Birmingham is a busy city with people from all over the country coming in for city breaks, work trips or national events. You’ll find all sorts in Brum, but it takes something special to be considered a Brummie. So whether you’ve recently moved here from London, or live in Bromsgrove (and like to pretend you live in Birmingham), make sure you avoid tripping up on these things – they’re a dead giveaway that you’re NOT from Birmingham.
1. You think Birmingham is in the Black Country
It’s not that difficult, is it? The urban area largely to the left of Birmingham (Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton) is often considered to make up the Black Country. We don’t even have the same accent, with Yam-Yams speaking with a more old-school, almost archaic English accent. Brummie accents are more influenced by modern English.
If you’re looking for a name that encapsulates the Black Country and Birmingham, you’re after the West Midlands county (which also includes Coventry and Solihull). This is different from the West Midlands region, however, which also includes the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. Still confused?
2. You drop the ‘g’ from Birmingham
Londoners love calling it ‘Birmin-ham’. Where’d that ‘g’ go? It’s not silent!
Better yet, just call it Brum…
3. You say/write ‘Mum’
It’s mom. M-O-M.
4. You don’t smile when you hear the phrase ‘back of Rackhams’
Rackhams may be long gone, but that’s what many Brummies still call the now House of Fraser – alongside many other ‘wrong’ names in Birmingham. But if you’ve never heard of going to the “back of Rackhams”, then you’ve definitely not from around here. This euphemistic phrase hints at the former red light district behind the Birmingham store….
5. You’ve never been to Maccies on The Ramp
To outsiders, The Ramp doesn’t look like much, but to Brummies, it’s a landmark that rivals The Library, Old Joe or the Bullring. The stretch between Stephenson Street and New Street doesn’t have any historical significance but is culturally ingrained in every Brummie as where we used to meet in town. The Maccies on The Ramp (added in the late 70’s) is as equally beloved.
6. You don’t know what a gambol is
To the rest of the UK, ‘gambol’ means to “run or jump about playfully.” But unless you’re a sheep, there’s not much use for that term here. Because in Birmingham, it specifically means to do a “forward roll.” To learn more about Birmingham slang head here.
7. You couldn’t find Pigeon Park on a map
If you don’t know where Pigeon Park is, let us give you a clue: It’s the park with all the pigeons, also known as Cathedral Square.
8. You don’t know where ‘town’ is
If you’ve been here awhile and still haven’t figured out where ‘town’ is in this sprawling city, you still can’t call yourself a Brummie. The city centre is town.
9. You think a scallop is seafood
If you order a scallop in a chippie, the odds are you’ll be presented with something that’s never even smelt the sea (we are in Birmingham after all). Here, a Birmingham scallop is potato covered in batter and deep-fried.
10. You call it anything but a ‘cob’
Batch, roll, bap, barm cake, whatever you’ve been calling it, stop. It’s called a cob in these parts and we won’t understand anything else.
11. You’ve never heard of Mr Egg
If you don’t know what Mr Egg is, a quick Google will tell you it’s a cafe in the Chinese Quarter selling fried chicken and bubble tea. But to true Brummies, it used to be something else, something more. There was a time in the 90s and 00s when the name ‘Mr Egg’ meant a legendary, greasy spoon, where you could ‘eat like a king for £1’.
Before its reinvention, it served everything from chips to fry-ups, jacket potatoes and baguettes until the wee small hours. As a result, its cultural impact hasn’t waned despite becoming a pale imitation of itself. That’s why the original Mr Egg still crops up on art prints, T-shirts and magnets today.