Are you a blobtit or a fluttergrub?

31 Sussex words to love

Walking a whapple-way

Finding a delicious new word makes my day. I like forgotten or obscure words best, those that make me wonder or giggle. The other day I stumbled into Reverend Parish’s Dictionary of Sussex Dialect from 1875. Hooray!

I knew that Sussex dialect has 30 names for mud and its own for magical creatures, but Rev Parish was a revelation. So many lovable sounds. So many kays, cues and zeds!

My favourites are for mood, weather, character, dialogue and bother. They’re below (with a few others I can’t bring myself to leave out).

Call me a daydreamer, but I've a notion words enjoy being spoken and written. So, I hope you enjoy them, and that you start using them too.

If you could only pick one, which would it be?

Moods

Beazled. Completely tired out.

Quotted. Satiated, glutted.

Up-a-top-of-the-house. In a rage.

Unked. Lonely, dreary, dismal.

Vlothered. Agitated, flustered.

Weather

Haitch. A slight passing shower.

Messengers. Large white clouds, heralding rough weather.

Sniggler. A slight frost.

Swallocky. Clouds in hot weather, before a thunderstorm.

Whiffle. To come in gusts.

Yeasty. Gusty, stormy.

Character

Blobtit. A tell-tale.

Bread-and-cheese-friend. A true friend.

Chuckle-headed. Stupid.

Fluttergrub. One who likes getting dirty, being in a mess.

Grout-headed. Stupidly noisy.

Stomachy. Proud, obstinate.

Tempersome. Hasty-tempered.

Timmersome. Timid.

Dialogue

Cocker-up. To gloss over with an air of truth.

Nabble. To chatter, gossip, idle about.

Norate. To talk officiously and fussily about other's business.

Rookery. A disturbance, a fuss and chattering.

Bother

Boffle. A confusion or mistake.

Heggling. Vexatious, trying, wearisome.

Mizmaze. Confusion.

Pettigues. Troubles, vexations.

Oooh, but I love these too...

Ampery. Beginning to decay, especially applied to cheese.

Squackett. To quack like a duck.

Quilly. Goosebumps.

Whapple-way. A bridleway through fields or woods (see above).