† mell and wedgen.MiningObsolete (more fully mell and wedge work) a method of extracting coal from the face with tools rather than by blasting.
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1811 J. PinkertonPetralogy I. 271 The clay-bed..varies from the softness of tough clay, to the hardness of striking fire with steel; in the language of miners, from mell and wedge to blasting.
1830 T. WilsonPitman's Pay (1843) ii. 33 A' bein' mell-and-wedge wark then.