Do you
love Irish words and expressions?
When I
discovered the novels of Marian Keyes and Maeve Binchy, I was entranced by the
Irish idioms and expressions they used, and quickly fell in love with books by
Irish authors. As I began writing my own novels and stories set in Ireland, I
started a list of the Irish expressions I particularly enjoyed, so I could
include a few in my books. To help out my readers, I’d add a brief glossary of
Irish words at the front of my books, with an emphasis on “brief.”
Free mini-book! |
As the years went by, and I read even more
Irish literature, I amassed more and more loose pages of my handwritten
glossary. Then I had an epiphany…instead of including only a short list of
Irish words in my novels, why not type up all the expressions I’d collected and
share them with other fans of Irish books!
You might
have seen lots of these expressions in books by English or Scottish authors as
well—the people of the British Isles share lots of the same language
traditions. Keep in mind that with some words, I’ve had to guess a bit with the
translation, but I’ve given all my interpretations my best shot. FYI: I
recently discovered another Irish author whose novels are filled with really
fun and colorful Irish speech: Felicity Hayes-McCoy...I hope you'll take a look
at her books.
In any
event, I extend a big thanks to all the Irish authors I’ve read for their
inspiration, and helping me “flavor” my stories with Irish speech!
Here's a
start:
A head on
someone: hangover
Arse:
impolite terms for backside
Article:
sometimes a thing and other times a person
As the
humor takes a person: as the mood takes them
Away off:
don’t be stupid
Banjaxed:
damaged, injured
Barney:
fight
Be a
number: dating someone
Bin it:
throw something away
Blagger: faker,
blusterer, braggart
Blarney:
silly or useless talk
Blether:
useless talk or annoying speech... for the full glossary, click here!
You'll
find more fun Irish stuff, including a list of Irish books and movies and travel resources, at www.susancolleenbrowne.com !