‘To gi’e ower’=‘to cease.’
- ‘Noo, bairns! gi’e ower potching steeans at t’ ducks; ya’ll be laamin’ sum on ’em, an’ then sum on ya’ll be gitting ta’en afoor yer betters’=Now, children, cease throwing stones at the ducks; you will be hurting some of them, and then some of you will be getting taken before your betters.
‘To be taken’ or ‘having to appear before one’s betters’=‘appearing before the justices.’
‘Bunch’ and ‘punch’ are two words over which mistakes are often made. ‘Bunch’ is to kick with the foot or knee, ‘punch’ is to hit with the hand.
- ‘He bunched, an’ Ah punched, an’ wa baith toupled inti t’ beck tigither.’
- ‘Mrs. Ridge, will ya mak your Sally gi’e ower? sha’s bunching ma.’
- ‘Nobbut when thoo lugs (my hair), Ah deean’t bunch nobbut when thoo lugs, an’ ivvery tahm ’at thoo lugs, Ah’ll bunch. If it’s gahin to be lug foor bunch, it s’all be bunch foor lug,’ shouted Sally.
The very common occurrence of changing the past participle passive into the infinitive active, with ‘be,’ is somewhat curious. Instead of saying, ‘it will have to be seen to,’ we should say, ‘it’ll be ti leeak teea’; or, ‘the dog is dead, it will have to be buried,’ would become, ‘t’ dog’s deead, it’ll be ti sahd by.’ ‘To sahd by’ is ‘to bury,’ and ‘to put out of the road’ is ‘to kill.’ ‘Wa’ve ’ed ti put t’ au’d meer oot o’ t’ road.’
As the following bit of information introduces many of our idioms, I will give it as uttered.
‘Thoo maunt let on aboot it, bud oor Tom’s keeping company wi’ Hannah, Mary’s lass; an’ Ah’ll tell tha what, she diz git hersen up when they gan oot. Ah nivver thowt foor oor Tom ti keep company wi’ her; sha’s far an’ awaay t’ best leeaking ov onny on ’em. Aye! byv a lang waay; bud he’s gitten weel in wi’ t’ au’d woman, an’ he can gan an’ hing his hat up onny tahm he ’ez a mahnd teea. Ah’ve gi’en him an inklin’ ’at he mun allus mak hissen mensful, an’ ti think on nivver ti let wit owt aboot Nancy. They ’ed a few wo’ds t’other daay aboot her; it war all alang of summat ’at Jack let slip; an’, mah wo’d, bud Tom did ramp an’ rahve when he gat ti knaw. Sha sed ’at sha wadn’t be played fast an’ loose wi’; bud Ah tell’t him ti feeace it oot, an’ nut git oot o’ heart, an’ fall oot t’ ane wi’ t’ ither ower a larl matter leyke that. Bud he sed ’at sha war grieved an’ vexed an’ putten aboot; an’ moreover ’an that, Ah tell’d him nut ti tak t’ hig, bud ti tak neea ‘count on what fau’k sed, bud ti deea his best ti hit it off, an’ gi’e ower acting leyke ez if he’d gitten a slaate off, an’ nut ti fetch things up, or else sha’d be gi’ing him t’ cau’d shou’der, an’ mebbe gi’ing him t’ sack if he gat her back up; onny road, tha’ve gitten things straighten’d up a bit noo, seea lang ez it lasts.’
- ‘To let on’=to tell, to divulge.
- ‘Keeping company’=to be engaged.
- ‘An’ Ah’ll tell tha what’=I assure you.
- ‘To get oneself up’ is to pay great attention to one’s appearance.
- ‘Ah nivver thowt foor’=expected.
- ‘Far an’ awaay’=much.
- ‘Byv a lang waay’=much.
- ‘T’ au’d woman’=either wife or mother.
- ‘To hing one’s hat up’=to be on very friendly terms.
- ‘An inklin’=a hint.
- ‘To mak oneself mensful’=to put on one’s best.
- ‘To think on’=to bear in mind.
- ‘To let wit’=to divulge.
- ‘Few wo’ds’=a slight disagreement.
- ‘All alang of’=owing to.
- ‘Ramp an’ rahve’=a violent passion.
- ‘Fast an’ loose’= first one way and then another.
- ‘Feeace it out’=to meet an accusation boldly.
- ‘To fall out with’=to quarrel with.
- ‘Larl matter’=of small moment.
- ‘Grieved an’ vexed an’ putten aboot’=to be annoyed.
- ‘Moreover ’an that’=besides.
- ‘Tak t’ hig’=to take offence.
- ‘Count on’=notice.
- ‘To hit it off’=to agree.
- ‘Gi’e ower’=cease.
- ‘A slaate off:’ to have a slate off=to be an idiot.
- ‘Fetch things up’=to mention bygones.
- ‘To get the cau’d shou’der’=to be treated coolly.
- ‘To give or get the sack’=to dismiss, to lose a situation.
- ‘To get one’s back up’=to be provoked to anger.
- ‘To get things straightened up’=to arrange things in proper order, to settle matters in dispute.
To the above list may be added a few others which are equally common:—