2.3k SHARES Share Tweet Whatsapp Pinterest Mail

Need to brush up on your Irish slang? Here the top 80 most used Irish slang phrases.

When you arrive in Ireland, you may be forgiven for thinking the English spoken here is a completely different language!

Indeed, since the dawn of time, the Irish have managed to invent our very own slang words and phrases to unleash on all unfamiliar with the lingo!

In this article, we highlight the most commonly heard Irish idioms and words, their meanings, and examples of how they are used in everyday speech.

You will be talking like a seasoned pro in no time!

Acting the maggot

Meaning: Fooling and messing around

Example: Stop acting the maggot

Bad dose

Meaning: Severe illness

Example: You got a bad dose of it, didn’t you?

Bags (to make a bags of something)

Meaning: Make a mess of doing something

Example: He made a right bags of that

Bang on

Meaning: Right, accurate, correct

Example: You are bang on

Banjaxed

Meaning: Broken

Example: The chair is banjaxed

Black stuff

Meaning: Guinness

Example: A pint of the black stuff, please

Boyo

Meaning: Male, juvenile

Example: Come on, you boyo!

Brutal

Meaning: Awful, dreadful

Example: It was a brutal tackle

Bucketing down

Meaning: Raining hard

Example: It is bucketing down

Bunk off

Meaning: Skip (school, work)

Example: Do you want to bunk off tomorrow?

Chancer

Meaning: Someone who takes a risk

Example: He is a real chancer

Chiseler

Meaning: Young child (Dublin slang)

Example: He was a chiseler at the time

Ciotóg

Meaning: Left-handed

Example: I am a Ciotóg and proud

Cod/codding ya

Meaning: To pull someone’s leg

Example: I am only codding ya!

Craic

Meaning: Fun, gossip, goings-on

Example: What’s/where’s the craic?

Crack on

Meaning: Continue on, get going

Example: I must crack on, lots to do

Culchie

Meaning: Person from rural / agricultural area

Example: She is a culchie originally

Cute hoor

Meaning: Person who quietly engineers things to their own advantage

Example: He is a real cute hoor

Delira and excira

Meaning: Delighted and excited (Dublin slang)

Example: Are you delira and excira about it?

Deadly

Meaning: Brilliant, fantastic, great

Example: That was a deadly film

Donkey’s years

Meaning: For a very, very long time

Example: They have lived there donkey’s years

Dosser

Meaning: Someone not working or is messing about, up to no good

Example: They are a couple of dossers

Meaning: Eat the head off

Meaning: To give out to someone

Example: Don’t eat the head off me

Eejit

Meaning: Complete fool, doing something silly

Example: You are such an eejit

Earwigging

Meaning: Listening in on a private conversation

Example: You were earwigging again, yes?

Effin’ and blindin’

Meaning: Swearing and cursing

Example: He was effin’ and blindin’ nonstop

Eff off

Meaning: Polite swear word (for the F word)

Example: Ah, just eff off, will ya

Fair play!

Meaning: Well done!

Example: Fair play, mate!

Feck Off

Meaning: Go away (polite version), used to show surprise or shock

Example: Feck off . . . . don’t be bothering me

Fella

Meaning: Used for your guy, as in ‘me fella’; partner/husband/boyfriend

Example: Is your fella going to be there?

Fierce

Meaning: Very good, great, excellent

Example: It was a fierce performance

Fine thing

Meaning: Good-looking man or woman

Example: That guy is a fine thing

Floozie

Meaning: Woman of dubious moral attributes

Example: The place is full of floozies

Fluthered

Meaning: Very drunk

Example: I was absolutely fluthered last night

Gaff

Meaning: Home; to have a ‘free gaff’ means you are home alone

Example: I will pop over to your gaff later

Gammy

Meaning: Crooked, or odd-looking

Example: He had a gammy leg

Gander

Meaning: Quick glance

Example: Take a quick gander in here first

Gas

Meaning: Funny or amusing

Example: He is a gas man

Gawk

Meaning: To stare rudely

Example: Stop gawking

Get outta that garden!

Meaning: Fun phrase used in a conversation to get a laugh, reaction

Example: Wud ya get outta that garden!!!

Grand

Meaning: Many uses; most often used as a reply to ‘How are you?’, ‘How are you feeling?’, or being told of a decision

Example: We will meet you there – “Grand”; Dinner will be in 10 minutes – “Grand”

Hames/haymes

Meaning: Complete mess

Example: I made a complete haymes of that work

Holy Joe

Meaning: Self-righteous or religious person

Example: She is a bit of a holy joe actually

Holy show

Meaning: Disgraceful scene

Example: She made a holy show of herself

How’s she cuttin’?

Meaning: Hi; How are you?; What’s news?

Example: How’s she cuttin’?

Howya

Meaning: Hi, hello

Example: Howya doin’?

Jackeen

Meaning: A rural person’s name for a Dubliner

Example: You are a jackeen…my sympathies!

Jacks

Meaning: Toilet

Example: I’m off to the jacks

Jo maxi

Meaning: Taxi, cab

Example: We can get a jo maxi in later

Kip

Meaning: A dump of a place and also a sleep

Example: I had a quick kip before dinner; it was a real kip of a hotel

Knackered

Meaning: Exhausted, tired

Example: I was completely knackered

Langers

Meaning: Drunk

Example: She was totaly langers last Friday

Lash

Meaning: 3 meanings: to rain hard; to make an attempt at something; or to go out drinking

Example: It was lashing out of the heavens. Give it a lash. Let’s go on the lash Saturday.

Leg it

Meaning: Run away quickly

Example: Come on, we need to leg it now!

Locked

Meaning: Very drunk

Example: He was totally locked at closing time

Manky

Meaning: Dirty, filthy, Disgusting

Example: My hair feels manky, it needs a wash

Moran

Meaning: Fool

Example: He looks a right moran

Mortified

Meaning: Highly embarrassed

Example: I was mortified when I realised my mistake

Mot

Meaning: Girlfriend (Dublin slang)

Example: Where’s your mot tonight?

Murder

Meaning: Very difficult or to really want to do something

Example: Finding a taxi was murder. I could murder a Guinness.

Nixer

Meaning: Job done for cash to avoid tax

Example: He can do it as a nixer for you

Not the full shilling

Meaning: Not fully sane

Example: I don’t think he is the full shilling

On the tear

Meaning: Going drinking

Example: We were on the tear last night

Ossified

Meaning: Drunk

Example: We got ossified

Oul fella

Meaning: Your father, dad (Dublin slang)

Example: My oul fella is out at the moment

Oul Dear / Oul Wan

Meaning: Your mother, mom

Example: My oul dear is out shopping

Pictures

Meaning: Movies, film

Example: We went to the pictures a week ago

Puss (To have a puss on you)

Meaning: Sulky face

Example: Take that puss off your face

Rugger Bugger

Meaning: Someone posh, loud and loves rugby

Example: He is a rugger bugger for sure

Savage

Meaning: Great, brilliant

Example: It was a savage contest till the end

Scarlet

Meaning: Very embarrassed

Example: I was scarlet

Shattered

Meaning: Exhausted

Example: After driving, I was shattered

Slag

Meaning: A verb used to make fun of someone in a nice way or else it has the same meaning as elsewhere, i.e., common prostitute

Example: He was only slagging you, don’t worry

Sorry

Meaning: Means sorry and also ‘excuse me’, ‘pardon me’

Example: Sorry, can I get in there please

Story? (What’s the)

Credit: Tourism NI

Meaning: Hi, what’s happening?

Example: What’s the story, Rory?

Suckin’ diesel (Now you’re)

Meaning: Now you’re talking, now you’re doing well

Example: Now you are suckin’ diesel, my friend!

The Pale

Meaning: Anywhere in the region of Dublin

Example: I am living just outside The Pale

Thick

Meaning: Extremely stupid

Example: He is as thick as a plank

Throw shapes

Meaning: Show off, sometimes aggressively

Example: They were all throwing shapes in the pub

Trinners

Meaning: Trinity College Dublin

Example: Did you go to Trinners to do your degree?

There you have them: the top 80 Irish slang words you’ll probably hear when visiting Ireland!