DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Stanley]

Indeed....

[Stanley]

It struck me this morning that it's a long time since I heard anybody use the expression 'A nice little earner'.

[hartley353]

You need to watch more Minder episodes.

[Whyperion]

You need to watch more Minder episodes.

Apparently someone totted up ADs £+ and - and overall I think it was more of a loss. Maybe govt regulation/ consumer protection/ taxation , licence fees etc have all made the concept of a reasonably return on effort seem megre.

[Cathy]

Heard the word 'cogitate' yesterday, not sure i have heard that one before? It means to ponder, think about, consider etc. Heard it while watching Corrie... (Oh dear!) Good word.

[Whyperion]

Heard the word 'cogitate' yesterday, not sure i have heard that one before? It means to ponder, think about, consider etc. Heard it while watching Corrie... (Oh dear!) Good word.

Indeed, Corrie writers seem to be putting in <random ?> 'clever' words that I don't think would be spoken - certainly in the contexts they are put - by people in that area of Salford on a regular basis.

[PostmanPete]

Lloyd Grossman used the word as part of his catchphrase when he did Masterchef all those years ago. At the judging of each weeks meals, he would say "We've deliberated, cogitated and digested."

[Stanley]

"Apparently someone totted up ADs £+ and - and overall I think it was more of a loss. Maybe govt regulation/ consumer protection/ taxation , licence fees etc have all made the concept of a reasonably return on effort seem megre."
Could we have a translation of this post? I have cogitated on it but can't make any sense of it.
Cathy, it's a good word and has the meaning of a more serious application of thought than thinking.

[Tizer]

Cath, yes, cogitate means to ponder or think about something. My cogitation tells me that we should have another word, `codgitate', for when an old man (an old codger) thinks deeply on a subject. It's like cogitate but slower, involves sipping spirits and is usually accompanied by sighs and occasional whistling sounds from hearing aids.

[Stanley]

In defence of the Crumblies.... I don't make any noise at all when codgitating...
Has anyone translated that post yet?
Just used 'thronged' for being busy. Not a lot of it about these days.

[PanBiker]

My mum and dad used codgitate and throng or thronged as common usage, I still use the latter regularly but may have to codgitate on how often I still use the former.

[Stanley]

I am thronged again today!

[Tripps]

I'll have a go.

"Apparently someone totted up ADs £+ and - and overall I think it was more of a loss. Maybe govt regulation/ consumer protection/ taxation , licence fees etc have all made the concept of a reasonably return on effort seem megre."

It seems that someone has done a study on the cost of advertising, and concluded that overall it is not cost effective. Perhaps the total raft of government red tape has made the life of the entrepreneur very difficult.

[Tripps]

" cutting our coat to suit our cloth"

Wonderful to see this phrase used correctly. Almost universally misused these days - the opposite way round.

'Tarnished with the same brush' is going that way too.

[Stanley]

Or even tarred with the same brush David.......

[Tripps]

Yes - that was badly put. I meant that the wrong version 'tarnished' had often replaced the correct version 'tarred'.
There's a great discipline to the written word isn't there? One does one's best.

[Stanley]

Ah, I see what you mean. I have to be careful about criticising improper usage because after nearly 80 years of reading and writing I'm probably as good at word meanings as anyone. But of course it wasn't always like that, I have no doubt that in my youth I was mistaken many times but we don't remember that, because as far as we were concerned we were right at the time. Where it annoys me particularly is when professionals like journalists and broadcasters get it wrong.

[Cathy]

Came across the word furbelows today (what the?) The text was talking about curtains and said 'There had never been any money for furbelows'. Looked it up and it means a showy piece of ornamentation. Strange word.

There is also a musical band called The Furbelows, gosh I wonder what they are all about...

[hartley353]

Lovely word Cathy I first came acroos this about a year ago, a lady down our road has a poodle called furbelows. The dog is called Ferby normally, but does have that pompom cut that fits its name.

[elise]

Furbelow is an old euphemism for pubic hair, used often in folk songs such as:

"Adam catched Eve by the furbelow, Adam catched Eve by the furbelow
And that's the oldest catch I know, And that's the oldest catch I know,
And that's the oldest catch I know.
Oh ho! did he so? Did he so? Did he so? Did he so? Did he so?
Did he so? Did he so?"

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/s ... tched_eve/

[Stanley]

Thanks to Smiles' biography of Nasmyth for this one. As a lad Naysmyth used to make whipping tops for his friends in his father's workshop. He calls them 'Peeries'. Never come across this word before.
On a different track, I watched a programme on the Plantagenets last night and one fact quoted was that the name derives from the Latin name for Broom, the plant. 'Planta Genista' became Plantagenet probably because it was a family favourite and worn as a buttonhole.

[David Whipp]

With apologies for this being an old chestnut...

We've had an enquiry on the Visit Barnoldswick site asking why we refer to Barnoldswick as Barlick.

Any suggestions?

[Stanley]

Easier to say than Barnoldswick...... Think Dave instead of David...

[David Whipp]

I always say that life's too short to use Barnoldswick all the time...

Any suggestions why Barlick though? I recall a point that another Barnoldswick is abbreviated in a different way?

[Stanley]

God knows.... The other Barnoldswick near Ingleton is called Barnewig by the locals. Again, shorter and easier to say. There is also the proprietary element like using a by-name for a person. It implies familiarity and in the case of a place, ownership.