Top 80 Irish Slang Words: The Gift of the Gab

Suzanne is a qualified beautician with experience as a freelance makeup artist.

Gift of The Gab

Arriving in Ireland, you may be forgiven for thinking you have been hoodwinked, cajoled, led up the garden path, or just plain misinformed as to the language widely spoken here. Since before time us Irish have managed to invent our very own slang words and phrases to unleash on all unfamiliar with the lingo! Here, I have highlighted the most commonly heard words, their meanings, and provided examples of how they are used in everyday speech. Have fun: you will be talking like a seasoned pro in no time!

Don't forget to test your slang street cred and your gift of the gab ability, by taking my small quiz at the end!

OK... Lets get started alphabetically.

Irish Terminology A-D

There are no strangers here, only friends that we have not yet met.

— William Butler Yeats

Irish Terminology D-G

A life making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing at all.

— George Bernard Shaw

Irish Terminology G-M

The Emerald Isle: Ireland

The Four Leaf Clover: Fact or Fiction?

Actually it does exist although rare! Legend says that if you find one each leaf has a meaning.

• The first is for Faith.
• The second is for Hope.
• The third is for Love.
• The fourth is for Luck.

Irish Terminology N-T

At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.

— W. Somerset Maugham

Irish Slang Quiz -

For each question, choose the best answer. The answer key is below.

Scroll to Continue

Read More From Owlcation

The Hard Toil of Pit Ponies in Coal Mines

How Emperor Aurelian Reunited the Roman Empire

The Wars of the Roses: Medieval England's Climactic Conflict

1. What would you call someone listening in on a private conversation?
   • Oul Man
   • Earwigging
   • Mot
2. In Irish Slang, what does Gas mean?
   • Amusing
   • Petrol
   • Strange
3. If I told you that you were langers last night, what would I mean?
   • You had eaten too many Pies
   • You were singing non-stop
   • You had drunk too much alcohol

Answer Key

1. Earwigging
2. Amusing
3. You had drunk too much alcohol

© 2012 Suzanne Ridgeway

Top 80 Irish Slang Words - The Gift Of The Gab Comments

Cathal on June 16, 2020:

I'm from Cork and this quiz if fairly accurate but theirs 4 meanings for lash as the creator said "raining heavy "give it a go" and go drinking" but theres lash to hit example: "If you dont cop on you'll get a lash!"

But over all very good

John on February 24, 2020:

Yup bais

Yasha on January 08, 2020:

OH man I love Ireland

unkown on October 17, 2019:

there some other wordes ur missing

Teresa Kennedy Harris on August 19, 2018:

Very helpful for my book that is based out of Dingle Ireland, and I am a California girl!

Galexia Morgan on July 10, 2018:

Is there any way to just say very or really? Or something along those lines? Like very sorry?

Robert Sample on May 19, 2018:

This is extremely useful when your In Ireland.

Bruce Barker on March 14, 2018:

Born in New Ross, County Wexford but we most commonly used the word craic.

jay noone on January 10, 2018:

jasus be morphy!

Niamh on November 26, 2017:

Im a pure irish woman, born and raised ,im surprised ,ive heard all of these but the most common ive heard are ,acting the maggot ,craic, ejit ,black stuff ,eff off ,feck off, and lots more .

Kayedi on May 16, 2017:

I'm definitely gonna need this if I wanna go to Ireland!

??? on April 17, 2017:

I said like alllllllllll of these to people I know and they were soooooooooo confused

Christine Byrne on February 22, 2017:

My father, from Dublin, often says: Jaysus! It would make you jump up and never come down again!

darren kent on July 25, 2015:

is there a slang word for insult?

Lee Cloak on May 03, 2015:

A great fun hub, really well put together, great stuff, well done, thanks for sharing, voted up, Lee

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on April 23, 2015:

Suzanne, this was a real interesting read about the top Irish slang words and their meanings. Voted up!

maria on March 27, 2014:

Those words make no sense

Carrie Lee Night from Northeast United States on March 17, 2014:

Great fun!! Thank you for sharing those great Irish slang words with us :) Brilliant. Have a great week.

Erin O'Connor on November 22, 2013:

brill site ! and I went to Trinners !!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on November 19, 2013:

Hi Laura,

Glad you enjoyed!

Laura on November 18, 2013:

Hahaha that was gas! :P Reall fun and great craic ;)

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on October 06, 2013:

Nice one buachaildana, quite an appropriate name! LOL

buachaildana on October 06, 2013:

gwan oura dat ye bleedin' mad ting. ur aulfellas a durtburd for sayin i stroked ur scratcher out d gaf man. he can ask me bollix if he tinks im gettin into a barney wit him over it the poxbottle, sure ur aulwan kno's wot he's like n all inanyways dya kno worimean pal. nice wan yea, cyerafter.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 23, 2013:

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for the comment! Had no idea those words were common in Australia. I lived in NZ for a year and did not hear any Aussies use them either. Funny how some are in both but then maybe not since so many Irish are there! Thanks so much!

Rachel on September 23, 2013:

You have no idea how much of this I recognised... and I've never been to Ireland! So much of this looks like Australian slang to me.

I hear things like "deadly", "donkey's years", "fella", "knackered", "we legged it outta there", "mortified", "we went to the pictures" and so on on an almost daily basis, just to name a few. Oh, and "it's bucketing down" comes up semi-regularly in winter (you know, when it actually rains).

And who said Strine was an Australian invention?

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on April 26, 2013:

Hi Blond Logic,

Many thanks for visit and comments. With all the different slang and the different accents going on it makes for a very crazy world of language! In England there are so many curious expressions or slang too so no wonder you found it daunting. Thanks so much for input!

Mary Wickison from Brazil on April 25, 2013:

Wonderful. I lived in Britain for many years and when I first arrived, I couldn't understand a word they were saying, "You alright me duck?"

That said at speed, did not sound like English.

You have compiled a great list here.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on April 25, 2013:

Hi upal19,

Many thanks hope it made some sense to you! Appreciate your comment!

Ashraf Mir from Dhaka on April 24, 2013:

I learned from it. So nice!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on April 24, 2013:

Hi Jeff,

LOL . .OMG, how did that one escape me? You are so right, and I am forever using it! From always working with the public, I often say "Are you okay?" when meaning "may I help you?" and never thought of it being another "Irish" saying or phrase but it obviously is one! There are hundreds of slang I could use but had to limit this list somewhere! maybe another part is needed?? Appreciate greatly you reading and bringing your experience to light, great comment, i love it!

Jeff Berndt from Southeast Michigan on April 24, 2013:

Great stuff! Voted Useful, Interesting, and Up.

It's funny, though: the thing that wrong-footed me when I first arrived in Ireland isn't on this list. Every time I went to buy something in a sandwich shop or get a bed at a hostel, the person behind the counter would ask me, "Are you okay?" For the first day or so, I thought I might be coming down with something. Then I ended up third in line and heard the woman behind the counter ask everyone if they were okay, and I realized that "Are you okay?" is just the Irish version of "How can I help you?"

Had a good laugh at myself. :)

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 2013:

Thanks Nelly.

Nelly Crowe on April 13, 2013:

Very funny. It's for a poem and I can just see the look on people's faces in the workshop. Although, it might be fun as a joke. Too bad April Fools' Day is past.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on April 13, 2013:

Good Line! Thanks

the doc on April 12, 2013:

Definition of a farmer a man how is outstanding in his own field

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on March 30, 2013:

Your welcome Nelly!

Nelly Crowe on March 30, 2013:

Thanks so much. Will do.

Nelly

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on March 28, 2013:

Hi Nelly Crowe,

Appreciate you dropping in! i don't know of a slang term or colloquial term for farmer i'm afraid but check it out online or in an Irish slang dictionary. Hope this helps!

Nelly Crowe on March 28, 2013:

Great page! Looking for a slang or colloquial term for farmer. Can you help?

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on November 18, 2012:

Niam,

Afraid I am not familiar with bant except being short for banter, as in chat, talk. Hope that helps!

Niamh on November 18, 2012:

What does 'has the bant' mean?

Sentence: run down has the bant and gets it off him.

Ya see i'm in a play and i really need to know what to do....

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on November 06, 2012:

Hi lemonkerdz,

Welcome! Wow, what a journey Swords to Peru, my bucket list no.1 stop! Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Funny you say you have never been here, you sound very Irish!! Glad you enjoyed this you may enjoy the humour in my other Irish hub, so you want to be Irish !! Looking forward to reading more of your work here! Appreciate your votes!

lemonkerdz from LIMA, PERU on November 06, 2012:

man i loved this article, my family came from Swords in ireland, although i have never been, but it was amazing to read a lot of expressions that me and my brothers use are in your irish slang words..and the others....well we learned them from watching "Father Ted" bless him, he opened up ireland to the world. thanks for a great hub, voted up from me.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on October 02, 2012:

Hi Jeff,

Like your use of a bit of slang, your are coming on grand and soon you will be suckin diesel me ol' flower!

Glad you have been getting some mileage out of the jacks at work!! LOL

Appreciate your reading,votes and sharing!

Jeff Boettner from Tampa, FL on September 29, 2012:

Glad I took a gander at this hub Suzie HQ :), I studied the words until I was completely knackered. Savage hub for reference, someday I'm makin it to the Pale for a pint of the Black stuff. I'm not slagging you, It's on the top of my list. Voted Up and Sharing, then I'm off to the Jacks!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 27, 2012:

Hi ElleBee,

Many thanks for reading this! Glad you found it interesting and came upon words you recognised. It is amazing how us Irish pop up everywhere, happy to hear a community are thriving in Massachusetts!!! Appreciate your interest and comments Elle Bee! :-)

ElleBee on September 27, 2012:

Interesting! A few of these I actually wouldn't have even known were slang, because I have used/heard them so much (namely gawked, brutal and mortified). Then again I live in Massachusetts, and it sometimes seems we have as many Irish people as Ireland does :) Certainly interesting - esepcially how some of these phrases we also use, but for entirely different purpose. If someone told me they were shattered, I'd think they were drunk not tired!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 27, 2012:

Hi Mama Kim,

Thanks for stopping by! Glad you enjoyed it was fun putting together! Appreciate your votes and sharing MK!!!!

Sasha Kim on September 26, 2012:

This is fantastic!! I can't wait to use some of these ^_^

I'm voting and sharing this all over!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 14, 2012:

Hi RC,

What quick work you are! Thanks very much for your comments, much appreciated this part of the globe! You would be lead to believe us Irish speak the English but don't be fooled!! LOL Check out my other Irish hub sometime for a real "flavour" of warped Irish humour! lol Thanks again RC. :-)

Rich from Kentucky on September 14, 2012:

Suzi -

And I thought the Irish spoke English! lol

My cousin does professional Irish dancing and has visited there every year. She is in love with the countryside and the people. I, unfortunately, have never been there, but would love to some day.

Still smiling over some of the expressions! Great Hub!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 14, 2012:

Hi Pamela,

I am so glad you enjoyed this compilation of Irish slang. Many are used without us even realizing we must sound odd to foreign visitors! Hopefully you will get to visit us over this neck of the woods and have a head start in the speech! Thanks again for commenting, it is much appreciated!

Pamela Oglesby from Sunny Florida on September 14, 2012:

Great information Suzie HQ. Love the lists and entertaining hub. Now, if I can just figure out how to afford that trip to Ireland I long for. Voted up and across.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on September 11, 2012:

Thanks Daniel, Appreciate your comments! Must be interesting teaching our slang abroad! Thanks again:-) !!

Daniel on September 11, 2012:

Funny reading that as I have taught Irish slang to students abroad :). Nice work :)

Jamie Brock from Texas on August 27, 2012:

This is very interesting hub... I would have ever guessed the meaning of some of these words and phrases! I have never been to Ireland but if I am lucky enough to get the chance to visit, your hub here will come in quite useful! Voting up and useful..thank you for sharing :)

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on August 24, 2012:

Thanks Relationshipc, Appreciate your comments and visit! It is interesting that you found slang in Newfoundland hard to understand! So many cultures adopt their own language as if in code it seems! LOL Glad you enjoyed this insight into us Irish a wee bit!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on August 24, 2012:

Hi fpherj48, Thanks so much for your lovely comments which definitely made me laugh! Us Irish are a canny lot! LOL It's funny that you mention dating an Irishman. I for years always dated foreign men and then met an Irishman on a blind date and that was 5 yrs ago, still going strong!! Appreciate your support!!

Kari on August 23, 2012:

It's easy enough to see the words now, but to hear them - that's a whole different story. Lol.

I recently went to Newfoundland, and they have a lot of different slang words also. I spent a lot of time nodding and smiling, and then admitting I had no idea what they were talking about. Their accent didn't help one bit - especially after a few drinks.

Suzie from Carson City on August 23, 2012:

I really LOVE this hub!! because I love the IRISH. Seriously...never met one that I didn't take to immediately! They're very funny and fun-loving.......I dated a pure Irishman for a couple of years.....laughed straight through all 2 years!!

I must have really absorbed your words and meanings because I scored 100% on the test! LOL..........

Thanks so much for this Suzie! UP+++

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on August 23, 2012:

Thanks mollymeadows for visiting and commenting, I appreciate it! Here's hoping you will get to use here soon!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on August 23, 2012:

Hi Just Ask Susan,

Thanks so much for your great comments! I did have fun compiling this, it has to be said! We Irish do have some odd words we use everyday! Hope you get to visit here in the near future, you will then be up to speed fully armed with the lingo!

Mary Strain from The Shire on August 23, 2012:

Loved this! Now if I can only save enough to go to Ireland so I can test out my nifty new words! Thanks for the fun hub!

Susan Zutautas from Ontario, Canada on August 23, 2012:

What a gas :) Really enjoyed your hub. Have to bookmark it as I do plan on making it over to Ireland one of these years.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on July 18, 2012:

Hi clevercat, Thanks so much for visiting, glad it gave you a chuckle or two! You've highlighted one phrase used quite a bit here! LOL maybe due to the fact us Irish are a wee bit mad at times! Appreciate your voting :-)

Rachel Vega from Massachusetts on July 18, 2012:

Yes! 100%! :^D What a fun hub. I may have to pepper my States language with these soon, especially "not the full shilling"! Voted up, funny, and awesome.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on July 03, 2012:

Hi How-to-crafts, Appreciate your comments and sharing! We do use many weird and wonderful words don't we!!

How-to-crafts from Ireland on July 03, 2012:

A great selection of slang words we use in our daily conversations here in Dublin. I enjoyed reading them.

Shared on Twitter and voted up

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on July 01, 2012:

Hi annart, Thanks so much for reading and voting, appreciate your comments!

Much fun was had compiling our unusual language here!! lol Glad you enjoyed!

Ann Carr from SW England on July 01, 2012:

Voted up, funny and interesting. I'll have to re-read this to get the full effect of all the phrases! Some I know already so I guess they've been taken on as British or slid over the Irish Sea. This is a well-written, fun hub. Congrats. Looking forward to reading more.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 29, 2012:

Ha!! Glad you found hilarious! For a little island we talk quite a bit of ?@*?@ !!!! Sure you can find that vacation time, your hubs may suffer though!!!lol Appreciate your support and comments!

Joshua Zerbini from Pennsylvania on June 29, 2012:

Suzie, this was a hilarious hub! Now, you have sparked within me an interest and desire to go to Ireland! :) If only I could find some vacation time... :)

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 28, 2012:

All true,my friend:)

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 28, 2012:

Thought there was a hint of the 'ol Irish charm there!! Thanks from this here lass!!

Kenneth Avery from Hamilton, Alabama on June 28, 2012:

@ Susie Q . . .thank YOU for your kind comments as well. Kenneth

Kenneth Avery from Hamilton, Alabama on June 28, 2012:

Dear Susie Q,

you are very welcome to hear the truth about your amazing writing from me any day. And FYI, my ancestors came from Old Ireland. Yes. Proud of that too, lassie! (no correlation to the collie, Lassie, on TV), just waited to say that word. I love it.

Your friend, Kenneth

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 28, 2012:

Your a scream, Cheers Kenneth!!!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 28, 2012:

Speechless Kenneth! A first for me!! lol Appreciate your incredibly kind words soooo much. It was a fun hub to write, us Irish are good at making fun (polite term!!) of ourselves! Look forward to catching more of your insightful writing!:)

Kenneth Avery from Hamilton, Alabama on June 28, 2012:

@ Susie: Sorry I forgot. I Voted UP and all the way on this hub. Great, great job! LOVED IT.

Kenneth Avery from Hamilton, Alabama on June 28, 2012:

Hello, Dear Susie,

Here are some words I want to leave you that tell you how I describe this hub: AMAZING; THRILLING; PROFESSIONALLY-WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED; DELIGHTFUL; HYPNOTIC and FUN TO READ. So glad that I found YOU on Hubs.

You are destined for success in writing. I can sense that.

Kenneth

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 25, 2012:

Thanks viking305, The good old garda, thanks for that, a good one! Had fun compiling, thinking there really is soooo many, where did they all come from?!! Appreciate your input and votes!!

L M Reid from Ireland on June 24, 2012:

It is amazing how many of these slang words we use daily here in Dublin lol. I did not realise it until I read your list. Great hub and I enjoyed reading it.

One you might want to include is Guards. We use it all the time but foreigners would not know it is the slang for our police

Shared on Twitter and voted awesome and useful

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 24, 2012:

Delighted it gave laughter to start the day, billybuc!! Had a good laugh writing and thinking god we speak a lot of rubbish!! Lol appreciate you commenting!

Bill Holland from Olympia, WA on June 24, 2012:

What a great hub! I had a wonderful laugh to begin my day with...thank you! One day I will get over there and look up my ancestors, the O'Dowds....greatly enjoyed this hub!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 23, 2012:

rajan jolly, Thanks so much for your lovely comments! Glad you enjoyed and i appreciate your votes and sharing! It was a fun hub to write and laughs all the way!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 23, 2012:

Glad you enjoyed Gypsy Rose Lee! As long as it didn't put you off visiting our wee Emerald Isle! Appreciate your votes and sharing!!

Gypsy Rose Lee from Daytona Beach, Florida on June 23, 2012:

Voted up and funny. I loved this. Always have wanted to see Ireland now I can practice up on the slang. Thanks for sharing and passing this on.

Rajan Singh Jolly from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on June 23, 2012:

A great idea to put together a hub on slangs. Very interesting and useful as well. Bookmarked it.

I wish more people write hubs with slangs used in their countries as well.

Voted up all the way. Shared it too.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 22, 2012:

Cheers chef-de-jour!!LOL what an idea!! Appreciate your comments!

Andrew Spacey from Near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire,UK on June 22, 2012:

Lovely hub. Should be framed and in a pub.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 22, 2012:

Thanks vespawoolf! You will just have to make a return trip!! LOL Glad you enjoyed, appreciate your continued support and votes:-)

Vespa Woolf from Peru, South America on June 22, 2012:

This is great!! I wish I'd had your list before we traveled to Ireland in 2010. We had a wonderful time and although we didn't always understand we had fun trying. Voted up and shared!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 22, 2012:

Thanks Made, I had fun writing this one!Hopefully it gives a brief intro into the popular words visitors will hear and not run a mile!!

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 22, 2012:

Cheers Brett.Tesol!! Interesting on it being close to Essex slang, that's a new one . . .maybe a hub! lol Thanks for your comments and votes, much appreciated!!

Madeleine Salin from Finland on June 21, 2012:

Very interesting and it's always nice to learn new words. This is also a good hub if you want to go to Ireland.

Brett C from Asia on June 21, 2012:

LMAO! A lot of it seems to be similar to Essex slang ... but, then I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing lol.

Shared, up and funny.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 19, 2012:

Thanks anginwu, your a good student of Irish slang then!!! Glad you enjoyed and found fun.Appreciate your comments as always :-)

anglnwu on June 19, 2012:

Very interesting. Had fun reading all the slang words, some familiar, some not so. And I made perfect score too. Thanks for sharing.

Suzanne Ridgeway (author) from Dublin, Ireland on June 19, 2012:

Hi ya oh he from the Samui isle!! More of a cliché to be honest! I would only really use "to be sure, to be sure" as a form of emphasizing Irishness, and in a funny way. It is a saying that is often known, as you rightly point out, thanks for the query!!

livingabroad from Wales, UK on June 19, 2012:

What about "to be sure, to be sure"? Or is that just a cliché?!