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Discussion Groups / English Usage / October 2008Rare Welsh Bit
I've been watching this show "Gavin and Stacy" on BBC America and fascinated by the terms used. Nessa say "Tidy" as an American would (or would have*) say "Neat". Not to describe something organized and clean, but as an expression of agreement. Stacy throws "lush" in when an American would say "great" or "fantastic". "It were lush". The old lady next door (who's a hoot) said "My knees are giving me a terrible jit". (Maybe the "a" wasn't in the sentence) These characters live in Barry (Wales). Funny bit in the episode watched tonight. Nessa works in a place with video games, fruit machines, and that sort of thing. Two youths are abusing a machine and Nessa shouts out "Can't you read the sign?". The camera pans to a sign in Welsh. Funny, that Welsh accent (if it is authentic). Strong to an American ear, but much more understandable than many other UK regional accents. As Nessa would say, "What's occurring?".  SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida > I've been watching this show "Gavin and Stacy" on BBC America and > fascinated by the terms used. Nessa say "Tidy" as an American would [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > The old lady next door (who's a hoot) said "My knees are giving me a > terrible jit". (Maybe the "a" wasn't in the sentence)... And maybe a mishearing of "gyp". SignatureRay UK >... > > The old lady next door (who's a hoot) said "My knees are giving me a > terrible jit". (Maybe the "a" wasn't in the sentence) Are you sure she's not saying they are giving her 'gyp'? OED says this is a contraction of 'gee-up' - a word of command to a horse. ... SignatureMike Page Google me at port.ac.uk if you need to send an email. >>... >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >OED says this is a contraction of 'gee-up' - a word of command to a horse. >... Knees-up, then? Don't think so. She was indicating that her knees were causing her a problem...pain or stiffness. "Gyp" doesn't convey that to me since "gyp" means "to cheat" to me. She might have been sold a pair of bad knees by NHS, and thus gypped, but I somehow doubt the NHS is doing take-away business. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>> ... >>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > and thus gypped, but I somehow doubt the NHS is doing take-away > business. "Giving me jip" is a very common expression in Rightpondia, especially among those of us with joint problems. See Michael Quinion: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gyp2.htm SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >>>> ... >>>> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >See Michael Quinion: >http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gyp2.htm OK. That's why I bring these things up. Broadens the education, what. If I return to the UK, I'll be in a better position to understand the locals. Tidy. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>>>> ... >>>>> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > what. If I return to the UK, I'll be in a better position to > understand the locals. Tidy. Works both ways. Last week I was pleased that I knew how to pronounce Concord and the names of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates and could ask for directions to the restroom without embarrassing myself, although I am more than a little anxious about the fact that no-one has posted a boink report, which may mean I embarrassed everyone else... SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) > On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:11:04 +0000, LFS > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > what. If I return to the UK, I'll be in a better position to > understand the locals. Tidy. "Giving me gyp" I understood straight away - it's generic British. But I've never heard "tidy" used that way before. Is it yoofspeak, or is it a Welsh thing? Mike M >> On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:11:04 +0000, LFS >> [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > I've never heard "tidy" used that way before. Is it yoofspeak, or is > it a Welsh thing? I think Tony means "neat". SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >>> <la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote: >>>>>>> ... [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > >I think Tony means "neat". Yes, in Nessa talk. And Nessa is Welsh. It occurs to me that this group is sadly lacking in Youth/Yoof Advisors in language. We have experts on tap for expressions used from the late 30s to present, researchers who can determine usage in printed sources going back to Guttenberg's first efforts, and parents and grandparents who can identify toddler-talk. What we lack is someone on either side of the pond who is current on the language of the acne prone. We have, in decreasing frequency of late, an expert on fairly recent teen talk as spoken on "Happy Days" but he hasn't progressed from that period. I've been watching "Gavin and Stacy" and "Skins" on BBC America. Interesting usage pops up frequently on both shows, but I have no idea how wide-spread that usage is in the UK. I don't watch any American shows with similar age-specific usage, but some in the UK might. Can we come up with some recruits? SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >>>> OK. That's why I bring these things up. Broadens the education, >>>> what. If I return to the UK, I'll be in a better position to [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Yes, in Nessa talk. And Nessa is Welsh. Ah, I came into the thread late and didn't realise we were in G&S land! I'm so glad that you appreciate Ness, I think she is superb. If I were somewhat younger, I'd take her as a role model - I'm the right sort of build but I don't have an HGV licence... > It occurs to me that this group is sadly lacking in Youth/Yoof > Advisors in language. We have experts on tap for expressions used [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Interesting usage pops up frequently on both shows, but I have no idea > how wide-spread that usage is in the UK. I've never watched "Skins" but think G&S is pretty typical, judging by the student conversations I am (reluctantly) exposed to for much of my working day. I don't watch any American > shows with similar age-specific usage, but some in the UK might. > > Can we come up with some recruits? I have tried to recruit all sorts of people who I think might enjoy aue, from the quite young to the old and grumpy, but they take one look and back away in horror, making excuses that range from "It's far too intellectual" to "They're awfully rude and childish, aren't they?". SignatureLaura (emulate St. George for email) >I've never watched "Skins" I highly recommend it, but it's best watched from the beginning of the series since some major things have happened to certain characters. You don't get lost if you didn't watch the last episode, though. >I have tried to recruit all sorts of people who I think might enjoy >aue, from the quite young to the old and grumpy, but they take one look >and back away in horror, making excuses that range from "It's far too >intellectual" to "They're awfully rude and childish, aren't they?". Yes, but we often couch our rude and childish diatribes with intellectually superior phrasing. Sometimes you have to have a solid educational background to know you've been told to get stuffed. SignatureTony Cooper - Orlando, Florida >> On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:11:04 +0000, LFS >> [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > I've never heard "tidy" used that way before. Is it yoofspeak, or is > it a Welsh thing? Welsh. Like the Cornish "proper job". SignatureRay UK >>> On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:11:04 +0000, LFS >>> [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] >> > Welsh. Like the Cornish "proper job". Yes: it's been part of Wenglish for many yonks. "He's retired now, with a tidy bungalow." "Talk tidy, bychan! None of your slang by yer!" ("Bychan", pronounced much like the author Buchan, and with a guttural "kh", but very often with the "b" all but inaudible, means "boyo", isn't it.) "Lush" is much used by my two youngest children (23 and 26), but not the two eldest. They tend to say it in a Swansea-and-points-west accent, so it may be a Cambrianism, but I don't know. "Gyp", as others have said, is universal Brit: "My knee's giving me gyp." The "swindle" sense co-exists, but seems to be becoming less frequent. In some places it's also one of the words for the penis; at my school there was also "jep", but that was fading from the scene during the 'fifties. SignatureMike. [...] >"Gyp", as others have said, is universal Brit: "My knee's giving me >gyp." The "swindle" sense co-exists, but seems to be becoming less >frequent. In some places it's also one of the words for the penis; at my >school there was also "jep", but that was fading from the scene during >the 'fifties. I misread that. To jep: to fade from the scene during one's fifties. Sort of old-soldierly. SignatureRichard Bollard Canberra Australia To email, I'm at AMT not spAMT. > [...] >> "Gyp", as others have said, is universal Brit: "My knee's giving me [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I misread that. To jep: to fade from the scene during one's fifties. > Sort of old-soldierly. I misread it, too, but my concern was about Mike's anatomy. SignatureMike Page Google me at port.ac.uk if you need to send an email. >> [...] >>> "Gyp", as others have said, is universal Brit: "My knee's giving me [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I misread it, too, but my concern was about Mike's anatomy. Hmm...I forbear to comment. (Got to be a Goldilocks gag in there...) (In there, too, come to think of it...but maybe I'm thinking of the one about Little Red Riding Hood.) SignatureMike. On 31 Oct, 19:02, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> wrote: > >> [...] > >>> "Gyp", as others have said, is universal Brit: "My knee's giving me [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > there, too, come to think of it...but maybe I'm thinking of the one > about Little Red Riding Hood.) Ohh, Grandmama, what big... <cough> -- WH William filted: >On 31 Oct, 19:02, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> >wrote: [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Ohh, Grandmama, what big... <cough> Red (obvious falsetto): "Grandma, what big quads you have!" Wolf (baritone, Austrian accent): "The better to do deep squat thrusts with." ....r Signature"Governor Palin, I served with Dan Quayle. I knew Dan Quayle; Dan Quayle was a friend of mine. Governor Palin, you're no Dan Quayle." Mike Lyle set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time continuum: > ("Bychan", pronounced much like the author Buchan, and with a guttural > "kh", but very often with the "b" all but inaudible, means "boyo", isn't > it.) The literal meaning is "tiny", an intense form of "bach" and like the latter it can be used as an endearment. It's one of several adjectives containing -y- which change the -y- to -e- to make a feminine form, generally seen with the initial B mutated to F in place names e.g. Pont Nedd Fechan. Signatureξ:) Proud to be curly Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply > > On Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:11:04 +0000, LFS > [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > I've never heard "tidy" used that way before. Is it yoofspeak, or is > it a Welsh thing? Oh, it's a very Welsh thing. A marker, you might say; often extended to "Tidy, like", it gives the name to "the online home of Wenglish" - http://talktidy.com/ Otherponders may like to note that "Wenglish" as that site calls it, is not a true dialect name, but just a handy way of referring to the particular forms of English used in North as South Wales. It often borrows the grammatical contructs of Welsh, but places them in an English context. "There's interesting, isn't it; look you". Pra Jai will be along in a minute, see. -- WH [...] > Pra Jai will be along in a minute, see. Is that "now", or "now in a minute"? SignatureMike. >[...] >> >> Pra Jai will be along in a minute, see. > >Is that "now", or "now in a minute"? Just now, as we say. Presently. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk On 29 Oct, 22:49, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk> wrote: > [...] > > > Pra Jai will be along in a minute, see. > > Is that "now", or "now in a minute"? Duw knows. -- WH William set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time continuum: > Oh, it's a very Welsh thing. A marker, you might say; often extended > to "Tidy, like", it gives the name to "the online home of Wenglish" - [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Pra Jai will be along in a minute, see. Dyma fi nawr. Rydw i wedi mynd o gwaith yn Abergipyn. Sorry, here I am now. Just got back ome I have now, working in Ipswich I been see. (And it's Jei not Jai.) I've heard of gyp in this context, b******d if I know the origin of it though. But tidy, yes, that's ow we do talk over yer we do. Check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7702913.stm Signatureξ:) Proud to be curly Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply |
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