For his Gair Cymraeg yr wythnos feature on Radio X last weekend, Elis James chose the phrase, Siop siafins. Apparently it’s a family-friendly expletive (literally meaning – wood shavings shop) that can be used to describe something that is chaotic, shambolic, or badly organised. I think it’s great, but unfortunately, Elis didn’t know how it originated, so I was wondering if any SSiW’s could shed any light on it?
I would guess that the shop referred to would be a workshop rather than a retail shop, but I don’t know.
Coincidentally, I was thinking of this phrase yesterday when a woman being interviewed on the radio used it repeatedly and I was thinking what a great little thing it is.
It was also the name of a situation comedy on S4C some years ago. Set in a convenience store, naturally.
Diolch ade-h. I was thinking this afternoon about Cymraeg slang. Mae fy merch ystafell yn siop siafins!
hahah proper dad sentence … In Welsh … ystafell fy merch would be the best way to say “my daughter’s room” btw buddy
Car fy mam … - My mother’s car … etc/ ayyb (ac yn y blaen)
A variation also…
Mae ystafell fy merch yn edrych fel siop siafins … My daughter’s room looks like a shavings shop!
Diolch Brynie for the correction. Proper true dad sentence!
Yes, this did crop up when I googled the phrase. Sadly, there aren’t any clips of the show on YouTube.