Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variationsin hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all otherspelling and punctuation remains unchanged.
On page 262
‘To leeak a bad leeak’ = to leeak ill. has been changed to
‘To leeak a bad leeak’ = to look ill.
Many words in the Glossary are cross-referenced to other words. Inseveral cases these other words are not present.
The book begins with an extensive list of subscribers immediately afterthe table of contents. This has been moved to the end.
WIT, CHARACTER, FOLKLORE
AND CUSTOMS
OF THE
NORTH RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
Oxford
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
WITH
A GLOSSARY OF OVER 4,000 WORDS AND IDIOMS
NOW IN USE
BY
RICHARD BLAKEBOROUGH
(SOCIETY HUMORIST)
LATE HON. CURATOR OF THE R.S.S.; AUTHOR OF ‘MORE THAN A DREAM,’
‘T’ HUNT O’ YATTON BRIGG,’ THE COMEDIES ‘TOMBOY,’ ‘AUNTIE,’ ETC.
London
HENRY FROWDE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
AMEN CORNER, E.C.
1898
THIS WORK
IS DEDICATED TO
THE
REV. E. S. CARTER, M.A.
OF YORK
AND
J. G. WILSON, M.A.
OF DURHAM
AS A MEMENTO OF SINCERE GRATITUDE
FOR MANY ACTS OF FRIENDSHIP
SHOWN TO
THE AUTHOR
vii
At one time it was thought possible for thepresent work to be undertaken conjointly by theRev. M. C. F. Morris, author of Yorkshire Folk-Talk,and myself. Such collaboration, though pleasing toboth, was found to be quite impracticable. Manyof my patrons and friends having urged me to undertakethe work single-handed, I have ventured to doso. I have aimed at no higher standard than thechatty style which I have adopted in drawing-roomsand on the platform. If friends and critics provebut half as kind and considerate in this new ventureas they have hitherto done, I have little to fear.My main object has been simply to place on record,in, I hope, a readable form, some of the wit, character,customs, and folklore of the North Ridingwhich I have thought to be sufficiently interestingviiiand worthy of being saved from that long list ofthings forgotten.
The chapter on some characteristic sayings ofboth the North and East Ridings, kindly contributedby the Rev. M. C. F. Morris, will add greatly to thevalue and interest of the work. I may here mentionthat he is in no way answerable for any othersingle sentence throughout the work. I feel it tobe my duty to make this quite clear, for, as ahumorist, I have ventured to include certain itemswhich the reverend gentleman most probably wouldhave run his pen through, had either the MS. orproof-sheets passed through his hands.
The Glossary, though far from containing all thewords of our North Riding folk-speech, is as completeas it has been possible for me to make it.
My thanks are due to Mr. Atkinson and toMr. Morris, whose glossaries I hav