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My Nan's sayings

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DavidGrain said:
I forget which Shakespeare play that it was that referred to 'vile diseases of the suff' but actors don;t understand that term so it now reads 'vile diseases of the south' which makes complete nonsense of Shakespeare's words.
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"Why, his masculine whore. Now, the rotten diseases
of the south, the guts-griping, ruptures, catarrhs,
loads o' gravel i' the back, lethargies, cold
palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing 2950
lungs, bladders full of imposthume, sciaticas,
limekilns i' the palm, incurable bone-ache, and the
rivelled fee-simple of the tetter, take and take
again such preposterous discoveries!" -Troilus and Cressida Act V
 
Spargone said:
"Why, his masculine whore. Now, the rotten diseases
of the south, the guts-griping, ruptures, catarrhs,
loads o' gravel i' the back, lethargies, cold
palsies, raw eyes, dirt-rotten livers, wheezing 2950
lungs, bladders full of imposthume, sciaticas,
limekilns i' the palm, incurable bone-ache, and the
rivelled fee-simple of the tetter, take and take
again such preposterous discoveries!" -Troilus and Cressida Act V
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I seem to read it two ways. If you use the word "south" I interpret it as acts practised in the south of Greece and the diseases associated with, rightly or wrongly, such practices. Obviously totally politically incorrect these days and not to be promoted. (In the time of Shakespeare, the play was first published around 1603)
However if the original word was "Suff" which is a description widely used in the midlands and other areas in those days and retained in Brummagem dialect, then the description of the rotten diseases readily describe something that could be contracted if you mess about in drains or bad water and an obvious allusion to the alleged homosexual practices of Patroclus.
I subscribe to the notion that the original script used the word SUFF and whether by ignorance of the word or misinterpretation the word south has been accepted and has become the norm.
 
its strange but although my nan must have had sayings i cant recall one at the min

lyn
 
I never heard any sayings of my grandmother (fathers side). I never, knowingly met or saw the one on my mothers side. Both grandmother and grandfather (step father) spoke differently to most people I knew, that was because they were Londoners. However, as a youngster I was unaware why it sounded differently. However I did hear expressions, comical and sometimes unintelligible from others. However, as recorded elsewhere on BHF, an uncle taught me - much to parental annoyance - a great deal of London rhyming slang.
 
Astoness said:
its strange but although my nan must have had sayings i cant recall one at the min

lyn
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A pity, because there is always a possibility that any that she did have might be carried over from her parents so they are a link to ancestors that you might never have known.

My dad used to say "puffing like a grampus" when we were very young but I don't think I heard him say it after I was ten or so. I can't say I ever heard anyone else say it and I have wondered since if he picked it up from older relatives as it could well go back to 1890 at least.
 
My mother's father used to say fower instead of four, sayside instead of seaside and he used to ask me what standard I was in at school. I needed one of my aunts to translate that as what class I was in. But I think these were just old Black Country expressions.

My father's mother used to say her instead of hair, cher instead of chair and ster instead of stair. I have met only one other person who has done that and he is from Liverpool but I don;t know of anyother person whoi has done that.
 
My Dad used to say Crayon instead of crane, Sustificate for certificate and Tarpoleon for tarpaulin. Not sayings in the sense of this thread I know, just his individual way of talking.
 
When I came to live in Devon, in 1954, I found that country folk and fishermen had a vernacular that was not always understood by me. However, being a youngster at the time, I soon picked up phrases and pronunciations. Black Country and Birmingham dialects are different and I guess with a post war immigration to the city there are more variations.
Devon has variations, Plymouth and Torquay for instance, but that may well be due to incomers and a more fluctuating population.
 
Originating in Smethwick in the 1890s, my gran never used any strong language but had one favourite expletive to release when so moved, “Guy Flip!” Never heard anyone else use it.

Family term of endearment for males only - “Wagger” as in “Ow yer doin‘ Wagger!”

Applicable to slightly questionable men - finger. “Ooze that finger? Don’t like the look of im.”
 
Lady Penelope said:
My Mom used 'Guy Flip' a lot and Dad called anyone name Charles 'Wagger'.
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I remember mum saying how to pronounce 'Smerrick' Tip'n, (The) Lye, Kingswinford etc. I had a colleague said flip me. Nan would say when exhaling or when she was fed up, wacker wacker woo in a high voice, for goodbye sometimes toodle pip pr toodle flip. My Aunt from the Welsh borders when seeing a bumble bee would remark in a stern voice, ooooh Isaac Bee!
 
Johnfromstaffs said:
Originating in Smethwick in the 1890s, my gran never used any strong language but had one favourite expletive to release when so moved, “Guy Flip!” Never heard anyone else use it.

Family term of endearment for males only - “Wagger” as in “Ow yer doin‘ Wagger!”

Applicable to slightly questionable men - finger. “Ooze that finger? Don’t like the look of im.”
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great saying ta.........he looks a right finger dont he.my dads saying as well :grinning:
 
Does anyone remember a slice of bread and butter being called 'a hand'? I though it might be a family thing but I met someone from brum years ago who said the exact same thing! So if your nan was feeding you, she'd say 'do you want a hand wi'that?', which was a little bread and butter on the side...must of been confusing for the initiated! No one since knows what I am on about (but am in Northampton nowadays).
 
Banfoscadh said:
Does anyone remember a slice of bread and butter being called 'a hand'? I though it might be a family thing but I met someone from brum years ago who said the exact same thing! So if your nan was feeding you, she'd say 'do you want a hand wi'that?', which was a little bread and butter on the side...must of been confusing for the initiated! No one since knows what I am on about (but am in Northampton nowadays).
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That was always called a "Piece" when we were kids.
 
My wife as just asked me a question ,and my answer was OH ARE and she said what does that mean and I said YE .
 
jmadone said:
That was always called a "Piece" when we were kids.
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Apologies if I've made this comment before - I used to work with someone from Scotland and I was very surprised when I heard her refer to a sandwich as a 'piece'
I had always thought of a Brummie thing but apparently not!
 
A Sparks said:
Apologies if I've made this comment before - I used to work with someone from Scotland and I was very surprised when I heard her refer to a sandwich as a 'piece'
I had always thought of a Brummie thing but apparently not!
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My Brummie aunties said eat your piecey. My Irish friend's gran said a cut o' bread and heel for a crust. His mum said sambo for sandwich. My birth family say my BF said a sheet for money. Friend's mum said snap for her lunch. She was Welsh.
 
Last year I was in a supermarket doing a little shopping when I remembered the reason that I had really gone there for. Because I was going to be out all the following day, I had gone to buy a sandwich for the following days lunch. The thought that came to my mind was that I needed to get a 'piece'. I have not used that word in that sense for over 60 years.
 
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