A Guide to English as spoken in Manchester
The following is a guide to English as spoken in the great city of Manchester and the Northern environs. For the dedicated student examples of usage and further exercises are given at the end.
A
abdabs the terror, the frights, the shites; aaaargh, it's the screaming abdabs
abdul's kebab shop
acting up arsey
aff afternoon
aggro grief, trouble,aggravation
albert finney's slippers tough looking nippers
alcopop alcoholic soda
ale-can a drunkard
all to cock fucked up, cocked up
alright hello
ankle-biters nippers, especially babies
anorak boring person, eg trainspotter, statto
archer two thousand quid
arrows darts (pronounced arrers)
arse about mess about, waste time, e.g."stop arsing about and get down to some
serious graft."
arsecobblersnackers meat, two veg and a nice helping of rump
arsed motivated, e.g "I can't be arsed to work"
arse-grapes haemorrhoids
arseholed very drunk
arse-on a bad mood
arsewipe toilet paper or, indeed, a contemptible person
arsey acting up
art pamphlet a jazz mag
awning over the toy shop beer belly
aye yes
bab kebab
baby gravy a viscous fluid of the male reproductive tract
baby spice baby spice
bag of shite bobbins
bags skivvies
bairn baby
balloon a nutcase
bang out of order " Not on, old chap"
banger sausage or jalopy
banging good
barm-cake bread bun or nutcase
barm-pot nutcase
barmy crazy
basildon bond completely bombed, wasted
bazzing great
beadjuggler catholic
beak local magistrate, e.g.'up before the beak'
beamish a type of Guinness
belting admirable, very good
bender a drinking session
bevy an alcoholic beverage
bevvied very drunk
big blimey blimey double plus
big ears thank you, from "cheers, big ears"
billy bollock chops a gentleman of portly stature
bin-lid a small child
bint silly woman
bird chick
biscuit cookie
bit of class it's very classy,stylish. usually said after crude jokes or farty noises. bit-of-fluff girlfriend
bitter Boddies, also a blue-nose
black & tan Guinness & bitter (Mixed up!)
black velvet Guinness & champers
bladdered very drunk
blades the greatest football team in the county of yorkshire, also known as
sheffield united, supported by danny and jarred
blades business crew a choice collection of sheff utd supporters
blag steal or obtain by chicanery
blair me out listen to me for 5 minutes, and I'II tell you what to think
blank an anorak, e.g. "don't be such a blank, it wasn't worth a tommy tank" blighty eng-er-land
blindo very drunk
bloke guy
blotto very drunk
blue-nose a supporter of manchester city, e.g. "that blue-nose is soft as a
boiled turnip!"
bobbins no good, also an essential part in wool spinning.
boddies Boddingtons Bitter, e.g. "you've got veins in your bodies, I've got
Boddies in my veins"
bog the smallest room of the house, the ablutionary
bollocking a telling off
bollocks bollocks
bollocksed very drunk
bonk monkey business
bonkers crazy, loopy, looney tunes
boozer pub
boss great, e.g "boozers are boss"
bottle it lose your nerve
bottle merchant a wuss
bottom bandit gang member of junior rank or a wigan pier
boys in blue the local constabulary
brass cash, e.g. "where there's muck, there's brass"
brassed off fed up
brassed out skint, without cash
brassic skint, all out of cash
brassy bold, from 'bold as brass', or cold, from 'cold enough to freeze
the balls off a brass-monkey'
breadknife wife or girlfriend
brekkers breakfast
broon newcastle brown ale
brummie a native of binmingham or brum. this was the one region of britain
where the successive waves of invading cells, jutes, angles and
saxons were unable to displace the original silurian inhabitants.
the descendants of these silurians can be distinguished from the
later arrivals because a shittiness of appearance and a shortness
of stature contribute to the demonic demeanour of the typical brummie.
the brummie tradition of stealing into the homes of their celtic and
anglesaxon neighbours and making off with the newborn is widely frowned
upon. the sole brum contribution to western culture: ossy osbourne's
black sabbath.
bugger me backwards blimey o'reilley
buggerall none, e.g.'l'd buy you a bevy but I've got buggerall brass"
built like a brick shithouse of muscular stature
bum cakes arse
bum fluff teenager's attempt to grow a beard
bunkum nonsense
burn rolling tobacco
butty sandwich or salary
cadge to beg for something
cained very drunk
cake hole mouth
canned very drunk
charlie big potatoes an individual of import
cheeky mischievous, e.g.'oooh, you cheeky young monkey"
chipbarm french fries sandwiched within a barmcake
chipbutty mmmmm, good nosh
chippy palace of culinary delights
chips french fries, e.g. "why waste money on expensive jigsaws? Simply buy
some chips and piece the potato back together"
chokey prison
chuff bottom, fart
chuffed pleased, happy
chuffer an old and slow codger/car/train
chuffin bobbins atrocious
ciggy cigarette
to clock to see or hit
clout to hit, e.g. the motto of trafford park meat pie factory's engineering
department,'if in doubt, give it a clout'
cobblers nonsense
cock similar to mac, eg "how's it going cock?"
codswallop nonsense
coffin dodger oldperson
cop off score
copping clobber dandy clothing
Cor Bllmey Charlie expression of amazement.
cracking very good, admirable craic (pronounced crack) situation, atmosphere,
e.g.,'what's the craic?','iy's a top craic'
crap bobbins
cream crackered fatigued
crikey blimey
crimes blimey
crisps potato chips, 'walkers' are recommended
crumpet a bit of fluff
curry corridor rusholme
cushdy sorted, everything's fine and dandy
cuz or cuzzers curry
dangleberrles tagnuts
dead very, e.g.'this cuzzers tastes dead dodgy'
dead finished, e.g 'are those drinks dead?'
denis draw (hashish)
dibble the constabulary
dipstick Idiot
divvy Idiot
dobber large object
dobbingbig very big
dog newcastle brown ale, e.g.'i've necked a dozen bottles of dog
without needing the bog'
dodgy of questionable nature, iffy
donkeys years a very long time
do one do one
dosh money
doss easy, eg "it was a doss"
doss a gentleman of taste and distinction, e.g. "by the cut of his cloth
one could tell he was a true doss"
double up buy a double round (see last orders)
double tops fandabbydoubledoezee
draw dennis law
drop a bollock make a mistake or cock something up.
ducks nuts the dogs bollocks, top notch, a-one
duff to beat up on
duntit doesn't it
east didsbury the belgravia of manchester
The Emperor of Lancashire the inimitable george formby
fact me 'till I fart give me all the relevant information
fag cigarette
fair do's fair enough, ok
fancy a brew? would you like a cup of tea
fancy nosh any food that hasn't been fried, also known as foreign food
feel like a shitehawk's breakfast possess a profound hangover
feel rough as a buzzard's crotch see above
ferret felching illegal sport carried out in yorkshire pubs
filth the constabulary
fit attractive, e.g."you're dead, dead fit"
five knuckle shuffle the sin of onanism
flashharry someone who throws their money around and acts like a
charlie big potatoes, the sort of person who purchases lucozade
even when nobody's poorly
flid tantrum, throwing your toys out of the cot
flipping heck cor blimey charlie
footy the beautiful game
foreigner personal work done on the sly during working hours
freakydancing northern dancing
frig to mess about, e.g. "will you stop frigging about"
fruity a fruit machine in the pub
full monty the whole thing, not holding back on anything
full whack full price
fry-up a good scoff
fuck me this is not a request but is an amplified version of flipping heck
fuckwit a stupid person, thick as the proverbial pigshit
fuddyduddy a square person
gab chat, gossip
gaffer the guy in charge, e.g. 'skedaddle, it's the gaffer"
geordie native of newcastle
get northern spelling of'git', e.g. "you ugly get"
girls blouse nancy boy
give over desist, would you please cease that activity
give somebody a bell contact somebody by telephone
glasgow kiss headbutt
gob mouth
gobbing spitting
gobshite annoying get, a person who is all mouth and no trousers
gobsmacked shocked
god's cops the greater manchester police force
goolies gonads
gordon bennett blimey
goz saliva
graft work
grannystabber scouser
greeboe long-haired rocker, generally from birmingham
grub food
grundies skivvies
guinless thirsty
gurning yonner pub sport; the victor is entitled to wear a horse's bridle
had the painters in on the rag
half cut very drunk
to half-inch to steal
hank marvin hungry
harry monk baby gravy
have-a-go hero bloke who has-a-go at a have-a-go merchant
have-a-go merchant violent bloke
head-the-ball a nutcase
hedge-monkey a new-age traveller
herbert silly person
hooray henry posh lager lout
howard's arse prison
iffy of questionable nature, dodgy
i wasn't listening mate said when someone asks you your opinion of a
deeply philosophical matter
intit or innit isn't it
jackstraw draw
jazz mag one-armed reading material
jellied eels cockney fodder
jessie softy, usually preceded by 'southern'
jib obtain an item or service by chicanery
jibber one who jibs
jimmy passing water, from jimmy riddle/piddle
joe Holts Ale, e.g. " I shall arise and go for a pint of Joe"
joey taxi cab (manchester only)
jolly hockey sticks a posh lady, probably called jemima blenkinsop forbes
kaibosh throw a spanner in the works
kaiboshed very drunk
kecks trousers
kegged very drunk
kettled very drunk
knacked or knackered tired or broken
knickers panties
lad boy
to lamp to hit
larroped very drunk
lass girl
last orders last call
leave it out "less of that nonsense, thankyou very much." ,'you must be joking"
leg it or give it legs to run
lift elevator or ride, eg "give us a lift" - give me a ride
loaf head, e.g.'use your loaf!'
local your neighbourhood pub, being in your locality the temptation is great lock-in illicit after last-
call drinking session in pub
loonyluice beer with a very high alcohol content, e.g. tennants stupid
lose the plot lose the script
lounge the civilized room of the pub
lovely jubbly that's great
lummie blimey
luv-a-duck Cor Blimey Charlie
mackam native of sunderland
mad for it enthusiastic
madchester the new jerusalem, of which benjamin disraeli, britain's only jewish
prime minister (1868, 1874-80), said,''in all fields of human endeavour
Manchester is as significant an achievement as athens' or somesuch;
'the only way Manchester could be any better is if it had a beach', Ian
Brown, the stone roses
mackesons a type of Guinness
malarkey shenanigans, e.g.'oooh, what a malarkey!'
mancunian or manc native to manchester
mardarse, mardypants wuss
marmite motorway the concluding portion of the alimentary canal
mickey or mickeymouser scouser
mither hassle
morris dancing drunken fertility dance involving sticks, popular with yonners
mufti casual dress e.g,'fridays are mufti days'
muffin what northern mancunians say when they mean barm-cake
murphys a type of Guinness
my old mucker mate
nackers nads
nails tough
nancy boy a soft mardarse
narb draw
neither mickle nor muckle neither here nor there
nice one pronounced nyyce - self explanatory
nick police-station
nicked stolen or arrested
nippers kids
nobble sabotage
nobby-no-mates a loner
nonce pervert
nooky monkey business
no offence mate i've just insulted you but I'm only joking, honest
nosh food
nowt nothing, e.g them that has nowt is nowt'
nutter a nutcase
occified very drunk, as in,'i've only had a couple of boddies occifer'
offlicense or offie liquor store (as in iffy's offy in Withington)
our kid my brother/sister eg "our Chris" - my brother Chris
out of the top drawer admirable, of the highest order
owt anything, e.g. "john drinks owt"
paraffin a hobo; from paraffin lamp/tramp
peg it or give it legs to run
pop your clogs perish, die
petroleum gasoline
pie-eyed very drunk
pinch steal
pissed very drunk
pissed off annoyed
plod police
plonk wine
plonker prat
poorly ill
ponce wuss
pop soda
porkey a lie, e.g.' a porkey must bow it's head to truth made manifest"
proddy protestant
pumpkin head frank sidebottom
punter customer, client
quid pound
guizzie quiz machine in pub
rank not very pleasing, bobbins
rat-arsed or ratto very drunk
right very, e.g. "it was right ropey"
right mithering bastard the gaffer
ropey of questionable nature, dodgy, iffy
rozzers the local constabulary
ruby curry; from ruby murray/curry
ruck fist fight, altercation
salford kiss headbutt
scally a youthful chancer
scoop a pint of beer
scouse the language of scousers; a scouse rendition of psalm twenty-three would
read Ihus,'dem as ates yew, dey see me sitting down to good scoff, you get
me all poshed up and toney like, i just can't say ta enuf. no argin about
it, s'long as i live the gear tings and the elpin and'll be durr.
an' in the nex world"
scouser an incorrigible rogue, sticklers for grammatical correctness (g.c.) would
prefix this word with either 'workshy' or 'thieving'
sweet candy
scram or scran food
sesh drinking session
shag monkey business
shagged out fatigued
shandy a mixture of beer and fizzy lemonade
shed a clapped out machine, usually a car, probably purchased from robin tumman shedded
very drunk
sheepshagger native of leeds
sherbert beer
sherman (tank) an american
shit-faced very drunk
shit-on-a-stick a game popular with nippers. it involves a stick and a dollop of doggy-do shooter firearm
shout round of drinks "It's my shout"
smashing admirable, very good
smelly see greeboe
snakebite a potent mixture of cider and beer, some publicans refuse to serve because
it induces pugilism and general loopiness, it would be quite neckable if it
wasn't for the taste and smell
snide a sneak
snidey sneaky
soap-dodger see greeboe
sorted sorted
spice girl pop tart, e.g " bang another spice girl on the grill"
spiv dodgy business man
squaddy soldier
stoppyback a lock-in
straw draw
sub a loan, e.g.,'sub me ten quid and i'll buy you a beer"
suit a businessman
supersonic gin & tonic
ta thanks
ta-no-end thanks a million, generally used sarcastically
tagnut winnit
tan to forcibly take money or property with the intention of permanently
depriving the owner thereof
tanked-up very drunk
ta-ra goodbye
tasty he is quite tasty - he's good with his fists, she is quite tasty - she's
quite comely
theatre or dreams Old Trafford, home of manchester united
tight mean, scroogelike
tight very drunk
tights pantyhose
tight as a gnats chuff very mean
tinkers irish travelling people
tinny can of beer
tired and emotional drunk and obnoxious
toffee a sweet
tommy the tank act in an onanistic manner
toodaloo or toodlepip goodbye
tooled up armed
top fantastic
toss rubbish, eg "it's a load of toss"
tosser wanker
tosser del sol spain
tosspot tosser
totty women, e.g.'What is this fatal attraction that I have for women? Is no
toyyy safe'
totty lotion aftershave
triple up buy a triple round (see last orders)
trollies skivvies
twit idiot
tyke native of yorkshire
v.a.t. valuable alcohol time
v.d.t valuable drinking time
vault the less civilized room of the pub, miss mary should avoid
victory-v a sweet that exiled Brits in the US dole out on Halloween
vimto a Mancunian fruit-drink
vimtoing inviting the contents of your stomach to see sunlight again
waccybaccy draw
wallah an employee
wanker prat
wankered very drunk
well very, e.g.'i'm well chuffed with Our Red Shirted Heroes'
whalley range trouble and pain
what the dickens! my goodnessl! boggarts were generally named dick.
what's on the clock, cock? what's the time please?
wideboy gobshite who fancies himself
wigan pier queer
winnit dangleberries
woodentops cops
yonks a long time
yonner a lancashlre hillbilly, e.g."get back to your clog-dancing, you
slack-jawed yonner"
y.r.a. yorkshire republican army
The following examples of usage may prove helpful for various situations which a visitor may encounter:
At the dinner table:
(A household in Leeds)
Master of the House: "For what we are going to receive, make us truly thankful - Ay Up, what've you put on
my platter?"
Wife of the Bussum: "Grass"
Master of the House: "Grass, lass?"
Wife of the Bussum: "Aye, if it's good enough for your fancy woman then it's good enough for you."
On the Jib:
(On the Collyhurst end of Tibb Street)
Juvenile Jibber: "Excuse me mister, have you seen the dibble?" Crusty Old Cove: "The dibble? In this neighbourhood? Leave it out, you never see the dibble round here." Juvenile Jibber: "Right then you daft get, hand over your dosh before I lamp you one."
Making culinary conversation:
(Outside the Wellington in Shambles Square)
Concerned Chap: "What's ailing you?"
Billy Bollock Chops: "I'm troubled by a tumultous tummy." Concerned Bloke: "What've you been scranning?" Billy Bollock Chops:"Well I woke up this morning and had a fry-up for brekkers: egg, bacon, mushies,
bubble & squeak,
fried bread and beans on marmite on toast, the full monty. Then I went to work and had a packet of crisps
while completing
the crossword in the currant bun. By ten to twelve I was down the canteen, I had soup, dinner and afters.
Well, afters was
spotted dick and custard so I had it twice. I had roast beef and yorkshire pud (By God it does you good!) I
had two soups
it was oxtail and rocket ron didn't want his so I thought "I'm not wasting thirty pee". About one I had a
beefburger and at
three I had an ice-cream while I was grafting, it was one with a choccy bar, I think you call it a ninety-nine. I
was home by
five, and the missus had egg, chips, sausage and beans waiting and then I went to the boozer for a few
bevvies. On the way
I stopped by the chippy to procure a steak & kidney pudding and some mushy peas. Down the pub they
were having an
arrows tournament so I took advantage of the buffet and had a sausage roll and an eccles cake, I was just
trying to be
sociable, and after the lock-in I stopped by the curry house for a ruby, some stuffed nans and - Concerned Chap: "- hang on pal, can you drop your kecks for us?" [Billy obliges] Concerned Chap: "There' s your trouble, you've only got one arse."
Exercise 1: In Blackburn, ask a local for a good place for Saturday lunch, and what's that big empty building
doing where
they filmed the Hovis commercial?
(Hints: bonus marks for use of yonner, black pudding and gurning; lose marks if you use tofu, latte or
'packed football
ground')
Exercise 2: In Rusholme, ask a friendly patrolling policeman for the location of a drinking establishment with
respectable
patrons where a late drink may be obtained and close to an Indian take-away.
(Hints: bonus marks for plod, ruby, lock-in; lose marks for use of wine-bar, officer, Lord Lyon)
Paul Hinson (email p.l.hinson@ais.salford.ac.uk)
MUTV Masterfan Quiz Champion 1999
Ask the STATMAN at:
http://mufc.simplenet.com/mufc/statman.htm
The best STATS on the 1999 English and European
Champions on the Web
http://mufc.simplenet.com/mufc/stats.htm
STATISTICS
http://mufc.simplenet.com/mufc/pontin.htm
RESERVES And JUNIORS
Try the MUFC Quiz
http://mufc.simplenet.com/miva/quiz/quiz.mv
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