An Irish Country Doctor Page 30

chiseller:Dublin slang, small child.

  clabber:Glutinous mess of mud, or mud and cow clap.

  colloguing:Chatting about trivia.

  cow's lick:Tuft of hair that sticks up, or hair slicked over to one side.

  cracker:Excellent (see also wheeker).

  craking on:Talking incessantly.

  cruibins:Irish. Pronounced "crubeen." Boiled pigs' feet, served cold and eaten with vinegar.

  cure, wee:Hair of the dog.

  dab hand:Skilled at.

  damper:Device for restricting the flow of air to a coal or turf fire to slow the rate of burning.

  dander:Literally, horse dandruff. Used to signify either a short leisurely walk or anger. For example, "He really got my dander up."

  divil:Devil.

  divil the bit:None. For example, "He's divil the bit of sense." He's stupid.

  doddle:A short distance or an easy task.

  dote:Something adorable.

  dote on:Worship.

  do with the price of corn:Irrelevant.

  drill-the-dome boys:Medical slang, neurosurgeons. See also Nutcrackers.

  drouth, raging:Pronounced "drewth." Alcoholic.

  druishin:Irish. Pronounced "drisheen."Dish made of cows' blood, pigs' blood, and oatmeal. A Cork City delicacy.

  dulse:A seaweed that when dried is eaten like chewing gum.

  eejit:Idiot.

  egg-bound hen:A hen with an egg stuck in the oviduct that cannot be laid. Applied to a person, it suggests extreme distress.

  fag:Cigarette.

  fall off the perch:Die.

  Fenians:Catholics (pejorative).

  Field, the:A place where Orange Lodges and bands congregate after the Twelfth of July parade.

  finagle:Achieve by cunning or dubious means.

  fit to be tied:Very angry.

  flying:Drunk.

  get on one's wick:Get on one's nerves.

  give over:Stop it.

  glipe, great:Stupid or very stupid person.

  gobshite:Dublin slang used pejoratively about a person. Literally, dried nasal mucus.

  good man ma da:Expression of approval.

  grand man for the pan:One who really enjoys fried food.

  great:The ultimate Ulster accolade; can be used to signify pleased assent to a plan.

  grotty:English slang. Run-down and dirty.

  guttersnipe:Ruffian.

  half cut:Drunk.

  hand's turn:Minimum amount of work.

  having me on:Deceiving me.

  heart of corn:Very good-natured.

  heifer:Young cow before her first breeding.

  hirstle:Chesty wheeze.

  hit the spot:Fill the need.

  hold your horses:Wait a minute.

  hooley:Party.

  houseman:Medical intern.

  how's (a)bout ye?:How are you? Or good-day.

  humdinger:Something extraordinary.

  I'm your man:I agree to and will follow your plan.

  in soul, I do:Emphatic.

  jar:An alcoholic drink.

  knackered:Very tired. An allusion to a horse so worn out by work that it is destined for the knacker's yard, where horses are destroyed.

  knickers in a twist, in a knot:Anxiously upset.

  knocking:Having sexual intercourse.

  Lambeg drum:Massive drum carried on shoulder straps by an Orangeman and beaten with two sticks, sometimes until the drummer's wrists bleed.

  length and breadth of it:All the details.

  let the hare sit:Leave the thing alone.

  like the sidewall of a house:Huge, especially when applied to someone's physical build.

  liltie:A madman. An Irish whirling dervish.

  load of cobblers':In Cockney rhyming slang, "cobblers' awls" means "balls." Used to signify rubbish.

  lough:Pronounced "logh," almost as if clearing the throat. A sea inlet or very large inland lake.

  lummox:Stupid creature.

  main:Very.

  make a mint:Make a great deal of money.

  moping:Indulging in self-pity.

  muggy:Hot and humid.

  mullet, stunned:To look as stupid or surprised as a mullet, an ugly saltwater fish.

  my shout:I'm buying the drinks.

  near took the rickets:Had a great shock.

  no dozer:Clever.

  no goat's toe, he think's he's:Has an overinflated sense of his own importance.

  no spring chicken:Getting on in years.

  not as green as you're cabbage looking:More clever than you appear to be.

  not at myself:Feeling unwell.

  nutcrackers:Neurosurgeons (medical slang).

  nutty slack:Fine, slow-burning coal.

  Orange Order:Fraternal order of Protestants committed to loyalty to the British crown.

  ould goat:Old man, often used affectionately.

  out of kilter:Out of alignment.

  oxter:Armpit.

  oxter-cog:To carry by supporting under the armpits.

  pacamac:Cheap, transparent, plastic raincoat carried in a small bag.

  Paddy hat:Soft-crowned tweed hat.

  Paddy's market:A large, disorganised crowd.

  peat (turf):Fuel derived from compressed plant matter.

  penny bap:A small bun usually coated in flour.

  piss artist:Alcoholic.

  poke:Have sex with; a small parcel.

  pop one's clogs:Die.

  poulticed:Pregnant (usually out of wedlock).

  powerful:Very.

  quare:Ulster pronunciation of queer. Very; strange.

  raring to go:Eager and fully prepared.

  recimetation:Malapropism for recitation.

  rug rats:Children.

  run-race:Quick trip to, usually on foot.

  sheugh:Bog.

  shirty:Short tempered.

  shit:The action of defaecation.

  shite:Faeces.

  skiver:Corruption of scurvy. Pejorative. Ne'er-do-well.

  skivvy:From scurvy. Housemaid.

  snotters:Runny nose.

  soft hand under a duck:Gentle or very good at.

  sore tried by:Very worried by or very irritated by.

  spavin:A disease of horses resulting in a sway-back.

  spavined:Suffering from spavin.

  stays:Whalebone corset.

  stocious:Drunk.

  stone:Measure of weight equal to fourteen pounds.

  stoon:Sudden shooting pain.

  stout:A dark beer, usually Guinness.

  strong weakness:Hangover.

  take a gander:Look at.

  taste, wee:Amount. Small amount, not necessarily edible.

  ta-ta-ta-ra:Dublin slang for party.

  thick:Stupid.

  thon:That.

  thrapple:Throat.

  throw off:Vomit.

  toty, wee:Small, very small.

  turf accountant:Bookmaker.

  up the spout; up the pipe:Pregnant.

  wean:Pronounced "wane." Child.

  wee:Small, but in Ulster can be used to modify almost anything without reference to size. A barmaid, an old friend, greeted me by saying, "Come on in, Pat. Have a wee seat and I'll get you a wee menu, and would you like a wee drink while you're waiting?"

  wet, wee:Alcoholic drink.

  wetting the baby's head:Drinking to celebrate a birth.

  whaling away at:Beating.

  wheeker:Very good.

  wheest:Be quiet.

  wheezle:Wheeze in the chest.

  whippet:Small fast-racing dog like a mini-greyhound.

  willy:Penis.

  your head's cut (a marley):You are being very stupid, and your head is as small and as dense as a child's marble.

  your man:Someone who is not present but who is known to those who are.

  you're on:Agree to a suggestion, or indicate acceptance of a wager.

  youse:Ulster plural of you.