Free the Word: Twittens

28 September 2017

Twitten by James Brookes

BBC Sussex

Twittens by James Brookes

An alleyway. From listeners to BBC Sussex.

This is the twisting, narrow line that leads your mind astray, the distance between ‘stay-at-home’ and ‘restless want-away’.

def | an alleyway.

There were a number of alleyway suggestions when we asked the public to suggest their local words, including scutchel, jitty, ginnel, and twitten. These last two were chosen for the Leeds and Sussex poets respectively... Ginnel is now found throughout the Midlands and north of England and especially in Greater Manchester and parts of Yorkshire, where such alleyways are an intrinsic part of the urban environment, finding their way into poems by Simon Armitage, Ted Hughes, and Sean O’Brien among others.

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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