Hesketh Bank and Tarleton Local History

Weather Forecast
Location Map

Dialect The Lancashire dialect was widely spoken in Tarleton. Some words are of Old English Origin, eg. 'gate' meaning a road, as in Blackgate Lane, a black road: or 'I will take you agate', meaning 'I will set you on the road', or 'agate with my work'.Ousel, throstle and dunnock, names for blackbird, thrush and housesparrow, were used in Shakespearean verse. Some are corruptions of Old English words. The following were common in Tarleton:
to rappock		to be noisy and upset things
to kale		to be served before your turn
witchet		wet shod
powd		hair cut, from the word poll (a head)
aliker		vinigar
moithered		to be bothered or worried
a quarrel		pane of glass in a window
to fettle		to mend
to clod		to throw
to clam		to starve for want of food
a laiche		a puddle in the road
to prate		to talk back cheekily
chin cough		whooping cough
to brewer		plants just shooting out of the ground
brewered		hat brim
to sken		to squint
galasses		braces
brat		an apron
to screet		to cry
to be monly		to be proud
to raumus		to talk foolishly
fow		ugly
to bree someone		to frighten someone
shive		a slice of bread
welly		nearly or almost
gawping		staring with open mouth
to snutter		to stumble
hutch up		sit close to someone
to conster		to argue
to go mazy		to be dizzy
a wooker		a thread hanging from a dress or a stray hair

Previous Chapter ~ Contents ~ Next Chapter
Do you want to submit an article? Mail editor@heskethbank.com