Our island home also has plenty of ‘Pompey’ words and phrases you are unlikely to hear if you venture away from the city – unless of course you happen across another one of the old Pompey faithful.
SEE MORE: 29 celebrities who have called Portsmouth home over the years | 33 films and TV shows you may not have known were filmed in Hampshire
However language is constantly evolving through the years and slang can end up falling out of fashion. We’ve picked eleven classic Old Portsmouth sayings, how many do you use?
However language is constantly evolving through the years and slang can end up falling out of fashion. We’ve picked eleven classic Old Portsmouth sayings, how many do you use?
![This phrase used to be yelled out by mudlarks - the children who dived about in the mudflats at The Hard in Portsea - and was a plea for spare change. A sparsy was either threepence or sixpence, which the mudlarks would happily dip their heads in the mud for.](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjFjM2NjNjFmLWM5YmEtNDAzOS05ZjE4LTMxZjNmN2U2M2E4ODoxMmY2ZjZiNS1mYTliLTRlYzEtOGNiNC04NDZhMjgzZjZkMWM=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
9. Dip me ’ead for a sparsy!
This phrase used to be yelled out by mudlarks - the children who dived about in the mudflats at The Hard in Portsea - and was a plea for spare change. A sparsy was either threepence or sixpence, which the mudlarks would happily dip their heads in the mud for. Photo: Habibur Rahman
![Not exclusive to Portsmouth, but a southern phrase very much in use in Pompey is 'out of order'. The phrase is used to express the view that something - or someone - is unfair or has done something wrong, rather than the traditional use of the phrase to meaning that something is not working or is out of sequence.](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjAyNWQ3MmIxLTI5YTYtNDQwMC1iZWM5LTBiYTc2ZjcxMWQwODozOWM1ZDJhZC03N2VmLTRmZWMtYmE5ZC03YTlkYWI3ZjVkOGQ=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
10. Out of order
Not exclusive to Portsmouth, but a southern phrase very much in use in Pompey is 'out of order'. The phrase is used to express the view that something - or someone - is unfair or has done something wrong, rather than the traditional use of the phrase to meaning that something is not working or is out of sequence. Photo: Chris Moorhouse
![The slur 'scummer' or 'scum' has long been used by Pompey fans seeking to mock their Saints counterparts. Its exact origin is a bit of a mystery with the most common theory being that it arose in the 1890s following a dispute at the dockyard. Southampton dockers are said to have broken strike action, though other stories have it as Portsmouth dockers breaking it first. Other stories have it as a Naval term to describe merchant seamen from Southampton](https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOjY2MTBkNjI2LTg3MDctNDBlMC1iYmQ2LTY3MTZmNTMzMGQwZTo2MjVjMTY0OS0wYzRmLTQxOTUtODEyMC0yNjhmMGQ3YjUwNjM=.jpg?crop=3:2&width=800)
11. Scummer
The slur 'scummer' or 'scum' has long been used by Pompey fans seeking to mock their Saints counterparts. Its exact origin is a bit of a mystery with the most common theory being that it arose in the 1890s following a dispute at the dockyard. Southampton dockers are said to have broken strike action, though other stories have it as Portsmouth dockers breaking it first. Other stories have it as a Naval term to describe merchant seamen from Southampton Photo: Habibur Rahman