Brits: Turrah

Perry Winkle • Aug 29, 2008 12:49 pm
I think I know what it means: good bye or cheers. But why does it mean what it means? Where does it come from?

My favorite British idiom I've come across so far is how some describe things as "champion." As in, "That's champion," meaning "that's exactly how it should be" or "that's the best."
Sundae • Aug 29, 2008 1:01 pm
It's ta-ra. We would say ta-ta in London.
But your spelling reflects more accurately how it's pronounced.

Champion is very Northern.
It would make me laugh to hear you say it - in a good way I mean.
Beest • Aug 29, 2008 1:01 pm
Normally written 'Ta raa' I think, origin , absolutely no idea

Perry Winkle;479255 wrote:
My favorite British idiom I've come across so far is how some describe things as "champion." As in, "That's champion," meaning "that's exactly how it should be" or "that's the best."


also "the dogs bollocks" (testicles), No idea why being 'the dogs bollocks' is the best something can be, I suppose dogs like them.

Thats a new cellar tag line right there though ;)

'Ta raa' and 'Champion', been up north much then?

EDIT: Simulpost :)

or watching to much 'Last of the Summer Wine'
Sundae • Aug 29, 2008 1:02 pm
[he's in Newcastle, Beest]
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 2:26 pm
ok, but what does turrah mean? I mean, besides you're a Northern?

and, is being a Northern a bad thing? Coz I had the most gorgeous Shakespearan prof named McLeod (and, ladies, I mean, HOTT, baby) who was very reluctant to tell us where he came from. Turns out it was Newcastle----as if we'd know anything about that except not to bring coals to it!
monster • Aug 29, 2008 3:19 pm
it means "bye"

and being northern in the UK is a bit like being from the south in the US ;) us northerners are working class and speak funny
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 3:29 pm
Oh! Thanks for that, monster.

You know, this prof was VERY uncomfy, as I said, when all the moonie-eyed girls wanted to know where he was from as not only was he gorgeous, but, as you might already know, Americans LOVE the UK accents. LOVE them--all of them! We certainly couldn't tell if he was from the North, South, London, Scotland, (we knew he wasn't Irish, tho) so it was innocent enough. HE said, in a quick retort, "Why do you ask?" one girl answered, "because when YOU read Shakspeare, it sounds so...good!
Shawnee123 • Aug 29, 2008 3:33 pm
Bye bye buy bonds

Ta ta for now

Later gator

Catch you on the flip side

Schlater!

Bri: does Craig Ferguson's accent make you all weak in the knees? Does me! I too love an English, Irish, Scottish, or Australian accent. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones i can most easily identify.
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 3:43 pm
Shawnee123;479368 wrote:
Bri: does Craig Ferguson's accent make you all weak in the knees? Does me! I too love an English, Irish, Scottish, or Australian accent. I'm sure there are others but those are the ones i can most easily identify.


yeah, I love it! I love all those you mentioned above. One accent I don't like is Vietnamese---they sound like they are always yelling at you. At least, that's my experience.
HungLikeJesus • Aug 29, 2008 3:44 pm
How about French, mon cherries?
Shawnee123 • Aug 29, 2008 3:45 pm
yeah, I love it! I love all those you mentioned above. One accent I don't like is Vietnamese---they sound like they are always yelling at you. At least, that's my experience


You and your pedicures.

Know what accent I can't stand? A Cleveland accent. Sorry Ohio, I love you, but that accent makes me cringe.
Shawnee123 • Aug 29, 2008 3:46 pm
HungLikeJesus;479376 wrote:
How about French, mon cherries?


Wee wee mon sewer.
monster • Aug 29, 2008 3:48 pm
The Newcastle Accent is called Geordie and is generally considered very sexy even by Brits.
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 3:50 pm
Do I like ze French accent?

Non. Too faux-sounding. So dissipe. So, supérieur.

and me mum is French (Canadian, that is----a bastard out of France,non?)
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 3:51 pm
monster;479383 wrote:
The Newcastle Accent is called Geordie and is generally considered very sexy even by Brits.


Ted Hughes even sounded like sex on legs! *swoon*
barefoot serpent • Aug 29, 2008 4:01 pm
does bril have one ell or two?
monster • Aug 29, 2008 5:26 pm
as in short for brilliant? two.
DanaC • Aug 29, 2008 5:47 pm
I mean, besides you're a Northern?


Northerner :P And no, she's not. She's a southerner. I am a northerner.

On perceptions of northern-ness: Gordon Brown spoke at the Sheffield (Yorkshire) hustings and was asked about his itinerary. He said he was due to go to 'the North' (meaning Newcastle) in the morning. There was a sharp intake of breath, some catcalls and a few mock-offended laughs. He quickly said, "I mean the other North".
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 6:14 pm
Ok, I'll bite. What's "the other North," and, set me straight here, Newcastle is in the North as is Yorkshire, right? In the US we have the Mason-Dixon line that (sort of) defines North and South. Do you chaps have similar?
TheMercenary • Aug 29, 2008 6:21 pm
monster;479358 wrote:
it means "bye"

and being northern in the UK is a bit like being from the south in the US ;) us northerners are working class and speak funny

I knew there was a reason I have enjoyed the South.:D ;)
TheMercenary • Aug 29, 2008 6:22 pm
Brianna;479421 wrote:
Ok, I'll bite. What's "the other North," and, set me straight here, Newcastle is in the North as is Yorkshire, right? In the US we have the Mason-Dixon line that (sort of) defines North and South. Do you chaps have similar?
I believe he was saying he was heading to Scotland.
DanaC • Aug 29, 2008 6:33 pm
No, he was heading to Newcastle. Basically, the country is divided in two: the north and the south. The dividing line is the subject of some debate, however, both Yorkshire and Newcastle are in the North.

Newcastle is further north than yorkshire and lies in what was once the kingdom of Northumbria. They are culturally quiote distinct from the rest of England, and even in some ways from the rest of the North. They have absorbed quite a bit of Scottish culture as much of the region was uner scottish control at various times, and because Northumberland and Scotland border each other.

There's something of a pecking order in northern-ness :P By saying he was going to The North, rather than just saying he was heading north, suggests that he was not in the North to start with. An accidental slip but one guaranteed to rattle a true yorkie.

The North is home to craggy, dour, hard-working men, who drink beer and eat pies. The South is home to big girl's blouses and southern puffs who drink lager and eat sushi.
monster • Aug 29, 2008 7:15 pm
DanaC;479411 wrote:
Northerner :P And no, she's not. She's a southerner. I am a northerner.


Who is a Souther Pooftah? SG?

I'm a northern lass. Beest's borderline. He's from the East Midlands. Buncha flatland weirdos.
DanaC • Aug 29, 2008 7:20 pm
Yah, SG :P
DanaC • Aug 29, 2008 7:20 pm
I'm a northern lass. Beest's borderline. He's from the East Midlands. Buncha flatland weirdos.


How many fingers he got?
monster • Aug 29, 2008 7:44 pm
webbed.....
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 7:50 pm
Ah....so good to see the North and South of any country can have a feud! The way of the world, I say!

Like Dr. Seuss's Star-Bellied Sneetches story!

As an Ohioan, I am south of monster and she can pretend :;): to be superior to me; as an Ohioan, I can scorn Kentucky. All works out!
Clodfobble • Aug 29, 2008 9:12 pm
Even those people south of Kentucky can still scorn Kentucky.
Trilby • Aug 29, 2008 9:50 pm
Clodfobble;479459 wrote:
Even those people south of Kentucky can still scorn Kentucky.


Yeah. Their rep pretty much precedes them. Let's not even talk of West Virginia! ;)
Beest • Aug 29, 2008 10:06 pm
DanaC;479427 wrote:
Basically, the country is divided in two: the north and the south.

and the Midlands which Northerners think is South and Southerners think is North
DanaC;479427 wrote:
The dividing line is ...


Watford gap, specifically the Motorway service station
:p
DanaC • Aug 29, 2008 10:13 pm
and the Midlands which Northerners think is South and Southerners think is North


Southern puff.

Watford gap, specifically the Motorway service station


lol. Absolutely.

You know it's the funniest thing. I don't have a particularly strong accent most of the time. The further South I go, however, the more northern my accent tends to become. Especially if I am there on business. I went to a Planning summer school at the university of Kent. The vast majority of the councillors in attendance came from Southern boroughs. By the time I reached Canterbury my accent had become thoroughly Bolton and I'd hooked up with three Aberdeenshire councillors. There's a handful of bits of northern dialect generally in my speech, but the accent got stronger. Southerners always seem to find it funny when I use 'thee' or 'tha'. Oh yeah and 'chuck'. I use that quite a lot.

(sorry. Turned into a ramble :P)
TheMercenary • Aug 29, 2008 10:49 pm
Thanks for the mini history lesson Dana. Good stuff. I love the UK.
Sundae • Aug 30, 2008 7:42 am
Actually in the South we use the word pouf (or poof) not puff :p

Yes, I am a Southerner, but hard as nails me, from a proper East End family. My Grandad is a genuine, certified Cockney, born as he was within the sound of Bow bells. Dana & Monster will attest I have no identifiable accent, but in the brief clip of my Dad on Boxing Day you can definitely hear the Londoner in him.

Monster I disagree re the Newcastle accent - I think it's one people either love or loathe. I happen to love it. I can't think of an acccent I dislike though. I did have a violent aversion to Aussies for a while when my evil ex moved one into his flat during one of our breaks. I blamed a whole continent for his perfidy rather than aiming my anger in the right direction. I'm long over that now.

I'll add to the information about Newcastle.
Down here, it's seen as another country. The people up there - especially the men - don't feel the cold. This is despite the fact is is actually much colder there than in the South. They walk around in t-shirts in the middle of winter, arms so tattooed they look like lumps of Stilton cheese. The diet is one of the worst in the country, rivalling Scotland in its delight for deep fried items. Unemployment is higher, house prices are lower and supermarkets sell unbranded items in economy sized packs. Shopping trolleys live in canals and children's playgrounds are paved with broken glass. The local dialect is damn near unintelligible and the sound of a Southern accent brings hostile stares and accusations of snobbery. Football is worshipped and art is suspected. The people are clannish and sentimental - once accepted you are treated as family.

Well, that's the general view anyway.

I've been there - there's an element of truth in the above, but mostly it's an unfair and blinkered view. I think it's perpetuated by ex-Geordies moving to London, who whinge on about how shite everything is in the South and how great but tough life back home is.
DanaC • Aug 30, 2008 7:51 am
Actually in the South we use the word pouf (or poof) not puff



Puff more accurately reflects how I am saying it. Puff. :P

That's the odd thing about these kinds of stereotypes they're often quite contradictory. Though the South generally is regarded suspiciously (and a little enviously) by the North, as having grown soft on all that sunshine and ready flowing money, London houses the other accepted Southern stero-type: the East End gangster.

There is a distinct change as one travels southwards in England. The landscape is different, the economy is different, the amount of wealth is different for much of the South (there are many working-class areas inthe South, but the Home Counties really skew the picture) and the sun shines much more. The British economy ensures that there is a general flow of money from the North to the South and not the other way around. Most importantly, the North is further away from the centre of power in England, and apart from a brief spell of Northumbrian dominance in the iron age, that has always been so. Culturally, also, the South is the centre of gravity.

Basically, the North has a gigantic chip on its shoulder about the South. The South sees the North as a slightly embarrassing and uncultured cousin.
Perry Winkle • Aug 30, 2008 2:10 pm
Very interesting stuff.

Can anyone explain the obsession with thin sweatshirts with wide horizontal grey and white stripes?

They're everywhere. I see them on little kids through people in their mid-20s. It's definitely a unique trend like the tracksuit and hip-dysplasia walk things.
DanaC • Aug 30, 2008 3:34 pm
Can anyone explain the obsession with thin sweatshirts with wide horizontal grey and white stripes?


hahah. I can't explain it.
monster • Aug 30, 2008 7:51 pm
I lived North of Newcastle for a year. I had me a sexy accent for a while too. :lol: And I was hard as nails. Contrary to your belief, SG, you sound very London to me, just not cockney London.
monster • Aug 30, 2008 7:52 pm
Perry Winkle;479580 wrote:
Very interesting stuff.

Can anyone explain the obsession with thin sweatshirts with wide horizontal grey and white stripes?

They're everywhere. I see them on little kids through people in their mid-20s. It's definitely a unique trend like the tracksuit and hip-dysplasia walk things.


This I have not seen. Is it the new Burberry (Essex Tartan)? I may need pics, but perhaps once my dinner has gone down....
xoxoxoBruce • Aug 31, 2008 1:34 am
Perry Winkle;479580 wrote:
Very interesting stuff.

Can anyone explain the obsession with thin sweatshirts with wide horizontal grey and white stripes?
They were on sale. ;)
monster • Aug 31, 2008 11:08 pm
xoxoxoBruce;479643 wrote:
They were on sale. ;)


UK doesn't do sale like US . but nice try....

Perhaps they want to look like long-time convicts?
ZenGum • Aug 31, 2008 11:25 pm
monster;479787 wrote:
UK doesn't do sale like US . but nice try....

Perhaps they want to look like long-time convicts?


Well, we all have tans and zinc-cream on our noses.
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 1, 2008 1:46 am
monster;479787 wrote:
UK doesn't do sale like US . but nice try....

The supplier (China) had 'em on sale. :p
monster • Sep 1, 2008 11:49 pm
xoxoxoBruce;479834 wrote:
The supplier (China) had 'em on sale. :p


aaaah, Matalan had them in......
limey • Sep 2, 2008 4:57 pm
Perry Winkle;479580 wrote:
...hip-dysplasia walk things.


(Snigger)

the whole north/south thing is further confused when you live in southern Scotland ....

Turrah- local variant of ta ta
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ta ta Audio Help /tɑ ˈtɑ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[tah tah] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun Chiefly British. good-bye.
[Origin: 1830–40; orig. uncert.]
lookout123 • Sep 2, 2008 5:37 pm
Sundae Girl;479526 wrote:

I'll add to the information about Newcastle...snip... Football is worshipped


oh yeah? when are they going to get a team?
Perry Winkle • Sep 2, 2008 5:43 pm
lookout123;480262 wrote:
oh yeah? when are they going to get a team?


Who knows. Hopefully they'll evict the people who have loud parties every couple of weeks in the big stadium-like building next door to my accommodation.
footfootfoot • Sep 2, 2008 7:08 pm
Our Londoner friends, the wife, made this comment about Mrs. Foot:
"She's got brilliant legs."
I thought it was kind of funny since we use brilliant almost always to describe intellect or light and by extension diamonds. But legs?
Here they are, but be forewarned; when we were at the Cape someone stole her ass. She's kind of bummed about it, so pretend you don't notice.
kthxbye
Clodfobble • Sep 2, 2008 11:31 pm
Better to have it missing than to find it was just hiding down by one's knees. She is a very fit lady, and should be proud of her demure booty.
Sundae • Sep 3, 2008 4:54 am
... and yes, she does have brilliant legs :)
footfootfoot • Sep 3, 2008 6:29 am
Clodfobble;480333 wrote:
Better to have it missing than to find it was just hiding down by one's knees.:eek:She is a very fit lady, and should be proud of her demure booty.

It's the tapeworm and all the breastfeeding. It seems the booty is always better on the other side of the fence to most women. Those who have a lot wish they had a little and those who have a little wish they have a lot [/broadbrush] (get it? broad brush?) :greenface
DanaC • Sep 3, 2008 6:46 am
Those who have a lot wish they had a little and those who have a little wish they have a lot


That is so true.
Trilby • Sep 3, 2008 7:42 am
is that a Tilley hat she's got there?


she DOES have nice gams, baby.
classicman • Sep 3, 2008 8:28 am
She's beautiful, you are lucky and you can tell her I said so.
FStop • Sep 3, 2008 9:24 am
Brianna;479421 wrote:
In the US we have the Mason-Dixon line that (sort of) defines North and South.


Speaking of which, I grew up knowing that if there was a Waffle House nearby, you were north of the Mason-Dixon. If there was an IHOP, you were south. ;)

Not so much anymore, they're spread out everywhere now. So much for that compass.

Sundae Girl;479526 wrote:
Unemployment is higher, house prices are lower and supermarkets sell unbranded items in economy sized packs. Shopping trolleys live in canals and children's playgrounds are paved with broken glass. The local dialect is damn near unintelligible and the sound of a Southern accent brings hostile stares and accusations of snobbery. Football is worshipped and art is suspected. The people are clannish and sentimental - once accepted you are treated as family.


This is how it is between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, too. :cool:
monster • Sep 3, 2008 6:54 pm
Now here's a Brit accent to get your teeth into....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7595603.stm
FStop • Sep 3, 2008 7:13 pm
Monster....wow...I watch alot of British stuff, but that lady at the beginning had me going, "Wait.....wait..................what?"

Haha. Nice going.
DanaC • Sep 3, 2008 7:26 pm
This is easier to understand:) Bolton, my hometown. This is Dave Spikey a Bolton comedian (who my mum used to work with as it happens).

[youtube]cNxiltWRTtc&feature=related[/youtube]
monster • Sep 3, 2008 8:54 pm
did someone mention Geordie? :lol:

[youtube]XgarXnV_-Fk[/youtube]
DanaC • Sep 3, 2008 9:24 pm
Ohmigod, Auf Wiedersehn Pet!


Seems slightly slowed down compared to how geordies sound in rl :P To make it understandable for people not on the banks of the Tyne, I presume.
monster • Sep 3, 2008 9:36 pm
yup
monster • Sep 3, 2008 9:38 pm
i used to live in Stockport, then I went to Northumberland for a year when AWP got popular -I came back and couldn't understand how they couldn't get what Os was saying because he was speaking so slowly :lol:
DanaC • Sep 3, 2008 9:40 pm
It seems fairly clear to me. Now, there were times when I had to ask D to repeat himself several times in a conversation because he's full on geordie.
jinx • Sep 3, 2008 10:25 pm
footfootfoot;480285 wrote:
Our Londoner friends, the wife, made this comment about Mrs. Foot:
"She's got brilliant legs."


The whole package is brilliant, she looks fantastic.
Shawnee123 • Sep 4, 2008 11:05 am
Brianna;479439 wrote:
Ah....so good to see the North and South of any country can have a feud! The way of the world, I say!

Like Dr. Seuss's Star-Bellied Sneetches story!

As an Ohioan, I am south of monster and she can pretend :;): to be superior to me; as an Ohioan, I can scorn Kentucky. All works out!



I have always said that here in the States, we make fun of the state directly south of us. I don't know who Texas makes fun of.

Bri, did you like the ones with stars upon thars? :)
Clodfobble • Sep 4, 2008 12:47 pm
I don't know who Texas makes fun of.


All y'all.
Shawnee123 • Sep 4, 2008 1:08 pm
Clodfobble;480919 wrote:
All y'all.


:lol:
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 9, 2008 11:41 am
Shawnee123;480858 wrote:
I have always said that here in the States, we make fun of the state directly south of us.

For PA, it's the state East of us. :haha:
TheMercenary • Sep 11, 2008 7:59 pm
FStop;480408 wrote:
Speaking of which, I grew up knowing that if there was a Waffle House nearby, you were north of the Mason-Dixon. If there was an IHOP, you were south. ;)
I think you have that backwards.
TheMercenary • Sep 11, 2008 8:00 pm
Shawnee123;480858 wrote:
I have always said that here in the States, we make fun of the state directly south of us. I don't know who Texas makes fun of.


Ha, I am from that state too.
Undertoad • Sep 11, 2008 8:08 pm
Waitamin Shawnee, does that mean you make fun of West Virginia, or Kentucky? Because we here in Pennsylvania make fun of West Virginia, even though it's only south of 1/3 of us.

We don't make fun of Maryland. Sometimes we mock Baltimore, but so does everybody. We do make fun of Delaware, but not very often since it has better beaches than Jersey and no sales tax.
jinx • Sep 11, 2008 8:14 pm
We make fun of Md a little bit... for being all KKK around Rising Sun. Although it's gotten better, you'll still want to paddle faster if you hear banjos...
footfootfoot • Sep 11, 2008 10:43 pm
I met some folks from Missouri who talked about a local vigilante Christian group which called themselfs "the word, the sword and the arm of the lord" Others referred to them pejoratively as "The sword, the lord, and the boys in the Ford"
monster • Sep 12, 2008 12:35 am
here in Mich, we go for the canucks, eh.

...even though we're north of all y'all so obviously most superior...
Shawnee123 • Sep 12, 2008 10:02 am
Undertoad;483435 wrote:
Waitamin Shawnee, does that mean you make fun of West Virginia, or Kentucky? Because we here in Pennsylvania make fun of West Virginia, even though it's only south of 1/3 of us.

We don't make fun of Maryland. Sometimes we mock Baltimore, but so does everybody. We do make fun of Delaware, but not very often since it has better beaches than Jersey and no sales tax.



We make fun of Kentucky. Of course, I'm on the west side of the state, so KY is south of me. I don't know who they make fun of in Youngstown. :p
glatt • Sep 12, 2008 10:04 am
In Maine, we made fun of the Frenchies to the north.
In Virginia, it's West Virginia you make fun of, but honestly, even West Virginia is becoming a bit more sophisticated. So we don't joke about them like we used to 15 years ago.
Pico and ME • Sep 12, 2008 10:12 am
Hoosiers cant get away with making fun of Kentucky... so many of them came from there.
Shawnee123 • Sep 12, 2008 10:19 am
Didn't notice you were a Hoosier! I love me some Indianapolis!
Undertoad • Sep 12, 2008 10:36 am
glatt;483616 wrote:
Ibut honestly, even West Virginia is becoming a bit more sophisticated.


Come on, now.
glatt • Sep 12, 2008 11:00 am
Yeah, I know.
Pico and ME • Sep 12, 2008 11:39 am
Shawnee123;483626 wrote:
Didn't notice you were a Hoosier! I love me some Indianapolis!


Indy is nice (and has vastly improved itself in the last decade), but I miss Chicago. I came from the northwest corner of Indiana and have never really considered myself a Hoosier because most of our media was basically Chicago-based.

You're not near Cincinnati are you? I worked there for two years and adored it.
Shawnee123 • Sep 12, 2008 11:48 am
Not really near Cincy, but close enough I've been there a million times. Cincy is my favorite city in Ohio.
Pico and ME • Sep 12, 2008 11:54 am
I lived near Eden Park on St James...the road that leads directly into one of the parks entrances...where the old tower is. God, I loved it. I was walking distance away from a fantastic view of the Ohio river.
monster • Sep 13, 2008 11:14 am
Sounds like it's time for an Ohio gtg.
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 13, 2008 7:59 pm
Why would anyone want to live in Ohio?

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bpretire_affhomes.moneymag/5.html

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bpretire_affhomes.moneymag/6.html

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bpretire_affhomes.moneymag/11.html

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bpretire_affhomes.moneymag/14.html

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/moneymag/0809/gallery.bpretire_affhomes.moneymag/17.html

5 out of 25. ;)
Sundae • Sep 14, 2008 7:22 am
I would!
Seriously, it's not the weather, the people or even leaving England that means I wouldn't consider living in America (after all, I could always go back!)

It's the fact it's so damn hard to do it legally.

Maybe if I was Mrs Bruce #4....?
Go on, take one for the team :)
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 14, 2008 2:02 pm
As much as I love you, I'm not moving to Ohio for anyone. :headshake
FStop • Sep 14, 2008 2:42 pm
Sundae Girl;484039 wrote:
I would!
Seriously, it's not the weather, the people or even leaving England that means I wouldn't consider living in America (after all, I could always go back!)

It's the fact it's so damn hard to do it legally.

Maybe if I was Mrs Bruce #4....?
Go on, take one for the team :)


I'd bring you in, but I'm not sure how you'd take the winter months and french fries & cole slaw on your sandwiches. That, and all the Stiller talk. ;)