Did someone just tell me (an Irishwoman) an anti-Irish joke?

[Decaffstilltastesweird]

I was sitting in a cafe with DD earlier today. We sat down next to a man who was on his own. He said hello to DD and then chatted to me a bit about the weather; how it was too warm last week.

Me: well, being Irish, I'm not great with hot weather (ho ho)
Him: did you hear about the Irishman who was on Mastermind recently?
Me: [thinking he was actually going to tell me about a Mastermind contestant] oh no, I didn't
Him: they asked him his name and he said "pass"
Me: oh... oh... em, no, no

We went back to eating lunch and he left.

So, maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I am guessing this is supposed to mean he's so thick he can't even remember his name? Because he's Irish? Is that what he meant? I'm genuinely confused ! If that's what he meant, did I just confirm his prejudices by looking like this at him?

He seemed a pleasant enough man, so I don't think he was being intentionally hurtful to me. Maybe I'm missing something or being over sensitive, (although actually I feel more confused than outraged about it).

I had an almighty fight on the Internet a couple of years ago with a British baker and an American one who were posting their recipes for "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes.....neither could see how offensive this was. My DH aunt is worse OP she is Irish born and bred but posh and pretends to be English (while living in Galway) she supports all the English better than Irish crap. Insisted on educating her daughter in English boarding schools and universities 😒

I have had that argument in America on St Patrick's Day, because they have cocktails called Irish Car Bomb and Black and Tan, and I couldn't believe it. They had no idea who the Black and Tans were.

Yeah they had those cupcakes too and used them as an example of why it was ok!!!! When I started talking about the omagh car bomb and who died they shut up and the admin made them remove it from the site (he hadn't realised either but listened!)

The idea of Irish Car Bomb and Black and Tan cocktails / cupcakes makes me feel a bit sick. People can be incredibly ignorant.

I remember an English father of the bride saying, with pride, in his speech, how his new son in law had stood for the British national anthem when nobody else seated around him would... at Croke Park. Not appropriate. They had no idea why people might not like this. I had to explain it to my ILs who also didn't quite get it.

How fucking dare someone say get a sense of humor Ok try telling a joke about a black person or a Pakistani person, should they find it funny, no, I think not

The idea of Irish Car Bomb and Black and Tan cocktails / cupcakes makes me feel a bit sick. People can be incredibly ignorant

Me too and it is now my humanity that is sickened, not my nationalism.

**

You rang?

Neither is correct - it should be "I was seated". "I was sitting" is correct while the person was going through motion of lowering themselves into position. Once there, they are seated. "I was sat" is just wrong. Nor is it a sign of Britishness - Scots don't say it, not sure about the Welsh. So perhaps it's just a sign of Englishness.

**

'I was sitting' is present continuous though? What was she doing while she was seated? She was sitting!

'I was sat' sounds like something I hear on Big Brother.

manateandcake I know what you mean. In the UK, , Irish is perceived to be one and the same with working class. Nothing wrong with being working class but not everybody Irish is working class. It's like the Irish cannot be classy! Educated, successful, privileged... If an Irish person were all of those things he or she would be considered very English in their ways!

BOysofMelody! I like that joke

I was sat is definitely wrong!

I would say "I was sitting in a cafe when a door opened".

I can see that I was in the processing of sitting down when the door opened is fine but I don't really feel I was sitting by the door when someone walked in - meaning I was already sitting down and seated when they came in - is that bad.

I certainly wage a constant war against "I was sat"

There's some nasty snidey racism creeping into this thread. Shame.

Please report anything racist you've seen prima - genuinely! I would hate that to happen on a thread which was in no way intended to be racist. Quite the opposite in fact. I think I've read the whole thread, but if there's anything at all racist, do report it and I'm sure mnhq will remove.

I worked in England in the 80s and 90s and experienced this type of "jokes" regularly. The two that stand out were once on a work night out some ordered an Irish coffee and my line manager said " oh, I always expect you to get a tea when you ask for that" and at a conference, where a new till system was being rolled out, the regional manager, in front of at least 200 people, described the system as "so simple, even the Irish pub managers can use it". It's my biggest regret that I didn't challenge him on it and it still irks me today. My West Indian and Pakistani colleagues were incensed and agreed he'd not have got away with a similar joke about any other nationality. I subsequently complained, informally, to my area manager who totally dismissed what I said.

I'm Australian. Apparently we're all stupid, loud descendants of convicts.... 🙄

Agree that in England Irish = working class. Never mind that almost everyone of my own age and peer group from back home took advantage of free university and are now MA and PHD level educated...

Not that there's anything wrong with being working class of course - but the stereotype is particularly irritating when it's so unfair and untrue (Irish = thick, workshy, drunk).

As an Irish person living in the uk I get this on a daily basis, couple of days ago I was asked where in Ireland I was from, I replied as you do! Next statement was oh are you IRA IRISH! due to the fact I'm southern Irish Catholic! Dunno how he knew I was catholic must be the big bloody sign round me neck!

Maybe it was your username that did it?

I was raised in England but I'm in the process of getting an Irish passport. The examples they give on the guidance notes of the hapless Dylan McCarthy putting his through the washing machine and then losing the replacement at Dublin airport are great He sounds exactly like my younger brother

I feel bad now, but I love Irish jokes especially paddy and mick ones

Im Northern Irish if that makes a difference?

Probably makes it worse..

Neither is correct - it should be "I was seated". "I was sitting" is correct while the person was going through motion of lowering themselves into position. Once there, they are seated.

Really?

So the term sitting duck should be seated duck, sitting pretty should be seated pretty and sitting tenant should be seated tenant?

Not to mention " sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away " should be " seated on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away "

One would have thought that the past continuous of the verb to sit (ie. " I was sitting ") was the most appropriate to use in the above context seeing as the OP continued to sit even after the idiot left?

Yes, seated is a bit ambiguous as it generally suggests that you were seated by another person - such as an usher or waiter.

To sit.
I am sitting down. Now I am seated (that being the action of putting me in my seat).
I was seated (by someone else).
I sat down.
Here I sit and shit away the meal that cost 10 pounds today.

I was sitting. I was shitting. It's something you're actively doing. Sitting.
You don't say I was shitted? You say I was shiting. You were shiting at the time.

I was sitting down is perfectly correct Hiberno-English

I took the original post about sitting vs sat to mean 'you can tell op isn't British because she used the correct English'. I could be wrong, though.