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Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 28 May 2019, 05:44
by Cathy
Whyperion, Hi, the only answer to No.8 was Heart to Heart.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 29 May 2019, 03:53
by Stanley
I used 'neb' this morning and looked it up....
"beak or bill of a bird," Old English nebb "beak, nose; human face, countenance; beak-shaped thing," from Proto-Germanic nabja "beak, nose" (source also of Old Norse nef "beak, nose," Middle Dutch nebbe "beak," Old High German snabul, German Schnabel "beak," Old Frisian snavel "mouth"), which is of uncertain origin.
An alternative name is 'peak' when referring to a cap so that might come from 'beak'.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 29 May 2019, 07:31
by Bodger
A word i haven't heard since i was a lad " shoave" = sandwich, " if thart ungry mek thisen a jam shoave"

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 29 May 2019, 09:31
by Tripps
I've heard the word 'shive' used - a long time ago, but it just meant slice (of bread) rather than a sandwich.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 30 May 2019, 02:40
by Stanley
I've heard that Bodge a long time ago. I have an idea it was in the Sheffield area.....
I was walking behind a woman in the street the other day and noted that she was 'Pigeon Toed', her feet tuned in towards each other as she walked. It occurred to me that the opposite, turning your toes out, has always been 'Twang Toed' to me and I wondered whether they are common terms. Never hear them these days.
I have an idea the terms were used to describe horses as well.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 30 May 2019, 06:03
by Cathy
This is my 3rd try, each time I press an emoji I get thrown off the site.

Here in Adelaide when we are planning to meet someone in our city for shopping, we always say "Meet you at the Balls.". :)
Here's why...
Rundle Street Adelaide Australia Stock Photos _ Rundle ___.jpg

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 30 May 2019, 06:19
by Stanley
Can't resist it Cathy..... What a load of balls!

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 01 Jun 2019, 03:59
by Stanley
I often think I know what a word means but have a check just in case I am wrong, Definition of fissiparous: tending to break or split up into parts : divisive fissiparous tendencies within a political party

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 22 Jun 2019, 09:28
by Tizer
`From the start' seems to have been replaced by `from the get go'. Where did that come from, I wonder? America perhaps?

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 22 Jun 2019, 09:57
by Tripps
It's on my list of irritating words and phrases of course. I would guess of American origin.

We have 'get set' and 'go', but I never heard of 'get go'. :smile:

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 23 Jun 2019, 02:29
by Stanley
I've heard it but it has never attracted me... Language changes over time though, part of the joy of it. We can always be selective in our usage.
One thing that has developed in my lifetime is the verbalisation of nouns like to Rubbish something. I accept many of them but not the latest ones.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 23 Jun 2019, 10:47
by Tripps
I spent some time in the company of my 8 year old granddaughter yesterday.

She assured us all that 'annoymously' was a word which meant enormously annoying. There was no convincing her otherwise. :smile:

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 23 Jun 2019, 11:06
by Tizer
She's training to be a politician! :smile:

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 24 Jun 2019, 03:05
by Stanley
It can all seem so logical at that age. I had great trouble with 'man's laughter' as a term for killing someone.....

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 24 Jun 2019, 08:47
by Tizer
As a child Mrs Tiz got into trouble in the school scripture class for bursting out into laughter when the class was told that Paul was `stripped and battered'. She got an image in her mind of fish in batter. :smile:

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 25 Jun 2019, 01:56
by Cathy
I know you have all been waiting :extrawink:
Why do we say 'fall' asleep. One theory is that when you nod off in a chair, your head falls forward. If you're lying down, it feels like falling, as you sink into the bed and go to sleep.
Another theory is that to fall asleep, like falling ill or falling in love, is to lose power over your actions - they are all involuntary actions, like falling.
And why do we say wake up - why 'up?
'Wake' comes from Old English wacan, which derived from weg 'to be strong, lively. 'Up' is often attached to a verb to give an added level of activity.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 25 Jun 2019, 02:32
by Stanley
Down and up are such useful descriptive words Cathy. Sit down is obvious but settle down requires a bit more thought.....

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 25 Jun 2019, 09:24
by Tizer
Listening to the reports this morning about Trump and Iran I thought how the White House is making things worse by goading Iran. That made me wonder from where did the word `goad' arise?

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 25 Jun 2019, 10:24
by Tripps
I came across a new (to me) word twice yesterday. That's how things seem to happen to me. Once in someones Twitter page, and then in the evening in a subtitle to a TV programme.

The word was tryna.

I think it's from the same stable as gonna and wonna. :smile:


Seems a goad is a sort of sharp stick used to move animals with.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 25 Jun 2019, 10:30
by chinatyke
Tizer wrote: 25 Jun 2019, 09:24 Listening to the reports this morning about Trump and Iran I thought how the White House is making things worse by goading Iran. That made me wonder from where did the word `goad' arise?
Goad knows!

Wikipedia says: The goad is a traditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usually oxen, which are pulling a plough or a cart; used also to round up cattle. It is a type of long stick with a pointed end, also known as the cattle prod.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 26 Jun 2019, 02:37
by Stanley
Goad..... "From Middle English gode, from Old English gād (“goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gaidō (compare Old Norse gedda (“pike (fish)”), Lombardic gaida (“spear”)"

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 26 Jun 2019, 07:20
by Cathy
From Urban Dictionary: tryna
An extremely versatile word used by the lazy man to express one of the following: "trying to", "trying the", or "trying a".
According to legend, this word has been used in countless text messages, resulting in exorbitant anger felt by significant others.

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 27 Jun 2019, 03:56
by Stanley
I saw the reports of that Cathy and will never use it!

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 09 Jul 2019, 03:38
by Stanley
I have an idea this might be a repeat.... During my foray into the Hanseatic League yesterday I was reminded of the origin of our use of 'sterling' as in 'Pound Sterling'.
I found this:- Middle English: probably from steorra ‘star’ + -ling (because some early Norman pennies bore a small star). Until recently one popular theory was that the coin was originally made by Easterling moneyers (from the ‘eastern’ Hanse towns), but the stressed first syllable would not have been dropped.
I will bow to the etymologists, it isn't my field, but I do like the simple 'Easterling' theory and will continue to favour it!

Re: DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

Posted: 09 Jul 2019, 10:57
by Tizer
There are several black manganese ores but the soft, earthy type is generally referred to as wad. I'd assumed that the word wad had a foreign origin because I've encountered it most in connection with specimens from distant countries. Some manganese has been mined in Britain, including in the Mendips area. I found out yesterday that there is village called Wadbury in the Mendips and also Wadbury Valley. This morning I've found one reference to manganese being mined there for use in paint. So the word wad may not be from a distant exotic land or foreign language - it might be from a place not very far from where I live. :smile: