Comedian Rosie Jones sparks debate over ‘see you later’ colloquialism

The great divide between the north and south of the UK often manifests itself in politics. However, a viral Twitter thread has sparked a debate over how friendly Northerners are compared to Londoners.

Comedian Rosie Jones, who is from Bridlington, Yorkshire, posted a joke on the social media platform about how Londoners seem to react with “genuine horror” when she says “see you later” instead of “goodbye”.

She wrote: “The genuine horror of a Londoner when I, a Yorkshire lass, use the colloquial term for goodbye up north: ‘See you later’.

“You can see them thinking, ‘Have we planned to meet later, or is she going to show up randomly at my house in the middle of the night?’”

Fellow Britons from the north agreed with Jones and posted anecdotes of their own about other “colloquialisms” unique to the upper regions of the country.

One person who said they come from Scotland replied to Jones’ tweet: “I take great delight in thanking/saying hello to bus drivers in London. The genuine horror is seen in the eyes. We also use the ‘see you later’ as a form of goodbye in Scotland.”

Another Twitter user, who identified themselves as a Geordie – from Tyneside or a neighbouring region of north-east England – said: “Whenever I am in London, I smile at people on the tube, just to see how many I can unsettle.”

A third person who said they live in North Wales described how confused their wife, who is from the Midlands, was by the phrase “see you after”.

They said: “We often use ‘see you after’ which foxed my wife when she moved here from the Midlands. She kept thinking, ‘After what?’”

However, many Londoners did not recognise Jones’ observation and said “see you later” was a standard phrase in the capital.

“This isn’t a northern colloquialism though?” one person puzzled. “Londoners say it all the time? At least, I and most friends/family do, who either live, work or have grown up in or just outside London. My two-year-old daughter even says it, she hears it so much.”

Another wrote: “As a Londoner born and bred (and still living here), I say hello to strangers every day. I chat to people on the bus and tube. I thank bus drivers and yes, even Londoners often say ‘See you later’.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about – you clearly don’t meet very many Londoners.”

Food critic and Masterchef regular Jay Rayner added his own observation of being a Londoner and said: “The genuine horror of this Londoner when you, a person from anywhere else, insists upon waiting for the tube barriers to fully open and close again for the person in front of you before tapping in.

“I MEAN GOD HELP US, I’M NOT MADE OF TIME.”

Others made their own jokes based on Jones’, with one person writing: “I’m from London where we use the phrase ‘later, potater’ for goodbye. Made the mistake of saying it in Yorkshire – I had a big crowd of northern lads and lasses following me around all week because they thought I was going to give them a potato!”

Sports journalist Tom Victor joked: “The genuine horror of a Londoner when I, a crocodile, use the colloquial term for goodbye, ‘See you later’. You can see them thinking, ‘Am I an alligator?’”