English

Noun

Brummie ‎(plural Brummies)

1. (Britain, informal) A person from Birmingham, United Kingdom.
   • 2001, David Franklin, Looking For Sarah Jane Smith, Baby Ice Dog Press, Australia, ISBN 9780646410869, unnumbered page,

     John figured that people who said Ciao were asking to be damaged, especially Brummies with dreary accents who sounded even more absurd than other non-Italian Ciao users.

   • 2009, Steve Mifflin, Exile in the Promised Land, 2013, page 120,

     His drilled shot is inch perfect and initially I am frozen as the ball hits the back of the net, in front of the open mouthed Brummies massed behind the goal.

   • 2010, Bryan Connor, Voices from a Blue Box: Tales from a Black Country Copper, page 15,

     The truth is that these days the Brummies have been magnanimous enough to recognise that the Black Country exists and thats^[sic] at least a start.

2. (Britain, informal, uncountable) The accented variety of English spoken in Birmingham.
   • 2000 August 11, TerryD, "Skinny-Dipping Midlands", uk.rec.naturist, Usenet:

     An easy mistake to make though, you'll hear more Brummie in Welshpool in August than Welsh that's for sure.

   • 2013, Kamil Malarski, Intonation in the Perception of Brummie, Ewa Waniek-Klimczak, Linda R. Shockey (editors), Teaching and Researching English Accents in Native and Non-native Speakers, Springer, page 208,

     Brummie is the accent spoken in the city of Birmingham in the area of the West Midlands. Despite its being widely discussed in the media, Brummie has not received too much attention from linguists.

Adjective

Brummie ‎(comparative Brummier or more Brummie, superlative Brummiest or most Brummie)

1. (Britain, informal) Of or relating to Birmingham, United Kingdom.
   • 1976, Punch, Volume 270, page 265,

     "Jump on that bus?" he shouted in an even Brummier accent. "Yow must be jokin'. The bleedin' thing hasn't moved in this traffic for near on an hour."

   • 1995 November 3, Audrey MacDonald, "Accents on the Archers", uk.media.radio.archers, Usenet:

     Hayley Jordan is played by an actress who's name I can't remember, but who is actually Jasper Carrott's daughter, and apart from Nigel Mansell, you can't get more Brummie than that.

   • 1997, Tim Parks, Europa, 2012, unnumbered page,

     When the girls smile, he says in his most Brummie Italian, False presumption of binary opposition.

   • 2007, Chris Terrill, Commando, page 78,

     Mick Beards, thirty-three, is a Brummie with the Brummiest accent you have ever heard.

   • 2011 January 23, darkprince66, "Good old BR Improvisation to keep the service running", uk.railway, Usenet:

     I remember it now having watched the clip! Under Spaghetti Junction too. You can't get more Brummie than that!

Related terms

• Brum