LAKELAND WORDS AND SAYINGS.

AARON’S ROD—It grows e’ t’ garden.

ABACK—Behind; in the absence of; over some land-mark or another. Thus,

a cap hangs up aback o’ t’ door; a tale may be told about some one

aback of his back; and another comes frae aback o’ t’ fells.

ABACK-O-BEYONT—The place from which comes nothing but mystery and

terror for barns; neea body’s bin an’ come back to say whar it ligs.

ABIDE—Put up wi’; ah can’t abide mucky fooak.

ABREED—Level, equal, broadcast. They war walken o’ abreed.

ACOCK—Hay that is cocked up in “fiut cocks,” or, “gurt cocks”;

something that is set finely, and evenly balanced; ready and eager for

a fratch; a hat put on sideways; put out of temper; glib.

ACOCKINECKS—Where most youthful jockeys make their first attempt at

riding, namely, across the father’s neck; and later on in life as a

schoolboy’s game. To ride acockinecks is regarded as fine enough for

anyone.

ACOS—For the reason; because. “What for dud thoo punch at my shins?”

“Acos Ah thowt Ah wad see what thoo wad say if Ah dud.”

ACROSS—Met with. Ah com across an auld nebbur er tweea.

ACROOK—Crooked. When t’ maut gits intul a chap’s legs an’ he gahs

across t’ rooad he’s gaan acriukt.

ADDLE—Earn. In the sense of the word as now used in literature,

“addle” has none but an exactly opposite meaning. To earn; to turn to

good account; to make a living; it has nothing to do with barrenness,

corruption, or rottenness. How Addle, Addlepate, Addle-head,

Addle-brain, and so forth have sprung from so respectable an origin can

only be conjectured.

ADDLIN’, ADDLINS—Earning; wages. “Is ta addlin owt much?” “Siavin’s

good addlin.” “His addlins divn’t come to mich.” “He taks miast of his

addlins hiam tul his wife an’ barns.” Like Addle, Addlin’, and Addlins

are of good repute in Lakeland lore.

AFRONT—Before. He was on afront.

AFORE—In front of; before. A gurt dub o’ watter afooar t’ door.

Winter’s come afooar it time.

AFORETIME—Previously: the old days. They’d hed some bother afooartime

about t’ sheep an’ t’ dykes. Afooartime yan used ta be prood o’ some

good poddish fer yan’s supper.

AFOREHAND—Done before; he had his rent ready afooarhand.

AGREE—Amiss, crossways. T’ auld piase-eggers wad sing:

If ye give us nowt we’ll tak nowt agree,

But we’ll gang and sail owld England’s sea.

AGGLE AN’ JAGGLE—To higgle over a bargain; a bit o’ fendin an’ priuvin’

ower owt.

AGATE—Started; abusing; out of the way. “Hev ye gitten agiat mowin’?”

T’auld beggar’s allus agiat o’ yan er anudder on us blackin’ an’ gaan

on. Ye’ve gian a lang way agiat.

AGATEWARDS—Towards the gate. Said by some to be a relic from the times

when savage dogs rendered it necessary for the visitor to be “set” by

“t’ fauld yat.” Another and an older reason than savage dogs still

keeps the custom of “settin’ yan anudder agateards” alive, and is

likely to do, so long as lads and lasses care for one another’s company.

AIBLINS—Possibly. Will ye gang o’ Sunday? Aiblins ah may.

AH-WOOA-GE-HEDDER-COME-UP—A nag ’at doesn’t understand its orders

is apt ta git t’ whup. We yance watched a chap plewin, an’ he said,

“Ah-wooa-ge-hedder-come-up” till he was stalled, then he let flee wi a

clot, coad t’ nag a fiual, an’ telt it ta liuk an see what seck wark it

was makkin.

AHINT—Behind. Allus keep ahint a shutter. Thoo can git on ahint me an’

hev a ride. We’re a lang way ahint wi oor wark.

AJYE—O’ yah side as some fooak weear their hats.

AIM, AIMED—Intend, intended. We didn’t aim ye to know. Ah’d aimed ye to

stop an’ hev a cup o’ tea.

AIR, AIRED—To warm or dry. Air t’ bed; air mi shirt. A drop of aired

milk.

AIRIN’—Showing off. He was arin’ hissel oot in his majesty.

AKEEN—Related. They’re nowt akeen ta yan anudder. Siam as Rag Mary,

akeen ta o’ t’ gurt fooak.

ALLODIN—Not in regular employment, but looking for an engagement. This

is a gay auld farrand word an’ taks us back a lang way.

ALLY-COM-PANNY—A game.

Rhyme—Ally-com-panny

When ’ll ta marry?

When apples and peers is ripe

Ah’ll come ta thi wedden,

Without any bidden,

An’ dance wi t’ bride at night!

ALL-OWERISH—A feeling of general weakness or ailment. Ah nobbut feel a

bit o’ owerish ta-day, ah’s o’ ower alike.

ALLEY—An alabaster marble, with which boys play. Hoo many marvels hes

thoo? Ten potteys and three alleys.

ALLEY—A passage between the rows of seats in a hall or building. We can

walk doon t’ alley.

ALAG—Leaning; on one side. That hoose side’s varra mich alag. T’carful

o’ hay gat o alag. Set t’stee mair alag, _i.e._ give it a bit more

“skatch.”

ALAG—A “call” used when necessary to disturb a flock of geese.

ALLAY—Guarantee. Allay yer tired? It is used frequently to affirm an

answer that is anticipated.

AMPLE-ORDER—In perfect condition and ready. O’s e’ ample order fer t’

weddin.

AMANG-HANDS—In the midst of other and various duties. We’re thrang wi

t’ hay and howin’ turnips amang-hands. She was weshen’, an’ biaken’,

an’ singen’ amang-hands fer t’ barns.

ANEATH—Below. Price o’ floor’s a gay bit aneath what it yance was.

ANENT—Alongside. He could shear his rig anent a man. Directly opposite.

We sat anent yan anudder.

ANO—Too; as well. Thee gang wi us ano.

ANKLE-BANDS, ANKLE-BELTS, ANKLE-STRAPS—Shoes or slippers provided with

a strap to fasten around the ankle to keep them on. Fer dancin’ in

thers nowt better ner a pair o’ ankle straps.

ANKLE-JACKS—Shoes that come over the ankle, and which have a long front

quarter, like those worn by soldiers. He’d a pair o’ ankle jacks fer t’

Sundays.

ANGRY—Nay, nut mad, ner vexed, but inflamed an’ sair like a kin, er a

frozen teea. This word illustrates the divergence there is in the use

of words in the literary and dialect senses.

ANTRES—In case; providing. Tak yer top cooat antres it rains.

ANUNDER—Beneath. Did thoo see that fish gang anunder t’ breea?

A-NAG-BACK, A-FIUT—Are ye gaan a-nag-back, er ye’ll gang afiut? Riding

or walking. Afoot is also often used to signify well, and up afiut.

APODE—Ah’s warn’t; dare be bund; daresay. Ye’ve hed some fash wi’ that

barn, Ah’ll apode it ye hev.

APRIL-GOWK—April-fool. A person who is betrayed into some senseless

errand, or action, and then informed that he’s an April gowk and that

it is the first of April.

APPLE-PIE-ORDER—Neatly arranged. We’ve o’ e’ apple-pie-order fer sitten

doon ta t’ tea.

ARCH-WHOL—A hole in the wall of a building in which sparrows build and

light and air pass through.

ARK—Meal chest.

Many hands mak’ leet’ wark

An’ many mooths a tium ark.

ARM-WHOL—The arm pits. Ah’s as sair as can be i’ t’ arm-whol. The

opening in a coat or waistcoat through which the arm is passed.

ARRALS—A skin disease, also known as ring-worm, and said to be

contracted by contact with cattle. Ah’ve t’ arrals on mi arm, an’ Ah

want some copperas ta puzzen it wi’.

ARRANT—Thoroughly bad. He’s an arrant auld slenk.

ARRAN’-WEB—Cobweb. T’ baulks was hung wi’ arran’ webs.

ARR, ARR’D—Scar or seam left on the skin by a wound or disease. He’d

a gurt ugly arr on his broo whar t’ nag hat him. It maks fooak varra

kenspeckle when they’re seea pock arr’d.

ART—Quarter. What art’s t’ wind in? It’s in a wet art. What art er ye

frae? This yan’s a gem o’ purest watter an’ varra near as auld as oor

auld hills an’ whols. Lang let it stop.

ARVAL-BREAD—Loaves distributed at funerals.

ARVAL-SUPPER—An entertainment or feast given at funerals.

AS TIGHT—As well. Thoo mud as tight whissle as sing.

AS LEAVE—As soon. Ah’ as leave gang as stop.

AREED—Solve; guess. Areed me this riddlin.

ASS-TRUG—See ass-boord.

ASS—Ashes, an’ ashes is burnt muck, cinders, er owt else ’at’s bin

throo t’ fire.

ASS, AX—Ask. Ass that body fer a drink o’ milk.

ASIDE—Near. Whar’s t’ cowrak? It’s clooas aside o’ ye.

ASIDE—Ta “ride aside” means to ride as t’ ladies do—aside. Ta sit o’

yah side o’ t’ nag nobbut; they’ve saddles a purpose fer t’ job i’ some

spots.

ASK—An ask’s a lizzard; ther’s yan i’ t’ pond.

ASKATCH—In rearing a ladder against a wall if the bottom is set well

from the wall “it’s far eneuf askatch.” One who stands with his feet

apart, or walks with them well set out has plenty o “skatch.”

ASS, ASSED, ASSINS—Them ’ats gaan ta git wedded know gaily weel, marry,

what it is ta be assed. Ass some o’ them, an’ they’ll liuk as sheepish

as asses.

ASS-CAT—A chap ’at croodles ower ’t fire when it’s a bit cauld is

an ass-cat. As grey as an ass-cat—_i.e._ a cat ’at cronks under t’

ass-whol, an’ gits mucky wi’ burnt muck.

ASS-BOORD—A chap was tellin’ anudder what a ass-boord is, an’ he said

it was a sooart of a wheel-barrow, nobbut it hed neea trunnle, neea

legs, an’ neea stangs tult, an’ it was used ta gedder muck in. He mud a

bin farder rang.

ASS-GRATE—An iron grate ’at fits t’ ass-whol, an’ keeps t’ barns frae

tummelin’ in.

ASS-MIDDEN—T’ heap o’ burnt muck. Nearly ivvery hoose hes yan tul

itsel, an’ varra few fooak but sailors ivver git a mile away frae yan

o’ somebody’s.

ASS-MUCK—Ivverybody knows what ass-muck is; it izzant up ta mich fer

nowt.

ASS-NIUK—In miast hooses there’s t’ hood niuk, an’ t’ ass-niuk yut,

but ther nut what they used ta be, an’ ther gitten grand neeams for

them. Ther’s nin o’ them can beat oors yut, we’ll stick ta er awn auld

ass-niuk a bit langer.

ASS-WHOL—T’ gurt whol i’ t’ fleear whar t’ burnt muck drops intul oot

’at t’ fire.

ASSLE-TOOTH—A cruncher or molar is an assle-tiuth, an’ it’s grand when

yan o’ them warks i’ t’ neet when yan sud be asleep.

ASSLE-TREE—Ivvr’y cart wheel has yan tul itsel, and revolves on it’s

awn assle-tree, an’ that’ll be what t’ world gahs on it’s awn axis for

I expect.

ASSOON—To fo assoon ’s a bad sign. It means yer wankly, or else ye’ve

hed a gay hard knock ower t’ cannister, an’ it’s miad ye faint, an’

silly.

ASLANT—Sloping, it izzant thunner rain, it co’s aslant.

ASTRADDLE—Astride, siam as Rag Mary used ta ride on a stick, an’

somebody sed tul her, “What, yer ridin’ ta-day, Mary?” “Aye,” sez Mary,

“but it’s nobbut t’ niam o’ t’ thing.”

ASTOOP—Bent with age, pain, or labour. He begins ta gang sair astoop,

is said with a sympathetic tone that often implies much when tokens of

decay are discerned.

ASWINT—Streck across frae yah corner tul annuder, yan sometimes gahs

aswint a pasture; an’ yah auld chap used ta tell t’ tial aboot anudder

’at ’cot his pie crust aswint an’ t’ maister tel’t him he “was warse

ner a ninny-hammer to cut his crust aswint.”

ATTER—A spider.

ATTER-COB—A spider’s web.

ATTER-MITE—A lal spider on t’ watter.

AT, ET, IT, UT—That; who; which. That’s t’ rooad ’at leads ta Peerith.

Yon dog’s an auld slenk, ’et is ’t. He went t’ way ’it he thowt best.

It izzant allus fer t’ best ’ut yan does things.

ATWINE—Oot ov a streyt line, owder up a hill, er doon yan.

ATWIST—When yan’s fishin’ tome gits hankled siam as threed.

ATWEEN—Between. Nivver thee gang atween neeabody ats feiten, let them

feit it oot says Ah.

AUMRY—The office or lodgings of the almoner; also the place where the

alms are given; a pantry.

AVERISH—Greedy, or hungry and eating in a guiversome manner. Tak thi

time an’ divn’t be seea averish.

AVISED—Black-avised like a man that gits oot o’ bed on t’ wrang side,

or gets his fias smeared with grime. A good old standing phrase that

often hits off a description when more refined expressions would fail.

AW-MACKS—Goodstuff of mixed varieties. A ho’perth o’ aw-macks.

AWN, AWNY—The beard of barley, awny wheat, &c.

AWOVVER—An affirmation. Ah wadn’t deea seea, awovver.

AWMUS—An awmus dish is what they tak t’ toll in at t’ market, but what

aboot t’ mooths like an awmus? Lads at t’ skiul when they want ta beg a

bite o’ yan anudder’s apple, er peer, as’ fer an awmus. It’s becos it’s

a sooart ov a takkin’ an’ givin’ nowt back, like miast o’ tolls, Ah

reckon.

AWVISH—Seekly an’ silly, like a fellow at’s bin on t’ rant.

AYONT—Beyond. We set him a lang way ayont t’ fower rooad-ends.

AYE—Fer ivver an’ ivver an’ aye means a gay lang while.

AYE—Aye, whia, what noo? Aye of course means “yes,” but it means a lot

more. It asks questions and answers them, as well as puts them by. One

well skilled in humanity’s little traits tells us that the use of this

monosyllable will stick to a man longer than any other, and he could

locate a man’s origin by it’s use to a few miles. Aye’s a lal un, but

it’s a sticker.

BAIT—Grain ov a booard that’s yah mak o’ bait.

BACK-CAN—A can to strap on the back an’ carry milk in.

BACK-END—That is autumn.

BACKIN—Cotton wool; cotton backin. Neea doot becos it does fer backin

up hollow pleeaces. Ass a tailior or a manty-makker.

BACON-COLLOP—A bacon-collop an’ a pint o’ coffee—hoo’s that fer a dish?

BACON-FLICK—A picture ta hing up in a chimly niuk. It’s miad oot ov a

pig’s carcase when it’s been fed weel an’ butched.

BACK-SET—To throw backwards in growth or improvement. To be forced

or fast. He gat cauld an’ it gev him a back-set. We’re back-set an’

fooar-set, an’ can’t stir a pin.

BARK—Skin. T’ sun’s burnt o’ t’ bark off mi nooas.

BACK-SIDE—Behind the house. Come an’ laik i’ oor back-side. The hinder

parts.

BASH—A nasty ugly wallop. It catcht me a bash fair i’ t’ ee.

BACON-STAVE—A plaster made from a bacon collop. Anybody wi a sair

throat try yan, an’ sleep wi’ ’t on.

BACKSTUN, BACKSTUN-CAKE, BACK’US—Ah fancy t’ “bake-stone” ’s aboot oot

o’ date, nobbut at haver-breed time, but a backstun-ciak ’s as good,

if it is biaked on t’ girdle. Thers backs as briad as a backstun, an’

mooths as wide as a backus door.

BAD—Past of bid. He bad a ten pun nooat fer t’ Galloway.

BADGER—See batch-carrier. A buyer up of eggs an’ butter.

BADGER—Brow-beat. He pot up wi’ ther tricks as lang as they did nowt

nobbut badger him.

BADGER—“As grey ’s a badger” ’s a common sayin’ wi’ them as hez nivver

seen yan.

BAD-WORD—Abuse. He gat t’ bad-word fra t’ maister.

BADLY—Ill. As many a lad’s bin wi’ his first pipe o’ bacca er pint o’

yal. It’s cappin how lads ’ll punish thersels to “smell like a man,” as

yan o’ them yance sed.

BAIN—T’ nearest way to a place, or to do a job. It’s as bain be t’

rooad. That ’ll be t’ bainest way o’ deein it.

BARKT—Bruised. Ah barkt mi shins again t’ deur step.

BAIT—A meal, or refreshments. A scholar’s lunch. To feed horses whilst

they are working; or herd t’ kye i’ t’ looanen’s as they’re garn tult

t’ paster, is ta let them bait.

BALDERDASH—Queer talk. Thoo talks nowt nobbut a heap o’ balderdash. It

izzant exactly leein’, but riapin’ on wi’ a lot o kelderment ’ats neea

truth it ’t, an’ less good.

BAWTY-BAWT—Dog name.

BAGS—Entrails.

BACK-WATTER—In financial straits. It’s best ta keep oot o’ back-watter.

An’ a mill wheel’s i’ back-watter when it’s tail bund wi’ a fliud.

BAG-’O-TRICKS, BOILIN’, BUNCH, BUNDLE—These o’ mean yah thing—an’ that

is o’ t’ lot. Git oot o’ mi giat o’ t’ bag o’ tricks on ye. They’re

varra oft used wi’ nut mich sense at o’.

BAIRNEY, BAIRNISH—Old age childishness.

BAMBOOZLE—Kick’t aboot an’ bamboozl’d wi’ iv’ry yan o’ them. Miad gam

on.

BAND—Tether. He’s hed ower mich band.

BAND—A high place on a hill—Silver Band on Crossfell, Bowfell Band, &c.

BALKS—Thrown ower t’ balks—ass’d ta’ t’ Kirk; spurr’d; garn to be

wedded.

BALKS-HEN—Whar t’ hens roost.

BANDY-LEGGED—Short legged, and bowed.

BANE—Ah yance fand a lal bottle, an’ t’ auld woman said it hed rattan

bane in. Ah guess it war puzzan.

BARE—Scrimpy; hardly. It’s bare weight. It’s bare three mile ta Shap.

BARGEST—An uncanny visitant often talked about but seldom seen or

heard. One who has the power of foretelling the demise of others. One

who makes an unearthly din. Shut up, thoo gurt bargest, thoo! Lal ’uns

’at’s aboot ther teeth er oft telt ta be whiat an’ gah ta sleep, er t’

bargest ’ll tak them, an’ seea they allus think o’ t’ bargest as summat

flaysome.

BARKEN—To clot like blood on a bandage, or to “set in” like dirt on the

skin.

BARLEY—Ween a lad wants ta claim t’ dumplin end he says, “barley me t’

dumplin end, mudder,” an’ neea body else hez any chance tult. Ther’s a

lot a things i’ this world ’at yan wad like ta barley.

BARNS—Youngsters.

BATE—To take from a stated price. Te banter. He wad’nt bate a ho’penny.

Ah couldn’t bate him a plack.

BATED—Ceased. T’ rain’s nivver bated a bit sen it started.

BATCH—A sack of meal. A baking of bread—barley-meal. Nowt’s sweeter ner

a bit o’ het batch-ciak, buttered.

BATCH—Bundle; number; band. Ah’ll feit o’ t’ batch for a quart o’ yal.

Ther’s a batch o’ rattans o’ tagidder. They o’ went i’ yah batch.

BATCH-CARRIER—A miller’s carter. Ivv’ry-body’s hed a ride wi’t’

batch-carrier amang his batches at some turn er anudder.

BARK—A can ta hod can’les in.

BATTER—An embankment.

BARNEY—A deceitful transaction in trade or in sport.

BARNEY-DOO—A made up thing. Two wrestlers who do not fairly contest,

but agree which is to fell, are said to mak a barney-doo on ’t. Neea

body likes a barney-doo ower weel, ’speshally if they’ve owt on.

BARROW, BARROW-COAT—What they don lal babbies in ta keep ther bits o’

legs an’ bodies warm.

BASIL—A sheep’s skin dressed into leather, for the aprons of smiths,

shoemakers, &c.

BASH—A hurry. He was gaan ower t’ fell at seck a bash.

BASHED—Broken by force. He bashed t’ lid off wi’ his clog. He gat his

teeth bashed doon his throat.

BASS—Rushes, seck as they use ta boddum chairs wi.

BAT-I-BO—Pize-bo. Ah fancy sum ’ll ken best, but it’s o’t siam t’ lads

knows when it’s time to laik at it, whedder it’s bat-i-bo, pize-bo, or

tennis.

BAT-STREEA—Thrash with a flail, an’ net deea’t ower hard, seea as

ther’ll be summat left in fer t’ nags er t’ kye.

BAT—The forward stroke a mower strikes each time with his scythe. A

blow. A winged animal. A high speed—an’ a lot mair things too numerous

to mention.

BAT—Alighted. Mi feet shot oot frae anunder mi, an’ Ah bat fair o’ mi

heed an’ shooders.

His neck oot o’ joint, an’ his beaynes were aw broken,

When at t’ bottom he bat wi’ tremendous crash.—_Whitehead._

BAT-AN’-BREED—The ground that a mower covers with each stroke of his

scythe, bat being in front of him and breed on each side. He could tak’

a ter’ble bat an’ a famous gurt breed an’ aw.

BANG, BANGIN-ABOOT—Clatter. He flang him doon wi’ a ter’ble bang.

Bangin-aboot means when t’ pots an’ things are skifted wi’ somebody

’at’s in a bit ov a hig aboot summat an’ maks a lot o’ noise an’ show.

BANGED—Beat. “They bang’d o’ t’ player fooak twenty ta yan.”

BANG INTULT—Bang intult an git it ower, when a hard day’s darrak’s in

front o’ yan, t’ best way to gang aboot it—bang intult.

BARK—A short troublesome cough. Thoo’ll be barken o’ neet.

BANG UP AN’ DOON—A chap ’at’s ebben up an’ doon in o’ his ways an’

dealins wi’ his nebburs is sometimes said ta be a bang up an’ doon

chap, an’ it’s a blessin’ ’at ther’s a lot left amang us.

BANDYLAN—A woman wi a queer character—nobbut.

BANNOCKS—Skons made out of barley-meal. Cat ran ower t’ rannel balks

eatin mewlded bannocks. If ye can say that ower fast, a few times yer

nut drunk.

BAR-OOT—At breckin’ up time fer t’ helidays lads know what ta deea—bar

t’ maister oot:

Bar him oot, bar him oot,

Bar him oot wi’ a pin;

Gie’s a month heliday

Er we’ll nivver let ye in.

BAR-O—Lads when they’re laikin’ at marvels say bar-o, an’ they mean it.

BARLEY-SUGAR—A sugar stick. Try a child with a stick of barley

sugar.—_Ruskin._

BARFIN—A horse collar. A grand thing is a barfin ta gurn throo.

BARNEY-BRIG, BORO’-BRIG, BABYLON—A children’s game.

Hoo many miles ta Barney Brig?

Three scooar and ten.

Can I get there by candle-light?

Yes, and back again.

Any sticks or stones on the way?

Yes, both. How can I get over?

Put your heels aback o’ your neck

And then jump over.

BARBARY-BARK—A cure fer t’ jawness, an’ that’s a complaint ’at theer’s

some queer remedies fer.

BARE-GAWPS—Young crows er cheepers.

BARE-PELT—Your birthday suit.

BANE—An industrious, diligent, persevering man. He’s varra bane awovver.

BANG-HANDED—Same as backwards-way-aboot; a left-handed awkward way of

doing anything.

BACK-HANDED-WIPE—A way o’ wipin yans nooas when yans in a hurry an’

neea pocket necklath handy.

BACK-AN-EDGE—Completely. Nay! it’s gone back-an-edge.

BACK-HOD—A door cheek, er owt ta set yer back again when it warks wi’

stoopin’.

BANKER—What masons dress flags on, an’ farmers buy pigs wi’. They’re as

useful as owt ye can hev in t’ hoose is a few bankers, sez oor Betty.

BARLEY-SEED-TIME—A sulky man ’at hings his boddum lip when things don’t

suit him is said ta hing a lip like an auld meear i’ barley seed time.

BAUM—Baum tea, t’ grandest thing oot fer a sweet when ye’ve a bad cauld

er a good ’un.

BAND-KIT—A gurt can wi’ a lid on.

BABBLE—A lie, or to lie, but babble is nicer fer t’ barns.

BAFFLE—Confuse; discredit; cross-question. He telt his tial as streck

as a seeve, neeabody could baffle him.

BACK’ARDS-WAY-ABOUT—A chap ’at gangs about his wark in an awkward

fashion, an’ does a lot on’t twice ower is said ta gang t’

back’ards-way-aboot.

BACK-HAND—Deceitful dealing. It’s a back-hand trick.

BACK-HANDER—A blow with the knuckles, and the hand not clenched.

BACK-BAND—The chain with which a cart shafts are held up. Fassen t’

backban’, tweea off.

BACK-HAULD—To wrestle with the contestants behind one another, instead

of facing. An attitude allowed to balance inequality in skill or

strength. Ah can wrussle thee back-hauld.

BABBLEMENT—Silly discourse, partly lees.

BAIST—To beat severely.

BAWTRY-STICK—A piece of elder wood worn in the pocket as a charm

against the power of witches.

BAWTRY-JOHNNY—Elder wine.

BAGGISH—Ket; muckment; bad lads er lasses. Thoo’s nowt but a impident

baggish.

BAY—To bend.

BALK—A joist; a weigh-beam; a strip of land; a piece which the plough

has not turned over; to disappoint. He was yan o’ this sooart ’at

nivver balkt his fancy, but sed just what he thowt.

BATTEN—A thick plank.

BATTIN—A bundle of straw done up by the thrasher.

BACKENIN’—A putting backward, as frost put ’taties back i’ June.

BACK-WORD—When yan’s hired an’ izzant gaan on wi’ ’t, yan hez ta send

back-word; seeam wi’ t’ tailor when ye du’t want a suit ye’ve been

mezzer’d for.

BED-GOON—It’s nowt to deea wi’ sleepin, but it is a nice leet print

waist fer women ta weer i’ summer.

BEDLAM-HOOSE—Whar they’re makken a gurt nurration it’s war ner a

bedlam-hoose.

BESSY-CLOCK—The seed of the dandelion, blown off to find out the time,

so many puffs for each hour.

BESSY-CLOCKER—Black beetle. Kill a bessy-clocker an’ it ’ll rain.

BEVEL—A violent push or blow.

BELYVE—Afooar sa long.

BEAUTY-BEUT—Dog name.

BEUST or BUST—To put a mark or brand upon sheep.

BETIMES—Occasionally. Betimes he’s queer as Dick hat band.

BECK-AN’-FELL—A wide district. He owns o’ t’ land ’tween t’ beck an’ t’

fells.

BEGYANE—Taken aback. I was begyane when Ah hard tell about it.

BELDER, BELDER-KITE—Same as bellarin’. What’s ta beldern at?

BETTERMER—Superior. Bettermer mack o’ fooak. Bettermer hat an’ seea on.

BEN’, BEND—A hide of sole leather.

BEND—Turn. Bend o’ t’ arm, &c. Ther’s fooak that stupid they’ll breck

siuner ner they’ll bend, they’re that heedstrang.

BENDY-LEATHER—Ice that bends when skating over it. Bendy-leddur nivver

brecks in—nobbut sometimes.

BENEATH—To demean oneself by contact, or dealings with. Ah wadn’t

beneath misel wi’ thi.

BEILD—A shelter. T’ wood’s a grand beild for t’ hoose. Ther’s net a bit

o’ beild o’ neea mak ner shap for t’ kye.

BENSLE—Thrash. Ah’ll bensle thi jacket thoo young taistrel.

BENSLIN—Thrashing. We played trewin, an’ t’ maister gav us seck a

benslin.

BERE, BIGG—Barley. Tweea lads war laikin’ at wishin’. T’ first wanted

nowt but—

“Bigg breed dipt i’ collop fat

An’ swing o’ t’ day o’ Grayrigg Fell yat.”

T’other wadn’t wish at o’, beccs becos Jim hed gitten o’ t’ good

things.

BESOM, BESOM-HEED—A rough careless lass is a gurt mucky besom, and a

silly chap’s a besom-heed.

BETHINK, BETHOUGHT—Remember. Ah can’t bethink me ov his reason.

BEWL—The handle of a bucket, can, pan, or pail. T’ bewl’s het.

BEZEL—To drink greedily. He wad bezel as much yal as wad swum a ship.

BEZ’LIN—Drinking greedily. He was nivver reet nobbut when he was

bez’lin yal doon his neck.

BEZ’LED—The effect of heavy drinking. His nooas was bez’led.

BENT—Coarse fell grass.

BELK—An eructation. That is, it’s a rift efter eatin’ ower mich.

BELKER—Something that’s big. That taty’s a belker.

BELKEN-FULL—When yan’s hed ower mich poddish.

BELKEN-INTULT—A chap ’at gahs intul his wark as if he liked it.

BELKIN’—A tannin’. Thoo’ll catch a belkin’ fer this.

BELLY-WARK—This sometimes comes wi’ eatin’; back-wark wi’ workin’;

heed-wark wi’ drinkin’; lug-wark; tiuth-wark; shooder-wark; een-wark;

an’ ivverything aboot yan warks bi’ times but t’ tongue. Thi tongue

nivver warks—Ah’ve bin telt that scores o’ times.

BETTER-NER-GOOD—Varra kind. Yer better-ner-good Ah’s sewer.

BERRY, BERRY-BREAD, BERRY-CAKE—Gooseberries. “I saw the dairy of

one, half filled with the berry-bread, (large flat-baked cakes

enclosing layers of gooseberries) prepared by its mistress for her

shearers.”—_Ruskin “Fors Clavigera.”_

BERRY-SHAG—Ass a lad ’ats bin noppin berries fer his mudder what he

expects as siun as t’ pan boils.

BETTER—More than. He’s better ner a year auld.

BETTER-LEG—Many a yan says when they’re in a gurt hurry “Noo Ah mun put

t’ better leg t’ first,” but if ye nobbut hinted ’at they’d tweea odd

legs ye wad git some sauce frae them.

BEETLE-BATTLE—Bray a hard shirt soft.

BEAL—The lowing of cattle; crying; noise made by the wind. Ah’ll gie

thi summut ta beal aboot.

BEALEN—Howling.

“Ya dismal, dark December neet,

When t’ wind in t’ chimley sood,

Com bealen doon of Cross Fell heets

A helm rough and loud.”—_Whitehead._

BEALED—To call out through fear. Summat fell afront on him an’ he fair

bealed oot.

BELLAR—A bull bellars when it wants to be queer. A barn whingen is

bellarin’.

BEARDED—“The bright and bearded barley.” It’s t’ awns o’ wheat, er

barley, an’ seck an’ seck like.

BEARDED-WALL—A wall that has a thickness of sod on the top in which

thorns are placed to keep cattle in er oot. We’d to git ower a bearded

wo. “For bearding the Kirk-garth wo” forms one item in Morland Church

Accounts.

BEASTINGS—The milk from a newly calved cow; there’s war things ner a

beastin’ puddin’.

BEAT—To feed a fire with sticks, or turf, er owt else.

“His words of weight act like a charm,

On frozen hearts, and beat them warm.”—_Whitehead._

BEESE, BEEAS—Cows. Gang an’ fetch t’ beeas in ta milk.

BED, BEDDING, BEDDIN’-UP—Bed t’ swine-hull wi’ saw-come. Breckins is

good for beddin’. He was beddin’-up t’ nags.

BESSY-DOOKER—A watter bird wi’ a black back an’ a white breest. It

dooks i’ t’ watter as it shuts away when it’s flayed.

BECK—Stream. A Lakeland lad ’ll know summat aboot a beck, Ah dar be

bund, wharivver ye see him.

“To think how poets wi’ their sangs,

Their minds sud seea perplex,

’Bout Eden, Lune, the Tyne, and Tees,

An’ scwores o’ mucky becks.”—_Whitehead._

BECK STEPS—Stepping stones. T’ beck steps is oot o’ seet—that’s when

ther’s a fliud on. Yah auld chap ’at hed ta gang ower t’ steps when t’

beck was oot, said his prayers an’ set off, but he sez, “Ah’s gaan bi

t’ boddum.”

BELLIKIN—An immoderate eater or drinker—a gurt brossen bellikin.

BELLOCK—To eat hastily or greedily. He wad bellock his dinner doon, an’

off ta laik.

BELL-TINKER—A rattle on t’ side o’ t’ heed as oft as owt. But ther’s

lots o’ things ’at’s co’ed bell-tinker.

BELLY-BAND—A girth. Fassen t’ belly-ban’.

BELLY-OUT—To project. That hoose wo bellys oot a lot mair ner I like.

BELLAS’D—Ah’s aboot bellas’d. That’s when a chap’s puff’s gian, er his

leet’s aboot oot.

BELLYS—Lungs. Mi bellys is diun.

BELLY-TIMMER—Food. See ’at thoo gits thi share o’ belly-timmer.

BELLY-GOD—Yan ’at likes a lot o’ good tommy an’ things ta eat er drink.

BIAN-FIRE—A fire out of doors to burn up refuse.

BIAN-FIRE-DAY—The fifth of November; an’ lauve hoo we used ta watch for

’t an’ trail whins an seck.

BIDDABLE—Obedient, as a biddable child.

BIGGIN—A building.

BITE, BIGHT—A bend in a river.

BIDDY—A louse.

BICKER—A wood pot seck as they sarra hens in, I fancy. Chap sed he’d

supt a bickerful o’ soor milk.

BICKER—Nags bicker when they’re ower weel coorn’, an’ lal ’uns bicker

when they want ta walk.

BIDDEN—Invited to attend a funeral. Er ye bidden?

BIDDING-ROUND—The circle fixed and prescribed by ancient custom within

which it is usual to “bid” or “ass” t’ nebburs to a funeral.

BINK—A stone bench or seat by the kitchen door, on which are placed

various dairy utensils to “sweeten.” [To Captain Markham, of Morland,

I am indebted for a copy of an extract of an inventory “of the goods

of Thomas Bland, of Sleagill, A.D. 1664—item, chaires, stooles,

cushions, table with binke and trough.”] From the opinions expressed by

correspondents the word would also seem to bear the meaning of “bank,”

or “bed”; a raised up flower-bed under a window.

BIN, BING—A corn chest with separate divisions.

BILLY, Net a goat, ner William, but t’ gurt lang spiad ’at a drainer

howks clay oot wi—his billy and his how.

BILL-HOOK—A bill-hiuk’s what they dike wi’.

BIRK—It’s t’ rod at izzant spared.

BIRD-EEN—Bonny bird-een, the fairest floor ’at iver was seen.

BIRD-LIME—A preparation from holly bark, ta catch birds wi, it clags

ther cleeas tull a grain ’ats daub’d wi’ ’t.

BIRL, BURL—To pour out. Birl’s a drop o’ mair tea oot, wi’ ta?

BIRR, BURR—To scotch a cart wheel. Birr t’ wheel antrees t’ meer back.

A hazy ring around t’ miun when it’s gaan to snow is co’ed a burr.

BISHOP’T-MILK—Boiling milk allowed to set on t’ pan boddum an’ burnt.

BITY-TONGUE—A turnip ’at izzant fit fer eatin’ an’ bites yan’s tongue.

BIUN-HEED—It’s fine biun-heed—that is the sky’s clear even though it

may be mucky under fiut.

BIUS—A stall in a cow-shed—that’s a bius.

BIUT—Added. Used chiefly in trading. Says _Whitehead_:

“Seea he reayde up to t’ foremost chap

An’ thunderin’ thus spak he:

* * * * *

Says he’I’ll clash thi lugs wi’ t’ whup

An’ t’other chap to beut’.”

Lads when they swap jackilegs ’ll giv yan anudder summat to

biut—happens a marvel, if tian ’s better ner tudder—er warse.

BILDERT—A rascal, a mischief.

BITTER-SWEET—Some o’ ye’s capt wi’ that, neea doot; git hod o’ yan oot

o’ somebody’s wotchet, an’ ye’ll net be capt mich langer.

BLAB, BLAB-TONGUE—Indiscreet talk. A gurt blab tongue.

BLACK-AVISED—Griuby an’ mucky, er glum an’ sulky. Black-avis’d like

Jooany Greeuf cat.

BLARING—Bleating of sheep, lowing of cattle, noisy crying of children.

BLUE DEVILS, BLUE DEVILLED—A chap ’at once maks t’ acquaintance o’ this

complaint’s in a parlish state. They co them jim jims in America, an’

delirium tremens in England. Blue ’uns ’ll deea.

BLUE-BILLY—A hard blue stone.

BLUE-MILK—Creamless. This milk’s blue as wad.

BLEDDER-HEED—A heed ’at’s like a bledder o’ same is oft co’ed a

bledder-heed, an’ t’ chap ’at carries ’t about.

BLATHER—To talk a great deal of nonsense.

BLOB—A drop of water or bubble.

BLINK—To smile.

BLIRT, BLURT—To cry.

BLOW—Ther’s cauld blow, _i.e._ varra poor yal; an’ blow yan’s bacca.

Ther’s blow a bit—ta git yan’s wind; a blow oot—a good feed; an’ blow

up—a good blackin’.

BLOWN—Out of breath. Ah’s aboot blown. Blown milk—when t’ creem’s gian;

an’ blown apples an’ peers, an’ plums, efter a flow wind; an’ blown

meet when t’ flees hes been at it.

BLUFF—Plain; bleak; outspoken; hearty; windy. It’s a gay useful mack ov

a word is bluff, an’ its a pity it’s gitten abused bi some fooak ’ats

varra lal on ’t i’ them.

BLUFT—Ta muzzle a nag een when it’s gien ta bogglin’ is ta bluft it.

BLUFTED—Darkened. His een was blufted up wi’ bein’ tenged wi’ bees.

Snow hes blufted oor winda up.

BLUTTER—Ay marry. Siam as a lot o’ watter in a hurry ta git oot ov a

lal whol—it blutters oot.

BLUSTERATION—Empty bombast an’ noise.

BLEEDING-HEART—A garden plant.

BLART—To give a secret away; to say something of an indiscreet

character. Si thee, it gat blarted aboot frae yah body tul anudder,

till ivv’ry yan o’ t’ toon knew Ah’d a new hat ’at wasn’t paid for.

BLASH—A splash. He meead t’ watter blash o’ ower us.

BLASHY—Wild flowe wet weather.

BLASHED—Soiled with muddy water, &c. Thoo’s blashed frae top ta tail.

T’ lime’s blashed i’ mi e’e corner.

BLAST—Cold. Ah’ve a blast i’ mi e’e.

BLASTED—Blighted. T’ tree’s bin blasted wi leetnin’.

BLAKE—Sallow complexion. He’s turned varra blake an’ sauvy.

BLAINS—A disorder amang t’ Kye.

BLATIN’—Sheep-weshin’ an’ clippin’ days is t’ day ta hear some blatin’

when t’ yowes an’ lambs is mixed up an’ yan laitin’ anudder.

BLATE—Frightened. Thoo liuks blate eniuf.

BLATE-NER-SKAR—Nut ower modest er bashful.

BLATIN’—Bawl. Give ower blatin’, thoo gurt cauf-head, er Ah’ll gie thee

summat ta blate aboot.

BLEB—Blister. T’ lal ’un gat burnt, an’ it’s skin hung i’ gurt blebs.

BLEEA—Ther’s Bleea Tarn; bleea-worms; bleea-berries; and bleea-fingers

wi’ cauld; it means a bit blue-reed.

BLEEAN—Bleach. Put t’ cotton things on t’ gers ta bleean a bit.

BLEDDUR-SCALP—Dull witted. Thoo gurt silly bleddur-scalp. It izzant a

nice word, this yan, but it’s useful at times.

BLEDDER-SKITE—Yan wi’ ower oppen a mooth.

BLENKIN’—Peeping. He’s blenkin’ aboot efter oor lass. Ah’ll apode it.

BLIND—A blind pap gies neea milk; blind cooal won’t burn. Ther’s fooak

’ats blind at can’t see, an’ ut’hers that won’t. Ther’s tricks diun fer

a blind; ther’s blind hash, blind worms, an’ blind wo’s.

BLINDY-BUFF—Blind man’s buff.

BLINNDERS—Leather spectacles fer t’ nags, sea as they ca’t see

sideways, an’ git neea muck i’ ther een.

BLIRT, BLIRTEN—Shooting at random. He was blirten aboot amang t’ crows.

BLISH—Blister. Ah’ve a gurt blish fair o’ mi heel.

BLIUD AN’ BATTER—What chaps git wi’ feiten.

BLOB—Bubble. What maks t’ water blob like yon? Siap suds.

BLOB—Watter blob, that is t’ knocklety gold.

BLODDER—To cry in an effusive way—blodder an’ rooar. What’s ta

blodderin aboot?

BLODDER—Bubble. He cot his hand wi’ t’ yuk, an’ t’ bliud fair blodder’d

oot on ’t.

BLODDERS—Bubbles. Let’s mak siap blodders.

BLONK—When ye can’t gang at dominoes. He pot blonk on—looked sullen.

BLEAR-EE’D—Wake wattery ees ats sair.

BODY’S-SEL—Alone; yan may howk aboot bi a body’s-sel tell yan gahs

newdled.

BOONDARY-STOOP—A post that marks the township’s limits on the road.

BOX—Varra clooase; as clooase as a box.

BORRAN—A heap o’ rough cobbles.

BOB—Slip in or out in a hurry. We bob’d in an’ gat a pint o’ yal, an’

bob’d oot an’ off again.

BOCKED—Reached; heaved. Ah varra near bocked mi heart up.

BOG-BEAN, BUCK-BEAN—Bog-bean tea ’s a grand thing fer takkin fur off

yer teeth, an’ given ye a stomach.

BOH’D—Took fright. Says Whitehead:

But, ah! I boh’d an’ backward steude,

Seun as I gat a glance.

BONNY—A bonny price, a bonny bairn, a bonny auld shindy, a bonny neet,

in fact, ther’s neea limits ta owt at’s bonny—an’ a lal word’s a bonny

word sometimes.

BOTCHUT—A beverage made from honey. It’ll mak neeabody drunk—a drop o’

honey botchut, but Ah’ve known fooak badly wi’ ’t.

BOTTLE O’ STREEA—Queer stuff ta bottle, some on ye’ll think, but it’s

t’ way threshers lap ’t up an’ tie it wi’ bands.

BOTTOM—To get to the origin or foundation. Ah’ll boddum that drain oot

first. Boddum that teeal.

BODDUMS—Shoe soles. What’s left at yal tub efter t’ drink’s drawn.

Ditto tumblers an’ tots. Them’s t’ commonest sooart o’ boddums.

BODDUMS—Low lying land, somewhat level, and generally with a beck

running through.

BODDUM—Whar fooak sit on.

BODDUM—Principle. He’s a chap wi neea boddum in him.

BOW-HOUGHED—Crooked houghs.

BODDUMLY—In reality; at the bottom. Boddumly Ah du’t think he wanted ta

gang away. That hoose boddumly is as clean as a penny. He’s a honest

fellow boddumly.

BODDERMENT—Let’s hev nin o’ thi bodderment. Fash.

BODDER—We’ve hed nowt but bodder about it.

BODDERATION—Bodderation to thi an’ thi auld gallawa, thoo can talk

aboot nowt but nags.

BOX—Patch; box them up as weel’s ye can.

BOY—T’ cur dog.

BOB, BUMP—A knot of hair, same as a stag tail tied up at back at t’

heeds o’ t’ ladies.

BODES—Pyatts bodes yan’s luck. Yan’s a sorrow, tweea’s a mirth, three’s

a wedden, fower a birth, five is silver, six is gold, an sebben is a

secret never to be told.

BO-MAN—Be whiat honey er t’ bo-man ’ll come. “The terrible Bo,” as

Ant’ny Whiteheed cos him, hes whiatened a lot o’ barns in his time.

BODJY—A bit stoot an’ rayder pursey.

BODY—A person. Can ye give a body a pipe o’ bacca?

BOGGLE—A flaysome ugly thing ’ats varra common i’ t’ looanens; they git

up yan’s nooase, an’ flay nags; spirit knockin’s nowt tul a boggle.

BONE—To charge. Ah hard ’at he was tellin ’t ’at Ah was mad drunk; seea

t’ next time Ah saw him Ah bian’d him wi’ ’t theer an’ than.

BONES—T’ auld snarlin’ thing he’s allus at ’t bians o’ ivrybody. Frae

moornin’ ta neet he’s bianin at it aboot t’ wark.

BON—Go bon it! Varra oft used when fooak hev gitten oot o’ bed ’at

wrang side, an’ ivvery thing izzant streck forrad.

BOWELL-HOLE—A small aperature in a barn, for giving light or air.

BOWERY—Plump, buxum.

BOONCE—Eject. Ah’ll boonce t’ shop o’ thee.

BOONCER—Big, smart. Yon’ fellow’s a booncer.

BOONCIN’—Lively. A booncin’ big babby.

BOON-DAY—Help given to a new tenant by his neighbours at ploughin’.

They’re hevvin their biun-plewin to-day.

BOONDED—Swelled. T’ back o’ mi hand’s o’ boonded up; ye nivver saw seck

a seet i’ yer life.

BOOTED-BREAD—Bread in which rye is used. Ah cud eat a shive o’ booted

bread.

BORN-DAYS—Lifetime. Nivver i’ o’ my booarn days did Ah see seck a

tagalt as that lad.

BORROWIN’-DAYS—T’ first three days in April.

March borrowed of April,

Three days an’ they war ill,

First rained, second snew,

An’ third was t’ roughest day at ivver blew.

Ah reckon March tiak back seck as she hed on hand.

BOSOM—T’ wind booazums doon t’ chimley, er aroond a niuk, er in a

passage.

BOWDY-KITE—A great eater. A gurt brossen bowdykite.

BONNY—A famous niam fer nags.

BRABBLEMENT—A noisy quarrel, or wrangling.

BRAKE—A heavy harrow used for breaking large clods of earth.

BRAW—Finely clothed, handsome.

BRAUN—A wild boar.

“A braun ’at hed boddert ’em neet an’ day,

At last, by a butcher, was boldly shot.”—_Bowness._

BRIDE-ALE—The marriage feast at a rustic wedding.

BRIDE-LIAF—Wedding cake.

BRIDE-WAIN—A brides’ portion.

BREEMEN—Summat up wi’ t’ Sew.

BREED-AN-SCRAPE—A shive o’ breed wi t’ butter scriapt off to deea

again. Breed an’ scriap is siam as ’taties an’ point.

BRISKET—T’ breest cut.

BRAG—Boast. Braggen an’ booasten o’ what wark they can deea. Let them

deea ’t, sez Ah.

BRAMLI-KITE, BUMLI-KITE—Either er owder ’ll deea. The’r

bramble-berries—nowt else.

BRAN-MASH—Try yan fer t’ galloway.

BRAN, BRAND—Owt ’ats new oot o’ t’ mint is bran new, an’ many a thing

’ats nivver bin i’ t’ mint.

BRASH—Rude. Brashed off wi’ laughin’.

BRECK-NECK—Furious haste. He set off neck-breck er nowt breck.

BRAIDS—Imitates; in a similar condition; like. Your fooak braids o’

oors, I see they’re cleanin’ doon.

BREAD-AN’-CHEESE—It grows i’t dyke boddums an’ t’ barns eat it. T’

Latin for ’t wad freeten ’em, ah’s flayed.

BRODDLE—Howk. Nivver broddle yer teeth wi’ a pin. Broddle yer lug wi

yer elbow, t’ auld chap said.

BROD—Pierce. Mi teea’s sair whar t’ nail brodded through mi stockin

intul it.

BRISSLE or BIRSET—To scorch; to parch by means of fire.

BRULLIMENT—A broil or quarrel.

BRULLY—A domestic difference of opinions; a quarrel. They’d a bit o’ a

brully atween them.

BROT—Whar t’ sheep rub ther backs e’ t’ banks o’ peat.

BROCK—An otter. Many a body sez that they “sweet like a brock,” but

they nivver saw yan. In the year 1609 they paid in Morland parish 13s.

for Brock-heeds at a shilling each.

BROCKSHAW—Meat fra a sheep that has died a natural death. Brockshaw hes

a bad reputation, an’ it cudn’t hev a war neeam.

BROGUES—Ass a drainer to let ye liuk at his clogs—them’s his brogues.

BROKKUN—Ther’s brokkun oot an’ brokkun up; an’ brokkun t’ dyke, an’ t’

bull; an’ brokkun meat an’ milk; body-brokkun, an’ heart brokkun; an’

bank-brokkun an’ brokkun backt wi’ brass; brokkun weather, an’ brokkun

wark, an’ brokkun fasts; nags is brokkun in, an’ hay’s brokkun oot. Owt

else brokkun, Ah wonder: Aye, when a poor fellow’s t’ bums i’ t’ hoose

it’s becos he’s brokkun.

BROOKT—Mixed colour. He’s briukt wi grey. His fias was o’ briukt wi’

grime.

BROON-BESS—What they shut wild geese wi’; er at least what they try ta

shut ’em wi’.

BROON GEORDIE—Brown bread. Whar they nack an’ deea they co’ it Brown

George—it’s o’ t’ seeam, an’ tiasts neea better.

BROON-LEEMER—Hazel nuts that are ripening in the husk and shedding

them. Ah’ve a pocketful o’ broon-leemers.

BROUGHT-IN—Converted.

BROUGHT-OUT—To hatch.

BROUGH HILL TIME—Aboot Brough Hill time o’ t’ year, _i.e._, Brough Hill

Fair.

BROUGH HILL WEATHER—It’s cauld as Brough Hill.

BRUSH—A fox brush; brush aboot wi’ t’ wark; brush t’ meedow; a bit ov

a brush at feitin’; beardy; brush yan’s hand ower another body’s fias;

brush up a bit; brush t’ nags doon; brushwood; brush by yan annudder

an’ nivver let wit. Ther’s a gay lot o’ different macks an’ ways o’

brushin’.

BRUSH—At times it may be necessary to remove a small obstacle, so that

marble-players may get the chance of a good shot—that’s brush.

BROSSEN—Nags er men ’at eat ower mich at yance an’ er nivver full ’at

efter, er said to be brossen. Some er brossen wi’ wit, others wi’ wark,

and some wi’ laiken, a gay few wi’ yal.

BROSSEN-FULL—Hed mair to eat than’s easy er good.

BROSSEN-HEARTED—When a lal ’un can’t hev o’ it wants it sets tul an’

hes a good whinge, till it fair sobs—it’s brossen-hearted.

BRAG—T’ dog.

BREAS—Beck edge. Where t’ fish dark anunder. Whitehead says:

Howks grubs an’ worms fra under t’ breas,

To feed t’ lal hungry troot.

BRECK—A mischievous prank. A favourite breck when yan was lads used to

be takkin’ t’ lin’pin oot of a cart wheel, an’ then dark aback ov a wo

ta hear t’ final. Brecks izzant as common noo, an’ they’ve neea need to

be.

BRIEF—A collecting card, or sheet for one who has met with misfortune.

They gat a brief fer him when t’ coo deed.

BRIM—Top. He was brim-full. Full of sorrow, or anger, or mirth. Ah cud

see he was full ta t’ brim, seea Ah com away an’ sed nowt tull him.

BRINDLED—A cow with a striped skin. T’ cowey’s brindled.

BRITCHED—Braced. Thoos britched up ower tight. Let thi gallowses oot,

min.

BRITCHED—Put into a suit. He was a gay, gurt fine lad afoor he was

britched.

BRITCHIN—The fork; where two limbs join.

BRITCH-BAN—The part of a horse’s gear which enables to “back” a cart,

&c.

BRITTAN—Hide; tan; Ah’ll brittan thi thi jacket for thi.

BRITTANEN—Thrashing. He gat seck a brittanen as he was lal aware on.

BRIAKEN—A thrashing. Thoos laiten a briaken an’ thoo’ll git yan if thoo

gahs on.

BRITTAINER—A queer customer. Noo he’s a bit ov a Brittainer is t’ auld

horsebrecker; he is ano.

BRANDRITH—T’ girdle frame and legs it stood on. “A cubbard, kist, an’

brandrith frame.”

BRANK—Swagger. He wad brank aboot in his Sunday clias as if t’ toon was

his awn.

BRANLINS—Worms oot ov a muck-heap, good fer fishin wi.

BRANT—Steep. A hill that’s as brant as a hoose side taks some wind oot

o’ yan.

BRANT—Brazen. He stiud up ta feit as brant as a banty cock.

BRASH—Hurry up. Brash aboot an’ skift yersels.

BRASHEN—A vigorous habit. He was allus brashen aboot at t’ top o’ his

speed.

BRAT—An apron; a pinafore.

BRATTLE—A loud noise. By gum! that brattle o’ thunner soonded gayly

near like. Ther’s udder maks o’ brattlin’, t’ rifle an’ seck like.

BRIDLE-ROOAD—A lal looanin’ whar nowt but a nag er a coo can gang doon.

BUFFS—Rebounds. When yan’s drivin’ a stiak an’ it’s gitten fluzzed an’

comes oot farder than it gangs in when yan hits it wi’ t’ mell, then it

buffs.

BULLACE—Wild plums. Bullaces an’ sleeas—they grow i’ t’ dikes.

BULL-HEAD—Bull-heeds an’ tommy-looaches—wi’ a bit o’ threed fer a tome,

an’ a pin fer a hiuk, ye can catch them i’ t’ beck. Ther’s mennoms,

tommy looatches, an’ bull-heeds. Ah’ve hed many a yedderin for ’t.

BULL FIACES, BULL TOPPINS—Ye’ll find some o’ these i’ t’ coo-paster.

They’re gurt ugly liukin tufts o’ rough gerse an’ stuff.

BULL-JUMPINS—Bull jumpins an’ why laikins is summat seeam as beeastins,

Ah fancy.

BULL-SEGG—Thoo criuns war ner a bull-segg, _i.e._, a bullock at’s bin a

bull ower lang.

BULL-STANG—Hornet. T’ nag ran away when it hard a bull-stang.

BULNECK—Head first; without much thought or consideration. He fell

intul t’ troff bulneck. He was gaan on bulneck, an’ nivver liukin’ at

his feet.

BULLOCK—Treat harshly; to domineer. He wad bullock yan aboot.

BULLOCKIN’—Bullockin’ about, mind whar thoos gaan.

BULLOCK-MAN—A farmer’s man who tends cattle as distinct frae them at

works wi’ t’ nags.

BULSTONE—A whetstone that a mower sharpens his scythe wi’.

BULL-BRECK-OOT—A lad’s gam at breckin’ oot ov a ring an’ gitten catcht.

BUM—Baste.

BUM-BAILEY—We o know as mitch as we want ta know aboot t’ bum-bailey.

BUMM’LE—Bee. Ivv’rybody knows what it is when they hear yan, and when

it sits doon wi’ t’ het end first they can feel it. Bumm’le aboot is

when ye catch yer teea in a nick and hod yer-sel up wi’ t’ tiable

cliath, an’ lands on t’ fleear amang t’ pots.

BUNCH—Ah’ll laik o’ t’ bunch. It means o’ t’ boilin’, or o’ t’ gang.

BUNDLE-UP—To bundle up yans bits o’ traps meens ’at we’re skiftin

pliaces. We’s o’ hev ta bundle up an’ be off e’wer turn, an’ it’s best

ta sheer clean, an’ leeve neea slape spots ahint yan.

BUNSTI, BOOTSTI—Laken at fieldin amang t’ stacks:

Bogleti, bogleti, bunsti,

Thee find me an’ Ah’ll lait thee,

Bogleti, bogleti, bunsti.

BUR—Prickly burs; they grow on a burdock, er robin-run-i’-t’-dike, an’

stick tull yan’s cooat.

BURBLECK—Petasites vulgaris. Happen it is, but a bed o’ burblecks is

nobbut a varra lal account fer o’ that.

BUMP—Thick garn for jackets an’ caps.

BUM—A gurt wallopen cork fer a tub.

BURTREE—Elder. That is i’ England, but we allus say burtree in Lakeland.

BURTREE-GUN—A pop gun made of a burtree. O’ lads know hoo ta mak a

burtree gun.

BUR-THISSLE—Git hauld o’ yan, an’ let it prick, an’ I’ll be bun’ ye’ll

know t’ difference frae a sew thissle for ivver efter.

BUSH—The iron lining of a cart wheel naf, ’at t’ assel tree works in

an’ keeps it frae wearin’ away.

BUSHIN’—Ah’ve hard a chap say it mair ner yance, when he hed stomach

wark a day er tweea, ’at he’d want bushin if things did’nt tak up

different.

BUSK—A stays-bone. The waist. To drive away. Mak us a stays busk. He

hed yah arm aroond her busk. Ah’ll busk thee thoo young taistrel at

thoo is.

BUSK—Hurry up; bustle about. Busk aboot an’ git diun, an’ we’ll gang

fer a walk.

BUSTARD—What yan fishes wi’ i’ summer neets, summat like a butterflee.

BUTCH—Slaughter. It izzant iv’ry day we butch a pig.

BUTTER-SOPS—A christening item consisting of bread soaked in melted

butter and sugar, flavoured wi’ rum.

BUTTER-SHAG—A shive o’ breed wi butter on ’t.

BUTT—A hide of sole leather.

BUTT—What fooak sit doon on.

BUTT—That end of a shaf ’at it stands on.

BUTTIN—A shaf set up ta dry i’ yans, nut i’ stooks.

BUTT-WELT—Ta throw stooks doon ta dry. Butt-weltin shavs is like

knockin legs oot anunder a chap’s ’at bin a bit poky.

BUZZARD—Coward. A gurt buzzard flayed o’ t’ dark looanens.

BULLS & COWS (whys)—The flower of the arum macutalum, often called

lords and ladies.

BUM—To buzz.

BUNCH—To strike with the foot; to kick.

BUZZOM—A besom or broom.

BUCK—Pride. Plenty of buck. Stupidity. Let’s hev nin o’ thi auld buck.

A prop to hold a cart level, when not yoked.

BUCK! BUCK! how many fingers do Ah hod up? A lad’s gam.

BUFF! BUFF! hit him a cuff. T’ sign o’ war.

BUCKLE—Ther’s “buckle teea,” meanin’ git into some wark; an’ “buckle

on,” ta mak an engagement at sometimes lasts fer t’ life on us.

BUCKT—Smartened up a bit. He’s buckt hissel up in his best. To spring

up courage. He buckt up an’ went in an’ wan.

BUDGE—Stir. It wadn’t budge an inch.

BUFF—Bare skin. They stripped off inta buff an’ hed a reet good set

teea.

BURR—A hoarse guttural tone. He sticks weel tul t’ auld burr. A hazy

ring around the moon—Sign of a change.

BUTTS—Short rigs that run out.

BUBBLY-JOCK—A turkey cock.

BURR’D-IN, BURR’D-UP—To hide; to shelter. We burr’d-in at t’

field-hoose tell t’ shoor blew ower.

BY—Past. It’s by t’ post time a gay bit.

BYE—Lonely; out of the way. It’s a bye auld dowly hoose. Bye-steeds;

bastys; bye-rooad, an’ seea on, er o’ t’ siam sooart.

BYE-NAME—A nick name, or pet name. Here’s a sample: Wing Tommy; Debrah

Duckfiut; Jos at t’ Ho; Potter Jammy; Bud Birbeck; Happy Jimmy; Garn

Willie; Shoddy, t’ cadger; daft Wat; bullocky; an’ seea on.

BYE-WORD—It’s a gay fine day, like. Like in that sense is a bye-word,

but it’s nobbut a peur sample ta what Ah hev on hand, but they want

fettlin up a gay bit, Ah’ll apode, afoor t’ printer wad put them in.

BY-GOY, BY-GOM, BY-GOX, BY-GEN—T’ meanin o’ this lot depends hoo

they’re used.

C-LINK—A link fer yoken up t’ plew wi’.

CA-BAL—A nurration kickt up wi’ chaps at’s on t’ randy, er t’ cauves,

birds, ducks an’ hens, er owt else at maks a gurt noise ower nowt.

CACK—What they mack middens oot on.

CADGER—A chap at gahs aboot buyin’ butter, an’ eggs, and woo, an’ seck

like things is co’ed a cadger fer short—but he doesn’t cadge.

CADGE—Ta beg without assin’ streyt oot; sometimes it’s co’ed shoolen.

CALEVER—A carry on. This is a dooment, er a bit ov a spree. Ye war

hevvin’ a fine auld calever on, Ah hard tell at t’ public.

CALFISH—Cowardly. Nowt’ll mak a lad warse mad ner to tell him he’s a

cauf, er he’s caufish.

CALF-HEED—A gurt, hard, soor sooart ov apples. A silly fellow’s a gurt

cauf-heed.

CALF-LICKT—A curly toppin’.

CALKERS—Iron rims fer clogs an’ shoes. Ass a lad at shirlin’ time fer

particulars.

CALLIFOOAGLE, CALLIFUGLE, COLLIFOOAGLE—These three o’ mean yah

thing—fooak liggen ther heeds tagidder fer mischief, an’ ta deea

somebody a nasty clarty trick.

CAM—A topstun fer a wo’. I’ Borrowdale they wo’d t’ cuckoo in seea as

they wad allus hev yan, an’ it wad allus be spring, but t’ cuckoo fand

it oot an’ flew ower, an’ yan o’ t’ wo’ers said it was acos they hedn’t

gitten t’ cams on.

CANKER’D—Varra cross an’ ugly tempered. It’s better ta leave a man tul

hissel when he’s canker’d.

CANT, CANTY—Active. Hoo er your fooak? They’re cant as ivver. Hoo er

ye? Ah’s canty fer mi years.

CANTLAX—What’s that ivver? Ah du’t know, but it’s summat nut ower nice.

He’s tian off wi’ a gurt cantlax o’ some mak an’ gitten wedded.

CAP—Surprise. It wad cap ye ta see hoo mich that barn can eat.

CAP-STUN—Cap or cape-stone is the central stone of an arch.

CAPPERS—Ah’ll set thi cappers. A lot o’ lads at laiken time used ta

set cappers bi jumpin’ t’ beck at a strait spot, an’ yan o’ them went

on t’ sly an’ lowsened t’ sod whar they bat, an’ t’ first yan ta lowp

cappered ta t’ boddum o’ t’ beck an’ gat yarked fer’t. Ah was in at t’

yarkin.

CAPT-COORN—Coorn at’s fettled up fer t’ pooak mooth at’s gaan ta t’

market. It’s a gay auld farrand dodge.

CART-STOWER—Tweea lumps o’ wood at stick oot at end of a cart fer ’t ta

leet on when it’s keckt up er ’t stowers.

CARL, CARLING—A blithe hearty fellow wi’ not too much refinement. A gay

rum carl. Thoo gurt rough carlin thoo.

CARLIN SARK—Yan miad oot o’ hiam-spun lin.

CARRY-ON—A marlock, er a bit ov a lark when fooak er on t’ rant, at

tierm times.

CAFF—Chaff. What t’ wind drives oot o’ t’ deetin’ machine.

CAFF-BED—Caff asteed o’ fedders.

CAFLIN—It’s allus said at leers sud hev lang mem’ries. It’s ower wi yan

o’ them when they start cafflin at middle o’ ther tial.

CAMERIL—A curved piece of wood used to hang slaughtered animals up by.

CANTRIP—A boggle dance i’ some whiat kirk garth. It maks yan’s skin

whidder to think on’t.

CARRY—A long way to convey anything is a gay lang carry—well watter,

milk, er owt else.

CAR-TRACK—A road for a cart along a field side. Keep i’ t’ cart track,

can’t ya?

CATER-CORNER—From one corner to another, as a shawl is doubled to wear.

Thoo mun double that cater corner ways an’ than thoo’l deea ’t.

CAT-WITTED—A bit sharp an’ rayder silly. Says Anderson:

Peer Jwosep! we went ta ae schuil!

He married deef Marget, the Gamblesby beauty,

A silly, proud, cat-witted fuil!

CAUF-NOPE—A rough blow. Ah’ll gie thi t’ cauf-nope, as Robin Knagg said

when he streeuk t’ fellow ower t’ heed wi’ a rud stiak.

CAUF-HULL—What t’ cauves leeves in.

CAUF-BED—Whar cauves co’ frae’ at first.

CALDA, CALDRIGGS—Field names.

CAT-UNDER-T’-LUG—Noo, threshers, ye o know what that is. It’s threshen

wi’ t’ flail afoor ye’ve gitten t’ knack on ’t. It’s grand when t’

sooples git hankled and catch yan ower t’ canister.

CARRY—What a pasture, or a farm, will allow of in the way of stock, are

what it will carry.

CARRYIN’—Bearing.

CAT-GALLOWS—Tweea sticks stuck up an’ yan across ta jump ower.

CATTED—Cross fer reg’lar. A catted auld thing.

CATTY—A lad’s gam wi’ a stick an’ a peg.

CAT-COLLOP—A tiasty bit fer t’ cat when fooaks is butchen. It’ll hev

anudder neeam neea doot, but Ah can’t find it.

CAT-HOS—Bird meat at grows on a thorn tree. It’ll be a bad winter,

ther’s seea many cat-hos an’ choops.

CAT-NOD—Forty winks.

CAT-LATIN—Queer mixed up talk; bad writing at yan can hardly

read—that’s cat-latin. The prattle of little children also. Thoo talks

nowt but cat latin, Ah ca’t English ’t.

CATTER-WAW, CHITTER-WAW—A concert o’ cats on a whiat neet.

CATTLE-CREEP—A cunderth fer cattle ta gang under t’ railway frae yah

field to annudder.

CALLET, CALLAT—To gossip.

CAM—A bank.

CAKE—To cackle like a steg.

CARROCK or CURROCK—A heap of stones.

CESSEN—Cast off. He’s cessen his flanin’.

CAST-UP-AT—To upbraid. He cest-up-at him o’ he knew.

CAST-UP—To appear, or be found.

CATCHY—Disposed to take an undue advantage.

CAVE—To separate.

CAIM’D—Peenj’d; cross. Siam as a chap ’ats eatin’ t’ bed an’ gaan back

fer t’ bowster.

CAINJI—T’ siam again. A cainji auld thing.

CAMPLE—Argue; contradict. Hoo dar ta cample wi’ t’ gaffer like that?

CAMPLIN’—Contradiction; sauce. I’ll hev nin o’ thi camplin’, seea thoo

knows noo.

CANNY, CONNY—A canny way, a canny man, a canny day, a canny auld

fashioned trick, a gay canny customer, a canny lang price. Canny always

seems to convey the impression of something surprising; it’s use is

frequent, and it’s application various.

CARANT—Carousal. Allay this is what fooak mean when they say on t’ rant.

CASION—A mannerly mak o’ beggin’ summat ta sup. We casioned him fer

some looance, but it war neea go.

CABBOR—Useless rubbish.

CARRAS—Short an’ sharp fer cart-shed.

CAHT, CA’T—Short for cannot.

CEE-HOW—A rough blow. He gat seck a cee-how under t’ lug wi’ t’ flail

soople.

CESS—A rate or tax. He’s gedderen t’ cess.

CIAM—On one side, like a shoe that is worn down, or the contents of a

vessel that have got stirred over.

CHURCH-MOOSE—As poor as a kirk moose.

CHAFTS—Jaws. Mi chafts er as sair as a kyle.

CHARM—Rheumatism, bleeding at the nose, warts, hiccough, nightmare,

and above all toothache are some of ailments for which specific charms

exist as cures. Within recent years one who had the power to “charm”

away the toothache lived at Hardendale; and every one learns _viva

voce_ the homilies to be repeated when a tooth is drawn, or when

hicough is troublesome. A charm fer drawing t’ fire up is ta set t’

fire pore seea’s ta mak a cross in t’ boddum bar. It flays t’ bad

spirits of.

CHATS—Seeds of ash trees.

CHOOP—The seed pod of the rose. A fiace as reed as a choop’s a good

sign.

CHANCE-BAIRN—Illegitimate child.

CHARLEY—A hump on the back; also of a lazy person it is said, he’s t’

Charley on.

CHOMP—Watch a chap eat an apple ’at’s hard; he’ll chomp, Ah’st warn’d.

CHAP—To knock or rap; a person; a sweetheart.

CHEERER—A glass of spirit and warm water.

CHOPPING-BOY—A stout boy.

CHURNEL—An enlargement of the glands of the neck.

CHUMP—A log. A chap ’at’s daft.

CHUNTER—Grumble in an undertone. Some fooak does a lot o’ chunterin’ an

grumblin’, but it does ’em neea good.

CHAVEL and CHIG—To chew.

CHEESE-WOST—Curd of cheese before pressed.

CHEESE an’ Breed—Wood sorrel.

CHANG—When a chap’s tongue’s lowsed wi’ a drop o’ short stuff, an’ he

talks twenty ta t’ dozen, er when t’ birds o’ sing tagidder i’ May, or

t’ cocks an’ hen crow an’ cackle, it’s a’ chang.

CHARRIN’—Ye know—it’s daytal wark fer women. In America they hev it as

chores.

CHEESERIM—A wooden mould to make cheese in.

CHIG CHIGGIN—Chew with the front teeth; a chig o’ bacca teea; an’ fooak

’s allus chiggin’ things ower ’at others durt want ta hear.

CHISELLED—A way o’ gitten hod o’ sombody’s brass ’at’s far frae honest.

CHOCK—Chock-full, anybody knows, is when they’ve hed plenty; chock t’

wheel is ta burr it, and t’ turners hes a chock ta lig ther tiuls on.

CHOCKED-UP—A drain mooth er a cunderth when a fliud’s full’d them er

chocked up.

CHUCK—A chuck’s a hen, sewerly; but a chuck under t’ lug izzant, er a

chuck on ta top ov a cart, an’ beside that a lot o’ fooak co ther tommy

chuck, broon chuck, and white chuck, and seea on.

CHUFF—Pleased, like a lad wi a new jackilegs, er t’ lasses wi a new

frock apiece fer Easter. T’ lad wasn’t seea chuff ’at hed nowt new but

their Jim’ auld shoes ta say t’ Psalms in.

CHAFFER—Argue. What er ye chafferen ower?

CHAMMERLY—What they used to steep seed wheat in ta kill t’ filth an’ t’

bad pickles.

CHANTER-BONE—When yer feet shut oot an’ ye drop on t’ boddom o’ yer

back an’ see a lot o’ stars—it’s becos ye’ve touched t’ chanter-bian.

CHATS—Lal taties.

CHAUVE, CHAUVEN, CHATTERED—Chew’d. T’ rattens hev chauven varra near

through t’ cauf hull door.

CHEEK—Sides, seck as door cheeks an’ yat cheeks.

CHEEK—Impudence. Let’s hev nin o’ thi’ cheek.

CHEEPERS, CHILPERS—Young birds in the nest.

CHELP—Sauce. Thoo’s far ower mich chelp aboot thi; thoo wants ta keep

thi tongue atween thi teeth a bit mair.

CHEP—T’ nooas-end. His chep’s gaily reed wi’ t’ wind.

CHEESE-FAT—A tin used in pressing cheese.

CHIME—T’ dog gowlen.

CHIME-IN—Net ta gowl, but tak a hand i’ owt ’at’s gaan on, seck as

cards, tea suppin, laikin, er owt. “Come, chime-in”; it happens is

harmony efter o’.

CHIN-MUSIC—When t’ barn hes t’ stomach-wark it’ll mak some fer ye.

CHIN-PIE—Lads rub yan anudder’s chins wi’ ther knockles an’ co’ it

chin-pie.

CHEETRY—Knavishness. Eetry beats cheetry.

CHIP—An interjected remark. He pot in his chip.

CHIP—A wrestler’s stroke—buttock, hype, click, hank—any mair?

CHIP’T—To obtain ale by throwing out a hint. They chip’t t’ maister fer

a quart.

CHIP’T—Cracked. Siam as a tea-pot spoot when it’s stood on t’ hood, er

a egg when the chicken’s gaan ta come oot on’t.

CHIRM—To put a lot o’ fancy craft inta yer talk when ye durt know hoo.

Noo she thinks neea smo’ drink of hersell chirmen an’ nacken. “She” was

a young man fra t’ town.

CHIT—Puss.

CHITTY—PUSS-A lad’s game.

CHITTER—T’ lal uns at skiul chitter an git nointed for ’t; t’ youngs

birds chitter i’ ther nests when t’ auld ’un comes wi’ a worm, an t’

swallows chitter on t’ riggin.

CHITTY—Cat.

CHITTY—Jenny-wren.

CHITTY—A diminutive. Chitty-garth, a small field. Chitty-balks, the

lesser timber in a roof. Chitty-fiace, a small featured person.

CHOP-FAWN—A chap when his sweetheart hes chuck’t him fer anudder; an’

anudder ’at’s fund oot he hes t’ wrang sew bi t’ lug; an’ when oor

best laid plans hez gone agley, an’ we’re soor, an’ sad an’ sulky wi’

ivv’rything an’ iv’rybody, it’s than said aboot us ’at we’re chop-fawn.

An it’s gaily oft true.

CHOPS—Jaws. He hangs his chops.

CHOPPEN-AN’-CHANGEN—Varra whimmy mack o’ fooak ats allus laiten oot

summat fresh ta gah on wi.

CHOWLS—Pig cheeks. T’ chowls touch t’ fleear.

CHECK-BRAT—T’ auld farrent uns wad wear a check brat, a bed-goon, cap,

an’ clogs an’ be ivver seea smart an’ tidy e’ them.

CHEG, CHEGGLED, CHEGGLEN—These hes ta deea wi chowin.

CICELY—Sweet Cicely. Rabbit keepers knows what an’ whar it is. Crosby

Ravensworth has been nooated for hundreds o’ years for it.

CLAG—Adhere. “Is it clag’d in?” “No,” sez t’ Cockney, “it’s gummed in.”

An’ than we winkt an’ laffed.

CLAGGER—One who sticks to all he can is a clagger.

CLAMMING, CLAM—To suffer hunger.

CLAGGERAN—That’s hoo ye git up a rock, er a hoose side, when ye’ve neea

stee.

CLAY-DAUBIN—A wo plaistered wi’ clay fer lime.

CLAP—Ther’s a clap o’ thunder, an’ some other sorts. Owt ’at’s set doon

in a hurry is clapt doon.

CLEEATY—Ye know—Auld Cloven foot, doon below i’ t’ het spot.

CLINKS—Ye’ll find some on t’ fells.

CLIP—Condition. Ah’s a gay fair clip, that Ah is.

CLIP—A year’s wool crop. We’ve t’ last year clip i’ t’ granary yut.

CLIPPIN’—What cheer?—Oh, clippin’. A gay lish body gahs clippin’ aboot

like a tweea year auld.

CLIPT ’UN—A newly shorn sheep. By gom he was off; he ran like a clipt

’un when he hard that.

CLIPT AN’ HEEL’D—E’ feiten fettle.

CLIPT DINMENT—A hauf-fed fellow.

CLUDDER—To get close together when it’s cold or lonely. T’ sheep

cludders up when a dog gets among them.

CLUTHERS—In heaps, clusters.

CLOM’D-UP—Thirsty, dried up. We rowt amang that stoory lime and muck

tell Ah was aboot clom’d up wi’ ’t.

CLAHM’D-UP—Nearly t’ siam as t’ last. Ah’s clahm’d up wi fleem.

CLAT—A nasty mischievous body ’at gangs frae yah body’s hoose tul

anudder, hearin’ t’ tial an’ tellin’ ’t, an setten t’ toon bi t’

lugs—that’s a clat.

CLETCH, CLUCKIN’, CLECKIN’—A brood of chickens, &c.

CLOINTER—To run about over a floor, or up and down steps making a

noise. Give ower clointerin’ aboot wi’ thi gurt clogs.

CLONK-CLOMPER—A gurt noise like a lad maks wi’ his clogs ’at’s far ower

big fer his feet.

CLAP BREAD—Haver bread, an’ bread made from unsound flour.

CLINT—A steep face of rock, a small scar.

CLOD—To throw stones or clots. He was clodden steeans.

CLUM—Cold, heavy soil.

CLAMMEREN—Walking badly.

CLIMMEREN—Creeping up trees.

CLAVVERIN-AT—Fratchen.

CLAMS—What a saddler or a shoemaker holds his materials in whilst he

stitches them together; also the implements of a veterinary surgeon.

CLANK—A shoe er a clog calker, er a cart wheel hiup, er a nag’s shoe’ll

clank when they’re lowse.

CLARTY—Stickey. Yan o’ t’ finest preachers in a’ America was yance

writin’ aboot a famous puddin’, an’ he sed it was “clarty.” An ther’s

clarty tricks, an’ clarty fooak, an’ clarty looanens, an’ clarty

trods.—See Ruskin’s “_Fors Clavigera_,” vol. 2, page 203.

CLASH—Ther’s wake tea; rain; gossip; a yat er a door shot wi’ a bang;

an’ a rattle on t’ side o’ t’ heed; these is o co’ed clash betimes, as

weel as thin poor yal.

CLASH-BAGS—A gurt gossipin’ clash-bags is a body ’at tells mair than

they know aboot other fooak.

CLASH’D-LIUKEN—Yan o’ t’ world’s failures ats doon on his luck.

CLASHY—Rainy, stormy. It’s clashy weather aboot Brough Hill time varra

oft.

CLAW, CLAWK’T, CLAWKEN—Ta scrat when ye’re feitin asteed o’ strikin’

wi’ yer double nief.

CLEAN-HEELS—Lads ’at’s been amang t’ pes, er i’ somebody’s wotchet, an’

er catcht ’ll show ye some clean heels as they gang ower t’ dykes.

CLEG—A gad-fly, but git yan i’ yer neck whol on a het day, an’ let it

git agiat sooken, an’ than common cleg’s fine eniuf.

CLEW—A clew o’ yarn. It’s when ye’ve wund it ready fer knittin. “Give

it a corner and the clew undoes,” says George Herbert.

CLICK—Snatch. Click hod ov his coat laps.

CLINKERS—A kind of nails used to protect the edges of a shoe sole.

CLINKIN’—Noo this means summat grand. A clinkin lal meear, a clinkin

good plewer, er mower, er runner, er wrussler, er owt else.

CLINKS—Sheep leg joints. T’ lasses laik wi’ them, an’ co them clinks.

CLINK-OFF—Some ’ll clink off ta be soldiers, an’ some to be summat

else. It means ’at they gang an’ mak neea sign, they clink off an’ git

wedded er ’list, er owt else, an’ sometimes they rue their clinkin

tricks.

CLOOAS-MOOTH—It’s what maks a sharp heed, but some fooak’s far ower

clooas behauf.

CLUDDY—A cluddy-nut is a sooart of Siamese twin nut; tweea grown

tagidder.

CLOT-HEAD—A silly fellow.

CLOWEN—Scratten. What’s ta clowen like that for? Fooak’ll say thoo’s

company.

CLAGGUM—Treacle made hard by boiling.

CLAMMERSOME—Greedy, contentious, clamorous.

CLAMP—To make a noise.

CLAPPER, CLACK—The tongue.

CLEETS—Pieces of iron worn by countrymen on their shoes.

CLIFTY—Well managing.

CLOIT—A clown or stupid fellow.

CLONTER—To work in a dirty manner.

CLUFF—To strike, to cuff.

CLUMP—A mass of anything.

CLUMPY—Awkward, misshapen.

CLOMIN’—Fondling. Give ower clomin t’ dog aboot.

CLIASE-HORSE—A winter hedge; a clothes maiden, ta dry t’ cliase on

afore t’ fire.

CLOOT—Hurry. Yer in a terrible cloot.

CLOOTED—Rattled. He gat clooted ower t’ lugs fer his impidence.

CLOOTEN—He was clooten off doon t’ looanen.

CLOOTS—The feet. Ram thi gurt cloots anunder t’ seat, er somebody’s

gaan ta breck ther necks ower them.

CLOSE—Same as clammy.—neea wind, nowt but warm an’ clooas.

CLOUTS—A woman’s clothing. She’s jarbled o’ her clouts.

CLUFT—A cluft stick is yan wi’ tweea grains cut off an’ a bit left on

like a fork.

CLAMMY—Moist warm weather. A clammy neet.

CLOGS—Ther’s hag-clogs at’s as stupid as they mak ’em; ther’s clogs

fassened tull a bull snoot; clogs fer t’ fire; an’ clogs fer t’

feet—wooden soled shoes, t’ lawyer co’ed ’em. “Let’s see, your father

wore wooden soled shoes, called clogs, I believe?” “Aye,” sez t’ fella

he was bullyin’, “an’ if thy faddur hed worn wooden soled shoes co’ed

clogs thoo’d bin weeren clogs noo.” Varra fair.

CLOCKIN’—A clockin’ hen. Ivverybody knows what that is, but tweea chaps

found a watch, an’ yan o’ them said it war a clockin’ tiad, and’ they

kilt it!

CLOOT—Patch, mend, a blow. A cloot under t’ lug. Aye! She says thi

kitle ’s clooted an’ clooted till neea body can tell which is t’

maister cloot.

CLOCK-DRESSER—A man who cleans and repairs clocks.

COWDY—T’ siam as a nag wi’ plenty o’ cooarn in’t an’ lal wark ta deea.

CON—Study. Ah conn’d it ower e’ mi mind.

COOARN, COOARN’D—Cooarn t’ nags; t’ cooarn kist an’ seea on. But a

chap’s gay weel cooarn’d when he’s a snod skin on him an’ plenty o’

girth aboot t’ boddom ov his waistcoat to hod his watch chain oot wi’;

an’ ther’s lang cooarn miad oot ov a whang an’ a lal bit o’ stick; t’

farmer lads know what they’re for, an’ seea does t’ nags.

CO’E-FRAE—Place of origin. Whars his co’e frae.

COO-BAND—What she’s fassened ta t’rud stiak wi’.

COO-BAT—When tweea lads er hegged on ta feit, t’ hegbattle ’ill say ta

yan o’ them “Give him his coo-bat.” It’s the gage o’ battle on a smo

scale.

COO-STRIPLINS—Cowslips.

COO-TEE—A short riap miad o’ hair, wi a loop at yah end an’ a short bit

o’ wood at tudder. It’s used to lap aroond a coo’s hinder legs ta keep

her whiat tell she’s milked.

COONT—Sum. Read an’ write an’ coont.

COONTIN-BOOK—Arithmetic.

COO-YOKE—A coo at wears a yoke carries her character on her neck, an’

he who runs may reed ’at she’s a lowp dike.

COPY—T’ lal’uns sit on ’em, as weel as fooak ’at’s milken.

CORKER—A surpriser. T’ nag’s run away an’ brokken t’ cart stangs off,

an’ thrown t’ cart ower. Whia noo, that’s a corker, an’ us seea thrang.

CORKERS—Winners.

CORKED—Conquered in a succession of games.

COW’D LOORD, COWT LOORD, COW’D LADY—A haver meal dumplin boil’d e’

broth. Says Anderson:

“A three quart piggen full o’ keale,

He’ll sup, the greedy sinner,

Then eat a cow’d loord like lead,

Ay, onie day at dinner.”

COWEY—“Cowey, my cow,” said a poet, an’ t’ critics could mak nowt ato

on’t. A cowey coo is aboot as useful an’ aboot as harmless as ow’t

’at’s gaan. Tweea coos hed been feitin’ an’ yan gat a horn off wi’ ’t.

“Knock tudder off, Goordie, an’ mak her a cowey,” said a lass when she

saw’t. “Cush, barn,” said he, “Ah nivver hard seck a tial as that

afoor.”

COWL—To rake wi’ a cow-rak. Bunyan in his immortal vision saw a man ’at

was always cowlin’.

COWLEN—A gurt cowlen chap is yan ’at’s built in a strang useful way,

an’ net ower fine.

COWS and CALVES—Bulls and whys; lords and ladies, cuckoo pint—the “Arum

calamus.”

COTTONIN’—A sound thrashing. He gat a good cottonin’ fer his pains.

COCK-THROPPLED—A big lump at front ov a body’s thropple.

CODDY—A fooal, er owt at’s lal ov its mack—a coddy stack, a coddy

hoose, er a coddy ciak.

COG—Yan’s oft tian doon a cog without exactly knowin’ hoo much, er hoo

far that is.

COGLY, COGLETY—Owt ’at’s varra coglety is summat ’at’s gaan ta fo’ if

owt clatters up again ’t, an’ Ah’ve seen a chap’s legs as coglety as

could be.

COLLIER-LAW—First here t’ first sarra’d.

COBBY—Frisky; chirpy; fresh.

COB—To pull the hair, to strike.

COCKLING—Cheerful, boasting.

COFFIN—A cinder bounding from the fire shaped like a coffin, and looked

upon as an omen of death.

COG—A wooden dish, a milk pail.

COG—To load the boot or clog sole with snow or clay—it cogs.

COLD-FIRE—A fire, or rather fuel made ready for lighting.

COLE—To put into shape, to hollow out.

COLLEY—Butcher’s meat.

COLLOP-MONDAY—The day before Shrove Tuesday.

COOP-CART—A cart enclosed with boards.

COTTERIL—A small iron wedge for securing a bolt. Sov’rens ano.

COUPER-FAIR—A market held at Kirkby Stephen the day before Brough Hill

Fair.

COVE—A cavern, a cave.

COCKING—Domineering. Noo Ah’st nut hev thi cocking ower me, seea than

thoo knows.

COCKLOFT—A hay mew up in a garret, ower t’ balks. A grand spot ta field

in; likely at yah time t’ cocks wad feit up theer.

COCK-STRIDE, COCK-STRUT—An insignificant item in distance. Whia, what

noo, it’s nobbut a cock-stride.

COCKER—T’ man at maks rules fer iv’rything is co’ed Cocker, an’ owt at

izzant diun as it owt ta be, a bit o’ slape tailed wark, er owt ’at’s

underhand an’ mean, is said ta be “net up to Cocker.” Lang may Cocker

cock ower us if he’s gaan to hev us streyt.

COCK-OWER—To act as a disagreeable task master. Thoo’ll nivver

cock-ower me, seea noo than thoo knows hoo far ta gang.

COCK-PENNY—T’ fee ’at used ta be paid ta t’ skiul maister was co’ed a

cock-penny.

CODLINS—Ye know—t’ Keswick’s at mak yan’s mooth watter to think aboot.

COLOOAG—On t’ smiddy hearth, an’ shoemaker’s shop, an’ i’ o’ maks an’

manners o’ whols, fooak colooag betimes when they meet for a crack.

COMFORTER—A knitted muffler.

COO-GATE—A run, or right to pasture a cow on the common; also a path on

the side of a hill which the cows have made and use.

COO-TROD—Siam as coo-gate.

COONTY-CROP—They powl their heeds bare i’ gaol, an’ deea ’t fer nowt,

seea a coonty-crop’s yan o’ that mack.

COO-GREUP—T’ passage behind cows in a byre. T’ greup’s whar o’ t’ muck

ligs. Ah dud’nt tell t’ tial aboot t’ chap ’at cured t’ coo frae makken

him seea mich muck, bi stoppen her fodder; ner that yan aboot t’ purse

’at gat eaten up wi’ ’t breeches, an’ hoo t’ chap gat it back. Some day

Ah’ll tell ye mappen.

COWPRAS—Purchase; prize; fulcrum. If Ah could nobbut git a bit o’

cowpras it wad siun come.

COVERED—Ass a groom fer perticlars.

COOARSE-HOOSE—[Corpse-house] A house where one lies dead and over

whom the neighbours met for a service of prayer and singing the night

previous to the funeral. A custom almost if not entirely out of use.

COARSE-GRAINED—Aye for sewer. What it’s a foul tongue, er a soor

temper, an’ biath tagidder. He’s a coorse grained auld tagalt.

COBBLES—Ye’ll find some at t’ beck side.

COCK O’ T’ WALK—A chap ’at’s gitten ta be t’ maister ov iv’ry body

aboot him is co’ed t’ cock o’ t’ walk. Seea wi’ owt else.

COCK-DRUNKS—T’ berry o’ t’ moontan esh.

COD—Tease; banter; ther’s a lot on us ’at’s far mair reddy ta cod ner

be codded.

CODGER—A term of familiarity; t’ auld codger’s fresh again.

COLD-SHOULDERED—A complaint some nags hez, an’ it spreeds ower aw’t

carcase o’ them when they’re yoked tull. Ah izzant ato sewer but men

fooak hev ’t ano at times. Best plan when yan’s a bit cauld-shooder’d

is ta buckle teea an’ intult.

COLLISON—T’ idle dog ’at bites fooak when t’ wedder’s het and smittles

them.

COPY—A field. T’ bull copy’s varra oft a field tian oot ov anudder wi’

a wo’. But when yan thinks on’t a lot o’ fields is o’ that sooart.

COPY-HOD—Copyhold tenure, but ass a lawyer aboot this yan.

CORPSE-ROOAD—Ugh! But ther’s yan again Morlan’ an’ them stians mak t’

flesh creep up yan’s back ta think on.

COTTERED—Mucky woo, er hair o in a lump.

COWP—Swap; exchange; barter. Lads cowp knives an’ marvels.

COWP-CART—A cart wi’ gimmers i’ t’ stangs; it’ll towp up withoot lowsin

oot.

COWP-BARROW—Yan wi’ sides on.

COWRAK—T’ lass fergat what they co’ed t’ cow-rak, when she gat oot o’

t’ seet o’ t’ coo’s, but she thowt on when it catcht her fair on t’

mooth varra sharp.

COW-WIDDOWS—To lead cows with.

COO—Flay. Nivver let yan at’s less ner thisel coo thi.

COOAT—A cover of straw or fern to put over a beehive. We co that a bee

cooat: a stack cooat’s t’ thack.

COOTER-SNOOT—A nose of elephantine proportions.

COOTER AND SOCK—T’ plew irons.

COCK-NANTLE—Domineer. Ah’ll nut be cock-nantled ower wi’ bits o’

upstarts.

COCK O’ T’ MIDDEN—Master of the situation. See cock o’ t’ walk.

COBBLEMENT—Badly put together. It’s nowt but cobblement.

CONSATE—Faith, trust, fancy. Ah’ve neea consate i’ him. It was

o’ consate. [It was consate ’at miad t’ chap ’at he couldn’t eat

billy-goat pie, he said when he stack’t he saw ’t whingen, an’ he

couldn’t consate thought o’ eaten him.]

COCKLES—Tak a drop o’ rum it’ll warm t’ cockles-o’-yer-heart.

CRACKLINS—Same as crautins.

COME-FORRAD—A homely welcome to the fire-side. Whya what come forrad

wi’ ye. Hoo a young chaps’s fain ta hear ’t at times yan’s neea casion

ta say.

CRAB—A wild apple.

CRABBED—A sour body. Crabbed as an auld cuckoo.

CRACK—Whia, what ye’ll come in an’ we’ll hod a bit o’ crack aboot

things ’ats gaan on.

CRACKAN—Hevven a good cheerful talk ta yan annudder. We sat crackan on

ower a drop o’ gin tell it was far liater ner we thowt.

CRAIN—What t’ kettle er t’ kail pot hings on ower t’ fire. Crains is

like a lot o’ mair things—they’re gaan oot o’ date.

CRANCH—Green berries, sour apples, pes, owt o’ that sooart. Ah yance

was catch’t up a’ apple tree deun mi best ta git t’ belly-wark, an’ t’

lady at catch’t mi sed Ah was a lal brossen cranch kite.

CRATCH—A stiul ’at farmers sauve sheep on, an’ shoemakkers sit on. Ah

fancy “Com up ta t’ scratch” means t’ siam thing.

CREEPER—Andiron. What it’s co’ed t’ creeper fer Ah dut know, unless

it’s becos it keeps t’ fire frae runnin’ under t’ yubben.

CRIAMED—Afoor iron an’ pot things gat seea common, plates, an’

platters, an’ dishes were miad o’ wood, an’ when they gial’d wi’ t’

heat they hed to be criamed, er stitch’t up wi’ wire.

CRIPPLE—Ass t’ coo doctor what ails a coo when it’ll eat a body’s

kytle, er owt else but gerse—that’s cripple. Peur sairy things, wi’

ther hides bund as hard as a millstun, an’ ther rigs set up like a

bacon collop i’ t’ fryin’ pan.

CROOANIES—Comrades. We war allus famish gurt crooanies was him an’

me. [There is not much “gush” in the sober denizens of our northern

counties, but for the steady life-long attachment, kept up under the

circumstances the most unfavourable, and finding perhaps the most

scanty expression, who has a better word than crooanies?]

CRONK—Cronkin’ aboot a public hoose, er a smiddy harth an’ seck like

spots is a bad sign.

CROP-LUG’D—Yan ov oor poets co’s t’ auld Roondheeds a “crop-lug’d

canten crew,” an’ happens it’s oot o’ that ’at we get oor “cut lugs”

’at cap’t Ould Cleeaty.

CROTLY—Lumpy, siam we’ll say as a field ’at’s been plewed an’ harrowed

an’ ’s full o’ lal hard clots.

CROWDY—Git some haver meal an’ sco’d it wi’ het broth, er watter,

an’ it ’ll be a crowdy. It’s a good sign when a chap knows when it’s

crowdy-time withoot a watch er owt but his stomach ta tell him.

CROPPER—A nasty fo’. Ah com a cropper when t’ auld yod stopt o’ at

yance, an’ Ah flew ower t’ heed.

CRAKE, CORN-CRAKE—Ye’ll pick these oot bi’ t’ soond o’ them; they’re o’

that soort.

CRAMMEL—Say ye’ve ta git ower a wo’, er a dike, er up a hoose side, er

gang ower a lot o’ cobbles, ye wad crammel ower’t. When ye’ve corns,

an’ nang nails, an’ segs o’ yer feet, seea ’s ye can hardly nammel an’

gah at o, they’ll mak ye crammel. A pair o shun et’s ower lal owder.

CRAUTINS—When t’ leaf’s bin rendered inta same, t’ crozl’d lumps o’

fat’s co’ed crautins.

CREE—Rice, barley, er owt o’ that mack, set ta soffen.

CREEP—Huddle. It maks yan creep up ta t’ fire. Summat flaysome maks yan

creep o’ ower.

CRIAM—Sow up a crack in a wood bowl wi’ wire.

CROPE—Git t’ broon titus, an’ yer breest set on ta yer back tel ye can

hardly blow, an’ ye’ll know what it means ta crope.

CROPPUN—To evade being seen. Aye si’ tha’ ah’ t’ auld beggar wad ha’

croppun intul a moose whol ta keep oot o’ seet o’ yan.

CROSS—As cross as tweea sticks means oot o’ temper.

CROZ’LD—Owt ’at’s fried er rooasted tel it’s neea mair nature left in

’t.

CRUDLE—Ta hotch up varra clooas ta yan anudder, like tweea young fooak

under yah umberel when t’ neets is dark an’ wet. It’s a gay auld un is

crudle.

CRIB-SOOKER—A horse that chews its crib, or a cart end board, or a yat

bar.

CRIPPLE AT A CROSS—Ah nivver saw yan, but they’re laddies ta beg, an

seea Ah reckon this is a gay auld ’un. “He begged like a cripple at a

cross.”

CROCK—An auld nag ’at’s used up, er a sheep, er a body.

CROFT—A field near the homestead.

CROP—A joint of meat; ass a butcher whar he gits ’t.

CROPT—Powled. Hair cut. Ah hed mi hair cropt.

CROW-FOOT—A wild flooer.

CRAB-VARJUS—A whent auld chap ’at liked yal er owt else oot ov a glass,

went tul a brewery an’ fer a breck they gev him a glass o’ vinegar.

“What sooart o’ yal’s that, noo, Tommy?” “Oh,” sez Tommy, “it’s varra

good yal, but it’s as soor as crab varjus.”

CRADLE—Fastened on to a corn scythe to place the corn ready for

“shaffin.”

CRADDA-BIANS—When a chap’s seea lean ’at yan could fiddle on his ribs,

then he’s a cradda-bians.

CRAFT—Cunning; deceit. Let’s hev nin o’ thi craft.

CREEL—To go about in a stealthy, sneaking way. Thoo needn’t creel aboot

like that.

CREEL’D—Shrunken, starved. He liuks a peur creel’d setten on liuk.

CRUTCH—T’ pommel ov a side saddle.

CRUTLET—Crippled, decrepid, crooked.

CRACKAN—Boasting; praising.

CREEL—Cratch.

CROW-PEZ—T’ seed o’ t’ fitch.

CRUD—Curd.

CRUTLEN—Recovering. Ah’s crutlen oot nicely.

CRUEL—Extreme; excessive. A cruel good crop, a cruel lang time, a cruel

gurt eater.

CROBBACKEN—A severe handling. Oh man! but Ah’ll tell thi what that new

yal it dud gie me a crobbacken. The reference is chiefly to internal

disarrangement.

CUSTOMER—An original character. He’s a gay customer wi a sup o’ yal in

him.

CUCKOO-FLOOR—Bachelor Buttons.

CUCKOO—Hide and seek. Shoot “cuckoo” er Ah’ll give ower.

CUCKOO-SPIT—Ye find it on t’ gerse an’ floor stalks; it hes t’ egg of a

grasshopper inside it. N.B.—It’s happen summat else ner a grasshopper,

but it’s summat o that mack, and this izzant a nat’ral history.

CUCKOO-AN-T’-LAL BIRD—T’ cuckoo hes a lal mate ’at flees aboot a

hundred yerds behint it, an’ when ye see a gurt whidderin’ lass wi’ a

lal bit midge ov a chap, er a chap tweea yerds lang wi’ yan hauf his

size, ye’ve seen t’ cuckoo an’ t’ lal bird.

CUDDY-BUSTARD—Siam as bustard.

CUFF—A cuff under t’ lug is nut siam thing as a collar to weear aroond

yan’s shacle.

CUNN’D—Count rapidly. “And Wully cunn’d ower six score

pund.”—_Anderson._

CUSTARD—Coo pie, they co them i’ some spots, but coo tart is mair

proper.

CUT-LUGS—Ther’s lots o’ things ’at caps cut-lugs, but what er wheea

cut-lugs is caps me ta tell ye, but Ah’ve hard it said many a time ’at

he capt Auld Harry.

CUNDERTH—Is whar t’ watter runs under a yat steed, er a rooad; it’s a

culvert.

CUSH-MAN, CUSH-BARN—Fullins up. Cush man! but thoo is a gurt

ninny-hammer. Cush barn! I is wet. An’ seea on.

CUSH—What fooak shout when they want ta tell t’ kye ta come an’ be

milked.

CUTTERAN—Talkin’ in loodish whisper an’ nivver givin’ ower. They’re

allus cutteran yan tull anudder; Ah mak nowt ont ato, barn.

CUTTY—A lal cutty bit o’ owt means nut ower mich.

CURR—To crouch. He was curren doon when Ah saw him.

CUT—To exceed in jumping. He went thirteen feet t’ first lowp, but I

cut him bi’ three inch.

CUTS—Lots. [To draw cuts is mainly done in the transactions of lads by

cutting straws into different lengths].

CUDDLE, CODDLE—This izzant a “Young Man’s Companion,” ner a “Correct

Guide to t’ Art o’ Cooartin’,” an’ as maist o’ fooak know what cuddlin’

and coddlin’ means withoot printed directions we’ll gang on tul t’ next.

CUDDY—An ass fer yah thing; a gurt numcuddy’s anudder.

CUDDY-HULL—It’s whar cuddy leeves.

CURMUDGEN—A churlish person is a gurt greedy curmudgen.

CUT—A joint of meat.

CUT—Any particular bearing. An’ it’s fair cappen hoo far off a man can

be telt bi’ his cut.

CUSHAT—Wood pigeon. The dolorous tones of the cushat and pee-wit are by

legend ascribed to the fact that once they changed nesting places and

ever since have rued it.

CUT-THI-STICK—Sling thi hook—be off.

CUT-AN’-COME-AGAIN—Owt ’at’s diun in a gurt hurry afore yan taks off.

CUT—Ye know—what cauves, an’ swine, an’ bits o’ lams gah through, ’at

t’ male kind.

CUT—T’ loop at end ov a swingletree.

CUT-OV-HIS-JIB—The face. Sitha Ah cud tell bi t’ cut o’ thi jib ’at

thoo was yan o’ auld Willy lads.

DAB—A dab i’ t’ ee’s yah thing, a dab o’ butter’s anudder. Yan dabs a

het plate doon in a hurry an’ sometimes yan fergits whar yans dabbed

yans jacket er shun. Its a queer word ta describe is dab, but its

useful for o that.

DABSTER—A canny skilful body wi’ owt they tak in hand ta deea is

a dabster. Some are dabsters at shuttin, some at mowin, others at

wrusslin, some amang t’ kye, er t’ yowes, er t’ meears.

DAFT—Without ordinary judgement or sense. Ah’s deef an’ daft as a yat.

DAME-SCHOOL—They’re gone, and their places know them no more. T’ rising

generation ’ll nivver know, an’ they’ll be hard to mak believe in a

bit, hoo we used ta be educated wi’ an auld woman, an’ amang her hoose

wark she wad larn us oor A B, abs, an’ twice times yan is tweea, an’

a bit o’ t’ biuk wi’ t’ ledder back an’ t’ brass clasps. Hoo we used

ta field her specks if she was catted, an’ full t’ chimley wi’ streea

if we wanted ta shirl! What lickens she wad giv us wi’ t’ birk rods

’at we’d miad her—literally enough fer oor awn backs—an’ what glee we

used ta hev when she was liam an’ cud’nt stir oot ov her chair! T’ diam

skeul ’s gian, but it’s green in oor mem’ries whar a lot o’ things ov

auld lang syne er sided.

DANDER—A blow; the head; the temper. I catch’t him a dander wi’ t’

flail. It dropped fair on ta mi dander. Keep thi dander doon.

DANDY-GREY-RUSSET—A dark rusty colour not unlike a mouse’s belly.

DARK—To hide. Dark doon aback o’ t’ yat stoop.

DARK—Secret; gloomy; morose. He’s t’ dark side oot.

DARK—To rush suddenly from a hiding place. He wad dark atop o’ yan

afooar yan hed time ta think.

DARK’T—Sheltered. We dark’t aback o’ a stack.

DARKEN—Prowling; skulking. What’s thoo darken efter?

DARRAK, DARGUE—Good classical scholars ’ll use this yan an’ net be

shamm’d on ’t—John Ruskin amang them. It means a day’s wark, er hoo

mich yan can deea in a day. A darrak o’ mowin, threshin, plewin, an’

seea on. In a good day’s darrak many a yan hes as much pleasure yet as

some hev ’at’s allus laiken.

DASH—A young oath. Dash it, ah left mi pipe.

DASH-BON, DASH-IT—T’ least said t’ siunest mended; but they’re theer

fer o’ that.

DAUP—The carrion crow. Aye fer sewer, but its a nasty word fer nasty

fooak as weel. seck as a gurt mucky daup.

DAWDLE, DAWDLIN, DAWDLY—These er o o’ yah sooart, though they’re

different macks—they o mean idleness, muck, an’ misery.

DAYTAL-WARK—Labour that is paid for by the day, as distinct from piece

work, or half-yearly or yearly engagements.

DADDLE—Barn tak. Let’s wag thi daddle honey.

DANDLE—To hush a child by swinging it in the arms:

Dandle, dandle, o’ the day,

’Twad ommost drive yan wild,

Ta sit six months e Carel Jail,

An’ nurse an iron child.

This was the punishment of a class of fathers whose financial

obligation had been neglected.

DAMPER—Taken down a peg. Than ther’s yubben damper, fer t’ draft.

DAM—Female parent; generally used of quadrupeds, but sometimes of the

human mother.

DAFFY-DUM-DILLY—The daffodil.

Daffy-dum-dil that grows by the well,

Neeabody can git thi but me misel.

DALT, DOTE—A stone fence, or dyke, or railings, made and repaired by

various parties with common rights.

DAL—A mild form of swearing. O’ dal’ it yer wrang this time.

DEZEMENT—A very severe chill. He’s gitten a dezement o’ cauld.

DEED—Doings. We hed rare deed.

DEZED—Addled. Noo Ah izzant at o satisfied ’at addle hes owt to deea

wi’ rotten eggs, as dezed hez. Owt ’at’s addled ’s reet, an’ owt ’at’s

dezed ’s rang, siam as rotten eggs, starved finger ends, er nooases

blue wi’ cauld.

DEETH-WATCH, DEETH-CLOOK—The tapping of the wood bug regarded as an ill

omen.

DEETH-STROKE—A well-informed person assures me that it is not unusual

to hear the “switch” on the roof or window of a dying person’s room: it

is regarded as the final summons.

DEAL—A great amount. He left a deal o’ debt.

DEAL, DOLE—To portion out amongst various persons, seck as ta deal

cards. A charity—Christmas dole, an’ St. Thomas’ dole.

DEET—This is a varra auld ’un. It means ta git t’ caff oot frae t’

grain.

DEETIN-MACHINE—Ye know what a deetin-machine is, sewerley. It seems

afooar t’ man invented them they used ta hev ther liathes upstairs, an’

a lal deur fair anent t’ gurt ’un, an’ t’ waf o’ wind used to deet for

them when they threw t’ corn up wi’ a shool.

DECK—To dress in a precise way. She’s deckt oot i’ t’ best bib an’

tucker.

DEED-HORSE—Wark ’at’s bin paid for afooar it was diun, er when a chaps

subbed. Workin’ at deed horse is poor policy.

DEED-LICE—When t’ deed lice is droppin’ off it’s a bad do; it spells

idleness mainly.

DEEA-UP—To tidy up. I’ll deea up aboot t’ hearth. Deea t’ nags up.

DEEAL, DEEAL-HEED, DEEAL-FIUT—A dwelling place in a valley amongst the

fells.

DEEAL-SIDER—A resident in a dale, as distinct from the village or town.

DEEF-NUT—Nuts ’at hes neea kernel in. A chap ’at’s gay weel cooarn’d

an’ plenty under his waistcoat is said ta crack neea deef nuts.

DEEVE—Deafen. Mak a less noise; ye wad deeve a door nail.

DEFT—Whiat. Ta gang on yer tippy teeas ta catch a slenk o’ some mack in

a mischief.

DEG—Damp.

DEGGIN-CAN—A watering can.

DELVER—Drainer.

DEM—To stop a drain with sods. T’ auld chap at liked yal used ta say

’at owt less than a pint was neea good, becos it nivver demmed.

DESS—To arrange neatly. Dess them things up a bit. She was dessen

hersel afooar t’ glass.

DEVIL-I’-T’-BUSH—Grows i’ t’ garden, used fer pultices when

inflamation’s aboot.

DEVIL—Nay nut him barn—but t’ clod-river.

DICK-HATBAND—As queer as Dick-hatband ’at went sebben times aroond an’

wadn’t knot.

DIBBLE—How they sow beans yan at a time i’ yah whol.

DICK—Short fer Richard, an’ also a biter in a barn’s head.

DICKY, DICKY-BIRD—These explain thersels. A false shirt front is co’ed

a dicky, an’ t’ seat whar t’ coachman sits is ano.

DIDDER—Shake. He miad o t’ pots on t’ shelf didder when he bang’d deur

tull wi’ seck a clatter.

DIBS—Sov’rins.

“When he’d gitten his dibs

He stood for twa squibs.”—_Bowness._

DIDDLE, DILL—To soothe a child by swaying it to and fro in the arms.

DIDDLE—Deceive. Ah was diddled that time.

DIKE—A hedge of every description is so called.

DIKER—One who repairs and trims hedges.

DIKEY-SPARROW—A sparrow whose nest is built in a hedge, as distinct

from that which builds in walls.

DIKIN-MITTINS—Strong leather mittins with which the diker protects his

hands.

DIKE-BACK, DIKE-BREEST—Whar t’ dike grows. Grand spots fer

chitty-nests, blue vilets, strawberries, an’ seea on.

DILDRUM—A muck sweet. Thoo’s put me in a dildrum.

DILLY-HOOSE—A whol i’ t’ dike breest er wo’ boddum whar t’lal ’uns mak

a babby-hoose an’ full ’t wi’ laikens.

DING—Reap up old offences or failings. He wad ding it in his teeth that

his mudder powled him.

DINNLE—Hit yer elbow ower a throo, an’ it’ll dinnle reet oot at iv’ry

finger end. Noo that’s o.

DIRL—Nip aboot in an active manner. Yan can dirl aboot when ther’s a

bit o’ frost on t’ rooad.

DISH—A hollow. He supt oot o’ t’ dish ov his hand.

DISH—Deceive. He’ll dish thi oot on ’t.

DISH—Cup. Sit doon an’ hev a dish o’ tee an’ seck as is gaan.

DIDDER—A rough blow. Ah gat seck a didder on t’ heed.

DINGE—A dent. Thoo’s dinged t’ can. A chap’s heed ’at’s dinged in hes a

hollo spot in ’t.

DOOMENT—A jollification.

DISABILS—This is varra common like this—T’ preest co’ed ta-day an’

catcht us o’ e our disabils, Ah durt know what he wad think, Ah’s

sewer. Noo ye gurt wise men will ye put yer nebs across ’t an’ tell us

aboot its co’ frae.

DOLED-OOT—Tired out. Stoad.

DOBBIE—A ghost.

DOITED—A bit maffly wi auld age.

DOG-SNOOT—Gurt hard apples. Cauld as a dog-snoot.

DODD’T—Without horns, lacking some usual part, as a dodd’t coo. It

liuks varra dodd’t; _i.e._ unfinished.

DOBBIN—A melder o’ drink.

DODDER, DODDERY, DODDERY-GERSE—Tremble; vibrate; shake. A man’s hand

’ll dodder when he’s hed a lal drop—just a lal drop mair ner he thowt

o’ hevin, but fer t’ company an’ t’ hoose; iv’rything i’ t’ hoose ’ll

dodder when a gurt rough lad gahs clointeren up an’ doon in his clogs;

an’ when a body’s time’s gitten short t’ first sign on’t is t’ dodderen

limbs. Doddery-gerse, er doddery, iv’rybody knows what it is—it’s

trembling grass.

DOFF—To undress. Doff thi wet clias off.

DOGBERRY—Mountain ash, cherry, an’ some mair macks o’ things o’ that

sooart.

DOG-NOPER—Ah nivver saw yan. Dud ye? A fellow wi’ a lang stick nopin

fooak asleep i’ t’ kirk, er t’ cooaly cur ’at hed croppen in efter t’

gaffer, peur thing.

DOLDRUM—T’ siam as dildrum.

DOLLOCK—An unsightly mess.

DOLLOP—Aboot as nasty an’ unpleasant as dollock, but this is aboot a

body, an’ aboot a peur sooart ov a body if she’s a dollop. Mucky, idle,

shiftless.

DOLLY, DOLLY-TUB, DOLLY-LEGS—An idle dolly is one who delights in ’t.

Ta wesh clias is ta dolly them in a dolly-tub, wi’ dolly-legs. An’ a

dolly is yan ’at duzzant gie them ower mich dolly afoor they’re on t’

dike.

DONK—Thick mist ’at sticks tull. T’ chap said it war mungy donky sooart

o’ wedder ’at dud neea dow fer nowt ner neea body.

DON—Dress. Ah’ll don mi Sunday clias an’ gah wi’ ye.

DONNED-UP—Dressed in other than working clothing. They’re gian doon t’

toon i’ ther bettermer duddins. Donned-up fer a weddin’ er summat.

DONNET—A naughty child. Thoo lal nasty donnet. An auld donnet has

reference to qualities that are not commendable.

DOOAFI—Soft; clammy. A body’s dooafi when they’re easily fatigued,

tired, or beaten. Bread’s dooafi ’at’s not enough.

DOOK—Bathe. We went ta dook i’ t’ lum. Also to throw water over anyone.

He gat a dookin’ wi’ t’ watter can.

DOON-FO—Not the down-fall of empires, or of kings, but the soft and

silent snow. We’re gaan ta hev some doon-fo.

DOOP—Bend down. Doop doon wi’ thi’ heed er thoo’ll git thi hat knock’d

off gaan under theer.

DOTTEL—Noo ye smiukers, ye know what t’ dottel is, an’ ye’re aboot o’

’at does; it’s grand, izzant it, when it’s fairly hauld? T’ dottel’s t’

pipe boddum ’at smiukers tak oot an’ put on t’ top o’ t’ next reek.

DOTE—Helping; serving; what yan’s to hev. Thoo sees that? That’s they

dote, and thoo’ll hev ta mak ’t sarra.

DOWIN—Lunch, ten o’clock. Aye! aye! thoo allus manishes ta land up

aboot dowin time.

DOWLY—Lots o’ gurt fooak er allus bodderen aboot nacken talk, whar

it co’ frae, wheea used it, hoo it com, an’ seea on. Noo here’s yan

at’s come streck frae nature’s heart, ’at’s bin allus used amang “grey

farms, crags, and the stony ways of the mountains,” but neeabody

bodders aboot it ner its history. If words could talk it wad tak us a

gay bit ta hear o ’at this word hed ta say aboot lianly looanens, an’

deserted ho’s an’ hiams whar boggles hes’ ’t o their awn way. An’ yan

was tellin’ me net lang sen hoo “dowly” it was at times in a gurt town

whar she kent neeabody at o an’ nivver saw ner hard a coo, er a cauf,

ner a sheep. Seea what it izzant allus dowly becos ther’s neeabody

aboot but yan’s sell, an’ it’s possible ta be dowly in a crood, wi’ gas

leets as thick as hail, an’ plenty o’ stirrins gaan on. But boddumly,

that’s t’ meaning on’t, whiat, dark, an’ iv’ry thing as whisht as a

griav. Whar ye can hear yer awn thowts an’ git freeten’d o’ them.

That’s dowly.

DOUBLE-JOINTED—Extra strong. Siam as Yankee Doodle pig.

DOW—Condition; character. Hoo er ye? Ah’s nowt at dow ato barn. He’ll

nivver deea neea dow skitteren aboot as he does.

DOG-FO—In wrestling when both come down and neither can be declared as

victor. A dog-fo’s ta deea ower.

DOG-DAISIES—Wild Marguerite.

DOCTOR—Patch, mend. Doctor mi auld shoon will ye.

DOXY—A term conveying contempt. She’s a smart doxy.

DOG-TROT—A hauf-breed between a walk an’ a run. He was gaan at a

dog-trot.

DOON-MOOTHED—A body wi’ their spirits doon an’ showen ’t.

DOON-LIGGEN—This yan hes reference to t’ increase o’ t’ popylashun.

DOZZEL—An ugly lump o’ varra near owt. An auld chap was taken t’ butter

ta t’ market, an’ e garn gat ower mich yal an’ he towtel’t ower an’ sat

doon e t’ swill wi’ t’ butter in ’t; “cush barn,” says he, “but seck a

dozzel ye nivver saw.”

DOAD, GOORDIE—These is hiamly words for George.

DOG-LEG—Owt ’at sud be streck but ’s gitten kessen a bit. As criukt as

a dog leg.

DRIP—As white as drip.

DRABBLE, DRABBLED—Jarbled wi’ watter an’ muck.

DRAFF—Brewers’ grains, given ta t’ kye. Ah’s as wet as draff.

DRAFFY—Exhausted; neea list fer nowt. Ah’s as draffy as can be, an

sweet wi’ nowt.

DRATE—A slow mack o’ talk er singin’.

DRAUGHT—A drawt o’ nags is different frae a drawt o’ yal; it’s a pair.

DRAW—To irritate, question, or get one to expound his views. He gat his

rag drawn, wi’ t’ lawyer tryin’ ta draw him.

DRAW—When a chimley wants firin’, er a pipe stopple’s stopped, it’s

said they won’t draw.

DRAW-KNOTT—Yan ’at ’ll lowse.

DRONE—A mouth reed made of sycamore bark.

DROONDED T’ MILLER—When ye’ve putten ower mich watter i’ yer crowdy;

letten tea doon tell it’s that wake it won’t run oot o’ t’ pot, an’

seea on—that’s droonded t’ miller.

DRIFE—Snow that is driven as it falls or after.

DREE—A long lonely road; a piece of work not over pleasant. Owt ’at’s

dree is summat at yan’s weary on, but hes ta stick tul.

DREEP—A melancholy tone, neea matter hoo sweet.

DROP-BOX—T’ barn’s bank.

DRUB—Chastise. Ah’ll drub thee thi jacket, thoo young taistrel.

DRUBBED—Taken to task. That lad mun be drubbed, er he’s gaan ta be

spoilt.

DRUBBIN—Thrashing. He gat a good drubbing fer his pains.

DRY-WO’—A fence built wi’ cobbles an’ neea lime.

DRY-WO’ER—A chap ’at can wo’.

DRAT, DRAT IT, DRABBIT, DIVICUS O’ LAND—All mild swear words.

DRINKIN’—Ten o’clock. Snack of refreshment in the forenoon. T’

drinkin’s reddy.

DRAAP—Same as dreep.

DRIFT—Fettle. He’s e’ gay good drift. Means of making a living. He gat

intul a good drift an’ dud weel.

DRUFTED-SNOW—Snow droven inta drifts wi t’ wind.

DUBBLER—A gurt yarkin plate fer meat.

DUFFLE—Rough, open cloth for week-day clothes.

DUBBLE—Fer t’ barn legs.

DURTMENT—It means varra near owt at muck line ’at’s oot o’ t’ spot.

A lad ’ll tak a armful o’ cicely fer his rabbits inta t’ hoose. His

mudder ’ll say: Tak o’ that durtment oot o’ mi seet an’ durt mak sec a

scrow.

DRY-BELLIED-SCOT—A lad gam.

DUB—Whar they dook, an’ wesh sheep. Cutten dog lugs off, an’ cock

cooams, an’ that mack o’ craft.

DUCK—A coddy liaf wi’ a neb on’t fer t’ barns at biaken day.

DUCKI—A lad’s game, laik’t wi gurt marvels er lal stians.

DUCK-TEAL—A wild duck, er summat o’ that kind.

DUCK-WINE—Cauld watter.

DUD’NT—Shorthand for did not.

DUDS, DUDDINS—Clothes. Pack up thi duds an’ tak.

DUMMLE-HEAD—A clumsy, thoughtless person. Thoo gurt dummle heed thoo.

DUMMY—One who is dumb.

DUNCH—When a goat attacks his enemies, of his own kind er any udder, he

dunches them.

DURDUM—A nurration. Durt kick up seck a durdum aboot nowt.

DUMPS—Low spirits. He’s doon i’ t’ dumps.

DUMP—To throw down unceremoniously. He shot t’ cart up an’ dumped it

doon o ov a heap.

DULBERT—Dunce. He was yan o’ t’ biggest dulberts ye ivver saw when he

was a lad.

DUSTY-MILLER—The flower of the Auriculus or Reckless.

DUHT, DURT—Do not; durt gah far away, dinner’s varra near reddy.

DUNNOT, DIV’NT—T’ siam again.

DWALLOW—A chap said he’d a nasty dwallow tiast in his mooth, siam as if

he’d bin eaten rotten eggs.

DWINE, DWINNLE—Wear away. It’s a sorrowful thing ta watch when owt we

like begins ta dwinnle.

DYKE-STOUR—A hedge stake.

EAR-BITTED, EAR-CROPT, EAR-CLIPT—Marks on the ears of sheep by which

they are distinguished.

EASTER-MAN-GIANTS, EASTER-LEDGES—Easter docks.

EASEN—Eaves of a house or a stack. When t’ easens begin ta drop efter a

frost it’s a sign ov a thow. It’s grand when yan happens ta git under

t’ easens an’ it runs inta yan’s neck whol.

EBBEN—Straight. It’s rainen ebben doon.

EBBEN—Even; quits. Ye an’ me’s ebben noo.

EBBEN—Imp. Thoo’s a nasty saucy young ebben.

EBBENS—Aims. Thoo ebbens ower hee.

EBBENED—Aimed, intended. We hed ebbened ta hev co’ed at your hoose, but

it gat ower liat.

EBBEN-UP-AN-DOON—A streyt forrad, blunt, honest fellow, ’at can be

trusted. He’s ebben up an’ doon wi’ o’ ’at he hez to deea wi’.

EBBEN-ON—Just suitable. He’s a lad ’at’s ebben-on seck a job as that.

EBBM-MARRAS—Exactly alike. That cap’s t’ ebbm-marras o’ oor lad’s.

EBBUT—This yan taks summat off; it maks sarten conditions; it’s a

qualifier. Ebbut thoo mun understand An’s gaan ta hev mi price. Ebbut

if it rains we sall hev ta stop at hiam. Ebbut ther’s neeabody but him

an’ me knows hoo much that job cost, an’ we durt know to tweea or

three pund. Ebbut thoo may say ’at Ah’s leein’, but Ah’st stick ta mi

tial ta mi deein’ day.

EDGE—Self esteem. A chap ’at’s a bit bigger, er a bit handsomer, ner

t’ miast on us, an’ walks on his heels, an’ spreeds oot his teeas,

an’ cocks his hat o’ yah side ov his heed, an’ hods his chin up as if

he was shammed o’ walken on t’ grund, is said ta hev a bit o’ edge ov

hissel.

EDGE—Appetite. Ah’ve nobbut a varra poor edge on fer mi breakfast.

EDGE—Shuffle. He wad edge oot as grand as ivver ye saw owt i’ yer boorn

days.

EDGE—Side. We sat at t’ beck edge an’ watcht t’ troot lowp.

EDGE-LEEUM—A knife, razor, or other implement with an edge. T’ barn

izzant fit to laik wi edge-leeums.

EDGES—To set on edge. Give up skroken; thoo edges mi teeth wi’ ’t.

EDGIN’—Ass t’ lasses aboot this yan; they allus seem thrang wi’ ’t,

swappin’ samples, an’ matchin’ on ’t, and seea on. Neea doot they’ll

tell ye.

E’E, E’EA—The arch of a bridge; the outlet of a lime kiln; the channel

of a stream; an opening in a wall; the part of a potato where it

sprouts.

EDDERFUL—Angry; revengeful. Thoo needn’t liuk seea edderful as that.

Ah’s an auld man, but Ah’s nin flait.

E’E-WHOL—Eye-hole.

E’E-BREEAS—The eye-brows. What for does thoo wrinkle thi e’e-breeas

like that when thoo’s talken?

EERY—When t’ wind comes whisslen doon t’ chimla, an’ through t’ key

whols, an’ t’ windas jadder, an’ deed leaves er rattlen aboot, an’

fooak draw up clooas ta t’ hood niuk ta keep warm an’ snug, it’s eery.

It’s eery, teea, amang t’ dowly looanens when ye’ve a lang giat afooar

ye an’ neeabody ta speak tul, an’ t’ yewlets is aboot, an’ happen t’

bats, if a cushat, er a rabbit, er a rattan stirs yan’s skin creeps up

yan’s back, an’ a body’s hair stands streck up wi’ freet, it’s eery

than, ’at is ’t.

EEK, EWK, EWKY—Ther o’ different sooarts o’ yah mack. They mean itch,

itchy, er what’s commonly known as kittle. A sair spot ’at’s mendin’;

when a flee er a midge hes hed their supper; er a kiad’s hevin’ a trip

roond, er a lot mair things ’at yan’s neea casion to put i’ print, but

mak yan want ta scrat—theer noo ye hev ’t, an’ o aboot it.

EEM’NIN—Evening. T’ eem’nins is creepen oot nicely—this about April er

May, wheen dayleet’s lengthnen, an’ t’ throssles er whewtlen, an’ t’

leaves biginnen ta bud, an’ winter is past an’ gone, an’ t’ day’s o’ t’

singin birds is at hand yance again.

EEN—Eyes. Een as black as sleeas; t’ bonny bird een; eeny taties, eeny

breed, an’ seea on.

EFTER—After, ov coorse. What’s thoo efter? Nowt at dow, Ah’ll apode.

Sometimes t’ lads er efter t’ lasses; t’ jobbers ’ll be efter kye; an’

some er efter owt they can lig hauld on.

EFTER-NOON—About a finish. It’s a lang way inta t’ efterniun wi’ him

Ah’s flayed.

EFTER-TEMSINGS—Coarse flour after sifting; it makes good breed.

EFTER-CROP—A crop that is grown after a first one has been secured.

EGG—To incite to quarrel. Thoo’s neea casion to egg them on at yan

anudder.

EGG—To roughen. Sleeas fair egg yan’s tongue.

EH?—A handy word fer them ’at’s hard o’ hearin’. A lot better ner “Beg

your pardon,” an’ seck like ropement. Eh?

EKE—A portion of a bee-hive, added for the purpose of more easily

obtaining the honey.

EKE—To make out for. Ah mun eke it oot as weel as Ah can.

ELBOW-TURN—An angle. T’ blacksmith knows hoo it’s diun.

ELBOW-GREASE—Noo than what? We o’ know what elbow grease is when it’s

runnin’ off yan’s broo, and happen droppin’ inta yan’s e’e afooar yan’s

time ta wipe ’t off. Elbow grease an’ stickin’ playster er tweea varry

useful mack o’ things ta carry aboot when yan’s a stiffish darrak at

front o’ yan.

ELDIN—At one time applied to turf and peat, but now generally used to

signify the firewood chopped to light the fire with, “Gitten t’ eldin

in,” and “Gitten his eldin in,” have still meaning in the sense of

making provision, or storing up for contingencies.

ELLIKER—Yal ’at’s grown inta vinegar; as soor as elliker.

ELLAR, ELLARBERRIES—These er nobbut alder in annuder an easier way. Ye

can use owder ye want fer t’ burtree.

ELSE—Thoo’ll be off ta bed er else. Ah war fasht wi’ mi rheumatiz, er

else. The alternative is understood to be of a serious nature.

ELLY—A point in football scoring. Whar they’ve neea goal stoops,

they’ll punch t’ bo up again t’ wo, an’ that’s a sooart; when they

punch ’t ower t’ top o’ t’ wo inta t’ next field, that’s an elly, an

they change ends. Ah’ve hed lumps o’ mi shins as big as wo’nuts, an’ t’

bark peel’t off i’ spots wi’ this mack o’ craft, but Ah wad ten hundred

times rayder be laiken ner talken aboot it.

EMPTY-HEEDED—Vain, shallow, pretentious. A victim of one of those

“brecks” known as practical jokes will retaliate by remarking that

it’s some o’ them gurt empty-heeded gofframites, ’at’s lowsed his

lin-pin, or, fielded t’ cart wheel up a tree, er yoked t’ nag wi’ t’

heed ta t’ cart. Yah poor chap fan his nag yoked t’ wrang way, an’ t’

stangs throo t’ bars ov a yat. “Noo, this caps cut-lugs,” sez he, an’

he set tull an’ sawed t’ stangs off afoor he wad be bet.

END-NER-SIDE—beginning and finish; sense; Ah can mak nowder

end-ner-side o’ thi tial.

ENTRY—A passage.

ENGLISH—Decipher. A ca’t English sec rubbish as thoo writes.

END-UP—To rear a cart up; to set anything on its end; to raise a person

into a sitting or standing posture; to finish a task, or the day’s

work; “ended him up” an’ “end up” er tweea varra useful spacks.

END-BOOARD—Aye, what noo, anybody knows ’at t’ end boords is at end o’

t’ cart, an’ ’at they tak oot, an’ seea on, but it izzant seea easy to

put inta print.

END-OWER-END—To tipple “head over heels.” Ah catcht mi teea ower a

cobble, an’ doon Ah went, end-ower-end, heedamaneckum inta t’ beck.

ESH-CHATS—Seed of the ash tree.

ESH-PLANT—A walking stick miad oot ov a young ash tree pood up bi t’

riut an’ dried. T’ lads aboot ten know generally what they’re used for.

ESH, ESH’K—Ax or ask; ax’d or asked.

ESH—Ash tree.

If t’ esh tree buds afoor t’ yak,

T’ following summer will be black,

But if t’ yak buds titter cummer

’Tis sewer ta be a drufty summer.

Local saying—Joe Steel.

ETTLE—Noo “ettle” an’ “addle” is varra near akeen withoot a doot, but

ther varry different i’ application. Gurt addlers is sometimes poor

ettlers, an’ a good ettler ’ll mak up fer varra lal addlins. A body ’at

can ettle ther income oot tell it ’ll gang farder ner ther ootgang;

yan ’at can use an’ plan iv’ry thing tell it ’ll gang varra fardest

possible way; anudder ’at ’ll plan his wark oot seea as he’s just eneuf

fer o his time—this means ta ettle ’t oot.

EVE’S-APPLE—This is an auld ’un, by gum! We’re cock throppled becos Eve

apple stuck i’ Adam throoat. Yan wadn’t a thowt it, sewerly, at a bit

o’ apple wad hev diun that for him awovver.

EVERLY—Constantly. He was everly at it wi’ a nivver ceasin’.

EYE-SWEET—Work that is done neatly; ornaments; some addition to the

dress for show more than use; anything to please the eye. Ah durt

like that gurt feather thoo hez i’ thi hat; it’s a gay bit off beein’

eye-sweet ta me.

FARE—Completely. Ah’s fare worn oot; Ah’s fare doon weary o’ thi bodder.

FACE—To meet an’ argy. Ah’ll fias ’t oot wi’ him. Set a face means to

come to a decision and carry it out. Cooarten chaps ’ll know what it is

fer them ta set a fias on’t an’ carry t’ through.

FADDUM—An armful. As mich as ivver ye can faddum. To get at the root

meaning of anything. Ah’ll faddum that tial.

FADGE—Shuffle. Fadge aboot amang t’ snow.

FAIN—Pleased. Ah’s fain ye’ve come.

FALDERDALS—Ornaments. Neea falderdals fer me.

FAMISH—Very well. We’ll mannish famish thenk ye.

FAMOUS—Notable. He war a famous gurt leer.

FAUCE—Sly, pawky. As fauce as a fox.

FANTICKLED—The freckles which adorn those of a fair complexion.

FAR-LARN’D—Deep larn’d. He war a far-larn’d chap.

FARN-WOO’—Wool that is pulled off the sheep backs as they pass through

the smoots in the dikes.

FARRAND—Fashioned. An auld farrand barn.

FARROW—A sew liggin in.

FAVVERS—Has the appearance of. Wheea’s yon? It favvers t’ post.

FASSEN-PENNY—Money with which a bargain is clenched.

FASSENED—Consummated. T’ bargan was nivver fassened, an’ he ran off.

FAT—Lads ’ll tell ye ’at’s laiken at marbles.

FALALDERMENT—Nonsense. Thoo’s neea casion ta tell us sec falalderment

aboot what thoo can deea.

FANSOME—Nice, handsome.

FANT—Faint.

FADJI—Summat like fusty-lugs, short and’ stoot, an shoolen a bit at

walken.

FAFFLE—To dodge about without much purpose. Thoo wad rayder faffle

aboot deein owt than gang ta thi wark.

FAIRATION—A varra fair word is fairation, it means fair play, er fair

wark, er fair trade, an’ seea on.

FAIR-DO’S—Fair-do’s amang mates, is a good motto.

FAIRY-STANS—Coprolites. An’ didn’t we used ta be prood ta lait them oot

o’ t’ dike breests an’ seck.

FAIRY-RINGS—Whar t’ mushrooms grow.

FARDER-NER-NARDER—At a standstill. He nivver seems ta git neea

farder-ner-narder.

FAR-SIDE—T’ far side an’ t’ nar side, is t’ left an’ t’ reet i’ nag

drivin.

FASH—Trouble, bother. Fash is as yan maks ’t.

FASHIOUS—Troublesome. It’s varra fashious ’deed is’t, rainen iv’ry day

wi a nivver ceasen.

FASSENS—Lent.

FAST, FASSENED—Bound by Indentures.

FAST—Before. Oor clock’s an hoor fast.

FATHERED—Affiliated. A child that has a marked likeness to its parent

fadders itsel.

FAULD—Farm-yard. Shut t’ fauld yat, an’ keep t’ cauld wind oot.

FAM’LY-WAY—On t’ rooad wi’ anudder.

FARE-TA-WEEL—Good day t’ auld way.

FANDANGLES—Personal ornaments.

FARDEL—The fourth part of yard-wand.

FANG—To fasten upon with the teeth.

FANGLES—Something new. New-fangled is common for those who readily take

up with “some new thing.”

FEATHER—A mason’s tool for splitting stone. Plug and feather.

FEATHER-BRAINED—Light headed.

FEATHER-EDGE—A shoemaker’s term.

FEG-SOWAN, FIG-SUE—Boiled figs—or figs steeped in liquor.

FELL-FO—Field-fare.

FELLOW—Man, and used commonly for that word, _e.g._, T’ auld fellow,

young fellow, heed fellow, t’ fellow i’ t’ shop, &c.

FELON; FELON-GERSE; CUT-FOR-’T-FELON; FELON’D; FELON-DRINK—Ass t’ coo

doctor aboot o’ these, it’s summat’s matter wi’ t’ kye aboot t’ kist.

FAST-OOT—Put oot at board wages to be maintained.

FEWSOME—Comely. She’s a gay fewsome liuken lass. Neatly finished. Mak a

gay fewsome job on’t t’ time thoo’s at it.

FEATHER-HEELED; FEATHER-LEGGED—Lish, active. A feather-heeled mother

maks a greasy-heeled dowter, that is ta say, t’ second generation taks

t’ advantage.

FEY-DOOMED—Possessed with a gloomy foreboding of impending troubles.

FELL-IN—He gat wedded ta a bit ov a lal body ’at he nobbut fell-in wi’

at Martinmas, an’ gat gaily weel bitten. Fell-in wi’ means to make the

acquaintance of, or become known to.

FELL—To knock down; to throw in wrestling.

FELTERED—Entangled.

FEND—In what condition. How are you? Hoo fend ye Tommy? Ah’s gayly

middlen, just gaan aboot as usu’l.

FECK—Shift. He’s nowder feck ner fend in him.

FECKLESS—Shiftless, useless, without resource. Come oot o’ t’ way, thoo

lal feckless fiul, thoo.

FEEDIN-STORM—Net yan ’at feeds fooak ato, but yan ’at’s come ta stop a

bit and grow itsel, a feedin storm’s yan ta be nooaticed.

FELL—I’ Lakeland o’ t’ moontains is fells, an’ ther’s a gay lot ta be

gaan on wi’, an’ some o’ them’s a gay heet up.

“Owt can I bide

But a cauld thow wind

On a hee fell side.”

FELL-HEEDER—Yan at leeves on t’ fells; t’ decentest an’ t’ mannerliest

fooak varra neear ’at ye’ll find fer a mial when yer hard throssen.

FELL-TIAD—He’d a skin on him as rough as a fell-tiad.

FELLY—The out section of a cart wheel.

FEND, FENDY—To make a good try. T’ kye ’ll fend fer thersells if ther’s

owt they can git. He’s a fendy sooart ov a fellow at’ll git on.

FETCHIN—A fetchin o’ yal’s when it’s brought to t’ wark.

FETTLE—Condition. What fettle?—Rippin!

FETTLE—To clean, repair, and put in condition. Ah mun fettle t’ auld

gun up.

FEW—Pan to. Hoo does he few at mowin’?

FENDIN’-AN-PRIUVIN—A kind ov a fratchin’, snarlin’, unnebburly mack o’

wark ower summat an’ nowt. Yan tells a tial annudder denies, an’ they

gah tull anudder er tweea fendin-an-priuvin-’t.

FINDIN’S-KEEPIN’—Findin’s keepin’, an takkin back’s hangin’. A lad’s

motto ’at’s as common as muck an’ as auld as t’ hills.

FIMMLE—Finger in a twitching nervous manner.

FIB—A lie.

FIDGE—To kick the feet up; to struggle. A swine ’ll fidge when it’s

gaan ta be butcht; seea will a barn when it’s bein’ weshed.

FINGERING, FLEECY—Different maks o’ wool fer knitten.

FINE-SARTEN—As sure as law. Ah’s ommost fine sarten on ’t.