Rummaging through W Walter Gill’s ‘Manx Dialect Words & Phrases‘ (1934) this morning. I find it is one of those books whose example sentences in particular, can sometimes transport you back in time to when the words were actually spoken.
♦ COLLEY-WEST = Anything gone ‘colley-west’ is irretrievably lost or done for. ‘Their money all went colley-west in Dumbell’s (Bank).’
♦ FIRE-HOUSE = an obsolete term for a dwelling-house of the primitive sod-built type, distinguishing it from an outhouse or a barn. ‘If anyone break open a fire-house, either the Wall or Door thereof, or if there be no door but a bundle of Gorse or Ling reared up in the door to keep out the wind, or but two sticks in the door, it is Burglary and death to the delinquent, though it be but Felony under the value of sixpence halfpenny.’ (Blundell’s History, 1648).
♦ PULLED = distressed. ‘Jack was pull’t very sore in his heart.’
♦ COLLY = soot, flakes of soot. ‘A spot of colly from the smithy or the chiollagh (hearth) would be put on the chile’s (baby’s) face or its arm for luck lek.’ A safeguard against being bespelled or overlooked.
♦ DURRAG or DIRRAG = formerly a wicket-gate in the lower half of a field wall; now a similar gap closed by a movable slate slab. ‘The boundary betwixt Milntown and Claughbane from the old Durrag or outlet for sheep to… etc (from Enquest and Petition Files, 1694). Another record dated 1706, charges a man with the offence of ‘leaving a dirrag unshut on the fell-ditch.’
♦ FESS = a spindle, as of the ‘queeyl’ (ordinary spinning wheel), or of the ‘queeyl-vooar’ (flax wheel). ‘Come here and take that fess queeyl-wooar.’
♦ NEWAISH = uneasiness, discontent. ‘The country postmistress declared she had the newaish for a while week when she hadn’t a chance to read the postcards.’
♦ FISSEREE = a state of fuss and excitement.
♦ SMUIR = greasy-looking patches on the surface of the sea, understood to indicate the presence of herring – one of the signs that was looked out for. (Manx ‘smuir’ means slime.
♦ RANDYBOOSE = a general disturbance or uproar. ‘The two families was kickin’ a reg’lar randyboose togathar in the kitchen.’ An accidentally witty perversion of ‘rendezvous.’
♦ WHILE = A ‘while’ (rhyming with mile) is a place where fish are expected to be plentiful and the nets are shot accordingly. Probably the Manx word ‘oayll’, a haunt, a place of resorts.
♦ DUB = ‘The Dub’ is a seamen’s by-name for the Irish Sea. Manx dialect ‘dub’ is a small pool. Old norse djúp, deep; Norn jube, the sea, and djúp in the Younger Edda with the same meaning.
♦ FLUMP = a heavy fall; to fall heavily. ‘Mee-yee-kin-flump he’d go to the floor’ i.e. ‘My God, what a thump!’ ‘She flumped off the laddher lek a sack of spuds.’
♦ GLOO = the warp of cloth. ‘He’s good all through, innagh and gloo,’ i.e. ‘weft and warp’.
♦ GOD’S PORTION = was the odd money over the even pounds in dividing the profits of a fishing boat among the crew at the weekend. This money was devoted to charity, otherwise bad luck would have ensued.
♦ JINNIES = was a name for the women of the now extinct class of itinerants who were also called ‘the walkers’ and ‘the travellers.’ ‘Oh ma, Boney and the Peg-leg and their jinnies are down in the Brummish, fighting the miners!’
♦ KEEK = to peer sharply or slyly. ‘His eyes keeked out like a ferret’s.’ ‘And the sarvant keeked over the landin’-top.’
♦ SUCTION = food for the emotions, fascination. ‘Aw, it was suction for the gel! Suction, I tell you!’
♦ STARCH = is used as a threat. ‘I’ll starch her if she dares to lay a hand on my things!’ Presumably ‘lay her out stiff’ is the idea.
♦ MOUTH-RATTLER = the tongue of a too talkative woman.
♦ GOO = a rumour, report, bit of news. ‘Did ye hear the goo tha’s goin’ about the sthrange lil animal up on Dalby Mountain?’
Source: ‘Manks Dialect, Words and Phrases (1934); photograph is titled ‘A fine fat herrin”. It is a studio portrait. Full details can be found here.
