Spar

SPAR, sb.1 and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Chs. Der. Nhp. Glo. Nrf. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms spare N.Cy.1 Nhb.1 Cum. Wm.; sper Sc. (Jam.) [spar, spā(r).] 1. sb. A wooden bolt; a heavy oaken beam or bar, used to fasten a door, &c. Nhb.1, Glo.1 Glo.2 2. A rafter; the small transverse timbers of a roof to which the laths are nailed. n.Cy. (Hall.), Nhb.1, Chs.1, nw.Der.1 Nhp.1 The two [rafters] which form the gable-end are called the ‘guide-spars.’ [Tusser Husb. (1585) 73.] Hence the spars have given way, phr., fig., said of a person who is faint from hunger. Nhp.1 3. A stick pointed at each end and doubled and twisted in the middle, used by thatchers to fasten down the thatch of a roof. See Spear, sb.1 4. Glo.1, Sus.1 Sus.2, Hmp.1 I.W. He... took up his bill-hook and went on pointing his spars, Gray Annesley (1889) III. 176. Wil.1 In thatching, the ‘elms’ are fastened down with ‘spicks’ or ‘spars,’ split hazel rods, pointed at both ends, and bent into hairpin shape, with a twist just at the bend to give them a tendency when fixed to spring outwards, and so hold faster. Dor. The dull thud of the beetle which drove in the spars, Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) xxxvi; Dor.1 Som. Abraham turned to drive a spar into the thatch, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 107; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.1 Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 402. w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). Cor.1 4. Comp. (1) Spar-gad, stakes of hazel or willow, suitable to be split and made into ‘spars’; (2) Spar-hook, a small billhook for making or cutting ‘spars.’ (1) Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 281; Hmp.1 Dor. A bundle of the straight, smooth hazel rods called spar-gads, Hardy Woodlanders (1887) I. ii; Dor.1 e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.1 Dev. Wanted, fifty bundles of good spar-gads. ─ Apply John Osmond, thatcher, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892); Dev.3 (2) w.Cy. (Hall.), Dor.1 5. v. To shut or fasten a door by means of a bar or bolt. Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Colville Vernacular (1899) 20. N.Cy.1 N.Cy.2 Nhb.1 ‘Spare the yett,’ ‘Spare the door,’ are still in common use. The term originates in the heavy oaken beam, bar, or spar used for the purpose. Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Lit. Soc. (1868) IX. Der.1 Obs.; Der.2 Nrf. ‘Spar the door an emis he come,’ i.e. shut the door lest he come in, Ray (1691). 6. To fasten down thatch with ‘spars.’ Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.1 Be sure'n spar'n [the roof] well, 'tis a start place. [5. Cp. OE. gespearrian, to shut, bar (Sweet).]

SPAR, sb.2 Nhb. Lakel. Lan. Stf. Der. Cor. [spar, spā(r).] The coat or covering of an ore or metal; quartz; any rock substance with a crystalline appearance. Also in comp. Spar-stone. Nhb.1 Coal is thus, when it occurs in bright particles, called ‘coal spar.’ Lakel.2, ne.Lan.1, Stf.1 Dev. Mander Miners' Gl. (1824); Manlove Lead Mines (1653) l. 265. Cor.1 A man of penetration he, For through a spar-stone he could see; Cor.2 In Cornwall all the white, opake, common hard stone is called spar; ... it is quartz.

SPAR, SPARR, v. and adv. Sc. n.Cy. [spar.] 1. v. To place the legs or arms so as to resist a strain. Cf. spar, sb.1 5. Bnff.1 Sparr yir legs agains the wa', an' a' thir airt winna pit ye oot. 2. Phr. to spar for wind, fig. to seek to gain time or ease. Kcb. He was talking about and around the subject, ‘sparring for wind,’ as it were, Muir Muncraig (1900) 40. 3. adv. In a state of opposition; gen. in phr. to set one's feet or legs a-spar. See Aspar. n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Set your feet ay a spar to the spinning o't, Ross Helenore (1768) Sng. (Jam.) N.Cy.1 ‘I thought you were going to America, Thomas?’ ‘Aye, sir, but our wife set her legs a-spar, and nobody could mack her budge.’