The American Living in Ireland — Words and Phrases
A list of words and phrases the Irish use that Americans might not.
“Giz a faggala?” Go ahead, I’ll give you three guesses on what it means. No it is not offensive to the person you are speaking to. Yes it’s a question, and I’ll give you one more hint, it’s a request. No idea? Well if you’re in Limerick, Ireland and you say this, someone will hand you a cigarette (if they are so inclined).
When I first moved to Ireland from America (Ohio to be exact) I cannot stress how high of a learning curve it was for me to learn the different slang that was being used around me. Even if I did understand the words that were being used, the way they would be put together might have made no sense. “He’ll chance his right arm…” is one way in schools they say that the kids would bold face lie to you to get away with something. This on top of some pretty thick accents made for a real challenge in my first few months of living in Dublin.
And just when you think you’re starting to understand, you move an hour down the road into the next county (their equivalent to states) and it’s a completely different accent, and completely different set of words they are using. From “I was bleeding banjaxed” in Dublin, to “Ya poor creature” in Kerry, here is a list of the words and phrases you might hear around the island and what they mean.
Disclaimer, I am born and raised in Ohio and full well believe that some of the words I am going to use might be specific to my region in Ohio, so maybe use this as a “What do they say in Ireland…and Ohio?” At the end of the list I have included some region specific words.
Words
Here is a list of some basic “need to know” words that are used around the country for the most part. Irish first, then the American/Ohioan.
- Trolly=Shopping Cart
- Car park=Parking Lot
- That strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road=Devil’s Strip
- Chips=Fries (They will use fries sometimes to refer to a specific cut of “fry”)
- Crisps=Chips
- Shift=Kiss
- Gaff=House
- Garda=Police/Cops
- Wrecked=Tired
- The boot=The trunk (of a car)
- Grand=fine/ok
- Torch=Flashlight
- Rubber=Eraser
- Copy=Notebook
- Give out=Complain
- Eejit=Idiot
- Fair play=well done
- Jumper=Sweater
- Plaster=Band-Aid
- Pram=Stroller
- Dear=Expensive
- Hoover=Vacuum
- Yoke=Literally anything — “That yoke over there”…or the drug MDMA…
- Feck=Frick
- Cat=Terrible — Used as an adjective
- Shitehawk=Idiot
Phrases
Now this is where the fun begins. Every county around Ireland has different ways to say things. Here is just a few that I found to be the most “exotic”. To start off are the more tame, universal ones, and the further we go, the more interesting they get.
- Someone walks up to you and says something along the lines of “What’s the crack?” and you’re questioning whether they are talking about a crack in the sidewalk or are asking for an illegal substance. Well it’s neither of those things, they are just greeting you and asking how you are
“What’s the craic?” = What’s up?
- Did someone just ask you if you have to relieve yourself? Odd question in the middle of this serious business meeting right? Wrong. They are asking if you are joking with what you just proposed.
“Are ya taking the piss?” = Are you joking?
- “Why did they just ask if I need a lift in their car?” you might ask yourself. Well, it’s a little more…intimate than that.
“Did you get the ride?” = Did you have sex?
- Don’t be fooled, anytime people start talking about holes, it’s probably not a good thing.
I will in me hole=I definitely will not
- On the flip side, the Irish can be a little too nice for their own good.
Ahh I wouldn’t know about that now=They are disagreeing with whatever you said
- If you have found yourself in Kerry, or “The Kingdom” as they like to say, and someone calls you something that sounds along the lines of a hole in the ground that has no money or a “poor crater”, I promise it makes a bit more sense than that.
“Ye poor crater” is actually “You poor creature” = They are sad for you.
- No they aren’t hurt, and it has nothing to do with a banjo. They are just really…really tired in Dublin, or they’ve broken something.
“I was bleedin’ banjaxed” or “It was bleedin’ banjaxed” = I was really tired or something is really broken.
To top all of this off, they will say it in a thick accent that might as well be a different language for you. I live in the Kildare/Dublin region and for the most part have gotten the accent down in some of these areas. If I go out west though, it’s a different story. When we go out to Galway, I have to have our friends translate what some of the locals are saying. Yes, it is still english, but it is a deep accented one with a lot of slang in it.
Below are a few more phrases you might hear in your travels around the Emerald Isle.
“He’s abroad in the haggart” =He’s out in the yard. Specifically farm yard.
“But sure look” = What can you do?
“The place is a kip” = Not a very nice place
“Cop on/Catch yourself on” = Get over yourself
“Acting the maggot/They were messin” = Messing or fooling around
“It’s been donkey’s years!” = It’s been a long time!
“Fair fecks/Fair play to ya” = Well done!
“Would ya hold your whisht!” = Be quite!
“Scarlet for your ma for ya” or just “Scarlet for ya”= Embarrassed for you
“I will ya” in a more sarcastic tone= I won’t
“Are ya well?/What’s the story?/Al’right, story” = How are you? (general greeting)
“I’ll let you go/goodbye”=Let’s talk for another 20–30 minutes before we actually leave
“Bye bye bye bye bye bye”= When you actually want to leave or hang up the phone
“Ok, this is great, so now if/when I do find myself in Ireland I have a better understanding of the way they speak, right?” Well yes, but also no. There are 32 counties on the island of Ireland, and every single one of them has a different way of speaking. Hell, you can drive 20 minutes down the road and they have a different word for something as simple as “boy” or “girl”. On top of that, there IS an entirely different language spoken in places around the island. It’s also on the signs! No, do not call it Gaelic, it’s Irish, plain and simple. While most people around the nation have english as their first language, there are pockets that use Irish as their first language, so good luck if you find yourself in one of these Gaeltacht’s. Being a non Irish speaker, I am not going to attempt to include any actual Irish language saying in this article as I will most likely butcher them.
So until next time, thank for reading and bye bye bye bye bye…bye…bye.
Cory Schepp
