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Title:

Cowgate, Newcastle upon Tyne

Shelfmark:

C1190/23/02

Recording date:

21.11.2004

Speakers:

Hann, Gail, b. 1959 Easington Colliery, County Durham; female

MacIntosh, Ian, b. 1956 Sunderland; male

MacIntosh, Loretta, b. 1958 female; telesales manager (father, travelling show entertainer; mother,

travelling show entertainer)

Young, Paul, b. 1984 Cramlington, Northumberland; male; entertainer (father: telesales)

The interviewees all work in sales and know each other through work.

ELICITED LEXIS

pleased over [aʊə] the knot⌂; cock-a-hoop; chuffed (“chuffed to bits”); ecstatic; thrilled; pleased;

happy; glad; delighted; over [aʊə] the moon; cracking (used as term of approval); “I’m as

happy as a dancing tramp”⌂

tired knackered; fucked; Donald∆1

(suggested jokingly); wrecked◊

unwell dying (“bit of a drama queen”); ill (of symptoms worse than “not very well”); not very well;

gammy (of e.g. “gammy leg”); off the map⌂ (“she’s not going to school today our Gail’s off

the map”)

hot roasted (“blimey, I’m roasted”); lathered○; scomfished (“it’s scomfishing in here”);

scadding○

cold frozzen#; nithered; cold [kaːd]; freezing; icy; brass monkeys

annoyed pissed off (“totally pissed off”); mad; seething; foaming○ (“absolutely foaming”); fuming;

go ballistic; gan○ ballistic; sick as a twat

⌂ (suggested by interviewer); sick as a parrot;

1 See entry for ‘Donald Ducked’.

○ see English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905)

* see Survey of English Dialects Basic Material (1962-1971)

# see Dictionary of North East Dialect (2011)

∆ see New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006)

◊ see Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010)

♦ see Urban Dictionary (online)

⌂ no previous source (with this sense) identified


BBC Voices Recordings

fucked off; broken off at the stocking tops⌂ (“when life doesn’t go your way you always say

I feel broken [bɹɒkn] off at the stocking tops”); hacked off (heard, not used); radgy (“I went

radgy”, “I threw a radge”); went nuts; apeshit; stotting#2

throw hoy○ (“stop hoying stones”); throw it over there; chuck (“chuck it out it’s no good”); sling

it; chuck it over; fling (suggested by interviewer)

play truant doll off3 (suggested by interviewer, used in Sunderland); skive; play hookey; play the nick

○;

wag off (used by mother from Stamfordham, Northumberland); bunk off (suggested by

interviewer)

sleep kip (“I’m going to have a kip”, “I’m going to kip”); bed (“I’m going to bed”); bit of a lie-

down; get me head down; forty winks (used by grandmother, associated with older

speakers); rest your eyes♦

play a game join in; knock-about (of playing football, “have a knock-about”); hang around; pottering,

tinkering (of playing on computer); messing around; messing about; play; mess around;

playing out (“the kids are playing out” used when young)

hit hard smack (of person); hit (of object); wellie∆; hit (“hit it really hard”); belt, knock, hammer (of

e.g. nail); lamp, deck, knock them out (of person); fuck∆; bray (suggested by interviewer as

used by grandmother, “I’ll bray your arse in a minute, lad” used by mother, also used of

fight “such and such got brayed this weekend”); good hiding; kick your heid○ in; clip

(“she’s gonna clip him”); leathered (“you’re gonna get your arse leathered”)

clothes (not discussed)

trousers (not discussed)

child’s shoe (not discussed)

mother me mam; ma (“is your ma in?” to friends of friend’s mother); me old lady; mam (to own

mother); the old Dutch⌂4

(used by husband’s family); mother (disliked by own mother);

mama (used light-heartedly to own mother)

gmother nana (“me nana Robson and me nana McKee” used to distinguish between

maternal/paternal grandmother); gran (“gran Mac” used of paternal grandmother);

grandma; ganny○; granny

m partner husband; the boss; him indoors; He-Who-Must-Be-Fed⌂ (disputed, “Obeyed”)

friend marrow; mate; chum; pal; partner in crime

gfather grand-da○; grandad; pops (“posh”)

forgot name what-d’ye-call-him; what’s-his-name; thingy; thingymabob♦; thingymajig

♦; you-knows-who

[jə naːz wiː] (Pitmatic for ‘you-know-who’, “oh man, you know him oh, man, what’s his

name again oh, man, you know, man” used by parents); thingme♦; thingummyjig

∆

kit of tools gear; stuff; kit

trendy charver (“loads of bling”); poser; chavvy; a trendy

f partner our lass; her indoors; me wife; the other half; partner; spouse; your lass; the wife; his wife;

“using someone’s Christian name” (i.e. by name); me other half; your other half; the boss;

the gaffer◊5

2 Dictionary of North East Dialect (2011) records ‘stot’ in sense of ‘to bounce, move quickly’ and provides citation in sense of

‘jumping up and down with anger’. 3 Lourdes Burbano Elizondo’s ‘First Approaches to the Unexplored Dialect of Sunderland’ in Miscelánea: a journal of english

and american studies (N° 27, 2003 pp. 60-61) includes ‘doll off’ in this sense. 4 OED (online edition) records ‘old Dutch’ in sense of ‘wife’ but not ‘mother’.

5 Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010) records this in sense of ‘husband’ (i.e. partner).



baby kid (“she’s got a kid”); child; sprog; bairn; toddler; rug-rat; baby; ankle-biter; jam-eater⌂;

babby○ (used in Midlands); babba

♦ (used as form of address to own baby); wean (used in

Scotland)

rain heavily piss down; the heavens opened; hoying○ it down; chucking it down; pissing down;

stotting#6

; stotting down#5

; teeming down

toilet “I’m going for a Müllerlight”⌂7

(rhyming slang for ‘shite’, of ‘going to toilet’); going for a

Barry∆ (< Barry White: shite), Edgar Britt

◊, Eartha Kitt

∆ (rhyming slang for ‘shit’),

dropping the kids off at the pool♦8

(of ‘going to toilet’); Mr Brown’s knocking at the

window♦, the tortoise is popping his head out

∆9, touching cloth

♦ (of being ‘desperate to go

to toilet’); lavvy; bog, netty (used as child at school); netty; shithouse; sheds⌂ (“where’s the

sheds?” used by males); “where’s the gents?” (used when out/at work, “posh”); going for a

shite, “back in five”⌂ (of ‘going to toilet’); toilet (means “excrement” in USA); small room;

loo; lavatory (“posh”); lav (used as child at school); bathroom (used in USA)

walkway alley; cut

long seat settee; sofa (“posh”, thought to be American); couch; three-piece

run water beck; stream; burn; brook (“babbling brook” used as “posh literary term”)

main room sitting room; living room; lounge (“posh”); front room; parlour (suggested facetiously);

telly room

rain lightly drizzling; spitting; mizzle (suggested by interviewer, not known); drizzle; miserable;

spitting on○ (“spitting on to rain”); squally (“squally showers”)

rich loaded (“loaded with cold” also used for ‘full of cold’); wealthy; rolling in it; wadded∆

(suggested by interviewer as used in south, not used); loadsamoney◊ (learnt from Harry

Enfield10

); doshed up⌂; wonga (learnt recently, used to mean ‘money’); well-heeled

left-handed cuddy-wifter*; cuddy-handed

* (used to mean ‘clumsy’); left-handed

unattractive minger (“she’s a dirty minger”, also means ‘to smell’ e.g. “it mings in there”); mangy (of

e.g. building); rammy; dog; eight-pinter♦11

; ten-pinter♦; looks only a mother would/could

love♦12

; face like a smacked arse∆13

lack money boracic (> boracic lint: skint); on the bones of me arse◊; hasn’t got a pot to piss in

∆;

potless; haven’t got two halfpennies to rub together⌂; skint; skid row; pink lint

∆ (: skint,

“rhyming slang”)

drunk pissed; hammered; mapped⌂; off the map

⌂ (also used to mean ‘unwell’); pissed as a rat;

rat-arsed; totally chemist♦ (used by husband); leathered

∆ (also means ‘to belt’); drunk as a

skunk∆; toileted

⌂ (“he was toileted out of his head” suggested as indicative of typical nonce-

formation); trolleyed; pissed as a skunk14

; trousered∆; mullered (used by husband, also

used to mean ‘dead’, “I’ll get mullered when I get home” used of ‘telling off’)

pregnant dropping a sprog; up the duff; in the pudding club; having a baby; up the stick; in the

family way (old); she’s been babbied⌂ (suggested by interviewer as used by friend); with

child (used by brother); bun in the oven; one on the way

6 Dictionary of North East Dialect (2011) records ‘stot’ in sense of ‘to bounce, move quickly’ and includes citation in sense of

‘stotting down with rain’. 7 Reference, presumably, to brand of low fat yoghurt produced by Müller GmBH, Bavaria.

8 Urban Dictionary (online) includes ‘taking the kids to the pool’ in this sense.

9 New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) records ‘turtlehead’ in this sense.

10 Reference, presumably, to Loadsamoney, brash plasterer character created and played by British comedian Harry Enfield

(b.1961) in regular appearances on Channel 4’s Saturday Live in late 1980s. 11

Urban Dictionary (online) includes compounds of numeral + <-pinter>, e.g. ‘ten-pinter’ in this sense. 12

Urban Dictionary (online) includes ‘only a face a mother could love’ in this sense. 13

See entry for ‘face like a slapped arse’. 14

New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) includes ‘drunk as a skunk’ in this sense.



attractive smart as a carrot◊; stunner; classy chick; classy bird; class bird; smart; fit (used frequently

by males); worth a shag15

; lovely; I’d give her one∆; seductive; “I wouldn’t mind shagging

that”⌂; “look at the personality on that”

⌂ (suggested jokingly); “I wouldn’t kick her out of

bed for farting”◊ (to university friends); “I wouldn’t crawl over you to get to him”

⌂; “I

wouldn’t kick him out of bed”◊; “I would have his babies”

⌂ (heard used by females)

insane boxed; out of your box (also means ‘drunk’); daft as a ship’s cat⌂ (“she’s as daft as a ship’s

cat not a brain cell in her head”); touched; nutter; crackers; round the wheel⌂; away with

the fairies∆; away with the pixies

∆; “she’s a bit uh”

⌂ (accompanied by whistling and

circular motion with finger); round the bend; away with the mixer♦ (suggested by

interviewer as used by father); off her rocker; a few bricks off a full load◊; a few

sandwiches short of a picnic◊; all her chairs are not at home

⌂ (“all her chairs are not at

home, that lass, you don’t wanna be knocking about with her” used by father, also used to

mean ‘dishonest’); two drips short of a full piss∆16

(suggested by interviewer); lights are on

but no one’s home∆; nuts; one sandwich short of a picnic

◊; not the sharpest tool in the box

∆;

bit of a dipshit; dipstick; crackerjack♦ (suggested by interviewer); radged (suggested by

interviewer, “radged as a brush” used by mother); stotting mad2

moody sulky (“she’s in the sulks”); moody; in a strop; petulant; having a strop; on her rags;

whinger; in a one (“you’re/they’re in a one”, “she’s in one”); “is your pet-lip out?”; huffy;

in a huff; taking the pet (“she had her pet-lip out” used of ‘sulking’); took the pip; took the

hump; mardy-arse (especially of children, “stop being a bloody mardy-arse” used by

mother, “this kid’s whinged all day he’s a right mardy-arse”); in a mood

SPONTANEOUS LEXIS

airplane = aeroplane (0:41:15 do you know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks) you

know, have you seen that advert on the telly where she’s going to invite her boyfriend into the toilet she

said, “go to the toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings

the Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go)

a one* = one (0:26:11 ‘cuddy-wifter’ ’cause I’m a one (what?) ‘cuddy-wifter’; 0:51:03 you probably say

that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody, you know, they’re ‘in a one’ (yeah yeah, my mam says that, “oh

she’s in one” I think she does) (aye, I would say to Fraser, “is your pet lip out?”))

arse bandit = euphemism for male homosexual (0:37:18 have you not heard of ‘cacky-pusher’?

(‘backdoor bandit’) (aye, ‘arse bandits’))

ash-bin = dust-bin (0:19:52 we’d knock the ash-bin lids off as well did you use to do that?)

(as much use as) a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition◊ = absolutely useless, worthless

(0:13:23 my favourite if you want to know what that is ‘you’re about as much use as a one-legged man in

an arse-kicking competition’ (there’s there’s lots of sayings like that, you know, ‘you’re about as welcome

as a fart in a spacesuit’))

aye = yes (0:02:13 ‘gammy’ oh, when you’ve got a bad leg ‘gammy leg’, aye, so I never would’ve applied

that; 0:26:30 (now ‘batting with the wrong hand’ means something completely different to me) aye, that

means you’re ‘gay’; 0:29:23 (why, yeah, and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning and say,

“there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing waiting to go in”) aye; 0:28:22 (another word for cuddy they would say

if you don’t know another expression ‘they didn’t know what hit them’ ‘you won’t know what cuddy’s

kicked you’) aye (you’ve heard that one, haven’t you?) I have, aye; 0:34:21 (“I don’t wanna piss on your

chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know) it’s not a phrase I would use (it just means

‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or) I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on

15

New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) includes ‘shag-worthy’ in this sense. 16

New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2006) includes several examples of ‘NOUN (part) short of

NOUN (whole)’ in this sense but not ‘two drips short of a full piss’.



my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on him (‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’) aye, if he was on

fire; 0:43:01 (when’s the last time you were really really drunk then, Ian?) uh Saturday (it’s Sunday

today) aye, exactly Friday night I was; 0:51:03 (you probably say that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody,

you know, they’re ‘in a one’) (yeah yeah, my mam says that, “oh she’s in one” I think she does) aye, I

would say to Fraser, “is your pet lip out?”)

backdoor bandit◊ = euphemism for male homosexual (0:37:18 (have you not heard of ‘cacky-pusher’?)

‘backdoor bandit’ (aye, ‘arse bandits’))

bat with the wrong hand17

= euphemism for homosexual (0:26:30 now ‘batting with the wrong hand’

means something completely different to me (aye, that means you’re ‘gay’))

beer goggles = humorous expression describing alcohol-induced state of increased physical attraction to

someone (0:43:37 that’s where you get the uh expression ‘beer goggles’ someone (exactly) (aye))

bird = girl, woman (0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got pissed

took this bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was gonna saw me arm off rather than

wake her up”)

blimey = exclamation expressing surprise, incredulity or exasperation (0:00:35 the ‘hot’ I would say would

be uh ‘roasted’ um I don’t know I would say, “ah blimey, I’m roasted”)

cacky-pusher⌂ = euphemism for male homosexual (0:37:18 have you not heard of ‘cacky-pusher’?

(‘backdoor bandit’) (aye, ‘arse bandits’))

cheese off = to annoy, irritate (0:34:21 “I don’t wanna piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months

pregnant too now”, you know (it’s not a phrase I would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee

you off’ or (I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I

wouldn’t piss on him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’ (aye, if he was on fire))

Cockney = dialect of London (0:12:57 I think Australians are the epitome of, like, slang because they pick

all the old Cockney words up and and everything)

cuddy = donkey (0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night

and me dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m

not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”;

0:28:22 another word for cuddy they would say if you don’t know another expression ‘they didn’t know

what hit them’ ‘you won’t know what cuddy’s kicked you’ (aye) you’ve heard that one, haven’t you? (I

have, aye))

cushty = good, great (0:32:12 (if it’s ‘good’ it’s ‘mint’) (because it means ‘mint condition’) ‘cushty’;

0:32:36 well I dunno I used ‘cushty’ when I was a kid maybe with that s... (did you?) um (no, yes, I never

heard it until I watched that ‘Only Fools and Horses’18

or mebbies even ‘EastEnders’19

))

eh! = exclamation expressing surprise, incredulity or exasperation (0:06:42 (I’d probably just say, “I’m

really ‘pleased’ with that” or “I’m really ‘happy’ with that”) don’t you think that’s a little bit tame what if

you’d just won the lottery would you be just, “eh, I’m pleased I’ve won the lottery”; 1:02:21 ’cause when I

used to come home from school and listen to me mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh,

you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man, what’s his name again

oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in Station Road before the war”)

friend of Dorothy’s = euphemism for male homosexual (0:36:31 a ‘friend of Dorothy’s’ a bit ‘lavender’

‘on tother bus’)

F-word = euphemism for word ‘fuck’ (0:07:44 I’d be on the end of that and it would have the F-word in

front of it, wouldn’t it?)

gadgie∆ = man (0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his head off

(he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him up and

17

Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010) records ‘bat for the other side’ in this sense. 18

Long-running British sit-com first broadcast on BBC in 1981. 19

Long-running British soap opera broadcast on BBC since 1985 set in fictitious area of Walford, London.



seen it was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole; 0:20:29 (a ‘stranger’?) ‘mush’ (just

anybody a ‘guy’, like, a ‘mush’) a ‘gadgie’ with could come round with the tickets (some ‘bloke’))

go like the clappers⌂20

= to be sexually promiscuous (0:30:49 she ‘goes like the clappers’)

have enough dick to make a hand-rail round the Queen Mary⌂ = to be sexually promiscuous (0:45:29

(she’s ‘had more cock-ends than weekends’ have you heard that one?) or she’s had she’s ‘had enough

dick uh to make a hand-rail round the Queen Mary’)

have more cock-ends than weekends⌂ = to be sexually promiscuous (0:45:29 she’s ‘had more cock-ends

than weekends’ have you heard that one? (or she’s had she’s ‘had enough dick uh to make a hand-rail

round the Queen Mary’))

hellish = very, really (0:32:01 it it’s something you say before anything else, you know, they just they’ll

say, “it’s hellish good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like, extremity, yeah)

knocky nine doors21

= children’s prank game (0:19:29 knocky nine doors in our street used to mean

knocking nine doors what we’d do is we’d go to nine doors and get threads right and f... f... hide in the

field opposite the doors then we’d knock them all together that was a proper game)

lass = girl (0:24:59 yeah, there’s a there’s a there’s a lass at uni who uh obviously shall remain

anonymous but um I think she’s ‘loaded’)

lavender◊ = euphemism for male homosexual (0:36:31 a ‘friend of Dorothy’s’ a bit ‘lavender’ ‘on tother

bus’)

left-footer = Roman Catholic (0:29:23 why, yeah, and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning

and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing waiting to go in” (aye))

lovely jubbly = good, great (0:32:54 East East London it’s ‘lovely jubbly’ that’s another thing we say now

that we didn’t use to)

lughole = ear (0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his head off

(he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him up and

seen it was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole)

mam = mother (0:51:03 (you probably say that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody, you know, they’re ‘in a

one’) yeah yeah, my mam says that, “oh she’s in one” I think she does (aye, I would say to Fraser, “is

your pet lip out?”); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school and listen to me mam and dad

after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you

know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in

Station Road before the war”)

mint◊ = good, great (0:32:12 if it’s ‘good’ it’s ‘mint’ (because it means ‘mint condition’) (‘cushty’))

mush = man (0:20:29 (a ‘stranger’?) (‘mush’) just anybody a ‘guy’, like, a ‘mush’ (a ‘gadgie’ with could

come round with the tickets) (some ‘bloke’))

not piss on someone if he was on fire◊ = expression directed at someone whom speaker holds in contempt

(0:34:21 “I don’t wanna piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know (it’s not

a phrase I would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or (I I’ve the only time I’ve used

‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if

he was on fire’ (aye, if he was on fire))

man = common form of address to male/female (0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was

getting ready for bed one night and me dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing

and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and

blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”; 0:33:35 (‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) I say

‘piss on your cornflakes’ (I’ve never used anything like that) you you would, man, (what’s it mean?)

you’ve heard me saying, “fucking hell, man, what’s the matter with you have you pissed on your

cornflakes?” (no, I) “who’s pissed on your cornflakes today?” (I’ve never used that one) (I’ve heard

20

Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010) records ‘like the clappers’ in sense of ‘very fast, very hard, a lot’. 21

Iona & Peter Opie’s The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959, p. 380) includes ‘kocky nine doors’ as one of many

regional variants.



‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your pint?’); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from

school and listen to me mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s

died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man,

she married him with one leg lived in Station Road before the war”)

mebbies○ = perhaps, maybe (0:00:49 (never heard of it before) oh, no, (me neither) oh, there’s well

mebbies it’s just something I’m familiar with; 0:13:10 yeah, well that’s what I’m saying (yeah) we’ve all

mixed up and got mixed up with everybody’s slang words like we would do now and mebbies use them in

the future; 0:32:36 (well I dunno I used ‘cushty’ when I was a kid maybe with that s...) did you? (um) no,

yes, I never heard it until I watched that ‘Only Fools and Horses’18


)

on the other bus⌂ = euphemism for homosexual (0:36:31 a ‘friend of Dorothy’s’ a bit ‘lavender’ ‘on

tother bus’)

our = affectionate term for family member or partner (0:02:31 I was brought up in Easington Colliery and

if anyone would say, you know, “you she’s not going to school today our G... our Gail’s ‘off the map’”)

pee off = to annoy, irritate (0:34:21 “I don’t wanna piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant

too now”, you know (it’s not a phrase I would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or

(I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on

him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’ (aye, if he was on fire))

piss on someone’s biscuits⌂/cornflakes

♦/chips

♦ = to put a dampener on someone/something (0:33:35

(‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) I say ‘piss on your cornflakes’ (I’ve never used anything

like that) you you would, man, (what’s it mean?) you’ve heard me saying, “fucking hell, man, what’s the

matter with you have you pissed on your cornflakes?” (no, I) “who’s pissed on your cornflakes today?”

(I’ve never used that one) (I’ve heard ‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your pint?’); 0:34:21 “I

don’t wanna piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know (it’s not a phrase I

would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or (I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is

to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on

fire’ (aye, if he was on fire))

Pitmatic = dialect of miners in North East England (1:02:09 ‘you-knows-who’ like that’s that’s the

Pitmatic like ‘you-know-who’ ‘you-knows-who’ but, like, all joined into words)

poof = euphemism for male homosexual (0:36:49 (not just you but have you heard other people say oth...

other expressions for like) ‘poof’ (‘sausage pilot’) (aye, I suppose) (‘shirtlifter’) (‘shirtlifter’))

right = complete, utter (0:51:44 “this kid’s whinged all day he’s a right mardy-arse”)

sausage pilot⌂22

= euphemism for male homosexual (0:36:49 not just you but have you heard other people

say oth... other expressions for like (‘poof’) ‘sausage pilot’ (aye, I suppose) ‘shirtlifter’ (‘shirtlifter’))

saw one’s arm off♦23

= humorous expression implying losing arm is preferable to given alternative

(0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got pissed took this bird home

when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was gonna saw me arm off rather than wake her up”)

scrunchie = elasticated hair band (1:01:10 yeah, they usually wear designer um the Bur... Burberry24

Burberry caps, isn’t it, (Burberry, aye) (loads of gold) and loads of scrunchies see how many scrunchies

there’s, like, a scrunchie competition to see how many they can get in their hair)

shirtlifter = euphemism for male homosexual (0:36:49 not just you but have you heard other people say

oth... other expressions for like (‘poof’) ‘sausage pilot’ (aye, I suppose) ‘shirtlifter’ (‘shirtlifter’))

shit in someone’s bed♦ = to put a dampener on someone/something (0:33:35 (‘piss on your chips’ I say

‘piss on your biscuits’) I say ‘piss on your cornflakes’ (I’ve never used anything like that) you you would,

man, (what’s it mean?) you’ve heard me saying, “fucking hell, man, what’s the matter with you have you

pissed on your cornflakes?” (no, I) “who’s pissed on your cornflakes today?” (I’ve never used that one)

(I’ve heard ‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your pint?’))

22

Green’s Dictionary of Slang (2010) records ‘sausage jockey’ in this sense. 23

Urban Dictionary (online) includes ‘gnaw my own arm off’ in sense of ‘last thing you’d ever want to do’. 24

British luxury designer label established in 1856.



shite = shit (0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with me friend there was, like, a load of people and

I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody bust out laughing [...] they thought I

was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’)

summat = something (1:05:25 Graham used to call his ‘the old Dutch’ dunno where he got it from but it

was just summat that’d been in their family for a long time (“where’s your ma is your ma in?”)

tother = the other (0:36:31 a ‘friend of Dorothy’s’ a bit ‘lavender’ ‘on tother bus’)

(get) wrong# = to get into trouble, be told off (0:53:23 it’s like I get wrong for saying uh ‘passage’

(‘passage’, aye) and it’s a ‘hall’)

PHONOLOGY

KIT [ɪ]

(0:14:24 (is there a difference between ‘hitting hard’ um say an object like a hammer and a nail and uh

‘hitting’ someone?) the difference [dɪfɹəns] between hitting [hɪtʔ ] someone, (an object) yeah, there is,

aye, because you’d smack somebody thinking [θɪŋkʔ ] it’s an onomatopoeia, isn’t it?; 0:19:52 we’d knock

the ash-bin [aʃbɪn] lids [lɪdz] off as well did you use to do that?; 0:48:04 “she’s as daft as a ship’s [ʃɪps]

cat not a brain cell in her head”)

<ex-> (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example [ɛgzam ] when I first went to your house,

Loretta, I’d never met your family before and uh they invited us over for a meal; 0:32:01 it it’s

something you say before anything else, you know, they just they’ll say, “it’s hellish good” or,

“it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like, extremity, [ɛkstɹɛmətʔi] yeah; 0:43:01 (when’s the last

time you were really really drunk then, Ian?) uh Saturday (it’s Sunday today) aye, exactly

[ɛgzakʔli] Friday night I was; 0:43:37 that’s where you get the uh expression [ɛkspɹɛʃən] ‘beer

goggles’ someone (exactly) (aye))

it, orANGE, rackET, stupID, tennIS, womEN, (0:03:22 somebody said to him um, “there’s no need

for swearing and he went, “there fucking is need for fucking swearing you stupid [sʧɵupʔəd] cunt”

which because which is kind of sums it up for me; 0:03:58 I think it’s appropriate time and place

that’s what it [ətʔ] is, isn’t it? [ətʔ] (yeah); 0:17:51 and we once got dressed up as old women

[wɪmən]; 0:26:38 your tennis rackets [tɛnəs ɹakəts] and your um the things you used to play

rounders with what do you call that you’re batting or something (a ‘bat’); 0:27:02 talking about,

like, left-handed guitar players and things like that they just put the strings on upside down and

turn it [ət] round but there is proper guitars made for left-handed people; 0:33:24 just a long

skinny orange [ɒɹənʒ] thing, isn’t it?)

DRESS [ɛ]

(0:09:22 same as the Americans [əmɛɹɪ ] using ‘elevator’ [ɛləveːtʔə] you knew what it meant (yeah)

it’s just uh your version; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy [hɛvi] smoker, you know, and she was getting [ ] ready

[ɹɛdi] for bed [bɛd] one night and my dad was lying in bed [bɛd] and he says, “what the hell’s [hɛɫz] thou

puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and

blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”; 0:48:04 “she’s as daft as a ship’s cat not a brain cell [sɛɫ] in her

head” [ɛd])

head (0:16:29 (“such and such got ‘brayed’ this weekend”) (‘good hiding’) (aye, ‘good hiding’,

yeah)’kick your head [hiːd] in’; 0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his

back laughing his head [hɛd] off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being

another word he picked him up and seen it was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the

lughole; 0:48:04 “she’s as daft as a ship’s cat not a brain cell in her head” [ɛd])

TRAP~BATH [a]



(0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing [lafən] so much once he was on his back [bakʔ] laughing [lafən] his

head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, [gaʤi] like, the gadgie [gaʤi] being another word

he picked him up and seen it was a young lad [lad] and clouted him round the ear the lughole; 0:18:38

(where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s [gɹanz] coat and her hat [hat] (nothing’s

changed) you know, like, a tea-cosy hat [hat] a pair of glasses [glasəz] my gran’s [gɹanz] old coat and a

pair of wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:29:23 why, yeah, and they

drove past [past] a s... church on a Sunday morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing [ ]

waiting to go in” (aye); 0:48:04 “she’s as daft [daft] as a ship’s cat [kat] not a brain cell in her head”)

LOT~CLOTH [ɒ]

(0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken off [ɒf] at the

stocking tops” [stɒ ] (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of [lɒɹ ə] firsts

today, isn’t there?; 0:19:29 knocky nine doors [nɒkʔinaindɔːz] in our street used to mean knocking

[nɒ ] nine doors what we’d do is we’d go to nine doors and get threads right and f... f... hide in the field

opposite [ɒpʔəsɪtʔ] the doors then we’d knock [nɒkʔ] them all together that was a proper [pɹɒpʔə] game;

0:30:01 my bottle [ ] went I just, you know, some people who just cross [kɹɒs] the boundary so I think

‘minger’, yeah (‘minger’))

STRUT [ʊ]

(0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much [mʊʧ] once he was on his back laughing his head off (he got

caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another [ənʊðə] word he picked him up [ʊpʔ]

and seen it was a young [jʊŋ] lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole [lʊgoːɫ]; 0:29:23 why, yeah,

and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday [sʊndə] morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’

standing waiting to go in” (aye))

ONE (0:07:04 ‘over the moon’ (why, that’s the same as ‘over the knot’) ‘over the moon’ that’s a

good one, [ ] isn’t it?; 0:08:56 (are you sure you’re just making these up as you go along?)

(no, I’m not I’m sure there will be people if they hear this that will say, “yeah, oh God, that she

I’ve heard that before, yeah” it’s a bit like being ‘hack...’ ‘hacked off’) ‘hacked off’ that’s another

good one, [ ] isn’t it?; 0:12:14 (we’d used to say ‘skive’ that’s what we would say ‘skive’)

(‘play hookey’)(we’d ‘play the nick’ we’d ‘play the nick’ at school, aye, “playing the nick today,

young one?” [jʊŋən] (my mother says ‘to wag off’); 0:17:51 and we once [wɒns] got dressed up as

old women; 0:18:38 where did what did you used to dress up in? (in my gran’s coat and her hat)

nothing’s [nɒθɪŋz] changed (you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses my gran’s old coat

and a pair of wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming); 0:43:54 like

one [wɒn] of the lads I work with once [wɒns] said he he obviously went out got pissed took this

bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was going to saw my arm off rather than

wake her up”; 0:51:03 you probably say that you’re ‘in a one’ [wɒn] if you’re moody, you know,

they’re ‘in a one’ [wɒn] (yeah, yeah my mam says that, “oh she’s in one” [wɒn] I think she does)

(aye, I would say to Fraser, “is your pet lip out?”))

FOOT [ʊ]

(0:22:41 at least she couldn’t [ ] pull [pʊɫ] them off and flash completely; 0:29:23 why, yeah, and

they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ [lɛftfʊtəz] standing

waiting to go in” (aye); 0:31:26 I cannot think of the word right now but, like, Fraser’ll use or even my

daughters used to use words that I thought were, “oh, it was ‘minging’” and they mean ‘it’s good’ [gʊd]

sometimes)

<-ook> (0:05:58 Loretta was cooking [kɵʊkən] a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat spat

out at her and she went, “oh, you fucker” and I nearly died and her mother [...] just turned round

and went, “nice”, you know, I mean I nearly swallowed my chips whole, you know; 0:12:14 (we’d



used to say ‘skive’ that’s what we would say ‘skive’) ‘play hookey’ [hɵʊkiː] (we’d ‘play the nick’

we’d ‘play the nick’ at school, aye, “playing the nick today, young one?”) (my mother says ‘to

wag off’); 0:51:19 ‘took [tʊk] the pip’ (‘took [tʏːk] the hump’ as well); 0:54:44 that’s how I know it

was called a ‘beck’ ’cause his mother come knocking on the door saying, “your daughter’s took

[tʊk] my son in the beck”)

NURSE [əː]

(0:09:22 same as the Americans using ‘elevator’ you knew what it meant (yeah) it’s just uh your version

[vəːʒən] (well we learned [ləːnd] how it was because of the song title, didn’t we?); 0:25:50 ‘wonga’ that

was a a a word [wəːd] I just recently learnt [ləːnt] for ‘money’; 0:48:27 when you just made your finger

go that means, like, as if a circular [səːkjələ] moment as if you were referring [ɹɪfəːɹɪn] to a wheel (yeah,

or ‘round the bend’))

burst (0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with my friend there was, like, a load of people

and I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody burst [bʊst] out laughing

[...] they thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’)

first (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first [fəst] went to your house, Loretta, I’d

never met your family before and uh they invited us over for a meal; 0:08:45 well when s... when

life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard

that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts [fəːsts] today, isn’t there?)

her (0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother used to sew her [a] vest and

pants together before she went to school on a morning ’cause she kept taking her [ə] knickers off

at playtime in the yard; 0:47:21 “she’s a lovely girl and her [a] tits is not too bad either”)

FLEECE [iː > ɪi]

(0:07:28 if I was really really mad I would either be ‘seething’ [siːðən] or ‘foaming’; 0:19:29 knocky nine

doors in our street [stɹiːʔ] used to mean [miːn] knocking nine doors what we’d do is we’d go to nine doors

and get threads right and f... f... hide in the field [fiːɫd] opposite the doors then we’d knock them all

together that was a proper game; 0:27:02 talking about, like, left-handed guitar players and things like

that they just put the strings on upside down and turn it round but there is proper guitars made for left-

handed people [pɪiːpʔ ])

been (1:05:25 Graham used to call his ‘the old Dutch’ don’t know where he got it from but it was

just summat that’d been [bɪn] in their family for a long time (“where’s your ma is your ma in?”)

FACE [eː > ɪə]

(0:03:58 I think it’s appropriate time and place [plɪəs] that’s what it is, isn’t it? (yeah); 0:08:45 well when

s... when life doesn’t go your way [weː] you always say, [seː] “I feel broken off at the stocking tops” (I’ve

never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts today, [tədeː] isn’t there?; 0:09:22 same

[seːm] as the Americans using ‘elevator’ [ɛləveːtʔə] you knew what it meant (yeah) it’s just uh your

version; 0:17:03 depends what the game [geːm] is though, doesn’t it, if they’re playing [pleːɪn] what if

they’re just playing [pleːɪn] on the computer ‘pottering’ on the computer ‘tinkering’ on the computer;

0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother used to sew her vest and pants together

before she went to school on a morning ’cause she kept taking [teː ] her knickers off at playtime

[pleːtaim] in the yard; 1:05:14 but if I was talking to my mates [mɪəts] I’d say [sɪə] uh or or I’m asking

my mate [mɪət] if his mam’s in I’d say, [seː] “is your ma in?”)

always, <-day>, they (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first went to your house,

Loretta, I’d never met your family before and uh they [ði] invited us over for a meal; 0:08:45 well

when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always [ɔwɪz] say, “I feel broken off at the stocking

tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts today, isn’t there?;



0:11:40 why, they’ll ‘h… hoy the wellie’ in Scotland, haven’t they? [ðə]; 0:29:02 I always [ɔːwəz]

assumed it was because you weren’t the norm ’cause the norm was where we came from it was

Protestant, wasn’t it?; 0:29:23 why, yeah, and they [ðɛ] drove past a s... church on a Sunday

[sʊndə] morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing waiting to go in” (aye); 0:41:26 but

when I was going on holiday [hɒlɪdeː] with my friend there was, like, a load of people and I stood

up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody burst out laughing [...] they [ðeː]

thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’; 0:43:01 (when’s the

last time you were really really drunk then, Ian?) uh Saturday [saʔədə] (it’s Sunday [sʊndeː] today

[tədeː]) aye, exactly Friday [fɹaideː] night I was)

eh (0:06:42 (I’d probably just say, “I’m really ‘pleased’ with that” or “I’m really ‘happy’ with

that”) don’t you think that’s a little bit tame what if you’d just won the lottery would you be just,

“eh, [iː] I’m pleased I’ve won the lottery”; 0:33:06 (what was the word I used to use was what you

hadn’t heard ‘smart as a carrot’) (oh yeah) eh? [ɛ] (‘smart as a carrot’) what does that mean?

(just means ‘very smart’) [...] (did you not use that?); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home

from school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, [iː] you’ll

never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man, what’s his name again

oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in Station Road before the war”)

PALM~START [ɑː > ɒː]

(0:01:52 bit of a drama [dɹɒːma] queen so, yeah, “I’m dying”; 0:14:43 that’s where I would use ‘smack’

but if I was hitting something hard [hɑːd] I’d just use the word ‘hit’, you know, I wouldn’t use a slang

word for an object; 0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got pissed

took this bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was going to saw my arm [ɑːm] off

rather [ɹɑːðə] than wake her up”; 0:57:42 ’cause I don’t like the word ‘bog’ because I think it reminds us

of, like, marshland [mɒːʃland])

THOUGHT [ɔː]

(0:31:26 I cannot think of the word right now but, like, Fraser’ll use or even my daughters [dɔːtʔəz] used

to use words that I thought [θɔːt] were, “oh, it was ‘minging’” and they mean ‘it’s good’ sometimes;

0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got pissed took this bird home

when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was going to saw [sɔː] my arm off rather than wake her

up”; 0:54:44 that’s how I know it was called [kɔːɫd] a ‘beck’ ’cause his mother come knocking on the

door saying, “your daughter’s [dɔːtəz] took my son in the beck”)

scalding (0:01:03 ‘scalding’ [skad ] (‘‘scalding’ [ ]) was one of them ‘scalding’ [ ]

(well that’s slang though, isn’t it, for ‘scalding’, [skɒɫd ] isn’t it?) it is, aye (so which means

‘hot’))

GOAT [oː > ʊə ~ ɵː]

(0:00:35 the ‘hot’ I would say would be uh ‘roasted’ [ɹoːstəd] um I don’t know [doːnoː] I would say, “ah

blimey, I’m roasted” [ɹoːstəd]; 0:03:58 I think it’s appropriate [əpɹoːpʔɹiətʔ] time and place that’s what it

is, isn’t it? (yeah); 0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat [kʊətʔ] and

her hat (nothing’s changed) you know, [noː] like, a tea-cosy [tiːkoːzi] hat a pair of glasses my gran’s old

[ɵːɫd] coat [kʊətʔ] and a pair of wellies and we’d hobble across the road [ɹʊəd] just as the bus was

coming; 0:41:26 but when I was going [goːən] on holiday with my friend there was, like, a load [loːd] of

people and I stood up and I said, “I’m going [goːən] for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody burst out

laughing [...] they thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going [goːən] for a shite’)

blow, <-old>, (you) know (0:01:17 (if you’re ‘scomfished’ when you’re ‘hot’ what are you when

you’re cold?) ‘frozen’ (‘frozen’) (‘nithered’) ‘cold’ [kaːd] (‘freezing’) (aye, ‘nithered’ absolutely



‘nithered’); 0:02:31 I was brought up in Easington Colliery and if anyone would say, you know, [jə

noː] “you she’s not going to school today our G... our Gail’s ‘off the map’”; 0:05:58 Loretta was

cooking a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat spat out at her and she went, “oh, you

fucker” and I nearly died and her mother [...] just turned round and went, “nice”, you know, [jə

noː] I mean I nearly swallowed my chips whole, you know [jə noː]; 0:18:38 (where did what did

you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her hat (nothing’s changed) you know, [jə noː]

like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses my gran’s old [ɵːɫd] coat and a pair of wellies and we’d

hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, [jə

noː] and she was getting ready for bed one night and my dad was lying in bed and he says, “what

the hell’s thou puffing and blowing [blaːən] at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is,

man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing [blaːən] like a broken-winded cuddy”; 1:02:09 ‘you-

knows-who’ [jə naːz wiː] like that’s that’s the Pitmatic like ‘you-know-who’ [jɵu noː hɵu] ‘you-

knows-who’ [jə naːz wiː] but, like, all joined into words; 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home

from school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never

guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, [jə naːɹ ɪm] oh, man, what’s his name

again oh, man, you know, [jə naː] man, she married him with one leg lived in Station Road before

the war”)

broken, frozen (0:01:17 (if you’re ‘scomfished’ when you’re ‘hot’ what are you when you’re

cold?) ‘frozen’ [fɹɒzən] (‘frozen’ [fɹɒzən]) (‘nithered’) ‘cold’ (‘freezing’) (aye, ‘nithered’

absolutely ‘nithered’); 0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel

broken [bɹɒkən] off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a

lot of firsts today, isn’t there?; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready

for bed one night and my dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and

blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and

blowing like a broken-winded [bɹɒ ] cuddy”)

don’t (know), going to (0:00:35 the ‘hot’ I would say would be uh ‘roasted’ um I don’t know

[doːnoː] I would say, “ah blimey, I’m roasted”; 0:32:36 (well I don’t know [dʊnoː] I used ‘cushty’

when I was a kid maybe with that s...) did you? (um) no, yes, I never heard it until I watched that

‘Only Fools and Horses’18


; 0:40:51 if Graham said to you he was

going to [gʊnə] get ‘mullered’ when he got home I thought he was going to [gʊnə] get the Stella25

out, you know (oh right, I would’ve been getting expecting a good hiding if you said to me, “come

to my house and get mullered” I’d be thinking, “that’s what’ve I done to her?”); 0:41:15 do you

know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you seen that advert

on the telly where she’s going to [gʊnə] invite her boyfriend into the toilet she said, “go to the

toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings the

Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go; 0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he

he obviously went out got pissed took this bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I

was going to [gʊnə] saw my arm off rather than wake her up”; 1:05:25 Graham used to call his

‘the old Dutch’ don’t know [dʊnoː] where he got it from but it was just summat that’d been in their

family for a long time (“where’s your ma is your ma in?”))

over (0:07:04 ‘over [aʊə] the moon’ (why, that’s the same as ‘over [aʊə] the knot’) ‘over [aʊə] the

moon’ that’s a good one, isn’t it?)

<-ow> (0:05:58 Loretta was cooking a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat spat out at her

and she went, “oh, you fucker” and I nearly died and her mother [...] just turned round and went,

“nice”, you know, I mean I nearly swallowed [swɒləd] my chips whole, you know; 0:41:15 do you

25

Stella Artois, brand name of lager brewed in Leuven, Belgium since 1926.



know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you seen that advert

on the telly where she’s going to invite her boyfriend into the toilet she said, “go to the toilet and

I’ll follow [fɒlə] you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings the

Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go; 0:49:24 neighbours down the street are having a party

and they want to borrow [bɒɹə] your chairs and then someone, “don’t go to her ’cause all her

chairs are not at home”; 1:03:54 ‘marrow’ [maɹə] (‘chum’) (‘mate’) (‘pal’))

GOOSE [ɵu ~ uː]

(0:13:10 yeah, well that’s what I’m saying (yeah) we’ve all mixed up and got mixed up with everybody’s

slang words like we would do [dɵu] now and mebbies use [jɵuz] them in the future [fjɵuʧə]; 0:17:03

depends what the game is though, doesn’t it, if they’re playing what if they’re just playing on the computer

[kɒmpjuːtə] ‘pottering’ on the computer [kɒmpjuːʔə] ‘tinkering’ on the computer [kɒmpjuːtʔə]; 0:52:34

(‘sitting room’ [sɪ ɹuːm]) (‘sitting room’ [sɪ ]) ‘living room’ [lɪvən ɹuːm] ‘lounge’ (‘sitting

room’ [sɪ ] definitely); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school [skɵuɫ] and listen to

my mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s [hɵuz]

that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married

him with one leg lived in Station Road before the war”)

who (1:02:09 ‘you-knows-who’ [jə naːz wiː] like that’s that’s the Pitmatic like ‘you-know-who’

[jɵu noː hɵu] ‘you-knows-who’ [jə naːz wiː] but, like, all joined into words; 1:02:21 ’cause when I

used to come home from school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper

“eh, you’ll never guess who’s [wiːz] died” “who’s [hɵuz] that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh,

man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in Station

Road before the war”)

PRICE [ai]

(0:01:52 bit of a drama queen so, yeah, “I’m dying” [daiən]; 0:05:58 Loretta was cooking a pan of chips

and uh she some of this chip fat spat out at her and she went, “oh, you fucker” and I nearly died [daid]

and her mother [...] just turned round and went, “nice”, [nais] you know, I mean I nearly swallowed my

chips whole, you know; 0:22:41 I watched it a couple of times [taimz] quite [kwait] fascinating really)

died (0:05:58 Loretta was cooking a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat spat out at her

and she went, “oh, you fucker” and I nearly died [daid] and her mother [...] just turned round and

went, “nice”, you know, I mean I nearly swallowed my chips whole, you know; 1:02:21 ’cause

when I used to come home from school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d been reading the

paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” [diːd] “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man,

what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in Station

Road before the war”)

fire, Ireland, tired (0:05:31 I’ve got some relatives who live in Ireland [ailənd] if you go across

there the kids who are seven and eight are u… using language that I wouldn’t use; 0:34:21 (“I

don’t want to piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know) it’s not a

phrase I would use (it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or) I I’ve the only time I’ve

used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on him (‘wouldn’t

piss on him if he was on fire’ [faiə]) aye, if he was on fire [faiə]; 0:43:14 (I’ve never seen you

drunk, Loretta) (oh, I’ve had my moments but I can drink, you see, not like yous lot I’m a drinker)

when I drink though I just I just get tired [taiəd] I just go to sleep)

my (0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my [mi] gran’s coat and her hat

(nothing’s changed) you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses my [mi] gran’s old coat and a

pair of wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy

smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and my [mi] dad was lying in bed



and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says,

“thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”; 0:30:01 my

[mə] bottle went I just, you know, some people who just cross the boundary so I think ‘minger’,

yeah (‘minger’); 0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with my [mi] friend there was, like, a

load of people and I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody burst out

laughing [...] they thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’;

0:51:03 (you probably say that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody, you know, they’re ‘in a one’)

yeah yeah, my [mai] mam says that, “oh she’s in one” I think she does (aye, I would say to Fraser,

“is your pet lip out?”); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school and listen to my

[mi] mam and dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s

that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she

married him with one leg lived in Station Road before the war”)

CHOICE [ɔɪ]

(0:41:15 do you know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you seen

that advert on the telly where she’s going to invite her boyfriend [bɔɪfɹɛnd] into the toilet [tɔɪlət] she said,

“go to the toilet [tɔɪlətʔ] and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she

brings the Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go; 1:02:09 ‘you-knows-who’ like that’s that’s the

Pitmatic like ‘you-know-who’ ‘you-knows-who’ but, like, all joined [ʤɔɪnd] into words)

MOUTH [aʊ]

(0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first went to your house, [haʊs] Loretta, I’d never met

your family before and uh they invited us over for a meal; 0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once

he was on his back laughing his head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie

being another word he picked him up and seen it was a young lad and clouted [klaʊtʔəd] him round

[ɹaʊnd] the ear the lughole; 0:52:34 (‘sitting room’) (‘sitting room’) ‘living room’ ‘lounge’ [laʊnʤ]

(‘sitting room’ definitely))

our (0:02:31 I was brought up in Easington Colliery and if anyone would say, you know, “you

she’s not going to school today our [aʊə] G... our [aʊə] Gail’s ‘off the map’”; 0:16:08 (does

nobody use that now?) (yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah) just our [aʊə] brains’re not working;

0:19:29 knocky nine doors in our [aʊə] street used to mean knocking nine doors what we’d do is

we’d go to nine doors and get threads right and f... f... hide in the field opposite the doors then

we’d knock them all together that was a proper game)

thou (0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and

my dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou [ðə] puffing and blowing at?” she says,

“I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou [ðuː] is, man” he says, “thou’s [ðəz] puffing and blowing like a

broken-winded cuddy”)

NEAR [iə]

(0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his head off (he got caught)

he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him up and seen it was a young

lad and clouted him round the ear [iə] the lughole; 0:43:37 that’s where you get the uh expression ‘beer

[biə] goggles’ someone (exactly) (aye); 1:01:39 ‘gear’ [giə] “have you got all your gear?” [giə])

nearly, realise, really (0:05:58 Loretta was cooking a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat

spat out at her and she went, “oh, you fucker” and I nearly [nɪːli] died and her mother [...] just

turned round and went, “nice”, you know, I mean I nearly [nɪːli] swallowed my chips whole, you

know; 0:22:41 I watched it a couple of times quite fascinating really [ɹiːli]; 0:28:47 when people

realise [ɹiːlaiz] that I’m left-handed they usually say, “oh, you’re a cuddy-wifter”; 0:43:01 when’s



the last time you were really [ɹɪːli] really [ɹɪːli] drunk then, Ian? (uh Saturday) it’s Sunday today

(aye, exactly Friday night I was))

years (0:10:16 why, do you know what I feel a bit better now because for years [jəːz] I went round

singing, “I am the lord of the damp settee”)

SQUARE [ɛː]

(0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her hat (nothing’s changed)

you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of [pɛːɹ ə] glasses my gran’s old coat and a pair of [pɛːɹ ə] wellies

and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:49:22 ‘all her chairs [ʧɛːz] is not at

home’; 1:01:10 yeah, they usually wear [wɛː] designer um the Bur... Burberry24

Burberry caps, isn’t it,

(Burberry, aye) (loads of gold) and loads of scrunchies see how many scrunchies there’s, like, a scrunchie

competition to see how many they can get in their hair [hɛː])

there (0:14:24 (is there a difference between ‘hitting hard’ um say an object like a hammer and a

nail and uh ‘hitting’ someone?) the difference between hitting someone, (an object) yeah, there [ði]

is, aye, because you’d smack somebody thinking it’s an onomatopoeia, isn’t it?)

NORTH [ɔː]

(0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother used to sew her vest and pants together

before she went to school on a morning [mɔːnən] ’cause she kept taking her knickers off at playtime in the

yard)

for (0:03:22 somebody said to him um, “there’s no need for [fɒ] swearing and he went, “there

fucking is need for fucking swearing you stupid cunt” which because which is kind of sums it up

for [fə] me; 0:10:16 why, do you know what I feel a bit better now because for [fə] years I went

round singing, “I am the lord of the damp settee”)

FORCE [ɔː]

(0:19:29 knocky nine doors [nɒkʔinaindɔːz] in our street used to mean knocking nine doors [dɔːz] what

we’d do is we’d go to nine doors [dɔːz] and get threads right and f... f... hide in the field opposite the

doors [dɔːz] then we’d knock them all together that was a proper game; 0:22:57 mind you, there was a

girl at school whose um mother used to sew her vest and pants together before [bəfɔː] she went to school

on a morning ’cause she kept taking her knickers off at playtime in the yard)

CURE [uə]

(0:08:56 (are you sure you’re just making these up as you go along?) no, I’m not I’m sure [ʃuə] there will

be people if they hear this that will say, “yeah, oh God, that she I’ve heard that before, yeah” it’s a bit

like being ‘hack...’ ‘hacked off’ (‘hacked off’ that’s another good one, isn’t it?))

poorly (0:38:10 (I’ve never heard of ‘off the map’ before) I have but that in the context of being

‘poorly’ [puːli] not being very well)

happY [i(ː)]

(0:06:42 I’d probably [pɹɒbəli] just say, “I’m really [ɹɪːli] ‘pleased’ with that” or “I’m really [ɹɪːli]

‘happy’ [hapi] with that” (don’t you think that’s a little bit tame what if you’d just won the lottery [lɒtəɹi]

would you be just, “eh, I’m pleased I’ve won the lottery” [lɒtəɹi]); 0:12:14 (we’d used to say ‘skive’ that’s

what we would say ‘skive’) ‘play hookey’ [hɵʊkiː] (we’d ‘play the nick’ we’d ‘play the nick’ at school,

aye, “playing the nick today, young one?”) (my mother says ‘to wag off’); 0:38:10 (I’ve never heard of

‘off the map’ before) I have but that in the context of being ‘poorly’ [puːli] not being very [vɛɹi] well;

0:51:03 you probably [pɹɒbli] say that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody, [mɵʊdi] you know, they’re ‘in a

one’ (yeah, yeah my mam says that, “oh she’s in one” I think she does) (aye, I would say to Fraser, “is

your pet lip out?”))

lettER~commA [ə > a]



(0:12:14 we’d used to say ‘skive’ that’s what we would say ‘skive’ (‘play hookey’) (we’d ‘play the nick’

we’d ‘play the nick’ at school, aye, “playing the nick today, young one?”) my mother [mʊða] says ‘to wag

off’; 0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother [mʊðə] used to sew her vest and pants

together [təgɛðə] before she went to school on a morning ’cause she kept taking her knickers [nɪkəz] off

at playtime in the yard; 0:30:49 she ‘goes like the clappers’ [klapʔaz]; 0:39:13 there’s ‘leathered’ [lɛðad]

as well for ‘drunk’ ‘leathered’ [lɛðad] (see, when I was little if you said you were ‘leathered’ [lɛðəd] it

would mean somebody’d ‘belted’ you) (‘bashed’ you))

horsES [ə]

(0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her hat (nothing’s changed)

you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses [glasəz] my gran’s old coat and a pair of wellies and we’d

hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:38:26 it amazes [əmeːzəz] me where the

terminology comes from ‘rat-arsed’)

startED [ə]

(0:00:35 the ‘hot’ I would say would be uh ‘roasted’ [ɹoːstəd] um I don’t know I would say, “ah blimey,

I’m roasted” [ɹoːstəd]; 0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his

head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him

up and seen it was a young lad and clouted [klaʊtʔəd] him round the ear the lughole)

mornING [ə ~ > ɪ]

(0:07:28 if I was really really mad I would either be ‘seething’ [siːðən] or ‘foaming’ [foːmən]; 0:18:23

and Robbie was laughing [lafən] so much once he was on his back laughing [lafən] his head off (he got

caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being [biːən] another word he picked him up and

seen it was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole; 0:18:38 where did what did you used

to dress up in? (in my gran’s coat and her hat) nothing’s [nɒθɪŋz] changed (you know, like, a tea-cosy hat

a pair of glasses my gran’s old coat and a pair of wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus

was coming [kʊmən]); 0:29:23 why, yeah, and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning

[mɔːnən] and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing [s ] waiting [ ] to go in” (aye); 0:32:01 it

it’s something [sʊmɪŋk] you say before anything [ɛnɪθɪŋ] else, you know, they just they’ll say, “it’s hellish

good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like, extremity, yeah)

ZERO RHOTICITY

PLOSIVES

T

word final T-glottaling (0:10:16 why, do you know what [wɒʔ] I feel a bit [bɪʔ] better now because for

years I went round singing, “I am the lord of the damp settee”; 0:48:04 “she’s as daft as a ship’s cat not

[nɒʔ] a brain cell in her head”; 1:01:39 ‘gear’ “have you got [gɒʔ] all your gear?”)

word medial & syllable initial T-glottaling (0:10:16 why, do you know what I feel a bit better [bɛʔə] now

because for years I went round singing, “I am the lord of the damp settee”; 0:17:03 depends what the

game is though, doesn’t it, if they’re playing what if they’re just playing on the computer ‘pottering’

[pɒʔəɹɪn] on the computer [kɒmpjuːʔə] ‘tinkering’ on the computer; 0:30:01 my bottle [ ] went I just,

you know, some people who just cross the boundary so I think ‘minger’, yeah (‘minger’); 0:39:13 (there’s

‘leathered’ as well for ‘drunk’ ‘leathered’) see, when I was little [ ] if you said you were ‘leathered’ it

would mean somebody’d ‘belted’ you (‘bashed’ you); 0:43:01 (when’s the last time you were really really

drunk then, Ian?) uh Saturday [saʔədə] (it’s Sunday today) aye, exactly Friday night I was)



T-voicing (0:04:43 what [wɒd] is it what’s the words we used to learn at school that uh profanity is the

lack of vocabulary that was the the saying; 0:11:32 I would say ‘chuck’ definitely I’d chuck it [ɪd] out,

“chuck it [ɪd] out it’s no good”; 0:14:43 that’s where I would use ‘smack’ but [bʊd] if I was hitting

something hard I’d just use the word ‘hit’, you know, I wouldn’t use a slang word for an object; 0:29:02 I

always assumed it was because you weren’t the norm ’cause the norm was where we came from it was

Protestant, [pɹɒdəstənt] wasn’t it?)

frequent T to R (e.g. 0:03:58 I think it’s appropriate time and place that’s what it [wɒɹ ətʔ] is, isn’t it?

(yeah); 0:06:42 (I’d probably just say, “I’m really ‘pleased’ with that” or “I’m really ‘happy’ with that”)

don’t you think that’s a little bit tame what if [wɒɹ ɪf] you’d just won the lottery would you be just, “eh,

I’m pleased I’ve won the lottery”; 0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I

feel broken off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of [lɒɹ ə]

firsts today, isn’t there?; 0:09:22 same as the Americans using ‘elevator’ you knew what it [wɒɹ ɪtʔ] meant

(yeah) it’s just uh your version; 0:13:23 my favourite if you want to know what that is [ðaɹ ɪz]‘you’re

about as much use as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition’ (there’s there’s lots of sayings

like that, you know, ‘you’re about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit’); 0:17:03 depends what the game is

though, doesn’t it, if they’re playing what if [wɒɹ ɪf] they’re just playing on the computer ‘pottering’ on

the computer ‘tinkering’ on the computer; 0:33:35 (‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) I say

‘piss on your cornflakes’ (I’ve never used anything like that) you you would, man, (what’s it mean?)

you’ve heard me saying, “fucking hell, man, what’s the matter [maɹə] with you have you pissed on your

cornflakes?” (no, I) “who’s pissed on your cornflakes today?” (I’ve never used that one) (I’ve heard

‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your pint?’); 0:34:21 “I don’t want to piss on your chips but

I’m [bʊɹ aːm] I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know (it’s not a [nɒɹ ə] phrase I would use) it just

means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or (I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t

piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’ (aye, if he

was on fire); 0:40:51 (if Graham said to you he was going to get ‘mullered’ when he got home I thought

he was going to get the Stella15

out, you know) oh right, I would’ve been getting expecting a good hiding if

you said to me, “come to my house and get mullered” I’d be thinking, “that’s what’ve [wɒɹ əv] I done to

her?”; 0:41:15 do you know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you

seen that advert [ðaɹ advəːt] on the telly where she’s going to invite her boyfriend into the toilet she said,

“go to the toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings the

Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go; 1:01:10 yeah, they usually wear designer um the Bur...

Burberry24

Burberry caps, isn’t it, (Burberry, aye) (loads of gold) and loads of scrunchies see how many

scrunchies there’s, like, a scrunchie competition to see how many they can get in [gɛɹ ɪn] their hair)

P, T, K

frequent glottal reinforcement of P, T, K (e.g. 0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example [ɛgzam ] when

I first went to [wɛntʔə] your house, Loretta, I’d never met your family before and uh they invited us over

for a meal; 0:09:22 same as the Americans [əmɛɹɪ ] using ‘elevator’ [ɛləveːtʔə] you knew what it [ɪtʔ]

meant (yeah) it’s just uh your version; 0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back

[bakʔ] laughing his head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another

word he picked him up [ʊpʔ] and seen it was a young lad and clouted [klaʊtʔəd] him round the ear the

lughole; 0:19:29 knocky nine doors [nɒkʔinaindɔːz] in our street used to mean knocking [nɒ ] nine

doors what we’d do is we’d go to nine doors and get threads right and f... f... hide in the field opposite

[ɒpʔəsɪtʔ] the doors then we’d knock [nɒkʔ] them all together [tʔəgɛðə] that was a proper [pɹɒpʔə] game;

0:30:49 she ‘goes like the clappers’ [klapʔaz]; 0:31:26 I cannot think of the word right now but, like,

Fraser’ll use or even my daughters [dɔːtʔəz] used to use words that I thought were, “oh, it was



‘minging’” and they mean ‘it’s good’ sometimes [sʊmtʔaimz]; 0:32:01 it it’s something you say before

anything else, you know, they just they’ll say, “it’s hellish good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s,

like, extremity, [ɛkstɹɛmətʔi] yeah; 0:50:40 that’s what we would use ‘sulky’ [sʊɫkʔi] (‘sulky’ [sʊɫkʔi])

“she’s in the sulks” (“she’s in the sulks” ‘in a strop’))

NASALS

NG

frequent NG-fronting (e.g. 0:01:03 ‘scalding’ [ ] (‘‘scalding’ [ ]) was one of them ‘scalding’

[ ] (well that’s slang though, isn’t it, for ‘scalding’, [ ] isn’t it? (it is, aye) so which means

‘hot’); 0:07:28 if I was really really mad I would either be ‘seething’ [siːðən] or ‘foaming’ [foːmən];

0:14:24 (is there a difference between ‘hitting hard’ um say an object like a hammer and a nail and uh

‘hitting’ someone?) the difference between hitting [hɪ ] someone, (an object) yeah, there is, aye,

because you’d smack somebody thinking [θɪŋ ] it’s an onomatopoeia, isn’t it?; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy

smoker, you know, and she was getting [ ] ready for bed one night and my dad was lying [laiən] in bed

and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing [pʊfən] and blowing [blaːən] at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not”

he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing [pʊfən] and blowing [blaːən] like a broken-winded

cuddy”)

<-thing> with NK (0:12:57 I think Australians are the epitome of, like, slang because they pick all the old

Cockney words up and and everything [ɛvɹɪθɪŋk]; 0:14:43 that’s where I would use ‘smack’ but if I was

hitting something [sʊmθɪŋk] hard I’d just use the word ‘hit’, you know, I wouldn’t use a slang word for an

object; 0:32:01 it it’s something [sʊmɪŋk] you say before anything [ɛnɪθɪŋk] else, you know, they just

they’ll say, “it’s hellish good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like, extremity, yeah; 0:33:35

(‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) (I say ‘piss on your cornflakes’) I’ve never used

anything [ɛnɪθɪŋk] like that (you you would, man) (what’s it mean?) (you’ve heard me saying, “fucking

hell, man, what’s the matter with you have you pissed on your cornflakes?”) no, I (“who’s pissed on your

cornflakes today?”) I’ve never used that one (I’ve heard ‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your

pint?’))

N

frequent syllabic N with nasal release (e.g. 0:09:22 (same as the Americans using ‘elevator’ you knew

what it meant (yeah) it’s just uh your version) well we learned how it was because of the song title, didn’t

[ ] we?; 0:14:43 that’s where I would use ‘smack’ but if I was hitting something hard I’d just use the

word ‘hit’, you know, I wouldn’t [ ] use a slang word for an object; 0:22:41 at least she couldn’t

[ ] pull them off and flash completely; 0:26:56 she probably just couldn’t [ t] see it (why, that

would be right, like, ’cause I did have terrible eyesight); 0:28:22 another word for cuddy they would say if

you don’t know another expression ‘they didn’t [ ] know what hit them’ ‘you won’t know what

cuddy’s kicked you’ (aye) you’ve heard that one, haven’t you? (I have, aye); 0:32:54 East East London it’s

‘lovely jubbly’ that’s another thing we say now that we didn’t [ ] use to; 0:34:21 (“I don’t want to piss

on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you know) it’s not a phrase I would use (it just

means ‘to cheese you off’ or ‘to pee you off’ or) I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t

[ ] piss on my if I didn’t [ ] like him I wouldn’t [ ] piss on him (‘wouldn’t [ ] piss on

him if he was on fire’) aye, if he was on fire; 1:00:15 yeah, I do that more more often [ ] than not)

FRICATIVES

H



H-dropping (0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his head off (he

got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him up and seen it

was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole [lʊgoːɫ]; 0:40:51 (if Graham said to you he

was going to get ‘mullered’ when he got home I thought he was going to get the Stella15

out, you know) oh

right, I would’ve been getting expecting a good hiding [ ] if you said to me, “come to my house [aʊs]

and get mullered” I’d be thinking, “that’s what’ve I done to her?”; 0:48:04 “she’s as daft as a ship’s cat

not a brain cell in her head” [ɛd])

LIQUIDS

R

approximant R (0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken

[bɹɒkən] off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts

today, isn’t there?; 0:09:22 same as the Americans [əmɛɹɪ ] using ‘elevator’ you knew what it meant

(yeah) it’s just uh your version; 0:43:01 when’s the last time you were really [ɹɪːli] really [ɹɪːli] drunk

[dɹʊŋk] then, Ian? (uh Saturday) it’s Sunday today (aye, exactly Friday [fɹaideː] night I was); 1:02:21

’cause when I used to come home from [fɹəm] school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d been

reading [ ] the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh,

man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married [maɹɪd] him with one leg lived in

Station Road [ɹoːd] before the war”)

L

clear onset L (0:08:45 well when s... when life [laif] doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken

off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of [lɒɹ ə] firsts today,

isn’t there?; 0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing [lafən] so much once he was on his back laughing [lafən]

his head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, [laik] the gadgie being another word he

picked him up and seen it was a young lad [lad] and clouted [klaʊtʔəd] him round the ear the lughole

[lʊgoːɫ]; 0:43:01 when’s the last [last] time you were really [ɹɪːli] really [ɹɪːli] drunk then, Ian? (uh

Saturday) it’s Sunday today (aye, exactly [ɛgzakʔli] Friday night I was))

dark coda L (0:05:47 I mean I’ll [aɫ] give you an example [ɛgzam ] when I first went to your house,

Loretta, I’d never met your family before and uh they invited us over for a meal [miəɫ]; 0:18:38 (where did

what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her hat (nothing’s changed) you know, like, a

tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses my gran’s old [ɵːɫd] coat and a pair of wellies and we’d hobble [ ]

across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:50:40 that’s what we would use ‘sulky’ [sʊɫkʔi] (‘sulky’

[sʊɫkʔi]) “she’s in the sulks” [sʊɫks] (“she’s in the sulks” [sʊɫks] ‘in a strop’))

GLIDES

J

yod dropping – other (0:04:32 that’s why they say it’s uh inadequate vocabulary [vəkabələɹi] then (yeah,

probably) ’cause you haven’t got the right words to use to make that same impact; 0:04:43 what is it

what’s the words we used to learn at school that uh profanity is the lack of vocabulary [vəkabələɹi] that

was the the saying)

yod coalescence (0:03:22 somebody said to him um, “there’s no need for swearing and he went, “there

fucking is need for fucking swearing you stupid [sʧɵupʔəd] cunt” which because which is kind of sums it

up for me; 0:29:02 I always assumed [əʃɵumd] it was because you weren’t the norm ’cause the norm was



where we came from it was Protestant, wasn’t it?; 0:41:15 do you [ʤə] know when I was on the airplane

(I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you seen that advert on the telly where she’s going to invite

her boyfriend into the toilet she said, “go to the toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes

round and that and she brings the Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go)

ELISION

prepositions

frequent of reduction (e.g. 0:01:03 ‘scalding’ (‘‘scalding’) was one of [ə] them ‘scalding’ (well that’s

slang though, isn’t it, for ‘scalding’, isn’t it? (it is, aye) so which means ‘hot’; 0:05:58 Loretta was

cooking a pan of [ə] chips and uh she some of [ə] this chip fat spat out at her and she went, “oh, you

fucker” and I nearly died and her mother [...] just turned round and went, “nice”, you know, I mean I

nearly swallowed my chips whole, you know; 0:07:44 I’d be on the end of [ə] that and it would have the F-

word in front of it, wouldn’t it?; 0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I

feel broken off at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of [ə]

firsts today, isn’t there?; 0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her

hat (nothing’s changed) you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of [ə] glasses my gran’s old coat and a pair

of [ə] wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:22:41 I watched it a couple

of [ə] times quite fascinating really; 0:43:54 like one of [ə] the lads I work with once said he he obviously

went out got pissed took this bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was going to saw my

arm off rather than wake her up”; 1:01:10 yeah, they usually wear designer um the Bur... Burberry24

Burberry caps, isn’t it, (Burberry, aye) (loads of [ə] gold) and loads of [ə] scrunchies see how many

scrunchies there’s, like, a scrunchie competition to see how many they can get in their hair)

with reduction (1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school and listen to my mam and dad

after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you

know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with [wɪ] one leg

lived in Station Road before the war”)

negation

secondary contraction (0:07:04 ‘over the moon’ (why, that’s the same as ‘over the knot’) ‘over the moon’

that’s a good one, isn’t [ɪn] it?)

simplification

frequent word final consonant cluster reduction (e.g. 0:00:35 the ‘hot’ I would say would be uh

‘roasted’ um I don’t know [doːnoː] I would say, “ah blimey, I’m roasted”; 0:07:04 ‘over the moon’ (why,

that’s the same as ‘over the knot’) ‘over the moon’ that’s a good one, isn’t [ɪn] it?; 0:09:22 (same as the

Americans using ‘elevator’ you knew what it meant (yeah) it’s just uh your version) well we learned how

it was because of the song title, didn’t [ ] we?; 0:17:03 depends what the game is though, doesn’t

[dʊzən] it, if they’re playing what if they’re just playing on the computer ‘pottering’ on the computer

‘tinkering’ on the computer; 0:32:36 (well I don’t know [dʊnoː] I used ‘cushty’ when I was a kid maybe

with that s...) did you? (um) no, yes, I never heard it until I watched that ‘Only Fools and Horses’18

or

mebbies even ‘EastEnders’19

; 0:32:54 East East London it’s ‘lovely jubbly’ that’s another thing we say

now that we didn’t [ ] use to; 0:34:21 “I don’t want to [wɒnə] piss on your chips but I’m I’m two

months pregnant too now”, you know (it’s not a phrase I would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ or

‘to pee you off’ or (I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him

I wouldn’t piss on him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’ (aye, if he was on fire); 0:49:24

neighbours down the street are having a party and they want to [wɒnə] borrow your chairs and then

someone, “don’t go to her ’cause all her chairs are not at home”)



word medial consonant cluster reduction (0:32:01 it it’s something [sʊmɪŋk] you say before anything

else, you know, they just they’ll say, “it’s hellish good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like,

extremity, yeah)

syllable deletion (0:03:22 somebody [sʊmdi] said to him um, “there’s no need for swearing and he went,

“there fucking is need for fucking swearing you stupid cunt” which because which is kind of sums it up for

me; 0:51:03 you probably [pɹɒbli] say that you’re ‘in a one’ if you’re moody, you know, they’re ‘in a one’

(yeah, yeah my mam says that, “oh she’s in one” I think she does) (aye, I would say to Fraser, “is your

pet lip out?”))

L-deletion (0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always [ɔwɪz] say, “I feel broken off

at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts today, isn’t

there?; 0:29:02 I always [ɔːwəz] assumed it was because you weren’t the norm ’cause the norm was

where we came from it was Protestant, wasn’t it?; 0:34:21 (“I don’t want to piss on your chips but I’m I’m

two months pregnant too now”, you know) it’s not a phrase I would use (it just means ‘to cheese you off’

or ‘to pee you off’ or) I I’ve the only [oːni] time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t

like him I wouldn’t piss on him (‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’) aye, if he was on fire)

V-deletion (0:07:04 ‘over [aʊə] the moon’ (why, that’s the same as ‘over [aʊə] the knot’) ‘over [aʊə] the

moon’ that’s a good one, isn’t it?; 0:40:51 (if Graham said to you he was going to get ‘mullered’ when he

got home I thought he was going to get the Stella15

out, you know) oh right, I would’ve [wʊdə] been

getting expecting a good hiding if you said to me, “come to my house and get mullered” I’d be thinking,

“that’s what’ve I done to her?”)

LIAISON

linking R (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first went to your house, Loretta, I’d never met

your family before and uh they invited us over for a [fəɹ ə] meal; 0:18:38 (where did what did you used to

dress up in?) in my gran’s coat and her hat (nothing’s changed) you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of

[pɛːɹ ə] glasses my gran’s old coat and a pair of [pɛːɹ ə] wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as

the bus was coming; 0:14:43 that’s where I [wɛːɹ a] would use ‘smack’ but if I was hitting something hard

I’d just use the word ‘hit’, you know, I wouldn’t use a slang word for an [fəɹ ən] object; 0:48:04 “she’s as

daft as a ship’s cat not a brain cell in her head” [əɹ ɛd])

zero linking R (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first went to your house, Loretta, I’d never

met your family before and [bəfɔː ənd] uh they invited us over for a meal; 0:28:22 another word for cuddy

they would say if you don’t know another expression [ənʊðə ɛkspɹɛʃən] ‘they didn’t know what hit them’

‘you won’t know what cuddy’s kicked you’ (aye) you’ve heard that one, haven’t you? (I have, aye))

intrusive R (0:34:21 “I don’t want to piss on your chips but I’m I’m two months pregnant too now”, you

know (it’s not a phrase I would use) it just means ‘to cheese you off’ [jəɹ ɒf] or ‘to pee you off’ [jəɹ ɒf] or

(I I’ve the only time I’ve used ‘pissed’ is to say I wouldn’t piss on my if I didn’t like him I wouldn’t piss on

him) ‘wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire’ (aye, if he was on fire); 0:40:51 if Graham said to you he was

going to get ‘mullered’ when he got home I thought he was going to get the Stella15

out, [stɛləɹ aʊtʔ] you

know (oh right, I would’ve been getting expecting a good hiding if you said to me, “come to my house and

get mullered” I’d be thinking, “that’s what’ve I done to her?”); 0:48:27 when you just made your finger

go that means, like, as if a circular moment as if you were referring to [təɹ ə] a wheel (yeah, or ‘round the

bend’); 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school and listen to my mam and dad after they’d

been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, [jə

naːɹ ɪm] oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in

Station Road before the war”; 1:05:25 Graham used to call his ‘the old Dutch’ don’t know where he got it



from but it was just summat that’d been in their family for a long time (“where’s your ma is your ma in?”

[mɑːɹ ɪn]))

+/- VOICE

with with TH (0:13:10 yeah, well that’s what I’m saying (yeah) we’ve all mixed up and got mixed up with

[wɪθ] everybody’s slang words like we would do now and mebbies use them in the future; 0:26:38 your

tennis rackets and your um the things you used to play rounders with [wɪθ] what do you call that you’re

batting or something (a ‘bat’))

WEAK-STRONG CONTRAST

vowel reduction

weak definite article + vowel (0:12:57 I think Australians are the epitome [ðə ɪpɪtʔəmi] of, like, slang

because they pick all the old Cockney words up and and everything; 0:41:15 do you know when I was on

the airplane [ðə ɛːpleːn] (I don’t drink proper drinks) you know, have you seen that advert on the telly

where she’s going to invite her boyfriend into the toilet she said, “go to the toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes,

in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings the Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go)

cannot (0:21:55 can I move that ’cause I cannot [kanət] see Ian, do you know what I mean, I cannot

[kanət] interact with Ian; 0:31:26 I cannot [kanət] think of the word right now but, like, Fraser’ll use or

even my daughters used to use words that I thought were, “oh, it was ‘minging’” and they mean ‘it’s

good’ sometimes)

vowel strengthening

word initial vowel strengthening (0:17:03 depends what the game is though, doesn’t it, if they’re playing

what if they’re just playing on the computer [kɒmpjuːtə] ‘pottering’ on the computer [kɒmpjuːʔə]

‘tinkering’ on the computer [kɒmpjuːtʔə]; 0:22:41 at least she couldn’t pull them off and flash completely

[kɒmpliːtliː]; 0:26:30 now ‘batting with the wrong hand’ means something completely [kɒmpliːtli]

different to me (aye, that means you’re ‘gay’; 0:32:12 (if it’s ‘good’ it’s ‘mint’) because it means ‘mint

condition’ [kɒndɪʃən] (‘cushty’))

vowel strengthening – other (0:04:39 oh dear Mr Dictionary’s [dɪkʃənɛɹiz] deserted us again)

LEXICALLY SPECIFIC VARIATION

again (0:04:39 oh dear Mr Dictionary’s deserted us again [əgeːn]; 0:11:23 I might say ‘chuck’ every now

and again [əgɛn])

(be)cause (0:09:22 (same as the Americans using ‘elevator’ you knew what it meant (yeah) it’s just uh

your version) well we learned how it was because [bɪkɒz] of the song title, didn’t we?; 0:10:16 why, do

you know what I feel a bit better now because [bɪkɒs] for years I went round singing, “I am the lord of the

damp settee”; 0:57:42 ’cause [kʊz] I don’t like the word ‘bog’ because [bɪkʊz] I think it reminds us of,

like, marshland; 1:02:21 ’cause [kəs] when I used to come home from school and listen to my mam and

dad after they’d been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you

know him, oh, man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in

Station Road before the war”)

halfpenny (0:35:14 ‘haven’t got two halfpennies [heːpnɪz] to rub together’)

(n)either (0:00:49 (never heard of it before) (oh, no) me neither [niːðə] (oh, there’s well mebbies it’s just

something I’m familiar with); 0:07:28 if I was really really mad I would either [aiðə] be ‘seething’ or



‘foaming’; 0:08:45 (well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken off at the

stocking tops ) I’ve never heard that before either [aiða] (well there you go a lot of firsts today, isn’t

there?))

often (1:00:15 yeah, I do that more more often [ ] than not)

says (0:12:14 we’d use to say ‘skive’ that’s what we would say ‘skive’ (‘play hookey’) (we’d ‘play the

nick’ we’d ‘play the nick’ at school, aye, “playing the nick today, young one?”) my mother says [seːz] ‘to

wag off’; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and my

dad was lying in bed and he says, [sɛz] “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, [sɛz]

“I’m not I’m not” he says, [sɛz] “thou is, man” he says, [sɛz] “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-

winded cuddy”)

GRAMMAR

DETERMINERS

zero definite article (0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got

pissed took this bird home when he woke up _ next morning he said uh, “I was gonna saw me arm off

rather than wake her up”)

PRONOUNS

singular object us (0:05:47 I mean I’ll give you an example when I first went to your house, Loretta, I’d

never met your family before and uh they invited us over for a meal; 0:15:43 this is an example of the

violent society we live in now I went to B and Q26

the other day and somebody asked us if I wanted

decking I says, “what’ve I ever done to you, like?”; 0:57:42 ’cause I don’t like the word ‘bog’ because I

think it reminds us of, like, marshland)

2nd person plural (0:43:14 (I’ve never seen you drunk, Loretta) oh, I’ve had me moments but I can drink,

you see, not like yous lot I’m a drinker (when I drink though I just I just get tired I just go to sleep))

thou (0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and me dad

was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not”

he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”)

frequent possessive me (e.g. 0:18:38 (where did what did you used to dress up in?) in me gran’s coat and

her hat (nothing’s changed) you know, like, a tea-cosy hat a pair of glasses me gran’s old coat and a pair

of wellies and we’d hobble across the road just as the bus was coming; 0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you

know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and me dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the

hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s

puffing and blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”; 0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with me

friend there was, like, a load of people and I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and

everybody bust out laughing [...] they thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for

a shite’; 1:02:21 ’cause when I used to come home from school and listen to me mam and dad after they’d

been reading the paper “eh, you’ll never guess who’s died” “who’s that?” “oh, man, you know him, oh,

man, what’s his name again oh, man, you know, man, she married him with one leg lived in Station Road

before the war”)

26

British multinational DIY retail chain founded in 1969 with headquarters in Eastleigh, Hampshire.



zero relative (0:43:54 like one of the lads I work with once said he he obviously went out got pissed took

this bird home when he woke up next morning he said uh, “I was gonna saw me arm off rather than wake

her up”)

VERBS

present

generalisation of 3psg. <-s> (1:02:09 ‘you-knows-who’ like that’s that’s the Pitmatic like ‘you-know-

who’ ‘you-knows-who’ but, like, all joined into words)

be – is generalisation (0:04:43 what is it what’s the words we used to learn at school that uh profanity is

the lack of vocabulary that was the the saying; 0:47:21 “she’s a lovely girl and her tits is not too bad

either”; 0:49:22 ‘all her chairs is not at home’)

past

zero past (0:33:35 (‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) (I say ‘piss on your cornflakes’)

(I’ve never used anything like that) (you you would, man) what’s it mean? (you’ve heard me saying,

“fucking hell, man, what’s the matter with you have you pissed on your cornflakes?”) (no, I) (“who’s

pissed on your cornflakes today?”) (I’ve never used that one) I’ve heard ‘who’s shit in your bed?’ (‘who’s

supped your pint?’); 0:54:44 that’s how I know it was called a ‘beck’ ’cause his mother come knocking on

the door saying, “your daughter’s took my son in the beck”)

generalisation of simple past (0:54:44 that’s how I know it was called a ‘beck’ ’cause his mother come

knocking on the door saying, “your daughter’s took my son in the beck”)

generalisation of past participle (0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back

laughing his head off (he got caught) he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he

picked him up and seen it was a young lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole)

alternative past (0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with me friend there was, like, a load of people

and I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody bust out laughing [...] they

thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’)

compounds

double past with used to (0:12:14 we’d used to say ‘skive’ that’s what we would say ‘skive’ (‘play

hookey’) (we’d ‘play the nick’ we’d ‘play the nick’ at school, aye, “playing the nick today, young one?”)

my mother says ‘to wag off’)

invariant there is (0:08:45 well when s... when life doesn’t go your way you always say, “I feel broken off

at the stocking tops” (I’ve never heard that before either) well there you go a lot of firsts today, isn’t

there?; 0:27:02 talking about, like, left-handed guitar players and things like that they just put the strings

on upside down and turn it round but there is proper guitars made for left-handed people; 0:29:23 why,

yeah, and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-footers’ standing

waiting to go in” (aye))

historic present (0:15:43 this is an example of the violent society we live in now I went to B and Q16

the

other day and somebody asked us if I wanted decking I says, “what’ve I ever done to you, like?”; 0:28:05

she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one night and me dad was lying in bed

and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says, “I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is,

man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-winded cuddy”)

NEGATION



auxiliary contraction (0:02:31 I was brought up in Easington Colliery and if anyone would say, you

know, “you she’s not going to school today our G... our Gail’s ‘off the map’”; 0:16:08 (does nobody use

that now?) (yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah) just our brains’re not working)

zero contraction with interrogative (0:08:54 Grant, you’re looking a bit bemused is that not something

you’re familiar with?; 0:33:06 what was the word I used to use was what you hadn’t heard ‘smart as a

carrot’ (oh yeah) (eh?) (‘smart as a carrot’) (what does that mean?) (just means ‘very smart’) [...] did you

not use that?; 0:37:18 have you not heard of ‘cacky-pusher’? (‘backdoor bandit’) (aye, ‘arse bandits’);

0:54:20 (never heard of a ‘beck’) a ‘beck’ have you not? (no) a little ‘stream’)

cannot (0:21:55 can I move that ’cause I cannot see Ian, do you know what I mean, I cannot interact with

Ian; 0:31:26 I cannot think of the word right now but, like, Fraser’ll use or even me daughters used to use

words that I thought were, “oh, it was ‘minging’” and they mean ‘it’s good’ sometimes)

alternative word order with never (0:02:13 ‘gammy’ oh, when you’ve got a bad leg ‘gammy leg’, aye, so

I never would’ve applied that)

PREPOSITIONS

substitution

on + time phrase (0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother used to sew her vest and

pants together before she went to school on a morning ’cause she kept taking her knickers off at playtime

in the yard)

DISCOURSE

utterance initial mind you (0:22:57 mind you, there was a girl at school whose um mother used to sew

her vest and pants together before she went to school on a morning ’cause she kept taking her knickers off

at playtime in the yard)

utterance initial why (0:07:04 (‘over the moon’) why, that’s the same as ‘over the knot’ (‘over the moon’

that’s a good one, isn’t it?); 0:11:40 why, they’ll ‘h… hoy the wellie’ in Scotland, haven’t they?; 0:26:56

(she probably just couldn’t see it) why, that would be right, like, ’cause I did have terrible eyesight;

0:29:23 why, yeah, and they drove past a s... church on a Sunday morning and say, “there’s the ‘left-

footers’ standing waiting to go in” (aye))

utterance final and that (0:41:15 do you know when I was on the airplane (I don’t drink proper drinks)

you know, have you seen that advert on the telly where she’s gonna invite her boyfriend into the toilet she

said, “go to the toilet and I’ll follow you” (yes, in the, aye) and he comes round and that and she brings

the Müllerlight7 round and then she doesn’t go)

utterance final like (0:15:43 this is an example of the violent society we live in now I went to B and Q16

the other day and somebody asked us if I wanted decking I says, “what’ve I ever done to you, like?”;

0:18:23 and Robbie was laughing so much once he was on his back laughing his head off (he got caught)

he got caught by the gadgie, like, the gadgie being another word he picked him up and seen it was a young

lad and clouted him round the ear the lughole; 0:26:56 (she probably just couldn’t see it) why, that would

be right, like, ’cause I did have terrible eyesight)

frequent utterance internal like (e.g. 0:12:57 I think Australians are the epitome of, like, slang because

they pick all the old Cockney words up and and everything; 0:27:02 talking about, like, left-handed guitar

players and things like that they just put the strings on upside down and turn it round but there is proper

guitars made for left-handed people; 0:41:26 but when I was going on holiday with me friend there was,

like, a load of people and I stood up and I said, “I’m going for a Müllerlight”7 and everybody bust out

laughing [...] they thought I was using Cockney rhyming slang and said ‘I’m going for a shite’; 0:57:42

’cause I don’t like the word ‘bog’ because I think it reminds us of, like, marshland; 1:01:10 yeah, they

usually wear designer um the Bur... Burberry24

Burberry caps, isn’t it, (Burberry, aye) (loads of gold) and



loads of scrunchies see how many scrunchies there’s, like, a scrunchie competition to see how many they

can get in their hair; 1:02:09 ‘you-knows-who’ like that’s that’s the Pitmatic like ‘you-know-who’ ‘you-

knows-who’ but, like, all joined into words)

intensifier hellish (0:32:01 it it’s something you say before anything else, you know, they just they’ll say,

“it’s hellish good” or, “it’s hellish bad” it means, like, it’s, like, extremity, yeah)

quotative go (0:03:22 somebody said to him um, “there’s no need for swearing and he went, “there

fucking is need for fucking swearing you stupid cunt” which because which is kind of sums it up for me;

0:05:58 Loretta was cooking a pan of chips and uh she some of this chip fat spat out at her and she went,

“oh, you fucker” and I nearly died and her mother [...] just turned round and went, “nice”, you know, I

mean I nearly swallowed me chips whole, you know)

form of address man (0:28:05 she’s a heavy smoker, you know, and she was getting ready for bed one

night and me dad was lying in bed and he says, “what the hell’s thou puffing and blowing at?” she says,

“I’m not I’m not” he says, “thou is, man” he says, “thou’s puffing and blowing like a broken-winded

cuddy”; 0:33:35 (‘piss on your chips’ I say ‘piss on your biscuits’) I say ‘piss on your cornflakes’ (I’ve

never used anything like that) you you would, man, (what’s it mean?) you’ve heard me saying, “fucking

hell, man, what’s the matter with you have you pissed on your cornflakes?” (no, I) “who’s pissed on your

cornflakes today?” (I’ve never used that one) (I’ve heard ‘who’s shit in your bed?’) (‘who’s supped your

pint?’))

© Robinson, Herring, Gilbert

Voices of the UK, 2009-2012

A British Library project funded by The Leverhulme Trust

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