Yorkshire words of the week

I READ with interest the letter from Bernard Longstaff (Country Week, August 11). In 1950 I joined my father-in-law Tom Skaife in the business of flax spinners and twine manufacturers at Fringill Mill, Darley, Harrogate.

As Mr Longstaff says, donning and doffing means putting on and taking off.

Doffing in mill terms is taking off the full bobbins off the spinning frames and replacing with empty bobbins.

Likewise, on a carding machine when the flax has gone through the machine, the doffing knives – which went across the front of the cylinders – combed it off to make a ribbon called a sliver ready for the drawing frames.

Incidentally, we were the last flax spinners in England. The last consignment of flax yarn went out on May 12 1986 to Henry Willing & Co of Glasgow.

From: Hazel Garner, Leeds Road, Ossett.

With regard to the invitation from Elizabeth Gill (August 20 Country Week), my grandma would always call an overdone joint of meat “crozzled” and you would “smittle” someone if you passed on a cold or other ailment.

I was always confused by the Yorkshire tendency to run several words into one.

An elderly neighbour always referred to anything he couldn’t remember the name of as a “wattercallit”.

My grandma, who always tried and failed to be ready to catch the 3 o’clock bus to the shops, would exclaim amidst a cloud of face powder “asslattercatchtarpast”.

As a youngster I believed this to be an actual word.

From: Pat Tankard, Birkdale Avenue, Knaresborough.

I grew up in Sheffield, and am very familiar with snerped (snirped) up, crozzled and smittled (or smickled).

Imagine cooking bacon. If it starts to shrink too much beyond perfect, it’s snirped up as it curls up. Carry on even longer, and it gets crozzled, and may be burnt, but definitely inedible.

If I’d got a bit of cold, I wouldn’t get too close because I might smickle you. I never came across “wait thi cale”.

From: Ann Savage, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

In response to Elizabeth Gill’s letter, my family, a mix of Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield, all use your words.

As I understand them, snerped up means withered/dying; crozzled – well done or burnt; smittled or smitten – to have a crush on.

Wait thi cale – I am not sure about but I think means wait your turn.