The British are famously fond of discussing the weather. Unsurprisingly enough, the language we use may reflect where we are from. Some of this is a matter of dialect, like the Scots term “dreich” for dull, wet and dismal weather, or the Cornish “henting” for raining hard. Other linguistic differences are more subtle.
As part of British Science Week last month, the British Science Association carried out a survey of two thousand people to discover variations in the phrases they used to describe the weather. The results showed that the expressions “it’s nippy” and “it’s blowing a gale” were commonest in Brighton, whereas “brass monkeys” and “it’s Baltic” were most used in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively. People in Nottingham are more likely to mention “raining cats and dogs,” while Liverpudlians will talk about “lashing it down” instead.
While some of these differences are linguistic, some may reflect regional weather differences: Glasgow really is more likely to get Baltic weather than southern England.
The survey also turned up differences between men and women. For example, more women than men tended to say “it’s nippy.” Whether this reflects a greater sensitivity to cold, or just a greater willingness to discuss it, would require further research.
• This article was amended on 6 April 2019 to correct the spelling of “dreich”.
