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Local sayings from yesteryear!


peterinfrance

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When I was a young lad growing up in Sheffield there were lots of sayings or remarks which at the time I just took for granted but when I think back I never heard them outside the Sheffield area or later in life.  The remarks were mainly directed at children and I can't remember many now but a couple spring to mind.  "Frame Yourself," one of my mothers regular comments directed at me and probably meaning smarten up or stand straight.

Another was "you little buggeroo" needs no interpretation!

Anyway, there are I am sure plenty of Sheffield History members who can add to this and I look forward to having my memory jogged with a walk down memory lane.

 

 

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From the late 1960s I do remember the first time I wore long trousers to church.  Several of the older men came up and said something along the lines of "when a lad goes into long trousers he needs something in his pocket" and slipped a tanner or threepence into my pocket.  Wealth indeed!

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We have American relatives who can’t wait to correct our use of the English language, I’m guilty of using the Americanism ‘guy’ in favour of ‘bloke’ or ‘chap’, and ‘movie’ instead of ‘film’. However I draw the line at being told that I should use ‘soccer’ in favour of ‘football’, my retort to this is always, “We invented both the game and the language, live with it”.

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Hmmm, "guy" is reported from 1375 in the sense of "a guide", from the Old French "guion".  Even soccer appears from the OED to be English c. 1885.  It gets really annoying at times; many so-called Americanisms are actually older forms of English English.  Possibly the most famous one is "gotten", which appears in Wycliffe's Bible of 1382.

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I was led to understand that most "Americanisms" occur on account of early English settlers taking over the language in use in their region when they emigrated....and they are still in use across the pond!

 

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They can call our back garden a ‘yard’, the footpath a ‘sidewalk’ and the post box a ‘mail box’ at their pleasure, but they are not getting away with telling me that I’m watching ‘soccer’, it’s just my thing.

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Guest leksand
5 hours ago, DaveJC said:

We have American relatives who can’t wait to correct our use of the English language, I’m guilty of using the Americanism ‘guy’ in favour of ‘bloke’ or ‘chap’, and ‘movie’ instead of ‘film’. However I draw the line at being told that I should use ‘soccer’ in favour of ‘football’, my retort to this is always, “We invented both the game and the language, live with it”.

They want to call rugby league "soccer"? A confused nation indeed.

4 hours ago, lysandernovo said:

I was led to understand that most "Americanisms" occur on account of early English settlers taking over the language in use in their region when they emigrated....and they are still in use across the pond!

 

Not just the early settlers. When you look back at Victorian press there is an awful lot of usage consistent with US English that just fell out of broader use in the UK. I suppose the greater dispersal of population and the non-centralisation of institutions, in addition to the removal of UK direction, acted to preserve elements of language that were being lost in their state of origin.

You see the same kind of thing with Afrikaans preserving elements of outmoded Dutch, and I'm told that Quebecois French retains phraseology which would be anachronistic in the Hexagone.

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At least "soccer" differentiates between the different forms of "football". I played football ( togga) Posh kids played football ( rugger) and the Americans played a game where kickers only kicked and some wore armour and helmets that would not have been out of place in a medieval joust!🙄

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My walk down memory lane seems to have done a sharp right turn. Although very interesting, by no stretch of the imagination is America local!

Just as a reminder that the topic is "Local sayings from yesteryear" Local being Sheffield area.

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7 hours ago, peterinfrance said:

My walk down memory lane seems to have done a sharp right turn. Although very interesting, by no stretch of the imagination is America local!

Just as a reminder that the topic is "Local sayings from yesteryear" Local being Sheffield area.

Quite true.

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8 hours ago, peterinfrance said:

My walk down memory lane seems to have done a sharp right turn. Although very interesting, by no stretch of the imagination is America local!

Just as a reminder that the topic is "Local sayings from yesteryear" Local being Sheffield area.

It’s a forum my friend, why would you expect anything to stay on topic? 😝

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25 minutes ago, DaveJC said:

It’s a forum my friend, why would you expect anything to stay on topic? 😝

But it’s Sheffield History so why cite Americanisms .

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29 minutes ago, tozzin said:

But it’s Sheffield History so why cite Americanisms .

Probably because my wife’s first cousin, who is a Sheffield lass, has an American husband who has totally Americanised her due to his job locations. They now reside in Raleigh, North Carolina, but she tries really hard to talk ‘Sheffieldish’, and somehow manages to get everything out of context.

As for Sheffield History, will all the folk that have stepped over the border into deepest sheep fettling territory inject ‘Sheffieldish’ into into the local vocabulary, or will they resort to calling everyone ‘duck’? I class myself as a Sheffielder, but have a great grandmother from Dublin and a great grandfather from Bath, who knows what they injected into everyday conversation?

 

 

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Guest leksand
14 hours ago, tozzin said:

I thought that the term “ Guy” was used as a derogatory word after the nearly hanging of Guy Fawkes.

Well, tha nur what thought did?

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

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14 minutes ago, DaveJC said:

Probably because my wife’s first cousin, who is a Sheffield lass, has an American husband who has totally Americanised her due to his job locations. They now reside in Raleigh, North Carolina, but she tries really hard to talk ‘Sheffieldish’, and somehow manages to get everything out of context.

As for Sheffield History, will all the folk that have stepped over the border into deepest sheep fettling territory inject ‘Sheffieldish’ into into the local vocabulary, or will they resort to calling everyone ‘duck’? I class myself as a Sheffielder, but have a great grandmother from Dublin and a great grandfather from Bath, who knows what they injected into everyday conversation?

 

 

Both my paternal grandparents were from Dublin and part of the Irish language was spoken by me in my younger years but didn’t realise until I was very much older, Skoil for school, Acaca for s**t, Press for cupboard etc. My mother also used Skerrick as an every day word, meaning a minute or tiny amount .

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Hi DaveJC  Your Last comment on your last post   "who knows what they injected into everyday conversation?"                                                  Exactly describes what I hoped would be the response to my post. The sayings no doubt over the years will be modified, where they originate is not the issue. It is the sayings people in Sheffield remember which I hoped to hear about.

Thanks for taking the trouble to respond it is much appreciated

 

 

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He's as thick as two short planks!

Tha can grow spuds in thi 'ear oiles ther that loppy!

Es that mean e wouldn't gi thi snot offern is nooz!

Thar as much use as a chocolate fireguard!

Gerrup afore tha takes root!

This beers as flat as a fart!

It im round ears wi a piece of 4 x 2.

Ther off luckin fer gusset! ( NE Derbyshire)

Thers moor life in't cemetry than in this battery!

It's black oer ar Bill's.

Es not a full shilling!

 

 

To be going on with.🧐

 

 

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Well done lysandernovo. and thanks to all

Now wer'e cookin on gas!

Eh up serrie -Killamarsh area (a greeting)

not the sharpest knife in the drawer

A sandwich short of a picknic

Come on gang pitch in with your memories! and sayings!

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