Things upon which to Cogitate

Scotch Whisky Guide

Fifty Scots Words  

A must read for intellectuals.

Blind man drives car in town!

Fifty Shades of Gray dumped in Charity Shops everywhere.

So many being dumped the shops canny get rid of them!

It's Dan Brown all over again!

Thankful Villages

The small villages who received back the men who marched to the Great War and received all their boys back once again were called 'Thankful Villages.'  There were few indeed of these.  At the time this report was written, 2011, only 52 such villages could be found in England and Wales.  

No such village was discovered in Scotland or Ireland.

Near me lies a small village with a population of 402 in 1895.  

During the Great War some 32 men died in action,

rather more typical of the time.

Yorkie Dialect

To stop Soub from greetin I add the Yorkshire version

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Autumn Leaves

The sight of a park bench covered and surrounded by a mass of bright fallen leaves brings to mind the days past when such a sight annoyed me.  That was at the Maida Vale Hospital where several trees lay at the front of the building, and a couple more in the rear.  This meant muggins and mates would have to sweep the blessed things up day after day.  However as I passed this lot I could not resist a picture, which is not as bright as in real life, and chortled at the man who has to sweep this up.  I'd love to help but.....

I bet this great man refers to Autumn with the rather direct term 'fall.'  No doubt with people like Max & Jerry in mind the American language long ago chose an unsophisticated route (pronounced 'root') rather than the more complicated English language.  By 'English'  I refer to what is called 'The Queens English,' that is the language as spoke proper like by Liz.  As you know I personally speak ''Lallans,' which while similar to 'English' English developed amongst the lowlands of Scotland many years ago, and is not English in any manner whatsoever, it also sounds better when spoke than that found over the border.  "Know whit ah mean pal?'  For some reason this crossed my mind while watching QPR play Everton on a dismal Sunday afternoon, although the cause of this now escapes me.  Language is merely communication, yet for some exactness is imperative, but who really knows what is right here?  Language is a flowing changing thing and what is correct today is not correct tomorrow.  At school we were told never begin a sentence with 'And.'  Today this is acceptable.  But is it right?  Football has its own language, terms used there may sneak into everyday use, and all society is similar.  Business, sport, politics, churches all have words that belong to them alone, and people use them, often like sheep.  This helps those involved understand what is meant but can be a barrier to those outside the 'in people.' The language I speak (the correct one, as Mike will agree) is very different spoken by Max and Jerry (Unintelligible I suspect in real life).  RDG & Soub must spend time translating one another before they begin to argue, and those with experience of Australia would understand that out there the only clear word is 'Beer!'  I think I might attempt to learn Latin (again).

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Language

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ukstudentlife

Some folks have difficulty pronouncing the word 'Scone.' Quite often they will say 'Scone' when in fact they mean 'Scone.' This annoys some of us who have spent many some time in learning how to speak proper like. Therefore it is important for all out there to always say 'Scone' when they wish to obtain a 'Scone' and not pronounce it 'Scone' as that is not only pretentious it is quite erroneous. Even worse are those people who have a little knowledge, which as you know is a dangerous thing, such people take it upon themselves to pronounce the word 'Scone' which is totally wrong as 'Scone' is in fact a place. Scone as you will all know was where Scottish Kings were crowned in times past. The 'Stone of Destiny' resided there as a stool for them to sit on while being created 'King of Scots,' and what a privilege that was. The stone was nicked by the imperialist thug Edward I in 1300ish and kept in Westminster Abbey until John Major returned it in a vain effort to obtain votes. You will note that unlike the English barbarians the Scottish King became King of Scots, not King of Scotland. The land was not his, just the peoples loyalty. Of course being a democratic and egalitarian type if such a king failed in his duty then a democratic vote would result in a new king and an old one chasing his head down a hill. Words of course can be tricky when dealing with the pronunciation. American famously fail to say 'Tomato' when they try to say 'Tomato,' and 'Potato' also appears beyond their abilities to pronounce properly.  'Edinburgh' cause many problems as it tends to be called 'Scotland' by English TV people.


UK Student Life has an excellent easy recipe for 'Scones' which I will try.
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Useful Scots Words

This picture is 'acquired' from Graham Stewart's blog on the BBC Site using the Scots language. 

It is dated from last year but worth a read - if you can cope with the Scots language!

Language is a flowing medium. Words used in one era are unacceptable today. 'Peculiar' for instance, once implied you stood out from the crowd, as in 'a peculiar people,' which would possibly be rendered, 'an exclusive people,' today. Similarly words used in one part of Scotland are not used in another. Anyone called 'George' in Edinburgh is often referred to as 'Dode!' Why I do not know, I can only tell you that it is so! I am unaware of this happening anywhere else in Scotland but remain open to contradiction.  


Here are some words I occasionally use down here in the English wilderness and I must confess wish I could use more often. How ever the mind responds to those around us and they rarely come to mind here. Funnily enough crossing the border enables Scots words to rise to the surface of the mind. For instance on one occasion I was flying into Edinburgh airport (I was in a plane) and as we flew over the darkened Firth of Forth, the lights of Kirckaldy on one side and similar lights from Leith glimmering on the left, the plane shuddered in the air flow. "Gey shoogly," I thought to myself, and realised immediately that had I been approaching Stansted I would have remarked "A lot of turbulence around tonight."  Scots words are indeed more homely, and in that case more appropriate!


Here are some I like.The come from the 'First Foot Dictionary,' which is a must read! 


Barry  Splendid, good, wonderful

Clatty  Actually this is Clarty in Edinburgh. 

               Adj-- meaning dirty,unkempt as in-- He could dae wae a guid wash!

Dreich  ADJ.Description of the usual Scottish weather viz:Damp, dreary, overcast, drizzling, threatening to pish doon, looks like it will stay like this for weeks.......

      

Drookit  Soaked to the skin.

               Ah'll need tae get hame an dry aff,that rains got me drookit.

Galoot  An idiot.  A wonderful word, and often put into use near me, er hold on.....
             Yah big galoot ye, yuv let the aligator oot.


Glaikit  Another of my favourite words! Much used in my family!
ADJ. Stupid, foolish, thoughtless, vacant. As in "Awa, yi glaikit bastirt!" 
           Often used of gadgies, minkers and schemies.


numptie moron.  This is the snob way of spelling this. 


Numpty (Numb tea). A useless individual.See that Hugh Keevins?
               He's a right numpty, see that Chick Youngl? He's a real numpty.


Nyaff (Kneeyaff). Annoying wee bugger, especially applicable to a politician. 
               See you ya wee nyaff if ye dinnae bugger aff yer gettin' a bash in yer mooth


Peelly wally  Unwell, extremely pale and tired - usually referred to children (and me) when unwell


Teuchter   Anyone living outside the central belt of Scotland. Actually it is the folks north of the central  belt the highlanders! To the Lowlanders they are indeed Teuchters!


Toerag A scamp, scallywag, mild form of bastirt. (from forces slang "Tuareg"-an Arab)


Radge Adj. Crazy person, madman. What you looking at me for? 
               Verb. To do something crazy