tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post5350096993593559002..comments2024-03-26T18:01:57.609+00:00Comments on Inky Fool: A Year and a DayM.H. Forsythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01464964455944509750noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-51117613219019138792012-01-25T23:46:42.776+00:002012-01-25T23:46:42.776+00:00My kids used to say "Barley" in the scho...My kids used to say "Barley" in the school playground, in Lancashire, 10-15 years ago. No reason to suspect it has died out since.«Le Rosbif»https://www.blogger.com/profile/03869447916418054695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-28258121393322867092012-01-09T11:53:29.961+00:002012-01-09T11:53:29.961+00:00I remember using 'barlay', 'bars' ...I remember using 'barlay', 'bars' and 'pax' at various Australian schools, in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, in the 1970s. Barlay and bars declared a short truce, pax declared surrender.<br /><br />I didn't hear it for many years after that, but my sons use barlay in the same sense today. They're at primary school in Aberdeenshire, which ties in nicely with the Antipodean's comment quoting the Australian National Dictionary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-54457763503943932352012-01-06T06:37:12.074+00:002012-01-06T06:37:12.074+00:00From the Australian National Dictionary Centre web...From the Australian National Dictionary Centre website:<br /> <br />"This is a term used in children’s games, when a person wishes to claim a temporary truce. It first appears in English in the fourteenth century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knightand appears to be related to French ‘parlez’. Iona and Peter Opie in The Lore and Language of Children(1959) report that in Britain it is one of a number of regionally distributed terms for a truce. Barley is unknown in eastern and most of southern England, where the terms are fainites, kings, crosses, cree, and scribs. Barley is the term in Scotland and the west of England. Bars in used in Devon. In Swansea the term is bar. In Aberdeen and a few towns in England the term is barleys. We know that these four forms are used in Australia, and suspect that they are distributed regionally. Victorians say barley, but people in New South Wales say bar or bars. There is some evidence for barlies in Western Australia."<br /><br />We pronounced it more like bah-LEEZE, but a friend's mother apparently said barleys, with the s-sound. <br /><br />http://andc.anu.edu.au/pubs/ozwords/May_97/6._from_the_centre.htmThe Antipodean, who is sad to report that children now seem to say 'pause' instead,noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-84387511758938889212012-01-05T19:32:27.777+00:002012-01-05T19:32:27.777+00:00Barlay was used in Cardigan West Wales when I was...Barlay was used in Cardigan West Wales when I was a child in the late 70s and Early 80s. Thirty years later I now know why, all I need to know now is why we called the game it was used in was known as kip/cip.Garethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05741297277920030040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-49505397779157429432012-01-04T01:06:13.969+00:002012-01-04T01:06:13.969+00:00I loved the 'gin and smiles' excuse!I loved the 'gin and smiles' excuse!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-51617179606265428082012-01-03T01:01:12.211+00:002012-01-03T01:01:12.211+00:00I remember barlay being used in children's gam...I remember barlay being used in children's games in the early '60s here in Melbourne. But we thought it was 'Barley', not being educated in the classics at that stage.Rob Younghttp://www.rwyoung.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-26652962236680728782012-01-02T19:18:48.787+00:002012-01-02T19:18:48.787+00:00In "A Place Called Freedom", Ken Follett...In "A Place Called Freedom", Ken Follett gives a different legal explanation from the 18th century. It is about labourers becoming indentured after working for a year and a day.Roadrunnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10684952443112690852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-8879472769950739362012-01-02T17:50:42.962+00:002012-01-02T17:50:42.962+00:00"So they sailed away for a year and a day, to..."So they sailed away for a year and a day, to the land where the bong tree grows..."<br /><br />From: The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward LearKatherine W (from Manchester)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-88131160899225200182012-01-02T14:39:41.105+00:002012-01-02T14:39:41.105+00:00I can recall saying "Barlay" in the 70&#...I can recall saying "Barlay" in the 70's in the Bolton area. We also used the word "Demic" to describe something as faulty or damaged.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com