I used the word snicket to describe an alley the other day and my friend looked at me like I had three heads. It’s the bap/roll/cob debate all over!

  • tkc
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    02 years ago

    I’ve never heard most of these haha. Is my southerness showing?

    • @[email protected]OP
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      12 years ago

      Out of interest, what do you define as north England?

      I love asking English people this question, it varies massively depending on where in England they’re from. A Londoner friend told me it’s “anything north of the M25”, whereas a Nottum said it was “somewhere above Sheffield”.

      • tkc
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        12 years ago

        Anything north of the M25. My in-laws from Bedford are definitely not Northern in my mind haha. So most of Essex is Northern to them.

        I dont know where I’d draw the line to be honest. I’d consider anywhere around Manchester and Liverpool as Northern. Looking up Sheffield, I’d say yeah, Northern.

        I dont know how far south of Sheffield I’d still consider Northern before its Midlands. I’ve met people from Lincoln who said they were for the Midlands, so there can’t be much in it.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝
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    12 years ago

    Entry or jigger or cooee are the main ones that I hear used but there are more: back crack, eenog and jowler, apparently but I can’t recall hearing them.

    • Afghaniscran
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      22 years ago

      Entry or jigger definitely, only ever heard my auntie call it a cooee. Never heard the last three at all.

  • @[email protected]
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    12 years ago

    Often called an ope in Cornwall - but specifically between two buildings, normally when they overhang the alleyway

  • @[email protected]
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    22 years ago

    I grew up in a “ginnel” region - but it developed over the years to one where ginnel, alley and snicket were all separate.

    Ginnels had wooden fences on either side, alleys had the walls of buildings on either side, snickets were mud paths between trees or hedges.

    I now live further east, where they use the fairly unique “tenfoot” for all of the above.