stone the crows

Originally Australian English of 1910s, "referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop."

“Why, stone the crows! I′ll look yous up,” sez ′e. / “I need some friends: I ain′t got wife nor chick.”

1924, C. J. Dennis, “Rose Of Spadgers”, in Sentimental Bloke and Other Verses, published 1988, page 86:

The he pinched himself to make sure he was really awake, "Stone the crows!" he said softly. "Stone the crows!"

1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 141:

So I says to meself: stone the crows, I′m a doomed man, might as well shoot through. It was cyclone time, see, and there′s been flash floods and this rock as big as a house has gone.

1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, page 63:

‘Stone the crows,’ I whispered in sheer relief.

2008, Norman Jorgensen, Jack′s Island, ReadHowYouWant, published 2011, page 170:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis.


throw-in

(Ireland) the start time of a Gaelic football match, comparable to kick off in other games.


togs

(Ireland, Queensland, New Zealand) Swimsuits, of either the women's or men's tight-fitting type (in some regions referred to as "speedos").


gunge

en-noun

gunge (usually uncountable, plural gunges)

First attested around 1935–40. Probably an alteration of gunk.

Have I got trails of gunge on these frills?

1978, A. S. Byatt, The Virgin in The Garden, Vintage International, published 1992, page 390:

(UK, Ireland) A viscous or sticky substance, particularly an unpleasant one of vague or unknown composition; goo; gunk.


balls

That's a load of balls.

(uncountable, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Hawaii, vulgar, colloquial) Synonym of bollocks, nonsense.

Don't make a balls of it!

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Hawaii, vulgar) A balls-up; a botched job.


licence

licence (countable and uncountable, plural licences)

In some areas they have attempted to decasualize certain types of employment and to control street-trading by a local licensing system requiring juveniles to obtain their licences through the committees.

1944, The Labour Gazette, volume 44, page 720:

Serlio criticises the artistic licence taken by both ancient and contemporary architects, here specifically related to the confusion created by the rich decoration of the arch–in his illustrations, he stripped the monument of most of its beautifully […]

2017, Allison Sherman, Artistic Practices and Cultural Transfer in Early Modern Italy: Essays in Honour of Deborah Howard, Routledge, →ISBN:

UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore standard spelling of license.


scallop

scallops (plural)
scollop (alternative British rare)

From Old French escalope (“shell”). Doublet of escalope. Related to scale and shell.

(cooking, UK, Ireland, Australia, regional) A battered and deep-fried round potato slice.


taoiseach

taoiseach (plural taoiseachs or taoisigh)

Every diſtrict in the land, in which an Iriſh Taoiſeach or lord reſided, was obliged to entertain a Daniſh chief, to whom he was to ſubmit, and from whom he was to receive orders for the governing of his people; for theſe laſt would receive no commands, but directly from their own chiefs.

1803, S[ylvester] O’Halloran, chapter III, in An Introduction to and an History of Ireland, volume III, Dublin: […] H. Fitzpatrick, […], →OCLC, page 163:

Unlike the English in their own country and in Ireland, who passed on land and political authority associated with it to the eldest male heir, the Irish elected their chiefs (taoiseachs) among the leading male members of each clan, and successors (tanistes) were chosen before the deaths of chiefs.

1997, Lawrence J[ohn] McCaffrey, “Ireland: English Conquest and Protestant Ascendancy, 1170–1801”, in The Irish Catholic Diaspora in America, revised edition, Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, →ISBN, part I (The Irish Cultural, Political, Social, and Religious Heritages), page 17:

The first O'Donnell chieftain was Eighneachan, inaugurated in 1200, the first of an unbroken line of twenty five^([sic]) taoisigh or chieftains, the last being Niall Garbh who was inaugurated in 1603 and died in 1625.

1998, Liam Ronayne, “The People of the Donegal Highlands”, in The Donegal Highlands, Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland: Cottage Publications, →ISBN, page 74, column 1:

(Ireland, historical) A chieftain or leader.


kick arse

en-verb

kick arse (third-person singular simple present kicks arse, present participle kicking arse, simple past and past participle kicked arse)

kicks arse (present singular third-person)
kicking arse (participle present)
kicked arse (participle past)
kicked arse (past)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Alternative spelling of kick ass.


trolley

trolleys (plural)
trollies (plural)
trolly (alternative)

→ Catalan: tròlei

→ French: trolley

→ Romanian: troleu

→ German: Trolley

→ Welsh: troli

Early 19th century (1823) meaning "cart", of dialectal origin (Suffolk), probably from troll (“to trundle, roll”) + -ey (diminutive ending).

af

About a shopping trolley, I thought I'd let ye know. Ya'd try to push it straight but it never seems ta go. Ya'd wobble through the car park, hopping off the cars. Anyone would think ya had a few auld jars.

2013 March 15, “The Shopping Trolley” (track 10), in Horsing Around, performed by Richie Kavanagh:

(Australia, New Zealand, British, Ireland) A cart or shopping cart; a shopping trolley.


regions

/ˈɹiːd͡ʒənz/

Tom Clancy of Elan Recruitment thinks that staff shortages in the regions could be as severe as in Dublin.

2000 November 7, Emer Hughes, “Fair city losing out to the regions”, in Sunday Business Post:

Three government departments may be named for a move from London to the regions.

2003 September 10, Peter Hetherington, “Study points civil servants towards the regions”, in The Guardian:

(Ireland, British, definite: the regions) the rest of the country excluding the capital city or metropolitan region


merchant banker

en-noun

merchant banker (plural merchant bankers)

(chiefly British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, rhyming slang) A wanker.


sticky wicket

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A difficult or unpredictable situation.


hoarding

Making inquiries she came to a hoarding, within which were excavations denoting the foundations of a building; and on the boards without one or two large posters announcing that the foundation-stone of the chapel about to be erected would be laid that afternoon at three o’clock by a London preacher of great popularity among his body.

1894 December – 1895 November, Thomas Hardy, chapter VIII, in Jude the Obscure, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], published 1896, →OCLC:

A hoarding is a legal requirement for the safety of the public on a building site. There are rules about its height and construction. But of course it is also the perfect opportunity: a blank canvas on which to show a vision of the life soon to be lived behind it.

2014 September 25, Hugo Macdonald, “Could those utopian hoardings for new developments get any more nauseating?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

They’re a familiar sight to many: the eye-roll-inducing, over-the-top development hoardings and adverts that celebrate the (inevitably luxury and, to most people, unaffordable) developments soon to be added to the city skyline.

2015 October 2, Francesca Perry, “What are the most ridiculous property development adverts you've seen?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

The west side is one massive building site, although it's hard to appreciate what's going on behind all the hoardings.

2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 57:

(construction, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A temporary fence-like structure built around building work to add security and prevent accidents to the public.

Nobody has ever seen Big Brother. He is a face on the hoardings, a voice on the telescreen. We may be reasonably sure that he will never die, and there is already considerable uncertainty as to when he was born.

1949 June 8, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC; republished [Australia]: Project Gutenberg of Australia, August 2001:

Today, by radio, and also on giant hoardings, a rabbi, an admiral notorious for his links to Masonry, a trio of cardinals, a trio, too, of insignificant politicians (bought and paid for by a rich and corrupt Anglo-Canadian banking corporation), inform us all of how our country now risks dying of starvation.

1994, Georges Perec, translated by Gilbert Adair, A Void, London: Harvill Press, page vii:

But holidaymakers arriving this weekend in Positano, on the Amalfi coast, are more likely to find their gaze captured by a vast Volkswagen Golf. The car, pictured on a giant hoarding, has launched the latest row over intrusive advertising in Italy's historic towns and cities.

2004 June 25, John Hooper, “Uproar in Italy over hoardings in historic vistas”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A billboard.


tara

Possibly from Irish tabhair aire (“take care”).

ta-ra (alternative)
turrah (alternative)

2004: Metro in This is London (website of London Evening Standard), Jolie says ta-ra to Lara - Pssst...Actress Angelina Jolie's days as Tomb Raider action hero Lara Croft are over.

(UK, Ireland, Northern England, Midlands or informal) Goodbye.


nought

noughts (plural)
naught (alternative)
nowt (alternative)

From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.

0.335 cm is nought/zero point three three five of a centimeter.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Not any quantity of number; zero; the score of no points in a game.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) The figure or character representing, or having the shape of, zero.


touch wood

en-verb

touch wood (third-person singular simple present touches wood, present participle touching wood, simple past and past participle touched wood)

touches wood (present singular third-person)
touching wood (participle present)
touched wood (participle past)
touched wood (past)

Touching wood possibly has reference to (a) the cross, or (b) the altar rails in days when criminals could take sanctuary in churches.

1930, John D. Stephenson, chapter I, in The Structure of English from Sentence to Essay, page 105:

Very few patients for whom I provided psychiatric treatment ended their lives by suicide, but I became increasingly convinced that my residency instructor who touched wood because none of his patients had killed themselves had not been treating many seriously mentally ill patients for any extended period of time.

2003, Chester Schneider, The Making of a Christian Psychiatrist, US: Xulon Press, page 193:

Examples of rituals include touching wood, repeating phrases in your mind, wearing lucky clothes or jewellery, and avoiding unlucky numbers, out of a faulty belief that these rituals will stop unfortunate or tragic events befalling yourself or your loved ones.

2010, Rhena Branch, Rob Willson, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy For Dummies, 2nd edition, UK: John Wiley & Sons, page 102:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) To make contact with wood to avert bad luck, in accordance with a folk practice.


nosey parker

nosey parkers (plural)
nosy parker (alternative)
nosey-parker (alternative)
nosy-parker (alternative)

Yer a lotta nosey parkers.

1991, Kathleen Dayus, Where There's Life, London: Virago Press Ltd:

(UK, Ireland, colloquial) An overly inquisitive or prying person.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

nine nine nine (alternative)
triple nine (alternative)

(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymic) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


dago

Alteration of diego (“Spaniard”), from Spanish Diego (common Spanish name) by law of Hobson-Jobson.

And all foreigners to him were "dem bloody dagoes"—for, according to his theory, foreigners were responsible for unemployment.

1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XXVIII, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz […], →OCLC:

(UK, Ireland, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, or other Mediterranean or Latin descent.


spiv

Unknown. Perhaps from spiff, spiffy. Spiv was the nickname of Henry Bagster, a Londoner arrested a number of times in 1904-6 for activities as described below, and may have been the archetype. Also possibly from Romani spiv (“sparrow”), as active and opportunistic.

(UK, Ireland, historical) A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.

I mean, Mayfair is just top spivs stepping into the slippers of the former gentry, and Belgravia, like I've said, is all flats in houses built as palaces, and Chelsea—well!

1960 [1959], Colin MacInnes, Absolute Beginners, New York: Macmillan, page 65:

It was Robeson who introduced me to the other blacks in New York, the Show Boat cast, the hangers-on, girlfriends, spivs, and bookies. "My people," he called them, "my brothers and sisters" […]

1978, Paul Theroux, Picture Palace, page 92:

I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more harm to the British economy than [transport union leader] Bob Crow could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer.

2010 September 22, Gavin Stamp, quoting Vince Cable, “Cable in attack on bonuses for City 'spivs'”, in BBC News:

(UK, Ireland, dated) A flashy con artist, often homeless, who lives by his wits.

(UK, Ireland, dated, Scotland Yard) A low and common thief.

(UK, Ireland, dated) A slacker; one who shirks responsibility.


stock cube

(Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK) A bouillon cube.


footer

footer (third-person singular simple present footers, present participle footering, simple past and past participle footered)

footers (present singular third-person)
footering (participle present)
footered (participle past)
footered (past)

18th century. From fouter, foutre (“valueless thing”), possibly from French foutre (“to lecher”), from Latin futuere (“to fuck”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to hit”).

(Ireland and Scotland, slang) To meddle with or pass time without accomplishing anything meaningful.


tits

"Oh tits, a slight mishap, I've taken his fuckin' feet off!"

"Oh, tits. We can't do anything with those."

2007, Damian Tarnopolsky, Lanzmann and Other Stories:

(British, Ireland, vulgar, slang) Used to express dismay or annoyance.


conservatory

Anglicized form of French conservatoire; ultimately equivalent to Etymology 1

(chiefly UK, Ireland) A glass-walled and -roofed room in a house

зимна градина

a glass-walled and -roofed room in a house — see also sunroom, solarium


Shelta

Uncertain. Some theories include words derived from the Irish word Irish siúl (walk), or a corruption of the word Celt.

(Ireland) A language spoken by some Irish Travellers, particularly in Ireland, but also in Britain, which has been heavily influenced by English and Irish and is now effectively a cant or creole, though some scholars think it may have originated as and may retain elements of a non-Irish, non-English language.


dog's bollocks

That new flat screen TV you bought is the dog's bollocks.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) Something that is outstandingly good.


blocked

en-adj

blocked (comparative more blocked, superlative most blocked)

more blocked (comparative)
most blocked (superlative)

McKenna was found to be heavily intoxicated, and after caution he swore and replied: "I'm blocked."

2019 January 4, “'Drunk' Co Tyrone teenager smashed car into solicitor's office in Dungannon”, in The Irish News:


ascendancy

en-noun

ascendancy (countable and uncountable, plural ascendancies)

ascendancies (plural)
ascendency (alternative)

From ascend + -ancy or ascendant + -cy. The use in ecology is due to Robert Ulanowicz.

[W. B. Yeats] belonged not to the ascendancy class but to the protestant bourgeoisie.

True, the “ascendancy” remained a crucial and significant governing class in Irish life, and would remain so for generations.

2017, John Gibney, “The Age of O'Connell”, in A Short History of Ireland, 1500–2000, New Haven: Yale University Press, →ISBN:

Protestant Ascendancy
w:Protestant Ascendancy

(historical, Ireland, sometimes capitalized) Ellipsis of Protestant Ascendancy, a class of Protestant landowners and professionals that dominated political and social life in Ireland up to the early 20th century.


digestive

From Old French digestif, from Late Latin dīgestīvus. Doublet of digestif.

I bought a packet of chocolate digestives.

I made a mistake and bought plain digestives instead of chocolate ones.

(UK, Ireland, Canada) A digestive biscuit.


pictures

We go to the pictures every Saturday night.


big girl's blouse

big girl's blouse (plural big girl's blouses or big girls' blouses)

big girl's blouses (plural)
big girls' blouses (plural)

First recorded (1969) in the television sitcom Nearest and Dearest, used by the character Nellie Pledge (played by comedienne Hylda Baker). It has been suggested that Baker had previously used this expression in her stage act.

You can see why people might think you’re a bit of a big girl’s blouse, because you have manicures, sunbeds and bleach your hair.

2002 June, “Question to David Beckham”, in Marie Claire:

The reason for this was not because I was a big girl's blouse – no matter what anyone else says – but because as a fast bowler the big toe on the landing foot, which was the right in my case, is always in a state of disrepair.

2013, Ian Botham, Beefy's Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:

Call an election, you great big girl's blouse.

2019 September 4, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister's Questions, Response to Jeremy Corbyn (the Leader of the Opposition), House of Commons:

(informal, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory) An effeminate or weak man, a sissy.


mavourneen

Hiberno-English, from Irish mo mhuirnín (“my darling”) (diminutive of muirn (“affection”)).

1850 (approx.), Anonymous, Finnegan's Wake
Biddy O'Brien began to cry
"Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see?
"Arrah, Tim, mavourneen, why did you die?"
"Ah, shut your gob," said Paddy McGee!


mavrone

Anglo-Irish, from Irish mo bhrón, from mo (“my”) + brón (“grief”).

‘Mavrone, mavrone! the man has died / While I slept in the chair’

1893, WB Yeats, The Ballad of Father Gilligan:

And we to be there, mavrone, and you to be unbeknownst sending us your conglomerations the way we to have our tongues out a yard long like the drouthy clerics do be fainting for a pussfull.

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

(Ireland) An expression of sorrow; alas.


cut up

en-verb

cut up (third-person singular simple present cuts up, present participle cutting up, simple past and past participle cut up)

cuts up (present singular third-person)
cutting up (participle present)
cut up (participle past)
cut up (past)

If you are a victim of Road Rage, this normally means you may have inadvertently cut someone up on the road, or he may perceive that you have cut him up.

2005, Richard Hunter, Righteous Indignation: Driving Psychology, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 42:

The third gave an account of losing her temper in traffic, after being cut up by another driver, then bursting into tears.

2006, Jane M. Ussher, Managing the Monstrous Feminine: Regulating the Reproductive Body, Routledge, →ISBN, page 170:

One night coming home from work, I was driving through a quiet housing estate and had a driver cut me up. I had my window open, and mouthed some obscenity towards him.

a. 2007, “Jones” (former police officer; possible pseudonym), quoted in Tom Rennie, Governors, Guns and Money, Lulu.com, page 78

(transitive, idiomatic, UK, Ireland) To move aggressively in front of another vehicle while driving.

snijden

to aggressively move in front of another vehicle


jockey

The word is by origin a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's Richard III. v. 3, 304. Equivalent to jock + -ey.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the word was applied to horse-dealers, postilions, itinerant minstrels and vagabonds, and thus frequently bore the meaning of a cunning trickster, a "sharp", whence the verb to jockey, "to outwit" or "to do" a person out of something. The current meaning of a person who rides a horse in races was first seen in 1670.


nief

niefs (plural)
nieves (plural)
neif (alternative)
nieve (alternative)
nef (alternative Scotland)
nefe (alternative Scotland)
neff (alternative Scotland)
neiff (alternative Scotland)
neaf (alternative Scotland)

From Middle English neve (“the clenched hand, fist”), from Old Norse nefi, hnefi (also knefi) ("hand, fist, handful"), from Proto-Germanic *hnefô, from Proto-Indo-European *knep- (“to scrape, scratch, grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“to scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Scots neif (“fist”), Norwegian neve, Danish næve, Swedish näve, Middle High German nevemez (“handful”).

der

Ake thought if ever he was walking alone on a dark-like night and Jimmy came on him, he with his bare nieves and Jimmy with a knife, he'd stand as much chance of getting home safe as a celluloid cat that had strayed into hell[…].

1934, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Grey Granite, Polygon, published 2006, A Scots Quair, page 597:

Nestorius exploded at that and hit out. He roared and dismissed the class, hitting out with his old mottled gnarled niefs.

1989, Anthony Burgess, The Devil's Mode:

"But t' Maister can stop and hit rarely. Happen he'll mak' him joomp when he gets his nief upon him."

2004, Jeff Silverman, The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told, page 160:

(chiefly Scotland, Ireland, Northern England) A fist.


tyre gauge

(Australia, British, Ireland, New Zealand) Alternative spelling of tire gauge.


titbit

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-titbit.wav

But our particular friends were the rats, that dwelt by the stream. They were long and black. We brought them such titbits from our ordinary as rinds of cheese, and morsels of gristle, and we brought them also bird's eggs, and frogs, and fledgelings.

1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

(Commonwealth, UK, Ireland) Alternative form of tidbit.


toffee apple

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-toffee apple.wav

The weapon is named after the food item, having a similar shape, i.e. a sphere with attached stick or handle.

Toffee apples and fairy floss are often sold as fairground snacks.

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A candy apple.

Here we would find, perhaps, three 18-pounder guns dug in as antitank defences supplemented by 60 lb "toffee apple" trench mortar bombs buried as makeshift anti-tank mines.

2014, Richard Baber, The SOTCW World War I Compendium:

(UK, Ireland, historical, slang) A kind of British trench mortar used in World War I.


toffee-nosed

en-adj

toffee-nosed (comparative more toffee-nosed, superlative most toffee-nosed)

more toffee-nosed (comparative)
most toffee-nosed (superlative)

Probably from toff or from toffee-nose + -ed.

Parkinson: You made films before, but the part that really made your name was Zulu, wasn't it […] and there of course—against type—you played the toff, you played the officer.
Caine: I played the officer, yeah, and everybody thought I was like that. Everyone was so shocked when they met me, this like Cockney guy had played this toffee-nosed git.

2000 December 18, BBC and Bafta Tribute to Michael Caine, 16:43-17:05:

(chiefly UK, Ireland) Snobbish, condescending or aloof.


corduroy

en-noun

corduroy (countable and uncountable, plural corduroys)

Origin uncertain. Probably from cord + duroy (“a 17th century coarse fabric made in England”). Probably not from French *corde du roi (“cloth of the king”), which is unattested in French, where the term for the corduroy is velours côtelé. Possibly from cordesoy (“corde de soie”), or "rope of silk or silk-like fabric" in French), named for example in a 1756 advertisement for clothing fabrics; see Wikipedia article, and comparable in language form to the contemporary serg(e)dusoys (“silk serge”), see Serge (fabric).

compound

Another description of what would be termed adulterated spirits, is by the vulgar termed "Corduroy," on account of the rough feeling which it imparts to the tongue and palate.

[1834 June 16, John Edgar, “Minutes of Evidence, Monday, the Sixteenth Day of June, 1834”, in Evidence on Drunkenness, London: British and Foreign Temperance Society, published 1834, page 93:

To men of common gumption, / Hot strange, besides, must seem / At this time any scheme / To put a check upon potheen's consumption, / When all are calling for Irish Poor Laws! / Instead of framing more laws, / To pauperism if you'd give a pegger, / Don't check, but patronise their "Kill-the-Beggar!" / If Pat is apt to go in Irish Linen, / (Buttoning his coat, with nothing but his skin in) / Would any Christian man -- that's quite himself, / His wits not floor'd, or laid upon the shelf --, While blaming Pat for raggedness, poor boy, / Would deprive him of his "Corduroy!"

1835, Thomas Hood, “Ode to J. S. Buckingham, Esq. M.P.”, in The Comic Annual, pages 135–136:

(obsolete, Ireland, slang) Cheap and poor-quality whiskey.


stations

This tradition dates back to the Penal Laws, when it was forbidden for Catholic priests to say Mass in public. To get around the problem, the Mass was often celebrated secretly in people's homes, and afterwards, those in attendance stayed on for breakfast. This was often followed by a full day of merriment - but only after the priest had finished his breakfast and taken his leave! As the years went by, and the Penal Laws were repealed, the custom of The Stations continued, especially in Ireland's more rural areas.

c. 2000-2005, Bridget Haggerty, “An old custom that still exists...The Stations”, in Irish culture and customs:

(plural only, Ireland, sometimes capitalised) An infrequent religious gathering of family and friends spread over a few days, where Mass and the Rosary will be said in the home.


bang on

en-verb

bang on (third-person singular simple present bangs on, present participle banging on, simple past and past participle banged on)

bangs on (present singular third-person)
banging on (participle present)
banged on (participle past)
banged on (past)
bang-on (alternative)

I started recycling, just so she’d stop banging on about it.

Give it a rest! You've been banging on all day.

Morgan said: ‘Look, I am a British guy debating American cultural issues, including guns, which has been very polarising, and there is no doubt that there are many in the audience who are tired of me banging on about it.'

2014 February 24, “CNN axes Piers Morgan Live with final show due to air next month as British presenter admits Americans 'tired of hearing me bang on about gun control'”, in Daily Mail, retrieved 2014-07-29:

(informal, British, Australia, Ireland, usually derogatory) To talk about something constantly and tiresomely.


tramway

→ French: tramway

→ Russian: трамва́й (tramváj) (see there for further descendants)

→ Portuguese: trâmuei

→ Spanish: tranvía

(chiefly UK, Ireland) The track on which a tram (streetcar) runs.


balls-up

Balls in this sense refers to testicles. See also the verb, to balls up and go balls up.

I was making a cake but when I added too much sugar, it became the balls-up of my cooking career.

(slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar) Something which becomes muddled or botched in some way.


jointed

en-adj

jointed (comparative more jointed, superlative most jointed)

more jointed (comparative)
most jointed (superlative)

/ˈd͡ʒɔɪntɪd/

Needless to mention that Christmas, Easter and the Coolmore Golf Classic see the place jointed, but last weekend saw a huge Irish crowd celebrate the launch of Quintessentially, the world's leading private members' club and concierge service.

2008 January 19, Angela Phelan, “My Barbados beach date with the super rich”, in Irish Independent:

When I opened the door the place was jointed, packed with English players.

2011, Donncha O'Callaghan, Joking Apart: My Autobiography, →ISBN, page 154:

Looking at the shots of an absolutely jointed Dalymount Park, the feverish atmosphere still palpable, you could see why for my father's generation the Phibsboro ground would always be the spiritual home of Irish football.

2012 May 27, Eamonn Sweeney, “Football series in league of its own”, in Irish Independent:

The landmark Hostelry at the Bottom of the Rock reopened over a week ago and has been ‘jointed’ ever since.

2014 August 5, Gavin O'Connor, “Austin Stacks Club News”, in Tralee Today:

(Ireland, slang, of an entertainment venue) Extremely full of people, packed, chockablock.


central reservation

en-noun

central reservation (plural central reservations)

The driver of one of the cars had come through the windscreen. He was lying on his back on the central reservation like the effigy on an old church tomb.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 26:

(UK)

(US)

(UK, Ireland) The area which separates opposing lanes of traffic on a motorway or dual carriageway.


head-the-ball

From the supposed effect of repeatedly heading a football.

(idiomatic, chiefly Scotland, Ireland, Liverpool, slang) a stupid person; a nutcase


bowser

bowsers (plural)
bowzer (alternative dated)

From Bowser (“a surname”), after Sylvanus Bowser, US inventor of the first fuel pump; also a trade name of SF Bowser inc., the inventor's company.

(Ireland, slang, used in the vocative) A buffoon or imbecile.


shambolic

en-adj

shambolic (comparative more shambolic, superlative most shambolic)

more shambolic (comparative)
most shambolic (superlative)

Perhaps from shambles + -o- + -ic + [Term?] (adjective), in which the interconsonantal -o- avoids the /mbl/ consonant cluster. Possibly influenced by symbolic.
Alternatively, and more likely, a blend of shambles + symbolic.

af

[O]ne must admit there were those among us who were somewhat on the shambolic side.

1952 April 10, The Tank, volume 34, number 396, London, page 231:

He said his club had coined a new word 'Shambolic,' which meant spending more time watching the weather than playing.

1958 December 5, “'Pavilion Would Help Clubs'”, in West Sussex County Times, Horsham, page 6:

The precautionary principle is a culturally framed concept that takes its cue from changing social conceptions about the appropriate roles of science, economics, ethics, politics and the law in pro-active environmental protection and management. As this book will reveal, it is a rather shambolic concept, muddled in policy advice and subject to the whims of international diplomacy and the unpredictable public mood over the true cost of sustainable living.

1994, Timothy O'Riordan, James Cameron, “The History and Contemporary Significance of the Precautionary Principle”, in Tim O'Riordan, James Cameron, editors, Interpreting the Precautionary Principle, London: Earthscan, →ISBN, page 12:

The pub was empty of all but the most dedicated drinkers, shambolic figures huddled over bottles.

2000, China Miéville, Perdido Street Station, London: Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 24:

The shabby subterfuge surrounding Suez [the Suez Crisis], as much as its shambolic aftermath, have made it a symbol of the collapse of British global power in the post-war era.

2013, Philip Murphy, “Winds of Change and the Royal Family”, in Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 66:

During normal times, distribution of goods or services to over 7,000 islands [in the Philippines] is difficult, and the reality is that on a day-to-day basis, it's shambolic. There are too many examples of corruption and inefficiency.

2014 October 22, Graham Michael Barton, “Distribution”, in Show Me the Money: Where Did All the Aid and Money Go after Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines November 2013, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 5:

New train introduction had become shambolic with extended delays - mainly due to repeated software issues, seriously late deliveries, and gauging problems.

2020 May 6, Sir Michael Holden, “Time for our industry's leaders to rise to the challenge”, in Rail, page 28:

Donald Trump’s tax returns illustrate the profound inequities of the tax code and the shambolic state of federal enforcement.

2020 September 28, New York Times Editorial Board, “The Picture of a Broken Tax System”, in New York Times:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Chaotic, disorganised or mismanaged.


clatter

From Middle English clatren (“to make a rattling sound”), from Old English *clatrian (attested as the Late Old English gerund clatrung), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Dutch klateren, kletteren.
The noun, derived from the verb, is first attested in the 14ᵗʰ century.

inh

a young mother with a clatter of kids told me ... her Catholic doctor refused point-blank to advise other than the rhythm method.

1970 December 22, “Women First; Contraception: what do you think?”, in The Irish Times, page 6:

There haven't been any men for years. The last one I can remember was a hairy old ballad singer who, it turned out, had a wife and a clatter of kids.

1985, Emma Cooke, Eve's Apple, Blackstaff Press, →ISBN, page 20:

There are a clatter of other PRSI classes. E is for Church of Ireland ministers only. H relates to enlisted military personnel and non-commissioned officers.

2012 July 24, Dominic Coyle, “Business Q&A: No reason to pay PRSI for benefits you don’t need”, in The Irish Times:

The children are ... all in early middle-age, which means a clatter of grandchildren, as well as her own offspring, descend on Rosemarie’s house on a regular basis.

2017 June 12, Darragh McManus, “Goodbye House: RTE's latest reality show is kind of terrible but also sweet and touching”, in Irish Independent:

The artisan redbrick cottages that line the streets off Barrow Street in Ringsend, Dublin 4 are pretty to look at, but, while historically clatters of kids have been reared within their walls, they can seem a bit compact for modern living.

2019 June 6, Alanna Gallagher, “Artisan one-bed in Dublin 4 has thought of everything for €450k”, in The Irish Times:

We assume that because a person has been elected to the Dáil or because they have a clatter of compliant, photo-ready children or they’re in a helicopter and their nickname is Slasher Larkin, their every utterance is gospel.

2020 February 1, Marian Keyes, “Am I ever going to feel like a grown-up?”, in The Irish Times:

(Ireland, informal) A large group, especially of sibling children; a lot


twopenn'orth

(UK, Ireland) Alternative spelling of two penn'orth.


mickey

* (potato): From the common Irish name; compare murphy (“a potato”).
* (computer mouse resolution): An allusion to the cartoon character Mickey Mouse.

He fell off the bike and injured his mickey.

Five Fingers rapped around my mickey, being /ke/[??]
Smokin on this dickey in the Fifty /se/[??], and shift

2004, “Take a Toast”, in The Love Never Dies, performed by Paperboy et al.:

(Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, informal) The vagina.


finals

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, Philippines, sports) A contest that narrows a field of contestants (finalists) to ranked positions, usually in numbered places (1st place/prize, 2nd place/prize, etc.) or a winner and numbered runners-up (1st runner-up, etc.).


give out

en-verb

give out (third-person singular simple present gives out, present participle giving out, simple past gave out, past participle given out)

gives out (present singular third-person)
giving out (participle present)
gave out (past)
given out (participle past)

Cognate with German ausgeben (“spend, pay, output”).

You shouldn't give out to your brother like that.

He was always giving out about the weather.

(intransitive, Ireland, UK, idiomatic) To complain, sulk, chastise.


give over

give over (third-person singular simple present gives over, present participle giving over, simple past gave over, past participle given over)

gives over (present singular third-person)
giving over (participle present)
gave over (past)
given over (participle past)

Give over with your nonsense, will you!

While he was declaring the truth, a constable came in with his great staff, and bid him give over, and come down: but William Penn held on, declaring truth in the power of God.

1681, George Fox, A journal or historical account of the life, travels, sufferings, […], published 1831, page 247:

Amelia, I wish you would give over with your reading and your information, it's not for ladies to be literary; people don't like it, you silly thing!

1890, Mary Taylor, Janet Murray, Miss Miles: Or a Tale of Yorkshire Life 60 Years Ago, page 212:

She was getting very heavy, and could run but slowly. Once, in the pursuit of a rabbit, which she ordinarily would have caught with ease, she gave over and lay down and rested.

1906 May–October, Jack London, White Fang, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC:

My mother told him to give over and let me alone, and said she was sure it would be a lovely suit, and that Aunt Jack would never buy poor material, but stuff that would last forever.

1962, Brendan Behan, Brendan Behan's island: an Irish sketch-book, page 151:

According to Homer, the rest of the Trojan army drew away from Troy pretending to retreat and give over with the siege in order to confuse the Trojans.

2005, Anatoly T. Fomenko, History: Fiction Or Science?, page 245:

"Get yourself seen to, Isaac. For God's sake. Before it's too late," Sarah would chastise him. / "Och, Sarah, would you give over with your bargeing. It's just a wee cough. It'll get better itself."

2009, Eugene McEldowney, The Faloorie Man, page 143:

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, Ireland, intransitive) To give up; abandon; stop.


petrol station

(UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong) A filling station, gas station; a facility selling fuel for road motor vehicles


E number

I finger Padre Pio paperweights and Our Lady of Knock sticks of rock that are packed with more e-numbers than could be safe at one sitting.

2003, Deirdre Brennan, Maighread Medbh, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Divas!:

...how long it took corpses to go off these days, because everyone was so full of E-numbers and preservatives.

(British, Ireland, informal) Any such additive, often regarded as undesirable.


nutty

en-adj

nutty (comparative nuttier, superlative nuttiest)

nuttier (comparative)
nuttiest (superlative)

Skinner's friendship with his nutty pals seemed to have come to a sudden end.

1932, Frank Richards, “The Complete Outsider”, in The Magnet:

(UK, Ireland, dated) Extravagantly fashionable.


cocky

cockies (plural)
cockey (alternative)
cockie (alternative)

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (diminutive suffix).

suf

Nay Cocky, Cocky, nay dear Cocky, do not cry, I was but in Jeſt, I was not ifeck.

1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 31:

Lu[cretia]. Ah, ah, are we not by our ſelves already, my Cocky? So[phronius]. Let us go out of the Way ſomewhere, into a more private Place.

1725, Desiderius Erasmus, “The Young Man and the Harlot”, in N[athan] Bailey, transl., All the Familiar Colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus, of Roterdam, Concerning Men, Manners, and Things, Translated into English, London: Printed for J. Darby, […], →OCLC, page 196:

Now, cocky, ye may gang about your buſineſs; when ye come back, I'ſe tauk with you in another ſtile.

1757, [Tobias Smollett], The Reprisal: Or, The Tars of Old England. […], London: […] R[oberts] Baldwin, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene ix, page 41:

Hobhouse's insolence to Mr. Hunt is not seen in its true light, unless we remember, that the latter is held under heavy recognizances to keep the peace! The little cocky seems to have been half mad; and well he might.

1825 April 2, “To the Freeholders of Ireland. Letter II.”, in William Cobbett, editor, Cobbett’s Weekly Register, volume LIV, number 1, London: Printed and published by C. Clement, […], →OCLC, column 22:

"Go on board that little cockleshell of yourn?"—pointing to the splendid yacht—"not if I knows it, my cockeys! This old oss is spry to when he is well off—so make tracks and be off, before you gits this old coon's dander up.

1870 July, “Old Calabar” [pseudonym], “A Sporting Story”, in Baily’s Monthly Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, and Turf Guide, volume XVIII, number 125, London: A. H. Baily & Co., […], →OCLC, chapter VI (Mr. Bouncer Brag Composes), page 306:

They're not going to stand for a couple of actors bossing the place [The Old Vic theatre] around any more. We shall be out, old cockie.

1940s, Francis Beckett, quoting Ralph Richardson speaking to Laurence Olivier, “The War and the Old Vic”, in Laurence Olivier, London: Haus Publishing, published 2005, →ISBN, page 72:

Somewhere, somehow, there had to be something more ennobling than that. But how to find it? Ah, there's the rub, my cockies.

2005, Martin Pilcher, chapter 12, in The Banana Skin Tango, [United Kingdom]: Aardvark-Zap Publishing, →ISBN, page 118:

term of endearment
term of endearment#English

(chiefly British, Ireland, Newfoundland, colloquial, dated) Used as a term of endearment, originally for a person of either sex, but later primarily for a man.


messages

/ˈmɛsɪd͡ʒɪz/

I was going up the town to buy some messages.

1983, Raymond McClean, The road to Bloody Sunday, page 119:

A South African woman, just married to an Irishman and newly arrived in this country, was shocked when her husband told her, "I just saw yer man in the shop when I was getting the messages (groceries)." "My what?" "Yer man. […]"

A woman with a well-to-do south voice told me to wash my soily hands before touching her messages.

1995, Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, Vintage, published 2015, page 9:

(Ireland, Scotland and Northern England) Shopping, groceries, errands.


hooley

Unknown. In the second sense, it may be an alteration of Orkney Scots hoolan, "strong gale" (of Norse origin).

At a family gathering, a wake or a Christmas hooley, other children would step forward to sing a rhyme or dance a hornpipe.

2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 88:

She had always loved what she called a hooley, a gathering of family and friends, and her dying was to be her last, greatest hooley.

2023, Richard Flanagan, Question 7, Knopf, page 183:

(Ireland) A party or celebration; an evening of traditional music and dance.


pismire

From Middle English pissemyre, equivalent to piss + mire (“ant”). So called due to the smell of anthills. Compare English pissant, Old Frisian pisimme, Dutch pismiere, Swedish pissmyra.

Why looke you, I am whipt and ſcourg'd with rods,
 Netled, and ſtung with piſmires, when I heare
 Of this vile polititian, Bullingbrooke,

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

Much there is not of wonder in the confused Houses of Pismires, though much in their busie life and actions […]

1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 189:

What are we in the great scale of events, we poor defenceless frontier inhabitants? What is it to the gazing world, whether we breathe or whether we die? Whatever virtue, whatever merit and disinterestedness we may exhibit in our secluded retreats, of what avail? We are like the pismires destroyed by the plough; whose destruction prevents not the future crop.

1782, J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, Letters from an American Farmer:

We are scurrying emmets or pismires with our sad little comedies.

1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford:


jacks

(slang, now chiefly Ireland) Alternative form of jakes: an outhouse or lavatory.


lollipop man

They were out of the park gates and about to cross the road now. The lollipop man smiled at Jess, who smiled shyly back.

2005, Helen Oyeyemi, The Icarus Girl, Bloomsbury, page 176:

school crossing attendant
school crossing attendant

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A male school crossing attendant.

klaarover

a male school crossing attendant — see also lollipop lady, crossing guard, school crossing attendant


throw a wobbly

en-verb

throw a wobbly (third-person singular simple present throws a wobbly, present participle throwing a wobbly, simple past threw a wobbly, past participle thrown a wobbly)

throws a wobbly (present singular third-person)
throwing a wobbly (participle present)
threw a wobbly (past)
thrown a wobbly (participle past)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, idiomatic, colloquial) To throw a tantrum.


splendour

en-noun

splendour (usually uncountable, plural splendours)

If the kind of network we envisage is to be established, it would be unwise to begin any of its services hurriedly with older stock, which, however admirable in its day, now has an air of faded Edwardian splendour that is out of joint with the times.

1962 December, “A new Pullman era?”, in Modern Railways, page 362:

British, Canadian, Ireland, South Africa, Australian, and New Zealand standard spelling of splendor.


chiseler

chiselers (plural)
chiseller (alternative)

--Reuben and the son were piking it down the quay next the river on their way to the Isle of Man boat and the young chiseller suddenly got loose and over the wall with him into the Liffey.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 6]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

(informal, Ireland, 20th-century inner-city Dublin slang) A child.


snuff

en-verb

snuff (third-person singular simple present snuffs, present participle snuffing, simple past and past participle snuffed)

snuffs (present singular third-person)
snuffing (participle present)
snuffed (participle past)
snuffed (past)

Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”).
Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).

cog

(transitive, UK, Ireland, slang, obsolete) To drug (a person) with a mixture of snuff and beer.


weedy

en-adj

weedy (comparative weedier, superlative weediest)

weedier (comparative)
weediest (superlative)

a weedy excuse

a weedy attempt

a weedy motor

Everything in moderation is a bit of a weedy call to arms, but as a rule for living it’s hard to beat.

2010 June 22, Juliet Woods, “We all know fast food is bad for us”, in The Telegraph:

2016, Orla Kiely, quoted in “Designs for life from Orla Kiely,” Irish Independent, 3 April, 2016,
We wanted to make sure that our jewellery made a statement, that it wasn't wimpy or weedy.

(figurative, UK, Ireland, informal) Lacking power or effectiveness.


goolies

en-noun

goolies pl (normally plural, singular gooly)

Probably from Hindi गोली (golī, “ball; pill; bullet”) or a cognate in other Indian languages.

"My oath," he said, "here's a man got his goolie chit. And I left mine behind. How fat can you get?"
"I've got mine," said Ward quietly, tapping his pocket."
"It's not your goolies I'm worried about," said Curnow.

Marcus: Sorry, your "gooly"?
Stylax: Yeah.
Marcus: You can't have one "gooly". It's just your "goolies".
Stylax: No, no, no, no. The whole thing is your goolies, all three of them, but if you're talking about one in particular, you say "gooly".

2013 April 8, “The Herpes Cat”, in Plebs:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar slang, usually in the plural) The testicles.


between the jigs and the reels

en-au-between the jigs and the reels.ogg

Possibly related to the apparent chaos in Irish dancing.

(Ireland, idiomatic) eventually, despite all the confusion.


fixture

Alteration of older fixure, on the model of mixture.

(sports, chiefly British, Commonwealth, Ireland) A scheduled match.


toastie

I much prefer cheese-and-onion toasties to those with bacon.


ice lolly

→ Malay: ais loli

→ Tausug: ays luli

I prefer lime ice lollies to lemon ones.

[T]he sun was shining on a happy crowd. It shone on white hats and red faces. It shone on ice lollies and melted them.

1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 23:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Frozen fruit juice on a stick.


topper

From Middle English toppor, equivalent to top + -er.


slippy

en-adj

slippy (comparative slippier, superlative slippiest)

slippier (comparative)
slippiest (superlative)

From slip + -y. Compare Old English slipiġ (“slippy, slimy, viscid”).

cog

It was darker now and there were stones and bits of wood on the strand and slippy seaweed.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

(slightly informal, Western Pennsylvania, UK, Ireland, Ottawa Valley) Slippery.

slightly informal; Ottawa Valley; slightly informal; Ottawa Valley

Well, come on then, let's look slippy.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 5, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:


countryman

(Ireland, traveller) A settled person, as opposed to a traveller.


turf bank

(Ireland) an area in a peat bog from which turf is cut as fuel.


Hiberno-English

/hɪˈbɜːnəʊ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/

/haɪˈbɜːnəʊ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/

/haɪˈbɝnoʊ ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/

The set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.


King Billy

(Ireland, Scotland, informal) King William III of England.


month's mind

months' minds (plural)
month mind (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-month's mind.wav

From Middle English monethes mynde under influence from Medieval Latin dies mensis (“day of the month”) and Old English ġemynd, whose principal sense was "memory".

der

(Christianity, now chiefly Ireland and Scotland) A requiem mass or other commemoration of a deceased person held one month after burial.


kick with the other foot

en-verb

kick with the other foot (third-person singular simple present kicks with the other foot, present participle kicking with the other foot, simple past and past participle kicked with the other foot)

kicks with the other foot (present singular third-person)
kicking with the other foot (participle present)
kicked with the other foot (participle past)
kicked with the other foot (past)

Supposedly from differences in the design of farming implements between the Catholic and Protestant communities.

They would have married in a church, but he kicks with the other foot.

(idiomatic, Ireland) To belong to a different religion.


tackie

Unknown. Thought to derive from Dutch or Afrikaans, or may be derived from tacky (“slightly sticky”), which the rubber shoes might seem to be.

(Ireland, Limerick) Another word for trainers or runners.


slane

Little McTiernan at the Door is giving out short-handl’d Peat-Cutters styl’d, by the Irish, ‘Slanes’.

(Ireland) A one-eared spade for cutting turf or peat, consisting of an iron flat-bladed head and a long wooden shaft.


lin

From Middle English lin, from Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen, lint.

a lin apron, lin-break, lin-brake, a lin cap, lin-clout, lin-garn/lin-yarn, lin-man, lin-weaver/lin-webster, lin-wheel

[…] to Sowerby-bridge, about twenty-four measured miles, wheel carriages would go in one day; and on that account they concluded that the manufacture of that place, Warrington, &c. would be much readier and cheaper supplied with lin-yarn, flax, &c. from the east, […]
1641.—14 yards of femble cloth, 12s. ; 8 yards of linen, 6s. 8d. ; 20 yards of harden, 10s. ; 5 linen sheets, 1l. ; 7 linen pillow bears, 8s. ; 2 femble sheets and a line hard sheet, 10s. ; 3 linen towels, 4s. ; 6 lin curtains and a vallance, 12s. ; […]

1775, John Watson, The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax, page 16:

A yerd a gooid lin check.

Paddeys wi' their feyne lin' ware.

Hoo wur stonnin' i' th' front of a weshin'-mug, wi' a lin brat afore her.

1874 (ed. of 1879), Waugh, Chim. Corner, 27

(Scotland, Ireland, Northern England, especially in compounds) Alternative form of line (“flax, linen”).


buggered

en-adj

buggered (comparative more buggered, superlative most buggered)

more buggered (comparative)
most buggered (superlative)

You'll have to take over from here, mate, I'm completely buggered.

I am not sure why, but I'm more buggered after I get to the US than I am when I return home. I think it has a lot to do with it being easier to align my sleeping patterns with flying in to Oz during the night (arriving early morning), than it is flying into the US and landing at 10 pm at night.

1998 January 9, Martin Taylor, “737 Cabin Altitude”, in aus.aviation (Usenet):

(UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, slang) Tired, worn-out, exhausted.


lashing

en-noun

lashing (countable and uncountable, plural lashings)

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
 Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

You bring happiness to my heart
Like a freshly baked apple tart
With lashings of piping-hot custard

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(in the plural, informal, UK, Ireland) Lots; a great amount.


high nelly

high nellies (plural)
high nellie (alternative)
high-nelly (alternative)
High Nelly (alternative)

From the high riding position and Nelly, an old-fashioned name

I don't know what make of bike it was but it was certainly the motor bike version of the High Nelly push bike or the Tin Lizzy car.

1974 July 17, Derry Power, “Spain before it was packaged”, in The Irish Times, Dublin, page 16:

Chinese bikes are bigger and heavier than Western ones, they carry number plates and resemble the old "High Nellies" that are now such a rare sight on Irish roads.

1988 October 8, Deaglán de Bréadún, “The Saturday Column; Stephen Roche's slow bike from China”, in The Irish Times, Dublin, page Weekend 12:

there's an old bike out the back of the barracks. You're welcome to it. It's a bit of a high-nelly, and it needs new tyres, but it will get you around.

1989, Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan, Reprisal: a novel, Wolfhound Press, →ISBN, page 208:

Now Julia Mahon. with two buckets of pigswill slung over the handlebars of her High Nelly, is off again to talk to her mother in St Michael's cemetery.

1989 Fall, Aidan Higgins, “Two from Ronda Gorge”, in Four Quarters, volume 3 [2nd series], number 2, →ISSN, page 53:

A HIGH Nellie bike once used by Irish rock icon Phil Lynott is being lovingly restored by a group of Carlovians, who are hoping to auction it to raise funds for a local cancer support group. Philomena Lynott found her much-loved 1930s bicycle rusting away in the garden shed and decided to put it to better use.

2014 April 1, “Philo’s old high nelly to be lovingly restored”, in Carlow Nationalist, archived from the original on 2017-11-16:

Before the age of the motorcar, practically everyone in Ireland owned a High Nelly.

2014 July 6, Tom Prendeville, “High Nelly bicycles making a comeback on the roads again”, in Sunday Independent:

(Ireland, cycling, formerly derogatory, now nostalgic) An old-fashioned utility bicycle, especially one with a step-through frame and high handlebars providing an erect riding posture; a roadster.

formerly derogatory; now nostalgic; formerly derogatory; now nostalgic


secateurs

Borrowed from French sécateurs, plural of sécateur, from Latin secō + -ateur.

To start with, I'm going to arm myself with a saw, shears and secateurs to radically prune some of what's there.

2023 August 5, Diarmuid Gavin, “It's time to give my garden a makeover”, in Irish Independent Magazine, page 28:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Small, handheld pruning shears.


supply teacher

(UK, Ireland) A teacher who fills a temporary position in a school on a short-term basis; often supplied by an agency.


shaughraun

(Ireland, Canada) A wanderer; a vagabond.

We’ll paralyse Europe as Ignatius Gallaher used to say when he was on the shaughraun, doing billiardmaking in the Clarence.

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

(Ireland, Canada) A state of travelling or wandering.


shoneen

Borrowed from Irish Seoinín (“Johnny”), from Seán (“John, John Bull”) + -ín (diminutive suffix).

Good Father John O'Hart
In penal days rode out
To a shoneen who had free lands
And his own snipe and trout.

1889, W B Yeats, The Ballad of Father O'Hart:

So then the citizens begin talking about the Irish language and the corporation meeting and all to that and the shoneens that can’t speak their own language

(Ireland, derogatory, ethnic slur) An Irish person considered excessively Anglophile, an Irish person who acts English or desires to be part of English society.


headmistress

(chiefly Commonwealth, Ireland) A female headteacher.


chippy

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) A carpenter.

Huge queues form outside the Chippy, often stretching back to the Coop and beyond.

2008, Patrick Naughton, chapter I, in Whistle Wood, Land of the Fathers, →ISBN, page 33:

Albert was flabbergasted. Yer really buyin′ a chippy?” Tom smiled whilst nodding his head. “That′s me plan.”

2009, John Wise, chapter 12, in Sweet Dreams, →ISBN, page 308:

(UK, Ireland, informal) A fish-and-chip shop.


publican

Probably from public house (“(Britain) bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging, pub”) or public (“open to all members of a community”) + -an (suffix forming agent nouns), apparently originally used humorously.

suffix

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer, / The publican 'e up an 'sez, 'We serve no red-coats here.'

1890, Rudyard Kipling, “Tommy”, in Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses, 3rd edition, London: Methuen & Co. […], published 1892, →OCLC, page 6:

(chiefly UK, Ireland) The landlord (manager or owner) of a public house (“a bar or tavern, often also selling food and sometimes lodging; a pub”).


moderator

moderators (plural)
moderatour (alternative)

/ˈmɒdəˌɹeɪtə(ɹ)/

Learned borrowing from Latin moderātor. First attested as Middle English moderatour.

(Ireland) At the University of Dublin, either the first (senior) or second (junior) in rank in an examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.


gom

goms (plural)
gaum (alternative)
gawm (alternative)

Borrowed from Irish gám (“booby, dolt”).

“ Ye don’t how how to dhrive a mothor car ! ” shouted Miles, losing his temper completely. “ What a gom ye are ! ”

1917, Mary Brigid Pearse, The Murphys of Ballystack, Dublin: M.H. Gill, page 139:

Fluther: ... You must think Fluther's a right gom.

1926, Seán O'Casey, The Plough and the Stars, act II, page 137:

And that's the why I made up my mind to go out to Willie Hill's. To stand my ground in front of that little minx. Because I felt, to tell the God's truth, that little Lorna Lovegrove, out in Willie Hill's, was making a right gom out of me.

2007, John Maher, The Luck Penny, page 145:

He had a sinking feeling that he'd made a right gom of himself, hanging onto her until the last before she departed […]

"Yeah! She's a right gom! Sister Eleanor probably got her an old-age pensioner to keep her company for the Christmas!"

2014, Martha Long, Ma, I'm Gettin Meself a New Mammy, →ISBN:


usquebaugh

en-noun

usquebaugh (countable and uncountable, plural usquebaughs)

usquebaughs (plural)
uskebeaghe (alternative obsolete)
usquebath (alternative obsolete)
usquabae (alternative Scotland obsolete)
usquebae (alternative Scotland obsolete)
whiskybae (alternative Scotland obsolete)

[Alt: A glass with a round bottom which tappers to the lip, served with usquebaugh.]
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *wed-
Proto-Indo-European *-r̥
Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der.
Proto-Celtic *udenskyos
Old Irish uisce
Irish uisce
Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós
Proto-Celtic *biwos
Proto-Celtic *-tūts
Proto-Celtic *biwotūts
Old Irish bethu
Irish beatha
Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.
Irish uisce beathabor.
Old Irish uisce
Scottish Gaelic uisge
Old Irish bethu
Scottish Gaelic beatha
Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.
Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor.
English usquebaugh
Borrowed from Irish uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha (“whiskey or whisky”, literally “water of life”) (a calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae (“distilled alcohol, liquor”, literally “water of life”)), from Irish uisce, Scottish Gaelic uisge (“water”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”)) + Irish beatha, Scottish Gaelic beatha (“life”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)), Doublet of whiskey and whisky.

der

[R]emember the Lo[rd] Admyrall [Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham] and the Lord Threasurer [Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset] with a couple of Pugges or some vscough baugh or some such toyes, it would shew that you do not neglect them, whoe, I protest, are to you wonderfull kynde.

1600 October 4 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Robert Cecil, “[Letter] X”, in John MacLean, editor, Letters from Sir Robert Cecil to Sir George Carew (Camden Series; 88), [London]: […] [John Bowyer Nichols and Sons] for the Camden Society, published 1864, →OCLC, page 33:

[I]f you ſcape vvith life, and take a fagot boat, and a bottle of Vſquebaugh, come home poore men, like a type of Theames Street ſtinking of pitch and poore Iohn.

c. 1613–1616 (date written), Fra[ncis] Beaumont, Jo[hn] Fletcher, The Scornful Ladie. A Comedie. […], London: […] [John Beale] for Myles Partrich, […], published 1616, →OCLC, Act II, signature E, recto:

The Iriſh prepare a diſtilled Oenomeli made vvith Honey, VVine and ſome herbs, vvhich they cal Vſquebach, not unfit for a nation that feeds on fleſh ravv, or but half ſod.

1658, Tho. Mouffet [i.e., Thomas Muffet, et al.], “The Theater of Insects: Or, Lesser Living Creatures. […]. Chapter V. Of the Name, Difference and Use of Honey.”, in J[ohn] R[owland], transl., The History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents: […], revised edition, London: […] E. Cotes, for G[eorge] Sawbridge […], T. Williams […], and T. Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 913:

But as to uſquebagh; ah long life to the liquor—it is an exhilirator of the bovvels, and a ſtomatic to the head; I ſay, Mr. Preſident, it invigorates, it ſtimulates, it—in ſhort it is the onlieſt liquor of life, and no man alive vvill die vvhilſt he drinks it.

1762, [Samuel] Foote, The Orators. […], Dublin: […] Thomas Richey, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 54:

VVhat dangers thou canſt make us ſcorn! / VVi' tippeny, vve fear nae evil; / VVi' uſquabae, vve'll face the devil!— […]

1790 (date written; published 1791), Robert Burns, “Tam o’ Shanter. A Tale.”, in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 2nd edition, volume II, Edinburgh: […] T[homas] Cadell, […], and William Creech, […], published 1793, →OCLC, page 201:

He [Robert Burns] might have traced his habit of ale-house tippling to the last long precious draught of his favourite usquebaugh, which he took in the prospect of bidding farewel for ever to his native land; […]

1818, William Hazlitt, “Lecture VII. On Burns, and the Old English Ballads.”, in Lectures on the English Poets. […], London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, →OCLC, page 260:

[A]re the Gael to-day of softer flesh or whiter blood than their fathers were? Knock the head out of a cask of usquebae, let that be their night gear— […]

1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VI, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume III (A Legend of Montrose), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 269:

[W]hat does my noble captain drink—is it brandy, rum, usquebaugh? Is it soaked gunpowder, or blazing oil? Give it a name, heart of oak, and we'd get it for you, if it was wine from a bishop's cellar, or melted gold from King George's mint.

1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 8.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 278:

["]But, oh, I hope the dear old lady will get well very quickly." / "If usquebaugh can mend her, no doubt the recovery will be rapid," answered the Major, laughing.

1882, [Mary Elizabeth Braddon], “Cupid and Psyche”, in Mount Royal […], volume I, London: John and Robert Maxwell […], →OCLC, page 214:

You’re darned witty. Three drams of usquebaugh you drank with Dan Deasy's ducats.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 9: Scylla and Charybdis]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 190:

The drowned man was naked from the waist down and wrapped in a sodden cape. / "Get some blankets round him, Shem. And hand me the usquebaugh." / "The usquebaugh? That's as like to kill him off as bring him round." / It was a home brew, potent as fire.

1981, T[homas] Coraghessan Boyle, “The Niger [You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down]”, in Water Music […] (An Atlantic Monthly Press Book), Boston, Mass.; Toronto, Ont.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 70:

Kit coughed over a noggin of usquebaugh.

1993, Anthony Burgess, “Part 2”, in A Dead Man in Deptford, London: Hutchinson, →ISBN, page 183:

(chiefly Ireland, Scotland, dated or archaic) Whiskey or whisky.


amadan

McGilded: What are ye playin' at?! Have ye forgotten who you're workin' for, ye useless Eastern amadan!

2015, Capcom, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures, published 2021, level/area: The Adventure of the Runaway Room:


secondary school

en-noun

secondary school (countable and uncountable, plural secondary schools)

One of the key roles played by the Whitby line is the transport of children from rural spots along the branch to secondary school in the coastal town.

2019 October, James Abbott, “Esk Valley revival”, in Modern Railways, page 77:

(education, UK, Ireland, Hong Kong) A state school attended between the ages of 11 and 16 or 18 between primary school and university.


polluted

en-adj

polluted (comparative more polluted, superlative most polluted)

more polluted (comparative)
most polluted (superlative)

"[He was] Absolutely polluted. He was SO drunk that he had to be helped into the cab!" "White, you are crazy! Jack Fielding was never drunk in his life!"

In a very 'ugly' mood, I got absolutely polluted and drunk the next night in San Diego for the very first time in my life. I got into a bar fight at the 'China Doll Bar,' hit a cop who had questioned my legal drinking age and pushed me when I felt that he[…]

2014 January 16, Bill Aken, Carry Your Own Guitar: From Abandoned Child to Legendary Musician - the True Story of Bill Aken, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN:

"God, Adam. You're absolutely polluted. What have you been drinking?" "Whiskey," Hagen responded. "Beer, too, I'm afraid. I'm actually on the verge of sobriety , a condition I intend on rectifying as soon as both of you leave the premises[…]"

2020 August 25, William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone, Bury the Hatchet, Pinnacle Books, →ISBN:


DIRT

Deposit Interest Retention Tax
w:Deposit Interest Retention Tax

(Ireland) Acronym of Deposit Interest Retention Tax.


cushty

cushty (comparative more cushty, superlative most cushty)

more cushty (comparative)
most cushty (superlative)
cushdy (alternative)
cushdie (alternative)
cushti (alternative)
kushti (alternative)

From Romani kushto, kushti (“good”). Perhaps influenced by cushy.

"That's right," said Tom. "You'll be all right, though. The old dame says as how she'll be able to do it cushty. She wouldn't be doing it otherwise. You see, if anything was to happen she'd get done fer murder."

1937, James Curtis, There Ain't No Justice, page 239:

I hadn't felt that cushty since the time I went down Our Lady of the Divine Rosary for confession. As I told Father O'Keith, I'd bought some gear off Sunglasses Ron and Paddy the Greek that wasn't entirely kosher.

1990, John Haselden, The Trotter Way to Millions, BBC Books, page 81:

A blackmailer who bragged on Facebook of his “cushty” life in prison has had time added to his sentence.

2015 December 9, Gareth Lightfoot, “Prisoner who boasted of 'cushty' life in jail on Facebook has sentence increased”, in The Daily Mirror:

Looking back at the season, it’s been a hell of a year for us. I’ve learned a hell of a lot, the team’s learned a hell of a lot and it’s only going to help us moving forwards into next season with a stronger car and a stronger driver. It’s going to be cushty!

2016 October 5, Ian Gallagher, quoting Tom Ingram, “Tom Ingram to stay with Speedworks Motorsport in 2017”, in Touring Car Times:

The Roodee feature has been a happy hunting ground for jump trainers in recent seasons and Alan King looks to have found a cushty opportunity for his five-year-old who was last seen running a blinder in the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham festival.

2017 May 9, Sam Turner, “Robin Goodfellow's racing tips: Best bets for Wednesday, May 10”, in The Daily Mail:

(British, Ireland, slang) Excellent, very good.


like the new time

He was running like the new time when the dog chased him.

(simile, colloquial, Ireland) Furiously or vigorously, repeatedly.


jarp

Borrowed from Scots jaup (“(noun) dash or splash of mud, water, etc.; broken piece, fragment; light blow, slap; (verb) of water: to dash; to splash; to cause a splash by striking the surface of or throwing water; to bespatter or splash (mud, water, etc.); (obsolete) to knock about, manhandle”), perhaps from jalp, jilp (“to spill, splash, squirt”), probably originally imitative of a splash.

bor

Making these Easter or anytime decorated hard-boiled eggs is a tradition in northern England where they are known as paste eggs (or pace eggs as they are called in other areas). They are used in jarping competitions, in which each child holds an egg pointy end up and tries to crack their opponent's egg with one jarp, without breaking their own. Then everyone eats the eggs.

2017, Linda Tubby, “Flower-power Paste Eggs”, in Cracked: Creative and Easy Ways to Cook with Eggs, London: Kyle Books, →ISBN:

(Cumbria, Ireland, Northumberland, Yorkshire, games) The act of knocking one's pace egg (“a coloured hard-boiled egg traditionally made at Easter”) against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other's egg and leaving one's own intact, an Easter custom in many countries.

pääsiäismunien yhteen napautus

act of knocking one’s pace egg against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other's egg and leaving one’s own intact, an Easter custom in many countries


jarp

en-verb

jarp (third-person singular simple present jarps, present participle jarping, simple past and past participle jarped)

jarps (present singular third-person)
jarping (participle present)
jarped (participle past)
jarped (past)

Many of the lads, however, have a much speedier method of either adding to their store of food or losing their egg. They jaup or jarp them together, i.e. one lad strikes his egg against that of his opponent, when one or both are broken; if only one, it is forfeited and becomes the property of the conqueror.

1898, Richard Blakeborough, “Customs of the Year and Folklore”, in Wit, Character, Folklore & Customs of the North Riding of Yorkshire […], London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press […], →OCLC, page 77:

Jarping hard-boiled eggs (sometimes the painted ones, but often we didn't want to sacrifice our laboriously decorated works of art) on Easter Monday; it was like conkers – you jarped one end of your pace egg against the end of someone else's and the winner was the egg that hadn't cracked, or still had one end intact.

1960s, Steve Roud, quoting a person from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, “The Children’s Year”, in The Lore of the Playground: One Hundred Years of Children’s Games, Rhymes & Traditions, London: Random House Books, published 2010, →ISBN, part 7 (Superstition and Tradition), page 481:

Here he [Sid Chaplin] learnt to swim and how to jarp Easter eggs; he played with penkers, and shutty ring with glass alleys, and sometimes the men joined in games of tipcat.

1987, Sid Chaplin, “The Night of the News”, in Michael Chaplin, Rene Chaplin, editors, In Blackberry Time, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear: Bloodaxe Books, →ISBN, page 72:

(transitive, Cumbria, Ireland, Northumberland, Yorkshire, games) To knock (a pace egg) against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other's egg and leaving one's own intact.

napauttaa pääsiäismunia yhteen

to knock (a pace egg) against that of an opponent, with the aim of cracking the other’s egg and leaving one's own intact


div

(UK, Ireland, uncountable, slang) Divinity, as a school subject.


div

UK, 1980s. Clipping of divvy (“a foolish person”).

Too many commentators are quick to accuse their enemies of being evil. It's far, far more effective to point out that they're acting like divs instead.

2012, Caitlin Moran, Moranthology, Ebury Press, published 2012, page 13:

To put it bluntly – without wanting to attract the ire of mental-health charities – he was a div who went schizo.

2016, Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons & Rob Gibbons, Alan Partridge: Nomad, page 145:

Zoe reads a lot and isn't a div like girls as pretty as her can be.

2017, Shappi Khorsandi, Nina Is Not OK, page 2:

(UK, Ireland, slang) A foolish person; an idiot.


sticky-backed plastic

British television show Blue Peter invented the term due to its policy against using commercial terms on-air. The commercial term for the product was Fablon.

For today's make, you'll need a good sheet of blue sticky-backed plastic, a pen and a washing-up bottle.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) large sheet of thin, soft, coloured plastic that is sticky on one side


loo roll

en-noun

loo roll (countable and uncountable, plural loo rolls)

We need to buy some more loo rolls; we've run out.

(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, informal) toilet roll


wobbler

(slang, UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A sudden unexpected outburst of anger or rage; a tantrum.

(slang, British, Ireland, Islam, derogatory) a Salafi.


jarvey

jarvies (plural)
jarveys (plural)
jarvie (alternative)
jarvy (alternative)

Two origins have been suggested, although there is no solid evidence for either:
* They are named after Saint Gervais.
* They are named after a coachman named Jarvis.

[…] Dublin residents, like those jarvies waiting news from abroad, would tempt any ancient mariner who sailed the ocean seas to draw the long bow about the schooner Hesperus and etcetera.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 16:


Pape

If it was just Papes, if they were going to fight ye, ye would just fight them back.

2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 54:

(chiefly Scotland, Ireland, derogatory) A Roman Catholic; a Papist.


postcode

poskode

The Environment Agency says it is mainly the most deprived postcodes that are the most flood-prone.

2007 July 3, Polly Toynbee, “If Chelsea were under water, it would be taken seriously”, in The Guardian:

(UK, Ireland) A sequence of letters and numbers added to a postal address to aid the sorting and delivery of post or mail.

(by extension) The region denoted by such a sequence.


morto

en-adj

morto (comparative more morto, superlative most morto)

more morto (comparative)
most morto (superlative)

I was, to use the vernacular, bleedin' morto. My shame notwithstanding, the whole day was a blast.

2007 March 21, Kilian Doyle, "An iconic parade" The Irish Times (Dublin) Motoring p.3

Robbie’s had some pretty embarrassing moments over the years. What better time than now to take a stroll down memory lane? Here are his most morto moments.

2013 February 21, Louise McSharry, “Robbie Williams’ most morto moments of all time”, in Daily Edge:

Yes, Dan left the game early because he "wanted to miss the traffic and get a kebab on the way home" - after which Coventry scored twice. Morto.

2013 May 20 "Early trouble" The Irish Times (Dublin) Sport p.2

(Ireland, slang) Very embarrassed or embarrassing.


great northern diver

en-noun

great northern diver (plural great northern divers)

From the fact that the species is a diver, the largest or greatest of those regularly found off the British Isles, which has a very northerly range (no further south than the British Isles).

(UK, Ireland) A large member of the diver family, Gavia immer, commonly breeding in North America, where it is known as the as common loon.


munter

Late 1990s, presumably from munt (“to vomit”) and munted (“inebriated; disgusting”) + -er, perhaps with influence from Turkish mantar (“mushroom”).

I'm never going to date her; she's a right munter.

(UK, Ireland, slang, derogatory) An ugly person.


Groceries Order

(Ireland, colloquial) The Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order 1987, a law that (until revoked in 2006) prohibited below-cost selling.


CAO

Central Applications Office
w:Central Applications Office

(Ireland) Initialism of Central Applications Office, the official body tasked with handling applications for students' first year of college.


Janey Mack

janey mac (alternative)
Janey mac (alternative)
Janey Mac (alternative)
janey mack (alternative)
Janey mack (alternative)

Jackie: Oh, Janey Mack! I wish I had.

1998, Kirk Jones, Waking Ned, Tomboy films:

— Have you the key? a voice asked.
— Dedalus has it, Buck Mulligan said. Janey Mack, I'm choked.

1922, James Joyce, chapter 1, in Ulysses:


grinds

You're not top of the class in English, he points out. She licks her teeth, unconcerned. Maybe you should give me grinds, Connell, she says.

2018, Sally Rooney, Normal People, page 2:

(Ireland, colloquial) Tutoring; extra lessons in a specific subject outside of school hours.


gick

If I did a gick in me pants he'd kill me!

1993, Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, Penguin Books, page 1:


Tayto

From Tayto (Northern Ireland), a manufacturer of crisps and corn snacks; presumably from potato.


ta ta

→ Burmese: တာ့တာ (ta.ta), တာတား (tata:)

desc

→ Malayalam: റ്റാറ്റാ (ṟṟāṟṟā)

→ Malayalam: റ്റാറ്റാ (ṟṟāṟṟā)

ta-ta (alternative)
tata (alternative)
ta tah (alternative)
ta-tah (alternative)
tah tah (alternative)
tah-tah (alternative)

“[…]Well, ta-ta, sweetheart! Don′t expect me back to lunch.”

1917, Henry Handel Richardson, Australia Felix, The Echo Library, published 2007, page 229:

1923 (recorded 1900), Ed Smith (Cranbrook Courier), Reminiscences of Kootenay Pioneers, recalling an event claimed to be the origin of the place name Ta Ta Creek; viewed in British Columbia archives),
Red put the spurs to his horse and galloped away: “Ta ta, friends, I′ve business up the trail.”

‘No more questions? Then I′ll be off. Ta-ta.’

1967, Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock, page 55:

(chiefly Commonwealth, UK, Ireland, informal, colloquial) Goodbye.


ejit

(Ireland, colloquialism) Alternative spelling of eejit (A fool or idiot)


jemmy

(archaic, UK, Ireland, slang) A sheep's head used as food.


pissy bed

From their use as a diuretic; compare French pissenlit.


big picture

From a figurative sense of picture meaning "situation." First attested in 1904.

(British, Ireland, dated) The main film in a double feature.


costermonger

costermongers (plural)
costardmonger (alternative)
coster-monger (alternative)

From costard (“cooking apple”) + monger.

I cannot tell, vertue is of ſo little regard in theſe coſtar-mongers times, that true valour is turnd berod […]

c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

The Saint Monday Gemmen held their diversions on the 18th, near Clay-hill, which consisted of a pugilistic exhibition between G. Wilkie, a coster-monger, and Jeffery Smith, a professor, but little calculated to astonish the spectators at his professional skill. The battle was for ten guineas; and, after a contest of about forty minutes, in which the combatants were decently feaked, and the head of Jeffery was a good deal disfigured, he resigned the contest, and the coster-monger was carried to Westminster in triumph, [...]

1808 January 18, “Sporting Intelligence”, in The Sporting Magazine, or Monthly Calendar, of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase, and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the Man of Pleasure, Enterprize, & Spirit, volume XXXI, number 184, London: Printed for J. Wheble, 18, Warwick Square, →OCLC, page 208:

We arrived at Lincoln’s Inn Fields without any new adventures, except encountering an unlucky donkey in a costermonger’s cart, who suggested painful associations to my aunt.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 23, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

1889, Oscar Wilde, “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” Chapter 1, in Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories,
He was an extraordinary old aristocrat, who swore like a costermonger, and had the manners of a farmer.

He had loved too well to imagine himself a glorious racehorse, and now he was condemned to toil without honour like a costermonger’s donkey.

1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter XIII, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, pages 160–161:

The twilight was still in the dusky skies; the walking took her nearly always over pieces of wrapping paper and banana peels, and the sawdust and detritus that fell from the costermongers’ stalls, lining all the roadways.

1913, Ford Madox Ford, chapter 7, in Mr. Fleight, London: Howard Latimer, page 93:

(UK, Ireland) A trader who sells fruit and vegetables from a cart or barrow in the street.

(UK, Ireland, originally) An apple-seller, usually itinerant and selling from a cart.


clatty

en-adj

clatty (comparative clattier, superlative clattiest)

clattier (comparative)
clattiest (superlative)

(Ireland, Scotland) shabby, dirty, greasy.


clatty

(Ireland, Scotland) A shabby, slovenly person.


shinner

An approximation of the pronunciation of Irish sinn (/ʃɪnʲ/) written using English orthography, with -er.

(Ireland, slang, derogatory) a member or supporter of Sinn Féin.


pillock

In the middle of the 16th century, the meaning was "penis". Probably from pillicock (“penis; boy, man”), presumably akin to the slang term dickhead (“inept fool”). Alternatively, from the same basis as pillicock (compare regional Norwegian pill (“penis”)) + the diminutive suffix -ock.

What is it now, you great pillock?

1970 October 27, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Butcher Who is Alternately Rude and Polite:

Take your Typhoon up there and swat the annoying mosquito out of the sky by challenging the infantile pillock to a classic World-War-II-era dogfight like a real man, to show them who the real king of European airspace is.

2021 March 19, Bosnian Ape Society, 3:55 from the start, in Is Your Car Safe From Supermaneuverable Air-Defense Fighter Aircraft?, archived from the original on 2022-08-07:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, slang) A stupid or annoying person; a simpleton; a fool.


landgrabber

To destroy the power of the landlord you must refuse to help him in his cruel work of eviction […] Don't buy anything from a landgrabber. [However,] If the landgrabber sends his children to school, don't drive them away.

1886, Consul Willshire Butterfield, The University of Michigan, page 213:

They were not called upon either morally or legally to hold social intercourse with a notorious liar; and the sins of theft and falsehood were venial sins compared with the sin of the landgrabber, who, in coveting his neighbour's[…]

1890, Great Britain. Special Commission to Inquire into Charges and Allegations Against Certain Members of Parliament and Others, Report of the Proceedings Before the Commissioners Appointed by the Act, page 100:

Israel gained the reputation of being an intransigent, a landgrabber, whose final goal is to incorporate all or a great portion of the[…]

(especially Ireland) One in the possession or occupancy of land from which another has been evicted; one who engages in a landgrab.


yellowbelly

* From yellow + belly.
* (someone from Lincolnshire or Isle of Ely): An allusion to the frogs and yellow-bellied eels caught there.


shafted

en-adj

shafted (comparative more shafted, superlative most shafted)

more shafted (comparative)
most shafted (superlative)

(slang, UK, Ireland) Cheated; screwed; ripped off.


paralytic

paralytic (comparative more paralytic, superlative most paralytic)

more paralytic (comparative)
most paralytic (superlative)
paralytick (alternative obsolete)
parlatic (alternative Ireland)
palatic (alternative Geordie)
pallatic (alternative Geordie)

/ˌpæɹəˈlɪtɪk/

Borrowed from French paralytique, from Latin paralyticus, from Ancient Greek παραλυτικός (paralutikós, “paralyzed”).

der

Are the para-olympics the events in which the olympians, having finished their events in the normal olympics, go out and get pissed and then compete again?
ie: the para-olympics become the paralytic olympics.

1996 August 18, Ben McCulloch, “Para-olympics”, in aus.jokes (Usenet):

I'm amazed I survived so much drunken driving. Once he was so paralytic he even made me drive, and I was about 14 and barely able to see above the steering wheel. At least it was an automatic.

1999 January 3, David McLoughlin, “Gundagai - Last Use Of Line?”, in aus.rail (Usenet):

He hasn't even been openly accused of anything bar drinking himself paralytic at a time that, in hindsight, was inconvenient.

2001 May 24, Peter Ryan, “ablett no from hall of fame”, in aus.sport.aussie-rules (Usenet):

On returning to his friends at the bar he remarked " there's a fellow in the jaxx and he's just paralytic. He must be heading for the boat and didn't quite make it."

2002 April 16, C e r b e r u s - T h e D o g O f H e l l, “On the Isle of Man.”, in free.jokes (Usenet):

(UK, Australia, Ireland, slang) Very drunk.


souper

(Ireland, historical) Someone who, during the Irish famine, supplied food such as soup to Catholics who converted to Protestantism.

Croghan Soupers

(Ireland, historical) A (former) Catholic who converted to Protestantism in order to gain such food.


recce

en-noun

recce (countable and uncountable, plural recces)

recces (plural)
recco (alternative)
reccy (alternative)

1953, J. (Julian) Maclaren-Ross, The Weeping and the Laughter: A Chapter of Autobiography
Visiting the town on what in the more recent war we called a recce, she arranged a tennis-match with Dolly, guessing that the girl would be a bad loser.

As he climbed into the car, his recce of the space behind the seats was still a little too obvious despite best efforts at subtlety.

2006, Vincent Tuckwood, Karaoke Criminals:

I'm afraid you two will have to go on a bit of a recce sometime soon.

He'd be over at Christmas to do a proper sort-through of Velerie's things, but in the meantime could Shannon have a quiet recce and make sure everything was secure?

2016, Laurence Fearnley, The Quiet Spectacular, →ISBN, page 92:

Rona disappeared into the little kitchenette and Nicol made a recce of the room.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 279:

1946, United States. Congress. American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack
There appears a captured photograph showing cruiser or battleship recovery of an old Jap float recce plane.

These record imagery from all three recce sensors - IR, EO and SAR.

2006, Tony Holmes, US Marine Corps And RAAF Hornet Units of Operation Iraqi Freedom:

Reconnaissance (recce) patrols were the most effective solution that the British and Indian Army designed to identify Japanese units and their intentions, as these could move through the jungle without alerting the enemy to their presence.

2006, Hew Strachan, Big Wars And Small Wars: The British Army and the Lessons of War in the 20th Century:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, military slang) Reconnaissance.


recce

en-verb

recce (third-person singular simple present recces, present participle recceing, simple past and past participle recced or recce'd or recceed)

recces (present singular third-person)
recceing (participle present)
recced (participle past)
recced (past)
recce'd (participle past)
recce'd (past)
recceed (participle past)
recceed (past)
recco (alternative)
reccy (alternative)

→ Malay: riki

I told the boys to stock up with all they could, and went back to the village to recce for someone to pay as per orders.

1961, John Sibly, You'll Walk to Mandalay: A Novel:

Take him down there with Entry Two and recce first. If he can't confirm it, we pull out.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, military slang) Reconnoitre.


omadhaun

From Irish amadán, introduced into English via literature and political speech.

[…] an Omadhaun is a man who began life with some sense, but lost most of it on his journey.

1906, Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson, A Story of Outback Life:

It is supposed—they say, you know—to take place in the depot where they get these thundering big country fellows, omadhauns, you know, to drill.

1905 (date written), James Joyce, “Grace”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC, page 198:

Tin trumpets some of the omadhauns had brought along to bray with […]

"No, you omadhaun. It bites your shoulder, rips it right off."

(Ireland) A fool, someone who is out of their senses, simpleton.


mam

Alteration or clipping of mama. Compare Scots mam, Early Scots mame (“mother”), mamye (“wet nurse”), Saterland Frisian Määme (“mother”), West Frisian mem (“mother”).
Alternatively, possibly either conserved from or influenced by earlier Brythonic language.

She'd sit by the fire, arms crossed, demanding that Ruby spike her tea with a cinder. But Ruby would never give in to her demands, no matter how much her mam begged. There was no alcohol in the house now; Arthur had made sure of that in an effort to get Mary sober.

(UK, Ireland, regional, informal, colloquial) Mum, mom; diminutive of mother.


goodness me

(idiomatic, UK, Ireland) An expression of mild surprise.


drink-driving

A man has been arrested in Huoshan county near Luan for drink-driving after he rang up the police by mistake and then challenged an officer to a fight,[…]

2014 October 9, Wu Nan, “Drink-driving bungle; Fake goods up in flames; Ex-official denies gambling”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-10-12, China Insider:

Another outcome of rising motor car use was the increased danger around Christmas through drink-driving, which became a matter of particular concern among policy makers.

2023 December 27, David Turner, “Silent lines...”, in RAIL, number 999, page 29:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Operation of a motor vehicle after recently consuming an alcoholic beverage.

A reformed alcoholic with an “appalling” history of drink-driving between three and five times the legal limit was jailed yesterday.

2008 June 26, Rae Wilson, “Ex-alcoholic jailed for repeat drink-driving”, in Sunshine Coast Daily, Australia:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, law) A criminal offence committed by a person who operates a vehicle when the measured amount of alcohol in his or her blood exceeds the legal limit.


chipper

'Yes, and CCTV on the drink link and at Fabio's chipper.'

(Ireland, North East Scotland, slang) A fish and chip shop, or more generally a cheap fast food outlet, typically selling chips and other deep-fried foods.


have one's Weetabix

have one's Weetabix (third-person singular simple present has one's Weetabix, present participle having one's Weetabix, simple past and past participle had one's Weetabix)

has one's Weetabix (present singular third-person)
having one's Weetabix (participle present)
had one's Weetabix (participle past)
had one's Weetabix (past)

From a slogan used to advertise the cereal Weetabix.

(UK, Ireland) To prepare to exhibit plenty of vitality or strength or other superior performance.


no-one

(chiefly British, Commonwealth and often Canada, Ireland) Alternative form of no one.


donkey's years

1876 or earlier. Possibly chosen because donkeys can be long-lived animals. Despite the similarity, pre-dates and likely not directly related to donkey's ears, a less frequently used rhyming slang term for years.

donkeys' years (alternative)
donkey's (alternative)

Didn't you ask him how long it had been in his possession?
I can't recollect that. I might have done so.
Didn't he say for years and years and donkey's years?

With a heavy make-up, you’ll be the cutest vamp I’ve seen in donkey's years.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, idiomatic) A long time, years and years.


WAG

Back-formation from WAGs (“wives and girlfriends”).

back-formation

The World Cup WAGs are a good example of this. The younger girls, nicknamed the ‘hen-night crowd’ and led by Colleen McLoughlin, dance on tables and drink until the early hours while No. 1 WAG Victoria Beckham remains aloof, dining sedately with Ashley Cole’s fiancee, Cheryl Tweedy.

2006 July 2, Lucy Rock, The Observer, page 20:

In Wimbledon, the tennis WAGs and - just as excitingly - HABs (Husbands and Boyfriends) have been appearing courtside, enthusiastically cheering on their beloved other halves with a degree of style.

association football
association football

(informal, UK, Ireland) A wife or girlfriend of a sports star or other celebrity, originally and especially of an association football player.


sugan

Borrowed from Irish súgán (“rope”), from Proto-Celtic *souggo, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sew- (“to bend, to cut, to drive”), see also Sanskrit सुवति (suvati). Doublet of soogan.

der

(Ireland) A wooden chair with a seat made from woven straw or twine stretched over the frame.

cathaoir shúgáin

a wooden chair with a seat made from woven straw or twine stretched over the frame


delope

en-verb

delope (third-person singular simple present delopes, present participle deloping, simple past and past participle deloped)

delopes (present singular third-person)
deloping (participle present)
deloped (participle past)
deloped (past)

The old man raised his arm as though it had been palsied, and fired, of course without effect. The other principal immediately deloped, much to the satisfaction of my friend and all present.

1868, Andrew Steinmetz, The Romance of Duelling in All Times and Countries, volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, page 107:

Scuddy said simply, “You deloped, Lord Harry. I was very proud of you.” “Deloped? Come, Scuddy, one delopes with a pistol. Our duel was with foils.”

2003, Catherine Coulter, Lord Harry, Penguin, →ISBN, page 326:

(obsolete, Ireland, British) To fire a gun into the air in order to end a duel.


cashpoint

cashpoints (plural)
cash point (alternative)

A genericization of Cashpoint, originally a registered trademark of Lloyds Bank introduced in 1972, from cash + point.

Gordon Brown today urged police across England and Wales to offer to walk the last mile home with people who feel unsafe after they visit the cashpoint.

2009 May 12, Alan Travis, “Gordon Brown urges police to walk people home from cashpoint”, in The Guardian:

automated teller machine
automated teller machine

(UK, Ireland, banking) An automated teller machine.


bugger up

bugger up (third-person singular simple present buggers up, present participle buggering up, simple past and past participle buggered up)

buggers up (present singular third-person)
buggering up (participle present)
buggered up (participle past)
buggered up (past)

Tok Pisin: bagarap

/ˈbʌɡə(ɹ)ʌp/

I've buggered up the sudoku somehow and can't finish it.

Well, he only buggers up one sentence, and that's the first one. He says, 'Shut up, blek.' But from that point on, it was OK because I helped him with it. If I'd been there, I would have told him to say, 'Shut up, black', exactly the same as an American accent.

2016 March 15, David Dale, “John Jarratt talks new show Territory Cops and a murderous return in Wolf Creek”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, informal) To break or spoil something, or make it inoperative, useless etc.

(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, informal) To injure or harm (someone).


sod all

My holiday was rubbish: there was sod all to do.

(mildly vulgar, slang, Commonwealth, UK, Ireland) Nothing.


estate agent

(UK, Ireland) A person or company that acts in the sale, purchase, lease or maintenance of land, property, real estate etc for another.

سمسار

one acting for another in sale, purchase or lease of real estate


send down

send down (third-person singular simple present sends down, present participle sending down, simple past and past participle sent down)

sends down (present singular third-person)
sending down (participle present)
sent down (participle past)
sent down (past)

He was sent down from Oxford for theft.

(transitive, UK, Ireland, usually Oxbridge slang, dated) To suspend or expel (an undergraduate) from university.