DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[PanBiker]

I cringed this morning hearing Zoe Ball on the breakfast show pronounce Scafell as "Scaffle". It's only England's highest mountain.

[Stanley]

I used this pic in another topic. Notice the trousers tied below the knee. Almost universal amongst the old 'navvies'. My dad called them 'bowyangs'. (Remember, he was Australian). I want for a furtle and found this....
"Bowyangs are pieces of cord, rope or leather that are tied around the wearer's lower legs. A "bowyang" is a single piece of the tie. Bowyangs come in several varieties:
A thong or string used to hold trousers legs up, so that the wearer can squat or bend often without dragging the waist-belt down to the point where the trousers fall off. The thong or string is tied above the calf muscle of the lower leg, just below the knees, and in such a way as to hold a suitable amount of the upper leg of the trouser above the knee. A second purpose is to stop dust, grass seeds, insects and snakes going up the legs of farm workers. There is also the thought that in days gone by when farm workers only bathed once a week the bowyangs kept the dust and dirt from going up the legs and so helped keep the wearer clean. These devices are commonly used in Australia and New Zealand by agricultural workers and those who frequently work in a stooped position. They are a particular feature of the dress of a shearer and used, nowadays, worldwide by them. The statue of a ploughman and his plough on the war memorial on North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia has a man wearing bowyangs.
In England, bowyangs (but not by that name - in Norfolk they were called Elijahs) were an integral feature of “gorblimey trousers”, baggy corduroy trousers worn by e.g. coalmen and dustmen as featured in the song “My Old Man’s a Dustman” by Lonnie Donegan.
Cloth cones that are tied or held by elastic over the pants leg just above the ankle, and extend down to cover the top of the shoe or boot. This is to stop dirt, cement or brick powder, or any other matter getting inside the sock or footwear via the top or shoelace holes. They are commonly employed on Australian building sites, and are sold commercially for this purpose.
Straps that pilots, and other flight-crew, wear just below the knee that connects to their ejection-seat mechanism in such a way that the seat's ejection stroke hauls both legs back against the seat (to clear the instrument panel above) and restrains them from flailing about in the slipstream before the seat is slowed and steadied. The attachment is released as the pilot is released from the seat during its automatic sequencing. This colloquial use of "bowyangs" was started in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and spread, via the seat-manufacturer, to other air forces."
So, my dad wasn't making it up and the word is far more widely used than I thought.

[Tripps]

Known in Jockland as Nicky Tams. There's a song about them. I like the Jimmy Mcgregor version - but Ewan Macoll will have to do.
He has a formidable Scottish accent for a lad from Salford. If you struggle with the accent here are the words - though I think you may still struggle.

Nicky Tams lyrics - includes another song version

[chinatyke]

'A wasp gaed crawlin' up ma leg in the middle o' the Psalms'


Love it!

[Stanley]

Glad you liked that one. Didn't know about Nicky Tams and unfortunately I find it impossible to listen to Ewen McColl.

[Tripps]

I find it impossible to listen to Ewan McColl.

That surprises me. His politics were not unlike your own. I'd have thought you'd be a fan.

Not all 'Dirty Old Town' though. He wrote this which would be on my Desert Islands Discs list.

I think I may have something in my eye. . .

[Cathy]

That song brings back memories of the movie ‘Play Misty For Me’. Good movie

[Stanley]

I think it was the nasal whine David. Never knew his politics. I was particularly annoyed when he cashed in on the death of John Axon in 1957. (LINK)

[Tripps]

Still trying to find the original Vynil LP of The Ballad of John Axon, and my biography of Ewan MacColl. They're there somewhere.

Today's word will be "lucubrations".

Following up my book search of yesterday - I came across (like you do) The Lubrications of Isaac Bickerstaffe

Sounded like an epidsode of Last of the Summer Wine, so had to be investigated. Looks like the spell checker has struck again and actually the word should be lucubrations

Must confess I'm a bit disappointed.

[Stanley]

Not a word I use frequently I admit and I had to look it up. "To discourse in a learned manner". I wonder if any of us occasionally reach lucubration?

[Stanley]

Spin watch.... 'Uplift' evidently sounds better than increase. "NHS funds are due for a £7billion uplift".

[Tripps]

From a national newspaper today -

"The Royal Navy's base at Faslane on the west coast of Scotland is currently home to the UK's nuclear submarines. However, with the SNP verdantly opposed to the Trident missile system, Scottish independence would likely leave the UK looking for somewhere new to house the deterrent."

[Wendyf]

The SNP have just made a deal with the Green Party!

[Tripps]

Well done ! - I didn't see that at all. So not a typo after all, perhaps a Freudian slip.

Makes no sense to me though - no change there then. Watching too much 'Vigil' perhaps?

PS. Further thought - it does make sense. Confirms I'm not as clever as I thought and you are.

[Stanley]

I used 'mithered' in the sense of pestering parents this morning and it struck me it would stand looking up. So have a look at THIS. Not often you see a possible root in Welsh!

[Stanley]

I swear I just heard a BBC reporter say 'illegible' instead of 'eligible' in a report about social care.

[Tripps]

I had the words 'bandied about' in my head yesterday. We all know what it means , but where does it come from, and what's the connection (if any) with 'bandy legs'? Google information was scarce, but two minutes intensive research has revealed this. Sounds good, but being a natural sceptic, I'm not quite 100% convinced - especially the hockey stick bit.


"Bandy" originated from an Old French word "Bander", which was used in an early form of tennis and meant to "hit a ball to and fro". Later, in the early 17th century, "Bandy" became the name of an Irish team game from which hockey evolved. The ball was "bandied" back and forth between players. The crooked shape of the stick with which the game was played has produced the modern expression "bandy-legged".

[Cathy]

This is a bit of fun.
You are meant to read it aloud.
The English Pronunciation Poem.

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[Stanley]

Very clever Cathy.....

[Stanley]

I am confused.... I used to be an HGV driver, class one. Than I was told I was an LGV driver. Now there is a shortage of HGV drivers. Can anyone help me.

[PanBiker]

A quick Google

What is an LGV driver?

A large good vehicle (LGV) commonly referred to as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver, is someone who is qualified to operate a truck or lorry over 3,500kg. The main responsibility of LGV drivers is transporting goods from a supplier to the customer or client.


What is difference between LGV and HGV?

Information about the two abbreviations. HGV stands for Heavy Goods Vehicle and LGV stands for Large Goods Vehicle. Under the UK and European law, the LGV licence and HGV licence are the same licence. ... In fact you can drive up to 3500kg (3.5 tonnes) with your car driving licence – category 'B' entitlement.

[Big Kev]

My HGV class1 showed as categories C+E on my photo card licence. I let it expire in 2006 and would be required to take a medical every year if I wanted the entitlement back. I would also be required to gain a Certificate of Professional Competence to drive in the UK. I'll stick with my desk job.

[Stanley]

I chucked both my licences into touch when I sold my car. I would have needed a medical to carry on with the HGV and I wasn't going to be using it. There comes a time when even though you are probably safer than most drivers on the road, your reflexes have slowed and my kids were very happy when I did it even though they trusted my driving. They had seen another member of the family go on for far too long.

[Tizer]

I used the word flabbergasted yesterday, first time for years, and then wondered where it came from. Collins just says 18th Century, origin unknown.

[Tripps]

Going back to tenter / tender we've struck a rich seam here. tender

So many different meanings - and I still don't see "the back end of a steam train where they keep the coal".

No one seems to know about flabbergasted. Neither do I.