Gurrier
A tough or unruly young man, particularly a Dublin one. Once a term of approval (a bosom friend, a fine fellow) in the 1930s and 40s; now mostly pejorative - a ruffian, a hooligan, a small-time tough. Range of register has narrowed over a century.
Etymology
Origin uncertain. Two competing readings: (i) from Scottish English 'gurry' (a brawl, to dispute) plus the agent suffix '-er' - a brawler; (ii) from French 'guerrier' (warrior), making it a Hiberno-English doublet of the standard English 'warrior'. The semantic narrowing from 'fine fellow' in the 1930s to 'ruffian' by the 1980s is documented in Irish English sources and may explain why the word has not travelled outside Dublin.
In a sentence
"Pack of gurriers throwing bottles at the lampposts - the residents are at their wits' end."
Historical notes
Gurrier is the Dublin variant of the 'rough young man' category that English handles with 'lout', 'thug', or 'hooligan'. It sits beside 'bowsie' (more of a layabout drunkard than a fighter) and 'gouger' (more violent and predatory). The register-shift is itself a small piece of social history: in the 1930s and 40s a gurrier was someone you wanted on your side; by the 2020s, someone you cross the road to avoid.
Sources
- Oxford English Dictionary, entry gurrier n. · dictionary