Word of the Week (May 25 - 31) gilguy

May 25-31 Word of the Week

gilguy n also gilgoy

Definition according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

gilguy* n also gilgoy*. Cp SMYTH ~ 'guy for tracing up, or bearing a boom'; O Sup2 2 naval slang 'thingummy' (1886-). Gaudy trinket; showy attire; cp gewgaw.

C 70-21 Should see a woman loaded down with jewellery, several rings, brooches, bangles—in other words wearing far more ornamentation than good taste demanded—they would say she was wearing a lot of gilgoys.

C 71-121 ~ something purchased or something treasured that is of no possible value. Often applied to decoration and ornaments.

C 75-19 Of one wearing good clothes: 'He is all gilguys.'

Now, we invite u to RELiVE, REMEMBER and REFRESH iT and/or even REDEFiNE iT!
The main thing is to RELiSH iT.

N.B. Any Word of the Week receiving more than 10 posts will trigger a prize from Rattling Books for our favourite.

We also invite you to visit our sister facebook group where we explore tangents on the Word of the Week.

The word of the week is released each Sunday morning on the CBC Radio program Weekend Arts Magazine with host Angela Antle.

wag sighting: Lure of the Labrador Wild by Dillon Wallace

At four o'clock in the afternoon we reached Norman Bay, where we found a miserable hut unoccupied save by an abundance of filth,two cats, and one hen. As there were no tracks visible in the snow, the people evidently had been away since the storm began on Saturday night. We built a fire in the stove, made tea and fed ourselves, the cats, and the hen from our grub bag. I invariably insisted that our drivers travel as long as there was light, which at this season lasted until after eight o'clock, and we pushed on until we came to Corbett's Bite, a place that also rejoices in the name of New York, the same having been facetiously bestowed upon it by some fisherman wag, because four small huts had been collected there to make a "city."

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The Lure of the Labrador Wild by Dillon Wallace is available as an unabridged audio edition from Rattling Books. It is narrated by Jody Richardson.

"wag" sighting: George Allan England's Vikings of the Ice

Check out this lexicon of Newfoundland words and phrases from George Allan England's Vikings of the Ice to find out what a Wag o' say is.

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An unabridged audio version of George Allan England's Vikings of the Ice is forthcoming from Rattling Books.

"wag" sighting: Lisa Moore's Open

from the story "Azalea" in Lisa Moore's short story collection, Open.

The cat springs into an overhanging branch. The branch wags violently. Two sparrows rise up, fly over the Buddha. The rain is harder now. The fly is inert. It may have died there. She sees the wings are dusty. It's covered in a webbing. Had she imagined its legs rubbing together? It's been dead for years.

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Lisa Moore's Open is available as an unabridged audiobook from Rattling Books, narrated by the author, Holly Hogan and Mary Lewis.

"wag" sighting: Wikipedia Entry

WAGs (or Wags) is an acronym used particularly (but by no means exclusively) by the British tabloid press to describe the Wives And Girlfriends of the England national football team. It came into common use during the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany, although it had been used occasionally before that.

To read the rest of the entry, follow this link.

May 18 - 24 Word of the Week: wag

May 18 - 24 Word of the Week

wag

Definition according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

wag n Cp EDD ~ sb 12 (4) wag of air 'breath of air' Ha. Slight motion or undulation of the water; usu in phr not a wag. Cp FLOBBER.

1873 CARROLL 22 There the brig remained for ten days, and not a wag in the water or amongst the ice.

1924 ENGLAND 322 Wag o' say. A bit of wave or sea.

1937 DEVINE 22 Not a wag of sea.

Now, we invite u to RELiVE, REMEMBER and REFRESH iT and/or even REDEFiNE iT!
The main thing is to RELiSH iT.

N.B. Any Word of the Week receiving more than 10 posts will trigger a prize from Rattling Books for our favourite.

We also invite you to visit our sister Facebook Group.

The word of the week is released each Sunday morning on the CBC Radio program Weekend Arts Magazine with host Angela Antle.

The Sparky Book, a film by Mary Lewis is in the running for CBC-TV's televised competition of short films, Short Film Faceoff: watch and vote

Newfoundlander Mary Lewis's award-winning film, THE SPARKY BOOK is one of four finalists in CBC-TV's televised competition of short films, Short Film Faceoff.

The Sparky Book received top marks and overwhelming praise from the judges in the first go-round.
7 stars! Yes, 7 stars out of 4!

"this film should be compulsory viewing in every film school in the country. Forget the country! The world!"
-Nigel Bennet Short Film Faceoff Judge

The Sparky Book is the only film from Newfoundland in the semi-finals. It competes with three other films, all from Nova Scotia, for a coveted development deal with CBC valued at $50,000.

The winner will be determined by viewer voting.
VOTING starts MAY 14th and closes May 19th

The Details:

Winner announced WEDNESDAY, MAY 21ST on CBC television.
If you haven't seen any of the films, you can go to www.aliant.net/faceoff and see them there.

Voting will only take a minute or two at 877-876-3636 / faceoff.isivote.com

"gawmogue" sighting: Irish Parliamentary Debate

Check out this online archive of Irish parliamentary debates:

"The Irish language revival movement has absolutely nothing to fear from such a debate but its absence will contribute to further decline. Many positives relating to the language can be missed, not least the number of Irish words that are used in spoken English. Boreen, sceach, abu, amadan, ciotog, camogie, fado, smithereens and uisce beatha, spring readily to mind. There are many others and, interestingly, many Irish words are used in spoken English in Newfoundland, for example, shebeen, sleaveen, gamogue, tayscaun, galore, piseog. I refer to place names, which are all around us, such as ath, baile, cill, cluain, dun, eaglais, fear, gleann, inis, lios, maigh, moin, paroiste, rath. Not alone do these words enhance our vocabulary but these place names contain much history."

"gawmogue" sighting: irishdiaspora.net

Check out this website dedicate to Irish diaspora studies for a reference to gamogue. The following link will lead you to an article entitled "Newfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland."

"gawmogue" sighting: Legends, Tales and stories of Ireland

pg. 267

“Yis,” sis I, “what’s yer will o’ me? My name is Paddy Doyle of Shandangin, above board.—Paddy Doyle that’s neyther afeard nor ashamed of no man.” I spoke big, for I didn’t like the cast of the fellow’s eye, an thought he was wanting to throw the gamogue over me.

May 11 – 17 Word of the Week (Suggested by Kathleen Winter): gawmoge

May 11 – 17 Word of the Week (Suggested by Kathleen Winter):

gawmoge

Definition according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

gawmoge n, usu pl also gamogue, gomogue [phonetics unavailable]. DINNEEN gamóg 'clown, a simpleton'; JOYCE 261 'soft foolish fellow.' A silly, mischievous person; cp GOMMEL; the action or conduct of such a person.
1937 DEVINE 25 Gomogues. Clownish tricks and play. 1964 Evening Telegram 4 June, p. 13 It costs more to catch fish now than in the old days. Remember, they got nylon nets an' everything now. 'That's only the fishermen's gaumogues,' sez Ned. 1968 DILLON 140 She's a real gawmogue, she is; she haven't got the sense she was born with... The gawmogues o' him now'd set you cracked. C 75-139 Look at the gawmoges of him!

Now, we invite u to RELiVE, REMEMBER and REFRESH iT and/or even REDEFiNE iT!

The main thing is to RELiSH iT.

N.B. Any Word of the Week receiving more than 10 posts will trigger a prize from Rattling Books for our favourite.
http://rattlingbooks.com

We also invite you to visit our sister Facebook Group

The word of the week is released each Sunday morning on the CBC Radio program Weekend Arts Magazine with host Angela Antle.
http://www.cbc.ca/wam/

cross-handed (word of the week) sighting: the Cross-handed Bed, a poem by Mary Dalton

The Cross-handed Bed

She was a bit of a woman -
A waist like a wasp when I married her,
But strong - no one could beat her for work -
Six loaves every day and the
Wash out on the line
Before the sun rose on the water.
She sang like the wren.
Up at the window when our boat came in.
She welcomed
Each youngster that came,
But the ninth tore her open -
Now she's in the ground
Our old four-poster's all reefs and sunkers
And I'm bound out for Wareham's
In search of a cross-handed bed.

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This poem by Mary Dalton is found in her collection entitled Merrybegot, one of the main sources of inspiration for this Blog.

Merrybegot, the audio edition from Rattling Books, is performed by Anita Best and Patrick Boyle.

Newfoundland performing artist Liz Solo creates own language in music video

Love Song in Alien

from "the alienation of lizzie dyke"1998
video made by Liz Pickard (Liz Solo) and Teri Snelgrove
with Alison Carter

"Cross-handed" sighting: Amber Music Website

Cross-handed is an album by Newfoundland traditional singer Anita Best

from the Amber Music website:

Accapella songs of twelve Newfoundland ballads, beautifully sung by Newfoundland's foremost interpreter of traditional songs. Presented unadorned, as Anita learned then in the oral tradition, these songs represent the life's blood of a vanishing breed. A rare, calm, and graceful album.

May 4 – 10 Word of the Week: cross-handed

May 4 – 10 Word of the Week

cross-handed

Definition according to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

cross-handed av Cp DAE ~ 'in a manner which involves crossing one's hands, esp in rowing' (1838); ADD ~ 'alone' (Nfld: 1938).

1 With a man handling two oars instead of one to propel a boat.
1871 HOWLEY MS Reminiscences 10 All row cross handed using two oars or paddles. There are no rollocks of the usual kind seen further south. There is but one thole pin set in the gunwale, the oars being kept in place by a ring usually made of withe or twisted spruce roots, slipped over the oar and the pin. [1911] GRENFELL 131 His four stalwart boys were already able to help with the trap net ... though the youngest could scarcely yet row 'cross handed,' i.e., handle two oars at once.

2 Rowing a boat alone, esp for purpose of catching fish; (fishing) alone, doing one's own rowing; esp in phr fish cross-handed, go ~ .
1849 [FEILD] 94 [He is] a person who, though eighty-five years of age, can row himself over the bay cross-handed. 1901 Christmas Review 6 He himself fully appreciated his ignorance of the fisherman's calling, and, instead of going as a shoreman or servant in the regular crew, he decided to go cross-handed, and try his luck on the grounds within a half mile from the harbor. [1906] GRENFELL 184 'I've got as much as I used to get all summer cross-handed,' he said to me. 1937 DEVINE 17 'He goes cross-handed.' Used particularly of one carrying on the hand-line fishery alone. 1953 Nfld Fish Develop Report 18 [The skipper's] partners and sharemen, however, may fish with other crews or on their own ('cross-handed') during the course of the season. T 449-67 Lots o' times I went cross handed, sir, and lobster fishin' I done that a lot o' years cross handed. That was hard going. 1981 Evening Telegram 13 July, p. 6 He rowed and fished 'crosshanded' (alone) after [his sons] died.

3 Carrying out any activity alone rather than in a co-operative group.
1924 ENGLAND 117 I made me own livin' iver since I could work cross-handed [alone], an' 'spects to till I straighten rate up fer Cap'n Jones [Davy Jones]. T 222-66 Up on the south coast. if a person is going to do anything by himself it is said that he is going to do it cross-handed... She asked the young man if he would sing a solo, and he said. 'Oh no, miss: I couldn't sing cross-handed.' P 131-70 He built his barn cross-handed. C 71-94 If he went in the woods alone he was 'in the woods cross-handed.'

4 Comb cross-handed dory: dory rigged for rowing by one man; DORY.
1940 SCAMMELL 7 "The Six Horse-Power Coaker": One evenin' last fall we went out to our trawl / Though it looked like 'twas going to blow. / We turned to go in, in the teeth of the wind / With a cross-handed dory in tow.
cross-hand(ed) skiff: boat operated by one man; SKIFF.
[1906] GRENFELL 52 No man can't be sure o' getting a winter's diet with only a cross-hand skiff to work in.

Now, we invite u to RELiVE, REMEMBER and REFRESH iT and/or even REDEFiNE iT!

The main thing is to RELiSH iT.

N.B. Any Word of the Week receiving more than 10 posts will trigger a prize from Rattling Books for our favourite.
http://rattlingbooks.com

We invite you to visit the original REDEFiNE iT Facebook group .

The word of the week is released each Sunday morning on the CBC Radio program Weekend Arts Magazine with host Angela Antle.
http://www.cbc.ca/wam/

"Glauvaun" sighting: American Speech

from "A Newfoundland Vocabulary," Bernard H. Porter, in American Speech, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Dec., 1963), pp. 297-301

"Four centuries of settlement enrich Newfoundland vocabulary with idioms of unusual literary value, original and picturesque forms, and homemade phrases of direct simplicity, all recollecting a way of life on this continent, yet occasionally reminiscent of Ireland. More often, the forms recall a Dorset or Devon dialect lost to England three hundred years ago. Some are modifications in one way or another of British or Irish meanings; others, I recall, had spread from Newfoundland and were common during my youth in Aroostook County, in northernmost Maine."

A lexicon, including "glauvaun," follows.