[from A Vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx Dialect, 1924]

A VOCABULARY OF THE ANGLO-MANX DIALECT

NOTE—
B. The Rev. T. E. Brown.
C. Miss Josephine Kermode (‘ Cushag ‘).

N

NABS [nabz], ' knabs', a familiar term for lad or person. Who did that but my nabs yandher !

NAGGIN [] (also Sc. N.I.), a measure of 4 of a pint. The initial n was sometimes dropped in speaking.
Aw, he can toss off a naggin like winkin. She sent for three aggins of gin.

NAIL [nël], in phr. 'black o' me nail'.
I don't care the black o' me nail for that falla, I wudn change handkerchiefs with the lek of him-the rubbidge !

NARRA [nara], 'narrow', in
' Narra-ways', one of the 'beds' in the game of Scotch-hop :-I kicked the stone from narra-ways to trowly-pot and then right again to top-o'-cross-legs.

NASH [nal], irritable in temper.
He's that nash it's a danger to spake to him.

NATE [nët], 'neat'; completely.
It's him that can do the thing nate (completely). He did me out nate, i. e. he cheated me.

NAYGAR [nëga(r)], 'niggard'.
He's an oul' naygar over the money, hurdin it till it's blue-mowldin.

NAYTCHER [nëtla(r)],'nature', natural feeling, warmth of temperament.
Coul' craythurs, norra birro' naytcher in them.

NECK [], throat; impudence.
I can't hardly swalla, me neck is that chawked (choked).
Well! the neck of him. Av, yandher falla has neck for anything.

NEEAR [] (Mx.), West.
From the Neear to the Niar ', [] East), i. e. from far and wide.

NEEN [nïn] (Mx. 'neen, inn-en), girl, daughter.
Come here, neen veg (little girl). Come, to me, doodee veg (little damsel), neen villish my chree (sweet girl of my heart).

NEW [njït], in the following
' New priddas and oul' herrin, Big feeds we'll then be gerrin.'
He done it out of the new, i. e. he did it anew. In a crack the child was out of the cradle and dancing like a new fellow on the floor.
'New-water', a fisherman's term for the first rising of the spring-tide after a neap.

NEWANCE [], ' newings', novelty. A sort of newance ye see (B.).

NEWS [], to news-monger, gossip.
She'll news from mornin till night. All he's doin now is, jus' goin about newsin from house to house.
News is one thing and newses (gossiping tales) is another. Min' ye don't tell no newses. Yandher one is carryin newses urrov every house she's goin in.
I'm not tellin nothin to them newsy gliddher-bags. She's a newsy, and she's makin mischief every place with her newses.
He's the newsiest oul' skeet (prying person) tha's in.

NICKIE [], a fishing-boat rigged with two lug sails. They are said to have been first brought to the Island by Cornish-men. So many of these men had the name Nicholas, that the Manxmen dubbed their boats ' Nickies'.
I suppose you're hearin talk of the two new nickies I'm havin built.

NID [nid], to nod slightly (also Sc. Som. Corn.).
Niddin and noddin, just like ould Jemmy Ballavoddin (B.).

NIDDY-NODDY [nidi nodi], ninny (also Yks.).
Some niddy-noddy of a poor craythur (B.).

NIK-JIK [], ' knick-chick ', stone-chat, Pratincola rubicola. Here's a little nik-jik's nes'. The nik-jik is the bird the Manx ones is callin boid-y-chonnee (point of the gorse).

NINETED ], ' nointed', 'anointed', cunning, cute, wideawake.
Yander one is middlin nineted ; you'll rise arly to get the better of her, I can tell you.
Wasn it nineted of her to be gettin the money and never lettin on ?

NIP [], used intensively.
Aw, he done it as nice as nip, i. e. very nicely. And the sheets as white as nip, i. e. very white.

NITHER, NAETHER, NAYTHER [nida(r), nëda(r)], 'neither'.
The nither'd tell (B.), i. e. neither of them would tell. The naether of us was there, i. e. neither of us was there.
Nayther him nor me done it. I dun knaw naether, i. e. I do not know at all.

NIX [], 'look out! keep watch! '
Nix! he's comin. You keep nix, till we go a hidin. Nix is nix, wherever you'll be (B.).

NO []. In answers to questions the words 'yes' and 'no' are seldom heard in Anglo-Manx. This no doubt is because they are absent in the Manx language. If you ask for instance, ' Is that Arbory church?' the answer will be 'It is', or, 'It is Arbory church'. Or, again,' Were you at Castletown ?',' I was not'. See Yiss.

NOB [], 'knob', a kind of big sugar lollipop. See Knobs.
She was soakin nobs in her mouth all the time in chapel, i. e. she was sucking lollipops during the whole service.

NOBBY [i], spruce; a name for a small fishing-vessel with a lug and jib.
He's lookin nobbier till avar in his new shute o' clothes.
The firs' herrin boat of this kind come here from Ballintrae, and got the nickname ' Nobby' because the man who had her said, ' She's a rale nobby little thing'. The nobbies is fishin clawser to the lan' till the nickies because they're more littler.

NOD. In phr. On the nod, i. e. gratuitous. W.Yks.
If she can get anything on the nod she'll be there. I'll do it on the nod.

NORSE [no(r)s], ' North', the north part of the Island.
He come up to Peel from the Norss. From the Nors and the Sous.

NOT [not]. The word 'not' is often contracted in speaking and becomes a mere letter 'n'. The double negative is common in Manx as it is in many parts of England.
He isn here, i. e. he is not here. And amn I as good as thee ? I wudn come over what he said, i. e. I would not repeat what he said.
He's not no better. He don't know no more till a pig. I'm not readin none of his story-books ; it's very unseldom I read friction.

NOTICE [], to give notice of dismissal or other legal warning. He noticed him urro the house, rent or no rent.

NOTIONS [], fancy, the first stage in love-making. The notions and capers tha's in yandher one !
He tuk a notion of the gel. I never took notions of Betsy Lee, nor no more did she, I suppose on me (B.).

NOUD, NOUDIE [], a gray gurnard.
The Peel name for a gurnat is ' noudie', and the South-side name is ' noud'. The flesh on a noudie's head is worth a guinea an ounce, and all the fish on a marck'rel's head is p'ison. (This is an old catch-saying, the fact being that there is not as much as a ' pick' of fish on the bony head of either gurnard or mackerel.)

NOUT [], 'nought', a good for nought. Gerr out, ye nout ye ! Aw, he's a nout.

NUBS [], 'knobs', small lumps of coal. It was as black as nubs (B.).

NUSTLIN [], 'nestling', ' nuling'.
Like a little kitten nustlin there agen his cheek (B.).

N'YING-N'YANG [], a peevish fault-finder, a nagger; to be fretful, to scold.
He's an oul' n'ying-n'yang and there's no plazin him. He's always n'ying-n'yangen about somethin or other. I navar saw such a nyin of a chile (peevish child).