#birmingham

To thrash, beat, or give someone a proper hiding.

A right miserable mush — a face dragging on the floor.

The off-licence — where you nip out to grab a few cans.

To hit someone — usually one decisive clout.

Food that's gone off — rancid, manky, in the bin.

A forward roll — Brummie kids don't do somersaults, they do gambols.

Taunt aimed at a Birmingham City FC supporter.

Boiled sweets — the hard, suck-don't-chew kind.

Up the canal — Brummie for a walk along the waterway.

Hands — as in "wash your donnies".

Your face — usually a miserable one.

Brummie term of affection for your sister — not what it sounds like down south.

To worry, fret or fuss — the Brummie pronunciation of 'worry'.

Brummie for mad, daft, a bit cracked.

A roundabout — Brummies call traffic islands, well, islands.

Brummie goodbye — 'ta-ra a bit', see you soon.

A dog — usually a scruffy mongrel.

Cheap frozen cordial lollies in a long plastic tube — peak Brummie corner-shop nostalgia.

To pester, bother or nag — Brummie/Black Country spelling of 'mither'.

In a strop — sulking, narked, mood right off.

A crusty bread roll — the Midlands name for what others call a bap or barm.

Birmingham's brutal hide-and-seek variant — find the safe zone before 'it' shouts your name.

Brummie 'love' or 'hun' — drops into any sentence like a verbal cuddle.

Nicking apples (or any fruit) straight off someone else's tree.

To cry, wail, or kick off in tears.

Birmingham's old red-light district — behind the famous department store.

Standing about gassing won't pay the bills — let's crack on.

Condition, form, nick — usually paired with 'fine' or 'good'.

Filthy. Properly grimy. Wants a hot bath and a scrub.

Cotton wool — Birmingham's name for it, after the surgeon who invented the dressing.

To mutter, grumble or moan under your breath.

Brummie gold standard — means brilliant, excellent, top-tier.

A truancy officer — the bloke who hunts kids skiving off school.

Brummie smush of 'how are you?'

To barge into a queue. The cardinal British sin.

A massive moth — the kind that ruins a summer evening.

To wander around with no real plan — usually round the shops.

Bonfire, in Brummie/Black Country mouths — especially the Guy Fawkes one.

A drain or sewer, Brummie style.

Crooked. Lopsided. Not hanging straight.

Mate or pal — or, depending on the sentence, someone's face.

That dry, hacking little cough that won't quit.

Brummie nickname for someone from the Black Country.