Home › Glossary › Letter F

Fash

Dialect
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To worry, bother, or trouble oneself; also the state of worry or agitation so caused.

Detailed Definition
"Fash" is a practical, direct Scots word for the act of worrying or bothering about something, and "dinna fash yersel" (don't worry yourself) is one of the most characteristically Scots expressions of reassurance. In poetry it appears as both warning and comfort, signalling the Scots cultural tendency to address anxiety with direct, practical advice rather than extended sympathy. The word has a slightly dismissive energy that is nonetheless warm, suggesting that the fashing is understandable but unnecessary, and that things will, in their own good time, be fine.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Fash" means to worry, trouble oneself, or be upset; Burns uses "dinnae fash yersel" meaning don't trouble yourself; A poet might write: "Dinnae fash yersel wi' what's tae come — / the future's silent, deaf and dumb." as consolation; "She fashed and fretted through the night / but dawn came gentle, soft, and bright." shows worry overcome by morning; "Dinnae fash the river wi' your grief — / it flows regardless, past belief." uses nature to diminish human anxiety; "He fashed himself on questions deep — / the kind that chase away the sleep." characterises an anxious mind; "Fash not for what ye cannae change — / that road is lang and bitter strange." offers philosophical resignation; "Her mother said, 'Nae fash, my dear, / the thing you dread willna appear.'" captures maternal reassurance
Additional Notes
Fash is a verb that captures the particular Scots attitude to worry — one that is both acknowledged and, in the proverbial spirit of "dinnae fash yersel," gently discouraged. To "fash" oneself is to allow anxiety to grip you unnecessarily, and the word carries an implicit critique of excessive worry as unproductive. Burns and the Scottish proverbial tradition repeatedly counsel against "fashin," reflecting a pragmatic stoicism that is characteristic of the culture. For students, "fash" is not only a useful vocabulary item but a window into a cultural attitude: worry is real, but dwelling on it is a self-inflicted wound. Compare with "fratch" (to quarrel or fret) and "stew" in its figurative sense.
Also Known As
Trouble Bother Vex
Skip to main content