More Scottish Slang
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Scotland has not only different words for things, but different pronunciations for words that English speakers from around the world may not be familiar with. Though under the heading slang, that implies only a part of the society uses it, but everyone uses at least some of these words. This page will start with words peculiar to, or commen, north of the border, and quickly move to complex phrases that a person may hear if visiting Scotland. However, first a couple of words on pronunciation.
The most commen problem people visiting have with pronunciation is with the soft 'ch', as in loch. The English, especially, have difficulty with this. My father, after 15 years in Scotland still pronounces loch as lok. The correct sound is not made by the vocal chords, but is basically just a noisy breath, like a cat, or a swan, hiss. Once this basic is commanded then the rest of the quirks are easily mastered. The 'r' is normally rolled at the front of the mouth so 'car' is pronounced as 'carrrr', not as the anglified 'ka'. Some words are shortened, losing bits that slow their roll off the toungue, so 'awfully' becomes 'offy' and 'cannot' becomes 'canny'.
Here are some of the more commen words that me be heard by hitchhikers when visiting Scotland. They are from all over, and some will not be in use in some areas. Some have areas marked beside them, these are mainly in local use around those areas, however they may be heard all over as well. We hope this guide will prove valuable in your navigation of Scotland
Some of the words, in the pronunciation section, are normally considered taboo1 in polite society, but since when do hitchhikers move in polite society? They are all regularly used down the pub, you have been warned.
Please bear in mind that for most of these words I have never seen them written down, they are normally only spoken, so spelling is as I imagine it.
Many English speakers, when visiting Scotland, find that the problem is not so much slang as the accent. Some commen words are virtually unrecognisable when spoken by natives. Some of the more commen ones found are listed here. For a fuller list some reading is required. Trainspotting, by Irvine Walsh, gives an indication of the broader accent that may be found in Edinburgh. Para Handy gives a slight indication of a west coast accent. As others come to my attention I will update the page.
Some of the more commen phrases hitchhikers may come across on their travels through Scotland
Even today some of Scotland still speaks significantly different language to English. Some of the Western Isles speak gaelic yet, and on the East Coast Doric still has a few strongholds left.
Thanks to Gilbert, Lynsey, The Wisest Fool, Dr E Vibenstien, Binky The Doormat, Flexig, MadMagz, Jizzik, Munchkin, my mother for their various contributions, Bruce for the tables and Jimi X for the inspiration. Ta very much.
Pronunciation
The most commen problem people visiting have with pronunciation is with the soft 'ch', as in loch. The English, especially, have difficulty with this. My father, after 15 years in Scotland still pronounces loch as lok. The correct sound is not made by the vocal chords, but is basically just a noisy breath, like a cat, or a swan, hiss. Once this basic is commanded then the rest of the quirks are easily mastered. The 'r' is normally rolled at the front of the mouth so 'car' is pronounced as 'carrrr', not as the anglified 'ka'. Some words are shortened, losing bits that slow their roll off the toungue, so 'awfully' becomes 'offy' and 'cannot' becomes 'canny'.
Dictionary
Here are some of the more commen words that me be heard by hitchhikers when visiting Scotland. They are from all over, and some will not be in use in some areas. Some have areas marked beside them, these are mainly in local use around those areas, however they may be heard all over as well. We hope this guide will prove valuable in your navigation of Scotland
Some of the words, in the pronunciation section, are normally considered taboo1 in polite society, but since when do hitchhikers move in polite society? They are all regularly used down the pub, you have been warned.
Please bear in mind that for most of these words I have never seen them written down, they are normally only spoken, so spelling is as I imagine it.
A is fer Aye
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Auxters | ox-ters | Arm pits |
| Aye | eye | Yes |
B is fer Blutered
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bairn | bear-n | Child |
| Bampot | bam-pot | Idiot |
| Barry | ba-ree | Splendid |
| Bevvy | bev-ee | Drink, alcoholic |
| Biddee | bid-dee | A woman, normally old or infirm |
| Bidey in | buy-dee inn | Aberdonian for one half of an unmarried, but living together, couple |
| Blutered | blue-turd | Drunk |
| Boggin' | bog-inn | Filthy, revolting |
| Bonnie | bon-nee | Nice or pretty |
| Bosey | boh-zee | Aberdonian for cuddle or hug |
| Bothy | b-o-thee | A house or hut up in the hills, normally no modern conveniences |
| Boughin' | bow-fin | Filthy, revolting, ugly, vomit inducing |
| Braw | braw | Good |
| Burach | boor-ach (soft 'ch') | Gaelic for mess, can be used as a verb or adjective |
| Burn | burn | A small stream or river |
| But and ben | but and ben | A holiday cottage, normally dug slightly into the hill |
| Buttery | but-er-ee | An Aberdonian snack. Like a flattened croissant, but with a more savoury flavour |
| Byre | buyer | Barn or cowshed |
C is fer Ceilidh
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Caliach | kye-ach (soft 'ch') | Gaelic for old woman. Normally used in front of the woman's name i.e. Caliach Stewart |
| Ceilidh | Kale-ee | A dance, normally with scottish country dancing, lots of beer and lots of fun |
| Chuffed | chuff-'d | Proud, normally of oneself |
| Clagged in | klag-'d inn | Trapped on the hill by low cloud, or fog |
| Cleg | kleg | The Highland, Giant, Vampiric Horsefly |
| Cloot | kl-oot | Cloth |
| Coorse | koo-erss | Course, filthy, rude, when talking about language |
| Crabit | krab-it | irritable |
| Cullach | kool-ach (soft 'ch') | Gaelic for cockeral |
D is fer Droothy
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dicht | dich-t (soft 'ch') | Wipe |
| Dour | Doo-rr | Miserable, glum, never smiling, when talking about somebody |
| Down South | down s-ow-th | England |
| Druth | drew-th | Thirst |
E is fer Eighty
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Eedjit | ee-jit | Idiot |
| Eighty | ate-tee | Short for eighty shilling, a type of alcoholic beverage, slightly better than export |
| Englandshire | ing-land-shire | A colloquial term for England, normally used when England has a different bank holiday and everything is closed, but you need to speak to someone urgently |
| Export | ex-port | A type of alchoholic beverage, similar to a bitter |
F is fer Fusty
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Fank | fank | A corral, normally on the hill, to keep sheep during shearing and dipping |
| Fistle | fis-el | Noise made by sweetie wrappers, packets of crisps, especially in a cinema |
| Fusty | foo-stee | Dusty, smelling of mould, unclean |
G is fer Gubbed
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Gadgee | gad-gee | Person |
| Galoot | gal-loot | Clumsy or idiot (or both) |
| Gassed | Gas-'d | Broken |
| Ginger | ging-err (both 'g's as in garden) | Some one with red hair |
| Glen | glen | River valley |
| Gubbed | gub-'d | Broken, drunk, badly lost (a competition or fight) |
| Gurne | gurn | Sulk, so a sulky person is gurnie |
| Gutted | gut'd | A severe emotional blow |
| Guttered | gut-turd | Drunk |
| Gutties | gut-tees | Plimsoles, old style, black school slip-ons |
H is fer Hammered
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Hammered | Ham-erd | Drunk |
| Haver | h-ave-er | Speak nonsense, normally assosiated with senility |
| Hoachin' | hoe-chin | Lots of people, busy |
| Houghin' | how-fin | Filthy, revolting, ugly, vomit inducing |
| Hosed | hoze-'d | Badly broken |
I is fer Invershnecky
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Invershnecky | Inn-ver-shneck-ee | Another name for Inverness |
K is fer Keech
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Keech | key-ch (soft 'ch') | S***e |
| Kelpie | kell-pee | An evil spirit, lives in particular lochs, normally takes the form of a horse and once mounted rides into the loch and kills the rider |
| Ken | ken | Understand |
| Kirk | kurk | Church or parish |
L is fer Lum
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Ley di oh | lay dee oh | An Aberdeonian game, much like hide and seek |
| Lum | lum | Chimney |
M is fer Mingin'
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mannie | man-nee | A man |
| Manky | man-kee | Filthy, revolting |
| Marly | mar-lee | Marble |
| Messages | mess-age-is | The shopping, normally food shopping |
| Mingin' | ming-inn | Filthy, stinking, revolting, ugly or drunk |
| Mouthie | moo-thee | A mouth organ |
| Murnie | mur-nee | Wasn't |
N is fer Numpty
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Numpty | nump-tee | Idiot |
O is fer Och
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Och | o-ch (soft 'ch') | Oh |
P is fer Pus
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Poppy | pop-ee | Money |
| Pus | pus | Mouth |
Q is fer Queenie
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Queenie | quee-nee | Scallop |
R is fer Rubbered
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Rubbered | rub-bird | Drunk |
| Radge | rad-j | Crazy or a madman |
S is fer Shooglie
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Sassanak | sass-an-ack | Technically lowlander Scots, but now meaning anyone from 'down south' |
| Scran | sc-ran | Food |
| Seventy | sev-ent-ee | Short for seventy shilling, an alcoholic beverage similar to export |
| Sheiling | shee-ling | A hut a shepherd or cowherd uses on the hill, during summer grazing |
| Shooglie | shoo-glee | loose or wobbly |
| Shuftey | shuff-tee | Technically an Arabic word but in wide spread use, meaning to look |
| Shunky | shun-key | Toilet |
| Simmet | sim-ette | Vest, used in Ayrshire |
| Skite | skite | skid or tumble out of control |
| Skrechin | scr-eh-ch-in (soft 'ch') | A shreek or unpleasant noise or sounding like a seagull |
| Sleekit | slee-kit | Sly or cunning |
| Stuckie | stoo-key | A plastercast for a broken limb |
| Swally | swal-ee | Drink, alcoholic |
T is fer Teuchtar
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Tad | tad | A small bit |
| Tattie | tat-ee | potato |
| Tattyboggler | tat-ee-bog-ler | Aberdonian for scarecrow |
| Teuchtar | ch-uch-ter (first 'ch' is normal, second 'ch' is soft') | Country person, especially from the west coast |
W is fer Weeched
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Watergaws | wart-er-gaws | Rainbow, from Ayrshire |
| Wee free | Wee free | Member of the Free Presbeterian Church |
| Weegee | wee-jee | Some one from Glasgow |
| Whins | wh-ins | Gorse bushes |
| Weech | whee-ch (soft 'ch') | Take something or move suddenly |
| Wheesht | whee-sht | Sharp command to be quiet |
| Wifey | wife-ee | Woman |
Alternate Pronunciation
Many English speakers, when visiting Scotland, find that the problem is not so much slang as the accent. Some commen words are virtually unrecognisable when spoken by natives. Some of the more commen ones found are listed here. For a fuller list some reading is required. Trainspotting, by Irvine Walsh, gives an indication of the broader accent that may be found in Edinburgh. Para Handy gives a slight indication of a west coast accent. As others come to my attention I will update the page.
| Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| A**e | erse |
| B*****d | bassa or bas |
| Dog | dug |
| Not | nay or nee or nar |
| Nothing | nuh-hing (Invernesian) |
| Out | oot |
| P**s | pish |
| Police | pol-iss (Glasgoweigan) |
| S**t | s***e |
| Window | wind-ee or wind-ay |
Commen Phrases
Some of the more commen phrases hitchhikers may come across on their travels through Scotland
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dee ye ken | Do you understand |
| I dunnae ken | I do not understand |
| I'll jus weech that fer ye | I will take that away for you |
| May yer lums reek lang and weil | May your chimneys produce a great profusion of smoke - a general good luck statement |
| Rocking horse s***e | Something rare, or hard to find |
| Sounds like a seagull screchin on a wire | Going on and on about something, or butchering a perfectly good song |
| Yer erse is oot the windae | You are unlikely to achieve the desired result with that kind of behaviour |
Other Languages
Even today some of Scotland still speaks significantly different language to English. Some of the Western Isles speak gaelic yet, and on the East Coast Doric still has a few strongholds left.
Thanks
Thanks to Gilbert, Lynsey, The Wisest Fool, Dr E Vibenstien, Binky The Doormat, Flexig, MadMagz, Jizzik, Munchkin, my mother for their various contributions, Bruce for the tables and Jimi X for the inspiration. Ta very much.
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