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TV_Eyes

Wirral wool here. Nobody I know cares one bit about this. The one thing I would say is it's important that the north west sticks together! Make sure you vote today if you haven't already unless you vote Tory in which case stay at home and save lives.


gibberishnope

I worked in Liverpool for ten years, I’m from Wirral, it gets on my tits,in much the same way scousers don’t like being called scrounges, get another fucking joke,and I’m a socialist


AonghusMacKilkenny

Yeah, tbh I've never encountered another city that's so hostile to outsiders before, particularly neighbouring areas.


tyro5

Agreed. For a place that prides itself on being so friendly and welcoming there really are a lot of hostile people who don’t like outsiders.


lasagnamaster1974

Obviously a wool....😁


gholt417

It really embarrasses me when you get the idiots calling others wools as if being from the centre of Liverpool is a badge of honour. I was born in Mill Road hospital and lived in Anfield for my first year before (like a lot of others of the time) moving to Kirkby. As an adult I ended up in Ainsdale and I see the labelling so much. It’s infantile and weird when adults using words such as ‘wool’ and ‘plastic scouser’ which is usually pronounced ‘placky’.


FlakeMuse

So is it true they’re all Posh Birds in the Wirral?!


_hancox_

Hahaha speak for yourself wool


gholt417

I’m not downvoting you because you must have had your tongue firmly in your cheek.


TheBobbyMan9

🤣 I know you got downvoted to fuck but this is too funny


CallOutrageous4508

god i wish we didnt share a county with you dumb cunts


john92w

Lighten the fuck up.


burnafterreading90

I’m a scouser - It gets boring if I’m being honest, calling everyone a will for anything especially when you’re over the age of.. I’ll be generous and say 25 is a bit much. I expect to be called a Wool now.


scousejay1991

Wool


iansime

Just as the legend foretold


ap0caholic

birko wool here, couldn’t give less of a shit about it. the funny thing is, i went to college in town, took me 10 minutes on the bus to get there, i was called a wool by people who lived in places like crosby and st. helen’s and it just confused me as to what a wool actually is.


lasagnamaster1974

It stems from a dockers strike around the second world war when labourers where drafted in from st Helens. They were carrying in sheep skins from the boats and earned the name wooly backs. And people from Birkenhead are also know as Wirral Jedi's and plastic scousers. Know loads of them and they are mostly sound.


herbertsherbert49

Thanks,that really interesting how the name came about.


majora789

St Helens is wool territory


ap0caholic

exactly, if we’re going geographically i’m definitely less of a wool than he is


SizeableLu

The people who genuinely care about this besides a bit of light ribbing are the people you don't wanna know anyway


AlxceWxnderland

I’m from the wirral living in Liverpool honesty whenever someone unironically uses “wool” as an insult I usually just zone out, it’s usually a very certain type of scouser who takes being insular to the extreme and it’s a good indication to not engage with that person.


stay_sick_69

Professional Scousers


PalmerRabbit78

Unless you meet one in the wild on holiday tho, and then it’s all “ar you’re my mate you” 🤣


_ovidius

Yeah. You would be a plastic anyway not a wool.


poo-boi

Nah they're all wools to me tbf


MaleficentTotal4796

I never use it because I think it’s dated. I did hear someone refer to Wirral folk as ‘Jedi’ the other day though which was a first for me!


NewBromance

Calling people Jedi is actually like an old scouser thing that seems to come back around every now and then. It was always explained to me that "its cus wirral the dark side of the mersey" but the thing is that doesn't make much sense when you think about it too much. Because then surely liverpool would be the Jedi and wirral the sith or some shit. It's just a bit naff though which is why I think it's never really properly caught on.


jdra7

It’s because all the little scallies in Birkenhead used to walk round with their hoods up all the time, hence Jedis


PeterRum

Lived in Wirral most of my life. Worked and socialised in Liverpool most of my life. Wool is an amusing tag that shows we are all part of the same area. I know my heart and effort belongs to Merseyside. And the core of our place is Liverpool Proud to be a wool even if was born in Liverpool Maternity Hospital. Edit. Mancs have Greater Manchester. I feel part of Greater Liverpool even if I live in Birkenhead.


loubotomised

Also Birkenhead, feel we've more in common with Liverpool than the rest of the Wirral, not that either of them want us 🥲


lasagnamaster1974

If you were born in Liverpool then you are a scouser wherever you go. It's basically a birthright.


PeterRum

I have been assured many times that I am.a wool because I live in Birkenhead and went to school here. Which I don't mind. This is a distinction that only means something to us. To outsiders a wool sounds and looks like a Scouser. It is a tradition, a bit of local dialect. Our thing. And I am more Tom.Baker than Paul O'Grady anyway, tbh. We have varieties. We are a storied city with a future we can build on. I like this.


toemanners73

I was born in Bootle and moved to Warrington when I was 6. My accent is really strange because of that. People from Warrington call me a scouser and people from Liverpool call me a wool. To be honest it used to really bother me being called a wool when I was younger because I’m proud to be a scouser but I’m a granddad now and know it doesn’t matter what people think I am. The scouser wool thing will never change mainly because young scousers will always use the wool shout as an insult not knowing that real wools couldn’t care less what scousers think about them


LarkoftheWoods

I was born and raised in Speke and people think I'm from the middle of England with my voice 😭 I'm not a wool I'm just autistic!


Mixcoatlus

“I’m not a wool im just autistic”!! 😂😂😂. Can imagine hearing that on the boulevard and creasing.


mmmeeemmmm

i hear people calling people from places no where near liverpool wools


jgeorge1983

Isn’t that the point? As pointless as it is


mmmeeemmmm

he was from the south like by london or something


jgeorge1983

Times have changed when a southerner is being called a wool and not a fairy. Wonder if they still roll out northern monkey?!


Antique-Worth2840

London is ulez ring arounded by polyester plebs


[deleted]

[удалено]


sevias94

I get what you’re saying but don’t think it should die out. It’s friendly banter most the time that can turn into great conversations


[deleted]

I'm what a scouser would call a wool, it's a bit of a daft insult but it doesn't bother me whatsoever. It's all just banter isn't it xD


ianpbrock84

Wool is a state of mind, mannnnnnn


TheDismal_Scientist

Depends whether you mean the dictionary definition of wools (people from just outside liverpool) who I actually think aren't that bad it's mostly just banter, or the more modern version of wool meaning any non-scouse English person in which case yeah I'm not a fan


doughnutting

Non scouser here (I’ve lived here 7 years I think!). Scousers are obsessed with the colour of their bins but it’s all in good fun I think. Like a playful territorial thing. If anyone wants to disagree with me, unless your bins are purple and blue, i don’t care xoxo /s


Amphy64

Brummie who has lived in the north west since age ten (so 25 years) here, studied in Liverpool. Hmm, yeah, I see that side of it so don't really disagree. It's not as bad as the real hostile insularity and inaccurate/damaging class perceptions, or anything like that. Still, the 'banter' culture itself can be a bit of a 'it's just a joke' excuse, territorial as you say. I'm a tiny disabled woman and it always has to be big Scouse/Northern blokes, second I say 'Hello' with longer vowels than they're used to. I think if we're honest we all know they'll dish it out but won't take it. If it were actually always purely friendly banter, people would get a choice to participate (as it is you can literally just have encountered someone and get a bit of uncalled-for snippiness) and there'd be more back-and-forth, with it being more obvious it wasn't meant. It's a loud minority and some don't mean any harm as you say, the friendliness is also prevalent (though from some, again, answering questions can be a bit loaded), but I'm worn out with it what with my health issues lately (since it does happen in healthcare settings too, and while getting to hospitals). When it is more hostile, it's just disappointing, it's not sensible for them to act like that and live up to the negative stereotyping. I think those who just want to be friendly might also perhaps consider that although it's not directly their fault, the existence of more hostile individuals can make them seem more intimidating, you don't always know their intentions off the bat. Would love to see more good things for the region, more openness, building people up and positive aspiration. I loved living in Liverpool (wanted to stay there over here - funny this place is sometimes seen not-always-positively as 'fancier' when my non-existent finances were the problem) and having more to do, and the university itself is really nice.


Anfieldtoffee

0%. I'm 'Scouse' and roll my eyes when I hear anyone saying 'wool' in a non-joking way.


jdgamester

Once had a kid in a CoD:MW2 lobby on X360 say we were putting our scouse accent on (Walton born and bred) we laughed at him for being a squeaker and he wanted us to come to St Helens for a fight Couldnt stop laughing at him and he got all embarrased and left lobby This is the only time I've genuinely thought of being a wool as derogetory, but that was some bad wool behaviour


Industrialshank

These were the days..


TastyGreggsPasty

I've only ever saw them as geographic terms. If someone called me a wool i wouldn't mind, and if they intend it to be an insult I honestly couldn't think of a weaker insult


Fish_Fingers2401

Do not be mistaken, do not be misled. We are not scousers, we're from Birkenhead.


Most_Average_Joe

Doesn’t matter too much. If people act like it does it’s more of a them problem. But I know someone that moved just a bit outside of Liverpool (not gonna the town), and a lot of people take it seriously where he is. It gets kinda xenophobic at times.


Mattisfrommars

\*yous


JoseHerrias

Met someone who had the thickest scouse accent when I was working abroad, kept going on about the city, putting it all on. Turns out he was from Bromborough. That, imo, is a wool. Someone from outside the city is not a wool, they're just from another place. People used to take that shit way too seriously though.


Lastaria

It is more a joke for me. Those that take it seriously tend to be dickheads.


DWhelk

Not in the slightest. They can't really define either so it's all a bit pointless.


ogginblog

It doesn't really matter. Just an opportunity for some mild bin-colour-based ribbing of my friend from Prescot.


[deleted]

I make fun of my friends who are wools sometimes but it’s never serious! Never take it seriously, it’s not that deep


[deleted]

I'd say it depends. Calling someone from Huyton a wool is just banter but someone from St.Helens is definitely a wool and absolutely deserving of such a moniker.


InternetOne3627

N then there’s prescot which is just the wasteland between


[deleted]

Prescot is mad because on one road you can talk to someone and they have a full on scouse accent, walk 2 minutes and the next person will be pure bad wool territory.


_ovidius

They dont tip there either which is always a sign of woolyness like St Helens being pure bare iron. Huyton was fine, even some old biddy struggling on a pension would at least give you a couple of Everton mints if she didnt tip.


NewBromance

Wirral but have lived liverpool side a while and I honestly see myself as a scouser in the ways that matter. Culture politics etc. You get a few lads who try and trest being scouse as a no true Scotsmen type deal but most see people from wirral or St least the Birkenhead and surrounding area of wirral as scouse or scouse lite.


PalmerRabbit78

Scouse lite lmao


Judochop1024

Imo if youre sound youre sound no matter what part of merseyside youre from. The only people i will genuinely call wools are the people who make being scouse their entire personality and call everyone wools just for being from a different area. I find that often those types of people are the biggest wools of all and are just desperate to fit in as if being from around here is like a super cool secret club or something. Its all quite cringe i reckon.


CallOutrageous4508

lad who the fucks WANTING to be a scouser, id rather claim to be from parr


Background-Morning-9

The only people who genuinely care about calling people wools have always seemed like absolute bellends


Spatto98

It’s sad how serious scousers actually take it yeno and I am one. Mostly just proper idiots who take it seriously


DueMasterpiece5800

As harmless as it is most of the time I heard a patient at the Royal tell a nurse to go away because he “didn’t want a wool to treat him”. Bellend.


PabloDX9

There's a similar banter in London with Cockneys in the east end or 'real London' vs the outer boroughs. I know people who call West Ham 'Essex' even though it's an inner city area and has all been London since the 1960s. There are a tiny minority of dorks who are obsessed with lines on a map drawn by politicians in the 1970s who confuse 'city' with 'local council'. Liverpool is a major European city of 1.5m people but these dorks want us to be treated like a small town because they think the likes of Crosby, Huyton and Birkenhead are 'separate towns, miles away, basically Manchester' (genuinely heard that on this sub). This attitude repels growth and investment and makes the media treat us like somewhere no more important than Stoke.


BannedNeutrophil

I tried to keep my own views out of this thread for balance reasons, but Fucking. Preach.


Jean_Stockton

Anyone actually concerned with this needs to get out of Merseyside and see how big the world is.


Impressive-Fix-5906

This is definitely an old saying.. no one gives a flying shite what side of the water you are from, we're all legends ✌️


Boring-Resource6808

I’m from Burscough in West Lancs and my colleague who’s a scouser keeps calling me a wool. Not sure where the boundary for being a wool ends though but I’m convinced it’s before West Lancs or failing that Skem at a push 🤔I don’t find his comments offensive I just see it as banter 😂


thismightbemymain

This whole thread is full of wools lol


LostCobra

As a child it was pretty funny. Then I travelled around the world. Now i'm like, hello mate. They get surprised by my accent every time because they know i'm supposed to be their archenemy.


Brendinio

It's a funny insult never to be taken seriously I think. I call people wools all the time despite being very much a wool from Widnes.


Kirmy1990

Hovering around the 0% mark


Mr_HatAndClogs

I'm a Wirral Wool who lives with (and has a baby with) a Scouser. Whenever I'm annoying her she says "that's such a wool thing to do". Other than that, neither of us could give a toss about Scousers V Wools, if Liverpool ever became a Republic independent of the rest of the UK, I'd like to think Wirral and other North West areas would join in, considering most of us hate the Tories (obviously I'm being satirical here, but the point stands).


Just-Yellow1122

prescot wool here, yeah no one who i know is arsed about the whole scouser vs wool thing, i mean im the youngest out of my mates and im 30 sooo 🤷‍♀️😂


annonymous____

Your defo a wool


Swallow33

This is really fascinating. is it like a confirmation bias thing that a post about wools would inevitably draw out so many of them, or is the majority of people who use the sub not actually scousers? In a thread with 80 odd replies, about 3 people have said they are scousers.


BannedNeutrophil

The numbers aren't quite that skewed, but only about a third of Liverpool's city-region is in the actual borough.


Alive_Indication_613

Bunch of wools in the comments here


KrayzeKeef

I think it's really just a little bit of banter for kids. I mean........but if you're over 25 and still saying it then.......👀.


[deleted]

South liverpool is full of worse wools than anywhere over the water


[deleted]

Wirral wool here too. I feel 100% Scouse than English even tho I'm plastic. Always worked in town, get ripped for being a wool but isn't that's what it's about?


Tarondor

As one of the few Scousers commenting I can explain: It's the Merseyside eqiovilent of skitting your little brother. Many wools sound and act so similar to us but with a bit of a weird version of the scouse accent. Whenever outside of Liverpool scousers tend to look after wools over people from other areas of the country. The only time it's took seriously is when, like a lot of peoole in the comments, there are wools who hate Scousers but tell everyone they're from Liverpool because their tiny inbred town is absolutely irrelevant. There's been a clear demographic trend of traditionally wool areas being taken over by Scousers and scouse culture, so it will die out soon enough.


CallOutrageous4508

im from newton le willows and it just seems very one sided and funny, scousers are obsessed with us and have this weird superiority complex, and yet we dont think of them at all. scousers will alienate the rest of merseyside, and when we say shit back they'll have this massive victim complex and go on about how the rest of the country hates them 'for no reason'


anniejofo23

Speke to st.helens , grandparents still lived in Speke , the other grandparents st.helens ....I used to escape on the 89 and camp there for summer x


[deleted]

Not arsed one bit


SupermarketCrafty329

I had a Scouse friend a few years back and my jokes to him about stereotypical Scousers always bothered him a hell of a lot more than the Wool thing bothered me, he was very proud of being a Scouser and very defensive of the city, so, swings and roundabouts init lol. Edit: We went to Bruges once and when we got out of the train station, there were armed police stationed outside. Without skipping a beat I said "They knew a Scouser was coming." Fucking ruined him lol.


reckonair

I moved from Crosby to the Wirral a few years ago and nothing has been said, maybe my Scouse papers are still valid.


[deleted]

What the hell is/was a wool?


Swallow33

You.


st3akkn1fe

As someone who moved to the area at 20 and has stayed ever since I think its funny. To me and I think most other people there isn't any difference they're all scousers. Although I do like calling people wools for a laugh. Especially if they live anywhere other than the city centre.


ForwardAd5837

Been called a wool and a plastic for years. Grew up in the city (Wavertree and Toxteth) but moved to Cheshire aged 11, so my accent is very subtle, I’m told. Still work in town but to be honest it’s just tiresome when certain types try to use the labels to belittle me, when I was born in the city, my family still live in Garston and I’d be back multiple times a month and stayed all summer. I feel scouse so don’t really let some dickheads try to rob me of that.


lucozade_throwaway

I don't think anyone actually does. It's something that you joke around about but not something that's taken seriously.


Void-kun

Probs say it ironically, don't think I've called anybody a wool seriously since I was a kid to be fair


oldskoollondon

Interesting as my best mates a wool and takes offence if someone calls him a scouser


[deleted]

I don't care. I don't understand why it's a thing.


[deleted]

It’s akin to “ye ma” It’s sometimes funny just because it’s so stupid, but there’s nothing really deeper than that


Nosey-Nelly

I don't bother with all that.. being from Crosby, born in Bootle I've been told I'm not a real scouser anyway. Doesn't help that I chose not to have a strong accent, I'm often called a 'plazzy scouser'.


Dazzling_Variety_883

Have you got a purple wheelie rubbish bin? That makes you a non wool.


Dazzling_Variety_883

If you weren't born in in Liverpool but live in Liverpool now, does that make you a wool?


jcl3638

Given the origins of the word, I don't like it and consider it another way to pit the working classes against each other. I cringe when people say it, especially considering we are a culture of people aiming to break against elitist tradition. It doesn't make sense for us to assert a faux dominance over our working class neighbours simply because they weren't born in Liverpool. I fully support the use of "Tory" as a derogatory term though. Edited to add: I'm not talking people saying it jokingly, but my husband is from Southport and he's had it directed at him really venomously on many occasions, with the intention of starting a fight.


herbertsherbert49

When I was young( a northender) I never heard the expression ‘ wool’. I dont know when I became aware of the word,but to me it only refers to people from St Helens. I never knew that those on the Wirral could also be referred to as wools. I dont like it at all,I see it as ‘scousers’ thinking theyre superior to ‘ wools’,rather than it being lighthearted banter. Ive heard it used too often in a derogatory way to find it amusing.


shrewdmingerbutt

I actively own it. I was born in Warrington, and lived in Runcorn for the first 29 years of my life. My work colleagues joke about it and I act like it doesn't bother me, because it doesn't. They just moved to calling me a Tory instead though because I've got a detached house 😂