Last year, I posted
an entire season worth of Whassigo words from the beloved Orkney evening program(me). Many months late, I'm at it again with the words from the '15/'16 Whassigo season. This time, I kept track of the words as the episodes were released during BBC Radio Orkney's winter season, but I'm
extremely late in posting them - as evidenced by the fact that there have already been three installments this season. And so, this latest edition of Separated by a Common Language.
October 2015
"koosed" - to exchange, swap, or barter
"hoolican" - a shaggy, repulsive sheep
"bayow" - a primitive scythe
"nutheran" - humming or singing
"tyno" - rod or wire for drying fish
"tribble" - to touch things with one's fingers; to grope
November 2015
"letto" - an insignificant item of very little value
"karr" - a big, strong man
"millens" - particulate or fine bits of stoor, e.g., in the bottom of a purse or handbag
"scumfaced" - old Scots word meaning disgusted, related to scunnard (scunnered?)
"snellie" - a coot (bird?), e.g., a mark that looks like it was made by a snail
"ill-fossered" - untidy or slovenly
December 2015
"dagsy" - a bow-legged person
"noler" - a snub (Scottish in origin)
"feich" - an old Norse word meaning expression of disgust, particularly at a bad smell
"gramowrie" - a witch's power, old Scots word derived from French
"irpid" - from a Faroese word meaning spiteful or cantankerous
"yam" - an old type of Orkney potato
January 2016
"transeerin" - a serious fall from a horse
"droose" - a Sanday word meaning to rush forth, originally Norwegian
"gamsmyre" - total chaos or pandaemonium
"lowter" - a lump of gutter
"nowtan" - muttering in an ill-tempered manner, growling or grumbling
"pilk" - a small, light-built boy
February 2016
"ab" - a hindrance or impediment
"nivvle" - an old Norse word meaning to grip something hard
"skarps" - a patch of poor, rocky ground
"raam" - someone who is speaking nonsense or rambling incoherently
"koofie" - a shellfish, particularly large breeds of clam
"lovanentie" - an exclamation equivalent to "mercy me", corrupted from the phrase "Lord, defend me"
March 2016
"skelly-wheeter" - an emaciated beast
"toosy" - a state of dishevelment
"slunky" - a word describing a long and lean person
"maelskorn" - a light, unsatisfying meal
"metting" - a single ear of corn; a handful or small amount of anything precious; a tea leaf
"krammy" - heavy, drizzly weather
"koukan" - swallowing greedily, from an old Norse word
"April" 2016
"clivvo" - a steep road with high banks on the side
"skiggan" - from the Norse "skiggar", meaning bright and clean (repeat from February 2015)
"loba" - old, coarse grass on bog land
"drush" - a great number/amount of something
"kony" - strong vegetation, e.g., for making a basket or rope
"haffhand" - a concubine or mistress
I'll try to make sure that the next installment of this particular series gets posted in April of May of 2017, rather than December. Many apologies!
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