Scotland · noun; usually plural in this sense
messages
Shopping, groceries, purchases, or an errand to a shop.
Uses your device’s built-in voice. Pronunciation is approximate because available voices and Scottish accents vary.
What messages means
In Scottish usage, messages can mean the shopping itself or the task of going to a shop to buy things. Someone going for the messages is going shopping or running a shopping errand.
How it is used
The phrase is especially useful because a visitor may otherwise assume messages means notes, texts, or communications. Context involving shops, bags, groceries, or errands points to the Scottish meaning.
- Part of speech
- noun; usually plural in this sense
- Pronunciation
- As in standard English messages
- Register
- Everyday Scottish usage; widely understood, though frequency varies.
- Variants
- the messages, go the messages, run a message
Examples
Each example is followed by its intended plain-English meaning.
I'm going for the messages after work.
I'm going shopping after work.
Can you help carry the messages?
Can you help carry the shopping or groceries?
What to watch for
The meaning is broader than groceries alone. It can cover purchases or errands from different kinds of shops.