TOP 5 FRIDAY is when we each list five of our favorite things, depending on the topic. Feel free to join in via the comments or by posting on your own blog and linking back here. Play along. It’s Friday.
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One question I kept getting from friends in America before I got home is, “do you sound Scottish?” and the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. I can’t do a Scottish accent for the life of me.
But the funny thing is, and I think I’ve told you this before, even though I can’t do a Scottish accent with my mouth, the girl in my brain who tells me everything to write? She has a Scottish accent. [I know. I'm a freak. But I tell myself every story and I just write what I hear. That girl in my head... well, she's a Scot.]
There are a few terms that I brought back with me- not to be cool and international or anything, but mainly because I like the British/Scottish saying so much.
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So here they are…. my TOP 5 ADOPTED SCOTTISH SAYINGS!
1. “I’m pure gutted.”
There really isn’t anything in the American language that expresses the emotion of “gutted.” It’s when things go bad, or not the way you wanted, but you’re not absolutely devastated. It’s when you lose, say, a chili cookoff, after working long and hard on a delicious homemade chili.
And, just for your kicks and giggles Americans, the way it is said is “gah-tted.”
2. “Hi-ya!”
Sure. I could just say “hi,” but “Hi-ya!” is much friendlier, if you ask me. And it’s not like a karate chop – HI-YAAA! It’s more like a nice little greeting – Hi-yuh. My Nash-friends may hate this one, I’ll let you know how it goes.
3. “He is a proper musician, not just the kind that knows the basics of playing an instrument.”
This may be my favorite. I love inserting “proper.” Even calling something a “proper good time” feels like a better explanation of the experience. Just writing about this one is making me smile. [I am such a freak.] [Seriously.]
4. “That soup was absolutely lovely.”
My friend Leigh Ann [American living in Scotland] says that she describes food as “lovely” even when she lives in the USA. I’m not sure. One of the weirdest things about living in another English speaking country is that sometimes you forget which words belong in which country. So pardon me if you are American and “lovely” as a way to describe the look or taste of food is part of your vernacular. But it wasn’t for me [that I can remember, anyways].
5. “I’m knackered.”
There are a few different meanings for this word, and the slimiest characters would use it inappropriately. But all my friends, and most normal Brits, would just use “knackered” to refer to being ridiculously tired. Totally spent. Like, worn out. But something about being “knackered” makes me feel like my body is super exhausted but not my mind. You know what I mean? Of all the terms I’m keeping, this will be the hardest to really adopt. But I’m going for it.
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This blog post is QUOTATION MARK heavy and I cannot promise you or your grammar teacher that I used them all correctly. Forgive me when necessary.
I miss Scotland.
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YOUR TURN!
Do you have a favorite [favourite] British term or two? Or do you have a saying from another country that you’ve adopted into your own?
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