'I reckon every man born of woman has his log to shift in the
world–if so be you're hintin' at any o' Frankie's doings. He never
hit beyond reason or without reason,' said Simon.'I never said a word against Frankie,' Puck retorted, with a wink at
the children. 'An' if I did, do it lie in your mouth to contest my
say-so, seeing how you–''Why don't it lie in my mouth, seeing I was the first which knowed
Frankie for all he was?' The burly sack-clad man puffed down at cool
little Puck.
This is from “Simple Simon” from “Rewards and Fairies” by Kipling.
http://www.telelib.com/authors/K/KiplingRudyard/prose/RewardsFaries/simplesimon.html
I do not understand what “do it lie in your mouth” mean.
I am glad if somebody teach me.
Best Answer
Neither the Oxford English Dictionary, ed. 1 nor the English Dialect Dictionary records this precise use, but Puck and Simon clearly use lie here in a sense similar to that found in "lie in one's power": that is, to lie in your mouth is roughly equivalent to "be proper for you to say".
Puck questions Simon's competence or authority to contradict Puck's characterization of Drake, and Simon responds "Why shouldn't I be competent, since I was the first to know him?"
The uninflected do is dialect.