GLOSSARY

Account, a meeting of mine-adventurers.

Bal, a mine.

Bra’ (brave), very, much.

Brandis, an iron tripod which stands amongst the embers of turf or furze for resting a crock or kettle on.

Chucklehead, a booby.

Churchtown (pronounced ch’town), a hamlet or village near a church; used also of a town, and even of a city, as “Lunnon ch’town.”

Cleeves, ledges and clefts in the face of a cliff.

Croust, refreshment of cakes and cider in harvest time; refreshment generally.

Crow, a sty, a hovel.

Custna, couldst thou not?

Daggin’, very numerous, in clusters.

Edna, is it not?

Flambustered, excited, agitated.

Fogau, an inland cave.

Fuggan, a cake or pasty.

Gurgoes, the ruins of ancient fences found on waste land.

Hepping or hipping stock, a stand of three or four steps for more easily mounting a horse.

High by day, high day, broad daylight.

Kingcrowner, the name given to the purple emperor, peacock or admiral butterflies.

Launce, sand-eel.

Leel, little.

Mazed, greatly bewildered.

Mizy-mazy, confused.

Mowhay, rickyard.

Niddick or nuddick, nape of the neck.

Pelchurs, pilchards.

Planchen, a plank, a wood floor.

Pore, state of agitation.

Pulcronack a small gudgeon-like fish.

Quilkan, a frog.

Radgell, a pile of loose rocks.

Riffle, a break in a roof made by a strong wind carrying away slates or thatch.

Spens, a store cupboard frequently under the stairs.

Stennack (stannum, tin), an excavation made by the old miners.

Strub, to rob.

Tedn, ’tis not.

Ticketing days, the days on which the tin-ore is sold by ticket at Redruth.

To be vexed as fire, to be in a great passion.

To think slight of, to have a low opinion of.

To tuck a seine, to remove the fish with a tuck-net.

Tubbal, a farm implement for breaking up ground.

Up-along, may mean up the road or to some part of England outside Cornwall, e.g., “He’s gone up-along, and some do say, to Lunnon ch’town.”

Wheal, a mine.

Whinnard, the redwing.

Wisht, like a person ill-wished; melancholy, dismal, sad.

Wusta, wilt thou?

Zawn, a cavern in a cliff.

Dommage feasance, mischief done.

Male pardus, wretched ones (poor miserable cubs?)

Har and tue (har = halloo), cry and kill.

Gives the fico (figo), does not care a fig.

PRINTED BY OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH

Transcriber’s Notes:

Spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the original. Some illustrations have been moved slightly to keep paragraphs intact.

[The end of Wild Life at the Land's End by John Coulson Tregarthen]