Slang words/phrases

Gusbear

Gusbear

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 February 2012
Messages
810
Location
Was Richmond, Surrey now a mountain forest in Oz.
Visit site
I’m sitting here bored to the back teeth here in lockdown in Melbourne Oz, so here goes:

My late mum used to refer to spiders and crawling insects (basically anything with lots of legs that you wouldn’t want in the house) as ‘anti-go-wobblies’. The dog was always referred to as ‘Bugerlugs’ (a term of endearment meaning mate or little friend). Anyone else ? ...
 
My grandma used to say 'who do you think you are, Sweet Fanny Adams?' to me or my sister if we were a bit cheeky as a gentle reprimand. I was a bit bit shocked when I finally found out that Sweet FA was a murdered child.
 
My mother uses the word "buggerlugs" to mean "a stupid person", usually referring to herself when she's mistakenly trusted somebody to do a job that has never got done "until buggerlugs, here [meaning herself], did it".

We used the term "daddy long-legs" to refer to the crane fly; when we moved to the US we found that children were using that term for the harvestman.
 
When I was small and living in Africa, my mum used to sing lullabies and irish folk songs when she was doing housework. The very beautiful, Go to Sleep my Baby contained a word that became my pet name. In turn, i used to sing it to my own babies to get them to sleep.
Sadly, I cannot write the word here, it is now deemed unacceptable and the lyrics have been rewritten, but whenever the tune comes into my head, I remember how much my mum loved me as a small child.
 
Woodlice are Cheesybobs in this household! Mum grew up in Guildford, and apparently it's a common slang for them in that area, so stands to reason we grew up calling them Cheesybobs.

Woodlice actually have an insane amount of local slang names the world over!
 
dogatemysalad said:
When I was small and living in Africa, my mum used to sing lullabies and irish folk songs when she was doing housework. The very beautiful, Go to Sleep my Baby contained a word that became my pet name. In turn, i used to sing it to my own babies to get them to sleep.
Sadly, I cannot write the word here, it is now deemed unacceptable and the lyrics have been rewritten, but whenever the tune comes into my head, I remember how much my mum loved me as a small child.
Click to expand...

There's an interesting explanation of the word here.
 
As I am not originally from the UK, I have had a few stares when I have said a word that obviously means something different here. I said 'well that's rude' in response to someone saying something I didn't really agree with - he took offence and hubby had to quickly explain it was the equivalent of saying 'you're having a laugh'!! :)
Not a slang word, but I take on a slightly higher pitched singing voice when I call my horse across the field which she responds to. I was out on a work site visit and was walking passed a field of young cows with one walking towards me when I said 'Hello' in the same voice, it turned on its tail and made a mad dash away, with his field mates in tow - I felt suitably chastised!
 
Wood lice are chuckypigs in our house, wasps are 'those stripey B......ds', horses are usually 'gee up, stinky neddy bags' in my borthers eyes
 
Got some horsey ones .
I came across a condition called ' Bran Head ' in an old book ( which could cause behavioural issues in horses due to malformation of the skull caused by calcium deficiency in case you're interested !) - thus any horse misbehaving is said to be ' doing a brannie '.
A horse that stops dead and plants itself four square is 'doing a coffee table '.
A seat saver is ' a bumnah '.
Stirrups are ' pedals '.
Hats are ' lids'.
Riding tights are ' spray on jods '.
 
I grew up in Yorkshire, aye up buggerlugs is still how i greet my mare :) also aye up ya daft bugger is the go to if she's excited about something when ridden or in hand
 
I love my Yorkshire slang.
I’m quite broad laak and my OH is a “sand dancer” (points if you know) and I recover my thick vernacular when I am with my grandparents.
my FAVOURITE is
“As tha left’door oppen?”
“Why like?”
“Thas tungs wagglin like thers a draft up y’arse!”

basically, yer talking sh*te ?
 
My childhood pony was nick-named buggerlugs or bugs by my much older sister who originally bought him but I thought it was something to do with his big ears!
 
Lugs is Scots for ears if that helps.
I struggle with knowing what is 'slang' and what is actually Scots (aka Lallans or perhaps the Doric if you are from the north). And now I live in England I tend to use Scots words without realising until I see the blank looks on the Sassenach faces > :oops:
Some of my favourites are 'Shilpit wee nyaff', cushy doo, ducket/doocot, hoolet, puddock, cuddy, een, oxters, graip, stour.
 
Sandstone1 said:
when anyone asked mum whats for dinner her answer was "run round the table and a kick at the cat" No idea where that comes from!
Click to expand...
If I said to my grandmother "I'm hungry, what's for tea?" she would reply "a run round t' table and a kick at t' cellar door".
When, one day, I pointed out that the table was pushed up against the wall, so I couldn't run round it, she said back "well, tha'll get nowt, then!"

thefarsideofthefield said:
Stirrups are ' pedals '.
Hats are ' lids'.
Click to expand...

It's common over here to refer to stirrups as "pédales", and motorcyclists often call their helmets "skid-lids".

Shilasdair said:
Lugs is Scots for ears if that helps.
Click to expand...
In Yorkshire, too, ears can be "lugs" and the bit where the wax collects is a "lug-hole" ("hole" rhymes with "oil").
As a kid I often heard "When were t' last time you cleaned out your lug-holes? I could grow spuds in them!"

rabatsa said:
Anyone else wear Keks?
Click to expand...
Definitely. I got confused the first time I heard the term "cake-hole", when "cake" rhymes with "keck"...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top