Regional sayings that throw others

[catherineofarrogance80]

I'm West Midlands born and bred. A few phrases or words I say to people outside of my area are met with considerable confusion. I was talking to someone about someone else who smokes a lot and said 'yes he's always got a fag on' and was asked what the hell I was on about
Any regional sayings that others would be baffled by?

Until I was a (southern) student in Yorkshire I’d never heard of a ‘ginnel’ - a passage between houses to the next road. We had the odd one where I lived but it was an alleyway.

And my old landlady used to say ‘starved’ as in freezing cold. ‘I’d better light t’fire else that bird (her budgie) will starve to death.’

I first heard ‘mardy’ from her, too.

@WonkyCactus

My friend in Yorkshire told me they'd had a fuddle at her work. I was !

Jacobs join at my old work. I lived 20 miles away and didn’t know the phrase!

Yan,tan teddera, meddera anyone?

Where I grew up in the NW, if someone was angry or had an outburst you'd say they 'saw their arse' (quite often followed by a location; so Mary saw her arse in the queue for the butcher's)

I've lived in London for years but I still throw it in conversation sometimes. 99% of people always look utterly horrified...

@TheDrsDocMartens I know Jacob's Join very well (Lancashire)

It only ever seems to be used by religious people in my experience. (I have born-again Christian family.) Everyone else calls it a Dutch supper.

@WeatherwaxLives

Learnt diluting juice on here - it's squash.

I learned it as 'dilute orange' when I moved here. I figured out what it meant didn't know whether it had already been diluted or still needed diluting. People thought it was a weird question.

I still remember when BIL didn’t understand the term ‘Diluting juice’ and poured a glass of orange juice and took a big swig...

@Redcrayons

Pants. Round here they are trousers, but seem to mean knickers everywhere else. The great bread roll debate, obviously it’s a barm cake

he's always got a fag on
Never heard of that, I’d guess as being grumpy, though I obviously know fag is a cigarette.

It means some is always smoking

Of course fagging at some schools is also something different...

he's always got a fag on
Never heard of that, I’d guess as being grumpy, though I obviously know fag is a cigarette.

It means some is always smoking
In that case I was right the first time and surprised anyone wouldn't know what it meant.

Jacobs join at my old work
And at my (Catholic) guide group. Is it unusual?

@TheDrsDocMartens

Yan,tan teddera, meddera anyone?

Counting sheep?

@queentsumtsum My mum frequently messages me to check whether an item of clothing she’s considering is a “bit aul’ wifey”

Ate, but I’ve heard it used for counting full stop!

I've heard it as tethera, methera, pimp/bimp, but I expect it has lots of variations

I was talking about being on shanks pony as my car was in the garage, colleagues from lancashire knew what I meant(walking) but others were mystified

I'm Scottish and I found out fairly recently that "outwith" is only used here. I use it all the time - casually, professionally and in academic writing.

Me too. I only realised on here that its not commonly used (I thought it was an old fashioned term)!

Hadn’t heard this till I moved to the SW - ‘where’s that to?’

In Ireland we say “I will yeah” that means I definitely won’t!

My parents weren't from the area originally and had no idea what daps were on my primary school kit list. I grew up quite near Bristol and daps are plimsols round there. I still think daps is a nicer word.

I don't think people in any other regions said jitter either - not sure anybody at all says it anymore. Jitters were the teenagers who were into skating and punk rock in the 2000s. I don't know what they were called elsewhere!