Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!


 "Ow We Spake"

The Dialect of The Black Country

The dialect of the area remains perhaps one of the last examples of early English still spoken today. The word endings with 'en' are still noticeable in conversation as in 'gooen' (going), callen (calling) and the vowel A is pronounced as O as in sond (sand), hond (hand) and mon (man).Other pronunciations are 'winder' for window, 'fer' for far, and 'loff' for laugh - exactly as Chaucer's English was spoken.

This "dictionary" is Black Country in general and not particular to one area. Local dialect was (and probably still is to a lesser degree) quite distinctive between the different towns and villages of the Black Country. Older residents reckoned that they could tell which village that a person came from by the way they spoke. This has probably changed today due to the greater mobility of people.

 
Dialect word Meaning
Ackidock aqueduct
Agen again
Aks(axe) ask
Anunst against, next to, eg "The housen anunst hisen"
Ar Yes as in "Ar I am"
Ay or A haven't or isn't.

Dialect word Meaning
Babby baby
Barly a truce. Sometimes Arley-Barly is used. (Possibly a corruption from the French "Parlez" to talk?)
the Baggies West Bromwich Albion Football Club (not very good!)
Bai(bay) am not, eg "I bay gooin' ter tell yow agen"
Bamboozle puzzle, bemuse
Barmpot A silly person
Barmy Daft, silly
Bawk hinder or confuse
Beezum a broom of birch, also playfully used to refer to a pert young woman
Bibble A pebble
Bin been, have been, are, have I bin affirmative reply to question
Bist are, eg "how bist yow"
Blaberen to talk idly
Blart cry - from "the bleating of sheep"
Blether to talk nonsense or talk incessantly
Blobmouth blabbermouth eg "'Ers a right blobmouth. Tell 'er terday, the world knows tomorrer"
Blubren crying, eg "Ar kids blubren agen"
Bobhowlers Any large moth
Boffle hinder
Bonk bank or small hill
Bost broken or burst, past tense Bosted
Boster something big or possibly something good
Bostin literally "bursting" but actually "very good indeed" eg "We 'ad a bostin time" or "Ers a bostin wench"
Breffus breakfast
Brummagem Birmingham
Bunny-fire bonfire

Dialect word Meaning
Caggy or caghanded left-handed (all the best people are!)
Cag-mag gossip
Camplin gossiping
Catlick hasty wash
Caw(cor) cannot, eg "I cor goo the'er terday"
Chops mouth
Chimdy or chimly chimney
Chuffed pleased
Chuky or chooky chicken, fowl (children's word)
Chunter grumble under one's breath
Clack uvula, eg "Just stop yer clack"
Clarnet idiot, fool. "Yo' daft clarnet!"
Clane Clean
Clemmed or clammed starved
Clobber clothes or possibly to hit someone
Clomber climb
Codge a poor job, eg "He's made a right codge of it"
Cog-nogger or Cog-nocker Thick Sandwich (variation on Noggin)
Coddin joking, eg "Goo on, yum coddin me"
Coost could you ?, also negative "thee coosnt"
Coot coat
Cor or cort can't
cork-aiver or cog-winder a good punch
Cost can you ?, also negative "I cosn't" - I cannot
Crack fun, entertainment
Craw crop of a bird, as in "that sticks in my craw" - I cannot believe it
Croddle huddle together
Craunch crunch
Cuckoo Sweetie (affectionate term)
Cut canal

Dialect word Meaning
Dahb daub, smear
Day did not, eg "I day see 'im comin"
Desay dare say, very likely
Dishle cup of tea
Dock to stop or hold back wages
Doe do not, reply to question "I doe"
Dollop large quantity, usually of food
Donny hand (children's word) Possibly a corruption from the French "Donnez" to give?
Dowl down, soft hair on the face
Drap drop
Duck evade, dodge
Dun Do, as in "What dun yo want?"

Dialect word Meaning
'E he, pronoun used to describe the husband or household head

Dialect word Meaning
Fairce face
Faggots Black Country dish made from pig's organs, onion, sage, bread crumbs
Fai(r)ther father
Fettle excellent condition
Fittle food, victuals
Fizzog the face
Flen fleas
Flics cinema
Flirter catapult usually made from elastic (rubber) bands
Fode Fold or enclosure. A back yard to a house
Franzy irritable, particularly fretful children
Frit frightened, eg "doe be frit"
Frowtsy dishevelled
Fun found
Fust first

Dialect word Meaning
Gaffer master, employer, perhaps husband
Gammitin playing the fool
Gammy lame
Ganzy guernsey, jumper, cardigan
Gawby a simpleton
Gawk an ill dressed person, or to stare, eg "Who am yow gawkin' at ?"
Gawp(gorp) open mouthed, staring
Gleed A cinder.
Gob to spit, or the mouth itself, eg "Shut yer gob" or "'Er's got a right gob on 'er"
Goo go, eg "Am yow gooin' ter the flics ?"

Dialect word Meaning
Haiver something big, eg "It's a real haiver"
Hoss road The street. "Get out the hoss road!" = Get out of the way!

Dialect word Meaning
Ivver-ovver hesitate, eg "Stop yer ivverin' an' ovverin' an' get on wi'it"

Dialect word Meaning
Jeth(jed) death (dead)
Jiffy brief moment, eg "E woe be a jiffy"
Joobus suspicious, dubious

Dialect word Meaning
Kay-li Sherbet powder (confectionary)
Kaylied Drunk
Kay Key
Kell the lining around a faggot
Keckle Kettle
Ketch catch
Kissa the face

Dialect word Meaning
Lamp to beat or thrash, eg "Ee giv' 'im a right lampin'"
Larrupin' or larussin' Also to beat or thrash, eg "Ee giv' 'im a right larrupin'"
Lather ladder
Lezzer a meadow. From the old english leasowe
Lickle little
Lief as soon as
Loff laugh
Lommock (or lummock) clumsy, lumbering, eg "Yow big lommock"
Lover common term of endearment to children - m'lover
Lungeous play roughly, inclined to horseplay

Dialect word Meaning
Madden to make wild, annoy
Maitrum matron (of a hospital)
Maulers hands
Maunch to chew carefully (as with no teeth)
Miskin or Mixen Rubbish heap or dustbins (garbage bin)
Moach or mooch to idle about in a bored fashion or search
Mucker confusion, eg "All of a mucker" can also mean a mate as in "me old mucker"
Mun must
Myther to bother, to irritate, or be irritated by

Dialect word Meaning
Nairun none, not one
Naither neither
Natty tidy, neat
Niggle to find fault in insignificant things
Node known, eg "I've nowd 'im for 'ears"
Noggen yedded stupid
Noggin thick piece of bread or the head
Noo new
Nuss nurse, eg Nit Nuss (checked school children for head-lice)

Dialect word Meaning
Ockerd awkward
Ode old, eg "Th' ode lad" - the devil
Odge push, eg "Odge up" - move up a bit
'Ommer hammer
'Ond hand
Ood would
Ooman woman
Oot will you
Oss horse
Ote hold, eg "Ketch ote on it" - take hold of it
O'thatnin' in that way
O'thisnin' in this way
Ow how
Owern my husband, my son, my daughter, often used by women to denote member of family

Dialect word Meaning
Pie-can Silly, daft as in "Yo' pie-can"
Piece Slice of bread or a sandwich, often spread with jam or dripping
Pon Pan, as in saucepan
Poorly sick, ill. 'Ers proper poorly
Pus purse

Dialect word Meaning

Dialect word Meaning
Reasty Off, as in food gone bad or dirty as in "Your hands are reasty".
Riffy Dirty or unclean

Dialect word Meaning
Sad heavy, as in bread that does not rise.
Saft stupid, soft (in the head)
'Safta Shortened version of "this afternoon." eg. See ya this safta.
Saided sated, glutted remains left after rendering lard
Scratchings Black Country delicacy - pork rind deep fried
Scrumpin' pinching fruit (usually apples) from someone's orchard
Siden Out of perpendicular, crooked.
Skraze graze, scratch
Skrobble or scromble a tangle of wool, string, and the like
Spake speak
Splod flat-footed
Spockle to cover with drops of moisture
Spottle splash
Soople to soften, make supple
Steen stew jar or earthenware pot
Suff sewer or drain, eg "Up the suff" - down the drain
Suck Sweets, (candy to the Yanks, lollies to the Aussies)
Sup to sip, a sip, drink
Sustifikut certificate
Swelth swelling
Swilker to spill or splash
Swole swollen
Swopson a heavily built woman, used in a semi-humorous sense

Dialect word Meaning
Tack up improvement in the weather, eg "It'll tack up tonight"
Tacky-bonk or Tocky-bonk a pit mound
Taters potatoes
Tai(tay) tea, also "it isn't"
Tek take
Tek after to resemble, look like physically, mentally, or emotionally
Tewthree a few, two or three, always used as a noun preceded by "a"
Thaten that one
Thissen this one
Thrial group of three, used only in the card game of Cribbage
Thrope thrash
Tizzicky having an irritating dry cough
Tittle tickle
Tranklements small possessions, bits and pieces, paraphernalia
Trapes walking aimlessly about, eg "Trapesin' in an' ott like a dog at a fair"
Trussen to trust
Tummy a snack, especially a collier's mid-morning snack
Tunky a fat pig, eg "As fat as a tunky"

Dialect word Meaning
Unkyoothe uncouth

Dialect word Meaning
Volve valve

Dialect word Meaning
Wammel dog
Welly nearly, eg "Welly clemmed to jeth"
Wench girl, still commonly used by parents towards daughters
Werrit worry
Whimsey pit head winding gear
Wik week or weak
Woa won't, eg Yow woa
Wool whole, often of a brick : "A wooly 'un"
Wool will, eg Yow wool
Wurse or Wuss worse
Wum(whum) home. "I'm gooin' wum"

Dialect word Meaning
Yamp(e)y Useless, hopeless (as in "He's a yampy player)
Yawle or Yaup bawl, shout or cry loudly
Yed head
Yo(w) you

Dialect word Meaning
Zowk yelp, cry out
Zad the letter Z

See also 'Black Country Sayings'

Steves Homepage

Pearson/Rowley/Parrish/Batham/Gauden

Shakespeare/Hickman/Rollason

 


Steve Pearson

PO Box 2483, Dudley, West Midlands, England, DY2 0YH

Tel: +44 (0)1384 571244  E-mail: Steve Pearson


©S Pearson 2002