chiseller:Dublin slang, small child.
clabber:Glutinous mess of mud, or mud and cow clap.
colloguing:Chatting about trivia.
cow's lick:Tuft of hair that sticks up, or hair slicked over to one side.
cracker:Excellent (see also wheeker).
craking on:Talking incessantly.
cruibins:Irish. Pronounced "crubeen." Boiled pigs' feet, served cold and eaten with vinegar.
cure, wee:Hair of the dog.
dab hand:Skilled at.
damper:Device for restricting the flow of air to a coal or turf fire to slow the rate of burning.
dander:Literally, horse dandruff. Used to signify either a short leisurely walk or anger. For example, "He really got my dander up."
divil:Devil.
divil the bit:None. For example, "He's divil the bit of sense." He's stupid.
doddle:A short distance or an easy task.
dote:Something adorable.
dote on:Worship.
do with the price of corn:Irrelevant.
drill-the-dome boys:Medical slang, neurosurgeons. See also Nutcrackers.
drouth, raging:Pronounced "drewth." Alcoholic.
druishin:Irish. Pronounced "drisheen."Dish made of cows' blood, pigs' blood, and oatmeal. A Cork City delicacy.
dulse:A seaweed that when dried is eaten like chewing gum.
eejit:Idiot.
egg-bound hen:A hen with an egg stuck in the oviduct that cannot be laid. Applied to a person, it suggests extreme distress.
fag:Cigarette.
fall off the perch:Die.
Fenians:Catholics (pejorative).
Field, the:A place where Orange Lodges and bands congregate after the Twelfth of July parade.
finagle:Achieve by cunning or dubious means.
fit to be tied:Very angry.
flying:Drunk.
get on one's wick:Get on one's nerves.
give over:Stop it.
glipe, great:Stupid or very stupid person.
gobshite:Dublin slang used pejoratively about a person. Literally, dried nasal mucus.
good man ma da:Expression of approval.
grand man for the pan:One who really enjoys fried food.
great:The ultimate Ulster accolade; can be used to signify pleased assent to a plan.
grotty:English slang. Run-down and dirty.
guttersnipe:Ruffian.
half cut:Drunk.
hand's turn:Minimum amount of work.
having me on:Deceiving me.
heart of corn:Very good-natured.
heifer:Young cow before her first breeding.
hirstle:Chesty wheeze.
hit the spot:Fill the need.
hold your horses:Wait a minute.
hooley:Party.
houseman:Medical intern.
how's (a)bout ye?:How are you? Or good-day.
humdinger:Something extraordinary.
I'm your man:I agree to and will follow your plan.
in soul, I do:Emphatic.
jar:An alcoholic drink.
knackered:Very tired. An allusion to a horse so worn out by work that it is destined for the knacker's yard, where horses are destroyed.
knickers in a twist, in a knot:Anxiously upset.
knocking:Having sexual intercourse.
Lambeg drum:Massive drum carried on shoulder straps by an Orangeman and beaten with two sticks, sometimes until the drummer's wrists bleed.
length and breadth of it:All the details.
let the hare sit:Leave the thing alone.
like the sidewall of a house:Huge, especially when applied to someone's physical build.
liltie:A madman. An Irish whirling dervish.
load of cobblers':In Cockney rhyming slang, "cobblers' awls" means "balls." Used to signify rubbish.
lough:Pronounced "logh," almost as if clearing the throat. A sea inlet or very large inland lake.
lummox:Stupid creature.
main:Very.
make a mint:Make a great deal of money.
moping:Indulging in self-pity.
muggy:Hot and humid.
mullet, stunned:To look as stupid or surprised as a mullet, an ugly saltwater fish.
my shout:I'm buying the drinks.
near took the rickets:Had a great shock.
no dozer:Clever.
no goat's toe, he think's he's:Has an overinflated sense of his own importance.
no spring chicken:Getting on in years.
not as green as you're cabbage looking:More clever than you appear to be.
not at myself:Feeling unwell.
nutcrackers:Neurosurgeons (medical slang).
nutty slack:Fine, slow-burning coal.
Orange Order:Fraternal order of Protestants committed to loyalty to the British crown.
ould goat:Old man, often used affectionately.
out of kilter:Out of alignment.
oxter:Armpit.
oxter-cog:To carry by supporting under the armpits.
pacamac:Cheap, transparent, plastic raincoat carried in a small bag.
Paddy hat:Soft-crowned tweed hat.
Paddy's market:A large, disorganised crowd.
peat (turf):Fuel derived from compressed plant matter.
penny bap:A small bun usually coated in flour.
piss artist:Alcoholic.
poke:Have sex with; a small parcel.
pop one's clogs:Die.
poulticed:Pregnant (usually out of wedlock).
powerful:Very.
quare:Ulster pronunciation of queer. Very; strange.
raring to go:Eager and fully prepared.
recimetation:Malapropism for recitation.
rug rats:Children.
run-race:Quick trip to, usually on foot.
sheugh:Bog.
shirty:Short tempered.
shit:The action of defaecation.
shite:Faeces.
skiver:Corruption of scurvy. Pejorative. Ne'er-do-well.
skivvy:From scurvy. Housemaid.
snotters:Runny nose.
soft hand under a duck:Gentle or very good at.
sore tried by:Very worried by or very irritated by.
spavin:A disease of horses resulting in a sway-back.
spavined:Suffering from spavin.
stays:Whalebone corset.
stocious:Drunk.
stone:Measure of weight equal to fourteen pounds.
stoon:Sudden shooting pain.
stout:A dark beer, usually Guinness.
strong weakness:Hangover.
take a gander:Look at.
taste, wee:Amount. Small amount, not necessarily edible.
ta-ta-ta-ra:Dublin slang for party.
thick:Stupid.
thon:That.
thrapple:Throat.
throw off:Vomit.
toty, wee:Small, very small.
turf accountant:Bookmaker.
up the spout; up the pipe:Pregnant.
wean:Pronounced "wane." Child.
wee:Small, but in Ulster can be used to modify almost anything without reference to size. A barmaid, an old friend, greeted me by saying, "Come on in, Pat. Have a wee seat and I'll get you a wee menu, and would you like a wee drink while you're waiting?"
wet, wee:Alcoholic drink.
wetting the baby's head:Drinking to celebrate a birth.
whaling away at:Beating.
wheeker:Very good.
wheest:Be quiet.
wheezle:Wheeze in the chest.
whippet:Small fast-racing dog like a mini-greyhound.
willy:Penis.
your head's cut (a marley):You are being very stupid, and your head is as small and as dense as a child's marble.
your man:Someone who is not present but who is known to those who are.
you're on:Agree to a suggestion, or indicate acceptance of a wager.
youse:Ulster plural of you.
An Irish Country Doctor Page 30