Meaning
Ants — often used in the singular form 'ants' for one or many ('a ants a crawl'). Jamaica has a whole family of them, each with its own name: sugar ants for the sweet, fire ants that sting, 'duck-ants' for termites, and marching ants in their long lines. Ants figure in proverb too ('tek time mash ant, yuh find him guts' — patience reveals detail).
Examples
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A whole line a ants a march cross di floor.
A whole line of ants is marching across the floor.
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One ants a crawl pon di table.
An ant is crawling on the table.
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Sweep weh di ants dem.
Sweep away the ants.
Origin
From 'ants'; used in Patois even for a single ant ('a ants'). See [[sugar-ant]], [[fire-ant]].
How it’s used
Ants (often singular 'a ants'); many named kinds. See [[sugar-ant]], [[fire-ant]], [[duck-ants]].