Irish Words & Phrases
The following are commonly (and not so commonly) used words/phrases and their meanings.
Acting the maggot – Fooling around.
Awful dose – Feeling really unwell.
Banjaxed – Broken
Beyond the Pale – Outside of Dublin
Bin – Trash Can
Black Stuff – Guinness
Boot – Trunk (as in car trunk…can also mean a type of shoe so, obviously, put it in context first!)
Boyo – Young male
Brutal – Awful
Bucketing Down – Raining really hard
Cart – Shopping Trolley
Chancer – Someone who takes risks/try anything (as in, “He’s such a chancer!”)
Chips – French fries
Cinema – Movie (as in the “place”…”We went to the cinema.”)
Codding Ya – Pulling someone’s leg
Cooker – Stove
Craic – Fun (sounds like “crack”).
Craic was mighty! – The fun was amazing/out-of-this-world!
Crisps – Potato chips
Culchie – Someone from the country (usually used in a derogatory sense)
Cute – Sly
Delira and Excita – Delighted and excited
Deadly – Fantastic
Donkey’s Years – A really, really long time
Dosser – A person who’s messing about, up to no good
Eat the Head Off – Challenging someone about their actions or behaviour
Eejit – Idiot/stupid
Eff Off – F*ck Off!
Effing and Blinding – Swearing
Feck Off – Beat it!
Fob – Automatic car door opener
Fierce (as in weather) – Terrible/strong (as in, “The wind is fierce.” or “It’s fierce outside.”)
Film – Movie (as in, “We went to the cinema to see a film.”)
Floozie – A woman with lose morals
Fluthered – Drunk
Football – Soccer
GAA – Gaelic Athletics Association
Gammy – Not straight, crooked
Garda – A police officer
Gardi – The police (more used in terms of “the unit”)
Gas – Funny
Give Out – Complaining/to chew someone out
Grand – Fine
Guards – Police (as in more than one police officer)
Gurrier – Hooligan
Haymes – Total mess
Hire – To rent
Howaya – Hi (usually used by someone living in inner city Dublin)
Ignorant – Stupid
It’s lashing – It’s pouring rain
It’s a soft day – It’s raining but you can walk around without an umbrella.
Jacks – Toilet
Jaysus – Jesus
Jumper – Sweater
Kip – A place that is “a dump”
Knackered – Exhausted
Lash – Raining hard or giving something a go
Leg It – Get away quickly
Locked – Very drunk
Loo – Toilet
Mam – Mom
Manky – Filthy dirty
Meet – Make-out…this is teen slang
Messages – Shopping
Messer – Someone who’s always getting into trouble
Minerals – Soft Drinks
Mobile – Cell phone
Morto – Mortified
Mum – Mom
Nixer – A job one does on the side for cash to avoid paying tax
Not the Full Shilling – No all there mentally
Old Dear – Old woman
On the tear – Going out drinking, probably will get drunk
Ossified – Drunk
Oul Fella – One’s father
Oul Dear – One’s mother
Pardon? – Excuse me?
Petrol – Gasoline
Pram/Buggy – Stroller
Press(es) – Cupboard(s) (as in, “It’s in my kitchen presses.)
Primary School – Elementary School
Puss – Sulking face
Rubber – Eraser (as in pencil eraser)
Rubbish – Trash
Savage – Great
Secondary School – Junior High and High School
School – Elementary/Junior High/High
Shattered – Exhausted
Slag – Tease, make fun of
Sorry – Excuse Me (as in, “Excuse me, may I pass through?)
Tánaiste – Deputy Prime Minister/Vice President
Taoiseache – Prime Minister/President
Thick as a plank – Stupid
Tricolour – Irish flag
W.C. – Toilets (water closet)
What’s the Story? – What’s happening?
Windscreen – Windshield
Wrecked – Exhausted
Yoke – a thing (as in, “What’s that yoke?”)
You’ll never plow a field by mulling it over in your mind. – Stop thinking about things so much and just take action.
Your Man/Your Woman – Referring to someone you are talking about
Your One – A woman the speaker is pointedly referring to (as in, “Oh, you know your one!”)
In an Irish Home 