Cornish Dialect words recalled by Malcolm Mc Carthy of Padstow with source where possible

WORD

MEANING

SOURCE

Abroad

To describe a lady who's figure has gone to pot  "She's gone all abroad"

Common usage

Acker

Double ended digging tool flat adze like end and pointed pick like end

Granfer

Airy mouse

A bat

Common usage

Alleyback

Convolvulous a common weed

Horace Bate

Arrish

Stubble in a field

Common usage

Bal

To hit hard

General useage

Bal

To hit hard ie with something thats bent "Gib im a good balin"

Common usage

Bastly

Cabby dirty  "He's a bastly bugger"

Common usage

Bawled

To shout "E bawled at me" also to cry "E bawled is eyes out"

Common usage

beastly

Nasty "He's being beastly to me"

General usage

besom

a broom made from twigs or similar material

Common usage

Biddix

Double ended digging tool flat adze like end and pointed pick like end

Jack Ingrey

Blackjack

Coley

Common usage

Blawed

Out of breath

Common usage

Boxheater

Braising steak

Common usage

Brandis

Trivit for placing in the fireplace for cooking on

Use to be common usage

Brave

Big or large  "He's a brave chap"

Common usage

Bubble and squeak

Cold teddies and cabbage fried as leftovers

Common usage

Buffleheaded

A stupid person

Common usage

Bulloms

Sloes

Common usage

Cakey

A little bit stupid looking

mother

Cheeld

Child

Common usage

Churchtown

village around a church

St Merryn

Cloame

Earthenware

Common usage

Clunk

Clunk it down  to swallow

Common usage

Collywobbles

Rumbling stomach

Common usage

Coose

Cold  "God its coose today"

Common usage

Crib

Lunch or a small meal

Common usage

Croust

Lunch or a small meal

Common usage

Cukoo

A small plant with purple flowers like a minature foxglove in flower april, may

Granfer

Dicels

Thistles used for feeding guienie pigs or rabbits

Common usage

Dimixey

When the light is going at sundown

Common usage

Doldrums

Feeling a bit down

Common usage

Doust

Dust caused when threashing

Common usage

Drang

Alleyway or passage

Common usage

Drexel

threashold the strip of wood at the bottom of the door

Common usage

Droke

Ditch by the side of a road

Margaret Ingrey

Droll

A story

from reading

es

Yes

Granfer

every whip and trip

All the time  "I don't want to going there every whip and trip

Common usage

Faddy

A pick person when eating

Common usage

Fitchit

A Stoat

Lady in St Petrocs nursing home originally from Delabole

Flags

Slates  used on a floor

Common usage

Fogue

Underground man made cave

Common usage

Four legged chicken

Rabbit

Common usage

Frail

Straw bag for carrying fish

Granfer

Frizz

In a bad temper

Common usage

Gad

meaning         well I never

Common usage

gander

To have a gander is to have a look

Common usage

Gawk

To have a look  "Let me av a gawk"

Common usage

Gawkey

A strange looking person

Common usage

Geek

To look at

Common usage

Glit

Fine weed in fishing nets

Common usage

Gooster

Crawfish

Common usage

Granfer crab

Brown crab  remember from my youth

Use to be common usage

Green

Cod

Common usage

Green

Large wave about to break on a vessel  "Mind the green"

Common usage

Gribble

A worm that eats wood under water

Common usage

Gurdy

A device for pulling in mackeral lines

Common usage

Half baked

A stupid person

Common usage

Jouster

Fish seller

Common usage

Kieve

Wooden tub for salting pork

Jack Ingrey

Lambs tails

catkins

Common usage

Launder

downpipes and guttering

Common usage

Leat

A drain for rain water or a stream

Common usage

Lebitts

Broken into bits

Common usage

Lerrup

A lose woman

Common usage

Lerrups

Broken into bits

Common usage

Lew

Out of the wind  "In the lew of the hedge"

Common usage

maid

single young womain

Common usage

Mattock

A digging tool that looks like an adz

Jack Ingrey

Maw

Pigs large intestine

Jack Ingrey

Mazed

In a real temper

Common usage

Mizzle

Light rain

Common usage

Natlins

Pig entrails

Jack Ingrey

New Vang

Something that won't last, a fad

mother

Nub

End of a pasty

Common usage

Paddle

An oar

Common usage

Paddypaws

hedgehog

Common usage

parish lantern

The full moon

Molly Osborne

Peas

Fish row

Common usage

Persuader

Hammer ie "Pass me the persuader"

John Martin

pilkin

eggshell

Common usage

Piskey

A cornish fairy or leprichan

Common usage

Planchin

The wooden floor of a bedroom that is also the ceiling in a cottage

Common usage

Punt

Small rowing boat  pronounced pont

Common usage

Quilkin

frog

remember it said as a boy

Rags

Slates  used on a roof

Common usage

Sam sawdeled

luke warm or half cooked

mother

Scad

Horse mackeral

Common usage

Scat

A clout or to be hit

Common usage

Scat

To have no money is to be scat

Common usage

Scat abroad

To be broken in pieces

Common usage

Scerret

small amount "Not a scerret left in the biscuit barrel"

Common usage

Sclow

Scratch

Common usage

Scud

Scab

mother

Shag

Cormerant

Common usage

Shop

Village around a shop

St Merryn

Skillet

Three legged long handled brass or gun metal cooking pot

Common usage

Skirt

To go around something is to skirt around

Common usage

Skirt

muscle that lines the stomach cavity of a cow used as pasty meat

Common usage

Slock

To usher in to slock in

Common usage

Sow pig

woodlouse

Common usage

Spence

Understairs cupboard

Common usage

Squalass

A child that cries a lot

Common usage

Stickler

referee at the cornish wrestling match

Common usage

Stroil

dry strandy grass

Common usage

stugg

Earthenware jar or jug

Common usage

Stuggy

A Short squat person

Common usage

tassey

bad tempered

Common usage

Teddies

Potatoes

Common usage

Tictolaroo

Some one who is swinging the lead or throwing a sickie He's got a case of ticktlaroo"

Molly Osborne

Towan

Large sand dune

Common usage

Traade

Used in the following context "Whats that caakey traade"

mother

Truckle

To roll along a hoop using a truckler

Jack Ingrey

Vigsey

Double ended digging tool flat adze like end and pointed pick like end

Jack Ingrey

Vitty

Good

Common usage

Vuggo

Underground man made cave

Jack Ingrey

Whinnard

"Cold as a whinnard"

Common usage

Whitneck

Stoat or weasle

Common usage

Dialect Words and expressions from Mary Sinnott (MS) and Jean Haigh (JH) Padstow OCS

All for Heat and Pilchards

warm misty weather

MS

Ancient as Mutton  -

 old fashioned

MS

As Black as the Hobs of Hell

very dirty

MS

As Grey as a Badger

Grey Hair

MS

As soft as a Wollop

very easy going

MS

Awmylor

Bless my soul.

JH

Baint Zackly

Not very well

JH

Bald as a Coot  - 

No Hair

MS

Bell Tink

as in Hammer and Tongs

MS

Black as a tinkers backside.

Dirty

JH

Black from  Naws to Claws  

very dirty

MS

Box  your Lugs 

Box your Ears

MS

Braben Coose

Cold weather

JH

Braben thick.

 S/he's stupid

JH

Braben Whisht

I'm feeling poorly

JH

Cabby

Mucky

MS

Cant Blaw nor Strike

Out of breath as in eat too much

MS

Cant abide un.

Do not like him /her.

JH

Clidgey

Sticky

MS

Comeretowance

Come here at once

JH

comebechance

an unexpected gift.

JH

Daft as a Brush

eccentric

MS

Dreckley

later

MS

Dressed to the nines

wearing smart clothes

MS

Eppy as a wheelbarrow

eccentric

MS

Fair to middlin

It is average.

JH

Fine gait maid

A big girl

JH

Flam new

Brand New

JH

Gain like a lone dog.

Rushing about.

JH

Ghastly Toad.

Nasty person

JH

Gidon withee

Stop teasing

JH

Gidd along

Hurry up

JH

Gidd alone do.

Would you believe it.

JH

Glazed over.

S/he tried to ignore it / them

JH

Going like the clappers

 moving or working fast

MS

Going like a Skeiner

moving fast

MS, JH

He’d Fight is awn shada

aggressive

MS

I could sleep on a clthes line

very tired

MS

I'm pretty fair considering.

I'm Quite well.

JH

I’m up to me eyes in daisies

very busy

MS

I'ts a bit zam zaudly.

Cool or tasteless.

JH

It melts in your mouth like Hoss Shoe Nails 

used to describe food that is Hard or Tough

MS

It’s a bit takky   

Not quite dry

MS

Knawed all over Cornwall

Famous

JH

Laaken like a basket

Full of holes

JH

Leathered Black and Blue  -

Thrashed

MS

Limp as a dish rag

Sagging

MS

Like a Yard of Pump Water

very thin

MS

Maazed as a Brush

Eccentric or Annoyed

MS

Mazed as a Curly (Curlew)

S/he is Mad.

JH

Mazed as a Coot.

as above

JH

Maaking me hade addled

 confused

MS

Meet yerself coming back 

Very busy

MS

Naaked as a Jay Bird

Nude

MS

Naw nothin.

said of a person who is stupid.

JH

Orright ar ee

Are you well

JH

Proper Job

Well Done

JH

Put the house out of the winda.

Special welcome for guests.

JH

Scat

Slap or break

MS

Scar un down.

Knock him/ it down

JH

Screeching like a sticked pig

yelling ones head off

MS

Screeching like a whitnick

S/he's crying out loud

JH

Sending them Home

snoring

MS

Sheeting Down

Raining Hard

MS

She thinks er own stink dunt smell

Proud

MS

She’s a pretty Dear

Darling

MS

Shes like an old hen

fussy

MS

Skate Mouth

Loud Mouth, Loose tongued

MS

Smeech

smoke from hot fat

MS

Squall [to]

To Cry

JH

Stop frecking around.

Stop wasting time.

JH

Stubborn as a waggon oss.

Stubborn

JH

Taisey as a snake

S/he's irratable.

JH

Teal [to]

To plant crops.

JH

Tedden Zackly

Not quite right

JH

Tedden that toal.

I made a mistake

JH

The meat is Pindy

gone off.

MS

Thin as a Grid Iron 

very thin

MS

Thirsty as a Gurnet 

very thirsty

MS

This Plaace is like Lanson Jail 

 very untidy

MS

Time you wadden here

time you left

MS

Tis ansome you

it is pretty 

JH

Tis Dammee ansome

as above

JH

Tis no good hurrying to be late.

MS

To Clunk

Swallow

MS

Wash yer Chacks  -

Wash your face 

MS

Weak as a Robin

Frail.  No Strength

MS

Where be too.

Where are you going.

JH

Wherve bin too.

Where have you come from?

JH

Whist as a Winnard

very cold

MS

Whist poor soul

S/he's a unhappy person.

JH

You can teal teddies in your ears

Dirty ears – Teal – plant

MS

You great Lummocks  - 

you silly fool

MS

You Gurt Dranzack

You fool

JH