89 of the Best Scottish Slang Terms
Scottish slang is as vibrant and colourful as the landscapes of the Highlands, packed with expressions that are bold, funny, and full of character. It’s a blend of ancient Scots language, modern-day influences and a healthy dose of cheek!
Whether you’re visiting Edinburgh, Glasgow, or the islands, Scottish slang will pop up everywhere, giving you a real taste of the local culture. But how do you know what it all means and how do you use it properly? Stick with us, and we’ll guide you through the phrases that make Scotland so unique.
Ready to dive in? Let’s take a look at some of the most popular Scottish slang terms that’ll help you sound like a true Scot!
SlangHub’s Top Picks
At SlangHub, we’ve carefully selected our top 10 favourite Scottish slang terms, ones that truly capture the heart and soul of Scottish life. Here are our top picks:
- Blether – To chat or gossip.
“We had a wee blether over a cuppa.”
- Braw – Something excellent or good.
“That’s a braw day for a walk!”
- Dreich – A dull, dreary, or rainy day.
“It’s a bit dreich outside today.”
- Gallus – Bold or cheeky.
“He’s got a gallus attitude, that one.”
- Ken – To know or understand.
“I don’t ken what you’re on about!”
- Messages – Groceries or shopping.
“I’m off to get the messages from the shop.”
- Wee – Small or little.
“Let’s go for a wee walk.”
- Crabbit – Bad-tempered or grumpy.
“Don’t be so crabbit this morning!”
- Haver – To talk nonsense.
“Stop havering, you’re making no sense!”
- Minging – Disgusting or gross.
“That food is pure minging.”
Other Popular Scottish Slang Terms
- Auld – Old.
“That’s an auld tradition in these parts.”
- Aye – Yes.
“Aye, I’ll be there soon.”
- Bampot – A crazy or foolish person.
“He’s a total bampot!”
- Baltic – Freezing cold.
“It’s baltic outside today!”
- Belter – A great thing or event.
“That gig was an absolute belter!”
- Boggin’ – Dirty or filthy.
“Your shoes are boggin’, clean them!”
- Bonnie – Pretty or attractive.
“She’s a bonnie lass.”
- Chancer – Someone who pushes their luck.
“He’s such a chancer, always trying it on!”
- Clarty – Messy or dirty.
“Your hands are clarty after all that painting.”
- Canny – Smart or clever.
“She’s a canny one, always knows what to do.”
- Dafty – A silly or foolish person.
“He’s a dafty, but we love him.”
- Deek – To look at something.
“Have a deek at that view, it’s stunning.”
- Dod – A piece of something.
“I’ll take a wee dod of that cake.”
- Eejit – An idiot or fool.
“Stop acting like a total eejit.”
- Faff – To waste time or procrastinate.
“Stop faffing around and get on with it.”
- Fizzy juice – Fizzy drink or soda.
“I’ll have a bottle of fizzy juice, please.”
- Footer – To mess around with something.
“He’s footerin’ with the TV again.”
- Gies – Give me.
“Gies a hand with this, will you?”
- Hame – Home.
“I’m heading hame after work.”
- Haver – To talk nonsense.
“Don’t haver, just get to the point.”
- Howff – A favourite pub or place to hang out.
“The local’s my usual howff.”
- Jakey – A homeless or drunk person.
“He’s turned into a bit of a jakey.”
- Jings – An exclamation of surprise.
“Jings! I didn’t expect that!”
- Jobby – Poop.
“There’s a jobby on the pavement!”
- Keek – To sneak a look at something.
“Let’s take a wee keek inside.”
- Lassie – A girl.
“That lassie over there’s my cousin.”
- Loon – A boy.
“He’s a wee loon, full of energy.”
- Maw – Mum.
“I’m going round to see my maw later.”
- Nae bother – No problem.
“Nae bother, I’ll help you with that.”
- Neep – A turnip.
“We’re having neeps and tatties for tea.”
- Nip – To go quickly.
“I’ll just nip to the shops for some milk.”
- Numpty – A foolish person.
“He’s such a numpty sometimes.”
- Outwith – Outside of.
“Outwith these walls, it’s a different world.”
- Peely-wally – Pale or sickly-looking.
“You’re looking a bit peely-wally today.”
- Piece – A sandwich.
“I’ve packed a piece for lunch.”
- Pish – Nonsense or rubbish.
“That’s pure pish, don’t believe a word of it.”
- Radge – A crazy or wild person.
“He went totally radge when he heard the news.”
- Reeking – Smelling bad.
“That bin is reeking, time to empty it.”
- Scunnered – Fed up or annoyed.
“I’m scunnered with this job, honestly.”
- Shoogle – To shake or wiggle.
“Give the door a shoogle, it’ll open.”
- Skelp – A slap or hit.
“He got a right skelp for that cheeky comment.”
- Sleekit – Sly or sneaky.
“He’s a sleekit wee devil, that one.”
- Staunch – Loyal or strong-willed.
“He’s staunch when it comes to his beliefs.”
- Steamin’ – Very drunk.
“We were all steamin’ by the end of the night.”
- Stoater – Something impressive or excellent.
“That performance was a pure stoater.”
- Swally – Alcohol or a drink.
“Let’s head to the pub for a wee swally.”
- Tatties – Potatoes.
“We’re having mince and tatties for dinner.”
- Telt – Told off or scolded.
“He got telt for coming home late.”
- Thrawn – Stubborn or difficult.
“He’s a thrawn old man, isn’t he?”
- Wean – A child.
“The wean’s been running around all day!”
- Yer aff yer heid – You’re crazy.
“Yer aff yer heid if you think that’s a good idea.”
- Yonks – A long time.
“I haven’t seen him in yonks.”
- Wheesht – Be quiet or shut up.
“Wheesht, we’re trying to watch the film.”
- Wur – Our.
“That’s wur house over there.”
- Yer bum’s oot the windae – You’re talking nonsense.
“Yer bum’s oot the windae with that story.”
- Yon – That.
“Look at yon lass over there.”
- Yaldi – An exclamation of excitement.
“Yaldi! We’ve won!”
- Scratcher – Bed.
“I’m heading to the scratcher for an early night.”
- Patch – Ignore someone or blow them off.
“I messaged him but he patched me.”
- Taps aff – A phrase used when it’s warm and people take their shirts off.
“It’s taps aff weather today!”
- Sook – Suck up to someone.
“He’s always sooking up to the boss.”
- Scaffy – Messy or disorganized.
“Your room’s pure scaffy!”
- Windae – Window.
“Open the windae, it’s boiling in here.”
- Sanny – Hand sanitizer.
“Have you got some sanny? My hands are minging.”
- Toaty – Tiny or small.
“That dog’s pure toaty.”
- Gie it laldy – To give it your all or go for it.
“He was giein’ it laldy on the dance floor!”
- Riddy – Embarrassment.
“I was pure riddy when I fell over.”
- Papped – Thrown out or dismissed.
“I got papped out of the pub last night.”
- Kip – Sleep or nap.
“I’m away for a wee kip after work.”
- Shan – Unfair or harsh.
“That’s pure shan, what they did to you.”
- Nash – To leave quickly.
“I’m gonna nash, got work early tomorrow.”
- Teuchter – A person from the Highlands.
“He’s a proper teuchter, loves the countryside.”
- Blawin a hoolie – Very windy.
“It’s blawin a hoolie out there, stay inside!”
- Drookit – Soaking wet.
“I got drookit walking home in the rain.”
- Gubbed – Beaten or defeated.
“We got gubbed at five-a-side last night.”
- Hunner – A lot of something.
“I’ve got a hunner things to do today.”
- Squeegie – A term for squeegee or to wipe something down.
“Use the squeegie on the windows, they’re filthy.”
- Coorie – To snuggle or nestle.
“Let’s coorie up by the fire.”
- Fly – Sly or sneaky.
“He’s a fly wee bugger, always up to something.”
