La/lah/lar (n.): lad, mate. ‘Hey you la’ (Farrell 1950a: 4). ‘Ah … shurrup, la!’ (Owen 1961: 21). ‘There are many cordial terms of address such as mate, sis for sister, la for lad; then chuck, wacker (abbreviated to wack) or just yew or youse’ (Armstrong 1966: 4). ‘You know what Parky done, la’ (Murari 1975: 13). ‘Not me. Must be you lah’ (Bleasdale 1985: 118). ‘The only Scot in me la, is I come from Scotland Road’ (Stamper 2010: 90). Recorded from m.20c.; glossed as ‘mainly Liverpool use’ (Dalzell and Victor (2006) s.v. lar); as with lad (of which it is an abbreviation) and girl, la ranges from signalling genuine friendliness to outright hostility or condescension.

Lad (n.): male of any age; sometimes used to signal an occupation. ‘My lad, you surely can't be inquiring for Riddough's hotel’ (Melville 1849: 199). ‘Ay, that's true, lad’ (Hocking 1966 [1879]: 126). ‘It doesn't impress me, lad’ (Hanley 2009 [1940]: 167). ‘There are milk-lads, bread-lads, and-cart-lads and Echo-lads who sell papers’ (Shaw 1958d: 16). ‘Look lad, you've been coming here for years’ (Hignett 1966: 43). ‘You can't blame me, lad’ (Russell 1996 [1976]: 211). ‘All right, lad’ (Robinson 1986 [1920s–30s]: 130). ‘Got a lot of time for the lad’ (Sampson 2002: 60). Recorded as ‘young male’ from 15c.; derivation unknown; as with girl and la, the uses range from signalling genuine friendliness to outright hostility or condescension.

Lads, the (n.): regular set of male friends. ‘His male friends are simply “the lads”’ (Farrell 1950b: 4). ‘Lads as well as fellers are a man's friends (“I bin out wit duh lads fer a few bevies”)’ (Shaw 1958d: 15). ‘Stay here with the lads’ (Hignett 1966: 51). ‘What am I going to tell the lads?’ (Cornelius 2001 [1982]: 44) ‘Jimmy offered the lads a lift’ (Burnett 2011: 147). Recorded from m.20c. in this sense; derivation is clear.