| Newry |
English |
Example |
| lady | effeminate man (well, it is Ireland we're talking about!) | ee asked me ta go out wi'im but a said 'no' coz a think ee's a rail lady |
| lack | like | wuddya lack a wee whiskey? |
| lack a dog wi two dicks (very vulg) | really proud (of himself) | ivver since ee gottis new job ee's bin lack a dog wi two dicks |
| langel | halter used to stop animals wandering. | putt a langel on that goat - it'll ait ennythin |
| got the langel on him | used to describe a wife who has succeeded in 'persuading' her husband not to go to the pub every night (equivalent of 'under the thumb') | ye needn ast him ta come out thenight - Mary has the langel onim |
| lashin | raining very heavily | it's lashin so ye'd better take an umberella |
| lass | last | you're the lass one t'arrive |
| lastic | elastic | putt a lastic bann roun the neck a the beg |
| learn | teach/show | m'da's gonna learn me how ta drive startin nix week (learn also has the same meaning as in English) |
| lectric | electric/electricity | a cuddn pay the bill so they cut off the lectric |
| leff | left | take the nix tornin on the leff |
| leff (v) | past tense of verb 'to leave' | ee leff me here on ma own ta face the rentman |
| the length a | as far as | the fog wuz that thick ye cuddn see the length a the futtpad |
| lift (pref) | harvest/dig up | a'll need three men ta liff them spuds nix week |
| lifted | arrested (also used specifically for the process of seizing (Catholic) men when Internment - imprisonment without trial - was used under emergency powers in Northern Ireland)) | Seamus wuz lifted lass night in Kildare Street |
| line yer stomach | prepare for drinking bout by drinking e.g. glass of milk | if yer gonna spenn the night in McGrogan's Bar yed better line yer stummack wi sweet milk |
| live horse an ye'll ait grass | philosophical comment when a favour is not returned | ee niver gie ye back the money ee had a loan of? - live horse an ye'll ait grass |
| have a lend of | borrow | cin a have a lenn of a poun till Friday? |
| have a loan of | borrow | cin a have a loan of a match ta light ma feg? |
| loanen | lane | ee lives along the Bell Man's Loanen |
| lobby | landing at top of stairs | ee's upstairs paintin the lobby |
| lock of | a few | wudd ye take a lock a chips wi yer fried egg? (BD) |
| lost wi the coul | freezing | a leff ma gaberdine in the house an ah'm lost wi the coul (BD) |
| luckpenny | traditional giving-back of a small amount of purchase money to the buyer | ee gotta real good price there and haddn even the dacency ta gimme a luckpenny |
| lukkin | looking for | a'm lukkin a good bargain at this sale/is it me ye're lukkin? |
| lukks lack imself | (looks like himself) - polite comment on the departed at a wake | God restim, ee lukks lack isself |
| lug (pref) | ear | ee gotta good cuff on the lug for arguin |
| needs is head looked at | needs examining by a psychiatrist | the way he behaves, ee needs is head lukked at |
| luk (pronounced 'luck') | look (n) | a didn lack the luk ee giv me |
| lukkin-glass (pref) | mirror | they've got a lovely lukkin glass over their fireboard |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| mait | food | siddown at the table an ait yer mait lack a Christian |
| mait | beef/pork etc | a allus go ta Moffat's for ta buy ma mait |
| man | husband | ma man's on the broo again |
| marlie | marble (small glass sphere) | a hadda game a marlies in the park |
| yer head's a marlie | you're really stupid! | if ye think ah'm gonna do that, yer head's a marlie! (DMc) |
| master (pref) | school-teacher (male) | ee's a master at Windsor Hill Primary |
| messages | shopping | a went down the town ta do ma messages |
| do a wee message | go to the shop/take something somwhere for someone | will ye do a wee message for me, son? |
| mine (mind) | remember | a doan mine askin you for yer opinion! |
| mineral | soft (fizzy) drink | a'm off the drink so a'm just takin a mineral |
| mingey (pronounced 'minjey') | mean/tight-fisted | give us one of yer fegs an doan be so mingey |
| mitch | play truant (hookey) | you shud work hard at school instead a mitchin |
| mitt | mitten (in standard English, a 'mitt' doesn't cover the fingers, but a mitten does) | Brian droppped one of is mitts at Sugar Island Bridge an we nivver foun it |
| morr | mother | my morr wuz one a five sisters |
| motor | car | tha's a brave good motor ya got there |
| murphies | potatoes | get us a stone a murphies in the markit |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| naggin (corruption of 'noggin'?) | double measure of whiskey/rum etc | a'll have a glass a stout an a naggin a whiskey |
| neb | nose | keep your neb outof it! (i.e. mind your own business!) |
| neck on(h)im | brass neck/cheek | ee's got no shame - ee's gotta neck onim for ennythin |
| nights are drawin in | darkness coming earlier (autumn) | the nights are drawin in - it'll soon be winter |
| neuk | nook/any small alcove in a room | a hink them shoes is in the neuk |
| nipper | boy who brewed tea for gang of workmen | a wuz watchin thim diggin up Arthur Street an the nipper gimme a cuppa tay |
| nix | next | ee lives nix door te the wee shop |
| gimme the nod | indicate | gimme the nod whin yer ready ta go |
| no goat's toe | not stupid | Davy mightn have much education but ee's no goat's toe |
| no harm in him | innocent/naïve/harmless | ee's s'posed ta be spiteful but John sez there's no harm in im |
| no livin(g) with him | someone who is continually grumpy | there's no livin wi him whin is lumbago's playin im up |
| no road | no way | there's no road yer goin to get ta Kilkeel by three aclock |
| not a stitch across his back | very badly dressed | a cuddn believe how how bad ee lukked - ee hadn a stitch across is back |
| not as bad as ee lets on | pretends to be less (whatever) than he really is | people say ee's mingey, but ee's not as bad as ee lets on |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| pan | large loaf of bread | a'll have a sliced pan an a pouna butter |
| papish | Catholic (from 'Papist') - perjorative term used by some Protestants | she's a good-luckin girl, but a wuddn go out wi'er for she's a papish |
| pare (pref) | peel | if ye pare them apples ah'll make us a tart |
| pass (prep) | past | go down the street pass the pub an ye'll see the picture house |
| pass yerself | behave as (socially) expected/do the mannerly thing | a didn railly wanna drink but a tukk a wee Bush ta pass misself |
| pass any remark | pay any attention/take any notice of | if ee starts ta get annoyed don't pass any remark |
| pataitees | potatoes (despite Dan Quayle!) | Boyle's have lovely flowery pataitees at the minute |
| physic | laxative (hands up - who remembers California Syrup of Figs?) | ee was bound up so a giv him a good dose a physic |
| picture/pixture of | looks very like/almost identical to (in looks) | d'ye not think Sean's the picture ofis da? |
| picture house | cinema | the picture/pixture house wuz packed thenight |
| pictures (pref) | cinema | there's a grate fillum on at the pictures/pixtures thenight |
| piece | sandwich (in packed lunch) | a had nothin te ait all day coz a forgot te take ma piece te work |
| not a pick on'im | he's extremely thin | a feel sorry for that wee boy for thay cyant be feedin im proper - there's notta pickon im |
| pinny (pref) | apron | putt on yer pinny an wash them dishes |
| pipes | (heating) radiators | there's no hate in the pipes a-tall theday |
| pishthebed (vulg) | dandelion | thon lawn a his is covered in pishthebeds |
| pishmire (vulg) | ant | the yard outside the back door is crawlin wi pishmires |
| a pity of him | very sorry for him | a felt an awful pity ofim whin is morr died |
| plain loaf | unsliced loaf of white bread | givvus a plain loaf an a pounna butter |
| the Pledge | Roman Catholic practice of foreswearing ('goin off') alcohol ('the drink') with a solemn oath; you could wear a 'Pledge Pin' in yor lapel to tell the world of your new-found sobriety | ee tukk the pledge a-Sundy an wuz back in Grogan's a-Wennsdy |
| poke (n) | ice-cream cone/cornet | a bought two wafers an a poke from the ice-crame van |
| poke (n) | paper container made by folding rectangle of paper around the fingers and forming a cone twisted at the bottom to close it | a gotta poke fulla Dolly Mixtures (child's sweets) at Annie Loy's we shap (shop) |
| powerful | amazing/exceptional | a gotta powerful surprise whin ee walked in outa the blue |
| press (pref) | (kitchen) cupboard | the good plaits is in the press |
| Press-button-bee | Presbyterian (the old public phone boxes (booths) had a button 'A' to press when your call was answered, and a button 'B' to get your money back if the call was not answered)) | a thought ee was a Methodist, but ee's a Press-button-bee |
| promised to | engaged to be married to | she's promised ta young Burns the butcher |
| puke (pref) | person whose behaviour/attitude sickens you | a doan lack him a-tall - he's an oul puke |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| raisin | reason (Elizabethan pronunciation - as in Falstaff's 'if reasons were as plentiful as blackberries...' - the pun doesn't work without the pronunciation) | a suppose ye musta hadda good raisin for doin it |
| reared up | objected strongly/became very annoyed (based on horse rearing up?) | a thought ee'd agreed ta do it but then ee rared up and wuddn |
| rebel | anyone suspected of having active Republican sympathies (used mainly by Protestants) | ye have ta watch what ye say ta him - ee's a rail rebel |
| redbreast | male stickleback | a'v got four spricks an one a them's a redbreast |
| redd | clean | a redd out the whole house yisterday |
| reddin | clearing | that room needs a good reddin out |
| refuge man | man who collected food scraps ('skins') (refuse - but corrupt form) from house for feeding pigs | putt all then scraps in a beg for the refuge man |
| regman | rag-and-bone man | a giv them oul jumpers ta the regman |
| ridiculed | gossiped about | a wuz reddiculed all over Newry for hangin ma washin out onna Sundy |
| rift (v) | belch | a got toul off fer riftin in fronta the teacher |
| right ye be! | that's fine!/I agree/OK! | ye'll be there at seven? - right ye be! |
| rippin(g) (n) | furious | a wuz rippin whin a saw the state ee leff the house in! (BD) |
| root | apple core | ee threw the root of an apple at me in the classroom |
| rottin | very drunk | a got that rottin in Dunster's lass night a nearly fell in the canal on the way home |
| rubbige | rubbish/garbage | ther buildin new houses on the Rafriland Road where the rubbige dump wuz |
| take the rust | become apathetic/lose interest | ee usedta injoy is job - whin did'ee take the rust? (BD) |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| salute (pref) | acknowledge/greet/wave to | ee saluted me across the street yisteray |
| same | that one/particular one (derogatory) | a wudn trust im an inch, the same boy |
| sanitary man | public health official | the sanitry man come roun about the rats we saw in the loanin |
| scaldie | nestling | there wuz three scaldies in the blackbord's nest |
| scallions | spring onions | bring us back a lettuce an some scallions |
| scandalized | gossiped about/slandered | ivver since we had the row ee's got me scandalized over the whole town |
| scope | gnaw | have ye iver scoped a raw turnip? (don't ask! - one of my da's!) |
| scraic (n) | screech/unpleasant scraping noise | the scraic a that file makes ma back shiver |
| scraic (v) | make sound (e.g. metal on metal) | there's somethin scraicin in thon injin (engine) |
| scraic-a-day | dawn | a wuz up this mornin at the scraic-a-day |
| bad scrant | bad luck | bad scrant te ye for doin that! (like bad cess!) |
| screech (v) | weep/cry | they musta hadda big row cos whin I saw er she was screechin |
| scringe (v) | grind/make grinding noise | the ba's scringin is teeth that much a'm shure ee's got worms |
| scringe (v) | shiver/shudder (spine tingling) | ee makes me scringe ivry time ee uses thon rasp in the garridge |
| scud | slap | the teacher gie me a scud on the ear |
| scullery (pref) | kitchen | nip inta the scullery a make a cup a tay |
| scundered | annoyed (by someone)/irritated | ee's got us scundered always lukkin for attention |
| shade (n) | hair parting | boys shudd have their shade on the left an girls on the right |
| sheugh (pronounced 'shuck') | muddy, boggy ground | a went through the gait an got upta m'ankles in the sheugh |
| Shinner | used to describe member of political party Sinn Fein/anyone with Republican views (particularly by Protestants) | the Shinners won't rest till they get a united Ireland |
| sickener (n) | someone/something which makes you feel disgusted | a doan wanna be in his company - ee's a real sickener |
| sickener | state brought on by a liberal overdose of (usually) alcohol | a gotta real sickener on the 'Paddy' lass night |
| sick-line | sick-note (doctor's certificate declaring you unfit for work) | a've gotta sick-line for three weeks so a won't be at woark till nix month |
| sick, sore and tired of ... | absolutely exasperated with.../completetely fed up with... | a'm sick, sore and tired of all these argumints |
| .... side of a turnip | the ultimate comment on a nagging woman (see example) | er mouth cudd take a quair bite outa the side ofa tornip! |
| sifer (v) (pronounced as 'cipher') | swagger | ee annoyed me the way ee sifered in as if ee owned the place! |
| not a sinner (n) | absolutely nobody | a hadda drink in Billy Nummy's lass night an there wuznt a sinner in there! (BD) |
| skelp (n) | smack | if ye doan behave you'll get a good skelp! |
| skiff | very light scattering (of rain) | ah thought it wuz goin ta be lashin but there's only bin a wee skiff |
| skins | household food scraps collected by the refuge man (for pigswill) | have ya any skins theday, missus? (SRS) |
| skite (v) | run about | thon bloody dog does nottin but skite aroun the gyardin an bark all night (BD) |
| skite (n) | slap/glancing blow | enny chile that talks till his morr lack that diserves a good skite roun the ear! |
| skitter(s) | diarrhoea | a drunk a bad pint a stout an it give me the skitters |
| skin of his skitter | used for very tight-fisted person | doan ast him te lend ye the money - ee wudn give ye the skin of his skitter |
| slack (n) (pref) | mixture of coal dust and very small coal fragments | putt some damp slack on the fire ta keep it goin durin the night |
| slap of | considerable amount of/plenty of/excess of | a had a rail slappa drink a-Tuesday night |
| slasher | (huge) Lambeg drum used by Orange bands | ye'd hear them slashers a mile away |
| slasher | billhook | ye'll need a slasher ta thin out thon hedge |
| slate-cutters | wood-lice | there's a big pile a slate-cutters unner thon stone |
| slider | small block of ice-cream between two thin crisp biscuits | d'ye wanna slider or a poke? |
| slim | (thin) potato-bread cake | a'll have a piece a slim an a fried egg |
| snatters | snot (nasal mucus) | that chile's face is covered in snatters |
| snattery | nasty/annoyed | I niver touched yer money so ye needn be snattery wi me! |
| snib (pref) | catch on door lock | a cudn open the door coz the snib was on |
| sody bread | soda bread (flour, buttermilk and baking soda -no yeast) Click here for recipe | d'ye want sody farls or sliced pan? |
| soul (rhymes with 'howl') | sold (past tense of 'to sell') | a hear tell ee soul the motor for three unnerd poun |
| spare | flies (zip/buttons on front of on trousers) | yer spare's open!! |
| specky four-eyes | standard insensitive nick-name given to any young person wearing spectacles | (sensitive absence of example) |
| spittin | 'trying' to rain/a few spots of rain | a thought it wudd be dashin but it's just spittin |
| splaw (footed) | splay (footed) - describes feet turning outwards when walking | yer man Malone walks awful splawed |
| split (v) | punch/damage (person) as in 'split head open' | if ya doan stop arguin, a'll split ya! |
| spoutin | guttering below roof | that drip's comin from a hole in the spoutin |
| sprick | stickleback | a caught three spricks an putt thim in a jam-jar |
| spunk | sperm | the internet's supposed to be relatively interactive - make up your own example! |
| steeple (n) | staple | ye'll have ta use steeples ta fix that chicken-wire ta the posts |
| step | distance/journey | a'd walk te the bus station, but it's a brave step |
| sticks | kindling | ee's sellin bundles a sticks for thruppence |
| stook | 'tunnel' of (eight) sheaves of corn leaning together, left to fully ripen | putt them sheaves in a stook and we'll finish for theday |
| stop you | stop (you/ye/ya/y' is often inserted after the verb in a command, for extra emphasis e.g. go you out!) | (to child) stop you cryin!/stop you tryin to cause an argument! |
| stoshious | drunk | ee's stoshious six nights a week |
| strainer | colander | wash them peas in the strainer |
| sun splittin the trees | really hot summer day | the sun wuz splittin the trees an it wuz too hot ta work |
| sure | used at beginning or end of sentence to mean 'don't worry'/be re-assured that...(no pause before or after 'sure') | sure I'll givver a lift home so ye needn worry/I've got anuff money for us both sure ('sure' pronounced 'sher' with very short vowel and 'r') |
| sweet milk | i.e. not (sour) butter-milk | a'll have a drop a sweet milk in ma tay |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| take a hand out of | make a fool of | a know that cyant be true - are ya trying ta take a hann outta me? (GH) |
| take the arm off you | has a huge appetite/always eating | ee wudd take the arm off ya but ya wuddn see the wait (weight) onim (GH) |
| tanic | medicine ('tonic') | a wuz bad all lass week till the dactar gimme a wee tanic (DMc) |
| tap (pref) | solicit money/a drink | ee was broke lass night an tried te tap me for a drink |
| targe | aggressive/outspoken/nagging woman | that oul targe give off ta me for walkin oner grass (SRS) |
| tay | tea | d'ye wanna wee cuppa tay? |
| tay you could dance on | stewed tea (over-infused) which tastes unpleasantly strong | she allus leff er tay that long ye cudd dance onit |
| telegraph pole | telephone pole | the Post Office is goanna putt a telegraph pole up right fernenst my big door |
| tell me this and tell me no more | common preface to an enquiry (especially seeking gossip) | tell me this an tell me no more - who fergot ta lock up whin y'all left the office? |
| terrible | very | a really injoyed the concert - the music wuz terrible good |
| the | often used where it is omitted in English | ee's awful fond a the drink |
| the | how | a cyant believe the quiet it's got since the childer leff |
| teemin (pref) | heavy rain | the match wuz called off for it was teemin |
| theday | today | are ye goin te school theday? |
| thenight | tonight | a'm stayin home thenight |
| themarra | tomorrow | a cyant come thenight but a'll see ye themarra |
| theirselves | themselves | a hope them childer are gonna b'have thereselves thenight |
| the road | how to | a wuzn't able ta plaster a wall until da showed me the road ta do it |
| the same... | used when indicating that someone would do to you what he resents you doing to him | ee wudn be long reportin you te the p'lice, the same boy! |
| the Twelf | the twelfth of July (Orangeman's Day) | are ye goin ta watch the parade on the Twelf? |
| the wunnst | once | the whole time a lived in Belfass, a only went ta see Linfield playin a futtball match the wunnst |
| there's the sun out | the sun has just started to shine (after rain) | there's the sun out now - ye woan need yer umberella |
| this lass while | recently | there's bin a lotta bad weather this lass while |
| this weather | now/nowadays/these days | how'r ye gettin on this weather? |
| thon | that (over there) | he's sittin at thon table (thonder) |
| thon time | a specific occasion which you expect the listener to remember in detail when you mention it | d'ye remember thon time ye lost the dog in Armagh? |
| thonder | yonder (over there) | he's over thonder at the gate |
| thrapple (pronounced 'trapple') | throat | a hadda grabbim by the thrapple ta stoppim hittin Jemmy |
| tig | children's game of tag | are ye comin up the park for a game a tig? |
| till | to | a'm goin till Armagh themorra |
| time ye wuz spittin in yer own ashes | time you went home | it's past midnight so it's time ye wuz spittin in yer own ashes |
| titter | modicum | Belfass isn in County Down - have a titter a wit! |
| to (h)er own name | her maiden name was .... | she's married to Brian Connolly - she was Hughes to er own name |
| hair trippin im | hair much too long | thon fella needs a barber - the hair's trippin him |
| snatters trippin im | needs to wipe his nose (!) | ee ad the flu an the snatters was trippin im |
| aside | beside | a wuz stannin aside im an heard im sayin it misself |
| a real Turk | someone who is rough and insensitive (cultural sensitivities aren't high on the Irish agenda) | ee traits ('treats') is wife rail bad - ee's a rail Tork (GH) |
| Newry |
English |
Example |
| wafer (pref) | small block of ice-cream between two thin crisp biscuits | d'ye wanna wafer or a poke? |
| was a week | a week (before) last .... | ee leff for Inglann Tuesdy wuz a week |
| waterboots | Wellington boots/rubber boots | it's lashin so take your waterboots |
| wee | small | thon boy's awful wee for is age |
| wee | used when expressing admiration, not referring to size | that's a nice wee job ee's got there |
| wee-er | smaller | that's too big - have ye nothin wee-er? |
| wee man | salesman/representative (rep)/collector | a wuz juss goin out whin the wee man come ta colleck the rent |
| wee minute | almost immediately | houl on - a'll be there in a wee minute |
| wee small | extremely small | a doan want much - just gimme a wee small bit |
| well (pronounced 'will') | then (at the end of a sentence) | e.g. statement: 'a doan lack wine' : response doan drinkit, will |
| wet | add boiling water to tea leaves to make tea | get the milk an a'll wet the tay |
| what's the craic (crack)? | what's the news?/ latest?/what's going on? | what's the crack w(ith) Willie's new job? |
| what's the word on...? | what have you heard about .... | what's the woard on the time th'll (they'll) arrive? |
| wheaten bread | wholemeal bread made without yeast | ye cyant get better waitin bread than McCann's |
| whins | gorse | up roun Altnaveigh the mountin's covered in whins (see poems here and here) |
| (to be a ) whole draw | (to be) extremely annoyed | Mary wuz a whole draw coz Ernie didn go ta see er whin he wuz home from Inglann. This can also be expressed as 'Mary wuz a whole draw wi(th) Ernie...' |
| windy (n) | window | ee was jeukin out the windy |
| wit (pref) | intelligence | thon boy hasn't much wit about im |
| wi(th) | by | ee wuz stung in the arm wi a wasp |
| wi(th) | because of | ee died wi a heart attack |
| with company | in a group (used to politely decline the offer of a drink from someone you meet in a pub when you're in the company of others - custom would demand that they offer everybody else a drink as well) | no, a'll have one the nix time - a'm wi company |
| with two arms the one length | without any money | Jim come back from Inglann wi two arms the one length (also used when a visitor doesn't produce an expected gift) |
| would you take a wee drop? | will you have a (quick) drink? | wudd ye take a wee drap afore ye go? |
| wouldn't be long | would soon.../wouldn't hesitate to ... | Paul wudn be long complainin if you spoke ta his father lack that |
| wouldn't look at it | won't fit in it/won't fill it | a tried fillin the gap wi thon bitta timmer ('timber'), but it wuddn luck at it |
| would take the eye out of your head and come back for the lash | is very dishonest/is a real thief | thon boy wudd take the eye outa yer head an come back for the lash |