Butty
Butty turns up in 2 fields: mining, shop slang. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Butty in mining
An independent contractor who agrees to extract coal or ore for a fixed price per ton.
Under this traditional labor system, a skilled miner takes on a specific section of the mine and hires their own small crew of laborers to do the heavy digging and hauling. The contractor is paid solely based on the weighed output of the team, out of which they must pay their crew and sometimes purchase their own timber and explosives.
"The butty in the lower seam is complaining about the poor ventilation slowing down his men."
Butty in shop slang
A sandwich, typically filled with hot food like bacon or sausage.
A traditional British working-class term for a sandwich made with buttered bread. On job sites and shop floors, it almost always refers to a hot morning snack grabbed from a catering van or canteen to keep energy up until lunch.
"I'm going to the van, does anyone want a bacon butty?"