G

• ga
  See GO. ...
• gabbage
  /gábij/ [from garbage construed as a plural, perhaps by analogy to MAGGIDGE maggot(s)] n. pl. pieces of trash: 1974 All these gabbage (King 9). (Black) ...
• gabby bench
  [cf. Krio bambu bεnch idem KED; cf. W3 gabby talkative + bench] n. a bench, usually in the shade, for resting and chatting: 1977 (Albury 3). ...
• gable-end
  [cf. W Car. gíblin idem; cf. OED, gable obs.→1703, also Scots CSD] n. the end wall of a building, usually with a gable: 1817 From the storm... one ...
• gad daigs
  /gad deygz/ [cf. OED gad a minced pro­nunciation of God or W3 goldarn euphemism for god-damned] intj. an exclamation of surprise (youth slang): Well, gad daigs! The gal ...
• gale bird
  [probably from gale windstorm, but cf. OED gale (of a bird) to utter its peculiar note obs.→1520] n. 1. the barn swallow, Hirundo rustica: 1977 (Patterson 118). ...
• gale-of-wind bush
  [etym?] n. a plant, Phyllanthus niruri: 1920 (Britton 221). 1978 Gale-of-wind, Mimosa.. an insignificant weed used as a "tea" to reduce fever (Higgs 14). (Black) ...
• gallery
  n. 1. [cf. GALLEY] a ship's kitchen or cooking place. (Black) 2.   [cf. Sra. gadri WST, Vir. gallery (Roy 1974), both 'porch'; cf. US dial. South gallery veranda DARE and Haitian ...
• galley
  n. 1. [cf. OED, a ship's cooking range] a wooden box filled with sand on which a fire for cooking is made (usually on a boat): ...
• galloping vine
  [from its speed in spreading] n. a vine (sp?) resembling LOVE VINE which spreads over shrubs. (Andros, San Sal.) ...
• gall somebody up
  v. phr. 1. [cf. OED gall to make sore by chafing, and gall poison obs.→1450] (of a plant) to cause an itch: Da's poison wood. gall ya—gall ya ...
• gallus, gallus tree
  [Gul. idem (Parsons 1923:38); cf. OED gallus gallows obs, → 1549, and Scots gallows-tree idem CSD] n. a gallows: 1918 Take me off dis gallus tree (Parsons 153). ...
• gallwood
  [cf. OED gall poison obs.→ 1450, and Scots gallwood wormwood CSD] n. a tree, Metopium toxiferum, with an ...
• gambee
  See GOOMBAY. ...
• Gambier
  [probably after John Gambier, Governor 1758-60 (Craton 1962:145)] n. a village west of Nassau said to have been settled by liberated slaves from ships intercepted by the British ...
• game
  See RUN A GAME. ...
• game come
  v. phr. the game is over (said in playing marbles). (Black) ...
• Games
  Bahamian boys love to play marbles, and for their many variations on this game they have developed an elaborate and arcane vocabulary which would be ...
• gang
  [cf. US Black gangster marijuana (Major); probably from ganja] n. marijuana, Cannabis sativa. (Nassau) ...
• gap seed: pick up gap seed
   (Black); catch gap seed (Exuma) [cf. 1811 D VT gapeseed sights, any­thing to feed the eye: "I am come abroad for a little gapeseed"; cf. also ...
• garbage collector
  n. one who rummages through trash looking for useful items. (Eleu) ...
• garb-fish
  [cf. DM guard-fish idem; from gar-fish by hypercorrection] n, a garfish; any fish with long, beak-like jaws. (Eleu.) ...
• garden eddy
  [cf. OED garden applied to vegetables with the sense 'cultivated or growing in a garden', often distinctively opposed to wild, + EDDY] the eddoe, Xanthosoma sp., a vegetable with ...
• garden eel
  See GOLDEN EEL. ...
• garden egg
  n. 1. [DJE, KEG idem] the eggplant or aubergine, Solanum melongena. = EGG FRUIT 1 (Eleu.) 2. [from its appearance] a small, whitish egg-shaped fruit, Lucuma nervosa: 1978 ...
• gardenia
  [OED, W3 different sp.] n. a shrub, Tabernaemontana cashmere, with fragrant white flowers: 1956 (Higgs 25). (Eleu., White) ...
• garden punk
  [cf. OED garden a jocular substitute for common or ordinary (slang)+ PUNK] n. a male homosexual. (Andros) ...
• garf
  /gahf/, graph, graft /graf/ [cf, Krio gaf hold back (Hancock p.c.), Gul, graf idem (Writers' Program 1940:54); cf. OED gaff stick with an iron hook for landing ...
• garlic pear tree
  [W Car.] n. a tree, Crataeva tapia: 1889 Garlic pear tree. . from the odor of its fruits (Gardner 364). (Black) ...
• garlic weed
  [from its odor] n. a plant, Petiveria alliacea: 1920 (Britton 135). = GUINEA-HEN WEED, OBEAH BUSH, POND BUSH, POOR-MAN­-STRENGTH; STRONG MAN'S WEED cf. FOUR­-MAN-STRENGTH (Black) ...
• gas gut
  [cf. PUS GUT idem and US dial. South gank-gutted skinny ADD] n. a distended belly from malnutrition. = BELLY-SWELL, BIG GUT, SWELL BELLY (Deo.) ...
• gaulin
  /góhlin/, golden /gówlin/, goulding, galding [Car.; cf. Scots gawlin a fowl less than a duck CSD] n. various herons: the green heron, Buto­rides virescens; the little blue heron, Florida ...
• gaulin crab
  (Exuma, Eleu.); gauliny (Andros) [cf. GAULIN, a heron which eats these crabs] n. a small crab (sp?). cf. PAMMY GAULINY ...
• gaulin shark
  (Mayag.); gauldin shank (White) [from the resemblance of its long, slender trunk to the legs of a GAULIN ] n. a shrub (sp?) whose wood is often used ...
• Geechee
  /gíychiy/ [cf. Gul. "giJi gici the Gullah dialect; one who speaks Gullah; cf. Mende gidzhi a country called Kissy (Liberia)" (Turner 1949:194); cf. US dial. South "geechee, geechy ...
• geese
  [cf. Scots geese goose CSD, but many Cr. sing. forms are from English plurals, e.g. ANTS, TEET'] n. a goose: 1918 He meet a geese ...
• generation
  n. 1. [OED idem obs. .→1704] descen­dants: 1966 (Otterbein 129). Since the Bahamian dialect was our forefathers' language, I think that we should keep it and hand ...
• generation property or land
  [cf. GENERATION 1] n. land held jointly by all of the original owner's descendants: 1980 Generation land was given by a land-owner in the 19th century to ...
• genip
  See GUINEP. ...
• gentleman's fever, gentleman fever
  [cf. DJE gentle­man's complaint idem;by euphemism] n. venereal disease (old term): If you have gentlemen fever I could give you medicine too (Acklins). (Gen.) ...
• Georgie bundle
  n. 1. [also Bajan, Vir., Gul. (Roy 1977:73) and Trin. (Winer); etym?] luggage, be­longings; one's possessions wrapped in a cloth and carried on a stick when ...
• ger
  See GO. ...
• German wasp
  [etym?] n. a large wasp (sp?): Ger­man was' is big and blue and it have a bad sting (Andros). = SAILOR WASP (Black) ...
• get
  v. 1. [W Car.; also NYC dial.; cf. OED get to acquire (wealth) absolute] to receive (absolute): Don't worry 'bout that-people will get (Nassau). (Black) 2.   [Car.; cf. OED, ...
• get
  Other idioms with get in its common meanings include: get behind somebody to do something [Car.; cf. keep after somebody to do something and BEHIND after; cf. also Twi ...
• gether
  /géda/ [Atlantic; also Scots CSD, US dial. ADD] v. gather: 1918 What do you do to help me gether as much money as that? (Parsons 93). (Gen.) ...
• gi, gie, gee
  /gi/ v. 1. [Atlantic; cf. DJE give "often reduced in dial. (as also in English, Scots, US, etc. dial.) to /gi/] to give: 1936 Gie: give (Du­puch 125). 1966 ...
• gi, give
  prep. 0bs? [Pan-Creole; cf. Sra. gi, Haitian ba, Port. Cr. da (Ivens Ferraz 1979:108) etc.; a calque on the second element in serial verbs in various African ...
• giant lizard
  [from its size (some ten inches in length) as opposed to that of other species] n. a lizard, Ameiva auberi, with stripes. = BLUE-TAIL LIZARD, LION LIZARD cf. KING ...
• giant milkweed
  n. a shrub, Calotropis procera: 1920 (Britton 341). = WILD DOWN (Black) ...
• giant wasp
  /jáyan wahs/ n. a two-inch long, yellow wasp (sp?) with a bad sting. = KING WASP (Nassau) ...
• gig
  [US Black "originally a jazzman's job; later it came to mean any kind of job" (Major); cf. Scots gig anything that whirls; a state of flurry; a ...
• Gilator
  [possibly from a misreading of CIGATOO or ELEUTHERA] n. former name of an Island, perhaps Eleuthera: A [1627] grant of ... Abaco, Inagua, Mariguani and Gilator (Durrell 1972:18). ...
• gill
  [DJE, the extensible bright-colored dewlap or "fan" under a lizard's throat; OED, the wattles or dewlap of a fowl, —> 1785] n. the crop (of a chicken's gullet). ...
• gillembo
  /gílembow/ (Berry); gellabo /gélabow/ (Nassau) [W Car.; cf. MCC gilamba Prov. gálembo (Washabaugh 1974:161), Belize gilanbór (Dayley), all (blue) parrot fish] n. a fish, the ...
• gilly
  [cf. Scots gilly-gaukie to spend time idly and foolishly; gillie-gascon an empty, talkative vapourer CSD ] v. to pick up information for gossip. Cf. Gap ...
• gin or gin up
  /jin/ [cf. Krio kot-εn-joyn (cut and join)to cut cloth and sew a dress badly or roughly KED; cf. OED gin to catch in a gin ...
• gin and coconut water
  n. an alcoholic beverage of gin and the liquid from a young coconut, often with the addition of sweetened condensed milk: 1980 (Watson 18). ...
• ginep
  See GUINEP. ...
• ginger bush
  [from its fragrance; not Zingiber sp.] n. a shrub, Alpinia nutans: 1889 (Gardner 353). = SHELL PLANT (Gen.) ...
• ginger grass
  [Car.;name from "width of the leaves" DJE] n. a kind of grass, Panicum glutinosum with wide, prickly blades. (Black) ...
• girl, gyirl, gyal, gal
  /goyl, gyol, gyal, gal/ n. 1. [cf. Car. gyal; cf. Brit. dial, gal girl EDD; "The palatalized /ky/ and /gy/ before front vowels were first ...
• girl-child, gyal-chil'
  [Pan-Creole; cf. Pap. mucha muhe (lit, child woman) idem (Loftman 1953: 29); possibly a calque; cf. Bambara den-muso (lit, child-woman) idem (A. Kihm p.c.) but ...
• girl days
  [cf. Scots lassie-days girlhood CSD) n. childhood, youth (of girls): In my girl-days. cf. BOY DAYS (Black) ...
• give
  See GI'. Also in the following idioms: give a hell [cf. US Black "Ah don't give a dam pity hell" (Van Patten 1931:30)] phr. to ...
• givey: feel givey
  /gi'vi/ [cf. Scots give to thaw CSD; cf. US dial. South givey moist (of earth), humid (of weather) ADD] phr. to feel the salt from ...
• glass
  n. 1. [OED, a pane of glass, esp. the window of a coach etc.] count n. a pane of glass: Screw up the glass [i.e. ...
• glass bottle
  (Gen.); grass bottle (Eleu.) [Car.; cf. DJE grass bottle idem] n, pieces of broken glass: 1928 [riddle) Ol' England dead an' never rotten. Glass bottle ...
• glass-eye snapper
  (Gen.); glassy-eye snapper (San Sal.) [from its large eyes] n. a fish, Priacanthus cruentatus: 1968 (BöhIke 308), cf. SHINE-EYE SNAPPER ...
• glassy sweeper
  n. a fish, Pempheris schomburgki: 1968 (Böhlke 311). (Exuma, Inagua) ...
• glove bush
  [etym?] n. a shrub (sp?), used to make a bitter medicinal infusion. = LIMBERTING (Andros) ...
• gloves
  [cf. Krio wan an glovs (one hand gloves) one of a pair of gloves KED, and Prov. glubz glove (Washabaugh 1974:161)] is., sing. or pl. glove: She found ...
• glove sponge
  [OED idem 1885→; from its shape] n. a soft, inferior commercial sponge: 1836 Glove sponge ... from the western side of Andros Island (Journal 118). (Gen.) ...
• gnaw up
  [OED, to bite persistently] v. to cut (lumber) leaving a rough or crooked edge. cf. GIN UP, JACK UP 2 (San Sal.) ...
• go (1), ga, ger, gon, guh
  /go(n)/ [cf. (to be) going (to do)] preverbal marker, indicates future action: 1978 I gun be on der park (Smith 4). I go see 'im later (Nassau). I ...
• goacher's wasp
  /gówchas wahs/ [etym. uncertain, but cf. Scots goucher grandfather CSD] n. a kind of wasp (sp?). (Andros) ...
• goal-wood
  See GUNWOOD. ...
• Goat-catcher
  [from the local livelihood as goat-herd] n. nickname for a native of Rum Cay: Goat­catcher--they's the people from Rum Cay. It suppose to be plenty wild goat ...
• goat-horn okra
  [W Car.; "twists somewhat like a goat's horn" DJE; cf. Sra. dia-toetoe-okro (lit. deer-horn okra) WST] n. a variety of okra. (Black) ...
• goal palm
  n. a variety of palm tree, Thrinax ba­hamensis: 1905 (Shattuck 201). (Inagua) ...
• goat pepper
  [W Car.; "has a goat-like odour" DJE; cf. also Réunion Cr. Fr. pímakabri (lit, pepper goat) piment sphérique (Chaudenson 1974:85)] n. a variety of chili pepper (Capsicum sp.) which ...
• goat('s) foot
  [OED, DAE, DJE different sp.] n. a plant, Ipomeae pescaprae. = BAY WINDERS (Exuma) ...
• God-angel
  [from cherubic faces] n. street urchin. (Nassau) ...
• God-bird
  [Atlantic; "from folk belief in its super­natural properties; it has the reputation of being very clever and a hard bird to kill" DJE] n. the humming bird: ...
• god-brother, god-sister
  [Car.; OED, one with the same godparents as another obs. →1571, →1496] n. terms of address to the other children of one's godparents: 1966 (Otterbein 133). (Black) ...
• google-eye (jack)
  [Car.; cf, OED goggle-eyed hav­ing prominent eyes] n. fish with protruding eyes; 1905 Trachurops crumenophthalmus. ... goggle-eye Jack (Shattuck 303). 1928 Fried gogoleye (Curry 62). 1968 Labrisomus gobio ...
• goin'
  [cf. US colloq. going at it idem ] n. having sexual intercourse: 1971 I don't feel like goin' any more—I done have my five children (McCart­ney 148). (Gen.) ...
• gold
  /gowl/: I gold [etym. unclear; cf. goal but also BRASS] (in playing KNUCKS HOLE with marbles) phr. the announcement made after going from the first to the ...
• golden apple
  [Car. different sp. DJE] n. the sweet orange, Citrus aurantium: 1889 (Gardner 370). = FORBIDDEN FRUIT, ORANGE APPLE, OREENGE (Black) ...
• golden eel, garden eel
  n. an eel, Nystactichthys halis: 1968 (Böhlke 94). (Andros) ...
• golden rod
  [OED, W3, DJE different sp.] n. a shrub, Lantana bahamensis, with yellow flowers: 1920 (Britton 370). (San Sal.) ...
• golden wild fig
  [from its dark red fig-like fruit; cf. RED, YELLOW] n. a tree, Ficus aurea: 1977 (Patterson 45). (Black) ...
• goldy
  [OED, obs. except dial.; US dial. idem (all references to hair) ADD] n. having a golden tinge: goldy hair (Exuma). ...
• gon
  See GO. ...
• gone
  v. [Car.; from gone, going, go on] 1. to be going: 1895 I might as vwell gone too (Edwards 73). Man, I gone! [said on the way to ...
• gooder
  adj., comparative better. (Black) ...
• good-good
  [Car.; by reduplication of good; cf. Port. Cr. bwa-bwa very good, from Port. boa good (Ivens Ferraz 1979:58); cf. Yoruba dára good, daradára fair, beautiful DYL] adj. very ...
• good hair
  [Car.; US Black idem DAS; from obsole­scent value system in which things African are bad and things European are good; cf. Haitian bo cheve idem (Gaujean p.c.)] ...
• good hand
  [also Trin. (Winer); cf. Krio an gud 'hand is good' = (of person) be successful with the hands KED; cf. also Haitian gangnin bonne main avoir des ...
• good hands
  [etym?] phr. an expression said on parting. (Andros) ...
• good head
  [Car.; cf. US colloq. "He has a good head for math" and Twi owo tire (lit. he-has head) he is intelligent (K. Aboagye p.c.); cf. Ibo ...
• good luck bean
  [from its being kept for good luck] n. the flattish bean from a plant (Cerbera the­vetia?), about one inch in diameter with markings around the edge resembling ...
• good-mannerly
  [from good manners + mannerly] adj. orderly, righteous: Parents should teach their children the way of a good-mannerly life (COB). (Black) ...
• good night
  [Car.; cf. Scots gude nicht a salutation bidding 'good night' CSD; also Irel. (J. Ryan quoting J. Joyce)] phr. a greeting on meeting in the evening. (Black) ...
• good on
  adj. good at (doing) something: 1966 You really good on giving these names (Crowley 58). (Gen.) ...
• gooma bush
  [cf. DJE guma, Sra. agoéma; cf. Bam­bara gumbi a similar herb (Turner 194)] n. a shrub, Solanum nigrum, with black berries: 1920 (Britton 383). (Inagua, Adelaide) ...
• goombay, gumbay
  /gumbéy/; gumbee /gúmbiy/; gambee [cf. Kongo ngoma, nkumbi drum DJE; Swahili ngoma idem (Perrott); Twi gumbe Ghanaian drum music (K. Aboagye p.c.); the form gambee may have been ...
• gooseberry (tree)
  [unrelated to US or Brit. goose­berry; from the supposed resemblance of the fruit] n. a tree, Phyllanthus acidus or P. distichus: 1827 The gooseberry tree is very pretty; the fruit ...
• goose iron
  [cf. Vir. goose idem (Seaman), Krio gus idem KED; cf. OED goose a tailor's smoothing iron...so called from the resemblance of the handle to the shape of a ...
• goosey
  [cf. W3 goose probably so called from the fancied resemblance of an upturned thumb to the outstretched neck of a goose...to poke (or dig) a person ...
• gordy, goddy
  /góhdi/ [W Car,; cf. Scots, North goddy idem EDD, but also Kongo ngudi mother (Carter p.c.)] n. an affectionate term of address for one's godmother or other older, ...
• gossips
  n. pl. gossip; rumors: In Nassau you can always hear a lot of gossips (COB). (Black) ...
• got
  [from have got have (emphatic)] v. 1. to have (also as infinitive): 1936 Dey didn' got time t' han' out invites (Dupuch 49). cf. GOT TO (Exuma) 2. (cf. ...
• got to, gotty, gattie
  [cf. "He has got to do that"] v. to be obliged to (also as infinitive): 1966 Well, we going got to share (Crowley 113). 1970 Erryone gattie toast ...
• Governor Bailey
  [cf. Charles Bayley, Governor of the Bahamas 1857-64 (Craton 1962)] n. a shrub, Clerodendron sp., with red flowers: 1956 (Higgs 28). Governor Bailey, that thing grows in your yard and ...
• governor cassava
  /góbna kasáva/ [cf. DJE governor cane "the name probably implies superior qual­ity"] n. a variety of cassava described as "hard-hard". (Andros) ...
• gra-a-ade
  /greyd/ [US Black idem ESEA;cf.great!] intj. an exclamation of approval (Exuma, Andros) ◊The normal pronunciation is with a drawn-out vowel, ...
• grab hoe
  See GRUB HOE. ...
• grabilicious, gravilicious
  [W Car.; "evidently from grabble" DJE; Bahamians derive this from grabby + avaricious] adj. greedy: 1977 (Jones 19). That gravilicious boy eat all the food from ...
• grace
  [OED, to honour; cf. W3 honor your partner to salute with a bow in a square dance] v.t. to bow (to one's partner in dancing a quadrille): ...
• grace the meal, grace the table
  [cf. OED grace to say "grace" over (a meal) obs. → 1644] v. phr. to say grace: You shouldn't eat without you grace the table (Nassau). (Exuma, Nassau) ...
• graft
  See GARF ...
• grain
  [W Car.; cf. Krio fo gren nef only four knives KED; cf. OED grain the smallest possible quan­tity, US dial, grain a bit ADD; cf. also Haitian grenn ...
• grains
  /greynz/ (Mayag., Inagua, White); grainse /greyns/ (Eleu., San Sal.); grange /greynj/ (Exuma) [cf. W Car, grange idem; cf. OED grain a prong of a fork obs., pl. ...
• grainse-man
  (Black); grainser /grèynsa/ (San Sal.) [cf. GRAINS] n. harpooner ...
• gramma
  /gramá/, grooma /grumá/ [from godmother + Scots from Fr. comère godmother CSD; cf. Guy. macmay (Yansen 22), Trin. macomeh idem (Ottley 18) from ma comcère] n. a term of address ...
• gran'
  n. 1. [cf. Sra. gangan granny WST; US Black gran grandparent (Hancock p.c); Brit, dial. gran grandmother DHS, CSD; US dial. granny idern ADD; cf. also ...
• gran' boy, gran' girl
  [cf. GRAN' 2 ; cf. US dial. South grandboy idern ADD] n. grandson or granddaughter: To open can, my gran' boy must do it for me (Acklins). ...
• granddaddy
  [OED, "a species of Acaris [a mite or tick?] vulgarly called Longlegs, Grandady, etc."] n. an insect (sp?): Granddaddy is a small, green insect that eats plants (Inagua). ...
• granfather ants
  n. a large, red ant (sp?). (Black) ...
• grand holder
  n. the larger of the two front claws of the land crab. cf. BITER (Black) ...
• grange
  See GRAINS. ...
• granigrain
  [etym?] n. a shrub, Corchorus olitorius: 1920 (Britton 263). cf. GRUNGREY (Inagua) ...
• granny
  n. 1. [also US Black (Walker 1956:164), US dial. South ADD; cf. Scots granny an old woman CSD] a midwife: 1966 (Otterbein 66). (Gen.) 2.    [cf. GRANNY-CHILD; Cf. Réunion Cr. ...
• granny bush
   [cf. GRANNY 2 in reference to its medicinal properties] n. a plant, Croton linearis: 1905 (Shattuck 207). 1978 Granny-bush. . .com­monly known as the rosemary of the ...
• granny cake
  [etym?] n. peanut brittle, a kind of toffee, (Eleu.)= PEANUT CAKE ...
• granny-child
  [cf. GRANNY 1] n. the child a mid­wife has delivered: 1966 The "granny child" should at times take water, food, groceries, fish, or wood to its "granny" ...
• granny-kinny
  [etym?] n. a shrub (sp?): 1975 Scrubby bush called "granny-kinny" which we find useful for smudges  (Johnston 59). cf. GRINNY-KINNY BUSH ...
• grand spider
  [cf. GROUND SPIDER idem] n. the tarantula, Theraphosidae sp.= CHANCHILLA (Black) ...
• grape
  [MCC idem; fom the appearance of the fruit] n. the sea-grape tree, Coccoloba uvifera. = WILD GRAFE (Black) ...
• graph
  See GARF. ...
• graph hook
  [cf. GARF, GRAPH gaff or hooked pole] n. a hooked pole used in gathering sponges from the sea. (Black) ...
• grapple
  [OED, grapnel obs. → 1807] n. a grapnel or small anchor with several claws: 1895 B'Spider pitch overboar' again; 'e float. 'E say, "You no ...
• grass baby
  [cf. DOLL-BABY doll] n. a doll made of an unprooted clump of grass, the roots of which form the hair. (Black) ...
• grass bed
  n. any bed with a mattress made of swamp grass. (Gen.) ...
• grass bottle
  See GLASS BOTTLE ...
• grass lake
  n. a patch of turtle grass (a marine plant, Thalassia testudinum) floating in the open sea. (Mayag. Inagua) ...
• grass scorpion
  n. a fish, Scorpaena grandicornis; 1968 (Böhlke 647). cf. POISON TOAD (San Sal., Inagua) ...
• grass snake
  [W3 different sp.] n. a foot-long constrictor, Alsophus vudii. = BROWN RACER (Nassau, San Sal.) ...
• grass sponge
  [from appearance] n. an inferior kind of sponge, Spongia cerebriformis: 1977 Least desirable were the coarse grass sponges. Only the best of these were kept ...
• grater, gritter
  [Atlantic; cf. Brit. dial. North grater to grate EDD, US dial. gritter idem ADD] v. to grate: Had to dig that hog-potato and grater it ...
• graveyard bird
  [from the belief that its appearance foretells death] n. a black bird (Antrostomus carolinensis?).= DEAD-PEOPLE BIRD, DEATH BIRD, DEATH MESSENGER, SPIRIT BIRD (Nassau, Exuma) ...
• graveyard crab
  [from the belief that it feeds on cadavers] n. a small, pale land crab, Ocypode albicans. =JUNJO (Black) ...
• gravy
  [OED, the fat and juices which exude from flesh during and after the process of cooking; a dressing for meat or vegetables made from these ...
• grease
  n. [W Car.] hair cream: [at a drug store] Give me a can of grease, please (Nassau). (Black) ◊ ln the Bahamas this term does ...
• grease
  v. [cf. Scots greaser a thrashing CSD] to beat a person with an instrument; to cane (at school): 1978 Let's grease the muther (Smith 2). ...
• greasy bush
  [WE idem (sp?)] n. a shrub (sp?) whose leaves act as a detergent: 1976 Water from the "lye barrel" mixed with water from the well ...
• greasy man
  [cf. Belize griisimán thief (Dayley); the Bah. figure is supposedly based on the ac-tivities of an actual criminal] n. a semi-mythical figure described as a ...
• great
  [W Car.; from great-grandparents] n. ancestors: All their great did that (Nassau). (Black) ...
• Great Bahama
  [cf. OED Great prefixed to names to distinguish them from places having identical names with the prefix Little; cf. Great Exuma etc.] n., Obs. the ...
• great hog!
  [probably a euphemism for great God!] intj. an exclamation of surprise. (Black) ...
• great thatch
  [cf. THATCH 2; from its height] n., Obs? a palm tree (sp?): 1788 Among the indigenous palms the inhabitants distinguish four different varieties. . ."Great ...
• gree, agree
  [ Atlantic; cf. OED agree, also aphetized as gree to live or act together harmoniously] v. to live in harmony; to get along: 1918 Mrs. ...
• greedy worm
   n. 1. [OED, obs. 1585 "If the little nerve under Whelp's tongue (commonly called the greedy worm) be taken away, it keeps the same safe ...
• green
  [OED, of plants: retraining the natural moisture, not dried] adj. (of coffee) unroasted: 1977 (Albury 20). (Long) ...
• green corn
  [Car.; OED, unripe and tender ears of maize, commonly cooked as a table vegetable (US] n. maize that is mature but still has soft, most ...
• green ebony
  [DJE idem, "alluding to the colour of the wood"] n. a tree, Byra ebenus: 1889 (Gardner 377). (Black) ...
• Greenleaf
  n. the name of a folk-tale character, the beautiful daughter of the king whose hand in marriage is offered as a prize in various contests: ...
• green lizard
  [Car.] n. a particular kind of lizard, Anolis sp. (Black) ...
• green moray
  n. an eel, Gymnothorax funebris: 1968 (Böhlke 84). (Gen.) ...
• green tea
  [Trin. idem (Winer); DAE, tea cured in such a way as to prevent the occurrence of such chemical changes as take place in the curing ...
• Green Turtle
  n. nickname for a native of Green Turtle Cay off Abaco. (White) ...
• green turtle bough
  [perhaps because this turtle is found in its swampy habitat] n. a tree, Avicennia nitida: 1920 (Britton 375). = BLACKWOOD, BLACK MANGROVE, BLACK WOOD 1, ...
• grey-eye
  [cf. US Black gray white, Caucasian (Claerbaut 1972); cf DJE Grey-bo, grey people albinos, by folk etymology from Grebo, a Liberian tribe] n., adj. (having) ...
• grey snapper
  [Car.] n. a fish, Lutjanus griseus. = MANGO SNAPPER (Gen.) ...
• griddle-cake
  [cf. Scots girdle cake cake baked on a griddle or circular iron plate with bow handle for baking oatcakes, scones, etc. CSD; cf. US dial. ...
• grind
   /grayn/ [Atlantic; also US Black (Folb); 1811 DVT idem] v. (of men) to fornicate (a term considered vulgar): Wine 'em, dine 'em, and' grine 'em (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
• grinding mill
  /graynin mil/ [by analogy with grind­ing stone, etc.] n. a mill: 1970 Jessie belly start a-talkin' like a grin 'in' mill (Wallace 47). (Gen)  ...
• grind somebody up in your heart
  v. phr. to bear a grudge against somebody. (Black) ...
• grinny bush, grinny-kinny bush
  [Cf. GRANNY (-KINNY) BUSH] n. a low, scrubby, seashore plant (op?) with small yellow flowers and stumps rather than leaves. (White) ...
• grinny-gran' children
  n. great-great grandchildren: 1966 (Otterbein 126). (Black) ...
• grin your teeth
  [OED idem obs. →1700] v. phr. to grin; to show one's teeth: [of a photograph] She look stink-she grinning her teeth too much (Nassau). (Black) ...
• gripe
  n. [OED, an intermittent spasmodic pain in the bowels; gripes colic pains] diarrhea: He have the gripe (Nassau). (Gen.) -v. [OED, to affect with "gripes", now chiefly in the ...
• gristle
  [OED, with reference to the gristly nature of the bones in infancy] n. the backbone (of a child). (Black) ...
• grit
  [cf. DAE grit to grate (the teeth), gritty pro­voked; grate to harass, irritate] v. to annoy. (Mayag) ...
• grits
  [from grit soil, sand; influenced by grits 'corn­meal] n. dirt or stains on the teeth: He smoke so much till he gets grits on his ...
• gritsy
  [probably from gritty, influenced by GRITS] adj. (of the teeth) not clean: Before you grin up in my face, go brush them gritsy teeth (Nassau). 031ack) ...
• grivel
  /grival/ [from gruel by /w, v/ alternation] n. cooked, semiliquid cereal such as cornmeal mush or cream of wheat. (San Sal., Rum Cay)  ...
• ground
  [Atlantic; OED idem obs. → 1733; Brit. dial. idem EDD ] n. a field; a piece of farmland (count n.): I'm going to the ground (White). (Gen.) ...
• groan
  [from groin, influenced by groan] n. groin. (Black) ...
• ground dove
  [Car.; OED 1792→; from its habit of feeding on the ground] n. a small dove, Columbigallina passerina: 1731 (Catesby 26). 1910 Called "Ground Dove" and ...
• ground fruit
  [Car.; ground could refer either to the earth or the field; cf. GROUND VEGETABLES] n. starchy root crops, such as yam, cassava, etc. (Black) ...
• ground pin
  (White); ground-post (Andros) [OED ground-pin a main pin or beam in any structure obs. → 1762] n. wooden supports for a building: 1977 The ground-pin ...
• ground spider
  [OED, any kind of spider that burrows or lives under stones 1880→; DAE idem 1867→] n. the tarantula, Theraphosidae sp.: 1788 Centipeeds and ground-spiders, likewise ...
• ground vegetables
  [Trin. idem (Hancock p.c.); cf. GROUND FRUIT] n. root vegetables: Your ground vegetables growing good this year (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
• ground-walker
  n. a bird, Seirus aurocapillus: 1910 (Northrop 53). = NIGHT-WALKER (Inagua, White) ...
• grounit
  /gráwnit/ [cf. W3 ground nut (chiefly Brit.) peanut; cf. DJE nit a common folk pronun­ciation of nut when it appears as the second ele­ment of ...
• grouper
  /grúwpa/ [Atlantic; from Port. garoupa, fish of this kind, probably of Cariban origin DJE; cf. Galibi croupy, fish sp. W3] n. any large food fish of the ...
• grow
  [Atlantic; OED, to advance in age obs. → 1715] v. to become an adult; to grow up: I finish grow there (Nassau). (Black) grow a big man or ...
• grub
  [OED, to dig; to rummage; to search in an undignified manner] v.t. to catch with the hands: We go in the mangra and grub fish. ..out da ...
• grub hoe
  (Black); grab hoe (San Sal., Inagua) [cf. OED grub to dig superficially; to clear (ground) of roots and stumps; W3 grub(bing) hoe a heavy hoe for ...
• grudge
  [Car.; "to be jealous of (someone). (The thing about which one is envious is not expressed as direct object)" DJE; cf. OED grudge to envy (a person) obs. ...
• grudgeful: take grudgeful
  [Car.; "the sense develop­ment of this adj. parallels that of grudge" DJE; OED resentful rare; Scots idem CSD; cf. take be­come, as in take sick] v. phr. ...
• grumble
  [OED, of an animal: a low growl] v. (of dogs) to growl. (Black) ...
• grumma
   /grumá/ [cf. grandma] n. grandmother. (Eleu., Andros) ...
• grumpa
  /grumpá/ [cf. grandpa] n. grandfather. (Eleu., Andros) ...
• grumptious
  [cf. Scots grump to crunch hard or brittle substances with the teeth CSD] adj. greedy: 1966 A grumptious man like you (Crow­ley 53). (San Sal., ...
• grunduv
  See MR. GRUNDUV. ...
• grungrey
  [cf. GRANIGRAIN ] n. 1. a shrub (sp?), the leaves of which are used in making soup. (Nassau) 2. the soup made from these leaves boiled with pigs' feet ...
• grunt
  [Car.] n. a food fish, Haernulon sp., which makes grunting noises when caught: 1782 old-wives, grunts (Bruce 46). (Gen.) ...
• grup
  [probably from gulp by /l, r/ alternation and metathesis, but cf. Scots gruppy, gruppit greedy CSD] v. to swallow in gulps: 1977 (Jones 19). ...
• guana
  [Car.; aphetized form of Sp. iguana from Arawakan ioána (Taylor 1977:21)] n. the iguana, a large lizard: 1 73 1 The Guana (Lacertus indicus) (Catesby II 64). ...
• guana berry
  (Black); gonna berry (Exuma) [unclear if it is eaten by iguanas; it may simply grow on the cays they inhabit] n. a shrub and its fruit: 1920 ...
• Guanahani
  [from Lucayan] n. an earlier name for San Salvador, a major Bahamian island: 1635 Guanahami, ó S. Salvador (Atlas Novus). 1962 The island at which the Spaniards landed ...
• guana palm
  [cf. GUANA BERRY] n. a tree, Byrs­onima lucida, with purple fruit often eaten by birds. cf. PLUM BERRY (Gen.) ...
• guana weed
  [MCC idem, a vine used in binding huts] n. a plant (sp?) (Black) ...
• guard
  [Car.; cf. Sra. kandoe idem WST, Haitian garde idem (Dillard 1977: 118)] n. a protective charm, especially one placed in a fruit tree to threaten ...
• guard room
  [OED, a room for the accommodation of a (military) guard; a room in which prisoners are guarded] n. a small police station: 1976 The streets ...
• guava
  /gwówva, gówva, gówwa (Nassau); góhva, góhwa (Eleu.); gwóhwa (Mayag.)/ [from Sp. guayaba from Taino idem (Taylor 1977:20)] n. the guava, a fruit (Psidium guayava). ...
• guava duff
  [cf. DUFF] n. a pudding steamed in a bag and served with a guava sauce, considered a Bahamian speciality. (Gen.) ...
• guffer, land guffer
  /gófa/, [cf. W3 gopher from earlier megopher (of unknown origin) a land tortoise] n. a small turtle, Chrysemys felis, found in freshwater ponds. = PETER ...
• guh
  See GO. ...
• guinea corn
  [OED idem, but cf. DAE a variety of maize, because it was introduced from the Guinea coast of Africa or "because speckled like a guinea-fowl"] n. a ...
• guinea corn grits
  n. coarsely ground guinea-corn meal. = ISLAND GRITS, NATIVE GRITS, RED GRITS, YELLOW GRITS (Eleu) ...
• guinea-corn row, guinea row, corn row
  (cf. Belize kaan ruo idem (Dayley), Krio konrol idem KED, US Black corn row DAS, Vir. Guinea plait idem (Highfield p.c.); from the resemblance of each braid to ...
• guinea grass
  [Car.; "introduced from Africa or Guinea" DJE] n. a tall, cutting grass (Parricum maximum) used for fodder: 1832 (Farquharson v). Goat-food—that's jumbey, guinea grass, five-finger, rubber vine ...
• guinea-hen bush
  [from speckled appearance?] n. a plant, Perisicaria portoricensis: 1978 Guinea-hen bush. . .a weed with attractive foliage and tiny star-like white flowers. The root is ...
• guinea-hen weed
  [DJE idem] n. a plant, Petiveria ailiacea, used medicinally: 1889 (Gardner 401). = STRONG MAN'S WEED (Black) ...
• guinea pepper
  [Car.] n. a variety of chili pepper, Capsicum annum: 1889 (Gardner 395). They say you could work witch with the guinea pepper (Nassau). (Gen.) ...
• guinea row
  See GUINEA-CORN ROW. ...
• guinep, gunnap, kinep, canep
  /ginép, kinép/ [cf. Car. /kinép/ DJE; OED and W3 erroneously derive genip from "Sp. genipa. . from Guarani"; cf. American Sp. genipa (Genipa americana) as ...
• guitart
  [from guitar by hypercorrection] n. guitar. (Exuma) ...
• gulcher pants
  [cf. BDNE I gauchos baggy trousers usually reaching, and often gathered at, the ankles.. .] n. knee-length trousers with wide bottoms. (Black) ...
• gulf
  n. golf: 1936 (Dupuch 125). (Black) ...
• gully
  [from gull + -y (diminutive)] n. 1. the sea gull: 1936 Shark eat half an gully eat d' yes' (Dupuch 84). = LAUGHING BIRD, LAUGHY, SEA-GULF, ...
• Gulumbanasi
  See ANANCY ...
• gumbay
  See GOOMBAY. ...
• gum-elemi, gumallamy
  /gamálamiy/; camallomee /kamálamiy/ [from gum elerni] n. the gum elemi tree, Bursera simaruba, whose aromatic leaves are used in medicinal infusions: .1889 (Gardner 372). 1966 ...
• gumma
  [cf. US colloq. gimme. Scots gimma give me] v. phr. 1. give me: Gumma someting sweet (Cat). (Black) 2. give her. (Eleu.) ...
• gumma bush
  [etym?] n. a shrub (sp?) up to three feet in height with broad green leaves. (Andros, San Sal.) ...
• gummy, gammy
  adj, 1. [cf. OED gummy sticky, soiled obs. → 17201 sticky, such as the hands, after eating candy: Don't let him touch you dress. His ...
• gun
  [cf. W Car. gun-foot long, narrow trousers DJE; cf. Krio gonmot (gun mouth) very slim and tightfitting trousers KED; cf. Scots gun-sleeves sleeves wider at ...
• gun-barrel pants
  [cf. GUN] n. trousers with narrow legs that are rather too short. (White) ...
• gunwood
  (Inagua); goal-wood (Andros) [etym?] n. a tree, Tabebuia bahamensis: 1920 (Britton 396). ...
• gurgy
  [possibly akin to OED gurgitate to swallow obs. → 1656] adj. (of fruit) astringent. cf. GUMMY (White) ...
• gurry
  [OED, fish offal, chiefly US; cf. Scots goorie the garbage of salmon; cf. US dial. gurry offal from a fish cannery ADD; DAE idem "a ...
• gut: my gut pickin' (or bitin') me
  phr. I'm hungry. cf. GULLY PICKING (Black) ...
• guts
  [cf. OED gut narrow passage or lange] n. the line behid which one must stand while throwing marbles into the ring. (Gen.) ...
• gwine, gwoin'
  /gwayn/ [Car. "an archaic pronunciation, preserved also in the US" DJE; US dial. idem ADD] v. going: 1880 Mitchell isn't gwine to lose his boat ...
• gyal
  See GIRL. ...
• gyal-chile
  See GIRL-CHILD. ...
• gutless
  (Black); gutlish (Andros); gutlin' (Exuma) [cf. Vir. glus ravenous (Roy 1974), Gul. gútlin greedy (Hancock 1969: 45); cf. OED gutling glutton obs. except dial.; Scots ...
• Games
  Bahamian boys love to play marbles, and for their many variations on this game they have developed an elaborate and arcane vocabulary which would be ...