LEF-HAND SULL [laef-an zooʻul], sb. A plough made to turn the furrow on the left of the ploughman. This kind is not so commonly used as the ordinary or right-hand sull. LEG. See KICK-THE-LEG. To put the best leg before is to hasten briskly, not necessarily in walking, but in whatever is in hand. Come, soce! nif we don't put the best leg avore, we shall be a-catched wi' the rain. LEG-BAIL [lag-bae'ul], cant phr. I zeed what was up, zo I gid 'em leg-bail to once-i. e. bolted, ran away. LEGGER [lagʻur], sb. 1. Leg. See W. S. Dial., p. 20. [Waur lagurz!] ware legs! See TOER, LEDGE. 2. It often happens that fields of irregular shape have a long narrow part, much narrower than the rest of the field-this part is called a legger, and the entire field as "the legger field." I have one such on my own property. LEGGY [lag ee], v. i. To walk or run quickly. Now then, look sharp! thee canst leggy along nif thee art a mind to. [Zèo'n-z dhai zeed mee kaum een, ded-n um lag ee u-wai dhun !] (as) soon as they saw me coming, didn't they take to their heels just! LEMON PLANT [laem'un plaant, or plúnt], sb. The sweetscented verbena—Aloysia citriodora. LENT [laint], sb. Loan. (Always.) Plaise, sir, I've a brought back the roller, and maister's much obliged for the lent o' un. LENT-CORN [lai'nt-kaurn], sb. Corn sown in spring, as spring wheat, barley, and oats. 'Twas so wet, could'n come to put-n in to whate, zo I must thurt-n (the field) back-n put-n to Lent-corn. vnto the tyme that thou haue sowen agayne thy wynter-corne, and thy lentecorne, and than se what remayneth to serue thy house. Fitzherbert, Husbandry, 148/6. LENT-CROCKS [laint-krauks]. A curious custom prevails, especially in the hill country, of going round to the houses of the principal farmers or the paa'son on the night of Shrove Tuesday. If a door can be found open, or if not, there is a knock-on the door being opened, a man pushes in, and before any resistance can be made empties a sackful of broken crockery and rubbish in the middle of the kitchen. It often happens that either the people D forget the day or the custom, and so neglect to fasten their doors; when this is the case the crockery is deposited, and the bearer departs often unrecognized; but when the people are on the watch, and admittance is denied, then sherds and broken pots are thrown at the door. I have been unable to ascertain either origin or significance of this customary practical joke, but it is evidently an old one. A friend, the rector of a parish near Exmoor, informs me that they always come to his house, and on several occasions the kitchen has seemed half full of crocks and rubbish. In the Vale district these are called Lent-crocks. See CLOAM. LENT LILY [laint lúl'ee], sb. The daffodil, Narcissus, Pseudonarcissus. This name is not quite so usual as bell-rose. LENT-PITCHERS [laint-púch'urz], sb. Daffodils. W. H. G. Thick there wall's safe to vall down, less-n he's a-pausted to once. The bailies be in the 'ouse, and all the things be bound vor to be a-zold, [las n] less than they can get the money, vore to-marra night. LET [lat], sb. For I shall distroye hyr landis alle, Weber, Met. Rom., Ipomydon, 1. 1611. 1. Hindrance; impediment; injury; cause of delay the regular word in daily use. [Twuz u maa'yn lat tùe un, haun ee broak-s lag,] it was a great impediment to him (i. e. to his getting on) when he broke his leg. Boys playing marbles cry out to their opponents "fain lets"-i. e. beware of impeding my marble. Lette game, or lettare of pley. LETTYN. Impedio, prepedio. Prepiludius, C. F. inprepedio. Lettynge, Impedimentum.—Promp. Parv. A LETT. Empeschement, obice, obstacle. A Letting. Obstaclement, Empeschement.—Sherwood. And whan the top is eaten, or broken, it is a great lette, hurte, and hynderaunce of the goodnes of the sprynge. 2. v. t. To hinder; to obstruct. The weather bin shockin bad all let us terr'ble. Fitzherbert, Husbandry, 135/5. (Com.) drue the job, and that have a I pray you let me nat, you se I am busye.-Palsgrave, p. 607. There be two impediments, that lette and hynder prayer, that it maye not be herde. Fitzherbert, Husbandry, 164/1. Mary, you must tell John to let the men sweep away the snow to once. Jan. 2nd, 1887. Let the sheep into the gurt ten acres, and let 'em back again hon the gap's a-zot up. þe king Willam, uorto wite pe wurp of is londe, Let enqueri streitliche poru al Engelonde, Hou moni plou-lond· & hou moni hiden al-so, Were in euerich ssire.-Rob. of Glouc. Will. the Conq. 1. 351. Then be emperoure, as sone as he myght, let ordein a vesselte fult of blode; and he entri yn anon, & he was hole as he was ywasshe and ybathed therin, & he was as clene as the flesch of a litelt childe. Gesta Roman. p. 69. And lete write writtis all in wex closed, Ffor peeris and prelatis þat þei apere shuld. Langland, Rich. the Red. IV. 26. See also Chron. Vilod. st. 161. Latte curtesye and sylence with you duelle.-Babee's Book, l. 139. This last pronun. of let is just that preserved in the dialect. LET. When used as an auxiliary verb, instead of taking the infin. after it (as in lit. Eng., e. g. I let him know what he had to do), we form the past tense by adding the past inflection to the principal verb, and say, I let him knowed what he had to do [Aay lat-n noa'd haut ee-d u-gaut tu dùe]. The reason is evidently because let has no past inflection. So for "let him have" we say, "let'n had," "let her zeed," "let her went," &c. Who did ee let 'ad em? A woman said to me of her daughter, June 15th, 1887, Her's most always bad; I let her went down to factory, but her could'n bide there. The same construction is used with help (q. v.) in a still more marked manner, because in the dialect this verb has no past inflection. In the verb " to let go," i. e. to turn loose, the p. t. and p. p. are let-go'd and a let go'd. A keeper told me that he had "a-catch two o' they there turtle doves." On inquiring what had become of them, he said, I didn know you wanted em, zo I let em go'd again.—June 16, 1887. LET ALONE [lat loa un], phr. Not to mention; to say nothing of. Why, tidn wages 'nough to vind'n in vittles, let 'lone clothes and lodgings. LET DRIVE [laet draiv], v. i. 1. To kick, said very commonly of a horse or cow. [Taek-ee'ur, doa'n ee stan bee-uy'n ur; uur-z aap tu laet draiv,] take care, do not stand behind her; she is apt to kick. 2. To work with a will. Come, soce! look sharp and let drive into it, and get it out o' the way vore the rain comth. LET IN [laet een], v. t. To cheat, or deceive in money matters. 99 66 So they-ve a let in everybody, have 'em! well then, they 'ant a let in our Thomas, I was awake to 'em. ("Our Thomas," Our John," is a very common, facetious way of speaking of oneself.) LET OFF [laet oa'f], v. t. To excuse; to permit to escape. The justices zaid how they'd let-n off this time, but he must'n come there no more. Plaise, sir, we was a-let off from school, cause they be paintin the school-room. Upon this condicion, þat he be good friend to my executours, and pat he lete hem note off ministracion off myn other goode on the Manere of Pychardisokelt ne elles where. Will of Lady Peryne Clanbowe. Fifty Earliest Wills, p. 50. LET OUT [laet aew't], v. t. 1. To sublet. They lives behind, and up in the garret, and then they lets out the rest of the house. I rents the seven acre field o' Mr. Baker, and I lets-n out in garden splats. 2. To kick-said of horses. Same as LET Drive. 3. v. i. To swear, to use strong language-probably to let out (a torrent of abuse understood). [Haun dh-oal mae'un vaew'nd aew't wee ad·-n u-dùe'd ut, muy uy murz! ded-n ur laet acw't?] when the old man (master) found out we had not finished it, my eyemers! didn't he swear? It is common after a bout of swearing to hear the quasi-apology,-Anybody can't 'elp lettin out, hon they be a-zot up. LETTERY [lat uree], v. i. boards, carts, coffin-plates, &c. grainer. To write or paint words on sign- Our Bob's a-come a proper good workman; he's a steady chap, and 've a-larn his trade capical well; there idn 'nother painter in the town can lettery or eet grainy way he, else they wid'n all o'm come to un vor he to do it. LETTING [laet een], adj. Hindering; applied to weather, showery, rainy. A man said to me (Sept. 1879) [Kèod-n saar vuree gèod muun'ee, dhu wadh'ur wuz zu laeteen,] i. e. I could not earn much, the weather was so bad as to prevent my working. LETTY-WEATHER [laet'ee wadh'ur], sb. Showery; rainy; lit. hindering weather-i. e. hindering harvesting or out-door work. (Very com.) Letty-weather this, maister, sure 'nough: tidn no good vor to tich o' the hay; but there, I 'spose must put up way what God A'mighty zen'th. LET UP [lat aup'], v. t. Meadow or pasture land intended to be mown for hay is said to be let up, when the stock are permanently taken away, to allow the hay to grow. I shall bursh over thick mead, and let-n up to once. LEVEL [laev'l], v. t. To levy. Mr. Jones to shop 've a level'd a distress 'pon 'em vor the quarter's rent. Comp. FORBY, II. p. 194. LEW [lùe'], adj. 1. Sheltered from the wind, as [u lùe plae'us] a sheltered spot. [Dhu lùe zuyd u dh-aj,] the lee side of the hedge. See CUPBOARD. [Kaa'n bee u lùe'ur mee'ud,] (there) cannot be a more sheltered meadow. Or car out haay to sar his vew, Pulman, Rustic Sketches, p. xxx. 2. sb. Lee. Lee. (Very com.) Ang.-Sax. hleo, shade, shelter. [Yuur! lat-s g-een dhu lue,] here! let us go into the lee-i. e. let us get under cover. See FLEET. LEWNESS [lùe nees], sb. The condition of shelter [Dhu plaeus úz wuul nuuf vur lùe nees, bùd ee luys wat] the place is well enough as regards shelter, but it lies wet-i. e. the situation is very damp. LEWS [lùe z], sb. pl. Rough frames covered with canvas used by brickmakers to place against the windy side of the "clamp" in burning, to prevent the fire from being driven away from the exposed side Shelters. (Com.) = Looes or frames. are fixed all round the kiln. Old Country and Farming Words, Britten, p. 104. LEWSTERY [lèo'sturee], v. i. To work with a will; to bustle about; to stir actively. The idea is no doubt connected with lusty (q. v.). He can lewstery hon's a mind to, but let'n alone, and 'tis one step to-day and another to-marra way un. Avore voak tha wut lustree and towzee and chewree, and bucklee, and tear make wise as anybody passath. Ex. Scold. 1. 291. LEWTH [lue th], sb. Shelter; protection from wind. There's a sight o' lewth in under one o' they gurt beechen hedges. |