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  • Talk Like ah Bajan Part 2

Talk Like ah Bajan Part 2

Wednesday, 10 May 2017 / Published in Go For The HISTORY, Latest posts

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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