The Beatles put Liverpool on the map for visitors who might never have considered an industrial seaport in the middle of England a tourist destination. The language spoken there is technically English, but the difference isn’t just the accent or pronunciation, as there is a long list of idioms and slang words unique to the area.
Liverpool has produced a number of comedians, actors and television shows as well as music groups such as the Beatles, and people have moved around more in recent years, so the slang expressions have become more familiar to the outside world.
A person from Liverpool, called a Liverpudlian, may also be referred to as a Scouse, or a Scouser, but smile when you say that. There is a definite lower-class connotation to Scouse, which also refers to a meat stew eaten for dinner. Scouse is usually made from chunks of meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions, floating in gravy, but if the family is too poor to afford the meat, they would have to eat Blind Scouse, or meatless stew.
Liverpool is over 800-years-old. It grew in importance from its position as a seaport in the center of the country, but also its proximity to Ireland. Liverpool is a natural departure point across the Irish Sea to Ireland which gave it social and military significance. It also was the landing place for a large population of Irish immigrants who influenced the culture and speech patterns of the city.
Consonant blends are often spread out with a vowel sound between them, such as fillum for film. A d may be substituted for the t and th sounds at the beginning of words and there is a distinctive nasal twang.
Here are a few examples of slang words you might hear from a Scouser:
A wet nellie is a cake, but it also means a weak person, such someone who couldn’t punch a hole in a wet Echo. The Echo is the local Liverpool newspaper.
You might be pretty chuffed (happy) if you are invited to go swimming, but don’t forget your cozzie, or swimsuit. Cozzie comes from swimming costume.
The word mingy comes from a nice combination of the words mean and stingy.
If you are told to shut your gob, it means to be quiet, as that is your mouth. Best do as you are told, especially if it is the gaffer, or boss, saying it.
A butty is a piece of bread and butter, so add some jam and you have a jam butty.
There are bags of dodgy, skint characters who might nick your stuff and scarper, without so much as saying ta, or ta-ra. (There are many suspicious broke characters who might steal your stuff and run off, without so much as saying, thanks, or goodbye.) There are a number of expressions for lawless or criminal, such as bent, dodgy, or fell of the back of a lorry, meaning stolen property, as it just fell of the back of the truck.
These are just a few examples of the colorful speech you might hear as you head down Penny Lane on your visit to Liverpool.
