Kitchen Garden Forum

One of my dad's sayings was "There's many a black look and nowt said" Meaning it quite often looks as though a storm is coming but it doesn't always rain.

We use all of the above regularly! I agree with the ropey Yorkshire accents...I'd rather they didn't bother if they can't do it right.
Alan... It's the first time I've heard anyone else refer to it "Siling down" though!

As for fibbers,there is always "That one couldn't lie straight in bed"

Harassed mother to nattering child; "I want, never gets"

Or, referring to someone who is gullible, "that one would believe 'oss tods were figs"

And still on a lavatorial theme, someone being rather noisy in the loo"he sounds like an 'oss on flags"

Cheers

Oh, I forgot this one, a favourite of my Gran.

Referring to a loud mouth; "You could back 'oss and rully in her gob"

Love that one!

Hi Elaine

I understand that siling comes from Norse. Sil is still Norwegian for sieve. Rain coming down as if it's coming through a colander!

It's interesting that you should say that, Alan. I am finding that more and more of our northern words have Scandinavian origins.

How many of you fellow northeners know the word 'gip', meaning 'gag' - as in the throat reflex you can get when something nearly makes you vomit? I think, from my own research, that it is probably of Swedish origin.

Hi Mouse

A few more Norse Yorkshire words:

bait (food); beck; gate (street); gawp; greet (cry); laik; mun (as in Tha mun - You must)

It's feeling backendish today.

Alan, it certainly is feeling backendish..there is a definite nip in the air.

As the North of England was invaded by Vikings and they settled here, it's not surprising that a lot of our words are derived from their language. They left wonderful legacies and there are archaeological finds turning up all the time. The Jorvic Centre in York is testament to that.
Cheers.

What I have never understood is why our northern words are classed by southerners as inferior 'dialect' words, even words that are spoken across a huge swathe of the north by a large percentage of the population, whereas the ones they adopted via contact with the French and other Europeans are accepted as 'proper' English!

And they laught at our northern pronunciation - remind me again, which half of the country is it which doesn't know its 'A's from its 'R's?

Hi Elaine,
Don't you mean they do not know their "R's from their elbow!"
JB.

I have not had chance to read every posting but my OH said one quote he remembers is

"Never do owt for nowt and if tha does make sure tha does it for thi sen."

Dont do anything for nothing and if you do make sure you do it for your self.

Catherine wrote:I have not had chance to read every posting but my OH said one quote he remembers is

"Never do owt for nowt and if tha does make sure tha does it for thi sen."

Dont do anything for nothing and if you do make sure you do it for your self.

It's a bit of the Yorkshireman's advice to his son

This thread is bringing back so many memories.

This is a saying my husband has always used, refering to someone who is lucky:

If that one fell down the toilet, he'd come up with a mouthful of toffees!

And this is for someone who is always unlucky namely me,

If I fall into a barrel of tits I would come up sucking my thumb

Regards

Kevin

Still on that theme, the saying around here was;

"If he fell in dock, he'd come up wi' a pocket full o' fish"

My Grandad, referring to a relation who was notoriously tight fisted, used to say;
"That one could peel an orange in his pocket and gerraway wi' it"

Cheers.