Scottish word of the week: Yaldi

FOR those of you unaware, yaldi is generally considered to be an expression of excitement.

Shaun Maloney may have been shouting it after scoring against Ireland. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Just won £100 on the horses? Yaldi! Your pal got tickets for the gig? Yaldi! Everybody is coming out tonight and it’s going to be a pure barry night out? Yaldi!

Its origins are said to have come from Glasgow, although since it is a relatively new term to the Scottish slang scene it is growing in popularity.

This writer has certainly heard it shouted a few times in Edinburgh, including one time, when recording a podcast, one of the guests screamed it out after reading on his phone that Hibs had just scored.

Its origins are completely unknown, although, perhaps, it’s not too much of a stretch to suggest it originated from the more classic Scots word laldie/laldy.

In fact, some believe the expression to now be ‘geeing it yaldy’ as opposed to ‘geeing it laldy’, the latter meaning to give something your all. Since this term was often used of moments of excitement, it’s possible that a few choice mispronunciations created a new word.

SEE ALSO

• Scottish word of the week: Pagger

• Scottish word of the week: Boke

• Scottish word of the week: Dram

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