What it means
Up north, summat is just how folk say something, dropped into a sentence dead casual without a second thought. It pairs up nicely with owt and nowt, so you might hear do you fancy summat to eat after a long shift. It is warm, comfy and a bit cheeky, the kind of word that makes a kitchen feel like home. Use it and you sound proper Yorkshire in two seconds flat.
Usage examples
"Eh, put kettle on and grab us summat to eat, I have been on me feet since six and I am fair clemmed."
"Do you fancy summat to eat before we head off?"
"There's summat not right with this engine, listen to that noise."
Where it comes from
Northern English worn down from something, the th flattened in everyday Yorkshire speech. It runs in the same family as owt and nowt, anything and nothing, and dropping a summat into a sentence makes you sound proper local in a heartbeat.
Editors of this term
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