The Fleetwood phrases and sayings that make locals instantly recognisable

There’s nothing quirkier than local dialect.

And even more unique is when it’s hyper-local, when words and phrases mean absolutely nothing to anyone else, other than those who live in a specific town or area.

We asked people in Fleetwood what phrases make their town instantly recognisable and the response was overwhelming with hundreds of comments flooding in.

One phrase that clearly struck a chord was the Fleetwood habit of how people say ‘our’ before the name of a friend or relative - like ‘Our Dave’ for example, if Dave happened to be your cousin.’

Chris Greer joked that it was such a Fleetwood thing that people would probably use it when referring to their dog’s half cousin!

And who hasn’t heard the phrase Dock Street Annie? The phrase has become woven into Fleetwood folklore over the years.

Then there’s ‘a mix in a tray with gravy,’ - chips, peas and gravy from the chippy. Is that really just a Fleetwood thing? And what about ‘Loftie Toffees’, presumably an affectionate nickname given to Fisherman’s Friend lozenges?

Several people mentioned going ‘down town’ - in other words walking along Lord Street. Depending on where you live in Fleetwood, it could technically be ‘up town’ but it has always been and always will be ‘down town’.

One reader mentioned how everyone still says going to ‘Freeport’ even though it has a new name, and going to the pier - it hasn’t been there for 18 years but it’s still a landmark name used as a reference point.

There were lots of references to the ferry and its timetable. Ezz Brown recalled the phrase ‘What time is the ferry due, need to pick up my meat pack’ - if you know, you know.

Then there were nostalgic references to ‘going to town on a night out’ meaning a night out in Blackpool but for many of a certain age, as Mark Thomason recalled - ‘Broadway then Planters’ was the definitive pub ‘crawl’ of the 1980s - a classic.

‘Can’t smell owt’ was another phrase, often uttered during discussions about the smell of fish (Isaac Spencers) the sewage treatment works or, more recently - the landfill site.

‘It’s give rain’ not strictly grammatically correct but perfectly understood by locals. And who can forget Electric Dreams and ‘the dance’ at high school discos?

Whether they are baffling to outsiders or treasured by those who grew up hearing them, they are part of what makes Fleetwood, Fleetwood.