Privet, Brivet. 'To privet about,' pry into things. 'To privet out,' to ferret out anything. See Brevet.
Pronged. A scythe-blade with a small flaw in the edge which may develop into a serious crack is said to be 'pronged.'—N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)
Pronouns. I, he, and she do duty as accusatives, as 'He towld I, but I bean't a-goin' to do nothen for he.' Her and us are nominatives, as 'Her be a girt vule, that her be'; 'Us be at coal-cart s'marnin.' Thee is used for both thou and thy, as 'What's thee name?' 'What's thee'se want to knaw vor?' 'Never thee mind.' Hyn, or more commonly un,=him, or it, as 'I seed un a-doing on't'; 'poor zowl on hyn!' This is the old hime, the accusative of he. A=he, as 'How a hackers an bivers!' Thac, Thuck, or Thuck there=that. Themmin=those. Thic, Thissum, Thease, Thic here, &c.=this. Theesum, or Theesum here=these. Occasionally Theesen in S. Wilts. Thick and Thuck require some explanation. Thuck always=that, but is mainly a N. Wilts form, its place in S. Wilts being usually taken by Thick. Thic or Thick often=this in N. Wilts, but far more frequently=that,—in fact, the latter may probably now be taken as its normal meaning, although it would appear to have been otherwise formerly. In Cunnington MS., for instance, it is stated that 'The old terms thic and thoc almost constantly exclude the expressions This and That,' and similar statements are found in other authorities. In Thick here and Thick there the use of the adverb defines the meaning more precisely. As regards the neighbouring counties, it may be said that in Som. and Dors. thick=that; while in N. Hants it never does so (see Cope's Glossary), always there meaning this. It should be noted that the th is usually sounded dth, much as in Anglo-Saxon. His'n=his; Hern, or occasionally Shis'n,=hers; Ourn=ours; Theirn=theirs; Yourn=yours; Whosen=whose, as 'Whosen's hat's thuck thur?' Mun=them, is occasionally, but not often, used. Arra, Arra one, Arn, &c.=any. Negatives, Narra, Narra one, Narn, &c. 'Hev 'ee got arra pipe, Bill?' 'No, I han't got narn.' In the Pewsey Yale Ma is occasionally used for I, in such phrases as 'I'll go we 'ee, shall ma?' or 'I don't stand so high as he, do ma?' About Malmesbury (and elsewhere in N. Wilts) the following forms may be noted:—Wither, other; Theasamy, these; Themmy, those; Totherm or Tothermy, the other.
Proof. n. Of manure, hay, &c., the strength or goodness. 'The rain hev waished aal the proof out o' my hay.' 'That there muckle bain't done yet; the proof yun't gone out on't.'—N. & S.W. A thriving tree is said to be in 'good proof.'
Proofey. Stimulating, fattening.—N.W.
'The Monkton pastures used to be of good note in Smithfield, from the very feel of the beasts. There are no more "proofey" fatting grounds in Wilts.'—Wilts Arch. Mag. vol. vi. p. 29.
Proof maggot. The larva of the gadfly, which causes warbles in cattle.—N.W.
Proper. 'Her's a proper beauty,' is extremely handsome. 'He's a proper fool,' an utter idiot.—N.W.