Trying To Explain Irish Slang, Sayings & Phrases! 

That was brilliant!!! I laughed and laughed. My Mum was from Sligo and she used to come up with some sayings that stopped us in our tracks as we had no idea what she was talking about. I remember her saying to my Dad,who was up in the loft ‘sure are you staying up there til you come down?’ 😂😂😂

Here in Texas we have the saying "That's a tall drink of water". That means a tall good looking man.

I could just imagine sitting and listening to you and your friends talking I'd probably only half of what your saying but I love all the words you use !!! 🥰

Catherine my fellow Dub, I couldn’t BREATHE watching this and the tears were rolling down my face. You are HILARIOUS girl 🤣. I definitely think as Irish people we are inclined to not realise the slang we use is very confusing for non Irish, and I think what makes it worse is we talk fast too, so other nationalities haven’t a hope in hell of understanding what we’re going on about. Really enjoyed the video, can’t wait for the next ❤️

I'm a Dubliner too and I'm laughing here because the more you explain the convoluted way we think and speak the more I'm amazed anyone ever understand us. My brother's Dutch partner was bewildered living here for years because we rarely say what we mean eg; 'See you later' rarely means 'I'll see you later'. We often say yes when we mean no. I was very struck when I discovered that there is no complete word for 'No' in Irish. We have 'Nil' and Ni he' but at the beginning of some long winded explanation why we can't do something. The Dutch are very straight and he is only beginning, after twenty years, to understand our labyrinthine communications....lol

I’m from Dublin too and I’m only now realising how confusing the way we speak must be for people outside Ireland 😂

Same here in US on accents. Every region has a different accent. Loved this topic! About you and your beautiful country so fascinating !

i am a translator .. you can't imagine the fun i had watching this video after a whole day of translating a boooring financial report .. stay safe, deerie 💜

The term "messages" comes from the days in Ireland before people had phones. So if someone had a message for you, they would leave a message in the shop with the shop keeper. So when you went to get your groceries, you'd also be going to check your messages. 😊

Language is what makes us unique and belong at the same time.

Oh girleen, you had me in tears, it sounds so funny. I cant believe how I must sound. WIth my West Cork accent ( as in Culchy) using all of these sayings plus others like " he's one cute hoor" ( a sly conniving fella), "I will yea" - when asked to do something means No I wont be doing it, this is a big one in Cork. "I was haunted" means I was lucky. "Story,feen" is a greeting basically saying hello, any news. " He's a chancer" - he is pushing his luck, I could go on. I know visitors struggle with us and our descriptive way of talking but sure we cant help ourselves.

I’m not Irish, but I grew up in an Irish neighborhood in New York and have been to Ireland several times. Found this video hysterical. I love the movie, The Snapper...too funny😂 My Irish friend also has some funny phrases like, “Bob’s your uncle” and “he/she looks like the back of the bus” (not nice, I know). First time I was in Ireland, I asked a taxi driver how long the ride is. His response was, “As long as you want it to be”.

🤗💕 I have watched this video 6 or 8 times. I enjoy you so much! This is my number one favorite video, followed by Bob Ross, then your gingerbread house fails. You absolutely delight me, Catherine.

Oh those took me back. My dad slowly stopped using a lot of these phrases when he left Ireland as no one understood him, but he used to use them in the house when I was a kid. Then, when we visited his family, he would slide back in and it would take us a few days to ‘get our ear in’. He always said that ‘*going to the bog’ originated from when the toilet was a plank strung across a ditch cut in the bog (would be used communally) and once the ditch was full it would be covered in the peat dug from the next ditch. When we visited his mother, my granny, for many years her toilet was an earth closet at the back of the garden (so a modern type of bog as it wasn’t communal but had plank walls and a door - space for one person - although next door was the other side of the plank wall and they used to have chats each morning!). Also, and her water to cook, wash etc was collected every morning in two buckets from the communal hand pump in the road (hence the earth closet as there was no piped water in the house). My mother was horrified! I do find it fascinating though that eco houses now have a form of earth closet with their sawdust loos (as they say, there’s nothing new under the sun 😆) Thanks for the memories - hoping to get back to Ireland at some stage when all this madness is over, for a tour round with a friend, hopefully come back with a few new phrases too

This has to be one of my favourite videos Catherine! 🙌 💚 As a fellow Irish lass from Canada, I've been wanting to brush up on my Irish slang! So thank you so much for making this video! 😊 Also, if ya don't mind me saying, I just love your Dublin accent 💕 xx

This was so fun to listen to, Catherine! "Smithereens" is a very common word to use around southern, middle Tennessee (USA, obviously). Had NO IDEA it was of Irish origin!!! Where I'm from, there's a lot of Irish heritage, so it makes sense why I know this word as if it were just a normal English word. :)

I'm from County Tyrone, Dungannon, N. I, and I was laughing all the way through this!! 😆 My Granny's toilet used to be an outhouse down on the bogland at the end of the yard, so we said we're going to the bog when we are going to the toilet. I live in England now and have grown out of the lovely sayings. We do say hot press. I revert back sometimes, but when I asked my English friend how her poorly husband was by asking 'how's himself?' she looked at me like I was mental! 'I'm going to get my messages', followed by, if questioned, 'I'm going to see a man about a dog!' was used frequently in my house.

It's the same here in England. I grew up in London and ended up marrying a Scouser (from Liverpool for those that don't know)! My wife's accent is very mild as she was in the Fire Brigade control and in those days, they were trained to tone down broad accents for clarity on the radio. When we first went to see her family or were at family gatherings, I needed her to translate! So much slang!! Back jigger = alley, Ganzi = jumper, keks = trousers and loads more. That's what's fun about any country though, learning the differences!

So MANY of these terms have been transplanted into our culture in Nova Scotia....but then again, most of us are of Celtic origin, Irish and Scot myself! :)

Brilliant video, I was born in London but mother from south Africa dad from Spain so we have crazy sayings. But that's the beauty of multi cultural society. Will use your video with your permission with my students at Spanish school, will love to see their faces. Your accent is BEAUTIFUL 🤗🤗

As an English as a Second Language teacher, I loved this! I am constantly explaining what our strange phrases mean and why we say that. I would love a little more language and culture videos from you. Of course, your DIY content is fab. 🥰

Etymology (eh-tim-OLOGY) is a scary looking thing, but it simply means studying the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning........which you performed quite well in this video. I loved it! You should throw more of these into the mix every once in a while!!

This video is the best! I’m Canadian but I have lived in South Wales for 42 years. I love the Irish and your accent. I understand all your sayings and can’t stop laughing 😂🤣😂🤣 Oh girl! I love ya!

Ah Father Ted and swearing Mrs Doyle. One of the funniest scenes ive ever watched in my life. Feck this feck that. Geg!

In Wales if someone asks us to do something we say "I'll do it now......in a minute" 😂🤔🙄😂😂

I use the phrase “run errands” when I go out when what I mean is I’m going shopping, because if I say shopping my husband knows I’m going to spend money. Lololol!

Oh wow, Australian slang is hard, Irish you win😂. This Aussie can relate to some, Irish slang, like “gob”.

My dad used to say “I’m going to go count my money” when he was going to the toilet. 😂😂😂 I never asked where he got that saying but I always thought it was funny.

I grew up in Western Massachusetts in the US (where Wicked! was the ultimate compliment strangely enough), I’ve visited the UK, and now live in Australia - all “English-speaking” places but all different languages really. Thanks for the giggle, Catherine, needed it today.

You are such a precious, living doll! I really loved this video and you explaining the meanings, so much fun. One of my favorite words I like hearing you say is “but”. With your accent it comes out “boo-hut” to my ear. I smile every time. Another day brightener. Thanks Catherine!

This brought back so many memories of my mum, she was from Galway. You have cleared something up though, she'd say "Away oor that" and it didn't make sense (we knew it meant to MOVE), now I know it was "Get away out of that" it makes more sense! You saying 'come'ere to me' reminded me of her saying "listen Shirl" about a hundred times during a phone call, drove me mad! As if I could do anything else on the phone! Bless her and bless you, you made me smile today xxx

Over the past 30 years I’ve worked with men and women from many diff places in Ireland and I loved them all. Such wonderful outlook on life - work hard but always with a smile and they never held a grudge. I think some (older) Australian sayings have Irish roots given our shared heritage..... Dainty, I could listen to you talk all day 🥰 Stay safe and best wishes from Australia 🇦🇺 xx

I love all the different sayings. My mother's side of the family came from Ireland to America in the late 1600s and this explains some of the sayings that have survived through the years. Here in America, we have different accents and sayings from the different parts of the Country, as well. I am from the deep South so I have a heavy Southern accent. It's so interesting and funny to learn the slang and sayings from other places. Thank you for sharing!

I love how you chuckle at the fun of it, shows your good character.

Being a Ballykissangel fan, I learned quite a few Irish phrases years ago. This was so fun learning more. Thank you for taking the time to educate us in your language. Very entertaining. 👍☘️🇺🇸

Thank you, Catherine. I enjoyed it. When I was in Ireland years ago, I bought a little yellow copper plate reading "Sláinte". Your country has such lovely expressions. And yes, we have many shebeens in South Africa.

I'm Spanish and my boyfriend is Irish and I can confirm that the way you use language can be very confusing😂, but it's so unique and I love it😍

I love the way you leave the 'h' out of your pronunciation e.g. things - you say 'ting' or Thursday you say 'Tursday' x

I love when you're explaining things and then add in more slang that probably need explaining too lol! Love it Catherine x

So much to learn! I have wanted to visit Ireland for years- maybe some day ;) Fun fact - New Englanders - (mostly Massachusetts, as far as I know) - say "Wicked Awesome!" and "Wicked cool!" I lived in Cape Cod as a child and my very Christian parents did not allow us to say that 😂

I have tears of laughter. This is gold and made my day. I love Irish sayings. Everyone has there own but we don’t notice them when we use them everyday. You’re a crack up Catherine and I’m glad I found you on RU-vid 😂👏🏼

Hi Catherine, great video, really enjoyed it. I’m Welsh and I recognise and say some of your sayings. Kip is a nap to me so that made me smile. Great to have an extra video, enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Thankyou for sharing 😊💖

One I’ve used forever is cattywampus. As in I tried to hang that picture straight but its all cattywampus.

oh my word, I am in stitches here, the more you are trying to explain things the more confusing it sounds. Dear love anyone over the water trying to make head or tail of it all. Here in Northern Ireland I have a hot press (an airing cupboard is considered a posh thing ) to keep all my linens and towels in (amongst other clutter ), and am considered a "culshie" because I don't live in a town or city. You have made my day as always, thankyou x

Hehe... - this was a great video. 😁 One never thinks of 'everyday' words and sayings until one has to explain them, and you did a fine job! Thanks - really enjoyed this. 😁

This was fun Catherine. I don't understand everything you say due to your accent and slang but I love listening to you. It's so interesting to see our differences and yet how alike we all are. You keep putting out videos and I'll keep watching them. 2 cheeky thumbs up on this one

This was so good! Man, I think we all needed a good one!:) I haven’t heard some of these in a long time, not since my grand parents were alive. My grandma used to always say”Oh dear, bread and beer, if I wasn’t married, I wouldn’t be here.” Sometimes, I don’t always understand some of the things my dads says. Thanks for such a good laugh and some memories coming back:)

Wow that’s confusing I think I would end up getting flogged ! Thanks that was fun 🤩

I’m from north east England and most of these we use too but some were new. Here kip means sleep and clip means mess. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

This was great! I had no idea what the “long finger” was but I figured it was low on the priority list. This was a really fun video. Thanks for sharing!!

Hi from Australia, we are the same here, I had family from the uk pop over. It was so funny to see there reactions to our very large family , and all the slang, the only thing we all understood was the laughter. Bless ya …

It’s so great hearing you speak, because I can totally hear the Celtic/Gaelic language (obviously haha). My mom taught me a couple words but I couldn’t speak it if I tried lol. But the evolution of the language it so awesome and your explanation was fabulous to hear and watch.

Loved your video and actually helped me understand some of my Pappy's sayings. He was of Irish origin and lived with us - I just simply picked up his slang. When I married my husband (from New York), he'd always ask me what does that mean? Sayings he'd never heard. Now, if I could only say those things with the lovely Irish brogue you have :)

I had a "cheat sheet" for this - I'm in the US but I've had a friend in Cork since we were both twelve years old. :-) (She's even taught me some Irish, and another Irish speaker here in New York told me a couple years back that I speak Irish with a Cork accent.) The biggest "slang" thing I've ever said that caused problems comes from the fact that I grew up in one of the states from the "New England" region in the USA, and in that part of the country the name for a store that sells alcohol (I think you'd call it an off-license) is a "package store". For YEARS after I moved to New York, I would talk about "going to a package store" to get a bottle of wine or something and everyone would ask me "...a package store? You mean, like a post office?"

I loved watching father ted. My husbands family are Irish but his mum has lost her accent since moving to Australia, she still uses some fun words like ‘press’ though. I was surprised how many “Irish” words from your list are used here but I guess a lot of Irish people have immigrated to Australia over the years.

I just Love hearing you talk! My mom was Irish and aunts, uncles, grandparents...I miss them dearly...but hearing you speak warms my heart and I understand alot of what you say 😉💕🍀

The Snapper was hilarious. I saw it years ago & it holds up to this day as a great dramatic comedy & is always a good laugh.

Smitherines means the same in the southern U S.

I love this video! ❤ I love learning about language. It was fun to notice which words/phrases are used here in England with Irish origins! ...and which are new to me completely! You are a delight to listen to 🙏😊

I'm from Cork, now living in States. I say that phrase at work in the office ' Oh there's your friend' to colleagues, alot of times they don't know what I mean buying a 'round' was back in my time back in '80s too, everyone takes turns in buying drinks within their group ; knackered means tired - defo means agreeing with others - when I was in school, with friends admiring boys, we used to say 'Hows the Talent' Yer one is 'Chancing yer Arm up to yur Elbow' ; In the states the 'Hot Press' is the Linen Closet ' Going for the Messages' is originally from Belfast & Scotland back in the 16th Century, Scots who settled in Northern Ireland. then it filtered down to the rest of the country

When I lived in Maine the word "wicked", said in the same context as "great", was said all the time. I have gotten out of the use of it since I moved to the Midwest. It's interesting to know it's used in Ireland too.

My family uses many of these words and phrases! My great, gr. Grandparents were from Ireland. I remember my great grandmother using alot of these! What a fun video! I adore your accent!

Absolutely love your personality, accent and interaction with us! Sending you love from a Latin girl living in Australia 💝

I absolutely loved this video! I am from Newfoundland, Canada where we use a lot of those phrases. Listening to you is like coming home for me so this video in particular was wicked! You are a grand girl and joy to watch! Loves it!

Lol Catherine great entertaining video made me laugh, us English say lots of those sayings as well. When my daughter makes her you tube video's, she sometimes says faffing and she gets asked 'what is faffing ' lol. You are so adorable and have a beautiful personality 💗

I’ve been wanting this video for a while!! Thanks for explaining😄 my mom always says, “no ones gonna notice on a galloping horse,” which means no one will notice an imperfection, like a snag or hole in your clothes or a mistake you’ve made on a project

I had an old Aunt and Uncle who would never 'take the lords name in vain' so instead of saying "Ah Jesus Christ!" they would say "Ah cheese and rice!"

Loved this sharing❤ so funny Catherine and interesting too... A merry heart does good, like medicine... Proverbs 17:22~♡~ my heart is merry after explaining Irish slangs, sayings and phrases😄 great job. Have always loved your accent, so sweet. Keep smiling, keep well♡

Love this!!! I am in the US, in Minnesota, and I have always heard and used the word "smithereens."

Banjaxed is one of my favourite 🤩

Love it. Dont forget anything said in Dublinese lol. Knackered, Scuttered. The place is a kip, but also, going for a kip, hitting the sack.

this made my day!♡ the old folks always said "im going to see a man about a horse" a sort of version of the messages bit lol... Lovely that i stumbled into this community. what delight; )

I grew up in NY we talk with our hands but I have lived in Texas for years since I married my husband I go from Yankee accent to a Texas one im a hot mess !!! 🤣 your videos always make me smile ❤

This is great! I love all your sayings. They make your videos even better than they are already.

I absolutely loved this video. My grandmother always used the word smittereens and linen press. Thanks for the laugh, I could have watched for hours. ❤️ from Australia.

absolutely fantastic video Thank you Catherine for brightening another Sunday x

Love💕 So gracious to let us hear your self - like music to my ears and so fun !

We visited Ireland in 2017. Found the slang charming. I bought the moonshine but forgot the word for it. Any way we marked it Holy Water in order to bring back the souvenirs. One of the recipients said it took the enamel off his teeth. Got lost in Kilkenny and they were so nice in on

I got a kick out of some of your sayings! I'm from Newfoundland, Canada and many of the sayings you've mentioned - I've heard in my childhood. Now (please don't take offense BUT ... ) "My dear, you got some gob on ya!" I'm fairly new to your channel and is loving it. I believe Newfoundland had many Irish settlers. Sleeveen ... very well known. Anyhow, I sure got a charge out of you gabbin' tonight. At one point I had to wipe away the tears from laughing. I sure enjoyed this video. Thanks for doing this. Take care.

This was now very interesting thanx.the only thing i can think of that i have notice you pronounce differently from us in South Africa is the way you say time. I love your accent.

YASSSSSSSS! THANK YOU! I've been a big fan of you for three years now and I had to Google some of your Irish words! We now refer penis to Mickey and garbage can to wheely bin! We live near Seattle Washington in US and my daughter and I plan to visit Ireland when she graduates high school! You're the best!

Thanks for making me smile so much , My Dads side of the family came from Cork and I had not a clue what My granny ever spoke about, she passed when I was only 8 ... what a woman 🤣😂frightened the life outa me. This was a brilliant idea .. stay safe stay well x

So interesting, in Italy (at least in my region) we say look your friend when we see someone that your friend don't like and boyfriend/girlfriend for someone they fancy. I'll be happy to see more video like these

My grandad was from Dublin and I have been brought up on all these sayings and didn't realise some were of irish origin. I love your accent I could listen to you all day 💕

Enjoyed the video Catherine! Lol, I never realized that different parts of Ireland had different accents. Same thing here in America. Loved hearing about all the different words and sayings you guys use there too, and their meanings. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻♥️♥️♥️😉

I am a member of a small writing group and I set us some homework one time to write out slang expressions you know. After about close to a hundred, I astounded myself. I did not know I used so many. Your expression “the man” we here in the northern end and out west of Australia, use “old mate” eg Old mate down the road owns a horse. English is an atrocious language to have to teach. 😂😂🇦🇺

On the Long finger is basically 'To Procrastinate' to put things off - Great Vlog, loved it, especially as I'm missing home (Ireland) stuck here in the States, not able to travel yet !! lovely distraction on a Sunday evening - looking forward to your next video

I enjoy Patricia Scanlan books (Irish) and had to look up the phrase "the sun is splitting the stones" as I didn't know what it meant.

I'm from Spain, I have friends in Cork and in Belfast and there accent is very different to yours. When I first came across you took me a while to figure out your accent. But I love listening to you. I'm glad I can understand another accent. In Spanish we have many accents and even dialets.

I’ve loved your videos since finding you about four months ago. I’m originally from Newfoundland, now living in Ontario Canada. Well, there were many settlers from Ireland, Scotland & England (my family came from England 4 generations ago). Hearing you speak is just like hearing a Newfie (Newfoundlander) talk. There are also many dialects there too & depending on where you’re from, some are hard to understand too. Well, some of these words I grew up with, I guess stemmed from Ireland - when you’re going thru these words, I’m laughing, saying, wow, we say that too. So cool! BTW enjoyed your video of your trip to Toronto...

My maiden name is Broderick. I know my father's, his Dad is Irish (he died in 1939). But, I do not know when they came over to the US. I would love to learn more about that side of our family. I've always wanted to visit Ireland. It is on my ultimate wish list.

This was completely entertaining! Thanks, Dainty!

Loved this. Made me think of the sayings we have in Hull. Although we're part of Yorkshire, our accent is full of flat vowels, from Viking invaders, so it's a unique accent, spoken very quickly. It's not a particularly attractive language, and a lot of people have trouble understanding. I'm often asked if I'm from elsewhere, because i worked hard to lose most of my accent, purely because i wanted period to understand me! I really loved seeing this different side of you. Xxx

I have used some of these phrases all my life and didn't know they were Irish. In the US we have so many words and phrases we use and forget where they came from. Love this.

Very interesting!! I knew some of these from the Clancy Brothers, Maeve Binchy, and Dara O’Briain! But a lot were new to me!!💚

I’m Irish ,I loved this.

I love this video! Though I admit that I’m going to watch it again, because with your accent, I had a hard time understanding it all. I love your accent, by the way! I have a friend from Dublin, and I love to listen to her! More like this, please!❤️

Loved this! My parents were from Dublin, so though I grew up in North East England, I knew ALL of these!! Also, you have very pretty eyes...

Hi Catherine Absolutely love any Irish accent. I knew just about all of those words/phrases. I'm a geordie so very similar xx

I enjoyed your SLang it brought me back when I lived in Dublin I had a good laugh good on ya Catherine rl