[363/365] Christmas language

I've had this tab open for a few days, it's a little bit late now...but hey it's also the fourth day of Christmas technically (calling birds!).

It's a listicle from Susie Dent of old-fashioned, Christmas related words that are at least sorta-English.

Some highlights.

bellycheer: is the 16th-century version of comfort food. It is defined in the dictionary as “the gratification of the belly; feasting, and gluttony”.

cover-slut: If ever there was a time when we needed bibs, Christmas is surely it. Whether it is the warm glass of wine at 1am, or the gravy passed round and round the table, things are going to get spilled. For such moments we need the “cover-slut”, 17th-century speak for a garment worn over the top of another item in order to hide something unsightly.

hufflebuffs: One of the greatest joys of Christmas is surely the liberty to wear “hufflebuffs”, old Scots for the well-worn, comfy, and usually elasticated clothes we shuffle into at holiday time.

jolly:... Among the “jolly” phrases listed in the dictionary is “jolly-timbered”, meaning round and cuddly – surely the perfect epithet for Santa.

(I've been thinking ever since about how good an epithet it is for diffrentcolours, too! Indeed the other day his little nephew told him "Maybe you're Santa: you've got a beard, you've got a big belly, you've got the vibes...")

mystery, bags of: the Victorian’s favourite word for sausages – “bags of mystery”, because you never quite know what’s in them.

respair: A word that should be savoured at the beginning and end of every year – especially this one. Respair is fresh hope; a recovery from despair.