(2) _v._ 'To go goggling,' to collect snail-shells (_Springtide_,
p. 89).--N.W. (3) _v._ To shake or tremble, as a table with one leg
shorter than the others. 'I do trembly an' goggly ael day.'--N. &
S.W. (4) _n._ 'All of a goggle,' shaking all over, especially from
physical weakness. 'How are you to-day, Sally?' 'Lor', Zur! I be aal
of a goggle.' 'What on earth do you mean?' 'Why, I be zo ter'ble
giggly, I can't scarce kip my lags nohow.'--S.W. (Steeple Ashton.)
=Goggles=. A disease in sheep (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xiv).--N.W.
(Castle Eaton.)
=Goggly=. Unsteady, shaky. Sometimes ~Giggly~ is used, as in example
given under ~Goggle~.--N. & S.W.
=Goggmire=. See ~Gog~.
=Gold=. Nodules of iron pyrites in chalk.--N.W. Heard once or twice,
near Clyffe Pypard, years ago.--G. E. D.
'On past the steep wall of an ancient chalk-quarry, where the
ploughboys search for pyrites, and call them thunderbolts and
"gold," for when broken the radial metallic fibres glisten
yellow.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
=Gold-cup= (pronounced _Gawl-cup_). The various forms of Buttercup.
Cf. ~Gilcup~.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Golden Chain=. (1) Laburnum (S.). The general name for it
in Wilts.--N. & S.W. (2) _Lathyrus pratensis_, L., Meadow
Vetchling.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Goldlock=. _Sinapis arvensis_, L., Charlock.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Go-now=, =Genow=, =Good-now=. Used as an expletive, or an address
to a person (S.). 'What do 'ee thenk o' that, genow!' Also used in
Dorset.--N. & S.W.
=Gooding Day=. St. Thomas' Day, when children go 'gooding,' or asking
for Christmas boxes.--N.W.
*=Good Neighbour=. Jefferies (_Village Miners_) speaks of a weed
called by this name, but does not identify it. See below.
=Good Neighbourhood=. (1) _Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus_, L., Good
King Henry.--N.W. (Devizes.) (2) _Centranthus ruber_, DC., Red Spur
Valerian (_English Plant Names_).--N.W. (Devizes.)
=Good-now=. See ~Go-now~ (S.). Used at Downton, &c.--S.W.
=Gooseberry-pie=. _Valeriana dioica_, L., All-heal.--S.W.
=Goosegog=. A green gooseberry (S.). Used by children.--N. & S.W.
=Goosehill=. See ~Guzzle~.
*=Goosen-chick=. A gosling (Wr.). *~Goosen-chick's vather~. A gander
(Wr.). Both these words would appear to belong to Som. and Dev.
rather than Wilts.
=Goosey-gander=. A game played by children (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Goosey-ganders=. _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple Orchis.--N.W.
*=Gore=. A triangular piece of ground (D.).
=Goslings=. _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple Orchis. See
~Gandigoslings~.--N.W.
=Goss=. _Ononis arvensis_, L., Restharrow. Gorse, _Ulex_, is always
'Fuzz.'--N.W.
=Gossiping=. A christening.--N.W., obsolete.
*=Gotfer=. An old man (H.Wr.). *~Gatfer~ is still in use about
Malmesbury.--N.W.
=Grab-hook=. A kind of grapnel used for recovering lost buckets from
a well.
=Graft=. (1) A draining spade.--N.W. (2) The depth of earth dug
therewith.--N.W.
=Grained=. Dirty (A.H.Wr.); ~Grainted~ (B.); the latter being a
mispronunciation.--N.W.
=Grains=. The tines of a gardening fork, as 'a four-grained
prong.'--N. & S.W.
=Gramfer=. Grandfather (A.B.). ~Granfer~ (S.) and ~Gramp~ are also
used.--N. & S.W.
=Grammer=. Grandmother (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W. Becoming obsolete.
=Grammered in=. Of dirt, so grained in, that it is almost impossible
to wash it off. ~Grammered~: Begrimed (H.).--N.W.
*=Grampha-Griddle-Goosey-Gander=. _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple
Orchis (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Zeals.)
*=Granfer-goslings=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted Orchis (_Village
Miners_).--N.W.
*=Granny-jump-out-of-bed=. _Aconitum Napellus_, L., Monks-hood.--S.W.
(Deverill.)
=Granny= (or =Granny's=) =Nightcap=. (1) _Anemone nemorosa_, L.,
Wood Anemone.--S.W. (Salisbury.) (2) _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L.,
Common Columbine.--N.W. (Huish.) (3) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great
Bindweed.--N.W. (4) _Convolvulus arvensis_, L., Field Bindweed.--N.W.
*=Grate=. Earth (D.).
*=Grate-board=. The mould-board of a plough (D.).
*=Gratings=. The right of feed in the stubbles (D.). See ~Gretton~.
=Gravel-Path, The=. The Milky Way.--N.W. (Huish.)
*=Gray Woodpecker=. _Picus major_, the Great Spotted Woodpecker
(_Birds of Wilts_, p. 253). See ~Black Woodpecker~.
=Great axe=. The large English woodman's axe (_Amateur Poacher_, ch.
iv).
=Greggles=, or =Greygles=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth. Cf.
~Blue Goggles~.--S.W.
*=Gretton=. Stubble (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._) See ~Gratings~.
=Greybeard=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy, when in
seed.--N.W.
=Greygles=. See ~Greggles~.
=Griggles=. Small worthless apples remaining on the tree after the
crop has been gathered in.--N.W.
=Griggling=. Knocking down the 'griggles,' as boys are allowed by
custom to do.--N.W.
=Grindstone Apple=. The crab-apple; used to sharpen reap-hooks, its
acid biting into the steel. The 'Grindstone Apple' mentioned in the
_Eulogy of R. Jefferies_, p. iv. is probably the 'Grindstone Pippin'
of _Wood Magic_, not the crab.--N.W.
=Grip=, or =Gripe=. (1) To _grip_ wheat is to divide it into bundles
before making up the sheaves.--N.W. (2) _n._ 'A grip of wheat,' the
handful grasped in reaping (A.). It is _laid down in gripe_ when laid
ready in handfuls untied (D.).--N.W. (3) _v._ To drain with covered
turf or stone drains, as opposed to _frith_. To _take up gripe_, is
to make such drains (D.).--S.W.
=Grist=, =Griz=. To snarl and show the teeth, as an angry dog or man
(A.H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Grizzle=. To grumble, complain, whine, cry.--N. & S.W.
*=Grom=. A forked stick used by thatchers for carrying the bundles of
straw up to the roof (A.B.G.).
*=Gropsing=. 'The gropsing of the evening,' dusk.--Obsolete.
'Both came unto the sayd Tryvatt's howse in the gropsing of the
yevening.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xxii. 227.
=Ground=. A field.--N.W.
'A whirlewind took him up ... and layd him down safe, without
any hurt, in the next ground.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_ p.
16, ed. Brit.
*=Ground-sill stone=. Quarrymen's term for one of the beds of the
Portland oolite--useful for bridges, &c., where great strength is
required (Britton's _Beauties_, vol. iii).
=Ground-rest=. The wood supporting the share, in the old wooden
plough (D.). _Rest_ is a mistake for _wrest_ (Skeat).--N.W.
=Grout=. (1) _v._ To root like a hog.--N.W. (2) _v._ Hence, to
rummage about.--N.W.
=Grouty=. _adj._ Of the sky, thundery, threatening rain. It looks
'ter'ble grouty' in summer when thunder clouds are coming up.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Grump=. 'To grump about,' to complain of all sorts of ailments.--N.W.
*=Grupper=. To give up (Wr.). There would appear to be some mistake
here, as we cannot trace the word elsewhere.
*=Gubbarn=. _n._ A filthy place, a foul gutter or drain (A.H.Wr.),
~Gubborn~ (B.). Should not this be _adj._ instead of _n._? Compare
Devon _gubbings_, offal, refuse.
=Guggles=. See ~Goggles~.
=Guinea-pigs=, =Pigs=. Woodlice. See ~Butchers'-Guinea-Pigs~.--N. &
S.W.
*=Gule=. To sneer or make mouths at (A.). Also used in Hereford.
=Guley=, =Guly=. _adj._ (1) Of sheep, giddy, suffering from a
disease in the head which affects the brain and causes a kind of
vertigo.--N.W. (2) Of persons, queer, stupid, or silly-looking.
Compare _Guled_, bewildered, Berks. After being very drunk
over-night, a man looks 'ter'ble guley' in the morning.--N.W.
=Gullet-hole=. A large drain-hole through a hedge-bank to carry off
water.--N.W.
*=Gurgeons=. Coarse flour (A.).
=Gushill=. See ~Guzzle~.
=Guss=. (1) _n._ The girth of a saddle (A.B.).--N.W. (2) _v._ To
girth; to tie tightly round the middle. A bundle of hay should be
'gussed up tight.' A badly dressed fat woman 'looks vor aal the world
like a zack o' whate a-gussed in wi' a rawp.'--N.W.
=Gustrill=. See ~Guzzle~.
=Gutter=. To drain land with open drains (D.).--N.W.
=Guzzle=. (1) The filth of a drain (B.). (2) A filthy drain (A.B.).
~Goosehill~ (Wr.), ~Gushill~ (K.), and ~Gustrill~ (H.Wr.), the latter
being probably a misprint.--N.W.
=Guzzle-berry=. Gooseberry. Used by children.--N. & S.W.
=H=. It should be noted that the cockney misuse of _H_ is essentially
foreign to our dialect. Formerly it was the rarest thing in the
world to hear a true Wiltshire rustic make such a slip, though the
townsfolk were by no means blameless in this respect, but now the
spread of education and the increased facilities of communication
have tainted even our rural speech with cockneyisms and slang phrases.
=Hack=. (1) _v._ To loosen the earth round potatoes, preparatory
to earthing them up. This is done with a 'tater-hacker,' an old
three-grained garden-fork, which by bending down the tines or
'grains' at right angles to the handle has been converted into
something resembling a rake, but used as a hoe. In Dorset hoeing is
called _hacking_.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) *(2) _n._ The shed in which
newly-made bricks are set out to dry.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*=Hacka=. _n._ A nervous hesitation in speaking (_Village
Miners_).--N.W.
'He speaks with so many hacks and hesitations.'--DR. H. MORE.
=Hacker=. (1) _v._ See ~Hakker~. (2) _n._ The instrument used in
'hacking' potatoes; also known as a ~Tomahawk~.--N.W.
=Hacketty=. See ~Hicketty~.
=Hackle=. *(1) _n._ The mane of a hog (A.H.Wr.). (2) _n._ The straw
covering of a bee-hive or of the apex of a rick (A.).--N.W. *(3) To
agree together (A.). (4) To rattle or re-echo.--N.W.
=Hagged=. Haggard, worn out, exhausted-looking. 'He came in quite
hagged.' 'Her 've a had a lot to contend wi' to-year, and her 's
hagged to death wi't aal.'--N. & S.W.
=Hagger=. See ~Hakker~.
=Haggle=. To cut clumsily. See ~Agg~.--N.W.
'They took out their knives and haggled the skin
off.'--_Bevis_, ch. vii.
=Hag-rod=. Bewitched, hag-ridden, afflicted with nightmare.
*~Haig-raig~, bewildered (S.).--S.W.
=Hail=. The beard of barley. See ~Aile~, which is the more correct
form (Smythe-Palmer).--N. & S.W.
'The black knots on the delicate barley straw were beginning to
be topped with the hail.'--_Round about a Great Estate_, ch. i.
p. 8.
=Hain=, =Hain up=. _v._ To reserve a field of grass for mowing
(A.B.D.).--N.W. Treated as a noun by Akerman.
'Three acres of grass ... to be hayned by the farmer at
Candlemas and carried by the Vicar at Lammas.'--_Hilmarton
Parish Terrier_, 1704.
=Haito=. A horse; used by mothers and nurses concurrently with
_Gee-gee_. A contraction of _Hait-wo_, the order to a horse to go to
the left. _Highty_ is similarly used in N. of England.--N. & S.W.
=Hait-wo=. See above.
=Hakker=, =Hacker=. To tremble (S.), as with passion (A.), cold, or
ague. ~Hagger.~ To chatter with cold (H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
'Bless m' zoul, if I dwon't think our maester's got the ager!
How a hackers an bivers, to be zhure!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 55.
=Half-baked=, or =Half-saved=. Half-witted.--N. & S.W.
*=Hallantide=. All Saints' Day (B.).
=Hallege=, =Harrige=. _n._ The latter seems to be the original form
of the word, and is still occasionally heard; but for at least
seventy years it has been more commonly pronounced as _hallege_,
_l_ and _r_ having been interchanged. We have met with it at Clyffe
Pypard, Bromham, Huish, and elsewhere in N. Wilts; but, so far as
we know, it is not used in S. Wilts. _Havage_=disturbance, which
the Rev. S. Baring-Gould heard once in Cornwall, and made use of
in his fine West-Country romance, _John Herring_, ch. xxxix, is
doubtless a variant of the same word. (1) Of persons, a crowd; also,
contemptuously, a low rabble. 'Be you a-gwain down to zee what they
be a-doing at the Veast?' 'No, _I_ bean't a-gwain amang such a
hallege as that!'--N.W. (2) Of things, confusion, disorder. Were a
load of _top and lop_, intended to be cut up for firewood, shot down
clumsily in a yard gateway, it would be said, 'What a hallege you've
a-got there, blocking up the way!--N.W. (3) Hence, it sometimes
appears to mean rubbish, as when it is applied to the mess and litter
of small broken twigs and chips left on the ground after a tree has
been cut and carried.--N.W. (4) It is also occasionally used of a
disturbance of some sort, as 'What a hallege!' what a row!--N.W.
=Ham=. (1) A narrow strip of ground by a river, as ~Mill-ham~ (A.D.).
(2) See Haulm (S.).
=Hames=. Pieces of wood attached to a horse's collar in drawing
(A.D.).--N. & S.W.
=Hanch= (_a_ broad). Of a cow or bull, to thrust with the horns,
whether in play or earnest.--N.W.
=Hand=. (1) _n._ Corn has 'a good hand' when it is dry and slippery
in the sack, 'a bad hand' when it is damp and rough (D.).--N.W. (2)
_v._ To act as a second in a fight.--N.W. (3) _v._ 'To have hands
with anything,' to have anything to do with it. 'I shan't hae no
hands wi't.--N.W. See ~Hank~.
=Hand-box=. See ~Box~.
=Hander=. The second to a pugilist (A.). See ~Hand~ (2).--N.W.
=Handin'-post=. A sign-post.--N.W.
=Hand-staff=. The part of the 'drashell' which is held in the hand.
=Hand-wrist=. The wrist.--N.W.
=Handy=. Near to, as 'handy home,' 'handy ten o'clock' (A.B.M.S.). 'A
gied un vower days' work, or handy.'--N. & S.W.
=Hang=. 'To hang up a field,' to take the cattle off it, and give it
a long rest, so as to freshen up the pasture.--N.W.
=Hang-fair=. A public execution, as 'Hang-fair at 'Vize,' formerly
treated as a great holiday.--N.W., obsolete. The Pleasure Fair at
Warminster on August 11 is known as 'Hang-Fair,' perhaps from the
hanging of two murderers there on that day in 1813. See _Wilts Notes
and Queries_, i. 40, 139.
=Hang-gallows=. A gallows-bird (S.).--N. & S.W.
'"Where's the money I put in th' zack, you hang-gallus?" roared
Mr. Twink.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 55.
=Hanging=. (1) The steep wooded slope of a hill.--N. & S.W. (2) A
hillside field (S.).--S.W.
=Hanging Geranium=. _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L.; from the way in
which it is usually suspended in a cottage window; also known as
~Strawberry Geranium~, from its strawberry-like runners.--S.W.
=Hanging-post=. The hinder upright timber of a gate, by which it
is hung to its post. Frequently heard, although ~Har~ is much more
commonly used.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Hanglers=. The hooks by which pots and kettles are suspended over
open fireplaces in old cottages and farm-houses. See ~Coglers~.--N.W.
*=Hank=. Dealings with (S.). 'I won't ha' no hank wi' un,' will have
nothing at all to do with him. Cf. ~Hand~ (3).--S.W.
*=Hants-sheep=, =Hants-horses=. See quotation.
'They were called [in Wilts] hants sheep; they were a sort of
sheep that never shelled their teeth, but always had their
lambs-teeth without shedding them, and thrusting out two
broader in their room every year.... There were such a sort of
horses called hants horses, that always showed themselves to be
six years old.'--LISLE'S _Husbandry_, 1757.
=Happer-down=. To come down smartly, to rattle down, as hail, or
leaves in autumn.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Haps=. (1) _n._ A hasp (A.B.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To hasp, to
fasten up a door or box (A.B.)--N. & S.W.
=Har=. The hinder upright timber of a gate, by which it is hung to
its post. A.S. _heorre_, M.E. _herre_, the hinge of a door. See
~Head~ and ~Hanging-post~.--N.W. (Marlborough; Huish; Clyffe Pypard.)
'We wants some more heads and hars cut out.' Carpenters about
Marlborough usually reduce the word to a single letter in
making up their accounts, as 'To a new R to Cow-lease gate,
&c.'--Rev. C. SOAMES.
=Hardhead=. _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--N. & S.W.
=Harl=. (1) _v._ To thrust a dead rabbit's hind-foot through a slit
in the other leg, so as to form a loop to hang it up or carry it
by (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii). _Hardle_ in Dorset.--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ To entangle (C.). _Harl_, knotted (A.S.), is a mistake for
_harled_.--N. & S.W. (3) _n._ An entanglement (B.C.). 'The thread
be aal in a harl.' A knot (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 51, ed.
Brit.)--N. & S.W. *(4) Of oats, _well-harled_ is well-eared (D).
=Harrige=. See HALLEGE.
*=Harrows=. The longitudinal bars of a harrow (D.).
=Harvest-trow=. The shrew-mouse (_Wild Life_, ch. ix); ~Harvest-row~
(A.H.Wr.)--N.W.
*=Hask=. A husky cough to which cows are subject (Lisle's
_Husbandry_). See HUSK.
=Hatch=. (1) _n._ A 'wallow,' or line of raked-up hay.--N.W. (2) _v._
'To hatch up,' to rake hay into hatches.--N.W. (3) _n._ A half-door
(A.B.C.). 'Barn-hatch,' a low board put across the door, over which
you must step to enter.--N.W.
=Haulm=, =Ham=, =Haam=, =Helm=. A stalk of any vegetable (A.B.),
especially potatoes and peas.--N. & S.W.
=Haycock=. A much larger heap of hay than a 'foot-cock.'--N. & S.W.
*=Hayes=. A piece of ground enclosed with a live hedge; used as a
termination, as ~Calf-Hayes~ (D.). A.S. _hege_ (Skeat).
=Hay-home=. See quotation.
'It was the last day of the hay-harvest--it was "hay-home" that
night.'--R. JEFFERIES, _A True Tale of the Wiltshire Labourer_.
=Hay-making=. Grass as it is mown lies in _swathe_ (N. & S.W.); then
it is _turned_ (S.W.), preparatory to being _tedded_ (N. & S.W.), or
_spread_; then raked up into lines called _hatches_ (N.W.), which
may be either _single hatch_ or _double hatch_, and are known in
some parts as wallows (N.W.); next _spread_ and _hatched up_ again,
and put up in small _foot-cocks_, _cocks_ (N.W.), or _pooks_ (N. &
S.W.); finally, after being thrown about again, it is _waked up_
into _long wakes_ (N.W.), or _rollers_ (S.W.), and if not made
temporarily into _summer-ricks_ (N.W.), is then carried. No wonder
that John Burroughs (_Fresh Fields_, p. 55) remarks that in England
hay 'is usually nearly worn out with handling before they get it into
the rick.' Almost every part of the county has its own set of terms.
Thus about Warminster meadow-hay is (1) turned, (2) spread or tedded,
(3) put in rollers, (4) pooked; while at Clyffe Pypard it is tedded,
hatched, waked and cocked, and at Huish waked and pooked. _Roller_ is
pronounced as if it rhymed with _collar_. Hay is 'put in rollers,' or
'rollered up.'
=Hazon= (_a_ broad). To scold or threaten (A.B.C.H.Wr.). 'Now dwoan't
'ee hazon the child for 't.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Head=. The front upright timber of a gate. See Har and
Falling-post.--N.W. (Marlborough; Huish; Clyffe Pypard.)
=Headland=. (1) _adj._ Headlong, as to 'fall headland' or
'neck-headland.'--N.W. (2) The strip where the plough turns at bottom
and top of a field, which must either be ploughed again at right
angles to the rest, or dug over with the spade; generally called the
~Headlong~ by labourers in S. Wilts.
=Headlong=. See ~Headland~.
=Heal=, =Hele=. Of seeds, to cover or earth over (D.); ~Heeld~,
~Yeeld~ (_Great Estate_, ch. viii). When the ground is dry and hard,
and the wheat when sown does not sink in and get covered up at once,
it is said not to _heal well_, and requires harrowing.--N.W.
=Heartless=. 'A heartless day' is a wet day with a strong south-west
wind.--S.W.
=Heater= (pronounced _Hetter_). A flat iron (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Heave=, =Eve=. Of hearthstones, &c., to sweat or become damp on the
surface in dry weather, a sign of coming change and wet. ~Eave~, to
sweat (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Heavy= (pronounced _Heevy_). Of weather, damp. See ~Heave~.--N.W.
=Heaver=. Part of the old-fashioned winnowing tackle.--N.W.
*=He-body=. A woman of masculine appearance.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Hecth=. Height (A.).
=Hedge-carpenter=. A professional maker and repairer of rail fences,
&c. (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iii).--N.W.
=Hedge-hog=. The prickly seed-vessel of _Ranunculus arvensis_, L.,
Corn Buttercup (_Great Estate_, ch. vii).--N.W.
=Hedge-peg=. The fruit of the Sloe, q.v. Cf. ~Eggs-eggs~.--N.W.
(Marlborough.)
=Hedge-pick=, =Hedge-speäk=. See ~Sloe~.--N.W.
=Heeld=. See ~Heal~.
=Heft=. (1) _n._ The weight of anything as poised in the hand
(A.B.C.M.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To weigh or test weight in the hand
(A.B.), to lift.--N. & S.W.
=Hele=, =Heel=, =Hill=. (1) To pour out (A.B.H.Wr.), to serve out or
dispense.--S.W. (2) See ~Heal~.
=Hellocky=. See ~Hullocky~.
=Helm= (1) See ~Elm~. (2) See ~Haulm~.
=Helyer=. A tiler. An old word, but still in use.--N.W.
=Hen-and-Chicken=. (1) _Saxifraga umbrosa_, L., London Pride.--N.W.
(2) _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L., from its mode of growth.--N.W.
=Henge=. See ~Hinge~.
=Hen-hussey=. A meddlesome woman.--N.W.
=Here and there one=. 'I wur mortal bad aal the way [by sea] and as
sick as here and there one.'--N. & S.W.
*=Herence=. Hence (A.B.).
=Hereright=. (1) Of time: on the spot, immediately (A.B.), the only
use in N.W. (2) Of place: this very spot (S.).--S.W. (3) Hence (A.),
probably a mistake.
=Hesk=. See ~Husk~.
=Het=. 'A main het o' coughing,' a fit of coughing.--S.W.
=Hetter=. See ~Heater~ (S.).
=He-woman=. The same as ~He-body~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Hicketty=. Hacking, as a cough.--S.W. ~Hacketty~.--N.W.
=Hidlock=. 'In hidlock,' in concealment. Akerman, by some mistake,
treats this as verb instead of noun. 'Her kep' it in hidlock aal this
time.'--N.W.
=Hike=. To hook or catch. 'I hiked my foot in a root.' See ~Hook~ and
~Uck~.--N.W.
=Hike off=. To decamp hastily, to slink off (A.B.C.S.); mostly used
in a bad sense.--N. & S.W.
=Hile=. See ~Hyle~.
=Hill=. See ~Heal~.
=Hill-trot=. Apparently a corruption of ~Eltrot~. (1) _Heracleum
Sphondylium_, L., Cow-parsnip. *(2) _Oenanthe crocata_, L., Water
Hemlock.--S.W. (Charlton and Barford.)
=Hilp=. Fruit of the sloe.--N.W.
=Hilp-wine=. Sloe-wine.--N.W.
=Hilt=. A young sow kept for breeding (A.).--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Hinge=, =Henge=. The heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep or pig (A.).
In some parts of S. Wilts used only of the latter.--N. & S.W.
=Hinted= Harvested, secured in barn (D.). 'Never zeed a better crop
o' wheat, if so be could be hinted well.' A.S. _hentan_, to seize on,
to secure.--N.W.
=Hit=. (1) To bear a good crop, to succeed: as 'Th' apples hit well
t' year.' Treated by Akerman as a noun instead of a verb.--N.W. (2)
_v._ To pour out or throw out. 'You ought to het a quart o' drenk
into 'ee.' 'Hit it out on the garden patch.'--N.W.
=Hitchland=. See ~Hookland~.
=Hitter=. A cow which is ill and appears likely to die is said to be
'going off a hitter.'--N.W.
=Hittery=. Of cows: suffering from looseness, ill.--N.W.
=Hobby=. _Yunx torquilla_, the Wryneck.--S.W. (Bishopstone.).
*=Hob-lantern=. Will-o'-the-Wisp (A.B.).
=Hock about=. To treat a thing carelessly; drag it through the mud.
'Now dwoan't 'ee gwo a-hocken on your new vrock about.'--N.W. The
usual form in S. Wilts is ~Hack-about~.
=Hocks=. (1) To cut in an unworkmanlike manner (A.). (2) To trample
earth into a muddy, untidy condition.--N.W.
=Hocksy=, =Hoxy=. Dirty, muddy, miry.--N.W.
'It's about two miles in vine weather; but when it's hocksey
like this, we allows a mile vor zlippin' back!'--_Wilts Tales_,
p. 179.
*=Hodmandod=, =Hodmedod=. _adj._ Short and clumsy (B.).
=Hodmedod=. (1) _n._ A snail.--N.W. (Mildenhall.) *(2) Short and
clumsy (B.). See ~Hodmandod~.
=Ho for=. (1) To provide for. See ~Howed for~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard;
Malmesbury.) (2) To desire, to long for. 'I did hankeran' ho a'ter
'ee zo.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Hog=. (1) n. Originally a castrated animal, as a hog pig (D.). (2)
Now extended to any animal of a year old, as a chilver hog sheep (D.).
'We have wether hogs, and chilver hogs, and shear hogs ... the
word hog is now applied to any animal of a year old, such as a
hog bull, a chilver hog sheep.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xvii 303.
'1580 ... Una ovis vocata a hogge.'--SCROPE'S _History of
Castle Combe_.
(3) To cut a mane or hedge short (D.), so that the stumps stick up
like bristles (_Village Miners_).--N. & S.W.
=Hogo=. (Fr. _haut goût_). A bad smell (_Monthly Mag._ 1814). Still
frequently used of tainted meat or strong cheese.--N. & S.W.
*=Hollardy-day=. The 3rd of May. Apparently a perversion of 'Holy
Rood Day.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Home, to be called=. To have the banns of marriage published.--S.W.
'They tells I as 'ow Bet Stingymir is gwain to be caal'd whoam
to Jim Spritely on Zundy.'--_Slow._
=Honesty=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy, occasionally.
*~Maiden's Honesty~ (Aubrey's Wilts MS.).--N.W.
=Honey-bottle=. (1) Heather. (2) Furze. It is not clear which is
intended in _Great Estate_, ch. i.
*=Honey-plant=. Some old-fashioned sweet-scented plant, perhaps the
dark Sweet Scabious, which used to be known as 'Honey-flower' in some
counties.
'In the garden, which was full of old-fashioned shrubs
and herbs, she watched the bees busy at the sweet-scented
"honey-plant."'--_Great Estate_, ch. ii.
Also see _Reproach of Annesley_, vol. i. p. 119, for Hants use of the
name:--
'Sibyl bent over a honey plant encrusted with pink-scented
blossoms, about which the bees ... were humming--an
old-fashioned cottage plant.'
=Honey-suckle=. (1) _Lamium album_, L., White Dead Nettle, sucked by
children for its honey.--S.W. (Salisbury.) (2) Also applied to both
Red and White Clover, _Trifolium pratense_ and _T. repens._--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Hook=. Of a bull, to gore (S.). See ~Uck~.--N. & S.W.
'Compare _huck_, to push, lift, gore, Hants; and Prov. _hike_,
to toss.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Hookland= (or =Hitchland=) =Field=. A portion of the best land in a
common field, reserved for vetches, potatoes, &c., instead of lying
fallow for two years (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii). Parts of some
fields are still known as ~Hooklands~ in S. Wilts, though the system
has died out. Sometimes defined as 'land tilled every year.'--N. &
S.W.
=Hoop=. _Pyrrhula vulgaris_, the Bullfinch (A.B.); also ~Red
Hoop~.--N.W.
=Hoops=, or =Waggon-Hoops=. The woodwork projecting from the sides of
a waggon so as to form an arch over the hind wheels.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Hooset=. See ~Housset~.
=Hop-about=. An apple dumpling (B.C.), probably from its bobbing
about in the pot. Cf. ~Apple-bout~.--N.W.
=Hopper=. A grig (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. i).
=Horse-daisy=. _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy.--N. &
S.W.
*=Horse-Matcher=. _Saxicola rubicola_, the Stonechat (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 150).
'Horse-matchers or stonechats also in summer often visit the
rick-yard.'--_Wild Life_, ch. x. p. 159.
=Horses=. In N. Wilts the orders given to a plough or team are as
follows:--to the front horse, _Coom ether_, go to the left, and
_Wowt_, to the right: to the hinder horse, _Wo-oot_, to the right,
and _Gie aay_ or _Gie aay oot_, to the left. The orders to oxen are
somewhat different.
=Horse-shoe=. _Acer Pseudo-platanus_, L., Sycamore.--S.W. (Barford
St. Martin.)
*=Horse's-leg=. A bassoon.
=Horse-Snatcher=. _Saxicola oenanthe_, the Wheatear (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 152).--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Horse-stinger=, =Hosstenger=. The Dragon-fly (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Hound=. The fore-carriage of a waggon.--N.W.
=House=, =Houst=. To grow stout. 'Lor, ma'am, how you've
a-housted!'--N.W.
=Housset=, =Hooset=, =Wooset=. (1) _n._ A serenade of rough music,
got up to express public disapproval of marriages where there is
great disparity of age, flagrant immorality, &c. See article on _The
Wooset_ in _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. i. p. 88; cp. _N. & Q._ 4 Ser. xi.
p. 225. In Berks the 'Hooset' is a draped horse's head, carried at a
'Hooset Hunt.' See Lowsley's _Berks Gloss_.--N.W. (2) _v._ To take
part in a housset.--N.W.
*=Howe=. _n._ 'To be in a howe,' to be in a state of anxiety about
anything (C.). See ~Ho for~.--N.W., obsolete.
*=Howed-for=. Well provided for, taken care of (A.B.C.H.Wr.).
=Huckmuck=. (1) A strainer placed before the faucet in brewing
(A.B.H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) _Parus caudatus_, the Long-tailed Titmouse
(_Birds of Wilts_, p. 173).--N. & S.W. (3) General untidiness and
confusion, as at a spring-cleaning. A very dirty untidy old woman is
'a reg'lar huckmuck.'--N.W.
=Hucks=, =Husks=. (1) The chaff of oats (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) (2) Grains of wheat which have the chaff still
adhering to them after threshing, and are only fit for feeding
poultry.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Hud=. (1) _n._ The husk of a walnut, skin of a gooseberry, shell
of a pea or bean, &c.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To take off the husk of
certain fruits and vegetables. Beans are _hudded_ and peas _shelled_
for cooking.--N.W. (3) A finger-stall or finger of a glove (S.). Also
~Huddick~ (S.).--N. & S.W. (4) A lump or clod of earth.--N.W. Cf.
~Hut~.
=Huddy=, =Oddy=. Of soil, full of lumps and clods.--N.W.
*=Hudgy=. Clumsy, thick (A.B.C.H.Wr.).
=Hudmedud=. (1) _n._ A scarecrow (A.). In common use in N. Wilts.
'Mester Cullum i sends you back your saddell koz its such a
cusnashun rum looking hudmedud of a theng that pipl woll no it
direckly.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 79.
'"That nimity-pimity odd-me-dod!"... Little contemptible
scarecrow.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. iii.
*(2) _adj._ Short and clumsy (B.). See ~Hodmedod~.
=Hullocky!= 'Hullo! look here!' exclamation denoting surprise, or
calling attention to anything (S.). This is usually pronounced
_Hellucky_, and is a contraction of 'Here look ye!' Also
_Yellucks_.--N. & S.W.
'"Now which way is it?"... "Yellucks," said the boy, meaning
"Look here."'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
'"This be the vinest veast ... as ever I zeed....
Yellucks!"--as much as to say, Look here, that is my
dictum.'--_Ibid._ ch. xi.
=Humbug=. A sweet or lollipop.--N.W.
=Humbuz=. A cockchafer.--N.W.
*=Humdaw=. To speak hesitatingly (_Village Miners_).
=Humming-bird=. _Regulus cristatus_, the Golden-crested Wren.--N.W.
(Huish.)
'We always calls 'em humming-birds here, and they are
humming-birds!' said the school-children at Huish, in the most
decided manner, when cross-examined as to the Gold-crest.
Apparently the same use obtains in Devon, as Martin speaks of
the 'humming-bird' as occurring in certain localities about
Tavistock, which are assigned to the Gold-crest by other
writers. See MRS. BRAY'S _Description of Devon_, 1836, vol. ii.
p. 146.
*=Hummocksing=. Clumsy, awkward, loutish.
'She had a lover, but he was "a gurt hummocksing noon-naw" ...
a "great loose-jointed idiot."'--_Great Estate_, ch. iv.
=Humstrum=. A home-made fiddle (S.). Sometimes applied also to a
large kind of Jew's-harp.--S.W.
=Hunch about=. To push or shove about.--S.W.
*=Hunder-stones=. Thunder-bolts (Aubrey's _Wilts, Roy. Soc. MS._).
Probably either belemnites, or else the concretionary nodules of iron
pyrites, called 'thunder-bolts' by the labourers, are here intended.
See ~Thunder-stones~.
=Hunked=. See ~Unked~ (A.H.).
=Hurdle-footed=. Club-footed.--S.W.
=Hurdle-shore=. The same as ~Fold-shore~.--S.W.
=Hurkle=. To crowd together, as round the fire in cold weather. An
old form of _hurtle_.
'_Hurtelyn_, as too thyngys togedur (al. _hurcolyn_, hurchyn
togeder). _Impingo_, _collido_.'--_Prompt. Parv._ c. 1440
(SMYTHE-PALMER).
=Husk=, =Hesk=. A disease of the throat, often fatal to calves. See
~Hask~.--N.W.
=Husks=. See ~Hucks~.
=Hut=. A lump of earth.--N.W. See ~Hud~ (4).
=Hutty=. Lumpy, as ground that does not break up well.--N.W.
=Hyle=, =Hile=, =Aisle=, &c. (1) _n._ A shock or cock of wheat,
consisting of several sheaves set up together for carrying.
The number of sheaves was formerly ten, for the tithing man's
convenience, but now varies considerably, according to the crop.
~Tithing~ in N.W. ~Hile-a-whate~ (S.) The forms given by Davis,
_aisle_, _aile_, and _isle_, seem purely fanciful, as also does the
derivation there suggested, a _hyle_ being merely a single shock.
In some parts of Wilts the shape and size of a hyle will depend
largely on the weather at harvest-time. Thus in a stormy season it
will usually be built compact and round, while in a calm one it may
sometimes form a line several yards in length.--S.W.
''Tis merry while the wheat's in hile.'--BARNES, _Poems_.
(2) _v._ To make up into hyles. Wheat and rye are always hyled, and
oats usually so, about Salisbury.--S.W.
=Ichila-pea=. The Missel-thrush: only heard from one person, but
perhaps an old name.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Iles=. See ~Ailes~.
=Imitate=. To resemble. 'The childern be immitatin' o' their vather
about the nause.' Participle only so used.--N.W.
=In-a-most=. Almost.--N. & S.W.
'It inamwoast killed our bwoy Sam.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 145.
=Innocent=. Small, neat, unobtrusive, as 'a innocent little
primrose.' Virtually restricted to flowers.--N.W.
=Iron Pear=. _Pyrus Aria_, L., White Beam.--N.W. (Heddington, &c.)
Iron-Pear-Tree Farm, near Devizes, is said to take its name from this
tree.
*=Isnet=. _Alkanet bugloss_ (D.).
*=Ivors=. Hanging woods (_Slow_).--S.W. There would appear to be
some misunderstanding here. The word may refer to the coverts on the
hillside above Longbridge Deverill, which are known as _The Ivors_,
the farm below being _Long Ivor Farm_. At Wroughton a field is called
'_The Ivory_,' but this is perhaps a family name.
=Izzard=. The letter Z (A.S.). Still in use in S.W.
*=Jack=. A newt.--N.W. (Swindon.)
=Jack=, =Jack Ern=. _Ardea cinerea_, the Heron (_Birds of Wilts_, p.
395).--N.W. Also ~Moll 'ern~.
=Jack-and-his-team=. The Great Bear.--N.W. (Huish.) See
~Dick-and-his-team~.
=Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon=. _Tragopogon pratensis_, L., Goat's
Beard.--N. & S.W.
=Jack-in-the-green=. (1) _Adonis autumnalis_, L.,
Pheasant's-eye.--S.W. (2) The hose-in-hose variety of Polyanthus.--N.
& S.W.
=Jack-run-along-by-the-hedge=. _Alliaria officinalis_, Andrzj., Hedge
Mustard.
=Jacky-Dinah=. _Sylvia sylvicola_, the Wood Warbler.--S.W.
(Bishopstone.)
=Jacob's-ladder=. _Polygonatum multiflorum_, All., Solomon's
Seal.--S.W. (Farley, &c.)
=Jag=. The awn and head of the oat. Oats are spoken of as
'well-jagged,' 'having a good jag,' 'coming out in jag,' &c.--N.W.
'The despised oats were coming out in jag ... in jag means the
spray-like drooping awn of the oat.'--_Round about a Great
Estate_, ch. i. p. 8.
=Jan-Chider=. See ~Johnny Chider~.
=Jarl=. To quarrel, to 'have words.'--N.W.
=Jaw-bit=. Food carried out in the fields by labourers, to be eaten
about 10 or 11 o'clock.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Jee=. See ~Gee~.
=Jew-berry=. _Rubus caesius_, L., Dewberry; a corruption of the
proper name (_Wild Life_, ch. xi).--N. & S.W.
=Jibbets=. Small pieces. 'You never did see such a slut! her gownd
a-hangin' in dirty jibbets [rags] aal about her heels!'--N. & S.W.
*=Jiffle=. At Bishopston, N. Wilts, an old bell-ringer was recently
heard to accuse the younger men of having got into a regular 'jiffle'
(? confusion) while ringing. We have not met with the word elsewhere,
but Hal. and Wright have _jiffle_, to be restless, var. dial.
=Jiggery-poke=. Hocus-pocus. ~Jiggery-pokery.~ Unfair dealing (S.):
deception.--N. & S.W.
=Jigget=. _v._ To ride or walk at a jog-trot. 'Here we go a
jiggettin' along.'--N. & S.W.
=Jiggetty=. _adj._ (1) Jolty, shaky. 'This be a ter'ble jiggetty
train.'--N.W. *(2) Fidgetty (S.).--S.W.
=Jimmy=, =Sheep's Jimmy=. A sheep's head (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Jimmy-swiver=. _n._ A state of trembling. Apparently connected with
_whiver_ or _swiver_.--N.W.
'"Lor, Miss, how you did froughten I! I be all of a
jimmy-swiver," and she visibly trembled, which was what she
meant.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. vii.
*=Jitch=, =Jitchy=. Such.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Jobbet=. A small load (A.).--N.W.
*=Jod=. The letter J (A.S.).
=Johnny Chider=, =Chan-chider=. The Sedge Warbler, _Salicaria
phragmitis_. So called 'because it scolds so.'--S.W. Jan Chider (S.).
=Jolter-headed=. Wrong-headed; used generally of a jealous spouse.
'Her wur allus a jolter-headed 'ooman.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Jonnick=. Honest, fair, straightforward in dealings (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Joseph-and-Mary=. _Pulmonaria officinalis_, L., Common Lung-wort,
the flowers being of two colours, red and blue.--N.W.
=Joy-bird=. The Jay, _Garrulus glandarius_. The name commonly used in
N. Wilts for the Jay. Fr. _geai_.--N.W. (Savernake Forest, &c.)
=Jumble=. A kind of coarse dark brown sweetmeat (_My Old
Village_).--N.W.
=Jumping Jesuses=. The long-legged water-flies, _Gerris_, which skim
along the surface of streams.--N.W. (Hilmarton.)
=Junk=. A hunch of bread-and-cheese, &c.; a lump of wood or coal. A
solid piece (S.).--N.W.
=Junket=. A treat or spree; still in use. When potatoes were not so
common as now, a man would complain of his wife's 'junketing wi' the
taters,' i.e. digging them up before they were ripe, as a treat for
the children.--N.W.
=Just about=. Extremely. See ~About~ (1).--N. & S.W.
*=Jut=. To nudge, to touch (S.).--N.W.
=K=. _K_ sometimes becomes _t_, as _bleat_, bleak; _blunt_, blunk.
Conversely, _t_ becomes _k_, as _sleek_, sleet.
=Keach=, &c. See ~Catch~ (1).
=Keavin=. See ~Cave~ (1).
=Keck=. To retch as if sick (A.); to cough; also ~Cack~.--N.W.
=Kecker=. The windpipe (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Kecks=. Dry stalks of hemlock (A.B.). Hemlock must here be taken
to mean several of the larger _Umbelliferae_, and to include
occasionally growing plants as well as dry stems. There are many
variants of the word, as ~Keeks~ (A.), ~Kecksey~ (A.B.), ~Gix~
(A.B.H.Wr.), ~Gicksies~ (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii), ~Gicks~ (_Great
Estate_, ch. v).--N. & S.W.
=Keep=, =Kip=. Growing food for cattle, &c. (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Kerf=. A layer of turf or hay (A.B.C.). A truss of hay.--N.W.
=Ketch=. See ~Catch~ (1).
=Keys, or Keyn=. Fruit of ash and sycamore (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
*=Kibble=. *(1) To chip a stone roughly into shape (A.). Cf. Glouc.
_cabble_, to break smelted pig-iron into small pieces, before
proceeding to draw it into bar-iron. *(2) To cut up firewood (_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 210).--Obsolete.
=Kid=. (1) _n._ The cod or pod of peas, beans, &c.--N. & S.W. (2)
_v._ To form pods; used of peas and beans. _Well-kidded_, of beans or
peas, having the stalks full of pods (D.).--N. & S.W.
=Kidney-stones=. Dark water-worn pebbles (_Eulogy_, p. 28).--N.W.
='Kin=. The same as ~Ciderkin~.
=Kind=. Some woods and soils 'work kind,' i.e. easily,
pleasantly.--N.W.
=King's-cushion=. See ~Queen's-cushion~.
=Kiss-behind-the-garden-gate=. _Saxifraga umbrosa_, L., London
Pride.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Kissing-gate=. A 'Cuckoo-gate,' or swing gate in a V-shaped
enclosure.--N. & S.W.
=Kiss-me-quick=. _Centranthus ruber_, DC., Red Spur Valerian.--N.W.
*=Kite's Pan=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted Orchis.--S.W. (Farley.)
=Kitty Candlestick=. _Ignis fatuus_, Will-o'-the-Wisp. ~Kit of the
Candlestick~ (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 17, ed. Brit.).--S.W.
(Deverill.)
=Kiver=. A cooler used in brewing (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Knacker=. To snap the fingers. Nacker (H.Wr.)--S.W.
=Knap=, =Knop=. (1) _v._ To chip stone, as formerly in making a
gun-flint.--N.W. (2) _n._ A little hill; a steep ascent in a road
(S.). This is really a Devon use.--S.W. (Dorset bord.)
=Knee-sick=. Of wheat, drooping at the joints, from weakness in the
straw (D.).--N.W.
=Knee-socked=. Corn beaten down by storms is 'knee-socked
down.'--N.W. See ~Knee-sick~.
=Knit=. Of fruit, to set. 'The gooseberries be knitted
a'ready.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Knitch=, =Nitch=, =Niche=, &c. Usually spelt incorrectly, without
the _k_. M.E. _knucche_, Germ. _knocke_: used by Wycliffe, also in
_Alton Locke_, ch. xxviii. (1) _Nitch_, a burden of wood, straw, or
hay (A.B.), such a faggot as a hedger or woodman may carry home with
him at night; a short thick heavy chump of wood (_Village Miners_).
Hence a fine baby is spoken of as 'a regular nitch' (_Ibid._). A
bundle of gleaned corn (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) 'He has got a nitch,' is
intoxicated, has had as much liquor as he can carry (A.B.). Compare:--
'He's got his market-nitch.'--_Tess of the D'Urbervilles_, vol.
i. p. 19.
=Knot Couch=. _Avena elatior_, so called from the roots sometimes
looking like a much-knotted cord or a string of beads.--N.W.
=Koomb=. See ~Comb~ (S.).
=Ladies-and-Gentlemen=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint. Leades an
Genlmin (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Ladies'-balls=. _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
*=Ladies'-fingers-and-thumbs=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot
Trefoil.--N.W. (Enford.)
=Ladies-in-white=. _Saxifraga umbrosa_, L., London Pride.
=Lady-cow=. The Ladybird.--N.W.
=Lady's-cushion=. _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W.
(Salisbury.)
=Lady's-finger=. (1) Applied generally to _Lotus corniculatus_
and _Hippocrepis comosa_, and occasionally also to _Lathyrus
pratensis_. 'Leades vingers, the wild Calceolaria' (S.), probably
refers to one of these flowers.--N. & S.W. (2) _Arum maculatum_, L.,
Cuckoo-pint.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin): N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Lady's-glove=. 'The Greater Bird's-foot.'--S.W.
=Lady's-nightcap=. The flower of _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great
Bindweed (A.B.).
=Lady's-petticoat=. _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone.--S.W.
(Mere.)
=Lady's-ruffles=. The double white Narcissus.--N.W.
=Lady's-shoe=. _Fumaria officinalis_, L., Common Fumitory.--S.W.
(Barford St. Martin.)
=Lady's-slipper=. Applied generally to the same plants as
Lady's-finger.
*=Lain=. Of a smith, to dress the wing and point of a share (D.). See
~Lay~ (4).
=Laiter=, =Loiter=. A full laying or clutch of eggs. The whole number
of eggs produced by a hen at one laying, before she gets broody and
ceases to lay.--N.W.
=Lake=. A small stream of running water.--S.W. (Hants bord.)
=Lambkins=. Catkins of hazel.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin.)
=Lamb's-cage=. A crib for foddering sheep in fold (D.).--N.W.
=Lamb's-creep=. A hole in the hurdles to enable the lambs to get out
of the fold.--N.W.
=Lamb's-tails=. Catkins of willow and hazel.--N. & S.W.
=Land=. The 'rudge,' or ground between two water-furrows in a
ploughed field.--N.W.
'The ploughman walks in the furrow his share has made,
and presently stops to measure the "lands" with the
spud.'--_Amateur Poacher_, ch. vii. pp. 130-1.
*=Landshard=. The strip of greensward dividing two pieces of arable
in a common field (D.).
=Land-spring=. A spring which only runs in wet weather (_Gamekeeper
at Home_, ch. v. p. 109).--N.W.
=Lane= (_a_ broad). A strip of grass, generally irregular, bounding
an arable field.--N.W. (Devizes.)
*=Lannock=. A long narrow piece of land (A.H.Wr.).
=Lanshet=. See ~Linch~.
*=Lark's-seed=. _Plantago major_, L., Greater Plantain.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
*=Latter Lammas=. An unpunctual person (S.)--S.W.
'When a person is habitually late and unpunctual, folks
say--"What a Latter Lammas thee beest, ta be sure!"'--_Letter
from Mr. Slow._
=Lattermath=. Aftermath (A.B.). ~Lattermass~ at Cherhill.--N.W.
=Lave=. (1) Of a candle, to gutter down (H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) To splash
up water over yourself, as in a bath. 'Lave it well over ye.'--N.W.
=Law=. In N. Wilts, when speaking of relations-in-law, the _in_
is always omitted, as ~brother-law~, ~father-law~, &c., the only
exception being ~son-in-law~.
=Lay=. (1) _To lay a hedge_, to trim it back, cutting the boughs
half through, and then bending them down and intertwining them so
as to strengthen the fence (A.).--N. & S.W. (2) _To lay rough_, to
sleep about under hedges like a vagabond.--N. & S.W. (3) _To lay up a
field_, to reserve it for mowing.--S.W. (4) _To lay a tool_, to steel
its edge afresh. This appears to be the same as Davis's _lain_, which
is probably a contraction of _lay in_. At Mildenhall you often hear
of _laying_ or _laying in_ a pickaxe, and the word is to be traced
back for a century or more in the parish accounts there.--N. & S.W.
(5) An idle dissipated man is said to _lay about_.--N.W.
=Laylocks=. Usually _Syringa vulgaris_, L., Lilac, but rarely applied
to _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock, in S. Wilts.
*=Lay-over=. A wooden bar, or a rope, used to fasten tackle together.
'Two or three horses go abreast, each drawing a harrow
diagonally, all the harrows being fastened together with a
lay-over or rider.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. v.
=Leach=. A strand of a rope.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Lear=, =Leer=. (1) Empty (A.B.C.G.).--N. & S.W. (2) Hence, craving
for food, hungry (A.C.S.).--N. & S.W. ~Leary~ is the usual form on
the Som. bord.
'I never eat but two meals a day--breakfast and supper ... and
I'm rather lear (hungry) at supper.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch.
i.
'His bill was zharp, his stomack lear,
Zo up a snapped the caddlin pair.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 97.
=Learn=. To teach. 'I'll learn 'ee to do that again, you young
vaggot!' 'Her do want some 'un to learn she, 'stead o' she learnin'
we!' In general use in Wilts.--N. & S.W.
=Lease=, =Leaze=, &c.: sometimes used with a prefix, as ~Cow-leaze~,
~Ox-leaze~. (1) As much pasture as will keep a cow (B.).--N. & S.W.
(2) A large open pasture. ~Legh~, ~Lease~ (Aubrey); ~Leaze~ (_Amateur
Poacher_, ch. iii).--N. & S.W.
=Lease=. To glean (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Lease-bread=. Bread made from lease-corn.--N.W.
=Lease-corn=. Wheat collected by gleaning.--N.W.
=Leaser=. A gleaner.--N. & S.W.
=Ledged=. See ~Lodged~.
=Lemfeg=. An Elleme fig (A.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
'A cure-peg, a curry-peg,
A lem-feg, a dough-feg.'--_Wilts Nursery Jingle._
*=Length=, =Lent=. A loan (A.B.). *~Lenth~ (S.).
=Let-off=. To abuse.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
'Maester let I off at a vine rate.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol.
xxii. p. 111.
=Lew= (pronounced _Loo_). (1) _adj._ Warm (H.).--N. & S.W. (2) _n._
Shelter (A.B.C.S.). 'Get in the lew,' i.e. into a place sheltered
from the wind. A.S. _hleo_, _hleow_.--N. & S.W.
=Lewis's Cat=. A person suspected of incendiary habits. Many years
ago fires are said to have occurred so frequently on the premises
of a person of this name (whose _cat_ sometimes had the blame of
starting them), that the phrase passed into common use, and a
suspected man soon 'got the name of a Lewis's Cat,' now corrupted
into 'Blue Cat.'--S.W.
=Lewth=. Warmth (A.B.C.). Usually restricted to the sun's warmth, but
in _Cunnington MS._ applied to a thin coat, which 'has no lewth in
it.'--N.W.
=Lew-warm=. Luke-warm.--N. & S.W.
=Libbet=. A fragment (S.). 'All in a libbet,' or 'All in libbets and
jibbets,' torn to rags.--N. & S.W. Also ~Lippet~.
*=Liberty=. _v._ To allow anything to run loose. 'It don't matter
how much it's libertied,' the more freedom you can give it the
better.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Licket=. 'All to a licket,' all to pieces.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Lide=. The month of March (A.). A.S. _hlýda_, _hlýdamonath_, the
stormy month, from _hlúd_, boisterous, noisy (so Grein). This has
nothing to do with _lide_ or _lithe_, mild, whence come the A.S.
names for June and July. See _N. & Q._ Feb. 6, 1892.
=Lieton=. See ~Litton~.
=Lill=. To pant as a dog (A.B.H.).--N.W.
=Lily=, or =Lilies=. (1) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great
Bindweed.--S.W. (Farley and Charlton.) (2) _Arum maculatum_, L.,
Cuckoo-pint.--S.W. (Barford.)
=Limb=, =Limm=. (1) _n._ A ragged tear (_Village Miners_).--N.W. (2)
_v._ To tear irregularly, to jag out (_Ibid._).--N.W.
=Limbers=. The shafts of a waggon (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Linch=, =Linchet=, =Lynch=, =Lanshet= (N.W.), =Lytchet= (S.W.),
=Linchard=, &c. (S.). A.S. _hlinc_, a bank. For articles on Lynchet,
Linchet, or Linch, see _Wilts Arch. Mag._ xii. 185, and xv. 88. Also
articles and letters in _Marlborough College Natural History Report_
and _Marlborough Times_, 1892, Seebohm's _Village Community_, and
Britten's _Old Country Words_. In an old MS. schedule of land at
Huish, N.W., '_Lanshes and borders_,' i.e. turf boundary banks and
field margins, are enumerated. (1) Certain terraces, a few yards
wide, on the escarpment of the downs, probably the remains of ancient
cultivation, are locally known as ~Lynches~ or ~Lynchets~.--N. &
S.W. (2) The very narrow ledges, running in regular lines along the
steep face of a down, probably made by sheep feeding there, are
also frequently so called.--S.W. (3) A raised turf bank dividing or
bounding a field.--S.W. (4) A strip of greensward dividing two pieces
of arable land in a common field (D.).--N. & S.W. (5) An inland
cliff, cf. 'The Hawk's Lynch' (_Tom Brown at Oxford_); occasionally
applied to a steep slope or escarpment, as at Bowood and Warminster.
*=Linchard= A precipitous strip of land on a hillside, left
unploughed (_Spring-tide_, pp. 79 and 186). See ~Linch~. Cf. A.S.
_hlinc_, a bank; and perhaps _sceard_, a piece or portion (Skeat).
*=Lined=. Of an animal, having a white back (D.).
=Linet=. Tinder (H.Wr.). Tinder was made of linen.--N.W., not long
obsolete.
*=Lipe=. A pleat or fold in cloth.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Lipping=. Of weather, showery, wet, and stormy. 'I thenks as we
shall have a ter'ble lipping summer to-year.' Cf. Lipping-time, a wet
season, Glouc., and _Lippen'_, showery, Som.--N. & S.W.
*=Litten=, =Litton=. A churchyard. Lieton (H.Wr.) ~Chirche-litoun~
(_Chron. Vilod._). Still used in Hants, but probably now obsolete in
Wilts (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxv. p. 129).
'His next bed will be in the Litten, if he be laying on the
ground on such a night as this.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 161.
*=Liver-sand=. See quotation.
'Sand-veins ... which are deep and tough, and are of the nature
called in Wilts "liver-sand."'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.
=Lob=. Of leaves, to droop limply, as cabbages do before rain.--N. &
S.W.
=Lock=. 'A lock of hay,' a small quantity of hay (A.B.).--N.W.
=Locks-and-Keys=. _Dielytra spectabilis_, D.C. The usual cottagers'
name for it in Somerset.--S.W. (Som. bord.).
=Locky=. Of hay which has not been properly shaken about, stuck
together in locks as it was cut.--N.W.
=Lodged=. Of wheat, laid or beaten down by wind or rain (D.).--N. &
S.W. Also ~Ledged~ (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).
=Log=. See ~Lug~ (1).
=Loggered=. A boy who is at plough all day often gets so _loggered_,
or weighed down with _loggers_, all the time, that he comes home at
night quite exhausted.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Loggers=. Lumps of dirt on a ploughboy's feet.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.) In Glouc. a 'logger' is a small log attached to a horse's
foot, to prevent straying.
=Loggerums=. (1) _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--N.W. *(2)
'Scabious' (_Village Miners_).
=Loiter=. See ~Laiter~.
=Lolloper=. A lazy lout (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Lollup=. (1) To loll out. 'Look at _he_, wi' he's tongue a lolluping
out o' he's mouth, vor aal the world like a dog!'--N.W. (2) To loll
about, to idle about. 'What be a-lollupin' about like that vor?'--N.
& S.W.
*=Long Eliza=. A kind of long blue earthen jar, formerly often seen
in cottages.--N.W. (Berks bord.)
'The high black chimney-shelf was covered with crockery of
a low type of beauty; pink and yellow china dogs shared
their elevated station with "long Elizas" and squat female
figures.'--_Dark_, ch. i.
=Longful=. Tedious (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Long purples=. _Lythrum Salicaria_, L., Purple Loosestrife. Rarely
used. Tennyson's 'long purples of the dale' have been identified by
himself as _Vicia Cracca_; Shakespeare's are either _Orchis mascula_,
or _Arum maculatum_, while Clare applies the name to _Lythrum_.
=Long-winded=. 'A long-winded man' always means one who is very slow
to pay his debts.--N.W.
=Long wood=. The long branches which are bent down and used to weave
in and bind a hedge when it is being laid.--N.W.
=Lope along=. To run as a hare does.--S.W.
=Loppet=. (1) _v._ The same as ~Lope~. (2) _v._ To idle about, to
slouch about. 'A girt veller, allus a loppetin' about.'--N.W. Cf.
~Sloppet~.
=Loppetty=. Weak, out of sorts.--N.W.
=Lords-and-Ladies=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint (A.B.).--N. &
S.W.
=Lot=. To reckon, expect, think. 'I do lot her's a bad 'un.'--N.W.
=Lot-meads=. (1) Common meadows divided into equal-sized pieces, for
the hay of which lots were cast each year (D.).--N.W., obsolete.
'"Lot Mead" is not an uncommon name of fields in Wiltshire
parishes. It is perhaps a vestige of the original partition
of lands when cleared, which the chronicler Simeon of Durham
says were distributed by lot. See Kemble's _Anglo-Saxons_, i.
91.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, note, p. 198.
(2) A kind of festival in connexion with this division.
'Here [at Wanborough] is a Lott-mead celebrated yearly with
great ceremony. The Lord weareth a garland of flowers: the
mowers at one house have always a pound of beefe and a head of
garlic every man.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 198.
Nothing more appears to be known about this festival.--N.W.
(Wanborough), obsolete.
*=Lottle=. _v._ To sound as water trickling in a small stream. Cf.
~Glox~.--N.W.
=Love-an'-idols=, or =Loving Idols=. _Viola tricolor_, L.,
Love-in-idleness, usually the wild form, but occasionally applied to
the garden pansy also. ~Nuffin-idols~ at Clyffe Pypard. ~Lovenidolds~
(S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Loving-andrews=. _Geranium pratense_, L., Meadow Cranesbill
(_Village Miners_).
*=Lowl-eared=. Long-eared (A.B.H.Wr.).
=Luce=. (1) Luke-warm.--S.W. *(2) A sore in sheep.--S.W.
=Lug=. (1) In land measure, a pole or perch (A.B.G.H.S.). ~Log~ (_MS.
Gough_: K.Wr.)--N. & S.W.
'A lug ... is of three lengths in this county: 15, 18, and
16½ feet. The first of these measures is getting out of
use, but is still retained in some places, particularly in
increasing mason's work. The second is the ancient forest
measure, and is still used in many parts of the county for
measuring wood-land. But the last, which is the statute perch,
is by much the more general.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, p. 268.
(2) Any rod or pole (D.H.), as a perch for fowls, a clothes pole
(A.B.). See ~Oven-lug~.
'Olde Freeman doe weare ruggs [coarse cloth],
And Thomas Lord doe goe to the woods to steal poles and luggs.'
Seventeenth century doggrell rhymes from Wroughton,
quoted in _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 216.
=Lug-wood=. Lops and tops of trees.--S.W.
=Lummakin=. Heavy, ungainly, clumsy (A.B.).--N.W.
=Lumper=. To move heavily, to stumble along. Of a pony, to stumble.
To kick against anything (S.).--N. & S.W. (Malmesbury, Pewsey, &c.)
=Lumpus=. (1) Noise, row. 'Don't 'ee make such a lumpus.'--N.W. (2)
All in a lump, heavily, as applied to a fall. 'Th'oss didn't vall
down, but a come down wi' a kind of a lumpus.'--N.W.
=Lump work=. Piece work.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Lumpy=. Stout and strong. To say to any one, 'Why, ye be growed main
lumpy!' is to pay him a high compliment.--N.W.
=Lurry=. Of cows, suffering from looseness.--N.W.
=Lynchet=, =Lytchet=. See ~Linch~.
'Another British coin, found on the "lytchets" at East Dean,
has passed into the cabinet of Dr. Blackmore.'--_Wilts Arch.
Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 242.
=Maakin=. See ~Malkin~.
=Mace=. See Note to quotation.
'This is a style still used by the lower classes in North
Wiltshire to tradesmen and sons of farmers. Thus at Ogbourne
St. George, a brickmaker whose name is Davis, is called "Mace
Davis," and sons of farmers are called "Mace John," or "Mace
Thomas," the surname being sometimes added and sometimes
not.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. i. p. 338.
This seems a misapprehension. The word used is simply _Mais'_
(before a consonant), a shortened form of 'Maister.' 'Mais' John'
is short for Maister John. Before a vowel it would be _Mais'r_ or
_Maistr'_--as 'Maistr' Etherd' [Edward].--N.W.
'_Mas_ was formerly a common contraction for _master_, e.g.
"Mas John," and is used by Ben Jonson and other Elizabethan
writers. See Nares, s.v. _Mas_.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
*=Mad=. Of land, spoilt, damaged, as by sudden heat after much rain
(Lisle's _Husbandry_).--Obsolete.
=Madde=. *(1) _Asperula odorata_, L., Sweet Woodruff.--N.W.
(Lyneham.) (2) _Anthemis Cotula_, L., Stinking Camomile.--N. & S.W.
=Madell= (_a_ broad), =Medal=, &c. The game of 'Merrills' or 'Nine
Men's Morris.' Also known as ~Puzzle-Pound~. Several varieties of
~Madell~ are played in Wilts, known respectively as ~Eleven-penny~
(strictly ~The Merrills~), ~Nine-penny~, ~Six-penny~, and
~Three-penny~, according to the number of pieces used. 'Eleven-penny'
is played with eleven pieces each side, instead of nine, the
game being in other respects identical with 'Nine Men's Morris'
as described in Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_. The players move
alternately, and the general principle is to get three pieces
together in a line anywhere on the dots or holes, while at the same
time preventing your adversary from making a line. 'Nine-penny,'
'Six-penny,' and 'Three-penny' differ only in the number of men
each side and the form of the board (_see diagrams_). The 'board' is
scratched or chalked out on paving-stones, drawn on the slate, cut
deep into the turf on the downs, or the top of the corn-bin (with
holes instead of dots), in short, made anywhere and anyhow. The 'men'
or 'pieces' may be anything available, sticks being played against
stones, beans against oats, &c.--N.W. (Devizes, &c.)
[Illustration: Nine Men's Morris, or Eleven-penny Madell.]
[Illustration: Nine-penny Madell, or The Merrills.]
[Illustration: Six-penny Madell.]
[Illustration: Three-penny Madell.]
=Maggots=. _n._ Tricks, nonsense. 'Her's at her maggots again.'--N.W.
*=Maggotting=. Meddling (S.).--S.W.
=Maggotty=. _adj._ Frisky, playful (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Maggotty-pie=. _Picus caudatus_, the Magpie (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f.
2), still in use.--N.W.
*=Maiden's Honesty=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy. See
~Honesty~.--N.W., obsolete.
'All the hedges about Thickwood (in the parish Colerne) are ...
hung with maydens honesty.'--AUBREY'S _Wilts_, Royal Soc. MS.
p. 120.
=Main=. (1) _adv._ Very, as 'main good,' excellent (A.B.).--N.& S.W.
(2) _adj._ 'A main sight o' frawk,' a great number (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Mais'=. See ~Mace~.
=Make=. 'That makes me out,' puzzles me (H.).--N.W.
=Malkin=. See ~Mawkin~.
*=Mammered=. Perplexed (A.).
*=Mammock=. _v._ To pull to pieces (_Leisure Hour_, August,
1893).--N.W. (Castle Eaton, &c.)
'He did so set his teeth and tear it; O, I warrant, how he
mammocked it!'--SHAKESPEARE, _Coriolanus_, i. 3.
*=Mander=. To order about in a worrying dictatorial fashion (S.).
'Measter do mander I about so.'--S.W.
=Mandy= (long _a_). (1) Frolicsome, saucy, impudent (A.B.C.): now
only used by very old people.--N.W. *(2) Showy (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Mar=. See ~More~.
=Marlbro'-handed=. People who used their tools awkwardly were
formerly called '_Marlbro'-handed vawk_,' natives of Marlborough
being traditionally famed for clumsiness and unhandiness.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Marley=. Streaky, marbled; applied to fat beef, or bacon from a fat
pig, where the fat seems to streak and grain the lean.--N.W.
=Martin=, =Free-martin=. A calf of doubtful sex.--N.W. An animal with
an ox-like head and neck, which never breeds, but is excellent for
fatting purposes. It is commonly supposed that a female calf born
twin with a male is always a free-martin. Recent investigations,
however, have proved that though the external organs of a free-martin
may be female the internal are in all cases male. The rule laid
down by Geddes and Thomson is that twin calves are always normal
when of opposite sex or both female; but that if both are male one
is invariably thus abnormal (_Evolution of Sex_, ch. iii. p. 39).
Compare Scotch _ferow_ or _ferry cow_, a cow not in calf, and _mart_,
an ox; also A.S. _fear_, a bullock (_Folk-Etymology_).
=Masked=. See ~A-masked~.
=Mathern=, =Mauthern=. *(1) _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye
Daisy (A.D.H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) Wild Camomile (_Great Estate_, ch.
viii).--N.W.
*=Maudlin=. The Ox-eye Daisy (D.).--N.W.
=Mawk= (pronounced _Maak_). To clean out the oven with the 'maakin,'
before putting in the batch of bread.--N.W.
=Mawkin=, =Malkin=, =Maak=, or =Maakin=, (1) An oven-swab with which
the charcoal sticks are swept out of the oven, before putting in the
batch (A.).--N. & S.W.
'The malkin, being wetted, cleaned out the ashes ... malkin
[is] a bunch of rags on the end of a stick.'--_Great Estate_,
ch. viii.
(2) Also used as a term of reproach.--N.W.
'Thee looks like a girt maakin.'--_Great Estate_, ch. viii.
*=May-beetle=, The cockchafer (A.B.).
*=May-blobs=, =May-blubs=, or =May-bubbles=, Flowers and buds of
_Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.
=Mazzard=, *(1) A small kind of cherry (_English Plant Names_).
~Merry~ is the usual Wilts name, _Mazzard_ being Dev. and Som. (2)
The head (A.), but only in such threats as:--
'I'll break thee mazzard vor thee!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 31.
Ben Jonson has _mazzarded_, broken-headed.--N.W.
*=Meadow-soot=, _Spiraea Ulmaria_, L., Meadow-sweet (_Great Estate_,
ch. ii). _Sote_, or _soot_=sweet.--N.W.
*=Mealy=, Mild and damp. ''Twar a oncommon mealy marnin'.'--N.W.
(Bratton.)
=Measle-flower=, The garden Marigold, the dried flowers having some
local reputation as a remedy. Children, however, have an idea that
they may catch the complaint from handling the plant.--N. & S.W.
=Med=, See ~Mid~.
=Meg=, =Meggy=. (1) In the game of ~Must~, q.v., a small
stone--called a 'meg' or 'meggy'--is placed on the top of a large
one, and bowled at with other 'meggies,' of which each player has
one.--N. & S.W. *(2) ~Maig.~ A peg (S.).--S.W.
=Mere=. A boundary line or bank of turf.--N. & S.W. A turf boundary
between the downs on adjoining farms: formed by cutting two thick
turves, one smaller than the other, and placing them, upside down,
with the smaller one on top, at intervals of about a chain along the
boundary line.--N.W. (Devizes.)
'The strips [in a "common field"] are marked off from one
another, not by hedge or wall, but by a simple grass path, a
foot or so wide, which they call "balks" or "meres."'--_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ xvii. 294.
'Two acres of arable, of large measure, in Pen field, lying
together and bounded by meres on both sides.'--_Hilmarton
Parish Terrier_, dated 1704.
=Mere-stone=. A boundary stone (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii).--N.W.
=Merry=. The cherry; applied to both black and red varieties, but
especially the small semi-wild fruit.--N. & S.W.
=Merry-flower=. The wild Cherry.--S.W. (Barford.)
*=Mesh= (_e_ long). Moss or lichen on an old apple-tree.--S.W. (Som.
bord.)
=Messenger=. (1) A sunbeam reaching down to the horizon from behind a
cloud is sometimes said to be the sun 'sending out a messenger.' Cf.
Cope's _Hants Glossary_. Used by children in both N. & S. Wilts. (2)
_pl._ The small detached clouds that precede a storm (_Greene Ferne
Farm_, ch. vi).--N. & S.W.
*=Mice's-mouths=. _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Snapdragon.--S.W.
(Farley.)
=Michaelmas Crocus=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron.--N.W.
=Mickle=. Much (A.S.). A.S. _micel_.--N. & S.W., occasionally.
=Mid=, =Med=. _v._ Might or may (S.).--N.W.
=Middling=. (1) Ailing in health (H.); ~Middlinish~ (_Wilts Tales_,
p. 137).--N. & S.W. (2) Tolerable, as 'a middlin' good crop.'
~Middlekin~ is occasionally used in S. Wilts in this sense.--N. &
S.W. 'Very middling' (with a shake of the head), bad, or ill; 'pretty
middling' (with a nod), good, or well (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii.
p. 112).
*=Midstay=. The barn-floor between the mows.--N.W. (Aldbourne.)
Compare _Middlestead_, a threshing-floor: _East of England_; also
'The old and one-eyed cart-horse dun
The middenstead went hobbling round,
Blowing the light straw from the ground.'
W. MORRIS, _The Land East of the Sun_.
=Midsummer men=. _Sedum Fabaria_, Koch., a variety of the red
Orpine.--N.W. occasionally; S.W. (Farley.)
=Mild=. Of stone or wood, easily worked (_Great Estate_, ch.
ix).--N.W.
*=Milk-flower=. _Lychnis vespertina_, Sibth., Evening Campion.--S.W.
(Charlton All Saints.)
=Milkmaids=. _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock. In common
use in Hill Deverill and Longbridge Deverill, also at Farley and
Hamptworth.--S.W.
=Milkwort=. _Euphorbia Peplus_, L., Petty Spurge.--N. & S.W.
=Mill=. To clean clover-seed from the husk (D.). ~Milled Hop~
(D.).--N.W.
=Miller=, =Millard=, =Mallard=, or =Dusty Miller=. A large white moth
(A.S.); generally extended to any large night-flying species.--N. &
S.W.
*=Mill-peck=. A kind of hammer with two chisel-heads, used for
deepening the grooves of the millstone (_Great Estate_, ch. ix).
*=Mill-staff=. A flat piece of wood, rubbed with ruddle, by which
the accuracy of the work done by the mill-peck may be tested (_Great
Estate_, ch. ix).
=Mind=. (1) To remind. 'That minds I o' Lunnon, it do.'--N. & S.W.
(2) To remember. 'I minds I wur just about bad then.'--N. & S.W. (3)
'To be a mind to anything,' to be inclined to do it.--N.W.
=Minding=. A reminder. After a severe illness you are apt to have
'the mindings on't' now and again.--N.W.
=Minnies=. Small fry of all kinds of fish.--N. & S.W.
=Mint=. A cheese-mite (A.). The older form of _mite_ (Skeat).--N.W.
=Minty=. Of cheese, full of mites (A.).--N.W.
=Mist-pond=. A pond on the downs, not fed by any spring, but kept up
by mist, dew, and rain. Such ponds rarely fail, even in the longest
drought. More commonly called ~Dew-ponds~.--S.W. (Broadchalke, &c.)
=Mixen=, =Muxen=. A dungheap (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Mix-muddle=. One who muddles things imbecilely (_Village
Miners_).--N.W.
=Miz-maze=. Puzzle, perplexity, confusion.--S.W.
=Miz-mazed=. Thoroughly puzzled, stupefied. Stunned (S.).--S.W.
=Mizzy-mazey=. Confused. Used of print swimming before the eyes.--S.W.
=Moile=. Dirt, mud. ~Mwoile~ (A.). 'Aal in a mwoile.'--N.W.
=Moll*'ern=, =Molly Heron=. The Heron (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.
=Mommick=, =Mommet=. A scarecrow. Cf. ~Mummock~.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Money-in-both-pockets=. _Lunaria biennis_, L., Honesty, from
the seeds showing on both sides of the dissepiment through the
transparent pod.
=Monkey-musk=. The large garden varieties of _Mimulus_, which
resemble the true musk, but are scentless, and therefore merely
_monkey_ (i.e. mock, spurious) musk.--N. & S.W.
=Monkey Nut=. _Poa annua_, L., Meadow Grass; eaten by boys for its
nut-like flavour.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Monkey-plant=. Garden _Mimulus_ (_Wild Life_, ch. viii).--N.W.
=Mooch=. See ~Mouch~.
=Moocher=. See ~Moucher~.
=Moochers=. Fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry (S.). Cf.
~Berry-moucher~ (2).--S.W.
=Moon-daisy=. _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy (_Great
Estate_, ch. ii). A very general name, especially in N. Wilts. The
flowers are sometimes called ~Moons~.--N. & S.W.
=Moonied up=. Coddled and spoilt by injudicious bringing up. 'Gells
as be moonied up bean't never no good.'--N. & S.W.
=Moots=. Roots of trees left in the ground (A.). See ~Stowls~.--E.W.
=Mop=. (1) A Statute Fair for hiring servants (A.B.); also used in
Glouc. (_Wilts Tales_, p. 33).--N.W. (2) A rough tuft of grass.
=Moral=. A child is said to be the 'very moral,' or exact likeness,
of its father. A form of 'model.'--N. & S.W.
=More=, =Mar=, =Moir=. (1) An old root or stump of a tree.--N. &
S.W. (2) A root of any plant (A.B.G.S.: Aubrey's _Wilts MS._), as
'a strawberry more'; 'fern mars'; 'cowslip mars,' &c. (_Amateur
Poacher_, ch. vii.) Occasionally ~Moir~ in N. Wilts, as in ~Crazy
Moir~.--N. & S.W.
=Moreish=. Appetizing, so good that you want more of it. 'Viggy
pudden be oncommon moreish.'--N. & S.W.
=Mort=. _n._ A quantity.--N. & S.W.
'Her talks a mort too vine.'--_Dark_, ch. x.
'I stuck up to her a mort o' Sundays.'--_Ibid._ ch. xv.
=Most-in-deal=. Usually, generally (A.B.C.). 'Where do 'e bide now,
Bill?' 'Most-in-deal at 'Vize [Devizes], but zometimes at Ziszeter
[Cirencester].' ~Most-in-general~ is more commonly used now.--N.W.
=Most-in-general=. Usually.--N.W.
'Most in gen'ral I catches sight of you when I goes by wi' the
horses, but you wasn't in the garden this afternoon.'--_Dark_,
ch. i.
=Mote=, =Maute=. A morsel of anything, a very minute quantity.--S.W.,
formerly.
=Mother-of-thousands=. (1) _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L.--S.W. (2)
_Linaria Cymbalaria_, Mill., Ivy-leaved Toadflax.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
*=Mother Shimbles' Snick-needles=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater
Stitchwort (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Mothery=. Thick, muddy, as spoilt beer or vinegar (A.B.C.S.).--N. &
S.W.
=Mouch=, =Mooch=. (1) _v._ To prowl about the woods and lanes,
picking up such unconsidered trifles as nuts, watercresses,
blackberries, ferns, and flower-roots, with an occasional turn at
poaching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vii); to pilfer out-of-doors,
as an armful of clover from the fresh-cut swathe (_Hodge and his
Masters_, ch. xxiii).--N. & S.W.
'Probably connected with O.F. _mucer_, _muchier_, Fr. _musser_,
to hide, to lurk about. It always implies something done more
or less by stealth.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
(2) _v._ To play the truant.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ To be sulky or out
of temper.--N. & S.W. (4) _n._ 'In a mouch,' in a bad temper. 'On the
mouch,' gone off mouching.--N. & S.W.
=Moucher=, =Moocher=. (1) A truant (A.B.). See ~Berry-moucher~.--N.
& S.W. (2) A man who lives by mouching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch.
vii).--N. & S.W.
=Moulter=. Of birds, to moult.--N.W.
=Mound=. (1) _n._ A hedge. In general use in N. Wilts.--N. & S.W. (2)
_v._ To hedge in or enclose.--N.W.
'The Churchyard ... to be mounded partly by the manor, partly
by the parish and parsonage except only one gate to be
maintained by the vicar.'--1704, _Hilmarton Parish Terrier_.
=Mouse=. The 'mouse' is a small oblong piece of muscle, under the
blade-bone of a pig.--N.W.
'The chief muscles of the body were named from lively animals;
e.g. ... _mus_, mouse, the biceps muscle of the arm, and so
in A.S. and O.H.G. Cf. _musculus_, (1) a little mouse, (2) a
muscle.' (_Folk-Etymology_, p. 615, sub Calf.)--SMYTHE-PALMER.
*=Mousetails=. A kind of grass, perhaps Cats'-tail, but not
_Myosorus_.--N.W.
*=Moutch=. 'On the moutch,' shuffling (H.). Some meaning of ~Mouch~
has probably here been misunderstood.
=Mouthy=. _adj._ Abusive, cheeky, impudent.--S.W.
=Mow=. In a barn, the unboarded space at each end of the
threshing-floor, where the corn used to be heaped up for
threshing.--N.W.
*=Mowing-machine Bird=. _Salicaria locustella_, Grasshopper Warbler,
from its peculiar note (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 154).--S.W. (Mere.)
=Much=. (1) 'It's much if he do,' most likely he won't do it. 'It's
much if he don't,' most likely he will.--N.W. (2) _v._ To make much
of, to pet. 'Her do like muching,' i.e. being petted.--N.W.
=Much-about=. Used intensively.--N.W.
'I was never one to go bellockin', though I've allus had
much-about raison to murmur.'--_Dark_, ch. x.
=Muck=. Dirt, mud, earth.--N. & S.W.
*=Mucker=. A miserly person (S.) Cf. ~Mouch~.--S.W.
'A fine old word, that I do not remember to have met with
in other counties. It=Old Eng. _mokerer_ (_Old English
Miscellany_, E. E. T. S. p. 214), a miser; Scot. _mochre_,
_mokre_, to hoard.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Muckle=. (1) _n._ Manure, long straw from the stable (_Agric. of
Wilts_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W. (2) 'Muckle over,' to cover over tender
plants with long straw in autumn, to protect them from frost.--N.W.
=Muddle-fuss=. A persistent meddler with other people's
affairs.--N.W. (Steeple Ashton.)
*=Mudel over=. The same as _Muckle over_, q.v. (_Agric. of Wilts_,
ch. vii).
=Mud-up=. (1) To pamper and spoil a child.--S.W. (Hants bord.) *(2)
To bring up by hand (H.Wr.), as 'Mud the child up, dooke' (_Monthly
Mag._, 1814).
=Muggeroon=. A mushroom.--N.W.
=Muggerum=. Part of the internal fat of a pig.--N.W.
=Muggle=. (1) _n._ Confusion, muddle (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
'Here we be, ael in a muggle like.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 137.
(2) To live in a muddling, haphazard way.--N.W. Cf.:--
'Most on us 'ad a precious sight rather work for a faermer
like the old measter, an' have our Saturday night reg'lar,
than go muggling the best way we could, an' take our
chance.'--_Jonathan Merle_, xxxvii. 412.
=Muggle-pin=. The pin in the centre of a want-trap.--S.W.
=Mullin=. The headstall of a cart-horse: sometimes extended to the
headstall and blinkers of a carriage horse.--N.W.
=Mullock=. A heap of rubbish (A.B.), now applied to mine refuse in
Australia.
=Mummock=. A shapeless confused mass. A clumsily-swaddled baby or
badly-dressed woman would be 'aal in a mummock.'--N.W.
=Mum up=. To make much of, pamper, pet, and spoil. 'A granny-bred
child's allus a-mummed up.'--N. & S.W.
=Mun=. Used in addressing any person, as 'Doesn't thee knaw that,
mun?' (A.)--N.W.
=Must=. A game played by children: a small stone--'a meggy'--is
placed on the top of a large one, and bowled at with other 'meggies,'
of which each player has one.--N.W.
=Muxen=. See ~Mixen~.
=Nacker=. See ~Knacker~.
=Nail-passer=. A gimlet (A.). Kennett has _Nailsin_ in a similar
sense.--N.W.
'"Here's the kay" ... holding up a small gimlet. "Whoy, thuck
ben't a kay ... that's nothing but a nail-passer."'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 44.
=Nails=. _Bellis perennis_, L., Daisy.--S.W. (Mere.)
=Naked Boys=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron, the flowers
and leaves of which do not appear together (Aubrey, _Nat. Hist.
Wilts_, p. 51, ed. Brit.). _Naked Lady_ in Cornw., Yks., &c., and
_Naked Virgins_ in Chesh.--N. & S.W. (Huish, Stockton, &c.)
*=Naked Nanny=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron. See ~Naked
Boys~.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Nammet=. See ~Nummet~ (S.).
='Nan=. What do you say? (A.B.C.). See ~Anan~.
=Nanny-fodger=, or =Nunny-fudger=. (1) A meddlesome prying
person.--S.W. (2) _Troglodytes vulgaris_, the Wren.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Narration=. Fuss, commotion. 'He do allus make such a narration
about anythin'.'--N. & S.W.
=Nash=, =Naish=, =Nesh=. (1) Tender, delicate, chilly
(A.B.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W. (2) Tender and juicy: applied to
lettuces.--S.W., occasionally.
=Nation=, =Nashun=, &c. Very, extremely, as _nation dark_
(A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Nation-grass=. _Aira caespitosa_, L., perhaps an abbreviation of
Carnation-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Natomy=, =Notamy=, =Notamize=, &c. A very thin person or animal, an
anatomy.--N. & S.W.
*=Naumpey=. A weak foolish-minded person.--N.W.
*=Navigator=. A drain-maker's spade, with a stout narrow gouge-like
blade (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi), more usually known as a ~Graft~.
=Neal=, =Nealded=. See ~Anneal~.
=Neck-headland=. 'To fall neck-headland,' i.e. headlong.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Neet=. See ~Nit~ (S.).
=Neoust of a neoustness=. Nearly alike (A.). See ~Aneoust~.--N.W.
=Nesh=. See ~Nash~.
=Nessel-tripe=, =Nessel-trip=, =Nussel-trip=. The smallest and
weakest pig in a litter. Commonly used in the Deverills, and
elsewhere.--S.W.
=Nettle-creeper=. Applied generally in Wilts to the following
three birds:--(1) _Curruca cinerea_, Common Whitethroat, (2) _C.
sylvatica_, Lesser Whitethroat, and (3) _C. hortensis_, Garden
Warbler (_Birds of Wilts_, pp. 159-161).--N.W.
=Neust=. See ~Aneoust~.
=Neust alike=. Nearly alike.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Neust of a neustness=. See ~Aneoust~.
*=Never-the-near=. To no purpose, uselessly. 'I cwourted she ten
year, but there, 'twer aal niver-the-near.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Next akin to nothing=. Very little indeed. 'There's next akin to
nothen left in the barrel.'--N.W.
=Nibs=. The handles of a scythe (A.).--N.W.
=Niche=. See ~Knitch~.
=Nightcaps=. (1) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--N. & S.W.
(2) _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., the garden Columbine.--N.W. (Devizes,
Huish, &c.)
=Night-fall=. _n._ A disease in horses. A humour in the fetlock
joint, recurring until it produces incurable lameness.--S.W.
'Witness ... told him his animal was very lame, and asked
what was the matter with it. He replied, "Nothing, it is
only 'night-fall,' and it comes on several times during the
year."'--_Wilts County Mirror_, Oct. 27, 1893.
=Nightingale=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort.--S.W.
(Hants bord.)
*=Night Violet=. _Habenaria chlorantha_, Bab., Greater Butterfly
Orchis (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--N.W. (Lyneham.)
=Nine-holes=. A game played by children.--N.W.
'This is mentioned among the "illegal games" in the Castle
Combe records.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. iii. p. 156.
'1576. _Lusum illicitum vocatum_ nyne holes.'--SCROPE'S
_History of Castle Combe_.
=Nineter=. (1) 'A nineter young rascal,' a regular scamp. Not
perverted from _anoint_ (as if it meant set apart to evil courses and
an evil end), but from Fr. _anoienté_, _anéanti_, brought to nothing,
worthless (_Folk-Etymology_, p. 9).--N.W. (Seend.) *(2) A skinflint
(S.).
=Ninny-hammer=. A fool, a silly person.--N.W.
='Nint=. See ~Anoint~.
='Ninting= (_i_ long). A beating. See ~Anoint~.--N.W.
=Nipper=. A small boy (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Nippers=. The same as ~Grab-hook~.--N.W. (Huish.)
=Nippy=. Stingy (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Nistn't=. Need not.--N.W.
'Thee nistn't hoopy at I--I can hyar as well as thee.'--_Greene
Ferne Farm_, ch. iii.
=Nit, Neet=. Nor yet. Wrongly defined by Akerman, Slow, and others as
_not yet_. 'I han't got no money nit no vittles.'--N. & S.W.
=Nitch=. See ~Knitch~.
=Nog=. A rough block or small log of wood.--N.W.
=Nog-head=. A blockhead (S.). ~Nug-head~ in W. Somerset.--S.W.
=Nolens volens=. Used in N. Wilts in various corrupted forms, as
'I be gwain, nolus-bolus,' in any case; 'vorus-norus,' rough,
blustering; and 'snorus-vorus,' vehemently.
=Noodle along=. To lounge aimlessly along, to move drowsily and
heavily, as a very spiritless horse.--N.W.
=*Noon-naw=. A stupid fellow, a 'know-naught' (_Great Estate_, ch.
iv).
=Nor, Nur=. Than; as 'better nur that' (B.).--N. & S.W.
=Not-cow=. A cow without horns (A.). A.S. _hnot_, clipped, shorn.--N.
& S.W.
=Noust=. See ~Aneoust~.
=Nummet=. The 'noon-meat' or noon-day meal (A.). ~Nammet~ in S.
Wilts.--N. & S.W.
=Numpinole=. The Pimpernel.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Nuncheon, Nunchin=. The noon-meal (A.S.). ~Nunch~ (_Wilts Tales_, p.
117).--N.W.
=Nunchin-bag=. The little bag in which ploughmen carry their meals
(A.).--N.W.
=Nunny-fudging=. Nonsense. 'That's all nunny-fudgen.'--N.W., now
nearly obsolete.
=Nunny-fudgy=. 'A nunny-fudgy chap,' a poor sort of a fellow with no
go in him: now used only by old people.--N.W.
=Nur=. See ~Nor~.
=*Nurk=. The worst pig of a litter. See ~Rinnick~.--N.W.
=Nurly=. Of soil: lying in lumps.--S.W. (Bratton.)
=Nut=. The nave of a wheel (S.).--S.W.
=Nyst, Niest=. Often used in Mid Wilts in same way as _neust_, as 'I
be nyst done up,' i.e. over tired.
=Nythe=. A brood, as 'a nythe o' pheasants'; always used by
gamekeepers.--N.W. Apparently a form of Fr. _nid_, a nest. In the
New Forest they say 'an _eye_ of pheasants.' See Cope's _Hampshire
Glossary_ (s.v. _Nye_).
=Oak-tree loam or clay=. The Kimmeridge Clay (Britton's _Beauties_,
1825, vol. iii., also Davis's _Agric. of Wilts_, p. 113, &c.).
=Oat-hulls= (pronounced Wut-hulls). Oat chaff and refuse.--S.W.
=Oaves=. (1) Oat chaff.--N. & S.W. (Huish, &c.) (2) The eaves of a
house (S.).--S.W.
'A good old form. Mid. Eng. _ovese_ (_Old Eng. Miscell._, E.
E. T. S. p. 15, l. 465),=O. H. Germ, _opasa_ (_Vocab. of S.
Gall_).'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Odds=. (1) _v._ To alter, change, set right. 'I'll soon odds that'
(_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).--N.W. (2) _n._ Difference.
'That don't make no odds to I.' 'What's the odds to thee?' what does
it matter to you?--N.W.
=Oddses=. Odds and ends.
=Oddy=. (1) See ~Huddy~. (2) Strong, vigorous, in hearty health.--N.W.
=Of=. With. 'You just come along o' I!'--N. & S.W.
=Offer=. 'To offer to do a thing,' to make as though you were going
to do it, or to begin to do it. 'He offered to hit I,' i.e. did not
_say_ he would, but just put up his fists and let out.--N.W.
=Old man=. (1) _Artemisia Abrotanum_, L., Southernwood.--N. & S.W.
(2) _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W.
=Old man's beard=. (1) _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy, when
in fruit.--N. & S.W. (2) The mossy galls on the dog-rose.--N. & S.W.
=Old Sow=. _Melilotus coerulea_, L., from its peculiar odour
(_Science Gossip_, Nov. 1868).--N. & S.W., rarely.
*=Old woman's bonnet=. _Geum rivale_, Water Avens.--S.W. (Mere.)
*=Old woman's pincushion=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted
Orchis.--S.W.
=Ollit=. See ~Elet~.
=On=. (1) =_in_, prep., as 'I run agen un on th' street' (A.).--N.
& S.W. (2) =_in_, prefix, as _ondacent_.--N. & S.W. (3) =_im_,
prefix, as _onpossible_ (A.B.).--N. & S.W. (4) =_un_, prefix, as
_ongainly_ (B.). _Onlight_, to alight.--N. & S.W. (5) =_of_, as 'I
never did thenk much on 'en.'--N. & S.W. (6) =_by_, as 'He come on a
mistake.'--N. & S.W.
=Once=. (1) Some time or other (M.). 'Once before ten o'clock,' some
time or other before ten.--N. & S.W.
'Send it once this morning, dooke.'--_Monthly Mag._ 1814.
(2) 'I don't once (=for one moment) think as you'll catch un.'--N. &
S.W.
=Oo=. Such words as _hood_, wood, _want_, a mole, _wonder_, &c., are
usually pronounced in N. Wilts as _'ood_, _'oont_, _'oonder_.
*=Organy=. (1) _Mentha Pulegium_, L., Pennyroyal (A.B.). (2)
_Origanum vulgare_, L., Marjoram (_English Plant Names_).
=Otherguise=. Otherwise.--N.W.
=Out-axed=. Of a couple, having had their banns fully asked, or
called for the last time (_Wilts Tales_, p. 100). The banns are then
_out_, and the couple _out-axed_.--N.W.
=Oven-cake=. Half a loaf, baked at the oven's mouth.--N.W.
=Oven-lug=. The pole used as a poker in an oven. See ~Lug~ (2).--N.W.
*=Over-get=. To overtake, to catch up.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*=Overlayer=. See quotation.
'The waggons ... seldom have any overlayers or out-riggers,
either at the ends or sides.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xxxviii.
=Overlook=. To bewitch. Rare in Wilts, common in Dev. and Som.--N.W.
(Malmesbury.)
=Over-right=, =Vorright=. Opposite to.--N.W.
=Owl about=. To moon about out of doors in the dark.--N.W.
=Owling=. The same as ~Griggling~, q.v.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
Compare:--
'Howlers. Boys who in former times went round wassailing the
orchards.'--PARISH, _Sussex Glossary_.
'The wenches with their wassail bowls
About the streets are singing;
The boys are come to catch the owls.'--G. WITHER.
*=Owl-catchers=. Gloves of stout leather (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi).
=Pack-rag Day=. October 11, Old Michaelmas Day, when people change
house. Also used in Suffolk.--N.W.
*=Paint-brushes=. _Eleocharis palustris_, Br.--S.W. (Charlton All
Saints.)
=Palm-tree=. The Willow. ~Palms.~ Its catkins.--S.W.
=Pamper=. To mess about, to spoil a thing.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Pancherd=. See ~Panshard~.
=Pank=. To pant (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Panshard=, =Ponshard=, =Pancherd=. (1) A potshard: a broken bit of
crockery (A.B.S.).--N.W. (2) 'In a panshard,' out of temper, in a
rage.--S.W. Also used in the New Forest.
=Pantony=. A cottager's pantry (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p.
112). Compare _Entony_, an entry: Berks. There are many slight
variants, as ~Panterny~.--N. & S.W.
=Paper Beech=. _Betula alba_, L.--N.W.
*=Parasol=. _Sanguisorba officinalis_, L., Salad Burnet.--S.W.
(Little Langford.)
=Parson=. In carting dung about the fields, the heaps are shot down
in lines, and are all of much the same size. Sometimes, however,
the cart tips up a little too much, with the result that the
whole cartload is shot out into a large heap. This is known as a
'Parson.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Parters=. Pieces of wood in a waggon which join the dripple to the
bed. See ~Waggon~.--N.W.
=Passover=. 'A bit of a passover,' a mere passing shower.--S.W. (Som.
bord.)
=Payze=. To raise with a lever (B.). Norman French _peiser_, cp. Fr.
_poiser_.--N. & S.W.
=Peace-and-Plenty=. A kind of small double white garden
Saxifrage.--S.W.
=Peakid=, =Peaky=, =Picked=, =Picky=. Wan or sickly-looking.--N. &
S.W.
=Pearl-blind=. See ~Purley~.
=Peart=. (1) Impertinent (A.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) In good health. 'How
be 'ee?' 'Aw, pretty peart, thank'ee.'--N. & S.W. (3) Clever, quick,
intelligent.--S.W. (4) Stinging, sharp, as a blister.--S.W. (5)
Lively. 'Her's as peart as ar' a bird, that's what her is!'--N.W.
=Peck=. (1) _n._ A pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To use a
pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ Of a horse, to trip or stumble: also
~Peck-down~.--N.W.
'Captain Middleton's horse "pecked"--it is presumed through
putting its foot in a hole--and threw the rider.'--_Daily
Telegraph_, April 11, 1892.
*=Pecker=. _n._ The nose (S.).--S.W.
=Pecky=. Inclined to stumble. 'Th'old hoss goes terr'ble pecky.'--N.W.
=Peel=. (1) A lace-making pillow (A.B.). A little 'Peel lace' is
still made about Malmesbury. A.S. _pile_.--N.W. (2) The pillow over
the axle of a waggon (D.). See ~Waggon~.--N.W. (3) The pole, with a
flat board at end, for putting bread into the oven.--N.W.
=Peggles=. See ~Pig-all~.
=Pelt=. Rage, passion (A.S.). 'A come in, in such a pelt.'--N. & S.W.
The word occurs in this sense in some old plays. Herrick alludes in
_Oberon's Palace_ to 'the stings of peltish wasps,' and Topsell uses
'pelting' for angry or passionate.
'You zims 'mazin afeert to zee your gran'fer in a pelt! 'Ten't
often as I loses my temper, but I've a-lost 'un now.'--_Dark_,
ch. xii. #/
=Penny= (or =Perry=) =moucher=. A corruption of ~Berry-moucher~, q.v.
=Perkins=. The same as ~Ciderkin~.--N.W.
=Perk up=. To get better, to brighten up.--S.W.
*=Perseen=. _v._ To pretend to (S.).--S.W.
'There's Jack White a comin'; I wun't perseen ta know
un.'--_Mr. Slow._
=Peter grievous=. (1) _n._ A dismal person, or one who looks much
aggrieved. ~Pity grievous~ at Clyffe Pypard, and ~Peter grievous~ at
Salisbury.--N. & S.W.
'I'll tell you summat as 'll make 'ee look a pater
grievous!'--_Dark_, ch. xv.
(2) _adj._ Dismal-looking. 'He be a peter-grievious-looking sort of a
chap.'--S.W.
*=Peter-man=. See Jackson's _Aubrey_, p. 11.--Obsolete.
'At Kington Langley ... the revel of the village was kept on
the Sunday following St. Peter's Day (29th June), on which
occasions a temporary officer called "the Peter-man" used to be
appointed, bearing the office, it may be presumed, of master of
the sports.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 83.
=Peth=. The crumb of bread.--N.W.
=Pethy=. Crumby, as 'a pethy loaf.'--N.W.
=Pick=. (1) A hay-making fork (A.B.D.), a stable-fork (D.).
_Pick_=pitch, as in _pitch-fork_ (Skeat).--N. & S.W. (2) The fruit of
the sloe.
=Picked= (two syll.). (1) Sharp-pointed. ~Piggid~ on Som. bord.
'Thuck there prong yun't picked enough.'--N. & S.W. (2) Looking ill
(S.). With features sharpened by ill-health. See ~Peakid~.--N. & S.W.
=Pickpocket=. _Capsella Bursa-pastoris_, L., Shepherd's Purse.--N. &
S.W. (Enford, Mere, &c.)
=Picky=. See ~Peakid~.
*=Pie-curr=. _Fuligula cristata_, Tufted Duck (_Birds of Wilts_, p.
190).--S.W.
=Pig-all=, =Pig-haw=. Fruit of the hawthorn (A.). ~Peggles~
(Jefferies, _Marlborough Forest_, &c.)--N.W.
=Pig-berry=. Fruit of the hawthorn (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Pigeon-pair=. When a woman has only two children, a boy and a girl,
they are called a 'pigeon pair.'--N. & S.W.
'So in N. Eng. "a dow's cleckin" (a dove's clutch) is used for
two children.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Piggid=. See ~Picked~ (1).
=Pig-haw=. See ~Pig-all~.
=Pig-meat=. The flesh of the pig in Wilts is, if fresh, 'pig-meat.'
It is never 'pork' unless the animal is specially killed as a 'little
porker.'
*=Pig-muddle=. Disorder, mess.--N.W.
=Pig-nut=. (1) _Bunium flexuosum_, With., The Earth-nut.--N. & S.W.
(2) The very similar root of _Carum Bulbocastanum_, Koch., Tuberous
Caraway.--N.W., occasionally.
=Pig-potatoes=. Small potatoes, usually boiled up for the pigs.--N. &
S.W.
=Pigs=. (1) See ~Boats~.--S.W. (Hants bord.) (2) Woodlice.--N. & S.W.
Also ~Guinea-pigs~ and ~Butchers' Guinea-pigs~.
=Pig-weed=. _Symphytum officinale_, L., Comfrey.--N.W. (Enford.)
=Pillars=. See ~Waggon~.
=Pimrose=. A primrose. Also used in Hants.--N. & S.W.
=Pin-bone=. The hip bone; sometimes the hip itself.--N.W.
=Pincushion=. (1) _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W.
(Barford.) (2) _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
=Pinner=. A servant's or milker's apron; a child's pinafore being
generally called ~Pinney~.--N. & S.W.
'Next morn I missed three hens and an old cock, And off the
hedge two pinners and a smock.'
GAY, _The Shepherd's Week_.
=Pinny-land=. Arable land where the chalk comes close to the surface,
as opposed to the deeper clay land.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Pins=. The hips. A cow with hips above its back is said to be 'high
in the pins.'--N.W.
=Pip=. The bud of a flower (B.).--N.W.
*=Pish!= or =Pishty!= A call to a dog (A.). In co. Clare, Ireland,
this is the order to a horse to stop.
=Pissabed=. _Leontodon Taraxacum_, L., Dandelion, from its diuretic
effects.--N. & S.W.
*=Pissing-candle=. The least candle in the pound, put in to make up
the weight (Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._). Cp. Norman French _peiser_,
to weigh.--Obsolete.
=Pit=. (1) _n._ A pond.--N.W. (2) _n._ The mound in which potatoes or
mangolds are stored (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W. (3) _v._
'To pit potatoes,' to throw them up in heaps or ridges, in field or
garden, well covered over with straw and beaten earth, for keeping
through the winter.--N. & S.W.
=Pitch=. (1) _n._ A steep place.--N.W. (2) _n._ 'A pitch of work,'
as much of the water-meadows as the water supply will cover well at
one time (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).--S.W. (3) n. The quantity of
hay, &c., taken up by the fork each time in pitching (_Gamekeeper at
Home_, ch. iv).--N. & S.W. (4) _v._ To load up wheat, &c., pitching
the sheaves with a fork (S.).--N. & S.W. (5) _v._ To fix hurdles,
&c., in place (_Bevis_, ch. xxiii).--N. & S.W. (6) _v._ To settle
down closely.
'Give the meadows a thorough good soaking at first ... to make
the land sink and pitch closely together.'--_Agric. of Wilts_,
ch. xii.
(7) _v._ To lose flesh, waste away. Still in use in N. Wilts.
'The lambs "pitch and get stunted," and the best summer food
will not recover them.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.
(8) _v._ To set out goods for sale in market. 'There wur a main
lot o' cheese pitched s'marnin'.'--N. & S.W. (9) _v._ To pave with
~Pitchin~, q.v.--N.W. (10) _v._ Of ground, to have an uneven surface.
'The ground this end o' the Leaze pitches uncommon bad.'--S.W. (Hants
bord.)
=Pitched market=. A market where the corn is exposed for sale, not
sold by sample (D.).--N.W.
=Pitchin=. _n._ Paving is done with large flat stones, 'pitching'
with small uneven ones set on edge (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Pitching-bar=. The iron bar used in pitching hurdles (_Amateur
Poacher_, ch. ii).--N. & S.W.
=Pitch-poll=. When rooks are flying round and round, playing and
tumbling head over heels in the air (a sign of rain), they are said
to be 'playing pitch-poll'--N.W.
=Pitch-up=. A short rest, as when a cart is going up a steep
hill.--N.W.
=Pit-hole=. The grave (S.). Used by children.--N. & S.W.
'They lies, the two on 'em, the fourth and fifth i' the second
row, for I dug pit-holes for 'em.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch.
vi. p. 66.
*=Pixy=. A kind of fairy. This is a Dev. and Som. word, but is said
to be in use about Malmesbury.
=Plain=. Straightforward, unaffected, as 'a plain 'ooman.'--N. & S.W.
=Plan=. 'In a poor plan,' unwell, in a poor way, &c.--N.W. (Seend.)
*=Plank-stone=. A flag-stone.
'This soyle (at Easton Piers) brings very good oakes and witch
hazles; excellent planke stones.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 236.
'At Bowdon Parke, Ano 1666, the diggers found the bones of a
man under a quarrie of planke stones.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. of
Wilts_, p. 71, ed. Brit.
*=Plash=, =Pleach=. To cut the upper branches of a hedge half
through, and then bend and intertwine them with those left upright
below, so as to make a strong low fence (A.). Also ~Splash~.--N. &
S.W.
=Plat=. The plateau or plain of the downs.--S.W.
=Pleach=. See ~Plash~.
=Pleachers=. Live boughs woven into a hedge in laying.--S.W.
=Plim=. (1) _v._ To swell out (A.B.S.), as peas or wood when soaked
in water.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ Many years ago, near Wootton Bassett,
old Captain Goddard spoke to a farmer about a dangerous bull, which
had just attacked a young man. The farmer's reply was:--'If a hadn't
a bin a _plimmin'_ an' _vertin'_ wi' his stick--so fashion--(i.e.
flourishing his stick about in the bull's face), the bull wouldn't
ha' run at un.' No further explanation of these two words appears to
be forthcoming at present.
=Plocks=. Large wood, or roots and stumps, sawn up into short
lengths, and cleft for firewood (S.). ~Plock-wood~ (D.).--N. & S.W.
=Plough=. A waggon and horses, or cart and horses together, make a
plough (D.). See Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._--N.W.
'The team of oxen that drew the plough came to be called the
plough, and in some parts of South Wilts they still call even
a waggon and horses a plough. This is needful for you to know,
in case your man should some day tell you that the _plough_ is
gone for _coal_.'--_Wilts. Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.
'1690. Paid William Winckworth for Worke downe with his Plough
to the causway.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 237.
'1709. Paid for 41 days worke with a ploughe carrying stones to
the Causey.'--_Ibid._ p. 239.
(2) For the various parts of the old wooden plough see as follows:--
'I should like to hear a Wiltshire boy who had been three years
at plough or sheep fold, cross-examine one of Her Majesty's
Inspectors of Schools, and ask him, in the article of a
plough, to be so good as to explain the difference between the
vore-shoot and back-shoot, the ground rest, the bread board,
the drail, the wing and point, and the whippence.'--_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.
*=Ploughman=. A waggoner or carter.--N.W., obsolete.
'1690. Paid for beere for the plowmen and pitchers.'--_Records
of Chippenham_, p. 237.
*=Ploughman's-weatherglass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet
Pimpernel.--S.W. (Barford.)
=Plurals=. (1) The old termination in _en_ is still much used, as
_Housen_, _Hipsen_, &c. See ~En~ (1). (2) Plurals in _es_ are very
commonly used, as _beastes_, _ghostes_, _nestes_, _postes_, _gutses_.
Very often a reduplication takes place, as _beastises_, _ghostises_,
&c.--N. & S.W. (3) Plurals are used sometimes instead of singulars.
Examples:--'Nows and thens,' 'You'll find un a little ways furder
on,' &c.
'These are rather an adverbial use of the genitive, like
_always_, _now-a-days_, _needs_, _whiles_, etc.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
(4) Plant-names are almost invariably used in the plural, even where
only a single blossom is referred to, as 'What is that flower in your
hand, Polly?' 'That's _Robins_, ma'am' (or _Cuckoos_, _Poppies_,
_Nightcaps_, &c., as the case may be).--N. & S.W.
=Poach=. (1) Of cattle, to trample soft ground into slush and
holes.--N. & S.W. (2) Of ground, to become swampy from much trampling
(_Wild Life_, ch. xx).--N. & S.W.
*=Podge=. Anything very thick and sticky. Cf. ~Stodge~.
*=Pog=. *(1) To thrust with the foot.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(2) To set
beans.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Poison-berry=. (1) Fruit of _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W.
(2) Fruit of _Tamus communis_, L., Black Bryony.--N.W.
=Poison-root=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W.
=Pole-ring=. The ring which fastens the scythe-blade to the snead
(A.).--N.W.
=Polly=. A pollard tree.--S.W. A Wiltshire man, on being told by the
hospital surgeon that his arms would have to be amputated, exclaimed,
'Be I to be shrowded like a owld polly?'
=Polt=, =Powlt=. A blow (B.). A blow with a stick (A.). In Glouc.
apples, walnuts, &c., are beaten down with a 'polting-lug,' or long
pole.--N.W.
=Ponshard=. See ~Panshard~.
=Pooch out=. (1) To project or stick out.--N.W. (2) To cause to
project.--N.W. (3) 'To pooch out the lips,' to pout.--N.W.
=Pook=. (1) _n._ A small cock of hay, &c. (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._
To put up in pooks (D.).--N. & S.W.
=Pooker=. A woman employed in pooking.--S.W.
=Pookers'-tea=. The yearly treat given to the pookers.--S.W.
=Pooking-fork=. The large prong, with a cross handle, for pushing
along in front of the pookers, to make up the hay into pooks.--S.W.
=Pop-hole=. A rabbit-hole running right through a bank, as opposed
to ~Blind-hole~ (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vi). Any hole through a
hedge, wall, &c.--N.W.
=Popple-stone=. A pebble (S.). A.S. _papol_.--S.W.
=Poppy=, or =Poppies=. (1) _Digitalis purpurea_, L., Foxglove, so
called because children inflate and 'pop' the blossoms. _Papaver_
is only known as 'Red-weed' by children about Salisbury.--S.W.
(2) _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion, also 'popped' by
children.--S.W. (Salisbury.) *(3) _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater
Stitchwort (_Sarum Diocesan Gazette_).--N. & S.W. (Lyneham and
Farley.)
=Posy=. The garden Peony, from its size.
=Pot=, or =Put=. (The latter is the usual S. Wilts form.) *(1) A
tub or barrel (D.).--Obsolete. (2) A two-wheeled cart, made to tilt
up and shoot its load (D.).--N. & S.W. Manure used formerly to be
carried out to the fields in a pair of _pots_ slung across a horse's
back. When wheels came into general use the term was transferred to
the cart used for the same purpose (D.). See ~Dung-pot~.
=Pot-dung=. Farmyard manure (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N.W.
=Pots-and-Kettles=. Fruit of _Buxus sempervirens_, L., Box.--S.W.
(Barford St. Martin, Deverill, &c.)
*=Pot-walloper= A 'pot-waller,' or person possessing a house with
a 'pot-wall,' or kitchen fireplace for cooking. All such persons
formerly had votes for the borough of Wootton Bassett. See _Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiii. p. 172.
=Poult=. (1) 'A turkey poult,' a young turkey.--N. & S.W. (2) 'A
perfect poult,' an awkward girl.--S.W. (Warminster.)
=Pounceful=. Masterful, self-willed. Cf. ~Bounceful~. 'He preached
pouncefully,' i.e. powerfully, forcibly.--S.W.
=Powder-monkey=. (1) Damp gunpowder, moulded into a 'devil,' or cake
which will smoulder slowly, used by boys for stupefying a wasp's
nest. (2) Ash leaves with an even number of leaflets, worn by boys on
the afternoon of May 29. See ~Shitsack Day~.
=Power=. 'A power o' volk,' a number of people. A quantity of
anything.--N. & S.W.
'A's got a power of plaguy long spikes all auver's
body.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 118.
=Powlts=. (1) Peas and beans grown together.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
(2) See ~Poult~ and ~Polt~.
*=Poyn=. To pen sheep (D.).
=Prawch=. To stalk, to swagger. 'I see un come a prawchin' along up
the coort.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Preterites=. A few specimens may be given, as ~craup~, or ~crope~,
crept; ~drowd~, threw; ~flod~, flew; ~fot~, ~vot~, or ~vaught~,
fetched; ~hod~, hid; ~hut~, hit; ~lod~, led; ~obloge~, obliged;
~raught~, reached; ~scrope~, scraped; ~slod~, slid; ~woc~, awoke;
~seed~, ~seen~, saw.
=Pretty-money=. Coins, such as old George-and-dragon crowns, or new
Jubilee pieces, given to a child to keep as curiosities, not to be
spent.--N.W.
=Pride=. (1) The ovary of a sow.--N.W. *(2) The mud lamprey (H.).
'_Petromyzon branchialis._ L., ... in the southern part of
England is locally known as the Pride.'--SEELEY, _Fresh-water
Fishes of Europe_, p. 427.
'Lumbrici ... are lyke to lampurnes, but they be muche
lesse, and somewhat yeolowe, and are called in Wilshyre
prides.'--_Elyotes Dictionarie_, 1559, quoted by Hal.
=Primrose soldiers=. _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., Garden
Columbine.--N.W. (Huish.)
*=Prin= it. Take it (A.H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Privet=, =Brivet=. 'To privet about,' pry into things. 'To privet
out,' to ferret out anything. See ~Brevet~.
=Pronged=. A scythe-blade with a small flaw in the edge which may
develop into a serious crack is said to be 'pronged.'--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Pronouns=. ~I~, ~he~, and ~she~ do duty as accusatives, as 'He
towld I, but I bean't a-goin' to do nothen for he.' ~Her~ and
~us~ are nominatives, as 'Her be a girt vule, that her be'; 'Us
be at coal-cart s'marnin.' ~Thee~ is used for both thou and thy,
as 'What's thee name?' 'What's thee'se want to knaw vor?' 'Never
thee mind.' ~Hyn~, or more commonly ~un~,=him, or it, as 'I seed
un a-doing on't'; 'poor zowl on hyn!' This is the old _hime_, the
accusative of _he_. ~A~=he, as 'How a hackers an bivers!' ~Thac~,
~Thuck~, or ~Thuck there~=that. ~Themmin~=those. ~Thic~, ~Thissum~,
~Thease~, ~Thic here~, &c.=this. ~Theesum~, or ~Theesum here~=these.
Occasionally ~Theesen~ in S. Wilts. ~Thick~ and ~Thuck~ require some
explanation. ~Thuck~ always=_that_, but is mainly a N. Wilts form,
its place in S. Wilts being usually taken by ~Thick~. ~Thic~ or
~Thick~ often=_this_ in N. Wilts, but far more frequently=_that_,--in
fact, the latter may probably now be taken as its normal meaning,
although it would appear to have been otherwise formerly. In
_Cunnington MS._, for instance, it is stated that 'The old terms
_thic_ and _thoc_ almost constantly exclude the expressions This
and That,' and similar statements are found in other authorities.
In ~Thick here~ and ~Thick there~ the use of the adverb defines the
meaning more precisely. As regards the neighbouring counties, it may
be said that in Som. and Dors. ~thick~=_that_; while in N. Hants it
never does so (see Cope's _Glossary_), always there meaning _this_.
It should be noted that the _th_ is usually sounded _dth_, much as
in Anglo-Saxon. ~His'n~=his; ~Hern~, or occasionally ~Shis'n~,=hers;
~Ourn~=ours; ~Theirn~=theirs; ~Yourn~=yours; ~Whosen~=whose, as
'Whosen's hat's thuck thur?' ~Mun~=them, is occasionally, but not
often, used. ~Arra~, ~Arra one~, ~Arn~, &c.=any. Negatives, ~Narra~,
~Narra one~, ~Narn~, &c. 'Hev 'ee got arra pipe, Bill?' 'No, I han't
got narn.' In the Pewsey Yale ~Ma~ is occasionally used for ~I~, in
such phrases as 'I'll go we 'ee, shall ma?' or 'I don't stand so
high as he, do ma?' About Malmesbury (and elsewhere in N. Wilts) the
following forms may be noted:--~Wither~, other; ~Theasamy~, these;
~Themmy~, those; ~Totherm~ or ~Tothermy~, the other.
=Proof=. _n._ Of manure, hay, &c., the strength or goodness. 'The
rain hev waished aal the proof out o' my hay.' 'That there muckle
bain't done yet; the proof yun't gone out on't.'--N. & S.W. A
thriving tree is said to be in 'good proof.'
=Proofey=. Stimulating, fattening.--N.W.
'The Monkton pastures used to be of good note in Smithfield,
from the very feel of the beasts. There are no more "proofey"
fatting grounds in Wilts.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. vi. p. 29.
=Proof maggot=. The larva of the gadfly, which causes warbles in
cattle.--N.W.
=Proper=. 'Her's a proper beauty,' is extremely handsome. 'He's a
proper fool,' an utter idiot.--N.W.
=Proud=. When wheat is too rank and forward in winter, it is said to
be 'winter-proud' (D.).--N.W.
=Pucker=. Perplexity, dilemma (S.) 'I be in a main pucker 'bout what
to do wi' they taters.'--N. & S.W.
=Pucksey= (1) A quagmire. 'The roads wer aal in a pucksey,' i.e. very
muddy. 'Out of the mucksey (=mixen) into the pucksey,' from bad to
worse.--S.W. (2) Hence, a mess or muddle. 'What a pucksey the house
be in!' i.e. a dirty untidy state.--S.W.
=Pud=. The hand; a nursery word.--N. & S.W.
*=Pud-beggar=, =Pudbaiger=. The Water Spider (S.).--S.W.
'A very interesting word. M.E. _padde_, a toad, _paddock_,
Dev. and East Anglia. M.E. _pode_, tadpole, Icelandic
_padda_, used of any beetles or insects that inhabit stagnant
water.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Puddle= or =Piddle about=. To potter about, doing little jobs of no
great utility.--N. & S.W.
*=Pue=. The udder of a cow or sheep (A.). Fr. _pis_, Lat. _pectus_.
=Pug=. (1) _n._ The pulp of apples which have been pressed for
cider.--N.W. *(2) _v._ To eat (H.Wr.). *(3) To ear, plough, till
(Wr.).
=Pummy=. _n._ A soft mass. 'To beat all to a pummy'; from _pomace_,
the apple-pulp in cider-making.--N. & S.W.
=Purdle=. To turn head over heels in a fall.--N.W.
=Pure=. In good health. 'Quite purely,' quite well (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Purler=. A knock-down blow, a heavy fall.--N.W.
'One of them beggars had come up behind, and swung his
gun round, and fetched him a purler on the back of his
head.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ix.
=Purley=. Weak-sighted (A.H.Wr.). ~Pearl blind~ is sometimes
similarly used.
=Pussy-cats=, =Pussies=, and =Pussies'-tails=. Catkins of willow and
hazel, more commonly of willow only (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Pussyvan=. See ~Puzzivent~.
=Pussy-willow=. _Salix._--S.W.
=Put=. See ~Pot~ (S.).
=Put about=. To vex, to worry. 'Now dwoan't 'ee go an' put yourself
about wi't.'--N.W.
=Puzzivent=. A flurry or taking. 'He put I in such a puzzivent.'
Formerly used in both N. and S. Wilts, but now almost obsolete.
Fr. _poursuivant_. According to a note in _The Astonishing History
of Troy Town_, by 'Q,' ch. xvii, the phrase originated from the
contempt with which the West-country sea-captains treated the
poursuivants sent down by Edward IV to threaten his displeasure.
Hence _pussivanting_, ineffective bustle, Dev. and Corn.--N. & S.W.
~Pussyvan~ (S.).--S.W.
=Puzzle-pound=. The game of ~Madell~, q.v.--S.W. (Longbridge
Deverill, &c.)
*=Pwine-end=. The whole gable-end of a house, which runs up to a
sharp point or _pwine_.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Quakers=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking-grass.--N. & S.W.
=Quamp=. Still, quiet (A.B.G.).--N.W.
*=Quamped=, =Quomped=. Subdued, disappointed. See ~Quamp~.--N.W.
(Malmesbury.)
*=Quanked=. Overpowered by fatigue (A.). Compare ~Cank~.
=Quar=, =Quarr=. (1) _n._ A stone-quarry (A.B.G.S.).--N. & S.W. (2)
_v._ To work as a quarryman (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Quar-Martin=. _Hirundo riparia_, Sand-Martin, from its breeding
in holes drilled in the face of sandy quarries (_Wild Life_, ch.
ix).--N.W.
=Quat=, =Qwot=, or =Qwatty=. (1) To crouch down (sometimes, but not
always, remaining quite still), as a scared partridge (_Amateur
Poacher_, ch. iii). To squat (A.); to sit (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) To
flatten, to squash flat.--N.W.
*=Quavin-gog= or =Quaving-gog=.A quagmire (A.B.H.Wr.). See
~Gog~.--N.W.
'In the valley below the hill on which Swindon is built, are
some quagmires, called by the inhabitants quaving-gogs, which
are considered of great depth, and are consequently shunned as
places of danger.'--_Beauties of Wilts_, vol. iii. p. 8.
*=Quean=.A woman.--N.W. (Castle Eaton.)
'The Saxon word _quean_, woman, is still used without any
objectionable meaning, but its use is rare.'--_Leisure Hour_,
Aug. 1893.
'When a man says of his wife that "th' old quean" did so
and so, he means no disrespect to her, any more than if he
were speaking of his child as "the little wench."'--MISS E.
BOYER-BROWN.
=Queed=, =Quid=. (1) _n._ The cud. 'To chamme the queed' is given as
a Wiltshire phrase in _MS. Lansd._ 1033 (H.).--N.W. *(2) Quid. _v._
To suck (A.).--N.W.
=Queen's-cushion=. A seat for a little girl, made by two persons
crossing hands, and so carrying her between them. When a boy is so
carried the term used is ~King's-cushion~.--N. & S.W.
=Quest=, =Quist=. The Woodpigeon, _Columba palumbus_ (A.B.);
~Quisty~. 'Thee bist a queer quist,' i.e. a strange sort of
fellow.--N. & S.W.
'The Wiltshire labourers invariably call it ... the
"Quisty."'--_Birds of Wilts_, p. 318.
=Quid=. See ~Queed~.
=Quiddle=. (1) _n._ A fussy person; one hard to satisfy in trifling
matters of diet, &c.--S.W. (2) _n._ To make a fuss over trifles
(S.).--S.W.
*=Quiet Neighbours=. _Centranthus ruber_, DC., Red Spur
Valerian.--S.W. (Longbridge Deverill.)
=Quiff=. A knack, a trick. 'Ther's a quiff about thuck old
gate-latch.'--N.W. Compare:--
'Mr. F. J. Kennedy, secretary of the Belfast Angling
Association ... "worked a quiff," to use a slang phrase, on a
well-known Lagan poacher.'--_Fishing Gazette_, Aug. 20, 1892,
p. 154.
*=Quile=. A heap of hay ready for carrying. Fr. _cueiller_.--N.W.
(Cherhill.)
=Quill=. The humour, mood, or vein for anything. 'I can work as well
as or a man, when I be in the quill for 't.' To 'Quill a person' in
the language in use at Winchester College is to please, or humour
him. This is very near the Wilts use.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Quilt=. (1) _v._ To swallow (A.B.C.G.). 'The baby wur that bad, it
couldn't quilt nothen.' This is used of swallowing in the natural
way, while _glutch_ is to swallow with difficulty (C.).--N.W. (2)
_n._ A gulp, a mouthful of liquid. 'Have a quilt on't?' have a drop
of it.--N.W.
=Quinnet=. _n._ (1) A wedge, as the iron wedge fastening the ring of
the scythe nibs in place, or the wooden wedge or cleat which secures
the head of an axe or hammer.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) See ~Scythe~.
=Quirk=. To complain (A.B.G.); spelt Quisk by Akerman in error. To
grunt (S.); to croak. A frog often quirks, and a toad sometimes.--N.
& S.W.
=Quiset about=. To pry about (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p.
112).--N.W.
=Quisk=. See ~Quirk~.
=Quist=, =Quisty=. See ~Quest~.
=Quob=. (1) A soft wet place, a piece of marsh or bog.--N.W. Cp. W.
of Eng. _quob_, a bog; _quob-mire_, Salop. (2) Hence 'all in a quob,'
said of a bad bruise.--N.W.
=Quomped=. See ~Quamped~.
*=Quop=. To throb (A.B.G.).
=R=. (1) In pronunciation _r_ often has _d_ or _t_ affixed or
prefixed, as ~Cavaltry~, horsemen; ~Crockerty~, crockery; ~Millard~,
miller, &c. (2) See ~Har~. (3) Transpositions frequently occur, as
_cruds_, curds; _cruddle_, to curdle; _girn_, to grin; _girt_, great;
_gird'l_, a great deal; _hirn_, to run.
=Rabbit-flower=. _Dielytra spectabilis_, DC., the flowers of which,
when pulled apart, form two little pink rabbits.--S.W., occasionally.
=Rabbits=. Blossoms of Snapdragon when pinched off the stem.--S.W.
*=Race=. The heart, liver and lungs of a calf (A.B.).
=Rack=. (1) A rude narrow path, like the track of a small animal
(A.S.). See Gen. Pitt-Rivers' _Excavations in Cranborne Chase_, vol.
i. ch. i. On Exmoor the wild deer always cross a wall or hedge at the
same spot. The gap thus formed is called a 'rack.' See _Red Deer_,
ch. iv. Also in W. Somerset.--S.W. (2) Apparently also sometimes used
in the sense of a boundary.--S.W.
=Radical=. 'A young radical,' a regular young Turk, a troublesome
young rascal. Also used in Somerset.--N.W.
=Rafter=. To plough so as to leave a narrow strip of ground
undisturbed, turning up a furrow on to it on each side, thus
producing a succession of narrow ridges (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).
See ~Balk-ploughing~.--N.W.
=Rafty=, =Rasty=, =Rusty=. Of bacon, rancid (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Rag-mag=. A ragged beggar, or woman all in tatters.--N. & S.W.
=Rail=. To crawl or creep about, to walk slowly (_Wilts Arch. Mag._
vol. xxii. p. 112). 'I be that weak I can't hardly rail about.'--N.W.
=Raims=, =Reams=. A mere bag of bones, a very thin person. 'He do
look as thin as a raims.'--N. & S.W.
=Raimy=. Very thin.--N. & S.W.
=Ramp=. A curve (S.).--S.W.
=Ramping=. Tall, as 'a rampin' gel.'--N.W.
*=Randin=. Riotous living.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Randy=. (1) _n._ A noisy merry-making (S.).--N. & S.W. (Malmesbury,
etc.) (2) _n._ 'On the randy,' living in a riotous or immoral
manner.--N. & S.W. (3) _adj._ A woman who used to be a regular
attendant at all the tea-meetings and other gatherings of the kind in
her neighbourhood in N. Wilts was usually spoken of as being 'a randy
sort o' a 'ooman'--_randy_ apparently being there applied to such
gatherings.
*=Range=. Two drifts or rows of felled underwood (D.).
=Rangle=. To twine round anything as a climbing plant does.--S.W.
(Som. bord.)
=Rank=, =Ronk=. (1) Audacious. 'Hands off! Thee bist a bit too
ronk!'--N.W. (2) Outrageous, as applied to a fraud or a lie.--N.W.
*=Rannel=. _adj._ Ravenously hungry.--N.W.
'A man comes in rannel vor 's food, and plaguey little dacent
vittles can a get.'--_Dark_, ch. ii.
=Rant=. (1) v. To tear.--N.W.
'She "ranted" the bosom of her print dress.'--_Field Play._
(2) _n._ A tear or rent.--N.W.
=Rantipole=. _Daucus Carota_, L., Wild Carrot (_English Plant
Names_).--N.W.
=Rap=, =Wrap=. A thin strip of wood.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Rapid=. 'A rapid pain,' 'rapid weather,' i.e. very violent. Always
so used at Clyffe Pypard. So in W. Somerset.--N.W.
'This is a Latin use: cf. Virgil's _rapidus aestus_ (Bucol.
ii. 10) and _rapidus sol_ (_Georg._ ii. 321)=strong,
violent.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Rare=. Underdone, but not raw. Reer (A.). Pronounced _Raa_.
=Rash=. To burn in cooking (H.Wr.). Sometimes used of malt.
=Rasty=. See ~Rafty~.
*=Rathe-ripes=. (1) An early kind of pea (B.). (2) An early kind of
apple.
*=Rattle-basket=. (1) _Rhinanthus Crista-galli_, L., Yellow
Rattle.--S.W. (Zeals.) *(2) _Erica cinerea?_ Heath. Heard only from
one person.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Rattle-thrush=. _Turdus viscivorus_, the Missel-thrush, occasionally
extended to any very large Song-thrush. ~Rassel-thrush~ at Huish.--N.
& S.W. (Salisbury, &c.)
*=Rattle-weed=. _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion.--N.W.
(Lyneham.)
=Rave=. The ring of twisted hazel by which hurdles are fastened to
their stakes or shores.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Raves=, =Reaves=. The waggon-rails (D.S.). At Clyffe Pypard applied
to the flat woodwork projecting over the wheels from the side of the
forward part of a waggon.--N. & S.W.
=Rawmouse, Raamouse=. The reremouse or bat; used at Tormarton, Clyffe
Pypard, &c. ~Bat-mouse~ is, however, in more general use. ~Ryemouse~
(A.B.).--N.W.
=Rawney=, =Rowney=. (1) _adj._ Thin, poor, and uneven, as applied
to badly manufactured cloth (A.B.C.).--N.W. (2) _adj._ Of persons,
extremely thin.--S.W. (Som. bord.), occasionally.
=Ray=, or =Array=. _v._ To dress and clean corn (D.).--N.W.
=Ray-sieve=. _n._ A sieve used to get the dust out of horses' chaff.
~Rayen-sieve~ on Dorset bord.--N.W.
=Reams=. See ~Raims~.
=Reap-hook=. The 'rip-hook' is a short-handled hook without teeth,
the blade bent beyond the square of the handle; used to cut to the
hand a handful at a time (D.). The old reaping-sickle was toothed or
serrated. See ~Hal~. _s.v._ ~Hook~.
=Red Bobby's eye=. _Geranium Robertianum_, L., Herb-Robert.--S.W.
(Redlynch.)
=Red Fiery Bang-tail=. See ~Bang-tail~.
=Red Robin Hood=. _Lychnis diurna_, Sibth., Red Campion.--S.W.
(Zeals.)
=Red-Robins=. _Lychnis diurna_, Sibth., Red Campion.--N. & S.W.
=Red-weed=. Red Poppy (D.). The only name for _Papaver Rhoeas_, &c.,
used about Salisbury and Warminster, _Digitalis_ being the 'Poppy' of
those parts. One of our oldest plant-names.--N. & S.W.
=Reed=. Unthreshed and unbroken straw reserved for thatching
(S.). A Somerset and Devon word. 'Reed' is seldom used in Wilts,
where ordinary threshed straw, made up into 'elms,' is the common
material.--S.W.
=Reer=. See ~Rare~.
=Reeve=. To draw into wrinkles.--N.W. (Malmesbury, Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Remlet=. A remnant.--N.W.
=Reneeg=, =Renegue= (_g_ always hard). To back out of an engagement,
to jilt.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) In Ireland a horse refusing a fence
would be said to _renage_. See Whyte-Melville's _Satanella_, ch. i.
p. 7: _Lear_, ii. 2, &c.
=Revel=. A pleasure fair; a parochial festival, a wake (A.B.), as
'Road Revel.' A village Club Feast (S.).--N. & S.W. There was a
revel held at Cley Hill formerly, on Palm Sunday, and one at Kington
Langley on the Sunday following St. Peter's Day.
=Rhaa=. Hungry, ravenous. See ~Rhan~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, rarely.)
=Rhan= (pronounced _Rhaan_). To eat voraciously (S.). A form of
_raven_. Cf. West of Eng. _ranish_, ravenous.--S.W.
*=Rhine= (pronounced _Reen_). A water-course. This is a Som.
word.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) Mr. Powell mentions a Wiltshire poem, which
begins:--
'There once were a frog that lived in a ditch, Or 'twere may be
a rheen, it don't matter which.'
=Rick-barken=. A rick-yard (A.). See Barken.--N.W.
=Rick-stick=. In thatching, after the 'elms' are fastened down with
'spicks' or 'spars' the thatch is then lightly combed over with the
'rick-stick,' a rod with a few teeth at one end and an iron point at
the other by which it can be stuck into the thatch when not in actual
use.--S.W. (Warminster.)
=Riddle=. (1) _n._ A coarse sieve (A.B.). Cp. A.S. _hridder_. See
Rudder.--N. & S.W. (2) v. To sift. 'Hev 'ee riddled they ashes well
s'marnin'?'--N. & S.W.
=Ridge-tie=. A back chain for shafts. ~Wridgsty~ (S.).--S.W.
*=Riffle=. A knife-board on which 'callus-stone' is used (_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Rig=. (1) _n._ A horse which has not been 'clean cut,' i.e. is only
half gelded, owing to one of its stones never having come down.--N.W.
(2) _v._ To climb up upon (S.), or bestride anything, either in
sport or wantonness. 'To rig about' is commonly used in S. Wilts of
children clambering about on wood-piles, walls, &c.--N. & S.W.
=Rigget=. A woodlouse.--S.W. (Heytesbury.)
=Ring=. 'To ring bees,' to make a noise with poker and shovel when
they swarm.--N.W.
=Rinnick=. The smallest and worst pig of a litter. Sometimes
abbreviated into ~Nurk~. Cf. North of England _Rannack_, a worthless
fellow.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Robin's eyes=. _Geranium Robertianum_, L., Herb Robert.--S.W.
=Rock=. The 'fur' or calcareous deposit inside a kettle.--N. & S.W.
=Rocket=. 'Don your rocket,' put on your bonnet.--S.W. (Downton.) No
doubt originally this meant a woman's dress or cloak (_rochet_), as
in M.E., but it has long been transferred to the bonnet. In Devon
_rochet_ is still sometimes applied to female dress.
=Roke=. Smoke.--S.W., occasionally.
=Rollers= (_o_ short). (1) _n._ The long lines into which hay is
raked before pooking.--S.W. (Warminster, &c.) (2) _v._ Rolly. To put
grass into rollers (_Cycl. of Agric._).--S.W.
*=Rommelin=. Rank, overgrown (A.).
=Ronk=. See ~Rank~.
*=Rook Hawk=. _Falco subbuteo_, the Hobby (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 72).
=Ropey=. _adj._ (1) 'Rawpey bread,' a term applied to that peculiar
condition of home-made bread, known only in dry summer weather, and
caused by a kind of second fermentation, when the inside of the loaf
appears full of minute threads, and has a disagreeable taste.--N.W.
(2) Also applied to thick drink (S.).--S.W.
=Rough=. (1) _adj._ Unwell, as 'He bin terr'ble rough this
fortnight.'--N. & S.W.
'There, she was took rough as it might be uv a Monday, and
afore Tuesday sundown she was gone, a-sufferin' awful.'--_The
Story of Dick_, ch. viii. p. 85.
(2) 'To sleep rough,' or 'lay rough,' to sleep about out of doors
like a vagabond.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ To treat roughly, to ill-use.
'Thuck there hoss 'll kick 'ee, if so be as you do rough un.'--N.W.
=Rough Band=. A housset. See _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. i. p. 88.
=Rough-carpenter=. The same as ~Hedge-carpenter~.--N.W.
=Rough Music=. The same as _Housset_ and _Skimmenton_.--N. & S.W.
*=Round-tail=. _v._ To clip the dirty locks of wool off the tail and
legs of sheep, previously to shearing. Very commonly used in many
parts of the county.--N. & S.W.
*=Round-tailings=. The locks so clipt, which are washed and dried,
and usually sold at half-price.--N.W.
*=Rouse=. 'To catch and rouse,' see ~Catch~.
=Rowet-grass=. The long rough grass in hedges, &c., which cattle
refuse; rowan or coarse aftergrass.--N.W.
=Rowetty=. Of grass, coarse and rough.--N.W.
'Tangled dead ferns and rowetty stuff.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_,
ch. ii.
'That "rowetty" grass seen in the damp furrows of the
meadows.'--_Wild Life_, ch. ii.
'Our low meadowes is ... rowtie, foggie, and full of
flags.'--HARRISON'S _Description of Britain_.
=Rowey=. Rough (C.). See ~Rowetty~.
*=Rowless-thing=. In the _Diary_ of the Parliamentary Committee at
Falstone House, S. Wilts, 1646-7, this curious phrase frequently
occurs, apparently meaning waste and unprofitable land. It is
once applied to a living. Several forms of it are used, as
_Rowlass-thing_, _Rowlist-thing_, and _Rowless-thing_. See _Wilts
Arch. Mag._, Nov. 1892, pp. 343-391. We have been unable to trace the
word elsewhere, so that it may possibly be of local origin.
'George Hascall is become tenant for a Rowlass thing called
Dawes-Frowd, land of Lord Arundell and estated out to Mrs.
Morley a recusant ... John Selwood and Richard Hickes tenants
unto Sir Giles Mompesson for his farm at Deptford and his
Rowless-thing called Hurdles at Wiley.'--_Diary_, &c.
Sir Fras. Dowse, of Wallop, is said to have been possessed
of 'another _thing_ called the Broyl [_Bruellii_ = woods] of
Collingbourne.' See 'Wiltshire Compounders,' _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol.
xxiv. p. 58. In the New Forest a 'rough' is a kind of enclosure.
'Philips promised to feed the horse in a "rough" or enclosure
... which was well fenced in, but the bank foundered and the
animal got out.'--_Salisbury Journal_, Aug. 5, 1893.
=Rowney=. See ~Rawney~.
=Rubble=. (1) In Wilts usually applied to the hard chalk used in
making roadways through fields (_Wild Life_, ch. ii),--N. & S.W. (2)
Rubbish (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Rubbly=. _adj._ Of soil, loose from being full of broken bits of
chalk (_Agric. Survey_).
=Rucksey=. Muddy, dirty, untidy, as applied to road, weather, or
house.--S.W.
=Rudder=. (1) _n._ A sieve. A.S. _hridder_. See Riddle.--N.W. (2)
_v._ To sift.--N.W.
=Rudderish=. Passionate, hasty (A.B.G.).--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Rudge=. _n._ The space between two furrows in a ploughed field.--N.
& S.W.
=Rumple=, _v._ To seduce. The full force of the word can only be
given by _futuere_, as:--'He bin rumplin' that wench o' Bill's again
laas' night.'--N.W.
*=Rumpled-skein=. Anything in confusion; a disagreement (A.).
=Rumpum-Scrumpum=. _n._ A rude kind of musical instrument, made
of a piece of board, with an old tin tied across it as a bridge,
over which the strings are strained. It is played like a banjo, or
sometimes with a sort of fiddle-bow.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Rusty=. See ~Rafty~.
=Ryemouse=. The bat (A.B.). A form of Reremouse.--N.W.
=Saat=. 'Saat bread,' soft, sweet puddingy bread, which pulls apart
in ropes or strings, made from 'grown-out' wheat. Cp. Halliwell
(~s.v.~ _Sad_): 'Sad bread, _panis gravis_, Coles.' See ~Zaad-paul~.
=Sails=. The upright rods of a hurdle (D.). ~Hurdle-zailin'~, _sing_.
(Clyffe Pypard).--N.W.
=Sally-withy=. A willow (A.H.Wr.). A curious reduplication, both
parts of the word having the same meaning in Anglo-Saxon.
=Sar=. (1) To serve (S.) or feed (_Wilts Tales_, p. 112). 'Sar the
pegs, wull 'ee,' i.e. 'Give them their wash.'--N. & S.W. (2) ''Twon't
sar a minute to do't,' will not take a minute.--N.W.
=Saturday's Pepper=. _Euphorbia Helioscopia_, L., Sun-spurge
(_English Plant Names_). ~Saturday-night's-pepper~ (_Village Miners_).
=Sauf=. As if (S.). 'Looks sauf 'twur gwain to rain.'--N. & S.W.
(Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Scallot=. Quarrymen's term for one of the upper beds of the Portland
series--a fine white stone (Britton's _Beauties of Wilts_, vol. iii).
=Scambling=. 'A scambling meal,' one taken in a rough and hurried
way.--N.W.
'In the _Percy Household Book_, 1511, "Scamlynge days" is of
constant occurrence for _jours maigres_.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=Scat=. _v._ To whip, beat, smack, slap.--S.W., occasionally.
=Scaut=. (1) _v._ To strain with the foot in supporting or pushing
(A.); as at foot-ball, or in drawing a heavy load uphill; to stretch
the legs out violently. ~Scote~ in S. Wilts.--N. & S.W.
'Stick your heels in the ground, arch your spine, and drag
with all your might at a rope, and then you would be said to
"scaut." Horses going uphill, or straining to draw a heavily
laden waggon through a mud hole "scaut" and tug.'--_Village
Miners._
(2) _n._ The pole attached to the axle, and let down behind the
wheel, to prevent the waggon from running back while ascending a hill
(A.S.).--N. & S.W.
*=School-bell=. _Campanula rotundifolia_, L., Harebell.--N.W.
(Enford.)
=Scoop=. (1) A shovel (D.).--N.W. (2) Allowance or start in a race,
&c. 'How much scoop be you a going to gie I?'--N. & S.W. (Baverstock,
&c.)
'Alwaies dyd shroud and cut theyre fuel for that purpose
along all the Raage on Brayden's syde alwaies taking as
much Skoop from the hedge as a man could through [throw] a
hatchet.'--_Perambulation of the Great Park of Fasterne near
Wootton Bassett_, 1602.
The original document is in the Devizes Museum.--N.W.
=Scotch=. A chink, a narrow opening. The spaces between the boards in
a floor are _scotches_.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, Huish, &c.)
=Scote=. See ~Scaut~.
*=Scottle=. To cut badly or raggedly (H.Wr.). 'Her did scottle the
stuff so, that my new gownd's 'tirely spwiled.'--N.W.
=Scraamb=. 'To scraamb a thing down' is to reach up to it and pull it
down violently (S.), in the manner thus described by Jefferies:--
'Suppose a bunch of ripe nuts high up and almost out of reach;
by dint of pressing into the bushes, pulling at the bough,
and straining on tiptoe, you may succeed in "scraambing" it
down. "Scraambing," or "scraambed," with a long accent on the
aa, indicates the action of stretching and pulling downwards.
Though somewhat similar in sound, it has no affinity with
scramble: people scramble for things which have been thrown on
the ground.'--_Village Miners._
It would not be used of such an action as scrambling about on
rocks.--N.W.
*=Scram=, =Skram=. Awkward, stiff as if benumbed.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Scran=. *(1) A bag (A.H.Wr.) in which food is carried.--N. & S.W.
(2) Victuals (S.).--S.W.
=Scratch Cradle=. Cat's-cradle (A.B.).
=Screech=. (1) The Missel Thrush, _Turdus viscivorus_ (A.).--N.W. (2)
_Cypselus apus_, the Swift (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 309).--N. & S.W.
=Screechetty=. _adj._ Creaky (S.).--S.W.
=Screech Thrush=. The Missel Thrush, _Turdus viscivorus_ (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 129).--S.W. (Sutton Benger.)
*=Scricele=. To creak or squeak. See ~Scruple~.--N.W. (Wroughton.)
=Scriggle=. To take the last apples. See ~Griggles~.--N.W.
=Scroff=, =Scruff=. Fragments of chips (S.). The refuse of a
wood-shed; ashes and rubbish for burning.--S.W.
=Scrouge=. To squeeze, press, or crowd any one (A.B.). 'Now dwoan't
'ee come a scrougin' on I zo!'
=Scrow=. (1) Angry, surly (A.H.).--N.W. *(2) Sorry, vexed.--N. &
S.W., occasionally.
'Lawk, zur, but I be main scrow to be ael in zich a
caddle.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 137.
=Scrump=. (1) _n._ A very dried up bit of anything (S.), as toast
or roast meat 'done all to a scrump' (_Cottage Ideas_).--N. &. S.W.
(2) Hence, sometimes applied to a shrivelled-up old man.--N. & S.W.
(3) _v._ 'Don't scrump up your mouth like that!' i.e. squeeze it up
in making a face.--N. & S.W. (4) _v._ To crunch. A sibilated form of
Crump.--N. & S.W.
=Scrumpshing=. Rough play: used by boys (_Bevis_, ch. ix).--N.W.
=Scrupet=. To creak or grate, as the ungreased wheel of a barrow
(_Village Miners_). Also Scroop, Scripet, Scrupetty, Scroopedee (S.),
&c.--N. & S.W.
=Scruple=. To squeak or creak. 'When the leather gets old-like, he
sort o' dries up, an' then he do scruple--he do scricele, Sir!' i.e.
the saddle squeaks. Cf. ~Scroop~.--N.W. (Wroughton.)
=Scuff about= or =along=. To drag one's feet awkwardly, as in too
large slippers; to 'scuff up' the dust, as children do for amusement,
by dragging a foot along the road.--N. & S.W.
=Scuffle=. An oven-swab.--S.W.
=Scythe=. The various parts of the scythe are as follows in N.
Wilts:--~Snead~, or ~Snaith~, the pole; ~Nibs~, the two handles;
~Pole-ring~, the ring which secures the blade; Quinnets (1) the
wedges which hold the rings of the nibs tight, *(2) the rings
themselves (A.); ~Crew~, the tang of the blade, secured by the
pole-ring to the snead.
=Seed-lip=. The box in which the sower carries his seed (D.)
(_Village Miners_). A.S. _léap_, basket, Icel. _laupr_.--N. & S.W.
Misprinted _Seed-tip_ in Davis.
=Seer!= or =Sire!= 'I say, look here!' a very usual mode of opening a
conversation when the parties are some distance apart.--N. & S.W.
=Seg=, =Sig=. Urine.--S.W.
=Seg-cart=. The tub on wheels in which urine is collected from house
to house for the use of the cloth mills.--S.W.
=Sewent=, =Shewent=, =Suant=. (1) _adj._ Even, regular (A.B.C.S.),
working smoothly. Formerly used all over the county, but now growing
obsolete, although it is not infrequently heard still in S. Wilts.
O.Fr. _suant_, pr. part. of _suivre_, to follow.--N. & S.W.
'A Piece of Cloth is said to be--shewent--when it is evenly
wove and not Rowey--it is also applied in other cases to denote
a thing Level and even.'--_Cunnington MS._
*(2) Demure (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
'To Look Shewent, is to Look demure.'--_Cunnington MS._
*=Shab off=. To go off (S.).--S.W.
=Shackle=. (1) A hurdle wreath or tie (S.): a twisted band of straw,
hay, &c.--N. & S.W. (2) 'All in a shackle,' loose, disjointed
(S.).--N. & S.W. (Devizes, Huish, Salisbury, Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Shaft-tide=, or =Shrift=. Shrovetide.--S.W.
=Shaggle=. Of a bough, &c., to shake.--S.W.
=Shakers=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking-grass.--N. & S.W.
*=Shally-gallee=. Poor, flimsy (_Great Estate_, ch. iv). Compare
_Spurgally_, wretched, poor, Dors.; and _Shally-wally_, a term of
contempt in N. of England.--N.W.
*=Shame-faced Maiden=. _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone (_Sarum
Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Farley.)
=Shammock=. To shamble or shuffle along hastily.
*=Shandy=. A row about nothing (S.). Probably a form of
_Shindy_.--S.W.
=Shape= (pronounced _shap_). To manage, arrange, attempt, try. 'I'll
shap to do 't,' try to do it. Compare the similar use of _frame_ in
some counties.--N.W. (Devizes.)
=Shard=, =Shord=, =Sheard=. (1) A gap in a hedge (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
'I went drough a sheard in th' hedge, instead o' goin' drough
th' geat.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 167.
'1636. Itm. to Robert Eastmeade for mendinge a shard in
Englands ijd.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 207.
(2) A narrow passage between walls or houses; usually Shord.--S.W.
(3) 'To put in a shard, or shord,' to bay back or turn the water in a
meadow trench by a rough dam, such as a piece of wood or a few sods
of turf.--N.W.
(4) 'A cow-shard,' a cow-clat.
*=Shares=. The cross-bars of a harrow (D.).
=Sharpish=. Considerable. 'I be eighty-vive to-year, an' 'tis a
sharpish age.'--N.W. (Huish, &c.)
=Sharps=. The shafts of a cart (A.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Shaul=. v. To shell nuts. Compare _Shalus_, husks (_Chron.
Vilod._).--N.W.
=Sheening=. Thrashing by machinery (_Wild Life_, ch. vi).--N.W.
=Sheep=. See _Agric. of Wilts_, p. 260; also quotation below.
'In the article of sheep what strange nomenclature! Besides the
intelligible names of ram, ewe, and lamb, we have wether hogs,
and chilver hogs, and shear hogs, ram tegs, and theaves, and
two-tooths, and four-tooths, and six-tooths. So strange is the
confusion that the word hog is now applied to any animal of a
year old, such as a hog bull, a chilver hog sheep. "Chilver" is
a good Anglo-Saxon word, "cylfer" [this should be "cilfer"] ...
a chilver hog sheep simply means, in the dialect of the Vale of
Warminster, a female lamb a year old.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol.
xvii. p. 303.
*=Sheep-bed= (_Ship-bed_). When a labourer had drunk too much, he
would 'take a ship-bed,' i.e. lie down like a sheep to sleep in a
grass-field, till he was sober.--N.W., obsolete.
=Sheep's-cage=. The same as ~Lamb's-cage~.--N.W.
=Sheep-sleight=. See Sleight (D.). Common in Wilts (Jackson's
_Aubrey_, p. 10).
=Sheer=. Sharp, cutting. 'Uncommon sheer air s'marnin', yunnit?'--N.W.
=Shekel=. (1) The old reaping sickle, now quite superseded by the
vagging-hook. The first _e_ is long. An old labourer, on being asked
how he used to sharpen his ancient reaping-sickle, said, 'I did allus
use to car' a grab [crab-apple] wi' me, an' draa my shekel droo
un,' the acid biting like aquafortis into the curiously serrated
edge of the steel, and renewing it without injury. Farm-lads still
sharpen their knives thus. See _Great Estate_, ch. v; also _Summer in
Somerset_.--N.W., obsolete. (2) The fork in which 'elms' are carried
up to the thatcher.--N.W.
=Shepherds'-crowns=. Fossil _Echini_.--N.W.
*=Shepherds'-pedler=. _Capsella Bursa-pastoris_, L., Shepherds' purse.
=Shepherds'-Thyme=. _Polygala calcarea_, Sch., Chalk Milkwort.--S.W.
(Salisbury, Bishopstone, Little Langford, &c.).
=Shepherds'-weatherglass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet
Pimpernel.--N. & S.W.
=Shewent=. See ~Sewent~.
=Shick-shack=. See ~Shitsack~.
*=Shim=. It seems. 'He's a fine fellow, shim' (A.B.C.H.Wr.).--N.W.
'This word is rather of Glocestershire, but it is nevertheless
in use on the North Border of Wilts.'--_Cunnington MS._
*=Shimmy=. _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed. Reported to us
as 'Chemise.'--S.W. (Little Langford.)
=Shirp=, or =Shrip=. (1) 'To shirp off,' to shred or cut off a little
of anything.--S.W. (2) 'To shrip up,' to shroud up the lower boughs
of roadside trees, to cut off the side twigs of a hedge or bush.--N.W.
*=Shirt-buttons=. Flowers of _Stellaria Holostea_, Greater
Stitchwort.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Shitabed=. _Leontodon Taraxacum_, L., Dandelion (H.).--N.W.
=Shitsack=, or =Shitzack=. An oak-apple (H.Wr.). Oak-apple and leaf
(S.).--N. & S.W.
=Shitsack, or Shick-shack Day=. King Charles' day, May 29. The
children carry ~Shitsack~, sprigs of young oak, in the morning, and
~Powder-monkey~, or ~Even-Ash~, ash-leaves with an equal number
of leaflets, in the afternoon. See _Wild Life_, ch. v.--N. & S.W.
(Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Shivery-bivery=. All in a shake with cold or fright.--N.W.
=Shog=. To sift ashes, &c., by shaking the sieve.--N.W. (Devizes,
Huish, &c.)
=Shog off=. To decamp in a hurried, stealthy, or cowardly manner
(A.B.C.).--N.W.
=Shoot=, =Shute=. (1) A young female pig of three or four months old
(D.).--N. & S.W. (2) _Fore-shoot and Backward-shoot_, the pieces
of wood immediately behind the coulter of a plough (D.). (3) A
precipitous descent in a road; a steep narrow path.--N. & S.W.
=Shord=. See ~Shard~.
=Shore=. _n._ The edge of a ditch on the meadow side (_Wild Life_,
ch. xviii).--N.W.
'A Mearstone lyinge within the Shoore of the
Dyche.'--Perambulation of the Great Park of Fasterne, 1602.
=Shot=, or =Shut of, to be=. To rid one's self of a thing. 'Her can't
get shut o' thuck there vool of a bwoy.'-N. & S.W.
=Shoulder, to put out the=. At Clyffe Pypard and Hilmarton it is
customary to ask a man whose banns have been published once, 'How his
shoulder is?'--because you have heard that it has been 'put out o'
one side,' owing to his having 'vallen plump out o' the pulput laas'
Zunday.' Next Sunday will 'put'n straight agean.' This implies that
the banns were formerly published from the pulpit.--N.W.
=Showl=. A shovel (A.B.D.); occasionally a spade (D.).--N. & S.W.
=Shrammed=. Chilled to the bone, benumbed, perished with cold
(A.B.M.S.).--N. & S.W.
'I was half-shrammed (i.e. perished with cold) on the
downs.--_Monthly Mag._ 1814.
=Shrift=. See ~Shaft-tide~.
*=Shrigging=. Hunting for apples (S.). See ~Griggles~ and
~Scriggle~.--S.W.
=Shrill=. To shudder. 'I never couldn't eat fat bacon--I do allus
shrill at it.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Shrimps=. A particular kind of sweets.--N. & S.W.
=Shrowd=. (1) To trim off the lower boughs of a tree (S.).--N. & S.W.
(2) To cut a tree into a pollard. See Polly.--N. & S.W.
=Shrub=. To rub along somehow, to manage to live after some sort of a
fashion. 'I do shrub along middlin' well, when I bain't bad wi' the
rheumatiz.' A sibilated form of _rub_.--N. & S.W., occasionally.
=Shrump up=. To hunch up the shoulders. 'Don't shrump up your
shoulders like that!'--N.W.
=Shucks=. Husks of oats, &c.--S.W.
=Shuffet=. To shuffle along hurriedly.--N.W.
*=Shurne=. _Cacare_ (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f. 2), Cp. A.S. _scearn_,
dung.--Obsolete.
=Shut=. (1) _v._ To join together; used of welding iron, splicing
a rope, joining woodwork, laying turf, &c.--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ The
point of junction, as where rick is built against rick.--N. & S.W.
(3) _adj._ See ~Shot~.
=Shutleck=, =Shutlock= (S.). See ~Waggon~.
=Sibilated words=. These are somewhat common in Wilts, as _Snotch_,
notch; _Spuddle_, puddle; _Scrunch_, crunch; _Spyzon_, poison;
_Spicter_, picture.
=Sick=. 'Turnip-sick,' of land, exhausted as regards turnip-growing
(_Great Estate_, ch. i). 'Tater-sick,' &c.--N.W.
=Sideland ground=. Sloping ground on a hillside.--N.W.
=Sidelong=, =Sideling=. (1) With one side higher than the other
(_Wild Life_, ch. vi). 'I wur nigh upset, th' rwoad wur that
sideling.'--N. & S.W. (2) Sitting _sidelong_, i.e. with the side
towards the spectator (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii).
=Sig=. See ~Seg~ (S.).--S.W.
=Sight=. A quantity, as 'a sight o' vawk,' 'a main sight o'
rain.'--N. & S.W.
*=Sil=. Seldom. 'Sowle-grove sil lew,' February is seldom warm
(H.).--Obsolete.
=Silgreen=. _Sempervivum tectorum_, L., Houseleek (_Village Miners_).
A.S. _singréne_. See ~Sungreen~--N.W.
*=Sillow=, =Sullow=, or =Sul=. A kind of plough (D.). A.S.
_sulh_.--S.W., obsolete.
'~Sylla~, a plough, was used at Bratton within the memory of
persons still living. ~Sylla-foot~, or ~Zilla-fut~, was a
guiding piece of wood alongside of the share.'--Miss WAYLEN.
*=Silver-bells=. The double Guelder-rose of gardens.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Silver-fern= or =Silver-grass=. _Potentilla Anserina_, L., which has
fern-like silvery foliage.--N. & S.W.
=Sim=. _n._ A smell, as of burning wool or bone. 'That there meat hev
got a main sim to 't.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Simbly=. To seem.--N.W.
'He've a bin and tuk dree bottles o' doctor's stuff; but I'll
be whipped if a do zimbly a bit th' better var't.'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 137.
=Simily=. Apparently, as 'Simily 'tis a bird.'--N.W.
=Simmin=. It seems. 'Simmin to I 'tis gwain' thic way.'--N.W.
=Sinful=. Excessively, as 'sinful ornary,' very ugly.--N.W.
=Sinful-ordinary=. Plain to the last degree in looks.--N.W.
'I once knew a young gentleman in the Guards who was very
ordinary-looking--what is called in Wiltshire "sinful
ordinary."'--_Illust. London News_, March 23, 1889.
=Singreen=. See ~Sungreen~.--S.W.
=Skag, Skeg=. (1) _v._ To tear obliquely.--N.W. (2) _n._ A ragged or
oblique tear in clothes, such as is made by a nail.--N.W.
=Skeart=. To cause to glance off, as a pane of glass diverts shot
striking it at an angle.--N.W.
=Skeer=. (1) To skim lightly and quickly over a surface, barely
touching it, as a ball does along ice.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(2) To
mow summer-fed pastures lightly.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Skeer-devil=, =Skir-devil=. _Cypselus apus_, the Common Swift.--N.W.
(Malmesbury, &c.)
=Skewer-wood=. _Euonymus Europaeus_, L., Spindle-tree.--N.W.
=Skewy=, =Skeowy=. When the sky shows streaks of windy-looking cloud,
and the weather seems doubtful, it is said to 'look skeowy.'--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) Compare:--
'_Skew_: thick drizzle or driving mist.'--JAGO'S _Cornish
Glossary_.
*=Skiel=. A cooler used in brewing beer (A.B.G.H.Wr.).
=Skiffley=. Showery. Perhaps from O.E. _skyfte_, to change.--S.W.
=Skillet=. A round pot to hang over the fire.--N.W.
=Skillin=, =Skilling=. A pent-house (A.C.S.); an outhouse or
cow-shed. A.S. _scyldan_, to protect; Old Germ. _schillen_, to cover
(A.). _Skillion_ is used in Australia for a small outhouse.--N. & S.W.
=Skimmenton=, =Skimmenton-riding=. A serenade of rough music got up
to express disapproval in cases of great scandal and immorality. The
orthodox procedure in N. Wilts is as follows: the party assembles
before the houses of the offenders, armed with tin pots and pans,
and performs a serenade for three successive nights. Then after an
interval of three nights the serenade is repeated for three more.
Then another interval of the same duration and a third repetition of
the rough music for three nights--nine nights in all. On the last
night the effigies of the offenders are burnt. ~Housset~ is the same
thing. The word and the custom have emigrated to America.--N.W.
=Skimmer-cake=. A cake made of odd scraps of dough (S.). See
~Skimmer-lad~.--S.W.
=Skimmer-lad=. A dunch-dumpling, or piece of dough put on a skimmer
and held in the pot while boiling.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Skippet=. The long-handled ladle used for filling a water-cart,
emptying a hog-tub, &c.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Skipping-ropes=. Sprays of _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's
Joy.--S.W. (Bishopstone.)
=Skit=. A passing shower (_Great Estate_, ch. i).--N.W.
*=Skive=. To shave or slice (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p.
113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Skram=. See ~Scram~.
=Skug, Sqwug=. A squirrel. 'I say, there's a skug! Let's have a
cock-shot at him with your squailer.'--N. & S.W.
=Slack=. Impudence, cheek (S.). 'I'll ha' none o' your slack!'--S.W.
=Slammock=, =Slummock=. A slattern. ~Slammick~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Slan=. A sloe (A.). A.S. _slán_, pl. of _slá_, sloe.--N.W. (Castle
Eaton, &c.)
'Those eyes o' yourn be as black as slans.'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
81.
=Slang-up=, or =Slang-uppy=. Untidy, slatternly.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Slat=. (1) _v._ To split or crack (A.B.S.). 'Thuc plate's slat.'--N.
& S.W. (2) _n._ A crack. 'What a girt slat thur is in un.'--N. & S.W.
(3) _n._ A slate (A.). 'Thur's a slat blowed off.'--N.W.
=Slay=. See ~Sleight~.
=Sleek=. (1) _adj._ Slippery. 'The rwoad's terrible sleek.'--N.W. (2)
_n._ Sleet.--N.W.
=Sleight=, =Slay=. (1) _v._ To pasture sheep on the downs (D.).--N.W.
(2) _n._ Sheep-sleight, a sheep-down (D.); a pasture good for
sheep.--N.W.
=Slent=. (1) _v._ To tear (S.). 'I've a bin an' slent ma
yeppurn.'--S.W. (2) _n._ A tear or rent in clothes.--S.W.
=Slewed=, =Slewy=. Drunk (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Slickit=. (1) A long thin slice (not a curly shaving) of wood
(_Village Miners_).--N.W. (Berks bord.) (2) 'A slickit of a girl,' a
young undeveloped girl (_Ibid._).--N.W. (Berks bord.) Cp. _Slacket_,
slim, Cornw.
=Slide=. The cross-bar on the tail of the fore-carriage of a waggon.
See Waggon.--N.W.
=Slip=. To shed. Of a horse, to shed its coat.--N. & S.W.
=Slippetty-sloppetty=. Draggle-tailed, slovenly. 'I never zeed zich a
slippetty-sloppetty wench in aal my barn days.'--N.W.
=Slire=. _v._ To look askance or out of the corners of your eye at
anything.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
'"Why should you suspect him?" "Aw, a' be a bad 'un; a' can't
look 'ee straight in the face; a' sort of slyers [looks
askance] at 'ee."'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. ix.
*=Slize=. To look sly (A.B.H.Wr.). To look askance at any one.--N.W.
=Slocks=. See ~Slox~.
=Slocks about=. To go about in an untidy slatternly way.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Sloe=. In S. Wilts, about Salisbury, the large fruit is known as
Sloes or Slues, and the small as Snags; in N. Wilts, at Huish,
~Slŏns~ are large and ~Hedge-speäks~ small, while at Clyffe Pypard
the same terms are used, but the latter is not confined to the small
fruit. At Cherhill ~Hilps~ and ~Picks~ are the names. ~Slues~ is used
in both N. and S. Wilts, and ~Slŏns~ or ~Slăns~ in N. Wilts.
=Slommakin=. _adj._ Of females, untidy, slatternly (S.).--N. & S.W.
(Malmesbury, &c.)
*=Sloop=. To change (A.H.Wr.). Perhaps a perversion of _slew_, or a
misreading of _swop_ in badly written MS.
=Slop about=. To shuffle about in a slipshod slovenly fashion.--N. &
S.W.
=Sloppet=. (1) _v._ The same as Slop about.--N.W.
'He "sloppets" about in his waistcoat and
shirt-sleeves.'--_Hodge and his Masters_, ch. xxiii.
*(2) _v._ Applied to a rabbit's peculiar gait, and the manner in
which it wears away and covers with sand the grass near its bury
(_Amateur Poacher_, ch. ii).
=Slouse=. To splash about, as a horse or dog does in water.--N.W.
*=Sloven's year=. A wonderfully prosperous season, when even the bad
farmer has good crops (_Great Estate_, ch. viii).
=Slox=, =Slocks=. To waste, to pilfer from employers
(A.B.C.H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Slummock=. See ~Slammock~.
=Sly=. 'A sly day' looks bright and pleasant, but the air has a chill
nip in it. 'Sly cold' is the treacherous kind of cold raw weather
that was very prevalent during the influenza epidemic two or three
years ago.--N.W. (Huish.)
=Smaak=. _n._ 'Aal in a smaak,' quite rotten; used of potatoes.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Smarm=. To bedaub. 'Don't smarm me aal auver wi' they dirty paws o'
yourn.' ~Smaam~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Smart=. A second swarm of bees.--N.W.
=Smart=, =Smartish=, _adj._ Considerable (H.), as 'a smartish lot o'
vawk.'--N. & S.W.
=Smeech=. Dust.--S.W. (Salisbury, Hill Deverill, &c.)
=Smeechy=. Dusty.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
*=Smicket=. A smock or shift (A.).
=Smother=. A weed and rubbish fire in a garden.--N. & S.W.
=Snag=, =Snaig=. (1) A badly shaped or decayed tooth; often used of a
child's first teeth.--N.W. (2) Fruit of the sloe, q.v. (S.).--S.W.
*=Snag-bush=. _Prunus spinosa_, L., the Sloe (_Miss Plues_).
=Snake-fern=. _Pteris aquilina_, L., Bracken.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Snake-flower=. (1) _Verbascum nigrum_, L., Black Mullein. Children
are cautioned not to gather it, because a snake may be hiding under
the leaves.--S.W. (Salisbury.) (2) _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater
Stitchwort.--S.W. (Barford.)
*=Snake's-head=. _Potentilla Tormentilla_, Sibth., Tormentil.--S.W.
(Zeals, Hill Deverill, &c.)
*=Snake-skin Willow=. _Salix triandra_, L., so called because it
sheds its bark (_Great Estate_, ch. v).
*=Snake's-victuals=. _Arum maculatum_, L. Cuckoo-pint.--N.W.
'In August ... she found the arum stalks, left alone without
leaves, surrounded with berries.... This noisome fruit ...
was "snake's victuals," and ... only fit for reptile's
food.'--_Great Estate_, ch. ii.
=Snap=. A trap, as _Mouse-snap_, _Wont-snap_.--N. & S.W.,
occasionally.
=Snaps, Snap-jacks=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater
Stitchwort.--S.W.
*=Snap-willow=. _Salix fragilis_, L., from its brittleness (_Great
Estate_, ch. v).
=Snead=, =Snaith=. The pole of a scythe (A.). A.S. _snǽd_.--N.W.
=Snig=. A small eel.--S.W.
=Sniggle=. (1) To snigger.--S.W. (2) 'To sniggle up,' to toady or
endeavour to ingratiate yourself with any one.--S.W.
*=Sniggling=. 'A sniggling frost,' a slight frost that just makes the
grass crisp.--S.W. (Steeple Ashton.)
=Snig-pot=. An eel-trap.--S.W.
=Snippy=. Mean, stingy.
=Snivett=. A newt. Perhaps a sibilated form of _Evet_.--N.W.
=Snop=. (1) _v._ To hit smartly, as in chipping a stone.--N. & S.W.
(2) _n._ A smart blow (S.), as 'A snop on the yead.'--N. & S.W.
=Snotter-gall=. The yew-berry, probably from its slimy pulp.--N. &
S.W.
=Snotty=. (1) 'A snotty frost,' a slight crisp rime frost.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) (2) Nasty, dirty, mean.--N. & S.W.
=Snowball-tree=. The double Guelder-rose. ~Snowballs~, its
blossoms.--N. & S.W.
=Snow-blunt=. A slight snowstorm.--N. & S.W. See ~Blunk~.
=Snow-in-harvest=, or =Snow-in-summer=. _Cerastium tomentosum_,
L.--S.W.
=Snowl=. (1) _n._ A large piece of anything (S.). 'Gie I a good snowl
o' bread, mother!'--N. & S.W. *(2) _n._ The head.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Snow-on-the-mountains=. (1) _Saxifraga granulata_, L., White Meadow
Saxifrage.--S.W. (2) White Cress.--N. & S.W.
=Snuff-rag=. A pocket-handkerchief (S.).--N. & S.W. (Lockeridge, &c.)
Also used formerly at Clyffe Pypard, N.W.
=Sobbled=. Soddened, soaked with wet (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
*=Soce=. Friends; addressed to the company generally, as 'Well, soce,
an' how be ye all to-day?'--N.W. (Malmesbury.) Very rarely heard in
Wilts, but common in Dev. and Som. It is probably a relic of _Socii_,
as used by monkish preachers. In the old ghost-story in Jefferies'
_Goddard Memoir_ (see Waylen's _History of Marlborough_, p. 555),
the use of the word _soas_ (there spelt _source_) by one of the
characters is alluded to in such a way as to show that it was looked
on as a curious peculiarity of his. See _W. Somerset Words_.
=Sod-apple=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy Willow-herb, from
its smell when crushed.--N.W.
'Willow herb ... country folk call it the sod-apple, and say
the leaves crushed in the fingers have something of the scent
of apple-pie.'--_Great Estate_, ch. ii.
*=Soft-tide=. The three days next before Lent (_Wilts Arch. Mag._
vol. xxii. p. 113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Sog=. Soft boggy ground (S.).--N. & S.W. (Malmesbury, &c.)
=Sogging-wet=. Soaked.--N.& S.W.
=Soldiers=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, &c., Red Poppy.--S.W.
=Soldiers'-buttons=. _Arctium Lappa_, L., Burdock.--S.W. (Hamptworth.)
=Soldiers-sailors-tinkers-tailors=. _Lolium perenne_, L.--S.W.
=Souse=. 'Pigs'-sousen,' pigs'-ears.--N.W. (Malmesbury, Clyffe
Pypard, &c.)
*=Sow-flower=. _Sonchus oleraceus_, L., Sowthistle.--(Lyneham.)
*=Sowle-grove=. February. (A.H.Wr.)--Obsolete.
'The shepherds and vulgar people in South Wilts call Februarie
"_sowlegrove_," and have this proverb of it:--"Soulgrove
sil lew,"--February is seldome warme--sil _pro_ seld,
seldome.'--AUBREY, _Anecdotes_, Camden Society, cxlvii.
=Spade=. The congealed gum of the eye (A.B.). Also ~Spady~ in N.
Wilts. A.S. _sped_, phlegm.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
*=Spances=. 'Raves or sides, spances, compose the waggon-bed' (D.).
=Spanky=. Showy, dashing (A.B.).--N.W.
=Spar=. In thatching, the 'elms' are fastened down with 'spicks'
or 'spars,' split hazel rods, pointed at both ends, and bent into
hairpin shape, with a twist just at the bend to give them a tendency
when fixed to spring outwards, and so hold faster.--S.W.
=Sparked, Sparky=. Of cattle, mottled or of two colours (D.); pied,
variegated (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 225).--N. & S.W.
'One of the earliest indictments on the roll of the Hilary
Sessions [Wilts], 1603-4, tells of _quatuor vaccas quar'
due color sparked et una alia coloris rubri et altera color
browne_.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 225-6.
=Sparked-grass=. _Phalaris arundinacea_, L., Striped
Ribbon-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
*=Spawl=. A chip or splinter from a stone.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Spear=. (1) _n._ A stalk of reed-grass (S.).--N.W. (2) _v._ See
~Spurl~.--S.W.
=Spend=. To turn out. 'How do your taters spend to-year?'--N.W.
=Spick=. (1) In thatching, the same as ~Spar~.--S.W. (2) Lavender.
~Spick~ (Som. bord.), and ~Spike~ (Hants bord.).--S.W.
=Spikenard=. (1) Lavender.--N.W., occasionally. (2) _Anthoxanthum
odoratum_, L., Sweet Vernal-grass.--N.W. (Bromham.)
=Spill=. (1) The long straight stalk of a plant.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*(2) 'To run to spill,' to run to seed.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(3)
Hence, figuratively, to be unproductive.--N.W. (Malmesbury,
occasionally.)
=Spit, Spet=. (1) _n._ 'The very spit of his father,' his very image
(_Wilts Tales_, p. 31). Cf. _Spit_, to lay eggs (_Skeat_). Just
like (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To spit up the ground,' to work the
surface lightly over.--N. & S.W.
=Splash=. Commoner form of ~Plash~, q.v.--N.W.
*=Split-fig=. A short-weight grocer (S.).--S.W.
=Sploach=. To splutter (S.).--S.W.
=Sprack=. (1) Lively, active (A.B.C.S.); also ~Sprag~ (B.).--N. & S.W.
'That's a sprack mare o' yourn.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 68.
(2) Intelligent, quick (A.C.).--N. & S.W.
'He had picked up a few words and phrases with which he
sometimes "bothered" his neighbours, who thought Jem "a mortal
sprack chap"; but in truth he was a great fool.'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 65.
=Sprank=. A sprinkling of anything. 'There be a good sprank o' fruit
to-year.' Also used in Somerset.--N.W. (Mildenhall.)
*=Sprawing=. A sweetheart. This word is given for Wilts by Britton,
Akerman, Halliwell, Wright, and others, but should be treated as a
'ghost-word,' and struck out of our glossaries. In _Cunnington MS._
it is written as ~Sprawny~, q.v., but Britton when transcribing from
that source would appear to have misread it as _Sprawing_, probably
not being himself acquainted with the word, while Akerman and others
must simply have taken it blindly on his authority.
*=Sprawny=. A sweetheart (_Cunnington MS._). A variant of _Sprunny_.
See note on ~Sprawing~. A male sweetheart in Glouc.--N.W., obsolete.
'Whipped to some purpose will thy sprunny be.'--COLLINS,
_Miscellanies_, 1762.
=Spreader=. The thin pole or bar which keeps the traces apart _(Wilts
Tales_, p. 173).--N.W.
*=Spreath=, =Spreeth=. Active, nimble, able (A.B.H.Wr.). 'He is a
spreeth young fellow' (B.).
=Spreathed=. Of the skin, roughened or chapped by cold (B.S.)
Spreazed (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Spreyed=. Of the skin, roughened by cold, but not chapped. Spryed on
Som. bord.--S.W.
=Spring=. Of a cow, to show signs of calving.--N.W.
=Spring-dag=. A chilblain. Cf. _Dag_, a twinge of pain.--S.W.
=Spring-flower=. The garden Polyanthus.--N.W.
=Spuddle=. (1) _v._ To stir about (A.B.), to fuss about at doing
trifles. 'He's allus a-spuddling about like, but there yen't nothen
to show for 't ses I.'--N.W. (2) v. To make a mess (S.). A sibilated
form of _puddle_.--S.W.
=Spudgel=. A wooden scoop (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Spuds=. Potatoes (S.). Perhaps introduced by Irish harvesters.--N. &
S.W.
*=Spur=. See ~Spurl~.--S.W.
=Spurl=. To spread dung about the fields (S.). Also ~Spear~, ~Spur~,
and ~Spurdle~.--N. & S.W.
*=Spurling-boards=. Boards set to prevent the corn from flying out of
the threshing-floor (D.).
=Spur-stone=. A projecting stone, set in the ground as a support to a
post, or to protect anything near the roadway (_Bevis_, ch. v).
*=Squab=. The youngest or weakest bird of a brood or pig of a litter
(A.). The 'darling' of a litter.--N.W. (Lockeridge.)
=Squail=, =Sqwoil=. (1) To throw (A.H.S.); used of sticks, not
stones.--N. & S.W.
'In the orchard Bevis and Mark squailed at the pears with short
sticks.'--_Bevis_, ch. xvi.
'They would like to squail a stick at his high and ancient
hat.'--_Ibid._ ch. xvi.
(2) _Fig._ To do a thing awkwardly (H.), as 'Her went up the street
a squailing her arms about.'--N.W. *(3) Cock-squoilin, throwing at
cocks at Shrovetide (A.).--Obsolete. Bird-squoilin, killing birds
with stones (S.). (4) Of a candle, to gutter.--N. & S.W.
=Squailer=, =Squale=, =Squoile=. A stick or loaded cane, used by boys
for throwing at apples, rabbits, squirrels, &c.--N. & S.W.
'The handle of a "squailer" projected from Orion's coat-pocket.
For making a squailer a tea-cup was the best mould:... A ground
ash sapling with the bark on, about as thick as the little
finger, pliant and tough, formed the shaft, which was about
fifteen inches long. This was held upright in the middle of
a tea-cup, while the mould was filled with molten lead. It
soon cooled, and left a heavy conical knob on the end of the
stick. If rightly thrown it was a deadly missile, and would fly
almost as true as a rifle ball. A rabbit or leveret could thus
be knocked over; and it was peculiarly adapted for fetching a
squirrel out of a tree, because, being so heavy at one end, it
rarely lodged on the boughs, as an ordinary stick would, but
overbalanced and came down.'--_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii.
'The "squaler" came into use very early in the school's
history, and was for years almost as much a part of the
ordinary equipment of a Marlborough boy as a cricket-bat would
now be. To later generations the very name probably conveys no
meaning. The weapon itself was simple enough, though extremely
formidable. It consisted of a piece of lead something the shape
and about the size of a pear, with a cane handle about eighteen
inches long. A squaler could be thrown a great distance and
with terrific force, and at short ranges by the practised hands
of the Marlburians of those days with great accuracy. Its
ostensible purpose was squirrel-hunting, as the name suggests
[No, it is not a contraction of "squirreller," but is from
_squail_, to throw.--_G.E.D._], but it came in handy for the
larger quarry which the more adventurous tribes pursued and
slew, such as rabbits, hares, and very frequently even deer.
It lingered on as an article of local sale till the middle of
the sixties; but ... was made contraband, and finally died
out.'--_History of Marlborough College_, ch. ix. p. 94.
'To make a squailer you provide yourself with an eighteen-inch
length of half-inch cane, two inches of which you sheath with
tow and then insert in a ladle of molten lead. There you
manipulate it in such sort that there is presently left to
cool at the end of your cane a pear-shaped lump of lead of
the weight experience has shown you to be proper. With this
weapon an adept can bring down a squirrel from on high, or
stop one on the level at five-and-twenty yards, almost to a
certainty.'--W. F. WALLER in _Notes & Queries_, 8th series, ii.
p. 197. 'Another Marlborough mode of making it is to pour the
melted lead into a cone composed of many folds of well-wetted
paper, tied round the slightly notched upper end of the cane or
ground ash.'--G. E. DARTNELL in _N. & Q._, 8th series, ii. p.
257. Also see various letters in _N. & Q._, 8th series, ii. pp.
149, 197, 257. Squailers were in use at the Grammar school as
well as at the College, up to about 1867.
=Squailing=. Clumsy, badly, or irregularly shaped, as 'a squailing
loaf,' 'a squailing sort of a town,' &c. (H.).--N.W.
=Square=. Thatching is paid by the 'square,' which is 100 square
feet.--N.W.
=Squat=. See ~Squot~.
=Squeak-Thrush=. The Missel Thrush.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Squeeze-belly=. A V-shaped stile.--N.W.
=Squelch=, =Squelp=. (1) _adv._ 'A vell down squelch,' he fell
heavily (A.B.).--N.W. (2) _v._ To squash to pieces, as a heavy stone
would an egg.--N.W.
=Squinney=. (1) _v._ 'To squinney round,' to peep about.--S.W.
(2) _n._ 'Squinney-hole,' a peep-hole. Sometimes also used of a
hagioscope in a church.--S.W.
=Squish=. (1) _v._ Of soft or boggy ground, to give under foot with
the peculiar spirt and sound that denote a water-logged condition.
'The rwoad wer squishing under I ael the waay to 'Vize.'--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ Of mud, to spirt and splash up as it does in a boggy place.
'It wer main hocksey, an' the muck squished up ael over I, purty nigh
up to my eyes.'--N. & S.W.
=Squishey=. _adj._ Soft, wet, swampy.--N. & S.W.
'The ploughing engine be stuck fast up to the axle, the land be
so soft and squishey.'--_Wild Life_, ch. vii.
=Squoil=. See ~Squail~ (S.).--S.W.
=Squot= or =Squat=. (1) n. A bruise (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._).--N.W. (2)
_v._ To bruise or crush (S.), as 'I've bin an' squot my thumb.' To
bruise by compression (B.).--N.W.
=Sqwawk=. To squall out as a hen does when pulled off the nest.--N.W.
=Stabble=. v. Of ground, to poach up by continual treading, as near
a field gateway (_Village Miners_). Children are always 'stabbling
about' indoors, making a mess and litter.--N. & S.W.
=Stack=. 'A stack of elms'=either one score or two score of
'elms.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Staddles=, =Staddle-stones=. The pillars on which a rick stands
(A.B.S.). Cf. ~Stavel~ (~Steevil~ in S.W.). A.S. staðol.--N. & S.W.
=Stael=. See ~Stale~.
=Stag=, =Steg=. A rent in clothes.--N. & S.W.
=Staid=. Of mature age, elderly (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Stake-and-ether-hedge=. A wattled fence. See ~Ether~.--N.W.
=Stale=, =Stael=, or =Steale=. The long handle of any husbandry tool
(A.B.). A.S. _stel_ (in compounds).--N.W.
'A was as lang and as lane as a rake-stael.'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
177.
'The peculiar broad-headed nail which fastens the mop to the
stout ashen "steale," or handle.'--_Wild Life_, ch. iv.
*=Standing=, =Stannin=. A stall or small booth at a fair. ~Stannen~
(S.).--S.W.
=Star-flower=. (1) _Potentilla Tormentilla_, Sibth., Tormentil.--S.W.
(Barford.) (2) _Lysimachia nemorum_, L., Wood Loosestrife.--S.W.
(Barford.)
=Stark=. _v._ To dry up. 'The ground is got so stark--you see the hot
sun after the rain did stark the top on't.'--N.W. (Hilmarton.)
=Starky=. (1) Stiff, dry (A.B.). Shrivelled up, as applied to
things.--N.W. (2) Shrivelled and wasted by ill-health.--N.W.
*=Stars=. _Campanula glomerata_, L., Clustered Bellflower.--N.W.
(Enford.)
=Start=. (1) An outing or pleasure-party. 'Wher be th' missus, Bill?'
'Whoy, off on a bit of a start.'--S.W. (2) A 'go.' 'That's a rum
start, yun' it?'--N.W.
=Starve=. (1) _v._ 'To starve with cold,' to be extremely cold;
to cause anything to be cold. Chiefly used in past participle, as
'starved wi' th' cowld,' perished with cold. A.S. _steorfan_, to
die. 'My old man he do starve I at nights wi' the cowld, 'cause
he got a crooked leg, and he do sort o' cock un up 'snaw, and the
draaft do get in under the bed-claus, and I be fairly starved wi' the
cowld.'--N. & S.W. (2) See ~Bird-starving~.--N.W.
*=Stavel-barn=. A barn on stone pillars (Agric. Survey). See
~Staddles~.
=Steale=. See ~Stale~.
=Stean=. (1) _v._ To 'stone,' or cover a path or road with gravel or
small stones.--N.W. (2) 'To stean a well,' to line its sides with
stone (S.).--S.W.
=Steaner=. The man who lays the second and inner rows of sheaves in
building a wheat rick.--N.W.
=Steanin=. (1) A road made with small stones (A.).--N.W. (2) The
built-up portion of a well.--S.W. See ~Stean~.
=Steart=. (1) _n._ The tang which fastens anything; the ring of a
button, &c.--N.W. (2) _n._ The small iron rod, on the head of which
the cappence of the old-fashioned flail played.--N.W. (3) _n._ A
young ox. Apparently _steer_, with _t_ excrescent.--N.W.
=Steer=. The starling. A form of _Stare_.--N.W.
=Steip=. See ~Stipe~.
=Stem=. A period of time (A.H.S.), as 'a stem o' dry weather.' Work
on the roads, &c., is done 'on the stem,' or 'by the stem.' A.S.
_stemn_.--N. & S.W.
=Stepple=. A hoof-mark (_Village Miners_). Cf. ~Stabble~.--N.W.
=Stewer=, =Stour=, =Sture=. Fuss, commotion.--S.W.
=Stew up=. To tidy up.--S.W.
=Stick=. To decorate with evergreens, &c. 'We allus sticks th' Church
at Christmas,'--the decorations formerly consisting only of sprigs of
holly stuck into holes in the backs of the pews.--N.W.
=Stickle=. To stick. 'They're as thick as they can stickle on
it.'--S.W.
=Stick-up=. _v._ To make the first tentative advances towards
courtship.--N.W., occasionally.
'I've bin a-stickin' up to another young ooman this summer, wi'
a view to keepin' comp'ny wi' she.'--_Dark_, ch. xv.
=Stipe=. 'The stipe o' the hill,' the steepest part.--N.W.
*=Stipe=, =Steip=. A dozen and a half of 'elms' (H.Wr.). '_Steip of
helms_, eighteen helms: Wilts.'--Holloway's _Dict._--S.W.
=Stived up=. Shut up in a warm close place. Fighting cocks were
formerly kept warm in a 'stive,' or kind of straw basket like a hive,
whilst waiting their turn to fight.--N. & S.W.
=Stoach=. To plant potatoes with a 'stoacher.' In some counties
_stoach_=poach, to trample into holes.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Stoacher=. 'A tater stoacher,' a thick stake, with projecting notch
on which the foot is placed to drive the sharpened point into the
ground. The potatoes are dropped into the holes so made.--N.W.
=Stobball-play=. An old game, played with a withy-staff and a small
ball, stuffed full of quills, said by Aubrey (_Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 117, ed. Brit.) to be peculiar to North Wilts, North Gloucester,
and the neighbourhood of Bath; but probably a form of _stool-ball_
(H.Wr.).--N.W., obsolete.
'Illegal games ... mentioned are ... hand-ball, foot-ball,
and stave-ball or "stobball"; (_pilum manualem, pedalem,
sive baculinam_), "nine-holes" and "kittles."'--_On the
Self-government of Small Manorial Communities, as exemplified
in the Manor of Castle Combe.--Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. iii. p.
156.
=Stodge=. (1) _n._ Substantial food.--N.W. (2) _v._ To stuff
gluttonously. ~Stodged~, quite unable to cram down another
morsel.--N.W.
=Stodgy=. _adj._ Of food, causing a feeling of repletion.--N.W.
=Stogged=. Stuck in the mud, bogged (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Stoggy=. Wet and sticky; used of ground that 'stogs' you, or in
which you get 'stogged.'--N.W.
=Stomachy=. _adj._ Unbending (S.). Obstinate, headstrong,
self-willed.--N. & S.W.
*=Stone-bruise=. A kind of corn on the foot. In an American
trouting-yarn in _Fishing Gazette_, December 17, 1892, p. 429, the
following occurs:--
'It's just the age for "stone-bruises" in a boy, and he must
have a pair of shoes any way.'
*=Stone-osier=. _Salix purpurea_, L. (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch.
viii).--N.W.
=Stop=. A hole in the ground--not in a hedgerow, but a few yards
away, or on cultivated ground--where the doe rabbit has her young;
said to be from her 'stopping' or covering it over when she leaves
it. Also used in Hants.--N.W., common.
=Storm-cock=. _Turdus viscivorus_, Missel Thrush (_Birds of Wilts_,
p. 129).--S.W.
=Stout=. The gadfly (A.B.). 'They stowuts be so terrifyin'.'--N.W.
=Stowl=. (1) _n._ The root of a timber-tree left in the ground after
felling (A.B.C.); the stump of a bush or tree, in hedge or copse, cut
off low down so as to form a stock from which underwood may spring
(C.D.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To stowl out,' to shoot out thickly,
as a bush cut off low down, or wheat which has been fed off when
young.--N.W.
=Strafe=. To wander about.--N.W., occasionally.
=Strapper=. An Irish harvester or tramping labourer.--N.W.
=Strawberry-leaved Geranium=. _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L. See ~Hanging
Geranium~.--S.W.
=Strick=. See ~Strike~.
*=Strickle=. See ~Stritch~.
*=Striddling=. The right to lease fallen apples after the gathering
in of the crop. Cf. ~Griggling~.
=Strike=, =Strick=. To slip up; to slip and swing out as a vehicle
does when turning a corner fast on a slippery road. 'Her stricked up
on thuck there slide, an' come down vlop.'--N. & S.W.
*=Strim-strum=. _adj._ Unmusical (S.).--S.W.
*=Stripe=. A fool, a simpleton (H.Wr.). Probably a mistake for
~Stupe~.
=Strip-up=. _v._ To shroud the lower part of a tree, as is usually
done with hedgerow timber at intervals.--N. & S.W.
*=Stritch=, =Strickle=. A piece of wood used for striking off the
surplus grain from a corn measure. A.S. _stricol_.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*=Strommelling=. *(1) Awkward, ungainly (A.B.H.). *(2) Unruly
(A.B.H.), as 'a strommellin' child.'
=Strong=. 'Strong a-dying,' at the point of death.--N.W.
*=Strouter=. A strut or support in the side of a waggon (S.).--S.W.
=Stub=. (1) _n._ A stump of a tree; a projecting root.--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ In walking, to strike the foot against a stub or projecting
root.--N.W. *(3) _v._ 'To stub off,' to cut off a bush or tree close
to the ground (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. x). (4) 'Stubs,' stubble, as
_wheat-stubs, barley-stubs_ (D.).--N.W.
=Stubbed=. A 'stubbed' broom is one much worn down by use, as opposed
to a new one.--S.W.
*=Stuck=. A spike (A.).
=Stud=. _v._ To ponder over, think about. 'Don't 'ee stud upon 't so
much.'--N. & S.W.
=Studdle=. To stir up water so as to make it thick and muddy.--N. &
S.W.
=Studdly=, =Stoddly=. Thick, as beer before it settles after
moving.--N.W. (Berks bord.)
*=Stultch=. A crutch, a boy's stilt (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f. 2).
(H.Wr.). Stelch in Glouc.--Obsolete.
=Stun=. _v._ To cause to make no growth. 'Grass was stunned in its
growth this season' (1892).--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, Potterne, &c.)
=Sture=. See ~Stewer~.
=Suant=. See ~Sewent~.
=Succour=. (1) _n._ Shelter; a sheltered place. A tender plant is set
'in the succour of the wall'; and cattle on a cold wet day get 'in
the succour of the hedge.' ''Tes gwain' to rain, for the wind's down
in the succours,' i.e. hollows and sheltered places generally. On
bleak parts of the Downs the cottages are mostly to be found in the
succours.--N.W. (Huish, Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
'Goddard the elder being a copyholder of lands in Eylden within
the Manner of Ogburne near adjoyning to His Majesties Chace
being a place that in winter time was a special and usual
succour for preserving the breed of young deer belonging to the
Chace.'--Extract from _Bond_ v. _Goddard and others_, 1636. See
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiii. p. 259.
(2) _v._ To shelter. An old-fashioned bonnet is said to 'succour' the
ears. A cold wind cuts up cabbages, except where they are 'succoured'
by bushes or walls.--N.W.
=Suck-blood=. The Common Leech. ~Zuckblood~ (S.).--S.W.
=Suffer=. To punish, to make to suffer. 'I'll suffer you, you young
rascal!'--N.W.
*=Suffy=. To draw a deep and quick breath.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Sugar-codlins=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy
Willow-herb.--N.W.
=Suggy=. Wood that is soaked with wet is said to be 'suggy.' See
~Sog~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Suity=. Even, regular (A.B.).
*=Sultedge=. A coarse apron, worn by poor women (A.B.C.). ~Sultredge~
(H.Wr.). By which is probably intended that the apron is made of
_sultedge_, or a kind of coarse sheeting.--N.W.
*=Summer field=. See quotation.
'In the four-field system, where the clover is sown the second
year, and mowed the third, the field becomes in the fourth year
what is called, in Wiltshire, a summer field.'--_Agric. of
Wilts_, ch. vii.
*=Summer ground=. See quotation.
'A custom upon two farms ... of feeding six oxen through the
full range of all the summer ground belonging to the hither
Beversbrook ... being the Home Close, the Middle Marsh, the
Course Marsh, the Upper Lease, and Brewer's Lease; through the
full range likewise of such summer grounds as belong to the
yonder Beversbrook to be put in at Mortimers Gate and to feed
to Burfurlong Corner, through all the afore mentioned grounds
from the third of May to Michaelmas.'--_Hilmarton Parish
Terrier_, 1704. See _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 126.
=Summer rick=. A windmow, or very large cock of hay, thrown up in the
field, to remain there some time (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv).--N.W.
=Summers= or =Bed-summers=. See ~Waggon~.
=Summer Snipe=. _Totanus hypoleucos_, Common Sandpiper.--N. & S.W.
=Sungreen=. _Sempervivum tectorum_, L., Houseleek. Occasionally
Singreen in S. Wilts, and Silgreen in N. Wilts. A.S. _singréne_.--N.
& S.W.
*=Swaft=. Thirst (H.Wr.). Probably from Fr. _soif_.
*=Swank=. To work in a slow lazy fashion, to idle. 'Her bain't no
good for _your_ place, ma'am, her do go swanking about so over her
work.'--S.W. (Salisbury.)
*=Swankey=. *(1) _adj._ Boisterous, swaggering, strutting
(A.B.H.Wr.). *(2) _n._ Weak beer; drink (S.).--S.W.
=Swash=, =Swosh=. (1) _n._ A torrent or great rush of water.--N.W.
'A man in answer to my question of _how_ the rain seemed to
fall, said, "It came down in _swashes_," and I think it may
also be said that occasionally the wind came in _swashes_
too.'--_The Great Wiltshire Storm, Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. vi.
p. 380.
(2) _v._ To swill out. 'I've bin swoshing out the back-kitchin.'--N.W.
*=Sweeps=. _Hypericum calycinum_, L., Large-flowered St. John's
Wort.--S.W. (Farley.)
=Sweet-briar=. The young succulent suckers of any rose, which are
peeled and eaten by children.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Sweeten=. Some land requires _sweetening_, or chalking, to take out
the acidity, before it will bear barley (_Agric. Survey_).
=Sweethearts=. _Galium Aparine_, L., Goosegrass, because its burs
have such an affectionate way of clinging to one.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Swilter=. To smoulder away to ashes, without breaking into flame
(A.B.).--N.W.
*=Swittle=. To cut or whittle (A.H.Wr.).
=Sythe=. To sigh (A.B.).--N.W.
=T=. _Thr_, at the beginning of a word, is usually sounded as _dr_,
as _draish_, _dree_. After liquids _d_ or _t_ will often be added, as
_varmint_, vermin; _sarment_, sermon; _steart_, a steer; _dillard_,
thiller. _F_ and _v_ sometimes become _th_, as _thetches_ for fitches
or vetches. _Th_ will also occasionally become _Ss_, as _lattermass_,
latter-math. Conversely, _Ss_ rarely becomes _th_, as _moth_, moss.
=Tack=. (1) A shelf, as _chimney-tack_ (A.B.C.).--N.W. (2) Pasture
for horses and cattle (A.B.).--N.W. (3) 'Out to tack,' at agistment,
applied to cattle that are put out to keep by the week or month.--N.W.
=Tackle=. Stuff, any material, as food, solid or liquid (A.). 'This
here yale be oncommon good tackle'; or dress material, 'Haven't 'ee
got any gingham tackle?' (_Great Estate_, ch. iv). Also used of food
for cattle.--N.W.
'Thaay [the sheep] be goin' into th' Mash to-morrow.... We be
got shart o' keep.... Thur's a main sight o' tackle in the Mash
vor um.'--_Green Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
=Taffety=. Dainty in eating (S.).--S.W.
=Tag=. (1) When a lawn-mower or barrow is too heavy for one man to
manage alone, a rope is attached for a boy to draw by, who is said to
'pull tag.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) _n._ A game played by boys.
One touches another, saying _Tag!_ and the touched person has then
to run after and touch another, who becomes _Tag_ in his turn.--N. &
S.W. *(3) _v._ To tease, to torment (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Tail=. (1) _n._ The whole skirt of a woman's dress. 'Hev 'ee got
ar' a owld taail to gie I, Miss?'--N. & S.W. (2) 'Seconds' of
flour (_Great Estate_, ch. vi); also ~Tailing-flour~.--N.W. (3)
~Tail-ends~ or ~Tailings~. Refuse wheat, not saleable in market, kept
for consumption on the farm (A.B.G.); also ~Tail~, ~Tailing-wheat~,
and ~Tailens~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Tail Pole=. See ~Waggon~.
*=Take=. _n._ The sciatica (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._).--Obsolete.
=Take up=. Of weather, to become fine.--N. & S.W.
=Tallet=, =Tallot=. A hay-loft over a stable (A.B.G.S.). Welsh
_taflod_.--N. & S.W. See _N. & Q._ 8th Ser. iv. 450, &c.
*=Tamed=. 'By that time the ground will be tamed.' Said in Lisle's
_Husbandry_ to be a Wilts agricultural term, but not there explained.
=Tan=. _Then_ is so pronounced in such phrases as _Now'-an'-Tan_ and
_Twitch-an'-Tan_.
=Tang=. (1) 'To tang the bell,' to pull it (A.).--N.W. (2) 'To
tang bees,' to follow a swarm, beating a fire-shovel or tin pan
(A.).--N.W. (3) _v._ To make a noise (S.).--S.W. (4) _n._ A small
church bell is a ~Ting-Tang~.--N.W.
=Tankard=. A sheep-bell.--N.W. It is said that the whole of the
'tankards' in use in England are made at Great Cheverell.
'Hilary ... turned back, remarking, "It's Johnson's flock; I
know the tang of his tankards." The flat-shaped bells hung
on a sheep's neck are called tankards, and Hilary could
distinguish one flock from another by the varying notes of
their bells.'--_Great Estate_, ch. vi. p. 123.
*=Tasker=. A tramping harvester or casual labourer who works by the
piece (_Agric. of Wilts_, p. 24).
*=Tawney=, =Ta'aney=. The Bullfinch, _Pyrrhula vulgaris_.--N.W.
=Tazzle=. _n._ 'Her hair be aal of a tazzle,' in great disorder, all
tangled and knotted and tousled.--N.W.
=Tear=. (1) A rage. 'He wur in just about a tear.'--S.W. (2) In N.
Wilts old folk used formerly to _tear_ their crockery, and _break_
their clothes, but _tear_ now seems obsolete in this sense there.--N.
& S.W.
=Teart=. (1) Painfully tender, sore, as a wound (A.).--N.W. (2)
Stinging, as a blister.--N.W. (Rowde.) (3) Tart, as beer turning sour
(S.): acrimonious. See _Addenda_.--S.W.
=Ted=. To throw about hay for the first time (D.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Teel=, =Tile=. To place anything leaning against a wall (A.B.H.Wr.).
Generally used with _up_, as 'Teel it up agen th' wall, wull
'ee?'--N.W.
=Teft=. The same as ~Heft~ (A.B.C.)--N.W.
=Teg-man=. A shepherd.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
'I am a teg-man (or shepherd) in the employ of Mr.
White.'--_Wilts County Mirror_, October 28, 1892, p. 8, col. 5.
=Temper=. 'To temper down dripping,' to melt it and refine with
water.--N.W.
=Temtious=. Tempting, inviting.--N. & S.W.
*=Temzer=. A riddle or sieve. Cp. Fr. _tamis_.--Obsolete.
'A temzer, a range, or coarse searche: Wilts.'--_MS. Lansd._
1033, f. 2.
=Tentful=. Attentive, careful.--N.W.
=Terrible=. Extremely. ''Tes a terr'ble bad harvest to-year.'--N. &
S.W.
=Terrify=. (1) _v._ To worry, irritate, annoy; used especially of
very troublesome children. 'The vlies be terrible terrifying.'--N. &
S.W.
''Twer mostly losing of a hoss as did for 'em, and most al'ays
wi' bad shoeing. They gived 'em scant measure--shoed 'em too
tight, they did, a-terrifying o' the poor beasts.'--_Jonathan
Merle_, ch. xlviii. p. 520.
'Her own folks mightn't a-like so well to come and stay,
if ther was al'ays a terrifying old woman to put up
with.'--_Ibid_, ch. liv. p. 596.
'Her husband, who had been out in the fields, came home and
began to "terrify" her.'--_Marlborough Times_, November 26,
1892.
'I be turrivied wi' rheumatics.'--_Dark_, ch. x.
(2) _n._ A source of worry or trouble. A bed-ridden woman who has to
get her neighbours to do everything for her is 'a terrible terrify'
to them.--N.W. *(3) _v._ To injure, as a hailstorm does apple-blossom
(_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Tewley=, =Tuley=. Weakly (S.). Sickly, tired-looking.--S.W.
=Thatches=. See =Thetches=.
=Thauf=. Although, or although if; as 'A never vound un, thauf he'd
gone dree lug vurder on, a cudden a bin off seein' on un.' Cp.
Sauf.--N.W. (Malmesbury, etc.)
=Theave=. A ewe of the third year.
'We have wether hogs and chilver hogs, and shear hogs, ram
tegs, and theaves, and two-tooths, and four-tooths, and
six-tooths.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ ch. xvii. p. 303.
=There-right=. (1) 'Go straight forward,' order to a horse at plough
(A.).--N.W. (2) On the spot.--N.W.
=Thert=. _v._ To plough land a second time, at right angles to
the first ploughing, so as to clean it more effectually. Cp.
_Thwart_.--N.W.
=Thetches=, =Thatches=. Vetches. _Lent thetches_ are an early spring
kind.--N.W.
=Thill=, or =Dill=. The shaft of a cart.--N.W.
=Thiller=, =Diller=, =Thill-horse=. The shaft-horse of a team.--N.W.
=Thimbles=. _Campanula rotundifolia_, L., the Harebell.--S.W.
(Hamptworth.)
=Thorough-pin=. The pin which fastens the waggon-bed to the carriage
(D.). See Waggon.--N.W.
*=Three-pound-tenner=. The name given by bird-catchers about
Salisbury to the 'Chevil' variety of Goldfinch, it being more
valuable than the ordinary kind (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 203).--S.W.
=Threshles=. 'A pair of threshles, drashols, or flyals, a flail'
(D.). The usual term for a flail. See ~Drashel~.--N. & S.W.
=Throw=. (1) _n._ 'A throw of timber,' the quantity felled at any one
time.--N.W. (2) _v._ To fell timber (_Bevis_, ch. i).--N.W. (3) 'To
throw a gin or snare,' to spring or set it off (_Amateur Poacher_,
ch. vi).--N.W.
=Thunder-bolts=, (1) The concretionary nodules of iron pyrites so
frequently found in the chalk. See ~Gold~; also Thunder-stones in
_Addenda_.--N. & S.W.
'The ploughboys search for pyrites, and call them
thunderbolts.--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
(2) Fossil belemnites.--N. & S.W.
=Thunder-flower=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, &c., Red Poppy.--S.W.
=Thunder-fly=. A black midge. So called because they appear mostly in
thunder weather.--N. & S.W.
'Tiny black flies alighting on my hands and face, irritated
the skin; the haymakers call them "thunder-flies."'--_Great
Estate_, ch. v. pp. 96-97.
*=Thurindale=. A flagon holding about three pints (H.Wr.). M.E.
_thriddendele_, a third part.--Obsolete.
=Thurtifer=. Unruly, self-willed (H.Wr.).--S.W.
=Ticky Pig=. The smallest pig of a litter.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tid=. *(1) Lively, playful (B.G.). (2) Childish, affecting
simplicity (A.), shy. 'Coom, coom, dwon't'e be tid' (A.). A.S.
_tyddr_, tender, weak, imbecile.--N.W.
=Tiddle=. (1) _v._ To bring up a lamb by hand (A.). A.S. _tyddrian_,
to nourish, feed.--N.W.
'"Shall I get a drap o' milk, and _tiddle_ un a leetle,
maester?" ... "Ha! to be sure! ... Put un into the basket ...
and get us a bottle wi' some milk." Tom, who had often assisted
the young lambs in the same way, soon procured the therewith
to fashion the pseudo teat, and master and man did their
best to perform the office of wet nurse to the unfortunate
foundling.'--_Wilts Tales_, pp. 5-6.
(2) _v._ To tickle (S.).--S.W.
=Tiddlin' lamb=. A lamb brought up by hand (A.). See ~Tiddle~
(1).--N.W.
*=Tiddy=. _adj._ Weakly, delicate. See ~Tiddle~ (1).--N.W. (Castle
Eaton, &c.)
=Tide-times=. Christmas, Easter, &c. 'He do have a drop, tide-times
and that.'--N. & S.W.
=Tie=. Of wood, to pinch the saw while working.--N.W.
*=Tig=. A little pig (_Dark_, ch. i).--N.W., occasionally.
=Tile=. See ~Teel~.
=Tiller=. The upper handle of a sawyer's long pit-saw. See
~Box~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tiller out=. To sprout out with several shoots, as wheat after being
eaten off when young.--N. & S.W.
=Timersome=. Timid (A.S.).--N.W.
=Tine=. *(1) _v._ To light a fire or candle (A.C.). ~Tin'd~ (B.). Cf.
A.S. _tendan, on-tendan_, to kindle, and E. _tinder_. *(2) To finish
off a laid hedge or stake-fence by weaving in the top-band of boughs
(A.B.). *(3) _v._ To divide or enclose a field with a hedge (A.B.C.).
A.S. _týnan_.--N.W.
'To tine in a piece of waste ground is to enclose it with a
fence of wood or quickset.'--_Cunnington MS._
(4) _n._ A drag or harrow tooth (D.).--N.W. *(5) To give the ground
two or three _tinings_ is to draw the harrow two or three times over
the same place. See Cope's _Hants Gloss_.
'They drag it two, three, or four times, and harrow it four,
five, or six times, viz. (provincially speaking), they
give it "so many tine with the drag, and so many with the
harrow."'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii.
=Ting-tang=. A small church-bell (S.). See ~Tang~.--N.W.
*=Tining=. (1) _n._ A new enclosure made with a dead hedge (D.H.
Wr.).--N.W. (2) _n._ A fence of wood, either brushwood, pale, or
quickset (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Tippem=, =Tippum=. A game played by six boys, three on each side of
the table. The centre one 'works the piece,' i.e. passes it from hand
to hand up and down under his side of the table. Then all the hands
are placed on the table, and the opposite side guesses which hand the
'piece' is in, and scores or loses a mark according as the guess is
right or wrong. The 'piece' may be anything available, from a knife
to a pebble or bean.--N.W.
=Tippy=, =Tippity=. Easily upset.--N. & S.W.
=Tistie-tostie=, =Tostie=. A child's name for both cowslip and
cowslip-ball.--N. & S.W.
=Tithing=, =Tething=. A shock of ten sheaves, for convenience in
tithe-taking (D.). The same as ~Hyle~.--N.W.
=Titty-wren=. The wren.--N.W.
*=Toads'-cheese=. Toadstool, fungus (A.).
*=Toads'-heads=. _Fritillaria Meleagris_, L., Snake's-head (_English
Plant Names_).--N.W. (Minety.)
=Toads'-meat=. Toadstools; fungi (S.).--S.W.
=Toad-stabber=. A bad blunt knife (S.). Commonly used by boys about
Clyffe Pypard.--N. & S.W.
=Todge=. Any thick spoon-meat, as gruel (A.B.C.). See ~Stodge~.--N.W.
=Token=. *(1) A fool (H.Wr.). (2) A 'young token' is a young
rascal.--N.W. (3) Formerly used also as a term of endearment.
A man would call his children his 'little tokens.'--N.W. (4)
'Blackberry-token,' the Dewberry.
=Toll=. To entice or decoy. ~Tawl~ (S.). 'Hev' a bit o' cheese, to
toll the bread down wi', will 'ee?' Still in common use. A cow given
to wandering, when she breaks out of bounds, generally 'tolls' the
rest of the herd after her.--N. & S.W.
=Toll-bird=. (1) _n._ A trained decoy-bird; also a stuffed bird used
as a decoy.--N. & S.W. (2) 'To give anything just as a toll-bird,'
to throw a sprat to catch a mackerel. Tradesmen will sell some one
article far below cost-price, as a toll-bird to attract custom.--S.W.
=Tom-bird=. The male of any bird is generally so called in N. Wilts.
=Tom Cull=. The Bullhead, _Cottus gobio_ (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Tommy=. Food in general (S.), especially when carried out into the
fields.--N. & S.W.
=Tommy-bag=. The bag in which labourers take food out with them
(S.).--N. & S.W.
=Tommy-hacker=. The same as Hacker.--S.W. (Steeple Ashton.)
=Tommy-hawk=. A potato hacker. See ~Hacker~.--N.W.
*=Tom Thumbs=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot Trefoil.--S.W.
(Mere.)
*=Tom Thumb's Honeysuckle=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot
Trefoil (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Toppings=. Bran and mill-sweepings ground up together.--N.W.
=Totty=, =Tutty=, =Tutto=. A nosegay. Used all over Wilts, in
slightly varying pronunciations, the stress sometimes falling on
the first and sometimes on the last syllable. An apple-tree in full
blossom is 'all a totty.' At Hungerford the tything-men are known as
~Tutti-men~, and carry ~Tutti-poles~, or wands wreathed with flowers.
Minsheu's Dict., Eng. and Spanish ed. 1623, 'a posie or tuttie.'--N.
& S.W.
=Touch=. Coarse brown paper soaked in saltpetre and dried, used
instead of matches for lighting a pipe in the open air, the spark to
kindle it being struck with a knife and a flint. Commonly used up to
a very recent date.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Touchwood=. A boy's game, in which the pursued endeavours to escape
by touching _wood_, i.e. tree or post, before his pursuer can seize
him.--N. & S.W.
=Toward=. (1) Order to a horse to come towards you.--N.W. (2) Hence
applied to anything near or leaning towards you (_Great Estate_, ch.
viii).--N.W.
=Towardly=. Docile, as opposed to _froward_.--N.W.
=To-year=, =T'year=. This year. 'I bain't a-gwain' to set no taters
to-year.'--N. & S.W.
=Traipse=, =Trapes=, =Traipsey=. (1) _n._ A slattern.--N. & S.W. (2)
To walk in a slatternly manner; used chiefly of women.--N. & S.W.
*=Trammel Hawk=. _Falco peregrinus_, Peregrine Falcon (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 72).--S.W.
=Trant=. To move goods.--N.W.
=Tranter=. A haulier.--N.W.
=Trapes=. n. An untidy person (S.). See ~Traipes~.--N. & S.W.
*=Traveller's-ease=. _Achillea Millefolium_, L., Common Yarrow.--S.W.
(Little Langford.)
=Tree-mouse=. _Certhia familiaris_, the Common Creeper.--S.W.
'It may be seen creeping like a mouse up and down the hole
of a tree. Hence it is known in the south of the county as
the "Tree-mouse.'"--_Birds of Wilts._, p. 259. #/ =Trendle=.
(1) _n._ A circular trough or tray in which bakers mix their
dough.--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ Hence, a circular earthwork.--N.W.
'Chisenbury Camp, or Trendle, as it is vulgarly
called.'--BRITTON'S _Top. Descr. Wilts_., p. 407.
=Triangle=. 'To plant cabbages triangle,' to set them in _quincunx_
order.--N.W.
=Trig=. (1) _v._ To fasten, make firm (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii.
p. 113).--N.W. (2) adj. 'Pretty trig,' in fairly good health.--S.W.
(Steeple Ashton.)
=Trigger=. The rod let down to '_trig up_' the shafts of a cart.--N.W.
*=Trim-tram=. A gate which swings in a V-shaped enclosure of post and
rail, so as to prevent cattle from passing through.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Trins=. Calves' trins, i.e., calves' stomachs, are used in
cheese-making.--N.W.
=Trip=. To take off in jumping.--N.W.
=Tripping=. The 'take-off' in jumping.--N.W.
'Sometimes they could not leap because the tripping was bad
... sometimes the landing was bad ... or higher than the
tripping.--_Bevis_, ch. v.
=Trounce=. To have the law of a man, to punish by legal process
(A.B.S.); never used of physical punishment.--N.W.
=Truckle=. (1) _v._ To roll.--N.W. (2) _n._ Anything that may be
rolled.--N.W. (3) _n._ A small cheese (S.)--N. & S.W.
=Truckle-cheese=. A small barrel-shaped cheese of about 6 or 8
lbs.--N. & S.W.
=Truckles=. (1) 'Sheep's-truckles,' sheep dung; the usual term in
N. Wilts. Cf. 'trottles' in Linc., and 'trestles' in Sussex.--N.W.
(2) 'To play truckles,' to roll anything, such as a reel, the top
of a canister, &c., from one player to another, backwards and
forwards.--S.W.
=Trumpery=. Weeds growing in cultivated ground.--N.W.
'If he'd a-let us have it rent free first year ('cause
that land wer all full o' trump'ry that high) we could ha'
done.'--Jonathan Merle, ch. xxxvii. p. 412.
=Tuck=. (1) 'To tuck a rick,' to pull out the uneven hay all round
the sides, until they look smooth and even.--N.W. (2) To smart
with pain (H.Wr.).--N. & S.W. (3) To blow gustily. 'The wind is so
tucking to-day,' i.e. gusty, veering, blowing from all quarters,
uncertain.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tuffin=, =Tuffin-hay=, =Tuff-mowing=. Late hay made of the rough
grass left by the cattle. ~Turvin~ (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.
*=Tufwort=. Probably the nest of _Vespa Britannica_, which in hot
summers has occurred frequently in our hedges in some parts of the
county.
'Between Crookwood and what is called "The Folly," they
observed a large cluster in one of the fir-trees ... which
turned out to be a wasps' nest. The nest, which was nearly
as large as a quartern measure, was fully matured, and is
described by an expert in taking wasps' nests as what is known
as "the tufwort" nest. It consisted of three splendid cakes of
comb, enclosed in a web.'--Local Papers, July, 1893.
=Tugs=. Pieces of chain attached to the hames of the thiller, by
which he draws.--N.W.
=Tuley=. See ~Tewley~.
=Tulip-tree=. _Acer pseudo-platanus_, L., Sycamore, the smell or
taste of the young shoots being supposed by children to resemble that
of the tulip.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Tump=. A hillock (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Tumpy=. Hillocky, uneven (A.)--N.W.
=Tun=. (1) _n._ Chimney, chimney-top (A.B.C.). 'Chimney-tun' (_Wild
Life_, ch. viii).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To tun,' or 'to tun in,' to
pour liquid through a 'tun-dish' into a cask.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard,
Devizes, Huish.)
=Tun-dish=, or =Tun-bowl=. A kind of wooden funnel, like a small
bucket, with hoops round it, and a tube at the bottom, used for
pouring liquids into a cask.--N.W. (Devizes, Clyffe Pypard, Huish.)
See _Measure for Measure_, iii. 2.
=Turf=. Refuse oak-bark from the tanner's, made into cakes for firing
(B.H.Wr.).--N.W. (Marlborough, &c.)
*=Turn= or =Torn=. A spinning-wheel.--N.W. (obsolete). This word
frequently occurs in the Mildenhall parish accounts, as:--
'1793. To Box and Spokes to Torn, 1_s_. 2_d_. To a Standard,
hoop 4 spokes to Torn, 1_s_. 3_d_. To a Hoop 3 spokes to a
Torn, 11 _d_. To 4 legs and standard a hope 5 spokes to Sal's
Torn, 2_s_. 7_d_. To Mending Bery's Torn, 1_s_. 6_d_. 1784.
Paid John Rawlins for a Turn, 3_s_.'
In 1809-10 the word _Turn_ gives place to _Spinning-wheel_.
*=Turnpike=. A wire set by a poacher across a hare's run (_Amateur
Poacher_, chs. ii. and vii).--N.W.
=Turvin=. See ~Tuffin~.
=Tutto=. See ~Totty~.--N.W.
=Tutty=. See ~Totty~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Tut-work=. Piece-work (S.).--S.W.
=Twinge=. (1) _n._ A long flat cake or loaf of bread.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.) (2) _n._ A piece of dough, moulded for making into
bread.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Twire=. To look wistfully at anything (A.B.C.). 'How he did twire
an' twire at she, an' her wouldn't so much as gie 'un a look!' In
_Cunnington MS._ the word is said to have been in common use at that
time in N. Wilts.
'The wench ... twired and twinkled at him.'--FLETCHER, _Women
Pleased_, p. 41.
'Compare Prov. Germ, _zwiren_, to take a stolen glance at a
thing.--SMYTHE-PALMER.
*=Twi-ripe=. Ripening unevenly (D.).
=Twit=. In cider-making, the same as ~Perkins~, q.v.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=T'year=. This year (A.S.) See ~To-year~.--N. & S.W.
=U=. _U_ is often sounded _ow_, as _fowsty_, fusty, _dowst_, dust, or
chaff.
=Uck=. This very characteristic N. Wilts verb is used in many ways.
Stable-litter is ucked about with a fork in cleaning out; weeds are
ucked out of a gravel path with an old knife; a cow ucks another
with the thrust of her horn; or a bit of cinder is ucked out of the
eye with a bennet. See _Great Estate_, ch. iv, where it is said
that anything stirred with a pointed instrument is 'ucked'; also
_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii. 'It is apparently not a perversion of
_hook_, and should be compared with _huck_, to push, lift, gore,
Hants; huck, a hard blow, Suss., and huck, to spread about manure
(see Parish, _Sussex Gloss._). It is perhaps a by-form of Prov.
_hike_, to toss, throw, or strike' (Rev. A. Smythe-Palmer).
=Unbelieving=. Of children, disobedient. 'He be that unbelieving, I
can't do nothin' wi' un.'--N. & S.W.
=Under-creeping=. Underhanded.--S.W.
=Unempty=, =Unempt=, =Unent=. _v._ To empty (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Unked= or =Hunked=. Lonely (A.), but always with an idea of
uncanniness underlying it. ''Tes a unked rwoad to take late o'
nights.' Also ~Unkid~, ~Unkerd~ (B.C.), ~Unkert~ (C.), and ~Unket~
(B.).--N.W.
'The gamekeeper ... regards this place as "unkid"--i.e. weird,
uncanny.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv.
'Related to uncouth = (1) unknown, (2) strange, uncanny,
lonely.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
'What be the matter with thuck dog you? How he do howl--it
sounds main unkid!'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. ix.
Here _unkid_=ominous and uncanny.
=Unthaw=. To thaw (S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
=Up-along=. A little way up the street or road (S.). See
~Down-along~.--N. & S.W.
=Upping-stock=. A horse-block (A.B.).--N.W.
=Upsides=. 'I'll be upzides wi' un!' I'll be even with him (S)., or a
match for him.--N. & S.W.
=V=. Many words, as _Voreright_, usually pronounced with a V, will be
found under ~F~.
=Vag=. To reap in the modern style, with a broad 'rip-hook' and a
crooked stick, chopping the straw off close to the ground, so as to
leave little or no stubble (_Walks in the Wheatfields_). True reaping
should be done with the hand instead of the crooked stick.--N. & S.W.
=Vagging-hook=. The hook used in vagging.--N. & S.W.
=Vagging-stick=. The crooked stick, usually hazel, with which the
corn is drawn towards the reaper in vagging (_Amateur Poacher_, ch.
iv).--N. & S.W.
*=Valiant Sparrow=. _Yunx torquilla_, the Wryneck (_Birds of Wilts_,
p. 257).
=Vallens=. See ~Falling~ (S.).--S.W.
=Vamp=. To walk about (S.). Much more used in Dorset. 'I zeed she
a-vamping half round the town.'--S.W.
*=Vamplets=. Rude gaiters to defend the legs from wet (A.H.). Cf.
Bams. Also used in the New Forest. See _Cradock Nowell_, ch. xviii,
'Not come with me ... and you with your vamplets on, and all!' where
the word is applied to shooting gaiters.--N.W.
=Veer=. (1) _n._ A furrow.--N.W. (Glouc. bord.) (2) _v._ 'To veer
out the rudges,' to mark out with the plough the 'rudges' or 'lands'
before ploughing the whole field.--N.W.
=Veer weather=. Chopping, changeable weather.
=Veldevare= or =Veldever=. See ~Velt~.
*=Vell=. The salted stomach of a young calf, used for making
rennet.--N.W. (Malmesbury).
*=Velleys=. The drain where the eaves of a cottage meet.
=Velt=. The fieldfare. _Turdus pilaris_ (_Wild Life_, ch. xvi),
the usual name for the bird in N. Wilts, there being a few local
variants, as ~Vulver~ at Huish and ~Veldever~ at Clyffe Pypard. Also
~Veldevare~.--N.W.
'Tom was a regular gawney ... and went about wi' a handful o'
zalt to catch the veldevares.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 177.
=Vert=. See ~Plim~.
*=Vessel=. See quotation.--N.W. (Castle Eaton.)
'To wash up the vessel (_sing._ not _pl._) is to wash up
plates, dishes, &c.'--Miss E. BOYER-BROWN.
=Vinney=. (1) _adj._ Mouldy (A.C.S.), as applied to bread or cheese.
A.S. _fynig_. _Cunnington MS._ points out that it is only used of
white or blue mould, never of black or rotten mould. It was said at
Hill Deverill of a woman feigning to be bed-ridden, that 'she would
lie there abed till she were vinney.' See ~Blue-vinnied~. (2) _adj._
Nervous. 'Do 'ee stop telling about they ghostises, or 'tull make I
vinny.'--N. & S.W.
=Vlonkers=. See ~Flunk~ (S.).--S.W.
=Vrail=. The whip part of the old-fashioned flail.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Vrammards=, =Vrammerd=. (1) Order to a horse to go from you, as
opposed to ~Toward~.--N.W. (2) Hence sometimes used as _adj._ by
ploughmen and others in speaking of anything distant or leaning away
from them (_Great Estate_, ch. viii), as a load of hay or corn with a
list to the off.--N.W. (3) _n._ A _vrammerd_ is a blade set at right
angles on a short handle, used for splitting laths or rails.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Vrow=. See ~Brow~.
*=Vuddles=, =Vuddels=. A spoilt child (A.B.C.H.). In Hants to
_vuddle_ a child is to spoil it by injudicious petting.--N.W.,
obsolete.
=Vulver=. See ~Velt~.
=W=. Often not sounded at the beginning of a word. Thus _want_, a
mole, becomes '_oont_, and _within_ and _without_ are usually _athin_
and _athout_.
=Waddle up=. To wrap up with an excess of clumsily arranged clothing;
usually applied to infants.--N.W.
=Wag=. (1) 'To wag the Church bells,' to set them ringing. Also used
of tolling the bell for a funeral.--N. & S.W. (2) To move (S.). 'I
be that bad I can't scarce wag.'--N. & S.W. (3) In carrying, the boy
who stands at the horses' heads, to move them forward as required, is
said to 'wag hoss,' and the order given is 'wag on!'--N.W.
=Waggon=. The various parts of a waggon in N. Wilts bear the
following names:--the bottom is the ~Waggon-bed~. The transverse
pieces which support this over the ~Exes~ (axles) are the ~Pillars~,
~Peel~ (A.). The longitudinal pieces on each side on which the sides
rest are the ~Waggon-blades~. The similar pieces under the centre
of the bed are the ~Bed-summers~. The cross piece at the back into
which the ~Tail-board~ hooks is the ~Shetlock~ or ~Shutleck~. The
~Tail Pole~ joins the front and hind wheels together underneath. The
~Hound~ is the fore-carriage over the front wheels. The ~Slide~ is
the cross-bar on the tail of the 'Hound.' The ~Dripple~ is the strip
running along the top of the side of the waggon from which over the
hind wheels project the ~Waggon-hoops~, and over the front wheels the
~Raves~. The shafts are the ~Dills~ or ~Thills~. The ~Parters~ are
detached pieces of wood at the side, joining the 'Dripple' to the
'Bed.' The ~Thorough-pin~ is the pin which fastens the 'Waggon-bed'
to the 'Carriage.' Also see ~Arms~, ~Hoops~, ~Overlayer~, ~Sharps~,
~Draughts~, ~Limbers~, ~Strouter~, ~Ridge-tie~, ~Blades~, and
~Spances~.
=Wagtails=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking Grass.--N. & S.W.
=Wag-wants=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking Grass (S.). Also ~Weg-wants~,
~Wig-wants~, ~Wing-Wang~, and ~Wagtails~.--N. & S.W.
=Wake=. (1) _n._ The raked-up line (broader than a hatch or wallow)
of hay before it is made up into pooks (_Wild Life_, ch. vii).--N.W.
(2) _v._ To rake hay into wakes (D.).--N.W.
=Wake-at-noon=. _Ornithogalum umbellatum_, L., Star of
Bethlehem.--N.W.
=Wallow=. (1) _n._ A thin line of hay (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).
_Weale_ in Dorset. (2) _v._ To rake hay into lines.--N.W. =Want=.
A mole (B.S.); also ~Woont~ (B.) and 'oont (Wilts Tales, p. 173;
_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii).--N. & S.W.
'1620. Itm. to William Gosse for killing of wants,
xijd.'--Records of Chippenham, p. 202.
=Want-catcher=, 'oont-catcher. _n._ A professional mole catcher.--N.
& S.W.
=Want-heap=. A mole-hill.--N. & S.W.
*=Want-rear=. A mole-hill.--S.W.
=Waps=, =Wopse=. A wasp (A.S.). A.S. _wœps_.--N. & S.W.
=Warnd=, =Warn=. To warrant (A.S.). 'You'll get un, I warnd.'--N. &
S.W.
=Warning-stone=. See ~Gauge-brick~. Also see _Addenda_.
=Wart-wort=. (1) _Chelidonium majus_, L., The Greater Celandine, the
juice of which is used to burn away warts.--N. & S.W. (2) _Euphorbia
Peplus_, L., Petty Spurge.--N.W.
=Wassail=. A drinking-song, sung by men who go about at Christmas
wassailing (A.B.).--N.W.
=Wassailing=, =Waysailing=. Going about singing and asking for money
at Christmas (A.B.).--N.W.
*=Wasset-man=. A scarecrow (A.B.G.H.Wr.); also ~Wusset~ (H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Watch=. If a hay-rick is so badly made that it heats, the owner
is often so ashamed of it that he attempts to set the matter
right before his neighbours find it out. If a passer-by notices
him poking about the hay as if searching for something in it, the
ironical question is asked--'Have you lost your watch there?'--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) Cp. 'To drop your watch in the bottom of the
rick.'--_Upton-on-Severn Words_, p. 34.
=Watchet=, =Wetched=, =Wetchet=. Wet about the feet. ~Wotshed~ at
Cherhill. ~Wetched~ (A.).--N.W.
'Either way, by lane or footpath, you are sure to get what the
country folk call "watchet," i.e. wet.'--_Wild Life_, ch. vi.
'You'd best come along o' me to the lower lands ... for it
be mighty wet there these marnins, and ye'll get watshed for
certin.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p. 142.
*=Water Anemone=. _Ranunculus hederaceus_, L., Ivy-leafed
Crowfoot.--S.W. (Zeals.)
*=Water-blobb=. _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., The Water-lily (A.B.). See
~Blobbs~.
*=Water-buttercup=. _Ranunculus Flammula_, L., Lesser
Spear-wort.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Water-Cuckoo=. _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock. See
~Cuckoo~.--S.W.
=Water-lily=. (1) _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.--N. & S.W.
*(2) _Ranunculus aquatilis_, L., Water Crowfoot.--S.W. (Charlton All
Saints.)
*=Wayside-bread=. _Plantago major_, L., Plantain (_English Plant
Names_). Cp. M.E. _wey-brede_ in the 'Promptorium.'
=Weather-glass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel. See
~Shepherd's Weather-glass~.--N. & S.W.
=Weeth=. (i) _adj._ Tough and pliable (A.B.C.S.).--N.W. (2) _adj._
Of bread, moist and yet not too soft. 'I puts my lease bread on the
pantony shelf, and it soon gets nice and weeth.' Often pronounced as
_wee_.--N. & S.W.
=Weffet=, =Wevet=. A spider.--S.W., occasionally.
=Weg-wants=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Weigh-jolt=. A see-saw (A.B.H.Wr.).--Formerly in common use at
Clyffe Pypard, N.W.
=Welch-nut=. A walnut (_MS. Lansd._).--N. & S.W.
*=Well-at-ease=. In good health, hearty.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Well-drock=. The windlass over a well.--S.W.
=West= (pronounced _Waast_). A stye in the eye. See ~Wish~.--S.W.
=Wheat-reed=. Straw preserved unthreshed for thatching (D.). See
~Elms~ and ~Reed~.--S.W., obsolete.
*=Wheeling=. 'It rains wheeling,' i.e. hard or pouring.--N.W.
(Lockeridge.) =Whicker=, =Wicker=. (1) To neigh or whinny as a
horse, bleat as a goat, whine as a dog, &c. (S.; _Village Miners_;
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 114).--N.W. (2) To giggle.--N.W.
*(3) 'To find a wicker's nest,' to be seized with an irrepressible
fit of giggling (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
*=Whip land=. Land not divided by meres, but measured out, when
ploughed, by the whip's length (D.).
=Whippence=. The fore-carriage of a plough or harrow, &c. (D.).--N.W.
=Whipwhiles=. Meanwhile (S.). A Somersetshire word.--S.W.
=Whissgig=. (1) _v._ To lark about. Wissgigin, larking (S.).--N. &
S.W. (2) _n._ A lark, a bit of fun or tomfoolery. 'Now, none o' your
whissgigs here!'--N.W.
=Whissgiggy=. _adj._ Frisky, larky.--N.W.
*=White=. 'Cow white'=cow in milk. 'Calf white'=sucking calf.
'All the small tithes such as wool and lamb, cow white and
calf &c. throughout all parts of the parish unexpressed in the
several foregoing particulars. The usual rates at present being
fourpence a cow white--sixpence a calf ... the sheep, lambs and
calves are due at St. Mark's tide--the cow white, and fatting
cattle at Lammas.'--_Hilmarton Parish Terrier_, 1704. See
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 126.
Usually defined as above, but perhaps more correctly written as
_cow-wite_ and _calf-wite_, i.e. the mulct or payment for a cow or
calf.
'Tythes of Wool and Lambs and Calves, and three half pence
which is due and payable at Lammas being Composition Money for
the Tythe White of every Cow.'--_Wilcot Parish Terrier_, 1704.
As regards the ordinary derivation, compare _white-house_, a dairy,
_white-meat_, milk, _whites_, milk.
'Wheatly (_On the Common Prayer_, ed. 1848, pp. 233-4) quotes
from a letter of one G. Langbain, 1650, as follows:--"certe
quod de Lacte vaccarum refert, illud percognitum habeo in
agro _Hamtoniensi_ (an et alibi nescio) decimas Lacticiniorum
venire vulgo sub hoc nomine, _The Whites of Kine_; apud
Leicestrenses etiam Lacticinia vulgariter dicuntur
_Whitemeat_."'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=White Couch=. See ~Couch~.
=White-flower=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort.--N.W.
(Huish.)
*=White-house=. A dairy (H.Wr.).
=White-livered=. Pale and unhealthy-looking (S.).--N. & S.W. At
Clyffe Pypard the word has a yet stronger idea of disease about it,
and a 'white-livered' woman is popularly supposed to be almost as
dangerous as was the poison-nurtured Indian beauty who was sent as
a present to Alexander the Great. How the 'whiteness' of the liver
is to be detected is not very clear, but probably it is by the
pallor of the face. At any rate, if you discover that a young woman
is 'white-livered,' do not on any account marry her, because the
whiteness of the liver is of a poisonous nature, and you assuredly
will not live long with a white-livered young woman for your wife. It
is most unhealthy, and if _she_ does not die, _you_ will! The word is
so used of both sexes.
=White Robin Hood=. _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion.--S.W.
(Zeals.)
=White-wood=. _Viburnum Lantana_, L., Mealy Guelder-rose.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) ~White-weed~.--S.W. (Farley).
*=Whitty-tree=. _Viburnum Lantana_, L. (Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 56, ed. Brit.)
=Whiver=. (1) To quiver, hover, flutter. ~Wiver~ (S.).--S.W. (2) To
waver, hesitate.--S.W.
*=Who'say=, =Hoosay=. An idle report.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Wicker=. See ~Whicker~.
=Wig-wants=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Wild Asparagus=. _Ornithogalum pyrenaicum_, L., Spiked Star of
Bethlehem.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Wildern= (_i_ short). An apple-tree run wild in the hedges, as
opposed to a true crab-tree.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Wild Willow=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy Willow-herb
(_Great Estate_, ch. ii).
=Will-jill=. An impotent person or hermaphrodite.--N.W. Compare
_Wilgil_ and _John-and-Joan_ in Hal.
*=Willow-wind=. (1) _Convolvulus_, Bindweed (_Great Estate_, ch.
viii). (2) _Polygonum Fagopyrum_, L., Buckwheat (_Ibid._).
=Wiltshire Weed, The=. The Common Elm. See notice in _Athenaeum_,
1873, of Jefferies' _Goddard Memoir_, also _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. x.
p. 160. This is a term frequently occurring in books and articles on
Wilts, but it would not be understood by the ordinary Wiltshire folk.
=Wim=. To winnow.--S.W.
=Wind-mow=. A cock of a waggon-load or more, into which hay is
sometimes put temporarily in catchy weather (D.), containing about 15
cwt. in N. Wilts, and a ton elsewhere.--N. & S.W.
=Wing-wang=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Winter-proud=. Of wheat, too rank (D.), as is frequently the case
after a mild winter. See ~Proud~.--N.W.
=Wirral=, =Worral=, or =Wurral=. _Ballota nigra_, L., Black
Horehound.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Wish=, =Wisp=. A sty in the eye.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Wissgigin=. See ~Whissgig~ (1).
=Withwind=, or =Withwine=. _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed,
and other species (A.B.D.S.). ~Wave-wine~ or ~Wither-wine~ (_Cycl. of
Agric._); ~Withywind~ on Som. border.--N. & S.W.
=Wivel=, =Wyvel=. To blow as wind does round a corner or through a
hole.--N.W.
=Wivelly=, or =Wivel-minded=. Undecided, wavering, fickle, and
untrustworthy (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
=Wiver=. See ~Whiver~.
=Womble=. _v._ To wobble about from weakness, &c. (_Dark_, ch. iv,
where it is used of children who come to school without having had
any breakfast).--N. &. S.W., occasionally.
=Wombly=. _adj._ Wobbly (_Dark_, ch. iv).
=Wonderment=. (1) _n._ A sight or pastime of any kind.--N.W. (2)
_n._ Any occupation that appears fanciful and unpractical to the
rustic mind. Thus a boy who had a turn for inventions, drawing,
verse-making, butterfly-collecting, or anything else of a similar
nature which lies outside the ordinary routine of a labourer's daily
life, would be described as always 'aater his 'oonderments.'--N.W.
(3) _v._ To play the fool, waste time over unprofitable work.--N.W.
*=Wood-sour=. _adj._ Of soil, loose, spongy. Also ~Woodsere~.--N.W.,
obsolete.
'The strong red land on the high level parts of the Downs ...
once wood-land, and sometimes expressly called "wood-sour"
land.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.
'A poor wood-sere land very natural for the production of
oaks.'--AUBREY, _Miscell_. p. 211.
'It is a wood-sere country abounding much with sour and austere
plants.'--AUBREY, _Nat. Hist. of Wilts_, p. 11, ed. Brit.
=Wood-wax=. *(1) _Genista tinctoria_, L., Dyer's Greenweed (D.),
Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, pp. 34 and 49, ed. Brit.--N. & S.W. (2)
_Genista Anglica_, L., Needle Whin.--S.W. (Farley.)
=Wooset=. See ~Houssett~.
=Wooster-blister=. A smack in the face or box on the ear.--S.W. (Som.
bord.) Cf. Som. ~Whister-twister~, and Dev. ~Whister-poop~.
*=Works=. In a water-meadow, the system of trenches and carriages by
which the water is brought in and distributed (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch.
xii).
=Worsen=. _v._ To grow worse. 'You be worsened a deal since I seen
'ee laast, I d' lot as you bean't a gwain' to live long.'--N. & S.W.
=Wosbird=. A term of reproach (A.),=_whore's brood_. There are many
variants, as ~Hosebird~, ~Husbird~, and ~Oozebird~. Much commoner in
Devon.--N. & S.W.
'They're a couple o' th' ugliest wosbirds in the vair.'--Wilts
Tales, p. 89.
In his _Dictionary of Provincial English_, Wright defines this as
'a wasp,' a mistake too amusing to be passed over! Probably his
informant heard a rustic who had got into a wasp's nest, and been
badly stung, 'danging they wosbirds,' and on asking what he meant by
'wosbirds' was told that they were the 'wopses,' and not unnaturally
concluded that the two words were synonyms.
=Wout=. A carter's order to a horse to bear off. The opposite to Coom
hether.
=Wrap=. _n._ A thin strip of wood. See ~Rap~.
=Wrastle=. To spread, as cancer, fire, roots, &c.--N.W.
'These fires are, or were, singularly destructive in
villages--the flames running from thatch to thatch, and, as
they express it, "wrastling" across the intervening spaces. A
pain is said to "wrastle," or shoot and burn.'--_Wild Life_,
ch. iv. p. 68.
*=Wreaths=. The long rods used in hurdle-making (D.).
=Wrick=, =Rick=. To twist or wrench. 'I've bin an' wricked me ankly.'
M.E. _wrikken_.--N. & S.W.
=Wridgsty=. See ~Ridge-tie~.
=Wrist=. To twist, especially used of wringing the neck of a rabbit
or fowl (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi).--N.W.
=Wug=, =Woog=. Order to a horse (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Wusset=. See ~Wasset-man~.
=Wusted=. Looking very ill, grown worse.--N.W.
=Y=. Many words beginning with H, G, or a vowel, are usually sounded
with Y prefixed, as _Yacker_, acre; _Yeppern_, apron; _Yat_, or
_Yeat_, gate; _Yeldin_, a hilding; and _Yerriwig_, earwig.
Verbs ending in _y_ often drop that letter. Thus empty and study
become _empt_ and _stud_.
The free infinitive in _y_ was formerly much used, but is now dying
out. It was used in a general question, as 'Can you _mowy_?' Were a
special piece of work referred to, _mowy_ would not be correct, the
question then being simply 'Can you _mow_ thuck there meäd?'
The following example of the 'free infinitive' is given in
_Cunnington MS._:--
'There is also here a Peculiar mode of forming active verbs
from Nouns, which are generally in use as apellations for
professions--take an Example. Well Mary, how do you get on
in Life? what do you and your family do _now_ to get a Living
in these times--Wy Zur we do aal vind Zummut to do--Jan, ye
know, he do _Smithey_ [work as a smith] Jin the beggist wench
do spinney the Little one do Lace makey--I do _Chorey_ [go out
as a Chore Woman] and the two Boys do Bird keepey--that is One
works as a smith--one spins one makes Lace one goes out as a
Chore woman & two are Bird keepers which Latter term were more
to the purpose if expressed Bird frightener or driver.'
=Yap=, =Yop=. (1) To yelp as a dog (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) To talk
noisily. 'What be a yopping there for?'--N.W.
*=Yard-land=. Land sufficient for a plough of oxen and a yard to
winter them; an ancient copyhold tenure (D.).--Obsolete.
*=Yard of land=. A quarter of an acre, because formerly, in common
lands forty poles long, the quarter acre was a land-yard wide
(D.).--Obsolete.
=Yea-nay=. 'A yea-nay chap,' one who does not know his own
mind.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Yeemath=. Aftermath (B.). ~Youmath~ (A.B.). ~Yeomath~ (A.H.Wr.).
Probably = _young math_, cp. _young grass_ in W. Somerset. Cp.
~Ea-math~, ~Ameäd~ at Cherhill, ~Ea-grass~ in S. Wilts.--N.W.
=Yees=. An earthworm. See ~Eass~.
=Yelding=, =Yeldin=. n. A hilding (A): a woman of bad character
(_Wilts Tales_, p. 3).--N.W.
'I've allus bin respectable wi' my women volk, and I wun't ha'e
no yeldin' belongin' to ma.'--_Dark_, ch. xix.
=Yellucks=. See ~Hullocky~.
=Yelm=, =Yelms=. See ~Elms~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Yellow-cups=. Buttercups in general.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Yellow-Thatch=. _Lathyrus pratensis_, L., Meadow Vetchling.--N. &
S.W.
*=Yoke=. See ~Fork~ (_Wild Life_, ch. vi).
=Yop=. See ~Yap~.
*=You=. This word is often thrown in at the end of a sentence,
sometimes as a kind of query--'Don't you think so?'--but usually to
give a strong emphasis to some assertion.--N.W.
'A' be a featish-looking girl, you.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch.
i.
'Fine growing marning, you.'--_Ibid._ ch. i.
'That be a better job than ourn, you.'--_Hodge and his
Masters_, ch. vii.
=Yuckel=, =Yuckle=. A woodpecker (A.H.Wr.). So called from its cry,
_Yuc_, _yuc_.--N.W.
=Yaught=, =Yawt=. To swallow, to drink. 'There's our Bill--he can
yaught down drenk like anything,' or 'He can yaught a deal.'--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard, Huish, &c.)
=Z=. Among the old people _S_ is still usually sounded as _Z_, as
_Zaat_ or _Zate_, soft; _Zound_, to swoon; _Zorrens_, servings, &c.
See _S_ for many such instances.
*=Zaad-paul=. This term used to be commonly applied about Aldbourne
to an utterly good-for-nothing fellow, but is gradually dying out
now. It probably means 'soft head.' See ~Saat~.
*=Zam=. To heat anything for some time over the fire, without letting
it come to the boil.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Zammy=. (1) _n._ A simpleton, a soft-headed fellow (S.).--S.W. *(2)
_adj._ 'Zammy tea,' half-cold, insipid tea.--N.W. (Hullavington.)
=Zam-zodden=. Long-heated over a slow fire, and so half spoilt.
This and the last two words belong to Som. rather than Wilts. A.S.
_sām-soden_, half boiled.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
ADDENDA
=Afterclaps=. Consequences, results. ~Atterclaps~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=All-amang=. _Add_:--
'Zweethearts, an wives, an children young,
Like sheep at vair, be ael among.'
E. SLOW, _Smilin Jack_.
=All as is=. All there is to be said, the final word in the matter.
Used when giving a very peremptory order to a labourer to carry out
your instructions without any further question. 'Aal as is as you've
a-got to do be to volly on hoein' they turmuts till I tells 'ee to
stop!'--N.W.
=Along of=. (1) On account of. ''Twer aal along o' she's bwoy's bad
ways as her tuk to drenk.'--N. & S.W. (2) In company with. 'Here, you
just coom whoam along o' I, an I'll gie 'ee summut to arg about!'--N.
& S.W.
=Aloud=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Altrot=. _Heracleum Sphondylium_, L., Cow-parsnip. See
~Eltrot~.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Apple-scoop=. A kind of scoop or spoon, made from the knuckle-bone
of a leg of mutton, and used for eating apples, the flavour of which
it is supposed to improve.--N.W.
=At=. (1) _Add_:--S.W. (2) _Add_:--S.W.
=Away with=. _Add_:--N. & S.W.
*=Babes-in-the-Cradle=. _Scrophularia aquatica_, L., Water
Figwort.--S.W. (Little Langford.)
=Bachelor's Buttons=. _Add_:--*(3) _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., Garden
Columbine.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Back-friends=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Bag=. (2) _Add_:--S.W.
=Bake-faggot=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Bannix=. To drive away poultry, or to hunt them about. 'Go an'
bannix they vowls out.' 'Dwon't bannix about they poor thengs like
that!'--S.W.
=Barley-buck=. A boy's game, played by guessing at the number of
fingers held up.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Bash=, =Bashet=. At Harnham, Salisbury, a small raised footpath is
known as the Bashet, while at Road certain houses built on the upper
side of a similar footpath, close to the boundary line dividing Wilts
and Somerset, are spoken of as being 'on the Bash.'
=Bay=. (1) _Add_:--S.W. (2) _Add_:--S.W.
*=Bayle=. Some plant which we cannot identify.--Obsolete.
'In this ground [near Kington St. Michael, grows]
bayle.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 49, ed. Brit.
=Bee-hackle=. The straw covering of a hive. See ~Hackle~ (2)--S.W.
*=Belly-vengeance=. _Add_:--Also used of very inferior cider.
=Bennets=. (1) _Add_:--S.W.
=Bird's-eye=. _Add_:--(4) _Veronica Buxbaumii_, Ten., Buxbaum's
Speedwell.--S.W. (Charlton.)
=Bivery=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Bleat=. _Add_:--S.W.
*=Blicker=. To shine intermittently, to glimmer. 'I zeen a light a
blickerin' droo th' tallot dwoor.'--S.W.
=Blind-house=. _Add_:--N. & S.W., obsolete.
=Blooms=. Flushes in the face. 'Ther you knaws as I do allus get the
hot blooms ter'ble bad.'--S.W.
=Bolster-pudding=. A roly-poly pudding.--N.W.
*=Bookin='. See ~Buck~.
=Bossy=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Boys=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Brash=, =Braish=. Of weather, cold and bracing.--N.W.
=Brashy=. Full of small stones and grit. 'Th' vier wer ter'ble
braishy 'smarnin',' the coal was bad and stony.--N.W.
=Bread-and-Cheese=. (3) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Break=. (1) _Add_:--Still used in this sense at Deverill, S.W. (2)
Of a spring, to rise.--N. & S.W.
'When the springs doe breake in Morecombe-bottom, in the north
side of the parish of Broade Chalke, which is seldome, 'tis
observed that it foretells a deer yeare for corne.'--AUBREY'S
_Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 34, ed. Brit.
=Breeding-bag=. The ovary of a sow.--N.W.
=Brevet=. (1) _Add_:--'Brevettin' into other folks' business.'--S.W.
(Deverill.)
*=Brimmer=. A broad-brimmed hat.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Brit=, =Brittle out=. (1) _Add_:--S.W. (2) _Add_:--S.W.
=Broken-mouthed=. Children are said to be 'broken-mouthed,' when they
are losing their teeth.--N.W.
=Broom=. 'I bain't a-gwain to hang out the broom,' I intend to be
very particular as to character, &c., before engaging any servants
or labourers.--N.W. (Wedhampton.) In Berks, 'to hang th' brum out
o' winder,' means that the wife is away, and so the husband is at
liberty to entertain any bachelor friends of his who like to drop in.
=Buck=. _Add_:--At Deverill 'Bookin'' is used instead, a 'good
bookin' o' clothes' being a large wash.--S.W.
=Buck-hearted=. Of cabbages, the same as ~Crow-hearted~.--S.W.
(Deverill.)
*=Budget=. The leather pouch in which a mower carries his
whetstone.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Bunt-lark=. The Common Bunting.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Buttercup=. _Add_:--N.W. (Huish); S.W. (Charlton.)
*=Butter-flower=. _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.
'The watered meadows all along from Marleborough to Hungerford,
Ramesbury, and Littlecot, at the later end of April, are yellow
with butter flowers.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 51, ed.
Brit.
=Buzzel-hearted=. A cabbage or broccoli plant that has lost its eye
is said to be 'buzzel-hearted.' Compare ~Crow-hearted~.--S.W.
=Caddling=. _Under_ (3) _add_:--'A caddlin' place' is one where as
soon as a servant begins one piece of work he or she is called off
to another, and can never get a chance of finishing anything off
satisfactorily.--N. & S.W.
=Call over=. To publish the banns.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Callus= or =Callis=. _v._ To become hard, as soil in frosty weather:
to cake together (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109).--N. & S.W.
=Cank=. _Add_:--*(2) _n._ Idle gossip.
=Canker=. (1) _Add_:--Also ~Cankie~.
=Cankers=. 'The baby hev a-got the cankers,' viz. white-mouth or
thrush.--N.W.
=Carpet=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Cart=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Chap=. _Add as example_:--'Hev 'ee zeed how thuck ther ground is aal
chapped wi' th' dry weather? They chaps be so gashly big, the young
pa'tridges 'ull purty nigh vall in.'
=Chin-cough=. The whooping cough.--N.W.
=Chip=. _Add_:--See Davis's _Agric. of Wilts_, p. 262.
=Clacker=. _Add_:--(2) A couple of pieces of wood, rattled together
to scare birds off the crops.--N. & S.W.
=Clam=. (1) To over-fill and choke up anything, as a water-pipe. The
throat sometimes gets quite 'clammed up' with phlegm.--N.W. (2) To
surfeit any one with food.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Clamp about=. To stump about noisily.--N.W.
=Clean-and-wholly=. Entirely. ''Tes aal gone clean-an'-wholly out o'
she's yead!'--N.W.
=Cleaty=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Clinkerballs=. Balls of dried dung or dirt in a sheep's wool.--S.W.
(Wilton, &c.)
=Cloddy=. _Add as example_:--'He's a cloddy sart o' a chap.'
=Clogweed=. _Add_:--(2) _Arctium Lappa_, L., Burdock.--S.W.
=Cludgy=. Clingy, sticky; used especially of bad bread.--N. & S.W.
=Collets=. Young cabbage plants. A man will say in spring, 'I got a
good lot o' collets, but they bean't cabbages.'--N.W.
=Come away=. To spring up.--N.W.
'Owing to the long drought [barley] came away from the ground
at different periods, which will, without doubt, materially
injure the sample for malting purposes.'--_Devizes Gazette_,
June 22, 1893.
=Comical=. _Add_:--Round Warminster everything but a tom-cat is _he_.
=Conigre=. _Add_:--Other localities which may be noted are
Blacklands, Winterbourne Bassett, and Mildenhall. See Smith's _Antiq.
N. Wilts_.
=Conks=, =Conkers=. (1) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.) (2) _Add_:--S.W.
(Deverill.)
=Count=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Coward=. _Dele_ *, and _add_:--Clyffe Pypard.
*=Cow-down=. _Add_:--On the Ordnance Map there are 'Cow-downs' marked
at Deverill, Wylye, Steeple Langford, and Westbury.
*=Creeping Jane=. _Lysimachia Nummularia_, L., Moneywort.--N.W.
(Heddington.)
=Creep-mouse=. To play 'creep-mouse,' to tickle babies and make them
laugh.--N.W.
=Criddlin Pudden=. A kind of pudding, made of the nubbly bits left
over when pigs' fleck has been boiled and pounded and strained.
_Crittens_ in Berks.--N.W.
=Crutch=. (1) A large earthen jar, such as butter is potted in. Cf.
Critch.--N. & S.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) A cheese-pan.--N.W.
*=Cuckoo-pint=. _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's smock.--S.W.
(Charlton.)
=Daffy=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Devil's-ring=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Devourous=. Ravenous.--N.W. (Berks bord.)
=Dicky-birds=. After S.W. _add_:--(Deverill.)
=Dillcup=. _Add_:--*(2) _Ranunculus acris_, L., Meadow
Crowfoot.--S.W. (Charlton, Little Langford.)
=Do=. To thrive (used reflexively). 'He does (_o_ pronounced as in
the infinitive) hissel well, dwon't he?' said of an animal that does
credit to its owner by the way in which it thrives.--N. & S.W.
=Doer=. A pig that thrives well, even on poor food, is a 'good doer,'
while a 'bad doer' refuses to fatten, give it what you will.--N. &
S.W.
=Dog, how beest=? _Add_:--Also used at Deverill, S.W.
=Dog-in-a-blanket=. A roly-poly pudding--N.W.
=Dough-fig=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Down-lanterns=. Heaps of chalk, marking the tracks from village to
village over the downs, to prevent people going astray at night.--S.W.
=Drashel=. _Dele_:--As two men generally work together.
*=Draw-sheave=. (Pronounced _Draa-sheave_.) A wheelwright's
draw-knife.--S.W.
*=Druck=. n. 'A druck of people,' a great crowd.--S.W. (Wilton.)
=Drug=. (1) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.) (2) _Add_:--~Drugshoe~ at
Deverill, S.W.
=Duck's-frost=. _Add_:--Ironically used at Deverill, as, 'Ther'll be
a frost to-night.' 'Ah, a duck's-frost,' viz. none at all.--S.W.
=Dumble=. _Add_:--~Dummil~ (C.).
=Dunch-dumpling=. _Add_:--S.W.
*=Elm-stock= (_Yelm-stock_). A forked stick for carrying straw for
thatching.--S.W.
=Enemy=. _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone. So generally used in
Wilts that it seems advisable to note it, in spite of its being a
mere corruption.--N. & S.W.
=Ent=. See ~Ploughing terms~.
=Faggot=. _Add_:--Used as a general term of abuse.--S.W.
=Falling=. _Add_:--This requires some slight modification. 'We'm
a-gwain to ha' a vallen' seems to be restricted to snow; but when
there is some doubt as to what sort of weather is coming, the phrase
would be 'A vallen o' zum zart,' or 'zum vallen,' thus covering snow,
rain, or hail.
*=Feggy=. Fair.--N.W., obsolete.
'Their persons [in North Wilts] are generally plump and
feggy.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 11, ed. Brit.
=Fiddler's-money=. Small change (threepenny and fourpenny bits).--N.
& S.W.
*=Fiddle-sticks=. _Scrophularia aquatica_, L., Water Figwort.--S.W.
(Little Langford.)
=Fighting-cocks=. _Add_:--_Plantago lanceolata_, L., Ribwort
Plantain.--S.W. (Charlton.)
=Firk=. (2) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Flashy heats=. Hot flushes, that come and go when one is feverish
and weak, as a woman after her confinement.--N.W.
=Flask=. A limp straw-basket used to carry food and tools. Used in
Glouc.--S.W., occasionally.
=Flip=, =Flip-tongued=. Smooth-spoken, glib.--N.W.
=Folly=. _Add_:--In Berks the word is frequently applied to a round
clump of fir-trees on a hill.
=For=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Friggle=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.) *=Furze-tacker= (_Vuzz-tacker_).
_Saxicola rubetra_, the Whinchat.--S.W.
=Fussicky=. Fussy, fidgetty.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Gallows-gate=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Gawley=. _adj._ Patchy: used especially of root-crops that grow
unequally.--S.W., in common use.
=Gay=. _Add_:--(2) In good health. 'I do veel main gay agean
'smarnin', but I wur gashly bad aal laas' wick wi' th' rheumatiz.'--N.
& S.W.
=Get out=. To 'get out' a drawn or carriage in the water meadows
is to clean it well out and make up the banks. To 'get out' a set
of posts and rails is to cut them out and prepare them for putting
up.--N. & S.W.
=Gibbles=. _Add_:--Underground Onions.
*=Gilliflower-grass=. _Carex glauca_, L., and _Carex panicea_,
L.--N.W., obsolete.
'In Bradon Forest growes ... a blew grasse they call
July-flower grasse, which cutts the sheepes mouthes, except in
the spring.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 49, ed. Brit.
*=Gipsy-nut=s. Hips and haws.--S.W. (near Trowbridge.)
=Girls=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Good liver=. A person who lives an exceptionally good and pious
life.--N.W.
=Good-living=. Leading a very pious life. 'Her wur allus a
good-living sart o' a 'ooman.'--N.W.
=Grained=. _Add_:--~Grinted~ in Berks.
=Gramfer= (or =Granfer=) =Grig=. A woodlouse. At Deverill, S.W.,
children try to charm it into curling up, when held in the hand, by
singing:--
'Granfer Grig killed a pig,
Hung un up in corner;
Granfer cried and Piggy died,
And all the fun was over.'
=Granny= (or =Granny's=) =Nightcap=. _Add_:--*(5) _Geum rivale_, L.,
Water Avens.--S.W. (Little Langford.)
=Grigger cake=. Fine paste spread thin like a pancake, and baked on a
gridiron over a mass of glowing wood-coals.--S.W.
=Ground=. _Add_:--S.W.
*=Gubbarn=. _Dele_ 'Should not this be _adj._ instead of _n._?' and
_add_:--Also used in Glouc. as a noun.
=Guss=. (2) _Add_:--S.W.
=Hack=. (1) _Add_:--To hoe; frequently used in S. Wilts.
=Hackle=. (2) _Add_:--~Hackle~, and sometimes ~Shackle~, are used
at Deverill, while elsewhere in S. Wilts ~Bee-hackle~ is the word
employed.
=Hames=. _Dele_ 'in drawing,' and add 'with staples to take the
traces.'
=Hand=. (3) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Hand-staff=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Hanging-post=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill), where ~Har~ is seldom used.
=Hanglers=. _Add_:--In Deverill, a hook used for this purpose is
known as 'a hangles.'--S.W.
=Har=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill, occasionally.)
=Harl=. _Add_:--~Hardle~ is also used in S. Wilts.
*=Harvest-man=. A kind of Spider with long legs.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Heal=. _Add_:--A house is said to be 'unhealed,' or uncovered, when
the thatch has been stripped off by a storm.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Hearken-back=. To recall.--N. & S.W.
=Heartless=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Heaver=. _Add_:--'Van, heavier, caffin or caving rudder, the
winnowing fan and tackle' (D.).
=Hill-trot=. _Add_:--*(3) _Anthriscus sylvestris_, Hoffm., Wild
Beaked-Parsley.--S.W. (Charlton.)
*=Hitch off=. To release horses from work.--S.W.
*=Honey-pot=. A children's game, in which one child lifts
another.--S.W.
=Hop-about=. _Add_:--S.W.
*=Hopped=. Cracked, as a boiler, by heat.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Huck down=. To beat down in bargaining. 'I hucked un down vrom vive
shillin' to vower an' zix.' Formerly used at Clyffe Pypard, but not
known there now.--N.W.
=Huckmuck=. (3) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill). _Add_:--(4) _v._ To mess
about.--S.W.
*=Hun-barrow= (or =-barrer=). A tumulus.--S.W.
*=Hunger-bane=. To starve to death. See ~Bane~.--Obsolete.
'At Bradfield and Dracot Cerne is such vitriolate earth ...
[which] makes the land so soure, it bears sowre and austere
plants ... At summer it hunger-banes the sheep: and in winter
it rotts them.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 35, ed. Brit.
*=Idle=. Full of fun.--S.W.
=It=. Sometimes used in a peculiar way, as 'We'm best be gwain,
hadn't it?' or, 'We can aal on us ha' a holiday to-day, can't
it?'--S.W.
=Jack-and-his-team=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill); also
~Jack-and-his-team-goin'-to-pit~, the constellation's motion seeming
to be from Deverill towards Radstock collieries, as if it were a
farmer's team going by night to fetch coal thence.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Jag=. _Add_:--(2) 'Wull, to be shower, they chrysantums is
beautiful! They be aal in a jag!' i.e. all out in large heads of
flowers.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Jerry-shop=. A 'Tommy-shop,' conducted on the truck system, now
illegal. Much used about Swindon at the time the railway was being
made there.--Obsolete.
*=Jiffle=. _Add_:--Mr. F. M. Willis writes us that he once heard this
word used in connexion with a horse, when a bad rider who was pulling
its head about was told not to jiffle it.
=Job=, or =Jobble about=. To do little jobs. 'I cain't do moor'n
jobble about now.'--N.W.
*=July-flower grass=. See *~Gillyflower-grass~.
=Kiss-me-quick=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Lady-cow=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Lily=, or =Lilies=. _Add_:--*(3) _Ranunculus aquatilis_, L., Water
Crowfoot.--S.W. (Charlton.)
=Linnard=. A linnet, as 'a brown linnard,' 'a green linnard.'
Formerly used at Clyffe Pypard, where, however, it is obsolete,
the pronunciation there now being distinctly _Linnut_. Conversely,
_orchard_ becomes _archet_.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Long-winded=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Lords-and-Ladies=. _Add_:--The purple spadices are the 'Lords,' and
the yellow or very light-coloured ones the 'Ladies.'
=Maggotty-pie=. _Add_:--At Deverill, thirty years ago, there was a
nursery rhyme as follows:--
'Hushaby, baby, the beggar shan't have 'ee,
No more shall the maggotty-pie;
The rooks nor the ravens shan't carr' thee to heaven,
So hushaby, baby, by-by.'
=Mandrake=. _Bryonia dioica_, L., White Bryony. The root is popularly
supposed to be Mandrake.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, Heddington.)
=Mask=. To collect acorns. A variant of _mast_.--N.W. (Potterne.)
=Melt=. The spleen of a pig, which forms a favourite dish when
stuffed.--N. & S.W.
*=Milkmaid's-Way=. The Milky Way.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Mimp=. To make believe, to sham. 'Look at she a-settin' up ther,
mimpin'!' idling, playing the fine lady.--N. & S.W.
*=Min=. An exclamation, used like '_snaw_, as 'I'll ketch thee,
min!'=Note that well. See Barnes, _Glossary to Poems_.--S.W.
(Deverill.)
*=Monkey Must=. _Melampyrum arvense_, L., Cow-wheat.--N.W.
(Heddington.)
=Mump=. To sulk. 'How ter'ble mumping she do look!'--N.W.
=Nammet-bag=. A luncheon-bag.--S.W.
=Neck-headland=. _Add_:--Common at Deverill.--S.W.
=Noddy=. Weakly, ailing.--N.W.
=Nog=. _Add_:--Also used of a lump of cheese, &c.--S.W.
=Not-cow=. _Add_:--S.W.
=Nuncheon=. _Add_:--About Salisbury Nuncheon is between 10 and 10.30
a.m., and again at 4 p.m., and is a very small meal, merely a piece
of bread and glass of beer, while Nammet is at 12, and is equivalent
to dinner.
=Off=. 'A can't be off puttin' up a covey o' pa'tridges, if so be as
a goes whoam athert Four-Acre,' i.e. he cannot possibly help doing
it.--N.W.
=Out=. _n._ The outcome or result of an attempt to do a thing. 'A
offered vor to do some draishin', but a made a ter'ble poor out
on't,' i.e. he had little to show for his labour.--N.W.
=Parson's nose=. A goose's tail, when served up at table.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Peter Grievous=. _Add_:--Children who look as if they thought
themselves sadly 'put upon' by their elders are said to be
'Peter-grievous.'
=Pigs=. (2) _Add_:--In Berks woodlice are called _Church-pigs_.
*=Pimple=, =Pumple=. The head. Used by children.--S.W. (Deverill).
*=Pisty-poll=. A child riding with his legs on your shoulders is said
to be carried 'a pisty-poll.'--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Ploughing terms=. The first furrows ploughed are those 'veered
out' to mark the 'lands.' On each side of this 'veering out' furrow
a fresh furrow is ploughed, turning the earth into it. This is
'topping up,' or 'shutting the top up,' and becomes the centre and
highest point of the 'land.' When the 'lands' have been all but
ploughed, there remains between them a strip, two furrows wide,
still unploughed. This is 'the Ent,' and is halved by the plough,
one half being turned up one way, and the other half the other way.
There remains then a furrow just twice the ordinary width. The plough
is taken down this, and half of it is turned up again on one side,
the result being a narrow furrow some inches deeper than any other,
called the 'Zid-furrer' or Seed-furrow.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Plumb=. 'A plumb man,' an upright man, one who always keeps his
word.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Polly Dishwasher=. _Motacilla_, The Wagtail.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Pot-hangel=. The same as Hanglers, q.v.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Prick-timber=. _Euonymus Europaeus_, L., Spindle-tree.--N. & S.W.,
obsolete.
'Prick-timber ... is common, especially in North Wilts. The
butchers doe make skewers of it,--because it doth not taint the
meate as other wood will doe: from whence it hath the name of
prick-timber.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 56, ed. Brit.
=Purry=. Turnips sometimes get quite 'purry,' i.e. become spongy
and bad and full of holes. Perhaps a contraction of _purrished_
(perished).--N.W.
*=Quag=. _n._ A shake, a state of trembling. 'He's all of a quag with
fear.'--S.W.
*=Quean=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Quob=. (2) _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Quobble=. _n._ and _v._ After being a long while at the wash-tub
a woman's hands are apt to get 'all in a quobble,' or 'ter'ble
quobbled,' that is, shrivelled and drawn and wrinkled up. See
~Sob~.--N.W.
=Ramblers=. Potatoes left by chance in the ground, which come up
again the next year.--N.W.
*=Rammil-cheese=. Cheese made of raw unskimmed milk.--S.W.
=Ramp=. _Add_:--(2) _v._ To rage, as 'My bad tooth just about ramped
aal laas' night.'--N.W.
=Ramping=. _Add_:--(2) Of pain, violent, raging. 'I wur in that
rampin' pain, I didn't know whur to get to.'--N.W.
*=Rook-worm=. A cockchafer grub.--Obsolete.
'I have heard knowing countreymen affirme that rooke-wormes,
which the crows and rookes doe devour at sowing time, doe turn
to chafers.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 67, ed. Brit.
*=Round market=. See quotation.
'Warminster is exceeding much frequented for a round
corn-market on Saturday.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 114,
ed. Brit.
=Ruck=. (1) _n._ A crease in a stocking, &c.--N.W. (2) _v._ To crease
or wrinkle up. 'My shirt wur aal rucked up under my arms, an' I
cudden' kip un down nohow.'--N.W. (3) Hence, to rub and gall. 'Thuck
ther new boot hev a-rucked she's heel ter'ble bad.'--N.W.
*=Ruddock=. _Sylvia rubecula_, Robin Redbreast. In common use at
Warminster, though unknown a few miles away.--S.W.
*=Rumpled-skein=. _Add_:--Used of a tradesman's books, when badly
kept and hard to balance.--N.W. (Glouc. bord.)
=Sankers=, =Shankers=, or =Sinkers=. Stockings without feet.--N.W.
See _The Scouring of the White Horse_, ch. vi. p. 128.
=Sar=. _Add_:--*(3) To earn. See note on Akerman, in Ellis's _English
Dialects_, p. 29.
=Scrinchet=. A scrap of food, a shred of stuff, &c.--N.W. (Huish.)
=Scroop=. (1) _n._ A saving or miserly person.--N.W. (2) _v._ To save
up, to screw and scrape.--N.W.
=Seed-furrow=. See ~Ploughing terms~.
=Serve=. See ~Sar~.
=Shacketty=. Ricketty, shaky.--N.W.
*=Shackle=. The straw covering of a hive. A sibilated form of
_Hackle_, q.v.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Shail=. To walk crookedly or awkwardly, to shamble along.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Shame-faced Maiden=. _Add_:--*(2) _Ornithogalum umbellatum_, L.,
Spiked Star of Bethlehem.--S.W. (Little Langford.)
=Shankers=. See ~Sankers~.
=Shatter=. To scatter, to sprinkle. 'Shatter th' pepper well auver'n,
do 'ee!'--N.W.
=Shattering=. A sprinkling. 'Put just a shatterin' on't.'--N.W.
*=Shirpings=. The rough grass and weeds by the river banks, which
cannot be mown with the scythe, and have to be cut afterwards with a
sickle.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Short=. Tender. Roast mutton ought to 'eat short.'--N.W.
*=Shreeving=. Picking up windfalls, &c., in an orchard.--S.W.
=Shrimpy=. Shrivelled, poor.--N. & S.W.
*=Shrovy=. Puny, as 'What a shrovy child!' Cp. _Shrievy_, applied in
Hants to stuff with some of the threads pulled out.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Shucky=. Rough, jolty: used of roads when the surface is frozen and
rutty.--N.W.
=Shuffle=. To hurry along. 'I wur shufflin' to get whoam avore dree.'
Cf. ~Shuffet~.--N.W.
=Sinkers=. See ~Sankers~.
=Slink=. Bad diseased meat.
*=Sloot=. To defraud.--N.W. (Berks bord.)
=Slox=, =Slocks=. (2) To wear out clothes by careless use of them.
Compare ~Hock about~.--N.W.
*=Slut's-farthings=. Small hard lumps in badly kneaded bread.
=Snake-stones=. Fossil Ammonites.--N.W., occasionally still used.
'About two or three miles from the Devises are found in a pitt
snake-stones (_Cornua ammonis_) no bigger than a sixpence, of a
black colour.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 45, ed. Brit.
'In this parish [Wootton Bassett] are found delicate
snake-stones of a reddish gray.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 204.
=Snug=. Well, in health, comfortable. 'I be main glad to hire as your
missus be so snug [is doing so well] a'ter her confinement.'--N.W.
=Sob=. To sodden with wet. Cf. ~Sobbled~.--N.W.
*=Split-house=. A joint tenancy?
'Whereas we ... being inhabitants of the town of Marlborough
... have ... for many years past, fed and depastured our mares
and geldings, two to each inhabitant not being certificate
men nor split houses, in the said earl's Forest of Savernak,
&c.'--1790, Agistment Deed as to Savernake Forest, quoted in
Waylen's _History of Marlborough_, p. 421.
=Spray=. To splay a sow, when set aside for fattening.--N.W.
*=Squailings=, =Squailens=. Ungathered apples.--S.W.
=Staid=. _Add_:--Sometimes applied to an old horse or other animal.
*=Stars-and-garters=. _Ornithogalum umbellatum_, L., Star of
Bethlehem.--N.W. (Heddington.)
=Starvation cold=. Extremely cold. See ~Starve~.--S.W.
=Steart=. (1) _Add_:--Used at Salisbury by a gas-fitter of the small
projection turned by the gas-key.
*=Stipe=, =Steip=. _Add_:--~Steep~.--S.W., still in use about
Salisbury.
*=Strikes=. Segments of iron for wheel-binding.--S.W.
=Stubs=. (4) _Add_:--S.W.
=Studdly=. _Add_:--also ~Stoodly~.
*=Sucker= (_Zucker_). A spout from the roof.--S.W.
=Summer-folds=. Freckles which come in summer time.--N.W.
=Tear=. _Add_:--Mr. Powell writes us that at Deverill this is still
used of breaking crockery, &c.--S.W.
=Teart=. (3) _Add_:--Acrimonious. _Tort_ in Aubrey.
'The North Wilts horses, and other stranger horses, when they
come to drinke of the water of Chalke-river, they will sniff
and snort, it is so cold and tort.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist.
Wilts_, pp. 23-24, ed. Brit.
'This riverwater [Chalke stream] is so acrimonious, that
strange horses when they are watered here will snuff and snort,
and cannot well drinke of it till they have been for some time
used to it.'--_Ibid._ p. 28.
=Terrify=. *(3) _Add_:--This is a Gloucestershire use of the word.
*=Thee and Thou=. (1) 'He thee'd and thou'd us,' said of a clergyman
who was very familiar with his flock.--S.W. (2) _v._ To abuse
violently, to insult a person by addressing him in the second person
singular. A man complained of the way in which his neighbours had
been abusing him, the climax of it all being reached when they began
to 'thee and thou' him.--N. & S.W.
=Thetches=. _Add_:--~Thatch~. _Vicia sativa_, L.--S.W. (Charlton.)
All vetches are known as 'Thetches' or 'Thatches' in Wilts, being
'Blue,' 'Yellow,' or 'Red' Thetches according to the colour of the
flower.
=Thread-the-needle=. A very complicated form of this
children's game is played at Deverill, under the name of
Dred-th'-wold-'ooman's-needle.--S.W.
*=Thunder-stones=. Nodules of iron pyrites. *~Hunder-stones~, q.v.,
may be merely a misreading of the MS.
'Thunder-stones, as the vulgar call them, are a pyrites; their
fibres do all tend to the centre. They are found at Broad
Chalke frequently.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 40, ed.
Brit.
=Tine=. _Add_:--(6) To collect and burn couch and weeds in the
fields.--N.W.
'What 'ould thy husband do ... if thee was too vine to turn
hay, or go tinin' or leazin'?'--_Dark_, ch. XV.
*=Tippertant=. A young upstart.--S.W.
*=Trip=. A brood or flock, as 'A vine trip o' vowels (fowls).' In
a MS. in the Bodleian a herd of tame swine is defined as a _trip_,
while one of wild swine is a _sounder_.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Tucky=. Sticky.--S.W.
*=Turning-the-barrel=. A game in which two children stand back to
back, locking their arms behind them, and lifting each other by turns
from the ground.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Under-creep=. _v._ To get the upper hand of by deceit, to overreach
any one.--S.W. (Britford and Harnham.)
*=Underground Shepherd=. _Orchis mascula_, L., Early Purple
Orchis.--S.W. (Charlton.)
=Unhealed=. See ~Heal~.
=Vitty=. Close, closely. Cp. _fitly_, Eph. iv. 16.--N.W.
*=Warning-stone=. _Add_:--
'The bakers take a certain pebble, which they put in the
vaulture of their oven, which they call the warning-stone: for
when that is white the oven is hot.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist.
Wilts_, p. 43, ed. Brit.
*=Water-sparrow=. _Salicaria phragmitis_, the Sedge Warbler. Cp.
~Brook-sparrow~.--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Whinnock=. To whimper.--N.W.
=Whinnocky=. A whinnocky child is one that is always ailing and
whimpering.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=White-livered=. _Add_:--S.W. (Deverill.)
=Winter-stuff=. Winter-greens.--N.W.
*=Witch-hazel=. _Ulmus montana_, Sm.
'In Yorkshire is plenty of trees, which they call elmes; but
they are wich-hazells, as we call them in Wilts.'--AUBREY'S
_Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 54, ed. Brit.
=Wrastle=. _Add_:--Measles, for instance, 'wrastles' all over the
face very quickly.
*=Zwail=. To shake about: to swing the arms.--S.W. (Deverill, &c.)
SPECIMENS OF DIALECT
We have thought it advisable to supplement the brief examples
of folk-talk which will be found in the body of this work by a
few somewhat longer specimens, which may be taken as accurately
representing the speech current at the present time among the
villages in North Wilts. Mr. Slow has kindly added a similar specimen
for South Wilts. The extracts from Akerman exemplify the North Wilts
speech of some fifty or sixty years ago.
EXTRACTS FROM THE GENUINE REMAINS OF WILLIAM LITTLE[1].
By J. Y. AKERMAN.
(From _Wiltshire Tales_, pp. 165-179.)
[North Wilts.]
I.
There be two zarts o' piple in this here world ov ourn: they as works
ael day lang and ael the year round, and they as dwon't work at ael.
The difference is jist a graat a-year, and they as dwon't work at ael
gets the graat--that's zartin!
II.
It's oondervul to me how thengs _do_ move about whenever a body's got
a drap o' zummut in's yead. Last harrest, a'ter zupper, at th' house
yander, I walked whoam by myzelf, and zeed the moon and the zeven
stars dancin' away like vengeance. Then they girt elmen trees in the
close was a dancin' away like Bill Iles and his mates at a morris.
'My zarvice to 'e,' zays I; 'I haups you won't tread on my twoes;'
zo I went drough a sheard in th' hedge, instead o' goin' drough th'
geat. Well, when I got whoam, I managed to vind the kay-hole o' th'
doower--but 'twas a lang time afore I could get un to bide still
enough,--and got up stayers. Massy upon us! the leetle table (I zeed
un very plain by the light o' th' moon) was runnin' round th' room
like mad, and there was th' two owld chayers runnin' a'ter he, and by
and by, round comes the bed a'ter they two. 'Ha! ha!' zays I, 'that's
very vine; but how be I to lay down while you cuts zich capers?'
Well, the bed comed round dree times, and the vowerth time I drowd
myzelf flump atop ov un; but in th' marnin' I vound myzelf laying on
the vloor, wi' ael me duds on! I never _could_ make out this.
III.
I've allus bin as vlush o' money as a twoad is o' veathers; but,
if ever I gets rich, I'll put it ael in Ziszeter bank, and not do
as owld Smith, the miller, did, comin' whoam vrom market one nite.
Martal avraid o' thieves a was, zo a puts his pound-bills and ael th'
money a'd a got about un, in a hole in the wall, and the next marnin'
a' couldn't remember whereabouts 'twas, and had to pull purty nigh a
mile o' wall down before a' could vind it. Stoopid owld wosbird!
IV.
Owld Jan Wilkins used to zay he allus cut's stakes when a went a
hedgin', too lang; bekaze a' cou'd easily cut 'em sharter if a
wanted, but a' cou'dn't make um langer if 'em was cut too shart. Zo
zays I; zo I allus axes vor more than I wants. Iv I gets that, well
and good; but if I axes vor little, and gets less, it's martal akkerd
to ax a zecond time, d'ye kneow!
V.
Maester Tharne used to zay as how more vlies was cot wi' zugar or
honey than wi' vinegar, and that even a body's enemies med be
gammoned wi' vine words. Jim Pinniger zeemed to thenk zo too, when
a run agin the jackass one dark night. Jem tuk th' beawst vor th'
devil, and cot un by th' ear. '_Zaat's yer harn, zur_' (Soft's your
horn, sir), zays Jem.
VI.
Old Iles was drunk vor dree days together last Lammas, and a laid
down by the doower, and wanted zomebody to hauld un. When they axed
if a'd ha' a leetle drap mwore, a'd zeng out, 'Noa, noa, I won't
ha' a drap.'--'Do'e,' zaid they,--'do'e ha' a drap mwore.'--'Noa, I
won't, not a drap,' a grunted. At last another tried un, and then th'
owld bwoy cried out, 'Noa, I can't get a drap mwore down m';--drow't
auver m'veace!'
VII.
Measter Goddin used to zay as how childern costed a sight o' money to
breng um up, but 'twas all very well whilst um was leetle, and zucked
th' mother, but when um begun to zuck the vather, 'twas nation akkerd.
VIII.
Measter Cuss, and his zun Etherd, went to Lonnun a leetle time zence;
and when um got to their journey's ind, Measter Cuss missed a girt
passel a carr'd wi' un to th' cwoach. 'Lor', vather!' zays Etherd, 'I
zeed un drap out at 'Vize!' (Devizes.)
IX.
When I was a young man I had a dog, a precious 'cute un a was
too! A'd catch a hare like a grayhound. I've cot a scare o'
rabbuts wi' him in one night. By and by zomebody zays to the
kippur, thuck William's got a dog as plays th' devil wi' ael th'
game. Zo th' kippur comes up to m' one day, and zays, zays he,
'Maester Little, thuck dog o' yourn's a bad un; a gwos huntin', I'm
towld.' 'Lar bless'e!' zays I, 'a wou'dn't harm a mouse, that a
wou'dn't.'--'Dwon't b'lieve it!' zays he. 'Come along wi' I by thuck
copse yonder.'--Zo as us walked alang, up jumps a hare and away a
scampers. 'Hollo! hollo!' zays I to the dog, but a slunk behind
m' _di_rectly wi's tail between's legs. 'Ha!' zays th' kippur, 'I
b'lieves 'e now, Little. Them as zays your dog hunts be liars, that's
zartin. I'll be cussed if I dwon't thenk a's vrightened o' th' game,
that I do!' and zo a walked away, and wished m' good marnin'.--'Zo,
ho!' thought I; 'you be 'nation 'cute, you be, Maester Kippur. If
instead o' "_hollo_!" I'd a cried "_coom hedder_!" a'd a run a'ter
thuck hare like mad!'
[_Note._--The point of this story is that the poacher's dog had been
trained to understand the usual orders in _exactly the opposite
sense_, as the Devonshire smugglers' horses were in old days.
Thus, the more a smuggler called on his horse to stop, when he was
challenged by an Excise officer, the faster it would gallop off, the
owner all the while apparently endeavouring to check it but really
urging it on. See Mrs. Bray's _Description of Devon_.]
X.
'How far d'e cal't to Zirencester, my friend?' zays a Cockney
genelman one day to owld Pople, as a wor breakin' stwones on th'
road. 'Dwont kneow zich a please,' zays he, scrattin's yead, 'never
yeard on't avore!'--'What!' zays the genelman, 'never heard o'
Zirencester?'--'Noa,' zays he, 'I aint.'--'Why, it's the next town.'
'Haw! haw!' zays Pople; 'you means _Ziszeter_; why didn't'e zay so?
it's about vower mile off.'--He was a rum owld customer, thuck owld
Pople. One day zomebody axed un how var't was to Ziszeter. 'Ho! dree
miles this weather.' (It was nation dirty and slippy.) 'Why so?' zaid
the man to'n; 'Ho, it's about two miles in vine weather; but when
it's hocksey, like this, we allows a mile vor zlippin' back!'
FOOTNOTE:
[1] William Little was a shepherd in North Wilts, and was an old man
when Akerman was a boy.
THE HARNET AND THE BITTLE.
BY J. Y. AKERMAN.
[North Wilts.]
A Harnet zet in a hollow tree,--
A proper spiteful twoad was he,--
And a merrily zung while a did zet
His stinge as zharp as a baganet,
'Oh, who's zo bowld and vierce as I?--
I vears not bee, nor wapse, nor vly!'
_Chorus_--Oh, who's zo bowld, etc.
A Bittle up thuck tree did clim',
And scarnvully did luk at him.
Zays he, 'Zur Harnet, who giv' thee
A right to zet in thuck there tree?
Although you zengs so nation vine,
I tell'e it's a house o' mine.'
_Chorus_--Although you zengs, etc.
The Harnet's conscience velt a twinge,
But growin' bould wi' his long stinge,
Zays he, 'Possession's the best law,
Zo here th' shasn't put a claw.
Be off, and leave the tree to me:
The Mixen's good enough vor thee!'
_Chorus_--Be off, and leave, etc.
Just then a Yuccle passin' by
Was axed by them their cause to try.
'Ha! ha! it's very plain,' zays he,
'They'll make a vamous nunch for me!'
His bill was zharp, his stomack lear,
Zo up a snapped the caddlin pair.
_Chorus_--His bill was zharp, etc.
MORAL.
All you as be to law inclined,
This leetle story bear in mind;
For if to law you ever gwo,
You'll vind they'll allus zarve'e zo;
You'll meet the vate o' these 'ere two:
They'll take your cwoat and carcass too!
_Chorus_--You'll meet the vate, etc.
From _Wiltshire Tales_, pp. 96-97.
[A phonetic version of this song, representing the Chippenham
dialect, will be found at pp. 28, 29 of Ellis's _English
Dialects--their Sounds and Homes_, where it is pointed out that
_stinge_ (with _g_ soft) appears to have been invented by Akerman for
the sake of the rhyme here.]
_From_ THE VARGESES.
BY J. Y. AKERMAN.
[North Wilts.]
'Now, do'e plaze to walk in a bit, zur, and rest'e, and dwont'e mind
my measter up agin th' chimley carner. Poor zowl an hin, he've a bin
despert ill ever zence t'other night, when a wur tuk ter'ble bad
wi' th' rheumatiz in's legs and stummick. He've a bin and tuk dree
bottles o' doctor's stuff; but I'll be whipped if a do simbly a bit
th' better var't. Lawk, zur, but I be main scrow to be ael in zich a
caddle, ael alang o' they childern. They've a bin a leasin, and when
um coomed whoame, they ael tuk and drowed the carn ael among th' vire
stuff, and zo here we be, ael in a muggle like. And you be lookin'
middlinish, zur, and ael as if'e was shrammed. I'll take and bleow up
th' vire a mossel; but what be them bellises at? here they be slat
a-two! and here's my yeppurn they've a'bin and scarched, and I've
a-got narra 'nother 'gin Zunday besepts thisum!'--_Wiltshire Tales_,
pp. 137-8.
THOMAS'S WIVES.
[North Wilts: Clyffe Pypard.]
'Lawk aw! if 'tean't Thomas! and how be you? I han't seen 'ee fur a
lenth o' time.--An' they tells I as you've a got a new missis agean!
That's the vowerth, yun it?'
'Ees, I 'spose te-uz. Thur, didden sim right 'snaw wi'out a 'ooman
down thur, 'tes sich a girt gabborn place thuck wold house. Do zim
zart o' unkid to bide thur by yerself. 'Tes so lonesome, perticler
night-times. Thur yun't narra naighber aniest 'ee, an' if a body wur
ill ur anythin' o' that, 'tud be just about a job 'snaw.'
'An' do the new missis shoot 'ee main well?'
'Aw thur, I ban't got nothen to zaay agen th' 'ooman. Th' 'ooman's
wull enough as fur as I knaaws on. Her's a decent staid body 'snaw.
'Tean't likely as I wur a gwain to hae no hans wi' none o' they
giglettin' wenchen--they got so many 'oonderments to 'em when they be
so young.'
'An' 'cordin' as I da hire tell on't her've a got a bit o' money
saved, haven' her?'
'O' course her got summat 'snaw, but Lor' bless 'ee! tean't nothen
near as much as vawk says for.'
'Wull, 'tean't no odds to I, but they was a zaayin' up at public as
aal your wives had zummut when they come to you; an' they did zaay as
you must ha' made a main good thing out on't wi' one an' tother on
em!'
'What good is it to hearken to they? I tell 'ee what 'tes--What wi'
bringin' on 'em in an' carr'n on 'em out, 'tean't but _vurry_ leetle
profit to't!'
E. H. G.
MANSLAUGHTER AT 'VIZE 'SIZES.
[North Wilts: Devizes.]
_Counsel._ What do you know about this case?
_Witness._ What do 'ee zaay? I be zo hard o' hirin', I caan't hire
nothen, wi'out I comes handier to 'ee.
_Counsel._ What did you see the prisoner do?
_Witness._ Aw! I tell'd 'ee avore as I zeed it aal. I wurden no
furder awaay vrom un then I be vrom thuck owld gent thur [the Judge].
Bill Stevens he come out an' a zaays, zaays he, 'I'll breäk thee
mazzard vor the'!' an' a offer'd to hit un wi' a graft as he wur a
carr'n. An' Jim he up wi' he's showl an' hut un auver th' yead wi't.
An' if _he_ hadden a hut he, he'd a hut _he_, an' if he'd a hut _he_
as _he_ hut he, he'd a killed _he_, 'sted o' _he_ killin' he! That's
aal as I knaws on't!
E. H. G.
HOW OUR ETHERD GOT THE PEWRESY.
[North Wilts: Hilmarton.]
Etherd he bin sart o' rough fur this long time, wuver he never bin
not to say well since he wur bad wi' the influenzy las' year. A
ketched a cowld the day as thuck rain wur. A wur up at hill wi' the
ship out in the bleat, an' a cudden get into the succour nowur, and
vor aal as he wur droo wet he wur foc'd to bide in't aal day. An'
when a cum whoam at night a says to I, 'Mary,' a says, 'I feels
_ter'ble_ middlin'. I got a mind to ha' a bit o' zupper an gwo to
bed.' Wull, I got un out the berd an' cheese out o' the panterny,
but do you thenk as he cud yeat or a mossel on't? not if anybody
had a gied he the _wurld_, a cudden't, a said. An' a simmed zart
o' shrammed wi' the cowld, an' a did kip on a coughin a'ter he got
into bed, and simmin to I a never stopped till the clock hut dree,
and then that rampin pain cum on at such a rate in hes zide, as he
didden knaw wur to get to, nur what to do. An' that follered on aal
day, and I cudden get un to take next akin to nothin', and allus a
wantin summut to drenk. That wur aal he's cry. Thur I made _shower_
as he'd a died avore the doctor come. Bill he went in to fetch un,
but a never come till Vriday aaternoon, and a said as he'd a got the
pewresy and he'd send un along a bottle o' medecine, but Etherd he
wudden take it 'snaw, fur a said twern't nuthen in _this wurl_' but a
drop o' water wi' some peppermint in't or summat o' that. An' Sally
Moore her come in wi' some hoss-fat as come out o' thuck owld hoss
o' Mas' John's as vull in the pit, an' her 'suaded I to rub some o'
that into un, an' that sim to do he more good bless 'ee thun aal the
doctor's medecine. Wuver the doctor he come agean isterday marnin',
and a axed un how a wur. An' a spawk up bless 'ee and telled un
straight as twern't nor a mozzel o' good fur he to zend no more o'
thuck stuff as he zent avore, fur a zaid as twern't wuth a louse's
liver! The doctor he didden like ut vurry well, but a telled I as
he'd channge it, an' zo a did. A let the bwoy ride back along wi' un,
an' a brought back this yer bottle wi' summat wrote on't. But thur
I bean't no scholard, and the bwoy he cudden rade it, but a zaid as
the doctor tell'd he as a wurden to take but one spoonvull on't once
in vower hours. Zo I gied un a dawse, but he 'suaded I to gie un two
spoonvulls, and I'll warn as a hadden a took ut _vive_ minutes avore
twer _aal awver'n--back, bully, an' zides_! Now that's what I caals
zome o' the right zart that, and I got faith as that'll do he good!
E. H. G.
GWOIN' RAYTHER TOO FUR WI' A VEYTHER.
[North Wilts: Clyffe Pypard.]
My veyther now, he never 'oudden yeat none o' this here Hostilian
meät nor nuthen o' that. I axed un one day why a 'oudden, and a zes,
'Do meak I shrill, the vurry _sight_ on't do--they tells I as't do
come vrom wur the War is, an' 'tes made o' souldiers a pretty deal
on't. Wuver nobody shan't 'suade I to hae none on't.' And he 'oudden,
bless 'ee! not if you was to gie un _ever_ so!
Wull, my brother Jim, he kneowed this o' course, an' he do most in
general ax veyther an' mother an' aal on us to come to zupper wi'
he about Christmas time--he wur allus vurry good for anything o'
that--an' laas' year aal on us had a zot down to zupper, an' ther wur
a girt pie at Jim's end, an' Sarah her had a piece o' biled bif--ur
wur 'twer mutton I caan't rightly mind--wuver dwon't meak no odds as
I kneows on which twer--an' Jim he zes to veyther, 'Veyther, which
be a gwain to hae, some o' this here pie ur some o' thick biled bif
as Sally got down tother end?' An' veyther zes, 'What's the pie made
on then?' An' Jim he zes, ''Tes mutton, yunnit, Sally?' 'Aw,' zes
veyther, 'I wur allus _ter'ble_ vond o' mutton pie, an' our Mary her
never 'oon't gie I none on't at whoam.'
Zo veyther he had a plate vull on't, an' a begun a gettin' this yer
pie into un at a _terrible_ rate, an' when a done, Jim zes, 'What
be gwain at now, veyther? Wull 'ee channge yer mind an' hae some o'
tother?' 'No,' zes veyther, 'I'll hae some more o' thuck pie. I caals
it oncommon good. I dwont knaw when I've a teasted anythen as I likes
better'n thuck pie.' An' a did jist about enjoy hesself, bless 'ee,
awver's zupper.
An' when a done, Jim zes, 'Veyther,' a zes, 'Do 'ee kneow what thuck
pie wur made on?' 'Noa,' zes veyther, 'I dwont, any more'n you zed as
'twer meäd o' mutton, didden 'ee? Let it be whatever 'twill, 'twer
uncommon good.'
An' Jim he looks at un zart o' comical, an' a zes, 'Veyther, 'twer
meäd o' some o' thuck Hostilian meat as you zed as nobody shudden
'suade 'ee to yeat none on!'
An' zimmin to I veyther's feace turned zart o' aal colours, and a
zes, 'Lawk a massey! dwon 'ee tell I that, ur I shall drow't aal up
agean!' An' none on us dursen zaay no more to un, a look'd so guly,
we was aveard as he 'ood.
But aater 'bout a haaf an hour Jim he zes, 'Veyther, an' how d'ee
feel now?' An' veyther zes, 'Aw, 'tes better now,' but a zes, 'I
thenk,' a zes, 'as this here is a gwoin' rayther too fur wi' a
veyther!'
E. H. G.
NOTHEN AS I LIKES WUSSER.
[North Wilts: Clyffe Pypard.]
'Tes allus a caddlin' zart of a job takin' they fat beasties to
Swinnun Market, but dall'd if ever I had such a doin' wi'em afore as
'twer isterday. 'Twer thuck thur white-veaced un as Measter bought
off a ole Collins laas' yer as done it. I'd a nauticed as he wur a
pankin' tur'ble as we was a gwain up the hill, an' as zoon as iver he
got vorright the Red Lion he 'oudden go no furder,--an' thur a wur
led down in the middle o' the strit. Thur yun't nothen as I likes
wusser'n that, bless 'ee! Thur be such a sight o' 'oondermentin'
chaps a gaapsin' about thur allus, a body caan't bide quiet nohow fur
their maggots. And then if 'ee ses arra word to 'em they puts 'ee
in the _Noos_, an' that's wussern' aal on't! Thuck girt gaapus Bill
Wilkins come up, an' a begun a laafin' at I, an' a axed wur I'd a
slep on the rwoad laas' night.--Dall'd if I hadden a mine to ha' gien
he what-for thur-right, if't hadden a bin fur the narration as they'd
a made on't. A wur allus a terrible voolhardy zart of a chap, an' I
niver coudden away wi' a lot o' that 'oondermentin'. Simmin to I I'd
zooner walk ten mile roun' than hae to stan up in 'Ootton strit like
a vool wi' they chaps a terrifyin' on 'ee.
E. H. G.
PUTTEN' UP TH' BANNS.
[South Wilts: Wilton.]
Wen Zal Slatter coorteed Jim Bleak he wur under carter, an' she wur
maid a ael wuk up at Hill Varm. Zoo thay 'greed ta putt up tha banns
unbeknown to their measter an' missus. Wen Varmer comed out a chirch
thic Zundy a gooes straight inta kitchen wur Zal wur cookin' a girt
laig a mutten var dinner, an a zaays, 'Zal,' a zaays, 'Wur that thee
an' Jim I yeard caal'd whoam bit now?' 'I 'specs 'twur, measter,'
zaays Zal. 'Why, wat in tha wordle diss thee want ta get married var?
Hassen a got a good whoam, a good bade ta sleep on? an' a good laig a
mutten ta zet down to wen bist 'ungry?' 'O eece, measter,' zaays Zal,
'I knaas ael that, bit did 'ee ever know a wench as hooden gie up a
laig o' mutten var a whole man?'
E. SLOW.
THE CANNINGS VAWK.
[North Wilts: Clyffe Pypard.]
I niver wur at Cannin's but once as I knaws on, an' that wur when
Mr. Jones wur alive. I went awver wi' he to Cannin's Veast. I mind
thur wur a lot on 'em thur from Ca'an [Calne] as wur a tellin' up
zuch tales as was never about the Cannin's vawk. The' tell'd I as
zome on 'em got up the Church tower, and dunged that thur--what is
it?--a-top o' the tower, to make un grow as big as the spire. I never
he-ard tell o' zuch a thing! Should 'ee iver thenk as 'twer true?
An' the' tell'd I as 'twern't but a vurry veow years ago as zome on
'em hired as ther wur a comut ur what 'ee caals ut, to be zeed in
'Vize market-place, an' pretty nigh aal Cannin's went in thur to zee
un, an' niver thought o' lookin' to zee wur they cudden zee un at
whoam. What some girt stups they must a bin! An' thur wur a cooper ur
zummat o' that, as cudden putt th' yead into a barr'l; an' a tell'd
he's bwoy to get inside and howld un up till he'd a vastened un.
An' when a done the bwoy hollered out droo the bung hawl, 'How be
I to get out, veyther?'--That bit tickled I, bless 'ee! moor'n aal
on't! Arterwards one on 'em axed I if thur wurden a Cannin's girl in
sarvice at our place; an' I zes 'I b'lieve as 'tes.' An' a zes, 'Do
'ee iver zaa _Baa_! to she?' An' I zes 'Noa, vur why should I zaay
_Baa_! to she?' An' a zes 'You should allus zaay _Baa_! to a body as
comes vrom Cannin's.' 'Wull,' I zes, 'I shudden like to zaay _Baa_!
to any body wi'out I know'd the rason on't.' An' then a tell'd I as
the' had a tiddlin' lamb as wur ter'ble dickey, an' the' putt un
into th' o-ven, to kip un warm' an' shut un in an' forgot aal about
un, an lef' un in thur. An' when the' awpened the o-ven agean a wur
rawsted droo!--Wull, I come whoam, an' niver thought nothen more
on't fur a lenth o' time, till one daay as I wur a workin' in the
garden, measter an' missus wur out, an' the girls come out an' begun
a 'oondermentin' an' terrifyin' I. An' aal at once this yer shot
into my mind, an' I looks up at the cook an' I zes, '_Baa_!' But her
didden take no nautice, an' a went on chatterin'. An' I zes '_Baa_!'
agean. An' that put her pot on, bless 'ee! at a terrible rate, an'
she zes to I, 'Who be _you_'--she zes,--'to zaay _Baa_! to I?' An'
wi' that they boath on 'em went auf in-a-doors, an' they niver come a
meddlin' wi' I agean fur a long whiles.
E. H. G.
LUNNON AVORE ANY WIFE.
[North Wilts: Clyffe Pypard.]
Thur's our Bill, 'snaw--I had a main job to get he to gwoa. He bin
a walkin' wi' thuck ginger-headed wench o' Smith's--a wur terrible
took up wi' she a bit back, an' her bin a 'suading he to putt up the
banns. A never zed nothen to I about ut, nit I never zed nothen to
he not afore laas' Vriday wick, an' then there wur a word or two,
and I zes to un, 'What's thee want wi' a wife? Thee's got no more
'casion wi' a wife than a twoad has wi' a zide-pawket'--I zes--'an'
ef thee'se be a-gwain to hae she thee can plase theeself, but thee
shasn't never hannel narra penny piece o' mine ef thee does! An'
ther's Shusan's brother-law up a Lunnon, as hev a axed the' _times_
to gwo up, an' he'd vine the' a pleace wur the' meds't do well.--Why
dwon't 'ee teak an' gwo, 'stid o' loppettin' about at whoam wi' a
wench as yun't narra mossel o' good fur cheese-makin' nur nothen else
'cept 'tes to look vine in thuck new hat o' shis'n?'--Them was my
words to un, an' he wur zart o' dubous wur a'd gwo ur wur a 'oodden:
but I sticks it into un as Lunnon wer far afore any wife, let ut be
who 'twill. An' zo a zed a 'oodden bide yer no longer, fur ef a did
her'd never let un gwo. An' a started awf thur-right, an' I han't a
hired from un wur a likes it or wur a dwon't.
E. H. G.
KITCHIN' TH' INFLUENZY.
[North Wilts.]
Our Jess wur cwoortin' Polly:
Her gwoed an' kitched th' plague.
'Zo cwoortin's wusser'n volly,'
Zes Jess, 'an' I'll renage!'
Zes Polly, 'Dang thee buttons!
Thee gwo an' blaw thee's nause!
Zo zhure as zhip be muttons,
Th' dain be in thee's claus!'
Martal aveard wur Jesse,
An' tuk an' hiked it whoam.
'Bin in my claus 'tes,' zes 'e,
'I'll make a bonvire aw'm!'
Zo off a zoon tuk aal claus,
Vrom sankers up ta zmock,
Vur weskit, cwoat an' smaal-claus,
An' putt 'em in a cock.
Jess wur a vool, but Lawksies!
Thur's zights aw'm wusser'n _he_!
It minds I o' Guy Vawks's,
Thuck vire o' he's to zee!
'Twur down in veyther's archet,
A gashly smother 'twur,
Vor when you comes to scarch it,
Thur be a zim to vur!
But 'twern't no zart o' use on't,
A zoon beginned to sneeze--
An' when I hires moor news on't,
I'll tell 'ee how a be's!
G. E. D.
APPENDIX I
A Bibliography of Works relating to Wilts or illustrating its Dialect.
Most of the works comprised in the following list have lately been
read through, and compared with our own _Glossary_, and references
to many of them will be found in the foregoing pages. Some may
contain a more or less comprehensive Wiltshire Glossary; others
only a few words. Some belong absolutely to our own county; others
merely to the same group of dialects. But all are of value as
bearing on the subject. The Berks, Dorset, Gloucester, Hants, and
Somerset Glossaries of course contain a large proportion of words
and uses that are either absolutely identical with ours, or vary but
slightly therefrom, while such works as _Amaryllis, Dark, Lettice
Lisle_, and _Jonathan Merle_ on the one side, and _Old Country Words_
and _English Plant-names_ on the other, are full of examples and
illustrations of the South-Western Folk-speech. Even where their
scene is laid somewhat outside the borders of Wilts itself, the
dialect, with but trifling alterations, would pass as ours.
_S. Editha, sive Chronicon Vilodunense_, im Wiltshire Dialekt,
aus MS. Cotton. Faustina B III. Herausgegeben von C. HORSTMANN.
Heilbronn: Gebr. Henninger, 1883. A handy reprint of this fifteenth
century _Chronicle_.
_Parochial Antiquities_ attempted in the History of Ambroseden,
Burcester, and adjacent parts in Oxford and Bucks. By Bishop KENNETT,
1695. Reprinted 1816 and 1818. Contains a few Wilts words. See _Five
Reprinted Glossaries_.
_Lansdowne MSS._, 935-1042, British Museum. By Bishop KENNETT. Also
contain some Wilts words.
_The Natural History of Wiltshire._ By JOHN AUBREY. (1656-91). Edited
by JOHN BRITTON. London, 1847.
_Wiltshire: the Topographical Collections of John Aubrey._ (1659-70).
Edited by Rev. JOHN EDWARD JACKSON. London and Devizes, 1862.
_Other works and MSS. by John Aubrey._
_Collection of a few Provincial Terms used in North Wilts._ An
eighteenth century MS. Vocabulary, fully dealt with in Appendix II as
_Cunnington MS._
_A Provincial Glossary._ By FRANCIS GROSE. Second edition, 1790. Out
of the twenty-eight words which Britton marks as given in Grose, only
the following are credited to Wilts in this edition:--_Allemang,
Carriage, Contankerous, Dewsiers, Drowning-bridge, Dudge, Grom_
or _Groom, Huff, Leer, Lowle-eared, Quirking, Rudderish_, and
_Wasset-man_. The remainder (_Aneust, Axen, Beet, Bochant, Daddock,
More, Quamp, Quarr, Quilt, Quop, Skiel, Sleepy, Tail-ends, Tallet_,
and _Tid_) are not there assigned to Wilts; but as Britton may very
possibly have found them so localized in the revised 1811 edition,
which we have not had an opportunity of consulting, we add (G.) to
the whole of them, on his authority.
_General View of the Agriculture of the County of Wilts, with
observations on the means of its improvement._ By THOMAS DAVIS
of Longleat, Steward to the Marquess of Bath. London, 1794. An
Agricultural Report or Survey, afterwards much enlarged. The author
died in 1807.
_General View of the Agriculture of Wiltshire._ Drawn up for the
consideration of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement.
By THOMAS DAVIS. London, 1809. New editions, 1811 and 1813. An
enlarged and revised reprint of the _Agricultural Report_, edited by
the Author's son. Contains an interesting Glossary of Agricultural
Terms, arranged under subjects, as _Soils_, _Barn Process_,
_Implements_, &c., at pp. 258-268; also a few additional words in
the body of the work.
_Archæological Review_, March, 1888, vol. i, No. 1, pp. 33-39.
Contains a reprint of Davis's _Glossary_, with notes by Professor
Skeat, rearranged alphabetically, a few words and phrases being
omitted as general or legal.
_Some Specimens of the Provincial Dialect of South Wiltshire._ By
'MARK.' _Monthly Magazine_, Sept. 1814, vol. xxxviii, p. 114. Noted
in the Preface to _Five Reprinted Glossaries_. See Appendix III.
_A Topographical and Historical Description of the County of Wilts._
By JOHN BRITTON. London, N.D. [1814?]. Vol. xv of '_The Beauties of
England_.'
_The Beauties of Wiltshire_, displayed in Statistical, Historical,
and Descriptive Sketches, &c. By JOHN BRITTON. 3 vols. London,
1801-1825. Vol. iii contains a list of _Provincial Words of Wiltshire
and the adjacent Counties_, pp. 369-380. See Appendix II.
_Five Reprinted Glossaries._ Edited by Professor SKEAT. Eng. Dialect
Socy., 1879. Contains (_a_) _Wiltshire Words, from 'Britton's
Beauties of Wiltshire,'_ 1825; _compared with 'Akerman's Glossary,'_
1842, a few words being added from the _Monthly Magazine_, &c. (_b_)
_Dialectal Words, from 'Kennett's Parochial Antiquities_, 1695.'
_A Glossary of Provincial Words and Phrases in use in Wiltshire._ By
JOHN YONGE AKERMAN. London, 1842. An unacknowledged enlargement of
Britton's _Word-list_. See _Five Reprinted Glossaries_.
_Wiltshire Tales._ By J. Y. AKERMAN. London, 1853.
_Spring-tide: or the Angler and his Friends._ BY J. Y. AKERMAN.
London, 1850. Contains many Wiltshire and West of England words.
_A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words._ By J. O. HALLIWELL.
London, 1846, &c.
_Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English._ By THOMAS WRIGHT.
London, 1857, &c.
_The Song of Solomon in the Wiltshire Dialect_, as it is spoken in
the Northern Division. By EDWARD KITE. Circa 1860. Privately printed
for Prince L. Lucien Bonaparte.
_Content: or the Day Labourer's Tale of his Life._ By Mrs.
PENRUDDOCKE, Fyfield Manor House, Wilts. Salisbury, 1860.
_Peasant Life in the West of England._ By F. G. HEATH. 1872-80.
_Fabellae Mostellariae: or Devonshire and Wiltshire Stories in
Verse._ London and Exeter, 1878.
_Rhymes of the Wiltshire Peasantry, and other Trifles._ By EDWARD
SLOW. Salisbury, 1874.
_Wiltshire Rhymes: a Series of Poems in the Wiltshire Dialect._ By
EDWARD SLOW. London and Salisbury, 1881. Also Third edition, 1885.
_Wiltshire Rhymes._ Fourth Series. By EDWARD SLOW. Salisbury and
Wilton, 1889. Contains a _Glossary_ of about 200 words, pp. 9-14.
_Glossary of Wiltshire Words._ Compiled by EDWARD SLOW. Wilton, 1892.
Contains about 900 words, of which a few are of special interest.
_Works of Richard Jefferies_:--
_A Memoir of the Goddards of North Wilts, 1873. The Gamekeeper
at Home, 1878. Wild Life in a Southern County. 1879. The Amateur
Poacher, 1879. Greene Ferne Farm, 1880. Hodge and his Masters, 1880.
Round about a Great Estate, 1880. Wood Magic, 1881. Bevis, 1882. The
Life of the Fields, 1884. The Dewy Morn, 1884. The Open Air, 1885.
Amaryllis at the Fair, 1887. Field and Hedgerow, 1889. The Toilers of
the Field, 1892, &c., &c._
_The Eulogy of Richard Jefferies._ By WALTER BESANT. 1888.
_Some un-noted Wiltshire Phrases._ By Rev. W. C. PLENDERLEATH. _Wilts
Archæological Magazine_, vol. xxii. p. 107.
_Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Magazine._ All vols.
_History of the Manor and Ancient Barony of Castle Combe_ in the county
of Wilts, &c., &c. By G. POULETT SCROPE. Privately printed, 1852.
_Records of Chippenham_, relating to the Borough from its
Incorporation by Queen Mary to its Reconstruction by Act of
Parliament, 1889, &c., &c. By FREDERICK H. GOLDNEY. 1889.
_Sarum Diocesan Gazette_, Annual Reports of Flower-classes, by Mr.
HUSSEY and Mr. TATUM.
_The Flowering Plants of Wilts._ By Rev. T. A. PRESTON. Published by
Wilts Arch. Society, 1888.
_The Birds of Wiltshire._ By Rev. ALFRED C. SMITH. London and
Devizes, 1887. Reprinted from _Wilts Arch. Mag._
_Glory: a Wiltshire Story._ By Mrs. G. LINNÆUS BANKS. London,
1876(?). New edition, 1892. Scene partly laid in and round
Marlborough.
_On the Upper Thames._ By Miss E. BOYER-BROWN. _Leisure Hour_,
August, 1893. Contains many words belonging to the Castle Eaton and
Marston Maizey district.
_A Dictionary of English Plant-names._ By JAMES BRITTEN and ROBERT
HOLLAND. E. D. S. 1878-86. A very valuable work, containing a small
number of Wilts names, mostly from sources already referred to. The
whole of the Plant-names in our _Glossary_ have been sent to Mr.
Britten from time to time, for use in the _Supplement_ which he is
now preparing.
_English Dialects--their Sounds and Homes._ By A. J. ELLIS. E. D. S.
1890. Contains some remarks at pp. 24-29 on Wilts, with specimens
of dialect from Christian Malford and Chippenham, accompanied by a
rendering into Glossic.
_A Glossary of Berkshire Words and Phrases._ By Major B. LOWSLEY. E.
D. S. 1888.
_Upton-on-Severn Words and Phrases._ By Rev. ROBERT LAWSON. E. D. S.
1884. A reprint of his smaller _Glossary_, which originally appeared
in _The Nation in the Parish_, by Mrs. LAWSON.
_The Dialect of the West of England, particularly Somersetshire._
By JAMES JENNINGS. 1825. Second edition, revised and edited by Rev.
JAMES K. JENNINGS. London, 1869.
_Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect._ By Rev. WILLIAM BARNES.
_Glossary_, pp. 459-467, edition 1888.
_Glossary of the Dorset Dialect_, 1863-86. By Rev. WILLIAM BARNES.
Also the additional _Word-lists_ published by him from time to time
in the _Dorset County Chronicle_.
_Natural History, Folk Speech, and Superstitions of Dorsetshire._ By
J. S. UDAL. A paper read before the Dorset Field Club at Dorchester,
in February, 1889, containing a _Glossary_, which was given in full
in the report in the local papers at the time.
_A Glossary of Dialect & Archaic Words used in the County of
Gloucester._ By J. D. ROBERTSON. Edited by Lord MORETON. E. D. S.
1890.
_A Glossary of Hampshire Words and Phrase_s. By the Rev. Sir WILLIAM
H. COPE. E. D. S. 1883.
_A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect._ By Rev. W. D. PARISH. Lewes.
1875.
_On the Dialects of Eleven Southern and South-Western Counties_, with
a new Classification of the English Dialects. By Prince LOUIS LUCIEN
BONAPARTE. E. D. S. 1877.
_On the Survival of Early English Words in our present Dialects._ By
Rev. RICHARD MORRIS. E. D. S. 1876.
_Old Country and Farming Words._ By JAMES BRITTEN. E. D. S. 1880.
Contains extracts from the following volumes, among which may be
found a few additional Wilts words, as well as much information on
our agricultural terms:--
ELLIS, WILLIAM. _The Modern Husbandman_. 1750.
_Reports of the Agricultural Survey_, 1793-1813.
LISLE, EDWARD. _Observations in Husbandry_. 1757.
WORLIDGE, J. _Dictionarium rusticum_. 1681.
_Annals of Agriculture, &c._ 1784-1815.
MORTON, JOHN C. _Cyclopædia of Agriculture_, 1863.
_Folk-Etymology, a Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions, &c._ By Rev. A.
SMYTHE PALMER. London, 1882.
_Lettice Lisle._ By Lady VERNEY. 1870. Contains much excellent Hants
talk.
_The New Forest: its History and its Scenery._ By J. R. WISE. London,
1871. Glossary, pp. 279-288, also words in text.
_Jonathan Merle: a West Country story of the times._ By ELISABETH B.
BAYLY. 1890. Affords many good illustrations of words used in Wilts,
as the two following works also do.
_Tess of the D'Urbervilles._ By THOMAS HARDY. 1891.
_The Story of Dick._ By Major GAMBIER PARRY. 1892.
_Dark: a Tale of the Down Country._ By Mrs. STEPHEN BATSON. London,
1892. The scene is laid in Berks, just over the borders, but the
dialect, which is excellently done, is to all intents and purposes
that of North Wilts.
_A History of Marlborough College during Fifty Years._ By A. G.
BRADLEY, A. C. CHAMPNEYS, and J. W. BAINES. London, 1893.
_John Darke's Sojourn in the Cotteswolds and elsewhere._ By S. S.
BUCKMAN. 1890.
_The Scouring of the White Horse._ By THOMAS HUGHES. 1858.
APPENDIX II
Cunnington MS.
Among the various books and word-lists which we have consulted during
the progress of this work, by no means the least interesting is the
manuscript containing a _Collection of a few Provincial Terms used in
North Wilts_, believed to have been compiled about the middle of last
century, which was kindly lent us by its present owner, Mr. William
Cunnington, and is here frequently referred to as _Cunnington MS._
This valuable relic was at one time in the possession of Mr. J.
Britton, as is proved by the notes in his _early_ handwriting on the
outer leaves, and was evidently the source to which he was indebted
for some portions of his 1825 _Glossary_ (in the _Beauties of Wilts_,
vol. iii), the very peculiar wording and spelling of some of its
paragraphs having been transferred direct to his pages. It must,
however, have been in his hands at a much earlier date than 1825, as
one or two of the notes appear to have been made at the time he was
collecting materials for the 1814 volume on Wilts.
Not only has it afforded us several hitherto un-noted words, which
Mr. Britton himself had passed over, possibly because even in
his own time they were already grown obsolete, but it has also
enabled us to clear up several doubtful points, and especially to
show how, by a very simple misreading of the MS., from the easily
identified _sprawny_ (a variant of _sprunny_) was evolved that
mysterious 'ghost-word' _sprawing_, which has ever since misled our
glossary-makers, each one having seemingly taken it on the faith of
his immediate predecessor.
The _Vocabulary_, which we here reproduce _verbatim et literatim_,
consists of ten quarto pages, the first two of which are covered with
notes in pencil and ink, in at least four different hands, partly
archæological and topographical, and partly relating to dialect
words in Wilts and elsewhere. It is written in an extremely legible
old hand, with a few additions and interlineations in other hands,
and contains about one hundred words and phrases, of which we owe
just two-thirds to the original compiler, who is supposed to have
been a North Wilts clergyman. If so, it is probable that his very
characteristic handwriting could readily be identified by any one who
was familiar with our last-century parish registers.
The interlineations have been made at different dates and in
different hands, _acrass_, _chit_, _clout_, _gallered_, _hire_,
_hitch_, _muxen_, _shirk off_, _slink away_, _skillin_, _stowl_,
_stole_, _thick_ and _thuck_, _won't_, with the numerals at the end,
being in pencil, two or three of them having been inked over at
some time or other; while _arran_, _clavey_, _clap to_, _desperd_,
_dowse_, _hit_, _nan_, _plye_, _rathe_, _sprawny_, the definition
of _thick_ and _thuck_, _tun_, _tag_, _twit_, and _vuddels_, are in
ink, and mostly in a much larger and somewhat peculiar hand. The
pencilling is now almost entirely obliterated.
The MS. was given by Mr. Britton to Mr. Cunnington, with other books
and papers, many years ago, and its existence appears to have been
unknown until we called attention to it in the _Wilts Archæological
Magazine_, vol. xxvi. p. 293.
Front page of Cover.
[_Writing entirely in pencil, in Mr. Britton's hand, except the
word Vocabulary._]
XXII. 107. Broad Hinton. Vic. Mr. Hume of Salisby late Vicar a manor
well immense depth. abt 10 ms to draw Some of the Glanvilles buried
here. Old monk [? _tomb_] of this family one of these Gs wrote on
Witches--all chalk large crane wheel room for 3 men.
Vocabulary.
[_Here two lines of writing, probably the name and address
of the compiler, have been scratched completely out with a
penknife._]
See Ascough's Index [_Here another word now illegible._]
[_Here a rough sketch, marked_ Spring, _probably relating to
the above well._]
Inside of Cover.
Main sprack--for lively--Wilts
Information in Bowels--
Obliterate Scoolmaster--
Mandy--saucy--Wilts
[_These four lines are in a more recent hand, on a slip gummed
in._]
Werrutting teazing
Thick for that
direction "You must go all a skew thick vield there & then all a
thirt tother & then looky one way & pointy another wool ye now"
Anticks--main--mandy
[_These are in the same large, slightly feminine-looking hand
as some of the interlineations in the word-list._]
_Enked_ is avaricious, wretched, from whence we have perhaps a
term in English of unked; disagreeable, melancholy, tiresome. In
Oxfordshire every thing unpleasant is _unked_.
From the Persian.
Rudge a cup or patera found here Horsley p. 330.
[_These are on a slip gummed in, in Mr. Britton's own hand._]
The Vocabulary itself.
COLLECTION OF A FEW PROVINCIAL TERMS USED IN NORTH WILTS.
Page 1.
=Arran= for either
=Acrass=
'=All a hoh='--awry--not square, strait or even--
=Beet=--To beet--is to supply fire with fewel
=Brow=--the opposite of Tough--Substances that will easily break
=Burrow=--Shelter from Wind--generally applied to some Low
Place in a field where some neighbouring hillock breaks the
force of the gale
=Caddle= a term variously applied, but in all cases significant
of Confusion or embarassmt To be in a Caddle--to be in
disorder--to be embarrassd with business--Dont Caddle me--dont
teaze me--don't confuse me--'a cadling fellow' a wrangler a
shifting, & sometimes an unmeaning character
=Clavey=--Chimney Piece
=Cham=--to Chew--
=Clap to the Door=--shut the Door.
Page 2.
=Chism=--to germ--Seed is said to chism when it discovers the
first appearance of germination
=Chit=--to spring--leaves are coming out.
=Cleet=--a Patch whereby an utensil is repaird--to cleet to
mend by a patch put on, & sometimes to Strengtn by bracing etc
=Clum=--To Clum a thing--is to handle it Roughly boisterously
or indecently
=Clyten= A term applied to express an unhealthy appearance,
particularly in Children--a Clyten an unhealthy Child
=Clout= a blow
=Clytenish=. To look Clytenish to Look pale & sickly
=Dain=--disagreeable effluvia--generally applied to Those
Scents which are Supposed to convey infections, i.e. "Dont go
to near that man; he has lately had the Small Pox & the _dain_
may be in his Cloths still"
=Desperd= very as desperd fine etc
Page 3
=Dummil=--Heavy, dull--a term variously applied--but in all
cases signifies the reverse of sprightly or Brilliant
=Dowse=--a Blow
=Dunch=--The Common term for Deaf
=Dunch Dumplin=--a Dumplin made of flower and water only--boild
hard & eaten hot with Butter--
=Dar=, 'to be struck in a Dar,' to be astonishd or Confounded
=Flick= or =flitch=--i.e. To be flitch with one,' is to be
familiar or intimate
=Gallered= to be astonished, frightened, as _he gallered me_
=Gabborn=--a term always applied to Buildings to denote
Largeness without Convenience & Comfort--a gabborn Room or
house signifies a place Large cold and comfortless
=Glox= a term applied to denote the motion or Sound made by
Liquids when movd about in a barrel or other vessel not full as
Page 4
for instance, "Fill the Barrel full John or else it will glox
in Carriage"--
=Glutch=--To Glutch, to swallow--the act of
Swallowing--i.e.--He glutchd hard that is he swallowed with
difficulty
=Hit= to strike
=Hazon=--To Hazon a Person is to scold or menace him--
=Harl=--=a Harl=--Something entangled--His hair is all in a
harl--i.e. knotted--uncombed
ravle
=To harl=--to entangle
=Hire= for hear--Dont hire do not _hear_
=Hatch= a small door or gate--generally applied to the half
doors frequent in Shops
=Heft=--weight--i e what heft is that Parcel i e what weight is
it--(perhaps a contraction of heavy-weight)
=Hike= To hike off--to sneak away dishonorably
=Hitch=--monthly Agents
=Howe=--Pronounced Broad and Long Ho-ow or Hau-ow--To be in a
hauow--to be anxious
=Howed for=--provided for--taken care of--a figurative
expression undoubtedly derived from the term
Page 5
made use of by Shepherds in driving collecting & managing their
flocks, i.e. Ho hó--ho-hó
=Hop a bouts= a term applied to small apple Dumplings made of
one apple enclosd in a Paste of flour & boild
=Hudgy=--thick Clumsey
=Kitch=--to Kitch or Ketch--to congeal--oils animal fat &c. are
said to catch or kitch when they grow cold enough to congeal
=Kerfs= Laminæ--Layers or cleavings of Earth Turf Hay &c.
=Lear=--empty--a Lear Stomach, a Stomach wanting food
=Lew=--To get in the Lew--is to get in a place Sheltered from
the wind--(perhaps derivd from the Sea Phrase--Lee--)
=Lewth= warmth--"this Coat has no Lewth in it," i.e. it has no
warmth
=Limp= a thing is said to be Limp when it has Lost its
accustomed Stiffness
=Limber=--Slender--or Rather a thing Long & bending
Page 6
=Māndy= pronouncd Long--frolicksome--Impudent--Showy
=Miff=--offence--to take a miff--to be offended
=Mothery= or =Muthery= Beer, vinegar &c. are said to be mothery
when white Particles of fust float in it--Perhaps a Corruption
of muddy or muddery--
=Most-in-deal=--in general--mostly--(example) "where do you
Live now?'--why at Devizes, most in deal, but sometimes at
Warminster--"
=Muxen= Dung heap.
=Newst=--Newst or anewst Signifies nearly--what is it a
Clock?--a newst One. which of the two is oldest?--They are
newst of an age. which of those things are best? they are a
newst alike--In the Latter example however the more usual reply
would be "they are anewst of a newstness"
=Nitch=--a Burthen, as a Nitch of wood a nitch of Straw a Nitch
of hay &c.--"He has got a nitch," i.e. he is Drunk, he has got
as much Liquor as he can carry--
=Plye= to bend as the Poker is plied--
=Nan?=--What do you say
=Quilt= To Quilt a term used almost exclusive of any other to
denote the act of Swallowing when performd
Page 7.
in the usual & natural way--the term Glutch being rather
descriptive of a difficulty in doing it or the doing it with
labour
=Rowney=--thin, uneven--generally applied to Cloth
=Rumple=--to Rumple is to press a thing, particularily
=Rathe=--early in the morning
a garment, so as to make it appear promiscuously
wrinkled--or tumbled
=Rubble=--universally us'd for Rubbish--
=Shewent= a Piece of Cloth is said to be--shewent--when it is
evenly wove & not Rowey--it is also applied in other Cases but
always to denote a thing Level & even--to Look Shewent, is to
Look demure
=Shim= This word is rather of Glocestershire but it is
nevertheless in use on the North Border of wilts, & is a
Corruption or Contraction perhaps of Seeming--Ex. gra--He is a
fine fellow Shim--or he is, Shim, a fine fellow means that the
person spoken of is apparently a fine fellow
=Skillin=--a shed
=Shog=--Shog & jog--words nearly of the same import & Signify
to move off degradedly--to slink or shirk away
=Shirk= off
=Sleazey=--thin--Slight--generally applied to Cloth Silks &c.
=Slink away=
=Slox= to waste a thing, or pilfer it--"Sloxd away" wasted or
pilferd
Page 8.
=Stowl=--a root--great stowl
=Sprack=--Lively--bright quick a main sprack child
=Stole=--when trees, are buddg--trees
=Sultedge= a term applied to describe a Coarse apron much worn
by the poor Women & which they always describe by the term a
Sultedge apron
=Swingeing=--violent--great--forcible
=Sprawny= a Sweetheart [Misread as Sprawing by Britton.]
=Tack= a shelf--put it on the tack--i e put it on the
Shelf--How many tacks are there in the Pantry, i.e. how many
Shelves
=Teft=--to teft a thing is to judge of its weight by taking it
in the hand i e--what Heft do you think this Bundle is--I dont
know Let's teft it--i.e. let me take it in my hand
=Thic= & =Thuck= this & that--as thic wâ this way
=Tine=--to kindle--to tine a fire is to Light a fire,--to tine
a Candle--to Light a candle
=Tine= to fence to tine in a piece of waste ground is to
enclose it with a fence of wood or quickset
=Tining= fences of Wood either Brushwood Pales or a Hedge
=Tun= Chimney
Page 9.
=Tag= to tease to torment
=Todge=--a thick Consistency--Thick as Todge gruels, Soups,
etc, made unpleasantly thick
=Twit=--to upbraid
=Twire=--to Look at a thing wistfully or Critically 'How he
twir'd at her--i e. how wistfully he Look at her'--Common Phrase
=Vuddels= a spoilt Child
=Vinny= mouldy--Vinney Cheese, is mouldy Cheese--properly it
denotes anything tinted--not with a black or Rotten--but with a
whitish or blue mould--very common Phrase
=Unkerd= or =Unkert=--Lonely or Solitary--an unkert house a
Lone house--an unkert place a Solitary place--very Common phrase
=Weeth= tough Soft pliable--
=Yat= a gate--yat Post, a gate Post
=Wont= for Will not
=dree vour vive zix s=
N.B. In north wilts it may be remarkd that the formation of the
Plural by affixing en to the Noun is almost universal as house
housen Pease Peasen Wench wenchen--almost as universal too is
the transformation of the
Page 10.
Substantive into an adjective by the same termination as a
Silken gown a Clothen Coat a Leatheren Shoe an elmen Board
&c. the pronoun Possessive too is formd in the same way as
hisn hern Ourn theirn--the old terms also, thic & thoc almost
Constantly exclude the expression This & That--There is also
here a Peculiar mode of forming active verbs from Nouns, which
are generally in use as apellations for professions--take an
Example Well Mary, how do you get on in Life? what do you &
your family do _now_ to get a Living in these times--Wy zur we
do aal vind zummut to do--Jan, ye know, he do _Smithey_ (work
as a smith) Jin the beggist wench do spinney the Little one do
Lace makey--I do _Chorey_ (go out as a Chore Woman) and the
two Boys do Bird keepey--that is One works as a smith--one
spins one makes Lace one goes out as a Chore woman & two are
Birdkeepers which Latter term were more to the purpose if
expressd Bird frightener or driver
Show to Ingram-Ellis
APPENDIX III
Monthly Magazine Word-list.
In the _Monthly Magazine_, Sept. 1814, vol. xxxviii. p. 114, a
short and very badly arranged list of South Wilts Words and Phrases
occurs. We have thought it best to reproduce it here, _verbatim
et literatim_, from the Magazine itself, kindly lent us by Mr.
Cunnington, as the account given of it in the Preface to Professor
Skeat's reprint of Akerman is in some respects slightly inaccurate.
Thus, he omits all mention of _Hogo_ and some other words or phrases,
while _Tatees_ is misquoted as _taters_ and _Theseum_ as _Thescum_.
The remarks made on the latter word will therefore require some
modification.
Prefatory Note.
_To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine._ Sir, In conformity to your
invitation, I send you some specimens of the provincial dialect of
South Wiltshire.
MARK. _July_ 23, 1813.
The Word-list.
_Thic_, this.
_Thac_, that.--"_Thacs_ the way I _do_ do."
_Theseum_, these.--"What are _theseum_ here?"
_Dooke_, do you.--"Hold thy brother, dooke." Or, "dooke be
quiet." [Brother _is evidently a misprint for_ bother.]
_Volk_, folk.--"Vaut vine volks." What fine folks.
_Wuld_, world.--"The honestest volk in the wuld."
_Heft_, weight.--"What heft be 'um?"
_Hiss_, Yes.--"Hiss sure, mum." Yes sure, madam.
_Housen_, house.--"Yan housen." Yonder house.
A always pronounced R. [=broad]
"Send it _once_ this morning, dooke." Send it this morning.
"I _do_ know what they be." [=I don't know]
"Harnt thee got nareon." Have not you got one.
"Nice day izzent it?"--"Yes it is sure."
_Thee_ and _thou_ for _you_.
_Crockerty_, china.--"I've torn my crockerty."
_Terrible_, very.--"Lard! they be terrible dear."
_Torn_, broke.
_Hogo_, smell.
"_What a book of clothes._" What a large wash.
_Barm_, yeast.
_Caddling_, teazing, chattering.
"_Mud the child up, dooke._" Bring up the child by hand.
"_Lard, the child's got the white mouth._" The child's got the
thrush.
_Shrammed_, perished.--"I was half shrammed on the downs[2]."
_Tatees_, potatoes. "I do want a gallon of tatees."
_Figged Pudding_, plum pudding.
_Handy_, near.--Handy ten o'clock.
_Monthly Magazine_, Sept. 1814.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] [Here a foot-note is given in the Magazine, but has been
obliterated in the only copy to which we have access.]
THE END.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious typographical errors were repaired.
P. xv: "D when preceded by a liquid"--original read "followed" in
place of "preceded."
P. 30: p^d--original shows p with superscript d.
Appendix II: unusual spellings and capitalizations preserved as in
original.
P. 228: "dain may be in his Cloths still"--"Cloths still" originally
appeared below "Desperd" entry and "Page 3" heading.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "A Glossary of Words used in the Country of Wiltshire" ***
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