-1

I was reading The Invisible Man by H.G.Wells and I came across this sentence:

There was my sister's son, Tom, jest cut his arm with a scythe, tumbled on it in the 'ayfield and, bless me! he was three months tied up sir.

What is the meaning of jest and 'ayfield over here? Well according to the Cambridge dictionary jest means : something that is said or done in order to be funny. I am not sure if the given usage is in the same context.

Improve this question
0

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

That’s of course eye dialect for just and hayfield:

  • the use of misspellings that are based on standard pronunciations (as sez for says or kow for cow) but are usually intended to suggest a speaker's illiteracy or his use of generally nonstandard pronunciations. (M-W)
Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Right. The suggestion is of a rural accent. IMO it's intended to be comic - the villagers are being depicted as unsophisticated yokels. The story is set in Iping so the dialect should be Sussex - but it might not be, depending on how familiar Wells actually was with the area. See also: english.stackexchange.com/questions/205622/…
    – A E
    Apr 12, 2015 at 17:51
  • I did not know that. +1
    – Karan Singh
    Apr 12, 2015 at 17:55

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.