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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: johncrowner on Tuesday 05 February 13 19:51 GMT (UK)
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Have you any strange sayings/expletives passed down Through your family? I give, for example the following ( which no one I asked had ever heard). They could originate from Sussex:
'Stap Me!!' (suprise) example: Stap me, boy, you've grown! when addressing growing grandson
'Blind old Kate!' (more of a suprise) You spent how much???!! when asking daughter about new dress
'Old-Fashioned-word-meaning-earth' (used by church goer to express himself when hitting finger with hammer etc.)
....and terms of endearment? my father only ever called me 'Boy'- but then his father-in-law called him that.
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"Stap me" was used by Gritpypthin in the Goon Show.
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Don't know if the sayings are from Sussex :-\ but I do remember my old dad and my brother to this day saying Bline' Ole Riley. Dad was from East Sussex nearer the border with Kent maybe it's Kentish?
Nothing similar in the Dictionary of Sussex Dialect for Stap Me! maybe Hack's right with that one., although WikiP has it that it originated from a strip cartoon called Just Jake from The Daily Mirror c 1938
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yes, it was E. Sussex. The expression also used by dad was' Blimey o reilly' Also: 'You'll do me, boy' when said boy did something stupid!
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I've seen 'Stap me' in books - but don't ask me which ones right now - but it is an expression I've heard before - I think in sailor slang. :-\
You'll do me, boy/girl - when used in our family meant the opposite - praise for someone as having done/ been good.
Wiggy :)
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I see today a school in the North of England has asked parents to encourage their children to speak 'properly' whatever that means. They don't like phrases such as gizzit 'ere and nought.
Coming from Sussex where our regional dialect is almost a thing of the past I am disgusted at this head teacher. Surely the school can encourage the use of the queens english in school but also allow the children the use of their own language and to keep their sense of identity.
John, if you're interested *mazon have copies of A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect,
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Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs
All my eye and Mary Martin
Up in Annie's room behind the clock
Joe Soap from the roundhouse
The middle one of them two where he goos upstairs to get down into the cellar
Come yer goo thur like anybody elses dog
Lost a pound and found a penny
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Crivvens jings & help ma Boab!
Skoosh.
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My Yorkshire grandmother was another one who used:
Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs
All my eye and Mary Martin
Lost a pound and found a penny
Another I remember is "doesn't know if he's Arthur or Martha" for someone who was what we'd today say was getting their knickers in a twist.
To my Scottish relatives, being the youngest child of a youngest child, I was always "wee Robert's wee bairn".
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My mother in law from Stockport (Lancs/Ches border so I'm not sure who to blame!)
He's gone for coal (of someone taking a long time)
It'll give you a skin on your back like velvet (something you don't want to eat)
I'll put your name down for orange (imaginary prize for good conduct)
It's better than a donkey eating strawberries
bobby dazzler, duck egg, round the johnny 'orner,(corner) up the dancers (stairs)
wick things (insects), starved (meaning cold not hungry)
the answer to what's that tree, it's a blossom tree and to what's that bird, it's an ousel bird.
pauming about (wandering about)
he's all there with his lemon drops, you couldn't do better in a tripe shop
sorry, I'd better stop, cb
just one more, shives of bread, which must come straight from Anglo-Saxon
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My grandfather only allowed himself one swear word, and that was "ruddy". He didn't half use it a lot though - Ruddy government, ruddy royal family, ruddy tories etc etc.
I think I might adopt it myself, for the sake of continuity.
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My Gramps ditto Mike, except for Ruddy!
Skoosh.
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A common reply in my childhood home when we asked, 'what's for dinner', was, 'bread & iffit'.
When we asked a parent where they were going, 'there & back to see how far it is' came the sarcastic reply ;)
Jane
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Our mealtime promise was 'bread and pullit'
Also often used were 'I'll go to the foot of our stairs' (surprise) and 'there and back again to see how far it is' in response to 'where've you been?'
When I saw the mention of 'Stap me' I thought 18th century, but I've found a reference to it being used in Restoration Comedy, so even earlier.
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"Stap me" was used by Gritpypthin in the Goon Show.
Earlier than that, in a cartoon strip in the Daily Mirror, c1940, Capt. A.R.P.Reilly-Ffoule used the same phrase.(Sorry, halhawk, I missed yours above)
In our house;
"Yo'm a right Connie Wesson!"
"More aches and pains than old Charlie Hunt."
"Up a tree aback o' the church."
"Up a sough (pronounced suff) at Bos'orth."
"Yo'm like a mon med o' smoke."
"Well, I'll go to Elford!"
The dialect is North Warks.
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Google, Collie Weston Guyana, given as effeminate!
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"Be careful or I'll put your nose above your chin and your face all over skin"
Gran's threat to us!
And for dinner "Duck under the table" or "bread and scrape"!
Wiggy ;)
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Google, Collie Weston Guyana, given as effeminate!
Thanks, Skoosh. I knew of Collyweston roofing 'slates' and the effect of the weight on a roof, but hadn't heard of that connection.
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There is a word used in Leicester, 'mardy', which seems to be specific to this area. It means miserable or sullen. People often refer to one another as a 'mardy bum' or (less polite)'mard(y)-arse'. In fact my mum has been telling me all my life that I was the latter as a baby! :-)
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It's black over Bill's Mother's house... Weather getting foul
Kick at the pantry door...is there anything to eat?
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I'm not as green as cabbage.
Nowt so daft as folks.
You must think I am one of the 6 who came over in 7 boats.
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In relation to food;
Iffit pudding,
Bread and pullit, (already mentioned)
Two jumps at the pantry door and a bite at the latch,
Me belly thinks me throat's been cut.
"Mardy-arse" is a bit wider spread, - we have it too.
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From a Lancastrian -
by 'eck
'ecky thump
nay, lass/lad
all expressions of surprise or disbelief
by gumme charlie, ah'll cut thy tail off (always made our dog crawl under the table when she was told off with this threat!)
Gillg ;D
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Expletives used in our house by my Dad..
Toerag,Pissant,Bugger up the back and Tassel...I haven't a clue what Tassel was all about?
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A "Tossel" in this neck of the woods is a bull's appendage or the toorie on a bonnet!
Skoosh.
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I bet it was Tossel and it got a bit mangled when it reached our neck of the woods....
Funnily enough my Dad never used swear words...Looks like he got close to them with that selection..
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We used to say someone was Mard, mardy in Cheshire.
Blimey o’Reilly (surprised)
Ee, I’ll go t’ foot of our stairs (surprised at something)
Three jumps at the cupboard door and a bite at the knob if you’re hungry – when we asked what was for dinner.
He’s not as green as he’s cabbage lookin’. When someone had done something clever.
My parents used flippin’ ‘eck or bloomin' 'eck as swear words! Or sometimes my mother would say “Sugar!”
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Lay holes for meddlers.
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1. Bad weather, black clouds in the sky, prompted "Looks like a shower of knobby horsemuck".
2. When asked what something was, "It's a wimwam for a duck's back".
I can remember being told off for being 'mardy'.
giraffe
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The other word often used was nesh. Meaning someone who feels the cold a lot - that's me. ::) ::)
It sometimes means something like "wimpish".
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Also from Lancashire
Thrang ( throng? in Yorkshire) - harrassed
My mother used to say " Rack ot th'een" ( not sure how to spell this so its a bit phonetic!) which was "by the judgment of your eye" used when measuring something that didn't need to be that accurate.
A modern word!
My daughter when aged about 5 or 6 , had started using swear words picked up in the playground and was told she must not use rude words. One day she was so frustrated by something, and obviously wanted to swear, that she shouted out " oh stonnen" , and we all use it now in preference to any other profanity!
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Someone mentioned dogs which reminded me of my father admonishing our dog with, 'I'll cut your tail off right up to your ears!' I still use it today :)
Jane
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My mum and nan used to use sbf as a swear word. (Oh sbf yes it stood for s bum and f). My nan used to work as a cleaner for a very well mannered lady and she said the words out loud one day. Nan was so shocked and ever after she and mum used sbf as a swear word in front of us. I do not use it myself but when I swear my husband always tells me off for cursing, (he is irish).
Sarah
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Thrang in Scotland = Busy, Thrang wi fowk, packed. Gaelic I think, similar?
Skoosh.
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My dad used to say to me "Don't stand/sit around looking like piffy" if I wasn't doing anything useful. Or if someone was kept waiting a long time (like today in the Post office ::) ), he'd say "they were left hanging around like piffy".
Who or what Piffy was, I have no idea.
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Muckhack/Muck hack,I haven't a clue what it means but it was aimed at me in our house..
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I remember being called a 'barnpot' by my Mum when I was silly. She could have got it from her Leeds born Dad or Sunderland born Mum.
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From my West Yorks childhood, 2 expressions of surprise:
-well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!
- well, I was fair capped!
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We used the expression barmy for someone silly, perhaps your barnpot is similar and in Lancashire it was barmpot. We used to say I'll go to the foot of our stairs, but as my ancestors came from Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire in the 1900s, I think the expressions my parents used were a mixture of them all.
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My mother's favourite when cross: Oh, my Gordon Highlanders! ;D
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I rather like the Welsh nefi blw and bobl bach.
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Llandinam - I must try that on my daughter-in-law from Carmarthenshire! :-\
I love this topic - I have been laughing out loud this morning. ;D
Can anyone tell me what this means or where it comes from?
My mum used to say when I was a very small child "Today I'm going to work like Billy O". Is it something to do with William of Orange?
Judy
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Yes I can remember hearing that one but like you no idea what it means, but it certainly could refer to William of Orange, be interesting to hear if anyone knows.
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My grandma used to say "crickey Moses!"
One interesting thing about expletives/swear-words is how the exact translation from, say, French or Italian does not give any indication of usage or acceptability. Foreign words which "mean" something really very rude in English are not viewed in the same way by their speakers.
EG: some years ago the GCSE German Listening exam had the expletive"Ach Sch**sse!" in it- a sure indication that it is not as unacceptable an exclamation as its English "translation" ( you can just imagine the electric-schock of thrilled disbelief which ran through the exam hall full of 16 year-old candidates on hearing it!)
A colleague once pointed out that her French grandmother( 90 years old, very refined) often was heard to say "m**de"- my grandmother would never in a million years have uttered the English "translation" of this word, which in French is clearly not such a strong expletive.
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Muckhack/Muck hack,I haven't a clue what it means but it was aimed at me in our house..
The only interpretation I know of Much Hack is that it is a long handled fork with the tines turned at right-angles, for pulling manure from a cart. Can't see the connection, though.
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Q: What are you doing?
A: Riding a bike round the kitchen table (this meant 'mind your own business')
My Lancashire grandmother's curse:
May the good lord look sideways on your red 'ed.
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My dad never swore so his favouite expression when things weren't going well was 'Drat' or 'Drat It'!
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My father rarely swore so . . . . . on the day when he found my son had mowed his newly emerging raspberry canes and he came back across the lawn muttering "dear oh dear oh dear oh dear - bu**er!" said son was very impressed - and worried! ;D ;D ;D
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"this thread brought memories back..
"Ive been standing here like piffy/ like one o' Lewises (a mannequin in a large department store which used to be in Manchester...) Piffy seems to be an expression limited to sort of north east Manchester...further east it seems to be " like cheese at fourpence..". ..
"I've got more..........than soft Mick" whoever he was (I have a lot..rather too many.. of whatever)
Asa child , when dragging ny feet to go to bed and patience exhausted..."Come on..gerrup them dancers (Ginger rogers/fred astair)
Or in response to "whats for tea " Leighlos for meddlers dyu want a pennyworth?"Or "two jumps o'er t' butthery der (buttery door) and a bit of t'knob HUH???
At work once we were waiting for some material to work on so I remarked that we were "stuck for bobbins"..young folk hadn't a clue what im meant..this in a former textile area that led the world :(
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The other day my Mum said to my toddler, in a teasing jesting way of course, that she'd have his guts for garters.
He finds it hilarious and now shouts it at random intervals during the day.
People in the family also refer to him as b*gg*r lugs which which is another odd one!
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How on earth did I miss this thread first time round??
Here in the Black Country, if it's looking like rain you often hear "It's black over Bill's mother's."
And when I lived in Yorkshire I heard "Sod the expense - put another pea in the soup." A variant on this was "Sod the expense - give the cat a goldfish."
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A Devonian friend used to say "It don't make no never mind do it?"
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My Grandma used to say...Oh my giddy aunt.....and Jesus, Mary & Joseph....whatever would they make of it! In a fluster she also would say......I don't whether I'm on this earth or fullers....or I don't
Whether I'm coming or going.
Carol
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Thrang in Scotland = Busy, Thrang wi fowk, packed. Gaelic I think, similar?
Skoosh.
Or is it a local form of "Past Tense"?
Throng, Thronged ( ring, rang)
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Thrang in Scotland = Busy, Thrang wi fowk, packed. Gaelic I think, similar?
Skoosh.
Or is it a local form of "Past Tense"?
Throng, Thronged ( ring, rang)
Thrang = Scots, for busy, numerous, crowded, familiar, intimate, pressing, large quantity, bustle, confusion.
Thrangerie/Thrangatie = press of work, bustle.
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Thrang = Scots, for busy, numerous, crowded, familiar, intimate, pressing, large quantity, bustle, confusion.
Also commonly used in Northern England - particularly this area. I think it's of Norse origin rather than Gaelic.
Mike
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Thrang = Scots, for busy, numerous, crowded, familiar, intimate, pressing, large quantity, bustle, confusion.
Also commonly used in Northern England - particularly this area. I think it's of Norse origin rather than Gaelic.
Mike
And of course Gaelic has a big Norse input.
Skoosh.
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And when I lived in Yorkshire I heard "Sod the expense - put another pea in the soup." A variant on this was "Sod the expense - give the cat a goldfish."
Around here it is 'hang the expense, give the canary another seed'! ;D
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One used by a collegue of mine from Nottingham:
I wouldn't have [him/her/that etc] for a gold pig.
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One used by a collegue of mine from Nottingham:
I wouldn't have [him/her/that etc] for a gold pig.
Locally, that would be "not if 'is 'air 'ung in gold!"
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Hello enjoying the thread!
Carol re Jesus, Mary and Joseph my husbands Aunt always uses that any time she is told of something surprising or shocking. She is only 45 but her mother and father are fairly old. They are a Dublin family and I am not sure if it is just a Dublin thing or an Irish thing in general. In case you are wondering my husband is the eldest of the family and his uncle the youngest of the family and there is only two years between them!
Well contributing myself my Mum a Londoner used to say "You`re a one" if someone did something strange or silly.
Regards
Sarah
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One used by a collegue of mine from Nottingham:
I wouldn't have [him/her/that etc] for a gold pig.
Locally, that would be "not if 'is 'air 'ung in gold!"
In a similar vein, Stephen Fry once suggested that Emma, Lady Hamilton (who had, apparently, a strong Lancashire accent) might have commented "I wouldn't have him if he came free with a nest of tables."
Cati
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My father when something went wrong used to exclaim. "Damn and blast it!"
Another saying I remember is ...as black as Newgate's knocker, I believe it originates as a reference to the black metal knocker on the door of Newgate prison. It was often used for very dark clouds.
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Hello enjoying the thread!
Carol re Jesus, Mary and Joseph my husbands Aunt always uses that any time she is told of something surprising or shocking. She is only 45 but her mother and father are fairly old. They are a Dublin family and I am not sure if it is just a Dublin thing or an Irish thing in general. In case you are wondering my husband is the eldest of the family and his uncle the youngest of the family and there is only two years between them!
Well contributing myself my Mum a Londoner used to say "You`re a one" if someone did something strange or silly.
Regards
Sarah
My Grandma was a Catholic of Irish decent so it probably was a saying that she had heard in her younger days.
Carol
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My mum-in-law, if anyone was getting into a muddle or a mess would describe it as getting into a 'pukky-akky'. I have no idea where it comes from and neither does my husband.