b', ba, ber, b'o', bur
/ba/. Also bra. [Atlantic; from brother, but cf. also Brit. dial. East bor, bo' term of familiar address applied to either sex and of all ...
babe
[Car.; OED, baby ... literary and poetic; colloq. pretty girl] n. a term of endearment (also applied to children, men, etc.): Hey, babe, wha's happenin'? ...
baby
[OED, formerly synonymous with child; now usually restricted to an infant in arms] n. a child up to approximately five years of age. ...
baby pepper
[ etym?] n. a plant, Rivina humilis, with white flowers and red stems: 1972 (Durrell 84). (San Sal.) ...
back
adv. 1. [Car.; DJE "often used pleonastically"] used redundantly for emphasis: 1918 He will return back (Parsons 133). Reverse the car back (Exuma).
2. [Car.] ...
back
n. 1. [euphemism] bladder; ability to hold one's urine: 1904 To strengthen babies' backs (i.e. kidneys) and keep them from wetting their beds, give them ...
back
prep. [from use of the adverb without a locative preposition] in, on (a town or island one has left): She live back Long Island. (Gen.) ...
back
v. 1. [Car.; from Brit. dial. back to carry on one's back EDD; US dial. idem DARE] to carry on one's back: He too heavy ...
back-answer
[Car.; from the noun W3] v. to reply impertinently: That boy would back-answer his daddy. (Gen.) ...
back aside
[from a combination of back up and step aside] v. phr. to step back; to move out of the way: Boy, back aside and let ...
back-back
[Car.; from back (up) v. + back adv.; both separable and inseparable: cf. Gul. backin' de gig back (Parsons 1923:78), US dial. North He backed ...
back breaker
n. (in wrestling) holding someone across one's back, with one arm around his leg and the other around his neck, then applying pressure. (Andros) ...
back country
[US in reference to the 'backs' of colonies facing the Atlantic Ocean DAE 1755 n. the area inland from a coastal town; the interior of ...
back down
v. phr. to move over (on a bench to make room for another). (Andros, Eleu.) ...
back-house
n. I. [US a house behind the main building DAE] a thatched hut for cooking behind the main house. (Mayag., Inagua)
2. [US dial. idem ...
back-land
[US lands lying behind the more settled or accessible areas DAB] n. the area inland from a coastal town; the interior of an island. = ...
back of the bush
[cf. BUSH 1 forest] n. phr. deep in the forest, away from other settled areas: Haitians are usually found in the back of the bush. (Black) ...
back-of-the-yard
[cf. US back yard idem DAE] n. phr. the area behind a house: 1936 Why y' don' lemmuh go back in de back o' d' ...
back street, back road, back corner
[cf. US back street a street lying in a back area or running behind the main buildings in a town; back road a road, esp. ...
back-talk
[E Car.; from the noun DAE] v.t. to talk to someone impertinently: Don't you back-talk me! (Gen.) ...
back trunk
n. (of a car) trunk or boot: I's always tell mama put all a we bag in the back trunk (Nassau). ...
back-up wife
[cf. back-up in reserve] n. one's wife at home in contrast to an unofficial one elsewhere. (Nassau) ...
backaways
[W Car.; Brit. dial. North idem EDD, US dial. idem ADD] adv. backwards. (Black) ...
back-yard
[Belize large posterior (Dayley 1979)] n. buttocks (not necessarily large). (Nassau) ...
bacons: have a lot of bacons
have a lot of bacons [cf. OED to sell one's bacon, i.e. one's flesh or body; DAB to save one's bacon to save one's flesh ...
bad
adv. [Atlantic; an African calque: cf. Mandingo A ka nyi ko-jugu (lit. It is good badly) It is very good (Dalby 1972:177) or Shona zvakáipa ...
bad-bad
[W Car.; from bad + reduplication cf. Yoruba burukuburuku (lit. bad-bad) very bad(ly) (Oyedeji p.c.)] adj. very bad; of the very worst kind: She bad-bad—don't ...
bad-behaving
adj. of children: unruly. (Black) ...
bad-belly
[Car.; a calque; cf. Yoruba inu mi kò dara (lit. belly my not good) My stomach is upset (Oyedeji p.c.)] n. phr. abdominal illness: 1918 B'o' ...
bad blood
n. 1. [from association with the Wasser-man blood test] syphilis (Dupuch p.c.)
2. [cf. Ibo mea jonjo (lit. blood bad) idem (Okolo p.c.)] in the ...
badder
[Car.; cf. BAD; OED, obs. comparative of bad, US dial. idem ADD] adj. worse: He badder dan you, boy (Nassau). (Black) ...
bad enough
/bad nof/ [Car.] adj. phr. dangerously ill: From what I see she bad 'nuff—she was just coughing and sneezing up a breeze (Nassau). (Black) ...
bad feeling(s)
[Car.] n. 1. nausea, especially with a headache and cold sweat and general malaise.
2. the bad feeling(s) morning sickness: She get the bad feelin's. ...
badge
/baj/ n. I. [from barge /bahj/?] a sea pen for keeping conchs alive.= CRAWL (Grand Bah., San Sal.)
2. [from batch] a batch, as of ...
bad hair
[Car.; cf. Car. Sp. "pelo calificado de malo de negro" (Alvarez Nazario 1974:358); from obsolete value system in which things African were bad and things ...
bad-head
[a calque; cf. HEAD (IS) NOT GOOD] adj. forgetful; stupid; mentally unstable: 1936 Dat bad-head woman on d' radio name Gracie Allen (Dupuch 23). (Black) ...
bad-lucked
/bad lókid/ [Car.] adj. unlucky: She so bad-lucked she even can't find a job (Nassau). (Black) ...
bad minded
[Atlantic] adj. evil-minded; suspecting the worst; malevolent: They don't trust him, 'cause he bad-minded (Nassau). (Black) ...
bad-mouth
/bad mawt/ v. [Gul. idem; calque from e.g. Vai da na ma, lit., a bad mouth, i.e. a curse (Turner 1948:7) or Mandingo da-jugu or ...
bad out there
[cf. BAD good] phr. You're looking good (i.e. well-dressed, etc.). (youth slang): Boy, you look bad out there—I take you for model (Nassau). (Black) ...
bad-talk
[W Car.; cf. BAD-MOUTH idem] v.t. to slander; to verbally abuse. (Eleu.) ...
baggages
[from standard mass noun + -s] n. pl. (count noun) pieces of baggage: She done take all her baggages with her (Nassau). (Black) ...
baggy
[cf. US trade name Baggies, small plastic bags for storing food] n. a small plastic bag filled with frozen flavored sugar-water, usually sold in the ...
Bahama
n. 1. [see BAHAMAS] Obs. the former name of Grand Bahama: 1786 Bahama, from which the rest of these islands take their name, is seated ...
Bahama bamboo
[from the resemblance of its tall flowering spine to bamboo; cf. BAMBOO POLE idem] n., Obs. a variety of cactus, Agave rigida: 1835 hemp manufactured ...
Bahama boa
n. a constrictor snake, Elaplze sp.: 1972 The harmless Bahama boa ... sometimes reaches six or seven feet in length (Durrell 71). ...
Bahama coney
[cf. OED cony rabbit, akin to Sp. conejo, now largely obs.; note 1555 quot.: "Connies whiche they caule Vtias"] n., obs. the hutia (Geocapromys ingrahami), ...
Bahama ham, Bahamian ham
n. 1. [see quot.] the bonefish: 1888 The bonefish, nicknamed the Bahama ham on account of a supposed resemblance in flavour (Powles 279). (Exuma) 2. ...
Bahama money, Bahama currency
n., Obs. a system of pounds and pence used in the 18th and 19th centuries, worth roughly half the value of sterling: 1788 A Spanish ...
Bahaman
[not in W3] adj., n., Obs., Bahamian (largely replaced by the latter): 1895 Fish is to the Bahaman what meat is to the Englishman (Edwards ...
Bahamas
[see the usage note] n. the Bahama Islands (considered to lie outside the West Indies by most Bahamians): 1976 The way of life in America, ...
Bahama sparrow
n., Obs. a bird, possibly the gray and yellow Bahama honeycreeper, Coereba flaveola: 1731 Bahama sparrow. . . about the size of a Canary Bird. ...
Bahama white-wood bark
n. the wild cinnamon tree, Canella winterana: 1889 (Gardner 365). 1978 Small tree. . . cinnamon-like odour. . . known locally as Bahama white-wood bark ...
Bahamian
/bahéymian ; bahámian (Anglophile); bahíymian (Black)/ n. 1. a native of the Bahamas: 1731 The hungry Bahamians (Catesby II:i).
2. the creolized English of the ...
Bajan taste
/béyjan teys/ [cf. OEDS II Badian, Bajan Barbadian] n. a style of heavy upholstered furniture: 1966 (Crowley 98). ...
bake
[W. Car.; OED "primarily used of preparing bread, potatoes, apples, the flesh of animals; thus, in the primary sense, distinguished from roast"; Brit. dial. North ...
baker
/béyka/ [W Car.; cf. Brit. dial. West baker griddle (Orton L36), US dial. idem cast-iron oven DARE] n. I. the oven in a gas or ...
Baker('s) cake
[cf. Brit. dial. North, Mid, baker's bread bread made by a baker as distinguished from bread made at home EDD] n. a large, flat, crisp ...
bake-thing
/beyk ting/ [W Car.] n. baked goods, such as bread, pastry, cakes, etc. (Black) ...
bakimba
/bakímba/ [from to stand akimbo: "To rest one's hands on the hips, keeping the elbows square, and sticking out from the body; an insolent, bullying ...
balance off
[cf. OED balance of partners in dancing: to move to and fro in converse direc-tions like the arms of a balance 1775] v. phr. of ...
balao
/baláw/ [cf. Puerto Rican Sp. balaju ballyhoo fish, of same genus WFF] n. a beaked fish, Hemiramphus balao. (Exuma, Inagua) ...
bald blenny
n. a fish, Paraclinus infrons: 1968 (Böhlke 520). (Exuma) ...
ball
n. 1. [Gul. idem (Parsons 1923:94); OED, balls fired from small arms are also called bullets] bullet. (San Sal.)
2. [cf. Scots ball a spree ...
baller
[cf. BALL 2 and OED obs., baller one who takes part in a ball; note also "Balum Rancum. A hop or dance, where the women ...
ball-head
/bóhl ed/ [Atlantic; from bald (with simplification of final consonant cluster, possibly with converging influence from ball sphere) + head] adj. 1. bald: Our preacher, ...
ballon gut
[from its ability to distend its body when alarmed] n. the swellfish, Diodon holocanthus. (Andros) ...
balloon vine
[etym?] n. a plant, Cardiospermum halicacabum: 1910 (Northrop 166). (Eleu.) ...
ball-plate
[cf. OED, DJE bald-pate, a different sp.] n. the American widgeon, Mareca americana, a black bird with a white head. (Nassau) ...
ball-plated
[W Car.; from bald-pated by folk etym.] adj. bald: 1918 Jack saw his head was bal'-plated and he say, "0 Mr. King! I could make ...
ball up
[from balled wadded together] adj. of skirts or trousers that are too large: bulkily tucked in around the waist: He haddy ball up he pants ...
ballyhoo
/balihúw, baliyúw/ [W Car.; from Puerto Rican Sp. balajit idem WFF] n. a beaked fish, Hemiramphus brasiliensis: 1968 (BollIke 124). (Gen.) ...
balm
[OED idem arch.] v. to embalm (a corpse): 1980 (Dorsett 13). (Nassau) ...
Bamakansa
[cf. Kongo bama to scold + kanza to bite (Turner 1949:58, 105)] n., Obs? the name of a folk tale character: 1918 The tale had ...
bamboo
(Andros, Long); bamboo mast, bamboo raft (Andros); bamboo pole (Inagua); bamboo sisal (San Sal., Mayag.); bamboo tree (Adelaide) [from the resemblance of its tall flowering ...
bamboo shaker
[cf. SHAKER musical rattle] n. a kind of rattle: 1975 A piece of bamboo tree trunk with a natural stopper and a cork stopper at ...
bamsookie
/bamsúki/ [etym?; cf. Jam. bam sukey sound suggesting a sudden action DJE] n. a word or action which effectively ends an encounter: 1940 Put d' ...
banana bird
[W Car, different sp.] n. 1. a bird, the banana quit or honeyereeper (Coereba flaveola): 1880 Banana bird. . . Bahama Honey Creeper (Cory 76). ...
banana hole
(Gen.), banana bottom (Mayag.) [from agricultural use; see quot.] n. a deep, natural hole found in limestone: 1889 [a plant] abundant near Banana holes (Gardner ...
banana spider
[W. Car.; often found among bananas DJE] n. a large spider, Heteropoda venatoria, resembling the tarantula, usually called GROUND SPIDER. (Exuma) ...
banana tree
in the phrase: People don't kill banana tree; banana tree kill theyself: People create their own problems. (Black) ...
banana water
[W Car.] n. the water in which bananas have been boiled, drunk as a beverage. (Black) ...
banalong
/béyngalohng/ [cf. W Car. bangarang noise, disturbance DJE; cf. Wolof baŋka, Hausa baŋke to collide (Turner 1949:60) perhaps converging with Eng. echoic forms bang, ting-a-ling] ...
bang-bang
[from a reduplication of bang, perhaps converging with similar African echoic words for striking, e.g. Twi bàm or Hausa bam DJE] intj. the sound of ...
banister porch
[cf. BANISTER RAILING] n. a porch with a railing: 1966 I jump right here on this bannister porch (Crowley 113). (Black) ...
banister (railing)
[cf. OED banister railing on stairs but cf. 1776 quot. "A neat altar-piece, inclosed with rails and banisters") n. the railing on a porch or ...
banja(h), banjer
/bánja/ [in US /bánjow/ but cf. South, Black /bánja/ (Stanley 1941:10); from "kiMbundu mbanza stringed musical instrument (whence also Jam, banja and Brazilian Port, banza) ...
bank up
v. phr. to save (money): He banking up he money to go off to school (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
banny-sinkle
(Andros); boungy-sticker or panny-sinky. (Nassau) [origin uncertain, but cf. Sar. asiíka, small crab, and folk etymology; cf. also Pap. panekrab crab (Hoyer 27) and Am. ...
bantin
[cf. bandy and US dial. banty bow-legged ADD] adj. bandy-legged: His legs bantin (San Sal.).
—n. the hip: Stop clappin' ya bantin at me (Cat). ...
bap
[W Car.; echoic] intj. imitating the sound of a sharp blow: 1940 He bump he head on d' wall "Bap!" (Dupuch 92). ...
bar: come over the bar
[alluding to a sand bar (now removed) in Nassau harbor] v. phr. to come from abroad: 1940 Dey trus' enybuddy who come over d' Bar ...
barefoot rice
[cf. Scots dial. barefoot broth broth made with butter and vegetables, without any meat EDD, and US dial. barefoot tea without cream or sugar ADD] ...
bar jack
[from markings?] n. a fish, Caranx ruber: 1968 (Böhlke 330). (Black) ...
bark
n. [OED, the rind, husk, or shell of fruit and grains obs. → 1661] the husk of a coconut: 1978 Remove inner bark from any ...
bark of the tree
n. phr. the lower trunk, especially of a large tree with big roots. (Exuma) ...
barks
n. pl. 1. pieces of bark. (Andros, Eleu.)
2. husks of coconuts: Carvings made from coconut barks. (Nassau) ...
barn (house)
n. 1. [cf. US dial. South barn small shed with a feedroom and a single stall (Brown 1976)] a small back shed, used for storage, ...
barraco
/bárakow/ [from the port of Baracoa, Cuba opposite Inagua?] n. a variety of pineapple having very large eyes. (Eleu.) ...
barracuta
/barakúwta/; barracouti /barakúwti/ [W. Car.; from standard Sp. barracuda (but note Honduran Sp. baracuta WFF); cf. OED barracoota 1772] n. the barracuda, a large fish ...
barrent
[from barren, by hypercorrection of final consonant cluster (cf, wan' want)] adj. (of women) infertile: I hear say she barrent—das why she ain't got no ...
barrout
/baráwt/ [Atlantic; cf. Scots bethout without CSD with rhotacism of /t, d/] prep. without: 1970 Dey. . . gone de whole nite barrout one wink ...
barry
/bári/ [cf. BARRACUTA] n. the barracuda fish, Sphyraena barracuda. = BARRACUTA, COODA, HANGY (Black) ...
bar-tender
[from the n.] v. to tend bar: He was bar-tendering. (Nassau) ...
Barlett pear
[US: a particular variety of pear named after Enoch Bartlett, its distributor] n. any variety of northern pear (Pyrus communis). = AMERICAN PEAR, FALSE PEAR ...
basket-head
[cf. Kongo basa bedstead covered with a mat (Turner 1949:60) converging with basket, BEDHEAD] n. the head of a bedstead: 1904 Make the sign of ...
basket hoop
[cf. Jam, basket hook a vine DJE and Bah. HOOK hoop] n. a plant, Croton lucidus: 1889 (Gardner 405). ...
basket wood
[cf. US basket willow (Salix viminalis) DAE] n. a tree (sp?) whose twigs are used in weaving fish traps. (Nassau) ...
bass (1)
bass drum (Gen.); bass guitar (San Sal.) /beys/ [from resemblance of sound to that of bass fiddle] n. a musical instrument, an over-turned washtub with ...
bass (2)
/beys/ [Gul. idem (Writers' Program 1940: 42); cf. OED bass nonce word ... to utter or proclaim with a bass voice or sound 1610; probably ...
basser
/béysa/ [cf. Scots baser a bass singer CSD and US Black baser responding line sung by a gospel group (Major)] n. a bass singer, especially ...
bassly
/básli/ (Andros); barsly /bahsli/ (Mayag., Inagua); brassly /brásli (Andros), brázli (Mayag.)/ [cf. Jam. báazli (Ocimum micranthum); from basil influenced by PUSSLY ; cf. THISTLE] n. ...
bastard
OED applied to things resembling, but not identical with, the species that legitimately bears the name] attributive n. a tree (usually male) that does not ...
bastard buttonwood
n. a tree, Laguncularia racemosa: 1910 (Northrop 171). (Black) ...
bastard crabwood
n. a tree, Savia bahamensis: 1905 (Shattuck 257). = JOE-WOOD (Black) ...
bastard lignum vitae
[DJE, W3 different sp.] n. a tree, Badiera domingensis: 1889 (Gardner 365). (Exuma, Inagua) ...
bastard pigeon plum
n. a tree, Coccoloba swartzii, with small black fruit resembling pigeon plums: 1977 (Patterson 43). (Black) ...
bastard sago palm
/bástad séya pahm/ n. a tree, Cycas revoluta: 1889 Bastard sago palm ... common in gardens . . . Pith furnishes a kind of sago (Gardner ...
bastard stopper
[cf. STOPPER] n. a tree, Petitia domingensis: 1920 (Britton 373). = FOWL BERRY, PEPPER BERRY (Black) ...
bastard torch wood
[cf. TORCH WOOD] n. a shrub, Ocotea coriacea: 1920 (Britton 143). = BLACK TORCH, SWEET TORCHWOOD (Exuma) ...
baste
/beys/ [cf. 1811 DVT to beat] v. to beat (a person): 1918 He startin' lickin' his broder ... bastin' his broder (Parsons 32). (Eleu.) ...
bat
[W Car.; cf. Irel. bat moth EDD] n. a large, dark moth of the family Noctuidae: When one of them bat come in the house, ...
bateau
/bátow/ [Car.; from Fr. bateau boat] n. 1. a kind of flat-bottomed boat. (Gen.)
2. any small boat, up to about 8 feet. (San Sal.) ...
bathe your skin
/beyd yu skin/ [Car.; cf. SKIN as quasi reflexive] v. phr. to take a bath or shower: 1918 My ol' fader . . carry him ...
bath suit
/baht suwt/ [also Vir. (Roy 1974) and Belize idem (Dayley 1979] n. a bathing suit. (Nassau) ...
batter
n. [cf. BATTER (UP)] a board used to batten up windows before a hurricane: the batters or shutters. (Nassau, San Sal.)
-- v. especially in the ...
batty
/báti/ [Atlantic; from bottom buttocks] n. the buttocks. (Eleu., Inagua) ...
batty-hole
[Belize idem (Dayley 1979); from BATTY + hole] n. anus. (Nassau) ...
bay
[Car.; from bay coastal recess, by semantic broadening possibly influenced by Port. beira shore] n. 1. beach: 1708 Amber-Greece is often washed up on the ...
bay arrangia
/bey aréynja/ [from BAY GERINA by metathesis?] n. a vine (sp?) with small leaves. cf. BAY GERANIUM (Eleu.) ...
bay bean
bay bean n. a plant, Canavalia bahamensis, which grows on the seashore and bears reddish-brown beans: 1885 The bay bean . . . is, it ...
bay crab
bay crab n. a small white sand crab, Sesarnia ricordi? (Black) ...
bay geranium
bay gerina /bey jaríyna/ (Black); bay gerinia (Exuma) n. a seashore vine, Ambrosia hispida: 1920 (Britton 432). = BAY TANSY, SOAP BUSH, WILD GERANIUM ...
bay hop
[from resemblance to hops; by folk etym. from hop v. since children use the vine as a skipping rope] n. a seashore vine, Ipomea pes-caprae: ...
bay marigold
n. a seashore plant, Borrichia arborescens, with yellow flowers: 1920 (Britton 450). = SEA BUSH (San Sal.) ...
bay plum
n. a seashore shrub bearing black fruit, probably the COCO PLUM, Chrysobalanus icaco (San Sal.). (Black)
◊ Gardner (1889:389) identifies bay plum as the guava, ...
bay rush
n. a seashore plant, Zamia angustifolia or Z. pumila: 1889 Bay rush . . . pith furnishes starch fit for food and for laundry purposes, ...
bay-side
[Vir. idem (Roy 1974); US shore of a bay DAE] n. seashore; beach: 1966 Moray come up on the bay-side and eat (Crowley 106). (Black) ...
Bay Street Boys
[from the name of Nassau's main commercial street] n. politically powerful white merchants of Nassau: 1962 (Craton ...
bay string
[cf. STRING] n. a strip of bay grass (Eragrostis sp.) used to tie together conch, fish, etc. for sale. (Gen.) ...
bay tansy
(Black); bay tanjy (Exuma) [cf. US tansy different sp. W3] n. a seashore vine, Ambrosia hispida: 1920 (Britton 432). = BAY GERANIUM, SOAP BUSH, WILD ...
bay thyme
n. a seashore vine (sp?) with leaves resembling thyme. cf. BAY ARRANGIA (Andros, White) ...
bay vine
[from habitat and form, but cf. /vayn/ to wind] n. a seashore vine, probably Ipomea pes-caprae. cf. BAY WINDERS, BAY HOP, BEACH MORNING GLORY, SEASIDE ...
bay winders
[cf. BAY VINE] n. a seashore vine, Ipomea pes-caprae, with purple flowers resem-bling morning glories. = BAY HOP, BEACH MORNING GLORY cf. BAY VINE (Exuma, ...
bay wormwood
n. a seashore shrub, Croton linearis: 1920 (Britton 223). = GRANNY BUSH (Inagua) ...
be (1)
[Car., US Black; from use after iterative marker DOES, later lost (Rickford 1974:96ff.)]
v. 1. to be (habitually): 1929 I goes down dere, no matter ...
be (2)
[cf. Gul. Bro' Rabbit be look fo' see ef Bro' Wolf been a-comin' (Parsons 1923:40); from BE1 1] preverbal habitual marker 1. before simple verbs: ...
beach hawk
[from habitat] n. a seashore bird of prey, Tyrannus intrepidus? (Black) ...
beaching: go beaching
v. phr. to go to the beach, especially to go swimming: The sea is so close to the settlement that I could have gone beaching ...
beach up
[cf. OED beach v.t. to run or haul (a vessel) up on the beach] v.i. of boats, fish, etc.: to be driven up on the ...
bead
[OED seems to misinterpret following quot.] n., Obs? a strip of palmetto leaf: 1885 The sponges are strung upon small palmetto strips, three or four ...
bead vine
[from the use of the seeds as beads] n. a plant, Abrus precatorius, with poisonous oval green seeds which become red with a black spot ...
Beagle
n. nickname for a native of Cherokee Sound, Abaco. (White) ...
beans
[Atlantic; from Eng. pl.] n. sing. or pl. bean; emphatic singular: one grain of beans. (Exuma) ...
beard
[OED, barb of a fish-hook obs. → 1793] n. the prong of a fishing spear: Sometimes you strike a good fish, the beard does pull off ...
beastes
/bíysaz/ [cf. Gul. beasties (Parsons 1923: 80), US Black beas's (Benardete 1932:362); from simplification of final consonant cluster to beas', then addition of post-sibilant plural ...
beat (1)
[Car. also US Black (Loman 1967:6)] v. 1. to win (with competition rather than competitor as direct object): 1895 De one dat beat de race ...
beat (2)
v. to strike, in the following phrases:
beat around the bush [cf. US idiom and BUSH forest] phr. to live a hand-to-mouth existence with no ...
beater
[OED, an instrument for beating] n. 1. a drumstick: 1975 (Russell 12). (Gen.)
2. a piece of wood used to hit clothes washed in a ...
beating jack
n. a flying jackfish (Caranx sp.) which beats its tail on the surface of the water. (Gen.) ...
beauty
[cf. DJE a beauty one, US colloq. the beauty part] adj. beautiful: Das very beauty. (Black) ...
beaver
/biyva/; beeber /bíyba/ [Atlantic; cf. OED a hat made of beaver's fur → 1885; Scots beaver top hat CSD] n. 1. any felt hat with ...
be bo ben
/biy bow ben/ (Black); boom ba den (Andros); ee bo ben, ee bee en (Eleu.); by bow ben /bay bow ben/ (Berry) [Car.; cf. US ...
bedding
[Car.; OED, anything used to sleep on obs. → 1675; from such use] n. old, ragged clothes. (Gen.) ...
bedevil
[cf. B' Devil, folk-tale character] n. the mole cricket, Gryllotalpa hexadactyla. (Crooked, San Sal.) ...
bed grass
n. a soft grass, Andropogon glomeratus, dried and used to stuff mattresses: 1910 Passed through a tract covered with what the men called "bed grass", ...
bed head
[Atlantic; cf. OED, the upper end of a bed] n. the headboard of a bedstead: Whenever I go sleep inside a Mama bed, my head ...
bedstead
n. the headboard of a bed (only). (Exuma) ...
bed-stern
/bed ston/ [from bedstead + stern rear of ship] n. the foot-board of a bedstead. cf. BESTARD (Gen.) ...
beef
n. 1. [cf. 1811 DVT "To be in a woman's beef: to have carnal knowledge of her"] vagina: Look at the girl beef na! Specially ...
beef bush
[DJE different sp.; from the reddish color of its wood] n. a shrub: 1910 Beef bush . . . Tecoma bahamensis (Northrop 182). 1920 Beef ...
beef-of-the-sea
[in reference to its meat] n. the loggerhead turtle. cf. MUTTON-OF-THE-SEA, VEAL-OF-THE-SEA (Adelaide) ...
beefwood
[OED, DJE different sp., from the reddish color] n. a tree, variously identified: 1889 Casuarina equisetifolia ... beefwood (Gardner 404). 1977 Guapira obtusa (Patterson 87). ...
beeg
/biyg/ [cf. Jam. "/ii/ can replace /i/: /iin/ in, /hiiich/ itch" DJE:xlv; perhaps a survival of 17th century Eng. or due to African influence] adj. ...
been, bin
/bin/ [Atlantic; form derived from Brit. dial. South been and marking past EDD, but its semantic and syntactic source probably African preverbal anterior markers, e.g. ...
been-a
[Car.; from BEEN 1 + A1] preverbal marker of anterior progressive, Obs? 1918 You see what I bin a-do? (Parsons 19) ...
been an'
[Gul. idem (Parsons 1923:96); cf. BEEN] preverbal marker of anterior time: 1966 He been an eat the three pumpkins (Crowley 61). ...
been gone
[cf. US Black gone crazy (Major); OED gone of persons ... undone] adj. phr. insane: He been gone a long time. (Black) ...
before-time, before-days
[Car.; cf. OED before-times adv..- 1647] n. an earlier period: Before-time was better than now (Nassau). (Black)
—adj. pertaining to an earlier period: Children of ...
beg
/beg, beyg/ [W Car.; cf. OED to beg bread] v.t. to ask (a person for a thing): 1918 His wife . . . come and ...
beggar-man
[OED, combination found in King Lear 1605] n. at a Baptist church CONCERT, a man appointed to cajole and collect individual donations from the congregation, ...
behind
prep. 1. [also Jam. (U. May p.c.)] after, such as another word in a sentence: I don't understand the word come behind "seem" (Nassau). (Black) ...
being as
/biyn as/ [Brit., US dial. idern EDD, ADD] conj. phr. because: I don't go there, being as it too expensive (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
belbo
/bélbow/ [etym. unknown, but cf. Scots baubee halfpenny CSD] n. the old brass three-pence coin, especially when found and not taken, lest it be a ...
Bellaby
/bélabi/ [cf. 1811 DVT Barnaby an old dance to a quick movement, possibly converging with African words, e.g. Kongo (e)bwela type of dance, mbele a ...
belly
[Pan-Creole; cf. Krio gεt bεlε', Peti-nègue gãyé labõt, Guine Port. Cr. teŋ bariigə, all lit. have belly, i.e. be pregnant (Hancock 1971:658); a calque on ...
belly-ache plant
[from its use as a remedy] n. a plant, Aloe vera: 1978 Aloe vera . . . brought to south Florida by early settlers from ...
belly-swell
[Car.] n, a swelling of the belly from malnutrition: Them children over there with they belly swell look like all they got in it is ...
belly-woman
[Car.; cf. BELLY 1] n. a pregnant woman. (Mayag.) ...
belly work
[Atlantic; cf. Sra. wrokobere WST, Krio wok bεlε KED; by analogy with Brit. dial. North headwark 'headache' (Orton L46)] phr., Rare, have diarrhea: My belly ...
belong
(White); blonks (Black) v. 1. [cf. Krio blant idem KED, Gul. blonx belong (Gonzales 1922: 290); from Brit. dial. North, West belong with omission of ...
Ben Giant
[perhaps from bent-joint (Cassidy p.c.); cf. DJE jointer bush . . . black giant... /jaint/ joint] n. a kind of wild fruit (sp?): 1977 (Albury ...
benny
[Atlantic; from Wolof bεnε., Bambara bene sesame (Turner 1949:191)] n. the sesame seed: 1835 Sesamum indicum ... Benny (Journal 28). 1918 Benny, a grain much ...
benny cake
n. sesame seed candy: 1934 Benny cake: made from seeds and boiled sugar cane, is allowed to harden and is like a candied cereal (Bell ...
Benson line
[cf. Plimsoll line load-line markings on a cargo ship W3] n. (in playing marbles) the line behind which one must stand when throwing marbles into ...
be on
[cf. W Car. de pan idem] v. phr, to be engaged in an activity: 1966 The man been one day on that [trying to catch ...
Bermooda
/bamúwda/ [named after the Sp. explorer Bermudez /bermtiwdhes/ but Bermudians call themselves 'Mudians /myúwjanz/ (Ayres 1933 :3)] n. Bermuda: ca. 1707 Bermoodas Islands (quoted by ...
beside: get beside yourself with somebody
[Car.] phr. to become insubordinate; to forget one's place: Child: "You can't tell me what to do!" Adult: "You want get beside yourself with me?" ...
best
[cf. colloq. had best OED, W3; dial, best idem ADD] modal v. had better: 1888 Else you'se best stop (Powles 285). (Gen.)
—adj., adv. [Brit., ...
bestard
/béstad/, beskard [cf. BEDSTEAD head-board] n. the headboard of a bed: When I jump in the bed, I knock my head on the beskard (Nassau). ...
bestard foot
[cf. BESTARD] n. the footboard of a bed. (Exuma) ...
best-best
[Car.; cf. Sra. besbesi idem WST; cf. Port. Cr. miʎɔr-miʎɔr idem from Port. melhor best (Ivens Ferraz 1979:58) from best by reduplication] adj. very best: ...
bestest
/bésis/ [Car.; Brit., US dial. idem EDD, ADD] adj. very best: My boyfriend got the bestest car (Nassau). cf. MOSTEST, WORSTEST (Exuma, Nassau) ...
betcha
[W Car.; from I bet you] phr. a threat or warning: 1918 I betcher I bite you (Parsons 14). (Gen.) ...
between
[W Car.; OED, in the space which separates two points (vs. among, separating three or more)] prep. among: between people [in public] (Eleu.). Between all ...
beyeh
[from brother; cf. 81 n., Obs? brother, a term of address to a male peer: 1895 I would n' matte' gittin' somet 'in' to eat, ...
bibby
/bíbi/, beeby /bíybi/ [US Black idem (A. Patur p.c.); cf. BOOBOO 4] n. 1. mucus in the corner of the eye: 1918 The cat came ...
Bible
[from swearing by the Bible; cf. DAS bible the truth; cf. Kriogospel the only truth KED, US colloq. the gospel truth idem] n. the absolute ...
biddy
[Gul. idem ADD; cf. Gul. bidibidi a small bird; a small chicken, Kongo bidibidi a bird (Turner 1949:191)] n. 1. a chick: 1977 Each family ...
big
[Pan-Creole; cf. LA Fr. gros (lit. big) idem (Taylor 1951b:43); cf. Scots big pregnant CSD; US dial. South big to get with child ADD] adj. ...
big ants
[W Car.] n. a species of large, winged ant: Them big ants does bite hard, hear? (Nassau). (Gen) ...
big-belly
[Car.; cf DHS big-bellied far gone in pregnancy 1711; cf. also BIG, BELLY] n. pregnancy. (Black)
—adj. pregnant: That big-belly woman soon ready to have ...
big-big
[Pan-Creole; cf. Haitian gra-gra (Sylvain 1936:46 and Port. Cr. of Senegal grãdi-grãdi (Ivens Ferraz 1979:58) and reduplicated African forms, e.g. Kongo múpátipáti (Carter & Makoondekwa ...
big copper
[DJE idem] n. an old English penny: 1888 (Powles 158). cf. SMALL COPPER (Gen.) ...
big coppice land
[from big referring to high growth + coppice grove, copse W3] n., Obs? land supporting taller trees, vs. scrubland: 1905 The coppice is large and ...
big-eye
[Pan-Creole; cf. Haitian gwo je (lit. big eye) greedy HCEFD; US Black (Smiley 1919:358); calque e.g. Igbo aŋa uku (Turner 1949:233), Twi ani bre (Aboagye ...
Big-eye John
[from its prominent eyes] n. the squirrelfish, Holocentrus sp. = POP-EYE JOHN, JACK BRUSH (Gen.) ...
big-eye porgie
n. a fish, a kind of porgie (sp?): 1936 A big-eye porgie on won side uv 'im an' wun lobster on d' udder side (Dupuch ...
big-eye stargazer
[from appearance of staring upwards] n. a fish, Dactyloscopus crossotus: 1968 (Böhlke 496). (Black) ...
big finger
[Atlantic; "by analogy with big toe or contrast with little finger" DJE] n. the thumb: I cut my big finger last night where I was ...
big-foot
[cf. Sra. bigi-foetoe elephantiasis WST, and possible influence from an earlier form parallel to Jam. bufutu big, clumsy DJE or Kilo gbɔfɔtɔ idem, from Temne ...
Big George
n. a variety of bitter cassava used to make cassava bread after grating and wringing out the poisonous juice. (Andros, Eleu.) ...
Big Georgie Lackwood
[cf. BIG GEORGE] n. a variety of sweet potato. (Mayag.) ...
biggity, bigge(r)ty
/bígati/ [Gul. idem (Rhame 1933:41); cf. Scots biggit wealthy CSD; US dial. South, Mid. biggity "prob. big + -ity quality, state; cf. uppity ... vain, ...
big-gut
n. a swelling of the belly from malnutrition. = BELLY-SWELL, GAS GUT, SWELL-BELLY (Black) ...
biggy
[from big, but cf. -RE, -Y suffix and Sra. bigi idem WST] adj., Obs? big: 1895 See dis biggy, biggy han' here? (Edwards 74).
—n. ...
bight
[MCC idem; OED, an indentation in a coastline ... a bay, but cf. DAE quot. "Two small bights of land on each side of the ...
Big John
[cf. BIG GEORGE] n. a variety of bitter white cassava. (Andros, San Sal.) ...
big people
[Pan-Creole; cf. Haitian gran moun idem TDKF; an African idiom: cf. Bemba abakulu adults (M. Mann p.c.) and Twi mpa hyin sem, lit. big people ...
big pussly
[cf. PUSSLY] n. a succulent plant (sp?) which grows near the sea. (Berry) ...
big-ring play
[Cf. RING-PLAY] n. singing games performed while standing in a large circle: The Lodge Hall . . was the scene of dances and "big-ring plays" ...
big sage
n. a plant, Lantana involucrata: 1910 (Northrop 180). = WILD (WHITE) SAGE (Black) ...
big sour
[cf. SOUR] n. 1. the Seville or sour orange: I's use the big sour for ma conch salad (Nassau). (Black) 2. the grapefruit. cf. LITTLE ...
big thumb
/big tom/ [Car.; cf. BIG FINGER] n. the thumb. (Black) ...
big-tumma
/big tóma/ [from big + tummy] n. a swelling of the belly due to malnutrition. (Andros, Nassau) ...
big up
[MCC idem; cf. BIG] v. to swell up; become big. (Mayag., San Sal.)
—adj. pregnant: Zelly and her sister all two on 'em big right ...
bilgy
/bílji / [cf. OED bilge the foulness which collects in the bottom of a ship's ha; bilgy characteristic of a bilge] adj. 1. (of water) ...
bill fish
n. 1. a fish, Belone truncata: 1782 The sea hereabouts (Bahamas etc.) abounds with fish unknown to us in Europe . . . bill-fish, hound-fish, ...
bill vine
n. a vine, Cissus intermedia. cf. BULL VINE (Nassau) ...
Billy Bowleg
a typical Seminole personal name (Neill 1976:112)] n. a Seminole Indian: 1966 (Crowley 18). (Andros) ...
Bimini
[probably from Lucayan] n. the Bahamian islands closest to Florida: 1511 map: Isla de beimeni (Curry 1928:20, 28). 1523 Bimene (Turin map, quoted by Craton ...
bine-a-bush
[cf. OED bine flexible stem of a climbing plant] n. a plant, (Cassia biflora?) with reddish leaves. = MOSQUITO BUSH. (Andros, San Sal.) ...
bird-eye napkins
[cf. US bird's eye marked with spots resembling birds' eyes: "bird's eye diaper" W3] n. diapers (made from flour bags). (Black) ...
bird grass
(Andros, Grand Bah.); bird prickle (Andros) [US different sp. W3; probably from bur + hypercorrection, but cf. quot.] n. 1.a grass with burs, Cenchrus echinatus.= ...
bird pepper, bud peppa
/bod pepa/ [Car.; DJE "favoured by birds" 1696 —)-; OED 1786 →; DAE 1785 --)-; cf. Reunion Cr. Fr. pima zwazo (lit. pepper bird) le ...
bird's eye
[cf. US idem, "a geometric pattern ... of a small diamond with a center dot resembling a bird's eye" W3; from appearance of pineapple's eyes] ...
birth
v. [Gul., US dial. South idem ADD] 1. to aid in the birth: I birth that calf (but the cow born it) (Nassau). 2. to ...
birth-home
n. birthplace: Your birth-home in Nassau? (Acklins, Crooked) ...
birth-place
[cf. BIRTH afterbirth] n. where one's afterbirth is buried, often the mother's yard; 1966 (Otterbein 63, 64). Tha's you birth-place, way that bury (Acklins). (Black) ...
bit (1)
[ Car.; from physically cutting Spanish dollars into 8 bits or pieces of eight; bit is used with various equivalents, e.g. 8 cents (Guyana), 10 ...
bit (2)
n. item, article: Erry bit o' dem is socks (Nassau). (Black) ...
bitch
n. [Car.; Scots idem CSD] a mild insult for males and objects: 1966 You bitch! [to a dead monster] (Crowley 115). When he think Jack ...
bitch
intj. [probably from a phrase such as "Take that, you bitch!"] said when one person hits another, much like Sp. olé or Fr, touché, especially ...
bitch-blow
[cf. BITCH intj.] n. a heavy blow: You suppose to give him one bitch-blow then (Nassau). It take one bitch-blow from dat man dere to ...
bitch up
[Car.; DHS idem; cf. botch] v. phr. 1. to ruin, spoil; to frustrate. 2. [by extension] to make something hastily: Let me go bitch up ...
bite
v. 1. [DHS idem] to swindle; to deceive in trading. (White)
2. [Car.; in many Bantu languages, the words for 'bite' and 'sting' are identical, ...
biter
[cf. OED nipper idem; cf. also Haitian dan (cf. Fr. dent tooth) idern HCEFDI n. the pincers of a crab or lobster: You meet the ...
biting ants
[W. Car.; cf. ANTS] n. 1. a small black ant (sp?) which bites fiercely: You can't go barefeet there—i's too much biting ants (Nassau). = ...
bitter orange
/bíta oríynj/ n. the Seville orange, Citrus bigaradia: 1889 Bitter orange. . . used for marmelades, candied orange peel, and bitter tinctures (Gardner 370). = ...
bitter root, bitter bush
[W3, WE different sp.] n. a plant, Picramnia pentandra, used medicinally: 1920 (Britton 210). = SNAKE ROOT, BITTERWOOD (San Sal.) ...
bitters
[OED, bitter medicines generally] n. 1. a particular bush (sp?) whose leaves are boiled by the midwife as a tonic for the mother. (Eleu.)
2. ...
bitters tea
[Car.; cf. BITTERS] n. a medicinal infusion: Mama did used to make me drink bitters tea when I catch a check.(Nassau). (Black) ...
bitter-sweet
[OED, W3 different sp.] n. 1. a plant, Duranta repens: 1905 (Shattuck 262). = PIGEON BERRY I (Black)
2. the common lemon. (Long, Andros) ...
bitterwood
[OED, W3, DIE different sp.] n. 1. a shrub, Picramnia pentandra: 1905 (Shattuck 206) = BITTER ROOT, SNAKE ROOT
2. a tree, Picrodendron baccatum: 1977 ...
black
[ Scots idem CSD] v.t. to blacken: Colly blacked the smoothing iron (White). Fire could black the pot (Exuma). ...
black-bar soldier fish
n. a fish, Myripristis jacobus, with a black mark behind its head: 1968 (Böhlke 153). (Black) ...
black bastard buttonwood
[cf. BASTARD BUTTON-WOOD] n. a tree, Laguncularia racemosa. (Andros) ...
black bee
(San Sal., Mayag.); black bug (Andros) n. the palm weevil, Rhynchophorus cruentatus, a black stinging insect which bores into the heart of the coconut palm. ...
blackbird
[DIE def. 1; OED different sp.] n. 1. a bird, Crotophaga ani, with a parrot-like beak: 1880 Rain crow or Blackbird (Cory 118). 1880 Birds ...
black bush
[W3 different sp.] n. a medicinal plant, Avicennia nitida: 1978 Black bush . . used for the "building up of a breakdown system" (Higgs 15). ...
Black Charles
n. 1. a bird, the black grosbeak (Loxigilla noctis): 1880 (Cory 87). (Inagua)
2. a bird, the Greater Antillean bullfinch (Loxigilla violacea): 1960 (Bond 231). ...
black crab
[DJE different sp.] n. a land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis, considered a delicacy: 1925 Black crab live in the land (Finlay 297). 1973 A basket of ...
black crow
the smooth-billed ani, Crotophaga ani: 1972 (Paterson 94). = BLACKBIRD 1, RAIN-CROW, BLACK DAW, JACK DAWL, LONG-TAIL CROW, GRAVEYARD BIRD ...
black daw, black dawl
/blak doh(l)/ (San Sal.); black dolly /blak dóhli/ (Andros, Nassau) [cf. jack daw + doll(y)] n. a bird, the smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani): 1960 Black ...
black ebony
[US different sp. W3] n. 1. a tree, Albizzia lebbek: 1889 (Gardner 375). = MUSIC TREE, SINGING TREE, WHISTLING BEAN, WOMAN'S TONGUE
2. a tree, ...
black-eye bird
n. 1. the Bahama yellowthroat, Geothlypis rostrata. See quot. for def. 2.
2. the common yellowthroat, G. trichas: 1972 Both species are known as black-eye ...
black-eyed Susan tree
[US black-eyed Susan different sp. W3] n. 1. a plant, Abrus precatorius, which has red beans with a black spot: 1889 (Gardner 377). = BEAD ...
black feney
[etym?] n. a hardwood tree (sp?): 1782 Manchinella, black feney, dog-wood (Bruce 45). 1975 Lesser known hardwoods ... black feney (Albury 79). (Exuma) ...
black-fin shark
[W Car.] n. a large, deep-sea shark (sp?). (Exuma, San Sal., White) ...
black-guard
[OED to abuse or revile in scurrilous terms; US dial. South idem ADD] v.t. to insult a person's family. (Eleu.) ...
blackie
[from color] n. a stinging insect (sp?) resembling an ant. (Abaco) ...
black iron
n. a flat iron for pressing clothes, heated over a fire: 1977 Black irons, heated by an open fire, . . . were used for ...
black jack
[DAE, DJE no sp.] n. a dark-colored jackfish, Caranx lugubris: 1968 (Böhlke 332). = PASSING JACK (Gen.) ...
Black Jeff
n. a wasp, Pepsis sp.: 1978 Sometimes called the black Jeff in the Bahamas, the tarantula hawk as an adult sips nectar from flowers, but ...
black land
[US, land having a black soil DAE] n. rich inland soil containing humus: But now the crab they start a-walking in the black land in ...
black mangrove
[US different sp. W3] n. a tree, Avicennia nitida, with leaves that are dark green or almost black: 1910 (Northrop 180). 1977 Black mangrove . ...
Black Maria
[DAE, DES prison van, DAS a hearse] n. 1. a hand ambulance used on police cases before the day of motor ambulances: 1936 Ma say ...
black-nose shark
n. the hammerhead shark, Carcharhinus acronotus: 1968 (Böhlke 16). (Black) ...
black sisal
/blak sáysal/ n. a dark variety of sisal, Agave sp. (Andros, San Sal.) ...
black soap
n. a plant, Scaevola plumierii, with black berries: 1920 (Britton 429). = INK BERRY, PEN-AND-INK (Exuma) ...
black spider
[Car.] n. a spider, Latrodectus mactans, the poisonous black widow: One a them black spider could be in the grass and you won't know (Nassau). ...
black thrasher
[cf. THRASHER] n, a bird, the pearly-eyed thrasher (Margarops fuscatus): 1960 (Bond 169). (Exuma, San Sal.) = JACK BIRD, PAWPAW BIRD ...
black torch berry
n. a plant, Tetrazygia cleagnoides: 1889 (Gardner 380). (Exuma, White) ...
black torch(wood)
n. a tree, Erithalis fruticosa: 1905 (Shattuck 237). = BLACK STICK 2 (Gen.) ...
black up
adj. bruised (of an eye): Her eye look all black up (Nassau). (Black) ...
black up
v. phr. [Car.; DJE from "black (or block, which is also /blak/ in the dial.)" of Jam. but in Bah. /blonk/] to lose control of ...
Blackus
/blákas/ [referring to skin color] n. an insulting name (youth slang). (Nassau) ...
black wasp
/blak was/ [W Car.] n. a black stinging insect (sp?): Black wasp, that's a big wasp have black wings—we's call it the poison wasp, too ...
blackwood
[US different sp. W3; from the color of its leaves rather than wood] n. 1. a tree, Avicennia germinans: 1869 (Bacot 89). = BLACK MANGROVE ...
bladder
[Belize idem (Dayley 1979); cf. Haitian blad idem TDKF; OED, anything inflated and hollow] n. a balloon: They were selling bladders for the children (Nassau). ...
blading off
[from the cutting blade] phr. smoothing down limestone to make a road: 1976 Thousands of miles of roads have been made by "blading off" the ...
blanket field
[etym?] n., Obs. a cotton field: 1832 People weeding in the Cotton field, or what the Negroes call the Blanket Field (Farquharson 12). ...
blast
/blas; also blast (White)/ [cf. Jam. black blast DJE; OED a sudden infection destructive to vegetable or animal life (formerly attributed to the blowing or ...
blessing
n. 1. [OED, prospering influence of God] a very brief shower of rain. (Andros, San Sal.)
2. [OED, euphemism for a curse] a scolding (ironic): ...
blind charm
[cf. W3 blind subterfuge] n. an intentionally misleading explanation; a cover-up. (Black) ...
blind-eye bush
[cf. DJE blind-eye different sp., "resin is liable to irritate the eyes of axemen"] n. a shrub, Helicteres jamaicensis: 1920 (Britton 276). = COW BUSH ...
blind road
[cf. blind alley an alley closed at one end] n. a small gravel road leading off the main one. (Eleu.) ...
blocked out
phr. (of a passage way) blocked: I can't get past—the door block out (Nassau). (Black) ...
blocks
(Black); block (San Sal., Mayag., Inagua) [cf. US city block; Australian the block a street or quarter of a city; often a section popular as ...
blolly wood
(White); blorry (Eleu.) [cf. W3, DJE loblolly different sp.] n. a tree, Guapira discolor: 1977 (Patterson 75). 1977 Bloli-wood (Albury 25). ...
Bloochel
/blúwchal/ [from blue shell?] n. the name of a folktale character. (Cat) ...
blood
[OED, a hot spark, a man of fire ... rake, roisterer obs. early 19th century] n. a daredevil: 1936 Dat time we shoot right tru' ...
blood berry
[W3, DJE different sp.] n. a tree, Guapira obtusa, with juicy red berries: 1977 (Patterson 86). = BEEFWOOD (Andros, Exuma) ...
bloodsucker
[OED, animal which sucks blood] n.
1. a variety of mosquito. (Adelaide)
2. the bedbug. (San Sal.)
3. a witch reputed to suck people's blood: ...
bloojoom!
/blujúwm, bluzhúwm/ [also Guy. baajow idem (Yansen 13), Gui. boo-joo (Writers' Program 1940:4); cf. Yoruba bo ... jum! drop ... splash! (Oyedeji p.c.)] intj. imitative ...
bloomers
[W3 "after Mrs. Amelia Bloomer (died 1894) Am. pioneer in social reform who advocated such clothing ... a costume for women introduced about 1850 . ...
blossom
n. a particular plant (sp?) with yellow flowers. (Nassau, Inagua) ...
blow
n. 1. [cf. Brit. dial. North, Scots blow breathe EDD; DHS blow a breathing space, have a blow to rest] a rest, especially in the ...
blow-conch
/blów kohngk/ n. a conch shell with a small hole in the tip, used as a horn for signaling. = CONCH SHELL (Gen.) ...
blue
n. 1. [Car.; Brit. usage] laundry bluing: 1918 He take a white sheet an a tub o' water. . . an' put blue in de ...
blue balls
[US slang idem (A. Abrahamse p.c.); DAS gonorrhea] n. aching of the testicles caused by sexual frustration: 1971 The sexual frustrations . . were often ...
bluebirds through my window
[from first line of a song] n. a children's RING-PLAY with variations: a. played like "London Bridge" but sung to a different tune (San Sal.), ...
blue catnip, blue capnit
n. a fragrant herb, Nepeta coerulea, related to catnip (N. cataria): 1889 (Gardner 398). = CAT MINT, JERUSALEM CATNIT (Mayag., Inagua) ...
blue fleabane
n. a plant, Veronia cinerea, with bright blue flowers. (Exuma) ...
blue flowers
[cf. FLOWERS] n. a plant, Valerianoides or Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, with bright blue flowers on a long, erect spike: 1889 (Gardner 398). Shepherd needle and blue ...
blue hole
n. 1. [Belize idem (Escure 1980:7)] a deep, usually round hole in the ocean floor: 1905 Submarine ocean holes, or "blue holes" shown by an ...
Blue Jane
n. the red-legged thrush, Mimocichla plumbea: 1960 (Bond 174). BLUE THRASHER 1, SPANISH THRASHER ...
Blue Mountain cassava
[cf. DJE blue-bud cassava and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica] n. two varieties of cassava: 1. bitter cassava which is poisonous: Blue Mountain cassava, da's ...
blue rainbow
(San Sal.); blue rimba (Berry); blue rimpa (Andros); blue wimbo (Cat) [cf. GILLEM-BOW] n. a fish, Iridio bivittatus; it is the mature SLIPPERY DICK and ...
blue runner
n. a jackfish, Caranx fusus: 1968 (Böhlke 331). (Gen.) ...
blue-stripe lizard fish
n. a fish, Synodus saurus: 1968 (Böhlke 60). = CANIMO (Bleu., San Sal.) ...
blue-tailed lizard
[DJE different sp.] n. a lizard, Ameiva auberi: 1880 The blue-tailed lizard frequents hot, sandy places ... It is about ten inches long (Ives 133). ...
blue tang
n. an angelfish, Acanthurus coeruleus: 1968 (Böhlke 656). (Black) ...
blue t(h)rasher
(Inagua); blue thrusher (White) [cf. Brit. dial. South thresher, thrusher; US thrasher all thrush OED] n. I. the red-legged thrush, Mimocichla plumbea: 1880 (Cory 45). ...
boa(r), bow
/bow/ [cf. Gul. boar coon (Rhame 1933:41); cf. OED boar male swine, transferred to obs. boar cat, boar dog, etc. for male of species] n., ...
boar black torch
[cf. BOAR 2, 3] a tree, Philanthus myrtilloides: 1905 (Shattuck 237). (Inagua) ...
boar cat
/bow kat/; bull cat /bu kat/ [Atlantic; cf. OED boar cat male cat obs.→1797; also Brit., US dial. South EDD, ADD] n. a male cat: ...
board
[Atlantic; cf. DJE, KED; also Gul. piece o' boa'd (Parsons 1923:13)] n. wood, as a material: In a hurricane it is best to put some ...
board-handle
[Jam. idem DJE; cf. BOARD] n. a type of machete with a wooden handle. (Black) ...
board shoes
[Car.; cf. BOARD] n. home-made sandals with wooden soles: I hear about board shoes before-time, but l ain' never see none—only the wampers (Nassau). (Black) ...
boar grass
(Mayag.); bull grass (Eleu., Adelaide) [cf. DAE bull grass a variety of pasture grass, Paspalum undulatum] n. a kind of tall, broad-bladed grass (sp?) used ...
boar gum-elemi
/bow gamélami/ [cf. BOAR 2, 3] n. 1. a tree, Bursera inaguensis: 1977 (Patterson 103). (Gen.)
2. the male gum-elemi tree, Bursera simaruba: Gum elemi-boar ...
boar-hog bush
n. a plant, Callicarpa hitchcockii, used medicinally: 1920 (Britton 373). 1978 Bo' Hog Bush is used to stimulate the appetite . . . the brew ...
boar mastic
n. a tree, Linociera bumelioides: 1977 (Patterson 71). (Exuma, Inagua) ...
boar pigeon (plum)
n. a tree, Coccoloba krugii, with small, dark red fruit: 1920 (Britton 118). = CRAB WOOD 3, FAMILY WOOD (Black) ...
boar-stag
/bow stag/ [cf. Brit. dial. Mid., West idem a castrated boar; cf. also BOAR 4] n. a term of derision for either partner in a ...
boar thistle
/bow tísl(i)/ [cf. OED, a corruption of bur thistle, DAE bull thistle, both different sp.] n. a plant, Sonchus oleraceus, with yellow flowers. (Inagua, Nassau) ...
boar top, bow top
[cf. TOP palm] n. a variety of palm tree, Coccothrinax sp.: To make a broom: look for about ten leaves of bow top and tie ...
boarwood, boa wood
n. a tree, Diospyros crassinervis, with round black fruit: 1920 (Britton 326). = FEATHERBED, OLD MAN 2 (San Sal.) ...
bomb
/bohm/; boum /bum/ [cf. Haitian bobo from Fr, bonbon confection] n. a kind of coco-nut tart: Coconut bomb: 30 cents [on a menu at a ...
bomb-chest
/bohm ches/; boom-chest /burn ches/ [probably from collision with chest] n. a children's game in which a handful of pebbles or snail shells is tossed ...
bonavis beans
(Black); bonavis peas (White) /bóhnavis/ [DJE idem "from the place of origin, the island of Bona Vista, Cape Verde"] n. an edible bean, Dolichos lablab ...
bone
n. the central spine of a palm frond. (Andros, Exuma) ...
bones: I bones
[etym?] phr. (in playing KNUCKS HOLE with marbles) the announcement made after going from the first to the third hole and back again for the ...
bong
[cf. BANG-BANG, DING-DONG] v. to ring (a bell): They had a bell which they bong when they needed it (Long). (Gen.) ...
bonnet
bonnet-cub (Gen.); bonnet-nose cub (Mayag.); bonnet-mouth (Exuma, Inagua) [from the lobes around the mouth (see quot.); cf. CUB, COR13] n. the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo: ...
boo (1)
[cf. B', B'O' brother] n. my dear (as a term of address). (Black) ...
boo (2)
[Bajan idem (Collymore)] n. nasal mucus. (White) ...
booboo (1), booboo-man
[Pan-Creole; cf. MCC buubuu, Sra. boeboe NEW, Guy, boo-boo man (Yansen 14), Trin. Fr. boubou (Thomas 20) idem; a convergence of Brit. dial. North, Scots ...
booboo (2)
[cf. Gul. bubu any insect (usually one whose sting is poisonous); cf. Fula mbubu a fly, Kongo mbu mosquito, Fon mbutu insect (Turner 1949:191)] n. ...
booboo (3)
[Car.; cf. BOO2] n. nasal mucus. (San Sal.) ...
boogie (1)
[Probably the convergence of two words of different origin, one meaning 'devil' and the other 'dance'. For the first, cf. OED Bogy the devil (probably ...
boogie (2)
[cf. US booger idem W3; DAS bugger, boogie idem] n. nasal mucus. (Eleu.) ...
book
n. [cf. 1811 DVT books cards to play with; DHS the first six tricks at whist] n. (in card games) a trick: I only need ...
book
v. [cf. BUCK] butt: D' ram-goat book 'im in he belly (Dupuch p.c.). (Nassau) ...
booker man
[cf. BOUGAMAN 2 and Scots boakie idem CSD] n. nasal mucus. (Long) ...
Booky
/búki/ [Pan-Creole; cf. Prov. Breda Bookie (Washabaugh 1980:8), Louisiana Black Bookee (Fauset 1927:242), Haitian Bouqui (Crowley 1966:29); the origin seems to be European (cf. Fr. ...
boomba
/búwmba/, boomby /búwmbi/ [cf. US dial. South boompie idem DARE, North boomba (C. Pales p.c.); also South Am. Sp. bombó idem (Hancock 1969:71)] n. buttocks. ...
bootalize
/búwtalayz/ [cf. Jam. b'ute brute DJE, OED brutalize to treat as a brute, or brutally] v. to have sexual intercourse (with a girl). (Mayag.) ...
boots
[Belize idem (Dayley 1979); from pl.] n. sing. and pl. boot: I meet one boots lying on the floor. cf. SHOES, SLIPPERS, SOCKS, GLOVES (Abaco, ...
bore
/bow/ [Atlantic; cf. Jam, bore to be penetrated DJE, Krio bo having a hole KED; from passivization or past participle of Eng. bore] adj. pierced; ...
borer
/bówra/ [cf. Vir. boora a disease that attacks sugar cane (Emanuel 1972:84); cf. BORE and Kogno -bola rot (Carter). adj. (of sugar cane) rotten; having ...
born
/bohn/ [Atlantic; from past participle born] v. 1. to be born: Chillun borning (Brown 32). (Black)
2. [US dial. South idem ADD] to give birth ...
borry
[also US dial. Gen., Black ADD] v. to borrow: We couldn't find we scrubber so we borry Con Nelly own (Andros). ...
boss
[Car.; cf. Sra. basi excellent (Dillard 1976:34); from supremacy of the boss?] adj. excellent: 1978 Man, dat was a boss souse! (Dupuch 31). (Gen.) ...
boss, bossman
[Car.; cf. SA baas master, sir "mode of address usu. by non-whites to the master or employer ... from Dutch baas master, captain"; cf. also ...
boss lady
(Gen.); boss missus /bohs mísaz/ (Andros); Miss Boss (Nassau) [cf. BOSSMAN] n. 1. term of address to one's female employer.
2. a female employer: My boss ...
Boston
(Eleu.), go Boston (Gen.) [OED, a game at cards, allied to whist, named after the siege of Boston] v. phr. (in whist) to get nearly ...
bother
[OED, to annoy (a person)] v. to tamper with (a thing): The children used to bother this door so much when they passing and I ...
bottle
[cf. GLASS BOTTLE idem and Haitian bouay (lit. bottle) idem HCEFD] n. broken glass: Bring Julie back before 'e get cut with bottle (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
bottle-and-nail
n. a musical instrument: 1978 A bottle with a corrugated surface scraped by a metal stick. Generally the metal stick was a six-inch nail and ...
bottle cover
n. bottle cap: No use to put the bottle cover back—the coke gon spoil (Nassau). (Black) ...
bottle dancing
[cf. BOTTLE broken glass] n. dancing over broken glass with bare feet (originally associated with obeah, now a nightclub act for tourists): 1978 (Bethel 128). ...
bottle-lamp
(Eleu., Mayag.); bottle-light (Andros) n. a beer or soda bottle filled with kerosene, with a rag forming a wick: They's catch the crab in the ...
bottle spider
[from the shape of the red spot under the abdomen] n. the poisonous black widow spider, Latrodectus mactans: 1978 (Campbell 11). = BLACK SPIDER ...
Bottom: the Bottom
[cf. US dial. South, Mid bottom low-lying, swampy land; a community in such an area, often poor DARE; US Black (Black) Bottom a run-down, disreputable ...
bottom-drying
phr. drying out a boat's hull: 1977 Most of the dinghies were hauled out . . . to get a good bottom-drying (Albury 23). (Gen.) ...
bouf, boof
/buf/ intj. 1. [W Car.; cf. Scots bouff to strike with the hand so as to cause a hollow sound CSD; US dial. biff to ...
bouf, boof (2)
/buf/ n. [cf. BOUF intj.; cf. DAS biff an unsuccessfully played note on a brass instru-ment (Negro); also US dial. South boof a scare, fright ...
bouflacker
/búflaka/ [etym?] n. a fish, Gerres cinereus, a large shad. (Cat) ...
boufoo
/búfuw/ [from browned flour] n. a beverage resembling hot chocolate made from flour browned in a pot mixed with sugar and water. = BROWN FLOUR ...
bougainvillea
/bowga(n)víliya, bowga(n)víli; buwga(n)víliya, buwga(n)víli; bunggavíliya/ [named after a Fr. navigator, Louis Antoine de Bougainville W3] n. bougainvillea, a woody vine with brilliant red or purple ...
bougaman (1), buggaman
/búgamàn/ [cf. OED bogy phantom causing fright; also Brit. dial. boogyman (Orton L64), US dial. boogerman W3] n. a phantom evoked to frighten children: 1977 ...
boungy, boongy, bungy
/búnggi/ [cf. W Car. bunki, bunggi idem (Holm 1978); probably from Brit. slang bung(hole) anus DHS, /bung/ in North, Mid dial.] n. buttocks (often an ...
boungy-banging
[Cf. BOUNGY n.] n. phr. anal sex. (Black) ...
bow-foots
/baw futs/ [cf. nautical bow front (of ship)] n. forelegs, such as of a pig. cf. STAND-FOOTS, STERN-FOOTS Wayag.) ...
bow line
/baw layn/ [cf. OED, rope to steady sails] n. an anchor line; a rope from the bow of a boat to the shore: 1936 Errybuddy ...
bowman
/báwman/ [OED, oarsman nearest bow] n. harpooner, in bow of dinghy when fishing: The bowman have to get his share too (Andros). (Adelaide, Andros) ...
box cart
[US two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle DAB] n. a boy's coasting wagon, made of a wooden box mounted on wheels: 1936 He got one jaw buil' like ...
box fish
[DJE idem] n. a fish of the famiy Ostraciontidae with a bony outer shell, varieties include the COW FISH and TRUNK FISH: 1934 The box-fish, a ...
boxing Josh
[cf. DHS box the Jesuit to masturbate] n. masturbation: 1971 (McCartney 113). (Black) ...
box-man
[cf. Scots box-master treasurer of a benefit society CSD] n. (at a church fund-raising CONCERT) the man who sits at the collection box (placed on ...
box o' ches'
[from box + chest] n. a chest or trunk: 1918 Take de bunch o' key, open box o' ches' (PArsons 159), cf. CHISS (Black) ...
boy
/bohy, boy/ [cf. Scots, a male person of any age and condition if unmarried and residing in the parental home; US dial. South a Negro ...
Boy Bookie slide
[cf. B'O', BOOKY] n., Obs. a dance popular in the 1930's: 1976 Sweating dancers doing the "Boy Bookie slide" (Eneas 33) ...
boy-child
[Pan-Creole; cf. Pap. mucha homber (lit. child man) idem (Loftman 1953:29); cf. Port. Cr. fiǰu-máča (lit, child male) idem (Meintel 1975:211); probably a calque on ...
boy days
[cf. Scots laddie-days boyhood CSD] n. childhood; youth: In my boy-days. cf. GIRL DAYS (Black) ...
Boy Nasty
[from B'O' ANANSI] n. a folk-tale hero: 1966 (Crowley 29). (Mayag.) ...
bra, bro', brush
/bro/ [cf. B'] term of address to a male peer: Hey, bra, why you am' hail me yester-day? (Nassau). ...
braggadocious
/brágadówshas/[cf. Guy. bragadosha showoff (Yansen 14); from BRAGGY, influenced by braggadocio + -ious forming adj.] adj. boastful. (Gen.) ...
braggard
[OED, alternate form 1641, 1812; by analogy with -ard nouns (e.g. drunkard) or possibly from braggart by hypercorrection of devoiced final stops] n. braggart. (Eleu.) ...
braggy
[cf. Scots idem CSD] adj. boastful: 1966 (Crowley 102). I ain' like her—she too braggy (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
brainsy
/bréynzi/ [W Car.; cf. co]loq. Eng. adj. formed from n. pl. + -y (e.g. gutsy, ballsy) and MCC brienz brain (Holm 1978)] adj. clever. (Eleu.) ...
bram
[ Atlantic; imitative] intj. bang: 1936 Dey. . . . cut off d' engines an stop full, bram! (Dupuch 14). cf. BRIGGADUM-BRAM (Gen) ...
bramble
[W Car.; N. Irel. dial. idem EDD] n. 1. dry twigs: They part the field off with bramble—this part will be mines and the next ...
branched calalu
[DJE idem 1] n. 1. Obs? a plant, Solanum nodiflorum, night shade: 1889 Branched calalu . . . used by Obia men as a narcotic ...
brass: I brass
[etym?] phr. (in playing KNUCKS HOLE with marbles) the announcement made after going from the first to the third hole and back again for the ...
brassliter
/braslíyta/ [cf. Jam. /brazilíta/ D.TE; cf. OED braziletto and 17th century brasiletta from Sp., Port. brasilete Jamaica wood, diminutive of brasil Brazilwood DJE] n. braziletto, ...
brass-wood
[DAE idem, no sp.] n. a shrub, Anastraphia northropiana: 1905 (Shattuck 266). (White) ...
brawn
/brohn/ n. 1. [W3 calloused skin obs.; OED idem not obs.] calloused skin on the foot. (Mayag.)
2. [OED flesh of the boar] the skin ...
brazen
[Krio idem (Hancock p.c.); OED, shame-less] adj. (of girls) sexually precocious; promiscuous: These little girls too brazen—stead of doing the housework, they in the road ...
brazen girl (potato)
/breyzan gyal/ [etym?] n. a variety of sweet potato. (Andros, Nassau) ...
bread
[Car.; OED, a /oaf; a roll obs. → 1643] n. I. a loaf of bread; 1918 De nex' boy asked his mother to bake him ...
bread biscuit
[cf. Sra. bredeboeskoetoe biscuit from bread WST; US dial. South bread biscuit ADD, Black biscuit bread (Dillard 1977:103); perhaps to distinguish US biscuit (Brit. scone) ...
breads
[cf. US Black bread money (Major); cf. BDNE I bread idem] n. money (street talk): 1974 (King 26). (Black) ...
break (1), bruck
v.t. [cf. BROKE] to cook (dried peas or beans) until soft or split. (Black)
—v.i. (of dried peas or beans) to become soft or split: ...
break (2)
adj. [cf. Gul. brek idem (Parsons 1923: 176); OED to become bankrupt ... now less usual; cf. also BROKE break—and a possible hypercorrection of the ...
breaker
[OED nautical idem] n. a barrel or cask: We had to go to Raccoon Cay. . . supply water in our breaker carry down there ...
break night rest
[W Car.] v. phr. to get up in the middle of the night. (Nassau) ...
break out
v.t. to break open (a shell to remove the shellfish): 1978 Break out and clean whelks (Higgs 31). (Gen.) ...
break the reef
v. phr. to develop breasts. (Andros, Mayag.) ...
break the seal
[by analogy with packaging] v. phr. to have sexual intercourse with a virgin. (Black) ...
break-up
[from broke break + hypercorrection of Eng. past participle] adj. broken-down: Down so by that old break-up house (Long). (Gen.) ...
breast
n. /bres/ [Car.; OED properly said of women, but sometimes of the lower animals] (of animals) udder. (Black) ...
breast
prep. /bres/ [from abreast of] next to; by: 1936 I wait till he get down brest o' Missa Franklin house (Dupuch 45). You gatty walk ...
breath
/bret/ [cf. Gul. crack 'e bre't' open his mouth (to speak) (Gonzales 1924:22); cf. also Scots breath opinion; sentiments CSD] v. 1. to breathe: 1966 ...
bredda
/bréda/ [Car.; Gul. idem (Gonzales 1922: 290)] n. brother (term of address to a male peer): [get two bredda what living (Andros). (Black) ...
breddedness
[cf. Trin. broughtupsy idem (Winer p.c.); from well bred] n., Obs? good upbringing: 1929 She discovered in me signs of "breadedness" (Defries 116). ...
breed
v. 1. [Car.; OED idem "now chiefly dial."] to be pregnant: 1918 She was breeding. . . and when she had baby, it was a ...
breeder
[etym?] n. a boil on the skin. (White) ...
breeze
Atlantic; from nautical usage; cf. also Reunion Cr. Fr. briz idem, also arch., nautical Fr. (Chaudenson 1974:711)] n. a wind, of any strength: [used in ...
bren
(Black); bren-law (Eleu) [cf. Krio bran-lɔ idem KED; from brother-in-(law), but connotation that of Sp, cuñado or MCC waika] term of address or reference 1. ...
briar root
[W3 "The root of various plants (as. Rhododendron and Smilax app.) used in the manufacture of tobacco pipes"] n. a plant (sp?) used medicinally: Bush ...
briar tree
n. shrub(s), variously identified: 1905 Calliandra haematoma (Shattuck 254). 1910 Terminalia spinosa (Northrop 171). 1977 Bucida spinosa (Patterson 19). cf. PRICKLY TREE (Gen.) ...
brickly top
[cf. DAE brickley thatch brittle thatch or silver-top palmetto, Thrinax argentea; cf. US dial. South brickly brittle ADD] n. a variety of palm used in ...
bridal bush
(Inagua); bride bush (Andros) [OED bride bush bush hung out at the village alehouse in honour of a wedding] n. a shrub (sp?) used medicinally. ...
briggadum-bram
bruggadum-bram or -brum or -bam [Atlantic; cf. bragada(p), brigidi(m)-b(r)am(s) idem in WE, KED; "cf. Twi bìrim-(-birim) suddenly; ...
bright
adj. 1. also bright-skin [US Black idem (Major); cf. OED "Sally she a Badian bright mulatto" 1910 sea shanty; cf. Ibo cháchá bright (of sun, ...
bright-bright
[cf. BRIGHT] adj. (of persons) having a very light brown complexion: Now my sister, she bright-bright (Nassau). ...
Brilan
/bráylan/ [by aphaeresis] n. Harbour Island, a cay off Eleuthera: 1936 'Brilan wuz all heat up 'bout dese 'lections (Dupuch 95). ...
brim (1)
[cf. US Black brim a hat (Claerbaut)] n. a straw hat. (Black) ...
brim (2)
[US Black idem (Walker 1956:135); as variant form also in OED, DAE, DJE] n. a fish, the bream. (Eleu) ...
bring down
(US Black idem; help to sober a person (Major); DAS a critica or cutting remark; to depress, sadden; OED to lower, humble (no examples with ...
bring forth
[cf. Car, bring out idem; OED, give birth to, last quot. 1668 but also Biblical (cf. Matthew 1:23)] v. to bear (offspring). (Black) ...
britches
[cf. US dial. idem breeches, short trousers n.pl. W3] n. sing., pl. trousers: 1966 This britches (Crowley 99). (Eleu, White). ...
brittle thatch
[DAE idem 1884 →] n. the silver-top palmetto, Thrinax argentea: 1788 Among the indigenous palms [are] Great Thatch and Brittle Thatch Palmetto, the leaves of ...
broad (2): talk broad
[cf. OED broad used of a strongly marked dialectal or vulgar pronunciation ... Broad Cockney] phr. to speak a basilectal variety of Bahamian dialect. (Exuma) ...
broad-leaved wild pineapple
[from the resemblance of the leaves to those of the pineapple] n., Obs. the cactuslike pinguin, Bromelia pinguin, related to the pineapple: 1835 (Journal 88). ...
broad-lip conch
[cf. DJE broadleaf conch a variety of large conch whose shell opens out with a broad, leaflike appendage; cf. also Scots broad-lipped of a hat: ...
broad out
(Black); broaden out (Nassau, Eleu.) [Car.; cf. Sra. bradi to spread WST; cf. OED broad v. obs. → 1399 and the more general tendency of ...
broil
[OED, to cook (meat) by placing it on the fire, or on a gridiron over it; W3 to cook by direct exposure to radiant heat] ...
broke, bruck
/brok/ [Atlantic; cf. Scots, Irel. dial. bruck break (Hancock 1971:155), also US dial. ADD] v. to break: 1918 My leg so small he may broke ...
broke corn
[cf. Cam. brok-kɔ:n to harvest (corn) CCD; US dial. South breaking corn taking the ear of corn from the stalk (Ayers 1950:74)] v.phr. to pick ...
broke down
[OED break down v.t. to crush or prostrate in strength, health] adj. phr. exhausted: I come home all broke down and tied (Nassau). (Black) ...
broken English
[OED broken of language: imperfectly spoken, with the syntax incomplete] n. local creolized English, called Bahamian dialect: We Bahamians does speak broken English (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
broke off
[cf. BROKE break; OED break off to start obs. 1591 only] v.phr. to begin suddenly: 1966 He broke off running [i.e. began to run] (Crowley ...
bro-man
[cf. BRO brother + MAN, both terms of address] term of address for a male peer: 1966 (Crowley 49). (Black) ...
broom bush
n. 1. [OED different sp.] a plant: 1920 Gundlachia corymbosa (Britton 442). 1977 Baccharis dioica (Patterson 120). = HORSE BUSH 3, SOLDIER'S BUSH (Gen.)
2. ...
brown ebony
[W3 different sp.] n. a tree, Pera humeliaefolia: 1905 (Shattuck 257). (Mayag.) ...
brown-eyes
[cf. EYES eye] n. a bruised eye: A brown-eyes. = BUST EYE (Mayag.) ...
brown (flour) tea
(Black); brown flour soup (Nassau, Mayag.) n. a hot drink made by brown-ing flour in a pot, then mixing in sugar and water: You brown ...
brown-paper roll
[from preparation] n. a cigarette hand-rolled in brown wrapping paper. (Gen.) ...
brown racer
[W3 racer any of various snakes ... as black racer, blue racer] n. a snake, Alsophis vudii, harmless to humans: 1978 (Campbell 9). = GRASS ...
brown sage
[cf. W3 red sage, DJE purple sage, both Lantana sp.] n. a shrub (sp?) with grayish leaves and fragrant lavender flowers. (Gen.) ...
brown-skin
[Atlantic] adj. mulatto; having a light-brown complexion: 1936 I see won 'Merican woman wid her hair all curl up. Right nex' t' her I see ...
brown (somebody) up
[cf. W3 brownnose (from the implication that servility is tantamount to having one's nose in the anus of the person from whom advancement is sought) ...
brown thrasher
/brawn trasha/ (Black); brown thrusher (White) [cf. BLUE THRASHER] n. the mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos: 1910 (Northrop 52). = ENGLISH THRASHER (Gen.) ...
bubba
/bóba/ [Gul. idem (Gonzales 1922:291) or younger brother; cf. Krio bobo little boy (Hancock p.c.); cf. US dial. bub, bubby, bubber brother, used especially in ...
bubby
/bóbi/ [Atlantic; OED obs. or dial. 1725; cf. also Scots bubbies CSD, W3 bobby, booby idem] n. 1. a woman's breasts (considered vulgar). (Gen.)
2. ...
buck
[OED, a gay dashing fellow ... used also as a form of familiar address ... vulgarly applied to a nego man; cf. SA bok lover, ...
buckly whitey
[from lignum vitae] n. 1. the lignum vitae tree, Guiacum officinale. = LIGDUM VITAE, NIGLUM VITAE (Andros)
2. a tree (sp?) resembling the lignum vitae, ...
bucko
n. important man: He was one of the buckos in there next to the manager (White) ...
buckra
/bókra/ [Atlantic; US dial. South idem ADD; cf. lbo, Efik mbakára white man; he who surrounds or governs (Turner 1949:191)] n. 1. Obs, a white ...
buckra sweet potato
[cf. BUCKRA and DJE backra yam a fine or delicate variety of yam] n. a variety of sweet potato with white skin. (Andros, San Sal., ...
buck (up)
[Atlantic; OED dial. & US (?corruption of butt); possible convergence with Wolof baŋ ke to collide with (Turner 1949:60)] v. 1. to collide with: 1966 ...
buck-up
[cf. BUCK (UP)] n. (of cars, etc.). a collision (Gen.)
all buck-up go: anything goes: 1936 (Dupuch 121). All that buck-up go in this rush ...
bud (1)
/bod/ [cf. Guy. bud-bud, birdie penis of a small boy (Rickford 1976:8); cf. Common Bantu *-bódò penis (Carter); note also possible calque on bird parallel ...
bud (2)
[W3, something likened to a bud, esp. in shape] n. an individual clump of hair forming a braid (usually in reference to men's dread locks), ...
bud
v. [OED, to begin to grow] to begin to develop breasts: She buddin'. cf. SPUDDIN' (POTATOES) (Exuma) ...
bud grass
[from BIRD GRASS, BUR GRASS] n. 1. bird grass, Cenchrus echinatus, a grass with burs (older pronunciation). = BIRD GRASS, BUR GRASS (Mayag.)
2. a ...
buffalo
/bófala/ [convergence with the seman-tically unrelated Eng. word seems coincidental; the phonological shape probably derives from an African form such as Yoruba bu moldy DYL ...
buffy
[etym?; cf. TOFFY idem] n. dried coconut. (Andros) ...
buggy
(Crooked); wheel buggy (Cat) [OED buggy a light one-horse vehicle but cf. DAS Irish (baby) buggy a wheelbarrow] n. a wheelbarrow: 1963 I had also ...
build
/bil/ v. 1. [W Car.; by passivization] to be built: Dat church buil' in 1936 (Nassau). (Black)
2. [Jam. idem (Cassidy p.c.)] to make (clothes): ...
Buildings
Traditionally most DWELVING HOUSES in the Bahamas have been modest. Only wealthy people can afford an UPSTAIRS HOUSE with GABLE-ENDS high enough for a CEILING ...
build up
/bil op/ [W Car.] v.phr. (of weather) to prepare to storm: 1969 One squall buillin' up (Dupuch 11). (Gen.) ...
build up for broke down
phr. to expect too much, thus ensuring disappointment: When you 'spect too much from you chirren, all you doing is building up yourself for broke ...
bul, bulla, buller
/ból(a)/ [OED bully dial. brother, companion] n. term of address to an older brother or a respected male peer: 1918 Bul Rabbit . . . ...
bull dog
[cf. BOAR , by hypercorrection] n. a male dog: 1950 In common parlance a jibdog is the female of the species in contrast to the ...
bull shark
n. a shark, Carcharhinus leucas: 1968 (Böke 18). (Gen.) ...
bull-skate
[cf. US Black bullskating to brag (Major); cf. OEDS II bullshit to bluff, and skite North. dial. cognate of shit (Cassidy p.c.)] v. 1. to ...
bull vine
n. a plant, Cissus microcarpa or C. intermedia: 1905 (Shattuck 259). cf. BILL VINE (Black) ...
bully
[DJE idem squirrelfish; OED dial, name for some kind of fish] n. live TURBOT used as bait in deep-sea fishing. (Andros, Exuma) ...
bully (net)
[cf. Gul. "net (bullet all aroun')" (Parsons 1923:167) from use of lead shot to weight net?; cf. also OED bully to overweigh (of ships)] n. ...
bully rim
n. the circular wire frame which supports the BULLY NET: You hang the bully-rim on the staff (Andros). ...
bumble-fly
[cf. BOOMBA FLY, influence by bumble, to buzz, as a fly OED] n. an insect (sp?) resembling a gnat which is attracted to sores: 1966 ...
bump
n. [W3, a swelling of tissue usually resulting from a bump; cf. Brit. colloq. bumps acne] a swelling caused by acne: The girl get plenty ...
bump
v. [W3 bump breast] to begin to develop breasts: She bumpin'. (Black)
bump up phr. I. (of peanuts and potatoes) to develop tubers. (Andros)
2. ...
bun
/bon/ [cf. Cam. bɔ:n-am to roast CCD, US Black burn to cook food (Major)] v. to fry (not necessarily to excess): When the peas done ...
bun-bun
[Atlantic; BUN + reduplication] n. burnt food on the bottom of the pot (considered a delicacy). = POTCAKE I, SWINGE n. (Mayag.) ...
bunch
[W Car.] n. a banana stem with nine or more HANDS or clusters. (Gen.) ...
bunday
/bondéy/ [etym. uncertain; Crowley (1966:20) suggests Port. bom dia good day, or Fr. bon Dieu the good Lord; S. Norton (p.c.) derives it from one ...
burn up: get burn up
[from one's consumption of energy] v.phr. 1. to become exhausted through physical exertion. (Black)
2. to drop out of a race due to exhaustion. (San ...
burst
/boys/ [ in reference to ejaculation; cf. Krio wata bos 'water bursts': water comes out in a spate, suddenly and unexpectedly KED] v. (of men) ...
bush
n. 1. [Atlantic; OED "(Recent, and probably a direct
adoptation of the Dutch bosch in colonies originally Dutch) applied to
the uncleared or untilled districts in the ...
bush: go in the bush
(Gen.); go to bush (Andros) [cf. Cam. go bush idem CCD] v.phr. to defecate. (Gen.) ...
bush: go wild in the bush
v.phr. (of whites) to have sexual relations with blacks. (Nassau, San Sal.) ...
bush bath
/bush baht/ [Car.; cf. BUSH 4] n. a hot bath in infusions made from medicinal herbs. (Gen.) ...
bush broom
[cf. Cam. bush-brum raffia broom CCD; US dial. South brush broom a broom made by binding small branches together for sweeping the yard WSC] n. ...
bush doctor
[Car.; cf. BUSH 4 ; cf. also Haitian dòtkè fey idem HCEFD ] n. 1. a practitioner of herbal remedies. = BUSH MAN (Gen.)
2. ...
bushel off
[from measurement] v.phr. to put (crops) into bushel baskets. (Mayag.) ...
bushels
n. sing. or pl. bushel: 1918 One bushels of corn (Parsons 49). ...
bush fence
[W Car.] n. a row of prickly plants to separate fields. (Gen.) ...
bush man
[W Car.; cf. BUSH 4] n. 1. an herbalist.
2. an OBEAH MAN. = BUSH DOCTOR (Gen.) ...
bush mechanic
[cf. SA idem, a very rough and ready workman] n. an inexpert tinkerer; an automobile repairman with no mechanical training or talent. (Black). ...
bush medicine
[Car. cf. BUSH 4] n. herbal remedies; obeah charms: 1966 (Otterbeim 60). (Gen.) ...
bush-runner
[cf. BUSH 1 and DAE bushwhacker take to the bush] n. a person living in an otherwise uninhabited area. (San Sal.) ...
bush snail
n. a land snail, Hemitrochus varians: 1978 (Campbell 90). ...
Bush Medicine
Modern DOCTOR MEDICINE was traditionally often difficult to obtain on the more remote Bahamian islands, and it was often prohibitively costly even for those living ...
bush tea
[Car.; SA idem; cf. BUSH 4] n. an infusion made from wild herbs, usually medicinal: 1888 What they call bush tea is their sovereign remedy ...
bushy beard grass
[from appearance] n. a coarse grass, Andropogon glomeratus: 1920 (Britton 14). = BED GRASS (Nassau) ...
business
[Atlantic; DJE "evid. by abbr. of have business"] v. to be usual or appropriate: 1978 Y'ain 't bizness t' bite d' man on he knee-cap. ...
bussard
/bósad/ [cf. OED idem obs.→ 1700's] n. the buzzard or turkey vulture. (Eleu.) ...
bus(t)-eye
/bos ay/ [cf. Krio bos yay idem KED] n. a bruised or black eye. = BROWN EYE (Black) ...
bus(t)-open
/bos ówpn/ adj. wide open (also metaphorical): 1936 a bus' open race (Dupuch 74). (Gen.)
—v. to assault: 1940 He gone so far as to ...
bus(t) out
/bos awt/ [Gul. idem (Gonzales 1924: 192)] v.phr. to leave suddenly; run off: Them guys when you see them all you do is bus' out ...
bus(t) up
/bos op/ [cf. Vir. idem (Roy 1974); Krio boses idem KED; also Scots bust to beat CSD, US bust to punch W3] v.phr. to give ...
buttercup
[OED, W3 different sp.] n. a medicinal plant with yellow flowers: 1905 Turnera ulmifolia (Shattuck 207). 1920 Tribulus cistoides (Britton 202). (Gen.) ...
butterfly flower
[cf. DJE butterfly tree (Bauhina sp.) "from the resemblance of their bi-lobed leaves to the half-spread wings of a butterfly"] n. a tree, Bauhinia sp., ...
butter for fat
[cf. Krio bota-fo-lad tit for tat KED] phr. like for like: 1925 Tick for tack, butter for fat; You kill my dog, I'll kill your ...
butter hamlet
n. a fish, Hypoplectrus puella: 1968 (Böhlke 274). (Black) ...
butt up
[hypercorrection of BUCK UP] v.phr. to encounter: 1918 You goin' to butt up again' a lot o' trouble (Parsons 34). ...
by (1)
[also Bajan (Collymore 25), Gul. ADD] conj. since: 1966 By you's the man, I'll let you go (Crowley 113). (Black)
-prep. [Car,; OED, at the ...
by (2)
[from use as prep, introducing non-embedded participial phrases; NYC idem (Hunter student essays)] participial phrase marker: By him allowing her to come into his life ...
by-(and)-by
/bay(m)bay/ [Atlantic; cf. DJE bambai, Brit. dial. West bamby EDD, US dial. South bimeby WEA] adv. later; in a little while: 1917 By-by the string ...
by-talk
[cf. OED by-talk 1. small talk; 2. obs. → 1579 by-word, pet phrase] n. 1. a piece of information by hearsay: I didn't see it ...
Buildings
Traditionally most DWELVING HOUSES in the Bahamas have been modest. Only wealthy people can afford an UPSTAIRS HOUSE with GABLE-ENDS high enough for a CEILING ...
Buildings
Traditionally most DWELVING HOUSES in the Bahamas have been modest. Only wealthy people can afford an UPSTAIRS HOUSE with GABLE-ENDS high enough for a CEILING ...