Talk
Dundonians have their own slang, a quick crash course strongly influenced by both Doric from the North East and Lowland Scots. Note that some of these are not necessarily restricted in use by Dundonians, rather Scots folks 'affen hae a wye o' spikin thit cin affa confuse ony English spikin fowk' [rather people from Scotland often speak in a manner which tends to confuse people who speak English]. Here's some examples:
Ane/Ain = One
Bairn = child probably from Scandinavian
Buroo = Jobcentre / unemployed On the broo/My broo just came through from bureau
Bump = To 'bump' something is to steal it.
Bridie = A Meat filled Pastry, in the shape of a semi-circle, a delicacy from near-by Forfar
to chib = to stab Origin unknown, may be from Romansch for 'blade' Or to punch
'The Cash' = nickname for NCR ATM manufacturer, one of the city's largest employers.
Circle = roundabout / rotary junction
Cribby = A game where you have to hit a ball on the edge of the pavement from the otherside.
Cundie = Drain apparently from 'conduit'
Dub = A puddle
Eh! = Yes
Eh? = What
Eh sounds like the 'e' at the beginning of 'elephant' = Aye/Yes
Eh = I pronoun. The fact that 'yes' and 'I' are the same in Dundonian is a source of common bafflement for visitors.
With Eh it's important to listen to the intonation to get the meaning, it is entirely possible for a local to complete a conversation using only Eh.
Fleg = Fright/Scare
Gie's = Give me from 'give us', 'us' usually meaning 'me'
Green = Can be used for any open grassy space, but also specifically means the shared back garden of a block of tenements.
Jessie = An effeminate or weak man Literally it is a Scots form of the name 'Janet'
Ken = Know
Kent = Knew/Known
Lift = To 'lift' something is also to steal it. To be "lifted" means to be arrested or apprehended by the police.
Midden = a bin common Scots or a mess.
Minging = smelly/disgusting
to pan in = to break as in 'Eh panned in a wundie' or to beat up
Peh = a meat pie pronunciation shift ie->eh, similarly my->meh, high->heh, etc
Pochle = To steal
Puss short 'u', rhymes with 'bus' = Face If someone is going to 'bang your puss', find a way to make a sharp exit...
Schemie = A resident of one of the outlying suburbs or 'schemes'. Often used in a disparaging fashin.
Tatties = potatoes
Teuchter pron. 'choochter' = A resident of the countryside, chiefly to the north. Often used in a disparaging fashion. Also - someone may be referred to as being from Auchterteuchter
Tube/Choob = Stupid person, usually heard in the phrase 'you tube' This usage predates the now-famous video sharing website ...
Belter = Something that was very funny or entertaining
Belter When describing someone = Prat, Idiot etc.
Minter = The process of blushing or feeling embarrassed
A scajy = a state of anger or craziness "Dunny tak' a scajy at as"
Understand
Dundee Tourist Information & Orientation Centre is located at Discovery Quay on Riverside by the RRS Discovery.
Relative to other Scottish cities, Dundee's location is:
1.5 hours North of Edinburgh
2 hours North East of Glasgow
1.25 hours South of Aberdeen
Historically, it is famous for the three J's. Jute, Jam and Journalism.
Jute - The boats, laden with jute from the Indian Sub-Continent used to arrive at Dundee, where the jute would be unladen and processed in the many jute mills around the City. Due to these jute factories, there was a lot of immigrant labour during this time. The last textile factory closed down a few of years ago, circa 2001. A lot of the old jute factory buildings have now been converted into apartments and offices.
Jam - Dundee is famous for its jam and is the original home of 'Marmalade'. The farms around Dundee grew some still do berries. These were used to make the jam. Also the Keillor Sweet Factory was famous for its sweets, although this is now shut down.
Journalism - Dundee is home to the famous Dandy and the Beano comics. D C Thomson are the publishers of these and other print titles.
The people of Dundee, a.k.a. Dundonians, are generally friendly to outsiders. The student population is very high, about 1 in 7.