PECULIAR WORDS AND PHRASES.
“The people in the west,” writes a correspondent, “have adopted many words from the Danish invaders.” Tradition assures us that the sea-rovers of the North frequently landed at Witsand Bay, burned and pillaged the villages of Escols and Mayon, sometimes took off the women, but never made a settlement. Certain red-haired families are often referred to as Danes, and the dark-haired people will not marry with “a red-haired Dane.” He continues:—“If you were in Buryan Church-town this evening, you might probably hear Betty Trenoweth say, ‘I’ll take off my touser, [toute serve,] and run up to Janey Angwins to cousey [causer] a spell; there’s a lot of boys gone in there, so there’ll be a grand courant, [de courir,] I expect.’ In a short time Betty may come back disappointed, saying, ‘’Twas a mere cow’s courant after all, cheld vean—all hammer and tongs.’”
The touser is a large apron or wrapper to come quite round and keep the under garments clean. By a courant with the boys, they mean a game of running romps. It is not at all uncommon in other parts of the country to hear the people say, “It was a fine courant,” “We’ve had a good courant,” when they intend to express the enjoyment of some pleasure party. These are, however, probably more nearly allied to Norman-French.
There are some proverbial expressions peculiar to the west:—
“Sow barley in dree, and wheat in pul.”[69]
“To make an old nail good, right it on wood.”
“Fill the sack, then it can stand.”
The last meaning that neither man nor beast can work on an empty stomach.
The following are a few of less common expressions, preserving remarkable words:—
’Tis not bezibd—It is not allotted me.
He will never scrip it—He will never escape it.
He is nothing pridy—He is not handsome.
Give her dule—Give her some comfort or consolation.
Hark to his lidden—Listen to his word or talk.
It was twenty or some—It was about twenty.
The wind brings the pilme—The wind raises the dust.
How thick the brusse lies—How thick the dust lies.
He is throyting—He is cutting chips from sticks.
He came of a good havage—He belongs to a good or respectable family.
Hame—a straw collar with wooden collar-trees, to which are fastened the rope traces.
Scalpions (buckthorn, or rather buckhorn)—salt dried fish, usually the whiting.
“Eating fair maids, or fermades—(fumadoes)—[pilchards,] and drinking mahogany, [gin and treacle.]”