Dialect part 3
Okay, here is a UK version of the dialect meme, with questions added by Bunn, Steepholm, Muuranker, Philmophlegm, Segh and Amalion. Anyone who feels like doing it is free to add extra questions.
My context: Derbyshire mother, father from near Glasgow. Went to school until 7 in Watford, from 7 to 11 in Winchcombe in north Gloucestershire, and after 11 in Cheltenham. Most playground memories come from the Winchcombe part of my childhood. I picked up my accent and most of my vocabulary from my Mum. My Dad used lots of Scottish terms, and I was familiar with them, but didn't use them much.
1. The space between two buildings containing a footpath: I called it a jitty when I was young - a word I got from my Mum - but now would probably call it an alleyway.
2. A knitted item of clothing worn over a shirt, without buttons: Jumper. I think my Dad calls it a pullover, though.
3. The act of not going to something that you're supposed to go to: Skiving
4. Playground game in which someone is "it" and has to touch someone else who then becomes "it.":Tag. More complicated versions of tag included "Stuck in the mud" (when tagged, stand still with arms out, and freed by someone running under the arms), Sticky toffee (when tagged, stand still with legs apart, and freed by someone crawling through legs) and "Dib dab" (which one of my parents called "Lurky 1 2 3" and a friend from Birmingham called "Hacky 1 2 3") which we discussed here some while ago, but I've now forgotten the rules of.
5. Playground truce term when you want a break from the above games: Cross fingers and say "cruces" (pronounced "croo-siz".) I was very pleased to find this term on the truce term map in The Lore and Language of School Children, exactly on north Gloucestershire.
6. Playground term you say when you want to claim something: Bagsy
7. Slip-on shoes worn for school sports in the days before trainers: At school we called them pumps. My Mum called them plimsolls and my Dad called the sand shoes (I think. It might have been the other way round.) When my Mum did supply teaching in a small village school only a few miles away, everyone there called them daps.
8. Small round bread: I'd just say bread roll, or roll. Pellinor says "bun", which I'm slowly being corrupted by, especially in a burger context, although to me "bun" makes me think of something spicy with raisins in, that you often eat toasted. I'd probably use "bap" occasionally, but only for very soft and floury rolls.
9. Sweet course that follows the main course: Pudding
10. Scone: pronounced to rhyme with "gone" or with "moan": Moan.
11. Generic term for a bird: I don't have one. However, I can never tell crows, rooks and jackdaws apart, so sometimes call them "corbies" in order to blind English people to my ignorance.
12. Round food stuff made with batter on a griddle, which is brown on the outside: Scotch pancake. My Dad disputed this loudly, though I can't remember what he called it.
13. A delicacy that you feel is particularly local to you: When I was young, the local thing was lardy cakes. I also feel quite an attachment to Bakewell puddings, as a result of my Mum's passsionate Derbyshire loyalty. I sneer at the "Bakewell tart" imposters.
14. Term of endearment: I don't think I use any particular regional one. My Mum and various aunts and uncles would often use "duck", though.
15. Someone who's soft and easily feels the cold: It's not a word I really use myself any more, but when young I'd use "nesh" - inherited from my Mum.
16. Tourists: No particular name when I was young. Caulkheads (native Isle of Wighters) use "grockles" for tourists, and "overners" for non-native residents.
17. A field boundary: My mental default is a hedge, but dry stone walls follow them hot on their heels.
18. You see a group of animals standing in a farm building. They have udders and go moo. Complete the following sentence: "Look at those ____ standing in that ____!" Look at those cows standing in that barn!
19. You haven't had anything to eat in a long time, and your stomach is letting you know about it. You would also like to be warmer. You say: "I'm ____ and ___!" It depends on how hungry or cold I was. "I'm freezing and I'm famished" (I think I'd have said "perishing" when I was younger, as my Mum does, but don't seem to say that any more.) If it's not so bad, then probably "I'm chilly and I'm peckish."
20. Your friends invite you to enter a haunted house: you demur. What do they call you, by way of a derisive taunt? Um… Not sure. Scaredy cat? Wimp? If I remember correctly, that word came into usage when I was around 10 or so, and it was used a lot.
21. A man who dresses flashily with lots of expensive jewellery is a ____: I have no idea!
22. What do you say in a shop when you are handed your change? Sorry to be boring, but I just say "thank you"
23. Generic friendly greeting: I boringly say "hello" or "good morning." The standard one in these here parts is "all right?", said more like "awri'?" Response is "awri'"
24. Slang term for a pair of trousers: I'm afraid I can't think of one. I fail at slang.
25. Slang term for left-handed: I fail here, too.
26. Pronunciation of Shrewsbury? Newcastle? Glasgow? SHROWS-bree (rhyme with "show"). NEW-cass-ul (short A sound). GLAZ-go (short A sound)
27. Two pieces of bread with a filling: Sandwiches. However, if the filling is chips or bacon, it's a butty. My Dad says "pieces," and it used to amuse me when he said "put my pieces in a poke." As for the light meal you eat during the day, usually as a break from work, I know a few Caulkheads who still call it a tiffin.
28. A playground way of saying someone is out of order: I can't think of one, except, "I'm telling on you!"
29. Dialect terms for hands, ears, face - and, indeed, for any other body parts you care to name: I can't think of any that I've ever used, to be honest.
30. Terms for someone who looks miserable: A mardy baby? Though that's a lot more than merely miserable.
31. Potatoes: I'd usually just call them potatoes. Occasionally "spuds", but not often. My Dad calls them "tatties" and I liked that term when I was little, so often used that.
32. Pale round food stuff with a brown base, lots of holes in it, which you serve hot with butter Crumpet
33. You annoyingly lucky person! Jammy. "You jammy git", though I was too polite to say such a thing. ;-)
My context: Derbyshire mother, father from near Glasgow. Went to school until 7 in Watford, from 7 to 11 in Winchcombe in north Gloucestershire, and after 11 in Cheltenham. Most playground memories come from the Winchcombe part of my childhood. I picked up my accent and most of my vocabulary from my Mum. My Dad used lots of Scottish terms, and I was familiar with them, but didn't use them much.
1. The space between two buildings containing a footpath: I called it a jitty when I was young - a word I got from my Mum - but now would probably call it an alleyway.
2. A knitted item of clothing worn over a shirt, without buttons: Jumper. I think my Dad calls it a pullover, though.
3. The act of not going to something that you're supposed to go to: Skiving
4. Playground game in which someone is "it" and has to touch someone else who then becomes "it.":Tag. More complicated versions of tag included "Stuck in the mud" (when tagged, stand still with arms out, and freed by someone running under the arms), Sticky toffee (when tagged, stand still with legs apart, and freed by someone crawling through legs) and "Dib dab" (which one of my parents called "Lurky 1 2 3" and a friend from Birmingham called "Hacky 1 2 3") which we discussed here some while ago, but I've now forgotten the rules of.
5. Playground truce term when you want a break from the above games: Cross fingers and say "cruces" (pronounced "croo-siz".) I was very pleased to find this term on the truce term map in The Lore and Language of School Children, exactly on north Gloucestershire.
6. Playground term you say when you want to claim something: Bagsy
7. Slip-on shoes worn for school sports in the days before trainers: At school we called them pumps. My Mum called them plimsolls and my Dad called the sand shoes (I think. It might have been the other way round.) When my Mum did supply teaching in a small village school only a few miles away, everyone there called them daps.
8. Small round bread: I'd just say bread roll, or roll. Pellinor says "bun", which I'm slowly being corrupted by, especially in a burger context, although to me "bun" makes me think of something spicy with raisins in, that you often eat toasted. I'd probably use "bap" occasionally, but only for very soft and floury rolls.
9. Sweet course that follows the main course: Pudding
10. Scone: pronounced to rhyme with "gone" or with "moan": Moan.
11. Generic term for a bird: I don't have one. However, I can never tell crows, rooks and jackdaws apart, so sometimes call them "corbies" in order to blind English people to my ignorance.
12. Round food stuff made with batter on a griddle, which is brown on the outside: Scotch pancake. My Dad disputed this loudly, though I can't remember what he called it.
13. A delicacy that you feel is particularly local to you: When I was young, the local thing was lardy cakes. I also feel quite an attachment to Bakewell puddings, as a result of my Mum's passsionate Derbyshire loyalty. I sneer at the "Bakewell tart" imposters.
14. Term of endearment: I don't think I use any particular regional one. My Mum and various aunts and uncles would often use "duck", though.
15. Someone who's soft and easily feels the cold: It's not a word I really use myself any more, but when young I'd use "nesh" - inherited from my Mum.
16. Tourists: No particular name when I was young. Caulkheads (native Isle of Wighters) use "grockles" for tourists, and "overners" for non-native residents.
17. A field boundary: My mental default is a hedge, but dry stone walls follow them hot on their heels.
18. You see a group of animals standing in a farm building. They have udders and go moo. Complete the following sentence: "Look at those ____ standing in that ____!" Look at those cows standing in that barn!
19. You haven't had anything to eat in a long time, and your stomach is letting you know about it. You would also like to be warmer. You say: "I'm ____ and ___!" It depends on how hungry or cold I was. "I'm freezing and I'm famished" (I think I'd have said "perishing" when I was younger, as my Mum does, but don't seem to say that any more.) If it's not so bad, then probably "I'm chilly and I'm peckish."
20. Your friends invite you to enter a haunted house: you demur. What do they call you, by way of a derisive taunt? Um… Not sure. Scaredy cat? Wimp? If I remember correctly, that word came into usage when I was around 10 or so, and it was used a lot.
21. A man who dresses flashily with lots of expensive jewellery is a ____: I have no idea!
22. What do you say in a shop when you are handed your change? Sorry to be boring, but I just say "thank you"
23. Generic friendly greeting: I boringly say "hello" or "good morning." The standard one in these here parts is "all right?", said more like "awri'?" Response is "awri'"
24. Slang term for a pair of trousers: I'm afraid I can't think of one. I fail at slang.
25. Slang term for left-handed: I fail here, too.
26. Pronunciation of Shrewsbury? Newcastle? Glasgow? SHROWS-bree (rhyme with "show"). NEW-cass-ul (short A sound). GLAZ-go (short A sound)
27. Two pieces of bread with a filling: Sandwiches. However, if the filling is chips or bacon, it's a butty. My Dad says "pieces," and it used to amuse me when he said "put my pieces in a poke." As for the light meal you eat during the day, usually as a break from work, I know a few Caulkheads who still call it a tiffin.
28. A playground way of saying someone is out of order: I can't think of one, except, "I'm telling on you!"
29. Dialect terms for hands, ears, face - and, indeed, for any other body parts you care to name: I can't think of any that I've ever used, to be honest.
30. Terms for someone who looks miserable: A mardy baby? Though that's a lot more than merely miserable.
31. Potatoes: I'd usually just call them potatoes. Occasionally "spuds", but not often. My Dad calls them "tatties" and I liked that term when I was little, so often used that.
32. Pale round food stuff with a brown base, lots of holes in it, which you serve hot with butter Crumpet
33. You annoyingly lucky person! Jammy. "You jammy git", though I was too polite to say such a thing. ;-)