He’s shirts wi’oot buttons, an’ as fer his britches,
They’d drop off his back, but fer two or three stitches,
O’ noggy-wife-threed, just to keep hissel tidy,
As Robbyson did fer hissel an’ Man Friday.—_Bowness._
NOINT, NOINTED, NOINTER—Ah’ll noint thi thi jacket; he gat nointed fer
his pains; thoo’s a nointer. They o’ mean a dressin doon, an’ Ah’ve
seen t’ stoor flee when a chap’s bin nointed wi’ t’ mayster.
NOP, NOPPIN—Snuff. Nop t’ can’le. To remove the stems and husks off
gooseberries, currants, &c. We’re thrang noppin berries.
NOPE—An ugly blow. T’ han’le flew off an’ catcht him a nope on t’
nooase.
NOPPY—Barn talk fer t’ heed.
NORAL—To hit on the head with a stick. Ah’ll noral thee thoo nasty
paddock.
NOWL, NOWLEN—Ring. Wheea’s t’ bell nowlen fer.
NOWT-FIUT-OIL, NEAT-FIUT-OIL—Ah put these tweea acos o’ t’ auld word
nowt an’ neat fer cattle.
NOWT-AT-T-MACK—Dud thoo tell me that ye wanted a whelp oot o’ oor
bitch. Nowt-at-t’-mack, we’ve mair dogs ner we know what ta deea wi’.
NOWT—Nothing. Ah’ll hev nowt ta deea wi’ ’t, seea noo than.
NOWT-SA—Not so. Ah’s nowt-sa much ta crack on.
NOWDER—Neither. They’re nowder o’ them neea gurt catch.
NOGS—A lad gam like skittles.
NOWT-AT-DOW—A poor sample; i’ bad fettle. He’s nowt-at-dow. Ah’ve niver
bin nowt-at-dow sen Ah gat wet through.
NUM, NUMSKULL—Clumsy. Ah’s that num mi’ fingers is o’ thums. Thoo gurt
numskull, liuk whar thoo’s gaan.
OBBUT—Ebbut slightly varied in sound.
OD-DAL, Od-die-bon, Od-drat, Od-wuns, Ods-wunters, Ods-scurse,
Ods-sang, Ods-whinge—They’ve neea mair meanen ta them, hezn’t this lot,
ner nowt. They’re ta let bad temper oot withoot sweeren reet oot.
ODDMENT—One slightly defective in mental power.
O THEER—Fully equipped intellectually.
OOTNERS—Them ’at co’s off anudder heaf.
ODDENLY, HODDENLY—Without intermission. Ah dar be bun’ ’at them tweea’s
gian tagidder oddenly fer twenty year, an’ afoor that, ivver sen they
war barns, on an’ off, they’ve bin thick.
ODDS-AN’-EBMS—This izzant a guide ta gamlin’, seea ye git neea
particulars; nobbut it is theer, an’ ye know ’t, main end on ye.
OD-WHITE-LET-ON-THEE—An expression of contempt. It co’s in when ye’re
i’ neea hurry wi’ yer tongue, but varra thrang udderwas.
OFF-COM’D, OFF-COMER—A stranger in the sense of not having been born in
the locality. Ther’s nin seea mich good i’ some o’ ther off-comers.
OFT, OFTER, OFTEST—This is oor way o’ sayen often.
OILIN—Thrashing. Sis’ta thoo’s laiten an oilin an’ thoo’ll git yan if
thoo gahs on.
OLD-MARE—A large rake used to gather up the stray ears of corn after
harvest. Thoo mun gang an’ trail t’ auld mear ta-day.
ON—Employed. We’re on at t’ hay.
ON—Thick. Yon tweea’s on, thoo can see that wi’ hauf a ee.
ON-LIG—A burden; a weight cast upon others.
ON-STEAD—Same as on-set.
ON-SET—Hoose, an’ o’ t’ beeldens aboot a farm.
ON AND OFF—With slight intermission. He leev’d at yah spot, on an’ off,
o’ his life varra nar.
ON-AN’-EN’WAS—Continually. He’s yan o’ this mack; owt he tacks up he’s
at it on-an’-en’was.
OOT-HOUSE—A shade, penthouse, or porch. The idea is something added, or
outside of a recognised building or house.
OOT’ARD—Outward; evil-disposed. As oot’ard a fellow as ivver ye met.
OPPEN-BUTTERY—Free run of a public hoose or a larder. We’d oppen
buttery; iv’ry thing ta gah at as we liked.
ORTS, ORTENS—Leavings of food. Ah’ll nut eat thy orts. Also in form of
Wots and Wottens.
OUT-BOWED, OUT-FACED, OUT-STOMACHED—Ye’ve oot-bowed me wi’ meat. Ah’s
oot-fiased wi’ wark. He was oot-stomach’d wi’ t’ thowts on ’t.
OWER—Over; too; too much. In these ways “ower” has a wide range of
usage.
OWERGAT—Overtook. They owergat huz afooar we gat hiam.
OWER-BLOWN—T’ sheep, peur things, knows aboot this when t’ elements is
let lowse an’ t’ snow’s drivven like pooder, an’ they cronk thersels
doon in a lowned spot an’ happen some o’ them nivver see dayleet again.
OWER-KESSEN—Dark; gloomy; cloudy. Gaan ta thunner an’ rain.
OWER-TUNE—Chorus. But chiefly used for some disagreeable memory that
is constantly referred to. T’ ower-tune wi’ him allus was ’at he yance
selt him a coo ’at hed pickt t’ cauf. T’ ower-tune wi’ some fooak is
’at they’re gaan ta t’ poor hoose.
OWER-PLUSH—What’s left. Ther’ll nin be seea mich owerplush o’ fodder t’
year, Ah’s thinken.
OWDER—Eyether, eether, ayder, or owder. Ye can sooart yan oot ’at suits.
OWT-SA—Any quantity. Hes ta owt sa mich bacca mair ner thoo’ll want.
OWN’D—Recognised. What ye’ve altered seea sair at Ah wadn’t own’d ye if
ye hedn’t spokkun.
OXEYE—The marguerite daisy in its wild state.
OXTERS—Arm-pits. It catches mi at t’ oxters.
PADDOCK—Field name for a low-lying level field. A term of reproach.
PADDOCK-RUD—A term of disgust.
PAFFALDIN—A chap wi’ tweea cooats, as many waistcooats an’ sarks on,
his legs lapt up wi’ symes, an’ a muffler ower his lugs, wad say he’d a
gay lot o’ paffaldin’ aboot him ta keep t’ cauld oot.
PAG-MAG—A heap o’ kelderment. What’s o’ that pag-mag thoo hes i’ thi
pocket.
PALAVER, PALAVEREN—Greasy, whakly talk. Let’s hev nin o’ thi palaver.
PAN-CHAFTED—Having the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper jaw.
PAPS—T’ hannles ta lift a pooak wi’.
PARKIN—Oatmeal cake with treacle baked in it; _i.e._, distinct from
treacle and bread.
PASH—A sudden and very heavy shower. It com doon in a reg’lar pell; it
fair pash’d doon.
PATTLE—A scraper for a plough.
PAW, PAWT—Move.—“Peer Jemmy I yance thowt that wad nivver paw
mair.”—_Anderson._
PAD, PADDED—A trod. Keep on t’ pad wilta. Trodden down by frequent
usage. T’ gerse was padded doon fair shamful.
PAD—A saddle ’at’s stuffed an’ than twilted.
PARES—When t’ weather changes aboot we say it mends and pares. I gits
better an’ war.
PAUGHTY, PAWKY—Interfering in an insolent manner, pawkin’ thi neb inta
ivvrything, thoo pawky slenk.
PARLOUS, PARLISH—It’s varra parlous gaan whar ther’s seea mich smittle.
Ah’ll tell thi what, it’s parlish fer yan to oppen yan’s gob tell yan
knows wheea yan’s talken tull. Ther’s danger at t’ boddum o’ these
tweea.
PARLEY—To quarrel. They parleyed on a canny while aboot yah thing an’
anudder.
PATE-HEED—Thoo’s a gurt daft pate-heed ta punch a peur hen ta deeth fer
skratten a bit o’ muck up.
PALLY—To tread about in a shuffling way. Thoo’ll pally aboot i’ thi
barfit feet tell thoo gits thi deeth o’ cauld, an’ than thoo’ll know.
Palleyen aboot in a pair o’ auld carpet shun; what good er they i’ t’
wet.
PAT—Familiar. It’s as pat on thi tongue as owt, is that silly tial.
PAT—A lal lock o’ butter.
PADDACK—A fungus; a toadstool. That’s neea mushroom, it’s a paddack.
PANSH—Fluster. Ther’s a chap gian doon t’ rooad in a terrable pansh,
whativer’s up?
PARROCK—A small enclosure; it’s an auld ’un.
PAWFRIE—A horse ta ride.
PADDY-WHACK—Ah gev yon beggar paddy-whack fer his sauce, an’ he’ll nut
fergit it in a hurry, Ah’s warn’d.
PACE-EGGS—The Easter dues of the parish clerk paid in eggs. This custom
existed in the writer’s time, and the parish clerk with his egg basket
is one of his earliest impressions, associated somehow with mulled
ale; perhaps because of the trick some pace-eggs had of going in that
direction and furnishing youthful diversion in the freaks of a few
drunken men.
PACE-EGGEN—Within the writer’s memory it was a common custom for the
children to go and beg eggs for the purpose of playing with them on
Easter Monday. Laiten piase-eggs, or laiken at piase-eggs. Further
back a few years, a custom existed of men going around to the houses
acting a kind of mummery, in which “Lord Nelson,” “Auld Tosspot,” and
“The Jolly Jack Tar,” were the principal characters. The introductory
doggerel ran after this fashion:
“The first that comes in is Lord Nelson, you see,
He’s a bunch of blue ribbons tied round on his knee,
A star on his breast, like silver it shines,
Ah hope you’ll remember it’s piase eggin times.”
Eggs were a secondary object in this piase-eggin which generally
resulted in a good spree for those concerned.
PACKY—Cloody. It nobbut liuks packy i’ t’ sooth.
PAN—Fit in; few; settle down. Thoo pans to thi wark like a fiul. Tak
thi cooat off an’ pan tull.
PANG’D—Good measure, heaped up, and pressed down.
PEAT-BROTS—Whols i’ t’ grund whar t’ sheep rub when ther backs kittle.
T’ sheep clipped weel, but t’ woo’s full o’ gravel wi’ rubbin i’ t’
brots.
PEAT-MULL—Peats an’ turves were formerly used fer elden, an’ at boddum
o’ t’ stack wad be a lot o’ smo ’at hed shirled doon. This was co’ed
peet-mull.
PEDASTER—Walk. Yan o’ Ant’ny Whiteheeds.
PEEDLIN—Looking near, as short sighted persons must.
“Any hofe-wit can tell by thy peedlin’
Thoo cannot crack mitch of thy seet.”—_Bowness._
PEENJ’D, PEENJY—An ill-natured disposition. Thoo’s as peenj’d as thoo
can be. Ah wadn’t be seea peenjy fer nowt.
PEET-HEE—Neea hee’r ner t’ thickness ov a peat.
PELTER—Hurry. Thoo needn’t gang at seck a pelter.
PENNY-PIE, CAULD-PIE—A fo’ on a shirl. Cauld-pie an’ snow apples beleng
ta t’ day’s o’ yan’s youth.
PETTLE—Dodging about at light little jobs. Thoo mun pettle aboot t’
fauld an’ deea tell we see hoo t’ wedder turns.
PEYL’ PEYLEN—Hard at wark. He wad peyl away frae moornen ta neet an’
nivver let wit. Peylen intult, siam as t’ chap wi’ t’ dumplin end.
PEE-WIT, TEA-FIT—“Pee-wit! Pee-wit! Ah lost mi nest an’ Ah’ve rued it.”
PEZEL’T—It means to jaggle, an’ argy, an’ heffle aboot. “We pezl’t
on a canny while.” That’s hoo young fooak git started ta cooart yan
annudder. They du’t gang thunneren up an’ doon shooten at ivv’rybody
they meet, “Is thoo willing?” till they meet wi’ yan at is. Neea, barn,
that wadn’t deea; seea they pezel aboot a bit, an’ git ta knaw bi slow
degrees.
PEZZY, PEZZ-WILLY, PEZZ-WAP—T’ least lal marvels ye can git. O’ colours
varra nar, but ower lal ta shut wi’.
PEANNOT—Peony.
PEATUS—Whar we stack t’ peat.
PECKER—Pluck. Keep yer pecker up.
PEED—One eye blind.
PEEL, PEELENS—Pare; parings.
PEFF—A nasty tickling cough. Peffen an’ coughen o’ neet till yan gits
neea sleep.
PEGGY-WHITE-THROAT—A canny lal bird ’at lays a lock o’ eggs i’ t’
nicest nest ye ivver saw.
PEEK, PEEKEN—Peepen aboot on t’ sly through t’ key whol an’ sec.
PEH—An onomatopoetic. (Cush barn, but noo Ah’ll tell ye what it’s
summat awful.) It maks yan peh trailen up a brant hill wi’ a liad.
PELL—Siam as pash. It com a reg’lar pell.
PENNYSTONES—Stones in the form of quoits.
PENS—The roots of feathers in a fowl.
PENSY—Varra kysty an’ tickle aboot t’ mack o’ tommy yan likes.
PERISHEN—Starving. They’re aboot perishen wi’ cauld.
PENTECOTE—A court or faced card. Ah hevn’t a single pentecote, just my
luck!
PEAKLING—Pinken aboot on t’ sly. Ther was somebody peaklin’ aboot oor
hoose tudder neet efter dark.
PERT, PEEART—Lively; fierce. Ah thowt that sheep was gaan ta dee streyt
off, but it’s beginnen ta look pert again. It’ll come oot, Ah’s war’nt.
PEGGY RAW—A woman body ’at hackles hersel up in a queer way. Peggy used
ta put fedders in her stockings an’ among her hair.
PIKE—A prominent peak on the fells, _e.g._, Kidsty Pike, Dollywaggon
Pike, Red Pike, Beacon Pike, Pike o’ Stickle, Pike o’ Whassa, an’ seea
on.
PICKEN-AN’-PYKEN—A body ’at’s varra pensy aboot ther meat.
PICKEN—Pulling, gathering. We’re thang picken berries.
PICKLE—Condition. He was i’ seck a pickle a ye nivver saw i’ yer born
days.
PIE—Siam as Pickle.
PIGGIN—A tub wi’ yah lag left langer fer a lug.
PIG-CHAFTED—T’ opposite o’ pan-chafted. Swine griun’d’s anudder way o’
putten ’t.
PIKE-OFF—Be off. Thee pike-off aboot thi business.
PIKE—A gurt cock o’ hay as big as a lal stack.
PIKE, PUKE—A pimple.
PIKE—Fell-pike is a stick wi’ a pike on ’t ta gah on t’ fells wi’.
PILGARLAK——“An’ t’ silly pilgarlick, was Ah.” That’s sattl’d wi’.
PITHUL—Field-name. (Query, Pool).
PINED—Burnt. T’ breed’s pined i’ t’ yubben. Dried ta a cinder.
PINNER—Pinched. Thoo’s pinner’d thisel fer stuff.
PISSIMIRE, PISSIMIRE-BED—The ant and ant-hill. Lig doon amang them, an’
ye’ll know what he mean’d ’at said, “Go to the ant, thoo sluggard.”
PISSIMIRES—The flower of the dandelion afoor it turns intull a
bessy-clock.
PITH, PIFF—Energy. He’s neea pith in him fer nowt at’s owt at dow.
PICK—Push. Pick me doon if thoo dar.
PICK, PICK’T-AT, PICKEN—Famish these is through being connected wi’
that gurt host ov unfortunate men wheea are miserable o’ ther days an’
neets through fear o’ t’ hen.
PICK-STRAW—A very little smite. He didn’t care a pick-streea fer any
man Jack amang t’ lot.
PICK’T-UP—To vomit. Pick’t t’ cauf. To calve prematurely. At one time
it was regarded as wise to keep a goat to prevent it.
PILE—A blade. Ther izzant a pile o’ gurse left.
PILE—A lot. He’d whyte a pile o’ nooates.
PILLIVER—A pillow.
“An’ a pilliver tuck’t inta t’ sma’ ov his back.”
PINED—Starved; thin.
PINKS—The young smelt of salmon.
PIN-POTE—A teetolly, used about Kirsmas time ta gammle for pins. The
four sides are marked respectively T, N, P, S, and these as they fall
upwards after being spun mean: T, tak yan away; N fer nicklety nowt; P,
put yan doon; S, sweepen o’ away. A common Christmas gift of the old
days was a paper of pins.
PIPE-STOPPER, PIPE-STOPPLE—What lasses frizz ther toppins wi’. T’ stem
ov a clay pipe.
PIG-IN—Gah amang like a lot o’ lal pigs. Ye mun pig-in as well as ye
can.
PIRN—Dry o’ t’ natur oot.
PLAKE—Dirty aboot t’ hands an’ feet.
PLONCH—An’ this signifies the action of wading or walking, or both at
once. Plonchin’ aboot up ta yan’s knees i’ snow broth, it’s eniuf ta
gie yan yan’s deeth o’ cauld.
PLATED—Rivetted. They used ta lee around t’ May powl for a whet-stun
formerly, an’ yah chap sed ’at stars war nails wi’ gold heeds, an’ he
hed helped ta put them in t’ fleer o’ hebben. T’ next said he could
swear that was true, for he plated them, an’ they war theer yet, an’
gat t’ hone.
PLONK—A wallop. Ah gat a plonk wi’ his neef.
PLONKER—A very large specimen. Noo that’s a plonker. It mud as weel be
put in ano—it’s varra oft a gurt lee.
PLACK—Ah hevn’t a plack. Hard-up.
PLODDY, PLADDY—A pattern in cloth of a checked design.
PLAGUE—Torment. Ye sud nivver plague a mad bull.
PLANTIN—Whar trees is set.
PLASH, PLASHEN—T’ rain fair plashes again when it comes a gurt heavy
shoor, an’ a chap’s plashen aboot in ’t.
PLAT—Hay riaked up when it’s a bit leet inta plats.
PLEEN, PLEENY, PLEENEN—Ailing. She’s nobbut a bit pleeny. She pleens a
gay deal aboot her heed. Fooak ’at’s allus pleenen aboot udders izzant
varra nice company fer neeabody.
PLETS—A chap’s legs plets when t’ maut gits intul them, an’ they lap
aboot anunder him.
PLEUF—Plough. T’ auld soond’s hard, but varra seldom, an’ Ah put it in
acos it’s gaan oot o’ date.
PLEW-SLED, PLEW-STILTS—A block of wood on which a plough is conveyed on
the road. He’d a fiut on him like a plew-sled. T’ stilts, ye o’ know
what these is, Ah’s sewer.
PLOOAT—Pluck.
“Tweea Martindale geese biath full o’ fedder,
Thee plooat tian an’ Ah’ll plooat tudder.”
This was t’ poetical advice of yah Peerith turney tull anudder aboot a
client er tweea.
PLUG-AN’-FEATHER—A quarryman’s tools for cutting up stones.
PLEANIE-PIET—Pleanie-piannet; a tell-tale. Scholars know o’ aboot it,
it’s yan o’ ther awn.
PLUGGER—A plonker.
PLUM—Straight; direct. Ah went ebbm reet plum tull it.
PLUM-DUFF—Plum puddin’.
POTE—Ye’ve seen nags an’ dogs ’at cud fair mak yan know they wanted
seein tull wi’ nowt else but ther front fiut. What’s te poten en dewen?
What wants ta?
POTTY—A common clay marvel. A lad’s poorly hodden ’at’s nowt on hand
but potties.
POW-CAT—What ye’ll ha’ snifted yan likely at t’ dyke boddum when ye’ve
bin nutten.
POD, PODDEN—The “Cumberland genius does not lend itself to word
descriptions.” By goy! Ah wish it dud. Ah wad tell ye what ther tweea
means i’ quick sticks, but happen ye know what podden aboot i’ t’ dark
means as well as me, seea Ah widn’t fash ye.
POKY—Impudent. Thoo’s a poky lal beggar, ’at is ta, saucen thi elders
like that.
POOAK—Sack; an’ i’ fun a purse.
POODER—A ter’ble hurry. He was gaan at a tremendous pooder.
POODER’D—Ah pooder’d off fer t’ doctor as hard as Ah could liddur.
POOR—Ah tak a lal drop o’ good whisky, a bit ov lemon, a few drops o’
het water an’ a bit o’ sugar when Ah gang ta bed, an’ Ah find oot ’at
it does me a poor o’ good; an’ it’s seea nice ta tak ano’.
POPS AN’ PAIRS—Card gam.
POSSETT—Boilt milk wi’ yal in ’t; good fer mowers. A trick ’at bits o’
babbies hoe—peur lal things—when the’ve bin filled ower full.
PORRINGER—A lal basin er a gurt cup fer t’ barn poddish.
PODDISH—Ta say owt aboot yan’s poddish wad be like painten t’ lily,
seea we’ll e’en let them gang unwept, unhonoured, and unsung, as t’
fellow sed.
POWDIKITE—Yan o’ t’ tribe whar six o’ them walk sebben abreast. They’re
that big i’ ther awn een, an’ brossen wi’ wit.
POCK-MARKED—The effect of smallpox.
PITTED—T’ siam again; varra mucky, an’ pitted in wi’ it.
POT—T’ kial pot. A gurt pan. Boilen t’ pot—that’s makken broth.
POT-YERBS—Time, marjoram, an’ owt else ’at maks good broth.
POW, POWL—Head. Mind thi pow. Hair cutting. Can ye powl mi?
POWFAGG’D—Tired out. Ah’s aboot powfagg’d wi’ t’ heat an yah thing an’
anudder.
POD-NET, COW-NET—Ta howk fish oot wi’, when t’ beck’s fresh an’ full,
er ta drive them intul when o’s whiat.
PODKITE—Yan ’at’s full o’ owt frae concait ta wind. A lal brossen
podkite, ’at is ta.
POLTER—Patch and mend.
POPE, POPEN—Popen aboot i’ t’ dark. It’s when yan lifts yan’s feet
varra carefully, an’ sets them doon varra cautiously, fer fear o’
mishief.
POT-WHOL—Pliases whar t’ grund’s gien way an’ left a roond hollow spot.
POTTER, POTTER’D, POTTEREN—A dealer in pots. Potter aboot diun owt.
Potter’d ower a lot o’ things ’at’s neea moment. Potteren aboot i’
iv’rybody’s rooad.
POSY—An auld’un fer flower, still i’ go amang us.
POWSOWDY—Het yal, an’ sops, an’ barley, an’ ket o’ that mack. Ah durt
wonder at them co’en ’t pow-sow, an’ fig-sew, fer some on ’t wad sham a
decent auld sew ta sup ’t.
POSH—Howken amang watter an’ muck.
POSH—Soft; puddly. Oor land’s in a fair posh sen t’ rain com, ’at is ’t.
PODE—Be surety for; give assurance of; express confidence in. Thoo’ll
mannish Ah’ll pode ta. Ah’ll pode it ye can trust him wi’ owt. He’ll
pay thi Ah’ll pode him ’at will he.
POBS, POBBIES—T’ barn poddish.
PROGUE, PROUGEN—Wi’ a bit o’ ratchen these wad be prowlen an’ stealen.
PROVE—Whia noo an’ hoo priuve ye, an’ hoo er they o’ at hiam? T’ auld
farrand way o’ sayen, How d’ye do?
PRICK-MEET—Summat nice an’ natty, an’ varra ’ticen ta t’ e’e. They’ve
gone doon t’ toon as smart as prick-meet.
PROD—Te poke; to attack with the end of a stick or other weapon.
“Screeam away, an’ punch, an’ pummle,
I can stand thi savidge prods.”—_Bowness._
PRODDLE—To prick, to poke. Thee proddle him i’ t’ flank wi’ t’ spur.
Prod and proddle are like howk—varra handy until you want to define
them.
PROPT-UP—One who is in weak health. He’s nobbut a propt-up mak ov a
body.
PREEZE—Wi’ a bit o’ preezen we gat him ta stop tull his tea.
PREEAN—Trimming the feathers as a bird or a fowl. Applied to persons
who are given to an extreme regard for personal appearance—preeanen
hersel afoor t’ glass.
PRIZE—To lift with a lever. Prize it off wi’ a bar.
PROOD—Projecting. Thoo’s set that stian ower prood.
PROSS, PROSS’D, PROSSEN—A large measure of self-esteem, resulting in an
officious, consequential, dictatorial, or affected manner. Theer noo,
is that nowt? Ah thowt somehoo it wad come, an’ it hez. Ye o’ know what
a banty’s like on ’t own midden; well, that’s prossen ta nowt.
PROOD-FLESH—When a woond heals fauce, an’ a lot o’ angry flesh flusters
up aroond it.
PURBLE, PURBLEN—To hoard up some insignificant article for its
associations. She wad purble up o’ macks e’ things ’at was their lad’s.
Saving. What’s t’ good o’ purblen things up?
PURLOCK—Mucky woo.
PUM-HEED—Knurr an’ spell laikers ’ll show ye yan.
PUMMER—Owt ’at’s big.
PUNFAULD, PUNDER—T’ lock-up fer vagrant kye, swine, an’ seea on.
PURCHASE—Fulcrum. Ah cud git neea purchase fer t’ giaveluk.
PURN—A twitch fer a nag snoot ’at won’t stand ta be shod.
PURSEY—Broken-winded. Thoo hiuzes war ner a pursey nag.
PUT—Oot Ah put; off Ah put as hard as mi legs wad gang.
PUT-ON—Clothed. He’s nobbut varra badly put-on aboot t’ feet.
PUT-ON—Imposed upon. Thoo’s bin put-on.
PUT, PUTTEN—A card gam. An’ putten t’ stian’s a gam wi’ a gurt stian
’at’s putten as far as possible.
PUT-UP—Whar ye quarter at market days—it’s “mine inn,” ye know that,
Ah’s sewer.
PUTTAN—A puttan bull. Thoo’s as sulky as a puttan bull.
PUFF—Breath. Ah’s oot o’ puff, an’ it’s a varra parlous thing ta git
oot o’ stock on.
PUNCH—To kick when fighting. It izzant fair to punch when ye sud be
feiten.
PUTTIN-ON—A famish Lakeland lad used ta say he nivver was browt up ato,
he was trailed up bi t’ hair o’ t’ heed. That’s a puttin-on.
PUTTEN-DOON—Butter put into firkins. Fowls or meat salted or cured. Put
to death, destroyed, as old horses, dogs, or cats are. What’s come o’
auld Bawty? He’s bin putten-doon a canny while; he gat seea mucky.
PUKE—Ta pick up or vomit.
PYANNOT—See Peannot.
PYATT—A magpie, an’ a saucy barn.
PYFLE—To steal. To eat in a heartless way. Pyklin an’ pyflin, thoo gits
nowt doon.
QUAVEREN—Sparring. Ah’ll fell thi as stiff as a stian if thoo co’s
quaveren aboot me.
QUARTER—A portion of a boot upper.
QUARTER—The cow’s udder is so spoken of in cases of ailment.
QUARTER—Portion of an animal—front and hind.
QUIT—Dismiss; discharge; remove. Whar’s seea an’ seea leeav noo? Nay
they’ve quitted t’ shop on him, an’ neeabody knows ner cares.
“Auld Calcraff hed varra nar manidged te git thi’,
But we’ve seeav’d thy bacon this time, for we quit the.”
—_Bowness_
QUEEN’S-HEED—A postage stamp.
QUALITY—Bettermer fooak.
QUIFF—A dodge; a trick; a “wrinkle.” Ah’ll put thi up tull a quiff er
tweea aboot neet lines if thoo’ll gah wi’ me some neet.
* * * * *
In our dialect, words with Q in them are subject to evasion, or that
letter is substituted by some other. The following is an illustration:
Quarten, wharteren; quite, white; quart, whart; quiet, whiat; quaint,
whent; quarry, wharl; quill, twill; quilt, twilt; quench, whench
or slocken; quick, whick; quick-silver, whick-silver; quick-sand,
whick-sand; Quaker, thwaker; quinsey, twinzy; quickning, whicknin;
quick-set, whick-set; quicks, whicks; squirt, swirt or sooart. Some of
these are no doubt merely humorous variations, but the bulk of them are
permanent in the folk speech.
RACKUPS—A lad gam.
RASH—A skin eruption. Heat rash, nettle rash, an’ seea on.
RASH—Hoo er ye? Oh, Ah’s rash as can be.
RATTAN-TAIL—The marsh plant. A common wayside weed.
RACKLE—A nag er a man ’at’s ower hee spirited ta be led er driven ta
deea as they owt. They’re a bit rackle, an’ wi’ a bit o’ ratchin it wad
be reckless.
RAFFLE—Lottery.
RAFFY—This is aboot t’ first yan o’ this lot Ah want ta skip, on’ hev
nowt ta deea wi’ ’t. It means when a chap’s rakish’ an’ idle, an’
drucken, an’ mucky, an’ rag’d, an’ sleeps rough, when ivrybody’s sooary
aboot him but hissel, an’ he nivver heeds nowt but slatchen aboot,
an’ shoolen as mich yal intul him as udders ’ll pay for. When ye hear
anybody sayen ’at seea an’ seea’s turned raffy liuk an’ see if they
laugh. Ah niver hev misel, an’ Ah durt think you could find yan ’at wad
see owt ta be pleased wi’ aboot it.
RAFT—A lot; he browt seck a raft o’ hay as yan seldom sees i’ yah
carful.
RAG, RAGGEN, RAG’D—Nut rags an’ tatters, but temper. Ah gat mi rag oot
when he wanted ta trot mi aboot oor turnips. He was raggen him aboot
mowen. He was rag’d, Ah tell ye, when their lot lost t’ cricket match.
RAKES, RAIKES—A bit of road between Shap and Penrith is so called, an’
it gahs a lang way back inta lang sen happenings ta git at t’ boddum on
’t. In many parts the rough paths up a steep and stony mountain’s side
are so named.
RAMPS—Wild yerbs.
RAKE—Journey; thoo’s as mich on as thoo can carry at yah rake.
RALLAK, RANT, RANDY—On t’ spree. Ah’ll say neea mair, they’re theer an’
ye mun mak t’ best o’ them.
RAM—Push. Ram it doon. Rank, rancid—this meet’s ram as auld tip.
Ram-full—as full as possible.
RAMPADJE—A gurt bustle an’ hurry. Thoo needn’t ta gang at it wi’ seck a
rampadje; thoo’ll be tired afooar neet.
RAMPADJUS—With little heed. Du’t be seea rampadjus.
RAMPEN—Aboot t’ siam as reemen. We’d a rampen good dinner.
RANDED—Bacon ’at’s i’ equal parts—fat an’ lean.
RANNEL, RANNELIN—This is a lad’s trick.
RANNEL-BALK—Roof-tree. I’ gurt auld chimlas ye can see ’t gaan across,
an’ t’ crane hiuk’t intul’t.
RANTY—Mad. Ah’s ranty varra nar wi’ t’ tic.
RAP-AN’-RAIN—Lay hands on. He’d tak owt ’at he could rap-an’-rain.
RATCH—Stretch. He could ratch a bit, _i.e._, nut tied ta t’ truth. A
romping mischievous youth. Thoo’s a gurt ratch.
RATED—Begun to rot. Yon door’s rated bi noo.
RATIPELT—Scold. She gave him seck a ratti-pelten fer stoppen oot.
RATTEN-TAILED—A nag tail wi’ t’ hair eaten off ’t.
RAX—Tear; riven. Ah’s rax’d wi’ pain.
RAGAMUFFIN—Sairy things, it maks yan’s heart wark ta think ther sud be
any o’ this mack, wi’ ther barfit feet, an’ ther shirts hinging throo
t’ whols o’ ther “looped an’ windowed raggedness.”
RAPSCALLION—A bit ov a mishief.
RAMSHACKLE—Anything ’at’s lowse, brokken doon, er badly graithed up.
REED—To remove the fat from the entrails of a pig; reeden t’ puddins is
proper, an’ ye’ll nooatice varra aft aboot that time fooak hes varra
greazy chowls efter dinner; it’s wi’ crautins an’ black puddins.
REEK—A whiff. We’ll hev a reek o’ bacca under a tree. Smoke. T’ reek
fo’s doon; it’ll rain, Ah’s flait.
RECKLIN—In a litter of pigs the least favoured is so known, and it is
traditional how it generally turns out the best.
REED-SHANK—A running weed.
REED—To straighten the hair with a lash comb. Reed thi hair. Reeden t’
toppin o’ yan means summat else gayly oft—it means a luggen do.
REED-STROKES—Apple eaters ’ll tell ye o’ aboot this.
REED-WATTER—Anudder fer t’ coo-doctor.
REEMEN—Excellent. It’s bin a reemen fine day fer t’ job. That’s what t’
chap said when he’d bin beryen t’ wife—a ciase-hardened brute, ye’ll
say.
RENDERED—Maken t’ leaf inta same; render it doon.
RENSIL—To stir amongst; to make a great commotion. What’s thoo
rencillen efter, thoo’s rencilled i’ iv’ry niuk an’ corner i’ t’ hoose.
REESTED—Rancid. “Reested fat bacon was miad inta pies.” Restive; t’ nag
reested wi’ him an’ threw him off.
REETLE—Tidy, smooth, arrange. Let’s reetle t’ bed up a bit.
REACH-TEEA, REACH-TULL—A homely, hearty invitation, which those who
have any knowledge of the hospitality of Lakeland will see nothing to
“snew ther nooases up” at. “Noo reach teea, an’ bide neea assin’.”
“Aye reach tull an’ help yersel ta seck as is gaan.”