The most popular slang words in Yorkshire ranked

The most popular slang words in Yorkshire ranked (photo: adobe)The most popular slang words in Yorkshire ranked (photo: adobe)
The most popular slang words in Yorkshire ranked (photo: adobe)

Less than a third of people know what "while" means

A new survey has explained the true meanings of favourite Yorkshire slang words. This comes after 43% of people confessed they didn’t know what “While,” “G’iore,” “Nowt” mean.

Original duck specialists DCUK put common Yorkshire terms to a vote. This determined which words are the regional favourites.

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The survey found “Ayup me duck,” is said as an endearment phrase, but only 62% of those  asked knew this, with 25% thinking it’s being stupid, and 10% questioning the duck reference.

Another northern favourite includes “Ginnel,” with 58% understanding it means to chew something, and one in four thought it referred to a toilet.

The top five voted Yorkshire slang terms 

#Slang WordMeaning 1Meaning 2Meaning 3Meaning 4
1WhileWentAt The Same TimeA TimeDuring
2Gi’oreDon’tGive OverStop ItToo Loud
3NowtNothingColdNeverClout
4GinnelToiletChew somethingAlleywayTo Nag
5Ayup Me DuckDuckBeing StupidTerm Of EndearmentAn Animal

The results

“While” was officially crowned the champion slang term, however only 67% of voters knew it was a term for a certain time. 12% thought it meant “went,” a further 6% thought it was a replacement for “during,” and 4% thought it meant “at the same time.”

Other favourites include “G’iore” which just 60% knew the meaning of, as some thought it related to being too loud (35%), the word “don’t” (2%) or “stop it” (3%).

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Less than half (48%) knew the definition of “Nowt,” with 26% thinking it referred having a cold, 15% assume it means “never” and one in 10 (11%) thought it meant “clout.”

Craig Wensley, DCUK Owner added “From old traditions to new slang, there are so many interesting and quite frankly funny local words people use across Yorkshire, but some are so farfetched that most people don’t even know what they mean. We hope our survey gives some insight into each definition, so the favourite slang terms can be used the correct way in future!”

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