Norwich/Dialect
Here are some useful Norwich words and phrases:
Aaar - 60 minutes
At maade me chuggle thaat did - That was funny
Ah u gorn near thuh Puust Arrfuss? - Are you going near the Post Office?
Aircal - Insignificant market town half-way between Naaridge and Gt.Yaarmuuth on the A47
Angla Sware - (Anglia Square) A masterpiece of 1960's urban architecture of unparalleled hideousness located just 'nuuth of the Maglen Street fly-ovah'. This unbelievably bleak edifice of concrete and rusting steel narrowly missed out on the prize for 'best urban regeneration project' by 137 places. One day in the future it will fall down but unfortunately many of us will not be around to witness that happy event!
Ar yer orrite, booy - Good Morning
Ar yer orrite, booy - Good Afternoon
Ar yer orrite, booy - Good Evening
Ass a rum ol' jarb un't it booy? - It's a strange situation
Ass roight hent ut? - 'I believe that to be correct.' A statement posed as a question; a conversational technique employed over wide ranging areas of Eest Angular sic
Assa bit black ova Will's medder, hent et? - Take a look at those threatening black clouds. I think it might rain.
Assa jook - I’m just kidding
Awld Yares Noight - New Year's Eve
B an Coo - Hardware store, see also Hum Base
Bare - Sold by the pint in Shee-car-goo’s (and other licensed establishments)
Bisha Barnabee - A Ladybird
Blar - Cry
Blast Bor, yowl git a ding-a-tha-lug - I’m going to hit you now
Boats - National chemist chain (Boots) - see also Fowtahs
Bonds - the John Lewis department store - see Curls
Boost - To brag about one's achievements
Boots - Vessels used on river and sea e.g. at Loose-tarfed (Not to be confused with 'Boots the Chemists')
Booy - boy/man
Bulcunee - A bit that jut outer upstairs so yer can goo outside.
Buth arnhem - Both of them
Carbit? - "Can I have a piece of that please?"
Card - Traditionally eaten with chips, might well have been caught off Loose-tarfed
Carfey - Hot beverage
Carra Rud - a place where Naaridge people go to watch their football team beat Ipswich. Another place like this is Portman Road where Suffolk people go to watch their football team being beaten by Narridge Ci'ee.
Chairs - term used when raising a glass of beer, wine etc. in the company of friends
Chimley - chimney
Chow - Goodbye - (Rhymes with 'low')
Ci'ee - as in Naaridge ci'ee - a place for shopping
Con-cue-lata - Item recently employed in place of an abacus - Once seen used in a Norwich shop to calculate the change to be given from £1 for a 99 pence purchase - honestly!
Cooin - queueing
Cook - Fizzy beverage originating from the Yew nigh ed staretes of Uhmericar
Compoota - computer (used only in the subjunctive sense -- i.e. "if oy ad a compoota" -- since this technology has yet to be introduced to Norfolk). (See also - 'Pootah')
Cossey Costessey (Which is actually pronounced, well um, Cossey)
Cruummer - Nuuth Narfak seaside town of Cromer
Cumbine aarvista - an agricultural vehicle
Cuntry -- Country; countryside
Curls - a department store in Naaridge ci'ee long since renamed Debnums (but news travels slowly in Naaridge!)
Dare-um - (East) Dereham
Dawg – dog
Dew u lissen hair - Now you listen to me
Dikalus - Not quite right
Dicky pron. Dicka - a donkey - See 'Ha'yer.....' below
Dodman - Snail
Doo whaat? - I beg your pardon.
Doo yah want sum chaaaklet? - Would you like some Chocolate?
DURRR (Often accompanied by boggling eyes and deformed mouth shapes) - Isn't the aforementioned obvious?
Dunt - Doesn't
Eletra-con-cuted - When one receives 230v from a power socket
Ee's a rummun hint e? - He is a strange fellow, is he not? (also Ees a roight rong un)
Fare ta middlin - I’m doing quite well actually
Fillum- Norwich/Norfolk people used to watch these at a cinema. Latterly they are inclined to frequent a 'vidya' shop and sit at home with a 'tek'way'
Fowtahs - Get these developed at Boots (the chemist! - not Loose-tarfed vessels) See 'Boats'
Fool - Petrol or Diesel - Not to be confused with 'fule' a slight silly person
Fooze - Electrical component on sale at Hum Base and B an Coo
Furriners - People who come from anywhere South of Thetford or West of Dare-um
Fuun - telephone
Gatoo - Sticky chocolate cake
Getoninoutonit - Do come in, its beginning to rain
Goo yew stedda booy - Please drive with care
Gretole - rather large
Goo tah hek bor - How surprising my man
Gunna - going to
Hah ya far gorra dicka, booy? - Does your father own a donkey?
Hah ya gittin arn tagether? - Hello
Hah ya gorra bead on?- Are you sweating?
Hah ya got a loight, bor? - Could you please lend me some sort of cigarette ignition device, kind sir?
Hairo - Hero
Hairset - Hethersett - A small town Suuth uh Naaridge
Haresay - Hearsay
Harnser - a heron
Haysbra - Happisburgh - Strangely, the correct pronunciation is...'Haysbra'
Heesay – He said
Hent - Haven't / hasn't
Heyya? - Have you really?
Hoo-har - a fuss or commotion
Hoom - the place where you live. Occasionally also pronounced as Hum.
Hooma - Comedy
Hoomid - As in "Thas hoomid taday" - A meteorological phenomenon more usually known as high humidity
Hoss – horse
How ya doin' booy? - How are you?
How yer gettin arn booy? - Norfolk greeting
Hum Base - DIY store, See: B an Coo
Hunstan - Hunstanton – Nuuth-warest Narfak coostal village
Husband/Wife - Normally a cousin
I/yoo/ee/shee gooo - I/you/he/she goes to (or 'went to')
I/yoo/ee/shee see - I/you/he/she saw (N.B. In 1943, teaching of the past tense was abolished in all Norfolk schools.)
In it? - Is it not?
Iss at roight? - Is that so! (Comment to show that attention is being paid to the speaker)
Jargon - Like running, but at a more leisurely pace
Khaazi - Suburb on the western edge of Naaridge. Though spelt Costessey, the correct pronunciation is...'Khaazi'
Kanelp? - Another 'high-speed' contraction of speech - 'May I be of assistance?', derived from "Can I help?"
Koo - Any of the bovine-family of animals (Not to be confused with 'coo' - a line of people 'cooin')
KooDee - Discount shop at the top of St.Stephens Street and in Angla Sware
Loight arse - Lighthouse
Loose tarfed - East coast fishing port and most easterly point of the Yoo-Kay
Lully ole jarb - Lovely old job = Excellent
Mardle - General chit-chat, much favoured by older members of the community, about 'suffin' qv. and 'nuffin' qv.
Mawkin - something that stands in a field to scare birds.
Mawther - girl/woman
(Thas a roight) Mucking fuddle - It is a complete mess
Munnah - Coins of the Realm
Muutah - automobile
Naarfak dumplin - A vaguely nasty, sinking, dumpling/a person from outside the city wall with questionable parentage and too many fingers
Naarth Warshum - North Walsham
Naaridge Yoonyun - Sometime major Naarfak, but now northern India, employer
Neet-said - the village of Neatishead 'nuuth ah Naaridge'
NFN - Narmal fu Naaridge/Narfuk
Noo idare - no idea/ don't know
Nuffin - Nothing - Generally employed along with 'Suffin' as in 'Suffin an' Nuffin' suggesting that other wonderful Norwich phrase 'A luud of ol' tosh'
Nuuth - one of the points of the compass
Oi gaat rongg - I'm in trouble/I was told-off
Oi hatta larf - It was extremely funny
Oim goo un up tha ci'ee ta doo a bih a shaarpen - I am heading into Naarridge for a bit of retail therapy
Oim jus gorn oop the ruud - I am just going up the road
On - Of (as in "I loike tha look a that cairke, can I haf a piece on ut?")
Oodiun, Angla Sware - Where the people of Norwich used to watch "fillums"
Oover air / oover ere - 'I'm over here'
Pootah - Computer.
Roight - Right (As in: Correct)
Sartanoon - referring to the period of time between mid-day and evening
Scoowiff - Not straight
Sharpen - Purchasing things, often from KooDee
Sheranum - Seaside town (Sheringham) a few miles to the west of Cruummer
Shee-car-goos - Nightspot on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich
Shink - Should think
Shoont - Shouldn't
Sproight - Fizzy lemon drink
Sprusten - Sprowston
Stare-shun - Where trains arrive and depart as in 'Thorpe station'
Stoop ud - Term applied to very silly people
Suffin - Something - Generally employed along with 'Nuffin' as in 'Suffin an' Nuffin' suggesting that other wonderful Norwich phrase 'A luud of ol' tosh'
Swaaafum - Swaffham
Thaangkyer - Spoken at high speed, used by Norfolk shop assistants when accepting money
Thas a bit on the huh - That's a bit wonky/uneven
Thas a rummun - Not quite up to scratch
Tha amooze me tha did - It made me laugh
The P.O.W. - The 'Chav' abbreviation for Prince of Wales 'Ruud' or otherwise that area of Naaridge that the loocal constabury (Constabulary) frequent on Froyday an' Sat'day noights.
The social - Despite many name-changes and iterations (as with Curls q.v.) 'Jobcentre Plus' is still known as 'the social' in Naaridge
Traaacta - a farming vehicle and vehicle of high prestige within the 'Ci'ee Wulls'
Tripe writer - type-writer....occasionally replaced by a ZX81 or Spectrum pootah (Or for the really well-off by an Amstrad PCW).
Troos - Suburb on the South-side of Naaridge and where Naaridge Ci'ee once refined their footballing skills.
U dunt hatter do ut! - You haven't got to do it.
Uh day - to day
Varmunt - A naughty person, generally young. e.g. 'Gerron outta hair you young varmunt'
Waarnt u a bed? - Is it not past your bedtime?
Wah e say – What did he say?
Well i coatasee – Goodness me
Where u gorn? - Where are you going?
Windum - Small town south of Naaridge (Sensible abbreviation of it’s proper name : Why-mond-ham (as spoken by furriners)
Woont - Wouldn't
Wossamaa'er/Wossrong/Wossup Is there a problem?
Wotchamacaulut/Hooge-a-maflip – Thingumajig
Wot choo mardlin' on 'bout? - What are you talking about?
Wot choo up ter uh day - What are you doing today?
Wotcha! – Hello!
Yow siller owld fule - Comment made to someone displaying “backward” tendencies
Yuull git rongg! - You will get into trouble/told-off!