Scottish Slang Dictionary

Somebody tells you the weather is 'dreich', the pub is 'heaving', and your new friend is 'a bit of a numpty, but a braw one'. Nobody explains any of it. This book does. Scottish Slang Dictionary is a warm, funny guide to more than 600 words, phrases and sayings people really use in Scotland. Every entry gives you a plain meaning, an example sentence in natural Scottish speech and the same sentence in plain US English, with a label where a word belongs mainly to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen or the Highlands, and a clear mark on anything rude. Unlike a joke book of one-line definitions or a Gaelic phrasebook, it explains how Scots, Scottish English and Gaelic fit together, puts the words in alphabetical chapters and in themed chapters for greetings, weather, food and drink, the pub, banter and terms of affection, and finishes with traditional sayings and a short quiz. Inside, you'll learn: Over 600 real Scottish words, phrases and sayings, numbered and explained An example sentence and a plain English version for every single entry The difference between Scots, Scottish English and Gaelic, and how to say the tricky sounds Regional labels for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and the Highlands Greetings, weather words and the food you will meet on a menu or a plate Pub vocabulary, banter and insults, with rude words clearly marked Terms of affection and traditional sayings your grandparents may have used A short quiz and quick reference to test what you have learned Keep it on your phone before you land, on the shelf for a family history trip, or give it to anyone who loves how Scotland talks. Words shift from glen to city street, so treat this as a warm welcome to the conversation, not the last word on it.