Kelligrew's Soiree

Subject: Kelligrews Soiree
From: Frank Maher
Date: 03 Jul 04 - 09:38 PM

Can anyone tell me what "Crackies Teeth" means in the song,Kelligrews Soiree??

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: masato sakurai
Date: 03 Jul 04 - 10:07 PM

Does this definition (from Dictionary of Newfoundland English Online) fit?

cracky n also cracky dog, krackie EDD ~ sb1 ¹ 'wren,' 2 'little person or thing' D; DC crackie Nfld (1895-). A small, noisy mongrel dog; freq in phr saucy as a cracky.
   1858 [LOWELL] ii, 293 A 'cracky,' in Newfoundland, is a little dog. [1894 BURKE] 83 He can bite off horse shoe nails and twist crackeys by the tails. 1895 J A Folklore viii, 38 ~ a little dog. 1917 Christmas Echo 14 There was nothing particular about him any more than any other dog. He was larger than an ordinary crackie, but not so large as a sporting dog. 1937 DEVINE 15 Crackie—A small dog. A lap dog, lively, frisking and barking. 1966 FARIS 97 People today only keep small 'krakies,' and have killed or sold most of the part-Husky sled dogs which once abounded. C 66-8 'Saucy as a cracky.' This is applied to a person who usually has a saucy tongue or a person who will answer back.

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: GEST
Date: 03 Jul 04 - 10:20 PM

According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, a cracky or krackie is a dog. In context, it appears crackie's teeth is some sort of vegetable leaf like dandelion, which means lion's teeth.

Kelligrews Soiree

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jul 04 - 10:41 PM

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: GEST
Date: 03 Jul 04 - 11:00 PM

An interesting side note, singer/songwriter Hugh Scott known for his song Theresa Maria, which one year won song of the year at the MIA awards, plays in the band Crackie's Teeth. He should know for sure. :-)

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 10:20 AM

Amazing what one can learn on Mudcat! Masato, it looks like you really "nailed" this one.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 10:32 AM

To translate to the American, a cracky is a feist. (My father called me feisty so many times that I finally looked it up one year.)

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 10:42 AM

Happy (belated) Birthday, Frank.

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 11:19 AM

BTW, Jack the Sailor says he had a cracky when he was a child and that he only encountered four or five of them while he was growing up in Bay Roberts. He says they (crackies) are becoming scarce on the island because people are more inclined to have "recognised" breeds of dog these days.

He also said he thinks "crackies teeth" is only in the song as a bit of silly humour to make people laugh, that it really refers to the teeth of cracky dogs, and that he's not aware of any plants on the island that are called "crackies teeth".

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: Frank Maher
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 08:34 PM

Thanks for the Birthday Greetings CarolC!!!
It IS belated..My Birthday is in March!!!!!!!!
All the best
Frank

Subject: RE: Kelligrews Soiree
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jul 04 - 08:39 PM

Oops! I thought I saw your name in the birthday announcement part of the pictures page here in the Mudcat yesterday, Frank. Now I wonder whose birthday I missed!

;-)

Subject: RE: Kelligrew's Soiree
From: GUEST,crackies teeth
Date: 28 Aug 11 - 06:24 PM

Have always been curious about this. Could it be a very hard candy dangerous to teeth? Or a very hard biscuit? (Can't imagine anyone eating brewis right out of the bag.)Especially in the 'ard times' when there was a lot of tooth decay from lack of tooth brushes and paste and Crosby's sweet molasses was eaten abundantly.