Po Slovensky

Have you just come to Ireland and noticed you couldn’t understand a word? Or have been here a year or two and still can’t? Then it’s the highest time to read this article! Of course I can’t fill you in on Irish accent - you have to go to the Local (nearest pub), get a pint of the Black Stuff or Arthur (used by older people or jokingly for Guinness; the latter called after its originator Arthur Guinness) and listen! What I can and will do; however, is to list some useful slang for you.

Let’s start with greetings. You’d often hear Howya? (short for ‘How are you?’), How’s things? and What’s the craic? Craic (English spelling crack) means fun, good time. So you can ask Any craic? or say I had great craic.

After too much work or booze (alcohol) you can feel wrecked, shagged, shattered or knackered (very tired). Don’t confuse it with knackers - meaning either members of travelling community or aggressive, uncouth people. There are plenty of words referring to ‘being drunk’, I wonder why. Hammered, langers / langered, locked, pissed, plastered, stocious/stotious are just a few. Or you can say that somebody (you?) is off their heads. But none of this would happen if people are off the drink - ‘abstinent from alcohol’.

Deadly means ‘fantastic/cool’ as in We went to the pictures (cinema). The movie was deadly. Sound is ‘very nice’. Bold in Ireland implies ‘naughty’, ignorant ‘rude’, banjaxed ‘broken’ and manky ‘filthy/dirty’. It’s a manky day suggests that kind of drizzly, unpleasant day so common here.

I’ll finish off with some swear words, the nicer ones though. Eejit stands for an ‘idiot’, shite for you know what and feck for you know what too.