lxxii PROCEEDINGS. 
given in the Standard Dictionary. in Newfoundland, however, I am 
assured it has always the idea connected with it of a cold wind driving 
the particles of ice in a way as it were to shave ones face. 
They have also some peculiar names for the creatures coming under 
their notice. Thus the medusae or sea nettles are called squid squads, 
sometimes squid squalls, the echinus or sea urchin oweggs, fresh water 
clams, cocks and hens, and to the westward smelts are known as ministers. 
The black fly is known as the mosquito and the musquito as the ndpper. 
The sea eagle they call the grepe. This seems unquestionably the same 
as grebe, but originally it represented certain kinds of water fowl. Then 
stout is used for shoat, a young pig, and the American brown thrush or 
robin is called the black bird. We may add here that raisins are always 
known as jigs, while figs are distinguished as broad jigs. 
But seal hunting is the industry peculiar to the island and in it has 
arisen a large number of terms, either specially applied or sometimes 
seemingly produced among themselves, to denote every object and act 
connected with it. We should observe however that with them a seal 
is always a swile, a sealing vessel or sealer, a swiler and seal hunting is 
swile hunting. This is an example, of which there are many others, of 
words being pronounced so differently as really to seem to be different 
words. Thus a hoe is a how, the fir is var, snuffing is snoffing, forked is 
varket and never is naar, which is equivalent to “not,” ‘naar a bit” 
being a favorite expression to denote a strong negative. 
Then they have a number of words only to distinguish the 
species of seals, as harps, hoods and dogheads, but to mark the difference 
of age and condition. Thus the young or baby-seals till they leave the 
ice are known as whitecoats. When the pelt, that is the skin and fat 
together, does not weigh more than twenty-five pounds, it is called a cat, 
and a dwarf-seal, a fat little fellow, is called a jar. 
The most curious use, however, of a word in this connection is that 
of bedlamer. The word originated with a class of vagabonds in the 
Middle Ages, known at first as “‘ bedlam beggars,” so called because when 
released from Bedlam hospital they were licensed to beg. They are 
referred to by Shakespeare as pilgrim beggars, but were commonly 
known as Toms o’ Bedlam. They were also called bedlamites and 
bedlamers, which came to be generic terms for fools of all classes. The 
last is used in Newfoundland with two applications: (1) It denotes a 
seal one year old and half grown, which being immature is of little 
