The North Riding is very prolific in similes and quaint sayings. I have by me a collection of some hundreds, varying in degree of point and humour, but all worthy of being preserved. Many of them take us back to the time of our grandfathers, speaking of things and pointing to customs of other days. Still, they hang on the lips of the older people now; but to those who know nothing of their past, their sayings seem pointless and out of place. Nevertheless, ‘Ez useless ez damp tunder’ (tinder) would be as forceful in their day as our saying, ‘As useless as a damp match.’ In the days when many a pulpit was supplied with an hourglass—like a huge egg-boiler—to let the preacher know when to wind up his ‘thirdly,’ the old saying applied to those who were somewhat importunate, ‘They hint ez plaan ez t’ hoorglass,’ and ‘Sha’s leyke t’ hoorglass—sha uses t’ same thing ower an’ up agaan,’ or ‘Sha’s ez careful ez a sandglass,’ which never wastes a grain, were in their day as pointed as any in use at the present time. A few remarks to elucidate the meaning of those in the following list which may be somewhat obscure to any lacking knowledge on certain points, will be found on page 243.
| Those marked thus ([+]) are in daily use throughout the riding. Thus (*), explanatory remarks will be found at the end. | ||
| 1. | Ez wise ez t’ ullot. | |
| [+] | 2. | Ez hungry ez a dog. |
| [+] | 3. | Ez patient ez a cat. |
| [+] | 4. | Ez whisht ez a cat. |
| [+] | 5. | Ez still ez a moose. |
| * | 6. | Ez friendly ez a bram’l bush. |
| *[+] | 7. | Ez walsh ez pump-watter. |
| 8. | Ez poor ez pauper soup. | |
| *[+] | 9. | Ez thick ez inkle-weavers. |
| [+] | 10. | Ez reglar ez clockwark. |
| [+] | 11. | Ez sartin ez t’ cess getherer. |
| 12. | Ez scarce ez guineas. | |
| 13. | Ez noisy ez a tinker. | |
| * | 14. | Ez common ez a deear-snek. Any one handles it. |
| [+] | 15. | Ez strang ez a steeple. |
| [+] | 16. | Ez hoarse ez a raven. |
| [+] | 17. | Ez soft ez pap, i.e. child’s food. |
| [+] | 18. | Ez stiff ez buckram. |
| [+] | 19. | Ez deead ez a mauky ratten. |
| 20. | Ez sour ez a sloe. | |
| [+] | 21. | Ez deead ez a hammer. |
| [+] | 22. | Ez deeaf ez a post. |
| [+] | 23. | Ez fit ez a fiddle. |
| 24. | Ez graspin’ ez a toll-bar. | |
| 25. | Ez tall ez a mill chim’ly. | |
| [+] | 26. | Ez brant ez a hoos end. |
| [+] | 27. | Ez red ez a cherry. |
| [+] | 28. | Ez tough ez leather. |
| 29. | Ez seeaf ez a pig ring. | |
| * | 30. | Ez soft-hearted ez a rezzil. |
| * | 31. | Ez slape ez a greeasy powl. |
| [+] | 32. | Ez rotten ez touch-wood. |
| 33. | Ez cruel ez a spider. | |
| [+] | 34. | Ez red ez rud. |
| [+] | 35. | Ez lish ez a squirrel. Lish=active. |
| [+] | 36. | Ez friendly ez yan’s shadder. |
| [+] | 37. | Ez hardy ez ling. |
| [+] | 38. | Ez impudent ez a cock sparrer. |
| [+] | 39. | Ez boddensome ez debt. |
| [+] | 40. | Ez bliew ez a whetstone. |
| [+] | 41. | Ez saut ez sea watter. |
| [+] | 42. | Ez strang ez an onion. |
| [+] | 43. | Ez common ez weeds. |
| [+] | 44. | Ez sweet ez t’ floors i’ May. |
| [+] | 45. | Ez sweet ez a posey. |
| [+] | 46. | Ez sour ez a crab-apple. |
| *[+] | 47. | Ez femmur ez a musweb. |
| [+] | 48. | Ez cracked ez a brokken pot. |
| [+] | 49. | Ez polite ez t’ divil. |
| [+] | 50. | Ez pricky ez a pricky-back otch’n. |
| 51. | Ez soft ez a geease-down pillow. | |
| [+] | 52. | Ez common ez brack’ns. |
| 53. | Ez cheap ez promises. | |
| [+] | 54. | Ez cau’d ez Kessamas. |
| [+] | 55. | Ez thrang ez bees iv a sugar cask. |
| [+] | 56. | Ez busy ez bees on t’ moor. |
| [+] | 57. | Ez straight ez a bulrush. Also ‘as tall as,’ &c. |
| [+] | 58. | Ez cheeap ez muck. |
| [+] | 59. | Ez soft ez muck. Also ‘Ez soft ez a wesh-leather.’ |
| [+] | 60. | Ez common ez muck. |
| [+] | 61. | Ez laam ez a three-legg’d dog. |
| [+] | 62. | Ez fast ez a rivet. |
| [+] | 63. | Ez lazy ez a stee. A ladder generally leans against a wall. |
| [+] | 64. | Ez whisht ez yan’s shadder. As quiet as one’s shadow. |
| [+] | 65. | Ez true ez a die. |
| [+] | 66. | Ez mild ez a May morn. |
| [+]* | 67. | Ez tight ez a damp cleeas-line. |
| 68. | Ez slow ez a stutterer. Also ‘Ez slow ez a snahl.’ | |
| [+] | 69. | Ez wick ez a lop-flea. |
| [+]* | 70. | Ez fond ez a yat. |
| [+] | 71. | Ez kittle ez a moose-trap. |
| [+] | 72. | Ez wet ez a dishclout. |
| [+] | 73. | Ez tired ez a dog. |
| [+] | 74. | Ez savage ez a wasp. |
| [+] | 75. | Ez black ez midneet. |
| [+] | 76. | Ez black ez sin. |
| [+] | 77. | Ez hard ez a steean. |
| [+] | 78. | Ez soond ez a bell. |
| [+] | 79. | Ez creeak’d ez a dog’s hind leg. |
| [+] | 80. | Ez wet ez sump. |
| [+] | 81. | Ez wet ez thack. |
| [+] | 82. | Ez mucky ez a pig-sty. |
| [+] | 83. | Ez waak ez a kitten. |
| [+] | 84. | Ez oppen ez a skep. |
| [+] | 85. | Ez bold ez brass. |
| [+] | 86. | Ez lively ez a cricket. |
| [+] | 87. | Ez green ez grass. |
| [+] | 88. | Ez soft ez putty. |
| [+] | 89. | Ez deead ez a teead skin. |
| [+]* | 90. | Ez plaan ez a pike-staff. |
| [+]* | 91. | Ez plaan ez a yat-stoup. |
| [+] | 92. | Ez full ez an egg. |
| [+] | 93. | Ez dusty ez a flour pooak. |
| [+] | 94. | Ez white ez flour. |
| [+] | 95. | Ez mucky ez a duck pond. |
| [+] | 96. | Ez larl ez a flea-bite. |
| [+] | 97. | Ez still ez a finger-post. |
| [+] | 98. | Ez lonely ez a mile-steean. |
| [+] | 99. | Ez slape ez an eel. |
| [+]* | 100. | Ez good-natur’d ez a pump. |
| [+] | 101. | Ez pure ez spring-watter. |
| [+] | 102. | Ez reight ez a trivet. |
| [+] | 103. | Ez thin ez a bubble skin. |
| [+] | 104. | Ez sticky ez glue. |
| [+]* | 105. | Ez meean ez bo’d-lahm (birdlime). |
| [+] | 106. | Ez hard ez a nail. |
| [+] | 107. | Ez cau’d ez ice. |
| [+]* | 108. | Ez deep ez a well. |
| [+] | 109. | Ez strang ez a hoss. |
| [+] | 110. | Ez wet ez a mill-wheel. |
| [+] | 111. | Ez fond ez a goose nick’t i’ t’ heead. |
| [+] | 112. | Ez lang ez a parson’s coat. |
| * | 113. | Ez sartin ez t’ thorn-bush. |
| * | 114. | Ez waffly ez a mill-sail. |
| * | 115. | Ez soft ez butter. |
| 116. | Ez empty ez a blawn egg. | |
| [+] | 117. | Ez rank ez nettles. |
| [+] | 118. | Ez blinnd ez a bat i’ daayleet. |
| [+] | 119. | Ez damp ez a cellar, or ‘t’ graav.’ |
| [+] | 120. | Ez breet ez a new-made pin, or ‘ez sunleet.’ |
| [+] | 121. | Ez fond ez a brush. |
| [+] | 122. | Ez greedy ez a rake. |
| [+] | 123. | Ez dhry ez a sarmon. |
| 124. | Ez tho’sty[68] ez a sponge. | |
| [+] | 125. | Ez solemn ez a coo. |
| [+] | 126. | Ez breet ez a bald heead. |
| [+] | 127. | Ez bare ez a bald heead. |
| [+] | 128. | Ez roond ez a bullet. |
| [+] | 129. | Ez straight ez trewth (truth). |
| [+] | 130. | Ez mad ez a bull at a yat. |
| [+] | 131. | Ez phrood ez a banty cock. |
| [+] | 132. | Ez flat ez an iron. |
| [+] | 133. | Ez poor ez moorland. |
| [+] | 134. | Ez hard ez t’ to’npike. |
| [+] | 135. | Ez nak’t ez a graav-steean. |
| [+]* | 136. | Ez strang ez a teeagle chaan. |
| [+]* | 137. | Ez tough ez a swipple. |
| [+] | 138. | Ez strang ez an oak. |
| [+]* | 139. | Ez warm ez a sheep-net. |
| [+]* | 140. | Ez catching ez t’ scab. |
| [+]* | 141. | Ez bonny ez a sheep-cade. In ridicule. |
| [+] | 142. | Ez drunk ez a fiddler. |
| * | 143. | Ez thrang ez a cobbler’s Monday. |
| 144. | Ez meean ez a cuckoo. The cuckoo lays its eggs in other birds’ nests. | |
| [+] | 145. | Ez welcome ez t’ floors i’ May. |
| 146. | Ez larl wanted ez rain i’ hay-tahm. | |
| [+] | 147. | Ez hungry ez a dog. |
| 148. | Ez glib ez a leear’s tongue. | |
| [+] | 149. | Ez wo’thless ez an au’d shoe. |
| 150. | Ez larl value ez an au’d hat. | |
| [+] | 151. | Ez tough ez pin-wire. |
| * | 152. | Ez neyce ez an otter[69]. |
| [+]* | 153. | Ez greedy ez an otter[69]. |
| 154. | Ez fat ez a tailor’s goose. (The ‘goose’ is a tailor’s iron.) | |
| [+]* | 155. | Ez sweet ez a kern. |
| [+]* | 156. | Ez greedy ez a fox iv a hen-roost. |
| [+]* | 157. | Ez meean ez a cat wiv a moose. |
| [+] | 158. | Ez leyke ez tweea peas. |
| [+] | 159. | Ez bitter ez gall. |
| [+] | 160. | Ez big ez bull beef. |
| [+] | 161. | Ez leet ez a midge. |
| [+] | 162. | Ez limp ez a dishclout. |
| [+]* | 163. | Ez scraped ez a bath-brick. |
| * | 164. | Ez badly used ez a peggy-tub boddum. |
| [+]* | 165. | Ez gam ez a cockroach. |
| [+] | 166. | Ez wet ez new pent (paint). |
| [+] | 167. | Ez sick ez a dog. |
| [+] | 168. | Ez flat ez a pancake. |
| * | 169. | Ez deead ez a red lobster. |
| [+] | 170. | Ez au’d ez my grandfather hat. |
| [+] | 171. | Ez merry ez a May-pole dance. |
| [+] | 172. | Ez white ez a sheet. |
| [+] | 173. | Ez catching ez t’ mezzles (measles). |
| [+] | 174. | Ez bad tempered ez a nettle. |
| [+] | 175. | Awlus t’ saam way leyke a bottle-jack (ironical, as a bottle-jack turns both ways). |
| [+] | 176. | Ez smooth ez a cat’s back. |
| [+] | 177. | Ez rosy ez an apple. |
| [+] | 178. | Ez rotten ez (a bad) to’nip (turnip). |
| [+] | 179. | Ez bent ez a sickle. |
| [+] | 180. | Ez red ez raw beef, or ‘ez a brick.’10004 |
| [+] | 181. | Ez thrang ez a woman’s tongue. |
| [+] | 182. | Ez brazend ez a sunflower. |
| [+] | 183. | Ez fresh ez new pent. |
| [+] | 184. | Ez breet ez a seeing-glass. |
| [+] | 185. | Ez wick ez an eel. |
| [+] | 186. | Ez slim ez a barber’s powl. |
No. 6. As friendly as a bramble bush. The way in which the bramble catches hold and clings to one is well known to all those who have had to force a passage where they grow.
7. As walsh as pump-water, or containing as little sustenance.
9. As thick as inkle-weavers. In the weaving of inkle, a kind of tape, the weavers had to sit quite close together.
14. As common as a door-sneck. This implies that a sneck is liable to be pressed or used by any one; the simile is one of an opprobrious nature.
30. As soft-hearted as a weasel, implies absolute cruelty, the weasel lacking the smallest spark of generosity in its nature.
31. As slape as a greasy pole. It is common at village feasts to erect a pole daubed thickly with grease, upon the top of which a ham, a leg of mutton, or a kettle is fixed; he who can climb to the top, which is a most difficult task, claims the prize.
47. As femmur as a musweb. ‘Femmur’ is slight, light, slender. ‘Musweb,’ a spider’s web.
49. As polite as the devil. His Satanic majesty is said to be willing to shake hands with any one.