Part 10

LOLLOCK—A good big lump. As auld Nanny lad, Ike, said when they’d company at dinner, an’ she ass’d him if he wanted sarra’en wi’ any mair meat. “Aye,” sez he, “Ye can cut us a lollock o’ fat an’ a lollock o’ lean tell Ah gah an’ wipe t’ sweet off mi broo.” A lal unmannerly urchen.

LOUNDER—Handled roughly, Ah loundered him a bit wi’ t’ besom shank.

LOSHES—Our dialect has more of the harsher sounds in it, as is natural, but this is one exception. It is used to signify the liquid “swish” of the flooded river as it flows over the boulders in its course, and is unequalled as an onomatopoetic. One of Lakeland’s poets, who uses its dialect for his verses, has said of the Lyvennet that it

“..,. laykes an’ loshes ower the steaynes, Like kitlins wi’ a cloot, Howks grubs an’ worms fra under t’ breeas, To feed t’ lal hungry troot.”

The contrast of sound in the two first lines and the two last is well brought out.

LOST-AN’-LOPPART—Soor wi’ muck. Sairy things, t’ barns war lost an’ loppart i’ muck.

LOUR—Liuken dark an’ like rainen; also a fellow ’at’s his rag oot, an’ showa it—it’s louren.

LOVE—Ah’ll feit thi fer a sov’ren! Nay, Ah’ll nut tak a sov’ren frae thi seea easy as that, but Ah’ll tell thi what Ah’ll deea, Ah’ll feit thi fer love. Ah’ve seen chaps feit fer love tell ther heeds was like a shammles.

LOW—A blaze. Keep thi fingers oot o’ t’ low.

LOWN—A quiet sheltered place. It’s lown here, we’ll leet up. When ther is neea wind and everywhere is quiet and still, it’s varra lown; an’ some places lig varra lown.

LOWMER, LOWMER-DOON—Lower, it’s a gay bit lowmer (or lowmer-doon).

LOWP—Jump. Thoo miad mi lowp.

LOWPER—Jumper. He’s a rare lowper.

LOWP-DIKE—A coo ’at izzant satisfied wi’ her own, but seeketh that of another—ower t’ dyke.

LOW-PRICED—Mean; underhand; deceitful; coarse; vicious; an’ owt else ’at’s bad is “low-priced.”

LORDS AND LADIES—See bulls an’ cows.

LOBBY—Fat. A gurt lobby lad.

LOB-LOLLY—A gurt fat easy body.

LOB-SIDED—On one side. Thoo’s lob-sided. An’ seea’s thoo.

LOFT—Upstairs. Cock-loft’s up again t’ riggin. Hay loft is varra oft ower t’ coo ’us.

LOGGIN—A bottle of straw.

LOP—A flea.

LOW—Downhearted; fallen spirits. He went low ower a lass.

LOWERMAS—Lammas.

LOWNDER—A chap ’at izzant varra handy wi’ his legs an’ feet. Theer, thoo’ll lownder aboot tell thoo flees ower.

LOWSE—Relaxed. Raffy. He gat inta bad company, an’ he’s gian varra lowse an’ drucken.

LOWSE-END—Disengaged. Ah izzant hiren this tierm; Ah’ll hev an odd hauf year at t’ lowse end.

LOWSE-OOT—To unharness, or unyoke a horse from its work.

LOWSE, LOWS’NIN—An apprentice whose time is served; a lowsnin is the feast got up in rejoicing on the stage of journeyman being attained.

LOCK—A handy load, or a small portion. Thoo’s just a nice lal lock fer t’ next liad. Ah’d a lock o’ streea under mi arm; a lal lock o’ cooals, an’ seea on an’ seck like.

LOFF, LOF’D—Offer; choice. Ah’d t’ loff o’ yan at mi awn price. Ah lof’d misel ta gang an’ help them when they war seea hard throssen wi’ yah thing an’ anudder.

LOG-WATER—That part of a pool that is distinct from the stream.

LOOANCE—Aye fer sewer, what ye’ll want t’ looance noo. It’s summat, genarally yal, ’at’s allooed ower an’ abiun t’ price o’ t’ wark; er a bit ov a job ov any mack—it’s a looance job, neea wage ato.

LOOANEN—A rooad wi a dike o’ biath sides is a looanen, an’ ther’s some bonny ’uns i’ Lakeland.

LOOACH—As streck as a looach; but Ah niver saw yan.

LOOACHER—Lal fish. Tommy looachers an’ bull heeds.

LOOK—Poo thissles wi’ a pair o’ lookers. Anudder rampen good niam fer a blow. He gat a look under t’ lug fer his trouble.

LOOKERS—A pair o’ lang legged pinchers ta poo thissles oot o’ t’ cooarn wi’.

LOPPART—Crudded milk; it’s loppart.

LU’YA, LUSTA, LUCKSTA—Look ye. Lu-ye! lu-ye! Liuk whar yer treeden wi’ yer gurt pasty-feet.

LUBBER—A term of disgust for an idle person.

LUDGEMENT—Lodgings. Says Bowness:

“Sic monkeys are sewer ev a dirty ludgement, ’At show, like thee, meear sperit ner judgment.”

LUMP-IT—What yan doesn’t like yan hes ta lump; that is, swallow withoot chowin!

LUG—To pull the hair or ears for punishment. Ah’ll lug thi toppin a bit fer thi pains.

LUG AN’ LAGGEN—All over. He was grease an’ muck o’ ower; covered frae lug ta laggen. In a tub “lug and laggen” includes the whole of the parts.

LUG-MARK—A sheep’s ear punched or clipt to distinguish it from those of another owner.

LUGS—The ears of any and everything. The places to which the handles of buckets and cans are fastened; the ear covers of a cap; a part of a clog or shoe upper.

LUG-WHOLS—Ear holes. Stuff thi lug-whols wi’ woo, an’ keep t’ cauld wind oot.

LULLEN—Lolling; being embraced. “Basken an’ lullen in t’ arms o’ Nan Bullon,” says Whitehead.

LUMPHEED—A silly chap ’at’s diun summat he owtn’t is varra oft co’ed a gurt lumpheed.

LUNGIOUS—Subtle; revengeful. A gurt lungious brute.

LURRIED—Worried. He set t’ dog at them, an’ lurried them oot, an’ kilt yan or tweea.

LUSH, LUSHT, LUSHEN—Ye’ll see on a public hoose sign boord ’at seea an’ seea is licensed to retail “ale, beer, wine, and spirits.” That means he can sell lush to them ’at wants it; an’ some gah as far as ta say “licensed to be drunk on the premises”—that is to be lusht. Lushen is ta git a lot o’ drink inta a body ’at likes it.

LUSH—Juicy; rich. That beef’s varra lush an’ tender.

LUCK-PENNY—What’s given back “fer luck” off a bargin. Thoo’ll git neea luck-penny oot o’ mi.

LUM—A deep dub whar they wesh sheep, an’ t’ lads dook.

LUMPS AN’ STULLS—Noo, that’ll cap some o’ ye nacken bodies. It’s when t’ poddish er owt co’s oot i’ gurt lumps; they’re o’ lumps an’ stulls.

LURRY—To pull to pices with the teeth. He was lurryen at a gurt lump o’ fat meat, an’ he was grease frae lug ta laggin.

LYA—Listen. Lya at yon auld maunderen thing.

MANNER, MANNISHMENT—Manure; tillage. Thers nowt beats gaily o’ mannishment fer taties. In some old documents belonging to the parish church of Morland “manner” is given; date 1665. An “oldest inhabitant” in the writer’s earlier days used the same word to describe manure formed of dung, earth, and lime.

MAIDENHEED—Summat funny frae yan ’at reckons hissel sharp. What’s e’ them pooaks? Maidenheeds.

MACK—Kind; variety. It tacks o’ macks ta mack ivvry mack, an’ some’s a mack ta thersel.

MADDLEN—A body ’at’s a bit daft. Thoo’s a gurt maddlen ta gang an’ sell t’ cowey.

MAINLY-WHAT—As a general rule.

For Miley is mainly-what nowt but a brick, An’ scorns frae his heart an’ unnebberly trick.—_Bowness._

MAISTERMAN—A maisterman’s a chap ’at’s sarra’d his time, bin a journeyman, an’ than set up fer hissel—a maisterman tailler, an’ seea on; an’ he’s mebbe t’ maister ower neea body but hissel.

MAISTERMAN—A chap ’at hes a bit ov a temper, an’ gies way tull’t. Thoo’s a maisterman, but Ah’ll pare thi doon a bit.

MAISTER—Superior. He’s my maister at leein’.

MAISTER, MISTRESS—“Oor maister” an’ “oor mistress” are used generally for “husband” or “wife.”

MAJESTY—Top o’ mi majesty. It means varra oft at top of a varra poor sooart ov majesty, co’ed bad temper.

MAK-FER-A-MAK—An’ what it’s as weel ther sud be, er else what wad become o’ o’ them at izzant a mak ato?

MAK-NER-SHAP—Like t’ auld woman sark ’at she cot oot wi’ an axe; an’ a lot mair things that’s oot o’ proportion varra badly. They’re nowder mak ner shap.

MALT-CUM—Mawt-cum, sometimes co’ed cummins. Parson Harrison kent o’ aboot it varra nar fower hundred year sen. Lissen: “They take it [barley] out, and laying it upon the clean floor on a round heap it resteth so until it be ready to shoot at the root end, which maltsters call combing. When it beginneth therefore to shoot in this manner they say it is come.”

MANBODY—Ay! barn, but thoo hes grown sen Ah saw thi. Thoo’s a manbody any minnit.

MAPPEN—This is yan ov oor cautious words. A young fellow wanted his sweetheart ta gie him a kiss, an’ nowt seea nat’ral, an’ she wadn’t. “Mappen,” he says, “ye will at Kirsmas?” “Whia,” says she, “mappen Ah may than, but mappen Ah maint.” A chap ’at can carry on t’ gam wi’ neea mair encouragement ner that desarves his reward.

MAINT—May not. Ah maint be at t’ kirk if mi cauld’s neea better.

MANTY-MEKKER—A dress-maker. Oor lasses ’al be smart this Easter Ah’s warn’d. T’ manty-mekker’s bin workin’ varra near neet an’ day fur et meast of a fortneth.

MANNERLY—Generous; homely. She’s a gay mannerly body wi’ barns.

MANNERLY—Average, or more than average. We’d a gay mannerly crop o’ taties.

MANNERLY—Respectable. What Ah’ve some mannerly clias fer t’ kirk, an’ t’ market, an’ sials, an’ what does ’t matter when yan’s howken aboot bi yansel amang t’ kye?

MANNERLY—Decently. Behave thisel a mack o’ mannerly, when we’ve company hooiver.

MANNERLY—Tidy. Noo fadder, fassen yer waistcooat, an’ liase yer shun, an’ gah aboot mannerly, as a body sud. Git oot wi’ thi, Ah izzant gaan by t’ fauld yat, an’ Ah’s mannerly eniuf fer that Ah sud say.

MARCH-MALICE, MEADOW-SWEET—These is herbs fer badly fooak; but Ah’s neea doctor.

MARRA-FER-BRAN—Ther’s six o’ yan an’ hauf a dozen o’ t’ udder i’ this.

MARR’D, MAUNG’D—Petted; spoilt.

MARROW—Equal; match.

Her maister I’se sartain I nivver seed, An’ seldom her marrow for bottom an’ speed.—_Bowness._

MARSK—A field name, an’ somebody ’ll mappen gie us t’ meanen on’t, an’ a lot mair o’ them.

MAWK—Maggot. As fat as a mawk.

MAY-GESLIN—T’ hauf-cousen tul a April-gowk. A gurt lad yance tiak me an’ tweea er three mair aboot a mile, becos he said he knew ov a place whar they hed fielded a lot o’ Queen’s heeds in a cunderth. We varra nearly poo’d t’ cunderth doon, an’ than he said we war o’ May geslins, an’ he fleered, an’ nicker’d an gurn’d becos he was seea clever an’ could let a lot o’ barns in. Ah nivver gah by that cunderth noo withoot thinken aboot it, an’ Ah wonder what mak o’ stegs them geslins hes turned oot.

MAD—Irritated. It maks mi mad ta see seck wiaste.

MAZICAN—A mafflin dunderheeded chap.

MAZED—Astounded. Seck seets yan saw, yan’s fairly mazed an’ wondered what next.

MASHELTUM—Meal for bread. A mixture of wheat, rye, and barley.

MACK-AWAY—Mak a job for the crooner; wilful waste; destruction—that’s ta mak’ away.

MADDLE, MADDLE-ABOOT—When things is gitten a bit mized i’ yan’s upper garrets.

MAFFLED, MAFFLIN, MAFFLE—These o’ mean when yan gits muddled up, an’ lost amang things. A lad ’at Ah used ta ken, at laiken time wad run intul a hoose an’ shoot as lads deea: “Betty, Ah’s hungry, will ye giv us a berry shag?” Betty was allus knitten, an’ if she happen’d ta be coonten her loops she wad say, “Thoo nasty lal mafflin, what’s thoo com here for, thoo’s maffled me noo, an’ Ah’ve lost me coont. Ah’ll tak mi’ stick ta thi back.” But he maistly gat a berry shag fer o’ that.

MAIN—T’ main man at a spot is t’ heed fellow; an’ ther’s main rooad; main drain; an’ many a yan ’ll say “What we’ve gitten t’ main on t’ in, er t’ main on t’ s’ ta git in,” an’ seea on. Auld chaps ’at’s bin a bit gam i’ ther younger days tell us hoo a “cock main” was thowt on bi them.

MAIZLE, MAIZLEN, MAIZLED—Confuse. It’s eniuf ta maizle yan o’tagidder. A simple-minded easy going body. A gurt maizlen. Confused. Thoo’s maizled amang t’.

MAK-WEIGHT—A lal ’un thrown in ta pul t’ doon.

MALLISON—A man that cruelly ill-uses a horse. A chap was leaden muck yah day, an’ t’ nag tiak t’ steck, he miad neea mair ta deea, but went an’ dipt t’ shool in a troff, an’ ivry time he hat that nag under t’ belly a gurt sowen blister wad com up. An’ auld chap ’at was watchen ’at dudn’t like nags badly usen, says tull him, “Thoo’s a mallison wi’ a nag, an’ thoo wadn’t hev ta drive a cuddy o’ mine.”

MANNERS-AND-MAKS—When fooak hev a gay deal ta say an’ nobbut varra lal time ta say t’ in they’ll use yan like this, “Sista we’d beef, an’ mutton, an’ ham, an’ o’ manners and maks o’ good things browt in fer oor dinner.”

MARROW—Noo Ah darsay that ye nacken mack o’ fooak ’ll at yance think aboot t’ inside ov a bian, but Ah du’t mean that. Ah mean if ye’ve a pair o’ owt, an’ hes lost yan, ye’ll want t’ marrow. An’ if ye’ve yah nag, an’ somebody else hes yan, an’ ye’ve a job ’at taks a drawt, whia what ye’ll marrow. An’ ye o’ know t’ sayen t’ marrow ta Bonny, which means a cruel bad body o’ some mack, if he war t’ marrow ta Auld Bonny at was gaan ta be t’ King ower huz becos we leev’d in a garden nobbut, an’ war nowt but shopkeepers. But we larn’d him, ’at dud we.

MASH—Brew. Put t’ kettle on an’ mash a sup o tea.

MAUNDER—Roam about in an endless aimless way. He’s nowt ta deea but maunder aboot frae moornen ta neet.

MAUNDEREN—Talking in an incoherent manner. He was maunderen on aboot what he was worth, an’ whar he hed brass oot; he’s gian crack’t.

MAUNGY—Spoilt; petted; pampered. A gurt maungy babby. That’ll draw t’ sooal ov many a gurt petted lad ’at’s yewlen fer t’ miun.

MEALY-MOOTH—Ah tell’t ye yance afooar ’at we du’t care fer fooak ’at’s seea soft spokken, an’ wheem, an’ eny body ’at’s mealy-moothed’s o’ that sooart.

MECKINS—Gurt rough breckins, an’ ye wadn’t think hoo bonny they liuk when ye hevn’t seen yan fer a while.

MEG-WI-MANY-TEEAS, MEG-MANY-LEGS—Milleped.

MEGGY—Weeds of the buttercup kind.

MELCH—Mild. A chap ’at went ta a pliace whar they mak whisky, an’ they’d gien him a sup o’ reg’lar stingo, said it went doon as melch as new milk. But it gave him a crobbacken gaan hiam, an’ shakken i’ t’ car boddum, fer o’ it was seea nice an’ melch, an’ good ta tak.

MELL—What dikers drive stiakes wi’. An’ they give t’ warst plewer ’at a plewin match—that taks t’ mell.

MELDER—A lot, a heap. He sat doon ta seck a melder o’ poddish as ye nivver saw, an’ he sided t’ lot.

MELDER—A pooakful o’ haver that’s gaan ta be grund.

MEAL-SEED—The fine inner skin which is found on haver. It is of this coating from which sowans are made and derive their nutritious properties.

MELL—Interferes. Ah’ll warm thi canister if thoo mells wi’ oor land. Ah niver dud mell wi’ him, Ah mell wi’ mi awn business.

MELL—SUPPER-Siam as kirn-supper.

MEMO—Ah tell’t ye afooar aboot t’ woman ’at wanted a pen’oth o’ pussy booels—that’s memo talkin’, and ther’s memo i’ eaten, an’ walken. It’s a complaint amang young fooak, but they git ower it, an’ happen they’re neea warse for ’t.

MERE—An auld word fer “mark”; land-mark an’ seea on.

MEW—Mewen hay’s yan o’ t’ warmest jobs ’at a lad can be put tull, but o’ t’ lads—an’ lasses fer that matter—’at Ah ken like ’t.

MEAT-HIAL—In gurt far-larn’d biuks yan reads aboot men an’ lasses vowing ta yan anudder ’at they’re heart-whole. Noo this means stomach-whole, an’ Ah’s gaan ta put it in, even if ye o’ laff at it. Ah’s i’ gay good fettle thenk ye, er ye o’ meat-hial at your hoose?

MEBBE—It may be; perhaps; if it should so happen. Mebbe ye can len’ me a shillin’ er tweea. It may mebbe rain, an’ than what? Mebbe if he was telt aboot it he wad see it in anudder leet. Ther’s a lot a ways o’ usin a lal handy word like mebbe.

MENSE—Manners. They’d a siaved biath ther meat an’ ther mense if they’d ass’d us ta hev a cup wi’ them.

MENSE—Decent in appearance. Wesh thisel an’ mak thisel a mack o’ mense.

MENSE—In good condition. Hoo er ye? A mack o’ mense.

MERRY-NEET—Oot o’ date varra nar—an’ a good job, fer if they were merry neets they war varra oft sooary moornens efter.

MENNEM—A minnow, an’ caht they swirt aboot.

MENSEFUL—Mannerly.

MEAL-ARK—A kist whar meal an’ floor’s put.

MESSAN—To upset or interfere with things. What’s thoo messan wi’ thi fadder razors for?

MISAUNTER, MISHAUNTER—A mudded do, a mishap.

MILLER-CLOOT—A whisp o’ streea ta stick in a wholl’d pooak.

MIUN-LEET-FLIT—It’s when we lap up oor traps at t’ dark an’ whiatly slenk away oot t’ rooad o’ rents, an’ bits o’ bills, er owt er anybody we’ve ta pay tull, we co’ that’n a miun-leet-flit.

MIG—Sump. T’ sypins frae a middin.

MIZZLE—Fine rain; Scotch mist. It mizzles a bit but it won’t be mich rain.

MIZZLE—Disappear quietly. I thowt that lad was worken in’t garden, but he’s mizzled.

MILKUS—Dairy.

MILL-POSTS—Legs as thick as mill posts.

MILT—A soft-bellied fish—herrin’, fer instance.

MINT—A lot. We’ve a mint o’ plums.

MINK-MIMP—An affected manner of talking.

MISCANTER—To fail or be disappointed in an undertaking. It com off wi’ a miscanter.

MIRE, MIRES—Low-lying boggy land—_e.g._, Shap Mires.

MISFIT—One who turns out badly and does not make much effort to succeed in life. They spent a pooer o’ money ta mak a man on him, but he turned oot a misfit an’ it o’ was wasted.

MIGHTY—Ye’ll hear t’ lal ’uns say ta yan at wants ta cock ower t’ midden, “Thoo needn’t mak thisel seea mighty becos thoo’s some new shun on.”

MIFF—Whimper. Keep swat an’ nivver say miff.

MINDS’TA—Ah’ll hev nin o’ thi sauce, minds’ta that noo. This is t’ origin o’ that famish classic, “Don’t ye fergit it.”

MIAL—As mich milk as a coo gies at yah milkin.

MIAL’S-MEAT—As mich as a hungry body can side at yance. They’re nivver tul a mial’s-meat when yan drops in o’ them at feeden time.

MICKLE—Many a little maks a mickle—a gay lot.

MIDDLEMER, MIDDLEMEST—Is that t’ auldest lad er youngest? It’s nowder, it’s middlemer. T’ middlemest o’ t’ lot.

MINDS—Reminds. That minds me ta ass ye ta come ta oor hoose ta yer tea.

MIN—Man. Ah’ll tell thi what min, but it’s gay cauld fer t’ nooase end o’ yan.

MIRL, MURL—Varra nar t’ siam as Mosker.

MISMAVED—Disconcerted. He went tul t’ doctor, an’ he saw’d him a finger off, an’ he was never a bit mismaved.

MITEY—Cheese ’at’s full o’ lal mawks.

MITR’D-AN’-MOULDR’D—Ye o’ know what mitey cheese is like, an’ owt ’at’s mitr’d ’s summat ’at’s gian throo t’ siam process wi’ moths an’ worms, whedder it’s a chair leg er owt else ’at’s sided away, an’ gits mitr’d an’ mouldr’d.

MOCK—To imitate in derision. Mudder, oor Jack’s mocken mi slowpen mi tea; cloot his lugs for ’t, will ye?

MOME—Smooth spoken; diffident; still. As mome as a moose.

MONKEY—Mortgate. Ther’s a monkey astride o’ t’ chimla.

MONKEY—What stians an’ mortar gahs up t’ stee in fer t’ wo’ers. See Hawky.

MONEY-IN-IVRY-POCKET—Grows e’ t’ garden does this.

MOP—Mop it up. That’s what t’ mudders say when they want yan ta sup a pint pot o’ salts an’ seeny fer a bad cauld er a strained wrist. Mop it up, it’ll deea thi good.

MOPE—A body’s ’at’s nut ower mich to deea, an’ nivver gits ’t diun.

MOPEN, MOPED—Mopen aboot like a steg i’ sitten time. It means when ivry body else is thrang, an’ neea time to bodder wi’ ye; an’ moped’s when a chap’s sitten ower t’ fire tell he’s aboot silly.

MOUNTY-KITTY—A lad’s gam: “Mounty kitty, mounty kitty, yan, tweea, three.”

MOWD—Mould. Ah’ve put this yan in becos “mould” even is gaan oot o’ fashion, an’ earth’s tian it’s shop.

MOWDI-MAN, MOWDI-CATCHER—A chap ’at catches mowdiwarps, an’ maks pooches an’ purses oot’ o’ t’ skins.

MOWDIWARP—Mole. As fat as a mowdiwarp.

MOIDER—A naggen barn ’at’s allus bodderen yan wi’ questions aboot wheea maks t’ rain, and hoo t’ sun’s fassened up, an’ wheea poos ’t blinds doon o’ t’ sky when it’s time ta be dark, ’ll sometimes be tell’t ta whisht er thoo’ll moider me ta deeth.

MONKEY—Anudder niam fer dander; when a chap’s monkey’s up, keep oot ov his rooad.

MOOTER—Payment in kind for grinding. In maut er meal t’ miller mun hev his mooter.

MOOT—Broach. Ah’ll moot it tull him.

MOOT-HO’—Town Hall. At Appleby (at all events with the older generations), Moot-Ho is the term used for what the designation Town Hall, City, or Municipal Buildings means in modern parlance. And perhaps as we have so generally discarded “fooak” it is only fit that the place of the “fooak moot” should have a name in harmony with its functions.

MOP—T’ cur dog.

MORTAL—Ah’s mortal near chowk’t wi’ stoor an’ muck.

MORTALLY—A thing Ah mortally hate is ta see fooak ’at’s seea prood an’ throssen up.

MOSKER, MOULDER—To crumble away through the action of weather, &c. It mosker’d away.

MOTHERS—Roots. Ah kent a chap ’at was a famish gurt mower, an’ he gat a job o’ mowen fer a auld fellow ’at was varra pertickler. T’ first day ’at he was agiat, t’ auld chap went ta see hoo he was gaan on. “By goy,” he sez, “thoo’s gaan wi’ t’ mudders, thoo’l deea fer yance.”

MOTHER-WIT—Ther’s nowt mich better ta fiase a rough world wi’ ner a bit o’ mudder-wit, ’at liuks at things at ther warst, un’ maks t’ best on ’t withoot gitten soor, an’ oot o’ patience, an’ laughs an’ does as they deea at Culgaith.

MOTHER—Yeast.

MOTTY—T’ hauld, when ye laik at ducky, tiggy, an’ seea on.

MOUNGE—An idle habit o’ body. Moungen aboot.

MOITHED—Tormented; teased.

“Git oot wid thi Johnny, thoo’s nowt bet a fash, Thoo cums till thoo raises a desperate clash; Thoo cums ivvery neet just to put yan aboot, Thoo moithes yan terrably, Johnny git oot.”

Clash, _i.e._ gossip. “Desperate” and “terribly” illustrate a well-known feature of the dialect speakers of the Lake Country.

MONT—Must not. Ah wad liked te hev gone t’et hunt but ah mont es t’ yowes is starten te lam.

MOTTLED—Spotted. A gay nice Herdwick tip, but rayder mottled et t’ feeace en’ t’ legs.

MOPEMENT, MAAPMENT—Silly talk. What hed ye tae yer dinner? Cauf-mutton pie boiled. Seck mopement thoo does talk, ther’s neea seck thing as cauf-mutton pie. Whia than it was collop-fat.

MULLY-GRUBS—A complaint ’at bodders idle fooak a lot.

MUN-AH—Must or may I. Mun-Ah ride t’ gallawa oot ta-neet? Thoo munnat.

MUCK—Manishment. Matter ’at’s oot o’ t’ spot.

MULL, MURL—Smo peat at t’ boddum at t’ stack. In t’ auld days peat mull was famishly thowt on ta put het on t’ pie pan lid. This wad biak t’ crust an’ t’ body o’ t’ pie wad be boilin’ at t’ siam time.

MULLOCK—A serious blunder. Thoo miad a mullock on ’t ta gang an’ liver t’ wrang bullocks, min.

MUN—The mouth.

MUMPS—Quinsey.

MUM—Varra whiat. What’s wrang wi’ thi, thoo sits as mum as a moose.

MUD, MED—Might. It mud hev bin war as t’ chap said when t’ nag ran away and brakt t’ neck. He was thinken aboot his awn, neea doot.

MUGGY—Soft, foggy day. Neea druft. It’s a muggy day en drys laal.

MUMMEL—Bad at chowin’. What’s ta mummelin’ aboot? Is thi teeth gitten bad?

MUCK-HACK—A drag ta poo t’ muck oot.

MUFATEES—Knitted cuffs. Grand is a pair o’ mufatees fer keepen yer shackles warm.

MUN—Must. Ah mun gah hiam.

MUNNET—Must not. Thoo munnet stop i’ thi wet clias.

MURK-DRIFE—When t’ air’s as full o’ snow as an egg’s full o’ meat, an’ t’ winds driven an’ whirlen ’t aboot e’ o’ directions at yance, that’s it.

MULL’D-YAL—Varra near oot o’ date. Yal an’ eggs, an’ a lot mair kelderment mixed up, and tian het.

MUNT, MUHT, MURT—“Must not” i’ nacken. Thoo murt deea seea an’ seea. Ther’s white a lot o’ shorthand i’ oor auld talk, these is amang t’ lot.

MUNGY—A warm damp atmosphere ’at maks yan sweet if yan stirs is said ta be mungy.

MURNEN, MIUNEN—When fooak’s sair hodden wi’ pain they murn oot wi’ ’t.

MUSH—Sticks ’at hes o’ mirled away, er taties an’ turnips ’at boils ta slodder—they’ve o’ gian ta mush.

MUTE—Nowder a cuddy ner a mule—atween t’ tweea—that’s a mute, an’ it gahs neea farder.

MUZZY—A dull low spirited manner. He wad muzzy aboot fer days wi’ hardly ivver a word fer t’ cat.

MUZZYEN—Howken ower t’ fire when yan sud be up an’ aboot yan’s wark. Sista thoo’ll sit muzzeyen ower t’ fire tell thoo’ll be as grey as a loose.

NAB, NABBLE, NOBBLE—They o’ mean yah thing—_i.e._, a dishonest mack o’ sharp dealin’. Yan mud co’ ’t stealin i’ plain English.

NABB’D, NABBEN—To seize hold. Ah just nabb’d hauld on ’t i’ time. He war nabben peers.

NANNY—Aggy; Agnes.

NACKERS—Bits o’ coo ribs ’at lads play wi’.

NACK, NACKEN—Fooak at’s swallowed a dictionary, forbye a spellen biuk, an’ a grammar, an’ talk bi them, an’ whar they’re nut fine eniuf put a bit tul o’ ther awn, that’s nacken. Nack’s like rotten sticks, is a varra common observation.

NAF—T’ middle part ov a car trunnle.

NAG, NAGGEN, NAGLEN, NANGLY—Cross-grained, quarrelsome, camplin’, grumlen, ways o’ some fooak when they ca’t hev o’ ther awn way.