# Are there any Welsh stereotypes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976 "2003-10-01T20:34:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/101 "2011-06-23T23:56:22Z")
> [@YaraMateo](#): > > Another zombie. ☹ > > Damn Welsh and your reviving threads from 2003. 😉 If they could, they would revive threads from 1284. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/102 "2011-06-24T00:46:34Z")
[Rhod Gilbert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UorpjinrGKE&feature=related) may or may not be stereotypical, but he’s very Welsh and very funny. “Wales is all right, it’s not shit anymore, we’ve done it up!”\* \*Except Swansea. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/103 "2011-06-24T00:51:04Z")
They fuck animals, basically. That’s the only stereotype I’ve heard about them. But this gets said about pretty much _every_ ethnic group. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/104 "2011-06-24T00:56:50Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Isn’t that stereotype pretty much common throughout the world for any people who live in rural areas with a lot of livestock? In the western U.S., for example, you hear the same things about residents of Wyoming. /brief hijack/ Except that it is highly risky to actually _say_ that in Wyoming. Wyomingites have no sense of humor when it comes to matters of sheep… /hijack/ SS ETA - ooops, just noticed the dates. Zombie sheep indeed! ---
**Author:** ![EAMB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EAMB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EAMB)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/105 "2011-09-14T23:54:53Z")
> [@ouisey](#): > > FYI…I had the privilege of visiting the Snowdonia district in northern Wales in the early 90’s. > > We were camping near Llangollen, during their music festival. The locals were lovely and friendly. I learned some Welsh from a shepherd whose field we camped in. The hiking was out of this world. One of the best meals I’ve ever had was in Llangollen. > > Just thought I’d knock out a few bad stereotypes:). If you ever have a chance, get thee to Wales. I loved it. Why thank you very much for being so nice 😃 I can laugh at some of the things that people have been saying about my home country because most of what they’re saying are untrue and it’s just some ones opinion that has got out of hand. I understand all the banter but some opinions are seriously getting too personal. If you’re a Scottish,English,Irish or whatever ..you need to come to Wales!! I’ll tell you where to go! Don’t believe the stereotypes, they’re untrue! It might be true for some people but not everyone. If you’re asking, I’m 100%British/Welsh so don’t start thinking that everyone is exactly the same in Wales and in every other country out there.It would be a boring world otherwise. As well as that most Welsh people love England and the English. The English that have moved to where I live are treated exactly the same way the Welsh are so I don’t understand why most English people think that we hate you 😕 This is what most people probably are talking about when they say “unpronounceable welsh words”…The most famous one being.. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch If you speak the Welsh language like me it’s pretty easy to say 😉 Forget all the stereotypes, we all love each other really;) jokes ☹ All’s good peeps..tra 😃 xx P.S Sheep \*\*\*\* is not my thing 😉 haha. ---
**Author:** ![EAMB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EAMB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EAMB)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/106 "2011-09-15T00:02:16Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > They fuck animals, basically. That’s the only stereotype I’ve heard about them. But this gets said about pretty much _every_ ethnic group. Is it even possible to f\*\*k an animal haha. I just don’t want to think about it (too disturbing :/) so I’ll just stop now haha. That was totally random. :L ---
**Author:** ![EAMB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@EAMB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EAMB)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/107 "2011-09-15T00:04:32Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > [Rhod Gilbert](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UorpjinrGKE&feature=related) may or may not be stereotypical, but he’s very Welsh and very funny. “Wales is all right, it’s not shit anymore, we’ve done it up!”\* > > \*Except Swansea. Rhod Gilbert is a legend! ;D ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/108 "2011-09-15T05:22:33Z")
Without reading any responses, I come up with ‘short, dark-haired coal-miners who can really SING!’ Also, the people of Cardiff seem quite gullible. But that is probably from watching too much Torchwood. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/109 "2011-09-15T06:55:15Z")
[They run kind of funny.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S7_UAs7dAE) (Not a real stereotype.) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/110 "2011-09-15T13:46:20Z")
Sadly, in areas of North Wales at least, the stereotype of hating the English is not a myth- when I was 7 my parents decided to move to Wales and start a public aquarium (like you do), and bought a disused barn with the intent of converting it. They also bought a caravan to stay in down there while they were sorting the legalities out. From the moment we first stayed, we got nothing but anger from the locals. People would refuse to speak to us (and we were all learning Welsh, we were doing out best to fit into the local culture). The council officer that was assisting with their application was not a local, though he got no grief from them, as he was Welsh: he was really keen on getting their applications through, as the area had appalling unemployment, and was supposedly trying to encourage tourism, but he was just facing a brick wall of local opposition. All of it seemed to be entirely based on the single objection that ‘We were English’; several people told him just that. After about 6 months, a bunch of locals came out to the site and trashed then torched our caravan (when we weren’t there, fortunately). Apparently pretty much everyone knew who’d done it, but as it was ‘chasing the English off’, no one would report anything. There were a few cases around that time of English folk’s holiday homes being set on fire too, [(cite)](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4084013.stm) which is largely where the hatred came in- it was a fashion for English people to buy up cheap houses in rural Wales, so the local kids couldn’t afford to live in the villages they grew up in. I’m not sure how much of this happened, but the perception was that it was a major issue. I can understand people getting angry about being forced to move away because someone’s bought all the cheap places in order to live there 2 weeks of the year, but it went far beyond that. In the end, the planning permission was not given, after a hearing my parents attended without an translator; they were not permitted to bring someone, even though he’d offered. He had to sit seperately, and gave them a run-down later (they could speak Welsh at a conversational level, but most of this was way over their heads); apparently, it almost totally ignored the proposal, and was largely angry ranting about not letting more English in to buy up all our good land. It took over 10 years to sell the property they’d bought; that’s how sought after it was. The Welsh/English tension is understandable though, I’m surprised no-one’s brought up the laws still standing in Chester, which say those born within the city walls\* can legally shoot the Welsh in certain circumstances. Still, it’s certainly not everywhere in Wales that you find these attitudes, we used to spend almost all our holidays there when I was a kid, as we lived right on the border; most people couldn’t be more friendly, (both inside and outside of the country- I accidently wound up being checked into an hostel dorm with half a Welsh Rugby team in NZ once, as I was mistaken for one of 'em’s girlfriend at check in, they were lovely!) but every now and again, you find some districts… \*I was born 200 yards outside the walls, so you’re probably safe… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/111 "2011-09-15T16:28:01Z")
The Welsh are known for speaking slowly: By the time a Welsh girl finishes telling you she isn’t that sort of girl, you’ve had time to prove otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/112 "2011-09-15T18:05:03Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > There were a few cases around that time of English folk’s holiday homes being set on fire “Come home to a real fire. Buy a cottage in Wales.” _Not the Nine O’Clock News_ ---
**Author:** ![Nikki9doors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c77e96/32.png) [@Nikki9doors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki9doors)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/113 "2013-02-20T02:47:56Z")
I met a Welsh guy in a bar in Bristol, and I don’t know if this is a common Welsh trait, but he gave my friend an open mouth cheek kiss. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/114 "2013-02-21T06:40:51Z")
They served us Welsh Goulash in camp: sliced hotdog and cubed spam mixed with baked beans. Is that too spicy for some? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/115 "2013-02-21T08:10:23Z")
And it staggers to its feet yet again…! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/116 "2013-02-21T12:00:53Z")
_[The Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge](http://books.google.com/books?id=1-sAOJoEWb0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)_ (1547) by Andrew Boorde compiles various national stereotypes. The chapter on Wales begins: _I am a Welshman, and do dwel in Wales, I haue loued to search boudgets, & looke in males_ (i.e. mails; means he likes thieving) _I loue not to labour, nor to delue nor to dig; My fingers be lymed lyke a lyme twig;_ (i.e. I’m lazy and have sticky fingers; i.e. I’m a thief) _I am a gentleman, and come of brutes blood; My name is ap Rhyce, ap Dauy, ap Flood; I loue Our Lady, for I am of hyr kynne; He that doth not loue her, I be-shrew his chynne._ It goes on like that. Every nationality other than English is ridiculed with all kinds of negative stereotypes. Reading it can get quite revolting. What I wonder about is the line “I love Our Lady, for I am of her kin.” This was written a few years after Henry VIII broke away from Rome and began destroying everything Catholic. I haven’t found much information on Marian devotion in medieval Wales; all I know is to this day there are lots of places with names like Llanfair (‘Mary’s Church’); this-fair and that-fair, _Fair_ (pronounced like “fire”) being the mutated form of Mair, Welsh for Mary. This national stereotype seems to be quite obsolete ever since Wales went Protestant. What does it mean that the Welsh are “of her kin”? Some forgotten bit of folklore? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/117 "2013-02-21T12:11:46Z")
Correction: Welsh f is pronounced [v], so Fair sounds like “vire” not fire. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/118 "2013-02-21T14:01:04Z")
One of my nicknames is “Speaker-to-Zombies” The only Welsh stereotype I’d run across was an old one – they were seen by the English as scurrilous and thieves. I know this mainly because of a bit of doggerel that was quoted by Henry Higgins in George Bernard Shaw’s_Pygmalion_: > [@](#): > > Taffy was a Welshman, > Taffy was a thief; > Taffy came to my house and > stole a piece of beef; ( see here:[Taffy was a Welshman - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_was_a_Welshman) ) Colonel Pickering takes Higgins to task over this :“Oh, come on. I’m part West Country myself” he chides. Incidentally, this may be related to an issue that bothered me for many years. Shaw was apparently extremely anti-Sherlock Holmes, dismissing him as a drug-using scoundrel. I always wondered why his feeling was so strong, since Higgins seems so Sherlockian (when Nichjolas Meyer wrote _The West End Horror_, his follow-up to his bestselling _The Seven Per Cent Solution_, he has Shaw team up with Holmes, and has Shaw basing Higgins on Holmes), and seems like a Shavian character. I finally realized that when Doyle created his supervillain and his number one henchman, he gave them Irish names – Moriarty and Moran – and the very Irish Shaw probably took offense. I don’t know if Higgins’ citing anti-Welsh doggerel is some sort of shout-out about this, but it certainly lead me to consider the possibilities. Doyle still did it later on. In the later Holmes novel _The Valley of Fear_ his Bad Guys were The Scowrers, a thinly disguised rendering on the Molly Maguires, an Irish gang operating in the coal fields of America. I suspect Doyle’s Irish villains weren’t a conscious choice, but an unconscious manifestation of prejudice, if anything. Which doesn’t change Shaw’s point (if I’m correct) ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/119 "2013-02-21T22:10:17Z")
According to wikipedia , Conan Doyle was himself of Irish descent. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976/120 "2013-02-22T00:08:08Z")
Hey, I like that Taffy poem, especially the part where he hit him with a marrow bone. Who but errr… Britons would use marrow bone in a poem? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-welsh-stereotypes/204976.md?page=7)