300+ Scottish Slang Terms For All The Braveheart Fans Out There
Scottish Slang means knowing how to tell a friend who’s “steamin’” and “stroppy” to “calmy doony” and “skedaddle aff” before he gets “skelped.”
Scottish Slang comes from the land of Braveheart, bagpipes, and the Loch Ness Monster, a beautiful and misty land of castles and lakes where the people are fair-skinned and stubborn as nails.
What’s amazing about this rich tradition of culture and folklore is that Scotland’s entire population is less than that of the greater Atlanta, GA metro area.
Although there is technically no such thing as a formalized Scottish language, the sounds and textures of Scottish slang are derived from dialects such as Lowland Scots—which is a Germanic dialect spoken in the nation’s southern regions—and Scottish Gaelic, which is a hodgepodge of Celtic influences and northern Scottish oral traditions.
Due to phonological quirks such as rolling their “Rs” and extending their vowels, native Scottish speakers are some of the hardest to understand to everyone else in the English-speaking world. If you come from Canada or the US or Australia and walk into a pub in Glasgow or Edinburgh, chances are that you’ll need an interpreter. While tourists might find this frustrating, native Scots would likely feel proud that there’s still a little bit of Braveheart left in them.
A am’ nae — I am not
A clean shirt’ll do ye — you have one more change of laundry before you die
A pritty face suits the dish-cloot — if you’re pretty, it doesn’t matter what you wear
A wisna(e) — I wasn’t
A, ah — I
A’m black-affronted — I am extremely ashamed
A’thing — everything
A(w)rite — all right
Abo’dy — everybody
Aboot — about
Aff — off
Affie — afternoon
Ah am — I am
Ah dinnae ken — I don’t know
Ah wiz like — I was like that
Air beige — fart
All his eggs are double-yoakit — he’s full of shit
Am a pure nick — I look a mess
Am goin a donner — I am going for a walk
Am no — I am not
Am pure done in — I’m exhausted
Amen’t ah? — aren’t I?
Anaw — as well
And but — I’m done talking
Anno/ah ken — I know
Arse / erse — buttocks
Arsehole/ersehole — asshole
Auld — old
Aw — all
Awa’ an bile yer heid — get lost (away and boil your head)
Awfy/affy — awful (usually used as an amplifier, e.g., “awfy cauld”)
Awright — all right
Awright ya wee bawbag? — how are you doing my friend?
Aye — yes
Aye right — I don’t believe you
Baccy — tobacco
Backgreen — backyard
Baffies — slippers
Bahoochie — butt
Bairn — baby
Balloon — someone who is full of hot air
Baltic — cold
Bam — dumb thug
Bampot — a crazy idiot
Banana boat — you’re insulting my intelligence
Banger — penis
Barra — a little child
Barry — fantastic
Bawbag — scrotum
Bawface — big round face
Bawhair — thickness of a pubic hair
Bawheid — emptyheaded
Belter — fantastic
Bevie — alcoholic drink
Bez — beer
Bird — girl or woman
Biscuit — cookie
Bizzo — business
Black as the Earl of Hell’s waistcoat — pitch-black
Blether — chatty
Blootered — very drunk
Boaby — police; also means penis
Boak — dry
Boggin — smelly, dirty
Boke — puke
Bonnie — beautiful
Boot — ugly woman
Bosie — cuddle
Bowfin — sick-making
Box, the — TV set
Brae — a hill
Braw — good-looking
Breeks — pants
Burd — girlfriend
Calmy doony — you have to chill out
Cannae — cannot
Cannie — smart
Chancer — Con man
Chebs — tits
Cheese toasty — grilled cheese
Chib — to stab or headbutt
Chief — dude
Chips — fries
Chitter — shiver
Chore — steal
Chug — masturbate
Chum — to accompany
Claes — clothes
Clarted — covered in something
Clarty — dirty
Clipe — to snitch
Cludgie — toilet
Cowk — puke
Cowp — knock over
Crabbit — grumpy
Cutting — hanging out aimlessly
Dafty — fool
Diddy — female breast
Dinnae — don’t
Div — idiot
Dobber — a fool
Dog/doggin — having sex in the back of a car
Dolton — idiot
Dowp — ass
Driech — dreary weather
Drookit — soaking-wet
Dunderheed — idiot
Eejit — idiot
Faffing — procrastinating
Fag — a cigarette
Failing means yer playin! — at least you’re trying
Fancy — to like
Fandan — “Fancy Dan”; an arrogant idiot
Fanny — vagina
Feart — afraid
Fit — attractive
Fitba — football
Fizzy juice — soda
Flap — flip out
Flutter — a small bet
Fud — vagina
Gads — that’s disgusting
Gash — vagina
Geein me the boak — that makes me feel sick
Geggie — mouth
Geks — glasses
Get tae — go away
Gie it laldy. — give it your best
Gingin — disgusting
Girn — whine
Glaekit — stupid
Gob — mouth
Gobble — blowjob
Gonnae no dae that — please don’t do that!
Gonny naw dae that? — will you please stop?
Goon — idiot
Gowpin’ — sore body part
grannied — struck out
Grass — snitch
Greet — to cry
Guid gear comes in sma’ bulk — good things come in small packages
Gumption — initiative
Gutties — shoes
Hame — home
Haud yer wheesht — stop talking
Haver — gibberish
Heavin — extremely busy
Heed/heid — head (a’ve got a sare heed)
Heid-the-baw — idiot
Hell slap it intae ye! — it’s your own fault
Hirplin — to walk with a limp
Hoachin — extremely busy
Hogmanay — New Year’s Eve
Hole — vagina
Honkin — smelly
Hoora — hella
How no’? — why not?
Hummin’ — smelly
I’m getting the messages — I’m going to the grocery store
I’m goin tae the pictures — I’m going to the movies
I’m going ta skelp yer wee behind! — I’m going to smack your little ass
I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug! — I’ll give you a slap on the ear
I’m fair puckled — I’m out of breath
It wis hoachin’ — it was busy
It’s time to get your jags — it’s time for your vaccinations
It’s a lang road that’s no goat a turnin.’ — things are hard but will get better
It’s a sair ficht for half a loaf. — life is hard and unfair
Jake(y) — addict/drunk
Jammy — unfairly lucky
Jessie/jessy — wimp
Jings — wow
Jobby — poo
Joggies — sweatpants
Keech — poo
Keek — a little look
Ken — know
Kip — sleep/nap
Kippy — left
Kirk — church
Knob — penis
Labdick — police
Lad — a boy or young man
Laldie — reprimand
Lang may yer lum reek — long may you live
Lassie — girl
Lavvy — toilet
Lecky — electricity
Lifted — arrested
Loch — lake
Loupin — very sore
Lugs — ears
Lum — chimney
Ma heid’s mince — my head’s mixed-up
Mad wae it — being very drunk
Mair — more
Maist — most
Mauchit/manky — very dirty
Melted — extremely high on drugs
Mental — wild
Mince — nonsense
Minger — horrible ugly person
Mingin — dirty
Mink — dirty person
Minted — wealthy
Morn, the — tomorrow
Muckle — large
Muckle — very big
Munter — ugly person
Nae danger — no chance
Nahcred — exhausted
Napper — head
Nat King Cole — intercourse
Natter — chatter
Naw — no
Ned — troublemaker
Nip — kiss
Noggin — head
Noo — now
Noo jist haud on! — slow down
Noo, the — right now
Nugget — a dirty little piece of something
Numpty — a lovable idiot
Nut — head
Oan yer bike — go away
Och awa’ an’ dinna talk pish — you’re talking nonsense
Och aye! — oh yes!
Och! — oh!
Oot — out
Oot yer nut — very drunk
Ory/orey/oary — vulgar
Oxters — armpits
Pan — break or disfigure
Panbread — dead
Pap — breast
Patch — to ignore someone
Pedro — amazing
Peebrusht — rectum
Peedy — tiny
Peely wally — pale and unwell
Piece — a sandwich
Pimps — easy
Pish — pee
Pished — drunk
Pooched — broken, useless
Poppy — money
Puckle — a few of something
Puddock — a frog
Pumped — sex
Pure — very
Pure dead brilliant — exceptionally good
Quine — girl
Radge — violently angry
Rat-arsed — drunk
Reekbeek — horrible, disgusting
Riddy — embarrassed
Roaster — someone who is making an ass of themselves
Rocket — a crazy or annoying person
Screwball — unhinged
Scunner — nuisance
Sesh — a long night of drinking that lasts into the next day
She’s a bonnie lass — she’s a beautiful girl
She’s up to high doh — she’s all worked up
Shneeb — smoke
Sink the link — engage in intercourse
Skedaddle aff — scurry away
Skelp — to smack or
Skelping — an ass-whupping
Skinny Malinky Longlegs! — a tall thin person
Skint — short of money
Skud — naked
Skyrocket — a very crazy person
Sleekit — sly or untrustworthy
Slitter — to slobber while eating
Smartarse — someone who thinks they’re clever
Solid — hard, tough
Sook — big softie
Speccy — someone who wears glasses
Spewin — vomiting
Spondoolies — money
Spondoolyitis — a medical condition for talking shit
Spraff — gossip
Square go — a fair fight, one to one fight
Sshan — a shame
Steamin — drunk
Stroppy — in a bad mood
Sup — small amount of liquid
Swally — to swallow
Swatch — look
Swick — cheat
Tadger — penis
Talking oot yer fanny flaps — lying
Tan — smash windows
Tap — to borrow money
Tassie — cup
Tatties — potatoes
Tekul — good
Telt — told
That’s a sin — what a shame
Tidy — beautiful, stunning, delicious, fantastic
Tin pail — jail (rhyming slang)
Toaty — small/tiny
Toonser — someone from the city
Torch — flashlight
Totie — very small
Troops — friends
Tube — an idiot
Twa — two
Wabbit — tired
We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s bairns — we’re all the same
Wean — child
Wee — small
Weegie — someone from Glasgow; from “Glaswegian”
Wench — slut
Whaur dae ye bide? — where do you live?
Wheesht — be quiet
Whit’s fur ye’ll no go past ye” — whatever is meant to happen to you will happen to you
Whitey — puke
Widnae/Willnae — would not
Winch — to French-kiss someone
Wur tearin’ the tartan — having a great conversation
Ya bas — you bastard
Yaks — eyes
Yaldi — an expression of deep joy
Ye — you
Ye mak a better door than a windae. — get out of the way, you’re obscuring my view
Yer a chancer — you’re pushing your luck
Yer bum’s oot the windae! — you’re not making any sense
Yer clatty/Yer mingin’ — you’re dirty/disgusting
Yer gettin’ skelped — you’re going to get slapped
Yer oot yer face! — you’re very drunk
Yocker — a large, but still throwable, stone
Yon — that
Yonks — years, a long time ago
You’re a wee scunner! — you’re being a pain in the ass
You’re all bum and parsley. — you’re all bark and no bite
You’re the wee hen that never layed away — don’t play innocent with me
Yuptae — what are you up to?