Meaning
The flat cotton strip in a kerosene lamp or a candle that draws up the oil to the flame and burns. In a home lamp the wick is turned up or down with a little wheel to make the flame bigger or smaller, and it has to be trimmed even and clean or it smokes and blackens the globe. Buying, trimming, and turning the wick was part of everyday life by lamplight, and 'turn dung di wick' is a familiar old instruction to lower the flame.
Examples
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Turn up di wick, di lamp too dim.
Turn up the wick, the lamp is too dim.
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Trim di wick so it nuh smoke.
Trim the wick so it doesn't smoke.
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Di wick burn dung, buy a new one.
The wick has burned down, buy a new one.
Origin
From English 'wick'; the burning cotton strip of a lamp or candle. See [[kerosene-lamp]], [[lamp-globe]].
How it’s used
The cotton strip of a lamp/candle that draws up the oil to burn. See [[kerosene-lamp]], [[lamp-globe]].