This blogpost has nearly no actual content. It has a bit, but it’s definitely content light.
My friend Jenny recently gave me several Scottish words, and I just had to employ them in any way possible. I had an elaborate plan to create an epic story using my new words, but then I realised I could fit them all into the title. Problem solved, right?
Well, only if you know what the words mean. Then it’s great. Just great.
To be ‘couthie‘ is to be amiable or sociable. The photo up above is one of me being especially couthie before a football match between Aberdeen Football Club and the local Munich team whose name I won’t even bother mentioning. Before the match, we all met at my Aberdonian friend Iain’s for an Irn-Bru.
(correction: Iain has told me that he’s Glaswegian. It’s his dad who’s an Aberdonian. All I know is that we went to see Aberdeen Football Club)
To ‘shoogle‘ is to shake or sway and to be ‘drookit‘ is to be drenched, so if you shake up that can of Irn-Bru and open it, you’re going to get very wet.
And ‘glaekit‘ means stupid or idiotic. If you insist on doing all that while knowing that it’s a carbonated beverage, then glaekit really is the perfect word to describe you.
Nothing personal.
This reminds me of when Meg and I decided we were going to start using obscure words that had fallen out of use. We promptly forgot about it, after about five tweets that were probably only amusing to the two of us.
[nod]
Now I’m curious what those obscure words were. I’m a fan of such terms…and I’d like to use them before either they fall completely out of use or my memory fails me…whichever comes first.
Here’s the list we were using.
You missed out on “havering” . On using the word, not on actually doing it.
This blog is almost entirely an example of ‘havering’. For good or for ill.
sj, your nods never fails to crack me up. Every. Single. Time.
I like this photo of you. You look both wise AND ready to party.
*swoon* for Scottish words. I think in another life I knew all the words in all the languages. There’s really no explanation for how much I love the beauty of how things sound.
I’m putting in a vote for an epic story, still, either with or without Scottish words. I’d like to see a Ken-penned epic story.
Although I normally aim for concise stories, I’m sure one or two epic one will squeak through.
Those nods from sj also make me laugh each and every time.
When Iain and I are face to face, I can understand nearly everything he says. When we’re on the phone, I often have to ask him to repeat things he’s said. Sometimes twice.
I like the name Iain. It has a pleasing vowel cluster.
I need more friends with fancy accents. That’s something I think I’m sadly missing in my life.
There must be a Craig’s List section for that. I’m sure you’ll get much more than a fancy accent, though.
Ha! No, thanks. I’m good, after all.
When I was working, one of the regular customers was Scottish and it always fell to me to wait on him. No one else understood him well enough.
I caught on and fortunately he talked a lot about golf.
But the first times, he sounded just like your title.
See above comment to Amy. I love the sound of Scots, but that doesn’t mean I always understand it.
alright, i am going to be REALLY picky, here.
“bleedin'” is very south east, very london. and also it would be “you’re glaekit” not “ya glaekit”.
however, top marks for “shoogle”.
*hangs head in shame*
I know ‘bleedin’ is a southern or southeastern thing…and I was relatively certain you’d say something. It just sounded better that way. And I’ll blame the sight Jenny sent me to for ‘ya glaekit’.
Am now basking in *top marks* for shoogle.
My boy dog Louis is shoogling as we speak.
THOROUGHLY enjoying the insertion of NUMPTIE!
now you don’t really need “bleedin'” – ‘ya glaekit numptie’ needs no gilding.
you could have ‘ya stotterie glaekit numptie’ stotterie being, according to this dictionary, an extraction of the word ‘stotter’ which is ‘stumble’. i have never heard someone say ‘stotterie’ though, but have certainly heard of someone stotting about. the person stotting may be pished.
http://www.scots-online.org/
Thanks Elaine. I’ll do more Scots at some point. The dialect makes me very happy.
lowland scots dialect was one of the few things i really liked about scotland. i am a bit of a fan of that side of linguistics, and if i’d been clever enough, and had known it would be a life long interest i would have enjoyed studying it.
of course, there’s a kind of politic about it, and it’s quite convoluted. in some respects it’s viewed as little more than slang. something only children and working class people speak. on the other hand, it’s the ‘mither tongue’ – a way of resisting england’s dominance. so, simultaneously taught (eg burns) and discouraged (eg street slang) in schools.
Loving your use of Scottish words!
I’m Scottish though have a very anglicised accent. I’ve recently started dating a girl from Glasgow; I actually don’t understand her half of the time when we speak on the phone!
Am curious as to what you thought of our second national drink, Irn Bru?
I really liked Ir-Bru…reminded me a bit of different similar soft drinks I’ve had over the years.
One I used to drink while driving through Kentucky was called ‘Ale-8-One’ (a late one)…it was a ginger-flavoured drink that had massive amounts of caffeine in it. Good for driving through the night.