Money, Work and Hustle in Patois

Question 1

What does this word mean? Banana boat

Accepted Answer

The cargo ship that carried Jamaica's bananas across the sea to markets abroad — the heart…

Answer

A 'big somebody' — an important, wealthy, or powerful person

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Trickery, con-artistry, and sly manipulation — the craft of the 'ginnal' (con man)

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The lean day just before payday, when money and food have run low and the cupboard is…

Question 2

Which word fills the blank? Wash out di clothes wid ______.

Accepted Answer

Blue soap

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Market

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Barbecue

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Smuggla

Question 3

Which Patois word means this? The cotton sack that flour (or sugar or rice) came in — and, in hard times, a precious material

Accepted Answer

Flour bag

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Carbolic soap

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Mule

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Market day

Question 4

What does this word mean? Crocus

Accepted Answer

Coarse burlap / sacking — the rough brown jute cloth used for the 'crocus bag' that holds…

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The kitchen grater — the perforated metal tool used constantly in Jamaican cooking to grate…

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Fraud, hustling, or illegal and dishonest dealings — and, as an adjective, anything…

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A public communal water tap on a post, set in a yard, lane, or street corner, where…

Question 5

Which word fills the blank? Mi use mi ______ fi pay di school fee.

Accepted Answer

Partner draw

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Hire purchase

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Paper

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Hamper

Question 6

What does this word mean? Cocoa walk

Accepted Answer

A grove of cocoa (cacao) trees grown for their pods — a 'walk' being a Jamaican term for a…

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Piecework — labour paid by the completed job or measured 'task' rather than by the day or…

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A tank of pesticide, herbicide, or fertilizer solution carried on the back and pumped by…

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A dressmaker or seamstress — the Patois pronunciation of 'dressmaker'

Question 7

What does this word mean? Trash-house

Accepted Answer

An old-time hut roofed and sometimes walled with dried plant 'trash' — thatch of banana…

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An informal street market where vendors lay their goods out on the ground or on low sheets…

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A little extra given free by a seller after a purchase — the small bonus a higgler or…

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To break a large banknote into smaller money or change — 'bruk di note fi mi' asks someone…

Question 8

Which word fills the blank? She only a look fi a ______.

Accepted Answer

Moneyman

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Bruk pocket

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Standpipe

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Cheddar

Question 9

Which Patois word means this? A long, straight pole or stake driven into the ground for a yam vine to climb, so the yam grows well and the vine stays off the…

Accepted Answer

Yam-stick

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Cutlass

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Broke-broke

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Fowl coop

Question 10

What does this word mean? Age paper

Accepted Answer

A birth certificate — the official document that proves a person's age and identity

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A wooden stick or paddle used to stir stiff, thick cooking that a spoon can't handle — the…

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An old-time hut roofed and sometimes walled with dried plant 'trash' — thatch of banana…

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The lump sum a member receives when their turn comes around in a pardna savings scheme…

Question 11

Which word fills the blank? Watch out fi him ______, him wi tek yuh money.

Accepted Answer

Ginnalship

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Age paper

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Knapsack sprayer

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Coal iron

Question 12

What does this word mean? Corn piece

Accepted Answer

A field or plot planted in corn — a 'piece' being a Jamaican word for a plot of cultivated…

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The large woven plastic (or, older, cloth) sack that rice comes in — and, once empty, a…

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A downtown vendors' market building or covered lane packed with small stalls selling…

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A wooden stick or paddle used to stir stiff, thick cooking that a spoon can't handle — the…

The 12 words this quiz covers