Fews Glossary: B, 3

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Blether  n.v. foolish talk/er
Blood   fighting spirit Don’t raise his blood!
Blow   scold   I gave him a good blowing up!
Blustery  stormy, of temper as well as weather
Blutter  as with ‘
blether’
Boast
   hollow
Boke vomit: was man who’d do it on request, aka
Bill the Boke!
Bone-dry
 out of milk!  The wee cow’s bone-dry!
Bonefire  bonfire
Bothered  silly:  he’s a bit bothered in his mind.
Bottom  end, sense:  there’s no bottom to his story.
Bottom  low-lying field or meadow: 
He’s in the bottom field.
Boy
  male of any age: servant: the devil [as in ‘
old boy’]
Brag
 boast  
she was the brag of the ball:  he’s a bit of a brag
Braird
  prickly
Brakefast breakfast
Bran  new
Brash  illness:  may also mean help
Braskins milk raised by the churn-staff in churning
Brave  large, as in ‘a brave lump’:  wholesome, as in ‘
a brave day’
Bravery
 finery, as in,
‘she was out in her bravery’
Breast
  mount, as in
‘I haven’t yet met the horse I cudn’t breast!’
Brenth
y broad
Brew  the edge of a drain/bank of a stream: in town,
tea.
Brissle
 toast, as in
‘she was brissling her shins at the fire’
Broken
 no longer fair, as in ‘
the weather’s broken’
Brung
  brought
Buff  joke, naked 
‘he’s ony buffing!’ ‘in his buff!’
Budge
  more
Budget news, ‘
What’s yer budget?’
Buggle
 shy, as in horse’s refusal, ‘
the mare buggled at it!’
Bum
  boast, ‘
he’s a real bum’
Bunty
  small
Busk  dress, as in
‘All busked up and nowhere to go’
Butt ‘he jumped from a butt’  as ‘bunty’: ‘a quare wee butt of a lad’
Butter-fingered
 careless
Butter-mouthed treacherous ‘
a butter-mouthed deceiver!’
Bye-boy
 illegitimate son
Bye-name nickname

 

Fews Glossary: B, 2

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Bash He’d bash you in a minute! [He’d strike without warning]
Bastard (var. endings) Unsuitable 
The bastardin’ thing doesn’t fit right!
Bat
 Blow 
He hit him a bat on he’s neb.
Bat
  Stroke, exact time 
He arrived on the bat of the hour.
Be t’ be:
  Had to be 
It be t’ be that till make sense!
Be
  By 
Beck  Nod
Boon  Number 
He had the quare boon of workers on the job.
Become
Suit   
That outfit becomes ye well!
Bedrid
  Confined to bed 
She’s been bed-rid these months!
Bedivilment
   Fun 
What sorta bedevilment are ye at, now?
Beeld
 Festered 
He’s wound beeld.
Bees
 Is  
He bees working well now.
Beetle-head
  Heavy-headed: dull: sleepy
Be-hopes Expectations 
She’s be-hopes of clicking him.
Belt
  Physical punishment 
He got a whale of a belting aff he’s father.
Bend 
Effort 
He’ll make no bend for hisself at all.
Bemean
  Demean 
Ah wunn’t bemean mesself till arg with her!
Bit 
Crux  
When it comes to the bit, he’ll let ye down
Bing
  Heap 
a bing of potatoes: A binged-up plate
Birl
  swing, spin, dance 
Give her a birl there, ye boy ye!
Black-foot
  def.  man who accompanies the prospective bridegroom, arranges the match, helps with the courtship
Black looks  angry, expression
Enough of yer black looks.
Blade
  contemptuous expression, of a girl:
saucy blade!
Bla-fum
  nonsence 
That’s only bla-fum!
Blare
– yell 
Give her a blare!
Blast
– tune –
give us a blast of yer pipes, there! 
Blazon
– praise
Blind – fill, close  Blind that gap with a bit of a bush![n. a mask for a cow or horse]
Blirt v. spill the beans, whinge  Blirt it out now!  Quit yer blirting!  He’s a real blirt [i.e. cry-baby, informer].

 

Fews Glossary: B

Babbed :closed : A nivir babbed an eye the live-long night!
Babblement
: nonsense:  Stop yer babblement!
Back:     assist:        I’ll back ye on that!
  Opinion:      
The back o’ the country’s behind him.
Back-set:
  Relapse:    
God spare him, he’s had a back-set.
Back-spang
: Take advantage:
He’d back-spang ye if ye weren’t careful!
Back and forrards
  Commuting: 
I’m back and forrards there a lot.
Back-talk
:    Cheeky replies:  E
nough af yer back-talk!
Bad 
            Indisposed:        Ach, he’s bad, all right!       Bad Scrant  Ill-luck    Bad scrant to ye for yer lip!
Babboozle   Outwit, confuse: 
He’d bamboozle ye with his edimicated talk!
Bang 
     Thump, explosion:
I’ll bang ye on the lug!  Went off with a bang
Banjaxed: 
ruined, done:  It’s banjaxed, right enough!Banter   Tease  It’s ony a bit a banter!  Don’t pay no heed!
Bar   Disallow  
I bar that!
Barge
 Scold, shrew 
She barged at him!  She’s a right barge, that one!
Barra
  Barrow
He was wheeled in a barra to her place till propose t’ her!
         Borrow 
Cud a barra a cup o’sugar aff ye?
bum :
boastful, useless person, backside:  Quit yer bumming!  Don’t listen to that bum. Kick up the bum.

Fews Glossary : A

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Glossary of Fews dialect, then and now: 

A:  I :  A wudn’t be bothered! : It doesn’t interest me.

Abodes: as in Presages : The dog cried in the night: It abodes ill.  Something untoward will happen that the dog knows about!

A carry-on:  as in playful/malicious jest: Some a carry-on that!

Afeard: afraid

Afore: before

Age: put years on:  it’d age ye just to watch his a carry-on!

Agee: open:  leave the dur agee, wud ye?

Anear: threatening:  I’m not anear ye!

Ail:  annoy:  What ails ye at it?

Air: warming, walking:  she’s airing herself at the fire: .. taking the air.

Aise: take the weight of: he aised the begs on my back.

Allow:  accept the truth: I’ll allow that it may be so.

 

Fews Glossary A, 2

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Allowance: permission:       I can’t give you that allowance.
All sorts: a severe scolding, heavily: 
She gave him all sorts. 
   It was raining all sorts.
All there
:  cute, attractive:             He’s all there.
All there [not]:  intellectually challenged:
She’s not all there!
Anenst
: opposite, against:   
He lives anenst me on the road.
Antic
: funny:         
He’s that antic ye’d split yer sides at him.
Ar
: scar
Arn: errand
Art: direction:            What art is he from?

Article: character  She’s a bad article, that one!
Astray: unbalanced  I wus astray with the pain of it.                           
He’d put ye astray in the head.
At it
: quarrelling, having sex  
They were at it with their fists
 
They were at it like rabbits!
Awaiting
: expecting        
She’s awaiting for ye.
Atween: between.
Author: informant:         He’s my author on that one.
Away in the mind: unbalanced: astray!
Away:  with gusto:          
Sing away, there!
Ax
: ask
Awanting:  crazy, silly     
He’s awanting something.
  
var.  wee want             
There’s a wee want in him.
       needs                  
Yer ma’s awanting ye.

Finn and Calliagh Berra

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‘It’s very gentle country all aroun’ here but I’ve been to the other side of Slieve Gullion where they had giants and witches as well. 

Did ye iver hear of Finn McCool?  Well, there’s some say it wus he and not the Calliagh Berra who threw the White Stone of Dorsey.  But sure mebbe both had a han’  in it, for they were both upon the earth togither.  An if he wus fleet o’ foot an’ strong of limbs, she wus strong in spells. 

Do ye know her house on the mountain an’ the lake beside it?  Sure it was into that very lake she coaxed fool Finn.  An’ in he went fresh an’ youthful an’ out he come a done oul’ man.  An’ they had a high time making him right again.

Often I started up the mountain to see the lake but I cud nivir head the whole road, I wus so afeard, for ye know a wedding party went into her house once, an’ they turned till stone.  Her house goes down and down an’ in the bottom chamber sits the Calliagh Berra herself till this very day.  Ay an’ will, till the end of time. 

But where Finn is I know not, or if I do, I disremember’. 

Oxtercogged with Fairies

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‘Grimes oxtercogged [went arm in arm, was intimate] with the fairies often.  He’d be in conversation with them and people wud hear him talking till them, but he’d always deny it.  Many a time going till the well he was aheared tellin’ them to keep off him.  He was a wee bit of a man: she was six foot, and he’d even deny it to her.’

‘Cows were sometimes elf-shot when I wus wee.  I mind a man cud cure the bother.  He’d take a bit of kindled turf from the fire be the tongs an’ move it from side to side an’ say a bit of a prayer.  It wus then put under the cow’s nose an’ she wus soon better.’

‘Me gran’father minded a fight at the graveyard gate between two funerals that arrived tillgither. It wus a hell of a scrap by he’s account.  They went for each other like Turks, all because of a notion that the corp that was through the gates first wud hev the other bludy fella to chop and carry him.

People wur quare in them days – why if oul weemin had water till throw out at night they’d be afeared to do it in case it wus hurtful till some one, but whether it wus ghosts or fairies they wur afeared of I haven’t a notion.  An’ if he went for a walk in the graveyard an’ tripped on a grave it wus bad, but heaven help ye if ye spread yer length in such a spot.  Ye might just as well go home an’ make yer will. 

Many a grave wus hoked [reopened] in the oul’ days, an’ not be people wantin’ bodies for doctors at all, but be people wantin’ skins for charms.  It’s a pity till God ye wurn’t here in me gran’father’s time.  He knowed it all.’

How can you let speech like this die out?  When did you ever hear such verbs as ‘oxtercogged’ and ‘elf-shot’?  Eh?