Stories and folk-lore of West Cornwall. Third Series

Chapter 87: ALL ON ONE SIDE, LIKE SMOOTHY’S WEDDING.

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About This Book

A varied collection of West Cornwall legends and traditions presents short narratives recorded from country folk, organized around ghosts, demons, haunted houses and castles, seasonal feasts, mining and seafaring anecdotes, and hearthside tales. Episodes range from supernatural encounters and local superstitions to descriptions of communal customs such as tinner's and Hallantide feasts, with occasional practical anecdotes about mills and rural life. The pieces emphasize oral testimony and regional detail, evoking community beliefs, landscape-linked lore, and the everyday concerns that shaped local storytelling.

[Contents]

ALL ON ONE SIDE, LIKE SMOOTHY’S WEDDING.

Some eighty or ninety years ago a male member of a well-known family was about to be married. He was a soft-spoken individual, and, in the days when nearly every one had a nickname, he was called and known generally as “Smoothy.” When the wedding-day came it was found that all the invited guests were his relatives and friends—not one the bride’s. Hence the saying.

“All on one side, like Smoothy’s wedding,” is often applied to cases of biassed judgment, or an unfair award from a prejudiced view of the subject.

“Smoothy” is a nickname commonly given to a double-faced, fair-spoken hypocrite,—one who runs with the hare and holds with the hounds. [193]