- yeekiat
- Senior Pro
- Joined: 04 Dec 2005
- Posts: 4754
- Location: Singapore
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 Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:22 pm |
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I found this on the guardian. Thought it might be an interesting read.
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Why are people from Liverpool called scousers? Is it an insulting term or do Liverpudlians refer to themselves as scousers?
Natasha, Sydney, Australia
Scouse was a stew usually made from ship's biscuit and fish frequently eaten by sailors. I'm not sure why the term stuck with Liverpool and not other ports, maybe it was particularily popular in Liverpool.
Fergus McGee, Dublin, Ireland
The traditional explanation is that scouse is a contraction of 'lobscouse', which was a type of stew (Norwegian in origin), once popular among sailors, and is still eaten in Liverpool today.
As to whether it's insulting, you could call me paranoid, but any mention of my home town seems intended as an insult these days. People from Liverpool do call themselves Scousers though.
If, like me, you come from the blue half of town you don't refer to yourself as a Liverpudlian (which carries an entirely different connotation).
Leo Hickey, Barking, Essex
The nickname is said to derive from the name of the traditional dish 'lobscouse', a sort of stew, which was/is eaten round there. Compare this with the German 'Labskaus', and Welsh 'lobsgows', both approximately similar dishes.
Dominic Watt, Department of Linguistics & Phonetics, University of Leeds
It comes from 'lobscouse' which was a dish eaten in those parts, made with hard tack and bully beef. It was a traditional seaman's dish which may be of Viking origin. Labscaus is still a great speciality in Hamburg. It is made with corned beef, onions, beetroot and mashed potatoes and flavoured with a pinch of cumin and served with a fried egg on top. A version of this dish is also made in Denmark where herring is added. Delicious.
M Newman, Brussels Belgium
Scousers are named after a once-popular working-class dish of meat (if you were lucky) and veg stew, called scouse (without the meat, it's called blind scouse). It tastes great and my dad still makes a fine pan. No, it is not an insulting term and yes, Liverpudlians refer to themselves by this term, although less so these days.
Allan Morton, Bangkok, Thailand
Scouse is like Irish stew, but usually made with beef instead of lamb. I don''t find the term "Scouser" insulting, and I have never heard another Liverpudlian take offence.
Diane Roscoe, Liverpool, UK
There is a Norwegian dish "lapskaus", to my mind a variant if not not the predecessor of Irish Stew. More interestingly there is an area of Oslo called if I remember right, Skaus corner. Any connection?
Kevin Wooldridge, Lowestoft, UK
As to the various explanations of "lapskaus" above, I would like to add that this is a Norwegian dish (dinner) consisting of potatoes, meat (pork or beef), carrots, leeks, all cubed and stewed until tender, and sprinkled with parsley when served. Traditionally, crisp, thin pieces of flatbread and a glass of cold milk is served with it.
As to the question whether "Skaus" in Oslo is in any way connected to the dish, I don't think that is the case. The place referred to is rightly spelled "Schous Corner", and alludes to the former brewery Schous which was situated nearby. The place retains the name, and is I'm afraid a rather run down pub often frequented by the less fortunate beer drinkers in Oslo.
Eli Wongraven, Oslo, Norway |
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