That would be "semaphore." An old word for visual signalling, such as the flags used on ships.
Posted on 02/22/2017 9:27:55 PM PST by nickcarraway
Geordies are known to be some of the friendliest people on the planet but, get on our nerves, and we can quickly put you in your place.
It’s been confirmed Tyneside was the birth place of the word ‘charva’ and you can barely walk through Toon on a Friday night without hearing someone being described as a ‘workyticket’.
Here’s a look at some of the best Geordie put-downs.
Charva/Charv
Usage: “How man, have a deek at them charvas gannin’ radgie owa there”.
It’s basically the Geordie word for ‘chav’. The Oxford English Dictionary’s online service confirmed the term was born in the North East and was first used in 1997.
It refers to a stereotypical, arrogant yob who dresses in particular brands of sportswear clothes, especially baseball caps, tracksuit trousers and hoodies, and behaves like a lout.
Workyticket
Usage: “He’s a reet workyticket”
It’s a well-known Geordie put-down. The phrase is used to describe someone causing trouble, sometimes in a mischievous way, sometimes in an aggressive way.
It’s also used to describe a person who is pushing their luck or trying to pull a fast one.
Nebby
Usage: “Divvin’ be so nebby”.
The word simply means ‘nosy’. It’s often used when a person is being overly inquisitive into someone else’s business.
Over time, there appears to have been a change in the principal meaning of the word with a shift from ‘nose’ to ‘sticking your nose into someone else’s business’.”
Doylem
Usage: ‘“That gadgie’s a propa doylem, man”.
The term is used to brand someone an idiot of a fool.
It’s often used to describe a person who is generally challenged in the common sense department.
READ MORE Geordie sayings: The things that you'll only hear someone from Newcastle say Had ya pash
Usage: “How man, had ya pash, divvin’ be a workyticket.”
The phrase is often used to tell an impatient person to take their time, (literally “hold your patience”).
Another Geordie phrase meaning the same thing is “had ya watta”.
Wazzock
Usage: “That gadgie’s a propa wazzock.”
Similar to doylem, the word describes an imbecile or fool.
Wazzock was a particularly prevalent — and particularly loutish — insult in the 1990s and became a useful tool to shoot people down in an argument.
Are yee daft?
Usage: “Are yee daft or what?”
Simply translated as are you stupid? A good put-down for someone who thinks they know it all.
Radgie
Usage: “Here man, deek oot the proper radgie owa there”.
See also ‘charva’ for this one as the meaning is very similar. It can also mean a temper tantrum, as in “That gadgie’s gannin’ proper radgie, like”.
That was a fun quiz - correct too. I should have paid more attention to some of the answers and the color coded map to see where the various fits were.
In general it fit to where I was born and raised, but I’m guessing the term “traffic circle” was acquired in New Jersey. (What the heck is a traffic circle!!?? I recall asking a cop who has the right of way on a traffic circle - he replied “whoever - just go”. I laughed and said “no - really.” “That is ‘really’ - there is no rule, just don’t hit anybody.”
I’m not sure if they have changed it since 25 years ago. I know the state where I live now they are all signed, and if you are in the circle you have the right of way.
Oh - “jug handles” was a new term as well when I moved to New Jersey. Where you could make a smooth and fast exit off the four lane road, then it wraps you around to a stop sign - or maybe a light? (Heh - my parents used to call the traffic lights “semifours” (sp??)
And “regular” coffee has cream and sugar in it. Found that out the hard way - almost spit it out from the lidded take out container. “Um - excuse me - this has cream and sugar in it!!” “What about it - you wanted a regular.” “Huh? isn’t regular ‘black’?”
Oscar Wilde was right.
6 ft tall, rangy and with legs that went on for miles ;)
Is it really ‘putting me in my place’ if I can’t understand a word of it?
I’ve run into that. Approached on the street in Oakland, CA by an older Numidian gentleman, who spoke for a full minute. I’m usually pretty good at figuring out what someone wants from the discernible fragments of recognizable language.
Given the circumstances of the encounter, I was forced to assume that he was asking me for money. He didn’t appear to be intoxicated at all. He wasn’t a bum or anything. He just spoke some dialect of the English language that was incomprehensible to me, and I can manage with people who are fresh-off-the-boat and can only speak a sort of pidgin.
I finally confessed that to my great regret, I couldn’t understand a single word that he was saying. He stormed off in a frustrated huff.
My paternal grandfather’s family was from County Durham (Pelton Fell) and I have heard that they called themselves ‘Geordies’. Never understood the origin of that. Thanks for posting.
Don’t know if he’s a Geordie, but listen to the English motorcycle racer, Guy Martin. You can tell he’s speaking English, but its hard to figure out what he’s saying.
I know what you mean, My wife’s a Weegie from Glesga (Glasgow, Scotland) and can sound posh as can be, but when she gets her dander up, stand by.
http://www.glasgowvant.com/glaswegian-dictionary-terms-and-phrases/
I know what you mean, My wife’s a Weegie from Glesga (Glasgow, Scotland) and can sound posh as can be, but when she gets her dander up, stand by.
http://www.glasgowvant.com/glaswegian-dictionary-terms-and-phrases/
Nothing better than a ^really^ good Scots-Welsh insult.
All else is pish.
That would be "semaphore." An old word for visual signalling, such as the flags used on ships.
Isn’t it hilarious!? There were so many expressions on those questions I had never heard. And things that have multiple expressions for the concept and we out here have NO WORD FOR IT.
“Freeway” nails the person as from out west, though. And though it isn’t on the quiz, saying THE before the highway number is a dead giveaway.
And because traffic is really actually ingrained in our lives, we do talk like The Californians on SNL. “How did you get here?” “Well, I took the 101 to the 110 and then got on the 91” etc
It’s a fun game. The first time we did it, there was someone from FL, someone from NY, and someone from SC at the table with me. We were laughing hysterically.
During the period about thirty years ago, a dreaded psychopathic serial killer was on the loose. He was a truck driver, picking up women who service truck drivers. Another socio-path made up audio tapes taunting the police. He had a strong Geordie accent. The police had already tabbed the real killer, but were not ready to arrest him. Thinking the accent was that of a Newcastle native, they dropped the tail on Sutcliffe. The real killer was from Yorkshire, not County Durham. He later murdered four more unfortunate women, while the police searched elsewhere.
An expert then identified the miscreant who so deluded the authorities. He identified the voice down to an actual section. This of about three streets in Newcastle. The police then went door to door, they found there was a man who professed hatred for the police. The police arrested the hoaxer and he got 7 years imprisonment for impeding justice. Let out sooner than that however.
Audio hoaxer lived at Castleton,Sunderland. It is in North East England, as is Newcastle. I am glad to be able to avoid Geordie invective, should I have been over there. I am sure I read elsewhere -probably in the UK tabloids the hoaxer was from Newcastle.
I’m in Washington State now (20+ years). The first time I ever heard a freeway called “The 5” was a few months ago. Then I recalled he was a transplant from California.
Same in L.A., even more so because we were the site of the flattest “news style” American accents since around the 1960s.
But drive 100 miles north, inland, say Bakersfield area, and you’d swear you were in the Midwest with the country accents. Love it.
thas a real Thela Hun Ginjeet rit there that is what...
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