Skoosh or scoosh isn’t what you would call ancient Scots, you wouldn’t come across the word in anything written by J.M. Barrie or any of the ‘kailyard’ writers. In fact I think it’s most often used in the west of Scotland. It has two different meanings.
Skoosh is Scottish for fizzy lemonade or any other flavour of soft gassy drink. I suppose it got that name because if you aren’t careful with it, it skooshes up all over you.
Skoosh is also used to describe something which is really easy. You might come out of an exam and say, ‘That was an absolute skoosh,’ – if you thought it was really easy.
Or it can be used to describe a job of work which isn’t difficult. It’s the same as describing something as ‘a cakewalk’ or – as we used to say at school – a ‘promenade de gateau’.
Skoosh – it even sounds nice and easy.
I say skoosh but I’m from the Midwest and I think it’s from Minnesota or Wisconsin — I think it’s technically spelled skosh. It means just a little bit.
Karen,
I find language fascinating and I love local dialect words. I suppose skosh is pronounced to rhyme with posh. I’m going to use it occasionally instead of wee or smidgeon! Skoosh rhymes with push.
I heard an English woman (Trinny) on tv recently and she said: ‘You know the American word braw‘.
Well I think of that word as being very Scottish but I know that they also use it in Sweden and Middle Eastern languages and it has the same meaning in them all – good or fine. Is braw used much in the US?
To me, skoosh does rhyme with push. Maybe it’s really spelled skush. And I’ve never used “braw” except regarding women’s undergarments. I’ll have to research it.
I’m really interested in language too, I’m taking Spanish which is my FOURTH attempt at a foreign language. I might take a linguistics class too.
Karen,
That made me laugh when I realised what the undergarment was, I couldn’t think what it was for a minute. Here, braw rhymes with claw and bra with pa. We have wildly different accents to contend with too.
When I was at school I did Latin, French and German but I was never great at any of them. I think it is so much easier to learn a language if you actually live there for a while or you at least have native speakers to converse with.
braw is a Scottish word, “borrowed” from Scandinavia! It is bra over in Norway. We get bairn from their barn, clap (stroke) from their clappe, oh and loads of others!
Skoosh can also mean rain! It comes from the Gaelic word, uisge, ooshk(e)meaning water. My dad always used to say That’s the skoosh on again! Of course whisky is from the same word – uisge beatha is water of life!
Evee,
Yes there are loads of Scandinavian words in Scots. My own surname (Skirving) is an ancient Scottish one which comes originally from Scandinavia. I watch Wallander and it’s amazing how much of it you can understand if you know Scots and German. I think ‘braw’ is even used to mean good in middle eastern countries.
I’m now regretting that my ex-friend from Edinburgh is an ex-friend because you’re teaching me all these great Scottish words and I could have used them on him! (But the friendship is irredeemable because he turned out to be the greatest ass!)
I have never heard the word ‘braw’, so if it’s used in the US, it must be very regional.
Joan,
A bloke from Edinburgh who turned out to be an ass, or arse in English. Or did you mean donkey? Why am I not surprised!! However, I am now intrigued!
I had my doubts about braw being used as an American word. I think that Trinny is probably under the impression that it is though. The chap using it probably knew that it is Scottish. Braw bricht moonlicht nicht – and all that.
I have always used the word “Skooshed” to describe being completely obliterated by alcohol. Haha. I had a few friends out of the U.K. Who used it that way. I like it!
Kerby,
Yes that is another use of the word. There must be more words to describe being ‘blootered’ than anything else!
I’m from the west of Scotland and I wouldn’t use the work skoosh in either of those ways. Where I’m from skoosh means spray. As in you might skoosh air freshener or deoderant. Strange how many different meanings it can have.
ashley,
Yes I think that is why ‘skoosh’ is used to describe a fizzy drink as if you aren’t careful when opening the bottle it can skoosh all over the place like a spray. I suppose language changes all the time. I didn’t use sprays for years because of the chemicals in them – I think they’re okay to use now and I can see that the word skoosh would be good used your way. Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina
Tony Black, an Edinburgh based writer, uses the term scoosh when referring to a bottle of Scotch.
Keith R,
Well, that’s a new one on me. I wouldn’t like to drink whisky at the rate of a bottle of Irn Bru!
I’m a born and bred Glaswegian. In the west of Scotland, the word skoosh is spelled as such, not scoosh. It can mean two things, as previously mentioned;
A cakewalk. As in “Did ye win the game?” “Aye, it was a pure skoosh; dead easy.”
A spray. As in “Your bog’s minging so I gave it a wee skoosh or three of air freshener.”
I’ve never heard of it as referring to water, rain, whisky or anything else.
Mark Thomas,
I suppose different places might have different meanings for words. I’m also Glaswegian but mainly grew up in Dumbarton where skoosh/scoosh was used most often to mean a fizzy drink such as McDougall’s or Garvie’s.
In north west Glasgow when I was growing up, fizzy drink was ‘ginger’ no mater the flavour.
Q “whit kind of ginger dae ye waant?” A. ” Connells Red Cola”.
But my friends from Drumchapel (which isn’t far from Dumbarton) referred to it as ‘skoosh’. I am also aware of the ‘easy peasy’ definition.
John MacDonald,
That’s interesting that you didn’t use the word ‘skoosh’ in north west Glasgow. I think I assumed that it was Scotland-wide. I still say skoosh now and again. MacDougall’s Sanja Cola was my husband’s favourite, made at the Vale of Leven I think, now long gone.
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina