Liam O Muirthile has the word graisneil in a poem of his written in memory of a Kerry scythesman. A teacher from that county asked about the word, which she says, is not to be found in either Dinneen's or O Donaill's dictionaries.
The word is borrowed from English and is found in various places in south Leinster as grass-nail.
Grass-nail is described in a Cheshire dialect dictionary as "a short iron rod connecting the head of a scythe-pole and the base of the blade, cutting off the angle, as it were. The effect of the contrivance is to prevent the grass clogging around the base of the blade". A Nottinghamshire dictionary says the grass-nail was "the strip of iron running from the blade to the shaft to turn or carry the cut grass and prevent it falling over the scythe". In Shropshire the grass-nail was described "as a small hook which fastens into the scythe blade and keeps it steady".
Jack Devereux of Kilmore Quay had grassnaythe for grass-nail. I wonder did he confuse snaythe and nail? Or was I confused when I recorded the word from him? Snaythe is a variant of snead (Old English snaed, the handle of a scythe, or as they say in south Wexford and all over southern England, a sive).
On a recent visit to London I came across the street market where Del Boy was filmed selling Rolexes. I inquired about the price of a big box of genuine Belgian chocolates and was told that they would set me back two oncers and half-a-bar - £2.50. The old girl I spoke to told me that many of the words she was reared with survived the decimalisation change. Five pence is still the old bob, deaner, ogg and chip. Ten pence is still a deuce. She regretted the demise of the tanner, and the tosheroon, the half-crown. Twenty five pence is a caser. A pound is still a quid, a nicker, a oncer and a sheet. Silver money is still called snow.
Her son worked a line in schmutter (Yiddish for clothes, rags), in another market, she told me. He knew a suit as a whistle (rhyming slang whistle and flute). He sold round-the-'ouses (trousers), Norfolk tits (tit-for-tat, hat), turtles (from turtle doves, gloves) and Tilburys (from Tilbury Docks, socks). She must have fancied me. She gave me a second box of chocolates for a sheet and some odd snow.