4 Merseyside Phrases & Sayings You Will Hear And Their Meaning

Here are 4 Merseyside Scouse Words & Phrases To Get To Grips With, So You Know What Locals Are Saying When You Visit The Region

 (Credit: The Liverpudlian).

The Liverpool and Merseyside uses words and phrases as part of its dialect that is very different to other parts of the UK. Here are a few that you will hear around Merseyside and what they mean.

'Alright?' / 'Ite?'

This is a simple word that we say in passing, 'alright?', which means 'I hope you're okay?' It is almost a fully fledged conversation in the one word. The other person tends to reply with 'Yeah thanks, you?' with the response in turn to that being 'Yeah mate.' This is generally used by very busy Scousers passing one another in school, the street or in the workplace. 'Alright?' is often shortened to 'ite', and in a sentence would be said like 'ite lad?', again meaning 'I hope you're okay?'

'Are you reading that paper you're sitting on?'

One of the sayings that my Grandad would say to me is 'are you reading that paper you're sitting on?' In the Liverpool Region, newspapers are often kept on the chairs in the kitchen to make a hard wooden seat more cushioned and keep the seat warm when sitting down on the chair. When visiting my aunties house the newspapers where always, and still are, kept on the wooden chair in the kitchen.

'Making a show of yourself!'

This is something you say to someone who is behaving in an embarrassing manner. In Liverpool if you say to someone 'you're making a show of yourself!' they will get the hint that they need to stop whatever they are doing as it is shameful and embarrassing, this is said to someone if they are acting in an embarrassing way especially in public.

'Lash'

Saying 'lash' is another word for mate. In a sentence we would say 'Alright lash!?' which is Scouse for saying 'Are you alright, mate?' This is combined with the earlier definition of 'Alright'/ 'Ite'. Of course, in Liverpool we generally only say it in passing and often with a lot of expression.