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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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 – he
- en’ – is not
- enuff – to have had enough of something
- evah – every
- evahsince – a long time ago
- 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
- 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
- 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
- igrant – ignorant
- in-true/in-troot – “in truth?” (for real)
- in-two-twos – it happened really fast.
- jipsy – to be inquisitive
- johnny – an idiot
- juck – to poke, stab or push
- kafuffle – to confuse; commotion
- kimboes – hips
- 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,
- 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
- nain – nothing
- nincanpoop – foolish person
- nosey – always want to know others business
- nuff/nough – a lot of…
- nuse – to use
- 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
- 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
- ram/ramoff – to be full or crowded
- reverse back – to drive backwards
- rumfle-up/ramful-up – to wrinkle; to mess-up a hairdo (girls)
- 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
- tek – take
- tings – things
- too sweet – really nice.
- topsy – a chamber pot
- turning bewitch – becoming crazy
- turning foolish – becoming forgetful
- uh??? – pardon?
- unnit’do – to undo
- vex – angry
- vise – to understand
- 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
- 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
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