Owd Words

[Pennines]

In my local newspaper today (Lancashire Telegraph) - is a list of some old Lancashire words, with their definitions - under the headline of 'Ey up, how Lancashire are you?'

I remember all of them except one and some made me smile -- I hope they make you smile also!

Barmpot --- silly fool.
Brew --- cup of tea
Cack-handed --- not skilful or practical.
Cakehole -- mouth.    (In my memory this word was always preceded by the words - 'Shut yer'
Do --a party/event
Fettle --- fix something
Gab --- Talk (usually too much)
Kecks --- trousers (I didn't think this was confined to Lancashire though)
Use yer loaf -- Use your brain.

There were others listed as well. The one I had never heard of was 'Alikar' - which was apparantly 'vinegar'.

[Mike in Cumbria]

Apart from Barmpot, these were all used in the part of Yorkshire I grew up in - I think they're pretty common over most of the north of England too.

I've never heard of Alikar either.

[a-l]

Here in Lincs too. Except cack handed was a term for left handed. I haven't heard of Alikar either.

[3sillydogs]

Except for barmpot, fettle and keks, I heard those growing up and I don't even live in Lancashire and cack handed usually meant the person was left handed

[BumbleB]

I grew up in Cheshire, but of Yorkshire parentage, and I know all those words except Alikar.  And I'm cack-handed

My Yorkshire Dictionary does - alicker - vinegar (ale, with OF aigre sour)   OF = Old French (Norman French)

[3sillydogs]

Wonder if I grew up hearing those words thousands of miles away because many of us have English heritage of some sort somewhere along the line???

[BumbleB]

Probably, 3SD, but they would possibly have to have lived in the north of England.

My dictionary comes up with the following words for left-handed, all of these in Yorkshire:

gallock-handed
gollock-
golly-
kallick-
gawky-
dawky-
doughy-
cod-/coddy-
keggy-
kaggy-
cuddy-
cuddy-wifted
cuddy-fisted
cuddy-pawed
cuddy-flipped
dolly-posh     

[Ruskie]

I have heard of most of these as well.

I thought cack handed was clumsy or incompetent. 
I used to call them kegs rather than kecks (but that might have just been my interpretation).

[greenpaula]

Eee by gum, I remember all these too from growing up in Bowton (Bolton) - except the alicker. Then I married a Scot and he used words like poke, ginger, roll so whilst I was trying to encourage the children to use 'proper' English they much preferred his words for a bag of sweets or chips, any kind of fizzy drink except Irn Bru which was always referred to by it's full name, and roll instead of barm cake, flour cake or oven bottom!