Sunday, February 15, 2009

When in Ireland...

...do as the Irish! Now that we're hitting the three month mark in Dublin, I'm really getting used to the day-to-day words and phrases used by the Irish, especially now that I work with them on a daily basis. I even catch myself saying them from time to time. I thought it might be cool to list some of these words and phrases for you to learn too!

Aubergine = eggplant
Bap
= bread bun
Beet root = beets
To "bin it" = to throw it out
Brilliant = great. They say it ALL the time! Everything is brilliant or gorgeous or lovely here
Childminder = babysitter
Chips = french fries but bigger and not as crispy (which also equals not as good!)
Cinema = movie theatre
Courgette = zucchini
Craic = fun, enjoyment, laughs, having a good time
Creche = daycare
Crisps = potato chips
Deadly/savage = brilliant, awesome, really good, cool
Feck = the "F" word. They do say it a lot, even old ladies
Film = movie, but the Irish pronounce it "fill-um"
Fire brigade = fire truck, firefighters
Fiver = five Euro bill
Flat = apartment
Flatmate = roommate. When I say roommate, they think I mean the person who shares an actual bedroom with me. Really, I mean the person who shares an apartment with me
Fortnight = every other week or every 14 days
Garda = police
Ginger = redheaded person
Grand = good, fine, okay. It doesn't mean great or amazing or large-scale like we would think. If you ask someone how they are, they will respond with "grand, thanks"
To say "half 10:00" = means 10:30. Half 12:00 would be 12:30, etc.
Hire = rent (i.e. to hire a car = to rent a car)
Howya = "how are you?" - typical greeting. When we would normally say "hi" they would say "howya"
Knackered = tired
Locked = very drunk, wasted
Lock in = when a pub locks people in after hours so the pub looks closed from the outside. I
'm pretty certain the pub below us does this. Well, they did until the Garda came banging on their door one night!
Mad = wild, innovative, over the top, whacky. People I work with say all the time "it was mad" or "you're mad"
Milton = bleach
Mince = ground beef
Mind yourself = watch out, be careful
Notes = bills, when referring to money
Prawns = shrimp
Queue = a line up
Rashers = pieces of bacon
Sultanas = raisins
Tenner = ten Euro bill
"Thanks a million" or "thanks a mill"
= thank you. They also say "thanks very much" rather than just thank you or thanks
Thyme = thyme. But what I don't understand is why they say it "thigh-m." They never pronouce their th's any other time (i.e. three = "tree"), but they do when they're talking about the herb thyme! Strange...
Toilet = bathroom
Veg = vegetables. They don't say the whole word - ever
To do the "wash" = to do the laundry
To do the "washing up" = to do the dishes. Dish soap is called "washing up liquid"

4 comments:

Simon Fleming said...

Dont forget: Thanks a million and Your man which can mean anybody you have interact with.

Anonymous said...

come on alex, how often do people actually use the word eggplant in everyday life???

Anonymous said...

and for that matter, what are you doing dealing with childminders and daycare?

Anonymous said...

write a new entry!!