To ask if you've ever had a dialect fail

[DizzyZebra]

I think dialect is the right word?

Anyway, I once really offended a girl who was new to my school. I had made friends with her and she invited me to her house, She got changed and i said 'Omg that suits you dead bad!'. Now, As an adult, I agree with her and can see the stupidity in saying something like that, BUT it was something EVERYONE where i lived said when really what they meant was 'That really suits you'.

She imediately looked hurt and i could tell by the look on her face she thought i was back pedaling as i sort of choked and tried to explain, and stuttered through it. I think she realised within a few weeks when she made more friends though.

My Mum also, after moving to the north, became increasingly frustrated one night. Her partners son came downstairs and asked her (As she was folding laundry) if there were any of his pants in there.

She said 'Yeah there are some over in the other pile'

He went over to look and said he couldn't find any, My mum said there were definitely some in there. He searches again and still can't find any. My mum said 'I just this minute put some red pants of yours in there, i know i did! They must be there'

He says 'I don't have any red pants'

My mum marches over, Grabs a pair of red boxers and says 'Look! red pants! See!'

Only for him to fall about laughing as he had actually meant trousers, and everyone here calls them pants, she just didn't know.

[DizzyZebra]

Cobs is the correct term. COBS.

COOOOBBBBBBBBBBSSSSSS.

To the PP who asked if i'm in scotland, I'm not, But does the above give you a clue as to where i am originally from, Lol!?

[PurplePidjin]

On moving to America aged 13, on her first day at her new school my cousin made a mistake on her work so put her hand up to ask for a rubber

:o

[ComposHat]

Is the cob a special breadstuff that we only get in the midlands?

A cob is different to a bap. A cob is crustier.

[ProtegeMoi]

When visiting my partners family we had food from a local chip shop where I was surprised to see 'scraps' listed as an option.

I didn't like to ask so still have no clue what it is. I am fairly certain that if I asked for scraps round here I'd be handed the bin!

On another what are 'dabs'. Same visit I saw dab teacake. I managed to work out that a teacake is a bread roll (batch) but no clue as to the dab part.

[Thumbwitch]

Cobs are what we called them as well (south west London) - but then Dad was from Sheffield so that might have had some influence.

Protege - scraps from the chippy were the bits of batter that had fallen off into the frying oil. :)

[ComposHat]

Bloody hell you've been dragged up proper if you've never had scraps.

Didn't you not ask for Pea Wet with the scraps?

[brighthair]

Now I have a craving for chips pea wet and scraps. Possibly with a pasty barm on the side
My accent is very mixed having lived up and down the country but every so often I come out with something and people look at me like I've got two heads and go "how northern are you?!"

[MerryCouthyMows]

Peelywally - I still use that phrase. My friends down here say that their DC's "look a bit peaky". They look when I say peelywally.

[Blending]

In the Welsh Valleys they say "wheres it to?" to ask where you would like something.

I struggled with ordering a Taxi once when asked "where's it to?" I kept repeating I was going to Cardiff, and the operator got more and more frustrated until she asked me the address I was phoning from. The penny only dropped when our taxi driver was wetting himself and explained.

[AndABigBirdInaPearTree]

I now live in California. American English is completely different from British English and after over a decade I still mix things up at times. The most memorable was as follows though...

I was in Costco and I was looking at the meat section for something to roast. My friend shouted to me from the cheese section (they are low fridges like the reach in freezers at iceland) to ask me what I was trying to find. I shouted back

"I want a joint for Sunday"

Everyone within shouting range in costco stopped in their tracks in complete and utter silence. I've never heard Costco so quiet, even when I'm the first in or last out.

'Joint' only means cannabis here.

There was a long pregnant pause while my friend recovered and called

"What?!?!"

and I replied that I was looking for a piece of meat to roast. Everyone started talking and moving again.

[curiousuze]

Laughing at all the Scottish ones - my DH is from London and we bemuse each other all the time. I say 'messages' for shopping and 'bucket' for bin. Also 'where do you stay' or if I'm being really local then 'far d'you bide?'

Yes we say 'juice' for anything non alcoholic! Never thought about that before...I do differentiate though - diluting juice for squash, and fizzy juice for pop. Although in Glasgow they say 'ginger' for anything fizzy.

I won't start on all the Doric words because its almost another language. Ten points to anyone who can translate what a 'tatty bogle' is!

[MediumOrchid]

When we were staying in South Africa we needed to get a lift from the lady we were staying with to get to an appointment at 8.30. We told her we needed to be there at 'half 8'. She picked us up at 7 and we were there at 7.30, a whole hour early. It turns out that in Afrikaans half 8 means 7.30 (half to 8)! Thankfully she saw the funny side of it!

[BratinghamPalace]

Am Irish and was very surprised by the differences between Irish English and English English when in London. We say press for cupboard. "Giving out to " means to scold but was taken to mean "sleeping with". I had various problems with that one including being accused of gossiping! We use hoar (pronounced whore with a u more or less) as a compliment for being a good mix of funny and cheeky. Got me into trouble also! Lots more but can't think of them now, they have been knocked out of me.
Am now in California and I can't even begin on that one. Might as well be in O Heb!

[sashh]

What do you call cobs if not cobs?

Having lived in various places, cobs = bread rolls = crusty bread rolls.

Soft bread rolls = bread rolls= barm cakes = batch loaf= teacakes but in some parts of the country a tea cake has currents in it, in other places that's a current tea cake. Then there are oven bottom cakes which only exist in some places.

When I lived in Oxford the chip shop sold chip butties, but included an explanation for the locals.

other useful translations

butty = sandwich = bread roll with filling = piece. In London a sandwich is always sliced bread, in other parts of the country it can be any type of bread, hence including it in the above.

stand pie = large pork pie (will feed about 10)

take out=carry out=take away =delivery of above depending on context

Pudding and chips at an English chip shop is steak and kidney in suet pastry, a friend once orded it in Scotland and was asked, "black, white or haggis?"

In Yorkshire you mash tea in Lancashire you brew it. In Yorkshire 'do you want a drink' means any drink in Lancashire it means alcohol, you would have been offered a brew otherwise.

Pie and peas in Yorkshire is pork pie, in Lancashire it is meat and potato.

Indian Sandwich = naan or pita bread with sheek kebab

Some Aussie ones

Duvet = Doona
Cool box = eski

I referred to attaching something to the car roof with a bungee and got blank looks. I think they call them shock cord.


Lets get together and write a dictionary.

[Iteotwawki]

Cool box here is chilly bin.

I had an entire room of people laughing hysterically at me when I first arrived in NZ - I was using the English version of "rooting around" meaning "looking for something" and in NZ rooting only means having sex. Also caused giggles when I was talking about a fixed route somewhere (pronounced root) and here it's pronounced "rout".

[EvenBetter]

I'm from Northern Ireland and when I was about 8 I was in England and asked another wee girl 'who's going now?' Cue blank expression and a good 5 minutes of me repeating myself until she said 'OH YOU MEAN NAAAAOOOW'
No, I meant 'now' there's no 'A' in it.

It bores me the way so many people act like N.Ireland/Scottish/Geordie/Liverpudlian accents are indecipherable. Call centre interactions take about 40minutes longer than they should, the other day it took some woman 15 minutes to be able to understand my postcode.

[Whatdoiknowanyway]

First time I met my mother in law she said I was a bonny girl. I was slightly offended as where I come from (NW) bonny means a bit on the heavy side, which I certainly wasn't. She was actually being nice as where she lives bonny means attractive.

My husbands family speak Doric so we have lots of interesting words. Not sure about tatty bogie though - is it a trailer for carrying potatoes in from the fields?

[ripsishere]

I love a Geordie accent. My Dad is one.
Australia have Manchester which appears to be a catch all for home linen. Tea towels, duvet covers, sheets and bedding etc.
DD saw a Manchester sale and got really excited . Not sure what she thought she could spend her holiday money on.

[CailinDana]

"Giving out to" has been a problem for me too Bratingham. It annoys me because I really don't like saying "telling off" - it seems meaner somehow.

Took me ages to get into the habit of saying "trousers" instead of "pants" although PILs were very "helpful" on that front.

I also never say "Shall," I say "Will," as in "Will we go to the cinema?" which I know can be considered a bit odd here but is normal in Ireland. I'd feel totally weird saying "Shall."

[jaggythistle]

Can I get the points for scarecrow? :)

[jaggythistle]

That was for curious.

[JusticeCrab]

I remember having exchanges like this:

SOUTHERNER: Hello!

ME: Now then!

SOUTHERNER: Now then what?

ME: I was just saying hello!

[MisselthwaiteManor]

DH says batch instead of roll, to me a batch is a whole batch of something ie. a dozen rolls/cakes. He also says 'which' instead of 'what' which confuses me, if he doesn't hear me he says 'which?' and I'm like 'which what?' He says pants for trousers too.

I saw a heated exchange between two men where one was threatening to bang the other. To me bang means shag but apparently here it means fight.

[ripsishere]

I've a NI friend who calls sliced bread 'pan'.