When I worked at Newton Chambers at Chapeltown in the 60's I worked alongside many people from the Barnsley area...They had an expression about when a person was in a bad mood "He had the monk on"...do's anybody know what or where this saying came from ????.

I don't know about the origin but my mum used to say that in North Notts. as well as South Yorkshire.

Joe

I don't know about where it came from but i always said munk on...still do actually.

Can take the girl from Barnsley but not Barnsley from teh girl *hangs head in shame*

Moon

I'm guessing that being in a bad mood => not talking to anyone => like a monk???

but I could be miles off the mark here..

oh and funnily enough, the phrase is confined to South Yorkshire and the East Midlands and Antarctica!! ( http://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/antarctic_slang.htm )

As kids in Cumbria me and my mates used to use 'monk on'. As well as 'laik' which meant 'play', i.e. 'lets laik footy'. And a load of other slang/dialect stuff that I can't remember off the top of my head.

Originally posted by Barra
As kids in Cumbria me and my mates used to use 'monk on'. As well as 'laik' which meant 'play', i.e. 'lets laik footy'. And a load of other slang/dialect stuff that I can't remember off the top of my head.

In our family, we say "monk", but, when someone has "the face on", (or indeed, the monk on) my father tends to use the phrase

"oh, 'e's got 't' dolls on"

Which I imagine comes from the old saying "in the doldrums".


As for laik/ layk /lake

I have friends/ relatives from the stocksbridge and barnsley area who also use "Laik" for playing.

Often it is used in the context of Idling, or lazing. so if someome was shamming an ilness, to con a day off work out of their boss, that would be Laking, too.

My stocksbridge-er brother in law uses Laik /lake frequently in those contexts, or, if we are in one of those daft moods, and start mucking about, he will say that we are "laking aba'ht"

I do believe that there was a comment on Parkinson or Jonathan Ross's show, from Patrick Stuart, the actor who plays Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, The next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-men, about the use of the phrase "laik". he tells of his huddersfield boyhood, where a friend of his asked "ar ta comin' ah't laikin football".

the phrase must be common right up through yorkshire, to cumbria, if it is also in use there.
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PT

Yep in Grimsby we used monk on too, But you could also be a mardy arse. :D

He's got monk on.

Still used in many area's of Sheffield as far as I know, I've heard this expression alot. It means when someones got a face on or mardy ;)

my parents also used the term "Got the monk stomp on " when the kids had the face on and marched off in a huff takes me back a few years :)

Originally posted by Barra
As kids in Cumbria me and my mates used to use 'monk on'. As well as 'laik' which meant 'play', i.e. 'lets laik footy'. And a load of other slang/dialect stuff that I can't remember off the top of my head.
We used to say 'laiking out' - (playing out) that was in Dewsbury Nr Wakfield, West Yorks'
You didnt have a monk on there, you had a 'Face on':)