What it means
A barm, or barm cake, is just a soft bread roll, usually getting filled with bacon, sausage, or chips from the van. The name comes from barm, the yeasty froth from brewing that used to raise the dough. Say barm in the North and you’ll get fed, say it elsewhere and you’ll start the never-ending bap-cob-roll argument.
Usage examples
"Ey up, can I get a bacon barm and a proper brew, ta? Lad at the counter says roll. Nah mate, barm, don’t start that debate."
"I'll have a bacon barm with brown sauce and a brew, proper Saturday breakfast."
"Round here it's a barm, but my cousin down south calls the exact same thing a roll."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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