heid (-ee-) - Hamely Tongue
Source: The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim
Author: James Fenton
Comments: ‘The Hamely Tongue’ has been widely acclaimed as the authoritative record of contemporary (surviving) Ulster-Scots in its heartland of County Antrim where James Fenton faithfully recorded his dictionary items among a network of other native speakers over a 30-year period. This searchable online version of his book takes its text from ‘Part One’ of the fourth edition of 2014 and includes over 3000 word entries. The book preliminaries, supplementary word lists and end matter have been excluded.
heid (-ee-) ~ head. aff yer heid crazy. a heid lake a pot (an assessment of intellectual ability or occas. of the ability to retain in one’s memory). a’ in the heid all imagination; all fantasy (Ye hae great times wae the weemen, Tam, but A doot it’s a’ in yer heid). as big as doags’ heids (see big). at the bak o yer heid at the back of one’s mind. awa in the heid (see awa). a word ooty yer heid a (single) word uttered (Naw a word ooty yer heid, noo!). big high heid yins top management, the top people in government, etc. big o the heid small of the brain; stupid. bother yer heid (see bother). breed in the heid originate in one’s mind (That niver bred in the wain’s heid: he heared the owl fella at it. Whut kine o a heid could that ’a bred in?). come inty yer heid be suddenly or incidentally remembered. come tae a heid (of a boil, etc.) maturate. eat the heid aff attack verbally; address savagely. eyes in the bak o yer heid (Ye’d need eyes in the bak o yer heid tae watch these boys). eyes in the heid the ability to see what is plain (A haenae tae wunther oanythin aboot it: haen’t A eyes in mae heid?). get it inty yer heid take in, be clear about; (esp. of a suspicion or conviction) become convinced of (also get a thing inty yer heid: Yince he gets a thing intae his heid there’s nae takkin tae him). get yer heid in yer han be chastised, rebuffed, humiliated. gie mae heid peace (see gie). heid beetler/bomadeer/buck cat the top manager, the boss, etc. heidcase; heider sl. nutcase. heid for hame head home; esp. end a visit or a day out. heidins headlines; news headings (Swutch ower an catch the heidins). heid o the hill the top of the hill (also hillheid). heid o the toon (see toon). heid-race the channel bringing water to a mill-wheel (cf. tail-race). heid-rig the width of ground along the head of a sloping field (or the side of the field nearest the main entry) left unploughed to allow turning-room, and thus ploughed last, if at all (cf. fit-rig). heids an thras alternating heads and feet, or tops and bottoms (esp. of beets or sheaves); in disorder. heidshaif the top coping sheaf of a hut of corn. heid staggers a bout of dizziness, causing one to stagger. madheid a madcap. need yer heid lucked joc. require psychiatric treatment. ower the heid o over the matter of, because of (It wuz a’ ower the heid o somethin she should ’a said); without the consent of (The bank sowl it ower the heids o them a’). owl fool heid foolish mind, ridiculous notions, etc. (There’s naw yin efter his twarthy poun, it’s the owl fool heid o him). put in yer heid remind, suggest to one (A daenae know whut put that in yer heid). put yer heid wrang; put ye wrang in the heid drive one out of one’s mind. rinnin through yer heid (of an almost recalled name, etc.: It’s rinnin through mae heid a’ day). tak up the heid wae occupy one’s mind with, concern oneself about (A hae mair tae dae wae mae time nor tak up mae heid wae that fool nonsense). throw up the heid take offence; become obstinate; lose one’s temper. wa-heids (see wa). yer heid’s cut sl. you’re out of your mind.
Purchase the Hamely Tongue
The fourth, expanded edition of James Fenton’s seminal work is now available as a Kindle ebook and can be downloaded from Amazon stores:
The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim (ebook)
The Hamely Tongue: A Personal Record of Ulster-Scots in County Antrim (paperback)