C
Came on
to me
Accosted,
as in "He came on to me to tell me he found it."
Canting
Gossip,
often malicious in nature
Cack/coggy handed
Left handed
Calennig
A New
Year's gift
Can't abide/Can't stomach/Carn Abear
Unable to
put up with, as in "I can't abide/can't stomach/carn abear it when they
show people having operations on the telly."
Can't miss him/her
Cannot
possible mistake him/her for someone else; "You can't miss him - he's
the one behind the counter - with a little twsh... "
Calling you
Expected of
you; "You can have a lie on in the morning, 'cos there's nothing
calling you is there?"
Cam
Welsh word
for a pace or stride; this word was used in the gane of "catty and
doggy" when the striker nominated the number of strides required to
pace out the distance back to the 'dab'. Locally it was always
pronounced like 'calm'..
Cap (keep straight)
Keeping
someone contented, as in "We'll afto do as 'e' says - better keep 'is
cap straight."
Cap it all
On top of
everything; "... and then to cap it all, after all the fuss we had, the
car wouldn't start!"
Carn
Wenglish
for can't
Cart
Carry, as
in "After buying 'eaps of things, we atto cart it all back to the
car-park."
Case
Comical
person; "We do 'ave some fun with all 'is yarns and antics - 'e's a
real case that one!"
Cawl Cabbage
A terrible
mess, as in "When them kids 'ad finished play(ing) with theyer toys, it
was all cawl cabbage in there!"
Chalk (missed a...)
Failed to
take a chance; "He had every chance to get it but he missed a chalk
there!"
Change (caught on the...)
A favourite
expression of days gone by... "She's just had another baby and she's
well into her forties - caught on the change, poor dab... "
Chesty
Arrogant,
boastful; "He's full of himself - a real chesty one"
Chew bread
To claim a
close acquaintanceship (often spuriously or humorously) as in "... know
'im well I do - 'is mother used to chew bread for ouer ducks..."
Choier
Wenglish
for 'choir'
Choked
So moved as
to be unable to speak; "When they gave him his farewell present, he was
proper choked... "
Choked off
Put in
his/her place; "She didn't get anywhere trying to push that rubbish off
on me - I soon choked her off!"
Chopping stcks
Cutting
firewood
Chopsing/Chopsy
Talking a
great deal 'all over the place', earning a reputation for being "a
chopsy one".
Chronic
With no
respite from pain; "I was off all night with chronic ear-ache."
Ciff/Cyff
Pronounced
'kiff', not very well, as in "I thought he was over that bout a
sickness, but he don't seem very ciff this morning."
Cilbwt/Cnec
in
Complaint (in medical sense) "He's always got some complaint or other -
there's some cilbwt/cnec with him all the time!"
Clecs/Carrying clecs
As with the
two previous words, from the original welsh, this time to mean
'carrying tales about others'A person who made a habit of this was
called a 'cleckerbox'
Clobber
Clothing,
belongings, as in "You are never taking all that clobber? Just for the
weekend?"
Clodges
Rough
pieces of grass with earth attached. Aiming these at others is a
fondly-remembered boyhood activity.
Clod-hoppers
Heavy,
clumsy boots and shoes
Cocking nose
Behaving
disdainfully; "... putting tidy food for them and all they do is cock
their noses at it - Well I won't stand for it!"
Cob
(a) to
catch the ball in children's games. (b) a knot in ones hair.
Come up a treat
To improve
the look of; "This table do come up a treat with a bit of polish."
Come
To get
better; "He's been real bard and under the doctor frages, but I think
he'll come now."
Coming/ No coming better
To fail to
improve in health; "Poor dab, they've tried everything for his
complaint, but there's no coming to him."
Compliance (out of... )
Having lost
entitlement; "He's been on the sick so long, he's out of compliance for
sick pay now."
Conflab
Wenglish
for a lengthy discussion
Contrary
Awkward,
uncooperative; "She's proper contrary, she is - if you only so much as
say good morning, she'd argue!"
Coomb
Wenglish
for 'comb'
Coopy-down
To squat or
crouch.
c.f.
twti-down,
cwat/quat
Cop
(a) value
as in "I thought I had a real bargain, but there's not much cop in
this... "
(b) Catch, or get, as in "You'll cop it from your father when he gets
home!"
Cop/Cwop
The local
Co-operative Society Store
Coppish
Trouser
flies; seemingly a derivation from cod-piece.
Cord
Wenglish
for string; "Have you got some cord for me to do up this parcel?"
Costa del Hi-ya Butt
A
'tongue-in-cheek' name for Trecco Bay, Porthcawl. It stems from the
reputed fact that so many locals used to take holidays there, that one
was sure to meet many friends and neighbours.
Couple
Rarely
meaning two in local useage, more usually a small quanity as in "Let me
have a couple of them apples please?"
Courtin(g) (strong)
Embarked
upon a serious relationship with marriage in mind; "'E've 'ad a few
girlfriends, but 'im an' that girl 'e's got now are courtin' strong!"
Crachach
A term to
denote the actual, or self styled, local gentry.
Craxy
Irritable;
"That kid is craxy - he kept us up all night!"
Creatin(g)
Going on
about, as in "Last week she was keeping(g) on about 'er shoes - this
week, she's creatin(g) about that frock I got 'er."
Credit
Believe, as
in "You wouldn't credit what he called her altogether - gave her the
length of his tongue he did!"
Crib
Wenglish
word meaning 'complain'; "He's always cribbing about something or other
- there's no pleasing him!"
Crot of a boy
A young
lad, from the Welsh 'crotyn', 'crwtyn' or 'crwt', all words for 'lad
Crotchetty
Difficult
to live with, pernickitty; "The trouble now is, he's getting old and
crotchetty."
Cun
Wenglish
word for 'can; "You cun usually find 'im in the club."
Cut up
Wenglish
for 'upset', 'distressed'; "Really cut up he was when he heard about
what happened to those kids!"
Cute/Cuete
Crafty,
cunning;"... oh 'e's cute awright - no flies on 'im!"
Cwat
To hide,
conceal
Cwtch
A much
loved and much used local word having a number of uses:
(a) The coal cwtch, or the cwtch under the stairs/cwtch dan star - a
storage place: derived from the Welsh 'cwt'.
(b) To keep concealed; "Keep that cwtched by there now - don't want
anybody to see it... "
(c) Lie down, as in the order to a dog - "Go (and find your) cwtch!"
(d) To be fondled and snuggled up in an especially loving way "Cwtch up
to your mam now". A child nursed "Welsh fashion is well and truly being
'cwtched'
(e) To warn off (now seemingly obsolete in local usage); "Bar cwtch,
bar cwtch, don't come to my cwtch" A warning issued by children to
others when out blackberry picking.
Cwtyn a saint
A surviving
Welsh expression meaning a dreadfully untidy mess; "Look at the state
of this place - it's like cwtyn y saint!".
A devil; another surviving Welsh word.