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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Catherine Murphy

Scouse dictionary: 26 sayings you'll only understand if you're from Liverpool

Liverpool is known for many things; its music, culture and its language.

Those from the city will have a some sort of Scouse accent and while those born outside of Liverpool may struggle to understand what we say at times, it is actually more our choice of sayings and phrases which causes this difficulty.

Liverpool is unique, and the list below is just one the reasons for this.

We asked ECHO readers for their favourite Scouse sayings and phrases and the list below is what you all came up with. If you think we've missed any out let us know in the comments below.

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1. Non Scouser - a person from Runcorn, Wirral, Southport, St Helens etc; specifically from provincial town outside of Liverpool.

Scouse saying - Wool, woolyback.

Usage: 'That's proper Wool behaviour, like.'

2. Generic proclamation of positivity

Scouse saying - Go 'ed, is right, nice one, boss, well in, sound, belter, made up.

Usage: 'Go 'ed, lad, get us an ale in, nice one.'

3. Generic proclamation of negativity

Scouse saying - devoed, bitter, gutted, eeeeeeeee!

Usage: 'Lost a tenner down the alehouse, proper devoed, lad.'

4. Fake - not true or real. Meant to look real or genuine but not real or genuine

Scouse saying Jarg, blag, plazzy - sometimes applied when referring to knock-off goods from a spurious source.

Usage: 'Got these jarg sunnies (see 18) down the alehouse off this dodgy auld fella (see 5).'

See also - plazzy Scousers - anyone from the Wirral, Kirkby etc.

5. Man - An adult male human

Scouse saying - Lad, la, lid, sconner, fella, kidda, auld fella, our kid, mate, arlarse (not to be confused with arlarse - meaning out of order).

Usage: 'Alright, lad, you goin the game (football) later, with your auld fella?

6. Woman - An adult female human

Scouse saying: bird, queen, me ma', mam, me nan, me gran.

Usage: 'I'm taking me bird out later for some scran (see 17).'

7. Busy - sustaining much activity: a busy morning; a busy street.

Scouse saying: chocka, chocka block, rammed.

Usage: 'Went down The Asda (see 19) earlier with me bird, proper gutted it was chocka - took us ages to get served, gutted.'

8. Avoid - to stay away from or prevent the occurrence of

Scouse saying: swerve.

Usage: 'No fella, swerve The Asda, me mate told us it's chocka.'

9. Generic term to add on to any given word.

Scouse saying - like.

Usage: ' I was chatting to me auld fella, like, and the tele just blew up, like.'

10. Cigarettes - a small roll of paper that is filled with cut tobacco and smoked

Scouse saying: ciggy, bifter

Usage: 'Hey fella, gotta ciggy?'

11. Beer - A fermented alcoholic beverage brewed from malt and flavored with hops.

Scouse saying: ale, bevvie, a few scoops, jar.

Usage: 'Get the ale in lad, I'm dying for a bevvie.'

12. Off-licence - a shop that sells alcoholic beverages and cigarettes for consumption off the premises.

Scouse saying: offie

Usage: 'Just going down the offie, like, for some ale and ciggies, you want anything, fella?'

13. Impoverished - poverty-stricken, without money

Scouse saying: skint, brassic.

Usage: 'Staying in mate, devoed, I'm proper skint.'

14. Old fashioned - of a kind that is no longer in style.

Scouse saying: antwacky

Usage: 'Our kid's clobber (see 22) is proper antwacky.'

15. Generic insult

Scouse saying: Divvy, beaut, meff, whopper, weapon, quilt, soft lad, muppet.

Usage: 'Seen this proper divvy, like, selling jarg bifters.'

16. Shoes - a durable covering for the human foot.

Scouse saying: trabs, trainees, webbs.

Usage: 'Got these boss new trabs off me ma' for Christmas.'

17. Food - any nourishing substance eaten or drunk to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.

Scouse saying: scran.

Usage: 'Off to me ma's for tea - she does proper boss scran, y'know.'

See also: evening meal is popularly referred to as 'tea' and first meal of the day 'brekkie'

18. Spectacles / sunglasses - lenses for correcting faulty vision/glasses with tinted lenses to protect the eyes from the sun's glare

Scouse saying: bins, giggs, sunnies, shades

Usage: 'Got these jarg shades off this wool, they're a bit antwacky but I was skint, like.'

19. Asda - popular supermarket chain

Scouse saying: The Asda

Usage: 'Going down The Asda with me bird for some scran.'

20. About - almost nearly; used to indicate that a number, amount, time, etc - is not exact or certain

Scouse saying: abar

Usage: 'Devoed lad, I've only got abar four bifters left, like.'

Bombed Out Church, Liverpool (James Maloney / Liverpool Echo)

21. Cold - having a very low temperature

Scouse saying: baltic, freezin'.

Usage: 'Devoed, girl, I left me coat at home and it was proper baltic. Must've been abar minus 40.'

22. Clothes - articles of dress; wearing apparel; garments

Scouse saying: clobber, threads.

Usage: 'Tell you what, la, I really need new clobber but I'm proper skint.'

23. Generic term to give grief

Scouse saying: Down the banks, doing my head in, wrecking my head.

Usage: 'This beaut was doing my head in so I gave him down the banks, like.'

24. Hospital - An institution that provides medical, surgical, or psychiatric care and treatment for the sick or the injured.

Scouse saying: The ozzy

Usage: 'Going down the ozzy, mate, think I've broken me finger.'

25. To conclude prematurely.

Scouse saying: sack off, jibbed, spewed

Usage: 'Me mate sacked his bird off - she was doing his head in.'

26. Ice lolly - an ice cream or water ice on a stick.

Scouse saying: Lolly ice.

Usage: 'Going down the shop to get a lolly ice, lad.'

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