Bristol slang: what does me babber mean?
Me babber means “my dear”, and in Bristol everyone gets called it. Here’s what it means, and the rest of the words you’ll hear round Bristol and further into the West Country.
- Me babber, and saying hello
- Everyday Bristolian
- The Bristol L
- Places, Bristol style
- Further into the West Country
- Questions
Me babber, and saying hello
- Me babber
- My dear, my friend. Bristol’s way of saying “my baby”, used to friends, family, the person behind the counter, and complete strangers.
- Alright, me babber? What can I get you?
- Friendly and never rude. Also said as “my babber”, or shortened to “babs”.
- Alright
- Hello. It isn’t really a question, so “alright” back is the right answer.
- Alright. Alright.
- Alright my lover
- Hello, love. Warm, not romantic: bus drivers and dinner ladies say it to everyone.
- Alright my lover, you after the 72?
- Cheers drive
- Thank you, driver. What Bristolians say getting off the bus.
- Cheers drive!
- Ta-ra
- Goodbye.
- Ta-ra then, see you Sunday.
Everyday Bristolian
- Gert
- Very, or really big. Also spelt “gurt”.
- There was a gert queue outside the chippy.
- Lush
- Lovely, great, delicious.
- That cider was lush.
- Gert lush
- Really lovely. The highest praise there is.
- Sun’s out on the harbourside. Gert lush.
- Where’s that to?
- Where is it? Bristolians add “to” on the end of a where question.
- Where’s your car to?
- Ark at ee
- Listen to him. Said when someone is showing off or talking rubbish.
- Ark at ee, thinks he’s on Bake Off now.
- Ee
- He, or him.
- Where’s ee to then?
- Ar
- Yes.
- Ar, I knows.
- Proper job
- Well done, that’s great.
- You fixed the gate? Proper job.
- Proper
- Very, or real.
- It’s proper cold out.
- Mind
- Tagged on the end of a sentence for a bit of emphasis.
- It’s cold out, mind.
- Daps
- Trainers or plimsolls.
- Put your daps on, we’re walking up the Downs.
- Babby
- A baby.
- She’s had her babby, a little girl.
- Nipper
- A child.
- Bring the nippers, there’s a bouncy castle.
- Fair play
- Fair enough, or good for you.
- He ran the Bristol 10k? Fair play.
- Scrumpy
- Strong, cloudy farmhouse cider.
- Two pints of scrumpy and a packet of crisps.
- Wurzel
- A country bumpkin, after the Wurzels, the band behind “I Am a Cider Drinker”. Usually said fondly.
- Don’t be such a Wurzel.
- Gashead
- A Bristol Rovers fan. Said with pride by Gasheads, less so by City fans.
- Our dad’s a Gashead through and through.
The Bristol L
Bristolians are famous for adding an L sound to words that end in a vowel. It’s said to be how the city got its name: Brigstowe became Bristow, and Bristow became Bristol.
- Ideal
- Idea. With the Bristol L, “idea” comes out as “ideal”.
- That’s a good ideal, that is.
- Areal
- Area, the Bristol way.
- Lovely areal, Southville.
- Cinemal
- Cinema, the Bristol way.
- We’re off to the cinemal.
- Americal
- America, the Bristol way.
- My cousin lives in Americal now.
Places, Bristol style
- Brizzle
- Bristol, said the Bristol way.
- Born and bred in Brizzle.
- Bemmie
- Bedminster.
- Meet you on East Street in Bemmie.
- Weston-super-Mud
- Weston-super-Mare, after the tide that goes out a very long way.
- Day out to Weston-super-Mud.
- Up the Downs
- On the Downs, the big green space by Clifton.
- Fancy a walk up the Downs?
- Shipshape and Bristol fashion
- Neat, tidy and in good order. From the days when Bristol’s ships had to be built to survive the huge tides of the Avon.
- Garden’s all shipshape and Bristol fashion now.
- Pay on the nail
- Pay straight away. Bristol claims it from the bronze “nails” outside the Corn Exchange on Corn Street, where merchants are said to have settled their deals.
- Cash, on the nail.
Further into the West Country
Head out of Bristol into Somerset, Devon and Cornwall and the words change again.
- How bist?
- How are you? Heard around Gloucestershire, Somerset and the Bristol edges.
- Alright, how bist?
- Ooh arr
- Yes, or “well I never”. The words everyone thinks the West Country says, and some of us do.
- Ooh arr, that’s a big tractor.
- Dreckly
- Later, at some point, maybe never. Cornwall’s version of “soon”.
- I’ll get to it dreckly.
- Ansum
- Handsome, lovely. Also a friendly “my love” in Cornwall.
- Alright my ansum?
- Emmet
- A tourist, in Cornwall.
- The beach is full of emmets in August.
- Grockle
- A tourist, in Devon and Dorset.
- Grockles have parked across my drive again.
- Wasson?
- What’s going on? Cornish.
- Wasson, boy?
- Dimpsey
- Dusk, twilight. Heard in Devon and Somerset.
- We’ll walk back in the dimpsey.
- Shrammed
- Frozen stiff.
- Stood at that bus stop, I was shrammed.
- Mazed
- Mad, or confused. Devon and Cornwall.
- He’s gone proper mazed.
- Zider
- Cider, Somerset style.
- A pint of zider, please.
Questions people ask
What does me babber mean?
Me babber means “my dear” or “my friend”. It’s Bristolian for “my baby”, and people in Bristol use it as a warm hello to friends, family and strangers alike.
Is me babber rude?
No. Me babber is friendly and affectionate. You’ll hear it from shopkeepers, bus drivers and neighbours, and it’s never meant as an insult.
What does gert lush mean?
Gert means very and lush means lovely, so gert lush means really lovely, or brilliant.
What is the Bristol L?
The Bristol L is the local habit of adding an L sound to words ending in a vowel, so idea becomes “ideal” and area becomes “areal”. It’s said to be how Bristow became Bristol.
Now, what’s changing round yours, me babber?
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