AGOR (Opening)
A part of the bank worked initially to get to the face of a new work area. Every six feet worked represented a new opening. In Ffestiniog Quarries, an opening meant a large place, like a cave, underneath the ground.

BAG POWDWR (Powder Bag)
A rubber bag or canvas to carry black powder and other explosive materials from the powder house to the bank.

BARGEINWYR (Bargainers)
Experienced Quarrymen working in a bargain.

BARIA' (Barriers)
The Quarry term for rails.

BAW CAFN (Trough Dirt)
Slate dust collected in the water trough underneath the tables, turned into a substance like clay.

BEFAL (Bevel)
A straight cut along the slate rock i.e. with the grain. It is almost invisible. When disconnecting, its edge is sharp like a razor and has caused many injuries to the hands of Quarrymen. A rock with a "Befal" was not accepted.

CABAN BWYTA (Eating Hut)
A large hut where the Quarrymen eat their lunch. The subjects of the day were discussed here, together with heated discussion on the Monthly Meetings and the Grand National. Every hut had its own president, responsible for arranging meetings, representing the voice of the Quarrymen, and passing decisions for presenting before the Union. Every hut also had a caretaker, known as the "dyn llnau caban" (the man who cleans the cabin), usually an old Quarryman on the verge of retirement, or a Quarryman incapacitated through injury. He was responsible for the fire and for providing enough boiling water for the workers to have their tea or "paned".

CANIAD (The Sounding of the Hooter)
The Sounding of the hooter used to denote time e.g. time to start work, blasting time, dinner time, and time to end work.

CAPSTAN (Detonator)
Installed on the end of fuses to detonate the black powder. It was not used with steel fittings.

CELC
Pocket money kept hidden by some of the Quarrymen at the end of the month. The wife knew exactly what was the weekly wage was, but had no way of knowing what the settlement on Friday night was. The wife could not ask the husband's working partners what the settlement was, because the Quarrymen were very close and watchful of one another. The only way of knowing was to ask one of the other wives and to compare the wages.

CERRIG AIL (Secondary Rock)
Secondary Rock termed as such because of its thickness.

CERRIG CALED (Hard Rock)
Hard Slate Rock. It could not be split into thin pieces, and working with it was generally acknowledged to be very difficult.

CIC DAN BWRDD (A kick under the table)
Standing up over his rights, having suffered. Putting his foot down and causing disorder.

CYNION: (a) CYN BACH; (b) CYN BRASHOLLT
(Chisels: (a) Small Chisel; (b) Thick Split Chisel)
These Chisels were used mainly in the bargain to handle and shape the rock.

DAU-DEW-WYTH
When fine splitting occurred in the wall, the splitter had to take into account the quality of the block of rock. If it was of good quality, the split occurred in the middle to get two pieces, or two "tew" as they were called. It was usually expected to be able to receive eight rocks from each piece, so a total of sixteen pieces were received in all.

GORDD (Mallet)
A Wall Mallet was small and different to a builder's mallet. It was made from African Oak and had a ring of iron encircling its head. It was used to hit the chisel.

HOLLTI FEL DAU (Splitting into two)
For a healthy and ridge-filled rock, it was said that they split like leaves ("fel dail"), like silk ("fel sidan") or like young onions! ("fel sibols"). On the other hand if the rock was stiff and difficult it was said that the rock split like wood ("fel coed").

LLWYTHWR (Loader)
The man who loaded the rocks from the piling stock. He was paid by the ton, writing his number on each load together with the marker's initials who passed the rocks as fit for market.

MWRW
The slates were numbered in threes and a set of three slates was known as a "Mwrw". There are ten "Mwrws" and two slates, which is 32 slates in all, in a "quarter hundred" of slates. It is speculated that the word originates from the expression "môr-rif" (sea-number), after the method seamen used to number the slates as they were loaded into the ship. This was the method used to count fish as well.

PLWG (Plug)
A tool used to open a split in the "plyg" (fold). It was made up of three pieces in the form of a chisel. The rock was drilled first and then the two "wings" were placed in the hole, before the mallet was used to knock the middle piece between the two wings to split the rock open. On occasions oil was put on the "plwg" to ease the work. This tool was also used in granite quarries.

POWDWR DU-PYLOR (Black Powder)
Black Powder was always used with good quality rock as it didn't do as much malicious damage as other explosive materials.

TARO (Hit)
When the fire had burnt through the hot paper and reached the powder at the end of the fuse, a puff of smoke was seen to signal this, and it was said that it "had hit".

TEW (Thickness)
"Tew" was the normal term for a layer or bed of slate rock - "tew da" ("good thickness") or "tew drwg" ("bad thickness").

FURTHER TERMS
(Robert Einion Jones)

BARGEN (Bargain)
A piece of rock in the quarry that was put aside for a crew of workers. Partnerships was common while other workers worked by the day.

BWRDD LLIFIO (Sawing Table)
A flat piece of iron with a gap along its length. In the loom, a saw turned and the table moved against the saw.

CEFN (Back)
Similar to "troed" (foot) but running with the grain.

CLWT
A piece of rock, sawed at least at one end, ready for splitting.

CYN (Chisel)
Usually this was a six sided piece of iron.

CYN BRASHOLLT (Thick Split Chisel)
Made out of 1½" squared iron, this chisel had one end thinned like a fish tail without the gap in it.

CYN MANHOLLT (Small Split Chisel)
Made out of "spring steel" and beaten until it was thin. The sharp side was about 3½" to 5" in length.

CYN TEW WYTH ("Tew Wyth" Chisel)
This was a chisel the width of eight slates, measured across the split.

EBILL (Gimlet)
Round iron with a front attached to it, the gimlet was used with a drilling engine. The upper part of the shank was square.

EBILL TRWYN MORTHWYL (Hammer Nosed Gimlet)
A gimlet with its front beaten by a hammer into a crescent shape.

GORDD (Mallet)
A head made from rounded wood with an iron ring around each end. As it was used, the wood was squeezed into the circle, going very hard.

GWEITHIEN (Vein)
A vein running across the split. Some were very hard, refusing to split. Others would easily split without any trouble at all.

GWEITHIEN DERFYN (Terminal Vein)
This would turn black if spitted on. If one end of the rock was hilly, then the other wouldn't be as good, and vice versa.

HOLLT (Split)
A natural occurrence in blue rock. It only split in one way.

INJAN BROJIAR ("Brojiar" Engine)
Like a drilling engine but not turning the gimlet. Used to turn a link when none were available. A gimlet with a round shank was used in it.

INJAN DYLLU (Drilling Engine)
Powered with compressed air, compressed to about 90 lb sq in. The gimlet would receive a ¼ turn by the machine before the hammer inside it hit it.

INJAN NADDU (Chipping Engine)
A machine turning with either one or two knifes. The chip was put to rest and it would then be cut by the knife(s); at one time a hand knife was used to do the work.

MELIN NEU INJAN (Mill or Engine)
This was where the rock was treated to make it into slates.

MINIAU
A small chisel with a sudden "Tapli" in it. Used to split a large piece of rock. (Note: these chisels all shrank with age apart from the "Manhollt" and "Tew Wyth" chisels which were hit with a small mallet).

PLERIAD (Grain)
The grain ran at a 90° angle to the split.

PLÎG
A large piece of rock taken from the quarry, ready to be cut into more manageable pieces.

PLWG (Plug)
Two wings and a chisel. Used in a gimlet hole and hit.

RHYS
Like a mallet but bigger. Used with two hands.

SGLODYN (Chip)
A slate which has been split but not chipped.

SLANT
Another imperfection but running at an angle across the split and the "pleriad". This would also fall after splitting, often leaving a razor sharp edge.

SLED
A wooden wagon placed on a piece of rock to move it about.

TORRI BÔN (Cutting the "Bone")
When there was no suitable "troed", the "bone" of the rock had to be cut to release it. An engine with a special stand was used to do this work. A bigger gimlet was also used to make holes about 2" across and 1" from each other.

TORRI CYSWLLT (Breaking a Link)
The link was the piece of rock between the holes whilst Cutting the "Bone" (see above).

TRAFAEL (Travail)
A part of the chipping engine. It was placed in front of the knife to get a bent cut.

TROED (Foot)
An imperfection in the rock running across the split. It would by rule fall while the splitting took place.

WAGEN A SKIP (Skip and Wagon)
Made of metal to carry waste. The front would open and the load would fall out. The skip was also made of metal and placed in such a way that it could be tipped either way.