Curses you don't hear anymore

Howard Juneau · 24-09-2013 10:35am

I think it's Stu Kawn

Qualitymark wrote: »

Pronunciation, please? Also of Malogen?

Mal Oh jen

Gouger, one who would gouge out eyes in fights originally.

I only heard 'daw' from the 1980s; don't know why it should mean a stupid person, unless it comes from "D'oh!"

It's an abbreviation of amadàin

deise08 · 24-09-2013 10:41am

Sorry. a bibe is pronounced the same as bible without the l. or sayin bye and adding b.
dunno where daw came from but always remember it just meaning a dope or someone not too clever.
malogen. Pronounced as mal like pal, low and gen like gem. sayin the low part just a tiny bit more so maLOgen. Sorry I just assumed cos I knew how to pronounce so did others.
Hope that helps?

CUCINA · 24-09-2013 11:13am

"The curse of landerin' jaysus onya!", the reaction you might have got years ago if you startled or frightened someone...

Now, it's more likely to be, "Well $X&" ya anyway!"...

deise08 · 24-09-2013 8:10pm

Guys anybody ever hear of a bearac. pronounced bare ak ? Apparently my grandmother used it the whole time. was told its something not very pleasant

Dtp1979 · 24-09-2013 8:36pm

I did in me bare aks

Qualitymark · 24-09-2013 10:55pm

Ahhhhh! Melodeon! It's kind of a joke word, like 'mahogany gaspipes', which was a jokey fake Irish-language phrase.

Rube isn't a curse word at all; it's a kind of carnie (carnival slang) word for an innocent poor soul who'll be easy to cheat.

iverjohnston · 24-09-2013 11:08pm

My dad would say "bad scrant to you anyway"
And of course, here in Cavan, lots of things are "nojus"
he got a nojus fright
that was a nojus day
I have spent a nojus amount of money on that car
etc etc

Qualitymark · 24-09-2013 11:14pm

iverjohnston wrote: »

My dad would say "bad scrant to you anyway"
And of course, here in Cavan, lots of things are "nojus"
he got a nojus fright
that was a nojus day
I have spent a nojus amount of money on that car
etc etc

Love 'bad scrant to you'!

a nojus = an odious.

Happyman42 · 24-09-2013 11:28pm

There's two that where used in my family.

My dad and his brothers would say that.

iverjohnston wrote: »

My dad would say "bad scrant to you anyway"

Any idea what it means? They where Fermanagh men.

And my mum (A Donegal woman)used say this;

I am pie wrote:

"Your head's a marley"

I always thought it was a derogatory reference to a Bus owning family that lived near her.

Obviously I was mistaken.

Qualitymark · 24-09-2013 11:34pm

Happyman42 wrote: »

There's two that where used in my family.

My dad and his brothers would say that.
Any idea what it means? They where Fermanagh men.

And my mum (A Donegal woman)used say this;

I always thought it was a derogatory reference to a Bus owning family that lived near her. Obviously I was mistaken.

A marley was a type of large clay marble used in games of marbles.

Scrant is food, according to Bernard Share's fabulous book on Irish speech, Slanguage:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slanguage-Dictionary-Colloquial-English-Ireland/dp/0717143902/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380062003&sr=1-5&keywords=bernard+share

Happyman42 · 24-09-2013 11:42pm

Qualitymark wrote: »

Scrant is food,

That explains it perfectly, food and it's quality would have been a huge issue for those generations. Many thanks for that, I shall ..ahem..'dine out' on that as i don't think anybody in the family knew that.

iverjohnston · 25-09-2013 12:04am

Makes perfect sense. My dad told of going off to dig drains in the morning, with the pick and shovel, and of filling his pockets with apples because there would be nothing to eat until he got back to the yard after 6.

deise08 · 25-09-2013 12:06am

Eh I don't think malojen was in reference to the musical instrument. If memory serves me correctly it was in relation to a local ship didn't have much luck. or didn't have any luck. think it prob went down on its first sailing. maybe some one might be able to remember the story better? any Waterfordians?

Qualitymark · 25-09-2013 12:25am

deise08 wrote: »

Eh I don't think malojen was in reference to the musical instrument. If memory serves me correctly it was in relation to a local ship didn't have much luck. or didn't have any luck. think it prob went down on its first sailing. maybe some one might be able to remember the story better? any Waterfordians?

I've heard it used in a general loose way to describe a certain unfortunateness.

Here's a nice article full of foul language from England:

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n18/colin-burrow/frogs-knickers

Lovely Bloke · 08-10-2013 8:11pm

Skinny malink malojan, umberella feet

Lovely Bloke · 08-10-2013 8:13pm

Goolies for balls.

I kicked him in the goolies

Paddy Fields · 08-10-2013 8:36pm

A long time back I was sitting on the sofa in my then girlfriend's house between her mother and her aunt and her aunt piped up... "You know what Maura, you never really hear the word gee anymore. It is fanny this and fanny that... In our day it was just a gee!" I didn't know where to look and couldn't get out quick enough. :eek:

Cedrus · 08-10-2013 8:48pm

Gosoon, a boy, generally gawky pimply and thick

Skin or shkin, A construction labourer, a body without a brain (at least as far as the tradesman employing him is concerned)

Pulsating Star · 16-10-2013 1:57am

Paddy Fields wrote: »

A long time back I was sitting on the sofa in my then girlfriend's house between her mother and her aunt and her aunt piped up... "You know what Maura, you never really hear the word gee anymore. It is fanny this and fanny that... In our day it was just a gee!" I didn't know where to look and couldn't get out quick enough. :eek:

Reminds me of a Father Ted sceane where Mrs Doyle kicks off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogrfAgbIfFo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Qualitymark · 16-10-2013 12:27pm

You really don't get better curses than the Tudor-era folks: "Sir, thou hast always been a proud, presumptuous, disdainful and very unthrift waster," as Harry Percy's father said to him.
I'm sure the abuse was equally good in Ireland, but unfortunately with the fading of knowledge of Irish, we can't look it up and enjoy it.

Pulsating Star · 16-10-2013 11:32pm

Qualitymark wrote: »

I'm sure the abuse was equally good in Ireland, but unfortunately with the fading of knowledge of Irish, we can't look it up and enjoy it.

A gaelgoir was telling me lately of what someone he worked for in his youth used to say eg. " may you be seven times worse a year from now" ( in Irish ) He was talking about the evilness of many of the sayings from the past.

enfield · 18-10-2013 9:09pm

Skang, meaning grime, filth.
Ball Hop, a leg pull, a rumour without foundation.

byhookorbycrook · 28-10-2013 11:24pm

There's a wonderful book in Irish called "500 Mallacht" by Breandán 'ac Gearailt (500 Curses)
Some of my favourites would translate as follows: Haven eaten it, may you never be able to pass it"(Má ithis, nár chacair) "may the devil use your backbone as a ladder when he is picking apples in hell's orchard.

I would be familiar with "t'anam (d)on diabhal" - your soul to the devil," drochchríoch" ort -a bad end to you. "Nár eírí sé dhuit " to a man- may it not rise for you.
He's an awful bastún, lúdramán,amadán. "Gríos gan iongainí ort" -may you have a rash and no nails to scratch it.

blackbird98 · 31-10-2013 12:37pm

ha ha, love this thread, brings back memories....

BrensBenz wrote: »

My grannie used to call me a gnat, pronounced g'nat. No time for silent letters in the Liberties.

my mother pronounced it with a "c", something like a ceannat, which I assumed was an irish word.

deise08 wrote: »

Stuchain. Pronounced stookawn. Was a fool.

I remember this as "stook" (I believe that "stouk" came from the old Yola language, meaning an idiot or fool)

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Skinny malink malojan, umberella feet

went to the pictures and fell through the seat!!!

Also,
"the curse of the seven snotty orphans on ya"
and
"well the devil fcuk it ars*ways" when things went wrong.
or
"I'll give you a fung in the hole" (kick in the ass, fung being the old leather laces)

My father used often say "he doesn't know enough to know how little he knows"
"you're as thick as pigsh1t in a bottle"
or if somebody didn't have any money, "he wouldn't have what would rattle on a tombstone"

blackbird98 · 31-10-2013 12:52pm

another my father used say if somebody was annoying him, talking crap
"lord, lamb, and honour of jaysus, would you listen to that sh1te"

Curses you don't hear anymore

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