DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Cathy]

Whyperion, Hi, the only answer to No.8 was Heart to Heart.

[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'.

[Bodger]

A word i haven't heard since i was a lad " shoave" = sandwich, " if thart ungry mek thisen a jam shoave"

[Tripps]

I've heard the word 'shive' used - a long time ago, but it just meant slice (of bread) rather than a sandwich.

[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.

[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

[Stanley]

Can't resist it Cathy..... What a load of balls!

[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

[Tizer]

`From the start' seems to have been replaced by `from the get go'. Where did that come from, I wonder? America perhaps?

[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'.

[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.

[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.

[Tizer]

She's training to be a politician!

[Stanley]

It can all seem so logical at that age. I had great trouble with 'man's laughter' as a term for killing someone.....

[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.

[Cathy]

I know you have all been waiting
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.

[Stanley]

Down and up are such useful descriptive words Cathy. Sit down is obvious but settle down requires a bit more thought.....

[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?

[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.


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

[chinatyke]

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.

[Stanley]

Goad..... "From Middle English gode, from Old English gād (“goad”), from Proto-Germanic *gaidō (compare Old Norse gedda (“pike (fish)”), Lombardic gaida (“spear”)"

[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.

[Stanley]

I saw the reports of that Cathy and will never use it!

[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!

[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.