Feel

verb FEEL fiːl

Also spelled feel a way, feel it

Besides the ordinary sense of touching or sensing, in Patois 'feel a way' means to take offence, to get hurt, or to become upset — 'mi feel a way wen him seh dat' means I got hurt, I took it badly, when he said that. To 'feel it' is to be affected or moved by something, struck to the heart. So the word carries a distinct emotional charge, naming the wounded, hurt, or offended reaction to a slight or a sorrow, and 'feel a way' is the common, understated Jamaican way of admitting that something got to you and left you hurt.

  • Mi feel a way wen dem lef mi out.

    I felt hurt when they left me out.

  • Nuh feel nuh way, a jus a joke.

    Don't take offence, it's just a joke.

  • Him feel it wen him madda pass.

    He was deeply affected when his mother passed.

From 'feel'; the Patois idiom 'feel a way' (take offence/get hurt) is distinctive.

'Feel a way' = take offence/get upset; 'nuh feel nuh way' = don't take it badly. Compare 'bex', 'sour'.