Today, you are in Scotland and driviving with a Scotsman who loves to tell stories and this one is about the use of the word “wee”. You’ll hear his own version of the difference between when a Scotsmans says he is “going for a wee drink” vs. “going for a pint”. Also he recounts the story told by Trevor Noah from his visit to Scotland which Trevor shares in a Netflix comedy specials about his experience and perpective on the word “wee” during time spent at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Enjoy listening!
Listen to “”Going for a Wee Pint” in Scotland & Trevor Noah is hilarious” on Spreaker.
QUOTES
“We replace the word little with the word “Wee”… because it makes things sound very innocent.”
“I’ve worked out how the Scots have this accent… It’s a thousand years of trying not the throw up.”
“So, 14 hours later, I begin to throw up.”
“I’m away for a wee drink so I’ll see you later on tonight. I’m away for a pint. I’ll see you Sunday morning.”
“It’s just a wee bit o’ blood.”
SHOW NOTES
A Midlife Traveler Podcast; Season 1 Scotland Speaks
EPISODE: Trevor Noah & the Scottish “Wee Pint”
Side note: This story is better when heard in the Scottish voice…so listen the podcast...please.
This episode talks about a funny linguistic thing that the Scots have with a small word called, “wee”. This recalling of a comedy skit by Trevor Noah (watch it on Netflix!) where he shares bits of his trip to Scotland during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
When podcast host, Laura, visited Scotland her tour guide James, brought up the Trevor Noah bit from Netflix. James points out the sage wisdom that Trevor presented and in particular how the Scots apply the word, “wee” to scenarios in order to make innocent of things that are not so innocent.
SO…a comedian named Trevor Noah goes to Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe…
Trevor Noah, he’s got a show in New York and he does a skit about his time at the Edinburgh Fringe. In it he says, “Oh you know, I’ve worked out why the Scots talk, ‘Oh, how you doing Jimmy? How’s it going? Argh, fine.’ I’ve worked out how the Scots have this accent… It’s a thousand years of trying not the throw up.” He goes on, “Because the Scots don’t drink to be sociable, they don’t drink to have a good time, they drink to die.”
He went on to say something else and it’s absolutely true. Anybody who’s heard this skit about Trevor Noah, this next bit is absolutely true and the Scots do do this:
“We replace the word little with the word … Wee. because it makes things look very innocent. It makes things sound really innocent.”
Some proper uses of the Scottish “Wee”
So, if you want to go out for a drink with your friend, a pint of beer with your friend but your friend’s being a bit of a jessy about it… so instead of going for a pint well, how about we just go for a “wee pint”, (even though it only comes in one size) ’cause that makes it sound very innocent.
For example in the Trevor Noah skit his friend says, “Oh no Trevor. How about just a wee pint of beer?” Trevor Noah says, “So, 14 hours later, I begin to throw up… I’m at home and I throw up.” He notes that it’s something he trained his body not to do but today, the training failed.
So Trevor continues, “It was so bad that some blood came up and I phoned my Scottish friend and said, ‘You need to come and pick me up. I’ve been throwing up all morning.’
To which he replied, ‘Yeah. That’s normal.’
Then I told him, ‘But I’ve been throwing up blood.’
He said to me, ‘Oh no. Was it a lot of blood?’
I told him, ‘No, it was just a little bit of blood.’
To which he said, ‘ Oh quell then, don’t worry. It’s just a wee bit o’ blood.’
The different between ‘away for a pint’ and ‘going for a wee drink’
James agrees on how the Scots use the word ‘wee’ and says, “We do do that. We make things really innocent and we’ve got no intention of it to be innocent.” But what really does a going for a wee drink mean when compared to away for a pint? Here’s an example;
You say to your mum, “I’m going to wait at the pub, I’m going to wait with a drink.”
Her response, “Remember you’re working tomorrow.”
You explain, “Ayye…it’s just a wee drink.”
So, what the Scots might mean by that is, ‘I’m away for a wee drink so I’ll see you later on tonight. I’m away for a pint. I’ll see you Sunday morning.’
So, a wee drink means I’ll be home that night. A pint means, we’ll just have to wait and see.