A 

Accordin-lie  Accordingly: “Uhcordin-lie ter him”. With emphasis on ‘lie’.
Acrorst  Across: “I wet acrorst the rud to the busstop.”
Afore  Before: “Afore yew go, ole paartner, less hevva drink.”
Afreard  Afraid: “My dawg wuz hoolly afreard o’’ the dark, he wuz.”
Agin  Again, once more, or against: “Thass cold agin, ent ut?”
Allus  Always: “I allus cycle to wark.”
Alonga me  With me: “Come alonga me!”
An’orl  And all, hence: “An’ yisterday wuz wet, an’orl.”
Ar(t)er  After: the ‘t’ is barely pronounced, at the back of the throat, more like: “ar-uh”
Arly  Early: “Heh’yuh got yar arly tearters in yit?”
Arternune  Afternoon: similar pronunciation to ‘arter’.
Atwin  Between: “Atwin me, yew an’ the geartepust…!”
Ax  To ask: “If yew watta cuppa, yew hatta ax proper fur it.’’
Axed  Asked: “Hev yew gotta loight, bor?” he axed.

B 

Backus  Scullery or out-house.
Badly  Poorly, or in ill health: “I fare badly terday, I dew, an’orl!”
Barney  A quarrel, or falling out: “I hed a roight ole barney wi’ him nex’ dor, I did.”
Beck  A small stream: Beeston beck.
Bein’as  Because of: “Bein’as th’ trearn dint come, I wuz learte hoome.”
Bishy-barney-bee  A ladybird.
Blar  Cry, or weep: “Stop yar blarin’, dew yew’ll mearke me blar an’orl”.
Blunder  To fall over: “I hoolly blundered over in the rud, I did!”
Bolt  Eat food too quickly, to ‘wolf’ it down without chewing.
Bop  To duck down, lower one’s head to avoid being seen.
Bor  Norfolk way to address males: “Hello, Bor, how’re yer gorn on, tergether?”.
Botty  Fussy, particular: “She wuz a botty little mawther.”
Brawk  To belch loudly after meals!
Burr  Haze around the Moon.

C 

Caution Amazing or surprising news: “Well, ent that a caution – City won agin!”
Chimley Chimney: “Mollie Windley she smook loike a chimley…”
Claggy Moist or sticky.
Clam up Go quiet, shut up: “When I arrived, she hoolly clammed up!”
Clever Handsome or dexterous: “Thass a clever little gearte yew’re med, bor!”
Clip A quick cuff of the hand: “My Maw dint harf clip my lug.”
Clout A heavier blow: “I gev my thumb a clout with the hammer and it dint harf smart!”
Cobbles Round beach pebbles used for paving and building.
Cop To get caught out: “You’ll hoolly cop it when yew git home.”
Coshies, cushies Sweets: “Here’s thruppence fur some coshies, Albie.”
Crowd To push in: “Give me room – dunt yew crowd me so.”
Cuckoo Cocoa: “I like corfee, but my wife likes cuckoo afore bed.”

D 

Dassent, dussent  Dare not: “No, I dussent do that, do I do, I might blunder down!”
Dast, dust  Dare: “I dast yew to climb that there tree.”
Dawg  Dog: “Clear yew orf, dew I’ll set my dawg onya!”
Dew  A social occasion.
Dickey  Donkey: “Dew yew fa’r keep a dickey, bor?”
Ding  A sharp blow, a cuff: “Mother dint harf ding my lug!”
Dint  Didn’t, did not: “I dint dew that…”
Dockey  A labourer’s dinner, kept in a dockey bag.
Dudder  Shiver, to ‘dudder’ with cold: “I’m all on a-dudder!”
Dutty, datty  Dirty, grubby: “Wipe yar dutty feet afore yew come inta my clean scull’ry!”
Duzzy  Silly, stupid: “Yew duzzy waarmin, yew.”

E 

Elijahs  String tied around labourer’s trousers, just below the knee.
Erriwiggle  Earwig.
Ewe  Owed: “My mawther ewe the Milkman two weeks!”
ex-ees  When playing a game to request a break, (seek sanctuary) crossing of two index fingers on each hand.

F 

Fare  To be, feel or seem: “That fare like rearn, an’ I dun’t fare too well!”
Fierce  A state of health: “My Martha ent tew ferce terday.”
Finnicky  Fussy, too particular (over food).
Floater  Type of dumpling.
Fosey  Stale, mildewed (food): “My apple wuz fosey!”
Fourses  Tea break in the afternoon (traditionally in the harvest field).
Frazzled  Frayed, worn (garments); worried, anxious (nerves).
Friz, frooz  Frozen: “That hoolly frooz laarst night, an’ the pond was friz.”
Fumble-fisted  Clumsy.
Furriner  Someone from furrin (foreign) parts.
Fy-out  Clean out (ditches) – but: “He gev his snout a good ole fy-out!”

G 

Gansey  Fishermen’s jersey or heavy jumper made of oiled wool.
Garp, gorp  To gape: “That Missus Smith dew gorp outta har net cartins.”
Gret, greart  Great: “Thass a greart ole lobsta yew’re got there, bor!”
Grizzle  Cry (with pain): “The littl’un grizzled orl night, what with har teeth a-comin’.”
Gurn  To grin, make faces.
Guzunder  Chamber pot: goes under the bed.

H 

Ha and hacker  To stutter.
Haller  Shout loudly.
Hamper  To damage or hinder: “I woulda bin hare sooner, but the rearn hampered me!”
Harnser  Heron.
Hedge Betty  Hedge sparrow.
Het  Heated: “Hent yew het the kittle yit?”
Hid  Head: “I thacked my hid on that there tree!”
Higgle  To bargain or argue.
Hin  A chicken.
Hitch up  To make room: “Hitch up, bor, then there’ll be room fur me an’orl on the seat!”
Hold yew hard!  Listen a minute, hang on a moment.
Hoss  Horse, also be boisterous: “Yew hatta hoss about, dun’t yew? Yew hoolly cearme hossin down the rud!”
Howsomever  However.
Huh (On the)  Uneven, not level: “That wall yew built wuz on the huh!” Alternatively: “On the sosh.”
Hull  To pitch or throw: “He hulled the ball at me and it hit me in the gut; what med me hull up!”
Hunnycart  Vehicle for collecting night soil: “Thass afore the days o’ water closets, tew yew, mileardy!”

J 

Jam  To stamp on, or walk heavily: “We jammed about all day at the Show!” or: “Dunt you jam on my foot.”
Jiffle  To fidget: “Stop yar jifflin’,” the teacher told Tommy.
Jip  Pain, aggravation: “My corns hoolly gev me jip.”
Job, jorb  Something remarkable: “That new car o’ yars is the job, ent it?”
Jollificearshuns  Fun and games, joviality.

K 

Kelter  Condition: “Yar bike looks in good kelter t’me.”
Kiderer  Pork butcher.
King Harry  Goldfinch.
Knap  To knock or shape flint.
Know  Knowledge: “That blook nex’tdoor seem t’be in the know.”

L 

Lady’s smock  Canterbury bell, cuckoo flower.
Laid  Corn flattened by gales or heavy rain.
Lam  To thump or beat: “He dint harf lam itter me.”
Larn  To teach: “That there teacha tried on it, but she coont larn me nuffin.”
Loke  A blind alley or a short lane.
Lollop  To walk ungainly or slowly: “That mawther dunt know how tuh walk, she jist lollop along.”
Lug  An ear – or to carry: “I in’t lugging that all the way home!” or “My dad gev my lug a clip!”
Lummox  A clumsy person.

M 

Mardle  To gossip, or chat: Also, another name for a pond!
Marl  Chalk: Dug out of pits and used as fertiliser on fields.
Master, masterous  An expression of admiration: “Thass a master good crop o’ tearters.” Or: “Thass a masterous job.”
Masterpiece  Anything amazing or astonishing.
Mawkin  A scarecrow: See: The Merry Mawkin.
Mawther  Girl or a woman: Sometimes ‘Maw’.
Mellow  Ripe.
Misery  Aches and pains: “That apple pie gev me misery in my stommick.”
Mite  Small, or a little bit: “I ent a mite hungry.”
Mob, mobbed  To tell off, scold, or take to task: “I hoolly mobbed that boy when his ball cem in my gaard’n.’
Mow in  Join in, help out: “I spuz yew want me tuh mow in with the washin-up, dorn’t yew, Maw?”
Muckwash  Sweat, sweating profusely.

N 

Nasty-particular  Fussy, over particular.
Nonicking  Horseplay.

O 

Old Year’s Night New Year’s Eve.
Ollands  Old grassland, ploughed for first time.

P 

Pamment  Pavement.
Pample  To tread lightly or quietly.
Pearks  Gadgets, new-fangled things, inventions.
Peerking  Nosing around, looking for something.
Pightle  A paddock.
Pingle  To play with your food.
Pishamire  An ant.
Pod  Belly, gut: “All that sluss, he’s got a pod on him!”
Pollywiggle  A tadpole.
Primmicky  Affected, difficult to please.
Puckaterry  In a muddle, or a bit of a temper.
Push  A boil, or large spot.
Putting on parts  Misbehaving, drawing attention to oneself: “Thass no good yew a-puttin on yar parts…”

Q 

Quackle  To strangle or choke: “He wuz suffen raw – his hands on my neck were fit to quackle me!”
Queer  Ill, sick : “I dun’t harf feel queer!”

R 

Rabbit  To cut a groove, rebate, in carpentry.
Rafty  Damp , raw weather.
Rare  Anything unusual: “Thass a rare fine pheasant yew’ve got there, bor!”
Raw  Angry, displeased: “Maw wuz hoolly raw wi me for duttying up her troshall.”
Reasty  Rancid.
Rent  Tear: “I blundered down in the street an’ rent me trousers.”
Rimer  Hoar frost: “Blass me, thass a right ole rimer this mornin.”
Ruck  To crease: “What hev yew bin doin now, my mawther? Yar skut’s orl rucked up!”
Run  To leak: “Dunt yew use that there kittle, corse that run, that dew!”
Run on (go on)  To exaggerate, to grumble: “Stop goin on about the wather – yew do run on, yew do, an’ thass a fact!”

S 

Sadly Unwell: “He took tuh his bed, corse he wuz so sadly.”
Screws Rheumatic aches and pains.
Shannock A native of Sheringham; born of true Sheringham stock.
Shink Should think: “I shink she wuz suffen savidge”.
Shiver A splinter: “I’re gotta shiver in me finger.”
Shruck, shrook Past tense of shriek: “She shrook out when she saw Old Shuck and took to har bed.”
Shuck An untidy person. Also Old Shuck, the phantom hell-hound that roams the cliffs looking for his dead master.
Shud Shed.
Sight A great (or small) number: “There wunt a sight onnem. “I thort there woulda bin a sight more than that!”
Slarver To drool or dribble; also, to talk rubbish.
Slop A fisherman’s smock worn over his gansey.
Sluss, slusspot Alcoholic drink, one who drinks too much.
Smur Fine rain, drizzle.
Snew Snowed. “That snew an’ snew all day!”
Snob Shoemaker or cobbler.
Sorft Silly: “All the squit yew come out with, yew must be sorft!”
Sosh (on the) Uneven, slanting, out of true: “On the sosh.”
Splar, splaar To spread out: “Dunt she splar her feet out when she walk?”
Spuffle To waffle, speak pompously: “He do spuffle, dunt he?”
Squit Norfolk nonsense: “Tha’s a lot o’ squit.”
Stewkey blews Cockles caught at Stiffkey.
Stingy Mean, cruel, cold: “Ony sixpence pocket money was a bit stingy.” Or: “That wuz stingy ole weather yisterday.”
Swimmers Norfolk dumplings.

T 

Ta, ter  The, this, that or it: Ter year.
Tempest  Thunderstorm.
Thack  Thrash or thump: “He wuz rude ter my sister, so I hoolly thacked him aside the lug.”
Tidy  Good, fair: “Thass a tidy step to the busstearshun.”
Time  While: “I hed a sleep time Maw cooked the dinner.”
Titchy  Touchy, irritable.
Tittermatorter  See-saw.
Titty-totty  Very small.
Tizzick  A tickly cough.
Tricolate  To spruce up or repair: “He tricolated the shud suffin masterous.”
Trosh  To thresh.
Troshel, throshel  Doorstep, threshold.
Truck  Anything to do: “He ent yar sort – yew dunt watta hev any truck wi him!”
Twizzle  To rotate, spin or twist rapidly.

U 

Unean  Underneath.
Uppards  Upwards (and ‘downards’ – downwards).
Useter  Used to: “I uster go tuh wark by trearn ev’ry day.”

V 

Vacagees  Evacuees during wartime.
Vister  Visitor, holidaymaker: “Them visters hed bort up orl the crabs, an hent left none fur us they hent!”

W 

Waarmin  Badly-behaved person: “I’ll ding yar lug, yew little waarmin, yew!”
Wholly, hoolly, hully  Very: “Them sossidge rolls tearste hoolly good tuh me.”
Wick  Nerves: “With orl har blarrin she tend tuh git on my wick.”
Wittles  Vittles, food.

Y 

Yalm  To eat hungrily: “He hoolly yarmed that inta him, he did.”
Yis  Yes.
Yisty  Yesterday.

Z 

Zackly  Exactly: “I ent zackly sure the way tuh Norridge!”

FOND Archive Fearvruts

Randum Loada Squit

  • The Singing Postman

    Allan Smethurst, The Singing Postman, was almost as famous as the Beatles in the 1960s' writing and singing songs in his native Norfolk dialect. Hev a listen!

  • Norfolk Placenames

    Taken from an 1883 directory of placenames – gives many examples of Norfolk towns and villages that are/were pronounced very differently to their spelling.

  • Norfolk Glossary

    A selection of Norfolk words, listed from A-Z, that have been around for a good many years, if you're a ‘local’ of course, you’ll know most of them already.