Smoggies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Smoggie is a term that refers to people from the Teesside conurbation, in North-Eastern England. This is a grouping of the boroughs of Redcar & Cleveland;, Middlesbrough, and Stockton-on-Tees (although Teesside is also sometimes said to include the boroughs of Hartlepool and Darlington, they are not included in this description).

The term itself is a contraction of the pejorative term "smog-sucker", finding its origin in the air pollution caused by Teesside's formerly huge industrial areas. It is most often used by Geordies or Mackems in an attempt to goad Teessiders, suggesting that of the three large urban centres in the North-East of England Teesside is the worst place to live. This inference has been proved to be outdated, however, as recent Government figures show that Teesside's air pollution is far less than that found on Tyneside or Wearside.

Unlike most other nicknames or slurs for groups or races, people of Teesside took on the term happily, and a common motif for teesiders away from teeside is "Smoggies on tour". This is especially true at football matches, with Middlesbrough Football Club's fans adopting the name to indicate their support. The "Smoggies'" return terms for fans of Sunderland A.F.C and Newcastle United Football Club are the Mackems (formerly a pejorative term itself, which has now gained acceptance on Wearside), and the "Monochrome Mackems" respectively (the latter being a particular insult for Geordies given their intense rivalry with Sunderland).

The term "Smoggie" has gained such a level of acceptance on Teesside that the Middlesbrough branch of the HMV shop sells a range of Smoggie related products, notably T-shirts.