
You'll typically see it advertised on pubs and music venues. This means 'live music and good fun' in Irish. "How was the gig last night?" " It was absolutely solid craic"Īnother common phrase you may encounter is 'Craic agus Ceoil'. You might hear a conversation go something like this. One thing is for sure 'having the craic' always involves laughter. Sometimes craic means breaking rules, mischievous or getting up to no good. It can include storytelling and jesting, banter or slagging (for more about slagging, see below). It can mean good times, good company and conversation. But there's a little more to it than that.Ĭraic is fun and flowing conversation. Before we go any further, it's important to understand the concept of craic. One of the more well-known Irish words or phrases is craic (pronounced crack).Ĭraic is a central pillar of Irish culture.

Telling someone that you're 'suckin' diesel' means that things are going exceptionally well. Our 4x4 VagaTron tour vehicles do suck diesel.īut if an Irish persons says this to you, don't take them literally! Of course, the standard response to 'How's She Cuttin' is: "She's suckin' diesel". It's a bit of a comic phrase, to be frank the Irish equivalent of 'Top Of The Morning' (which, by the way, Irish people NEVER, ever (ever) use). Taken literally, 'How's She Cuttin'?' refers either to the state of your plough or grass-cutting equipment. how they are).Īs with 'Howaya', the asker doesn't always want to know the details.Īt its heart, Ireland is still an agricultural country, despite its modern cities and sophisticated tour operators (ahem!).Īs a result, lots of Irish slang derives from farming life. When you ask someone 'What's The Craic?', you're essentially saying hello, not asking them if they're enjoying themselves (i.e. It's basically a quick way to say hello without the need for a longer chat.Ī very normal sight would be Irish people passing each other on the street, swapping 'Howaya's' and carrying on their way, without missing a step. In normal circumstances, when an Irish person says 'Howaya', they don't actually want to know your inner thoughts and emotions.


Not so much a conversation-opener as a quick greeting. In everyday conversation, most Irish-speakers use some variation of 'how are you' as a greeting. Read on to find out several ways to say hello to Irish people as well as some other interesting sayings and funny phrases. Learning just a little bit of Irish really helps you understand some of the ways that Irish people communicate. That's because our version of English (Hiberno-English) carries strong influence from our native language of Irish (you might know it as Gaelic).
FUNNY 2 WORD PHRASES FOR BLUE LICENSE
You'll notice plentiful poetic license being taken with in Ireland with our English phrases and grammar. We Irish are known for our way with words.Īpart from our giants of literature - Beckett, Yeats and Heaney - we boast a long-held tradition of storytelling.
