Your Dead Good Guide To Manchester Slang & Sayings

06 Sep 2023, by Camila Karalyte, min. read

Sorry, could you repeat that, mate?

The capital of the North and industrial paradise of Manchester is known for its football, music and culture. But what’s even more famous than the Gallagher Brothers (sorry, lads)? The ever-so-charming Mancunian accent and dialect.

Much like London’s Cockney rhyming slang, Manchester has its very own dictionary of words, phrases and sayings – all passed down through generations of Mancunians.

And, if you’re eyeing up the city as your university destination, you’ll probably want to swot up on the lingo to truly feel like a local (albeit, adopted).

We’ve got a handy A-Z guide on all the Manchester slang and sayings to ensure you’re not lost in translation.

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Bread rolls in bakery. Manchester slang and sayings

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Manchester slang & sayings

Your lifesaver, your bestie, your OTP — our guide to Manchester slang will be your partner in crime as you experience the city.

A

Alright?

A rhetorical question.

Mancunians use ‘alright?’ as a greeting, instead of hello or hey.

If someone says to you “alright?”, they’re not actually asking you how you are. Just say “alright?” back to them.

And that

An expression that simply means ‘and everything else’ or ‘etc…’

For example: “What are you up to today?” “I gotta clean my room, hoover the floor and that”.

‘Angin’

Not to be confused with ‘hanging’ to mean hungover (elsewhere in the UK).

In Manchester, ‘angin’ means disgusting. As in “I’ve got an ‘angin’ hangover”.

B

Barm cake

To barm cake or not to barm cake, that is the question.

In the northern city of Manchester, barm cake means bread roll. “Can I have a buttered barm cake, please?”

And the southern way, the correct way, is bread roll. Don’t fight us on this…

Bobbins

A Mancunian way of saying something is rubbish.

For example: “My exam grade was bobbins”.

Brew

Come on, surely you know this one. It means a cup of tea.

“Fancy a brew?” — the answer is always yes.

Buzzing

A very apt adjective for a city whose symbol is a bee. Buzzing means excited.

As in: “Are you looking forward to going to uni?” “Mate, I’m buzzing!”.

C

Cadge

A way of saying to scrounge or to ask for.

Like when your mate asks for some money. “Can I cadge 50p off ya?” “Mate, I’m skint”.

Chuddy

Chuddy means chewing gum.

“Got any chuddy on ya?”.

Be warned: opening a packet of chuddy around a crowd will give you at least four new best friends. Facts.

Chuffed

Fairly recognised across the UK, the Manchester slang ‘chuffed’ means to be very pleased.

“Are you happy with your gifts?” “I’m well chuffed, thanks!”.

Chufty badge

Almost going hand-in-hand with chuffed, chufty badge is a phrase implying a metaphorical badge for doing something minor/the bare minimum.

“I finally finished reading that book” “You want a chufty badge for that?”.

D

Dead

No, this doesn’t mean RIP.

In Manchester slang, dead means very/really.

For example: “How was the show?” “It was dead good”.

Deck

Not only something you find outside in your garden.

In Manchester, if someone says “I’m going to deck you”— run. Deck means to hit or punch.

Dibble

Dibble is used to refer to the police.

It derives from Top Cat’s adversary, Officer Dibble. Makes sense.

“The dibble arrested my mate yesterday”. Ooofftt, sorry pal.

Do one

If someone tells you to ‘do one’, they’re asking you to go away (or to f**k off).

“Homework on a Friday? Mr. Robbins needs to do one”

E

Ee Arr

Not a typo or pirate sound.

Think of “Ee arr” as a northern version of ‘oi’.

It’s used to get someone’s attention. Like, “Ee arr, look at this for me”.

G

Gaggin’

If you’re gaggin’, it means you’re thirsty.

“Can I have some water? I’m gaggin’ for a drink”.

Gaff

Gaff is Manchester slang for a person’s home.

“I spent the night at his gaff”.

Ginnel

Don’t listen to someone if they ask you to follow them down the ginnel.

Ginnel refers to an alleyway or walkway, usually between buildings.

Gob

An easy one for ya. Gob means mouth.

“Shut ya gob and be quiet”.

Gruds

Used to refer to underpants.

“Where are all my clean gruds, mum?”.

K

Kecks

From underwear to trousers, if someone mentions your kecks, they’re talking about your trousers.

“Mate, is that mud all over your kecks?”.

M

Mad fer it

This Manchester slang means to be excited.

“You looking forward to it?” “Yeah, I’m mad fer it”.

Manc

Come on guys, this is easy.

Manc = Manchester.

Mardy

Like the iconic Arctic Monkeys song ‘Mardy Bum’, mardy means moody or sulky.

“Look at her, she looks well mardy”. Yep, that’s me.

Mingin’

Not just a staple phrase in Manchester slang, mingin’ is used across various parts of the UK to mean disgusting or unpleasant.

“Ewww, that’s dead mingin” — in response to your uni flat kitchen after Freshers’ Week.

Mint

Not just a herb. Mint means very good.

“This bar is well mint”.

Mither

I definitely do a lot of this. To mither is to moan/annoy/irritate/bother.

“Will you stop mithering me, please?” “You have not stopped mithering all day”

Mooch

To mooch is to wander around aimlessly.

“Fancy going for a mooch around the shops?” “Yeah, sound”.

N

Nick

If someone mentions nick, it’s either your pal or someone has stolen something.

To nick is to steal.

“I nicked a packet of sweets from the shop”.

Newtons

Londoners, you should get this one.

Newtons is rhyming slang for teeth. How? Well, the Manchester slang for teeth derived from Newton Heath, which rhymes with teeth. Get it?

“Check out the state of his newtons!”. Wow, rude.

Nowt

Nothing. Nada. That’s what it means.

“I’ve got nowt to do today.” I wish.

NQ

NQ stands for Northern Quarter — the trendier part of Manchester known for its alternative and bohemian culture.

A very cool place, basically.

O

Our kid

Congrats! You’re a parent! Just kidding.

“Our kid” is Manchester slang for a term of endearment/affection, used for siblings or close friends mainly.

Owt

The opposite of nowt. Owt is Manchester slang for ‘anything’.

As in: “I’m off to the shops, you want owt?”.

P

Pants

We don’t mean your underwear.

Not just slang in Manchester, ‘pants’ — meaning bad or rubbish — is used across the country and is a staple phrase for many of us.

“How was your lecture?” “It was bloody pants”.

Pop

Not just a nickname for your grandad.

If you’re ordering a fizzy drink when you’re out and about in the city, opt for a ‘can of pop’.

Pop = Manchester slang for fizzy drink.

S

Scran

We bet you’ll be using this one often. Scran means food or snack.

“Shall we get some scran? I’m starving”.

Snide

Slang you hope won’t be used to describe you; snide means to be mean or be a tight ass.

“Stop being so snide and share your crisps with me”.

Sound

You must know this one. If anything is good, you’d say ‘sound’.

“You’re sound for sharing your crisps with me”.

Swear down

Swear down is a verbal expression, commonly used to imply a statement of truth.

“Did you nick my last bag of sweets?” “No way, swear down”.

T

Tea

It hurts to write this but ‘tea’ is Manchester slang for the meal you eat at dinner time (your evening meal). FYI, if you visit anywhere down south of the UK, ‘tea’ is something you drink, and your evening meal is called dinner.

It’s complicated, we know.

“What’s for tea?” “Pie and mash”.

Tight

When someone doesn’t share their crisps with you, they’re being ‘tight’.

Tight is Manchester slang for nasty or stingy.

“Don’t be tight, share ya snacks”.

W

What did they cut your hair with, a knife and fork?

Self-explanatory.

If you get asked this, I’m sorry to say, your haircut is terrible. Get it sorted ASAP.

Quick guide to Manchester slang and sayings

Screenshot this table so you can whip it out in times of need.

Mancunian word	Definition	Example
Alright?	Hello	“Alright?” “Hi, alright?”
And that	Etc	“Just need to write, edit, reference and that”
‘Angin’	Disgusting	“This food is ‘angin”
Barm cake	Soft bread roll	“Can I have a barm cake please?”
Bobbins	Rubbish	“Manchester United were bobbins last night”
Brew	Cup of tea	“Fancy making me a brew?”
Buzzing	Excited	“Got a gig tonight, I’m buzzing”
Cadge	Scrounge/ask for	“Can I cadge a lift off you?”
Chuddy	Chewing gum	“Do you want a chuddy?”
Chuffed	Pleased	“I’m well chuffed with my exam”
Chufty badge	Metaphorical badge for doing something minor	“You cleaned your room? You want a chufty badge or something?”
Dead	Very/really (good)	“That song is dead good”
Deck	Hit/punch	“I’m going to deck you, loser”
Dibble	Police	“They’ve called the dibble, let’s run”
Do one	Go away	“The rain needs to do one”
Ee Arr	Try to get someone’s attention	“Ee arr, take a look at this why don’t ya?”
Gaggin’	Thirsty	“I’m gaggin’ for a drink”
Gaff	Home/place of residence	“Come round my gaff any time”
Ginnel	Alley/walkway	“It’s quicker to cut through the ginnel”
Gob	Mouth	“Shut ya gob”
Gruds	Underpants	“Where are all my clean gruds?”
Kecks	Trousers	“I like your kecks, where’re they from?”
Mad fer it	To be excited about something	“Are you coming to the party?” “Yeah, I’m mad fer it”
Manc	Manchester	“He’s from up north; he’s a Manc”
Mardy	Moody/sulky	“He’s being a right mardy bum”
Mingin’	Unpleasant	“That restaurant was mingin’”
Mint	Very good	“That song’s well mint”
Mither	To annoy/bother/irritate	“Stop mithering me!”
Mooch	Wander aimlessly	“Let’s go for a mooch around the park”
Nick	Steal	“I used to nick coins from mum’s purse all the time”
Newtons	Teeth	“Look at the state of his newtons”
Nowt	Nothing	“There’s nowt better than pizza”
NQ	Northern Quarter	“Fancy checking out NQ this weekend?”
Our kid	Term of affection/endearment	“We’re going to our kid’s for Christmas”
Owt	Anything	“Off to the shops, do you want owt?”
Pants	Rubbish	“That show was pants”
Pop	Fizzy drink	“Do you want a can of pop?”
Scran	Food	“I’m starving, shall we get some scran?”
Snide	Mean/nasty	“You were dead snide to him”
Sound	Very good	“It was a sound night out”
Swear down	Statement of truth	“I swear down, it wasn’t me”
Tea	Meal eaten at dinner time/evening time	“Mum, what’s for tea?”
Tight	Stingy/nasty	“Don’t be tight, give me a choc”
What did they cut your hair with, a knife and fork?	Your haircut is bad	“I got a haircut” “What did they cut your hair with, a knife and fork?”