An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea (66 page)

brolly:
RAF slang.
Parachute.

brown jobs:
British forces slang.
Army.

camogie:
The women's version of a very fast stick-and-ball game, hurling.

Celtic Twilight:
An aesthetic movement celebrating ancient Irish culture, including mythology.

cha:
Tea, used as British Army slang, originally from the Gujurati.

champ (thick as):
A dish of buttermilk, butter, potatoes, and chives. To be as thick as champ was to be very stupid.

chancing your arm:
Taking a risk.

Chain Home:
The name given to the string of tall lattice radar masts along the south and east coasts of England to detect and give early warning of German air raids.

chips:
French fries.

clappers:
Very fast.

clatter:
An indeterminately large quantity.

clot:
R.A.F. slang
. A stupid person.

Clydesdale:
Huge, powerful breed of plough and dray horses.

colloguing:
Chitchatting.

come 'ere here:
Emphatic “come here,” often accompanied by “I want ye.”

come on, on in:
Is not a typographical error. This item of Ulsterspeak drives spellcheck mad.

craic
:
Irish.
Pronounced “crack.” Practically untranslatable, and can mean great conversation and fun (the
craic
was ninety) or what happened to you since I saw you last? (“What's the
craic
?”) Often seen on signs outside pubs in Eire.
Craic agus ceol
. Fun and music inside.

craytur/craythur, a drop of:
Creature; a drink of spirits, usually whiskey or
poitín.

crúibins:
Irish.
Pronounced “crubeens.” Boiled pigs' trotters, served cold and eaten with vinegar.

culchie:
One who does not live in Dublin. A hick or rube. (See
Jack
).

cup of tea in your hand:
An informal cup of tea with a cake or biscuit, as opposed to “tea,” which is often the name of the main evening meal.

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 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.

daft duck:
Yorkshire.
Stupid person.

dead:
Very.

dead brill:
Very brilliant. Perfect.

dead on:
A strong affirmative, excited acceptance of good news, or a measure of complete accuracy. “I totally agree,” “That's marvellous,” or “Absolutely correct.”

dinna fash yourself:
Scots.
Do not distress yourself.

divil the bit:
None. “He's divil the bit of sense.” He's stupid.

divil:
Devil.

doddle:
A short distance or an easy task.

doo lally tap:
Army slang.
Having lost one's mind.

doh-re-mi:
Corruption of “dough”; money.

donkey's age:
A very long time.

dote (n.):
Something or somebody adorable.

dote on (v.):
Adore.

doting (gerund):
To be wrong because presumably you are entering your dotage.

Dublin coddle:
A boiled dish of sliced rashers, sausages, onion, potato, and white pepper.

duncher:
Flat tweed cap.

eejit/buck eejit:
Idiot/imbecile.

fag:
Cigarette, derived from “faggot,” a very thin sausage.

fair play to you:
To be fair or well done.

feck (and variations):
Dublin corruption of the F-word. It is not so much sprinkled into Dublin conversations as shovelled in wholesale, and its scatological 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.

finagle:
Achieve by cunning or dubious means.

fire away:
Carry on. Useful except in front of a firing squad.

fit and well you're looking:
Good to see you. You look fine.

floors of houses:
Numbering starts with the “ground floor,” what is known in North America as the first floor. Next above in Ireland and the U.K. is the first floor (in North America, the second floor).

fornenst:
Near to.

fortnight:
Contraction of fourteen nights, two weeks. A se'nnight (seven nights) is a week.

foundered:
Chilled to the marrow.

gag:
A joke or someone who is great fun.

gameball:
Dublin
. Terrific.

gander:
Male goose, or take a look at.

git:
From “begotten.” Bastard, often expressed, “He's a right hoor's [whore's] git.” Not a term of endearment.

glipe:
Idiot.

gobshite:
Dublin
. Literally “dried nasal mucus.” Used pejoratively about a person.

Gold Coast:
Former British colony. Present-day Ghana.

good man-ma-da:
I approve of what you have done or are going to do.

gormless:
Yorkshire
. Witless.

great:
An Ulster accolade, or can be used to signify pleased assent to a plan.

great lip for:
Dublin. Drinks too much of.

green as you are cabbage-looking:
Backhanded compliment implying you are not as innocent or stupid as you look.

gurrier:
Street urchin, but can be used pejoratively about anyone.

heart of corn:
Very good-natured.

heifer:
Cow before her first breeding.

highheejuns:
Very important people.

hollyers:
Holidays.

HMS:
His/Her Majesty's ship.

HMY:
Her Majesty's yacht.

hooley:
Party.

hot half-un:
One-ounce measure of whiskey (with cloves, lemon juice, sugar, and boiling water added).

houseman:
Medical intern. Term used despite the sex of the incumbent.

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

hurling:
The fastest stick-and-ball game played on land. A cross between field hockey and organised mayhem.

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

Jack or Jackeen:
Slang term for a Dubliner, used by natives of Ireland from places other than Dublin, who themselves are called Culchies by Dubliners.

jackdaw:
Bird of the crow family but smaller than a crow.

jammy:
Lucky.

juking:
Jinking. Moving erratically so as to avoid danger.

jakes:
Toilets.

jar:
An alcoholic drink.

ken:
Scots
. Know.

kite:
RAF slang
. Aeroplane.

knickers:
Women's and girls' underpants.

knickers in a twist (knot):
Panicked.

“Last Post”:
Bugle call sounded at day's end or at services of remembrance.

let the hare sit:
Leave it alone, or be patient.

lift:
Elevator, or a free ride in a vehicle. (If applied to police action, “He was lifted.” Arrested.)

liltie/lilty:
Irish whirling dervish.

loaf:
Head.

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

lummox:
Stupid, clumsy creature.

manor:
London police slang.
District for which a police station was responsible. Copied from '50's TV show
Dixon of Dock Green.

matron:
A hospital's senior nurse, responsible administratively for all matters pertaining to nursing. In North America the position is now vice president nursing.

medals:
The system of medals in the British Army was, with one exception, divided along rank (class) lines. Officers of the rank of major and equivalent or higher only might win the DSO, Distinguished Service Order, although it was occasionally given to more junior officers on the grounds that they had narrowly missed getting a Victoria Cross. Junior officers, captain and below, and warrant officers might win the MC, Military Cross; enlisted men, noncommissioned officers, and privates would receive the MM, Military Medal for deeds of equal bravery. The highest award for valour, the VC, Victoria Cross (akin to the Congressional Medal of Honour), was available to all ranks.

Melton Mowbray pie:
A savoury pork and bacon meat pie with a thin layer of aspic between the filling and the buttery pastry. Best eaten cold.

more power to your wheel:
Very good luck to you, or encouragement.

M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O.:
Basic medical degrees. Medicine was not regarded as a postgraduate degree. The qualification was bachelor of medicine, bachelor of the archaic chirurgerie (surgery) and bachelor of the art of obstetrics.

muffler:
Not a silencer for an automobile, but a long woollen scarf.

no harm to you, but:
Placatory phrase uttered before contradicting or criticising someone.

no goat's toe:
A superior person (usually only in their own mind).

no spring chicken:
Getting on in years.

not have a baldy notion:
Haven't got a clue.

omadán
:
Irish
. Pronounced “omadawn.” Male idiot. Contrary to popular belief, men are not the only idiots in Ireland.
Óinseach,
pronounced “ushick,” is the female equivalent.

operating theatre:
OR.

owner:
Naval
. Captain of a naval vessel.

Oxo:
Compressed beef bouillon reconstituted with boiling water.

oxter:
Armpit.

oxtercog:
Help along by draping someone's arm over your shoulders to support them.

patch:
London police slang.
A police officer's territory. Also derived from the TV show
Dixon of Dock Green.

peeler:
Policeman. Named for the founder of the first organised police force in Great Britain, Sir Robert Peel (1788–1846). These officers were known as “bobbies” in England and “peelers” in Ireland.

petrified:
Terrified.

poitín
:
Irish
. Pronounced “potcheen.” Moonshine. Illegally distilled spirits, usually from barley. Could be as strong as 180 proof (about 100 percent alcohol by volume).

powerful:
Extremely.

professional medical titles:
In Ireland, for historic reasons, GPs and all specialists except surgeons used “doctor.” Trainee surgeons used “doctor” until they had passed their specialty exams, when they reverted to “mister.” Dentists and veterinarians used “mister” because their basic degrees were bachelorhoods, not doctorates. “Doctor” was also used by anyone with a doctoral degree—Ph.D., D.Sc., D.D., D.Mus., and the like. Professorial rank was reserved for university departmental heads or endowed personal chairs.

puff:
Life.

pupil:
Schoolchild. “Student” was reserved for university undergraduates. Only those who had successfully completed the necessary university courses and been awarded a degree were said to have graduated.

quare:
Irish pronunciation of “queer.” Very. Often succeeded with “nor.”

rain:
Rain is a fact of life in Ireland. It's why the country is the Emerald Isle. Just as the Inuit people of the Arctic have many words for snow, in Ulster the spectrum runs from “sound day,” or “true day, fair weather,” to “a grand soft day, mizzling,” also described as “that's the rain that wets you,” to downpours of varying severity to include “coming down in sheets/stair rods/torrents” or “pelting,” “bucketing,” “plooting,” (corruption of French
il pleut
), “chuckin' it down,” and the universal “raining cats and dogs.” If you visit, take an umbrella.

range:
A cast-iron kitchen stove fuelled by coke, coal, gas, or turf. In rural Ireland it served the functions of heating the kitchen, heating the water, and cooking food.