Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Hirsel / hirsle

It's that time of year when folk get a few sneezes and sniffles. Earlier today my mother said that she had a hirsel. It's a word I hadn't heard in donkeys years, but according to The Concise Scots Dictionary it's "a wheeze or catarrhal sound in the chest la19-". and is "a wheezing cough" in The Hamely Tongue, where it is spelled as hirsle. A big mug of ginger cordial with boiling water is required. These folk in Bangor make a tasty, a bit sweeter than normal, version.

1 comments:

An Aul Han said...

Hirsle - a great word for a wheeze in your chest. My mother still uses it. Although I hope she won't need to .