Ten things you never knew about... scouse

Today is Global Scouse Day, marking not so much the Merseyside dialect but the stew that gave it its name. See globalscouseday.com for details.

1. The word “scouse” was originally an abbreviation of “lobscouse”, a sailor’s dish of meat stewed with vegetables and ship’s biscuit.

2. The “lob” part of “lobscouse” may come from a verb meaning “to bubble while boiling”; “couse” derives from “course” meaning a part of a meal.

3. The word “lobscouse” dates back to 1707. The abbreviation “scouse” was first recorded in 1840.

4. “Scouse” was first used to mean an inhabitant of Liverpool in 1945. “Scouser” was first seen in 1959. 5. Liverpool Gin is Global Scouse Day with the launch of a poetry competition. You can find details at liverpoolgin.com/poetry.

6. Roger McGough has launched the competition with a verse extolling the virtues of scouse stew.

7. His verse includes the lines: “In every greasy spoon, every gastronomic venue/Today’s a day to celebrate, for scouse is on the menu.”

8. An 1884 reference to scouse describes it as soup made by boiling bear and walrus with vegetables.

9. The original scouse stew was probably made by Norwegian sailors rather than Liverpudlians.

10. According to an online Scouse site, the Scouse for Global Scouse Day is “Global sea-pie dee”.