Page:A Glossary of Berkshire Words and Phrases.djvu/72

BRAAYVERY.—Fine dress.

BRAAYZEN.—Bold in its bad sense.

"A braayzen huzzey" is a bold immodest woman.

BRAAYZEN OUT.—To carry a bold and innocent face after doing a wrong or dishonourable thing.

BRAN NEW.—Perhaps a corruption of "brand new," i.e., with the brand not worn away.

BRASS VARDEN.—There is the expression, "Not wuth a brass varden," used with respect to anything of no value whatever. It has been suggested to me that this expression may owe its origin to the fact that the brass tradesmen's farthings, so commonly issued about the middle of the seventeenth century, became quite valueless when copper halfpennies were first issued in 1672.

BRE-ATH.—"To vetch bre-ath" is to pause; to consider. In recommending cautious procedure one would say, "Let's vetch bre-ath a bit awver't" (let us pause to consider about it).

BREN-CHAZE.—Bread and cheese.

"I was a-yettin' my bren-chaze," usually is said for, "I was eating my mid-day meal."

BRESS-PLOUGHIN'.—Breast ploughing. This is done by men pushing a kind of spade from the shoulder. The object of it is to barn the surface of the soil, when this might not be effected sufficiently by the ordinary method of ploughing.

BREVETTIN' ABOUT.—Prying; a quick searching movement.

"I zin 'un a brevettin' about alang the hedges up to no good, I warn 'e" (warrant ye).

BRICK.—Applied to a good-hearted, generous fellow, who can be relied on; almost universal.

BRICK-BATS.—Broken bricks.

BRICK-KILL.—A brick kiln.

BRIMMER.—A hat.

BROAD-CAST.—The act of sowing seed by casts from the hand as distinguished from 'drilling' it.

BROCK.—A badger.

BROKEN-MOUTHED.—Having the front teeth wanting.