Every region of the world has their own particular phrases that no one truly understands unless you grew up in the area. As a familiar example, Bostonians use “wicked” in nearly every other sentence to emphasize the strength of an adjective, while it means something very different to people from other parts of the world. During my trip to Scotland, I pieced together a collection of Scottish slang phrases as well as their actual meanings.

banter - silly chat, gossip, playful and friendly teasing remarks

raging - showing anger with great force or intensity

stroppy - in a bad mood, bad-tempered, argumentative

faffing - procrastinating, spending time in an ineffective way

cheese toasty - grilled cheese

lad - a boy or young man

cheeky - rude or silly, disrespectful, typically in an amusing way

wee - little

burd - girlfriend, woman, lady

plaster - bandaid, an adhesive piece of material for covering cuts or wounds

biscuit - cookie, a small baked cake, typically flat and sweet

joggies - sweatpants

fit - attractive

trainers - sneakers, sports shoe suitable for casual wear

jumper - sweatshirt, a knitted garment with long sleeves

torch - flashlight, portable battery-powered electric lamp

trousers - pants

where do you stay - where do you live

bobbles - hair tie, a circular piece of elastic used for fastening girls' hair

bin - trash can

rubbish - trash

flat - apartment, set of rooms forming an individual residence, typically on one floor and within a larger building containing a number of such residences

kirby - bobbypin

fancy - to like

numpty - stupid, an ineffective person

chips - fries

crisps - chips

hoaching/heaving - busy, extremely crowded

patter - chat or banter, rapid continuous talk, the jargon of a social group

pure - very

baltic - cold

troops - friends

lemonade - sprite, a sweet colourless carbonated drink containing lemon flavor

driech - dreary, bleak, and grey weather

mingin - disgusting, foul-smelling, or unpleasant

fringe - bangs, the front part of someone's hair, cut so as to hang over the forehead

football - soccer

holiday - vacation

whitey - sick

pavement - sidewalk

rank - disgusting, having a foul or offensive smell