Wheesht means be quite, shhh, shut up, stop moaning – you get the idea.

You know that ubiquitous slogan KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON – well the other day I was mooching around in Waterstone’s (I know, I shouldn’t have been in there!) and I came across a postcard printed with the Scottish version of it: WHEESHT AND JIST GET OAN WI’ IT. Or in other words: Be quite and just get on with it.

WHEESHT is often said to children when they’re moaning and girning. Remember to pronounce the wh sound properly when you say it, not w as English people tend to do when a word begins with a wh. It should be nice and onomatopoeic, like whisper!