My mum (or mam as we say "oop North") has been staying for the past week and in that time I've heard the Teens ask her :-
"What's poompwatta?" Pump water
"What's dooityersen?" Do it yourself
"What does nesh mean?" Nippy "What's nippee?" Chilly "Chilli that you eat?" Cold for...heaven's sake. It means COLD
"What's a barmpot?" A silly person. One who doesn't know what "chilly" means, for instance
"What's an a'peth? As in, you daft a'peth?" Erm, a half-penny worth. A silly person.
"What's bawk mean?" To gag, or heave
"What's a bonnybairn?" An attractive child
"What's cackanded?" Clumsy
"What's bagsey?" (Bagsey me first) I want to go first.
Her answers were generally followed by a cry of, 'well why didn't you just say that in the first place??' Closely followed by them talking in cod Northern accents and rolling around in fits of hysterical laughter. I don't think they completely understand the intricacies of dialect, but it did make me think that there may be a gap in the market for a book translating Yorkshire into English.
One thing they DON'T say in Scarborough though, as far as I can remember, is the oft mis-quoted, "eeh bah gum."
But don't quote me on that. I'm "as daft as a brush I'll 'ave thee know."
