Sayings of Welsh Parents

[C0rdelia]

You tell them something mildly interesting.

Nooooor. I never.

Yes, I do.
I couldn't remember the word for funnel. I thought twndish was wronh.
Twmffat twp.

wrong even

Ahh yes Sir Wynff a Plwmsan - the mists of time are clearing! I could have sworn it was twmpath, I imagined a pile of stupidness. Mind you we are taking about 40 years ago!

@Saisong

Ahh yes Sir Wynff a Plwmsan - the mists of time are clearing! I could have sworn it was twmpath, I imagined a pile of stupidness. Mind you we are taking about 40 years ago!

Syr Wynff a Plwmsan were 50 years ago, I'm 59 and when I was 10 my class at primary school were the audience for a TV show called Nol Mewn Pum Munud (Back in 5 minutes).

Glad it's not just me that calls them kidney beans! Like other posters I spent most of my life thinking the Welsh phrases I was saying were universal. Smooth and scram are good examples - no idea these weren't in wide usage until about three years into marriage to my English husband.

Also the PP who mentioned a gransha - we had a gransha and a bampy in my family so not unusual I don't think.

A few more from me in the valleys - gully for an alleyway pronounced gwli and coupy down for squat. My parents always used to say they'd give me a row as well, which my English husband never had.

I've always loved the naming people after their occupations. My nan still tells stories full of different Dais.

Jones the spy.

Talking to my welsh granddaughter earlier today . she was talking about a microwave but in Welsh and I'm sure the word ended in 'ding'

I love this thread, have loved in Wales all my life and hope I always will. These are some of my favourites.....

You'll cop it now! (You are in trouble)
Moch y coed ( pigs of the tree, for a woodlouse)
I'm tamping (I'm annoyed)
There's lush that is ( that is lovely)
Popty ping ( microwave)
Twti down ( crouch down)
What it is is..... (used to start a sentence, e.g, what it is is, I'm late because I got lost)
Using people's occupation to define them such as Dai the Taxi, Martin the Milk, etc
Putting isn't it at the end of a sentence ( it's a nice day isn't it?)
I'm going from by here to by there (I'm going from here to there)
Presh ( a term of endearment, as in precious, eg ok presh?)

I love the Welsh language, and cwtch and hiraeth are two of the best words ever!

@Kent1976 You must be thinking of "popty ping" (ping oven) but it's kind of a joke. The word for microwave is meicrodon.

Mochyn coed is a pinecone where i live

@3catsandcounting

My gran used to exclaim "dewwww' which I sort of translated as "well I never" or "OMG"!

It’s Duw as in Jesus. 😀

I’ve also remembered that despite us not speaking Welsh at home, the kitchen implement would always be called a sosban, not a saucepan.

Duw as in God

Jesus is Iesu

Both my dc are Welsh speakers and when they were small used to amuse me when they literally translated Welsh into English for me. So we had
mum - he's laughing on my head - complaining that her brother was making fun of her.
throwing someone over the dishes - not really sure what this means?
keep it - tidy up

he's laughing on my head - laughing over me
over the dishes - over the top

microwave is microdon. Popty ping is also used, but the origins are dubious.

Iesu Mawr - is Great Jesus

@Sheknowsaboutme

You mean PWDU? Having a sulk!

Yes pwdu, or pwdi, or pwdy - I've seen all three written down!

Family from Carmarthenshire originally

I often heard my Mother and many others in her area of North Wales use the phrase “Back and To”.

This could be applied to all manner of situations, e.g. If children were running around & annoying her she'd say “Will you lot stop going back and to”.

Or a heavy drinker might be described as being forever going back and to to the pub. (Jones The Pint).

@noideaatallreally

The over the dishes quote is from "dros Ben llestri" which literally means - over the crockery. However, it means when somethings gone too far (usually a child's behaviour)

Oh - scram! I'd forgotten that one. We used it to mean a scratch. And if someone was described as "fit", it didn't mean fanciable (although knowing my mam maybe it did!) but to mean cheeky.

And yes to eating a bowl of kidney beans with butter and bread as a complete meal.

I remember 'fit' being used about cheeky or stroppy women.
Also not sure if this is just in Wales but any woman described as a 'flighty piece' was deemed to have low morals.
Sadly always used by women against other women but funny to hear as a child.

Ha ha, I only said to dc13 at the weekend that he always has a pwdi when he cannot carve his pumpkin the way he wants to!!

Youandme 'fit' was a word that I always heard as a child. I had no idea that it meant 'attractive' in other circles until I was about 23 and heard in in that context and was very confused! But, to me, it will always have the full of [her]self meaning.

This is a pronunciation one - DH's mum is originally from Newport, and has a trace of a Welsh accent. DH has none, but always says 'twthbrush' and 'twthpaste'.

@WellTidy

This is a pronunciation one - DH's mum is originally from Newport, and has a trace of a Welsh accent. DH has none, but always says 'twthbrush' and 'twthpaste'.

Snap! And I get teased mercilessly by the dc for saying it that way. They also tell me I say ice cream wrong but I can't for the life of me understand why!