Irish Slang and Dialect Trivia

1. Norn Iron translates as what?

From Quiz A Night Out in Northern Ireland

Answer: Northern Ireland

Simply Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and is made up of six counties predominantly in the north east of Ireland.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: blarney

I started this quiz with the definition of blarney (which can mean to cajole or beguile), as I thought I might just use my Irish charm and some blarney and get this quiz through quickly. It is said that blarney differs from malarkey in that blarney implies wheedling with humor and is more acceptable than malarkey, except for when malarkey is used in conjunction with wooing a lass.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: shoe

We humans wear brogans (two shoes). The leprechaun is usually depicted working as a "leith brogan" (one-shoe maker). Perhaps the leprechaun is not always mischievous but sometimes wise in the sense of "one foot at a time"?

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: I'm late/behind with housework.

This saying has to be one of my favourite sayings. Its meaning is light hearted and originates from Woman of Ireland - Mna na Eireann. When the common workplace for a woman was in the home, children would be washed and dressed before any other housework duties would be carried out. If a woman commented on the time of day and said, "Not a child in the house washed", it meant she was very far behind with her daily duties. Today it refers to being late.

From Quiz High Till Speak Norn Iron

Answer: How are you?

Bout ye is an abbreviated form of the greeting "How's about ye". If one is feeling particularly lazy, these two syllables can be reduced to a simple skyward nod. For those who insist on verbal communication, other common greetings in Northern Ireland include: "How's you?" "How's the form?" "Is that you?" (which can also mean "are you finished?")

From Quiz Irish Idiomatic Expressions

Answer: "Finnegan's Wake"

The original phrase is "Three quarks for Muster Mark!" and as far as I know it doesn't actually mean anything at all. Caltech physicists Murray Gell-Mann and Richard Fenyman first gave the name to the sub-atomic particles in the 1960s.

From Quiz Youthful Irish Sayings

Answer: Mother

Although the term may sound derogatory it is actually not, and is very common to hear from any person of any age in Ireland. The term "yer auld/aul man" is used when talking about someone's father.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: wail loudly

If one has ever heard an Irish peasant woman keen it is an unforgettable experience of participating in a woman's sorrow. My first experience of this is when my Irish Grandmother stood at the coffin of her son. Her expression of anguish in keening made an indelible impression on a teenage granddaughter.

From Quiz A Night Out in Northern Ireland

Answer: Frank Carson

Belfast comedian Frank Carson started in "Opportunity Knocks" and starred in many other variety shows. He died in 2012. "That's a cracker" means it is great, smashing, super.

From Quiz Youthful Irish Sayings

Answer: Hello, how are things with you?

The proper response to this saying is "like a blade", which implies that everything is fine. It is a much more common greeting in Ireland than the stereotypical "Top o' the mornin' to ya", which I have never heard spoken in real life.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: misleading

Hopefully this quiz maker is not full of malarkey and has been careful to be clear and factual not full of tricks and obfuscation as those "full of malarkey" might be.

From Quiz High Till Speak Norn Iron

Answer: A lift

In addition to completely humiliating myself by accidentally making passes at my coworkers, I also made a fool of myself in front of a local pastor. While I was visiting his home one afternoon, he offered me something to eat. I refused by telling him I was full, only to find that in Northern Ireland, the term full means drunk.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: fairy

I do not know exactly what constitutes an "old family" in Ireland, but it is said that the banshee (fairy) follows these old families, and when the banshee wails it is a portent that a member of the family will soon die. Memo: avoid banshees.

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: Very heavy rain

To say "It's lashing down" in Ireland refers to the weather and simply means that it is raining very heavily.

From Quiz Irish Idiomatic Expressions

Answer: none

This is a queer saying, and a wee bit auld-fashioned, but it can still be used by the young 'uns to confuse foreigners!

From Quiz Youthful Irish Sayings

Answer: A pretty girl

Spellings of the word beore are different throughout the country but the meaning is the same countrywide. "Beoir", a completely different word, means beer in Gaeilge (Irish).

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: health

My first experience of a toastmaster using slainte as he raised his whisky glass was perplexing. What could "s'lahnje" mean? Seeing my confusion, my friends explained that slainte was the word for health in Gaelic. I comfortably next time raised my glass and said slainte. Imagine my surprise when the dictionary gave this as its pronunciation guide, /ˈslɑːntʃə.

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: Something said to person that is not looking their best/often hung-over

"The head on you and the price of turnips" is widely used as a derogatory reference to a person's appearance. It is most commonly used to someone who looks as though they are suffering from the effects of a hangover. Although 'turnip' is the most commonly used word in this saying, it has been known to differ from each county. Some counties use the word 'cabbage' instead of turnip in this saying. The usage and meaning remain the same.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: son of

Now I am very familiar with the definition of "Mc" (son of) as it is part of my maiden name. So my father might have been "son of Guinness". Actually there was an Arthur McGuinness who began the Guinness Brewery in the 18th century and to this day this beer has stayed as popular as it was then. Imagine I, as a "McGinniss", could really be the son of a famous brewer. I shall have to investigate this new fact in my genealogy research.

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: Someone foolish

Originating from Co. Cork but widely used and understood throughout Ireland, "Some langer" is a reference to someone who is foolish and/or acting in a foolish manner.

From Quiz A Night Out in Northern Ireland

Answer: 'Bout ye

A familiar welcome which can be followed with an identifier such as son, mucker or u mawn.

From Quiz Youthful Irish Sayings

Answer: Dublin

A "skanger" also means a person from Dublin, especially one with the distinctive, thick Dublin accent. A "culchie" implies someone from a rural area. One of the meanings of the word "langer" is a person from Cork.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: padraic

Would that there were MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) on the slum streets of New York and Boston when the impoverished Irish immigrants of the early 20th century, many with the name Padraic (nickname Paddy), would revel on those streets! In their drunkenness the police came to pick them up in their wagons, giving rise to the nickname "paddy wagon". Perhaps also the expression about Irish drinking, "the curse of the Irish", would not have come into existence.

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: A person who is envious

This is widely used in Ireland. The word begrudger, from the verb begrudge, is mostly heard in the saying "Feic the begrudgers". English translation for the Gaelic 'Feic' is 'to see'. Its meaning is a dismissive reference to someone who is envious of another people.

From Quiz High Till Speak Norn Iron

Answer: Millie

The term millie came into use in Northern Ireland during the nineteenth century, when the word was used to describe the young, working class mill workers. The word is now a generic insult for any girl who is considered rude or tacky.

From Quiz A Night Out in Northern Ireland

Answer: Drunk

Unsurprisingly, they all mean drunk and they are only the "Bs". There are plenty more.

From Quiz 'Tis a Fine Broth of Words

Answer: cudgel

The name for this cudgel comes from an oak forest, Tomnafinnoge Oak Wood. This forest is between the towns of Tinahely and Shillelagh, hence the name. The oak from the forest was used to make a "bata" (fighting stick) or now commonly called a shillelagh and with humor it is sometimes called "Irish Boxing Glove." Regardless of its name, I think I would like to avoid experiencing a shillelagh.

From Quiz Irish Sayings

Answer: It's great/brilliant.

This saying originates from Co. Cork Ireland and is understood nationwide. 'Tis' is a local phrase for 'It is' and 'only massive' refers to the brilliance of something or someone.

From Quiz 'Give it a lash'

Answer: Whiskey

This refers to a measure of whiskey. Uncle Arthur is a glass of Guinness.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:52 AM

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