1) Twp – Hang on a minute, there are no vowels in that word I hear you cry. Well, the ‘w’ is pronounced like the ‘oo’ in ‘look’ and it is a nice way of calling someone daft or stupid.
Example: “Don’t be so twp.” (tuts furiously)
2) Tidy – One of my least favourite of the Swansea/welsh sayings but it simply cannot go unmentioned. Britons everywhere know it to mean ‘clean’ ‘ship-shapely’ ‘ordered’ but here in Swansea it means something or someone is good.
Example: “You’re coming to the gig tomorrow night in Uplands? Tidy.”
2) Whose coat is that jacket? – A phrase meaning ‘Whose coat is this?’ – but we Swansea folk like to make sure you understood exactly what we were talking about by saying it twice. Tidy.
4) Cwtch – A classic. One that is slowly but surely creeping over the border into England. Embrace it. It’s lush. It’s closest translation would be ‘a really warm, meaningful, special, heartfelt hug that make everything better.’
Example: “Aww come here for a cwtch”
5) Tamping – …Raging, fuming. It means mad. Really mad.
Example: “I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes in the cowin’ rain.
I’m absolutely tamping”.
6) Mun – This one doesn’t really have a meaning. It is more of a noise or word that people say after a sentence, usually depicting a sense of impatience or emphasis.
Example: “Hurry up mun, we’re going to be late!”
“Don’t ask me I dunno mun!”
7) Now in a minute – This is a baffling one to anyone outside of Wales. We aren’t even sure why we say it ourselves. It just doesn’t make sense. It contradicts itself. Do you mean now? or in a minute? It is used when someone is asked to do something/be somewhere and they are going to go right now, but also they might not show up for a bit longer.
Example: “I’ll be there now in a minute, mun!”
8) Hanging – Gross, disgusting.
Example: “That’s hanging that is”.
9) Butt – This is not a reference to a part of the body. Oh no. This is what you call a dear friend, a pal, a buddy.
Example: “Fancy a pint later, Butt?” – Yes, yes we do.
10) Lush – Variations include ‘Cowing lush’. This is a super duper Swansea word which you will hear being used very often. It means, well, lush and it can be used for absolutely anything.
Example: “He’s well lush.” “His new puppy is so lush”.
11) Like – Another difficult one to explain. You will hear a lot of Swansea-folk adding the word ‘like’ onto the end of their sentences. The best way to describe it is probably a stalling tactic or to fill an awkward pause.
Example: “I like him like, I just dunno like, if I really like, like him, like.” – Makes perfect sense.
12) Cheers Drive – Every bus or taxi driver in Swansea’s name is ‘Drive’. Use this when exiting the vehicle. It is polite and quite frankly, expected.
Example: “Cheers Drive!”
Welcome to Huwspace 