[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 ‘).

 E

EAREY [] (Mx. aeree), a high, open land. Ir. Air:gh, a ‘ hill pasture , usually above the farm, where cattle were put to graze during the summer months.
We’re goin up to the earey. They were up the earey after rabbits.

EARK [], (Mx.), a drinking-horn. See Croppee.

EARKAN [] (Mx. eairkan), lapwing, Vanellus vulgaris.
His hair is in horns like an earkan.

EASEMENT [], an out piece of ground on which it is convenient to keep implements, &c.
There ‘s a nice lii aisement to the house, and handy for the cart and one thing or other.

As I looked through my easement casement,
As I looked through my di’mon’ ring,
I seen the dead carryin the livin,
And wasn that a wondhemful thing?
(Riddle. Answer : a boat.)

EASTER FRIDAY [], Good Friday.
I was always goin to the ‘ fair ‘ at the Niarbyl on Easter Friday. On Aesthar Friday you musn put anything made of iron in the fire, and you mus’ use a wooden stick for a poker all that day. Seed that ‘s soo (sown) on Aesther Friday is sure to graw (grow).

EAYLISAD, EALISAID [], ‘ Elizabeth’.
I’ve been toul’ the oul’ people were sayin Eaylisad for Elizabeth, but it ‘s only Lizzabith I’ve heard meself.

EAYLS, AELIS, EALEE [], ‘Alice’.
My mother was called Alice after her auntie Eayls ; and my gman’father would be callin her sometimes Aelis and sometimes Ealee.

EEAGH [] (Mx. aaght), lodging.
We would always give shelther for the night to any poor person that would come and shout ‘ eeagh’.

EEAN.RAIP [] (Mx,, literally ‘ bird ‘ [which cries] ‘ raip
an onomatopoetic word), corn-crake, Crex pratensis.
We’d be hearin the eean-raip, of an everin, shoutin in the field.

EEKAD [] (Mx.), stack, a columnar rock at sea. ,~ ~ iÍi~cI,~ ì~i.
They called the stack, ‘ eekad ‘. ~ ~

EEL [].
An eel by his tail, an Irishman at his word. Prov.
As slippy as an eel.
Eel-oil, oil from eels, used as a cure for deafness :—Get a mud-eel out of the harbour : kill it, then hold it before the fire till the oil drops out on some wool—keear (dark gray) is the bes’—when the wool is well soaked put it in the ear.
Eel-skin, used as bandages for sprains :—A garter of eel-skin’ll keep the cramp away.

EEL-GOB-SNIPE [ll g~b sneip], pipe-fish, needle-fish, Belone vulgaris, called in Manx ‘ snaid varrey ‘, literally ‘ sea-needle’. He ‘s as thin as an eel-gob-snipe. He ‘s got legs like two eel-gob-snipes.

EER [], ‘ air ‘. See Air.
There wasn an eer o’ win’. The clothes was eemin at the fire. Jus’ gimme a lil eer o’ the tchoon to hear how it ‘s runnin.

EERIM [], used in a counting out rhyme.
Ee-rim eye-rim biddhim bo,
Wheer do all Frenchmen go?
To the aes’ to the wes’,
To the oul’ craw’s nes’.

EGG, in phr. ‘ As full of the divil as an egg is full o’ meat,’ full of wickedness.
There's a mayson (reason) in roastin’ eggs, as the man said—i. e. you must not find fault with a line of action when you do not know the real reason for it.

EILL, DEILL [] (Mx. eilley, ‘ armour ‘), a name given to the
star-fish family. ‘ Eill ‘ is the more usual form of the two.
‘ Eill ‘ and ‘ deill ‘ and ‘ five-fingers ‘ is all the one thing—theme ‘s five legs at them, all covered with leather, and their mouth is in the middle.

EIRA, HEIRA [] (Mx. eirey), heir, inheritor.
The first herring taken out of the nets in the first shot of the season was called ‘ yn eirey ‘ (the heir), and when boiled, every man on board took a pick of it so as to share and share alike throughout the season.
Eiras, bless ye ! would be payin their visits to the Ballaquine (B.). The heira of the Dare.

ELBER [], ‘ elbow ‘ ; indicating relationship.
There ‘s four elbers between them, i. e. they are related.

ELDER [)], udder.
The cow’s elder was scratched goin through the briars.

ELLAN VANNIN [] (Mx., lit. ‘ Island of Mann ‘), Isle of Man.
My own dear Ellan Vannin with its green hills by the sea.

ELIZABETH.
I’m tellin ye that Queen Elizabith was vexed to the heart at the loss of the City of Callous (Calais)—a big ship it ‘s lek it was—and she said the name would be foun’ on her heart ; and when she died, for sure, the docthoms tuk and opent hem, and theer on her heart, as plain as print, in large latthers, was the very word Callous ; and it was only the other Sunday I h’amd the praechem in the chappal saying, ‘ There ‘s some tha’s hard and callous of heart ‘, and it's lek he was thinkin of Queen Elizabith when he said it.

END. In phr. Out-of-an-end, wifhout limit, in abundance. They were dmaggin pancakes up to the tay-party out-of-an-end.

ER MY CHOOINSHEANSE [~(r) m~ Xùi~sJ~n] (Mx., lit. ‘ On my conscience ‘), an obligation.
When it ‘s er-my-chooinseance it muss be done.

EVEN [], level, smooth ; equal.
Even-ash :—Girls search for an ash Leaf with an equal number of pinnates on each side of the stalk and put it in their breasts as a charm, repeating this rhyme—

Even Ash, I do thee pluck,
And in my bosom I thee put;
The first young man that I do meet
I’ll cross his name and that’ll be it.

Even on, uninterruptedly :—

She ‘s doin nothin but jawin me even on. He navar stopped on the road but went walkin even on.

EVERIN, EV’RIN [], ‘evening’.
Manx people often say ‘ good evening ‘ quite early in the afternoon , much to the amusement of strangers, who, just as inconsistently, say ' good morning ‘ long after mid-day.
The little evening is a name for the closing of the day :—
The sun is goin wes’ with me, the little everin ‘s nigh.
The everin is comm on me, i. e. I am growing old.