The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The word that leaves a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth
Craigie readers continue to revel in the recent appearance of the nowadays lesserheard word “wersh” on this page.
First up, Angus Whitson, author of The Courier’s ever-popular Man With Two Dogs column brings a humorous anecdote on the
subject of the old Scots adjective. He writes: “Well over 40 years ago a correspondent of The Sunday Post wrote that he had been sitting behind two girls on the upper deck of a double decker bus.
“One used the word ‘wersh’ in conversation and the other asked what the word meant. “I dinna really ken,” said the other, “but I think it’s like when you kiss a laddie you dinna really like!”
Our other contributors play it somewhat
more straight than Angus, and focus on the word’s general association with cuisine. N Pearson emails: “I was born and brought up in North Ayrshire where the word was regularly used. My understanding of wersh is ‘bitter’ or ‘unpalatable’ due to this sensation. It was only applied to a particular taste, or an item of food.”
In a similar vein, Carnoustie resident Ian Robertson declares: “My late friend who hailed from Murroes/Wellbank area used this word but in the context of ‘soor’ or sour/ bland, referring to food.”
From the same neck of the woods, Isobel Gordon brings a couple more terms to conjure with, emailing: “I recognised wersh straight away, and another Angus word for bland is ‘fushionless’. But to say that a person is fushionless means he or she has no backbone, or smeddum.”
From further afield, Glasgow dweller John Weeks adds: “My wife is from Fife and she used to use the word ‘wersh’ all the time. As far as I can gather it was for food that didn’t taste too good.”
Meantime, bookworm David Millar tells us: “This word was one that I have heard of but never seen used. The word is actually listed in an old Chambers Scots dictionary we have and does, as suggested, refer to food and drink as follows: ‘Wersh, or Wairsh, describes food or drink which is tasteless, insipid or cooked without salt, etc.”
Lastly, Rose Smart, of Glenrothes, helpfully points out that the word is
pronounced “weir-sh”, and it was prevalent during her Fife childhood. Rose, 87, says: “I was brought up at East Wemyss and my mum and dad both came from around that area so that was the way we had all heard it.
“A mixture of cornflower raw mixed with cold water and milk was often given when I was little if somebody had diarrhoea, and Mother used to say that had a wersh taste.
“So long as it did the purpose that was all that was necessary – but it tasted horrible.
“The first time I ever tasted sweetcorn I remember saying it tasted wersh but I was at somebody else’s house so I had to eat it to be polite. I quite enjoy it nowadays!”