Cornish words & sayings
Dreckly, proper job, my 'ansum...a light-hearted guide to the words you'll hear across Cornwall, and how (not) to use them on a date.
Cornish dialect
- Dreckly
- At some point. Maybe. Cornwall's answer to mañana, only with less urgency.
- In dating: Replying to a message dreckly is fine. Turning up to a first date dreckly is not.
- Proper job
- Well done; excellent; exactly right.
- In dating: Booked a table with a sea view before the summer crowds? Proper job.
- My 'ansum
- My handsome...a warm term of endearment for anyone, male or female, friend or stranger.
- In dating: Don't get your hopes up if the woman in the bakery calls you my 'ansum. She calls everyone that.
- My lover
- Another all-purpose friendly greeting. Nothing romantic implied.
- In dating: See above. Being called my lover at the bus stop is not a declaration.
- Emmet
- A tourist. From the dialect word for an ant...they swarm in August.
- In dating: Matched with someone who's only here for a fortnight? Emmet alert.
- Wasson?
- What's going on? What's up? A greeting and a question in one word.
- In dating: The perfect opening message: short, friendly and unmistakably local.
- Where's that to?
- Where is that? The "to" on the end is very Cornish.
- In dating: "The café by the harbour...where's that to?" is a completely acceptable question.
- Teasy
- Grumpy, irritable, short-tempered.
- In dating: Everyone's a bit teasy before their first coffee. Or their first pasty.
- Mazed
- Mad, daft, or completely confused.
- In dating: You'd be mazed to cancel a date on the one sunny Saturday in April.
- Geek
- To look or stare, as in "have a geek at this".
- In dating: Have a good geek at their profile before you meet.
- Crib
- A snack or tea break. The word came up from the mines.
- In dating: A crib on a clifftop bench counts as a first date. Bring two.
- Chacking
- Very thirsty..."I'm chacking for a drink".
- In dating: Chacking after the coast path? That's your excuse to find a pub.
- Wisht
- Pale, poorly or sorry-looking.
- In dating: Looking a bit wisht after last night? Maybe move the date to Sunday.
- Giss on!
- Go on with you! Give over! You're joking!
- In dating: The correct response when they say they've never had a cream tea.
- Scat
- To knock or hit; "scat over" means to knock over.
- In dating: Try not to scat your drink over them. First impressions and all that.
- Up country
- Anywhere east of the River Tamar. So, England.
- In dating: Moving up country for love is a big step. Most people here would rather they came down.
- Maid and boy
- A girl or young woman, and a man of any age at all. "Alright boy?" works on a 70-year-old.
- In dating: Don't be offended at being called a boy on your date. It's a compliment, probably.
- Oggy
- A pasty. As in the rugby chant: Oggy, oggy, oggy! Oi, oi, oi!
- In dating: Sharing an oggy on the harbour wall: cheap, romantic, and you find out how they eat.
- Piskie-led
- Lost or muddled...led astray by the piskies, Cornwall's mischievous little folk.
- In dating: Late for your date because the satnav gave up on the lanes? Blame the piskies.
- Zackly
- Exactly. Said with feeling.
- In dating: Pineapple on pizza is wrong? Zackly. You two will get on.
A little Cornish language
- Kernow
- CornishCornwall.
- Dydh da
- CornishGood day...a friendly hello.
- In dating: A nice way to open a first message, if you're feeling brave.
- Myttin da
- CornishGood morning.
- Fatla genes?
- CornishHow are you? (to one person, informally)
- Meur ras
- CornishThank you.
- In dating: Always worth saying at the end of a good date.
- Yeghes da!
- CornishGood health! Cheers!
- In dating: For clinking glasses on the first proper evening out.
- Dha weles
- CornishSee you.
- In dating: The hopeful sign-off after a good first date.
- My a'th kar
- CornishI love you.
- In dating: Perhaps don't lead with this one.
- Onan hag oll
- CornishOne and all...Cornwall's motto.
- Kernow bys vyken
- CornishCornwall for ever.
Dialect words vary from town to town and generation to generation, so your nan may well use some of these differently. Cornish-language phrases follow the Standard Written Form; you'll see other spellings too. Got a favourite we've missed? Tell us when you join.
Proper job. Now go and meet someone.
Put a few of these to use with singles who'll know exactly what you mean.