Chapter VI: Introduction (4)

*=Lipe=. A pleat or fold in cloth.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Lipping=. Of weather, showery, wet, and stormy. 'I thenks as we shall have a ter'ble lipping summer to-year.' Cf. Lipping-time, a wet season, Glouc., and _Lippen'_, showery, Som.--N. & S.W.

*=Litten=, =Litton=. A churchyard. Lieton (H.Wr.) ~Chirche-litoun~ (_Chron. Vilod._). Still used in Hants, but probably now obsolete in Wilts (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxv. p. 129).

'His next bed will be in the Litten, if he be laying on the
ground on such a night as this.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 161.

*=Liver-sand=. See quotation.

'Sand-veins ... which are deep and tough, and are of the nature
called in Wilts "liver-sand."'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.

=Lob=. Of leaves, to droop limply, as cabbages do before rain.--N. & S.W.

=Lock=. 'A lock of hay,' a small quantity of hay (A.B.).--N.W.

=Locks-and-Keys=. _Dielytra spectabilis_, D.C. The usual cottagers' name for it in Somerset.--S.W. (Som. bord.).

=Locky=. Of hay which has not been properly shaken about, stuck together in locks as it was cut.--N.W.

=Lodged=. Of wheat, laid or beaten down by wind or rain (D.).--N. & S.W. Also ~Ledged~ (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).

=Log=. See ~Lug~ (1).

=Loggered=. A boy who is at plough all day often gets so _loggered_, or weighed down with _loggers_, all the time, that he comes home at night quite exhausted.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Loggers=. Lumps of dirt on a ploughboy's feet.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) In Glouc. a 'logger' is a small log attached to a horse's foot, to prevent straying.

=Loggerums=. (1) _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--N.W. *(2) 'Scabious' (_Village Miners_).

=Loiter=. See ~Laiter~.

=Lolloper=. A lazy lout (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Lollup=. (1) To loll out. 'Look at _he_, wi' he's tongue a lolluping out o' he's mouth, vor aal the world like a dog!'--N.W. (2) To loll about, to idle about. 'What be a-lollupin' about like that vor?'--N. & S.W.

*=Long Eliza=. A kind of long blue earthen jar, formerly often seen in cottages.--N.W. (Berks bord.)

'The high black chimney-shelf was covered with crockery of
a low type of beauty; pink and yellow china dogs shared
their elevated station with "long Elizas" and squat female
figures.'--_Dark_, ch. i.

=Longful=. Tedious (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Long purples=. _Lythrum Salicaria_, L., Purple Loosestrife. Rarely used. Tennyson's 'long purples of the dale' have been identified by himself as _Vicia Cracca_; Shakespeare's are either _Orchis mascula_, or _Arum maculatum_, while Clare applies the name to _Lythrum_.

=Long-winded=. 'A long-winded man' always means one who is very slow to pay his debts.--N.W.

=Long wood=. The long branches which are bent down and used to weave in and bind a hedge when it is being laid.--N.W.

=Lope along=. To run as a hare does.--S.W.

=Loppet=. (1) _v._ The same as ~Lope~. (2) _v._ To idle about, to slouch about. 'A girt veller, allus a loppetin' about.'--N.W. Cf. ~Sloppet~.

=Loppetty=. Weak, out of sorts.--N.W.

=Lords-and-Ladies=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Lot=. To reckon, expect, think. 'I do lot her's a bad 'un.'--N.W.

=Lot-meads=. (1) Common meadows divided into equal-sized pieces, for the hay of which lots were cast each year (D.).--N.W., obsolete.

'"Lot Mead" is not an uncommon name of fields in Wiltshire
parishes. It is perhaps a vestige of the original partition
of lands when cleared, which the chronicler Simeon of Durham
says were distributed by lot. See Kemble's _Anglo-Saxons_, i.
91.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, note, p. 198.

(2) A kind of festival in connexion with this division.

'Here [at Wanborough] is a Lott-mead celebrated yearly with
great ceremony. The Lord weareth a garland of flowers: the
mowers at one house have always a pound of beefe and a head of
garlic every man.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 198.

Nothing more appears to be known about this festival.--N.W. (Wanborough), obsolete.

*=Lottle=. _v._ To sound as water trickling in a small stream. Cf. ~Glox~.--N.W.

=Love-an'-idols=, or =Loving Idols=. _Viola tricolor_, L., Love-in-idleness, usually the wild form, but occasionally applied to the garden pansy also. ~Nuffin-idols~ at Clyffe Pypard. ~Lovenidolds~ (S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Loving-andrews=. _Geranium pratense_, L., Meadow Cranesbill (_Village Miners_).

*=Lowl-eared=. Long-eared (A.B.H.Wr.).

=Luce=. (1) Luke-warm.--S.W. *(2) A sore in sheep.--S.W.

=Lug=. (1) In land measure, a pole or perch (A.B.G.H.S.). ~Log~ (_MS. Gough_: K.Wr.)--N. & S.W.

'A lug ... is of three lengths in this county: 15, 18, and
16½ feet. The first of these measures is getting out of
use, but is still retained in some places, particularly in
increasing mason's work. The second is the ancient forest
measure, and is still used in many parts of the county for
measuring wood-land. But the last, which is the statute perch,
is by much the more general.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, p. 268.

(2) Any rod or pole (D.H.), as a perch for fowls, a clothes pole (A.B.). See ~Oven-lug~.

'Olde Freeman doe weare ruggs [coarse cloth],
And Thomas Lord doe goe to the woods to steal poles and luggs.'

Seventeenth century doggrell rhymes from Wroughton,
quoted in _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 216.

=Lug-wood=. Lops and tops of trees.--S.W.

=Lummakin=. Heavy, ungainly, clumsy (A.B.).--N.W.

=Lumper=. To move heavily, to stumble along. Of a pony, to stumble. To kick against anything (S.).--N. & S.W. (Malmesbury, Pewsey, &c.)

=Lumpus=. (1) Noise, row. 'Don't 'ee make such a lumpus.'--N.W. (2) All in a lump, heavily, as applied to a fall. 'Th'oss didn't vall down, but a come down wi' a kind of a lumpus.'--N.W.

=Lump work=. Piece work.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Lumpy=. Stout and strong. To say to any one, 'Why, ye be growed main lumpy!' is to pay him a high compliment.--N.W.

=Lurry=. Of cows, suffering from looseness.--N.W.

=Lynchet=, =Lytchet=. See ~Linch~.

'Another British coin, found on the "lytchets" at East Dean,
has passed into the cabinet of Dr. Blackmore.'--_Wilts Arch.
Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 242.

=Maakin=. See ~Malkin~.

=Mace=. See Note to quotation.

'This is a style still used by the lower classes in North
Wiltshire to tradesmen and sons of farmers. Thus at Ogbourne
St. George, a brickmaker whose name is Davis, is called "Mace
Davis," and sons of farmers are called "Mace John," or "Mace
Thomas," the surname being sometimes added and sometimes
not.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. i. p. 338.

This seems a misapprehension. The word used is simply _Mais'_ (before a consonant), a shortened form of 'Maister.' 'Mais' John' is short for Maister John. Before a vowel it would be _Mais'r_ or _Maistr'_--as 'Maistr' Etherd' [Edward].--N.W.

'_Mas_ was formerly a common contraction for _master_, e.g.
"Mas John," and is used by Ben Jonson and other Elizabethan
writers. See Nares, s.v. _Mas_.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

*=Mad=. Of land, spoilt, damaged, as by sudden heat after much rain (Lisle's _Husbandry_).--Obsolete.

=Madde=. *(1) _Asperula odorata_, L., Sweet Woodruff.--N.W. (Lyneham.) (2) _Anthemis Cotula_, L., Stinking Camomile.--N. & S.W.

=Madell= (_a_ broad), =Medal=, &c. The game of 'Merrills' or 'Nine Men's Morris.' Also known as ~Puzzle-Pound~. Several varieties of ~Madell~ are played in Wilts, known respectively as ~Eleven-penny~ (strictly ~The Merrills~), ~Nine-penny~, ~Six-penny~, and ~Three-penny~, according to the number of pieces used. 'Eleven-penny' is played with eleven pieces each side, instead of nine, the game being in other respects identical with 'Nine Men's Morris' as described in Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_. The players move alternately, and the general principle is to get three pieces together in a line anywhere on the dots or holes, while at the same time preventing your adversary from making a line. 'Nine-penny,' 'Six-penny,' and 'Three-penny' differ only in the number of men each side and the form of the board (_see diagrams_). The 'board' is scratched or chalked out on paving-stones, drawn on the slate, cut deep into the turf on the downs, or the top of the corn-bin (with holes instead of dots), in short, made anywhere and anyhow. The 'men' or 'pieces' may be anything available, sticks being played against stones, beans against oats, &c.--N.W. (Devizes, &c.)

=Maggots=. _n._ Tricks, nonsense. 'Her's at her maggots again.'--N.W.

*=Maggotting=. Meddling (S.).--S.W.

=Maggotty=. _adj._ Frisky, playful (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Maggotty-pie=. _Picus caudatus_, the Magpie (_MS. Lansd._ 1033, f. 2), still in use.--N.W.

*=Maiden's Honesty=. _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy. See ~Honesty~.--N.W., obsolete.

'All the hedges about Thickwood (in the parish Colerne) are ...
hung with maydens honesty.'--AUBREY'S _Wilts_, Royal Soc. MS.
p. 120.

=Main=. (1) _adv._ Very, as 'main good,' excellent (A.B.).--N.& S.W. (2) _adj._ 'A main sight o' frawk,' a great number (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Mais'=. See ~Mace~.

=Make=. 'That makes me out,' puzzles me (H.).--N.W.

=Malkin=. See ~Mawkin~.

*=Mammered=. Perplexed (A.).

*=Mammock=. _v._ To pull to pieces (_Leisure Hour_, August, 1893).--N.W. (Castle Eaton, &c.)

'He did so set his teeth and tear it; O, I warrant, how he
mammocked it!'--SHAKESPEARE, _Coriolanus_, i. 3.

*=Mander=. To order about in a worrying dictatorial fashion (S.). 'Measter do mander I about so.'--S.W.

=Mandy= (long _a_). (1) Frolicsome, saucy, impudent (A.B.C.): now only used by very old people.--N.W. *(2) Showy (C.).--N.W., obsolete.

=Mar=. See ~More~.

=Marlbro'-handed=. People who used their tools awkwardly were formerly called '_Marlbro'-handed vawk_,' natives of Marlborough being traditionally famed for clumsiness and unhandiness.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Marley=. Streaky, marbled; applied to fat beef, or bacon from a fat pig, where the fat seems to streak and grain the lean.--N.W.

=Martin=, =Free-martin=. A calf of doubtful sex.--N.W. An animal with an ox-like head and neck, which never breeds, but is excellent for fatting purposes. It is commonly supposed that a female calf born twin with a male is always a free-martin. Recent investigations, however, have proved that though the external organs of a free-martin may be female the internal are in all cases male. The rule laid down by Geddes and Thomson is that twin calves are always normal when of opposite sex or both female; but that if both are male one is invariably thus abnormal (_Evolution of Sex_, ch. iii. p. 39). Compare Scotch _ferow_ or _ferry cow_, a cow not in calf, and _mart_, an ox; also A.S. _fear_, a bullock (_Folk-Etymology_).

=Masked=. See ~A-masked~.

=Mathern=, =Mauthern=. *(1) _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy (A.D.H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) Wild Camomile (_Great Estate_, ch. viii).--N.W.

*=Maudlin=. The Ox-eye Daisy (D.).--N.W.

=Mawk= (pronounced _Maak_). To clean out the oven with the 'maakin,' before putting in the batch of bread.--N.W.

=Mawkin=, =Malkin=, =Maak=, or =Maakin=, (1) An oven-swab with which the charcoal sticks are swept out of the oven, before putting in the batch (A.).--N. & S.W.

'The malkin, being wetted, cleaned out the ashes ... malkin
[is] a bunch of rags on the end of a stick.'--_Great Estate_,
ch. viii.

(2) Also used as a term of reproach.--N.W.

'Thee looks like a girt maakin.'--_Great Estate_, ch. viii.

*=May-beetle=, The cockchafer (A.B.).

*=May-blobs=, =May-blubs=, or =May-bubbles=, Flowers and buds of _Caltha palustris_, L., Marsh Marigold.

=Mazzard=, *(1) A small kind of cherry (_English Plant Names_). ~Merry~ is the usual Wilts name, _Mazzard_ being Dev. and Som. (2) The head (A.), but only in such threats as:--

'I'll break thee mazzard vor thee!'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 31.

Ben Jonson has _mazzarded_, broken-headed.--N.W.

*=Meadow-soot=, _Spiraea Ulmaria_, L., Meadow-sweet (_Great Estate_, ch. ii). _Sote_, or _soot_=sweet.--N.W.

*=Mealy=, Mild and damp. ''Twar a oncommon mealy marnin'.'--N.W. (Bratton.)

=Measle-flower=, The garden Marigold, the dried flowers having some local reputation as a remedy. Children, however, have an idea that they may catch the complaint from handling the plant.--N. & S.W.

=Med=, See ~Mid~.

=Meg=, =Meggy=. (1) In the game of ~Must~, q.v., a small stone--called a 'meg' or 'meggy'--is placed on the top of a large one, and bowled at with other 'meggies,' of which each player has one.--N. & S.W. *(2) ~Maig.~ A peg (S.).--S.W.

=Mere=. A boundary line or bank of turf.--N. & S.W. A turf boundary between the downs on adjoining farms: formed by cutting two thick turves, one smaller than the other, and placing them, upside down, with the smaller one on top, at intervals of about a chain along the boundary line.--N.W. (Devizes.)

'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.

'Two acres of arable, of large measure, in Pen field, lying
together and bounded by meres on both sides.'--_Hilmarton
Parish Terrier_, dated 1704.

=Mere-stone=. A boundary stone (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii).--N.W.

=Merry=. The cherry; applied to both black and red varieties, but especially the small semi-wild fruit.--N. & S.W.

=Merry-flower=. The wild Cherry.--S.W. (Barford.)

*=Mesh= (_e_ long). Moss or lichen on an old apple-tree.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Messenger=. (1) A sunbeam reaching down to the horizon from behind a cloud is sometimes said to be the sun 'sending out a messenger.' Cf. Cope's _Hants Glossary_. Used by children in both N. & S. Wilts. (2) _pl._ The small detached clouds that precede a storm (_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. vi).--N. & S.W.

*=Mice's-mouths=. _Linaria vulgaris_, Mill., Snapdragon.--S.W. (Farley.)

=Michaelmas Crocus=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron.--N.W.

=Mickle=. Much (A.S.). A.S. _micel_.--N. & S.W., occasionally.

=Mid=, =Med=. _v._ Might or may (S.).--N.W.

=Middling=. (1) Ailing in health (H.); ~Middlinish~ (_Wilts Tales_, p. 137).--N. & S.W. (2) Tolerable, as 'a middlin' good crop.' ~Middlekin~ is occasionally used in S. Wilts in this sense.--N. & S.W. 'Very middling' (with a shake of the head), bad, or ill; 'pretty middling' (with a nod), good, or well (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).

*=Midstay=. The barn-floor between the mows.--N.W. (Aldbourne.) Compare _Middlestead_, a threshing-floor: _East of England_; also

'The old and one-eyed cart-horse dun
The middenstead went hobbling round,
Blowing the light straw from the ground.'

W. MORRIS, _The Land East of the Sun_.

=Midsummer men=. _Sedum Fabaria_, Koch., a variety of the red Orpine.--N.W. occasionally; S.W. (Farley.)

=Mild=. Of stone or wood, easily worked (_Great Estate_, ch. ix).--N.W.

*=Milk-flower=. _Lychnis vespertina_, Sibth., Evening Campion.--S.W. (Charlton All Saints.)

=Milkmaids=. _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock. In common use in Hill Deverill and Longbridge Deverill, also at Farley and Hamptworth.--S.W.

=Milkwort=. _Euphorbia Peplus_, L., Petty Spurge.--N. & S.W.

=Mill=. To clean clover-seed from the husk (D.). ~Milled Hop~ (D.).--N.W.

=Miller=, =Millard=, =Mallard=, or =Dusty Miller=. A large white moth (A.S.); generally extended to any large night-flying species.--N. & S.W.

*=Mill-peck=. A kind of hammer with two chisel-heads, used for deepening the grooves of the millstone (_Great Estate_, ch. ix).

*=Mill-staff=. A flat piece of wood, rubbed with ruddle, by which the accuracy of the work done by the mill-peck may be tested (_Great Estate_, ch. ix).

=Mind=. (1) To remind. 'That minds I o' Lunnon, it do.'--N. & S.W. (2) To remember. 'I minds I wur just about bad then.'--N. & S.W. (3) 'To be a mind to anything,' to be inclined to do it.--N.W.

=Minding=. A reminder. After a severe illness you are apt to have 'the mindings on't' now and again.--N.W.

=Minnies=. Small fry of all kinds of fish.--N. & S.W.

=Mint=. A cheese-mite (A.). The older form of _mite_ (Skeat).--N.W.

=Minty=. Of cheese, full of mites (A.).--N.W.

=Mist-pond=. A pond on the downs, not fed by any spring, but kept up by mist, dew, and rain. Such ponds rarely fail, even in the longest drought. More commonly called ~Dew-ponds~.--S.W. (Broadchalke, &c.)

=Mixen=, =Muxen=. A dungheap (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Mix-muddle=. One who muddles things imbecilely (_Village Miners_).--N.W.

=Miz-maze=. Puzzle, perplexity, confusion.--S.W.

=Miz-mazed=. Thoroughly puzzled, stupefied. Stunned (S.).--S.W.

=Mizzy-mazey=. Confused. Used of print swimming before the eyes.--S.W.

=Moile=. Dirt, mud. ~Mwoile~ (A.). 'Aal in a mwoile.'--N.W.

=Moll*'ern=, =Molly Heron=. The Heron (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).--N.W.

=Mommick=, =Mommet=. A scarecrow. Cf. ~Mummock~.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Money-in-both-pockets=. _Lunaria biennis_, L., Honesty, from the seeds showing on both sides of the dissepiment through the transparent pod.

=Monkey-musk=. The large garden varieties of _Mimulus_, which resemble the true musk, but are scentless, and therefore merely _monkey_ (i.e. mock, spurious) musk.--N. & S.W.

=Monkey Nut=. _Poa annua_, L., Meadow Grass; eaten by boys for its nut-like flavour.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Monkey-plant=. Garden _Mimulus_ (_Wild Life_, ch. viii).--N.W.

=Mooch=. See ~Mouch~.

=Moocher=. See ~Moucher~.

=Moochers=. Fruit of _Rubus fruticosus_, L., Blackberry (S.). Cf. ~Berry-moucher~ (2).--S.W.

=Moon-daisy=. _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy (_Great Estate_, ch. ii). A very general name, especially in N. Wilts. The flowers are sometimes called ~Moons~.--N. & S.W.

=Moonied up=. Coddled and spoilt by injudicious bringing up. 'Gells as be moonied up bean't never no good.'--N. & S.W.

=Moots=. Roots of trees left in the ground (A.). See ~Stowls~.--E.W.

=Mop=. (1) A Statute Fair for hiring servants (A.B.); also used in Glouc. (_Wilts Tales_, p. 33).--N.W. (2) A rough tuft of grass.

=Moral=. A child is said to be the 'very moral,' or exact likeness, of its father. A form of 'model.'--N. & S.W.

=More=, =Mar=, =Moir=. (1) An old root or stump of a tree.--N. & S.W. (2) A root of any plant (A.B.G.S.: Aubrey's _Wilts MS._), as 'a strawberry more'; 'fern mars'; 'cowslip mars,' &c. (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. vii.) Occasionally ~Moir~ in N. Wilts, as in ~Crazy Moir~.--N. & S.W.

=Moreish=. Appetizing, so good that you want more of it. 'Viggy pudden be oncommon moreish.'--N. & S.W.

=Mort=. _n._ A quantity.--N. & S.W.

'Her talks a mort too vine.'--_Dark_, ch. x.

'I stuck up to her a mort o' Sundays.'--_Ibid._ ch. xv.

=Most-in-deal=. Usually, generally (A.B.C.). 'Where do 'e bide now, Bill?' 'Most-in-deal at 'Vize [Devizes], but zometimes at Ziszeter [Cirencester].' ~Most-in-general~ is more commonly used now.--N.W.

=Most-in-general=. Usually.--N.W.

'Most in gen'ral I catches sight of you when I goes by wi' the
horses, but you wasn't in the garden this afternoon.'--_Dark_,
ch. i.

=Mote=, =Maute=. A morsel of anything, a very minute quantity.--S.W., formerly.

=Mother-of-thousands=. (1) _Saxifraga sarmentosa_, L.--S.W. (2) _Linaria Cymbalaria_, Mill., Ivy-leaved Toadflax.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

*=Mother Shimbles' Snick-needles=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--S.W. (Zeals.)

=Mothery=. Thick, muddy, as spoilt beer or vinegar (A.B.C.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Mouch=, =Mooch=. (1) _v._ To prowl about the woods and lanes, picking up such unconsidered trifles as nuts, watercresses, blackberries, ferns, and flower-roots, with an occasional turn at poaching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vii); to pilfer out-of-doors, as an armful of clover from the fresh-cut swathe (_Hodge and his Masters_, ch. xxiii).--N. & S.W.

'Probably connected with O.F. _mucer_, _muchier_, Fr. _musser_,
to hide, to lurk about. It always implies something done more
or less by stealth.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

(2) _v._ To play the truant.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ To be sulky or out of temper.--N. & S.W. (4) _n._ 'In a mouch,' in a bad temper. 'On the mouch,' gone off mouching.--N. & S.W.

=Moucher=, =Moocher=. (1) A truant (A.B.). See ~Berry-moucher~.--N. & S.W. (2) A man who lives by mouching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W.

=Moulter=. Of birds, to moult.--N.W.

=Mound=. (1) _n._ A hedge. In general use in N. Wilts.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To hedge in or enclose.--N.W.

'The Churchyard ... to be mounded partly by the manor, partly
by the parish and parsonage except only one gate to be
maintained by the vicar.'--1704, _Hilmarton Parish Terrier_.

=Mouse=. The 'mouse' is a small oblong piece of muscle, under the blade-bone of a pig.--N.W.

'The chief muscles of the body were named from lively animals;
e.g. ... _mus_, mouse, the biceps muscle of the arm, and so
in A.S. and O.H.G. Cf. _musculus_, (1) a little mouse, (2) a
muscle.' (_Folk-Etymology_, p. 615, sub Calf.)--SMYTHE-PALMER.

*=Mousetails=. A kind of grass, perhaps Cats'-tail, but not _Myosorus_.--N.W.

*=Moutch=. 'On the moutch,' shuffling (H.). Some meaning of ~Mouch~ has probably here been misunderstood.

=Mouthy=. _adj._ Abusive, cheeky, impudent.--S.W.

=Mow=. In a barn, the unboarded space at each end of the threshing-floor, where the corn used to be heaped up for threshing.--N.W.

*=Mowing-machine Bird=. _Salicaria locustella_, Grasshopper Warbler, from its peculiar note (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 154).--S.W. (Mere.)

=Much=. (1) 'It's much if he do,' most likely he won't do it. 'It's much if he don't,' most likely he will.--N.W. (2) _v._ To make much of, to pet. 'Her do like muching,' i.e. being petted.--N.W.

=Much-about=. Used intensively.--N.W.

'I was never one to go bellockin', though I've allus had
much-about raison to murmur.'--_Dark_, ch. x.

=Muck=. Dirt, mud, earth.--N. & S.W.

*=Mucker=. A miserly person (S.) Cf. ~Mouch~.--S.W.

'A fine old word, that I do not remember to have met with
in other counties. It=Old Eng. _mokerer_ (_Old English
Miscellany_, E. E. T. S. p. 214), a miser; Scot. _mochre_,
_mokre_, to hoard.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Muckle=. (1) _n._ Manure, long straw from the stable (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W. (2) 'Muckle over,' to cover over tender plants with long straw in autumn, to protect them from frost.--N.W.

=Muddle-fuss=. A persistent meddler with other people's affairs.--N.W. (Steeple Ashton.)

*=Mudel over=. The same as _Muckle over_, q.v. (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).

=Mud-up=. (1) To pamper and spoil a child.--S.W. (Hants bord.) *(2) To bring up by hand (H.Wr.), as 'Mud the child up, dooke' (_Monthly Mag._, 1814).

=Muggeroon=. A mushroom.--N.W.

=Muggerum=. Part of the internal fat of a pig.--N.W.

=Muggle=. (1) _n._ Confusion, muddle (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

'Here we be, ael in a muggle like.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 137.

(2) To live in a muddling, haphazard way.--N.W. Cf.:--

'Most on us 'ad a precious sight rather work for a faermer
like the old measter, an' have our Saturday night reg'lar,
than go muggling the best way we could, an' take our
chance.'--_Jonathan Merle_, xxxvii. 412.

=Muggle-pin=. The pin in the centre of a want-trap.--S.W.

=Mullin=. The headstall of a cart-horse: sometimes extended to the headstall and blinkers of a carriage horse.--N.W.

=Mullock=. A heap of rubbish (A.B.), now applied to mine refuse in Australia.

=Mummock=. A shapeless confused mass. A clumsily-swaddled baby or badly-dressed woman would be 'aal in a mummock.'--N.W.

=Mum up=. To make much of, pamper, pet, and spoil. 'A granny-bred child's allus a-mummed up.'--N. & S.W.

=Mun=. Used in addressing any person, as 'Doesn't thee knaw that, mun?' (A.)--N.W.

=Must=. A game played by children: a small stone--'a meggy'--is placed on the top of a large one, and bowled at with other 'meggies,' of which each player has one.--N.W.

=Muxen=. See ~Mixen~.

=Nacker=. See ~Knacker~.

=Nail-passer=. A gimlet (A.). Kennett has _Nailsin_ in a similar sense.--N.W.

'"Here's the kay" ... holding up a small gimlet. "Whoy, thuck
ben't a kay ... that's nothing but a nail-passer."'--_Wilts
Tales_, p. 44.

=Nails=. _Bellis perennis_, L., Daisy.--S.W. (Mere.)

=Naked Boys=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron, the flowers and leaves of which do not appear together (Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 51, ed. Brit.). _Naked Lady_ in Cornw., Yks., &c., and _Naked Virgins_ in Chesh.--N. & S.W. (Huish, Stockton, &c.)

*=Naked Nanny=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron. See ~Naked Boys~.--S.W. (Deverill.)

=Nammet=. See ~Nummet~ (S.).

='Nan=. What do you say? (A.B.C.). See ~Anan~.

=Nanny-fodger=, or =Nunny-fudger=. (1) A meddlesome prying person.--S.W. (2) _Troglodytes vulgaris_, the Wren.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Narration=. Fuss, commotion. 'He do allus make such a narration about anythin'.'--N. & S.W.

=Nash=, =Naish=, =Nesh=. (1) Tender, delicate, chilly (A.B.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W. (2) Tender and juicy: applied to lettuces.--S.W., occasionally.

=Nation=, =Nashun=, &c. Very, extremely, as _nation dark_ (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nation-grass=. _Aira caespitosa_, L., perhaps an abbreviation of Carnation-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Natomy=, =Notamy=, =Notamize=, &c. A very thin person or animal, an anatomy.--N. & S.W.

*=Naumpey=. A weak foolish-minded person.--N.W.

*=Navigator=. A drain-maker's spade, with a stout narrow gouge-like blade (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi), more usually known as a ~Graft~.

=Neal=, =Nealded=. See ~Anneal~.

=Neck-headland=. 'To fall neck-headland,' i.e. headlong.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Neet=. See ~Nit~ (S.).

=Neoust of a neoustness=. Nearly alike (A.). See ~Aneoust~.--N.W.

=Nesh=. See ~Nash~.

=Nessel-tripe=, =Nessel-trip=, =Nussel-trip=. The smallest and weakest pig in a litter. Commonly used in the Deverills, and elsewhere.--S.W.

=Nettle-creeper=. Applied generally in Wilts to the following three birds:--(1) _Curruca cinerea_, Common Whitethroat, (2) _C. sylvatica_, Lesser Whitethroat, and (3) _C. hortensis_, Garden Warbler (_Birds of Wilts_, pp. 159-161).--N.W.

=Neust=. See ~Aneoust~.

=Neust alike=. Nearly alike.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)

=Neust of a neustness=. See ~Aneoust~.

*=Never-the-near=. To no purpose, uselessly. 'I cwourted she ten year, but there, 'twer aal niver-the-near.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Next akin to nothing=. Very little indeed. 'There's next akin to nothen left in the barrel.'--N.W.

=Nibs=. The handles of a scythe (A.).--N.W.

=Niche=. See ~Knitch~.

=Nightcaps=. (1) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--N. & S.W. (2) _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., the garden Columbine.--N.W. (Devizes, Huish, &c.)

=Night-fall=. _n._ A disease in horses. A humour in the fetlock joint, recurring until it produces incurable lameness.--S.W.

'Witness ... told him his animal was very lame, and asked
what was the matter with it. He replied, "Nothing, it is
only 'night-fall,' and it comes on several times during the
year."'--_Wilts County Mirror_, Oct. 27, 1893.

=Nightingale=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort.--S.W. (Hants bord.)

*=Night Violet=. _Habenaria chlorantha_, Bab., Greater Butterfly Orchis (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--N.W. (Lyneham.)

=Nine-holes=. A game played by children.--N.W.

'This is mentioned among the "illegal games" in the Castle
Combe records.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. iii. p. 156.

'1576. _Lusum illicitum vocatum_ nyne holes.'--SCROPE'S
_History of Castle Combe_.

=Nineter=. (1) 'A nineter young rascal,' a regular scamp. Not perverted from _anoint_ (as if it meant set apart to evil courses and an evil end), but from Fr. _anoienté_, _anéanti_, brought to nothing, worthless (_Folk-Etymology_, p. 9).--N.W. (Seend.) *(2) A skinflint (S.).

=Ninny-hammer=. A fool, a silly person.--N.W.

='Nint=. See ~Anoint~.

='Ninting= (_i_ long). A beating. See ~Anoint~.--N.W.

=Nipper=. A small boy (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nippers=. The same as ~Grab-hook~.--N.W. (Huish.)

=Nippy=. Stingy (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nistn't=. Need not.--N.W.

'Thee nistn't hoopy at I--I can hyar as well as thee.'--_Greene
Ferne Farm_, ch. iii.

=Nit, Neet=. Nor yet. Wrongly defined by Akerman, Slow, and others as _not yet_. 'I han't got no money nit no vittles.'--N. & S.W.

=Nitch=. See ~Knitch~.

=Nog=. A rough block or small log of wood.--N.W.

=Nog-head=. A blockhead (S.). ~Nug-head~ in W. Somerset.--S.W.

=Nolens volens=. Used in N. Wilts in various corrupted forms, as 'I be gwain, nolus-bolus,' in any case; 'vorus-norus,' rough, blustering; and 'snorus-vorus,' vehemently.

=Noodle along=. To lounge aimlessly along, to move drowsily and heavily, as a very spiritless horse.--N.W.

=*Noon-naw=. A stupid fellow, a 'know-naught' (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).

=Nor, Nur=. Than; as 'better nur that' (B.).--N. & S.W.

=Not-cow=. A cow without horns (A.). A.S. _hnot_, clipped, shorn.--N. & S.W.

=Noust=. See ~Aneoust~.

=Nummet=. The 'noon-meat' or noon-day meal (A.). ~Nammet~ in S. Wilts.--N. & S.W.

=Numpinole=. The Pimpernel.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Nuncheon, Nunchin=. The noon-meal (A.S.). ~Nunch~ (_Wilts Tales_, p. 117).--N.W.

=Nunchin-bag=. The little bag in which ploughmen carry their meals (A.).--N.W.

=Nunny-fudging=. Nonsense. 'That's all nunny-fudgen.'--N.W., now nearly obsolete.

=Nunny-fudgy=. 'A nunny-fudgy chap,' a poor sort of a fellow with no go in him: now used only by old people.--N.W.

=Nur=. See ~Nor~.

=*Nurk=. The worst pig of a litter. See ~Rinnick~.--N.W.

=Nurly=. Of soil: lying in lumps.--S.W. (Bratton.)

=Nut=. The nave of a wheel (S.).--S.W.

=Nyst, Niest=. Often used in Mid Wilts in same way as _neust_, as 'I be nyst done up,' i.e. over tired.

=Nythe=. A brood, as 'a nythe o' pheasants'; always used by gamekeepers.--N.W. Apparently a form of Fr. _nid_, a nest. In the New Forest they say 'an _eye_ of pheasants.' See Cope's _Hampshire Glossary_ (s.v. _Nye_).

=Oak-tree loam or clay=. The Kimmeridge Clay (Britton's _Beauties_, 1825, vol. iii., also Davis's _Agric. of Wilts_, p. 113, &c.).

=Oat-hulls= (pronounced Wut-hulls). Oat chaff and refuse.--S.W.

=Oaves=. (1) Oat chaff.--N. & S.W. (Huish, &c.) (2) The eaves of a house (S.).--S.W.

'A good old form. Mid. Eng. _ovese_ (_Old Eng. Miscell._, E.
E. T. S. p. 15, l. 465),=O. H. Germ, _opasa_ (_Vocab. of S.
Gall_).'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Odds=. (1) _v._ To alter, change, set right. 'I'll soon odds that' (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).--N.W. (2) _n._ Difference. 'That don't make no odds to I.' 'What's the odds to thee?' what does it matter to you?--N.W.

=Oddses=. Odds and ends.

=Oddy=. (1) See ~Huddy~. (2) Strong, vigorous, in hearty health.--N.W.

=Of=. With. 'You just come along o' I!'--N. & S.W.

=Offer=. 'To offer to do a thing,' to make as though you were going to do it, or to begin to do it. 'He offered to hit I,' i.e. did not _say_ he would, but just put up his fists and let out.--N.W.

=Old man=. (1) _Artemisia Abrotanum_, L., Southernwood.--N. & S.W. (2) _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W.

=Old man's beard=. (1) _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy, when in fruit.--N. & S.W. (2) The mossy galls on the dog-rose.--N. & S.W.

=Old Sow=. _Melilotus coerulea_, L., from its peculiar odour (_Science Gossip_, Nov. 1868).--N. & S.W., rarely.

*=Old woman's bonnet=. _Geum rivale_, Water Avens.--S.W. (Mere.)

*=Old woman's pincushion=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted Orchis.--S.W.

=Ollit=. See ~Elet~.

=On=. (1) =_in_, prep., as 'I run agen un on th' street' (A.).--N. & S.W. (2) =_in_, prefix, as _ondacent_.--N. & S.W. (3) =_im_, prefix, as _onpossible_ (A.B.).--N. & S.W. (4) =_un_, prefix, as _ongainly_ (B.). _Onlight_, to alight.--N. & S.W. (5) =_of_, as 'I never did thenk much on 'en.'--N. & S.W. (6) =_by_, as 'He come on a mistake.'--N. & S.W.

=Once=. (1) Some time or other (M.). 'Once before ten o'clock,' some time or other before ten.--N. & S.W.

'Send it once this morning, dooke.'--_Monthly Mag._ 1814.

(2) 'I don't once (=for one moment) think as you'll catch un.'--N. & S.W.

=Oo=. Such words as _hood_, wood, _want_, a mole, _wonder_, &c., are usually pronounced in N. Wilts as _'ood_, _'oont_, _'oonder_.

*=Organy=. (1) _Mentha Pulegium_, L., Pennyroyal (A.B.). (2) _Origanum vulgare_, L., Marjoram (_English Plant Names_).

=Otherguise=. Otherwise.--N.W.

=Out-axed=. Of a couple, having had their banns fully asked, or called for the last time (_Wilts Tales_, p. 100). The banns are then _out_, and the couple _out-axed_.--N.W.

=Oven-cake=. Half a loaf, baked at the oven's mouth.--N.W.

=Oven-lug=. The pole used as a poker in an oven. See ~Lug~ (2).--N.W.

*=Over-get=. To overtake, to catch up.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

*=Overlayer=. See quotation.

'The waggons ... seldom have any overlayers or out-riggers,
either at the ends or sides.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xxxviii.

=Overlook=. To bewitch. Rare in Wilts, common in Dev. and Som.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Over-right=, =Vorright=. Opposite to.--N.W.

=Owl about=. To moon about out of doors in the dark.--N.W.

=Owling=. The same as ~Griggling~, q.v.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

Compare:--

'Howlers. Boys who in former times went round wassailing the
orchards.'--PARISH, _Sussex Glossary_.

'The wenches with their wassail bowls
About the streets are singing;
The boys are come to catch the owls.'--G. WITHER.

*=Owl-catchers=. Gloves of stout leather (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi).

=Pack-rag Day=. October 11, Old Michaelmas Day, when people change house. Also used in Suffolk.--N.W.

*=Paint-brushes=. _Eleocharis palustris_, Br.--S.W. (Charlton All Saints.)

=Palm-tree=. The Willow. ~Palms.~ Its catkins.--S.W.

=Pamper=. To mess about, to spoil a thing.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Pancherd=. See ~Panshard~.

=Pank=. To pant (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Panshard=, =Ponshard=, =Pancherd=. (1) A potshard: a broken bit of crockery (A.B.S.).--N.W. (2) 'In a panshard,' out of temper, in a rage.--S.W. Also used in the New Forest.

=Pantony=. A cottager's pantry (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112). Compare _Entony_, an entry: Berks. There are many slight variants, as ~Panterny~.--N. & S.W.

=Paper Beech=. _Betula alba_, L.--N.W.

*=Parasol=. _Sanguisorba officinalis_, L., Salad Burnet.--S.W. (Little Langford.)

=Parson=. In carting dung about the fields, the heaps are shot down in lines, and are all of much the same size. Sometimes, however, the cart tips up a little too much, with the result that the whole cartload is shot out into a large heap. This is known as a 'Parson.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Parters=. Pieces of wood in a waggon which join the dripple to the bed. See ~Waggon~.--N.W.

=Passover=. 'A bit of a passover,' a mere passing shower.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Payze=. To raise with a lever (B.). Norman French _peiser_, cp. Fr. _poiser_.--N. & S.W.

=Peace-and-Plenty=. A kind of small double white garden Saxifrage.--S.W.

=Peakid=, =Peaky=, =Picked=, =Picky=. Wan or sickly-looking.--N. & S.W.

=Pearl-blind=. See ~Purley~.

=Peart=. (1) Impertinent (A.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) In good health. 'How be 'ee?' 'Aw, pretty peart, thank'ee.'--N. & S.W. (3) Clever, quick, intelligent.--S.W. (4) Stinging, sharp, as a blister.--S.W. (5) Lively. 'Her's as peart as ar' a bird, that's what her is!'--N.W.

=Peck=. (1) _n._ A pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To use a pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ Of a horse, to trip or stumble: also ~Peck-down~.--N.W.

'Captain Middleton's horse "pecked"--it is presumed through
putting its foot in a hole--and threw the rider.'--_Daily
Telegraph_, April 11, 1892.

*=Pecker=. _n._ The nose (S.).--S.W.

=Pecky=. Inclined to stumble. 'Th'old hoss goes terr'ble pecky.'--N.W.

=Peel=. (1) A lace-making pillow (A.B.). A little 'Peel lace' is still made about Malmesbury. A.S. _pile_.--N.W. (2) The pillow over the axle of a waggon (D.). See ~Waggon~.--N.W. (3) The pole, with a flat board at end, for putting bread into the oven.--N.W.

=Peggles=. See ~Pig-all~.

=Pelt=. Rage, passion (A.S.). 'A come in, in such a pelt.'--N. & S.W. The word occurs in this sense in some old plays. Herrick alludes in _Oberon's Palace_ to 'the stings of peltish wasps,' and Topsell uses 'pelting' for angry or passionate.

'You zims 'mazin afeert to zee your gran'fer in a pelt! 'Ten't
often as I loses my temper, but I've a-lost 'un now.'--_Dark_,
ch. xii. #/

=Penny= (or =Perry=) =moucher=. A corruption of ~Berry-moucher~, q.v.

=Perkins=. The same as ~Ciderkin~.--N.W.

=Perk up=. To get better, to brighten up.--S.W.

*=Perseen=. _v._ To pretend to (S.).--S.W.

'There's Jack White a comin'; I wun't perseen ta know
un.'--_Mr. Slow._

=Peter grievous=. (1) _n._ A dismal person, or one who looks much aggrieved. ~Pity grievous~ at Clyffe Pypard, and ~Peter grievous~ at Salisbury.--N. & S.W.

'I'll tell you summat as 'll make 'ee look a pater
grievous!'--_Dark_, ch. xv.

(2) _adj._ Dismal-looking. 'He be a peter-grievious-looking sort of a chap.'--S.W.

*=Peter-man=. See Jackson's _Aubrey_, p. 11.--Obsolete.

'At Kington Langley ... the revel of the village was kept on
the Sunday following St. Peter's Day (29th June), on which
occasions a temporary officer called "the Peter-man" used to be
appointed, bearing the office, it may be presumed, of master of
the sports.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 83.

=Peth=. The crumb of bread.--N.W.

=Pethy=. Crumby, as 'a pethy loaf.'--N.W.

=Pick=. (1) A hay-making fork (A.B.D.), a stable-fork (D.). _Pick_=pitch, as in _pitch-fork_ (Skeat).--N. & S.W. (2) The fruit of the sloe.

=Picked= (two syll.). (1) Sharp-pointed. ~Piggid~ on Som. bord. 'Thuck there prong yun't picked enough.'--N. & S.W. (2) Looking ill (S.). With features sharpened by ill-health. See ~Peakid~.--N. & S.W.

=Pickpocket=. _Capsella Bursa-pastoris_, L., Shepherd's Purse.--N. & S.W. (Enford, Mere, &c.)

=Picky=. See ~Peakid~.

*=Pie-curr=. _Fuligula cristata_, Tufted Duck (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 190).--S.W.

=Pig-all=, =Pig-haw=. Fruit of the hawthorn (A.). ~Peggles~ (Jefferies, _Marlborough Forest_, &c.)--N.W.

=Pig-berry=. Fruit of the hawthorn (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Pigeon-pair=. When a woman has only two children, a boy and a girl, they are called a 'pigeon pair.'--N. & S.W.

'So in N. Eng. "a dow's cleckin" (a dove's clutch) is used for
two children.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Piggid=. See ~Picked~ (1).

=Pig-haw=. See ~Pig-all~.

=Pig-meat=. The flesh of the pig in Wilts is, if fresh, 'pig-meat.' It is never 'pork' unless the animal is specially killed as a 'little porker.'

*=Pig-muddle=. Disorder, mess.--N.W.

=Pig-nut=. (1) _Bunium flexuosum_, With., The Earth-nut.--N. & S.W. (2) The very similar root of _Carum Bulbocastanum_, Koch., Tuberous Caraway.--N.W., occasionally.

=Pig-potatoes=. Small potatoes, usually boiled up for the pigs.--N. & S.W.

=Pigs=. (1) See ~Boats~.--S.W. (Hants bord.) (2) Woodlice.--N. & S.W. Also ~Guinea-pigs~ and ~Butchers' Guinea-pigs~.

=Pig-weed=. _Symphytum officinale_, L., Comfrey.--N.W. (Enford.)

=Pillars=. See ~Waggon~.

=Pimrose=. A primrose. Also used in Hants.--N. & S.W.

=Pin-bone=. The hip bone; sometimes the hip itself.--N.W.

=Pincushion=. (1) _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W. (Barford.) (2) _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--S.W. (Charlton.)

=Pinner=. A servant's or milker's apron; a child's pinafore being generally called ~Pinney~.--N. & S.W.

'Next morn I missed three hens and an old cock, And off the
hedge two pinners and a smock.'

GAY, _The Shepherd's Week_.

=Pinny-land=. Arable land where the chalk comes close to the surface, as opposed to the deeper clay land.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Pins=. The hips. A cow with hips above its back is said to be 'high in the pins.'--N.W.

=Pip=. The bud of a flower (B.).--N.W.

*=Pish!= or =Pishty!= A call to a dog (A.). In co. Clare, Ireland, this is the order to a horse to stop.

=Pissabed=. _Leontodon Taraxacum_, L., Dandelion, from its diuretic effects.--N. & S.W.

*=Pissing-candle=. The least candle in the pound, put in to make up the weight (Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._). Cp. Norman French _peiser_, to weigh.--Obsolete.

=Pit=. (1) _n._ A pond.--N.W. (2) _n._ The mound in which potatoes or mangolds are stored (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ 'To pit potatoes,' to throw them up in heaps or ridges, in field or garden, well covered over with straw and beaten earth, for keeping through the winter.--N. & S.W.

=Pitch=. (1) _n._ A steep place.--N.W. (2) _n._ 'A pitch of work,' as much of the water-meadows as the water supply will cover well at one time (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).--S.W. (3) n. The quantity of hay, &c., taken up by the fork each time in pitching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv).--N. & S.W. (4) _v._ To load up wheat, &c., pitching the sheaves with a fork (S.).--N. & S.W. (5) _v._ To fix hurdles, &c., in place (_Bevis_, ch. xxiii).--N. & S.W. (6) _v._ To settle down closely.

'Give the meadows a thorough good soaking at first ... to make
the land sink and pitch closely together.'--_Agric. of Wilts_,
ch. xii.

(7) _v._ To lose flesh, waste away. Still in use in N. Wilts.

'The lambs "pitch and get stunted," and the best summer food
will not recover them.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.

(8) _v._ To set out goods for sale in market. 'There wur a main lot o' cheese pitched s'marnin'.'--N. & S.W. (9) _v._ To pave with ~Pitchin~, q.v.--N.W. (10) _v._ Of ground, to have an uneven surface. 'The ground this end o' the Leaze pitches uncommon bad.'--S.W. (Hants bord.)

=Pitched market=. A market where the corn is exposed for sale, not sold by sample (D.).--N.W.

=Pitchin=. _n._ Paving is done with large flat stones, 'pitching' with small uneven ones set on edge (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Pitching-bar=. The iron bar used in pitching hurdles (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. ii).--N. & S.W.

=Pitch-poll=. When rooks are flying round and round, playing and tumbling head over heels in the air (a sign of rain), they are said to be 'playing pitch-poll'--N.W.

=Pitch-up=. A short rest, as when a cart is going up a steep hill.--N.W.

=Pit-hole=. The grave (S.). Used by children.--N. & S.W.

'They lies, the two on 'em, the fourth and fifth i' the second
row, for I dug pit-holes for 'em.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch.
vi. p. 66.

*=Pixy=. A kind of fairy. This is a Dev. and Som. word, but is said to be in use about Malmesbury.

=Plain=. Straightforward, unaffected, as 'a plain 'ooman.'--N. & S.W.

=Plan=. 'In a poor plan,' unwell, in a poor way, &c.--N.W. (Seend.)

*=Plank-stone=. A flag-stone.

'This soyle (at Easton Piers) brings very good oakes and witch
hazles; excellent planke stones.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 236.

'At Bowdon Parke, Ano 1666, the diggers found the bones of a
man under a quarrie of planke stones.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. of
Wilts_, p. 71, ed. Brit.

*=Plash=, =Pleach=. To cut the upper branches of a hedge half through, and then bend and intertwine them with those left upright below, so as to make a strong low fence (A.). Also ~Splash~.--N. & S.W.

=Plat=. The plateau or plain of the downs.--S.W.

=Pleach=. See ~Plash~.

=Pleachers=. Live boughs woven into a hedge in laying.--S.W.

=Plim=. (1) _v._ To swell out (A.B.S.), as peas or wood when soaked in water.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ Many years ago, near Wootton Bassett, old Captain Goddard spoke to a farmer about a dangerous bull, which had just attacked a young man. The farmer's reply was:--'If a hadn't a bin a _plimmin'_ an' _vertin'_ wi' his stick--so fashion--(i.e. flourishing his stick about in the bull's face), the bull wouldn't ha' run at un.' No further explanation of these two words appears to be forthcoming at present.

=Plocks=. Large wood, or roots and stumps, sawn up into short lengths, and cleft for firewood (S.). ~Plock-wood~ (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Plough=. A waggon and horses, or cart and horses together, make a plough (D.). See Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._--N.W.

'The team of oxen that drew the plough came to be called the
plough, and in some parts of South Wilts they still call even
a waggon and horses a plough. This is needful for you to know,
in case your man should some day tell you that the _plough_ is
gone for _coal_.'--_Wilts. Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.

'1690. Paid William Winckworth for Worke downe with his Plough
to the causway.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 237.

'1709. Paid for 41 days worke with a ploughe carrying stones to
the Causey.'--_Ibid._ p. 239.

(2) For the various parts of the old wooden plough see as follows:--

'I should like to hear a Wiltshire boy who had been three years
at plough or sheep fold, cross-examine one of Her Majesty's
Inspectors of Schools, and ask him, in the article of a
plough, to be so good as to explain the difference between the
vore-shoot and back-shoot, the ground rest, the bread board,
the drail, the wing and point, and the whippence.'--_Wilts
Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.

*=Ploughman=. A waggoner or carter.--N.W., obsolete.

'1690. Paid for beere for the plowmen and pitchers.'--_Records
of Chippenham_, p. 237.

*=Ploughman's-weatherglass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W. (Barford.)

=Plurals=. (1) The old termination in _en_ is still much used, as _Housen_, _Hipsen_, &c. See ~En~ (1). (2) Plurals in _es_ are very commonly used, as _beastes_, _ghostes_, _nestes_, _postes_, _gutses_. Very often a reduplication takes place, as _beastises_, _ghostises_, &c.--N. & S.W. (3) Plurals are used sometimes instead of singulars. Examples:--'Nows and thens,' 'You'll find un a little ways furder on,' &c.

'These are rather an adverbial use of the genitive, like
_always_, _now-a-days_, _needs_, _whiles_, etc.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

(4) Plant-names are almost invariably used in the plural, even where only a single blossom is referred to, as 'What is that flower in your hand, Polly?' 'That's _Robins_, ma'am' (or _Cuckoos_, _Poppies_, _Nightcaps_, &c., as the case may be).--N. & S.W.

=Poach=. (1) Of cattle, to trample soft ground into slush and holes.--N. & S.W. (2) Of ground, to become swampy from much trampling (_Wild Life_, ch. xx).--N. & S.W.

*=Podge=. Anything very thick and sticky. Cf. ~Stodge~.

*=Pog=. *(1) To thrust with the foot.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(2) To set beans.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Poison-berry=. (1) Fruit of _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W. (2) Fruit of _Tamus communis_, L., Black Bryony.--N.W.

=Poison-root=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W.

=Pole-ring=. The ring which fastens the scythe-blade to the snead (A.).--N.W.

=Polly=. A pollard tree.--S.W. A Wiltshire man, on being told by the hospital surgeon that his arms would have to be amputated, exclaimed, 'Be I to be shrowded like a owld polly?'

=Polt=, =Powlt=. A blow (B.). A blow with a stick (A.). In Glouc. apples, walnuts, &c., are beaten down with a 'polting-lug,' or long pole.--N.W.

=Ponshard=. See ~Panshard~.

=Pooch out=. (1) To project or stick out.--N.W. (2) To cause to project.--N.W. (3) 'To pooch out the lips,' to pout.--N.W.

=Pook=. (1) _n._ A small cock of hay, &c. (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To put up in pooks (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Pooker=. A woman employed in pooking.--S.W.

=Pookers'-tea=. The yearly treat given to the pookers.--S.W.

=Pooking-fork=. The large prong, with a cross handle, for pushing along in front of the pookers, to make up the hay into pooks.--S.W.

=Pop-hole=. A rabbit-hole running right through a bank, as opposed to ~Blind-hole~ (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vi). Any hole through a hedge, wall, &c.--N.W.

=Popple-stone=. A pebble (S.). A.S. _papol_.--S.W.

=Poppy=, or =Poppies=. (1) _Digitalis purpurea_, L., Foxglove, so called because children inflate and 'pop' the blossoms. _Papaver_ is only known as 'Red-weed' by children about Salisbury.--S.W. (2) _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion, also 'popped' by children.--S.W. (Salisbury.) *(3) _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort (_Sarum Diocesan Gazette_).--N. & S.W. (Lyneham and Farley.)

=Posy=. The garden Peony, from its size.

=Pot=, or =Put=. (The latter is the usual S. Wilts form.) *(1) A tub or barrel (D.).--Obsolete. (2) A two-wheeled cart, made to tilt up and shoot its load (D.).--N. & S.W. Manure used formerly to be carried out to the fields in a pair of _pots_ slung across a horse's back. When wheels came into general use the term was transferred to the cart used for the same purpose (D.). See ~Dung-pot~.

=Pot-dung=. Farmyard manure (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N.W.

=Pots-and-Kettles=. Fruit of _Buxus sempervirens_, L., Box.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin, Deverill, &c.)

*=Pot-walloper= A 'pot-waller,' or person possessing a house with a 'pot-wall,' or kitchen fireplace for cooking. All such persons formerly had votes for the borough of Wootton Bassett. See _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiii. p. 172.

=Poult=. (1) 'A turkey poult,' a young turkey.--N. & S.W. (2) 'A perfect poult,' an awkward girl.--S.W. (Warminster.)

=Pounceful=. Masterful, self-willed. Cf. ~Bounceful~. 'He preached pouncefully,' i.e. powerfully, forcibly.--S.W.

=Powder-monkey=. (1) Damp gunpowder, moulded into a 'devil,' or cake which will smoulder slowly, used by boys for stupefying a wasp's nest. (2) Ash leaves with an even number of leaflets, worn by boys on the afternoon of May 29. See ~Shitsack Day~.

=Power=. 'A power o' volk,' a number of people. A quantity of anything.--N. & S.W.

'A's got a power of plaguy long spikes all auver's
body.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 118.

=Powlts=. (1) Peas and beans grown together.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) See ~Poult~ and ~Polt~.

*=Poyn=. To pen sheep (D.).

=Prawch=. To stalk, to swagger. 'I see un come a prawchin' along up the coort.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Preterites=. A few specimens may be given, as ~craup~, or ~crope~, crept; ~drowd~, threw; ~flod~, flew; ~fot~, ~vot~, or ~vaught~, fetched; ~hod~, hid; ~hut~, hit; ~lod~, led; ~obloge~, obliged; ~raught~, reached; ~scrope~, scraped; ~slod~, slid; ~woc~, awoke; ~seed~, ~seen~, saw.

=Pretty-money=. Coins, such as old George-and-dragon crowns, or new Jubilee pieces, given to a child to keep as curiosities, not to be spent.--N.W.

=Pride=. (1) The ovary of a sow.--N.W. *(2) The mud lamprey (H.).

'_Petromyzon branchialis._ L., ... in the southern part of
England is locally known as the Pride.'--SEELEY, _Fresh-water
Fishes of Europe_, p. 427.

'Lumbrici ... are lyke to lampurnes, but they be muche
lesse, and somewhat yeolowe, and are called in Wilshyre
prides.'--_Elyotes Dictionarie_, 1559, quoted by Hal.

=Primrose soldiers=. _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., Garden Columbine.--N.W. (Huish.)

*=Prin= it. Take it (A.H.Wr.).--N.W.

=Privet=, =Brivet=. 'To privet about,' pry into things. 'To privet out,' to ferret out anything. See ~Brevet~.

=Pronged=. A scythe-blade with a small flaw in the edge which may develop into a serious crack is said to be 'pronged.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Pronouns=. ~I~, ~he~, and ~she~ do duty as accusatives, as 'He towld I, but I bean't a-goin' to do nothen for he.' ~Her~ and ~us~ are nominatives, as 'Her be a girt vule, that her be'; 'Us be at coal-cart s'marnin.' ~Thee~ is used for both thou and thy, as 'What's thee name?' 'What's thee'se want to knaw vor?' 'Never thee mind.' ~Hyn~, or more commonly ~un~,=him, or it, as 'I seed un a-doing on't'; 'poor zowl on hyn!' This is the old _hime_, the accusative of _he_. ~A~=he, as 'How a hackers an bivers!' ~Thac~, ~Thuck~, or ~Thuck there~=that. ~Themmin~=those. ~Thic~, ~Thissum~, ~Thease~, ~Thic here~, &c.=this. ~Theesum~, or ~Theesum here~=these. Occasionally ~Theesen~ in S. Wilts. ~Thick~ and ~Thuck~ require some explanation. ~Thuck~ always=_that_, but is mainly a N. Wilts form, its place in S. Wilts being usually taken by ~Thick~. ~Thic~ or ~Thick~ often=_this_ in N. Wilts, but far more frequently=_that_,--in fact, the latter may probably now be taken as its normal meaning, although it would appear to have been otherwise formerly. In _Cunnington MS._, for instance, it is stated that 'The old terms _thic_ and _thoc_ almost constantly exclude the expressions This and That,' and similar statements are found in other authorities. In ~Thick here~ and ~Thick there~ the use of the adverb defines the meaning more precisely. As regards the neighbouring counties, it may be said that in Som. and Dors. ~thick~=_that_; while in N. Hants it never does so (see Cope's _Glossary_), always there meaning _this_. It should be noted that the _th_ is usually sounded _dth_, much as in Anglo-Saxon. ~His'n~=his; ~Hern~, or occasionally ~Shis'n~,=hers; ~Ourn~=ours; ~Theirn~=theirs; ~Yourn~=yours; ~Whosen~=whose, as 'Whosen's hat's thuck thur?' ~Mun~=them, is occasionally, but not often, used. ~Arra~, ~Arra one~, ~Arn~, &c.=any. Negatives, ~Narra~, ~Narra one~, ~Narn~, &c. 'Hev 'ee got arra pipe, Bill?' 'No, I han't got narn.' In the Pewsey Yale ~Ma~ is occasionally used for ~I~, in such phrases as 'I'll go we 'ee, shall ma?' or 'I don't stand so high as he, do ma?' About Malmesbury (and elsewhere in N. Wilts) the following forms may be noted:--~Wither~, other; ~Theasamy~, these; ~Themmy~, those; ~Totherm~ or ~Tothermy~, the other.

=Proof=. _n._ Of manure, hay, &c., the strength or goodness. 'The rain hev waished aal the proof out o' my hay.' 'That there muckle bain't done yet; the proof yun't gone out on't.'--N. & S.W. A thriving tree is said to be in 'good proof.'

=Proofey=. Stimulating, fattening.--N.W.

'The Monkton pastures used to be of good note in Smithfield,
from the very feel of the beasts. There are no more "proofey"
fatting grounds in Wilts.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. vi. p. 29.

=Proof maggot=. The larva of the gadfly, which causes warbles in cattle.--N.W.

=Proper=. 'Her's a proper beauty,' is extremely handsome. 'He's a proper fool,' an utter idiot.--N.W.

=Proud=. When wheat is too rank and forward in winter, it is said to be 'winter-proud' (D.).--N.W.

=Pucker=. Perplexity, dilemma (S.) 'I be in a main pucker 'bout what to do wi' they taters.'--N. & S.W.

=Pucksey= (1) A quagmire. 'The roads wer aal in a pucksey,' i.e. very muddy. 'Out of the mucksey (=mixen) into the pucksey,' from bad to worse.--S.W. (2) Hence, a mess or muddle. 'What a pucksey the house be in!' i.e. a dirty untidy state.--S.W.

=Pud=. The hand; a nursery word.--N. & S.W.

*=Pud-beggar=, =Pudbaiger=. The Water Spider (S.).--S.W.

'A very interesting word. M.E. _padde_, a toad, _paddock_,
Dev. and East Anglia. M.E. _pode_, tadpole, Icelandic
_padda_, used of any beetles or insects that inhabit stagnant
water.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Puddle= or =Piddle about=. To potter about, doing little jobs of no great utility.--N. & S.W.

*=Pue=. The udder of a cow or sheep (A.). Fr. _pis_, Lat. _pectus_.

=Pug=. (1) _n._ The pulp of apples which have been pressed for cider.--N.W. *(2) _v._ To eat (H.Wr.). *(3) To ear, plough, till (Wr.).

=Pummy=. _n._ A soft mass. 'To beat all to a pummy'; from _pomace_, the apple-pulp in cider-making.--N. & S.W.

=Purdle=. To turn head over heels in a fall.--N.W.

=Pure=. In good health. 'Quite purely,' quite well (A.).--N. & S.W.

=Purler=. A knock-down blow, a heavy fall.--N.W.

'One of them beggars had come up behind, and swung his
gun round, and fetched him a purler on the back of his
head.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. ix.

=Purley=. Weak-sighted (A.H.Wr.). ~Pearl blind~ is sometimes similarly used.

=Pussy-cats=, =Pussies=, and =Pussies'-tails=. Catkins of willow and hazel, more commonly of willow only (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Pussyvan=. See ~Puzzivent~.

=Pussy-willow=. _Salix._--S.W.

=Put=. See ~Pot~ (S.).

=Put about=. To vex, to worry. 'Now dwoan't 'ee go an' put yourself about wi't.'--N.W.

=Puzzivent=. A flurry or taking. 'He put I in such a puzzivent.' Formerly used in both N. and S. Wilts, but now almost obsolete. Fr. _poursuivant_. According to a note in _The Astonishing History of Troy Town_, by 'Q,' ch. xvii, the phrase originated from the contempt with which the West-country sea-captains treated the poursuivants sent down by Edward IV to threaten his displeasure. Hence _pussivanting_, ineffective bustle, Dev. and Corn.--N. & S.W. ~Pussyvan~ (S.).--S.W.

=Puzzle-pound=. The game of ~Madell~, q.v.--S.W. (Longbridge Deverill, &c.)

*=Pwine-end=. The whole gable-end of a house, which runs up to a sharp point or _pwine_.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Quakers=. _Briza media_, L., Quaking-grass.--N. & S.W.

=Quamp=. Still, quiet (A.B.G.).--N.W.

*=Quamped=, =Quomped=. Subdued, disappointed. See ~Quamp~.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

*=Quanked=. Overpowered by fatigue (A.). Compare ~Cank~.

=Quar=, =Quarr=. (1) _n._ A stone-quarry (A.B.G.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To work as a quarryman (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Quar-Martin=. _Hirundo riparia_, Sand-Martin, from its breeding in holes drilled in the face of sandy quarries (_Wild Life_, ch. ix).--N.W.

=Quat=, =Qwot=, or =Qwatty=. (1) To crouch down (sometimes, but not always, remaining quite still), as a scared partridge (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii). To squat (A.); to sit (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) To flatten, to squash flat.--N.W.

*=Quavin-gog= or =Quaving-gog=.A quagmire (A.B.H.Wr.). See ~Gog~.--N.W.

'In the valley below the hill on which Swindon is built, are
some quagmires, called by the inhabitants quaving-gogs, which
are considered of great depth, and are consequently shunned as
places of danger.'--_Beauties of Wilts_, vol. iii. p. 8.

*=Quean=.A woman.--N.W. (Castle Eaton.)

'The Saxon word _quean_, woman, is still used without any
objectionable meaning, but its use is rare.'--_Leisure Hour_,
Aug. 1893.

'When a man says of his wife that "th' old quean" did so
and so, he means no disrespect to her, any more than if he
were speaking of his child as "the little wench."'--MISS E.
BOYER-BROWN.

=Queed=, =Quid=. (1) _n._ The cud. 'To chamme the queed' is given as a Wiltshire phrase in _MS. Lansd._ 1033 (H.).--N.W. *(2) Quid. _v._ To suck (A.).--N.W.

=Queen's-cushion=. A seat for a little girl, made by two persons crossing hands, and so carrying her between them. When a boy is so carried the term used is ~King's-cushion~.--N. & S.W.

=Quest=, =Quist=. The Woodpigeon, _Columba palumbus_ (A.B.); ~Quisty~. 'Thee bist a queer quist,' i.e. a strange sort of fellow.--N. & S.W.

'The Wiltshire labourers invariably call it ... the
"Quisty."'--_Birds of Wilts_, p. 318.

=Quid=. See ~Queed~.

=Quiddle=. (1) _n._ A fussy person; one hard to satisfy in trifling matters of diet, &c.--S.W. (2) _n._ To make a fuss over trifles (S.).--S.W.

*=Quiet Neighbours=. _Centranthus ruber_, DC., Red Spur Valerian.--S.W. (Longbridge Deverill.)

=Quiff=. A knack, a trick. 'Ther's a quiff about thuck old gate-latch.'--N.W. Compare:--