T.] 



Glossary of Provuicialisms. 



'287 



Snake-Fern. The hard-fern {Blech- 

 vum boreale). See " Adder's-Fern." 



Sniggle, To. To snarl. See chap, xvi., 

 p. 186. Sniggle, A. An eel peculiar 

 to the Avon. See chap, xii., jjp. 125, 

 126. 



Spell, A. A lit, or start. Fain is 

 said to come and go by " spells," that is, 

 by shocks at recurring intervals. 



Spene, a. In its first sense, like 

 the Old-English spana, an udder of a 

 cow. In its second, the rail of a gate 

 or stile. 



Spine-Oak. The heart of oak. This 

 phrase points to the true derivation of 

 *' heart of oak." The common theory 

 Mr. Weilgwood has rightly classed 

 under the head of "False Etymologies.'' 

 See Transactions of the Philoloyical 

 Society, 18.")5. No. 6, pp. 62, 63. 



Spire-Bed, A. A place where the 

 " spires," that is, the reed-canary grass 

 (Phalaris arundinacca), grow ; exactly 

 equivalent to the Old-Enghsli hreod- 

 bedd. On the outskirts of the New 

 Forest at Redbridge, fonuerly Kedford — 

 Hreodford, literally, the ford of reeds— 

 the Test is to this day full of the same 

 " spires," fi'om which our forefathers 

 gave the place its name. The river 

 Caundle, in Dorsetshire, still, too, full 

 of spire-beds, tells of a similar deriva- 

 tion, not from the Teutonic, but the 



Keltic. The phrase " spire-bed," or 

 " spear-bed field," is very common, 



meaning a i)articular field, near where 



the " spires " grow, which are used 



by plasterers and thatchers in their 



work. 



Spith. (Another form of pith, from 



the Old-Engiish "piSa"). Strength, 



force. 

 Sprack. Not only quick, lively, brisk, 



active, as given in i;he glossaries, but 



neat, tidy. Used also in this last sense 



in Wiltshire. 



Spratteu. The common guillemot 



{Una trotie). In Norfolk {sec Truiis- 



itrllims of llie P/iiiolnytcul ^ociett/, 1«.'>5, 



p. 37) we have " bjdat-mowe," for a 



herring-gull ; and in Kent, "sprat-loon," 

 for one of tlie grebes. 



Squab, A. Anything large. Thus 

 " a sijuab of a piece," is constantly used 

 in this sense. In a different meaning it 

 is confounded with squat. So a thick- 

 set, heavy person is called a " si[uab." 



Squoyles. Glances. 5ee chap, xvi., 

 p. 182. 



Stabble. Marks, footprints, always 

 used in the plural. This is another of 

 those onomatopoi'tic words which Mr. 

 Wedgwood might add to the forms 

 step, stamp, stipple, all derived by a 

 similar process. {See the Introduction 

 to his Dictionary of Etymoloyi/, p. x.) 

 In an old rhyme, common in the New 

 Forest, upon a hailstorm, we find the 

 word ; — 



" Go round the ricks. 

 And round the ricks. 

 And make as many stabble 

 As nine score sheep." 



Stark Y. Used particularly of land 

 which is stiff or unworkable, especially 

 after rain, and opjjosed to " stoachy," 

 which signifies muddy, as in the com- 

 mon expression, " What a dreadful 

 stoachy piece of ground." 



Thrifty. Still used in its old deriva- 

 tive sense of thriving, and so fiourishiiig. 

 Once or twice I have heard it applied to 

 physical health, in the sense of being 

 well, or " pure," as is the more common 

 saying. 



Tine, To. To tine a candle, does 

 not now so much mean to light, from 

 the Old-English tendan, to set on fire, 

 as to snurt" it. 



TuFFET, A. A lump of earth, or iiil- 

 lock. Hence we iiave " tuttety," in the 

 sense ot uneven, or covered with hillocks. 



TuLY. Weak, ailing. More common 

 in the north ol' Kngland. See " Kittcr- 

 ing." 



Twiddle, To. To whistle, "The 

 robins are twiddling," is a conniiou 

 phrase, and which fact is said to lie a 

 sign of rain. 



