I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [147]
fwyee (Northern) a peculiar noise made in speaking to a horse
rynt ye (Cheshire) what milkmaids say to their cows when they have milked them (similar to aroint thee – get ye gone)
ruth ruth (Ireland) an encouragement to a bull to service a cow
habbocraws (Scotland 1824) a shout used to frighten the crows from the cornfields
way leggo (New Zealand 1945) a musterer’s cry to recall a dog
midda-whoy (Lincolnshire) an instruction to a horse to turn left
bumbeleery-bizz (Lanarkshire) a cry used by children when they see cows startling, in order to excite them to run about with greater violence
soho (1307) a call used by huntsmen to direct the attentions of a dog to a hare which has been discovered
whoo-up (Lancashire and Yorkshire 1806) a shout of huntsmen at the death of the quarry
poot, poot, poot (Orkney Isles) a call to young pigs at feeding time
cheddy-yow (Yorkshire) a call to sheep being brought down from the fell, to come closer
poa poa (Northamptonshire) a call to turkeys
tubby (Cornwall) a call used to pigeons
pleck-pleck (Scotland 1876) the cry of the oyster catcher
RSPCA
However good we are as a nation to our furry and feathered friends, there’s certainly no room for complacency:
shangle (Cumbria) to fasten a tin or kettle to a dog’s tail
hamble (1050) to make a dog useless for hunting by cutting the balls of its feet
brail (1828) the leather strap to bind a hawk’s wing
gablock (1688) a spur attached to the heel of a flghting cock
bdellatomy (1868) the act of cutting a sucking leech to increase its suction
spanghew (1781) blowing up a frog through a straw inserted into its anus; the inflated frog was then jerked into the middle of the pond by being put on a cross stick, the other end being struck, so that it jumped high into the air
EXCREMENTAL
American slang has the phrase alley or road apple for a lump of horse manure. Back home in the Middle Ages the language of hunting meant that you didn’t need slang to describe the specific faeces of an animal: there were the crotels of a hare, the friants of a boar, the spraints of an otter, the werderobe of a badger, the waggying of a fox and the fumets of a deer.
WORD JOURNEYS
mawkish (17C) from a maggot; nauseated
tabby (1630s) from Attabiyah, a quarter of Baghdad, renowned for its production of striped cloth
rostrum (16C from Latin) a bird’s beak; then from the orator’s platform in the Roman forum which was adorned with the prows of captured ships
white elephant (1851) from successive kings of Thailand who gave a white elephant to any courtier who irritated them; although the animals were considered sacred, their maintenance was so expensive that anyone who was given one was inevitably ruined
SWALLOCKY
Rural life and weather
Spring is here when you can
tread on nine daisies at once
on the village green
(1910)
Out in the sticks are things not dreamt of by those who remain in town:
goodman’s croft (Scotland 19C) a corner of a field left untilled, in the belief that unless some such place were left, evil would befall the crop
loggers (Wiltshire) lumps of dirt on a ploughboy’s feet
dudman (1674) a scarecrow made of old garments
icker (1513) a single ear of corn
squeaker (Newfoundland 1878) a blade of grass held upright between the thumbs and producing a shrill vibration when blown upon
cowpat roulette (Somerset 2004) a game in which villagers bet on which plot of land will be the first to receive a cow’s calling card
FIGHTING FOR THE CLAICK
Dialects and local language identify particular aspects important to rural folk …
plud (Somerset) the swampy surface of a wet ploughed field
fleet (Somerset) the windward side of a hedge
wamflet (Aberdeenshire) the water of a mill stream, after passing the mill
chimp (Wiltshire) the grown-out shoot of a stored potato
griggles (Wiltshire) small worthless apples remaining on the tree after the crop has been gathered in
… as well as gadgets and techniques that have been developed over long years of experiment:
atchett (Devon and Cornwall)