Talk Dialect is on a mission for the next few weeks to rescue, record and revitalise a little bit more of the Buckinghamshire dialect for our all new Buckinghamshire Dialect Dictionary.

Buckinghamshire is often called the “forgotten county” of dialect, so it is a potentially a goldmine for dialect rescue.

Because the county sits between the West Country, the Midlands, and London, its dialect is often said to be in a unique transition zone.

Here’s hoping we can turn up a brand new old phrase or two for the books and help get Buckinghamshire with 105 entries in the dialect dictionary off the bottom of the historic county league table 📚🤞

Here’s a case file to help all you Dialect Detectives out on the hunt for Buckinghamshire dialect words and sayings and slang 🕵️

🔍 The Nature & Rural Leads

Buckinghamshire was historically a farming and lace-making county.

Older residents in rural areas like the Chilterns or the Vale of Aylesbury might still use these:

• Cheeselog: A woodlouse. (This is a quintessential Bucks word!)
• Crazy: A buttercup. (Commonly used in Stewkley).
• Pingle: A cowslip.
• Aysackle: An icicle.
• Stiggard: An old, rotten tree stump.
• Babbings: Large bundles of wood (faggots) used to heat traditional bread ovens.
• Airywig / Arrywig: An earwig.

🔍 The Daily Life & People Leads

These terms often pop up in household settings or when describing neighbors:

• Garrity: Scatty, mad, or eccentric.
• Homockin’: Walking or treading clumsily (e.g., “Stop homockin’ about!”).
• Drotched: Describing a woman who looks unkempt or untidy.
• Argisome: Someone who is particularly argumentative or “prickly.”
• Gaffer: The head laborer or boss.
• Half-i’-two: Literally “half in two” — broken or split in half.
• Pepsing down: Raining very heavily.

🔍 Distinctive Bucks Phrasing

Talk Dialect Detectives should listen for these specific grammatical tells that separate a Bucks speaker from a standard Home Counties speaker:

• “I be Bucks, I be”: A classic assertion of local identity.
• “Dark over Will’s Mothers”: A very local way to say dark clouds are gathering on the horizon (indicating rain is coming).
• “Above a bit”: Meaning “very much” (e.g., “He was annoyed above a bit”).
• “The Parish Lantern”: A poetic term for the moon.
• “Blind man’s holiday”: The twilight hour when it’s too dark to work but too early to light the lamps.

🕵️‍♂️ Top Tips for Buckinghamshire Dialect Collectors

If they are out “in the field” over the next few weeks, here are three “Hot Spots” for research:

1. The Lace & Furniture Legacy: Have them ask about words related to Lace-making (around Olney/Weston Underwood) or Chair-making (around High Wycombe). High Wycombe had a specific local slang called “Posh”—but unlike the modern meaning, it referred to specific items like eggs, windows, or bottles.
2. The North/South Divide: The North of the county (near Milton Keynes/Northants border) often has a “flatter” vowel sound, while the South (near the Thames) was historically more influenced by the “r-rolling” sounds of the West Country.
3. Encounters are better than just reading. Visit local heritage centers or Older People’s social clubs, as information is best collected through conversation!
   

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to our call for dialect rescue action.

The Talk Dialect Team 🗣️💚