WHAT’S IN A WORD?
Well, it depends on from which era cometh the word, actually... we thought that you’d enjoy a smile or two as we delve back into the vocabulary of yesteryear.
In 1905, Oxford academic Joseph Wright completed his seminal work, the English Dialect Dictionary, the complete vocabulary of all dialect words still in use, or known to have been in use during the last two hun- dred years.
Courtesy of the Daily Mail, we bring you a quiz made up of some of the more, er, unusual regional words. Answers can be found at the end of the feature. Eat your heart out, Call My Bluff!
1. Apple-chamber (noun - Worcestershire) a. A farmhouse’s spare bedroom, in the corner of which the choicest of apples are kept b. A rounded hollow c. A small, secure box in which love letters are stored
2. Blubber-gudgeon (noun - Worcestershire) a. A fatty substance used for treating nappy rash
b. A very clumsy person c. A simpleton
3. Cungle (verb - North Yorkshire) a. To influence by prayers or charms b. To mess up c. To tie up one’s breeches
4. Dillock (noun - Suffolk) a. The hole made in soil by a mole b. An inefficient housewife c. A double-yolk egg
5. Edgling (adverb - Warwickshire) a. Being outside of a crowd b. Standing on one edge c. Falling over
6. Fowerty-frappers (noun - Cumbria) a. A cracker or firework b. A pair of frilly bloomers c. A fluffy cloud
7. Gawkrodger (noun - Yorkshire) a. A rowlock in a rowing boat b. A left-handed person c. A peeping-tom
8. Hocksy-vocksy (noun - Dorset) a. An implement for brewing beer b. A broody hen c. A police constable’s staff
9. Inisitijitty (noun - Warwickshire) a. A little, ridiculous person
b. A type of dance using staff and bells c. A nervous tick
10. Jedderty-jidderty (adverb - Cumbria) a. Lumbering from side to side b. Twisted, entwined, mixed up c. Rolling one’s head
11. Kibble-legged (adjective - Lincolnshire) a. Drunk
b. Knock-kneed PAGE 58
c. Having thin legs and large feet
12. Larp (noun - Cheshire) a. A blow or punch b. A type of lathe c. A wasp
13. Muffineer (noun - Warwickshire) a. An upright salt cellar b. An expansive, ample bosom c. A lover of pastry
14. Nazzly (adjective - North Yorkshire) a. Irritable b. Big-nosed c. Intoxicated
15. Odd-rod (noun - Dorset) a. A mule b. A cowslip c. Rhubarb
16. Poniwriggle (noun - Gloucestershire) a. A tadpole
b. A type of dance c. A pig-tail
17. Quacky (adjective - Lincolnshire) a. Big-lipped b. Full of quaint sayings c. Full of wind, gas
18. Rib-sticker (noun - Cumbria) a. A pudding made of oatmeal and lumps of suet
b. A type of sword c. A pang of indigestion
19. Sclum (noun - Devon) a. The dirt found behind one’s ear b. The froth on a pint of beer c. A fork used in cider making
20. Thummel-poke (noun - Cumbria) a. A cloth bandage to protect a sore finger b. A pestle c. A nosey, generally elderly, woman
21. Undercumstumble (verb - Notting- hamshire, Leicestershire, Warwicks, Oxford)
a. To invite a guest indoors b. To coat with breadcrumbs c. To understand
22. Vire-spannel (noun - Isle of Wight) a. A dog given to lying before the fire b. A wire brush c. A type of haywain
23. Wapple (noun - Shropshire) a. A horse whip
b. The sleep dust in your eye c. A hair-bun worn on the very top of the head
24. Yuveling (noun) a. A tool used for shearing lambs b. A type of caterpillar c. A handful of straw
25. Zog (noun - Somerset) a. A bad smelling fungus b. A type of marshland c. A crusty cow-pat
In stark contrast to the adjacent, we also bring you this year’s new entries into the Oxford Dictionary of English. Angus Steven- son, head of projects at the dictionary headquarters and the person responsible for making the decision as to when a new word is to become an entry, told the Times: “A lot of these ‘blends’, as we call them, are so widespread that we could put almost any number in, but we have to use our judgment. A lot seem to be invented by marketing peo- ple and journalists... The current economic situation has led us to focus more on eco- nomic terms, many of which before the credit crunch were unfamiliar.” Here goes:-
BROMANCE: a close but non-sexual relation- ship between two men; a blend of brother and romance.
CHILLAX: calm down and relax; a blend of chill and relax.
FREEMIUM: a business model, especially on the internet, whereby basic services are pro- vided free while more advanced features must be paid for; blend of free and premium.
QUANTITATIVE EASING: the introduction of new money into the money supply by a cen- tral bank. (One would have thought that a Call My Bluff alternative definition might have been ‘to leave off one’s corset’)
DELEVERAGING: the process or practice of reducing one’s debt by rapidly selling one’s assets.
SPOT-BUY: pay for [a currency or commodi- ty] immediately after a sale is made.
PAYWALL: an arrangement [on a website] whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to the site.
WATERBOARDING: an interrogation tech- nique simulating the experience of drowning, in which a person is strapped head downwards on a sloping board with the mouth and nose covered, while large quantities of water are poured over the face. (Shouldn’t this word be on the first list then?!)
EXIT STRATEGY: a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation that is likely to become difficult or unpleasant.
ROGUE STATE: a nation or state regarded as breaking international law and posing a threat to the security of other nations.
VUVUZELA: a long horn blown by fans at soc- cer matches in South Africa. (Didn’t we know it!!)
Answers to the quiz: 1(a) 2(c) 3(a) 4(b) 5(b) 6(a) 7(b) 8(c) 9(a) 10(b) 11(c) 12(c) 13(a) 14(c) 15(b) 16(a) 17(b) 18(a) 19(c) 20(a) 21(c) 22(a) 23(b) 24(c) 25(a)
PS - Naturally if any of you out there has come across a word that is not in the dictionary, do please get in touch! (Blackadder series 2, episode 3, “sausage” springs to mind...)
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2010
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