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Local Colloquialisms


Alex Kintner

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The re-pronounciation of some words has always fascinated me. Changing the vowel sounds mainly. 

 

 Not sure if these are mainly an Edinburgh thing or not - Lowland Scots derivation probably

 

Gress = grass

Fower  = 4

Seeven = 7

Troot = trout

Maister= master

Ither = other

 

Then there's words with a Germanic or French derivation in the pronounciation-

 

Richt = right

Kirk = church

 

 

Another word  Dad used was Slaister .... as in "yer a right slaister"    (I think it meant messy)

 

 

 

 

  

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Chore/chorey - to steal

Tap door run - a game designed to annoy grumpy/unfit local residents

Kerbie - a highly skilled outdoor ball game rumoured to be shortlisted for the next olympics 

filly - a leather football, apparently known according to friends as a 'tub' in Dundee and a 'casey' on the Isle of Man

Edited by CostaJambo
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7 minutes ago, CostaJambo said:

 

Tap door run - a game designed to annoy grumpy/unfit local residents

 


“Chappie” if you’re from Bathgate and “Ding Dong Dash” if you’re from Balerno 😂

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5 minutes ago, Alex Kintner said:


“Chappie” if you’re from Bathgate and “Ding Dong Dash” if you’re from Balerno 😂

**** off in Balerno it’d be , “ring ones door bell and walk swiftly away sir” 😉

 

 

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10 minutes ago, martoon said:

"ben the room" always made me chuckle. 

Beat me to it. Ben the hoose was what I remember. Usually meant the kitchen. Or in Whitburn it's called 'Through ben'. My mother called it a 'poor oot' but I called it a 'scramble'. Can you imagine kids now chasing some coppers and the odd 5p piece :lol:?

Edited by EH11_2NL
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3 hours ago, Morgan said:

Shotty.

 

Better nash.

 

Run like the bars.

Hard as the bars was what we used for. 

Definitely scatter at a wedding.  

Sivver for a drain 

And why did folk call it the back kitchen when there was only space for one in our wee hooses? 

Is scullery a Scottish or Irish word that we used? 

Someone mentioned on her a few days ago.  Do kids still use the great word dreep?  

And is reading posts from folk who live in Hamilton contagious? 

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44 minutes ago, EH11_2NL said:

Beat me to it. Ben the hoose was what I remember. Usually meant the kitchen. Or in Whitburn it's called 'Through ben'. My mother called it a 'poor oot' but I called it a 'scramble'. Can you imagine kids now chasing some coppers and the odd 5p piece :lol:?

 

Probably banned now.

 

Health and safety, unfair distribution...

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5 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:


Also can’t remember the name of the thing we used to do with our feet to decide who kicked off. Two people took turns stepping towards each other with one foot in front of the other until one person could step on the other’s foot. Maybe called “tipsies”?

Another vote for TickTack or even TickTackToe, to give it its full name.

3 hours ago, CostaJambo said:

Chore/chorey - to steal

Tap door run - a game designed to annoy grumpy/unfit local residents

Kerbie - a highly skilled outdoor ball game rumoured to be shortlisted for the next olympics 

filly - a leather football, apparently known according to friends as a 'tub' in Dundee and a 'casey' on the Isle of Man

Ding Dong Skoosh in my vocabulary.

 

Was Pitchy (pitch n toss) widespread as a playground game in which you could be relieved of your 2p pieces? I remember yhe pitching element clearly (who could get their coin nearest to the wall) but I'm hazy about the toss, which involved heads or tails with all coins in the game.

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7 hours ago, Auldbenches said:

It must've been used in places like Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

Were you Clarty or clatty?  

Cat's died and Clatty. 

Burling a favourite of my for being drunk. There's quite a few for being drunk, tho. :D

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6 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:

A few football ones:

 

Semi’s

Backie-in

*Free goalie

Seven and bye

Top bag

An any-Any man saves. 3 and in and cups.

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8 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:

A few football ones:

 

Semi’s

Backie-in

Free goalie

Seven and bye

Top bag

 

Used to be runny, or runny keeper if they could leave their box. Also called it 'any manny' if, as you could imagine, any man could save the shot! We also called it cuppy rather than semi. I grew up in Mid Calder though. 

 

 

8 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:


Also can’t remember the name of the thing we used to do with our feet to decide who kicked off. Two people took turns stepping towards each other with one foot in front of the other until one person could step on the other’s foot. Maybe called “tipsies”?

 

I had completely forgotten about this method of picking players! 

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59 minutes ago, jambo89 said:

 

Used to be runny, or runny keeper if they could leave their box. Also called it 'any manny' if, as you could imagine, any man could save the shot! We also called it cuppy rather than semi. I grew up in Mid Calder though. 

 

 

 

I had completely forgotten about this method of picking players! 


Having given it a bit more thought, think I’ve got mixed up. We called it Cuppy as well and Semi’s was a game we played at school which was a bit like British Bulldogs

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Samuel Camazzola

Dreep. 

 

The action to get down from a wall when you're hanging by the arms  at full length and need to drop to the ground. 

 

Dreep doon fi the wa'. 

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Just now, Samuel Camazzola said:

Dreep. 

 

The action to get down from a wall when you're hanging by the arms  at full length and need to drop to the ground. 

 

Dreep doon fi the wa'. 

Dreepie

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6 minutes ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

Long Bangers was pretty widespread across Edinburgh. Seemed to be recognised by many I knew who grew up in different parts. 

Used to enjoy a game of long bangers. Still popular in lochend but the game has evolved and must now include a pretend Australian tumbler in a wig, who can apparently run faster than Usain Bolt. 

 

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Samuel Camazzola
1 minute ago, Mister T said:

Used to enjoy a game of long bangers. Still popular in lochend but the game has evolved and must now include a pretend Australian tumbler in a wig, who can apparently run faster than Usain Bolt. 

 

Does it qualify as a wig? Road kill from down under I believe. 

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Governor Tarkin
10 hours ago, Victorian said:

When I was at school (Forries),  those 1980s tartan / checked pattern jeans that were shat upon the world were known as Broomie troosers.  It tended to be natives of the nearby settlement of Broomhoose that had them.

 

They were affectionately known as 'Niddrie jeans' up my way. I still recall the first time I clapped eyes on them. Boak.

 

9 hours ago, JamesM48 said:

“ cowie “ as in he / she’s got “ the cowie” 

 

ive never been able to find out how that expression started . 

 

Or, 'she's got the David Bowie', as it evolved into.

 

I love when slang gets it's own slang.

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9 hours ago, JamesM48 said:

Oh yes “ minks “ I recall that 

 

“ tinkers “ as well 

 

“ tarry “ - hash  ( solid ) 

 

smetnay - cigarette 

 

 

 

“ 

I remember folk calling it tarry. Other smoking ones -

 

a fluff, for a normal cigarette as opposed to a joint

 

a scrub, for a roll up cigarette

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8 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:


“Chappie” if you’re from Bathgate and “Ding Dong Dash” if you’re from Balerno 😂

Yep, always chappie in Boghall. 

 

Calling a guider a bogie in Edinburgh got me some strange looks as a child. 🙂

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9 hours ago, Tazio said:

Nut. A poor oot 

In Edinburgh it was definitely a " poor out " in the 1960's & 70's.

Edited by argyjambo
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12 hours ago, Alex Kintner said:


We used “cat’s deid” for that in Bathgate 👍🏻

Growing up, the question you asked someone whose troosers were half-mast was, is yer cat deid ?

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30 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Nobody, anywhere I've ever been except Edinburgh uses 'chum you to the shops' or 'do you want a chum' the way Edinburgh folk do.

"Chum you to get the messages."

 

Is "messages" Edinburgh/Lothians or more widespread?

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5 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

"Chum you to get the messages."

 

Is "messages" Edinburgh/Lothians or more widespread?

Can only really speak for Bathgate/Boghall and Edinburgh but messages there. Lived in Glasgow briefly and worked in Belfast for a bit but can't remember if it was messages there or not.

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Was going "doon the street" widespread in Scotland?  The street not being any particular street, just where the shops were.

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6 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

Another vote for TickTack or even TickTackToe, to give it its full name.

Ding Dong Skoosh in my vocabulary.

 

Was Pitchy (pitch n toss) widespread as a playground game in which you could be relieved of your 2p pieces? I remember yhe pitching element clearly (who could get their coin nearest to the wall) but I'm hazy about the toss, which involved heads or tails with all coins in the game.

Some absolute classics on this thread. Haven't heard "dreep" in about 30 odd years!

 

I played pitchy at both primary and secondary, the 'toss' element involved the person who's coin landed nearest the join of wall/kerb and floor throwing all the coins up in the air and keeping all the ones which landed on heads, followed by the second nearest repeating this with the remaining coins until all had eventually landed head up. A first toss which landed all head-up was met with a shout of "sweeps" and the other technical term I remember was a coin pitch which landed edge up against the wall or kerb was termed a "stander". 

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1 hour ago, I P Knightley said:

"Chum you to get the messages."

 

Is "messages" Edinburgh/Lothians or more widespread?

 

That was actually a question on the chase "in Scotland what are you going for when going for the messages?"

 

Edit: found it, I was close.

 

 

Screenshot_20210923-101407.png

Edited by Awbdy Oot
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8 minutes ago, Awbdy Oot said:

 

That was actually a question on the chase "in Scotland what are you going for when going for the messages?"

 

Edit: found it, I was close.

 

 

Screenshot_20210923-101407.png

My English friend was in hysterics with this phrase when he first came up to Scotland . I think it stems from actually writing a shopping list down on paper as in “ messages l really 

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11 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

The re-pronounciation of some words has always fascinated me. Changing the vowel sounds mainly. 

 

 

 

Then there's words with a Germanic or French derivation in the pronounciation-

 

Richt = right

Kirk = church

 

 

Another word  Dad used was Slaister .... as in "yer a right slaister"    (I think it meant messy)

 

 

 

 

  

I ken/ ich kenne 

My grandparents (going back to the 60s here) spoke in Scots (Edinburgh slang to us) all the time and would say things like "he's ben the room" which is also Dutch (je ben).

My mum in law is from Perth and frequently uses words I've never heard of and speaks in the weirdest way too. 

 

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11 hours ago, CostaJambo said:

Chore/chorey - to steal

Tap door run - a game designed to annoy grumpy/unfit local residents

Kerbie - a highly skilled outdoor ball game rumoured to be shortlisted for the next olympics 

filly - a leather football, apparently known according to friends as a 'tub' in Dundee and a 'casey' on the Isle of Man

Used to love playing kerbie . There were various other outdoor games too . “ kick the can “ , “ cant cross the river” and my sisters and girls used to play skipping ropes ( always wanted to but wasn’t that bold then !😂) . I also remember they would also play with tennis balls against a wall and sing various songs while throwing the tennis balls on and off the wall 

9 hours ago, martoon said:

"ben the room" always made me chuckle. 

Or “ turn the big light on “ 

8 hours ago, Auldbenches said:

Hard as the bars was what we used for. 

Definitely scatter at a wedding.  

Sivver for a drain 

And why did folk call it the back kitchen when there was only space for one in our wee hooses? 

Is scullery a Scottish or Irish word that we used? 

Someone mentioned on her a few days ago.  Do kids still use the great word dreep?  

And is reading posts from folk who live in Hamilton contagious? 

Scullery 

2 hours ago, Governor Tarkin said:

 

They were affectionately known as 'Niddrie jeans' up my way. I still recall the first time I clapped eyes on them. Boak.

 

 

Or, 'she's got the David Bowie', as it evolved into.

 

I love when slang gets it's own slang.

Oh right it might be that then . All I knew it was a  harsh / derogatory term for someone who might have an STD and later used for someone who had HIV 

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1 minute ago, JamesM48 said:

Used to love playing kerbie . There were various other outdoor games too . “ kick the can “ , “ cant cross the river” and my sisters and girls used to play skipping ropes ( always wanted to but wasn’t that bold then !😂) . I also remember they would also play with tennis balls against a wall and sing various songs while throwing the tennis balls on and off the wall 

Or “ turn the big light on “ 

Scullery 

Oh right it might be that then . All I knew it was a  harsh / derogatory term for someone who might have an STD and later used for someone who had HIV 

 

My nan had a scullery, never a kitchen.

 

Kick the can was fun. Unless you were "it".

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There was a game we played that, when caught, you were placed in an imaginary cell/holding place until an ally "tigged" you out, as it were.

 

The game had a strange name that I don't think I ever truly knew or understood.

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3 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

My nan had a scullery, never a kitchen.

 

Kick the can was fun. Unless you were "it".

We just called the kitchen the scullery. 😂 yes happy summer memories of playing kick the can until 10 Pm and heading home knackered and usually 

“ Mocket “ 

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1 minute ago, martoon said:

There was a game we played that, when caught, you were placed in an imaginary cell/holding place until an ally "tigged" you out, as it were.

 

The game had a strange name that I don't think I ever truly knew or understood.

Maybe something called “ Levoy out “ and “ levoy in “ ( spelling probably wrong ) 

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2 minutes ago, JamesM48 said:

Maybe something called “ Levoy out “ and “ levoy in “ ( spelling probably wrong ) 

 

Aye.

 

"Levoy" or something close was included.

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1 minute ago, martoon said:

 

Aye.

 

"Levoy" or something close was included.

Yes it was that game . Actually think it was a French word but was molded into a Scottish word of sorts 

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5 minutes ago, JamesM48 said:

We just called the kitchen the scullery. 😂 yes happy summer memories of playing kick the can until 10 Pm and heading home knackered and usually 

“ Mocket “ 

 

I was the same as a kid. 

 

Long summer nights and I was allowed out until it got dark. Sometimes it never truly did get dark.

 

Those times would never end, I believed. 😊

 

Feel sorry for kids now. Don't think many will have the freedom I did in the 70s and early 80s.

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2 hours ago, GinRummy said:

Nobody, anywhere I've ever been except Edinburgh uses 'chum you to the shops' or 'do you want a chum' the way Edinburgh folk do.


That was popular in Bathgate 👍🏻

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2 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

I was the same as a kid. 

 

Long summer nights and I was allowed out until it got dark. Sometimes it never truly did get dark.

 

Those times would never end, I believed. 😊

 

Feel sorry for kids now. Don't think many will have the freedom I did in the 70s and early 80s.

Yes same here in feeling sorry for kids now who never seem to leave their bedrooms or are in their phones or tablets . They are really missing out on those great shared experiences with friends . Suppose it’s just how things evolve . And yes the summers did seem warmer and lighter until 11 at night . I was always out  enjoying myself . I thank my parents for not having a helicopter parenting style ! Made me quite an independent and resourceful child and adult . 

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59 minutes ago, Lemongrab said:

Was going "doon the street" widespread in Scotland?  The street not being any particular street, just where the shops were.

 

 

I never heard "the street" in Edinburgh It was and still is the toon, Its only when I've lived in small towns I've heard people saying they're going doon the street.

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