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Favourite Edinburgh Words.


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I'd never heard "chore" until I moved to Edinburgh and never heard it anywhere else, ken?

 

Favourite Edinburgh word? Sauce. As in "salt n' "

 

Chore is an old Hindi word for thief. In Delhi they have a Chore Bazaar (Thieves Market)

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heartgarfunkel

Or indeed 'shoaty/shottie, it's so & so' as in you're no bothered/so ffin what.

 

That other meaning is surely one of the most dismissive & disdainful responses/put downs in the world when delivered witheringly in the full Edinburgh. Wonderful.

 

Many from Carlisle and other parts of Cumbria use our 'Edinburgh' words - as Boris mentions, the travellers' influence most likely.

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heartgarfunkel

I think scaffie derives from the 'scavengers' who cleared the filth from the streets, wynds and closes of historic Auld Reekie. Poor buggers lost their joabs when the pipes and 'sivers/syvers' went in! :thumb:

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I was in Paris for a Weedgie mate's stag do and just mentioned the morning after the night before that I was "paggered". Another attendee, who was from Nottingham, was amazed to hear someone use this word. Apparently it is used down there by travelling folk. Means the same

 

 

Shottie, here come the Polis. Stoorie nash!

 

Nash. Great word, still used by myself to this day!

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BoJack Horseman

I was in Paris for a Weedgie mate's stag do and just mentioned the morning after the night before that I was "paggered". Another attendee, who was from Nottingham, was amazed to hear someone use this word. Apparently it is used down there by travelling folk. Means the same

 

 

Thought pagger means to fight? How does it work in your context?

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That other meaning is surely one of the most dismissive & disdainful responses/put downs in the world when delivered witheringly in the full Edinburgh. Wonderful.

 

Many from Carlisle and other parts of Cumbria use our 'Edinburgh' words - as Boris mentions, the travellers' influence most likely.

 

Turning your face slightly, raise the upper lip slightly, 'Aye, shottie' ... KO. :)

 

Speaking of Boris, and his 'out in Paris, I'm 'paggered'. Reminded me of what my folks would use, and by extension myself occasionally: If I was completely beat, knackered I say I was 'puggled'.

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I was in Paris for a Weedgie mate's stag do and just mentioned the morning after the night before that I was "paggered". Another attendee, who was from Nottingham, was amazed to hear someone use this word. Apparently it is used down there by travelling folk. Means the same.

 

Interesting. Chore (meaning steal) almost certainly comes to us from Romani, as does radge (and gadgie, which you don't hear so much now except from Geordies). It's also been suggested that shan and barry come from it too.

 

And before anyone says 'radge' is a corruption of 'rage' - that sounds about as likely as chav (another Romani word) being derived from Chatham, or being an acronym.

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51 Shirts -Moments in Time

I've always loved slang terms/words/expressions that are exclusive to the Capital.

 

Guffy is my absolute favourite, what's everyone elses?

 

Guffy? Dont think I've heard it. What context?

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BoJack Horseman

Birrel - As in going for a birrel in the car

 

Am I remember wrong, or is there such a word as burley? Something to do with spinning around.

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Guest Bilel Mohsni

Burly and Birrel are are both perfectly acceptable words, they are Barry in fact and should not be the cause of swedging by twallies.

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Thought pagger means to fight? How does it work in your context?

 

To me "pagger" has two meanings. Firstly to fight or a fight.

 

Secondly to be worst for wear e.g. It was a heavy night last night and now I'm paggered.

 

Perhaps it's just me...

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To me "pagger" has two meanings. Firstly to fight or a fight.

 

Secondly to be worst for wear e.g. It was a heavy night last night and now I'm paggered.

 

 

Which is entirely consistent with, for example, 'smashed,' 'wrecked,' 'knackered' and so on.

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BoJack Horseman

Which is entirely consistent with, for example, 'smashed,' 'wrecked,' 'knackered' and so on.

 

That makes sense, but isn't really the definition of the word, but rather it's the old "any adjective means drunk" patter.

 

What about swedge? Instead of pagger? I've only heard that word being used in Edinburgh.

 

Never heard that. Closest is swedger to mean ecstasy.

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Talk-o-the-North

Tourdaes "the art of running through back greens while racing your pals"

 

Loved a good "tourdae" - the Stenghouse/Whiston/Blagreen area had some exceptional ones.

 

Another one is "gider" (sp?) - heard it a called a "carty" or "bogey" in other places but never a gider.

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That makes sense, but isn't really the definition of the word, but rather it's the old "any adjective means drunk" patter.

 

Nah, it can mean just feeling like you have been paggered, ergo I feel paggered.

 

It doesn't mean drunk (and I get your any old adjective thing) rather feeling like you've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

 

Quite common usage down my way.

 

Although I do agree that the primary definition of pagger is to fight.

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That makes sense, but isn't really the definition of the word, but rather it's the old "any adjective means drunk" patter.

 

 

'Knackered' doesn't mean drunk, it means tired out.

 

Like 'paggered.'

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BoJack Horseman

Nah, it can mean just feeling like you have been paggered, ergo I feel paggered.

 

It doesn't mean drunk (and I get your any old adjective thing) rather feeling like you've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

 

Quite common usage down my way.

 

Although I do agree that the primary definition of pagger is to fight.

 

Makes perfect sense in that context. Same definition really.

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BoJack Horseman

'Knackered' doesn't mean drunk, it means tired out.

 

Like 'paggered.'

 

You used it alongside smashed and wrecked, which from my understanding can mean drunk. Not my fault you threw in a "knackered". Knackered also means broken.

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You used it alongside smashed and wrecked, which from my understanding can mean drunk. Not my fault you threw in a "knackered". Knackered also means broken.

 

Sorry, wasn't being clear enough. 'Smashed' usually means drunk, true, but I've heard 'wrecked' used to mean tired out as well as drunk. The point was that words that mean break, or fight, or destroy can be used by people to describe their state and 'paggered' is one of those examples.

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chuck berrys hairline

 

 

That makes sense, but isn't really the definition of the word, but rather it's the old "any adjective means drunk" patter.

Never heard that. Closest is swedger to mean ecstasy.

 

Swedge to me is another word for shot/use, im having a swedge on the computer or can i get a swedge of coffee.

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What about swedge? Instead of pagger? I've only heard that word being used in Edinburgh.

 

I can vaguely recollect that being used.

 

Never heard that. Closest is swedger to mean ecstasy.

 

From the Weedgie colloquial. sweetie = swedger = disco biscuit (or equivalent!)

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I think scaffie derives from the 'scavengers' who cleared the filth from the streets, wynds and closes of historic Auld Reekie. Poor buggers lost their joabs when the pipes and 'sivers/syvers' went in! :thumb:

 

Close but no horse shoe. scaffies were like policemen they all had an area of responsibility. They swept the streets with a big broom made of what looked like twigs. They had a barrow with two buckets where they put the sweepings. They were very noticeable even when not working as their back hand sweeping style of lead with one leg and trail the other caused them to walk sort of sideways with almost a limp. But the streets were clean. As time went on and the job was dying they were anointed with the title of Sanitary Engineers.

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Loved a good "tourdae" - the Stenghouse/Whiston/Blagreen area had some exceptional ones.

 

Another one is "gider" (sp?) - heard it a called a "carty" or "bogey" in other places but never a gider.

 

we used to have names for certin tourdae's,,, 1 down Stenhouse from the Carrick Knowe bridge to where the to Stenhouse Ave, was called

" The Grand National", we had some mental names for some in Saughton Mains :D

 

 

 

An other thing I have not seen for years or heard of is a "pour out" sounding like "poor oot" from when the bride & groom

chucked cash (always coins) in the air as they left a church.

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Do two people who want to join in on a pick-up game of football in the park still ask for "a coak or a hen"?

 

Is a person's face still sometimes referred to as a 'fizzog'? From the French visage.

 

Or shout 'gardieloo' when throwing something? Also from the French gardez l'eau. Both of these are from the influence of Mary Queen of Scots courtiers in Edinburgh.

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An other thing I have not seen for years or heard of is a "pour out" sounding like "poor oot" from when the bride & groom

chucked cash (always coins) in the air as they left a church.

 

And if you didn't do it, the bairns ran after the car shouting "Miser!". :biggrin:

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Guffy? Dont think I've heard it. What context?

 

Guffy to me means smelly.

 

"His breath is quite guffy"

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I don't think the majority of these words are exclusive to Edinburgh. Most of them get used in central Scotland. The only word that I can think of that I only hear in Edinburgh is Barrie.

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The White Cockade

'Knackered' doesn't mean drunk, it means tired out.

 

Like 'paggered.'

 

Puggled is the word I would use

Remember writing a story at Primary school where I said when I got to the top

of the hill I was puggled

The teacher obviously had never heard of it and crossed it out and put puzzled instead!

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The White Cockade

Guffy to me means smelly.

 

"His breath is quite guffy"

 

as in

we're no playing with you ya guffy

or slagging a mate for missing a goal by saying that's guff

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The White Cockade

Do two people who want to join in on a pick-up game of football in the park still ask for "a coak or a hen"?

 

Is a person's face still sometimes referred to as a 'fizzog'? From the French visage.

 

Or shout 'gardieloo' when throwing something? Also from the French gardez l'eau. Both of these are from the influence of Mary Queen of Scots courtiers in Edinburgh.

 

a. We all did in the 70's

b.You must be some age if you remember that!

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as in

we're no playing with you ya guffy

or slagging a mate for missing a goal by saying that's guff

 

Both are spot on.

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Another football related word was , a Filly, I guess a local pronunciation for fully, for a full size football.

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The White Cockade

Another football related word was , a Filly, I guess a local pronunciation for fully, for a full size football.

 

aye was still in use in Gracemount in the 70's!

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