Meaning
A tough, woody climbing vine ('withe') that hangs from trees and winds through the bush — cut and used as a natural rope for tying, binding bundles, weaving baskets and fish pots, and lashing together country structures. To 'cut a wiss' is to get a length of vine for tying. Many wiss have their own names and uses, some medicinal, and they are a mainstay of country ingenuity.
Examples
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Cut a wiss fi tie up di bundle.
Cut a vine to tie up the bundle.
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Dem weave di basket outta wiss.
They weave the basket out of vine.
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Di wiss hang dung from di tree.
The vine hangs down from the tree.
Origin
From 'withe' (a flexible tying vine/twig); a woody climbing vine used as rope. See [[bamboo]], [[bankra]].
How it’s used
A woody climbing vine used as natural rope for tying/weaving. See [[bamboo]], [[bankra]].