# What is a Geordie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112 "2010-07-18T11:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/1 "2010-07-18T11:29:23Z")
As the local Anglophile (Kingdom, Mock the Week, Top Gear, Fifth Gear, QI, Blackadder, Monty Python, Doctor Who lately, The IT Crowd), I still have no idea what a Geordie is. I think I had to borrow this spelling from somewhere on the internet. What is this, and why is it mocked? Even Wikipedia was written so densely and close to the subject that I didn’t get the point. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/2 "2010-07-18T11:43:10Z")
What’s the problem with the [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie) article? > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from Tyneside[1] region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitant There’s your answer right there. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/3 "2010-07-18T11:48:12Z")
Right, and Geodies are sometimes mocked (though not to their face, because they have a reputation for being “hard”) because a strong Geordie accent can be almost incomprehensible even to most other English people. (Much more so than any other English accent.) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/4 "2010-07-18T11:53:12Z")
Whenever I hear the word I think of [Alan Price’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Price) [Jarrow Song](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/t/thejarrowsong.shtml). My name is Geordie McIntyre, an’ the Bairns don’t even have a fire So the wife says “Geordie, go to London Town!” And if they don’t give us half a chance , don’t even give us a second glance Then Geordie, with my blessings, burn them down Come on follow the Geordie boys, they’ll fill your heart with joy They’re marching for their freedom now Come on follow the Jarrow lads, they’ll make your heart feel glad They’re singing now, yes now is the hour ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/5 "2010-07-18T11:53:52Z")
It’s just a nickname for people from Newcastle upon Tyne. The Geordie [accent](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FS0YrTHaEI&feature=related) is very distinctive, and I think that’s the only thing I ever hear people mocking Geordies for. That, and being “Northern”. Then again, I live in Scotland, where all English regions are mocked equally. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/6 "2010-07-18T13:10:44Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > (Kingdom, Mock the Week, Top Gear, Fifth Gear, QI, Blackadder, Monty Python, Doctor Who lately, The IT Crowd) Try _Auf Wiedersehen Pet_, and some of the standup comedy of Ross Noble to get a taste of geordie-ness. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/7 "2010-07-18T13:29:18Z")
I don’t suppose there’s a map online somewhere with all the [nicknames](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_regional_nicknames) shown; scousers, monkey-hangers, etc. It’d make a handy stickie sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/8 "2010-07-18T13:52:16Z")
I don’t think Geordies or their accent are mocked particularly. No more than any other regional identity anyway. There are a couple of stock jokes about Geordies, such as the one **njtt** mentions - it can get pretty cold in Newcastle (by English standards), but the joke is that the locals are hardened to it and go around in sleeveless T-shirts at all times. I think I read somewhere that a mild Geordie accent is one of those ones that people find appealing, and accordingly advertisers and the like increasingly use it in voiceovers. If you want an accent that many people find comical, try Brummie (Birmingham area) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/9 "2010-07-18T14:02:14Z")
The lovely lass on the left is Cheryl Cole, and she has a very appealing Geordie accent [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nMFzk5Mp5Y) ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/10 "2010-07-18T14:06:34Z")
The title of the thread made me think, “someone has to explain a Star Trek character?” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/11 "2010-07-18T14:09:25Z")
Damn. I would sworn it was doing an impossible engineering feat, with the more archaic version being a Scottie. Not to be confused with a McGyver, which is just doing anything plainly impossible (but hella cook looking). ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/12 "2010-07-18T15:48:25Z")
And I was thinking about this version of [Geordie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsEo8i9dGSs) ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/13 "2010-07-18T19:38:20Z")
Geordie:- person from the N-E of England, and specifically the conurbation around the mouth of the Tyne River (and arguably the Wear River). The extent and borders of Geordiedom are somewhat debated. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/14 "2010-07-18T20:47:56Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Geordie:- person from the N-E of England, and specifically the conurbation around the mouth of the Tyne River (and arguably the Wear River). Aye, you’ll certainly get an argument if you call someone from Wearside a Geordie. Them’s Mackems, them, man. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/15 "2010-07-18T20:55:09Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > The title of the thread made me think, “someone has to explain a Star Trek character?” Gives new meaning to that character’s name, eh? ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/16 "2010-07-18T22:19:17Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Whenever I hear the word I think of [Alan Price’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Price) There was also Mark Knopfler and James Talyor’s song about Mason and Dixon, _Sailing to Philadelphia_. “The Geordie and the Baker’s Boy…something, something Iroquois.” ---
**Author:** ![BunnyTVS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BunnyTVS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyTVS)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/17 "2010-07-19T00:36:40Z")
Clarification: I live on the NE coast of England, 60 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne but 25 miles south of the Scottish border. To many of you this may not seem like much, but in this neck of the woods… Hoo boy. Technically a Geordie is anyone born within the limits of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was _also_ born within sight of the river Tyne itself. This combination is very important. The majority of the city has no line of sight to the river at all. Also on the south bank of the river is the _town_ of Gateshead. Much of Gateshead is on a steep slope, and so has an excellent view of the river. No-one native to Newcastle will ever describe Gateshead as part of the _Toon_, even though it’s a short stroll over a number of bridges. **Toon** is another important desriptive of Newcastle. This covers all of the city, regardless of the river itself. Where I live anyone from Newcastle is called a **Toonie**. As with much north-east english slang, the ratio between affection and insult with this term is conveyed by tone. The funny thing with the term **Geordie** , is that despite its specific use, its origins are unknown. I’ll not go into them myself, but I will link to [this Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geordie). I will give warning however, while the section on that page matches what I’ve been told about the origins of the term, there are significant errors in other parts. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/18 "2010-07-19T01:00:37Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I don’t suppose there’s a map online somewhere with all the [nicknames](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_regional_nicknames) shown; scousers, monkey-hangers, etc. It’d make a handy stickie sometimes. I don’t know, do you have one for all the American regional nicknames? Hoosiers, and Buckeyes, and Hillbillies, and Cornhuskers, and Cheeseheads and the like? I am sure it is all at least as complicated and arbitrary. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/19 "2010-07-19T03:01:17Z")
I have a couple of geordies in my eve online corp, and it is highly funny to hear them if they get really excited because they get really slangy and hard to understand … though not as difficult as the Glaswegian that used to be in the corp. Talk about 2 cultures separated by a single language … I am still not certain Glaswegians speak english … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112/20 "2010-07-19T05:36:43Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Whenever I hear the word I think of… Actually, I knew the word from the song Itches in Me Britches: I was born of Geordy parents One day when I was young That’s how the Geordy dialect Became my native tongue [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-geordie/547112.md?page=2)