Talk Like ah Bajan Part 2

This article follows on from yesterday’s article that presented some of the more commonly used Bajan sayings and proverbs. In this article, we will take a more in-depth look at the Bajan vernacular, by presenting a glossary of regularly used words and their meanings. Please note that these are not all the words/terms that form the Bajan dialect, but rather just a select few. Click on the letters below to navigate accordingly.

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H     I    J    K    L    M     N     O    P    Q    R     S     T     U     V     W     X    Y    Z

A

• all de talk – with everything said
• all a wanna – everyone in a group
• all two a wunna – two persons in a group
• at’all/at’tall – no-how, no-way.

B

• bachannal – commotion, loud partying
• bad feels – any faint feeling
• bare – a lot of
• bariffle – a whole lot of something
• bassa bassa – a fight/disagreement
• belly – stomach
• big-up – kudos, accolades, salutation
• Bim – a nickname for Barbados
• black hat – person behaving unseemly
• blasted – “damn”
• blista – to curse someone out
• blista bline – to badly curse someone out
• boar tru – to push through a crowd
• boney – very slim
• bossman – a salutation/an admired friend
• boxy or botsi – the buttocks
• bozzi – an expression; e.g “not me bozzi”
• brek up – to feel really tired after a party or exercise
• broughtupsy – proper upbringing, manners or class
• bruggadown/brugga-lax/brax-lax – the sound of a fall, or something hitting something else hard
• bubble up de gap – walk/move up the street
• bumpa/bumsi – the buttocks
• buss mout – when hit in the mouth and it bleeds
• butt up pon – to meet by chance; to have met by chance

C

• carry way – take away
• caw – wow!
• catspradle – like when something falls and disintegrates
• chat up – to talk up someone
• cheese don bread – an expression or exclamation
• chune – a song
• come’a – come here to me!
• common – to be low class
• cuff – a punch
• cuh dear – an exclamation showing empathy
• cus – to insult, swear or use bad words

D

• daa fuh yuh – that’s what you get
• dat – that
• de – the
• de-belly – diarrhea
• dem – them
• do-fa-do – a saying (“What goes around, comes around”/tit-for-tat)
• dog dead – an expression of finality
• dottish – forgetful/stupid/foolish
• dumpsy/duncey – to be stupid
• duppy – a ghost or spirit

E

• ’e – he
• en’ – is not
• enuff – to have had enough of something
• evah – every
• evahsince – a long time ago

F

• fa/fah/fuh – for
• faddah – father
• fah real – to agree with something said
• fall ’way – to lose weight rapidly
• fart friten – afraid of everything, easily scared
• firegalash – a disorderly woman always ”cussing out”
• flounce up – usually means to stamp one’s foot in a display; showing a readiness to fight.
• frig em up – to mess up someone
• front-house – the living room.
• frowsy – to be smelly or musty
• fuh-lie? – “you are telling a lie”
• fuh true? – “for truth?”; “for real?”
• fussy – very particular
• fuzz out – to be exhausted from strenuous activity

G             

• gear – used to describe expensive brands of clothing
• georgy bundle – a bundle made up of various oddments
• getting on – misbehaving.
• gih – give
• gimme – to give something
• gine – to be going/going to..
• gipsy – overly inquisitive
• government juice – water
• gree – to speak on friendly terms
• gree back – to re-speak on friendly terms
• guh so – move that way…
• gully boar – one who has no class

H

• hag – to bother
• hard-ears – you don’t listen
• hard-head / hard’n – you don’t learn anything
• has-in – contains
• hay – here
• horn / horning – cheat on a lover
• humbug – to bother or annoy

I

• igrant – ignorant
• in-true/in-troot – “in truth?” (for real)
• in-two-twos – it happened really fast.

J

• jipsy – to be inquisitive
• johnny – an idiot
• juck – to poke, stab or push

K

• kafuffle – to confuse; commotion
• kimboes – hips

L

• leff – leave/the direction known as left
• leff he – to leave someone alone / do not trouble him
• lemme – let me
• less noise – be silent.
• let loan – to leave alone
• liard – a liar
• lick – hit
• lick-down/lick-dung – hit by a car
• lick-mout – “Talk too much”
• lickrish – to be greedy for food
• long-side – next to
• lookuh – look
• lower down that – to turn down,

M

• malicious – mischievous
• mashup – to break, deconstruct or destroy.
• maulsprigging – a severe lashing
• mek – make
• mek sport – to joke/kid around/(you) mekin’ sport
• merr / murr – mother
• mobba-ton – a really excessive amount
• mofuhme – need more for myself
• mout – mouth
• muh – me
• mussie/mussy – maybe, perhaps or probably

 

N

• nain – nothing
• nincanpoop – foolish person
• nosey – always want to know others business
• nuff/nough – a lot of…
• nuse – to use

O

• obeah – Witchcraft/Black Magic/sorcery of West African origin similar to ‘voodoo’
• obzocky – to be weird looking; unshapely woman
• offa – off of
• Ol’ haag – an old woman.
• onliest – the only one
• onneat – to be underneath
• onstan – to understand
• opiten – to open
• opnumin – to open
• opunit – to open
• out it out – turn off the light.
• ovadayso/outdayso – over there
• own way – stubborn

P

• pailing – the zinc metal galvanize used for walls of the yard, or roof of the house
• parro – a crack-head, someone so addicted to drugs, usually homeless
• pasture – any patch of grass bigger than 3 sq.ft.
• pelt – throw
• pickney – a child
• piss – to urinate
• playing de’ fool – acting annoying
• play play – make believe
• poe – a chamber pot (also see topsy)
• pon – on top/place upon
• pon’ top of – more, after the first set
• poppit – an idiot

Q

R

• ram/ramoff – to be full or crowded
• reverse back – to drive backwards
• rumfle-up/ramful-up – to wrinkle; to mess-up a hairdo (girls)

S

• safe – cool, ok, good
• sawarrria – always having heated arguments with others
• scotch round – move, give me space
• site – ok; to agree with something said
• size roun’ – to go around
• skinning your teeth – grinning, smiling or laughing.
• sky larke – to play the fool
• snot – mucus
• soft – to be shy or afraid
• spraddle – sprawl; straddle
• sweet fuh days – something that is really nice

T

• tek – take
• tings – things
• too sweet – really nice.
• topsy – a chamber pot
• turning bewitch – becoming crazy
• turning foolish – becoming forgetful

U

• uh??? – pardon?
• unnit’do – to undo

V

• vex – angry
• vise – to understand

W

• walking bout – running errands, going about one’s business.
• wares – kitchen utensils, cutlery and crockery (kitchen ware)
• watch it from dey – look-out; be careful
• wee wee – very small; tiny; to urinate
• wha gine on – what’s going on with you; what’s new!
• w’happening – what’s happening!
• whax palax – a hard hit.
• whax palax bruggadown brax – a hard hit and fall
• wine – a dance done by gyrating one’s waistline around
• wizzy wizzy – whispering
• wood ant – termite
• wuck / wok – work
• wufless – worthless, terrible, no good
• wuh – what
• wuhloss – used to express disappointment
• wuk up – a dance done by gyrating one’s waistline, with heavy emphasis on the forward and backward motions.
• wunna – you all

X

Y

• ya – you
• yam/yahm – to eat ravenously
• yonder – over there
• yuh – you
• yuh right! – “How observant!”
• yuh shooting – your high-water pants are too short.
• yute – a youth/ child

Z

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