scran

See also: scrân

English

Alternative forms

• skran (Scotland)

Etymology

Probably of North Germanic origin, from or cognate with Old Norse skran (“rubbish; marine stores”). Compare Icelandic skran (“junk”), Danish skrammel (“junk, lumber”). Doublet of scrawn.

Pronunciation

• (Glasgow, Northern England, especially Manchester, Liverpool, Geordie) IPA^(key): /skɹan/

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æn

Noun

scran (uncountable)

1. (UK, Ireland, slang) Food, especially that of an inferior quality; grub.

   Synonyms: (Geordie) scrawn; see also Thesaurus:food

   Let we gan and get some scran. Aw’m starvin man!

   Let's go and get some food. I'm starving!

   • 1853, Charles John Chetwynd Talbot, Meliora, Or, Better Times to Come, page 247:

     I know there are many persons — some who are themselves poor — who 'never turn a beggar from their door,' but always give them a few browns (halfpence) or some scran (broken victuals).

2. Refuse; rubbish.

Derived terms

• bad scran to someone
• scrannish

Descendants

• → Welsh: sgram

References

• Frank Graham, editor (1987), “SCRAN”, in The New Geordie Dictionary, Rothbury, Northumberland: Butler Publishing, →ISBN.
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• Bill Griffiths, editor (2004), “scran”, in A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Northumbria University Press, →ISBN.

Verb

scran (third-person singular simple present scrans, present participle scranning, simple past and past participle scranned)

1. (slang, Liverpool, Manchester, Scotland) To eat.
   • 2026 March 28, George Sandeman and Olivia Hutchinson, Tiramisu hot cross buns, doughnut eggs: Have Easter treats gone too far? (BBC News) [1]

     Creme eggs have been delighting - or not, depending on your palate - British tastebuds for more than 50 years.
     "I scran them up so fast," says Ethan in Manchester, who is on his way to a gym session.

2. (slang, Northern England) To steal in a mischievous manner; pinch, nick.

Anagrams

• crans, narcs, Carns, cRNAs, carns, Crans, scRNA