"laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs..."See in text(Chapter I)
Heathcliff is relaxing his speech. Instead of saying "him," for example, he would say, "'im." He is also dropping the g at the end of verbs—"helpin'" instead of "helping."
"I have gained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness..."See in text(Chapter I)
Lockwood sees himself in Heathcliff—his emotions under the surface are not expressed openly. He recognizes that, if Healthcliff is like him, the reputation for harshness is not justified.
"and other dogs haunted other recesses..."See in text(Chapter I)
This is meant to indicate the rustic nature of Heathcliff's home—it is suited for the everyday country life of a single man and has no touch of refinement.
"He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him..."See in text(Chapter I)
Mr. Lockwood, whose given name is never disclosed in the novel, seems not to be the misanthropist that he claims to be. A true misanthropist would not have a "heart warmed" towards anyone.
By likening Heathcliff to a "gipsy," Lockwood implies that Heathcliff is not a normal Englishman. Gypsies were considered outcasts—untrustworthy and violent.
"Aw wonder how yah can faishion to stand thear i' idleness un war, when all on 'ems goan out! Bud yah're a nowt, and it's no use talking—yah'll niver mend o'yer ill ways, but goa raight to t' divil, like yer mother afore ye..."See in text(Chapter II)
Loosely translated: "I wonder how you can stand there idle when everyone else has gone out [to work], but you are a nothing, and there's no use [trying to correct] because you are going to Hell just like your mother before you."
This, of course, is a startling comment to Heathcliff's daughter-in-law but is consistent with her treatment from others.
"She looked at me, leaning back in her chair, and remained motionless and mute..."See in text(Chapter II)
Mrs. Heathcliff's inhospitable behavior signals that something is fundamentally wrong in this household that has nothing to do with its geographical isolation.
The phrase "so as by fire" is a biblical allusion to Corinthians 3:15: "If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." The phrase suggests that Joseph has been purified through religion.
