#scunnered

Definition: Pissed off, fed-up, miffed, frustrated, had enough, annoyed.

Usage: (adjective) ‘I’m scunnered wi’ aw this shite.’ It’s a simple past-tense usage, and while ‘I’m going to be scunnered, if this shite isn’t sorted out,’ is technically correct, I’ve never heard it used to preface a stooshie, rammy or stramash. The usual ‘next step’ from being scunnered is to walk away or accept that there’s not much you can do about the situation you find yourself in.

Today, scunnered was brought life by Scottish steelworkers at news of TATA’s decision to lay off 1,200 workers across the UK. There are only two steel plants left in Scotland and not many more left in the rest of the UK.

Shop-floor workers always bear the brunt of poor strategic planning by the so-called bosses. In my day, unions had a shop-floor rule: first in, first out, so before they get on their soap-box to moan about this sorry development, they should remember that.

Steel production is one of those 19th century industries that we in Britain get all teary about; heritage and all that, but the UK has never had a global monopoly on steel and these islands are not a significant source of ore, so we have no divine right to make the stuff. That said, it’s a strategic resource (like oil and gas) and importing it all costs us a lot and it’s a timely reminder that the one thing Government is not good at is managing strategic resource availability.