I'm still researching Cornish myths and legends for a series of Middle Grade books and along the way I've come across some old sayings. As part of a large Cornish family I grew up hearing many of these on a daily basis. As a child I didn't appreciate how descriptive and funny they are.
Here are ten of the local sayings I remember hearing from parents, grandparents and a multitude of aunts and uncles:
2. Screetching like a whitnick - a shrill cry like a stoat or weasel.
3. All behind like a cow's tail - slow with their work.
4. As tight as a crab's ass - and that's water tight.
5. Blowed up like a quilkin - inflated (a quilkin is a frog)
6. Couldn't knock the skin off a rice pudding - feeble.
7. Dark as a dog's guts - dim as the inside of a canine's belly.
8. Laughing like a piskey - a piskey is a mischievous Cornish pixie.
9. Mouth screwed up like a duck's fert - pouting lips like a duck's tail.
10. Like an owl peeping through an ivy bush - dishevelled hair.
4 comments:
Rather looks like your family background may have been quite distinctively
associated with the natural world ?
All of one side of my family is Cornish, many generations of seafarers, mostly
St Ives/Hayle area fishermen, plus tin miners. Although, most of my early life
was spent in Scotland, and I saw rather little of my various aunts, uncles and
cousins..., from my immediate family (mother), I recognise just about about none of the
colloquialisms that you mention.
The only one that I do specifically recall was...
Dreckly.
aka Directly... "I'll do something dreckly.."
as in later, manyana, sometime..
Love 'screeching like a whitnick' and 'like an owl peering through an ivy bush.'
Andrew, I'm from Penzance so very close to your relations in Hayle and St Ives. My sister lives in Hayle. 'Dreckly' is still regularly used for later. :)
Hi Susan, the 'owl peering through an ivy bush' was often directed at me by my mother when I wore a long fringe. :)
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