Ins & Outs of Barbados 2023

28 At a Glance Taken fromBarbadian Dialect by Frank A Collymore Birdspeed Very fast Boar-pig, boar-cat, boar-hog Male variety of…. Cock-lizard The larger green lizard is often thus named, not only, I fancy, on account of considerations of sex, but owing to the fact that it often displays its yellow gills which hang from beneath its throat like a cock’s wattles. Cock-up A Berbice chair is an ideal seat for cocking up one’s legs, but a nearby window sill, desk etc, is the more usual way of enjoying this means of relaxation. Cock-up one’s heels To assume an attitude of indifference. Crapaud One of the very few French words in common usage: a toad. The word toad is never used; crapaud or frog always. Doctor-booby The humming bird Fortyleg The centipede (relatively harmless but a bite is painful. Take paracetamol and an antihistamine to stop swelling). Goat-mouth To say that someone has a goat mouth is to imply that the person is reputed to bring ill luck to or blight any plan in which he says he does not agree. Goat heaven A state of bliss. Why the goat, of all animals, should have been singled out by Barbadians to tipify such a state is obscure. Godhorse A stick-insect, of the family Phasmidae. Guineaman A species of flying fish almost twice as large as the common variety. Sometimes called flying fish father. Hare-rabbit A hare Jackass Donkey, Ass Jack-spanniard The wasp Land turtle Tortoise Molly-booby Any large moth, a silly person and at cricket – a rabbit. Nit The Sandpiper. A regular migrant to Barbados. Petties A crab’s claws. Bajan Dialect Animals Sea Cat An Octopus From the front cover illustration by Catharine Cummins Poison lizard Applied to the wood-slave, or gecko, or white-lizard which is quite harmless though somewhat repulsive looking. Pooch Backside SamCowand de Duppy Tom, Dick and Harry Sea cockroach Small whitish crustacean that burrows in sandy wave- washed shore-fringe. Soldier Crab Hermit crab