Phrases

Short turns of speech: idioms, set expressions, and ways of saying things that only quite work in this voice.

Sorted A → Z · 24 phrases

A

Acting the Maggot

All Ireland

Behaving foolishly. Messing about, usually with a hint of deliberate annoyance to the person watching. 'Stop acting the maggot' is the standard Hiberno-English instruction to a child or pretend-child who is fooling around. Less serious than 'misbehaving'; more pointed than 'horsing around'.

B

Bout Ye?

Ulster

Hello, how are you? The standard Northern Irish informal greeting, contracted from 'what about ye?'. Not a question that expects an answer beyond a returned 'bout ye?' or 'grand, yourself?'. The greeting is the whole exchange.

C

Cat Melodeon

Ulster

Awful. Terrible. Used of an outcome, situation, or performance that has gone disastrously: 'the gig was cat melodeon' = the gig was awful. The image is of a cat playing a melodeon - a cacophonous noise made by a creature with no business at the instrument.

Cop On

All Ireland

Shrewdness, common sense, street-wisdom. As a noun: 'he has no cop on'. As a verb: 'will you cop on and stop wasting your money'. The noun is closer to good judgement; the verb is closer to 'wise up'.

Cute hoor

All Ireland

A cunning opportunist - someone who plays the system, exploits loopholes, and gets away with it without quite doing anything wrong. Almost always pejorative, occasionally spoken with rueful admiration. A fixture of Irish political and business commentary.

D

Dead On

Ulster

Okay. Fine. No problem. The standard Belfast and Ulster phrase for casual agreement or confirmation. Also (of a person) sound, decent, reliable: 'he's dead on' = he's a decent fellow.

F

Fair Play

All Ireland

Well done. Good on you. Fair play to you means I acknowledge what you've done and approve of it. Distinct from the standard English 'fair play' meaning equitable treatment - the Hiberno-English sense is admiration, not impartiality.

G

Giving Out

All Ireland

To scold, complain, grumble, or reprimand. Followed by 'to' (a person) or 'about' (a topic). 'Giving out to him' is telling him off; 'giving out about the weather' is complaining about it. A regular feature of Hiberno-English, not slang.

H

He's that narrow, one eye would do him

South Armagh

A comic description of a very thin person - so thin from the front that a second eye would be unnecessary, since you could see the whole face with one. Used affectionately or with mild concern, never cruelly. Common variants substitute 'skinny' or 'thin' for 'narrow'.

I

I Will Yeah

All Ireland

Spoken as confirmation, meant as refusal. 'I will, yeah' is the most-used sarcastic disagreement in Hiberno-English: a flat-toned, deliberate ironic agreement that means 'no, absolutely not'. Delivery carries the whole message - said with warmth it might mean yes, said dryly it never does.

M

Mind Yourself

All Ireland

Take care; look after yourself. The standard Hiberno-English farewell, replacing goodbye in most spoken contexts. Built on the older sense of 'mind' as 'to attend to' - a meaning Hiberno-English kept while the wider language narrowed it.

N

Never despise a friend because he's old

South Armagh

A piece of country advice: don't undervalue an old friend just because they're familiar, aged, or have been around forever. Used as a soft rebuke or as gentle counsel, depending on the speaker. The shorter form 'never despise an old friend' is a known Irish traditional tune title.

O

On the Long Finger

All Ireland

Deferred indefinitely; shelved without being formally cancelled. To put something on the long finger is to acknowledge it needs doing while removing it from the immediate workload. The phrase is the standard Hiberno-English way to describe a polite postponement.

P

Put-on

Antrim

A pretence. An act. The kind of performance that the speaker can see through. 'Thon foofin an greetin wuz al a put-on' = the fussing and crying was all an act. The construction is hyphenated as a single noun: 'a put-on'.

S

She's some woman for one woman

All Ireland

A high compliment for a capable, formidable, or impressive woman - someone who, the construction suggests, contains more than the ordinary measure of one person. Used in admiration, occasionally with a hint of awe. The masculine equivalent, 'some man for one man', exists but is less common.

Sliced Pan

All Ireland

A pre-sliced loaf of pan bread - the standard everyday white loaf in Irish bread aisles. 'Pan' here is the rectangular tin shape of the bread, not the cooking vessel. Almost always heard as the full phrase 'a sliced pan'.

Soft Day

All Ireland

A grey, drizzly, mild day. Not actively raining but not dry either. The default weather of much of the Irish year, named with a hint of resignation and a hint of affection. Often said in greeting: 'a soft day, thank God.'

Sucking Diesel

All Ireland

Now making real progress; finally hitting one's stride. Almost always preceded by 'now we're': the phrase marks the moment when the thing being attempted starts running cleanly, as a tractor does when its engine is properly fuelled.

T

The fear

All Ireland

The dread that descends after a night's drinking: shame, anxiety, half-recalled embarrassments, and the certainty that everyone present saw or heard whatever you cannot quite remember saying. Always with the definite article - you have 'the fear', not just 'fear'. Most common in younger Irish slang since the early 2000s.

The-day

Ulster

Today. The Ulster Scots construction that places the definite article before 'day' (and equivalently before 'night' and 'morrow') to mean today, tonight, tomorrow. 'I'll see you the day' = I'll see you today.

There You Are Now

All Ireland

A multi-purpose closing or hand-over phrase. Said when passing something across a counter, finishing a small task, or politely concluding a piece of news. Less an answer than a soft full stop on the conversation.

W

Wet the Tea

All Ireland

To make the tea. To pour boiling water over the tea leaves in the pot. The Hiberno-English standard phrase for the act of brewing tea, distinct from the standard English 'put the kettle on' (which is the earlier preparatory step).

Y

Your man

All Ireland

A vague third-person reference to a man: the one being discussed, the one over there, the one we both know. The possessive 'your' is purely grammatical, not literal - 'your man' is not anybody's. The female equivalent is 'your one'.

Your One

All Ireland

A way of referring to a specific female person without naming her, usually previously identified or visible to both speakers. The female counterpart of 'your man'. Often shortened to 'yer wan' in casual speech.

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