Meaning
In Liverpool English, nark can refer to an argumentative or annoying person, and historically can also name a state of anger or irritation.
How it is used
The Liverpool English Dictionary records nark both for an argumentative or annoying person and for a state of anger or irritation in Liverpool material. Wider British dictionaries also record nark as a complaint/annoyance word family and document other senses such as informer, so context is essential.
Examples
- “He was being a proper nark about the whole thing.”
- “She still had the nark on after the argument.”
Pronunciation
/nɑːk/ · NARK
Tone and register
Informal and potentially insulting when applied to a person. The word can sound dated or regionally marked, and it has other meanings elsewhere in English.
Visitor guidance
Visitors should understand the Liverpool annoyance sense without assuming every use of nark means the same thing. In wider British English the word can also relate to informing or police slang, so let the sentence and local context determine the meaning rather than repeating it at strangers.
Cultural context
Nark illustrates how local dictionaries preserve a regional sense inside a much wider slang history. Maperla separates the Liverpool person/irritation meanings from other British, Australian, New Zealand, and American uses instead of collapsing them into one definition.
Origin
Crowley's Liverpool dictionary relates the Liverpool noun sense to northern dialectal nark meaning to vex, annoy, or irritate. Wider dictionaries trace parts of the word family to nineteenth-century slang and Romani influence, but the senses have diverged.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.