Welcome to the Talk Dialect Lancashire Dialect Dictionary. This page is a doorway into the wonderful world of Talk Dialect Lancashire dictionary of words, sayings, slang and poems. It is a community space we all own, shape and grow together. As proud Lancashire speaking folks, this Lancashire community celebrates the local Lancashire dialect by sending, sharing words and sayings and making sure no everyone’s voice is included. We help each other to build a living Lancashire dialect resource for all.

Top Word List Glossary of Lancashire Words, Sayings and Slang

• Addled – Confused or muddled (e.g., “I’m right addled”).
• Barmpot – A silly or foolish person.
• Cack-handed – Clumsy, or left-handed.
• Chunter – To grumble or mutter complaints under one’s breath.
• Clarty – Sticky, muddy, or dirty.
• Cob on – To be in a bad mood or sulk (“he’s got a right cob on”).
• Ee by gum – An exclamation of surprise.
• Ginnel – A narrow alleyway or passage between buildings.
• Jiggered – Exhausted, worn out.
• Larking – Playing about or messing around.
• Laik – To play, especially used of children playing out.
• Mardy – Moody, sulky, or bad-tempered.
• Mithered – Bothered, pestered, or worried.
• Nesh – Overly sensitive to the cold.
• Nowt – Nothing.
• Owt – Anything (“has tha got owt to eat?”).
• Reet – Right, or very (e.g., “reet good”).
• Scran – Food.
• Skrike – To cry or shout loudly.
• Snap – A packed lunch, especially for workers (“snap tin”).
• Spice – Sweets (particularly in some Lancashire areas).
• Sithee – “See thee” — used as a greeting or to draw attention.
• Tara – Goodbye.
• Thoil – To bring oneself to spend money or do something reluctantly.
• Wazzock – A foolish or annoying person.
• Yonks – A long time (“I’ve not seen her in yonks”).
• Yer – You (“get yerself here”).

Read The Full Talk Dialect Lancashire Dialect Dictionary

Getting involved with the Talk Dialect Lancashire Dialect Dictionary is easy and open to everyone. You can add your own words through the “Add Your Word” feature, sharing family sayings, local phrases, and terms passed down from grandparents before they’re lost. Subscribing to the Talk Dialect newsletter keeps you updated with featured words, blog posts, and project news straight to your inbox. For the more adventurous, becoming a Dialect Detective through our Talk Dialect Detective Tea Shop, Secret Missions, lets you join a crack and elite team of brilliant amateur word enthusiasts, linguists, historians, archaeologists. Together we actively hunt down, record, and preserve dialect words in your community. Dialect Detectives like all classic detectives can work in pairs. It is especially useful for a young detective to pair up with an older and wiser detective in their family. Talk Dialect has a lovely policy of Old People First because every person as well as every word counts. All these contributions help keep Lanky alive for generations to come. Thanks the Talk Dialect team 🗣️💚

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Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I add a new word, saying or family phrase? Hit this Add Word link or the one in the box above.
• How can I quickly search and find a word? Use the Search box 🔎
• Can I listen to these words too? In the top right corner of most web browsers is a Read Aloud button.
• Is there any audio and videos? Yes, we accept all types of source links: social media such as YouTube shorts, TikTok videos and Instagram reels of friends and family talking dialect, website pages, forum quotes etc. External audio and video links have this emoji 🔗 next to them.
• Can I sign up for regular updates? Yes! Please do. This project is in its start up phase and there are many more exciting things planned. You can subscribe to our newsletter. You can also become a Talk Dialect Detective 🕵️
• How long will it take for my submission to appear? We aim to get all submissions checked, verified and uploaded within 7 days. We thank you for you patience. We are a small and dedicated team.

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