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_ (Sometimes called _footing_ or foot-ale) literally ale given, or money paid for ale, by a person entering on a new employment, to those already in it.
The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire James Jennings
Gammerstang commented on the word foot-ale
(noun) - (1) Ale given to the older workmen by an apprentice or new hand as an entrance fee on taking his place amongst them. --Georgina Jackson's Shropshire Word-Book, 1879 (2) An old custom amongst miners, when a man enters first into work, to pay his first day's wages for ale. --William Hooson's Miner's Dictionary, 1747 (3) A stranger will generally be asked to "stand his foot-ale." --A. Benoni Evans' Leicestershire Words, Phrases, and Proverbs, 1881 (4) Drink given by the seller to the buyer at a cattle fair. --D. Nicholson's Manuscript Collection of Caithness Scotland Words (5) A fine paid by a young man when found courting out of his own district. --William Dickinson's Glossary of the Cumberland Dialect, 1899
January 31, 2018