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Oxford English Dictionary to feature East Anglian bug terms

BBC LadybirdBBC
If you find yourself in Cromer, Hunstanton or Bungay, do not be surprised to hear this being called a bishy barnabee

Two East Anglian dialect phrases for insects are to be added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) this year.

"Billywitch", a Suffolk term for the cockchafer beetle, will be added in June and "bishy barnabee" - a ladybird in Norfolk and Suffolk - will be included later.

Michael Profitt, OED chief editor, said regional words were "distinctive, inventive, and evocative".

Keith Skipper, an expert on the Norfolk dialect, welcomed their inclusion.

He said "bishy barnabee" was one of the first words newcomers to the county learned.

"It is splendid news that proper Norfolk is being recognised in this way," he said.

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Other recent regional dialect OED entries

  • "On the huh" - a Suffolk phrase meaning a bit wonky or lop-sided
  • "Monkey's blood" - a North East phrase for strawberry sauce
  • "Croggy" - to give someone a lift on your bike in Northern England
AFP CockchaferAFP
A cockchafer is known as a billywitch in Beccles and Lowestoft

The OED's earliest example of bishy barnabee was as "bush a benny tree" in a 1789 manuscript of Norfolk words.

Theories suggest the term may relate to a Bishop Barnaby or a Bishop Bonner.

Meanwhile, in the "billywitch" OED entry, a 1933 reference from The Times newspaper states: "I do not know in which part of Suffolk they call cockchafers 'butterwitches', but round here [i.e. in Beccles] they are called 'billywitches'".

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Suffolk author Charlie Haylock said more local dialects should be reflected in the dictionary.

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"It is recognising the fact there are other ways of pronouncing things other than the standard," he said.

The news follows another Suffolk phrase, "on the huh", being added last year.