Many visitors to Scotland are confused and intimidated by the words of Scottish slang. With this guide you can prepare yourself.
Note that this is not a guide to Scottish, which is itself a language.
Scots speak various dialects, including the Dorric language, which are often confused for slang. Another important feature of the Scots is that each city has its own variations of the common words. For example, Fife residents use the word "Bairn" to refer to a small child, while in Glasgow they have the word "Wean".
Also, in Scotland what can appear an insult can be simply a greeting between friends, for example: "awright ya wee bawbag?", It means: "how are you my friend?" If you omit the word "awright" and say "Haw you, ya bawbag" it would mean "I'm sorry, I don't like you and I consider you a jerk". These words seem to come from the sentences of the books "Oor Wullie" and "The Broons". However, a good way to get a feel for Scotland is YouTube. Type in words like "Glasgow Fireworks", "Glasgow Midget" and you will understand Scottish humor. Even typing in "Rab C Nesbit" and "Still Game" you will see entire episodes or series of shows on the Scottish language and general conversation topics of Glasgow or the Scottish West Coast.
Swearing is also part of everyday language and is not generally considered offensive, again depending on the usage and topic.
Steps
Step 1. Learn the basics:
- Aye - Yes
- Nah, Nae, Naw - No
- Alright ?, Awright? - How are you? / Hi
- Nowt, Nuttin, HEEHAW - Nothing
Step 2. Learn a few phrases:
- What you on the day? - What are your plans for today?
- Craic the day? Hows / whats the craic? - What are you doing today?
Step 3. Learn some slang:
- NED - word for a troubled boy, an uneducated offender, or generally a brash and straightforward boy also called "hoodies", a boy in a hooded sweatshirt
- Sound, huh - Great!
- Slaters - Lice
- Braw, Fandabbydosy, Brulliant, Its a belter - Cute
Step 4. Say something:
- Ye ken, no whit ah mean - You know, do you know what I'm talking about?
- A cannie mind, ma heids away - I don't remember / I'm thinking
- Dinnae - Don't do it
- Wit, huh? - Thing?
- Bairn, rugrat, wean - Baby (honey, love)
- Mankit, manky, reekin, mokkit, clatty - Dirty
- Craw - crow, can also be used offensively to say "look at that craw", which means "look at how rough that person is"
- Stotter - drunk person who wanders aimlessly
- Sassenach - specific word offensive by the English or generally used for those who disagree with your point of view, giving English to a Scotsman is insulting enough in itself
- Coo, dug - cow, dog
- Baw - ball
- Eejit - an idiot
- The brew, the dole - employment office
- Dreekit, ringing - soaking wet
- Aw ya Bawbag - you are a jerk, or literally "I'm sorry, you, you're a jerk". However, this can also be said to a friend to say, "I haven't seen you for a long time, how are you?"
- In ma hoose, at ma bit - in my house
- Gimme ma haunbag, gies the hingie, gies the didgerydoodah - pass me the bag, give me that thing, give me the …
- Yir aff yir heid - you are out of your mind, you are crazy, you don't understand, you are stupid
- Gies yir patter, or gies yir banter - let me hear the local dialect which I find funny
- Heid bummer - person in charge
- Get up yon close - go up the stairs
- Gutties, snibs, reekers, trannys, paki 2 bobs - sneakers
- Wheres yir wallies - where are your false teeth
- Its baltic, brass monkeys, blue balls - it's very cold outside
- Chibbed, dun in, a kickin, leathered, skudded, smacked good looking
- Wheesht - please be quiet
- Skelf - splinter (can be used to describe something rather fine and small compared to its counterparts)
- Yir a skelf - you are very slim
- Awrighty troops, awright muckers - hello everyone (for your friends)
- It's a belter, top quality, its smashin - it's very good
- Am goin a donner - I'm going for a walk
- Blether, natter - have a chat
- Get a grip, get a haud or yirsel - calm down and change the way you think
- You fancy a cuppa - do you want to go get a cup of tea / coffee?
- Wits oan the box - what's on TV?
- Gies a break - please leave me alone
- Ah want a bag of crisps - I'd like a bag of crisps
- Am goin for a chippie - I'm going to a potato chip shop
- Chips - fried potatoes
- Sweets - a type of candy
- Bevvy, cairy oot, take away, offies - drinking alcoholic drinks
- Roon but bit, but gaff - around the area where I live
- An empty - an unexpected absence of parents where teenagers, left alone, organize a party
- A kipper - a false and cowardly person, or smoked haddock
- Yir nabbed - you got caught
- Getting jumped - they will jump on you or you will have a sexual encounter
- Elvis impersonator - drunk who finds himself at 3 am in front of all the clubs in Glasgow
- Poaching - illegally stealing animals or fish or cooking eggs
- Nicking, nabbing, lucky dip - stealing
- Blues and twos, checkers, bizzies, pigs, scum, grunters, I smell bacon, paddy wagon, meat wagon.
- Windae licker - a person who is very special and requires a particular means of transport
- Crack me up - laugh a lot or freak out
- It's a riot, rammy, randan, dogs bollocks, bees knees, top banana, off the chain - highly infectious fun
- Bampot, eidgit, twat, feckwit, divvy, heidbanger, heidcase - one of the most exaggerated idiots
- Dinked - being hit with a glass bottle over the head
- Tealeaf - thief
- Five finger discount - steal
- Ony, onywhere, onyway - any, anywhere, any way
- Whit the **** - what's going on? Because it does not work? You can not be serious?
