Courtesy, izismile.com
When my parents were children growing up in the Peak District of Derbyshire, people didn’t venture far from their villages. The language and jargon used in these small communities was very local, and perhaps incomprehensible to outsiders. Here’s a sampling from my mother’s upcoming book, A Pennine Childhood:
When people from Derbyshire say this: They mean this:
Ay up me duck Hello
Tha’rt raight? Are you doing okay?
‘Ow’s tha muther f’ soap? You badly need a wash
Tha canna stop a pig in’t gennel You’re bandy-(bow-)legged
‘Is eyes stook aht like chapel ‘at pegs His eyes protruded
It’s black o’er Bill’s mother’s The sky is very dark
Tha’rt a right bobby-dazzler You look nice
Tha’rt a fawce bugger You are craftily clever
Tha’rt nesh You feel the cold unduly
Ah’m starved I’m cold (not hungry)
Ah’m fair clemmed I’m extremely hungry
Tha munna gollup Don’t eat so fast
Gi’e o’er sprottling! Be still!
Ah’d as lief I’d rather
Clarty Sticky
Ah’m larnin’ me booook I’m reading
Tha’rt cute You’re light-fingered with money
Ah’m frightened that I’m worried that
Tha’rt a daft begger You are a silly person
Boodge oop! Move over!
Gerron wi’ it Get on with it
Gerrit dahn thee, it’ll non ‘urt thee Eat up
As my mother says: “Since my childhood, many things in spoken English have changed. Now, with village people becoming better educated, and moving out of their more enclosed societies into the wider world, we are losing many of these colourful words and phrases. I think it’s a great loss.”
What words or phrases do you have in your local area, that no one outside that area would understand? Please let us know!
The Year of Living Englishly 
A lot of these are familiar to me (I grew up in Bucks, but my mother was a northerner, so I’m guessing they’re from her).
It is a shame when these local phrases get lost.
Iota, I’m glad your mother passed these down to you! Every part of the country (all countries!) have fascinating phrases that define it, so it is a terrible shame when these differences get lost. I’ve noticed that my cousins in Derbyshire speak nowhere near as “broadly” as my grandparents did, probably due to watching TV and traveling much more widely. Wouldn’t it be a shame if everyone sounded as if they spoke, say, Nebraskan American-English or Estuary English?
Ayup, thee! I’ll be interested to see if anyone responds. Perhaps there aren’t many people left who remember!
Love, Ma XXX
Ayup, thysen! Way munna bay too dahn-‘arted. Let’s ‘ope f’t best!
I just read a phrase said by Seth Meyers, an American comedian from New Hampshire. Instead of calling someone “obese,” he would call that person “a wicked porkah”!
I grew up in the American midwest, and an expression I remember from childhood was “you’re full of prunes.” (A nice way of telling someone they are full of crap.)
A very nice way of telling someone something rude! I’ve also lived in the Midwest–Chicago, Minneapolis area–and never heard that, so thanks for writing.
So you’re probably also familiar with the word “mardy”?
Alison, thanks! “Mardy” is a wonderful addition my mother’s list of Derbyshire dialect. I asked my mother (me Mam) about this, and she said that when she was a child a common epithet for a cry baby was: “You’re a mard-soft, mammy-sick, bottle-sucking baby.” I wonder if this phrase is still in use? I know that “mardy” is because I’ve heard members of my Derbyshire family use it enough times. Thanks for writing!
Ayup! That’s really put t’cat among t’pigeons! B
(Ahem. Read my memoir A Pennine Childhood to learn about Derbyshire in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Available through Amazon). B. Wallis Smith
Ay up me duck, ah wer jus’ ‘avin a nosey at yer site like. It’s areet, lass. Tarra fer nah.