Although Gaelic is new to me, lowland Scottish is not. It’s the language I grew up with. At home, we spoke a genteel form of lowland Scottish, at secondary school I spoke an almost Anglicised version of it and on the street or in the park, with friends, I spoke the most vernacular version of it. All intended to help me fit in with my surroundings.
The rest of this blog is for anyone who enjoys reading all the weird and wonderful words I share here and for anyone planning to move to Scotland in the near future (you know who you are, Debs!). These are just a few useful phrases to help you settle and fit in.
Scunner: nuisance – Yer a wee scunner. But also, to take a dislike to something or someone – Ah’ve taken a scunner tae tattie scones!
As a musician, I particularly like Ah’m up tae high doh! Which despite sounding like something Julie Andrews might sing (if she were Scottish), in fact means that you’re extremely tense.
Other gems include Awa’ an bile yer heid. This request to go and boil your head indicates that the speaker thinks you’re talking rubbish. Yer bum’s oot the windae is an acceptable alternative.
I remember my sister and I shouting at each other: Clipey, clipey clash pie! Similar to ‘liar, liar, pants on fire’!
In the first comment, more of these. Enjoy!