Mithered

I asked people on Threads if they had heard the word Mithered and was surprised at the large response I got.

To me Mithered means worried or bothered, pestering someone, being mithered. I found out there are other meanings….

“Mithered” (or “mithering”) is a Northern English dialect word meaning to be bothered, pestered, or to make an unnecessary fuss/moan, often used to describe someone being nagged or someone complaining persistently, as in “Stop mithering me!” or “I can’t be mithered” (meaning “I can’t be bothered”). It conveys a sense of gentle irritation or exasperation. ” (from Google).

I had found out it’s mainly used in Northern England, but it’s even used in the West Midlands where I moved away from in my teens.

I originally heard it from my husband “Stop mithering about things”, who was from Lancashire. He used words like “nesh” feeling the cold, “owt/nowt” anything/nothing, “mardy” moody.

I love the way English is still full of dialects and different accents.

Bibendum

Bibendum is the name of the iconic symbol for Michelin tyres. There was a large factory near us run by Michelin. Sadly the factory has mostly closed now, its mostly a training facility. The one improvement is that the smell of vulcanising rubber no longer hangs over the city. Like many of the factories and manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent the jobs have gone. Potteries have been badly affected. Steel manufacturers have gone and other jobs like coal mining went in the 1980’s. Northern areas of the United Kingdom have been badly affected over the years of the late twentieth century and twenty first.