Words We Don't Use

[annis]

Er- some potential for misunderstanding with "buggarty", though in my experience obstinate, skittish animals often get called something along rather similar lines

[Rowan]

Once again I have fallen behind. So this entry will be a long one.


dry smoke - When without tobacco, an inveterate smoker will sometimes pull at an empty pipe. This is known as a dry smoke. ~ Charles Pettman's Africanderisms: A Glossary of South African Colloquial Words and Phrases, 1913

catlings - The strings of a violin or lute, they being formerly made of the intestines of a cat and usually called cat-gut. ~ William Toone's Etymological Dictionary of Obsolete Words, 1832

What musick there will be in him when Hector has knocked out his brains I know not, but I am sure none, unless the fiddler Apollo get his sinews to make catlings on. ~ William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, 1602

chessiker - An unpleasant surprise. ~ R. L. Abbott's manuscript collection of Nottingham words

chuffy - Haughty, proud, puffed up; fat and fleshy. In some parts, clownish. ~ Alfred Easther's Dialect of Almondbury and Huddersfield, 1883

Chuffle-headed, foolish, stupid. West Yorkshire. ~ Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, 1896-1905

mutchkin - A liquid measure equal to an English pint. ~ Joseph Wright's English Dialect Dictionary, 1896-1905

digamy - A second marriage; that is, a marriage to a second wife after the death of the first, as distinguished from bigamy. ~ Robert Hunter's Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 1895

Trigamist , he that hath three wives. ~ Thomas Blount's Glossographia, 1656

Quadrigamist, one married four times. [Related to] quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses harnessed abreast; from Latin quadriand jugum, yoke. ~ Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1914

hoddypeke - A term of reproach synonymous with cuckold. ~ William Toone's Etymological Dictionary of Obsolete Words, 1832

billy-go-nimbles - A comic name for an imaginary disease. ~ Thomas Darlington's Folk-Speech of South Cheshire, 1887

dog's-nose - A cordial composed of warm porter, moist sugar, gin and nutmeg. ~ James Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, 1855

A name given to a liquor of beer and gin, or of ale and rum. ~ Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1897

blood-guilty - Guilty of bloodshed, or responsible for bloodshed or murders. ~ Robert Hunter's Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 1895

lunting - Walking and smoking a pipe. ~ John Mactaggart's Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, 1824

upas - A baleful, destructive, or deadly power or influence. [From] a fabulous tree . . . with properties so poisonous as to destroy all animal and vegetable life to a distance of 15 or 16 miles around it. ~ Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1926

John Roberts - A large jug. In 1886, Sunday closing of public-houses came into effect in Wales, mainly through the efforts of Mr. John Roberts, M.P. So an outsized tankard evolved which, it was claimed, would hold sufficient beer to carry thirsty customers over from Saturday night until Monday Morning. ~ Edwin Radford's Encyclopedia of Phrases and Origins, 1945

callet - A vulgar, scolding, ill-tempered, unchaste woman; an ancient word in common use, though perishing from literature. "A callet of boundless tongue who late hat beat her husband." Winter's Tale. "A beggar in his drink could not have lad such terms upon his callet." Othello. ~ Charles Mackay's Lost Beauties of the English Language, 1874

To scold, as a calleting housewife. ~ John Ray's Words Not Generally Used, 1691

but and - Likewise; and. Old Scottish. Lord Maxwell's Goodnight (c. 1610) contains "Adieu, madame, my mother dear, but and my sisters three." ~ Alexander Gibson's Folk-Speech of Cumberland, 1880

tucket - A flourish in music; a voluntary; from Italian tocato, a touch. ~ John Boag's Imperial Lexicon of the English Language, c. 1850

A flourish on a trumpet or a drum. Boute-selle, a French trumpet-call bidding horse-soldiers saddle their horses. Litertally "set-saddle." ~ C. A. M. Fennell's Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words, 1892

palliardise - Fornication; whoring. ~ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, 1755

Lewdness, fornication, lechery; adapted from French paillardise. ~ Sir James Murray's New English Dictionary, 1909

[DianeL]

Palliardise has an interesting resonance, as close as it is to paradise!

Have not seen digamy before, that is interesting!

[Rowan]

I find chuffy to be the most interesting word of that grouping, because my friend who lives in Lancashire uses the word chuffed all the time, to mean pleased.

[DianeL]

Rowan, I actually thought about chuffed as well!

[Madeleine]

[quote=""Rowan""]I find chuffy to be the most interesting word of that grouping, because my friend who lives in Lancashire uses the word chuffed all the time, to mean pleased.[/quote]

Chuffed is still in general use quite a lot, it probably is more of a northern term but it's popular down South too!

[DianeL]

Yes, chuffed isn't a candidate for this list; just interesting to wonder whether it has any relationship to the word that is on the list. Its resemblance seems more than passing!

[LoveHistory]

I like chessiker and billy-go-nimbles.

[Rowan]

astroscope - An astronomical instrument. Astrologian, one who professes to foretell future events by the aspects and situation of the stars. Formerly, one who understood the motions of the planets without predicting. ~ John Boag's Imperial Lexicon of the English Language, c. 1850

fuffle - A word applied to an abundance of clothing. A woman with too many flounces or ribbons would be said to have "too much fuffle" about her. ~ Alfred Easther's Dialect of Almondbury and Huddersfield, 1883

putter up - A man who travels about for the purpose of obtaining information useful to professional burglars. A man of this description will assume many characters, sometimes ingratiating himself with the master of the house, sometimes with the servants, but all to one end - that of robbery. He rarely or never joins in the actual burglary, his work being simply to obtain full particulars as to how, when, and where, for which he receives his full share of the swag. ~ John Hotten's Slang Dictionary, 1887

clicketing - Copulation of foxes; somethings used waggingly for that of men and women. ~ B. E.'s Dictionary of the Canting Crew, 1699

elritch - Wild; hideous; uninhabited, except by imaginary ghosts. ~ Glossary to Allan Ramsay's play, The Gentle Shepherd, 1751

drawky - Of the weather, rainy, drizzly. ~ Michael Traynor's English Dialect of Donegal, 1953

clearstarcher - One who washes fine linen. ~ Thomas Browne's Union Dictionary, 1810

hunter's mass - A short mass said in great haste for hunters who were eager to start for the chase. Hence used as a phrase for any hurried proceeding. [Found in] Copley's Wits, Fits and Fancies, 1614. ~ Robert Nare's Glossary of the Works of English Authors, 1859

whilt - An indolent person. ~ John Brockett's Glossary of North Country Words, 1825

pedlar's French - The jargon used by thieves, tramps, etc. "Frenchman" was formerly a synonym for a foreigner. ~ Albert Hyamson's Dictionary of English Phrases, 1922

Paddington Fair - In the days when executions were public in England, large crowds generally gathered at the scene of the gibbet, adn a rare trade was done in food, drink and amusement. London's principal place of execution was Tyburn, which is in the parish of Paddington. ~ Edwin Radford's Encyclopedia of Phrases and Origins, 1945

re-raw - On the re-raw, out getting drunk. Scammered, drunk. ~ Ducange Anglicus's Vulgar Tongue: Two Glossaries of Slang, Cant and Flash Words and Phrases, 1857

tote right - To be fair; to conform to the local ethics. "I aim to tote right with everybody in this county whether they voted for me or not," said a newly-elected sheriff. ~ Vance Randolph's Down in the Holler, 1953

[Madeleine]

I shall have to remember "clicketing" next time I'm woken up by randy foxes!