When is a wynd not a ginnel?
When it’s a snicket? More viewing the Urban Dictionary slang website last night.
My normal test for these dialect search things is to put in the word ‘ginnel’, which is what I grew up with as a way to describe a small path or alleyway. It worked! It also offered ’snicket’, and I in turn offer back ‘wynd’, which is the one you tend to see quite a bit in Edinburgh, particularly for the narrow streets off the Royal Mile.
A further option is a twittering, which was one my Latin teacher at school used. However, let’s just say the Urban Slang site doesn’t deal very well with that one. But it does offer ‘flutester’, which is evidently a small ginnel. It’s good to be prepared for every eventuality.
I’m sure there are other regional variations - so if you can think of any, add a comment.
I had thought about titling this post ‘citrus ginnel’, as an alternative to ‘lemony snicket’. But then I might have looked a bit of a daft wazzock. You might have felt like a numpty if you hadn’t known. And muppets everywhere would be none the wiser.
1 comment January 16th, 2008