TROUBLE AT T’ MILL

a humorous phrase sometimes used by British people to refer to a problem somewhere, especially at home or at work. It is said in the accent of the people of northern England, especially Yorkshire or Lancashire (1), where there used to be many mills (= factories where certain materials were processed), and where the word ‘the’ is often not fully pronounced. The phrase suggests the idea that there were regular disputes between the workers in these mills and their owners.