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Brummie sayings & language

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I remember some of those, Bob. "Face like a wet weekend", "me belly thinks me throat's been cut" and "gone for a burton" all ring a bell. And I'm sure my Gran used to raddle her front step too, but I can't recall it specifically.
 
Chris my Father used to say if we told a fib 'Do you think I was born under a Hedge', never heard about the Down Train
 
I never heard anyone else use this one but our Mom if you played up would call you "A Bloody Monkeybrand". Max
 
BobDavies said:
I have really enjoyed reading this thread and it has jogged my memory of a few phrases that I remember from being a kid in Brum. Not sure if they are all exclusively Brummie sayings.

'Standing around like Browns cows' - when waiting for something.
My mates Mom used to send him 'up the village' (Stirchley) to get some 'messages' for her.
'It's all me eye and maggie martin' - when something was not true.
My Gran used to 'Raddle' the front step.
'Face like a wet wik end' - someone who looked miserable.
'My belly thinks my throats been cut' - someone who is hungry.
'A pint of Wallop' - a pint of beer.
'Gone for a burton' - somethings broken
'Me Monty Burton (pr. Bair- ton) - a gents suit

I'm sure there are many more that I can't recall at the moment.

Bob
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Bob, did your gran originate from the countryside? (Well, I suppose we all did originally) as 'raddle' was/is the red dye (these days there are many colours) used to mark a tup's belly, in order to stain a ewe's back, to show that she had been mated etc. Most doorsteps were either red, or occasionally stoned/chalked (?) a Portland colour (not very practical in industrial areas!) although I also remember the occasional black step (Zeebrite, as used on cooking-ranges?).
 
No, I was born in Handsworth but as far as I know my Gran originated somewhere near the Welsh Borders. But you are quite right raddle was red and if you had a white step you'd 'Donkey' it using a 'donkey stone' - whatever that was! Funnily enough whenever someone had been running and were out of breath my Mom used to say they looked a bit 'raddled'. I wonder if this was due to the redness of the face after so much exertion.

Bob
 
If either my brothers or I fell and hurt ourselves, my mother used to say, "Never mind, I'll rub it with a 'blue brick'." I sometimes have been known to use the expression and I get some very funny looks! Miriam.
 
I remember the one my mother used to say, if there was someone who you could never stop talking, she used to say to them, When you were little were you vacinated with a gramaphone needle.?
 
Thanks for posting that link again Alf. A very useful (and entertaining) resource. Of course it raises the vexed question: what are the differences between the Brummie and Black Country dialects?
 
Oh yes Bob. Going UP the village indeed. One was always going ‘up’ the village to school, or ‘up’ the shops to run errands. One could also go ‘up’ town, or ‘up’ the doctors. Conversely, one always went ‘down’ the pub, or ‘down’ the dog track. There was a definite censorial use of the directional prepositions. I am not sure if this was intentional or simply a traditional marker of life in the 40’s and 50s. We may have had tortured Brummie vowels and odd local syntax, but at least we were spiritually grammatical.

Den
 
Thylacine said:
Thanks for posting that link again Alf. A very useful (and entertaining) resource. Of course it raises the vexed question: what are the differences between the Brummie and Black Country dialects?
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Best just to just acknowledge them, rather than debate them; as that way lies war-fare!
icon6.png
 
HI GUYS;
I Remember an expression whilst growing up
and it went like this
its only my eyes that are green , and do you think i come on a bannana
boat or what i am not stupid
have a nice days everybody best wishes astonion ;;
 
I've always thought that "Did you think I'd come over on a (or - on the last -) Banana boat" inferred that the accusation had been that he'd come from far away (where the bananas came from) where people were (by inference in those non-PC days) unintelligent. Today of course the insult would be to the people who DO come from those countries. How our perceptions of the world are changed!

Another saying I remember is, of a shopkeeper whose prices were high "He's a Rob-dog."
 
At the risk of starting a "dialect war", here's a sample of Black Country Dialect (is there a shorter expression for it?). The speaker is Ernie Dunn of Quarry Bank, who was an old man in the 1970s:
My father worked from six till six all 'is life — never was late and never 'ad a quarter till 'e was 70. 'E dae come 'ome till it was seven o'clock. 'E'd wash 'im, sit in the chair, cut 'is bacca up, put it in 'is pipe, 'ouldn't 'e? And then 'e'd sit. When the children was in after 'e'd 'ad 'is tea, about seven or eight o'clook, nothin' at all to do; no readin', no wireless; only the kettle a-goin' woo-woo, the clock a-goin' tick-tock, tick-tock. And there was the lamp on the table. That'd gorr 'ole in it if yo' went to clane it. That was treasured. If that was knocked over yo'd got no light nor nothin'. When you'd all sit round we'd say: "Father, sing we a song. Sing we a song".​
 
My Mother used to say 'he/she is in their oil tot' meaning that the person was very happy about something. Has anyone else heard this one before?
 
Lloyd said:
How bona to vada your eek!
As feely homies, we would zhoosh our riahs, powder our eeks, climb into our bona new drag, don our batts and troll off to some bona bijou bar.

No? I dont suppose many know the Polari language, although a few will remember the 'Julian and Sandy' sketches from "Round the Horne" on BBC radio.
Largely taken as a 'gay' secret language, it really has its roots in the entertainment business and is an exaggerated mixture of backslang, rhyming slang, and the commoner forms of canal, circus, Yiddish, Gypsy and Italian lower-class words. This site gives a fuller explanation.
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It's not just buzzes you are a fundi on then Lloyd? Brilliant link. I loved all that Jules & Sandy stuff, knew it was a gay lingo but never the history and origins. I had mates in the Car industry who could talk in backslang (not Stanley Unwin stuff), but I would be hung drawn and quartered if I showcased any here! Brilliant site for education and entertainment. Thanks so much for sharing.

Den
 
Thylacine said:
At the risk of starting a "dialect war", here's a sample of Black Country Dialect (is there a shorter expression for it?). The speaker is Ernie Dunn of Quarry Bank, who was an old man in the 1970s:
My father worked from six till six all 'is life — never was late and never 'ad a quarter till 'e was 70. 'E dae come 'ome till it was seven o'clock. 'E'd wash 'im, sit in the chair, cut 'is bacca up, put it in 'is pipe, 'ouldn't 'e? And then 'e'd sit. When the children was in after 'e'd 'ad 'is tea, about seven or eight o'clook, nothin' at all to do; no readin', no wireless; only the kettle a-goin' woo-woo, the clock a-goin' tick-tock, tick-tock. And there was the lamp on the table. That'd gorr 'ole in it if yo' went to clane it. That was treasured. If that was knocked over yo'd got no light nor nothin'. When you'd all sit round we'd say: "Father, sing we a song. Sing we a song".​
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I've taken the liberty of re-translating that piece into what I understand as Black Country dialect - Dudley (Dood-lie)to be precise.
I used to go into the Black country museum sweet shop, and say "Giv we a bag o' suck!" which means 'Can I have some sweets please?'

Me faether werked from six till six all 'is li-af — never was le-at and never 'ad a quarrter till 'e was seven-tay. 'E dae come 'ome till it was seven o'clook. 'E'd wash 'im, sit im in the chayir, cut 'is bacca up, put it in 'is pi-ap, 'ouldn't 'e? And then 'e'd sit. When the childrun was in after 'e'd 'ad 'is tea, about seven or ey-at o'clook, nothin' at all to do; no reaydin', no wireless; only the kittle a-goin' woo-woo, the clock a-goin' tick-tock, tick-tock. And there was the lamp on the tayble. That'd gorr 'ole in it if yo' went to clane it. That was treas-ured. If that was knocked over yow'd got no light nor nothin'. When yow'd all sit round we'd say: "Faether, sing we a song. Sing we a song".​
 
Dennis Williams said:
It's not just buzzes you are a fundi on then Lloyd? Brilliant link. I loved all that Jules & Sandy stuff, knew it was a gay lingo but never the history and origins. I had mates in the Car industry who could talk in backslang (not Stanley Unwin stuff), but I would be hung drawn and quartered if I showcased any here! Brilliant site for education and entertainment. Thanks so much for sharing.

Den
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I love to hear different dialects, and the black country ones varied from district to district. Now that people travel more, dialects are disappearing - or rather, they are merging to a greyness. Sometimes it baffles you as much as a strange language - I met an elderly Asian man in a Coventry Road chip shop - who spoke in a broad Netherton accent. It might just as well have been punjabi - I didn't understand a word at first! Likewise, a jet-black African in a Glasgow pub, speaking in strong Glaswegian dialect stopped me dead in my tracks. It's not the sound I was expecting!
The difference between a Birmingham and a Black Country accent, to answer an earlier question, is dependant on where you are. Aston becomes Hockley becomes Cape Hill becomes Smethwick, as Smethwick becomes Oldbury becomes Dudley. Yet Aston (Birmingham) and Dudley (Black Country) were so different they were like other languages 200 years ago.
Time of course is the other alterer of dialect. This medieval English pronunciation guide shows examples - again, almost a diffrent language (by sound) to that we use today.
 
I always felt that the Black Country accent was less 'song-song' than the Brummagum version. The now exaggerated ''Dud-lee'' pronunciation is more down to Lenny Henry than owt else. However, as Lloyd says above, the accents have now merged/become less defined, than was once the case.

Again, as Lloyd says, there were many distinct Black Country accents ... when I was a kid, I could, within the space of a single hour of walking, pass through several different accent-zones. Some Black Country accents were quite noticeably harsh, whilst others were softer and more gentle; and some were utterly beyond me! I recall my father telling me of some Birmingham firm having to use an interpreter when they relocated to Gornal! How true this is, I don't know; does it ring any bells with anyone?

The Black Country accent shared borders with both Worcestershire and Staffordshire, giving distinct differences where each met. Whereas, Birmingham borrowed more from Warwickshire; as well as being rather more cosmopolitan.

Again, as a child whenever I travelled from Hill Top to say, Walsall, I felt as if I needed a passport for several 'border-crossings' - the Pleck area especially springs to mind! The accent there seemed to have been bred from a diet of rusty nails and blasting-powder! Likewise, travelling towards Wolverhampton was a real eye-opener; I used to marvel at the voices/accents of old ladies getting on the bus ... it was a bit like David Livingstone heading into the deepest, darkest jungle! The combination of accent/tonal-quality and patois was occasionally quite terrifying; I dreaded being spoken to!

However, it was always less of a linguistic trial travelling into Brum; although I didn't always understand some of the words or phrases, I could at least make-out what people said!
 
Me Dad was Brum born and bred (Acocks Green), but me Mom was pure Wolv'r'ampton. So I suppose I grew up bilingual. Later on me (maternal) Grandfaether came to live with us, and I picked up a lot of expressions from him (though he was quite cosmopolitan: he'd lived in London and brought back rhyming slang like "shift yer plates"). Now I'm tri-lingual with me Aussie accent. The funny thing about Aussie is that despite the size of the country, it's very difficult indeed to tell where people come from. There are certain expressions local to, say, Sydney or Hobart, but as far as accent and intonation go, it's all one big happy family! There are differences between "town" and "country", and also ones based on level of so-called education ("broad" and "posh"). Aussie and Kiwi (New Zealand: land of "fush and chups") are quite different (that will start a dialect war! View attachment 56947).
 
I remember if anyone was unsteady on their feet for one reason or another my dad would say"steady round your Aunt Nellies". Jean.
 
Thylacine said:
Me Dad was Brum born and bred (Acocks Green), but me Mom was pure Wolv'r'ampton. So I suppose I grew up bilingual. Later on me (maternal) Grandfaether came to live with us, and I picked up a lot of expressions from him (though he was quite cosmopolitan: he'd lived in London and brought back rhyming slang like "shift yer plates"). Now I'm tri-lingual with me Aussie accent. The funny thing about Aussie is that despite the size of the country, it's very difficult indeed to tell where people come from. There are certain expressions local to, say, Sydney or Hobart, but as far as accent and intonation go, it's all one big happy family! There are differences between "town" and "country", and also ones based on level of so-called education ("broad" and "posh"). Aussie and Kiwi (New Zealand: land of "fush and chups") are quite different (that will start a dialect war! View attachment 56947).
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Thylacine,

As a great lover of dialects I find that very interesting. When I first moved to Flanders, 43 years ago, every town and village had their own Flemish dialect but over the years some sayings have been lost. I am amazed that in such a large country everyone speaks more or less the same way. Flanders is very small and has only about 5 million inhabitants. I really love all the different dialects as variety is still the spice of life. When I'm roaming around Europe people often say to me that they can hear I'm from Brum and I always reply "thank god for that!"

Graham.
 
HI LLOYED
Yes its all down to todays personal perception by the sad unitelliegent
people ; they say the worlds gon mad , but it ain,t the world its the humam race thats gone yampie with all these additives in todays food
and i cannot see how these people would find it an offencive this remark
was nt meaning race or creed or where they came from
we all knew way back in time it would have taken along time to travel
from these foregn away places on the contentent
and the meaning of saying hat to another person meant that the person whom was saying it to another person was insulting the other person
by saying he his mentaly slow in his thinking and asking him to do things
and grasping what he means
yes it is sad we cannot used our age old epressions any more
and also the simple nusery ryhimes old the old bar - bar sheep
and the removal of the golly woggs sign sticker on jam jars
which was around before i was born as these foreign people find offensive
as you said its down to the persoal perception
which i can agree to a very good degree i myself are not a racist
nor is my family in any way
i have two brothers whom adopted and taken in two mixed race kids
for the social services and they also take in emegency cover for them ;and the other brother as two of them of his own so i have two neices of mixed race
and when i was a single guy many years ago courted an asian girl for three years .
but the expression i put on the forum was used by the older generation around
the early forties and through the fifties
have a nice day lloyed and keep up the good work as i have always followed
your threads and always apprecated your good work and help you have given me ovr the years i have been on this forum ; best wishes astonion ;;
 
Hi Graham!

I think the main reason for the absence of regional Aussie dialects is because Australia is so "new". It takes a long long time for dialects to develop. Social isolation and limited movement were also important factors. The United States is older, and has regional dialects, but nowhere near as many as the UK or European countries. Nowadays the amount of travel and especially the dominance of the media is driving the more detailed dialect distinctions to the wall. I've heard it said that the entire English-speaking world will eventually speak the same dialect (perhaps something like a cross between American and Kiwi!). Heaven forbid!

I agree with you that "variety is the spice of life": my love of English dialects is a big part of my nostalgia for the "old country".

Peter.
 
Peter,

Yes I agree the age of a country has a lot of influence regarding the development of dialects. And your observation on social isolation and limited movement are also correct. Some years ago while in a Flemish hospital I made acquaintance with another patient, an old farmer who hadn't been off his farm in 75 years, he and his whole family had developed their own dialect. After a few days talking to him I managed to understand just what he was on about and whenever the nurses wanted to communicate with him they had to do it through me as none of them could understand a word he said!

I always think that it's a shame when dialects are lost and here in Flanders much is done to save them. In Holland most of the Dutch speak the same but with a horrible American nasal twang to their language.The North of Holland have their own dialect called 'Fries'.

Graham.
 
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