I was oot the other day, the grub at the pub was; ‘well tidy scran’

The great Scottish words and phrases you may need some help with, especially if you are coming on tour with us, some can leave folks wondering, some are – well, just funny.

Get tae  –  just simply utter ‘get tae’ and the point will be quite clear. Additionally, it can also be used in a sarcastic manner if the person in question can hardly believe their eyes… This can be used if verbally challenged by a Jackey – jake ee, a term used for an alcoholic, drunk or tramp. Our weather can be – different to say the least; Dreich Scotland can experience four seasons in one day. For the days that are drab and grey, dreich is a braw word (Braw is a classic Scottish slang word. It means brilliant, great, fantastic, and all things nice. Someone may have braw banter or the view may be braw). Often chatted about in pubs etc, can also be used with a blether another grand Scottish word that simply means to chat away…blethering.  And if you go too far in your blether, your pal can come away with; Haud yer wheesht meaning ‘be quiet’ or ‘shut up’   Often to be heard said by lads when looking at a girl –tidy means beautiful, stunning, delicious, fantastic, outstanding, lovely, pretty, bonnie – the list goes on and on, can also be used when referring to good food: ‘that’s well tidy scran’ or a beautiful woman: ‘that lass is pure tidy’. Scran a popular Scottish word for food. If food taste delicious, then some may describe it as ‘well tidy scran’.

This word, like many others can be Scottish or Irish, my Irish gran used the word, messages not necessarily cryptic words of wisdom, messages are grocery items. ‘Will you chum me to get the messages?’ means ‘will you go with me to the shops?’ or “here’s the messages list”. A part of this list may well be juice. A fizzy drink or fizzy juice is a carbonated drink that Americans refer to as a soda, can be a tin of coke – juice! Irn Bru is a Scottish fizzy drink that outsells coca cola,  here in Scotland. Aye right is a great phrase used when expressing feelings of sheer disbelief. It suggests that the person or matter in question may not be entirely accurate or believable – as in; Yer heid’s full o’ mince.  It is not ideal to have a heid full o’ mince, it implies that the words that come out of your mouth are, quite frankly, stupid.  Talkin of talkin, Wur tearin’ the tartan  meaning you are engrossed in riveting conversation. In other words, having a right old blether. Skedaddle aff  to skedaddle somewhere means to go away to another place. Skedaddle aff can also be used as a way to say ‘on you go’ or ‘leave me alone’. A right chancer – a person who takes risks and is typically a wee bit cheeky; they may not be too trustworthy. For instance, ‘watch out for that one, yon’s a right chancer’. Bampot One of my favourites – someone who doesn’t make the wisest of choices in life. Bampots tend to be unstable and are not always the most likable of folk. An idiot, a numpty, glaikit– dim or dumb; harmlessly stupid. Some good –uns;  it’s boggin’–  smelly/dirty, bonnie– beautiful, cannae–  can’t, d’yer no ken? Don’t you know?   Crabbit–  cranky/crabby, deid–  dead, donder–  walk, haver –  talking nonsense, polis –  police, swally –  drink, as in lets go the pub for a few swally’s,

So a wee intro into our beautiful language, these words and phrases can be different in various parts of the country, ie; Glasgow and Aberdeen can be entirely different! Old Scottish sayings….I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug! – I’ll give you a slap on the ear.  Lang may yer lum reek! – May you live long and stay well. Dinnae teach yer Granny tae suck eggs! – don’t try to teach someone something they already know. Haste Ye Back! – Farewell “return soon”.  The whole population doesnee talk like this by the way, we are civilised and some of us even highly educated! Liz .. “funny, typing this, how many I do use!!”