Ey ‘Up: 10 Northern Sayings

10 Northern Sayings and Their Origins

Northern sayings are reet grand, like—full o’ grit, graft, and a good dose o’ wit. Up ‘ere, we don’t faff about; we tell it how it is, often wi’ a chuckle.

1. Ey ‘Up – This can be traced back to Old Norse languages. A colloquial greeting the expression is a friendly way of saying ‘Hello/Hi’. ‘Ey ‘up’ can also be used to grab someone’s attention or as an expression of surprise, similar to saying ‘Wow’.

2. Barm is another addition to the controversial and ever-lasting argument of the ‘correct’ term for a teacake/bap/bun/ bread roll. It is thought that the term comes from ‘beorma’, the Old English word for yeast. In any case, the word refers to yeast- based products, such as bread and beer, the latter of which lead to the insult ‘barmy’, as ‘barm’ can also reference the froth on fermenting beers, said to make consumers ‘barmy’ if they drank it.

3. Cack-handed is used to describe someone who is clumsy or awkward, particularly when using their hands. The term might also suggest that someone is left-handed, as ‘cack’ is an old term for left, but it is more commonly associated with general clumsiness.

4. Daft ‘Apeth is said to originate from the early 20th-century nickname for half of the old one penny. In the north, a halfpenny’s worth was commonly referred to as a ‘ha’porth’, so a foolish person is a ‘daft’ apeth’- simply worth only half a penny.

5. Scran refers to cheap and easy food, most often junk food. The word’s origins point to North Germanic or Old Norse and is generally used to describe a scrappy comfort meal, like yesterday’s leftover pie or a cheeky microwave pizza on a cold day!