When I was growing up in Ireland my mother and grandmother spoke a form of English, peppered with Irish words. It wasn’t until I moved to America that I came to realize how many expressions escape my lips that are nowhere to be found in the Oxford English dictionary. Image Credit When polishing furniture I […]
I Could Or I Couldn’t Care Less
The first time I used the phrase “I couldn’t care less” here in the U.S. I got a strange look from my American companion. “You mean ‘you could care less’,” she corrected me. “No,” I said “I could NOT care less, meaning I don’t care about the outcome.” “Oh, over here we say that we […]
In A Jiffy
Today my triplets learned a new phrase: “In a jiffy”. Our jiffy tale started when my little girl asked me what a jiffy is. She was delighted with my answer. She is either blessed or bitten by an efficient, perfectionist streak. She proceeded to spend the whole day describing how she planned to do […]
The Irish American Clothing Dictionary
A significant naming difference for clothing items exists between Ireland and America. It is something I didn’t think twice about before packing my bags to come to America twenty something years ago. As I threw vests and jumpers into a bag I had no idea I would need to relearn the nomenclature for my wardrobe. […]
Irish – A Language Without Words For ‘Yes’ and ‘No’
Irish, the primary official language of Ireland has been spoken on the island for over 2500 years. Its sentence structure and syntax are very different from that of the English language. One striking distinction is the lack of words for “yes” and “no” in Irish. This probably sounds very strange to any English speaking person. How […]
Why The Irish Love A Bit Of Craic!
“How’s the craic?” is a friendly greeting used throughout Ireland. Heard in pubs, on street corners, and even in people’s homes, it is a question of extreme importance to most Irishmen. Unfortunately the word is pronounced just like the English word “crack”, giving rise to potential awkward misunderstandings for tourists, especially those unaccustomed to an […]
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