Misunderstood Regional Sayings (totally stolen idea from another thread!)

[strawberrisc]

When we moved from the North of England to London my partner had this conversation with a colleague:

Partner: “The cleaner proper saw her arse last night”
Baffled Collegue: “You saw the cleaner’s arse?”
Partner: “No! She seen her arse”
Baffled Colleague: “She was looking at her arse?”

This went on for some time!

When I started my new job they all laughed when I announced “the butty woman’s here” in my flat, Northern accent.

I completley understamd you , im from greater mamchester i also have tea as my evening meal ,dinner tp me is a meal about midday or sometimes its lunch .

OP
I'm baffled - what did your partner mean ?

When I first mentioned "yer man" and colleagues were all "what do you mean: my man?! He's not my man!! "

"Yer man" being that guy over there or any random man I was talking about.

I had to look it up, and I’m still not sure I get its logic as an expression— why would seeing your own arse mean you were in a bad mood?

Lol, at seeing her arse.

In the states we used to say "show my ass" to mean "lose my temper". Like "Bill almost made me show my ass last night."

I've heard neighbors say that things "frit" them instead of frightened.

What does it mean OP?

I have introduced my southern colleagues to some new phrases which they love, but I thought they were more mainstream then they apparently are
All mouth and no trousers
All furcoat and no knickers
Away with the fairies
[:)]

I am northern so know all of these so far. Moved to the SW now so phrases like 'gert lush' still sound wrong to me. Northern terms of endearment are love and mate, here it's poppet and buddy.

Iruka I'm surprised by all of these.

I'm as Southern as they come and
All mouth and no trousers
All furcoat and no knickers
Away with the fairies
are all very normal to me

DappledThings That reassures me actually, I think some of my co-workers are very sheltered :D

How about
She's right neche
Its like trying to nail down the tide
:)

Those are both new to me! The tide one I would say as trying to hold back the tide but I like your version better.

Neche I have no idea.

i went north for uni, mentioned something was 'gurt lush' and was met by stunned silence.

however i came back with the wonderful word 'ginnel' for the side alley to a terraced house - apparently there is no word for this down south so i was glad to learn it!

Neche - probably not the right spelling - it means someone who feels the cold easily
The tide one is more about trying to get a straight answer out of someone and not being able to

There was a wonderful long running thread on ginnels a few years ago.

It got alarmingly heated.

The tide one is more about trying to get a straight answer out of someone and not being able to

I like that. Might start using it now!

When I was 8 we moved from Kent to Cumbria for a few years. On my first day at school we were doing words that mean raining. Someone said spitting and the teacher said "Dappled won't know that one because she's from the South". I certainly did know it and don't think there's anything particularly Northern about saying spitting for that type of rain.

Interesting what people think is regional when it isn't always though

My grandmother used to say "It's a bit black over Bill's mother's" to mean "Gosh, those are some dark clouds on the horizon. I think it might rain later"

My husband was baffled. Who was Bill? Who's his mother? What was black? Were Bill or his mother Black? Was this a racist saying? Should he be shocked and/or offended?

ursula how the heck do you get heated about a ginnel?! (although it is only useful to those i have taught the meaning too back here in the south! otherwise the usual 'a what?' response comes back!)

also, don't try and order a 'henry' outside of a GL postcode!!

Orse your sen = shift yourself, speed up
Neche= cold
Got dog on = in a mood
Seen your arse = bad mood
Face on = see above ^
Couldn’t stop a pig in a ginnel = bow legged
All have confused many a southerner when I’ve said them

I saw the title and immediately thought of “seeing one’s arse”.

Japonica - it’s like having a cob on, only more so.

Before I lived in the North, I was very perplexed by my Yorkshire boss saying a colleague had “pissed on their chips”.

Nanny if I remember correctly they are called “twittens” in Sussex, while stepped alleys connecting a street to one higher up the hill are called “catcreeps”.

@yrenetowers my dad and grandparent said "its black over Bill's mother's" too. There were from Leicestershire.

Neche is spelled nesh.
It’s in t’dictionary

urbane ooh i like twittens! sounds a bit cutesy though! maybe its just the south west that doesnt have a word for them!

Black over bills mothers is a Midlands thing.

Gambole anyone?

At uni the southerners could never understand "being mithered" I assumed that was a normal English phrase