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A
Glossary Of Words Used In The County Of Chester.
By Robert
Holland, M.R.A.C,
Joint Author Of The Dictionary Of English Plant-Names.
London. Published for English Dialect Society
By Trübner & Co.
1886.
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(Glossary of Words Used In the County of Chester. 1886.) (delwedd H2347)
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ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY.
VOL. XVI.
WORDS USED IN
THE COUNTY OF CHESTER.
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CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preface iii
Glossary 1
Supplement to Glossary 403
Pronunciation of Place-Names 427
Pronunciation of Family Names 434
Proverbs, Sayings, Weather-Lore 443
Dialect Story. By J. C. Clough 458
A Village Romance. By J. C. Henderson 473
Sequel: A Village Tragedy. By J. C. Henderson 475
A Cheshire Rundle. By John Hoole 478
Fetchin up the Keigh. By John Hoole 479
Farmer Dobbin: A Day wi’ the Cheshire Fox
Dugs.
By R. E.
Egerton-Warburton 481
The Manufacture of Salt 485
Customs :—
Chester Glove 495
Cutting the Neck 496
Funeral Customs 499
May-Singing 502
Pancake Bell 504
Rush-bearing 505
Souling or Soul- Caking 506
ERRATA 514
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PREFACE.
THIS
Glossary of the Cheshire Dialect requires a few words, and only a few, by way
of preface, in order to explain its scope and arrangement. I have called it a
Glossary of Words “ used in the County of Chester" in preference to a Glossary
of "Cheshire Words," and I have done so advisedly, because I do
not, for a momenti claim that all, or even the majority of the expressions I
have collected, are absolutely peculiar to Cheshire. I am quite awaie that,
although used in Cheshire, they are common to several
other counties, and I acknowledge this fact in order to anticipate any
criticism upon that point.
There
are, in reality, very few words which belong exclusively to any county, and which are used nowhere else. A
Glossary of such words would form a very meagre volume, and would, moreover,
by no
means represent the speech of the people. County boundaries are but imaginary lines, very useful for
ecclesiastical or parliamentary purposes, but totally inadequate to confine
dialect or rural customs. There may be, and generally is, a stronger
character about the dialect of the central part
of a county, but as we approach the borders the words
and expressions must, of necessity, become mixed up with those of the
surrounding counties. It is no detriment, therefore, to a Glossary that it
should include words spoken elsewhere; indeed, the
grouping of dialects is one of the chief points of interest connected with their study. I have, therefore, as far as I
have been able to collect them, included all dialectal words
spoken by Cheshire people, whether
those words are used elsewhere or not.
I
have been somewhat puzzled to know where to draw the line hetween classical
English and local dialect, but, after due consideration,
I have thought it better to lay myself open to criticism on this score also, and to err on the side of including too much,
rather than
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IV
PREFACE.
run the risk of omitting anything which might be of possible value.
Accordingly, words will be found in this Glossary which are also to be found
in some of our dictionaries. But the compilers of our older dictionaries,
Bailey for example, purposely included many acknow- ledged local words, and
these have been copied into subsequent collections, so that, in point of
fact, it is the dictionaries which have, in many cases, adopted dialectal
words, and not the local glossaries which have included classical words.
Again, many words which were in general use two or three hundred years ago,
and so might be called classical English of that day, have ceased to be used
as such, but they still survive in the mouths of our peasantry, and such are
inserted as being of considerable interest. Many classical words, too, have
locally a secondary meaning, and these have a Intimate right to a place in a
local glossary, and no apology is needed for their introduction here. It has
been rather difficult to know to what extent the local pronunciation of
ordinary English words should be admitted. Manifestly to admit every slight
variety of pronunciation would be to extend the Glossary almost indefinitely.
And yet pronunciation is by no means unimportant, and should not be entirely
ignored. There was no fixed rule possible, so I have used my judgment in
these cases, by admitting words of which the pronunciation seemed to me to be
sufficiently removed from the accepted pronundatiofi, omitting those in which
the difference was slight In an introductory chapter I propose to revert to
the subject of pronunciation, and giv9 the rules by which it appears to be
governed. With respect to the spelling of words, I have endeavoured, as £aa
as possible, to represent the pronunciation phonetically; but as I have never
mastered the glossic system of sounds, I have been obliged to give the words
according to the usual recc^nized rules of English spelling, but I do not
think there will be any difficulty in understanding my meaning. Where a word
has the same pronuncia* tion as in classical English, I have spelt it as it b
usually q[)elt, whether the usual spelling is phonetic or noL The collecting
of words for my Glossary has not been a very
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PREFACE.
diflicull lask, for I have lived in Cheshire nearly all my life, and have
been intimately connected with the country people. The majority of ihe words,
therefore, are entered from my own knowledge of them; but I have been greatly
assisted by correspondents who have funiished me with words from parts of the
county with which I am oM so well acquainted. In particular I would
acknowledge the kind and valuable help I have received from Miss Georgina F,
Jacboo, the authoress of the Shropshire Word Book, who placed at ^1 diiposal
the notes she had extracted with much labour from Kindle Holme's Academy of
Amiory, and also those from the tercy Folio MS. edited by Hales and Fumival.
My thanks are also specially due to Miss Measfield, of Macclesfield, who has
furnished nu with long lists of words from that neighbourhood, and who has
looked over my manuscript, her intimate knowledge of the Cheshire iaka
tendering her notes and suggestions very valuable. Also to Mrs. Cash, of
Kelsali, who has worked up the Delamere district for me most thoroughly; to
Mr. Everard Home Coleman, who has looked up 'for me the references to every
article upon Cheshire which has appeared in NoUs and Queries from its
commencement to ih* present dale; to Mr. John Hoole, of Prcstwich,
Lancashire, for long lists of words used near Middlewich; to Mr. Thomas Sant,
of Frodsham; to Mr. Philip Darbyahire, of Penketh, Lancashire; to Ml, Charles
B, Davies, of Eardswick, for words used at MinshuU Vmon; to Mi. John
Thornely, of Hyde, for North-East Cheshire "ordi; to Mr. William
Norbury, of Leigh, Lancashire, who spent ttte greater part of his life near
Wilmslow, and whose lists, illustra tiwia, and remarks are particularly
valuable. I have also Co thank Mr. John Thompson and Mr, Joseph E, Ward, of
Northwich, for ^ interesting, and, I think, tolerably exhaustive, collection
of ^otds used in the mining and manufacturing of salt; also Mr. J. E. ^ud, of
Bredbury, for a very full list of words used in the hatting industry of Ihe
North-Eastern portion of the county. I have to tliank Mr. J. C. Clough,
author of Betty Brtskittlis Pattens, for per •niiiion to reprint his clever
and amusing Cheshire dialect story. 1 lave to tender my thanks, too, to Mr,
Thomas Hallam, of Manchejicr, for his promise of assistance in writing a
chapter upon
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vi
PREFACE. Grammar and Pronunciation. If I have omitted any names that ought to
have been mentioned, I must b^ those correspondents to tjclieve that it is
not from any want of gratitude on my part; to alt such, collectively, I
tender my thanks. The Glossaries of Wilbraham and of Colonel Leigh have also
been laid under contribution, and such words inserted as I have never met
with myself nor received from living correspondents, 'riiese arc
distinguished by the letters W. and L. It is very likely that after the lapse
of sixty years many of Wilbraham's words are now obsolete; still, they have
been used in the county, and may survive in remote districts; in fact, I have
already had proof of this, for several words which I had supposed to be quite
obsolete have unexpectedly turned up from Delamere Forest and from the neigh
bourhood of Macclesfield. Am a rule, when I have exfhicted words from
Wilbraham's and I «eigh*8 Glossaries, I have copied their explanations
verbatim; but 1 have not thought it necessary to include the derivations they
have given, which — in the cose of Leigh especially — are often mere guesses,
and very misleading; indeed I have, throughout the GUvuuiry, caa'fully
abstained from derivations. I only claim to be a a>llcctor, and must leave
to those who have more knowledge than 1 iHniscss the task of utilizing my
work for philological purposes. In one or two instances the explanations
given by both Wil Uaham and Leigh seemed so involved and obscure that I have
vvnturcvl to simplify the language or the arrangement of a sentence; but I
hANX" taken this liberty \'ery sparingly. There are a few nu$|>rints
in lH>th Gkvssaries, especially that of Leigh, which are so ^'U evktcnt
tv^ arnvne acquainted with the dialect that I have not hcsitAtvNl tv> nuke
the necessary corrections. Colonel Leigh died whilst his bvH>k was passing
through the pre:as> and I have no doubt ihcjc |\*li>aWc errors would
have been corrected if he hid iired to «c the comj^ietion of his work.
Occa:>kxLiIIy I have copied the ttHNUiin^ s^l a word trom boch Glossaries
widtout acknowiedgcaent. In 5w;v h cases I wish i: to be understood that I am
perfectly well av\uju«:v>i with the word^ but have telt that I was urtable
» pu: the c\'Ijuutioa in^? oec^rr LLag:uag!e than they have used.
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PREFACE.
Vli The following is a list of the works which I have consulted, and it is
remarkable how very little literature there is connected with the Cheshire
dialect : — J. Ray. A Collection of English Proverbs. Second Edition. 1678.
Heniy Holland. General View of the Agriculture of Cheshire. 1808. Roger
Wilbraham. An Attempt at a Glossary of some Words used in the Dialect of
Cheshire. Reprinted from Archxologia xix. 1820. Ditto. Second Edition. 1826.
J. 0. Halliwell. Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words. Eighth Edition.
1874. Lieut -Col. Egerton Leigh, M.P. A Glossary of Words used in the Dialect
of Cheshire. 1877. (Reprint of Wilbraham's Glossary, with additions.) Geoigina
F. Jackson. Shropshire Word-book. 1879. Publications of the English Dialect
Society — The Glossaries of Northern Counties. Notes and Queries. Manchester
City News : Notes and Queries Column. Chester Courant: "Cheshire
Sheaf" Column. (For words used in the neighbourhood of Mow Cop I am
indebted to the lists contributed to Cheshire Sheaf by G. H.) The name of a
township or of a district printed in small capitals indicates that the word
to which it is attached has been heard in that locality, but it by no means
follows that it is used nowhere else. It simply means that at present I have
not happened to hear it else where, or have not received it (if communicated)
from any other district Where no place-name is added the word may be
considered as in pretty general use throughout the county. No abbreviations
have been used in this Glossary except S. Ches. (South Cheshire), Mid-Ches.
(Mid-Cheshire), N. E. Ches. (NorthEast Cheshire), N.-W.Ches. (North-West
Cheshire), W. (Wilbraham), L (Leigh), and the usual abbreviations of the
parts of speech, which scarcely need explanation. ROBERT HOLLAND. FsoDSHAMi
March yrd^ 1885.
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A
GLOSSARY OF ARCHAIC AND PROVINCIAL WORDS
USED IN THE COUNTY OF CHESTER.
[The
name of the place, locality, or district
where words have been actually heard in use is printed in small capitals, but
it does not, necessarily, imply that the word is restricted to that locality.
When no name is added, the word may be considered to be in general
use throughout the county. The letter W. denotes that the word is given on
the authority of Wilbraham's Glossary (Eds. 1820,
1826), and L. on that of Major Egerton Leigh's
Glossary (1880),]
A.
A is frequently used as a prefix to verbs, as a-goin, going; j-be, be,
in the sense of remaining in the same condition. In Cheshire
we do not use the Biblical " let be," but “ let a-be."
'*Let that choilt a-be, wilt ta," is the vernacular for <* Let that
child alone, will you."
A, prep, (i) at or at the. See A-back, A-wom.
(2) on or on the. See A-fire, A-top.
A, V. have.
•• OiM a gen im a clout, if oi'd been theer."
A- BACK, prtp. behind; literally " at the back."
“Aw seed him oBaci o'th' edge.'*
ABBUR, amj. but.
ABIDE, Tf, to bear, to endure.
“I never could oMe shoemakkers,'^ said an old servant,— and it
ended in her marrying one.
B
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
ABOON, adv. above. L.
ABOUT, prep, in hand; in process of doing,
“Have you much hay about ? " does not mean " have yoa much
spread about?" but '* have you much in process of making?'*
“What's Mary doin* ?" " Oh I oo's ai(ntt iW butter;" that is,
making up the butter.
“About th* beds*' means making the beds. *
ABOVE A BIT, adv. greatly, very much.
“Eh, Polly! Aw do love thee above a bit.”
“Ht 6\di vtx mt above a bit.”
ABRECOCK, s. an apricot. Henbury, but I do not think the
word is in common use.
The name occurs in Gerard's Herbal; but though Gerard does not specially
give it as a Cheshire word, the inference is that it was in common use in the
county in his time, he being a Cheshire man.
ABUNDATION, s. abundance.
This word occurs in a marginal note in a copy of Wilbraham's Glossary,
1st ed. 1820, and appears to have been written about the same time; bat I
have met with it nowhere else. It is not unlikely to be an obsolete Cheshire
word, as Miss Jackson records it for the adjoining county in her Shropshirt
Word Book.
ABYLL, s. a mode of copyhold tenure mentioned in the records of
the Stockport Grand Leet Court.
**In a Great-Leet Court held at Stockport in the nth year of Queen
Elizabeth, before Ralph Warren, gent.. Steward of the Manor, and Thomas
Nicholasson, Mayor of the said town, Thomas Burdyssell, son of John
Burdyssell, late of Stockport, deceased, is admitted to do homage for his
late father's
tenements there, on the payment of ^^j'// " {Cheshire Sheaf, vol. i., p.
15).
It has been suggested \jiaem, vol. L, p. 41) that as Sir Robert de
Stockport's
charter to the burgesses of Stockport, dated about 1200, provides that when
a burgess happens to die, his heirs shall pay to the lord of the manor some
kind of arms, such as a sword, bow, or lance, the word abyll stands for
"a
bill. " The payment of some kind of weapon as a heriot, or in addition
to a
heriot, was not uncommon. In an old lease of lands in Halton, granted by
a former Marquis of Cholmondeley to a former Sir Richard Brooke, the payment
of " one shilling or a dagger" is mentioned.
ACCOUNT, 5, (i) explanation. Mobberley.
"There's no account gen of it" means that it is impossible to
account for it, or it cannot be satisfactorily explained.
(2) good opinion.
"Aw mak no account oiMvaa;" i.e., I have no good opinion of him.
ACCUSSIN, part, disputing, wrangling. Macclesfield. The
accent is on the first syllable.
“Nah then! no accussin.”
ACHORN. See Atchern.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 3
KCKERSPRIT, part adj.
A curious condition of the potato, known scientifically as supertuberation,
where the eyes of the tubers have genninated before the potatoes were got
up, and have formed a number of small unripe tubers attached to the old
ones. Potatoes are also said to be cukersprit when the axillary buds on the
stem grow into small green tubers, as is often the case in wet seasons.
ACKE^PYRE, V. to sprout, to germinate. Wilbraham, who
quotes it from Jamieson.
ACRE, s.
The Cheshire acre is 10,240 square yards, and is still in constant use
amongst farmers, especially in the northern half of the county, and in South
Lancashire. They cannot understand the statute acre at all, but compute
everything according to the local measure. Cheshire land measure is as
follows : ^ square yards = i rood (i.^., rod).
40 roods = I quarter.
4 quarters = i acre.
ADAM'S FLANNEL, x. the plant Verbascum Thapsus. L.
ADBUTT, X. the headland of a field; also Adlant.
In both cases the accent is on the first syllable. The latter word is the
most frequently used, I think, in all parts of Cheshire.
ADDER'S GRASS, 5. Cynosorchis, Gerard's Herbal. L.
The orchis which Gerard distinguishes as adder's-grass is Orchis mascula^
but be does not specify it as a Cheshire name.
ADDER'S-TONGUE, s. the plant Orchis mascula. Mid-Ches.
ADDLE or YEDDLE, v. to thrive or flourish, to merit by labour. W.
ADDLE-YEDDED, adj\ stupid, thick-headed.
«« He's a addU-yedded think."
ADDLINGS, 5. earnings from labour. W.
ADLANT, s, a headland in a field.
As an illustration of the frequent use
of this word, almost in a metaphorical sense, I quote two amusing stories
given by correspondents of the Manchester City News of Feb. 26th and March
12th, 188 1 : — “ A few years ago a competition of Church choirs was
organised in Chester Cathedral, to which the parish choir from Tarporley was
invited. After the singing al! the competing choirs had tea together, the
present L©rd Derby presiding. Next day a member of the choir (a raw, country
lad) was asked how he enjoyed himself, and what sort of a man was Lord Derby.
He replied, * Oi had a grand tea; as much as ever oi loiked to eat. Aw th' singers
set at a lung teble doin th* reawhm, and Lord Derby was on a adlant at th*
end. * “ A table, of course, placed at right angles to the rest. The second
anecdote runs thus : — “ There is an old traditional story in my family of
one of our feminine predecessors, that when she was a young woman one of the
servants in her father's house came running to her, calling out, * Miss!
Miss! Here's Goodman Twemlow coming, go and take your clogs off.* The a.nswer
to this request was, ' No, I s^n*t. I have as many adbutts and adianis as he
has.* '* Leigh gives as an old Cheshire proverb " He*s turned a narrow
adlant,*^ meaning that he has had a narrow escape from death; and the same
saying is current in the neighbouring county of Shropshire {Shropshire Word Book),
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
ADMIRE, s. to wonder at.
*' Ah hadDJi seen my uncle for a long toime, and when he coom m, ah could na
txit admoire hhn, he looked so firesh; — and he's tamed seventy."
ADOO» f . fiiss, bustle, difficulty.
“Oo made much adoo abait iL”
AFEARD.) ^ . .. ^. , •
AFEARTJ^''- ^- *^^
"Come on! who*S40«^/''
AFFADIU i: the daffoda. L.
AFFRODILE, s. a daffodil W. See Avakdrills and Havbr
DRIL.
AFIRE, *^. on fire.
AFORE, adr. before
AFORE LONG, air. soon.
.\FTER,/nC^. (i) doing.
What are yon mfttrf"^
(a) in quest o£
Th* pmKoenvin's ifiir
(3) making love ta
I expect he*s mftir ocr IV41y.”
AFTER A BIT. aJc. in a short time
AFTERIXGS. j. the last mOk that can be drawn from a cow; the
same as Stroilixos, W. Sec Drippings.
AGATE, /tffl (i) cn^a^ed in doing anything.
(1) getting to work again afber a ho^(daT« or a sickness,
or acck^nL
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utee?' ^ O^ : iiaii^ : ihi s<c$ orre cr.xtMBS ar a!
“Ek : ■ t^"^ ££ mgtBi y $eC3a ak a >cs« :^^ j:n'beEter av
(4) ssed Tnegar^KcxaZr nar M^-^g or ^-nV^"^^
AGE^ r. to show we.
-He*
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. S
AGENi prep, (i) against, in all its usual senses.
“Th* ladder were rared agen th* waw."
“I shall be able to pay you agen next week."
“We'n nowt agen th* chap."
“I were alios agen his goin."
, (2) near.
'< He lives agm th' chapel."
(3) before.
“Our pump alius maks a nize e^en rain."
AGG or EGG, v. to incite or provoke. Ashton-under-Lyne.
AGGED,/flff. adj. tired L.
AGOE, J. the ague. L.
AGREEABLE, part, consenting to, willing.
AGREEABLE, adj. nice to the taste.
“Is your tea agreeable V
AGRIMONY, X. the plant Agrimonia Eupaioria,
In Leigh's Glossary the name is erroneously assigned to Penny Grass
{RhinaiUhus Crista- GaUi).
AGRIMONY, WATER, s. the plant Eupatorium cannabinum.
Mid-Chks.
AH or AW, pron. I, especially when not emphatic.
AlLCE,/r^. nanuy Alice. Mobberley.
AIM, 1 a guess, an inkling. "A like aim'^ is a shrewd guess.
“Do you know who did it ?" " Now, bur aw*ve getten a loike
fli«."
AIMER, adj. nearer. *^ Aimer-gate" a nearer way. Rainow.
*• You mun go dain th* aimer gate."
AIMY, adj. shrewd. Macclesfield.
“Ee wur a aimy sort o* chap, ee wur."
AINT, s. aunt. Wilmslow.
AIR, s. (1) the sky.
Some years zeq there was a very remarkable aurora borealis observed
Cheshire. I forget the year, but it was one evening in early spring.
There appeared a large and very bright red spot in the sky immecfiately
overhead, from which rose-coloured coruscations extended almost all over the
sky. The colour was so vivid that it caused everything to look reddish, and
it even reflected a red colour on people's faces. The next morning a man
in speaking about it said, *VThe air broke red," meaning that the sky
broke
out red. The appearance caused a good deal of consternation, many people
thinking that the world was coming to an end. One of my neighbours sent
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
his daughter to me whilst the strange appearance lasted to know what I
thought it indicated. The general opinion, however, seemed to be that it
portended " war and bloodshed."
(2) the clouds.
When lowering clouds portend rain it is said, “ It shows for rain,
the air is so low.”
AIRY BALLUNE, s. a balloon; also Alla Ballune.
A correspondent writes : '* The following dialogue was heard at
a fBte near Congleton, between a young lady of about 14 and her
mamma. ' Oh! mother, do cum, they*re goin for*t* start a aity
ballum^* * Yer young baggage, you, ow often am I for*t' tell ye
it isn't a airy da/iune, but a alla-ballune.* “
AITCH, X. pain, especially any sudden pain such as paroxysms in
any intermitting disorder. Wilderspool, Crewe, Macclesfield. These places
being at different sides of the county the
word may be considered pretty general.
Hot aitches are flushings in the face; fainty aitches are fieunting
fits. Occasionally pronounced haitches,
AITCH, V. to ache. Macclesfield.
“I aitch aw o*er me.”
AITCHORN. See Atchern.
AITCHORNING. See Atcherning.
AIZE POW or EASE POW (Eaves Pole), x. building term.
A triangular piece of wood placed above the wall-plate of a building to
raise the first course of slates to the proper angle, so that the rest of the
sUtes
may lie smoothly upon each other.
AIZIN or EAZIN, s. {1) the eaves of a house.
(2) the roof itself. Mid and South Cheshire.
“Ar Johnny's thrown his cap on Foster's azin"
•* Tha'll faw ofifth' azin if tha dusner mind, mon."
Maruhester City News^ March S/A, 188 1.
AIZY, adj. easy.
AIZY, adv. easily.
“Tak it flwy, mon.”
ALE-COST, s. the plant Tanacetum balsamita.
Frequently found as a herb in old-fashioned gardens.
ALE TASTER, s. an officer appointed in several of the Cheshire
towns to prevent the adulteration of ale.
At the Court Leet for the Manor or Lordship of Over, held November,
1880, Constables, Burleymen, and AUtasters were elected for each of the
townships of Over, Marton, and Swanlow. A report of the proceedings
appeared in the Warrington Guardian of Nov. 20th, 1880.
ALGATES, adv. always. (? obs.)
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 7
ALGERINING, part, prowling about with intent to rob, robbery.
“He goes about cUgerining and begging/* often said of a tramp
(Leigh, who suggests that the derivation of this curious word from
the Algiers pirates is self-evident). I have also received this as a
very occasional word from a Macclesfield correspondent.
ALKIN, s, all sorts. L.
Probably a mere contraction of " all kinds."
ALLA BALLUNE. See Airy Ballune.
ALLEGAR, x. vinegar; originally such as was made from ale, but
now applied to all kinds of vinegar. Macclesfield.
Wilbraham says that the word is generally used with the adjunct
"▼inegar" — a/^^or-vinegar; but it is not so used now at
Macclesfield.
ALLEGAR SKRIKERS, s. thin gruel flavoured with vinegar.
Macclesfield.
ALLEY, s. (i) a small walk between garden beds.
(2) the gangway between two rows of cows, which in very
old-fashioned shippons stand tail to tail; sometimes the alleys are so narrow
that the tails of the
opposite cows nearly touch.
“Sawe dust spred thick
Makes a/i^ trick."
TussER (E. D. S. ed., p. 33).
(3) a boy's marble, generally made of marble and fre
quently of alabaster. When streaked with red it
is called a " blood alley r Also called OLLEY.
Knutsford, Mobberley, Macclesfield.
ALLHEAL, s. the plant Prunella vulgaris. W. Ches.
ALLICAMPANE, s, the plant Inula Helenium.
Sometimes seen in old-fashioned gardens, and considered to be a remedy
for toothache; but I do not know in what way it is used,
ALLMACKS, s. all sorts. L.
ALONG OF, prep, in consequence of.
ALONGST, adv. along. Ashton Heyes. Warmingham.
♦M^^/ the road."
ALPINE, f, the plant Sedum Telephium.
AME, X. the handle of an axe. Wilderspool.
AMPERLASH, s. saucy, impudent, abusive language. Mow Cop.
“ru have none o' thy amperUisk^ soo I tell thee."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
AN* ALL or AN' AW, adv. besides, in addition.
<< An mun oi come an aw?"
A very common expression, and one whidi sometimes does not add tnj
force to a sentence. I have heard it reduplicated, “ an all an alL"
Leigh
g'ves it as In all, which form I cannot remember ever to have heard* I
el sure he has conlused the sound.
ANAN, adv.
Is made use of in vulgar discourse by the lower orders of petsons
addressing a superior, when thev either do not hear or do not comprdieod
well what is said to them, and is equivalent to '* What did you say?"
or,
“Have the goodness to repeat or explain what you said." W. I think
now quite obsolete.
ANCLIF, s. ankle.
ANEEND, adv. upright, not lying down, on one end. See On
EEND.
When applied to a four-footed animal it means " rearing," or what
the
heralds call "rampant." It is always pronounced "^dCnd,"
and possibly
should be written '*on eend." Amend means also perpetually, evermore.
W.
ANENST, prep, opposite; also O'er-anenst, which see.
ANENT, adv. about.
“I know nought <mtnt him."
ANGLESEA, s. hatting term. The name given to a peculiar curl
of the hat brim.
ANGRY, adj. inflamed, as applied to a sore place.
“That thumb o' hisn's looks main angry."
ANGUISH, s. bodily pain.
ANSWER TO, V. (i) to succeed with.
It is said that clay land generally answers to bones.
(2) to be easily led.
“He*s a soft sort o* chap; hell answer to owt."
ANT, V, to plough out a small subsoil furrow from a reen. MinSHULL Vernon.
See Reen.
ANTIPRANTY, adj. frisky, restive, said of a horse. Mobberley^
Macclesfield.
ANTRIMS, s. whims, vagaries.
An old Maccles6eld nurse used often to accuse the children under
her charge of being " at your antrims again."
APERN, s. an apron.
"A buttrice and pincers, a hammer and naile.
An apeme and siszers for head and for taile."
TussER (£. D. S. ed., p. 36).
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 9
APPLE PIE, s. the plant Efniobium hirsuium. So called fix>m the
smell of its leaves and flowers. Also, in Mid-Ches., the plant
Artemisia vulgaris,
APPO, s, an apple. The exact pronunciation is more like apper^
but with the r silent.
APRIL GAWBY (W. Ches.;, APRIL GOBBY (Mid-Ches.),
APRIL GOB (Macclesfield), s. an April fooL
APSE UPON THEE or ARPSE UPON THEE, excl
A word used in scolding a child; also a sort of exclamation of surprise,
or when sudden pain is felt. Thus, if a man took up a piece of iron which
he unexpectedly found was too hot to hold he would, very likely, in dropping
it make use of the exclamation.
AREAT,/r^. outside. Wilmslow.
“Was he i W haise T * ' Now, he were areat, "
ARGIFY, V. to argue.
“What, tha wants for t' argify^ dost ta T
ARGY, V, to argue.
“He argid till be wur black i'th' &ce" is a saying so common as
to be almost proverbiaL The g is hard.
ARK, s. a chest
The chest in which oats are kept in a stable is always called a
••cum-flr*."
ARM, J. part of the axle-tree of a cart.
The arm of an axle-tree is that part which goes into the nave of the
wheel. I can remember when there were very few carts with iron arms.
Fonnerlv they were simply a continuation of the wooden axle; now they are
invariabhr made of iron and are let into each end of the thick wooden axle.
But the foundation of a country-made cart is very durable, and in Cheshire
there are still many very old carts in existence, especially " tumbrils
" or dung
carts, with the original wooden arms. I dare say some of them may be
leventy or eighty years old — ^perhaps more. See Cart.
ARM-HOLE, 5. the arm-pit.
ARM-F-LINK, idiom, arm in arm. Macclesfield. Used also
metaphorically to imply
(i) great familiarity, as
“He's arm-V'link wi' him."
(a) courting, as
“He*s goin arm-V-link wi' ahr Polly."
AROUT, adv, out-of-doors. L. See Areat.
ARRANT, s. an errand.
The preposition "of" is always used before the word, **Oo's
gon of a arrant*”
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10 CHESmRE GLOSSARY.
ARR, X. a mark or scar.
ARR, r. to mark, scar, or scratch.
An old farm servant said to a little girl, " Com ait o' that he
wiU*a, or thaUt mrr thee."
ARRED, part, adj, scarred. " Pock-tfirw^" marked with sm;
pox.
ARSE-BOARD, x. the tailboard of a cart
ARSE-EEND, s. the tail end.
**Theai^r<4»fc/ofa 'tater*" is the end hf which it b attache
the stalk or thread.
ARSE-SMART, i: the plant Poly^imum Hydrcfiper.
ARSEV-VERSEV, adv. head over heels. Mobberixt.
AS* prm. who, that, which.
«*Hesthechap4udidiL"
AS GOOD, adv. as weU.
“We »ay ^ g»i p>o, there*s nowt to be setten."
A &ther said to his son, who was lestsdng him, '* Tha met
.jiwii gixe in« ibr ahU thresh the."*
AS GOOD AS, ode. verr nearly.
To sax that anyone is *i ^»i tu gooe meaits that the patiez
m fxtrrtmif^ and cannoc pvesiMr recover.
*^ It*s iV,got^jts half a mile fnxn heie.^
ASHIX. SeeEsHix.
AS H-KEYS. f. the seed of the ash. L.
ASHLAR^ iL stone sqxiared up for builviin^.
ASK. See AsiLUt.
.VSK.ER« A (somecimes ASK^ a Uaird ot anr kind — i^^ eidter a h
or waiter newt.
I r^rrc a Cheshire aaaa ^ks sBOce Itocror of az ics^er ±£L1 ct izt o4
rercie- It is sapcosei :rj "sett riacc^'' aad cue a? cvosnitsrsc sa&
?j rccsca a whole woL T^er ue iiiTaz^i!^>r tTlItfvi whiea isscc^
-VSKW Ai>". vinr, pierdrij is a^ciied K> wind sxr weaMBer. M:>w
C
AS IFFF oc .VS LEE\T:- a«^.
,\SP. iL tae ssoea cee. r'TfftkM irfmauti. L-\5TOUXD. 3ttrt istooisfied
>LuXL£SFiUa>..
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. II
AT J prep, (i) in.
“A pain ai her stomach."
(2) to.
“Tak care; hell do summat at thee."
AT, V. to do some violence to a person. N. E. Ches.
A blackguard-looking fellow said to his wife, " If tha sa^ that
again, 1*11 at thee," and accompanied the words by doubling his fist.
AT AFTER, /r<r/. after.
“Come to me, Tyrrell, soon, a/ a/Ur supper." —
IT. Richard III, , Act iv., Sc. 3.
AT AFTER, adv. afterwards.
“Shall you come nai or at after ?"
ATCHERN, s, an acorn; often called o^k-atchern. Mobberley.
Halliwell and Wright, following Wilbraham, spell it Achorn, which
gives no indication as to whether the ch is hard or soft. About Macclesfield
it is always pronounced AccoRN. In S. Ches. Atchin. Wilbraham
also has Aitchern..
ATCHERNING, part, picking up acorns. The second syllable is
short. Wilbraham spells it " aitchorning."
ATHArNS, adv, in that manner.
“Dunna do it a-thafns; you should do it a-this*ns; sithee!"
ATHIS'NS, adv. in this manner. See A-That'ns.
ATHURTENS, adv, the other side of. L.
ATOP, adv, {1) on the top.
“He's a-top o'th* stack."
(2) or simply "on."
A
woman who had lent her savings to the trustees of a Wesleyan
chapel said, " I've got all my money a-top of a chapel."
ATTER, s, poison. L.
ATTERCOB, s, a spider. L.
ATTOCK, s, a corn stook. See Hattock (2).
ATWEEN, prep, between.
AUCTION, s. a place, a transaction, a meeting. Norton.
It is extremely difficult to explain the exact meaning of this metaphorical
word, and the above attempts are not quite satisfactory. It almost answers
to the slang term “lot,"
as when we speak of a person being " a bad lot;"
and the connection between “ lot" and “ auction is obvious. I have heard
a dirty, muddy place described as " a dirty at^iion," and an unruly
crowd as
“Aiough auction."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
AUD-FARRANT, adj. old-fashioned
"A reglar aud-farrant piece o' goods.”
AUNDER, J. afternoon. L
AVANDRILLS, s. daffodils.
From a manuscript note in a copy of Wilbraham's Glossary, written
apparently about 1820. See Haverdril.
AW, prom the pronoun I when not emphatic. See Oi.
“Abber aw seed im."
A\V, adj. alL
AW, excl. used in driving horses. Mobberley and the middle part
of Cheshire generally.
Said to a horse when he is to turn towards the left. **Aw come
'ere" is used when he is to turn completely round to the left
AW ALONG, prep, in consequence of, owing to. Leigh spells it
AWLONG or AWLUNG.
"Sanshum fair!" says hoo, " by golly, 'tis Sanshum fair
to-day,
an aw*d cleean forgetten aw along o' this kink i' my back." — J. C
Clough.
AW- BUR, Le. ail-but, adv. almost.
*• He's aw-bur done 'is wark."
AWKERT, adj (i) awkward, clumsy.
(2) perverse, contrary.
“Things are tumin out very awkert.^^
AWLONG. See Aw along.
AWMING, 5. pantry. L.
AWMING, part gaping or staring about. Wilderspool.
“What are ye awmin* at ? "
A-WOM, adv. at home.
AW S', or AW ST, v. I shall.
AWSE, V. to attempt Hyde. See Oss.
AWTER, s. a halter.
To "play the oTvter" is a metaphorical expression signifyinj;
to inflict some punishment which is as bad as hanging. See Chishtre
Sheafs vol. i., p. 211.
AWTERCATION, s. alteration.
AW T' NOWT, idiom, without doubt, far away; perhaps best explained by the
semi-slang expression, " out and out"
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 1 3
AWVISH, adj, awkward, unmannerly. Hyde.
AX, V. (i) to ask, to enquire.
(2) to invite.
(3) to put up the marriage banns.
AXED, part, asked.
People whose marriage banns have been published are said to
. have been ctxid in charch.
AXED OUT, part, the banns being asked for the third time.
The expression is used of the persons, not of the banns. "They
were axed out last Sunday,"
AXINS, s, the marriage banns.
.\XLEWORTH, f. a grinder. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
B.
BABBY-HOUSE, s, bits of broken crockery arranged like the ground
plan of a house; a frequent amusement with country children.
BABELAVANTE, s. a babbler. Chester Plays. L.
BACH, s, a fall, or a stream, as in " Sanddach,” L.
There is a small piece of water near Chester called the " Bache
Pool;"
and at Rainow, near Macclesfield, there is a spot called Uie " Black
Patch/*
or " Black Batch," through which a dark and deep stream flows. I
think
the word is never heard except in place-names.
BACK, s. a cop. See Hedge-back.
BACK AND TO, idwm. to and from.
BACKARD, adj, late, long protracted.
“A backard spring."
BACKARDING, s, a change from excessive joy and feasting to
mourning. L.
BACKARDING, part, relapsing into sickness. Macclesfield.
“Ah! poor thing, oo*s backarding; it'll soon be aw up wi' her."
B AC KB AND, s, an iron chain passing over the back of a horse to
support the shafts of a cart. Called also a " Ridgerth."
BACKED UP, idiom, in good circumstances.
“He*s rarely backed up^ he is."
BACKEN, V. to throw back, to retard, to check.
. Vegetation is backened by frost. A gathering may be backened^ i.^.,
prevented coming to a crisis, by holding the part affected in very hot water,
— a
practice often resorted to.
BACK-END, s. autumn.
BACKENING, j. a relapse to sickness. Northenden.
««
Our little one is not right yet; he had a serious backening the day we
were at Beeston." This was written in reply to my inquiries after a
friend's
child who was ilL
BACKING. See Hedge-back.
BACK-NOR-EDGE, idiom.
“I can mak back-nor-edge of him," i.^., '* I can make nothing
of him." L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 1$
JACK 0' BEHINT, idiom, (i) very much out of the way; out of
the world; behind the hindmost,
as it were; an ultima Thule.
I once lived at a house in a very secluded part of the parish of Mobberley.
I certainly had one neighbour, and our gardens were contiguous, but in order
to get by the road from one house to the other it was necessary to travel at
least two miles. My house was always spoken of, most expressively, as a
very hack-o^ -behint place.
(2) of slow intellect Macclesfield.
BACKSIDE, J. (i) the further side of anything.
The backside of a hedge is the further side from where you are standing.
(2) the back yard and premises of a house.
(3) in the north-western part of Cheshire it is a very
frequent name for the field which is nearest to
the back of the farm buildings. I often notice
the name in old maps.
BACKSTUN, J. a round flat piece of stone, but now more generally
a piece of sheet iron, with a handle over the top, upon which
various kinds of tea-cakes are baked. The article is not seen
nearly so often as formerly.
BACK UP, V. to pile up.
To b<uk up a hedge is to repair the cop by digging soil out of the ditch
suid piling it on the cop.
BACK-WORD, J. a countermand.
“We were to have gone to-day, but they sent us back-word,^''
Bacon, $, to “ puU bacon^'^ or sometimes to " make bacon^^ is the
elegant operation known as “ taking a sight." The action is
frequently accompanied by the query " have you ever seen bacon
so thick ? "
BAD, adj, ill.
“Awfu' bad wi' roomatics.'*
BAD-CESS, excL bad luck!
BADDIN', V. playing at hockey with sticks and a wooden ball or
piece of wood. L.
BADGE, V, to cut corn with a badginghook. See Badging-hook.
BADGER, s, a dealer in com (W.); a higgler who makes the round
of the country to collect butter, eggs, poultry, and fruit (L.).
BADGING-HOOK, 5, a kind of sickle.
It differs from the ordinary sickle in having a broad smooth-edged blade
instead of a narrow blade with a serrated edge. In using it for bodging com,
tbe com is pulled backwards with the left hand, or with a hooked stick, and
1 6
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
the stiaw is severed by a smart blow. The instrument is frequently used for
trimming the rough grass from a hedge bank, and sometimes for cutting off
the summer shoots of a hedge.
BAD LUCK TOP END, idiom, short of inteUect; slightly crazy.
*<Thah's getten bad luck topend^ thah cumberlin." J. C. Clough.
BADLY OFF, adv. in necessitous circumstances.
BAFFLER, s. a top rail to a sunk fence, wall, or cop. L.
BAG, ^. (i) a sack; also a Sack-ful.
Farmers frequently speak of having so many bc^s of wheat per acre; in
which case a sack containing four bushels is intended. It is sdso
occasionally
used for the contents 6f the bag. There is an old Cheshire sa3ring, *' Bag
and pump don't pay like bag and milk," which means that meal and water
will not uitten like meal and milk. Macclbsfielo Forsst.
(2) the udder of a cow.
“Oo's a rare bagged un," is said of a cow with a la^e udder.
BAG, V. (i) the same as Badge, which see.
(2) to discharge a servant. Macclesfield.
(3) to baffle. Macclesfield.
"That fair ^^j me."
BAGGIN or BAGGING, s. a meal, generally of bread and cheese,
eaten between breakfast and dinner; or about four o'clock in
the afternoon, between dinner and supper.
It is the custom for the master to provide bagging for his men daring hay
or com harvest. Amongst the Macclesfield mill hands breakfast and tea are
caUed baggin,
BAGGING-HOOK, s. the same as Badgino-hook, which see.
BAGGIN -TIME, s. ten o'clock in the morning or four o'clock
in the afternoon, the time for eating bagging.
BAG MOUTH OPEN, idiom, used metaphorically to express the
fact that anything has “ come to light." A parallel expression
to " the cat has jumped out of the bag."
Leigh gives a good illustration in the foUowing sentence : *• Aw never
knew how things were with him, tiU the bailies were in the house, and then
the bag motttk was open. "
BAGNET, J. a bayonet
BAGS I, V. I claim.
An expression used by boys in claiming the first place in a game; or in
laying claim to any treasure trove.
BAGSKIN, s, rennet.
The stomach of a calf cleaned and laid in salt, used for curdling the milk
in the process of cheese-making. The bagskins are also dried by stretching
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 1 7
them npon pieces of stick, in which form they are cleaner, and can he kept
almost any length of time. Some dairymaids, however, prefer them wet,
and some dry. The preparation of the bagskins is almost a special branch
of trade. It is thus described by Sir Henry Holland in his " General
View
of the Agriculture of Cheshire," 1808: **When it (the maw-skin) comes
from the butcher, the chyley matter is taken out, and the skin cleared from
slime and every apparent impurity, by wiping or a gentle washing; the skin
is then filled nearly full of salt, and placing a layer of salt upon the
bottom
of a mug, the skin is laid flat upon it; the mug is large enough to hold
three
skins in a course : each course of skins should be covered with salt, and
when
a snfBdent number of skins are thus placed in the mug, that mug should be
filled up with salt, and with a dish or slate over it, be put into a cool
place,
till the approach of the cheese-making season, in the following year. The
skins are then all taken out, laid for the brine to drain from them, and
being
spread npon a table, they are powdered on each side with fine salt, and are
rolled smooth with a paste roller, which presses in the salt; after that, a
thin
splint of wood is stuck across each of them, to keep them extended while
they are hung to dry."
BAG-STUFF, s. artificial manure sold in bags.
“Aw may no accaint o* dag" stuff."
BAG UP, V. to put into sacks.
BAHT (Altrincham), BEAWT (Wilmslow), BIGHT (W. Ches.),
BOUT (general), prep, without
"Thawinnago . . . daAt me." J. C. Clough.
*' If we wanten eawt and conna pay, we done bight," Kelsall.
^Vilbraham gives an amusing illustration of a woman who, when urged to
quit a bad hustMind, said ''better bad tlian bout." The saying is,
however,
proverbial, and used on many occasions.
BAILY, s. a bailiff. About Macclesfield it is always Bum-baily.
**Th' bailies are i' th' hahse."
BAIN, adj, near, convenient. W.
BAIND, part, bound. Mobberley, Knutsford. See Bound.
BAIT, s. to feed horses in the interval of work. The horses
themselves are said to be baiting.
BAITH, conj. both. W.
BAKER-KNEED, adj. knock-kneed. L.
BALD COOT, s. the coot {Fulica atra\ which has a white face,
and is so called to distinguish it from the water hen {Gallinula
podiceps\ which in Cheshire is also called Coot.
BALK, s. abeam. Pronounced "bawk."
BALKS, 5. a hayloft Pronounced " bawks.'*
It is generally said to be so called because it consists of divisions or bays
between the b<ilks or beams that support the roof; but the bcUks in old
Cheshire buildings consisted of beams, laid across from wall to wall, upon
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
which round branches were placed like joists, with spaces between, and the
hay or straw was stacked upon them. There was no r^;ular floor, but the
under surface of the hay itself formed the ceiling of the ^ppon. I know of
several instances where this very primitive arrangement is still existing. I
have always thought that the name balks was derived from the fact of the hay
being placed upon balks or beams of timber.
In other cases a rude kind of floor was made by putting rough outside
slabs of trees, the round sides uppermost, on the branches. At present the
floor of the hayloft b properly b^ded and nailed over square joists, but the
old name is retained.
BALL, s, the bole of a tree* Arley.
BALL, V. to agglomerate.
Snow is said to ball when it adheres to a horse's feet in lumps.
BALL MONEY, s. largesse demanded from a wedding-party, to
obtain which (particularly if the bridegroom is known as a stingy
man) a rope is sometimes drawn across the road. L.
Leigh says it was so called because formerly the money was supposed togo
towards ue football fund of the parish.
BALLOCK GRASS, s, the herb " dogstones." Gerard. L.
B ALLOW, V, to select or claim.
It is used by boys at play, when they select a goal or a companion of their
fime. I ballaw, or bcUlow me, that situation, or that person. W. See
ARLKY Me.
BALLY, s. (i) the belly.
"What comes o'er the devil's back goes under his bally"“ is a
proverbial
expression relating to ill-gotten gains. Cheshire Sheafs vol. i., p. 211.
(2) a litter of pigs.
We speak of the little pigs themselves as a '* bally of pics;" in
speaking
of the sow we should say "how many baliies has 00 had? meaning "how
many litters of pigs has she had ? ''
BALLY-BONT, s, a belly-band; the broad strap which passes under
a horse's belly from shaft to shaft.
BALLY^BUTTON, 5, the navel.
BALLY-PIECE, s. the thin part of a carcase near the belly.
BALLY-STICK, 5. a stick used to keep open the sides of a
slaughtered pig.
BALLY- VENGEANCE, s. anything very sour, and likely to disagree with the
stomach. Mobberley.
Sour beer would be stigmatised as " regMar haHy-vengeance^
BALLY-WARCH, or BALLY-WARK, 5. belly ache (chiefly on
the northern side of the county).
“What's up wi* th* tit ?" " He's getten th' bally-xuarch,"
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 1 9
BAMBOOZLE, v. to cheat, to outwit
“He*s r^lar bambootUd me."
BA MUGS, or BOWER MUGS, s, pieces of crockery used as
playthings by children. L.
BAND, X. hatting term. The part of a hat which fits round the
head.
BANDS, X. (i) the cross pieces of wood to which the boards of a
common door are nailed.
(2) long iron hinges for the doors of farm buildings.
BANDY HEWITT, s, a little bandy-legged dog, a turn-spit. W.
BANG, V, to surpass.
BANG-BEGGAR, s. a beadle. W.
BANGLE, V. to waste, to consume. W.
BANG-UP, 5, yeast made from potatoes and hops.
It is not often used now that German yeast can be bought at every village
shop.
BANKSMAN, s, salt-mining term. The foreman over saltworks.
BANNUT TREE, a growing walnut tree. L.
BANSEL, V. to beat Wilderspool, Hyde, Macx:lesfield.
"^a#fj<r/ his hide."
BANT or BONT, j. (i) a band; the straw rope which binds a
sheaf of com.
(2) string.
BANTLING, i. a baby.
BARFUT, adj. bare-footed
BARGING, part slanging.
BARK WAIN, s, when the bark of a tree, as is the case with a
yew, grows into the timber and spoils it. L.
BARLEY BREAKE, s. an old Cheshire game, mentioned by
Randle Holme. L,
BARLEY HANDS, excL a schoolboy expression used in the pause
of a game to indicate that the person is temporarily exempt from
playing, or from the penalties of the game, as " I'm barley hands''
Macclesfield.
BARLEY ME, txd. I claim.
An expression used by boys in claiming the first innings at any game. In
playing " Conquerors " the boy begins who first says *^ Barley me
first blow."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 21
BARROW MAKER, ^. salt-making term. The maker of a barrow. L
BARST, s. perfect tense of burst. Mobberley. BRAST,
Macclesfield.
BASKET, s. hatting term. A flat crossing of twigs used to press
down the layers of wool or fur.
BASKITTLE, s. a basketful.
No doubt the correct spelling would be " basket 'ul,*' but it is
pronounced
as above.
BASONING, part, hatting term. The first process of felting after the
material is formed for the hat body; also called " Hardening."
BASS, ^. (i) the hard stony lumps found in coal, which will not
bum; also called " Bath.*' See Basses.
(2) the bag in which a joiner carries his tools^
(3) a low stool; a hassock.
BASS, V. salt-making term. See Basses.
To " doss a fire " is to get the clinkers out of the furnace before
putting
on fresh fuel.
BASSES, s. salt-making term. Clinkers formed in the furnace.
BASSIN, s. a basin. Mobberley, Ashley.
Leigh explains it as "a wooden bowl in which they make up butter."
I
think the above pronunciation is very local.
BASSOCK, s. 2L tuft of coarse grass. " Perhaps the original form
of Hassock." L.
BASTARD, s, salt-making term. The name applied to weak brine.
BASTARD FALLOW, s, grass land ploughed up as soon as the
hay crop is taken off, and then worked as a fallow for wheat.
A fallow, or as it is often called "bare fallow," and in Cheshire
"summer work," is when grass land is ploughed up in the spring, and
worked during the whole of the summer, without any crop being grown upon
it, as a preparation for the sowing of wheat in the autumn. In the bastard
falhw a crop of hay is taken first, and the land is not ploughed till
midsummer, or even later, and it thus gets only half the working that a true
fallow receives.
BASTYLE, 5. the workhouse.
This was a very common name when first the new Union Workhouses
were built; but it is gradually falling into disuse.
BAT, s, (i) 2L slight blow.
(2) speed.
'* He ran full bat agen him."
(3) hatting term. A layer of wool or other material of
which the hat body is made.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BAT, V. (i) to beat down; as beating down a garden bed with a
spade. Macclesfield.
(2) to wink the eyelids up and down. Macclesfield.
“Dunna bat thi eye a that'ns."
BATCH, s. (i) the quantity of wheat taken to the mill at one time
to be ground.
“We're getten short o' flour, you man send a batch to th* mill.*'
(2) a baking.
If barm is bad, it spoils the whole batch,
(3) a number of things baked at the same time.
We speak of making " a bcUch of pies '' to last the whole week.
(4) used metaphorically for a number of people or things.
"He's best o*th*<5a/f;i."
BATCH-FLOUR, s, common brown flour for household use.
BATE, s. a lump of wood or stone used as the fulcrum of a
lever. Norton.
BATE, V. (i) to diminish, to fall off in quantity.
"Cows mostly bate i* their milk i'th' dog da3rs."
"When white clover comes i' bob th' cows are sure to bcUe V their
mUk."
(2) to reduce wages.
Having one's wages bcUed is having them reduced. Leigh speaks of the
workman himself as being bated,
BATE DAIN or BATE DOWN, s, to depreciate in making a bargain.
“He axed me fowrteen pound, but ah bcUed him dain to twelve."
BATE-SHAVING, part, tanning term. Shaving hides intended for
upper leather to a uniform thickness by means of a knife, made
for the purpose, which has its edge turned up.
BATH, s, stony lumps in coal, pronounced like " hath." MobberLEY,
Ashley. See Bass.
BATH, V. to foment
BATTEN or BATTIN, s, a truss of straw.
The quantity of a bcUtcn is the straw from two sheaves of wheat; or
rather it was so in the days of flails. In threshing with a machine there is,
of course, no guide to the quantity of straw to be put into each batten.
Twelve hand-threshed battens of straw make one Thrave. See Thrave.
BATTER, z^. (i) a wall is said to batier when it slopes backward
from the base. A wall built against a bank
generally batUrs,
(a) to beat, as rain beats against anything. Norton.
“Th' lead's welly done, and Ih' rain batters through th' windows."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 23
BATTER-DOCK, s. the plant Petasites vulgaris. The name is also
given, on the authority of Wilbraham, to Potamogeton natans, L.
BATTRIL, s. a flat piece of wood used by washerwomen to beat
their linen. L.
BAW,s.{i)aball.
(2) a dumpling. See Barm Baw, and Speckt Baw.
BAW, BAW AIT, v. to shout.
BAWK or BAWK AIT, v, to make a sudden bellowing noise.
"A lad stood under th' bridge an' hawked ait as aw passed, an*
tV tit took boggart,"
Animals when suddenly frightened often " bawk ait,”
BAWM, X. the plant Melissa Qfficinalis^ cultivated in most old£Eishioned
gardens, and in great repute as a medicinal plant
BAWM, V, to prepare, dress, or adorn.
At Appleton, in Cheshire, it is the custom at the time of the wake to clip
and adorn an old hawthorn which stands in the town. This ceremony is
called the Bawming of Appleton Thorn. W.
BAWM DUMPLIN. See Barm Baw.
BAWM TAY, X. an infusion of balm {Melissa officinalis) used for
colds.
BAWSON or BAWSIN, x. (i) a badger. W.
(2) a term of opprobrium, really a glutton. Macclesfield.
“Tha great bawson thee! "
BAWSON, adj, big. Delamere.
“He towd me a bawson lee."
BAWSON, pari, (i) burst.
*' Aw*ve etten so mony poncakes, aw'm welly bawson,"
(2) ruptured.
BAWTERT, part clogged. L.
“Bawtert wi' slutch "—clogged with mud.
BAY, s, a division of a barn or other farm building, generally open
on one or more sides. The separate compartments of a long
hay shed are called bays.
The old-fashioned bam consisted of a threshing floor, or bam proper, in
the middle, which was flagged, sometimes boarded, and in a few of the very
oldest buildings, made 01 a calcareous clay, which was burnt and hardened
into a kind of cement (see Plaster Hill). On one or both sides of the
threshing floor was a bay for storing com in the sheaf. The bays were
separated from the threshing floor by a low wall, but were otherwise open to
the
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
barn. I have spoken of these kind of bams as things of the past, which is
hardly correct, as there are plenty still in existence; but the flail is now
almost obsolete, and in building a bam now-a-days it' would be arranged
differently so as to suit a threshing machine. " A bay of building
" is mentioned in a document dated 1619.
BAYES or BAIZE, s, to play or run at baize. A country sport. L.
BAY SALT, s, salt-making tenn. The coarsest salt made; similar
to sea salt.
BEESOMr* (i) a broom (but not a hair-broom).
Generally made of birch twigs; very frequently of heather {Calluna zmlgaris)f
when they are called Mrag-beesoms, The bilberry ( Vaccinium Myrtillus) is
also often used, in which case they are wimberry-^^i-^wj. Now
and then I have seen them made of broom (Sarothamnus Scoparius). Many
farmers keep a few birch trees pollar4^ for the sake of the twigs whidi are
thereby produced; but most of the btesoms sold in Cheshire are manufactured
by men who make it a regular business. These men live frequently
amongst the hills, where the ling and the vrimberry grow plentifully, or near
the peat bogs, and I presume they get their raw material for nothing, or for
a
very trifling payment. The heesoms are tied together in neat bundles of half
a dozen, and are hawked about loaded on the l^cks of donkeys. The usual
price is about two shillings or half-a-crown a dozen.
(2) a term of reproof to a female child.
“Tha young beesomJ”
BAZZ, V. to throw violently. Middlewich.
"I^aWitathim."
BEAM, s, tanning term. A rounded piece of wood, stone, or iron
on which hides are placed for the purpose of unhairing and
fleshing. See Fleshing.
BEANY MARL, s. salt-making term. A kind of granulated marl.
See HORSEBEANS.
BEAR, s. a door mat. Hyde; elsewhere I think becoming obsolete.
BEARBIND, x. the honeysuckle, Lonicera Fericlimenum,
BEARD, V, to trim a hedge. L.
BEARDINGS, s. {i) brushings of a hedge. Cheshire Sheaf,
vol. L, p. 211.
(2) or BEARD HEDGE. The bushes which
are stuck into the bank of a new-made
hedge, to protect the fresh-planted thorns.
W.
BEAR WARD, j. (i) a bearleader or tender.
(2) a term of reproach. Macclesfield.
“He's a reglar bearward"
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CHESHIRE
GLOSSARY. 25
BEÄS or BEÜS, s, cattle.
“Fetch th* 5eus worn, it*s welly milkin' toime."
A man's position and probable wealth is generally judged by the number
of cows he milks, apropos of which the following is told of a Chelford
farmer,
who left his son in cliai^e of the £axm one day whilst he went to market.
When he returned he said to him —
“Well, Jack, has ony one caVd wheile awVe been oflF?"
"Ah, a mon caw*d.
"What did he want?"
"Aw dunna know."
"Did na ax him?"
"Now."
"What were he loike?"
"Aw hardly know; he looked as if he met keep eighteen beds an' two
horses." •
The farmer would quite understand what sort of a man had called.
BEAST or BEAST MILK, s. the first milk from a cow after
calving.
Beast milk is highly valued for making puddings, &c., and is frequently
seot by farmers' vnves as a present to friends who do not keep cows. In
coaotry towns those who sell milk often send beast milk to their customers as
a present
BEAST, V.
To beast a cow is to milk her for the first time after calving.
BEASTINGS, s, the first milk given by a cow after calving.
BEAST MILK PORRIDGE or, more generally, BEAST PORRIDGE, 5. beast milk heated
over the fire in a saucepan until it
thickens.
It must not be allowed actually to boil, and must be stirred the whole
time to prevent it solidifying. It is sweetened and flavoured with nutmeg,
and is very palatable. It is always spoken of in the plural, as, “ They're
very good. '^
BEAST MILK PUDDING, or simply BEAST PUDDING, s. a
custard pudding, made by baking beast milky which solidifies
without the addition of eggs.
The dish is generally first lined with pastry. Occasionally they are made
in the form of raised pies. The milk is sweetened and flavoured with nutmeg
or padding spice. A very favourite Cheshire dish.
BEASTY, adj, milk is said to be beasty as long as it retains any of
the peculiar characteristics of beast milk, which coagulates with
heat.
Beasty milk gives an intensely yellow colour to butter, and a peculiar
sweetish flavour to cheese; accordingly it is not used for either purpose at
first. The custom is not to put beasty milk into the cream-steen till after
the
third meal, nor into the cheese-tub till after the fifth meal; and that is
often
a little too soon, cheese being spoiled by using it.
BEAWN, part, bound. Wilmslow. See Bound.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BEAWT, prep, without See Baht.
BED, X. (i) one of the foundation timbers of a cart. See Cart.
(2) the womb. See Calf-bed.
(3) (of beef) a piece cut near the flank,
(4) the bed of a rock is its natural horizontal cleavage.
In building with Cheshire sandstone it is advisable, if not absolutely
necessary, to place the stones on their natural bed, otherwise the surface is
apt to split and (all o£ Architects stipulate in their specifications that
this
shall be done.
BED, r. to litter down.
•* To bed th* beiis” is to give them fresh straw.
BEDDERIN, part, bellowing. Macclesfield.
BEDDING, X. straw with which animals are bedded.
BEDDING PEWTER BRASS, s. a warming pan. Mentioned in
Margaret Holforde's will, sixteenth century. L. Never heard
now-a-days.
BEDEET, part, or adj. dirtied, daubed Wilderspool.
BED-FAST,/af/. confined to bed through illness.
BEDGOWN, s. a short jacket of gingham or cotton print worn over
a linsey petticoat.
The general working dress of farm women servants, and indeed of fiaurmers*
wives and daughters when at their work, some thirty or forty years ago. It
is out of fashion now, and almost obsolete. The costume was decidedly
picturesque. The bedgown was never used to sleep in, as its name might
seem to imply.
BEDSTOCKS, s. a bedstead.
BEE-BENCH, s. a stand for beehives. It is so called even when
built of stone or brick.
BEE-BO, s. sleep; said to a child.
“Come, go bct'bo^ there's a good little wench."
BEEF-STEAK ROCK. s. salt-mining term. A fine, red-coloured
rock-salt, similar in its grain to sugar-candy.
BEEN, s. the plural of bee.
BEE NETTLE, s. the plant Gaieopsis versicolor,
BEER, 5. force or power. L.
BEERS, s. weaving term. The bunches of the warp.
BEESOM, s. a birch broom. See Baysom.
BEET THE FIRE, v. to light, or, as we say, to make the fire. W.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 27
BEG CAVY, V. to beg pardon. Mow Cop.
It has been suggested, with good show of reason, that the word is
probably a corruption of " Peccavi."
BEGGAR, V. to impoverish.
“If you use go-hanna year after year, it'll beggar th* land."
BEGGARS' BASKET, s. the plant Pulmonaria ofidnalis, a very
frequent plant in cottage gardens.
BEGGARS' VELVET, s. the fluff under the bedsteads in untidy
houses. L.
BEHINT, prep, behind. Also Behoind.
WELDER, V. to bellow. Middlewich.
^ELDERING, 5, the bellowing of a bull Middlewich.
RELIEVE, idiom. " I believe I am."
A Cheshire man on being asked " are you Mr. Smith ? " seldom, or
oevcr, simply answers " yes; but says “ well, I believe I am."
^LL, s, hatting term. A hat crown in shape representing a bell.
^ELLART or BELLOT, s, a bearward.
^fiLL-FLOWER, s. Campanula, L.
^^LLMAN, s. the town crier, a functionary still employed in most
of our country towns.
At Knutsford the bellman wears a uniform; and at the end of his an'^ouncement
always adds, “ God save the Queen, and the Lord of this
Manor."
^^LLS, J. the Fuchsia plant
^ELT, v. to shear the tail and buttocks of sheep so as to free them
from dirt
^^LTINGS, s, the dirty wool so shorn.
*^E>^(^H, s, a slice down a haystack.
^ Inching, part salt-mining term; getting the bed of rock salt
down to the " sole " of the mine after the roofing drift has
been made.
^KN'D of LEATHER, s, tanning term; half a tanned hide cut
down the middle, and the thin edges also trimmed off.
^HNT, s. coarse rushy grass. L.
^^RRIN or BERRYIN, s. a funeral.
There is a superstition that coffin-makers, shroud-makers, and
grave<iiggeis can always tell when they are going to have a *•*
bcrryin,^"*
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BERRY, s. a goosebeny.
A heny pie is a goosebeny tart.
BE SAID, V. to do as one is bid.
'* Now, de said, there's a good lad.”
“He wouldna be said J”
In an old will, dated 1525, preserved in the Registry of Chester, ther
following sentence occurs : "And if they will nott be said by him, then
th^
said s' William to take A mon att his pleasnr."
BEST, adj. used for the comparative better.
''Yo'd best do it"
BEST, V, to get the better of another, in argument or otherwise.
A new tenant of a £um told me he had arranged with the outgoing tenant
about the value of his manure, &c., and added, " but I think he's
bested me."
BET, part, beaten, in the sense of conquered or excelled.
“He were fairly bet."
BETID, V. induced. Macclesfield.
“I canna think whatever betid me for t' do it."
BETTER, adj\ recovered from an illness.
We also say "quite better" i,e., completely recovered. The word
beiUr
is not generally usc^ to indicate partial recovery; in that case we often say
"mending."
BETTER, adv. more.
“Rayther better nor a year."
BETTER END OF FOLK, idiom, the upper classes.
BETTER FASHION, idiom, recovering from illness.
BETTER SIDE, adv. more than,
^* Better side fifty," 1.^., more than fifty years old.
BETTHER, <7^1 pronunciation of better; but not universally; heard
chiefly towards Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough.
BETWITCHELLED, pari, overcome with inquisitiveness. Hyde.
BETWIX, prep, betwixt, between.
BEYURN, V. to raise. Bredbury.
BEZONTER or BEZOUNTER, exd. an expletive denoting surprise.
Macclesfield.
“Bezonter me! but aw'm feir gormed."
BEZZLE, V. to drink greedily. Mow Cop.
BIDDIN, s. an invitation to a fimeral.
'* lie's gone loond with the biddins; therell be a ruck o' folks."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 29
BIDDLE-BADDLE, idiom. *' from hand to mouth," anything done
in a small way. Stretton.
“I never made no accaint o' milk -selling, it*s biddU-haddU work;
yo never get a big lump o' money, yo're always gettin' little bits, an'
payin' Uttle bits.^
BIDE, V, to stay or remain.
“Yo mun bide aw neet wi* us."
BIGGENING, the recovery of a woman after lying-in. W.
BIGHT, 5. (i) a bend or rounded comer. Wilderspool.
"The bight of the elbow."
(2) a projection in a river, a projecting comer. W.
(3) anything folded or doubled. Halliwell.
BIGHT, prep, without. See Baht.
BIG ITH' MAITH, idiom, given to boasting.
“You may be sure a man as is big €th^ maith has n't mitch in
him; same as ^oin' dain i'th' cellar; if you hit th' empty barrels,
they maken a dm; but if you hit th' fiiU uns, they howdli their
nize.'*
««
Empty barrels make the most noise " is also a Cheshire proverb.
BIG THROAT, s. goitre, which was formerly very prevalent in
Cheshire.
BILBERRY, s. the plant Vaccinium Myrtillus, also called Wim
BERRV.
BILL, J. a tool for chopping wood or for cutting a hedge.
BILLY-BITER, s, the blue titmouse, Parus cosruleus,
BILLY-MOTE, s. any small kind of moth. Mobberley.
BIN, V, (i) been.
(2) are. Wilderspool.
“How ^/« you?"
“Bin you goin?"
BIND, V. to tend in any direction. Norton.
“The road binds that way."
When birds wheel round in their flight they are sometimes said to be
Hnding round.
BINDERS, f. (i) narrow strips of thick hempen cloth, which are
put round cheeses as soon as they are taken
out of the vats, to prevent them bulging. The
binders are woven in long pieces of the required
width, that is, about three inches wide.
(2) part of a cart. See Cart.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BINDWEED, s. Polygonum' Convolvulus. W. Ches. Convolvulus
septum is also called “ Great Bindweed."
BING, s, (i) SL passage in front of the cows in a shippon, from
which they are foddered. Also Fodder or
FOTHER-BlNG.
It is usually quite separate from the shippon, but communicates with it
by means of square holes in the wall in front of each cow.
(2) a place made of boards in a granary for storing grain.
BING, V, to begin to turn sour. Said of milk.
BINGY, adj. a peculiar clouty or frowsty taste in milk. The first
stage of turning sour.
To keep milk in tin vessels tends to give it a Hn^ taste. The g is hard
and is sounded.
BINNA, V. is not. Wilderspool.
"There dinna his marrow," 1.^., there is not his equal.
BIR, \
BIRRE
BER ' ' ^' ^"^P^^"^'
BURRE,,
To take dirr is to run with violence as a person does before taking a
great leap. W.
BIRD BRIER. See Brid Breer.
BIRD EAGLES, s. the fruit of Cralagus Oxyacantha.
Eagles or " agles" appears to be the diminutive of
"hague," which is the
more common name of the haw in Cheshire.
BIRD'S EGGS, 5, the haw, the fruit of the hawthorn. Macclesfield.
Eggs is here evidently a form of “ hagues."
BIRTHMARK, s. a stain on the face or body of a new-born child,
that is never eradicated, and about which marks there are curious
ideas. L. Probably general throughout England.
BIRTLE, s. a summer apple. L.
BISHOP, s. a pinafore. N.-E. Ches.
BISHOPPED, part, burnt; said of milk.
BISHOPPING, part being confirmed; confirmation. L.
BISHOP'S WIG, s. the plant AraHs alpina, the white masses of
which (supposed to resemble the old-fashioned powdered wigs
worn by bishops) are so conspicuous in the early spring.
BISTA, V. are you, or, more correctly, art thou.
“Wheer bista bahnd ? " Where are you going ?
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 3 1
BIT-BAT, s. a bat.
BITCHED, V. spoilt
“He was that stoopid he Htcfud the whole thing," f.^., he spoilt
everything. L.
BITE, V, to cut; applied to the edge of a blunt tool.
"ItwinnaW/^."
BITTERBUMP, s. a bittern. Middlewich.
BITTLIN, J. a milk bowl. L.
BITTOR, J. a bittern. Chester Plays. L.
BITTY, adj. full of bits. Mobberley.
When a pump b^ns to get foul, and small black particles of decayed
wood are pumped up, the water is said to be bitty,
BLAB, V, (i) to divulge a secret
(2) to chatter. Macclesfield.
"Dunna^Ai^so."
BLACKBERRY HATCH, s. chickens hatched about the time
blackberries are ripe; they are supposed never or seldom to
come to perfection. L.
BLACK BOGY, s, a bugbear; a term often used to frighten refractory children.
“If tha does na leave oflf skrikin, 1*11 fetch a block bogy to the."
BLACK-CAP, s, the black-headed bunting. Emheriza schanidus.
BLACK FROST, s, frost without any rime.
A black frost generally lasts; a white frost is supposed to last only three
days, and to end in rain.
BLACK-HEAD GRASS, s, Luzula campestris, W. Ches.
BLACK JACK, s, (i) a black beetle. Macclesfield.
**We'n getten a ruck o* blackjacks i' ahr haise."
(2) gunpowder. Norton.
“We wanten a bit o* black Jack to this rock," meaning " we
shall have to blast it."
BLACK ROCK, s, salt-mining term; rock salt containing a large
proportion of clay.
BLACK WORK, 5. the furnishing of funerals.
The following colloquv was heard in a livery-stable yard in Chester : —
“Whal*s Jones's cab here for, doing nothing, when it ought to be on the
stand?"
"Oh, he*s doing blcuk work to-day; don't you know they're burying
• poor old Roberts."— CA^Mi« Skeaf, vol. i., p. 301.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BLADE, s, part of a plough. L.
BLAKE, adj. (i) bleak.
(2) yellow.
“As dlakt as a paigle," as yellow as a cowslip. L.
BLANKET FAIR, idiom, bed. Macclesfield.
BLANKET MULLEIN, s. the plant Verbascum Thapsus.
BLARE or BLARE OUT, v. (i) to roar or scream like a child
(2) to shout angrily at a person.
BLART, V. (i) to cry.
(2) to bleat, or low like a calf.
“Aw dunna loike hear a cauf as is alius blartin; they never do
so well."
(3) to suddenly commence making a noise. Maccles
field.
*• Oo blarted aht a-singin."
(4) to divulge a secret. Macclesfield.
“Nah, dunna thee blart,*^
BLAST, s. an external inflammation.
“He's getten a blast on his thumb.''
There are many old women who profess to cure blasts, I am not aware
that they use any incantations; but they claim to have infallible ointments.
BLAYCH, s, a stroke. Bredbury.
BLAYCH, V. to strike. Bredbury.
BLEACH, V. to cut a hedge. W. Ches.
BLECK, s. spent grease upon wheels.
BLEETCH, s. a blow; suggestive of an open-handed smack.
Mow Cop.
"I'll give thee a good bleetch,*'
BLENCH, s. a glance. Macclesfield.
A young lady accused a man of " cutting her '* in the street. His answer
was '* I never caught a blench on ye."
BLENCH, V, (i) to glance. Macclesfield.
(2) to give way, or turn white in the face through fear.
“He never blenched zX. alL" — Cheshire Sheaf , vol. i., p. 237.
BLERT, adj. bashful. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 33
BLESSING THE BRINE.
“On Ascension Day, in davs long past, the inhabitants of Nantwych (or
Hellath Wen as the town used to be called) used to assemble in gala dress
round the ' Old Blat ' Salt Pit, which was ornamented for the occasion with
flowers and all procurable rustic finery, and pass the day in dancing,
feasting,
and merriment. This was called BUssingthi Brine" — Leigh's Ballads and
Legends of Cheshire, note p. 62.
BLETCH, s. the grease on cart wheels, when worn black.
BLETCH, V. to dirty oneself with oil from a cart wheel.
“You'll bleUh yoursel aw o'er."
BLETCHED, part. adj. clagged with oil.
BLETHER, s. a bladder.
BLETHER, v. to blubber or cry. Macclesfield Forest.
BLIND, adj. abortive; said of blossom which is imperfect and does
not form fruit
BLIZZOM, V. to copulate. Said of a ram.
BLOB, s. a bubble.
BLOB, V. to bubble or boil.
“Jam's ne'er done till it blobs, *^
BLOCK, V. to pelt.
A boy, caught rather suspiciously near a walnut tree, cried out " I
didna
block them," i.e., he was picking up fallen ones, not pelting them down.
L.
BLOOD ALLEY. See Alley (3).
BLOOD-BLISTER, s. a small blister containing blood, often caused
by a pinch or a sharp blow.
BLOOD WALL, 5. a wallflower. L.
BLOODWORT, s. the water dock, Rumex Hydrolapathum.
BLOODY MAN'S FINGERS, s. the plants Orchis mascula and O.
Morio.
BLOODY ROGERS, 5. an old-fashioned potato with a very red skin.
It used to be reckoned one of the best varieties forty or fifty years ago.
Until vrithin the last few years a farmer of my acquaintance still cultivated
a
few of them for curiosity; but I think they are now quite extinct.
BLOOMY, adj. having a high colour. Macclesfield.
"A bloomy wench."
BLOTCH, J. a blot
BLOTCH, V. to blot.
•* He's blotched his copy-book."
D
34 CHESmRE GLOSSARY.
BLOTCHING PAPPER, s. blotting paper.
BLOTEN or BLOATEN, paff.
To be dloien of anyone is to be unaccountably fond of him. It is used in
the same sense as Globed to (which see), and b perhaps less common. W.
BLOW, z;. (i) to scold, blow up.
A boy remarked that on the first oold day of an exceptionally cold
winter (i 880-1), “ Schoo-mester biowed 'em for bein raind th* stove."
(2) insects are said to blow anything in which they deposit
their eggs; but applied more especially to the bluebottle 9y laying its eggs
upon meat
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BLOW-FLY, s, a blue-bottle. Musca vomitorim,
BLUE-BACK, x. the fieldfare. Turdus pilaris.
BLUE BELL, x. the wild hyacinth, Scilla nutans, W. Ches.
BLUE BUTTONS, s. the devil's bit scabious. Scahiosa studsa.
There is a field in Mobberley called Blue Buttons^ I presume from the
prevalence of that plant.
BLUE TAR-FITCH, s. Vicia Cracca,
BLUFT, z/. (i) to blindfold.
(2) used metaphorically for to deceive.
“What I thar't tryin for t' bluft me, art ta ? "
BLUFTED, part, (i) blindfolded.
Cows which are given to rambling and breaking through hedees may
frequently be seen with a square piece of sacking hanging hrom their horns
over their eyes to prevent them seeing anything in front of them; they are
said to be blufted,
(2) muffled.
Bells are blufted in order to ring a muffled peal.
BLUNGE, V, to disturb, to beat anything up. Mow Cop.
A farmer's wife does not like, even for a good customer, to blunge in her
milk after it has been sieved and put away in the pans.
Although suspiciously like a mispronunciation of "plunge” the word
has a different signification, as will be seen firom the following extract
from
Miss Meteyard's "Life of Josiah Wedgwood": “ Each pot-work
consisted of
one such hovel, . . . and an open tank, or, as it was termed, a sun-pan,
in which the diluted clay underwent the process of evaporation. ... In
a portion partitioned off, and lined with tiles or flagstone, so as to form a
small but somewhat deeper vat, the clay from the mine, after due exposure to
the weather, was blunged, or beaten about in water; this mixture was then
poured through a sieve into the larger vat or sun-pan to the depth of three
or
four inches, and there left to evaporation by the sun's rays."
BLUSTROUS, adj. stormy, boisterous; said of the weather.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 35
BOB, s, the flower-head of clover.
Clover is said to be in bob when it is in flower.
BOBBER, s, a boy's large marble. Macclesfield.
BOBBER, adj\ also Bobberous, saucy, pert. W.
BOBBERSOME, adj, venturesome. Mobberley.
BOBBIN, s. a reel of cotton or silk; either such as are used in
factories to hold the thread for weaving, or those for household
use.
BOBBIN MILL, x. a mill or factory for the manufacture of
bobbins.
They are turned chiefly from crab, apple, pear, and a few other hard
woods. The trade, however, b now dying out to a considerable extent,
owing to the use of iron or tin for bobbins.
BOBBIN TURNER, j. (i) a man who makes bobbins.
Many factories maintain, or used to maintain, a bobbin turner, and the
bobbins are manufactured at home instead of being bought at a bobbin mill.
(2) a useless, effeminate fellow. Wilmslow.
BOBBIN WOOD, j. timber suitable for the manufacture of bobbins,
usually the stems or larger branches of apple, pear, crab, and
other hard woods.
BOBBISH or BOBBY (Macclesfield), adj. well in health.
«• How are you ?" " Pretty bobbish. "
BOBBY, 5. a policeman. Common, I think, to most counties.
BOBBY, adj. See Bobbish.
BOBELL or BOW-BELL, s. an ancient name for the Curfew bell
rung in Chester Cathedral Cheshire Sheafs vol ii., pp. 24 — 50.
BODLE, s. half a farthing.
BODY-GARGLE, s, a disease of cows. See Gargle.
It is recognised by the veterinary surgeon as simple fever.
BOG, J. (i) a bunch of rushes in a field, or perhaps more correctly
'* Rush-bog.*'
(2) a dilemma, or mental fog. Macclesfield.
“Oo towd me th' same thing o*er and o'er again till a ¥mr aw in
a%:"
BOGFOUNDERED, part puzzled. Macclesfield.
BOGGART, s, a ghost or a hobgoblin.
•* Eh! woman! hi white thee art, as ta seen a boggart?'
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BOGGART, TO TAKE, v. to take fright at anything.
"Ahr tit took boggart t'other neet, and bowted up Park Lone."
BOGGARTY, adj. apt to take fright.
A timid skittish horse is a " boggarty tit."
BOGGY BO, s, a bugbear or scarecrow. W.
BOGLE, s. a ghost Wilderspool.
BOG-WOOD, s, stems of trees frequently found in peat*bogs, of
which there are a considerable number in Cheshire.
The timber found in bogs consists chiefly of oak (which is blackened), of
birch, and of pine. They are all well preserved, and are used for fuel; but
the straight stems of the pine are cloven into laths for plasterers' or
slaters*
use. The popular opinion is that they were submerged at "Noah's
flood."
There is, however, evidence that many, if not all, of the peat-bogs have been
formed since the time of the Romans in England.
BOGY,
s,
(1)
a small hand cart, flat and without sides, and running on two low wheels, to
enable workmen, without the
aid of a horse, to move large stones or other heavy materials from one place
to another.
(2) a low truck used on a railway, upon which the plate-layers ride to their
work and carry their tools. The men sit on the edge of the bogy and propel it
by touching the ground with their feet every now and then.
BOILER, f. salt-making term. The name given
to the men who
make stoved and butter salt. See Waller.
BOILING ON THE LEACH, old salt-making term. I suppose
it meant boiling the brine after Leach Brine (which see) had
been added.
“For
the workmen say, that if they boyle fast here (which they call Boyling on the
Leach, because they usually all this time lade in their
leach-brine. . . .)" — Philosophical Transactions, 1669, p. 1064.
BOILING UPON THE FRESH, old salt-making term.
“Here they continue their fire as much as they can, till halfe the
Brine be wasted, and this they call Boyling upon the Fresh,^* —
Philosophical Transcutions, 1669, p. 1064.
BOKE, V, (i) to point in derision. Macclesfield.
“He boked his finger at me."
(2) (or Boac) to reach, keck, or kick at the stomach. W.
BONE, V. to take the levels of land for draining. Mobberley.
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CHESHIRE
GLOSSARY. 37
DONE IN THE ARM, idiom, unwilling to do what is demanded.
K bone in the arm, 01 back, is a veiy frequenl Cheshire nursetv fiction
when the oarse wishes 10 avoid doing something ihat has been asked of ber.
"Nay, chailt, BW canna loss the', aw've gelten a bom i my arm." The
child, innocent of aaalamy, of Course believes in the validity oi tbe excuse.
BONE-SORE, adj. weary, aching with fatigae.
BONG, s. a bank. L.
r the town of thai name, sloping on
BOKK,J. (iXabank.
(2) used metaphorically (or premises.
“Uppo' th' imi " means upon the premises.
BOST, s. a band. The straw rope which binds a sheaf of corn.
BOO, 1,(1) a bough,
(a) a bow.
"Where are your manners? Make a Imo, Geotgie." — Ckeshirt
Sheaf, vol. i., p. 237.
BOOAN or BO-AN, s. a bone.
At the Norlhwich Cocoa Rooms during the lArclic weather in Janunly,
iSSi, ■ thin, miserable-looking old man sal on one of the tienches next
to a
Bonl country giil. and was peevishly complaining at all the soup t)cing done.
She, in a kind, sympathising way, was advising him — " Get three
pennorlh
o'booe«, mesler; they'll make a nice sup 0' broth." "SaaaHi!"
said he,
"irencti; ioeans! I've beeani enoo. I want summat on em I"
There is a Cheshire nursery tale which relates how a skeleton, or more
properly put of a skeleton, used to
appear to a wicked murderer, saying, “Oi want my booans; oi
want my booans." lt produces an effect of the most intense awe amongst the small audience.
BOON-DAYS, i. days on which tenants perform work for their
lindlord without any remuneration. See Boon-wabk.
BOON-WARK or BOON-WORK, s. work done by tenants for
their landlord as part of their service.
This remnant of reudalism is still in e:xisience in Cheshire and
Lonca<Kiit, but, on account of the greatly increased rents, rates, and
taxes, and
(he grearei expenses generally 10 which raimcrs are now subject, is submilted
XI aith a very bad grace, and is, fortunately, fast becoming obsolete. la
tan agn-emcDts of thirty or forty years ago there was almost invariably a
tUiue Htkding the tenant to do a certain number of days' beon-viark for nis
Uiuilurd, the number of days being regulated by the size of the farm. The
liillawing claus* is taken b'om an agreement from year to year, dateil 1S54,
Tbe tenant ii still farming under the original agreement, but the clause is
two innsted vpon, and has dropped into disuse;— "The tenant 10 deliver
10 ibe laikdlatd on the m day of October, yearly nnd every year, one good
>od mukelsble cheese, without any allowance for the same, and 10 do six
^•rt' iMm-work (or the landlord." The dnm.iutirt is of course to be
doni!
"Ihunt rannneistion, and in some agreements it is so specified. Before
the
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present Highway Act came into force, farmers used to work off a portion or
even the whole of their highway rates by doing booH'Work upon the roads.
The larger farmers used to send their carts and horses to cart materials for
road-making; the very small farmers, who had no teams, used to do manual
labour. This is now prohibited by the Act, so far that the rates must be
paid; and any &rmer who works for the surveyor of highways must be paid
for his work. It was formerly very much the custom for the farmers m a
parish to club tc^ther to cart the year's supply of coals for the blacksmith;
and this also was spoken of as boon-work. As an equivalent the blacksmith
often sharpened the plough irons free of charge.
BOOSE or BOOST, s. a cow's stall.
Wilbraham gives the following explanation of an old Cheshire 8a]ring,
“To get into Cherry's boose,*"* Cherry being a favourite name for a red
cow,
which colour is, among country people, the most esteemed for milking, any
person who is got into a comfortable situation is said '* to be got into
Cherry's boose" Of course this is on the supposition that "
Cherry," being
a favourite, would get more attention and perhaps rather better food than the
other cows. There are not so many red cows as there used to be; but it is
still a favourite colour, and one frequently hears it said that " the
red cow
gives good milk." I have also heard this saying used in explanation, as
it
were, of the sign of *'The Red Cow," which hajigs over the door of an
inn
at Knutsford.
BOOSE CHEESE, s. cheese made before the cows are turned out
to grass in the spring, that is, whilst they are being fed in their
booses. It is not of as good a quality as grass cheese, and fetches
a lower price. Called occasionally “ Boozy Cheese.*'
BOOSEY, adj, an epithet used to describe the flavour and consistence
of a boose cheese.
“I think it tayses rather boosey,"
'*li's9ih\i boosey,"
BOOTHER or BOOTHER-STONE, s, a boulder stone, a paving
stone.
BOOTS, YELLOW, s. the plant Caltha palustris. L.
BOOTY, adj, sticky, applied to the soil. Rope.
“A red, booty sand."
BOOTY-HOUSE, x. is an expression used by children for an old
box or shelf, or any place ornamented with bits of glass or broken
earthenware, in imitation of an ornamented cabinet. W.
BOOZING FIELD, BOOZY FIELD or BOOZY PASTURE, s,
the pasture which is contiguous to the booses^ where the cows
are tied up, and which is retained by an outgoing tenant as an
outlet for his cattle.
The Cheshire custom of tenure of a farm is to enter and leave the land on
the 2nd of February (Candlemas Day), and the house, buildings, garden,
and boozing field Q'ii the 1 2th of May (old May Day). T\i^ boozing field
\&
selected by the landlord, and is generally as near as possible to the
outbuildings for the convenience of turning the cattle out to water and for
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 39
exercise. This peculiarity in the time of entry has probably arisen from the
ioconvenience which would be experienced in moving a large stock of cows
in mid-winter. The land is entered in February to enable the incoming
tenant to plough and to sow his spring corn; but the cattle are retained at
the old &nn till May, that they can at once be turned into the pastures
when
they arrive at their new home. By this means also the farmer does not
require to buy a large quantity of hay. I should think, however, that in a
purely pastoral county like Cheshire the cows have been the first
consideratioQ, for to remove them, oflen many miles, and then to tie them up
in a
strange building, would probably cause a good deal of injury to cows which
in February or March would, for the most part, be heavy in calf.
BOOZY CHEESE. See Boose Cheese.
BOOZY STAKE, s. the stake to which a cow is chained. Middle
WICH.
BOOZY TROUGH, s. a trough, often of solid stone hollowed out,
placed in a cow's daose, in which her "licking" is put. Middle
WICH.
BORE TREE. See Bur Tree.
BORN DAYS, idiom, the extent of one's life.
“Aw never seed such a smash i' aw my Ifomxlaysi^
BORROWED DAYS, idiom, the first eleven days of May, which,
according to the old style, were the last eleven of April. See
Luke's Little Summer.
May is said to have borrowed these days from April. The beginning of
May is often very cold, and one frequently hears it accounted for by saying,
"Well, you see, we're only i' th' borrowed days yel," implying that
it is not
really the month of May. It is sometimes added that they are paid back in
October, because towards the end of that month we frequently have a few
fine warm days.
BOSGIN, J. the partition between the cows* booses or stalls. The
g is hard.
BOSGIN RAIL and BOSGIN STUMP, s. the framework of the
The bosgin stump is a strong oak post set firmly in. the ground, and
sometimes carried up to the roof, which not only makes it firmer, but acts as
a
support to the roof. The bosgin rails are mortised into this stump at one
end,
and are let into the wall at the other; upright boards are nailed to the
rails
forming the bosgin,
BOSK or BUSK, s, a bush; especially small bushes of thorn or
briar stuck in the fields to prevent poaching.
BOSK or BUSK, v, to place bushes in newly-mown meadows to
prevent poachers from drawing nets over them.. It is called
"^j>b«^ the fields.*'
BOSKY, adj. woody. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BOSS, ^. (i) a hassock. Becoming obsolete.
(2) a kiss. Also Buss.
BOSSING, /ar/. (i) kissing; often Bussing in the neighbourhood
of Macclesfield and Hyde.
A witness in a sort of breach-of-promise case in one of the Coorts at
Macclesfield said : " O i*m sure they wem coortin, for they wem allis
bcssin"
Ray gives as an old Cheshire proverb, " Ossing comes to bassinet” r.^.,
courting is soon followed by kissing. See Oss.
(2) a peculiar method of fishing for eels practised
about Frodsham in the Marsh ditches, and
at Warrington in the river, and probably
throughout the whole district
A large bunch of worms is tied to a worsted cord, weighted, and sunk in
the water. The eels, in taking the worms, bite into the worsted, and being
unable to extricate their teeth are drawn up. No hooks are used.
BOSTOCK ORANGE, 5. a kind of apple. Middlewich.
BOT, s, a grub, the larva of any insect.
The name is not, however, generally applied to caterpillars which crawl
about. They are usually called grubs. The warbles on cows' backs are
always called bots, and are supposed to indicate a robust state of health.
Also certain intestinal worms are so called.
BOTHAM, X. bottom. The wooded sides and depths of a valley or
drumble. Rainow.
BOTHERUM or DOTHERUM, s. the plant Veronica hederifdia.
BuNBURY. See Dother.
BO THISTLE or BO FISSLE, x. Carduus lanceolatus. Mobbkrley.
BOTTLE, s, a bottle of straw or hay. L.
Leigh probably intended to explain it as a bundle of straw or hay. I
have never heard the word used in Cheshire.
BOTTOM, z^. (i) to empty or clean out thoroughly.
To " bottom a drain " is to pare off, with a tool made on purpose,
the
small pieces of clay and irregularities in the bottom of the drain previous
to
laying the pipes.
(2) to do a thing thoroughly, not necessarily to empty
anything.
(3) to fathom or understand.
“I canna bottom him."
BOTTOM CUT, s. salt-mining term; the rock salt lying below the
level; usually about two to three feet thick.
BOTTOMING, part. " bottoming hay," getting it out of any hollow
wet place, where it will not “ make." L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 4 1
BOTTOMLY, adv, thoroughly. Mobberley.
“Oo looks very wed, but oo is na bottomfy clean."
BOTTOMS, J. low wet land at the sides of brooks or rivers.
BOUGHT-BREAD, s, baker's bread.
BOUND, variously pronounced Baind, Beawn, Bount, part.
(i) apprenticed.
(2) going bail for a person; and also somewhat in this sense,
being sure of anything.
“Awst be baind" — I*m sure.
(3) compelled.
“Thou'rt bauHi for do it."
(4) journeying to.
“Awm beawn for Knutsford."
BOXJNT, part, bound. N. E. Ches. See Bound.
Bout, j. (i) an attack of illness.
A man is said to have had " a bad bout " when he has been seriously
ill.
(2) a drunken spree.
(3) a bautmih a plough is the length of the field and back
again; two furrows.
BOUT or BOWT, prep, without. See Baht.
^Mr, X. hatting term. An implement made of a pole about six
feet long, with projecting pieces at each end, over which is drawn
a string of catgut, like a fiddle string.
This was formerly used for opening out and spreading the materials from
Vrhich the hat bodies were made. There was an attempt to supersede the
iise of this rude implement in 1823 by the introduction of a machine which
oould do considerably more work by young and unskilled hands; but the
oombined influence of Trades' Unions kept back the introduction of the new
vuachines till 1863, exactly forty years. To “ twang the bow " was
formerly
Considered a very skilful branch of hat manufacturing. See Twang a Bow.
**0\Vj ^. hatting term. To use the bow for spreading materials used
in the making of hats. See preceding word.
^OW-BELL. See Bobell.
^OV\D, adj. bold.
^OWER MUGS. See Ba Mugs.
oOWK, s, a bucket (L.); a wooden milk-pail {Cheshire Sheafs
vol i., p. 237).
“Fill Bowk " is a name sometimes given to a good cow. — Id,, p. 237.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
#
BOWL, s. a child's hoop. Pronounced like " owL"
BOW PEG, X. hatting term. An instrument used with the bow -^^
spreading out the materials of which a hat is made.
It is a piece of wood large enough to be msped in the hand, and h. ^^^
cross pieces at each end. T%e mode of asing it is described under TwAl^^^
A Bow (which see).
BOWT, V. bought.
BOWTH, conj\ both. Macclesfield.
BOY'S LOVE, s, the plant Artemisia Abroianum, L.
BRACCO or BRACCOW, adj, used only when compounded with
another word, as " Work-dracco,” diligent, laborious. W. Sec
Work-brittle, which is certainly the commoner form.
BRADDINGS, s. swathes of corn or hay. Macclesfield. Leigh
spells it " breadings."
BRADDER or BRADDA,, v. to spread out Frodsham.
"I never like to see forrard taters bradda” (spread oat with
numerous stems and branches). " I like to see em spire up " (grow
upright with only one stem).
Wilbraham has Bradow as a transitive verb; '* to spread or cover." A
hen '*bradows" her chickens. Leigh says, "to spread or cover with
manure, as applied to a field. The * braddow ' is one of our commonest
names for a field." I have, however, only met with the word used
intransitively as above.
BRAGGET, s, spiced ale. W. Leigh spells it Brakbt.
Ray describes it as *' a sort of compound drink made up with honey,
spices, &c." J. Worlidge {Dictionarum Rusticum) says that in his
time
(1681) it was much used in Wales, Cheshire, and Lancashire. I presume
this is what we now call Fettled Ale (which see).
BRAID, s, a shelf for crockery, &c Hyde.
BRAIL or BRAILER, 5. a long briar or stick run along the top of
a new plashed fence, to keep the twigs in their places. Also
sometimes a dead hedge stuck on a cop top. L.
BRAKE, \ .
BRACKEN, j ^' ^^^"*
BRAN,
BRANT
\ V, SLndparf, to burn, burnt. L.
BRANK, X. an instrument used in the olden time for curbing the
tongues of scolding women.
The drank cohsisted of a framework of iron, a sort of skeleton helmet,
which was locked upon the head. At the front was a gag, which was placed
in the woman's mouth. This gag was sometimes simply a piece of smooth
iron; but in many cases it was armed with sharp points, or knife blades, so
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tkt if the culprit altempied to spenk the gag vat sure to inflict lerioue
vouodi upon the longue. Theic was fiequently n chain allached la the front
of the bnink, by meoins of which the wooiati could be led thioiigh the
streets
u 1 HaroinK to others, or by which she could be fastened to a hook in the
nil until she promised to bEhnve better in the future. Ik brank appears to
hive been inlroduced from the Continent, and its use in Ihia country docs
not Item to extend back for much more than 300 years. It is mentioned in
ibc Burgh Records of Glasgow in 1574. The earliest mention of the [nslninunt
as nsed in England occurs in Ihe Records of the Corpomlion of
Macdes&eld under the date of 1623, and 11 would seem to have been ptelty
(rainentl; used in Cheshire, judgine ftom the number ot branks whicli atiU
etki in the county. There ia one eihibited in the Wftrringlon Museum
whicli WIS brought from Carrington; am) another is in the strnnge and illkept
miscelUneous collection of curiosities slowed away in the Water Tower
V Chester.
The following information respecting Cheshire branks is extracted and
ihiidced from Andrews' Panukmeitli of the Oldtn Timi, pp. 43 to 47: —
“In Cheshire, at the present time, we have traces of thirteen branks. The
city of Chester contams four examples, which Dr. T. N. Brushfield has
described in an exhaustive manner in a paper read before Ihe Chester
Archxological Society in 1S58. With respect to the Conglelon blank, which
is pieicrvDi in the Town Hall of that town, we ore told that it was formerly
in the hands of the town jailer, whose services were not unfrecjucntly called
into requisilion. In the old-fashioned, liolf-limbered houses in the borough,
there was generally 6xed on one side of the large, open (ire-ptaces a hook,
so (hal when a man's wife indulged her scolding propensities, the husband
(tut for the town jailer lo bring the bridle, and had her bridled and chained
to the hook until she promised to behave herself better. The Mayor and
Justices frequently called the iostrument Into use; for, when women were
brought before them chained with street brawling, Ihey have ordered (hem
lo Ik bridled and led through the borough by Ihe jailer. The last time Ihe
bridle was publicly used was in 1S34, when a woman named Ann Kuncom
was charged with scolding and using harsh language 10 the churchwardens
and constables as ihey went round the town on Sunday morning to see that
the public-houses were closed during divine service. She was condemned to
wear the bridle and be led by ihe magislrales' clerk's clerk through every
street in the town, which sentence was duly carried out,
“At Stockport exists Ihe most brutal example of the English branks, in
which the tongue-plate is about two inches long, having at the end a ball,
I which are inserted a number of sharp, iron pins, three above, three
below, and two jxiinting backw:
luld ni
failtt
and effectually silence Ihe n
dayi, exhibited in front of the houte of the person who had chaige of it, as
a wanting lo scolding or swearing women, but has probably not been used
within the memory ot any living person,"
IRASH, s. loppings of a hedge. Refuse boughs.
IRASHCOURT. s. a horse with his fore legs bent, having been
foaled so; not become so, as is ofCeti the case, through age and
woik. Harrison's Description of England. L.
IRASS, X. money.
“Hast gellen onny ^roxr."
RASSYFACED, adj. brmen-faced.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BRAT, s. (i) a chUd's pinafore.
(2) an apron with a bib.
(3) a%oung child.
BRATHERING,/a/f. a hen *» brathering her brood" means covering
theili with her body. L.
BRATTLES, s. brick ends. L.
BRAWN, J. (i) a boar.
(2) collared pig's-head.
BRAZENT, adj, bold, impudent, shameless.
BRAZZIL, s, a Brazil nut See Brazzin.
Leigh gives "as hard as a brdzU^* as a colloquial expression.
BRAZZIN, s. excessive hardness. Middlewich.
"As hard as brazzin “ is an expression often heard in that
neighboorfaood.
BRE or BRAE, s, brow. Eyebraes, eyebrows. W.
BREAD AND CHEESE, x. the young leaves of the hawthorn,
which are eaten by children in the spring. Also the leaves and
flowers of Oxalis Acetosella.
BREADINGS. See Braddings.
BREAK, V. to fail.
"Booths has broke! an* cheppest farm i' Kelsa* — ^nobbut what
he's bin done well to naythur — Sir Philip's fergen him three 'ears'
rent."
BREAKBONES, x. (i) Stellaria Holostea. Cheadle.
(2) a term of contempt for a master who overworks his servants. Macclesfield.
“He's a reglar owd breakbonesJ'^
BREASTERS, j. salt-making term. Lumps of salt placed between
distinct lots to separate them.
BREAWIS or BREWIS, s. broth into which toasted bread is put.
Bredbury. See Brewes.
BREEAD, s, breadth, extent.
“A great breead of corn sown this year."
BREECH-BANT, s. the breeching of a horse's harness.
“He's alius backin i'th' breeck-bant" is a metaphor applied to
person who is never ready to go ahead.
BREECHY. See Britcher.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 45
BREER, X. a briar, Rosa camna and R. arvensts,
BREER BOB, s. the mossy excrescence on wild rose bushes.
Kelsalu
BREET, a4/.{i) bright.
f (2) clever.
In one of the Macclesfield police courts the magistrate said, in addressing
a witness, '* Do you think the prisoner clever enough to have done that ?
The witness answered " Clever enoo ? Oi sud think he wur; he drei/ enoo
for owt"
BRESSES, s. plural of breast.
BREVET, V. to bustle about, as a spaniel hunting. Cheshire Sheaf,
vol. i., p. 237.
BREWES or BROWES, s. slices of bread with fat broth poured
over them. W.
BREXFUST, s. breakfast.
BRICK-CLOD, s. a thin but very tough sod cut from a peat-bog,
used for covering bricks when in the wall where they are piled
for drying.
BRICKET, s, a stooL L.
BRICKLE, adj. brittle. Macclesfield. Wilbraham has Bricco.
See Britcher, which is the more general pronunciation.
BRICKNOGGIN, s. houses framed in oak timber and filled up
with brickwork. L.
BRICK-SETTER, J. a bricklayer.
BRID, s, a bird.
BRIDBILLED or BRIDBUILD, adj\ said of accurately-fitting
wood. L.
BRID BREER, 5. Rosa arvensis, Mobberley.
Leigh gives it as a name of " the white Scotch wild rose with black
hips,"
which would be Rosa sfnnosissima.
BRID EEN, s. the plant Lychnis diuma. Sale.
BRID-LEGGED, adj, spindle-shanked Wildboarclough.
BRID-NEEZE, s, a bird's nest.
BRID-NEEZING, part hunting for birds' nests.
“Let's go a brid-ntezin^"
BRID ROSE or BRID BREER, s, the white Scotch wild rose
with black hips, L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BRIEF, adj. rife, prevalent. Said chiefly of disorders.
“Agoes bin briefs*'* — ^agues are common. W. Also a term for a
swarm of flies or bees. L.
BRIM, V, to copulate. Said of a boar.
BRIMBLE, 5. a bramble. L. ,
BRIMMING, part, a sow when in heat is said to be brimming.
BRIMMING OVER, part, over full
“Yon pot*s brimmin o^er,”
BRINE, 5. salt-making term. The name of the liquid from which
salt is extracted.
It is pumped out of the earth from a depth varying from 35 to 105 yards.
BRINE-PIT, 5. a salt spring.
“The salt-spring, or (as they call it) the brine pit, is near the river, and
is
so plentiful, that were all the water boiled out that it would afford (as
they
told us) it would yield salt enough for all England. The lords of the pit
appoint how much shall be boil^ as they see occasion, that the trade be
not clogged." — R^'s Account of the Making of Salt at Namptwych in
Cheshire. — E. D. S. ed. Reprinted Glossaries, B 15, p. 19.
BRINERS, s. salt-making term. An old word for those who work
at brine springs.
“The water of the salt springs here is very cold at the bottom of the
Pitt, insomuch that when the Briners sometimes goe about to cleanse the
Pitt, they cannot abide in above half an hour." — Philosophical
Transactions,
1669, p. 1061.
“Only this is observed by the Briners" &c. — /</., p. 1077.
BRITCHER or BRITCHY, adj. brittle. Leigh also gives
Breechy.
BRIZZ, ^. (i) the gad-fly, (Estrus bovis. Frodsham.
(2) the dragon-fly. Middlewich.
BROAD LEAF, s. (i) Plantago major.
(2) a kind of apple. Middlewich.
BROCK, s. an old name for a badger.
Almost, if not quite, obsolete, but still found in several of our county
family names, as Brocklehurst of Macclesfield, which means “ Badger in the
wood." The crest of Sir R. Brooke of Norton, Brooke of Mere, and the
Brocklehursts, is a badger.
BROCKLE, V, to break fence, as cattle do. L
BROKE, V, broke out. See Air.
BROKE, /ar/. (i) of the verb to break.
(2) ruined. See Break.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 47
BROKKEN, /tff/. (i) broken.
(2) ruptured.
BROKKEN-BALLIED, adj. big-bellied.
When a cow has had many calves, or a ewe many Iambs, their sides becoDote
very protuberant, and the animals are said to be brokken-boUlied,
BROKKEN-HAIRED, adj. having rough why hair, like certain
kinds of terriers, or like a cross between an English and Scotch
terrier.
Used metaphorically for underbred. Also used in speaking of a man
who is not quite straightforward in his actions,
BROO, 5. (i) a brow, a hUl.
To be " ^oing dain th* broo " is a metaphorical way of saying that
a
man's health is breaking; also said of a man who is becoming poorer.
(2) the forehead.
(3) the brim of a hat.
BROODINESS, x. the condition of a hen when she wants to sit
Various methods are practised in Cheshire to make a hen's broodiness
“go off" (cease) when it is not desired that she shall sit. One cruel
method
is to duck her overhead in cold water; a second to put her into a coop
without straw, and occasionally without food. A third way is to tie a string
to
the leg and tether the hen to a post This gives her the opportimity of
walking about, but she cannot return to her nest. The most extraordinary
remedy, however, is to tie a bit of tape round her tail; because a hen which
is broody spreads her tail, and the ligature prevents her doing so, and thus
is
supposed to dispel her broodiness.
BROODY, adj. a hen is said to be broody when she wants to sit
BROOM TEA, s. an infusion of the green twigs of broom, Sarothatnnus
Scoparius, Considered to be very efficacious in cases of dropsy.
BRORDS or BRUARTS, 5. the young shoots of com are so
called W.
BRORE or BRORD, v, to spring up as corn does. W.
BROSIER, s, a bankrupt W.
Leigh, apparently quoting from Wilbraham, also gives it as a verb.
Wilbraham, however, only includes it as a substantive.
BROTH, J. (i) salt-making term. A liquor made by boiling calves'
feet, glue, &c., used for clarif)dng the brine, and
put in after the new brine has been run into a pan.
(2) when meaning "pottage," broth, like porridge, furmetry, and
several other liquid kinds of food, is a
plural noun. You are always asked, " will you take
a few broth T* About Macclesfield the expression
is “ a tewthry brothi^ that is two or three broth.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BROTHERING, adj. useless, over-luxuriant L.
Useless and spreading branches are so called.
BROTH ING A VM^.part. salt-making term. Putting broth with
the brine. See Broth (i).
It is commonly spoken of as " givin* th' pon her brexfiisL"
BROW, s, hatting term. A cast or model of the head.
BROWES. See Brewes.
BROWN GEORGE, s. the common sort of brown bread. W.
Brown Tommy, Macclesfield.
BROWT, V. brought.
BRUART, 5. (i) the springing of corn.
We speak of "a good hruart*^ or "a bad hruart^^^ according as it
comes up well or badly.
(2) the brim of a hat.
BRUART, V. to shoot, as newly-sown com.
BRUN, V, to bum.
BRUNDRIT, s. a trivet to hold a bakestone. L.
*
BRUN-FIRE, s. a bonfire. Also Bun-fire (N. K Ches.) and
BuRN-FiRE (general).
BRUSH or BRUSH WHEAT, j. wheat sown after any other grain.
In the midland counties brush simply means “ stubble."
The sowing of two white or corn crops in succession is prohibited in most
farm agreements; and in some it is specified that if the outgoing; tenant
does,
on leavinfi^, sow wheat after any other corn crop, he shall forfeit his share
of
the off-going crop. A Cheshire farmer enters m the spring, and, as a matter
of course, it falls to the lot of the out-going tenant to sow the wheat the
previous autumn; and according to the custom of the country he reaps it and
sets it up into stooks. The outgoing and incoming tenants then cart off their
respective shares; but in many cases the outgoing tenant has a right to the
use of the bam for threshing his portion. It was customary for the outgoing
tenant to take two-thirds of the crop if the wheat were grown after a bare
follow; one-half if after any kind of green crop; but if it were brush whtai
onlv one-third. Frequently the outgoing tenant would stick a small branch
of nazel or other bush on the top of every other stook, then they each knew
which were their own, and could cart them away when they liked.
BRUSH, V, to trim a hedge.
BRUSHINGS, s. the trimmings of hedges.
BRUST, X. a breast, Brest is now the more general pronunciation.
“To may a deean brmt on it." J. C. Clough.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY, 49
:K, s. (i) the front cross portion of a plough to which the
liorses are attached.
(a) bread and bulter. Macclesfieijd,
Tiothet was unable to padfy her child, and was greatly dis
, _._ Kicaming. A kindly old woman who lived in a cottage near
. snatched up Ihc child, nnd walked off with it. Artec some time
sIk faiaught it back quite (|uict and content, saying somewhat indignantly, u
she handed it back 10 its mother, "A young thing loilte thee underetnnds
BOwl abite cbildu- 1 whoi ih' babby wur clemt, but aw gin her a itici and '00
*" up, every scrat."
ICK-CHAIN, s. a chuo connecting the swing-trees to the buck.
See Buck (i).
UCKER or BUCKA, /. a buckle. Wilbraham spells it Buckow. _
DCEET, /. the sucker of a pump.
lUCKLE, /, conditioa Mobberley,
“In very good /•uttli" means in very good condition.
BUCKLE TO, V. to set to work in earnest.
BUGGIN, s. (i) a ghost. S. Ches.
(a) a louse. S. Ches.
BUKE, V. to litter.
Speakii^ of some spoilt hay, a man said, " It will only do for tutiag
the yard." L.
BULK, s. the internal part of the vagina.
In many cows which are heavy in calf the organ is apt to protrude when
Ihinimol lies down; it is then said that the cow "shows her bulk."
BULLACE or BULLERS, s. Prunus imititia, frequently applied to
a semi-cultivated variety with yellow fruit
BTJLL-BEEF, s. the young shoots of wild roses and blackberries,
tniedaliy the latter, which are peeled and eaten by children.
BULL DAISY, s. Chryianlhemum Leuianlhemum.
BULLERS. SeeBuLLACE.
Bull eye, i. the ox-eye daisy, Chrysanfhemum Leucanthemum.
MACCLESriELD.
BULL-FACES, s. tufts of the grass, Aira caspitosa, and occasionally
of Dactylis glonurala.
BULL-GRIPS, s. iron clasps for leading a bull by the nose.
They consist of two knobs of iron connected by a spring bow — very
"nidi t&c form of a pair of ingar- longs— with a screw passmg
through both
■idti. The knobs are placed in the nostrils, and nie screwed ti^ether
till
they ilightly pinch the cartilage. They arc often used with considerable
tflwl in tubdoing a reliftctory cow which will not stand to be milked.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BULL-RUSH, s. Sdrfus lacustris.
BULLSLOP, s. the large hybrid oxlip, Primula variahiUs,
BULLY, adj, resembling a bull
A cow with a short, broad face would be described as " rather hdh aboat
th' yed."
BULL-YED, f. (i) a tadpole.
(2) stones amongst lime; Borders of Derbyshirk^
BUM, s, a bum-bailiff.
BUM, V. to distrain. Macclesfield.
“If tha does na pay me, awll hum the*."
BUMPS, s. blocks of wood placed under a spring cart to relieve the
springs when it is too heavily loaded. Wilmslow, Alderley.
BUNCH, V, to tie up vegetables or herbs in bunches for sale.
BUND, part, bound.
BUN-FIRK See Brun-fire.
BUNGO, s. influence (?).
“Under the bungo o*th' moon " is to be in difficulties, " under the
weather." — Cheshire Sheaf , vol. i., p. 237,
feUNNY, J. a swelling. L.
BUNNY-RABBIT, s. a tame rabbit
BUR, conj. but.
“Yo munna do that. " " Ah! ^r oi shaU. "
BURGY, s. unriddled coal, containing all the small coal and dust.
BURLEY-MAN, s. an officer appointed at a court leet or at a town's
meeting to settle disputes, &c.
In cases of damage caused by cattle trespassing, the hurley-men would
very often be called in to assess the damage. A bill for damage to a crop of
turnips caused by the ravages of hares and rabbits was lately presented to me
by a farmer who lives in Moore. In this case the vduation had been made
by the hurley-men of the township, and was officially signed by them.
BURN, s, a burden.
BURN-FIRE. See Brun-fire.
BURR, s. {1) (or Burr Stone) rough stone from the quarry, not
squared, and frequently not large enough to square up; used for
building field walls, rough embankments, &c.
(3) the sweetbread.
(3) the plant Galium Aparine,
(4) impetus. Wilmslow.
“Tak a good hurr when tha jumps, an* tha'l go o*er it."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. $1.
BURROW. See Barrow (2).
BUR-TREE or BORE-TREE, s. the elder, Sambucus nigra. W.
BURY-HOLE, s. a grave.
The name is more especially used by children.
BXJSHEI^ s. more frequently called a “ measure," or " mizzer."
See
Measure.
Wilbraham explains that when applied to oats it means " five ordinary
bnshels;" but there must be some error, for after enumerating the weight
of
a bushel of wheat, beans, and barley, he adds, " oats, 45 to 50
lbs.," which
is the ordinary weight in Cheshire, and is certainly not the weight of five
imperial bushels.
BUSK, 5. See Bosk.
BTJSK, V. (i) See Bosk.
(2) to straighten up the fences, cut ofif the thorns, &a,
in winter.
“I've been agait busking in the coppy. '* L.
BUSSING. See Bossing.
BUSSOCK, s. a donkey. & Ches. Pronounced BUZZOCK in the
neighbourhood of Runcorn. N. W. Ches.
BUSTION, s. a gathering, or whitlow, generally on the finger or thumb.
BUT, adj. unless.
“I'll leather you, but you do this." L.
BUTLAND, 5. waste land. L.
BUTT, f. (i) the rounded beds into which fields are ploughed.
In many places called " lands;" in the north " riggs."
(2) tanning term. A whole tanned hide.
BUTTER-CUP, 5. (i) a small wooden cup used by some dairy
maids for rounding the bottom of a pat of
butter, instead of patting it with the hands.
(2) the various species of Ranunculus^ including R. Ficaria.
BUTTER DOCK, s. Runux obtusifolius.
So called because dairy-maids wrap butter for market in its leaves.
BUTTERFLEE, \
BUTTERFLEA,
s. a butterfly.
Tlie working-men naturalists of Lancashire and Cheshire, of whom there
are numerous examples in every manufacturing town, I believe confine the
name to the white species, the coloured ones being called RED DRUMMERS. See
also Queen Ann and French Butterfleb.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
BUTTERFLIES, s. salt-making term.
When the '' set " on a pan becomes broken, the salt forms small patches
which float on the top and are called butterflUs, In bay-salt makmg the
salt at times forms small flakes or collections of light crystals, which are
als9
called butterflies.
BUTTERMILK CAKE, s. cakes raised by mixing buttermilk and
carbonate of soda.
They are rolled out to about six inches diameter and about an inch thick.
They are frequently split and buttered whilst hot from the baking, and are
most excellent; or they may be left to go cold, and be eaten like ordinary
bread.
BUTTERMILK WEDDING, idiom, a wedding where the bridegroom will not distribute
any money. See Ball Money.
BUTTER-MONEY, s. money which the farmer's wife gets by the
sale, not only of butter, but of eggs and other smsdl produce
which she takes to market
A Cheshire farmer and his wife frequently have separate purses, each
receiving the price of certain kinds of produce, and each making certain
payments. ButUr-money is generally the wife's perquisite, out of v^ich she,
p»erhap, is expected to pay all grocery bills. Sucli an arrangement
occasionally gives rise to disagreements between husband and wife. I have
known the wife to be accused by the husband of skimming too much cream
from the milk to increase her butter-money at the expense of the cheese. I
knew one couple whose custom was that the husband supplied coals to the
house out of nis purse, and the wife supplied candles out of hers. The
consequence was that he kept the household very short of fire on winter
nights, whilst she made him sit in the dark, or by firelight only. There
were frequent squabbles, and the man spent most of his evenings at the
public house.
BUTTER SALT, s, salt-making term. A fine boiled salt, not
stoved, used specially for making up butter.
BUTTERY, s, a pantry. This old word is still in use at Hyde.
BUTTHER, s, butter; but the ordinary English pronunciation is
quite as frequently used.
BUTTONS, s, unexpanded mushrooms.
Those who collect mushrooms will never leave them till they are full
grown, when they are much nicer and would produce so much more food.
JThe smallest buttons are gathered, the excuse being that, according to the
old
Cheshire saying, “ A mushroom never grows any more after it is once
seen."
BUTTY, X. (i) a fellow-workman.
(2) a child's name for a slice of bread and butter.
BUTTY, adv, conjointly.
To go biitty with one is to act conjointly.
BUTTYBREW, s, a social meeting at which each person pays for
his own share of the drink. Bredbury.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. JJ
BUTTY-PIECE, s, a field bebnging to two owners, but which is
undivided by any fence.
BUY A FATHER, tdiom. hatting term. To give a shilling for
beer as a treat to workpeople.
BUZZOCK, s. a donkey. Runcorn.
BYBBYE, s, a kind of herb. Chester Plays. L.
BYBLOW, s. a natural child. Macclesfield.
BYE, s. a boy.
BYFLETE, s, a piece of land cut off by the change of a river's^
course, which used to belong to the other side. L.
On thb account, when a brook divides two people's property, one fire
aoently sees odd little comers which belong to the owner at the odier side of
be water; the land having changed sides, but not ownership. The fendng
of such detached little bits often causes a good deal of trouble and
annoyance;
etch side repudiates the work.
BY GOLLY, €xc/. a form of adjuration.
BY GUM, excl. a very frequent form of adjuration.
BY HULCH AND STULCH, tdiom, by hook and by crook.
A sentence by which the speaker expresses his determination to get what
he covets anyhow. L.
BY JINGS, excl. (pronounced " BS-jings ") a form of adjuration.
BY LAKIN,
BY LEDDY ME,
BY'R LAKIN,
excl. an adjuration, a diminutive of "By our Lady.*'
BY MASS, excl a not unfrequent adjuration.
BY RIGHTS or BY GOOD RIGHTS, adv. properly, according
to custom or promise.
BY^PELL, s. a natural child. W.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
C.
^Acik j ^- <^) *<» '^'^"^
(2) metaphorically, to boast Macclesfield.
“Oi've no patience wi that Ann Smith, 00 does nowt bur c^^
abite their Tummus, as tho* nobody else's choUt could lam."
CADE LAMB, s. a lamb brought up by hand
CADGE, V, (i) to carry. W.
(2) to beg. Macclesfield.
"What does your brother work at?" "Please 'm he dnnt
wark, he on'y cadges.^
CADGER, J. (i) a carrier. W.
(2) a beggar. Macclesfield.
CADGING BAG, s. a bag in which a beggar puts the bits of bread,
&C., which are given him. Macclesfield.
CAKES, I. (i) for various kinds of Cheshire cakes, see Burrsit
MiLK Cake, Count Cakes, Flour Cake,
Funeral Cake, Potato Cake, Scratchkrn
Cake, Whitsun Cake, Wut Cake, &c.
(2) honey comb; also the combs in a wasp's nest
CAKEY, J. (i) a softy; one short of sense.
<* Tha great cokey ^ thee; if tha hasna gone and spilte aw th' job."
(2) sometimes an appellative to a surname, as ^^Cakty
Cawley.'' Delamere.
CALAMANCO CAT, s. a tortoise-shell, or yellow cat.
CALE, 5. (i) turn, chance. It is used by persons doing anything
in rotation.
“It's thy cole to-neet" See Coal-pit Cale.
(2) the membraneous fat attached to the entrails of cows
or sheep.
CALKINS or CAWKINS, s. the heels of a horse's shoe turned
down to prevent slipping, and to give the horse better foothold
in backing a heavy load.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. $5
CALVARY (Knotsford, Mobbbrlby), CAVALDRY (Macclesfield), s. Cavalry. The
Yeomanry-Cavalry, of which many
land-owners maintain a troop.
CAM, 9. (i) to reproach, to bicker, to argue. Wilderspool, Hyde.
“Doniia thee ston* cammin aw day." See Clammin (2).
(2) to wear shoes down at heel, or on one side. Hyde.
CAMBING COMB, s. a small-tooth comb. Wilmslow.
CAMBRIL, (i) the hock of an animaL
(2) a bent piece of wood thrust through the hocks by
which a slaughtered animal is hung up.
CAMMANART, adj\ awkward, ill-contrived. Hyde.
CAMMED, tuij. crooked. L.
CAMPLE,)
CAMPO,
CAMBLE,
V. to scold, to contend, to argue. L.
CANE, s. silk-weaving term. The warp.
“Alir Jim'll start a work a Monday; he's getten a fresh cam/*
CANELL, s. a canal; more frequently Cur, which see.
CANK, V. to gossip.
“She (the servant) never do go conking wi* neebours." L.
CANKER, J. (i) cancer.
“Ah! poor thing, 00 deed oizccuiker in her breast."
(2) verdigris; supposed to produce cancer.
Speaking of a penny covered with verdigris, it was said, " DamiA
put that penny i* thy maith, or else thaUt hay th' ccmker"
CANKER, V. to affect with cancer.
CANKERED, part. adj. ill-tempered. Macclesfield.
CANKEROUS, adj, venomous. Macclesfield.
CANKUM, s. a prank. L.
CANN OFFICE, s. a house on the Heath at Knutsford was so called.
It b conjectured by the Rev. H. Green (Knutsford and its Vicinity^
p> 72) that this was probably the place where weights and measures were
ciamined and stamped.
CANT, adj, strong, lusty. W.
Canting is also used to express a woman gaining her strength idter her
coDfinement. L. Ray gives both meanings; the first in Cheshire, die
second in Yorkshire.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CANT, V, to coax. Macclesfield.
“Nay, dunna thee come cantitC here, for oi shanna gie it the."
CAN TA, V. can you, or more properly canst thou. Knutsford,
Macclesfield. Also Const, Const ta.
CANTLE, J. a canfulL
“Ahr parson's missis is a stingy un; oo nobbor gen me afe a
cantU o* soup."
CAP, s. the leather band attached to the smppU of a flail to
connect it with the handle.
CAP, V* to exceed.
"It caps owt," ue,y **it exceeds everything." "It caps
me"
means it is beyond my comprehension, or it puzzles me.
CAP AW, adj. left-handed. Dukinfield.
CAPERLASH, s, abusive language. W.
C APIL, s. a patch upon the toe of a boot or clog. Mow Cop.
CAPIL^ V. to mend a boot or clog, by covering the toe with a patch
of leather. Mow Cop.
CAPLINGS, s, part of a flail.
Randle Holme, describing the parts of a flail, says : "The capHngi^ the
strong double leathers made fast to the top of the hand-stafi, and the top of
the swiple."— /^^oflSwwy of Armory ^ Bk. HI., ch. viii., p. 333.
CAPO, s. a working horse. W., on the authority of Ray.
Ray gives as a Cheshire proverb, "It's time to yoke when the cart
comes to the capUs" i.e., horses; the meaning being that it is time to
marry
when the woman woos the man.
CAR, V. to sit down, or to bend the body in a sitting posture. L.
See Caw (3).
CARLINGS, s. grey peas boiled.
So called from being served at table on Care Sunday, which is Passion
Sunday, as Care Friday and Care Week are Good Friday and Holy Week.
W.
CARPENTER GRASS, s. Prunella vulgaris, supposed to be very
efl^cacious for the healing of cuts.
CAlliTING. 4 *° '^°''* ' ''"^"'
When bare boards were commoner than they are now, the servant to be
scolded was sent for to the carpeted room, the drawing room. I have heard
a servant boast that she had never been carpeted. L.
CARR, 5. a yellow sediment in water which flows from peaty land
(humate of iron).
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CARRS, f. low, swampy ground; generally occurring in place-names,
as "Galley Cam" near Cheadle. .
CARR-Y, adj. containing carr or iron sediment.
Carry waiei is supposed to be veiy unwholesorae.
CARRY ON, V. (i) to behave badly.
“He tartUdon shameful."
(i) to scold, to grumble.
"Th' mcstei's been cartyin an like anything a
Cheshire carts are very stroDgly built. The parts of a cart, which will be
fcmtd nDdct their respective lelleis, are BJ (bllowa : The body consists of
the
ItHindation and the sides. The foundation is made of two strong side pieces
of mIe placed parallel to each other called (htsli, and two strong end piecex
oiled Undert, which ore bolted to them; two longitudinal pieces, known u
linliian or mid Ihrillt, are mortised into the binders, and these support
lie boaids which form the bottom of the cart. Under this fonndation, and
^(cd (o il, is a crosspiece of wood, some two or three inches thick and six
Id eight inches broad, called the lining'; and underneath this is the 6ed,
rtich is in reality the axle of the cart. Formerly carts had wooden arms,
t)ie arms being the ends of the axle or bed, thinned and tapered to work in
Ibe naves of the wheels, and it required a skilful workman to work the
irais property and give them the proper hoei or downward bend, because
wheels were very much dishid, i.e., hollowed, in those days, and the aims
(eqoired a downward bend to allow the spokes at the lower side of the wheel
losund perpendicularly to the ground. If the arms did not thus exactly fit
the
DiTe, the draught was considerably increased, and the friction was so great
that unskilfully made carts had sometimes to be backed into the water to
prevMl the wheels taking fire. The arms are always made of iron now. and
"heels ate not so much dished. Formerly the ndts of the carl were very
tlabotalc. Upright bars or ilandards we/e mortised into the chests, and to
Ibete standards Qie boards forming the cart sides were bolted. Now the
Hdeiand ends of carts are frequently made of two-inch plauks bolted to the
cbcMi and lo each other. Attached to the front of the cart there are
generally
two small cart-boies with lids, in which the carter puts his dinner when
lu goes a long journey. The shafls were formerly called Ihrilli, but I think
the word is now almost obsolete. If fitted with harvisl grariHg, there are
lie fronl and back Ikrippas at thrippvtU!, made something like strong
brdles; the rails of which they are made being called Mn//a.i/i'i'«. These
ti on to the front and back of the cart, lo give a greater length for the
loading
Ofbiy or com; and there are frequentCy also moveable sidiraiis, which
Mend (ram one ihrippa to the other, and somewhat increase the width.
Uiny carts have addjtional sidiboards for elevating the sides, so as lo carry
( Itiger quantity of coals, turnips, or any loose materials,
CART-CHEST. See Cart.
CART-SADDLE, s. the saddle which is placed on the back of a
ahaft-hoTsc; it has a groove from one side to the other to cany
Ihe tidgorth or backhand.
CART.SIDES. See Cart.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CARVE, V. to curdle milk or cream previous to churning it.
The general system of butter making in Cheshire is to collect the milk oc ,
cream in a deep earthenware pan called a ste^n. When sufficient is collected
for a churning, the steen is brought to the fire, and remains there till
the milk thickens and becomes curdy; it is kept covered up, and is coca*
sionally stirred round with a wooden stick, and tne steen also is
oocasioDally
turned round to prevent the milk becoming uneaually warm. This is caUed
carving the milk, and when sufficiently cuj^ed toe nulk is said to be
CASELINGS, s. the skins of beasts that die by any accident or
violent death. Halliwelu
CASPE, s. the name of a portion of an old-fashioned cow-tie.
“The Caspe for the Sole is the top of it which hath the holes kL**—
Academy of Armory^ Bk. III., ch. v., p. 243. See Sow.
CASSARTTY. See Cazzletv.
CAST, V, to warp; as said of some kinds of wood, ^'it is given to
cast." — Cheshire Sheafs voL i., p. 237.
CAST AWAY, part, lost through any accident. Best explained,
perhaps, by the slang expression **come to grief."
“Commin dain Buxton Road it snowed and blewed and aunt till
a felt fair ccut away,
CAST CAWF, V. to calf prematurely.
*'Oo*s cast hsxcawf,'^
CASTENING (N.E. Ches.) or KESTENING, s. a christening.
CATCH, s, an acquisition.
When harvest has been successfully got in, it is said to be a good catch,
*' We'n had a good ca/cA wi' us clover,"
*' Ahr Mary's made a good ca/cA; he's getten a ruck o* bras i' th*
bank."
CATCH GRASS, J. goose grass or catch weed. L. Galium Aparine.
CATCHING THE OWL, a practical joke very often put upon a
novice at a farm house by his fellow servants.
The novice is persuaded to hold a riddle (sieve) at the " owlet hole
" in
the gable end of the building. He is told to hold it very fast, as an owl is
a
verv strong bird; and whilst all his efforts are directed to catching the
owl,
as he supposes, somebody pours a bucket of water (often filthy water) over
him.
CATCHING WEATHER, s, showery weather; when hay or com
is constantly being caught in the rain, and it is difficult to get OQ
with the harvest work.
CATCH IT, V. to be reprimanded, or chastised.
“My wordl bu' yo'll catch it, when th' mester knows."
CATCHT, V. caught.
CHESHIRE GtOSSARV. 59
|CATCH-WEIGHT, s. a temi used by hay-cutters when they cut
hay into trusses of no parlicular weight. See Truss-weight.
-AT-HEAD, s. a kind of apple. Middlewich,
ATS, s. salt-making term. Masses of salt formed under a pan
■hen it leaks.
"Cstting a pan" is knocking the iiIj from the underside of the pan
when discovcTed. If allowed to rem^n for some lime the flues are filled
sp, ukd the pan is then Eold lo have "called her draughts up." See
DUDCMTS.
In FhilesMkital Tramactians, vol. ip.,-p. 1077 (1669), tails of talt are
thus desenbed : " So calls of salt are only made of the worsi of salt,
when
nt weltish from Ihe Panns; molded and intermixt with interspers'd Cummin
Stcd and Ashes, and so baked into aa hard lump in the mouths of theii
Of ens. The use of these is only for Pigeon houses." They we slill tnade
lor the same purpose.
' CAT-TAILS, CATS-TAILS, or CAT-RUSHES,
spedes of Equistlum.
C\rrED, 1
CATTING, I
the various
See Cats.
CATTR'N^^'l -''"'-'*■ ""'"''■ Catherine.
was very highly
Kalherina, and
it undoubtedly is, being
".ly skin deep.
CATTHERN PEAR, j. a Catherine pear.
This is a small early pear, which, three
ntecmed. Gerard in 1597 calls it Pyrui mferi/i
dociibes it as iJii tesl peai. Beautiful in appeaianc
fncly itieaked with vivid crimson. Its beauty, hot
!« il is dry and mealy, though very sweet, and having
Stvout. After three centuries it is still by no means unc
OTchaids, and is still valued by the country people.
CAUKUM, s. a practical joke, a foolish frolic. L.
CAUSEY,!
COSEY 1 '' '^"5C"'^y> pavement.
A paved road, of which there are still a good many in Cheshire, is almyt
»»ken of as " Ihc eaus/y." I can recollect the whole length of road
between
nobberley and Knutsford being paved with round cobbles, the side roads
■likii branched off being merely sandy ruts. When anyone asked the way
leKnptsford, he was pretty sure to be told "Vo mun keep to xh' eauit}',
an'
jo'n be teet-" See HoasK Cadsby.
CAW. p. (i) to call.
(a) to vituperate.
“He atafd bim eveiyihink " is said when one nan has been rating
uwiho Ewiodly, or when one has been using abusive lanpiage to another.
{3) to crouch. Delambre.
'* Cato thee dain," i.<., "crouch down."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CAWF, s. a calf. Also used as a term of ridicule.
"Tha great rflz^."
CAWF-BED, s. a cow's womb.
CAWF-COTE, 5. a building where young calves are kept
CAWF-CROFT, s, a small field near the house into which the young
calves are turned for air and exercise. On most farms there is
a field so called.
CAWF KIT ' M* * small pen to put a sucking calf in.
CAWF-LICK, s, when the hair on the human forehead will not
brush flat, but stands up forming a sort of rosette, it is called a
cawf'lick^ and the person is said to be cawf-licked. Also called
Cow-lick.
Wilbraham explains this latter word as that part of a cow's hide where
the hairs of it having different directions meet, and form a projecting ridge
of hair. He also says it is believed to be produced from the cow ucki^
herself.
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CAWN, V, plural of call. I caw, they cawn,
CAWPER, V, to answer saucily. L.
CAWVEN, part calved.
“A new-^aww^« kye."
CAWVING, part, failing to finish a piece of work at the week end,
in time to be included in that week*s pay. Bredbury.
CAZE, adv, because.
CAZZLETY, adj, hazardous, risky.
“Cauves is cazzUty things to rear,*' my cowman once told me.
Leigh gives Cassartty as the more general pronunciation, which I do
not happen ever to have heard.
CENTURY, s. the plant Erythrcea Centaurium, W. Ches. See
Sanctuary.
CEPT, conj. except.
“Theer*8 nowt for me to do \ept get drunk." J. C. Clough.
CHAFFERY or CHAFFERING, adj\ Said of stuff like the seed
of the bulrush, the seed of the pampas grass, &c.; as if from
chaff. L. Fluffy.
CHAINY, s. china.
'* Thy uncle and aunts' comin to tay this afternoon, Mary; tha'd
better get th' chainy cups and saucers ait."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 6l
CHAINY ASH, s, the Laburnum. Delambre.
"The laburnums are not planted yet, Harry," said a lady to a
lad, helping in the front garden of a farm. Harry knew nothing
about laburnums, but answered, "there's neawt here but chainy
asM€s, ma'am, and them's upo' th' hedge bonk."
CHAM or CHOM, v. to chew.
“Aw've gen that chap summut to cAom, enny how."
CHAMBER, s, a bedroom on the ground Hqor. W. Ches.
CHANCE CHILD, s. an illegitimate child
CHANNEL HOLE, s. a hole by which sewer water escapes. In
Chester usually pronounced “ chennel."
CHAP, s, man, fellow.
Though not specially local or even provincial, I insert this word because
H is in such constant use in Cheshire. " That feUow " would in
Cheshire be
"Yon cAap.” The foreman of a farm will shout after dinner to the other
men, "Nye then, chaps, its toime to get to wark."
CHARGE, V. salt-mining term; to put the gunpowder or other
explosive into the hole and insert the fuse ready for blasting.
CHASTIZE, V. to scold. Runcorn, Halton. Seldom, if ever,
used to describe corporal punishment
CHATS, 5. (i) small bits of wind-blown sticks collected by poor
people for firewood. About Lindow Common
small bits of sticks picked out of the dry moss
are called cha/s,
(2) small potatoes.
CHATTER, V. to shatter or splinter.
“Chattered to hits,"
CHATTER BASKET, s. a chatterbox.
CHATTING, part, picking stones in the meadows. Northenden.
CHAUVE, V. to chafe. L.
CHEADLE dock, s, Senecio Jacobcta, More commonly Kadle
Dock or Kettle Dock, and occasionally Cradle Dock.
CHEEN I •^* ^ chain. W. Ches.
CHEE-EGGIN, excl said to a horse when he is to turn to the right
Middlewich. See Jee-eggin.
CHEER, s, a chair.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CHEESE, ff. (i) to make cheese.
“What are you doing with your milk ? " " We're cheesing this
year."
(2) to vomit as little children do when milk curdles on
their stomachs. Macclesfield.
“Poor little thing! how it does cheese I"
CHEESE-BOARD, s. a round board to put between two cheeses
when, in order to economise space, they are put to press one on
the top of the other.
CHEESE-CAKE, s. the fruit of Malva sylvestris.
CHEESE GUARD or CHEESE GARTH, s. a hoop of tin used
to raise the sides of a cheese-vat.
The curd, which is at first so loose that the vat cannot contain it all,
gradually sinks as it is pressed. The guard sinks into the vat with the curd.
It is also, and perhaps more commonly, called a Fillet.
CHEESE LADDER, s. a framework of wood to support a sieve
through which milk is strained into coolers or into the cheese
tub. It consists of two side bars into which two cross bars are
mortised, like the staves of a ladder.
CHEESE-PINS, J. large pins used for pinning the binders on to
new cheeses. They are sold at drapers' shops under this name.
CHEESES, s. (i) the seeds of Mh/va rotundifolia and M, sylvestris^
which are eaten by children; also called
Dutch Cheeses, and Cheese Cakes.
(2) a frequent amusement of girls is making cheeses.
They turn round and round till their dresses fly out at the bottom; then
suddenly squatting down, the air confined under the dress causes the skirt to
bulge out like a balloon. When skilfully done the appearance is that of a
girl s head and shoulders peeping out oi an immense cushion.
CHEE^UP, excL said to a horse when he is to move forward.
MiDDLEWicH. See Jee, which is the usual pronunciation.
CHEEVINGS, s, the dust, refuse seeds of weeds, and rat remnants,
left behind in taking in a rick of corn or beans. L.
CHEEVY-RIDDLE, s, a very coarse riddle or sieve used for
separating the broken bits of straw from threshed corn before it
is piled up in the C7/^^y-ruck. See Cheevy-ruck.
CHEEVY-RUCK, s, the heap of threshed corn in a barn before it
is winnowed.
CHEM, s, a. team; more frequently pronounced "teeam."
CHEMIST, s. a druggist, is pronounced with CA soft.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
{MENNEL, J. a channel.
CHEP, adj. cheap. Cheppest, cheapest.
CHERRY CLACK, s. a contrivance placed in a cherry tree to
Mghlen away ihe birds.
tC is gEncntUy in the form of a small windmill with wooden aaiU. To
llie *)m]dle upon which it revolves, or rather which revolves with the sails,
tvo M three links of it chain are (astened, and these, as they are carried
tnmd, strike ag^nil a piece of wood, imd make a considerable noise.
Another favourite pattern tor a Cktrry Claek is that of a soldier carved in
nod and paint^ with a scarlet coat. His arms consist of two windmill
■ails attached to a spindle which works through his shoulders, and he
himself
•orki on a perpendicular spindle. When the wind blows, the soldier turns
lound and at the suae time his arms revolve.
CHESFIT, 1
CHESFUTj
I cheese vat.
CHESHIRE ACRE, s.
The Cheshire acre is 10,240 square yards or nearly two slnlule acres and
one-ninth. Although the sUtulc acre is always spoken of in farm agreements
■Dd t^l documenLs, the Cheshire acre is in actual use both in Cheshire
and
South Lancashire-, the farmers themselves always reckon their crops by
Qushire measure, the size of their farms, and the rent per acre. Cheshire
64 square yards = I rood (rod).
40 roods = I quailei.
4 quiuten = t acre.
CHESHIRE CAT, s.
"To grin like a Cheshire cat" is a proverbial saying. Leieh E'l'es
Ihe
(bUowing variants : " To grin like a Cheshire cat chewing gravel and
"To
pin like a Cbohire cat eating cheese." I do not remember having heard
eilhel of these variants. The origin of the saying is unknown, though various
eonjectures, more or less fanciful, have been hazarded. Charles Lamb, in
me of his letters to Mannii^, says, "I made a pun the other day, and
{aimed it upon Holcrofl, who grinned like a Cheshire cat. (Why do cats
pin in Cheshire? — Because it was once a county palatine, and the cats
cnnot hdp laughing whenever they think of it, though I see no great joke
iaiL)" bee Lamb's Letters, edited by Talfourd, vol i., p. 304.
Tlie meaning and origin of the phrase was asked in Notu ami Qutriii
{tU S. ii- 377) with, I believe, only the following result. At p. 41Z of the
vine volume it is stated that cheeses were mode in Cheshire some years ago
nodded in the shape of a cat; and in tst S., vol. v., p. 402, Ihe origin is
Ucribed to the unhappy attempt of a sign painter lo represent a lion ntmpanl
vhidi more resembled a cat than a Hon. It is possible, however, thai the
umsof the Earls of Chester, namely a wolfs head, may have suggested the
tbue 1 for I am bound to say that in the engraving of the coat of arms ol
Hijh Lu^, as given by Sir Peter Leycesler, the wolfs head might very
W be mistaken for ibat ofacal; whilst ihefWn is unmislakeable.
It may, perhaps, not be deemed out of place to draw the attention of m;
Ittdert W the inimitable representation of the grin of a Cheshire cat as
dtpletpd in "Alice in Wonderland." The phrase "lo grin like a
Cheshire
m' will never be forgotten be long as that most charming of books is read
% the children of England.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CHESHIRE ROUND, s. a dance (now obsolete) peculiar to the
county from which it takes its name.
It was once very fashionable, and is alluded to by Goldsmith in the Vksr
of Wakefield as the behest accomplishment of the Misses Fhunborough.
The tune of the Cheshire Round is found in The Da$uing MasUr^ 1721.
CHEST, s, part of the foundation of a cart See Cart. •
CHESTER GLOVE, s. a wooden representation of a hand or a
glove which for many centuries was hung out from the old Pentice
House in Chester, at the commencement of every fair, and taken
down at its conclusion. It is now, I believe, preserved in the
Mayer collection in the Liverpool Museum.
CHESTER PLAYS, s.
Mention is frequently made of the " Chester Plays." They were
dramas or mysteries which were performed at a very early period in the
of St. Werburgh's Abbey. They became afterwards very popular at Coventij
and other towns, but in all probability had their origin at Chester. After a
while they were performed during Whitsun Week, on moveable stages In the
off
streets, by the various guilds of the city. The earliest MS. copy of
plays dates from the banning of the sixteenth century, but it is probable
they were performed as early as 1450.
CHET, V. to cheat.
“Mother, oi shanna play wi ahr Jack, he chets so."
CHICKEN-WEED, s, chickweed, Stellaria media.
CHILDER, s. plural of child.
CHILDERMAS DAY, s. Innocents* Day.
CHILL, V, to take off the extreme cold from any liquid.
'* Yo mun have a sope o* porter at neet; bu' yo munna drink it
cowd, bu* just nicely chilled"
It is customary to give newly-calved cows "M«7/if/waler."
CHILT, ) « ^l:i J
CHOILT,} ^-a^^"^
CHIMBLEY, s. a chimney.
CHIMBLEY-SWEEP, or CHIMNEY-SWEEP, or CHIMNEYSWEEPER, s. Luzula campestris.
When children first see this plant in the spring they repeat the foUowing
rhyme : —
Chimney-sweeper, all in black,
Go to the brook and wash your back;
Wash it clean, or wash it none;
Chimner-sweeper, have you done ?
I have heard this about Mobberley, but have not been able to ascertain the
meaning; it may possibly be to bring good luck.
CHIN-COUGH, s. whooping cougl
The Euperstitious remedies foi this lulment are very numerous in Cheshire,
Rtld interesting. A woman who has not changed her name in marriage can
cute it by amply giving the patient something to eat, a caltc, oc a piece of
bretd and bultei. (Leigh gives a similiu remedy For small-pox.) The hair
of ■ donkey's cross, i.i., the darit line upon its shoulders, is
another very
popalai remedy. It is adminisleted in two ways. A small portion of the
hair is chopped up very small and placed between bread and butler and is
^ven to the child lo cat; or the hair is sewed up in a strip of flannel, and
is
wum round the throat I h&we, on more than one occasion, been asked for
a portion of this hair from a donkey which my children used. The mountain
ub, aboiul which so many superslltioos linger, also ligures ns a remedy for
cbiD-cough. A certain mountain ash grew m my garden at Mobbcrlcy, and
for some lime I bad noticed that a considerable number of boles had been
botcd in the stem with a gimblct, and then a small plug of wood had been
inserted. The number of these holes iacreascd, not only to the disfigurement,
but even lo the injury of the tree. I supposed my children had done it for
Biischief, and I accused Ihem of it. It turned out, however, that they were
quite aware of tbe real cause, and explained lo me, what I found to be
peifecdy correct, namely, that the tree was well known in the neighbourhood
and was used as a cure for the whooping cough. A small lock of hair from
Ihe head of the patient was brought or sent to one of my menservants, who
thereupon bored a hole in the tree, placed the hair in the hole, and ^tened
U in with a plug; and on examination, portions of hoit from various heads in
the district were plainly seen protruding from the holes.
Ldgh mentions several other Cheshire remedies which have not come
under my own observation, such as roast hedgehog, fried mice, &C.
Anolha remedy is holding a toad to Ihe mouth, which is supposed to
otiact the cough from ihe patienL This, however, does not seem infaJIible,
as in old woman complained that her boy "could not get shut of Ihe
cbin-coi^h, though he had sucked iwo toads to death."
Ancrther nrntdy, evidently a modem one, is to take the palicnl lo a gas
works and let il smell Ihe tar.
The following has been communicated to mc from Macclesfield : " Pass
the child nine times under the IkIIji of a white cow or mare." Certain
lines
have lo be repeated at the same lime, but my informant has not been able to
remember the formula.
CHINK, F. to catch or draw the breath in laughing.
When a child first begins to make a noise in laughing, it is often said
" it
billy liiitis again."
CHIPPER or CHIPPING PADDLE, s. salt-making term.
A kind of very small spade ai tbe end of a long handle, used for keeping
tbe rims of the pans clear from incrustntions of sail.
CHISEL, I. salt-mining tool; used for making holes for blasting.
They are round bars of iron from four to eight feet long, about an inch
and a half thick in Ihe middle and tapering to aboul three-quarters of an
inch
towards each end. Each end spreads out again lo an inch wide, and is
«h>rpcnEd to a cultii^; edge. Also, but less commonly, called a Drill.
CHITTY, s. a cat See Cht.
CHOCK-FULL. aiij. full to overflowing.
At a Chtiilmas dinner a farm servant was asked lo take a little
more. The reply was : " Miss, I'm sorry I canna oblige ye, but
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CHOCKHOLE, s. the deep ratty hole to be met with in many of
the bye-roads or occupation roads in the county. L.
CHOM. See Cham.
CHOMMER, TK to chew, to champ; also to crush to powder.
CHOMP UP (Macclesfield). Sometimes CHUMMER
(Crewe).
I remember my fiither bought some guano which was rather lumpy.
One of the men told him "he geet a woo and chommend it aw up,"
which meant that he had beaten it with the back of a spade and
crushed the lumps to powder.
CHONNER, V. to champ, to chop up. L. I think this is a
misprint for " Chommer."
CHOP, s. chopped hay or straw.
CHOPPED, part, chapped.
*' Her maith's aw chopped wi goin i' th' cowd."
CHOPS, s. the face.
CHOW AND CHUMP, s. remains of wood, old stacks, and roots,
&c, only fit for burning. L.
CHOWBENT GRUBS, idiom, a very common name given by
carpenters to nails which are often embedded in old timber and
which spoil the tools.
CHRISTIAN, s. a human being, as distinguished from the lower
animals.
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“Dunna give it to th' dog; its fit for a Christian to eat"
CHRISTMAS, 5. evergreens used in Christmas decorations; often
KiSMUS.
CHRIST'S THORN, s. Cratagus Pyracantha.
There is a tradition that oui Saviour's crown of thorns was made from
this plant.
CHT, excL puss!
In calling a cat we do not say puss I puss I but Cht I Cht!
CHUBBY, adj. thickset
CHUBBY-HEADED, adj. having a short, broad head like a bull
A chubby-headed calf is usuaUy considered more suitable for feeding than
for rearing.
CHUCK, 5. a fowl. Macclesfield.
“Ow many chucks an ye getten ?"
CHUCK, V. to throw.
'* Chuck it here," i./., throw it to me.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 67
CHUCK, excl. a word used to call poultry.
CHUCKLING, farf. salt-making term, expressive of the noise made
by a pan boiling in any part not actually over the fire.
CHUCK OVER, V. to discard, or disinherit.
*• Nay, th* gafifer *U leave me nowt; he's chucked me o'er."
CHUM, s. a companion.
CHUM, V, to associate with.
CHUMMER. SeeCHOMMER.
CHUMP, 5. a term of reproach. Bascali cheat, vagabond. L.
CHUN, 5. a crack in the finger or hand, from frost, or from dryness
of the skin. L.
CHUNNER, V. to grumble.
Leigh gives a good illustration. A clergyman, asking an infirm old
woman how she was, received as an answer, " I goes on ckunmr^
chunnerf chunmr,” He told her how wrong it was to be discontentcKl, &c.,
when he was stopped by the old woman, " Bless
yon. Parson, it's not I that chunmrst it's my innards."
CHURLES' TREACLE, s. garUc. AUium. L.
CHURN, s. the long-tailed titmouse, Parus caudaius.
• CHURN-STAFF, s. (i) the dasher of an old-feshioned "up and
down" churti.
(3) the plant Euphorbia Helioscopiay and occasionally Linaria vulgaris.
CIRAGE or SIRAGE MONEY, 5. the Prestbury term for church
rates. L.
CISTERN ROCK, s, salt-making term. The inferior roof-rock or
black-rock put into the cisterns at rock-salt refineries.
CLACK, J. the valve of a pump.
CLACK, V, to chatter, to gossip.
"Nah then, what art cUukin at, woman? Thy tong goes o'
wheels."
CLAG, V, to choke with dirt.
Wheels are clogged when the oil becomes stiff.
CLAGGINGS, 5. salt-making term. Salt, scum, &c., that clags or
^eres to the rim of a pan used for making boiled salt. The
^hesion takes place at the top portion of the rim.
CLAGGY, adj, sticky.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CLAM. See Clem.
CLAMME or CLAME, v. to dirty or plaister (sic) over. W.
CLAMMIN. (i) See Clemmin.
(a) bickering. Kelsall.
CLAMP, s. a sort of round oven in which draining tiles and bricks
are burnt.
CLANE, \ .. ,
CLEEAN,r^^-^^^^
CLEEAN J ^^' ^^og^^^''» entirely.
*' Eh! mon, aw've cleean forgetten it."
CLANE, V. to wash and dress one's self up.
“Aw mun go and clam mysel " means I most go and waslt, and
put on a change of clothes.
CLANE UP )
CLEEAN UP I ^' *^ P^^ ^^^ ' ^^^ merely to make clean.
*' Nah then, wench! hie the an cleean up th' haise, it's Sunday
to-morrow."
CLANSE or CLENSE, v, a cow is said to danse whei\ she discharges the placenta
after calving. Occasionally to Clean.
CLANSING or CLEANSING, s. the placenta or afterbirth of an
animal.
CLANSING DRINK or CLEANSING DRINK, s. a dose of
physic given to promote the extrusion of the placenta.
A dose of physic given to an animal is always called a drink; and many
old-fashioned cowmen are never content, when a cow has calved, antQ they
have administered a cUansing drink^ often composed of powerful emmena*
gogues, and calculated to do much mischief.
CLAP,'z^. (i) to squat down, to crouch as a bird does when it wants
to escape notice; hence said of a turkey-hen when
she wants the attention of the male bird; she then
squats close to the ground.
(a) to place, to put.
“He clapped it on his yed."
Clap it dain," put it down.
“Clap von auld stoo aight o' th' stack-yard a'top o'th fire, Mary,
its cooth, said a mistress to a farm servant.
(3) ^o sprinkle light articles of clothing with water before
being ironed; in order to damp them equally they
are clapped between the hands two or three times.
(4) to harden on the surface, as some kinds of soil harden
after rain.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 69
CLAP-HATCH, s, a small gate so hung that it will close itsel£
WiLDERSPOOL. See Hatch.
CLAPPED, part, said of soil which is hardened on the surface.
CLAP-POST, s. the post against which a gate shuts.
CLAP TO, V, to shut with a bang, like a door or window blown
with the wind.
CLARGYMAN, J. (i) a clergyman.
(3) a ludicrous appellation for a black rabbit. W.
CLARTY, adj. sticky. — Cheshire Sheafs voL L, p. 237.
CLASP NAILS, 5. thin wrought nails which will clasp or clench.
CLAT, 5. a tale-bearer.
CLAT, r. to tell tales of a person.
CLATCH, r. to tell tales of a person. Macclesfield.
CLATCH HOOKS, j. (i) claws, talons, hands. Kelsall.
“I say! if 70 go o'er them fields, th* mester '11 have his claichhooks on
you.
'* Come, keep thi clatch-hooks ofif me, wilt ta."
(2) a fissure in the rock on the face of Helsby
Hill is so called.
There was, formerly, a gibbet at this spot, where criminals were hung
U) chains, and I believe it was the scene of one of the last executions of
the
•ond which took place in Cheshire. There is probably, therefore, some
connexion between the primary meaning of the word claws, talons, and the
n^fflc of the Helsby fissure, because it was there the hangman got the
condemned man in his clutches. It is just possible, however, that clatch'^^
may be an old name for some portion of the apparatus connected with
executions, and that claws or talons may be the secondary meaning.
^TE or CLEAT, s, a wedge. Middlewich.
"The Plow ClaieSj a kind of Wedge to raise the Beame higher or lower,
to nuke it strike accordingly into the ground." — Academy of Armory, Bk.
*ll-, ch. viii, p. 333.
The smaU iron wedges used in fastening the parts of a scythe together are
called cleats.
CLAUPED, part, daubed. L.
CLAVER, s. idle talk. W.
CUW-BACK, s. a back-biter. L.
CUY,
CLEA,
5, a claw; the separate divisions of a cloven foot. Randle
Holme has Clees. — Academy of Armory^ Bk. II.,
ch.xL, p. 171.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CLAY MARL, s. one of the varieties of marl formerly so much
used in Cheshire as a fertilizer.
It was considered the b^t kind. Its characteristics are that it shoidd be
"of a dark brown colour, intersected with veins of either a blue, or
lu^t
yellow shade; it should be greasy to the touch, when moist; and finable ma
dry." — Holland's General View of the Agriculture of Cheshire (1608), p.
221.
CLEAN. See Clanse.
CLEARING, /tff/. salt-making term.
“On the first aoplication of heat, if the brine contains any carbonate of
lime, the acid may oe observed to quit the lime, and this, being no longer
held
in solution, is either thrown up to me surface .... or it subsides to
the bottom of the pan, and with some portion of the sulphate of lime; and is
raked out in the early part of the process. These two operations are called
clearing the pan." — Holland's General View of the Agricuiture of
Cheshire
(1808), p. 54.
CLEARINGS, s. salt-making term. The sediment formed in the
above process.
CLEM, V. to starve with hunger. Clam (Wirrall).
The word ''starve" is never used in this sense, but it conveys to the
mind of a Cheshire man the idea of perishing with cold only. In Mobber!^
there is a field which bears the curious name of Ci^m-hunger; and Leig^
gives an instance of a wood at Mere being knoMm as C^Mv-hunger Wood.
“Is na dinner ready, aw'm welly clemmed,”
CLEM-GUTS, s, a person stbgy with food. Macclesfield.
“They wanted me for t' go sarvice at th' Haw, bur oi wanna;
whoi th* missb is a reglar cUm-guts,"
CLEMMIN, part, starving with hunger. Clammin (Dukinfield).
CLEVER, adj, handsome.
CLEVERLY, adv. completely. Mobberley.
A hedge that requires to be cut down close to the ground "mun be
r^^^fawn."
CLEW, s, a door or lid hung at the end of a drain or watercourse to
prevent the influx of tidal water.
CLEWKEN or CLOCKEN, s. fine cord, L.
CLINKER, X. (i) a hard, semi-vitrified cinder from the bottom of
a furnace.
(3) a blow struck in anger.
“Oi gen him such a clinker at th' side of his yed as soon made
him quiet."
CLIP, s, the quantity of wool shorn on one farm in one season.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CLIP, V. (i) to embrace.
"Wben he saw the ship sinking, he c/i^j the young Earl of Chester in
his ums, and so both were diowned together. — Sir Peter Leycesler's
Hitttrical Antiquiiits, p. 112(1673).
(a) to shear sheep.
CLIP-ME-DICK, s. the plant Euphorbia Cyparissias.
CLIVELEY, adv. cleverly. Macclesfield Forest.
CLOCK,j. (ilabeeUe.
(a) ornamental open work in the sides of a stocking;
very frequently having a considerable resemblance
to a fir-tree, or at any rate to the conical fir-trees
on long stems which are found in a child's box
of toys.
CLOCKEN. See Clewkem.
CLOCKS, s. the downy heads of the dandelion. Called 0nso'CLocKs about
Macclesfield.
ChildreD gather Ihem and blow away the down m order to tell the time.
The number of puffs requlicd to dear the receptacle indicate ih? hour,
CLOD, s. a sod.
CLOD, V. to throw clods or other materials at an animal to drive it
away.
CLOD-MAW, s. an implement for breaking clods.
It coDsUtG of a piece of wood nbout live lo six inches long, and aboat
three inches wide, and three inches deep; a hole is bored through it and a
Xona handle is Gied in the hole. Il is quite a light tool, but is used with
both hands, and is most effectuo,! for the purpose intended.
CLOD-SALT, s. salt-making term.
A cake (of salt] which sticks to the bottom of the pan. — Ray's Aeeouni cf
SakmaJting [£. D. S., B. 15, p. 37).
CLOG, s. (i) a wooden-soled shoe.
They are wom Tcry genBially by the factoiy hEinds of both Eiexcs, and
the clalleriag noise made hy two or three hundred people when they least
hotD the milkand nin through the streets is very peculiar. In Macclesfield it
is only the cotton hands who wear them.
(a) a heavy piece of wood fastened to the fore-leg of a cow
or horse, and (railing on the ground, to prevent the animal
straying.
CLOGCER, I. a man who makes clogs.
The sole of a cli^ is about an inch thick and is made of older timberj a
Kne is cut entiiely round it, and in this the upper leather is nailed. Il is
n tipped underneath with iron ond has an iron heel, and it becomes a
A fon^dAblc weapon for " punsing " in a Lancoshiie " up and
down "
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
fight. Clogs are generally made considerably too large, and a wisp of straw
or hay is placed under the sole of the foot. They are tied with a thong, or
frequently have brass clasps; they are warm and comfortable, and are almost
impervious to wet. The making of clogs is a separate trade from that
of the shoemaker, and the cutting of clog soles is quite a special branch (^
industry.
CLOGGY, adj. compact
Said of a horse or cow that is heavy-bodied and short-legged.
CLOMB, V. past tense of to climb. L.
CLOOSE, adj, sultry.
CLOTHES MAIDEN, or perhaps more frequently simply Maiden,
s. a clothes horse.
CLOTS or CLOUTS, s. burrs or burdock. W. Arctium Lafi^.
CLOUGH (pronounced Cluf), s. a deep, wooded valley.
Cotteril Clough, near Altrincham, is a good illustration of a clough, and
is a picturesque spot.
CLOUT, 5. (i) a rag, a towel for domestic use. Wilderspool.
(a) a blow.
"Hithimar/w/."
CLOUTER, V, to make a clattering, clamping noise with wooden
clogs. L.
CLOUTERING, part, hurrying along noisily. Middlewich.
CLOUT NAILS, s, broad-headed nails.
CLOUTS, s. iron plates.
Axle-tree ciouts are plates of iron nailed at the end of the axle-tree.
“CiMited shoon " are shoes tipped with iron.
“Then they began to kicke and wince,
lohn hitt the King ouer the shinnes
With a payre of nt^ -clouted shoone I"
John de Reeve (Percy Folio MS., 1. 547, voL ii.,
p. 580), Hales and Fumivall, ed. 1867.
CLUB FEEAST, s, the anniversary dinner of a benefit society.
CLUNTISH, adj. rough-spoken, uncivil. Mow Cop.
CLUSSUM*D, adj. clumsy, Lan. according to Ray, but it means
more, /.^., a hand shut and benumbed with cold, and so far
clumsy. W. Ray, however, does not give this as a Lancashire,
but a Cheshire word. E.D.S. Gloss. B. 15.
CLUTTER, V. to put an opponent down after a fight.
“He cluttered me down. " L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 73
CO, idiam, quoth. A very common expression about Wilmslow.
Used when quoting someone who is considered an authority.
"Very likely, co]o\m Piatt"
“Mow i'th' rain, an' get th' hay when it's fair, co Peter Cash."
COAL-PIT CALE, idiom, equivalent to the proverbial expression
"first come, first served." Wilmslow.
The phrase evidently originated from carts waiting at the coalpit mouth
to be served each in turn. See Cal£ (i).
COAL-RUCK, s. the place where coal is kept.
COARSE, adj. applied to the weather — stormy, rough. L.
COB, 5, (i) a blow, generally on the head. Cob is also a leader.
"This boy will be always cob^^ what is called at school " cock of
the school" Sometimes pronounced Cop. **1 copped hmij^ for
“I beat him," or got ahead of him. L.
(2) a male swan.
(3) or Cobble; a lump of coal.
COI, V. (i) to throw.
Leigh adds, apparently quoting Wilbraham, to lead, to domineer, to
surpass or excel others in any art or skill. Wilbraham, however, only gives
the first meaning, and that as a Lancashire word. Its use in Cheshire is
quite
common.
“Cob it away, its good t' nowt."
(2) to cause to grow quickly, to throw up.
'* The land has cobbed up a deal of grass." L.
(3) to exceed.
“Nay, that cobs aw oi ever heerd." Macclesfield.
COBBST, adj.
Applied to children who are cross, contrary, and fractious beyond
endurance, and sometimes to people called by someone "God Almighty's
iiQaccountables," who behave m so perverse and cross-grained a way as to
1^ beyond aU ordinary rule or calculation. L.
COBNOBBLE, v. to chastise or correct.
This seems to carry out the idea that cob is a blow on the head, nob being
OQe of the slang terms for the head. L.
COB-NUT, s. a large cultivated nut — round like a hazel-nut — not
oval like the Kentish cob-nuts.
COCAM, s, sense, judgment, cunning. L.
COCK, s. a projection of brickwork built out in steps to receive a
piece of timber. Also called a Cock's Breast.
COCK EGG, X. a diminutive egg frequently produced when hens are
^ut to leave off laying.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
COCKER, V. to fondle or spoil a child. Heard very rarely about
Macclesfield.
COCK-EYE, s. one eye smaller than the other, or an eye with a
cast in it.
“He's getten a cock-eye^^ said of a person with any pecnliaritj hi
his eye. Also used adjectively, "he's cock'-tyed.^^
COCKIT, adj. (i) smart, pert, saucy. It has nothing whatever to
do with coquetting.
“Oo's a cockU wench."
(2) in good health.
**Howbistta?" "Pretty ^<v>W."
(3) pleasant, easy. Frodsham.
“Aw've two sons as works i'th' soapery, but they'n getten pret^
cockit jobs. Aw dunna think they nee<rn poo their cooerts off; one^
a sampler. " My informant meant that his sons had easy work to do.
COCK'S BREAST. . See Cock.
COCK-STRIDE, s. the small increase of daylight which we observe
as the days begin to lengthen.
It is said that the days are "getting a cock-stridi longer."
Cocksure, cutj, positive, perfectly certain.
COCK THE LITTLE FINGER, idiom, to get drunk, or rather
to be fond of tippling.
''Jim Goold's gone at last, and what could ye expect; he wur
sadly too fond o' cockin his little finger, ^^
COCKWEB, 5. a cobi«reb.
Cobwebs are in great repute for stopping the bleeding of a cut
CODDIN, /^Jf/. humbugging.
The little son of a Cheshire family, whose members prided themselves on
speaking pure Cheshire, said to his nurse who was making
some grand promises if he would take some medicine, " Ger outy
Maria, tha'st only coddin me as tha alius does; tha'l none tay me
to see th* fair."
CODGERING, part, mending. & Ches.
CODLINGS AND CREAM, s, EpUoHum hirsutum. L.
CODS, 5, testicles.
COGGING, part, cheating or deceiving. L.
COGGLE, adj, easily moved, unstable. Macclesfield. See also
Keggle, Kickle, and Tickle.
COGGLE, V. to move with great ease, to be unsteady. Macclesfield.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 75
COGGLY, adv. easily moved, shaky. Applied to a creaking post or
wheel. Macclesfield.
COILj X. row.
•• What's the coU now ?" i./., " What's the matter ?" L.
COLD BURNT, part, a punishment for any slight transgression of
the laws of decency.
The offender's arm is held op above his head, and cold water (the colder
the better) is poured into the can of his coat. The first feelings of intense
cold
and heat are the same, and carried jto extremes produce the same results.
In Virg:il we have the expression, usta gelu^ burnt with frost, or, as we
s^oidd
say, blackened by frost. L.
COLDING, part, seems to be shivering.
To sit colding by the fire-side is to sit idling by the fire-side. W.
COLLAR, r. (i) to repair thatch along the ridge of the roof.
(a) to harness, or put the collar on, a colt for the first
time. Used also, figuratively, for bringing up
a child to work early.
(3) to colour or blacken, to dirty or smut. Leigh
says from Collar, soot.
“You've collared your face. "
COLLAR-PROUD, adj. restive.
Said of a horse which is unsteady in harness, especially when first starting.
COLLERED, ^r/. soiled by soot. Middlewich.
COLLOGUE, V. to collude. Mow Cop.
COLLOP, s, a slice of meat.
COLLOW or COLLY, v. to blacken, to colour, to make black with
a coal. Macclesfield, but not very often used
COLLYWEST or COLLY WESTON, a^z;. in an opposite direction,
the contrary way.
“Am I going right for such and such a place ?" “ Nao, its
coUyweston,
Leigh explains it also as " used when anything goes wrong;" and
quotes
a saying “ It's aw along with Colly PVeston, Hsdhwell also gives this latter
meaning.
COLOURY, adj. roan or spotted. Said of cows that are not selfcoloured.
In auctioneer's posters one firequently sees a stock of cows described as
"good, coloury cows."
COLT, I. (i) a child's caul. Kelsall.
(2) when meaning a young horse it is pronounced " cowt,"
which see.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
COLOURING, s. extract of anatto, used for colouring cheese or
butter.
It is now generally sold in bottles in a liquid state; bat formerly was in
solid lumps.
COMB, s. (i) hatting term. The raised part of a "helmet" hat,
such as are worn by the police; also Crest.
(2) a brewing vat. Halliwell.
COME, s. the angle at which the digging part of a spade, locally
called the mouthy is attached to the handle.
If the mouth and handle are almost in a line the spade is said to have
'* very little conuf* if they make a considerable angle, the spade has "
a good
deal oicome" Dififerent makes of spades, as regards this peculiarity,
suit
different diggers; a man who naturally puts his spade into the ground very
perpendicularly requires one with a good deal of come; one whose propensity
IS to put his spade in sloping requires less come. For shovelling up soil a
spade with as much come as possible is best, as the workman does not require
to stoop so low. I have described this minutely partly because the term has
always seemed to me very peculiar; and partly because there are, probably, no
better "spade men" in the country than Cheshire men; and they are
naturally a little particular in selecting their tools.
COME, z/. (i) to act the part Rennet does in cheese-making; turning
milk to curds.
“Thou looks so sour, thou'd come a cheese." L.
The curd is said to come when it coagulates; and butter is said to come
when it separates from the milk in churmng.
(2) to sprout as barley does in the process of malting.
The word is used in this sense by Randle Holme
[Academy of Armory ^ Bk. HI., ch. iii., p. 105).
COME, idiom, at an approaching time, or at the recurrence of any
time or season.
“He'll be nine year old come Barnaby."
“Sunday come se*night" is an idiom meaning next Sunday but one.
COME AGAIN, v, to appear after death as a ghost.
I remember a gentleman, who was drowned whilst skating, was popularly
believed to **come again,"
COME-AH-GEN, excL an expression used to the horses when they
are to turn to the left at the end of a plough furrow.
Also used as an adverb. A ploughman will speak of turning, COME-AHGEN, or
ploughing Come-ah-gen (Mobberley). Comeggen (Runcorn,
Norton, and the neighbourhood, also Middlewich).
COME-AT, V, to come near.
“Ony lemme come ai the, and 111 gie it the."
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. ^^
COME BY, V. to obtain.
“I hope you came by it honestly."
"Ow did ye come by such a cough, Missis?*' "Oh, ahr Jim
wur i*th' owd fettle. last wik, an I had for t' fetch him worn every
neet from th* Horse and Jockey, and I geet such a cowd trapesin
iW wet, oiVe done nowt bu cough ever sin."
COMEGGEN. See C6me-ah-gen.
COMBING, part, sprouting.
"The Comeing of Barley, or Malt; is the spritting of it as if it cast
out a
Root" — Academy of Armory^ Bk. III., ch. iii., p. 105. See Malt-Cooms.
COME ITE or COME OUT, excl an expression used to a dog or
other animal, meaning "be quiet"
COME NEARER, eoocU used in cart stables instead of "come up."
L
COME ON, V, to grow, to improve.
COME ROUND, v. to recover.
“He's comin raind wonderful."
COME THY WAYS, exd, a coaxing way of calling an animal; or
even of addressing children.
“Come thy mays in, wench, it's cowd."
COME UP, excl. an expression used to an animal when it is required
to move.
COMFORTABLE, s, a comforter or woollen scarf for the neck.
COMMON SALT, s, salt-making term. The cheapest kind of coarse
salt made; used in alkali works, soap works, glass works, &c
COMN, V. plural of come.
“Are they comn in y^ ?"
COMPANY, s. the bailiffs.
“He's getten company,*' t,e., He's got the bailiffs in the house.
COMPASS, s. quantity, as applied to land.
**What compass of ground have you?" i,e,, “ How many acres
do you farm?
COMPLY, V. to fit, to coincide.
CON, V. can.
"Ay, that aw con.”
CONDUCTING RODS, s. salt-mining term; guards of iron running
from top to bottom of the shafts, for the purpose of staying or
steadying the load in ascending, or the tub or bucket in
descending.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CONEY-GREE, s. an old name for a rabbit warren.
Sir W. Brereton and Randle Holme both use the word, but the latter
q>ells it "coney-greys." A writer in the Cheshire Shea/{SoY.^
1879, p. 332)
sajs that two hundred years ago a small plot of land in the precincts oiF
Chester, now probably covered with houses, was called “ The
dotey'^rees."
I find in the Tithe Apportionment of the township of Norton, in the Parish
of Runcorn, a field called " Conej-^ves," and this gives us a due
to the
derivation of the word, i,e., the diggii^ or burrows ofrabbits. In the West
^ Cheshire dialect it would be pronouncd " coney-greeves,” and this has
been
shortened into cotiey-grees,
CONGLETON BEAR TOWN.
Leigh, in his Ballads and Legtnds of Cheshire^ gives this as a name by
which the town was called. It arose from the following circumstance, as
recorded in the accounts of the Town of Congletcm : — "1622. Aboat this
time arose the sabring of Con^leton selling the Word of God to boy a bear.
Thus: There bemg a new Bible wanted for the use of the chapd, and as
they were not able at that time to |>urchase one, they had laid some money
by for the purpose. In the meantime, the town bear died, and the said
money was given to the bearward to buy another, and the minister was
obliged to mSce fiirther shift, and use the old one a little longer, until
thqr
could purchase one. Some sav they gave to him the money thence arising at
the sale of the old Bible laid by, having bought a new one." — See
Green's
KmUsfordy p. 56.
CONGLETON POINTS, j. tough white leather thongs with tin or
silver tags at each end, for the manufocture of which Congleton
was formerly noted. They were used for listening the dresses
of both men and women, and continued £aishionable until
superseded by buckles and buttons.
CONGLETON SACK, s, a beverage for the brewing of which
Congleton has been famous for centuries. It was introduced at
civic and other feasts in large China bowls.
CONKER-TREE, x. a horse-chestnut tree. Frodsham. See
Conquerors.
CONNA, )
CONNER, > r. can not
CONNOT,)
CONNY,\ V u • u r 1
CANNY, j ^^- ^"^' ^^y- W.
CONQUERORS, 5, a game played with horse-chestnuts threaded
on a string.
It is pUyed by two boys who sit face to <ace astride of a fonn or a loe of
taabcr. If a piece of turf (peat dried for fad) can be procured so much the
- if!:- 1°^ ^^ ^^ *^ chestnut upon the turf, and the other strikes at it
with tus chestnut; and they go on striking alieroatdy tiU one diestnnt splits
the other. The chestnut which remains unhurt is then «« cooqneior of ^e/*
A new diestnut is substituted foe the broken one, and thTgamc goes on.
Whichever chestnut now proves victorious becomes "cooqiSfoc S^ro."
and so on, the victorious chestnut addii^ to its scocTaU the pcerioos
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 79
other toys. See Conkek-trrb.'
CONSARN, excL an imprecation.
“Consctrn ye! for two pins Td knock ye dain."
CONST, V. canst CONST TA, canst thou.
COOERT, s. a coat
COOMy V. came.
COOP or CUP, interj, a call word to cows and horses. Probably
an abbreviation of ''come up."
COOT, s. the water-hen {Galltnula podiceps). The coot is called
Bald CooTy from its white face.
COOTER or COOTHER, s. the coulter of a plough.
COOTHy s. cold (malady), but with some difference which I have
never been quite able to understand. Thus a Cheshire man
doe3 not say he has a caoth^ but alvrays couples cooth and cold.
“I donnot feel so well, I'm so full of cooth and cold,”
COOTH, adj, cold; said of the weather. Delamere.
**li*s cooth:*
COOTHFUL, adj, that which produces cooth or cold. Middle
WICH.
“It's a coothful house."
COP,^. (i) a hedge bank.
"There wur a hee cop and a big dytch."
(2) a blow. See Cob (i).
(3) a small bundle of spun cotton prepared for weaving.
COl^, V. to catch, both in the sense of capturing, and in the semislang sense
of being scolded. Norton.
"I've copped it," said when a boy had been chasing a kitten,
and had, at last, got hold of it.
“You've copt it" You've caught it, or got a scolding.
COpE, V, to cope a ferret is to muzzle it, often by the cruel process
of sewing its lips together.
COp-GOLE, s, described by Randle Holme as part of a yoke.
Acaditny of Armory ^ Bk. III., ch. viiL, p. 335.
COPPET, fl^: pert, saucy. W.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
COPPy, s. a coppice.
Tusser uses the word, though differently spelt.
“Fence copie in,
er heawers be|^"
Five Hundred Paints, — ^April's Abstnct
CORAL PLANT, s. Ribes sanguineum, L.
CORF, 5, a basket to bring coals up from a pit. L.
CORKER, s. (i) a settler, or clencher of an argument
(2) a great lie.
CORKS, 5. cinders. L.
CORN, X. (i) a crystal of salt.
"The brine everywhere gathers into Comes ^ (Nantwicli, 1669).
Philosophical Transactions, voL iv., p. 1065.
(3) for this word, when it means cereal grain, and its
compounds, see Curn.
CORN, V, to crystallize. Salt is said to com during the process of
evaporation.
•'They boyle [the brine] veiy gently till it Come'* (Nantwich, 1669).
Philosophical Transactions, vol. iv., p. 1065.
CORNALEE, s, the dogwood. Spelt Cornowlee in BrereUnis
Travels^ 1634. L. Comus sanguinea,
CORNOK, s, a corn measure containing four bushels. L.
CORRUPTION, s, purulent matter.
COSP, s. (i) the cross piece at the top of a spade handle
(2) frequently used for the head.
A person whose head has been broken is said "to have had his eosp
broken." W.
COSS, V. to curse. L.
COSSES, V. costs.
“It cosses a deal o' brass."
COSTN, V. plural of cost
"They costn a. lot," they are very expensive.
COT, s.
Probably only an abbreviation of C^Z-quean, any man who interferes with
female domestic employment, and particularlv in the kitchen, is so called.
W. The more general word is Moll-cot, which see.
COTE, s, a shed, or shelter. Calf-cote, Pig-cote, Pigeon-cote,
Rabbit-cote, Duck-cote, &c.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 8 1
COTTED, adj. entangled
“CotUd fleeces " are fleeces with felted lumps amongst the wool.
COTTER or COTTER-PIN, j. (i) an iron peg inserted in the
bars of a shutter to secure it.
•• Put th' coUer i*th* shutter."
(2) a blow.
“Gie him a cotter, " Macclesfield.
COTTER, z^. (i) to mend, but rather in a makeshift kind of way.
“It's not worth doin much to; it Ml just have to be cottered up a
bit, and may be it 11 last a few years," was said of a cottage which
was almost too dilapidated to be made habitable.
(2) to hit
"I'll coUer thee iW chops," i.^., "I'll hit you in the
fiwe."
DUKINFIELD, AsHTON-UNDER-LyNB.
(3) to fasten anything with a cotter-pin.
"Nah then, mak haste and cotter them shutters." Macclesfield.
COTTERILL, s, a cloven piece of iron to fasten a wheel on to a
spindle.
COTTER PATCH, s. salt-making term. An iron patch put at one
comer of a salt-pan, and fastened with a cotter, to cover the
UtAng out place.
COTTER-PIN, s. See Cotter (i).
COTTON MESTER, j. the proprietor of a cotton factory.
COUCH, z;. (i) to slack lime.
(2) to " Couch the barley, is to take it out off the wet
and lay it on the Flooer a foot thick, for as large a
compass as the Weeting will contain." — Academy
of Armory J Bk. III., ch. iii., p. 105.
COUCH-GRASS, s, Triticum repens. L. More commonly
Scutch, which see.
COUCHING FLOOR, s. "A Couching Moore, a Floor made of
I*laister of Paris smooth and even which no water will hurt;
^here the wet Barley is laid to come." — Academy of Armory^
^t III., ch. iii., p. 105.
COUNSELLORS, s. the downy seeds of the bur thistle {Carduus
^(inceolatus). Kelsall.
COUNT, z^. (i) to reckon, to have an opinion concerning anything.
(2) to rely on.
*' Oi dumia count mitch on her, oo*s too fond o* gaddin abite for
shute my taste."
G
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
COUNT CAKES, s. three-cornered cakes which have been pecaliar
to Congleton from time immemorial, and are used at the corporation meetings.
A raisin is inserted in each corner of the cake. These raisins are supposed
by some to represent the mayor and two justices who were the governing
body under the charter of James I. By others they are supposed to symbolize
the Trinity.
COUNTERFEITS AND TRINKETS, s. porringers and saucers.
Ray.
COURSED WALL, s, a wall built of squared stones of equal
thickness. See Random.
COVERLID, s. Xof[y,—aieshire Sheaf, vol. L, p. 237.
COW, s. young cabbage plants. Neighbourhood of Lindow '
Common. Not very frequently used.
COW-BOX, s. a square box, wide at the top and narrow at the
bottom, from which cows eat licking,
COW-CHAIN, J. the chain with which cows are tied up in the
shippon; it slides up and down the ratch-stake by means of the
frampath. See Shippon, Ratch-stake, Frampath.
COW-CLAP, s. the faeces of a cow.
COWD, adj, cold.
COWER, z/. (i) to crouch. N. E. Ches.
“Oo were that feart, 00 cowert dain aw of a ruck i*th* comer."
(2) to sit over the fire.
«* C<ywerin' o'er th' fire."
Although cower may be considered a classical word, to be found in most
dictionaries, I have included it on account of its secondary meaning.
COW-GATE, s. the right to pasture a cow on common land.
Many of the farms at Frodsham have so many cow-gates on Frodsham
marsh according to the size of the farm; and the Stockham Charity, of which
I was lately the treasurer, is derived from the rent of a certain number of
cow-gates on the same marsh.
In old Macclesfield documents the public officers are frequently aUowed
so many cow-gcUes on Macclesfield common.
COW-GRASS, s. Trifolium medium,
COW-ITCH, s, the hairy seeds of Rosa canina.
They are so called from the similarity of their effects to those of the true
Cowage or Cow-itch (Mucuna pruriem). Schoolboys sometimes put them
down one another's backs, causing an irritation which is almost tmbearable.
COW-JOBBER, s, a dealer in store cattle.
COW LADY, s, a ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata.
CHESHIRB GLOSSARY. 8$
OW-LICK. See Cawf-lick.
"COWSHAT, i. a wood pigeon.
COW-SHORN or COW SHARK, s. the leavings of the cow. W.
— COWSLOP, s. (i) the cowslip (Primula vtris).
^k (2) the feces of a cow. Macclesfield,
fco^VT, J, (t) a colt.
^1 (3) a novice, who has to pay his footing.
^KOWT, v. to make a new comer pay his footing.
ippeat al
-ollid the first time they
dinaer. Od the Mobbetley Hull Eststc, where I have
for many years, and probably nl other rent dinners, a
formula is practised. After dinner two of the oldest tenants
mvsteriously leave their seats and go out df the room. They presently reliun
bunging with ihem s carving knife, a rolling pin, and a small tea tray. They
then go Ttnind the room looliing the guests over till they find r new tenant;
then begins the fun. They treat hiro aa if he were a colt that i; going to
have his tail docked. They pat him on the back and shont wo-ho 1 wolio!
uiil ask one another " how will he stand it f " Dun yo think hell
bleed
pretty well ?" and so on. After a few of these jokes and by-play, and a
good
deal of laughing, the carving knife and the rolling pin are struck smartly
logeiher behind the man's tack, which represents the docking of his tail,
»ad the ttiy is presented to him, on which he is expected 10 deposit a piece
of money, which Ji afterwards spent in punch. All the new people have to
laa through the ordeal until there are no more colls.
ICOWTER, s. the coulter of a plough.
■ COW-TIE, s. a rope with which the legs of a kicking cow are lied
yiitn she is milked.
A uw-tit is generally made of horsehair; it has a loop at one end and
JWxidtn button ai the other. It is passed round one thigh, just above the
■wit, and the two ends are twisted once or twice; the ends ore then
passed
'^ud lEie other thigh, and the button put through the loop to fasten it.
I COWTS-FOOT, i. the plant Tuuilago Farfara.
\ COW-WHISKET, s. a flat, oval basket, made of cleft ash, used for
'he iame purpose as the cow-box.
I '^Y.i.useiby Brereton in his "Travels" for detxjy, 1633, L.
I '^^B or CRAB-APPLE, i. (r) Pyrus Malm.
n hedges and thickets. The inhabitosli
,--■-.; luiuuiuu iiic in Cheshire in .. „ . ..._
•MobUaley have, from time immemorial, Ijeen called " Mobberley
Crabs;"
**^'beie used to be a custom in that parish of pelting the person with crah.
JH™ on "Wakes Sunday." The custom was quite obsolete before my
^> hat I tietieveit was carried out io the present century. There are two
■"w in Mobberley called "Crab-tree Lands." There is also
a kind of small
J™-»llil tpple, tolerably sweet, and quite fit for culinary uie, which is
•"•^owitnbApplc.
(z) an iron trivet to put over the fire.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CRABBED, adj. cross.
“Oo's a crabbed owd thing."
CRAB VARJIS, s. verjuice made from crab apples, and used fot^
sprains. Warford, Knutsford, Bucklow Hill.
CRACK, s, (i) a talk, a gossip.
“AwVe come to have a crcuk wi* ye."
(2) a blow.
“If tha doesna mak a less nize, I'll gie the sich a crack,'*''
CRACK A NUT, idiom, to break a person's head. N. E. Ches,
CRACKED, part, half-witted.
CRACK ON, V. to boast of.
“He*s nowt to ^af>& wf."
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CRADDANT or CRADDY, s. a difficult feat to be imitated.
It is a favourite amusement for boys at school to set each other craddants;
that is, to do something hazardous, which all the others are dared to follow,
such as climbing up a tree and then dropping to the ground from some
rather high branch. Wilbraham explains Cradant as *'a coward," and
says that " to set cradants, amongst boys, is to do something hazardous,
to
take any desperate leap, which cradants dare not undertake after jou." I
certainly do not so understand it, for I have, over and over again, joined in
the pastime, and have asked, and been asked to ''set me a craddant,"
the craddant evidently meaning the daring feat itself, and not the person who
was to attempt its performance. Ray gives Crass ant as a Cheshire word,
but some mistake is to be apprehended, and Wilbraham expresses himself
doubtiiilly as to the word. About Macclesfield it is generally C RODDY.
CRADDANTLY, adv. cowardly. Wilbraham (who spells it
Cradantly).
Here, also, it seems to me that the word does not imply that the person
who tries to follow a craddant is cowardly, but that the feat itself causes
nervous sensations. Wilbraham, '* on the sole authority of Ray," also
gives
Crass ANTLY. Halliwell also gives Crassantly, but without any reference
to an author. See Crassantly.
CRADLEDOCEL See Cheadle-Dock.
CRAMBERRIES, s, Vaccinium Oxycoccos {Phitologist, i. 702).
The more general pronunciation is Cranberry.
CRAMBLE, V. to hobble. Macclesfield.
CRAMBLY, adj, lame. L.
CRAMPIT, s. a crumpet
CRAMPLED, part, stiff in the joints. L.
CRANK, s. a blow. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 85
CRANNY, adj, pleasant, agreeable, or praiseworthy \ a cranny lad.
WiLBRAHAM (on the authority of Bailey).
Ray explains " a cranny lad " as "a jovial, brisk, lusty
lad."
CRAP, 5, a crop. Mow Cop.
CRAP, V, to crop. Mow Cop.
CRAPUSSING, adv, in a weak, creeping manner.
A horse or cow that walks as if its feet were tender is said to " go
very
cmpusHng,*^
“An dunna know what to mak o* ahr Maria, 00 goes crapmsing
abaht th* haise as though 00 hadna th* use of her limbs."
CRASH, J. unripe fruit
"Dunnot ate that crash.''
CRASSANTLY, adj, as a crassantly lad, a coward. Ray.
CRATCH, s. a hay rack.
CRATCHERN CAKES, s. cakes made of flour and the cratchems
of lardy usually eaten at tea time. Also called Scratchern
Cakes. See Cratcherns.
CRATCHERNS or CRATCHINGS, s.
(i) the dried up bits that remain after the rendering of
lard, used for making cratchem cakes.
(2) graves, from a chandler's refuse fat. L.
CRAW, J. a bird's crop. Also used metaphorically of a person's
stomach.
“Poor chap! one can see he's getten newt in his craw,''
CREDUSSING, adj. humbly mean. L.
CREECH Y, adj. (i) weak, in bad repair.
(2) rather poorly.
CREELj X. the silver-spangled Hamburg fowl. A grey mottled
Und of Dorking fowl is known as Cuckoo Creel.
CREEM, v. the same as teem, to pour; also to put slily into one's
^d. W. Ray gives the same explanation.
CREEP or CREEP EDGE, x. a creeping fellow.
An area sneak would be called a “ creep edge," L.
CREEPING JACK, s, the plant Sedum acre,
CREEPIT, v. \ perfect tense and participle of the verb, to
^REEPITING, part. \ creep. L.
CREST, 5. hatting term. See Comb.
\.t.\
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CREWDLING, s. a dull, stupid person, a slow mover. W.
CREW, s. a pen to shut fowls in. Delamere.
“A duck-crew" " A hea-crew"
CREWE, V. to shut up fowls. W.
CRIB, s. a small cote to put young calves in.
CRICKET, s. a low stool.
CRILL, s. chill, thrill. Mow Cop.
"AwofarnV/."
CRIMBLE, V. (i) to crumble.
(2) to sneak out of an engagement. L.
CRIMBLY, adj. crumbly.
“They liken a crimbly cheese i* Manchester."
CRINELLE, v> to wrinkle, to shrivel up.
'* When she had tane the mantle,
And cast it her about,
Upp att her great toe
It began to crinkle and crowt:
Shee said, bowe downe, mantle,
And shame me not for nought."
"The Boy and the Mantle," Percy's Reliques^
vol. iii. 46, ed. v.
CRINKLY, <idj, having an uneven surface through being crumpled
up.
CRISP, V, the first process of freezing.
“The water*s crisping.^*
CRITS, s. small potatoes. L.
CRODDY. See Craddant.
CROFT, s. a small field.
CROM, V. to cram.
CROM-FULL, adj. quite full— full to repletion.
CRONY, 5. a good friend.
CROODLE, V. (i) to snuggle, as a young animal snuggles against
its mother.
“Th* pratty little dear! look how it croodles up agen it mammy."
(2) to crouch down.
CROODLED or CROODLED UP, part, curled up snugly, as a
cat curls herself round when sleeping.
CHESmRE GLOSSARY. 87
CROOKS, s. the main timbers of an old black and white house.
They were curved and were set up in the gable ends forming a gothic
arch from the ground to the roof. The seconda^ timbers were all supported
by them.
CROOKT, adj. crooked.
CROP or CROP-WOOD, s. the branches of a felled tree.
CROP, z^. (i) to yield a crop.
Certain varieties of plants are grown because *' they crop welL"
(2) to cut the branches from a felled tree.
(3) perfect tense of creep; also Crope.
CROP-HIDE, s. tanning term; a hide tanned whole without having
the head and belly part cut off.
CROPPEN, V, plur. of crop (to yield a crop).
*• They croppen well"
CROPPEN, part crept
*' He were croppen into th' stackyort to heide hissel."
CROPPEN UP, idiom, occurred to mind, come to light Knutsford,
CROPPER, s. that which bears a crop.
*' Magnum Bonums (potatoes) are rare croppers,*^
CROSE, jr. hatting term. The edges of a hat-body when laid flat
CROSS BAR; s.
Randle Holme describes the parts of a Yklve (which see) as ''The Barr, or
Cross Bar. The Tangs or Forks. The Socket, for the Stail to go in. The
Staile. Te Kaspe, is the top part on which the man holds." — Academy of
jirmctry, Bk, III., ch. viii., p. 337.
>ngs ot *
which see.
The Cross Bar seems to nave been the cross piece of iron to which the
prongs of the potato fork or yelve are fixed. Kaspe is now called Cosp,
CROSS-CUT, z^. (i) to cut the stem of a tree into lengths with a
cross-cut saw.
(2) cutting out turnips with a hoe so as to leave
them in tufts ready for a final thinning to
single plants. Minshull Vernon.
CROSS-NOTED, part
When it is so arranged that some cows in a stock shall calve in the spring
or summer, and others in the autumn or winter, so as to ensure a supply of
milk all the year round, they are said to be cross-noted,
CROSS-WIND, V. to warp.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CROW, s, (i) a rook or crow. The distinction of species is not
recognised.
(2) an iron bracket fixed over the kitchen fire.
The crow works in sockets, and can be brought over the fire for use, or
pushed back into the chimney when not want^. The use of it is to hang
large, heav^ pots over the fire. They can thus be pushed over the fire or
drawn ofi" without the exertion of lifting them. The pans, of course,
are not
ordinary saucepans, but have a handle over the top, and usually stand upon
three feet.
CROW FOOT, s. the various species of buttercup, principally
Ranuficulus repens*
CROWNER or CRUNNER, s. a coroner.
CROW NET, s, a net formerly used for catching crows and rooks.
The following interesting extract is copied from Col. Leigh's Glasstury*
Kinderton is a township in Cheshire near Middlewich. " At the Klinderton
Church Leet, 39 Elizabeth, Villa de Hunsterton was presented and fined
los. 9d. in rate, because the crow-net ' non posita et usitata fuit, in
villa.' "
There is a similar presentment of Newbold Astbury at a court 40 Elizabeth.
The following is '* the act (10 Henry VIII.) made to destroy choughs, crowes,
and rookes, Siat do daily breed and increase throughout mis realme; which
rookes, crowes, and choughs doo yearlie destroy, devoure and consume a
wonderfuU and marvellous great quantity of come and grain, as also at the
ripening and kemelling of the same, and over that a marvellous destructioa
and decaie of the covertures of thatched houses, bams, ricks, stacks, &c.
Enacted, that in every parish, township, hamlet, borough, or village,
whereever is at least ten households inhabited, the tenants and inhabitants
thereof
shaU before the Feast of St. Michael, at their own proper costs provide,
make, or cause to made one tut^ commonly called a net to take choughs,
crowes, and rookes, with all things requisite as belonging to the same, and
the said net so made, shall keepe, preserve, and renewe as often as shall
neede; and with and after a sharpe made with chaffe or anything meete for the
purpose shaU laie or cause to be laid, at such time or times in the year as
is
convenient for the destruction of such choughs, &c., upon paine to
forfeite
Xs. to be levied of the inhabitants of the parish, &c. The net to be
produced once a yeare before the Steward of the Court Baron. Anv &rmer
or owner occupying any manors, lands, &c., is to pay for every six old
crowes,
rookes, or choughs a penie, for every three old a halfpenny."
How crows were to be caught with the nets is not explained. Times are
changed, and instead of the destruction of crows being enforced by law, we
have a Wild Birds Preservation Act now, which makes it penal to kill crows,
at any rate during the breeding season.
CROW ORCHARD, s. a rookery. L.
CROW- ROAD, 5. the straight road from one place to another; as
the crow flies.
CROWS, s. hatting term. Rejected work given back to the workpeople.
CROZZEL, s. a cinder.
"Au just put th' poi i*th* oon afore au went aht, an* whenau
coom back it were aw burnt to a crozulJ”
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
SUD-BREAKER, s. an implement for breaking curd; also called
a dairymaid.
JRUDDLE, V. to curdle.
.UD-KNIFE, i. 2 large knife, like a carving knife, but blunt, used
for cutting curd into square blocks to allow the whey to run out,
;UD-MILL, s. a machine for breaking the pressed curd into
small pieces preparatory to salting it and finally putting it into
the vats.
It stands upon foui legs, and consists of a wooden hopper without a
bottom. Iron pins are fited on each side of the botlom aperture, and a
wooden roller, also carrying rows cf iron pin*, revolves between them. The
lollCT is tomcd by a handie. The curd put into the hopper is thus ground
up, and fialls into a vessel Iwlow.
CRUEL or CREWELL, s. is still in use for worsted. " To work
b crewell," is to work in worsted. W. The word, however, is
scarcely local.
CRDM or CRUME, /. salt-making term; the refuse of charred
rood which was cast out of the old salt-houses.
It is refened to in the burgess kws of Northwych (where we lind it gives
iIk name to "Crura HQl") as "The enimi, or Wych house
muck." L.
Obsotete, I think.
CRUMMY, adj. fat, well filled out.
CRUMPSY, adj. ill-tempered, cross. Middlewich, Macclesfield.
“Fratehetty and crumps " is saiJ of a tiresome, cross child.
CRDS (pL CRUSSES), s. crust.
CRUTCH, J. a leg. L,
CRYIN, ». plur. of cry.
“They cryen their cyne eawt,"
CRY NOTCH, V. "to Cty MU/iii," is for a man to advertise that
he will not be answerable for debts incurred by his wife, L.
CUCKE STOOLS, i. belong to old Cheshire of the past.
Formerly every pariah had its Ducking Steal or Cuctit Stoel — a chair
pliced on a lever, on which a scoM was fastened and ducked over and
"tt again, till she was quiet. Most parishes had a stool of this sort, a
Kold'i bridle, and slocks, There are pits in Cheshire to this day called
“Ctui Slea pits." L. I can well rememliet that when I was a boy a
certain
ptl m Knutsford Heath (now drained) was called " The DuckinE Pi'."
A street in Macclesfield is called Cuclcstool Pit Hill, at the botlom of
•bch Is the river Bollin, where the scolds where ducked. The chair itself
•S I believe pmcived in the Town Hall.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CUCKLE, V. to cackle.
A hen is said to cuchU when she tells us she has laid an egg.
CUCKOO CREEL. See Crekl.
CUCKOO-FLOWER, s. Cardamine praUnsis. Mid-Ches. Am
mofu nemoroscu Bbbston.
CUCKOO-LAMBS, s. late-bom lambs, not supposed to Aiive. L.
CUCKOO MEAT, s. the wood-sorrel, Oxalis Acdosella.
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CUCKOO OATS, s. oats sown after the cuckoo comes,— too late,
as a rule, to do very well.
CUCKOO'S BREAD AND CHEESE, s. the wood-soxieL L
Oxalis Acitoselia* *
CUCKOO'S CAP, s. Aconitum Napelius and other garden species
of monkshood.
CUCKOO-SPIT, s. the frothy matter seen on the leaves and stons
of many plants m early simimer, exuded by the insect Cicada
Spumaria,
CU-IN, X. a periwinkle (shellfish).
CULLS, X. the worst sheep picked out or culled from a flock.
CULTER, s. the coulter of a plough is so-called by Randle Hohne
{Academy of Armory^ BL IIL, ch. viii., p. 333). He elsewhere
spells it Culture.
CUMBERLIN, s. a troublesome fellow, one that cumbers the earth,
and does no good. L.
**Thah*st getten bad luck top cczkI, thak cumheriinj^ J. C.
Clouoh.
CUNLIFF, s. one of the divisions in which a brick kiln is built up.
CUNNI-THUM, aJv.
To shoot A nuirble cwmnii.kmwt}' i$ to place it in the middle of the bent
foretiager instead of poising it at the tip of the finger. It is considered a
childish or etfeminate war of playing marbles; and the marble is not
discharged xiiih anything like the proper force.
CUR See Coop.
CUR. ^. a gooA sharp watchdog. The word does not refer, in the
least, to low bnx>ding.
*' He*s a gvx>d shar^^ .Ttr.” or *'a gvvxi .Ti^" ts said of any dog
that
barks at strangers and guaivls his cctastei^s prv^c^rrcj.
CURU ^\ hatting temv The ed^ of a hat brim which tams over.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 9I
CURLED MINT, s. Mentha crispa.
A kind of mint with frilled edges to the leaves, not at all infrequent in
Cheshire gardens. It is used for the same purpose as pea-mint, and is
considered a superior kind.
CXJE.N, s. corn*
OXJEN-ARK, s. a chest in a stable, in which com is kept
CXJRNCRAKE, s. the landrail Ortygometra Crex.
OURN-FLOWER, 5. Lychnis Githago.
CURNING, part, collecting com.
When I was a boy it was a custom for the poor people to go cuming,
Thty went to idl the farmhouses begging for a small donation of wheat, a few
weeks before Christmas. Generally a small quantity was given — ^perhaps a
pint or a quart — which they put in a bag carried for the purpose. When
tbey had collected as much as they could, they took it to the mill and had it
groond into flour. Probably the custom still exists in out-of-the-way places;
oat it is fast becoming obsolete.
CURRAKE, s. a cow-rake; a heavy blunt-edged hoe, used for
scraping the dung from a shippon groop. See Groop.
CURRANBINE, s, the garden columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris.
MOBBBRLEY.
CURST, adj. bad tempered. L., who illustrates it by an old
Cheshire proverb, **Curst caws have short horns.'* The proverb,
however, occurs in Herbert's collection.
CUSH, s. a polled cow.
CUSTHUT, s. custard.
CUT, 5. (i) the breadth of a truss in a stack of hay. Norton.
A Cheshire farmer generally estimates the weight of a stack by measuring
how many trusses it will make— the truss being of uniform length, width, and
weight; each set of trusses across the stack being called a cui,
'* I did na reckon the stack above twenty-fower or twenty- five
ton. There'd be twelve cu^s Vth* stack, an' about two ton in each
(2) a canaL
"Oi were walkin* along th* r«/-soide to-neet, and au'd loiked
fort' fell in."
In the Bridgewater Company's Acts the canal is usually spoken of as a cu/,
(3) a stroke with a whip.
^T, V, (i) to castrate.
(2) to run away.
(3) to strike with a whip.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
CUTE, cutj. sharp, clever, intelligent
CUTLINS, s. oatmeal. L.
CUT NECK, excl, used in an old harvest custom.
The late Captain V, A. King wrote to me from Wirrall : "Th«e wa« a
custom here when all the com was cut upon a farm, but not gathered into
the bam, the labourers used to have a supper, and alter this go out in the
open air and shout at the very top of their voices Cut tuck^ Cut tuck!” See
Cutting the Neck.
CUT ONE'S LUCKY, I .,.
CUT ONE'S STICK, | '^''^^' "^"^^"^ ^^^^
These expressions savour, perhaps, more of imported slang than of
provincial dialect.
CUTS, s. (i) a variety of oats.
(2) lots.
To draw cuts is to draw lots, or perhaps it is more generally said to
"have cuts,"
"Let's have a</j."
CUTTINGS, s. the furrows in the comers of fields which do not run
from one end of the field to the other.
CUTTING THE NECK, a harvest custom practised about Runcorn, Frodsham, Helsbv,
&c
I have never seen this custom, but it has been thus described to me : When
the reapers are just about finishing cutting a field of wheat they leave a
small
piece standing. They then tie the heads together with a piece of ribbon^ and
standing at some distance, they throw their sickles at it. The one who
severs * * the neck " receives a prize, a shilling or two, given by the
master.
Some very interesting notices of the same custom under various forms, and in
widely distant counties, may be found in Notes and Queries at the following
references : 4th S. xii. p. 491; 5th S. vi. p. 286; ix. p. 306; and x. pp.
51,
359; and Halliwell describes a Herefordshire custom under the title “ Crying
the Mare," which is very similar. It would appear from a perusal of
these
articles that our word " neck " has really nothing to do with the
neck of the
sheaf tied with ribbon, but that it is a Norse word simply signifying "a
sheaf of com."
CUYP, V, (pronounced in a peculiar way, something like " ceighp,"
the eigh being quickly given as in "weight") to sulk, andshow that
you are sulking; to cry obstinately and causelessly,but in a subdued way,
like bleeding inwardly. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 93
D.
DAB, 5. (i) a slight blow with the back of the hand, or at any rate
not with the closed fist.
(2) a small quantity.
“It just wants a dab o' mortar."
(3) an untidy, shiftless woman. Macclesfield.
(4) a proficient
DAB, adj, (1) proficient, expert.
A man who is clever at anv particular work is said to be ''a dab hand,"
often abbreviated into "a dait when the word becomes a substantive.
(2) slight, irregular, out of course.
"A dab wash " is a small wash between the regular washing days.
DAB, V, (i) to give a slight blow.
(2) to do anything in a slight, superficial manner. Maccles
field.
(3) to set things down carelessly, not in their right place.
Macclesfield.
I^ABBLY, adj, wet Mow Cop.
“Dabbly weather." See Drabbly.
J^AB CHICK, 5. a water hen. In Cheshire, " waiter hen.'* L.
I have not met with the name in Cheshire, and I much suspect that Leigh
'cally meant that "waiter hen " was the vernacular for the
dabchick. At the
same time Miss Jackson (Shropshire Word Book) gives dab-chick for the
neigh^aring county.
IJAB-HAND, s. a skilled workman, an adept.
"Dab " is here really an adjective (see Dab), but it is seldom
separated
^m the word *'hand," and may be taken as a compound substantive.
^ACITY, s, intelligence, quickness; an abbreviation of audacity. W.
Saddle, v. to walk with short steps. W.
^ADE, v. to lead children beginning to walk.
In common use about Macclesfield, though Wilbraham in his Glossary
*ays "not common."
^ADING-STRINGS, s. leading-strings. Macclesfield.
^AFFOCK, j. a woman's dress that is too short. L.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
DAFFYDOWNDILLY, s, the daffodil, Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus.
Daffadandilly (Mow Cop).
DAG, V. to wet the feet or petticoats. Macclesfield. See Deg.
DAHN or DAIN, /r(^. down; almost pronounced "dine."
DAIN, adj, dejected,
DAINFAW, s. a fall of rain, snow, or hail.
"We mun have some sort of a datn/env afore it's any warmer.”
DAIN TH' BONK, idiom, down the bank— a metaphor for
growing old and infirm; also for becoming poorer.
DAIRYMAID, s. an implement used in cheese-making.
It consists of a wire sieve, the meshes of which are about an inch and a
half long by half an inch wide, a long handle being fixed to the middle
of the sieve. Its use is to cut the newly-formed curd in the cheesetub into
small pieces, in order that it may settle and be separated from the
whey. Some care is required in using it, and at first it is moved up and down
very slowly, lest the cream should be knocked out of the curd, as it would
beby rough usage.
DAISY-CUTTER, s, a horse which throws its feet forward in
trotting instead of lifting them well from the ground.
It is said that such a horse will "kick a sixpence afore it.”— Cheshire
Sheaf i vpL i., p. 237.
DAKER HEN, s, the corncrake. L. Ortygometra Crex.
DAL, excl, an imprecation; a euphuism for "damn."
DALLING, adj\ " dalling weather," in harvest, means a perpetual
change from wet to dry, and vice versa^ which prevents progress.
L.
This is really a participle formed from the verb " to dally.”
DALLY, s, delay; also Dilly-dally, which see.
DALLY, V. to delay, to loiter.
“Dunna thee dcUly uppo* th* road.”
DAMAGED, /jr/. bewitched.
Some forty years ago, as I am informed by a correspondent, there lived in
a small cottage on Mottram Common an old man named William Ford. His
wife was hypochondriacal, and Billy, as he was called, firmly believed she
had been damaged by an old woman 'at Macclesfield named Earlam. She
wore a charm sewed up in her stays as an antidote.
DAMASIS, s. damsons. Mow Cop.
DAMSEL, s. a damson, Prunus damascena.
This plum is much grown in Cheshire, and is quite different from the
rough-tasted fruit sold under the name of damson in London. The damsonblossom
is quite a feature in Cheshire scenery in early spring. Most of the
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 95
£mii labourera have a large garden, and great numbers of them have also an
acre or two of land, and damsons are largely cultivated both in the
gardengroiund and in the hedges of the small fields. In spring time the
cottages
nestUng in little forests of the white-blossomed trees have a charmmg
appearance.
DANDER, J. spirit, temper.
*' I got his dander up " means I pat him out of temper.
DANDER, z/. (i) to wander about W. Also Donder. L.
(2) to talk in a rambling, incoherent, silly sort of way.
An old man getting into his dotage is sometimes said to be a dandering
old fellow.
DANDY, s. a bantam.
The sexes are specified as dandy -cof^ and dandy -\ie.VL,
DANG, V. to throw things about violently and carelessly. Macclesfield.
'' Oi'm firoitened to deeath at ahr Joe; when he*s in his tantrums
hell dang the things abait till there is ner a wull cheer nor table
i'th* place."
DANG or DANG IT, excL a mild imprecation; a substitution or
euphemism for " damn.'' About Middlewich it takes the form
of Deng.
DANGERLY, adv. possibly, by chance. W.
DANGWALLET, j. a spendthrift W.
Wilbraham*s words (1826 edition) are : ''Dang, v, to throw carelessly or
violently; hence the term DangiualUt for a spendthrift;" by which I
presume
he means that DangwalUt is a Cheshire word, though he does not actually
include it in his Glossary,
DANTER, 5, a name used in Macclesfield and Congleton for the
female superintendent of a winding room in a silk-mill.
Her work is to put the "slips on the swifts." There is generally
one
danUr to each room, but if the room is very large there may be two danters.
Perhaps this word is only a form of Tenter. See Hay-tenters.
DARK, adj, (i) doubtful, unknown.
"Have you got such a farm?" “ No, it is dark at present." L.
(2) blind.
DARN or DARN YE, excL an imprecation.
DARNAK, s. a hedger's glove. L.
DARNEL) s. the grass Lolium temulentum, a common weed amongst
corn, and popularly supposed to be degenerated wheat.
DARTER, s. daughter; not very commonly used.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
DASH-BOARDS, s. additional boards used for raising the sides
a cart, so as to allow a larger load of loose materials, such
lime, turnips, &c., to be carried. Macclesfikld.
DATELESS, adj. insensible.
Leigh gives an illustration from evidence given before the Gimnd J1117
the Chester Assizes, " Father knocked mother down dattless,” It is a
common expression in police-courts.
DAUB, )
DOAB, I s. day and chopped straw, used for plastering.
DOWB,J
It is said that it was made by placing the clay and straw npon a fiunn
and then treading it with horses mitil it was thoroughly softened and mixed
DAUB \
DOAb' L ^' (') *^ plaster with clay, as was formerly done in the 6L
DOWB I black and white houses.
(2) to smear or dirty.
DAUBER, DOABER, or DOWBER, s. a plasterer in clay,
houses were built of " Raddle and Daub."
Altrincham and Over, though now somewhat large and populooi pi
used each to elect a mayor when they were mere country villages,
were always spoken of as the two smaUest corporations in Englano, and tUm^
mayors were frequently men in not very elevated sodal positions. Hence
is a very common saying that
“The Mayor of Altrincham and the Mayor of Over,
The one is a thatcher, the other a dauber,"
Dawbtr is a Cheshire surname, probably derived from the occupation.
DAUTCH. See Patch and Dautch.
DAVELY, adj, lonely. Deavely (Wilderspool). Wilbraham
gives Deafly.
**It'8 a davely road."
DAY PIT, s. an old marling term. Apparently a marl pit opene<K
on the side of a hill.
“The expenses of marling vary greatly, according to situation and otheC
circumstances. If the marl lies under high ground, so that a day pit
be made, it may be procured at a comparatively small expense; but from ther
general flatness of tne surface, few opportunities of this nature
occur."—
Holland's General View of the Apiculture of Cheshire (1S08), p. 22a.
DAY SHAFT, s. salt-mining term; the main or working shaft of a mine.
DAZE, V. to dazzle, to stun; generally used in the passive voice*
“He wur dazed:'
DEAD HORSE WORK, idiom, said when a man has to pay away,
at once, any money he makes by his work; it being all forestalled. W. Ches.
Ray (1670) has the proverb, "To iL'ork for a dead korse^^* i.e., to work
out an old debt, without hope of a future reward.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 97
DEADLY, adv. very. L.
DEAFLY. See Davely.
DEATH-PINCH, s. a discolouration of the skin, proceeding from a
diseased state of the blood; popularly supposed to portend
death. Macclesfield.
DEAVE, V. to deafen, or stun by noise. W.
DEAVELY. See Davely.
DECENT, adj. good, pleasant, upright
“He's the dectntest mon i* th* county."
DECK,».
"Ill deck it," U., " 111 knock off work, 111 give up what I am
doing." U
DECK 0' CARDS, s. a, pack of cards. Macclesfield.
DEE, s. pron. of day. W. Ches.
D££, V. to die.
Df^'H>-(^)^^^
(2) metaphorically used for anything not fully developed, as a nut without a
kernel, a head of
wheat without any com in it.
“He doesna crack many dca/ nuts " is a proverbial expression to describe
a person or animal that is fat and well-to-do.
DEET, z;. (i) to dirty. Bredbury.
(2) part of the verb to do.
“Much good deei you," much good do it {i,e,y may it do) you. An exact
translation of the Italian, Buon pro vifaccia. W.
DEET, part, dirtied. Wilderspool, Wilmslow.
“Yo*n sent him wom <ieet up to th* een."
DEETCH, s. a ditch. (Delamere, Middlewich.) Dytch
(Mobberley).
DEG, V, to sprinkle with water.
■Digging plants is watering them.
DEGGIN CAN, s. a watering can.
DELF, 5. a stone quarry.
DELVE, V. to dig.
DEM, V. to dam water.
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY.
DEMATH, s. a daymath^ or a day's mowing for one man.
Generally used for a statute acre, but erroneously so, for it is pn
one-half of a Cheshire acre, which is to the statute acre in Uie proportion
to 3^, consequently the Dematk bears that of 32 to 30^, to the statute
W.
DEMENTED, part, crazed, correctly out of one's mind. L,
Scarcely provincial, but of frequent use amongst the country people.
“He*s cleean demented J*^
DENG. See Dang.
DENIAL, X. detriment, hindrance. Macclesfield.
DENSIN, part, dancing (Delamere). DONSIN (Altrinchah ).
adj. deep, deeper, merely another form. L.
DEPE,
DEPYAR,
I am puzzled to understand this entry, unless it is given as a form fP
spelling in some old Cheshire author or MS.; but it is not so stated.
DESARVE, v. deserve; plural DESARVEN.
'*We desarven aw we*n ^etten" is frequently said when a job has not
turned out quite so remunerative as the labourers anticipated.
DESPRIT, adv. very, extremely.
“He's desprU bad," 1.*., he's very iU.
“He's a dtspnt good fellow."
DEVIL'S BEDSTEAD, 5. the four of clubs. Macclesfield.
This card is considered unlucky. See Miss Jackson's Shropshire WordBook.
DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE, s. the caterpillar of the tiger-moth,
Arctia Caja.
DEVIUS NETTLE, s. Achillea Millefolium. Knutsford.
Children draw the leaves across their faces, which leaves a tingling
sensation.
DEVIUS PARSLEY, s. Anthriscus sylvestris.
DEVIUS SNUFF-BOX, s. the puffball. Lycoperdon.
When ripe it gives off clouds of brown dust if it be squeesed.
DEW, s. used for rain. W.
DEW-BLOWN, part, said of cows which are swelled from eating
green clover. L. See Risen on.
DEW-MUG, s. a large black earthenware pan-mug. L.
DIBBIN-STICK, s. a stick used for planting cabbages, &:c, or
making holes for sowing seed. Macclesfield. The same as
Setting-stick,
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CHESHIRE GLOSSARY. 99
DICK'S HAT-BAND, s. "As fine as DicJ^s hat-band^
Another Tersion is "As queer as Dick*s hat-band^ as went nine times
reannd, and woiildna tee (f.^., tie) at last." L.
DICKY, "AU duky with him," i.e., it's aU up with him. L.
A more common expression, however, is "its aw dicky-n-'p wi* him.'*
DICKY DAISY, s. Bdlis permnis^ and extended amongst children
to almost any wild flowers.
Children will speak of gathering flowers as "^^etting dicky daisies.”
The Ox-eye Daisy, Chrysanthtmum Letuanthimum^ is called Large Dicky
Daisy,
DIDDER. See Dither.
DIDDY, s. the female breast; also the milk contained therein.
To give a child the diddy is to give it the breast. Norton, Halton.
DIDNT OUGHT, v. ought not.
DIDS, X. the teats of an animal
DIG, J. a duck. W. Ches.
DIG-MEAT, s. duckweed. Lemna. W. Ches.
DIGHT, z^. (i) to dress. W.
(2) a form probably of to dirt L.
(3) ^o P^t out a candle; also Dout.
DILLS, 5. vetches.
“Dills and wuts*' are often sown to be cut as green meat for horses. L.
DILLY-DALLY, v, to put off, to delay, to hesitate; used chiefly as
a participle. Dilly-dallying means in hesitancy.
DIN, X. (i) noise of any kind.
(2) perpetual talking.
“Howd thi din,*'
DINGj/w/. name, short for Enoch. Wilmslow.
^ING, v, (i) to surpass or get the better of a person. W.
(2) to dash down with violence. Macclesfield.
DING-DONG, adv. immediately, there and then, post-haste, at full
speed.
“As soon as ever he heered of it, he started off ding-donq,'*
DINGE, 5, an indentation.
DIP, s, sweet sauce eaten with pudding. If flavoured with brandy
it is called Brandy-dip.
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