Redd up is a phrase which you don’t hear much nowadays, which is a shame. It means to tidy up or clean up. It’s usually used to describe the tidying of a house or garden.
The last time I heard it being used it was a man saying that he had ‘redd up’ the noticeboard in a school. Well, notice boards are usually in need of a good redd up as they’re often crowded with out of date information.
I was surprised to read the phrase in a story by Elizabeth Gaskell the other day, although I probably shouldn’t have been. Michelle from the north of England recently informed me that the word ‘hen’ is still used there and I had thought it was only used in Scotland until then.
I’m now wondering if these words were originally Scottish but just expanded into the north of England with people moving there from Scotland for work. Or have they just continued to be used for a longer time here.
The Elizabeth Gaskell story which it was used in is The Crooked Branch and it was first published in 1859. It has been reprinted as a Penguin Classic in Gaskell’s Gothic Tales.
Hi Katrina,
I grew up in Pennsylvania USA, and although my family (English / Irish) did not use the phrase ‘redd up’, my Pennsylvania Dutch/German neighbors did. So, I always thought it was a German phrase. My husband’s family used the term, but they’re Greek and something else, so I imagine they got it from the local rather than passed down through the family.
I enjoy your posts and always find them interesting. It’s also fun to see a slice of Scottish life. We spent a memorable week in and around Edinburgh many years ago, staying in a rented flat on Rose Street.
I understand your ‘pining for the west’. Although my husband and I both grew up in Pennsylvania, we lived in New England for over 35 years. Recently, we moved back to PA and are now ‘pining for New England’!
Hi Joan,
Thanks for the comment. It’s interesting that your neighbours used the phrase ‘redd up’. Recently I’ve been watching Wallander on tv and it is in Swedish with English subtitles, but I can understand most of it without the subtitles because a lot of Swedish seems to be a mixture of German and Scottish words. I suppose all European languages stem from Germanic.
I’m really happy that you’ve enjoyed my posts, it is nice to get a window into other people and areas but sometimes I’m just not sure what people would be interested in. Rose Street has changed quite a lot in recent years and is a bit posher than it used to be, you were certainly very central for going around Edinburgh. Next time I’m there I’ll take some photos and you can see if it still looks the same to you.
I’ve got a horrible feeling that if we moved back to the west I would then start moaning that it wasn’t the same as I remembered it. There are a few things that I would probably miss about the east but I think it’s the people from the west that I miss most because they (we) are so much more warm and friendly and have a better sense of humour too.
I’ve never been to the US but even I know that New England is supposed to be gorgeous – all those colourful trees!
I think that it’s the human condition to be always ‘pining’ for something. If we didn’t then nobody would have thought of inventing the wheel. Well, that’s what I tell my husband anyway!
The many different European languages actually have roots in several different language groups. These groups include the Germanic, Celtic, Italic, Slavic, Hellenic, and other branch groups! : )
Chris,
Yes so many languages are linked. I visit Friesland in north Netherlands quite often and I noticed recently that the Friese word for ‘every or each’ is very similar to the Scots word ilke/elke with the same meaning.
We still use redd up in the Borders! I think it is another Scandy borrowing, but as you say, the roots are probably germanic
Evee,
I like redd up and it’s good to hear that it’s still in use down your way.
I live in a small village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. We use the term ‘redd up’ all the time. However, my son-in-law, had never heard the term, until he married my daughter, and came to live nearby. He had been born and brought up just eight miles from where we are.
Alexandra,
That does seem strange as it’s used in Fife and obviously in the west of Scotland, but my husband didn’t know nearly as many Scots words as me. We think that is because his mother’s mother was from the north of England so she didn’t have the words to pass on to her daughter – his mother. Does your son-in-law also have that sort of background? Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment.
Hi Katrina,
I hadn’t thought about it, until I read your reply, but three of his grandparents came to Scotland, from Europe. His parents would not have the same knowledge of Scottish words to pass on. He does, however, now use the words, often, although I suspect, somewhat ,’tongue in cheek’. He has a brilliant sense of humour.
Alexandra,
I wonder if your husband uses any ‘European’ words that wouldn’t be known here. I noticed an article in the Guardian a few days ago saying that the Oxford English Dictionary has added some Scots words this year such as – sitooterie, bidie-in and fantoosh, I think it’s great.
We also use it as “what a reddup ” meaning what a mess.
Fit about backspeir, to question or interrogate.
MICHAEL,
That’s interesting. I’ve used the word speir meaning to question, but haven’t heard of backspeir, or “what a reddup”. “Fit” I’m guessing you are from Aberdeenshire!
Uncanny! My second Elizabeth Gaskell coincidence this week. I have just finished reading ‘Ruth’.
Ruth noble,
It’s amazing how often coincidences pop up when you’re a reader. I’ve just finished reading a book which surprisingly featured Sulis Minerva, and I had just seen that goddess in the Roman baths in Bath!
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina
I just stumbled upon your site and have been reading comments on “redd up”. My ancestors are from Germany, England and, likely, across Northern Europe and Norway. My grandma used the term “redd up” all the time but nowadays it’s not heard my part of the U.S.
Following a trip to Norway in 2020, I’ve begun to receive, via email, a daily feed of Norwegian words. This morning one of the translations included the term “rydde opp” as in to rydde opp the kitchen, meaning to tidy up.
We know that the Vikings occupied portions of Scotland and Europe so it’s very possible the term actually is derived from Norwegian.
Steve Landis,
Well, I have Viking ancestry myself with my own surname being Skirving, probably from when they arrived in Orkney or Shetland in the 11th century. I had no idea of the link with rydde opp. That’s very interesting. I was watching an American TV progrmme a while ago and there was a noticeboard with the word ‘clabber’ on it which is a Scots word for mud or muck. When we were in the north of Spain we were told that they use the word smirrimirri for that fine rain which soaks you – we call it smirr. That’ll be the Celtic connection. The Norwegian word for vacuum cleaner is apparently stoorsooker. We call dirt stoor and to suck in Scots is to sook.
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
I live in northern Ireland and the phrase ‘redd it up’ or ‘redd that cupboard out’ is used frequently over here, by old and young alike. My husband, who is from Dublin says it’s not a phrase he’s used before, so likely it has come over from Scotland way back when.
S. Hod,
Yes I’m sure it did originate in Scotland. We had friends in N. Ireland and when we visited them years ago I was astonished to discover that in school they had been taught ‘Ulster Scots’, but it was just Scots to us and had obviously all originated from Scotland. Also when in Belfast we had never seen so much tartan before, you never see it in Scotland, except in tourist shops! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina
I live in western Pennsylvania where we use “redd up” frequently. The early settlers around here were Scots-Irish, and I assume they brought it with them. We also say that a nosy person is “nebby.” The noun is “nebnose.” Those are also of Scottish origin.
Elaine Chilcote,
It’s great to know that you are still using Scots words in PA, especially as they aren’t used so much here in Scotland, nebby and neb for nosey and nose are still used though. I was watching ‘American Pickers’ on TV years ago and I saw a sign on a farm which said ‘Clabber Girl’ and I wondered if it was the Scots word clabber meaning muddy or dirty, so it seems that maybe it was. Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina
I use the term “redd up” all the time, as does my mother and father, as did my grandparents. I live in Pittsburgh. I’m guessing my children will use it when they become adults as well. There is a lot of Scotch-Irish and English in my heritage.
Maria R-B,
That’s great to hear, I sometimes think that Scots words are being used more elsewhere nowadays, but as long as someone is still using them – it’s all good!
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina
As children we were always on hand to redd out the cupboards before Hogmany
Is was consider bad luck if first footers and visitors arrived if your house was not clean. I still use the word but my children have no idea what I’m talking about😓
Megan McKee,
I had the exact same experience in my childhood. I well remember scrubbing carpets and everything else so the house was really clean for the first footers! I doubt if my sons would know what redd up means, they never had to do it! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina