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Animal - possibly the enthusiastic and determined way I played sport and socialised.
There is of course a subtle difference between what people call you and how you are referred to then you’re not there
At secondary school a new teacher arrived and had the position of deputy head. He had a very peculiar face in that his chin and forehead protruded out more than what a bunch of kids thought was normal.
At lunch someone said his face looked like your reflection in a spoon. So the name Spoon Face was born. In the corridors we would shout (or whisper depending on earshot) "Spoon" before giggling like the cool school kids we were. The guy obviously clocked onto this and an assembly was held by the head telling us all to stop.
A week or so later this guy walks into our German lesson and my mate Alex (Butt-Butt) shouts "Löffel!"...... We start pissing ourselves and s****ing. Unfortunately for Alex this guy could speak German and Alex got frog marched out of the class. Fun times.
I remember a boy at school, david, who had rickets, used walking sticks, and being in south wales, his nickname was dai the creep. Ah the 1970`s.
Among Uni friends we mainly had the same first syllable plus 's', 'er', 'y' etc. Cozzer, Crispy, etc.
But we had 2 mates called Mick, and both liked that as opposed to Mike or Michael. One was a member of Cathsoc, which was great for getting us heathens in to the chaplaincy for after hours drinking. The other only stayed at Uni for a couple of terms, because in parallel he'd applied for pilot training but remained firm friends and is still obviously one of the Uni lads. So they are respectively Mickthepadre and Mickthepilot.
Red cord that's brilliant,surprised i haven't heard that before.I have an ex called melting welly face another called RTA and a few others with the prefix Big ie..big Sharon big Sue..haha great times
Most of my school mates had nicknames which have stuck with them all our lives. My favourite is ‘Cautious’ so called because after losing his virginity his girlfriend caught him filling up the used prophylactic at the sink to check for leaks. He’s still called that to this day.
For a while I had a girlfriend in South Wales, this is very common there also. Her dad was Barry Keys (his name was Barry and he carried a big bunch of keys), his best mate was Mike Taxi (his name was Mike and, well…)
I can’t remember the film / tv show that had a shot of a gravestone with Jones the Dead written on it 🙂
My nickname at school was Binners, appropriated from Bin Lid which is what our kid always used to call me (because it rhymes with our kid).
Everyone still calls me Binners now. I'm 53
I reckon there are people who've known me for years who don't actually know what my real name is
I have a mate called Ken who's name is actually Andy but when we were younger he bought an old Triumph Bonneville, like Ken Boon on the TV programme Boon. The only person who doesn't call him Ken is his mum.
A mate of mine got into bobybuilding and really bulked up but he's only 5'5". He is known by us all as The Cube.
I remember Stuart Maconi talking about Sting. Stings story is that his mates christened him Sting because he always wore a black and yellow striped jumper. Stuart commented that there is no way on earth anyones mates would christen them a name as cool as Sting. They'd call you buzzy bollocks or something far worse.
Things were less cryptic when I was at primary school. Fatty Lambert was but not if she could hear you! Big Ang still is 50 years later. Tall you see and little big Jo was way under 5ft tall at uni and about the same around chestwise. Drewpy (bet you don't see this, probably painting windows) is Andrew P.
razorrazoo
Full Member
Most of my school mates had nicknames which have stuck with them all our lives. My favourite is ‘Cautious’ so called because after losing his virginity his girlfriend caught him filling up the used prophylactic at the sink to check for leaks. He’s still called that to this day.
Epic!😂
Mine was Beds. Nothing to do with being lazy or the wares of Dreams etc.. Just a contraction of my surname.
We did have a mate who went by the name of Yogurt and we never knew why. I hope it isn't...
an assembly was held by the head telling us all to stop
We had one of those after one kid called another a Spastic, turned out that he was.
Drewpy (bet you don’t see this, probably painting windows) is Andrew P.
Please tell me his surname was Peacock.
That reminds me of another actually. Lad at Uni was known as Biscuit. It must have been fully a year before I made the connection that his name was Rich T.
The best one i heard was a guy who's nickname was 'Wrexham'. His real name was Justin Wales.
At high school we had a latin teacher who's real name was Mr Wolf. His nickname was Canis Lupus.
At work we had boss who's forename was Nick - nickname Nasty Nick. He insisted that he needed an office rather than dwell with the plebs in the open plan area. So he had a storage cupboard converted to his office - he was henceforth known as The C__t in the Cupboard.
In the Outer Hebrides, almost every guy (and a few of the women) has a nickname that stays with them for life. I think it’s because you can only have so many Donald MacLeods before it gets too confusing.
Was the same in Shetland, though it was often a family nickname that was passed down, rather than just an individual. Also of the location such as Euan o Gloup, or Alex o Breckon.
No, real nicknames here other than in a couple of social groups as an adult as Big Kev to differentiate me from Little Kev. My brother was always known by our surname shortened with 'ie' on the end, but never me!
There was a girl at secondary who some of the boys nick named Flora, apparently something to do with spreading easily...
I should have included earlier that, for a short while, I was nicknamed Duracell. I had a black coat and ginger hair. It was also painful when Copperhead cider was advertised on TV with the tag line: "Knock it on the head". I'm amazed I have any brain cells left.
My secondary life was made more miserable by the Tefal adverts of the time. 'So simple even Kevin can use it' was thrown at me many a time in some dumb voice, even by some ****ing teachers. I wouldn't care but I did pretty well at school, but I really didn't enjoy secondary school at all.
I was often called beetroot head due my very rosy cheeks. Scarlet red in the cold, sun, wind, at PE Etc etc
Teenagers can be very cruel but sometimes funny;
My workmate was called Isaiah at secondary school. Because he had one eye higher than the other and his glasses were a bit wonky. I hadn't even noticed until he told me 😆
Mate with the surname Bristow was Brick. His younger brother was known as Bricklet.
Had a couple of Phil’s in a riding group. First one was known as original Phil. At school I had the word mad prefix a shortened version of my surname. Worked with a guy known as diesel and never knew his real name.
I shouldnt really say as it depresses me, but the name Mad Andy stuck for a while.
I did complain about this but was assured it was mainly as there were a number of Andy's, and this was just a way of determining who was who.
It was also pointed out that another Andy was referred to as 'Faggot Andy'.
I felt much better 🙂
Guyaa at work was the floor inspector, he had a bad back.
Another at another work was Dr Shipman, he looked like Harold.
A guy at school was Malcolm. Can't remember why.
There were some hideous ones at school in 70’s mostly unrepeatable 😱 gnasher was prob the least unpleasant as he had a rather extensive dental array Henry,quite a chunky lad with red hair the teachers had a few good ones. French master always wore a gown and had a small stubby nose hence ‘Batpig’ ,nutty Kate was other French teacher often off with something or other. Many years later poacher turned gamekeeper one lad I used to teach asked to be called beany as he had a bean Shaped head and all his mates used it. (I didn’t use it )
My skin stays pretty tanned all year round. And I've always been tall. At Cub scouts football practice, age of seven, the other Cubs marveled at how long and brown I was in winter, and from that moment on, I was "Sausage". Could have been worse!
I was Sausage until university, when I picked up the much cooler nickname of "Bullet", due to always wearing a bullet belt. I came back to Sausage when I became a Scout Leader tho; only lost it about 10 years ago when the Scouts I had decided a nickname was a bit silly for someone my age...
In the meantime, my younger (and slightly shorter - only 6 foot) brother was duly christened "Chippy" - not as in "sausage and chips" as I first assumed, but for "chipolata" - little Sausage 🙂
We had one of those after one kid called another a Spastic, turned out that he was.
My art teacher called me both a spastic & a prat in just one sentence.
Remembered one from a cricket club my dad played at. ray alder (oldest alder)had 2 sons known as older younger alder and younger younger alder made the scorebooks a bit tricky for visitors
Just remembered another classic. A few of us had travelled from various Unis to a 21st party of a friend. One of my mates brought a friend called Paul with him. Unfortunately for Paul he walked into the house (which thankfully had a temporary floor made of cardboard boxes for the party) leaving a trail of dog egg in his wake. For the entirety of the party and onwards he was known as Poo Poo Paul.
Not forgetting the obvious hurt some of these nicknames have caused, it's been a great thread.
Kids are nothing if not inventive.
I'm glad I'm not at school though, particularly these days with SM and all.
A good one I remember that was none offensive... Some kid was called 'fire head' on account of him being very ginger haired, with gelled up spikes as was the trend at the time lol!
Oh, and if we're doing other people's nicknames...
... a fresher lad who joined Rag at uni took a (reciprocated) fancy to a lass a year or two older at a party. She was known to have plenty of, um, "experience" and, as the snogging commenced, someone observed "...she's going to chew him up and spit him out as bubbles."
He was "Bubbles" for the next 3 years...
one of my nephews friends was nicknamed ewehe. This was apparently a noise he made when at primary they asked his name.
Inexplicably, a friend called 'Kipper Windbag'. Best one (not insulting) I had was 'Longy'. As me and another guy had the same name. He was 'Shorty'.
Due to my longstanding interest in cars, when Dunlop introduced the D75 performance tyres back in the 70’s, I, along with many others had advertising stickers for them, and I aquired the nickname groundhog as a result, although I’d just left school at that time. I don’t think anyone that I know now remembers it, apart from a girlfriend I went out with for a while, and while I rarely bump into her these days, she still calls me that, which I find rather heartwarming.
If we’re doing teachers, I ha do a history teacher called Mr Woodcock so obviously he was known as balsa balls.
Big John 6’5 and Little John 6’3 at uni.
“Floaty” McFloatface for a svelte riding buddy after a woman who was watching him fly up a technical climb said in a very broad Welsh accent “ooooh, he just floats up doesn’t he?”
Tweety-pie/Orville for a mate who put himself in hospital at a bike park. Because he’s not very good at flying.
We did have a mate who went by the name of Yogurt and we never knew why.
I was a college with a guy known as 'Yoghurt'. To be honest the nickname was probably the least baffling thing about him. I don't even think I imagined it was a nickname at the time - its not unimaginable that he was just called Yoghurt. I mean I presume I was at college with him and he wasn't just hanging around the building. Not even sure what year he was in - I don't think he was in mine.
The funny thing is until reading this thread I'd pretty much forgotten about him. If I meet old college friends he never comes up in conversation and I think its just because he, and every encounter with him, was so baffling that you can't actually find anything to say about him. He was unstoryfieable - there was no beginning, middle and end of anything he said or did.
Not at school, a friend of mine christened a girl "Choosy Spice" on account of her undiscerning nature when coupling up.
Has the nickname been consigned to history?
fairly sure it’d be deemed a hate crime these days with a 35 yr prison term.
Pornstar names (first pet name and mums maiden name) alongside nicknames a plenty in my day.
as was organised brawls with one school year waiting for another different school year In the local park.
character building i called it. Now….blimey….think of the mental health and hate issues that’d ensue from taking a kicking on a friday night!
ray alder (oldest alder)had 2 sons known as older younger alder and younger younger alder
My family had Big Allan, Little Alan, Young Alan, Old Alan. Respectively my uncle, me, dad, granddad.
I ha do a history teacher called Mr Woodcock
I knew a lad by that name. An ex of his quipped that Knob Of Butter would have been more appropriate.
Pornstar names (first pet name and mums maiden name) alongside nicknames a plenty in my day.
On the upside, you now know everyone's Internet security questions.
School gyp names.. haha.
At our secondary school in the north west + late 80s almost everyone had a 'gyp' nickname, the name that you called someone to give them gyp. Gyp wars were like banter but really it was true to the term, it was who could wear the other down by being annoyingly consistent, public or your comic timing with the gyp, while staying entertaining for others so it didn't backfire on you and make you a gyp target. Or, get you a smack in the mouth from misjudging it - gyp between mates could go on for a long time but gyp to people outside your circle was risky when it became simply taking the p1ss and could have consequences.
Gyp names came from one-off embarrassing events or personal quirks or appearance-related in a Viz/Bash St Kids sort of way, often very non-PC. All in all, glad there was no social media record of those days : )
Maybe like the Jimmy Hill / Chinny Reckon thing, a regional phenomenon?
.. laughing remembering some of that stuff now.. Being in class and someone saying something as an answer to a question but really it was hidden gyp to someone in the room who might not spot it.. until there was a muffled "ohhh deeaaar, gyp to Roberts!" from someone who either did or was simply inferring gyp where there wasn't any to sh1t-stir, then Roberts*'s challenge was to give gyp back and risk a bollocking or stay quiet and concede, taking the gyp.
The best gyp names were ones that could be weaved into class discussions so subtly that whether you were getting gyp or not was a Q of who it came from and the level of gyp wars or paranoia. Some people ended up with a few gyp names because the primary gyp name was impossible to say in class w/o getting done and as gyp evolved we realised the more subtle ones could be used more publicly so they were more powerful.
Even teachers got gyp - some of them got to know what we called them and you had to be really subtle in using their gyp name out loud somehow but you got laughs and respect with your mates if you did.
*Name probably changed