Jonathan Briggs, a young man from Manchester, wrote to me recently about work he is doing in connection with a thesis on John Clare. He sent me a collection of the poet's words, and he asks if these are found outside Clare's north country. Good dialect words, like good folk songs, tend to travel, and for your amusement this morning I give you some words from The Shepherd's Calendar. If you've heard any of them anywhere in this country, please let me know. I can place some of them myself, thanks to readers of this column; locations in parenthesis. Here goes:
Chimble; to nibble. Crank: To sing in a mournful fashion. Readers may remember this word from a recent column (Waterford). Crizzle: to make rough, as water, when it begins to freeze. Croodle: to huddle, to cuddle up for protection, or warmth, or for the other reason. (Wexford, south Carlow).
Douse: to soak or drench in putting out a fire or a light (General, I should think). Edding: a headland, grass at the end of a field where the plough is turned (Wexford). Elting moulds: the soft ridges of freshly ploughed land.
Fret: to thaw. Gleg: to peep (n. Co. Dublin). I've heard gleek in Tipperary, said to small children. Higgling: searching. Hulk: a temporary shelter, used by shepherds in the lambing season. (Louth). Jilt: to throw underhand with a quick and suddenly arrested motion (east Wicklow). Lare: resting place: the place animals are accustomed to stay in a clearing. Not related to lair, according to my Manchester friend. I wonder.
Lob: to walk heavily. (Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary).
Mawk to drag along wearily. Moiling: working hard, toiling (Kildare). Pansion: a large earthenware bowl.
Pooty: a snail shell. Pudgy: watery, full of puddles. Rott: rat (west Cork). Sawn: saunter. `He came sawnin' don the road.' Scutter: to scuttle, to run along briskly. Scuttle: a basket, or a horse's nose bag. Sifter: kitchen shovel, fire shovel. Sile: to glide past. Slive: to slide, to slip past quickly. Soodle: to dawdle, saunter. (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim).
Stulp; the stump of a tree.
Sturnel: starling. Sturt: to startle, disturb. Swaily: shady, cool. Ted: to turn new mown hay.
Toze: to pluck, to snatch. Waffle: to yap, bark. Younker: youngster.
Fax gremlins attacked a recent piece on Kilkenny words. Cod fishermen (on the Nore!) should have read cot fishermen. A cot is a flat bottomed salmon punt, (Irish coite). Croch, saffron, became croch, gallows. Teagar: which means strength, substance, became teagar, which doesn't mean anything. Sorry.