https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/scouse-words-really-came-including-21227853Where Scouse words really came from including scran, bizzie and boss
The Liverpool English Dictionary provides an extensive record of words and phrases associated with the city's unique dialect
Scouse is a truly unique accent and dialect associated with the city of Liverpool.
There is a lot of debate and discussion about where the city's accent and language originated from and how it came to be what it is today.
Professor Tony Crowley is something of an expert in Scouse - or as he prefers to call it, Liverpool English.
Read more:Why the Scouse accent might not have come from where you think
Tony, who was born in Dingle to a Liverpool Irish family, says the common view that the city's accent and dialect was derived largely from the arrival of Irish immigrants is not true.
He believes it is much more likely to have been formed from a wider amalgam of accents and dialects, brought to the city during its time as a major international port.
As part of his research into his native dialect, Professor Crowley created the Liverpool English Dictionary, which contains more than 2,000 local words and phrases linked to Liverpool and Scousers.
Published a few years ago by Liverpool University Press, the dictionary purports to be the first scholarly record of Liverpool's unique language and dialect and the first to do this based on real respect for the city and its culture.
Carefully crafted in accordance with the same methods that underpin all modern historical dictionaries, the Liverpool English Dictionary provides a hugely detailed and fascinating look at the many words used every day by Scousers and where they may have come from.
For each word or phrase recorded in the dictionary, there is a definition, examples of its use and development through history and a note of when it was first used.
We decided to take a look at a few famous Scouse words and phrases, when they were first used and where they may have come from in the first place according to Professor Crowley's dictionary.
Bizzies - Everyone in Liverpool and the surrounding areas will know that Bizzies refers to the police.
The dictionary suggests this phrase was first recorded from the early 20th Century, and probably came from the word 'busy' or 'busybody'.
Recorded uses include Mclure 1980: "Jesus, look at the busies, police officers are appearing from nowhere."
Beaut - Someone from elsewhere might think being labelled a beaut is a compliment, when it is actually the opposite.
The Liverpool English dictionary says beaut refers to 'something or someone unpleasant' and has been recorded from the late 20th Century. It derives from an 'ironic reversal of beaut -meaning someone or something desirable.'
An example phrase says: "Take care of these beauts that's bothering our Stephen."
Bevvy - If you are recovering from being called a beaut, you might want to go for a bevvy.
This of course refers to an alcoholic drink, the dictionary says it was recorded from late 19th Century onwards, but was popularized in the early 20th Century.
It is of course an abbreviation of the word beverage.,
One of the citations suggests it may have been borrowed from the Cockney phrase Bivvy.
Bevvy is also in the dictionary as a verb, as in to drink alcohol, with an example stating: "One of your committee members was seen bevvying with the gaffer."
Boss - We all know this means good - or really good.
The Liverpool English Dictionary says this term has been recorded since the mid 19th Century and is an American extension of boss.
A citation provided from 2003 simply states: 'F****** boss it was."
La/Lah/Lar - The dictionary has these different versions down as a way of saying lad or mate.
But the dictionary says that la ranges from 'signalling genuine friendliness to outright hostility or condescension."
Recorded from the early 20th Century, the dictionary reports it as having 'mainly Liverpool use.'
Meff - If you have ever been called a meff, you will know it is certainly not a term of endearment!
According to the dictionary, meff is a term of abuse, but its derivation is unknown.
One recorded example from 1998 states: 'Poelly smacked this big f**** meff, really t****** him."
Scran - When you are feeling hungry in this part of the world, you need a scran.The Liverpool English Dictionary says scran in this form was first recorded from the 19th Century and is a nautical extension of 18th Century cant or slang in which scran actually meant 'a reckoning at a boozing-ken (a pub).'
An anonymous quotation from 1917 reads: "A surfeit of nicknames with which to describe the stuff of life. It may have the general name of 'scran' or 'mungy.'
These are of course just a select few Scouse words and phrases from the extensive Liverpool English Dictionary, written by Tony Crowley and published by Liverpool University Press.
Wool - If you are labelled a wool, you are not considered a true Scouser.
