I 



VILLAGE MINERS. 155 



pointed out that many names of places are redupli- 

 cations. New layers of population, Saxon, Dane, or 

 Norman, added their words with the same meaning 

 to the former term. There is a hill called " Up-at-a- 

 Peak." '' Up " itself signifies high, as in the endless 

 examples in which it forms the first syllable. " Peak," 

 of course, is point. This is a modern reduplication, 

 not an archaeological one. 



If any one hacks and haws in speaking, it is called 

 " hum-dawing." Some very prominent persons of the 

 present day are much given to " hum-dawing," which 

 is often a species of conversational hedging. Are 

 " horse- stepple " and " stabbling " purely provincial, 

 or known in towns ? " Stepple " is the mark or step 

 of a horse ; " stabbling " is poaching up the turf or 

 ground from continual movement of feet, whether 

 human, equine, or otherwise. The ground near gate- 

 ways in fields is often " stabbled " to such a degree 

 in wet weather as to appear impassable. A piece of 

 wood falling into water, gradually absorbs the liquid 

 into its pores, and swells. The same thing happens 

 in wet weather to gates and even doors; the wood 

 swells, so that if they fitted at all tightly before, they 

 can then scarcely be opened. Anything that swells 

 in this manner by absorption is said to " plim." A 

 sponge does not " plim ; " it is not apparently larger 

 when full of water than previously, and it is still limp. 

 To " plim " up implies a certain amount of enlarge- 

 ment, and consequent tightness or firmness. Snow- 

 flakes are called " blossoms." The word snow-flake 

 is unknown. A big baby is always a thing to be 

 proud of, and you may hear an enthusiastic aunt 



