Part 8

=Honey-suckle=. (1) _Lamium album_, L., White Dead Nettle, sucked by children for its honey.--S.W. (Salisbury.) (2) Also applied to both Red and White Clover, _Trifolium pratense_ and _T. repens._--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Hook=. Of a bull, to gore (S.). See ~Uck~.--N. & S.W.

'Compare _huck_, to push, lift, gore, Hants; and Prov. _hike_, to toss.'--SMYTHE-PALMER.

=Hookland= (or =Hitchland=) =Field=. A portion of the best land in a common field, reserved for vetches, potatoes, &c., instead of lying fallow for two years (_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. vii). Parts of some fields are still known as ~Hooklands~ in S. Wilts, though the system has died out. Sometimes defined as 'land tilled every year.'--N. & S.W.

=Hoop=. _Pyrrhula vulgaris_, the Bullfinch (A.B.); also ~Red Hoop~.--N.W.

=Hoops=, or =Waggon-Hoops=. The woodwork projecting from the sides of a waggon so as to form an arch over the hind wheels.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Hooset=. See ~Housset~.

=Hop-about=. An apple dumpling (B.C.), probably from its bobbing about in the pot. Cf. ~Apple-bout~.--N.W.

=Hopper=. A grig (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. i).

=Horse-daisy=. _Chrysanthemum leucanthemum_, L., Ox-eye Daisy.--N. & S.W.

*=Horse-Matcher=. _Saxicola rubicola_, the Stonechat (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 150).

'Horse-matchers or stonechats also in summer often visit the rick-yard.'--_Wild Life_, ch. x. p. 159.

=Horses=. In N. Wilts the orders given to a plough or team are as follows:--to the front horse, _Coom ether_, go to the left, and _Wowt_, to the right: to the hinder horse, _Wo-oot_, to the right, and _Gie aay_ or _Gie aay oot_, to the left. The orders to oxen are somewhat different.

=Horse-shoe=. _Acer Pseudo-platanus_, L., Sycamore.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin.)

*=Horse's-leg=. A bassoon.

=Horse-Snatcher=. _Saxicola oenanthe_, the Wheatear (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 152).--N.W. (Huish, &c.)

=Horse-stinger=, =Hosstenger=. The Dragon-fly (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Hound=. The fore-carriage of a waggon.--N.W.

=House=, =Houst=. To grow stout. 'Lor, ma'am, how you've a-housted!'--N.W.

=Housset=, =Hooset=, =Wooset=. (1) _n._ A serenade of rough music, got up to express public disapproval of marriages where there is great disparity of age, flagrant immorality, &c. See article on _The Wooset_ in _Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. i. p. 88; cp. _N. & Q._ 4 Ser. xi. p. 225. In Berks the 'Hooset' is a draped horse's head, carried at a 'Hooset Hunt.' See Lowsley's _Berks Gloss_.--N.W. (2) _v._ To take part in a housset.--N.W.

*=Howe=. _n._ 'To be in a howe,' to be in a state of anxiety about anything (C.). See ~Ho for~.--N.W., obsolete.

*=Howed-for=. Well provided for, taken care of (A.B.C.H.Wr.).

=Huckmuck=. (1) A strainer placed before the faucet in brewing (A.B.H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) _Parus caudatus_, the Long-tailed Titmouse (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 173).--N. & S.W. (3) General untidiness and confusion, as at a spring-cleaning. A very dirty untidy old woman is 'a reg'lar huckmuck.'--N.W.

=Hucks=, =Husks=. (1) The chaff of oats (_Village Miners_).--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.) (2) Grains of wheat which have the chaff still adhering to them after threshing, and are only fit for feeding poultry.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Hud=. (1) _n._ The husk of a walnut, skin of a gooseberry, shell of a pea or bean, &c.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To take off the husk of certain fruits and vegetables. Beans are _hudded_ and peas _shelled_ for cooking.--N.W. (3) A finger-stall or finger of a glove (S.). Also ~Huddick~ (S.).--N. & S.W. (4) A lump or clod of earth.--N.W. Cf. ~Hut~.

=Huddy=, =Oddy=. Of soil, full of lumps and clods.--N.W.

*=Hudgy=. Clumsy, thick (A.B.C.H.Wr.).

=Hudmedud=. (1) _n._ A scarecrow (A.). In common use in N. Wilts.

'Mester Cullum i sends you back your saddell koz its such a cusnashun rum looking hudmedud of a theng that pipl woll no it direckly.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 79.

'"That nimity-pimity odd-me-dod!"... Little contemptible scarecrow.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. iii.

*(2) _adj._ Short and clumsy (B.). See ~Hodmedod~.

=Hullocky!= 'Hullo! look here!' exclamation denoting surprise, or calling attention to anything (S.). This is usually pronounced _Hellucky_, and is a contraction of 'Here look ye!' Also _Yellucks_.--N. & S.W.

'"Now which way is it?"... "Yellucks," said the boy, meaning "Look here."'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. v.

'"This be the vinest veast ... as ever I zeed.... Yellucks!"--as much as to say, Look here, that is my dictum.'--_Ibid._ ch. xi.

=Humbug=. A sweet or lollipop.--N.W.

=Humbuz=. A cockchafer.--N.W.

*=Humdaw=. To speak hesitatingly (_Village Miners_).

=Humming-bird=. _Regulus cristatus_, the Golden-crested Wren.--N.W. (Huish.)

'We always calls 'em humming-birds here, and they are humming-birds!' said the school-children at Huish, in the most decided manner, when cross-examined as to the Gold-crest. Apparently the same use obtains in Devon, as Martin speaks of the 'humming-bird' as occurring in certain localities about Tavistock, which are assigned to the Gold-crest by other writers. See MRS. BRAY'S _Description of Devon_, 1836, vol. ii. p. 146.

*=Hummocksing=. Clumsy, awkward, loutish.

'She had a lover, but he was "a gurt hummocksing noon-naw" ... a "great loose-jointed idiot."'--_Great Estate_, ch. iv.

=Humstrum=. A home-made fiddle (S.). Sometimes applied also to a large kind of Jew's-harp.--S.W.

=Hunch about=. To push or shove about.--S.W.

*=Hunder-stones=. Thunder-bolts (Aubrey's _Wilts, Roy. Soc. MS._). Probably either belemnites, or else the concretionary nodules of iron pyrites, called 'thunder-bolts' by the labourers, are here intended. See ~Thunder-stones~.

=Hunked=. See ~Unked~ (A.H.).

=Hurdle-footed=. Club-footed.--S.W.

=Hurdle-shore=. The same as ~Fold-shore~.--S.W.

=Hurkle=. To crowd together, as round the fire in cold weather. An old form of _hurtle_.

'_Hurtelyn_, as too thyngys togedur (al. _hurcolyn_, hurchyn togeder). _Impingo_, _collido_.'--_Prompt. Parv._ c. 1440 (SMYTHE-PALMER).

=Husk=, =Hesk=. A disease of the throat, often fatal to calves. See ~Hask~.--N.W.

=Husks=. See ~Hucks~.

=Hut=. A lump of earth.--N.W. See ~Hud~ (4).

=Hutty=. Lumpy, as ground that does not break up well.--N.W.

=Hyle=, =Hile=, =Aisle=, &c. (1) _n._ A shock or cock of wheat, consisting of several sheaves set up together for carrying. The number of sheaves was formerly ten, for the tithing man's convenience, but now varies considerably, according to the crop. ~Tithing~ in N.W. ~Hile-a-whate~ (S.) The forms given by Davis, _aisle_, _aile_, and _isle_, seem purely fanciful, as also does the derivation there suggested, a _hyle_ being merely a single shock. In some parts of Wilts the shape and size of a hyle will depend largely on the weather at harvest-time. Thus in a stormy season it will usually be built compact and round, while in a calm one it may sometimes form a line several yards in length.--S.W.

''Tis merry while the wheat's in hile.'--BARNES, _Poems_.

(2) _v._ To make up into hyles. Wheat and rye are always hyled, and oats usually so, about Salisbury.--S.W.

=Ichila-pea=. The Missel-thrush: only heard from one person, but perhaps an old name.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Iles=. See ~Ailes~.

=Imitate=. To resemble. 'The childern be immitatin' o' their vather about the nause.' Participle only so used.--N.W.

=In-a-most=. Almost.--N. & S.W.

'It inamwoast killed our bwoy Sam.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 145.

=Innocent=. Small, neat, unobtrusive, as 'a innocent little primrose.' Virtually restricted to flowers.--N.W.

=Iron Pear=. _Pyrus Aria_, L., White Beam.--N.W. (Heddington, &c.) Iron-Pear-Tree Farm, near Devizes, is said to take its name from this tree.

*=Isnet=. _Alkanet bugloss_ (D.).

*=Ivors=. Hanging woods (_Slow_).--S.W. There would appear to be some misunderstanding here. The word may refer to the coverts on the hillside above Longbridge Deverill, which are known as _The Ivors_, the farm below being _Long Ivor Farm_. At Wroughton a field is called '_The Ivory_,' but this is perhaps a family name.

=Izzard=. The letter Z (A.S.). Still in use in S.W.

*=Jack=. A newt.--N.W. (Swindon.)

=Jack=, =Jack Ern=. _Ardea cinerea_, the Heron (_Birds of Wilts_, p. 395).--N.W. Also ~Moll 'ern~.

=Jack-and-his-team=. The Great Bear.--N.W. (Huish.) See ~Dick-and-his-team~.

=Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon=. _Tragopogon pratensis_, L., Goat's Beard.--N. & S.W.

=Jack-in-the-green=. (1) _Adonis autumnalis_, L., Pheasant's-eye.--S.W. (2) The hose-in-hose variety of Polyanthus.--N. & S.W.

=Jack-run-along-by-the-hedge=. _Alliaria officinalis_, Andrzj., Hedge Mustard.

=Jacky-Dinah=. _Sylvia sylvicola_, the Wood Warbler.--S.W. (Bishopstone.)

=Jacob's-ladder=. _Polygonatum multiflorum_, All., Solomon's Seal.--S.W. (Farley, &c.)

=Jag=. The awn and head of the oat. Oats are spoken of as 'well-jagged,' 'having a good jag,' 'coming out in jag,' &c.--N.W.

'The despised oats were coming out in jag ... in jag means the spray-like drooping awn of the oat.'--_Round about a Great Estate_, ch. i. p. 8.

=Jan-Chider=. See ~Johnny Chider~.

=Jarl=. To quarrel, to 'have words.'--N.W.

=Jaw-bit=. Food carried out in the fields by labourers, to be eaten about 10 or 11 o'clock.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Jee=. See ~Gee~.

=Jew-berry=. _Rubus caesius_, L., Dewberry; a corruption of the proper name (_Wild Life_, ch. xi).--N. & S.W.

=Jibbets=. Small pieces. 'You never did see such a slut! her gownd a-hangin' in dirty jibbets [rags] aal about her heels!'--N. & S.W.

*=Jiffle=. At Bishopston, N. Wilts, an old bell-ringer was recently heard to accuse the younger men of having got into a regular 'jiffle' (? confusion) while ringing. We have not met with the word elsewhere, but Hal. and Wright have _jiffle_, to be restless, var. dial.

=Jiggery-poke=. Hocus-pocus. ~Jiggery-pokery.~ Unfair dealing (S.): deception.--N. & S.W.

=Jigget=. _v._ To ride or walk at a jog-trot. 'Here we go a jiggettin' along.'--N. & S.W.

=Jiggetty=. _adj._ (1) Jolty, shaky. 'This be a ter'ble jiggetty train.'--N.W. *(2) Fidgetty (S.).--S.W.

=Jimmy=, =Sheep's Jimmy=. A sheep's head (S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Jimmy-swiver=. _n._ A state of trembling. Apparently connected with _whiver_ or _swiver_.--N.W.

'"Lor, Miss, how you did froughten I! I be all of a jimmy-swiver," and she visibly trembled, which was what she meant.'--_Greene Ferne Farm_, ch. vii.

*=Jitch=, =Jitchy=. Such.--N.W. (Malmesbury.)

=Jobbet=. A small load (A.).--N.W.

*=Jod=. The letter J (A.S.).

=Johnny Chider=, =Chan-chider=. The Sedge Warbler, _Salicaria phragmitis_. So called 'because it scolds so.'--S.W. Jan Chider (S.).

=Jolter-headed=. Wrong-headed; used generally of a jealous spouse. 'Her wur allus a jolter-headed 'ooman.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Jonnick=. Honest, fair, straightforward in dealings (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Joseph-and-Mary=. _Pulmonaria officinalis_, L., Common Lung-wort, the flowers being of two colours, red and blue.--N.W.

=Joy-bird=. The Jay, _Garrulus glandarius_. The name commonly used in N. Wilts for the Jay. Fr. _geai_.--N.W. (Savernake Forest, &c.)

=Jumble=. A kind of coarse dark brown sweetmeat (_My Old Village_).--N.W.

=Jumping Jesuses=. The long-legged water-flies, _Gerris_, which skim along the surface of streams.--N.W. (Hilmarton.)

=Junk=. A hunch of bread-and-cheese, &c.; a lump of wood or coal. A solid piece (S.).--N.W.

=Junket=. A treat or spree; still in use. When potatoes were not so common as now, a man would complain of his wife's 'junketing wi' the taters,' i.e. digging them up before they were ripe, as a treat for the children.--N.W.

=Just about=. Extremely. See ~About~ (1).--N. & S.W.

*=Jut=. To nudge, to touch (S.).--N.W.

=K=. _K_ sometimes becomes _t_, as _bleat_, bleak; _blunt_, blunk. Conversely, _t_ becomes _k_, as _sleek_, sleet.

=Keach=, &c. See ~Catch~ (1).

=Keavin=. See ~Cave~ (1).

=Keck=. To retch as if sick (A.); to cough; also ~Cack~.--N.W.

=Kecker=. The windpipe (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Kecks=. Dry stalks of hemlock (A.B.). Hemlock must here be taken to mean several of the larger _Umbelliferae_, and to include occasionally growing plants as well as dry stems. There are many variants of the word, as ~Keeks~ (A.), ~Kecksey~ (A.B.), ~Gix~ (A.B.H.Wr.), ~Gicksies~ (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii), ~Gicks~ (_Great Estate_, ch. v).--N. & S.W.

=Keep=, =Kip=. Growing food for cattle, &c. (A.B.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Kerf=. A layer of turf or hay (A.B.C.). A truss of hay.--N.W.

=Ketch=. See ~Catch~ (1).

=Keys, or Keyn=. Fruit of ash and sycamore (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

*=Kibble=. *(1) To chip a stone roughly into shape (A.). Cf. Glouc. _cabble_, to break smelted pig-iron into small pieces, before proceeding to draw it into bar-iron. *(2) To cut up firewood (_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxiv. p. 210).--Obsolete.

=Kid=. (1) _n._ The cod or pod of peas, beans, &c.--N. & S.W. (2) _v._ To form pods; used of peas and beans. _Well-kidded_, of beans or peas, having the stalks full of pods (D.).--N. & S.W.

=Kidney-stones=. Dark water-worn pebbles (_Eulogy_, p. 28).--N.W.

='Kin=. The same as ~Ciderkin~.

=Kind=. Some woods and soils 'work kind,' i.e. easily, pleasantly.--N.W.

=King's-cushion=. See ~Queen's-cushion~.

=Kiss-behind-the-garden-gate=. _Saxifraga umbrosa_, L., London Pride.--S.W. (Som. bord.)

=Kissing-gate=. A 'Cuckoo-gate,' or swing gate in a V-shaped enclosure.--N. & S.W.

=Kiss-me-quick=. _Centranthus ruber_, DC., Red Spur Valerian.--N.W.

*=Kite's Pan=. _Orchis maculata_, L., Spotted Orchis.--S.W. (Farley.)

=Kitty Candlestick=. _Ignis fatuus_, Will-o'-the-Wisp. ~Kit of the Candlestick~ (Aubrey's _Nat. Hist. Wilts_, p. 17, ed. Brit.).--S.W. (Deverill.)

=Kiver=. A cooler used in brewing (A.B.).--N. & S.W.

=Knacker=. To snap the fingers. Nacker (H.Wr.)--S.W.

=Knap=, =Knop=. (1) _v._ To chip stone, as formerly in making a gun-flint.--N.W. (2) _n._ A little hill; a steep ascent in a road (S.). This is really a Devon use.--S.W. (Dorset bord.)

=Knee-sick=. Of wheat, drooping at the joints, from weakness in the straw (D.).--N.W.

=Knee-socked=. Corn beaten down by storms is 'knee-socked down.'--N.W. See ~Knee-sick~.

=Knit=. Of fruit, to set. 'The gooseberries be knitted a'ready.'--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Knitch=, =Nitch=, =Niche=, &c. Usually spelt incorrectly, without the _k_. M.E. _knucche_, Germ. _knocke_: used by Wycliffe, also in _Alton Locke_, ch. xxviii. (1) _Nitch_, a burden of wood, straw, or hay (A.B.), such a faggot as a hedger or woodman may carry home with him at night; a short thick heavy chump of wood (_Village Miners_). Hence a fine baby is spoken of as 'a regular nitch' (_Ibid._). A bundle of gleaned corn (S.).--N. & S.W. (2) 'He has got a nitch,' is intoxicated, has had as much liquor as he can carry (A.B.). Compare:--

'He's got his market-nitch.'--_Tess of the D'Urbervilles_, vol. i. p. 19.

=Knot Couch=. _Avena elatior_, so called from the roots sometimes looking like a much-knotted cord or a string of beads.--N.W.

=Koomb=. See ~Comb~ (S.).

=Ladies-and-Gentlemen=. _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint. Leades an Genlmin (S.).--N. & S.W.

*=Ladies'-balls=. _Centaurea nigra_, L., Black Knapweed.--S.W. (Charlton.)

*=Ladies'-fingers-and-thumbs=. _Lotus corniculatus_, L., Bird's-foot Trefoil.--N.W. (Enford.)

=Ladies-in-white=. _Saxifraga umbrosa_, L., London Pride.

=Lady-cow=. The Ladybird.--N.W.

=Lady's-cushion=. _Anthyllis vulneraria_, L., Kidney Vetch.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Lady's-finger=. (1) Applied generally to _Lotus corniculatus_ and _Hippocrepis comosa_, and occasionally also to _Lathyrus pratensis_. 'Leades vingers, the wild Calceolaria' (S.), probably refers to one of these flowers.--N. & S.W. (2) _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin): N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

*=Lady's-glove=. 'The Greater Bird's-foot.'--S.W.

=Lady's-nightcap=. The flower of _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed (A.B.).

=Lady's-petticoat=. _Anemone nemorosa_, L., Wood Anemone.--S.W. (Mere.)

=Lady's-ruffles=. The double white Narcissus.--N.W.

=Lady's-shoe=. _Fumaria officinalis_, L., Common Fumitory.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin.)

=Lady's-slipper=. Applied generally to the same plants as Lady's-finger.

*=Lain=. Of a smith, to dress the wing and point of a share (D.). See ~Lay~ (4).

=Laiter=, =Loiter=. A full laying or clutch of eggs. The whole number of eggs produced by a hen at one laying, before she gets broody and ceases to lay.--N.W.

=Lake=. A small stream of running water.--S.W. (Hants bord.)

=Lambkins=. Catkins of hazel.--S.W. (Barford St. Martin.)

=Lamb's-cage=. A crib for foddering sheep in fold (D.).--N.W.

=Lamb's-creep=. A hole in the hurdles to enable the lambs to get out of the fold.--N.W.

=Lamb's-tails=. Catkins of willow and hazel.--N. & S.W.

=Land=. The 'rudge,' or ground between two water-furrows in a ploughed field.--N.W.

'The ploughman walks in the furrow his share has made, and presently stops to measure the "lands" with the spud.'--_Amateur Poacher_, ch. vii. pp. 130-1.

*=Landshard=. The strip of greensward dividing two pieces of arable in a common field (D.).

=Land-spring=. A spring which only runs in wet weather (_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. v. p. 109).--N.W.

=Lane= (_a_ broad). A strip of grass, generally irregular, bounding an arable field.--N.W. (Devizes.)

*=Lannock=. A long narrow piece of land (A.H.Wr.).

=Lanshet=. See ~Linch~.

*=Lark's-seed=. _Plantago major_, L., Greater Plantain.--S.W. (Charlton.)

*=Latter Lammas=. An unpunctual person (S.)--S.W.

'When a person is habitually late and unpunctual, folks say--"What a Latter Lammas thee beest, ta be sure!"'--_Letter from Mr. Slow._

=Lattermath=. Aftermath (A.B.). ~Lattermass~ at Cherhill.--N.W.

=Lave=. (1) Of a candle, to gutter down (H.Wr.).--N.W. (2) To splash up water over yourself, as in a bath. 'Lave it well over ye.'--N.W.

=Law=. In N. Wilts, when speaking of relations-in-law, the _in_ is always omitted, as ~brother-law~, ~father-law~, &c., the only exception being ~son-in-law~.

=Lay=. (1) _To lay a hedge_, to trim it back, cutting the boughs half through, and then bending them down and intertwining them so as to strengthen the fence (A.).--N. & S.W. (2) _To lay rough_, to sleep about under hedges like a vagabond.--N. & S.W. (3) _To lay up a field_, to reserve it for mowing.--S.W. (4) _To lay a tool_, to steel its edge afresh. This appears to be the same as Davis's _lain_, which is probably a contraction of _lay in_. At Mildenhall you often hear of _laying_ or _laying in_ a pickaxe, and the word is to be traced back for a century or more in the parish accounts there.--N. & S.W. (5) An idle dissipated man is said to _lay about_.--N.W.

=Laylocks=. Usually _Syringa vulgaris_, L., Lilac, but rarely applied to _Cardamine pratensis_, L., Lady's Smock, in S. Wilts.

*=Lay-over=. A wooden bar, or a rope, used to fasten tackle together.

'Two or three horses go abreast, each drawing a harrow diagonally, all the harrows being fastened together with a lay-over or rider.'--_Agric. of Wilts_, ch. v.

=Leach=. A strand of a rope.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

=Lear=, =Leer=. (1) Empty (A.B.C.G.).--N. & S.W. (2) Hence, craving for food, hungry (A.C.S.).--N. & S.W. ~Leary~ is the usual form on the Som. bord.

'I never eat but two meals a day--breakfast and supper ... and I'm rather lear (hungry) at supper.'--_Gamekeeper at Home_, ch. i.

'His bill was zharp, his stomack lear, Zo up a snapped the caddlin pair.'--_Wilts Tales_, p. 97.

=Learn=. To teach. 'I'll learn 'ee to do that again, you young vaggot!' 'Her do want some 'un to learn she, 'stead o' she learnin' we!' In general use in Wilts.--N. & S.W.

=Lease=, =Leaze=, &c.: sometimes used with a prefix, as ~Cow-leaze~, ~Ox-leaze~. (1) As much pasture as will keep a cow (B.).--N. & S.W. (2) A large open pasture. ~Legh~, ~Lease~ (Aubrey); ~Leaze~ (_Amateur Poacher_, ch. iii).--N. & S.W.

=Lease=. To glean (A.S.).--N. & S.W.

=Lease-bread=. Bread made from lease-corn.--N.W.

=Lease-corn=. Wheat collected by gleaning.--N.W.

=Leaser=. A gleaner.--N. & S.W.

=Ledged=. See ~Lodged~.

=Lemfeg=. An Elleme fig (A.H.Wr.).--N. & S.W.

'A cure-peg, a curry-peg, A lem-feg, a dough-feg.'--_Wilts Nursery Jingle._

*=Length=, =Lent=. A loan (A.B.). *~Lenth~ (S.).

=Let-off=. To abuse.--N.W. (Cherhill.)

'Maester let I off at a vine rate.'--_Wilts Arch. Mag._ vol. xxii. p. 111.

=Lew= (pronounced _Loo_). (1) _adj._ Warm (H.).--N. & S.W. (2) _n._ Shelter (A.B.C.S.). 'Get in the lew,' i.e. into a place sheltered from the wind. A.S. _hleo_, _hleow_.--N. & S.W.

=Lewis's Cat=. A person suspected of incendiary habits. Many years ago fires are said to have occurred so frequently on the premises of a person of this name (whose _cat_ sometimes had the blame of starting them), that the phrase passed into common use, and a suspected man soon 'got the name of a Lewis's Cat,' now corrupted into 'Blue Cat.'--S.W.

=Lewth=. Warmth (A.B.C.). Usually restricted to the sun's warmth, but in _Cunnington MS._ applied to a thin coat, which 'has no lewth in it.'--N.W.

=Lew-warm=. Luke-warm.--N. & S.W.

=Libbet=. A fragment (S.). 'All in a libbet,' or 'All in libbets and jibbets,' torn to rags.--N. & S.W. Also ~Lippet~.

*=Liberty=. _v._ To allow anything to run loose. 'It don't matter how much it's libertied,' the more freedom you can give it the better.--N.W. (Cherhill.)

=Licket=. 'All to a licket,' all to pieces.--N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)

*=Lide=. The month of March (A.). A.S. _hlýda_, _hlýdamonath_, the stormy month, from _hlúd_, boisterous, noisy (so Grein). This has nothing to do with _lide_ or _lithe_, mild, whence come the A.S. names for June and July. See _N. & Q._ Feb. 6, 1892.

=Lieton=. See ~Litton~.

=Lill=. To pant as a dog (A.B.H.).--N.W.

=Lily=, or =Lilies=. (1) _Convolvulus sepium_, L., Great Bindweed.--S.W. (Farley and Charlton.) (2) _Arum maculatum_, L., Cuckoo-pint.--S.W. (Barford.)

=Limb=, =Limm=. (1) _n._ A ragged tear (_Village Miners_).--N.W. (2) _v._ To tear irregularly, to jag out (_Ibid._).--N.W.

=Limbers=. The shafts of a waggon (S.).--N. & S.W.

=Linch=, =Linchet=, =Lynch=, =Lanshet= (N.W.), =Lytchet= (S.W.), =Linchard=, &c. (S.). A.S. _hlinc_, a bank. For articles on Lynchet, Linchet, or Linch, see _Wilts Arch. Mag._ xii. 185, and xv. 88. Also articles and letters in _Marlborough College Natural History Report_ and _Marlborough Times_, 1892, Seebohm's _Village Community_, and Britten's _Old Country Words_. In an old MS. schedule of land at Huish, N.W., '_Lanshes and borders_,' i.e. turf boundary banks and field margins, are enumerated. (1) Certain terraces, a few yards wide, on the escarpment of the downs, probably the remains of ancient cultivation, are locally known as ~Lynches~ or ~Lynchets~.--N. & S.W. (2) The very narrow ledges, running in regular lines along the steep face of a down, probably made by sheep feeding there, are also frequently so called.--S.W. (3) A raised turf bank dividing or bounding a field.--S.W. (4) A strip of greensward dividing two pieces of arable land in a common field (D.).--N. & S.W. (5) An inland cliff, cf. 'The Hawk's Lynch' (_Tom Brown at Oxford_); occasionally applied to a steep slope or escarpment, as at Bowood and Warminster.

*=Linchard= A precipitous strip of land on a hillside, left unploughed (_Spring-tide_, pp. 79 and 186). See ~Linch~. Cf. A.S. _hlinc_, a bank; and perhaps _sceard_, a piece or portion (Skeat).

*=Lined=. Of an animal, having a white back (D.).

=Linet=. Tinder (H.Wr.). Tinder was made of linen.--N.W., not long obsolete.

*=Lipe=. A pleat or fold in cloth.--S.W. (Salisbury.)

=Lipping=. Of weather, showery, wet, and stormy. 'I thenks as we shall have a ter'ble lipping summer to-year.' Cf. Lipping-time, a wet season, Glouc., and _Lippen'_, showery, Som.--N. & S.W.