Welsh Nots, Welsh Notes and Welsh Nuts: A Dictionary of Phrases with the Word "Welsh."

Folklore, Oct, 2001 by Tecwyn Vaughan Jones

Welsh Nots, Welsh Notes and Welsh Nuts: A Dictionary of Phrases with the Word "Welsh." By T. B. Edwards. Welsh Heritage Series, no. 8. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1998. 175 pp. 4.75 [pounds sterling]. ISBN 0-86381-485-9

The Welsh Heritage Series of pocket books published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch (of Llanrwst) is intended as a light-hearted introduction to specific, if perhaps peripheral, aspects of Welsh history, folklore, the Welsh character and language. The eighth volume in this series is a dictionary of terms which include the word "Welsh." The author has gleaned a defined number of published texts, included as a bibliography, in order to supply a vast number of these terms. His explanation, rather than definition, reflects their meaning as used in the original texts. Many of these terms have been created to distinguish locality, others as a direct comment on the character or peculiarities of the Welsh. Some of these are derogatory and others claim a moral high ground for things Welsh. There are a myriad of terms which refer the "Welsh" element to the Welsh language and others to a perceived characteristic which the word "Welsh" seems to attribute to common objects. Some of the terms and explanations are amusing flights of fancy and betray either a tongue-in-cheek approach or a certain lack of integrity.

The author's intention is to "concentrate on the type of entries that should be included in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable rather than entries which belong to a telephone directory." I assume that this means that the author has concentrated on specific usage, which includes: "food (Welshcake), folklore (Welsh Banshee), historical terms (Welsh Not), geographical toponyms (Welsh Alps and Welsh Athens), personal epithets (Welsh Shakespeare), music (Welsh harp), dress (Welsh wig), measurements (Welsh acre, Welsh mile), furniture (Welsh dresser), breeds of dogs (Welsh springer spaniel), birds (Welsh falcon), flora (Welsh poppy), religion (Welsh Calvinistic Methodists) [but not the Welsh Baptists as they were not a separate denomination], political (Welsh Nationalist Party), crafts (Welsh love spoon)." The list is so inclusive that it defies a meaningful categorisation.

The author claims that "most of the terms were coined by the English" and that these would inevitably be derogatory. He cites Robert Hendrickson (Animal Crackers: A Bestial Lexicon, 1983):

   The inhabitants of Wales suffered almost as much at the hands and from the
   tongues of the English as did the Scottish and the Irish. The traditional
   enemies used "Welsh" to signify anything poor, stupid, or crooked.

Recent efforts by Welsh societies in England and the USA to eliminate the use of "to Welsh" in the disparaging sense of denying one's obligations or refusing to pay a bet, has resulted in politically correct declarations to outlaw its use. The author, though, attributes the designation to the misdemeanours of a certain Bob Welch, an English bookie at Epsom who reneged on paying his dues. His similar sounding name, in oral tradition at least, confused the issue and the offence was associated with the Welsh people! The author highlights many derogatory terms in contemporary use.

The book is a light-hearted introduction to a form of naming which invests a vast array of objects--food, music, and so on--with the characteristic of being Welsh, and meaning is always related to context. Naming is the simplest form of verbal folklore and names have legitimate referential meanings. Many of the listed terms have entered oral tradition; others have not and quite frankly seem to be inventions by the author himself. It is of course possible to refer to anything that actually exists in Wales as Welsh, whether it exists elsewhere or not. Those that have entered oral tradition seem to have the following characteristics: semantic appropriateness, the essence of meaning being provided in one or two words; aesthetic qualities which matter of fact statements do not usually possess; brevity; allusion to that which is familiar; piquancy.

The theme of this pocketbook follows a familiar pattern set by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. This publisher has pioneered the publication of popular "souvenir" folklore presentations on Welsh themes, ensuring a wide appeal within Wales itself and amongst those who visit Wales.

Tecwyn Vaughan Jones, Coleg Y Drindod, Carmarthen, UK