Our ESOL students learn to communicate, gain confidence and integrate into the community. But, what about when they hear “Irishisms”?

“Irishisms” are specific Irish expressions. To help, our ESOL tutor Aileen Lebroquy has given a list of some of the most popular ones!?

• Banjaxed: Broken. The bike is banjaxed after the accident – If someone claims to be banjaxed it means they are exhausted.
• 800 years!: Used when someone is stressing how much the Irish suffered under the English occupation which lasted 800 years. 
• A céilí: A social event where you will be expected to join in some Irish Dancing.
• A jumper: Sweater/pullover.
• A round: In a pub. it’s your round. A round is when people in a group buy drinks for everyone in the group. Beware, if there are ten in the group you are expected to buy ten drinks and to drink ten drinks. If you let others buy all your drinks and never buy any you will be known as a me feiner.
• A whale of a time: Having a great time socially.
• Begrudgery: We’re a nation of begrudgers. Less true now, but it was common for people to resent the success of their neighbours. A form of jealousy.
• Chancing your arm: A phrase that was born in 1492, when the Butlers of Ormonde and the FitzGeralds of Kildare were involved in a dispute that ended by them’ going to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. When the FitzGeralds asked the Butlers to come out, so they could make peace, the Butlers refused, leading Gerald FitzGerald to suggest a hole be cut in the door, to offer his handshake – aka chancing one’s arm. The Door of Reconciliation is still there today
• Chips: French fries.
• Cop on: Intelligence. He had no cop on. Cop yourself on.
• Crisps: Chips (American)
• Cute hoor: Expressing the opinion that someone is good at making sly or slightly dishonest deals.
• Deadly: A contemporary Dublin word which to express something’s coolness.
• Donkey’s years: Years and years… A long time.
• Eejit: Idiot.
• Feck: F*%!
• Fierce weather: Bad weather. Fierce can be used just to mean very.
• Foostering: To fiddle or start small jobs without finishing. Would you stop foostering and finish the job?
• Gaff: “free gaff” Are you going around to her gaff? Free gaff usually means that parents are away. Gaff is a reference to someone’s house in the context of planning a party or a Session. 
• Gallivanting: Usually referring to young adults, drinking and flirting and having a good time, perhaps without much thought of responsibility.
• Galore: As in “go leor”, many.
• Going forward: Planning into the future.
• Grand: “A Shure, it’ll be grand!” Meaning that despite whatever is worrying you, things will work out.
• Happy out: Happy. Having a good time. 
• I will yea: I will NEVER, in my lifetime…
• I’m gonna head on: I’m going to leave now and go somewhere to continue what I’m doing. 
• Langers: Drunk.
• Lash: To go on the lash: to go drinking excessively. Lashing down: raining hard. He’s some lash: a good-looking fella. Give it a lash: attempt something.
• Like hen’s teeth: As rare as = non existant.
• Mé Féiner: He’s just a mé féiner (May fayner). This term for someone who is selfish comes from the Irish term, “mé féin”, meaning “myself”. A mé féiner is not something you want to be in Ireland.
• Minerals: Non-alcoholic fizzy drinks. Soft drinks. Fanta, Coke…
• Nixer: An additional job, often for cash and avoiding tax.
• Notions: He has grand notions about himself. To have a high opinion about oneself. He thinks he’s great.
• On the long finger: To put something on the long finger means to delay doing a task for a long time.
• Ossified: Drunk.
• Put the heart crossways in someone: To give someone a fright.
• Session: Often starting in a pub with music and drink and then followed up in someone’s house until the small hours of the morning. 
• Slainte!: Means health in Irish. Your good health. Usually when clinking or raising a glass together in a group.
• Sleeveen: A sly person who looks after themselves first. 
• Smithereens: Smashed. Broken to smithereens.
• Sorry!: You may notice that the Irish find it easy to apologise, and say sorry. You bump into someone in the street and they immediately say “sorry”.
• Splitting the stones: “The sun is so hot it is splitting the stones”. Direct translation from Irish.
• Spud: Potato.
• That dose is goin’ round: You have a cold and someone is telling you that they know of many people who have the same thing.
• The boot: The storage space in a car (trunk in American). To give someone the boot is to fire them from their job.
• The guards: The police.
• The jacks: Toilets. 
• To give out: He never stops giving out about the weather. This means complaining (or reprimanding) “It comes from the Irish: “tabhair amach” – to give out.
• Up to 90: Very energised or worried. She was up to 90 by the time I arrived late.
• Wet the tea: To make a pot of tea.
• What’s the Craic?: We had the Craic. Pronounced crack, can lead to all sorts of misunderstandings. It is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation. It is often used with the definite article – the craic – meaning “How are you?” or “What’s happening?”
• Wrecked: You’re very tired. Normally used after a big night out.
• Yoke: Thing. You have to know the context to understand how it is being used. That yoke is banjaxed.
• The Loo: The toilets.

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