Farrin mind
Also spelled: Foreign mind, Farin mind
Meaning
A mindset preoccupied with going abroad or with foreign ways, sometimes to the point of looking down on local life. It describes an attitude or aspiration rather than a person literally overseas.
Examples
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“Since him come back him have farrin mind, nuttn yah good enuff.”
Since he came back he has a foreign mindset, nothing here is good enough.
'nuttn yah' = nothing here; captures the disdain for local things the phrase implies.
-
“Shi have farrin mind from shi likkle.”
She has been set on going abroad since she was little.
Here it means aspiration to migrate rather than snobbery.
-
“Nuh mek farrin mind mek yuh figet weh yuh come from.”
Don't let a foreign mindset make you forget where you come from.
'mek...mek' construction: 'don't let X cause you to...'; a common Patois causative pattern.
Origin
Compound of 'farrin' (Patois form of English 'foreign', meaning abroad, especially the US, UK or Canada) and 'mind'. 'Farrin' has become almost a proper noun for 'overseas'.
How it's used
Can be neutral (ambition to migrate) or critical (pretentiousness). Context and tone decide. Common among a population with deep migration ties, so the aspiration itself is widely understood and not always mocked.