LOCAL DIALECT WORDS AND USAGE
(Back to Chapter 3 Index)
In the major work on dialects "A Survey of English Dialects" edited by H. Orton and W.J. Halliday (published for the University of Leeds by E.J. Arnold and Son Ltd 1962) Sulgrave was one of the five Northamptonshire villages visited. They interviewed the following locals: Harry Branson, Joe Franklin, Val Harding, Ernie Isham and Ted Saunders. Their answers form the basis of the following:
A GLOSSARY OF SOME OF THE WORDS AND PHRASES IN USE IN THE SULGRAVE AREA WITHIN LIVING MEMORY
| adland | headland, the strip of land at the end of the furrow |
| ay up | 'Look out. Mind what you're doing' |
| backus | back part of a house |
| bait | packed food, lunch |
| binstead | bay in a barn for storing corn |
| blather | empty talk (He's full of blather) |
| bodge | work clumsily or roughly |
| bolsh, botch | put down clumsily, sit down carelessly |
| brevit | search about |
| bumbarrel | long-tailed tit (this word was used by John Clare, the Northamptonshire Poet) |
| cack (or cag) | left-handed |
| cag-mag | tough meat; babble |
| chelp | talk in an impertinent way |
| cherry-curds | first milk from a cow after calving |
| chitter | quick talk |
| clat | cow-pat, or lump of clay |
| coddy | man in charge, foreman |
| craunch (or scraunch) | crunch, squash |
| curlick | charlock (a weed) |
| dabster | expert (also derogatory: 'She's a dabster at losing her key') |
| doddle | cigarette end |
| eckle | green woodpecker |
| faddle | fuss over nothing |
| flack | wave ('Don't flack about!') |
| fligger | fledgling bird |
| foller | fallow: also follow |
| frem | firm, crisp (e.g. of lettuce) |
| gallus | rascal (from 'gallows' - one who deserves hanging) |
| gansey | knitted jumper (from Guernsey?) |
| gline | look around in a furtive way |
| gossuck | bill-hook (from 'gorse-hook') |
| hairiff (also erriff and other spellings) | goose-grass, cleavers (another word used by Clare) |
| hommock | walk clumsily |
| hotch about | fidget |
| hovel | lean-to shed, or open-fronted shed for cattle or machinery |
| ikey | proud, snooty ('She's too ikey for me!') |
| jollop | medicine |
| jitty | narrow passage between houses, entry |
| jonnock(s) | honest, straightforward |
| keach | ladle out |
| keck | parsley |
| kilter (out of) | needing adjustment, out of order |
| lattermath | second crop of hay |
| leaze, lease | glean (gather loose wheat ears) |
| lummox | clumsy person ('You gret lummox') |
| malkin | scarecrow; oven-mop |
| manky | not good enough,not working properly |
| maunge | grumble (to children: 'Stop maunging') |
| mullock | rubbish; junk food |
| nark | annoy |
| nurker | someone not to be trusted |
| onkers | knees or haunches |
| pudding bag | cul-de-sac |
| puther | puff out ('The smoke puthers out from the fire') |
| quank | quieten, subdue ('When I catch him I'll quank him') |
| rammel | loose stone (e.g. for wall filling) |
| rake about | wander ('He's allus raking about') |
| reasty | stale (of butter, bacon etc.) |
| rootle | fidget |
| roust | disturb ('Roust 'em up!') |
| scuffle | hoe, loosen soil |
| shackles | poor quality broth or soup (of hot water, dry bread, pepper and salt) |
| slear | slip away furtively, sneak |
| slurrup | drink noisily |
| snob | shoemaker |
| squich, squitch | couch-grass |
| tatered | tired out |
| thack | thatch |
| thrape | beat, flog |
| tunkey-pig | small fat Tonkin pig ('As fat as a tunkey-pig') |
| unkid | ugly, unpleasant |
| whap | beat, hit |
| whittle | worry ('Stop yer whittling!') |
| woy up! | How d'you do? |
| yackety | unsafe, unstable |
| yawp | talk noisily |
| yep, yup | heap |