Chapter III: Introduction (1)

The following notes may perhaps serve to give some slight indication as to pronunciation, &c., but without the aid of Glossic it is impossible accurately to reproduce the actual sounds.

* * * * *

_A_ is usually lengthened out or broadened in some way or other.

Thus in _hazon_ and _haslet_ it would be pronounced somewhat as in _baa_, this being no doubt what the _Monthly Magazine_ means by saying that '_a_ is always pronounced as _r_.'

When _a_ is immediately followed by _r_, as in _ha'sh_, harsh, and _paa'son_, parson, the result is that the _r_ appears to be altogether dropped out of the word.

_Aw_ final always becomes _aa_, as _laa_, law, _draa_, draw, _thaa_, thaw.

In _saace_, sauce, _au_ becomes _aa_.

_A_ is also broadened into _eä_.

Thus _garden_, _gate_, and _name_ become _geärden_, _geät_, and _neäme_.

These examples may, however, be also pronounced in other ways, even in the same sentence, as _garne_, _yăt_, and _naayme_, or often _ne-um_.

_A_ is often softened in various ways.

Thus, _thrash_ becomes _draish_, and _wash_, _waish_ or _weish_.

It is often changed to _o_, as _zot_, sat, _ronk_, rank.

Also to _e_, as _piller_, pillar, _refter_, rafter, _pert_, part.

In _vur_, far, the sound is _u_ rather than _e_.

The North Wilts version of the _Song of Solomon_ gives frequent examples of _oi_ for _ai_, as _choir_, chair, _foir_, fair, _moyden_, maiden; but this is probably an imported letter-change, _chayer_ or _chai-yer_, for instance, being nearer the true sound.

* * * * *

_E_ is often broadened into _aa_ or _aay_.

Thus _they_ gives us _thaay_, and _break_, _braayke_.

In _marchant_, merchant, and _zartin_, certain, the sound given is as in _tar_.

_Ei_ takes the sound of _a_ in _fate_, as _desave_, deceive.

_Left_, _smell_, and _kettle_ become _lift_, _smill_, and _kiddle_.

In South Wilts _ĕ_ in such words as _egg_ or _leg_ becomes _a_ or _ai_, giving us _aig_ and _laig_ or _lăg_. Thus a Heytesbury Rosalind would render--

'O Jupiter, how weary are my legs!'

by 'O-my-poor-vit'n-laigs!' uttered all in one gasp. In N. Wilts the _e_ in these words is not perceptibly so altered.

The _ĕ_ in such words as _linnet_ usually takes the _u_ sound, giving us _linnut_. In _yes_ it is lengthened out into _eece_ in S. Wilts, and in N. Wilts into _cez_.

Long _e_ or _ee_ is shortened into _i_, as _ship_, sheep, _kippur_, keeper, _wick_, week, _fit_, _vit_, feet, the latter word sometimes being also pronounced as _ve-ut_.

_Heat_ becomes _het_, and _heater_ (a flat-iron), _hetter_; while _hear_ is usually _hire_ in N. Wilts.

* * * * *

_I_ short becomes _e_, as _breng_, bring, _drenk_, drink, _zet_, sit, _pegs_, pigs.

Occasionally it is lengthened into _ee_, as _leetle_, little.

In _hit_ (_pret._) and _if_ it usually takes the sound of _u_, as _hut_ and _uf_ or _uv_; but _hit_ in the present tense is _het_, and _if_ is often sounded as _ef_ in N. Wilts.

At the beginning of a word, _im_, _in_, and _un_ usually become _on_, as _onpossible_, _ondacent_, _oncommon_.

In present participles the sound given varies between _un'_, _en'_, and _in'_, the _g_ almost invariably being dropped.

* * * * *

_O_ very commonly becomes _a_, as _archet_, orchard, _tharn_, thorn, _vant_, font, _vram_, from, _carn_, corn.

Quite as commonly it takes the _au_ or _aw_ sound, as _hawp_, hope, _aupen_, open, _cawls_, coals, _hawle_, hole, _smawk_, smoke.

In such words as _cold_ and _four_, the sound is _ow_ rather than _aw_, thus giving us _cowld_ and _vower_.

_Moss_ in S. Wilts sometimes takes the long _e_, becoming _mēsh_, while in N. Wilts it would merely be _mawss_.

_Know_ becomes either _knaw_ or _kneow_.

_O_ is often sounded _oo_, as _goold_, gold, _cwoort_, court, _mwoor'n_ or _moor'n_, more than, _poorch_, porch.

_Oo_ is sometimes shortened into _ŭ_, as _shut_, shoot, _sut_, soot, _tuk_, took.

Very commonly the sound given to _ō_ is _wo_ or _woä_. Thus we get _twoad_, toad (sometimes _twoad_), _pwoast_, post, _bwoy_, boy, _rwoäs_, a rose, _bwoän_, bone, _spwoke_ (but more usually _spawk_ in N. Wilts), spoke.

_Oa_ at the beginning of a word becomes _wu_, as _wuts_, oats.

_Oi_ in _noise_ and _rejoice_ is sounded as _ai_.

In _ointment_ and _spoil_ it becomes _ī_ or _wī_, giving _intment_ and _spile_ or _spwile_.

_Ow_ takes the sound of _er_ or _y_, in some form or other, as _vollur_ and _volly_, to follow, _winder_ and _windy_, a window.

* * * * *

_U_ in such words as _fusty_ and _dust_ becomes _ow_, as _fowsty_, _dowst_.

* * * * *

_D_ when preceded by a liquid is often dropped, as _veel'_, field, _vine_, to find, _dreshol_, threshold, _groun'_, ground.

Conversely, it is added to such words as _miller_, _gown_, _swoon_, which become _millard_, _gownd_, and _zownd_.

In _orchard_ and _Richard_ the _d_ becomes _t_, giving us _archet_ and _Richut_ or _Rich't_; while occasionally _t_ becomes _d_, _linnet_ being formerly (but not now) thus pronounced as _linnard_ in N. Wilts.

_D_ is dropped when it follows _n_, in such cases as _Swinnun_, Swindon, _Lunnon_, London.

* * * * *

_Su_ sometimes becomes _Shu_, as _Shusan_, Susan, _shoot_, suit, _shewut_, suet, _shower_, sure, _Shukey_, Sukey.

* * * * *

_Y_ is used as an aspirate in _yacker_, acre, _yarm_, arm, _yeppern_, apron, _yerriwig_, earwig. It takes the place of _h_ in _yeäd_, head, _yeldin_, a hilding; and of _g_ in _yeat_ or _yat_, a gate.

* * * * *

Consonants are often substituted, _chimney_ becoming _chimbley_ or _chimley_, _parsnip_, _pasmet_, and _turnip_, _turmut_.

* * * * *

Transpositions are very common, many of them of course representing the older form of a word. For examples we may take _ax_, to ask, _apern_, apron, _girt_, great, _wopse_, wasp, _aps_, the aspen, _claps_, to clasp, _cruds_, curds, _childern_, children.

* * * * *

_F_ almost invariably becomes _v_, as _vlower_, flower, _vox_, fox, _vur_, far, _vall_, fall, _vlick_, flick, _vant_, font.

In such words as _afterclaps_ and _afternoon_ it is not sounded at all.

* * * * *

_L_ is not sounded in such words as _amwoast_, almost, and _a'mighty_, almighty.

* * * * *

_N_ final is occasionally dropped, as _lime-kill_, lime-kiln.

* * * * *

_P_, _F_, _V_, and _B_ are frequently interchanged, _brevet_ and _privet_ being forms of the same word, while to _bag_ peas becomes _fag_ or _vag_ when applied to wheat.

* * * * *

_R_ is slurred over in many cases, as _e'ath_, earth, _foc'd_, forced, _ma'sh_, marsh, _vwo'th_, forth.

It often assumes an excrescent _d_ or _t_, as _cavaltry_, horsemen, _crockerty_, crockery, _scholard_, scholar.

* * * * *

_H_ has the sound of _wh_ in _whoam_, home. This word, however, as Mr. Slow points out in the Preface to his Glossary--

_Bob._ Drat if I dwon't goo _wom_ to marrer.

_Zam._ Wat's evir waant ta go _wimm_ var.

_Bob._ Why, they tell's I as ow Bet Stingymir is gwain to be
caal'd _whoam_ to Jim Spritely on Zundy.--

is variously pronounced as _wom_, _wimm_, and _whoam_, even in the same village.

As stated at page 72, the cockney misuse of _h_ is essentially foreign to our dialect. It was virtually unknown sixty or seventy years ago, and even so late as thirty years back was still unusual in our villages. _Hunked_ for _unked_ is almost the only instance to be found in Akerman, for instance. But the plague is already fast spreading, and we fear that the Catullus of the next generation will have to liken the Hodge of his day to the Arrius (the Roman 'Arry) of old:--

C_h_ommoda dicebat, si quando commoda vellet
Dicere, et _h_insidias Arrius insidias ...
Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,
Iam non Ionios esse, sed _H_ionios.

Touching this point the Rev. G. Hill writes us from Harnham Vicarage as follows:--'I should like to bear out what you say with regard to the use of the letter _h_ in South-West Wilts. When I lived in these parts twenty years ago, its omission was not I think frequent. The putting it where it ought not to be did not I think exist. I find now that the _h_ is invariably dropped, and occasionally added, the latter habit being that of the better educated.'

_H_ becomes _y_ in _yeäd_, head.

* * * * *

_K_ is often converted into _t_, as _ast_, to ask, _mast_, a mask, _bleat_, bleak.

_T_ is conversely often replaced by _k_, as _masking_, acorn-gathering, from 'mast,' while sleet becomes _sleek_, and pant, _pank_.

* * * * *

_S_ usually takes the sound of _z_, as _zee_, to see, _zaa_, a saw, _zowl_, soul, _zaat_ or _zate_, soft, _zider_, cider, _zound_, to swoon.

* * * * *

_Thr_ usually becomes _dr_, as _dree_, three, _droo_, through, _draish_, to thrash.

In _afurst_, athirst, and _fust_, thirst, we still retain a very ancient characteristic of Southern English.

_T_ is always dropped in such words as _kept_ and _slept_, which become _kep'_ and _slep'_.

* * * * *

Liquids sometimes drop the next letter, as _kill_, kiln; but more usually take an excrescent _t_ or _d_, as _varmint_, vermin, _steart_, a steer, _gownd_, gown.

* * * * *

_W_ as an initial is generally dropped in N. Wilts in such cases as _'oont_, a want or mole, _'ooman_, woman, _'ood_, wood.

Occasionally in S. Wilts it takes the aspirate, _'ood_ being then _hood_.

* * * * *

Final _g_ is always dropped in the present participle, as _singin'_, _livin'_, living; also in nouns of more than one syllable which end in _ing_. It is, however, retained in monosyllabic nouns and verbs, such as _ring_ and _sing_.

* * * * *

_Pre_ becomes _pur_, as _purtend_, pretend, _purserve_, preserve.

* * * * *

Sometimes a monosyllabic word will be pronounced as a dissyllable, as we have already mentioned, _ne-um_, _ve-ut_, _ve-us_, and _ke-up_ being used concurrently with _naayme_, _vit_ or _fit_, _veäce_, and _kip_ or _keep_.

* * * * *

The prefix _a_ is always used with the present participle, as _a-gwain'_, going, _a-zettin' up_, sitting up.

* * * * *

The article _an_ is never used, a doing duty on all occasions, as 'Gie I a apple, veyther.'

* * * * *

Plurals will be found to be dealt with in the _Glossary_ itself, under _En_ and _Plurals_.

* * * * *

Pronouns will also be found grouped together under _Pronouns_.

* * * * *

_As_ is used for _who_, _which_, and _that_.

* * * * *

Active verbs govern the nominative case.

* * * * *

Verbs do not agree with their nominative, either in number or person.

* * * * *

The periphrastic tenses are often used in S. Wilts, as 'I do mind un,' but in N. Wilts the rule is to employ the simple tenses instead, merely altering the person, as 'I minds un.' In S. Wilts you might also say 'It be a vine night,' whereas in N. Wilts ''Tes a vine night' would be more correct.

* * * * *

In conclusion we would mention that we hope in the course of the next year or two to be able to deal with the grammatical and phonological sides of our Dialect in a somewhat more adequate manner than it has been possible to do on the present occasion.

A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL ABBREVIATIONS USED.

[For full titles of works see Appendix.]

(A.) Words given for Wilts in Akerman.
(B.) " " Britton.
(C.) " " Cunnington MS.
(D.) " " Davis.
(G.) " " Grose.
(H.) " " Halliwell.
(K.) " " Kennett.
(M.) " " Monthly Magazine.
(S.) " " Slow.
(Wr.) " " Wright.

N. & S.W. North and South Wilts, the place-names following
being those of localities where the word is reported as being
in use.

* An asterisk denotes that the word against which it is placed
has not as yet been met with by ourselves in this county,
although given by some authority or other as used in Wilts.

WILTS GLOSSARY

=A=. He; she. See ~Pronouns~.

=A=, pl. =As= or =Ais=. _n._ A harrow or drag (D.); probably from A.S. _egethe_, M.E. _eythe_, a harrow (Skeat).--S.W., obsolete. This term for a harrow was still occasionally to be heard some thirty years ago, in both Somerset and Wilts, but is now disused. Davis derives it from the triangular shape of the drag, resembling the letter A.

=A-Drag=. A large heavy kind of drag (_Agric. of Wilts_). Still used in South Wilts for harrowing turnips before the hoers go in.

=Abear=. To bear, to endure (S.). 'I can't abear to see the poor theng killed.'--N. & S.W.

=Abide=. To bear, to endure. 'I can't abide un nohow.'--N. & S.W.

=About=. (1) _adv._ Extremely. Used to emphasize a statement, as ''T'wer just about cold s'marnin'.'--N. & S.W. (2) At one's ordinary work again, after an illness. 'My missus were bad aal last wick wi' rheumatiz, but she be about agen now.'--N. & S.W.

=Acksen=. See ~Axen~.

=Adder's-tongue=. _Listera ovata_, Br., Twayblade.--S.W.

=Adderwort=. _Polygonum Bistorta_, L., Bistort.--S.W. (Salisbury, &c.)

=Afeard=, =Aveard=. Afraid (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Agalds=. Hawthorn berries. (_English Plant Names._) _Aggles_ in Devon.

=Agg=. (1) To hack or cut clumsily (A.B.H.S.Wr.); also ~Aggle~ and ~Haggle~.--N. & S.W. (2) To irritate, to provoke.--N. & S.W.

=Ahmoo=. A cow; used by mothers to children, as 'Look at they pretty ahmoos a-comin'!'--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Ailes=, =Eyles=, =Iles=, &c. The awns of barley (D.); cf. A.S. _egle_, an ear of corn, M.E. _eile_. Hail in _Great Estate_, ch. i.--N. & S.W.

=Aisles of wheat=. See ~Hyle~.

=All-a-hoh=. All awry (A.B.C.H.Wr.); also ~All-a-huh~. Unevenly balanced, lop-sided. A.S. _awóh_. 'That load o' carn be aal-a-hoh.'--N. & S.W.

=All-amang=, =Allemang=, =All-o-mong=. Mingled together, as when two flocks of sheep are accidentally driven together and mixed up (A.B.G.H.S.Wr.). Seldom heard now.--N. & S.W.

=All one as=. Just like. 'I be 'tirely blowed up all one as a drum.'--N.W. Compare--

''Twere all as one to fix our hopes on Heaven
As on this vision of the golden year.'--TENNYSON.

=All one for that=. For all that, notwithstanding, in spite of, as 'It medn't be true all one for that.'--N.W.

=Aloud=. 'That there meat stinks aloud,' smells very bad.--N.W.

*=A-masked=. Bewildered, lost (_MS. Lansd._, in a letter dated 1697: H.Wr.).--Obsolete.

'Leaving him more masked than he was before.'

FULLER's _Holy War_, iii. 2.

=Ameäd=. Aftermath. See note to Yeomath.--N.W. (Cherhill.)

*=Anan=, ='Nan=. What do you say? (A.B.); used by a labourer who does not quite comprehend his master's orders. ='Nan= (A.B.) is still occasionally used in N. Wilts, but it is almost obsolete.--N. & S.W.

=Anbye=. _adv._ Some time hence, presently, at some future time. 'I be main busy now, but I'll do't anbye.'--N.W.

=Anchor=. The chape of a buckle (A.B.).--S.W.

=And that=. And all that sort of thing, and so forth. 'Well, he _do_ have a drop tide-times and that.'--S.W.

=Aneoust=, =Aneust=, =Anoust=, =Neust=, or =Noust=. Nearly, about the same (A.B.G.).--N. & S.W.

=Anighst=. Near (A.S.). 'Nobody's bin anighst us since you come.'--N. & S.W.

=Anneal=. A thoroughly heated oven, just fit for the batch of bread to be put in, is said to be nealded, i.e. annealed.--S.W.

=Anoint=, ='Nint= (i long). To beat soundly. 'I'll 'nint ye when I gets home!' See ~Nineter~.--N.W.

*=Anont=, =Anunt=. Against, opposite (A.B.H.Wr.).

=Any more than=. Except, although, only. 'He's sure to come any more than he might be a bit late.' Usually contracted into ~Moor'n~ in N. Wilts.--N. & S.W.

=Apple-bout=. An apple-dumpling. (Cf. ~Hop-about~.)--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Apple-owling=. Knocking down the small worthless fruit, or 'griggles,' left on the trees after the apple crop has been gathered in. See ~Howlers~, ~Owlers~, and ~Owling~.--N.W.

=Aps=. _Populus tremula_, L., Aspen; always so called by woodmen. This is the oldest form of the word, being from A.S. _æps_, and is in use throughout the south and west of England. In _Round About a Great Estate_, ch. i. it is misprinted _asp_.--N.W.

=Arg=. To argue, with a very strong sense of contradiction implied (S.). 'Dwoan't 'ee arg at I like that! I tell 'ee I zeed 'un!' See ~Down-arg~.--N. & S.W.

=Arms=. 'The arms of a waggon,' such parts of the axle-tree as go into the wheels (_Cycl. of Agric._).--N.W.

=Arra=, =Arra one=, =Arn=. See ~Pronouns~.

=Array=, ='Ray=. To dress and clean corn with a sieve (D.).--N.W.

=Arsmart=. _Polygonum Hydropiper_, L., and _P. Persicaria_, L.--S.W.

=Ashore=, =Ashar=, =Ashard=. Ajar. 'Put the door ashard when you goes out.'--N. & S.W.

=Ashweed=. _Aegopodium Podagraria_, L., Goutweed.--N. & S.W.

*=Astore=. An expletive, as 'she's gone into the street _astore_' (H.). Perhaps connected with _astoor_, very soon, Berks, or _astore_, Hants:--

'The duck's [dusk] coming on; I'll be off in _astore_.'

_A Dream of the Isle of Wight._

It might then mean either 'this moment' or 'for a moment.'

=At=. (1) 'At twice,' at two separate times. 'We'll ha' to vetch un at twice now.'--N.W. (2) 'Up at hill,' uphill. 'Th' rwoad be all up at hill.'--N.W.

=Athin=. Within (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Athout=. Without; outside (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Attercop=. A spider. A.S. _atter-coppa_.--N.W. (Monkton Farleigh), still in use. Mr. Willis mentions that _Edderkop_ is still to be heard in Denmark.

*=Attery=. Irascible (A.B.).

=Away with=. Endure. This Biblical expression is still commonly used in Wilts. 'Her's that weak her can't away with the childern at no rate!'

=Ax=. To ask (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Axen=. Ashes (A.B.); =Acksen= (_MS. Lansd._: G.H.Wr.).--Obsolete.

=Babies'-shoes=. _Ajuga reptans_, L., Common Bugle.--S.W.

=Bachelor's Buttons=. (1) Wild Scabious (A.B.), _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., _S. Columbaria_, L., and perhaps _S. succisa_, L.--N.W. (2) _Corchorus Japonica_ (_Kerria Japonica_, L.).--N.W. (Huish.)

=Back-friends=. Bits of skin fretted up at the base of the finger-nails.--N.W.

*=Backheave=. To winnow a second time (D.).

=Backside=. The back-yard of a house (A.B.).--N. & S.W., now obsolete.

=Backsword=. A kind of single-stick play (A.H.Wr.). Obsolete, the game being only remembered by the very old men. For an account of it see _The Scouring of the White Horse_, ch. vi.--N.W.

=Bacon=. To 'strick bacon,' to cut a mark on the ice in sliding; cf. to strike a 'candle.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Bacon-and-Eggs=. _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax. Also called Eggs-and-Bacon.--N. & S.W.

*=Bad, Bod=. To strip walnuts of their husks (A.B.H.Wr.); cf. E. _pod_.--N.W., obsolete.

*=Badge=. _v._ To deal in corn, &c. See ~Badger~.--Obsolete.

'1576. Md. that I take order of the Badgers that they do name
the places where the Badgers do use to badge before they
resieve their lycens.... Md. to make pces [process] against all
the Badgers that doe badge without licence.'--Extracts from
Records of Wilts Quarter Sessions, _Wilts Arch. Mag._ xx. 327.

*=Badger=. A corn-dealer (A.B.); used frequently in old accounts in N. Wilts, but now obsolete.

'1620. Itm for stayeinge Badgers & keepinge a note of there
names viijd.'--F. H. Goldney, _Records of Chippenham_, p. 202.

Compare _bodger_, a travelling dealer (Harrison's _Description of England_, 1577), and _bogging_, peddling, in Murray. (Smythe-Palmer).

=Bag=. (1) _v._ To cut peas with a double-handed hook. Cf. ~Vag~.

'They cannot mow it with a sythe, but they cutt it with such a
hooke as they bagge pease with.'--Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_,
p. 51, ed. Brit.

(2) _n._ The udder of a cow (A.B.).--N.W.

=Bake, Beak=. (1) _v._ To chop up with a mattock the rough surface of land that is to be reclaimed, afterwards burning the parings (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii). See ~Burn-beak~. *(2) _n._ The curved cutting mattock used in 'beaking' (_Ibid._ ch. xii). (3) _n._ The ploughed land lying on the plat of the downs near Heytesbury, in Norton Bavant parish, is usually known as the ~Beäk~, or ~Bake~, probably from having been thus reclaimed. In the Deverills parts of many of the down farms are known as the ~Bake~, or, more usually, the ~Burn-bake~.--S.W.

=Bake-faggot=. A rissole of chopped pig's-liver and seasoning, covered with 'flare.' See ~Faggot~ (2).--N.W.

=Ballarag, Bullyrag=. To abuse or scold at any one (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Balm of Gilead=. _Melittis Melissophyllum_, L., Wild Balm.

=Bams=. Rough gaiters of pieces of cloth wound about the legs, much used by shepherds and others exposed to cold weather. Cf. ~Vamplets~.--N. & S.W.

'The old man ... had bams on his legs and a sack fastened over
his shoulders like a shawl.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p.
141.

=Bandy=. (1) A species of Hockey, played with _bandy sticks_ and a ball or piece of wood.--N. & S.W. (2) A crooked stick (S.).

=Bane=. Sheep-rot (D.). ~Baned.~ Of sheep, afflicted with rot (A.B.).--N.W.

=Bang-tail=, or =Red Fiery Bang-tail=. _Phoenicurus ruticilla_, the Redstart.--N.W. (Wroughton.)

*=Bannet-hay=. A rick-yard (H.Wr.).

=Bannis=. _Gasterosteus trachurus_, the Common Stickleback (A.B.H.Wr.). Also ~Bannistickle~ (A.B.), ~Bantickle~ (A.Wr.), and *~Bramstickle~ (S.). 'Asperagus (_quoedam piscis_) a ban-stykyll.'--_Ortus Vocab._ A.S. _bán_, bone, and _sticels_, prickle. (See N.E.D.).--S.W.

*=Bannut=. Fruit of _Juglans regia_, L., the Walnut (A.B.).

=Bantickle=. See ~Bannis~.

*=Barber's Brushes=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel (Flower's _Flora of Wilts_). Also Brushes.--N.W.

=Bargain=. A small landed property or holding. 'They have always been connected with that little bargain of land.'--N.W., still in use. Sir W. H. Cope, in his _Hants Glossary_, gives '_Bargan_, a small property; a house and garden; a small piece of land,' as used in N. Hants.

=Barge=. (1) _n._ The gable of a house. Compare architectural _Barge-boards_.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) _v._ Before a hedge can be 'laid,' all its side, as well as the rough thorns, brambles, &c., growing in the ditch, must be cut off. This is called 'barging out' the ditch.--N.W.

=Barge-hook=. The iron hook used by thatchers to fasten the straw to the woodwork of the gable.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Barge-knife=. The knife used by thatchers in trimming off the straw round the eaves of the gable.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Bargin=. The overgrowth of a hedge, trimmed off before 'laying.'--N. & S.W.

=Barken=. The enclosed yard near a farm-house (A.B.); ~Rick-Barken~, a rick-yard (A.), also used without prefix in this sense (_Wilts Tales_, p. 121).

'Barken, or Bercen, now commonly used for a yard or backside in
Wilts ... first signified the small croft or close where the
sheep were brought up at night, and secured from danger of the
open fields.'--Kennett's _Parochial Antiquities_.

~Barton~ was formerly in very common use, but has now been displaced by _Yard_.--N. & S.W.

*=Barley-bigg=. A variety of barley (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._, p. 304).

*=Barley-Sower=. _Larus canus_, the Common Gull (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 534).

=Barm=. The usual Wilts term for yeast (A.B.M.S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Barn-barley=. Barley which has never been in rick, but has been kept under cover from the first, and is therefore perfectly dry and of high value for malting purposes (_Great Estate_, ch. viii. p. 152).

=Basket=. In some parts of S. Wilts potatoes are sold by the 'basket,' or three-peck measure, instead of by the 'sack' or the 'bag.'

=Baskets=. _Plantago lanceolata_, L., Ribwort Plantain.--S.W. (Little Langford.)

=Bat-folding net=. The net used in 'bird-batting,' q.v. (A.): more usually 'clap-net.'

=Bat-mouse=. The usual N. Wilts term for a bat.--N. & S.W.

=Batt=. A thin kind of oven-cake, about as thick as a tea-cake, but mostly crust.--N.W.

*=Battledore-barley=. A flat-eared variety of barley (Aubrey's _Wilts MS._, p. 304: H.Wr.).

=Baulk=. (1) ~Corn-baulk.~ When a 'land' has been accidentally passed over in sowing, the bare space is a 'baulk,' and is considered as a presage of some misfortune.--N.W. (2) A line of turf dividing a field.--N.W.

'The strips [in a "common field"] are marked off from one
another, not by hedge or wall, but by a simple grass path, a
foot or so wide, which they call "balks" or "meres."'--_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ xvii. 294.

=Bavin=. An untrimmed brushwood faggot (A.B.S.): the long ragged faggot with two withes, used for fencing in the sides of sheds and yards; sometimes also applied to the ordinary faggot with one withe or band.--N. & S.W.

*=Bawsy=, =Borsy=, or =Bozzy=. Coarse, as applied to the fibre of cloth or wool. 'Bozzy-faced cloth bain't good enough vor I.'--S.W. (Trowbridge, &c.)

=Bay=. (1) _n._ A dam across a stream or ditch.--N.W. (2) _v._ 'To bay back water,' to dam it back.--N.W. (3) _n._ The space between beam and beam in a barn or cows' stalls.--N.W.

*=Beads=. _Sagina procumbens_, L., Pearlwort.--N.W. (Lyneham.)

=Beak=. See ~Bake~ and ~Burn-bake~.

=Bearsfoot=. Hellebore.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)

=Beat=. 'To beat clots,' to break up the hard dry lumps of old cow-dung lying about in a pasture.--N.W.

=Becall=. To abuse, to call names. 'Her do becall I shameful.'--N. & S.W.

=Bed-summers=. See ~Waggon~.

=Bedwind=, =Bedwine=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy.--S.W.

=Bee-flower=. _Ophrys apifera_, Huds., Bee Orchis.--S.W.

=Bee-pot=. A bee-hive.--S.W.

'Lore ta zee zom on'ms hair,
Like girt bee pots a hanging there.'--SLOW'S _Poems_, p. 43.

=Been=, =Bin=. Because, since; a corruption of _being_ (B.S.). 'Bin as he don't go, I won't.'--N.W.

=Bees=. A hive is a ~Bee-pot~. ~Bee-flowers~ are those purposely grown near an apiary, as sources of honey. Of swarms, only the first is a ~Swarm~, the second being a ~Smart~, and the third a ~Chit~. To follow a swarm, beating a tin pan, is ~Ringing~ or ~Tanging~.--N.W.

*=Beet=. To make up a fire (A.B.C.G.). A.S. _bétan_, to better; to mend a fire (Skeat).--N.W., obsolete.

=Beetle=. (1) The heavy double-handed wooden mallet used in driving in posts, wedges, &c. ~Bittle~ (A.H.). ~Bwytle~ (S.). Also ~Bwoitle~.--N. & S.W.

'On another [occasion] (2nd July, 25 Hen. VIII) ... William
Seyman was surety ... for the re-delivery of the tools,
"cuncta instrumenta videlicet Beetyll, Ax, Matock, and
Showlys."'--_Stray Notes from the Marlborough Court Books_,
_Wilts Arch. Mag._ xix. 78.

(2) The small mallet with which thatchers drive home their 'spars.'--S.W.

*=Beggar-weed=. _Cuscuta Trifolii_, Bab., Dodder; from its destructiveness to clover, &c. (_English Plant Names_).

=Bellock=. (1) To cry like a beaten or frightened child (A.B.).--N.W., rarely. (2) To complain, to grumble (_Dark_, ch. x.).--N.W.

*=Belly vengeance=. Very small and bad beer.--N.W.

'Beer of the _very smallest_ description, real "belly
vengeance."'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 40.

Cf.:--

'I thought you wouldn't appreciate the widow's tap.... Regular
whistle-belly vengeance, and no mistake!'--_Tom Brown at
Oxford_, xl.

=Belt=. To trim away the dirty wool from a sheep's hind-quarters.--N.W.

*=Bennet=. _v._ Of wood-pigeons, to feed on bennets (A.).

'They have an old rhyme in Wiltshire--

"Pigeons never know no woe
Till they a-benetting do go;"

meaning that pigeons at this time are compelled to feed on the
seed of the bent, the stubbles being cleared, and the crops not
ripe.'--_Akerman._

=Bennets=, =Bents=. (1) Long coarse grass or rushes (B.).--N.W. (2) Seed-stalks of various grasses (A.); used of both withered stalks of coarse grasses and growing heads of cat's-tail, &c.--N. & S.W. (3) Seed-heads of Plantain, _Plantago major_, L., and _P. lanceolata_, L.--N. & S.W.

=Bents=. See ~Bennets~.

=Bercen= (_c_ hard). See ~Barken~. 'This form of the word is given in _MS. Gough_, _Wilts_, 5, as current in Wilts' (H.K.Wr.).

=Berry=. The grain of wheat (D.); as 'There's a very good berry to-year,' or 'The wheat's well-berried,' or the reverse. See _Old Country Words_, ii. and v.--N.W.

=Berry-moucher=. (1) A truant. See ~Blackberry-moucher~ and ~Moucher~ (A.).--N. & S.W. (2) Fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry. See ~Moochers~.--N.W. (Huish.) Originally applied to children who went mouching from school in blackberry season, and widely used in this sense, but at Huish--and occasionally elsewhere--virtually confined to the berries themselves: often corrupted into ~Penny-moucher~ or ~Perry-moucher~ by children. In _English Plant Names_ Mochars, _Glouc._, and Mushes, _Dev._, are quoted as being similarly applied to the fruit, which is also known as Mooches in the Forest of Dean. See Hal., sub. _Mich._

=Besepts=. Except.--N. & S.W.

'Here's my yeppurn they've a'bin and scarched, and I've a-got
narra 'nother 'gin Zunday besepts this!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 138.

=Besom=, =Beesom=, =Bissom=, &c. A birch broom (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Betwit=. To upbraid (A.B.).

=Bide=. (1) To stay, remain (A.S.). 'Bide still, will 'ee.'--N. & S.W. (2) To dwell (A.). 'Where do 'ee bide now, Bill?' 'Most-in-general at 'Vize.'--N. & S.W.

=Bill Button=. _Geum rivale_, L., Water Avens.--S.W.

=Bin=. See ~Been~.

=Bird-batting=. Netting birds at night with a 'bat-folding' or clap-net (A.B., Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 15, ed. Brit.). Bird-battenen (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Bird's-eye=. (1) _Veronica Chamaedrys_, L., Germander Speedwell.--N. & S.W. (2) _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W. (3) _Veronica officinalis_, L., Common Speedwell.--S.W. (Barford.)

=Bird's-nest=. The seed-head of Daucus Carota, L., Wild Carrot.--N. & S.W.

'The flower of the wild carrot gathers together as the seeds
mature, and forms a framework cup at the top of the stalk, like
a bird's-nest. These "bird's-nests," brown and weather-beaten,
endured far into the winter.'--_Great Estate_, ch. vii. p. 137.

'The whole tuft is drawn together when the seed is ripe,
resembling a bird's nest.'--_Gerarde._

=Bird-seed=. Seed-heads of Plantain.--N. & S.W.

=Bird-squoilin=. See ~Squail~ (S.).

=Bird-starving=. Bird-keeping.--N.W.

'This we call bird-keeping, but the lads themselves, with
an appreciation of the other side of the case, call it
"bird-starving."'--_Village Miners._

=Birds'-wedding-day=. St. Valentine's Day.--S.W. (Bishopstone.)

=Bishop-wort=. _Mentha aquatica_, L., Hairy Mint.--S.W. (Hants bord.)

=Bissom=. See ~Besom~.

=Bittish=. _adj._ Somewhat. ''Twer a bittish cowld isterday.'--N. & S.W.

=Bittle=. See ~Beetle~.

=Biver=. To tremble, quiver, shiver as with a cold or fright (S.). Cp. A.S. _bifian_, to tremble.--N. & S.W.

'Bless m' zoul, if I dwon't think our maester's got the ager!
How a hackers an bivers, to be zhure!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 55.

=Bivery=. _adj._ Shivery, tremulous. When a baby is just on the verge of crying, its lip quivers and is 'bivery.'--N.W.

=Blackberry-moucher=. (1) A truant from school in the blackberry season (H.). See ~Berry-moucher, Mouch~, &c.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)

'A blackberry moucher, an egregious truant.'--_Dean Milles'
MS._, p. 180.

(2) Hence, the fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry. See ~Berry-moucher, Moochers~, &c.--N.W. (Huish, &c.)

*=Blackberry-token=. _Rubus caesius_, L., Dewberry (_English Plant Names_).

=Black-Bess=. See ~Black-Bob~.

=Black-Bob=. A cockroach (S.). ~Black-Bess~ on Berks border.--S.W.

=Black-boys=. (1) Flower-heads of Plantain.--N.W. (Huish.) (2) _Typha latifolia_, L., Great Reedmace.--N.W. (Lyneham.)

*=Black Couch=. A form of _Agrostis_ that has small wiry blackish roots (D). _Agrostis stolonifera._

=Black Sally=. _Salix Caprea_, L., Great Round-leaved Sallow, from its dark bark (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv). Clothes-pegs are made from its wood.--N.W.

*=Black Woodpecker=. _Picus major_, Great Spotted Woodpecker (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 253). Also known as the Gray Woodpecker.

=Blades=. The shafts of a waggon (S.).--S.W.

=Blare, Blur=. To shout or roar out loudly (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Blatch=. (1) _adj._ Black, sooty (A.B.).--N.W. (2) _n._ Smut, soot. 'Thuc pot be ael over blatch.'--N.W. (3) _v._ To blacken. 'Now dwon't 'ee gwo an' blatch your veäce wi' thuc thur dirty zoot.'--N.W.

=Bleachy=. Brackish.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Bleat=. Bleak, open, unsheltered. 'He's out in the bleat,' i.e. out in the open in bad weather. See K for examples of letter-change.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Bleeding Heart=. _Cheiranthus Cheiri_, L., the red Wallflower (A.B.).--N.W.

=Blind-hole=. _n._ A rabbit hole which ends in undisturbed soil, as opposed to a Pop-hole, q.v. (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vi. p. 120).--N.W.

=Blind-house=. A lock-up.

'1629. Item paied for makeing cleane the blind-house
vijd.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 204.

=Blind-man=. _Papaver Rhoeas_, L., &c., the Red Poppy, which is locally supposed to cause blindness, if looked at too long.--S.W. (Hamptworth.)

*=Blink=. A spark, ray, or intermittent glimmer of light (A.B.). See ~Flunk~.

*=Blinking=. This adjective is used, in a very contemptuous sense, by several Wilts agricultural writers.

'A short blinking heath is found on many parts [of the
downs].'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.

~Compare:--~

''Twas a little one-eyed blinking sort o' place.'--_Tess of the
D'Urbervilles_, vol. i. p. 10.

*=Blissey=. A blaze (A.H.Wr.). A.S. _blysige_, a torch.

=Blobbs, Water Blobs=. Blossoms of _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., Yellow Water Lily (A.B.); probably from the swollen look of the buds. Cf. ~Blub up~.

=Blood-alley=. A superior kind of alley or taw, veined with deep red, and much prized by boys (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Bloody Warr= The dark-blossomed Wallflower, _Cheiranthus Cheiri_, L. (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Blooens=. See ~Bluens~.

=Bloom=. Of the sun; to shine scorchingly (B.); to throw out heat as a fire. 'How the sun do bloom out atween the clouds!'--N.W.

=Blooming=. Very sultry, as ''Tis a main blooming day.'--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Bloomy=. Sultry. ~Bloomy-hot.~ Excessively sultry (A.B.).--S.W.

=Blooth, Blowth=. Bloom or blossom.--S.W.

=Blossom=. A snow-flake. 'What girt blossoms 'twer to the snow isterday!'--N. & S.W.

'Snow-flakes are called "blossoms." The word snow-flake is
unknown.'--_Village Miners._

=Blow=. Sheep and cattle 'blow' themselves, or get 'blowed,' from over-eating when turned out into very heavy grass or clover, the fermentation of which often kills them on the spot, their bodies becoming terribly inflated with wind. See the description of the 'blasted' flock, in _Far from the Madding Crowd_, ch. xxi.--N. & S.W.

=Blowing=. A blossom (A.B.H.Wr.). See ~Bluen~.--N.W.

=Blowth=. See ~Blooth~.

=Blub up=. To puff or swell up. A man out of health and puffy about the face is said to look 'ter'ble blubbed up.' Cf. Blobbs.--N.W. Compare:--

'My face was blown and blub'd with dropsy wan.'--_Mirror for
Magistrates._

=Blue Bottle=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth.--S.W.

=Blue Buttons=. (1) _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--S.W. (2) _S. Columbaria_, L., Small Scabious.--S.W.

=Blue Cat=. One who is suspected of being an incendiary. 'He has the name of a blue cat.' See ~Lewis's Cat~.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Blue Eyes=. _Veronica Chamaedrys_, L., Germander Speedwell.--N.W.

=Blue Goggles=. _Scilla nutans_, Sm., Wild Hyacinth. Cf. ~Greygles~ or ~Greggles~.--S.W.

=Bluen= or =Blooens=. _pl._ Blossoms (S.). Also used in Devon.--N. & S.W.

=Blue-vinnied=. Covered with blue mould. See Vinney. Commoner in Dorset as applied to cheese, &c.--N. & S.W.

=Blunt=. 'A cold blunt,' a spell of cold weather. See Snow-blunt. Compare _Blunk_, a fit of stormy weather, which is used in the East of England.--N.W.

=Blur=. See ~Blare~. In Raleigh's account of the fight in Cadiz Bay, he says that as he passed through the cross-fire of the galleys and forts, he replied 'with a blur of the trumpet to each piece, disdaining to shoot.'

=Board=. To scold, to upbraid. 'Her boarded I just about.'--S.W. (occasionally.)

=Boar Stag=. A boar which, after having been employed for breeding purposes for a time, is castrated and set aside for fattening (D.). Cf. ~Bull Stag~.--N.W.

=Boat=. Children cut apples and oranges into segments, which they sometimes call 'pigs' or 'boats.'

=Bob=. In a timber carriage, the hind pair of wheels with the long pole or lever attached thereto.--N.W. In Canada 'bob-sleds' are used for drawing logs out of the woods.

*=Bobbant=. Of a girl, romping, forward (A.B.H.Wr.).--N.W.

=Bobbish=. In good health (A.B.S.). 'Well, an' how be 'ee to-day?' 'Purty bobbish, thank 'ee.'--N. & S.W.

=Bob-grass=. _Bromus mollis_, L.--S.W.

*=Bochant=. The same as ~Bobbant~ (A.B.G.H.Wr.).

=Bod=. See ~Bad~.

=Boistins=. The first milk given by a cow after calving (A.). See N.E.D. (~s.v. Beestings~).--N.W.

=Bolt=. In basket-making, a bundle of osiers 40 inches round. (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv. p. 69).

=Boltin=, =Boulting=. A sheaf of five or ten 'elms,' prepared beforehand for thatching. 'Elms' are usually made up on the spot, but are occasionally thus prepared at threshing-time, and tied up and laid aside till required, when they need only be damped, and are then ready for use. Cf. ~Bolt.~--N.W.

=Bombarrel Tit=. _Parus caudatus_, the Long-tailed Titmouse (_Great Estate_, ch. ii. p. 26). Jefferies considers this a corruption of 'Nonpareil.'--N.W.

=Book of Clothes=. See ~Buck~ (_Monthly Mag._, 1814).

=Boon Days=. Certain days during winter on which farmers on the Savernake estate were formerly bound to haul timber for their landlord.

*=Boreshore=. A hurdle-stake (S.).--S.W.

'This is a kind of hurdle stake which can be used in soft
ground without an iron pitching bar being required to bore
the hole first for it. Hence it is called bore-shore by
shepherds.'--_Letter from Mr. Slow._

*=Borky=. (Baulky?) Slightly intoxicated.--S.W.

*=Borsy=. See *~Bawsy~.

=Bossell=. _Chrysanthemum segetum_, L., Corn Marigold (D.). ~Bozzell~ (_Flowering Plants of Wilts_).--N. & S.W.

=Bossy=, =Bossy-calf=. A young calf, whether male or female.--N.W.

=Bottle=. The wooden keg, holding a gallon or two, used for beer in harvest-time (_Wild Life_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W.

=Bottle-tit=. _Parus caudatus_, L., the Long-tailed Titmouse.--N.W.

=Bottom=. A valley or hollow in the downs.--N. & S.W.

=Boulting=. See ~Boltin~.

=Bounceful=. Masterful, domineering. See ~Pounceful~.--N.W.

=Bourne=. (1) _n._ A valley between the chalk hills; a river in such a valley; also river and valley jointly (D.).--N. & S.W.

'In South Wilts they say, such or such a bourn: meaning a
valley by such a river.'--Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 28.
Ed. Brit.

(2) _v._ In gardening, when marking out a row of anything with pegs, you 'bourne' them, or glance along them to see that they are in line.--N.W.

=Box= or =Hand-box=. The lower handle of a sawyer's long pit-saw, the upper handle being the ~Tiller~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Boy's-love=. _Artemisia Abrotanum_, L., Southernwood (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Boys=. The long-pistilled or 'pin-eyed' flowers of the Primrose, _Primula vulgaris_, Huds. See ~Girls~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Bozzell=. See ~Bossell~.

*=Bozzy=. See *~Bawsy~.

=Brack=. _n._ A fracture, break, crack (S.). 'There's narra brack nor crack in 'un.'--N. & S.W.

=Brain-stone=. A kind of large round stone (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 9, ed. Brit., H.Wr.). Perhaps a lump of water-worn fossil coral, such as occasionally now bears this name among N. Wilts cottagers.

*=Bramstickle=. See ~Bannis~ (S.).

=Brandy-bottles=. _Nuphar lutea_, Sm., Yellow Water-lily.--S.W. (Mere, &c.)

=Brave=. _adj._ Hearty, in good health (A.B.).--N.W.

=Bread-and-Cheese=. (1) _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax.--N. & S.W. (2) Fruit of _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow (S.).--S.W. (3) Young leaves and shoots of _Crataegus Oxyacantha_, L., Hawthorn, eaten by children in spring (_English Plant Names_).--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Bread-board=. The earth-board of a plough (D.). ~Broad-board~ in N. Wilts.

=Break=. To tear. 'She'll break her gownd agen thuc tharn.' You still _break_ a bit of muslin, but to _tear_ a trace or a plate now grows obsolete.--N.W. Similarly used in Hants, as

'I have _a-torn_ my best decanter ... have _a-broke_ my fine
cambrick aporn.'--COPE'S _Hants Glossary_.

=Brevet=, =Brivet=. (1) To meddle, interfere, pry into.--N.W.

'Who be you to interfere wi' a man an' he's vam'ly? Get awver
groundsell, or I'll stop thy brevettin' for a while.'--_Dark_,
ch. xix.

(2) _To brevet about_, to beat about, as a dog for game (A.).--N.W. Also ~Privet~.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard; Castle Eaton, &c.)

'_Brivet_, a word often applied to children when they wander
about aimlessly and turn over things.'--_Leisure Hour_, Aug.
1893.

*(3) To pilfer. 'If she'll brevet one thing, she'll brevet another.'--N.W. (Mildenhall.)

=Bribe=. To taunt, to bring things up against any one, to scold. 'What d'ye want to kip a-bribing I o' that vur?'--N.W.

=Brit=, =Brittle out=. (1) To rub grain out in the hand.--N.W. (2) To drop out of the husk, as over-ripe grain (D.).--N.W.

=Brivet=. See ~Brevet~.

=Brize=. To press heavily on, or against, to crush down (S.). A loaded waggon 'brizes down' the road.--N. & S.W.

=Broad-board=. See ~Bread-board~.

=Broke-bellied=. Ruptured.--N.W.

=Brook-Sparrow=. _Salicaria phragmitis_, the Sedge Warbler; from one of its commonest notes resembling that of a sparrow (_Great Estate_, ch. vii; _Wild Life_, ch. iii).--N.W.

'At intervals [in his song] he intersperses a chirp, exactly
the same as that of the sparrow, a chirp with a tang in it.
Strike a piece of metal, and besides the noise of the blow,
there is a second note, or tang. The sparrow's chirp has such
a note sometimes, and the sedge-bird brings it in--tang,
tang, tang. This sound has given him his country name of
brook-sparrow.'--JEFFERIES, _A London Trout_.

=Brow=. (1) _adj._ Brittle (A.B.C.H.Wr.); easily broken. Vrow at Clyffe Pypard. Also ~Frow~.--N.W. *(2) _n._ A fragment (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109).--N.W. (Cherhill.)

=Brown=. 'A brown day,' a gloomy day (H.Wr.).--N.W.

=Bruckle=. (Generally with _off_ or _away_.) _v._ To crumble away, as some kinds of stone when exposed to the weather (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109); to break off easily, as the dead leaves on a dry branch of fir. Compare _brickle_=brittle (_Wisdom_, xv. 13), A.S. _brucol_=apt to break.--N.W.

=Bruckley=. _adj._ Brittle, crumbly, friable, not coherent (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Brush=. 'The brush of a tree,' its branches or head.--N.W.

=Brushes=. _Dipsacus sylvestris_, L., Wild Teasel. See ~Clothes-brush~.--N. & S.W.

=Bubby-head=. _Cottus gobio_, the Bullhead.--N. & S.W.

=Buck=. A 'buck,' or 'book,' of clothes, a large wash--N.W.

=Bucking=. A quantity of clothes to be washed (A.).--N.W.

*=Buddle=. To suffocate in mud. 'There! if he haven't a bin an' amwoast buddled hisel' in thuck there ditch!' Also used in Som.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Budgy=. Out of temper, sulky. A softened form of _buggy_, self-important, churlish, from the Old English and provincial _budge_, grave, solemn, &c. See _Folk-Etymology_, p. 42 (Smythe-Palmer).--N.W. Cp. Milton,

'Those budge doctors of the stoic fur.'--_Comus._

=Bullpoll=, =Bullpull=. _Aira caespitosa_, L., the rough tufts of tussocky grass which grow in damp places in the fields, and have to be cut up with a heavy hoe (_Great Estate_, ch. ii; _Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. viii).--N.W.

=Bull Stag=. A bull which, having been superannuated as regards breeding purposes, is castrated and put to work, being stronger than an ordinary bullock. Cf. ~Boar Stag~.--N.W., now almost obsolete.

=Bulrushes=. _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold; from some nursery legend that Moses was hidden among its large leaves.--S.W., rarely.

=Bumble-berry=. Fruit of _Rosa canina_, L., Dog-rose.--N.W.

=Bunce=. (1) _n._ A blow. 'Gie un a good bunce in the ribs.'--N.W. (2) _v._ To punch or strike.--N.W.

=Bunch=. Of beans, to plant in bunches instead of rows (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Bunny=. A brick arch, or wooden bridge, covered with earth, across a 'drawn' or 'carriage' in a water-meadow, just wide enough to allow a hay-waggon to pass over.--N.W.

=Bunt=. (1) _v._ To push with the head as a calf does its dam's udder (A.); to butt; to push or shove up.--(_Bevis_, ch. x.) N.W. (2) _n._ A push or shove.--N.W. (3) _n._ A short thick needle, as a 'tailor's bunt.' (4) _n._ Hence sometimes applied to a short thickset person, as a nickname.--S.W.

=Bunty=. _adj._ Short and stout.--N.W.

=Bur=. The sweetbread of a calf or lamb (A.).--N.W.

=Bur'=, =Burrow=, or =Burry=. (1) A rabbit-burrow (A.B.).--N. & S.W. (2) Any place of shelter, as the leeward side of a hedge (A.C.). 'Why doesn't thee coom and zet doon here in the burrow?'--N. & S.W.

=Burl=. (1) 'To burl potatoes,' to rub off the grown-out shoots in spring.--N.W. (2) The original meaning was to finish off cloth or felt by removing knots, rough places, loose threads, and other irregularities of surface, and it is still so used in S. Wilts (S.).

=Burn=. 'To burn a pig,' to singe the hair off the dead carcase.--N. & S.W.

*=Burn-bake= (or =-beak=). (1) To reclaim new land by paring and burning the surface before cultivation (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii). See ~Bake~. (2) To improve old arable land by treating it in a similar way (_Ibid._ ch. xii). ~Burn-beke~ (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 103. Ed. Brit., where the practice is said to have been introduced into S. Wilts by Mr. Bishop of Merton, about 1639). (3) _n._ Land so reclaimed. See ~Bake~.--S.W.

=Burrow=. See ~Bur'~.

=Burry=. See ~Bur'~.

='Buseful=. Foul-mouthed, abusive.--N.W.

=Bush=. (1) _n._ A heavy hurdle or gate, with its bars interlaced with brushwood and thorns, which is drawn over pastures in spring, and acts like a light harrow (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iv).--N.W. (2) _v._ To bush-harrow a pasture.--N.W.

=Butchers' Guinea-pigs=. Woodlice. See ~Guinea-pigs~.--S.W.

=Butter-and-Eggs=. (1) _Narcissus incomparabilis_, Curt., Primrose Peerless.--N. & S.W. (2) _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Yellow Toadflax (_Great Estate_, ch. v).--N. & S.W.

=Buttercup=. At Huish applied only to _Ranunculus Ficaria_, L., Lesser Celandine, all other varieties of Crowfoot being 'Crazies' there.

=Butter-teeth=. The two upper incisors.--N.W.

=Buttons=. Very young mushrooms.--N. & S.W.

=Buttry=. A cottage pantry (A.B.).--N.W., now almost obsolete.

=Butt-shut=. (1) To join iron without welding, by pressing the heated ends squarely together, making an imperceptible join (_Village Miners_). See ~Shut~. (2) Hence a glaringly inconsistent story or excuse is said 'not to butt-shut' (_Village Miners_).

=Butty=. A mate or companion in field-work (S.).--N. & S.W.

*=By-the-Wind=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy.--S.W. (Farley.)

*=Caa-vy= (? Calfy). A simpleton (S.).--S.W.

=Cack=. See ~Keck~.

*=Cack-handed=, *=Cag-handed=. Extremely awkward and unhandy: clumsy to the last degree (_Village Miners_). Other dialect words for 'awkward' are Dev., _cat-handed_, Yorks., _gawk-handed_, and Nhamp., _keck-handed_. Cf. ~Cam-handed~.

=Caddle=. (1) _n._ Dispute, noise, row, contention (A.); seldom or never so used now.--N. & S.W.

'What a caddle th' bist a makin', Jonas!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 82.

'If Willum come whoam and zees two [candles] a burnin', he'll
make a vi-vi-vine caddle.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 42.

(2) _n._ Confusion, disorder, trouble (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.

'Lawk, zur, but I be main scrow to be ael in zich a caddle,
alang o' they childern.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 137.

(3) _v._ To tease, to annoy, to bother (A.B.C.). See ~Caddling~. 'Now dwoan't 'e caddle I zo, or I'll tell thee vather o' thee!' 'I be main caddled up wi' ael they dishes to weish.'--N. & S.W.

''Tain't no use caddlin I--I can't tell 'ee no more.'--_Greene
Ferne Farm_, ch. viii.

(4) _v._ To hurry. 'To caddle a horse,' to drive him over-fast.--N.W. (5) _v._ To loaf about, only doing odd jobs. 'He be allus a caddlin' about, and won't never do nothin' reg'lar.'--N. & S.W. (6) _v._ To mess about, to throw into disorder. 'I don't hold wi' they binders [the binding machines], they do caddle the wheat about so.'--N. & S.W.

=Caddlesome=. Of weather, stormy, uncertain. ''T 'ull be a main caddlesome time for the barley.'--S.W.

=Caddling=. (1) _adj._ Of weather, stormy, uncertain.--N. & S.W. (2) _adj._ Quarrelsome, wrangling (C.).--N. & S.W.

'His bill was zharp, his stomack lear, Zo up a snapped the
caddlin pair.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 97.

'A cadling fellow, a wrangler, a shifting, and sometimes an
unmeaning character.'--_Cunnington MS._

(3) _adj._ Meddlesome (S.), teasing (_Monthly Mag._, 1814); troublesome, worrying, impertinent (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

'Little Nancy was as naisy and as caddlin' as a wren, that a
was'.--_Wilts Tales_, p. 177.

*(4) Chattering (_Monthly Mag._, 1814): probably a mistake.

=Caffing rudder=. See ~Caving rudder~.

*=Cag-handed=. See ~Cack-handed~.

=Cag-mag=. Bad or very inferior meat (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Cains-and-Abels=. _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., Columbine.--S.W. (Farley.)

*=Calf-white=. See ~White~.

=Call=. Cause, occasion. 'You've no call to be so 'buseful' [abusive].--N. & S.W.

=Call home=. To publish the banns of marriage (S.).--S.W.

'They tells I as 'ow Bet Stingymir is gwain to be caal'd
_whoam_ to Jim Spritely on Zundy.'--SLOW.

*=Callow-wablin=. An unfledged bird (A.).--S.W.

=Callus-stone=. A sort of gritty earth, spread on a board for knife-sharpening (Wilts Arch. Mag. vol. xxii. p. 109).--N. & S.W. (Cherhill, &c.)

=Calves'-trins=. Calves' stomachs, used in cheese-making. A.S. _trendel_. See ~Trins~. Halliwell and Wright give _'Calf-trundle_, the small entrails of a calf.'--N.W.

*=Cam=. Perverse, cross. Welsh _cam_, crooked, wry.--N.W.

'A 's as cam and as obstinate as a mule.'--_Wilts Tales_, p.
138.

'They there wosbirds [of bees] zimd rayther cam and
mischievul.'--_Springtide_, p. 47.

=Cam-handed=. Awkward.--N.W.

*=Cammock=. _Ononis arvensis_, L., Restharrow (D.).

=Cammocky=. Tainted, ill-flavoured, as cheese or milk when the cows have been feeding on cammock. See ~Gammotty~ (2).--S.W.

=Canary-seed=. Seed-heads of Plantain.--N. & S.W.

=Candle=. 'To strike a candle,' to slide, as school-boys do, on the heel, so as to leave a white mark along the ice.--S.W.

=Cank=. To overcome (H.Wr.): perhaps a perversion of _conquer_. The winner 'canks' his competitors in a race, and you 'cank' a child when you give it more than it can eat.--N.W.

=Canker=. Fungus, toadstool (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Canker-berries=. Wild Rose hips. ~Conker-berries~ (S.).--S.W. (Salisbury, &c.).

=Canker-rose=. The mossy gall on the Dog-rose, formed by _Cynips rosae_; often carried in the pocket as a charm against rheumatism (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.

*=Cappence=. The swivel-joint of the old-fashioned flail, _Capel_ in Devon.--N. & S.W.

=Carpet=. To blow up, to scold; perhaps from the scene of the fault-finding being the parlour, not the bare-floored kitchen. 'Measter carpeted I sheamvul s'marning.' 'I had my man John on the carpet just now and gave it him finely.'--N.W.

=Carriage=. A water-course, a meadow-drain (A. B. G. H. Wr.). In S. Wilts the _carriages_ bring the water into and through the meadow, while the _drawn_ takes it back to the river after its work is done.--N. & S.W.

=Carrier=, =Water-carrier=. A large water-course (_Wild Life_, ch. xx).--N. & S.W.

=Carry along=. To prove the death of, to bring to the grave. 'I be afeard whe'er that 'ere spittin' o' blood won't car'n along.'--N.W.

=Cart=. 'At cart,' carrying or hauling, as 'We be at wheat cart [coal-cart, dung-cart, &c.] to-day.--N.W.

=Casalty=. See ~Casulty~.

=Cass'n=. Canst not (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Cassocks=. Couch-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.).

=Casulty=. (1) _adj._ Of weather, unsettled, broken (_Green Ferne Farm_, ch. i). ~Casalty~ (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 109).--N. & S.W. (2) Of crops, uncertain, not to be depended on. Plums, for instance, are a 'casalty crop,' some years bearing nothing.--N.W.

*=Cat-gut=. The ribs of the Plantain leaf; so called by children when drawn out so as to look like fiddle-strings (_Great Estate_, ch. ii).

=Cat-Kidney=. A game somewhat resembling cricket, played with a wooden 'cat' instead of a ball.--N.W. (Brinkworth.)

=Cat's-ice=. White ice, ice from which the water has receded.--N. & S.W. (Steeple Ashton, &c.).

'They stood at the edge, cracking the cat's-ice, where the
water had shrunk back from the wheel marks, and left the frozen
water white and brittle.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. xii. p. 153.

=Cats'-love=. Garden Valerian, on which cats like to roll.--S.W.

*=Cats'-paws=. Catkins of willow while still young and downy.--S.W. (Deverill.)

=Cats'-tails=. (1) _Equisetum_, Horse-tail (_Great Estate_, ch. ii).--N.W. (2) The catkin of the willow.--N.W. (Lyneham.) (3) The catkin of the hazel.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Catch=. (1) Of water, to film over, to begin to freeze. ~Keach~, ~Keatch~, ~Kitch~, or ~Ketch~ (A.B.C.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.

'A bright clear moon is credited with causing the water to
"catch"--that is, the slender, thread-like spicules form on
the surface, and, joining together, finally cover it.'--_Wild
Life_, ch. xx.

Also see _Bevis_, ch. xl. (2) To grow thick, as melted fat when setting again.--N. & S.W. *(3) 'To catch and rouse,' to collect water, &c.

'In the catch-meadows ... it is necessary to make the
most of the water by catching and rousing it as often as
possible.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xi.

*(4) _n._ The same as Catch-meadow (_Ibid._ ch. xii).

*=Catch-land=. The arable portion of a common field, divided into equal parts, whoever ploughed first having the right to first choice of his share (D.).--Obsolete.

*=Catch-meadow=, =Catch-work meadow=, or =Catch=. A meadow on the slope of a hill, irrigated by a stream or spring, which has been turned so as to fall from one level to another through the carriages (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).

=Catching=, =Catchy=. Of weather, unsettled, showery (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. iii. p. 11).--N. & S.W.

=Caterpillar=. A cockchafer.--N.W.

=Cattikeyns=. Fruit of the ash.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Cave=. (1) _n._ The chaff of wheat and oats (D.): in threshing, the broken bits of straw, &c. ~Cavin~, ~Cavings~, or ~Keavin~ in N. Wilts.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To separate the short broken straw from the grain.--N. & S.W.

=Cavin, Cavings=. See ~Cave~ (1).

*=Caving-rake=. The rake used for separating cavings and grain on the threshing-floor.

=Caving= (or =Caffing=) =rudder=, or =rudderer=. *(1) The winnowing fan and tackle (D.).--S.W. (2) A coarse sieve used by carters to get the straw out of the horses' chaff.--N. & S.W.

=Cawk=, =Cawket=. To squawk out, to make a noise like a hen when disturbed on her nest, &c. 'Ther's our John, s'naw [dost know?]--allus a messin' a'ter the wenchin, s'naw--cawin' an' cawkettin' like a young rook, s'naw,--'vore a can vly, s'naw,--boun' to coom down vlop _he_ war!' ~Caa-kinn~ (S.).--N. & S.W. (Clyffe Pypard; Seagry, &c.)

*=Centry=. _Anagallis tenella_, L., Bog Pimpernel.--S.W. (Barford.)

=Cham=. To chew (A.B.C.S.). 'Now cham thee vittles up well.' An older form of _Champ_.--N. & S.W.

=Champ=. To scold in a savage snarling fashion. 'Now dwoan't 'ee gwo an' champ zo at I!' Used formerly at Clyffe Pypard.--N.W.

=Chan-Chider=. See ~Johnny Chider~.--S.W.

=Chap=. (1) _v._ Of ground, to crack apart with heat.--N & S.W. (2) _n._ A crack in the soil, caused by heat.--N. & S.W.

=Charm=. (1) _n._ 'All in a charm,' all talking loud together. A.S. _cyrm_, clamour (A.H.S.), especially used of the singing of birds. See Kingsley's _Prose Idylls_, i. Also used of hounds in full cry.--N. & S.W.

'Thousands of starlings, the noise of whose calling to each
other is indescribable--the country folk call it a "charm,"
meaning a noise made up of innumerable lesser sounds, each
interfering with the other.'--_Wild Life_, ch. xii.

Cp, Milton,

'Charm of earliest birds.'--_P. L._, ii. 642.

(2) _v._ To make a loud confused noise, as a number of birds, &c., together.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ 'To charm bees,' to follow a swarm of bees, beating a tea-tray, &c.--N.W. (Marlborough).

=Chatter-mag=, =Chatter-pie=. A chattering woman.--N. & S.W.

=Chawm=, =Chawn=. A crack in the ground (A.).--N.W.

=Cheese-flower=. _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow.--S.W.

=Cheeses=. Fruit of _Malva sylvestris_, L., Common Mallow.--N. & S.W.

*=Chemise=. _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--S.W. (Little Langford.) This name was given us as ~Chemise~, but would probably be pronounced as ~Shimmy~.

=Cherky=. Having a peculiar dry taste, as beans (_Village Miners_).--N. & S.W.

=Cherry-pie=. _Valeriana officinalis_, L., All-heal, from its smell.--S.W.

=Cheure=. See ~Choor~.

=Chevil= (or =Chevril=) =Goldfinch=. A large variety of goldfinch, with a white throat. See _Birds of Wilts_, p. 203, for a full description of the bird.--N. & S.W.

=Chewree=. See ~Choor~.

=Chib=. 'Potato-chibs,' the grown-out shoots in spring. See ~Chimp~.--S.W.

=Chiddlens=, =Chiddlins=. Pigs' chitterlings (H.S.Wr.).--N. & S.W.

=Children of Israel=. *(1) A small garden variety of _Campanula_, from the profusion of its blossoms (_English Plant Names_). (2) _Malcolmia maritima_, Br., Virginian Stock, occasionally.

=Chilver=, =Chilver-lamb=. A ewe lamb (A.).--N.W.

=Chilver-hog=. A ewe under two years old (D.). The word hog is now applied to any animal of a year old, such as a hog bull, a chilver hog sheep. 'Chilver' is a good Anglo-Saxon word, 'cilfer,' and is related to the word 'calf.' A chilver hog sheep simply means in the dialect of the Vale of Warminster, a female lamb a year old. See _Wilts Arch. Mag._ xvii. 303.--N. & S.W.

=Chimney-sweeps=. Flowering-heads of some grasses.--N.W. (Lyneham.)