Old local sayings

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Brunlea
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Old local sayings

Post by Brunlea » Tue May 12, 2020 8:39 pm

Was doing a lockdown tidy up with Mrs B yesterday and said to her that she " had more shoes than soft Mick" which puzzled her and made her laugh. The reason I mention it is it was something my mum used to say when I was a kid ( I am over 60) she was of Irish descent but I am sure it's local to Burnley. I was also a bit taken aback that I used it at all. It prompted a discussion and a few laughs. Don't really know it's origins tho.

lakedistrictclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by lakedistrictclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 8:44 pm

I've just googled it.

The phrase probably originated from an Irish shoe pedlar in Accrington.

Steve1956
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Steve1956 » Tue May 12, 2020 8:46 pm

soft-mick. The phrase to have more<something> than Soft Mick means to possess an extravagant quantity of that thing. This phrase may originally have referred to an Irish shoe peddler working around Accrington, East Lancashire, in the early 1900s, from the phrase "More shoes than Soft Mick".

Fenwick
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Fenwick » Tue May 12, 2020 8:48 pm

Grandma was fond of saying " followed a muck cart and thought it was a wedding " Still not entirely sure what she meant. Not a local one, but I remember the owner of a hoopla stall at a highland games when I was a kid on holiday saying " the man who ate the boiled ham raw" when a player lost. I assume it meant another sucker !
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Steve1956
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Steve1956 » Tue May 12, 2020 8:50 pm

I used to ask my mother what was for tea round about 1962...."shite with sugar on" came the reply ,I dont think it's an old saying though we really were have shite with sugar on.

Brunlea
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Brunlea » Tue May 12, 2020 8:51 pm

Thanks for info didn't think Google would have had that! Will have a look.

Marney&Mee
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Marney&Mee » Tue May 12, 2020 9:00 pm

Dad always used to say ‘this is for who kisses Betty’ when playing a deciding game on table tennis, pool et al. Any ideas??

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Re: Old local sayings

Post by conyoviejo » Tue May 12, 2020 9:02 pm

Don't forget " to put t'wood in't hole lad ".

evensteadiereddie
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by evensteadiereddie » Tue May 12, 2020 9:06 pm

Steve1956 wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 8:50 pm
I used to ask my mother what was for tea round about 1962...."shite with sugar on" came the reply ,I dont think it's an old saying though we really were have shite with sugar on.

and some might say you're still full of it............. ;)
Last edited by evensteadiereddie on Wed May 13, 2020 8:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Bosscat
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Bosscat » Tue May 12, 2020 9:07 pm

"Its a bit black over Bills Mothers" quite often heard on test match special regarding the weather..... don't think its owt to do with the north though....

evensteadiereddie
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by evensteadiereddie » Tue May 12, 2020 9:10 pm

Mum used to talk about me and my brother going off at t'boggart if we were arsing around...........a boggart was thought to be a demon that would drive horses crazy causing them to gallop off and cause general mayhem.
A proper NE Lancs term, apparently.

Taffy on the wing
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Taffy on the wing » Tue May 12, 2020 9:10 pm

Brunlea wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 8:39 pm
Was doing a lockdown tidy up with Mrs B yesterday and said to her that she " had more shoes than soft Mick" which puzzled her and made her laugh. The reason I mention it is it was something my mum used to say when I was a kid ( I am over 60) she was of Irish descent but I am sure it's local to Burnley. I was also a bit taken aback that I used it at all. It prompted a discussion and a few laughs. Don't really know it's origins tho.
My Dad used to say the same thing....he had others too.
"i'll stand t' drop of York"
"You make my bloody feet ache".....& others i can't think of right now.

evensteadiereddie
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by evensteadiereddie » Tue May 12, 2020 9:11 pm

You hear the Bill's Mother's one a lot down here in the Midlands.

evensteadiereddie
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by evensteadiereddie » Tue May 12, 2020 9:21 pm

Ialways remember my Dad valiantly trying to stick one of those new-fangled plastic, self-adhesive rear window heating panels tio his new Moggy 1000, reg 9010 TF. The damn thing kept dropping off and even though I was supposed to be helping, I couldn't help but giggle.
He went bonkers, ripped the thing off the window and threw it down, snarling. "Gah, yon it !"
I'm assuming "yon" is short for yonder or something like that and the wonderful expression of sheer exasperation translates along the lines of "**** this for a game of soldiers."...........

Volvoclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Volvoclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 9:41 pm

I,m fair clemmed was one of my grannys, meaning hungry.
Strangely she said I,m starved, meaning cold.
Re boggarts, widely used in Nort East and Scottish borders.

dougcollins
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by dougcollins » Tue May 12, 2020 9:49 pm

When my brother and I were acting above our station, my mother used to say 'D'you think you're on yer father's yacht?'

Vegas Claret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Vegas Claret » Tue May 12, 2020 9:53 pm

here's one you don't hear anymore

"I wish we would beat Blackburn"
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tiger76
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by tiger76 » Tue May 12, 2020 9:59 pm

Vegas Claret wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 9:53 pm
here's one you don't hear anymore

"I wish we would beat Blackburn"
Blackburn who they?exactly :lol:

Volvoclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Volvoclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 10:04 pm

And another
..10 years ahead of Burnley
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Vino blanco
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Vino blanco » Tue May 12, 2020 10:05 pm

My mother also used the phrase "fair clemmed" to mean she was hungry. She also once used a phrase I will never forget: after having a chat with a man who had a wandering eye she said "he skenned like a basket o' whelks", which I found perfectly understandable.
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Clarets4me
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Clarets4me » Tue May 12, 2020 10:10 pm

Marney&Mee wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 9:00 pm
Dad always used to say ‘this is for who kisses Betty’ when playing a deciding game on table tennis, pool et al. Any ideas??
The winner gets to " kiss Betty ", comes from American GI's stationed over here in World War II, referring to their " Forces Sweetheart ", the Hollywood actress Betty Grable .....
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Volvoclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Volvoclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 10:11 pm

Yes my mum used skenned etc for people who had bad eyesight but wouldn't wear glasses and screwed up their eyes.

Volvoclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Volvoclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 10:16 pm

As black as black pudding stalls towel. This was a ref to Burnley outdoor market black pudding stall that had a tea towel for people to wipe their hands on after eating their pud stood at stall.

Mala591
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Mala591 » Tue May 12, 2020 10:19 pm

He/She won't die wondering

bodge
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by bodge » Tue May 12, 2020 10:22 pm

My Grandma would have described Peter Crouch as "A yard o' pump watter".

Anyone suspected of cheating at cards was "a twister".

Mala591
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Mala591 » Tue May 12, 2020 10:25 pm

One of my Dad's favourites

"When will't young dog bring th'old dog a bone?"

Clarets4me
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Clarets4me » Tue May 12, 2020 10:31 pm

" Built like a barge-woman " - a term for a woman with a " thicker set " figure, ( to be gentlemanly about it ) ... probably from the women who lived and worked on boats on the Leeds-Liverpool canal.

" You're up and down like a bride's nightie ! " - " you seem to be unable to sit still " !

" scriking " - crying

morpheus2
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by morpheus2 » Tue May 12, 2020 10:35 pm

Weak tea was "like pis5 willy from York".

Can't say pi55? it's not even a swear word!
Last edited by morpheus2 on Tue May 12, 2020 10:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Clarets4me
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Clarets4me » Tue May 12, 2020 10:35 pm

bodge wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 10:22 pm
My Grandma would have described Peter Crouch as "A yard o' pump watter". Anyone suspected of cheating at cards was "a twister".
I suspect " twister " is fairly universal, my Gran ( b.1907 ), and from Nottingham, would use this jokingly if we'd beaten her at cards ! :)

beeholeclaret
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by beeholeclaret » Tue May 12, 2020 10:36 pm

My old boss used to come up with a few crackers. Referring to a customer who had one good eye and another which wandered around of its own free will - "Ive just seen - One eye on't pot and t'other up the chimbley". I'm just off to "manure mi cubicles".

huw.Y.WattfromWare
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by huw.Y.WattfromWare » Tue May 12, 2020 10:55 pm

Where’s thi gannin’ fu yu jollies? “Kerbstone Edge”.

Well I’ll go to our gate. I’ve also heard this as Haggate.

Grimsdale
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Grimsdale » Tue May 12, 2020 11:04 pm

"By the left!" was a favourite of my gran's

Also from my mum: "Your dad'll play pop when he finds out" and "Yer as black as t'fire back!"

Wile E Coyote
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Wile E Coyote » Wed May 13, 2020 12:06 am

pots for rags, meaning thick person.

Lord_Bob
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Lord_Bob » Wed May 13, 2020 12:51 am

Bosscat
"Its a bit black over Bills Mothers" quite often heard on test match special regarding the weather..... don't think its owt to do with the north though....
I saw a piece with Athers and Bumble about that - can't remember the details - I think it originated in the home dressing room at Old Trafford relating to the direction most of the weather came from.

California Colner
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by California Colner » Wed May 13, 2020 3:15 am

Gutta our house

Bullabill
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Bullabill » Wed May 13, 2020 3:19 am

beeholeclaret wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 10:36 pm
My old boss used to come up with a few crackers. Referring to a customer who had one good eye and another which wandered around of its own free will - "Ive just seen - One eye on't pot and t'other up the chimbley". I'm just off to "manure mi cubicles".
Try this ........
https://youtu.be/unea7034LuU

Corky
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Corky » Wed May 13, 2020 8:47 am

Three cheers and a table leg; always when something had gone correctly, used to be uttered by my Dad and Grandparents. The funny thing is that I now continue with this and before I retired from Royal Mail I had colleagues in Central Postal Control also saying it when we had sorted out a problem. Obviously a play on the way we used to pronounce a chair but funny hearing Londoners saying it.

Foulthrow
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Foulthrow » Wed May 13, 2020 8:59 am

Let dog see t’rabbit.

Bosscat
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Bosscat » Wed May 13, 2020 9:05 am

Point percy at the porcelain

CleggHall
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by CleggHall » Wed May 13, 2020 9:10 am

A reference for a potential horticultural worker described him as " a pi55 int' firm's time mon"!

Hendrickxz
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Hendrickxz » Wed May 13, 2020 9:12 am

My grandad used to say "Gerrup wooden hill" when it was bedtime. An uncle also used to say "Yon tay's a bit fortneet" when someone gave him a cuppa that was "too weak" :D

Claretitus
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Claretitus » Wed May 13, 2020 9:15 am

"Big do's and little do's" Must be a Burnley thing, cos I'm now living in the land of Knob Enders, and when I say it, everyone looks at me as if I'm speaking Swahili.
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Rubstuds
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Rubstuds » Wed May 13, 2020 9:42 am

Dun't need ta go down't mine, thiz plenty o' slack in thi kecks.
To someone who wore over sized trousers.

Thaz two a'peth short of a bob.
Not quite the brightest.

Dy1geo
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Dy1geo » Wed May 13, 2020 9:52 am

The one my Grandma said once to my mum was “Don’t spoil the ship for a happorth of tar”

rufus lumley
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by rufus lumley » Wed May 13, 2020 9:59 am

My dad would say I will knock you ta middle of next week when I was misbehaving.

IanMcL
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by IanMcL » Wed May 13, 2020 10:09 am

They haven't got two Ha'pennies to rub together.

Remark my mum would say when folk were very poor (usually with lots of kids).

Funkydrummer
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by Funkydrummer » Wed May 13, 2020 10:12 am

Knock on t'thead (stop it).

Daft as a brush.

My grandma used to say, " Thuz nowt ner queerer tha folk - thuz only me and thee that's reet, an even
thars a bit queer at times".

Gi oer. (give over)

colner
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by colner » Wed May 13, 2020 10:26 am

If you were in a spot of bother you were in Dicky's meadow,who the hell was he and where was/is it?

LeadBelly
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by LeadBelly » Wed May 13, 2020 10:32 am

Fenwick wrote:
Tue May 12, 2020 8:48 pm
Grandma was fond of saying " followed a muck cart and thought it was a wedding " Still not entirely sure what she meant. Not a local one, but I remember the owner of a hoopla stall at a highland games when I was a kid on holiday saying " the man who ate the boiled ham raw" when a player lost. I assume it meant another sucker !
The muckcart one is usually following the rhetorical question "You know what thought did?" (as an admonishment after somebody had said as maybe an excuse...,."I though...."). There are a couple of alternative answers I believe; only one I recall is along the lines of "planted a feather and thought a bird would grow". The muck cart one is the only one used around Burnley that I ever heard.

LeadBelly
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Re: Old local sayings

Post by LeadBelly » Wed May 13, 2020 10:50 am

Along with "Dicky's meadow", "Soft mick" "Old Bill" etc; one fictitious person who sometimes cropped up in sayings around our family (and this isnt smutty-honest) was "Dicky pink". I think used when a person's name wasnt known/remembered as per Joe Bloggs.

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