Share page |
A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect. |
41 |
||
Fanner, w. A hawk.
Farisees. [Fairieses.] Fairies.
By an unfortunate use of the reduplicated plural, the Sussex country people confuse the ideas of fairies and Pharisees in a most hopeless manner. A belief in fairies is by no means extinct in the South Down districts, and among other stories the following was most seriously told me,—
"I've heard my feather say, that when he lived over the hill, there was a carter that worked on the farm along wid him, and no one couldn't think how t'was that this here man's horses looked so much better than what any one else's did. I've heard my feather say that they was that fat that they couldn't scarcely get about; and this here carter he was just as much puzzled as what the rest was, so cardinley he laid hisself up in the staable one night, to see if he could find the meaning an't.
"And he hadn't been there very long, before these here liddle farisees they crep in at the sink hole; in they crep, one after another; liddle tiny bits of chaps they was, and each an 'em had a liddle sack of corn on his back as much as ever he could carry. Well! in they crep, on they gets, up they dims, and there they was, just as busy feeding these here horses; and prensley one says to t'other, he says, 1 Puck,' says he, ' I twets, do you twet ?' And thereupon, this here carter he jumps up and says, 'Dannel ye,' he says, 'I'll make ye twet afore I've done wud ye!' But afore he could get anigh 'em they was all gone, every one an 'em.
"And I've heard my feather say, that from that day forard this here carter's horses fell away, till they got that thin and poor that he couldn't bear to be seen along wid 'em, so he took and went away, for he couldn't abear to see hisself no longer; and nobody aint seen him since."
Fat-hen. The plant chenopodium album; called also goosefoot.
Favour, m. To resemble; a resemblance.
Duke Sen: " I do remember in this shepherd boy some lively touches
of my daughter's favour.
Orla: '' My Lord, the first time that I ever saw him methought he was
a brother of your daughter." , -,r r ., T. a
J —As You Like It, Act v. sc. 4.
Fay. To prosper; to go on favourably. "It fays well," sounds as if it was closely connected with il fait bien.
Fegs. An exclamation.
"Why! you are smart, fegs!" Festical, e. [Corruption of Festival.] A feast.
"There ain't agoing to be any school festical to-year." |
|||