Think | Local Words for Rain

As a nation that ‘enjoys’ its fair share of the rain, at least we’ve embraced April showers with various terms for the many and varying types of rain, and some rather specific regional words, too. Here are just a few of our favourites from across the country.

Bange (East Anglia) - dampness in the air

Damping (Midlands) - generally pretty wet

Bouncing off the ground (Lancashire) - raining so hard it’s bouncing back

Degging (Northumberland) - sprinkling or moistening

Dibble (Shropshire) - slow rain drops

Dringey (Norfolk) - light rainfall

Hadder (Cumbria) - from ‘heather’, a feathery, light rain

Harle (Lincolnshire) - drizzle from the sea

Hi’n brwr hen wraegedd affyn (Wales) - meaning ‘it’s raining old women and sticks’

Letty (Somerset) - enough rain to make outdoor work hard. From the old English let, meaning to disallow

Mizzle (Devon and Cornwall) - might sound like a portmanteau of misty and drizzle and it does mean ‘a misty drizzle’ but likely derives from the Dutch miezelen

Picking (Wales) - from pigan meaning ‘starting to rain’

Pleasure and pain (Cockney) - rhyming slang

Plodging through the clart (Northumberland) - so wet you’re wading through mud

Raining forks tiyunsdown’ards (Lincolnshire) - very hard, painful rain, raining like pitchforks

Smirr (Scotland) - a drifting, fine rain

Smithering (Suffolk) - drizzling

Wet rain (Northern Ireland) - that soft, sheeting rain that gets into everything

Our dialect words for rain were inspired by our feature, All Weather Friend from our April issue, which is an extract from In All Weathers: A Journey Through Rain, Fog, Wind, Ice And Everything In Between by Matt Gaw (Elliott & Thompson).

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Rain | The real Dr Foster

Who was that mysterious man in the puddle?

April is known for its showers of rain, but it doesn’t stop us occasionally forgetting and getting caught out with no umbrella. One man who got very much caught out by the April weather was Dr Foster, of nursery rhyme fame, who went to Gloucester in a shower of rain, stepped in a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again. 

But did you know the tale of Dr Foster was not just a nursery rhyme but an actual historical event? Well, ‘event’ might be a bit strong. Perhaps a historical anecdote. 

Dr Foster was likely to have actually been the Plantagenat king , Edward I. He was apparently on his way to Wales, passing through Gloucester, when he fell into a a large, muddy puddle (or got stuck on his horse in a stream and had to be hauled out). Either way, it was a humiliating moment and as a result he never set foot in the town again. It must have been quite a puddle to have come up to his middle, too, because Edward was fondly known as ‘Longshanks’ and stood 6 foot 2 inches tall, quite a height for that period.

So if you must go to Gloucester this April, take a brolly and some wellies and don’t go puddle-jumping.

If you’d like to know more about April showers, read Right as Rain in our April issue, which is all about the words for rain we use in various parts of the UK. Learn to tell your ‘dinge’ from your ‘henting’ from page 22.

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Escape: Rainy day adventures

A rainy walk with friends or family feels somehow enlivening, as if you’re defying the weather, having fun and making memories... even when water gets in your wellies

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”
Lake District fellwalking legend Alfred Wainwright (originally from a Norwegian adage)

Feel the rain on your skin, see it drip through a hazel leaf funnel onto the forest floor. Touch the bark of a gnarled, rough oak or a smooth, grey beech trunk made dark by running water. Run your fingers over a velvety bracket fungus. As the sun comes out from behind a cloud, find a clearing and hold your face to the sky. A free dose of Vitamin D, courtesy of spring.

Hear the squelch and suck of wellies in gloopy mud, splash through a puddle, or linger on a bridge over a babbling brook. Hush up a little and you’ll notice birdsong all around, maybe a woodpecker at work. If the wind picks up, the branches creak and groan in an arboreal conversation that makes you believe in magical creatures. Big kid or little kid, climb a tree and feel the breeze whistle through the branches around you.

Turn to page 24 of April's The Simple Things for more of our April Showers ideas.

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Grey sky thinking

There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing
Alfred Wainwright

Wainwright's right. And once the clothing is sorted, there's no reason not to make the best use of a soggy spell, whether you decide to delight in the drizzle or stay warm and dry.

If you're a pluviophile - a person who finds joy in rainy days - you might enjoy our Grey Sky Thinking feature on page 38 of November's The Simple Things: have a read for ideas to create a dream rainy day on the sofa (complete with snacks, entertainment and warm socks); ways to bring nature inside; how to fix and finish those niggly jobs; and easy crafternoon ideas.

Meanwhile, this wet weather trivia should make you smile whatever the weather.  

Umbrella: The brolly is a pretty ancient device, and in primitive times would have been an improvised transportable shelter of leafy branches. According to Chinese legend, however, the earliest umbrella can be dated back to 2000BC, when it would have been a mark of rank.

Sou'wester: This collapsible waterproof hat designed to repel wind and rain and beloved by seamen was originally worn by New England fishermen in the 19th century who donned oiled clothing to stay dry. Its name is an appreciation of 'southwester', describing quite literally a strong wind blowing from the south west.

Wellington boots: These British icons were first loved by Georgian patriots, rakes and dandies in the early 19th century after the Duke of Wellington instructed his boot maker to cut his boots below the knee to make them more comfortable with the newly fashionable trouser. But they were first officially called 'Wellingtons' when a Scottish manufacturer began producing them in rubber rather than the original calfskin.

Cagoule: This foldaway lightweight waterproof coat was first invented by the aptly named Peter Storm and launched in the UK in the 1960s. The word has French origin and comes from 'cowl', meaning a long hooded garment.

Name your rain

There's no surprise we Brits have so many different words for rain. Here are four regional favourites:

Plothering: When it's 'plottering' in the Midlands you're going to have to make a dash for it, because there's no escaping these big fat vertical rain drops that are hammering down.

Siling: If it's doing this in the North East, prepare to get soaked.

Letty: The kind of weather that South West famers hate, since it's 'just too blooming letty' to work outside.

Mochy: If a Scot or an Irishman says the weather is mochy it's going to be exactly how it sounds - wet, damp and misty. Brr...

Read more:

From the November issue

Ingredients for a cold-weather reading session

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Fancy sea salt hot chocolate, cinder toffee and firepit cakes, a celebration of toast plus ways to tell a good story around the fire, subversive cross stitch and how to keep your herbs going over winter? Oh and bibliotherapy, crafternoons and a poem about beautiful librarians. 

All this in our November COMFORT issue. You'll find us in even more Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores this month plus WH Smiths, Tesco and good independents. We're on sale now somewhere near you.

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Weather: Nine buys for the meteorologically inclined

“When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.” 
― Alice Hoffman, Here on Earth

Squally showers and sleet, mizzle and mist... January is the rainiest month of the year and, this issue, The Simple Things celebrates extreme weather (turn to page 62 for a guide to stormwatching, and page 16 for a celebration of rain).

If you’re as big a fan of blustery British weather as we are then you’ll appreciate these nine buys. Show your love of storms with a pair of lightning earrings, or watch clouds passing across your ceiling with a cumulus lampshade. 

Where to buy

1. Coming out of the radio like a telegram from past era, the shipping forecast is both bamboozling and soothing. Remind yourself of those peculiar words with this screen-printed tea towel, £9.50, Folksy.

2. A fluffy white cloud and a single blue raindrop make this ring a cute and colourful accessory on an otherwise grey day, £6.00, Folksy. 

3. One for the true weather whiz - a 100% waterproof notebook ensures no meteorological markings will go astray, £10.00, Science Museum Shop.

4. The kids might not have heard of Michael Fish, but they can play weather forecaster with this beautiful hand-sewn felt map, £30.00, Corby Tindersticks.

5. Get geeky with The Cloudspotter's Guide - a book written for people like us. Looking up will never be the same again, £9.99, The Cloud Appreciate Society.  

6. Bowie-esque, these rose gold studs are glam AND glamorous, £125.94, Etsy.

7. ... or perhaps a rainy day sterling silver necklace is more your cup of tea? £59.53, Etsy.

8. The bubble cloud motif is a retro classic. Adorn your lights with this lampshade and gaze up, £10.00, The Pippa and Ike Show.

9. Make your own rainmaker - just top an old plastic bottle with this cloud-shaped sprinkler and use it to water the plants, £8.00, Science Museum Shop.

1. Coming out of the radio like a telegram from past era, the shipping forecast is both bamboozling and soothing. Remind yourself of those peculiar words with this screen-printed tea towel, £9.50, Folksy.

2. A fluffy white cloud and a single blue raindrop make this ring a cute and colourful accessory for a grey day, £6.00, Folksy. 

3. One for the true weather whiz - a 100% waterproof notebook ensures no meteorological markings will go astray, £10.00, Science Museum Shop.

4. The kids might not have heard of Michael Fish, but they can play weather forecaster with this beautiful hand-sewn felt map, £30.00, Corby Tindersticks.

5. Get geeky with The Cloudspotter's Guide - a book written for people like us. Looking up will never be the same again, £9.99, The Cloud Appreciate Society.  

6. Bowie-esque, these rose gold studs are glam AND glamorous, £125.94, Etsy.

7. ... or perhaps a rainy day sterling silver necklace is more your cup of tea? £59.53, Etsy.

8. The bubble cloud motif is a retro classic. Adorn your lights with this lampshade and gaze up, £10.00, The Pippa and Ike Show.

9. Make your own rainmaker - just top an old plastic bottle with this cloud-shaped sprinkler and use it to water the plants, £8.00, Science Museum Shop.

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Words: Lottie Storey