electronic Dictionary of Bahamian English (eDBE) with wiki

Bahamian homes were traditionally furnished simply with many homemade items since goods of foreign manufacture were difficult to obtain. These are now being replaced by modern appliances, but many older household articles (and the skills needed to use them) are still known and sometimes used in emergencies. The simplest method of cooking was outside on the THREE-STONES , with BRAMBLE or FAT PINE as kindling and wood or COAL to maintain the heat. The OVEN would be set on this with coals on top as well as below to provide for even baking. It was more comfortable to use the FIRE-KITCHEN , where meat could be roasted on a TRIBBET or SIFF over the FIRE-HEARTH or GALLEY . One can still occasionally find the ROCK OVENS in which bread was baked, but now this is usually done in the BAKER or STOVE-BAKER . People used to TRASH corn, FAN it with a FANNER to remove the hocksS, then store it in a DRUMMER until it was needed for grits, which were pounded with a MAUL .

Women would BEAT laundry OUT at a pond, or in a ZINC in the yard filled with LYE WATER , using SOAP BUSH . They put it on bushes to dry and then would PICK it IN when it was HARD , pressing it either with a GOOSE-IRON containing hot coals or with a SMOOTHENING IRON or BLACK IRON heated on an IRONING STOVE , cleaning off the COLLY with an IRON-RUBBER. Wooden floors would be swept with a THATCH BROOM , SWASHED DOWN , then scrubbed with a TURBOT SKIN or SIFF WIRE scrubber. The FURNITURES were simple. The kitchen might have a SAFE for food and shelves for CHINAS , CANS , and MUGS , as well as the CHATTY , COCO , or other utensils. The ncicim might have a CHINA CLOSET or BOX O' CHES' for clothes, and a bed with an iron BASKET-HEAD and BED-STERN and a mattress of TICKNING filled with BED-GRASS . Lighting used to be with a BOTTLE LAMP or FLAMPER , and water had to be fetched from the public PUMP , but today roost FACE-BASINS have SPICKETS .