The Ancient Manor of Sedgley

"Ow we spake"

(Black Country Dialect)

The dialect of the Black Country area remains perhaps one of the last examples of early English still spoken today.

The word endings with 'en' are still noticeable in conversation as in 'gooen' (going), callen (calling) and the vowel 'A' is pronounced as 'O' as in sond (sand), hond (hand) and mon (man).Other pronunciations are 'winder' for window, 'fer' for far, and 'loff' for laugh - exactly as Chaucer's English was spoken. This "dictionary" is Black Country in general and not particularly Sedgley in origin.

Local dialect was (and probably still is to a lesser degree) quite distinctive between the different towns and villages of the Black Country

.
Sarah YATES (nee MILLARD)
1886-1970

My Maternal Grandmother, see above - to whom this page is dedicated - reckoned that she could tell which Black Country village a person came from by the way they spoke. This has probably changed today due to the greater mobility of people.

Run by book lovers, for book lovers

~ A ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Ackidock	aqueduct
Afower	before possibly from Afore (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Agen	again
Airk	as in belly ache, stomach ache etc. (Thanks to Zoë Miller from Cradley Heath)
Ait	eat (Thanks to Zoë Miller from Cradley Heath)
Aks(axe)	ask
Anunst	against, next to, eg "The housen anunst hisen"
Ar	Yes as in "Ar I am"
Ay or A	haven't or isn't. "Is it just the way we speak or lazyness which enables us to phase an entire sentence in single letters such as I A A I (I haven't, have I)." Thanks to Stuart Appleby of Bilston for this item.

~ B ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Babby	Baby from the Anglo Saxon Babben
Backerds (backeds)	Backwards (thanks to Paul Bowdler for this one)
Barly	a truce. Sometimes "Arley-Barly" is used. (Possibly a corruption from the French "Parlez" to talk?)
the Baggies	West Bromwich Albion Football Club (not a very good one!)
Bai or bay	am not, eg "I bay gooin' ter tell yow agen"
Bally	Belly, stomach (Thanks to Zoë Miller from Cradley Heath)
Bamboozle	puzzle, bemuse
Barmpot	A silly person
Barmy	Daft, silly
Bawk	hinder or confuse. Probably from Balk
Bay or Baynt	am not
Beezum	a broom of birch, also playfully used to refer to a pert young woman
Bibble	A pebble
Bin	been, have been, are, have I bin affirmative reply to question
Bist	are, eg "how bist yow?" = How are you?
Bisn't	aren't, opposite of Bist. eg "Bisn't gooin up the shaps?" for "You're not going up the shops?" (Thanks to Lee Marshall of Darlaston for this one)
Blaberen	to talk idly
Black Bat	Black Beetle (Thanks to Lyn Corbett)
Bladda or Bladder	Balloon (Thanks to Sean Percival of Oldbury)
Blart	cry - from "the bleating of sheep"
Blether	to talk nonsense or talk incessantly. "Blether yed" blether head = someone who talks nonesense, a fool.
Blobmouth	blabbermouth eg "'Ers a right blobmouth. Tell 'er terday, the world knows tomorrer"
Blubren	crying, eg "Ar kids blubren agen"
Bobhowlers	Any large moth
Boffle	hinder
Bonce	the head (Thanks to Margaret Hill for this one)
Bonk	bank or small hill. Pitbonk = hill made from mine waste
Bost	broken or burst, past tense Bosted
Boster	something big or possibly something good
Bostin	Meaning "very good indeed" eg "We 'ad a bostin time" or "Ers a bostin wench"
(on the) box	off work, sick
Bowk	A very large recepticle like a skip (Thanks to Sean Percival of Oldbury)
Breffus	breakfast
Brummagem	Birmingham
Bunny-fire	bonfire
Buz	Bus

~ C ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Cake-hole	Mouth "Shut yer cake-hole" (Thanks to Gordon SMITH of Wollaston)
Caggy or caghanded	left-handed - all the best people are!
Cag-mag	Bad or rotting meat
Camplin/Cankin	talking or gossiping (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Cant(in)	gossip(ing)
Catlick	hasty wash
Caw or cor	cannot, eg "I cor goo the'er terday"
Chawl	Pork
Chops	mouth or cheeks
Chimdy or chimly or chimbly	chimney
Chuffed	pleased
Chuck	Throw
Chuky or chooky	chicken, fowl (children's word) also Chooky Egg
Chunter	grumble under one's breath
Clack	uvula, eg "Just stop yer clack"
Clarnet	idiot, fool. "Yo' daft clarnet!"
Clane	Clean
Clemmed or clammed	starved or hungry
Clobber	clothes or possibly to hit someone
Clomber	climb
Cocka/Cocker	mate, friend (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Cockaver	a smack (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Codge	a poor job, eg "He's made a right codge of it"
Cog-nogger or Cog-nocker	Thick Sandwich (variation on Noggin)
Coddin	joking, kidding, eg "Goo on, yum coddin me"
Coost	could you ?, also negative "thee coosnt"
Coot	coat
Cootin	Courting (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Cor or cort	can't
cork-aiver or cog-winder	a good punch
Cost	can you ?, also negative "I cosn't" - I cannot
Cotter	have no cotter with 'im (have nothing to do with him)
Crack	fun, entertainment
Craw	crop of a bird, as in "that sticks in my craw" - I cannot believe it
Croddle	huddle together
Craunch	crunch
Cuckoo	Sweetie (affectionate term)
Cuff	a cough (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Cut	canal
Cutherin'	to huddle together, Cuddling?

~ D ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Dahb	daub, smear
Dare-cent	dare not (Thanks to Sean Percival of Oldbury)
Day	did not, eg "I day see 'im comin"
Desay	dare say, very likely
Dishle	cup of tea
Ditherin'	meaning to shiver with cold, or to hesitate.
Dock	to stop or hold back wages
Doe	do not, reply to question "I doe"
Dollop	large quantity, usually of food
Donny	hand (children's word) Possibly a corruption from the French "Donnez" to give?
Dowl	down, soft hair on the face
Drap	drop
Duck	evade, dodge
Dun	Do, as in "What dun yo want?"

~ E ~

Dialect word	Meaning
'E	he, pronoun used to describe the husband or household head
Ess'ole	Fireplace. I think this may be a corruption of 'ash hole' (Thanks to Lyn Corbett)

~ F ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Faggots	Black Country dish made from pig's organs, onion, sage, bread crumbs
Fairce	face
Fai(r)ther	father
Fakes/Fairks	Cigarettes (Thanks to Margaret Hill for this one)
Fettle	excellent condition
Fittle	food, victuals
Fizzog	the face
Flen	fleas
Flics	cinema
Flirter	catapult usually made from elastic (rubber) bands
Fode	Fold or enclosure. A back yard to a house
Foggy	First : When children were playing games the first child to shout out Foggy went first/had first pick, then the next child would have to shout out Secky. (Thanks to Ann Tether of Herefordshire, ex-Wolverhampton for this one)
Forid	Forehead (thanks to Paul Bowdler for this one)
Franzy	irritable, particularly fretful children
Frit	frightened, eg "doe be frit"
Frowtsy	dishevelled
Fun	found
Fust	first

~ G ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Gaffer	master, employer, perhaps husband
Gain	Useful, As gain as a glass eye
Gamgee	Cotton Wool. From its inventor Dr. Samuel Gamgee, who originally called it "gamgee-tissue." Dr. Gamgee was born in Birmingham.
Gammitin	playing the fool
Gammy	lame
Gamp	Umbrella (after a Dickensian character named Mrs Gamp who always carried a large black umbrella) - (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Ganzy	guernsey, jumper, cardigan
Garn	Go on
Gawby	a simpleton
Gawk	an ill dressed person, or to stare, eg "Who am yow gawkin' at ?"
Gawp	open mouthed, staring
Gleed or Glede	A cinder.
Gob	to spit, or the mouth itself, eg "Shut yer gob" or "'Er's got a right gob on 'er"
Gobiron	Mouth Organ/Harmonica
Goo	go, eg "Am yow gooin' ter the flics?" = Are you going to the Pictures? (Cinema)
Graunch	"To suck a boiled sweet and rattle it in ones teeth" for example "...'ark at 'er, 'ers 'avin a grate time with that sweet - graunchin' it." (Many thanks to Steve Pearson for this one)

~ H ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Haiver	something big, eg "It's a real haiver"
Half Ender	Half a house brick
Hoss road	The street. "Get out the hoss road!" = Get out of the way!

~ I ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Ivver-ovver	hesitate, eg "Stop yer ivverin' an' ovverin' an' get on wi'it"

~ J ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Jack squalin hour	Early morning. “He was out cootin till jack squalin hour” (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Jeth (jed)	death (dead)
Jiffy	brief moment, eg "E woe be a jiffy"
Joobus	suspicious, dubious

~ K ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Kay-li	Sherbet powder (confectionary)
Kaylied	Drunk
Kay	Key
Kell	the lining around a faggot
Keckle	Kettle
Ketch	catch
Kissa	the face

~ L ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Lamp	to beat or thrash, eg "Ee giv' 'im a right lampin'"
Larrupin' or larussin'	Also to beat or thrash, eg "Ee giv' 'im a right larrupin'"
Lather	ladder
Lather	upset or excited as "In a bit of a lather" (Thanks to Frank Gidlow for this one)
Lezzer	a meadow. From the old english Leasowe
Lickle	little
Lief	as soon as
Loff	laugh
Lommock (or lummock)	clumsy, lumbering, eg "Yow big lommock"
Lover	common term of endearment to children - m'lover
Lugole/Lughole	Ear or ear hole (thanks to Pip Taylor of Redditch for this one)
Lungeous	play roughly, inclined to horseplay

~ M ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Madden	to make wild, annoy
Maitrum	matron (of a hospital)
Maulers	hands
Maunch	to chew carefully (as with no teeth)
Maygrums	Faces as in Pullin' maygrums = Pulling faces.
Miskin, Midden or Mixen	Rubbish heap or dustbins (garbage bin) From the Anglo-Saxon for dung
Moach or mooch	to idle about in a bored fashion or search
Mucker	confusion, eg "All of a mucker" can also mean a mate as in "me old mucker"
Mun	must
Mush	meaning an acquaintance eg What yo looking at mush? (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Mush	the face (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Myther	to bother, to irritate, or be irritated by

~ N ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Nairun	none, not one
Naither	neither
Natty	tidy, neat
Niggle	to find fault in insignificant things
Node	known, eg "I've nowd 'im for 'ears"
Noggen yedded	stupid
Noggin	thick piece of bread or the head
Noo	new
Nous, Nowse	"Hav yo no nous?" meaning are you dumb or have no intelligence Thanks to David Holloway of Canberra, AUS for this one
Nuss	nurse, eg Nit Nuss (checked school children for head-lice)

~ O ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Ockerd	awkward
Ode	old, eg "Th' ode lad" - the devil
Odge	push, eg "Odge up" - move up a bit
Oliffer	Nail making machine, actually the word is from Oliver (a spring loaded tilt hammer)
'Ommer	hammer
'Ond	hand
Ooer	Woman of ill repute, whore (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Ood	would
Ooman	woman
Oot	will you
Opple	Apple - (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Oss	horse
Ote	hold, eg "Ketch ote on it" - take hold of it
O'thatnin'	in that way
O'thisnin'	in this way
Ow	how
Owamya?	how're you? (Thanks to Jim Asman of Dudley for this one)
Ow bist?	How are you?
Owern	my husband, my son, my daughter, often used by women to denote member of family

~ P ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Pail	Beat as in I'll give yo' a pailin'
Pie-can	Silly, daft as in "Yo' pie-can"
Piece	Slice of bread or a sandwich, often spread with jam or dripping
Pikelet	Crumpet
Pisey	Spitful (Thanks to Lyn Corbett)
Podge	to push in when queuing (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Pon	Pan, as in saucepan
Poorly	sick, ill. 'Ers proper poorly
Puk	pick, as in pick up (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Pus	purse
Purler	A fall as in "cum a purler" fall down

~ Q ~

Dialect word

Meaning

~ R ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Reasty	Off, as in food gone bad or dirty as in "Your hands are reasty".
Rennin	Raining (thanks to Pip Taylor of Redditch for this one)
Riffy	Dirty or unclean

~ S ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Sad	heavy, as in bread that does not rise.
Saft	stupid, soft (in the head)
'Safta	Shortened version of "this afternoon." eg. See ya this safta.
Saided	sated, glutted remains left after rendering lard
Sailin'	Ceiling as in "up on the sailin"
Sate	seat (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Scrag	To beat up as in fight
Scrawmp	To have a good scratch (Thanks to Lee Marshall of Darlaston for this one)
Scratchings	Black Country delicacy - pork rind deep fried
Scrumpin'	pinching fruit (usually apples) from someone's orchard
Shap	Shop (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Sharra	Motor Coach - derived from char-à-banc (Drawn wagon) (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Sharrap	Shut up, be quiet. (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Shed	spilled/spilt (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Sheed	to spill a liquid (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Shek, Shekin	Shake, shaking - (Thanks to Mike Dickens for this one)
Siden	Out of perpendicular, crooked. See photo of the Glynne Arms, aka The Crooked House, aka The Siden House
Siken	to sigh (from the Old English 'Sican' )
Skraze	graze, scratch
Skrobble or scromble	a tangle of wool, string, and the like
Smosh	Smash. (Thanks to Mick Roberts for this one)
Snap	Food, commonly lunch taken by a working man
Snidge/Snitch	Nose (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Spajacks or Spuggies	Sparrows (Thanks to Richard Clark for this one)
Spake	speak
Splod	flat-footed
Spockle	to cover with drops of moisture
Spottle	splash
Soople	to soften, make supple
Steen	stew jar or earthenware pot
Suff	sewer or drain, eg "Down the suff" - down the drain
Suck	Sweets, (candy to the Yanks, lollies to the Aussies)
Sup	to sip, a sip, drink
Sustifikut	certificate
Swaits	sweets (Thanks to Zoë Miller from Cradley Heath)
Swelth	swelling
Swilker	to spill or splash
Swole	swollen
Swopson	a heavily built woman, used in a semi-humorous sense

~ T ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Tack up	improvement in the weather, eg "It'll tack up tonight"
Tacky-bonk or Tocky-bonk	a pit mound
Tararabit	Bye for now
Taters	potatoes
Tai(tay)	tea, also "it isn't"
Tek	take
Tek after	to resemble, look like physically, mentally, or emotionally
Tewthree	a few, two or three, always used as a noun preceded by "a"
Thaten	that one
Thissen	this one
Thrial	group of three, used only in the card game of Cribbage
Thrape	thrash. Give 'im a good thrapin'
Tiswas	Confused, "getting in a tiswas"
Tizzicky	having an irritating dry cough
Tittle	tickle
To it	Sandwich filling, “Bread and to it” (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Tranklements	small possessions, bits and pieces, paraphernalia, precious possessions.
Trapes	walking aimlessly about, eg "Trapesin' in an' ott like a dog at a fair"
Trussen	to trust
Tummy	a snack, especially a collier's mid-morning snack
Tunky	a fat pig, eg "As fat as a tunky"

~ U ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Unitick	Uniform (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Unkyoothe	uncouth

~ V ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Volve	valve

~ W ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Waggin	Playing truant from School (Thanks to Lee Marshall of Darlaston for this one)
Wag Mon	The council official employed to round up errant children who were "Waggin" (Thanks to Lee Marshall of Darlaston for this one)
Wammel	A mongrel dog, comes from the Anglo-Saxon/Old English "hwaemelec"
Wassin	Throat. "Get it down yer wassin" From the Old English "wasend" meaning gullet.
Weege	which (thanks to Syd Goring for this one)
Weem	We are. Eg. "Weem gooin out tonight" - We're going out tonight. (Thanks to Dave Woodward of Sacramento, California for this one)
Welly	nearly, eg "Welly clemmed to jeth"
Wench	girl, still commonly used by parents towards daughters. From the Anglo-Saxon "Wencel" meaning child
Wenching	One of the most enjoyable pastimes of young men. The act of flirting, charming and pursuing wenches.
Werrit	worry
Whimsey	pit head winding gear
Wick	Nerves - as in 'Yow'm gerrin' on me wick.' (Thanks to Ben Armfield for this one)
Wik	week or weak
Woa	won't, eg Yow woa
Wooly	whole, often of a brick : "A wooly 'un"
Wool	will, eg Yow wool
Wommuck	to eat fast "He wommucked that up like he was starvin!" (Thanks to Rex Basterfield for this one)
Wurse or Wuss	worse
Wum	home. "I'm gooin' wum"

~ X ~

Dialect word

Meaning

~ Y ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Yamp(e)y	Useless, hopeless (as in "He's a yampy player) See Martin Reeves' Yampy Gornal website for the latest news etc from Gornal
Yawle or Yaup	bawl, shout or cry loudly
Yed	head
Yo(w)	you
Yoewer	your

~ Z ~

Dialect word	Meaning
Zowk	yelp, cry out
Zad	the letter Z

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