In this Glossary obvious mispronunciations and corruptions are not included. By including them a glossary might be extended indefinitely, and to no profit. Numerous Essex dialect words are, of course, current in other counties; Essex shares a particularly large number with the rest of East Anglia. The aim here is simply to give the dialect words which the authors of this book have themselves heard in Essex, and which they believe to be most characteristic. No one interested in dialect is ignorant where to turn for the greatest store of information on the subject yet collected—Dr. Joseph Wright’s masterly work, The English Dialect Dictionary. The following list, however, contains several words which do not appear in that Dictionary. The dictionary is referred to as E. D. D.:

Bangy (pronounced ‘banjy’), drizzling, misty. ‘Bange’ is a very light rain.

Between lights, twilight.

Bever, light refreshments between the larger meals, eaten either at 11 a.m. or 4 p.m. (Cf. ‘levenses’ and ‘levener,’ which are the same words as ‘elevens’ and ‘elevener,’ meaning a slight meal eaten at eleven in the morning. Cf. also ‘fours’ or ‘fourses,’ which is a similar meal eaten about four o’clock in the afternoon.)

Bibble, to tipple; to drink noisily like a duck.

Bird, pupil of the eye.

Blare, to cry, blubber.

Botty, conceited.

Breeder, abscess, boil.

Bulk, to throb (the ‘u’ pronounced as in ‘bull’). Also Bullock.

Buller, vide Duller (the ‘u’ pronounced as in ‘dull’).

Bullock, another form of ‘bulk.’

Buskins, gaiters.

Buzz, blow on the head. (Not in E. D. D.)

Cankerhooks, tenterhooks. (Not in E. D. D.)

Chance time, sometimes.

Chissick, pinch (of salt, pepper, sugar, or suchlike). (Not in E. D. D.)

Choice, pinch (of salt, pepper, sugar, or suchlike). (Not in E. D. D.)

Coarse, rough. Used of the weather. A fisherman will say, in a curious phrase, ‘Coarse weather, don’t it?’

Coase, to pet, stroke—e.g., ‘he was coasing his dog.’ The ’s’ is pronounced as in ‘roast.’ (Not in E. D. D.) The word no doubt comes from the same root as the well-known word cosset.

Cob, long basket, manure-hod.

Cotchel. A barge is said to go cotchelling when she discharges or takes up her cargo piecemeal at various ports, instead of taking a single cargo from one port to another. E. D. D. gives the substantive ‘cotchel,’ meaning an odd measure or a partially filled sack, but does not mention the verb which has been formed from this word.

Court, stye—e.g., ‘hogs’ court,’ ‘pigs’ court.’

Crock, smudge of soot, smut.

Cuff, tall story. (E. D. D. gives cuffer.)

Cuff, to tell tall stories—e.g., ‘He’s cuffin’ a rare yarn.’

Culch, rubbish. Particularly, in fishermen’s language, the broken shells of an oyster-bed.

Curren, cunning, sly. (Not in E. D. D.)

Dag (frequently pronounced ‘daig’), dew, mist.

Deleet, cross-roads—e.g., a ‘three deleet’ or a ‘four deleet,’ according as three or four roads meet. Releet is another form. (E. D. D. gives Releet and Eleet.)

Ding, to work at—e.g., ‘I’m dinging all the coal out o’ that ould locker.’ When fishermen throw their catch down into the hold, they are said to ding it. The word of command for all hands to begin their work is ‘Ding!’ In the Essex use of the word the sense of furious effort mentioned in E. D. D. seems to be absent.

Discern, to see. Constantly used when there is no suggestion whatever of seeing something with an appreciable effort.

Do, used elliptically for ‘if it does,’ ‘if he does’—e.g., ‘That’ll rain, do, that’ll rain hard.’

Doddy, little. Often used intensively with ‘little’—e.g., ‘Doddy little boat.’

Doke, dent, impression.

Dooberous, doubtful, dubious, suspicious. The nearest word to this in E. D. D. is the Norfolk ‘dooblus,’ which would perhaps be better spelt ‘dooblous.’ An Essex fisherman will say, ‘I doubt that’s dooberous to go to leeward of that buoy.’

Doubt, to think, consider—e.g., ‘I doubt that’s goin’ to rain’; ‘I doubt he won’t catch the train.’

Draining, vide Dreening.

Dreening, wringing wet. Also Draining.

Dringle, to dawdle along. When the tide is barely moving it is said to be ‘just dringling.’

Drizzle, to cry a little—e,g., ‘She kep’ all on a drizzlin’.’

Duller, to moan or blubber noisily (the ‘u’ pronounced as in ‘dull’). Also Buller.

Dunted, melancholy, depressed.

Dunty, stupid. Used of sheep that are difficult to drive.

Duzzy, stupid, dazed.

Fall, to drift—e.g., a smack falls through a reach with her trawl down.

Fare, to do, seem. This word is the Essex maid-of-all-work. It serves as many purposes as the French faire, with which, however, it probably has no etymological connection.

Fleet, tidal dyke in a marsh. Any shallow dyke or ditch.

Fleet, to float. Past participle is ‘flet.’

Fleet, shallow—e.g., a man will ‘plough fleet.’ Again, a waterway is said to be fleet enough when it has fall enough for the water to flow.

Frickle, to fidget. Used of the tide swerving about in eddies.

Gag, to retch.

Good tightly, properly, well.

Grizzle, to whine, cry, complain.

Gull, scour out, especially by means or running water.

Gushy, gusty.

Haggy daggy, mist.

Happen, perhaps.

Head. This word is used to express the superlative—e.g., ‘a head masterpiece.’

Hoggle, to sail with easy canvas before a fair wind, or to roll in a calm with the boom swinging. The word is no doubt related to such a phrase as ‘hoggling boggling,’ meaning unsteady.

Hoo roo, row, fight.

Housen, houses.

Hull, to hurl, to throw.

In, often used for ‘of’—e.g., ‘What do I think in it?’

Jack at a pinch, man employed in an emergency—e.g., man brought into a crew at the last moment.

Jown, joined, spliced.

Juble, jolly, merry. (Not in E. D. D.)

Kelter, condition, order. ‘Out of kelter’ means ‘out of order.’

Kilter, vide Kelter.

Largess, extra pay, especially at harvest.

Lessest, least.

Levener, light meal between breakfast and dinner. Vide Bever.

Low, to allow, estimate, reckon.

Masterous, wonderful, astonishing. A superlative of this word is sometimes used. A man will say, ‘That was the masterousest thing I ever did see.’ (Not in E. D. D.)

Masterpiece, wonderful or astonishing thing.

Mawther, a girl.

Mizzle, light rain.

Nit, nor yet.

Nuzzle. A fisherman will say that he ‘nuzzled the mud’ (i.e., ran the bows of his smack on the mud on the flood tide) while having his dinner.

Offer to, try to—e.g., ‘I was that bad winter-time I lay abed six weeks and never offered to move.’

Old. It is impossible to ascribe any particular meaning to this word. In Essex dialect it is the universal adjective.

Paffle, breaking water caused by wind and tide—e.g., ‘The reach was all of a paffle.’ (This meaning is not mentioned in E. D. D.)

Paltry, poor in health.

Peak, to peep or pry—e.g., ‘A rabbit peaked out of its hole.’

Pingle, to be fanciful about one’s food.

Pingly, off colour, having a bad appetite.

Pucker, to worry.

Pucker, agitated state of mind—e.g., ‘She was in a regular pucker.’

Puggle, to mess about, particularly with a stick in opening a hole stopped with rubbish. Thus, figuratively, to muddle about.

Push, boil, abscess.

Releet, vide Deleet.

Riddy, rid.

Rowels, thick stockings worn inside sea-boots. (Not in E. D. D.)

Same. It is impossible to give precise meanings for this word in its frequent and various uses. They may be deduced from the dialogue of this book. It may be said that in Essex dialect the word ‘same’ commonly introduces a hypothetical statement which might equally well be expressed by ‘supposing.’ If you ask an Essex man to explain something, he will begin: ‘Same as if you was doing so-and-so—’. If he imagines something happening in the winter, he will say, ‘Same as winter-time.’

Scrouge, to crowd.

Scud. When fish, lying in the net alongside a smack, are shaken along to the most convenient point for lifting them on board, they are said to be scudded. Fish are also scudded into the hold.

Seizen, to bind, or seize, things together.

Shiftening, change of clothes.

Shiver, slice.

Similar-same, like.

Snarled, tangled, knotted.

Sneer, to twitch, wince.

Sob. When the wind dies away temporarily, it is said to ‘sob’ or ‘sob down.’

Soo, to settle down, like a vessel on the mud that is gradually being left by the tide. (Not in E. D. D.)

Spuffle, to fume.

Squalder, jelly-fish. In Norfolk ‘squadling’ and ‘swalder’ mean a small jelly-fish, but among Essex fishermen ‘squalder,’ which seems to be a form of ‘squadling,’ is used of the large stinging jelly-fish. (Not in E. D. D.)

Stam, to astonish.

Stench, to stanch. Used of soaking a boat or barrel to make the wood swell or ‘take up.’

Stetchy, vide Tetchy.

Suthen, something. Widely used as an adverb of emphasis—e.g., ‘That blowed suthen hard last night.’

Tempest, thunderstorm. (Not used of wind.)

Ter, it. Used in such phrases as ’as ter was’ for ’as it was.’ A fisherman examining a dead bird on the shore was heard to say, ‘That’s a watery bird be ter whether ter may’—i.e., ‘That’s a sea-bird whatever it may be.’

Tetchy, treacherous. Used of the wind when it flies about from one point of the compass to another. Also Stetchy.

That. Universally used throughout Essex, as in all East Anglia, for ‘it.’ People say, ‘That’s a goin’ to rain,’ ‘I doubt that’ll turn to wind,’ ‘That’ll be a rum ’un [i.e., a strange thing] if he comes,’ and so on. This is probably a relic of the old Anglo-Saxon neuter.

Thrashel, vide Threscal.

Threddle, vide Thriddle.

Threscal, threshold, door-sill. Also Thrashel.

Thriddle, to thread one’s way as through a crowded harbour. (Not in E. D. D.) Also Threddle.

Tissick, a tickling cough.

Tore out, worn out.

To-she-from-she gate, kissing gate. (Not in E. D. D.)

Wanten, wanted.

Went, gone—e.g., ‘He ought never to have went.’

Wonderful, very—e.g., ‘He’s a wonderful long time a comin’.’ Some Essex people use the word (like ‘old,’ q.v.) in almost every sentence.

Wring, to strain. A barge is said to wring when she changes her shape slightly through lying on uneven ground. When a vessel begins to move perceptibly, without actually floating, on the in-coming tide the fisherman says, ‘She’s wringing.’ This is only a special sense, of course, of the old intransitive verb ‘to wring,’ meaning to writhe or twist.

BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, ENGLAND