Does Nick speak Brummagem?
The verb
to be as I recall went something like this:
Oi bay.... as in Oi bay broke mite (I seem to have run out of money, my dear chap)
Yow bay... as in Yow bay fooked mite (Oh dear, seems your luck's run out!)
Ee bay... well they missed an opportunity there
Wee'm... as in Wee'm stuffed (What a shame. We've lost the match)
Yow'm... as in Yow'm buggered (Your car won't work I see)
They'm... as in They'm forrin (They have a darker skin than we do)
Perhaps his Chaucer'll help him untangle that lot