tempus fugit

By ceridwen

Pembrokeshire linguistics

Not every one knows that the county is invisibly divided west to east by what is known as the Landsker line. Above is still essentially Welsh-speaking with place names to match; below was the territory of the Norman/Flemish invaders and settlers, often referred to as Little England Beyond Wales with countryside and villages to match.*   The use of the Welsh language diminished in this area and an idiosyncratic dialect, influenced by newcomers, emerged in its place.

A small craft brewery situated on the linguistic boundary has exploited the divide  by using  some of these  vernacular terms for its beers.
Here's a selection:

Skaddly Pluck: the mad scramble to collect nuts, sweets or coins thrown into a crowd
Drop Squint: a term employed in place of a  coarser epithet
Kift Blonde: Kift means wonky or awkward
Sholly Amber: Sholly  = tipsy
Sprilly Maid: a slenderly-built young woman
Skirp Gold: skirp is a local word for mist/drizzle
Catchpole: a tadpole

The brewery's own name, Caffle, signifies mixed-up, tangled, confused - the penalty perhaps of over-indulgence in these excellent ales.


 *Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics reported in 2015 "unexpectedly stark differences between inhabitants in the north and south of the Welsh county of Pembrokeshire" in DNA signatures.

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