NEWFOUNDLAND WORDS AND SAYINGS

bannikin	a small tin cup
bare buff	naked
barrisway	a lagoon at a rivermouth
bedlamer	a one year old seal
breeze	to apply pressure
buckle	to bend
by rights	strictly speaking
chinch	to stow tightly
chucklehead	a stupid person
clew up	to wind up or finish.
clout	to hit an opponent hard
clobber	an untidy state of things
cold junk
come-from-away	a tourist
copying	jumping from pan to pan of floating ice
crackie	small dog of mixed breed
devilskin	hard case
dodge	to walk in a leisurely fashion.
dout	to put out a fire or a light.
doter	an old seal
douse	to give a quick blow
drung a narrow	rocky lane
drook	a valley with steep wooded slopes
dribs & drabs	in bits and pieces
driving works	carrying on in a foolish mood.
duckish	starting to get dark
dudeen	a pipe
duds	clothes
duff	pudding of flour, fat pork and molasses
dulse	a kind a seaweed
dunch	soggy
faddle	a bundle of firewood, fardel
faggot	a pile of half-dried fish
fair to midland	A reply that means you are feeling good when someone asks the state of your well-being.
find	have trouble with
flipper	a seal's forepaw
floaters	men who fished from the schooners using cod traps rather than jiggers.
fousty	mouldy, with a bad odour
frankum	hardened gum of spruce tree used as chewing gum.
frape	a rope with blocks to moor a boat
funk	smoke or vapor of evil odour
galing	laughing and joking, in a mood where everything seems funny
gandy	a pancake
glitter	coating of ice formed on trees.
glutch	swallow.
gone	in bad condition
gowdy	awkward
gulvin	the stomach of a codfish
heft	to weigh in the hand
huffed	vexed
hum	unpleasant odor.
hummock	a small hill
jaw	to scold or abuse
jinker	one who brings bad luck
klit	a tangle in one's hair.
knock-off	stop
laddio	bit of a rascal
lashins	plenty
lolly	soft ice beginning to form in harbour
longers	rails for a fence
lops	small breaking seas
make out	pretend
mauzy	misty
mind	be careful
mush	porridge
narn	none
nipper	mosquito
nish tender	easily injured
planchen	the floor
prise	a lever
prog	food
proper	real
puddock	stomach
rawny	very thin, bony
rind	remove the bark from a tree
scoff	big cooked meal.
scrawb	to tear with the nails
scuff	a dance
scut	a dirty, mean person
scruff	the back of the neck
sish	ice broken into particles by surf
slob	ice newly frozen
shule	to move away backwards
skoat	push or pull hard
sloo	to get out of the way
sleeveen	a deceitful person
slide	sled
sloush	jump into (water.)
smidge	a stain
snarbuckle	a hard knot; burnt to a cinder
spurt	a short period of time.
squabby	soft as jelly
squalmish	queasy
squish	out of alignment
squish	sound of waters exuding from boots
spile	a peg for a hole in the cask
streel	untidy person
swatch	to shoot seals in pools amid icefloes
swig	to drink from a bottle
switchel	cold tea & black, unsweetened tea.
teeveen	a patch on a boat
time	a dance, sometimes with a card game or scoff.
titivate	to adorn exceedingly fine
tole	to entice with bait
traipse	to walk around unnecessarily
truck	payment for fish by merchandise
tuckamore	a low clump of trees
twig	to catch a meaning
vamp	short thick sock, hand knit wool sock
wattle	a small slim fir
yarry	rising early, alert
yaffle	an armful of dried fish
yer	here
yap	to retort angrily
yuck	to vomit
Sayings
"Eyes like a caplin goin' offshore." His eyes were bloodshot!
"I'll be dere da rackley" I'll be there in a few minutes.
"Owshegettinonb'ys" How is she getting on...or how is she doing?
"Turn round, she's bind ya" Turn around, she's behind you.
Idn't dat fulish bye" Isn't that foolish. Newfies say bye at the end of many phrases, instead of the eh associated with Canadians!
"Where you 'longs to?" Where are you from?
"Birch broom in the fits" - untidy, said of a person's hair
"In a tear" in a big hurry
"In slings" unfinished or in suspense.
"I've got the sooners" I'd sooner not do a certain thing than do it
"Just can navigate" feeling poorly or drunk
"Let drift with" to throw something forcibly
"Like ducks" under no circumstances: no way.
"Mug up" snack, usually involving a cup of tea.
"Smokes like a tilt" smokes alot.
"Tough as a gad" able to withstand very cold weather.
"The once" at once.
"Three sheets in the wind" pretty well intoxicated.
"Tongue banging" scolding.
"What odds" never mind, it doesn't matter.
"He'll wish his bread dough" he will wish things back to what they were
"The fish are eating the rocks" fish are plentiful close to shore
"He never does a tap" he never works
"Be (by) the little spruce, I must rag up and go upalong" dress up and go visiting
"She's not lazy - she was born tired."
"Cheap enough to take the coppers off his mother's eyes" Originated in the days when copper coins were used to close a dead person's eyes.
"To get the hang of something" to figure out how it is done.
"Hop your carcass here" come this instant.
"You got it blistered" you have things just like you want them.
"You got'er scald" you have things just like you want them.
"You got it knocked" you have things just like you want them.
"A new broom sweeps clean, but it takes an old one for the corners."
"There's no back doors about him" He is outspoken.
"I got two-tree sma'ones" meaning less than a load.
"There's no fish out there. I got a few" meaning less than half a boat load.
"I got nera fish" meaning less than a quintal.
"Your paws will never maintain your jaws" You will never earn enough to support yourself - said of a person who eats or lives extravagantly.
"A hug without a kiss is like an egg without salt."
"Busy as a nailer"
"Black as soot"
"Big as a barrell"
"Cute as a rat"
"Dark as pitch"
"Deaf as a haddock"
"Dry as a bone"
"Hungry as a hound"
"Ignorant as a pig"
"Like a cat on hot rocks"
"Like a birch broom in the fits"
"Old as Buckley's goat"
"Slow as cold molasses"
"Shockin' that is, shockin"

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