Saturday, March 14, 2009

UWOTD

The word today isn't really confined to N. Ireland but as it's not that common anywhere outside of Ireland as a whole and as St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching, to be sure, I'll pop it into today's post.

Craic : fun times, entertaining conversation. (Pronounced crack)

It was many years into adulthood before I saw the word written down and till then I'd just assumed it was Crack.  Not to be confused with the the fun time substance used by dope heads the world over !

As well as the above explanation, when you're out and about in Ulster you'll often be greeted with a combination of this word and the phrase I told you about in a previous UWOTD post.

"Aw what about ye ?  What's the craic ?"  Translated to "How are you, dear chap, and do tell me what's going on in your life right now."

If you've been to a party or down to the pub and had a jolly good time there, you'd say "oh that was great craic, wasn't it ?"

So this little word has a plethera of meanings but all brought together under the general umbrella of 'good times.'

After all, that's what the Irish (and N. Irish) are famous for.


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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous14 March, 2009 19:12

    It's lovely that such a gaelic word as craic has now entered general English but you might want to take a look at this comment from the Urban dictionary:

    "Note: Very tricky to get away with saying this in the US without getting strange looks from police officers."

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  2. Jennytc14 March, 2009 19:21

    You hadn't seen it written down? Don't tell me you escaped having to learn Irish at school?

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  3. Silverback14 March, 2009 19:50

    I had a choice between Irish or Greek........I didn't pick Irish.

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  4. Daphne14 March, 2009 21:58

    And there's always plenty of craic to be had from this blog, and this is a Good Thing.

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  5. Anonymous15 March, 2009 00:54

    Oooh, I've heard this one before (not that I knew how it was spelled either ...), and I'm pretty sure it's used with it's alternative and slightly suspect spelling in the northern counties of England.

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  6. Jennytc15 March, 2009 10:47

    Did I ever tell you I taught Irish to 4 year olds in the early 70s in Eire? They didn't have the choice there. :)

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  7. rhymeswithplague15 March, 2009 12:34

    I'm tempted to say, "No wonder no one understands the Irish," but I fear you would treat it as an insult and that is not my intention at all. I'm sure plenty of people understand the Irish.

    Do not come looking for me with a shilleleigh or however you spell it.

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