I REMEMBER working in Broad Chalke many moons ago and in particular, listening to an old Wiltshire man called George Tryhorn. It was a delight to hear George use the Wiltshire dialect and old words that had stood the test of centuries.

There were, for instance, some interesting ways of describing the weather, such as, “How the sun do bloom out atween the clouds.” To say the weather was “cluttersome” was to indicate that it was gusty. To be out in the “bleat” was to convey that a person was out in the open in the cold. Again, to say that “Tis a main blooming day” was to comment that it was very sultry. To say that it was a “brown” day was to say that it is gloomy.

The game of “dibs” doesn’t seem to be played any more. At one time it was popular and it was a common sight to see youngsters sitting on the doorstep or the edge of the pavement tossing the dibs which could be bought, or could be improvised by using pebbles or other stones.

We also no longer hear the cry of “diedapper.” This was at one time very common in Salisbury. Before the streams running through the streets were covered over, it was an every-day occurrence to see a dripping urchin making for home with an escort of friends at his heels yelling “diedapper.”

But we still use the word “spreathed” to signify the skin being chapped with the cold and we also use “goosegog” for gooseberry, and to be hit for a “purler” meaning a heavy fall.

Quite out of the ordinary is calling a man with big feet a “dewbeater” and a scarecrow a “galley bagger.”

These are just a few selections from a wide range.