steve wrote:

honeyisfunny wrote:"shit the bed"
can be used in any situation as an exclamation of surprise.

In New England, particularly Boston, this means a mechanical failure that leaves one in a bad situation:

The washing machine shit the bed, and now everythings sudsy and wet.

The van shit the bed and we missed two gigs.

See also: screwed the pooch, which is often used as an analogue, but doesn't mean exactly the same thing.

I like "rotter", "naff", and "pants"

burun wrote:

steve wrote:In New England, particularly Boston, this means a mechanical failure that leaves one in a bad situation:

The washing machine shit the bed, and now everythings sudsy and wet.

The van shit the bed and we missed two gigs.

See also: screwed the pooch, which is often used as an analogue, but doesn't mean exactly the same thing.

Similarly, for the last couple of years, I've been trying to help the adoption of the phrase "fucking the Crow."

honeyisfunny wrote:"she had a fanny like a Wizard's Sleeve"

galanter wrote:Also possible misunderstandings related to the word "fanny".

So true, galanter!!!

As an American, for a minute there I was picturing a "bum" like a Wizard's Sleeve...?

WHOA.

Not a peculiar phrase at all, but I thought I'd take this opportunity and note how strange it is that Brits say "at all" as "at tall".

my dad lives on the suffolk / essex border. quite rural. When he is in conversation with his friends, they refer to each other as 'dad'. So they'll say

"y'alreet, da'?" (they always miss of the last 'd')

favourite rhyming slang:

"you're having a bubble!" (bubble bath = laugh)
"is it kevin keegan?" (vegan)

referring to the penis as "the old chap" or "old father"

the bit between your balls and your arsehole is "the cheesegrater"

Lemuel Gulliver wrote:

steve wrote:"shit the bed"

In New England, particularly Boston, this means a mechanical failure that leaves one in a bad situation:

The washing machine shit the bed, and now everythings sudsy and wet.

The van shit the bed and we missed two gigs.

I've not once heard this, not that I've ever spent extended time in NE, but you'd think something like that would get around. Is it the equivalent of the widespread and less locationally descriptive term "crapped out"?

Most definitely. My friend used to say his guitar shit the bed whenever it crapped out. I never realized it was only a localized NE term until about 1 minute ago.

The ever-present "How'way Man" in the North East of England got old for me. I can only appreciate it now years afterwards.
This is a very over used expression that seems to mean anything the speaker chooses (e.g. "Get on with it," "Leave me alone," "You've gone too far," and just plain "How'way Man.") I'm not even sure if I spelled it correctly, having never seen it written. It was just spoken profusely.
I know there are some people on this board from the North East, so while we're at it, could you please verify spelling on this phrase as well as the on the also common (circa mid to late '90's) word "chava" meaning a specific type of Geordie teenage thug who wears a track suit in the summer, a Berghaus ski jacket in the winter and haunts Newcastle's Metro line asking everyone "lend us 10 pence, how."
Another favorite of mine is "playing silly buggers," referring to the type of procrastinating/general screwing around usually done by a family pet or small child.
They called cigarettes "tabs" there as opposed to "fags" which I think was more of a Southern thing??? I could be wrong, though.

takin' the piss

tommydski wrote:refering to your penis as 'a length' is one of my favourite northern expressions.
best used in the context of "slide her a length"

on a similar subject, the expression "stick lot in" never fails to make me chuckle.

Oh yeah, I think we forgot "gaive 'er one". That's really nice.

rzs wrote:The ever-present "How'way Man" in the North East of England got old for me. I can only appreciate it now years afterwards.
This is a very over used expression that seems to mean anything the speaker chooses (e.g. "Get on with it," "Leave me alone," "You've gone too far," and just plain "How'way Man.") I'm not even sure if I spelled it correctly, having never seen it written. It was just spoken profusely.
I know there are some people on this board from the North East, so while we're at it, could you please verify spelling on this phrase as well as the on the also common (circa mid to late '90's) word "chava" meaning a specific type of Geordie teenage thug who wears a track suit in the summer, a Berghaus ski jacket in the winter and haunts Newcastle's Metro line asking everyone "lend us 10 pence, how."
Another favorite of mine is "playing silly buggers," referring to the type of procrastinating/general screwing around usually done by a family pet or small child.
They called cigarettes "tabs" there as opposed to "fags" which I think was more of a Southern thing??? I could be wrong, though.

Not sure of the exact spelling of 'How'way man' but would expect it to be something along the lines of 'Ha'way Man' or 'How'ay Man!' or even dropping the H so it would be more like 'A'way Man! This H dropping version is the one more popular in this neck of the North Eastern woods and means, usually 'come on, now, please be reasonable'.
Now I am writing this and getting the strange sensation that I've already written this somewhere on this thread. If so I hope I was drunk and that that this is not an incredibly early indicator of Alzheimers Disease.

To add - the expression 'you/she/he has a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp' is a good one. There are alternative variations on the same theme.

Also around here I have heard olds term money 'spondoolix'. I think this might be Irish in origin but know no more than that but I like it and occasionally use it.