Part 10

'"Here's the kay" ... holding up a small gimlet. "Whoy, thuck ben't a kay ... that's nothing but a nail-passer."'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 44.

=Nails=. _Bellis perennis_, L., Daisy.--S.W. (Mere.)

=Naked Boys=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron, the flowers and leaves of which do not appear together (Aubrey, _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 51, ed. Brit.). _Naked Lady_ in Cornw., Yks., &c., and _Naked Virgins_ in Chesh.--N. & S.W. (Huish, Stockton, &c.)

*=Naked Nanny=. _Colchicum autumnale_, L., Meadow Saffron. See ~Naked Boys~.--S.W. (Deverill.)

=Nammet=. See ~Nummet~ (S.).

='Nan=. What do you say? (A.B.C.). See ~Anan~.

=Nanny-fodger=, or =Nunny-fudger=. (1) A meddlesome prying person.--S.W. (2) _Troglodytes vulgaris_, the Wren.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Narration=. Fuss, commotion. 'He do allus make such a narration about anythin'.'--N. & S.W.

=Nash=, =Naish=, =Nesh=. (1) Tender, delicate, chilly (A.B.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W. (2) Tender and juicy: applied to lettuces.--S.W., occasionally.

=Nation=, =Nashun=, &c. Very, extremely, as _nation dark_ (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nation-grass=. _Aira caespitosa_, L., perhaps an abbreviation of Carnation-grass.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Natomy=, =Notamy=, =Notamize=, &c. A very thin person or animal, an anatomy.--N. & S.W.

*=Naumpey=. A weak foolish-minded person.--N.W.

*=Navigator=. A drain-maker's spade, with a stout narrow gouge-like blade (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi), more usually known as a ~Graft~.

=Neal=, =Nealded=. See ~Anneal~.

=Neck-headland=. 'To fall neck-headland,' i.e. headlong.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Neet=. See ~Nit~ (S.).

=Neoust of a neoustness=. Nearly alike (A.). See ~Aneoust~.--N.W.

=Nesh=. See ~Nash~.

=Nessel-tripe=, =Nessel-trip=, =Nussel-trip=. The smallest and weakest pig in a litter. Commonly used in the Deverills, and elsewhere.--S.W.

=Nettle-creeper=. Applied generally in Wilts to the following three birds:--(1) _Curruca cinerea_, Common Whitethroat, (2) _C. sylvatica_, Lesser Whitethroat, and (3) _C. hortensis_, Garden Warbler (_Birds of Wilts_, pp. 159-161).--N.W.

=Neust=. See ~Aneoust~.

=Neust alike=. Nearly alike.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard, &c.)

=Neust of a neustness=. See ~Aneoust~.

*=Never-the-near=. To no purpose, uselessly. 'I cwourted she ten year, but there, 'twer aal niver-the-near.'--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Next akin to nothing=. Very little indeed. 'There's next akin to nothen left in the barrel.'--N.W.

=Nibs=. The handles of a scythe (A.).--N.W.

=Niche=. See ~Knitch~.

=Nightcaps=. (1) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--N. & S.W. (2) _Aquilegia vulgaris_, L., the garden Columbine.--N.W. (Devizes, Huish, &c.)

=Night-fall=. _n._ A disease in horses. A humour in the fetlock joint, recurring until it produces incurable lameness.--S.W.

'Witness ... told him his animal was very lame, and asked what was the matter with it. He replied, "Nothing, it is only 'night-fall,' and it comes on several times during the year."'--_Wilts County Mirror_, Oct. 27, 1893.

=Nightingale=. _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort.--S.W. (Hants bord.)

*=Night Violet=. _Habenaria chlorantha_, Bab., Greater Butterfly Orchis (_Sarum Dioc. Gazette_).--N.W. (Lyneham.)

=Nine-holes=. A game played by children.--N.W.

'This is mentioned among the "illegal games" in the Castle Combe records.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. iii. p. 156.

'1576. _Lusum illicitum vocatum_ nyne holes.'--SCROPE'S _History of Castle Combe_.

=Nineter=. (1) 'A nineter young rascal,' a regular scamp. Not perverted from _anoint_ (as if it meant set apart to evil courses and an evil end), but from Fr. _anoienté_, _anéanti_, brought to nothing, worthless (_Folk-Etymology_, p. 9).--N.W. (Seend.) *(2) A skinflint (S.).

=Ninny-hammer=. A fool, a silly person.--N.W.

='Nint=. See ~Anoint~.

='Ninting= (_i_ long). A beating. See ~Anoint~.--N.W.

=Nipper=. A small boy (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nippers=. The same as ~Grab-hook~.--N.W. (Huish.)

=Nippy=. Stingy (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Nistn't=. Need not.--N.W.

'Thee nistn't hoopy at I--I can hyar as well as thee.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. iii.

=Nit, Neet=. Nor yet. Wrongly defined by Akerman, Slow, and others as _not yet_. 'I han't got no money nit no vittles.'--N. & S.W.

=Nitch=. See ~Knitch~.

=Nog=. A rough block or small log of wood.--N.W.

=Nog-head=. A blockhead (S.). ~Nug-head~ in W. Somerset.--S.W.

=Nolens volens=. Used in N. Wilts in various corrupted forms, as 'I be gwain, nolus-bolus,' in any case; 'vorus-norus,' rough, blustering; and 'snorus-vorus,' vehemently.

=Noodle along=. To lounge aimlessly along, to move drowsily and heavily, as a very spiritless horse.--N.W.

=*Noon-naw=. A stupid fellow, a 'know-naught' (_Great Estate_, ch. iv).

=Nor, Nur=. Than; as 'better nur that' (B.).--N. & S.W.

=Not-cow=. A cow without horns (A.). A.S. _hnot_, clipped, shorn.--N. & S.W.

=Noust=. See ~Aneoust~.

=Nummet=. The 'noon-meat' or noon-day meal (A.). ~Nammet~ in S. Wilts.--N. & S.W.

=Numpinole=. The Pimpernel.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Nuncheon, Nunchin=. The noon-meal (A.S.). ~Nunch~ (_Wilts Tales_, p. 117).--N.W.

=Nunchin-bag=. The little bag in which ploughmen carry their meals (A.).--N.W.

=Nunny-fudging=. Nonsense. 'That's all nunny-fudgen.'--N.W., now nearly obsolete.

=Nunny-fudgy=. 'A nunny-fudgy chap,' a poor sort of a fellow with no go in him: now used only by old people.--N.W.

=Nur=. See ~Nor~.

=*Nurk=. The worst pig of a litter. See ~Rinnick~.--N.W.

=Nurly=. Of soil: lying in lumps.--S.W. (Bratton.)

=Nut=. The nave of a wheel (S.).--S.W.

=Nyst, Niest=. Often used in Mid Wilts in same way as _neust_, as 'I be nyst done up,' i.e. over tired.

=Nythe=. A brood, as 'a nythe o' pheasants'; always used by gamekeepers.--N.W. Apparently a form of Fr. _nid_, a nest. In the New Forest they say 'an _eye_ of pheasants.' See Cope's _Hampshire Glossary_ (s.v. _Nye_).

=Oak-tree loam or clay=. The Kimmeridge Clay (Britton's _Beauties_, 1825, vol. iii., also Davis's _Agric. of Wilts_, p. 113, &c.).

=Oat-hulls= (pronounced Wut-hulls). Oat chaff and refuse.--S.W.

=Oaves=. (1) Oat chaff.--N. & S.W. (Huish, &c.) (2) The eaves of a house (S.).--S.W.

'A good old form. Mid. Eng. _ovese_ (_Old Eng. Miscell._, E. E. T. S. p. 15, l. 465),=O. H. Germ, _opasa_ (_Vocab. of S. Gall_).'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Odds=. (1) _v._ To alter, change, set right. 'I'll soon odds that' (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112).--N.W. (2) _n._ Difference. 'That don't make no odds to I.' 'What's the odds to thee?' what does it matter to you?--N.W.

=Oddses=. Odds and ends.

=Oddy=. (1) See ~Huddy~. (2) Strong, vigorous, in hearty health.--N.W.

=Of=. With. 'You just come along o' I!'--N. & S.W.

=Offer=. 'To offer to do a thing,' to make as though you were going to do it, or to begin to do it. 'He offered to hit I,' i.e. did not _say_ he would, but just put up his fists and let out.--N.W.

=Old man=. (1) _Artemisia Abrotanum_, L., Southernwood.--N. & S.W. (2) _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W.

=Old man's beard=. (1) _Clematis Vitalba_, L., Traveller's Joy, when in fruit.--N. & S.W. (2) The mossy galls on the dog-rose.--N. & S.W.

=Old Sow=. _Melilotus coerulea_, L., from its peculiar odour (_Science Gossip_, Nov. 1868).--N. & S.W., rarely.

*=Old woman's bonnet=. _Geum rivale_, Water Avens.--S.W. (Mere.)

*=Old woman's pincushion=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted Orchis.--S.W.

=Ollit=. See ~Elet~.

=On=. (1) =_in_, prep., as 'I run agen un on th' street' (A.).--N. & S.W. (2) =_in_, prefix, as _ondacent_.--N. & S.W. (3) =_im_, prefix, as _onpossible_ (A.B.).--N. & S.W. (4) =_un_, prefix, as _ongainly_ (B.). _Onlight_, to alight.--N. & S.W. (5) =_of_, as 'I never did thenk much on 'en.'--N. & S.W. (6) =_by_, as 'He come on a mistake.'--N. & S.W.

=Once=. (1) Some time or other (M.). 'Once before ten o'clock,' some time or other before ten.--N. & S.W.

'Send it once this morning, dooke.'--_Monthly Mag._ 1814.

(2) 'I don't once (=for one moment) think as you'll catch un.'--N. & S.W.

=Oo=. Such words as _hood_, wood, _want_, a mole, _wonder_, &c., are usually pronounced in N. Wilts as _'ood_, _'oont_, _'oonder_.

*=Organy=. (1) _Mentha Pulegium_, L., Pennyroyal (A.B.). (2) _Origanum vulgare_, L., Marjoram (_English Plant Names_).

=Otherguise=. Otherwise.--N.W.

=Out-axed=. Of a couple, having had their banns fully asked, or called for the last time (_Wilts Tales_, p. 100). The banns are then _out_, and the couple _out-axed_.--N.W.

=Oven-cake=. Half a loaf, baked at the oven's mouth.--N.W.

=Oven-lug=. The pole used as a poker in an oven. See ~Lug~ (2).--N.W.

*=Over-get=. To overtake, to catch up.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

*=Overlayer=. See quotation.

'The waggons ... seldom have any overlayers or out-riggers, either at the ends or sides.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xxxviii.

=Overlook=. To bewitch. Rare in Wilts, common in Dev. and Som.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Over-right=, =Vorright=. Opposite to.--N.W.

=Owl about=. To moon about out of doors in the dark.--N.W.

=Owling=. The same as ~Griggling~, q.v.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

Compare:--

'Howlers. Boys who in former times went round wassailing the orchards.'--PARISH, _Sussex Glossary_.

'The wenches with their wassail bowls About the streets are singing; The boys are come to catch the owls.'--G. WITHER.

*=Owl-catchers=. Gloves of stout leather (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. xi).

=Pack-rag Day=. October 11, Old Michaelmas Day, when people change house. Also used in Suffolk.--N.W.

*=Paint-brushes=. _Eleocharis palustris_, Br.--S.W. (Charlton All Saints.)

=Palm-tree=. The Willow. ~Palms.~ Its catkins.--S.W.

=Pamper=. To mess about, to spoil a thing.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Pancherd=. See ~Panshard~.

=Pank=. To pant (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Panshard=, =Ponshard=, =Pancherd=. (1) A potshard: a broken bit of crockery (A.B.S.).--N.W. (2) 'In a panshard,' out of temper, in a rage.--S.W. Also used in the New Forest.

=Pantony=. A cottager's pantry (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 112). Compare _Entony_, an entry: Berks. There are many slight variants, as ~Panterny~.--N. & S.W.

=Paper Beech=. _Betula alba_, L.--N.W.

*=Parasol=. _Sanguisorba officinalis_, L., Salad Burnet.--S.W. (Little Langford.)

=Parson=. In carting dung about the fields, the heaps are shot down in lines, and are all of much the same size. Sometimes, however, the cart tips up a little too much, with the result that the whole cartload is shot out into a large heap. This is known as a 'Parson.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Parters=. Pieces of wood in a waggon which join the dripple to the bed. See ~Waggon~.--N.W.

=Passover=. 'A bit of a passover,' a mere passing shower.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Payze=. To raise with a lever (B.). Norman French _peiser_, cp. Fr. _poiser_.--N. & S.W.

=Peace-and-Plenty=. A kind of small double white garden Saxifrage.--S.W.

=Peakid=, =Peaky=, =Picked=, =Picky=. Wan or sickly-looking.--N. & S.W.

=Pearl-blind=. See ~Purley~.

=Peart=. (1) Impertinent (A.S.).--N. & S.W. (2) In good health. 'How be 'ee?' 'Aw, pretty peart, thank'ee.'--N. & S.W. (3) Clever, quick, intelligent.--S.W. (4) Stinging, sharp, as a blister.--S.W. (5) Lively. 'Her's as peart as ar' a bird, that's what her is!'--N.W.

=Peck=. (1) _n._ A pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To use a pickaxe.--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ Of a horse, to trip or stumble: also ~Peck-down~.--N.W.

'Captain Middleton's horse "pecked"--it is presumed through putting its foot in a hole--and threw the rider.'--_Daily Telegraph_, April 11, 1892.

*=Pecker=. _n._ The nose (S.).--S.W.

=Pecky=. Inclined to stumble. 'Th'old hoss goes terr'ble pecky.'--N.W.

=Peel=. (1) A lace-making pillow (A.B.). A little 'Peel lace' is still made about Malmesbury. A.S. _pile_.--N.W. (2) The pillow over the axle of a waggon (D.). See ~Waggon~.--N.W. (3) The pole, with a flat board at end, for putting bread into the oven.--N.W.

=Peggles=. See ~Pig-all~.

=Pelt=. Rage, passion (A.S.). 'A come in, in such a pelt.'--N. & S.W. The word occurs in this sense in some old plays. Herrick alludes in _Oberon's Palace_ to 'the stings of peltish wasps,' and Topsell uses 'pelting' for angry or passionate.

'You zims 'mazin afeert to zee your gran'fer in a pelt! 'Ten't often as I loses my temper, but I've a-lost 'un now.'--_Dark_, ch. xii. #/

=Penny= (or =Perry=) =moucher=. A corruption of ~Berry-moucher~, q.v.

=Perkins=. The same as ~Ciderkin~.--N.W.

=Perk up=. To get better, to brighten up.--S.W.

*=Perseen=. _v._ To pretend to (S.).--S.W.

'There's Jack White a comin'; I wun't perseen ta know un.'--_Mr. Slow._

=Peter grievous=. (1) _n._ A dismal person, or one who looks much aggrieved. ~Pity grievous~ at Clyffe Pypard, and ~Peter grievous~ at Salisbury.--N. & S.W.

'I'll tell you summat as 'll make 'ee look a pater grievous!'--_Dark_, ch. xv.

(2) _adj._ Dismal-looking. 'He be a peter-grievious-looking sort of a chap.'--S.W.

*=Peter-man=. See Jackson's _Aubrey_, p. 11.--Obsolete.

'At Kington Langley ... the revel of the village was kept on the Sunday following St. Peter's Day (29th June), on which occasions a temporary officer called "the Peter-man" used to be appointed, bearing the office, it may be presumed, of master of the sports.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 83.

=Peth=. The crumb of bread.--N.W.

=Pethy=. Crumby, as 'a pethy loaf.'--N.W.

=Pick=. (1) A hay-making fork (A.B.D.), a stable-fork (D.). _Pick_=pitch, as in _pitch-fork_ (Skeat).--N. & S.W. (2) The fruit of the sloe.

=Picked= (two syll.). (1) Sharp-pointed. ~Piggid~ on Som. bord. 'Thuck there prong yun't picked enough.'--N. & S.W. (2) Looking ill (S.). With features sharpened by ill-health. See ~Peakid~.--N. & S.W.

=Pickpocket=. _Capsella Bursa-pastoris_, L., Shepherd's Purse.--N. & S.W. (Enford, Mere, &c.)

=Picky=. See ~Peakid~.

*=Pie-curr=. _Fuligula cristata_, Tufted Duck (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 190).--S.W.

=Pig-all=, =Pig-haw=. Fruit of the hawthorn (A.). ~Peggles~ (Jefferies, _Marlborough Forest_, &c.)--N.W.

=Pig-berry=. Fruit of the hawthorn (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Pigeon-pair=. When a woman has only two children, a boy and a girl, they are called a 'pigeon pair.'--N. & S.W.

'So in N. Eng. "a dow's cleckin" (a dove's clutch) is used for two children.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Piggid=. See ~Picked~ (1).

=Pig-haw=. See ~Pig-all~.

=Pig-meat=. The flesh of the pig in Wilts is, if fresh, 'pig-meat.' It is never 'pork' unless the animal is specially killed as a 'little porker.'

*=Pig-muddle=. Disorder, mess.--N.W.

=Pig-nut=. (1) _Bunium flexuosum_, With., The Earth-nut.--N. & S.W. (2) The very similar root of _Carum Bulbocastanum_, Koch., Tuberous Caraway.--N.W., occasionally.

=Pig-potatoes=. Small potatoes, usually boiled up for the pigs.--N. & S.W.

=Pigs=. (1) See ~Boats~.--S.W. (Hants bord.) (2) Woodlice.--N. & S.W. Also ~Guinea-pigs~ and ~Butchers' Guinea-pigs~.

=Pig-weed=. _Symphytum officinale_, L., Comfrey.--N.W. (Enford.)

=Pillars=. See ~Waggon~.

=Pimrose=. A primrose. Also used in Hants.--N. & S.W.

=Pin-bone=. The hip bone; sometimes the hip itself.--N.W.

=Pincushion=. (1) _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W. (Barford.) (2) _Scabiosa arvensis_, L., Field Scabious.--S.W. (Charlton.)

=Pinner=. A servant's or milker's apron; a child's pinafore being generally called ~Pinney~.--N. & S.W.

'Next morn I missed three hens and an old cock, And off the hedge two pinners and a smock.'

GAY, _The Shepherd's Week_.

=Pinny-land=. Arable land where the chalk comes close to the surface, as opposed to the deeper clay land.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Pins=. The hips. A cow with hips above its back is said to be 'high in the pins.'--N.W.

=Pip=. The bud of a flower (B.).--N.W.

*=Pish!= or =Pishty!= A call to a dog (A.). In co. Clare, Ireland, this is the order to a horse to stop.

=Pissabed=. _Leontodon Taraxacum_, L., Dandelion, from its diuretic effects.--N. & S.W.

*=Pissing-candle=. The least candle in the pound, put in to make up the weight (Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._). Cp. Norman French _peiser_, to weigh.--Obsolete.

=Pit=. (1) _n._ A pond.--N.W. (2) _n._ The mound in which potatoes or mangolds are stored (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii).--N. & S.W. (3) _v._ 'To pit potatoes,' to throw them up in heaps or ridges, in field or garden, well covered over with straw and beaten earth, for keeping through the winter.--N. & S.W.

=Pitch=. (1) _n._ A steep place.--N.W. (2) _n._ 'A pitch of work,' as much of the water-meadows as the water supply will cover well at one time (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii).--S.W. (3) n. The quantity of hay, &c., taken up by the fork each time in pitching (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. iv).--N. & S.W. (4) _v._ To load up wheat, &c., pitching the sheaves with a fork (S.).--N. & S.W. (5) _v._ To fix hurdles, &c., in place (_Bevis_, ch. xxiii).--N. & S.W. (6) _v._ To settle down closely.

'Give the meadows a thorough good soaking at first ... to make the land sink and pitch closely together.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.

(7) _v._ To lose flesh, waste away. Still in use in N. Wilts.

'The lambs "pitch and get stunted," and the best summer food will not recover them.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. xii.

(8) _v._ To set out goods for sale in market. 'There wur a main lot o' cheese pitched s'marnin'.'--N. & S.W. (9) _v._ To pave with ~Pitchin~, q.v.--N.W. (10) _v._ Of ground, to have an uneven surface. 'The ground this end o' the Leaze pitches uncommon bad.'--S.W. (Hants bord.)

=Pitched market=. A market where the corn is exposed for sale, not sold by sample (D.).--N.W.

=Pitchin=. _n._ Paving is done with large flat stones, 'pitching' with small uneven ones set on edge (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Pitching-bar=. The iron bar used in pitching hurdles (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. ii).--N. & S.W.

=Pitch-poll=. When rooks are flying round and round, playing and tumbling head over heels in the air (a sign of rain), they are said to be 'playing pitch-poll'--N.W.

=Pitch-up=. A short rest, as when a cart is going up a steep hill.--N.W.

=Pit-hole=. The grave (S.). Used by children.--N. & S.W.

'They lies, the two on 'em, the fourth and fifth i' the second row, for I dug pit-holes for 'em.'--_The Story of Dick_, ch. vi. p. 66.

*=Pixy=. A kind of fairy. This is a Dev. and Som. word, but is said to be in use about Malmesbury.

=Plain=. Straightforward, unaffected, as 'a plain 'ooman.'--N. & S.W.

=Plan=. 'In a poor plan,' unwell, in a poor way, &c.--N.W. (Seend.)

*=Plank-stone=. A flag-stone.

'This soyle (at Easton Piers) brings very good oakes and witch hazles; excellent planke stones.'--JACKSON'S _Aubrey_, p. 236.

'At Bowdon Parke, Ano 1666, the diggers found the bones of a man under a quarrie of planke stones.'--AUBREY'S _Nat. Hist. of Wilts_, p. 71, ed. Brit.

*=Plash=, =Pleach=. To cut the upper branches of a hedge half through, and then bend and intertwine them with those left upright below, so as to make a strong low fence (A.). Also ~Splash~.--N. & S.W.

=Plat=. The plateau or plain of the downs.--S.W.

=Pleach=. See ~Plash~.

=Pleachers=. Live boughs woven into a hedge in laying.--S.W.

=Plim=. (1) _v._ To swell out (A.B.S.), as peas or wood when soaked in water.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ Many years ago, near Wootton Bassett, old Captain Goddard spoke to a farmer about a dangerous bull, which had just attacked a young man. The farmer's reply was:--'If a hadn't a bin a _plimmin'_ an' _vertin'_ wi' his stick--so fashion--(i.e. flourishing his stick about in the bull's face), the bull wouldn't ha' run at un.' No further explanation of these two words appears to be forthcoming at present.

=Plocks=. Large wood, or roots and stumps, sawn up into short lengths, and cleft for firewood (S.). ~Plock-wood~ (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Plough=. A waggon and horses, or cart and horses together, make a plough (D.). See Kennett's _Paroch. Antiq._--N.W.

'The team of oxen that drew the plough came to be called the plough, and in some parts of South Wilts they still call even a waggon and horses a plough. This is needful for you to know, in case your man should some day tell you that the _plough_ is gone for _coal_.'--_Wilts. Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.

'1690. Paid William Winckworth for Worke downe with his Plough to the causway.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 237.

'1709. Paid for 41 days worke with a ploughe carrying stones to the Causey.'--_Ibid._ p. 239.

(2) For the various parts of the old wooden plough see as follows:--

'I should like to hear a Wiltshire boy who had been three years at plough or sheep fold, cross-examine one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, and ask him, in the article of a plough, to be so good as to explain the difference between the vore-shoot and back-shoot, the ground rest, the bread board, the drail, the wing and point, and the whippence.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xvii. p. 303.

*=Ploughman=. A waggoner or carter.--N.W., obsolete.

'1690. Paid for beere for the plowmen and pitchers.'--_Records of Chippenham_, p. 237.

*=Ploughman's-weatherglass=. _Anagallis arvensis_, L., Scarlet Pimpernel.--S.W. (Barford.)

=Plurals=. (1) The old termination in _en_ is still much used, as _Housen_, _Hipsen_, &c. See ~En~ (1). (2) Plurals in _es_ are very commonly used, as _beastes_, _ghostes_, _nestes_, _postes_, _gutses_. Very often a reduplication takes place, as _beastises_, _ghostises_, &c.--N. & S.W. (3) Plurals are used sometimes instead of singulars. Examples:--'Nows and thens,' 'You'll find un a little ways furder on,' &c.

'These are rather an adverbial use of the genitive, like _always_, _now-a-days_, _needs_, _whiles_, etc.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

(4) Plant-names are almost invariably used in the plural, even where only a single blossom is referred to, as 'What is that flower in your hand, Polly?' 'That's _Robins_, ma'am' (or _Cuckoos_, _Poppies_, _Nightcaps_, &c., as the case may be).--N. & S.W.

=Poach=. (1) Of cattle, to trample soft ground into slush and holes.--N. & S.W. (2) Of ground, to become swampy from much trampling (_Wild Life_, ch. xx).--N. & S.W.

*=Podge=. Anything very thick and sticky. Cf. ~Stodge~.

*=Pog=. *(1) To thrust with the foot.--N.W. (Malmesbury.) *(2) To set beans.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Poison-berry=. (1) Fruit of _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W. (2) Fruit of _Tamus communis_, L., Black Bryony.--N.W.

=Poison-root=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--N.W.

=Pole-ring=. The ring which fastens the scythe-blade to the snead (A.).--N.W.

=Polly=. A pollard tree.--S.W. A Wiltshire man, on being told by the hospital surgeon that his arms would have to be amputated, exclaimed, 'Be I to be shrowded like a owld polly?'

=Polt=, =Powlt=. A blow (B.). A blow with a stick (A.). In Glouc. apples, walnuts, &c., are beaten down with a 'polting-lug,' or long pole.--N.W.

=Ponshard=. See ~Panshard~.

=Pooch out=. (1) To project or stick out.--N.W. (2) To cause to project.--N.W. (3) 'To pooch out the lips,' to pout.--N.W.

=Pook=. (1) _n._ A small cock of hay, &c. (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To put up in pooks (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Pooker=. A woman employed in pooking.--S.W.

=Pookers'-tea=. The yearly treat given to the pookers.--S.W.

=Pooking-fork=. The large prong, with a cross handle, for pushing along in front of the pookers, to make up the hay into pooks.--S.W.

=Pop-hole=. A rabbit-hole running right through a bank, as opposed to ~Blind-hole~ (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. vi). Any hole through a hedge, wall, &c.--N.W.

=Popple-stone=. A pebble (S.). A.S. _papol_.--S.W.

=Poppy=, or =Poppies=. (1) _Digitalis purpurea_, L., Foxglove, so called because children inflate and 'pop' the blossoms. _Papaver_ is only known as 'Red-weed' by children about Salisbury.--S.W. (2) _Silene inflata_, L., Bladder Campion, also 'popped' by children.--S.W. (Salisbury.) *(3) _Stellaria Holostea_, L., Greater Stitchwort (_Sarum Diocesan Gazette_).--N. & S.W. (Lyneham and Farley.)