Tek a deek ut oor dialect in action.
This tyam roond - az bin hevvin a crack wid fowk aboot which ovt spots ont' West side ov oor Countee scran jam.
Keep tekkin' a deek at this pyage und ah'll update agyan on't 6th December.
If thoos got an account divvent mislikken tu'hev a natter wid oor marra's on't Fyacebeuk.
A Whitehaven Tail about a local "Button Sticks" Character.
By John S. Elliot of Arlecdon c1900
Laal Billy Broon o’ Marranside
Wasweel kent far an’ nar;
Helikes a glass – he likes a lass
An’weel he likes a barr.
A famish appetite hed Bill,
He eat them oot et heam;
Nowt cum amiss, but - loavin days –
He could shift blackite jam.
His mudder kent his ways reet weel
An’yance she set a trap
An’muttert as she thowt it ower,
“Ah’ll suck that hungry yap”
She gat fower laal jars aw alike
An’ivvery yan did cram
Wid Grocer William’s best saft seeap
Asteedo’ blackite jam.
She gat them nicely fettled up
An’put them slyly by
On’t cubbert shelf – but reet at t’ front
Ta catch peer Billy’s eye.
He landit heeam leeat on at neet
Frae t’ Cockermuth horse fair,
He’d nobbut hed six meals, and he
Was ravenish fer mair.
He seaun drew t’ teable up ta t’ fire
An’while he beaked his shins,
Fullt t’ biggest plate wid beef an’ ham,
Stript taties o’ their skins;
An’then he fell te wark –
He gev his jaws full play;
There was nae need for t’ sarvant lass
Ta side Bill’s things away.
T’oald folk hed lang sen gone ta bed,
They kent ‘at Bill wad land
At supper time – he nivver missed
When meeal times war on hand –
An’seah they snoret on peaceably
An’dreamt aw mak o’ dreams
Tull aw at yance they beeath lowpt up
An’heeard some awful screams.
T’oald fadder’s brusslyhair stood up,
He lowpt up in his sark
An’struck a leet, while t’oald weyfe sed
“Oh, John, oh, John, wat wark”
An’still them wild unearthly yowls
Com’like ta split yan’s heid
Tull t’oald wumman went an’ hid hersel’
An’wisht as she was deid.
At last, John, trimmlen like an esh
Got t’ cannel lit, and than
Wentsneakin’ doonstairs hoddin’ his gun
As brave as enny man.
Heluikt through t’ crack in t’kitchen dooar
An’saw their oan lad, Bill,
Pullen sec a feeace an’ rowling his een
As if he’d teean a pill.
T’oald chap laid doon his gun, an’ gat
A gert thick hezzel stick
An’marchin’up tull Bill, he sez,
“Thoo’s turble white – ista sick?”
“Oh, fadder, fadder, is that thee?
Ah’s puzzent, an’ Ah’ll dee;
It’s aw that nasty blackite jam
As mudder med – whaur’s she?”
T’oald chap luikt dazed –
Just than t’oald deam
Com’doon an’ smurked an’ laft;
“It’s nobbut saft seeap, Bill me lad;
Ah allus thowt thoo was daft
But noo Ah’s sure, thoo maizlin feul,
Ah varra nar think sham
‘At ivver a lad o’ mine should tak
Saft seeap for blackite jam.”
Barfin - A horse collar. A grand thing is a barfin ta gurn throo. (see Braffam - Braugham below)
Brossen-full - Hed mair to eat than’s easy er good.
Dowin - Lunch, ten o’clock.
Aye! aye! thoo allus manishes ta land up aboot dowin time.
Gallases - Braces ta hod yan’s britches up.
Gurn - Gurn, an’ bide ’t. It’s good philosophy when ye ca’t run away frae ’t. Ah yance saw a fella gurnen throo a barfun fer a pun o’ bacca, an’ he gat it.
Howk - To scoop out;
howk a whol; howk t’ inside oot.
Lick-pot, Lang-Man - The first and second fingers.
Roke - Scratch.
That barn’ll roke ivvry mortal thing i’ t’hoose wi’ that nail if tho’ll let it, ’at will ’t.
Braffam, Braugham - A collar for a horse.
Clev. bargam. Referred by Wedgwood with much probability to the same origin as the word hamberwe, or hanahorough, a coarse horse-collar, made of reed or straw, from beiwe or borough, protection from the hames, the two words of the compound being in this case reversed. (See Barfin above).
Lick - To beat.
Welsh llachio, to beat, cudgel, Suio-Goth, laegga, to strike.
Lonnin' - A country lane
Frisian Lona, Laan a lane or narrow passage. Perhaps from Old Norse leyna, to hide.
Mislikken - To neglect or forget.
Dut. misselick, ambiguus, dubius, in quo errare, aut de quo dubitare potest.
Smeeth - Smooth
Ang.-Sax. smzthe, smooth.
Teanel - A Basket (West and Cumberland Dialect)
Ang.-Sax. teanel, a basket, from tan, a twig.
Similarly swill, (contraction of swigel,) from Old Norse svigi, a twig.
Brek - Fun; a practical joke. A good story, generally of the sporting type; an amusing incident.
Frosk - The Frog (back in 1878 the author noted that the word was nearly obsolete!)
Lang-end - The final end.
Beckie - (Workington) A water bailiff who makes sure that the fisherfolk have permission to tickle the trout and salmon!
Blackite - A bramble, A blackberry.
(Efter picking this yer' crop, ah telt the t'Cumberland Blackite Broonie Recipe)
Button Sticks - (Whitehaven) At the start of the Industrial Revolution poor country folk coming to work in the mines may have used sticks rather than buttons to hold their clothes together.
Chittering - Cold. Linked to shivering or trembling.
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