Heres one for all you real Sheffielders.

Can you think of any words used in dialect that may not be easily understood elsewhere?

I'll set the ball rolling.

crozzled - well done, as in I like my bacon crozzled.

brussen - full up, as in That meal ant arf left me brussen

throng - busy, as in thronger than Throps wife

:hihi:
Any more for any more?

Originally posted by Mo
Heres one for all you real Sheffielders.

Can you think of any words used in dialect that may not be easily understood elsewhere?

I'll set the ball rolling.

crozzled - well done, as in I like my bacon crozzled.

brussen - full up, as in That meal ant arf left me brussen

throng - busy, as in thronger than Throps wife

:hihi:
Any more for any more?

nesh and mardy i know that this has never been heard of down south, not sure about nesh
aunty x

i always say i'm nesh (not sure of spelling cos its probably a made up word!) meaning always cold. nobody has heard of it! sorry is this what you meant?

Originally posted by _Ren
i always say i'm nesh (not sure of spelling cos its probably a made up word!) meaning always cold. nobody has heard of it! sorry is this what you meant?

when i was down south i called someone a mardy arse and they went "what"? mardy being miserable

is nesh known to southerners?..thats what i meant :)
aunty x

Brossen is fairly widespread over northern England on both sides of the Pennines.

Nesh is also used outside Yorkshire but I haven't actually heard it on my travels. Some think it could have a connection with the french for snow (neige)

when i say i'm going to work '2 while 10' i get some funny looks from my flatmates who are from down south. They say '2 until 10' i realise this is correct but when i first said it they couldn't even work out what i meant!!

and do you say "i've got a pot on my arm" if say you've broken a bone....its a cast everywhere else!

oh and i'm from chesterfield and have never heard Brussen, thronger than frops wife or crozzled. how beautifully diverse a dialect sheffield has :)

Originally posted by cgksheff
Brossen is fairly widespread over northern England on both sides of the Pennines.

Is that a typo or is brossen the same as brussen?

Originally posted by Mo
Is that a typo or is brossen the same as brussen?

Yes, "brossen" with an "O" with same meaning.

I don't think Mardy Arse will ever go out of style, it gives you such a good feeling to say it to someone, more so when they don't know what it means.

corsey edge - pavement (edge of causeway)
bobbar - as in poo, rubbish. sh**e (as in 'that last thread were bobbar')
spice - sweets, confectionary


must be loads more.......still thinking.

always thought crosseld meant burnt, as in," ows tha like thi bacon"? "crosseld or aif dun?"

Ge-ore wit de. . (give over with you. . )

I've said that to some non-sheffs and their response was as though I'd said summat in a different language. .

cant fault sheffieldish!!!

I love looking at dialect..we did loads of it as part of my English A Level course.

I was just looking around the net about meanings of certain words and found some good sites

English varieties of the British Isles - lots about Yorkshire (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/britishisles.htm)

Yorkshire Dialect Phrases (http://members.tripod.com/~midgley/dialect.html)

The British Libary - Online Collection of Regional Accents - From the 50's to the present. There are a few Sheffield ones, and lots of Yorkshire ones. It's interesting to see how the way people talk has changed. (http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/dialects//)

Originally posted by screamingwitch
mardy being miserable

Sulking is an essential part of being mardy, surely?

Yitten - was a word used to mean scared.

Ganzy - a jumper or pullover

eightfoot - a ginnel or footpath


Regards

Tazz

I love 'yitten', my dad always says it to us.

If single words fool the Southerners then a whole sentence will really leave em gobsmacked. Like " Gioer roorin mardy arse and get thissen off ooem" ..............next suggestion please.

Originally posted by pitsmoorlad
If single words fool the Southerners then a whole sentence will really leave em gobsmacked. Like " Gioer roorin mardy arse and get thissen off ooem" ..............next suggestion please.

Which, translated, means? (And I'm not a Southerner).

give over crying, and get off home:clap:

oh i love stuff like this, again sorry if im repeating an earlier post i just dont have time to read them before i reply

i once said to my friend from London "im dead cold" and she didnt understand why i said dead?

another one is when i would say the hours i was working i said "9 while 5"

my friend from further north said "why the 'while' and not until"
is it just my bad english lol??

Originally posted by leddi

is it just my bad english lol??

Yes.

Originally posted by t020
Yes.

The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. -- James D. Nicoll

Originally posted by Tazz070299
Yitten - was a word used to mean scared.

Ganzy - a jumper or pullover

eightfoot - a ginnel or footpath


Regards

Tazz

Yitten, or as some say it "yittney" wsdefinitely a derisiry term for scared or cowardly.

Gansey is a corruption of "guernsey" (imagine geu'nsey) which is another word for a sweater/ jumper/ jersey

and my father always uses the term "eightfoot" for a jennel..

my grandma used "starved" for cold, and "gamp" for umbrella.

and my brother in law used "stalled" to mean "fed up".. as in "I were fair stalled on'it!"

and when I was getting an injunction out against my violent ex fiance, I told the solicitor that one of the fince's more pleasant traits was that he was "mardy" if he could not get everything his own way. I had to explain "Mardy" to the solicitor.

PT

P.T - Starving used to refer as lacking in anything, particularly being cold...

and

my friend from further north said "why the 'while' and not until"
is it just my bad english lol?? No..I say that too, and most people here do. It's a dialect difference in grammar.

Thankgod for A Level English Language :P

Originally posted by LBoogie

No..I say that too, and most people here do. It's a dialect difference in grammar.


It's still bad use of English.

It's wrong and confusing. Consider:

"Wait at the lights while they change to green".

Yes, it's the wrong use of standard english, but its an accepted dialect variant.

I consider dialects to be good and they give England variety. People are starting to not be so snobbish about dialect forms, especially when they've been around longer that some of the standard English forms.

Originally posted by LBoogie
Yes, it's the wrong use of standard english, but its an accepted dialect variant.

I consider dialects to be good and they give England variety. People are starting to not be so snobbish about dialect forms, especially when they've been around longer that some of the standard English forms.

But speaking in non-standard forms leaves room for confusion. I'll be honest, I HATE the Yorkshire accent and dialect.

I love it, and so do a lot of people...

most people in the country use some form of non standard English..not just Yorkshire people.

I think it's very interesting, and most of it can be traced back through the years to old Norse etc. It's sort of like seeing into the past and finding out its effects on us all, even today. You can trace the invasions of England through the way we now speak. Even in standard English, theres a reason why we have so many french words, ( particularly in law courts and around the justice system).

It's all so interesting, and to lose any of it would be a crime - but language is a continually changing thing, that's what makes it so interesting

Originally posted by LBoogie
I love it, and so do a lot of people...

most people in the country use some form of non standard English..not just Yorkshire people.

I think it's very interesting, and most of it can be traced back through the years to old Norse etc. It's sort of like seeing into the past and finding out its effects on us all, even today. You can trace the invasions of England through the way we now speak. Even in standard English, theres a reason why we have so many french words, ( particularly in law courts and around the justice system).

It's all so interesting, and to lose any of it would be a crime - but language is a continually changing thing, that's what makes it so interesting


Yes, I too found it interesting (also did A Level English). I just can't stand strong accents/dialects, Yorkshire in particular.

maybe it's time you moved then:P

am sure we've had some sorta similar thread b4 bout us sheffielders?
but ere tha guz.
"thad best geeyore wi thi roorin, or thall get somet t'roor fo"
or "if tha dunt geeyore, al tell thi fathur, an eel gi thi a paystin wen ee gets oorme!"

When meals where over we always used to "sidey" t'table.

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25497
moor freds fo thi

bin on wonert sites above, cum across this, and this aint wot it means it me!!

faff: to trifle with something
not posting wot i "think" it means!! :D

giore mytherin mi!

why are you even on a sheffield forum t020?? if you dislike yorkshire so much then move! this thread is about old sheffield dialect, dont enter into the conversation just to annoy people you must be so bored. everyone is chatting and replying and adding there views and i quess that that is yours, but why do you have to be so nasty, hate is a very strong word.

Originally posted by leddi
why are you even on a sheffield forum t020?? if you dislike yorkshire so much then move! this thread is about old sheffield dialect, dont enter into the conversation just to annoy people you must be so bored. everyone is chatting and replying and adding there views and i quess that that is yours, but why do you have to be so nasty, hate is a very strong word.

Like you said, I was adding my view. Maybe hate is a tad hyperbolic, consider it changed to "strongly dislike".

Personally, I'm very fond of the Sheffield dialect (and Northern dialects in general) and strongly defend their heritage, their importance in forging a regional sense of identity, and their status as independent variants of English, not inferior to some supposed "standard". And that is from an Antipodean who has made his home here for over 30 years.

For those interested, there is an ongoing survey of the Sheffield dialect being undertaken by the National Centre for English Culture and Tradition (part of the School of English in the University) and all contributions (such as these posts) are welcome. Also for those interested there was some years ago a popular little book called Sheffieldish which had a lot of words and phrases (e.g. tintintin = it's not in the metal container), maybe copies of it are still about. The great grandaddy of such things is the book by the 19th-century journalist Abel Bywater, called The Sheffield Dialect. It contains a series of sketches, some humourous, from the 1830s onwards, which were collected in book form. I am lucky enough to have a copy of the third edition (1877--he died in 1876 and was buried in the General Cemetery). No doubt the city library or the local history collection will have copies.

So--long may this vigorous dialect endure!

Has anyone taken a look at the links I put up earlier, especially the British Library one. It's amazing.

Almost on the same topic but looking at things more from t020's point of view, I wonder which dialects other people dislike. Personally I don't like the Scouse accent, it's all nasal and horrible. (e.g. Di do dat dere don't dey). Love the Geordie accent but can't understand it. And also strongly dislike the Cockney accent with their inability to pronouce words that start with "th" preferring to use "f". (e.g. I fink I'll fetch free fings for Fursday) But the best (apart from Yorkshire) is the Irish dialect.

In West Yorkshire they refer to 'lakin' about i.e. playing about (particularly relates to kids out playing). Is this something also used in Sheffield?

Originally posted by tgmcluk
In West Yorkshire they refer to 'lakin' about i.e. playing about (particularly relates to kids out playing). Is this something also used in Sheffield?

My father in law lives in West Yorks and calls a ball a'cuckoo'. Have you heard of this or is he just going senile? :D

Originally posted by tgmcluk
In West Yorkshire they refer to 'lakin' about i.e. playing about (particularly relates to kids out playing). Is this something also used in Sheffield?

"Lakin' " is a phrase that my brother in law (who is from the stocksbridge side of town) uses, a lot.

it's definitely very common to hear it used in the Barnsley area, but it's not *quite* as common to hear it, in Sheffield, although it is used..

PT

Lakin (or laiking) is just one of the Norse words that came into the North of England in the Anglo-Scandinavian period (9th-11th century). In many books on the history of English you will find lists of words due to this source--including many not now dialectal but standard, e.g. sky (replacing Old English welkin), skin (replacing OE fell), law (replacing OE ae), ugly (replacing OE unfaeger) and even window (replacing OE eagthyrel). Many Northern topographical terms are also Norse, such as beck, fell, force (from foss), and places ending in -by or -thorpe. Altogether a fascinating study.

Lakin isn't common in most of Sheffield, it's more Barnsley area.

Originally posted by Plain Talker
"Lakin' " is a phrase that my brother in law (who is from the stocksbridge side of town) uses, a lot.

it's definitely very common to hear it used in the Barnsley area, but it's not *quite* as common to hear it, in Sheffield, although it is used..

PT

Do you mean "larking", as in "larking about"? I was always under the impression this word was from a Southern dialect.

A lot of people are saying this like "my uncle from Barnsley once said.... therefore that's Barnsley dialect". This just isn't true. Linguistic terms are becoming increasingly liquid (due to TV, internet, etc) so people use terms that are not necessarily part of their actual dialect.

One of my work colleagues, from down south, once asked me if I had got far to travel to Meadowhall, whereupon I replied in my Sheffield accent : "It's near on t' mi!" He then asked, "Where's 0ntami ?

If thas supped up it's time fer thee t'gerrum in.
It's awreight, av ad enough: a dunt drink much anyway, a spill most er it!

Does tha fancy abseilin' ?
Naw a get dizzy in thick socks!

Replying to tO 20 , have you considered the distortion of English by numerous Southerners? i.e. a roind poind (round pound)

Not seen thee for yonks

Yonks meaning a long time, did anyone else use this and if so where does it come from?

Originally posted by Alanbro
One of my work colleagues, from down south, once asked me if I had got far to travel to Meadowhall, whereupon I replied in my Sheffield accent : "It's near on t' mi!" He then asked, "Where's 0ntami ?


I don't understand that one either. :huh:

RE: language "distortion", that is what I was saying really - just becase "my Uncle from ____ says ____ therefore that MUST be their local dialect" is not true anymore because of the fluidity of language these days. It's still fairly likely to be true, but basing it on one person isn't enough to assume it is the original local dialect for the area in which that one person lives.

I was surprised some years ago to read an article on the Sheffield dialect in a fairly obscure Connecticut newspaper. Later, when The Full Monty hit the movie houses, I acted as an impromptu translater on such words as chuff, thissen and others, much to the delight of other patrons.
I travelled so much in Britain as a tech rep that I prided myself that I could tell someone where they came from within 25 miles, but our accent was always the best. Over here for some peculiar reason some people think I'm Irish, which gets me free beer on Paddy's day, but my wife is pure Irish from Clare and it's funny when friends ask her to say thursday. Of course its torsdy

I live near Nottingham and nearly all the words mentioned in this thred are still used in the Nottingham area today,the worst accent has got to be "Birmingham "i dont know anyone who actualy likes it including "Brummies"

Have we had "Sithi" yet? As in "see thee" or "look here".

My nan used to say that all the time.

Also - have to point out that "Bobbar" made me laugh as you don't here it that often in SoCal. Heh... :)

Here`s one I`ve never heard anywhere else- "our gert" meaning wife. I started to think Gertrude was a popular name until I realised. (I`m from Cleveland)

Tonight I heared myself saying "that's rammy" (thats awful or bad), anybody any ideas where that word originates

Originally posted by rainbow2411
Tonight I heared myself saying "that's rammy" (thats awful or bad), anybody any ideas where that word originates

Similar in origin to 'claggy', but usually used in reference to foodstuffs (at least where I come from). I use most of the words listed on here. I didn't realise that some of them weren't reight English!

Let's see, then:

Oo worree wee?
Worree wee izsen?
(Who was he with? Was he alone?)

On tha tod
(alone)

Put wood in'oil
Shut dooer too (this one confuses Americans, I've found)
(close the door)

Asta gorreny...
(have you got any...)

Am gooin daan' chipoil, yerwanowt?
(I'm going to the fish and chip shop. Would you like anything?)

what about the phrase "slakey"?

(referring to streaks on a window, normally, used after the cleaning of them.. as in "the window cleaner has left the windows reyt slakey!"

it was a phrase that my mother in law used a lot.

PT

How about chuffin, or tha chuff thee, or I'm chuffed

Originally posted by t020
Do you mean "larking", as in "larking about"? I was always under the impression this word was from a Southern dialect.

A lot of people are saying this like "my uncle from Barnsley once said.... therefore that's Barnsley dialect". This just isn't true. Linguistic terms are becoming increasingly liquid (due to TV, internet, etc) so people use terms that are not necessarily part of their actual dialect.

No to20, not larking, but 'lakin'. It's the dialect verb of 'playing'. Many linguists have looked into how it came about. There's a special region of England where the term is used, you can get maps that show this region, and Sheffield narrowly misses out. In Scandinavia the word for playing is still 'laken', and it's use in England is a remenant of the the viking/norse invasion of England.

If anybody wants to see more of the sheffield dialect look up Sheffield Dialect run on the Sheffield Forum in May 2004.

There are 12 pages of it.

Talk about history repeating itself.

Happy Days

what about leave the door on the sneck.

or a snecklifter. thats hair of the dog. where does that come from a few sherbuts

When i was in the Aemy there a guy from stocksbridge and his nickname was Nahden because every time he had anything to say he started with nahden de

I've noticed how some people say 'one' differently.

Some say it like 'wun' and others say it like 'whon'.

Is it just me?

I moved into my house on the hottest day of the year before last. Assisted by a mate from Hunter's Bar. "Eeh," she said at one point, "let's have a breather. I've got a reet dab on, me." Took me a while to realise she was feeling a bit sweaty, but when I did I was bowled over by what a fabbo literal phrase that was. I've heard it since too, but only in Sheffield.

My Nan, Mom and Dad and still me refer to little corner 'hardware' shops as (and forgive the spelling I've never seen it written) as 'tranklement' shops

and does anyone else use 'shunkley' for something shiny

Thy as tu gu t' ut fut ur ar stair t' put big leet on

you should get the book....sheffieldish a beginners phrase book
its full of sheff words...i like the local on for crying.....but god knows how you spell it,,,but if ya a sheffielder then you will know wot i mean

Yes Andy, "Trantlements" is a word I still use all the time, to describe the assorted junk I tend to drag around with me. (think "everything but the kitchen sink" in my handbag!)

I will say to my granddaughter, when we are packing her clothes to go back home to her mummy and daddy's, after stopping the night with me;
"Have you got all your trantlements with you?"

and the word "shunkly"; I thought was a word only my family used!! People have laughed at me, when I have described something sparkly or shiny as being "shunkly".

I have a photograph of me and my granddaughter both wearing shiny, sparkly blouses, showing them off to the camera. this pic was taken only a few weeks ago, and it is entitled "nannan and courtney wearing our shunkly tops!".

My gran, before the alzheimers struck, described an incident that happened during her courtship with my grandpa.

she had arranged to meet him outside "C&A modes" (which is now primark) to go out dancing, one evening, early in their courtship.

She had worn her favourite dance-dress.

It had huge sequins all over it; tey were the size of an old penny. . (About the size of a 2p coin today)

As she was waiting for my grandpa, another group of friends that she knew arrived, in a car! (now in the thirties, hardly anyone had a car, so this was a huge novelty)

She decided to blow my grandpa out of the picture, and took off to another dance hall, in the car with this group.

Unfortunately, as grandpa had been stood up, he decided to go to a different dance hall than the one originally planned for that night. Problem was, it was the same one that my gran had sneaked off to, with her friends!

He arrived, a little worse for wear (I E he was kay-lyed!), and when he walked in to the dance hall, he saw my grandma, he went ballistic, and made a huge scene.

He was shouting and bawling about being stood up, yelling

"Tha' seez 'er, thee-er, wi them shunklers on ' er dress!???!! yeah... That's' er, ower thee-er, wearin' them shunklers!! "

It was funny to hear about how annoyed my grandpa was, and the antics my gran got up to.

PT

Did anyone else used to get done for scrawmin' on furniture?

My mam used to tell me to stop "Maigin abaht" or used to say
"what tha maigin abaht at" - when I was messing about, does this just belong to Sheffield?

Bobbar - I had totally forgotten that one - ace word!

Originally posted by Plain Talker
"nannan and courtney wearing our shunkly tops!".PT

I think "nannan" is a Sheffield word. O've not heard it anywhere else, just nana or gran or grandma.

What about that when you asked your mum what was for tea and she always replied "A run round't table an a kick at cellar door".

And blokes who stopped in the pub after 2 on a Sunday lunch were referred to as "puddin' burners".

rooering roo-er-ing ..... crying

Originally posted by pitsmoorlad
If single words fool the Southerners then a whole sentence will really leave em gobsmacked. Like " Gioer roorin mardy arse and get thissen off ooem" ..............next suggestion please.



i betta git mesen off ooem or ill geet reet done of me fava.

Originally posted by RoyalRegular
What about that when you asked your mum what was for tea and she always replied "A run round't table an a kick at cellar door".

And blokes who stopped in the pub after 2 on a Sunday lunch were referred to as "puddin' burners".

lol, ppudding burneres is the insult that the blokes in the "top-club" hurl at any woman who calls house on the sunday lunchtime bingo - sorry! TOMBOLA! session. (the park and arbourthorne club, at the top of city road- as opposed to teh Middle club - the Manor Social Club, or the bottom club- the Arundel ex-servicemen's club)

and, by god! woe betide anyone that makes but a ha'p'orth of noise whilst't tombola is being called. Even the noise of placing the beer glass back down on the table is enough to bring up shouts of "Best of order please! we've got' t tombola on, 'ere!"

eeeh! the great god, tombola!

and Scroamin' / scroarmin, is up there with the phrase "tee-amin (teeming) and ladlin', which are phrases that my mother used to use, too.

PT

I've just thought of a few words my nan uses :

Throssel - as in a "throsseling stick" - a stick used to poke something

Entrantelments - not sure here but I think it means luggage and stuff

She also uses "teeming" - when refering to the amount of rain - "it's teeming with rain"

NICK 2

Entrantelments

I think you'll find it is another form of saying tranclements which is the proper word meaning all the bits and bobs that the slaughterer cuts from a beast.

When I was a kid in Sheffield it was always used to refer to odds and ends such as found in a button box or all the small items that had collected in a drawer.

Happy Days

I was trawling through dictionaries to see if I could legitimately use the word 'tranclements' in my PhD thesis. The only place I found it was via a web search which brought me to you. This word was commonly used by my Dad when instucting us to collect our conclomoration of stuff scattered around the house.

The stuf that now gets used in conceptual fine art. Fine memories.

I was so pleased to find that someone else other than me & our kid (sorry - my brother) use the word shunkley because no-one else seems to have heard of it! We always look for Christmas cards with shunkley on. Also, tranklements is a word I learned from my husbands Nan.
My husband says "I've got a dab on" if he's sweating and casey edge for pavement edge. He also calls a half brick a half docker, is this Sheffield, or has he made it up?

what about jennel means the same as an alley way

hi,
I once worked on a site with a london guy who would go missing when lorries needed unloading and during a row about this I told him he was , freetend uh collar ( frightened of work )
I might as well a spoke japanese

thi's a reight cool bugga in Baarnsley. He bought a car with a Private Plate S1THE (Si Thi) !!! Its true.
Si Thi means see you, for anyone from not round ere

Originally posted by t020
Yes.

I would'nt say it was bad english, lazy maybe, its easyer to say
"gee or" , than it is to say "give over"
" ar da gooin " "how are you getting on "
"da gedin mardy" "your getting upset"
"shu di gob mush" "will you be quiet"
i could go on all night, its endless

It is a lot harder to read or write slang than it is to read or write reight "sorry" correct english,allso its a lot harder for children to learn to spell when they speak slang.
Anyway i dun mader wot da sez am reight chuffed n proud t be a Dee Dar.

You have got to read "Weez mi dad" by fred pass

To Nick 2:-
I know this is a bit of an indirect reference but did your Grandma ever use the word " Posser " or "Postle " or even "Posher "?
I believe these were all references to a stick with a half-globe on the end of it, perforated with holes ; globe was made of metal
In the days before washing machines , women would fill a tub with hot soapy water and the washing of course and then push with the "posher".Because of the perforations all the washing would be churned up.Took ages !
Anyway , my mother always called it the "posher" , I've heard of "postle" and since one sort of poked with a stick , I wondered if there might be a connection ?
Told you it was indirect !

Postle could be a corruption of the word "pestle", as the "poshing" action that you use with a washing dolly is like the action you use with a pestle and mortar.

pt

:clap: this is one ive known from being a nipper.....
" See all, 'ear all, say nowt,
Eit all, sup all. pay nowt,
and if ivver tha dus owt fer nowt,
Allus do it fer thissen":clap:

bobbar - as in ...ahh, bobbar, im tellin!