BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Megan L
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 01:22 PM

Willie M naw son it wis Crossmaloof as he explained it wis also the name of the ice rink in the city. In Orkney the same person wid hae bin cried a himhar.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Megan L
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 01:20 PM

Hee John Nolan thats probably because yer landlady knew Father Hart, he used to sit at the bottom of the stairs on the bus to wach the lassies going up and it wisny tae make sure they didny twist their ankle.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,WillieM
Date: 13 Jun 08 - 01:11 PM

Re Scabby Douglas's entry for 3 May, should it not be "Crossmaluif" with the "French "eu" sound, perhaps a hangover from the Auld Alliance. That's the pronunciation I remember from my Glasgow sojourn 1959-66.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:31 AM

Sometimes, it's easy to forget that for many purposes, Edinburgh really isn't in Scotland, and language is definitly one of them.

Of course, trying to read anything phonetically is harder work than listening to it.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Hamden roar
Date: 02 May 06 - 07:06 AM

Hamden roar, in modern times means "what is the score" as in football, cards   ect

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Alba
Date: 14 Jul 03 - 06:58 PM

Thanks for the Clicky Joe:>)
A

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Strupag
Date: 14 Jul 03 - 06:50 PM

I never knew what it meant but I've ofter heard, in Glasgow, them talk about the "oleam Oars" for doors.
As I didn't understand it I've probably spealt it wrongly.
Can anyone enlighten?

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Jim McLean
Date: 14 Jul 03 - 01:19 PM

When you were cold, especially after 'swimming' in the sea on the West coast, your mammy would give you a 'chitterin' bite i.e. a sandwich. We never said 'shivering' but always 'chitterin'.
This thread is not really totally concerned with 'Scots Rhyming Slang' as there are lots of Lallans language words mentioned but still very interesting.
Jim McLean

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Alba
Date: 13 Jul 03 - 08:16 PM

Hi Monty
There's a CD of Ed Miller singing the Jeely Piece Song and some other Glesga numbers on this site.
Folk Legacy/cd/scots
Sorry I can't get the "blue clicky" to work for some reason!
A:>)

link added
joe clone

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Monty
Date: 13 Jul 03 - 07:50 PM

What about;

telephone ringing =   minging = smelling

radio rental = mental

Does anybody know if The Jeely Piece Song is available on Cd at all ?

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Alba
Date: 13 Jul 03 - 03:57 PM

I think Oor Wullie's Mouse was called Jeemy and his Terrier Dog was called Harry.
A:>)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Phot
Date: 13 Jul 03 - 03:32 PM

Talking of 'Oor Wullie', (thanks it takes me back) I've not read him for about 20 odd years - what was his pet mouse called. it's driving me crackers trying to remember.

Mrs Phot

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Stoneybridge
Date: 13 Jul 03 - 04:42 AM

Hullo rer well a wis sittin doon huvin a wee thoucht aboot aw o' ris stuff as yae dae an a notised thit naebidy hud menshunned the words
glaikit ur skelly in a fot thit that wis a wee bitty wierd n that no. In anorer fing the wurd chute is a french wurd thit means brake, as in parachute para=air chute =brake
this micht well be sumfin tae dae wie the auld alliance but ren again mibie am just a wee bit shtoopit.
So am jist oaf don ra perk wie ma wee boatle o jake (buckie noo cos a cannea git LD anywere reez dais) tae see if a cin get masel a lumbur afore ma maw gies me a skite fur cummin in buckelt
Stoneybridge

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: John Nolan
Date: 03 May 02 - 06:24 PM

My old bitter orange landlady from Barmulloch (district of Glasgow) used to refer to priests as "dirty beasts." Nowadays she could claim justification.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 03 May 02 - 01:41 PM

Try this site for any that have been missed above, translations and derivations included.

Parliamo Glesca and a glossary of Scots Words

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 03 May 02 - 12:30 PM

Aye richt enough Scabby,bit we yased it tae.Funny aboot the poof word,ah wis listenin tae an auld radio show o' Steptoe an' Son an' Wilfred Bramwell says it frequently in ane o' the episodes.Widnae get awa wi' it nooadays,eh? ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 03 May 02 - 11:59 AM

I think that "J Arthur Rank" and "Horse's hoof" are well-known in London rhyming slang.

The one that IS native to Glasgow is "Crossmyloof"... (formerly an ice rink and area near Shawlands)

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 03 May 02 - 11:44 AM

Whit abot J.Arthur Rank. ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 03 May 02 - 11:38 AM

No..

Actually I forgot all about Nat King...

Damn!

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Moleskin Joe
Date: 03 May 02 - 09:19 AM

The sandwiches you take to work are also known as "chits". I think this is short for chittering piece and was originally a piece your mother gave you when you were shivering eg when you came out of the baths. Can anyone confirm this? Another example of rhyming slang was "coral diver" for a fiver, and at the risk of lowering the tone of this discussion young men used to go to the dancing intent on getting their Nat King unless of course you were a horses hoof. I am sure only Glasgow delicacy has prevented previous contributors from alluding to these very common usages.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: IanN
Date: 03 May 02 - 08:53 AM

Done some research! That's the one - lyrics are here:

http://members.tripod.com/RobsRag/scotland/scotlandjeely.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: IanN
Date: 03 May 02 - 08:50 AM

Ooh Dunno! Never heard it in song format though from what I remember it would have been an ideal song. It was read out in a lecture I was at about the destruction of the Gorbals community by the knocking down of the tenements etc. I suppose it could easily have been song lyrics rather than a poem????

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 03 May 02 - 08:43 AM

IanN - is that different from Adam McNaughtan's "Height Starvation Song" aka "The Jeely Piece Song" aka "Skyscraper Wean"?

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: IanN
Date: 03 May 02 - 07:31 AM

Not rhyming slang but interesting non the less:

"Piece" does not refer to a piece of bread (as stated above and often thought). Scot.s tend to refer to thier sandwich as a "Piece". This however derives from the practice of making a batch load of porridge, letting it solidify into a block and cutting a "piece" off to take out to work for the day. Although you may hear reference to "ma piece 'n' cheese" or "ma jeely (jam/jelly) piece" in place of a cheese or jam sandwich it should be taken as a reference to any portable meal.

Anyone know the origin of "messages" used instead of shopping "Ah wiz oot tae get ma messages"

PS There's a fantastic Glaswegian poem call "My Jeely Piece" about the arrival of the tower blocks in the Gorbals - a girl describes how her "Maw" couldn't throw her lunch out to her from the 15th floor of a tower block if she forgot to take it with her!

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,macca
Date: 02 May 02 - 06:33 PM

Just throwing in another sheugh (sough, cheuch...? who knows... who cares?) I can recall aged relatives of mine in the nineteen-fifties referring to a heavy duty gardening implement as a sheugh (or similar) - This was a straight bladed sickle on a three foot haft used for pruning and may have had a connection to cutting hedgerows.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: weepiper
Date: 02 May 02 - 05:32 PM

From the Chambers Concise Scots Dictionary:

Sheuch, sheugh, sough etc. n1 a trench in the ground, esp for drainage, a ditch, an open drain 16thC- 2 a temporary trench or furrow for plants 19thC- 3 a furrow made by a plough 19th-e20thC 4 a street gutter la19thC-... [from northern early Middle English sogh, a swamp].

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST
Date: 02 May 02 - 05:15 PM

Whats a chute if its not a channel leading to something i.e. to a siver or the slide doon the back o' yer arse, or a slide fur a bairn or a sack.

Scabby Doug sorry I'll try tae be mair polite tae weedgies

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 02 May 02 - 10:45 AM

And by the way, I'll "soapdodger" ye...

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 02 May 02 - 10:37 AM

There wis a wee man fae Dundee
Went oot tae the sheugh for a pee:
When a big double-decker,
Ran ower his pecker:,
Noo he's no' he,he's a she>

ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 02 May 02 - 10:10 AM

Hi Davetnova

"sheugh" is pretty certainly not from a word related to "chute" -

Chute is of French derivation and I believe that its basic meaning is connected to falling. SO a chute is usually slide connected to an opening of some kind

http://www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/Webster/data/263.html Chute (Chute) n. [F. chute, prop. a fall.]

1. A framework, trough, or tube, upon or through which objects are made to slide from a higher to a lower level, or through which water passes to a wheel.

Sheugh is Scots for a drainage ditch - probably originally in an agricultural sense, and extended to describe gutters in streets.

While I'm sure that people often fell into sheughs on a frequent basis, I don't think they named them that as a result.

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,DaveTnova
Date: 02 May 02 - 08:37 AM

Although sheugh sounds non-english I think its the same word as chute(in english). My favorite soapdoger expression is definitely the rushed bus conductors "come oan get oaf"

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 02 May 02 - 07:54 AM

Regarding Oscar Slater:

From : http://www.crimefiction.com/slater.htm On the 21st. December 1908, an 82-year-old woman, Miss Marion Gilchrist, was battered to death in her Glasgow apartment by an apparently unknown assailant. It was discovered by the police that a small diamond brooch (only part of her large collection of jewellery) was missing. Her servant, Helen Lambie, was out for ten minutes buying a newspaper. The family in the apartment below, the Adams, heard noises and Mr. Adams went to investigate. Both he and Lambie were passed by a man who was just leaving the Gilchrist apartment. They entered and found the body lying by the fireplace with the head smashed-in.

(He never done it, by the way)...

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: John Nolan
Date: 02 May 02 - 07:39 AM

See you Oscar = see you later (Oscar Slater was hung for something or other - maybe Ewan knows what) Battle cruiser = boozer Tom tit = something an unlucky person might do in their winners and losers (see above) and, finally, a good old Glasgow double-racist observation: He's a Paddy Mularky = a darkie.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 02 May 02 - 04:26 AM

Back to the rhyming slang:

I just remembered another one - "hee-haw" - meaning "very little" or "almost none".

Derivation: "Hee-Haw" rhymes with "F**k-Aw"

That definitely only works in Scots.

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 02 May 02 - 03:51 AM

Ah,weel, l.j.---a widnae say that Lanark [ pronounce it "Lawnurk"] ha'es oneything like a monopoly o' mediaeval relics; auld Ayrshire ha'es a guid wheen---Ah should ken, Ah'm yin o' them!

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Paddy Plastique
Date: 02 May 02 - 03:36 AM

'Aidez mon Robert' Whah ? Le Robert dictionnaire, ye'd be meaning ??
And I thought yer man Frank O'Foyle was an Irishman...
Another Scotus Erigena.... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 01 May 02 - 09:03 PM

Ye hae an'awfy lot o' gall Zip,belittlin the "Ne Ultra" O' Scottish pedagogical excellence.Ah'll hae ye know that oan the last survey Lanarkshire had the largest collection o' medieval artifacts in the country.They are so common that aw' the young anes hae their ane cache o' Bayonets,swords,Bricks-on-a-rope an' various instruments o' war.They are maistly for show nooadays as we are a very peace-lovin race.We are so peacefu' these days that ane o' the young rascals is likely tae rush up an' gie ye a "Glesca Kiss" for nae reason ataw.
Friendly rivalry atween the various neighborhoods is a popular pastime oan the week-ends.ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Kelly from California
Date: 01 May 02 - 12:46 PM

Wassup, Dude. This is like so narly. I no be goin' to Scotland, Dude, 'cause like they don't be speakin' English their.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Zipster
Date: 01 May 02 - 12:42 PM

Haven't seen anyone refer to suffering from "a bad case of teh Dukes", or even, "ma Dukes are giving me gip"

Zipster

PS Can't stop laughing, higher education/Lanarkshire, very good ljc, that's a good one.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,Lyndi-Loo
Date: 01 May 02 - 11:54 AM

Help ma Boab is usually preceded by "Jings, Crivvens". And to show that Scots are also Francophiles (or maybe as a result of the Auld Alliance it can even be said in French as in "Aidez mon Robert"

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Hamish
Date: 01 May 02 - 04:45 AM

Jings! An' there's Scots spoonerisms, too. Such as "Nae tather a ba'"

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: GUEST,boab
Date: 01 May 02 - 02:30 AM

Ah'm o' the opeenion that "the sheugh o' yer erse" cam' frae seein' the said "sheugh' wis awfy like the real sheughs that cairry the rin-aff frae the knowes efter the rains. [Wee Danny Kyle had a crack oan the subject that wis worth a ceckle---he aye talked aboot learnin' the Gaelic, an' his wee book at hame ca'ed "Brush up yer Erse"] An' aye, Weepiper---nae intent tae dae doon the Glesca folk! Ye'd hae fund the like in thae days frae oney big toon folk. Goad's truth---Ah even met waens wha'd never clapped een oan a COO!!

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Angie
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 08:13 PM

On the Lionel Blair=flare (floor)

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 04:46 PM

Help mah Boab is ane o' they arcane mystery allusions known only by the initiates o' secret sociaties in the dark recesses o' wallie closes.It is usually whispered when meeting another brother when takin a short-cut through said wallie close efter a few bevies."Help mah Boab,ye near frichtened the life oot o' me" is the preferred greeting to ascertain the identity of suspicious denizens o' darkest Gallagate in particular.
Sometimes,if ye are lucky,ye micht stumble intae a coortin couple when the young gallant is in the middle o' a "knee trembler".Courtesy demands that a hasty retreat is in order as if ye are still gawkin by the time the troosers are hitched up a mair serious altercation micht ensue.ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: lady penelope
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 04:15 PM

Du = Pigeon
Speug = Sparrow
Sybees = spring onions
gnyaff = pillock
Piece = Piece of bread ( "Hey Maw, geeuz a piece & jam" )
Links = Sausages Hen = dear ( term of endearment ) Chick = Charles (????Why?) Doany = Don't Willnee = won't My father uses "pottit head" to mean too much vibrato ( likening it to the jelly the 'head' is set in, yech ) as in "She's a right pottit head singer!"

Rhyming words in Glasgow :-
Hair
Floor ( flair )
Stair
More ( mare )

To 'shoot off' as in to leave quickly/ imminently, has always been used in north London and doesn't seem to be particular to those of caledonian descent.

My favourite though is "Tam's in bed we his stomache" meaning "Tam has a sore stomache and has retired to bed" . I always want to ask "Where else would his stomache be?"

I know this phrase is used as an exclamation, but what does it actually mean? "Help ma boab!" Neither of my parents could help me.

TTFN M'Lady P.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: weepiper
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 02:52 PM

Monument to the Erts... heh heh good one ljc

This must be a Glesga thing, the only one I've heard round here so far (Edinburgh) is 'I haven't a Scooby's'. Boab, I suppose it's no surprising Glaswegian kids didnae ken what a whaup was, how many whaups have you seen in a city? Or heard?

Damnit I want to move back to the country :-(

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: little john cameron
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 02:24 PM

Boab,funny ye should mention sheugh.Oan mah ain site there wis an argiement aboot that.It seems that in some pairts it is the crack in yer arse,an' in ithers it is a drain or the bit atween the pavement an' the road,as in"mah bools went doon the sheugh.The actual drain wis caed 'The Siever?"
Scabby,Eh'll hev you know Eh was a pupil et St Johns Grammar School in Hemilton.This et the time was the epitomy of higher education in Lenerkshire.Some of Scotlands greatest chencers are alumni of of this monument to the Erts.It was a great pity when due to lack of enrollment it was reduced to the common denominator end became eh Comprehensive.Such is life!The Scottish education system started on ets downward slide into mediocrity.Sad days indeed. ljc

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 07:59 AM

Oh yeah - I know that this works in Standard English too, but I have never heard "I haven't a Scooby" anywhere except Scotland.

Scooby Doo/Clue..

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: John Nolan
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 06:29 AM

Troosers = winners and losers in Glasgow, except for Kelvinside, where they are known as Callard & Bowsers.

Subject: RE: BS: Scots Rhyming Slang???
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 30 Apr 02 - 04:27 AM

Well ljc - what school was it where you were so well educated that you had to unlearn it when you went to work?

Please note - I'm asking because I had a similar education myself - and not for the reasons that people in the West of Scotland usually ask "What school did you go to?"....

I was at Allan Glen's - and I think Ewan McVicar was there as well, tho' rather earlier than myself... (smiles smugly)

Cheers

Steven