*=Soce=. Friends; addressed to the company generally, as 'Well, soce,
an' how be ye all to-day?'--N.W. (Malmesbury.) Very rarely heard in
Wilts, but common in Dev. and Som. It is probably a relic of _Socii_,
as used by monkish preachers. In the old ghost-story in Jefferies'
_Goddard Memoir_ (see Waylen's _History of Marlborough_, p. 555),
the use of the word _soas_ (there spelt _source_) by one of the
characters is alluded to in such a way as to show that it was looked
on as a curious peculiarity of his. See _W. Somerset Words_.
=Sod-apple=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy Willow-herb, from
its smell when crushed.--N.W.
'Willow herb ... country folk call it the sod-apple, and say
the leaves crushed in the fingers have something of the scent
of apple-pie.'--_Great Estate_, ch. ii.
*=Soft-tide=. The three days next before Lent (_Wilts Arch. Mag._
vol. xxii. p. 113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Sog=. Soft boggy ground (S.).--N. & S.W. (Malmesbury, &c.)
=Sogging-wet=. Soaked.--N.& S.W.
=Soldiers=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, &c., Red Poppy.--S.W.
=Soldiers'-buttons=. _Arctium Lappa_, L., Burdock.--S.W. (Hamptworth.)
=Soldiers-sailors-tinkers-tailors=. _Lolium perenne_, L.--S.W.
=Souse=. 'Pigs'-sousen,' pigs'-ears.--N.W. (Malmesbury, Clyffe
Pypard, &c.)
*=Sow-flower=. _Sonchus oleraceus_, L., Sowthistle.--(Lyneham.)
*=Sowle-grove=. February. (A.H.Wr.)--Obsolete.
'The shepherds and vulgar people in South Wilts call Februarie
"_sowlegrove_," and have this proverb of it:--"Soulgrove
sil lew,"--February is seldome warme--sil _pro_ seld,
seldome.'--AUBREY, _Anecdotes_, Camden Society, cxlvii.
=Spade=. The congealed gum of the eye (A.B.). Also ~Spady~ in N.
Wilts. A.S. _sped_, phlegm.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
*=Spances=. 'Raves or sides, spances, compose the waggon-bed' (D.).
=Spanky=. Showy, dashing (A.B.).--N.W.
=Spar=. In thatching, the 'elms' are fastened down with 'spicks'
or 'spars,' split hazel rods, pointed at both ends, and bent into
hairpin shape, with a twist just at the bend to give them a tendency
when fixed to spring outwards, and so hold faster.--S.W.
=Sparked, Sparky=. Of cattle, mottled or of two colours (D.); pied,
variegated (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 225).--N. & S.W.
'One of the earliest indictments on the roll of the Hilary
Sessions [Wilts], 1603-4, tells of _quatuor vaccas quar'
due color sparked et una alia coloris rubri et altera color
browne_.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 225-6.
=Sparked-grass=. _Phalaris arundinacea_, L., Striped
Ribbon-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
*=Spawl=. A chip or splinter from a stone.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Spear=. (1) _n._ A stalk of reed-grass (S.).--N.W. (2) _v._ See
~Spurl~.--S.W.
=Spend=. To turn out. 'How do your taters spend to-year?'--N.W.
=Spick=. (1) In thatching, the same as ~Spar~.--S.W. (2) Lavender.
~Spick~ (Som. bord.), and ~Spike~ (Hants bord.).--S.W.
=Spikenard=. (1) Lavender.--N.W., occasionally. (2) _Anthoxanthum
odoratum_, L., Sweet Vernal-grass.--N.W. (Bromham.)
=Spill=. (1) The long straight stalk of a plant.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*(2) 'To run to spill,' to run to seed.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(3)
Hence, figuratively, to be unproductive.--N.W. (Malmesbury,
occasionally.)
=Spit, Spet=. (1) _n._ 'The very spit of his father,' his very image
(_Wilts Tales_, p. 31). Cf. _Spit_, to lay eggs (_Skeat_). Just
like (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To spit up the ground,' to work the
surface lightly over.--N. & S.W.
=Splash=. Commoner form of ~Plash~, q.v.--N.W.
*=Split-fig=. A short-weight grocer (S.).--S.W.
=Sploach=. To splutter (S.).--S.W.
=Sprack=. (1) Lively, active (A.B.C.S.); also ~Sprag~ (B.).--N. & S.W.
'That's a sprack mare o' yourn.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 68.
(2) Intelligent, quick (A.C.).--N. & S.W.
'He had picked up a few words and phrases with which he
sometimes "bothered" his neighbours, who thought Jem "a mortal
sprack chap"; but in truth he was a great fool.'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 65.
=Sprank=. A sprinkling of anything. 'There be a good sprank o' fruit
to-year.' Also used in Somerset.--N.W. (Mildenhall.)
*=Sprawing=. A sweetheart. This word is given for Wilts by Britton,
Akerman, Halliwell, Wright, and others, but should be treated as a
'ghost-word,' and struck out of our glossaries. In _Cunnington MS._
it is written as ~Sprawny~, q.v., but Britton when transcribing from
that source would appear to have misread it as _Sprawing_, probably
not being himself acquainted with the word, while Akerman and others
must simply have taken it blindly on his authority.
*=Sprawny=. A sweetheart (_Cunnington MS._). A variant of _Sprunny_.
See note on ~Sprawing~. A male sweetheart in Glouc.--N.W., obsolete.
'Whipped to some purpose will thy sprunny be.'--COLLINS,
_Miscellanies_, 1762.
=Spreader=. The thin pole or bar which keeps the traces apart _(Wilts
Tales_, p. 173).--N.W.
*=Spreath=, =Spreeth=. Active, nimble, able (A.B.H.Wr.). 'He is a
spreeth young fellow' (B.).
=Spreathed=. Of the skin, roughened or chapped by cold (B.S.)
Spreazed (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Spreyed=. Of the skin, roughened by cold, but not chapped. Spryed on
Som. bord.--S.W.
=Spring=. Of a cow, to show signs of calving.--N.W.
=Spring-dag=. A chilblain. Cf. _Dag_, a twinge of pain.--S.W.
=Spring-flower=. The garden Polyanthus.--N.W.
=Spuddle=. (1) _v._ To stir about (A.B.), to fuss about at doing
trifles. 'He's allus a-spuddling about like, but there yen't nothen
to show for 't ses I.'--N.W. (2) v. To make a mess (S.). A sibilated
form of _puddle_.--S.W.
=Spudgel=. A wooden scoop (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Spuds=. Potatoes (S.). Perhaps introduced by Irish harvesters.--N. &
S.W.
*=Spur=. See ~Spurl~.--S.W.
=Spurl=. To spread dung about the fields (S.). Also ~Spear~, ~Spur~,
and ~Spurdle~.--N. & S.W.
*=Spurling-boards=. Boards set to prevent the corn from flying out of
the threshing-floor (D.).
=Spur-stone=. A projecting stone, set in the ground as a support to a
post, or to protect anything near the roadway (_Bevis_, ch. v).
*=Squab=. The youngest or weakest bird of a brood or pig of a litter
(A.). The 'darling' of a litter.--N.W. (Lockeridge.)
=Squail=, =Sqwoil=. (1) To throw (A.H.S.); used of sticks, not
stones.--N. & S.W.
'In the orchard Bevis and Mark squailed at the pears with short
sticks.'--_Bevis_, ch. xvi.
'They would like to squail a stick at his high and ancient
hat.'--_Ibid._ ch. xvi.
(2) _Fig._ To do a thing awkwardly (H.), as 'Her went up the street
a squailing her arms about.'--N.W. *(3) Cock-squoilin, throwing at
cocks at Shrovetide (A.).--Obsolete. Bird-squoilin, killing birds
with stones (S.). (4) Of a candle, to gutter.--N. & S.W.
=Squailer=, =Squale=, =Squoile=. A stick or loaded cane, used by boys
for throwing at apples, rabbits, squirrels, &c.--N. & S.W.
'The handle of a "squailer" projected from Orion's coat-pocket.
For making a squailer a tea-cup was the best mould:... A ground
ash sapling with the bark on, about as thick as the little
finger, pliant and tough, formed the shaft, which was about
fifteen inches long. This was held upright in the middle of
a tea-cup, while the mould was filled with molten lead. It
soon cooled, and left a heavy conical knob on the end of the
stick. If rightly thrown it was a deadly missile, and would fly
almost as true as a rifle ball. A rabbit or leveret could thus
be knocked over; and it was peculiarly adapted for fetching a
squirrel out of a tree, because, being so heavy at one end, it
rarely lodged on the boughs, as an ordinary stick would, but
overbalanced and came down.'--_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii.
'The "squaler" came into use very early in the school's
history, and was for years almost as much a part of the
ordinary equipment of a Marlborough boy as a cricket-bat would
now be. To later generations the very name probably conveys no
meaning. The weapon itself was simple enough, though extremely
formidable. It consisted of a piece of lead something the shape
and about the size of a pear, with a cane handle about eighteen
inches long. A squaler could be thrown a great distance and
with terrific force, and at short ranges by the practised hands
of the Marlburians of those days with great accuracy. Its
ostensible purpose was squirrel-hunting, as the name suggests
[No, it is not a contraction of "squirreller," but is from
_squail_, to throw.--_G.E.D._], but it came in handy for the
larger quarry which the more adventurous tribes pursued and
slew, such as rabbits, hares, and very frequently even deer.
It lingered on as an article of local sale till the middle of
the sixties; but ... was made contraband, and finally died
out.'--_History of Marlborough College_, ch. ix. p. 94.
'To make a squailer you provide yourself with an eighteen-inch
length of half-inch cane, two inches of which you sheath with
tow and then insert in a ladle of molten lead. There you
manipulate it in such sort that there is presently left to
cool at the end of your cane a pear-shaped lump of lead of
the weight experience has shown you to be proper. With this
weapon an adept can bring down a squirrel from on high, or
stop one on the level at five-and-twenty yards, almost to a
certainty.'--W. F. WALLER in _Notes & Queries_, 8th series, ii.
p. 197. 'Another Marlborough mode of making it is to pour the
melted lead into a cone composed of many folds of well-wetted
paper, tied round the slightly notched upper end of the cane or
ground ash.'--G. E. DARTNELL in _N. & Q._, 8th series, ii. p.
257. Also see various letters in _N. & Q._, 8th series, ii. pp.
149, 197, 257. Squailers were in use at the Grammar school as
well as at the College, up to about 1867.
=Squailing=. Clumsy, badly, or irregularly shaped, as 'a squailing
loaf,' 'a squailing sort of a town,' &c. (H.).--N.W.
=Square=. Thatching is paid by the 'square,' which is 100 square
feet.--N.W.
=Squat=. See ~Squot~.
=Squeak-Thrush=. The Missel Thrush.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Squeeze-belly=. A V-shaped stile.--N.W.
=Squelch=, =Squelp=. (1) _adv._ 'A vell down squelch,' he fell
heavily (A.B.).--N.W. (2) _v._ To squash to pieces, as a heavy stone
would an egg.--N.W.
=Squinney=. (1) _v._ 'To squinney round,' to peep about.--S.W.
(2) _n._ 'Squinney-hole,' a peep-hole. Sometimes also used of a
hagioscope in a church.--S.W.
=Squish=. (1) _v._ Of soft or boggy ground, to give under foot with
the peculiar spirt and sound that denote a water-logged condition.
'The rwoad wer squishing under I ael the waay to 'Vize.'--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ Of mud, to spirt and splash up as it does in a boggy place.
'It wer main hocksey, an' the muck squished up ael over I, purty nigh
up to my eyes.'--N. & S.W.
=Squishey=. _adj._ Soft, wet, swampy.--N. & S.W.
'The ploughing engine be stuck fast up to the axle, the land be
so soft and squishey.'--_Wild Life_, ch. vii.
=Squoil=. See ~Squail~ (S.).--S.W.
=Squot= or =Squat=. (1) n. A bruise (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._).--N.W. (2)
_v._ To bruise or crush (S.), as 'I've bin an' squot my thumb.' To
bruise by compression (B.).--N.W.
=Sqwawk=. To squall out as a hen does when pulled off the nest.--N.W.
=Stabble=. v. Of ground, to poach up by continual treading, as near
a field gateway (_Village Miners_). Children are always 'stabbling
about' indoors, making a mess and litter.--N. & S.W.
=Stack=. 'A stack of elms'=either one score or two score of
'elms.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Staddles=, =Staddle-stones=. The pillars on which a rick stands
(A.B.S.). Cf. ~Stavel~ (~Steevil~ in S.W.). A.S. staðol.--N. & S.W.
=Stael=. See ~Stale~.
=Stag=, =Steg=. A rent in clothes.--N. & S.W.
=Staid=. Of mature age, elderly (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Stake-and-ether-hedge=. A wattled fence. See ~Ether~.--N.W.
=Stale=, =Stael=, or =Steale=. The long handle of any husbandry tool
(A.B.). A.S. _stel_ (in compounds).--N.W.
'A was as lang and as lane as a rake-stael.'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
177.
'The peculiar broad-headed nail which fastens the mop to the
stout ashen "steale," or handle.'--_Wild Life_, ch. iv.
*=Standing=, =Stannin=. A stall or small booth at a fair. ~Stannen~
(S.).--S.W.
=Star-flower=. (1) _Potentilla Tormentilla_, Sibth., Tormentil.--S.W.
(Barford.) (2) _Lysimachia nemorum_, L., Wood Loosestrife.--S.W.
(Barford.)
=Stark=. _v._ To dry up. 'The ground is got so stark--you see the hot
sun after the rain did stark the top on't.'--N.W. (Hilmarton.)
=Starky=. (1) Stiff, dry (A.B.). Shrivelled up, as applied to
things.--N.W. (2) Shrivelled and wasted by ill-health.--N.W.
*=Stars=. _Campanula glomerata_, L., Clustered Bellflower.--N.W.
(Enford.)
=Start=. (1) An outing or pleasure-party. 'Wher be th' missus, Bill?'
'Whoy, off on a bit of a start.'--S.W. (2) A 'go.' 'That's a rum
start, yun' it?'--N.W.
=Starve=. (1) _v._ 'To starve with cold,' to be extremely cold;
to cause anything to be cold. Chiefly used in past participle, as
'starved wi' th' cowld,' perished with cold. A.S. _steorfan_, to
die. 'My old man he do starve I at nights wi' the cowld, 'cause
he got a crooked leg, and he do sort o' cock un up 'snaw, and the
draaft do get in under the bed-claus, and I be fairly starved wi' the
cowld.'--N. & S.W. (2) See ~Bird-starving~.--N.W.
*=Stavel-barn=. A barn on stone pillars (Agric. Survey). See
~Staddles~.
=Steale=. See ~Stale~.
=Stean=. (1) _v._ To 'stone,' or cover a path or road with gravel or
small stones.--N.W. (2) 'To stean a well,' to line its sides with
stone (S.).--S.W.
=Steaner=. The man who lays the second and inner rows of sheaves in
building a wheat rick.--N.W.
=Steanin=. (1) A road made with small stones (A.).--N.W. (2) The
built-up portion of a well.--S.W. See ~Stean~.
=Steart=. (1) _n._ The tang which fastens anything; the ring of a
button, &c.--N.W. (2) _n._ The small iron rod, on the head of which
the cappence of the old-fashioned flail played.--N.W. (3) _n._ A
young ox. Apparently _steer_, with _t_ excrescent.--N.W.
=Steer=. The starling. A form of _Stare_.--N.W.
=Steip=. See ~Stipe~.
=Stem=. A period of time (A.H.S.), as 'a stem o' dry weather.' Work
on the roads, &c., is done 'on the stem,' or 'by the stem.' A.S.
_stemn_.--N. & S.W.
=Stepple=. A hoof-mark (_Village Miners_). Cf. ~Stabble~.--N.W.
=Stewer=, =Stour=, =Sture=. Fuss, commotion.--S.W.
=Stew up=. To tidy up.--S.W.
=Stick=. To decorate with evergreens, &c. 'We allus sticks th' Church
at Christmas,'--the decorations formerly consisting only of sprigs of
holly stuck into holes in the backs of the pews.--N.W.
=Stickle=. To stick. 'They're as thick as they can stickle on
it.'--S.W.
=Stick-up=. _v._ To make the first tentative advances towards
courtship.--N.W., occasionally.
'I've bin a-stickin' up to another young ooman this summer, wi'
a view to keepin' comp'ny wi' she.'--_Dark_, ch. xv.
=Stipe=. 'The stipe o' the hill,' the steepest part.--N.W.
*=Stipe=, =Steip=. A dozen and a half of 'elms' (H.Wr.). '_Steip of
helms_, eighteen helms: Wilts.'--Holloway's _Dict._--S.W.
=Stived up=. Shut up in a warm close place. Fighting cocks were
formerly kept warm in a 'stive,' or kind of straw basket like a hive,
whilst waiting their turn to fight.--N. & S.W.
=Stoach=. To plant potatoes with a 'stoacher.' In some counties
_stoach_=poach, to trample into holes.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Stoacher=. 'A tater stoacher,' a thick stake, with projecting notch
on which the foot is placed to drive the sharpened point into the
ground. The potatoes are dropped into the holes so made.--N.W.
=Stobball-play=. An old game, played with a withy-staff and a small
ball, stuffed full of quills, said by Aubrey (_Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 117, ed. Brit.) to be peculiar to North Wilts, North Gloucester,
and the neighbourhood of Bath; but probably a form of _stool-ball_
(H.Wr.).--N.W., obsolete.
'Illegal games ... mentioned are ... hand-ball, foot-ball,
and stave-ball or "stobball"; (_pilum manualem, pedalem,
sive baculinam_), "nine-holes" and "kittles."'--_On the
Self-government of Small Manorial Communities, as exemplified
in the Manor of Castle Combe.--Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. iii. p.
156.
=Stodge=. (1) _n._ Substantial food.--N.W. (2) _v._ To stuff
gluttonously. ~Stodged~, quite unable to cram down another
morsel.--N.W.
=Stodgy=. _adj._ Of food, causing a feeling of repletion.--N.W.
=Stogged=. Stuck in the mud, bogged (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Stoggy=. Wet and sticky; used of ground that 'stogs' you, or in
which you get 'stogged.'--N.W.
=Stomachy=. _adj._ Unbending (S.). Obstinate, headstrong,
self-willed.--N. & S.W.
*=Stone-bruise=. A kind of corn on the foot. In an American
trouting-yarn in _Fishing Gazette_, December 17, 1892, p. 429, the
following occurs:--
'It's just the age for "stone-bruises" in a boy, and he must
have a pair of shoes any way.'
*=Stone-osier=. _Salix purpurea_, L. (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch.
viii).--N.W.
=Stop=. A hole in the ground--not in a hedgerow, but a few yards
away, or on cultivated ground--where the doe rabbit has her young;
said to be from her 'stopping' or covering it over when she leaves
it. Also used in Hants.--N.W., common.
=Storm-cock=. _Turdus viscivorus_, Missel Thrush (_Birds of Wilts_,
p. 129).--S.W.
=Stout=. The gadfly (A.B.). 'They stowuts be so terrifyin'.'--N.W.
=Stowl=. (1) _n._ The root of a timber-tree left in the ground after
felling (A.B.C.); the stump of a bush or tree, in hedge or copse, cut
off low down so as to form a stock from which underwood may spring
(C.D.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To stowl out,' to shoot out thickly,
as a bush cut off low down, or wheat which has been fed off when
young.--N.W.
=Strafe=. To wander about.--N.W., occasionally.
=Strapper=. An Irish harvester or tramping labourer.--N.W.
=Strawberry-leaved Geranium=. _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L. See ~Hanging
Geranium~.--S.W.
=Strick=. See ~Strike~.
*=Strickle=. See ~Stritch~.
*=Striddling=. The right to lease fallen apples after the gathering
in of the crop. Cf. ~Griggling~.
=Strike=, =Strick=. To slip up; to slip and swing out as a vehicle
does when turning a corner fast on a slippery road. 'Her stricked up
on thuck there slide, an' come down vlop.'--N. & S.W.
*=Strim-strum=. _adj._ Unmusical (S.).--S.W.
*=Stripe=. A fool, a simpleton (H.Wr.). Probably a mistake for
~Stupe~.
=Strip-up=. _v._ To shroud the lower part of a tree, as is usually
done with hedgerow timber at intervals.--N. & S.W.
*=Stritch=, =Strickle=. A piece of wood used for striking off the
surplus grain from a corn measure. A.S. _stricol_.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
*=Strommelling=. *(1) Awkward, ungainly (A.B.H.). *(2) Unruly
(A.B.H.), as 'a strommellin' child.'
=Strong=. 'Strong a-dying,' at the point of death.--N.W.
*=Strouter=. A strut or support in the side of a waggon (S.).--S.W.
=Stub=. (1) _n._ A stump of a tree; a projecting root.--N. & S.W.
(2) _v._ In walking, to strike the foot against a stub or projecting
root.--N.W. *(3) _v._ 'To stub off,' to cut off a bush or tree close
to the ground (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. x). (4) 'Stubs,' stubble, as
_wheat-stubs, barley-stubs_ (D.).--N.W.
=Stubbed=. A 'stubbed' broom is one much worn down by use, as opposed
to a new one.--S.W.
*=Stuck=. A spike (A.).
=Stud=. _v._ To ponder over, think about. 'Don't 'ee stud upon 't so
much.'--N. & S.W.
=Studdle=. To stir up water so as to make it thick and muddy.--N. &
S.W.
=Studdly=, =Stoddly=. Thick, as beer before it settles after
moving.--N.W. (Berks bord.)
*=Stultch=. A crutch, a boy's stilt (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f. 2).
(H.Wr.). Stelch in Glouc.--Obsolete.
=Stun=. _v._ To cause to make no growth. 'Grass was stunned in its
growth this season' (1892).--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, Potterne, &c.)
=Sture=. See ~Stewer~.
=Suant=. See ~Sewent~.
=Succour=. (1) _n._ Shelter; a sheltered place. A tender plant is set
'in the succour of the wall'; and cattle on a cold wet day get 'in
the succour of the hedge.' ''Tes gwain' to rain, for the wind's down
in the succours,' i.e. hollows and sheltered places generally. On
bleak parts of the Downs the cottages are mostly to be found in the
succours.--N.W. (Huish, Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
'Goddard the elder being a copyholder of lands in Eylden within
the Manner of Ogburne near adjoyning to His Majesties Chace
being a place that in winter time was a special and usual
succour for preserving the breed of young deer belonging to the
Chace.'--Extract from _Bond_ v. _Goddard and others_, 1636. See
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiii. p. 259.
(2) _v._ To shelter. An old-fashioned bonnet is said to 'succour' the
ears. A cold wind cuts up cabbages, except where they are 'succoured'
by bushes or walls.--N.W.
=Suck-blood=. The Common Leech. ~Zuckblood~ (S.).--S.W.
=Suffer=. To punish, to make to suffer. 'I'll suffer you, you young
rascal!'--N.W.
*=Suffy=. To draw a deep and quick breath.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Sugar-codlins=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy
Willow-herb.--N.W.
=Suggy=. Wood that is soaked with wet is said to be 'suggy.' See
~Sog~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Suity=. Even, regular (A.B.).
*=Sultedge=. A coarse apron, worn by poor women (A.B.C.). ~Sultredge~
(H.Wr.). By which is probably intended that the apron is made of
_sultedge_, or a kind of coarse sheeting.--N.W.
*=Summer field=. See quotation.
'In the four-field system, where the clover is sown the second
year, and mowed the third, the field becomes in the fourth year
what is called, in Wiltshire, a summer field.'--_Agric. of
Wilts_, ch. vii.
*=Summer ground=. See quotation.
'A custom upon two farms ... of feeding six oxen through the
full range of all the summer ground belonging to the hither
Beversbrook ... being the Home Close, the Middle Marsh, the
Course Marsh, the Upper Lease, and Brewer's Lease; through the
full range likewise of such summer grounds as belong to the
yonder Beversbrook to be put in at Mortimers Gate and to feed
to Burfurlong Corner, through all the afore mentioned grounds
from the third of May to Michaelmas.'--_Hilmarton Parish
Terrier_, 1704. See _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 126.
=Summer rick=. A windmow, or very large cock of hay, thrown up in the
field, to remain there some time (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv).--N.W.
=Summers= or =Bed-summers=. See ~Waggon~.
=Summer Snipe=. _Totanus hypoleucos_, Common Sandpiper.--N. & S.W.
=Sungreen=. _Sempervivum tectorum_, L., Houseleek. Occasionally
Singreen in S. Wilts, and Silgreen in N. Wilts. A.S. _singréne_.--N.
& S.W.
*=Swaft=. Thirst (H.Wr.). Probably from Fr. _soif_.
*=Swank=. To work in a slow lazy fashion, to idle. 'Her bain't no
good for _your_ place, ma'am, her do go swanking about so over her
work.'--S.W. (Salisbury.)
*=Swankey=. *(1) _adj._ Boisterous, swaggering, strutting
(A.B.H.Wr.). *(2) _n._ Weak beer; drink (S.).--S.W.
=Swash=, =Swosh=. (1) _n._ A torrent or great rush of water.--N.W.
'A man in answer to my question of _how_ the rain seemed to
fall, said, "It came down in _swashes_," and I think it may
also be said that occasionally the wind came in _swashes_
too.'--_The Great Wiltshire Storm, Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. vi.
p. 380.
(2) _v._ To swill out. 'I've bin swoshing out the back-kitchin.'--N.W.
*=Sweeps=. _Hypericum calycinum_, L., Large-flowered St. John's
Wort.--S.W. (Farley.)
=Sweet-briar=. The young succulent suckers of any rose, which are
peeled and eaten by children.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Sweeten=. Some land requires _sweetening_, or chalking, to take out
the acidity, before it will bear barley (_Agric. Survey_).
=Sweethearts=. _Galium Aparine_, L., Goosegrass, because its burs
have such an affectionate way of clinging to one.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Swilter=. To smoulder away to ashes, without breaking into flame
(A.B.).--N.W.
*=Swittle=. To cut or whittle (A.H.Wr.).
=Sythe=. To sigh (A.B.).--N.W.
=T=. _Thr_, at the beginning of a word, is usually sounded as _dr_,
as _draish_, _dree_. After liquids _d_ or _t_ will often be added, as
_varmint_, vermin; _sarment_, sermon; _steart_, a steer; _dillard_,
thiller. _F_ and _v_ sometimes become _th_, as _thetches_ for fitches
or vetches. _Th_ will also occasionally become _Ss_, as _lattermass_,
latter-math. Conversely, _Ss_ rarely becomes _th_, as _moth_, moss.
=Tack=. (1) A shelf, as _chimney-tack_ (A.B.C.).--N.W. (2) Pasture
for horses and cattle (A.B.).--N.W. (3) 'Out to tack,' at agistment,
applied to cattle that are put out to keep by the week or month.--N.W.
=Tackle=. Stuff, any material, as food, solid or liquid (A.). 'This
here yale be oncommon good tackle'; or dress material, 'Haven't 'ee
got any gingham tackle?' (_Great Estate_, ch. iv). Also used of food
for cattle.--N.W.
'Thaay [the sheep] be goin' into th' Mash to-morrow.... We be
got shart o' keep.... Thur's a main sight o' tackle in the Mash
vor um.'--_Green Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
=Taffety=. Dainty in eating (S.).--S.W.
=Tag=. (1) When a lawn-mower or barrow is too heavy for one man to
manage alone, a rope is attached for a boy to draw by, who is said to
'pull tag.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) _n._ A game played by boys.
One touches another, saying _Tag!_ and the touched person has then
to run after and touch another, who becomes _Tag_ in his turn.--N. &
S.W. *(3) _v._ To tease, to torment (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Tail=. (1) _n._ The whole skirt of a woman's dress. 'Hev 'ee got
ar' a owld taail to gie I, Miss?'--N. & S.W. (2) 'Seconds' of
flour (_Great Estate_, ch. vi); also ~Tailing-flour~.--N.W. (3)
~Tail-ends~ or ~Tailings~. Refuse wheat, not saleable in market, kept
for consumption on the farm (A.B.G.); also ~Tail~, ~Tailing-wheat~,
and ~Tailens~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Tail Pole=. See ~Waggon~.
*=Take=. _n._ The sciatica (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._).--Obsolete.
=Take up=. Of weather, to become fine.--N. & S.W.
=Tallet=, =Tallot=. A hay-loft over a stable (A.B.G.S.). Welsh
_taflod_.--N. & S.W. See _N. & Q._ 8th Ser. iv. 450, &c.
*=Tamed=. 'By that time the ground will be tamed.' Said in Lisle's
_Husbandry_ to be a Wilts agricultural term, but not there explained.
=Tan=. _Then_ is so pronounced in such phrases as _Now'-an'-Tan_ and
_Twitch-an'-Tan_.
=Tang=. (1) 'To tang the bell,' to pull it (A.).--N.W. (2) 'To
tang bees,' to follow a swarm, beating a fire-shovel or tin pan
(A.).--N.W. (3) _v._ To make a noise (S.).--S.W. (4) _n._ A small
church bell is a ~Ting-Tang~.--N.W.
=Tankard=. A sheep-bell.--N.W. It is said that the whole of the
'tankards' in use in England are made at Great Cheverell.
'Hilary ... turned back, remarking, "It's Johnson's flock; I
know the tang of his tankards." The flat-shaped bells hung
on a sheep's neck are called tankards, and Hilary could
distinguish one flock from another by the varying notes of
their bells.'--_Great Estate_, ch. vi. p. 123.
*=Tasker=. A tramping harvester or casual labourer who works by the
piece (_Agric. of Wilts_, p. 24).
*=Tawney=, =Ta'aney=. The Bullfinch, _Pyrrhula vulgaris_.--N.W.
=Tazzle=. _n._ 'Her hair be aal of a tazzle,' in great disorder, all
tangled and knotted and tousled.--N.W.
=Tear=. (1) A rage. 'He wur in just about a tear.'--S.W. (2) In N.
Wilts old folk used formerly to _tear_ their crockery, and _break_
their clothes, but _tear_ now seems obsolete in this sense there.--N.
& S.W.
=Teart=. (1) Painfully tender, sore, as a wound (A.).--N.W. (2)
Stinging, as a blister.--N.W. (Rowde.) (3) Tart, as beer turning sour
(S.): acrimonious. See _Addenda_.--S.W.
=Ted=. To throw about hay for the first time (D.S.).--N. & S.W.
=Teel=, =Tile=. To place anything leaning against a wall (A.B.H.Wr.).
Generally used with _up_, as 'Teel it up agen th' wall, wull
'ee?'--N.W.
=Teft=. The same as ~Heft~ (A.B.C.)--N.W.
=Teg-man=. A shepherd.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
'I am a teg-man (or shepherd) in the employ of Mr.
White.'--_Wilts County Mirror_, October 28, 1892, p. 8, col. 5.
=Temper=. 'To temper down dripping,' to melt it and refine with
water.--N.W.
=Temtious=. Tempting, inviting.--N. & S.W.
*=Temzer=. A riddle or sieve. Cp. Fr. _tamis_.--Obsolete.
'A temzer, a range, or coarse searche: Wilts.'--_MS. Lansd._
1033, f. 2.
=Tentful=. Attentive, careful.--N.W.
=Terrible=. Extremely. ''Tes a terr'ble bad harvest to-year.'--N. &
S.W.
=Terrify=. (1) _v._ To worry, irritate, annoy; used especially of
very troublesome children. 'The vlies be terrible terrifying.'--N. &
S.W.
''Twer mostly losing of a hoss as did for 'em, and most al'ays
wi' bad shoeing. They gived 'em scant measure--shoed 'em too
tight, they did, a-terrifying o' the poor beasts.'--_Jonathan
Merle_, ch. xlviii. p. 520.
'Her own folks mightn't a-like so well to come and stay,
if ther was al'ays a terrifying old woman to put up
with.'--_Ibid_, ch. liv. p. 596.
'Her husband, who had been out in the fields, came home and
began to "terrify" her.'--_Marlborough Times_, November 26,
1892.
'I be turrivied wi' rheumatics.'--_Dark_, ch. x.
(2) _n._ A source of worry or trouble. A bed-ridden woman who has to
get her neighbours to do everything for her is 'a terrible terrify'
to them.--N.W. *(3) _v._ To injure, as a hailstorm does apple-blossom
(_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 113).--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Tewley=, =Tuley=. Weakly (S.). Sickly, tired-looking.--S.W.
=Thatches=. See =Thetches=.
=Thauf=. Although, or although if; as 'A never vound un, thauf he'd
gone dree lug vurder on, a cudden a bin off seein' on un.' Cp.
Sauf.--N.W. (Malmesbury, etc.)
=Theave=. A ewe of the third year.
'We have wether hogs and chilver hogs, and shear hogs, ram
tegs, and theaves, and two-tooths, and four-tooths, and
six-tooths.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ ch. xvii. p. 303.
=There-right=. (1) 'Go straight forward,' order to a horse at plough
(A.).--N.W. (2) On the spot.--N.W.
=Thert=. _v._ To plough land a second time, at right angles to
the first ploughing, so as to clean it more effectually. Cp.
_Thwart_.--N.W.
=Thetches=, =Thatches=. Vetches. _Lent thetches_ are an early spring
kind.--N.W.
=Thill=, or =Dill=. The shaft of a cart.--N.W.
=Thiller=, =Diller=, =Thill-horse=. The shaft-horse of a team.--N.W.
=Thimbles=. _Campanula rotundifolia_, L., the Harebell.--S.W.
(Hamptworth.)
=Thorough-pin=. The pin which fastens the waggon-bed to the carriage
(D.). See Waggon.--N.W.
*=Three-pound-tenner=. The name given by bird-catchers about
Salisbury to the 'Chevil' variety of Goldfinch, it being more
valuable than the ordinary kind (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 203).--S.W.
=Threshles=. 'A pair of threshles, drashols, or flyals, a flail'
(D.). The usual term for a flail. See ~Drashel~.--N. & S.W.
=Throw=. (1) _n._ 'A throw of timber,' the quantity felled at any one
time.--N.W. (2) _v._ To fell timber (_Bevis_, ch. i).--N.W. (3) 'To
throw a gin or snare,' to spring or set it off (_Amateur Poacher_,
ch. vi).--N.W.
=Thunder-bolts=, (1) The concretionary nodules of iron pyrites so
frequently found in the chalk. See ~Gold~; also Thunder-stones in
_Addenda_.--N. & S.W.
'The ploughboys search for pyrites, and call them
thunderbolts.--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. v.
(2) Fossil belemnites.--N. & S.W.
=Thunder-flower=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, &c., Red Poppy.--S.W.
=Thunder-fly=. A black midge. So called because they appear mostly in
thunder weather.--N. & S.W.
'Tiny black flies alighting on my hands and face, irritated
the skin; the haymakers call them "thunder-flies."'--_Great
Estate_, ch. v. pp. 96-97.
*=Thurindale=. A flagon holding about three pints (H.Wr.). M.E.
_thriddendele_, a third part.--Obsolete.
=Thurtifer=. Unruly, self-willed (H.Wr.).--S.W.
=Ticky Pig=. The smallest pig of a litter.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tid=. *(1) Lively, playful (B.G.). (2) Childish, affecting
simplicity (A.), shy. 'Coom, coom, dwon't'e be tid' (A.). A.S.
_tyddr_, tender, weak, imbecile.--N.W.
=Tiddle=. (1) _v._ To bring up a lamb by hand (A.). A.S. _tyddrian_,
to nourish, feed.--N.W.
'"Shall I get a drap o' milk, and _tiddle_ un a leetle,
maester?" ... "Ha! to be sure! ... Put un into the basket ...
and get us a bottle wi' some milk." Tom, who had often assisted
the young lambs in the same way, soon procured the therewith
to fashion the pseudo teat, and master and man did their
best to perform the office of wet nurse to the unfortunate
foundling.'--_Wilts Tales_, pp. 5-6.
(2) _v._ To tickle (S.).--S.W.
=Tiddlin' lamb=. A lamb brought up by hand (A.). See ~Tiddle~
(1).--N.W.
*=Tiddy=. _adj._ Weakly, delicate. See ~Tiddle~ (1).--N.W. (Castle
Eaton, &c.)
=Tide-times=. Christmas, Easter, &c. 'He do have a drop, tide-times
and that.'--N. & S.W.
=Tie=. Of wood, to pinch the saw while working.--N.W.
*=Tig=. A little pig (_Dark_, ch. i).--N.W., occasionally.
=Tile=. See ~Teel~.
=Tiller=. The upper handle of a sawyer's long pit-saw. See
~Box~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tiller out=. To sprout out with several shoots, as wheat after being
eaten off when young.--N. & S.W.
=Timersome=. Timid (A.S.).--N.W.
=Tine=. *(1) _v._ To light a fire or candle (A.C.). ~Tin'd~ (B.). Cf.
A.S. _tendan, on-tendan_, to kindle, and E. _tinder_. *(2) To finish
off a laid hedge or stake-fence by weaving in the top-band of boughs
(A.B.). *(3) _v._ To divide or enclose a field with a hedge (A.B.C.).
A.S. _týnan_.--N.W.
'To tine in a piece of waste ground is to enclose it with a
fence of wood or quickset.'--_Cunnington MS._
(4) _n._ A drag or harrow tooth (D.).--N.W. *(5) To give the ground
two or three _tinings_ is to draw the harrow two or three times over
the same place. See Cope's _Hants Gloss_.
'They drag it two, three, or four times, and harrow it four,
five, or six times, viz. (provincially speaking), they
give it "so many tine with the drag, and so many with the
harrow."'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii.
=Ting-tang=. A small church-bell (S.). See ~Tang~.--N.W.
*=Tining=. (1) _n._ A new enclosure made with a dead hedge (D.H.
Wr.).--N.W. (2) _n._ A fence of wood, either brushwood, pale, or
quickset (C.).--N.W., obsolete.
=Tippem=, =Tippum=. A game played by six boys, three on each side of
the table. The centre one 'works the piece,' i.e. passes it from hand
to hand up and down under his side of the table. Then all the hands
are placed on the table, and the opposite side guesses which hand the
'piece' is in, and scores or loses a mark according as the guess is
right or wrong. The 'piece' may be anything available, from a knife
to a pebble or bean.--N.W.
=Tippy=, =Tippity=. Easily upset.--N. & S.W.
=Tistie-tostie=, =Tostie=. A child's name for both cowslip and
cowslip-ball.--N. & S.W.
=Tithing=, =Tething=. A shock of ten sheaves, for convenience in
tithe-taking (D.). The same as ~Hyle~.--N.W.
=Titty-wren=. The wren.--N.W.
*=Toads'-cheese=. Toadstool, fungus (A.).
*=Toads'-heads=. _Fritillaria Meleagris_, L., Snake's-head (_English
Plant Names_).--N.W. (Minety.)
=Toads'-meat=. Toadstools; fungi (S.).--S.W.
=Toad-stabber=. A bad blunt knife (S.). Commonly used by boys about
Clyffe Pypard.--N. & S.W.
=Todge=. Any thick spoon-meat, as gruel (A.B.C.). See ~Stodge~.--N.W.
=Token=. *(1) A fool (H.Wr.). (2) A 'young token' is a young
rascal.--N.W. (3) Formerly used also as a term of endearment.
A man would call his children his 'little tokens.'--N.W. (4)
'Blackberry-token,' the Dewberry.
=Toll=. To entice or decoy. ~Tawl~ (S.). 'Hev' a bit o' cheese, to
toll the bread down wi', will 'ee?' Still in common use. A cow given
to wandering, when she breaks out of bounds, generally 'tolls' the
rest of the herd after her.--N. & S.W.
=Toll-bird=. (1) _n._ A trained decoy-bird; also a stuffed bird used
as a decoy.--N. & S.W. (2) 'To give anything just as a toll-bird,'
to throw a sprat to catch a mackerel. Tradesmen will sell some one
article far below cost-price, as a toll-bird to attract custom.--S.W.
=Tom-bird=. The male of any bird is generally so called in N. Wilts.
=Tom Cull=. The Bullhead, _Cottus gobio_ (A.).--N. & S.W.
=Tommy=. Food in general (S.), especially when carried out into the
fields.--N. & S.W.
=Tommy-bag=. The bag in which labourers take food out with them
(S.).--N. & S.W.
=Tommy-hacker=. The same as Hacker.--S.W. (Steeple Ashton.)
=Tommy-hawk=. A potato hacker. See ~Hacker~.--N.W.
*=Tom Thumbs=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot Trefoil.--S.W.
(Mere.)
*=Tom Thumb's Honeysuckle=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot
Trefoil (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Toppings=. Bran and mill-sweepings ground up together.--N.W.
=Totty=, =Tutty=, =Tutto=. A nosegay. Used all over Wilts, in
slightly varying pronunciations, the stress sometimes falling on
the first and sometimes on the last syllable. An apple-tree in full
blossom is 'all a totty.' At Hungerford the tything-men are known as
~Tutti-men~, and carry ~Tutti-poles~, or wands wreathed with flowers.
Minsheu's Dict., Eng. and Spanish ed. 1623, 'a posie or tuttie.'--N.
& S.W.
=Touch=. Coarse brown paper soaked in saltpetre and dried, used
instead of matches for lighting a pipe in the open air, the spark to
kindle it being struck with a knife and a flint. Commonly used up to
a very recent date.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Touchwood=. A boy's game, in which the pursued endeavours to escape
by touching _wood_, i.e. tree or post, before his pursuer can seize
him.--N. & S.W.
=Toward=. (1) Order to a horse to come towards you.--N.W. (2) Hence
applied to anything near or leaning towards you (_Great Estate_, ch.
viii).--N.W.
=Towardly=. Docile, as opposed to _froward_.--N.W.
=To-year=, =T'year=. This year. 'I bain't a-gwain' to set no taters
to-year.'--N. & S.W.
=Traipse=, =Trapes=, =Traipsey=. (1) _n._ A slattern.--N. & S.W. (2)
To walk in a slatternly manner; used chiefly of women.--N. & S.W.
*=Trammel Hawk=. _Falco peregrinus_, Peregrine Falcon (_Birds of
Wilts_, p. 72).--S.W.
=Trant=. To move goods.--N.W.
=Tranter=. A haulier.--N.W.
=Trapes=. n. An untidy person (S.). See ~Traipes~.--N. & S.W.
*=Traveller's-ease=. _Achillea Millefolium_, L., Common Yarrow.--S.W.
(Little Langford.)
=Tree-mouse=. _Certhia familiaris_, the Common Creeper.--S.W.
'It may be seen creeping like a mouse up and down the hole
of a tree. Hence it is known in the south of the county as
the "Tree-mouse.'"--_Birds of Wilts._, p. 259. #/ =Trendle=.
(1) _n._ A circular trough or tray in which bakers mix their
dough.--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ Hence, a circular earthwork.--N.W.
'Chisenbury Camp, or Trendle, as it is vulgarly
called.'--BRITTON'S _Top. Descr. Wilts_., p. 407.
=Triangle=. 'To plant cabbages triangle,' to set them in _quincunx_
order.--N.W.
=Trig=. (1) _v._ To fasten, make firm (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii.
p. 113).--N.W. (2) adj. 'Pretty trig,' in fairly good health.--S.W.
(Steeple Ashton.)
=Trigger=. The rod let down to '_trig up_' the shafts of a cart.--N.W.
*=Trim-tram=. A gate which swings in a V-shaped enclosure of post and
rail, so as to prevent cattle from passing through.--N.W. (Cherhill.)
=Trins=. Calves' trins, i.e., calves' stomachs, are used in
cheese-making.--N.W.
=Trip=. To take off in jumping.--N.W.
=Tripping=. The 'take-off' in jumping.--N.W.
'Sometimes they could not leap because the tripping was bad
... sometimes the landing was bad ... or higher than the
tripping.--_Bevis_, ch. v.
=Trounce=. To have the law of a man, to punish by legal process
(A.B.S.); never used of physical punishment.--N.W.
=Truckle=. (1) _v._ To roll.--N.W. (2) _n._ Anything that may be
rolled.--N.W. (3) _n._ A small cheese (S.)--N. & S.W.
=Truckle-cheese=. A small barrel-shaped cheese of about 6 or 8
lbs.--N. & S.W.
=Truckles=. (1) 'Sheep's-truckles,' sheep dung; the usual term in
N. Wilts. Cf. 'trottles' in Linc., and 'trestles' in Sussex.--N.W.
(2) 'To play truckles,' to roll anything, such as a reel, the top
of a canister, &c., from one player to another, backwards and
forwards.--S.W.
=Trumpery=. Weeds growing in cultivated ground.--N.W.
'If he'd a-let us have it rent free first year ('cause
that land wer all full o' trump'ry that high) we could ha'
done.'--Jonathan Merle, ch. xxxvii. p. 412.
=Tuck=. (1) 'To tuck a rick,' to pull out the uneven hay all round
the sides, until they look smooth and even.--N.W. (2) To smart
with pain (H.Wr.).--N. & S.W. (3) To blow gustily. 'The wind is so
tucking to-day,' i.e. gusty, veering, blowing from all quarters,
uncertain.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Tuffin=, =Tuffin-hay=, =Tuff-mowing=. Late hay made of the rough
grass left by the cattle. ~Turvin~ (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.
*=Tufwort=. Probably the nest of _Vespa Britannica_, which in hot
summers has occurred frequently in our hedges in some parts of the
county.
'Between Crookwood and what is called "The Folly," they
observed a large cluster in one of the fir-trees ... which
turned out to be a wasps' nest. The nest, which was nearly
as large as a quartern measure, was fully matured, and is
described by an expert in taking wasps' nests as what is known
as "the tufwort" nest. It consisted of three splendid cakes of
comb, enclosed in a web.'--Local Papers, July, 1893.
=Tugs=. Pieces of chain attached to the hames of the thiller, by
which he draws.--N.W.
=Tuley=. See ~Tewley~.
=Tulip-tree=. _Acer pseudo-platanus_, L., Sycamore, the smell or
taste of the young shoots being supposed by children to resemble that
of the tulip.--S.W. (Salisbury.)
=Tump=. A hillock (A.B.).--N. & S.W.
=Tumpy=. Hillocky, uneven (A.)--N.W.
=Tun=. (1) _n._ Chimney, chimney-top (A.B.C.). 'Chimney-tun' (_Wild
Life_, ch. viii).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ 'To tun,' or 'to tun in,' to
pour liquid through a 'tun-dish' into a cask.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard,
Devizes, Huish.)
=Tun-dish=, or =Tun-bowl=. A kind of wooden funnel, like a small
bucket, with hoops round it, and a tube at the bottom, used for
pouring liquids into a cask.--N.W. (Devizes, Clyffe Pypard, Huish.)
See _Measure for Measure_, iii. 2.
=Turf=. Refuse oak-bark from the tanner's, made into cakes for firing
(B.H.Wr.).--N.W. (Marlborough, &c.)
*=Turn= or =Torn=. A spinning-wheel.--N.W. (obsolete). This word
frequently occurs in the Mildenhall parish accounts, as:--
'1793. To Box and Spokes to Torn, 1_s_. 2_d_. To a Standard,
hoop 4 spokes to Torn, 1_s_. 3_d_. To a Hoop 3 spokes to a
Torn, 11 _d_. To 4 legs and standard a hope 5 spokes to Sal's
Torn, 2_s_. 7_d_. To Mending Bery's Torn, 1_s_. 6_d_. 1784.
Paid John Rawlins for a Turn, 3_s_.'
In 1809-10 the word _Turn_ gives place to _Spinning-wheel_.
*=Turnpike=. A wire set by a poacher across a hare's run (_Amateur
Poacher_, chs. ii. and vii).--N.W.
=Turvin=. See ~Tuffin~.
=Tutto=. See ~Totty~.--N.W.
=Tutty=. See ~Totty~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Tut-work=. Piece-work (S.).--S.W.
=Twinge=. (1) _n._ A long flat cake or loaf of bread.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.) (2) _n._ A piece of dough, moulded for making into
bread.--S.W. (Deverill.)
*=Twire=. To look wistfully at anything (A.B.C.). 'How he did twire
an' twire at she, an' her wouldn't so much as gie 'un a look!' In
_Cunnington MS._ the word is said to have been in common use at that
time in N. Wilts.
'The wench ... twired and twinkled at him.'--FLETCHER, _Women
Pleased_, p. 41.
'Compare Prov. Germ, _zwiren_, to take a stolen glance at a
thing.--SMYTHE-PALMER.
*=Twi-ripe=. Ripening unevenly (D.).
=Twit=. In cider-making, the same as ~Perkins~, q.v.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=T'year=. This year (A.S.) See ~To-year~.--N. & S.W.
=U=. _U_ is often sounded _ow_, as _fowsty_, fusty, _dowst_, dust, or
chaff.
=Uck=. This very characteristic N. Wilts verb is used in many ways.
Stable-litter is ucked about with a fork in cleaning out; weeds are
ucked out of a gravel path with an old knife; a cow ucks another
with the thrust of her horn; or a bit of cinder is ucked out of the
eye with a bennet. See _Great Estate_, ch. iv, where it is said
that anything stirred with a pointed instrument is 'ucked'; also
_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii. 'It is apparently not a perversion of
_hook_, and should be compared with _huck_, to push, lift, gore,
Hants; huck, a hard blow, Suss., and huck, to spread about manure
(see Parish, _Sussex Gloss._). It is perhaps a by-form of Prov.
_hike_, to toss, throw, or strike' (Rev. A. Smythe-Palmer).
=Unbelieving=. Of children, disobedient. 'He be that unbelieving, I
can't do nothin' wi' un.'--N. & S.W.
=Under-creeping=. Underhanded.--S.W.
=Unempty=, =Unempt=, =Unent=. _v._ To empty (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Unked= or =Hunked=. Lonely (A.), but always with an idea of
uncanniness underlying it. ''Tes a unked rwoad to take late o'
nights.' Also ~Unkid~, ~Unkerd~ (B.C.), ~Unkert~ (C.), and ~Unket~
(B.).--N.W.
'The gamekeeper ... regards this place as "unkid"--i.e. weird,
uncanny.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv.
'Related to uncouth = (1) unknown, (2) strange, uncanny,
lonely.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
'What be the matter with thuck dog you? How he do howl--it
sounds main unkid!'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. ix.
Here _unkid_=ominous and uncanny.
=Unthaw=. To thaw (S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.
=Up-along=. A little way up the street or road (S.). See
~Down-along~.--N. & S.W.
=Upping-stock=. A horse-block (A.B.).--N.W.
=Upsides=. 'I'll be upzides wi' un!' I'll be even with him (S)., or a
match for him.--N. & S.W.
=V=. Many words, as _Voreright_, usually pronounced with a V, will be
found under ~F~.
=Vag=. To reap in the modern style, with a broad 'rip-hook' and a
crooked stick, chopping the straw off close to the ground, so as to
leave little or no stubble (_Walks in the Wheatfields_). True reaping
should be done with the hand instead of the crooked stick.--N. & S.W.
=Vagging-hook=. The hook used in vagging.--N. & S.W.
=Vagging-stick=. The crooked stick, usually hazel, with which the
corn is drawn towards the reaper in vagging (_Amateur Poacher_, ch.
iv).--N. & S.W.
*=Valiant Sparrow=. _Yunx torquilla_, the Wryneck (_Birds of Wilts_,
p. 257).
=Vallens=. See ~Falling~ (S.).--S.W.
=Vamp=. To walk about (S.). Much more used in Dorset. 'I zeed she
a-vamping half round the town.'--S.W.
*=Vamplets=. Rude gaiters to defend the legs from wet (A.H.). Cf.
Bams. Also used in the New Forest. See _Cradock Nowell_, ch. xviii,
'Not come with me ... and you with your vamplets on, and all!' where
the word is applied to shooting gaiters.--N.W.
=Veer=. (1) _n._ A furrow.--N.W. (Glouc. bord.) (2) _v._ 'To veer
out the rudges,' to mark out with the plough the 'rudges' or 'lands'
before ploughing the whole field.--N.W.
=Veer weather=. Chopping, changeable weather.
=Veldevare= or =Veldever=. See ~Velt~.
*=Vell=. The salted stomach of a young calf, used for making
rennet.--N.W. (Malmesbury).
*=Velleys=. The drain where the eaves of a cottage meet.
=Velt=. The fieldfare. _Turdus pilaris_ (_Wild Life_, ch. xvi),
the usual name for the bird in N. Wilts, there being a few local
variants, as ~Vulver~ at Huish and ~Veldever~ at Clyffe Pypard. Also
~Veldevare~.--N.W.
'Tom was a regular gawney ... and went about wi' a handful o'
zalt to catch the veldevares.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 177.
=Vert=. See ~Plim~.
*=Vessel=. See quotation.--N.W. (Castle Eaton.)
'To wash up the vessel (_sing._ not _pl._) is to wash up
plates, dishes, &c.'--Miss E. BOYER-BROWN.
=Vinney=. (1) _adj._ Mouldy (A.C.S.), as applied to bread or cheese.
A.S. _fynig_. _Cunnington MS._ points out that it is only used of
white or blue mould, never of black or rotten mould. It was said at
Hill Deverill of a woman feigning to be bed-ridden, that 'she would
lie there abed till she were vinney.' See ~Blue-vinnied~. (2) _adj._
Nervous. 'Do 'ee stop telling about they ghostises, or 'tull make I
vinny.'--N. & S.W.
=Vlonkers=. See ~Flunk~ (S.).--S.W.
=Vrail=. The whip part of the old-fashioned flail.--N.W. (Clyffe
Pypard.)
=Vrammards=, =Vrammerd=. (1) Order to a horse to go from you, as
opposed to ~Toward~.--N.W. (2) Hence sometimes used as _adj._ by
ploughmen and others in speaking of anything distant or leaning away
from them (_Great Estate_, ch. viii), as a load of hay or corn with a
list to the off.--N.W. (3) _n._ A _vrammerd_ is a blade set at right
angles on a short handle, used for splitting laths or rails.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.)
=Vrow=. See ~Brow~.
*=Vuddles=, =Vuddels=. A spoilt child (A.B.C.H.). In Hants to
_vuddle_ a child is to spoil it by injudicious petting.--N.W.,
obsolete.
=Vulver=. See ~Velt~.
=W=. Often not sounded at the beginning of a word. Thus _want_, a
mole, becomes '_oont_, and _within_ and _without_ are usually _athin_
and _athout_.
=Waddle up=. To wrap up with an excess of clumsily arranged clothing;
usually applied to infants.--N.W.
=Wag=. (1) 'To wag the Church bells,' to set them ringing. Also used
of tolling the bell for a funeral.--N. & S.W. (2) To move (S.). 'I
be that bad I can't scarce wag.'--N. & S.W. (3) In carrying, the boy
who stands at the horses' heads, to move them forward as required, is
said to 'wag hoss,' and the order given is 'wag on!'--N.W.
=Waggon=. The various parts of a waggon in N. Wilts bear the
following names:--the bottom is the ~Waggon-bed~. The transverse
pieces which support this over the ~Exes~ (axles) are the ~Pillars~,
~Peel~ (A.). The longitudinal pieces on each side on which the sides
rest are the ~Waggon-blades~. The similar pieces under the centre
of the bed are the ~Bed-summers~. The cross piece at the back into
which the ~Tail-board~ hooks is the ~Shetlock~ or ~Shutleck~. The
~Tail Pole~ joins the front and hind wheels together underneath. The
~Hound~ is the fore-carriage over the front wheels. The ~Slide~ is
the cross-bar on the tail of the 'Hound.' The ~Dripple~ is the strip
running along the top of the side of the waggon from which over the
hind wheels project the ~Waggon-hoops~, and over the front wheels the
~Raves~. The shafts are the ~Dills~ or ~Thills~. The ~Parters~ are
detached pieces of wood at the side, joining the 'Dripple' to the
'Bed.' The ~Thorough-pin~ is the pin which fastens the 'Waggon-bed'
to the 'Carriage.' Also see ~Arms~, ~Hoops~, ~Overlayer~, ~Sharps~,
~Draughts~, ~Limbers~, ~Strouter~, ~Ridge-tie~, ~Blades~, and
~Spances~.
=Wagtails=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking Grass.--N. & S.W.
=Wag-wants=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking Grass (S.). Also ~Weg-wants~,
~Wig-wants~, ~Wing-Wang~, and ~Wagtails~.--N. & S.W.
=Wake=. (1) _n._ The raked-up line (broader than a hatch or wallow)
of hay before it is made up into pooks (_Wild Life_, ch. vii).--N.W.
(2) _v._ To rake hay into wakes (D.).--N.W.
=Wake-at-noon=. _Ornithogalum umbellatum_, L., Star of
Bethlehem.--N.W.
=Wallow=. (1) _n._ A thin line of hay (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).
_Weale_ in Dorset. (2) _v._ To rake hay into lines.--N.W. =Want=.
A mole (B.S.); also ~Woont~ (B.) and 'oont (Wilts Tales, p. 173;
_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ii).--N. & S.W.
'1620. Itm. to William Gosse for killing of wants,
xijd.'--Records of Chippenham, p. 202.
=Want-catcher=, 'oont-catcher. _n._ A professional mole catcher.--N.
& S.W.
=Want-heap=. A mole-hill.--N. & S.W.
*=Want-rear=. A mole-hill.--S.W.
=Waps=, =Wopse=. A wasp (A.S.). A.S. _wœps_.--N. & S.W.
=Warnd=, =Warn=. To warrant (A.S.). 'You'll get un, I warnd.'--N. &
S.W.
=Warning-stone=. See ~Gauge-brick~. Also see _Addenda_.
=Wart-wort=. (1) _Chelidonium majus_, L., The Greater Celandine, the
juice of which is used to burn away warts.--N. & S.W. (2) _Euphorbia
Peplus_, L., Petty Spurge.--N.W.
=Wassail=. A drinking-song, sung by men who go about at Christmas
wassailing (A.B.).--N.W.
=Wassailing=, =Waysailing=. Going about singing and asking for money
at Christmas (A.B.).--N.W.
*=Wasset-man=. A scarecrow (A.B.G.H.Wr.); also ~Wusset~ (H.Wr.).--N.W.
=Watch=. If a hay-rick is so badly made that it heats, the owner
is often so ashamed of it that he attempts to set the matter
right before his neighbours find it out. If a passer-by notices
him poking about the hay as if searching for something in it, the
ironical question is asked--'Have you lost your watch there?'--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) Cp. 'To drop your watch in the bottom of the
rick.'--_Upton-on-Severn Words_, p. 34.
=Watchet=, =Wetched=, =Wetchet=. Wet about the feet. ~Wotshed~ at
Cherhill. ~Wetched~ (A.).--N.W.
'Either way, by lane or footpath, you are sure to get what the
country folk call "watchet," i.e. wet.'--_Wild Life_, ch. vi.
'You'd best come along o' me to the lower lands ... for it
be mighty wet there these marnins, and ye'll get watshed for
certin.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p. 142.
*=Water Anemone=. _Ranunculus hederaceus_, L., Ivy-leafed
Crowfoot.--S.W. (Zeals.)
*=Water-blobb=. _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., The Water-lily (A.B.). See
~Blobbs~.
*=Water-buttercup=. _Ranunculus Flammula_, L., Lesser
Spear-wort.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Water-Cuckoo=. _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock. See
~Cuckoo~.--S.W.
=Water-lily=. (1) _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.--N. & S.W.
*(2) _Ranunculus aquatilis_, L., Water Crowfoot.--S.W. (Charlton All
Saints.)
*=Wayside-bread=. _Plantago major_, L., Plantain (_English Plant
Names_). Cp. M.E. _wey-brede_ in the 'Promptorium.'
=Weather-glass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel. See
~Shepherd's Weather-glass~.--N. & S.W.
=Weeth=. (i) _adj._ Tough and pliable (A.B.C.S.).--N.W. (2) _adj._
Of bread, moist and yet not too soft. 'I puts my lease bread on the
pantony shelf, and it soon gets nice and weeth.' Often pronounced as
_wee_.--N. & S.W.
=Weffet=, =Wevet=. A spider.--S.W., occasionally.
=Weg-wants=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Weigh-jolt=. A see-saw (A.B.H.Wr.).--Formerly in common use at
Clyffe Pypard, N.W.
=Welch-nut=. A walnut (_MS. Lansd._).--N. & S.W.
*=Well-at-ease=. In good health, hearty.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Well-drock=. The windlass over a well.--S.W.
=West= (pronounced _Waast_). A stye in the eye. See ~Wish~.--S.W.
=Wheat-reed=. Straw preserved unthreshed for thatching (D.). See
~Elms~ and ~Reed~.--S.W., obsolete.
*=Wheeling=. 'It rains wheeling,' i.e. hard or pouring.--N.W.
(Lockeridge.) =Whicker=, =Wicker=. (1) To neigh or whinny as a
horse, bleat as a goat, whine as a dog, &c. (S.; _Village Miners_;
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 114).--N.W. (2) To giggle.--N.W.
*(3) 'To find a wicker's nest,' to be seized with an irrepressible
fit of giggling (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
*=Whip land=. Land not divided by meres, but measured out, when
ploughed, by the whip's length (D.).
=Whippence=. The fore-carriage of a plough or harrow, &c. (D.).--N.W.
=Whipwhiles=. Meanwhile (S.). A Somersetshire word.--S.W.
=Whissgig=. (1) _v._ To lark about. Wissgigin, larking (S.).--N. &
S.W. (2) _n._ A lark, a bit of fun or tomfoolery. 'Now, none o' your
whissgigs here!'--N.W.
=Whissgiggy=. _adj._ Frisky, larky.--N.W.
*=White=. 'Cow white'=cow in milk. 'Calf white'=sucking calf.
'All the small tithes such as wool and lamb, cow white and
calf &c. throughout all parts of the parish unexpressed in the
several foregoing particulars. The usual rates at present being
fourpence a cow white--sixpence a calf ... the sheep, lambs and
calves are due at St. Mark's tide--the cow white, and fatting
cattle at Lammas.'--_Hilmarton Parish Terrier_, 1704. See
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 126.
Usually defined as above, but perhaps more correctly written as
_cow-wite_ and _calf-wite_, i.e. the mulct or payment for a cow or
calf.
'Tythes of Wool and Lambs and Calves, and three half pence
which is due and payable at Lammas being Composition Money for
the Tythe White of every Cow.'--_Wilcot Parish Terrier_, 1704.
As regards the ordinary derivation, compare _white-house_, a dairy,
_white-meat_, milk, _whites_, milk.
'Wheatly (_On the Common Prayer_, ed. 1848, pp. 233-4) quotes
from a letter of one G. Langbain, 1650, as follows:--"certe
quod de Lacte vaccarum refert, illud percognitum habeo in
agro _Hamtoniensi_ (an et alibi nescio) decimas Lacticiniorum
venire vulgo sub hoc nomine, _The Whites of Kine_; apud
Leicestrenses etiam Lacticinia vulgariter dicuntur
_Whitemeat_."'--SMYTHE-PALMER.
=White Couch=. See ~Couch~.
=White-flower=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort.--N.W.
(Huish.)
*=White-house=. A dairy (H.Wr.).
=White-livered=. Pale and unhealthy-looking (S.).--N. & S.W. At
Clyffe Pypard the word has a yet stronger idea of disease about it,
and a 'white-livered' woman is popularly supposed to be almost as
dangerous as was the poison-nurtured Indian beauty who was sent as
a present to Alexander the Great. How the 'whiteness' of the liver
is to be detected is not very clear, but probably it is by the
pallor of the face. At any rate, if you discover that a young woman
is 'white-livered,' do not on any account marry her, because the
whiteness of the liver is of a poisonous nature, and you assuredly
will not live long with a white-livered young woman for your wife. It
is most unhealthy, and if _she_ does not die, _you_ will! The word is
so used of both sexes.
=White Robin Hood=. _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion.--S.W.
(Zeals.)
=White-wood=. _Viburnum Lantana_, L., Mealy Guelder-rose.--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard.) ~White-weed~.--S.W. (Farley).
*=Whitty-tree=. _Viburnum Lantana_, L. (Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 56, ed. Brit.)
=Whiver=. (1) To quiver, hover, flutter. ~Wiver~ (S.).--S.W. (2) To
waver, hesitate.--S.W.
*=Who'say=, =Hoosay=. An idle report.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Wicker=. See ~Whicker~.
=Wig-wants=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Wild Asparagus=. _Ornithogalum pyrenaicum_, L., Spiked Star of
Bethlehem.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Wildern= (_i_ short). An apple-tree run wild in the hedges, as
opposed to a true crab-tree.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
*=Wild Willow=. _Epilobium hirsutum_, L., Great Hairy Willow-herb
(_Great Estate_, ch. ii).
=Will-jill=. An impotent person or hermaphrodite.--N.W. Compare
_Wilgil_ and _John-and-Joan_ in Hal.
*=Willow-wind=. (1) _Convolvulus_, Bindweed (_Great Estate_, ch.
viii). (2) _Polygonum Fagopyrum_, L., Buckwheat (_Ibid._).
=Wiltshire Weed, The=. The Common Elm. See notice in _Athenaeum_,
1873, of Jefferies' _Goddard Memoir_, also _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. x.
p. 160. This is a term frequently occurring in books and articles on
Wilts, but it would not be understood by the ordinary Wiltshire folk.
=Wim=. To winnow.--S.W.
=Wind-mow=. A cock of a waggon-load or more, into which hay is
sometimes put temporarily in catchy weather (D.), containing about 15
cwt. in N. Wilts, and a ton elsewhere.--N. & S.W.
=Wing-wang=. See ~Wag-wants~.
=Winter-proud=. Of wheat, too rank (D.), as is frequently the case
after a mild winter. See ~Proud~.--N.W.
=Wirral=, =Worral=, or =Wurral=. _Ballota nigra_, L., Black
Horehound.--S.W. (Som. bord.)
=Wish=, =Wisp=. A sty in the eye.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)
=Wissgigin=. See ~Whissgig~ (1).
=Withwind=, or =Withwine=. _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed,
and other species (A.B.D.S.). ~Wave-wine~ or ~Wither-wine~ (_Cycl. of
Agric._); ~Withywind~ on Som. border.--N. & S.W.
=Wivel=, =Wyvel=. To blow as wind does round a corner or through a
hole.--N.W.
=Wivelly=, or =Wivel-minded=. Undecided, wavering, fickle, and
untrustworthy (_Village Miners_).--N.W.
=Wiver=. See ~Whiver~.
=Womble=. _v._ To wobble about from weakness, &c. (_Dark_, ch. iv,
where it is used of children who come to school without having had
any breakfast).--N. &. S.W., occasionally.
=Wombly=. _adj._ Wobbly (_Dark_, ch. iv).
=Wonderment=. (1) _n._ A sight or pastime of any kind.--N.W. (2)
_n._ Any occupation that appears fanciful and unpractical to the
rustic mind. Thus a boy who had a turn for inventions, drawing,
verse-making, butterfly-collecting, or anything else of a similar
nature which lies outside the ordinary routine of a labourer's daily
life, would be described as always 'aater his 'oonderments.'--N.W.
(3) _v._ To play the fool, waste time over unprofitable work.--N.W.
*=Wood-sour=. _adj._ Of soil, loose, spongy. Also ~Woodsere~.--N.W.,
obsolete.
'The strong red land on the high level parts of the Downs ...
once wood-land, and sometimes expressly called "wood-sour"
land.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.
'A poor wood-sere land very natural for the production of
oaks.'--AUBREY, _Miscell_. p. 211.
'It is a wood-sere country abounding much with sour and austere
plants.'--AUBREY, _Nat. Hist. of Wilts_, p. 11, ed. Brit.
=Wood-wax=. *(1) _Genista tinctoria_, L., Dyer's Greenweed (D.),
Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, pp. 34 and 49, ed. Brit.--N. & S.W. (2)
_Genista Anglica_, L., Needle Whin.--S.W. (Farley.)
=Wooset=. See ~Houssett~.
=Wooster-blister=. A smack in the face or box on the ear.--S.W. (Som.
bord.) Cf. Som. ~Whister-twister~, and Dev. ~Whister-poop~.
*=Works=. In a water-meadow, the system of trenches and carriages by
which the water is brought in and distributed (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch.
xii).
=Worsen=. _v._ To grow worse. 'You be worsened a deal since I seen
'ee laast, I d' lot as you bean't a gwain' to live long.'--N. & S.W.
=Wosbird=. A term of reproach (A.),=_whore's brood_. There are many
variants, as ~Hosebird~, ~Husbird~, and ~Oozebird~. Much commoner in
Devon.--N. & S.W.
'They're a couple o' th' ugliest wosbirds in the vair.'--Wilts
Tales, p. 89.
In his _Dictionary of Provincial English_, Wright defines this as
'a wasp,' a mistake too amusing to be passed over! Probably his
informant heard a rustic who had got into a wasp's nest, and been
badly stung, 'danging they wosbirds,' and on asking what he meant by
'wosbirds' was told that they were the 'wopses,' and not unnaturally
concluded that the two words were synonyms.
=Wout=. A carter's order to a horse to bear off. The opposite to Coom
hether.
=Wrap=. _n._ A thin strip of wood. See ~Rap~.
=Wrastle=. To spread, as cancer, fire, roots, &c.--N.W.
'These fires are, or were, singularly destructive in
villages--the flames running from thatch to thatch, and, as
they express it, "wrastling" across the intervening spaces. A
pain is said to "wrastle," or shoot and burn.'--_Wild Life_,
ch. iv. p. 68.
*=Wreaths=. The long rods used in hurdle-making (D.).
=Wrick=, =Rick=. To twist or wrench. 'I've bin an' wricked me ankly.'
M.E. _wrikken_.--N. & S.W.
=Wridgsty=. See ~Ridge-tie~.
=Wrist=. To twist, especially used of wringing the neck of a rabbit
or fowl (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi).--N.W.
=Wug=, =Woog=. Order to a horse (S.).--N. & S.W.
=Wusset=. See ~Wasset-man~.
=Wusted=. Looking very ill, grown worse.--N.W.
=Y=. Many words beginning with H, G, or a vowel, are usually sounded
with Y prefixed, as _Yacker_, acre; _Yeppern_, apron; _Yat_, or
_Yeat_, gate; _Yeldin_, a hilding; and _Yerriwig_, earwig.
Verbs ending in _y_ often drop that letter. Thus empty and study
become _empt_ and _stud_.
The free infinitive in _y_ was formerly much used, but is now dying
out. It was used in a general question, as 'Can you _mowy_?' Were a
special piece of work referred to, _mowy_ would not be correct, the
question then being simply 'Can you _mow_ thuck there meäd?'
The following example of the 'free infinitive' is given in
_Cunnington MS._:--
'There is also here a Peculiar mode of forming active verbs
from Nouns, which are generally in use as apellations for
professions--take an Example. Well Mary, how do you get on
in Life? what do you and your family do _now_ to get a Living
in these times--Wy Zur we do aal vind Zummut to do--Jan, ye
know, he do _Smithey_ [work as a smith] Jin the beggist wench
do spinney the Little one do Lace makey--I do _Chorey_ [go out
as a Chore Woman] and the two Boys do Bird keepey--that is One
works as a smith--one spins one makes Lace one goes out as a
Chore woman & two are Bird keepers which Latter term were more
to the purpose if expressed Bird frightener or driver.'
=Yap=, =Yop=. (1) To yelp as a dog (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) To talk
noisily. 'What be a yopping there for?'--N.W.
*=Yard-land=. Land sufficient for a plough of oxen and a yard to
winter them; an ancient copyhold tenure (D.).--Obsolete.
*=Yard of land=. A quarter of an acre, because formerly, in common
lands forty poles long, the quarter acre was a land-yard wide
(D.).--Obsolete.
=Yea-nay=. 'A yea-nay chap,' one who does not know his own
mind.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
=Yeemath=. Aftermath (B.). ~Youmath~ (A.B.). ~Yeomath~ (A.H.Wr.).
Probably = _young math_, cp. _young grass_ in W. Somerset. Cp.
~Ea-math~, ~Ameäd~ at Cherhill, ~Ea-grass~ in S. Wilts.--N.W.
=Yees=. An earthworm. See ~Eass~.
=Yelding=, =Yeldin=. n. A hilding (A): a woman of bad character
(_Wilts Tales_, p. 3).--N.W.
'I've allus bin respectable wi' my women volk, and I wun't ha'e
no yeldin' belongin' to ma.'--_Dark_, ch. xix.
=Yellucks=. See ~Hullocky~.
=Yelm=, =Yelms=. See ~Elms~ (S.).--N. & S.W.
*=Yellow-cups=. Buttercups in general.--S.W. (Zeals.)
=Yellow-Thatch=. _Lathyrus pratensis_, L., Meadow Vetchling.--N. &
S.W.
*=Yoke=. See ~Fork~ (_Wild Life_, ch. vi).
=Yop=. See ~Yap~.
*=You=. This word is often thrown in at the end of a sentence,
sometimes as a kind of query--'Don't you think so?'--but usually to
give a strong emphasis to some assertion.--N.W.
'A' be a featish-looking girl, you.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch.
i.
'Fine growing marning, you.'--_Ibid._ ch. i.
'That be a better job than ourn, you.'--_Hodge and his
Masters_, ch. vii.
=Yuckel=, =Yuckle=. A woodpecker (A.H.Wr.). So called from its cry,
_Yuc_, _yuc_.--N.W.
=Yaught=, =Yawt=. To swallow, to drink. 'There's our Bill--he can
yaught down drenk like anything,' or 'He can yaught a deal.'--N.W.
(Clyffe Pypard, Huish, &c.)
=Z=. Among the old people _S_ is still usually sounded as _Z_, as
_Zaat_ or _Zate_, soft; _Zound_, to swoon; _Zorrens_, servings, &c.
See _S_ for many such instances.
*=Zaad-paul=. This term used to be commonly applied about Aldbourne
to an utterly good-for-nothing fellow, but is gradually dying out
now. It probably means 'soft head.' See ~Saat~.
*=Zam=. To heat anything for some time over the fire, without letting
it come to the boil.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)
=Zammy=. (1) _n._ A simpleton, a soft-headed fellow (S.).--S.W. *(2)
_adj._ 'Zammy tea,' half-cold, insipid tea.--N.W. (Hullavington.)
=Zam-zodden=. Long-heated over a slow fire, and so half spoilt.
This and the last two words belong to Som. rather than Wilts. A.S.
_sām-soden_, half boiled.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)