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(delwedd C3929) (tudalen 200)
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2OO LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
NESH, adj. tender, weak, delicate, soft. A.S. hnesc, tender; cf. Icel.
hnjbskr.
GASKKLL. A very expressive adjective (of which the current word
l854 ' “nice," in the sense of “dainty," has only half the force)
is nesh, meaning weak and tender, not able to bear pain; in Anglo-Saxon,
"nesc" [correctly, hnesc\. Thomas Wilson, in his Art of Rhetoric,
perhaps the earliest writer on any such subject in the language, uses the
Lancashire noun, and writes, "To be born of woman declares weakness of
spirit, neshnese of body, and fickleness of mind." Lect. Lane. Dialect,
p. 20.
COLL. USE. Oh, he's too nesh for owt; they'n browt him up that way.
NEST-EGG, sb. an egg left in the nest for the purpose of inducing the bird to
lay. Figuratively a small sum of money kept back or saved to induce further
savings.
COLL. USE. Yore Jim's getten a nest-egg somewheer, aw'll be
l88l> bound; he's a saving chap.
NESTLE-COCK, sb. the nestling, the last child.
WAUGH. My young'st brother, eawr Joe, deed wi' Nelson, at
l869 ' Trafalgar. Eh, aw thought my mother would ha' brokken
her heart! He're like th' nestle-cock at eawr heawse. Yeth-Bobs an' Scaplins,
c. i., p. 21.
IBID. It seems that this lad bein' th' nestle-cock had been
1869. much marred when he wur yung, both bi his feyther an'
mother. Ibid., c. ii., p. 37.
NETTLIN', sb. the act of gathering nettles.
WAUGH. Thou's never bin nettlirf of a Sunday again, hasto?
Tattliri Matty, c. i., p. 14.
NEVER-HEED, v. don't notice, take no care.
COLL. USE. i. Tha mun never-heed what he says to thi. If ta does
tha'll goo wrung. 2. Its roof (rough) wark, aw know; but jog on, an
never-heed.
NEW-CATCH'D, adj. raw, inexperienced.
COLL. USE. They'll make him believe owt. He's a neiv-catcttd un.
1881.
NEW-COME, adj. fresh, newly arrived.
SHAKSPERE. A messenger with letters from the doctor
1596' New-come from Padua. Merchant, iv. i. 108.
NEW-ON, adj. new, fresh. Applied to clothes.
COLL. USE. He's got everythin' new-on it met be Ayster (Easter)
Sunday.
NIBBLINS. See NAPLINS.
NIGGERT (N. Lane.), sb. a piece of iron placed at the side of a fire grate to
contract its width and save coals.
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(delwedd C3930) (tudalen 201)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 2OI
NINNYHAMMER, sb. a blockhead.
COLLIER. Yo'ar a ninnyhommer t'heed hur. Works t p. 72.
1750-
NIP, sb. a small portion of food or drink taken between meals.
NIPPER, sb. a carter's assistant; a lad who accompanies a lurry or cart.
NIT, sb. a small louse. A.S. hnitu, Icel. ntfr, a louse.
TUSSER. Let season be drie when ye take them to house,
For danger of ntites, or for fear of a louse.
Husbandrie^ 21, 23.
NOAG, v. to hit the knuckles by flirting a marble against them. NOAG-HOLE,
sb. a game at marbles.
NOAGUR, sb. an auger. A more correct form; the n being original. A.S.
nafegdr, an auger.
NO AN, adj., adv., and/ra pronun. of none.
WAUGH. Eh, that'll do noon, lass. Chimney Comer, p. 143,
NOAN, sb. an aunt. NOATHER. See NAYTHER. NOBBIN',/0r/. striking the head.
NOBBUT, con. but, only, nothing-but (naught-but), a peculiar negative or
emphatic form of the conjunction but.
B. BRIERLEY. If th' rain'll nobbut keep off a bit, we'st get whoam
l868 ' beawt havin' a fither [feather] turnt.
Irkdale, c. i., p. 36. NOBRY, sb. nobody.
WAUGH. Wi' a lot o' little childer yammerin' round tho, an'
18791 nobry to feight and fend for 'em nobbut thisel'.
Chimney Corner, p. 144.
NODDLE-YED, sb. a person of loose, unsteady head or brain. A curious instance
of the duplication of a word. Wedgewood says “the noddle, noddock, or niddock
is properly the projecting part at the back of the head, the nape of the
neck, then ludicrously used for the head itself."
NOGGIN, sb. a measure of liquid the quarter of a pint. What is called a
"gill" is not in Lancashire the fourth part of a pint, but the half
of a pint There are therefore two noggins to the gill.
COLL. USE. “What does ta say to a drop o' rum in us (our) tay?”
l88l< “Aye sure, let's have a noggin between us."
NOMINY, sb. a long, wordy, and tiresome speech.
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(delwedd C3931) (tudalen 202)
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202 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
NOMPION, sb. a leader, a great man.
NONSUCH, sb. one who is not to be equalled. Generally used in irony a
"superior" person.
NOONIN', sb. the rest from labour at noon. NOONSCAWPE, sb. rest taken at
noon. See NOONIN'. NOPE (Fylde), sb. a small blow.
NOR, con. than.
' ASK
LANCASHIRE people almost invariably use nor for than. I have never been able
to make out satisfactorily the derivation of this; but it seems to me not
improbable that it may have been originally the same as the Welsh no or nog,
which means “than." I give that very doubtfully. Lect. Lane. Dialect, p.
n.
WAUGH. Let thoose chaps go their ways whoam; it would seem
186 "> 'em better nor sittin' slotchin' theer.
Sexton's Story, p. 12.
NOTCHEL, sb. a warning; to cry "notchel" is to give notice that a
certain person or persons will not pay the debts of another person.
NOTCHELS, sb.pl. fragments, broken meats, leavings of a feast.
NO-TIME, sb. a short time.
COLL. USE. Come, be sharp wi that baggin; thi fayther 'ill be here
l88x - i' no-time.
NOUS, sb. sense and ability, combined with quickness of apprehension;
cleverness, combined with common sense. A word of various import, and almost
untranslatable. Similar in meaning to the word gumption. Gk. voOs, mind; a
piece of university slang.
NOW, adv. pron. of no. Sometimes the sound is nearer to that of naive.
NQWMUN, sb. a term of contempt: possibly ~ no-man.
WAUGH. Get tee forrud, wilto, noivmun; thae met ha' bin
l8ss< deawn again by neaw.
Lane. Sketches: Bury to Rochdale, p. 29.
IBID. An' there's mony a miserly nowmun
l8 59$ At's deed ov a surfeit o' gowd.
B. BRIERLEY. Peggy? after giving a glance at the stairs: “Theau
l868> great knowman / Dost co this cleanin'?”
NOWT, sb. nothing. NOWT, adj. bad.
Lane. Songs: Tickle Times.
at the stairs: "The; leanin'?” Fratchingtons, p. 19.
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(delwedd C3932) (tudalen 203)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 2O3
NOWTY, adj. naughty.
BAMFORD. An' though he shift, unless he mend,
He's still a nmuty felley. Homely Rhymes, p. 135.
NOZZLE, sb. the nose.
NOZZLE, \ v. to nestle, to lie close to. See NUZZLE in Skeat's NUZZLE, J
Etym. Diet.
NUMB, adj. stupid.
COLL. USE. He's oather new at his job, or a bit numb.
1881.
NUMSKULL, sb. a stupid person.
COLL. USE. Yo'll make nowt on him chuz what yo do. He's a
regglar (regular) numskull.
j sb. the ball beaten to and fro in the game of bandy. M.E. knor, a knot in a
tree; O.Du. knorre, a knot in wood, a hard swelling, hence a hard ball.
Similarly, Icel. knottr, a ball (perhaps the same as nurr) is allied to Icel.
knutr, a knot.
NYFLE, sb. a delicacy, a dainty.
WAUGH. Aw guess thae's bin wearin' [spending] thi brass o' bits
l86s “o' dainty nifles i' th' teawn. Besom Ben, c. ix., p. 105.
IBID.
1868.
She took Betty's basket and crammed it with fruit, and with all sorts of
sweet “nifles" to the great delight of Billy. Sneck-Bant, c. iv., p. 89.
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(delwedd C3933) (tudalen 204)
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204 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
O.
O, adj. pron. of all.
WAUGH.] “I s this <? aw mun have?" said the lad, looking at the
shilling. "It's o' thae mun have, my lad," said the landlord. Ben
an' tW Bantam, c. iv., p. 81.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw da' say hoo's gooin' t' leave him 0' her brass.
Irkdak, c. xvii., p. 235.
O', prep, on or upon; also of.
COLLIER. I towd a parcil o thumpin' lies o purpose.
Works, p. 73.
OANDURTH, sb. afternoon. Icel. undorn.
COLLIER. He sowd it et Owdham that oandurth for twopence
I75 ' hawpenny o peawnd. Works, p. 43.
GATHER, pro. pron. of either.
WAUGH. I v aw'd th' pikein' o' th' world to mysel',
l859 ' Aw'd oather ha' Jamie or noan.
Lane. Songs: The Dule's t this Bonnet.
IBID. They were'n o' on em oather yarb doctors or planet
l868> rulers. Sneck-Bant, c. ii., p. 29.
B. BRIERLEY. “' Oather '11 do," said the joiner. Irkdak, p. 236.
1868.
COLL. USE. "Which is the right pronunciation of either is it
l8Sl - eether or eyether?" "Oather will do." (Said to have
been a Lancashire schoolmaster's answer to the question of his pupil.)
OBBUT, conj. but, except. See NOBBUT, which has the same meaning.
B. BRIERLEY. What right has theau t' think abeawt her, obbut as a
l868 ' brother should think abeawt a sister? Irkdak, p. 74.
IBID. “Aw' ve finished," said Dick, “obbut polishin' off vvi'
summut ut'll mak it feel smoot i' th' meawth.
Ibid., p. 244.
ODDMENTS, sb.pl. scraps, fragments, trifles, remnants, pieces of furniture.
RAMSBOTTOM. Un hoo said,
1864. jjj. ^ ^ wust coom to th' wust we should then
Ha' for t' turn some o' th' oddments to bread.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 1 6.
WAUGH. An' I bought a two-thre oddments 'at we wanten
l8 7 6> a- whoam. Chimney Corner: Manchr. Critic, March 3 1 .
ODD-OR-EVEN, sb. a child's game, played by holding in the closed hand one or
two small articles, the opposing player having to guess the number.
COLL. USE. "Has he raised thi wages?" "Aye, Jer-tW-left
1881.!”>“. 'u^.'j?> /j: i i \
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(delwedd C3934) (tudalen 205)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 205
ODDS-BOBS-AN'-BUTTYCAKES, inter? . a humorous expression of surprise.
C L i88P E ' Odds-bobs-an?~buttycakes, here's a bonny mess!
OD-ROT-IT, interj. a corrupted oath.
O'ER-LAY, v. to kill by lying upon, as in the case of a child.
COLL. USE. l s th' chylt dead?" "Aye, hoo wur drunk, an'
efafettit"
O'ER-TH'-LEFT, adv. not at all; by the rule of contrary.
"Has he raised thi wages?" he's bagg'd me" (discharged me).
OF ', prep, used in place of for.
HOLLINGWORTH. Which could not be done of some months after the
consecration. Chronicle of Manchester.
COLL. USE. He's not been here of ever so lung (for a long time).
iSoi.
OFF-AN'-ON, adv. in an irregular manner.
COLL. USE. He's bin courtin' that lass off-arf-on, now, for ten
l88l> year. It's a shame to see it. Aw'd scawd (scauld) him
if he were comin' to eawr heawse.
OFF-COME (N. Lane.), sb. a stranger; not a native.
DR. BARBER. T' landlord thenk't him, . . . praisin' t' off-cum
l87 ' chap o' t' while, cos he wos sewer he wos gaan to stop a
week at t' varra leeast. Forness Folk, p. 58.
J. STANYAN BIGG. Morkim Bay ye off-comes ca' t'.
Alfred Staunton, p. 6.
OFF-HIS-YED (head), adj. mad.
COLL. USE. He's graidly off-his-yed, mon they'll ha' to send him
l88z - to th' 'sylum (asylum).
OFF-IT, adj. insane j also, mistaken, having missed the mark.
COLL. USE. i . He's gooin' off -it, sure enough tha should yer (hear)
him talk. 2. Nay, tha'rt off-it this toime tha mun try again.
OGREATH, adv. right, straight, perfect.
COLLIER. So I sect eawt, on went ogreath till aw welly coom
within a mile o' th' teawn. Works t p. 41.
OLEZ, adv. always.
WAUGH. Aw olez fund tho a mon o' thi wort, Ben.
Owd Blanket, c. i., p. 20.
IBID. We're olez pincht for coverin', thou knows, when winter
l8 79$ comes on. Chimney Corner, p. 143.
O-MAKS, sb. pi. all kinds, all sorts or makes. See AWMAKS, ante, p. 18.
WAUGH. They liv't i' th' heawse 'at he's speykin' on; an' so did
l8 55$ their on-setters afore 'em.
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(delwedd C3935) (tudalen 206)
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2O6 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
ON, prep, used for of.
B. BRIERLEY. Eh, whatever will be th' upshot on it?" exclaimed
Nanny. Irkdale, c. viii., p. 164.
COLL. USE. He makes nowt on him (makes nothing of him; i.e.,
l88l- does not consider him of any consequence).
ONELY, adj. lonely, solitary.
WAUGH. When aw'd mended thi stockin's an' shirts,
l8 59$ Aw sit deawn to knit i' my cheer,
An' aw rayley did feel rather hurt
Mon, aw'm onely when theaw artn't theer.
Lane. Songs: Come Whoam to thi Childer.
IBID. Sich a onely place as this is. Besom Ben, c. ix. , p. 104.
1865.
ON- FOR, compound prep, about, near to.
COLL. USE. i. He's on-for a spree, aw con see that.
2. What's that lad on-for neaw? Some mak o' mischief, ONNY-BIT-LIKE, adv. in
tolerable condition.
COLL. USE. “Will ta be comin' across to-morrow?” "Aye, if th'
l8Sl - weather's onny -bit-hike."
ON-SETTER, sb. ancestor.
heyl r on- Lanc. Sketches: Birthplace of Tim Bobbin, p. 93.
OON, sb. oven.
WAUGH. There's some nice bacon collops o' th' hob,
l8 59$ An' a quart o' ale-posset i' th' oon.
Lane. Songs: Come Whoam to thi Childer.
IBID. "Hasto a pair o' leather breeches cookin' i'th oon,
1867. Mary?" "Nay," said Mary, opening the oven-door,
“there's nowt at o' i' th' oon."
Owd Blanket, c. iv., p. 105.
B. BRIERLEY. Win yo just shift back a bit, while aw put a bit o' fire
186 7$ under th' oon? Red Windows Hall, c. xiv., p. in.
OON-CAKE, sb. a loaf baked without a tin or dish; would be described as
"baked on the oven-bottom."
WAUGH. "Ben," said Betty, “wilto ha' loaf-brade, or thae'll
1868 - ha' oon-cake?" “Oon-cake for me," replied Ben.
Stuck- Bant) c. i., p. n.
IBID. Eh, mother, couldn't yo' gi' me a lump o' oon-cake to
l875$ be gooin' on wi'? Old Cronies, c. iii., p. 29.
OSS, v. to offer, to try, to attempt. See AWSE, ante, p. 18.
COLLIER. His scrunt wig fell off, on when he os t' don it, on
I7 5 0> unlucky karron gan it o poo. Works, p. 52.
IBID. I'r ot heawse in o crack, on leet o' th' owd mon i' th'
fowd, ossiri t' get o tit-back. Works, p. 57.
RAMSBOTTOM. They'd gether reawnd some choilt wi' mayt,
l86 4$ An' every bit it ost to tak
Their little meawths ud oppen too.
Lane. Rhymes^ p. 67.
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(delwedd C3936) (tudalen 207)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 2OJ
OTHERGATES, adv. otherwise. OTHERSOME, compound sb. others, other persons.
SHAKSPERE. HQW happy gome ^ ^^ ^^ can ^ ,
Mid. N. Dream, act i., sc. i., 1. 226.
WAUGH. Thae looks hondsomer nor ever this mornin'! Wed- 18681 din' becomes
some folk better nor othersome.
Sneck-Bant, c. iii., p. 59.
IBI D. They chargen moor at some places than ut othersome.
Chimney Corner, p. 53.
OUMER (Fylde and Lonsdale), v. to shadow. OUSEN, sb.pl oxen.
OUT-AN-OUT, adv. altogether, entirely, extreme.
COLL. USE. He's out-an-out th' best hand at puncin', as we'n getten
i' this shop (place).
OUT-COMLIN', sb. a stranger. See EAWT-CUMLIN, p. 115. OUT-RAKE (N. Lane.),
sb. a common near enclosed land. OUZEL, sb. the blackbird.
SPENSER. The ouzell shrills; the ruddock warbles soft.
J 595$ Epithalamion, st. 4.
SHAKSPERE. The ousel cock so black of hue.
J 599. Mid. N. D., iii. i. 1. 128.
COLLIER. Now th' ouzel whistles, wheet-wit, wheet-wit, whee'u.
“K' Works (Poem: The Blackbird), p. 413.
BAMFORD. It wur nother gorse-cock, ouzle, nor dunnock.
l8 4$ Life of a Radical, vol. i., p. 133.
OWD, adj. pron. of old. See ALD, ante, p. 7.
RAMSBOTTOM. While th' owd folk bear as best they con,
18641 An' th' young uns o' forget to play.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 42.
IBID. Some owdest son may stayle for bread,
Some owdest dowther sink to shame.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 43.
OWD-LAD, sb. the devil (generally used with the definite article).
COLL. USE. If th' oivd-lad were in him, he couldna be worse.
1881.
OWLER, sb. the alder; alder timber. Also, used metaphorically as a synonym
for clogs, the soles of which are made of alder; as, “He up wi' his foot an'
gan him some owler" i.e. kicked him.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw could mak one eawt of a lump o' owler any day.
l868 - Irkdale, p. 198.
WAUGH. I'd some'at to do to bant him, but I leet him taste o'
l8 74$ mi owler, now an' then.
Chimney Corner: Manchr” Critic, August 14.
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(delwedd C3937) (tudalen 208)
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208 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
OWL-LEET, sb. twilight.
WAU'GH. An' th' mvl-Uefs comin' on too. It's getten to th'
l879> edge-o'-dark, an' there '11 be boggarts abroad in a bit.
Chimney Corner, p. 359.
OWT, sb. aught, anything.
COLLIER. Too mitch of owfs good for nowt. Works, p. 35.
1750.
B. BRIERLEY. “Is thy feyther hearty, an' thy moather?" "Ay, for
18681 owt aw know." Irkdale, c. ii., p. 94.
COLL. USE. The following is said to be a common laconic morning
colloquy in the Oldham district: “Mornin'" (good morning).
“Mornin'" (the reply). “0-wt?" (is there anything new)? ' ' Nowt”
(not anything). “' Mornin'“ (the farewell). “Mornin'“ (the reply).
OWT-LIKE, adj. satisfactory, in fair quantity. Nowt-like is used to express
the opposite meaning.
COLL. USE. “Is it owt-like of a job?” "Aye, it'll pay weel enoof”
l881 ' (enough).
OYTCH (S. E. Lane.), pron. of each.
COLLIER. Oytck public trust is choyng'd into a job.
Works, p. 33.
T. WILSON. They wur men wi big cooats an' a stick i' oytch hond.
l8l 4$ Songs of the Wilsons, p. 35.
WAUGH. Says he, "I thought oitch body knowed
l8 59$ Gentle Jone. "'
Lane. Songs: Gentle Jone.
LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 2O9
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(delwedd C3938) (tudalen 209)
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P.
PA AM AS (N. Lane.), comp. v, palm us, i.e. give us alms. See AAMAS, ante, p.
2.
PACE-EGG, sb. a hard-boiled egg, dyed or stained, and presented as an Easter
offering. Pace -- Pasque, Old French form of Pascha.
REV. W. THORNBER. Easter introduced a change. The slothful now
l837 ' demanded his "pace-egg" (Paschal-egg) as a privileged
dole; the young of both sexes, on the afternoon of Easter
Sunday, amused themselves in the meadows with eggs
dyed by the yellow blossoms of the "whin."
History of Blackpool, c. iv., p. 92.
PACE-EGGERS, sb. pi. mummers, who go about in bands at Easter-time, usually
performing the old masque of George and the Dragon.
PADDOCK, sb. the toad or frog. Icel. padda. PADDOCK-STOOL, sb. a fungus, a
toad-stool. PAN (N. Lane.), v. to fit or tally.
PANBINDIN' (Cartmel), sb. a payment or compensation for an injury.
COLL. USE. I'se gi' thee money to pay th' panbindin\
1870.
PANCAKE-TUESDAY, sb. Shrove Tuesday. PANT (Cartmel), sb. mud.
PANTLE (Fylde), sb. a bird-snare made of hair. QS . pantiere, a kind of snare
for birds. See PAINTER, a rope for mooring a boat, in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
PANTLE (Ormskirk), v. to snare for snipes.
PAPPER, sb. pron. of paper. Icel. pappir.
WAUGH. “My advice to thee is this deet no papper.” ' ' Bi th'
l8?9$ heart, Bill; I connot do that, except I fling th' ink-bottle
at it, for I con noather read nor write."
Chimney Corner, p. 210. PARTSTT )
PERISH' i Vt to starve wittl cold or hun s er<
WAUGH. Come, Sally, let's poo up to th' fire a bit. I'm gettin'
l8 79$ quite parisht. Chimney Corner, p. 30.
IBID. They mun be harrish't, an' parish V, an' hamper't, an'
pincer't, an' powler't about th' cowd world a while.
Ibid., p. 141.
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(delwedd C3939) (tudalen 210)
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2IO LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
PARITOR, sb. the name always applied to a verger; an apparitor.
SHAKSPERE. Sole imperator and great general
1597$ of trotting 'paritors. L. L. L., iii. i. 188.
PARLISH (N. Lane.), adj. very great, terrible. Same as parlous, i.e.
perilous.
J. P. MORRIS. Thei'sfartisk lile I du believe in.
Lebby Beck Dobby, p. 4.
DR. BARBER. Ned hed bin lectur't be t' maister for not gangin' tul a
church, zparlish lock o' times. Forness Folk, p. 23.
PARROCK (N. Lane.), sb. an enclosure. A.S. pearroc. Prof. Skeat in his Etym.
Diet., Art. Paddock (2), says it is tolerably certain that paddock is a
corruption of parrock, another form of park.
PART-AN'-PARCEL, adv. belonging to, being of the same kind.
COLL. USE. He may say what he loikes: but he's part-ari '-parcel
l881 ' o' to' same lot.
PARTLY-WHAT, adv. partially, imperfectly.
DR. BARBER. T' captin partly-what kent t' fella.
Forness Folk, p. 21.
COLL. USE. “Does ta know him?" “Partly-what."
1881.
PASH, sb. a sudden gush; a fall; a blow. Shakspere in Tr. and Cressida (act
ii., sc. iii., 1. 213) uses it as a verb in the sense of to strike: “If I go
to him, with my armed fist Vllpash him o'er the face." It is similarly
used by Langland in P. Plowman, Text A., v. 1 6, B. xx. 99, and by North in
his translation of Plutarch.
WAUGH. "Fine weather for yung ducks," said Ben. "It's
l867 ' come'n wi' a gradely pash this time. Aw'm wringin'
weet." Owd Blanket, c. iii., p. 52.
PAYSHUN-DOCK, sb. patience-dock or passion-dock; called also poor-man's
cabbage.
WAUGH. Gathering on their way edible herbs, such as "jbayskun- 18551
docks," and “green-sauce," to put in their broth.
Lane. Sketches: Cottage of Tim Bobbin, p. 50.
PEART, adj. cheerful, lively, smart, self-confident. This word in its
provincial sense is a curious variation on the literary meaning of pert.
WAUGH. He walks by me i'th street as peart as a pynot, an'
l86 7$ “never cheeps. But he's no 'casion.
Home Life of Factory Folk, c. xi., p. 106.
COLL. USE. (Applied to a baby. ) It's a little un, for sure, but it's
l88l> peart enough.
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(delwedd C3940) (tudalen 211)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 211
PEA-SWAD, sb. the hull or husk of a pea.
WAUGH. He wur badly clemmed. I've sin him pike peigh- l879 ' swads out o' th'
swillin'-tub mony a time.
Chimney Corner, p. 225.
PEAWK or \ sb. a small boil or swelling resulting from inflammation, POUK, J
a pimple. A. S./^, a pustule.
COLL. USE. He does na need to mak sich a greyt to-do abeawt it;
[88l> it's nobbut a bit of a peawk.
PEED (Cartmel), adj. blind of one eye.
PEEDLE (Cartmel), v. to look slyly about.
PEET-LARK, sb. the meadow-pipit or titlark. Anthus pratensis.
PEG, v. to walk; also to proceed with determination.
B. BRIERLEY. Nay," I said, “I'll trust yo' no furr, I'll pegit."
An'
9 ' I did peg it; an' a weary treaunce it wur.
Ab-d'-tK'- Yate in London, p. 80.
PEGGY, sb. a wooden instrument used in the washing of clothes.
B. BRIERLEY. How well she looked at a tub how dexterously she
1860. twisted her fat arms about when plying the “peggy."
Tales of Lane. Life: Traddlepin Fold, p. 144.
PEG-LEG, sb. a wooden leg.
W AUGH. When Billy heard the sound of Body's wood leg upon
the kitchen floor, he looked down at it very earnestly, and then turning to
Ben he said, “Dad, he's getten a table-leg." “Theer, Dody," said
the landlady, laughing, "it's thy turn this time. Thae'd better tak that
peg-leg o' thine eawt o' sect, or else he'll be at it again."
Sneck-Bant, c. iv., p. 91. PEIGHL, sb. hurry.
WAUGH. “Twelve o'clock's my time," said Ben, "an 5 it wants
I86 9$ an hour yet." “Well, then," said the fiddler, “thae'rt
i' no peighL So come an' sit tho deawn."
Yeth-Bobs, c. i., p. 17.
PELT, sb. speed, rate.
WAUGH. Now then, Bob, doesto yer? Wheer arto for at sich a
l8?9$ pelt?
PEN-FED (N. Lane.), adj. stall-fed.
PENK, v. to strike a small blow; also to work ineffectually, to make a feeble
attempt.
WAUGH. J u dd nipt up a knobstick, an' began a weltin' at th'
l875 ' seek as he said, to penk th' dust out on't a bit.
Old Cronies, c. iv., p. 46.
IBID. Two foos, stonnin' up, an' penkirf at one another's
l8 79$ faces, like a couple o' nailmakers.
Chimney Corner, p. 154.
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(delwedd C3941) (tudalen 212)
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212 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
PENKLE, v. to trifle; to waste time on things of small consequence. See PENK.
B. BRIERLEY. If they'd lemmi goo to ther heawse neaw an' agen, an'
l868< be a brother to \&tpenklirf abeawt th' heawse an'
garden, an' doin' bits o' jobs for 'em aw could be content. Irkdale, c. ii.,
p. IO2.
PENNORTH, sb. a penny's worth.
PERCH (Lytham), sb. a pole surmounted by a barrel and set up to mark a shoal.
PERRY, v. to scatter money or other objects amongst a crowd.
THORNBER. At the church-door, an idle crowd was always ready
l837 ' for the "perry" i.e., to contest for the scattered half-
pence. History of Blackpool, c. iv., p. 97.
PESTIL, sb. the shank of a ham.
COLLIER. Hoo browt meh some hog-mutton, an' as prime veeol
I75 “an' pestil as need be toucht. Works, p. 53.
PETTLE (Cartmel), v. to coax; also to play with. PEYL, v. to beat severely.
B. BRIERLEY. Eawt we tumbled, th' owd woman o' th' top o' me,
l869 ' palirf me abeaut th' yead wi' her empty reticule.
Ab-tf-tW-Yate in London, p. 12.
Miss LAHEE. Aw'd getten Bob deawn, an' wur peylin him i' gradely
l87 - Lancashire style. Owd Yem, p. 7.
PICKIN'~ROD 1 Sb ' a wooden rod or h . andle ty which the shuttle
PICKIN'-STICK, I is thrown in weavin S'
WAUGH. He're straight as ovy^pickin'-rod,
l8s 9$ An' limber as a snig. Lane. Songs: Chirrup.
IBID. When the horn sounded, the weaver lads used to let
l8ss> go their pic kin' -pegs, roll up their aprons, and follow the
chase afoot.
Lane. Sketches: Rochdale to Blackstone Edge, p. 127.
PICKLE, sb. a condition of difficulty or disgrace; confusion. COLL. USE.
Tha's getten into a bonny pickle this toime, lad.
PICKS (Cartmel), sb.pl. diamonds at cards. See PIP (3), a spot on cards, in
Skeat's Etym. Diet.
PIECE, sb. a recitation.
COLL. USE. "What are yo for neaw?" "We're gooin' a-sayin'
l88l> pieces at schoo'."
PIECE-POKE (Eccles), sb. a weaver's work-bag.
PIG, v. to crowd together.
COLL. USE. They tisr o' of a rook i' one room.
1881. J “ 6
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(delwedd C3942) (tudalen 213)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 213
PIGGIN, sb. a small wooden pail. VJ.picyn.
WAUGH. I'll have a penk at her piggiri, if I have to pay for th'
garthin' on't." Chimney Corner; p. 154.
PIGNUT, sb. the earth-nut. Bunium flexiosum.
SHAKSPERE. I w ith my long nails will dig thee pignuts.
Tempest, ii. ii. 172.
PIKE, 0. to choose, to select; also to pick one's way; to gather one's-self
together. A word of peculiar use, for which it is difficult to find a
literary synonym.
WAUGH. When we'n getten fairly off, thae mun lock th' durs,
5 ' an' pike eawt at th' back after us as nicely as thae con.
Besom Ben, c. iii., p. 34.
B. BRIERLEY. That wur enoogh, for they piked thersel's off.
Ab-d-ttt-Yate in London, p. 12.
WAUGH. If I had ony company, I'd pike somebry 'at wur some
bit like daycent. Chimney Corner, p. 155.
PIKE-FORK, sb. a pitch-fork.
WAUGH. Aw tell yo what, maister, yo're gettin new things fast!
1869. Posies an' o'! Eh, dear! there'll be no touchin' yo wi'
a pike-fork in a bit. Yeth-Bobs, c. i., p. 8.
PIKEIN', sb. picking, gathering, getting.
WAUGH. It's thin pikeirf for poor folk just neaw.
l867 ' Home Life of the Factory Folk, c. ii., p. 21.
PIKEL, sb. a pitchfork; a hay-fork.
B. BRIERLEY. Her clooas same as if they'd bin tossed on her back
l8 7$ wi' z.pikeLAb-j-tW- Yate on Times and Things, p. 38.
PIKELET (gen.), ) sb. a kind of thin cake or muffin; in Scot- PIKELIN
(Cartmel), j land called a scone.
PIKETHANK (Cartmel), sb. a hanger-on.
PILDER, v. to wither, to shrivel.
B. BRIERLEY. [Hoo] had waited for a fine husbant till hoo're as
l8 7$ pildert as an owd apple ut's been tumblet abeawt in a
drawer a year or two.
Ab-tf-tW- Yate on Times and Things, p. 36.
PILGARLICK, sb. a term used to describe a pitiable or distressed person.
COLL. USE. He's a poor pilgarlick as ever crept upo' two legs.
1 88 1.
PILL-GILL (Cartmel), sb. a raree show or any kind of itinerant or public
entertainment.
PINCER, v. to pince with pincers metaphorically to torment, to harass.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw should be soory for anybody ut were pincert wi'
1868. two [ w ives] at once't. Irkdale, c. xii., p. 192.
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(delwedd C3943) (tudalen 214)
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214 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
FINDER, v. to burn, to over-roast meat.
COLL. USE. Nay, tha mun tak that back; aw'st ate none on it;
it's pindeSt to a cinder.
PINGOT T> } ^' a sma11 inclosure ofland - COLLIER. A tailor wur thrung
pooin' turmits in his pingot.
Works, p. 37.
PINAFORE, \ sb. a large linen apron worn by childen and used as PINNER, [ a
covering for the ordinary clothes. See BISHOP, PINNY, J ante, p. 40.
THOMAS HARDY. Honest travelling have been so rascally abused since I
18761 was a boy in pinners. Hand of Ethelberta, chap. xlvi.
PINS-AND-NEEDLES, sb. the sensation of pricking felt in the limbs when the
circulation is stopped.
PISSABED, sb. the dandelion flower.
PISMOTE, sb. an ant. Cf. A.S. mcffia, a maggot, a bug.
PITCH- AN'-TOSS, sb. a game played with coins, a form of gambling.
BAMFORD. There's a deal o' sin committed thereabeawts; pitchiri
l8s9 ' an' tossin\ an' drinkin', an' beawlin', i' Summer time."
Early Days, p. 169. PLACE, sb. occupation, work.
COLL. USE. He's lost his place." "What for?" "Fuddlin'
I88z - again."
PLANTIN', sb. a plantation.
PLAYIN', part, being out of work.
COLL. USE. Aye, they're in a bad way, poor childer thur fayther's
l88l> been playin” for nearly a twelvemonth.
PLECK, sb. a place. The A.S. plac, cited by Mr. Gaskell in the passage quoted
below, is only found in the O. Northumbrian version of Matt. vi. 5. See PATCH
(i) in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
COLLIER. He cudno be i' two plecks at one time, yo known.
v” - Works, p. 65.
REV. W. GASKELL. Instead of “place," the old Anglo-Saxon word//<2 is
l8 S4$ still used unchanged. I have heard of a raw recruit from
this neighbourhood, who, in his first battle, as soon as
the firing began, cried out, "I say, Cap'n, yo mun move
us from this //<?<:, or we's some on us be hurt!"
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 19.
B. BRIERLEY. Owd Tummy Trotter creepin' abeawt th' pleck, wi' a
l86 9$ roll o summat in his hont.
Red Windows Hall, c. v., p. 38.
PLOG, v. to plug, to close. Gaelic ploc. See PLUG in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
WAUGH. Sit tho still; an' plog thi ears up!
l879> Chimney Corner, p. 151.
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(delwedd C3944) (tudalen 215)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 215
PLUCK, sb. the lungs of a sheep, cow, or other animal. PLUG, v. to pull the
hair, to lug.
POBBIES, ) sb. a child's dish of bread and warm milk. Welsh pobi FOBS, ) to
bake.
REV. W. GASKELL. The word generally used by Lancashire people for
young children's food, bread soaked in milk or water by the fire, is
“pobs" or "pobbies;" and the most probable derivation of this
which I have been able to find is from the Welsh pob t which means a baking;
pobi being to bake or roast. Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 9.
LAYCOCK. Toimes are bad;
1866. We're short o' pobbies for eawr Joe,
But that, of course, tha didn't know, Did ta, lad?
Lane. Songs: Welcome, Bonny Brid. POCK-ARR, sb. a pock-mark.
POD (Ormskirk), v. to sulk.
PODGY, adj. stout and of short stature.
POLLYWOG (Preston), sb. a tadpole.
POOT, sb. a young hen just ready for or beginning to lay. Applied
metaphorically also to a young, inexperienced person. Poot = poult. See POULT
in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw'm nobbut a poot yet, an' happen a bit gawmless.
Irkdale, c. ii., p. 102.
PORRIDGE-STICK, sb. a piece of hard wood, used for stirring oat-meal porridge
in the pan.
POSSET, sb. a warm drink, usually made of milk and ale.
WAUGH. The country people in Lancashire have great faith in
l8ss ' simples, and in simple treatment for their diseases. One
of their receipts for a common cold is “a whot churn-milk posset, weel
sweet'nt, an' a traycle cake to't, at bedtime." Lane. Sketches: Bury to
Rochdale, p. 22.
POSSET, sb. the flower of the meadow-sweet.
WAUGH. That tall, white flower, which country folk call
l8 55$ "posset," spread out its curdy top among the elegant
summer grasses.
Lane. Sketches: Hey wood and Neighbourhood, p. 163.
POST-AND-PATRIL WALL (Ormskirk), sb. a mud wall.
POSY, sb. any single flower; not a bunch of flowers, as in literary English.
Clock-posy is the flower of the dandelion.
COLL. USE. What a pratty posy tha's getten. What is it?"
l88l> "Oh, it's nobbut a woild un a bit o' honeysuckle 'at
aw geet i' th' cloof."
POT-BO' (pot-ball), sb. a dumpling.
COLLIER. What wofo' times are theese!
17”0. Pot-baws are scant, an' dear is seawl an' cheese.
Works, p. 33.
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(delwedd C3945) (tudalen 216)
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2l6 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
POTE, v. to push with the feet. A variation of poke. See POKE (2) in Skeat's
Etym. Diet.
B. BRIERLEY. A choilt looks forrad when it potes i' th' gooin-cheear,
l8 7$ an' feels itsel' gettin' o'er th' floor for th' fust time.
Ab-(?-tti- Yate on Times and Things, p. 80.
WAUGH. I've had th' young' st lass sleepin' wi' mo, an' th' little
l8 79$ thing potes clooas off i' th' neet-time.
Chimney Corner, p. 143.
POT-MARJORAM, sb. a savoury herb used to season broth.
POTTER, v. to make a feeble attempt; to meddle and muddle; to vex, puzzle,
confuse, or perplex. A frequentative form of pote. Old Dutch poteren, “to
search one throughly," from the notion of poking a stick into every
corner. See POTHER and POTTER in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
BAMFORD, It wur as mitch a wagtail as theaw'rt a dagtail, an'
l8 4$ theaw'd be pottert if onybody co'd the' so.
Life of a Radical, vol. i., p. 134.
REV. W. GASKELL. There are many forms of speech and peculiarities of
l8 54$ pronunciation in Lancashire, that would sound strange,
and, to use a Lancashire expression, “potter" a Southern. Lect. Lane.
Dialect, p. 13.
IBID. When a Lancashire man is a little vexed or excited,
he says he's "pottert," and “it's enough for't potter ony men's
plucks." I do not know any Anglo-Saxon word from which this can come;
but the Dutch poteren, to stir, yields a not inappropriate meaning. Ibid., p.
27.
LAYCOCK. An' aw felt rarely potter 1 d at th' trick aw'd bin sarved.
1866 - Lane. Songs: John Booth an' th? Vicar.
WAUGH. Thou's bin a long time potterirf about yon stables.
Whatever hasto bin doin'? Hermit Cobbler, p. 24.
POTTER-OUT, v. to pay, to deliver.
COLL. USE. Come, potter-out thi brass tha's had it, an' tha mun
pay for't.
POW, v. pron. of poll; to cut the hair.
RAMSBOTTOM. Aw had t' begin an' shave mysel',
18641 An' get mi wife to pow my yure.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 47.
WAUGH. The mother, seeing us laugh at the lads, said, ' ' That
186 7$ big un's been powiif tother, an' th' little monkey's gone an' cut
every smite o' th' lad's toppin' off."
Home Life of Factory Folk, c. xx., p. 177.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw'd ate my yed, an' have \\.powd tf purpose.
1868. Irkdale, c. iv., p. iiS.
POWFAG, v. to tire.
POWFAGGED, part, wearied, worn out, distressed.
COLL. USE. "Joe, tha looks terribly poivfagg 1 d." "Aye, aw'Ve
l88l- been wanderin' abeawt seechin' for wark for weeks."
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(delwedd C3946) (tudalen 217)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
217
POWLER, v. to live in a state of exigency and vicissitude; to go about in a
shiftless or confused way.
Wi' mich poivlerin 1 I geet eawt o' th' poo.
Works, p. 69.
A person who leaves his work and goes spreeing and fuddling about the country
is said to “\xpowkrt9f “A rambling, unsettled, dissipated person is said to”
powler through the country." The hooters, shouters, clappers, and other
noisy rabble described by Tim Bobbin at the Eawl-takin' were powlerers. MS.
Glossary \ p. I39a.
Billy an' th' wife wur powlerin 1 abeawt i' th' dark. Sneck-Bant, c. ii., p.
37.
POWLERT, part, distressed, broken down, impoverished.
BAMFORD. He's sadly powlert. He's bin off a week an' has comn
1843$ whoam quite powlert. MS. Glossary, p. 1393.
COLLIER. 1750.
BAMFORD. 1843.
WAUGH. 1868.
POWSE, POWSEMENT dirty child.
COLLIER. 1750-
REV.W. GASKELL. 1854.
| sb. something worthless, waste, rubbish; often , ) applied metaphorically
to a mischievous or
WAUGH. 1867.
IBID. 1867.
I'd scorn t' touch sich powsments wi' tungs.
Works, p. 33.
A strong and expressive word, as many of these are in the mouths of the
Lancashire people, is “powse," denoting dirt that is thrown out,
generally into a heap; and as a term of contempt applied to a person, though
in that case it is more frequently converted into “powsement" or “pow
scdurt" The only origin which I have been able to discover of this word
is the Welsh pws, which means what is expelled or rejected, refuse. This
agrees very closely with the Lancashire signification. Led. Lane. Dialect, p.
n.
“' Come," said the mother, “yo two are makin' a nice floor for mo. . .
Go thi ways, an' dry thisel', thae little pause, thae."
Home Life of Factory Folk, c. xx., p. 178.
Neaw, Sammul, thaew'll ha' that pot upo' th' floor eenneaw thae
\it\\Qpotisement, thae! Do keep eawt o' mischief. Ibid., c. xix., p. 165.
POVVSE-DIRT, sb. a worthless person.
WAUGH. Ger off my dur-stone, aw tell yo! Yo'r a pouse-dirt
l86 7$ o' somebory's! Aw'll not have him lad [led] off wi'
noan sich like wastrels. Owd Blanket, c. i., p. 10.
PREASE (Cartmel), v. to invite.
PRIAL, sb. three, a trio, i.e. pair-royal. See PRIAL in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
WAUGH. He closed the door upon the merry prial of conspira- l86 5$ tors.
Besom Ben, c. vi. , p. 82.
PRICKET (Ormskirk), sb. six sheaves of corn.
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(delwedd C3947) (tudalen 218)
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2l8 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
PRICK-METE, adv. neither more nor less; exactly the complement or measurement
of anything.
WAUGH. Their mother's just prick-mete their dur-hole full, to an
18691 inch; an' hoo has to bend deawn, and come eawt side- ways. Yeth-Bobs,
c. iii., p. 45.
PRIMILY, adv. excellently.
PRISON-BARS, sb. a rustic game, in which the players on each side run after
each other and wait their turn in enclosures called prisons.
PRITTLE-PRATTLE, sb. small talk; also childish conversation.
PHILLIP STUBBES. Prittle-prattle and tittle-tattle, the evils of 'em.
J 53' Anatomy of the Abuses in England, pt. i., p. 93,
PROD, v. to poke, to prick, to stab.
PROUD-FLESH, sb. diseased flesh surrounding a wound.
PRO WEN, ) sb. food, provender. Shakspere in Coriolanus (act ii., PRO WIN, }
sc. i., 1. 267) has provand '.- - Camels in the war, who have their provand Only
for bearing burdens.
Prof. Skeat, in his Etym. Diet., Art. Provender, says the final r is an
English addition, just as in lavender. Shakspere's provand is, strictly, the
better form of the word.
COLLIER. Theaw may sleep if t'l lay th' proven ready.
Works, p. 67.
JOHN SCHOLES. Awl giv onybody leeov to pack mi i barrels fur winter
l8s7 ' proven. Jaunt to see th? Queen, p. 46.
PROWSE, v. to stir.
WAUGH. By th' mon, it has prowst my inside up to some
l86s> guage. Sexton's Story, p. 14.
PROWT, sb. worthless, trumpery stuff; rubbish.
WAUGH. It's my own brewin', and there's no mak o' preawt
in it. Tattlirf Matty, p. 14.
B. BRIERLEY. Factories an' railroads, an' o' sich ne'er-do-good proiut.
Irkdale, c. i., p. 7. PULLEN, sb.pl. poultry.
WAUGH. This wur his buttery, wheer he kept pullen, an' gam,
18551 an' sich like.
Lane. Sketches: Cottage of Tim Bobbin, p. 54.
PUMMER, sb. anything very large.
WAUGH. "Well," said Ben, "aw'll just taste wi' tho. Hello!
there's no quart here, Enoch!" "Well; aw nobbut had one poo [pull]
at it, but it wur a pummer, owd lad; for aw wur as dry as soot."
Besom Ben, c. iii., p. 31.
IBID. "Lumps!" said Ben; "Ay, an' ptimmers too, some
l868 - on 'em." Sneck-Bant, c. ii., p. 30.
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(delwedd C3948) (tudalen 219)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 2 19
PUNCE, v. to kick. The same as M.E, bunsen. See BOUNCE in Skeat's Etym. Diet.
BAMFORD. Iv th' dur wurno oppent when he coom, he'd ha punst
18401 it oppen. Life of a Radical, vol. i., p. 134.
WAUGH. Nawe! lev th' dur oppen, or else he'll punce it in.
l855 ' Lane. Sketches: Heywood and Neighbourhood, p. 183.
IBID. . Iv awd been at th' back o' that chap, aw could ha'
l86 7$ punce't him, see yo!
Home Life of Factory Folk, c. xi., p. 106.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw've a good mind to gie thi shins & punce, an' see if
that'll rooze thee. Fratchingtons, p. 55.
PURR, v. to kick. Gaelic purr, to push, thrust, drive. See PORE (2) in Skeat's
Etym. Diet.
COLL. USE. Howd! (hold) tha munnot/wr him when he's deawn.
PUSH, sb. energy,, determination.
COLL. USE. He'll never make nowt on it he's no push in him.
1881.
PUTTIN'-ON, sb. a makeshift.
WAUGH. I thought it would be a bit of a puttin-on, till to-morn.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 99.
PUT-TO, v. tried, perplexed.
COLL. USE. He wur hard put-to, poor lad, to make ony sort of a
l88l.
sb. a magpie.
PYANET (N. Lane.), ] PYNART (S. Lane.), PYNOT (general), PYOT (Cartmel),
COLLIER. Tim. I saigh [saw] two rott'n pynot”.
“75' Mary. That wur a sign o' bad fortin, for I yerd meh
gronny say hoo'd as lief ha' seen two Owd Harrys as two pynots. Works, p. 50.
WAUGH. He walks by me i'th street as peart as &pynot.
l86 7$ Home Life of Factory Folk, c. xi., p. 106.
EDWARD KIRK. The magpie, locally called a “fynet," still crosses
your path, when you correct its forebodings by making a cross with your foot
on the ground, and repeat
One for anger, two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, and four for death.
Papers of Manchester Literary Club, vol. i. Art.:
A Nook of North Lancashire, p. 109. PYANOT, sb. the peony.
PYTCH, sb. a hive for bees. Probably cognate with "pitch" of a
roof, or "pitch" a covering of anything as a defence against
weather. A breakwater is said to be "pitched" with stones on the
surface.
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(delwedd C3949) (tudalen 220)
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22O LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
Q-
COLL. USE. They wanten us t' think ut they're qtiality-folk; but
they're nowt o'th soart, mon, not they.
QUARLES (Worsley), ) sb. pi. square, or rather diamond-shaped, QUARRELS, J
panes of glass in a latticed window.
QUELT, sb. a blow.
COLL. USE. He gan him a quelt at th' side of his yed ut nearly
l881 - knock'd him o'er.
QUERK, sb. a moulding in joinery. QUERK (N. Lane.), v. to cheat, to
over-reach.
QUERN (N. Lane.), sb. a hand-mill for grinding corn. A.S. cweorn; Icel.
kvern.
SHAKSPERE. Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern.
Mids. N. Dream, ii. i. 36,
QUEST, sb. an inquest.
Wh:
Unto the frowning judge?
SHAKSPERE. What lawful quest have given their verdict up
Unto the frowniner iudge?
Richard Third, i. iv. 1899.
IBID - "But is this law?" Ay, marry is't; crowner's quest
law. Hamlet, v. i. 23.
COLL. USE. Th' crunner's (coroner's) quest is sittin' o'er him to-day.
1001.
QUICK-STICKS, sb. a short space of time.
COLL. USE. Aw'll shift thee in quick-sticks, see if aw dunnot.
1881.
QUIET, v. to quaff, to tipple. QUIFTIN', part, quaffing.
QUIFTIN'-POT, sb. a half-gill.
COLLIER. Beside, there's two tumblers, three quiftin'-pots, an'
I75 ' four pipes masht. Works, p. 53.
WAUGH. Here, Betty, bring us a quart an' a quiftin'-pot.
Chimney Corner, p. 150.
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(delwedd C3950) (tudalen 221)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 221
OTTTT OT? 1
QUIT-ON, j com P und prep” without, delivered from.
COLL. USE. Han yo' getten quit-on him?" “Aye, he's gone at
last; but he were a hard un to shift."
QUOCK (Fylde), v. to vomit.
QUOCK, }
QUOKE, J v ' go a ' sheann g or harvesting from home.
QUOCKER, sb. one who goes harvesting to a distance.
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(delwedd C3951) (tudalen 222)
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222 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
R.
RABBLEMENT, sb. a crowd of disorderly folk; a mob.
SPENSER. And after all the raskall many ran,
1590- Heaped together in rude rablement.
F. Queene, canto xii., st. g.
SHAKSPERE. Still as he refused it the rdbbkment hooted.
l6oo< J. Casar, i. ii. 245.
COLLIER. Donned mo like a meawntybank's foo, to mey [makej
I750< th' rabblement fun. Works, p. xxxvi.
WAUGH. Aw don't want to be a show for ony mak o' rabblement
'at happens to be i' th' tap-reawm. Sneek-Bant, p. 88.
RABBLETY, sb. a small rabble or crowd.
RACKAN-HOOK, ) sb. a hook placed in the chimney so that it REG KIN-HOOK, J
can be swung over the fire, and intended to hold a pot or kettle. Applied
figuratively to an idle, lazy fellow,, who prefers sitting in the chimney
corner to working. [See Reek-airn in Atkinson's Cleveland Glossary. The
suggestion there made, that reckin or rackan stands for reek-airn, i.e. reek-
iron or smoke-iron, is a very plausible solution of a difficult word. W. W.
S.]
WAUGH. An' then we sang glees,
Till th' rack-an' -hook rung. Old Cronies, p. 54,
IBID - Thou'rt too idle to make ony brass for thisel' thou
l879 ' kmngin' rack-an'-hook an' if onybody else con make
ony, thou'll make it away for 'em.
Chimney Corner \ p. 152.
RACKETTY, adj. careless, thoughtless.
WAUGH. That's another racketty slotch!
Chimney Corner, p. 155.
RACKLE, adj. reckless - f also hasty, rash. M.E. rakel, rash. See Chaucer's
Maunciple's Tale, lines 174 and 235. This rakel is the word which was
afterwards corrupted into rake-hell.
WAUGH. Qwd Tip's th' better chap i' th' bottom, iv he be a bit
raekle. Owd Blanket, c. iv., p. 89.
IBID - "Is there ony news o' that raekle brother o' thine?"
"Ay." “What's he doin'?" “He's wrostlin' th' champion." '
“What champion?” ' “Drink.”
Hermit Cobbler, p. 29.
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(delwedd C3952) (tudalen 223)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 223
RACKLESOME, adj. reckless.
WAUGH. Hoo're as hondsome a filly as mortal e'er see'd,
7S ' Bui hoo coom of a racklesome, .natterin' breed.
Owd Cronies, p. 50. RACK-O'-MUTTON, sb. a saddle of mutton.
RAD (Fylde), adj. loosely knit.
RADDLE, v. to thrash, to beat i.e. to thrash with a rod j from rod rod.
WAUGH. They raddtit my bwons to some tune, I can tell tho';
an' that's how I geet these lumps upo' my yed.
Chimney Comer, p. 173.
RADDLE-AN'-DAUB, sb. a material anciently used for building, and consisting
of stones and wood, mixed with mud or plaster; or of twigs and plaster only.
Raddle = little rod; dimin. of rad.
RADDLIN, sb. wicker work on which plaster is laid.
RADLINS, sb.pl. hazel or other twigs used for laying plaster upon.
RAG, sb. hoar frost.
RAGAMUFFIN, sb. a disreputable and ill-clothed person. See note to P.
Plowman, Text C, xxi. 283, where Ragamoffin occurs as the name of a demon.
SHAKSPERE. I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered.
'597$ j Henry fo, v . iy 36.
RAGGED-ROBIN, sb. the meadow-lychnis. Lychnis flos-cuculi.
TENNYSON. The Prince
l8 59$ Hath pick'd a ragged-robin from the hedge.
Enid, 1. 724.
RAGGOT, sb. a rough, disorderly person; a ragged vagabond. RAGGOTIN”, part,
rambling about; living in a disorderly way.
RAGGY, adj. broken and stormy.
WAUGH. There's bin so mich raggy weather upo' th' moors that
l879 ' there's bin a great lot o' sheep lost.
Chimney Corner, p. 376.
RAITHER-OF-OATHER, adv. almost; equivalent to the phrase” on the whole."
WAUGH. Owd Mary '11 be turn't three-score; an' I think her
l879 ' husban' would be raither-of-oather th' owder o' th' two.
Chimney Corner, p. 146.
RAKE, v. to cover or heap up a fire with coals or cinders in order to keep it
alive.
COLL. USE. We mun ha' this foire raked afore we goo to bed there
l88l< '11 be no toime to leet it i' th' morn.
RAM, \ adj. strong-scented, offensive to taste or smell. Icel. RAMMY, j ramr.
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(delwedd C3953) (tudalen 224)
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224 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
RAM-BAZZ, adv. suddenly and with great force. Cf. RAM-JAM.
WAUGH. As owd Ben wur waddlin' whoam fuddle't, one winter
l879> neet, he coom ram-bazz again th' gate post, an' down he
went. Chimney Corner, p. 276.
RAMBLIN', adj. loose, talkative, untrustworthy.
COLL. USE. Never heed him: he's a rambliri soart of a chap.
1881.
RAM-JAM, adv. tightly packed, superlatively full.
WAUGH. Aw geet ram-jam into th' middle.
l8 79” Chimney Corner, p. 40.
IBID. If I wur ramjam full o' sixpences, I shouldn't feel
comfortable. Ibid., p. 46.
RAMPAGE, sb. a loose, disorderly, or riotous condition.
COLL. USE. Owd Ned's on the rampage again drunk from mornin'
1881. till neet>
RAMPS (N. Lane.), sb. wild onions, Allium ursinum. Short for ramsons.
RAMSHACKLE, adj. disjointed, dilapidated. Icel. ramskakkr.
COLL. USE, Aw'st trust none o' my bones i' that ramshackle con- l88lt sarn
its haaf i' pieces a'ready. [Alluding to an old and
broken-down carriage.]
RAN-TAN, sb. a loud noise or knocking.
COLL. USE. What's yon' ran-tan at th' dur [door]?
RAPSCALLION, sb. a wild and reckless person.
COLL. USB. What a rapscallion thou art! When wilt'a sattle deawn
I88x - an' be quiet?
RASCOT, sb. a rascal.
COLLIER. This mays [makes] me neaw, to cross these rascofs ends,
1750. jo send agen to my ow j trusty friends.
Works, p. xxxiii. RASPS, sb. pi. raspberries.
LORD BACON. In May and June come Rasps.
“ 597 ' Essay 4.6: Of Gardens.
JOHN PHILIPS. Now with the Corinths, now the Rasps supply
I 7 8 - Delicious Draughts. Cyder: A Poem.
COLL. USE. Goo into th' garden an' get a twothree rasps there's
plenty on 'em ripe.
RATCH, v. to stretch, to extend; figuratively to exaggerate. Lowland Scotch
rax.
WAUGH. I think thoose that chatter'n so mich mun ratch a bit.
l8? 6 - Hermit Cobbler, p. 66.
RATCH, sb. the space in a loom betwixt the yarn-beam and the healds.
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(delwedd C3954) (tudalen 225)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 225
RATEY (Rossendale), adj. rough; applied to the weather.
RATTON, ) sb. a rat. Icel. rotta, which is, however, a borrowed ROTTON, j
word from F. or Low Latin. M.E. ratoun, O. Fr. ratoun, from Low L. ratonem^
ace. of rate, a rat.
WAUGH. A sharper, seawnder set o' dog-teeth never snapt at a
ration! Lane. Sketches, p. 80.
RAW-HEAD, sb. a term of horror, used to frighten children. Probably the
monumental skull in connection with the cross-bones.
COLL. USE. Husht! go to sleep raw-head an' bloody-bones '11
l881 ' fetch thee.
RAWKY (N. Lane.), adj. damp, foggy. Roky in Norfolk; the same as reeky.
RAYLEE, adv. pronun. of really.
WAUGH. Raylee o' me, Matty, I dunnot like takkin' it.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 144.
READ, v. to perceive, to make out, to understand. A common Lancashire saying
among old folks is “Aw con read that as ne'er wur printed."
WAUGH. “Are they for gettin' their baggin' up yon, thinksto?
1867. They're seechin' summat, bith look on 'em." "Nay,"
replied the other, "aw connot read yon."
Dulesgate, p. 29.
REAR AN' FERRIN (Fylde), sb. the ridge and furrow in a field.
REAWK, v. to get together; to associate; to spend time in idle gossip in
neighbours' houses. See ROOK, sb.
REAWLY, adj. sleepy, unwashed.
RECKLIN, \ sb. the last of a litter, which is generally the smallest;
RICKLIN, ) the youngest of a family or brood. Icel. reklingr.
REDDY, v. to prepare, to set right; also to comb or straighten, applied to
the hair. A corruption of Lowland Scotch red, which is allied to Icel. ryfya,
to clear, and to E. rid. Turned into ready or reddy by a popular etymology.
WAUGH. Come in, an' sit tho deawn while eawr lasses getten
yon kitchen readied”, bit. Owd Blanket, c. iii., p. 53.
IBID. Here; tak howd o' this horn, an' ready thi yure a bit.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 168.
REDDYIN'-COMB, sb. a comb for the hair.
RED-RADDLE, sb. soft fibrous iron ore, used for marking sheep. Raddle -
ruddle, i.e. red stuff. Red-raddle is tautological.
RED-ROBIN, sb. the redbreast.
RED-SHANK, sb. a bird, Scolopax calidris; applied figuratively and
contemptuously to any bare or red-legged person. It has been
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(delwedd C3955) (tudalen 226)
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226 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
commonly used in Lancashire ever since the retreat of the bare-legged Scotch
rebels in 1745.
WAUGH. Dody felt at his axe, an' he said, "Thou young foo';
18591 Thou'lt get a rare twiltin' for stoppin' fro' schoo';
Hie tho' off like a red-shank, or th' dur may be teen'd," An' he gan him
a bit of a lifter beheend.
Lane. Songs: Grindlestone. REEAM, sb. cream. Icel. rjbmi.
COLLIER. Estid o' hittin' me, it hit th' reeam-mug ot stood o' th'
17501 hob, an keyvt aw th' reeam into th' foyar . Works, p. 66.
REE AM IN', part, foaming.
REECH, sb. smoke. A.S. rec. Cf. Scotch reek.
WAUGH. Neaw, win yo have a reech o' bacco?
Lane. Sketches, p. 53.
IBID. This is th' reet mak of a country for takkin' th' white
l8 79$ out o' yo'r shirts. There's bin nought nobbut reech an'
rain sin' I coom. Chimney Corner, p. 251.
REECH, v. to emit smoke or steam.
WAUGH. Afore lung my clooas began'o' reechin 1 like a lime kil'.
l8?9$ Chimney Corner, p. I/O.
REELER, sb. a mill operative who winds yarn on to a large reel or barrel.
REE-SUPPER, sb. a second supper.
REESTY, adj. rusted or discoloured; also applied to bacon which has become
strong and rancid.
RENDER, v. to melt.
RICKIN', part, making a noise; also scolding.
WAUGH. Awve plenty o' brass, mon," said Tip, rickin abeawt
l86 7$ four-pen'oth o' copper in his pocket.
Owd Blanket, c. iv., p. 86. RICKLE, v. to make a noise, to chatter.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw con tell him by th' rickle of his clog buckles.
l86 7$ Marlocks of Merriton, p. 26.
RICKLIN, sb. gambling. Ricklirf-?-tW-hat, shaking pence in a hat.
RID, v. to separate. Icel. ryftja, to clear, to rid; all one with Mod. E.
rid.
RIF-RAF, sb. worthless odds and ends; the residuum; low company.
COLL. USE. What a lot o' rif-raf we'n getten at this end now. It
used to be a quiet, daycent place.
RIFT, v. to belch. Icel. repta, pronounced refta.
RIGGIN, sb. the ridge of the roof.
WAUGH. Away he went on to th' riggin o' th' house, an' started
l8 79$ o' sweepin' like mad. Chimney Corner, p. 296.
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(delwedd C3956) (tudalen 227)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 227
RIGGOT, sb. a narrow channel, a gutter.
RINDLE, sb. a small stream or brook. A.S. rynel, a stream or runnel.
WAUGH. y on dainty rindles, dancin' deawn
Fro' meawntains into th' plain.
Lane. Songs: Au've worn my bits o 1 Shoon,
RIPPER, sb. a thoughtless dare-devil.
COLL. USE. He's a reg'lar ripper ready for owt i' th' way o'
1881 mischief.
RIPSTITCH, sb. a reckless person; literally, one who tears his clothes.
COLL. USE. What a ripstitch that lad is! If aw send him out i' th'
mornin' wi' his things o' reet an' tidy, he'll come back at neet like a
scarecrow.
RI WEN ) ^ ar “t0rn ' a ^ so fi ura ti ve ty> vexed, out of temper, angry.
WAUGH. A pratty sect he looked; his clooas wur rivven, and
daubed wi' slutch. Owd Blanket, c. iii., p. 64.
IBID. What's th' matter that thou'rt so rivven to-neet?
' l879 ' Chimney Comer, p. 255.
ROADY, adj. mixed; applied to bacon which has alternate layers of fat and
lean.
COLL. USE. Gi' me an egg an' a collop o' roady bacon that's the
l88l< sort of a breakfast for me.
ROBIN-RUN-I'-TH'-HEDGE, sb. the plant bedstraw. Gallium. ROB-MAWKIN, sb. a
scarecrow. See MAWKIN.
ROG, .v. to shake with a rattling din.
WA UGH. Well; what does he do, but starts &-roggiri at th' dur,
l867> as iv th' heawse wur a-fire.
Tattliri Matty, c. ii., p. 21.
IBID. Then he ragged at the door, and shouted “Hello!"
l86 7$ Oivd Blanket, c. i., p. 7.
ROM, v. to force with violence; to ram.
COLL. USE. Tha'll not rom that deawn my throat, aw con tell thi
l8&1 - i.e., you will not get me to accept or believe what you
say, however much persuasion you may use.
RONDLE, v. to pull the ears as a punishment. ROOK, sb. a heap, a number
together, a lot.
B. BRIERLEY. He'd be makkin' o' sorts o' marlocks wi' th' bed- lS68<
clooas an' cheears an' drawers tumblin' 'em o' of a rook
like an' owd goods shop. Irkdale, p. 47.
WAUGH. I've made fourpence, to-day, wi' gettin' a rook o' coals
l8 79$ in. Chimney Corner, p. 251.
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(delwedd C3957) (tudalen 228)
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228 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
ROOT, v. to search for anything by feeling with the fingers, or with a stick.
Icel. rota, to turn up ground, as a swine; to rout about.
WAUGH. "Wheer's mi purse?" said Jack, rootiri amung th'
slutch i' th' pig-pen. “Nay, thou doesn't need to root theer!" Chimney
Corner, p. 271.
ROOTIN', part. adj. meddlesome, inquisitive.
COLL. USE. He's a rootiri tootin' sort of a chap.
1881.
ROPS, sb. the bowels, intestines. A.S. roppas, the bowels, entrails. ROTTON,
sb. a rat. See RATTON.
ROUGH-SPUN, adj. coarse but honest.
COLL USE. He's a bit rough-spun; but he's o' reet.
1881.
RUBBIN'-STONE, sb. a small stone used for scouring and whitening the flagged
floors of cottages. "White sand an' rubbiri' '-stones for rags and
bones" was the cry formerly used by men who went about the country with
small carts or panniered asses, selling the sand and stones to the cottagers,
or exchanging them for rags and bones.
RUBBIN'-STOOP, sb. an upright pillar of stone or wood, set up in the pastures
for the cattle to rub themselves against.
WAUGH. Billy stons bi hissel' i' th' world, like th' rubbin '-stoop
lB?6 ' i' th' middle o' th' ten-acre feelt yon.
Hermit Cobbler; p. 1 8.
IBID - It's like shoutin' to a lot o' rubbiri -stoops in a moor-end
pastur! Chimney Corner; p. 361.
RUCK, sb. a heap, a lot. Another form of rook. RUD, adj. red.
RUN-A-BER, ) sb. a run to get a force, an impetus. Ber- Lowland RUNBER, j
Scotch beir, force, impetus.
B. BRIERLEY. On we went, as if th' train wur takkin a run-a-ber, an'
l869> wur gooin' to jump o'er Lunnon, an' land somewheer in
France. Ab-tf-th'-Yate in London, p. 10.
RUNAGATE, sb. an unattached person; one ready to run at any one's bidding. In
the Old English authors, Tyndale, Latimer, Raleigh, Shakspere, and Thomas
Fuller, the word means a fugitive, a runaway. A singular corruption, due to
popular etymology, of renegate, which occurs in Chaucer. See RENEGATE in
Skeat's Etym. Diet.
TYNDALE. A vagabond and a runagate shalt thou be in the earth.
J 57 8 - Genesis, iv. 12.
SHAKSPERE. Stanley: Richmond is on the seas.
K. Rich.: White-liver'd runagate, what doth he there? Richard Third, iv. iv.
464.
PRAYER BOOK. But the runagates continue in scarceness.
Psalms Ixviii. 6.
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(delwedd C3958) (tudalen 229)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 229
RUNT, sb. a dwarf; a stunted animal or tree. RUSH-BEARIN', sb. a Lancashire
rustic festival.
BAMFORD. The rush-bearing was the great feast of the year, and
was held on the anniversary of the dedication of the church. Early Days, p.
147.
HARLAND AND WILKINSON. The festival of rush-bearing does not always, however,
73> coincide with the feast of the dedication. At Altcar the
church is dedicated to St. Michael, September 29, yet the rush-bearing is
celebrated in July. Mr. Roby speaks of it as an unmeaning pageant still
practised in the northern and eastern parts of Lancashire, for the purpose of
levying contributions.
Legends and Trad, of Lancashire, p. no.
RUSH-BOWTS, sb. pi. sheaves of rushes used in making a rushcart. See
RUSH-CART.
BAMFORD. Others, again, are culling the finest of the rushes, and
1 59 ' making them into bowts. Early Days, p. 152.
RUSH-CART, sb. a cart trimmed with newly-cut rushes, and used at the festival
called Rush-bearing.
RUSHLEET, sb. a candle made of rush pith dipped in tallow; used also for any
small candle, and metaphorically for a feeble attempt or display.
COLL. USB. Come on wi' thi farthin'-myA/^/, an' let's see what
l881 - tha con do.
RUTE, sb. a hasty, violent determination; a fit of passion, a paroxysm of
anger.
BAMFORD. He went away in a great rhute.
l8 54$ Dial. S. Lane. p. 216.
RYEN, sb. a narrow channel or footpath. See RINDLE.
RYZEN, adj. twisted. Not the original sense. A.S. hris, brush-wood, small
twigs; M.E. rys, ris; prov. E, rice. A ryzen hedge is a hedge twisted with
hedge growth and stakes called stake and ether hedge in Wilts Glossary (E. D.
S.).
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(delwedd C3959) (tudalen 230)
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230 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
S.
SACK, v. to dismiss from work; also sb. dismissal.
COLL. USE. i. He sacked me straight off, bout (without) a word.
2. "Is yon lad eawt o' wark again?" "Aye, they gan him t' sack
a week sin'.”
SAD, adj. heavy, solid; mostly applied to bread which has not been
successfully leavened.
REV. W. GASKELL. When a pudding or paste, or any mixture of a similar
18541 kind, is made too thick, not sufficiently fluid, it is spoken
of as being too "sad." Such a meaning may perhaps be obtained from
the Anglo-Saxon sadian, to saturate; but I am disposed to think we get it
more directly from the Welsh word sad, which signifies “' firm;” sadiaw, to
make firm; just as the Lancashire people say of a mixture for a pudding
“sadden it a bit." Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 9.
[The A.S. sadian, verb, is a mere derivative of sad, adj., sated, satisfied,
firm; and the W. sad is merely borrowed from the same A.S. adjective. W. W.
S.]
SAFE, adj. sure, certain.
REV. W. GASKELL. J n Welsh sef signifies certain, and in Lancashire the
1 54> ordinary expression instead of "he is sure to do it," is,
“he is safe to do it," which is not quite the meaning of the word in
common English. Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. n.
SAID,/./, silenced, commanded.
COLL. USE. Be said, wilto, or aw'll knock thi deawn, tha young
1881.
whelp!
SAIN (N. Lane.), sb. lard, fat. M.E. saim (Stratmann); but also F. sain.
SAL (N. Lane.), v. shall.
SAND-KNOCKER, sb. a sand-grinder. This occupation was formerly much more common
in Lancashire than now, sand being more frequently used, not only for the
purpose of cleaning, but as a kind of ornament, and to preserve cleanliness.
After a floor had been washed, to "sand" it was almost the
universal custom.
WAUGH. There is a race of hereditary sand -sellers or “sond- knockers,"
in Smallbridge; a rough, mountain breed, who live by crushing sandstone rock,
for sale in the town of Rochdale and the villages about it. This sand is used
for strewing upon the flagged house-floor, when the floor has been clean
washed. Lane. Sketches, p. 130. SAP, sb. an apple.
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(delwedd C3960) (tudalen 231)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 231
IAP-SKULL, } (N< Lanc>) ' sb - a blockhead “> a soft > sill y P
erson - DR. BARBER. T' sapheead rooart owt for help. Forness Folk, p. 6.
SAPLESS, adj. foolish, witless.
SARK, sb. a shirt. Icel. serkr.
BURNS. There's some Azr-necks I wad draw tight.
J 7 86 ' The Cry and Prayer.
BAMFORD. An' if hat an' sark be drest. Early Days, p. 153.
SARKLESS, adj. shirtless.
SARRA (N. Lane.), v. to serve.
DR. BARBER. i' ve a lile pig, an' I went out ya day to sarra it.
Forness Folk, p. 60.
SATTLE, v. to settle, to sit down.
WAUGH. Come, Jamie, an' sattle thisel in a cheer.
l859 ' Lane. Songs: Jamie's Frolic.
SAUCE, v. to scold; also sb. blame, recrimination, impertinence. COLL. USE.
i. Hoo'll sauce thi weel for that, owd lad.
2. If tha 'd hit mo, an' gi' me less o' thi sauce, aw should be better
pleaz'd (pleased).
SAUP, ) , , . ,
SOPE, f “ a SU P' a drmk '
WAUGH. What '11 tho ha' to sup? A saup o' summat warm
1867. would be th' best, aw think. Owd Blanket, p. 57.
j Sup up, woman; an' have a saup moor. Ibid. , p. 6 1 .
SAUT-PYE, sb. a salt-box.
SAUT-PYE-BIGGIN', sb. a building slated only upon one side -(of the same
shape as a salt-box).
SAWGH, sb. a willow. A.S. sealh, cognate with (not derived from) Lat. salix.
SCALE, \ v. to stir, to root out, as, "Skail that fire” = root out the
SKAIL, } ashes.
WAUGH. Ben took up the poker to scale the ashes out of the
l866< firegrate. Ben an” th? Bantam, c. i., p. 14.
SCALLION, sb. a young onion, a shallot [O.F. escalogne; Lat. ascalonia, so
named from Ascalon in Philistia. W. W. S.]
B. BRIERLEY. I'd as lief have a buttercake an' a scallion as owt. If
l86 9' yo'n no scallions, a two-thri o' thoose tother yarbs ud do
as weel. Ab in London, p. 94.
SCAPLINS, sb.pl. stone chips, broken stones.
WAUGH. Robin favvurs a chap at's bin brought up o' yirth-bobs
l86 5$ an' scaplins. Barrel Organ, p. 18.
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(delwedd C3961) (tudalen 232)
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232 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SCAW (Ormskirk), sb. the scalp.
SCOANCE, \ sb. a lantern. [From O.F. escons, hidden, due to Lat.
SCONCE, j absconsus, used for absconditus, hidden. It hence meant any kind of
protection. The Du. schans, a fort, and Icel. skons, are merely borrowed from
O. French. The O. F. esconse, fern, of escons, occurs in the sense of a dark
lantern. W. W. S.]
COLLIER. It begun t' be dark, an' I'r beawt scoance in a strange
country. Works, p. 50.
SCOG, v. to argue, to dispute; also (Ormskirk) to tell ironical jokes.
SCOG, sb. a quarrel or dispute. Allied to shock.
WAUGH. Tummus wur too mony for her. Never a day passed
l879> but they'd a bit of a scog o' some mak.
Chimney Corner, p. 129.
SCOPPEREL, sb. a round flat piece of bone with a hole in the middle,
frequently made into a spinner or teetotum; also applied metaphorically to a
young rascal. Icel. skoppa, to spin like a top; skoppara-kringla, a top (the
toy).
WAUGH. Give o'er wuzzin up an' deawn th' floor. Thae turns
1866. me mazy, Thae'rt war [worse] nor a scopperil.
Ben art th? Bantam, p. 2 1 1.
DR. BARBER. T' wind fair-ly tuk me an' skirled me round like a
scopperel. Forness Folk, p. 60.
SCORRICK, sb. a fragment, a crumb.
COLL. USE. He ett (ate) it o' up in hauve o' minnit they 'r not a
l88x - scorrick laft.
SCOWBANK, v. to loiter in idleness; to hang about a place without an object.
COLL. USE. Come, tha mun shift thi shop; aw '11 not ha' thi scow- l88l>
bankirt abeawt here ony lunger.
SCRAN, sb. food, bread; sometimes refuse food.
WAUGH. Nat's bin out o' wark a good while; an' he's bin ill
put to't for a bit o' scran now an' then.
Chimney Corner, p. 116. SCRANNEL, ) , . SCRAMMIL,j^ alean P erson - MILTON.
Their lean and flashy songs
l637 ' Grate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw.
Lycidas, 123.
COLL. USE. He's a poor scrammil as ever crope on two legs.
1881.
SCRANNY, adj. poor, meagre, generally applied to food.
WAUGH. Hard wark, an' pitiful pay, an' poor scranny livin'.
Owd Blanket, c. iii., p. 71.
SCRAT, v. to scratch. Cf. Swed. kratta, to scrape.
B. BRIERLEY. Th' owd sweeper wur scrattirt away wi' his stump of
l869 ' a besom. Ab in London, p. 23.
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(delwedd C3962) (tudalen 233)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 233
SCRAT, sb. the devil; generally used with the adjective “owd” i.e. Owd Scrat.
SCRAUM, v. to scramble awkwardly.
B ' BR R 1 ERLEY- As I seed I'd no chance o' gettin' nowt beaut I helped
mysel', I scraumt howd of a hontful o' buttercakes.
Ab in London, p. 94.
SCRAUMIN, adj. large and straggling.
SCRAWL, sb. a mean or despicable person.
SHAKSPERE. By heaven, these scroyles of Anglers flout you.
K.John, ii. ii. 373.
COLL. USE. As mean a scrawl as yo '11 meet in a day's walk.
1881.
SCREED, sb. a shred, a fragment. A.S. scredde, a shred. SCREEVE, v. to froth
at the mouth, as in a fit.
SCRIMPED, ) adj. small, pinched. Mr. Blackmore in Christowell, SCRIMPY, j c.
45, says, “Dartmoor is not often scrimped
with drought." Cf. Lowl. Sc. scrimpit^ dwarfish; allied to
shrimp and shrink.
COLL. USE. He 'r a little scrimpy chap moor loike a choilt than a
l881 - mon.
SCROG, sb. a fragment.
SCROWE, sb. a disturbance, an uproar; a bewildering state of affairs.
WAUGH. Dunnot stop a minute upon 't road, or thou '11 be to
l8 74” lat, an' there '11 be sic a scrowe as nivver.
Jannock, p. 63.
SCRUNCH, v. to crush, to crush with a grating sound.
SCRUNT, adj. over-worn or worn out.
COLLIER. A felly weh o little reawnd hat on' o scrunt wig.
J 75o- Works, p. 63.
SCRUNT, sb. brushwood, stunted undergrowth.
SCUFF, } sb. the nape of the neck. “Frisian, skuft, the withers of SCUFT, ) a
horse, properly the tuft of hair which a person mounting lays hold of to help
himself up. Goth, skuft, hair of the head." Wedgwood. Mr. R. D.
Blackmore in his Devonshire story, Christowell, chap. 39, has “scruff of the
neck."
WAUGH. They very near poo'd me in bith scuft o'th neck, or
l868 - else aw'd ne'er a stopt theer, thae may depend.
Sneck-Bant, p. 8.
IBID. Turn him out, I tell ye, or I'll rive him out bi' t' scuft
l8 74$ o' t' neck. Jannock, p. 90.
SCUFT, v. to strike, to beat.
COLL. USE. Aw '11 scuft him warmly if aw catch him see if aw
l881 ' dunnot.
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(delwedd C3963) (tudalen 234)
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234 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SCUFTER (N. Lane.), | ^ h SCUTTER (S. Lane.), j
SCUT, sb. a short coat or other garment.
SCUTCH, v. to beat; to clean by beating or tearing open. Scutching is a
process in the preparation of cotton, which is now performed by a machine
usually called the "devil;" formerly this was done by women who
beat the cotton with what were termed "batting-sticks." Allied to
Norweg. skoka, a "scutch" or swingle for beating flax.
SCUTTER, v. to run. The same as Prov. E. scuttle, to run.
WAUGH. Witches scutterirf through th' slifters o' th' wole by
18551 theawsans. Lane. Sketches, p. 199.
B. BRIERLEY. If childer meeten him anywhere, they scuttern away
l8 7$ like a lot o' chickens when there's a dog abeawt.
Ab on Times and Things, p. 41.
SEA-NEE, sb. a small fresh-water eel.
SEAWL, | sb. a relish taken with bread; water mixed with sugar, SEWL, j
treacle, fat, or other condiment, to take along with bread. In Rossendale the
word is or was applied to anything eaten with bread and potatoes. Cf. Icel.
sufl, whatever is eaten with bread; A.S.sufot; Dan. suul. See Havelok, lines
767, 1143, 2905.
COLLIER. What wofo times are these!
“73” Pot-baws are scant, an' dear is seawl an' cheese.
Works, p. 33. SEAWTERSKULL, sb. a blockhead.
SEECH, v. to seek.
To help mi mother, ut's so kind, Aw'm here an' seechin” wark s
Lane. Rhymes, p. 7.
SEED, v. saw.
SEELY, adj. silly, foolish, simple. This word in its older sense simple,
happy is spelled by Chaucer as it is pronounced in Lancashire sely, and
sometimes by Shakspere as seely. A.S. salig) orig. happy, lucky, seasonable;
from sc&l, a fit season, time.
WAUGH. Sich seely wark! Chimney Corner, p. 153.
1879.
SEEMIN'-GLASS, sb. a looking-glass, a mirror,
WAUGH. She handed him the looking-glass, or “seemiri -glass,"
l86 7 as country folk call it. Owd Blanket, c. i., p. 18.
IBID. “I wish thou could see thisel!" “Well; fot (fetch)
l8 79 a seemin' '-glass, an' let's have a look."
Chimney Corner, p. 151.
SEET, sb. sight, a spectacle.
WAUGH. An' eh, hoo wur sich a sect when hoo londed! Hoo're
l88l< as thin as a lat (lath). Owd Blanket,- ^. 73.
RAMSBOTTOM. To help mi mother, ut's so kind,
l864> Aw'm here an' seechin” wark so late.
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(delwedd C3964) (tudalen 235)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 235
SEETH (Ormskirk), v. to sift.
SEG, sb. a small hard place on the skin of the hand or foot, caused by much
work, or by friction.
B. BRIERLEY. They startn o' feightin' theere as soon as they con
walk, an' never gi'en o'er till they'n segs ole o'er 'em.
Irkdale, p. 64. SEN, v. pres. pi. say i.e. “they sen."
RAMSBOTTOM. My prattiest things they co'n em feaw,
l864 ' Or quietly sen they're wantin' nowt.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 55.
B. BRIERLEY. Well, they sen it's better for t' be born lucky than rich.
Ab on Times and Things, p. 52.
SEN (N. Lane.), since. Short for Mid. Eng. sithen.
J. P. MORRIS. When I was a varra lile lad that's a conny lang time
l867$ sen now. Siege o 1 Brorfton, p. 3.
SENNIGROON, adj. having stiffened sinews.
COLL. USE. I. He's as stiff and sennigroon as an owd tit (horse).
2. Stir abeawt mon; tha '11 be sennigroon if ta sits i' that cheer much
lunger.
SETS, sb. pi. large paving stones.
SETTLE, sb. a long wooden couch, with arms and wooden back. A.S. setl, a
seat. See LONG-SETTLE, ante p. 185.
WEST MIDLAND DIALECT. And he sete in that settel semlych ryche.
Sir Gawayne, 1. 882.
REV. W. GASKELL. A kind of rude sofa or long wooden seat, with a back
l8 54$ and arms to it, goes by the name of a settle; and under
A.D. 796, in the Saxon Chronicle, we meet with "dom-setl" the
judgment seat. In the Saxon version, Christ's overturning the seats of them
that sold doves is rendered, “Hyra-j^/, he to broec;" and in the
translation of Psalm i., even in Edward the Third's reign, we have, “Ne sat
in setel of storme ungode."
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 17.
SET-TO, sb. a fight, a contest, a dispute.
COLL. USE. They'd a rare set-to deawn i't' kloof; but t' constables
x88x> dropt on 'em an' stopt ther gam (game).
SET-TO, v. to begin.
COLL. USE. Come, may (make) no moor bawks, but set-to.
1881.
SHAD,
SHED' 1 v ' ta sur P ass > to
COLLIER. This had lik't to shadow th' tother. Works, p. 49.
1750.
B. BRIERLEY. I're in as good romancin' fettle as ever Fause Juddie
l86 9$ wur, an' he shad Gulliver. Ab in London, p. 98.
WAUGH. “Well if ever!" cried Betty; “that sheds o'."
l8 79 Chimney Corner, p. 276.
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(delwedd C3965) (tudalen 236)
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236 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SHAFFLE, v. to excuse, to delay.
SHAFFLE-HORN, sb. one who shirks work; a shiftless person.
SHAMMOCK, v. to hesitate, to trifle deceptively, to act awkwardly or in a
shame-faced way.
WAUGH. Wheerever hasto bin shammockin' an' doin' till this
time o' th' neet? Besom Ben, c. ix., p. 104.
B. BRIERLEY. Men wi' blank faces are shammockin' wearily in an'
eaut. Ab in London, p. 74.
SHAMMOCK, sb. an awkward, confused, shame-faced person.
SHAMMOCKIN', adj. shy, abashed, bungling, confused.
B. BRIERLEY. Hoo wanders heaw soon some shammockiri 1 lad '11 be
l87 - lookin' soft at her. Ab on Times and Things, p. 80.
SHAN, v. pi. of shall/.”. “they shan." SHANDRAY, sb. a one-horse
carriage.
SHANDRYDAN (N. Lane.), sb. a cart fitted with springs; an ancient and
dilapidated carriage. Also, a shandray with a hood or cover set up behind.
SHANK, v. to walk.
B. BRIERLEY. Well, I set eaut, shankin 1 it o th' road, an' a weary
treaunce I find it. Ab in London, p. 67.
SHANKLE, v. to shuffle and idle about.
SHANKS'S-PONY, sb. a person's legs. One who walks is said to “ride on shank?
s-fony."
SHAP )
SHAPE j v ' to ^ 0> to ^ ms ^' to mana ge, or contrive, or attempt.
WAUGH. Roddle said, “Shap off whoam as fast as tho con."
Lane. Sketches, p. 130.
I ^ D - Come, lads; aw want to be shappin' off Lobden gate
on. Besom Ben, c. iv., p. 41.
I ^ D - “Theer, thae's shaft t that at last, as how!" said one
of these to his friend, who had just finished [his basin of soup], and stood
wiping his mouth complacently. “Shap 't that," replied the other,
"ay, lad, aw can do a ticket and a hafe (three pints of soup) every
mornin'." Cotton Famine, p. 61.
COLL. USE. He shaps weel at any rate i.e. he manages or attempt?
l88l- well.
SHARP-SET, adj. hungry.
WAUGH. Beef's noan sich bad takkin, if yor ony ways sharp-set,
l855 ' Lane. Sketches, p. 103.
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(delwedd C3966) (tudalen 237)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 237
SHEED, v. to spill. A.S. sceddan, to divide; part. shed.
WAUGH. His jackass knocked my gronmother o'er, an' broke
her pitcher an' sheeded th' milk, an' hoo'll ha to be paid. .... Are yo noan
beawn to pay for th' milk 'at wur shed, then? Ben an th? Bantam, c. iv., pp.
79, 80.
SHEEDER, sb. one who spills liquor.
WAUGH. “Hello, Sam, I've knocked my ale o'er!" "That's
1879. reet> my lad> ga^ g am ( the i an( ji or< j) .;One goo d
sheeder's worth two fuddlers," Chimney Corner, p. 178.
SHEPSTER, sb. the starling. So named from settling on sheepf backs.
SHIFT, v. imperative, equivalent to “move out of the way,"
SHIFT, sb. energy, power of motion.
COLL. USE. He's no moor shift in him than a kittlin (a kitten),
1”
SHILTHER, 1 , , . , SMOOTHER, J ““ shoulder '
B. BRIERLEY. Th' little waiter kept on grinnin' at me, an' hutchin'
l869> his shoothers up. Ab in London, p. 6l.
SHINDY, sb. a game played with a stick and a round piece of wood or cork.
Sometimes called "nurr and spell" a form of golf.
SHIPPON, sb. a place for housing cattle. A.S. scypen, the same, See Chaucer,
C. T,,\. 2000 \or 2002].
COLLIER. I gan a gl-ent into th' shipfin, an seed a mon stonnin'
1750. i' th > groop> Works, p. 56.
SHIRL, adj. shrill. The following appears on a tomb-stone in the grave-yard
of Rochdale Parish Church:
Here must he stay till Judgment day, While Trumpets skirl do Sound, Then must
he Rise in Glorious wise, And Gloriously be Crown'd.
SHIVE, } sb. a slice, generally a slice of bread; sometimes used SHOIVE, )
for bread itself. Icel. ski/a. Hence Mod, K skivers, splinters, bits.
SHAKSPERB. Easy it is
1594$ Of a cut loaf to steal a shivt.
Titus Andron,^ ii, i. 87.
Miss LAHRE, Mi mother fetched her a gradely skive o' curran' loaf
l86 5$ an' cheese. Betty o' Yep, p. 4.
COLL. USE. Tha foo! wear thi brass (money) o' shoive, an' not o'
l881 - drink.
SHOE-LEATHER, sb. used figuratively for a shoe.
WAUGH. A honsomer, sweeter-lookin' owd couple never stept
l8 79$ shoe-leather. Chimney Corner, p. 146,
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(delwedd C3967) (tudalen 238)
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238 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SHOG, v. to jog or jolt; to go uneasily.
DRYDEN. Which with a shog casts all the hair before.
l6 7 6 - Epilogue to The Man of Mode,
SHOO, v. to drive anything before you, at the same time making a sound like
that of “shoo."
COLL. USE. Here, Nanny, shoo these geese eawt o' th' fielt.
iSSi
SHOOF, sb. a shoe.
SHOOL, sb. a shovel. A.S. scofl. See "Who Killed Cock Robin?"
"I," said the owl, “With my spade and shawl, I'll dig his
grave."
WAUGH. Come, shap off, afore aw fling a shool-i\A\ o' red cinders
l86?- at yo! Owd Blanket, p. n.
SHOON, sb.pl. shoes.
CHAUCER. His shoon of cordewane. Sir Thopas, 1. 21.
1390.
SHAKSPERE. Jack Cade. Spare none but such as go in clouted
1592$ shoon. Second Henry Sixth, iv. ii. 192.
MILTON. The dull swain
l6 37$ Treads on it daily with his clouted shoon.
Comus, 635.
KEATS. When the soundless earth is muffled,
1817. And the caked snow is shuffled
From the ploughboy's heavy shoon. Fancy.
COLLIER. I thowt meh heart wou'd ha' sunk int' men shoon.
1750- Works, p. 59.
WAUGH. Aw've just mended th' fire wi' a cob;
1859. Owd Swaddle has brought thi new shoon.
Lane. Songs: Come Whoam.
SMOOTHER, v. to push, to hustle. See SHILTHER.
B. BRIERLEY. Sam shoothered me into th' cab. Ibid., p. 88.
1869.
SHORE, sb. a sewer.
SHAKSPERE. Empty
l6 7$ Old receptacles, or common shores, of filth.
Pericles, iv. vi. 185.
COLL. USE. They're breakin' into th' mam-shore again.
1881.
SHOT, sb. an account owing, a reckoning. Icel. shot. See ALE-SHOT, ante, p.
8”
COLLIER. I thowt I'll know heaw meh shot stons. Works, p. 55.
1750- ALEX. WILSON. When th' shot wur paid, an' th' drink wur done.
1842. Songs; Johnny Greeris Wedding, p. 58.
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(delwedd C3968) (tudalen 239)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 239
SHUDE, sb. the husk of grain, chaff.
COLL. USE. What's to do wi' thi porritch?" “What's to do wi'
it? It could na be raich worse. It's sour, sauty (salty), shudy, and scaudin'
(scalding) hot"
SHULL, sb. the husk or integument See also HULL. Shakspere gives the word as
"shale:" "Leaving them but the shales and husks of men."
Hm. V., iv. it i&
SHUT, v. to be rid of, quit o
WAKTGH. Howd te din, an' lie still a bit, till aw get shut on
him. Owd Blanket, p. 13.
Miss LAHEE. Tha con howd it up when tha's getten shut o' thi load.
l8 75$ Charity Coat, p. 14.
SHUTS, sb.pl. shutters.
WAUGH. I wur pwttin' shuts to, wi th' long brush i' my hands,
l879 “an' th' brush hit th' window. Chimney Corner, p. 301.
SHUTTANCE, sb. riddance.
WAUGH. Good neet to the, my lad, an' a good shuttance.
l879 ' Chimney Corner, p. 317.
COLL. USE. “Is he gone?" "Aye; an' a good shuttance it is."
(Used also as an ironkal "God-speed, "i.e., "Good shuttance to
thi." "Good shuttance to bad rubbish" is a common expression.)
SHUTTER, v. to slide off, out, or down, as snow from a roof. A variant of
scutter.
WAUGH. Bodle lost his howd” an' he coom shutterin' deawn
l8 55$ again, an' o' th' soot i' th' chimbley wi' him.
Lane. Sketches, p. 30.
B. BRIERLEV. Aw could shutter eawt o' th' world as yessily as gooin'
l868> to sleep. Irkdale, p. 102.
SHUZ or CHUZ,
COLL. USE. i. Aw'st goo to-morn shuz what comes.
2. Shuz heaw tha talks, it '11 mak no difference.
SIB, adj. related, akin. A.S. sib, peace, relationship; Icel. sifjaftr, adj.
related; Moeso-Goth. sibja, relationship. Langland has sibbe and syb, P.
Plow., B-text, Passus V., 11. 634 and 636.
SPENSER. If that my grandsire me sayd be true,
I579 ' Sicker [sure] I am very sibbe to you.
Shepheardes Calender: May, L 267.
COLLIER. Yoar sib to thoose Gotum tykes otteh [that you] com- I 7S- plen'n
so, on ar ne'er satisfy'd. Works, p. 33.
REV. W. GASKELL. Another old word which has clung to this part of the
l8 54$ country is sib, signifying related to. In the Moeso-Gothic,
one term for disciples is siponia. In Anglo-Saxon sibbe
or sib meant alliance or relationship. In the Harrowing
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(delwedd C3969) (tudalen 240)
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240 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY,
of Hell, the earliest of the
miracle-plays in English which has been preserved, we meet with a later form
of the
J
has noun:
For thi godnesse art thou myn,
More for thi godnesse
Than for eny sibnesse.
The adjective frequently occurs in the old English stage of the language. We
have it in Robert of Gloucester, and in Chaucer. It is one of the words, too,
which Spenser employs both in the Faerie Queene and the Shepheardes Calender.
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 21.
WAUGH. O' th' childer i' th' country met (might) ha' belunged
l8 79$ to 'em, for everything 'at they let on seemed to tak to
'em, as if they were'n ever so sib (akin).
Chimney Corner, p. 146.
SICH-LIKE (/.<?. such-like), adj. of the same kind.
WAUGH. Sich-like sleeveless wark as that. Tattlin” Matty, p. 1 8.
1867.
SIDE, adj. deep, long. A.S. sid; Icel. s5>, long, hanging.
BAMFORD. A curtain or garment is said to be side when it hangs
1 8s - low: "A side shirt; “"it hangs very side;” “it's made
too side." MS. Glossary.
SIDE, v. to clear, to make tidy.
WAUGH. Get this place sided up; th' coach 'II be here directly.
l8 75$ Old Cronies, p. 20.
IBID. Here, Sally, help me to side this table.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 36.
SIDLE v. to go aside or sideways; to get away unnoticed.
COLL. USE. He sidled up to his mother an' axed her t' forgive him
l88l> for this once.
SIDTH, sb. depth, length. See SIDE, adj.
SIKE, v. to sigh, to sob. A.S. sican.
CHAUCER. F or fere of which he quook and syked sore.
Monkes Tale, I. 3394,
RAMSBOTTOM. An' his mother, eh, Lord! heaw hoo soikt.
l86 4$ Lane. Rhymes, p. 17.
SIKE, sb. a drain, a gutter. M.E. sike (Stratmann); Icel. sik. SILE (Lytham),
v. to strain milk. Icel. sia, to filter. See HalliwelL
SIMNEL, sb. a cake, made of flour, spice, and currants, eaten in Lancashire
on Mid-Lent Sunday, usually with the accompaniment of braggat or spiced ale.
REV. W. GASKELL. There is a kind of eake for which the town of Biary is
1 S4$ famous, and which gives its name in these parts to Mid- Lent Sunday I
mean symnel. Many curious and fanciful
derivations have been found for this; but I feel no doubt
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(delwedd C3970) (tudalen 241)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 24!
that we must look for its true origin to the Anglo-Saxon simble or simle,
which means a feast, or, symblian, to banquet. Simnel was evidently some kind
of the finest bread. From the Chronicle of Battle Abbey we learn that, in
proof of his regard for the monks, the Conqueror granted for their daily use
36 oz. of "bread fit for the table of a king, which is commonly called
simenel;" and Roger de Hoveden mentions among the provisions allowed to
the Scotch king at the court of England “twelve simenels" “Banquet
bread," therefore, would seem to come very near the meaning of this
word. I may just observe, in passing, that the baker's boy who in the reign
of Henry VII. personated the Earl of Warwick, was most likely called “Lambert
Simnel" as a sort of nickname derived from his trade.
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 18.
[But it is now well known that the word is French- It is spelt simenel in Havelok
and in Old French; siminellus in Low Latin (Ducange). It is a corruption o
similellus (the double / being differentiated), a derivative of Lat. simila,
wheat flour of the finest quality. It was so called because made of the best
flour. Cf. G. semmel, wheat-bread, borrowed from Latin. The A.S. word has
nothing whatever to do with it. W. W. S.]
SIMNEL-SUNDAY, sb. the festival of Mid-Lent.
SIMPLE, adj. poor, lowly.
COLL. USE. Gentle an' simple, o' together, an' o' alike.
1881.
SIN', adv. since.
SINGLET, sb. a waistcoat; also a woollen under-shirt.
COLLIER. I donned meh Sunday jump o' top o' meh singlet.
1750- Works, p. 41.
WAUGH. The most remarkable part of his dress was a slack,
J 86s- short jacket, or singlet, with sleeves. The front of it was
of undressed calf-skin, with the hair outside.
Besom Ben, c. i., p. 6.
SINK, sb. a drain, the eye of a sewer.
SINK-STONE, sb. a stone slab or shallow trough connected with the drain, and
used for washing dishes, &c. See SLOPSTONE.
WAUGH. Hoo lays howd of a greight tin can 'at stood upo' th'
1879$ sink-stone. Chimney Corner, p. 129.
SIPE, v. to drink. Allied to sip and sup.
SIPEIN, part. adj. dripping.
WAUGH. One day, when th' rain wur peltin' down, Tummy
1879$ coom runnin' into th' kitchen, out o' th' garden, sipein'
wee t. Chimney Corner, p. 129.
SITTER, sb. a festered burn. SKARN, sb. dung. Icel. skarn.
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(delwedd C3971) (tudalen 242)
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242 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SKEDLOCK, sb. charlock, a weed which grows among corn arid in waste places.
Sinapisarvensis. See KEDDLE-DOCK (ante, p. 172), which, however, is not the
same plant.
WAUGH. Eawr Billy M ha' to wear a skedlock in his hat.
Ben ari ttt Bantam, p. 52.
SKEER (N. Lane), sb. a stone patch or bed on the sea-shore or on sand-banks.
SKELBOOSE, sb. a passage by the side of a cattle stall, made so that a man
can get to the fodder-rack in front of the cattle. See BOOSE.
SKELP, v. to hit or strike violently. See Jamieson's Scottish Diet.
SKELP, sb. a blow.
COLL. USE. He gan him a skelp o't' side of his yed 'at sent him
l88l- spinning into t' ditch.
SKEN, v. to squint.
He skens ill enough to crack a looking-glass, welly. Lancashire Sketches:
Bury to Rochdale, p. 27.
WAUGH.
1855$
B. BRIERLEY. Aw connot help thinkin' abeawt booath on 'em at
l868 - onct; a sort o' skennin thowt, yo' seen, same as lookin'
at two pint pots till they booath go'n int' one.
Irkdale, p. 196. SKEP, sb. a hive. See SKIP.
SKEW (Ormskirk), v. to fly sideways. A hawk skews about.
SKEW-WHIFT, adj. awry, askew, on one side; used also metaphorically to
express an awkward temper.
COLL. USE. He's a bit skew-whift in his mind, tha knows.
SKIFT, v. to remove, shift.
WAUGH. The instant Dimple felt his touch he shot out his hind- l86 5$ feet
like lightning, catching Twitchel a little below his
dinner-trap. "O oh!" cried Twitchel, laying his
hands upon his belly, "that's shifted my baggin above
a bit!" Besom Ben, p. 26.
SKILP (N. Lane.), sb. a shelf. SKINFLINT, sb. a stingy person, a miser.
SKIP, sb. a large and coarse wicker basket. Such baskets, square in shape,
are much used in the Lancashire mills for packing cotton weft. Icel. skeppa^
skjappa. See SKEP.
REV. RICH. MORRIS. Skep, a basket, in the Cursor, is widely known. In
l8 7 6 - the North it is a deep, round, coarse basket. In Sussex
it means a flat bushel, a vessel for yeast, a bee-hackle, a bee-hive (as in
Norfolk), and even a hat.
Survival of Early Eng. Words, SKIP, sb. an infant's gown.
SKIRL (N. Lane.), v. to cry, to call loudly. Cf. E. shrill.
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(delwedd C3972) (tudalen 243)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 243
SKRIKE, v. to shriek; sb. a shout, an outcry, a shriek.
DR. JOHN DEE. Somewhat like the shriek of an owle, but more longly
15 drawn, and more softly, as it were in my chamber.
Private Diary, p. II.
WAUGH. I thought I'd go too, an' give a bit of a skrike for
l8 79$ summat or another, among th' lot.
Chimney Comer, p. 40.
B. BRIERLEY. Th' wimmen sect up a skrike as loud as if Owd Sooty
had popt his horns in at th' dur. Irkdale.
SKRIKE-O'-DAY, sb. daybreak. Literally, the first voice or call of the day.
COLLIER. I ge et up be skrike-o-day on sect eawt.
J 75$ Works, p. 41.
WAUGH. They crope off one mornin' just afore skrike o' day.
Old Cronies, p. 13.
SKUG (Oldham), sb. dirt
SKYME, v. to refrain, to decline a thing, to be indifferent or disinclined,
to draw up the nose scornfully. As: “What arto skymirt at?" “Eat, an'
dunno skyme."
;SKYMOUS, adj. squeamish, fastidious in eating, indifferent. Skoymose in
Halliwell.
SLACK, sb. the loose or baggy part of the trousers.
WAUGH. I took it bi .th' slack o' th' breeches, an' chuckt it into
l8 79$ th' pond. Chimney Corner, p. 229.
.SLACK, sb. a hollow place; a hollow between sand-hills on the coast. Also a
depression between hills, corresponding with that which in Welsh is called a
“Bwlch." Icel. slakki.
ANON. The great interest of the sandhills is the "slacks," as
the country people call the low-lying hollows between. Every here and there
the hills have receded and formed a little flat valley, where there is
something like soil, and where the rain lodges and the mosses grow. This is a
"slack;" and in the Lancashire slacks may be found some of the most
beautiful, and certainly one of the rarest perhaps the very rarest of English
flowers. Arenaria, or the sand pyrola, is to be found nowhere except among
the slacks of the Lancashire sandhills. Pall Mall Gazette, Sept. II, 1880.
LEO H. GRINDON. At Birkdale, in the moist hollows among the sand- l882 -
hills, called the “slacks," the marsh epipactis and the
Orchis latifolia grow in profusion.
Illttstrations of Lancashire, p.?%.
derisive
WAUGH. I never seed a lot o' chaps so altered sin' th' last
1867. February. At that time no mortal mon hardly could
walk through 'em beawt havin' a bit o' slack-jaw t or a lump o' clay flung at
him. But it isn't so neaw.
Factory Folk, p. 122.
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(delwedd C3973) (tudalen 244)
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244 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SLACK, sb. small coals.
COLL. USE. Come, wi mun ha' some cobs; this coal “s aw slack.
1881.
SLACK, v. to cover the fire with small coals so as to make consumption slow.
SLACK, adj. not busy; short of work.
COL
LL- USE. l s yore factory stopp'd?" "Aye, we've bin slack now
for mony a month."
J' slack ' thin ' soft
WAUGH. I'm as slamp as a sack-full o' swillin's.
Chimney Corner, p. 113.
SLANCE, v. to steal, to pick up furtively, to take pickings from meat. SLAPE,
adj. smooth, bare, slippery. Icel. sleipr.
SLAT, v. to dash water or other liquid on anything; to spill. Icel. sletta.
WAUGH. How would to like me to slat tho o' th' face wi' a
l86s> stockin'-full o' slutch, some Sunday, when thae 'rt
swaggerin' at front o' th' parson?
Barrel Organ. (Altered to "slap" in last edition.)
SLATTER, v. to spill (as water) or scatter (as sand). Frequentative of slat.
Hence E. slattern.
B. BRIERLEY. Some on 'em took to an' slattert ther tears same as if
they'd lost th' corks o' ther e'en. Irkdale, p. 49.
WAUGH. DO be quiet, an' let me set these things. Thae'll make
me slatter 'em Sneck-Bant, p. 14.
SLAY, sb. the hand-board of a loom. See Sley in Halliwell. SLECK, sb. small
fine coal. See SLACK.
WAUGH. Th' fire '11 tak care ov itseT. Aw put some sleek on.
Sneck-Bant, p. 55.
SLECK, v. to slake.
SLECKIN', sb. the slaking of thirst.
WAUGH. Seven pints! What's seven pints to a mon o' my size?
l8?9> I need more sleckiri than these under-size't kitlins.
Chimney Corner, p. 362.
SLED, sb. a sledge. M.E. slede. Prompt. Parv. Icel. sl&L
WAUGH. The lad darted into the house with his wooden "sled"
I87S> upon his back. His mother said, “Put that sled o' thine
out o' th' gate." Old Cronies, p. 28.
SLEDS (Lancaster), sb. shoes.
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(delwedd C3974) (tudalen 245)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 245
SLEEVELESS, adj. useless, unprofitable, shiftless. See Shak. r Troilus and
C., v. iv. 9.
COLLIER. Meh mind misgives meh ot yoar'n gooin' a sleeveless
arnt [arrant, errand]. Works, p. 42.
WAUGH. He thinks o' nought i' th' world but race-runnin' an'
wrostlin', an' pigeon-flyin', an' single-step doancin', an r sich like
sleeveless wark as that. Tatlirf Matty, p. 18. SLIFT, v. to slide.
SLIFTER, sb. a crevice.
WAUGH. He could see witches scutterin” through th' slifters o' th”
1855$ wo le [wall] by theawsans. Lane. Sketches, p. 199.
IBID. There is'nt a slifter, nor a ginnel, nor a gorse-bush 'at
1&79 ' 'ud house aught bigger than a mowdiwarp.
Chimney Corner, p. 170.
SLIM, v. to do worthless work. Cf. Icel. sl<zmr, vile.
SLIPPY, quick.
B. BRIERLKY. Goo whoam an' be slippy. Irkdale, p. 34^
l868.
SLIVVIN, sb. a number of hanks of yarn put together. SLOPSTONE, sb. a place
for washing. See SINK-STONE,
SLOTCH, sb. a drunkard, a disgusting fellow.
WAUGH. Qwd Trinal! That's another racketty slotch!
Chimney Comer, p. 155.
SLOVEN, part. adj. split, cloven, p.p. of slive; M.E. sliven, from A.S.
slifan, to cleave.
SLOYTHER, ) v. to loiter; to go about carelessly; to draw the SLUTHER, j feet
listlessly along the ground.
SLUBBINGS, sb. pi. slightly twisted cops of woollen or cotton yarn. SLUR, sb.
a slide on the ice. SLUR, v. to slide.
WAUGH. Betty cried out, "Stop it! Do stop it! Aw'm slurrin”
1868.
SLUTCH, sb. mud. Also, sludge in Southern Eng.
WAUGH. A drunken slotch, as thou art, keawerin'i'th'chimbley
l8 79$ barkle't wi' slutch! Chimney Corner, p. 152.
SMIDDY, sb. a smithy. Icel. smttja.
SMIDDY-SMUDGE or SMITHY-SMUDGE, sb. The fine coal-dust of a blacksmith's shop
and forge.
WAUGH. Of his caligraphy he seemed particularly proud, for he
l8 55$ declared that “Tim [Bobbin] could write a clear print
hond, as smo' [small] as smithy -smudge"
Lane. Sketches, p. 55.
IBID. Aw'm as dry [thirsty] as smithy-smudge.
1865. Besom Ben t p. 9.
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(delwedd C3975) (tudalen 246)
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246 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SMITE, sb. a bit; a small portion of anything. Lit. "a smear;" the
E. verb smite meant originally to smear or rub, as well as to hit. Hence
smut.
WAUGH. If thae gets thi back turn't, thae doesn't care a smite
for noather me nor th' childer. Besom Ben, p. 104.
IBID. “Nonsense!" said the landlady. “It '11 not do tho
a smite o' harm, lass." Owd Blanket, p. 61.
SMITTLE (N. Lane.), adj. infectious. AS. besmitan, to pollute.
SMOOR, v. to smother. A.S. smorian.
WAUGH. He seized her round the neck, and kissed her so
18671 heartily that she cried out, “Oh, Ben; thae'll smoor mo!
Give o'er; do!" Owd Blanket, p. 22.
IBID. Another woman took her clog off, and held it up,
l86 7$ saying, "Look at that. We're o' walkin' o' th' floor;
an' smoort wi' cowds" [colds].
Home Life of Factory Folk, 18.
SMOOT, adj. smooth.
COLLIER. Hoo's os smoot os o mowdiwarp. Works, p. 57.
1750- SMOUCH, sb. a kiss.
COLLIER. Ney, Meary, le meh ha' one smeawtch ot partin'.
J 75o- Works, p. 71.
SMUDGE-HOLE, sb. the chimney.
WAUGH. He set tone foot onto th' top bar, an' up he went
l8 SS- into th' smudge-hole. Lane. Sketches, p. 28.
SMUSH, adj. smart, finely dressed.
COLL. USE. What's up this mornin' thae'rt as smush as if it wur
l88x - Sunday.
SNAFFLE, v. to speak through the nose. Cf. Du. snavel, a horse's muzzle;
whence E. snaffle-bit.
SNAPE, v. to pinch or starve; to check or restrain; to snub. Icel. sneypa, to
disgrace; Tudor E. sneap^ to chide.
SHAKSPERE. Like little frosts that sometime threat the spring,
I 593$ To add a more rejoicing to the prime,
And give the sneaped birds more cause to sing.
Litcrece, 331.
WAUGH. When they snapen your heart, an' they stinten your fare,
l8 75$ It's time to be joggin' away.
Old Cronies, p. 24.
COLL. USE. Tha's sna/d him neaw; he '11 not speyk (speak) again
I88x - to-neet.
SNARL, v. to twist, to entangle. From E. snare. SNARL, sb. a knot or tangle
in a thread of yarn.
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(delwedd C3976) (tudalen 247)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 247
SNECK, sb. a small catch or latch upon a door. Cf. Icel. snikka, to cut, in
allusion to the notch of the catch.
SNECK-BANT, sb. a string coming through a hole in a door just below the
"sneck," by means of which the latch is lifted from the outside.
WAUGH. J n som e of these old settlements [about Smallbridge
and Wardle] there are houses where the door is still opened from without by a
“sneck-bant," or "finger-hole." Lane. Sketches, p. 124.
SNERP, I /XT T x , . .
SNERPLE, J ( Lanc )> v - to shnvel up.
SNICKET, sb. a naughty or forward girl.
WAUGH. Nay, sure; is it that impident snicket?
Chimney Corner, p. 26.
SNICK-SNARLES, sb. pL entanglements in thread, the result of being too much
twisted. See SNARL.
SNIE, \ v. to rain or snow thickly. Halliwell gives snee, to abound, SNEE, }
swarm.
SNIFT, v. to whimper. Allied to snivel and sniff.
SNIFT, sb. a moment, a short space of time, as: “Aw con do it in a snift:”
-COLLIER. I clum th” steigh [ladder] in o snift. -Works, p. 44.
1750- WAUGH. Stop a minute; aw'll be deawn in a snift. l86 7$ Owd Blanket, p.
14.
SNIG, sb. an eel. Snzg-pie was formerly a common dainty in Lancashire. Cf.
Icel. sntgill, a snail.
WAUGH. By th' mon, Ben, thae'rt as lennock as a snig.
Sneck-Bant, p. 29.
SNIG, v. to snatch.
SNIGGED (Failsworth),/^/. twisted suddenly and roughly.
SNIGGER, v. to laugh derisively or in a hidden manner.
WAUGH. Ay; thou may weel snigger and laugh I
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 151.
SNIGH, v. to draw the nose together; to sniff.
COLL. USE. “Ate (eat) thi dinner: wot arto snighin' at? Wot
l88l> dosto snigh up thi nose at? Is it no good enough?"
SNIPPET (Ormskirk), sb. a dish of baked meat and potatoes.
SNOD, adj. smooth, easy, snug, comfortable. Icel. snauftr. Cf. Snodgrass.
WAUGH. Rough and free as so many ,w0</-backed mowdiwarps
l855 ' [i.e. smooth-backed moles]. Lane. Sketches, p. 189.
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(delwedd C3977) (tudalen 248)
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248 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SNOOZE, v. to sleep.
SNOOZE, sb. sleep, a short sleep.
SNOUT-BAND, sb. the iron on the toes of a clog sole.
SNUDDLE, v. to lie close together. Cf. snod.
SNUFT, sb. the burnt wick of a candle.
WAUGH. Then he deed. He went out as quiet as th' snuff o> a
candle. Chimney Corner, p. 146.
SNURCH, v. to snort or snigger in a smothered kind of way.
WAUGH. Nae then, come. Aw yer yo' snurchirf an' laughin'
l86s> theere. Besom Ben, p. 43.
B. BRIERLEY. "Dick, dunno sit snurchin' theere." "It's yo uts
18681 snurchiri, noa me," Dick retorted. Irkdale, p. 237.
SODDEN, adj. heavy with water; applied also to bread which has been
imperfectly leavened. See THODDEN.
SOLCH, ] sb. the noise made by treading or falling on a morass or SOLSH, }
damp place; adv. in a mass, heavily.
WAUGH. My shoon made a weet solch every time aw planted a
l868 - hoof. Sneck-Bant, p. 7.
IBID. I let [alighted] sols A up to th' middle i' some slutch.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 174.
SOLOMON'S-SALE, sb. Solomon's-seal. Polygonatum multiflorum.
WAUGH. It '11 cost thrippence or fourpence for Solomon' s-sale to
get thi een reet! Chimney Corner, p. 154.
SOMEBRY, sb. somebody. [In Norfolk, I have heard noburu pronounced nearly as
E. no-borough for nobody. W. W. S.]
WAUGH. If I had ony company I'd pike somebry 'at wur some
l879> bit like daycent. Chimney Corner, p. 155.
SOOF, ]
SOUGH, \ sb. a drain or sewer. Sough in Halliwell.
SUFF, J
B. BRIERLEY. Like rottens [rats] in a soof. Ab in London, p. 119.
SOSS, sb. the sound caused by a soft body falling. SOSS, v. to sit down
heavily or clumsily.
SOUR-DOCK, sb. meadow sorrel. Rumex acetosa. Called also in Lancashire
green-sauce.
“440. Sowre dokke (herbe) Prompt. Parv.
SOWE, sb. the mixture of flour and water used by the hand-loom weaver for
sizing the warp. Now called size.
B. BRIERLEY. I've known th' owd lad sit at his loom wi' a stick at th'
side on him fort' keep th' childer fro' atin his sowe, they'rn so clemmed. Ab
on Times and Things, p. 15.
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(delwedd C3978) (tudalen 249)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 249
SPACK, v. to entice, to prevail upon, to reconcile. Perhaps merely a form of
speak.
WAUGH. Hoo took a deeol o' spackin (enticing, reconciling)
to th' shop when we first geet wed.
Hermit Cobbler, p. 59.
SPANK, v. to provoke, to irritate; also, to beat.
SPANKIN', part. adj. dashing, bold. A certain Roger Aytoun, formerly a
well-known commander of volunteers in Manchester, was always called "Spanking
Roger."
SPAN-NEW, adj. quite new.
COLL USE. Ther's bin a wind-fo' somewheer; everythin' 'at he's
getten on 's span-new.
SPARK-OUT, adv. entirely extinguished.
COLL USE. He'll goo spark-out i.e. be entirely lost or forgotten.
IOOI.
SPARRABLES, sb.pl. sparrow-bills, small nails used by shoemakers. SPEAN (N.
Lane.), v. to wean. See spane, speans, in Halliwell.
SPEAR, | sb. a wooden partition beside the door of a cottage, which SPEER, j
opens directly into the living room of a house. Lit. a spar.
B. BRIERLEY. “Mally, this spear wants painting." "Aye," aw
said,
l868 ' “but ther's a ale-shot wants payin' an' rubbin' off afore
we can paint it." Irkdale, p. 266.
SPEEL (Preston), sb. a splinter. M.E. speld, a splinter.
SPELK, sb. a chip of wood a splinter to bind a broken limb. Cf. E. spelicans,
a word of Dutch origin.
WAUGH. We mun ha' tho spell? t up a bit, owd craiter, or else
l8?9$ thou'll be tumblin' i' lumps. Chimney Corner, p. 113.
SPER, v. to enquire, to ask. A.S. spyrian, to track, from spor, a track;
Icel. spyrja; Sc. speer.
WEST MID. DIALECT. Not fer fro that note place
I 3 20 - That ye han spied and spuryed so specially after.
Sir Gawayne, 1. 2092.
COLLIER. I went t' Rachdaw [Rochdale], on sperr'd this mon
“1$' eawt. Works, p. 58.
REV. W. GASKELL. Instead of to ask, or inquire, a word frequently used
1854. by a Lancashire man is spir, equivalent to the Scotch
speer. This, again, is genuine Anglo-Saxon. In his
translation of Boethius, King Alfred uses it when he
says "he wile spyrian" meaning he will inquire.
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 1 6.
WAUGH. “Mistress, can yo tell me wheer Jenny Pepper lives?"
1879. "I know nought about her. Sper fur [ = ask further
on], an' shut th' dur." Chimney Corner, p. 31.
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(delwedd C3979) (tudalen 250)
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250 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SPICK-AN'-SPAN, adj. neat and new; bright and fresh.
COLL. USE. He's as spick-ad -span as a new hauf-creawn (The
l88l> meaning is the same as in the more modern phrase, “He
looks as if he came out of a band-box. ")
SPINK, sb. the chaffinch. Fringilla ccelebs.
SPOON-MEAT, sb. soft or liquid food, in opposition to meat which has to be
masticated.
WAUGH. “Thou'rt welcome, if thou'll have a bit." "Nay;
aw'm livin' o' spoon-meight at present."
Chimney Corner, p. 39.
SPREE, sb. a frolic; a bout of drinking. Introduced from Ireland; Irish spre,
animation.
WAUGH. A frolic '11 just be the physic for me!
1 59 ' Aw'll see some fresh places,
An' look at fresh faces An' go have a bit of a spree.
Lancashire Songs: Jamie's Frolic.
SPRIG, sb. a small sharp nail having no head.
SPRINT, sb. a short quick race. See sprunt in Halliwell; allied to E. spurt =
a violent exertion.
WAUGH. Kempy was a famous “j^n'^-runner,” well known
l86 7$ all over the country side. Owd Blanket, p. 82.
SPROD, v. to swagger, to pretend.
SPROD, sb. salmon-trout.
SPROTE, v. to brag, to amplify, to exaggerate, to display.
SPROZE, v. to talk big, to swagger. Bamford gives Sprozirf, self- exalting;
Sprozt, self-exalted.
STADLES, sb. pi. marks of the smallpox.
STAGGED-UP, participial phrase, exhausted. Cf. Scotch steek, E. stick, verb,
stuck, i.e. stuck fast.
WAUGH. “I s that one of thy childer at sits atop o' th' jackass?"
18661 "Nawe," replied Ben in a whisper, "it belungs this
woman here. Aw let on her o' tother side Yealey Ho'; quite stagged-up."
Ben ari th? Bantam, p. 71.
IBID. Th' owd lad wur as clemmed as a whisket, an' he wur
l8 79$ fair stagged-up o' gates [all ways].
Chimney Corner, p. 1 1 6.
STALE, sb. a long handle for a brush or mop. M.E. stale, stele, handle; A.S.
stel, a stalk. Allied to stalk. Mr. R. Jeffries (Wild Life in a Southern
County, p. 70) says: "The peculiar broad-headed nail which fastens the
mop to the stout ashen
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(delwedd C3980) (tudalen 251)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 251
'steale ' or handle, is also made in the village. I spell ' steale ' by
conjecture, and according to pronunciation. It is used also of a rake:
instead of a rake-handle they say rake-j/to/&"
SPENSER. And in his hand an huge pole-axe did beare,
I59 ' Whose steale was yron-studded.
F. Queene, Bk. V., c. 14. STALLED ) STAWED,'f> J '' / - fulltore P letion
- COLL. USE. “Wilto have another plate o' beef before aw put mi
tools away?" “Nay, aw'm stalled at last; aw couldn't find another corner
shuz what aw did."
STALL-OFF, sb. a pretence, an equivocation.
COLL. USE. Tae no notice on him it's nobbut a stall-off.
STANG, sb. a pole. A.S. steng; Icel. stong (gen. sing, stangar, whence the
prov. E. word).
WAUGH. Dan o' Swapper's said, "Now, then, Caleb, we'n
1879$ made it for thee to carry .th' pow." An' he ga' me
howd of a greight stang, about twelve feet long.
Chimney Corner, p. 172.
STANG-RIDIN', sb. a mode of punishment, consisting of the riding of a man on
a pole.
REV. W. GASKELL. In Anglo-Saxon a pole was steng, and in Danish it is
l8 S4$ stang, which is the word used in Lancashire, especially
in connection with a curious custom which formerly prevailed, and may still
in some parts of the county, called ' ' riding stang. “The only time I can
recollect witnessing it, it was intended for the punishment of a wife who had
beaten her liege lord. A boy was mounted on a pole, the stang, and carried
through the street in which she lived, reciting some doggrel rhymes, in which
the offender's name was brought in and held up to scorn, and accompanied by a
drumming of pans and kettles. Mr. Bamford gives a somewhat different account
of stang-ridin\ He says, ' ' The unfortunate wife is carried through the
village on a stang, while some witty neighbour proclaims, often in rude
rhyme, the poor fellow's sufferings and humiliations at home, in some such
words as these:
' Ting, tang, to the sign of the pan! Our good neighbour's wife She has beat
her good man. It was neither for boiled nor for roast. But hoo up with her
fist, an' Knocked down Mesther, post.'“
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 30.
HARLAND AND WILKINSON. The practice of what is locally called stang-ridin'
was l8 73 practised in Lancashire some forty years ago. When a
man or woman is detected in an act of unfaithfulness, a framework of two long
poles is procured, across which is placed a flat board, to serve as a seat.
The person who has offended is caught by the crowd, and tied fast to the seat
with cords. A procession is formed, and the
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(delwedd C3981) (tudalen 252)
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252 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
culprit is carried aloft on the shoulders of four men, attended by a crowd,
who make all the discordant noises they can, on pots, pans, and tea-trays, as
they pass along the road. Arrived at the front of any house, the procession
halts, and the leader proclaims the names of the parties, with the time and
place when the fault has been committed. When the real parties cannot be
captured a substitute is found, and the procession takes place as if the
offenders were really present. The writer accompanied one of these
processions, in the neighbourhood of Blackburn, when quite a youth; and the
feud thus created was not allayed for many years.
Leg. and Trad, of 'Lane. , p. 174.
STANNER (Lytham), sb. a ridge of stones formed by the sea.
STARK, adj. superlative or duplication of stiff, as “Aw'm stark wi'
walkin'," and “He's stiff an' stark by this time," i.e. “He is
dead." A.S. stearc.
SHAKSPERE. Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death.
I 59 I -3$ Romeo, iv. i. 103.
STARK-NAK'T, adj. entirely naked; an emphatic form of "naked."
SHAKSPERE. Stood stark-naked on the brook's green brim.
“599$ Passionate Pilgrim, p. 80.
COLL. USE. "Had he nowt on?" "Not he he was as stark- l88l<
nak't as when he wur born."
STAW (Ormskirk), v. to stop: a horse if pulled up when drawing a cart is
stawed. Staw = stall; see Stall (5) in Halliwell.
STAWMP, v. to stagger clumsily.
STEAWND, v. astound, i.e. confound.
WAUGH. The dule steawnd thee and thi Uncle Joe too!
l866 - Ben an' ttt Bantam, p. 96.
STEAWNGE, v. to cause a sharp, intense, and poignant pain. Allied to E.
sting. Cf. Lowl. Scotch stang, a sting. Burns begins his Address to the
Toothache, “My curse upon thy venom'd stang."
WAUGH. Every time I set my foot down there's a steawngiri
l879 ' pain strikes straight up from my toe to th' top o' mi yed.
Chimney Corner, p. 1 8.
IBID. It steawnges an' lutches to that degree that I sometimes
wish my yed would fly straight off. Ibid., p. 143.
STEE (N. Lane.), j a ladder, a stile. A.S. stigan, to climb, to STEIGH (S.
Lane.),) rise, to ascend; Icel. stegi, stigi.
COLLIER. I clum th' steigh in o snift. Works, p. 44.
1750.
STEGG (N. Lane.), sb. a gander. Same as E. stag; see Icel. steggr, steggi.
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(delwedd C3982) (tudalen 253)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 253
STEP-MOTHER'S-BLESSING, sb. a little break or soreness in the skin below the
nail.
STICK-FAST, v. to take firm hold. Stuck-fast, to be in a dilemma or position
of difficulty.
COLL. USE. i . Neaw lads, stick-fast; if that rope slips we're dun for.
IOO I.
2. He s stuck-fast neaw, if ever he wur in his loife. STIDDY, STITHY
,) . .. T . , _.
[ an anv1 ^ ^ ce “> stedt.
CHAUCER. The smyth
1380. That f or g et h sc harpe swerdes on his stith.
Knightes Tale, 1. 1167.
STINGO, sb. strong ale; metaphorically, anything powerful.
STIR, v. to depend, to rely; literally to move upon.
WAUGH. Well, he's nought mich to stir on, for sure; but he
helps me as weel as he con. Chimney Corner, p. 144.
STIR, sb. a merry-making, a party, a tumult
COLL. USE. “Yo'n had a rare stir last week." "Aye; it wur
eawr Mall's first christenia'."
STON, v. to stand.
BAMFORD. Yen's eawer Daniel wife spirit, as sure as I ston heer.
Early Days, p. 167.
STOOP, sb. a stump.
COLLIER. A mon restin' 'im on a stoop ith' lone. Works, p. 52.
1750.
WAUGH. Whatever's th' lad stonnin' i' th rain for like a stoop!
18671 Come in witho! Owd Blanket, p. 52.
STOUP-AN'-ROUP, sb. a complete clearance; “He's eatin' o', stoup-art-roup. '
'
STRACKLIN', sb. a giddy foolish person. STRACKT, part, distracted,
distraught, demented. STREY, sb. straw.
STRIKE, sb. a measure of capacity. Bamford defines it as containing two
pecks.
Miss LAHEE. Tha mun start an' brew another strike at once.
l86 5$ Carter's Struggles, p. 26.
STRINES, sb. handles of a barrow; the sides of a ladder.
STROLLOP, sb. an untidy woman, commonly used without the "s"
trollop.
STROPPIN',/^/. (Ormskirk), giving milk slowly. Allied to strip. See
Stripping” in Halliwell.
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(delwedd C3983) (tudalen 254)
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254 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
STUBBY, adj. short and stiff. Applied to the stature or “build” of a man, and
also to the hair of the beard.
STUT, v. to stutter, stammer. M.E. stoten; Icel. stauta.
WAUGH. Thou's had plenty to sup, I doubt, for thou stuts a bit.
Hermit Cobbler, p. 16.
SUAGE, | v. to soften; to remove a swelling by fomentation. SWAGE, ) Short
for assuage.
COLL. USE. He'll suage it away wi' camomile an' poppy-heads.
1 88 1.
SUMMAT, sb. something; adv. somewhat.
B. BRIERLEY. Dost think theaw could make summat [something] o'
that sort. Irkdale, p. 27.
WAUGH. It's no use lettin' it lie theer. It '11 come in for summat
1868. [something] better nor mendin' th' hee-road wi.
Sneck-Bant) p. 10. COLL. USE. I want a thing summat [somewhat] like this.
SUMPH, sb. a soft fellow, a simpleton.
SUMS, sb. pi. exercises in arithmetic; used also for arithmetic itself.
COLL. USE. He's larnin' readin' an' writin', but he's not getten into
l88l> sums yet.
SWAD, sb. a husk or shell. See SHULL. Cf. E. swathe.
WAUGH. Like peighs i' one swad. Besom Ben> p. 24.
1865.
'S, 1 “- wra PP ers for children - See SwAD - SWAILER, sb. a wholesale dealer
in corn and provisions.
SWAMMEL (N. Lane.), j dimb , e Qr {ree SWARM (General), )
SWANKIN' (N. Lane.), adj. very large.
SWAP,) v. to exchange or barter; to change or alter, and, figura- SWOP, )
tively, to be disappointed or mistaken.
GEO. ELIOT. But how could a fellow push his way properly, when
l8? 6 ' he objected to swop for his own advantage?
Daniel Deronda^ Book II., p. 324.
WAUGH. Th' owd lad wur i' sich a fluster, that istid o' stoppin'
l86s- it, he swapped the barrel to another tune.
Barrel Organ.
IBID. He's a pluck't-un is that lad, or else aw'm swapt.
l866 - Ben an' th? Bantam, p. 86.
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(delwedd C3984) (tudalen 255)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 255
WAUGH. i v ev er thae swaps, thae'll ha' to mend, for thae'rt as
ill as tho con be neaw. Owd Blanket, p. 1 8.
^ID- He made me ston o' one leg two hours, an' every five
minutes aw had to swap legs. Sneck-Bant, p. 28.
SVVEEL, v. to burn, to blaze, to burn and melt. A.S. swelan, to burn; Icel.
svala. A candle is said to sweet when the wick burns down upon the tallow and
causes it to melt or run. A fire or anything else is also said to sweel when
it burns fiercely.
SWEEL, sb. a great blaze.
SWEEL (Ormskirk), v. to singe. Icel. svala.
SWEELIN', v” firing the heather on the moors in winter.
SWELTED, part, well boiled; hot and perspiring. Allied to E. sweltry, now
spelt sultry; and to sweel (above).
SPENSER. Which like a fever fit through all his body swelt.
F. Q., Bk. I., c. vii., st. 6.
REV. W. GASKELL. When a Lancashire man is overheated, he says he is
l8 54$ "welly swelted." Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 17.
SWING, adj. sloping. A swing-road has a ditch at one side only, and slopes
uniformly towards the ditch, so that the top side is dry for foot passengers.
SWINGIN' (g soft), part. adj. big, bulky, large.
SWINGIN'-STICK, sb. a hazel stick for beating wool. In the cotton manufacture
the same thing was called a battiij- stick. See SCUTCH.
SWIPPER, adj. active, lithe. Cf. Icel. svipall, svipull, shifty, changeable.
B. BRIERLEY. Hoo's as swipper as a new tipt shuttle, hoo is.
1868. Irkdale, p. 176.
WAUGH. They were a lot o' th' swipper' st lads i' Christendom
l8 75$ wur th' Lancashire Volunteers. Old Cronies, p. 95.
IBID. He 're as swipper as a kitlin', an' as strung as a lion.
1879$ Chimney Corner, p. 199.
SWITHEN (Ormskirk), adj. crooked.
SWITHER, sb. a great heat; a swoon. Allied to sweat. Cf. Sanscrit svid, to
sweat; Icel. svffii, a burn.
B. BRIERLEY. Lorjus, heaw I swat! I felt as if I're gooin' off in a
l86 9$ swither. Ab in London, p. 93.
SWITHER, v. to dry up, to scorch. Icel. svitiar, to burn, singe. SWOL, v. to
fasten by the neck; as "To swol a beast in a shippon."
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(delwedd C3985) (tudalen 256)
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256 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
SWOP, sb. pronun. of soap.
WAUGH. Two peawnd o' breawn [brown] swop. Ay! Aw'll
18651 put th' swop into these clogs; or else eawr Betty '11
happen be slappin' it into th' pon wi' th' beef.
Besom Ben, p. 7.
SWORD, sb. the outside skin or rind in a rasher of bacon.
1440. Swarde, or sworde of flesche (swad or swarde), Coriana.
A.S. sweard, cutis porcina. Prompt. Parv.
COLL. USE. It 'H ate owt mon potato-pillin's, bacon- swords, an'
l881 - cabbage-stalks.
SYKE, sb. a ditch, a hollow place. Icel. sik, a gutter. In Yorkshire it is
also a channel for water; also the current of water along a channel, which
sometimes runs with great impetuosity down the side of a moor.
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(delwedd C3986) (tudalen 257)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 257
T.
TACK, sb. a flavour, a disagreeable taste.
TUSSER. Martilmas beefe doth beare good tack
When countrie folke doe dainties lack.
Husbandrie^ c. 12. What tacke in a pudding, saith greedy gut wringer.
Ibid., c. 76.
COLL. USE. There's some soart of a nasty tack abeawt this broth;
tha's had it in a dirty pon (pan).
TACKLE, v. to attempt, to take in hand.
REV. W. GASKELL. A Lancashire man talks of tacklivt a horse, for har- “““““
nessing it; and he says, “I'll tackle the felly," meaning
“I'll set him right," generally by what he calls "giving him a
dressing." Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. II.
COLL. USE. It's too big for him, mon; he'll noan tackle a job like
88r - that.
TACKLER, sb. a name given to an overlooker in a weaving mill.
TAISTRIL (Fylde and N. Lane.), ) sb. a vicious, ill-conditioned TEASTRIL (S.
Lane.), ) person.
COLLIER. This teastril proffert bring meh clear off for hoave o
17S “ginny [half a guinea], Works, p. 65.
J. P. MORRIS. Thow drukken taistril, thow. Lebby Beck Dobby, 8.
1867.
TAK-ON, v. to exhibit grief or anger in a violent manner.
COLL. USE. Tha munnot tak-on o' thattens tha'll only mak thisell
1881. ilL
TALLY-BOARD, sb. a tally, a piece of wood on which an account is notched or
chalked; a board on which a record of a weaver's work is kept.
TAN, v. to beat. A figurative expression used only in connection with the
word “hide” or skin.
WAUGH. Iv ony mon says wrang to me,
1859$ Aw'll tan his hide to-day! Lane. Songs: Chirrup.
TANG (Lytham), sb. a long tongue-like seaweed Danish tang; Icel. Ipang.
TANGLE, sb. seaweed. Icel. tyngull. TANGLES, sb. locks of hair also
entanglements.
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(delwedd C3987) (tudalen 258)
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258 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TANKLIN', sb. a dangling thing; a pendant.
WAUGH. "Hello, Dick, what's that bit o' th' tankliri thou's
l879 ' getten thrut o'er thi shoolder?" "It's a cock-chicken,
owd lad. I'm beawn t' ha' this brid to mi tay."
Chimney Corner, p. 216.
TANTRUM, sb. a fit of rage or passion; a silly exhibition of impatience.
COLL. USE. Aw'll ha' none o' thi tantrums here; dunnot thee think
1882.
owt
TASTRIL, sb. a small keg or barrel.
TATCHIN'-END, sb. a thread with a bristle attached to it; used in shoemaking.
'TATOE-HASH, sb. flesh-meat and potatoes boiled together, a dish very common
in Lancashire.
COLL. USE. What, han we ' tatoe-hash again to-day? Let's have a
l88l< bit of a change to-morrow!
TATTER-CLOUT, sb. a beggar, a poorly-dressed man or woman.
WAUGH. A mon owd enough to be thi faither a poor tatter-clout
l8 79$ 'at's nought noather in him nor on him a clemmed
craiter 'at doesn't get a gradely belly-full o' meight in a week's time.
Chimney Corner; p. 153.
TAX- WAX, \ sb. gristle; the tendon in a leg of mutton.
TAXY-WAXY (Preston), j In other parts of the country, pax-wax and. fa-fax.
TAK { v ' t0 take ' Scotch ““
WAUGH. Tay thy wynt a bit, Bodle; thir't safe londed, iv it be
l8 55$ hard leetin'. Lane. Sketches, p. 30.
TEAGLE, sb. a wooden crane projecting from the upper part of a building, and
used for raising or lowering goods.
TEA THINCS }
TAY THINCs' I s ^' ^ e eartnenware or other vessels used at tea.
TEDDISOME (N. Lane.), adj. tedious, fretful.
DR. BARBER. He duddent set mich be the'r teddisum bis'ness.
Forness Folk, p. 25.
TFAM"' I Vm “P ur> ^ ce ^ ^ ma -> to empty out, from tbmr, empty.
B. BRIERLEY. Hoo temmed me a cup o' tae eaut.
Ab in London, p. 92.
COLL. USE. Come, teem eawt, an' let's be suppin'; aw'm dry.
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(delwedd C3988) (tudalen 259)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
259
TEEN, v. to shut or close. See TINE.
The folks in the house used to say, “Hello! so-an-so's comin'; teen th'
dur!" whereupon the landlord would reply, “Nawe, nawe, lev it oppen, or
else he'll punce it in!" Lane. Sketches, p. 183.
Hie tho' off, like a red-shank, or th' dur may be teen 'd. Lane. Songs:
Grindle stone.
TEEND, v. to light, to kindle. A.S. tendan, tyndan, to set fire to. Icel.
tendra, to make a fire, to light.
SPENSER. In their stubborne mind.
Coles of contention and whot vengeance find.
F. Queene, ii. viii. xi.
WAUGH. 1855$
IBID. 1859.
1596.
REV. W. G ASK ELL.
Another common phrase is “teend th' fire," that is, l8 54$ light it.
This is only a slight change from the Anglo- Saxon verb tendan, to set on
fire, from which "tinder"' is, no doubt, derived. We are told that
in the Fylde district, “the last evening in October is called the ' Teanlay
night; ' at the close of the day, till within late years, the hills which
enclose that district shone brightly with many a bonfire, the mosses
rivalling them with their fires, kindled for the object of succouring their
friends in purgatory." Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 15.
[Strictly speaking, tinder is not “derived" from A.S. tendan, but both
words are from the same root. W. W. S.]
TELL-TALE-TIT, sb. a tale-bearer; one who discloses a secret. TEMS (Fylde and
S. Lane.), sb. a sieve. See Temsem Halliwell. TENNIL, sb. a large basket.
TENT, v. to watch, to mind.
WILLIAM MORRIS. And sheep, and swine, fed on the herbage sweet, l86 9$
Seeming all wild as though they knew not man,
For quite untented here and there they ran.
_ Jason, p, 179.
Eawr Matty helps my mother, an' Hoo sews, an' tents eawr Joe.
Lane. Songs: Eawr Folk.
I wish thou'd manage to do thi wark beawt so mich tentin\ Old Cronies, p. 20.
TENTER, sb. a watcher; one who has charge of certain machines in a mill.
TEWIN',/#r/. toiling. Same as E. taw, to curry leather. A.S. tawian, to
prepare, get ready, also to scourge; always with the sense of violent
exertion.
Aw sometimes think it's very weel that four ov eawrs e i' heaven we'n sich
hard tewin' to poo through wi' Factory Folk, p. 35.
WAUGH. 1859.
WAUGH.
1875$$
WAUGH. 1867.
are
tother, just neaw
IBID. Owd wed folk finden one another's bits o' ways eawt,
1867. w i> livin', an' tewin', an' pooin', an' feightin' th' world
together. Tattliri Matty, p. 12.
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(delwedd C3989) (tudalen 260)
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260 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TEWIN', part, teasing, persuading, urging.
REV. W. GASKELL. When a Lancashire man would express strongly the
way in which another plagues or teases him, he says, “Yo're awlus tewin 1 on
me, that yo are!" This seems to be the same as the Anglo-Saxon teogan,
to pull, whence our\word "tug." We have it in the Lancashire form
in Drayton's Polyolbion, where he says
The toiling fisher here is tewing of his net.
Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 16.
TEWIT, sb. the lapwing or green plover. Vamllus cristatus. TEWITISH (Fylde),
adj. wild, foolish.
THARCAKE, sb. a cake made from meal, treacle, and butter, and eaten on the
night of the fifth of November. Short for Tharf-cake, M.E. therf-cake in P.
Plowman. A.S. theorf, thcerf, unleavened.
COLLIER. Qs thodd'n os a tharcake. Works, p. 57.
1750.
WAUGH. [He thought] of the carols and festivities at Christmas,
the Thar-cake or Thor-cake, and the nightly fun of Hallowmass Eve. Owd
Blanket, p. 34.
THAR-CA.KE MONDAY, sb. the first Monday after Halloween, which is the vigil
of All Saints' Day, which is on the first of November. The second of November
is All Souls' Day. In the Festa Anglo- Romano we read, “The custom of Soul
Mass Cakes, which are a kind of oat cakes, that some of the richer sorts of
persons in Lancashire (among the Papists) use still to give the poor on this
day." The name, however Thar-cake, or Thor-cake, suggests a still older
origin.
WAUGH. "How owd arto?" “Five-an'-twenty, come Thar- l8?9$ cake
Monday." Chimney Corner, p. 366.
THAT, adv. used for the adverb “so."
COLL. USE. He's that nowt (naughty) he doesn't know what to
l88r - do wi' his-sel.
THEAWM-ROPE, sb. a hay band.
FEFNICUTE } s ^' a sneakin S P erson > a hypocrite.
THEIRSELS, pro. themselves.
WAUGH. Folk 'at never did a hond's-turn for theirsels sin they
18791 wur born into th' world. Chimney Corner, p. 141.
THIBBS, sb. the shafts of a cart.
THIBLE, sb. a porridge stick; a piece of flat wood used to stir meat in
cooking.
COLLIER. J went for t' borrow their thible, to stir th' furmetry
weh. Works, p. 40.
WAUGH. Sin th' day hoo broke my nose i th' fowd
l8 59$ Wi' th' edge o' th' porridge thible.
Lane. Songs: Margifs Comin '.
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(delwedd C3990) (tudalen 261)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 26 1
THICK, adj. friendly, intimate.
B. BRIERLEV. The children were already "as thick as inkle-
weavers,"
l868 “notwithstanding their short acquaintance.
Irkdale, p. 60.
COLL. USE. Thoose two are a deol too thick, aw con tell thi; tha'
l88l> mun watch 'em; they're brewin summat o' no good
between 'em.
THICK-AN'-THIN, sb. all sorts of things, difficulties, obstacles.
COLL. USE. He's the mon to do it: he'll feight thro' thick-an'-thin,
l88l> but he'll have his own road at last.
THICK-AN'-THREEFOLD, adv. in great numbers.
COLL. USE. They'd nobbut been married abeawt three months
when trouble begun o' comin' on 'em thick-an 1 -threefold.
THICK-NECK (Heysham), sb. a false growth in corn; the growing of several
stalks together.
THICKYED, sb. (thickhead) an obtuse or stupid person.
COLL. USE. He's a born thickyed: he knows nowt, an' he'll larn
1881.
nowt.
THI'DD'N, pro. and v. pi. they had.
WAUGH. After Owd Neddy an' Bodle had been fuddlin' o' th'
l8s5 ' o'erneet, thfdd'n just getten a yure o' th' owd dog into
'em. Lane. Sketches, p. 28.
THILL, sb. the shaft of a cart or waggon. See thy lie in Prompt. Parv.
THILLER, sb. the horse between the shafts. See thy lie-horse in Prompt. Parv.
THILLIN', part, working in the shafts.
THINGS, sb. pi. clothes, personal apparel.
SPENSER. Set all your things in seemely good aray.
Epithalamion.
COLL. USE. Arto' gooin' to th' owd lad's buryin'?" "Nawe;
l88lt aw've no things good enoof to goo in."
THINK-ON, v. to remember.
COLL. USE. i. Be sure an' think-on what aw tell thee.
2. Mi head's noan worth a rap; aw connot think-on beawt (unless) aw put it
deawn.
3. Tha mun think-me-on to-morn; if tha doesn't, aw'st be sure to forget it.
THISEL, pro. thyself.
WAUGH. Now, rap thiseP weel up! Chimney Corner, p. 145.
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(delwedd C3991) (tudalen 262)
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262 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
THISSENS, 1 adv ' in this
COLLIER. Theyd'n better t' be o thiss'n. Works, xxxv.
1750- WAUGH. Thae '11 be gettin' wrang again. Aw never like to see
tho o' thissens. Ben an' ttt Bantam, p. 18.
THO', pro. thee.
WAUGH. \VT a lot o' little childer yammerin' round tho\
Chimney Comer, p. 144.
THODDEN, adj. applied to bread or dough which has not risen in consequence of
failure in the yeast; and, figuratively, to anything which is close-grained
or heavy.
COLLIER. Qs thodd'n os a tharcake. Works, p. 57.
“75$
B. BRIERLEY. Childer, drinkin' nowt strunger than churn-milk, till
18691 their bones are gradely set an' their flesh as thodden as
leather. Ab-o > -th > - Yate in London, p. 64. - THOLE, v. to suffer,
to endure. A.S. tholian; M.E. tholen; formerly very common.
BURNS. Poor tenant bodies, scant o' cash,
How they maun thole a factor's snash. Twa Dogs.
THREEP, ) v. to argue, to contend for a special point, to dispute. THREAP, j
A.S. thredpian; cf. Icel. ]>re/a, to wrangle.
COLL USE. He'd threap o' neet if yo'd hearken him.
1881.
THRIMBLE, v. to crumble bread; also to tremble, to trifle, to hesitate.
BAMFORD. Whot dusto ston thrimblirf theer for?
18541 Dial. S. Lane., p. 247.
THRINTER, sb. a three-year-old sheep.
THRODDY, adj. short, dumpy. Cf. Icel. tyutinn, swollen; tyutna, to swell.
COLLIER. A fattish, throddy gentleman coom in a trice.
Works, p. 56.
EDWARD KIRK. Throddy means stiff, or low and stout; dumpy, if you
will. "A little throddy fellow" is applied to a fine fat child or a
short stout-set man.
Manch. Guardian, Jan. 3, 1876.
THRODKIN, sb. a cake made of oatmeal and bacon.
EDWARD KIRK. Throdkin is the name of a cake peculiar, I believe, to
18761 the Fylde district, where it was reckoned a staple dish a
quarter of a century ago. It is made of meal and water kneaded well together,
and afterwards placed, upon a large deep plate, often made of tin, and in
depth not unlike a soup plate. The cake was about an inch and a half in
thickness, and was well pressed with the thumb upon the plate. The surface
was covered with slices or scraps of fat bacon. When baked the throdkin was
cut tart fashion, and served with the slices of bacon. Eaten fresh and warm
it was not an unwelcome dish, and a little of it went a long way with the
keenest appetite of a thresher. Manch. Guardian, Jan. 3, 1876.
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(delwedd C3992) (tudalen 263)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 263
THROE, sb. a forked stick, laid across a mug to support a sieve whilst milk
or other liquid is strained through.
THRONG, 1 adj. busy, full of work. Icel. ]>rongr. Cf. A.S. THRUNG, j
thringan, to press, urge.
BURNS. Twa dogs, that were na thrangvX. hame. The TwaDogs. 1786.
ALEX. WILSON. 'Twur thrung as Eccles wakes, mon. Songs of Wilsons.
1842.
WAUGH. They wur as thrung as Throp wife together.
i 8 6S- Sneck-Bant, p. 25.
COLL. USE. i. We connot do with you to-day, mestur we're too
“88i. thrung.
2. It's a thrung shop is this, an' no mistake.
THRUMS, sb. pi. the ends of a warp. Icel. ]>romr, an edge. THRUT, v.
threw; also thrown.
WAUGH. Hoo wur welly thrut eawt o' bed. '
l8 55$ Lane. Sketches, p. 208.
IBID. Owd Jud thrut him o'er th' hedge just like cob'in
a catch-bo'. Old Cronies, p. 40.
I BID - One said it was a jackdaw, an' another he said “Nay;
It's nobbut an' owd blackin'-brush 'at somebry's thrut away." Old
Cronies, p. 59.
THRUTCH, v. to push, to press, to crowd; and, figuratively, thrutched is to
be troubled or distressed. A narrow ravine on the river Spodden, near
Rochdale, is called the "Thrutch." A.S. thryccan, to press.
COLLIER. Yet I'm war [worse] thrutcht between two arran rogues.
'75. Works, xxxiii.
WAUGH. "Aw think thae'rt a bit thrutctit i' thi mind this
l86 7$ mornin' abeawt summat, artn'to?" “ThrutcWt or no
thrutch^t, aw'll thank yo to be thrutchirf off this durstone!" Owd
Blanket, p. 10.
IBID. There wur three folk i' that hole that wur as ill
l8 75$ thrutched i' their minds as ony poor craiters i' Christendom could be.
Old Cronies, p. 45.
IBID. They olez say'n there's th' most thrutchiri wheer
l8 79$ there's th' least reawm. Chimney Corner, p. 40.
THRUTCHINS, sb. the whey which is last pressed in the making of cheese.
COLLIER. A lyte weter-podditch an' some thrutchins.
'75 - Works, p. 68.
THATTEN,
COLL. USE. If tha' gwos on o' thattens ony lunger tha'll be ruin't
l88 '- (ruin'd).
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(delwedd C3993) (tudalen 264)
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264 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
THUNGE, v. to knock in a violent fashion.
Miss LAUEE. One o' th' women fot me a thungiri rap between th
sheaulders. Betty d' Yeps, p. 9.
WAUGH. They thunged at owd Fullocker's dur [door].
Chimney Corner, p. 173. THWANG, sb. a thump, a blow. TT-T\V1 nTTf \
THWITTLE I v ' tO CUt ' ^"^' ^ w ^ an t cut - WAUGH. I've seen tho
thwite very hondsomely at a goose afore
now. Old Cronies, p. 32.
THWITTLE, s& a knife. Cf. Icel. tyeita, \vita, a kind of axe or chopper.
See above.
CHAUCER. A Scheffield thwitel bar he in his hose.
Reeves Tale, 1. 13.
COLLIER. Qs good veeol [veal] os ever deed on a thwittle.
Works, p. 42. B. BRIERLEY. A bit of as nice mutton as ever greased a
thwittle.
Ab-J-th- Yate in London, p. 55.
WAUGH. j see'd him with a pluck-an-liver i' one hond, an' a
thwittle i' th' tother. Chimney Corner, p. 376.
TICKLE, 0^'. nice, dainty; also precarious. M.E. tikel, unstable. Chaucer,
Miller's Tale, 1. 242.
WAUGH. Hoo's nobbut in a tickle state of health.
l868 ' Sneck-Bant, p. 79.
IBID. "What are yo for havin'?" said the landlady.
1879. "Well," said Bockin, “we'n just have aught 'at yo'n a
mind to give us, Mally. I'm noan tickle; an' I'm sure Billy isn't."
Chimney Corner, p. 73.
TICKLE-BUT, adv. headlong, impetuous.
WAUGH. An ill-willed keaw (cow) coom tickle-but bang through
18761 th' fair, wi' th' yed down, an' th' tail up.
Hermit Cobbler, p. 1 6.
IBID. At it he went, tickle-but, like a bull at a gate.
l879 “Chimney Corner, p. 115.
TICK-TACK-TOE, sb. a child's game.
S. ROWLANDS. At Tick-tacke, Irish, Noddie, Maw, and Ruffe;
At hot-cockles, leape-frogge, or blindman-buffe.
Notes to Stubbes^s Anatomy of Abuses.
TIE-IN (Oldham), v. to set in; especially used of a sickness which follows in
addition to one already there.
TIG, v. to touch. M.E. tek, a slight touch; Prompt. Parv.
TIMMERSOME, adj. timid, afraid.
COLLIER. Boh yoar'n bowd; I'st o bin timmersome.
Works, p. 48.
WAUGH. Ever sin it happened hoo gets quite timmersome as
l8 5S- soon as it draws toawrd edge o' dark.
Lane. Sketches, p. 208.
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(delwedd C3994) (tudalen 265)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 265
TINE, v. to shut or close. See TEEN. A.S. Pjnan, to enclose, to shut in,
formed (by regular change of u to $) from tfm, an enclosure = E. town.
COLLIER. It wur one o'clock afore I could toyn me een.
J 75o. Works, p. 54.
REV. W. GASKELL. In Anglo-Saxon, tynan meant to shut; as "tynde\\z
l8 54$ his bee," he shut his books. In Lancashire it is still
common to say, "tin th' dur," that is, shut the door.
In Tim Bobbin we read, “Owey they seete to' th' leath
on toyn t' dur." Lect. Lane. Dialect, p. 15.
TINGE, sb. a small red bug.
TIPPLE, sb. any kind of intoxicating drink.
COLL. USE. Sup up; it's a good tipple it '11 warm thi.
1881.
TIT, sb. a nag, a small horse.
T “5 S 8 S o R ' By /” and such
Few gaineth much. Husbandrie, c. 15.
COLLIER. Sum cryed'n eawt a Doctor, a Doctor, while others
I750> mead'n th' londlort go saddle th' tit to fotch one.
Works, p. 52.
B. BRIERLEY. Dost think theaw could mak' summat o' that sort for
l868> yon tit o' mine? Irkdale, p. 27.
WAUGH. "Jack, that's noan an ill mak of a tit." “Nawe,
l8 75$ bi th' mass," replied Jack, "it's as bonny a bit o'
horse-flesh as ever I clapt een on." Old Cronies, p. 22.
TITHERUP, sb. a hand-gallop. From the sound. Also called tit-up.
TITTER, sb. a ringworm.
TITTER-OR-LATTER, adv. phrase, sooner or later. Icel. ti&r, frequent;
Mid. Eng. titter t more quickly. See Hampole's Pricke of Conscience,\. 2,354.
WAUGH. It brings 'em down, titter or latter, as how strong they
l8 79$ are. Chimney Corner, p. 8.
TITTIVATE, v. to dress up, to adorn.
COLL. USE. Hoo'll stond tittivating hersel afore th' glass for an
I88l> hour.
TITTY, sb. the breast, also the milk from the breast.
TIZIKY, adj. asthmatical, short of breath, having a troublesome cough. From
fistc, corruption Q{ phthisic, adj. from phthisis.
SHAKSPERE. A whoreson rascally tisick so troubles me.
IS 94$ Troilus and C., v. iii. 101.
COLL. USE. He's like a tiziky owd mon, tho' he's noan forty yet.
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(delwedd C3995) (tudalen 266)
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266 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TO, pro. thou; as wilto, hasto, conto. TOAD-RUD, sb. the spawn of toads.
TO-BE-SURE, adv. phrase, equivalent to certainly, without question. SE.
“Do'st think he'll come?" “To-be-sure he will."
TOD (N. Lane.), sb. the fox. Cf. Icel. fati, dung; prob. from the smell.
TO-DO, sb, a row, a bustle, an uncommon occurrence or occasion.
WILLIAM BLACK. Dear, dear, what a to-do there was when he ran away.
Three Feathers, c. xl.
COLL. USE. i. What's to-do? (What is the matter?)
1881.
2. There wur a rare to-do (famous doings).
TOIT (N. Lane.), v. to turn over, to upset.
TO-MORN, sb. to-morrow.
WAUGH. It's Kesmass to-morn thou knows.
Old Cronies, p. 29.
TONE, adj. one. Due to the old phrase the tone, corruption of thet one -that
one, i.e., the one. The initial t is due to the final / of that. So also in
the tother that other.
ALEX. WILSON. We donned eawr bits o' ribbins too,
1840. Q ne rec ^ one g r een, an' tone wur blue.
Songs of Wilsons.
WAUGH. Tay thy cheer to th' tone side a bit, an' may reawm for
l8 55$ him. Lane. Sketches, p. 25.
Miss LAHEE. Yo hannot yerd tone hauve [half] on it yet.
l86 5$ Betty o' Yeps, p. 13.
B. BRIERLEY. He're like a mon ut had lost tone hawve of hissel afore
he'd been wed three months. Irkdale, p. 26.
TONE-AN'-TOTHER, adj. phrase, the one and the other.
TUSSER. Of two sorts of men, the tone good, and tother bad,
I58o- out of S. Augustine.
Since first the world began, there was and shall be still, Of humane kind,
than good and thother ill.
Husbandrie, c. no.
WAUGH. There'd be about six o' tone an' hauve-a-dozen o' tother.
Chimney Corner, p. 349.
TOOT, v. to search, pry, meddle. M.E. toten^ to peep out.
SPENSER. With bowe and bolts in either hand,
I579$ For birds in bushes tooting.
Shepheardes Calender: March.
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(delwedd C3996) (tudalen 267)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
26;
TUSSER. Ill huswiferie tooteth,
J 58o. TO make hir selfe brave,
Good huswiferie looketh What houshold must have.
Husbandrie, c. 94.
WAUGH.
1859.
IBID.
COLL. USE.
1881.
Through th' woodlan' green aw tooted keen, For th' little window winkin'.
Lane. Songs: Goblin Parson.
An' he tooted about o'er th' neighbourin' ground; Still, never a soul to turn
th' stone could he find.
Ibid.: Grindlestone.
He's allus rootin' an' tootirt abeawt.
TOOTH-AN-NAIL, adv. with determination, with all one's strength. He's at it
mon tooth-arf -nail from mornin' till neet.
COLL. USB. 1881.
TOOTHSOME, adj. dainty, palatable.
We'n a bit o' nice cowd beef, an I'll bring it eawt. ut it's bhoylt (boiled),
mind yo! Dun yo like it bhoylt?
WAUGH. 1855$
But
Yo'n find it middlin' toothsome. Lane. 'Sketches; p. 24.
TOOTH-WARCHE, sb. toothache.
WAUGH. 1879.
It isn't to tell how a bit of a thing like th' tooth-ware he can potter a
body. Chimney Corner, p. 143.
TOOTLE, v. to flute, to whistle.
B. BRIERLEV. 1869.
WAUGH. 1875.
"Handel!" I said, "has Handel o' Jone's getten to that height
wi' his tootlirf?" He said he wur no Handel o' Jone's, but th' great
Handel of o.
Ab-tf-tK- Yate in London, p. 39.
"An odd tot a-piece bring,"
Said Rondle, "an' then, Like layrocks o' th' wing,
We'n tootle again." We toot lit an' sang
Till midneet coom on. Old Cronies, p. 55.
TOPPER, sb. something surpassingly great or better than common.
WAUGH. Eawr Tummy's taen to preitchin'
18591 He's a topper at it, too!
Lane. Songs: Eawr Folk.
TOPPIN, sb. the hair of the head.
Let him alone, wilto? or else aw'll poo that toppin o' thine, smartly, aw
will! Factory Folk, p. 166.
WAUGH. 1867.
TOPPIN-FAT, sb. hair oil.
WAUGH.
1879.
(Referring to an over-dressed woman) Yon's worn [spent] some brass o' ribbins
an' toppin-fat, I'll awarnd yo! Chimney Corner, p. 26.
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(delwedd C3997) (tudalen 268)
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268 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TORE, v. to try hard, to endeavour strenuously; toriri, labouring assiduously
and faring hardly; toriri-on, to contrive to exist by the hardest labour and
on the barest means. Perhaps a corruption of taw, the same as tew. See
TEWIN'.
BAM FORD. Poor things, they hanno a gradely livin', theyn nobbut
l8 54$ a torin on. Dial. S. Lane., p. 249.
WAUGH. So they toarft on, o' this ill fashion, year after year,
18 75$ till at last Nan wur ta'en ill. Old Cronies, p. 52.
TO-RIGHTS, \ adj. right, straight, in proper order or condi- TO-REETS, }
tion.
COLL. USE. He'll put 'em to-reets if ony body con.
1881.
TOT, sb. a small drinking vessel; also a small quantity of drink.
WAUGH. Their ale-tote stood, some on the hob, and some on the
l86 5$ round table, at the landlord's elbow.
Sexton's Story, p. 6.
IBID. Theer they sit; an' nought would do but I mut have a
18 7 6 - tot wi' 'em. Hermit Cobbler, p. 18.
TOTHER, adj. the other. See TONE.
WAUGH. Him an' this tother wur as thick as inkle-weighvers.
l868 - Sneck-Bant, p. 25.
B. BRIRRLEY. Clinker! stick to her tother hont. Irkdale, p. 6.
1868.
COLL. USE. I'll tak tone hawve if tha'll tak tother.
IBOI.
TOUCHER, sb. a shave, i.e., a close shave.
B. BRIERLEY. Hoo're as nee as- a toucher makkin a mistake.
l86 9$ Ab-o'-th'- Yate in London, p. 5.
TOWEL, v. to beat.
TOWELLIN', sb. a beating..
WAUGH, He started o' givin' him a gradely good towellin\
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 161.
TRAPES, v. to walk to no purpose; to go about foolishly or on an useless
errand. Mr. Thomas Kardy (Far from Madding Crowd, c. viii.) has “they all had
a traypse up to the vestry."
TRASH, v. to go slipshod.
TRASHES, sb. worn-out shoes; also slippers.
COLL. USE. He'd nowt on his feet but a pair o' trashes that let o'
l88l< his toes through.
TRAWNCE, sb. a tedious walk, a roundabout journey.
COLLIER. I've had sich o' trawnce this mornin' as eh neer had e'
meh life. Works, p. 40.
WAUGH. “Arto tire't, my lad?" "Ay a bit." "Ay an'
l8 79$ thou may weel. It's a lung trawnce, an' thou's walked
it like a drum-major." Chimney Corner, p. 86.
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(delwedd C3998) (tudalen 269)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 269
TRAWNCE, v. to tramp.
WAUGH. Thae'rt th' owdest o' th' two, an' thae'rt noan fit to
l86 7$ trawnce up an' deawn o' this shap.
Factory Folk, p. 195,
TRAYCLE, sb. treacle, molasses.
WAUGH. I've bin havin' baum-tay, sweeten't wi' traycle, for a
l8 79$ while. Chimney Corner, p. 142.
TREST, sb. a strong bench; a butcher's block. Cf. E, trestle. TRIG, v. to
evade by moving quickly round corners or obstacles.
TRINDLE, ) sb. a hoop; the wheel of a barrow; the neck ruffle TRUNDLE, j of a
shirt. A.S. tryndel, a circle, hoop.
B. BRIERLEY. We seed a hippopotamus a thing wi' a meauth ut ud
l86 9$ howd a wheelbarrow, trindle an' o.
Ab-o'-th'- Yale in London, p. 47,
TRIPPIT, sb. a quarter of a pound.
TROD, sb. road, highway. M.E. trod, Ancren Riwle, p. 380, note^.
WAUGH. The district is far out of the common trod, as Lanca- 18551 shire people
say. Lane. Sketches, p; 72.
TROLLOPS, sb. a slattern, a slovenly woman.
WAUGH. He's taen up wi' some mak ov a durty trollops 'at he's
let on upo' th' road, an' he's carryin' her chylt upo' th' jackass. Ben an'
th' Bantam, c. iv., p. 74.
IBID. Aw should as soon think o' gettin' wed to a co'n- boggart as sich a
trollops. Sneck-Bant, p. 91.
“It's th' new sarvant at th' Buck. What a trollops to be sure!” " Aye
hoo's a gradely daggle-tail."
Chimney Corner, p. 28.
TROT, v. to joke, to chaff, to make sport of. A “Bolton Trotter" is one
who practices upon another the kind of chaff common in Bolton.
TRUCK, sb. trade, business, communication. M.E. trukken, to barter; Ancren
Riwle, p. 380; from F. troquer, to barter..
WAUGH. “Well, bring it [a cat] in," said the landlord. "Nay,"
replied Ben, "aw'll ha' no moor truck wi't. Tak it for yoursel."
Ben an' th' Bantam, c. ii., p. 47.
IBID. "Ben, here, would do it for a trifle; wouldn't tho,
18671 Ben?" "Nay," replied Ben, “aw'd rayther ha' no
truck." Owd Blanket, p. 102.
I BID - As soon as I'd stable't Brown Jenny, I set off into th'
market to look after mi truck [trade].
Hermit Cobbler, p. 16.
COLL. USE. Aw'll ha' no truck wi' thee, aw con tell thee; so tha
con pike off.
TULLET (Fylde), sb. a small gull.
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(delwedd C3999) (tudalen 270)
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270 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TUN, v. to pour.
CotL USE. (Said of a man drinking) “Eh, he did tun it into him.”
1881.
TURMIT, sb. a turnip.
WAUGH. Sam, get some potitos, an' a two-three carrits an;
l866 - turmits. Ben an 1 t/t' Bantam, c. ii., p. 31.
TUSH, sb. a tooth; tushie, a baby's tooth. See Shakspere, Venus, 1. 617. A.S.
tusc.
COLLIER. Ho, 'onist mon whot munneh gi' yo t' drea
I 7 62 - A tush ot pleagues me awmust neet un dea.
Works, p, 448: Hob and the Quack Doctor.
TWELL, sb. a turn or twirl, as of a wheel. E. twirl.
WAUGH. I connot howd th' axe an' turn th' hondle mysel';
l8 59$ Thou'st a nice lad o' somebry's come, give us a twell!
Lane. Songs: Grindlestone.
TWILTIN', sb. a beating. Also a quilting in some parts.
WAUGH. Thou young foo',
l8 59$ Thou'll get a rare twiltin 1 for stoppin' fro' schoo'.
Lane. Soitgsi Grindlestone. TWINDLES, sb. twins.
TWINTER, sb. a two-year-old sheep. Lit. two-winter.
TWITCH-CLOCK, sb. the common black beetle.
WAUGH. Nay; it's nobbut a twitch-clock, or cricket, or summat.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 325.
TWITCHEL, sb. a short wooden lever with a loop of rope fastened to one end;
the rope is put round the lower jaw of an unruly horse, and the stick is
twisted round so as to get a tight hold of the jaw and subdue the horse.
TWITCHEL, v. to pinch, to nip; more correctly, to get into a noose. See TWITCHEL,
sb.
B. BRIERLEY. If ever I catch 'em among dacent folk, I'll twitchel
'em, if ther's a pair o' owcl cans or tin kettles to be fund i' Lunnon.
Ab-tf-ttf- Yate in London, p. 44.
TWITCHELT, adj. in a noose.
WAUGH. He wacker't an stare't like a twichelt dog.
1855$ Lane. Sketches, p. 130.
B. BRIERLEY. He made her squeal as leawd as a twichelt gonner.
1868. Irkdale, p. 193.
WAUGH. Theer he stoode, swillin' it round, an' starin' like a
l8 79$ twichelt earwig. Chimney Corner, p. 9.
TWO-DOUBLE, adj. bowed with age or infirmity.
COLL. USE. Tha'll never have a mon loike that, wilto? Why, he's
l88t - nearly two-double.
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(delwedd C4000) (tudalen 271)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
TWO-THRE, adj. two or three; a few.
B. BRIERLEY. He's a two-thri letters want 'liverin'.
Irkdak,. p. 252.
WAUGH. Clock's just upo' th' stroke o? twelve. It'll be Christ- l8 75$ mas
Day in a two-thre minutes. Old Cronies, p. 100.
IBID. I flang a two-thre oddments mysel'.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner , p. 41.
TYKE, sb. an overgrown man or beast; a queer or awkward fellow. Icel. tik, a
bitch, dog.
TYPE, v. to overturn. Cf. mod. E. tip over.
TYPE-O'ER, v. to fall; figuratively, to die.
WAUGH. How's Owd Grime gettin' on?" “Oh, he's gone L
Th' owd lad type't o'er abeawt a fortnight sin."
Snetk-Bant, p. 27.
IBID. In a bit he typft o'er, an' o' wur still.
l8?9.- Chimney Corner^ p. 377..
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(delwedd C4001) (tudalen 272)
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272
LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY,
U.
sb '
r. them; also, when pronounced with closed lips and accompanied by an
inclination of the head, equivalent to "yes." Um in the former
sense answers to M.E. hem, them, common in Chaucer.
UMBRELL, sb. an umbrella.
WAUGH. It's a good job yo brought yo'r umbrell.
1879.
UN, con. and. UN, adj. one.
COLL. USE.
Chimney Corner, p. 361.
There's another un comin' up th' loan (lane).
JOHN SCHOLES. l8 57$
Miss LAHEE. 1870.
Aw've slipt thoose things in unbeknown to her.
Jaunt to see ttf Queen, p. 25.
He bought it for me unbeknown to Jim.
Esther's Divvy, p. 30.
UNBETHINK, v. to remember, to reflect. Lit. “to think about." The prefix
un- is for urn-; A.S. ymb-, about. “J>att te birrth ummbethennkenn
agg," i.e. that it behoves thee always to consider. Ormulum, 1240.
On then I unbethoiutv&o, o'mesawt. Works, p. 49.
Aw'll have a wift o' 'bacco whol aw unbethink mo a bit. Ben arf tti Bantam,
c. iii., p. 51.
That's hur 'at I wur beawn to get wed to at first; but I've unbethotight
mysel' sin then.
Chimney Corner, p. 20.
He forgeet Jone, as clean as a whistle, an' he drove through Middleton, an'
straight on to Rachda', afore he unbethought his-sel'. Ibid.,^. 353.
UNCUTH, adj. strange. A.S. un-cti, unknown.
COLLIER. 1750.
WAUGH. 1866.
IBID.
1879.
IBID.
LANGLAND. I377$
Unkotith knightes shul come thi kyngdom to cleve. P. Plowman, B-text, Pass,
vii., 1. 155.
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(delwedd C4002) (tudalen 273)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
273
SPENSER.
They three together travelled Through many a wood and many an uncouth way.
F. Queene, Bk. III., canto x., st. 34.
T. L. O. DAVIES.
18751
Uncouth once meant "unknown." Bishop Hall speaks of an apparition
of a good angel as being in modern days "wonderful and tmcouth"
(Invis. World, i. 8); but the prejudice which is often felt against that
which is strange led to its present sense of "rough" or
"awkward." Bible English, p. 183.
WAUGH.
"How are things shappin' down i' th' cloof, yon?" “About th' owd
bat. There's nought uncuth agate 'at I know on." Chimney Corner, p. 114.
l' something new, strange, or uncommon.
Then (as I thowt he talkt so awkertly) I'd ash him for th' wonst whot uncuths
he'd yerd sturrin'.
Works, p. 51.
What is it theau has to tell me; an uncouth or a tale?" "An
uncouth, Mary; the feyver's abeaut." Mar locks of Meriton, p. 73.
They were telling one another the "uncuths" (bits of strange news)
of their separate neighbourhoods.
Sneck-Bant, p. 24.
UNDERBREE (N. Lane.), sb. a bright light appearing under clouds. UNDERNEIGH,
adv. underneath.
UNFORBIDDAN (N. Lane.), adj. disobedient. A.S. un, not, and forbebdan, to
forbid.
UNCUTHS
COLLIER. I75 '
B. BRIERLEY.
WAUGH.
J. P. MORRIS.
Thou's a vaxraforbiddan barne.
Words ofFurness, p. 104.
UNGAIN, adj. awkward, inconvenient.
The lady seyde, We ryde ylle,
Thes gates [roads] they are ungayne.
Le Bone Florence, 1. 1420; in Ritson's Metrical Romances, vol. iii., p. 60.
COLL. USE. 1882.
He's taen th' ungainst road he could find.
UNHOMED (Fylde), part. adj. unpolished.
UNKERT, adj. strange. See UNCUTH. Also unkid, unked, in other dialects; all
corruptions of uncouth. “Into an uncod place," i.e. into a strange
place; Political Poems and Songs, ed. T. Wright, p. 364 (Record Series).
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(delwedd C4003) (tudalen 274)
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274 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
UNNISH (Fylde), v. to starve. [Put for hunish. In my notes to P. Plowman, p.
237, I give examples of the rare M.E. word honesschen, to chase away, do away
with, kill, &c. I there connect it with hunch) to push; but I now think
it was originally due to the O.F. honir, to disgrace (as in honi soit qui mat
y pense); hun-ish being formed from the stem of the pres. part, honiss-ant.
It may have been confused with E. hunch, to push, as it is used in a
considerable variety of senses. W. W. S.]
UN-SNECK, v. to unlatch or unfasten a door.
UP-END, v. to set on end, to raise up.
WAUGH. I left him about two minutes sin' up-ended i' bed yon,
croodlin' a bit of a tune. Manchr. Critic, January 14.
UPHOD UPHOWD
\ r [ v. to guarantee, to vouch for. Lit. “to uphold."
WAUGH. Beside, he's somebory's chylt, an' somebory likes him
l855 ' too, aw'll uphowd him.
Lane. Sketches: Bury to Rochdale, p. 27.
J. P. MORRIS. Gert letherin' yung chaps, fell-bred, I'se uphod 'em.
lB6? ' Siege d 1 Brouton, p. 3.
WAUGH. There wur a bonny racket i' that hole for a bit, I'll
l8?9< uphowd to! Chimney Corner, p. 90.
UPPISH, adj. proud, conceited.
UPS-AN'-DOWNS, sb.pl. changes, good and ill fortune.
COLL. USE. Th' owd lad's had his ups-an '-downs aw con tell yo,
tho' he's getten into a quiet shop at kst.
UPSET, sb. a round loaf of bread, baked like a cake on the oven-bottom.
UPSIDES, adj. equal.
COLL. USE. Aw'll be upsides with him yet see iv aw dunnot!
1882.
UPSTROKE, sb.. end, finish.
WAUGH. Thou'd better look out, or thou'll find thisel' i'th'
l8 79” wrung shop when th' upstroke comes.
Chimney Corner, p. 53.
URCHIN, sb. an hedgehog. See irchon in Specimens of English^ ed. Morris and
Skeat> p. 32; and urchin in Tempest y i. ii. 326.
COLLIER. A tealier fund an urchon i'th' hadloont-reean.
Works; p. 37.
URLED (N. Lane.), adj. stunted.
URSELSj/r.//. ourselves.
WAUGH. At th' most o' times, we'n to kill ursels to keep ursels,
l855 “welly. Lam. Sketches, p. 32.
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(delwedd C4004) (tudalen 275)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 275
US, pro. our. In a Friesic version of the Merchant of Venice, printed at
Groningen in 1829, Shakspere's line "Like as God's sun sweetly our world
o'ershines" is translated “Lyk az God's sinne swiet uus wrad
oerschijnt." A.S. user, our; more commonly ure.
COLL. USE. It's a wild soart of a neet, lads; we's be best off at us
l882< own fireside.
USHEAW, adv. so how; equivalent to “no matter how/'
COLL. USE. Yo need'nt fear; he'll come usheaw it is.
1882.
UT, pro. that. M.E. at, that. “Thai slew the veddir at thai bar" = they
slew the weather which they bore; Barbour's Bruce, vii. 152.
RAMSBOTTOM. We're mixt wi' stondin paupers, too,
l864 ' Ut winno wortch when wark's t' be had.
Lane. Rhymes, p. 24.
UZZIT, sb. the letter Z. Also called in other dialects izzard, izzet
(Halliwell).
B. BRIERLEY. When aw're th' age o” yon lass, aw're as straight as a
pickin'-peg. But neaw, aw'm as croot as a uzzit.
Red Windows Hall, c. ii., p. 12.
V.
VARRA (N. Lane.), adj. and adv. pron. of very. The same pronunciation is
given by Shakspere “No, sir; but it is vara fine." Love's L. Lost, v.
ii. 487.
DR. BARBER. I sud ha' thowte ivvery body kent aad Bat varra near.
He was varra notable,, wos Bat. Forness Folk, p. 133.
VIEWLY, ) , M T , ,. , ,
VIEWSOME J ( Lanc O> ad J- handsome, striking to the eye.
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(delwedd C4005) (tudalen 276)
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276 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
W.
WACKER, v. to shake, tremble, quiver. Cf. E. wag, we
COLLIER. As soon as I could speyk for whackerin', I asht him
I75 “wher ther wur on aleheawse. Works, p. 52.
ELIJAH RIDINGS. My yure stood up, my pluck wur deawn,
l845 ' Aw wackert cowd an' pale. Lane. Muse, p. 30.
WAUGH. Thou wackers about like a tripe doll.
Chimney Corner, p. 113.
WAENY, adj. tending to wane or grow less.
WAFT, sb. a draught.
COLL. USE. He took it deawn at a waft.
1881.
WAKIN'-TIME, sb. the time or period of the wakes.
WAUGH. Aw wish that Candlemas day were past,
59 ' When waking-time comes on.
Lane. Songs: Sweetheart Gate.
IBID. Aw'st ha' sarve't thoose folk wi' besoms neaw aboon
seven year, come waking-time.
Ben arf th? Bantam, p. 53.
WALK-MILL, sb. a fulling mill. M.E. walker, a fuller.. See Walker in Ray, p.
71. In the early Manchester directories all the fullers and cloth-dressers
were called walkers.
WAUGH. He wur a walk-miller when he're young.
Ben an' ttt Bantam, p. 64.
WALLOW, adj. (Fylde and E. Lane.), insipid. See Walsh in Ray.
WAMBLE, v. to shake, to stagger, to move unsteadily from side to side. The
word is often applied to food in the stomach.
WAUGH. I l os t about nine on 'em o' together; an' thoose 'at's
79$ left are wamblin' about like chips in a ponful o' warp-sizin'. It'll be a
good while afore my teeth getten sattle't again. Chimney Corner, p. 39.
WAMBLY, adj. weak, faint, shaky, sickly. See above.
WAUGH. He used to be as limber as a treawt (trout) when he're
1 55 ' young; but neaw he's as wambly an' slamp as a barrow
full o' warp-sizin'. Lane. Sketches, p. 130.
B. BRIERLEY. I we nt as wambly as a lad after smokin' his first pipe.
l869 ' Ab in London, p. 43.
WAUGH - I feel very wambly, for sure. I'm as slamp as a seck-full o'
swillin's. Chimney Corner, p. 113.
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(delwedd C4006) (tudalen 277)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 277
WANG-TOOTH (N. Lane.), sb. a molar tooth. A.S. wang, cheek, jaw. See wanges
in Chaucer's Reeves Tale, 1. no.
WANKLE, adj. weak, unstable. A.S. wancol, unstable, fluctuating.
J. P. MORRIS. "That barne's terble wankle on its legs," is a very
l86 9$ common expression in Furness.
Words and Phrases of Furness, p. 107. WAP, sb. a glance, a glimpse.
WAUGH. It wur th' cat; I just geet a wap o' .its tail as it wur
l8?9$ gooin' out o' seet. Chimney Corner, p. 176.
WAP, } v. to move or turn quickly; to go by swiftly; as "He WHAP, ] wapt
eawt o' th' dur;" “He wapt past me like leetnin' (lightning)." Cf.
M.E. wippen, to move quickly.
WAR, adj. worse. A.S. wtzrra, worse.
SPENSER. They sayne the world is much war than it wont.
Z 579$ Shepheardes Calender: September.
WAUGH. Hoo co'de [called] me war than a pow-cat.
l8 79$ Chimney Corner, p. 91.
COLL. USE. Aye, lad; things are gettin' war and war (worse and
18821 worse); we's come to 't fur-eend soon.
WARCH, v. to ache. A.S. ware, pain; Icel. verkr, pain; M.E. werk, pain,
werchen, to ache.
SIR T. MALLORY. But I may not stonde, myn hede werches soo.
J 4 6 9$ Le Morte Darthur, Lib. xxi., cap. v., 1. i.
COLLIER. I g ran , an' I thrutcht, till meh arms wartcht agen.
Works, p. 44.
B. BRIERLEY. I shaked his hond till my arm wartcht, then he shaked
1869. m i ne t ju hj s arm wartcht. Ab in London, p. 78.
WAUGH. Dick o' Belltinker's is for havin' one of his front teeth
l879 ' poo'd out, if it doesn't give o'er warchin\
Chimney Corner, p. 114.
WARM, v. to beat.
WAUGH. Shaking the lad by the shoulder, she whispered in his
l879$ ear, "I'll warm thee, gentleman, when we getten
whoam!" Chimney Corner, p. 15.
WARTY, sb.pl. working-days. Short for wark-day.
B. BRIERLEY. Ther's very little difference neaw between ther Sunday
18671 an' ther warty clooas. Marlocks of Merriton, p. 61.
COLL. USE. He ne'er stops, mon; he's at it Sunday and warty o'
l881 - alike.
WASTREL, sb. a good-for-nothing fellow, a spendthrift. Also applied as an
adj. to articles spoilt in the making through some flaw in the material, as a
wastrel casting in iron, a wastrel bobbin, which splits in the turning. From
the verb to waste. M.E. wastour. Piers Plowman, B-text, vi., 1. 176.
B. BRIERLEY. Look at his feyther, a gamblin', thievin', chettin', black -
1868. leggin', God-forswearin' wastrel. Irkdale, p. 75.
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(delwedd C4007) (tudalen 278)
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278 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
WAUGH. j^' s Di e ] c o ' Fiddler's. A bigger wastrel never kommed
(combed) a toppin'! He's bin sold up three or four times, an' he owes brass
o' up an' down this town.
Chimney Corner, p. 30.
WATER-GAIT, sb. a gully or reft in the rock, which in summer is the bed of a
streamlet, but in winter is filled by a torrent.
GRINDON. The desolate complexion of these winter-torrent gullies
(in Lancashire phrase, “water-gaits") in its way is complete, though
often charmingly redeemed by innumerable green fern-plumes on the borders.
Illustrations of Lancashire, p. 49.
WATER -PORRIDGE, sfr. oatmeal porridge. Oftener called "Thick-porridge."
WAUGHISH, adj. weary, faint. Cf. wallow. Waugh-ish = wallow-ish.
COLLIER. j' r wo fo weak an” waughtsh. Works, p. 60
1750.
WAUT, v. to upset; to turn completely over; to fall on one side, M. E.
walten. See Allit. Poems and Sir Gawayne; also Walt in Ray, p. 72.
B. BRIERLEY. If aw waut my cart i' theere, Nan, awse want a
l868 ' strunger tit nor thee for t' poo me eawt.
Jrkdale, p. 161.
WAUGH. At th' end of o', th' SmoTDridge chaps waufed th'
l8 79$ Marlan^cart into th' river. Chimney Corner, p. 196.
WEAN, sb. a child.
BURNS. Himsel, a wife, he thus sustains,
I786> A smytrie o' wee duddie weans. Twa Dogs.
COLLIER. Theaw'rt none sitch a feaw whean nother.
'75' Works, p. 71.
WARF' I v ' “ s P en ^- See Ware in Ray, p. 72.
SPENSER. That wicked wight his dayes doth weare.
159 - F. Queene, i. i, 31.
COLLIER. I thowt I'll know heaw meh shot stons afore I'll wear
17504 moor o meh brass o' meh brekfast. Works, p. 55.
WAUGH. There may be here an' there a collier 'at's no moor wit
l879 ' nor wearin 1 his hard-won brass o' sich like prout as champagne.
Chimney Corner, p. 56.
COLL. USE\ He'll ware his brass wheer he loikes.
WEARY, adj. sad, disreputable, regrettable.
COLL. g UsE< It's a weary Job, this.; aw wish we'd ne'er begun on it.
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(delwedd C4008) (tudalen 279)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 279
WEBSTER, sb. a weaver. M.E. webstere.
LANGLAND. Wolle websteres and weveres of lynnen.
P. Plowman, B-text, Prol., 219.
BURNS. Wabster lads
J 7 8 5$ Blackguarding frae Kilmarnock. The Holy Fair.
WEEK, sb. pron. of wick the wick of a candle or lamp. M.E. weke.
LANGLAND. As wex and a weke were twyned togideres.
J 377$ p % Plowman, B-text, xvii. 204.
SPENSER. True it is that, when the oyle is spent,
1590. -p^e light g 0es ou t } and weeke is throwne away.
F. Queene, ii. x. 30.
WEEMLESS (N. Lane.), adj. spotless; without a fault. A.S. wem, spot, blemish;
Icel. vammlauss, spotless.
WE'N, ) pro. and v. we have; also, we will have, (i)
WE'EN, f han, we have. (2) We'n^wewillen.vfQVf'^l. See WIN.
B. BRIERLEY. We'n [we have] made it up for t' have a buryin'.
l868 - Irkdale, p. 29.
. and/m with it. WEIGHS, sb.pl. a pair of scales.
WELLY, adv. well-nigh, nearly. Put for wel-ny. M.E. ny, nigh.
WAUGH. Er Joseph's welly blint, poor lad.
l85 9$ #<:. 60-.y: Eawr Folk.
B. BRIERLEY. AW welly geet eawt o' conceit wi' folk.
Irkdale, p. 42.
WELLY-NEAR, “/&. very near.
COLL. USE. He wur welly-near drownt when they geet him eawt;
l8Sl ' another minute 'ud 'a' done th' job for him.
WENCH, sb. a girl, a young woman; usually but not exclusively used to
describe an unmarried woman.
B. BRIERLEY. Gone deawn to th' Grange wi' some moore schoo'
wenches ut wanted to see that lad. Irkdale, p. 191.
WESH, v. pro. of wash.
TYNDALE. Qoo wesshe the in the pole of Siloe.
Trans.: Gospel of St. John, chap. ix. WE'ST, pr. and v. we shall
WAU GH. A sawp o' deawnfo' 'ud do a sect o' good just neaw;
18551 an' we'sf ha' some afore long, or aw'm chetted.
Lane. Sketches, p. 203.
B. BRIERLEY. This comes o' thi workin' ov a Sunday. We'st ha'
l86 7$ some sort o' bad luck beside, aw reckon, through it.
Mar locks of Merriton, p. 70.
WHA (N. Lane.), pro. who. A.S. hwd, who.
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(delwedd C4009) (tudalen 280)
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280 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
WHANG (N. Lane.), sb. a shoe-tie; a thong. WHANG (N. Lane.), sb. a blow.
WHAU, adv. why. WHEANTLY, adv. hearty, pretty well.
COLLIER. Aw could ha' gone on wheantly. Works, xxxvi.
75o.
BAMFORD. “Heaw arto this mornin'?" "Well, awm iveantly,
1854$ thank yo." Dial. S. Lane., p. 255.
WHEEM, adj. handy, convenient. See WJieam in Ray, p. 73. WHEEM (N. Lane.),
adj. innocent-looking, quiet. WHEMMEL (N. Lane.), v. to knock down, to upset.
E. whelm. WHEWT, v. to whistle.
COLLIER. Whewt on Tummus an' Mary. Works, p. 39.
WAUGH. Hoo'd hauve-a-dozen colliers whewtiri” an tootin' after
her every neet. Chimney Corner, p. 29.
WHICK, adj. alive, sprightly. A.S. civic, living, quick, active.
COLLIER. It's moor in bargain o't I'm oather which or hearty.
Works, p. 40.
WAUGH. The trippers looked the brighter for their out, and, to
18551 use their own phrase, felt "fain at they'rn wick."
Lane. Sketches, p. 44.
B. BRIERLEY. We persuaded Donny for t' bury th' wife while hoo're
wick. Irkdale, p. 28.
WHICKS, sb.pl. quicks, thorns.
WHIRLBONE, sb. the round of the knee; "but," says Bamford, “all
large bones of the thigh and leg are included in the term." Properly the
round end of a bone, which whirls or turns round in the joint.
COLLIER. I'd th' skin bruzzed off th' whirlbooan o' meh knee.
I75 - Works, p. 45.
WHIRLERS, sb.pl. extra stockings, or hay-bands, worn around the ankles.
WHISHT, adj. quiet, noiseless.
WAUGH. Nea then; yo mun be as whisht as mice!
Besom Ben, p. 52.
WHISKET, sb. a wicker basket. See Whisket in Ray, p. 73.
B. BRIERLEY. Theau gets as writhen as an owd wisket.
Fratchingtons, p. 68. WAUGH. Th' owd lad wur as clemmed as a whisket.
Chimney Corner, p. 116.
WHITSTER, sb. a bleacher. This word is now almost obsolete, but “Whitster's
Arms" is still a common alehouse sign.
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(delwedd C4010) (tudalen 281)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 28 1
WHOR,/. what.
WAUGH. “What's your son getting, Mary?" said the chairman.
1867. tt whor?" replied she. "Aw'm rayther deaf What say'n
yo?" Factory Folk, p. 18.
WHOT, adj. hot.
DR. JOHN DEE. Wheruppon rose ivhott words between us.
I 5 Sl - Private Diary, p. 12.
SPENSER. Nether to melt in pleasures whott desyre,
1590- N or f rve i n hartlesse grief. F. Queene, ii. ii. 58.
WAUGH. A wot churn-milk posset, weel sweet'nt.
Lane. Sketches, p. 22.
WHUT-CAKE, \ , .
WUD-CAKE, [ ““' atcake -
^NV,prep. abbreviation of with.
WITCHOD; } “# wet - shod -
LANGLAND. Wolleward and wete-shoed went I forth after.
P. Plowman, B-text, xviii. i.
WAUGH. One woman pleaded hard for two pair of clogs, saying,
l867> "Yon chylt's bar-fuut; an' he's witchod, an' as ill as he
con be." “Who's witchod?" asked the chairman. "My husban' is,
an' he connot ston it just neaw."
Factory Folk, p. 18.
WICKEN, sb. the mountain ash, the rowan tree of Scotland. At Seal Bank, near
Greenfield, Saddleworth, there is a place called the Wicken-\\Q\Q, from the
abundance of trees of this kind growing there.
WICKEN-WHISTLE, sb. a whistle made out of a piece of the mountain ash, the
tender bark of which is easily manipulated.
WAUGH. She saw him cutting a twig with his knife. ' ' William!”
18791 cried she, "whatever arto doin'?" "I'm makin' a
wicken-whistle. Chimney Corner, p. 5,
WICKEYIN', part, reversing a suit at cards.
WICKSTART, sb. an upstart. Cf. M.E. wippen. See WAP, p. 278.
WAUGH. A lot o' camplin',, concayted wiekstarts, 'at hannot had
l8 79$ time to reckon their limbs up gradely.
Chimney Corner, p. 141.
WI'DD'N, pr. and v.pl. we had. Wi'dd'n = we hadden, we had.
WAUGH. Sam an' rue's gettin owd, an' ivfdtfn raythur be quiet
l855 ' for th' bit o! time at wi' ha'n to do on.
Lane. Sketches, p. 26.
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(delwedd C4011) (tudalen 282)
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282 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
WIMBLE (Lancaster), ) v. to tilt, to raise one end, to incline. WIMLE, J
Variant of WHEMMEL, q.v.
WIN, pr. pi. will = willen.
B. BRIERLEY. Well, but heavy win th' two wimmen do when they
find it eawt ut they booath belung to one husbandt?
Irkdale, p. 197.
WINBERRY, \ sb. the whortleberry. Vaccinium myrtillus. A.S. WIMBERRY, )
win-berige; lit. wine-berry, from the resemblance to a diminutive grape.
WINDLES, sb. pi. blades of grass, or corn, or anything blown astray by the
wind.
WINDLESTRAW, sb. coarse wiry grass.
WINROW, sb. a row of hay in the meadow = wind-row. See Windrow in Ray, p. 95.
WISEMAN,
WISEWOMAN, r ““' a
POTTS. The said Peter was now satisfied that the said Isabel
Ratey was no Witch, by sending to one Halesworths, which they call a Wiseman.
Discovery of Witches, p. 46. WITHIN, prep, against, opposed to.
COLL. USE. Aw'm not within gooin', if aw'm wanted.
WITHOUT, conj. unless.
COLL. USE. Aw'st not put a hond to it without tha'll help at same
l88 '- time.
WOBBLE, v. to move from side to side.
WOISTY, { ,. . WYESTY, | “# lar S e and
COLLIER. So Margit shew'd meh a wistey reawm (room).
Works, p. 54. JOHN SCHOLKS. Awm gooin' ov o' lung wysty journey.
l857> Jaunt to see th' Qtieen, p. 20.
WOLE, sb. pron. of wall.
WAUGH. He's hardly wit enough to keep fro' runnin' again woles
1855$ i> th' dayleet! Lane. Sketches, p. 28.
WON, v. to reside, live at. A.S. wunian, to dwell; M.E. wonen^ to dwell.
CHAUCER. A Schipman was ther, wonyng fer by weste.
I38 ' Pro/. Cant. Tales, 388.
SPENSER. j n those same woods ye well remember may
1590. How that a noble Hunteresse did woune.
F. Queene, iii. v. 27.
COLLIER. An owd cratchenly gentleman wooans ot yon heawse.
J 75<>- Works, p. 56.
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(delwedd C4012) (tudalen 283)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 283
WUD ' I a< ^ m ma( ^ i nsane - A.S. w d, niad.
SPENSER. Through unadvized rashness woxen wood.
I590t F. Queene, i. iv. 34.
COLLIER. “Neaw, Meary, whot cou'd onny mon do?" “Do!
I 7S- I'st o' gone stark rvoode." Works, p. 42.
WOPPER, sb. anything very large of its kind.
COLL. USE. "Is it a wench?" “Nawe, it's a lad, an' a wopper,
l88l< too."
WORCH, v. to work. A.S. weorcan; M.E. werchen.
WAUGH. There isn't a wick thing i' this world can ivortch as it
l8ss- should do, if it doesn't heyt (eat) as it should do.
Lane. Sketches , p. 31.
IBID. Colliers worchen for their livin' that's one thing i'
l879 ' their favour for a start. Chimney Corner, p. 56.
WORKY-DAY, sb. working-day as opposed to Sunday.
GEO. HERBERT. The worky-daies are the back-part; l6 33$ The burden of the
week lies there.
The Temple: "Sunday."
COLL. USE. Which clooas (clothes) mun aw put on my vuorky-day
l88l> or my Sunday uns?
WORRIT, v. to harass, to perplex, to annoy by trifling irritations.
COLL. USE. Hoo means nowt wrung; but hoo worrits me till aw'm
l882> fit to knock her deawn.
WOTZEL, sb. a spindle used for making holes by burning.
WOUGH, sb. a wall. M.E. wowe. See Wogh in Ray, p. 74.
WEST MID. DIALECT. In the palays pryncipale upon the playn wowe.
E. Attit. Poems, B. 1531.
1440. Wowe or wal, murus. Prompt. Parv.
1553$ The jury order that James Oldom shall on penalty
uphold a wough or wall betwixt the houses.
Manchr. Court Leet Records.
WRYTHE, v. to twist; allied to wreathe. A.S. wriftan, to twist; whence
wrce'%, a wreath.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw'll wrythe thy neck reawnd till it's as twisted as a
l868 ' cleawkin' bant. Irkdale, p. 71.
WRYTHEN, part. adj. twisted, gnarled. A.S. wrften, p.p. of the strong verb
wrffian, to writhe.
WUTHER, adj. swift, forcible.
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(delwedd C4013) (tudalen 284)
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284 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
WUTHERIN', part. adj. rushing, overpowering. A “ivutherirf felley" is a
powerful, overbearing man.
WAUGH. He'll be a greight, stark, strung-backed, ivutheriri
Englishman, o' th' owd breed, if he's luck.
Chimney Corner, p. 157.
WYE-CAUVE, sb. a she-calf. See Whye in Ray, p. 74.
B. BRIERLEY. Aw've bin browt up as marred as a wye-cauve ut's bin
l868 ' licked with its mother till it con do nowt for itsel'.
Irkdale, p. 263.
WYNT (y long), sb. breath.
B. BRIERLEY. He're an owd Jacobin, wur my feyther, an' cusst church
an' king as lung as he'd ivynt. Irkdale, p. 47.
WAUGH. He oppen't his gills, for he lippen't o' lettin' th' ale
down o' at a ivynt. Chimney Corner^ p. 9.
WYTHINS (y long), sb.pl osiers, withies.
WYZEL (y long), sb. the haulm or stalk of the potato.
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(delwedd C4014) (tudalen 285)
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 285
1: ": X7r^,
YA )
VATVT i (N Lane.), 0^'. one.
Y AlN, )
J. P. MORRIS. Sooa yd day, bless ye, ther' wos sich a noration as
l867> nivver wos seen. Invasion o” Vston, p. 4.
IBID. Anudder fella oppen'd t' seeks yan by jaw.
Ibid., p. 5.
VATTT? r i (N. Lane.), j& a horse. Cf. E. jade.
JL A U JL/, j
YALLOW-YORIN' (N. Lane.), sb. the Yellow-Bunting or Yellow-Hammer. Emberiza
citrinella.
YAM (N. Lane.), j. pron. of home.
J. P. MORRIS. It wos varra leeat at neet when o' t' Coniston fellows
18671 gat yam. Invasion 0' LTston,^. 7.
DR. BARBER. What a deal o' things a body may larn if he nobbut
l87 - gangs fr&eyam a lile bit! Forness Folk, p. 35.
YAMMER, v. to long for, to yearn after j also to cry or whimper. M.E.
yeomerian, to lament; A.S. gtbmrian, to lament. Cf. Icel. jarma, to bleat.
COLLIER. Boh aw yammer t' hear heaw things turn'd eawt at th'
eend of aw. Works, p. 62.
BAM FORD. His fey ther, dead an' gwon as he is, wud no ha' ston
l8 4$ sighen' an' yammerirf as this does.
Life of Radical, i. 134.
WAUGH. Eh, dear o' me! To see poor folk's little bits o'
l8 SS- childer yammerin' for a bite o' mheyt, when there's noan
for 'em. Lane. Sketches: Bury to Rochdale, p. 32.
IBID. We wandern abeawt to find rest on't,
l8 S9$ An' th' worm yammers for us i' th' greawnd.
Lane. Songs: God Bless these Poor Folk.
IBID. The lads of the village lingered about the doorway of
18751 the Boar's Head, yammering and sniffing at the odours
of the kitchen. Old Cronies, c. iii. , p. 28.
YANCE (N. Lane.), adv. once.
J. P. MORRIS. O' at yance ther' strack up a meeast ter'ble rumpus.
18671 Invasion o 1 U'ston, p. 5.
YARB, sb. herb; also occasionally used for hay-grass.
WAUGH. I bethought me of an old herbalist, or "yarb doctor,"
l8ss ' who lived somewhere thereabouts a genuine dealer in
simples. Lane. Sketches, p. 21.
IBID. We'n the finest yarb (grass) i' yon top meadow at ever
I clapt een on. Ibid., p. 228.
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(delwedd C4015) (tudalen 286)
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286 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
YARBER, sb. a gatherer of herbs.
YARBIN', part, gathering herbs.
YARK, v. to strike hard,to hit earnestly. Cf. E. jerk.
YARKIN', sb. a beating, a thrashing.
YARRISH, adj. of a harsh taste.
YARY, adj. acrid, strong-flavoured.
YATE, sb. a gate, a fence. A.S. geaf t a gate.
WEST MID. DIALECT. Vch pane of that place had thre yates.
J 3 6 - E. E. Allit. Poems, A. 1033.
B. BRIERLEY. Hoo says th' owd yate's nowt like what it wur th' day
I took her through \i.Ab on Times and Things, p. 28.
YEARNSTFUL, adj. earnest, with great yearning; lit. earnest-fill.
COLLIER. Bless me Meary! theaw'rt so yearnstful, 'at teaw'll
I 75$ naw let me tell me tale. Works, p. 69.
JOHN SCHOLES. Oytch body lookt wi' sich yearnstfo een as iv thi lipp'nt
l8 57$ o' summut leetin' eawt o' th' cleawds.
Jaunt to see ttt Queen, p. 42.
YEARNSTFULLY, adv. earnestly.
WAUGH. Bodle begun o' lookin' very yearnstfiilly at th' fire-hole.
l8 S5$ Lane. Sketches: Bury to Rochdale, p. 28.
YEARTH, sb. pron. of earth. The use of y before the vowel, as in this word,
is very common in Lancashire. It also frequently takes the place of H, as in
head, pronounced yed. The same thing will be found in Tusser
Thresh cleane ye must bid them, though lesser they yarn (earn). Five Hundred
Pointes: November.
And in Spenser
My due reward, the which right well I deeme
I yearned "have. F. Queene, vi. vii. 15.
So also in Shropshire, yep - heap. YEBB, sb. Edmund.
YED, sb. pron. of head.
BAMFORD. "Sithe," said the latter, "if ta dusna say 'Deawn
lS 59$ w i' th' Rump,' theawst goa yed fast inta that dam."
Early Days, p. 17.
YED-BEETLER, sb. the head beetler, the head man of a company of beetlers;
also applied figuratively to any foreman or man in charge.
WAUGH. He wur a mak of a yed-beetler amung th' porters, up
l8 79$ at th' railway-station. Chimney Corner, p. 146.
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 287
YEDDERS (N. Lane.), sb. pi. wattling bands for hedges. Yeather in Ray, p. 75.
YED-WARCH, sb. headache. See WARCH.
YEL, sb. an awl.
YELLS, sb.pl. healds of a weaver's loom.
YEM, sb. Edmund.
YEPSINTLE, sb. two handfuls. See Yaspen in Ray, p. 95.
COLLIER. Of aw th' spots i' th' ward [world], there wou'd not I
I 75$ ha comn for zyepsintle o' ginneys [guineas].
Works, p. 67.
YERR, v. to hear.
WAUGH. "Aw con tell tho heaw to cure th' worms," said Ben.
1869. Let > s be yerrir? then," replied Skudler.
Yeth-Bobs, c. iii., p. 45.
IBID - If laooyerd a foot passin' th' house, hoo geet up, an
looked through th' window. Chimney Corner, 147.
YERST, sb. a hearse.
WAUGH. "But it's a berrin-coach." "A what?"
"Ayerst."
' ' What's that?” “One o' thoose coaches 'at they carry 'n coffins in at
funerals." Ben an' tK Bantam, p. 226.
YETTER, sb. heater, i.e. a piece of iron which is made red-hot in the fire
and then used for heating a kind of smoothing-iron called a
"box-iron." Also, in another shape, for heating what is called a
"tally-iron."
Others, like Nut Nan, prowling about shady recesses of the woods, "wi” a
poke-full o' red-whot yetters, to brun nut-steylers their een eawt."
Lane. Sketches: Heywood and its Neighbourhood, p. 190.
IBID. Her face wur as red as o.ye.tter. Tattliri Matty, p. 24.
1867.
YEZZINS, sb.pl. the eaves. See EASINS, ante, p. 114.
YEZZY, adj. pron. of easy.
WAUGH. Go thi ways whoam, Ann; neaw do; or else aw shan't
l867 ' be yezzy abeawt tho. Factory Folk, p. 194.
IBID - It '11 be a good deal yezzier when it comes to a yed.
l8?6 “Chimney Corner: Manchr. Critic, March 17,
WAUGH. 1855$
WAUGH. This is th' house, isn't it, Matty?" “Yigh. We're
i8? 6 - just i' time."
Chimney Corner: Manchr. Critic, March 17.
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(delwedd C4017) (tudalen 288)
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288 LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY.
WAUGH. If yo 'rn up at th' Smobridge, yo'dd'n be fit to heyt
yirth-bobs an' scaplins, welly.
Lane. Sketches: Rochdale to Blackstone Edge, p. 131.
IBID. Hello, Ben! Is that thee? Heaw arto gettin' on
J >s upo' Lobden Moor? Yeth-Bobs an' Scaplins, c. i., p. 16.
l86 9$ among yon yirthbobs upo' Lobden Moor?
~~ th-E
YO, pron. you.
WAUGH. "What dun yo want?" "Mistress, can yo tell me
wheer Jenny Pepper lives?” “Who, sayn yo?"
Chimney Corner, p. 31.
YOANDURTH, sb. the forenoon. See Aandorn in Ray, p. 29.
COLLIER. Sed I, aw'r theer th' last oandurth, an hee'd leet o' one
M yoandwrth afore. Works, p. 56.
YO'DD'N, ) you had; also you would. For (i) yo hadden, (2) yo YOAD'N, J
wolden.
WAUGH. Whau, mon, yo'dcCn sink into a deeod sleep, an' fair
dee i' th' shell, iv one didn't wakken yo up a bit, neaw an' then. Lane.
Sketches, Bury to Rochdale, p. 26.
YO'N, pron. and v. you will, you have, (i) Yo willen; (2) yo han {-haven}.
WA GH - “Cant or not cant, aw'll shap this job for yo, yo'n
5 “see," replied Roddle. Besom Ben, c. vi., p. 82.
J BID. "Aw'll not have sich gooin's on!” cried she. “Look
what lumber yo'n made."
Ben arf iff Bantam, c. ii., p. 41.
YONDERLY, adj. anxious, absent-minded, vacant.
WAUGH. Come, Jamie, an' sattle thisel in a cheer;
Thae's looked very yonderly mony a day; It's grievin' to see heaw theawr't
wearin' away.
Lane. Songs: Jamie's Frolic.
B. BRIERLEY. What's do wi' thee; theaw's lookt o mornin as yon- derly as if
theaw'd lost th' guiders o' thy een?
Irkdale, c. ii., p. 74$
YO-NEET (Fylde), sb. a merry night. Short ivt yuk-neet. YORNEY, sb. a fool.
B ' B “"F RLEY - Did t' think he'd bin such zyorney as he is?
l867 ' Marlocks of Merriton, p. 29.
YORT, sb. a yard, a fold.
YO'ST,/;m and v. you shall. See AW'ST, ante, p. 18.
WAUGH. “Iv yo two connot agree," said the mother, "aw'll
tak that dish away; an' yo'st not have another bite this day." Factory
Folk, c. xix., p. 166.
YOWER (N. Lane.), sb. the udder of a cow. Icel. jugr.
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LANCASHIRE GLOSSARY. 289
YOWL, v. to howl. M.E. yollen; allied to E. yell.
WAUGH. "Jem," cried the landlady again, "heaw lung are
l86 5$ y beawn to s\\.yeawKn” theer?” Sexton's Story, p. 1 1.
IBID. The organ yowlt on. Barrel Organ, p, 29.
YURE, sb. hair.
WAUGH. One neet aw crope whoam when my weighvin' were o'er,
1859. TO brush mo, an' wesh mo, an' fettle my yure.
Lane. Songs: Jamie's Frolic.
IBID. He wur like a grey-jr<?V [grey-haired] chylt, in his
l8 79$ ways. Chimney Corner, p. 146.
YUREY, adj. hairy, furry.
WAUGH. There coom in a rough-lookin' chap wi' a yurey cap on.
l8 74$ Chimney Corner: Manchr. Critic, August 14.
PE Nodal, John Howard 194.7 A glossary of the Lancashire dialect
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(delwedd C4019) (tudalen 290)
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