Language

Language | Irishisms

Marteen Lane

We’re a unique bunch us Irish and we like to put our own mark on things, especially when it comes to language and slang.  Yes, we speak English, so we should be able to communicate easily with the other 335 million or so people who also speak English.  Yet some people claim when they visit this fair isle that it’s like we’re speaking another language.  To be honest there are times when I can’t even understand my fellow Irish man.  Yes, we talk too fast at times and our accent can be strong and difficult to understand depending on what part of the country you’re in (I’ve been slagged for being well-spoken, as a Mayo person who’s well-spoken is a rare breed 😂).  But it’s the slang words and phrases we use that flummoxe visitors.  So I’ve put together a list of my favourite slang words and phrases to help you on your travels through Ireland.

Craic

Meaning/Context: Pronounced crack and can mean two different things depending on the context.

Example:  What’s the craic?                                                                                                                                                              (How are you?)

That was great craic!                                                                                                                                                       (That was great fun!)

Banjaxed

Meaning/Context: Broken

Example: The car is banjaxed!

Gason

Meaning: Boy

Example: You’re a great gason.

Locked

Meaning: Drunk

Example: I was locked last night!

Whisht

Meaning: Be quiet or shut up!

Example: Whisht will ya!

Quare

Meaning: Very, really or strange; depending on the context.

Example: She’s a quare (strange) one.

That’s quare (very/really) funny lads!

Yoke

Meaning: Thing

Example: Pass me that yoke there!

Cat

Meaning: Bad or awful

Example: The weather is cat.

Sound

Meaning/Context: Decent/dead on/good or can describe how you’re feeling.

Example: He’s sound!

How are you?  I’m sound!

Stop the lights

Meaning/Context: Said in disbelief.

Example: England lost the rugby match.  Stop the lights!

Sucking diesel

Meaning/Cavan: We’re doing well at something or getting better at something. (I would often hear my granddad from Co. Cavan say this phrase ☺)

Example: Now we’re sucking diesel!

I will in me hole!

Meaning/Context: No chance!

Example: I will in me hole get up and sing!

A great stretch in the evenings.

Meaning/Context: The days are getting longer.

Example: There’s a great stretch in the evenings.

Ah here!

Meaning/Context: When something bad or stupid happens.

Example: She lost her phone last night.  Ah here!

I’m scarlah (scarlet) for yah (you)!

Meaning/Context: Embarrassed

Example: Didn’t all of my clothes fall out of the suitcase!  I’m scarlet for you!

Go on outa (out of) dat (that)!

Meaning/Context: You’re joking me.

Example: I spent the night stranded on a beach, I didn’t know where I was at first!  Go on out of that!

So I hope these little words and phrases will help you understand us better.  Do you have any favourite Irishisms?  Are there any I should add to the list?  Let me know!Marteen Lane (4)

178 thoughts on “Language | Irishisms”

  2. Awww thank you Rebecca 😊 Haha I work with a woman from Gorteen (outside Omagh) and I’ve learned so many words from her 😂 And welcome to the blogging community! x

  3. I really enjoyed reading this! I’m Irish-American, so I always enjoy learning new things about Ireland. My grandmother did used to say whisht. I’ve sadly never been to Mayo, the closest I’ve been to was Sligo, which I loved. I hope I’ll get a chance next time!

  4. Thank you Stella 😊 That’s cool! Haha whisht is a very west of Ireland saying but we all don’t talk like this 😂 Sligo is a beautiful county and big for surfing. I lived in Sligo town for a year. I read you’re from New York. I got to perform in Fordham University in the Bronx back in 2011. It was an amazing experience! 😊

  5. This is great! Reminds of when I visit Newfoundland, the English they speak there has so many unique phrases and words. I dated 2 different Newfoundlanders for about a half a year each, and I still have trouble understanding Newfoundland English at times.

  6. I didn’t know these! I visited Ireland for the first time last summer (absolutely loved it, so will definitely be back!). I love sucking diesel! Haha I may have to start using that 🙂

  7. I’m so glad you loved Ireland Kaylene 😊 Haha sucking diesel was a saying I got from my granddad. Let me know people’s reactions of you start using that 😂

  8. That’s interesting Jasmine as I received a letter from a new penpal who’s from Newfoundland and she said Newfoundland is the most Irish place in the world outside of Ireland. I’m dying to visit the place now 😊

  9. Love this! It’s always good to know some of the local slang. If I ever get locked out of my hotel or car in Ireland, I definitely won’t be saying “I was locked last night!” 😉

  12. I have not yet made it to Ireland but I had heard about the Irish-English phenomenon. This list will surely come in handy when I do make it to visit Ireland.

  13. I was poking a bit of fun at ourselves, we all don’t speak like this but there are the odd few who do 😊

  14. Glad you enjoyed reading it Ulli 😊 There might be something up on YouTube with some of those words so you could hear them 😊

  16. No that wouldn’t be a good idea Anshula 😊 But put ‘out’ in between ‘locked’ and ‘last’ to say ‘I was locked out last night’ we’d understand you were locked out of your room or somewhere else 😊

  17. That just made my day! I want to use banjaxed in a sentence today!!! And cat! I love how colourful the Irish slang is!

  20. Wish I had read this before going to Ireland a few weeks ago! Loved the post 🙂

  21. Glad you enjoyed it 😊 You’re right it is the most difficult part of learning a language. Some words are definitely not Celtic. I’m not sure about the others but highly unlikely. To give you an example, Banjaxed is slang for broken. But broken in Irish is briste (brish-cha). Cat is slang for terrible or awful and in Irish that’s úfásach (ewfawsack). To me the slang doesn’t sound Celtic or Irish.

  22. Haha glad you loved it 😊 Did you come across many people speaking like that?

  23. That is exactly what my Newfoundlander friends say, actually some claim to be “more Irish than the Irish”, lol. People from certain areas do have very strong Irish sounding accents and they go all out for St. Paddy’s day!

  24. Haha I’m moving to the wrong part of Canada so 😊 I’m moving to Vancouver in August.

  25. I wish I could hear how some of those are pronounced! Really enjoyed the post! 🙂

  27. Haha, this is a great list! I do use ‘craic’ and love when I hear ‘sound’ or ‘Ah here’, probably my two favourite expressions, but as a foreigner I am careful with slang. My accent still gives away I am not Irish and the mix of that and slang can come out as really weird 🙂

  29. I lived in Northern Ireland for 3 years and travelled plenty down south, but I’ve never heard some of these. Sucking diesel.. haha! So funny. When I first arrived in Belfast, it wasn’t just the lingo and the accent, but people speak so fast! It took me a while to get it down, and I’m English! Fun post!

  30. Please tell me you’ll launch a book of Irish slang??? It would be perfect! Or an online course to learn the accent (yes, I tried to read the post with an Irish accent…)

  31. This is a really great article. I was actually just reading about adopted American words that originated in Ireland. I was thinking about writing a little article on them, because they are such great words!

  33. I’ve met quite a few Irish people abroad, but hadn’t heard of many of these, aside from “craic” and “sound.” I agree with everyone who says they’d like to hear them spoken–you should definitely make a video. I’d watch it!

  34. Well, that was very insightful!

    What’s the deal with the “cat”? Why is it bad or awful 😀

    I love these kind of phrases in all languages and dialects. They are what makes the speaker unique! And also when you hear something like that and don’t get the meaning, it’s a perfect ice-breaker to ask the person 🙂

  35. What a fun read! I especially love banjaxed and cat! I’ll have to refer to these if I have the chance to go to Ireland! Would love to visit.

  36. I’m not an Irish but I enjoyed your post. Some sentences sound a bit odd. You must have a lot of fun when you use these slang words. I think it’s cute!

  38. Classic. We often talk when overseas of all the different forms of English. I’m Australian, but Americans quite often struggle with my accent. I too, with theirs. The “English” I find the hardest to understand though is Scottish. Takes me a lot of very careful listening when I’m amongst that crowd 🙂

    Loved the slang words here. There were some really interesting ones.

  43. Yes sometimes it can be quite difficult to understand someone with a Scottish accent. I love it though and the Welsh accent ☺

  45. Too funny! Isn’t language fascinating? Even without the slang, I usually have to have subtitles on when I watch Irish movies. Usually by the end I can figure things out.

  46. I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊 The odd word or phrase I’d use but try not to use them when speaking with tourists 😊

  48. I haven’t a clue to be honest Mary. It’s something I’ve just accepted. I’ll have to investigate this 😊

  49. Craic, sound and grand we speak a lot 😄 We all don’t speak like this but it’s fun to hear and read them. Will definitely work on a vlog to accompany this!

  51. Thanks Stephanie 😊 Oh I’d love to read that! We have had a big influence on America since the time of the famine.

  52. Haha there’s a specific website of Irish slang and it’s a treasure trove of words and phrases 😊 Oh gosh 😂

  53. Some of these words and phrases are regional. I had never heard of beur before until a few years ago when I heard my cousins from Co. Limerick saying it. It seems to be a relatively new slang word. And gosan, I got that from my ex-boyfriend’s grandmother in Cavan. Haha oh dear! There’s nothing worse when you can’t understand someone because they speak too fast. Thank you Hannah 😊

  58. I visited Ireland for a month – this list makes me miss it! Got to hang out with some locals in a pub and got a true sense of WTF they call English!

  63. It’s funny that when I started reading your post, I was imagining it being said in an Irish accent! 🙂 I have an impression from movies that Ireland is such a charming place with interesting people. Based on this post, Irish sure are interesting!

  64. Haha 😂 A few people have said about making a video to go with it so I’ll get to work on that. I’m so glad that’s your impression of Ireland and Irish people 😊

  73. Wow!! Simply mind blowing, apparently on one of my trips I met a Scottish guy, we all had a tough time getting used to his accent and slangs. Irish on the contrary is something that everyone wants to try but is not sure of doing so.
    Now guess I am Sucking diesel with these words.

  74. Haha go on ya good thing! 😜 Wait until I publish my post on the Irish language and add in a few words and phrases 😊

  76. Haha I wish I had read this a few weeks back prior to my trip to Dublin. You’re right – sometimes you guys speak a whole different language. I definitely struggled on more than one occasion to understand what was being said to me… and often I just settled for the nod and smile.

  77. I love Irish accent! 🙂 I just once saw an Irish movie and yeah, subtitle was my hero. Some words are too deep – Banjaxed. Haha. An identity indeed.

  79. Certain words and phrases you won’t find said in Dublin. Some are regional to certain areas. Oh that sucks! I hope that won’t stop you from coming back again.

  82. This is great and so funny! I love language so I always love posts like this. It reminds me of when I lived in Hawaii and I had to get used to all the local slang (pidgin) that they had there.

  83. Haha they were great to read! I am sure we have a few Australianisms too!

  84. Haha love this, thanks for the language guide! I’m from Australia so I completely understand! We have our own English dictionary full of slang, and half the time people have no idea what we’re saying :D!

  85. Haha these are great! When I visited Ireland I totally had a hard time understanding some people sometimes! Love the word for drunk ‘locked’ – it makes it sound a bit more classy, and like you are all in on your own little secret! Cool post!

  86. He he he this made me giggle a lot! I used to have two Irish housemates so some of these I had heard before but many were brand new. I like “banjaxed” and may start working it into my regular vocabulary. I wonder if anyone will notice… 😉

  87. Glad you enjoyed reading it Sally 😊 Yes there are and I got them all from Home & Away 😂

  90. I love fun little things like this! I studied linguistic anthropology and I can see similarities in American phrases as well! I think “I’m scarlah for yah” is my favorite! Cheers!

  91. This is freaking wild! I wish I had this guide to decipher what on earth everyone was saying when I visited Ireland! Luckily I had a good tow of locals for company who were happy to teach me the lingo. My favorite was “the craic is mighty!!” I love how much colloquial still exists in their take on the English language.

  92. I love this! I love hearing different colloquialisms from around the world. My fave was “I will in me hole”. I don’t know why that tickles me so lol. Also “sucking diesel”…we say something similar here in the U.S. (the South). We say “Now we’re cooking with gas/grease”. Great post!

  93. Thank you 😊 I’ll have to check out that post. I think Cockney slang is fascinating to listen to even though I haven’t got a clue what’s being said 😂

  96. I love Australian slang! Most of my experience of it comes from watching Home & Away 😄

  97. Haha yeah that’s a good one 😊 That’s so cool! That’s very similar. Thanks Colby 😊

  99. What an interesting course to study! Haha yeah that’s a good one. That’s a phrase specifically to Dublin 😊

  101. This is so funny! I’ve only been to Ireland once but this is all so true. Hoping to go back there later this year so am really pleased I’ve stumbled across this.

  103. There are so many of these that I have never even heard of! Some don’t even make sense ha ha. This is a good guide for anyone who is heading to Ireland!

  104. Haha, these made my day! :)) Now I’m prepared to visit Ireland! Hope the weather won’t be ..cat when I go there 😀

  105. This is such a fun post! I’ll admit that I have a though time understanding the Irish, but the Scottish are the most difficult!

  107. Thank you Mark 😊 I’d love to read that! I have Home & Away to thank for some of the Australian slang I know 😊

  110. Glad you enjoyed reading it Andreea 😊 😂 it might be unfortunately 😕

  111. Being Irish even I have a tough time understanding my own people. Some of us talk way too fast and have a very strong accent.

  115. I love language, and I have Irish heritage, so I found this SO interesting! I was in a bookstore yesterday and started reading a coffee table book called Speaking American. It talks about different accents and vocabulary used throughout the United States (and has maps to go along with it)–it’s fascinating!

  116. That’s so cool you have Irish heritage Naomi! Have you been to Ireland? Haha could you share some examples please?

  117. No, I’ve never been to Ireland! My great-grandmother on my dad’s side was 100% Irish, and my grandpa was a red-head in his younger days. 🙂
    So in the U.S….A popular one that most people here know about is what you call a carbonated beverage (like Coca-Cola). Depending on the region of the US, it is called pop, soda, or just coke (whether you want a Pepsi or Coca-Cola or ginger ale–they’re all called “coke”). Another one that was funny to me was what you call the weather when it’s rainy but the sun is shining. I’ve always called that a “sun shower” (makes sense) but in a lot of areas of the country, they just don’t have a word for it.
    This post has a bunch of the maps that were in the book–so interesting! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/dialect-maps_n_3395819.html

  118. That’s so cool! Do you know what part of Ireland your great-grandmother came from? Yes, we have a lot of American programmes on TV here in Ireland and I hear that a lot, ‘soda’, ‘pop’ etc. Carbonated drinks in general I call fizzy drinks, Coca-cola we call coke. Thanks for link, it was interesting to read ☺

  119. “Fizzy drinks”–I like it! 🙂 And no, I’m not sure where she came from. I don’t know that she herself immigrated actually–might have been her parents or grandparents. I have a cousin who did our family tree, but I think he only traced back the paternal side (which was mostly English) to when they came here–before the Revolutionary War. Maybe one day I’ll get to visit, though. I’ve been told I’d “fit right in” with how I look. 🙂

  120. I love family history, I find it so interesting. You’ll always be welcome Naomi. Yes you’d fit right in with your red hair ☺

  124. I learned so much from reading your article and had great craic! The funniest was “sucking diesel.” We’ll memorize these phrases for our next trip to Ireland. Thank you for sharing!

  125. Gason is like French’s garcon which means the same thing! And thank you for letting us know how to properly pronounce craic! I’ve always thought it was pronounced as “krayk”! haha

  126. This is so funny, and just reminds me why I love the Irish and their humour! I always heard craic when I was there, but I would have killed to hear ‘I will in my hole!’ Just brilliant!

  127. Oh I very much enjoyed reading through these Irish slang list! A lot of them I didn’t know about, but when I go back to Ireland, I will listen extra closely now to these slangs!

  128. Haha this is hilarious! I guess every country has these but Irishism is probably the funniest I’ve come across. Why the hate on cats!

  129. Haha these are so funny and cute (yes, cute!). And I haven’t heard of most of them actually! Loved reading this post, I’m sure it’ll help me look less stupid and fit in much better when I travel to Ireland next year, thanks for sharing!

  130. This slang list is so hilarious AND informative! I couldnt stop giggling at some of them. I live in UK and hopefully visiting Ireland next year and i am sure your blog will come very handy. Happy travelling 🙂

  131. This is great! I seriously cannot understand Irish and Scottish and people always try to have the longest conversations with me to which i have to like smile and nod because i never know what they are talking about lol

  132. These would be useful if I’d plan to travel to Ireland. I was once in London, and it was a lot harder to understand English there than in any other European capital city I’ve been to. I guess it comes from speaking fast and using not the most proper words in the conversational language.

  133. Ahahaha, hilarious! 😀 This Will be useful when I finally make it to Ireland!

  136. lol..its a funny post.. i haven’t heard of any of the word..but pronouncing them as i was reading was fun..lol ..glad u had a great treip. 🙂

  137. Loved your post a lot! Probably because I also write a lot about interesting details in different languages.
    I loved the meaning of CAT, seems so funny!
    Also, I have an Irish friend whose English is quiet difficult yo understand.

  138. This is super – a real insight into the Irish culture….love it!! I intend to visit Ireland, anyway, so this will be a big help.
    That was great craic!!!

  139. Hahaha.. This is a refreshing list! It’s interesting to hear and perhaps get to use foreign slang words someday 😀 Pinning it for later to show my husband!

  140. This is AWESOME! I love it! Thank you for this! MY husband and I visited Ireland about 5 years ago and we always talk about going back! We LOVED the people and of course the place!!

  141. Haha glad you love it! 😊 You should definitely come back to Ireland, you’ll always be welcomed 😊

  143. I’m Irish and from Ireland so this is how some of us speak. Glad you enjoyed the post 😊

  151. I laughed all the way reading through this post, it’s true you Irish are a rare breed but we love ya for it 😀 – Being English and having the bants with the Irish just comes natural but some of the words you guys use even stumps me sometimes. Having lived and made friends with so many Irish people over the years I’ve got accustomed to most of the words you’ve listed and some others, I noticed you left off ‘grand’ …you guys use that in every sentence 😛

  152. omg loved this posts so much! Irishnish sounds really cool 🙂 When I visited earlier this year, I had some trouble understanding everything locals say haha

  153. LOL, classic. I was in a pub in Dublin a few months ago and we were all enjoying the craic when a girl came up to get into the bar area, we all started chatting and asked her where she was from. She hung her head and said Mayo. Everyone howled with laughter and it took me a while and some explaining to figure out the joke. Ah the Irish language…

  155. I’m glad it made you laugh Amit 😊 Haha yes most of us stick in the word grand but I don’t find it as funny as the others we use 😊

  156. OH MY WORD, I need to save this as a glossary! My best friend from high-school recently had a child with an Irish man, and I swear I understand about 30% of what he says! And now she’s started to pick up the phrases and even a touch of the accent… I’ve spent about 6 months pretending I understand when she said something was “good craic”. “Yoke” was pretty much the only familiar entry here, I picked it up from a Marian Keyes novel I read yonks ago… so I pretty much owe you a huge debt of gratitude right now 🙂 Keep up the good work!

  157. What part of Ireland did you visit Ella? I have problems sometimes understanding what people from Kerry or Cork are saying 😊

  160. Ahhhh I love this post so much! I used to date an Irish guy, and he said “craic” all the time, it rubbed off on me and I started saying it too. I am actually off to Ireland on Friday in fact, visiting a friend over in Bundoran – she’s from Scotland, so lets see how her accent has changed! x

  161. Haha that’s funny! Oh Bundoran is a lovely spot 😊 Hope you have fun and that your friend’s accent hasn’t changed much. I love the Scottish accent 😊

  162. I wasn’t familiar with any of these and I’m a native English speaker! I can understand when Irish people speak but I can never understand Scottish people. Between the accent and the slang I’m always lost.

  166. How funny are these Irishisms! I kept on thinking, as I was reading, “Where did these come from? How did they come about? Go on outa dat!

  167. It’s amazing how many different places speak English….but different English! We are currently in Australia and occasionally having to pull out our phones to translate!

  170. How interesting to learn these terms and phrases! Some of them like Quare and Whisht are words I have never even heard of. I am now imagining myself speaking these in pure Irish accent. 🙂

  171. This had me chuckling away! Too hilarious 🙂 “How are you?” “I’m sound!” hehehe so different and unique ! Never heard of these before! Language can be so amusing!

  172. Hahaha those are some great sayings. Particularly like the “stretch in the evenings.” That one sounds quite poetic!

  173. I’m so glad I read this, especially before St Patrick’s Day! I knew craic but that’s about it. This will also be helpful next time I’m in Ireland, thanks for sharing 🙂

  174. That’s why I could never understand my Irish mates in college!😄😄 Gason seems to come from “Garcon”, French for boy. I love Irish lilts and landscape and have to go there. Schooled in England but only did Wales.

  175. 😂 I can believe it. Yeah I heard that about gason and garçon before. Although the Irish for boy is buachaill pronounced boo-a-kill 😊

  178. I’ve been toying with the idea of making a video of me saying these phrases 😊

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