[from A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect, 1924]

A VOCABULARY OF THE ANGLO-MANX DIALECT

NOTE—
B. The Rev. T. E. Brown.
C. Miss Josephine Kermode (‘ Cushag ‘).

C

CAA [] (Mx.), opportunity.
He watched his caa.

CAAG, KEG [] (Mx. caaig), chough, Pyrrhocorax graculus.
Crockin lek a caag. The kegs isn flyin about now as thick as they used to be.

CABBAG [kabag, kavag] (Mx.), the dock, also a name for the Greater Plantain, though the latter is more properly ‘ cabbag Pharick ‘ (lit. ‘ Patrick’s dock ‘).
As common as cabbags. Cavvaghs are used to put round butter When soft.

CABBAG [kabag] (Mx. cabbagh, or cabbhid), stammering.
He ‘s a bit cabbag i. e. he stammers a little.

CABBAGE [], pieces of cloth appropriated by tailors in cutting out clothes ; to take surreptitiously.
I’ve teeth that can chaw anything excep’ tailors’ ‘ cabbage ‘ and ‘ goose’. He cabbaged a lot of what he wrote in his book from me.

CABBAGE NIGHT, Hollantide Eve.
Hop-lu nei ? Tha ‘s Cabbage-night, the girls used to go into the garden after dark an’ pull cabbages—short, big, crooked or lean—that would be the shape of their future husbands. The boys would be getting the cabbages to bang at peoples’ doors when they were singing Hop-lu nei.

CABBAL [kabol]. A small ancient cell or chapel.
He carted the stones from the ‘oul Cabbal an’ died soon after that.

CAB-SHOOS [kab fiis] (Mx. cab sooist, lit. ‘ a jaw of a flail ‘, i. e. the leather hinge of a flail), said of a scold.
She had a cab-shooss on.

CABBYL.USHTEY [] (Mx., lit: ‘ water horse ‘), a fabulous grey horse or colt, also known as ‘ Cabbyl-ny-hoie ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ the night-horse ‘). He occasionally appears to belated travellers on lonely roads. If mounted he rushes to the nearest water and drowns his rider.
He ‘s no more to be thrusted till a cabbyl-ushtey.

CADHAN [] (Mx. cassan), foot-path.
The cadhan was very narrow to walk in. Keep on the cadhan.
‘ Cassan-ny-greiney [kadon na grenja] , lit. ‘ the foot-path of the sun ‘, is a name for the zodiac.

CADJER [], ‘ cadger ‘, a man who buys fish to sell again.
The cadjer’s carts went off with herrin this mornin to sell to the ones that ‘s wantin ‘ stock ‘. He ‘s gorra hoss and cart, and he ‘s cadjin.
‘ I’m the king o’ the cadjers ; who can knock me down ? ‘ (A children’s saying in the game of’ King of the Castle’.)

CADLAG [] (Mx.), a sleeper, a hibernator, a sluggard ; also a name for the fish Nine-eyes or lamprey.
Ny shiaght cadlagyn, i. e. ‘ the seven sleepers ‘ are, as given in Ralfe’s
Birds of the Isle of Man, the butterfly (foillycan), the bee (shellan), the lizard (jolgan-leaghyr), the bat (craitnag), the cuckoo (cooag), the wheat-ear
(claghan-ny-cleigh), and the swallow (gollan-geayee). For the first three
some substitute the owl (hullad), the corn-crake (eean.raip), and the snipe
(coayr heddagh). Others again substitute for some of the above the snail
(crammag) and the field-mouse (thollag.aiyr).
The cadlag is a lil fish about the the lenth o’ me finger ; it ‘s called ‘ cadlag’
‘cos it ‘s useless—only fit for bait.

CADLEY.JIARGAN [] (Mx., lit.
‘ flea’s sleep ‘), numb-tingle. See Collan-jiargan. I’ve got the cadley-jiargan in me foot.

CAILLAGH [] (Mx.), hag. Caillagh dhu (Mx. caillagh ghoo),
black hag. See Breeshey.
That ould caillagh dhu ! what nex’ ! (B.).
Caillagh-ny-faishnag (hag of the prophecies) also called Caillagh-ny.brasnag (hag of the faggots) and Caillagh-ny-groamagh (hag of the sulks), was an Irish witch thrown into the sea to drown. She floated to the Isle of Man and landed there on Candlemas morning (12 February, Old style). It was a bright day and she set to work to gather brasnags to light a fire to dry herself. Every 12th February she does the same.
Caillagh-ny-ghueshag (hag of the spells), a name for the Manx representative of the English ‘ Mother Shipton ‘. She foretold among other things that before the end of the world there would be a smithy chimney in every house and that people would get their bread out of grey stones.

CAINLE, CANNLE [] (Mx.), candle.
With cannies in their fisses for the light.
‘ Cainle-vane ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ white candle ‘) a tallow mould-candle :—She ‘a ii~ the back kitchen makin cainle-vanes.
‘ Cainle-shuin ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ rush candle ‘), a tallow dip-rushlight :—Sittin sawin with a light no better till a cainle-shuin.

CAKE [], used of flat cakes baked on the griddle and made of flour or meal.
That’ll bring ye to your cake and milk ! She soon brought him to his cake and milk, i. e. to reason or submission.

CALKER [], heel-tip. This word, which is used elsewhere of the hinder part ofa horse’s shoe, seems peculiar to the Isle of Man in the above sense.
A worm ‘11 wriggle under your calker (B.).

CALLAG, KILLICK [] (Mx. keilei~çr), the white pollock, Merlangus pollachius. Pronounced always ‘ callag ‘ in the south, and ‘ killick ‘ in the north of the island (B.).
A string of callag or bkckin (B.). You’d aisy knaw that callag-eyed man anywhere, i. e, that man with the large round eyes would be recognizable anywhere.

CAMMAG [kamag] (Mx.), a hooked stick, a crutch, a hockey-stick; the game of hockey. A lame person walking with a stick or crutch is called a ‘ Cammag leg’.
Cammag went out when football came in. The cammag season usually started on Hunt the Wren Day, when matches would be played all over the Island—men of all ages playing. I have heard ofa match being played between Peel and Ramsey a great many years ago, each town being its own goal, they started at Kirk Michael village.
Don’t be playin cammag with me, i. e. don’t be bandying. That oul’ cammag-leg is comm roun’ beggin and gettin a cake o’ barley beeat and a salt herrin from me to put in his wallad ; ‘deed he ‘s gettin as much in his bag of a Sathurday as is doin him for all the res’ o’ the week.

CAMMAL [karnal], ‘ camel ‘, hump.
Don’t be puttin the cammal on thee back, i. e. do not be humping your shoulders.

CANOKES [], a punishment or penalty in the game of marbles. The knuckles are held to the ground, and marbles are rolled against them. See Grunks.
And knuckles down and takes his canokes (B.).

CANOKERS [k~n&ke(r)z], a beating.
I’ll give ye yer canokers (B.).

CAPTAIN [], a head manager as of a mine, &c. ‘ Little Captain ‘ is said for overseer or ganger. ‘ Captain ‘ is also a name for the male stickleback, and the term ‘ Captain-jiarg ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ red captain ‘) is applied to the red-gurnard.
Her father was a lil Captain at the mines. Nora was a sarvant of the Cap’n’s. A present to the cap’n (B.).

CAPTAIN DRIG, an Irish fairy.
Jack was as frightened as if he had seen Captain Drig, the fairy general himself.

CAPTAIN OF THE PARISH. Each parish has an official called the Captain of the Parish, who was formerly Captain of the Parish Militia, but is now the mere bearer of a titular honour.

CARD [ka(r)d], a smartly dressed person.
‘ How ‘s yandhar card ? ‘ says I (B.).

CARDER [ka(r)d~(r)] (Mx. caartrey, ‘ calumniating ‘), a scandal-monger, calumniator.
Them oul’ carders can’t lave nobody alone ; they’re a scourge to the town.

CARP, CAHF [ka(r)p, kaf], the sea-bream, Pagellus centrodontus. Do you want a nice lil cahf for tuppence?

CARRAGE [] (Mx.), black beetle.
The old people would be sayin, ‘ If you’ll kill a carrage you’ll never have a black sheep—for it ‘s right to lave them.’
Poor is he ? Aw, yis, as poor as a caregg.’

CARRAN [karan] (Mx.), the corn.spurrey, Spergula arvensis. It is also a name for ‘ small white shells that grow on rocks’.
It ‘s lek enough ye knaw the lil white flowers they’re callin ‘ carran ‘ ? well there ‘s lil white shells they’re callin ‘ carran ‘ as well (also).

CARRANE [k~r~n] (Mx.), a sandal or shoe made of untanned hide with the hair left on.
I remember oul’ Tom Anthony comm down to Peel, and carranes on him reg’lar.

CARREE [kari, ken] (Mx.), ‘ carry ‘, scud.
There 's a carree on the clouds.

CARRIAGE [] (Mx. carriads), carrying service, enforced labour, such as work done without pay for the lord of the manor, highway labour, &c.
He ‘s as unwilling to do his own work as if it was carriage on the high roads.

CARRY [kari, ken], bring, take.
He came to the concert and carried his wife and mother-in-law.

CARTHAGS, see Kiartagh.

CARVEL [] (Mx. carval), ‘ carol’.
Carvels, of coorse, again the Au Varey (B.), i. e. carols, of course, in readiness for the Christmas Eve Service.

CARVIS-SEED [], ‘ caraway seed’.
We used to be puttin carvis-seed in the barley bonnags for to give them a nice taste.

CARWHALLIAG, CARWHILLAG [], (Mx. car-chuillag, lit. ‘ a song fly ‘), a fly ; a ‘ blue-bottle’.
The carwhalliags is about. A big carwhillag on the maet.

CASS-OLLEY [kas ole, ka), ole] (Mx., lit. ‘ foot of wool ‘), old ‘ sheared wool ‘, long coarse wool of a previous year still adhering to the fleece.
Tied up with a an old piece of cass-olley.

CAST [kast, kas], to throw. In counting herrings the ‘ cast ‘ is the last count before the finishing ‘ tally ‘ of the hundred.

CASTLE [cãsl], Le. (i) Castle Rushen, at one time the jail. Thou’ll gerra sight o’ the Castle yet, i. e. you will be sent to jail. He should be purrin the Castle (B.).
(2) A detached sea rock off the land.
Bay Fine is the bay from Port Erin bows to the castles on Port Erin break-water. The castles, before the breakwater was built, resembled castles or towers. The rock called Sugar Loaf below the Charms is called Cashtal ny Staggey by the oul’ people.

CATCH [katj], get.
Thou’d best catch home again. Catch to bed. He ‘s always on for a catch. When children would be takin anything without l’ave we’d be sayin to them, ‘ Takin is catchin, and hangin is reachin.’

CATHERINE. In phr. To pluck a feather from Catherine’s hen.
I remember when all the young men and women were going to St. Catherine’s Fair at Colby on December 6, and a man who was found to be not wholly sober after the fair was said to have ‘ plucked a feather from the hen’.

CATHLIS [] (Mx. caslys, likeness), appearance, sign.
Did ye see any cathles this cooss, lab ? i. e. did you see any sign [of fish] on this coast?

CHAIR-CAM [] (Mx. cam, ‘ crooked ‘), arm-chair.
Sit in the chair-cam in the chiollagh, i. e. Sit in the arm-chair in the chimney-nook.

CHALSE [], ‘ Charles’.
As luck happened he caught Chalse at home. So you are gone, dear Chalse ! (B.).

CHANCE [], Chance-child, a bastard.
And we talked chance talk. Chance spinners used to go roun’ on people’s houses spinnin rowls for the people.

CHARMER [], a folk-doctor, one who deals in herbal
remedies and charms.
He went to one o’ them charmers and got the warts sent away as nice as ye plaze.

CHARRIM [], ‘charm’.
I don’t know in me senses had he a charrim (B).

CHASE [], hurry.
The chase I was in to get ready.

CHAYNEY [], ‘china’.
Jus’ like the gel was made of chancy (B.). The bes’ of chayney.

CHEB [] (Mx., lit. ‘ offer ‘), guess.
I’m thinking he purra good cheb on what we wor after.

CHECK [], to tire, to pant from over exertion.
. You’re lookin checked. Checked like a dog. I was checked when I come on the mountain road (B.)

CHEE-BECK [], ‘ gee back ‘, a word of command used to make a horse go to the right.
I’ll give him the chee-beck!

CHIARN [] (Mx.), Lord.
My ! Chiarn ! (B.). Oh, Chiarn wharra jump!

CHILDER, CHILDHERN [], ‘ children ‘.
‘Childhern’ is considered a more refined form than ‘ childher’.
With the pigs and the hens and the childher mixed (B.). Now, childhern, be off to school.

CHILE [], ‘ child ‘, also a sea-name for herring. Chile usually means a female child.
The gels is married on farmers, and bringin a boy or a chile. Chile veen, whorrar’ thou doin?
What store have ye ? A chile, i. e. a good fishing. What is the age of the chile ? Fifteen yeers, i. e. fifteen mease.

CHILL [], chilblain.
He ‘s got chills on his fingers, and he ‘s washin them in herrin pickle to put the swellin down. She ‘s got chills on her taws (toes) and they’re sore, poor brute!

CHIMERLY [], ‘ chamber-lye ‘, stale urine.
The first day they were takin the hoss out to plough, they were gettin a bucket of chimerly and sprinklin the hosses and the plough for a charm agains’ wutchcraf’ and the evil eye.

CHIMLEY [] (Mx. chimlee), chimney.
Chimlee-lug, chimney-corner, the fire-side, or the ‘ cheek of the fire ‘ :— ‘ Then hid it ‘neath the chimney-lug’.
The chimlee-rag is looking dirty, Kitty, put a dane one on, i. e. the mantel-valance looks dirty, Kitty, put a clean one on.

CHIN [], in a children’s rhyme, where one child (the ‘ Lady ‘) is carried on the crossed hands of two others who repeat
Gimme a pin
To stick in me chin,
To carry a lady to London;
Gimme another
To stick in the t’other,
And carry her a liddle bit furder.

CHINA [], a by-name for Cregneish.
I never heard nothin else on the Cregneish men but China-men. If we saw one of the Cregneish fellas comm down the road, we would say, ‘ Here ‘s a man from China’. Deed if I can tell how they got the name ; seventy years ago when I was goin to sac we would be sayin when we come in sight of the Cregneish houses, ‘ There ‘s China, bhoys!’

CHIOLLAGH [] (Mx.), hearth ; a wide fire-place with turf burning on the hearth.
I can stir up the bons on the chiollagh till the house is full of light.
It was a nice oul’-fashioned kitchen with a chiollagh, and comf’able very.

CHIOW [] (Mx.), warming, heating.
Havin a chiow before the fire. Sit up to the fire, and have a chiow before goin to bed.

CHISED [tfàist], ‘ chosen’.
Harry was chised for a dooiuney-molla (B.).

CHIT NISH [] (Mx. cheet nish), come now.
Chit nish ! I navar heard the lek of yandher (B.). Aye ! I could do that— chit nish ! (B.).

CHOLERA YEAR [], said of the year 1832, also of 1849.
He died in the cholera year. I knew of a man in the cholera year draggin his mother’s coffin with a rope to the churchyard because no one would help to carry it.

CHREE [ (Mx. cree), heart ; a term of endearment.
Our lil Nessy, the chree. The cree veg ! Bovvee chree beg ! i. e. Bobby, little heart!

CHREESTY-COAR [] (Mx. creestee choar), a kind Christian.
You’ll think I was makin free, but yondher ‘s the Chreesty-coar, wan of the rael oul’ standards, the like isn’t in no more. He was a Creestee-choar that wouldn do a body no harm.

CHRIS’MAS, CHRISSAMIS [], Christmas ; ever-greens such as are used for decorations at Christmas. The big Christmas, i. e. Christmas old style, the 5th of January. The little Christmas, i. e. the 25th of December.
I wush a merry Chrissamis
An a happy New Year,
Wis yer pockats full o’ money
An yer sallers full o’ beer,
An a long may ye live
An a happy may ye be,
Wis yer bes’ content
An yer fortchin free.
(Christmas carol as sung by children at Peel.)
Ye got some Chris’mas up on the walls, I see.
He got home for the big Christmas (B).
The little Christmas is under the bink,
The big Christmas is at the back of the house.
( Translation of a Manx rhyme meaning that the new Christmas is at hand and the old Christmas not far off.)

CHU [], an exclamation used in step-dancing.
And when they wor dancin they’d be givin a ‘ Chu ~ ‘ urro them when they wor turnin.

CHURCH-STONE [], a small slab marked with a cross and formerly used as a portable altar on which were carried by the priest the holy vessels for administering sacrament to a dying person :—So when one wished ‘ the church stone in the corner of thy house’ (Clagh ny Killagh ayns corneil dty hie), he wished the death of that person—that the priest might soon be in his house with extreme unction.

CHURN [], a children’s game. ‘ Churn the butter ‘ : two players stand back to back with their arms linked together, and alternately lift each other. ‘ Take the butter off the churn ‘ : the players stand facing each other and clap both hands of one another, . then revolve under the raised arms. ‘ Make up the butter ‘ : they stand as before, each claps her hands, and then, with palms stretched out, they clap each other’s hands. This alternate clap-clap is done quickly.

CHURNIN [], ‘ churning ‘, a children’s game which was played on the shore, just as the tide went out, when the feet sank easily into the sand. The children turned half way round as they repeated the words, ‘ Churn the butthermilk quick, quick, quick, I owe your mother a pint of milk’.

CHUT, CHAT [], tut!
He gev a little chut ! and ‘ I have it ‘ he says. Chat ! no use o’ talkin (B.).

CHYMDHAGH [] (Mx. chymsagh, ‘ gathering ‘), saving, careful.
The oul’ man would be sayin, ‘ Be chymdhagh, Nellie, be chymdhagh ‘. Aw, he was a very keerful man—he was very chymdhagh.

CLADDAGH [] (Mx.), low land by rivers. But up at the Claddagh agate o’ buck-kyones (B.).

CLADDAGHY [], marshy.
That claddaghy groun’ isn good for much.

CLAGH [] (Mx.), stone. ‘ Clagh-bane ‘ (Mx.), white stone, said to be unlucky to have amongst ballast.
A boat having constant bad luck in fishing was nicknamed ‘ Clagh-bane’. ‘ Clagh ny cleigh ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ stone of the hedge ‘), the stone-chat, or wheatear, one of the ‘Seven Sleepers'.

CLAMP [klamp], a patch of wood or cloth. Also SIt I.
A big hole in the door and himself got a piece of wood and put a clamp on
it. A big clamp on his trousers.

CLANDHERN [], clandering, gossipping talk. The clandhern tha‘s doin with yandher ones is a shaw.
Aw, clandhern and slandhern even on.

CLAP [klap], to make clap-cakes for baking on the griddle ; fall, as of soot.
Can ye clap ? i. e. can you make barley cakes ? I can clap as thin as dullish.
Just like a clap ofshoot (B.), i.e. like a fall of soot.

CLAPSE [klaps], chide.
She’d coax and she’d clapse (B.).

CLASH [klaS] (Mx.), furrow, ditch, any hollow in land.
He was making clashes alongside the butts. She fell in a clash by the side of the hedge. He can make as straight a clash as any man in the parish.

CLAVER [klava(r)], ‘ clever ‘ ; fine, handsome ; well.
He done it clavar. She ‘s as clavar a lookin woman as you’d see in a day~s walk. He ‘s on the mend, clavar.

CLAW-HAMMER [kl~homa(r)] , an old Manx style of coat ; also a dress coat.
He’d be walkin in the Artifishers’ Club as proud as Punch, and with a claw-hammer coat and a top-hat on.

CLEANT [klënt], ‘ cleaned ‘ ; ran.
I cleant like lightnin urro’ that.

CLEASH [klëj] (Mx. cleaysh), ear ; used of listening unobserved. He purra cleash on him, an’ h’ard all that was goin on, i. e. he cocked his ear, and heard all that was said.

CLEAT, CLEET [klët, kilt], a piece of wood attached to another to strengthen it ; fastener ; a wooden double hook used to fasten ropes.
And just a turn on the cleat (B.). Give yer shouldhers a good scourin against the cleet-hook on the mast.

CLEG [kieg], a horse-fly.
Them clegs—’ docthors ‘ we’re callin them—is a plague in summer.

CLEIN [klën] (Mx. clean, lit. ‘ cradle ‘, or ‘ creel ‘), dorser.
We used to carry the manure on our backs in boxes made of straw—we called them ‘ clein ‘ but some of them a ‘ creel’.

CLEIY [] (Mx. cleigh), a hedge.
Billy y chleiy, or Billy the hedge, was a hedgemaker.

CLEP [], a gaff.
He hut the conger with the clep.

CLERK’S SILVER [kla(r)ks silve(r)]. Obs. The clerk of the church received at deaths a payment called ‘ clark’s silver ‘, which on the south side of the island was 12d., and on the north side 15d.

CLET [Met] (Mx.), a rock in the sea near a larger one.
The pools in the clets. The Stack, and the rock called the clet outside, is a good place for bloghan and callag.

CLICK [klik] (Mx. cluick), a trick, used (1) in the sense of flightiness, (2) as meaning crafty, not straightforward, (3) to move rapidly.
I. He ‘5 a bit of a click. Aw, there ‘s a click in yandhar one.
2. Watch him, there ‘s a click in him.
3. I clicked round the corner.
‘ Click, clock, cluck.’ (A children’s singing game. See Manx Ballads.)

CLICKY [], crazy.
Thou knows he ‘s as clicky as—as . . . Chalse-y-Killey’s a king to him so he is (B.).

CLINK [], a twist ; used metaphorically.
I wudn thrus’ him, there ‘s a clink in everything he ‘s doin.

CLINKER [], also Northumberland, a person who is the reverse of straightforward ; overlap.
Watch her, she ‘s a clinker.
The fishin boats in oul’ times was clinker built with the planks overlappin; there was no carver built ones with smooth sides goin in them days.

CLISH [] (Mx. clysht, or c/id), to spring, start ; a stone at the bottom of a net.
Ate plenty of fish, it’ll strenthin ye and put dish in ye. Clishin like an eel (B.). She went past with a dish on her tail, i. e. in a great hurry.
A lucky-stone (holed-stone) is good to have for a dish in the net. Stones from the oul’ cathedral were considered right lucky for a dish.

CLISH-CLASH [], gossip.
He knows all the dish-clash of the town. And clish-clashin and fallin out.

CLIU, CLEW [] (Mx.), stalk, twig, a bunch. Up with a clew of goss to strek him.

CLODHAG [] (cf. Mx. glassag, ‘ a green thing ‘), a little green crab used by fishermen for bait. See Glassag.
I’m thinkin a clodhag and a harry-norris is the same thing.

CLOIE [] (Mx.), play, boil.
The keddle is y-cloie (playing), i. e. the kettle is boiling. Hi ! mawiher kettle-a-cloie, i. e. Mother, the water is boiling.

CLOOID [] (Mx.), ‘ clout’.
A clooid ranch is a mantel valance.

CLOTHES-BAG [klõzbag]. A seaman’s canvas bag shaped like a pillow.case.
With me do’s bag on me back
Jump aboord in half a crack.
(Children’s Rhyme.)

CLOW [] (Mx. clou), clutch, squeeze.
Don’t be clowin the thing. Look how it ‘s clowed at them.

CLOWAN [] (Mx.), a square frame on which a fishing-line is wound. ,,
He got the clowan and the hooks all ready for him.

CLUB [], hoof, club-foot.
It was supposed that on the ioth of October, the devil put his foot on the blackberries, leaving them shrivelled or ‘ scorched ‘, so that they were not picked after that date.
The club’ll be on the blackberries flex’ week, then they are’n fit no more.

CLUCKY [], clucking, clocking.
Three or four clucky hens hatchin undher the beds.

CLUIG [] (Mx.), a cleat, a hook used to fasten ropes.
The rope was made fast on the cluig.

CLUKE [ (Mx. cluic), a sly person ; a trickster.
She ‘s a reg’lar oul’ duke, goin skeetin roun’ and keekin in at every winda.

COAR [] (Mx.), agreeable, civil, kindly.
She ‘s a coar craythur. He ‘s a coar falla.

COAR-NY-HASTAN [] (Mx. coayr ny hastan, lit. ‘ crane of the eels ‘), a name given to the heron. A coar-ny-hastan’s nest is the Manx equivalent for a ‘ mare’s nest’.
Stretchin their necks like coar-ny-hastans.

COAYR [koa(r)] (Mx. coir), chest.
Their money in store
Is all in the coayr. (Song.)

COB [kob], a short, stout person ; lump of coal.
When he was a cob of a boy they lived in that white house. She ‘s a reg’lar lil cob.
What age is he ? Aw a lil’ cob of a fella. Purra cob on the fire.

COBBLE, COBBLIN [kobl, koblan], shore boulder.
And the boat never moored and grindin her bones to sawdust upon the cobblin stones (B.).

COCK [kok]. Phr. No cock can crow his best in his own yard.

COCK-ROBIN [kok robn], phr. As boul’ as cock-robin.
The robin an’ the wren
Is God’s cock an’ hen,
The swalla an’ the sparra
Is the Divil’s bow an’ arra.
(Rhyme said by the old people when they saw either swallow or sparrow in the garden, also said by children when ‘ birds’ nesting’).

COCKS-AND-HENS [koks an henz], bird’s foot trefoil.
The childher now is callin them lii flowers ‘ Cocks n’ hens ‘, but we used to be callin them ‘ Crouw cheyt ‘ (Mx., lit. ‘ cat’s bush’).

COCK’S EYE [koks aij, a small ring round the moon. (Also Banif.)
A cock’s eye is a sign of unsettled weather.

COCK’S STEP [koks step], a cock’s stride, a small stretch of time.
The days is gettin a cock’s step longer between Chris’mas and oul’ New Year’s Day.

CODGE [kodg]. To repair clothing.
Cashin the tailor says that since ready-mades have come into fashion, he only gets old clothes to codge.

COEG [kõg], any sea shell of whelk shape.
The childher would be gather’n shells on the shore to play with—coegs and the like.

COFFIN-CUTTER [kofn kùt~(r)], the rove-beetle, Ocy/’us olens.
Them black coffin-cutters is the fuss thing that’ll find their way into a coffin.

COG [kog], to haggle.
Offer a thing at a ha’penny
Thou are bad to cog, and thou’ll cog him down to a farthing.

COGEE-HOUSE [kõgi hous] (Mx. cogee, ‘ a loom ‘), a weaving-house.
Go you to the cogee-house and ax the wayver about the web.

COILL [kolj], a sea-name for dog. Compare Mx. quaiian, a pup. It was’n lucky to say dog when on sea ; you had to call it coill.

COLD, COUL’ [kõl, koni], chilly, used of stiff clayey land holding the moisture.
It's COUP Ian’ and in winter it ‘s all in dubs.

COLLAGH [kolaxl (Mx.), a stallion ; the male of many animals; a rampaging young man.
The collagh navar lifted heel before. ‘ Snouty, snouty collagh-vuc ‘ (said by children to a boar). Collagh sniper is a southside name for the snipe-fish.
The collaghs that ‘s comm about the farm (B.).

COLLAN-BING [] (Mx.), a ringing sound in the ear.
Collan-bing, collan wass
Dooyrt my warree rhyt goll ass.
( A children’s rhyme to drive away buzzing in the ear.
Lit., Dinging bell, a bell below,
Grannie said that out you go).

COLLAN.JIARGAN [] (Mx), numb-tingle, ‘ pins and needles ‘. See Cadley-jiargan.
Bing, bing, wass,
Cur yn collan-jiargan ass my chass.
( A children’s rhyme to drive away ‘ sleep in the foot’. Lit., Ding, dong, here about,
From my foot put tingle out.)

COLLEE-BOLLAN [koli bolan] (Mx.), the parrot-fish, the green wrasse.
The collee-bollan has the colouring of parrots.

COLLEE-SAGGYRT [] (Mx.), large wood-louse, also known as ‘ parson’s pig ‘, and ‘ fairy pig’.
He can crib himself up like a collee-saggyrt.

COLLOPS [kol~ps], formerly slices of bread, now slices or rashers of bacon.
Baking bonnogs and roasting collops.

COLLOSION [kolõz~n], ‘ collision’.
In Peel, we used to be callin Castle Street ‘ the Big Street ‘, an’ it was narra enough, for all that ; an’ often the carts goin up an’ down would be comm on one another an’ havin a collosion in the middle of it an’ goin smasho.

COLTRAG [] (Mx.), the Razor-bill, Alca Torda.
There ‘s no rod-fishing at Spanish Head—no one can descend the cliffs but the folyans, stronages, and cultrogs—i. e. gulls, guillemots, and razor-bills.

COLLYOO, COLLEW [], ‘ curlew ‘, also known as crodhag (Mx. crottag), and ‘ whistler’.
The first bird St. Patrick heard on landing on the island was the collyoo, and ever since nobody would find the bird’s nest in the Isle of Man.

COLUM KILLEY []. The Gaelic name of S. Columba, lit. means ‘ The Dove of the Church ‘, Apostle of the Picts. Died A. D. 597. His Dedication date in Mann is (0.5.) June 9th, (M.S.) June 21st. The parish church of Arbory has the unique distinction of being dedicated to two saints, S. Cairbre and S. Columba. Formerly a fair was held in Arbory in honour of the Patron S. Columba, which has, to a certain extent, been recently revived.

COLY [, ‘ collie ‘ ; coaly.
I’m lookin for a good coly. There ‘s a good coly at him. The ould black coly that minded the sheep (B.).
Go an’ wash yer face, it ‘s as black as coaly.

COMBINS [], ~ ‘ coamings ‘, hatchway-coverings.
Says the Captain—’ Villyan ! ‘ and struck him full, and down on the combins like a bull (B.).

COME [], ‘ came ‘. ‘ Come ‘ forms part of a few hybrid words and of many idioms. Come-ass, lit. ‘ come out ‘, means a challenge. Corn’s-blow. There were various methods of challenging. The most popular was for the challenger to dare his opponent to give him the Corn’s-blow. It was not necessarily a severe blow—a slight tap with the fist was sufficient. Another method was for one of the ‘‘or a bystander to hold out his fist at arm’s length, one of the opponent’s rested his fist on it and dared the other to knock it off. Corne.er.ash, to reappear ; to prosper.
Thou’ve got the come-ass fair and square. Did ye find yandher? Aye, it ‘5 come er-ash. Yanclher ones ! aw, aye, they’re come er-ash ; they’re takin feathers fine since they’re come to Peel.
I wouldn come over what she said to me, i. e. I would not repeat.
Come-thee-ways here, chile, i. e. come forward.
Come-ins, income :—He ‘s got hundherds out on intheres’ and he ‘s livin comfible on his come-ins.
You’re comic, is said as a passing salutation by travellers on the road :— Aw, comin, comm

COME-OVER. A non-native living in the Island.
One of them come-overs that would like to rule the Manx.
He was a true patriot . . . nothing so quickly roused him as the sneers of come-overs at our people and their tongue, except perhaps the spectacle of vainglorious come-overs of various sorts exploiting his countrymen and their language for their own advantage and aggrandizement.

COME-AWDHA [], ‘ come hither ‘, a command to a horse to go to the left, i. e. to the driver’s side of the way. ‘ Come-awdha. way ‘, i. e. come hither way.

COMEDHER [], fascination.
A surt of comedher (B.). She put the comedher on Nessie complate (B.).

COMFIBLE [, ‘ comforter ‘ (neck-cloth).
Put your comfible roun’ yer neck.

COMMONS [komonz], common-lands, moors.
And off they run to the commons there.

COMMONY [], a common sort of marble—a boy’s term.
What surt o’ marvles hey ye got ? I’ve got commonies, and stonies, and chaynies, and clays.

CON [kon], ‘ contrariness’.
He ‘s only done it for con.

CONDRAGH {] (Mx.), wicked ; mischief; devilry. This word, which is not given in the dictionaries, is the Manx representative of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word ‘contrachd ‘ ; wicked; mischief; a curse.

I got all the sheep in the cogee-house, but there was one condragh—a loghtan yearling—that giv me more throuble till all the rest, I was twice round Barrule mooar afther her. Ah, ye lil condragh ye ! Full of condragh.

CONFUSE [konfjüz], ‘ confused ‘, in a state of confusion.
The poor thing was gettin all a confuse (B.). The place is all in a confuse.

CONK [koijk], head.
Conks like turkey’s eggs (B.).

CONNAG [konag], a piece of rough unbroken land covered with gorse and briars, also called ‘ honnag ‘ and ‘ connie’.

CONNEY FREOAGH [] (Mx., lit. ‘ heather fuel ‘), ling, Calluna vulgaris.
She ‘s out gatherin conney freoagh for firm.

CONSARNED [], ‘ concerned’.
He ‘s consarned in dhrink, i. e. he is slightly intoxicated. He was consarned, but quite fit to sarve customers but if he had had a little more he would not have been.

CONSHANCE [konjans], ‘ conscience ‘.
In phr. He swore by his conshance.

CONTRAC [kont~rak], ‘ contract ‘, a tough job.
She ‘s got a contrac on now. That job was a contrac to get done. Poor Maa vogh navar had such a conthrac as this in the coorse of all her days.

CONTRAIRY, CONTHERY [], ‘ contrary’.
Here we go roun’ the ring
By the rules of contrairy con-tro,
When I tell ye ‘ let go ‘—houl’ fas’!
When I tell ye ‘ houl’ fas’ ‘—let go !
(Children’s rhyme in a game of forfeits.)

COOAG [] (Mx.), cuckoo.
Have you heard the cooag this year?

COOB, COOBY [], a word to call a horse when grazing.
We’ll call the hoss to us, ‘Coob, coob, coob ! ‘ I was callin ‘ Cooby, cooby~ to the hoss, an’ it come at once.

COOISH [] (Mx.), ‘ cause ‘, chat.
Very fond of a good cooish he is. Come here and we’ll have a lil cooish together all to ourselves. And them two sittin in the chollagh close, havin a cooish.

COOLIN [], ‘ cooling ‘, a refreshing breeze ; something to put down one’s pride.
A nice lil coolin.
She’ll get a coolin yet.

COORSE [], ‘ coarse ‘, used of rough weather.
It 's doin coorse weather. It ‘s very coorse and I’m all in a heat (B.) Don’t be handlin the thing so coorse, ye’ll hey it bruk and spurlt.

COOTH, COUTH [], coldness.
The cooth was goin through me. Aw well ! the couth of the winter.

COOTHY [kii~i], chilly.
It 's feelin very coothy, jus’ lek winter.

CORAL [koral], species of the Lilharnnion.
Goin roun’ to Douglas ‘ back ‘, we have to give the nets more ‘ strap „ for the herrings lie low among the coral. The coral tears the nets pitiful, and there ‘s no gettin the broken coral out of the nets unless ye hominer it to pieces with a ‘ bruiser’.

CORB [ko(r)b], (Mx.), an obsolete name for heirloom.
Accordingto the Statuie Book in ~ the following ought to be the ‘corbes’ for a man : ‘ A Pann, best Pott, a Jack and a Sallett, Bowes and Arrows, Sword and Buckler, best Board and best Stoole, his Coulter and Rackentree, his best Cup, if it be of Wood and bound with Silver and gilt, his best Chest.’ For a woman they were : ‘ The best Wheele and Cardes, Rackentree, a Sucke or else a Manks Spade, the best Beads of Jet or Amber, the best Cross, the best Pott or Panu’.
‘ A man’s corbes can’t descend unto a woman nor a woman’s corbes to a man, for if there be not any of the kindred within nine degrees of the male kindred of a man, or female for a woman, then the corbes are due to the executor and divisible as other goods.’

CORDAIL [] (Mx. cordail), to agree.
We’ll meet and we’ll cordale nice over it.

CORNER []. ‘ To be in the corner ‘ is a phrase used to imply an accouchement.
I’m hearin she ‘s in the corner, and bread and cheese goin.

CORODANK [] (Mx. corrydank), crossly disposed, a cross-grained peevish person.
He ‘s always corodank and against the ‘ throw ‘. He ‘s an oul’ corodank.

CORRAN [] (Mx.), a sickle.
Then oul’ fashioned corrans had teeth like a saw. A moon like a corran.

CORREE [] (Mx.), angry.
He was corree at that.

COSSACK [], a nickname for Sulby people. See that Cossack comm down the road yandher.

COTTONIE, COTTON-BALL [],
a Lancashire tripper.
I tuk him to be no batthar till a cottonie. These cotton.balls (B.).

COUDHER [] (Mx. coadey), protect, help.
That ‘s the man that done the coudherin—poor enough they wor till he came home from Austhrilia.

COUGHTY [], wicked, contentious.
The coughty baste foamed at the mouth and struggled to ger away. Yer lazy coughty too.
The coughty thing ! (Said of a disagreeable contentious person.)

COUL.IRON [], ‘ cold iron ‘. It is considered unlucky
when at sea to speak either of land animals by their shore-names, or of priests or parsons. To avoid the evil consequences of having done so, ‘ coul.iron ‘ must at once be said and touched.

COUL-RAKE [], ‘ coal-rake ‘, a scraper for cleaning a cow-house.
Take the coul-rake to it, man!

COUNTENANCE [] , face of a person or animal.
That bonnet is fittin close aroun’ the countenance. Her cow was spotted brown and white on the counthenance.

COUNTIN [], ‘ accounting ‘ ; accounted, esteemed. Navar come down to do any countin with me yet, and nearly three years~ rent on him, that's a man for ye!
Company that was general countin the best in the town (B.).

COWLL [] (Mx. coull), hazel tree.
He conthrived with some cowll branches and skins to make a little boat.

COWREE [] (Mx.), sowens, fiummery. Cowree and Scouse were two favourite dishes ; the former was made from the inner husk of oats, the latter was a kind of meat stew.
And cowree, juice of oatmeal’s husky seed
That on this mountain banquet takes the lead.

COWREY [] (Mx.), a sign, token, mark. See Beim. Cowrey keyrragh, a sheep mark.

CRAB [krab], a person of sour disposition.
She’ll navar get yandhar oul’ crab.

CRABLAGYN [] (Mx. craplagyn, ‘ wrinkles ‘), corrugated stones.
Them crablagyn’ll do nice atop o’ the rockery.

CRADLE [kr~dl]. ‘ Rock the Cradle ‘, a game played on soft yielding sand by the sea-side. The players rock from side to side and who. ever sinks deepest wins the game.

CRAG [krag], a small beetle.
There's a crag on my nose. I

CRAME [], ‘ cream’.
As sweet as sugar and as soft as crame.
What's yer name?
Butther an’ crame.
Who give ye that name?
My Aunty Jane. (Children’s rhyme.)

CRAMMAG [kramag] (Mx.), a snail ; a sluggard.
An oul’ crammag. The crammag of a thing that ‘s theer.

CRAN [kran], a measure of herrings. Four basketfuls of herring ( about 700 fish) make a cran. This measure is still used in Scotland, though not, as a rule, in the Isle of Man except in dealing with foreign buyers.
Seven cran of herrin was what we soul’ to-day to the curers.

CRANE [], heron, Ardea cinera.
That ‘s a crane me father shot.

CRAPLAG [] (Mx.), wrinkle, crease.
Her face is all over craplags. Your coat ‘s in craplags, you should have hung it up.

CRASE [], ‘ increase ‘, the start.
Jack’d ha crase, i. e. Jack would have the start (B.).

CRAW’S NES’. The first and second fingers of each hand are crossed so as to make a hole, then a child is invited—’ Put yer finger in the nes’ the craw is not at home ‘. If he does so he gets a sharp pinch from thumb and third finger, and is told that ‘ The craw is home’.

CREEALAGH [] (Mx. creaghiagh), wild sage.
Creealagh is ter’ble good to dane a dirty stomach and make the breath sweet.

CREEDLIN [kridkn] (Mx. creedlagh), shrugging or moving the shoulders.
Creedlin and talkin to himself.

CREEP [krip], a creeping, deceitful creature. A common term of contempt.
‘ Lave them alone ! ‘ she says, ‘ you creep ! ‘ (B.). Can’t you be gettin yer dinner for yourself, ye ould creep.

CREEPER [, a louse ; any crawling little insect.
There ‘s lil creepers on the roses ; we used to be callin them poodher gorrem (Mx. poodyrgorryn, ‘ blue powder ‘), i. e. the Aphis or ‘ green fly’.

CREEPIN [kripn], ‘ creeping ‘, moving with fish.
After nets have been shot two hours or so the fishermen prove them to see if they are ‘ creepin’.

CREER [kri~(r)] (Mx.), a sieve.
Jus’ purrit through the creer. He ‘s like a thing that was run through the creer.

CREG [kreg] (Mx.), a rock. Creg-dhoo (Mx. creg doo, ‘ black rock ‘),
dark rocky subsoil.
He dug the moul’ down to the very creg-dhoo.
Creg-y-jie (Mx. creg y jaglzee, ‘ tithe-rock ‘), a flat rock behind Peel Hill. Fishermen would not bring tithe of fish to shore but left it on this rock— timing it so that if the fish was not taken off at once, it would be washed away by the flow of the tide. When the tide is full the rock is under water :—I’ve see us put fish many a time on Creg-y.jie and seen it washed off middlin soon too.
‘ Creg Willy Sil ‘ (place-name), Willy Sylvester’s rock.

CRESSAD [kres~d], ‘ cresset ‘ ; a vessel used for melting lead; a lamp. There is said when a man speaks about wanting money ‘ Aw, put the cressad on ‘, i. e. go and make money.

Pottherin about wis the cressad in her han’.

CRETCHY [kretSi], ‘ creachy ‘, querulous ; infirm.
The woman wasn a bad soul either, only a little cretchy rather (B.). The oul’ arm-cheer is gettin very cretchy.

CRIB [krib] (Mx. crub), shrink, contract.
He’d crib himself into a 0 (B.). It cribbed in the washin.

CRIBIJAGH [] (Mx.), parsimonious, niggardly.
She said they wor cribijagh pirriful, i. e. very stingy.

CRICK [krik], a twist ; a hockey ball ; a bung of cork.
A crick in his heart.
He hut the crick a blaw that sent it flyin.

CRICKAD [], a cricket.
As happy as a crickad. As merry as a criggad.

CRID [krid] (Mx. c’red, lit. ‘ what thing ? ‘), what?
Crid nish (B.), i. e. what now ? Crid shen (B.), i. e. what is that?

CRINK [], a glint.
I stopped every crink of light comm in.

CR0 [krõ, kr~] (Mx.), a nut.
Cro Frangagh, or French nut, was the old name for walnut.

CROAGHAN [] (Mx.), a horsefly.
Scutch that croaghan off the hoss’s lug.

CROCK [krokj, chimney-pot.
The plasterer is puttin’ new crocks on the house.

CROCKAN [krokan] (Mx.), a deep narrow earthenware crock.
Crockans differed in shape and size but they were all tall and narrow, not at all like the ‘ bithag ‘ or buttermilk crock, and would usually hold two or three gallons.

CROCKIN [krok3n], ‘ croaking’.
The oul’ man is doin nothin but sittin crockin by the fire.

CRODANE [] (Mx.), gurnard. ‘ Crodane glass ‘, grey gurnard, also known as ‘ hard-head ‘, ‘ noud ‘ or ‘ noudie ‘ and ‘ Pazon’,
i. e. Parson. ‘ Crodane jiarg ‘, also called ‘ captain jerg ‘, i. e. red captain. ‘ Crodane maagagh ‘ probably Crossan [crodh’an] man-gagh—the little cross with twisting feelers (cf. rnaai~t apaw), a species of starfish.

CROE, CROW [] (Mx.), an iron stand to support a pot or griddle on the fire ; a three-legged stool.
Put the griddle on the crow.

CROF, CRAF [krof, kraf], ‘ croft’.
And only ownin this bit of a crof (B.).

CROMWELL. An oul’ fisherman sai d to me that :— It 's lek there was never so many soldiers together in Peel before, since the time when Oliver Cromwell come over with his army an’ took Peel Castle.

CRON [] (Mx.), a wooden stand to wind balls or ‘ spools’ of yarn.
Reach me the crodn here to get the spools on to wind it.

CRON-REISH [] (Mx. croan.reisht), night-shade, Solanum dulcarnara.
Boiled in a pint o’ beer cron-reish is good for strenthenin.

CRONK [] (Mx.), hill.
A bit of gossy cronk. He ‘s gone to the cronk after the cows.
Cronk Hom Mooar (lit. ‘ hill of big Torn ‘), a hill known also as Fairy Hill. Hom mooar was a fairy who by the magi c of his music decoyed many a wan-dering wight into the cronk.

CRONT [] (Mx.), a knot, used of a difficult job.
We had a cront to-day, I can tell ye. A cront in the ‘ pit ‘, i. e. with ropes entangled. You navar seen such a cront as we got into.

CROOIL, CROOL [] (M’. cruill), a curve ; one who crouches ; a deceitful person.
He ‘s crooilin over the fire all day. That hateful oul crooil.

CROOVAGH [] (Mx. croobagh), lame.
He ‘s a touch croovagh, i. e. he is a bit lame.
Did ye ‘member oul’ Bella croobagh the beggar woman?

CROPPER [kropa(r)], ‘ crupper ‘, a small measure of spirits, half a glass.
And into a house to get a cropper (B.).

CROPPEE [kropij. Drinking-horn.
That Croppee otlairk has been in our family for six generations—handed on from father to son ‘ for luck’.

CROSH [kroj] (Mx.), a cross.
The dust of the ‘ crosh ny kiare rand ‘ (lit. ‘ the cross of the four roads ‘, i. e. where cross roads meet) is good to keep the evil eye away, and when you’re usin it, say to yerself, ‘ God bless yer eye-sight !‘
We’re callin that windy corner in Peel, ‘ Cape Horn ‘, but we used to be callin it the Crosh veg, i. e. little cross.

CROSHAG [krofag] (Mx.), sign of the cross ; the ‘ dumb-cross’ charm.
I don’t houl’ with croshags and pishags, and I don’t want no mee-ma’.vs of any surt goin on here. See Dumb.

CROSH.BOLLAN {] (Mx.), the cross-shaped throat bone
of the wrasse. It is used as an amulet.
If bollan cross
Be in your purse
You’ll never stray
And lose your way. (From the Manx couplet:
My crosh bollan ayns dty sporran
Cha jean oo dy bragh er-shagheyn.)

CROSH-KEIRN [] (Mx.), a cross of mountain ash made
by passing a piece of twig through a slit cut in another twig.
We used to be makin lil crosh keirns and hangin behin’ the door, on oul May-day Eve and then no ‘ bad things ‘ could get in.

CROSH.LANE [] (Mx.), an anchor-shaped wooden hank-winder.
And down he fell and knocked the crosh-lane over.

CROSH-VUSTHA, CROSH VUSHTHARD [] (Mx. crosh vushlyr, ‘ cross of mustering ‘), the figure of a cross formerly sent round the parish by the ‘ Captain ‘ to assemble the people
Goin roun’ like the crosh-vushtha, and takin no denial.
They started the crosh vushthard from the parish church ; if it was left at you, you had to go and take it to the next house off—one person was’n goin round the parish with it at all.
Oul’ Masther Quirk was the last I remember sendin the crosh vustad roUfl’ an’ for a small enough thing too, about electin a pupil teacher for Patrick School it was.

CROSS [], market-cross, market-place.
He was sellin priddas at the cross of a Sathurda. There was a meetin of the Peel men at the cross Wand the argufyin and the cricketizin (criticizing) that was done was batin all.

CROSS [kros], ‘ across’.
I cum cross on it, i. e. I came across it.

CROUDHER [kroud~(r)] (Mx. craueghey, ‘ to waste to the bone ‘), used
of a sickly unthriving child.
The baby was always cryin—the croudher was on it.

CROZZLE [krozl], crystallized.
That jom (jam) is two years oul’ and its all gone crozzled into sugar lek.

CRUETCH [kriitf], ‘ crouch ‘, cower.
Sittin cruetchin over the fire all day. Walkin about with his hands in his pockads and a cruetch on his back.

CRUISE [kriiz], stroll.
He’ll not be long, he ‘s only gone for a lil cruise to the quay to see if there's any fish stirrin. I’m meetin them sometimes cruisin roun of a Sunday evenin’. I’m goin for a cruise up the road.

CRUS [], ‘ crust ‘ ; a frail person.
She ‘s no batthar tilla crus.

CRUSHEREY [].
There is a glen eastward of Douglas, the fishermen call it Ghlon Crusherey— my father used to say the lady that owned the place was Christian and that was Crusherey in Manks.

CUBBYL [] (Mx.), ‘ coupler ‘, used of rafters.
The cubbyl is houlin together yit, and may-vee the roof’ll keep over us.

CUCKOO [kukii], said to be one of the ‘ seven sleepers ‘ ; hawthorn bloom.
She ‘s sittin in the house all the winter like a cuckoo.
The childer is bringin big branches of cuckoo home. I’m thinking it ‘s goin a callin ‘ cuckoo ‘ because it ‘s showing at the very time o’ year when the cuckoo is shoutin.
‘ Cuckoo’s bread and cheese,’ a name for the wood-sorrel, Oxalis acetosella, known in Manx as ‘ bee-cooag ‘ (cuckoo’s food). The leaf is the bread and the flower is the cheese.

CUFFER [kùf~(r)], a lie.
She can tell cuffers by the score.

CUGH [kù~] (Mx.), dirt, ordure. A child’s term.
Don’t put yer foot in that stinkin cugh. Don’t touch that cughy thing.

CUGHTAGH [kùxj,ax] (Mx.), a spirit whose abode is in caves by the
sea.
Did ye avar hear the roorin the cughtagh is makin?

CUILL [kwil] (Mx.), a little bobbin, a weaver’s ‘ quill’.
Peie Cain was an oul’ weaver, and I spent many an hour with her fillin her cuills, for to hear her recite ‘ Pargys Caillt ‘ in the Manx ; she knew the whole though she couldn read a word. (Pargys Cailit, Paradise Lost, is the Manx translation of a part of Milton’s poem.) See Quill.

CUILLEE [kùlji] (Mx.), the small room off the kitchen. The old cottages, as a rule, contained two rooms only, the kitchen and the cuillee. In old times these two rooms were only divided by a ‘ cooylley ‘ (= valve, folding-door) of straw matting.

Only a cuillee of a place, i. e. a poor mean place. A bit of a cuillee back of the kitchen.

CUIRN, see Keirn, kern.

CUMAWTHER, see Come-awdha.

CUM-DTY-HENGEY [] (Mx.), hold thy tongue.
Ye’ve done jswin enough, cum-dty-hengey!

CUMFURT [lcûmfa(r)t] (Mx.), ‘ comfrey ‘. Syrnphylurn of/icinalis.
If ye’ll boil the roots of cun’.fort and dhrink the water it’ll help ye to spit out the ‘ flame ‘ (phlegm).

CUR-DA [] (Mx., lit. ‘ give to him ‘), used with the meaning of strike, hit.
It is said that, when the Manx Fencibles were in Ireland at the time of the Rebellion in 1798, a Manx sentry on guard one night heard an Irishman whisper to another an identical expression in Irish, and his knowledge of Manx probably saved his life, as the whisper would have been followed by a thrust of a knife or pike.
You’ll get cur-da for playin truant. She give cur-da to the door.

CURLAN [] (Mx.), earth-nut, known also as ‘ curly nut ‘, and pig-nut, Buniurn flexuosurn.
I used to be fond of curlans when I was a boy.

CUR’NER [], ‘ coroner ‘. The Sheading coroner served summonses and other processes, and levied fines and executions as directed by the temporal courts.
And gettin soul’ up at the Cur’ner. I’m jus’ makin a livin—bread an’ no butther—an’ keepin the Cur’ner out from the door.

CURRAGH [kùraX] (Mx.), marsh, bog.
So he liked the curraghs well (B.).

CURRAGH-TURF.
The skin was goin’ atakin off the curragh turf and put back again—curragh turf is like coal it ‘s that good—we liked it better till rough turf i. e. turf from a dry place, rough with ling.
He ‘s not worth to break turf on his head (said of a ne’er do well).

CURRAGHIER.
More curraghier ground.

CURRIN [kùr~n] (Mx. conning), a rabbit. ~ ~
He was out with his gun afther the currins.

CURRY [kùri], a curry-comb.
I let him have the curry hot in the ribs (B.).

CURSING STONE. Near the old Keeill at Reaby on the top of the houghs of Magher n Ruilhck (‘ field of the graveyard ‘) is a large round stone raise on an artificial mound. In the centre of the stone is a circular hollow such as those in which the old Celt, when he wished ill to an enemy, twisted his thumb round against the sun and cursed him with a ‘ prayer of cursing’.

CUSHAG [kùjag] (Mx. cuishag vooar, lit. ‘ great stalk ‘, ragwort, Senecio Jacobaea.
Miser’ble land, hafe rock, hafe feerins, and the rest of it cushags (B.).
There ‘s gool on the cushags yit. See Gool.

CUT MAC-CULLOCH [], Cutlar MoCulloch, a Gallo.
way sea rover who in the beginning of the sixteenth century was wont to look out for the smoke from the chimneys of Kirk Bride, the most northerly parish in Man, and when he saw it, he and his crew would promptly run across to the Manx coast, and if the breeze served them, were wont to arrive in time to have a share of the Manxman’s dinner. It is said that the Kirk Bride people were consequently in the habit of eating their meat before taking their broth, so thaV Cutlar and his men should only arrive in time for the less substantial portion of the meal. A rich Manxman’s prayer was :— God keep the good corn, the sheep, and the bullock,
From Satan, from sin, and from Cutlar MacCullock. The poor Manxman’s prayer was
God keep the house and all within
From Cut Mac-Culloch and all his kin.