An Irish Country Girl

by Patrick Taylor

  doddle: A short distance or an easy task.

  dolmen: Megalithic grave of three standing stones and a capstone.

  donnybrook: Fight. Donnybrook, now a suburb of South Dublin, was the site of an annual fair renowned for its drunkenness and violence.

  dote:v. To adore (“I dote on her”) or to be utterly confused (“He’s doting”).

  n. Something adorable.

  do with the price of corn: Irrelevant.

  dozer, no: No fool.

  drop of the pure: Drink of whiskey.

  drouth, raging: Pronounced “drewth.” Thirst. Also, an alcoholic.

  drúishin: Irish. Pronounced “drisheen.” Dish made of cow’s blood, pig’s blood, and oatmeal. A Cork City delicacy.

  Dubh Sidhe: Irish. Pronounced “doov shee.” The dark faeries.

  dudeen: Short-stemmed clay pipe.

  dulse: A seaweed that is dried and eaten like chewing gum.

  duncher: Cloth cap, usually tweed.

  dunder: Forcible thump.

  dungarees: One-piece coveralls.

  Dun Laoghaire: Port near Dublin. Pronounced “dun leary.” Literally, Leary’s fort.

  eejit: Idiot.

  -een: See -in.

  eye to, to keep an: To watch over, either protectively or with suspicion.

  fadge: A flat fried pancake of potato, flour, and salt. Fruit such as apples may be added. (See Recipes, p. 295.)

  fair play to: Good luck to or in all fairness to.

  faugh a ballagh: Anglicised spelling of the Irish Fág an Bealach. Pronounced “Fawk a bollah.” Clear the way. Originally an old Irish war cry. Adopted by the Royal Irish Fusiliers and in America by the Irish Brigade of the Union Army.

  Feile na Marbh: Irish. Pronounced “fayle na marev.” Celtic festival of the dead celebrated on November 1.

  féis: Irish. Pronounced “Fesh.” Music and dancing competition.

  fey: Possessed of the second sight, the ability to see the future.

  Fianna: A band of legendary soldiers. Their name survives today in Fianna Fáil (Finnuh-Fal). Soldiers of Destiny. One of the major Irish politic parties. The other is Fine Gael (“finnuh gale”), the clan of the Gaels.

  finagle: Achieve by cunning or dubious means.

  Fir Bolg: Pronounced “feer bollug.” One of the early races believed to have inhabited Ireland. Probably invaders of the Belgae tribe from Gaul. Displaced by the Tuatha Dé (see entry).

  fist of, to make a good: Do a fine job.

  fit to be tied: Furious.

  flaffing: Carrying on excitedly and to no useful purpose.

  flies, none on: Smart. Streetwise.

  fleadh: Irish. Pronounced “flah.” Festival.

  florin: A silver two-shilling coin, one-tenth of a pound sterling or a punt, the Irish equivalent. The Irish florin, stamped with the image of a salmon, was not introduced until 1928. Maureen’s coins were sterling. In 1926, a florin would have been worth about 40 U.S. cents. In 2009, 120 florins, about $24, would be required to buy the same amount of goods a florin purchased in 1926.

  Formorians: A race of demons who inhabited Tory Island.

  for it: In line for punishment shortly.

  football pools: A weekly English sporting lottery where gamblers try to pick eight soccer matches that end in draws. The payoffs can be spectacular.

  footpath: Sidewalk.

  fornenst: Beside.

  fortnight: Contraction of “fourteen nights.” Two weeks. A se’nnight (seven nights) is a week.

  foundered: Chilled to the marrow.

  Free State, Irish: In 1922, the United Kingdom granted partial independence to 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties. The 26 counties, later to become Eire and then the Republic of Ireland, were known first as the Irish Free State.

  fraochán: Irish. Pronounced “frockon.” Berry of shrubs of the genus Vaccinium. Known as bilberry, blaeberry, whortleberry, and European blueberry.

  furze: Gorse. See also whin.

  GAA: Gaelic Athletic Association. Organisation fostering Irish sports like hurling and Gaelic football.

  gander: Look at.

  gansey: From the Irish geansaí. A jumper (sweater). Used in the Anglicised form by Irish and non-Irish speakers.

  garsún: Irish. Pronounced “gossoon.” Boy.

  gas, great: Good fun. “It was great gas” or “He’s a gas man” (he’s great fun).

  giorria, giorria mór: Irish. Pronounced “geara (more).” Hare, big hare.

  give off to: Scold.

  give over: Stop it.

  glipe, great: Stupid or very stupid person.

  good man ma da: Expression of approval to someone.

  Go raibh míle maith agat: Irish. Pronounced “go ra meeluh maw agut.” Thanks very much.

  go way on out of that: “I don’t believe you” or “You’re making it up.”

  grand man for the pan: One who really enjoys fried food.

  gráinneog: Irish. Pronounced “grawinnyog.” Hedgehog.

  great: The ultimate Ulster accolade; can be used to signify pleased assent to a plan.

  gub, a good dig in the: Mouth, a punch in the.

  gumboil: Dental abscess.

  halfpenny: Unit of currency of which there were 480 to the pound. In 1926, worth less than 1 U.S. cent. In 2009, 60 halfpennies (about 50 cents) would be required to buy the same goods a halfpenny bought in 1926.

  half-un: Small measure of spirits, usually whiskey.

  hard row to hoe: Very difficult.

  hard stuff: Spirits, usually whiskey.

  harrier: One who uses packs of dogs and follows on foot to hunt hares.

  have your cake and eat it: Try to enjoy two mutually exclusive options.

  having me on: Deceiving me.

  head in your hands: Having been severely chastised or heartbroken.

  head staggers: Behaving very stupidly. Literally, a parasitic disease affecting the brains of sheep and causing them to stagger.

  heart of corn: Very good-natured.

  heels of the hunt: Finally.

  heifer: Young cow before her first breeding.

  hide nor hair: No trace. Nothing.

  high horse, up on one’s: Declaiming about a pet topic of little interest to anyone else.

  hiring fair: Meetings that workers would attend in the hopes of finding work.

  hirstle: Chesty wheeze.

  hit the spot: Fill the need.

  hooley: Party.

  hurling: Very fast, fifteen-a-side team sport played with a sliotar (slitter), a hard leather ball, and a camán (cumawn), or hurley, a curved wooden stick like a field hockey stick but with a broader, flatter blade.

  hurricane lamp: A cylindrical metal-and-glass paraffin-fueled lantern.

  It is constructed so that it cannot be extinguished by high winds.

  I’m your man: I agree to your plan and will follow it.

  -in: In Irish, ín (pronounced “een”) attached to the end of a word signifies little, as in Roisín, or little rose. It is often attached pejoratively to an English word, as in “maneen” to signify “little man.”

  in soul I do: Emphatic.

  jack, jackeen: Slang for a Dubliner. Used by natives of Ireland from outside Dublin, who themselves are called “culchies” by Dubliners.

  jar: An alcoholic drink.

  jaunting car: An open, high two-wheeled vehicle. Also known as a sidecar because the passenger accommodation was two benches, arranged along either side so the passengers sat with their backs to the cart bed. By the 1960s, it was rarely seen, except in the most rural parts of Ireland or as a tourist attraction.

  jigs and reels, between the: To cut a long story short.

  Junior Certificate: See Certificates.

  keening: High-pitched women’s moaning at wakes and funerals. Keeners were often professionals.

  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.

  Lady Muck, Lord Muck: In full
, Lady Muck from Clabber Hill. People having pretensions well above their social class. See clabber.

  lapwing: Green plover. Vanellus vanellus. Also called a peewit because of its cry.

  Law and the Prophets: Alpha to omega on any subject. Usually said of a long-winded person.

  Leabhar Gabhála Éireann: Irish. Pronounced “lyow-ar gavawla Erin.” The Book of Invasions. A collection of poems and stories recounting the history of the various races, mythical and real, who have conquered Ireland.

  Leaver’s Certificate: See Certificates.

  length and breadth of it: All the details.

  lepp: Leap.

  let the hare sit: Leave the thing alone.

  lift (“Can I lift you?”): Offer of a free ride in someone else’s vehicle. If applied to police action, lifted means “arrested.”

  like the sidewall of a house: Huge, especially when applied to someone’s physical build.

  liltie: A madman. An Irish whirling dervish.

  Lios na gCon: Irish. Pronounced “lish na gun.” Hill fort of the hound.

  long drink of water: Tall and skinny.

  lorry: Truck.

  lough: Pronounced “logh,” as if clearing the throat. A sea inlet or very large inland lake.

  Lucht siúil: Irish. Pronounced “luck shul.” Literally, “the walking people.” Gypsies, also known as travelling people or travellers.

  Lughnasa: Irish. Pronounced “loonassa.” Harvest festival celebrated on the Sunday closest to August 1 to honour one of the gods of the Tuatha dé, Lugh (loo) of the Long Hand.

  lugworm: A member of the phylum Annelida. A ragged-edged marine worm that lives in burrows under tidal sand or mud. Much prized as bait. Harvested at low tide by digging close to the creature’s blowholes in the sand.

  lummox: Stupid, clumsy creature.

  MacGillicuddy’s Reeks: Mountain range in County Kerry.

  main: Very.

  marrying up: Ireland had a rigid class system. A person from a lower class marrying one of a higher social stratum was said to have married up.

  mavourneen: From the Irish mo mHuirnín. Pronounced “mahvourneen.” My beloved.

  melodeon: A button accordion.

  messages: Errands or shopping.

  Milesians: The name originally given to the Celtic invaders who displaced the Tuatha dé (see entry). They originated in what is modern Spain. Some believe the Milesians were originally the lost tribe of Israel.

  moping: Indulging in self-pity.

  more power to your wheel: Very good luck to you; encouragement.

  mud guard: Mud flap. Narrow curved metal strips fitted over bicycle wheels.

  muffler: Woollen neck scarf.

  muggy: Hot and humid.

  muirnín: Irish. Pronounced “moornyeen.” Darling.

  mullet, stunned: To look as stupid or surprised as a mullet, an ugly saltwater fish.

  nines, done up to the: Dressed up in one’s best clothes.

  no goat’s toe, he thinks he’s: Have an overinflated sense of one’s own importance.

  nose out of joint: Miffed.

  not a patch on: Not nearly as good.

  not at yourself: Not feeling well.

  ochón: Irish. Prononced “ochoan.” Alas.

  óinseach: Irish. Pronounced “ushick.” Female idiot. See amadán.

  old ones: Older adults, usually grandparents.

  onion, cut to the: Wounded very deeply.

  Ossory: Pronounced “ossory.” Ancient Irish kingdom of Osraighe, comprising parts of the modern counties of Laois, Kilkenny, and Offaly.

  ould goat: Old man, often used affectionately.

  out of kilter: Out of alignment.

  oxter: Armpit.

  oxter-cog: To carry by supporting under the armpits.

  paddy hat: Soft-crowned tweed hat.

  pan, the: A fried meal consisting of any or all of the following: bacon, ham, eggs, sausages, black pudding, white pudding, tomato, soda bread, potato cakes.

  pan loaf: Loaf of ordinary bread.

  paraffin: Kerosene.

  peat (or turf): Fuel derived from compressed vegetable matter.

  pipes: Three kinds of bagpipes are played in Ireland: the great highland pipes (three drones), the Brian Boru pipes (three drones and four to thirteen keys on the chanter), and the uillinn (elbow) pipes, driven by small bellows under the elbow. There are keys on both the chanter and the drones.

  plough ahead: Please get on with the story or the task.

  poitín: Irish. Pronounced “potcheen.” Moonshine. Illegally distilled spirits, usually from barley. Could be as strong as 180 proof (about 100 percent alcohol by volume).

  pop by: Make an unannounced visit.

  powerful: Very.

  power of: A great deal of.

  praties: Potatoes.

  province: Ireland is divided into four provinces: Ulster, Leinster, Munster, and Connacht. (See map on page 13). Each province contains a number of counties. Beal na mBláth in County Cork is in Munster. “Ballybucklebo” in County Down is in Ulster.

  purler: Severe fall.

  pussyfoot: Waffle about.

  quare: Irish pronunciation of “queer.” Very or strange.

  quare hand at: Expert.

  quiff: A hairstyle worn by men in which the front of the hair is brushed up.

  Radio Éireann: Irish. Pronounced “raddeeo airann.” Irish state radio network.

  Radio Telefis Éireann: Irish. Pronounced “raddeeo telluhfeesh airann.” Irish state television network.

  range: A cast-iron kitchen stove fuelled by coke, coal, gas, or turf. In rural Ireland it was used for heating the kitchen and the water, and for cooking food.

  raparee, rapparee: A seventeenth-century bandit or robber. Now used pejoratively.

  raring to go: Eager and fully prepared.

  rasher: A slice of bacon from the back of the pig.

  right enough: That’s true.

  right enough?: Is that true?

  run-race: Quick trip to, usually on foot.

  Samhain: Pronounced “saun.” November festival of the end of the harvest.

  scunner, take a scunner at or to: Dislike someone intensely and bear a grudge.

  seanachie: Irish. Pronounced “shan a kee.” Storyteller.

  Selkie: Mythical women. When they put on a sealskin, they become seals, and they revert to being women by removing the skin. Brought to popular attention by the film The Secret of Roan Innish (Rón inis, or seal island).

  sharabang: Mispronunciation of charabanc, a motorised, four-wheeled open vehicle with many benches. Popular in the 1920s for party excursions.

  shebang, the whole: Lock, stock, and barrel. Everything.

  shenanigans: Carryings-on.

  sheugh: Bog.

  shillelagh: Pronounced “shi-lay-luh.” Blackthorn club used in stick-fighting sports or as a weapon.

  sidecar: See jaunting car.

  Sidhe: Irish. Pronounced “shee.” Faeries. Literally, the people of the sidthe. See also Tuatha dé Danann.

  sidthe: Irish. Pronounced “shee.” The burial mounds and hill forts that litter Ireland. The faeries and spirits who inhabit them are the people of the mounds and include the Bean Sidhe (banshee), the spirit of death; Lenan Sidhe, the spirit of life; and the Dubh Sidhe (doov shee), the dark faeries.

  skate: A fish of the ray family. Once common, now endangered.

  skinful, to get a: To get drunk.

  slagging: Mutual verbal abuse, but used humorously and with affection.

  slán: Irish. The one leaving says “Slán agat” (slawn agut). The one staying says “Slán leat” (slawn lea).

  slane: Special narrow-bladed spade for digging turf.

  sliced pan, best thing since: Presliced and wrapped pan loaf was reintroduced after the Second World War. To be better than it was to be the acme of perfection.

  sliotar: Irish. Pronounced “slitter.” Hard leather ball used in the game of hurling.

  slip jig: Traditional dance in nine
-eighths time.

  slobber: Salivate sufficiently to drool.

  slough about: Laze around.

  snib: A metal catch for keeping a door, lid, or shutter closed.

  sodger: Soldier.

  soft hand under a duck: Gentle or very good at.

  soft soap: Flattery.

  sound man: A good, reliable man.

  spalpeen: From the Irish spailpin, originally an itinerant farm labourer. Now used to denote a ne’er-do-well.

  Spoil Five, or Maw: A four-hundred-year-old gambling card game where the object is to gain three of five tricks or prevent any other player from doing so, in which case the stake was added to the pot of the next hand.

  sticking out: Very good.

  sticking out a mile: Absolutely the best.

  sticking plaster: Primitive Band-Aid.

  stiffener: A drink, usually whiskey, taken to give false courage.

  stirabout: Porridge.

  stocious: Drunk.

  stone: Measure of weight equivalent to fourteen pounds.

  stook: When grain crops were reaped by hand, bundles of sheaves were made and then stacked leaning vertically against each other. These stooks stood with the grain-bearing ends at the top to dry prior to threshing.

  stout: A dark beer, usually Guinness or Murphy’s.

  sums: Mathematics.

  suppurate: Become infected and leak pus.

  sweeties, sweets: Candies.

  Tá fáilte romhat: Irish. Pronounced “taw fawlcha ro-at.” You’re welcome.

  Taidhbhse: Irish. Pronounced “thevshee.” Ghost.

  Táin Bó Cualgne: Irish. Pronounced “tawin boe cooley.” The Cattle Raid of Cooley, the first great Irish saga.

  take a gander: Look at.

  take a grip: Pull yourself together.

  take a hand out of: Fooling someone to make them appear stupid.

  take a shine to: Be attracted to.

  take your hurry in your hand: Wait a minute.

  taking the mickey: Mocking someone to make them appear stupid.

  tall around: Rotund.

  taste, a wee: Amount. Small amount, not necessarily edible.

  ta-ta-ta-ra: Dublin slang. Party.

  tea: Term used for the main evening meal, as well as for the hot drink.

  telt: Corruption of telled. Told.

  terrace housing: Row housing.

  thick as champ: Very stupid.

  thole: Tolerate or put up with.

  thrawn or thran: Bloody-minded.

  thruppence: A coin worth three pennies, one-eightieth of one pound sterling. In 1926, about four U.S. cents. In 2009, it would take sixty such coins—about $2.50—to purchase the same amount of goods.