| Word or phrase |
Example |
Meaning |
| Acting the maggot |
He was just acting the maggot as usual |
Behaving foolishly, annoyingly |
| Bags |
He made a bags of doing it |
Messy inadequate job (see hames) |
| Banjaxed |
It was banjaxed beyond all help |
Broken, can also mean tired |
| Bold |
You are a very bold boy |
Naughty |
| Crack, craic |
We had great craic that night |
Hard to translate, roughly meaning fun |
| Culchies |
The culchies were all over the place |
Rural people, usually used disparagingly by city people |
| Cute hoor |
I always knew he was a cute hoor |
Untrustworthy male person, often a politician |
| Desperate |
The place is in a desperate state |
Bad, needing attention |
| Drawers |
Her drawers were the size of Cork |
Knickers, panties |
| Eat the head off |
I'll eat the head off her |
Attack verbally |
| Eejit |
You're a right eejit |
Idiot, fool |
| Fair play |
Fair play to you |
Indicates approval of someone's actions or opinions |
| Feck |
Feck off, fecking thing, feck-all |
Polite(-ish) version of other F word |
| Fella |
Come here young fella |
Male person, also used for boyfriend |
| Flitters |
The dog left the shirt in flitters |
Tatters |
| Fluthered |
He was fluthered again |
Drunk |
| Foostering |
Just foostering about |
Not getting much done, fussing |
| Full shilling |
He's not the full shilling |
Mentally competent |
| Gas |
We had a bit of gas that day |
Fun, enjoyment |
| Giving out |
The teacher was always giving out to the class |
Scolding. |
| Gob |
He never shuts his gob |
Mouth |
| Gobdaw |
That fella's a right gobdaw |
Fool, idiot |
| Gom |
You're just acting the gom |
Fool, idiot |
| Guff |
Don't give me any of your guff |
Idle talk or excuses |
| Gur |
He's been on gur since Saturday |
Staying away from home, usually a child |
| Hames |
You made a terrible hames of that |
Messy inadequate job (see bags) |
| Header |
Keep away from that header |
Mentally unstable person |
| Holliers |
Two weeks holliers for me |
Holidays, vacation time |
| Holy show |
You made a holy show of yourself |
Spectacle |
| Hop |
He's been on the hop since Tuesday |
Playing truant from school |
| Horse's hoof |
That's a bit of a horse's hoof I think |
Spoof, exaggerated story |
| Hump off |
Would you ever hump off? |
Go away, leave me alone |
| Jackeens |
The jackeens think they're smart |
Dublin person, usually used disparagingly by culchies |
| Jacks |
I'm just off to the jacks |
Toilet, restroom |
| Jaded |
We're all jaded after it |
Tired, exhausted |
| Kibosh |
He put the kibosh on it |
Added the last straw, completely banjaxed something |
| Langered/Langers |
We were all langers |
Drunk |
| Letting on |
I was just letting on |
Pretending |
| Mary Hick |
That dress is really Mary Hick |
Unfashionable, drab |
| Messages |
I have to get the messages |
Groceries |
| Mooching |
He's mooching again for money |
Sponging, almost begging |
| Mot |
Have you got a mot? |
Girlfriend |
| One |
Some oul' one told her |
Female person |
| Pictures |
Want to come to the pictures? |
Movies, Cinema |
| Puck |
He got a puck in the gob |
Sharp blow |
| Puss |
She'd a right puss on her |
Face, usually sulky |
| Reddener |
She took a reddener when she saw him |
Blush (see Scarlet) |
| Reef |
I'll reef him when I see him |
Attack, non-verbal |
| Scarlet |
I'm scarlet for you |
Blushing, often in sympathy with a friend's reddener |
| Scratcher |
He's always in the scratcher |
Bed |
| Scrawbed |
Her face was all scrawbed |
Scratched by fingernails |
| Shook |
He was very shook looking |
Pale, ill, scared |
| Slagging |
I'm only slagging you |
Making fun of someone, generally good-naturedly |
| Sleeveen |
She's a bit of a sleeveen |
Sly person, calculating |
| Stocious |
He was stocious this evening |
Drunk |