Top 9 words and expressions Irish people use and what they mean.

Hi there! Welcome back, or if this is your first time, céad míle fáilte (welcome in Irish)!In this article I'll be explaining what some expressions and words that Irish people use on a daily basis mean. I'd love to get into the nitty gritty of where each word or expression comes from, but I feel it might end up getting a little long winded, so I'll just do this for the first expression on the list, as it is undoubtedly one of the most commonly used expressions by Irish people and sometimes the most misunderstood by visitors. So without further ado, here we go!

How's/What's the craic?

In brief this means "how are you?" or "what's up?" The word craic is pronounced like "crack" so why the weird spelling? Well the word starts off "crak" as spoken in England between the 11th and 15th centuries. At this time it meant "to speak loudly or boastfully". On to the 16th century in northern England and Scotland, the spelling evolves to "crack" and the meaning to "news, gossip or chat". It wasn't until sometime in the mid 20th century that the word made its way from Scotland to northern Ireland. From there it peculated down to the rest of the country and the spelling of the word was changed to "craic" because this is how the pronunciation of the word would be spelled in the Irish language. So is craic even a real Irish word then? Well on the one hand we know it originates in England (at least that's as far back as we can trace it), but on the other hand , most languages spoken today evolved from older now dead languages with words jumping from language to language with, or even sometimes without minor changes to their spelling. One thing is certain however, 99.9% of Irish people will tell you that the craic, is Irish, and to be fair, the meaning of the word has also evolved along with its spelling to mean "fun, enjoyment and conversation" simultaneously, often with a connotation that that there will be drink and/or music involved! So now when someone asks you how's/what's the craic? You'll not only be able respond appropriately (by treating it as a "how are you?" question), but odds are you'll know more about the meaning of what they just said than they do themselves!

Culchie

What people from Dublin call people from the rest of the country. It implies that the person is from a backward rural area. It's like the Irish version of "redneck"!

Jackeen

Someone from Dublin. Usually used as a retort by culchies who have taken offence to being called a culchie, little do they know the Dubliner couldn't care less about being called a jackeen!

Sound

No, we're not completely daft! This word also means the same thing to us as it does to you, but in Ireland, "sound" can also have another meaning that you'll be able to glean from context. I means "cool or nice", but it's considered a cooler way of saying it in Ireland. So if someone tells you you're sound, it's a nice compliment! Here are a couple of examples of how you might hear it used: "That guy over there is so sound, he just bought me a pint to say welcome to the area!" or "Sound man/woman" trhis usually means "thank you" and is an affirmation for the person in question that they are sound! You may also hear the expression "sound as a pound", if something is sound as a pound it's great, it's the bees knees!

'Hup owwa that! aka: get up out of that!

'Hup owwa that is what it sounds like when a culchie from the midlands says get up out of that. It's an incredulous response that could also mean "don't be daft/unreasonable". For example, let's say a used car salesperson announces an outrageous price for a car, the midlands culchie might respond with something like "'Hup owwa that, sure it's not worth the color of it!" (for something to be "not worth the color of it" means it's far from being worth that.)

Cod-acting

The poor fish gets a hard time of it with this one, but if you're cod-acting, you're acting the fool or as is also said in Ireland "acting the maggot"! Not to be confused with "codding" which means you're tricking or joking with someone. For example, a few young men are rough-housing outside a pub and someone says "should we call the Gards (Irish police)?" to which someone replies "Nah don't bother they're only cod-acting!" An example of coding on the other hand could be in the course of having the craic! A good way to have the craic among friends is to say something potentially distressing like if your friend arrives late to the pub and you say "They just called last round before you arrived I doubt you'll get a drink now!" Late friend: "You're not serious?" "Nah I'm only codding ya!"

How's she cutting?

"How's she cutting?" is another fine culchie way of saying "how are you?/How are things?" One can only assume this originates from asking about the state of a neighbouring farmers farming equipment, or you can imagine a farmer cutting grass to make hay and a friendly passer by strikes up a conversation by asking "How's she cutting?" either way, this is not one you're likely to hear in the cities!

Ah sure . . .

This is a great one! It can be used to conclude any line of conversation no matter how light or heavy, for example "Looks like it's going to rain, ah sure..." or "our house was burgled last night, they took everything, ah sure..." It's a recognition of the fact that life happens and there isn't always something you can do about it. As people from a country that was occupied and brutalised by the Vikings and the English for hundreds of years, I think this notion of abandon is deeply engrained in the Irish psyche. Like for instance after reading this article, you probably won't buy a mug off me, ah sure..!

Slag

So not a by-product of welding and not a sexually uninhibited woman. No, in Ireland this usually means "to make fun of". For example, one friend says to the other "What happened to your hair you look like you were dragged backways through a bush?!" friend: "What? Really?" first friend: "Nah I'm only slagging you, you look fine!" This is also another fine example of how we like to have the craic, slagging often plays a large role in having the craic!

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