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Original poster

To ask what bonny means when describing a baby?

183 replies

Oysterbabe · 03/05/2016 09:26

I'd never heard it before having kids. Everyone keeps telling me DD is bonny. I'm not 100% on what it means. Does it mean fat?
She does have lovely chubby cheeks and thighs that you just can't help but squidge.

OP posts:
nightandthelight · 03/05/2016 11:29

Among my family it means healthy looking :)

pearlylum · 03/05/2016 11:32

In SCotland where I live it means beautiful or handsome.

I have family in Yorkshire and to them it means podgy or fat.

Of course at one point having a fat baby was desirable.

UterusUterusGhali · 03/05/2016 11:33

It means pretty/chubby/cute/healthy to me.

Chubbiness is a good thing in a baby! It was especially favoured in ye olden days when malnutrition was a real concern for a lot of the population.

limitedperiodonly · 03/05/2016 11:49

My birth weight was 9lb 11oz and I know that because my 5ft and 8st mum was so proud of growing me that she mentioned it all the time - like years Grin. When the doctor did his first rounds he told her to skip the milk and give me bacon and eggs. She took that as the joke it was intended.

When she took me to be weighed at the clinic, I'd lost a little and the nurse asked her if she wanted to see the doctor. My mum said: 'Why? Is he going to give it back?' That was a bit mean, because the nurse was trying to be reassuring. But my mum realised that I could afford to lose a little weight before panic set in. That is the joy of a chubby or bonny baby.

sianihedgehog · 03/05/2016 11:50

Beautiful, with a sense of wholesomeness and health. "Ah, it's a bonny day, the sun has some warm at last!"

Ludways · 03/05/2016 11:52

Bonnie/bonny = Pretty
NE.

buttercupfarm · 03/05/2016 11:56

Bonny means pretty, I've never known it to mean fat at all.

Branleuse · 03/05/2016 11:59

pleasantly plump and beautiful

CandyCrusher · 03/05/2016 12:15

Bonny doesn't mean fat. Confused
It means pretty here! (Yorkshire.) Nothing to do with weight at all.

AngryPrincess · 03/05/2016 12:17

Beautiful.

Fat doesn't work for 'on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond', if you need any persuading.

specialsubject · 03/05/2016 12:24

it is a compliment. Babies are supposed to have a bit of blubber on them, as long as isn't too much.

don't fall into the MN oversensitivity trap!

MissPronounced · 03/05/2016 12:25

Bonny does NOT mean fat up here (Newcastle). It only means pretty, and is not just reserved for babies.

Northumberlandlass · 03/05/2016 12:27

Bonny does NOT mean fat, it means beautiful!

limitedperiodonly · 03/05/2016 12:29

I don't understand why people are so determined to say that describing the normal state of a baby doesn't mean fat. It is normal for some babies to have ample fat stores. It is also normal for some babies to be lean. That is not the same as saying the chunky ones are obese or the slim ones are sickly.

LordoftheTits · 03/05/2016 12:32

I won a bonnie baby contest in 1991 and I was absolutely not fat! Shame the same can't be said for me now

It means pretty.

Original poster
Oysterbabe · 03/05/2016 12:33

I don't mind really if people do mean chubby. She's 4 months old and only has breastmilk. I know I'm not overfeeding her and I think chubby babies are cute :)

OP posts:
LordoftheTits · 03/05/2016 12:34

it is a compliment. Babies are supposed to have a bit of blubber on them, as long as isn't too much.

But it's quite common to say "she's a bonnie lassie" about a girl/grown woman, not just babies. In that context it just means good looking.

ClashCityRocker · 03/05/2016 12:35

I thought bonny for babies and Bonny for older kids/adults were different....

A Bonny baby is a cute, chunky bouncy baby - like you get in the adverts. I wouldn't say 'fat', just well, bouncy. For my nana, babies were either 'bonny wee things' or 'precious wee dots'.

Bonny for older kids and adults meant pretty/handsome.

Same word, two different usages.

notagiraffe · 03/05/2016 12:36

In the north east in means pretty or cute. In the south it means chubby. Both are compliments for a baby, though, aren't they? A bit of chub on a baby is a sign of good health.

APlaceOnTheCouch · 03/05/2016 12:38

Awe, she is bonny.

I've only ever heard of bonny meaning beautiful. My BIL who is much much older used to call me a bonny lass which I always took as a compliment. Now I'm wondering if he meant fat?! Shock Grin

ClashCityRocker · 03/05/2016 12:39

Google dictionary thing says pretty etc, (of a baby) plump, healthy looking and a third usage as sizeable.

So everyone's right, hurrah.

CotswoldStrife · 03/05/2016 12:42

I'm from the north west and chubby immediately sprang to my mind, especially for a baby.

limitedperiodonly · 03/05/2016 12:45

I think chubby babies are cute

So do I OP. My friend said her baby looked like a skinned rabbit. She kind of did. But she was lovely too.

CalebWomble · 03/05/2016 12:46

Bonnie Prince Charlie is, of course, known for being a lardarse. Nearly sank that boat on the way to Skye.

KayTee87 · 03/05/2016 12:48

Pretty / beautiful / good looking in Scotland anyway. Never heard it to mean fat or chubby.