Scouse (; sometimes called Liverpool English or Merseyside English)[1][2][3] is an accent and dialect of English beginning in the northwest county of Merseyside. It originated mostly from Irish (from the Irish Potato Famine) and Welsh immigrants. The Scouse accent is very noticeable and is not similar with those of the neighbouring regions.[4] The accent is named after the stew scouse, which Liverpudlians eat a lot. Liverpool's accent is often thought to be informal, like most of the "Northern" English accents.
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An example of a man from Liverpool (Andrew Hussey).
An example of a working-class male from Liverpool (
Ringo Starr).
The accent can now be found in areas close to Liverpool, like Widnes and Runcorn, because Liverpool was developed a lot in the 1950s. A lot of different types of the accent exist, for example, the Northern accent, which is different from the southern accent.
- Abar: About
- Antwacky: Old-fashioned
- Arl arse: Unfair/mean
- Aul fella: Father
- Bail/ Bail it: To leave or decide to not do something
- Baltic: Freezing
- Barnet: Hair
- Barneted: On drugs
- Be arsed: Can't be bothered
- Beak/lemo: Cocaine
- Bevvy: Alcoholic drink
- Bevvied: Drunk
- Bezzy: Best friend
- Bifter/ciggy: Cigarette
- Bird: Girlfriend
- Bizzy: Police officer
- Blag: Fake
- Blueshite: Used by Liverpool fans to talk to Everton or its fans
- Boss: Great
- Brass/Brass House: Prostitute/Brothel
- Brekkie: Breakfast
- Butty: Sandwich
- Chocka: Heavily populated/busy
- Clobber: Clothes
- Clocked/Clocked it: To notice or see something
- Cob on: Bad mood
- Da: Father
- Dead: Very
- Devoed: Devastated
- Divvy: Idiot
- Gary: Ecstasy pill. Originates from Cockney rhyming slang of footballers name Gary Abblett, which rhymes with tablet.
- Gegging in: Being intrusive
- Get on it/that: To do something or look at something
- G'wed: alright then
- Heavy: An expression used when something is very bad and less frequently when something is very good
- Fuming: Extremely angry
- Is right: An expression of agreement
- Jarg: Fake
- Jib off/sack off: To avoid doing something or dump a boyfriend/girlfriend
- Kecks: Pants
- Ken: House
- Kip: Sleep
- Lad/la/lid: Male friend or young man in general
- Lecky: Electricity
- Ma: Mother
- Made up: Extremely happy
- Meff: A person who lacks intelligence or is otherwise disliked
- Ming: A person who is unattractive or not well liked
- Minty: Dirty
- Moody: When someone or something is bad
- oer : when something shocks a scouser "oer"
- Offie: Off-licence
- Ozzy: Hospital
- Plazzy: Plastic
- Plod: Police
- Prin: A girl or woman (short for Princess)
- Proper: Really/very
- Redshite: Used by Everton fans to refer to Liverpool F.C. or its fans
- Scally: Chav
- Scatty: When something is dirty or strange
- Scran: Food
- Sound: Okay
- Swerve: Avoid
- Ta: Thanks
- Ta-ra: Goodbye
- Terrored: When someone is being mocked or hounded about something (Short for Terrorised)
- Trackie: Tracksuit
- Twisted: On drugs
- Webs: Trainers
- West: Weird or crazy
- Wool/Woolyback: Someone from the towns and villages near Liverpool
- Yous/Youse: 2nd person plural.
Howard, Jackson; Stockwell, Peter (2011), An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language (2nd ed.), Continuum International Publishing Group, p. 172, ISBN 978-1-4411-4373-0