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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Lifestyle
Damon Wilkinson & Jess Molyneux

19 'lost' Manchester words that you may not have heard of

Through generations, there have been plenty of words, phrases and pronunciations that might not mean much to many - but for those who grew up in and around Manchester, they are easily understood.

Some may be more recognisable, whereas others have been bound to certain generations or areas of the region. Whether these were said by your ancestors or close family, there are some words we still say ourselves or others that have been lost through the years.

We've trawled through Elizabeth Gaskell's ground-breaking 1848 novel Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life to unearth 19 fascinating examples of Mancunian dialect largely lost in the mists of time. Mrs Gaskell's husband, the Rev William Gaskell, was fascinated with the language used by working class Mancs and went to great lengths in the footnotes of Mary Barton to explain its meaning, the Manchester Evening News previously reported.

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Some of the slang - such as 'ritling' to describe a child suffering from rickets - thankfully isn't really applicable to modern-life. But one or two other words, such as 'nesh' to describe someone soft or weak and 'wick' to describe something full of life, are still used today.

Here, we take a look at a number of 'lost' Manchester words that you may or may not have heard. This list isn't intended to be comprehensive, we selected a number of sayings previously reported that readers may or may not have heard. But if there are any you feel we should have included, let us know in the comments section.

Farrantly

- Pleasant-looking

Frabbit

- Peevish, ill-tempered

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Clem

- Starving

Cowd

- Cold

Lile

- Little

Wick

- Alive

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Nesh

- Someone who is soft or weak

Ritling

- A weakling or a child that suffers from rickets

Cotched

- Caught

Rucks

- A large quantity

Down-lying

- Having a lie-in

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Disremember

- Forget

Pobbies or pobs

- A child's portion of porridge

Baggin-time

- Time of the evening meal

Dree

- Long and tedious

Gloppened

- Amazed, frightened

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Liefer

- Rather

Knob-sticks

- Those who agree to work at lower wages

Cricket

- A stool

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