74 NOTES ON ESSEX DIALECT AND FOLK-LORE. 



Bullimony^ BiilUmoug — A mixture of several sorts of grain as peas, o.its, and 



vetches. 

 Bum-hy — By and by. 

 Buss — To kiss, to embrace. 



Cop — To throw (as " cop that to me," and " cop it here," etc.). 

 Coivl or cow — A tub. Ger., Kugel, a bowl. 

 Dag — Dew, from the Swedish dagg. 

 Dog-rapper — The parish beadle with the long willow wand in church. This has 



been handed down from the early 17th century. 

 Du}it — To confuse by noise. 

 Down — At, as " down t'other end of town." 

 Enow — Enough. 



G)ift — Slate-pencil, from the Danish and Swedish griffel. 

 Gumption — Nonsense, foolish talk. (It also means talent, understanding.) 

 T^y^^/— Haytime, from A.-S. heg, hay ; sel, time. 



Hodtnadod — A shell snail, from A.-S. hod (whence hood), and mad an earth-worm. 

 Mawther — A great, awkward girl. This word is also used in Norfolk and 



Suffolk. 

 Paagles ~Q,QVi'iX\^% are so-called by children in N. Essex. This is a corruption 



of paigles. In some places the word signifies flowers in general. 

 Pay — To flog or beat, as " I'll pay you " said to a bad boy. Shakespeare also 



uses the word '■'■pay " in the sense of " to beat or thrash." 

 Tighted up — Put in order. 

 Weavers Beef of Colchester — Sprats. 

 Flacked — Hung loose, agitated by wind. 

 Finnick — A tawdry dressing woman. 

 Golls — The hands, as 



" Warm golls warm 

 Boys are gone to plough. 

 If you want to warm golls. 

 Warm golls now." (N.E. Essex,) 



Many more examples might be given, but want of space 

 forbids. 



Essex is particularly rich in Local Sayings, and the following 

 may be noted : 



" As K'ise as a Walthain Calf which went nine miles to suck a bull, and came 

 home as dry as it went." This needs no explanation. 



" DoTsrcourt all talkers and no hearers.'' — At Dovercourt a court is annually 

 held, at which, as it consists chiefly of seamen, the irregularity described is likely 

 to prevail. " Keeping Dovercourt " is said to mean making a great noise, and a 

 further explanation was that Dovercourt was celebrated for its scolds. (See 

 Nare's •' Glossary," Halliwell, Wright," Prov. Diet." ; Also Ray.) 



" Every dog has its day and a cat two Sundays." 



" Giving the straight tip," meaning speaking plainly and decisively, and very 

 often an insult is intended, 



" Good elm, good barley, good oak, good wheat,'' is well understood. 



^'■Laying by the wall." — If anyone is dead, he or she is said " to lie by the 

 wall," implying also that one is dead but not yet buried. In the Dutch there is 



