Continuing the blog's occasional look at youth culture, here are a few more words from my own youth in Lancashire in the Sixties. Rather than dialect I have gone for words young people like me and my mates used.
Hicky - a kiss-bite usually on the neck
snog - kiss
Neckin - lot of snoggin
Greaser - motorbiker
Mod - stylish soul youth
Rocker - like a Greaser
Headbanger - lover of heavy rock music
Zit - spot
Wuss - wimp
Wimp - softee
Hard - tough as is how hard is he really?
Bird - girlfriend
Crop - haircut
swat - nerd
Kecks - trousers
Togs - clothes
Clobber - more clothes
Brew - cup of tea
Scran, nosh, grub - food
Belm - tell a fib
Thom - tell another fib
Herbert - numpty
Talent - good looking guys and gals
Fit - good lookin
Band - group
Peevish - mean
Boilin - hot
Corporation Pop - water
Spuggy, chuddy - chewing gum
Can you add any more?
I had a friend from Wigan who called glasses "gegs" otherwise here in Portsmouth we had a different youth language, off the top of my head we had, Mush (pronounced Moosh), mush-bird, dinlo, prrrrk, pegs (as in trousers), plastic (as in fake), Jimmy hill (liar), he does! (He master ates), in fact we have a periodic table of slang from my home town in my shop! I'll take a photo and send it to you!- Mark J Southcoast Base
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Love those MJ! Whats a dinlo? That table of slang sounds ace!
DeleteA Dinlo is someone of below average intelligence, it can be used on its own or in a sentence " leave it ait ya farkin Dinlo!!" -Mark J
Deleteha ha, great word MJ!
DeleteAs like Mark J, here in South Wales we have [literally] our own language. And particularly, in this part of Wales, some of it is a combination of Welsh and English. As time has gone by, some of these phrases have now passed from use. But here are a few of the more famous ones.
ReplyDeleteBard in bed under the Doctor = ill
A Good Swill = Having a Wash
Butty = My Friend
Cwtch = A long Cuddle, or a Cupboard! – [But it loses something in the translation
Now in a Minute = Shortly
Fetch You One = A Punch in the Face
Ach-a-Fi = Yukk
Llawr a Bac[k] = The Toilet
The Ashman = The Refuse Collector!
Ha ha. Those a fab Bill! I like fetch you one! Its like a knuckle butty here! But that'd be knuckle friend round your end! Great slang.
ReplyDeleteIn York a 'Spuggy' was also a House Sparrow,and we called a Starling a 'Shippy'.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Yorkie. Sparrows were Spadgers in Preston so those words could be related. I love that, Shippy. What a great name. I wonder why it was shippy?
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