SOME HOLDERNESS DIALECT FIGHTING WORDS. 



By John Nicholson. 



{Read January 18th, igo$). 



OUR Holderness dialect is rich, not only in words of 

 individual richness, power, quality, and expressive- 

 ness, but it owns a vocabulary varied and extensive, 

 a veritable wealth of words. It is archaic and picturesque, 

 possessing peculiarities and graces, not a few, and it is a 

 perfect arsenal of fighting words. 



I know not if East Yorkshire men are more quarrelsome 

 than their neighbours, or indeed than anyone else, but their 

 dialect abounds in words which express quarrelling and 

 fighting. Just as a weapon can be anything from a hatpin to 

 a crowbar, or from a " dishcloot " to a pair of heavy " dikin' 

 beeats," so a word may be a mild, harmless sort of thing, or 

 it may call up memories of childhood that are far more 

 painful than pleasant. 



The following word-list arranged alphabetically does not 

 profess to be complete, but it contains enough to show the 

 wealth of dialect words at the command of Holderness 

 belligerents : — 



Bam — To browbeat ; as, " Ah couldn't get nivver a wod in 

 neeah hoo, that lawyer chap bammed ma seeah." 



Sash — To clash together. A good word is bash ! There's 

 some momentum about it. A story is told of a clergy- 

 man, who, going into the country to preach, was caught 

 in a heavy shower of rain, and was wet through to the 

 skin. As the bad weather continued, he was asked to 

 stay over night, and changed into the clothes of his host. 

 His hostess went upstairs to fetch the big family bible 

 for evening worship, and as she came out of her bed- 

 room, she saw in the dim light a man on the stairs 

 landing, whom she thought was her husband, so lifting 

 high the ponderous volume in her hands, she bashed him 

 on the head with it, exclaiming, " Tak that, thoo great 

 soft-heead, for axin' him to stop all neet ! " It was the 

 parson, and he " saw sparks," as well as obtaining a 

 peep behind the scenes. A good word is bash. 

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