Situated in the heart of England, Birmingham is not only known for being the second biggest city in the country. It’s also more commonly cited as having the ‘least attractive accent in the British Isles’. Whether you believe this or not, it is worth getting to grips with some Brummie slang, so you have some idea of what people are going on about while studying at the University of Birmingham.
Bab
It is exactly what it looks like: ‘bab’ is just another word for ‘babe’ or ‘baby’. However, it is not limited to romantic relationships. It’s more of an endearing term designed to portray affection to anyone or anything. You will most likely hear the word being used by bus drivers, dinner ladies and drag queens (most famously Ginny Lemon), who often employ it in variations on the phrase: ‘You alright, bab?’
Joe’s
This one is very specific to the University of Birmingham, as it is the nickname of the bar on campus in the Guild of Students. Joe’s Bar is the cheapest place to go with daily meal deals and astoundingly low-priced drinks. On Thursdays, the bar hosts a quiz night and there is a very popular pool table that gets quite competitive throughout the day. There is no way you are a student at the university if you aren’t sending your mate a cheeky ‘Joe’s?’ text at least once a week!
Cob
This one is not completely specific to Birmingham, as it is used pretty much all around the Midlands, both East and West. A ‘cob’ is another word for a sandwich, although it usually refers more accurately to a crusty bread roll. Although you will probably not start adding this to your vocabulary, it’s handy to know that people are not constantly referring to corn all the time.
Town
Technically, this one does not make sense, but it is something I’ve grown up with and will never stop saying. Birmingham is made up of several constituencies. However, the city centre, which is obviously the main part given that it houses Grand Central Train Station and the Bull Ring Shopping Centre, is known as ‘town’. Therefore, instead of saying that you are going into the city, you would say that you are heading into ‘town’.
The Ramp
After a night out in ‘town’, you will most likely end up on ‘the ramp’. This ramp is situated right next to Birmingham New Street Station and is home to the best McDonald’s known to man. With numerous self-service machines and a spacious upstairs seating area that contains plenty of comfortable booths, there’s no better space to enjoy your post-clubbing snack.
Fab N Fresh
Speaking of clubbing, there is no better way to enjoy your Saturday evening than ‘Fab N Fresh’. This weekly event is the Guild of Student’s club night, which is enjoyed by Freshers and Final Years alike. The best thing about Fab is that it is on campus. There’s no need to pay for an Uber home because it is just a short walk there and back.
‘Fab N Fresh’ is also the name of the University of Birmingham’s main student Facebook Group. While it is used to promote anything going on in the local area, and as a way to recover lost mail, the group’s main purpose (as indicated by the name) is to give students a way to secure their Fab tickets, which are so few and far in between that they have become like Golden Tickets to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!