http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0324/1224292954844.html (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0324/1224292954844.html)
An Irishman's Diary
McNALLY
A History of Ireland in 100 Euphemisms:
1. Soft day, thank God.
2. Sorry for your troubles.
3. I'm grand, thanks.
4. An bhfuil cead agam dul amach?
5. The first official language.
6. The Soldiers of Destiny.
7. The night before Larry was stretched.
8. The Kilmainham Minuet.
9. The harp that once in Tara's halls.
10. Our gallant allies in Europe.
11. Public house.
12. I must have had a bad pint last night.
13. He's fond of a drop.
14. He's a great man for the drink.
15. Under the influence.
16. While at the wheel of a mechanically propelled vehicle.
17. I knew him when he didn't have an arse in his trousers.
18. That'll soften his cough.
19. There's a great roaring in the west, and it's worse it'll be getting when the tide's turned to the wind.
20. I have to see a man about a dog.
21. He digs with the other foot.
22. Sally O'Brien and the way she might look at you.
23. Himself.
24. Herself.
25. The Quare Fella.
26. A belt of the crozier.
27. Foul play is not suspected.
28. Gardaí are pursuing a definite line of inquiry.
29. Heated exchanges in the Dáil yesterday.
30. Certain sections of the media.
31. The nerves are at her.
32. He's a bit touched.
33. She's away with the fairies.
34. Did you shift last night?
35. He's a bit failed.
36. He's shook.
37. He's bet.
38. They've sent for the priest.
39. He's gone to a better place.
40. A bit of a shemozzle on the edge of the square.
41. It was a fair shoulder, ref.
42. A robust challenge there by Páidi Ó Sé.
43. The dead man was known to gardaí.
44. They were engaged in an altercation outside the pub.
45. A man is helping gardaí with their inquiries.
46. The national question.
47. He's sound (on the national question).
48. Our fetters rent in twain.
49. The Wild Geese.
50. The Year of the French.
51. The Races of Castlebar.
52. Black 47.
53. The Black Diaries.
54. Black and Tans.
55. The Black Maria.
56. They don't sow potatoes nor barley nor wheat, but there's gangs of them digging for gold in the street.
57. It's so lonely round the fields of Athenry.
58. The Troubles.
59. The Emergency.
60. The dreary steeples of Fermanagh and Tyrone.
61. We will not stand (idly) by.
62. The Provisionals.
63. P O'Neill.
64. The North.
65. The Wee North.
66. The black north.
67. The northern part of this island.
68. The Two Communities.
69. The Six Counties.
70. These islands.
71. Stroke City.
72. The Fourth Green Field.
73. The Heavy Gang.
74. "No doubt many of you are familiar with an expression in some parts of the country where an outsider is described as a 'blow-in'. Some of these are blow-ins. Now as far
as we're concerned, they can blow out, or blow up."
75. A thundering disgrace.
76. The Border Fox.
77. On mature recollection.
78. Exercising our right to
walk the queen's highway.
79. Traditional route to church.
80. They haven't gone away, you know.
81. A revolutionary new training regime designed by her husband Erik de Bruin.
82. A complex but legitimate business arrangement with Ben Dunne.
83. "There's a little something for you." "Thanks, big fella."
84. Deceptively spacious two-bedroom house in
upcoming area. Some refurbishment needed. Guide price €1.2 million.
85. The Galway Tent.
86. Up every tree in North Dublin.
87. Dig-out.
88. Whip-around.
89. Light-touch regulation.
90. Losing the run of ourselves.
91. The economic fundamentals are sound.
92. Soft landing.
93. Sub-prime.
94. Biffo.
95. Fully funded until into the middle of next year.
96. We have turned the corner.
97. We are where we are.
98. Nasal congestion.
99. We have not asked the IMF for a facility.
100. Ireland is open for business.
101. Hurler on the ditch.
Going forward
We are living beyond our means.
GUBU grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented.
A temporary little arrangement.
The boom is getting boomier.
Freestate
Me arse.
The auld fella
Cute hoor
Bleedin Deadly
Thats a Loada Bollox
Is she good for a go?
The Broad Parameters of the Budget.
Jedward are pure cnuts.
The cheapest bailout in the world (a euphemism for probably the most expensive bailout in world history).
We've turned a corner (we're heading even deeper into economic poo).
careful now
down with that sort of thing
it was just resting in my account
feast or famine
800 years of imperial oppression
Themmuns
Puke football
Personally, I feel myself at this time that the people of this country (don't have a clue what I'm on about.)
He'd be a quare horse of a man if he only had a wee stump of a tail.
Don't step on the tail o' me coat.
In Fact a .........
Spanner .........
Yerra
c'mon ta f**k
T'is
Like
ya know yourself like
Bollix of a ref
ate your tae
footering
Howya
G'wan
Kick the f**king thing ya stupid f**ker ya
Never as good as his auld lad
The cut of you
The spit of him
Spit on me Dickie
Ah Jaysus
off the ground ref
sick as a small hospital
ya hoor
cute hoor
Hats, scarfs and headbands!
Go down on it
Pull on it
Tir gan teanga, tir gan anam
As do bholg nar thaga se
Is e do bheatha a Mhuire ata lan de ghrasta
Anyone buying or selling
Hats flags and headbands
anyone for the last few choc-ices
Evening Herald or Press
Is e mo laoch mo ghile mear
Cheapest bailout ever
The Republican Party
Harry's of Kinnegad
Blow it up ref
Shoulder !
The hay saved and Cork bet
Ya wha ?
Comereiwantcha
A wild pull
Up to me bollix in Bibi Baskin
A woman from Clontarf
Call the Liveline
Eejit (and amazing that it is related to idiot)
Boidin foolish
AA Rewdwotch
To whom it concerns, it's the Late Late Show
Over to x for the sports news
A meitheal of biscuits
Horse of a man
Wild Whesst
It would be a great little country if you could roof it
Sthoppen and Starrrrtn
For feck's sake, 'tis supposed to be about euphemisms, not clichés! Get a grip (euphemism) will yis! ;)
Jesus Mary and Joseph, assist me now and in my last agony.
Look not on our sins but on the faith of your church
Comes from a respectable family
I don't recollect your honour
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on March 24, 2011, 10:25:07 PM
For feck's sake, 'tis supposed to be about euphemisms, not clichés! Get a grip (euphemism) will yis! ;)
Hold your horses.
Quote from: Fear ón Srath Bán on March 24, 2011, 10:25:07 PM
For feck's sake, 'tis supposed to be about euphemisms, not clichés! Get a grip (euphemism) will yis! ;)
On seeing the original list by McNally?, I decided that the parameters for euphemism had been widened, this was a new paradigm and things would be different this time around, maybe it's because we have a deeper need to own our own property than other free men, that hankering of course is stretches back to the times of the absentee landlords evicting hard working peasants and the famine etc.
Your man
Your wan
For fucks sake.
Look at this fuckin contraption.
Good hay.
It's not tara.
Sure kick it for them ref!
Fucked if I know.
can we reschedule our mortgage
do you want a pint or a transfer
it's hard keeping 3 houses maintained
that's wimmin for ya
the questions didnt suit ya
stop the lights
Well, Hooooleeeee God
Southern Ref
Dinner in the middle of the day
D4
the Bhoys
Blow in
They took the soup
Muck Savages
And thats the craic says she, with one leg on the dresser
It'll do rightly...
N-n-n-n-no favours were given (Bertie, Charlie, Burke, Pee Flynn, Lowry et al)
Quote from: Leo on March 25, 2011, 02:14:39 AM
It'll do rightly...
N-n-n-n-no favours were given (Bertie, Charlie, Burke, Pee Flynn, Lowry et al)
That jersey's a bit tight on ye
lost the run of themselves
Would ya look at the time, and not a child washed in the house
A long way from xxx you were rared
Sure all his people were the very same
He has a younger brother coming up, and he's twice as good
I remember him when he hadn't an arse in his trousers
He was known to the Gardai
Dig Out
yerra for jaysus sake that's a fuckin penalty
he's the salt of the earth
the auld sod
rake of porter
feed of beer
Are these euphemisms lads? I always thought a euphemsism was when you said something, and it also meant something else.
Like ' A bit of a commotion' is a euphemism for 'there was a absolute carnage outside the chicken hut after the disco'.
Quote from: AZOffaly on March 25, 2011, 09:30:34 AM
Are these euphemisms lads? I always thought a euphemsism was when you said something, and it also meant something else.
Like ' A bit of a commotion' is a euphemism for 'there was a absolute carnage outside the chicken hut after the disco'.
Your example seems to fit the bill alright AZ. But Frank McNally seems to be way off...
From dictionary.com
1. the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
2. the expression so substituted: "To pass away" is a euphemism for "to die."
Quote from: Kerry Mike on March 25, 2011, 09:21:04 AM
He was known to the Gardai
one of the classics and can't be anything but a euphimism
Quote from: passedit on March 25, 2011, 08:02:35 AM
That jersey's a bit tight on ye
another classic, and one I've been hearing myself lately, must be the new washing machine!!
He needs shot with a ball of his own shite.
Quote from: AZOffaly on March 25, 2011, 09:30:34 AM
Are these euphemisms lads? I always thought a euphemsism was when you said something, and it also meant something else.
Like ' A bit of a commotion' is a euphemism for 'there was a absolute carnage outside the chicken hut after the disco'.
Correct. But half the original euphemisms in the post fail that test so I think people are entering into the spirit and coming up with amusing colloquialisms
Quote from: deiseach on March 25, 2011, 09:53:20 AM
Quote from: AZOffaly on March 25, 2011, 09:30:34 AM
Are these euphemisms lads? I always thought a euphemsism was when you said something, and it also meant something else.
Like ' A bit of a commotion' is a euphemism for 'there was a absolute carnage outside the chicken hut after the disco'.
Correct. But half the original euphemisms in the post fail that test so I think people are entering into the spirit and coming up with amusing colloquialisms
and most of us have dropped the history of ireland bit too
Quote from: Bogball XV on March 25, 2011, 09:50:22 AM
Quote from: Kerry Mike on March 25, 2011, 09:21:04 AM
He was known to the Gardai
one of the classics and can't be anything but a euphimism
I wonder what the French equivalent of 'helping police with their enquiries' is.
'I had a bit of a tip' (in the car).
€19.99
Ireland is great for euphemisms about drinking and alcoholism and social class. But "the Troubles" beats them all.
Quote from: seafoid on March 25, 2011, 10:25:28 AM
Ireland is great for euphemisms about drinking and alcoholism and social class. But "the Troubles" beats them all.
He's fond of a drop
He takes a drink alright
The investigation follows an altercation outside a public house
PSTG is a bit of a rogue ;)
One thing I could never figure out was how he kept his shoes on while soiling the sloppy technicolor Buddha.
the garda are treating the death as suspicious
I'd ate the hind leg of a dead donkey
Jesus H. Christ on a motorbike
Quote from: passedit on March 25, 2011, 08:02:35 AM
Quote from: Leo on March 25, 2011, 02:14:39 AM
It'll do rightly...
N-n-n-n-no favours were given (Bertie, Charlie, Burke, Pee Flynn, Lowry et al)
That jersey's a bit tight on ye
he's wintered well
he wasn't bullied at the trough
he must have ate from the middle teat
<insert terrible insult here>
God forgive me (euphemism)
Quote from: AbbeySider on March 25, 2011, 11:40:27 AM
<insert terrible insult here>
God forgive me (euphemism)
But he has a face on him like a bull dog chewin a wasp
like a pig eatin a lemon
like a bag of hammers
like a melted welly boot
like the back of my ball sack
he is his own best customer
(original euphemism for alcoholic publicans but could apply to 21st century bankers)
Thon blade's a quare wan.
Quote from: BennyHarp on March 25, 2011, 12:33:33 PM
Thon blade's a quare wan.
Shes no show pony, but she do for a ride around the living room :D
She's got a fine pair of prátaí
You wouldn't throw her out of the bed for eating Taytos.
It's not ideal
I'm not racist but.........
With all due respect.......
The beebil of Sout Kirry.....
in fairness we beat the......
Your wan looks a quare yoke with the wee mini.
Quote from: seafoid on March 25, 2011, 10:25:28 AM
Ireland is great for euphemisms about drinking and alcoholism and social class. But "the Troubles" beats them all.
Always found that funny too - a 30 year civil war is a bit more than 'trouble'! Calling the second world war 'The Emergency' is in the same vein
Theres a bitta word for that yoke in the next...
Ya humpy bastard...
Ya can have your shite...
Quote from: hsthompson on March 25, 2011, 03:49:48 PM
Quote from: seafoid on March 25, 2011, 10:25:28 AM
Ireland is great for euphemisms about drinking and alcoholism and social class. But "the Troubles" beats them all.
Always found that funny too - a 30 year civil war is a bit more than 'trouble'! Calling the second world war 'The Emergency' is in the same vein
On the run
only his mother could love him
he's good for carrying the footballs out to training
Oh jus (spelled phonetically)
e.g. hes an Oh jus man. Is this just a Cavan expression?
On another is "He is the two sides of a B*ll*x.
Quote from: Denn Forever on March 25, 2011, 04:07:54 PM
Oh jus (spelled phonetically)
e.g. hes an Oh jus man. Is this just a Cavan expression?
On another is "He is the two sides of a B*ll*x.
I presume that's a Cavanism of 'Odious'? We (in Offaly) say 'Woe-Jus', but that means anything 'Cat malodeon'.
Oh Jus meaning Big, out of the ordinary. Kinda like Terrible/fierce in the phrase terrible/fierce nice fella. We know what it means but I'd hate to have to translate if.
The Meath version is "horrid". He's a horrid nice fella.
We also have our version of the "two sides/ends". He's the two ends and the middle of a hoor.
That'd probably be the opposite of a euphemism, but. (Putting "but" at the wrong end of the sentence is another one of ours).
I find Horrid, OhJus and Thara, three great words in common use in Monaghan, still try to figure out their meaning and when to throw them into conversation.
I say things like "that's a horrid nice cup of tae" or "the rain is a Thara" , when I roll these out when down in Kerry I get quare funny looks !!
I met a woman from Monaghan once who said Barry's tea was the drink of choice of "black Protestants", another great one.
John 3:7
Plan B
Quote from: muppet on March 25, 2011, 04:03:07 PM
he's good for carrying the footballs out to training
Said about two recent Galway football selectors - 'they're great men to collect the footballs after training'.
Go and shite
I'll break your face (is there such a medical condition as a broken face?).
Did ya stick the head into her?
Daycent people
Wouldn't kick snow off a rope
Wouldn't hit Clery's window wirra brick
paddy o'rourke out
i never touched him
diving bastard
specsavers ref
throw ball ref
its who you know
cant beat a toyota
his diesels shite
flash the lights at me..
keep er lit
a file is being prepared for the DPP ::)
FFS not another priest
I wouldn't be this thread's biggest fan.
I don't accept that.
Start ye dirty black enameled bastard ye.
Quit yer whining ye f**king bitch of a corncrake(when started)
Putting a Jar in the bed.
We have to wear the green jersey
Not impressed.