Summer Refreshments

Lolly ice – “Lolly ice” is used by scousers to refer to an ice lolly. A lolly ice is stereotypically a refreshment that is enjoyed in the summer months in England and is often sold out of a van commonly known amongst the people of England as an “Ice cream van”. An ice cream van in Liverpool is known as a “lolly van” amongst scousers and that according to sources is where the phrase “lolly ice” comes from. In the summertime amongst the hot weather in Liverpool it would be common to hear a sentence of “Going down the shop to get a lolly ice la.” Or “Go over the lolly van and grab us a lolly ice would you”.

Range of "Lolly ices" Copyright Independent.co.uk

A "Lolly Van" on the Albert Docks Copyright Alamy

Alcoholic refreshments

Bevvie - In terms of an alcoholic beverage such as a pint of beer that could accompany a meal, scousers will refer to a beer as a “bevvie”. Bevvie is a word that is not used for any specific alcoholic drink in particular but instead is used generally to describe any alcoholic refreshment. For example, “I’m proper thirsty la, get us a bevvie in” can be translated to “I’m really thirsty lad, can you go and get me a pint?”. 

A Liverpool "Bevvie" Copyright SignaturesLiverpool

A pint of "Ale" Copyright Skynews 

Ale – More specifically, scousers are known to refer to a pint of beer as an “ale”. Although the word “bevvie” is used to generalise all alcoholic beverages “ale” can be used when simply referring to a pint. For example, in a pub in Liverpool, if one man says to another man “Get the ale in lad”, that would infer that the man is telling the other man to order him a pint of beer from the bar.

Scouse words for food and drink

Scran – "Scran" is a very common word on Merseyside that is used to define the word “food” for scousers. Any general kind of meal or any item of food can simply be referred to as “scran”. For example, “Let’s get a scran” can be translated to “Let’s go and get some food”. Or, “That scran was boss la” can be translated to “That food was nice lad”. In addition to this “I’m taking me bird out for some scran” can be translated to “I’m taking my girlfriend out for a meal”. Almost every scouser uses the word scran casually in their every day language and if you are present in the city centre around lunch or tea time, it is very rare that you will not come into contact with this particular word. 

A feature of the word “scran” that can be seen around areas of Liverpool is the naming of portable kitchens or burger/chip vans as most people up and down the country commonly know them. These vans that predominantly appear at various concerts, festivals and sporting events up and down the country are referred to as ‘scran vans’ in Liverpool. 

A "Scran Van" copyright LiverpoolViews

Introduction to the scouse language and the word "scouse"

The city of Liverpool has a population of approximately 500,000 people and is a city that is recognised worldwide for it’s diverse culture and the diverse make up of inhabitants that live there. Liverpool is the home of three universities, two world famous football teams and a city centre that is full to the top of bars and shops that attract tourists from all over the world.

Aside from all of this, the people of Liverpool are commonly referred to as “Scousers”. The term “Scouser” refers to people who are born and raised in the city of Liverpool. Scousers incorporate their own culture into the English language in the form of their own dialect. This dialect represents the people of Liverpool and through this webpage I aim to provide an insight into the words that the scouse use for items of food and drink.

Traditional dish of "Scouse" Copyright Theguideliverpool

Scouse – The term “scouser” originally comes from a meat dish called “scouse”. Scouse is what people who are not from Liverpool know as a stew. Scouse is a hot meat dish which includes vegetables and gravy and is traditionally served in the winter time with a slice of bread as it is a warm and hearty meal. Scouse reveals a lot about Liverpool’s origins as it was a meal that was served up on the docks and on the port in order to keep the sailors and the workers warm in the winter working months. The people of Liverpool enjoyed scouse so much that the rest of England who visited the ports and the docks started referring to them as the scousers and this nickname has stuck with the habitants of Merseyside right up until this present day.