big(4) - Hamely Tongue
Source: The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim
Author: James Fenton
Comments: ‘The Hamely Tongue’ has been widely acclaimed as the authoritative record of contemporary (surviving) Ulster-Scots in its heartland of County Antrim where James Fenton faithfully recorded his dictionary items among a network of other native speakers over a 30-year period. This searchable online version of his book takes its text from ‘Part One’ of the fourth edition of 2014 and includes over 3000 word entries. The book preliminaries, supplementary word lists and end matter have been excluded.
big4 ~ (as in) a big yin a surprising or notable event or outcome (Wuzn’t it a big yin yer man wunnin the case efter a’? Also a guid yin: see guid). big an wee adults and children (Big an wee there wuz nine o iz). big en the greater part (The big en o them’s for naethin. That’s the big en o it daen noo). bigly greatly (Sowl an if he bocht a trait he’s bigly changed, so he is). Big Monday the August bank holiday (formerly held on the first Monday of the month - Ba,G). big o the erse (see erse). big o the gub; big o the mooth loudmouthed; unable to keep a confidence or secret. big o the heid (see heid). big tak assertive or boastful talk (full o big tak but wae an empy poaket). it’s big odds (see odds). the big hoose (see hoose). wae eyes as big as yer fist in a state of wonder or utter astonishment. Ye’ll dae big things (a scornful response to a threat or a promise of notable achievement).
Purchase the Hamely Tongue
The fourth, expanded edition of James Fenton’s seminal work is now available as a Kindle ebook and can be downloaded from Amazon stores:
The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim (ebook)
The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim (paperback)