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simmadonna wrote:................ It's been fascinating reading about some of the social aspects of Black Country and connecting some of the stories my grandmother used to tell with people and places. One thing that has stayed firmly in my family is a group of verbal expressions she taught us and that we still use reguarly. For example, Birmingham was always "Brummijum" (I'm not sure how it should be spelled) a pronunciation I recognized when I read about in this site's language forum. My all-time favorite, though, is a word for which I've never found a better substitute and it is one she learned from her grandmother, Mary HACKETT, and passed along to us....
The word is "brevitin' "
(again, I'm not sure how it should be spelled) and it's a verb (always used by my grandmother in the continuous -in(g) form) that means rifling or rummaging in an uninvited manner through stuff that isn't yours--something like "snooping."
Can anyone tell me if this is a common local expression or whether it might have been Mary Hackett's own invention (if it was listed in this board's language forum, I missed it)?.
Thanks for reading,
Shelley Hall
cid wrote:Brevatin is definately a word I recognise. As is 'Wos thee brevatin about in?'
Cid
Alice wrote:hi,
Birmingham known as Brummagem (soft g) we still use it, or the shortened version Brum. Never heard Brevitin but use ferritin,as in w'on yo ferritin in theere foor? its nuthin to do wi yo. probably same word but different pronunciation.
I love 'clammed' as in 'I'm clammed ter jeath' and tranklements ' put them tranklements away, before somebody breaks their neck on em'. 'marry the miskin fer the muck and get pizened by the stink on it. (marry the pig for the muck and get poisened by the smell) . and an accusation always aimed at my son by my mother, 'he's got more to say than he's got to ate'
and describing someone with bandylegs 'he/she couldn't stop a pig up an entry'.
i love it, it all makes life that much richer
Alice
Alice wrote:hi,
Brummagem (soft g) we still use it, or the shortened version Brum.
Never heard Brevitin but use ferritin,as in w'on yo ferritin in theere foor?
I love 'clammed' as in 'I'm clammed ter jeath'
and tranklements ' put them tranklements away, before somebody breaks their neck on em'.
'marry the miskin fer the muck and get pizened by the stink on it. (marry the pig for the muck and get poisened by the smell) . and an accusation always aimed at my son by my mother, 'he's got more to say than he's got to ate'
and describing someone with bandylegs 'he/she couldn't stop a pig up an entry'.
Maths girl wrote:The mention of Trancklements reminded me of the trouble it caused a few months ago when I used it here in Leicester-- I was jumped on by all in the room for making up a new word -- I ended up on the internet proving that it did exist and I had probably got it from my mother/ grandparents in my youth and it had stayed there until it was just the right word for the moment so out it came -- talking about going back to your roots!
simmadonna wrote:and tranklements ' put them tranklements away, before somebody breaks their neck on em'.
I don't remember ever hearing "tranklements" but I'll sure be using it in the future every chance I get. What a perfect word. It incorporations both "trip" and "ankle," which would be the key elements in stumbling and falling over a mess someone has left.
simmadonna wrote:I love 'clammed' as in 'I'm clammed ter jeath'
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