What it means
Means dirty, muddy, or generally mucky. A proper Geordie word for when something is covered in filth, whether that is a pair of boots after a walk on the moors or a bairn who found a puddle and committed fully. Can also describe the weather when it is that grey, drizzly, claggy kind of day that makes everything damp. The North East has about forty words for dirty and this is the champion.
Usage examples
"The bairn came back from the park absolutely clarty from head to toe, looked like he'd been wrestling in a bog, straight in the bath with him."
"Take your boots off, they're absolutely clarty after that walk through the field."
"The kids came in proper clarty, head to toe in mud from the park."
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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