- ‘Ah’ll mak sewer o’ that, hooivver.’ ‘To make sure’ is to put a thing in a safe place.
- ‘Ah’ll mak an end on ’t.’ ‘To make an end of’ is to destroy, or conclude a matter once for all.
- ‘Recollect’ is generally used instead of ‘remember,’ but ‘beear i’ mahnd’ is most commonly used.
- ‘Ah nobbut want nobbut yan.’ ‘Nobbut yan’ is ‘only one.’ I only want one.
- ‘Hard eneeaf’=without doubt. ‘He’ll deea ’t hard eneeaf.’
- ‘Ah put it all waays.’ To put things all ways=explaining a thing in every conceivable manner.
- ‘Ah feel nobbut midlin’=only moderately well.
- ‘Ah’s neycely noo.’ ‘Nicely’ is equal to almost quite well.
- ‘Ah’s better’ does not imply that the patient has recovered, but is recovering.
- ‘It’s nowt bud a misfit, onny road ya tak ’t’=it is nothing but a bad fit (answers badly), or altogether out of place.
- ‘Ah s’u’d be all reet if ’twarn’t for this naggin’ pain’=toothache.
- ‘Nighest ov onny’=nearest of any. ‘Ah gat nighest tiv him ov onny on ’em.’
- ‘Not suited’=not pleased. ‘Ah war neean seea suited at what sha sed.’
- ‘Naay, what! wa s’all be forced ti gan.’ ‘Forced’ is to be obliged. ‘Naay, what!’ implies either surprise or disappointment.
- ‘Whya, yan sees him noos an’ thens.’ ‘Noos and thens’=occasionally.
- ‘It won’t be lang fo’st’=it won’t be long before.
- ‘Whya, Ah’ll tell tha what; if thoo nobbut taks it this road, tho’ll mebbe change thi mahnd.’ To take=to consider.
- ‘Ah thowt for ti cum, bud Tommy wadn’t.’ ‘Thowt for ti cum’=almost decided to, intended.
- ‘Ah caan’t say hoo, bud wa’ve gitten oot wiv ’em.’ To get out with, or fall out with=to be at variance.
- ‘Wa’re kind agaan noo; Ah’ve ’ed it ower wiv him.’ To be kind is to be friendly; and to have it over with is to have given and received a full explanation.
- ‘It war that pick dark ’at Ah couldn’t see t’ hoss’s heead.’ ‘Pick dark’=absolutely dark.
- ‘He’s sthrangely setten up wi’ t’ thing.’ ‘Setten up’=very pleased.
- ‘Ah mun be gahin’; Ah ’ev ti ride on shank’s gallowaay ti neet,’ i.e. to walk.
- ‘He’ll ’a’e ti mahnd an’ treead his teeas streight, or he’ll be gitting t’ sack.’ To tread one’s toes straight is to be careful to do right in all things.
- ‘Ah caan’t gan up Roseberry leyke Ah yance c’u’d, Ah git seea oot o’ puff noo.’ ‘Oot o’ puff,’ and ‘sho’t o’ puff,’ is to be out of breath, and short of breath.
- ‘Whya, Ah thowt ’at ther war nobbut varra slack deed,’ i.e. dull, nothing doing.
- ‘Ah nivver war oot i’ sike a steeping rain afoor,’ i.e. pouring down.
- ‘Ah laid it oot tiv him all roads,’ i.e. explained. I explained it to him every way.
- ‘Thoo can saay what thoo leykes, bud Ah reckon nowt on him,’ i.e. have a very poor opinion of him.
- ‘Ah warn’t satisfied aboot it, efter Ah’d seed it,’ i.e. certain.
- ‘Ah start ti morn; Bob dizn’t want t’ meer whahl t’ daay efter, he’s nut gahin’ ti start whahl then,’ i.e. begin.
- ‘Ah’s nut thruff wi’ ’t yet’=finished.
- ‘Ah’s be agate ti morn.’ ‘Agate’ is ‘to commence.’
- ‘He nivver did a hand to’n all t’ tahm ’at he war here,’ i.e. a single thing, or stroke of work.
- ‘Ah maad fahve on ’em hand running,’ i.e. without interruption, or without ceasing to work.
- ‘‘Ez ’t kessen up yet?’=has it been found?
- ‘Tho’ll ’a’e ti knuckle down,’ i.e. humble oneself.
- ‘Sha’s a bad un, sha’s allus setting things aboot.’ ‘To set about’ is to spread reports.
- ‘It gans weel wi’ them ’at weel gans wi’’=it goes well with those that well goes with, i.e. nothing succeeds like success.
- ‘Tha’re gahin’ ti ’ev grand deed; sha’s ti be sahded by o’ Tho’sday.’ ‘Grand deed,’ something out of the ordinary; ‘sahded by,’ buried.
- ‘Ah’ve wrought hard all t’ day, bud Ah’ve brokken its heart noo.’ ‘Wrought hard,’ is to work hard; and ‘to break the heart of an undertaking,’ is to get the upper hand of it.
- ‘Neea, Ah’s a bit ta’en in; it show’d ti be a good un, bud it’s warse ’an a nahn wi’ t’ taal cut off.’ ‘To show’=to appear, and a nine with its tail cut off stands a cypher.
- ‘It didn’t fetch what Ah reckon’d it wad.’ ‘Fetch’=realize, ‘reckoned’=thought.
- ‘Ah war hard an’ fast asleep when ‘Liza cam,’ i.e. sound asleep.
- ‘Martha sez ’at sha’s cumin’ roond neycely,’ i.e. improving.
- ‘Ah’ll a’e neea mair o’ that; Ah’ll seean steck t’ yat o’ that gam.’ ‘To steck the gate’=to put a stop to, i.e. to close.
- ‘Ah caan’t forgit what he did ti ma; it’s stuck i’ mah gizzard ivver sen,’ i.e. taken a thing very much to heart, something which can neither be forgotten nor forgiven.
‘He’ll be dropping in for ’t yet; bud Ah’ve tell’d him ower an’ up agaan, bud it’s teea neea good.’ ‘To drop in’ has several meanings: (1) To look in—‘Ah’ll drop in an’ see tha tineet;’ (2) punishment—‘Tho’ll drop in for ’t when ta gans yam,’ i.e. you will either be thrashed, scolded, or punished in some form when you go home. ‘Ower an’ up agaan’ is a redundancy for ‘many a time’; ‘to neea good,’ of no use, useless. ‘It’s teea neea good gahin’, ’coz he’s nut at yam’=it is useless going, because he is not at home.
‘If it fairs up thoo maay pop ower ti Jane, bud thoo’ll ’a’e ti mahnd thisen an’ see ’at t’ cau’d dizn’t sattle o’ thi chist; thoo’s a larl piece better ’an what thoo ’ez been, an’ ther’s nowt aboot that; but thoo’ll ‘ ti hap thisen up, thoo seeams a bit closed up ez it is; an’ Ah seear thoo diz leeak a bad leeak, bud thoo’ll cum on neycely if thoo nobbut taks care.’
- ‘To fair up’=to cease raining, to become fine.
- ‘To pop ower’=to run, to go quickly to.
- ‘To mahnd thisen’=to take care of oneself.
- ‘To sattle o’ thi chist’ i.e. for the cold to attack the lungs.
- ‘A larl piece better’=a little better.
- ‘Ther’s nowt aboot that’=no doubt of that.
- ‘To hap up’=to wrap up.
- ‘To be closed up’=difficulty in breathing.
- ‘To leeak a bad leeak’=to look ill.
- ‘To cum on’=to improve.
‘Sha’s cuming on neycely noo, sha’s gitten a to’n foor t’ better, bud Ah thowt it war gahin ti be all owered wiv her yance ower.’
- ‘To be owered with’=to cease, to be the last end of.
- ‘Yance ower’=once over, once.
- ‘Ah’s gahin’ ower[65] ti Bessy’s; t’ rest on ya mun stop wheer ya are, ther’s ower[66] monny on ya ti cum wi’ ma.’
‘Ah war hard set ti git it deean byv t’ tahm.’
- ‘To be hard set’=to be much bothered, to find a thing difficult to do.
‘He sidled aboot t’ Squire whahl he gat his rent sattled.’
‘He’s awlus skewing aboot t’ doctor’s; Ah aim ’at he’s efter yan o’ t’ lasses.’