The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire by James Jennings (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📕

“No sound but the wild, wild wind, “And the snow crunching under his feet.”

And, again, in the Anthology, vol 2, p. 240.

“Grunting as they crunch’d the mast.”

Scud. s. A scab.

Sea-Bottle. s. Many of the species of the sea-wrack, or fucus, are called sea-bottles, in consequence of the stalks having round or oval vesicles or pods in them; the pod itself.

Sea-crow. s. A cormorant.

Seed-lip. s. A vessel of a particular construction, in which the sower carries the seed.

Sel’times. adv. Not often; seldom.

Shab. s. The itch; the hug. Applied to brutes only.

Shab-water. s. A. water prepared with tobacco, and some mercurial, to cure the shab.

Shabby. adv. Affected with the shab. Hence the origin of the common word shabby, mean, paltry.

Shackle. s. A twisted band. Shal’der. s. A kind of broad flat rush, growing in ditches.

Sharp. s. A shaft of a waggon, &c.

Shatt’n. Shalt not.

Sheer. s. A sheath.

Shil’lith. s. A shilling’s worth.

Shine. s. Every shine o’m, is, every one of them.

To Shod. v. a. To shed: to spill.

Sholl. v. Shall.

Shord. s. A sherd; a gap in a hedge. A stop-shord, a stop-gap.

Shower. adj. Sure.

Showl. s. A shovel.

To Showl. v. a. To shovel.

To Shride, To Shroud. v. a. To cut off wood from the sides of trees; or from trees generally.

Shride, Shroud. s. Wood cut off from growing trees. It sometimes means a pole so cut; ladeshrides—shrides placed for holding the load. See LADESHRIDES.

To Shug. v. a. To shrug; to scratch; to rub against.

Shut’tle. adj. Slippery, sliding: applied only to solid bodies. From this word is derived the __shuttle__ (s.) of the weaver.

Sig. s. Urine.

Sil’ker. s. A court-card.

To Sim. v. n. To seem, to appear. This verb is used personally, as, I sim, you sim, for it seems to me, etc.

Sim-like-it. interj. (Seems like it.) Ironically, for very improbable.

Sine. conj. [Probably from __seeing__ or __seen__.] Since, because.

Single-guss. s. The plant orchis.

Singlestick. s. A game; sometimes called __backsword__.

Sizes. s. pl. The assizes.

To Skag. To give an accidental blow, so as to tear the clothes or the flesh; to wound slightly.

Skag. s. An accidental blow, as of the heel of the shoe, so as to tear the clothes or the flesh; any slight wound or rent.

To Skeer. v. a. To mow lightly over: applied to pastures which have been summer-eaten, never to meadows. In a neuter sense, to move along quickly, and slightly touching. Hence, from its mode of flight,

Skeer-devil. s. The black martin, or Swift.

Skeer’ings. s. pl. Hay made from pasture land.

Skent’in. adj. When cattle, although well-fed, do not become fat, they are called skentin.

Skenter. s. An animal which will not fatten.

To Skew, To Ski’ver. / v. a. To skewer.

Skiff-handed. adj. Left-handed, awkward.

Skills, Skittles. / s. pl. The play called nine-pins.

Skim’merton. s. To ride Skimmerton, is an exhibition of riding by two persons on a horse, back to back; or of several persons in a cart, having skimmers and ladles, with which they carry on a sort of warfare or gambols, designed to ridicule some one who, unfortunately, possesses an unfaithful wife. This may-game is played upon some other occasion besides the one here mentioned: it occurs, however, very rarely, and will soon, I apprehend, be quite obsolete. See SKIMMINGTON, in Johnson.

Skiv’er. s. A skewer.

To Skram. v. a. To benumb with cold.

Skram. adj. Awkward: stiff, as if benumbed.

“With hondis al forskramyd.”

CHAUCER, Second Merchant’s Tale.

Skram-handed. adj. Having the fingers or joints of the hand in such a state that it can with difficulty be used; an imperfect hand.

To Skrent. v. a. [An irregular verb.] To burn, to scorch.

Part. Skrent. Scorched.

Skum’mer. s. A foulness made with a dirty liquid, or with soft dirt.

To Skum’mer. v.a. To foul with a dirty liquid, or to daub with soft dirt.

Slait. s. An accustomed run for sheep; hence the place to which a person is accustomed, is called slait.

To Slait. v. a. To accustom.

To Slait. v. a. To make quick-lime in a fit state for use, by throwing water on it; to slack.

To Slat. v. a. To split; to crack; to cleave. To Sleeze. v. n. To separate; to come apart; applied to cloth, when the warp and woof readily separate from each other.

Sleezy. adj. Disposed to sleeze; badly woven.

Slen. adj. Slope.

‘Slike. It is like.

Slipper-slopper. adj. Having shoes or slippers down at the heel; loose.

To Slitter. v.n. To slide.

To Slock. v. a. To obtain clandestinely.

To Slock’ster. v. a. To waste.

Slom’aking. adj. Untidy; slatternly (applied to females.)

This word is, probably, derived from slow and mawkin.

Slop’per. adj. Loose; not fixed: applied only to solid bodies.

To Slot’ter. v. n. To dirty; to spill.

Slot’tering. adj. Filthy, wasteful.

Slot’ter. s. Any liquid thrown about, or accidentally spilled on a table, or the ground.

Slug’gardy-guise. s. The habit of a sluggard.

Sluggardy-guise; Loth to go to bed, And loth to rise.

WYAT says—“Arise, for shame; do away your sluggardy.”

Sluck’-a-bed, Sluck’-a-trice, } s. A slug-a-bed; a sluggard. Slock’-a-trice. /

Smash. s. A blow or fall, by which any thing is broken. All to smash, all to pieces.

Smeech. s. Fine dust raised in the air.

To Smoor. v. a. To smooth; to pat.

Snags. s. Small sloes: prunus spinosa.

Snag, Snagn. / s. A tooth.

Snaggle’tooth. s. A tooth growing irregularly.

Snarl. s. A tangle; a quarrel. There is also the verb to snarl, to entangle.

Sneäd. s. The crooked handle of a mowing scythe.

Snip’py. adj. Mean, parsimonious.

Snock. s. A knock; a smart blow.

Snowl. s. The head.

Soce. s. pl. Vocative case. Friends! Companions! Most probably derived from the Latin socius.

To Soss. v. a. To throw a liquid from one vessel to another.

Sour-dock. s. Sorrel: rumex aceiosa.

Souse. s. pl. Sousen. The ears. Pigs sousen, pig’s ears.

Spar. s. The pointed sticks, doubled and twisted in the middle, and used for fixing the thatch of a roof, are called spars: they are commonly made of split willow rods.

Spar’kid. adj. Speckled.

Spar’ticles. s. pl. Spectacles: glasses to assist the sight.

Spawl. s. A chip from a stone.

Spill. s. A stalk; particularly that which is long and straight. To run to spill, is to run to seed; it sometimes also means to be unproductive.

Spill. s. See WORRA.

To Spit. v. a. To dig with a spade; to cut up with a spitter. See the next word.

Spitter. s. A small tool with a long handle, used for cutting up weeds, thistles, &c.

To Spit’tle. v. a. To move the earth lightly with a spade or spitter.

Spit’tle. adj. Spiteful; disposed to spit in anger.

To Spring. v. a. To moisten; to sprinkle.

To Spry. v. n. To become chapped by cold.

Spry. adj. Nimble; active.

To Squall. v. a. To fling a stick at a cock, or other bird. See COCK-SQUAILLING.

To Squitter. v. n. To Squirt.

To Squot. v. n. To bruise; to compress. v. n. To squat.

Squot. s. A. bruise, by some blow or compression; a squeeze.

Stad’dle. s. The wooden frame, or logs, &c., with stone or other support on which ricks of corn are usually placed.

Stake-Hang. s. Sometimes called only a hang. A kind of circular hedge, made of stakes, forced into the sea-shore, and standing about 6 feet above it, for the purpose of catching salmon, and other fish.

Stang. s. A long pole.

Stay’ers. s. pl. Stairs.

Steän. s. A large jar made of stone ware.

Steänin. s. A ford made with stones at the bottom of a river.

Steeple. s. Invariably means a spire.

Steert. s. A point.

Stem. s. A long round shaft, used as a handle for various tools.

Stick’le. adj. Steep, applied to hills; rapid, applied to water: a stickle path, is a steep path; a stickle stream, a rapid stream.

Stick’ler. s. A person who presides at backsword or singlestick, to regulate the game; an umpire: a person who settles disputes.

Stitch. s. Ten sheaves of corn set up on end in the field after it is cut; a shock of corn.

To Stive. v. a. To close and warm.

To Stiv’er. v. n. To stand up in a wild manner like hair; to tremble.

Stodge. s. Any very thick liquid mixture.

Stonen, Stwonen. adj. Made of stone; consisting of stone.

Stom’achy. adj. Obstinate, proud; haughty.

Stook. s. A sort of stile beneath which water is discharged.

To Stoor. v. a. and v. n. To stir.

Stout. s. A gnat.

Strad. s. A piece of leather tied round the leg to defend it from thorns, &c. A pair of strads, is two such pieces of leather.

Stritch. A strickle: a piece of wood used for striking off the surplus from a corn measure.

To Strout. v. n. To strut.

Strouter. s. Any thing which projects; a strutter.

To Stud. v. n. To study.

Su’ent. adj. Even, smooth, plain.

Su’ently. adj. Evenly, smoothly, plainly.

To Sulsh. v. a. To soil; to dirty.

Sulsh. s. A spot; a stain.

Sum. s. A question in arithmetic.

Sum’min. s. (Summing) Arithmetic.

To Sum’my. v. n. To work by arithmetical rules.

Summer-voy. s. The yellow freckles in the face.

To Suffy, To Zuffy. v. n. To inspire deeply and quickly. Such an action occurs more particularly upon immersing the body in cold water.

Suth’ard. adv. Southward.

To Swan’kum. v. n. To walk to and fro in an idle and careless manner.

To Swell, To Zwell. v. a. To swallow.

To Sweetort. v. a. To court; to woo.

Sweetortin. s. Courtship.

T.

Tack. s. A shelf.

Tac’ker. s. The waxed thread used by shoemakers.

Ta’ëty. s. A potato.

Taf’fety. adj. Dainty, nice: used chiefly in regard to food.

Tal’let. s. The upper room next the roof; used chiefly of outhouses, as a hay-_tallet_.

Tan. adv. Then, now an Tan; now and then.

To Tang. v. a. To tie.

Tap and Cannel. s. A spigot and faucet.

Tay’ty. s. See A hayty-tayty.

Tees’ty-totsy. s. The blossoms of cowslips, tied into a ball and tossed to and fro for an amusement called teesty-tosty. It is sometimes called simply a tosty.

Tee’ry. adj. Faint weak. [proofer’s note: missing comma?]

Tem’tious. adj. Tempting; inviting. [Used also in Wiltshire].

Thâ. pron. They.

Than. adv. Then.

Thauf. conj. Though, although.

Theäze. pron. This.

Theeäzam,Theeäzamy. pron. These.

Them, Them’my.