dwy n also dwey, dwigh, dwoi, dwoy, dwye, etc [phonetics unavailable]. EDD dwyes sb pl 'eddies' IW (1863-); cp SMYTH 704 twy 'meteor squall on the coasts' W Ha. Eddy, gust, flurry; squall; brief shower or storm. Freq in phr dwy of rain, ~ of snow, and comb snow ~ .
   1863 MORETON 30 Dwigh. A short shower or storm, whether of rain, hail or snow. 1866 WILSON 344 When they reached the barrens, it became foggy; then a 'snow-dwie,' that is, a slight snow-shower, came on; another 'dwie' followed, until it became a heavy snow-storm. 1895 J A Folklore viii, 39 ~ A mist or slight shower. 'Is it going to rain to-day?' 'No, it is only a dwy,' a Newfoundlander may reply. [c1900] 1978 RLS 8, p. 26 Dwye. A squall of wind accompanied by rain, hail or snow. 1919 GRENFELL¹ 61 They supposed that surely between the worst snow 'dweys' they would catch sight of some familiar leading mark. 1927 Christmas Messenger 47 Dwye, or dwigh. A sudden shower of rain or snow... This word ... is not known or used on the coastline south of St John's... I have heard Placentia Bay men using the word as a joke on northern men. 1932 BARBOUR 3 What was in the store was safe from 'dwighs' (sudden short local showers of rain or snow) which might come up. P 19-55 A snow dwigh usually stops as quick as it comes. P 148-63 The snow comes in dwies. T 70/1-64 Used to be dwies o' snow, late November, last a couple of hours, an' frosty an' then the blue sky'd shine out again, clear again for a spell, an' then dwies again—wind northern, see. T 75/8-64 But we started to haul in; little dwy of snow come, an' fog. 1979 Evening Telegram 9 June, p. 17 He knows he'll be lucky to last until the first dwigh of the winter.

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