
Made-up: happy, pleased
Source: LS2, DS
macing: getting goods by fraud
Source: PL
Madlad: an exuberant, high-spirited youth( an affectionate term)
Source: LS3
Mae Wests(rhyming): the breasts
Source: LS3
mag flying: children's street game
Source: A
Maggie Mae: the most notorious and most sung about of nineteenth century
dockside prostitutes.
Source: LS4
Maggy Ann: margarine
Source: ML
magic sponge: name for the swab brought out to wash off an injured player
Source: GTH
magistrate: name for the player who sits on the bench waiting to be
put into the game
Source: GTH
maiden: a pull out drying rack in the public wash houses. They
were great steel rods which were pushed on to clothing to help dry them,
before ironing.
Sources: TWH, MV, ATHIA
maiden's water: weak beer, or spirits. See "virgin's piddle."
Source: SL
Mairsey dopes an' dozey dopes: derisory name for Merseyside.
Source: LS2
make and mend: a period set apart for seamen to repair their clothes,
and therefore a break time
Source: OED
Mam. Me mam. My mother.
Source: LS1
Mamna(Irish): Grandmother
Source: SL
Manc: a Mancunian (i.e., from Manchester)
Source: LS4
man catchers(obsolete): persons who preyed on immigrants in a city such
as Liverpool
Source: MAH
Manchester Cities(rhyming): the breasts
Source: LS3
Mangle, mangler: ironing machine
Source: Shaw ML, TWH
manky(sometimes spelled mancky): rotten, very inferior. The reference
is to things Mancunian, which some used to believe was derivative and second
rate.
Sources: Partridge, SL
manna from hevving: bird droppings, especially those of seagulls
Source: LS2
Mannishin: woman, girl
Source: LS3
Marbles: the testicles
Source: LS3
Mard (or marred): spoiled
mard kid: a spoiled child
mardy: petulant, whining
Sources: LS1, LS2
Mare: belittling name for a woman, as in dirty mare or vicious little
mare, or lazy mare
The reference may be equine, but it more probably comes from Mary
Source: LTB
mark someone's card, to : to enlighten someone
Source: LS3
Mark, a: the life of the party, always "on," always providing spontaneous
entertainment
Source: ML
Marks and Spencer: reference to a couple who have been courting for
a dozen years, or forever
Source: LS2
Marli horse: a white horse in a fanlight, taken to be a sign of respectability,
particularly in Orange districts, because King Billy's horse was white.
Source: ML
Marmalise: to chastise severely. Shaw writes that the word is a mixture
of murder and paralyze. All no doubt sweetened by a bit of marmalade.
Source: SHAW I, LS1
Marra-smash: marrow, gotten from smashing the leg bones of animals
Source: SL,LS1
Marring: spoiling a person. See also "mard" on this list.
Source: SL
marrowfat peas: another name for mushy peas
Source: SL, OED
Marshy Musketeers, Ther: The Salvation Army, or the Sally Anns
Source: LS2
Martin 'Enries: cheap suits. Dem's Martin Enries: These are cheap clothes
Shaw thinks that originally a Martin Henry designed workhouse suits.
They are also attributed to a Victorian philanthropist who worked to get
clothing to the poor.
Sources: SHAW II, LS1
Mary Ann: a woman-dominated husband
Source: ML
Mary Ellen(obsolete): generic name for a prostitute early in the last
century
Source: L
mary(obsolete): another word for pot belly
Source: UF
matelot: a sailor
Source: SL, OED
Matey: congenial. Cf. unmatey, meaning the opposite. Cf. also mateyness
Source: ML
Mayoress of Leeds style: a woman putting herself above her station.
The tradition is that this is a person who is doing everything backwards.
The Mayoress of Leeds was so very overwight that the only way she could
leave the ceremonial coach was backwards.
Source: SL
me fat aunt: rubbish, something unbelievable. E.g., "That's all me fat
aunt."
Source: LS2
Me feller. My man-friend; my escort(even temporary)
Source: LS1
meat wagon: vehicles such as transits or black marias or horse boxes,
which carry arrested persons and police.
Source: LS4
Meff: a tramp
Source: LS4
meg: halfpenny, a small coin. In meg places means unimportant. Meg specks:
the worst seats or vantage points for an event.
Sources: GS, LS1, LS3
Meladdo. An unnamed, but known, person.
Source: LS1
Melt: a worthless person
Cow's melt or pig's melt may be the source of this word
Source: LTB
mermaid's purses: pouches containing skate eggs, often found at the
water's edge.
Source: SL
Merry: drunken and with it foul-tempered and quarrelsome
Source: LS2
Mersey Funnel. De Mersey Funnel. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ
the King.
Source: LS1
Mersey Mountains, the: a high rise apartment building in Merseyside
Source: PL
Merseypropisms: creative, usually deliberately warped coinages,
which the Cockney Muse can barely compete with, as for instance:
ostrichized for ostracized
parlatic or perlatic, for paralytic
calling a drink the necktie of the gods
to be prostituted with the heat
aerated for aggravated
He's been living on her immortal earnings
They paid me a great condiment
I useter to be left handed, but now I'm ambiguous
She bought it cheap from a lady in seduced circumstances
"Distinguish dem headlights," said the bobby
He's hand in blouse wit dat barmaid
I went into a brassiere for me supper
Policeman on the docks asks a Scouser if he has any pornographic literature;
Scouser replies that he doesn't even have a pornograph
I cudden hear the word the priest said. The agnostics was so
bad.
We still got gas, you know, but I can't find any shops selling indecent
mantles
Source: SL
message, to be on: to be doing an errand
Source: LI30
meths: mentholated spirits
Source: BM
meter inspector: sardonic name for an sneak-thief who tries to gain
entrance to houses by pretending that he is an official sent to read the
meters
Source: LS2
Mick: an Irishman
As mad as a Mick in ther Nick: as angry as an Irishman in jail.
Source: LS2
Mickey: a pigeon. De mickeys ar lettin on de roof. The pigeons are alighting
on the roof.
Source: LS1, LS2
mickey-snatcher: a person who steals pigeons
Source: LS2
Midden: sanitary dust-bin. It usually refers to the wall bin out back,
unloading into the alley. In Lancashire miden refers to a heap of dung
or refuse.
Sources: SHAW I, LWAT, GLD
midden-steads(obsolete): places where middens were located
Source: LLMI
midder, to: to pester
Source:GHTL
Milk feller. De milk feller. The milkman.
Source: LS1
milkie: the milkman
Source: LS2
Milkshakes: the breasts
Source: LS3
Mince Pies(rhyming): the eyes
Source: LS3
Mincer(rhyming): tie
Mince pie is the rhyming component
Source: LS3
Minesweeper: a stealer of food or drink from the tables in a public
house.
Source: LS1
mingebag: scrotum, but the OED says it has also been used to refer to
female genitalia.
Source: SL
Mingees: policemen
Source: LS3
Mingy: mean, penny-pinching (from mean and stingy)
Source: LS2
Mint imperial: Liverpudlian for immaterial.
Source: LS3
Mint Rocks(rhyming): socks
Source: LS3
Minty Melda, Vinegar Vera: generic, teasing references to women
Source: SL
Mischievous Night, or Mischief Night: the night before Bonfire
Night (November 5), when pranks were played everywhere with fireworks,
etc. In Lancashire, Mischief Neet was the night before the first
of May, when young men used to play all sorts of frolics and practical
jokes upon their sleeping neighbors, such as exchanging tradesmen's sign-boards,
boring holes in rain tubs, confiscating any stray articles left our in
backyards, etc.
Source: SL
miseried, to be(obsolete): to be sent to reformatory school
Sources: IHBY, A
Misery moo: a teetotaler
Source: LS2
Miss Euphoria: a cocktail of morphine and gin
Source: FSDD
mission, a: a criminal job
Source: LS4
Mitts. Me mitts. My hands.
Source: LS1
Mizzle: to flee or disappear, usually to avoid the police. In Lancashire,
to mizzle means to steal away quietly.
Source: LS2
Mizzy. De Mizzy. Wavertree Park. Spiegl suggests that the word being
played on here is "The Mystery," because of uncertainty of ownership before
this became a municipal park. Another possibility is that "Mizzy" comes
from the Maistrie or Master's Guild, possibly the Bluecoat, whose school
still stands by the park. But the likely source is the Lancashire word
"mizzy," which means a soft, boggy place(cf. mist). In Lancashire,
"mizzle" means to rain finely, like Scotch mist.
Sources: LS1, Moloney, GLD
mobie: a mobile shop, which came to certain neighborhoods, selling a
range of sweets and convenience foods.
Source: SL
Mobile dandruff: body lice
Source: LS3
moby, a: a mobile phone
Source: SL
Mock ham sandwich: bread, margarine, mustard
Source: SL
Moey: mouth, sometimes face.
Sources: ST, ML
Moggy. Are moggy. Our cat. In St. Helen's, moggy can refer to an insect.
In certain areas of the region, it can refer to a mouse. In Scotland, it
means mouse. It may be a corrupted form of "mongrel."
Sources: LS1, Schur, SL
Mojo: Methylated spirits.
Source: LS1
moke: horse, donkey, etc.
Source: LS2
Molar-mauler: a dentist
Source: LS2
moll(obsolete): girl
Source: IHBY
mongol: a mongoloid child
Source: ZCAR
monkey, a: five hundred pounds
Sources: LS1, LS3
monkey boat: a sea-going vessel which kept monkeys for mascots, rather
than the traditional cats.
Source: LCS
monkey nuts: unshelled peanuts
Source: SL
Monkey 'ouse: monastery
Source: LS2
Moo, stupid: disdainful characterization of a woman
Source: SL
Moo: milk
Source: LS2
Moodies, the: doldrums, depression
Source: ANS
Moodyin. I wuz moodyin. I was wandering about thoughtfully.
Source: LS1
Mook in: help yourself(to food). Mook in, yer at yer granny's.
Also cf. "muck in" on this list.
Source: LS2
mook-cart(muck-cart): a refuse truck
Source: LS2
moonlight flit to do a: to move one's furniture and household possessions
to another address in the middle of the night, to evade landlord, creditors,
etc. In Lancashire, this was a "moonleet flittin."
Sources: LS2, GLD
moosh: the lower portion of the face, around the mouth. Moosh
can also refer to a prostitute's customer.
Source: LS2, SI
Mop, to: to drink, especially beer
Sources: LS2
Mopsed: half drunk, or "scalloped."
Source: ALS
mopus(obsolete): a farthing, or a small coin
Source: IHBY, A
moreish(obsolete): sleepily drunk
Source: LLMI
morgan look you: another word for a Welsh person
Source: A
Moroccan Black: cannabis resin in block form
Source: LS4
mortal sin: any form of pleasure
Source: LS2
Moses: a garrulous old man. Female equivalent: Moaning Minnie
Source: LS2
Moses basket: a container for carrying infants
Source: SL
Mother Superior: any kind of female boss
Also called: a tawny owl, Auntie Muriel, and Mrs. McNamara( the leader
of the band)
Source: LS2
Mother's Milk: Guinness Stout
Source: LS2
mother's ruin(obsolete): gin
Source: A
Mountains o' Morn (rhyming): pawnbroker
Source: LS3
Mouser: moustache
Source: Shaw ST
Mouth: She gorra mouf like a parish oven, i.e.,she is rather talkative,
and her talk is vituperative..
Source: LS1
mozzy: mosquito
Source: Partridge
Mrs McNamara(the leader of the band): any kind of female boss
Source: LS2
Mrs. Woman: a tautological form of address, which means just Mrs.
Source: PL
Muck in, yer at yer granny's! Bon Appetit! Sometimes the invitation
is to "tuck in.Muck in also can mean to pitch in and work cooperatively.
Sources: MV, LS1
Muckman, Der muckman: the refuse collector.
Source: LS1
Mug, Ile mug yer: Allow me to treat you.
Spiegl notes the threat rather than the welcome in modern use of this
word.
Source: LS1
muggin head: foolish looking
Source: GHTL
Mugs for rags: a foolish person (insult)
Source: Shaw II
mumtip(obsolete): payment to keep quiet
Source: A
Mungarly(obsolete): food, chow
Source: A
Murphia, the: The Irish Kosher Nostra (a whimsical notion)
Source: LS4
Mury Helen( Mary Ellen): a working-class Liverpool woman, usually elderly
and of scruffy appearance. Once know as a "shawlie" from the Irish habit
of wearing a shawl. Less frequently called a Mury Han (Mary Ann). Shaw
thinks that Mary Ellen eventually became generic for a Liverpool housewife.
Cf. the music hall song, "I'm shy, Mary Ellen, I'm shy..." Much earlier,
however, Mary Ellen could mean a prostitute.
Sources: Shaw, Moloney
mush(obsolete): police station, lock up. To be mushed means to be brought
in there
Source: A
Mush: a neutral form of address, used less frequently than "wack."
Source: LS2
Mush(or musher): now obsolete, the prostitute's name for the male customer,
similar to the "John" or "the trick" in American prostitute slang. Moosh,
with this meaning, is still heard in Liverpool among the police. A much
older meaning of "musher," now obsolete, was seaman.
Sources: LS4, LCS
Mush. Ee's a mush. He is a stranger.
Source: LS1
Muskers: policemen
Musker in der haystack: a policeman nearby
Source:LS3
Mut 'n' Jeff, to be (rhyming): to be hard of hearing
Source: LS3
Mutton dagger: penis
Source: LS2, LS3
Muzzied: lost, bewildered
Source: LS2