What it means
Bait is your scran, especially the packed lunch you take to work, site, or school. You’ll hear me bait for the butty tin or whatever you’ve wrapped in foil. It’s proper everyday Geordie, the sort of word that sounds like it’s been powering graft since forever. If you’ve got nowt, you’re on shop food.
Usage examples
"Aye, I’ve left me bait on the kitchen side, man. I’m gan to Greggs for a sausage roll, but it’s not the same, like."
"Don't forget your bait, it's a long shift at the yard."
"He left his bait on the bus and had to buy a butty."
"Who's pinched me bait out the fridge then? I had two sarnies and a packet of crisps in there."
"Get your bait in your bag before we set off, or you'll be starving by ten."
Where it comes from
Bait is an old northern English word for food, going back to the idea of a bite or meal taken while working. In mining and heavy graft communities, your bait was the food you carried with you for the shift. In Geordie, that settled into the everyday word for your packed lunch.
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