1.
Edinburgh
and
Leith
Places and People
and a few people's
names |
Here are colloquial names for some of the places in Edinburgh, many of
them taken from emails that I have received, recording people's memories
of growing up in Edinburgh.
Perhaps
somebody will tell me more about some of these places.
Peter Stubbs: October 8, 2008 |
A |
Admirality Street
© |
This is how we used to
pronounce Admiralty Street, Leith.
(Note the extra 'i')
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
Marc who moved to Cadiz
Street (pronounced Kay-deez Street) in Leith around 2000 confirms that the
locals pronounced Admiralty Street as 'Admirality Street.
Marc, Leith, Edinburgh: April 20,
2012 |
Aggie Kate |
The State Picture House
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Alabam |
The Alhambra cinema
"The Alabam or Bam (Alhambra cinema) was on
the corner of Springfield Street, now gone."
Pauline Cairns-Speitel, Old Town,
Edinburgh; October 3, 2008 |
Albert's |
"A fish and chip shop at
the top of Kirkgate, - black, green and white (I think) with a steady
passage of customers.
A great place for the Teddy
Boys to hang around. The great thing is that it never stopped
ordinary folk going in."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 6, 2009 |
©
The
Allotments |
Waste ground between
Beaverbank Place, Broughton Road and Logie Green Road
"It was a great
playground for kids, and I always remember a
great big bonfire on Guy Fox Night which took
weeks to gather all kinds of debris and wood
that would burn.
Jim Calender, Nanaimo, British Columbia,
Canada: June 17, 2010 |
Andy Dam |
"This was the
'bridge crossing' section of Water of Leith at Anderson Place,
a kids' fishing territory."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
Angelosantas
Was this 1 word or 2? |
"This was the shop for ice
cream - but where was it?
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
November 22, 2010 |
Thank you to Susan MacLeod
who replied:
"There is an ice cream shop in Lindsay Road
that we always called 'Angelosantos'
when we were growing up.
He had really great ice cream,
and I think the same family still own the shop now."
Susan Macleod, Leith, Edinburgh:
Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book: November 27, 2010 |
Annaker's midden |
A meat shop on Leith Street.
"When the place was a mess, people would say
that it looked like Annaker's midden."
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 22, 2014 |
Antaygi Street |
Antigua Street
"When I grew up, Edinburgh folk didn’t seem
too keen on words ending in ‘-ua’ or ‘-ue’.
Hence the pronunciations ‘Antaygi Street’ and
‘Montaygi Street’."
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 27, 2009 |
Archers' Field |
"An area in The Meadows fenced off for use by
The Royal
Company of Archers. It was somewhere between Jawbone Walk and
the Paddling Pool."
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South
Africa: February 25, 2011
|
Auld Foley |
"He lived Granton Medway and
was a cairter for the Duke o' Buccleuch.
His daughter,
Jean, made fish nets in the
backgreen."
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 12, 2012 |
"Auld Foley wi'
his horse an cairt, that's
where oor journey ends."
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
'Summer Days in Granton" |
"Auld Foley was
definitely my great-uncle Frank.
When
I got my memory working, I remembered he
had a daughter named Jean,
mentioned in the first poem,
'Guid Times at Granton.''
Uncle Frank was commonly referred to as Old Fritz in the family,
and his son Francis as Young Fritz.
I think Uncle Frank worked for Edward Ferry the Contractor.
His older brother,
Peter, though definitely worked around the
Middle Pier for the Duke of Buccleuch until into his seventies."
Archie
Foley, Joppa, Edinburgh: February 15, 2012 |
Auld Reekie |
Edinburgh
Given this name from the
time when the many crowded houses in the Old Town burnt wood and coal.
reekie = smoky
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: January
13, 2009 |
"I always thought the name
referred to the reek from its many domestic chimneys as some early
photographs would suggest.
It appears other authorities differ; they
ascribe 'smell' (disgusting is implied) as its
meaning from association with the insanitary
practice of 'gardyloo!' when the cadgers
(porters) had failed to call for the refuse"
George T
Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: Jan 13, 2009 |
"It is said that the Fifers*
could tell it was dinner time from the smoke or reek of Edinburgh as the
fires were banked up for the evening meal."
*
Fifers were people who lived in Fife, across the Firth
of Forth from Edinburgh.
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
Auld Reekie could mean
either 'Old Smoky' or 'Old Smelly'. The comments above refer to 'Old
Smoky'. That's Edinburgh as I remember it when I first arrived here
in the 1960s.
However,
David Waddell
reminded me of why Edinburgh was known as
Auld Reekie in the 18th century.
David wrote:
"It was
because there was no sewage system and people used to empty their chamber
pots into the streets (Edina’s Roses*)
at 10 o’clock in the evening."
Dave Waddell, Houston, Texas, USA: December
29, 2010
*
'Edina's Roses' is how the slops, tipped into the street, morning
and nightly, were referred to in the poem, 'Auld Reekie' by Robert F
Fergusson (1750-74).
This poem ends:
'Then, with
an Inundation Big as
The Burn that 'neath the Nore Loch Brig is,
They kindly shower Edina’s Roses,
To Quicken and Regale our Noses.' |
Aunties |
"This was a shop in
Viewforth frequented by Boroughmuir school pupils). It sold Vantas,
an aerated fruit-flavoured drink."
George T
Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 13, 2009 |
B |
Back Canongate
© |
"Holyrood Road was always called the 'Back
Canongate'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The Balconies
© |
The Balconies were houses with balconies on the
west side of Dumbiedykes Road, opposite The Big Green.
Jean Rae, who has sent memories of Dumbiedykes to
the EdinPhoto web site used to live in The Balconies, at 34 Dumbiedykes
Road.
Jean Rae (née Aithie), South Side,
Edinburgh: April 2006 |
The Bam |
The Alhambra cinema
"The Alabam or Bam (Alhambra cinema) was on
the corner of Springfield, now gone."
Pauline Cairns-Speitel, Old Town,
Edinburgh; October 3, 2008 |
The Alhambra Picture House,
on the corner of Springfield Street and Leith Walk, now demolished.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
Banana Flats,
Banana Block |
Cable Wynd House Leith
A 9-storey local
authority housing block in Leith: 204 flats, first occupied 1962 -
so named because of its curved shape.
"Parliament Square in Leith
used to be where the Banana Block is now."
John Stewart, Livingstone, West Lothian,
Scotland: Nov 16, 2009 |
"The Banana Flats at Leith won an award,
albeit that it was the chunkies (toilets) that overlooked the Forth.
Could others please add to this?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: December 21, 2009 |
Barbary Coast |
"This was the area
of the Shore between the dock gates and Bernard Street Bridge - so called
by seamen who'd visit
the place of the same name in San Francisco."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
"Yes indeed, the
eccentric owner of Fairley's did have a puma
during the pub's Go-Go dancing era of the 1970s.
Incidentally, that area of pub life on the
Shore at Leith, was once known as the Barbary Coast (after a similar 'Red
Light' nautical district in San Francisco) and/or The Jungle, a name that
the old King's Wark pub acquired for many years."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
June 10, 2008 |
Barrie's Trip |
An outing from the
Grassmarket Mission
(See below.)
"I'd like to find some
photos of the Barrie's Trip. This was an annual outing for 'pare
bairns' (poor children)
to Spylaw Park or Colinton Dell, run from the
Grassmarket Mission.
We even had a song:
A'm no gaun tae Barrie's
trip
A'm no gaun again
A'm no gaun tae Barrie's
trip
Fur it ayways comes oan
rain."
J Kelly: March 28, 2009 |
Robert McGrouther also remembers chanting this song on
Barrie's bus trips.
Acknowledgement: Robert
Mcgrouther, Munlochy, Black Isle, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland May 14, 2009 |
The Bassy |
The Embassy Picture House
at Pilton
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 29, 2009 |
The
Bay of Biscay |
The road across Leith
Links.
Jean, who attended Links Primary School in the
late-1950s wrote:
"The road that runs between the two halves of
Leith Links was known as the Bay of Biscay - I don't know why. I remember
when a whole fleet of dockers - seemed like hundreds - used come cycling
up it at teatime on their way home from work.
Years later, I watched the men march in
silence along Junction Street, drooping flags and slow drums, when they
closed the docks. Very very sad."
Jean, Leith, Edinburgh: August 31, 2013 |
The
Bellsie |
A small
woodland area to the south of the water of Leith beside Rockheid Path that
leads from Arboretum Avenue, Inverleith to Canonmills.
"At the
foot of our street (Colville Place, Stockbridge
Colonies) ran the Water of Leith, which,
for some unknown reason, was always called ‘The Dam’.
It was called that in my mother’s day, too.
We kids would have great fun down
the Dam in late spring or early summer: if we weren’t guddling for
minnows, sticklebacks or tadpoles, we’d be building a makeshift dam
ourselves, then using improvised rafts to cross the water. I don’t think
we ever crossed without at least one of us falling in!"
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
Bennetts' |
"We had our bonfire
too, and it was set up in Bennett's',
a large bit of waste ground within Wilkie Place,
Leith
David Barrie, Adelaide, South Australia,
December 22, 2008 |
The Bev |
The Beverley Picture House
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Big
Canyon |
"The Wee Canyon and the Big Canyon. These were
shale bings (unofficial adventure playgrounds!) on the Lang Loan*
and at Straiton."
*
The Lang Loan ran
from Straiton to Edgehead.
David Bain: Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, England: September 21, 2009 |
The
Big
Field
© |
A field that used to be
behind 'The Anchor Inn' at West Granton Road, Granton, shown on this
aerial view.
"Davo and
Mr Walker, his neighbour,
made a huge kite taller than a man with a divot
on the tail. They flew it in the big field,
as we knew it, right behind the Anchor Inn, it
took three grown men to control it."
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland: March
3+5, 2012 |
"Happy times they really were fer men an'
growin' laddies,
Fitba' in the big field then hame tae mince
an' tatties."
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
'Sundays at Granton" |
The Big Green
© |
"The
Big Green was the area in front of 'The
Balconies' housing in Dumbiedykes Road"
Jean Rae (née Aithie), South Side,
Edinburgh: April 2006 |
The Big
Hotel |
Saughton Prison
"A facility where a number
of persons whose behaviour had varied from the rules of society were
housed, justifiably or otherwise."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 21, 2010 |
The Big Mixie
©
|
See The Mixie
|
The Big Park |
Inverleith
Park
"As we
got older, on those days when we couldn’t be
bothered to go up to ‘The
Big Park’ (Inverleith Park) to play football, we’d have a kickabout
in the Bellsie, although if you ever knocked
the ball into the water, you had to go in yourself and fetch it, no matter
how far it had floated downstream. "
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
Blackie
©
© |
"Blackfriars Street was known as
'Blackie' to anyone who lived there or who had friends who lived there."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
"You mentioned that Blackfriars Street
was known to the locals as 'Blackie. Well, here are the 'Blackie
Boys'.'"
Eric Robinson: December 19, 2010 |
The Blackies |
Blackford Hill
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
Bloody Mary's Close |
A
long
steep close behind Chessel's Court in the Royal Mile.
"When I
lived at No 8 Chessel's Court, the only access to the rear was by a corner
staircase between No 8 and the next house (I think, 8b) which led under
the building to a long steep close known as Bloody Mary's Close.
This was
about six or eight feet wide with high stone walls on either side and led
all the way down to Holyrood Road. When I attended St Patrick's
School this was a short cut, rather than go by
the main roads, up the Canongate and down St Mary's Street."
Tony
Ivanov, Bo'ness, West Lothian, Scotland: July 16, 2009 |
However, George T Smith
tells me that he found an entry on the RCAHMS web site saying that Bloody
Mary's Close was one of several alternative names for Plainstone's Close,
the other names being:
- Bonnie Mary's Close
- Thomson's Close
- Year's Close
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: July 16, 2009 |
Blue Doos |
"Blue Halls cinema,
West Port"
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
The
Bombies |
An area between Couper Street and North
Junction Street, Leith
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: December 31,
2011 |
Bonny |
"Bonnington Road School, Leith"
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
Bosiannas |
Boys from Bothwell Street
"I remember, when it was bonfire time, that
the boys in Albion Road had battles with the boys from Bothwell street
(who we named 'the Bosiannas') who we always blamed for stealing our
wood for the bonfire. They in turn blamed us!!!"
Kathleen Knox (née Kinghorn), Juniper Green,
Edinburgh: 7 December
2016 |
The
Botanics
© |
Royal
Botanic Gardens,
Goldenacre
"We spent
a lot of time in the summer at 'The Botanics' having a roam around
and a picnic for free, even although picnics were banned."
EdinPhoto Guest Book: G M Rigg,
April 7, 2009 |
Bow Tow |
A resident of Newhaven
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 27, 2009 |
"Although I am not a Bow
Tow (Newhavener) as a resident of Newhaven, I have used Mr Crolla's store
in Main Street for over 50 years."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 6, 2010 |
The Brae |
Arthur Street, Dumbiedykes
"My mates included guys
from Eastie, Middle Arthur Place and the Brae."
J Kelly: March 28, 2009 |
Breadalbaney Street |
This is how we used to
pronounce Breadalbane Street, Leith.
(Note the extra 'y')
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
The Brickies
© |
"The
Brickies were houses, made of bricks, beside 'The Big Green' in
Dumbiedykes Road."
Jean Rae (née Aithie), South Side,
Edinburgh: April 2006 |
The edge of The Brickies can be seen on the
extreme left of this photo.
Peter Stubbs: April 2006 |
The
Broad Pavement |
"Parliament Square,
Henderson St opposite The Vaults, at Leith"
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
The Broadie
The Broady
© |
The Broad Pavement, Parliament Square, Leith
"To us, this was 'The
Broady'. We used this name as children, all those years ago, and
took it from our parents."
John Stewart, Livingston, West Lothian,
Scotland |
Mary McLeod used to live at 'The
Broadie'Please click here to read her
Mary McLeod (née Wilkie): August
28, 2011 |
Brown Mountain |
A mound in London Road
Gardens
"London Road Gardens was also our playground.
The two mounds at the east end we called purple
(the highest) and brown (the lowest) mountain.
I tried finding them a couple of years ago,
but they were well and truly hidden. They were in fact gunnery mounds used
by Cromwell when he besieged Leith and
Edinburgh."
Ronald Stout, Denmark: October 10,
2010 |
The
Budgies |
Shops at West Granton
"I lived in West Pilton
Road from 1968 to 1979. There were a lot of shops in these
days. The shops down West Granton were
often nicknamed 'the budgies'
because there was a back garden next to them with a hut where some man
kept his budgies in."
David Blackburn, also known as Davy,
Blackie and Tony,
August 14, 2011 |
The Bughouse |
"Our name for The Blue
Halls (later the Beverley picture house)
Others may have given the
name to their local flea pit."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
"The
Bungalow ('The Bughouse') was directly opposite my House. The first
picture I saw there was John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' starring
Burgess Meredith and, I think, Lon Chaney jun. It was shown in
sepia."
Jim Smart, Bournemouth,
Dorset, England: September 5, 2010 |
The Bunkey |
The North British Rubber Co. It used
to be at Fountainbridge
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
Burry |
Boroughmuir School
"I always thought I had
missed the photographic sessions at Burry, but there I am, large as
life ..."
George T
Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: May 17, 2010 |
C |
Cadiz
Street |
"As an incomer to Leith around 2000, my street
was Cadiz Street, which I presumed to be pronounced
'Kah-diz'.
But it had to be pronounced
'Kay-deez' if one was to be accepted as a local.
I soon amended my
pronunciation."
Marc, Leith, Edinburgh: April 20,
2012 |
Caley |
Caledonian Place, Dalry
My grandfather had a garage in
Duff Street Lane where I used to play.
Once, I was given a tyre to roll.
When I took it back to 'Caley'
all my pals wanted a shot
with it.
George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:
August 21, 2014
|
Caley Station |
Princes Street
Station (built in 1893 for the Caledonian Railway) below the Caledonian
Hotel at the West End of Princes Street.
"Till the day it closed, in
1965, I never heard the station referred to by
its British Railways name - 'Princes Street Station'."
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October
19, 2009 |
"On the way back
from a visit to the Meedies (Meadows),
I used to call in to the Caley Station for a bit of free entertainment."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
January 6, 2010 |
The
Calties |
Calton Hill
"After playing in
the Dobbies,
we'd head along to the Calties (Calton Hill) and
climb up on Edinburgh's answer to the Greek
Acropolis.
Tam McLuskey,
Shannon Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: April 6, 2012 |
Candles Close |
Tolbooth Wynd
"Somebody remembered her
grandmother calling it that."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Cappi |
The Capitol Picture House
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
"The Capitol
Cinema, now a bingo
hall at
Gordon/Manderson
Streets.
It was
famous in the
1950s for its Cappi
Concerts and talent contests on a Sunday night,
and Kiddies' Film Club on Saturday mornings."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
"On Saturday mornings, there was
'The
Cappi', the
cinema
between Easter Road and Leith Walk. You
could get in with a jam jar, I think
- or maybe it was tuppence.
The rowdy boys sat at
the front, the rest of us behind. I
thought Flash Gordon was wonderful."
Jean, Leith,
Edinburgh: August 29, 2013 |
"The Cappi Club was the Saturday morning kids' cinema matinee,
with its own song that the kids sang. On their birthday,
each child received a card giving them free admission."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
February 22, 2011 |
The Cat's Nick |
Rocks at Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park
|
"The Cats Nick,
which is immediately above The Giant Steps which are accessed just up
towards Jimmy’s (James
Clark School)
about 200 yards from the Holyrood
roundabout."
Jack Craig, Silverknowes, Edinburgh:
March 2, 2009 |
"We roamed over
every inch of the park, the vast majority of times unaccompanied by an
adult. We were really rather wild and adventurous pre-1950.
To be able to call yourself 'one of the gang'
you had to scale the Crags at the 'Cats Nick'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh |
The Channel |
Kirkgate, Leith
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
Chippet Apple |
The Chapel, St Patrick's
school.
"I've just read about The
Pineapple below. At St Pat's we used to
call the chapel the 'Chippet Apple' (Chipped Apple).
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
Chuckaboombas |
Anthony White
spoke of the time when he lived in Keir Street, Lauriston:
"Our
bonfire (a bonny, in the vernacular) took place in a bit of wasteland
known as
'The Lane' which
included a ruined piece of property that looked a little like an old fort
and was gloriously named 'Chuckaboombas' -
I suppose because it was a good vantage for throwing (chucking) stones."
Anthony White, Edinburgh: November
29, 2011 |
Cinder Mire |
The old stone quarry behind Granton gas works. It was used as a tip
for waste from the gas plant.
"We
used to glean the coke from the tip."
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 12, 2012 |
"Guiders strong,
an barries tae.
We pulled them up
the Eli Brae
fu' o' coke tae stoke the fire,
a' brocht hame frae
the cinder mire."
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
'Summer Days in Granton" |
Cinder
Quarry |
The old stone quarry the gas works used as a tip for waste from the
retorts.
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 14 2012 |
"Doon tae the cinder
quarry we’d aften gae
tae gether coke an’ sometimes play."
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
"When We Were Lads" |
The Clanny |
Clan House Dance
Hall, Tollcross
"Across the road from the
Clanny was a barber shop.
I think it was called something like Dino's.
Lots of us Teds used
to go to get our DAs
done."
Margaret Cooper, London, England.
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: August 11, 2011 |
The
Coalie |
"Down
Coburg Street, 100 yards on the right, formerly a
coal yard used by a coal merchant. It's
now part of Water of Leith Walkway.
Locals
still use the term."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
Cockie Dodgies,
Cockie Dudgeons |
A yard at Broughton, approximately where
Lothian Buses' Central Garage is now, at Annandale Street. |
"It was a big yard off East
London Street, always full of old vehicles, mainly army if I remember
correctly."
Archie Bell,
Broughton History Society (BHS)
Newsletter, Summer 2009
|
"In my boyhood, it was
occupied by a contractor called Cockburn, who gave his name to Cockie
Dodgies."
Albert Mackie, Evening News, quoted in
BHS Newsletter,
Summer 2009
|
"In his poem, 'Fitbaw in
the Street' written when he was a student in 1926, Robert Garioch*
described boys, dodging away from the Police, going via Cockie Dudgeons,
the Sandies and the Coup on their way to Puddocky."
*
Full name Robert Garioch Sutherland
John Dickie,
Broughton History Society Newsletter, December
2008
|
"It was Cockie-Dodgies to
me. I knew it because it was behind what was then Cramond's Garage,
owned by a cousin of my father."
Ronnie Cramond,
Broughton History Society Newsletter,
Summer 2009
"No-one we've heard from
recognised the name 'Cockie Dudgeons'."
John Dickie,
Broughton History Society Newsletter,
Summer 2009
|
The Collie |
The coal yard off
George Street at Leith.
"We
went into the collie***, along the back of the posh Dudley houses,
pinching apples. We'd put them up ure jumper, then run for ure
lives."
John Carson, Edinburgh: February 27, 2013 |
The Colonies
© |
The terraces of houses in Stockbridge that
were built in
up/down style with ground floor access from the street on one side and
upper from the street on the other side of the houses.
To confuse non-residents, the Colonies are
named as buildings, not streets.
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October 18, 2009 |
In fact, as well as the Stockbridge Colonies,
there are seven other groups of colonies houses in Edinburgh. They
are at:
- Abbeyhill
- Leith Links
- Lochend Road
- North Fort Street
- Shandon
- Pilrig (Shaw Colonies)
- Slateford (Flower
Colonies)
Peter Stubbs: October 18, 2009 |
Thank you to Gloria Rigg for responding to my comments above.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: 2 November 2017
Gloria wrote:
"The details given above seem to
incomplete. In total 10 sites were built between 1850 and 1910, they
were at:
- Abbeyhill.
- Dalry Place (Haymarket),
- Leith Links (Leith),
- Lochend Road (Lochend),
- North Fort Street (Leith),
- Shaw Colonies (Pilrig off Leith),
- Rosebank Cottages (Fountainbridge),
- Shandon,
- Slateford and
- Stockbridge.
They were built for artisans and skilled
working class families. Characteristically, each flat originally had 4
rooms, a separate external toilet and a garden. Colony houses were built
as double flats, upper and lower, with the upper flat's front door on
the opposite side to the lower flat's front door, allowing each flat to
have a front garden."
Gloria
Rigg, New Zealand: 30 October 2017 |
The Commy |
Roal Commonwealth Pool, a large swimming
pool at Dalkeith Road, built for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in
1970.
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I
and
Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland |
Commando Buildings |
"These
buildings were in East Cromwell
Street, off Coburg Street,
which was blocked off at both ends by a high brick wall.
The
the old disbanded tenements there were used during the war for war games
by the Home Guard."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
The Coort |
44 Bristo Street
"We lived at 44 Bristo Street, 'The Coort' a 4--storey
tenement
with open balconies. We were all quite poor and most of our mothers
went out to work as char-ladies, dinner-ladies, etc - but they were happy
times."
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South Africa:
January 18, 2011 |
"I remember the coort as a play area, for football, tig,
hide and seek, etc.
There was a Mr Wilson, ex policeman, who lived in the coort. He
would bang his window when we were getting a bit to loud.
In those days you paid heed and scarpered, because he knew everybody's
mum and dad."
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 19, 2011
|
"Imagine walking down towards Chapel Street
from Parkers Store. Half-way down on your left-hand side (east) is
where the coort was.
It had a proper name
(something-Entry?) but I can't remember, what it was. To us, it was
always: 'Ah'm ower by the coort, playin.'
"
Stewart Connolly, West Highlands,
Scotland: August 21, 2011
|
"I remember the coort as a play area, for football, tig, hide and seek,
etc.
There was a Mr Wilson, ex policeman, who lived in the coort. He
would bang his window when we were getting a bit to loud.
In those days you paid heed and scarpered, because he knew everybody's
mum and dad."
Davie Taylor:
2 March 2016
|
The
Coos' Lane |
"This ran from Annandale
Street to Macdonald Road."
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 22, 2014 |
Copey's |
Copeland's Restaurant,
Portobello
"Copeland's
restaurant was commonly called Copey's.
We used it more for the bakery which was wonderful. It was just two
doors along from 246 High St. where we lived.
...
If I recall,
the baker was called
''Wee
Eck'
..."
Sylvia (née Deffley), Ontario, Canada
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guestbook, March 1, 2013 |
Coppie
©
or
The Coppie |
Corporation buildings OR a
play area between Corporation buildings.
The 'coppie' in this photo
was at Sheriff Brae beside Leith Hospital. The photo was taken in
1982, prior to demolition of the housing.
John Stewart, Livingston, West Lothian,
Scotland: October 6, 2009 |
“This
referred to the Corporation housing
at the foot of Mill Lane/ Sheriff Brae."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
“My mother's family,
Jean, John and Janet (Nettie) Livingstone, lived in the Coppie
Buildings. They went to St Mary's and St Anthony's schools."
Lynda Kelly, Leith, Edinburgh
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: September 16, 2011 |
The
Corn Field |
"The school that was at the
top of Pennywell Road has moved and the spare ground looks like it
looked in the 1950s. The part where I played was called 'The Corn
Field'.
Does anyone remember the RAF huts over the
corn field? When we were kids, we could
see search lights, but they are gone now."
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
Corny
Lane |
Cornwall Lane
"We used to sneak in to the
seats in the side balcony of Poole's Synod Hall cinema in Castle
Terrace, via the fire escape door in Cornwall (Corny) Lane after a
game of 'shapes'**
against the boiler house gate of the Lyceum
Theatre.
Happy days!"
Sandy Cameron, Edinburgh:
May 9, 2013
**
I asked Sandy how 'Shapes' was played.
He provided the 2nd definition here:
Shapes.
Thank you, Sandy. |
Corry |
Corstorphine
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
Corrie
Woods |
"The 'Corrie Woods' at Corstorphine were great
for adventures - no parental or adult supervision, so you could make fires
and boil water for tea and climb trees and play soldiers or cowboys and
indians."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
Corstorphinny |
See 'Pronunciations'
below
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 21, 2009 |
The Cut |
From Trinity down to the
back of the Peacock Inn in Newhaven.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The
Coup |
Somewhere in the Broughton
area |
"In his poem, 'Fitbaw in
the Street' written when he was a student in 1926, Robert Gairloch
described boys, dodging away from the Police, going via Cockie Dudgeons,
the Sandies and the Coup on their way to Puddocky."
John Dickie,
Broughton History Society Newsletter, Dec 2008
|
"This may be The Destructor
- i.e. the Corporation Refuse Dept at Powderhall"
Alex Dow,
Broughton History Society Newsletter,
Summer 2009
|
Crummel Street |
This is how we used to
pronounce Cromwell Street, Leith.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
The Cut |
This is the name we gave to
the section of Craighall Road linking Newhaven with Stanley Road.
It called 'The Cut' because
the terrain was steep and had to be excavated to reduce the gradient prior
to the road link.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
D |
Daft Kids |
David Kirkpatrick's
Secondary School, Leith
"After attending
Dr Bell's
Primary School in Leith, I was the only one
out of a class of 35 who went
on to Leithie (Leith Academy). Others
went to Bellvue or David Kilpatricks -
aka DK or the Daft Kids !!"
Ian Smith, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland:
13+25 November, 2015 |
The
Dam |
Part of the Water
of Leith, close to The Colonies houses at Stockbridge.
"At the
foot of our street ran the Water of Leith,
which, for some unknown reason, was always called ‘The Dam’.
It was called that in my mother’s day, too. We kids would have
great fun down the Dam in late spring or early summer.
If
we weren’t guddling for minnows, sticklebacks or tadpoles, we’d be
building a makeshift dam ourselves, then using improvised rafts to cross
the water. I don’t think we ever crossed without at least one of us
falling in!"
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
Danger Woods
Craigmillar
© |
The Danger woods were in area 4 of this map of
Craigmillar. Johnni Stanton recalls when he lived nearby in the
1960s:
"Across from Craigmillar Castle Avenue,
looking
towards Craigmillar Castle, is
the present Craigmillar Country Park. This
used to be the Danger Woods, where there were
huts holding the last of the fireworks from the gunpowder factory that
used to there. Hence the name
'Danger'.
We found lots of gunpowder and
a Verey pistol
there."
Johnni Stanton, Craigmillar, Edinburgh;
October 31, 2008 |
Dead
Man's Run |
Near St Leonard's Hill
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: December 31,
2011 |
The Deanies |
Dean Woods, half way along
the Lang Loan*
*
The Lang Loan ran
from Straiton to Edgehead.
David Bain: Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, England: September 21, 2009 |
The Dell |
Colinton Dell
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
Diggers' Bar |
"A popular bar at the point
of Angle Park Terrace, Ardmillan. Its correct name is 'Athletic
Arms', also sometimes called 'The Sportsman Bar' But, of course, a
sports bar today is a bit different now, with non-stop football on TV."
Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland: November 4, 2009 |
"Diggers was the bar
between two cemeteries, Dalry and North Merchiston. It was a
frequent haunt of the grave diggers."
Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland: November 8, 2009 |
Dirty
Dick's
© |
Dirty Dick's is now a
pond at Straiton Local Nature Reserve.
"When I was a boy in
the late-1940s and early-1950s, it was a working
sandpit.
It had very steep high sides with a steep
sloping mass of loose sand at the bottom of the sheer drop.
We used to jump from the top down into the slopes. I
sometimes wonder how we survived to tell these tales!"
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse,
Edinburgh: August 12, 2011 |
"My Father ran the pond as a private trout
fisheries circa 1961 and it was then known as the Lang Loch.
My fathers Christian name was Richard,
however was abbreviated down to Dick, and he himself had something a
reputation with the ladies during this time, the rest is history."
Mark Connell: March 6, 2017 |
The Ditch
© |
Waste land between Beaverbank Place and Logie Green Road
at Broughton
"Looking
at your photos of the land being redeveloped behind
Beaverbank Place takes me back to my
childhood years when I lived in
Beaverbank Place
In the 1960s,
we played
on that wasteland which was dubbed,
'The Ditch'. it was
also known as 'The Dump'
because ash from the old coal fires was used as landfill,
as you can see in the photo."
Donnie Graham,
Zwickau, Germany: June 14, 2010 |
The Dizzy |
This was somewhere near
Powderhall Stadium. (See below.)
"Powderhall Stadium is where most
boys who lived in the
Broughton area went, to watch the
greyhound racing. We did this,
usually, by climbing
the fence at St Marks park or at the bottom of
the Dizzy."
David Flucker, Kirknewton, West Lothian,
Scotland: June 16, 2010 |
DK
DK's |
David Kilpatrick's school,
North Junction Street, Leith
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
David Kirkpatrick's
Secondary School, Leith
"After attending
Dr Bell's
Primary School in Leith, I was the only one
out of a class of 35 who went
on to Leithie (Leith Academy). Others
went to Bellvue or David Kilpatrick's -
aka DK or the Daft Kids !!"
Ian Smith, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland:
13+25 November, 2015 |
D Mains
|
"This was an Edinburgh expression for Davidson's Mains."
Malcolm Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland: November 29, 2013 |
"I prefer the earlier name by which
Davidson's Mains was known - 'Muttonhole'."
Peter
Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 30, 2013 |
Doak Place |
This is how we used to
pronounce Dock Place, Leith.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
The
Dobies
The Dobbies |
Regent Road Park
"Holidays
were great times. We played for
hours in the Dobies (Regent Road Park) or the
Lundies (London Road Park).
I
think we climbed every rock
on the crags at some point or other."
John Welsh, Gracemount, Edinburgh:
September 5, 2008 |
"Kids would make
their way through the bushes in the Dobies,
to a stone parapet overlooking the eastern end
of the Calton Tunnel.
Steam locomotives leaving Waverley Station
would suddenly emerge with their steam shooting upwards into the open air.
The driver or fireman would almost always wave
to the watching youngsters. It seemed a secret place and, because of the
drop, was more dangerous than any of us realised at the time."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 24, 2009 |
"I remember
many, many great times that we kids
enjoyed playing in the Dobbies.
We would go through the fence at the
bottom of where all the nice grass grew and play hide and seek and
cowboys and Indians, and of course roll
the easter eggs in the nice grassy area."
Tam McLuskey,
Shannon Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook: April 6, 2012 |
Kenny Robertson wrote:
"I
was brought up in
the Abbeyhill area and sometimes played in Regent Road Park in the
1960s. We always called it Dobbies, but nobody can tell me
why.
Could it have been
named after the garden centre of the same name? On a recent
visit to the garden centre, I noticed a picture of a Dobbies
building. I did not recognise it, but the address was
Edinburgh 7.
Was there a Dobbies
nursery at Regent Road Park at some time.
Kenny Robertson, Prestonpans,
East Lothian, Scotland: June 7+8, 2012
If
you can help to answer Kenny Robertson's question,
please email me. Thank you. |
Reply 1:
Mary Graham wrote:
"My
own personal theory is that the name 'Dobie' came from the Indian
word 'Dhobi' for a laundry person. Regent Road Park was just
across the road from the wash house."
Mary Graham, The Shore, Leith,
Edinburgh: June 28, 2013 |
Reply 2:
"Regent Road Park
may have been called Dobbies after Dobbies' Nursery.
I think there was a Dobbie's Nursery down Portobello Road on the
right hand side."
Lily Dunn, Edinburgh: July
14, 2013
Comment:
"I've checked the
trade directory for 1950-51 and found Dobbie & Co, seedsmen,
nurserymen and florists listed with an address in Portobello Road,
at 48 Moira Terrace. But that's quite close to Portobello
and a long way from Regent Road Park.
I was interested to
read the company's contact details: Telegraph: 'Pansies'."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:
July 14, 2013 |
Reply 3:
Kenny Robertson wrote:
"I've read 'Reply 1'
above, but I
must admit I am not convinced that there is a connection with the
wash house. I still think that the name is
connected to Dobbies nursery.
You
were right. Dobbies
had a nursery on Portobello
Road, where Moira Park sheltered housing
is now.
I remember the
nursery. You could see the greenhouses from Fishwives
Causeway."
Kenny Robertson, Prestonpans,
East Lothian, Scotland: July 16, 2013 |
Doekey |
Dr Bell's school,
Great Junction street, Leith
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
Docky
Bell's |
Dr Bell's school,
Great Junction street, Leith
Bob Lawson, England: May 26, 2012 |
The Dom |
The Dominion Cinema in
Morningside
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
Doubties |
Madame Doubtfire's Rag and Bone Shop
"Further up the hill
at Stockbridge, was Doubties.
It stank of cats' pee and wet old clothes !!"
Keith Main, London: December 20,
2008 |
The Dough School |
Edinburgh College of
Domestic Science
"The Dough School was a
fond name given to the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science which was at
1-4 Atholl Crescent, until it moved to Clermiston in the late-1960s and
changed its name to Queen Margaret College."
Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland: November 11,2010 |
The Duke's Cottages
© |
Cottages built in the 1830s
on the Duke of Buccleuch's land at Lower Granton Road, to the east of
Granton Square, for workers building Granton Harbour.
John Stevenson, Trinity, Edinburgh:
November 20, 2012 |
The Dumbies |
Dumbiedykes
"In 1951, we came to live
in the Dumbies"
Vince McManamon, Darlington, Durham,
England: July 19, 2010 |
The Dumby
© |
"The Dumbies is a shortened
version of Dumbiedykes"
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The Dummy |
Edinburgh and Dumfriesshire Dairy
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
"We also
knew the dairy as 'The Dummy D"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: April 23, 2010 |
The
Dummy D |
See 'The
Dummy' above
i.e.
Edinburgh and Dumfriesshire Dairy
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: April 23, 2010 |
The Dummy
Steps |
"This was the name for the steps going down from Saxe
Coburg Street to Glenogle Road and Stockbridge Colonies.
They were called after the
Deaf and Dumb school at the top of the lane - no longer
politically correct.
A Fortune, North Berwick, East Lothian,
Scotland: May 16, 2010 |
Steps were immediately to
the east of Glenogle Swimming Baths ('Glennies').
"On either
side of Glenogle Swimming Bathss,
there were routes up to Saxe
Cobourg Place. The route on the west side
of the baths was the ‘Dummy Steps’.
The route on
the east side of the baths was
the ‘The
Snakey’ - or ‘The
Snekkie’ as we tended to call it.
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
The Dump (1) |
Corporation Rubbish Tip
"In the 1940s and 1950s, 'The Dump' was a
large hole filled in by the Corporation with the city rubbish, in those
days mainly ashes from coal fires.
When it was completed, top soil was added and
grass seed sown and trees were planted around the sides. I was one
of the many pupils at Broughton Secondary School who planted trees in 1953
to celebrate the Coronation. It is now known as
St Mark's Park."
Jim Suddon: February 20, 2009 |
Waste
land between Beaverbank Place and Logie Green Road at
Broughton
©
"Looking
at your photos of the land being redeveloped behind
Beaverbank Place takes me back to my
childhood years when I lived in
Beaverbank Place
In the 1960s,
we played
on that wasteland which was dubbed,
'The Ditch'. it was
also known as 'The Dump'
because ash from the old coal fires was used as landfill,
as you can see in the photo."
Donnie Graham, Zwickau,
Germany: June 14, 2010 |
The Dump
(2) |
A Hall at Greenside
"I lived at Greenside until
I was 10. My Mum used to go to The Dump for Ladies' Nights. It
was a hall, run by the church, I think.""
Cathy Robertson, Brunstane, Edinburgh:
August 16, 2013 |
The Dungies |
The
Edinburgh Council facility at Gorgie used for
stabling the horses and carts required to uplift the daily refuse
collection.
This site has now
become Gorgie Farm
Ian Harding, Gorgie, Edinburgh:
April 15, 2011 |
The Dungeons |
The area around the front
of the old Royal High School in Regent Road,
that was generally forbidden to pupils
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October 18, 2009 |
E |
Eagle Gates |
These were gates close to
the western end of West Granton Road. They were at the eastern
entrance to Muirhouse Mansion, a large house in Marine Drive.
They were gates with gate
pillars surmounted by griffins.
See comments from several contributors
in
Muirhouse
Recollections |
Eastie
© |
"East Arthur Place, Dumbiedykes."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
Eckybank
© |
Newington Cemetery
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
An area to the side of Dalkeith Road at
Newington
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: December 30, 2008 |
Edinbru |
Portobello
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 23, 2010 |
The Edinburgh Riviera |
The State Picture House
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
October 23, 2010 |
Eldo |
The Eldorado Dance Hall, Leith
"The
Eldo, as we knew it
had dances and other functions, I think
wrestling in more recent times."
Bob
Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: November 29, 2009 |
Eldorado - a two-part
auditorium in Mill Lane, holding wrestling and dancing functions, since
demolished.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
Eli Brae |
A
shortcut from West Granton Road to Shore Road
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 12, 2012 |
"Then,
fleein' on another bit we passed the
Eli Brae"
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
'Summer Days in Granton" |
Emby
Embi |
"This was our name for the
Embassy Cinema in Boswall Parkway."
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 12, 2012 |
"Off
tae the Emby we did go
tae see Roy Rodgers in a picture show."
From one of Dave
Ferguson's poems:
'Summer Days in Granton" |
"I remember
re-enacting yesterday's
'pickchur' at 'The Embi'
on the green."
Peter Gallacher (formerly Royston Mains
Green): December 1, 2012 |
F |
The Fence |
"Opposite Towerbank
School, at Portobello, there was an enclosed area. This was our
playground. It was know as 'The Fence'.
There was a solitary tree there, which
gradually died, as it was used for everything, including:
-
a goal post
- a
viewing
platform for the Umpires for 'Cycle Speedway'."
Jim Smart, Bournemouth,
Dorset, England: September 5, 2010 |
The Figgy
© |
"Figgate
Pond or 'The Figgy'
as we used to know it in he 1950s,
was the pond down behind St. John’s school in
Portobello."
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
The Figgie Burn |
Figgate Burn, Portobello
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
Fire Brigade Street |
Junction Place, Leith.
We called it Fire Brigade Street because the fire station was there.
It is still there now, but has been converted into housing.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
Fishy Tamson
© |
William Thomson, Fishmonger
and Fruitier,
104 St John's Road, Corstorphine
Ian Thomson, Lake
Maquarie, New South Wales, Australia: March
23, 2009 |
Fit o' The Walk
© |
The foot of Leith Walk.
i.e. the Leith end of Leith Walk, where there is a statue of Queen
Victoria, and used to be a Woolworths
Peter Stubbs: September 21,
2010 |
Flaggie
|
A large rock at St
Leonard's Terrace
George Hughes, Edinburgh: Message
posted in EdinPhoto Guest Book, May 15, 2007 |
Flea Pit |
"The Salon on Baxter
Place, we called it the flea pit but it could well have been known as
Scabby Alan's as it's sort of rhyming slang with Salon. I spent many a
happy time there watching cartoons."
GM Rigg, New Zealand:
message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook, January
31, 2012 |
"I believe that 'The Flea
Pit' was a name that was commonly used for several of Edinburgh's
smaller cinemas."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh:,
January 31, 2012 |
Forbie
© |
Forbes Street
"I could probably give you a yard by yard
account of what was where in 'Forbie' and St Leonard's Lane."
John Preece:
July 21, 2010 |
The Forth |
"The Firth of Forth, but
usually just called the Forth"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: January
2, 2010 |
The Foundies |
"People who lived in
East Pilton might know this better than others. It was the
foundations that were laid for the school which was eventually erected -
Ainslie Park School or College.
We used to leap from a
single brick wall to another wall and think it was exciting. Not
recommended."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 27, 2009 |
Front Street
© |
"Nicolson Street was always called the 'Front
Street'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
"The main road from South Bridge to South Clark Street is
known by 'Southsiders' as the Front Street."
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
G |
The Gaff |
The County (originally 'The Rio') Cinema
and
Bingo Hall, Wauchope Avenue, Niddrie.
Joe Currie, West Lothian, Scotland, 7+8
December 2007 |
Gampers |
Those who attended The Gamp disco in the Royal
Mile.
"Does
anyone know Sanders,
George Kelly, Graham Gourley,
Black Eddy, Tommy or Big
Davie who went off to India, all of them Gampers?
They all used to start from the Wee Windaes bar on the High Street
before going to the Gamp."
Lyndsay (formerly Linda)
Montgomery, Old town, Edinburgh: Oct 25, 2008 |
Gang Hut |
Our gang hut was an
Anderson Shelter which was built during the war to protect from falling
bombs. There were lots of places with them.
It was a place where you could meet in secret,
away from parental view, and plan daring
deeds.
Everybody tried to secrete things from the
house, bits of rope or food and the like.
I think the gang
hut sprang up from watching movies about American youngsters.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 7, 2009 |
The
Garage Tip |
"The tip at the bus garage
in Annandale Street.
This is where everyone went to get their prized ball bearings for their
guiders>"
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 22, 2014 |
The Garrick |
Waste ground opposite Orwell Terrace, Dalry
"There
was a large area of waste ground,
about 100 x 200 meters, opposite Orwell Place, where there is a statue of
two men rolling the whisky cask today. We called it the
'The Garricks'.
The older boys built a cycle
speedway track there, and from time to time
there were fun fares there.
It was not until many years later
that I heard it was originally the site of a
company, the Garrick Crane Works.
(Maybe this could be verified.)"
George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:
August 21, 2014
|
Ghosty
Valley |
Rab Lettice wrote:
"Does anyone know where
Ghosty Valley was?"
Rab Lettice, Leith, Edinburgh:
March 20, 2011 |
Reply from Rab Lettice
"The Ghosty Valley was a
small bridge near to the Swedish houses in Ferry Road Drive at West
Pilton. Trains used to run under the bridge.
There was a short path from
the Ghostly Valley to Ainsley Park School. If you walked on, there
was a scout hut then another bridge that you could go under to the school,
but that's been filled in now.
If we were caught playing
there, we were brought before Mr Murchison, our Headmaster as it was
dangerous because of the trains."
Rab Lettice, Edinburgh: March 21,
2011 |
The Giant Steps |
Steps, close to James Clark
School on the west side of Holyrood Park
"Many a time, while living in Montague Street,
as a 10 year old, I and my friends would climb The Giant Steps then up The
Cat's Nick.
If only Mother had known, she would have
killed me."
Jack Craig, Silverknowes, Edinburgh:
March 2, 2009 |
Giant's Brae |
The larger of the two small
hills on Leith Links.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Glassworks Stair |
"The first tenements along Rossie Place was
'The Glassworks Stair', inhabited by staff of the Edinburgh Crystal Works
in Edina Place."
Eleanor Dzivane, January 27, 2009 |
Glennies |
Glenogle Swimming Baths,
Glenogle Road,
Stockbridge
"At the
top of our street were 'Glennies'
(Stockbridge Baths, later renamed Glenogle Baths).
Like almost all Colonies kids, I became a
strong swimmer and I loved going to the baths, particularly in winter when
it was virtually empty and you could go in at 7pm and stay until 10pm."
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
Goodals |
A place at Abbeyhill where
items collected for bonfires were stashed.
"We used to collect all kinds of things for our
bonfire on November 5.
We stashed them
at the back of the greens in a place called 'Goodals'.
Then, we made the fire on the wall of the school."
Ella: January 26+27, 2010 |
Granny
Smith
© |
She lived at 21 West Granton Road, most older people will remember
her from her hut shop next to Sheriff's chemical
store on the shore road at Royston beach. |
Auld granny Smith remember her?
A vantis gie ye if she had any
an tak frae ye jist one auld penny.
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
"When We Were Lads" |
The Grassy |
Grassmarket
"I'm surprised no-one has
given the colloquial name for the Grassmarket
'The Grassy' and
Tollcross as 'Toley'.
Surely we were not the only family to use them?"
Anita Razzell (née
Canale),
Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada:
December 31, 2008 |
Grassy
Green |
Waste land where children
used to play at Fort, Leith
"Further up from Jimmy Clark's was Doig's the
Dairy and opposite that was a vacant overgrown site - a bombsite? - which
we kids called the 'Grassy Green'
which had the remains of an old sandstone wall"
Bob Leslie, Glasgow: July 21, 2013 |
The Grubby |
The Refractory (the
canteen) at the old
Royal High School in Regent Road.
"The Art Room extension along with the nearby
Refractory (also known as ‘The Grubby’) was built in 1911."
Brian Weld, 18 October
2016 |
H |
The
Half Moon
|
"I lived at 36
Royston Mains Crescent from 1954 to 1979.
My house was in front of a
grassy area that we called the
'half moon'. We
played a lot of games on that area."
David Aberdour, Message posted in
EdinPhoto guest book: November 26, 2010 |
The Happy
Land |
One of two tenement
buildings down Leith Wynd. (Leith Wynd used to be a street leading
from the Canongate to Calton - the first part of the route to Leith.
"The Happy Land and
the Holy Land were down Leith
Wynd. The latter, from what I gather,
was a refuge for down and outs, rogues and
prostitutes
Perhaps the Happy Land was for drunks. From
what I can gather the two were tenement buildings."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 10, 2012 |
Henny
© |
An area where hens used to be kept at the end
of Heriot Mount, beside Holyrood Park.
"You
asked the question:
'What is the ornate structure in the corner
with four steps leading to it?'
Well, I'm happy to tell you, it led round to
the back green, or the 'Henny' as we kids called it.
I believe it was called this because they used to keep hens
there years before."
Joyce Ritchie, London, England, September 18, 2005 |
Hermie |
Hermiston Park Primary
School
"The
Centenary of Hermitage
Park Primary School comes up
in May 2010.
Does anybody know of
any early photos of 'Hermie'?"
Brendan Pollitt, Edinburgh:
December 6, 2009 |
Hermie |
Hermitage Place
Stockbridge; now re-named Raeburn Street to avoid confusion with
Hermitage Place, South Leith..
"I
was born in 1950 in a wee street off the main Raeburn Place in Stockbridge,
Hermitage Place or
'Hermie',
as we called it..
I was actually born in the front
room of no 3 on top of some old copies of The Daily Mirror!
Lol !"
Liz Karr (née Elizabeth Henderson), South Africa:
August 12, 2015 |
Henner
Bars
© |
The railings beside the
steps that led down to Granton Square.
Henner refers to the
somersaults that the boys did as the swung on these railings.
Kenneth Williamson, Silverknowes,
Edinburgh: Discussion, March 23, 2011 |
High Street |
Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
"Our family used to play a game whereby we
tried to remember all
the shops of Raeburn Place (the High Street to
folk from 'Stockaree' as we called Stockbridge)"
Keith Main, London: December 20,
2008 |
High Street Pictures
© |
"The New Palace, High Street, never got its full
name. It was always just 'High Street Pictures'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
Hole in the Wall |
There were several of
these:
-
One was in
Bristo Place (in a pub?)
-
One was in
Pilton. It led to West
Pilton and Muirhouse flats.
- One was
in Leith.
Others might be able to
add to this list.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 27, 2009 |
"This
was a long, narrow pedestrian tunnel
under Leith Central Railway Station, prior to the
demolition of the station and erection of Scotmid.
It made
a short-cut from Leith
Walk via the tunnel entrance at
Crown Place to Glover Street (now
demolished), Ferrier St (now demolished),
Manderston Street and Gordon Street."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2+ 4, 2008 and Mar 18, 2010 |
Holy City |
"This
was the name we gave to Mount Lodge, a
small council estate adjacent to Windsor Place,
Portobello, because of the allegedly thousands
of Catholics who lived there.
It
was part of one of my
'rounds'."
Jim Smart, Bournemouth,
Dorset, England: September 5, 2010 |
Holy Corner |
The junction of Morningside
Road, Colinton Road and Chamberlain Road, a crossroads near Church Hill
with a church on each corner.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Holy
Land |
One of two tenement
buildings down Leith Wynd. (Leith Wynd used to be a street leading
from the Canongate to Calton - the first part of the route to Leith.
"The Happy Land and
the Holy Land were down Leith Wynd. The latter,
from what I gather, was a refuge for down and
outs, rogues and prostitutes
Perhaps the Happy Land
was for drunks. From what I can gather the two were tenement buildings."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 10, 2012 |
The Huts |
Bankfield Cottages, The
Wisp, near Portobello.
"Bankfield Cottages on
Lady Wauchope estate at The Wisp, were commonly known as 'The Huts'
because of their wooden construction."
Dick Martin, Borders, Scotland:
August 21, 2014 |
I |
Ingin
Johnny |
One of the onion sellers from Brittany who used to
travel around Edinburgh with strings of onions on their old black bikes,
selling the onions from door to door.
Bryan Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire,
Scotland: March 25, 2012 |
The
Institute |
GM Rigg wrote:
"The WAAF-run restaurant that I referred to as
The Institution (2)
below might, in fact, have been 'The Institute'."
GM Rigg, New Zealand:
message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook,
March 8, 2012 |
The
Institution |
(1)
Melville College
"When I was a boy in the 1930s, Melville College
was called 'The Institution' .
It's really only in recent years that the
connotation of 'Institution' meaning 'Reform School' appeared, and people
started referring to the school as 'Melville College' rather than 'The
Institution'."
Alastair Berry, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
Canada: January 28, 2012 |
GM Rigg wrote:
(2)
"I am curious about
'The Institution', the
only place I ever knew being referred to as
'The Institution' (in
inter-family chit chat) was the name given to a restaurant on
Princes Street which ran during WW2 and was
managed by one of my aunties.
I beleive it was for
Officers only, but I'm not sure. Any clues on this one?"
GM Rigg, New Zealand:
message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook, January
31, 2012 |
The Ire |
"The passage underneath the back
green outside Katie Burge's shop in East Arthur Place was called
'The Ire'.
An Ire was a small close
under a building. We had plenty in the Dumbiedykes and there would
be dwellings in them too. But as time moved on, they closed the wee
house up, people threw their rubbish in the Ire and it became
rat-infested.
When it rained heavily, the
Ire would flood, and we would see rats hanging onto bits of wood and
debris (ha ha ha ha)."
Eric Gold: East London: November 21+24 2010 |
J |
Jackie's Backie
OR
Jacey Backys |
An area of waste ground near Henderson Street, Leith.
|
"We weren't allowed bonfires in Henderson Street,
but used to have a huge one
on waste ground over from Shades (potato merchants) that we called
Jackie's Backie."
Willie Hutton, Edinburgh: January
14, 2009 |
"I lived at No 18 Fort
lace, for the first ten years of my life, from 1968. This was a
ground floor flat with a livingroom/kitchen, toilet, coal cupboard and
bedroom.
We used to play opposite on scrap bit
of land we called Jacky Backys."
Annie (née Richardson): March 12,
2009 |
Jewsy
©
© |
Half way down the Vennel, on the west
side
"Granny Gillies used to
tell us stories of the Vennel. She told us
that the area half way down the steps, on the west side, near the portal
gateway, was called Jewsy because there had been a Jewish temple there."
Don Johnston,
St Mary's, New South Wales, Australia:
22 February 2011 |
"There was a derelict plot on the north west
corner of Keir Street and Graham Street that I think used to be a
synagogue or something similar – at any rate it was always referred to
as 'The Jewsy' and was treated as an adventure playground by us kids. I
ended up in casualty on more than one occasion after falling from the
walls!
Steve Collier,
Edinburgh: 19 April 2017 |
Jimmy the Juice Bottle Man |
"At Binns Warehouse
(?)
a lovely man we called 'Jimmy the
Juice Bottle Man' used to collect all his
workmates' bottles and stash them for us behind
the rubbish bins."
Lydia Markham:
Dalry Recollections: February 12, 2012 |
Jimmy's |
James Clark School, St Leonard's
"I went to Castlehill
from 1945 until the school closed.
I then went to
Jimmie's until 1955."
John McCall: February 20, 2009 |
The Jungle (1 + 2) |
1. This was the area
of the Shore between the dock gates and Bernard Street Bridge.
2. It was also the
name for King's Wark Pub.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 15, 2010 |
The Jungle
(3) |
1. This was the the
name by which an area of the ponds at Inverleith Park was known.
"We used to go to Inverleith
Park and play in the Jungle (the swan refuge). We gained access
via the tunnel from the pond."
Sandy Philip, Edinburgh: 12
February 1017 |
K |
Kaydie Street
Kaydae Street |
This is how we used to
pronounce Cadiz Street, Leith.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
My wife, who is a Leither,
tells me that when they talked about Cadiz Street, they called it Kaydae
Street.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 15, 2010 |
The Keepie
(1) |
The keep left sign at junction of West Granton Road.
Pilton Drive North and Granton Crescent.
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland:
February 12, 2012 |
"We balanced on a
single skate went fleein' doon the street.
We
started at the Keepie so we could get some
speed."
From Dave
Ferguson's poem:
'Summer Days in Granton |
The Keepie
(2)
©
© |
The Park Keeper's (or
Parkie's) house.
Eric Bower, Comely Bank, Edinburgh:
February 20, 2012 |
"At the bottom off
the brae (Arthur Street) just inside
Queen's Park, was the Parkie's
Hoose (park keepers house).
My mum would say that the bogyman lived
there, and if you don't come up the brae and in
to the house by a certain time he will come out and catch you and put you
in a bag. By God that myth always worked
for us kids."
Eric Gold, East End, London:
February 2 to 19, 2006 |
The Khyber Pass |
Jane Street, Leith
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: December 15,
2008 |
Springfield Street , Leith
"Bob Henderson remembers the
'Khyber Pass' as being
Jane Street. Shurely Shome Mishtake, as big
'Tam' Connery might
have said.
Springfield Street, as I recall, just round
the corner from where I used to live, was the Khyber Pass.
Springfield street had a high proportion of
Asian tenants, and, whereas in most places, clothes were dried in the back
green, in Springfield Street, there were washing lines across the street,
on which I remember saris and turban cloths
being dried in the summer.
It was an exotic riot of colour in the sun. Is
this perhaps a false memory?
Springfield Street is
the one street in Leith that I can't remember
ever having ventured into. I
only looked down it from Leith Walk. It seemed like another country!"
Bob Lawson, England: August 29,
2012 |
Jane Street, Leith
"When I worked in Anderson Place, Leith in the
late-1960s and early-1970s,
my workmates and I always referred to driving from Bonnington Road along
Tennant Street through Jane Street and on to Leith Walk as "going through
the Khyber Pass".
This was entirely due to the high number of
Asian families who lived in those streets. Today giving those streets that
name for that reason would probably be considered to be racist.
Some of the visitors to your site may be
interested to learn that the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire
actually has a street called Khyber Pass. It's a very steep hill leading
from Pier Road up to the West Cliff area where some of the town's
Hotel and Bed &
Breakfast businesses used to be located during it's most popular period as
a holiday destination."
Donald Grant,
Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland:
July 18, 2014 |
Kimly Bink |
This was how some people
pronounced Comely Bank (not far from Stockaree).
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 15, 2010 |
The Kinnegars |
"There was a place close to Chester's farm, near
Rosewell, which we called 'The Kinnegars'.
There, we used to pick brambles, raspberries,
strawberries, blackcurrants, which all grew
wild.
We also used to collect rosehips and sell them to
our school Headmaster, Mr Hector MacPherson, a
formidable gentleman, who gave us 6d per pound."
Pat Reid, Edinburgh: Message in EdinPhoto guest book:
Dec 7, 2008 |
The King's
Park |
Holyrood Park
"A lot of people now call the park, the Queen's Park.
I remember people calling it the King's Park until long after the
1953 Coronation."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 2, 2009 |
The Klondike |
Grand tenements at the
corner of Hawthornvale and Lindsay Road, Newhaven - so christened because
the date they were build related to the Canadian Gold Rush
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
L |
Land's End
© |
The end of Granton Western Breakwater and Pier, close to the harbour
entrance.
(It's a long walk to get there from the shore!)
"Here is a picture of 'Gregor Paton' returning to Granton in mid-1960s,
showing one of the West Pier steam cranes at Land's End"
John Dinwoodie, Granton, Edinburgh:
April 6, 2009 |
The Lane |
There appear to have been at least two places
known as The Lane. See the messages below:
|
The Lane - 1
"Someone mentioned a bonfire (a bonny, in the
vernacular). These events took place in a bit of wasteland known as 'The
Lane'. That was the area between the blocks of houses in Kerr
Street, Heriot Place and Lauriston Place."
Anthony White, Edinburgh: November
29+30, 2011 |
The Lane - 2
"In the 1950s, 'The Lane' to us was the
opening between Pitlochry Place and the tenements in Salmond Place
at Abbeyhill.
We spent mony a happy day playing
'make believe' there,
as there was an echo! This led round to
the 'back' of
Pitlochry Place, right beside the railway and the back of Millers'
Foundry.
My Grandad was a goods train driver and I can
just remember how he would 'toot'
the horn as he passed our kitchen window,coming
from the St Margaret's depot."
Eleanor Dzivane, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland: December 1, 2011 |
Laundry Brae |
A road at Abbeyhill
"At the top of Rose Lane*
and on the right was a road down to the
laundry building. We called it Laundry Brae."
Jim Wilson, Livingston, West Lothian,
Scotland: October 25, 2011
*
Rose Lane was the hill leading down from London Road to
Abbeyhill, It has now been re-named Abbey Lane |
The
Laurie Street |
"The old cinema
behind Woolworths at Leith. It had several
names, one being the Salamander.
Up until the mid-1940s, you could get entry
for a jam jar. It was a bit of a flee pit.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
Lawrie's |
'The
Bowler's Arms' a pub at the corner of Elbe Street and Mitchell Street,
Leith, owned by the former Hibs player, Lawrie Reilly.
"Lawrie was a genial
mine host and had a wealth of anecdotes about his days as a footballer and
some of the characters he played with and against.
He always had time for a blether whether he
was behind his bar or at a function or match at Easter Road. The last time
I had the pleasure of speaking to him was some years ago now, at the
official opening of the Hibs training centre at East Mains."
Donald Grant, Penicuik, Midlothian,
Scotland: 9 November, 2015 |
Leith Provy |
Leith Provident Co-op
"That's
a fancy sugar/tea tin that Bryan has. It
must have been bought at Binns, not the Leith
Provy. Maybe Brian has a collectors' item!"
Jim (Jimmy) Little, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada: 11 February 2016 |
Leither |
A person from Leith
Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson, Craigmillar,
Edinburgh: November 8, 2009 |
Leithie |
Leith Academy
"This was the only school
that I knew that had a nickname."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 21, 2009 |
Leith Academy school, Duke
Street, Leith
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith:
April 20, 2012 |
Leith Academy
"After attending
Dr Bell's
Primary School in Leith, I was the only one
out of a class of 35 who went
on to Leithie (Leith Academy). Others
went to Bellvue or David Kilpatrick's -
aka DK or the Daft Kids !!"
Ian Smith, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland:
13+25 November, 2015 |
Libby |
Liberton
"As
a youngster in Arthur Street, Dumbiedykes, I remember
getting the No 7 or 37 tram to Libby
Dams. It seemed like going to the
other side of the world."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh: December 5,
2007 |
Lieberton |
See 'Pronunciations'
below
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 21, 2009 |
Little Texas |
Near Caroline Park, there
was a rail line in front of the shore. It had sidings, one of which
was covered with trees. For years, this was known as 'Little Texas',
and is still fondly remembered as such, even now.
William Dutton, Colinton, Edinburgh:
September 7, 2010 |
The Loan |
Grange Loan (Edinburgh South Side)
Frank Wilson, Golden Beach,
Queensland, Australia: Feb 26, 2010 |
Lockies
©
©
|
The playing fields to the north of Wardie School (on the East side of
Granton Road) were known as Lockies in the 1970s.
This was the site of Lochinvar Camp, a naval training establishment in the
1940s.
The camp was passed to Edinburgh Council in 1946 and was used for the next
ten years to house homeless families who did not qualify for council
housing.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November
15, 2008 |
The Longie |
A back green
at Dalry, used for games
"I have
memories from the age of 5
(in 1945) to 15 of growing up in
Caledonian Place, Dalry. As children,
we played all the usual street games as,
elsewhere, but there was one big bonus,
the Back Green.
After the Air-raid
shelters were taken down,
a long strip of land was left. It was affectionately known as
''The Longie'.
It served as a Football, Cricket and
Rounders pitch."
George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh:
August 18, 2014 (2 emails)
|
Lornie |
Lorne Street Primary School
Bob Lawson, England: May 26, 2012 |
Low Road
© |
"Here is a photo taken on the 'Low Road',
the area at the front of Upper Viewcraig Row.
I was born in 32 Upper Viewcraig Row in 1949 and lived there for
eight years."
Bob
Hunter, Edinburgh: December 30, 2008 |
The Lundies |
London Road Park
"Holidays
were great times. We played for
hours in the Dobies (Regent Park) or the
Lundies (London Road Park).
I
think we climbed every rock
on the Crags in King's Park
at some point or other.
John Welsh, Gracemount, Edinburgh:
September 5, 2008 |
"This was the
perfect place for playing ‘Robin Hood’ after seeing one of his adventures
at the Eastway or the Regent cinemas.
Incidentally, up until it was banned at the
time of the Reformation, a ‘Robin Hood’ pageant was held annually on the
slopes of Greenside below the Calton Hill. He was as popular up here as in
Nottinghamshire"
Kim Traynor: September 25, 2009 |
M |
Madearie Street |
"This is how we used to
pronounce Madeira Street, Leith."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
The
Marischal |
Niddrie Marischal Secondary
School
"My three brothers and I
went to the Marischal."
Dave McKinlay< New Zealand:
Message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook, November 24, 2010 |
The Market
© |
The Grassmarket
"I was raised in the Market
in the 1950s and early-1960s. We lived at 17 Grassmarket next to the
Vennel."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
The Meedies |
The Meadows
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
"On the way back
from a visit to the Meedies, I used to call in
to the Caley Station for a bit of free entertainment."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
January 6, 2010 |
"Living in Bristo Street, as I did, I spent many
hours
at the Meedies,
especially during the school holidays when
we would be packed off with a 'piece' ."
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South
Africa: February 25, 2011
|
The
Merchie |
North Merchiston Primary School
"I went to Merchie from 1944.
The main door and the infants' playground and entrnce were in Bryson Road.
The girls entered from Tay Street and the boys from Watson
Crescent.
Elizabeth Serle: May 4, 2014 |
The Merry |
"The Merry was a nickname for a large common area
at Niddrie that was surrounded by houses. It had some
swings and a few steel bars you could swing on.
There were small trees around this common area and
when it rained we used these for shelter until the rain went off. Sometimes we
would have a few sneaky cans of Tennents lager in the trees, hoping nobody would
notice."
Stewart Fraser, Niddrie: 6+7+18 September 2013 |
The
Mety
Pen |
"Can anyone remember
'The Meti Pen'?
It
was a close, I think in the Grassmarket.
I remember the words coming out my mouth on
occasions, but for the life of me, I
cannot remember where it was.
I have a feeling it may
have been Wardens close which was at the far east end of the market
close, to the well."
Ian McArthur, Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia: October 15, 203 |
The
Midden |
The back court at
Chessel's Court, Canongate.
"I preferred adventuring around the back court
which, if memory serves, was generally referred to as the
'midden'
but was not literally a midden, though the waste bins
were there. Hence the reference.
The bins were not individual domestic bins,
but huge (to me as a boy) 'Saladin'
bins used by all on a communal basis.
The bins
were emptied by trucks like American dumpster trucks which lifted
the bins over the cab, and emptied the contents into the truck body before
returning the bin for reuse. Watching the truck, and playing in the court
were infinitely preferable to being indoors."
Bob Lawson, England: August 29,
2012 |
Middlie
© |
"Middle Arthur Place, at Dumbiedykes."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The Mighty Block
Craigmillar
|
A cycle route, near
Craigmillar
"We would take
the road from Craigmillar Crossroads, along
Peffermill Road, turn left up Bridgend into Old Dalkeith Road, continue up
to Edmonstone, then turn left along towards
the road up to where the City Bypass is now. We'd
then turn left again, up the Wisp Road,
continuing down to the Wisp Crossroads, then
turn left along Niddrie Mains Road and back to
Craigmillar Crossroads.
For a bunch of 10-year-olds
who just built their first bikes from parts scavenged at the City Dump on
Old Dalkeith Road, that was a good long trip
round the 'block'!"
Johnni Stanton, Craigmillar, Edinburgh;
October 31, 2008 |
Mixie
©
|
"The Big Mixie (or 'The Mixie) was an area of
land on the west side of Orchard Brae, across the road from
the Wee Mixie.
The Big Mixie
was bigger than the Wee Mixie and
much more overgrown and therefore thrilling wasteland -
totally undeveloped circa 1962.
I got lost in it as a wee boy and a police
search was instigated! When I was located, oblivious to any fuss, my
dad was so furious with me
Keith Main, London: December
19+20, 2008 |
"I played in a piece of waste ground between Orchard Brae and
Learmonth Avenue in the ‘50s known as the
'Mixie'. Does anyone
remember it?"
Lindsay Russell, Edinburgh: November 6, 2008 |
"I lived at 10 Learmonth Crescent from 1957 until
1989.
The waste ground between
Orchard Brae and Learmonth Avenue was s
called the Mixie.
I think it was called Mixie because
all the building products for the building of the Comely
Bank/Learmonth houses were mixed roughly in that area.
I have copies of maps dated 1914
and 1933 which show cranes in what appears to be
a compound at the west end of Comely Bank Grove.
I can also remember there being an area of
compacted sand which we played in as kids."
Ian Young, Hawick, Borders, Scotland:
September 18, 2009 |
"My children always played at the Mixie
when coming back from Flora Stevensons school in Comely
Bank in the 1960s and 1970s.
But a very elderly
neighbour of mine, who had lived in Belgrave
Crescent Mews in the early years of the century,
said that this was the site of
'Mick's farm' and that
there had been a stream there in her childhood."
Anne Fortune, North Berwick,
East Lothian, Scotland: May 16, 2010
|
Recalling the time when she attended
Flora Stevenson School at Comely Bank, Ruth Holloway wrote:
"I
remember the Gang Hut in the
Mixie,
and going there with the boys! I was very quiet to begin
with, but became quite a tomboy."
Ruth Holloway, New Town,
Edinburgh: October 13, 2013 (2 emails) |
Montaygi Street |
Montague Street
"When I grew up, Edinburgh folk didn’t seem
too keen on words ending in ‘-ua’ or ‘-ue’.
Hence the pronunciations ‘Antaygi Street’ and
‘Montaygi Street.’"
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 27, 2009 |
Morningsaid |
See 'Pronunciations'
below
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 21, 2009 |
The Mound
© |
"This
photo, taken at the Low Road, Viewcraig,
Dumbiedykes The wall on the left
was round what we called 'the mound'.
I don't know what its purpose was but I
suspect it harboured an air raid shelter during the war.
It certainly was somewhere we played on
quite a lot."
John (Iain) McEvoy, Craigentinny,
Edinburgh: Jan 6, 2009 |
The Muir |
Boroughmuir School
"I attended the Muir from 1952 until 1958
Margaret Kortas, British
Columbia, Canada: October 17,2010 |
The first verse of the Boroughmuir school Song
begins:
"We are
Vassals of the 'Muir,
Vassals of the 'Muir." |
Muttonhole
|
"An early name for Davidson's Mains.
Peter
Stubbs, Edinburgh: November 30, 2013 |
N |
Nanny
Park
© |
The sloping
ground to the north of Granton Road, looking down on Lower Granton
Road, where goats were once kept.
Andrew Boath, Granton, Edinburgh
(Chairman, Granton History Group), 2010 |
The Nash |
The New
International Club, a dance club in Princes Street
"When I was a lad,
back in the early-1970s, we used to almost
live in the International Club on Princes Street.
By that time,
it had been renamed the 'NEW International
Club' or simply 'The
Nash'.
Every Saturday night we would be there
as soon as the pubs closed at 10pm."
David Sanderson, Lake Forest,
California, USA: May 22, 2009 |
"I was
one of the roadies with Reflection from 1967-69 and we played the
Nash almost every Saturday night.
Usually the last spot after a wonderful
couple of hours playing the Top Storey!!!"
Bob Jenkins, Mayfield, Edinburgh
Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book: September 9, 2011
|
The Net
Park |
An area of land at Newhaven
close to Victoria School, where nets were repaired.
"I remember the net park, with clothes
poles. It was behind the school, near the Peacock Hotel, at
Newhaven.
The women mended the nets and we,
children, earned 3d or 6d for cutting string into short lengths for
them."
John Stevenson, Trinity, Edinburgh - May 2005
|
Niddron |
A person from
the Greater
Craigmillar area.
"The term 'Niddron'
was coined by myself and Alice Henderson (Craigmillar Festival Society
Assistant Organising Secretary - Planning) back in the
1970s and refers to any and everyone from the Greater Craigmillar
area. I use it a lot - but imagine my surprise
to find that it's
commonly used by lots of Niddrons these days!"
Johnni MacKenzie-Anderson, Craigmillar,
Edinburgh: November 8, 2009 |
O |
Oakie
© |
Young Brothers'
vehicle yard, close to Middle Arthur Place,
Dumbiedykes.
"I think the lads here are in Oakfield.
That's where Young Brothers' vans were loaded for deliveries. It was
at the rear of Middle Arthur Place, looking onto West Arthur Place."
We played there and looked for cakes and buns
when the vans were away."
Tom Harrison, Buckstone, Edinburgh: September 2, 2013 |
The Op |
The Operetta House cinema,
Chambers St
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
March 11, 2010 |
P |
Pally (1) |
Palais de Dance, dance hall
at Fountainbridge
"We
danced the nights away at Bungies, Top Storie and of
course the old Pally in Fountainbridge."
Sandra Hartland (née Reid), Florida, USA:
|
Pally (2)
©
|
Leith Palace Cinema (at the
foot of Leith Walk)
"This
photo shows nearly all of the Leith
Palace Cinema (on the right hand side of the photo), including the side
exit beyond the post office in Constitution."
Jim Macfarlane, Edinburgh: January
23, 2012 |
Pallydoodlum
© |
The Edinburgh Palladium,
Fountainbridge
"The
Palladium, or Pallydoodlum as he called it,
was a great favourite of my grandfather."
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: August 19, 2012 |
Paps of Fife |
East and West Lomond
(hills in Fife, seen from Edinburgh)
"Opposite Edinburgh, on the other side of the
Firth are the 'Paps of Fife' I don't know if that was an Edinburgh name
for the hills or a general geographical reference as in the 'Paps of
Jura'."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
Parkie |
Park Keeper
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England |
"The
Parkie – the park-keeper, from the days when the Council employed retired
men to guard public parks, including swing-parks.
They wore
a black uniform and peaked-cap, and looked to all the world like prison
warders.
In my
local swing-park in Montgomery Street, the Parkie had to ensure the
equipment was not abused and the 'No Ball Games!'
rule obeyed.
Kids
were often cruel in the way
they would taunt the Parkie until they drove him to distraction."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 2, 2009 |
The Peffy |
Peffermill school
"I attended Peffy as it was then called.
The Peffy burnt down in 2003."
Tam Smith, Germany: July 31,
2011
Quoting a message from David Thomson on the Friends Reunited web
site |
The Pend |
Part of Gorgie Road
"From about 1942 until about 1955, I lived in what we called
the 'pend' right next to Davie's Café, which is now the kids farm in
Gorgie Road."
Alex McEwan, Australia: June 4,
2008 |
Penny Bap |
A large stone in
the water at Seafield
"For more distant adventuring, there
was the big stone called the Penny Bap at Seafield,
now gone.
If you took a running jump, you could
scramble up it. If you didn't jump far enough, you slithered
down and ended knee-deep in the seaweed/sewage pool at its foot.
We used to watch the men burning wee
piles of sewage. Happy days!"
Jean, Leith, Edinburgh:
August 29, 2013 |
Penny
Tenement |
"Our
homes (penny tenements)
were classed as single-ends and consisted of a
single room with a sink and a fireplace. My
parents had 3 children when we were living
there, so things were a bit tight.
When my mum had her fourth child we were moved
to a housing scheme in Craigmillar.
A penny tenement was used to house the
families of returned servicemen.
I never asked my parents what this meant but I
worked it out that they paid a very low rent until they could find better
accommodation."
|
Here, Bob
Henderson writes with a different explanation of how the Penny Tenements
got their name.
Bob
wrote:
"I have always understood that the Penny
Tenements were so called because they were sold for a penny,
because they were not profitable and it would
have cost a fortune to make them properly habitable.
As
you will gather from some of the stories on the web site,
they were never properly maintained.
Sitting
here writing this and thinking back,
they were pretty disgusting, but in spite of
this we mostly had a wonderful childhood. Hence
all the great memories.
I
can't remember who told me about this
transaction but I do believe it to be true."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
Petty
France |
Little France
"I'm proud to have been born on 'Little
France Farm' in July 1958. It also
used to be known as 'Petty France', possibly a corruption of Petite
France, home for Mary Queen of Scots' French servants, while she
lived at nearby Craigmillar Castle in the 16th century."
Robert Thomson, Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada
Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book: June 30, 2011 |
The Picky |
The Picturedrome
"The
Picturedrome was a
cinema
in Easter Road. We called it we called 'The
Picky'.
That's where we went for the Saturday matinee.
We were pushed along a wooden form as far as possible to get
us all on."
Ella: January 26+27, 2010 |
The Piggery |
"A
large piece of waste ground at the foot of Ballantyne Road,
probably so named because at
one time were kept here in the 17th/18th century.
Ballantyne Place overlooked this piece of
waste ground, prior to the demolition and
rebuilding of Ballantyne Road.
Just after the war, Wingy Robertson fenced it
off and used it to store Government excess military vehicles that he sold
off"
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburghh:
Sep 17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
"The Piggery was
a safe area. In summer, we held our own
Olympic
Games there, competing with our neighbours from Bowling Green
Street (when we were not fighting with them).
We used:
- any piece of brick or wood lying
about for makeshift hurdles and high jumps from .
- railing spikes as javelins
- roof slates as the discus and
- big Yawkers (large stones) for
the shot-put.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven,
Edinburgh: March 18, 2010 |
Pigs' Greasy Sausages |
Parsons' Green School
"I
had uncles who also attended 'Pigs' Greasy Sausages'
.
I'd
better not confess
to the mischief I and classmates got up
to!"
Elizabeth Bell (née
Gall),
Murray Bridge, South
Australia, Australia: October 14, 2014
|
The
Pineapple |
"Amongst so me
of the Catholic families, there were members of our street football team.
We used
to sneak into 'The Pineapple',
the Roman Catholic Church in Brighton Place, to
tell them to hurry up with their 'Hail Mary's as the tide was coming in
and we would have only an hour to play."
Jim Smart, Bournemouth,
Dorset, England: September 5, 2010 |
Thank you to Tom
Inglis who
added:
"I've just stumbled
across your site and have been having great fun reading through it.
As a native of Clydebank, I can assure you that 'The Pineapple' is not
unique to Edinburgh and its environs.
It is, of course, rhyming slang for chapel,
and is (was?) used pejoratively by those who are not of the Roman Catholic
persuasion."
Tom Inglis, formerly Clydebank,
Scotland: January 1, 2013 |
Piper
Thamson
© |
"This photo was taken
around 1963. The
van in the photo belonged to an old character from Loanhead.
He was known as 'Piper Thamson'.
He was an old soldier who made a
living collecting cardboard for recycling, and collecting the old
wooden tomato boxes which he sold to the local gardening
nurseries"
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross,
Scotland: March 17, 2012 |
The Planny
© |
"I
don't know how it got its name, but The Planny was the area of grass
between Bingham Place and the Broadway. It
is the land in the background of this picture.
The
Planny is where we always played football, or sometimes we would go up to
the circle, a bricked wall area in the shape of
a circle, great for keeping the ball in,
which was in the new houses across from Bingham
Road, just to annoy the residents."
John
Aird, Fife, Scotland: May 20, 2012
|
The Plantations (1)
©
© |
The Plantations were an area of trees, on the western edge of Holyrood
Park, close to Dumbiedykes Road.
The Plantations can be seen on this
picture, and are just visible between the houses at the left-hand side of
the photograph of The Big Green (above).
"I remember running down Dumbiedykes Lane (the road that leads
straight ahead in the top picture, opposite). The road then turned
left and went to Holyrood Square. We used to dreep over the wall
into the plantations."
Jean Rae (née Aithie), South Side,
Edinburgh: April 2006 |
The Plantations
(2) |
Woodland at Slateford
"Through the Slateford aqueduct at ground
level led (with
wet schoolboy feet) to what we called
"The Plantations" where we swung from a rope strung from one of the
trees in this forgotten woodland.
Access to this sylvan retreat was either through
the cattle sidings at the back of the cattle market or via Hutchison
Loan.
Interesting that there was Inglis Green Laundry
backing on to the Water of Leith near where the old maps show bleaching
fields. Tradition dies hard doesn't it?"
George Smith,
British Columbia, Canada
|
Playnie |
The Play Centre at Royston
School in the 1960s.
Lizzie Stenhouse: February 17,
2012 |
The Plowt
© |
"This was a nickname for
Fleshmarket Close."
Pauline Cairns-Speitel, Old Town,
Edinburgh; August 29, 2008 |
"No-one knows why this was
a nickname for
Fleshmarket Close.
It may have been because it was muddy at the bottom of the close."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 27, 2009 |
Poaly Oaly Close |
"This was our name for
Old Fishmarket Close"
Jane Jones, Cambridgeshire; August
15, 2008. |
Polly
Park |
Redhall Public Park
"John
Stevenson ran the Dry Cleaners
at Longstone. His brother, Cyril,
ran the laundry.
They had the two big houses beside the
footpath into the Redhall Public Park. We
called it the 'Polly Park'."
Robert Laird, Longstone, Edinburgh
Recollections from his dad |
Pollywonskie's |
A shop in Easter Road,
Leith.
"I
lived at 350, Easter Road, Leith, from 1940
until 1943. Opposite, there was a small
shop (still functioning) which we affectionately knew as
'Pollywonskie's'.
The owner, I
guess, was Polish.
I remember his cat in the window and the sales
offers that he wrote
in white chalk across the glass.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
July 30, 2011 |
Ponderosa |
"This was the colloquial
name given to the low density housing part of the Leith Fort housing
estate. It's taken from the TV series, 'Bonanza', but the reasoning
defeats me."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
July 30, 2011 |
Porty |
1. Portobello
"I remember the Figgy Burn
at Porty"
Jim Irvine: January 12, 2009 |
2. Portobello Beach
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
Porty Pool |
Portobello Bathing Pool.
An open air pool with a
'wave machine', situated beside Portobello Power Station.
It opened in 1936 and was
demolished in 1980.
"I have great memories of
Porty Pool. I'm sure, in the '50s and '60s, there was no time limit.
You took your towel and sandwiches and sunbathed on the terraces."
Danny Callaghan, Falkirk, Stirlingshire,
Scotland: November 12, 2009 |
Powdie |
Powderhall dog track
Keith Barker Main: December 19,
2008 |
The Provvy |
Leith Provident Coop
"Aitken &
Niven were outfitters to a lot of the schools
in Edinburgh but, as my wife informed me,
not to Leith Academy whose school uniforms were sourced from the
Provvy."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
November 27, 2009 |
Puddockie
I expect most people
never saw this name written down.
Contributors have come
up with a variety of spellings, including:
Puddockie,
Puddocky,
Puddicay,
Puddicky
Puddiky,
Pudducky,
Puddockie Park
©
© |
1.
"The Puddockie
was that part of the Water of Leith at Canonmills.
My mother used to talk about collecting frogs’ spawn here, so there
must have been a large frog population!"
Lindsay Russell, Edinburgh: November 6, 2008 |
2.
"Puddockie Park furnished kids with frog spawn
or tadpoles, that your mother promptly disposed of when you took them
home."
EdinPhoto Guest Book: G M Rigg,
April 7, 2009 |
3.
"This photo was taken at 'Puddockie', at
the bottom of Logie Green Road.
The boys in the photo are Jimmy Callender,
Davey Callender, George (Doddie) Thompson
and Billy Paton."
Jim Callender, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada:
April 9, 2007 |
4.
"Water of Leith at Canonmills,
home to puddocks"
Jim Duncan, New Brunswick, Canada,: May 22, 2009. |
5.
"What we called
fishing, at that young age, was going to Puddockie (a section at the Water
of Leith, just over the bridge and near the old allotments) with our nets
and jars for sticklebacks."
John Welsh, Gracemount, Edinburgh:
September 5, 2008. |
6.
"On
the Water of Leith at Warriston Road. It was kids' fishing for
tiddlers' territory. It
was where the bridge crossed a section of the Water of Leith, just past
Warriston cemetery."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Leith: Sep
17 + Oct 2 + 4, 2008 |
7.
"The
word Puddockie is most likely to come from the old Scots word for
toad or frog which is a Pudduck."
David Flucker, Kirknewton, West Lothian,
Scotland: June16, 2010 |
8.
"I was
caught skinny dipping at Pudducky with my best pal, a wee red-haired boy
called Patrick, when we both lived at Heriot Hill Terrace and were both
aged under 5.
Andi Kirkpatrick, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada: April 1, 2013 |
9.
Comments above refer to 'The Puddocky
as being at Warriston, close to Logie Green Road and the B&Q store
(formerly 'Dodge City') but the comment below places it further to the
west, near Stockbridge Colonies.
"At the
far end of the Colonies was Bell Place, which led to the wooden bridge,
the ‘Puddocky’, over the river then on to a small park,
'The Bellsie'.
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
10.
"Puddocky was what we always
called the wooden bridge, as did my mother and her contemporaries as well
as everyone else living in the area at the time."
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 12, 2013 |
11.
"Further
to my note above re 'the
Puddicky', it's quite possible there were
quite a few areas rejoicing in that name, as
'puddocks', as I recall, was our word for
tadpoles etc, which we used to catch in stiller stretches of the river."
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 12, 2013 |
Purple Mountain |
A mound in London Road
Gardens
"London Road Gardens was also our playground.
The two mounds at the east end we called purple
(the highest) and brown (the lowest) mountain.
I tried finding them a couple of years ago,
but they were well and truly hidden. They were in fact gunnery mounds used
by Cromwell when he besieged Leith and
Edinburgh."
Ronald Stout, Denmark: October 10,
2010 |
Q, R |
The Rat Trap |
A pub in Nicolson Street.
(Which one?)
ANSWER: See below
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 5, 2010 |
The Rat Trap was the name given to the Empire
Bar. I had my first pint there, bought for me by
my grandfather.
It was on the corner of Nicolson Square,
opposite the Surgeons' Hall. Incidentally above
it was the room where the first-timers to the
Central School of Ballroom Dancing were
introduced to their first '123,
123'.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The Rat Trap was the Empire Palace Bar, on the
corner of Nicholson Street and Nicholson Square.
It must have been good; my grandad, who was
severely hampered by rheumatoid arthritis and Paget's Disease,
would travel there from Craigmillar for a pint or two!
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: April 6, 2010 |
Roly-poly Hills |
A play-area close
to Pennywell Primary School
"I remember
the wee roly-poly hills,
just off Pennywell
Road.
Jim Little, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Canada: October 31, 2011 |
The Rooms |
The Assembly Rooms, Leith,
a popular Dance Hall until the late-1960s, now flats.
Opposite Nobles Bar,
Constitution Street, Leith.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 + April 20, 2012 |
The round house |
The front section, upstairs
on a tram
"On
the top deck at the front of the tram was a small section,
which we called the round house. It had a
sliding door which could be shut. So we
used to go in there and lock the door if it had
a snib."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: December 20, 2009 |
S |
St
Frannie's |
St Francis School (RC
school at Niddrie Mains Road, Craigmillar
"I went to St Frannie's
school. All my mates went to Castlebrae."
Jimmy Dickson, Easter Road, Edinburgh:
April 10, 2011 |
St Tam's |
St Thomas of Aquin's High
School
"St Tam's is a long
established (since 1880s) High School."
Ian Stewart: November 12, 2009 |
Sally Ann |
1. The Salvation Army
HQ in Bangor Road.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
2. Baxter Place
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
Samson's Ribs |
"Our name for the basalt rock columns on the roadside above
Duddingston Loch in Holyrood Park."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The Sandies,
The Sandy Hills |
"The 'cobbled street, off Rodney Street, north
of the shops, leading to elevated waste ground was Heriothill Terrace, and
the waste ground was 'The Sandy Hills'."
Jim Duncan, New Brunswick, Canada:
May 22, 2009 |
"In his poem, 'Fitbaw in
the Street' written when he was a student in 1926, Robert Gairloch
described boys, dodging away from the Police, going via Cockie Dudgeons,
the Sandies and the Coup on their way to Puddocky.
Elsewhere, Robert Gairloch,
describes his family's allotment as 'a poor bit of ground named 'The
Sandies' , opposite our house (109 Bellevue Road), a disused sandpit."
John Dickie,
Broughton History Society Newsletter,
Summer 2009
|
The Scabby Alan |
"I recall the Salon Picture
House in Baxter's Place, opposite Union Street, being known
as the
'Scabby Alan'.
I also recall that we were always thrown
out the side door at exactly the point in the main feature,
B film or cartoon at which we were admitted.
I never fully understood the logistics of
keeping track of the entry point so many children !"
James McEwan: April 6, 2009 |
Scabbie Alice |
The Palace Picture House,
at the foot of 'The Walk'.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
The Scabby Lala
Scaybie La La |
"The La Scala cinema was always
called the Scabby Lala by us street urchins."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
"We called the
La Scala cinema, Nicolson Street,
'Scaybie La La'. It always was a pretty run down cinema"
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
The
scheme
Photo 1.
Before 'the scheme'
©
Photo 2.
Part of 'the scheme' about to be demolished
© |
The
housing scheme, i.e. housing estate
QUESTION: Did
'scheme' refer
especially to
an estate
comprising rented corporation houses, rather than privately owned
houses?
Photo 1 was sent to me by
Paul Sutherland who wrote:
"I
came across this aerial views of the breweries
at Craigmillar, taken obviously before the building of the
'dreaded scheme'."
Photo 2 shows some of
the houses that were built in 'the scheme' at
Craigmillar from around 1930 onwards. I took this photo in 2007,
when the houses were about to be demolished.
Paul Sutherland, Glasgow, Scotland:
September 5, 2013 |
The Scotchie
© |
"This was
the waste ground behind the Pleasance
Trust, where we Arthur Street keelies played footie. I've never seen
or heard an explanation of this name"
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
The
Sheepa |
"The waste ground
between Learmonth Ave. and Orchard Brae was called the Mixie and the area
across Orchard Brae towards Jeffrey’s Nursery in front of Daniel Stewarts
was called the Sheepa."
Ian Young, Hawick, Borders, Scotland:
September 18, 2009 |
The
Shelter Close
© |
New Assembly Close
"The close
in the High Street that had the children's shelter was New Assembly Place.
That was one of
our play areas when we were young.
When when you went through the close,
there was a wooden structure to the right which was handy when it
rained. We would have played there in the late-1940s and
early-1950s, although i can never recall seeing any children
there.
The close is New Assembly Close,
although we called it The Shelter Close for obvious reasons, or
Wee Windaes Close because of the pub that was there at the time."
James A Rafferty, Falkirk,
Stirlingshire, Scotland: October 10, 2012 |
Shirra
Brae
Shirrie Brae |
"We used to pronounce
Sheriff Brae in Leith, the road that links Mill Lane and Coal Hill, as
'Shirrie Brae'."
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
Sheriff Brae
"Many old Leithers to this
day, still refer to Sheriff Brae as 'Shirra Brae'.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
January 28, 2011 |
The
Shore Block
© |
"The
building on the right, partly shown
in this photograph of 67 Lochend Drive, was
known as 'The Shore Block' because the people
who lived there all came from The Shore, down at Leith docks."
Ian Hastie, Coventry, Warwickshire, England: June 28 + July 13, 2011 |
The
Shuch |
New Broughton
"I was reminded,
just recently, of the name 'The
Shuch' - a local name for New Broughton in the
1930’s and which my brother always used when talking of where he came
from."
Elizabeth Fraser (née Betty Simpson,
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia:
October 15, 2010 |
Skinny Woods
Craigmillar
© |
The Skinny Woods were in Area 9 of this map of
Craigmillar. Johnni Stanton describes the land lying to the south of
the eastern end of Craigmillar Castle Avenue in the 1960s:
"Across from that part of the Avenue were Sandy's Boys
Club, and a cornfield leading to Greendykes along the old Skinny Woods."
Johnni Stanton, Craigmillar, Edinburgh;
October 31, 2008 |
The Slanty
|
"I remember Cheyne
Street, Stockeree, and 'The
Slanty', the section of wall where boys would dare one another to
walk across it ."
Alex Dick, May 5, 2014 |
The Slidey Stane
OR
The Slippery Stane
© |
A large flat stone that children played on close
to the St Leonard's border of Holyrood Park. It lies
between
the site of
Jeannie Deans' Cottage
and the entrance to the park beside the Royal
Commonwealth Pool.
Several people have sent their memories of
this stone to the EdinPhoto web site, including Tam Croal, the boy on the
left in the photograph opposite.
Tam Croal, Edinburgh: February 26+27, 2009 |
The
Smellie Burn |
A small stream near Granton
Gasworks
"This
was a ,burn' that ran from the side of Granton Gasworks past a railway box
and crossed the road that ran down to the foreshore heading in the
direction of Caroline House.
Every time you went down to the beach, which
had more pebbles than sand, you walked past that junction as quickly as
possible. I often wondered what was in the water but could never find
anybody to ask."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
May 1, 2013 |
Smokey Brae |
Restalrig Road South
"So named because of
the railway bridge over it and the adjoining railway yard at Meadowbank.
The steep slope was great for guiders"
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 24, 2009 |
"Kim Traynor's comments (above)
about Smokey Brae are generally quite right.
However, the
'railway yard'
mentioned was in fact the old St Margaret's steam locomotive depot
at Meadowbank/Restalrig/Piershill."
Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury,
Gloucestershire, England: Jun 27, 2014 |
The Snakie
The Snakey
The Snekkie |
"The curving footpath from Saxe Coburg Place to Glenogle Baths."
Keith Main, London: December 19,
2008 |
"On either
side of Glenogle Swimming Bathss,
there were routes up to Saxe
Cobourg Place.
-
The route on the west side of the baths was the
‘Dummy Steps’.
- The route on
the east side of the baths was
the ‘The
Snakey’ - or ‘The
Snekkie’ as we tended to call it."
Bob McLean, Buckinghamshire, England:
November 8, 2013 |
Soldiers' Hill |
The slope on the western
side of Arthur's Seat, Holyrood Park, facing Dumbiedykes.
"The park, when I was young, was the most
magical of play grounds, with soldiers marching
up and down what we called the soldiers' hill, and using live rounds
at the Hunters Bog firing range."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
March 1, 2009 |
South Ocky |
"Helen Wagstaff lived at No.6 South Ocky, and
I lived at No.4. Our our houses were back-to-back and our mothers
used to communicate through the pantry wall. When toddlers, Helen
and I were baby sat together."
Robert Sharp, Kelowna, British Columbia,
Canada: 28+29 December 2015 |
The
Square
© |
1. Granton
Square
"This name was used
by people who lived fairly near to Granton Square."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 5, 2013 |
2 . St Andrew Square
"I
was interested to read that 'The Square'
referred to Granton Square.
Back in the 1950s,
those of us living in the West of Edinburgh knew St Andrew Square as
'The Square', probably
because that was where all the SMT buses
departed from
Mike Cheyne, London, England
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guestbook, 8 December 2013 |
Squarey
© |
A person who lived in
Holyrood Square, Old Town, Edinburgh - near Holyrood Palace.
Speaking of her mother, who
lived to the age of eighty-three, Margaret Gunda wrote:
"My mother, June Weddell,
was very proud of being a 'squarey'."
Margaret Gunda (née Cassie),
Edinburgh: December 2, 2012 |
Star
o' the Sea |
St Mary's school, Henderson
Street, Leith - now moved to Links Place.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven: April 20,
2012 |
Station
Brae |
There is a road at
Portobello, officially named Station Brae. However, there was also
one at East Pilton, Edinburgh that was unofficially known as Station Brae.
Read about it here:
Station Brae
Douglas Roberts, New Town, Edinburgh:
July 22, 2015 |
The Steamie |
Public Laundry
"In Henderson Row, just before the Edinburgh Academy, there was a place
my Mother used to call 'The Steamie'.
Women in headscarves and a 'fag' (cigarette) hanging from the lower lip,
wheeling pram (perambulator) frames containing tin tubs full of dirty
laundry, used to frequent it."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: October 21, 2008 |
Stinky
Lane |
Silvermills Lane
"This
was one of the routes to Edinburgh Academy. The lane had an open
sewer."
Ian Lutton, Trinity, Edinburgh:
August 23, 2010. (This was mentioned by Ian in a talk on 'The
Smells of Edinburgh' that he gave at Lauriston Castle in Aug 2010.) |
Stockaree
Stockeree |
Stockbridge
Keith Main, London: December 20,
2008 and
Shirley Thompson, South Africa: March 29, 2009
and
.Alex Dick: May 5, 2014 |
The Store |
"St. Cuthbert's Co-op (later, Scotmid) was always referred to as
'The Store'.
Ask anyone over age 40 from Edinburgh, their mum's store
number. I bet they still know it!"
Mary Frances Merlin
(née Monteith), France: October 6, 2008 |
Strangs |
Annex to St Anthony's
School, Leith
"We both later attended
Leith St Anthony's school. They kept Joe in the main school in
Lochend Road. He was top of his class. They
moved me to 'Strangs', the annex in Hawkhill Avenue where, just before I
left, I was the top of the lowest class!"
Eric Gold: East London: June 26, 2010 |
Street of a Thousand Smells |
Fountainbridge
"The canal, Mackay's sweet
works, the brewery, etc. Just lovely."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
October 23, 2010 |
Swedish Houses |
"Wooden Houses on Ferry
Road Drive, West Pilton"
Rab Lettice, Edinburgh: March 21,
2011 |
T |
The Tally Toor
or
The
Tally Tower
©
|
A defence tower built on
the shore during the Napoleonic Wars, just east of Imperial Dock.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
The Martello Tower
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 27, 2009 |
The
Tarry Road |
"Annandale Street, running to the bus garage .
It was probably called this because it was one of the first
roads to have tar on it.
We ran our guiders on it because it was
relatively smooth, and was very fast."
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 22, 2014 |
Teapot Close
©
|
A small street off Drum
Street, Gilmerton
"I have found out more on 'Teapot Close'.
The story behind it is that, when the men had finished their meals and went
off to work the women went down to the close and emptied their teapots down
a drain that was there. Hence the name."
Archie Young, Moredun, Edinburgh:
May 1, 2008 |
The
Tiv
|
Tivoli cinema, Dalry Road
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
The Tinny
|
The washhouse
"At Gorgie, I used to use Davie's
Café a lot when I was younger. I
also went to Tynecastle School and used
'The Tinny'
(washhouse).
Janet Porteous (née
Janet Horne Cleland Eagle):
Northern England: November 4, 2008 |
Toffee
Apple |
A pupil of Trinity Academy
"TA=Toffee Apple
TA= Trinity Academy"
Malcolm J B Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus:
July 28, 2013 |
Toley |
Tollcross
"I'm surprised no-one has
given the colloquial name for the Grassmarket
'The Grassy' and
Tollcross as 'Toley'.
Surely we were not the only family to use them?"
Anita Razzell (née
Canale),
Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada:
December 31, 2008 |
The Toll X |
A Picture House at
Tollcross, opposite Glen Street.
I went there once, to the
cheap seats which were wooden forms. I didn't fall asleep.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 29, 2009 |
Toni's
or
Tony's |
St Anthony's RC Secondary
School, Lochend Road, Leith.
|
"After St Mary's RC Primary
School in York Lane, I went to St Anthony's Sec (Toni's)."
Danny Callaghan, October 19, 2009
|
"So
much for my non-education
at Tony's. I'm sure
others will have had similar experiences at that ehhhhhhhhhhhhm
School??."
Ron Goldie, Peine Germany: August 8, 2009 |
St Anthony's school,
Lochend Road
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
April 20, 2012 |
Too Tat
Tootat |
" 'Too Tat' or
'Tootat' was young and not-so-young kids' 'smart speak' for the Edinburgh
Military Tattoo."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 22, 2009 |
Tumbler's Hollow |
The unnatural looking large depression in
Bruntsfield Links between Whitehouse Loan and Bruntsfield Place.
Is there any
substance to the scary rumours of plague-graves in that area?
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October 18, 2009 |
"Does anyone remember when all us school kids
went to the meadows to a spot near Bruntsfield called Tumbles Hollow to
stick sixpenny saving stamps on a Lancaster Bomber."
Margaret Cooper, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guest Book, June 11, 2011 |
The Tunnel
through to Letty's
© |
"In the 1950s and early 1960s, we called
the railway bridge at Bingham 'the
tunnel through to Letty’s'. We were sent
there many times by our mum when she desperately needed sugar or soap or
something,
Just after the tunnel on the right was a tiny shop, Letty’s. It was
very handy in an emergency and luckily she always had sweeties too, like the
'Penny Dainty', much loved by us all."
Mary Frances Merlin (née
Monteith), France: October 6, 2008 |
Tyney
©
|
Tynecastle School
"I attended Tyney from
1955 to 1958.
I had so many Maths
teachers, I forgot all their names.
Each had a different way of teaching Maths.
Hence, I failed Maths on leaving Tyney in 1958.
Kenny
Maxwell,, October 18, 2014 |
U |
Up the Pend |
There were many small
streets or rows of tenements in Edinburgh that were known as 'Up the
Pend'. See:
- 0 below, for
comments
- 1, 2, 3 below, for
examples.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: October
17, 2013 |
0. A pend was
an archway under a house. There used to be one along Bread Street.
One of my pals used to talk about going 'up
the pend'.
The flat or house
above looked as though it was hanging there. I've an idea that there was
also one near South Clerk Street."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
May 8, 2010 |
1. There
were a lot of pends some of
the older parts of Edinburgh and Leith.
They are shown on large-scale Ordnance Survey maps by a cross through the
building.
I see that 14 pends are
marked in the
Old
Sugarhouse Close area of Leith
on this extract from an 1894 OS map.
Peter Stubbs: May 11, 2010 |
2. into Connell's
Close, Leith
"To get to Connell’s Close, you went through
the arch from St Andrew Street and it came out in Tolbooth Wynd, almost
opposite Michael’s Café and Annie’s.
I used to live in St Andrew Street and used it
all the time, although we used to say we were, ‘going up the pend’
Jan Brown: June 15, 2009 |
3. into Tynecastle Place, off Gorgie Road
"My book titled 'Up the
Pend' has 21 chapters. The subjects include:
- The People who lived 'Up the Pend'
- Shops on Gorgie Road
- Dalry School
- The Wash House
- Gorgie Personalities
- The Co-op Dividend
and various other
memories."
Louisa Clark, Edinburgh: October 12,
2013
Louisa's book has been written but not yet published. - Peter
Stubbs, Oct 2013. |
Up the Woods
|
to Wauchope Estate
"I also remember going "up the woods" to play.
This was, of course, the
Wauchope estate.
We used to think a witch lived in the big house. Whoever lived there must
have been sick of us kids shouting 'Auld granny witchy; yer bums awfy itchy'."
Elliot
Laing, Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland:
March 18, 2011 |
Up the
town
|
"To the City
Centre, e.g. to go shopping there, as opposed to going to
the village"
Malcolm Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland: November 29, 2013 |
V |
The Vantie |
"The Confectionery shop in
East London Street was known as 'The
Vantie'.
It had a machine on the counter which
was for the purpose of making Vantas
drinks. I never had one myself,
but we used to buy Vantas
cubes which we sucked."
Jim
Suddon, Morningside, Edinburgh: October 17,
2008 |
The Venchie
©
© |
A children's play area at Craigmillar.
(Is this, perhaps, an abbreviation of 'Adventure
Playground'?)
'The Venchie' is taken from the title of a photograph shown to me by
Sandra Givan, Craigmillar, Edinburgh: October 14, 2008 |
"I played
in the Venchie for years. I used to go there every day:
- we built huts out of doors
- we played pool
- we went to the disco.
The whole complex was called 'The Venchie'.
This included the indoor activities.
Stewart Fraser, Niddrie: 6+7+18 September 2013 |
Vicki
Park
© |
Victoria Park
"One lady in my
group recalls many of the Leith Parks especially Victoria Park ( Vicki,
or should it be Vicky, Park as the locals call
it!)"
Liz Hare: September 10, 2014 |
Vickies |
Victoria Swimming Pool,
Leith
"Vickies was like the other
pools:
-
7ft deep at the
deep-end.
-
3ft deep at shallow-end.
-
Cubicles around side of pool.
-
Diving boards and a spring board.
-
Carbolic soap in chunks,
-
What seemed like boiling water coming
through the shower.
Ian Smith, Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland: 13+25
November, 2015 |
The
Vietnam |
The Dundee Arms
"The local pubs in
Fountainbridge in the early-
1990s were
the Dundee Arms
and Clancy's.
I know that the Dundee
Arms was very rough. It
and it was named 'The Vietnam'
by locals - but it's
now a posh bar."
Graeme Martin, Glasgow, Scotland: November 4, 2013 |
Graeme added:
"The pub was nicknamed
'The Vietnam'
after a man was killed there with an ashtray, over an
argument about a pool table. That was before I was born though."
Graeme Martin, Glasgow, Scotland: November 4, 2013
(Graeme was born around 1985) |
The
Village |
The southern end of
Restalrig Road South, near the church at Restalrig.
"I have no idea why this
particular area was always known as 'The Village'."
(Perhaps somebody else will
know.)
Rob Fender, England: August 11, 2011 |
G M Rigg wrote:
"
'The Village' at Restalrig Road South was, in
days gone by, a genuine small village with just a few farms
and cottages around the church.
As kids, We always referred to it as
'Restalrig Village' rather than just 'The Village'.
These expressions are
derived from Edinburgh being a conglomeration of villages, so I assume
that the phrase would have been quite common in all parts of the city.
GM Rigg, New Zealand:
message posted in EdinPhoto guestbook, January
31, 2012 |
"My
mother used to tell me 'We're gong to the village to go shopping'.
This meant either Barnton or Davidson's Mains.
When we moved to
Craigleith, Blackhall or Stockbridge became 'the village'.
Malcolm Finlayson, Arbroath, Angus, Scotland: November 29, 2013 |
W |
The Walk |
'Scabbie Alice' (The Palace
Picture House) was at the foot of 'The Walk'.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 8, 2010 |
Wash Hoose
|
Same meaning as
steamie above
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: December 4, 2009 |
The Watchie's Hut |
"These structures were to
be found at various places in Edinburgh where buildings were under
construction."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland,
Australia: November 27, 2009 |
The Wecky |
"The West End Cafe, Shandwick Place., was a
wonderful place to go to listen to jazz in the early-1950s. We
always referred to it as 'The Wecky'.
(My spelling may be wrong!)"
Ken Murdie (age 85), Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada: October 7, 2018 |
The Wee
Canyon |
"The Wee Canyon and the Big Canyon. These were shale
bings (unofficial adventure playgrounds!)
on the Lang Loan*
and at Straiton."
*
The Lang Loan ran
from Straiton to Edgehead.
David Bain: Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, England: September 21, 2009 |
'Wee Eck |
The baker at
Copey's, Portobello.
Sylvia (née Deffley), Ontario, Canada
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guestbook, March 1, 2013 |
The Wee
Eyrie |
An entrance to houses in East
Arthur St.
Joe Jordan, in a message for
Jackie Hamilton's 87-year-old mother who used to live in East Arthur
Street (Eastie) wrote:
"One thing your
mother would remember was that the entrance to the two houses was over a
walkway with railings on either side. This is what we called
'The Wee Eerie'. There were
only two stairs like that, Nos 6 and 14."
Joe Jordan, Gracemount, Edinburgh:
Reply posted on 21 October 2012 |
The
Wee
Field
© |
A field that used to be
behind 'The Anchor Inn' at West Granton Road, Granton, shown on this
aerial view.
Dave Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland: March
3+5, 2012 |
The Wee Hole |
"We ( the Hammy Boys) used to store our bonfire materials in a space
between the tenement in Hamilton Street and the Fort wall, known to all as
the "wee hole", to keep it safe from the marauding hordes of raiders from
Wilkie Place and Lapicide Place. We used to light our bonfires at
Bathfield."
John Cavanagh, County Durham, England:
December 27, 2008 |
The Wee Mixie |
"An area off the east side of Orchard Brae, off
Learmonth Crescent. This was smaller than
the Big Mixie on the other side of Orchard
Brae."
Keith Main, London: December
19+20, 2008 |
Wee Windaes Close
© |
New Assembly Close
"The close
in the High Street that had the children's shelter was New Assembly Place.
That was one of
our play areas when we were young.
When when you went through the close,
there was a wooden structure to the right which was handy when it
rained. We would have played there in the late-1940s and
early-1950s, although i can never recall seeing any children
there.
The close is New Assembly Close,
although we called it The Shelter Close for obvious reasons, or
Wee Windaes Close because of the pub that was there at the time."
James A Rafferty, Falkirk,
Stirlingshire, Scotland: October 10, 2012 |
Westie
© |
"West Arthur Place, Dumbiedykes."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
Whale Brae |
The hill at the north end
of Newhaven Road, leading down to Main Street, Newhaven.
"There
is a tradition that the Whale Brae got its name from a school of seventeen
whales which grounded itself there."
Tom McGowran in his book
'Newhaven-on-Forth' |
Willie the Scythe
© |
"When I worked at
Liberton Filtration Plant in the late-1960s,
'Willie the Scythe', a retired man of about seventy-five years of age who
came out of his retirement each summer to do casual work."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire,
England: November 28, 2011
|
Woolies |
Woolworths store
It traded for 100 years
until 2008.
"He
knocked that oot o' Woolies."
(He stole it from Woolworths.)
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 22, 2008 |
WX |
West Crosscauseway
"I am enjoying the old
photos of WX, added to the EdinPhoto web site."
David Gordon, Old Town, Edinburgh: July 20, 2011
(David has a shop 'Now & Then' , selling old toys and antiques, at WX.) |
X, Y, Z |
'The Y' |
The YWCA at St James'
Square
"Although it was a young women’s club,
it was a very mixed bunch who went to the YWCA.
Some of us met our life partners there.
We had dancing,
table tennis, discussions,
concerts and day trips to Gullane etc.
It was cheap and cheerful for us all."
Betty Simpson, Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia: December 28, 2010 |
Yankee
Corner |
An area in The Palais Dance
Hall where the airmen from Kirknewton air base used to congregate.
Margaret Cooper, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
Message posted in EdinPhoto guest book: July 27, 2011 |
Yairdheeds |
This is how we used to
pronounce Yardheads, Leith - the street running from Cables Wynd to
Henderson Street, parallel with Great Junction Street.
Frank Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh:
March 17, 2010 |
The Yards |
The tarmac area between the back of old Royal
High School in Regent Road and the Calton Hill
retaining wall.
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October 18, 2009 |
Numbers |
92 |
"St Cuthbert's Office Building used to be at 92 Fountainbridge.
It was simply referred to as '92'."
Paul Anderson: October 8, 2007I |
121 |
Head Office of the Church of Scotland is,
at 121 George Street.
'The Scotsman'
newspaper referred to "The corridors of power at
121."
Peter Stubbs, October 8, 2008 |
Pronunciations |
Corstorphinny
Lieberton
Morningsaid |
"As youngsters we used to have a go at the
posh by saying the the places where they lived,
differently. It might have gone thus:
"Eh
think she has gone to Morningsaid or Lieberton
or Corstorphinny, but aim not sure which"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
December 21, 2009 |
2.
Edinburgh
Words
and
Dialect |
Comments - 2008
This section originally started with
a small collections of 'Slang' words and expressions.
Over the years it has expanded and now includes a lot of Scots words,
commonly used in Edinburgh.
Hamish Scott wrote:
"The words you list under
slang are not slang.
They are part of the Scots Language."
So, I have changed the heading of this section:
- from 'Edinburgh Slang'
- to 'Edinburgh Speech and Slang'.
Peter Stubbs: October 8, 2008 |
Comments - 2011
There are still one or two people who do not feel
comfortable with any reference to 'Slang' in this heading, so I've
now adopted a simpler heading. I've changed the heading:
- from 'Edinburgh Speech and Slang'
- to 'Edinburgh Words and Dialect'.
However, the content of this section remains the
same as before. Many, but not all, of the words listed are Scots
words that have been in common use in Edinburgh.
Peter Stubbs: April 9, 2011.
|
A |
a ba' hair |
a very small amount,
possibly less than half a millimetre
"I remember tradesmen
saying this, meaning make just a tiny amount of." adjustment to a fitting"
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 1, 2010 |
accies |
accumulators
"These were electric
batteries for wirelesses, etc. that you got charged. They were
heavy. The containers were made of glass and full ov acid.
There was a shop at the
foot of Blackfriars Street that we took them to to be re-charged."
Andy Sinclair, Edinburgh: 26
January 2016 |
affrontit |
'affrontit', usually accompanied by the
modifier, "I was fair (right) affrontit", or "I
was sair (sorely) affrontit", meant "I was offended". Affrontery refers to
something said to the face without regard for the feelings of the
recipient.
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: April 1, 2010 |
afore |
before
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 2, 2010 |
"
'Afore ye go' used to be a whisky advert for Bell's Distillery."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: February 4, 2010 |
anaw |
as well
"You can add this to your
list anaw"
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
anent |
in front of
Frank Wilson, Golden Beach,
Queensland, Australia: Feb 26, 2010 |
about
"I always thought 'anent'
was the Scottish word for 'about' - as in so many Kirk Reports"
Brian, near Edinburgh, 2 September
2013 |
I've checked
in my Scots Dialect Dictionary (compiled by Alexander Warrack) .
It
appears that Frank and Brian are correct. That dictionary gives all
the following meanings to 'anent':
-
opposite to; in front of; over
against; side by side with; about; concerning; in competition with.
Peter Stubbs, 4 September 2013 |
area |
The house 'doon the
area' was the section of the house below pavement level.
"I got my
piece from my Gran who lived in a hoose doon
the area in Gayfield Square."
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
ashet |
serving plate
"From the French,
'assiette'."
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: December 30, 2008 |
argy-bargy |
squabbling
"We used to hear our Dad say, sometimes, when
coming into a room where several of us were squabbling about things:
'Stop all that argy-bargy'."
Mary Frances Merlin, née Monteith,
France: January 14, 2009 |
arty farty |
someone who was regarded as
a bit limp wristed or a bit posh.
"Seen that yin. He's a bit arty farty."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17+30, 2009 |
Auld Leerie |
the gas lamp lighter
Keith Main, London, England:
December 30, 2008 |
away wi' the fairies |
not mentally sound
John Gray, Portobello, Edinburgh |
Away! |
Is that right?
e.g: a response to
hearing some surprising news.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 24, 2011 |
awfy |
awfully, terribly
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
November 19, 2011 |
B |
ba' heid |
fat-faced person
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
"I believe that ba'
heid = ball-head."
Douglas Beath, Burnie, Tasmania,
Australia: January 2, 2009 |
backie |
1.
A ride
on the back of a bike.
See also 'croggie' below.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 17, 2009 |
"The bike rider stood and
pushed the pedal.
You (having the backie) sat
on the seat with your legs hanging out."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 25, 2009 |
2.
back green
"I
enjoyed the film on Arthur Street. I saw
the backie where our cat,
Toodles, would kill the rats."
Eric Gold, East London, England: March 27+28, 2009 |
baccy |
tobacco
"He's awa doon the road for
some baccy for his pipe."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 23, 2009 |
back green |
grass area behind the
houses or tenements
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 17, 2010 |
back
passage |
"The 'back passage'
referred to the interior of a tenement on the ground floor that led to the
'back green' or communal drying green to give it it's proper name.
I remember a joke about a man going to the
doctor's and being prescribed suppositories which he was told to take up
'the back passage'."
Allan
Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England: October 15, 2008 |
baffies |
down-at-heel shoes or
slippers
"This takes me back to
the late-1950s when we would visit my grandparents in Harewood Drive,
Craigmillar.
My grandparents
were scornful of those local ladies who would make their early morning
visit to the shops in dressing gown, curlers, rolled-down stockings and
baffies.
I can see them now,
their cigarettes permanently in the corners of their mouths!"
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: December 30, 2008 |
bagwash |
launderette
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 28, 2010 |
bahookie |
butt, bottom, backside
"Be nice or I'll skelp your
bahookie!"
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 9, 2009 |
See also
"Ma bahookie" below.
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
February 4, 2010 |
bairn |
child
"From my recollection,
even in St Leonards and Dumbiedykes in the 1930s,
adults were careful not to use sweary wurds in
front o' bairns."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
Dec 19, 2008I
|
There was
discussion of use of the words 'bairn' and
'wean', some time ago on the EdinPhoto web site.
Thank you to Kim Traynor
for following up by sending
me this quote from David
Murison, Editor of the Scottish National Dictionary,
when it was completed in the 1976.
“If you
hear someone speak of boys and girls as
loons
and
quines,
you can tell ... that he comes from
the Aberdeen area;
otherwise he would have said
laddies
and
lasses;
for children generally, he will say
bairns
as most folk do up and down the east coast, whereas in the west they say
weans,
shortened from wee anes."
Acknowledgement:
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh, May 15, 2010 |
baith |
both
"He held it in baith
hands.""
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,:
January 16, 2009 |
baldy |
a type of hair cut, usually
on the short side
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 20, 2010 |
ballup
balup |
the fly on men's trousers
"Dae yer ballup up right 'fore
ye gang oot."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 9, 2009 |
"My father, who was born at
Lady Lawson Street and is now aged 83, tells me that in his time, this was
pronounced balup (i.e. 'bal up' rather than 'ball up'.)"
Dave McDougall, Edinburgh:
December 8, 2009 |
baloney |
nonsense
"That's Baloney = you are
misinformed"
"What he was telling me was
a right load of baloney"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
November 29, 2009 |
balup |
See
ballup above |
bampot
barmpot |
idiot
Forbes Wilson, near
Guildford, Surrey, England: January 29, 2009 |
idiot, originally a
drunk
People would drink barm, the skimmings from
fermenting liquor, which was used to leaven bread.
David Bain: Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, England: September 21, 2009 |
bamstick |
crazy person
Theresa Lapping, Cork, Ireland:
April 7, 2009 |
Bangladesh |
McEwans Special (Spesh)
"This is rhyming slang used
today."
Jim Cairns,
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland: Dec 20, 2008 |
Barleys!
Barley / Parley |
"The childhood expression 'Barleys!'
was used with the accompaniment of two thumbs-up
signs, to indicate that one was no longer playing a game such as tig."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: October 15, 2008 |
"Barley or Parley (from
French, parlez = you speak) used mainly by children at play to call
a halt usually because one side is not playing to the traditional rules,
so a 'Parley' is called to settle mutually acceptable rules."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
Dec 5, 2008I |
barrie |
good, enjoyable
"That wis a barrie night
oot."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 18, 2008 |
"Here are a few mair barrie wurds!" - said
by David Bain when he sent me some new words for this
page.
David Bain: Rotherham, South
Yorkshire, England: September 20, 2009 |
batter |
on the batter = out
drinking
Keith Main, London, England:
December 30, 2008 |
"The word batter was also used when talking
about giving someone a hiding, e.g.
'They battered him senseless'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 1, 2009 |
bauchle |
1. wee man
Keith Main, London: December 19,
2008 |
2. shambling awkward person
"He was a wee bauchle of a man."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 9, 2009 |
bauchle along |
move in a clumsy shambling
way
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 9, 2009 |
bap |
roll or bun
"Mum can ah hiv a bap fur supper?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
November 29, 2009 |
bareies |
bare feet
"Bright an sunny mornin’s, up early wis
the game,
Fishin’ tackle ready aff we go again.
We trekked tae Newhaven alang the shore path.
We walked in oor bareies,
we were happy lads.
This is the first verse of his poem:
'Gaun Fishin' Tae Newhaven'
Dave
Ferguson, Blairgowrie, Perth & Kinross, Scotland: April 11, 2012 |
bawbee |
A Scottish ha'penny
"as in a ballad
that we used to enjoy at The World's End bar
in Edinburgh, upstairs on a Friday night, of which the first verse
runs:
"I bought a wife in Edinburgh for a bawbee
And got a farthing back again tae buy tobaccy wi'
And wi' you, and wi' you,
and wi' you, my Johnnie lad,
I'll dance the buckles of my shoon (shoes)
wi' you ma Johnnie lad"
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: December 19, 2009 |
bawbees |
coppers, pennies
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
bawl |
cry or shout
"The bairn was bawlin'."
"He was bawlin' at her over
the back green fence."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 27, 2010 |
beam, beaming
|
1.
push somebody on a swing.
"One young girl would sit on the swing the
other girl would place her foot between her legs and beam her to the
highest point and brankle her over the bar backwards!!"
Vince McManamon, Darlington, Durham,
England: July 19, 2010 |
2.
To beam was to stand up on
the seat of a swing and make the swing go as high as possible.
See also brank
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
May 30, 2011 |
beaut
pronounced 'byoot' |
a really fine example, as
in "that car's a beaut".
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 22, 2009 |
bed closet |
a small room with a bed, adjoining the
main bedroom.
Eric Gold, East London; October 8,
2008 |
"Bed closets varied in
location:
- in our Canonmills
flat, the bed closet was off the best room.
- In our Morningside
flat, it was located off the hallway."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 14, 2010 |
beel |
fester, turn septic
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
beelin' |
very angry, about to
explode
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
beetlecrushers |
a certain kind of footwear
worn by Teddy Boys. This one had a ribbed sole.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 28, 2010 |
beezer |
a really hard winter's day
"It's a right beezer today"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
Nov 29 + Dec 30, 2009 |
Allan Dodds replied: "The
words 'beezer' and 'brammer' were interchangeable in my day. They
each meant a superlative exemplar of a type and could be applied to almost
anything, not just weather."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 4, 2010 |
Bob Sinclair added:
"In my years in Auld
Reekie, I never heard of the words 'beezer' and 'brammer ' as being
interchangeable. I never heard of a biting east wind being referred
to as a brammer!
As I remember it, a brammer
was something which was really good. The word may have been a
Glasgow immigrant."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
May 17, 2010 |
Allan Dodds replied:
"I still believe that the
words 'beezer' and 'brammer' were interchangeable.
From my research I learn that 'beezer' is of
Irish origin and it means a 'cracker' or something exceptional.
(There was a comic called 'The Beezer'.)
'Beezer' and 'brammer' have probably been
replaced by 'cool' in today's parlance.
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: May 30, 2010 |
beiling |
a boil or pimple on the
point of bursting
Peter Butler, Hennenman, South
Africa: February 25, 2011
|
belt |
See
get the belt
below
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 23, 2009 |
ben |
through
e.g. answering: "Where is
he?"
"He's ben the room."
=
He's in the other room"
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
Bertie Auld |
cauld (cold)
"This is rhyming slang used
today."
Jim Cairns,
Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland: Dec 20, 2008 |
besom |
a girl who was a brat,
derived from a broom for sweeping
Jean Lennie, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
Aug 4, 2009 |
"Women called other women a ‘besom’ all the
time, a kind of euphemism for ‘bitch’"
Collins dictionary gives ‘besomrider’ as an
old term for a witch.
For ‘besom’, it says ‘term of reproach’, implying slatternliness,
laziness, impudence.'
I recall people saying it about others after
arguments. The ‘besom’ had had the cheek to talk back or had perhaps been
foul-mouthed.
I think it was also used if the woman had done
something sneakily, behind one’s back. The most common usage was
'She’s a right besom!' "
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 22, 2009 |
bevvied |
totally drunk
"I was bevvied on Friday
night
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 27, 2009 |
bevvy |
alcoholic drink (beer, not
spirits)
"Are you going for a
bevvy?"
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 23, 2009 |
bide |
stay, wait, watch
"Ah'm just biding here till
ma man comes back."
"Ah'm just biding ma time,
till he comes back."
"Ah'm just biding ma time,
keeping an eye on the clock.
- In the first sense,
the woman is just staying until her husband returns.
- In the second
sense, she has been waiting too long, and her man will get it in the neck
when he returns.
- In the third sense,
she is waiting, possibly for an appointment.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 8, 2010 |
bing |
spoil heap of waste
material from mining or quarrying
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: September
26, 2009 |
birl |
spin round
"Ma heid wis birling, ah had sae much tae
drink" or "He birled me round the
dance floor".
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
Dec 8, 2008I |
bissies |
plain clothes
police, or CID
Eric Gold, East London; October 8,
2008 |
bit |
Jan McGuire wrote:
"I think the use of 'bit'
to describe someone's home might be unique to the Edinburgh area.
We still say 'Come
round to my bit for a drink before we go out'.
I Googled the use of 'bit'
in this way and was amazed to find no hits!"
Jan McGuire, Gorgie, Edinburgh:
January 5, 2012 |
bissies |
plain clothes
police, or CID
Eric Gold, East London; October 8,
2008 |
black Jock |
black mucus in the nose
"All of Edinburgh
was coated with soot and coal dust.
Centuries of coal fires clogged chimneys. The
air is heavy with dirt.
Breathing covered teeth with grit. Even
the snot in your nose was black.
Gran pointed out
descending black mucus. ‘Ye’ve got a ‘black Jock'!’
All children got Black Jocks. Those with
handkerchiefs got them stained black with
Edinburgh filth."
Jim Vandepeear, York, Yorkshire,
England: April 1, 2010 |
blether |
friendly chat
Eric Gold, East London; October 9,
2008 |
chatter aimlessly,
talk nonsense (like haver)
"Och stop blethering",
"Ignore him, he's just a
blether
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh,
September 23, 2009 |
blizzie |
"To
'have a blizzie' was to
encourage the chimney to flare up to save having it swept."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
Dec 5, 2008I |
blooter |
Strike extremely hard
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
hammer
"When
I was young, 'blooter' meant a hammer. Hence, 'blootered' meant
hammered or drunk.
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: July 19, 2014 |
blootered |
uncontrollably drunk.
"I was reminded of the word
'blootered' after reading the word 'stocious' (similar meaning) in
tonight's Evening News."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
December 15, 2008 |
boak
(See also boke) |
gag, throw up
"It was so mingin it would gaur ye boak"
mingin = disgusting
gar / gaur = make,
induce or compel
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: January 13, 2009 |
bob |
shilling
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: December 19, 2009 |
boddie |
person
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 1, 2010 |
bogey man |
A bad man where children
were concerned.
"If you don't go to bed,
the bogey man will get you"
See also 'The
bogey man'll get you!' below.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 23+30, 2009 |
boggin' |
smelly
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
boiling |
A small portion of potatoes
given to 'tattie howkers'.
"In
the late-1940s and early-1950s,
we used to be excused school to go to the tatties.
It
was a great shock to the system to have to work at what was a back-breaking
job.
We also used to be allowed a boiling (a small
bag of potatoes) to take home every night."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh,: November 15,
2008 |
boke
(See also boak) |
vomit
"That's a bad smell; it
fairly makes ye boke" or
"That's sickeningly
sentimental. It disnae half make ye want to boke!"
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 27+28, 2009 |
boney
bonny
bonie |
bonfire.
"Bonfires were held on
Victoria Day* and 5 November."
Victoria Day in Edinburgh is the last Monday before 24 May, the
Official Birthday of the reigning Monarch.
"Boneys
were always being raided by other
gangs. These raids might end up in 'stone
fights' ie stone throwing.
Stone fights
were rarely dangerous, although some kid would go home with a lump on his
head and his mother would sort us out regardless of which side we were
on."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
Anthony White
spoke of the time when he lived in Keir Street, Lauriston:
"Our
bonfire (a bonny, in the vernacular) took place in a bit of wasteland
known as
'The Lane' which
included a ruined piece of property that looked a little like an old fort
and was gloriously named 'Chuckaboombas' ."
Anthony White, Edinburgh: November 29, 2011 |
"It was
great fun collecting for the 'bonie'
anything that would burn from all the
shops and businesses around Dalry."
George Ritchie, North Gyle, Edinburgh,
September 23, 2014 |
bonny |
pretty
Keith Main, London, England:
December 30, 2008 |
bools |
marbles
Jim Di Mambro, South Africa:
December 5, 2008 |
"I used to wear an
old pair of sannies that had a hole in the
toe up near the big toe area.
To my eternal shame I became very adept
at puggying another person's 'bools' by slick
use of the hole in my sannies and a quick
flick of the leg backwards to where I retrieved it and 'stashed' it
in my pocket whilst innocently helping the person to look for their
bool."
Dougie Cormack: January 8,
2011 |
boracic |
skint, short of money
"This is rhyming slang:
boracic lint - skint"
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
skint, having no money
rhyming slang
(Boracic lint - skint)
Boracic lint was commonly
used on cut knees, etc. on our frequent visits to the Deaconess Hospital.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 10, 2008 |
bowdie legged |
bow legged
"There's Hamish coming down the road. He's
that bowdie legged you could drive a 19 bus through the gap."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
Nov 29 + Dec 30, 2009 |
box player |
accordionist
"On the first flat was
Davie McIntosh, a popular box player."
J Kelly: March 28, 2009 |
Brahms and Liszt |
inebriated, (rhyming
slang)
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 23, 2009 |
"This is definitely
Cockney, and may have been picked up from the TV programme, 'Steptoe &
Son'. I don't think many folk around here would regard it as
Edinburgh speech."
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 27, 2009 |
"If expressions such as
this were fairly widely used as slang in Edinburgh, then I'm happy for
them to be included on this list (with an appropriate note about their
likely source).
However, the list could
become unwieldy, and lose its Edinburgh focus, if I were to include all
such expressions that people had heard or read."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh, December 27,
2009 |
brammer |
something outstanding
"It was a brammer"
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
January 9, 2009 |
Allan Dodds added:
"The words 'beezer' and 'brammer' were
interchangeable in my day. They each meant a superlative exemplar of a
type and could be applied to almost anything."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 4, 2010 |
Bob Sinclair added:
"In my years in Auld
Reekie, I never heard of the words 'beezer' and 'brammer ' as being
interchangeable. I never heard of a biting east wind being referred
to as a brammer!
As I remember it, a brammer
was something which was really good. The word may have been a
Glasgow immigrant."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
May 17, 2010 |
Allan Dodds replied:
"I still believe that the
words 'beezer' and 'brammer' were
interchangeable.
From my research I learn that 'beezer' is of
Irish origin and it means a 'cracker' or something exceptional.
(There was a comic called 'The Beezer'.)
'Beezer' and 'brammer' have probably been
replaced by 'cool' in today's parlance.
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: May 30, 2010 |
Harry Hunter replied:
"I remember using
this word 'bammer' to mean
very good, ie
-
'peachy'
- 'hubba',
- 'braw"
- 'awfy
bonnie'
-
etc.
More recently, I
have heard that it came from the Brammah (I'm
not sure how to spell that one) Steam Hammer.
This was reckoned to be the best in the world
at the time. Well, it's a thought."
Harry Hunter, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland
(but still a Leither): Oct 1, 2013 |
Laurie Thompson added:
"I
wonder if the word 'brammer' might have derived from
the very high-quality locks (supposedly burglar-proof) manufactured by
Joseph Bramah in the late-1890s.
I've no evidence to support
this, though."
Laurie Thompson, Chipping Sodbury,
Gloucestershire, England: May 20, 2014 |
brank,
branking
|
Branking a swing entailed
first beaming then
stepping off the swing whilst it was at the bottom of its arc and going
forwards with the aim of propelling it fast enough to complete the circle
and go over the bar
This was not only very dangerous but also made
the swing unusable until the Parky came along
and unwrapped it.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
May 30, 2011 |
brankle
|
[see quote below for meaning]
"One young girl would sit on the swing the
other girl would place her foot between her legs and beam her to the
highest point and brankle her over the bar backwards!!"
Vince McManamon, Darlington, Durham,
England: July 19, 2010 |
brassic |
See boracic
above |
braw |
fine
"It's a braw day."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 18, 2008 |
"I believe that braw
relates to the Scandinavian bra = good, well.
(Several, probably many, Scottish words show
this connection.)
Douglas Beath, Burnie, Tasmania,
Australia: January 2, 2009 |
breeks |
trousers
Annette McDonald, Montana, USA:
July 4, 2014 |
trousers, knickers,
undergarments
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
breenge |
lunge (to inflict a punch)
"The drunk made a breenge
at the Polis."
Annette McDonald, Montana, USA:
July 4, 2014 |
"My mother used to use
the word 'breenge' but it didn't mean 'punch'; rather it meant 'barge' as
in '"She just breenged in'."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England:
July 6, 2014 |
dive headlong
"make a breenge"
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
brew |
See buroo
below |
brickettes
briquettes |
"My wife and her mother used to queue up at
Leith Station to get a bag of brickettes
(compressed coal dust I believe)
In appearance they
were like small bricks, but black. Each person was allowed one bag,
which they transported back on the bus,
under the stairs, to
their destination.
Those who had a few older youngsters scored.
In my wife's case, she had to carry them up the
street, then up four flights of stairs."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 21+30, 2009 |
"In
my day, these were spelled 'briquettes'. This is a French word
meaning cakes. My school French Dictionary (1934) also gives 'patent
fuel' as a translation."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 5, 2010 |
bridge |
To headbutt somebody on the
nose
similar to a Glesgae kiss.
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
May 22, 2014 |
bridie |
A pastry, generally
in the shape of a semicircle, the most famous coming from Forfar.
"Hey, let's go to the
bakers for a bridie."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 25+30, 2009 |
briquettes |
See brickettes above |
bronco |
"Playing on the swings in the local
Keddie Park, off Ferry Road, was another way to pass the time on a warm
summer’s day.
We did 'broncos' - standing on the swing
and making it go as high as you could, then jumping off.
Many
a bang on the head was received if you did not clear the swing fast
enough."
Frank
Ferri, Newhaven, Edinburgh: March 18, 2010 |
brown breid |
dead
"Ah see Wullie's brown
breid.".
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
May 22, 2014 |
bru |
See buroo
below |
buckie |
whelk
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 1, 2010 |
bull |
See recollections of Edinburgh Police Boxes, below.
"The
box comfortably seated two,
but I have enjoyed parties in the
box with five of us drinking 'bull', the
drained wood alcohol from the empty barrels of whisky in the Docks."
David Legge (Ex PC 96 - D),
Colinton, Edinburgh: July 5, 2011 |
bully |
a term used in
conkers.
See below.
"Individual conkers
were rated according to the number of wins notched up.
After
10 wins, the best conkers became
'bullies'. Further wins were recorded as
'a
bully 5, a bully 8'
etc."
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 27+28, 2009 |
bum |
boast, brag, a conceited
person
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
bum-bee
bumbee |
1. bumblebee
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29, 2009 |
2. not authentic
"I remember my
mother referring to modern plaid designs as 'bumbee
tartan' - in other words not an authentic
clan tartan."
Joyce Lamont Messer, Whanganui,
North Island, New Zealand, January 21, 2010 |
bumbee tartan |
mottled pattern on flesh,
from sitting too close to the fire.
"Her legs were aw bumbee
tartan."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
May 22, 2014 |
bumbelerie |
backside
"My mother would say:
'Sit doon on yer
bumbelerie'."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, EnglandRay |
Ray Melville added:
"I remember a
children's song by the Corries, also attributed on Google to Jeanie
Robertson:
'One, two, three, O'leary,
I saw Maurice Beery
Sitting on his bumbelerie,
Kissing Shirley Temple'."
Ray Melville, Rosyth, Fife, Scotland: August 8, 2014 |
bumphled |
uneven, ruffled
"Pull the blanket ower
your way; it's all bumphled = could you straighten the blanket
out? It's all uneven"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
June 5, 2015 |
bumps |
(with reference to
skipping)
"When the ropes were
cawed sometimes the lasses would jump and try to hold themselves in the
air whilst the rope went under them twice. That was called bumps.
QUESTION:
What was it called when you crossed
arms and cawed the ropes as a single skipper?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 28, 2010 |
bunce |
share
the cost
"When
we came out of the Victoria Baths at Leith,
we always bought an Oxo Cube.
We were convinced it warmed us up.
Well, usually we
'bunced', i.e.
shared the cost and the
thing."
Harry Hunter, Kirkcaldy, Fife,
Scotland: September 20, 2010 |
bunker |
a kitchen top where the
coalman would put the coal
Eric Gold, East London; October 8,
2008
a kitchen worktop or
draining board
Keith Main, London: December 19,
2008 |
bunnet |
a type of cap
When I was young, I often heard the older men saying,
"Gie's ma bunnet, ah'm away tae the match."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 25, 2010 |
the buroo
Some have spelt it:
the brew
or
the bru |
the dole
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
"The bru / on the
brew (re dole payments) is a mispronounced reference to the
employment bureau."
Douglas Beath, Burnie, Tasmania,
Australia: January 2, 200 |
"Brew should be
rendered ‘buroo’ because it comes from signing on at the National
Assistance Bureau = buroo during the 1930s Depression"
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh,
September 1, 2009 |
C |
cadge |
borrow
"He wis tryin' to cadge a
fag from me."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
Nov 29, + Dec 30 2009 |
caller herrin' |
Fresh herring
"Who will buy my caller
herrin'?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29, 2009 |
This is an old term that
comes from the song, "Caller Herrin' ".
The song begins:
"Wha'll buy my
herrin’?
They're bonnie fish and halesome farin';
Wha'll buy my herrin’
Fresh drawn frae the Forth?
"
I've no idea if anybody
said that in modern times.
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh: December 29+31,
2009 |
Allan Dodds replied:
"My grandmother used to
sing this song, accompanying herself on the piano. It was composed
by Lady Nairn in 1821, to go with a tune by Nathaniel Gow composed
in 1798.
My great grandmother, a fisherwoman from
Musselburgh, would not have used the local term "caller", and in any
event, the term had died out by the 1890s when my great grandmother was
alive.
At the corner of the Lawnmarket and the Mound
(just outside Deacon Brodie's) a fisherwoman in traditional Newhaven
fisherwoman's dress with a creel used to sell fresh fish and mussels in
the 1960s. She may well have used the cry,
Caller herrin', but I doubt it as I don't recall it."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 3+17, 2010 |
candle |
See
snotter
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 28, 2009 |
canny |
careful, gentle, etc.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
canny Anny |
a bumblebee with a white rear which did not
sting.
"When I was a boy in
Arthur Street, in our summer forays into
the King's Park, or
the allotments in the Meadows, we used to catch
these in a jam jar
with a few daisies or cowslips which we called 'sookie
soos'."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 6, 2009 |
canter |
hang on to a vehicle, such
as a coal lorry
Eric Gold, East London; October 7,
2008 |
"Another
form of potentially hazardous entertainment was 'the
canter’. This involved hanging around Magoni’s shop until one of the older
open-backed buses came along.
If the
conductor wasn’t at the bottom of the stairs, you would jump on and get a
hurl for about fifteen feet or so and you jumped off before the bus got up
to full steam.
Donny
Coutts, East Lothian, Scotland: August
3, 2010 |
catchy |
a game played with a
ball (See below.)
"Our local pigs'
bin stood near a lamp post, about outside No 321 in Pilton Avenue.
Our bin was used to stot balls of off.
Being round, this was great fun for
catchy, a game where you had to
catch the ball before it hit the ground."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia: January
14+17, 2010 |
cat's cradle |
"A game that
children used to play with a bit of string. The string was fashioned
into a cradle by transferring it from one person to another.
It came out in what was called a cat's cradle"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29 2009 |
causies |
cobble stones
"I'm fawin on the
cosies = I'm falling down on the cobble stones.."
Andy Sinclair, Edinburgh: 26
January 2016 |
caw |
1. See 'caw
canny' below
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29 2009 |
2. turn
a rope over
"In Street games,
mainly played by girls, the ones on the end of
the rope did the cawin'.
There was a game that used
two ropes being cawed, but I can't remember what
it was called (Switchy?)"
Frank Wilson, Golden Beach,
Queensland, Australia: Feb 26, 2010 |
chainy
tig |
"Chainy Tig was a game of tig, but if caught you
had to link on to whoever was het, until a whole line stretched behind
them."
Jean, Leith, Edinburgh, August 29, 2013 |
champ (1) |
mash
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29 2009 |
champ
(2) |
"At 'Grassy Green'
there was the remains of an old sandstone wall.
We would bash together wee bits of the
sandstone that had fallen off the wall to make a powder
that we called 'champ'.
We would pretend it
was gold dust as we played at Cowboys."
Bob Leslie, Glasgow: July 21, 2013 |
champit tatties |
mashed potatos
"D'ye fancy some champit
tatties fur dinner?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17+30, 2009 |
chancer |
con man
"See that Angus. He's
a right chancer."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17+30, 2009 |
chap |
knock
"There's somebody chappin'
at the door."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 7, 2009 |
Chap
Door Run |
"Chap
Door Run was a
great game. We tied two door handles of
opposite houses together, knocking on the doors
and hiding in the bushes,
watching the people trying to open their doors,
was great fun. omg,
if my boys had done that when they were young,
they would have been grounded for life."
Tricia Mcdonald (née Thomson):
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guestbook, March 15, 2013 |
chapped hands |
sore hands, usually in
winter time
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29, 2009 |
"Chapped
hands were hands cracked by the cold. That's redolent of
balaclavas, wellies, sledging, etc."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 29, 2009 |
cheese cutter |
equipment in
children's playground
"It
was a beam hung from 2 double arms that swung back
and forth in a frame. The beam had metal bicycle
saddle shaped seats and a metal grip to hold
onto.
The brave
kids would take an end each and stand holding
the arms and they would
'beam' (boost) the
riders higher and higher, as far
and as fast as they could."
There was a cheese cutter, a
chute or two, a witch's hat, a spider's web and
a couple of roundabouts and swings in the playground
where I played on my way back from London Street School."
EdinPhoto Guest Book: G M Rigg,
June 12, 2009 |
chennah wallies |
false teeth
Keith Main, London: December 19,
2008 |
chewie |
a stick of chewing tobacco
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 22, 2010 |
China |
mate:
"Hello my old China"
(rhyming slang 'China plate)
"This,
and other rhyming slang originated around the 1960s.
It may have represented a transient linguistic phenomenon,
but we used these terms all the time and
possibly invented a few of our own.
Some possibly came from television
programmes such as Coronation Street, but they were avidly adopted
by us in Edinburgh, and used as a sign of
being
'with it'."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 13, 2009, |
chippie |
fish 'n' chip shop
"In the 1950s, my local chippie
was Miele’s in Easter Road where you could buy a pie supper for 1/3d (one
shilling and thruppence) on your way home from
the Speedway at Meadowbank."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 25, 2009 |
chippie sauce |
a brown sauce for fish and
chips.
"This is made to a recipe
apparently only known in Edinburgh".
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 25, 2009 |
Chiselchin |
Nickname given to one of
the local policemen in the Cowgate
"Talking about
Basher Thompson, can anyone remember the other
local Policeman, the one we used to call
Chiselchin?"
Ron McGrouther,
Prudhoe, Northumberland, England, May
18, 2009
|
chittery bite |
"A chittery bite
(some called it a shivery bite) was what you had
to eat on the bus after a visit to the swimming baths at Dalry or
Infirmary Street. Both baths very cold, as I recall."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
chiv |
a knife
This is related in some way
to the verb 'chivvy', meaning to annoy or aggravate.
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 29, 2009, |
chorie
choarie |
steal,
pockle
"He choried it frae Woolies."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
May 22, 2014 |
steal
"Stall yer mangin gadgie
and deek at the groanie av jist choaried."
Jim Di Mambro, South Africa:
December 5, 2008
Jim added that he is not sure about the
spelling. |
"If you got caught
choarieing, yer paw would gie you laldie."
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
"This word is a kid's diminutive of 'to chore'
so the spelling should be 'chorie'."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 20, 2009 |
"We had a family friend who had spent a great
deal of her life in Borneo. She was surprised when she overheard me using
the words 'chorie and 'shottie' (spelling doubtful!).
'Chore' was native for steal and 'shote' for
lookout. Perhaps they were brought back by servicemen"
Ian Young, Hawick, Borders, Scotland:
July 22, 2010 |
chuckie stanes |
1. a game using small
stones.
"Chuckie stanes or five stanes was a game we
played as kids. The object of the game was to throw stones in the air and
catch them on the back of your hand.
Any
that dropped, you had to pick up by
throwing a stone in the air, picking
up your targeted stone, then catching
the stone you
had just thrown before it
fell on the ground.
I think you had to progress to
throwing two stones in the air,
picking up your target stone,
then again catching both the stones previously thrown and so on."
Graeme Fulton, Ormiston, East Lothian,
Scotland: July 15, 2009 |
2. white pebbles
"These were sometimes
translucent. If you struck two together in the dark, you'd get a
sort of spark. Try it and you'll see what I mean."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
2. white pebbles
"That sounds like flint."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 23, 2009 |
chunky
|
Toilets
"The banana flats at Leith won an award, albeit that it
was the chunkies that overlooked the Forth."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia,
December 21, 2009 |
churls
|
"Churls were small, washed lumps of coal sold in
factory-sealed, thick-brown paper bags weighing 28lbs.
I
collected one bag weekly from a local general store in West Granton Road
when I lived in Royston Mains Avenue in the mid-1960s. The bag was big for
a small teenager, so I had to carry it over my shoulder."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
December 11, 2009 |
chute |
equipment in
children's playground
"It
was a ladder and slide.
They could be quite high up and we
discovered that if you could get a bread wrapper (the wax paper kind) turn
it inside out then sit
on it with the inside down on the slide, it
helped to polish or lubricate the metal slide,
increasing the speed at which you could whizz
down and off the end."
There was a cheese cutter, a
chute or two, a witch's hat, a spider's web and
a couple of roundabouts and swings in the playground
where I played on my way back from London Street School."
EdinPhoto Guest Book: G M Rigg,
June 12, 2009 |
claes |
garments worn on the body,
clothes
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 1, 2010 |
clap |
1.
flatten (as in example
below)
"'Don't
clap yer hair intae yer heid like that' meant 'Don't matt your hair into
your head like that'.
This was often said to the
son when he had flattened his hair to his skull with water."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 24, 2014 |
2.
a certain kind of footwear
worn by Teddy Boys. This one had a ribbed sole.
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh,
September 23, 2009 |
clart |
1.
rubbish
"In the 1960s, we used the
word 'yad' to mean 'rubbish' or 'clart'."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: December 11, 2009, |
2.
someone who is dirty,
filthy, clarty
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
clarty |
dirty
"Look at your hands.
They're clarty!"
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 30, 2008 |
In my family, they said:
'You're clarty behind the ears.'
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh,
October 4, 2009 |
clairty, clairty |
See
clarty below.
"We used to shout "clairty,
clairty" indicating the unclean."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 4, 2009 |
cleg
clegg |
big flea
Keith Main, London, England:
December 30, 2008 |
"To me and my comrades,
a clegg was the horrible black creature that inhabited what I think was
called cuckoo spit (that looked like frothy spit)
on some long grasses.
I believe these creatures had the ability to
bite."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 17, 2009 |
horsefly
"They certainly could
bite."
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: March 12, 2009 |
'Cleg' is a Norse word for
horsefly.
Someone told me,
just recently, that they were being bitten by
these insects on holiday and were taken aback
when they heard Swedes using the same word
as we use in Scotland.
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 20+30, 2009 |
cleip |
See
clype below
|
clipe |
See
clype below
|
Clippie |
bus conductress
"Come on, let's go upstairs. The
Clippie's coming."
(A means of avoiding payment.)
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 4+30, 2009 |
clipshear |
earwig
"Old
fence posts were usually crawling with clipshears. They also got on
the rope left outside to hang the laundry."
Ken Smith, Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
December 31, 2008 |
earwig
"This word
seems unknown outside Edinburgh. I've been given many a puzzled look when
I've used the word."
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
"For years, I
thought clipshears and earwigs must be separate species. I had seen plenty
clipshears, but I was waiting to see my first earwig!
I remember feeling great
trepidation at the prospect because of the old wives’ tale that
others must
know - that it had a
habit of entering your ear while you were
asleep, burrowing through your brain and coming out the opposite side.
That gave me many a sleepless night,
especially since I didn’t know what it looked like!"
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 21, 2009 |
cloaker |
"a big black ground beetle.
(Interestingly, the Russian
word for beetle is 'clocha'.)"
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: December 30, 2008 |
cloot |
cloth, e.g. dish
cloth
Jean Lennie, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
Aug 4, 2009 |
clootie
dumpling |
"I remember a
childhood delicacy a 'clootie dumpling'.
This was like a Christmas fruit cake mix but put in a clean pillow
case and boiled.
When cooked, it
would be dried in front of the open fire, all the while being turned to
get an even, smooth,
shiny surface all round.
When
it was cool and sliced it was sometimes fried in butter
- a heart attack waiting to happen,
but wonderful
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
September 21, 2009 |
a rich dark fruitcake
"My Gran made clootie
dumplings. The mix was put in a pillow slip and boiled or steamed in
an equally big pot.
It was wonderful! On
special occasions, there were tanners or silver three-pennies in it.
I remember seeing big
slices of dumpling on sale in some shops."
Gordon Wright, Barnton, Edinburgh:
July 18, 2014 |
close |
passage that led to a stair
"Your faither's waitin' fur
you up the close. Oh no!"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17+30, 2009 |
clout |
slap, hit
"I often used to hear also another version of
an upcoming slap. Mum’s would warn:
'Ye'll get a clout
around the ear if ye’r no careful'.”
Mary Frances Merlin, née Monteith,
France: January 14, 2009 |
cludgie |
outside loo
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
clype
cleip
clipe |
to tell tales.
"'He wis aye clyping oan his pals."
A clype was someone who did it.
"Away, ya wee clype."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 22, 2008 |
to rat on someone
Jean Lennie, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
Aug 4, 2009 |
betray trust
"Yer a clype" or
"Yea
clyped on me" meaning that someone you know
had betrayed your trust and told somebody (usually your parents) that
you'd done something wrong.
Forbes Wilson, near
Guildford, Surrey, England: January 29, 2009
Forbes was reminded of the word 'kleip' by his 78-year-old mother. |
"Some people have spelt the word 'kleip' or
klipe' but the correct spelling is 'clype' ."
[I have
changed the spelling above to agree with Kim's comments here.]
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 20, 2009 |
"A
'tell-tail-tit'. One who spilt the beans when they were not supposed
to."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 7, 2009 |
coal cellar |
a
cupboard in the lobby where the coal was kept, if you
never used the bunker.
Eric Gold, East London; October 8,
2008 |
collie
buckie
colliebuckie |
being carried on another
kid's back
Keith Main, London: December 19,
2008 |
"A colliebuckie is a piggyback.
A friend from
Bo'ness calls it a 'culliecode'.
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
"Collie
buckie comes from the idea of carrying coals on
your back, as coal merchants did when they delivered it in sacks."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 20, 2009 |
piggy back
"When you felt tired.
you might ask a friend 'Gawn,
gees a collie buckie.'
We sometimes used to have collie buckie races."
Brian Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire
Scotland: September 3, 2013 |
coorie doon |
Snuggle down between the
sheets at bedtime.
"My mother used to say this
to me when I was very small."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 30, 2009 |
"When I was visiting my grannie and getting
tired, she used to tell me to come to her and coorie doon."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 16, 2010 |
coorie in |
Cuddle up
to keep warm
"My mother used to say this
to me when I was very small."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 30, 2009 |
coo's lick |
1. "This seemed to
apply mostly to boys who had a stubborn tuft of hair hanging down over
their forehead – which would stubbornly resist any attempt by mothers to
comb it or brush it in a backwards direction. Brylcream only worked for a
few minutes before the tuft stubbornly resumed its rightful place.
The only thing that could overcome the will of
the tuft (for a while) was the white concoction hairdressers insisted on
putting on young boys’ hair – a bit like wallpaper paste which went
instantly brick-hard.
I don’t know what the link is with a cow or,
for that matter, a cow’s lick or tongue."
Brian Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire
Scotland: October 8, 2008
2. "The expression
'coo's lick' was also used as below:
After washing your
face, your mother would say 'that's
a coo's lick'. In other
words, 'get back and
wash it properly'."
Andy Duff, Maryborough, Queensland,
Australia: October 19, 2008. |
corn beef
corned beef |
deaf (rhyming slang:
deif )
"Ye can say what ye want.
He's corn beef."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17+30, 2009 |
corned tiger |
corned beef
"My mother always referred
to corned beef as corned tiger."
George Ramsay, Spain + UK: October
5, 2011 |
The Corpo |
Edinburgh Corporation
Transport Dept
"I was a
'Parcel Boy' from 1957
until I started my Apprenticeship as a Fitter and Tuner
with the 'Corpo' in 1958."
Jim Paton, Australia: November 5,
2009 |
The Corpy |
Corporation buses, as
distinct from SMT
David Scott, Doha, Qatar: October
19, 2009 |
corrie dukit
corrie joukit |
left-handed
"Aye, ye notice he's corrie
joukit?"
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
"corrie joukit (I'm not sure how you spelt it) meant
'left-handed'."
Bill Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 21, 2009 |
cowp |
empty by turning over
"I
heard at a posh wedding once, wee kids saying to their grandad, on seeing
the beautiful big round silver soup spoons “Whit
dae ye dae wi that?”
Their grandad replied:
'Jist
cowp it ower, son'
meaning just tip it over
(into your mouth)."
Mary Frances Merlin, née Monteith,
France: January 14, 2009 |
cowp over |
fall
"Ah
hear Andra cowped over"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29, 2009 |
crackin' on |
imparting some news
"What wis he sayin'?
"He wis crackin' on aboot
the minister."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
February 1, 2010 |
craik |
make a noise, especially a
bairn
"Away and stop that bairn
craiking."
Maurice Dougan, Edinburgh:
September 11, 2009 |
creamy tartered |
cremated
"Did he get buried?
Naw, he was creamy tartered."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 21+30, 2009 |
crick |
a neck disorder
"It was most common in my day to get 'a
crick in your neck', either to the left or
the right, if you went upstairs in the Poole's
Synod Hall picture house.
You came out with a
crick because you had to view the film with your head at an
angle of 45 degrees off-centre. It was a
bit like looking at a tennis match but only looking at the player at
one end."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
May 8, 2010 |
cry |
1. call or
name,
as in: "What's he cried?"
2. summon,
as in: "He cried the Polis"
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: December 21, 2009, |
croggie |
a ride on the crossbar of a
bicycle
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 15, 2009 |
Bob Henderson wrote:
"It just goes to show how some of
these words were very local indeed.
To me, a
'croggie', would be a 'hurl on your bar'.
Being
allowed to mount behind the cyclist would be a
'backie'.
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
January 17, 2009 |
cuddy |
horse
"While playing
cowboys and
Indians, the cowboys were often heard shouting
'gee up, ma cuddy'
whilst slapping themselves on the bottom to get up to a gallop."
Bob Henderson, Burdiehouse, Edinburgh:
October 7, 2008 |
"My Mother used to
sing:
' Hi-gee-wo ma
cuddy,
ma cuddy's by the dyke,
and if ye touch ma cuddy,
ma cuddy'll gie ye a bite.'
She also used to sing:
' Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John,
Hud the cuddy while I jump on.'
She had many original versions of hymns and
national anthems, none of which flattered either the church or the royal
family. She was a woman ahead of her time!"
Joyce Lamont Messer, Whanganui, North
Island, New Zealand: January 17, 2008 |
cuddy heel |
an iron heel on a boot or
shoe
"The real treat came
when the shoes needed soled and heeled. The Store (St Cuthberts) shoe
repairer, at the beginning of West Richmond Street, used to put on quite
thick, leather soles and heels then would also whack in a few rows of
round studs in the sole with built-in, steel tips on the heel. My mother
wouldn’t let me have the full steel, wrap-round ‘cuddy heel’."
Brian Gourlay, Biggar, Lanarkshire, Scotland:
October 9, 2009 |
cuddy wecks |
a type of curlers
"Look at that yin she's still got her cuddy
wecks in!"
"I thought this was rhyming slang for specs,
but I am informed by another that these were in fact curlers which women
used to put in their hair and had bits of paper stuck in them.
I'm happy to be corrected."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 20+30, 2009 |
cuff |
See 'I'll
give you a cuff on the lugs'
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 29, 2009 |
cudgel |
children's name for any stick that they carried,
usually the branch of a tree or an old piece of furniture like a chair
leg.
I don’t remember them being used aggressively. They
were more for self-protection and show
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 21, 2009 |
"I
asked my 'stairman', today, if he knew what a cudgel was. He
did.
He
said he never remembered hitting anyone with
one. He thinks he carried his when
he was outside his own area in case another gang attacked his group.
I am reporting on the
1950s. He is talking about the 1970s, after which Fountainbridge began
to disappear. It shows
that
a remarkable continuity existed while
these old communities remained intact."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 25, 2009 |
cushie
cushie doo |
woodpigeon
"When I was on holiday in
Haddington, East Lothian, a woodpigeon was referred to as a 'cushie doo'
or simply a cushie'.
I don't know if that term
was currency in Edinburgh.""
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 3, 2010 |
culliecode |
piggyback.
"We called it a
colliebuckie' but a friend from
Bo'ness calls it a 'culliecode'. "
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
September 17, 2009 |
D |
dab |
sponge on
"In a conversation about Dubbin (for football
boots) last night I said that I used to
dab my boots with it.
Margaret said that
when she got a skinned knee playing hockey, she
would dob her
knee with a hanky to stop the blood.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
September 9, 2013
|
Question
Bob added:
P.S. What was Dubbin made of, and
was it a trade name?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
September 9, 2013
Reply
"This
Wikipedia page
explains that Dubbin consists of wax, oil and tallow,
and that the name 'dubbin' is a contraction of the the word 'dubbing'
meaning the action of applying wax to leather.
I believe
that 'Dubbin' was a trade name."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: September
20, 2013
|
Please see also:
'That's the very dab'.
|
daein' |
doing
"Whidye daein'?"
"Ah'm nae daein' nothin'."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 15, 2010
|
dander |
1. stroll
"I'll take a dander"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22,, 2009 |
1. stroll
"In my day, this was
pronounced 'daunder' "
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 29, 2008 |
1. stroll
"It seems that 'dander and
'daunder' are both acceptable spellings for this word."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: December
30, 2009 |
2. dandruff
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: December 30, 2009 |
3. See also the
expression:
"He's got his dander up."
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: December
30, 2009 |
The Dandy Ninth |
The Royal Scots, 9th Battalion
"They
were nicknamed ‘The Dandy Ninth’ because
of the kilts they wore. They were a Territorial Battalion based at
the drill hall in East Claremont Street, Edinburgh."
Evan Reid, Ayrshire, Scotland: November 4+7+8, 2009 |
daud |
bit
"He gave me a daud o' putty."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 17, 2009 |
daunder |
See 'dander'
(sense 1) above |
day |
See
the day
below |
deed |
dead
Alan sent me some recollections of working
at Brown Bros., Edinburgh, from 1955 onwards.
He hoped that some of his workmates from
that era might respond. When I told him.
When I told him that there had been no
response, he replied:
"Maybe they are all DEED"
Let's hope not!
Alan Johnson,
Stonehaven,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland: 6 January 2016 |
dee-hi horrors |
diarrhoea
"After a sound emitting
from the lower rear parts of a child, the comment was made: 'He's
got the dee-hi-horrors. Ah'm glad it's no' me.' "
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 10, 2010 |
deek |
look
Jim Di Mambro, South Africa:
December 5, 2008 |
deid |
dead
"Aye, he's deid, right
enough. They got the death certificate."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 6+30 2009 |
dicht |
1. blow
"Gie it a
dicht."
2. quick wipe with a
cloth
"Gie your face
a dicht."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22, 2009 |
didnae |
did not
"It wasnae me.
Ah didnae dae it."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
March 15, 2010 |
dinnae |
don't
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
April 13, 2010 |
dinner |
the mid-day meal.
i.e. The meal that some of
the southern / posh English people called lunch.
See also
tea above
Kim Traynor, Tollcross Edinburgh:
December 28, 2009 |
dippit |
stupid, not the full
shilling, not the full ticket, as in:
'Awa son, stop acting as if
yer dippit!'
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
April 2, 2009 |
divi |
coop dividend
Keith Main, London: December 20,
2008 |
"I remember our new
school uniforms being bought each year out of my mother's
'divi'.
Like everyone of a certain age,
I can still remember my mum's store share number.
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: December 30, 2008 |
divot |
lump of turf
"Ye'll hiv tae replace the divot."
(often heard on the golf course.)
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22+30, 2009 |
dob |
sponge on
"In a conversation about Dubbin (for football
boots) last night I said that I used to
dab my boots with it.
Margaret said that
when she got a skinned knee playing hockey, she
would dob her
knee with a hanky to stop the blood.
In later speech, of course,
you would 'dob somebody in', but that use would b e UK-wide, I suppose."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
September 9, 2013
|
doddle |
See 'It's
a doddle.' below.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22, 2009 |
dodge-ball |
A ball game, but how was it
played?
Bruce Johnstone wrote:
"Can anyone help? While playing ball
games with my grandchildren, I mentioned that we, in the 1950s, used to
play dodge-ball and king-ball. I can't remember how, apart from catching
the ball with our clenched hands, then throwing at friends.
Any suggestions?"
Bruce Johnstone, Haddington, East
Lothian, Scotland: January 16, 2011
Message posted in EdinPhoto Guestbook: April 15, 2013. |
dodgie |
A street game where by use of a tennis ball
the one who was het (it) had to hit someone else
with the ball. Those who were hit were out and the last one standing was
the winner.
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 25+30, 2009 |
dolicker
doliker
dollicker
dolliker |
"'A large
marble, bigger than the standard size
If it was a steel ball-bearing it was called a
steelie."
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
December 22, 2008 |
donnert |
a bit thick
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: November 29, 2008 |
doo |
pigeon
"Other families I remember
in Eastie are the MacKenzies, MacMillans, ... , Reids and Phillips, the
doo man."
J Kelly: March 28, 2009 |
dook |
swim
"Are you goin' for a dook?"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22, 2009 |
dookin' (for apples) |
"At Halloween
parties, you would kneel on a kitchen chair with the back of the chair in
front of you.
You'd then lean over
apples floating in a metal basin or pail filled with water and try to
spear them by dropping a fork from your mouth.
If this proved too difficult, an alternative
was to get down on one’s knees and try to bite into the apples and then
lift them out of the water.
Neither method was easy for wee folk.
By the end, the floor was ‘swimming’ and I
remember being absolutely soaked from the splashes every time I did it."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 21, 2009 |
"My wife now tells me that sitting on the
floor with your hands behind your back is 'proper
dookin’. The dropping the fork variant was, she assures me, an
attempt to make it easier for the bairns to get an apple by spearing it.
Yet I remember the procedure happening in the reverse order."
Kim Traynor, Tollcross, Edinburgh:
September 22, 2009 |
doolally
doolally tap |
"a bit mental, a bit radge"
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
April 2, 2009
'Doolally tap' is not a particularly Edinburgh
expression, but it is one that my father used quite regularly in
Edinbrugh.
Terry Cox, Fairmilehead, Edinburgh:
April 2, 2009 |
For comments on the derivation of 'doolally tap',
please see
tappy
below.
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada:
Dec 19, 2008I
|
crazy
"If you don't stop pounding
that piano, I'll go doolally."
Annette McDonald, Montana, USA:
July 4, 2014 |
"I'm not sure which
war this expression related to,
but I think I think it would have been World War 2.
as i remember it being used.
The
expression, 'doolally'
or 'doolally tap', was used to describe someone
'not right in the head''.
I remember reading,
many years after hearing these expressions, that soldiers in India
were sent to a place called Deollally (spelling?)
for mental treatment.
The origins of words quite often get lost or
forgotten, don't they?"
Elizabeth
Fraser (née Betty Simpson),
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: : 6 November 2015 |
"Deolali
is a town in India; the difference from Elizabeth's story is that those
posted there would need mental health care. The place is incredibly hot,
dry and, to squaddies, boring."
David Bain, Rotherham, South Yorkshire,
England: 9 November 2015 |
doorstep
doorstop |
a very high-stacked piece
(sandwich)
"What's that you have
Charlie?"
"It's a piece."
"Looks more like a doorstep to me."
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
January 19, 2010 |
dottery |
unstable
"Well that's what happens when ye get auld;
ye get a bit dottery"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22+30, 2009 |
a dottle |
a wee person
Keith Main, London: December 30,
2008 |
dottled |
becoming senile, 'a bit
past it'
"My mother used to use this
term"
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: January 6, 2010 |
dounce
(rhymes with bounce) |
lose something (a ball or a kite) up a tree or
on a flat roof or in a rhone.
"It's dounced" was a common cry and it usually
meant that the object was visible, but
inaccessible without taking risks.
In other words, it was to all intents lost,
but you could sometimes pick up a dounced ball after a windy day:
"Finders keepers, losers greeters!"
Stuart Burgess, Devon, England:
October 8, 2009 |
doup |
1. rubbish heap
"That's rubbish. Take
it to the doup."
2. buttocks
"I remember a song that
began:
'Kiltie, kiltie, called up
Couldnae play a drum.'
I'm not sure what the next
lines were."
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: November 25,
2009 |
Apparently, children used to shout:
'Kiltie, kiltie , cauld doup' whenever they saw other children
wearing the kilt.
Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: November
28, 2009 |
doup skelper |
A school master given to
beating the buttocks of stupid children.
George T Smith, Nanaimo,
British Columbia, Canada: November 25,
2009 |
dour |
sullen
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 25, 2009 |
Example:
"Gordon Brown's a dour character!"
Kim Traynor: Tollcross, Edinburgh,
December 27, 2009 |
dout / dowt |
"In the 1950s,
this was the name given to a cigarette that had been 'nicked', ie had the
burning tip flicked off and whose remainder was kept (usually behind
the ear) for smoking later on.
It was sometimes known as a 'nick' as well."
Allan Dodds, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, England: September 5, 2010
|
drab |
dismal
"He's one o' those drab men: drab clathes,
drab hoose, drab wife. What a life!"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
July 24, 2014 |
drappie |
a small amount
"Aye, a'll have a wee
drappie"
Bob Sinclair, Queensland, Australia:
December 22, 2009 |
dreep
(1) |
| |