Yorkshire Slang - British English slang
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14 Examples of Yorkshire Slang

The Yorkshire accent isn’t known as a difficult accent to understand. The unique Yorkshire slang words however can be. They are used across the many towns and cities within the Yorkshire region and can be challenging to understand at first. These can affect new students learning British English and informal, local dialects. 

While some Yorkshire slang phrases are pretty easy to comprehend with a good basis in the language, others bear almost no resemblance to untrained ears. That’s why we’ve collected 14 slang words used in Yorkshire, UK. These will help get you to grips with the nuances of British English, regional language and even some localised humour.

1. Ey Up!

“Ey Up” means “Hello” in Yorkshire slang. Many people use it as a greeting across the historic county, just like “Hi” or “Alright?”

Also it’s used as a warning signal from one person to another. Examples are “watch out” or “calm down, mate.”

14 Yorkshire Slang words

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2. Nowt

A relatively common and long-used Yorkshire slang word which can be heard across most older British dialects, “Nowt” translates to “nothing.” Examples are:

“What did you get from Sainsburys earlier?”

“Got nowt, t’was too expensive.”

3. Katered

There are too many slang words for “drunk” in the English language to count. “Katered” is one of Yorkshire’s best additions to the pile. Just switch this word for the word “drunk” if you want to sound more like a local. 

(A common joke in Britain is to add the suffix “ed” to almost any word, and you’ll likely invent a new slang word for drunk. For example: “I got absolutely tabled last night.”)

4. Butty

This is the Yorkshire slang word for “sandwich.” You will find chip shop and cafe windows advertising ‘chip buttys,’ or chip sandwiches.

5. Whittling

The official definition of the English word ‘whittling’ refers to carving wood into shaped pieces. In Yorkshire however, “whittling” is actually a slang word for “worrying.”

Don’t confuse this slang word with “wittering” – a widespread UK slang word used to describe talking a lot, usually in a vapid or gossip-like way.

6. Chuffin’

Brits have come up with countless words to use instead of swear words. “Chuffin’” is one example of Yorkshire slang for this, replacing the F word like the terms “effin’” or “flipping ‘eck.”

Don’t confuse this with “chuffed.” Chuffed is a slang term used throughout the country which describes being happy with yourself or pleased with a positive outcome.

7. Reyt / Reit

While “chuffed” is found across the North and South of the country, “reyt” or “reit” is specific to Yorkshire’s Northern regions. “Reyt / reit” means “very” or “really,” for example, “You arrived reyt fast.”

8. Aye

An easy-to-find slang phrase across the North, spoken particularly more by the Scottish, “Aye” is an positive greeting, like “hello,” “goodbye” or “yes”. Sometimes, it’s used to affirm another’s statement, replacing longer phrases such as “you’re correct.”

9. Downtown

Learners across the world use this, notably in the US, where it titles Petula Clark’s 1964 pop hit Downtown. Translating to “the town” or “the city centre”, “downtown” is a piece of Yorkshire slang used across Yorkshire to describe going to the most populated or commercialised place in your village, town or area.

10. Arse End

Another phrase used across the UK but found much more commonly in grittier, working class dialects such as those of Yorkshire, “arse end” includes a mild form of swearing (“arse”) to describe being somewhere you’d rather not be, usually in a place that’s either run down, derelict or in the middle of nowhere.

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11. Tha

“Tha” is a regional slang word that replaces the common word “you.” Alongside the use of “thee” and “thou” across Yorkshire, this slang adaptation derives from older forms of English more common to Shakespeare’s era than our own. These words were mostly obliterated from everyday language in the South, but still survive through various Northern dialects.

12. Brew / Tea

Yorkshire Tea is a beloved tea bag brand across the country, but usually, when the common Yorkshire folk talk about “tea,” they’re talking about “dinner.” So if “tea” is slang for “dinner,” what does someone from Yorkshire say if asking for a classic “cup of tea” or a “cuppa”? They’d use another slang word: “brew.”

To put it simply, tea = dinner, and brew = cup of tea.

13.  R Kid / Ah Kid

“R Kid” or “Ah Kid” refers to a brother, usually the youngest brother in a family. This phrase is hardly heard in Southern English cities but is heard spoken across Yorkshire and by other Northern families such as those living in Manchester.

14. Lav / Bog / Loo

While US English uses the more generic and clean word, “bathroom” to refer to going to the toilet, UK English reroutes itself around using gross or graphic terms through the slang words “lav,” “bog,” or “loo” in place of the more blatant word “toilet.”

For information on the accents in Britain, click here.

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