Staycationing this year? Learn the Local Lingo
Short UK breaks by train are up by a whopping 921% in 2021* – but when you get to your destination, will you actually be able to understand your fellow Brit?
Our surveys say** that despite a common language we still find regional dialects tricky – so we’ve partnered with the British Library to create an interactive dialects quiz to help you celebrate and learn their rich variety across the UK.
Britain's Top 10 Favourite Dialects*
| 1. Scottish English | 6. West Country |
| 2. Yorkshire | 7. Cornish |
| 3. Geordie | 8. Liverpool |
| 4. Welsh English | 9. Manchester |
| 5. Northern Irish | 10. Cockney |
The Nation's Top 20 Favourite Dialectal Phrases*
| 1. Don’t get your knickers in a twist |
| 2. It’s all gone pear-shaped |
| 3. The bee’s knees |
| 4. A cock up |
| 5. Were ya born in a barn? |
| 6. Gone to pot |
| 7. A picnic short of a sandwich |
| 8. Brass monkey |
| 9. Bright as a button |
| 10. Where there’s muck there’s brass |
| 11. A curtain twitcher |
| 12. You look smashing |
| 13. I’ll ring you/give you a ring |
| 14. Having a blether |
| 15. I quite fancy you |
| 16. They are fit |
| 17. It’s a dreich day |
| 18. You look smart |
| 19. Lang may yer lum reek |
| 20. Treacle tart |
The Nation's Top 20 Favourite Dialectal Words*
| 1. Chuffed |
| 2. Cheers |
| 3. Gutted |
| 4. Dodgy |
| 5. Alright? |
| 6. Hunky-dory |
| 7. Blimey |
| 8. Mate |
| 9. Brilliant! |
| 10. Cheeky |
| 11. Chinwag |
| 12. Miffed |
| 13. Quid |
| 14. Rubbish |
| 15. Bloke |
| 16. Brolly |
| 17. Innit? |
| 18. Ta-ta! |
| 19. Finicky |
| 20. Champion |
Now you've got the lingo...
…it’s time to unleash your summer and hop aboard a train. To help you book for less, either head over to our guide to summer train travel, or choose one of our most popular routes to get you all over the UK.
Trains to Yorkshire
Trains to/from Norfolk
Trains to Cornwall
* Increase comparing like-for-like bookings for trips of between 2-5 days made up until 21st June for travel between 01/07/2021 and 31/08/2021 vs. 02/07/2020 and 01/09/2020.
** Research was conducted in June 2021 by One Poll on behalf of Trainline and surveyed 2,000 respondents.