DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

I've just used a common term with me. I noted that the rain was siling down. It struck me that many people wouldn't understand the roots of this common expression for heavy rain. It refers to the way milk drops out of the bottom of a sile.... or sieve.

[Tripps]

That's a new word to me. Never heard of it used in connection with either rain or sieving.

Is it connectaed with 'silage' or the politicians' favourite 'resile' ?

[Stanley]

I went for a furtle.
The word "silage" is a 19th-century alteration of the word "ensilage," which itself comes from the French word "ensiler" ("to put in a silo"). The term "ensilage" was influenced by the word "silo," which originally meant a pit or hole for storing grain, derived from the Spanish word "silo," and ultimately from the Greek "siros," meaning a pit or hole for storing corn.
Sile on the other hand has a different root...
The meaning and origin of "sile" depend on whether it is being used as a proper name or a common word. As a proper name, Sile is an Irish name, often a variation of Cecil, with various possible meanings including "heaven" or "youthful". As a common noun or verb, the word sile is a dialectal term from Scandinavian and Middle English origins meaning to filter, strain, or let water flow through. It can also be a noun referring to a pillar or rafter, or a verb meaning to pour with rain.
There is also a mention in some dictionaries of sile being connected with pillars or supports and I like this because milk running out of the bottom of a sile does look like rods or a pillar.

[Tizer]

I've been reading a book written by Michael Rosen. In a section on malapropisms sent to him on Twitter he quotes an elderly lady writing that she had taken her old clothes to a `tragedy shop'.

[Stanley]

I like that Peter! It's quite appropriate when you give it a bit of thought.....

[Julie in Norfolk]

We had a lady at work, many moons ago, who deserved the title Mrs. Malaprop! She had a terrible pain down her face and said she was coming down with nostalgia. Pain ain't what it used to be.

[Stanley]

I like that one as well Julie.

[Tripps]

Anyone remember the word "ballies" (short a) from the playground? Never seen it actually written down.

Used by kids to indicate 'surrender' or 'give up' - I think it was accompanied by holding fists up and putting both thumbs up. Bad form to continue hostilities then. Takes me back to primary school. Was it just a Northern thing or more widespread? Goodness knows what the origin is.