TODAY is National Dialect Day, and we've been digging around our archives (and asking some of our older colleagues) for their favourite Wiltshire words, some of which we've heard of and some of which we definitely haven't!
How many of these words do you recognise? And are there any other words or phrases we've missed off?
Ahmoo. A cow. Used by mothers to children, as ‘Look at they pretty ahmoos a-comin’!’
All-a-hoh. Lopsided
Aloud. Smells very bad, as 'That there meat stinks aloud.'
Anan, 'Nan. What do you say?
Bat-mouse. The usual term for a bat, also known as a flittermouse.
Belly vengeance. Very small bottles of bad beer.
Birds’-wedding-day. St. Valentine’s Day.
Bittish. =Somewhat. ''Twer a bittish cowld isterday.'.
Bobbish. In good health. 'Well, an' how be 'ee to-day?' 'Purty bobbish, thank 'ee.'
Buddle. To suffocate in mud. ‘There! if he haven’t a bin an’ amwoast buddled hisel’ in thuck there ditch!’
Butchers' Guinea-pigs. Woodlice. These were also known as curly-buttons (we don't know either...)
Cocky-warny. The game of leap-frog.
Cow-baby. A childish fellow, a simpleton.
Cribble about. To creep about "as old people do".
Crumplings, Crumplens. Small, imperfectly grown apples..
Dumbledore. A bumblebee (which was also known as a humble-bee).
Firk. To worry mentally, to be anxious, as 'Don't firk so,' or 'Don't firk yourself.'
Fitty. In good health. 'How be 'ee?' 'Ter'ble fitty.'
Flamtag. A slatternly woman. Wiltshire folk used several terms to describe women they didn't like, including flib-me-jig, floppetty, he-body, huckmuck,hag-mag, yelding, hummocksing... The list goes on.
Flowse. You ‘flowse,’ or splash, the water over you in a bath.
Garley-gut. A gluttonous person.
Glory-hole. A place for rubbish or odds and ends, as a housemaid’s cupboard, or a lumber room.
Gossiping. A christening.
Hen-hussey. A meddlesome woman (another for the list of words to describe women!)
Hullocky! ‘Hullo! look here!’. This is usually pronounced Hellucky, and is a contraction of ‘Here look ye!’
Jiffle. At Bishopstone in thee 1830s, an old bell-ringer was supposedly heard to accuse the younger men of having got into a regular ‘jiffle’ while ringing. There is no formal translation.
Lady-cow. The Ladybird.
Maggots. Tricks, nonsense. 'Her's at her maggots again.'
Moonied up. Coddled and "spoilt by injudicious bringing up".
Pissing-candle. The smallest candle in the pound, put in to make up the weight
Quanked. Overpowered by fatigue.
Rumple. To seduce. The full force of the word can only be given by example, as 'He bin rumplin’ that wench o’ Bill’s again laas’ night.’
Shitsack, or Shitzack. An oak-apple
Skug, Sqwug. A squirrel.
Toad-stabber. A bad blunt knife.
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