J.P.ROBSON SONGS OF THE TYNE ca. 1849
This is a summary of entries from Robson’s glossary; variants reflecting vowel variation from ‘standard’ have been usually omitted here. Though a useful list: on reflection, some of the definitions supplied seem casual. Supplemented by words fed in from pamphlet ‘The New Beer Bill’ by J.P.Robson (marked +)
a’ – all
+ abuen – above
aflaid – afraid
afore – before
aglee – awry
ahint – behind
Aw – I
awd – old
ax – ask
bairn – a child
bang – to strike, excel
bauk – a beam of wood
+ biv – that
blair – to cry out
blashey – wet, puddly
blate – bashful
blither – bladder [sic], talk
bonny – handsome
booled – rushed
bowdy-kite – deformed [sic]
brads – coins, money
brass – money
breeks – breeches
brig – bridge
brunt – burnt
brust – burst
bubbly – dirty-nosed [i.e. snotty]
bullies – applied to keelmen
ca’ – to call [sic]
cadger – a beggar
calfyaird – home
caller – fresh
canny – gentle
cassin’ – cast
chaffs – jaws
chep – a fellow
chile’ – a young person
chow – to chew
claes – clothes
clag – to stick
claggum – boiled treacle
clairts – street mud
clavers – idle talk
cotterels – money coins
cowp – to overturn
crack – conversation
cranky – tottering, unsteady
crile – a poor, deformed person
cruik yor haugh – sit down
crouse – cheerful
cuddy – a donkey
cutty – short
dad – a lump
de – to do, or die
+ deevils – devils
div – do
divent – do not
+ divent ken – don’t know
dowpy – the youngest child
dowie – careworn
drucken – drunken
duds – ragged clothes
+ duen – done
druvy – muddy
+ durst – dared dwamy – sickly, faint
een – the eyes
fand – found
fash – trouble
flaid – afraid
flucker – a flounder
forbye – besides
fond – silly, soft
fornenst – opposite
fra’ – from
gaet – gait, manner
gan – to go
gar – to compell
gawk – a clown
gear – riches, trappings
gedged – gaped
Geordies – rustics
gie – give
gleedeyed
gleedescowpy – kaleidoscope
glinted – peeped
gob – the mouth: + ‘haud yor gobs!’
gobby – saucy
goneral – a foolish man
gowk – a contemptible fellow
gree – to agree
greet – to shed tears
grozer – a gooseberry
+ guise – die of thirst: ‘as was fit to guise’
gully – a big knife
guv – gave
hae – to have
haem – home
+ haud – hold
haudaway – get along
hinny – honey, dearest
hirple – to limp
hoggers – flannel drawers
howk – to dig
how’ay – come along
huildoo – pastry made for children at Christmas
hunkers – the hams
hykin’ – heaving as on the sea; ?+ shouting
iceshoggle – an icicle
ivery – every
jenick – honest
+ jobs – [issues, scandals]: ‘If aw was King, there is ne doot, Awd put sic jobs te reets, man’
ka! – give over!
kaingry [sic] – peevish
keek – to peep
keeker – an overlooker
kelter – money
ken – to know
kenspeckle [sic] – noted
ket, as ‘ket meat’ – poorly fed
kittle – to tickle
lainger – to walk lazily
lap – did leap
leesh – active, supple
lowp – to leap lowe – a flame
lowse – to loose
lucka! – look here
lug – the ear
maelin’ – a dirty wench
mack – to make
‘mang – a mong
marrows – an equal, conrade
mawks – maggots
mayty – a companin
messet – an ill-bred dog
mevies – perhaps
middin’ – a dunghill
mun, man – must
+ ne – no: ‘ne doot’
neeve – the fist
nenst – beside
+ neyn – none
nobbet – only
nowt, owse – nothing
oney – only
ower – over
owse – anything
paddock – a frog
painch – the stomach
panged – stuffed
pawkey – particular
peedee- the keelboy
+ pollis – a policeman
plodhed – waded
pock-fretten – pock-marked
+ rammel’d – ?strolled
ratten – a rat
rax – to stretch
reek – to smoke
rig, ‘go the rig’ – go straight ahead
ripe – to rifle the pockets
rive – to tear
rolley – a small carriage for taking corves to the pit shaft
roup – a hoarseness
sark – a shirt
scon – to strike
scrudged – squeezed
shool – a shovel
shouther – the shoulder
shuggyshew – a swing
+ sic – such
siller – silver
skelp – to strike smartly
skilly – oatmeal and water
skeyt – a kite, scate [sic]
slaver – saiva
sloggers – trousers
snod – a careful, close person
sobble – to thresh completely
soom – to swim
speel – to climb
spice singing hinnies – fruit cakes
steeth – a coal drop for keels or ships
stoure – dust, confusion
stobs – posts
stravagin’ – wandering
summet – something
taek# – to take
taen – taken
tee – too
teemin’ – pouring: ‘the sweet was teemin’ ower my eyes’
thaw – thine
thon – yonder
+ thor – their
threep – to assert positively
thrimimel [sic] – to take by degrees
thropple – the windpipe
tiv – to
+ tuek – took
tuen – taken
turmit – turnip
tuithwark – the toothache
twee – two
tyke – a dog
wairsh – tasteless
ware – to spend
war’ – to beware
wark – work
wauf – sickly
whang – a sharp blow
whe – who
whese – whose
whiteys – white people
winnet – will not
+ wiv – with
wizzend – dry skin’d
wor – our
yammer – to complain
yell – ale
+ yell-house – ale-house
yellow-yowley – a yellow [hammer]
+ yen – one
yence – once
yerk – to thresh
Yule – Christmas
yuly – tender
yowl – to howl
Originally curated by Durham & Tyneside Dialect Group. Reproduced with permission.
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