Our interest was piqued this week when #greatIrishwords started trending on Twitter. So we whittled the list down to our favourite fab 50. With added definitions.
Arsebiscuits, noun Often used as an exclamation to express vehement disagreement
Banjaxed, 1. adjective Broken, bollixed 2. adjective Extremely tired, knackered
Bejaysus, exclamation Signifying shock or surprise
Blaggard, noun A good-for-nothing person, usually male
Bowsie, noun Thuggish, gurrier-like person, usually male.
Caniption, noun (Often followed by “fit”) Sudden violent and emotional outburst, often hilarious to others
Catmalogen, adjective (pron. “Cat-mal-oh-jin”) Exceedingly awful or terrible
Creel, verb (usually intransitive) To be badly but not life-threateningly injured, often on a GAA field
Dander, noun Anger, temper. Usually affecting males. Most prevalent on GAA fields, often prompting a Shemozzle.
Deadly, adjective Great, excellent, fantastic. Often followed by “buzz”
Dipshit, noun Fool, idiot
Floozie, 1. noun A sexually promiscuous woman, often elderly. 2. proper noun Floozie In The Jacuzzi, famous statue on O’Connell Street, Dublin
Flute, noun Male genitalia
Footer, verb (pron. “Foo-tur”) To tinker about with something without any purpose or expertise
Gargle, noun Beverage, alcoholic
Gas, adjective Funny, entertaining
Gobshite, noun Fool, idiot; generally a good-natured, pleasant idiot. But still an idiot
Goo, noun A look (Example: “Give me a goo of that”, pron. “Gimme a goo a tha”)
Gooter, noun Female genitalia; usually expressed by males, signifying lack of fondness for same
Gowl, noun Female genitalia; usually expressed by males, signifying lack of fondness for same
Hames, noun An almighty mess, usually brought about by a series of misjudgements over a sustained period of time
Header, noun A crazed or unstable person, often male, invariably not committed to a mental institute
Hoor, noun (Often preceded by “cute”) Person who displays cleverness and cunning to engage in illegality, usually of a financial nature. Primarily male, almost exclusively from the Cork/Kerry area
Jammy, adjective Exceptionally fortunate. Invariably followed by “bastard”
Jip, noun Backchat, verbal abuse. Often prompting a Lamp
Jigact, verb To fool around, to engage in horseplay
Knackered, adjective Extreme state of fatigue
Lamp, verb To assault, using either fists or any of a number of blunt instruments (Example: “He lamped the aul wan up the road with a lump of Wavin pipe”)
Langer, 1. noun Male genitalia 2. noun Person, usually male, from the Cork area
Langered, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Locked, Ossified, Plastered, Scuttered, Stocious)
Locked, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Langered, Ossified, Plastered, Scuttered, Stocious)
Manky, adjective Soiled, smelly, rancid
Muppet, noun Fool, idiot
Nippy, adjective Relating to weather, denoting cold, usually dry. Can apply to all temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius
Ossified, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Locked, Langered, Plastered, Scuttered, Stocious)
Plastered, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Locked, Langered, Ossified, Scuttered, Stocious)
Quare, adjective Strange, odd. (Derived from Queer; means something completely different than Queer)
Ride, 1. noun An attractive member of the opposite sex, 2. verb Sexual intercourse, not necessarily with an attractive member of the opposite sex
Scarlet, adjective (pron. “Scar-leh”) Extremely embarrassed, mortified
Scoop, noun Beverage, alcoholic (usually plural)
Scratcher, noun Bed
Scuttered, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Locked, Langered, Ossified, Plastered, Stocious)
Shemozzle, noun A brawl involving several people, usually in the goalmouth or dugout area of a GAA field
Shift, verb Kiss, generally in a night-club. Always with use of tongue
Shitehawk, noun Fool, idiot. Unlike Gobshite, a shitehawk is generally extremely annoying
Shnakey, adjective Cunning, sly (Example: “We’ll stop off in Briody’s for a few shnakey scoops”)
Slapper, noun A sexually promiscuous woman
Spondoolix, noun (pron. “Spon-doo-licks”) Money, cash
Steaming, adjective State of intoxication
Stocious, adjective Advanced state of intoxication (See also: Locked, Langered, Ossified, Plastered, Scuttered)
