An Irish Country Christmas
Page 50
gurrier: Dublin slang. Street urchin.
guttersnipe: Ruffian.
hairy bear: Woolly caterpillar.
half-cut: Drunk.
hand’s turn: Minimum amount of work.
having me on: Deceiving me.
head staggers: Making a very stupid decision. Literally, a parasitic disease affecting the brains of sheep and causing them to stagger.
heart of corn: Very good-natured.
heifer: Young cow before her first breeding.
heels of the hunt: When everything has been concluded.
hirstle: Chesty wheeze.
hit the spot: Fill the need.
hobby-horse shite, your head’s full of: Literally, sawdust. You’re stupid.
holdall: Canvas sports bag.
hold your horses: Wait a minute.
hooley: Party.
hoor: Whore.
houseman: Medical intern.
how’s (a)bout ye? How are you? Or good-day.
humdinger: Something extraordinary.
I’m your man: I agree to your plan and will follow it.
in soul, I do: Emphatic.
in the stable: Of a drink, already paid for before being poured.
jar: An alcoholic drink.
jaunting car: An open, high, two-wheeled vehicle. The passenger accommodation was two benches, arranged along either side so the passengers sat with their backs to the cart bed. By the 1960s it was rarely seen except in the most rural parts of Ireland or as a tourist attraction.
jigs and reels, between the: To cut a long story short.
knackered: Very tired. An allusion to a horse so worn out by work that it is destined for the knacker’s yard, where horses are destroyed.
knickers in a twist, in a knot: Anxiously upset.
knocking: Having sexual intercourse.
Lambeg drum: Massive bass drum carried on shoulder straps by Orangemen and beaten with two sticks, sometimes until the drummer’s wrists bleed.
length and breadth of it: All the details.
lepp: Leap.
let the hare sit: Leave the thing alone.
like the sidewall of a house: Huge, especially when applied to someone’s physical build.
liltie: A madman. An Irish whirling dervish.
load of cobblers’: In Cockney rhyming slang, “cobblers’ awls” means “balls.” Used to signify rubbish.
lough: Pronounced “logh,” almost as if clearing the throat. A sea inlet or very large inland lake.
lummox: Stupid creature.
main: Very.
make a mint: Make a great deal of money.
moping: Indulging in self-pity.
more power to your wheel: Very good luck to you; encouragement.
muggy: Hot and humid.
mullet, stunned: To look as stupid or surprised as a mullet, an ugly saltwater fish.
Mullingar heifer, calves like: Cows from Mullingar were said to have very thick legs.
my shout: I’m buying the drinks.
near took the rickets: Had a great shock.
no dozer: Clever.
no goat’s toe, he thinks he’s: Has an overinflated sense of his own importance.
no spring chicken: Getting on in years.
not as green as you’re cabbage looking: More clever than you appear to be.
not at myself: Feeling unwell.
Not at the match: Not altogether sane.
nutcracker: Neurosurgeon.
on eggs: Extremely worried.
Orange Order: Fraternal order of Protestants loyal to the British crown.
Orange and Green: The colours of Loyalists and Republicans, respectively. Used to symbolize the age-old schism in Irish politics.
ould goat: Old man, often used affectionately.
out of kilter: Out of alignment.
oxter: Armpit.
oxter-cog: To carry by supporting under the armpits.
pacamac: Cheap, transparent, plastic raincoat carried in a small bag.
Paddy hat: Soft-crowned tweed hat.
Paddy’s market: A large, disorganised crowd.
pan loaf: Loaf of ordinary bread.
peat (turf): Fuel derived from compressed vegetable matter.
peely-wally: Scots. Under the weather; unwell.
pelmet: Valance.
penny bap: A small bun, usually coated in flour.
petrified: Terrified.
physical jerks: Gymnastics.
piss artist: Alcoholic.
poke: Have sex with; a small parcel.
pong: British forces slang for “stink.”
pop one’s clogs: Die.
poulticed: Pregnant, usually out of wedlock.
powerful: Very.
power of: A great deal of.
praties: Potatoes.
punter: Gambler, particularly on horse races.
quare: Ulster pronunciation of queer. Very strange.
randy: Sexually aroused.
randy as an old goat: Very sexually aroused.
raparee: Originally an unskilled labourer. Now used pejoratively for a ne’er-do-well.
rapscallion: Ne’er-do-well.
raring to go: Eager and fully prepared.
recimetation: Malapropism for recitation.
registrar, medical: Trainee physician equivalent to a North American resident.
reverse the charges: Call collect.
right enough: That’s true. Used interrogatively, is that true?
rightly: Very well.
rightly, it will do: It’s not perfect but will serve well enough.
roast: Verbally chastise; not pay humorous tribute to.
ruddy: Euphemism for “bloody.”
rug rats: Children.
run-race: Quick trip to, usually on foot.
script/scrip: Prescription.
scunner, take a scunner at or to: Dislike someone intensely and bear a grudge.
scutch grass: Coarse grass found growing in salty soil.
semi: Semidetached house. Duplex.
shebang, the whole: Lock, stock, and barrel. Everything.
sheugh: Bog.
shit, to: To defaecate.
shite: Faeces.
shufti: Army slang. A quick look at.
Sinn Féin: Literally, ourselves. The political party of the Irish Republican Movement.
skitters: Diarrhoea.
skiver: Corruption of “scurvy.” Pejorative. Ne’er-do-well.
skivvy: From “scurvy.” Housemaid.
skinful, to get a: To get drunk.
sliced pan, best thing since: Presliced, then wrapped, pan loaf was reintroduced after the Second World War. To be better than it was the acme of perfection.
slip jig: Traditional dance.
slough about: Laze around.
smacker: Pound.
snotters: Runny nose.
soft hand under a duck: Gentle or very good at.
solicitor: Attorney, but one who would not appear in court, which is done by barristers.
sore tried by: Very worried by or very irritated by.
spavins: A disease of horses resulting in a swayback.
spunk: True grit. Nerve.
sponge bag: Toilet bag.
stays: Whalebone corset.
sticking out: Very good.
sticking out a mile: Absolutely the best.
stocious: Drunk.
stone: Measure of weight equal to fourteen pounds.
stoon: Sudden shooting pain.
stout: A dark beer, usually Guinness.
strong weakness: Hangover.
take a gander: Look at.
take your hurry in your hand: Wait a minute.
taste, a wee: Amount. Small amount, not necessarily edible.
ta-ta-ta-ra: Dublin slang, party.
there: Used for accuracy or immediately. Examples: That there dog; that dog. There now; now.
thick: Stupid.
thick as champ: Very stupid.
thole: Tolerate or put up with.
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thon: That.
thrapple: Throat.
throw off: Vomit.
thruppenny bit: Three-penny coin.
tinker’s damn, don’t give: Could not care less.
toty: Small.
toty, wee: Very small.
tousling: Roughing up.
tried, to get: Become agitated about.
turf accountant: Bookmaker.
up the spout or pipe: Pregnant.
walk out with: Pay court to. See also coortin’.
wean: Pronounced “wane.” Child.
wee: Small, but in Ulster can be used to modify almost anything without reference to size. A barmaid and old friend greeted the author by saying, “Come on in, Pat. Have a wee seat and I’ll get you a wee menu, and would you like a wee drink while you’re waiting?”
wee buns: Very easy.
Wellington boots, wellies: Knee-high rubber boots patterned on the riding boots worn by the Duke of Wellington.
wet (wee): Alcoholic drink.
whaling away at: Beating.
wheeker: Very good.
wheen: A large number of.
wheest: Be quiet.
wheezle: Wheeze in chest.
whin: Gorse.
whippet: Small, fast, racing dog, such as a mini-greyhound.
willy: Penis.
won’t butter any parsnips: Will make absolutely no difference.
worser: As bad as it is possible to get; much more so than worse.
you’re on: Agreed to, or to indicate acceptance of a wager.
your head’s cut (a marley): You are being very stupid, and your head is as small and as dense as a child’s marble.
your man: Someone who is not present but is known to all others there.
youse: Ulster plural of you.