That Word Is “Thoil”

Here in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, people have a reputation for being very friendly – but very tight with their money. I thought it was an unfair stereotype, until I saw a chap at the deli counter in Sainsburys, sucking air through his teeth and asking the wearied sales assistant to “do him a price” on a slice of ham. On the bright side, the beer here is very cheap.

Recently I was reading the Yorkshire Post and came across an interview with a couple of farming sisters. They spoke of something called thoil; apparently it’s an old Yorkshire word that means to be able to afford something, but to be unable to justify the expense.

As in: “I can’t thoil the flatscreen TV and the Blu-Ray DVD player”.

I’d never heard it before, so I looked it up – and it exists all right. It’s delightfully Yorkshire, isn’t it? I think it’s a wonderful word!

I like the idea behind it: the noisy sentiment that just because you have the money, you don’t have to spend the stuff all at once. And why should you?

Image credit: tricky.