Meaning
The number eight — the Patois pronunciation, with the final 't' clipped and the vowel opened. Numbers carry folk weight in Jamaica through the Drop Pan / Cash Pot games, where each number has a traditional meaning (in some systems eight is linked to a particular image), and people play numbers drawn from dreams.
Examples
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Mi buy eight orange from di higgler.
I bought eight oranges from the higgler.
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Him play number eight inna di Cash Pot.
He played number eight in the Cash Pot.
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Eight a clock di dance start.
The dance starts at eight o'clock.
Origin
The Patois pronunciation of 'eight'; numbers also carry meanings in the Drop Pan/Cash Pot number-games.
How it’s used
The number eight; note its role (like all numbers) in Drop Pan/Cash Pot. See [[drop-pan]], [[dream]].