LERN YERSELF SCOUSE
Scouse - or to give it its full title, Lobscouse, is of course a food rather than a dialect; it is the native dish of the Liverpudlian, or Scouser. Scouse is to Liverpool what Bouillabaisse is to Marseilles or the Schnitzel
to Vienna, but unlike many other dishes identified with their place of origin Scouse is derived not from a gourmandising love of food, but from sheer grinding poverty. It is a simple stew made from the cheapest cuts of meat, usually mutton, boiled with potatoes and onions.
The meat, indeed, is optional; without it the stew becomes Blind Scouse. Either kind is eaten with red cabbage pickled in vinegar. (Note to visitors: In most English restaurants a large selection of bottled sauces, ketchups, pickles, mustard, etc., will be found
permanently on the tables. Their function is to obliterate the taste of the food they accompany; visitors will soon discover that some of it is well worth obliterating).
However, like the years of poverty, Scouse is now part of the history and the visitor to Liverpool will search in vain for a restaurant that serves Liverpool's own dish, although it is sometimes possible to find Irish Stew, a direct ancestor, on bills of fare.
Ullo dur! Greetings; I am pleased to make your acquaintance.
Us I; me
Yer, Yiz You
Yews You (plural)
Dem They, these
Im My husband (slightly derisive)
Corksucker An American (possibly derived from the cork-tipped cigarette, first smoked by Americans)
Worrell? What will?
Darrell That will
Iddel It will
Dale They will
We wen up der jigger fera kneetrembler. We went courting in lovers' lane.
Eh! Yew wid de ead! Waiter!
De sweat's hoppin outa me armoles. I am perspiring heavily.
At the Football Match
A game a footee A game of football
Ere's a good spec Here is a good point of vantage
Anyone gorra proey? Has anyone purchased a programme?
Grab a shert! Mark a member of the other team
Eee wuz wellied He was kicked
Ee's got both legs in one knicker He s not playing well
Dur's more life in me bruvver, and ee's on an ergent note! This player is lacking in liveliness
Ee cudden stop a pig in a jigger He is a poor goalkeeper
Ardfaced get! Impudent fellow
Gerrup der! Dur's money in de game! Get up, your injury is but trivial
We got bigger candles on are alter He is a player of small stature
It im wid yer andbag! He is too timid when tackled.
Ee's as queer as a clockwerk oringe He enjoys being hugged after scoring a goal
Pull is leg off an it im wid de soggy end! Tackle him more forcefully
Ere's yer leg back! You are kicking very wildly
Buy a bewk, ref The referee appears to have forgotten the rules of the game
Wur's yer white stick? He has bad eyesight, too
Now dere shapin This is more like their usual form
Dat wuz when Jeesuz wuz playin fullback fer Israel That was a long time ago
