29 Scottish Phrases and Words that True Edinburgh Locals Will Understand!

It’s hard to find a voice more pleasant to listen to than a Scotsman’s. However, you’d be wrong to think that local slang is the same everywhere. There are many different accents and dialects in this country of more than 5 million people, and each has its own jargon. A visit to cosmopolitan Edinburgh, on the other hand, brings it down to some of the biggest and most common phrases. Here are some of the most common Scottish words and phrases you’ll hear in the city’s center.

Table of Contents

Laddie/Lassie

Usually a boy and a girl who aren’t too old. Often said to show love.

Skite

To go out on the skite means to have a night out, usually with alcohol. Some of the most famous nights on the skite happen in the busy bars, pubs, and clubs of Edinburgh.

Aye

Aye means “yes” and is often used instead of “yes” in everyday life in Scotland. On the other hand, “aye, right” is used to show that you don’t believe something (think of it as the Scottish version of “yeah, right”).

Braw

Braw is a well-known Scottish word. In the famous comic strip Oor Wullie, the main character, Oor Wullie, often uses this phrase to describe things that are nice, brilliant, or fantastic. Someone may have “braw banter,” or they may have a great view from their hotel room.

Banter

Conversations that are exciting, funny, or full of quips and wisecracks are all just good chat.

Blether

Having a blether is a general term for catching up, talking about other people, and talking for a long time. It’s best to do this with a cup of tea or a shot of whisky.

29 Scottish Phrases and Words that True Edinburgh Locals Will Understand! — Pure barry: Utterly wonderful and fantastic

Chancer

A chancer is someone who takes risks and asks for unreasonable things in order to “try their luck.” This is usually said with a bit of self-aware cheekiness. That person who asks to borrow cigarettes over and over but never buys any? Chancer.

Chore

To take without permission. If someone else did your chores, you could say goodbye to it.

Dinnae

Don’t. Like, “Don’t forget to bring an umbrella.”

Dreich

It’s not a lie that Scotland has a lot of rainy days. The word “dreich” is a good way to describe days that are dull and gray.

Fae

From. You can be fae in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, or pretty much anywhere.

Fizzy juice

Soda, soft drink, or sugar water with bubbles. Scots would tell you that a can of Irn-Bru is the best fizzy juice you can get.

Get tae

Meant to tell someone to leave (sometimes followed by the F-word in particularly heated circumstances). It can also be used to make fun of someone who is lying or making up a story.

Haud yer wheesht

Used to tell someone to shut up or to stop talking. The mark of a Scottish mother since the beginning of time.

Ken

To learn. “I know Moira from down the road.” “dinnae ken,” on the other hand, means “I don’t know.”

Messages

Items from the store or grocery store. Nothing to do with mail carriers.

Mony a mickle maks a muckle

This old saying gives good business advice by saying that small amounts of money can grow into a lot of money if they are invested well. Scrooge McDuck would agree with this. It’s fun to say out loud, too.

Peely-wally

Looks pale and sick. It’s also used to make fun of people who don’t have a tan.

Pie

To deliberately not pay attention to someone. Most Scots don’t like being pied in the face, but they don’t mind the delicious pastries that can be found in their bakeries.

Pure barry

Amazing and wonderful to the max. Braw 2.0.

Radge

A person who is rowdy or aggressive. “That’s well radge” is used to say that something is crazy or unfair.

Rank

Disgusting and vile. Not the same as taxi stands, where people wait in line to get a ride home.

Scran

Food, dishes, or things to eat. Cullen skink, mince and tatties, and the ever-popular haggis are all examples of traditional Scottish scran.

Shan

Unfair. For instance, if someone jumped the line or if a bacon roll only had half a piece of bacon inside. In this situation, you have every right to use “well shan” to talk about how unfair things are.

Skedaddle aff

To hurry along as you please. It can also be used to say “don’t bother me.”

Steaming

Very, very drunk. Synonym: reeking.

Tidy

The highest form of praise that shows how much someone likes something. As in, “That was a pretty good rant.”

Wur tearin’ the tartan

To be really interested in a conversation. In other words, “having a good old chat.”

Yer heid’s full o’ mince

It’s not good to have a “head full of mince” because it means that the words coming out of a person’s mouth make no sense.

Topic: 29 Scottish Phrases and Words that True Edinburgh Locals Will Understand!

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