The Flanker Dictionary of Newfoundland English

By Garry Cranford

A book for those who come from away and for us livyers.

This work brings together words from indigenous cultures and words spoken and recorded in English from the time of the European discovery of the New Founde Lande in 1497.

The dominant European language became English, imported from the West Country of England and enriched by settlers from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and France. Because settlements were separated from the Mother Country and from each other, in its written and spoken forms the language became a time capsule of unique expressions drawn from everyday life.

The Newfoundland vocabulary was greatly influenced by the early commercial activities of the European settlers engaged in the cod fishery, sealing, and fur trapping. In addition, commercial and social interaction with indigenous cultures exposed the newcomers to a treasury of words from the ancient North American languages.

The living cultures of the Inuit, Innu, Mi’kmaq, and the French Mi’kmaq rightfully deserve dictionaries of their own, well-researched by experts in their respective fields. We are fortunate that numerous words from these cultures and from the Beothuk became incorporated into the lexicon of English-speaking writers, and many are included here.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flanker Press
• Release date: Sep 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781771176552

Garry Cranford

Garry Cranford was born in Markland, Trinity Bay, and grew up in Buchans (Central Newfoundland) and New Harbour (Trinity Bay). He is the owner of Flanker Press, the largest trade book publishing firm in Newfoundland and Labrador, founded in 1994 and based in St. John’s. He is also the owner of Pennywell Books, an imprint of Flanker Press that specializes in literary fiction, short stories, drama, essay collections, young adult fiction, and children’s books. A proactive campaigner for the preservation of this province’s culture and heritage, Garry Cranford is author, co-author, and editor of many non-fiction books dealing with the history of Newfoundland and Labrador, including Norma & Gladys, The Buchans Miners, Potheads & Drumhoops, From Cod to Crab, Tidal Wave, Not Too Long Ago, Our Lives, and Sea Dogs & Skippers. He has two children, Justin and Jerry, and two grandchildren, Nicholas and Grace, and lives in St. John’s with his wife, Margo.

Book preview

Flanker Press Limited

St. John’s

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

The Flanker dictionary of Newfoundland English / edited by

Garry Cranford.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-77117-654-5 (softcover).--ISBN 978-1-77117-655-2

(EPUB).--ISBN 978-1-77117-656-9 (Kindle).--ISBN 978-1-77117-657-6

(PDF)

1. English language--Dialects--Newfoundland and Labrador--

Dictionaries. 2. English language--Provincialisms--Newfoundland and

Labrador--Dictionaries. 3. Canadianisms (English)--Newfoundland and

Labrador--Dictionaries. 4. English language--Newfoundland and

Labrador--Dictionaries. 5. Language and culture--Newfoundland and

Labrador--Dictionaries. 6. Newfoundland and Labrador--Dictionaries.

I. Cranford, Garry, 1950-, editor II. Flanker Press, issuing body

PE3245.N4F53 2018 427’.971803 C2018-901776-7

C2018-901777-5

—————————————————————————————————————— ——————————————————

© 2018 by Garry Cranford

All Rights Reserved. No part of the work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5. This applies to classroom use as well. For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll-free to 1-800-893-5777.

Printed in Canada

Cover Design by Graham Blair

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PO Box 2522, Station C

St. John’s, NL

Canada

Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Toll-free: 1-866-739-4420

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We acknowledge the [financial] support of the Government of Canada. Nous reconnaissons l’appui [financier] du gouvernement du Canada. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 153 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation for our publishing activities.

Dedicated to my parents:

The late Gerald Jerry Cranford, of New Harbour and Buchans

And Rita (Higdon) Cranford, of New Harbour and Buchans

And to their great-grandchildren:

Nicholas Cranford

and

Grace Cranford

Introduction

I have been waiting for many years to begin this work, and finally, I made the time to get it done. I have always wanted to do this as a tribute to my outport roots, where I longed to spend my summer holidays in New Harbour, Trinity Bay, away from the central Newfoundland heat of Buchans, where my parents had moved for work.

Back in New Harbour, life was different. My four grandparents were alive, and on my father’s side, my great-grandfather was still alive, and I was aware of the great extended family of near and distant relatives up around the pond and down on Higdon’s Room.

Down on Higdon’s Room, I spent my time around the wharves fishing for conners, trying to catch tanseys in a tin can, and hooking sculpins. A few times I even got out in boat with George Higdon when he hauled his cod trap. Then it was back to the stage, to prong the codfish up onto the stagehead. Here is where I got bawled at for forking the belly of a codfish instead of forking it through the head before tossing it up on the wharf. It left blood spots in the flesh, George explained. I know I was only in the way, but George put up with me as he, Lonz, Lou, and Ed worked around the splitting table and salt bin as part of the process of making fish.

Up around the pond, I spent hours skimming flat stones from the Cranford side, trying to hit the far shore, with as many skips over the water’s surface as possible. I didn’t know it at the time, but this activity was called ducks and drakes and went by many other names around the province, including skimmy, saltwater cake, pancake, and saltwater cake. The flat, smooth beach stone was called a skitty rock, skitty, or skeety, and to skip it with an underhand throw I had to skate, skim, or slither the rock.

Kettle Hill was where Grandfather Harry Cranford had a potato garden, with cabbage and other root crops in the ground. Kettles have a special place in the hearts of fishermen and lumbermen, who were always ravenously hungry from hard labour and could never get them boiled soon enough. The flat-bottomed tin kettle with the inwardly flaring sides was the centre of attention around the fire and went by many names, some not all that complimentary, especially when they didn’t hotten up fast enough. The wide, flat bottom allowed it to boil quickly, and we impatiently waited to hear that whistling sound as the steam passed through the narrow spout. We had more than a dozen names for that kettle: arse, betty, bibby, flat arse, hurry-up, piper, quickie, smut, silver watch (from staring at the tin, waiting for it to boil). Then there was that least complimentary name when we were most impatient: slut.

Puffins weren’t too common around New Harbour, but I got to know them better when I moved to St. John’s, since they’re common just outside the Narrows and at the seabird colony in Witless Bay. In this book you will see them referred to as bottle nose, hatchet face, and baccalieu bird. And a flock of puffins, riotously criss-crossing the sky or dangerously skimming inches above the water, was known as a circus.

I must thank all those researchers, writers, and editors who have covered the vast ground of Newfoundland English. Fortunately, it wasn’t barren ground but was covered with the names of hundreds of different flora and fauna, usually with a local name attached to each, to add to the hundreds of words related to the cod fishery, sealing, and the lumber woods. Then there were those words to be catalogued around the homes and in the gardens, in addition to a plethora of unique words and expressions born out of the social lives of our communities.

Good workers were rewarded with complimentary names, but if you didn’t pull your weight, you could be labelled a hangishore or an alder grabber. If a person were outright stupid or a bit touched, there were words for this: gommel and stunpoll.

The Newfoundland language is not short of a word to perfectly capture a unique situation, its natural history, peculiar conditions, or queer personality traits. I hope you enjoy.

Special thanks to my wife, Margo, whose sharp eyes caught many a typo, and who asked dozens of questions when something wasn’t clear to her, and rightly so, because when she pointed them out, they weren’t clear to me!

Thanks to Graham Blair for my cover, and to Peter Hanes for laying out the inside pages.

Also, a note of appreciation to Jerry Cranford, for his suggestions and final editing.

Thank you for reading. If there any errors or omissions, they are on me. Don’t be shy. Contact me at [e-mail]

Garry Cranford

St. John’s, 2018

A

a ~ Of. Give me a block a that baccy.

aa, aw ~ Command to a dog team to stop.

aaron’s rod ~ Roseroot plant (Sedum rosea).

aback ~ Behind. The well is aback of the old house.

abaft ~ Behind a vessel’s beam line.

abeam ~ On either side of the widest part of a vessel.

abideshook ~ Lynx (Beothuk).

abiver, bivver ~ Trembling.

able ~ Strong, vigorous.

able for ~ Capable to complete a job.

abroad ~ Spread out; open, apart; pieces, asunder; of a field of ice, separated in fragments or pans; to overturn.

abroad ~ Be scared abroad: To be frightened out of one’s wits.

abroad ~ Go abroad: refers to an icefield that is loosening up or running.

abroad ~ Go abroad: to overrun a state of affairs.

abroad ~ Wing a cove abroad: to sail into a harbour with the sails winged out.

according ~ When, at the same time as; in proportion to.

according ~ As according as, according to: at the same time, in proportion to.

ackley ~ Granite containing molybdenum.

across the neck ~ Across a point of land.

across the pond ~ Across the Atlantic to Old England.

Adam’s plaster ~ Lady’s thumb (Polygonum persicaria).

adiky, adikey, koolutuk ~ Parka: a hooded outer garment (Inuit).

adjiech ~ Two (Beothuk).

admiral ~ Person who is in charge of the herring fishery.

admiral’s room ~ the choice fishing room, owned by reason of being the first English ship to reach a harbour in the early English fishery in Newfoundland.

adoltkhtek ~ A vessel or boat (Beothuk).

adothe ~ Canoe (Beothuk).

adventure, venture ~ A commercial fishing enterprise.

adventurer ~ One who undertakes, or shares in, a commercial enterprise; a migratory fisherman operating seasonally in Newfoundland; a resident fisherman or settler who fishes seasonally in coastal waters distant from his home port.

Advent wreath ~ Originating as a Catholic custom, the wreath was made of green boughs to mark the season preceding the festival of the Nativity.

afard ~ The forward, front end of a boat.

afeard ~ Scared.

afrore ~ Very cold, frozen.

aft, after ~ The back end of a skiff; after room of a skiff.

after, afther ~ To have completed an action.

after beam (hinder) ~ Aft beam.

after bunk ~ A crosspiece at the rear of a catamaran.

afterguard ~ Senior officers on a sealing vessel who are accommodated aft.

after gunner ~ At the seal hunt, a marksman hunting old or mature seals, usually in a small boat.

after room ~ The standing room in the back of a boat.

afters ~ Dessert, especially a Sunday dessert.

aftmost ~ The area at the back of a boat.

ag ~ Agricultural limestone.

agent ~ A representative or buyer for a mercantile fishing business.

ain’t ~ Am not, will not.

air ~ A tune.

airsome ~ Cold; fresh; bracing; invigorating.

akkelik ~ A long-tailed parka.

akulik ~ A woman’s parka made from sealskin. It has a tail on the back and on the front a double-sized parka large enough to carry a child.

alarm ~ To set an alarm clock.

alarmer ~ An alarmist; one who needlessly frightens others.

alder ~ A slender sapling of a deciduous tree.

alder berry ~ Fruit appearing on an alder after flowering.

alder bird ~ The mealy common redpoll (Acanthis flammea flammea).

alder grabber ~ An inexperienced logger who lingers around the shore during a drive trying to avoid going out on the river.

alee ~ Downwind.

Alexander ~ Scotch lovage, a herb used medicinally (Ligusticum scotchicum); a dumpling or duff seasoned with Scotch lovage.

alix, ellis ~ The residue in the bottom of a cod-liver barrel after the oil has been poured off.

all accardin’ cake ~ A cake made all according to the ingredients the cook had on hand.

all afire ~ The warning shouted by the powder devil (the dynamiter) when a fuse was lit to set off dynamite.

all commons ~ Land not settled. That was all commons when I came here, said Wellie Dawe.

alley ~ A marble.

alley-coosh ~ To go to bed, bunk down for the night.

alleyway ~ In the old-styled logging camp, the forepeak, cookhouse, and bunkhouse were all under one roof. The alleyway was a small passage separating the living and eating quarters between the bunkhouse and the cookhouse.

all hands ~ Everyone.

alligator ~ A boat propelled by a paddlewheel.

all in ~ To be very tired.

allowed ~ Declared. He allowed he wasn’t going.

all qual See tal qual

all the same ~ Unimportant.

allum ~ Potassium aluminum sulfate.

all up in slings ~ In disarray, chaotic.

allus ~ Always.

Alphabet Fleet, The ~ A fleet of 12 vessels built in Scotland and bought by the Newfoundland Government.

altered ~ Said of a person whose features have been changed through sickness or some supernatural cause; of an animal changed by castration.

amalgamated ~ School operated by two or more Protestant denominations.

amameotaks ~ Flowered trim around the hoods of duffels.

amautik ~ A hooded jacket (Inuit).

American ~ Referring to an area open to American fishermen.

American, American man ~ A marker, usually a pile of rocks prominently placed as a guide in coastal navigation.

American Shore, The ~ The stretch of coast from Ramea Island to Cape Ray and up the west coast to Quirpon Island on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula.

amper ~ A boil or gathering.

ampered, ampery ~ Infected, purulent, inflamed, festering.

amuddle ~ A wooden paddle: an all-around tool to stir clothes.

anaanak (Inuit) ~ Mother.

anchored boat on collar ~ A boat with a rope or chain on its stem and fastened to an anchor.

andramartins ~ Pranks, silly tricks.

angish ~ Poverty-stricken or sickly; malady.

angishore, angashore, angyshore, hangashore ~ A person who hangs around shore, regarded as too lazy or scared to fish; a worthless fellow, a sluggard; a rascal; a puny, sickly person; unlucky person; an idle, mischievous child or person.

angle ~ Entrance to a beaver house; curved inlet of a lake or pond; in zigzag fashion; a sharp bend in a river.

angle dog ~ Earthworm used for freshwater fishing.

anguish ~ Inflammation; pain felt at a distance from the actual wound; a malady.

anighst ~ Near, close to.

annet ~ The Atlantic black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla tridactyla).

an seery See hand serry

anti-confederate ~ One against confederation with Canada.

anti-macassar ~ An afghan that women crocheted for the back of a chair so that their men who used macassar oil on their hair wouldn’t smear the chair when they sat in it.

ant’s egg ~ The small white berry of the creeping snowberry plant. capillaire

anxiety ~ Infection; suppuration or matter issuing from an inflammation.

aoiltoes ~ Metal holes for holding strings in boots.

apast ~ Of time: after, past; of a place or distance, just beyond.

aport ~ When looking forward in a boat, the left side.

apple ~ A high-quality potato.

apron (on-falls) ~ Logs laid together at a slant with one end at the top of the falls, forming a chute to channel the water of the falls to the river below with less of a direct drop. This made it safer to pass the timber being driven downstream over the falls.

aps, apse, hapse, (h)apsen ~ The trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides).

apse ~ An abcess, boil; a fastener, or hasp, on clothes.

apsy, apsey ~ Dense with aspen.

arch ~ A temporary ceremonial structure decorated with spruce or fir boughs and bunting.

archangel ~ A seal smaller than a hooded seal.

Arctic ice, drift ice, rough ice, running ice ~ Heavy ice that forms in the north that is driven southward by currents, winds, and tides.

Arctic steak ~ Marketing name for whale meat.

aret ~ The long-tailed and pomarine jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus; Stercorarius pomarinus).

arg ~ An argument; to argue, disagree.

argin’ ~ Arguing; disputing.

arm ~ A deep, relatively narrow sea inlet; one of the two outer sections or wings of a seine.

arn ~ A substitute for any.

arse, ass ~ Bottom; hinder or lower part (of an object, for example hot arse: a flat-bottomed tin kettle).

arse bag ~ Men’s loose underwear.

arse end ~ Rear end. He fell over the arse end of the cart.

arse foremost ~ Backwards, hinder part before.

arse over kettle ~ To go head over heels.

arse-stinger See horse fly

article ~ A naughty or meddlesome person. A person is called an article by someone who is annoyed at him, or amused by him.

ar udder? ~ Do you have another, any more?

aschautch ~ Meat (Beothuk).

ash ~ The balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera).

ash ~ To get or take ashes on one’s forehead on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. The ashes were kept from the previous year’s burnt palms.

ash-cat ~ A member of a ship’s gang who hauls ashes from the boiler room and dumps them overside; one who hugs the fireside.

ash-kima (ash-ki´ma) (Cree Indian) ~ Nickname for Eskimo (Inuit).

ashore ~ Ashore in Newfoundland ship talk means aboard.

asquish, squish, squish-ways ~ Diagonally; awry; askew, out of alignment.

assing ~ Loop of string attached to the ring of a grapple, strong enough not to burst under normal conditions, but would with excessive drag. The rope passed through the ring before attaching it to the grapple claws. If the grapple fouled on the seabed, one hauled with enough force to break the assing, shifting the force on the claws. By steaming in the opposite direction of the hooked grapple, it would usually come free.

a-starboard ~ Toward starboard.

athwart, adurt, athirt, atirt, thert, turt ~ Of motion, across; from one side of the place to the other.

atirt ~ Athwart, alongside.

August flower ~ The fall dandelion (Leontodon autumnalis).

auk See ouk

aunt ~ Title of an older woman, used with a first or full name; a general term of respect for an older woman in a community.

his aunt had he ~ Explanation of the appearance of a child born out of wedlock.

auntsary, ansary, aunt sarah, aunt sal(ly), nan-cary, nan-sary ~ Water bird of the shoreline or landwash. Known in textbooks as the greater yellowlegs. Locally called nansary, snipe, or twillick. In some areas, auntsary is another name for hand serry, or hand-cat, a small sled with wooden runners.

aw, aa ~ Command to a dog team to stop.

awash ~ Covered with water.

awful ~ Remarkable; exceptional. It was awful fun.

awful nice day ~ Beautiful day, weather-wise.

B

babbage See babbish

babbish, babbage, babeesh, babiche, vabish ~ Strips of animal hide woven to form the filling of snowshoes.

babby ~ Baby, child.

babby-house ~ Pattern of bits of china arranged by children on the ground to represent rooms in a house.

baccalao, bacalao, baccale, bacaleau, baccalo ~ Codfish, especially dried and salted cod; the name given to Newfoundand and adjacent regions by early European voyagers.

Baccalieu, Bacalao and other variants ~ Baccalieu Island, a nesting place for sea fowl and a landmark for mariners of Bay de Verde.

baccalieu bird, barcaliau ~ Name given to several common seabirds: (a) Atlantic common murre or turr (Uria aalge aalge); (b) Atlantic common puffin (Fratercula arctica).

baccalieu skiff ~ A small decked vessel or schooner used in the fishery off Baccalieu Island.

baccy ~ Tobacco.

bachelor button ~ One of a number of wildflowers (Ox-eye daisy) (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum). The campion flower or that of the burdock (Matricaria maritime).

back ~ To carry a load on one’s back or on the shoulders.

back ~ The portion of the chimney from the foundation of a house to the roofline; the coast or adjacent waters on the side of an island removed from the main settlement; the area inland from a harbour or settlement; the perpendicular section of a cod trap opposite the doors.

the small of one’s back ~ The hollow in the middle of the back.

back answer ~ A saucy retort.

back-burn ~ A backload of firewood.

back cove ~ A hard to see cove. Smugglers would use a back cove.

no back doors about ~ No hesitation or shyness in speaking out.

back-end vee ~ In a salmon net, the V-angled section at the seaward end.

back flaw ~ An unexpected gust of wind from a contrary direction.

back foremost ~ With the back of something placed in front; confused, mixed up.

backhand ~ A hint instead of blunt talk.

back harbour ~ The innermost of adjacent coves; the innermost part of an inlet, bay, or harbour.

back house, back kitchen ~ Room in an outport house leading off from the kitchen and used for storage, or as an entranceway, etc.

backing line ~ A long line to which a creeper is attached, threaded under the ice to retrieve seal pelts.

back junk ~ A short log to fit a wood-burning stove or fireplace.

backload ~ An exceptionally large amount.

back look ~ Refers to something almost gone, but comes back. In the spring, with the snow nearly or all gone, if it snows, winter is having a back look.

back-on ~ Facing away.

back pad ~ The part of the horse’s harness that lies under the bellyband. This takes the weight off the shafts and keeps them in place.

back-paddle, sheave ~ To row backward.

back pantry ~ Room off the kitchen or porch for storing bulk foods, preserves, and pickled food.

back people ~ Ancestors.

back run ~ Smaller branch of a river, such as around an island.

back shore ~ The inside part of a harbour.

back side ~ The inside part of a harbour. back shore

back stock ~ The wooden part of a shotgun, held to the shoulder when fired.

back tilt ~ A temporary, sloped shelter in woods set up with the roof sloping toward the wind, and with a fire in front, out of the wind.

back turn ~ As much as you could carry on your back.

backwash, wake ~ The churning water behind a moving boat.

back weight ~ In valuing seal pelts, the number of pounds deducted from the total weight for the worthless flesh attached.

baddycatters,batticatters, ballycatters ~ Ice frozen to the shoreline, lasting until spring.

bad job ~ A poor idea or undertaking

not bad like ~ Closely resembling.

bad like ~ To resemble; to be similar to.

for badness ~ Done to be mischevious.

baff ~ To wear out by repeated use.

baffed out ~ Tired; feeling old.

bag ~ A net in which codfish are kept in the water temporarily until they can be loaded into a boat or dragged ashore; part of the cod trap in which fish are concentrated when the trap is hauled; the canvas bag holding berth numbers to be drawn by lottery.

bag off, bag up ~ In the inshore fishery, to moor cod in a net shaped like a bag until fish are brought ashore.

baich ~ Beach.

baint ~ Aren’t; am not. They baint right in the head.

baiser ~ A whopper of a trout.

bait ~ A small amount over and above quantity purchased; tilly

bait ~ In the bank fishery, to supply a vessel with bait for use in trawl fishing; in fishing with trawl lines, to place bait on hooks in preparation for setting.

bait, baitfish ~ Worms; capelin, herring, lance, squid, and other sea creatures, formerly including birds, used in fishing for cod with baited hooks.

bait bird ~ A seabird feeding on baitfish in inshore waters.

bait board ~ A triangular piece of wood with two raised edges, used to cut up bait.

bait boat ~ Craft engaged in catching capelin, herring, squid, etc., for bait.

bait box ~ Container to hold bait used in trawl fishing.

bait butt ~ Half-barrel.

bait chopper ~ Broad-bladed knife used to chop baitfish into pieces.

bait depot ~ Facility where iced or frozen bait is stored for distribution to fishermen.

baiter ~ A boat engaged in catching bait for the banks fishery.

bait fish See bait

bait hauler ~ Fisherman engaged in catching capelin, herring, etc, for use on a banking vessel.

bait horn ~ Large spiral seashell, blown into to announce the arrival of inshore bait fish.

baiting ~ The laying in of a supply of bait; a quantity of capelin, herring or other bait taken aboard a banker at one time for use as bait in trawl fishing; a fishing voyage to the Grand Banks, the duration fixed by the supply of bait aboard the vessel.

bait jack, bait tub ~ Wooden tub or quarter barrel to hold bait.

bait knife ~ A bait chopper.

bait locker ~ Covered section in the bow of an undecked fishing boat.

bait (seine) master ~ Man in charge of boat and nets sent from a banking schooner to secure bait.

bait punt See bait boat

bait shed ~ A storage place for bait on fishing premises.

baitskiff ~ A large undecked boat with a crew of five to seven men. It was propelled by oar and sail and used to catch capelin for use in the cod fishery.

bait squadron ~ Patrol vessels engaged in the enforcement of bait laws.

bait tub See bait jack

bake ~ Beak

bakeapple, baked apple, bake(d) apple berry, baygapple, bogapple, baking apple ~ The cloudberry, a low plant growing in bogs and producing an amber berry in late summer (Rubus chamaemorus); the juicy amber fruit of the cloudberry, resembling a raspberry, gathered in late summer and eaten raw or cooked.

baked salt fish ~ Salt fish roasted in the oven until blisters form. The blisters containing the salt can then be wiped off.

baker’s bread, baker’s fog ~ Store-bought bread.

baker’s loaf ~ The largest loaf in a batch of bread.

bake pot ~ A cast-iron utensil of various sizes, used for cooking and baking.

baking apple ~ Cloudberry.

bald ~ Blunt or nicked, such as a bald knife edge.

bald coot ~ Sea duck; the surf scoter, a diving duck, aka bottle-nosed diver (Melanitta perspicillata).

baling wire ~ Wire used for securing bales of hay and for other more general purposes.

ballards, grumps ~ Large posts or long poles set in a wharf or quay for the mooring ropes of boats.

ballast ~ Gravel, sand, rocks, etc., placed in the hold of a ship for stability; stones, pebble, sand, etc., reputed to be found in the stomach of fish, especially cod. The ingestion is a weather sign; large rocks placed in the framework of a wharf.

ballast, ballas, ballish ~ To throw rocks or other objects at a person.

ballast bed ~ A wooden cribbing filled with rocks to secure it on the sea bottom.

ballast locker ~ Compartment in a fishing boat to store rocks for stability.

ball gun ~ Muzzleloader charged with powder and ball.

ballicater, balacadas, ballicadoes, ballacarda, ballicater, ballicaders, belly-carders, ballicatters, ballycarters, belly-catter, ballydadders, ballacarters, ballycater, ballaclauters, ballacaters, ballacatters, ballacader. Also may include ballacattle, ballicabber, ballicanter, balliclamper, belliclumper (see clumper), balliclatter, ballicutter, billicatter, barricado, cattibatter ~ Ice formed by the action in winter of spray and waves along the shoreline, making a fringe or band of ice on the landward side; a narrow band of ice formed in winter in the salt water along the foreshore, or landwash.; a floating ice pan; frozen moisture around the nose mouth; a dumpling-sized chunk of ice or snow.

ballicatter ~ To cover with a layer of ice.

ballirag, ballyrag ~ To admonish; scold, abuse or reprimand.

ball mould ~ Hollow form in which balls of lead are cast for use in muzzleloading weapons and as weights for fishnets.

ballroom ~ Euphemism for a crew’s quarters, or forecastle.

ball tag ~ A game of tag using a ball to tag a player.

ball up ~ To swing in an old-timers’ dance (reel).

bally knocker ~ A policeman’s stick.

bam, bom ~ A false tale intended to deceive or hoax.

banana ~ The root of the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea).

bang See vang

bangbelly ~ A pork-and-molasses cake, pudding or pancake. The cake was baked, fried, or could be boiled like dumplings in a stew. May be served with molasses. These were popular with fishermen and men in the woods. Sometimes referred to as frozie.

banger ~ An overcoat.

banjo ~ A salt codfish.

bank ~ An underwater plateau or shoal; hill, high ground or elevated barren.

bank cable ~ Heavy two-inch (5.1 cm) rope used in the offshore trawl fishery.

bank cod ~ Codfish population frequenting offshore fishing grounds.

banker ~ A vessel engaged in cod fishing on the Newfoundland offshore grounds, especially the Grand Banks; a fisherman engagd in the offshore or bank fishery; the owner or operator of an offshore fishing vessel.

bank fish See bank cod

bank fisherman ~ One who engages in the cod fishery on the offshore fishing grounds.

bank fishery ~ Cod fishery prosecuted in vessels or in dories carried by vessels, on the offshore fishing grounds.

bank fishing ~ Fishing for cod on the offshore grounds, usually with trawls or hook and line.

bank herring ~ Herring caught on an offshore fishing bank.

banking ~ Fishing for cod on the Grand Banks.

banking account ~ Financial balance sheet of a deep-sea fishing venture.

banking anchor ~ A type of ship’s anchor, with a wooden shaft, used aboard a deep-sea vessel.

banking dory ~ A dory used in bank fishing. It could be stacked with others to conserve deck space; flat-bottomed with flaring sides and a sharp bow and stern, used in fishing with handlines and trawls.

banking fleet ~ A group of vessels prosecuting the bank fishery.

banking outfit ~ Fishing gear and supplies appropriate to a vessel fishing on the Grand Banks.

banking schooner ~ A schooner engaged in bank fishing.

bank weather ~ The typical foggy and damp weather experienced on the Grand Banks.

banner ~ A small square candy wrapped in cellophane and sold for a cent or two.

banniken ~ A small tin cup for drinking.

bannock ~ A simple, round, flat bread made with the basics of flour and baking powder.

banquese ice ~ Strings of ice floating a mile offshore along the Labrador coast in spring.

banshee wind ~ A screeching, wailing wind, an omen of death.

bantam ~ offshore rocks or shoals.

bar ~ To net a river; to enclose fish around a net; the crossmember on a snowshoe.

bar ~ Small waterway between an island and the mainland.

barachois, barrasway, barrachois, barrisois, barasway, barrisway, barsway ~ Sand buildup at a rivermouth; sheltered harbour formed by sand buildup at a rivermouth.

baradirsick ~ Thunder (Beothuk).

barasway See barachois

barbell, barvel ~ A leather or oilskin apron, used by fishermen while on the water, or while cleaning fish on land. It could be made of calfskin with the fur inside; the fleshy protrusion from cod’s jaw.

barber ~ On a frosty day, mist rising from the water; a sharp, stinging wind.

bare buff ~ Bare-chested; buck-naked.

bare-legged cup of tea ~ Black tea with no food.

bare poles ~ Ship’s rigging without sails.

barge ~ A larger boat that collected codfish or salmon, etc., from smaller Labrador schooners for processing.

bark ~ A small sailing vessel, particular to the seventeenth century; tree rind; preserving liquid made by boiling bark and tree buds; a liquid made by steeping the bark and buds of conifers to preserve fishnets, sails, etc.; a foul-tasting tea.

bark ~ To boil nets, sails, etc., in water and tree bark or other tanning material to preserve them; to soak in an infusion of bark; to tan.

barked boat ~ A sealskin boat tanned a reddish colour.

bark boiling ~ The preparation of a preservative for nets, sails, etc., from the bark and buds of spruce or fir trees.

barking ~ Coughing from the croup (diphtheria).

barking kettle ~ A large iron pot in which the bark of juniper, spruce, or fir trees was steeped in hot water to tan and preserve sails and linnet nets. Sometimes a commercial tannin would be used.

bark pot ~ Large cast-iron cauldron used to prepare the preservative for dipping in nets and sails.

bark-sall (-sail) duff ~ A steamed molasses pudding made with spices.

bark-sail loaf ~ Brown bread; molasses bread without raisins.

barksail loaf ~ Bread made with just a colouring of molasses.

bark tub ~ Wooden container in which nets, etc., are immersed in bark (preservative).

barley rover, bar rover, barley over, barrel over ~ A game of hide and seek played by children; the cry uttered by the blindfolded child in removing the blindfold and beginning the search.

barm ~ Homemade fermenting mixture of flour and yeast, used to make bread rise; live yeast from the top of fermenting beer. Used as a yeast element in baking.

barnacle ~ An awkwardly shaped rock sticking out of the ocean; a bad person, one despised by others.

barnacle’s breed ~ An idler, a bad person.

barn tender ~ A person who looks after the horses and stables.

barnystickle, barnstickle, barnytickle, branchy, branstickle, thornback ~ A small fish in fresh or brackish water. spantickle, prickly

barquentine ~ A sailing vessel with three or more masts, but square-rigged only on the foremast.

barrack ~ Structure consisting of four posts and a movable roof, to protect hay from rain or snow.

barrack head See barricade

barred ~ Of a net, enclosing a school of fish in the water; of a fisherman’s sweater or Guernsey, knitted with stripes or cables.

barrel ~ An approximate measure of fish; a protective enclosure on a mast from which a man scans the sea for seals, whales, etc.; crow’s nest; to be pregnant.

barrel bitch ~ A female seal that has never had pups. She grows as big as a dog seal and when her pelt is in good condition she is in great demand.

barrel bob ~ Sled with runners formed by barrel staves.

barrel-chair, barrel-rocker ~ Chair constructed from half a cylindrical wooden container or barrel.

barrelheater ~ Stove used in the construction of barrels.

barrel-man ~ Crewman sent to the crow’s nest to look for seals, etc.

barrels ~ Plenty, or plentiful.

barrel stove ~ Drum-shaped stove with a round top and bottom, sides rounded, with two or three covers,