# Help with Irish slang



## Circadian (Jun 20, 2016)

My MC is from Bray in Ireland and I need a bit of help figuring out slang he might use. Some terms I'd like an Irish equivalent for are:

Thug/ruffian

To knock off (as in kill)

Corny/cheesy (as in "that movie was so corny")

Cool (as in "wow, that's so cool!")

It/that/this sucks

Friend (specifically when a guy refers to a girl, but not a girlfriend, just a friend friend)

Kid or guy

Also, I understand that police in Ireland are known as Guarda and I read a book in which officers are referred to as Guarda so-and-so but could you use the term in reference to police as a whole as in "I called the guarda/called the police?"

If there's any other common slang a 15-year-old from Bray would use, that would be helpful too and thanks in advance.


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## Sam (Jun 21, 2016)

Circadian said:


> My MC is from Bray in Ireland and I need a bit of help figuring out slang he might use. Some terms I'd like an Irish equivalent for are:Thug/ruffian


Scumbag





> To knock off (as in kill)


Took out or taken out. 





> Corny/cheesy (as in "that movie was so corny")


There is no real slang for that. 





> Cool (as in "wow, that's so cool!")


Gas or deadly. That's gas! That's deadly!  





> It/that/this sucks


A load of bollocks. "This is a load of bollocks." 





> Friend (specifically when a guy refers to a girl, but not a girlfriend, just a friend friend)


Beour. Bird. 





> Kid or guy


Gasun. Or cub. 





> Also, I understand that police in Ireland are known as Guarda and I read a book in which officers are referred to as Guarda so-and-so but could you use the term in reference to police as a whole as in "I called the guarda/called the police?"


They're known as the Garda, short for Garda Siochana, meaning "the Guardian of the Peace". People would say "I called/am calling the guards." Further down south, where you're basing your story, people often call them "The Shades", from the two shades of blue on the uniform. 





> If there's any other common slang a 15-year-old from Bray would use, that would be helpful too and thanks in advance.


I'm afraid there's that much slang in Ireland that books have been written on it. Then you have the problem of region. Not everyone in Ireland uses "The Shades", for instance, especially where I come from. Some words that are in circulation throughout the country are: Gobshite/eejit/gombeen -- an idiot or moron. Your wan/one -- in reference to someone one doesn't know. "Who's your wan over there?" Now you're/we're sucking diesel -- now we're getting some progress/now you're coming around to my way of thinking. Made a balls of/made a hames of -- "Fuck sake, Johnny, you made a right hames of that!" Jaysus -- Used in situations of surprise or shock. Instead of "Jesus, that was close!", one would say, "Jaysus, that was close!" Take the Mickey out of -- to take the piss out of someone. Be careful, though, as 'Mickey' is also slang for penis in certain areas. That's all I have time for right now. Might come back with a few more.


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## Circadian (Jun 21, 2016)

Thanks. This is really helpful. And I know the Irish have a ton of slang but I'll probably tone it down just a bit, cause I guess non-Irish readers need to be able to understand him.


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## EACyrianne (Jun 21, 2016)

Circadian said:


> Thanks. This is really helpful. And I know the Irish have a ton of slang but I'll probably tone it down just a bit, cause I guess non-Irish readers need to be able to understand him.



Indeed stick with the simple terms. 

You want thug specific - there's any number of slangs that can be used. Maggot, for example, can be used about some lowlife or thug. On the other hand, you may not want to use something like bowsie. Bowsie is more or less the same thing [lowlife / thug] but how many of your readers will be "what??"




Circadian said:


> If there's any other common slang a 15-year-old from Bray would use, that would be helpful too and thanks in advance.



Ah if you were more northern [Belfast] or more southern [Killarney], as there's not much family near Dublin, then I'd be more help. As Sam says the regions add a few twists to what someone is going to be saying. 


But Bray is Wicklow and so the closest slang you'd likely get would be Dubliner. In that sense, bowsie I think would be a bit more common for a thug or someone not trustworthy. 


If you just want general easy-to-understand terms then as Sam said there's plenty of books. Or as nowadays with the internet, plenty of websites. See if you can narrow down some Dublin slang.


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