Irish in the UK - what are the things that it took you ages to realise people don't say here.

[ConflictedCheetah]

Inspired by the thread about Pancake Tuesday.

That thread has cracked me up because SO many posters are insisting no one EVER calls pancake Tuesday - it's Pancake Day - and sayu it's weird and wanky to call it that. And then all the Irish people on the thread are like ' wait, we've always called it that and never noticed that no one else did.

So what else you got?

For me, and I'm here 20 years, I only found out about a year ago that no one here calls a birth certificate a 'birth cert'. My English husband thought it was proper weird that I kept saying that. I had never picked up that it wasn't a thing! I think Irish people are so used to talking about the Leaving Cert or Junior Cert etc. that the Cert but feels natural. DH says no.

What other ways have I been unknowingly embarrassing myself for 20 years?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard ‘swimming costume’ used in Ireland, only England — to me it sounds hilariously formal and old-fashioned, as if it’s referring to an Edwardian ankle-length affair with wool ruffles! ‘Cassie’ likewise.

We grew up saying ‘swimsuit’ or ‘togs’.

DS is at an Educate Together which always serves the children pancakes at break on Shrove Tuesday — the notice on the school app said ‘Pancake Tuesday’, as you’d expect for a secular school, but when I was chatting to the Head on Friday in the yard, she (my age, early 50s) said ‘Shrove Tuesday’.

I'm on my new(ish) laptop now - the three dots are there but no edit function

Edit (!) but now there is

Banjaxed - My car is completely banjaxed - or where something has gone wrong - well that's banjaxed that then -

or in some cases something can be ban-jo-laxed (which is worse)

melted- my head is melted - she/he melted me

Yerrah - (yeh-raa)

Will you come in- Yerrah I will/won't
Did you go shopping - Yerrah I did/didn't
Whose your man/woman - yerrah he's (so and so) - yerrah I don't know.

Watch your one- (Look at them )
Would you look at the carry on of your one
Look at the head on that/your man/your one -

Pancake Tuesday in our patch as well.

i grew up elsewhere and did find it odd to hear the ground being referred to as the floor in England - it's obviously not everywhere, but some people certainly use it that way - in my case, my driving instructor! And it took me a while to realise what she meant and where I was supposed to be looking.

'make strange' is normal to me as well, as are a lot of these other expressions, clearly used in other English speaking countries with lots of Irish and Scottish and other immigrants I guess.

I have a very neutral and mobile British accent and also have Irish grandparents. I tend to naturally mirror people's accents automatically (especially Irish ones!) and have to work quite hard not to do this. I'm not mocking anyone, but I'm always conscious of someone thinking that I am. I don't like doing it, but I can't seem to stop it unless I over pronounce words, and then I sound like some mad received pronunciation speaking aristocrat!

It only lasts a short period of time and also goes when you post again. Think you posted twice in a row earlier so you won't have had the chance to edit your first post.

I'm English but my mum is Irish. Some things you think are family sayings but found out later they were Irish.

Santy for Santa

Bold meaning naughty

My dad always critised my mum for getting bring/take wrong in his opinion.

As in "bit my nose off" not actually eating snot.

I spent most of my childhood “going for a run” in the car on Sundays. Highlight of the week.
North east England/Scottish border.
As an adult if I ask friends what they are up to at the weekend, “oh we are going for a run in the car with the kids”

I'm sure you now know it's always been there but good that you can now edit 😀

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeBfaXg3/

That might be it - but I did try to edit post one before I posted post 2 <brain hurts>

Going for a run in the car was a normal activity in the 70s and maybe into the 80s, I think the phrase isn't used now because people have so many other things to do that it's simply not needed

I just tested it, you can edit more than one post as long as the time hasn't expired in the older ones

I really didn't see it but more than happy to believe it was my dopiness

Born & grew up in NW England. Lived in East Anglia since 18.

I have never heard the outside ground referred to as the floor. Floors are inside.

"Did ya shift him/get the shift?" No one has a clue what I meant when I'd be asking about their romantic conquests when I first moved over to England....

"Happy out" definitely a big thing in Mayo - it means more than just happy in the moment - it implies a general contentment with the whole situation.

"Yer wan is such a dose" a person who is irritating.

"Not a notion" (not to be confused with "notions" where someone thinks they are being a bit fancy). "Not a notion" means that not only are you not going to do something, but you also have no intention of thinking about why your not going to do it and coming up with an excuse.

"He's a massive ride" a good looking fella.

Because in my experience, (26 years in various parts of England), it is often intended mockingly, and/or can be the prelude to some bit of vocalised prejudice or stereotyping — you don’t know which, but it doesn’t make for relaxation. We were godparents to an English friend’s son — DH had to miss the baptism as he was away for work, and the man who stood in for him, friend’s (UC banker)BIL, saw DH’s Irish name on the order of service, and proceeded to do a Darby O’Gill stage-Irish accent, while smirking, throughout the service.

Because it’s not a ‘lilt’ or a ‘brogue’ — those are terms used by people who genuinely appear to think the way they speak is some form of neutral norm from which Irish people diverge. Everyone has an accent. RP is just a prestigious variety of English.

@ColleenDonaghy

That's interesting. I can't imagine any priests I knew (and I'd several uncles priests) who would use 'Pancake' instead of 'Shrove'. Likewise my parents.

'Shrove' still being used in my younger DC's primary school & as I say, I use it - also use Pancake Tuesday.

Oh notions is another brilliant one! Again, so much meaning in one word.

I moved between S.E England and Munster though my first 20 years. But I was very shocked when starting secondary school in England that 'bloody' and ' shut-up' were OK things to say to each other not swear words.

Probably 100s of other things that I can't really remember now.

'Lads' to mean the group of people not just men. Well to say hello. Pure/fair to emphasise something 'I am fair wrecked' 'Your one is a pure dose'

Flannel - it's a face cloth.

Full of cold - smothered

You're having a laugh - Go away out of that

Those saying 'are you after you tea/dinner' I wouldn't have got that either and prob would think you are asking me if I'm looking to get dinner off you.

My children go to a <whisper it> Protestant school so god knows!

It was ‘going for a spin’ when I was growing up. To get the full ‘spin’ experience, it should be lashing rain, and feature a bit of time parked in the gate of a field staring at the rain, with a GAA match on the car radio and the back seat hitting one another.

No I mean in all and not and all.My sister is a teacher and it's usual for students to actually shorten in to inal when they write something. As I said it's a Dublin thing. You may live in Dublin now but if you're not originally from Dublin there's lots of sayings/words that you won't understand.

Respectfully, you're wrong! It is 'and all' meaning, 'I've done this time and all it entails'. Sure 'in all' makes no sense!

It's nothing to do with being from Dublin, it's just linguistics.

As for the students, I've teens, I get it! Their acronyms are mad! They are clearly spelling it phonetically - that's exactly how n sounds when shortened like that.

I hear ya.

Oh! the memories. 😃