How to speak the Irish version of English

05.12.2014 Слава Ирландская жизнь

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:

from IrelandBeforeYouDie

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