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Dublin: 11 °C Friday 19 April, 2024
morto

10 Irish slang words that need to be added to the dictionary right now

This is *our* language – the world needs to know about it.

JEGGINGS, NSFW AND WTF have all been added to various dictionaries around the world recently – causing everyone to take stock of where our language is right now.

But Ireland has some slang words that need to get some official recognition too. Like:

1. Morto

giphy Giphy Giphy

Morto for the Oxford English Dictionary for not having this era-defining word.

2. Gowl

annoyed giphy giphy

An annoying person. The international community could do with a few more ways to call somebody out.

3. Hape

Chokhi Dhani: fried tortillas oldandsolo oldandsolo

An absolute load of something is a hape of it. When will those naive English speakers abroad move away from their uncultured “heap”?

4. Mank

trash clam mugley mugley

This beautiful, poetic word needs global recognition. Manky gets thrown around a bit but why use it when mank is more concise and, well, better?

5. Ossified

As in “I was absolutely ossified last night.”

The Oxford English Dictionary has it all wrong:

ossify OED OED

6. Beour

A good-looking person.

Irish slang at its finest.

7. Scuttered

IMG_1094.JPG Grayskullduggery Grayskullduggery

What is this language they’re speaking at the OED?

scutter OED OED

Away with you.

8. Whist

As in “hauld your whist!”

Richard Harris The Field BlogSpot BlogSpot

OED thinks it’s:

whist OED OED

Morto for them.

9. Bate

exhausted cody jimw jimw

Knackered. Wrecked. Exhausted.

Do any of those come close to the humble bate?

10. Naggin

A naggin of vodka is a traditional measurement for spirits that gets no love abroad. No, we didn’t mean noggin or nagging, OED:

OED2 OED OED

When will these sensational words get their deserved kudos?

More 11 words that will definitely be added to the dictionary>

More 10 exceptionally questionable bits of ‘Irish slang’ found online>

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