Bill Fife, a member of Haddington’s History Society, has compiled a list of words in the local dialect that were originally researched by Davie Robertson. Many of these words are now, sadly, disappearing fast.
Watch and listen to a YouTube Video of Davie Robertson and Davie Young reminisce the disappearing local dialect in their local, The Victoria Inn. This is a clip from a video made in 1997 by David Dick and narrated by Jilly Pollard called Haddington: A Place for Everything.
- avrie : adv away – ORIGIN Unknown
- barrie : adj good – ORIGIN Romany
- bappers : n feet – ORIGIN Unknown
- bool : n backside – ORIGIN Romany
- baigin : n smell – ORIGIN Unknown
- boggan : n smell – ORIGIN Unknown
- bairdie : n rat – ORIGIN Unknown
- carrie : n male sex organ – ORIGIN Romany
- chore : v steal – ORIGIN Romany from chorava
- chavvie : n child – ORIGIN Romany from chavo
- chackers : n teeth – ORIGIN Scots from chack
- casties : n sticks – ORIGIN Romany
- cowie : pron anything – ORIGIN Romany from cova
- deek : v look, see – ORIGIN Romany from decava
- dancers : n stairs – ORIGIN Old Thieves cant/slang
- dingly : adj mad, daft – ORIGIN from dinolo
- feck : v to do, make – ORIGIN Latin from fecere
- fams : n hands – ORIGIN Danish from fems
- gibbie : n walking stick – ORIGIN Scots from gib
- gonnie : n bag – ORIGIN Romany from gono
- gourie : n boy – ORIGIN Romany from gaur
- gadgie : n non-gypsy – ORIGIN Romany
- gloo : n window – ORIGIN German from glo
- glimmer : n window – ORIGIN Unknown
- guddies : n Sweets, sweeties – ORIGIN Unknown
- guffie : n pig – ORIGIN Scots from guff
- grye : n horse – ORIGIN Romany
- gribber : n poor house, workhouse – ORIGIN Irish Gaelic from grib
- habben : n food – ORIGIN Romany
- hornie : n policeman – ORIGIN Old Thieves Cant/slang
- hog : n shilling – ORIGIN Old Thieves Cant/Slang
- hirie : n small change – ORIGIN Unknown
- jan : v to know – ORIGIN Romany
- jeeger : n door – ORIGIN Old Thieves Cant/Slang
- jeer : n backside – ORIGIN Romany
- joogle : n dog – ORIGIN Romany
- keer : n house – ORIGIN European Romany
- kannie : n hen – ORIGIN European Romany
- ladge : n embarrassment – ORIGIN English
- lowie : n money – ORIGIN European Romany from loval
- manishee : n woman – ORIGIN European Romany
- mang : v to speak – ORIGIN Unknown
- masker : n cat– ORIGIN Unknown
- mas : v to eat – ORIGIN Unknown
- moolie : v to kill – ORIGIN Unknown
- mooter : v to urinate – ORIGIN Unknown
- mort : n woman – ORIGIN Unknown
- moy n n mouth – ORIGIN Unknown
- naggins : pron yourself – ORIGIN Unknown
- nash : v to run – ORIGIN Unknown
- neddies : n potatoes – ORIGIN Unknown
- pagger : v to hit, thump – ORIGIN English
- pannie : n river/water/rain – ORIGIN Unknown
- parrie : n louse – ORIGIN Romany from para
- perries : n feet/toes – ORIGIN European Romany
- peeve : v drink – ORIGIN European Romany from piava
- peevie : pp drank – ORIGIN European Romany
- pooskie : n gun – ORIGIN Aberdonian from gamekeeper
- porisy : n pocket – ORIGIN Latin from bursa
- rack : v mind/look – ORIGIN Unknown
- radge : adj daft/mad – ORIGIN French from enrage
- reefie : pron devil – ORIGIN Thieves Cant/Slang from raffin/fiend
- reej : n pound – ORIGIN Thieves Cant/Slang from ridge
- rusky : n basket – ORIGIN Old English from rush
- scran : n food – ORIGIN Dutch from scranser
- scranny : v hungry – ORIGIN Norwegian from scran
- shan : adj bad – ORIGIN Gaelic from sean
- sharry : n head – ORIGIN European Romany
- sav : v laugh – ORIGIN Unknown
- shoavie : n shop – ORIGIN Old English
- slav : n tea – ORIGIN English from slops
- slum : v sleep – ORIGIN Unknown
- sov : v swear – ORIGIN European Romany from soval
- spraff : v beg – ORIGIN Old English from spreken
- spraff : n beg – ORIGIN Old English from spreken
- spurnie : n match – ORIGIN Old English from spear
- stal : v stop – ORIGIN German
- stardie : n jail – ORIGIN European Romany from astardey
- swishie : n rabbit/hare – ORIGIN European Romany
- takies : n boots – ORIGIN European Romany
Note: This is not a definitive guide, it is just for amusement/interest only