Free the Word: On the huh

28 September 2017

On the huh by Rebecca Watts

BBC Radio Suffolk

On the huh by Rebecca Watts

Def: Lopsided; wonky. Suggested by listeners to Radio Suffolk

Back home, I ponder the philosopher’s words: Out of humanity’s crooked wood no straight thing can emerge. It’s right enough: life happens in a roundabout way. And straight lines meander. And time is a curve.

def | lopsided, askew.

Whilst some words such as geg in are relatively recent additions to a region’s vocabulary, on the huh has its roots in Old English... its use is now restricted to Norfolk and Suffolk, where it is still going strong... Looking at current examples of the phrase we can see that alcohol is often a cause of people and things being on the huh and indeed it is the name of a beer produced by a Norfolk brewery.

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.

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A large moth. From listeners to BBC Radio WM (West Midlands).
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A woodlouse - selected by BBC Radio Berkshire listeners
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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.
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A narrow lane; an alleyway. From BBC Sussex.

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The many Scots words related to the weather are given their freedom in Stuart's poem.

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