'Ave A Word - the survival guide to Manchester slang

the Survival Guide to Manchester Slang

‘AVE A WORD

Many refugees and asylum seekers arriving in the region most certainly are. In fact, many native English speakers would be quite confused too!

This dictionary aims to bring together some of the most common words and phrases of the region, as well as other useful slang from around the country.

With a better understanding of the local language, we hope new arrivals to the area will find it easier to become part of their local communities…

‘AVE A WORD with ManchesterIf you were new to Manchester, would you be confused?

“Make a brew our kid, I’m right nesh!”

Manchester

I had only been in Manchester for a few months when I went to a local social event. When I arrived, I was asked ‘Do you want a brew?’

It was eleven o’clock in the morning so I was surprised to be offered a beer at this time and politely declined.

I looked around and saw people drinking teas and coffees and so I asked if I could have a cup of tea, not realising that this is what I had been offered in the first place!

I was very embarrassed, but now, whenever anyone comes to visit me, I always offer them a ‘brew’!

MAncuniAn MisunDERstAnDing

The letters ‘t’ and ‘g’ at the end of words are often not pronounced.

i.e. ‘alright’ is pronounced ‘alrigh’’; ‘chilling’ is pronounced ‘chillin’’

The letter ‘h’ at the beginning of words is often not pronounced.

i.e. ‘hello’ is pronounced ‘’ello’

‘t’s in the middle of words are often replaced with a glottal stop (in effect they are also not pronounced).

i.e. ‘letter’ is pronounced ‘le’er’; ‘sorted’ becomes ‘sor’ed’

Vowels sounds are often longer in Mancunian, especially in ‘-er’ endings.

i.e. ‘a fiver’ may be pronounced as ‘a fiveeer’

Accents across the greater Manchester region vary greatly — someone from Salford will sound different from someone from Wigan (and both would claim not to be Mancunian!) These notes are therefore a guide only, and may not be true for all people from the region.

guiDE to Mancunian pronunciation guide to the word list &Parts of speech

n. Noun an object, thing, person e.g. table, woman, paper, dog

adj. Adjective word used to describe something or someone e.g. good, cold, beautiful

vb. Verb action word e.g. go, eat, play

adv. Adverb word used to describe a verb e.g. very, quickly, badly

phr. Phrase

map: openstreetmap.org

Slang Translation

A

a round of toast n. a slice of toast

ace adj. very good

alright? phr. how are you?

‘ave a word phr. to have a talk / chat with someone

B

baccy n. tobacco

bang on adj. perfect

bap n. bread roll

barm n. bread roll

barmy adj. mad/eccentric

barney n. argument

blimey! phr. (exclamation of surprise)

blinder n. a great thing / event

blinding adj. very good

bloke n. man

blud (blood) n. friend/brother

bob on adj. perfect

bobbins adj. not good

bobby n. police officer

bog n. toilet

booze n. alcoholic drink

to bounce vb. leave

break a leg phr. good luck

brew (1) n. cup of tea or coffee

brew (2) n. hill

bro n. brother

burn adj. good

butty n. sandwich

buzzin‘ adj. very happy / excited

C

champion adj. good

cheers phr. thank you

to chill out vb. to relax

chillin’ adj. relaxing

chilly adj. cold

chinwag n. chat (talk)

to chip off vb. to leave

chippy n. fish and chip shop

chuck vb. throw

chuck it vb. throw it away

chuffed adj. very pleased / happy

cigs n. cigarettes

cob n. bread roll

copper n. police officer

A–c

D

da the

daft adj. silly, unwise, stupid

dead adv. very

dibble n. police officer

do one phr. go away

dodgy adj. untrustworthy

dope adj. really good

down our end phr. where we live

drizzle n. light rain

dry adj. boring

E

epic adj. good

F

fags n. cigarettes

famo n. family

fib n. lie

a fiver n. five pounds

flippin’ heck phr. exclamation of surprise

flix (flicks) n. cinema

G

gaff n. home

get lost! phr. go away!

get yer mad up phr. become angry

gigs n. glasses

ginnel n. covered alleyway between houses

give over phr. stop it

gob n. mouth

going off adj. out of control

gonk n. idiot

gormless adj. stupid

grand adj. very good

a grand n. 1,000 pounds

gravy adj. good

gump n. foolish person

gutted adj. upset / disappointed

H

hanging adj. dirty / unattractive

have a cob on phr. being grumpy

having a buzz phr. having a good time

heads n. people

hi greeting hello

hiya greeting hello

hotpot n. stew

D–H

I

I am telling ya phr. honestly!

I haven’t the foggiest phr. I have no idea

in a bit phr. soon

innit? phr. isn‘t it?

in the club phr. pregnant

it was a piece of cake phr. it was very easy

K

kak adj. bad, rubbish

karnos adj. chaos

keks n. trousers

kippered adj. tired

knackered adj. tired

L

lad n. boy/man

lass n. girl

later(s) phr. goodbye

let’s crack on phr. let’s get on with it

loo n. toilet

lothered adj. sweating

M

ma n. mother

mad fer it phr. enthusiastic

Manc n./adj. Mancunian

manky adj. dirty / horrible

mard n. bad mood

mardy adj. bad tempered

mate n. friend

minging adj. unclean/unattractive

mingey adj. mean

mind out! phr. be careful!

mint adj. good / great

minted adj. rich / wealthy

mither vb. bother / pester pronounce ’i’ as in ‘five’

mithered adj. to be hassled

muck about vb. to play around

muggy adj. cloudy and humid

mum n. mother

my bad phr. my mistake

i–M

N

nesh adj. weak / feels the cold

nice one! phr. great, thank you!

nippers n. young kids

nowt n. nothing (rhymes with ‘out’)

nowty adj. grumpy

numpty n. stupid person / idiot

O

oh dear! phr. what a shame!

on your bike phr. go away

our kid n. brother or sister

over the moon adj. happy

owt n. anything (pronounced ‘out’)

P

pal n. friend

peeps n. people

peppered adj. have no money

pint n. a pint of beer

pop n. soda

poorly adj. unwell

posh adj. rich / classy person

potato hash n. mashed potato and meat

potty adj. mad / eccentric

proper very ‘that was proper good.’

pure adj. really good

put wood in t‘ hole. phr. shut the door.

Q

a quid n. one pound

R

right very ‘that was right good.’

right as rain phr. all good / fine

rozzer n. police officer

S

sarnie n. sandwich

schnoz n. nose

scran n. food

see you in a bit phr. see you soon

seeing your backside phr. getting annoyed

shut your gob phr. be quiet, shut up

sick adj. good / fantastic

sis n. sister

n–s

skanky adj. disgusting

skenning vb. watching something

skenning like a whelk phr. not seeing very well

skids n. knickers, underpants

skint adj. poor, have no money

skrieking vb. crying

skuds n. underpants

slopstone n. the sink

smokin’ adj. good

snappers n. underpants

soft adj. silly / stupid

sorted adj. ready / good

spanner n. a stupid person

spitting vb. raining lightly

spuds n. potatoes

stroll n./vb. slow walk

summat n. something

sweating cobbs adj. really hot

T

ta ra goodbye

ta ta goodbye

ta thank you

a tenner n. ten pounds

top adj. good

town n. town centre

trolleys n. trousers, underwear

turn it in vb. stop it

tutty n. lipstick / make-up

W

well adv. very

wicked adj. very good

Y

y’ all right? phr. are you alright? (How are you?)

yard n. bouse / back of house

yer fibbin’ phr. you are telling lies

you barmy dog phr. you are very silly

youse pronoun plural of you

you what? phr. pardon?

Z

zig n. passionate kiss

s–Z

V

“My name is Jeph. The first time I came to Manchester, I was really confused about the pronunciation.

“One day I was in my hostel and the people I lived with were having a conversation in which I had to take part. They were using words like ‘barmy’, ‘chuffed’, ‘gutted’ and ‘naff’ – they were difficult to understand but I tried to cope.

“Some other friends were greeting me, saying ‘waguan, Jeph?’ At that time I could not understand that they were asking me ‘Where are you going?’ so I just smiled and tried to show them kindness.

Most of the time they were not pronouncing all of the words.

“I was terrified about those words and how the pronunciation was so fast. Even up to now I am facing some difficulties.”

MORE MAncuniAn MisunDERstAnDing

You would not be holding this survival guide to Manchester slang in your hands in its present form if it had not been for the invaluable help and support of several groups and individuals.

First of all, we would like to thank clients of Refugee Action’s Gateway Protection Programme for highlighting the problems new arrivals to Manchester face when trying to understand local dialects, and therefore providing the inspiration for the ‘Ave a Word with Manchester’ project, and this guide to Mancunian slang.

Without the commitment and hard work of several Refugee Action volunteers, this dictionary would also not have been possible. Special thanks goes to them, including Michael Dietrich, Marcianne Uwimana, Jane Jacoby and Liz Oliech for the many hours and the imagination they have given to the project.

Thanks also to staff of Refugee Action Manchester who lent their support, ideas and accents to the project!

Many thanks also go to N. Tafesse and Jeph Mupira for sharing their stories of Manchester miscommunications with us, and

giving permission for those stories to be printed within these pages.

Thank you to the individuals and families who have allowed their images to be used. Some images have been changed to protect client identities.

Finally, thank you to all those supporters who have donated to the project. Most notably, thanks to Forever Manchester and the International Society in Manchester for their generous support in helping to print this dictionary

The ‘Ave a Word with Manchester team

AcknOWlEDgEMEnts

This dictionary represents the culmination of work on the ‘Ave a Word with Manchester Project at Refugee Action which came about after a number of refugees told us that, despite speaking good English, they still had difficulty understanding the local accents and phrases.

During the Project, resources were produced to help refugees and other newcomers to the area better understand the local language. To access these free resources, please email [email protected]

Refugee Action is an independent, national charity working to enable refugees to build new lives. We provide practical emergency support for newly arrived asylum seekers and long-term commitment to their settlement. As one of the country’s leading agencies in the field, Refugee Action has more than 30 years’ experience in pioneering innovative work in partnership with refugees.

www.refugee-action.org.uk

photo credits: Claudia Janke/Refugee Action

Charity Registered Number 283660 Company Registered Number 01593454

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Refugee Action Manchester23-37 Edge Street Manchester M4 1HW

Refugee Action London Victoria Charity Centre 11 Belgrave Road London SW1V 1RB