Scots Slang – Nothing beats it!
Thanks to our twitter crowd we’ve been inspired to start collecting some of the our favorite examples of Scottish slang. Here’s what we have so far:
Driech as in its a driech day ootside
yer erse is oot the windae….you are revealing your bottom
boak . to be sick, a dry boak to wretch
bonglie – Highlanders call tourists ‘Bonglies’
Cushie meaning pigeon (From Lanark)
Gutties meaning Trainers (From Lanark)
Clatty bint …. dirty girl
awa an boil yer heed, ya baw heeded, potlicker, that’s pure dead brilliant …. is very Glasgwegian
I was dead crabbit, cos the weather was dreech!
guay strangy bairn… meaning babies nappy needs changed!
“auld strangy wifie” means “urine soaked old lady” use quite regularly re older people, never taken as offensive just observation
“the snow was so deep it was up to my oxters” The snow was so deep it was up to my armpits, “ive got an itchy oxter”
jakie
gadgie
wee swally
crabbit
waldies …… wellies
Radge
Bawbag
eejit
gomeril
stumor
Shoogle
peched ‘i am fair peched oot’
haud your wheest which means quite
giving it laldy
glaikit
scunnered
stramash as in “a stramash in the goalmouth”
getting in a “fankle”
aye
Ottie ‘I went out in the wind and me hair’s ottie’
Keech ‘Eech feech hen’s keech tolie bum fart’
Bowfin ‘Yer feet are bowfin’
Stoori Nash ‘I was late for the bus and I had to stoori nasj up the road’
Numpty
jaked
steamin
Skooby ‘dont have a skooby’
Choob ‘what a choob’ or ‘tube’
bisom ‘ya wee bisom’ which means difficult women, spoilt bratty girl
baltic cold
jobbies poo
peely wally
Blootered
awa an bile yer heid
I dinnae ken – don’t know
Blether – inane chat
It’s just as guid a’ Paisley Patter
cludgie
bonglie
greetin’ crying
Also some modern ones:
My friend’s son uses the chatroom abbreviation: kwam – as in “ken what ah mean?”
Please help us and tell us some more – keep our crazy Scottish words alive and use them as often as you can!
Tagged
Ba’heid or Heid the Ba’
Jessie – meaning cissy – a term often used to describe me as a boy in recognition of my footballing skills.
How about ‘That Shirt Turned’l Dae Ye’ It means you are not long for this world so theres no point washing a new shirt so the one you have can be turned round to the clean side and used to bury you in. It’s usually said to someone who looks a bit ‘peely wally’ there’s another one!
Cowp – a rubbish tip, as in…
“Her hoose is a cowp”
pished – drunk
stoatin- drunk
loupin- as in- ma heid’s loupin’-meaning-I have a hangover
nippin-as in- ma heid’s nippin’-meaning-I have a hangover
eejit-idiot
bam or bampot-eejit
erse licker-sook
sook-crawler=someone trying to ingaciate themselves with someone else to get in their good books.
god botherer-church goer
mankie-boggin’-mingin’=dirty
minger=dirty person or an ugly woman
ya clattie wee toerag= a dirty wee person
ya clattie wee minger=a really dirty wee person
hingoot=a lady of questionable morals
shag me shoes-white high heeled shoes
snout-cigarette
tap us a snout=please may I have one of your cigarettes?
ach, yer bum’s oot the windae= you are talking rubbish
ragdoll- as in- a’m gonnae pure ragdoll that wee bitch=to ragdoll somebody is to pull their hair out and throw them about a bit in a fight .
hoachin=full of nits or filthy
skankin=mingin or clattie as in Amy Winehouse
aw right mate( said by speaking through your nose)= hello
aye, sound=reply to the above question (also said through your nose)
He nipped your burd last night=Means he stole your girlfriend
Ah’m gonnae waste him, he’s gettin chibbed=reply to the above statement= means I am going to maim that person by taking a very sharp object and slicing it across his face.
Malky or ah geid him the malky means I slashed him.
Square go, or ,dae ye want a square go?= a fight
Haw! Wee man, cool the beans=hey, little guy, calm down.
Heh! big man-calm yer jets=hey big chap, slow down or calm down
Ya belter= great
Ya beauty=great
A’m gaun tae ma scratcher=I am going to my bed
Ya wee fud= You little idiot
Ya wee fan*y=you little idiot
Did ye gei ‘im a Glesga kiss?= inquiring about an intimate moment when two heads meet (rather forcefully).
That ugly bint wis tryin tae fire intae me= I was given an offer I had to refuse by some ugly git.
A wis rockin last night=I was under the influence of a lot of alcohol.
It’s chilly roon the willie=It’s cauld
Haud the bus=Stop
Gonny geis a puddy up=Could you please help me to climb up
Gei it a wee shoogle=Shake it
Ma erse wis making buttons=I was realy worried
‘A’ll gei ye a skelpit leatherin=I’ll scud ye
A geid im a clout roon the lugs=I skelped his ears
He’s goat a face lik’ a Halloween cake= He’s ugly
She his tae tie knoats in er tights tae make knees=She’s very skinny
That wean wiz mockit when he cam hame, he wiz playing in a’ the glabbor=That child was filthy when he came home, he was playing in all the muck.
A wiz birlin last night, so a wiz gein it Hughie when I cam hame= I was drunk, so I was sick when I got home
A wiz fleein’ last night= I was drunk.
He wid sh*g the barber’s flair=He likes every type of woman, he’s not fussy.
Leg openers=Describing the strong alcohol some women drink
Yer rippin the p*sh=Your kidding me on, or you are taking me for a mug
A’m pure skunnert=I am fed up
She likes the boaby=she’s keen on men
She’d talk the hint legs aff a donkey=she talks a lot
A hivnae a scooby= I haven’t a clue(Scooby Doo)
A don’t gei a monkeys=I don’t care
His jaikit’s oan a shaky nail=He’s on his last chance
A’m gonnae stamp her ticket=I am going to slap her on the face
Pure-as in, pure dead brilliant, pure mingin’, pure boggin= pure is just a word put in before another word to exaggerate the next word.
A made a technicolour rainbow last night=I was sick
A wiz only yankin’ yer chain=I was kidding you on
She’s got t*ts lik’ a Spaniel’s ears=She has droopy breasts
A tea leaf= a thief
A’m pure Hank Marvin= I am starvin’
I wis pure gein it laldy=I was enjoying myself a lot
Ach, away an play wi’ the buses=Get lost
Away an take a hike=Get lost
Beat it=Get lost
Ya jammy wee get= You lucky person
A’m jist gaun tae press the couch=I am going for a lie down
A’m knackered=I am exhausted
He’s thick as two short planks=He’s a bit of a dunce
He’s goat wee bools runnin’ aboot ‘is heid=He’s a bit weird
He’s loast the plot=He’s a bit weird or mad ( can sometimes be used meaning-He’s very funny)
Aw, she’s a pure scream=She’s a good laugh
A wis p*shin masel=I was laughing a lot
Her weans a pure dunderheid, e’s aye doggin’ school=Her child is not very bright, he’s always dodging school.
A git sent tae the heidie an ‘e geid me a punny eccy=I got sent to the head master and he gave me a punishment excercise.
The weans ere dreepyin’ aff the dykes= The children were playin at climbing over the walls.
Ye dancin?,ye askin?, a’m askin’, then a’m dancin,= Asking someone to dance and the replies given.
Ur they two winchin?=Is that couple courting each other?
He tried tae slip the haun, so a geid ‘im a skelp= He tried to touch my bits, so I slapped him.
She’s goat some mooth oan ‘er=She swears a lot
Shut yer geggie=Be quiet
Shut yer gob or gub=be quiet
Keep shtoom=Keep quiet
Coorie in=cuddle in
Heh, bawheid!=Calling out to somebody familiar (male)
How’s it gaun, hen?=How are you dear? (female)
Ya dancer=Hooray, yay, yippee! great !
D’ye want tae go up tae clatty pat’s?=Would you like to go to Cleopatra’s dance hall in Glasgow.
Yer troosers are heavy budgied=Your trousers are too short, are they at half-mast because your budgie died?
Stoap pickin’ yer whelk= Stop picking your nose, because a whelk resembles a snotter (bogie)
Awright, yer rippin’ the erse oot it noo=You have taken this conversation too far.
He’s heavy cheesered=He’s got a big smile or lots of teeth
Heavy is another word, used as a prefix to another adjective to emphasise it.
A two bob bit= a tit=an idiot
Ach, it wis a pure sin, so it wis= It was an absolute shame, I felt very sorry for him.
He’s goat a heid like a thruppenny bit=mainly a footballing term for someone who has a very bad aim.(A thruppenny bit was an old 12 edged coin)
A doorstop, a backie, an ootsider, a buttie=the outside ends of the sliced bread
A’m ferr puggled=I’m exhausted
The broo=the bureau of employment
The cludgie, the lavvy=the toilet
The sitooterie=a conservatory, where you do your sitting out
A panjammer=a jo*by
A pokey hat=an ice cream cone
stookie=a cast for a broken limb, or to stookie somebody means to hit them.
War cabinet= a group of pensioners
A whigmaleerie=a wee woodlouse or the chimney tops that used to spin round.
Aye, that eye (said while pointing to one eye)=means who are you kidding?
“C’moan, git aff”=Come on, get off (a popular expression used by Glasgow clippies) and the reply would be”Make up yer mind”
Clippie=a bus conductor who came round to stamp your ticket. (No longer in use) Also, not to be confused with stamp yer ticket meaning to punch in the face.
He geis me the heebie jeebies=He makes my skin crawl, he is disgusting.
Coffin dodgers=old folk
Varicose veins=Weans=children
Baggy breeks=baggy trousers
The midden=A shelter where the bins were kept.
A didgy raker or a midgy raker=someone who rakes through rubbish bins looking for “luckies”
Luckies=finds from a midden that they can put to use.
The ba’s up in the slates=The game is over
Sky pilot=minister or priest
Sky diver= a five pound note or a fiver
Yer talikin’ mince=You are talking nonsense
Goin’ oot on the randan=Going out on the town(probably looking for members of the opposite sex)
Stoap fannyin’ aboot=Stop messing around
Face like the back end ae a bus=She is quite ugly
The bizzies or the fuzz =the police
Black Mariah=the dark police van
The gemm’s a bogey=The game has been ruined
Space Cadet=A weirdo
Gaun fir a swally-Going for a drink
Heidbanger=a moron
A job*ywheecher=a plumber
Bins=spectacles or glasses
yer erse is oot the windae
What’s with ‘you are revealing your bottom’? Obviously written by an Englishman…
This phrase actually means YOU DON’T STAND A CHANCE or as they say nowadays YOU ARE SHIT OUT OF LUCK