share your local words, phrases and colloquialisms

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As a lover of language and international cultures, I thought we might want to have a thread to share some interesting and quirky phrases from our countries.

First up I am going to offer 'brass monkeys' meaning very cold as a phrase used in the UK. It's disputed where it originates from as there are numerous stories, but it is agreed it is from a couple of hundred years ago and was originally much more than 2 wors ('cold enough to freeze the balls/tail off a brass monkey') but is now very often just shortened to 'brass monkeys'

Was reminded of it this morning as it is freezing cold this week in the UK. Someone arrived in the office and said 'it's brass monkeys out there!'

...That reminds me of " colder than a witch's tittie "!

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I don’t know if this isn’t everywhere but, when someone looks surprised it is often referenced as ‘deer in the headlights’

There was a REALLY funny/sad moment of linguistic confusion within the English language that I observed right here on WP recently.

In Australia apparently they have a local slang for a person's nose (they compare it to a bird's beak, and to what birds do with their beaks).

One WPer from down under gave another WP guy who happened to be feeling down (the second guy was from some English speaking country in the northern hemisphere, I forget which side of the Atlantic) the friendly advice to "cheer up", and to "keep your chin up". Except he didn't say "chin", he said "nose"( makes just as much sense), except he didn't use the word "nose" for "nose".

The Aussie said "keep your pecker up!".

What can I say?

I guess thats a common expression in Australia.

It would have been perfectly good advice if only the word "pecker" wasnt also American slang for a certain other part of the human anatomy (male only humans).

^^
Another one us Brits laugh about is the US use of "fanny" for "bottom" - it always means a woman's private parts here in the UK. When I first heard Americans taking about "fanny packs", it took me a while to realise that it wasn't a sanitary product or sex toy, just what we would call a "bum bag."

Local here in West Yorkshire...

If someone suddenly and without warning asks you "What do you know?", don't panic. They are not asking you to list every single piece of knowledge in your head, it's just a polite greeting, like "How are you?". If you have just learned a juicy bit of gossip, you are supposed to answer with that, otherwise "Not much, how about you?" is fine. When I first moved here, getting asked this used to completely stump me, and I found it really hard to get used to.

Some others that are used a lot around here...
- If your bus, train, date etc. don't show up, they have "blobbed" (still makes me giggle, even after 30 years here.)
- Open-air alleyways and pedestrian shortcuts are called "snickets".
- A covered alleyway that passes through a building is called a "ginnel".
- Units of measurement are never plural - it is always "ten mile", not "ten miles".
- "While" can mean "until" - as in, "The shop's open 9 while 11."
- "Happen" can mean "maybe" - as in, "Happen ah'll win t'lottery today."
- "owt" = anything, "nowt" = nothing, "summat" = something.

And the saying probably most associated with Yorkshire...
- "Where there's muck, there's brass." Meaning; "You can always make money by doing a dirty job that no-one else wants to do."

Calling a group of people “you guys”—even females are “you guys”

The only thing I can think of right now are "trimigrants", people who come to this area during harvest season to trim pot.

Disgusting - used to describe a task requiring much mental effort, like a hard test
RIP - used when you’re not prepared for a test and know you will fail
Take an L - when you just failed a test. L stands for loss, I believe.
Fat L - when you just failed a test very badly

Ta which is used as thank you in the north of England, New Zealand and Australia comes from the vikings "tak" meaning thank you it eventually just got shortened. In Liverpool we still use a lot of old English such as saying me instead of my or saying thee as in a place name for instance I have just been thee asda, I will see you in thee old swan.

"Makuha ka sa tingin" -- it means, like, 'take a hint' usually as a 'warning'.

Literal translation? Hmmm... (Ma)Kuha means 'get/take', Ka means 'you', Sa is like 'a'/the/at, Tingin means 'look' -- in a literal, figurative sense and in a sense that it does also involved body language/subtile reading.


And that's the story why I refer eye contact as a gesture of attention instead of so-called "sign of trust".

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These are all used in Lincolnshire

rat arsed - very drunk (UK)
alright duck? - are you all right?
baps - breasts
sarnie - sandwich
tates - potatoes
mardy arse - grumpy
dunt it? - doesn't it?
summit - something
chuntering - moaning
frit - frightened
mort - a lot

In New York City, and nowhere else, people say:

1. Waiting "on line," meaning "queue-ing" or "waiting in line."

2. Sliding Pond---a regular slide in a playground

3. "The train"--the subway. Other trains other than the subway are called "the railroad." It is seen as, somehow, "elegant" to take the "railroad," rather than take the "train."

4. Out on Long Island, "out on the island"--East of Queens County on Long Island. It should be noted that both Queens and Brooklyn are actually ON Long Island.

5. Upstate--north of the Bronx. In most other parts of New York State, "upstate" means "north of Albany."

6. Hero---Submarine sandwich, both cold and hot

7. Bagel with a schmear"--A bagel with about a tablespoon of either margarine, butter, or cream cheese.

8. Fughettaboutit---The range of meanings is considerable, depending on context. Ranging from "Great!" to "There's no hope!"

9. Bridge and Tunnel Person---A New York City resident who does not live in the borough of Manhattan. Sometimes used as an insult meaning something like "hick."

Nova Scotia is pretty much the queen of quirky phrases (Newfoundland is very likely the king).

"How's it goin, cousin? What's" goin' on?" - a traditional greeting. Also "cousin" is normally pronounced with a "t" or "d" sound at the end, and the person being greeted doesn't actually have to be your cousin by relation.

"Biff" - to throw something with force or in a violent or aggressive fashion. I've heard of the name Biff, usually it's the name of a stereotypical musclebound or overweight bully type of character.

"Sooky baby", or just "sook", normally either used to describe a person acting childish or a crybaby, or a pet that is very sweet and affectionate. In other parts of Canada it's pronounced "sucky baby", but the meaning is the same.

'I don't know if I'm hit or stunned", what someone might say if they are shocked or really surprised. "Stunned" can also mean the same as "stupid' as in, "I can't believe you were stunned enough to fall for that joke'.

"Maul" Normally used to describe when someone is viciously attacked by a large ferocious beast, usually a bear, but in NS it can also mean handling something too roughly or being overly affectionate to a small pet, as in "Quit mauling the puppy!'.

My dad would often use names for my brother and me when we were kids that sounded mean but were actually pet names used in love and affection. Like "gangsters". Other names parents might use may include "ragamuffins" or even "rug rats", implying that their child is a something of a handful but they adore them.

But the thing is, I don't use such sayings much. I only really now about them from either hearing other people use them or because I read about them.

Where I live (North Staffordshire, UK) there's quite a few quirky colloquialisms. With some of these, I wasn't aware they were unique to my area until using them at school up in Manchester:

* People often call each other "duck" as a term of endearment (i.e. "y'alright, duck?")
* "Nesh" is an adjective for someone who feels the cold easily. Can also be used to describe someone as weak or feeble
* "Slat" - means to throw. Can also be used to describe heavy rain - "slatting it down"
* I often call a slice of bread a "round" and a bread roll a "bap"