Slanguage: Dictionary of Irish Slang [Hardcover]

Bernard Share (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1997

Are you a holy terror? Are you a go-boy? Could you live on the skin of a rasher? Or are you so hungry that you eat a farmer's arse through a hedge? When you're on the razz, do you get so buckled, crippled and scuttered that you can't get your back outa the scratcher in the morning? Never mind the answers. If you understand the questions you are in Slanguage country. If you don't, you need to be. This is the dictionary that glosses the words that real Irish people use in the streets each day, every day. Slang is elusive. Some words and phrases are always there. Others slip in and out of usage according to the whims of fashion. This expanded edition of the standard dictionary of Irish slang includes many entries not in the 1997 edition. It has dropped a few that have fallen out of favour, and has revised others. In all, this edition is 25 per cent longer than its predecessor. It will confirm Bernard Share's invaluable book in its position as the major work of its kind, combining scholarship and a keen sense of fun. Slanguage does justice to it by taking it seriously, but not too seriously.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Absolutely essential for anyone who is Irish or wants to understand us, this is a wild collection of off-the-wall phrases used in literature, drama, poetry, newspaper journalism and everyday speech. You'd sort of know what the word 'ullagoning' meant if you came across it in a sentence - somebody moaning and groaning and droning on - because it's onomatopoeic, but it's good to have it defined. And you might know what a Yahoo was but again it's good to be able to put it in context, from Dean Swift to Sean O'Casey and beyond. Review by Maeve Binchy, author of 'Tara Road', 'Evening Class' and 'The Glass Lake'. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author

Bernard Share is a distinguished critic, writer and teacher. He is a former editor of Cara, the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine; the author of many books, including the best-selling The Emergency, a popular account of Irish life during World War II; and a lecturer in modern literature both in Ireland and Australia. The first edition of Slanguageappeared to critical and commercial acclaim. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd (October 31, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0717123537
• ISBN-13: 978-0717123537
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,886,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Swahili

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Collection of Irish Colloquial Words, March 5, 2005

By 

M. G. SFAELLOU "Platanos" (Greece) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Slanguage a Dictionary of Irish Slang (Paperback)

Unfortunately, the word 'slang' has become misused to mean a body of language that refers to sexual and often perverted practices. This collection does NOT use the word 'slang' in that narrow modern context. Here 'slang' is used merely in the sense of 'vulgar' in its etymological sense (i.e. to refer to 'common'colloquial forms of the language). Infact what is so interesting is that the entries, even for the Irish themselves are not all that common. The reader can find so much that is new on every single page. This is an exellent collection of Hiberno-English (Irish English) vocabulary. The author often provides the etymology from the actual Irish language (as opposed to Irish/Hiberno-English) and also locates certain words that were coined (or used ) by writers by quoting judicious extracts showing the original context of such terms. Another important point is that the words do not usually refer to ordinary translateable concepts but are often fascinating examples of unique terms that cover concepts in Irish folklore, history or everyday life for which there is no equivalent. This collection will be enjoyed not only by the Irish but by any serious specialist in dialects of the English language. A masterpiece!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointingly localized, April 21, 2011

By 

martb40 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Slanguage a Dictionary of Irish Slang (Paperback)

This book goes into much detail of the slang, sayings and dialect in Ireland, IF you are solely interested in the northern part of the country. The author obviously did their research in Ulster and sadly neglected the largest area of the island. In localizing his search to this small area they have made shortchanged their readers. They neglected to take anything from places like Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, all places with a wealth of slang all of their own. As well as these places, they omitted the more general slang that is used across the country as a whole. My wife and I were sadly disappointed with this badly put together, badly researched, badly localized waste of paper!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bernard Share is to be Highly Commended for a Valuable Reference..., February 1, 2006

By 

suibhne "Beatha agus Slainte!" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slanguage: A Dictionary of Irish Slang (Paperback)

If you have the time and/or inclination to incorporate the minutiae validating a myriad of "Irish Slang Terms," archaic and/or contemporary, this is the tome for you! "Slanguage" is EXACTLY as the title implies: a dictionary. B. Share is to be highly commended for having taken extreme measures to provide a reference work that is extensive in scope, cross-referenced, as well as based on scholarly citations. It is an excellent reference work to supplement any interest and/or study of "slang" attributed to, or regarding, the Irish. This book is written in the English language for the faint-hearted, and knowledge of Irish Gaelic is not necessary to enjoy and/or employ any and/or all of the cited words and/or phrases. A few Irish Gaelic words so citical to some idioms are present, and their meanings are immediately contextually present. In all of critcal acclaim that rightfully belongs to "Slanguage: A Dictionary of Irish Slang," buyer beware: It IS as it proclaims itself to be: a dictionary.