'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.