Appendix:Glossary of Scottish slang and jargon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T W Y Z

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This is a glossary of Scots, Scots English dialect and jargon with their meanings and, where appropriate, an example of their use. It's worth noting that Scotland has 3 languages (English/Scots/Scottish Gaelic) and a collection of different dialects.

Contents:A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

[edit]

  • Ae - To agree with someone, or often used at the end of a question (“He’s coming wi’ us, ae?”)
  • Ah - I.
  • a' - all.
  • a'body / aabody / abidy - everybody.
  • aboot - about.
  • aff - off ("Ye're aff yer heid!")
  • Ah ken - I know.
  • Ah wisna(e) - I was not.
  • Ah wiz like - I said. (So the boss says tae me that Ah was lazy, an' Ah wiz like, "Naw, Ah am'nae!")
  • Ah'm ur - I am.
  • Ah'm urny / Ah'm no - I am not.
  • an' aw - as well.
  • and but - suffix indicating that the speaker has now finished talking. ("We went doon tae Largs for fish an' chips, and but.")
  • Anno - I know.
  • auld - old (as in "auld yin").
  • awfy - awfully or very
  • Awa n bile yer heid - go and boil your head, go away ("Yer gettin a bit pudge in yer auld age" "Awa n bile yer heid, Mark.")
  • aye - yes

B

[edit]

  • baccy - tobacco ("Can you lend me some baccy?")
  • baffies - slippers.
  • bahoochie / behouchie - buttocks.
  • bairn - baby (jist a wee bairn!) or small child (Eastern Scottish dialect).
  • baltic - freezing cold ("Christ man, put the heating oan, it's baltic in here!").
  • bam - a fool or simpleton (from acronym BAM i.e. "below-average mentality")
  • bampot - an idiot, unhinged person.
  • banana boat - used in an expression of disbelief when told a tall story or blatant untruth ("Dae ye think Ah came up the Clyde on a banana boat(?)")
  • banger - a firework. ("Away you 'n' chew mah banger(!)")
  • Barkit - dirty/unclean. ("Oaft, ma shirt is pure barkit")
  • barra - a small child. Also, an affectionate term for a younger person (A wee barra.)
  • Barras - a market, started by Margaret McIver, joined for the initial use of wheel barrows/"barras" to sell things from, at the Barrowland in the east end of Glasgow.
  • barry - excellent / fantastic ("That's pure barry!")
  • bastart - bastard. Also, rarely, a peculiar term of endearment ("Awright Ted, ya wee bastart.")
  • batter - to beat up ("I'll batter ye! 'mon then, ya dick!")
  • bawbag - scrotum, pejorative ("That guy's a bawbag.")
  • bawhair - a unit of measurement denoted by the thickness of a pubic hair.
  • bawheid - ballhead, bald, empty-headed, stupid ("Oi, you, ya bawheid!")
  • baws - testicl*s.
  • bawsack - scrotum (ballsack in English.)
  • beast - to engage in sexual intercourse, particularly in an illicit context; to sexually assault ("Word's been going around that the priest's been beasting weans.")
  • belter - to be excellent, great, fantastic.
  • ben - down or through, or a mountain.
  • bevvy - alcoholic beverage ("Ye havin' a bevvy the nite?")
  • bez - beer.
  • bide - stay/live.
  • Big Yin - Big One, used as a term of endearment towards older relatives or friends. Also, the affectionate nickname for Scottish comedian Billy Connolly.
  • birl/burl - spin.
  • bit - a place; usually referring to somebody's house ("Meet me at ma bit." "Ah'll come round tae your bit." "Am stayin' o'er at my da's bit the night.")
  • bits - boots, steel-capped or rigger, worn on construction sites ("You'll hae te wear ya bits on site")
  • bizzo - business (from an episode of TV series "Minder".)
  • blootered - very drunk.
  • bobby - police
  • boak - dry heave/expression of disgust ("Pure gie'in' me the boak!")
  • bob - a shilling, or 12 old pennies pre-decimilisation; 5 new pence.
  • bobee, bawbee - one half-penny in auld money.
  • boggin' - smelly, dirty ("That's boggin'!")
  • bolt - go away ("Wanty bolt!")
  • bonnie - handsome, pretty, beautiful.(Come follow the bonnet of Bonnie Dundee)
  • boot - slatternly or ugly woman.
  • bosie - cuddle.
  • bowfin' - sick-making.
  • The box - television set ("Whit's oan the box the night?")
  • brae - a hill.
  • brammer - term of endearment ("Aw, he's a wee brammer, so he is.")
  • brand new - really good, can be used to refer to a person. ("See him? Aye he's brand new")
  • braw - good looking, beautiful; really nice.
  • breeks - trousers.
  • brief - car.
  • broon - brown.
  • Bucky - short for "Buckfast", a tonic wine popular in the West of Scotland.
  • buits - boots.
  • bunker - table top / kitchen counter ("Make sure yeez clean aw along the bunker when yer finished!")
  • burd - Girlfriend, or girls in general (huv ye seen the state ae thae burds!)
  • burn - small river or stream ("Let's awa' up that burn.")
  • but - conjunction sometimes used to end sentences, commonly in Inverclyde ("Ahm naw gaun, but!")

C

[edit]

  • cannae - can not.
  • canny - smart ("He's a canny lad.") or to be wary, or careful ("Ca' canny, lassie!")
  • chankin - cold ("It's chankin' the day!")
  • chebs - tit*.
  • chib - to stab with a knife, or to headbutt.
  • chief - alternative for 'mate', 'dude', 'fella', 'big yin'. ("Awrite chief, wur ye aff tae the night?")
  • choochter - see teuchter.
  • chookie - bird.
  • choon - song (from "tune")
  • chug - to masturbat* ("He was having a chug on the bus.")
  • chum - to accompany someone ("Goan chum me to the shop.")
  • claes - clothes.
  • clart - to apply too much of something.
  • clarted - covered in (mud).
  • clarty / clatty - dirty ("He picked his nose and ate it, the clarty bastard!")
  • class - Something that is really good ("That's pure class min!")
  • cauld - cold ("It's awfy cauld in here.")
  • close - an alleyway or passage at the rear of houses. The passageway leading into a tenement building. Humid weather.
  • cludgie - toilet, or lavatory, originally outdoors. ("Ah'm oan the cludgie!")
  • clype - a tell-tale, a grass. Also, to hit someone or something.
  • coarse / coorse - to bully or torment, or to be bad. To handle in a rough fashion.
  • cooncil juice / cooncil pop - tap water
  • coupon - face. ("Some coupon on him, eh?")
  • cowk - to heave or throw up.
  • cowp - to knock over. Also, a skip or landfill.
  • craic (crack) - chat ("What's the craic?")
  • cripple- to make someone fall over or do something clumsy ("Did you see me cripple Andrew yesterday?")
  • crivens - an exclamation. (See also "Jings, crivens, and help mah boab!")
  • cuddy - horse.
  • cummoan - let's go,~~ please talk sense ~~ (vamos,. sp)
  • cundie - drain.
  • cuttin' - hanging out in a directionless manner. Not necessarily standing still. ("I've been cuttin' aboot the toon aa day!")

D

[edit]

  • da - father. (Yer da sells Avon)
  • dafty - silly, foolish person.
  • dancin' - discotheque, nightclub (Ur ye gaun tae the dancin' the night?)
  • dangleberry - small piece of stool hanging from the hair around the bum hole.
  • dander/daunder/daunner - a walk ("Comin' fur a wee daunner doon yonder?")
  • deh - don't (deh dae that.)
  • deid - very; usually used with "pure" in front to describe something (That's pure deid brilliant!!!) or if someone has died (" The big yin is deid")
  • di - word used for grandad
  • diddy - did he? Also means an idiot ("Diddy go tae school?" "Wait! Ye left yur keys, ya diddy!")
  • didnae - didn't ("Ah didnae dae that!")
  • dingy - to ignore, abandon ("He's dingied us.")
  • dinnae - don't ("Dinnae dae that!")
  • dircht - to wipe or clean ("Dinnae dircht ya grunzy on yer heshin!")
  • diteit - stupid.
  • div - idiot.
  • dobber - a fool/stupid person. Also means "dickhe*d" ("Whit ye daein', ya dobber?!")
  • Dodo Manson - needing a poop.
  • doggin' - Having sexual intercourse in the back of a car, usually with spectators ("Oh my God. They were doggin'!"). Also, skipping school ("I couldn't be bothered so ended up just doggin' it.")
  • dolton - an idiot.
  • doo - a pigeon.
  • doon - down. ("Turn that doon! Wiv got a f*ckin' can thief! TURN THAT DOON!")
  • doonhamer - Someone from Dumfries. Got its name from towns more North than Dumfries because people from Dumfries would say, "Ah'm gaun doon hame."
  • Doric - Scots dialect spoken in the North East.
  • dowp - backside, bottom.
  • dreich - damp, overcast, wet.
  • drookit - soaking wet, drenched.
  • dug - a dog.
  • dunderheid - an idiot, a fool.
  • dunno / dinnae ken - I don't know.
  • dunt - nudge.
  • Eccie/Eccies - Ecstasy (the drugs).
  • Edina / Embra - Edinburgh.
  • eejit - idiot.
  • een - eyes.
  • eh - what? Or, can also mean 'yes' and 'me' and 'eye'.
  • empty - the residents who live in the house are not present and people take advantage by having a party in the "empty" house. ("Ma granny's got an empty, 'moan up fur a swallae."). Normally teenagers having a party in their own house when parents are away involves drinking, which they would not be able to do with their friends if parents were around.
  • erse - arse (doric)

F

[edit]

  • fae - from ("Far aboots you fae?")
  • fa*g - a cigarette.
  • fandan - (short for "Fancy Dan") an overconfident, fandango, pretentious idiot ("That guy's a pure fandan, by the way.")
  • fanny - idiot, vagin*, pejorative ("He's a wee fanny.")
  • fannybaws - a term of ridicule, in some cases of endearment ("Ho, here fannybaws, geis a chip.")
  • fash - fuss, worry ("Dinnae fash yersel'.")
  • feart - to be scared, afeared (Ah'm feart o' the dark.")
  • f*ck - f*ck, ("In the name of f*ck, ser.")
  • fer / fir / fur - for.
  • fitba' - football.
  • fit like? - how are you? (Dorric)
  • fir wye? - why?
  • flamer - a hom*osexual, from flaming hom*osexual.
  • flap - to become overly upset or worked up about something, beyond what others see as necessary (" Dinnae flap! We'll find yer wellies!")
  • fleg - fright, flag reference to over-exuberant British nationalism ("He's a dirty Flegger.")
  • flit - move house.
  • foond / fund/fin - found.
  • footer - to twiddle and mess about with something (courtesy of Mrs A. A Munro).
  • forrit - forward.
  • fu' - full (of alcohol), drunk.
  • fud - vagin* (Ah booted her right in the fud, man!) usually used as a derogatory term ("What fud publishes on Wikipedia?"). The tail of a rabbit.
  • funt - slightly less offensive merging of f*ck and c*nt, which you can say in front of older relatives and get away with. ("That funt pushed in front of me in the chip shop.")
  • f*ck up - shut up.
  • f*ck all - nothing

G

[edit]

  • gadge / gadgie - East coast term for a bloke (That gadge is mental.)
  • gads - exclamation of disgust. Used in the South West (predominantly Ayrshire and North of Aberdeen.)
  • gaff - house, or a house party (she's havin' a gaff the night.).
  • gallus - gallous, bold, cheeky, or flashy.
  • gammie - an injured body part (Cannae play, Ah've got a gammie leg.)
  • gan - go.
  • gaun yersel' - congratulations.
  • gaun - going (Ah'm gaun hame), or, go on and (gaun shut the f*ck up.)
  • gantin' / gaggin' fer it - begging for (See her, she's pure gantin' fer sex.)
  • gash - vagin*, or poor (Hibs are gash at football.)
  • gie's / geez - give me - (geez it.)
  • geggy - mouth - (Shut yer geggy.)
  • geks - glasses.
  • gem - game/up for (Pronounced by properly enunciating the G ((Hard G)), unlike the term Gem meaning jewel)
  • gey - very
  • ginger - pop/fizzy drink/soda (typically referring to Irn-Bru.)
  • gingin' (pronounced "ging-in") - disgusting (He wis spewin' his guts up (being sick), it was heavy gingin'!)
  • glaikit - stupid looking (get that glakit look aff yer fizzog.)
  • Glesgae - Glasgow, if not a local (typically East coast Scots) "Glesga" is more often used by West coast Scots.
  • goat - got (Ah goat it right!)
  • gonnae no dae that - please don't do that!
  • gobble - blowj*b, or to eat as if starving.
  • gob - mouth (shut yer gob), or spit.
  • gowpin' / lowpin' - sore body part/infested with lice - (My knee is gowpin'.) - (Her heid was pure lowpin'.)
  • goon - idiot (You're a pure goon, man!)
  • graftin' - to like someone (“are you graftin' Ben?”)
  • grannied - didn't score a single point (I was grannied at pool tonight.)
  • granda - grandfather.
  • greet - to cry.
  • groond / grund - ground.
  • grunzy - your nose.
  • gutties - rubber soled sand shoes or gym shoes, from Gutta-percha, the tree from which latex and rubber are derived.
  • gunt - Hibs fan, portmanteau of Easter Road and c*nt.

H

[edit]

  • hackit - ugly.
  • hame - home (am away hame.)
  • Harry hoofter- rhyming slang for "poofter" a derogatory term for a hom*osexual man.
  • hauf - half; a measure of whisky.
  • hauf 'n' a hauf - a measure of whisky and a half pint of beer
  • haver - silly talk, nonsense/gibberish (stap yer haverin'.)
  • havnae - have not.
  • haun - hand (watch ma haun.)
  • haud / hud - hold, stop "wanty haud that?", "haud the bus" (stop right there.)
  • haud yer wheesht - stop talking.
  • haw - a quick saying to get someones attention, quicker than saying "hello". (Haw, stop ya bawbag!)
  • heavy - used to emphasise, "heavy sh*te" = awful.
  • hemmin - term to get someones attention, equivalent "excuse me sir" (Hemmin, fit like the day?)
  • hen - term of endearment for a woman, equivalent to "love" or "darling" (How ye daein' the day, hen?)
  • heid - head (Ah've got a sair heid.)
  • hee haw - nothing/empty.
  • heid-the-baw - an idiot.
  • heshin / heshun - your sleeves.
  • heavin' (hee-vin) - very busy (This pub is heavin', ye cannae get movin'.)
  • hingway - thing. Often used interchangeably with any noun (Gee tha hingway back)
  • hirplin - to walk with a limp. (She hirpled across to answer the door.)
  • hoachin' - full.
  • hochmagandy - fornication, sex.
  • hole - sex/vagin* (She's gettin' her hole the night fer definite.)
  • honkin' - smelly/dirty (Your breath is honkin' by the way.)
  • hoore - whor*.
  • hoora - slang term for "very" (That Buckfast was hoora good.)
  • Hoarse - a horse (“get aff ur high hoarse”)
  • hoose - house.
  • hoot - what (Hoot are you talkin' aboot?)
  • howfin' / howlin'/ hummin' - smelly.
  • how? - why?
  • how no'? - why not?
  • howzitgoan - greetings (Howzitgoan pal? Huvnae seen ye in ages.)
  • huddy - idiot, stupid, lame brain.

I

[edit]

  • Inna -As well (Are you gan ti the boozer inna?)
  • Isna(e) - Is not
  • Int it/Int it no? - Isn't it? (This place is brilliant, int it no?)

J

[edit]

  • jag/jab - injection/punch
  • jaggies - stinging nettles. (Mind the jaggies dinnae git ya!)
  • jaked - being in a state of drunkenness (I was jaked last night)
  • jake(y) - a person who is addicted to class A drugs or alcohol, and lives a poor quality of life as consequence / A down-and-out, a tramp.
  • Jambo - a supporter of Heart of Midlothian F.C., from Jam Tarts, as rhyming slang for Hearts.
  • jamp - past tense of jump (used mostly in the Highlands, especially the Black Isle).
  • janny - janitor.
  • jessie/jessy - wimp/big girl's blouse/effeminate or cowardly man (he's a big jessie)
  • Jim Delahunt - sports pundit and former presenter of Scotsport, rhyming slang for "c*nt", female genitalia
  • Jings! - Wow!
  • Jings, crivens, and help mah boab! - expression of surprise or admiration, from the internationally famous comics "Oor Wullie" and "The Broons" by Scottish publisher D.C. Thompson
  • jobby - poo; plural form "jobbies"
  • jobby catchers - tracksuit bottoms
  • jobby jabber - a gay man (derogatory slur)
  • jump in - children usually ask an adult to go into a shop and buy them (children, under 18) alcohol, term is commonly used in Ayrshire (Ask him for a jump in)

K

[edit]

  • kelpie - a mythical water creature resembling a horse. Also a set of twin sculptures called "The Kelpies".
  • ken - to know
  • kip - a nap
  • knob - slang for penis, in particular knob-end; an irritating or contemptible person (Whit a knob man!)
  • knapdarloch - a piece of faeces hanging from an animal's fur
  • kimon - slang for c*nt
  • kip - sleep/nap (If yur tired, try fur a kip." "am away fir a kip man, shattered)
  • kippy - left (He's kippy-handed.)
  • kirk - church (I can't get pished? Is this some kind of kurk?)
  • Keech - Scottish for faeces. Can be used in a sentence for someone who you think is talking rubbish or nonsense (Listen ya bam awa an' stop talkin keech.)
  • Keek - to peep or look
  • ket - An alternate term for Ketamine

L

[edit]

  • laddie - A boy or young man (Aye, laddie!)
  • laldy - Attitude/Effort of great volume (ah gave it Laldy!)
  • lamped - To be struck soundly with a fist (eg. Boab wiz gettin' on ma tit*, so I lamped him)
  • lassie - A girl or young woman
  • lavvy - A lavatory (toilet) (Am gaun' tae the lavvy.)
  • lecky - electricity - often used in reference to bills (she didn't pay her lecky this month)
  • lifted - to be arrested by the police. (e.g. He wiz totally pished an' the polis lifted him)
  • lip - cheek (Ony mair o' yer lip an ah’ll skelp yer dowp)
  • Li'ah' - like that (An' ah wis li'ah'​)
  • loaby - hallway, lobby, passageway
  • loon - boy (Aberdeen dialect), idiot (elsewhere)
  • loupin - very sore/infested with lice (My heid is loupin.) also means smelly.
  • loused - Finished, tired or shattered (I'm loused)
  • lugs - ears

M

[edit]

  • Mare's meat - A vigorous and forward act (He's in there like a marr's meat)
  • Ma Kelly-Ann - term for the Mrs, me and Kelly-Ann did this, my Kelly-Ann said that, me and Kelly Ann had a good pumpin' last night etc etc.
  • mad wae it (MWI) - comprehensively drunk
  • magic - great/excellent (That's pure magic)
  • mair - more
  • maist - most
  • malkied - (from Malky Fraser - Glaswegian rhyming slang for "razor") Initially to have been hit hard, or chibbed... blootered/drunk/wrecked (Heavy malkied last night, pal)
  • maw - mum (Aye yer maw)
  • mauchit/manky - very dirty (Your trousers are mauchit!! Ya manky bastard!)
  • meltit/melted - to be off one's face, usually on drugs - (Ah was pure melted man!)
  • mense - Great or other words, a shorter form of "immense"
  • messages - shopping (Maw sent me fur messages last night)
  • mental - Insane, wild (that party last night was pure mental.)
  • mibay/mibbe - maybe.
  • midden - Outdoors rubbish pile, tip "this room's a midden!"
  • min/mannie - mate (aw'right, min?), or any adult male (That's the mannie I wis thinkin' of.)
  • mince - rubbish/nonsense - (Dinnae talk mince)
  • minger - A dirty/smelly/horrible person or ugly person
  • mingin - horrible/dirty (Your bathroom is mingin, this drink tastes mingin)
  • mink - an unhygienic person (You wee mink.)
  • minted - rich/wealthy (Look at his motor, he must be minted.)
  • minter - pejorative for an unattractive female ("She's a minter")
  • Mokit - dirty
  • Mon then - A challenge to fight (f*ckin' mon' then ya wee dick)
  • the morn - tomorrow
  • the morn's morn - tomorrow morning
  • motor - a car (originates from "motor car") "his motor's pure minted man!", "jump in my motor, I'll gie ye a lift hame".
  • muckle - large (I caught this muckle fish doon the burn the ither day).
  • munter - ugly person (That lassy you were winchin' last night was a proper munter.)

N

[edit]

  • naebidy / nae c*nt - no one
  • nae danger - no chance / no way / no bother
  • knackered - tired/exhausted
  • napper - head
  • Nat King - another word for intercourse getting your hole (from nat king cole)
  • Nat King Cole - intercourse, commonly nat king cole, hole (rhyming slang)
  • naw - no
  • naw he didnae - No he didn't. Some credit Scottish TV sitcom Still Game as the origin of this expression, but it's a lot older than Still Game has been on TV.
  • ned - backronym for 'non-educated delinquent', hooligan, troublemaker. Derived from Edward, as in Teddy Boys.
  • neebur- Neighbour
  • nip - kiss (gonae give us a nip) or a single measure of an alcoholic spirit, often whisky (geez a nip wi' that pint will ye darlin' )
  • neeps - Turnips (neeps an' tatties)
  • nippin - stinging
  • nippy - curt or sharp-tongued person; spicy or peppery food
  • noggin - head
  • nugget - a less than valuable lump of matter, may be something hanging off your shoe or your backside, may be a person (Who's that nugget?)
  • numpty - an endearing term/lovable idiot. Shows friendly banter (Och, Jonathan! You're a right numpty)
  • nut - head, or another term used for the word 'not'

O

[edit]

  • Och awa' an' dinna talk pish - You're talking a load of rubbish
  • oan yer bike - go away
  • oan yer trolley - go away
  • Onit - term used when drinking alcoholic beverages
  • Onybody or A'body - Anybody
  • oose - dust ball, dust bunnie, cobweb
  • oot - out
  • ory or orey or oary - Vulgar, common, lacking in social graces. Perhaps from "ore" i.e. unrefined material. Word may be peculiar to Dundee.
  • outwith Outside or beyond (he lives outwith the catchment area for the school. That is outwith the remit of the report.)
  • oot yer nut - really drunk (mate, get hame yer oot yer nut.), off your head.
  • oxters - armpits

P

[edit]

  • Pal aboot wi - spend time with someone (she pals aboot wi eric and that)
  • Pan - break or disfigure (pan the windaes in) Also a name for the toilet.
  • Para - paranoid.
  • Patter - Banter (yer patter's sweet pal)
  • Panbread - dead
  • Pap - a breast
  • Paps - plural form for breast
  • Papa - grandfather
  • Park - field
  • Patch - to ignore someone, stand them up, or not respond to their texts, calls etc. ("he's pure bin patchin me aw week")
  • Pedro - Amazing (Aww sur, that is Pedro)
  • Peebrusht - rectum (from an episode of Minder) Surely derived from 'Pibroch' for pipe?
  • Peedie - small (yer nae haf peedie ya ken)
  • Peely wally - looking pale and unwell
  • Pie - a Scottish version of a chav, also used as a general derogatory word ("Yer a pie")
  • Piece - a sandwich (A had a cheese an' tomata piece this efternoon)
  • Pimps - easy (That exam was pure pimps)
  • Pish - piss. Often used to mean "bad"
  • Pished - drunk
  • Pizza Crunch - a pizza deep-fried in batter. Popular delicacy.
  • Plastered - drunk
  • Poke - a paper bag, or to prod someone with your finger
  • Polis - the police
  • Poon/Poond/Poonds - Pound/Pounds (either coins or weight)
  • Pooched - broken, f*cked, useless. (I pooched my bird up the closie last night) used in anger or expression, mainly used by people from Angus or Fife
  • Poptae - An alternative for knob goblin
  • Puckle - a few of something (not necessarily 2)
  • Pucklie - a small amount
  • Puddock - a frog
  • Pumped - sex
  • Punny eccy (or simply "punny") - punishment exercises at school
  • Pure - very, totally (she's pure no right.) used to emphasise something.
  • Plab - The name for a large soft and watery pile of faeces probably most akin to cattle dung.

Q

[edit]

  • quality - great/excellent (That film was quality.)
  • quine or quinie - girl, young woman, (Aberdeen dialect)

R

[edit]

  • radge - Crazy, angry (he went totally radge)
  • rat-arsed - Drunk (Lets get rat-arsed!)
  • rank - disgusting
  • Rebrov - Man of stature (that guy is pure Rebrov man)
  • reekbeek - horrible, disgusting (That lassie is pure reekbeek)
  • reid/reed - Red
  • Reprobate - Unprincipled person, (Shut it, ya reprobate)
  • roamin - Taking a walk (gone on the piss, no told the mrs an got lost)
  • roaster - Someone who is making a complete c*nt of themselves (Here, did ye see that roaster oan the X-Factor the other night?)
  • rocket - a crazy or annoying person. General insult. ("bolt ya rocket")
  • raging - Extremely angry; in a rage (you're pure raging, mate)

S

[edit]

  • Salt 'n' Sauce - what Edinburgh people put on their chips.
  • Sannies - a pair of shoes , typically for sports. (sandshoe)
  • sassenach - often used for an English person, Southerner, but more accurately it is someone born below the Highland Line.
  • scaffies - bin men. Scavengers
  • scheme - residential area, usually a council estate
  • schule - school (pronounced "skull") (Ye no gaun' tae the schule the day?)
  • scooby - clue, (no clue) From the 1970s American cartoon series "Scooby Doo" involving student detectives and a gormless Great Dane.
  • scoobie - This spelling meaning is used instead of Subaru (Have ye seen Mikes new scoobie?)As above.
  • score - Twenty pounds (currency)
  • scanty - to pull doon some c*nt's troosers
  • scramble - Scottish tradition at weddings where the groom throws small change out of the wedding car for local children to pick up.
  • scran - food
  • script - Plan, idea (What's the script?)
  • scunnered - bored, fed up, exhausted
  • scunner - one who pisses ye aff, also used when hurt yourself (oh ye scunner that hurt)
  • session / sesh - a night out drinking (Me and the boys had a hoora session the other night) - This is also a term used in some parts of England and Northern Ireland.
  • shan - a shame (that's shan as f*ck, shan times) From Cant
  • Shereen Nanjiani - a former newsreader and also rhyming slang for fanny, female genitalia (Ah booted her right in the Shereen Nanjiani).
  • shin - shoes. Germanic, schoen
  • sh*te - faeces.
  • sh*tebag - a coward, someone who refuses a dare. ("You no gauny jump aff that bridge? Ahahah sh*tebag")
  • shneeb - smoke.
  • simmer - Calm down (That kant needs to simmer before he gets leathered)
  • sink the link - engage in intercourse (Jim was sinkin' the link last night.) Link sausages as metaphor for male member.
  • skelp - to smack or hit someone/thing (He telt me tae get ma tit* oot so I skelped him) (I skelped ma heed oaf the heedboard)
  • skelf - splinter (a just goat a skelf aff that piece o wood)
  • skiddies - gentleman's undergarments with traces of last night's dinner
  • skud - naked (Did ye see Jimmy? He was in the skud!)
  • skyrocket - a particularly crazy person ("he's aff his nut, pure skyrocket man")
  • sleekit - sly or untrustworthy (I widnae buy a car frae that sleekit bastard!)
  • slitter - To dribble whilst eating (You better no slitter soup aw doon yer new jumper.)
  • smash - lots of change (coins)
  • solid - hard, tough (I wouldnae say nowt tae him man, he's solid)
  • sook - big softie (ya wee sook)
  • snashters - sweets or goodies to eat.
  • sneck/snecky, also shneck/shnecky (from the Gaelic Sneagaidh) - Inverness.
  • snout - cigarette (example, "after this drink, you up for a snout?" "aye mate")
  • sound - nice, cool or has a tendency to keep secrets well. Usually used in teens and preteens. ‘You’re proper sound, mate.’
  • speccy - used to describe someone who wears glasses. ("Scuse me, mate! Is it true Glasgow's full of speccy bams?")
  • spondoolyitis - a medical condition for talking sh*t
  • spondoolies - money (as in, "Ye gaun tae the gemme the night?" "Naw." "Naw? How no'?" "Nae spondoolies")
  • squint - not straight
  • Squinty Bridge - colloquial name for a bridge in Glasgow between Finnieston and Govan, officially named the Clyde Arc so named as it is on a diagonal
  • square go - a fair fight, one to one fight
  • stay - live, as in to live in a geographical location.
  • steamin - drunk
  • Stoater - a beauty, the best of type
  • stoor - dust. (Look at aw that stoor on the telly.)
  • stovies - a Scottish delicacy usually made from stewed potatoes, fat, onions, meat and occasionally gravy.
  • sup - small amount of liquid
  • swally - to swallow, also means alcohol (Dae ye fancy gon fur a wee swally doon the pub?)
  • swatch - Look (Gae us a swatch o yur fanny)
  • swadge, swadging - To sit at a table, after eating, waiting for your 'second wind' so you can eat more (Nae more fir me, A'hm swadging)
  • sweltering - roasting / boiling / very warm (it's absolutely sweltering today)
  • swick - cheat

T

[edit]

  • tad - tiny bit (it's a tad small)
  • tadger - yet another word for the male member (Next thing we knew, he'd whipped oot his tadger.)
  • tae - to or, too (Going tae the game/ aye, and Stevie's coming tae)
  • tait - a small amount of something (I'll only take a wee tait salt oan ma chips, no too much.)
  • tak - to take
  • talking oot yer fanny flaps - lying
  • tam o'shanter - old term for a wooly hat, still heard sometimes, from the Rabbie Burns poem "Tam O'Shanter"
  • tan - smash windows (I'm gonny tan yer windaes), or also a drink (Gonnae gies a tan ae yur juice?)
  • tanned - to drink/drunk (I tant ten pints last night!) to vandalise (That hoose is gettin tanned)
  • tap - to borrow money from someone (Can ah tap a tenner aff ye?)
  • taps aff - (tops off) Sunbathing weather. In reality, any day when it isn't raining, particularly if the climate is suitable for outdoor Buckfast drinking.
  • tassie - cup (especially one for whisky)
  • tatties - potatoes
  • tekul - good
  • techt - tight, broke, as in no money
  • teuchter - someone that lives in the countryside, especially from the Highlands or Isles of Scotland
  • that's a sin - what a shame
  • toalie - jobby, sh*te, turd, crap, keech
  • toaty - small/tiny
  • toonser - someone from the city
  • tube - an idiot/fool
  • Turkish - a faeces (Gies the paper, ah'm away fur a turkish) from rhyming slang: 'Turkish Delight' - sh*te
  • twa - two
  • twally - A person of lesser intellect
  • Toorie - The purple head of the Spear Thistle (Scotland's national flower/emblem). This is also what the Highlanders call a penis.
  • Tadger - Scottish name for a penis or can be used as a name for someone who behaves in an annoying manner (Get oot ma face ya tadger.)
  • Troosers - trousers.

W

[edit]

  • wabbit - tired (I'm feeling awfy wabbit).
  • wallap (pronounced "wa-lup") - to hit someone/something (Am gonnae wallap ye wan!) Can also mean to bang a body part (Ah pure wallaped ma heid aff that table!)
  • wallaper (pronounced "wa-la-pur") - an insult, meaning idiot/moron/dick (He's a pure wallaper.) // Large (tha's ah wallaper ye goat there!)
  • wan / ane - one (number or referring to an object person) "Wan table please." "Wit wan de ye want?" "Geez ane."
  • wan - won (I wan the race.) Or referring to having 'one' (I'm having 'wan' of them days).
  • wank - to masturbat* or short for wanker (he's a wank)
  • warmer - (pronounced "wahrmehr") another name for a fool, idiot.
  • weapon - General insult. An annoying, disliked or foolish person. (he's a f*ckin' weapon)
  • wean - (pronounced "Wayne") the youngest of the family, sometimes the youngest sibling. Truncation of "wee ane" or little one. (give that to the wean!).
  • wee - small
  • wee yin- a person shorter or younger than you
  • wee barra - Literally "Small fair haired child". Used as a term of endearment (generally boys)
  • weegie - someone from Glasgow; from "Glaswegian"
  • well - very "This band's well good." "Bed's well comfy."
  • wench - A woman/female/girlfriend/wife. Derogatory term.
  • We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns - we're all the same, we're all God's children.
  • wha(e) - who
  • wheesht - be quiet (haud yer wheesht)
  • Whit - It means the same as 'what'.
  • whit like? / Fit like? - How are you?
  • Whitey - Throw up/be sick, usually from drinking too much alcohol (Am gonnae whitey)
  • wifey - woman (usually referring to an older woman)
  • winch - to French kiss someone (geez a winch.)
  • Windae - Window.
  • wit - what
  • wur - our as in We took wur taps aff (took our tops off)
  • wull - will
  • winna/winnae/wouldnae - Will not / Would not. ("Wanna jump aff 'is roof lad?" "No, I winna dee at! f*ck yerself min!")

Y

[edit]

  • yaks - eyes/ mouth
  • yaldi - an expression of deep joy
  • ye - all you / you
  • yeez - you / you'se
  • yellae - yellow
  • yer - your
  • yer maw - your mother
  • yer da - your father (yer da sells avon)
  • yin - one (the number, or referring to a person or object) "The big yin is oan his way." "Ye want the big yin aff the shelf?" "yin ir twa")
  • yocker - a large, but still throwable, stone.
  • yonks - years, a long time ago. (A havnae been there for yonks.)
  • yuptae - What are you up to? (yuptae th' night ya bawbag?)

Z

[edit]

  • zany - outstanding/crazy

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Appendix:Glossary of Scottish slang and jargon - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)
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