Dialect expressions

A previous thread was the inspiration for lots of input on local terms, thought it might be good to share more, especially from our globally placed members.

For a start my gran always used to say she was clamming when she was hungry, so it was time for a biting on.

When I asked Mum for something as a child she always said, 'You can have it when my boat comes in'.

Obviously we were skint!

Clive

I spent my early childhood in the North West near Bury, and many local dialect terms abounded. One which springs to mind, and was capable of dangerous confusion, was the use of “while” to mean “until”. Example: ”wait here while I come back” meaning wait here until I come back. The story goes that a “southerner” working in a factory boiler house was told “don’t light the boiler while water’s in”. The consequences were predicable!

Mum came from Easington Co. Durham so it was said in a Geordy accent, I do not have a geordy accent, pure Kentish.

Clivve

Around here "a young old boy" refers to someone who is the same age or younger than yourself.

I int a'gewing = I am not going

Wurny = Wasn't he

A mistake = A Bedfordshire clanger ( and if you have ever eaten one you might know what I mean)

Rik

Nay nay lad tha's get'n it backside fora'd eh up while I show th'i ! Translates to -- No no young man you are assembling it wrong way round please move aside whilst I demonstrate

Panshakered = worn out or tired

Brossen = Full, over eaten

Ganin yam = going home

John

'Away an get ya ganzy on it's gettin' cald' … go and put your jumper on it's getting cold; … local area variations apply.

George.

Nowt wrong with the Bedfordshire Clanger, I have one most Saturdays bought from Gunn's of Sandy.

Martin P

'Giz a tan' … can I have a lift on your crossbar …

'ee's got a brahma o' a keggy' … he's got a super black eye

George..

As a young lad (in HM's Armed Forces) - no one else seemed to know what "Grouts" were (it was what's left in the bottom of your Mug after drinking Tea according to my Grandmother). But thinking about it - we didn't use tea bags then either....

IanT

If I asked what was for supper I was invariably told "a run rarnd t table an a kick at cellar door"

If I asked what something was I usually got "Oasters meddlers, crutches for lame ducks"

If I asked to see something it was usually " It dunt say look on it"

No wonder i was a confused child lol

Twos up on your dout - I say, old chap, might I prevail upon you for a puff on the dog end of your cigarette?

You'll make me boke - I am in danger of vomiting if you continue.

It's gey dreich - the weather is wet cold and breezy.

Stop plittering! - Desist from indecisively toying with that (food, tools, work etc.)

Charlie's deid - pardon me miss, but your petticoat is showing.

Stop that or I'll malafooster ye! - If you do not desist, I will physically chastise you.

All from Lallans Scots.

When I moved from Pudsey, in W yorks, to Bridlington, I thought they were rum uns, but when we moved to Langtoft on the east yorkshire wolds, 3 years later in 1963, I couldnt understand a word of what some of the broader folk said, as they spoke a dialect based on old norse, and still used a lot of old norse words, and sentence construction. hence a greeting was, "Wa noo mi lad, wets thoo a deein of? spoken in a high pitched nasal brouge at 100 miles an hour, and I just stared back at him not understanding a word he had said!

A gate post is "an ord yat stean" Bridlington gate becomes "Brig yat" A path or pavement is a "trod" etc etc. I remember one ocassion at a pig farm when a large boar escaped, and the farmer, a bow legged old boy in his eighties came out to see what all the fuss was about. I was told "ees a bad un keap outat road on im" When one of his lads asked what they were going to do, he said, "assl get im gannin, an thoo get yon big mell, and wen he comes, thoo nap im ower't skorp wit mell as ard as thee can" The lad picked up a lump hammer (mell from mjolnir, Thors hammer), and when the old boy, who was a bit unsteady on his feet chased the boar round the corner, the lad wacked it over the head with the "mell" and it went down like a shot, it was quickly rolled into the bucket on the front of a tractor, and deposited unceremoniosly back in its pen.

We used to have some serious winters, on one occasion we recorded -22 overnight in a greenhouse, and the old boys would come out with "thoo watch thisen, its reet sleip ower yon tha knaws" ( be careful it is slippery over there you know) but always pronounced sleap as SleeeIP. odd till I found out that Sleipnir was Odins eight legged horse that could gallop over ice without losing its footing! when you got to know these old boys, they were wonderful people, salt of the earth types, who are sadly, like the accent, all but gone now. Although I still have my workshop at Langtoft, it has become a dormitory village, it has no shops, the pub and school have closed, and it is an altogether more humdrum place for it. I do miss them all, they were great people.

Timping and Spelching.
Timping is done with a toffee hammer whereas Spelching is to clout it with nowt smaller than a sledge.

Clangers were chucked on a shawd ruck. (Shawd derived from shards -of glass, Ruck as in heap, perhaps some link to Rugby football?

Banks are for going up, but only in and around the Potteries and North Staffs apparently. elseweir they are "robdogs" and not to be trusted with a "tanner" (6 old pence)

Bob D

+1 for grouts. My dad didn't even believe in a tea strainer, but even he uses tea bags these days. I still leave some tea in the cup to avoid the grouts.

Neil

Try this,. it will keep you happy for ten minutes and then give plenty more to chat about!

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/15/upshot/british-irish-dialect-quiz.html

It located me pretty accurately, but when I went on to stage two I gave the answers using words I used as a youngster, and it pinned me down to South Wales, with an outlier in Pembrokeshire - where my Mum was born.

stop on for me

H

Well i'll go t the foot of ma stairs...... As bright as a toc h lamp....... ?

Next week, next Tuesday etc. Means the week or day AFTER the next. Seems peculiar to Essex.