Tag Archives: newfoundland

Archaic Definition of the Week – Yess

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yess n also iss English Dialect Dictionary easse : yes(se) ‘large earthworm’ …

Webster’s Third New Internationl Dictionary eaceworm. Earthworm.

1895 Journal of American Folklore viii, 34 Earthworms are termed yesses.

– Dictionary of Newfoundland English edited by G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin, and J. D. A. Widdowson.

Archaic Definition of the Week – Ballicatter

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ballicatter n, usu pl. Variants chronologically arranged: ballicadoes, ballacarda, ballicater, balacadas, batlicaders, belly-carders, ballicatters, ballycatters, belly-catter, batlycadders, ballacarters, ballycater, ballaclauters, ballacaters, ballacatters, ballacader

1 Ice formed by the action in winter of spray and waves along the shore-line, making a fringe or band on the landward side.

2 A narrow band of ice formed in winter in the salt water along the foreshore or ‘landwash’; … ~ ICE; large slabs, chunks and fragments of this ice after break-up.

3 A floating ice-pan.

4 Frozen moisture around the nose and mouth.

– Dictionary of Newfoundland English edited by G. M. Story, W. J. Kirwin, and J. D. A. Widdowson.

Archaic Definition of the Week

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publishingjackass A kind of heavy rough boat used in NEWFOUNDLAND.  Also, U.S. Navy name for a HAWSE-bag, a canvas bag filled with OAKUM used to plug the HAWSE-HOLES to keep seawater out.

jackass rig Any rig of  a sailing ship that substantially differs from the one normally associated with that type of ship.

– A Sea of Words : A Lexicon and Companion for Patrick O’Brian’s Seafaring Tales by Dean King with John B. Hattendorf and J. Worth Estes.