An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War (50 page)

cod/codding:
To fool/fooling.

Colonel Blimp:
David Low's British cartoon character with pompous, irrational, jingoistic attitudes, named for the barrage balloon officially described as “Balloon B-limp.”

come on, on in:
The second “on” is deliberate, not a typographical error.

corker:
Very special.

course:
From the ancient sport of coursing, where game is started by dogs and pursued by the hunters who run after the dogs.

cracker
: Exceptional.

crayture:
Creature, critter.

crick:
Sprain.

cross (as two sticks):
Angry (very angry).

cruibín
:
Pickled pig's trotter eaten cold with vinegar.

cup of tea/scald in your hand:
An informal cup of tea, as opposed to tea that was synonymous with the main evening meal (dinner).

currency:
In 1965, prior to decimalization, sterling was the currency of the United Kingdom, of which Northern Ireland was a part. The unit was the
pound
(quid), which contained twenty
shillings
(bob), each made of twelve
pennies
(pence), thus there were 240 pennies in a pound. Coins and notes of combined or lesser or greater denominations were in circulation, often referred to by slang or archaic terms:
farthing
(four to the penny),
halfpenny
(two to the penny),
threepenny
piece (thruppeny bit),
sixpenny
piece (tanner),
two shillings
piece (florin),
two shillings and sixpence piece
(half a crown),
ten-shilling note
(ten-bob note),
guinea
coin worth one pound and one shilling,
five-pound
note (fiver). In 1965 one pound bought nearly three U.S. dollars.

dander:
Short walk, or literally, horse dandruff.

dar dar:
Noise made by little Ulster boys in imitation of revolver fire.

dead/dead on:
Very/absolutely right or perfectly.

desperate:
Terrible.

dig with the left (foot):
A pejorative remark made about Catholics by Protestants.

do-re-mi:
Tonic sol-fa scale, but meaning “dough” as in money.

dote:
(v.) To adore. (n.) Something adorable.

dozer/no dozer:
Stupid person/clever person.

drumlin:
From the Irish
dromín
(little ridge). Small rounded hills caused by the last ice age. There are so many in County Down that the place has been described as looking like a basket of green eggs.

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

duncher:
Cloth cap, usually tweed.

eejit/buck eejit:
Idiot/complete idiot.

fair play:
Good for you.

feck (and variations):
Corruption of “fuck.” For a full discussion of its usage see author's note in
A Dublin Student Doctor.
It is not so much sprinkled into Dublin conversations as shovelled in wholesale, and also used in Ulster. Its scatalogical shock value is now so debased that it is no more offensive than “like” larded into teenagers' chat. Now available at reputable bookstores is the
Feckin' Book of Irish
—a series of ten books by Murphy and O'Dea.

ferocious
: Extreme.

fight my own corner:
Defend (usually verbally) my position.

fillums:
Ordinarily I avoid using phonetic spelling, but there is no way round it if I am to render the Ulster propensity for inserting the extra syllable “um” into films, movies.

flex:
Electrical plug-in cord.

footer:
Fiddle about with.

foundered:
Frozen.

gag:
Joke or funny situation. Applied to a person, humourist.

gander:
Look-see.

glipe/great glipe:
Stupid/very stupid person.

go away with you:
Don't be silly.

gobshite:
Literally, dried nasal mucus. Used pejoratively about a person.

good man-ma-da:
Literally, “good man my father.” Good for you, a term of approval.

grilled:
Broiled.

gurning:
Whingeing.

gurrier:
Street urchin, but often used pejoratively about anyone.

ham-fisted:
Clumsy.

hammer and tongs:
Fighting fiercely.

heart of corn:
Very good-natured.

headsplitter
: Hangover.

heifer:
Young cow before her first breeding.

hirple:
Stagger.

HMS:
His Majesty's Ship.

hobbyhorse shite:
Literally, sawdust. To have a head full is to be extremely obtuse.

hoovering:
Generic use of the name of a brand of vacuum cleaner, to denote using any vacuum cleaner.

houl' your wheest:
Hold your tongue.

how's about you?:
How are you?

humdinger:
Something exceptional.

I doubt:
I believe, if accompanied by a negative. “I doubt we'll no see him the night” means I believe we'll not see him. Otherwise, standard English meaning.

I'm yer man:
I agree and will cooperate fully.

in the stable:
Of a drink in a pub, paid for but not yet poured.

Jezebel:
A scheming, promiscuous, fallen woman, named after the biblical (II Kings) wife of Ahab.

Job's comforter:
Biblical.
Someone whose well-meaning advice in time of adversity makes matters worse.

juked:
Dodged.

kilter:
Alignment.

learned:
Ulsterese is peculiar in often reversing the meanings of words. “The teacher learned the child,” or “She borrowed [meaning loaned] me a cup of sugar.” “Reach [meaning pass] me
thon yoke
.”

lip:
Cheekiness.

laugh like a drain:
Be consumed with mirth.

length and breadth of it
: All the details.

let the hare sit:
Leave the matter alone.

liltie:
Irish whirling dervish.

Lios na gCon
:
Irish.
Pronouned “lish na gun.” Hill fort of the hound.

lucht siuil
:
Irish.
Pronounced “luck shul.” Literally “the walking people.” Gypsies, also known as travelling people or travellers.

Lughnasadh
:
Irish
. Pronounced “loonasa.” Harvest festival celebrated on the Sunday closest to August 1 to honour one of the old gods, Lugh (“loo”) of the Long Hand.

madder than a wet hen:
Very angry.

marmalize:
Cause great physical damage and pain.

midder:
Colloquial medical term for midwifery, the art and science of dealing with pregnancy and childbirth, now superseded medically by the term “obstetrics.”

mitch:
Either play truant or steal.

more power to your wheel:
Words of encouragement akin to “The very best of luck.”

muirnín
:
Irish
. Pronounced “moornyeen.” Darling.

my/your/his shout:
My/your/his turn to pay for the drinks.

neat:
Of a drink of
spirits
, straight up.

no harm til you, but:
I do not mean to cause you any offence—but you are absolutely wrong.

no slouch:
Very good at, a “slouch” being a useless person.

no sweat:
Nothing to worry about.

not at him/herself:
Unwell.

offside:
Out of the line of fire or out of sight.

on the pour:
Of a pint of Guinness. There is an art to building a good pint of Guinness and it can take several minutes.

ould hand:
Old friend.

oxter/oxtercog:
Armpit/help walk by draping an individual's arm over one's shoulder.

palaver:
Useless talk.

peely-wally:
Scots, but used in Ulster. Under the weather. Feeling unwell.

petrol:
Gasoline.

piece:
Bread and spread, as in “jam piece.”

power/powerful:
Very strong/a lot.

pupil:
In Ireland and Britain “student” was reserved for those attending university. Schoolchildren were referred to as “pupils,” nor did graduation occur until after the granting of a university degree.

quare:
Ulster and Dublin pronunciation of “queer,” meaning “very” or “strange.”

rag order:
Dublin slang for untidily dressed and coiffed.

rapscallion:
Mischief maker.

rear:
Of a child. Bring up.

regius professor:
Regius professorships were created by the British monarchs at the old universities of the United Kingdom. Queen Victoria granted the Trinity College professorship in surgery in 1868.

restful on the eye:
Usually of a woman. Good-looking.

right enough?:
Is that a fact?

rightly:
Very well.

RMS:
Royal Mail Ship.

ructions:
Violent argument.

said a mouthful:
Hit the nail on the head. Are absolutely right.

Sassenach:
Gaelic term originally applied to Saxons, now used, usually in a bantering fashion, by the Scots and Irish to mean “English.”

saving your presence:
I am about to insult you, but please don't be offended.

scared skinny:
Terrified.

scrip':
Script, short for “prescription.”

see him/her?:
Emphatic way of drawing attention to the person in question even if they are not physically present.

shenanigans:
Carryings-on.

shufti:
Military slang, from the Arabic. Look-see.

sick line:
Medical certificate of illness allowing a patient to collect sickness benefit.

skinful:
One of the 2,660 synonyms or expressions for “drunk.” (
Dickson's Word Treasury,
1982)

skitters:
Diahorrea.

skivers:
Probably derived from “scurvy.” No-good wastrels.

sláinte
:
Irish
. Pronounced “slawntuh.” Cheers, your health.

so I am/he is/it's not:
An addition at the end of a sentence for emphasis.

spirits:
Of drink, any distilled liquor.

spud:
Potato. Also a nickname for anyone called Murphy.

sticking the pace:
Showing no signs of ageing, fatigue, or decay.

sting:
Hurt.

stocious:
See
skinful.

stone:
All measurements in Ireland until decimalision were Imperial. One stone
=
fourteen pounds, 20 fluid ounces
=
one pint.

stoon:
Sudden shooting pain.

sound/sound man:
Good/good, trustworthy man.

surgery:
Where a GP saw ambulatory patients. The equivalent of a North American “office.” Specialists worked in “rooms.”

swinging the lead:
Malingering.

take the strunts:
Become angry or sulk.

tanned:
Spanked. As in “getting his arse tanned.”

targe:
Woman with a very sharp tongue, a scold.

terrace:
Row housing, but not just for the working class. Some of the most expensive accomodation in Dublin is found in terraces in Merrion Square, akin to low rise rows of attached townhouses.

that there/them there:
That/them with emphasis.

the day:
Today.

the hat:
Foreman, so called because his badge of office was a bowler (derby) hat.

the wee man:
The devil.

thole:
Put up with. A reader, Miss D. Williams, wrote to me to say it was etymologically from the Old English
tholian,
to suffer. She remarked that her first encounter with the word was in a fourteenth-century prayer.

thon/thonder:
That/over there.

thran:
Bloody-minded.

til:
To.

'til:
Until.

to beat Bannagher:
Explanation unknown, but means exceptionally.

tongue's hanging out:
Very thirsty.

tousling:
Beating up, either verbally or physically.

townland:
Mediaeval administrative district encompassing a village and the surrounding farms and wasteland.

wasters:
No-good wastrels.

wean:
Pronounced “wane.” Little one.

wee turn:
Sudden illness, usually not serious, or used euphemistically to pretend it wasn't serious.

wet the baby's head:
Have a drink to celebrate a birth.

wheeker:
Terrific.

wheen:
An indeterminate but reasonably large number.