The Language of "The Broons" Trivia Quiz

Answer: child

The bairn is the youngest member of "The Broons" family, but in spite of her tender age she often exhibits considerable wisdom. Bairn can also refer to the youngest member of a family, irrespective of age. Occasionally the twins have been called bairns, such as when Granpaw said to them 'hey you bairns, get aff the roof', when they were using the But an' Ben roof as a slide.

Answer: She's a beautiful girl

Braw can mean beautiful, splendid, or good, and can refer to virtually anything which is pleasant. In one sketch, Hen Broon says 'jings, the seafood on this cookery programme looks braw'. In another sketch, Daphne says 'It'll be braw tae get awa' for a wee while'.

Answer: trousers

Breeks is the Scottish word for breeches, or trousers. The male members of "The Broons" family often lost, tore, or got their breeks soaked in some amusing incident.

Answer: don't cry.

In "The Broons" Scottish dialect, to 'greet' doesn't mean to meet or welcome someone as it does in English. It means to weep or cry, so Maw Broon might have said this to the bairn to console her. There was an amusing sketch where Daphne inadvertently got hold of Paw's flower bulbs, mistaking them for onions, and while peeling them said 'Queer, these onions dinnae mak' me greet'.

Answer: the country cottage owned by "The Broons"

Many of "The Broons" family escapades have taken place at the But an' Ben, which is the holiday retreat of the family. The location of the But an' Ben has never been revealed, but it's in a very scenic area of Scotland.

Answer: It's Baltic in here

Her expression was unusual, and came after Paw Broon insisted the central heating be turned off to save money. Everyone except Paw had to put on warm clothing, including pullovers, coats and hats, but the glamorous Maggie Broon donned her fashionable one piece ski suit. Paw was eventually prevailed upon to light the fire, but this led to even more problems.

Answer: the lum

'Lang may your lum reek' is a popular Scottish toast, literally meaning 'long may your chimney smoke'. In other words 'may you always be able to heat your house'. To keek means to have a look, and dreich means 'miserable' as applied to the weather. Reekie means smokey, and the city of Edinburgh is affectionately nicknamed 'Auld Reekie'.

This stems from the days when the only fuel readily available was coal, which created a lot of smoke throughout the city. Edinburgh now has strict clean air regulations, and is one of the most beautiful cities in Britain.

Answer: a nuisance

'Jings, whit a scunner' is an expression used by "The Broons" to indicate something has gone wrong, as was frequently the case in their family escapaes. Other expressions they have used to indicate surprise or displeasure are 'crivvens' and 'help, ma boab'.

Answer: big or much

In one of "The Broons" wartime sketches, dated 19 September 1943, two soldier companions of Hen and Joe arrived unexpectedly at the flat in Glebe Street, asking to be put up for the night. There are already two friends of Maw Broon staying, and Daphne's WRAC friend also arrives.

The bairn then wants two of her friends to stay overnight. Paw wants some of them to go to Granpaw's house, but Maw says 'They'll no tak' up muckle room, they can stay'. In another sketch, where Paw Broon gets a false nose firmly stuck on his face, Granpaw Broon says 'Jings, I've never laughed sae muckle for a lang time'.

Answer: Paw's aye moanin'

Aye, pronounced as in 'eye', can mean either yes or always, so Paw's aye moanin' translates as 'Paw is always moaning'. Fecht means fight, drookit means soaked, and yin means one, so the incorrect alternative answers are meaningless.

Answer: Any or all of these

Jings, 'help, ma boab', and crivvens are all expressions commonly used by members of "The Broons" family in order to express surprise. There are claims that these expressions derive from religious expletives, crivvens meaning 'Christ', 'help, ma boab' meaning 'help my God', and jings meaning 'Jesus', but "The Broons" use them simply in the everyday sense of crikey, my goodness, etc.

Answer: daft gowk

When "The Broons" went potato picking (Sunday Post 1 November, 1964), Paw mistook the occasion and dressed in his best Sunday suit. The rest of the family wore their oldest clothes, and Maw Broon said 'Ye daft gowk! What are you dressed up for? We're goin' to the tattie-pickin!'. Gadgie is a word meaning man or older boy, and jannie is Scottish slang for janitor.

Answer: frighten

The well dressed man was Judge Nabb, and Paw was making fun of the wart on his nose. Soon after this incident, Paw appeared in court before Judge Nabb to answer the charge of insulting behaviour. This type of behaviour wasn't normal for Paw Broon, but a hard bang on the head from the twins' football had caused him to be temporarily outspoken.

Answer: a hat

Bunnet is the word used by "The Broons" to describe a hat or cap, though the female members of the family also use the word 'hat'. Paw and Granpaw Broon have a strong attachment to their old caps, and in one amusing sketch Maw and Daphne replace Granpaw's old cap with a new one while he's asleep. Granpaw doesn't like it at all, and when the new cap is taken over by a local cat as a bed for her kittens, they are forced to give back the old cap! Granpaw says 'Mrs Gow's cat's using the new bunnet as a nest for her kittens', and Daphne responds 'Aw! We cannae evict the puir craiturs!'.

Answer: a lamplighter

This term dates back to when street lamps were lit by gas, rather than electricity. The leerie was the man who every evening went round lighting them with a long taper, and leerie was sometimes used to describe the street lamp itself. In the cover sketch referred to in the question, the leerie is seen lighting a birthday cake celebrating nearly seventy years of "The Broons".

The cake is standing on top of a home made lamp post, while the family sings along.