Scottish Culture & Glossary
Phrases, customs, festivals, and key differences from the rest of the UK
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Scottish Culture.
Whether you're moving from England, arriving from overseas, or just visiting β understanding Scottish culture, expressions, and customs will make Edinburgh feel like home much faster.
Aye
Yes"Aye, nae bother!"
Nae / Naw
No / not"Nae worries. / Naw, I'm fine."
Braw
Great, wonderful, fine"That's a braw view from Arthur's Seat."
Wee
Small / little"Just a wee bit further."
Outwith
Outside of (formal use)"This is outwith our remit."
Dreich
Dull, grey, miserable weather"It's a dreich day β bring a coat."
Och
Oh! (mild exclamation)"Och, don't worry about it."
Cannae
Cannot / can't"I cannae believe it."
Dinnae
Don't"Dinnae do that."
Ken
Know / do you know"D'ye ken what I mean?"
Blether
Chat, gossip"We had a good blether over a cuppa."
Bampot
An idiot, a fool (mild insult)"That bampot cut me off in traffic."
Gallus
Bold, daring, confident (positive)"He's dead gallus, that one."
Haar
Sea fog off the Firth of Forth"There's a haar rolling in β you can't see the castle."
Havering
Talking nonsense, rambling"Stop havering and get to the point."
Crabbit
Grumpy, bad-tempered"He's been crabbit all morning."
Bide
Stay / live"Where do you bide?"
Peely-wally
Pale, sickly-looking"You're looking a bit peely-wally β are you alright?"
Messages
Grocery shopping"I'm off to do the messages."
Tatties
Potatoes"Tatties and neeps with the haggis."
Neeps
Turnip / swede"Haggis, neeps, and tatties."
Loch
Lake"Loch Ness, Loch Lomond."
Glen
Valley"Glen Coe is stunning."
Bairn
Child"The bairns are at school."
Dram
A measure of whisky"Fancy a wee dram?"
Hogmanay
Scottish New Year (31 Dec / 1 Jan)"Happy Hogmanay!"
First-footing
First visitor to your home after midnight on Hogmanay, bringing gifts for luck"We went first-footing with whisky and coal."
Munro
Scottish mountain over 3,000ft (914m)"He's bagged 200 Munros."
Scran
Food"This scran is brilliant."
Ceilidh
Traditional Scottish social dance gathering (pronounced kay-lee)"There's a ceilidh at the Corn Exchange on Saturday."
Glaikit
Stupid, foolish, vacant-looking"Don't stand there looking glaikit."
Mince
Nonsense / rubbish"That's complete mince."
Wabbit
Tired, exhausted"I'm feeling a bit wabbit after that walk."
Stushie
Fuss, commotion, argument"There was a right stushie at the council meeting."
Note on pronunciation: Ceilidh = "KAY-lee", Loch = "LOKH" (with a guttural ch), Auld = "awld" (old), Nae = "nay" (no). Scots is a distinct language β not just slang β with its own rich literary tradition going back 700+ years.