Some of the following terms surviving from the original Anglo-Manx dialect are still in occasional use today. The task of identifying dialectal usage is complicated by the large cross-over between
Manx Gaelic, idiomatic usage and technical/administrative terms such as "advocate" and "
deemster". • ''''
– The United Kingdom, in particular Great Britain; referred to as across the water''. More rarely, a reference to
Ireland. •
At – In possession of (from Gaelic usage). ''He's got a nice house at him'' (from Gaelic description of possession) •
Aye – Yes •
Coalie – A
coalfish (specifically
Pollachius virens). •
Comeover – A non-native person living in the Isle of Man. • –
Mugwort. • – Cultural gathering. •
Hollin and
Hibbin - holly and ivy. • –
Hallowe'en. Cited by Moore as
Hop-the-nei, which he suggests originates from ''Hop ! ta'n oie'' but possibly cognate with the Scottish
Hogmanay, which is in origin not a Gaelic word. • – From the Manx for
forget; people will speak of being
a bit jarrood. • – A drink. • – Animal dung, literally:
shit. • – A small ancient monastic cell or chapel. • – Suds, fizz, foam, scum, lather, froth. Used as an expression 'keshing like a crab', a phrase with sexual connotations. • – Lazy. • – Manx for
Isle of Man. Compare with Ellan Vannin; Mannin is the genitive of Mannan, the name of the son of the god of the sea (Líor),
Manannán mac Lír. • – A festival or party to celebrate harvest. • – Literally
slow, but used in the sense of
ill. • – Peat-land, heath or moorland. • – A dog/sheep skin fishing float; e.g.,
as fat as a Mollag or
as full of wind as a Mollag. In contemporary usage refers to a
small potting buoy. • – The first person met on New Year's Day,
first-foot. • – A willow tree, whence the placename
Ballasalla derives, from the Manx
Shellagh, tr.
willow. • – tr.
story, or news. • – A small sealing peg from a dog-skin fishing float (Mollag). Used colloquially to refer to something/someone small. • – Straw rope made to tie down the thatch on cottages or farm buildings to 'bwhid-suggane' (stone pegs) at the top of the walls. • – Abandoned traditional building. • – An elder tree.
Norse origin •
Fell – hill, of
Norse origin. • '''''' – recorded by Moore as "a manure fork", a hybrid agricultural tool that has parallels with the
Norse and the Scots •
Kirk – Church, used in parish names, of
Norse origin •
Sheading – An administrative district of the Isle of Man •
Tynwald – the Manx parliament, from
Old Norse Thingvollr and originally written similarly to Icelandic with a
þ which is pronounced . The
thing means an assembly or court of justice and the
vollr is a field or plain.
Superstitions and word replacement Because of the unpredictable nature of weather in the Irish Sea, fishing could be a dangerous business – sailors were consequently very superstitious and it was considered
taboo to use certain words or behaviours (using the word
conney for rabbit, or whistling, for example) whilst on board ship. Some names were substituted for others – "rat" became "sacote" or "long-tailed fellow", amongst other names. This has evolved into a modern superstition in which the word "rat" ( in Manx) is considered unlucky, even when not used aboard ship. Although this particular sea-taboo was one amongst many and was not held to apply on land, it has become a popular modern belief that the word is somehow unlucky, and the sea-taboo has been adopted by some as a typical Manx practice, even though the old Manx people had no qualms in using the word, or its Manx equivalent,
roddan. In modern times, even non-local and unsuperstitious people will refrain from using the word "rat", perhaps in an effort to fit in with those who take it seriously, or in an attempt to sound folksy. In reality this is a rather warped version of the original sea-taboo. Alternative words for rat in neo-Anglo-Manx dialect include '
, and ' (a more recent expression).
Anglo-Manx phrases A few phrases have survived to become common parlance, amongst these (all of Gaelic origin): • – () Manx for "time enough", either an incitement to take things easier, or an insult to a lazy person. • – () An inconsistent person who changes sides easily – from Manx Gaelic for "with me – with thee" • – "John the Flayer's Pony" – on foot, cf "Shanks' pony" in colloquial English. • – The Manx toast, a Manx translation of "here's health", used as "cheers". • – literally "going and grumbling" in response to the question "How are you?". • – translates as "fair wind", however is used to wish someone a good trip (i.e. "Safe Travels") ==See also==