Zurree! : Forest Talk
This is a glossary of Forest of Dean dialect. It was originally published on my web-site: “Edward Hunt’s Forest of Dean Miscellany”
It contains a mixture of local dialect, old mining terms, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon etc, . . .
adit A horizontal passage leading into a mine for the purposes of access or drainage. a’n’t have not agwain going agyun again, against aim think, suppose, reckon: ‘I d’aim’, expect ain haven’t aisne small wood alf-oaf fool allus always ar or arle alder astn’t hast not avore before awld old bait food bannut walnut bathered out exhausted, tired bellock bellow, shout, cry bile boil billyo a great deal, quickly bin been bist to be: I be, ‘thee bist’ , art or are you bistn’t are you not black lead graphite, pencil botcher small salmon bottle – no bottle no good boughton purchased as opposed to home made: ‘a boughten cake’ boy-chap youth, young man breadtime usually midmorning meal brevetting wandering about browst twigs bruks brooks butt, butty friend (from Butty system: Butty mann who employed mate) buzz bus, omnibus bwoys boys byuns beans byunt are not, am not byut beat cawn’t cannot charcoal boards fitted to wagon to hold charcoal which is bulky but light in weight chops teet or choppers, mouth chunt no, it is not chup cheap chupper cheaper churn underground cavity – a term used in the old iron mines indicating a large cavity filled with iron ore. clacketin chattering clane clean clate off clear off clouted hit hard Coleford collar scarf, muffler comp candle const canst, the archaic form of the auxiliary verb ‘can’ cooch, coochy snuggle (a cooch is also a dog kennel) – cwtch in Welsh. coopies an infantile word for fowls cord unit of volume of cut timber cordwood wood for stacking cosn’t cannot, used with pronouns thee and thou costn’t can’t couldst could coustn’t could not cratur creature, person in derogatory sense crease jacket or box of rock crimes an expression of astonishment cun can cyawpsin’ too talkative, loquacious daaze euphemistic word for damn daddecky / daddocky partly rotten daggled exhausted, tired dald euphemistic word for damn dap bounce dappy bouncy dekko look dip deep dipple pit entered down steep incline doan don’t doings an unspecified object, a whatsit douse, dout put out (a fire) dree three droo through drow throw duss from the verb ‘to do’; I do, thee duss dussent do not dust do dyud dead dyuth death elba elbow elder blo’ elder blossom ellum elm ellum blo’ elder blossom ern either ettles nettles ex ask exed asked exin’ asking eye island – as in Eye between the Severn and the Wye feow few fer for feythur father fitcher ferret (‘stink like a fitcher’). flump fall down fower four frail a small canvas bag fust first gale birthright, holding – an area of ground below which a miner has mineral rights. gammy imperfect gaust gorse gaveller a Forest of Dean mining official who deals with applicants for gales. gawpin’ gaping gid gave gidst gave it Glowecestscire Gloucestershire (Anglo-Saxon) gurt great, big gwain going gyule sneer hain To enclose, as when part of a Forest is enclosed (to shut up fields for haymaking) hence – Haie or Hay. hast have you hommocks, hummocks Legs, shins Herefordscire Herefordshire (Anglo-Saxon) ind end im him izzelf himself jadder liar jasper wasp jip pain – ‘it didn’t half give me some jip’. jud dead ketch catch kip keep kip sleep kipe, kuype large basket for chaff. knaw know knit up draw up (hands by rheumatism) lave leave lomber climb awkwardly lug ear lug tow lug pole pole for shaking down cider apples or perry pears. mane mean martal mortal meend A village Common or Green; A large area of waste mezelf myself mommuck a mess mon man moot to root as pigs do mullockin’ lazing muntle stupid person muv move muvin moving nar nor nellie stick to hold candle and with a pointed end to push into coal face nern none, neither, no one nesh tender, soft, delicate, not hardy, ‘you be got nesh’. nigh near, nearly nithered cold, frozen nogman stupid person, fool nurped the result of being ‘nesh’ nuthin’ nothing ockerd awkward oik lift, throw oiked lifted olt hold on us of us on y’ of you on’n of him, of it on’t of it ood wood oont mole oot will you, ‘do that, oot!’ ootn’t won’t you oss horse ouja an unspecified object oultn’t will not owd hold owld, ow’ old, often used in an affectionate way phizog face pig squeal, squeal cider pill stream running into Severn, tidal creek pizunuss poisonous pizzun poison plaze please pooer poor pudding stone a consolidated gravel conglomerate; the name given by quarry workers to conglomerate. purlieu (pearly, purlu, Durla Barn, Dursley Cross (Baty p.8) putcheons, putchers, putts cone shaped baskets used to catch salmon, putts being larger than putchers putt put quat, quatty squat, crouch, sit quist wood pigeon quomp to stop, to put pay to rade read radin reading rale real rasty rancid (of bacon); nasty (of person). He’s getting rasty. rinnuck small pig in litter ronk rank, sexy, crafty Sallowvallets salh = willows, fœllet = clump of felled trees sawney soft, daft scowle Cavity, hole (open to surface) – areas where there are ancient shallow workings for iron ore in the Dean. “Scowle” seems to be derived from the Welsh “ysgil” signifying a recess Sæfern Severn (Anglo-Saxon) sh’ink should think shawin’ showing shep, ship sheep ship badger one who runs sheep in the Forest shuck shook sknaw short for theesknaw, you know smirkin’ smiled falsely smot to throw, threw, placed, to hit, to break smot up dirty, as to be smot up with dirt socked hit very hard spitter spade sprack lively spwile yups spoil heaps spwilin spoiling squap to tread or lean unevenly squit, squitter nonsense (bull squitter, bull dung – hence ‘bull’ elsewhere). squittered gambolled, rushed haphazardly strames streams strit street stunnem a particularly strong cider once popular in th Forest sturt startle stwun stone summat, stun something surrey form of address (from sirrah?). See zurree. swallad swallowed swate sweet swelp my bob an exclamation tanglefoot cider tater potatoe tats Forest or Welsh sheep tawld told teart sharply painful teel to stack or set theesknaw you know therzelves themselves theze this thic that, that one, thiccy thou’lt thou wilt (you will) thouse thou dost (you do) thouse you have tissucking irritating (pertaining to a cough) tith teeth trated treated tripe hound silly person, a cur tudjamler tadpole, small fish tuffut turf tump A mound or barrow, hillock; A small hill, sometimes heap tush pull. tug tushin’ carrying twunt it won’t tyunt it isn’t ull will underd hundred undud hundred vark fork varm form veel feel vella fellow ver, vur far vern helpmate (trainee Free Miner) vetch fetch vire fire vit feet, fit vlat flat vling fling vlyin’ flying volla, voller follow vorest forest vor’n for him vorrud, vorud forward, forehead vram from vull full vust first vut foot vyarn fern vyow few Wæge Wye (Anglo-Saxon) wapper wasp wast were watty-handed cack-handed, clumsy wayter water wazzle tangle wesh wash weshed washed wi with wi’n with him wiffle stink wik week winder window withies a long flexible twig, as that of an osier (?) witter throw woy way wum home wun’, wunt won’t wurrut worry wuss worse wuth worth yalla yellow yalla yellow yat gate yud head yun, yunt aren’t or isn’t yup, yups heap, heaps, many, much yut eat, eaten, yet zart sort zarve serve zed said zid saw zin seen zot sat zum some zummat something zurree!, zurry sirrah! Anglo-Saxon form of address
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Boz's Gaff 