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    You are at:Home » News » Culture » How to speak the Irish version of English
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    How to speak the Irish version of English

    Meanwhile in IrelandBy Meanwhile in IrelandNovember 9, 2014No Comments7 Mins Read
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    Tourists outside the GPO on a dull day
    Credit to thomasfitzgeraldphotography

    In Ireland, two languages are prominent. Irish (or Gaelic) and English. The Irish version of English is much different to Oxford style English and even people from England find it hard to understand Irish people because of their strong accents and strange phrases.

    Here is a list of words and phrases in alphabetical order to fill in some of the gaps and help you understand what they mean:

    A  
    Acting the maggot playing around
    Ages  long time
    Any Use?  any good?
    Arse  backside
    Arseways  complete mess (I did it all arseways)
    Artist person getting social security (drawing the dole)
    B  
    Babby little child – baby
    Bad dose bad  illness
    Bag of Taytos packet of potato chips/crisps
    Bags bad, messy job (see hames)
    Banjaxed broken, useless, tired
    Barn  brack Halloween cake
    Belt hit, assault
    Be wide be careful
    Bird girl, girlfriend
    Black crowded
    Blackguard  person that is doing no good
    Black Stuff Guinness
    Blather talk
    Bloody used mostly for strengthening an adjective
    Bog toilet, restroom
    Bog country area/ piece of land that once was a lake
    Bogey snot
    Bogtrotter country person
    Bold naughty
    Bollocks stupid/somebody one doesn’t like
    Bolloxed very drunk
    Bolt run fast
    Boozer pub
    Bothrin  narrow lane or road
    Bouzzie, Bowsie young good-for-nothing person
    Boxin’ the fox robbing an orchard
    Boyo a young person 
    Brasser prostitute
    Brutal terrible
    Bucketing raining heavily
    Bushed very tired
    Business excrete
    C  
    Carry-on argument/noise
    Cake-hole mouth
    Cha tea
    Chancer dodgy/risky character
    Cheek disrespect/talk back
    Cheesed Off angry/annoyed
    Chinwag a chat
    Chipper fish and chip shop
    Chiseller
    Chronic
    young child
    terrible or awful
    Class great
    Clatter slap
    Cod (to) joke 
    Colcannon Mashed potatoes & cabbage/ kale
    Cop on! don’t be so stupid!
    Cooker stove
    Covers blankets
    Craic (pronounced crack) fun time
    Crisps potato chips
    Culchie a city dweller’s name for a country person
    Cute hoor Untrustworthy/sly  person
    D  
    Da father
    Deadly cool, great
    Dear expensive
    Delph crockery, cups, saucers etc
    Desperate terrible
    Diabolical really terrible
    Diddies breasts
    Divil devil
    Dodder waste time
    Dodgy suspect/mechanically impaired
    Donkey’s Years a long time
    Dope idiot
    On the Doss playing truant
    Dosser lazy person
    Dote cute person, usually a baby
    Drawers underwear, usually ladies
    Dry Shite boring person
    Dummy pacifier
    Dump (taking a) excrete
    E  
    Eat the head off Attack verbally
    Eejit idiot
    F  
    F-word used freely, mostly for strengthening an adjective
    Fag cigarette
    Fair play! well done!
    Feck used instead of the other F word
    Fella Male person, also used for boyfriend
    Fib a lie
    Fifty stood-up (I got a fifty)
    Fine thing/fine bit of stuff Attractive/good looking person
    Fla/Flah Attractive/good looking person
    Flah’ed out very tired
    Flicks movies
    Flitters in tatters, shabby
    Fluthered very drunk
    Follier-upper a serial 
    Foostering wasting time
    Fry fried breakfast (sausage, bacon, eggs and black & white pudding)
    Full shilling mentally competent (He’s not the full shilling)
    G  
    Gaff house
    Gas funny
    Gawk stare
    Gee-Eyed very drunk
    Get off with (someone) make out, kiss
    Gift superb
    Git horrible person
    Give Out scold
    Gob mouth (Shut you gob!)
    Gobdaw idiot
    Gobshite idiot
    Gobsmacked very surprised
    Go-car baby’s pushchair
    Gollier a big, fat spit of phlegm
    Gone in the head mad, crazy
    Go way outta that! indicating scepticism
    Gowl idiot
    Grand fine, lovely
    Guard policeman
    Gurrier hooligan
    Gut stomach
    H  
    Hames mess
    Hammererd very drunk
    Hard Neck lack of respect
    Hardchaw, Hardman rough, tough person
    Header mad, crazy person
    Head the ball idiotic person
    Heel the first or last slice of a loaf of bread
    Hickey a love bite
    High babies senior infants’ school
    Holliers holidays/vacations
    Holy show embarrassing exhibition 
    Hooley party/celebration
    Hoor prostitute
    Hop playing truant from school 
    Horse’s hoof embellished story
    Hot Press drying cupboard
    Howya hello- salutation
    Hump, the sulking
    Hump off go away, leave me alone
    I  
    I will in me ring
    I will yeah
    I will not!
    No, that will never happen
    I am in me wick I am not!
    J  
    Jackeen a country person’s name for somebody that lives in Dublin
    Jacks toilet, restroom
    Jaded fatigued/very tired
    Jammers very crowded, busy
    Jammy lucky
    Janey Mack! Gosh
    Jar A pint
    Jaysus! Jesus
    Juicy pretty
    K  
    Kip, to have a short siesta, rest
    Knackered fatiguedvery tired
    Knick-knacking ringing a doorbell and running away
    Knobs breasts
    Knockers breasts
    L  
    Langers/langered drunk
    Lashing raining heavily
    Lay off! leave me alone, stop it!
    Legging (it) running fast
    Letting on pretending
    Local, the the nearest pub
    Locked very drunk
    Lolly/ice lolly Popsicle
    Low babies junior infants’ school
    M  
    Ma mother
    Maggot(Stop acting the maggot) Stop playing around!
    Manky very dirty
    Mary Hick old-fashioned female
    Mentaller crazy person
    Me ould segotia,  me ould flower Terms of endearment
    Messages shopping, groceries
    Messing playing around
    Milling fighting
    Mitch bunk school
    Mortified embarrassed
    Mot girlfriend
    Motherless drunk
    Mouldy drunk/ rotten
    Murder difficult
    Mushies magic mushrooms
    N  
    Nappy Diaper
    Nickser, Nixer a job done with no tax paid on wages
    Nip nude
    O  
    Odds loose change
    Off the drink abstaining from drinking alcohol
    Off your nut mad, crazy
    Ole Lady/ole wan mother
    Ole Man/ole fella father
    On the never never On Hire purchase
    Ossified drunk
    P  
    Paralytic very drunk
    Perishing freezing
    Pictures movies
    Piss in the Beds dandelions
    Pissed off angry/annoyed
    Piss up a night of big drinking
    Plastered very drunk
    Plonker idiot
    Polluted very drunk
    Poteen/Poitin illegal Irish spirit/drink
    Pram stroller/pushchair
    Press closet, cupboard
    Puck slap in the face
    Pull your socks up Get to work/get busy
    Puss Face bad-tempered person
    Q  
    Queer hawk peculiar person
    R  
    Rapid amazing
    Rashers bacon slices
    Reddener blush
    Red neck a country person
    Reef beat up
    Ride an attractive person, to have intercourse
    Root look for
    Rosie Lee tea
    Rubber eraser
    Ructions Loud arguing or commotion
    Runners trainers, everyday sports shoes
    Runs diarrhoea
    S  
    Sap weak/fragile person
    Scab a person who constantly borrows 
    Scab the hard outer part of a healed wound
    Scallion spring onion
    Scalped to get a short haircut
    Scanger ignorant female
    Scarlet blushing
    Scatter run away from something
    Scram! go away!
    Scratch social security, dole
    Scratcher bed
    Scrawbed Scratched by fingernails
    Scrubber female of low morals
    Scutters diarrhoea
    Shag, to to have intercourse with
    Shagged fatigued/ very tired
    Shattered fatigued/ very tired
    Shenanagans different things going on
    Shlossed very drunk
    Shook Pale, ill, scared
    Shorts liquor drinks (spirits) – shots
    Shower of savages  a riotous crowd
    Slagging making fun of someone
    Slapper female of low morals
    Slash urinate
    Sleeveen sly person
    Snapper child, baby
    Snobby Weather! Ignoring me?
    Snog, Shift to make out, kiss
    Snug pub booth (usually fitting only 3/4 people)
    Sound really nice
    Specky Four-Eyes person who wears glasses (child’s nickname)
    Spuds potatoes
    Squealer a person who tells stories to get another in trouble
    Stop the lights! Really?!
    Stocious very drunk
    Strand beach
    Suckin’ diesel having a good time
    Sweets candy
    T  
    Thick stupid /unintelligent
    Throwing Shapes Showing off
    Tip unclean, messy place
    Tool idiot
    Trap mouth
    Twisted very drunk
    Twistin’ hay means you’re starting trouble, usually in a playful way
    U  
    Up the pole pregnant
    Up the yard! Go away!
    Up to ninety near boiling point, ready to explode
    W  
    Wagon ugly female
    Wanker a person you don’t like
    Wet the tea make tea
    Whist keep quiet
    Wrecked tired
    Y  
    Y-Fronts Men’s briefs
    Yoke
    Yonks
    a word used to name something instead of its proper name. “pass me that yoke” (pass me that hammer)
    a long time
    Your hole (to get) to have sexual intercourse

    Watch a hilarious video of tourists in Dublin trying to say some common Irish phrases:

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