To
be nithered was, at one time, to be starved with cold - but then starved in
that context is not the normal use of that word, either. That wonderful compilation of modern slang,
the Urban Dictionary, defines it as – “The condition one finds oneself in after
spending an appreciable amount of time in nithering conditions. The kind of
cold where you can't feel your fingers, toes or nose any more, and don't look
forward to them coming back, cos it'll hurt.”
Well and truly nithered !
The
word was principally a dialect word and is said to have held on in the Pennines
until at least the middle of the last century.
But then, that is also where the word wuthering - (of a wind) blowing
strongly with a roaring sound – was once made famous by a certain novelist!
Now I'm wondering about the pronounciation of "nithered" and "nithering". And I hope that, when I'll be on the TransPennine "Express" in a few months, I won't find nithering conditions there!
ReplyDeleteI had assumed it was pronounced like withered - but since I don't know how to represent that in pronouncing form it doesn't help a lot.
DeleteYes it does help, because I know how withered is pronounced. Thank you!
Delete