'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._