Some Of The Most Misunderstood Scouse Slang Terms Visitors Find Confusing When They Visit Liverpool

CITY OF LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.

Scouse Slang Words "Gaffer", "Snide" & "Scruffy" Appear In The Top Regional Slang Where Visitors Have To Look Up The Definitions Online

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The UK is home to a vast and diverse range of regional dialects, and each has its own unique phrases, expressions, and colloquialisms.

While these words may be second nature to locals, many people across the country, and even within the same region, often turn to search engines such as Google for clarification on what some of the local lingo can mean.

To gain a better understanding of which regional slang terms that the UK is most curious to learn the meaning of, at the start of this year Ivy Casino analysed Google Search results data for 720 different slang words from across the UK. They analysed monthly and yearly search volumes for regional slang terms through the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer function. Through inputting words associated with different UK dialects and pairing them with the search term “meaning”, they were able to identify which regional phrases are searched for the most.

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This included 50 words that have generally been identified as Scouse slang words or phrases. Meaning that while they can be heard in nearby areas and regions as the language spreads, they can be broadly attributed to originating or being popularised in Liverpool.

The result has revealed which words have visitors most frequently looking up the meaning after visiting the city, with many guests in the city being met with confusion from some of the local Liverpool lingo.

Their research found that "scran" which means food, "gaffer" which generally means someone's boss or manager, and "snide" which means someone is acting fake or sly, are the most misunderstood Scouse slang words that people have to look up when they visit the city.

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Surprisingly, another popular term used in the city, calling someone a "wool", which means that someone is from Merseyside as opposed to Liverpool, did not appear on the slang list. Despite often causing confusion to visitors, and sparking a friendly debate amongst locals.

Also missing were niche Scouse slang words such as "jigger", which translates to meaning an alleyway, or a narrow passageway between buildings.

How Scouse Slang Words Such As “Scran” & Other Liverpudlian Words & Phrases Confuse The Rest Of The UK

Rank	Term	Meaning	Yearly UK Search Volume
1	Scran	Food	39,600
2	Gaffer	Boss or manager	32,400
3	Snide	Fake	21,600
4	Chuffed	Pleased, happy	18,000
5	Scruffy	Messy, unkempt	10,800
6	Swerve	Avoid or dodge	6,000
7	G’wed (Go ’ed)	Go ahead, go on	4,200
8	Fuming	Extremely angry	3,600

Topping the list is "scran", a term used to describe food. There are over 39,000 searches a year looking up "scran meaning" in the UK.

In second place is "gaffer", followed by "snide" in third, with "chuffed" and "scruffy" making up the rest of the top five scouse words that visitors to Liverpool look up.

Other slangs from the Scouse dialect that people in the UK are regularly looking up the meaning of, include "swerve", "g'wed", and "fuming".