That’s interesting

puzzles THAT’S INTERESTING...

Each month ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD, former researcher from ‘QI’ and author of The Meaning of Tingo, poses a vocabulary quiz from our local Wiltshire dialect.

CAN YOU GUESS THE CORRECT DEFINITION? 1. PEART

a) impertinent b) tawny, yellow tinged with red c) furious, maddened

2. LOPPETTY

a) thin and lanky b) weak, out of sorts c) said of someone walking alone with their head held low

3. BOARD

a) a spade’s depth in digging b) to scold, upbraid c) a roommate

4. PROOFEY

a) being chubby and somewhat squat b) tetchy c) stimulating, fattening

FRENCH CRICKET

Scholars argue over the origin of the word cricket. A mention of a bat and ball game called “criquet” in a village of the Pas-de-Calais occurs in a French manuscript of 1478 and the word “criquet” itself is an old French word meaning “post” or “wicket”. It’s rather fun to create the local vocabulary for the intricacies of the game. ‘Silly mid-wicket’ becomes “milieu de la foule” or and ‘square leg’ is ‘angle droite’. “Large” might be umpire’s shout to accompany his outstretched arms. “Canard” (duck) would be how the scorer would indicate the batsman’s cheap dismissal and “comment est cela?” would surely be for the bowler shouting “howzat”? Although the words remain generally English, un guichet is a wicket, un batteur est éliminé (batsman out), capté is caught and sa zone sûre is his crease. Not to mention the umpire suggesting “jambe devant guichet” for leg before wicket!

Peter Wilkinson M.Inst.Ch.P

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