Matt's comment on my previous post got me thinking about some more strange things 'wot' are said in this part of the world.
Here's a few to be going on with:
When referring to dodgy market traders:
"H/She’s as sleazy as a cows udder."
Boasting about the undoable:
"If tha can do that I can knit fog."
Q. How do I look?
A. A mon (man) on a mad horse wouldn’t notice you.
Or if your legs were a bit bent: You couldn't stop a pig in a ginnel (narrow passageway between buildings).
Anyone got any strange saying from their neck of the woods?
5 years ago
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39 comments:
My hubby's favourite saying, when people ask him how long he's been driving/shooting/whatever is 'Since Noah were a lad'. And when he's sure some event will never happen, he says 'When Nelson gets his eye back'.
I'm not sure if they're Derbyshire sayings as he's the only person I've ever heard say them. However, I was born in Wales, and had to 'learn' Derbyshire. I was mystified when people told me to 'stop whittling', as in stop worrying. In Wales, when you 'whittle' it means to relax and while away the hours, which is the exact opposite.
Mind you, chuffed is the same. You can use to to denote being very pleased, or say 'Chuff off' when you don't want someone's company ;-)
My Grandma used to say, when a knife was blunt, 'You could ride to London on this knife without cutting your .....'
I'll leave you to fill in the dots. :-)
I bet your Grandma knew this oone as well, Annie:
‘gob like a farmer’s a**e on a frosty morning!’
Not sure if that means tight-lipped or big mouth! I suppose it depended on the farmer.
I've heard the Nelson's eye one, Sally, not heard the one about Noah before.
There are loads here 'She's as big as a bonk hoss' meaning a well built woman is a favourite as is 'he gid im a right coghaver' meaning he punched him hard.
Where I come from, they just pronounce words funny, as in 'I'll be gooin deyn the teyn'. My father also used to say,'Lot of weather we're having lately, doesn't it?' but I think that was just him!
Nell
I'd forgotten you 'collect' weird sayings, too!
Is that Geordie, Helen?
I always remember a word my (Geordie) Mum told me, a word her Gran used to say.
Gazunder.
Can anyone guess what that one means?
Having lived in Cornwall I am picking a few up.
If you want to ask someone where something is you say:
"Wheres that to?"
Cornish people do things "dreckly" which is in Cornish time.
If you are irritable you are 'teasy'
Amazing how quickly we began to pick up Cornish turns of phrase although we were both Surrey born.
Michelle
x
Just an afterthought
My father and his family are from the Falkland Islands, and I don't know if it was just that my grandmother was tough,living out there for so many years, but every time I fell and grazed my knee as a child she would say, "Rub it with a brick!!"
Michelle
x
hmmm.. well...um....
my dad says holy jumping johasophat when he is surprised...
and i once said, ain't that just the monkey's patoot?
<3 ellie :)
**Gazunder.
Can anyone guess what that one means?**
Me, Miss! I know, Miss, pick me, Miss!
It's a potty that 'gazunder' the bed.
Another Derbyshire saying, when you ask if someone's enjoyed a meal, drink or whatever is 'It'll be rait'. It means they're wild about it ;-)
I also had to get used to using 'snap' for food and 'spice' for sweets. When I first moved to Chesterfield as a fourteen year old, I was mystified as to why my friends wanted to go to the 'spice' shop for a '10p mix'. I'd visions of them eating curry powder...
i'd never heard about knitting fog - that's wonderful!
Great sayings there! There are plenty from my neck of the woods:
"I went through him for a short cut"
"Do you think I just came up the Liffey in a bubble?"
"As sick as a small hospital"
Another one I've thought of was used by hubby's cousin, who's a joiner. He called to do some work for us one day and showed a large expanse of builder's bum. When I said, laughing, 'For goodness sake, put it away' he said 'A blind man'd be pleased to see it'.
Michelle - love the doing things dreckly - and 'Rub it with a brick' is great.
I like Ellie's monkey's patoot!
Sally gets a gold star for knowing gazunder.
And, Sally, I think 'snap' comes from miners who took their carry-out (lunch) in a snap box.
Yvonne, yours are great as well.
Sally's hubby's cousin sounds a right character.
So, 'Stone the flippin' Crows' there's a good selection here.
Keep them coming. They might be 'as much use as a chocolate fireguard' but there are many more than 'could be written on a butterfly's knickers'.
It's best Northamptonshire, Pat. Another one I love is 'half sharp' meaning not very clever, which my Dad said a lot. My grandmother also used to use a lot of cockney expressions which I believe was due to having evacuees from London during the war.
I love the knitting fog one too. When my mother wishes someone luck she says, "I'll hold thumbs for you." Instead of the usual crossing fingers.
There are some good cockney slang ones, Helen. Dad had loads of them, he was a Londoner; I was born down there and lived there til I was 10.
When we were moving 'oop north' the removal men asked Mum if she wanted them to take the maiden in the van. Mum, thinking they meant me, said no. That's how her favourite wooden clothes-horse got left behind.
Debs, I'll try holding thumbs for good luck. Crossing fingers hasn't got me an agent yet.
Hi Pat, thanks for your comments on my blog(s). I'm about as far North of North Yorkshire as you can get - almost on the border with County Durham, half way between the Moors and the Dales.
And another frustrated writer! I've turned my back on freelance journalism after being frustrated by the lack of creativity and advertising-driven nature of local press and magazines. So I'm now a caterer, and a lot less anxious! But that novel's still whirring around in my head.
Hi, Kitty
The writing bug never dies no matter what else you're doing instead, does it!
So you're another one on the borders of different counties. Our postal address is Lancs but you cross the West Yorks border to get to our house.
Here are some more Black Country ones for you.
I culd ave drapped cork-legged - I could have dropped down dead with surprise.
A blind mon on a gallopin' oss culd a sid it - How could you not notice that you fool?
He's about as gain as a glass eye - He looks good but he's useless.
Hi and thanks for the visit, well my hubby's favourite saying is 'however young a prune may be it's always black and wrinkled'. Drives me nuts.
So have we both got a thing about a mon on a horse, Nell!
Ypor glass eye and my chocolate fireguard are a good match, too.
Sally, good to see you here.
I love the prune one - so visual.
It's funny you should ask, because my mum's down at the moment (from Yorkshire) and I heard Teen Daughter say to her yesterday,'what's poompwatta?' It was actually 'pump water,' but Mum's accent made it hard to understand. I laughed for about an hour, I'm afraid.
My gran used to say 'well I'll go to the foot of our stairs,' to indicate amazement.
Hi Pat, thanks for dropping by my blog! I won't go into the weird sayings in my neck of the woods (Caribbean); I'll just say that given our colonial history, many of ours can be traced right back to strange corners of your world!
Helen, "plenty weather" is common among older folks here.
Helen
I bet your mum says: "It's raining stair-rods" as well?
Welcome, Wordtryst. It's great to start getting an international flavour on my blog.
I didn't know you had a blog! How dim am I?
Expressions - Barney always threatens to 'plait sawdust' if something doesn't happen as he expects. Bit like knitting fog, I should think.
I love Yorkshire sayings like
'She's got all her chairs at home.'
(Surely most people keep their chairs at home?) - it indicates someone who won't get taken advantage of.
And a colleague from when I was young used to say 'It's nowt to get into bed abaht!' meaning not worth making yourself ill over.
Must be hundreds of them.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire sayings are great aren't they, Honeysuckle! We'll think up a few more when we have our coffee date.
I think we 'met' before I started blogging so that's probably why you didn't know I had a blog.
Favourite one from growing up in Devon: 'Aye it's right dimpsy' meaning twilight is falling. Thanks for visiting the new blog - my little girl will be so impressed (she loves the animal series!)
Welcome Kate - and daughter.
'Dimpsy' is a lovely word. I can see myself sneaking new words and expressions into short stories.
Thanks for your lovely comments on my blog :-)
I'm Scottish so we have a whole host of weird words and sayings
Thick as two short planks
You canna sell the cou an sup the milk - You can't sell the cow AND drink the milk...I guess a version of you can't have your cake and eat it!!
He haes aw his back teeth - He has all his back teeth meaning he's not daft.
Ooohh there are loads...
My Gran used to say 'Wide ears and short tongues are best'
and a few words;
Blether - Chat
Canny - careful
Cowp - tip over or can also mean mess as in 'This room is a cowp'
Crabbit - bad tempered
Dreich - damp and dismal weather
Drookit - soaked through
Eejit - idiot
I could go on and on!!!
C x
Ps. Loved knitting fog....brill
Good to 'see' you C&C
There are some great sayings and words there!
The first time I saw the word 'eejit' was (I think) in an Enid Blyton book when somebody called someone ninnies and eejits.
It's going to niggle me now until I remember which book.
Anyone know?
Hi Pat,
Thank you for dropping by. I see you have had stories published in 'People's Friend'. I have had some great feedback from them for my stories, but so far they haven't accepted one yet.
I shall keep on trying ;-)
best wishes,
Annie
Hi, Annie
You know I got a weird email from Daemon mailer saying my comment on your blog couldn't be delvered. Glad it was wrong.
Keep trying with PF, and good luck; the editors really are nice to work with.
They've got four of mine right now so I'm playing the old waiting game.
Watch this space!
Crumbs, I feel as if I've landed on an alien planet reading through that lot. I feel sadly lacking in peculiar sayings now.
I always knew there was something missing from my life :0(
Hi, Jen
It's the continually changing 'Teen-talk' that makes me feel as if I'm on an alien planet.
A lot of that doesn't make sense to me - then when I start to know the in words, they're already out of use.
Oh thank you for posting the "pig in a ginnel" one ~ that takes me right back to my Sheffield days & always makes me smile!
Oh and thanks also to Karen for illuminating me on the "foot of our stairs" one ~ I never knew what that meant till now!
Hi Pat, Me again. Four of your short stories are with PF.. May I ask have they been helpful with feedback?
Best wishes,
Annie
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