Tringbago Humour: Expressions
A practical and humorous look at local dialect of Tobago
Although the official language of Tobago is English, the local dialect could be another language altogether if you are not used to it.
The following list is a light-hearted attempt to explain a few of the colloquialisms and other expressions and that you might hear on Tobago.
My thanks to reader Roger deMatas, who originates from Trinidad but currently lives in New York, who contributed the list.
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ABC, ketch-ah-crab |
Very Poor Handwriting |
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ah-eh-able (I'm not able) |
Give me Patience, I cannot keep up with you |
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ah yah yie |
Exclamation meaning anger or joy, depending on the tonal inflection. |
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all kina ting |
All kinds of things / Everything imaginable |
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all skin-teet (teeth) eh laugh |
All smiles are not genuine |
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all what good to eat, eh good to talk |
Sometimes it is better not to talk about certain things |
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backing ah jack ass in ah horse race |
Backing an apparent loser |
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back back |
to reverse a vehicle (e.g. "Steve, back back the car and go back forward") |
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Bacro Johnny |
Fair skinned or albino type people who live in abject poverty - usually Spanish Immigrants. |
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bad drive |
to drive with complete disregard for others |
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bad like crab |
very very bad people - rowdy/violent person |
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bade (bathe) in de salt |
To swim in the sea. |
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bamboozle |
To confuse someone / con someone |
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batimamselle |
A dragon fly |
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battle axe |
An old, hardened, quarrelsome person |
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bawl dong de place / bawl like twenty Tarzan |
to cry excessively/to be in a state of grief |
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behin' (behind) God back |
A very remote place. (e.g. "how far do we have to drive, like dis place behin' God back?") |
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biff an' bam |
two peas in a pod |
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bucket-a-drop |
Heavy rainfall (e.g. 'It rain bucket-a-drop last night') |
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buh look at meh crosses, or |
Look at the problems that are facing me |
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call cat George |
The end of a matter / call it finished |
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cockroach have no right in fowl party |
Do not get involved in anything where one is unwelcome or can be snubbed. |
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coki eye |
A cross-eyed person |
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company does carry you, but they don't bring you back |
bad companions lead you to trouble, but don't bail you out |
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cressles |
Watercress |
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cut arse |
To discipline/whip a child / to beat someone in a fight |
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dat good for yuh |
You had it coming / serves you right |
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de deeper de darkness, de nearer de dawn |
every cloud has a silver lining |
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deck off |
to wear one's best clothes |
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digs out / dus it |
To leave hurriedly |
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dig out meh eye |
To be taken advantage of |
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doh make joke |
You don't say / are you kidding / surely you must be joking |
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doh try dat |
Oh no, you don't |
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driver, ah go take it here |
Request a taxi to stop |
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dry wedder car |
A car that leaks profusely when it rains |
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eat de bread de devil knead |
To experience hard times / very rough life |
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farse an outa place |
To meddle is someone else's affairs |
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fresh water Yankee |
A person that spend a shot time in the U.S, comes back home for a visit and speaks with a heavy American accent. |
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God doh sleep |
God will not allow injustice to go unpunished |
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goin 'orf (going off) |
Having diarrhoea |
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gone orf (off) |
Some one who has lost their mind |
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gran' charge |
More talk than action |
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Guardian paper |
Any newspaper |
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Heinz variety dog |
Pot hound/mongrel - taken from the Heinz 57 sauce |
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hot an' sweaty |
To undertake anything without much thought |
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if you play with dogs, you get bitten by the fleas |
If you associate with undesirables, you will share their problems. |
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it take yuh |
You look good wearing it / looks good on you. (e.g. "Susan, you look very nice in that dress, it take yuh.") |
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jokey |
An amusing person |
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jus so / dry So |
Out of the blue |
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lickrish |
Someone who eats for the sake of eating / insatiable appetite |
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life in London |
to have things easy / a sarcastic remark aimed at a lazy person |
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like you went to school in August and your best subject was recess? |
An expression for slow-witted people or a dumb person (e.g. Schools are closed in August and recess is a play break from school work) |
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ma ma yo |
An expression of surprise / shock / bewilderment |
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macumere man (maa-coo-may) |
A man that useless around the house / an effeminate man |
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make message |
To shop for groceries, usually at a country store. |
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ming pilling (ming p-ling) |
A cheap / frugal person |
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mutton dress up like lamb |
A person pretending to be of higher means / to give the impression that you are better that you say you are |
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nable string (umbilical cord) bury dere (there) |
Someone who shows deep attachment for a place - This is from a long ago practice of burying a child's umbilical cord when born at home under a mango tree, to ensure the child has a good life/good luck/fortune |
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nancy story (cock & bull story) |
Lame excuse |
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pitch oil |
Kerosene |
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photo takeouter |
Photographer |
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policeman grease |
Water or saliva used when there is no hair cream / mousse available or you cannot afford to buy |
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put away de house |
To decorate one's house for Christmas |
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quac-coo-wa-ja |
an overdressed person / or someone that uses heavy make-up |
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ragadang (rag-ah-dang) |
A car / house that is in need of repairs |
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ram cram |
Like sardines in a can, no room for a pin. |
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rum boo boo |
Someone who constantly drinks rum |
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surprise de water |
To finally have a bath after a long time. (e.g "Oh God, surprise de water na man, look at yuh!") |
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storm carpenter |
Incompetent. Only good enough to nail up barriers in preparation for a storm |
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States |
Anywhere in the USA |
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swee' (Sweet) drink |
any aerated beverage, soda pop |
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sweet soap |
Any brand of bath soap |
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tabanca |
The feeling one gets when a love affair is over |
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tell me dis t'ing nah |
An expression of agreement, usually associated with aggravation |
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too-tool-bay |
A confused state, in a daze or someone madly in love |
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two man rat, cyar live in de same hole |
two persons of a dominating nature cannot exist under the same roof |
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under all de ol' talk |
After all is said and done |
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vex money |
Pocket money just in case there is an argument with your partner and you have to take a taxi home |
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wajang |
A rowdy or uncouth person |
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when push come to shove |
When all is said and done |
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when rain fall, sheep and goat have to mix |
In times of crisis, all differences are temporarily forgotten |
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when your neighbours house is on fire, wet yours |
Pay attention to others misfortunes and do not think it cannot happen to you |
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win' ball cricket |
Cricket played with a lawn tennis ball, instead of the leather ball |
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yuh ass too happy |
An expression that is used when someone does something really stupid out of boredom |
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yuh eat parrot bottom |
a person that talks a lot |
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yuh eh even say dog, cat, good morning |
when someone enters a room and does not acknowledge anyone |
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yuh go put fowl to watch corn ? |
Will you put a thief to guard your money, like putting an alcoholic to tend a bar |
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zaboca (za-bo-ca) |
Avocado |
