An Irish Country Christmas Part 54

dudeen: Short-stemmed clay pipe.

dulse: A seaweed, which when dried is eaten like chewing gum.

dummy t.i.t: Baby's pacifier.

duncher: Cloth cap, usually tweed.

dunder: Forcible thump.

Dun Laoghaire: Port near Dublin. p.r.o.nounced "dun leery."

eejit: Idiot.

egg-bound hen: A hen with an egg that cannot be laid stuck in the oviduct. Applied to a person, it suggests extreme distress.

f.a.g: Cigarette.

fall off the perch: Die.

f.e.c.k, f.e.c.king: Dublin corruption of "f.u.c.k" and "f.u.c.king."

fenian: Catholic (pejorative).

field, the: A place where Orange Lodges and bands congregate after the Twelfth of July parade.

finagle: Achieve by cunning or dubious means.

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

fit to be tied: Very angry.

flex: Plug-in cable of an electrical appliance or light.

flies, none on: Smart. Streetwise.

flying: Drunk.

fornenst: Besides.

foundered: Chilled to the marrow.

full of it: Being either stupid or excessively flattering.

gander: Take a look at.

get (away) on with you: Don't be stupid.

get on one's wick: Get on one's nerves.

give over: Stop it.

glipe, great: Stupid or very stupid person.

gobs.h.i.+te: 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 a.s.sent to a plan.

grotty: English slang. Run-down and dirty.

guard's van: Caboose.

gub: Mouth.

gub, a good dig in the: A punch in the mouth.

gurrier: Dublin slang. Street urchin.

guttersnipe: Ruffian.

hairy bear: Woolly caterpillar.

half-cut: Drunk.

hand's turn: Minimum amount of work.

having me on: Deceiving me.

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

heart of corn: Very good-natured.

heifer: Young cow before her first breeding.

heels of the hunt: When everything has been concluded.

hirstle: Chesty wheeze.

hit the spot: Fill the need.

hobby-horse s.h.i.+te, your head's full of: Literally, sawdust. You're stupid.

holdall: Canvas sports bag.

hold your horses: Wait a minute.

hooley: Party.

hoor: Wh.o.r.e.

houseman: Medical intern.

how's (a)bout ye? How are you? Or good-day.

humdinger: Something extraordinary.

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

in soul, I do: Emphatic.

in the stable: Of a drink, already paid for before being poured.

jar: An alcoholic drink.

jaunting car: An open, high, two-wheeled vehicle. The pa.s.senger accommodation was two benches, arranged along either side so the pa.s.sengers 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.

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 s.e.xual intercourse.

Lambeg drum: Ma.s.sive ba.s.s drum carried on shoulder straps by Orangemen and beaten with two sticks, sometimes until the drummer's wrists bleed.

length and breadth of it: All the details.

lepp: Leap.

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 c.o.c.kney rhyming slang, "cobblers' awls" means "b.a.l.l.s." Used to signify rubbish.

lough: p.r.o.nounced "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.

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

muggy: Hot and humid.

mullet, stunned: To look as stupid or surprised as a mullet, an ugly salt.w.a.ter fish.

Mullingar heifer, calves like: Cows from Mullingar were said to have very thick legs.

my shout: I'm buying the drinks.

near took the rickets: Had a great shock.

no dozer: Clever.

no goat's toe, he thinks 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.

Not at the match: Not altogether sane.

nutcracker: Neurosurgeon.

on eggs: Extremely worried.

Orange Order: Fraternal order of Protestants loyal to the British crown.

Orange and Green: The colours of Loyalists and Republicans, respectively. Used to symbolize the age-old schism in Irish politics.

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.

pan loaf: Loaf of ordinary bread.