So after talking to a mate over the weekend, he’s English, his wife Scottish. He lives there, she stays there. It’s got me thinking about the use of the word stay to mean live, reside, make your home there, whatever. But some other Scots I know use live rather than stay. Just wondering, is the use of the term split geographically? A class thing? Is it more pure scots to use it and only the incomers using live? If you stay one day do you live the next(i.e. is it interchangeable). What proportion use it, 45% maybe? 🙂
Just curious.

Ive been up here 13 years and I use ‘stay’. One of the only few dozen words I have picked up (there are some good Scots words that are good alternatives or fill missing gaps) although kept all of my Nth Derbyshire/Sth Yorkshire accent. Ive on ever heard Stay here – Edinburgh, so not exactly deepest Scotland

I stay here

I do 🙂

It’s always been stay. It’s a common usage of the word throughout the country.

interesting highlight – hadn’t thought of it before.

Up here (NE Scotland) the dialect would be ‘bide’ (as in “far d’ye bide?) which is more ‘stay’.

Though I would say I ‘live’ in Scotland.. hm.

Up here (NE Scotland) the dialect would be ‘bide’ (as in “far d’ye bide?) which is more ‘stay’.

And a bit lower down the country it is “comfy”.

As in “Wur-d’ye comfy?”

In French (at least in français québécois), it is expressed the same way.

So, ‘Je restais au Québec pendant 4 ans’ instead of ‘Je vivais’.

I stay in Wakefield, moved down here from Fife nearly 2 years ago to be with my now fiancee. Think I’ve always used stay instead of live.

in respect of Scotland, “stay” is the correct verb so as to indicate the natural tendency is actually to “leave” and those that “live” there are just fighting that tendency. 🙂

As in “Wur-d’ye comfy?”

I always took that to be ‘…come fe?’ as in come from, rather than where one is comfortable 🙂

Graham – I’d say I cumfy Edinburgh but stay in Aviemore. I don’t think you can change where you cum frae.

a stiy in glesga.

I comfy glesga.

same thing, how? 😆

I always took that to be ‘…come fe?’ as in come from, rather than where one is comfortable

You’re correct – but I kinda like that it works both ways 😀

I stay in Falkirk,
Born and brought up in Renfrewshire

So if you’re a stayer at home what are you doing on holiday? Still staying or a different word for a few days or weeks in a hotel?

I didn’t know bide was still being used either, only heard it used as part of bide-a-wee in Scotland or even bide yer weest in NornIrn.

Where are you staying? (holiday etc)
Where do you stay? (live)

I’m staying at….

I stay in….

midlifecrashes – Member
or even bide yer weest in NornIrn.

haud yer wheesht.

Ah come fae Troon but ah stiy in Largs an ah stiy somewher else oan holiday.

This confused me when I arrived in Scotland. In Kiwiland, “stay” implies temporary residence, as in “I live in Paekakariki but I am staying in Waikenae while they rebuild my house”.

In Edinburgh, some people say “stay” when they mean abide. I have noticed, you may form your own views, that there is a social class factor at work here, as with absolutely everything in the UK. It is so tiring how do you keep up with it all ?

I cumfy Edinburgh but a bide in Dundee.
Lived in lots of places over the years,but every time I step off the train at Waverly,my heart says hame

Nah, think it’s a Scots thing, we speak a load of shite at the best of times.

My dad’s worst ever joke (at my wedding, thanks dad).

Officer to infantry private: Comfy here, Brown?
Private in response: No sur, ah cumfae Dundee (eh)

aaaargh. So bad it’s almost good.

the dude abides

This one threw me when I first heard it, as it runs counter to general usage in England.

The other one that I notice – and see on here a lot – is to drop “to be” from sentences, e.g. “The car needs to be washed” is written/spoken as “The car needs washed.”

The latter construction just doesn’t compute to my English ears! (Mind you, nor does the Northern English equivalent of “The car is needing washing”.)

The other one that I notice – and see on here a lot – is to drop “to be” from sentences, e.g. “The car needs to be washed” is written/spoken as “The car needs washed.”

yes!

I and mrs_oab live in Scotland (and have done for 11 years across two time periods).
My kids, especially the youngest, stays here and has his piece at lunch 😉 .

I step off the train at Waverly,my heart says hame

And yer nose says “Jeeeeesus whit is that reek?” 😉

my inner voice reading this thread has gone all Hamish & Dougal.

Y’ull’ve had yer teeeeeaaaaaaa?

😉

Ah come fae Ayr, ah stay in Kinlochleven, ah stid in Falkirk

The car needs washed.

My wife does that and she’s from Hertfordshire. She is a bloody weirdo though.

I live in Scotland (Borders), but would use the term ‘stay’ when talking to a Scot – although I do think it’s a class thing and/or connected to a broader accent.

A dinnae ken whit the problem is, like.

My kids, especially the youngest, stays here and has his piece at lunch

I once had a Scouse joiner on a site come barrelling into the site office in a panic because he thought there was going to be a gunfight.

Two other guys in the site canteen had had a verbal disagreement and one had flounced off in an angry huff whilst declaring…

“I’m away to the van tae get ma piece”

a stiy in glesga.

I comfy glesga.

same thing, how?

Are you one of the Mountain Bothies Scotland facebook group members? 😆

Half the members seem to write it as it is said, ken?

I got into a dude/sweet/dude/sweet/dude/… loop the first time I encountered “mind” as an Englander:

Them: “Will you mind to X?
Me: “No, I don’t mind doing X”
…

Sharing my first flat in London and we had a kitty for essentials like milk, bread etc. The convention was to take a note of how much was spent and keep it in the jar. I got a grilling from my flatmates when I’d jotted down “Messages – £2.49”

Ah comfrae Gelsga but Ah stiy in Dunblane an aw that bigman, know, Chief.

Have never noticed this before but I always used it, meet someone for the first time and it’s “Where do you stay?” Never had them question it, Furrinurs that is.

And – standing a bar in that there London ordering a drink.

Me: “Can I have a pint of stout“
Barman hands me a half-pint of stout.

I’ve educated people on “stay” and modify to “Live” for Americans and southerners.

Mind seems to be an alternative for remember – ‘Mind the boy who fell off his bike last week?’

We draw the line at jamp though, as in the past tense of jump, which my daughter claims ‘everyone says it’.

And up here they pronounce Renault and Peugeot incorrectly too.

Ren-ult and Pew-geot 🙄