Belfast-isms and (Other) Oddities

The first time someone came into the pharmacy and asked me for "round dummies," I knew I was wrong to have images of fat, stupid people pop into my head. I'm sure my face said as much. I had no idea what he wanted... Pacifiers! Since then, I've come a long way. I now recognise that baubles are hair binders, nappies are diapers, and if somebody accuses you of "skiving," they are actually saying that you're lazy.

No, I was not being lazy!

Unlike in the Republic of Ireland, commonly referred to here as "the South" (and I have even heard people from the South called "Mexicans"), the plural in the second person is not "ye" but "yous" or "yous'uns." I am guilty of using it myself at times to clarify that I'm speaking to everybody in a room rather than just one: "What are yous'uns doing tonight?" There is also common usage of "them'uns." During my research, especially the interviews and transcribing the interview recordings, it was quite fun deciphering my interviewees' Belfast-isms. Now, for better or for worse, they are part of my every day vocabulary, not because I use them but because everybody around me uses them:

to crack up     v. usually not the American equivalent for laughter but instead refers to when a person really, really gets upset and/or mad

scundered    adj. embarrassed (in Belfast) but tired (outside of Belfast)

Wait till I see.  the equivalent to saying "One moment" or "I'll check"

to boke     v. to vomit

bookmaker    n. not a place where books are made but where one goes to place bets

chuffed   adj. really proud

biscuits   n. a sort of cookie

mingin'    adj. unsavoury, gross

Here's me.... Here be's me....    the equivalent to saying "I was like...." or "I said....."

Ex: "Here be's me, 'That's mingin'.' Here's her, 'I was scundered!'"

I have kindly been informed that juice boxes are not boxes, they are cartons. I confused the pharmacist when I asked her about posting a notice up on the wall. "Post? What do you want to post?" I had to explain that I didn't mean I wanted to put it in the mail. I have also had to stop myself from saying "pants" all the time. When I exclaimed once that "She wears the pants in that relationship," I had effectively made a statement about underwear that left all of my work colleagues bewildered and uncomfortable: "What does women's underwear have to do with anybody's relationship?" Still, the equivalent "trousers" is so awkward for me to form that whenever I open my mouth to say it, I keep thinking that something is wrong with the sentence.

Occasionally, I make note of the way people here speak and then say things that I assume they say themselves. This is a lesson in why one should never make assumptions, because essentially it means you make up a nonexistent language. For instance, half six means 6:30, but nobody ever, ever says half midnight or half noon. As you can guess, I have. (This says alot about language acquisition. No joke). The girl I was talking to at the time paused and stared at me. Here's her, perplexed, "What?" Here's me, innocently, "What?"

I made a mental note never to do that again. I was scundered.