To celebrate the upcoming launch of Damo & Ivor’s brand new television show, JOE takes a look at some of the strange and wonderful phrases used on our Irish streets every day and tells you what basics you’ll need to get by.
Tourists visiting our wonderful country will of course have done their research, bought their guide books and they’re more than likely able to ask “where is the nearest library?” or “do you know the way to the local STD clinic train station?”
But that’s not what our visitors really want to know, is it?
Of course not. They want to know what the common man, Mr Joe O’Bloggs, is talking about when they bump into him at 3.30am outside Coppers or Kiely’s on a Tuesday night.
Unfortunately for our welcome guests, there’s no guidebook out there that can help them when someone’s yelling in their faces that they’re “Totes McGoats drunk”.
The English may have given us oppression issues and a complex, but it’s fair to say that we showed them how to turn a phrase in their own language.
We’ve already had Parts One and Two of Damo and Ivor’s guide to Irish slang so here are five more essential Irish phrases we should all be aware of when travelling the length and breadth of the country:
Musha
Not to be confused with the Japanese equivalent of the word, which, incidentally, means a samurai warrior’s quest or pilgrimage.
The term ‘musha’ is more commonly used by older generations of Wesht of Ireland folk and is believed to derive from the Irish term ‘muise’ which means indeed. It is most often heard, however, as a response to a question and like plenty of Wesht of Ireland terms, is often used in conjunction with ‘Ara’.
Sample conversation:
Q: ‘Were you out last night?’ A: ‘Ara, musha I was.’
Your ma’s your da
Originating in Derry City, ‘your ma’s your da’ is a beautifully constructed insult that is just so simple and so effective at the same time. Simultaneously insulting your mother, your father, their looks and hermaphrodites everywhere, your victim will be left reeling and even the ever-reliable ‘your ma’ comeback won’t be enough to help them out of this particular trash talk battle.
You’re some langer boi
An undisputed classic. If you don’t know where this particular phrase comes from then you really are “a langer boi.” The online dictionary might try to tell us that ‘Langer’ is a family name but here at JOE we all know better.
It really means you’re a big co*k.
Ate the hind legs off a horse
The etymology of this phrase is undoubtedly linked to “talk the hind legs off a donkey” but was clearly invented by someone who was hungry, didn’t like chatting and, well, owned a horse instead of a donkey.
Slightly controversial and more poignant now since the Great Horse Burger Scandal of January 2013, the phrase essentially means you’re so hungry you’ll eat absolutely anything.
That’s right Freshers students, we’re looking at you…
Boiling water wouldn’t keep you off her…
Essentially the same thinking went into this phrase as the one above except instead of being hungry for food you’re hungry for lurve. Ya big randy ba*tard.
And, as poetic as this particular phrase is, we’ve got a feeling that if it came to it, boiling water might in fact actually keep you off her.
So there you have it folks. Five essential phrases from all over Ireland to help you and your tourist guests get by.
For more insights into Irish dialects, sort of, check out the new series of Damo and Ivor, which starts on Monday September 16 at 10.00pm on RTÉ Two.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
