Free the Word: Fam

28 September 2017

Fam by Caleb Femi

Radio London

Fam by Caleb Femi

Def: A friend. Suggested by listeners to Radio London.

When we say fam we don't mean what we have in common with blood / We mean you are the mirror that shows forth my better side.

def | a familiar form of address for a friend.

Armistead Maupin writes in his Tales of the City series about the difference between a person’s biological family and what he calls their ‘logical family’, the people who you choose to spend time with and who make you feel safe and supported... Fam has undergone a further development, being used, like bro and bruv, as a form of address for a close friend or member of one’s peer group... This usage was originally particularly associated with the hip-hop subculture in the United States. It has made its way across the Atlantic and is increasingly common in the speech of young Londoners.

Read more on the OED Blog

Susie Dent on the local words that bring it all back home
It’s not just poets who are fascinated by local dialect, as celebrity lexicographer Susie Dent explains.

Bobowler by Liz Berry
A large moth. From listeners to BBC Radio WM (West Midlands).
Cheeselog by Hollie McNish
A woodlouse - selected by BBC Radio Berkshire listeners
Didlum by Dean Wilson
A community savings scheme - selected by BBC Radio Humberside listeners.
Dimpsy by Chrissy Williams
Dusk; twilight. From listeners to BBC Radio Devon.
Fam by Caleb Femi
A familiar form of address for a friend. From listeners to BBC Radio London.
City of Geg ins by Chris McCabe
To interrupt; to butt in. From listeners to BBC Radio Merseyside.
Ginnel by Vidyan Ravinthiran
An alleyway. Suggested by listeners to BBC Radio Leeds.
Gurt by Vanessa Kisuule
Very; great - suggested by listeners to BBC Radio Bristol.
Mardy by Toby Campion
Spoilt; sulky; moody. Suggested by listeners to Radio Leicester.
On the huh by Rebecca Watts
Lopsided; wonky. As suggested by listeners to BBC Radio Suffolk.
Ode to Twining by Katie Hale
To moan; to complain. From BBC Radio Cumbria.
Twitten by James Brookes
A narrow lane; an alleyway. From BBC Sussex.

Here's the Weather by Stuart A Paterson
The many Scots words related to the weather are given their freedom in Stuart's poem.

Free the Word
Mardy, gurt, cheeselogs, dreich and dimpsy: 13 poets highlight the local words that matter to you.
About the Festival
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What's On / Sept 28 - Oct 1
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Films
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