Famous Scottish street gangs

[Mavericker]

There were no famous gangs from Edinburgh?

[Mavericker]

Originally Posted by ANDY-J3

The most famous Glasgow gangs were the Tim Malloys who were Catholics and the Brigton Billy boys who were Protestant. Tim is still used today as a slang term for a Catholic and words like swatch (take a look at) and chib (weapon) originated with the Glasgow gangs but have found their way into Scottish slang.

Thank you, Andy-J3.

Would you please help me with my other topics in the language forum?

[Celyn]

Originally Posted by ANDY-J3

The most famous Glasgow gangs were the Tim Malloys who were Catholics and the Brigton Billy boys who were Protestant. Tim is still used today as a slang term for a Catholic and words like swatch (take a look at) and chib (weapon) originated with the Glasgow gangs but have found their way into Scottish slang.

This one is interesting. as I haven't heard of the "Tim Molloys" (but then again, it might help explain why "Tim" should exist as a sort of group name, (although I obviously have heard the phrase "Billy Boys", there being a song involving that phrase) Reason I think this post is interesting is that I had no idea that "take a swatch at this" as in "take a look at..." was derived from gang and criminal culture. Good! I love it when I can pretend to myself that I am using the internet for some kind of quasi-educational purpose. (Not that I would ever be using it just to be having a waste of time, oh dear me no. Heheheh).

The “chib” one, I had not thought about, but it's not so common in any kind of conversation, is it? Whereas “take a swatch at this” seems to occupy roughly the same territory as things like “take a shufti at this” where the bloke saying it might not even realise that the “shufti” thing is, I “think*, anyway, from Hindi (i.e, comes from dated army usage/national service usage.

For the semi-relevant entertainment value, here be wee song (but I am not sure whether this is from Matt McGinn or from Hamish Imlach). *

"THE DERRY AND CUMBERLAND BOYS"
Noo ye've heard o the Billies and Sallys
The Norman Cong and the Sang Toy
Here's two more tae add tae yer tally
The Derry and Cumberland Boys

Noo the Cumbie Boys are Roman Catholic
Tae chapel they've been wance ot twice
But Parkhead is their new Jerusalem
And Jock Stein the latter day Christ

And the Derry Boys are tae be christians
That's plain baith tae hear and tae see
For their language is really religious
"Jesus Christ", "Oh my God", "FTP"

When asked what they think o religion
They'll say "Aw religions aw right"
But these guys are only religious
When they want an excuse for a fight

So don't wear a green scarf in Brigton
Or a blue scarf in Cumberland Street
No unless your a heavy weight champion
Or hell o a quick on yer feet

* now that I think about it, I think it''s Hamish Imlach. There might be a hear-able version on-line but I don't know)


And Mavericker, just what century DO you want your cartoon moggies and doggies to be in? You seem to have wandered through asking about several different times, you know. People will always try to go to trouble to get the right answer, when time allows, but it needs, always, a sensible question.

[Lithgae]

Originally Posted by Mavericker

Thank you, Andy-J3.

Would you please help me with my other topics in the language forum?

Because no one else has tried to help?

[ANDY-J3]

Originally posted by Mavericker

There were no famous gangs from Edinburgh?


There were gangs from Edinburgh but not of the same level of notoriety and if you look at the two main Glasgow gangs they represented each of the two communities-protestant and catholic with many of the latter being of Irish immigrant stock. The gangs were a product of the sectarian tensions that existed in Glasgow and it was those religious divisions that were the main cause of the explosion of gang violence that occured in Glasgow during the 1930s. Edinburgh wasn't an industrial city so it didn't attract the same number of Irish catholic immigrants as Glasgow and the west of Scotland so it never experienced the same level of sectarian confrontation.

[Mavericker]

Thank you, Andy-J3. Could you please list the names of the Edinburgh gangs?

[teashoci]

Originally Posted by Lithgae

I dont know how far back in history these go, but the Glasgow gangs that readily come to my mind are:
The Tongs
The Toi
Kinning Park Star
Young Govan Team
The Cumbie

Hmmm, I would not really call these so called "gangs" gangs, anything starting with the word young team should be refered to as 15 year old dirty working class arses that should be laughed at,

in 21st century glasgow i can assure you there are no more gangs only hordes of working class filth that clog up our hospitals,sponge off our taxpayers money and attack anyone not wearing a filthy creased 5 year old tracksuit,

i dont see the point of paying income tax we should just give it to the working class and cut out the middle men.

oh and my name is sean a new poster here .... nice to meet you all.