Speak Like Me!

Talk Tidy! John Edwards has made his lifetime study, the peculiarities of the Welsh/English dialect. He named this dialectical oddity "Wenglish" and recorded it as it is spoken, mainly in the valleys and townships of South Wales.

Here's a selection of 'tidy' words and phrases:

Ach-a-fi An expression of disgust as in "You should 'ave seen the state 'e was in, ach-a-fi!"

Ashman (the... )
Wenglish for refuse collector

Back and fore
Wenglish for "back and forth', as in, "He's a real pest - back and fore all the time.'

Butty
(a) A friend or workmate; "We've been big butties/big butts since school..." (b) One of a matching pair "I can't find the butty to this show for the life of me... "

By you
According to you, as in "What's the time by you

Cwtch
A much loved and much used local word having a number of uses:
(a) The coal cwtch, or the cwtch under the stairs/cwtch dan star - a storage place: derived from the Welsh 'cwt'. [There used to be a 'cwtch' in my old primary school]
(b) To keep concealed; "Keep that cwtched by there now - don't want anybody to see it... "
(c) Lie down, as in the order to a dog - "Go (and find your) cwtch!"
(d) To be fondled and snuggled up in an especially loving way "Cwtch up to your mam now". A child nursed "Welsh fashion is well and truly being 'cwtched'
(e) To warn off (now seemingly obsolete in local usage); "Bar cwtch, bar cwtch, don't come to my cwtch" A warning issued by children to others when out blackberry picking.

Gip/Gyp
Great pain. as in "This 'and keeps giving ne gyp - it's chronic - honest!"

Odd
Plus, as in "I've only got a pound odd on me."

Samwidge
Wenglish for 'sandwich'.

There you are then
That's it; "Well there you are then - it's finished at last!". This too is a direct translation from the Welsh

Tidy
One of the most over-worked Wenglish words, as the following examples show:

tidy! - fine splendid
a tidy spell - quite a long time
a tidy few - quite a number
a tidy feller - a decent chap, probably 'good with his hands'
a tidy step - back and fore - quite a long way
a tidy swill - a wash involving at least face and hands.
a tidy bit in the bank - plenty of money - especially 'filthy-wealthy'
talk tidy! - speak properly

Twt/Dwt
Small in stature, a young child; "What can you expect - only a little dwt she is after all!" (another Welsh expression).

Found over at Chasing Daisy. Whilst you are there take a look at the '100 Sexiest Things About Wales' post.