English words and expressions used in Ireland only

Cian92 · 14-02-2010 10:56PM

He's full of plamas (plawmoas). Until recently I didnt even realise this wasn't English. Apparently it is the Irish word for flattery - plámás

Spanish Eyes · 14-02-2010 11:00PM

Magic thread this......

Ah would ye ever feck off for God's sake.

Pantses in Cork for trousers (I thought they were knickers meself)

Alright Boyyyyy Cork again

one and one (fish and chips)

get out a that garden

as before, press, hot press,

the "pipes" were what my mam called the radiators.

the attic (the loft for loftier folk)

jalopy for car

fur coat and no knickers

go to the pictures (the movies)

duds for clothes

clothes for garments

kaks for undies

old man and old lady for the ma and pa

Gaff for the house

moh for the girl

chisellers for the kids

Great thread indeed and so much from different parts of the country too. I love it.

changes · 14-02-2010 11:54PM

Wanes meaning a baby or toddler

TangyZizzle · 15-02-2010 12:17AM

Sound, cheers - Use upon exiting a bus, aimed at the busdriver as a compliment.

meet - kiss

s'craic - wats the craic.. but more country

boss, lad, horse - used affectionately towards a male friend

ma/da - have never heard that from another nationality. Even the more Eastern/Central European of my buddies will say 'mom'

implausible · 15-02-2010 01:50AM

Seloth wrote: »

I dont know what part of Ireland your from but most place in the country use ye instead of you.

changes wrote: »

Wanes meaning a baby or toddler

Donegal is a different world altogether!

Being from the wesht, I get laughed out of it up here for using 'ye', whereas 'yous' is perfectly acceptable....:rolleyes:

"a han'lin'": a bit of bother (from handling?)
"brave" : very, as in 'a brave han'lin', I was brave an' drunk last night
"sir" : at the end of every sentence
"thran" : awkward, I presume it comes from "trying", as in "she's wild thran"
"takin' a hand" : mocking, taking the piss

It took months for me to figure out what the hell they were saying and I'm only from 2 hours down the road!

DamoDLK · 15-02-2010 04:49AM

Saying somethings 'Deadly' as in fantastic..
People here thinks its something dangerous... feckin' eedjits.

skylock · 15-02-2010 01:59PM

His a right Gomie.<his a right fool>
Ya mong simalar meaning

Damien1989 · 15-02-2010 02:09PM

Well = Hello

MungoMan · 26-02-2010 12:04PM

Heard Dara O'Brien (the Irish presenter and comedian) on "mock the week" on the BBC last night.

He used the expression "giving out" as in the Irish version of "telling off"

Nobody in the UK would have known what he was talking about (except me, and a few others who crossed the Irish sea).

Nonetheless, everyone in the audience laughed at what he said.

pickarooney · 26-02-2010 12:16PM

gagiteebo wrote: »

I'm from Cavan and up there we say (not sure how to spell it ) ojeous as in " Yer man is an ojeous bollocks" meaning he really is a bollocks, we say 'quare' a lot as well and one of my favourite insults is 'humpy bastard/hoo-er'

Is that 'odious'? It sounds like 'wojus' which I know and use but have never seen written down, but had never connected to 'odious' before, though it might be a coincidence.

theCaffers · 26-02-2010 01:07PM

gagiteebo wrote: »

I'm from Cavan and up there we say (not sure how to spell it ) ojeous as in " Yer man is an ojeous bollocks" meaning he really is a bollocks, we say 'quare' a lot as well and one of my favourite insults is 'humpy bastard/hoo-er'

I love Irish spake:
-Pay no heed to him
-Ah shure I'm only coddin' ya/pullin' at ya
-Ah sure feck it, it'll be grand
-Gobsh*te
-'What are ya at?' 'Divil a bit'
-C'mere ta me you

Great thread

Its dyin out that one - I only heard the old guys using it and not in ages.We need to preserve these.PS I didnt know the official Oxford spelling utill now. ojeous

- 'coo orse' 'of course
- 'head on him like a bastard calf'

and the charming

- '**** it to the fiery flames of ****'

DrIndy · 26-02-2010 01:23PM

In donegal:

"The ass fell out of the sky" - meaning a sudden, unexpected downpour.

So funny reading this thread- all the phrases I use and don't realise it!

In australia - you get a few funny looks when you ask "hows the craic" and root really does mean something suprisingly different over here!

Richard Noggin · 26-02-2010 01:35PM

Dublin ones: Me oul' segocha.

What ail ja? (What is wrong with you?)

pikachucheeks · 26-02-2010 01:42PM

I hate when people say "do be" ... what's wrong with using the normal, standard present tense?

"I do be in college on Mondays"

... I doubt if you got through primary school with lanuage like that, pal! :rolleyes:

stovelid · 26-02-2010 01:56PM

pikachucheeks wrote: »

I hate when people say "do be" ... what's wrong with using using the normal, standard present tense?

It's grand. We get the picture.

pikachucheeks · 26-02-2010 01:59PM

stovelid wrote: »

It's grand. We get the picture.

I just had to make sure :rolleyes:

peanuthead · 26-02-2010 02:00PM

I don't get this one myself I think its a west of Ireland thing: again instead of against

as in : He threw me up again the wall :eek:

stovelid · 26-02-2010 02:02PM

pikachucheeks wrote: »

I just had to make sure :rolleyes:

Be careful though, primary school graduation can rest on these things.

Elenxor · 26-02-2010 02:07PM

hower ya horse?

pickarooney · 26-02-2010 02:27PM

peanuthead wrote: »

I don't get this one myself I think its a west of Ireland thing: again instead of against

as in : He threw me up again the wall :eek:

Common in Kilkenny/Carlow too.

peanuthead · 26-02-2010 02:42PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Common in Kilkenny/Carlow too.

I used to think it was down to bad grammar but then I realised that it's actually a phrase. When I hear it I laugh to myself I think its the funniest, I used to think it sounded like something you would hear a traveller say

pickarooney · 26-02-2010 02:45PM

I guess they're just getting ahead of the crowd by dropping the -st the same as in among(st) and whil(e)(st).

It's "he thrun me up again the wall" though

Has anyone ever heard the word 'fornint'? No idea how it's spelled and can't remember if it means 'against' or 'out yonder'.

Is 'yonder' obsolete outside of Ireland?

UpCork · 26-02-2010 02:45PM

My relations in England think it hysterical that I'll say when speaking to them or in an email 'I'll be on to you soon', meaning 'Well talk soon'.

Cracks them up everytime I say it

stovelid · 26-02-2010 02:46PM

The Plamas(?) one is great. I've only ever heard it in Clare.

Also down there is the only place I've heard Yera(?), was used in the same way as ah sure.

Hagar · 26-02-2010 02:53PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Has anyone ever heard the word 'fornint'? No idea how it's spelled and can't remember if it means 'against' or 'out yonder'.

I have, usually the context was "it's fornints ye" meaning right in front of you, when you were looking for something.

Hagar · 26-02-2010 03:01PM

There are three related words fornents, fornint and anent. Checking etmology now.

Link

pickarooney · 26-02-2010 03:02PM

/Random guess at there being a Dutch root (voor en naast)

Hagar · 26-02-2010 03:05PM

Could be, my sources cite Scotland, see link above, but a lot of old Scots words have Nordic/Dutc links eg kirk, bairns etc

enda1 · 26-02-2010 04:58PM

Some my Kilkenny relations...

Britches - Trousers
Millin - Million
Billin - Billion
Sangwidge - Sandwich
Hang - Ham
"Up agin the wall there" - Up against that wall
Quare - Strange or Very depending on context
Whiste - Shut up/be quiet
Knacks - (Dublin) Knackers

There are many more though but I've drawn a blank.

I love that one Britches though

homeOwner · 26-02-2010 05:11PM

MungoMan wrote: »

The one that nearly everyone in Ireland uses incorrectly is "I'm after doing something". In England, if you say "I'm after eating my dinner", it means that you want to eat your dinner.
In Ireland it means I have just eaten my dinner.

Some of our peculiarities are due to the direct translation from how you would say it as gaeilge:
eg Bhi me tar eis dul isteach - I was after coming inside

But here are a few other ones -
delph (as in kitchen plates) - english people have never heard of the word.
bold (as in naughty) - they use it to mean brave
messages (as in the shopping) - they never heard of that one either.

English words and expressions used in Ireland only

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