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The Bluffers Guide to Hiberno-English
“Listen, I’m going to slap on me runners, grab me yoke
and leg it down to the chipper!”
If you understand this sentence then you’re well on your way to understanding how the Irish use the English
language and make a version of it that’s entirely their own. This is called Hiberno-English .
Inspired by an article in TheJournal.ie a list has been compiled of words that are uniquely Irish. Here is a list
of words common in Ireland that tend to be met with confusion elsewhere. You might like to add to this list
your own peculiarities that are picked up along the way!
1. Runners 2. Hotpress
Seems like sound Irish logic. What do Again, totally logical to the Irish mind.
you do when you put on your sports The hotpress is the airing cupboard
shoes?...You run! Therefore sneakers where you might store sheets and
towels, located next to the boiler. So
shall be known as runners. therefore it is a press (cupboard)
3. Gum boil/Mouth ulcer which is hot!
Now, here’s where the office staff start
4. Yoke
to wince. The American name for this You would use this in a sentence like:
painful little spot on your tongue or gums “Do you know the yoke you use to make
is a canker sore. We’ve all decided that coffee?” See, it’s simple. The Irish
appear to be noun-deficient and have
that sounds far worse that a gum boil, many words that can be used to replace
so we’re going to stick with the Irish nouns. For example “Where did I put
terminology on this one. that thingamabob?”
5. Jumper 6. Chipper
No, this is not someone who has hurled The Irish chipper is a take-away place
themselves off a building. It’s simply
that sells chips (French fries), fish,
a sweater, not to be confused by a battered sausages and other fried
jumpsuit. Made famous by the Irish song
foods.
“Where’s my Jumper?” by The Sultans
of Ping FC. 8. Boot
Not the variety of shoes that go on your
7. Footpath feet. A boot is the trunk of a car, at the
Americans like to call it a sidewalk, but
rear end. The place where your spare
in Ireland it’s called a footpath. tire, groceries and other bulky items go.
This is quite simply a path for your feet. A common command as an Irish child was
to “pop the boot.”
9. Ride 10. Stuffed
In Ireland, a ride usually refers to an Perhaps referring to taxidermy, when
attractive person, male or female. It is an Irish person says they are ‘stuffed’
not when your friend offers you a lift to it means they are “full” they have had
the shop. their fill of food!
175
“Listen, I’m going to slap on me runners, grab me yoke
and leg it down to the chipper!”
If you understand this sentence then you’re well on your way to understanding how the Irish use the English
language and make a version of it that’s entirely their own. This is called Hiberno-English .
Inspired by an article in TheJournal.ie a list has been compiled of words that are uniquely Irish. Here is a list
of words common in Ireland that tend to be met with confusion elsewhere. You might like to add to this list
your own peculiarities that are picked up along the way!
1. Runners 2. Hotpress
Seems like sound Irish logic. What do Again, totally logical to the Irish mind.
you do when you put on your sports The hotpress is the airing cupboard
shoes?...You run! Therefore sneakers where you might store sheets and
towels, located next to the boiler. So
shall be known as runners. therefore it is a press (cupboard)
3. Gum boil/Mouth ulcer which is hot!
Now, here’s where the office staff start
4. Yoke
to wince. The American name for this You would use this in a sentence like:
painful little spot on your tongue or gums “Do you know the yoke you use to make
is a canker sore. We’ve all decided that coffee?” See, it’s simple. The Irish
appear to be noun-deficient and have
that sounds far worse that a gum boil, many words that can be used to replace
so we’re going to stick with the Irish nouns. For example “Where did I put
terminology on this one. that thingamabob?”
5. Jumper 6. Chipper
No, this is not someone who has hurled The Irish chipper is a take-away place
themselves off a building. It’s simply
that sells chips (French fries), fish,
a sweater, not to be confused by a battered sausages and other fried
jumpsuit. Made famous by the Irish song
foods.
“Where’s my Jumper?” by The Sultans
of Ping FC. 8. Boot
Not the variety of shoes that go on your
7. Footpath feet. A boot is the trunk of a car, at the
Americans like to call it a sidewalk, but
rear end. The place where your spare
in Ireland it’s called a footpath. tire, groceries and other bulky items go.
This is quite simply a path for your feet. A common command as an Irish child was
to “pop the boot.”
9. Ride 10. Stuffed
In Ireland, a ride usually refers to an Perhaps referring to taxidermy, when
attractive person, male or female. It is an Irish person says they are ‘stuffed’
not when your friend offers you a lift to it means they are “full” they have had
the shop. their fill of food!
175
