Head

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary
web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

HEAD, sb., adj. and v. Var. dial. and colloq. uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. [h)ēd, h)īd, iəd, ed, jed.] I. Dial.
forms: (1) Ad, (2) Ead, (3) Eead, (4) Haade, (5) Haid, (6)
Head, (7) Heäde, (8) Hed, (9) Hede, (10) Heead, (11) Heeade,
(12) Heed, (13) Hehd, (14) Heid, (15) Heoad, (16) Heyde,
(17) Hid, (18) Hidd, (19) Hud, (20) Hyed, (21) Yead, (22)
Yed, (23) Yedd, (24) Yeead, (25) Yod, (26) Yud.
(1) Lan. Lahee N. Fitton, 17 Chs.1 Chs.3 (2) Lin. Breäk me a bit
o' the esh for 'is 'eäd, lad, out o' the fence, Tennyson N. Farmer,
New Style (1870) st. 11. (3) w.Yks.2 Glo. Her only had her petticoats
over her 'eead, Gissing Both of this Parish (1889) I. 118. (4)
Wxf.1 (5) Dev. Es lift han es under ma haid, Baird Sng. Sol.
(1860) ii. 6. (6) w.Yks.3, ne.Lan.1 (7) Wxf.1 (8) s.Hmp. Verney
L. Lisle (1870) x. I.W.1 (9) N.Cy.1, Dur.1 (10) Cum.1 Wm. A
wes wet throo an throo frae heead ta fooat, Spec. Dial. (1885)
pt. iii. 2. n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2 n.Yks.3, e.Yks.1, w.Yks.2, n.Lan.1 (11) w.Yks. He
threw it... an just miss'd pooer oade Dick heeade, Lucas Stud.
Nidderdale (c. 1882) 257. (12) Cai.1 nw.Abd. Set the bossy back
again upon the bowie heed, Goodwife (1867) st. 37. N.Cy.1, Nhb.1
Dur. Thee heed atoppa the's leyke Carmel, Moore Sng. Sol.
(1859) vii. 5. Lakel.2, Cum.1 Nrf. A sheep's heed, Darwood Gl.
(1890) 13. Ken.1 (13) ne.Sc. Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 40. Bnff.1
(14) Abd. Three hunner heids o' faimilies, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) vii. Cum. I'll batter their heids soft as poddish, Gilpin
Sngs. (1866) 534. (15) Lan. Ey'd dee rayther than harm a hure
o' her heoad, Ainsworth Lan. Witches (ed. 1849) bk. 1. ix. (16)
e.Dev. My heyde ez a brim well o' deue, Pulman Sng. Sol. (1860)
v. 2. (17) Nrf. She tossed up her hid, Spilling Giles (1872) 17;
(W.W.S.) (18) Suf.1 (19) Nhb.1 (20) Lan. Walker Plebeian
Pol. (1796) 30. (21) w.Yks.2 w.Yks.5 Lan. If yo' wantn to kep the
yeads on yo'r shoulders, Banks Manch. Man (1876) xx. Chs. I'll
knock thy yead off (E.F.); Chs.2 Chs.3, Der.1 Nhp.2 My yead's too
big an' my wit's too small, 184. Hrf.1 Hrf.2 Glo. His yead it grow'd
above his yare, Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846) 201, ed. 1857.
Brks.1, Hmp.1 Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). Som. Hiz lef han' be oonder
moi yeäd, Baynes Sng. Sol. (1860) ii. 6. n.Dev. Grose (1790).
(22) Wm. Frae yed to fooat, Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 42. w.Yks.3,
Lan.1, e.Lan.1, Chs.1 Chs.2 Chs.3, s.Chs.1, Stf.1, Der.2, nw.Der.1, Not.1, Lei.1,
War.2, s.War.1, w.Wor.1, Shr.1, Glo.1 (23) Lei. I'd rayther wed
a feller wi' a wooden leg, than one wi' a wooden yedd (F.P.T.).
(24) n.Yks.1 (25) s.Wor. (H.K.) (26) w.Wor.1, s.Wor.1, se.Wor.1,
Hrf.2, Glo.1, Brks.1
II. Dial. meanings. 1. sb. In comb. (1) Head-back,
the rope which runs along the side of a herring-net, to
which the cork buoys are attached; (2) Head-band, (a) the
band or rope fastening a cow to the stall; (b) a band at
the top of a pair of trousers; (c) see (1); (3) Head-bolt, a road
over a bog or morass, stopped at one end; (4) Head-but(t (ad-but,
hadbut, hadebutt), the strip of land left at the sides
of a ploughed field on which the plough turns, a ‘headland;
(5) Head-cadab, a clever, sharp person, one quick of
understanding; (6) Head-clathing, head-dress, a covering for
the head, a cap or bonnet; (7) Head-collar, a halter or bridle
worn by horses in the stable to fasten them to the manger,
&c.; (8) Head-corn, mixed corn; (9) Head-cut, that cut of a fish
which includes the head; (10) Head-dyke, a wall dividing the
green pasture from a farm; (11) Head-end, (a) the beginning
of a piece of cloth or silk; (b) the mouth of a decoy pipe;
(12) Head-fall, a disease of children, see below; (13) Head-fillin',
brains, mental power; (14) Head-free, of a horse: unbridled;
(15) Head-gear, (a) see (6); (b) of harness: the blinders and
bit; (c) mental equipment, brains, good sense, ability;
(15) (d) in phr. to get one's head-gear, to have an illness, to get
one's death-blow, to be mortally injured; (16) Head-grew,
Head-grow, or Head-growth, (17) Head-grove, the aftermath; (18) Head-hing,
a droop of the head; (19) Head-hurry, in phr. (19) to be in the head-hurry
of, to be in the thick of, in the midst of; (20) Head-ice, a
curling term: the ice at the heads or ends of a rink; (21)
Head-ill, jaundice in sheep; (22) Head-lace, a narrow ribbon for
binding the head; (23) Head-ladder, a movable addition fixed
to the front of a cart to increase its carrying capacities;
(24) Head-languager, a clever fellow, a prodigy; (25) Head-lapped,
dead and laid out for burial; (26) Head-light, giddy, dizzy,
light-headed; also as sb. in form Head-lightness; (27)
Head-line, to attach a rope to the head of a bullock; (28) Heads-man
or Head-man, (a) the head or chief of a clan; a master, chief;
(b) the chief labourer on a farm; (c) in mining: the elder
of two boys who are employed together in ‘putting’; (d)
a stalk of rib-grass, Plantago lanceolata; (29) Head-mark, the
natural characteristics of a person or animal, the countenance;
observation of the features of a person or animal;
esp. in phr. to ken or know by head-mark, to know by
sight; (30) Head-maud, a plaid covering the head and shoulders;
(31) Head-pence, a Head-sum formerly paid to the sheriff of
Northumberland, see below; (32) Head-piece, the head; gen.
used fig. the brains, intellect, understanding; (33) Head-ridge,
the charlock, Sinapis arvensis; (34) Head-rig, see (4); (35)
Head-room, of ceilings, staircases, &c.: sufficient height overhead;
also used fig.; (36) Head-salts, smelling-salts; (37)
Head-sheaf, the sheaf last placed on the top of a stack; fig.
the crowning point, finishing touch; (38) Head-sheets, the
sloping platform towards the stem of the keel of a boat;
(39) Head-stall, (a) see (7); (b) the head of a house, a father,
husband, &c.; (40) Head-stock, (a) the principal part of a self-acting
mule; a lintel; (b) see below; (41) Head-stone, (a) a
gravestone, tombstone; (b) a stone shaped like a head,
see below; (42) Head-stoop, headlong, in haste; (43) Head-Sunday,
the Sunday after old Midsummer day, see below; (44)
Head-swell, see (21); (45) Head-theeak, thick hair which hangs like
thatch on the head; a head-covering of any kind; (46)
Head-theekit, having the head covered; (47) Head-tie, a collar used
to tie horses' heads to the manger, &c.; (48) Head-tire, (a) see (6);
(b) see (15, c); (49) Head-tow, in a plough or other implement:
the loop to which the ‘short-chain,’ or draft-chain, is attached;
(50) Head-tree, a lintel, a piece of wood set across the head of
an upright prop to support the roof in a pit; (51) Head-wark,
Head-warch, Head-wartch, Head-yak, or Head-yik, (a) headache; (b) the
scarlet poppy, Papaver Rhoeas; occas. the long smooth-headed
poppy, Papaver dubium; cf. headache, 1; (c) the cuckooflower,
Cardamine pratensis, cf. headache, 3; (d) the red
campion, Lychnis diurna; (e) mental labour, thought,
consideration; studiousness; (52) Head-washing, (a) a feast
given to celebrate the birth of a child; (b) an entertainment
given to his comrades by one who has newly entered
upon a profession or appointment, or who has made an
expedition for the first time; (53) Head-ways or Head-wis, (a) in a
forward direction, onward; (b) main arteries in a mine
branching off on each side, passages leading to the crane
or shaft; also used attrib.; (c) the direction of the cleat in
a seam of coal; (54) Head-ways course, a line of walls or holing
extending from side to side of a panel of boards; (55) Head-weir,
a weir-head, the point where the water is diverted from
the main channel; (56) Head-y-peer or Head-a-peer, Heady-peer,
equal in height; equals, compeers.
(1) Bnff.1 (2, a) Sh.I. Kye's head-bands, tethers, simmonds,
Sh. News (Feb. 19, 1898). (b) His breeks were filled wi' Lilly's
plash, Frae th' head-band to the knee, Lintoun Green (1685) 78,
ed. 1817. (c) Bnff.1 (3) Lan.1 (4) Lan. My hat lay i' th' adbut,
Lahee N. Fitton, 17; The same two acres are the hadebutts of the
said acre, Warrington in 1465, in Cheth. Soc. Publ. (1872) 81.
Chs.1 Chs.3 (5) Ayr. That wily headcadab Geordie, Galt Entail (1823)
lvi (6) n.Dev. Thy gore coat oll a girred, thy head-clathing oll a
foust, Exm. Scold. (1746) l. 155. (7) Chs.1, s.Chs.1 Shr.1 An
arrangement of leather straps, passing over the nose, under the
throat, and round the neck of the animal. A rope ─ which is
sometimes called the shank ─ is attached to the head-collar, and
by it the horse is tied up in his stall. nw.Dev.1 The ordinary
bridle belonging to cart harness. (8) Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. I am
under the impression that this is used for a margin of barley sown
around other kinds of grain to protect them (B.K.). (9) Sh.I. Twa
hard sade, an' we hed da head cut o' da hidmist ane ta wir denner
yisterday, Sh. News (Apr. 22, 1899). (10) Inv. The head dyke
was drawn along the head of a farm, where nature had marked
the boundary between the green pasture and that portion of hill
which was covered totally or partially with heath, Agric. Surv.
180 (Jam.). (11, a) w.Yks. (J.M.); (S.A.B.) (b) Lin. Near the
head-end... or mouth of the pipes, Miller & Skertchly Fenland
(1878) xii. (12) Don. An infant at its birth is generally forced by
the midwife to swallow spirits, and is immediately afterwards
suspended by the upper jaw with her fore-finger; this last
operation is performed for the purpose of preventing a disease
called head-fall. Many children die when one or two days old of
the trismus nascentium, or ‘jaw-fall,’ a spasmodic disease peculiar
to tropical climates, Mason Par. Surv. (1816) in Patterson Gl.
(1880). (13) Lan. An' danged if he has na more head-fillin' than
yo'd think fur, Burnett Haworth's (1887) iii; I dunnot know wheer
she getten her head-fillin' fro' unless she robbed th' owd parson,
BURNETT Lowrie's (1877) xx. (14) Som. He... slipped of the bridle lest
she should catch herself up, and let her go headfree, Raymond
Men o' Mendip (1898) iii. (15, a) Sc. Miss Jennet's skill in the
matter of head gear was ever a thing for a wifeless man to wonder
at, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 36. Ayr. She was taking a glint at
the head-gear ae Sabbath morning in the glass, Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 38. Nhb.1 n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2; n.Yks.4 Did ti notish
her head-gear? It wur grand. w.Yks.5 A cap and bonnet
together are often so styled (s.v. Gear). (b) n.Yks.4 He's putten
t'heead-gear on afoor t'barfan. (c) n.Yks.1 He's a knowfu' chap,
yon. Ah wad lahk weel t' ha' 's stock o' headgear; n.Yks.2;
n.Yks.4 Ez far ez a bit o' heead-gear gans, he's ez sharp ez onny
on 'em. (d) Cum.1 ‘He's gitten his heedgeer,’ he is so injured
that he cannot survive. Wm. Mostly used in reference to those
ailments that follow indiscretion (B.K.). (16) Chs.1 Shr. Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863); Shr.2 (17) Shr.2 (18) Dmf. Dowie and
dazed wi' a sair heid-hing, Reid Poems (1894) 77. (19) Abd.
Saunders Malcolmson in the ‘heid-hurry’ of oat-sowing, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 35. (20) Lnk. Soopers [sweepers] are ready
To keep baith the howe an' the head-ice in trim, Watson Poems
(1853) 72. (21) s.Sc. Essays Highl. Soc. III. 439 (Jam.). (22)
Ags. (Jam.) (23) Mid. These carts, with the addition of movable
head, tail, and side ladders or copps, carry hay, corn, and straw;
and, when thus enlarged, are much more convenient than waggons,
Middleton View Agric. (1798) 87. (24) Yks. Any Flamburian
boy was considered a brain-scholar and a head-languager when
he could write down the parson's text, Blackmore Mary Anerley
(1879) xi. (25) w.Yks. He's heead-lapped, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Nov. 25, 1893). (26) Sh.I. Doo'll hae ta lift da kettle, dan, fir
A'm faerd, A'm dat headlight, Sh. News (July 1, 1899); Man, da
tought o' you maks me headlight, Sh. News (May 20, 1899); Whin da
headlightness wöre aff o' me, I kent he widna wraet ony dis night,
Sh. News (Jan. 6, 1900). (27) Som. (Hall.) (28, a) Lth. He ne'er
parts wi' master, nor master wi' him, Gin sulky the headsman, the
herdsman looks grim, Ballantine Poems (1856) 99. Nhb. A great
number of gentlemen and headsmen of the neighbourhood appears
to have come on the occasion to hear Bernard Gilpin, N. Tribune
(1854) I. 198; Nhb.1 (b) e.An.1 Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819)
294, ed. 1849; Suf.1 (c) N.Cy.1 The next stage above a ‘half-marrow’
amongst putters, needing a foal with him to put a corf of
coals. Nhb. The heedsman little Dicky damns and blasts, Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 27; Nhb.1 The heedsman was a lad of 16 or 17,
the elder of two engaged to put a tram where a single hand
was not strong enough to put it without assistance. This arrangement
was called a ‘tram of lads,’ and the younger lad was called a
‘foal’ ─ or familiarly a ‘foally.’ One of these was yoked in front
to the tram by short ropes, or ‘soams.’ Sometimes the heedsman
was thus yoked whilst the ‘foally’ put behind; and in other cases
the positions were reversed. Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr.
Gl. (1849). (d) Per. (Jam.) (29) Sc. I ken ye by heid-mark, but
I canna be fash'd wi' frem'd names, Keith Prue (1895) 274. Cai.1
Edb. Never having seen him or his daughter before and not kenning
them by headmark, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xvii; An intelligent
shepherd knows all his sheep from personal acquaintance, called
head-mark. Artificial marks he considers as very equivocal,
Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 52, ed. 1815. Peb. That characteristic
individuality stamped by the hand of nature upon every individual
of her numerous progeny, Agric. Surv. 191 (Jam.). Gall. This
name of mine is no great head-mark, Crockett Grey Man (1896)
13. n.Yks.2 ‘He carries t'aud heeadmark about him,’ he bears
the family likeness. (30) Slk. (Jam.) (31) Nhb. The sum of £51
which the Sheriff of Nhb. antiently exacted of the inhabitants of
that county, every third and fourth years, without any account
to be made to the King, Bailey (1721); Nhb.1 (32) ne.Sc. A chiel
wi' a rael lang tongue, an' nae an ill head-piece, Grant Keckleton,
75. Ayr. His wig pu'd out hair by hair, Until they made his
headpiece bare, Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 55. Edb. Your headpiece
is a mint Whare wit's nae rare, Fergusson Poems (1773)
222, ed. 1785. Nhb. Noo, he hes a heed-piece, ma faith, thor is
nowt But he kens a' aboot ─ he kin tawk aboot owt, Elliott
Pitman gan to Parliament; (R.O.H.) e.Yks.1 What a heead-piece
skeeal maysther must hev. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. My yeadpiece's
noane what it were bi a long way, Clegg David's Loom (1894)
xvi. Midl. Ye're middlin' well read for a yokel, an' ye seeam to
ha' a good head-piece, Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 77.
nw.Der.1 n.Lin.1 You've gotten as poor a head-peäce for larnin'
oht 'at 'll do you ony good as iver I seed. Nhp.1, War.3 Oxf.1
'E a got a good 'ead piece, an's upright and downstraight, MS.
add. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Sus.1 Dor. Her've 'a got a headpiece, her
have! Hare Vill. Street (1895) 153. Som. Joseph Piarce is a man
wi' more headpiece an' heart, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) iii.
w.Som.1 He id'n no ways short, there's plenty o' headpiece 'bout
he. (33) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 420. (34) Sc. It's gude
when a man can turn his ain head-rig (Jam.). Cai.1 Per. Bide
ahint the fence, an' glow'r ─ The headrig's no fer bairns ava,
Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 102. Gall. A ploughman starts
from one landen or headrig, plows to the other, and returns to
where he broke off, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 87, ed. 1876.
Nhb.1 Dur.1 At right angles to the ridges of the field, and ploughed
last of all. Lakel.2 Cum. (J.Ar.); Hod up till t'heedrig, Dick,
Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 131. n.Yks.1 n.Yks.4, ne.Yks.1, ne.Lan.1
(35) Cai.1 Abd. Tak'ye gweed care yersel’... that ye gi'ena 'er
owre muckle heid room aboot the place, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 139. (36) n.Ir. Peggy had put a wee bottle o' heidsalts in
my pokit whun a wuz comin' awa frae hame, an' a wuz mony a
time thankfu' for it, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 32. (37) Ayr. I fear
my business wi' Curwhang was the headsheaf o' her yirdly dool,
Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 148. N.I.1 (38) N.Cy.1 Nhb.1
The fore deck of a keel on which the keelmen worked their long
oar. (39, a) Cai.1 Bnff.1 That part of a halter that goes over the
crown of the head. Ags. The band that forms the upper part of
a horse's collar, bridle or branks (Jam.). Nhb. (R.O.H.) n.Yks.1
The head-gear of a horse, by which it is secured in its stall, or led
out to water, &c.; made of hemp; n.Yks.4 Usually made of hemp.
ne.Yks.1, Chs.1, Not.2, n.Lin.1, War.3, s.Wor.1 Shr.1 Obsol. Hrf.2,
Glo. (A.B.) [Amer. Dial. Notes (1895) 379.] (b) Cai.1 (40, a)
w.Yks. (J.M.), w.Yks.2 n.Stf. The framework supporting the
pulley or drum over which the rope works at the mouth of a pit
(J.T.). (b) Sc. The schoolmaster would call on the boys to divide
and choose for themselves. ‘Head-stocks,’ i.e. leaders for the
yearly cock-fight, Miller Scenes and Leg. (1834) 420, ed. 1858;
I contributed in no degree to the success of the head-stock or
leader, MILLER Schools and Schoolmasters (1854) 50, ed. 1857. (41, a)
Sh.I. The very few headstones rose sadly up as if to show how
very few of those that pass away are kept in memory, Burgess
Tang (1898) 76. Abd. A ‘headstone’ to mark the far-off grave of
his deceased daughter and her husband, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882)
79. Ayr. They were sitting under the lea of a headstone, near
their mother's grave, Galt Provost (1822) xxiv. Lnk. She often
gaed to see her man's grave. She got a heidstane putten up,
Fraser Whaups (1895) 166. Lth. A ghaist sat jabberin' on an
auld heid-stane, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 52. Dmf. I've boo't
my heid on the cauld heid-stane, Reid Poems (1894) 243. Gall.
The moss was trailing over the ‘headstanes,’ Edb. Antiq. Mag.
(1848) 113. Nhb. (R.O.H.) Cum. He cud see Mally's heedsteàne
nut far off, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 140; A heed-sten they'll
hev set up, min, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 110; Cum.1, n.Yks.2,
w.Yks. (J.W.) Stf. They'll get as much as t'others when there's
a yed-stone o'er em! Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 39. Der.2, nw.Der.1,
I.W.1 (b) ne.Sc. Round [certain wells endowed with healing
virtues] lay stones resembling... different members of the human
body, and these were called by the names of the members they
represented, as the... hehd-stehn. The patient took a draught of
the water of the well, washed the affected part of the body, and
rubbed it well with the stone corresponding to it, Gregor Flk-Lore
(1881) 40. (42) Sh.I. Send him no head-stoop ta da deil, Burgess
Rasmie (1892) 93. (43) Nhb. Within my own recollection the
yearly pilgrimage to Gilsland wells, on this Sunday and the Sunday
after it, was a very remarkable survival of the ancient cultus of
primitive times. Hundreds, if not thousands, used to assemble
there from all directions. They were wont to walk or drive
annually at the summer solstice... that they might take, unconsciously
it may be hoped, their part in a heathen solemnity, Hall
Ancient Well Worship in Arch. Aeliana, VIII. 72; Nhb.1 (44) s.Sc.
There is a great swelling and falling down of the ears, and that
when too long neglected, the head swells and the sheep dies,
Essays Highl. Soc. III. 439, 441 (Jam.). (45) n.Yks.2 (46) Lnk.
He was heid-theekit with a Kilmarnock bonnet, Murdoch Readings
(ed. 1895) II. 20. (47) w.Yks.3 (48, a) n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2 n.Yks.4 (b) n.Yks.2 (49)
nw.Dev.1 (50) Nhb.1 Nhb., Dur. A piece of crown-tree, a foot
long, placed upon a prop to support the roof; the head-tree being
used to extend the bearance of the prop and prevent it cutting into
the crown-tree, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). m.Yks.1, w.Yks.2
(51, a) n.Cy. (K.), Nhb.1, Dur.1 Cum. Now full to the thropple,
wi' headwarks and heartaches, Anderson Ballads (1805) 65;
Cum.1 Yks. I'd the yed wark bad enuf, Fetherston T. Goorkrodger
(1870) 125. n.Yks.2 n.Yks.3 n.Yks.4, e.Yks.1 w.Yks. When I gate up with a
heead-wark shoo stopped at home, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884)
9; Willan List Wds. (1811); w.Yks.1 w.Yks.3 Lan. He's got a bad
yed-warch, Ashton Basin o' Broth 123; He'd a bad yeadwartch,
Clegg Sketches (1895) 196; Lan.1, n.Lan.1, ne.Lan.1, nw.Der.1 (b)
n.Cy. (K., s.v. Coprose); N.Cy.2 e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890)
124; e.Yks.1 Der. Papaver Rhoeas [and] Papaver dubium (B. & H.).
(c) Cum. (B. & H.) (d) Lakel.2 (e) n.Yks.2 e.Yks.1 Heeadwaak's
as laboursome as back-waak. n.Lin.1 Ther's been a deäl o'
heäd-wark putten into that carvin' sum time or anuther. (52, a)
w.Yks. At the birth of a child, a party was usually given, and the
‘heead-weshin’ was the term given to the free-drinking which was
carried on on such occasions (E.G.). e.Lan.1 n.Lin.1 Ther'll be
sum heäd-weshin' to do this time, I reckon, noo that they've gotten
a son at last. (b) Sc. (Jam.) (53, a) Nhb.1 Thor's ne getten
heedwis wid at awl. (b) n.Cy. In coal-mines the headways run
in the same direction as the cleat (J.J.B.); N.Cy.1 Excavations in
a coal pit at right angles to the boards for ventilating and exploring
the mine. Nhb. Ax'd Deddy to lay doun his pick, And help him
to the heedwis end, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 27; Nhb.1 They
are driven with the ‘cleat’ of the coal. Winning Heedwis are
exploratory headways; and when two such are driven together
they are called fore and back headways. Nhb., Dur. Driven
parallel to the line of cleavage of the coal. ‘A yard and quarter
broad or wide for a Headways is full sufficient,’ Compleat Collier
(1708) 16, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (c) Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (54) Nhb. Grerley Coal Mining
(1883). Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (55) Dev.1
(56) Abd. Oor Liza an' you ees't to be heid-y-peers, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) vii; To think ane's friends, and heady-peers,
Scarce ken you in their ways, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 290. Lnk.
(Jam.)
2. Phr. (1) Head and a-bed, a stone-digger's term, see
below; (2) Head and crop, neck and crop, completely; (3)
Head and hange, henge, or hinges, the pluck of an animal, the
head, lungs, liver, and heart; see Hange; (4) Head and heels,
(5) Head and hide, (6) Head and tail, completely, altogether, without
reserve; with great earnestness; (7) Head or harp, heads
or tails, the game of ‘heads or tails’; (8) Head over tip, head
over heels; (9) Head ower-hap, headstrong, reckless; (10)
heads and holls, (11) Head and horns, in confusion, pell-mell,
topsy-turvy; (12) Head and plucks, the refuse of timber, the
boughs, roots, &c.; (13) Head and thrawarts, see (11); (14)
Head and thraws, (a) lying alternately with the head of each
article or person on a level with the feet of the other; in
disorder, in a confused heap; unshapely; (b) a game
played with pins; (15) Head and tails, see (14, b); (16) at the
head on it, to finish off with, at the end; (17) in head, in
view, purposed; (18) on the head(s of, at the conclusion of,
in confirmation of; on account of, over; (19) over the head(s
of, on account of; (20) upon the heads of, on the point of,
purposing; (21) the head bigger, or less, taller or shorter
by a head; (22) to be in head and neck (hehdinex) with, to
be wholly engaged on, taken up with; (23) be in head of,
to fall foul of, to attack; (24) be out at head, to be out of
one's senses, half-crazed; (25) be taken by the head, to be
the worse for liquor; (26) to carry one's head along with one,
to have all one's wits about one, to be intelligent, quick;
(27) to eat the head off some one, to be very angry with some
one; (28) to get a drop in one's head, see (25); (29) to go at
head, of bullocks: to have the ‘first bite’ in contradistinction
to the ‘followers’ or those which are not for fattening; (30)
go out of head, to be forgotten; (31) to have a deal on one's
head, to have a great deal of responsibility; (32) have one's
head on, see (26); (33) to ken by head, to know by sight
but to have no speaking acquaintance with; (34) to make
neither head nor side of, to make nothing of, not to be able
to understand; (35) make no more head, not to prosper or
thrive; (36) to milk from the head, of a cow: to give milk
as she is fed; (37) to put one in the head of, to remind one,
cause one to recollect; (38) to run one in the head, to occur
to one; (39) to set one's heads together, to consult or conspire;
(40) to stand over the head of, to warrant the quality
or quantity of; (41) to take up, or learn, a thing of one's own
head, to teach oneself; (42) to take by the head, of a horse
to lead by the bridle; (43) take one's head, (a) to take one's
fancy, captivate; (b) of wine or spirits: to get into one's
head; (44) to take, or ask, for a farm, &c. over a man's head,
to take or ask for a farm, &c. when the present tenant
has not received notice to quit, to secretly offer a higher
price and so dispossess the tenant; (45) to take the door
over one's head, to shut the door and depart; (46) to tell to
one's head, to tell to one's face; (47) to wash or wet the baby's
head, to drink the baby's health, treat one's friends with
ale or spirits at the birth of a child; cf. head-washing (a);
(48) weak in the head, weak of intellect; (49) without a head,
of a woman: single and unprotected.
(1) Nhp.2 A stone is said to rise with a head-and-abed, i.e. with
an even side and surface, Morton Nat. Hist. (1712) 108. (2)
Lan. Thrusting out a person, ‘head and crop,’ Gaskell Lectures
Dial. (1854) 30. (3) Cor.1 Cor.2 (4) Lan.1 His foot slipped, an' in he
went, head-an-heels. He's th' reet sort of a chap; when he
starts he gwos in for it, head-an-heels. (5) Dmb. You wrought,
baith head and hide, for the reward, Salmon Gowodean (1868)
103. (6) Abd. I'll tell the story head and tail, And how it did
befa', Cadenhead Bon Accord (1853) 245. (7) Ir. You had better
toss up, head or harp, for that, Barrington Sketches (1830) I.
xxxvii; A quarrel happened between two shoeblacks, who were
playing at what in England is called pitch farthing, or heads and
tails, and in Ir. head or harp, Edgeworth Bulls (1802) 128, ed.
1803. (8) I.Ma. Don't be tossing head over tip at the tail of the
tourist, Caine Manxman (1894) pt. III. xxiii. (9) Sh.I. I wis
young dan,.. bit a rackliss, head-ower-hap deevil, Burgess Sketches
(2nd ed.) 88. (10) e.An.1, Nrf. (W.W.S.), e.Suf. (F.H.) (11)
Suf. All heads and horns (C.L.F.). (12) ne.Lan.1 Der. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.); Der.2, nw.Der.1 (13) Sc. Yarn is said to
be so when ravelled. Also corn cut down when disordered in the
sheaf (Jam.). (14, a) Sc. Two persons are said to be lying heads
and thraws in a bed, when the one lies with his head at the head
of the bed... while the other lies with his head at the bottom
and his feet towards the head of the bed. Pins are said to lie
heads and thraws when they are placed parallel to each other
with the point of one directed towards the head of another (Jam.);
I'll no ly wi' that unco woman indeed, if it binna heeds and
thraws, the way that I lay wi' my mither, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 15. Cai.1 w.Sc. He took the liberty of changing his
position to that which in Scotland is termed ‘heads and thraws,’
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 188. Ayr. There they lay, heads
and thraws, Hunter Studies (1870) 1. Lnk. He was, as he afterwards
expressed it, pitched heids and thraws, Gordon Pyotshaw
(1885) 40. Edb. Unshapely, uncouth in person, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl. Slk. Ten hunder thousan' million
thochts and feelins a' lie thegither, heads and thraws, in
the great, wide... bed o' the Imagination, Chr. North Noctes
(ed. 1856) II. 267. Dmf. Happy weens Tumblin an' rowin heads
an' thraws, Thom Jock o' Knowe (1878) 37. Nhb. (R.O.H.) Cum.4
Lie heeds an' thraws like Jock an' his mither, Saying. Some
heeds an' thraws war stretch't i' th' nuik, Stagg Bridewain, st. 48.
(b) Sc. To play at heads and thraws (Jam.). Cai.1 (15) Cai.1
(16) w.Yks. Expectin' 'at Kana wad ax 'em to have summat to
sup at th' heead on it, Hartley Clock Alm. (1896) 52. (17) Bnff.
Sae we did gree, an' hame we gaed To tell auld Tam what was in
head, Taylor Poems (1787) 62. (18) Abd. We concluded the
bargain, an' shook han's, on the heads of it, Deeside Tales (1872)
173. Gall. (A.W.) n.Ir. Mony an argyment we hae had on the
heid o' it, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 18. (19) Sh.I. He felt 'at he
wid laek ta see if shü wis muckle upset ower da heids o't, Clark
Gleams (1898) 59. Ayr. I am sae pleas'd that friendship is made
up that I'll tak' a glass o'er the head o't, Hunter Studies (1870)
39. N.I.1 I got dismissed over the head of a letter the master got.
(20) Sh.I. An' dey apo' da heads o' marriage in winter? Sh. News
(Sept. 23, 1899). (21) n.Cy. (B.K.) (22) Bnff.1 Gen. used in
disapprobation. ‘He's niver at paice; he's eye in hehdinex wee
something.’ (23) Abd. (Jam.) (24) Yks. Ah's yamost oot 'at yed
at t'news ah's getten, Macquoid Doris Barugh (1877) xv. (25)
w.Som.1 To be a' took't by the head. (26) Nhp.1 She can't get on in
service, unless she carries her head along with her. (27) Sc. (A.W.)
N.I.1 He was like to ate the head off me. n.Cy. (J.W.) (28) Sc.
Jock was a gae throughither chiel when he got a drap in his
head, Scotch Haggis, 49. (29) e.An.1 e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1787). (30) Rnf. This gentleman... Has been a feck o' twalmonths
deid: And sin' he's maist gane oot o' heed, Neilson Poems
(1877) 33. (31) Glo.1 (32) Nhp.1 She can't get on in service,
unless she has her head on. (33) Lakel.2 Ah've kent ye bi heed
this many a year. (34) Nhp.1 He could make neither head nor
side of it. War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (35) n.Yks. (I.W.) (36) Sh.I.
The coo milks frae the head, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 209. Gall.
(A.W.) (37) Dor. He put me in the head on't (W.C.) (c. 1750);
(A.C.) (38) s.Chs.1 (39) ne.Lan.1 Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863).
(40) N.I.1 (41) w.Yks.1, ne.Lan.1, nw.Der.1, Nhp.1, War.3, Hnt.
(T.P.F.) (42) w.Som.1 (43, a) Ayr. The wye that lassie toasted
them... fairly took my head, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 35. (b)
Gall. Also used of drink taking effect on the brain (A.W.). (44)
Wgt. Having fallen under scandal by taking his neighbour's ground
over his head, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 120. w.Som.1 To ask
for a farm over a man's heäd is to ask for another man's holding
when he has not had notice to quit. (45) Sh.I. He wis blyde ta
tak da door ower his head as fast as he cud, Stewart Tales (1892)
70. (46) Brks. I told him to his head, Grose (1790); Gl. (1852);
Brks.1, e.An.1 Nrf. Tellin' me to my hid t'was a story, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 34. e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. Trans. Arch.
Soc. (1863) II. 185; She'd toad him to his head, ─ By none but
one well tighted up To Tiptree she'd be led, Clark J. Noakes
(1839) st. 60. Hmp. Holloway. Sus.1 I told him to his head
that I wouldn't have such goings on in my house any more.
(47) n.Yks. Wetting t'barn's heäd, N. & Q. (1890) 7th S. ix. 37.
e.Yks. MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. N. & Q. (1889) 7th S. viii. 86.
Lan. Very common in Liverpool and the neighbourhood, N. & Q. (1890)
7th S. ix. 37. [Farmer A. was on his way from the house of
Farmer B. where, said he, ‘we have been washing the baby's
head.’ Farmer B. had just had a son born to him... and the
‘washing’ referred to consisted in the two farmers drinking the
baby's health, N. & Q. (1888) 7th S. viii. 86.] (48) Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks.2
Strong i' th' back and weak i' th' yead. nw.Der.1 Derbyshire born
and Derbyshire bred, Strong i' th' arm, but weak i' th' yed. (49)
Sc. It's no an easy thing, Mem, for a woman to go through the world
without a head, Miller Schools and Schoolmasters (ed. 1879) v.
3. The hair of the head.
Sh.I. Takkin' da redder shü güde furt apo' da brig-stanes ta redd
herhead, Sh. News (June 17, 1899). Abd. ‘To cut one's head,’ to cut
one's hair (A.W.). Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Combin my yead, Laycock
Billy Armatage, 6. w.Cy. It is usual to speak of combing the head
instead of the hair. It is commonly said of a virago ‘Her'll comb out
his head vor'n.’.. Of a woman who is supposed to be capable of
beating her husband, the usual saying is ‘Her'd comb out 's head
wi a dree-legged stool,’ Elworthy Wd-Bk. (1888). Dev. Her'd
comb out his head wi' a dree-legged stool, Reports Provinc. (1882) 15.
4. The mouth; the stomach.
N.I.1 Not a word out of your head. The doctor said he was
never to have the milk away from his head. Nhb. He niver hes
the pipe oot o' ees heed (R.O.H.). w.Yks. (J.W.) Nrf. I can't
ate nothing. I hain't had nothing ‘in my head’ all day (W.P.E.).
5. A bud; the ears of grain upon a single stem of corn.
Fif. Pick ay, up quick ay, The heads the shearers leave, Douglas
Poems (1806) 124. Nhb. I wad like to... pick up heeds o' corn
eftor him, Robson Bk. Ruth (1860) ii. 2. n.Wm. Oor rosy tree's
o' full o' heeds. Can yan beg a heed er tweea? (B.K.) Nhp.2 If
their seed be all of one head, as they call it, that is, of one particular
sort, it sells the better, by sixpence or a shilling a bushel,
for seed, Morton Nat. Hist. (1712) 477.
Hence Headlet, sb. a bud. [Not known to our Wm.
correspondents.] Wm. (Hall.), n.Yks.2
6. Of grass: the growth at any given time.
n.Lin.1 They have a tolerable head of grass in the spring, Young
Lin. Agric. (1799) 194.
7. The froth or foam of ale, porter, &c.
n.Cy. (J.W.) Lan. Margaret... slowly filled the beaker, a
beautiful creamy ‘head’ bubbling over the brim, Longman's Mag.
(Apr. 1897) 547; Let's have it fresh drawn an' wi' a yead o' th'
top on't, Brierley Out of Work, i. Colloq. Some love to draw
the ocean with a head Like troubled table-beer ─ and make it bounce,
And froth, Hood Poems (ed. 1862-1863) Storm at Hastings.
8. Cream upon the surface of milk.
w.Som.1 In reply to an application for milk in the forenoon,
a farmer's wife's usual reply is ─ ‘I ont break my head vor nobody,’
meaning that now the head or cream has begun to rise I will not
disturb it. nw.Dev.1
9. The upright post of a gate furthest from the hinges.
w.Yks. (J.J.B.), Hmp. (H.C.M.B.), Wil.1, w.Som.1, nw.Dev.1
10. The doors of a clough or sluice, with the masonry
belonging thereto. n.Lin.1
11. Of a flail: the hood of raw hide; see below.
Cai.1 The hood of raw hide on the upper end of the soople by
which it is attached to the Han'-staff by a thong called the Point.
12. A measure of wool or twine.
Rnf. This birkie bodie can... Temper yer ilka thrum and thread,
Yea, whither they wimple thro' a head Or thro' a mail, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 152. Cum.4 Consists of 840 yards of twine when
the material is fine, but in fine stuff it often contains from 10 up
to 20 hanks; it is used as often as hank by those who buy yarn
by the bundle, but not when they buy a single hank; a bundle
of twine according to fineness, contains so many heads to the 28
lbs. ‘No man can imagine, that twine, spun to sixty heads... in
the dozen pound weight of hemp, should be as effectual in killing
salmon, as the same hemp when spun only to twenty-six heads,’
Fisherman, 10.
Hence Yeddin, sb. the first beginning of a warp, the
portion woven at the beginning and end of a piece of cloth,
which is cut off when the piece is taken out of the loom.
w.Yks.3, Chs.1
13. The higher end of a place, the upper part of a street;
the upper part of a dale; a hill or eminence.
Edb. Hills are variously named, according to their magnitude;
as... Hope, Head, Cleugh-head, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 50,
ed. 1815. Nhb. In Newcastle used to describe the higher part of
a street, as ‘Heed o' the Side.’ Also applied to a commanding
eminence (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 Greenhead, at the watershade between
the Irthing and the Tippalt. Cum. Ae neet we met, at our croft
head, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 85; Cum.4 Stair-heed, toon-heed,
dale-heed. n.Yks.1 The higher portion of the reclaimed
part of a projecting spur of the moorland heights where it begins
to verge on the unreclaimed part, or moor; n.Yks.4
14. The source or spring of a stream or river; also used
fig. in phr. a shower i' the heads.
Slk. ‘A shower i' the heads,’ a flood of tears. Used...
in a pastoral district and borrowed from the proof that rain
is falling in the high grounds or at the heads of rivulets by
their swelling below (Jam.); There's a shower i' the heads wi'
Barny ─ his heart can stand naething ─ it is as soft as a snaw-ba',
Hogg Tales (1818) II. 155 (JAM.). n.Wil. Just at the edge there
is water, the ‘heads’ of the innumerable streams that make the
Vale so verdant, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 23.
15. The volume of water contained in a mill-pond or stream.
Sc. (A.W.) Lin. The one mill, by first raising the water from the
mill drain,... lessens what is called the head of water, Miller &
Skertchly Fenland (1878) vi. w.Som.1 Applied to a mill-pond. If
full, it is said ‘There's a good head of water.’ The pond or reservoir
from which the water-wheel is driven is called the mill-head.
16. The surface of coal or perpendicular face of marl at
the bottom of a pit.
Nhb. Sunk to the coal-head, Borings (1881) II. 57. Chs.1; Chs.3
Head o' pit, the deepest part of the marl pit, the furthest from
the space end; also called ‘Marl head.’
Hence (1) Heading, sb. the passage or drift driven into
a mine in order to obtain coal; (2) to drive a head, phr. to
excavate a passage, or gallery in a mine, in the body of
the work.
(1) n.Stf. The further end is ‘blind,’ i.e. does not lead forward
into another gallery or roadway as does a ‘thirling’ (J.T.). (2)
Shr.1 (s.v. Drive); Shr.2
17. In curling: a division of the game in which both
parties play all their stones; see below.
Sc. A bonspiel is played according to time ─ 2½ or 3 hours ─ or
so many heads ─ usually 21 heads or ‘21 ends’ (G.W.). Ayr. You
can... hear the roar of the channel-stane as it speeds on its
mission of making or unmaking a decisive ‘head,’ Boswell Poet.
Wks. (1803) Mem. 29, ed. 1871; The bonspiel fared on for four
hours, by which time three of the rinks had finished their twenty-one
heads, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) II. 112. Gall. A ‘head’ in
curling is one single contest between a rink of players against their
opponents on the rink-space. Twenty-one heads is the greatest
number usually played in a match; and the set which has most of
the 21 is the victor in the match (A.W.).
18. adj. Chief, principal; best, most excelling, superior
to others; freq. in superl.
Abd. He's been ane o' the heid deesters, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xiii. Gall. The holy day o' the Sabbath was their head
time for the evil wark, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 119.
Nhb. Aa's heed man at the bellows (R.O.H.). w.Yks. He wor
t'head customer at heed ever come across, Binns Vill. to Town
(1882) 38. Rut.1 ‘The head way,’ the best method. Nrf. The first
match was for cutter boats: £3 head prize, Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 297; When they made up we was head boat that year, EMERSON Son of Fens
73. Suf.1, Hmp. (H.E.) s.Hmp. And the eldest ─ that's Jesse, and
he's the heddest on us too ─ he got the best lot, Verney L. Lisle
(1870) x. w.Som.1 Aay vrak·nz dhúsh yuur dh-ai·d roa·ud au·l
ubaew·t [I consider this the best road in this neighbourhood].
Aew·t-n aew·t dh-ai·d au·s aew·t [Out and out the best horse out].
Head carpenter, head mason, head rat-catcher, i.e. best, not the
foreman. Cant. Dy'e gin, Riley, the headest cuvva for creminor
[best thing for worms] in horses? Carew Autob. Gipsy (1891) x.
[Amer. That's the head trick I ever see, Dial. Notes (1895) I. 372.]
19. Comp. (1) Head-beetler, the foreman beetler in a
beetling-mill; any foreman or man in charge of workmen;
(2) Head-billie-dawkus, one who has the chief charge,
the presiding genius; (3) Head-bit, a masterpiece, something
surprising or astonishing; (4) Head-buil, a manor-house, the
best family residence on an estate; the chief estate; (5)
Head-bummer, the head of a house, the chief representative of
a family, the principal person; (6) Head-court, a chief court of
justice; see below; (7) Head-doffer, the principal or responsible
‘doffer’ (q.v.; (8) Head-go or Head-goo, (a) the best
of anything; (b) the highest score in a game of skittles;
(9) Head-keep, the first bite; the best keep a farm will afford;
(10) Head-muck, one who takes the chief part in anything,
a leader, person of consequence, master; (11) Head-piece, see
(3); (12) Head-sir-rag, Head-serag, Head-sha-rag, or Head-sirag, see (10); (13)
Head-town, a county town.
(1) N.I.1 Lan.1 He wur a mak of a yed-beetler amung th' porters,
up at th' railway-station, Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 146, ed.
1879. (2) Per. At coming hame o' bairns, an' at marriages an'
kirns, She is head-billie-dawkus to be sure, Ford Harp (1893) 318.
(3) Ess. (C.D.) (4) Sh.I. The principal mansion and estate that
formed the share of the oldest son, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822)
125, ed. 1891; Sh.&Ork.1 Or.I. Alledgit that 6 mark land of
Gruting was the heid-buil, and could not be giftit nor disponit fra
the principal air [heir], Peterkin Notes (1822) App. 40. (5) Sc.
(G.W.) e.Fif. An' honourable family... whaurof I... am at the
present day head-bummer, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) i. (6) Sc.
A head court of citizens is a special meeting called by the magistrates
of a burgh or city for advice in unusual circumstances
affecting the interests of the community (A.W.). Or.I. This
meeting, being so thinly attended, adjourned to the Michaelmas
head-court, Peterkin Notes (1822) 175. Abd. The friends o' the
slaughtered youth thought it best to have Forbes first condemned
at a head court to be holden at the Foot o' Gairn, Deeside Tales
(1872) 133. Rnf. In the olden time, before Heritable Jurisdictions
were abolished in Sc., three several Head-courts were held in the
County of Rnf. ─ the Head-court of the County, the Head-court
of the Sheriffdom, and the Head-court of the Regality of Paisley,
Hector Judic. Records (1876) 274. (7) w.Yks. Usually a lad about 13
to 15 years of age, employed to wind up the lifter of a spinning frame,
and rap up or muster the doffers when a frame is stopped for doffing
(F.R.). (8, a) I.W.1 That's the head-goo on't aal. (b) Brks.1 (9)
e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). e.Suf. (F.H.) Sus. Holloway.
(10) Ken. He is head-muck up there (D.W.L.). (11) Ess.
(C.D.) (12) s.Chs.1 Ée wŭz góo·in au·rdŭrin ŭn mes·tŭrin ŭbaay·t,
jùs fŭr au· dhŭ wuurld ŭz iv ée)d bin top·-sau·yŭr ŭn yed·-sŭraag·
ŭ dhŭ lot [He was gooin' orderin' an' mesterin' abaït, just for aw
the world as if he'd bin top-sawyer an' yed-sirag o' the lot]. s.Not.
Yer mun goo to Mester Wright about gettin on the bede-housen;
he's 'ead Sir Rag o' that (J.P.K.). Nhp.1 War.2 Bob Walker's
taken up wi' th' ranters, an' 'e's 'ead-sir-rag, I can tell yer; War.3
He likes to be head-serag. Oxf. Jack's sure to be head-sha-rag
and bottle-washer wherever he goes (G.O.); Oxf.1 MS. add. Nrf.
Hid-se-rag, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 34. (13) Frf. The
Provost of the heid toon o' the Coonty, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 101.
20. v. To behead, execute; freq. in phr. to head and hang,
to punish severely.
Sc. But the better the family the mair men hanged or heided,
Stevenson Catriona (1893) vii. Bnff. If ye burn Auchindoun,
Huntly he will head ye, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 303. n.Sc.
O head me soon and head me clean, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 21,
ed. 1875. Abd. He was taken and headed, and his right hand set
upon a stob, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 53. Per. Here are
guards, Who will us either head or hang, Smith Poems (1714) 3,
ed. 1853. Lnk. When Cromwell took his prisoners, he neither
headed them or hanged them as ye do, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721)
II. 57, ed. 1828. Edb. I'm sure the king wad gar hang him, or
'head him, Pennecuik Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 9. N.Cy.1 Lan. Ween
hyeddet three queens, an won king, Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 30.
Hence (1) Heading, sb. an execution, beheading; (2)
Heading-hill, sb., obs., the hill of execution, the spot where criminals
were beheaded; (3) Head-man, sb. an executioner, headsman.
(1) Sc. Has not heading and publickly affixing the head been
thought sufficient for the most atrocious state crimes? Maidment
Pasquils (1868) 146. Gall. At an ordinary heading, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 338. (2) Sc. They hae ta'en to the heiding hill
His lady fair to see, Aytoun Ballads (ed. 1861) I. 94. Or.I. To
be tane to the Heiding-hill of Scalloway-Bankis and thair his heid
to be tane and struken fra his bodie, Peterkin Notes (1822) App.
39. Peb. Stirling's heading-hill Adjoining to its castle, Lintoun
Green (1685) 17, ed. 1817. s.Sc. The king who had covered with
blood the ‘heading hill’ of Stirling, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 120.
(3) Sc. Gar bid the heiding-man mak' haste! Aytoun Ballads (ed.
1861) II. 54.
21. To have as a head, or on the top.
Ayr. It was of the Indian cane, virled with silver, and headed
with ivory, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xxii.
Hence Heading-sheaf, sb. the sheaf placed on the top
of a stack; fig. the crowning act. See Head-sheaf.
Bnff.1 The twa wives didna gree afore; an' noo thir twa bairns
hae lickit ane anither... That'll pit on the hehdin'-sheaf.
22. To put in the head of a cask.
Cor. The cask is ‘headed,’ marked, and is ready for exportation,
Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Engl. (ed. 1896) 369.
23. Of plants: to bud; of corn: to form a head, produce
ears.
n.Wm. T'floor trees heeden up nicely (B.K.). Ess. Commonly
used in these parts. ‘The wheat is heading well, there will be a
good crop’ (H.H.M.); If the [wheat] crop is thin, it possesses
the benefit of heading the better, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815)
XXII. 174.
24. With up: to froth, foam; fig. to excite, elevate; of
a wound: to suppurate, come to a head.
n.Yks.2 It's heeaded him up. It heeaded up nicely. w.Yks. (J.W.)
25. With in: to cut a first swathe round a field with the
scythe in order to prepare the way for the mowing or
reaping machine.
s.Not. We was 'eadin' in yisterday for the mower (J.P.K.).
Hence Heading, sb. a first swathe thus cut. J.P.K.
26. With out: to excavate a level or gallery in a mine
in advance of the general workings; to come to the head
or surface. Shr.1 Shr.2
27. Phr. (1) head him and cross him, headim and corsim,
headum and corsum, or heedam a crossam, (a) a game
played with pins; see below; (b) in confusion and disorder,
lying transversely, some with heads one way,
others the other; (2) headamaneckum (head 'em and
neck 'em), with great force; recklessly, without consideration.
(1, a) s.Sc. Nanny and I have set us down on the greensward ─
played at chuck, ‘head him and cross him,’ or some such amusement,
Wilson Tales (1836) III. 327. Gall. Pins are hid with
fingers in the palms of the hands; the same number is laid
alongside them, and either headim or corsim called out by those
who do so: when the fingers are lifted, if the heads of the pins
hid, and those beside them be lying one way, when the crier cried
headim, then that player wins; but if corsim, the one who hid
the pins wins, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (b) Dmf. (Jam.), Cum.1
(2) Lakel.2 Ower he went, heed ower heels, an' landed i' t'gutter,
heedamaneckum. n.Wm. Prob. a corruption of ‘head 'em, or
neck 'em,’ as horses in a race endeavour to win by a ‘head’ or a
‘neck.’ ‘T' gurt feeal went heedamaneckum intult an' gat chiselled’
(B.K.).

HEAD, sb. and adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Wor.
Oxf. Brks. Suf. Dor. Cor. Also in forms heed Lakel.2;
heid Sc.; yud s.Wor. 1. sb. In comb. (1) Head-butter,
butter made from the first or best cream; (2) Head-room, of
ceilings, &c.: sufficient height over head; (3) Head-shave, the
sheaf last placed on the top of a stack; fig. the crowning
point, finishing touch; (4) Head-tree, a lintel, a piece of wood
set across the head of an upright prop to support the roof
in a pit; (5) Head-ways board, an excavation driven in the
direction of the cleat, in mining; see below.
(1) Oxf.1 (s.v. Under-butter). (2) n.Yks. (I.W.) (3) Sc. What
put the heidshave on his bewilderment was that he hadna a
stitch o' claes on his body guid nor bad, Buchanan Poems (1901)
181. (4) Cum. The headtree broke first; it was eight inches
through, W. Cum. Times (Aug. 21, 1901) 2; (E.W.P.) (5) Nhb.,
Dur. When the coal is very flaky and works tender, it is advantageous,
the coals being produced in better condition, to drive
the ‘boards’( q.v.) in the direction of the cleat, when they are
called ‘headway boards,’ Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (ed. 1888) s.v.
Board (wide).
2. Phr. (1) at the head of, at the finish or end of; in
celebration of; (2) to take or ask for a farm, &c. over
a man's head, to secretly offer a higher price and so
dispossess the tenant, when he has not had notice to quit.
(1) Lakel.2 A merry do amang a lot o' old women at t'heed o'
some gurt event (s.v. Hake). n.Yks. They had some drink at t'head
on't (I.W.). (2) n.Yks. (I.W.)
3. The mouth; the stomach.
s.Wor. Uz a'nt 'ad nothin' inside ur yuds a' dahy, Outis Vig. Mon.
4. The stone over a doorway. Dor. (E.C.M.) 5. pl.
The head-ropes of a mackerel seine-net.
Cor. Each is occupied in ‘keeping up the heads,’ i.e. holding up
the head-ropes where, from the pull of the tide or the pressure of
the fish, there is a danger of them going under water, Good Wds.
(1896) 17.
6. Lead-mining term: that part of a ‘buddle’ nearest
the centre and containing the best or heaviest lead. Cor.3
7. adj. Chief, principal; best, superior, freq. in compar.
and superl.
Brks. The best man at anything is the ‘headest man,’ and the
best tradesman of a kind in a town is the ‘headest’ grocer, &c.
(M.J.B.) Suf. I'll ask a header one than you (S.J.).