Sheila

How do people say it?

• My grandfather calls every young woman a sheila.Listen
• In the old film, someone says, 'There's a sheila at the door.'Listen

What should I know?

Who can say it

Cambridge and Longman label it informal, and it can sound dated or patronising. Do not use it about a woman you have just met, or at work.

Where you hear it

Australia

Elsewhere you might say

UK: lass, lady. US: gal, lady, both a little old.

The word is a noun for a female person, but it carries an old, male voice. It appears in films and in memories of the past.

A speaker who says sheila can sound dated, and the word can seem to treat women as a group instead of as individuals. It is not the same as the personal name Sheila, even though the spelling is the same; a woman with that name is simply Sheila.

Because tone matters, think before using it. Between older friends it may be a joke or a habit. From a young person it is usually a joke with quote marks around it.

At work, in a customer conversation or in a letter, choose woman, lady or the person's name. A woman who hears it from a stranger may feel she has been put into a box.

A grandfather says that sheila next door grows great tomatoes, and his granddaughter rolls her eyes. A film narrator speaks of a sheila in a straw hat.

A friend jokes, don't call her a sheila, she won't like it. The three examples show the same word as habit, as a period detail and as a warning about manners.

Other words for a woman, such as bird, lass, gal or dame, are not exact matches, and several are labelled old-fashioned or informal. The plain choice is woman, or the person's name. Learn sheila to understand it when you hear it, not to use it yourself.

What else can I say?

• Bogan A person, often working-class, seen by others as unrefined or lacking style. Often an insult, sometimes a joke.
• Heaps A lot, or very much.

More examples

• Among friends: Younger people use sheila as a joke.Listen