Indulgences

1. cwrw

   koo-roo

   Beer

   Usage

   The word you will use most in a pub ("tafarn"). Wales has its own breweries — Brains of Cardiff is the best known

   Grammar Note

   Masculine; plural "cwrwau" or "cyrfau", with older forms "cwrwf" and "cwrf". The letter w is a vowel here, pronounced "oo"

2. cwrw casgen

   koo-roo kas-gen

   Draught beer, cask ale

   Usage

   Beer served straight from the cask; bottled beer is "cwrw potel". Use these to say which you want at the bar

   Grammar Note

   Two nouns placed side by side — no preposition is needed. "Cwrw cadarn" is strong ale and "cwrw main" is weak or small beer

3. cwrw potel

   koo-roo pot-el

   Bottled beer

   Usage

   Beer sold in the bottle — the same phrase works when buying it from a shop to take away

   Grammar Note

   "Potel" is feminine, but here it is a following noun rather than an adjective, so it does not mutate

4. seidr

   say-dir

   Cider

   Usage

   Made from apple juice, typically 3–8.5% alcohol. East Wales was once known for cider; the tradition died out in the 20th century and producers have returned since the 2000s

   Grammar Note

   The final "-dr" is pronounced with an inserted vowel, roughly "-dir" — the same epenthesis you hear in "ffenestr" and "llyfr"

5. medd

   meth

   Mead

   Usage

   Honey and water fermented together — an old northern drink where grapes would not ripen, and a recurring image in Welsh poetry since the Gododdin

   Grammar Note

   Careful: an identically spelt "medd" is the verb "says" (from "meddaf"), used when quoting someone — in running text that is usually the one you are looking at. The drink is also called "diod fedd"

6. wisgi

   wis-gee

   Whisky

   Usage

   A spirit distilled from grain, especially barley. Wales has its own — Penderyn, in the Brecon Beacons

   Grammar Note

   Also spelt "chwisgi". The word comes from Gaelic "uisge-beatha" (water of life); Irish has "uisce-beatha"

7. jin

   jeen

   Gin

   Usage

   A spirit flavoured with juniper berries ("aeron meryw"); also called "gwirod meryw"

   Grammar Note

   The English word respelt for Welsh. The letter j is used only in loanwords, and the i is a long "ee"

8. cyflaith

   kuv-lithe

   Cyflaith (traditional Welsh toffee)

   Usage

   Sugar and treacle, often with butter, boiled and left to set. North Wales has the custom of "Noson Gyflaith" — a toffee night held at Christmas or New Year

   Grammar Note

   Also "cyfleth", "taffi", "toffi" or "ffani". In "Noson Gyflaith" the initial c softens to g, because it follows the feminine noun "noson"

9. taffi triog

   ta-fee tree-og

   Treacle toffee

   Usage

   A dark toffee made with treacle, also called "losin du" (black sweets), eaten at Calan Gaeaf (Hallowe'en) and on Bonfire Night

   Grammar Note

   "Taffi" is borrowed from the English dialect form "taffy"; in the plural, "taffis" can mean sweets in general

10. losin

    lo-sin

    Sweets (south Wales word)

    Usage

    The south Wales word for sweets; in the north they say "fferins"

    Grammar Note

    Borrowed from English "lozenge". The plural is the base form; one of them is a "losinen" or "losen"

11. fferins

    fe-rins

    Sweets (north Wales word)

    Usage

    The north Wales word for sweets; it originally meant a present bought at a fair

    Grammar Note

    Borrowed from English "fairings"; also spelt "ffeirins". One of them is a "fferen" or "ffeiryn"

12. creision

    kray-shon

    Crisps

    Usage

    A pub and corner-shop staple, in flavours such as salt and vinegar ("halen a finegr") or cheese and onion ("caws a winwns"). Also written "creision tatws"

    Grammar Note

    This is British "crisps", not American "chips". Thick-cut fried potatoes are "sglodion", a different word

13. sigarét

    sig-a-ret

    Cigarette

    Usage

    Smoking indoors in public places is banned by law throughout the UK, Wales included — you cannot smoke inside a pub or restaurant

    Grammar Note

    Feminine; plurals "sigaréts", "sigareti", "sigaretau". The accent on é marks stress on the final syllable — Welsh normally stresses the penultimate one

14. tybaco

    tuh-ba-ko

    Tobacco

    Usage

    The cut leaf itself. In speech the first syllable is usually dropped and it becomes "baco"

    Grammar Note

    Also written "tobaco", "tabaco" or "dybaco". "Tybaco main" is twist or pigtail tobacco

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