Polo Mint City
November 29th 2025
The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) tell us that East Kilbride owes this affectionate nickname to its “large number of roundabouts”. There are so many that some, like the Whirlies roundabout, have their own local names.
The first citation in DSL comes from the Scotsman in August 1995: “Large areas of land were set aside for car parks, dual-carriageways became almost the norm, and roundabouts became so commonplace that East Kilbride became known as Polo Mint City”.
However, we’ve since found some earlier examples. In August 1981, the nickname appeared in the Scotsman as part of a fictional CB radio conversation: “Back out. A’m cookin’ the rig up Haunted Highway headin’ for Polo Mint City behind Rubber duck and a’ want to contact m’ breaker brother slambanger”. In December 1981, a “Polo Mint City Breakers Club” was advertised in the personal column of the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser.
Social media users say that this connection to CB radio is no coincidence and claim the nickname originated as East Kilbride’s CB radio handle. If so, this explains why there’s a lack of early written evidence.
Now, if you’re wondering how many roundabouts there are in East Kilbride, there unfortunately isn’t a clear answer. It seems that the number grows each time someone asks, or a newspaper mentions the origin of the Polo Mint City name. A FOI request from a local historian in 2017 revealed that South Lanarkshire Council isn’t aware either.
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
