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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, English As We Speak It in Ireland, by P. W.
+Joyce
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: English As We Speak It in Ireland
+
+
+Author: P. W. Joyce
+
+
+
+Release Date: November 8, 2010  [eBook #34251]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH AS WE SPEAK IT IN
+IRELAND***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      In this e-text e-breve is represented by [)e], a-breve by [)a],
+      and o-macron by [=o].
+
+      Page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: {25}) have
+      been incorporated to facilitate the use of the Vocabulary
+      and Index (Chapter XIII).
+
+
+
+
+
+ENGLISH AS WE SPEAK IT IN IRELAND
+
+by
+
+P. W. JOYCE, LL.D., T.C.D., M.R.I.A.
+
+One of the Commissioners for the Publication of the Ancient Laws of
+Ireland
+
+Late Principal of the Government Training College,
+Marlborough Street, Dublin
+
+Late President of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE LIFE OF A PEOPLE IS PICTURED IN THEIR SPEECH.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London: Longmans, Green, & Co.
+Dublin: M. H. Gill & Son, Ltd.
+1910
+
+
+
+{v}
+
+PREFACE.
+
+This book deals with the Dialect of the English Language that is spoken in
+Ireland.
+
+As the Life of a people--according to our motto--is pictured in their
+speech, our picture ought to be a good one, for two languages were
+concerned in it--Irish and English. The part played by each will be found
+specially set forth in Chapters IV and VII; and in farther detail
+throughout the whole book.
+
+The articles and pamphlets that have already appeared on this interesting
+subject--which are described below--are all short. Some are full of keen
+observation; but very many are mere lists of dialectical words with their
+meanings. Here for the first time--in this little volume of mine--our
+Anglo-Irish Dialect is subjected to detailed analysis and systematic
+classification.
+
+I have been collecting materials for this book for more than twenty years;
+not indeed by way of constant work, but off and on as detailed below. The
+sources from which these materials were directly derived are mainly the
+following.
+
+_First._--My own memory is a storehouse both of idiom and vocabulary; for
+the good reason that from childhood to early manhood I spoke--like those
+among whom I lived--the rich dialect {vi} of Limerick and Cork--and indeed
+to some extent speak it still in the colloquial language of everyday life.
+
+I have also drawn pretty largely on our Anglo-Irish Folk Songs of which I
+have a great collection, partly in my memory and partly on printed sheets;
+for they often faithfully reflect our Dialect.
+
+_Second._--Eighteen years ago (1892) I wrote a short letter which was
+inserted in nearly all the Irish newspapers and in very many of those
+published outside Ireland, announcing my intention to write a book on
+Anglo-Irish Dialect, and asking for collections of dialectical words and
+phrases. In response to this I received a very large number of
+communications from all parts of Ireland, as well as from outside Ireland,
+even from America, Australia, and New Zealand--all more or less to the
+point, showing the great and widespread interest taken in the subject.
+Their importance of course greatly varied; but many were very valuable. I
+give at the end of the book an alphabetical list of those contributors: and
+I acknowledge the most important of them throughout the book.
+
+_Third._--The works of Irish writers of novels, stories, and essays
+depicting Irish peasant life in which the people are made to speak in
+dialect. Some of these are mentioned in Chapter I., and others are quoted
+throughout the book as occasion requires. {vii}
+
+_Fourth._--Printed articles and pamphlets on the special subject of
+Anglo-Irish Dialect. Of these the principal that I have come across are the
+following:--
+
+'The Provincialisms of Belfast and Surrounding District pointed out and
+corrected,' by David Patterson. (1860.)
+
+'Remarks on the Irish Dialect of the English Language,' by A. Hume, D.C.L.
+and LL.D. (1878.)
+
+'A Glossary of Words in use in the Counties of Antrim and Down,' by Wm.
+Hugh Patterson, M.R.I.A. (1880)--a large pamphlet--might indeed be called a
+book.
+
+'Don't, Pat,' by 'Colonel O'Critical': a very good and useful little
+pamphlet, marred by a silly title which turns up perpetually through the
+whole pamphlet till the reader gets sick of it. (1885.)
+
+'A List of Peculiar Words and Phrases at one time in use in Armagh and
+South Donegal': by D. A. Simmons. (1890.) This List was annotated by me, at
+the request of Mr. Simmons, who was, at or about that time, President of
+the Irish National Teachers' Association.
+
+A Series of Six Articles on _The English in Ireland_ by myself, printed in
+'The Educational Gazette'; Dublin. (1890.)
+
+'The Anglo-Irish Dialect,' by the Rev. William Burke (an Irish priest
+residing in Liverpool); published in 'The Irish Ecclesiastical Record' for
+1896. A judicious and scholarly essay, which I have very often used. {viii}
+
+'The Irish Dialect of English; its Origins and Vocabulary.' By Mary Hayden,
+M.A., and Prof. Marcus Hartog (jointly): published in 'The Fortnightly
+Review' (1909: April and May). A thoughtful and valuable essay. Miss Hayden
+knows Irish well, and has made full use of her knowledge to illustrate her
+subject. Of this article I have made much use.
+
+Besides these there were a number of short articles by various writers
+published in Irish newspapers within the last twenty years or so, nearly
+all of them lists of dialectical words used in the North of Ireland.
+
+In the Introduction to the 'Biglow Papers,' Second Series, James Russell
+Lowell has some valuable observations on modern English dialectical words
+and phrases derived from Old English forms, to which I am indebted for much
+information, and which will be found acknowledged through this book: for it
+touches my subject in many places. In this Introduction Mr. Lowell remarks
+truly:--'It is always worth while to note down the erratic words or phrases
+one meets with in any dialect. They may throw light on the meaning of other
+words, on the relationship of languages, or even history itself.'
+
+Of all the above I have made use so far as served my purpose--always with
+acknowledgment.
+
+_Fifth._ For twenty years or more I have kept a large note-book lying just
+at my hand; and {ix} whenever any peculiar Irish-English expression, or
+anything bearing on the subject, came before me--from memory, or from
+reading, or from hearing it in conversation--down it went in the
+manuscript. In this way an immense mass of materials was accumulated almost
+imperceptibly.
+
+The vast collection derived from all the above sources lay by till early
+last year, when I went seriously to work at the book. But all the materials
+were mixed up--_three-na-haila_--'through-other'--and before a line of the
+book was written they had to be perused, selected, classified, and
+alphabetised, which was a very heavy piece of work.
+
+A number of the Irish items in the great 'Dialect Dictionary' edited for
+the English Dialect Society by Dr. Joseph Wright were contributed by me and
+are generally printed with my initials. I have neither copied nor avoided
+these--in fact I did not refer to them at all while working at my book--and
+naturally many--perhaps most--of them reappear here, probably in different
+words. But this is quite proper; for the Dialect Dictionary is a book of
+reference--six large volumes, very expensive--and not within reach of the
+general public.
+
+Many of the words given in this book as dialectical are also used by the
+people in the ordinary sense they bear in standard English; such as
+_break_:--'Poor Tom was broke yesterday' (dialect: dismissed from
+employment): 'the bowl {x} fell on the flags and was broken in pieces'
+(correct English): and _dark_: 'a poor dark man' (dialect: blind): 'a dark
+night' (correct English).
+
+This is essentially a subject for popular treatment; and accordingly I have
+avoided technical and scientific details and technical terms: they are not
+needed.
+
+When a place is named in connexion with a dialectical expression, it is not
+meant that the expression is confined to that place, but merely that it is,
+or was, in use there.
+
+  P. W. J.
+
+DUBLIN: _March, 1910_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+{xi}
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter                                           Page
+
+  I. SOURCES OF ANGLO-IRISH DIALECT,                   1
+
+  II. AFFIRMING, ASSENTING, AND SALUTING,              9
+
+  III. ASSERTING BY NEGATIVE OF OPPOSITE,             16
+
+  IV. IDIOMS DERIVED FROM THE IRISH LANGUAGE,         23
+
+  V. THE DEVIL AND HIS 'TERRITORY,'                   56
+
+  VI. SWEARING,                                       66
+
+  VII. GRAMMAR AND PRONUNCIATION,                     74
+
+  VIII. PROVERBS,                                    105
+
+  IX. EXAGGERATION AND REDUNDANCY,                   120
+
+  X. COMPARISONS,                                    136
+
+  XI. THE MEMORY OF HISTORY AND OF OLD CUSTOMS,      143
+
+  XII. A VARIETY OF PHRASES,                         185
+
+  XIII. VOCABULARY AND INDEX,                        209
+
+  Alphabetical List of Persons who sent
+  Collections of Dialectical Words and
+  Phrases,                                           353
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+{1}
+
+ENGLISH AS WE SPEAK IT IN IRELAND.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+SOURCES OF ANGLO-IRISH DIALECT.
+
+Our Anglo-Irish dialectical words and phrases are derived from three main
+sources:--
+
+_First_: the Irish language.
+
+_Second_: Old English and the dialect of Scotland.
+
+_Third_: independently of these two sources, dialectical expressions have
+gradually grown up among our English-speaking people, as dialects arise
+everywhere.
+
+In the following pages whenever a word or a phrase is not assigned to any
+origin it is to be understood as belonging to this third class:--that is so
+far as is known at present; for I have no doubt that many of these will be
+found, after further research, to be either Irish-Gaelic or Old English. It
+is to be also observed that a good many of the dialectical expressions
+given in this book as belonging to Ireland may possibly be found current in
+England or in Scotland or in both. But that is no reason why they should
+not be included here.
+
+_Influence of Irish._
+
+The Irish language has influenced our Irish-English speech in several ways.
+To begin with: it {2} has determined the popular pronunciation, in certain
+combinations, of three English consonants, _t_, _d_, and _th_, but in a way
+(so far as _t_ and _d_ are concerned) that would not now be followed by
+anyone even moderately well educated. The sounds of _English t_ and _d_ are
+not the same as those of the _Irish t_ and _d_; and when the people began
+to exchange the Irish language for English, they did not quite abandon the
+Irish sounds of these two letters, but imported them into their English,
+especially _when they came before r_. That is why we hear among the people
+in every part of Ireland such vulgarisms as (for _t_) _bitther_, _butther_,
+_thrue_; and (for _d_) _laddher_ (ladder), _cidher_ (cider), _foddher_, &c.
+Yet in other positions we sound these letters correctly, as in _fat_,
+_football_, _white_; _bad_, _hide_, _wild_, &c. No one, however uneducated,
+will mispronounce the _t_ and _d_ in such words as these. Why it is that
+the _Irish_ sound is retained before _r_ and not in other combinations--why
+for instance the Irish people sound the _t_ and _d_ incorrectly in
+_platter_ and _drive_ [platther, dhrive] and correctly in _plate_ and
+_dive_--is a thing I cannot account for.
+
+As for the English _th_, it may be said that the general run of the Irish
+people never sound it at all; for it is a very difficult sound to anyone
+excepting a born Englishman, and also excepting a small proportion of those
+born and reared on the east coast of Ireland. It has two varieties of
+sound, heard in _bath_ and _bathe_: and for these two our people use the
+Irish _t_ and _d_, as heard in the words given above.
+
+A couple of centuries ago or more the people had another substitute for
+this _th_ (in _bathe_) namely _d_, which held its place for a considerable
+time, and this {3} sound was then considered almost a national
+characteristic; so that in the song of 'Lillibulero' the English author of
+the song puts this pronunciation all through in the mouth of the
+Irishman:--'_Dere_ was an ould prophecy found in a bog.' It is still
+sometimes heard, but merely as a defect of speech of individuals:--'_De_
+books are here: _dat_ one is yours and _dis_ is mine.' Danny Mann speaks
+this way all through Gerald Griffin's 'Collegians.'
+
+There was, and to a small extent still is, a similar tendency--though not
+so decided--for the other sound of _th_ (as in _bath_):--'I had a hot _bat_
+this morning; and I remained in it for _tirty_ minutes': 'I _tink_ it would
+be well for you to go home to-day.'
+
+Another influence of the Irish language is on the letter _s_. In Irish,
+this letter in certain combinations is sounded the same as the English
+_sh_; and the people often--though not always--in similar combinations,
+bring this sound into their English:--'He gave me a blow of his _fisht_';
+'he was _whishling_ St. Patrick's Day'; 'Kilkenny is _sickshty_ miles from
+this.' You hear this sound very often among the more uneducated of our
+people.
+
+In imitation of this vulgar sound of _s_, the letter _z_ often comes in for
+a similar change (though there is no such sound in the Irish language).
+Here the _z_ gets the sound heard in the English words _glazier_,
+_brazier_:--'He bought a _dozhen_ eggs'; ''tis _drizzhling_ rain'; 'that is
+_dizhmal_ news.'
+
+The second way in which our English is influenced by Irish is in
+vocabulary. When our Irish forefathers began to adopt English, they brought
+with them from their native language many single Irish {4} words and used
+them--as best suited to express what they meant--among their newly acquired
+English words; and these words remain to this day in the current English of
+their descendants, and will I suppose remain for ever. And the process
+still goes on--though slowly--for as time passes, Irish words are being
+adopted even in the English of the best educated people. There is no need
+to give many examples here, for they will be found all through this book,
+especially in the Vocabulary. I will instance the single word _galore_
+(plentiful) which you will now often see in English newspapers and
+periodicals. The adoption of Irish words and phrases into English nowadays
+is in great measure due to the influence of Irishmen resident in England,
+who write a large proportion--indeed I think the largest proportion--of the
+articles in English periodicals of every kind. Other Irish words such as
+_shamrock_, _whiskey_, _bother_, _blarney_, are now to be found in every
+English Dictionary. _Smithereens_ too (broken bits after a smash) is a
+grand word, and is gaining ground every day. Not very long ago I found it
+used in a public speech in London by a Parliamentary candidate--an
+Englishman; and he would hardly have used it unless he believed that it was
+fairly intelligible to his audience.
+
+The third way in which Irish influences our English is in idiom: that is,
+idiom borrowed from the Irish language. Of course the idioms were
+transferred about the same time as the single words of the vocabulary. This
+is by far the most interesting and important feature. Its importance was
+pointed out by me in a paper printed twenty years {5} ago, and it has been
+properly dwelt upon by Miss Hayden and Professor Hartog in their recently
+written joint paper mentioned in the Preface. Most of these idiomatic
+phrases are simply translations from Irish; and when the translations are
+literal, Englishmen often find it hard or impossible to understand them.
+For a phrase may be correct in Irish, but incorrect, or even
+unintelligible, in English when translated word for word. Gerald Griffin
+has preserved more of these idioms (in 'The Collegians,' 'The Coiner,'
+'Tales of a Jury-room,' &c.) than any other writer; and very near him come
+Charles Kickham (in 'Knocknagow'), Crofton Croker (in 'Fairy Legends') and
+Edward Walsh. These four writers almost exhaust the dialect of the South of
+Ireland.
+
+On the other hand Carleton gives us the Northern dialect very fully,
+especially that of Tyrone and eastern Ulster; but he has very little idiom,
+the peculiarities he has preserved being chiefly in vocabulary and
+pronunciation.
+
+Mr. Seumas MacManus has in his books faithfully pictured the dialect of
+Donegal (of which he is a native) and of all north-west Ulster.
+
+In the importation of Irish idiom into English, Irish writers of the
+present day are also making their influence felt, for I often come across a
+startling Irish expression (in English words of course) in some English
+magazine article, obviously written by one of my fellow-countrymen. Here I
+ought to remark that they do this with discretion and common sense, for
+they always make sure that the Irish idiom they use is such as that any
+Englishman can understand it. {6}
+
+There is a special chapter (iv) in this book devoted to Anglo-Irish phrases
+imported direct from Irish; but instances will be found all through the
+book.
+
+It is safe to state that by far the greatest number of our Anglo-Irish
+idioms come from the Irish language.
+
+_Influence of Old English and of Scotch._
+
+From the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, in the twelfth century,
+colonies of English and of Welsh-English people were settled in
+Ireland--chiefly in the eastern part--and they became particularly numerous
+in the time of Elizabeth, three or four centuries ago, when they were
+spread all over the country. When these Elizabethan colonists, who were
+nearly all English, settled down and made friends with the natives and
+intermarried with them, great numbers of them learned to use the Irish
+language; while the natives on their part learned English from the
+newcomers. There was give and take in every place where the two peoples and
+the two languages mixed. And so the native Irish people learned to speak
+Elizabethan English--the very language used by Shakespeare; and in a very
+considerable degree the old Gaelic people and those of English descent
+retain it to this day. For our people are very conservative in retaining
+old customs and forms of speech. Many words accordingly that are discarded
+as old-fashioned--or dead and gone--in England, are still
+flourishing--alive and well--in Ireland. They are now regarded as
+vulgarisms by the educated--which no doubt they are--but they are
+vulgarisms of respectable origin, {7} representing as they do the classical
+English of Shakespeare's time.
+
+Instances of this will be found all through the book; but I may here give a
+passing glance at such pronunciations as _tay_ for _tea_, _sevare_ for
+_severe_, _desaive_ for _deceive_; and such words as _sliver_, _lief_,
+_afeard_, &c.--all of which will be found mentioned farther on in this
+book. It may be said that hardly any of those incorrect forms of speech,
+now called vulgarisms, used by our people, were invented by them; they are
+nearly all survivals of usages that in former times were correct--in either
+English or Irish.
+
+In the reign of James I.--three centuries ago--a large part of
+Ulster--nearly all the fertile land of six of the nine counties--was handed
+over to new settlers, chiefly Presbyterians from Scotland, the old Catholic
+owners being turned off. These settlers of course brought with them their
+Scotch dialect, which remains almost in its purity among their descendants
+to this day. This dialect, it must be observed, is confined to Ulster,
+while the remnants of the Elizabethan English are spread all over Ireland.
+
+As to the third main source--the gradual growth of dialect among our
+English-speaking people--it is not necessary to make any special
+observations about it here; as it will be found illustrated all through the
+book.
+
+Owing to these three influences, we speak in Ireland a very distinct
+dialect of English, which every educated and observant Englishman perceives
+the moment he sets foot in this country. It is most marked among our
+peasantry; but in fact none of us are free from it, no matter how well
+educated. {8} This does not mean that we speak bad English; for it is
+generally admitted that our people on the whole, including the peasantry,
+speak better English--nearer to the literary standard--than the
+corresponding classes of England. This arises mainly--so far as we are
+concerned--from the fact that for the last four or five generations we have
+learned our English in a large degree from books, chiefly through the
+schools.
+
+So far as our dialectical expressions are vulgar or unintelligible, those
+who are educated among us ought of course to avoid them. But outside this a
+large proportion of our peculiar words and phrases are vivid and
+picturesque, and when used with discretion and at the right time, give a
+sparkle to our conversation; so that I see no reason why we should wipe
+them out completely from our speech so as to hide our nationality. To be
+hypercritical here is often absurd and sometimes silly.
+
+I well remember on one occasion when I was young in literature perpetrating
+a pretty strong Hibernicism in one of my books. It was not forbidding, but
+rather bright and expressive: and it passed off, and still passes off very
+well, for the book is still to the fore. Some days after the publication, a
+lady friend who was somewhat of a pedant and purist in the English
+language, came to me with a look of grave concern--so solemn indeed that it
+somewhat disconcerted me--to direct my attention to the error. Her manner
+was absurdly exaggerated considering the occasion. Judging from the serious
+face and the voice of bated breath, you might almost imagine that I had
+committed a secret murder and {9} that she had come to inform me that the
+corpse had just been found.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+AFFIRMING, ASSENTING, AND SALUTING.
+
+The various Irish modes of affirming, denying, &c., will be understood from
+the examples given in this short chapter better than from any general
+observations.
+
+The Irish _ní'l lá fós é_ [neel law fo-say: it isn't day yet] is often used
+for emphasis in asseveration, even when persons are speaking English; but
+in this case the saying is often turned into English. 'If the master didn't
+give Tim a tongue-dressing, _'tisn't day yet_' (which would be said either
+by day or by night): meaning he gave him a very severe scolding. 'When I
+saw the mad dog running at me, if I didn't get a fright,
+_neel-law-fo-say_.'
+
+'I went to town yesterday in all the rain, and if I didn't get a wetting
+_there isn't a cottoner in Cork_': meaning I got a very great wetting. This
+saying is very common in Munster; and workers in cotton were numerous in
+Cork when it was invented.
+
+A very usual emphatic ending to an assertion is seen in the
+following:--'That horse is a splendid animal _and no mistake_.'
+
+'_I'll engage_ you visited Peggy when you were in town': i.e. I assert it
+without much fear of contradiction: I warrant. Much in the same sense we
+use _I'll go bail_:--'I'll go bail you never got that {10} money you lent
+to Tom': 'An illigant song he could sing I'll go bail' (Lever): 'You didn't
+meet your linnet (i.e. your girl--your sweetheart) this evening I'll go
+bail' (Robert Dwyer Joyce in 'The Beauty of the Blossom Gate').
+
+'I'll hold you' introduces an assertion with some emphasis: it is really
+elliptical: I'll hold you [a wager: but always a fictitious wager]. I'll
+hold you I'll finish that job by one o'clock, i.e. I'll warrant I will--you
+may take it from me that I will.
+
+The phrase 'if you go to that of it' is often added on to a statement to
+give great emphasis, amounting almost to a sort of defiance of
+contradiction or opposition. 'I don't believe you could walk four miles an
+hour': 'Oh don't you: I could then, or five if you go to that of it': 'I
+don't believe that Joe Lee is half as good a hurler as his brother Phil.'
+'I can tell you he is then, and a great deal better if you go to that of
+it.' Lowry Looby, speaking of St. Swithin, says:--'He was then, buried more
+than once if you go to that of it.' (Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians':
+Munster.)
+
+'Is it cold outside doors?' Reply, 'Aye is it,' meaning 'it is certainly.'
+An emphatic assertion (after the Gaelic construction) frequently heard is
+'Ah then, 'tis I that wouldn't like to be in that fight.' 'Ah 'tis my
+mother that will be delighted.'
+
+'What did he do to you?' 'He hit me with his stick, _so he did_, and it is
+a great shame, so it is.' 'I like a cup of tea at night, so I do.' In the
+South an expression of this kind is very often added on as a sort of
+clincher to give emphasis. Similar are the very usual endings as seen in
+these {11} assertions:--'He is a great old schemer, _that's what he is_':
+'I spoke up to the master and showed him he was wrong--_I did begob_.'
+
+I asked a man one day: 'Well, how is the young doctor going on in his new
+place?' and he replied 'Ah, how but well'; which he meant to be very
+emphatic: and then he went on to give particulars.
+
+A strong denial is often expressed in the following way: 'This day will
+surely be wet, so don't forget your umbrella': 'What a fool I am': as much
+as to say, 'I should be a fool indeed to go without an umbrella to-day, and
+I think there's no mark of a fool about me.' 'Now Mary don't wait for the
+last train [from Howth] for there will be an awful crush.' 'What a fool I'd
+be ma'am.' 'Oh Mr. Lory I thought you were gone home [from the dance] two
+hours ago': 'What a fool I am,' replies Lory ('Knocknagow'), equivalent to
+'I hadn't the least notion of making such a fool of myself while there's
+such fun here.' This is heard everywhere in Ireland, 'from the centre all
+round to the sea.'
+
+Much akin to this is Nelly Donovan's reply to Billy Heffernan who had made
+some flattering remark to her:--'Arrah now Billy what sign of a fool do you
+see on me?' ('Knocknagow.')
+
+An emphatic assertion or assent: 'Yesterday was very wet.' Reply:--'You may
+say it was,' or 'you may well say that.'
+
+'I'm greatly afeard he'll try to injure me.' Answer:--''Tis fear _for_ you'
+(emphasis on _for_), meaning 'you have good reason to be afeard': merely a
+translation of the Irish _is eagal duitse_. {12}
+
+'Oh I'll pay you what I owe you.' ''Tis a pity you wouldn't indeed,' says
+the other, a satirical reply, meaning 'of course you will and no thanks to
+you for that; who'd expect otherwise?'
+
+'I am going to the fair to-morrow, as I want to buy a couple of cows.'
+Reply, 'I know,' as much as to say 'I see,' 'I understand.' This is one of
+our commonest terms of assent.
+
+An assertion or statement introduced by the words 'to tell God's truth' is
+always understood to be weighty and somewhat unexpected, the introductory
+words being given as a guarantee of its truth:--'Have you the rest of the
+money you owe me ready now James?' 'Well to tell God's truth I was not able
+to make it all up, but I can give you £5.'
+
+Another guarantee of the same kind, though not quite so solemn, is 'my hand
+to you,' or 'I give you my hand and word.' 'My hand to you I'll never rest
+till the job is finished.' 'Come and hunt with me in the wood, and my hand
+to you we shall soon have enough of victuals for both of us.' (Clarence
+Mangan in Ir. Pen. Journ.)
+
+ 'I've seen--and here's my hand to you I only say what's true--
+  A many a one with twice your stock not half so proud as you.'
+  (CLARENCE MANGAN.)
+
+'Do you know your Catechism?' Answer, 'What would ail me not to know it?'
+meaning 'of course I do--'twould be a strange thing if I didn't.' 'Do you
+think you can make that lock all right?' 'Ah what would ail me,' i.e., 'no
+doubt I can--of course I can; if I couldn't do that it would be a sure sign
+{13} that something was amiss with me--that something ailed me.'
+
+'Believe Tom and who'll believe you': a way of saying that Tom is not
+telling truth.
+
+An emphatic 'yes' to a statement is often expressed in the following
+way:--'This is a real wet day.' Answer, 'I believe you.' 'I think you made
+a good bargain with Tim about that field.' 'I believe you I did.'
+
+A person who is offered anything he is very willing to take, or asked to do
+anything he is anxious to do, often answers in this way:--'James, would you
+take a glass of punch?' or 'Tom, will you dance with my sister in the next
+round?' In either case the answer is, 'Would a duck swim?'
+
+A weak sort of assent is often expressed in this way:--'Will you bring
+Nelly's book to her when you are going home, Dan?' Answer, 'I don't mind,'
+or 'I don't mind if I do.'
+
+To express unbelief in a statement or disbelief in the usefulness or
+effectiveness of any particular line of action, a person says 'that's all
+in my eye,' or ''Tis all in my eye, Betty Martin--O'; but this last is
+regarded as slang.
+
+Sometimes an unusual or unexpected statement is introduced in the following
+manner, the introductory words being usually spoken quickly:--'_Now do you
+know what I'm going to tell you_--that ragged old chap has £200 in the
+bank.' In Derry they make it--'Now listen to what I'm going to say.'
+
+In some parts of the South and West and Northwest, servants and others have
+a way of replying to directions that at first sounds strange or even {14}
+disrespectful:--'Biddy, go up please to the drawing-room and bring me down
+the needle and thread and stocking you will find on the table.' 'That will
+do ma'am,' replies Biddy, and off she goes and brings them. But this is
+their way of saying 'yes ma'am,' or 'Very well ma'am.'
+
+So also you say to the hotel-keeper:--'Can I have breakfast please
+to-morrow morning at 7 o'clock?' 'That will do sir.' This reply in fact
+expresses the greatest respect, as much as to say, 'A word from you is
+quite enough.'
+
+'I caught the thief at my potatoes.' 'No, but did you?' i.e., is it
+possible you did so? A very common exclamation, especially in Ulster.
+
+'Oh man' is a common exclamation to render an assertion more emphatic, and
+sometimes to express surprise:--'Oh man, you never saw such a fine race as
+we had.' In Ulster they duplicate it, with still the same application:--'Oh
+man-o-man that's great rain.' 'Well John you'd hardly believe it, but I got
+£50 for my horse to-day at the fair.' Reply, 'Oh man that's a fine price.'
+
+'Never fear' is heard constantly in many parts of Ireland as an expression
+of assurance:--'Now James don't forget the sugar.' 'Never fear ma'am.' 'Ah
+never fear there will be plenty flowers in that garden this year.' 'You
+will remember to have breakfast ready at 7 o'clock.' 'Never fear sir,'
+meaning 'making your mind easy on the point--it will be all right.' _Never
+fear_ is merely a translation of the equally common Irish phrase, _ná bí
+heagal ort_.
+
+Most of our ordinary salutations are translations from Irish. _Go
+m-beannuighe Dia dhuit_ is literally {15} 'May God bless you,' or 'God
+bless you' which is a usual salutation in English. The commonest of all our
+salutes is 'God save you,' or (for a person entering a house) 'God save all
+here'; and the response is 'God save you kindly' ('Knocknagow'); where
+_kindly_ means 'of a like kind,' 'in like manner,' 'similarly.' Another but
+less usual response to the same salutation is, 'And you too,' which is
+appropriate. ('Knocknagow.') 'God save all here' is used all over Ireland
+except in the extreme North, where it is hardly understood.
+
+To the ordinary salutation, 'Good-morrow,' which is heard everywhere, the
+usual response is 'Good-morrow kindly.' 'Morrow Wat,' said Mr. Lloyd.
+'Morrow kindly,' replied Wat. ('Knocknagow.') 'The top of the morning to
+you' is used everywhere, North and South.
+
+In some places if a woman throws out water at night at the kitchen door,
+she says first, 'Beware of the water,' lest the 'good people' might happen
+to be passing at the time, and one or more of them might get splashed.
+
+A visitor coming in and finding the family at dinner:--'Much good may it do
+you.'
+
+In very old times it was a custom for workmen on completing any work and
+delivering it finished to give it their blessing. This blessing was called
+_abarta_ (an old word, not used in modern Irish), and if it was omitted the
+workman was subject to a fine to be deducted from his hire equal to the
+seventh part of the cost of his feeding. (_Senchus Mór_ and 'Cormac's
+Glossary.') It was especially incumbent on women to bless the work of other
+women. This custom, which is more than a thousand years old, has {16}
+descended to our day; for the people on coming up to persons engaged in
+work of any kind always say 'God bless your work,' or its equivalent
+original in Irish, _Go m-beannuighe Dia air bhur n-obair_. (See my 'Social
+History of Ancient Ireland,' II., page 324.)
+
+In modern times tradesmen have perverted this pleasing custom into a new
+channel not so praise-worthy. On the completion of any work, such as a
+building, they fix a pole with a flag on the highest point to ask the
+employer for his _blessing_, which means money for a drink.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ASSERTION BY NEGATIVE OF OPPOSITE.
+
+Assertions are often made by using the negative of the opposite assertion.
+'You must be hungry now Tom, and this little rasher will do you no harm,'
+meaning it will do you good. An old man has tired himself dancing and
+says:--'A glass of whiskey will do us no harm after that.' (Carleton.) A
+lady occupying a furnished house at the seaside near Dublin said to the boy
+who had charge of the premises:--'There may be burglars about here;
+wouldn't it be well for you to come and close the basement shutters at
+night?' 'Why then begob ma'am _'twould be no har-um_.' Here is a bit of
+rustic information (from Limerick) that might be useful to food experts:--
+
+ 'Rye bread will do you good,
+    Barley bread _will do you no harm_,
+  Wheaten bread will sweeten your blood,
+    Oaten bread will strengthen your arm.'
+
+{17}
+
+This curious way of speaking, which is very general among all classes of
+people in Ireland and in every part of the country, is often used in the
+Irish language, from which we have imported it into our English. Here are a
+few Irish examples; but they might be multiplied indefinitely, and some
+others will be found through this chapter. In the Irish tale called 'The
+Battle of Gavra,' the narrator says:--[The enemy slew a large company of
+our army] 'and that was no great help to us.' In 'The Colloquy,' a piece
+much older than 'The Battle of Gavra,' Kylta, wishing to tell his audience
+that when the circumstance he is relating occurred he was very young,
+expresses it by saying [at that time] 'I myself was not old.'
+
+One night a poet was grossly insulted: 'On the morrow he rose and he was
+not thankful.' (From the very old Irish tale called 'The Second Battle of
+Moytura': Rev. Celt.)
+
+Another old Irish writer, telling us that a certain company of soldiers is
+well out of view, expresses it in this way:--_Ní fhuil in cuire gan
+chleith_, literally, 'the company is not without concealment.'
+
+How closely these and other old models are imitated in our English will be
+seen from the following examples from every part of Ireland:--
+
+'I can tell you Paddy Walsh is no chicken now,' meaning he is very old. The
+same would be said of an old maid:--'She's no chicken,' meaning that she is
+old for a girl.
+
+'How are your potato gardens going on this year?' 'Why then they're not too
+good'; i.e. only middling or bad.
+
+A usual remark among us conveying mild approval {18} is 'that's not bad.' A
+Dublin boy asked me one day:--'Maybe you wouldn't have e'er a penny that
+you'd give me, sir?' i.e., 'Have you a penny to give me?' 'You wouldn't
+like to have a cup of tea, would you?' An invitation, but not a cordial
+one. This is a case of '_will you_ was never a good fellow' (for which see
+Vocabulary).
+
+'No joke' is often used in the sense of 'very serious.' 'It was no joke to
+be caught in our boat in such a storm as that.' 'The loss of £10 is no joke
+for that poor widow.'
+
+ 'As for Sandy he worked like a downright demolisher--
+  Bare as he is, yet _his lick is no polisher_.'
+
+  (THOMAS MOORE in the early part of his career.)
+
+You remark that a certain person has some fault, he is miserly, or
+extravagant, or dishonest, &c.: and a bystander replies, 'Yes indeed, and
+'tisn't to-day or yesterday it happened him'--meaning that it is a fault of
+long standing.
+
+A tyrannical or unpopular person goes away or dies:--'There's many a dry
+eye after him.' (Kildare.)
+
+'Did Tom do your work as satisfactorily as Davy?' 'Oh, it isn't alike': to
+imply that Tom did the work very much better than Davy.
+
+'Here is the newspaper; and 'tisn't much you'll find in it.'
+
+'Is Mr. O'Mahony good to his people?' 'Oh, indeed he is no great things':
+or another way of saying it:--'He's no great shakes.' 'How do you like your
+new horse?' 'Oh then he's no great shakes'--or 'he's {19} not much to boast
+of.' Lever has this in a song:--'You think the Blakes are no great shakes.'
+But I think it is also used in England.
+
+A consequential man who carries his head rather higher than he ought:--'He
+thinks no small beer of himself.'
+
+Mrs. Slattery gets a harmless fall off the form she is sitting on, and is
+so frightened that she asks of the person who helps her up, 'Am I killed?'
+To which he replies ironically--'Oh there's great fear of you.'
+('Knocknagow.')
+
+[Alice Ryan is a very purty girl] 'and she doesn't want to be reminded of
+that same either.' ('Knocknagow.')
+
+A man has got a heavy cold from a wetting and says: 'That wetting did me no
+good,' meaning 'it did me great harm.'
+
+'There's a man outside wants to see you, sir,' says Charlie, our office
+attendant, a typical southern Irishman. 'What kind is he Charlie? does he
+look like a fellow wanting money?' Instead of a direct affirmative, Charlie
+answers, 'Why then sir I don't think he'll give you much anyway.'
+
+'Are people buried there now?' I asked of a man regarding an old graveyard
+near Blessington in Wicklow. Instead of answering 'very few,' he replied:
+'Why then not too many sir.'
+
+When the roads are dirty--deep in mire--'there's fine walking overhead.'
+
+In the Irish Life of St. Brigit we are told of a certain chief:--'It was
+not his will to sell the bondmaid,' by which is meant, it was his will
+_not_ to sell her. {20}
+
+So in our modern speech the father says to the son:--'It is not my wish
+that you should go to America at all,' by which he means the positive
+assertion:--'It is my wish that you should not go.'
+
+Tommy says, 'Oh, mother, I forgot to bring you the sugar.' 'I wouldn't
+doubt you,' answers the mother, as much as to say, 'It is just what I'd
+expect from you.'
+
+When a message came to Rory from absent friends, that they were true to
+Ireland:--
+
+'"My _sowl_, I never doubted them" said Rory of the hill.' (Charles
+Kickham.)
+
+'It wouldn't be wishing you a pound note to do so and so': i.e. 'it would
+be as bad as the loss of a pound,' or 'it might cost you a pound.' Often
+used as a sort of threat to deter a person from doing it.
+
+'Where do you keep all your money?' 'Oh, indeed, _it's not much I have_':
+merely translated from the Gaelic, _Ní mórán atâ agum_.
+
+To a silly foolish fellow:--'There's a great deal of sense outside your
+head.'
+
+'The only sure way to conceal evil is not to do it.'
+
+'I don't think very much of these horses,' meaning 'I have a low opinion of
+them.'
+
+'I didn't pretend to understand what he said,' appears a negative
+statement; but it is really one of our ways of making a positive one:--'I
+pretended not to understand him.' To the same class belongs the common
+expression 'I don't think':--'I don't think you bought that horse too
+dear,' meaning 'I think you did not buy him too dear'; 'I don't think this
+day will be wet,' equivalent to 'I think it will not be wet.' {21}
+
+Lowry Looby is telling how a lot of fellows attacked Hardress Cregan, who
+defends himself successfully:--'Ah, it isn't a goose or a duck they had to
+do with when they came across Mr. Cregan.' (Gerald Griffin.) Another way of
+expressing the same idea often heard:--'He's no sop (wisp) in the road';
+i.e. 'he's a strong brave fellow.'
+
+'It was not too wise of you to buy those cows as the market stands at
+present,' i.e. it was rather foolish.
+
+'I wouldn't be sorry to get a glass of wine, meaning, 'I would be glad.'
+
+An unpopular person is going away:--
+
+ 'Joy be with him and a bottle of moss,
+  And if he don't return he's no great loss.'
+
+'How are you to-day, James?'
+
+'Indeed I can't say that I'm very well': meaning 'I am rather ill.'
+
+'You had no right to take that book without my leave'; meaning 'You were
+wrong in taking it--it was wrong of you to take it.' A translation of the
+Irish _ní cóir duit_. 'A bad right' is stronger than 'no right.' 'You have
+no right to speak ill of my uncle' is simply negation:--'You are wrong, for
+you have no reason or occasion to speak so.' 'A bad right you have to speak
+ill of my uncle:' that is to say, 'You are doubly wrong' [for he once did
+you a great service]. 'A bad right anyone would have to call Ned a screw'
+[for he is well known for his generosity]. ('Knocknagow.') Another way of
+applying the word--in the sense of _duty_--is seen in the following:--A
+member at an Urban Council {22} meeting makes an offensive remark and
+refuses to withdraw it: when another retorts:--'You have a right to
+withdraw it'--i.e. 'it is your duty.' So:--'You have a right to pay your
+debts.'
+
+'Is your present farm as large as the one you left?' Reply:--'Well indeed
+it doesn't want much of it.' A common expression, and borrowed from the
+Irish, where it is still more usual. The Irish _beagnach_ ('little but')
+and _acht ma beag_ ('but only a little') are both used in the above sense
+('doesn't want much'), equivalent to the English _almost_.
+
+A person is asked did he ever see a ghost. If his reply is to be negative,
+the invariable way of expressing it is: 'I never saw anything worse than
+myself, thanks be to God.'
+
+A person is grumbling without cause, making out that he is struggling in
+some difficulty--such as poverty--and the people will say to him
+ironically: 'Oh how bad you are.' A universal Irish phrase among high and
+low.
+
+A person gives a really good present to a girl:--'He didn't affront her by
+that present.' (Patterson: Antrim and Down.)
+
+How we cling to this form of expression--or rather how it clings to us--is
+seen in the following extract from the Dublin correspondence of one of the
+London newspapers of December, 1909:--'Mr. ---- is not expected to be
+returned to parliament at the general election'; meaning it _is_ expected
+that he will _not_ be returned. So also:--'How is poor Jack Fox to-day?'
+'Oh he's not expected'; i.e. not expected to live,--he is _given over_.
+This expression, _not expected_, is a very common Irish phrase in cases of
+death sickness. {23}
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+IDIOMS DERIVED FROM THE IRISH LANGUAGE.
+
+In this chapter I am obliged to quote the original Irish passages a good
+deal as a guarantee of authenticity for the satisfaction of Irish scholars:
+but for those who have no Irish the translations will answer equally well.
+Besides the examples I have brought together here, many others will be
+found all through the book. I have already remarked that the great majority
+of our idiomatic Hibernian-English sayings are derived from the Irish
+language.
+
+When existence or modes of existence are predicated in Irish by the verb
+_tá_ or _atá_ (English _is_), the Irish preposition _in_ (English _in_) in
+some of its forms is always used, often with a possessive pronoun, which
+gives rise to a very curious idiom. Thus, 'he is a mason' is in Irish _tá
+sé 'n a shaor_, which is literally _he is in his mason_: 'I am standing' is
+_tá mé a m' sheasamh_, lit. _I am in my standing_. This explains the common
+Anglo-Irish form of expression:--'He fell on the road out of his standing':
+for as he is 'in his standing' (according to the Irish) when he is standing
+up, he is 'out of his standing' when he falls. This idiom with _in_ is
+constantly translated literally into English by the Irish people. Thus,
+instead of saying, 'I sent the wheat thrashed into corn to the mill, and it
+came home as flour,' they will rather say, 'I sent the wheat _in corn_ to
+the mill, and it came home _in flour_.' Here the _in_ denotes identity:
+'Your {24} hair is in a wisp'; i.e. it _is_ a wisp: 'My eye is in whey in
+my head,' i.e. it _is_ whey. (John Keegan in Ir. Pen. Journ.)
+
+But an idiom closely resembling this, and in some respects identical with
+it, exists in English (though it has not been hitherto noticed--so far as I
+am aware)--as may be seen from the following examples:--'The Shannon ...
+rushed through Athlone _in_ a deep and rapid stream (Macaulay), i.e. it
+_was_ a deep and rapid stream (like our expression 'Your handkerchief is in
+ribbons').
+
+ 'Where heaves the turf _in_ many a mouldering heap.'
+
+  (GRAY'S 'Elegy.')
+
+ 'Hence bards, like Proteus, long in vain tied down,
+  Escape _in_ monsters and amaze the town.'
+
+  (POPE: 'Dunciad.')
+
+'The bars forming the front and rear edges of each plane [of the
+flying-machine] are always _in_ one piece' (Daily Mail). Shelley's 'Cloud'
+says, 'I laugh _in_ thunder' (meaning I laugh, and my laugh _is_ thunder.)
+'The greensand and chalk were continued across the weald _in_ a great
+dome.' (Lord Avebury.)
+
+'Just to the right of him were the white-robed bishops _in a group_.'
+(Daily Mail.) 'And men _in_ nations' (Byron in 'The Isles of Greece'): 'The
+people came _in_ tens and twenties': 'the rain came down _in_ torrents':
+'I'll take £10 _in_ gold and the rest _in_ silver': 'the snow gathered _in_
+a heap.' 'The money came [home] sometimes _in_ specie and sometimes _in_
+goods' (Lord Rothschild, speech in House of Lords, 29th November, 1909),
+exactly like 'the corn came home _in_ flour,' quoted above. The {25}
+preceding examples do not quite fully represent the Irish idiom in its
+entirety, inasmuch as the possessive pronouns are absent. But even these
+are sometimes found, as in the familiar phrases, 'the people came _in
+their_ hundreds.' 'You are _in your_ thousands' [here at the meeting],
+which is an exact reproduction of the Gaelic phrase in the Irish classical
+story:--_Atá sibh in bhur n-ealaibh_, 'Ye are swans' (lit. 'Ye are in your
+swans').
+
+When mere existence is predicated, the Gaelic _ann_ (_in it_, i.e. 'in
+existence') is used, as _atá sneachta ann_, 'there is snow'; lit. 'there is
+snow _there_,' or 'there is snow _in it_,' i.e. in existence. The _ann_
+should be left blank in English translation, i.e. having no proper
+representative. But our people will not let it go waste; they bring it into
+their English in the form of either _in it_ or _there_, both of which in
+this construction carry the meaning of _in existence_. Mrs. Donovan says to
+Bessy Morris:--'Is it yourself that's _in it_?' ('Knocknagow'), which would
+stand in correct Irish _An tusa atá ann_? On a Sunday one man insults and
+laughs at another, who says, 'Only for the day that's _in it_ I'd make you
+laugh at the wrong side of your mouth': 'the weather that's _in it_ is very
+hot.' 'There's nothing at all _there_ (in existence) as it used to be'
+(Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians'): 'this day is bad for growth, there's a
+sharp east wind _there_.'
+
+I do not find this use of the English preposition _in_--namely, to denote
+identity--referred to in English dictionaries, though it ought to be.
+
+The same mode of expressing existence by _an_ or _in_ is found in the
+Ulster and Scotch phrase for {26} _to be alone_, which is as follows,
+always bringing in the personal pronoun:--'I am in my lone,' 'he is in his
+lone,' 'they are in their lone'; or more commonly omitting the preposition
+(though it is always understood): 'She is living her lone.' All these
+expressions are merely translations from Gaelic, in which they are
+constantly used; 'I am in my lone' being from _Tá me am' aonar_, where
+_am'_ is 'in my' and _aonar_, 'lone.' _Am' aonar seal do bhiossa_, 'Once as
+I was alone.' (Old Irish Song.) In north-west Ulster they sometimes use the
+preposition _by_:--'To come home by his lone' (Seumas Mac Manus). Observe
+the word _lone_ is always made _lane_ in Scotland, and generally in Ulster;
+and these expressions or their like will be found everywhere in Burns or in
+any other Scotch (or Ulster) dialect writer.
+
+Prepositions are used in Irish where it might be wrong to use them in
+corresponding constructions in English. Yet the Irish phrases are
+continually translated literally, which gives rise to many incorrect
+dialect expressions. Of this many examples will be found in what follows.
+
+'He put lies _on_ me'; a form of expression often heard. This might have
+one or the other of two meanings, viz. either 'he accused me of telling
+lies,' or 'he told lies about me.'
+
+'The tinker took fourpence _out of_ that kettle,' i.e. he earned 4d. by
+mending it. St. Patrick left his name _on_ the townland of Kilpatrick: that
+nickname remained _on_ Dan Ryan ever since.
+
+'He was vexed _to_ me' (i.e. with me): 'I was _at him_ for half a year'
+(with him); 'You could find no fault _to it_' (with it). All these are in
+use. {27}
+
+'I took the medicine according to the doctor's order, but I found myself
+nothing the better _of it_.' 'You have a good time _of it_.' I find in
+Dickens however (in his own words) that the wind 'was obviously determined
+to make a night _of it_.' (See p. 10 for a peculiarly Irish use of _of
+it_.)
+
+In the Irish poem _Bean na d-Tri m-Bo_, 'The Woman of Three Cows,' occurs
+the expression, _As do bhólacht ná bí teann_, 'Do not be haughty _out of_
+your cattle.' This is a form of expression constantly heard in
+English:--'he is as proud as a peacock _out of_ his rich relations.' So
+also, 'She has great thought _out of_ him,' i.e. She has a very good
+opinion of him. (Queen's Co.)
+
+'I am without a penny,' i.e. I haven't a penny: very common: a translation
+from the equally common Irish expression, _tá me gan pinghín_.
+
+In an Irish love song the young man tells us that he had been vainly trying
+to win over the colleen _le bliadhain agus le lá_, which Petrie correctly
+(but not literally) translates 'for a year and for a day.' As the Irish
+preposition _le_ signifies _with_, the literal translation would be '_with_
+a year and _with_ a day,' which would be incorrect English. Yet the
+uneducated people of the South and West often adopt this translation; so
+that you will hear such expressions as 'I lived in Cork _with_ three
+years.'
+
+There is an idiomatic use of the Irish preposition _air_, 'on,' before a
+personal pronoun or before a personal name and after an active verb, to
+intimate injury or disadvantage of some kind, a violation of right or
+claim. Thus, _Do bhuail Seumas mo ghadhar orm_ [where _orm_ is _air me_],
+'James struck my dog {28} _on me_,' where _on me_ means to my detriment, in
+violation of my right, &c. _Chaill sé mo sgian orm_; 'he lost my knife _on
+me_.'
+
+This mode of expression exists in the oldest Irish as well as in the
+colloquial languages--both Irish and English--of the present day. When St.
+Patrick was spending the Lent on Croagh Patrick the demons came to torment
+him in the shape of great black hateful-looking birds: and the Tripartite
+Life, composed (in the Irish language) in the tenth century, says, 'The
+mountain was filled with great sooty-black birds _on him_' (to his torment
+or detriment). In 'The Battle of Rossnaree,' Carbery, directing his men how
+to act against Conor, his enemy, tells them to send some of their heroes
+_re tuargain a sgéithe ar Conchobar_, 'to smite Conor's shield _on him_.'
+The King of Ulster is in a certain hostel, and when his enemies hear of it,
+they say:--'We are pleased at that for we shall [attack and] take the
+hostel _on him_ to-night.' (Congal Claringneach.) It occurs also in the
+_Amra_ of Columkille--the oldest of all--though I cannot lay my hand on the
+passage.
+
+This is one of the commonest of our Anglo-Irish idioms, so that a few
+examples will be sufficient.
+
+ 'I saw thee ... thrice _on Tara's champions_ win the goal.'
+
+  (FERGUSON: 'Lays of the Western Gael.')
+
+I once heard a grandmother--an educated Dublin lady--say, in a charmingly
+petting way, to her little grandchild who came up crying:--'What did they
+do to you on me--did they beat you on me?'
+
+The Irish preposition _ag_--commonly translated 'for' in this connexion--is
+used in a sense much like _air_, viz. to carry an idea of some sort of
+injury {29} to the person represented by the noun or pronoun. Typical
+examples are: one fellow threatening another says, 'I'll break your head
+_for you_': or 'I'll soon _settle his hash for him_.' This of course also
+comes from Irish; _Gur scoilt an plaosg aige_, 'so that he broke his skull
+_for him_' (Battle of Gavra); _Do ghearr a reim aige beo_, 'he shortened
+his career for him.' ('The Amadán Mór.') See 'On' in Vocabulary.
+
+There is still another peculiar usage of the English preposition _for_,
+which is imitated or translated from the Irish, the corresponding Irish
+preposition here being _mar_. In this case the prepositional phrase is
+added on, not to denote injury, but to express some sort of mild
+depreciation:--'Well, how is your new horse getting on?' 'Ah, I'm tired of
+him _for a horse_: he is little good.' A dog keeps up a continuous barking,
+and a person says impatiently, 'Ah, choke you _for a dog_' (may you be
+choked). Lowry Looby, who has been appointed to a place and is asked how he
+is going on with it, replies, 'To lose it I did _for a place_.'
+('Collegians.') In the Irish story of _Bodach an Chota Lachtna_ ('The Clown
+with the Grey Coat'), the Bodach offers Ironbones some bones to pick, on
+which Ironbones flies into a passion; and Mangan, the translator, happily
+puts into the mouth of the Bodach:--'Oh, very well, then we will not have
+any more words about them, _for bones_.' Osheen, talking in a querulous
+mood about all his companions--the Fena--having left him, says, [were I in
+my former condition] _Ni ghoirfinn go bráth orruibh, mar Fheinn_, 'I would
+never call on you, _for Fena_.' This last and its like are the models on
+which the Anglo-Irish phrases are formed. {30}
+
+'Of you' (where _of_ is not intended for _off_) is very frequently used in
+the sense of _from you_: 'I'll take the stick _of you_ whether you like it
+or not.' 'Of you' is here simply a translation of the Irish _díot_, which
+is always used in this connexion in Irish: _bainfead díot é_, 'I will take
+it of you.' In Irish phrases like this the Irish _uait_ ('from you') is not
+used; if it were the people would say 'I'll take it _from you_,' not _of
+you_. (Russell.)
+
+'Oh that news was _on_ the paper yesterday.' 'I went _on_ the train to
+Kingstown.' Both these are often heard in Dublin and elsewhere. Correct
+speakers generally use _in_ in such cases. (Father Higgins and Kinahan.)
+
+In some parts of Ulster they use the preposition _on_ after _to be
+married_:--'After Peggy McCue had been married _on_ Long Micky Diver'
+(Sheumas MacManus).
+
+'To make a speech _takes a good deal out of me_,' i.e. tires me, exhausts
+me, an expression heard very often among all classes. The phrase in italics
+is merely the translation of a very common Irish expression, _baineann sé
+rud éigin asam_, it takes something out of me.
+
+'I am afraid of her,' 'I am frightened at her,' are both correct English,
+meaning 'she has frightened me': and both are expressed in Donegal by 'I am
+afeard _for_ her,' 'I am frightened _for_ her,' where in both cases _for_
+is used in the sense of 'on account of.'
+
+In Irish any sickness, such as fever, is said to be _on_ a person, and this
+idiom is imported into English. If a person wishes to ask 'What ails you?'
+he often {31} gives it the form of 'What is on you?' (Ulster), which is
+exactly the English of _Cad é sin ort_?
+
+A visitor stands up to go. 'What hurry is on you?' A mild invitation to
+stay on (Armagh). In the South, 'What hurry are you in?'
+
+She had _a nose on her_, i.e. looked sour, out of humour ('Knocknagow').
+Much used in the South. 'They never asked me had I a mouth on me':
+universally understood and often used in Ireland, and meaning 'they never
+offered me anything to eat or drink.'
+
+I find Mark Twain using the same idiom:--[an old horse] 'had a neck _on
+him_ like a bowsprit' ('Innocents Abroad'); but here I think Mark shows a
+touch of the Gaelic brush, wherever he got it.
+
+'I tried to knock another shilling out of him, but all in vain': i.e. I
+tried to persuade him to give me another shilling. This is very common with
+Irish-English speakers, and is a word for word translation of the equally
+common Irish phrase _bain sgilling eile as_. (Russell.)
+
+'I came against you' (more usually _agin you_) means 'I opposed you and
+defeated your schemes.' This is merely a translation of an Irish phrase, in
+which the preposition _le_ or _re_ is used in the sense of _against_ or _in
+opposition to_: _do tháinic me leat annsin_. (S. H. O'Grady.) 'His sore
+knee came _against him_ during the walk.'
+
+_Against_ is used by us in another sense--that of meeting: 'he went against
+his father,' i.e. he went to meet his father [who was coming home from
+town]. This, which is quite common, is, I think, pure {32} Anglo-Irish. But
+'he laid up a supply of turf against the winter' is correct English as well
+as Anglo-Irish.
+
+ 'And the cravat of hemp was surely spun
+  _Against_ the day when their race was run.'
+
+  ('Touchstone' in 'Daily Mail.')
+
+A very common inquiry when you meet a friend is:--'How are all your care?'
+Meaning chiefly your family, those persons that are under your care. This
+is merely a translation of the common Irish inquiry, _Cionnos tá do chúram
+go léir_?
+
+A number of idiomatic expressions cluster round the word _head_, all of
+which are transplanted from Irish in the use of the Irish word _ceann_
+[cann] 'head'. _Head_ is used to denote the cause, occasion, or motive of
+anything. 'Did he really walk that distance in a day?' Reply in Irish,
+_Ní'l contabhairt air bith ann a cheann_: 'there is no doubt at all _on the
+head of it_,' i.e. about it, in regard to it. 'He is a bad head to me,'
+i.e. he treats me badly. Merely the Irish _is olc an ceann dom é_. _Bhi
+fearg air da chionn_, he was vexed on the head of it.
+
+A dismissed clerk says:--'I made a mistake in one of the books, and I was
+sent away _on the head of_ that mistake.'
+
+A very common phrase among us is, 'More's the pity':--'More's the pity that
+our friend William should be so afflicted.'
+
+ 'More's the pity one so pretty
+  As I should live alone.'
+
+  (Anglo-Irish Folk-Song.)
+
+This is a translation of a very common Irish expression as seen in:--_Budh
+mhó an sgéile Diarmaid_ {33} _do bheith marbh_: 'More's the pity Dermot to
+be dead.' (Story of 'Dermot and Grania.')
+
+'Who should come up to me in the fair but John.' Intended not for a
+question but for an assertion--an assertion of something which was hardly
+expected. This mode of expression, which is very common, is a Gaelic
+construction. Thus in the song _Fáinne geal an lae:--Cia gheabhainn le
+m'ais acht cúilfhionn deas_: 'Whom should I find near by me but the pretty
+fair haired girl.' 'Who should walk in only his dead wife.' (Gerald
+Griffin: 'Collegians.') 'As we were walking along what should happen but
+John to stumble and fall on the road.'
+
+The pronouns _myself_, _himself_, &c., are very often used in Ireland in a
+peculiar way, which will be understood from the following examples:--'The
+birds were singing _for themselves_.' 'I was looking about the fair _for
+myself_' (Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians'): 'he is pleasant _in himself_
+(ibid.): 'I felt dead [dull] _in myself_' (ibid.). 'Just at that moment I
+happened to be walking by myself' (i.e. alone: Irish, _liom féin_).
+Expressions of this kind are all borrowed direct from Irish.
+
+We have in our Irish-English a curious use of the personal pronouns which
+will be understood from the following examples:--'He interrupted me _and I
+writing_ my letters' (as I was writing). 'I found Phil there too _and he
+playing_ his fiddle for the company.' This, although very incorrect
+English, is a classic idiom in Irish, from which it has been imported as it
+stands into our English. Thus:--_Do chonnairc me Tomás agus é n'a shuidhe
+cois na teine_: 'I saw Thomas _and he sitting_ beside the fire.' 'How could
+you see {34} me there _and I to be in bed at the time_?' This latter part
+is merely a translation from the correct Irish:--_agus meise do bheith mo
+luidhe ag an am sin_ (Irish Tale). Any number of examples of this usage
+might be culled from both English and Irish writings. Even so classical a
+writer as Wolfe follows this usage in 'The Burial of Sir John Moore':--
+
+ 'We thought ...
+  That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,
+  _And we far away_ on the billow.'
+
+(I am reminded of this by Miss Hayden and Prof. Hartog.)
+
+But there is a variety in our English use of the pronouns here, namely,
+that we often use the objective (or accusative) case instead of the
+nominative. 'How could you expect Davy to do the work _and him so very
+sick_?' 'My poor man fell into the fire a Sunday night _and him hearty_'
+(_hearty_, half drunk: Maxwell, 'Wild Sports of the West'). 'Is that what
+you lay out for me, mother, _and me after turning the Voster_' (i.e. after
+working through the whole of Voster's Arithmetic: Carleton). 'John and Bill
+were both reading and _them eating their dinner_' (while they were eating
+their dinner). This is also from the Irish language. We will first take the
+third person plural pronoun. The pronoun 'they' is in Irish _siad_: and the
+accusative 'them' is the Irish _iad_. But in some Irish constructions this
+_iad_ is (correctly) used as a nominative; and in imitation of this our
+people often use 'them' as a nominative:--'_Them_ are just the gloves I
+want.' '_Them_ are the boys' is exactly translated from the correct Irish
+_is_ {35} _iad sin na buachaillidhe_. 'Oh she melted the hearts of the
+swains in _them_ parts.' ('The Widow Malone,' by Lever.)
+
+In like manner with the pronouns _sé_, _sí_ (he, she), of which the
+accusatives _é_ and _í_ are in certain Irish constructions (correctly) used
+for the nominative forms, which accusative forms are (incorrectly) imported
+into English. _Do chonnairc mé Seadhán agus é n'a shuidhe_, 'I saw Shaun
+and _him_ sitting down,' i.e. 'as he was sitting down.' So also 'don't ask
+me to go and _me_ having a sore foot.' 'There's the hen and _her_ as fat as
+butter,' i.e. 'she (the hen) being as fat as butter.'
+
+The little phrase 'the way' is used among us in several senses, all
+peculiar, and all derived from Irish. Sometimes it is a direct translation
+from _amhlaidh_ ('thus,' 'so,' 'how,' 'in a manner'). An old example of
+this use of _amhlaidh_ in Irish is the following passage from the _Boroma_
+(_Silva Gadelica_):--_Is amlaid at chonnaic [Concobar] Laigin ocus Ulaid
+mán dabaig ocá hól_: 'It is how (or 'the way') [Concobar] saw the Lagenians
+and the Ulstermen [viz. they were] round the vat drinking from it.' _Is
+amhlaidh do bhi Fergus_: 'It is thus (or the way) Fergus was [conditioned;
+that his shout was heard over three cantreds].'
+
+This same sense is also seen in the expression, 'this is the way I made my
+money,' i.e. 'this is how I made it.'
+
+When this expression, 'the way,' or 'how,' introduces a statement it means
+''tis how it happened.' 'What do you want, James?' ''Tis the way ma'am, my
+mother sent me for the loan of the {36} shovel.' This idiom is very common
+in Limerick, and is used indeed all through Ireland.
+
+Very often 'the way' is used in the sense of 'in order that':--'Smoking
+carriages are lined with American cloth _the way_ they wouldn't keep the
+smell'; 'I brought an umbrella _the way_ I wouldn't get wet'; 'you want not
+to let the poor boy do for himself [by marrying] _the way_ that you
+yourself should have all.' (Ir. Pen. Mag.) You constantly hear this in
+Dublin, even among educated people.
+
+Sometimes the word _way_ is a direct translation from the Irish _caoi_, 'a
+way,' 'a road'; so that the common Irish salutation, _Cad chaoi bh-fuil
+tu_? is translated with perfect correctness into the equally common
+Irish-English salute, 'What way are you?' meaning 'How are you?'
+
+'This way' is often used by the people in the sense of 'by this
+time':--'The horse is ready this way,' i.e. 'ready by this time.' (Gerald
+Griffin, 'Collegians.')
+
+The word _itself_ is used in a curious way in Ireland, which has been
+something of a puzzle to outsiders. As so used it has no gender, number, or
+case; it is not in fact a pronoun at all, but a substitute for the word
+_even_. This has arisen from the fact that in the common colloquial Irish
+language the usual word to express both _even_ and _itself_, is _féin_; and
+in translating a sentence containing this word _féin_, the people rather
+avoided _even_, a word not very familiar to them in this sense, and
+substituted the better known _itself_, in cases where _even_ would be the
+correct word, and _itself_ would be incorrect. Thus _da mbeith an meud sin
+féin agum_ is correctly rendered 'if I had {37} even that much': but the
+people don't like _even_, and don't well understand it (as applied here),
+so they make it 'If I had that much _itself_.' This explains all such
+Anglo-Irish sayings as 'if I got it itself it would be of no use to me,'
+i.e. 'even if I got it': 'If she were there itself I wouldn't know her';
+'She wouldn't go to bed till you'd come home, and if she did itself she
+couldn't sleep.' (Knocknagow.) A woman is finding some fault with the
+arrangements for a race, and Lowry Looby (Collegians) puts in 'so itself
+what hurt' i.e. 'even so what harm.' (Russell and myself.)
+
+The English _when_ is expressed by the Irish _an uair_, which is literally
+'the hour' or 'the time.' This is often transplanted into English; as when
+a person says 'the time you arrived I was away in town.'
+
+When you give anything to a poor person the recipient commonly utters the
+wish 'God increase you!' (meaning your substance): which is an exact
+translation of the equally common Irish wish _Go meádaighe Dia dhuit_.
+Sometimes the prayer is 'God increase your store,' which expresses exactly
+what is meant in the Irish wish.
+
+The very common aspiration 'God help us' [you, me, them, &c.] is a
+translation of the equally common _Go bh-fóireadh Dia orruinn_ [_ort_,
+&c.].
+
+In the north-west instead of 'your father,' 'your sister,' &c., they often
+say 'the father of you,' 'the sister of you,' &c.; and correspondingly as
+to things:--'I took the hand of her' (i.e. her hand) (Seumas Mac Manus).
+
+All through Ireland you will hear _show_ used instead of _give_ or _hand_
+(verb), in such phrases as {38} 'Show me that knife,' i.e. hand it to me.
+'Show me the cream, please,' says an Irish gentleman at a London
+restaurant; and he could not see why his English friends were laughing.
+
+'He passed me in the street _by the way_ he didn't know me'; 'he refused to
+give a contribution _by the way_ he was so poor.' In both, _by the way_
+means 'pretending.'
+
+'My own own people' means my immediate relations. This is a translation of
+_mo mhuinterse féin_. In Irish the repetition of the emphatic pronominal
+particles is very common, and is imported into English; represented here by
+'own own.'
+
+A prayer or a wish in Irish often begins with the particle _go_, meaning
+'that' (as a conjunction): _Go raibh maith agut_, '_that_ it may be well
+with you,' i.e. 'May it be well with you.' In imitation or translation of
+this the corresponding expression in English is often opened by this word
+_that_: 'that you may soon get well,' i.e., 'may you soon get well.'
+Instead of 'may I be there to see' (John Gilpin) our people would say 'that
+I may be there to see.' A person utters some evil wish such as 'may bad
+luck attend you,' and is answered 'that the prayer may happen the
+preacher.' A usual ending of a story told orally, when the hero and heroine
+have been comfortably disposed of is 'And if they don't live happy _that we
+may_.'
+
+When a person sees anything unusual or unexpected, he says to his
+companion, 'Oh do you mind that!'
+
+'You want me to give you £10 for that cow: well, I'm not so soft _all
+out_.' 'He's not so bad as that _all out_.' {39}
+
+A common expression is 'I was talking to him to-day, and I _drew down
+about_ the money,' i.e. I brought on or introduced the subject. This is a
+translation of the Irish form _do tharraing me anuas_ 'I drew down.'
+
+Quite a common form of expression is 'I had like to be killed,' i.e., I was
+near being killed: I had a narrow escape of being killed: I escaped being
+killed _by the black of my nail_.
+
+Where the English say _it rains_, we say 'it is raining': which is merely a
+translation of the Irish way of saying it:--_ta se ag fearthainn_.
+
+The usual Gaelic equivalent of 'he gave a roar' is _do léig sé géim as_
+(met everywhere in Irish texts), 'he let a roar out of him'; which is an
+expression you will often hear among people who have not well mastered
+English--who in fact often speak the Irish language with English words.
+
+'I put it before me to do it,' meaning I was resolved to do it, is the
+literal translation of _chuireas rómhaim é to dheunamh_. Both Irish and
+Anglo-Irish are very common in the respective languages.
+
+When a narrator has come to the end of some minor episode in his narrative,
+he often resumes with the opening 'That was well and good': which is merely
+a translation of the Gaelic _bhí sin go maith_.
+
+Lowry Looby having related how the mother and daughter raised a terrible
+_pillilu_, i.e., 'roaring and bawling,' says after a short pause 'that was
+well and good,' and proceeds with his story. (Gerald Griffin:
+'Collegians.')
+
+A common Irish expression interjected into a narrative or discourse, as a
+sort of stepping stone {40} between what is ended and what is coming is
+_Ní'l tracht air_, 'there is no talking about it,' corresponding to the
+English 'in short,' or 'to make a long story short.' These Irish
+expressions are imported into our English, in which popular phrases like
+the following are very often heard:--'I went to the fair, and _there's no
+use in talking_, I found the prices real bad.'
+
+ 'Wisha my bones are exhausted, and _there's no use in talking_,
+  My heart is scalded, _a wirrasthru_.'
+
+  (Old Song.)
+
+'Where is my use in staying here, so there's no use in talking, go I will.'
+('Knocknagow.') Often the expression takes this form:--'Ah 'tis a folly to
+talk, he'll never get that money.'
+
+Sometimes the original Irish is in question form. _Cid tracht_ ('what
+talking?' i.e. 'what need of talking?') which is Englished as follows:--'Ah
+what's the use of talking, your father will never consent.' These
+expressions are used in conversational Irish-English, not for the purpose
+of continuing a narrative as in the original Irish, but--as appears from
+the above examples--merely to add emphasis to an assertion.
+
+'It's a fine day that.' This expression, which is common enough among us,
+is merely a translation from the common Irish phrase _is breagh an lá é
+sin_, where the demonstrative _sin_ (that) comes last in the proper Irish
+construction: but when imitated in English it looks queer to an English
+listener or reader.
+
+'_There is no doubt_ that is a splendid animal.' This expression is a
+direct translation from the Irish _Ní'l contabhairt ann_, and is equivalent
+to the English 'doubtless.' It occurs often in the Scottish dialect
+also:--'Ye need na doubt I held my whisht' (Burns). {41}
+
+You are about to drink from a cup. 'How much shall I put into this cup for
+you?' 'Oh you may give me _the full of it_.' This is Irish-English: in
+England they would say--'Give it to me full.' Our expression is a
+translation from the Irish language. For example, speaking of a
+drinking-horn, an old writer says, _a lán do'n lionn_, literally, 'the full
+of it of ale.' In Silva Gadelica we find _lán a ghlaice deise do losaibh_,
+which an Irishman translating literally would render 'the full of his right
+hand of herbs,' while an Englishman would express the same idea in this
+way--'his right hand full of herbs.'
+
+Our Irish-English expression 'to come round a person' means to induce or
+_circumvent_ him by coaxing cuteness and wheedling: 'He came round me by
+his _sleudering_ to lend him half a crown, fool that I was': 'My
+grandchildren came round me to give them money for sweets.' This expression
+is borrowed from Irish:--'When the Milesians reached Erin _tanic a ngáes
+timchioll Tuathi De Danand_, 'their cuteness circumvented (lit. 'came
+round') the Dedannans.' (Opening sentence in _Mesca Ulad_ in Book of
+Leinster: Hennessy.)
+
+'Shall I do so and so?' 'What would prevent you?' A very usual
+Hibernian-English reply, meaning 'you may do it of course; there is nothing
+to prevent you.' This is borrowed or translated from an Irish phrase. In
+the very old tale _The Voyage of Maildune_, Maildune's people ask, 'Shall
+we speak to her [the lady]?' and he replies _Cid gatas uait ce atberaid
+fria_. 'What [is it] that takes [anything] from you though ye speak to
+her,' as much as to say, 'what harm will it do you if you speak to her?'
+{42} equivalent to 'of course you may, there's nothing to prevent you.'
+
+That old horse is _lame of one leg_, one of our very usual forms of
+expression, which is merely a translation from _bacach ar aonchois_.
+(MacCurtin.) 'I'll seem to be lame, quite useless of one of my hands.' (Old
+Song.)
+
+Such constructions as _amadán fir_ 'a fool of a man' are very common in
+Irish, with the second noun in the genitive (_fear_ 'a man,' gen. _fir_)
+meaning 'a man who is a fool.' _Is and is ail ollamhan_, 'it is then he is
+a rock of an _ollamh_ (doctor), i.e. a doctor who is a rock [of learning].
+(Book of Rights.) So also 'a thief of a fellow,' 'a steeple of a man,' i.e.
+a man who is a steeple--so tall. This form of expression is however common
+in England both among writers and speakers. It is noticed here because it
+is far more general among us, for the obvious reason that it has come to us
+from two sources (instead of one)--Irish and English.
+
+'I removed to Dublin this day twelve months, and this day two years I will
+go back again to Tralee.' 'I bought that horse last May was a twelvemonth,
+and he will be three years old come Thursday next.' 'I'll not sell my pigs
+till coming on summer': a translation of _air theacht an t-samhraidh_. Such
+Anglo-Irish expressions are very general, and are all from the Irish
+language, of which many examples might be given, but this one from 'The
+Courtship of Emer,' twelve or thirteen centuries old, will be enough. [It
+was prophesied] that the boy would come to Erin that day seven years--_dia
+secht m-bliadan_. (Kuno Meyer.) {43}
+
+In our Anglo-Irish dialect the expression _at all_ is often duplicated for
+emphasis: 'I'll grow no corn this year at all at all': 'I have no money at
+all at all.' So prevalent is this among us that in a very good English
+grammar recently published (written by an Irishman) speakers and writers
+are warned against it. This is an importation from Irish. One of the Irish
+words for 'at all' is _idir_ (always used after a negative), old forms
+_itir_ and _etir_:--_nir bo tol do Dubthach recc na cumaile etir_,
+'Dubthach did not wish to sell the bondmaid at all.' In the following old
+passage, and others like it, it is duplicated for emphasis _Cid beac, itir
+itir, ges do obar_: 'however little it is forbidden to work, at all at
+all.' ('Prohibitions of beard,' O'Looney.)
+
+When it is a matter of indifference which of two things to choose, we
+usually say 'It is equal to me' (or 'all one to me'), which is just a
+translation of _is cuma liom_ (best rendered by 'I don't care'). Both Irish
+and English expressions are very common in the respective languages. Lowry
+Looby says:--'It is equal to me whether I walk ten or twenty miles.'
+(Gerald Griffin.)
+
+ 'I am a bold bachelor, airy and free,
+  Both cities and counties are equal to me.'
+
+  (Old Song.)
+
+'Do that out of the face,' i.e. begin at the beginning and finish it out
+and out: a translation of _deun sin as eudan_.
+
+'The day is rising' means the day is clearing up,--the rain, or snow, or
+wind is ceasing--the weather is becoming fine: a common saying in Ireland:
+a translation of the usual Irish expression _tá an lá_ {44} _ag éirghidh_.
+During the height of the great wind storm of 1842 a poor _shooler_ or
+'travelling man' from Galway, who knew little English, took refuge in a
+house in Westmeath, where the people were praying in terror that the storm
+might go down. He joined in, and unconsciously translating from his native
+Irish, he kept repeating 'Musha, that the Lord may rise it, that the Lord
+may rise it.' At which the others were at first indignant, thinking he was
+asking God to _raise_ the wind higher still. (Russell.)
+
+Sometimes two prepositions are used where one would do:--'The dog got _in
+under_ the bed:' 'Where is James? He's _in in_ the room--or inside in the
+room.'
+
+ 'Old woman, old woman, old woman,' says I,
+ 'Where are you going up so high?'
+ 'To sweep the cobwebs _off o'_ the sky.'
+
+Whether this duplication _off of_ is native Irish or old English it is not
+easy to say: but I find this expression in 'Robinson Crusoe':--'For the
+first time since the storm _off of_ Hull.'
+
+Eva, the witch, says to the children of Lir, when she had turned them into
+swans:--_Amach daoibh a chlann an righ_: 'Out with you [on the water] ye
+children of the king.' This idiom which is quite common in Irish, is
+constantly heard among English speakers:--'Away with you now'--'Be off with
+yourself.'
+
+'Are you going away now?' One of the Irish forms of answering this is _Ní
+fós_, which in Kerry the people translate 'no yet,' considering this nearer
+to the original than the usual English 'not yet.' {45}
+
+The usual way in Irish of saying _he died_ is _fuair sé bás_, i.e. 'he
+found (or got) death,' and this is sometimes imitated in Anglo-Irish:--'He
+was near getting his death from that wetting'; 'come out of that draught or
+you'll get your death.'
+
+The following curious form of expression is very often heard:--'Remember
+you have gloves to buy for me in town'; instead of 'you have to buy me
+gloves.' 'What else have you to do to-day?' 'I have a top to bring to
+Johnny, and when I come home I have the cows to put in the stable'--instead
+of 'I have to bring a top'--'I have to put the cows.' This is an imitation
+of Irish, though not, I think, a direct translation.
+
+What may be called the Narrative Infinitive is a very usual construction in
+Irish. An Irish writer, relating a past event (and using the Irish
+language) instead of beginning his narrative in this way, 'Donall O'Brien
+went on an expedition against the English of Athlone,' will begin 'Donall
+O'Brien _to go_ on an expedition,' &c. No Irish examples of this need be
+given here, as they will be found in every page of the Irish Annals, as
+well as in other Irish writings. Nothing like this exists in English, but
+the people constantly imitate it in the Anglo-Irish speech. 'How did you
+come by all that money?' Reply:--'To get into the heart of the fair'
+(meaning 'I got into the heart of the fair'), and to cry _old china_, &c.
+(Gerald Griffin.) 'How was that, Lowry?' asks Mr. Daly: and Lowry
+answers:--'Some of them Garryowen boys sir to get about Danny Mann.'
+(Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians.') 'How did the mare get that hurt?' 'Oh Tom
+Cody to leap {46} her over the garden wall yesterday, and she to fall on
+her knees on the stones.'
+
+The Irish language has the word _annso_ for _here_, but it has no
+corresponding word _derived from annso_, to signify _hither_, though there
+are words for this too, but not from _annso_. A similar observation applies
+to the Irish for the words _there_ and _thither_, and for _where_ and
+_whither_. As a consequence of this our people do not use _hither_,
+_thither_, and _whither_ at all. They make _here_, _there_, and _where_ do
+duty for them. Indeed much the same usage exists in the Irish language too:
+_Is ann tigdaois eunlaith_ (Keating): 'It is _here_ the birds used to
+come,' instead of _hither_. In consequence of all this you will hear
+everywhere in Anglo-Irish speech:--'John came here yesterday': 'come here
+Patsy': 'your brother is in Cork and you ought to go _there_ to see him':
+'_where_ did you go yesterday after you parted from me?'
+
+'Well Jack how are you these times?' 'Oh, indeed Tom I'm purty well thank
+you--_all that's left of me_': a mock way of speaking, as if the hard usage
+of the world had worn him to a thread. 'Is Frank Magaveen there?' asks the
+blind fiddler. 'All that's left of me is here,' answers Frank. (Carleton.)
+These expressions, which are very usual, and many others of the kind, are
+borrowed from the Irish. In the Irish tale, 'The Battle of Gavra,' poor old
+Osheen, the sole survivor of the Fena, says:--'I know not where to follow
+them [his lost friends]; and this makes _the little remnant that is left of
+me_ wretched. (_D'fúig sin m'iarsma_).
+
+Ned Brophy, introducing his wife to Mr. Lloyd, says, 'this is _herself_
+sir.' This is an extremely {47} common form of phrase. 'Is _herself_ [i.e.
+the mistress] at home Jenny?' 'I'm afraid himself [the master of the house]
+will be very angry when he hears about the accident to the mare.' This is
+an Irish idiom. The Irish chiefs, when signing their names to any document,
+always wrote the name in this form, _Misi O'Neill_, i.e. 'Myself O'Neill.'
+
+A usual expression is 'I have no Irish,' i.e. I do not know or speak Irish.
+This is exactly the way of saying it in Irish, of which the above is a
+translation:--_Ní'l Gaodhlainn agum_.
+
+To _let on_ is to pretend, and in this sense is used everywhere in Ireland.
+'Oh your father is very angry': 'Not at all, he's only letting on.' 'If you
+meet James don't let on you saw me,' is really a positive, not a negative
+request: equivalent to--'If you meet James, let on (pretend) that you
+didn't see me.' A Dublin working-man recently writing in a newspaper says,
+'they passed me on the bridge (Cork), and never let on to see me' (i.e.
+'they let on not to see me').
+
+'He is all _as one as_ recovered now'; he is nearly the same as recovered.
+
+At the proper season you will often see auctioneers' posters:--'To be sold
+by auction 20 acres of splendid meadow _on foot_,' &c. This term _on foot_,
+which is applied in Ireland to _growing_ crops of all kinds--corn, flax,
+meadow, &c.--is derived from the Irish language, in which it is used in the
+oldest documents as well as in the everyday spoken modern Irish; the usual
+word _cos_ for 'foot' being used. Thus in the Brehon Laws we are told that
+a wife's share of the flax is one-ninth if it be on foot (_for a cois_,
+{48} 'on its foot,' modern form _air a chois_) one-sixth after being dried,
+&c. In one place a fine is mentioned for appropriating or cutting furze if
+it be 'on foot.' (Br. Laws.)
+
+This mode of speaking is applied in old documents to animals also. Thus in
+one of the old Tales is mentioned a present of a swine and an ox _on foot_
+(_for a coiss_, 'on their foot') to be given to Mac Con and his people,
+i.e. to be sent to them alive--not slaughtered. (Silva Gadelica.) But I
+have not come across this application in our modern Irish-English.
+
+To give a thing 'for God's sake,' i.e. to give it in charity or for mere
+kindness, is an expression very common at the present day all over Ireland.
+'Did you sell your turf-rick to Bill Fennessy?' Oh no, I gave it to him for
+God's sake: he's very badly off now poor fellow, and I'll never miss it.'
+Our office attendant Charlie went to the clerk, who was chary of the pens,
+and got a supply with some difficulty. He came back grumbling:--'A person
+would think I was asking them for God's sake' (a thoroughly Hibernian
+sentence). This expression is common also in Irish, both ancient and
+modern, from which the English is merely a translation. Thus in the Brehon
+Laws we find mention of certain young persons being taught a trade 'for
+God's sake' (_ar Dia_), i.e. without fee: and in another place a man is
+spoken of as giving a poor person something 'for God's sake.'
+
+The word _'nough_, shortened from _enough_, is always used in English with
+the possessive pronouns, in accordance with the Gaelic construction in such
+phrases as _gur itheadar a n-doithin díobh_, 'So that {49} they ate their
+enough of them' ('Diarmaid and Grainne'): _d'ith mo shaith_ 'I ate my
+enough.' Accordingly uneducated people use the word _'nough_ in this
+manner, exactly as _fill_ is correctly used in 'he ate his fill.' Lowry
+Looby wouldn't like to be 'a born gentleman' for many reasons--among others
+that you're expected 'not to ate half your 'nough at dinner.' (Gerald
+Griffin: 'Collegians.')
+
+The words _world_ and _earth_ often come into our Anglo-Irish speech in a
+way that will be understood and recognised from the following
+examples:--'Where in the world are you going so early?' 'What in the world
+kept you out so long?' 'What on earth is wrong with you?' 'That cloud looks
+for all the world like a man.' 'Oh you young thief of the world, why did
+you do that?' (to a child). These expressions are all thrown in for
+emphasis, and they are mainly or altogether imported from the Irish. They
+are besides of long standing. In the 'Colloquy'--a very old Irish
+piece--the king of Leinster says to St. Patrick:--'I do not know _in the
+world_ how it fares [with my son].' So also in a still older story, 'The
+Voyage of Maildune':--'And they [Maildune and his people] knew not whither
+_in the world_ (_isan bith_) they were going. In modern Irish, _Ní
+chuirionn sé tábhacht a n-éinidh san domhuin_: 'he minds nothing in the
+world.' (Mac Curtin.)
+
+But I think some of the above expressions are found in good English too,
+both old and new. For example in a letter to Queen Elizabeth the Earl of
+Ormond (an Irishman--one of the Butlers) designates a certain Irish chief
+'that most arrogant, {50} vile, traitor of the world Owney McRorye'
+[O'Moore]. But perhaps he wrote this with an Irish pen.
+
+A person does something to displease me--insults me, breaks down my
+hedge--and I say 'I will not let that go with him': meaning I will bring
+him to account for it, I will take satisfaction, I will punish him. This,
+which is very usual, is an Irish idiom. In the story of The Little Brawl of
+Allen, Goll boasts of having slain Finn's father; and Finn answers _bud
+maith m'acfainnse ar gan sin do léicen let_, 'I am quite powerful enough
+not to let that go with you.' ('Silva Gadelica.') Sometimes this
+Anglo-Irish phrase means to vie with, to rival. 'There's no doubt that old
+Tom Long is very rich': 'Yes indeed, but I think Jack Finnerty _wouldn't
+let it go with him_.' Lory Hanly at the dance, seeing his three companions
+sighing and obviously in love with three of the ladies, feels himself just
+as bad for a fourth, and sighing, says to himself that he 'wouldn't let it
+go with any of them.' ('Knocknagow.')
+
+'I give in to you' means 'I yield to you,' 'I assent to (or believe) what
+you say,' 'I acknowledge you are right': 'He doesn't give in that there are
+ghosts at all.' This is an Irish idiom, as will be seen in the
+following:--[A lion and three dogs are struggling for the mastery and]
+_adnaigit [an triur eile] do [an leomain]_ 'And the three others gave in to
+the [lion].'
+
+This mode of expression is however found in English also:--[Beelzebub]
+'proposes a third undertaking which the whole assembly gives in to.'
+(Addison in 'Spectator.') {51}
+
+_For_ is constantly used before the infinitive: 'he bought cloth _for to_
+make a coat.'
+
+ 'And "Oh sailor dear," said she,
+ "How came you here by me?"
+    And then she began _for to cry_.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+ 'King James he pitched his tents between
+    His lines _for to retire_.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk Song: 'The Boyne Water.')
+
+This idiom is in Irish also: _Deunaidh duthracht le leas bhur n-anma a
+dheunadh_: 'make an effort _for to accomplish_ the amendment of your
+souls.' ('Dunlevy.') Two Irish prepositions are used in this sense of
+_for_: _le_ (as above) and _chum_. But this use of _for_ is also very
+general in English peasant language, as may be seen everywhere in Dickens.
+
+_Is ceangailte do bhidhinn_, literally 'It is bound I should be,' i.e. in
+English 'I should be bound.' This construction (from 'Diarmaid and
+Grainne'), in which the position of the predicate as it would stand
+according to the English order is thrown back, is general in the Irish
+language, and quite as general in our Anglo-Irish, in imitation or
+translation. I once heard a man say in Irish _is e do chailleamhuin do rinn
+me_: 'It is to lose it I did' (I lost it). The following are everyday
+examples from our dialect of English: ''Tis to rob me you want': 'Is it at
+the young woman's house the wedding is to be?' ('Knocknagow'): 'Is it
+reading you are?' ''Twas to dhrame it I did sir' ('Knocknagow'): 'Maybe
+'tis turned out I'd be' ('Knocknagow'): 'To lose it I did' (Gerald Griffin:
+'Collegians'): 'Well John I am glad to {52} see you, and it's right well
+you look': [Billy thinks the fairy is mocking him, and says:--] 'Is it
+after making a fool of me you'd be?' (Crofton Croker): 'To make for
+Rosapenna (Donegal) we did:' i.e., 'We made for Rosapenna': 'I'll tell my
+father about your good fortune, and 'tis he that will be delighted.'
+
+In the fine old Irish story the 'Pursuit of Dermot and Grania,' Grania says
+to her husband Dermot:--[Invite guests to a feast to our daughter's house]
+_agus ní feas nach ann do gheubhaidh fear chéile_; 'and there is no knowing
+but that there she may get a husband.' This is almost identical with what
+Nelly Donovan says in our own day--in half joke--when she is going to Ned
+Brophy's wedding:--'There'll be some likely lads there to-night, and who
+knows what luck I might have.' ('Knocknagow.') This expression 'there is no
+knowing but' or 'who knows but,' borrowed as we see from Gaelic, is very
+common in our Anglo-Irish dialect. 'I want the loan of £20 badly to help to
+stock my farm, but how am I to get it?' His friend answers:--'Just come to
+the bank, and who knows but that they will advance it to you on my
+security:' meaning 'it is not unlikely--I think it rather probable--that
+they will advance it'
+
+'He looks like a man _that there would be_ no money in his pocket':
+'there's _a man that his wife leaves him_ whenever she pleases.' These
+phrases and the like are heard all through the middle of Ireland, and
+indeed outside the middle: they are translations from Irish. Thus the
+italics of the second phrase would be in Irish _fear dá d-tréigeann a bhean
+é_ (or _a thréigeas a bhean é_). 'Poor brave honest Mat Donovan that
+everyone is proud of _him_ and fond {53} of _him_' ('Knocknagow'): 'He was
+a descendant of Sir Thomas More that Henry VIII. cut his head off' (whose
+head Henry VIII. cut off). The phrases above are incorrect English, as
+there is redundancy; but they, and others like them, could generally be
+made correct by the use of _whose_ or _of whom_:--'He looks like a man in
+whose pocket,' &c.--'A man whose wife leaves him.' But the people in
+general do not make use of _whose_--in fact they do not know how to use it,
+except at the beginning of a question:--'Whose knife is this?' (Russell.)
+This is an excellent example of how a phrase may be good Irish but bad
+English.
+
+A man possesses some prominent quality, such as generosity, for which his
+father was also distinguished, and we say 'kind father for him,' i.e. 'He
+is of the same _kind_ as his father--he took it from his father.' So also
+''Tis kind for the cat to drink milk'--'cat after kind'--''Tis kind for
+John to be good and honourable' [for his father or his people were so
+before him]. All this is from Irish, in which various words are used to
+express the idea of _kind_ in this sense:--_bu cheneulta do_--_bu dhual
+do_--_bu dhuthcha do_.
+
+Very anxious to do a thing: ''Twas all his trouble to do so and so'
+('Collegians'): corresponding to the Irish:--'_Is é mo chúram uile_,' 'He
+(or it) is all my care.' (MacCurtin.)
+
+Instead of 'The box will hold all the parcels' or 'All the parcels will fit
+into the box,' we in Ireland commonly say 'All the parcels _will go_ into
+the box.' This is from a very old Gaelic usage, as may be seen from this
+quotation from the 'Boroma':--_Coire mór uma í teigtís dá muic déc_: 'A
+large bronze caldron {54} into which _would go_ (téigtís) twelve [jointed]
+pigs.' ('Silva Gadelica.')
+
+_Chevilles._ What is called in French a _cheville_--I do not know any Irish
+or English name for it--is a phrase interjected into a line of poetry
+merely to complete either the measure or the rhyme, with little or no use
+besides. The practice of using chevilles was very common in old Irish
+poetry, and a bad practice it was; for many a good poem is quite spoiled by
+the constant and wearisome recurrence of these _chevilles_. For instance
+here is a translation of a couple of verses from 'The Voyage of Maildune'
+with their _chevilles_:--
+
+ 'They met with an island after sailing--
+                  _wonderful the guidance_.
+ 'The third day after, on the end of the rod--
+                  _deed of power_--
+  The chieftain found--_it was a very great joy_--
+                  a cluster of apples.'
+
+In modern _Irish_ popular poetry we have _chevilles_ also; of which I think
+the commonest is the little phrase _gan go_, 'without a lie'; and this is
+often reflected in our Anglo-Irish songs. In 'Handsome Sally,' published in
+my 'Old Irish Music and Songs,' these lines occur:--
+
+ 'Young men and maidens I pray draw near--
+          _The truth to you I will now declare_--
+  How a fair young lady's heart was won
+          All by the loving of a farmer's son.'
+
+And in another of our songs:--
+
+ 'Good people all I pray draw near--
+        _No lie I'll tell to ye_--
+  About a lovely fair maid,
+        And her name is Polly Lee.'
+
+{55}
+
+This practice is met with also in English poetry, both classical and
+popular; but of course this is quite independent of the Irish custom.
+
+_Assonance._ In the modern Irish language the verse rhymes are
+_assonantal_. Assonance is the correspondence of the vowels: the consonants
+count for nothing. Thus _fair_, _may_, _saint_, _blaze_, _there_, all rhyme
+assonantally. As it is easy to find words that rhyme in this manner, the
+rhymes generally occur much oftener in Anglo-Irish verse than in pure
+English, in which the rhymes are what English grammarians call _perfect_.
+
+Our rustic poets rhyme their English (or Irish-English) verse assonantally
+in imitation of their native language. For a very good example of this, see
+the song of Castlehyde in my 'Old Irish Music and Songs'; and it may be
+seen in very large numbers of our Anglo-Irish Folk-songs. I will give just
+one example here, a free translation of an elegy, rhyming like its
+original. To the ear of a person accustomed to assonance--as for instance
+to mine--the rhymes here are as satisfying as if they were _perfect_
+English rhymes.
+
+  You remember our _neigh_bour Mac_Bra_dy we buried last YEAR;
+  His death it _amaz_ed me and _daz_ed me with sorrow and GRIEF;
+  From _cra_dle to _grave_ his _name_ was held in ESTEEM;
+  For at _fairs_ and at _wakes_ there was no one like him for a SPREE;
+  And 'tis he knew the _way_ how to _make_ a good cag of potTHEEN.
+  He'd make verses in _Gael_ic quite _ais_y most _plaz_ing to READ;
+  And he knew how to _plaze_ the fair _maids_ with his soothering SPEECH.
+  He could clear out a _fair_ at his _aise_ with his ash clehalPEEN;
+  But ochone he's now _laid_ in his _grave_ in the churchyard of KEEL.
+
+{56}
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE DEVIL AND HIS 'TERRITORY.'
+
+Bad as the devil is he has done us some service in Ireland by providing us
+with a fund of anecdotes and sayings full of drollery and fun. This is all
+against his own interests; for I remember reading in the works of some good
+old saint--I think it is St. Liguori--that the devil is always hovering
+near us watching his opportunity, and that one of the best means of scaring
+him off is a good honest hearty laugh.
+
+Those who wish to avoid uttering the plain straight name 'devil' often call
+him 'the Old Boy,' or 'Old Nick.'
+
+In some of the stories relating to the devil he is represented as a great
+simpleton and easily imposed upon: in others as clever at everything. In
+many he gets full credit for his badness, and all his attributes and all
+his actions are just the reverse of the good agencies of the world; so that
+his attempts at evil often tend for good, while anything he does for
+good--or pretending to be for good--turns to evil.
+
+When a person suffers punishment or injury of any kind that is well
+deserved--gets his deserts for misconduct or culpable mismanagement or
+excessive foolishness of any kind--we say 'the devil's cure to him,' or
+'the devil mend him' (as much as to say {57} in English 'serve him right');
+for if the devil goes to cure or to mend he only makes matters ten times
+worse. Dick Millikin of Cork (the poet of 'The Groves of Blarney') was
+notoriously a late riser. One morning as he was going very late to
+business, one of his neighbours, a Quaker, met him. 'Ah friend Dick thou
+art very late to-day: remember the early bird picks the worm.' 'The devil
+mend the worm for being out so early,' replied Dick. So also 'the devil
+bless you' is a bad wish, because the devil's blessing is equivalent to the
+curse of God; while 'the devil's curse to you' is considered a good wish,
+for the devil's curse is equal to God's blessing. (Carleton.) The devil
+comes in handy in many ways. What could be more expressive than this
+couplet of an old song describing a ruffian in a rage:--
+
+ 'He stamped and he cursed and he swore he would fight,
+  And I saw the _ould_ devil between his two eyes.'
+
+Sometimes the devil is taken as the type of excellence or of great
+proficiency in anything, or of great excess, so that you often hear 'That
+fellow is as old as the devil,' 'That beefsteak is as tough as the devil,'
+'He beats the devil for roguery,' 'My landlord is civil, but dear as the
+divil.' (Swift: who wrote this with a pen dipped in Irish ink.)
+
+A poor wretch or a fellow always in debt and difficulty, and consequently
+shabby, is a 'poor devil'; and not very long ago I heard a friend say to
+another--who was not sparing of his labour--'Well, there's no doubt but
+you're a hard-working old devil.' {58}
+
+Very bad potatoes:--'Wet and watery, scabby and small, thin in the ground
+and hard to dig, hard to wash, hard to boil, and _the devil to eat them_.'
+
+'I don't wonder that poor Bill should be always struggling, for he has the
+devil of an extravagant family.'
+
+ 'Oh confusion to you Dan,' says the T. B. C.,
+ 'You're the devil of a man,' says the T. B. C.
+
+  (Repeal Song of 1843.)
+
+(But this form of expression occurs in Dickens--'Our Mutual Friend'--'I
+have a devil of a temper myself'). An emphatic statement:--'I wouldn't like
+to trust him, for he's the _devil's own_ rogue.'
+
+'There's no use in your trying that race against Johnny Keegan, for Johnny
+is the very devil at running.' 'Oh your reverence,' says Paddy Galvin,
+'don't ax me to fast; but you may put as much prayers on me as you like:
+for, your reverence, I'm very bad at fasting, but I'm the divel at the
+prayers.' According to Mr. A. P. Graves, in 'Father O'Flynn,' the 'Provost
+and Fellows of Trinity' [College, Dublin] are 'the divels an' all at
+Divinity.' This last expression is truly Hibernian, and is very often
+heard:--A fellow is boasting how he'll leather Jack Fox when next he meets
+him. 'Oh yes, you'll do the _devil an' all_ while Jack is away; but wait
+till he comes to the fore.'
+
+In several of the following short stories and sayings the simpleton side of
+Satan's character is well brought out.
+
+Damer of Shronell, who lived in the eighteenth century, was reputed to be
+the richest man in Ireland--a sort of Irish Croesus: so that 'as rich as
+{59} Damer' has become a proverb in the south of Ireland. An Irish peasant
+song-writer, philosophising on the vanity of riches, says:--
+
+ 'There was ould Paddy Murphy had money galore,
+  And Damer of Shronell had twenty times more--
+  They are now on their backs under nettles and stones.'
+
+Damer's house in ruins is still to be seen at Shronell, four miles west of
+Tipperary town. The story goes that he got his money by selling his soul to
+the devil for as much gold as would fill his boot--a top boot, i.e. one
+that reaches above the knee. On the appointed day the devil came with his
+pockets well filled with guineas and sovereigns, as much as he thought was
+sufficient to fill any boot. But meantime Damer had removed the heel and
+fixed the boot in the floor, with a hole in the boards underneath, opening
+into the room below. The devil flung in handful after handful till his
+pockets were empty, but still the boot was not filled. He then sent out a
+signal, such as they understand in hell--for they had wireless telegraphy
+there long before Mr. Marconi's Irish mother was born--on which a crowd of
+little imps arrived all laden with gold coins, which were emptied into the
+boot, and still no sign of its being filled. He had to send them many times
+for more, till at last he succeeded in filling _the room beneath_ as well
+as the boot; on which the transaction was concluded. The legend does not
+tell what became of Damer in the end; but such agreements usually wind up
+(in Ireland) by the sinner tricking Satan out of his bargain.
+
+When a person does an evil deed under cover of some untruthful but
+plausible justification, or utters {60} a wicked saying under a disguise:
+that's 'blindfolding the devil in the dark.' The devil is as cute in the
+dark as in the light: and blindfolding him is useless and foolish: he is
+only laughing at you.
+
+'You're a very coarse Christian,' as the devil said to the hedgehog.
+(Tyrone.)
+
+The name and fame of the great sixteenth-century magician, Dr. Faust or
+Faustus, found way somehow to our peasantry; for it was quite common to
+hear a crooked knavish man spoken of in this way:--'That fellow is a match
+for the devil and _Dr. Fosther_.' (Munster.)
+
+The magpie has seven drops of the devil's blood in its body: the
+water-wagtail has three drops. (Munster.)
+
+When a person is unusually cunning, cute, and tricky, we say 'The devil is
+a poor scholar to you.' ('Poor scholar' here means a bad shallow scholar.)
+
+'Now since James is after getting all the money, _the devil can't howld
+him_': i.e. he has grown proud and overbearing.
+
+'_Firm and ugly_, as the devil said when he sewed his breeches with gads.'
+Here is how it happened. The devil was one day pursuing the soul of a
+sinner across country, and in leaping over a rough thorn hedge, he tore his
+breeches badly, so that his tail stuck out; on which he gave up the chase.
+As it was not decent to appear in public in that condition, he sat down and
+stitched up the rent with next to hand materials--viz. slender tough osier
+withes or _gads_ as we call them in Ireland. When the job was finished he
+spread out the garment before him on his {61} knees, and looking admiringly
+on his handiwork, uttered the above saying--'Firm and ugly!'
+
+The idea of the 'old boy' pursuing a soul appears also in the words of an
+old Anglo-Irish song about persons who commit great crimes and die
+unrepentant:--
+
+ 'For committing those crimes unrepented
+    The devil shall after them run,
+  And slash him for that at a furnace
+    Where coal sells for nothing a ton.'
+
+A very wet day--teeming rain--raining cats and dogs--_a fine day for young
+ducks_:--'The devil wouldn't send out his dog on such a day as this.'
+
+ 'Did you ever see the devil
+  With the wooden spade and shovel
+  Digging praties for his supper
+          And his tail cocked up?'
+
+A person struggling with poverty--constantly in money difficulties--is said
+to be 'pulling the devil by the tail.'
+
+'Great noise and little wool,' as the devil said when he was shearing a
+pig.
+
+'What's got over the devil's back goes off under the devil's belly.' This
+is another form of _ill got ill gone_.
+
+Don't enter on a lawsuit with a person who has in his hands the power of
+deciding the case. This would be 'going to law against the devil with the
+courthouse in hell.'
+
+Jack hates that man and all belonging to him 'as the devil hates holy
+water.'
+
+_Yerra_ or _arrah_ is an exclamation very much in use in the South: a
+phonetic representation of the Irish _air[)e]_, meaning _take care_, _look
+out_, _look you_:--'Yerra {62} Bill why are you in such a hurry?' The old
+people didn't like our continual use of the word; and in order to deter us
+we were told that _Yerra_ or _Arrah_ was the name of the devil's mother!
+This would point to something like domestic conditions in the lower
+regions, and it is in a way corroborated by the words of an old song about
+a woman--a desperate old reprobate of a virago--who kicked up all sorts of
+ructions the moment she got inside the gate:--
+
+ 'When she saw the _young devils_ tied up in their chains
+  She up with her crutch and knocked one of their brains.'
+
+'Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.' The people of Munster do not
+always put it that way; they have a version of their own:--'Time enough to
+bid the devil good-morrow when you meet him.' But an intelligent
+correspondent from Carlow puts a somewhat different interpretation on the
+last saying, namely, 'Don't go out of your way to seek trouble.'
+
+'When needs must the devil drives': a man in a great fix is often driven to
+illegal or criminal acts to extricate himself.
+
+When a man is threatened with a thrashing, another will say to
+him:--'You'll get Paddy Ryan's supper--_hard knocks and the devil to eat_':
+common in Munster.
+
+'When you sup with the devil have a long spoon': that is to say, if you
+have any dealings with rogues or criminals, adopt very careful precautions,
+and don't come into closer contact with them than is absolutely necessary.
+(Lover: but used generally.)
+
+'Speak the truth and shame the devil' is a very common saying. {63}
+
+'The devil's children have the devil's luck'; or 'the devil is good to his
+own': meaning bad men often prosper. But it is now generally said in joke
+to a person who has come in for an unexpected piece of good luck.
+
+A holy knave--something like our modern Pecksniff--dies and is sent in the
+downward direction: and--according to the words of the old folk-song--this
+is his reception:--
+
+ 'When hell's gate was opened the devil jumped with joy,
+  Saying "I have a warm corner for you my holy boy."'
+
+A man is deeply injured by another and threatens reprisal:--'I'll make you
+smell hell for that'; a bitter threat which may be paraphrased: I'll
+persecute you to death's door; and for you to be near death is to be near
+hell--I'll put you so near that you'll smell the fumes of the brimstone.
+
+A usual imprecation when a person who has made himself very unpopular is
+going away: 'the devil go with him.' One day a fellow was eating his dinner
+of dry potatoes, and had only one egg half raw for _kitchen_. He had no
+spoon, and took the egg in little sips intending to spread it over the
+dinner. But one time he tilted the shell too much, and down went the whole
+contents. After recovering from the gulp, he looked ruefully at the empty
+shell and blurted out--_the devil go with you down_!
+
+
+
+Many people think--and say it too--that it is an article of belief with
+Catholics that all Protestants when they die go straight to hell--which is
+a libel. Yet it is often kept up in joke, as in this and other {64}
+stories:--The train was skelping away like mad along the main line to
+hell--for they have railways _there_ now--till at last it pulled up at the
+junction. Whereupon the porters ran round shouting out, 'Catholics change
+here for purgatory: Protestants keep your places!'
+
+This reminds us of Father O'Leary, a Cork priest of the end of the
+eighteenth century, celebrated as a controversialist and a wit. He was one
+day engaged in gentle controversy--or _argufying religion_ as we call it in
+Ireland--with a Protestant friend, who plainly had the worst of the
+encounter. 'Well now Father O'Leary I want to ask what have you to say
+about purgatory?' 'Oh nothing,' replied the priest, 'except that you might
+go farther and fare worse.'
+
+The same Father O'Leary once met in the streets a friend, a witty
+Protestant clergyman with whom he had many an encounter of wit and
+repartee. 'Ah Father O'Leary, have you heard the bad news?' 'No,' says
+Father O'Leary. 'Well, the bottom has fallen out of purgatory, and all the
+poor Papists have gone down into hell.' 'Oh the Lord save us,' answered
+Father O'Leary, 'what a crushing the poor Protestants must have got!'
+
+Father O'Leary and Curran--the great orator and wit--sat side by side once
+at a dinner party, where Curran was charmed with his reverend friend. 'Ah
+Father O'Leary,' he exclaimed at last, 'I wish you had the key of heaven.'
+'Well Curran it might be better for you that I had the key of the other
+place.'
+
+A parish priest only recently dead, a well-known wit, sat beside a
+venerable Protestant clergyman at {65} dinner; and they got on very
+agreeably. This clergyman rather ostentatiously proclaimed his liberality
+by saying:--'Well Father ---- I have been for _sixty years in this world_
+and I could never understand that there is any great and essential
+difference between the Catholic religion and the Protestant.' 'I can tell
+you,' replied Father ----, 'that when you die you'll not be _sixty minutes
+in the other world_ before you will understand it perfectly.'
+
+The preceding are all in joke: but I once heard the idea enunciated in
+downright earnest. In my early life, we, the village people, were a mixed
+community, about half and half Catholics and Protestants, the latter nearly
+all Palatines, who were Methodists to a man. We got on very well together,
+and I have very kindly memories of my old playfellows, Palatines as well as
+Catholics.
+
+One young Palatine, Peter Stuffle, differed in one important respect from
+the others, as he never attended Church Mass or Meeting. He emigrated to
+America; and being a level headed fellow and keeping from drink, he got on.
+At last he came across Nelly Sullivan, a bright eyed colleen all the way
+from Kerry, a devoted Catholic, and fell head and ears in love with her.
+She liked him too, but would have nothing to say to him unless he became a
+Catholic: in the words of the old song, 'Unless that you turn a _Roman_ you
+ne'er shall get me for your bride.' Peter's theology was not proof against
+Nelly's bright face: he became a Catholic, and a faithful one too: for once
+he was inside the gate his wife took care to instruct him, and kept him
+well up to his religious duties. {66}
+
+They prospered; so that at the end of some years he was able to visit his
+native place. On his arrival nothing could exceed the consternation and
+rage of his former friends to find that instead of denouncing the Pope, he
+was now a flaming papist: and they all disowned and boycotted him. So he
+visited round his Catholic neighbours who were very glad to receive him. I
+was present at one of the conversations: when Peter, recounting his
+successful career, wound up with:--'So you see, James, that I am now well
+off, thanks be to God and to Nelly. I have a large farm, with ever so many
+horses, and a fine _baan_ of cows, and you could hardly count the sheep and
+pigs. I'd be as happy as the days are long now, James, only for one thing
+that's often troubling me; and that is, to think that my poor old father
+and mother are in hell.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+SWEARING.
+
+The general run of our people do not swear much; and those that do commonly
+limit themselves to the name of the devil either straight out or in some of
+its various disguised forms, or to some harmless imitation of a curse. You
+do indeed come across persons who go higher, but they are rare. Yet while
+keeping themselves generally within safe bounds, it must be confessed that
+many of the people have a sort of sneaking admiration--lurking secretly and
+seldom expressed in words--for a good well-balanced curse, so long as it
+does not shock by its profanity. I once knew a doctor--not in {67}
+Dublin--who, it might be said, was a genius in this line. He could, on the
+spur of the moment, roll out a magnificent curse that might vie with a
+passage of the Iliad in the mouth of Homer. 'Oh sir'--as I heard a fellow
+say--''tis grand to listen to him when he's in a rage.' He was known as a
+skilled physician, and a good fellow in every way, and his splendid
+swearing crowned his popularity. He had discretion however, and knew when
+to swear and when not; but ultimately he swore his way into an extensive
+and lucrative practice, which lasted during his whole life--a long and
+honourable one.
+
+Parallel to this is Maxwell's account of the cursing of Major Denis
+O'Farrell--'the Mad Major,' who appears to have been a dangerous rival to
+my acquaintance, the doctor. He was once directing the evolutions at a
+review in presence of Sir Charles, the General, when one important movement
+was spoiled by the blundering of an incompetent little adjutant. In a
+towering passion the Mad Major addressed the General:--'Stop, Sir Charles,
+do stop; just allow me two minutes to curse that rascally adjutant.' To so
+reasonable a request (Maxwell goes on to say), Sir Charles readily
+assented. He heard the whole malediction out, and speaking of it
+afterwards, he said that 'he never heard a man cursed to his perfect
+satisfaction until he heard (that adjutant) anathematised in the Phoenix
+Park.'
+
+The Mad Major was a great favourite; and when he died, there was not a dry
+eye in the regiment on the day of the funeral. Two months afterwards when
+an Irish soldier was questioned on the merits of his successor:--'The man
+is well enough,' said Pat, {68} with a heavy sigh, 'but where will we find
+the equal of the Major? By japers, it was a comfort to be cursed by him!'
+('Wild Sports of the West.')
+
+In my part of the country there is--or was--a legend--a very circumstantial
+one too--which however I am not able to verify personally, as the thing
+occurred a little before my time--that Father Buckley, of Glenroe, cured
+Charley Coscoran, the greatest swearer in the barony--cured him in a most
+original way. He simply directed him to cut out a button from some part of
+his dress, no matter where--_to whip it out on the instant_--every time he
+uttered a serious curse, i.e, one involving the Sacred Name. Charley made
+the promise with a light heart, thinking that by only using a little
+caution he could easily avoid snipping off his buttons. But inveterate
+habit is strong. Only very shortly after he had left the priest he saw a
+cow in one of his cornfields playing havoc: out came a round curse, and off
+came a button on the spot. For Charley was a manly fellow, with a real
+sense of religion at bottom: and he had no notion of shirking his penance.
+Another curse after some time and another button. Others again
+followed:--coat, waistcoat, trousers, shirt-collar, were brought under
+contribution till his clothes began to fall off him. For a needle and
+thread were not always at hand, and at any rate Charley was no great shakes
+at the needle. At last things came to that pass with poor Charley, that
+life was hardly worth living; till he had to put his mind seriously to
+work, and by careful watching he gradually cured himself. But many score
+buttons passed through his hands during the process. {69}
+
+Most persons have a sort of craving or instinct to utter a curse of some
+kind--as a sort of comforting interjection--where there is sufficient
+provocation; and in order to satisfy this without incurring the guilt,
+people have invented ejaculations in the form of curses, but still
+harmless. Most of them have some resemblance in sound to the forbidden
+word--they are near enough to satisfy the craving, but still far enough off
+to avoid the guilt: the process may in fact be designated _dodging a
+curse_. Hence we have such blank cartridges as _begob_, _begor_, by my
+_sowkins_, by _Jove_, by the _laws_ [Lord], by _herrings_ [heavens], by
+_this and by that_, _dang_ it, &c.; all of them ghosts of curses, which are
+very general among our people. The following additional examples will
+sufficiently illustrate this part of our subject.
+
+The expression _the dear knows_ (or correctly _the deer knows_), which is
+very common, is a translation from Irish of one of those substitutions. The
+original expression is _thauss ag Dhee_ [given here phonetically], meaning
+_God knows_; but as this is too solemn and profane for most people, they
+changed it to _Thauss ag fee_, i.e. _the deer knows_; and this may be
+uttered by anyone. _Dia_ [Dhee] God: _fiadh_ [fee], a deer.
+
+Says Barney Broderick, who is going through his penance after confession at
+the station, and is interrupted by a woman asking him a
+question:--'Salvation seize your soul--God forgive me for cursing--be off
+out of that and don't set me astray!' ('Knocknagow.') Here the substitution
+has turned a wicked imprecation into a benison: for the first word in the
+original is not _salvation_ but _damnation_. {70}
+
+'By the hole in my coat,' which is often heard, is regarded as a harmless
+oath: for if there is no hole you are swearing by nothing: and if there is
+a hole--still the hole is nothing.
+
+'Bad manners to you,' a mild imprecation, to avoid 'bad luck to you,' which
+would be considered wicked: reflecting the people's horror of rude or
+offensive manners.
+
+'By all the goats in Kerry,' which I have often heard, is always said in
+joke, which takes the venom out of it. In Leinster they say, 'by all the
+goats in Gorey'--which is a big oath. Whether it is a big oath now or not,
+I do not know; but it was so formerly, for the name _Gorey_ (Wexford), like
+the Scotch _Gowrie_, means 'swarming with goats.'
+
+'Man,' says the pretty mermaid to Dick Fitzgerald, when he had captured her
+from the sea, 'man will you eat me?' '_By all the red petticoats and check
+aprons between Dingle and Tralee_,' cried Dick, jumping up in amazement,
+'I'd as soon eat myself, my jewel! Is it I to eat you, my pet!' (Crofton
+Croker.)
+
+'Where did he get the whiskey?' 'Sorrow a know I know,' said Leary. 'Sorrow
+fly away with him.' (Crofton Croker.) In these and such like--which you
+often hear--_sorrow_ is a substitute for _devil_.
+
+Perhaps the most general exclamations of this kind among Irish people are
+_begor_, _begob_, _bedad_, _begad_ (often contracted to _egad_), _faith_
+and _troth_. _Faith_, contracted from _in faith_ or _i' faith_, is looked
+upon by many people as not quite harmless: it is a little too serious to be
+used indiscriminately--'Faith I feel this day very cold': 'Is that tea
+good?' {71} 'Faith it is no such thing: it is very weak.' 'Did Mick sell
+his cows to-day at the fair?' 'Faith I don't know.' People who shrink from
+the plain word often soften it to _faix_ or _haith_ (or _heth_ in Ulster).
+An intelligent contributor makes the remark that the use of this word
+_faith_ (as above) is a sure mark of an Irishman all over the world.
+
+Even some of the best men will occasionally, in an unguarded moment or in a
+hasty flash of anger, give way to the swearing instinct. Father John Burke
+of Kilfinane--I remember him well--a tall stern-looking man with heavy
+brows, but really gentle and tender-hearted--held a station at the house of
+our neighbour Tom Coffey, a truly upright and pious man. All had gone to
+confession and Holy Communion, and the station was over. Tom went out to
+bring the priest's horse from the paddock, but in leading him through a gap
+in the hedge the horse stood stock still and refused obstinately to go an
+inch farther. Tom pulled and tugged to no purpose, till at last his
+patience went to pieces, and he flung this, in no gentle voice, at the
+animal's head:--'Blast your _sowl_ will you come on!' Just then unluckily
+Father Burke walked up behind: he had witnessed and heard all, and you may
+well say that Tom's heart dropped down into his shoes; for he felt
+thoroughly ashamed. The crime was not great; but it looked bad and
+unbecoming under the circumstances; and what could the priest do but
+perform his duty: so the black brows contracted, and on the spot he gave
+poor Tom _down-the-banks_ and no mistake. I was at that station, though I
+did not witness the horse scene. {72}
+
+If a person pledges himself to anything, clinching the promise with an
+adjuration however mild or harmless, he will not by any means break the
+promise, considering it in a manner as a vow. The old couple are at tea and
+have just one egg, which causes a mild dispute. At last the father says
+decisively--'The divel a bit of it I'll eat, so there's an end of it': when
+the mother instantly and with great solemnity--'FAITH I won't eat it--there
+now!' The result was that neither would touch it; and they gave it to their
+little boy who demolished it without the least scruple.
+
+I was one time a witness of a serio-comic scene _on the head of_ one of
+these blank oaths when I was a small boy attending a very small school. The
+master was a truly good and religious man, but very severe (a _wicked_
+master, as we used to say), and almost insane in his aversion to swearing
+in any shape or form. To say _begob_ or _begor_ or _by Jove_ was
+unpardonably wicked; it was nothing better than blindfolding the devil in
+the dark.
+
+One day Jack Aimy, then about twelve years of age--_the saint_ as we used
+to call him--for he was always in mischief and always in trouble--said
+exultingly to the boy sitting next him:--'Oh _by the hokey_, Tom, I have my
+sum finished all right at last.' In evil hour for him the master happened
+to be standing just behind his back; and then came the deluge. In an
+instant the school work was stopped, and poor Jack was called up to stand
+before the judgment seat. There he got a long lecture--with the usual
+quotations--as severe and solemn as if he were a man and had perjured
+himself half a {73} dozen times. As for the rest of us, we sat in the
+deadly silence shivering in our skins; for we all, to a man, had a guilty
+consciousness that we were quite as bad as Jack, if the truth were known.
+Then poor Jack was sent to his seat so wretched and crestfallen after his
+lecture that a crow wouldn't pick his bones.
+
+'By the hokey' is to this day common all over Ireland.
+
+When we, Irish, go abroad, we of course bring with us our peculiarities and
+mannerisms--with now and then a little meteoric flash of
+eccentricity--which on the whole prove rather attractive to foreigners,
+including Englishmen. One Sunday during the South African war, Mass was
+celebrated as usual in the temporary chapel, which, after the rough and
+ready way of the camp, served for both Catholics and Protestants: Mass
+first; Protestant Service after. On this occasion an Irish officer, a
+splendid specimen of a man, tall, straight, and athletic--a man born to
+command, and well known as a strict and devoted Catholic--was serving
+Mass--aiding and giving the responses to the priest. The congregation was
+of course of mixed nationalities--English, Irish, and Scotch, and the
+chapel was filled. Just outside the chapel door a nigger had charge of the
+big bell to call the congregations. On this day, in blissful ignorance and
+indifference, he began to ring for the Protestant congregation too
+soon--while Mass was still going on--so as greatly to disturb the people at
+their devotions. The officer was observed to show signs of impatience,
+growing more and more restless as the ringing went {74} on persistently,
+till at last one concentrated series of bangs burst up his patience
+utterly. Starting up from his knees during a short interval when his
+presence was not required--it happened to be after the most solemn part of
+the Mass--he strode down the middle passage in a mighty rage--to the
+astonishment of everybody--till he got to the door, and letting fly--in the
+midst of the perfect silence,--a tremendous volley of _damns_, _blasts_,
+_scoundrels_, _blackguards_, &c., &c., at the head of the terrified nigger,
+he shut him up, himself and his bell, while a cat would be licking her ear.
+He then walked back and resumed his duties, calm and collected, and
+evidently quite unconscious that there was anything unusual in the
+proceeding.
+
+The whole thing was so sudden and odd that the congregation were convulsed
+with suppressed silent laughter; and I am afraid that some people observed
+even the priest's sides shaking in spite of all he could do.
+
+This story was obtained from a person who was present at that very Mass;
+and it is given here almost in his own words.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+GRAMMAR AND PRONUNCIATION.
+
+_Shall_ and _Will_. It has been pretty clearly shown that the somewhat
+anomalous and complicated niceties in the English use of _shall_ and _will_
+have been developed within the last 300 years or so. It is of course well
+known that our Irish popular manner of using these {75} two particles is
+not in accordance with the present correct English standard; yet most of
+our shall-and-will Hibernianisms represent the classical usage of two or
+three centuries ago: so that this is one of those Irish 'vulgarisms' that
+are really survivals in Ireland of the correct old English usages, which in
+England have been superseded by other and often incorrect forms. On this
+point I received, some years ago, a contribution from an English gentleman
+who resided long in Ireland, Mr. Marlow Woollett, a man of wide reading,
+great culture, and sound judgment. He gives several old examples in
+illustration, of which one is so much to the point--in the use of
+_will_--that you might imagine the words were spoken by an Irish peasant of
+the present day. Hamlet says:
+
+    'I will win for him an (if) I can; if not I _will_ gain nothing but my
+    shame and the odd hits.' ('Hamlet,' Act v., scene ii.)
+
+This (the second _will_) exactly corresponds with what many of us in
+Ireland would say now:--'I will win the race if I can; if not I _will_ get
+some discredit': 'If I go without my umbrella I am afraid I will get wet.'
+So also in regard to _shall_; modern English custom has departed from
+correct ancient usage and etymology, which in many cases we in Ireland have
+retained. The old and correct sense of _shall_ indicated obligation or duty
+(as in Chaucer:--'The faith I shal to God') being derived from A.S. _sceal_
+'I owe' or 'ought': this has been discarded in England, while we still
+retain it in our usage in Ireland. You say to an attentive Irish waiter,
+'Please have breakfast for me at 8 o'clock to-morrow morning'; and he
+answers, 'I shall sir.' When I was a boy I was {76} present in the chapel
+of Ardpatrick one Sunday, when Father Dan O'Kennedy, after Mass, called on
+the two schoolmasters--candidates for a school vacancy--to come forward to
+him from where they stood at the lower end of the chapel; when one of them,
+Mat Rea, a good scholar but a terrible pedant, called out magniloquently,
+'Yes, doctor, we SHALL go to your reverence,' unconsciously following in
+the footsteps of Shakespeare.
+
+The language both of the waiter and of Mat Rea is exactly according to the
+old English usage.
+
+ '_Lady Macbeth_ (_to Macbeth_):--Be bright and jovial among your guests
+     to-night.
+
+ '_Macbeth_:--So shall I, love.' ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)
+
+ '_Second Murderer_:--We shall, my lord,
+        Perform what you command us.' (_Ibid._, Act iii. scene i.)
+
+But the Irish waiter's answer would now seem strange to an Englishman. To
+him, instead of being a dutiful assent, as it is intended to be, and as it
+would be in England in old times, it would look too emphatic and assertive,
+something like as if it were an answer to a command _not_ to do it.
+(Woollett.)
+
+The use of _shall_ in such locutions was however not universal in
+Shakespearian times, as it would be easy to show; but the above
+quotations--and others that might be brought forward--prove that this usage
+then prevailed and was correct, which is sufficient for my purpose. Perhaps
+it might rather be said that _shall_ and _will_ were used in such cases
+indifferently:--
+
+ '_Queen_:--Say to the king, I would attend his leisure
+  For a few words.
+
+ '_Servant_: Madam, I will.'    ('Macbeth,' Act iii. scene ii.)
+
+{77}
+
+Our use of _shall_ and _will_ prevails also in Scotland, where the English
+change of custom has not obtained any more than it has in Ireland. The
+Scotch in fact are quite as bad (or as good) in this respect as we are.
+Like many another Irish idiom this is also found in American society
+chiefly through the influence of the Irish. In many parts of Ireland they
+are shy of using _shall_ at all: I know this to be the case in Munster; and
+a correspondent informs me that _shall_ is hardly ever heard in Derry.
+
+The incorrect use of _will_ in questions in the first person singular
+('Will I light the fire ma'am?' 'Will I sing you a song?'--instead of
+'Shall I?') appears to have been developed in Ireland independently, and
+not derived from any former correct usage: in other words we have created
+this incorrect locution--or vulgarism--for ourselves. It is one of our most
+general and most characteristic speech errors. _Punch_ represents an Irish
+waiter with hand on dish-cover, asking:--'Will I sthrip ma'am?'
+
+What is called the _regular_ formation of the past tense (in _ed_) is
+commonly known as the weak inflection:--_call, called_: the _irregular_
+formation (by changing the vowel) is the strong inflection:--_run, ran_. In
+old English the strong inflection appears to have been almost universal;
+but for some hundreds of years the English tendency is to replace strong by
+weak inflection. But our people in Ireland, retaining the old English
+custom, have a leaning towards the strong inflection, and not only use many
+of the old-fashioned English strong past tenses, but often form strong ones
+in their own way:--We use _slep_ and _crep_, old English; and we coin
+others. 'He _ruz_ his hand {78} to me,' 'I _cotch_ him stealing the turf,'
+'he _gother_ sticks for the fire,' 'he _hot_ me on the head with his
+stick,' he _sot_ down on the chair' (very common in America). Hyland, the
+farm manager, is sent with some bullocks to the fair; and returns. 'Well
+Hyland, are the bullocks sold?'--'Sowld and _ped_ for sir.' _Wor_ is very
+usual in the south for _were_: 'tis long since we _wor_ on the road so late
+as this.' (Knocknagow.)
+
+ '_Wor_ you at the fair--did you see the wonder--
+  Did you see Moll Roe riding on the gander?'
+
+_E'er_ and _ne'er_ are in constant use in Munster:--'Have you e'er a penny
+to give me sir? No, I have ne'er a penny for you this time.' Both of these
+are often met with in Shakespeare.
+
+The Irish schoolmasters knew Irish well, and did their best--generally with
+success--to master English. This they did partly from their neighbours, but
+in a large measure from books, including dictionaries. As they were
+naturally inclined to show forth their learning, they made use, as much as
+possible, of long and unusual words, mostly taken from dictionaries, but
+many coined by themselves from Latin. Goldsmith's description of the
+village master with his 'words of learned length and thundering sound,'
+applies exactly to a large proportion of the schoolmasters of the
+eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth century all over Ireland. You
+heard these words often in conversation, but the schoolmasters most
+commonly used them in song-writing. Here also they made free use of the
+classical mythology; but I will not touch on this {79} feature, as I have
+treated of it, and have given specimens, in my 'Old Irish Folk Music and
+Songs,' pp. 200-202.
+
+As might be expected, the schoolmasters, as well as others, who used these
+strange words often made mistakes in applying them; which will be seen in
+some of the following examples. Here is one whole verse of a song about a
+young lady--'The Phoenix of the Hall.'
+
+ 'I being quite captivated and so infatuated
+  I then prognosticated my sad forlorn case;
+  But I quickly ruminated--suppose I was _defaited_,
+  I would not be implicated or treated with disgrace;
+  So therefore I awaited with my spirits elevated,
+  And no more I ponderated let what would me befall;
+  I then to her _repated_ how Cupid had me _thrated_,
+  And thus expostulated with The Phoenix of the Hall.'
+
+In another verse of this song the poet tells us what he might do for the
+Phoenix if he had greater command of language:--
+
+ 'Could I indite like Homer that celebrated _pomer_.'
+
+One of these schoolmasters, whom I knew, composed a poem in praise of Queen
+Victoria just after her accession, of which I remember only two lines:--
+
+ 'In England our queen resides with _alacrity_,
+  With civil authority and kind urbanity.'
+
+Another opens his song in this manner:--
+
+ 'One morning serene as I roved in solitude,
+  Viewing the magnitude of th' orient ray.
+
+The author of the song in praise of Castlehyde speaks of
+
+ 'The bees _perfuming_ the fields with music';
+
+{80} and the same poet winds up by declaring,
+
+ 'In all my ranging and _serenading_
+  I met no _aiquel_ to Castlehyde.'
+
+_Serenading_ here means wandering about leisurely.
+
+The author of 'The Cottage Maid' speaks of the danger of Mercury abducting
+the lady, even
+
+ 'Though an _organising_ shepherd be her guardian';
+
+where _organising_ is intended to mean playing on an _organ_, i.e. a
+shepherd's reed.
+
+But endless examples of this kind might be given.
+
+Occasionally you will find the peasantry attempting long or unusual words,
+of which some examples are scattered through this chapter; and here also
+there are often misapplications: 'What had you for dinner to-day?' 'Oh I
+had bacon and goose and several other _combustibles_' (comestibles). I have
+repeatedly heard this word.
+
+Sometimes the simple past tense is used for one of the subjunctive past
+forms. 'If they had gone out in their boat that night they were lost men';
+i.e. 'they would have been lost men.' 'She is now forty, and 'twas well if
+she was married' ('it would be well').
+
+ 'Oh Father Murphy, had aid come over, the green flag floated from shore to
+     shore'
+
+(i.e. would have floated). See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 242.
+
+ 'A summons from William to Limerick, a summons to open their gate,
+  Their fortress and stores to surrender, else the sword and the gun _were_
+      their fate.'
+
+  (R. D. JOYCE: Ballads of Irish Chivalry, p. 15.)
+
+{81}
+
+_See_ is very often used for _saw_:--'Did you ever see a cluricaun Molly?'
+'Oh no sir, I never see one myself.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Come here Nelly,
+and point out the bride to us.' 'I never see her myself Miss' [so I don't
+know her] replied Nelly. (Knocknagow.) This is a survival from old English,
+in which it was very common. It is moreover general among the English
+peasantry at the present day, as may be seen everywhere in Dickens.
+
+The imperative of verbs is often formed by _let_:--instead of 'go to the
+right 'or 'go you to the right,' our people say 'let you go to the right':
+'let you look after the cows and I will see to the horses.' A fellow is
+arrested for a crime and dares the police with:--'Let ye prove it.'
+
+In Derry porridge or stirabout always takes the plural: 'Have you dished
+_them_ yet?'
+
+'I didn't go to the fair _'cause why_, the day was too wet.' This
+expression _'cause why_, which is very often heard in Ireland, is English
+at least 500 years old: for we find it in Chaucer.
+
+You often hear _us_ for _me_: 'Give us a penny sir to buy sweets' (i.e.
+'Give me').
+
+In Waterford and South Wexford the people often use such verbal forms as is
+seen in the following:--'Does your father grow wheat still?' 'He _do_.'
+'Has he the old white horse now?' 'He _have_.' As to _has_, Mr. MacCall
+states that it is unknown in the barony of Forth: there you always hear
+'that man _have_ plenty of money'--he _have_--she _have_, &c.
+
+The Rev. William Burke tells us that _have_ is found as above (a third
+person singular) all through the old Waterford Bye-Laws; which would render
+it {82} pretty certain that both _have_ and _do_ in these applications are
+survivals from the old English colony in Waterford and Wexford.
+
+In Donegal and thereabout _the yon_ is often shortened to _thon_, which is
+used as equivalent to _that_ or _those_: 'you may take _thon_ book.'
+
+In Donegal 'such a thing' is often made _such an a thing_.' I have come
+across this several times: but the following quotation is decisive--'No,
+Dinny O'Friel, I don't want to make you say any such an a thing.' (Seamus
+MacManus.)
+
+There is a tendency to put _o_ at the end of some words, such as boy-o,
+lad-o. A fellow was tried for sheep-stealing before the late Judge Monahan,
+and the jury acquitted him, very much against the evidence. 'You may go
+now,' said the judge, 'as you are acquitted; but you stole the sheep all
+the same, my buck-o.'
+
+ 'I would hush my lovely laddo
+  In the green arbutus shadow.'
+
+  (A. P. GRAVES: 'Irish Songs and Ballads.')
+
+This is found in Irish also, as in '_a vick-o_' ('my boy,' or more exactly
+'my son,' where _vick_ is _mhic_, vocative of _mac_, son) heard universally
+in Munster: 'Well Billy a vick-o, how is your mother this morning?' I
+suppose the English practice is borrowed from the Irish.
+
+In Irish there is only one article, _an_, which is equivalent to the
+English definite article _the_. This article (_an_) is much more freely
+used in Irish than _the_ is in English, a practice which we are inclined to
+imitate in our Anglo-Irish speech. Our use of _the_ {83} often adds a sort
+of emphasis to the noun or adjective:--'Ah John was the man,' i.e. the real
+man, a man pre-eminent for some quality--bravery, generosity, &c. 'Ah that
+was the trouble in earnest.' The Irish chiefs of long ago 'were the men in
+the gap' (Thomas Davis):--i.e. the real men and no mistake. We often use
+the article in our speech where it would not be used in correct
+English:--'I am perished with _the_ cold.' 'I don't know much Greek, but I
+am good at _the_ Latin.'
+
+'That was the dear journey to me.' A very common form of expression,
+signifying that 'I paid dearly for it'--'it cost me dear.' Hugh Reynolds
+when about to be hanged for attempting the abduction of Catherine McCabe
+composes (or is supposed to compose) his 'Lamentation,' of which the verses
+end in 'She's the dear maid to me.' (See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and
+Songs,' p. 135.) A steamer was in danger of running down a boat rowed by
+one small boy on the Shannon. 'Get out of the way you young rascal or we'll
+run over you and drown you!' Little Jacky looks up defiantly and cries
+out:--'Ye'll drownd me, will ye: if ye do, I'll make it the dear drownding
+to ye!' In such expressions it is however to be observed that the
+indefinite article _a_ is often used--perhaps as often as _the_:--'That was
+a dear transaction for me.' 'Oh, green-hilled pleasant Erin you're a dear
+land to me!' (Robert Dwyer Joyce's 'Ballads of Irish Chivalry,' p. 206.)
+
+In Ulster they say:--'When are you going?' 'Oh I am going _the day_,' i.e.
+to-day. I am much better _the day_ than I was yesterday. In this _the day_
+{84} is merely a translation of the Irish word for to-day--_andiu_, where
+_an_ is 'the' and _diu_ a form of the Irish for 'day.'
+
+The use of the singular of nouns instead of the plural after a numeral is
+found all through Ireland. Tom Cassidy our office porter--a Westmeath
+man--once said to me 'I'm in this place now forty-four year': and we always
+use such expressions as _nine head of cattle_. A friend of mine, a
+cultivated and scholarly clergyman, always used phrases like 'that bookcase
+cost thirteen _pound_.' This is an old English survival. Thus in Macbeth we
+find 'this three mile.' But I think this phraseology has also come partly
+under the influence of our Gaelic in which _ten_ and numerals that are
+multiples of _ten_ always take the singular of nouns, as _tri-caogad
+laoch_, 'thrice fifty heroes'--lit. 'thrice fifty _hero_.'
+
+In the south of Ireland _may_ is often incorrectly used for _might_, even
+among educated people:--'Last week when setting out on my long train
+journey, I brought a book that I _may_ read as I travelled along.' I have
+heard and read, scores of times, expressions of which this is a type--not
+only among the peasantry, but from newspaper correspondents, professors,
+&c.--and you can hear and read them from Munstermen to this day in Dublin.
+
+In Ulster _till_ is commonly used instead of _to_:--'I am going _till_
+Belfast to-morrow': in like manner _until_ is used for _unto_.
+
+There are two tenses in English to which there is nothing corresponding in
+Irish:--what is sometimes called the perfect--'I _have finished_ my work';
+and the pluperfect--'I _had finished_ my work' [before you {85} arrived].
+The Irish people in general do not use--or know how to use--these in their
+English speech; but they feel the want of them, and use various expedients
+to supply their places. The most common of these is the use of the word
+_after_ (commonly with a participle) following the verb _to be_. Thus
+instead of the perfect, as expressed above, they will say 'I am after
+finishing my work,' 'I am after my supper.' ('Knocknagow.') 'I'm after
+getting the lend of an American paper' (_ibid._); and instead of the
+pluperfect (as above) they will say 'I was after finishing my work' [before
+you arrived]. Neither of these two expressions would be understood by an
+Englishman, although they are universal in Ireland, even among the higher
+and educated classes.
+
+This word _after_ in such constructions is merely a translation of the
+Irish _iar_ or _a n-diaigh_--for both are used in corresponding expressions
+in Irish.
+
+But this is only one of the expedients for expressing the perfect tense.
+Sometimes they use the simple past tense, which is ungrammatical, as our
+little newsboy in Kilkee used to do: 'Why haven't you brought me the
+paper?' 'The paper didn't come from the station yet sir.' Sometimes the
+present progressive is used, which also is bad grammar: 'I am sitting here
+waiting for you for the last hour' (instead of 'I have been sitting').
+Occasionally the _have_ or _has_ of the perfect (or the _had_ of the
+pluperfect) is taken very much in its primary sense of having or
+possessing. Instead of 'You have quite distracted me with your talk,' the
+people will say 'You have me quite distracted,' &c.: {86} 'I have you found
+out at last.' 'The children had me vexed.' (Jane Barlow.)
+
+ 'And she is a comely maid
+  That has my heart betrayed.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk-Song.)
+
+                     '... I fear,
+  That some cruel goddess _has him captivated_,
+    And has left here in mourning his dear Irish maid.'
+
+  (See my Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, p. 208.)
+
+Corresponding devices are resorted to for the pluperfect. Sometimes the
+simple past is used where the pluperfect ought to come in:--'An hour before
+you came yesterday I finished my work': where it should be 'I had
+finished.' Anything to avoid the pluperfect, which the people cannot
+manage.
+
+In the Irish language (but not in English) there is what is called the
+consuetudinal tense, i.e. denoting habitual action or existence. It is a
+very convenient tense, so much so that the Irish, feeling the want of it in
+their English, have created one by the use of the word _do_ with _be_: 'I
+do be at my lessons every evening from 8 to 9 o'clock.' 'There does be a
+meeting of the company every Tuesday.' ''Tis humbuggin' me they _do be_.'
+('Knocknagow.')
+
+Sometimes this is expressed by _be_ alone without the _do_; but here the
+_be_ is also often used in the ordinary sense of _is_ without any
+consuetudinal meaning. 'My father _bees_ always at home in the morning':
+'At night while I _bees_ reading my wife bees knitting.' (Consuetudinal.)
+'You had better not wait till it bees night.' (Indicative.)
+
+ 'I'll seek out my Blackbird wherever he be.' (Indicative.)
+
+  (Old Folk Song--'The Blackbird.')
+
+{87} This use of _be_ for _is_ is common in the eastern half of Ireland
+from Wexford to Antrim.
+
+Such old forms as _anear_, _adown_, _afeard_, _apast_, _afore_, &c., are
+heard everywhere in Ireland, and are all of old English origin, as it would
+be easy to show by quotations from English classical writers. 'If my child
+was standing _anear_ that stone.' (Gerald Griffin: 'Collegians.') 'She was
+never a-shy or ashamed to show' [her respect for me]. ('Knocknagow.') The
+above words are considered vulgar by our educated people: yet many others
+remain still in correct English, such as _aboard_, _afoot_, _amidst_, &c.
+
+I think it likely that the Irish language has had some influence in the
+adoption and retention of those old English words; for we have in Irish a
+group of words identical with them both in meaning and structure: such as
+_a-n-aice_ (a-near), where _aice_ is 'near.' (The _n_ comes in for a
+grammatical reason.)
+
+'I be to do it' in Ulster is used to express 'I have to do it': 'I am bound
+to do it'; 'it is destined that I shall do it.' 'I be to remain here till
+he calls,' I am bound to remain. 'The only comfort I have [regarding some
+loss sure to come on] is that it be to be,' i.e. that 'it is fated to
+be'--'it is _unavoidable_.' 'What bees to be maun be' (must be).
+
+Father William Burke points out that we use 'every other' in two different
+senses. He remains at home always on Monday, but goes to town 'every other'
+day--meaning every day of the week except Monday: which is the most usual
+application among us. 'My father goes to town every other day,' i.e. {88}
+every alternate day. This last is rarely used by our people, who prefer to
+express it 'My father goes to town _every second day_.' Of two persons it
+is stated:
+
+ 'You'd like to see them drinking from one cup,
+  They took so loving _every second sup_.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+The simple phrase 'the other day' means a few days ago. 'When did you see
+your brother John?' 'Oh I saw him the other day.'
+
+ 'The other day he sailed away and parted his dear Nancy.'
+
+  (Old Folk Song.)
+
+The dropping of _thou_ was a distinct loss to the English language: for now
+_you_ has to do double duty--for both singular and plural--which sometimes
+leads to obscurity. The Irish try to avoid this obscurity by various
+devices. They always use _ye_ in the plural whenever possible: both as a
+nominative and as an objective: 'Where are ye going to-day?' 'I'm afeard
+that will be a dear journey to ye.' Accepting the _you_ as singular, they
+have created new forms for the plural such as _yous_, _yez_, _yiz_, which
+do not sound pleasant to a correct speaker, but are very clear in sense. In
+like manner they form a possessive case direct on _ye_. Some English
+soldiers are singing 'Lillibulero'--
+
+ 'And our skeans we'll make good at de Englishman's throat,'
+
+on which Cus Russed (one of the ambush) says--'That's true for ye at any
+rate. I'm laughing at the way we'll carry out _yeer_ song afore the day is
+over.' ('The House of Lisbloom,' by Robert D. Joyce.) Similarly '_weer_
+own' is sometimes used for 'our own.' {89}
+
+The distributive _every_ requires to be followed by pronouns in the
+singular: but this rule is broken even by well-known English
+writers:--'Every one for themselves' occurs in Robinson Crusoe; and in
+Ireland plurals are almost universally used. '_Let every one mind
+themselves_ as the ass said when he leaped into a flock of chickens.'
+
+Father Burke has shown--a matter that had escaped me--that we often use the
+verbs _rest_ and _perish_ in an active sense. The first is seen in the very
+general Irish prayer 'God rest his soul.' Mangan uses the word in this
+sense in the Testament of Cathaeir Mór:--
+
+ 'Here is the Will of Cathaeir Mór,
+                      God rest him.'
+
+And John Keegan in 'Caoch O'Leary':--
+
+ 'And there he sleeps his last sweet sleep--
+          God rest you, Caoch O'Leary.'
+
+_Perish_ is quoted below in the saying--'That breeze would perish the
+Danes.'
+
+We have many intensive words, some used locally, some generally:--'This is
+a _cruel_ wet day'; 'that old fellow is _cruel_ rich': that's a _cruel_
+good man (where _cruel_ in all means _very_: Ulster). 'That girl is _fine
+and fat_: her cheeks are _fine and red_.' 'I was _dead fond_ of her' (very
+fond): but _dead certain_ occurs in 'Bleak House.' 'That tree has a
+_mighty_ great load of apples.' 'I want a drink badly; my throat is
+_powerful_ dry.' ('Shanahan's Ould Shebeen,' New York.) 'John Cusack is the
+finest dancer _at all_.' 'This day is _mortal_ cold.' 'I'm _black out_ with
+you.' {90} 'I'm very glad _entirely_ to hear it.' 'He is very sick
+_entirely_.' This word _entirely_ is one of our most general and
+characteristic intensives. 'He is a very good man _all out_.' 'This day is
+_guy and_ wet': 'that boy is _guy and_ fat' (Ulster). A half fool of a
+fellow looking at a four-wheeled carriage in motion: 'Aren't the little
+wheels _damn good_ not to let the big wheels overtake them.' In the early
+days of cycling a young friend of mine was riding on a five-foot wheel past
+two countrymen; when one remarked to the other:--'Tim, that's a _gallows_
+way of travelling.' 'I was up _murdering_ late last night.' (Crofton
+Croker.)
+
+In the Irish language there are many diminutive terminations, all giving
+the idea of 'little,' which will be found fully enumerated and illustrated
+in my 'Irish Names of Places,' vol. ii, chap. ii. Of these it may be said
+that only one--_ín_ or _een_--has found its way into Ireland's English
+speech, carrying with it its full sense of smallness. There are
+others--_án_ or _aun_, and _óg_ or _oge_; but these have in great measure
+lost their original signification; and although we use them in our
+Irish-English, they hardly convey any separate meaning. But _een_ is used
+everywhere: it is even constantly tacked on to Christian names (especially
+of boys and girls):--_Mickeen_ (little Mick), _Noreen_, _Billeen_,
+_Jackeen_ (a word applied to the conceited little Dublin citizen). So also
+you hear _Birdeen_, _Robineen_-redbreast, _bonniveen_, &c. A boy who apes
+to be a man--puts on airs like a man--is called a _manneen_ in contempt
+(exactly equivalent to the English _mannikin_). I knew a boy named Tommeen
+Trassy: and the name stuck to him even when he {91} was a great big whacker
+of a fellow six feet high. In the south this diminutive is long (_een_) and
+takes the accent: in the north it is made short (_in_) and is unaccented.
+
+It is well known that three hundred years ago, and even much later, the
+correct English sound of the diphthong _ea_ was the same as long _a_ in
+_fate_: _sea_ pronounced _say_, &c. Any number of instances could be
+brought together from the English poets in illustration of this:--
+
+ 'God moves in a mysterious way,
+    His wonders to perform;
+  He plants His footsteps in the _sea_,
+    And rides upon the storm.'
+
+  (COWPER (18th century).)
+
+This sound has long since been abandoned in England, but is still preserved
+among the Irish people. You will hear everywhere in Ireland, 'a pound of
+_mate_,' 'a cup of _tay_,' 'you're as deep as the _say_,' &c.
+
+ 'Kind sir be _aisy_ and do not _taize_ me with your false _praises_ most
+     jestingly.'--(Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+(In this last line _easy_ and _teaze_ must be sounded so as to
+rhyme--assonantally--with _praises_).
+
+Many years ago I was travelling on the long car from Macroom to Killarney.
+On the other side--at my back--sat a young gentleman--a 'superior person,'
+as anyone could gather from his _dandified_ speech. The car stopped where
+he was to get off: a tall fine-looking old gentleman was waiting for him,
+and nothing could exceed the dignity and kindness with which he received
+him. Pointing to {92} his car he said 'Come now and they'll get you a nice
+refreshing cup of _tay_.' 'Yes,' says the dandy, 'I shall be very glad to
+get a cup of _tee_'--laying a particular stress on _tee_. I confess I felt
+a shrinking of shame for our humanity. Now which of these two was the
+vulgarian?
+
+The old sound of _ea_ is still retained--even in England--in the word
+_great_; but there was a long contest in the English Parliament over this
+word. Lord Chesterfield adopted the affected pronunciation (_greet_),
+saying that only an Irishman would call it _grate_. 'Single-speech
+Hamilton'--a Dublin man--who was considered, in the English House of
+Commons, a high authority on such matters, stoutly supported _grate_, and
+the influence of the Irish orators finally turned the scale. (Woollett.)
+
+A similar statement may be made regarding the diphthong _ei_ and long _e_,
+that is to say, they were both formerly sounded like long _a_ in _fate_.
+
+ 'Boast the pure blood of an illustrious race,
+  In quiet flow from Lucrece to _Lucrece_.'
+
+  (POPE: 'Essay on Man.')
+
+In the same essay Pope rhymes _sphere_ with _fair_, showing that he
+pronounced it _sphaire_. Our _hedge_ schoolmaster did the same thing in his
+song:--
+
+  Of all the maids on this terrestrial _sphaire_
+  Young Molly is the fairest of the fair.
+
+ 'The plots are fruitless which my foe
+    Unjustly did _conceive_;
+  The pit he digg'd for me has proved
+    His own untimely grave.'
+
+  (TATE AND BRADY.)
+
+{93}
+
+Our people generally retain the old sounds of long _e_ and _ei_; for they
+say _persaive_ for perceive, and _sevare_ for _severe_.
+
+ 'The pardon he gave me was hard and _sevare_;
+ 'Twas bind him, confine him, he's the rambler from Clare.'
+
+Our Irish way of sounding both _ea_ and long _e_ is exemplified in what I
+heard a man say--a man who had some knowledge of Shakespeare--about a girl
+who was becoming somewhat of an old maid: 'She's now getting into the
+_sair_ and _yallow laif_.'
+
+Observe, the correct old English sound of _ie_ and _ee_ has not changed: it
+is the same at present in England as it was formerly; and accordingly the
+Irish people always sound these correctly. They never say _praste_ for
+priest, _belave_ for believe, _indade_ for indeed, or _kape_ for keep, as
+some ignorant writers set down.
+
+_Ate_ is pronounced _et_ by the educated English. In Munster the educated
+people pronounce it _ait_: 'Yesterday I _ait_ a good dinner'; and when _et_
+is heard among the uneducated--as it generally is--it is considered very
+vulgar.
+
+It appears that in correct old English _er_ was sounded _ar_--Dryden rhymes
+_certain_ with _parting_--and this is still retained in correct English in
+a few words, like _sergeant_, _clerk_, &c. Our people retain the old sound
+in most such words, as _sarvant_, _marchant_, _sartin_. But sometimes in
+their anxiety to avoid this vulgarity, they overdo the refinement: so that
+you will hear girls talk mincingly about _derning_ a stocking. This is like
+what happened in the case of one of our servant girls who took it into her
+head that {94} _mutton_ was a vulgar way of pronouncing the word, like
+_pudden'_ for _pudding_; so she set out with her new grand pronunciation;
+and one day rather astonished our butcher by telling him she wanted a small
+leg of _mutting_. I think this vulgarism is heard among the English
+peasantry too: though we have the honour and glory of evolving it
+independently.
+
+All over Ireland you will hear the words _vault_ and _fault_ sounded _vaut_
+and _faut_. 'If I don't be able to shine it will be none of my _faut_.'
+(Carleton, as cited by Hume.) We have retained this sound from old English:
+
+  Let him not dare to vent his dangerous thought:
+  A noble fool was never in a _fault_ [faut].
+
+  (POPE, cited by Hume.)
+
+Goldsmith uses this pronunciation more than once; but whether he brought it
+from Ireland or took it from classical English writers, by whom it was used
+(as by Pope) almost down to his time, it is hard to say. For instance in
+'The Deserted Village' he says of the Village Master:--
+
+ 'Yet he was kind, or if severe in aught
+  The love he bore to learning was in _fault_' [faut].
+
+I remember reading many years ago a criticism of Goldsmith by a well-known
+Irish professor of English literature, in which the professor makes great
+fun, as a 'superior person,' of the _Hibernicism_ in the above couplet,
+evidently ignorant of the fact, which Dr. Hume has well brought out, that
+it is classical English. {95}
+
+In many parts of Munster there is a tendency to give the long _a_ the sound
+of _a_ in _car_, _father_:--
+
+  Were I Paris whose deeds are _vaarious_
+    And _arbithraather_ on Ida's hill.
+
+  (Old Folk Song--'The Colleen Rue.')[1]
+
+  The _gladiaathers_ both bold and darling,
+    Each night and morning to watch the flowers.
+
+  (Old Folk Song--'Castlehyde.')[1]
+
+So, an intelligent peasant,--a born orator, but illiterate in so far as he
+could neither read nor write,--told me that he was a _spectaathor_ at one
+of O'Connell's Repeal meetings: and the same man, in reply to a strange
+gentleman's inquiry as to who planted a certain wood up the hill, replied
+that the trees were not planted--they grew _spontaan-yus_.
+
+I think this is a remnant of the old classical teaching of Munster: though
+indeed I ought to mention that the same tendency is found in Monaghan,
+where on every possible occasion the people give this sound to long a.
+
+_D_ before long _u_ is generally sounded like _j_; as in _projuce_ for
+_produce_: the _Juke_ of Wellington, &c. Many years ago I knew a fine old
+gentleman from Galway. He wished to make people believe that in the old
+fighting times, when he was a young man, he was a desperate _gladiaathor_;
+but he really was a gentle creature who never in all his born days hurt man
+or mortal. Talking one day to some workmen in Kildare, and recounting his
+exploits, he told them {96} that he was now _harrished_ every night by the
+ghosts of all the _min_ he killed in _juels_.
+
+So _s_ before long _u_ is sounded _sh_: Dan Kiely, a well-to-do young
+farmer, told the people of our neighbourhood that he was now looking out
+for a wife that would _shoot_ him. This pronunciation is however still
+sometimes heard in words of correct English, as in _sure_.
+
+There are some consonants of the Irish language which when they come
+together do not coalesce in sound, as they would in an English word, so
+that when they are uttered a very short obscure vowel sound is heard
+between them: and a native Irish speaker cannot avoid this. By a sort of
+hereditary custom this peculiarity finds its way into our pronunciation of
+English. Thus _firm_ is sounded in Ireland _ferrum_--two distinct
+syllables: 'that bird is looking for a _wurrum_.' _Form_ (a seat) we call a
+_furrum_.
+
+ 'His sire he'd seek no more nor descend to Mammon's shore,
+    Nor venture on the tyrant's dire _alaa-rums_,
+  But daily place his care on that emblematic fair,
+    Till he'd barter coronations for her _chaa-rums_.'
+
+  (Old Folk Song.)[2]
+
+_Herb_ is sounded _errub_: and we make two syllables of the name Charles
+[Char-less]. At the time of the Bulgarian massacres, I knew a Dublin
+doctor, a Tipperary man, who felt very strongly on the subject and was
+constantly talking about the poor _Bullugarians_.
+
+In the County Monaghan and indeed elsewhere {97} in Ireland, _us_ is
+sounded _huz_, which might seem a Cockney vulgarism, but I think it is not.
+In Roscommon and in the Munster counties a thong is called a _fong_.
+
+_Chaw_ for _chew_, _oncet_ [wonst] for _once_, _twiced_ for _twice_, and
+_heighth_, _sighth_, for _height_, _sight_, which are common in Ireland,
+are all old English survivals. Thus in the 'Faerie Queene' (Bk. I., Canto
+IV., XXX.):--
+
+ 'And next to him malicious Envy rode
+  Upon a ravenous wolfe and still did _chaw_
+  Between his cankred teeth a venomous tode.'
+
+_Chaw_ is also much used in America. '_Onst_ for once, is in the Chester
+Plays' (Lowell); and _highth_ for _height_ is found all through 'Paradise
+Lost.' So also we have _drooth_ for _drought_:--
+
+ 'Like other historians I'll stick to the truth
+  While I sing of the monarch who died of the _drooth_.'
+
+  (SAM LOVER.)
+
+_Joist_ is sounded _joice_ in Limerick; and _catch_ is everywhere
+pronounced _ketch_.
+
+The word _hither_ is pronounced in Ireland _hether_, which is the correct
+old English usage, but long since abandoned in England. Thus in a State
+Paper of 1598, we read that two captains returned _hether_: and in
+Spenser's 'View,' he mentions a 'colony [sent] _hether_ out of Spaine.'
+
+ 'An errant knight or any other wight
+  That _hether_ turns his steps.' ('Faerie Queene.')
+
+Hence we have coined the word _comether_, for _come-hether_, to denote a
+sort of spell brought about {98} by coaxing, wheedling, making love,
+&c.--as in the phrase 'she put her _comether_ on him, so that he married
+her up at once.' 'There'll not be six girls in the fair he'll not be
+putting the _comether_ on.' (Seumas MacManus.)
+
+The family name 'Bermingham' is always made _Brimmigem_ in Ireland, which
+is a very old English corruption. In Friar Clyn's Annals (Latin) written in
+the fourteenth century, the death is recorded in 1329 of Johannes de
+_Brimegham_, i.e., the celebrated Sir John Bermingham who defeated Edward
+Bruce at Faughart.
+
+Leap is pronounced _lep_ by our people; and in racing circles it is still
+so pronounced by all classes. The little village of Leap in the County Cork
+is always called _Lep_.
+
+There is a curious tendency among us to reverse the sounds of certain
+letters, as for instance _sh_ and _ch_. 'When you're coming home to-morrow
+bring the spade and _chovel_, and a pound of butter fresh from the
+_shurn_.' 'That _shimney_ doesn't draw the smoke well.' So with the letters
+_u_ and _i_. 'When I was crossing the _brudge_ I dropped the sweeping
+_brish_ into the _ruvver_.' 'I never saw _sich_ a sight.' But such words
+are used only by the very uneducated. _Brudge_ for _bridge_ and the like
+are however of old English origin. 'Margaret, mother of Henry VII, writes
+_seche_ for _such_' (Lowell). So in Ireland:--'_Jestice_ is all I ax,' says
+Mosy in the story ('Ir. Pen. Mag.); and _churries_ for _cherries_
+('Knocknagow'). This tendency corresponds with the vulgar use of _h_ in
+London and elsewhere in England. 'The 'en has just laid a _hegg_': 'he was
+singing My 'art's in the {99} 'ighlands or The Brave Old _Hoak_.'
+(Washington Irving.)
+
+_Squeeze_ is pronounced _squeedge_ and _crush_ _scroodge_ in Donegal and
+elsewhere; but corruptions like these are found among the English
+peasantry--as may be seen in Dickens.
+
+'You had better _rinsh_ that glass' is heard everywhere in Ireland: an old
+English survival; for Shakespeare and Lovelace have _renched_ for _rinced_
+(Lowell): which with the Irish sound of short _e_ before _n_ gives us our
+word _rinshed_.
+
+Such words as _old_, _cold_, _hold_ are pronounced by the Irish people
+_ould_, _cowld_, _hould_ (or _howlt_); _gold_ is sounded _goold_ and _ford_
+_foord_. I once heard an old Wicklow woman say of some very rich people
+'why these people could _ait goold_.' These are all survivals of the old
+English way of pronouncing such words. In the State Papers of Elizabeth's
+time you will constantly meet with such words as _hoult_ and _stronghowlt_
+(hold and stronghold.) In my boyhood days I knew a great large sinewy
+active woman who lived up in the mountain gap, and who was universally
+known as 'Thunder the _cowlt_ from Poulaflaikeen' (_cowlt_ for _colt_);
+Poulaflaikeen, the high pass between Glenosheen and Glenanaar, Co.
+Limerick, for which see Dr. R. D. Joyce's 'Ballads of Irish Chivalry,' pp.
+102, 103, 120.
+
+Old Tom Howlett, a Dublin job gardener, speaking to me of the management of
+fruit trees, recommended the use of butchers' waste. 'Ah sir'--said he,
+with a luscious roll in his voice as if he had been licking his lips--'Ah
+sir, there's nothing for the roots of an apple tree like a big tub of fine
+rotten _ould_ guts,' {100}
+
+Final _d_ is often omitted after _l_ and _n_: you will see this everywhere
+in Seumas MacManus's books for Donegal. Recently we were told by the
+attendant boy at one of the Dublin seaside baths that the prices were--'a
+shilling for the hot and sixpence for the _cowl_.' So we constantly use
+_an'_ for _and_: in a Waterford folk song we have 'Here's to the swan that
+sails on the _pon_' (the 'swan' being the poet's sweetheart): and I once
+heard a man say to another in a fair:--'That horse is sound in win' and
+limb.'
+
+Short _e_ is always sounded before _n_ and _m_, and sometimes in other
+positions, like short _i_: 'How many arrived?' '_Tin min_ and five women':
+'He always smoked a pipe with a long _stim_.' If you ask a person for a
+pin, he will inquire 'Is it a brass pin or a writing _pin_ you want?'
+
+_Again_ is sounded by the Irish people _agin_, which is an old English
+survival. 'Donne rhymes _again_ with _sin_, and Quarles repeatedly with
+_in_.' (Lowell.) An Irishman was once landed on the coast of some unknown
+country where they spoke English. Some violent political dispute happened
+to be going on there at the time, and the people eagerly asked the stranger
+about his political views; on which--instinctively giving expression to the
+feelings he brought with him from the 'ould sod'--he promptly replied
+before making any inquiry--'I'm agin the Government.' This story, which is
+pretty well known, is a faked one; but it affords us a good illustration.
+
+_Onion_ is among our people always pronounced _ingion_: constantly heard in
+Dublin. 'Go out Mike {101} for the _ingions_,' as I once heard a woman say
+in Limerick.
+
+ 'Men are of different opinions,
+  Some like leeks and some like _ingions_.'
+
+This is old English; 'in one of Dodsley's plays we have _onions_ rhyming
+with _minions_' (Lowell.)
+
+The general _English_ tendency is to put back the accent as far from the
+end of the word as possible. But among our people there is a contrary
+tendency--to throw forward the accent; as in _ex-cel´lent_, his
+_Ex-cel´-lency_--Nas-sau´ Street (Dublin), Ar-bu´-tus, commit-tee´,
+her-e-dit´tary.
+
+ 'Tele-mach´us though so grand ere the sceptre reached his hand.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+In Gough's Arithmetic there was a short section on the laws of radiation
+and of pendulums. When I was a boy I once heard one of the old
+schoolmasters reading out, in his grandiloquent way, for the people grouped
+round Ardpatrick chapel gate after Mass, his formidable prospectus of the
+subjects he could teach, among which were 'the _raddiation_ of light and
+heat and the vibrations of swinging _pen-joo´lums_.' The same fine old
+scholarly pedant once remarked that our neighbourhood was a very
+_moun-taan´-yus_ locality. A little later on in my life, when I had written
+some pieces in high-flown English--as young writers will often do--one of
+these schoolmasters--a much lower class of man than the last--said to me by
+way of compliment: 'Ah! Mr. Joyce, you have a fine _voca-bull´ery_.'
+
+_Mischievous_ is in the south accented on the second
+syllable--_Mis-chee´-vous_: but I have come across this {102} in Spenser's
+Faerie Queene. We accent _character_ on the second syllable:--
+
+ 'Said he in a whisper to my benefactor,
+    Though good your _charac´ter_ has been of that lad.'
+
+  (Song by Mr. Patrick Murray of Kilfinane,
+  a schoolmaster of great ability: about 1840).
+
+One of my school companions once wrote an ode in praise of Algebra, of
+which unfortunately I remember only the opening line: but this fragment
+shows how we pronounced the word in our old schools in the days of yore:--
+
+ 'Hail sweet _al-jib´era_, you're my heart's delight.'
+
+There is an Irish ballad about the people of Tipperary that I cannot lay my
+hands on, which speaks of the
+
+                     'Tipperary boys,
+  Although we are cross and _contrairy_ boys';
+
+and this word 'contrairy' is universal in Munster.
+
+In Tipperary the vowel _i_ is generally sounded _oi_. Mick Hogan a
+Tipperary boy--he was a man indeed--was a pupil in Mr. Condon's school in
+Mitchelstown, with the full rich typical accent. One morning as he walked
+in, a fellow pupil, Tom Burke--a big fellow too--with face down on desk
+over a book, said, without lifting his head--to make fun of him--'_foine_
+day, Mick.' 'Yes,' said Mick as he walked past, at the same time laying his
+hand on Tom's poll and punching his nose down hard against the desk. Tom
+let Mick alone after that 'foine day.' Farther south, and in many places
+all over Ireland, they do the reverse:--'The kettle is _biling_';
+
+ 'She smiled on me like the morning sky,
+  And she won the heart of the prentice _bye_.'
+
+  (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+{103}
+
+The old English pronunciation of _oblige_ was _obleege_:--
+
+ 'Dreaded by fools, by flatterers besieged,
+  And so obliging that he ne'er obliged.'
+
+  (POPE.)
+
+Among the old-fashioned and better-educated of our peasantry you will still
+hear this old pronunciation preserved:--I am very much obleeged to you. It
+is now generally heard in Kildare among all classes. A similar tendency is
+in the sound of _whine_, which in Munster is always made _wheen_: 'What's
+that poor child _wheening_ for?' also everywhere heard:--'All danger [of
+the fever] is now past: he is over his _creesis_.'
+
+Metathesis, or the changing of the place of a letter or syllable in a word,
+is very common among the Irish people, as _cruds_ for _curds_, _girn_ for
+_grin_, _purty_ for _pretty_. I heard a man quoting from Shakespeare about
+Puck--from hearsay: he said he must have been a wonderful fellow, for he
+could put a _griddle_ round about the earth in forty minutes.' I knew a
+fellow that could never say _traveller_: it was always _throlliver_.
+
+There is a tendency here as elsewhere to shorten many words: You will hear
+_garner_ for _gardener_, _ornary_ for _ordinary_. The late Cardinal Cullen
+was always spoken of by a friend of mine who revered him, as _The Carnal_.
+
+_My_ and _by_ are pronounced _me_ and _be_ all over Ireland: Now _me_ boy I
+expect you home _be_ six o'clock.
+
+The obscure sound of _e_ and _i_ heard in _her_ and _fir_ is hardly known
+in Ireland, at least among the general run of people. _Her_ is made either
+_herr_ or _hur_. They sound _sir_ either _surr_ (to rhyme with cur), {104}
+or _serr_; but in this latter case they always give the _r_ or _rr_ what is
+called the slender sound in Irish, which there is no means of indicating by
+English letters. _Fir_ is also sounded either _fur_ or _ferr_ (a _fur_ tree
+or a _ferr_ tree). _Furze_ is pronounced rightly; but they take it to be a
+plural, and so you will often hear the people say _a fur bush_ instead of
+_a furze bush_.
+
+In other classes of words _i_ before _r_ is mispronounced. A young fellow,
+Johnny Brien, objected to go by night on a message that would oblige him to
+pass by an empty old house that had the reputation of being haunted,
+because, as he said, he was afeard of the _sperrit_.
+
+In like manner, _miracle_ is pronounced _merricle_. Jack Finn--a little
+busybody noted for perpetually jibing at sacred things--Jack one day, with
+innocence in his face, says to Father Tom, 'Wisha I'd be terrible thankful
+entirely to your reverence to tell me what a merricle is, for I could never
+understand it.' 'Oh yes Jack,' says the big priest good-naturedly, as he
+stood ready equipped for a long ride to a sick call--poor old Widow Dwan up
+in the mountain gap: 'Just tell me exactly how many cows are grazing in
+that field there behind you.' Jack, chuckling at the fun that was coming
+on, turned round to count, on which Father Tom dealt him a hearty kick that
+sent him sprawling about three yards. He gathered himself up as best he
+could; but before he had time to open his mouth the priest asked, 'Did you
+feel that Jack?' 'Oh Blood-an ... Yerra of course I did your reverence, why
+the blazes wouldn't I!' 'Well Jack,' replied Father Tom, benignly, 'If you
+didn't feel it--_that_ would be a _merricle_.' {105}
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+PROVERBS.
+
+The Irish delighted in sententious maxims and apt illustrations compressed
+into the fewest possible words. Many of their proverbs were evolved in the
+Irish language, of which a collection with translations by John O'Donovan
+may be seen in the 'Dublin Penny Journal,' I. 258; another in the Rev.
+Ulick Bourke's Irish Grammar; and still another in the Ulster Journ. of
+Archæology (old series) by Mr. Robert MacAdam, the Editor. The same
+tendency continued when the people adopted the English language. Those that
+I give here in collected form were taken from the living lips of the people
+during the last thirty or forty years.
+
+'Be first in a wood and last in a bog.' If two persons are making their
+way, one behind the other, through a wood, the hinder man gets slashed in
+the face by the springy boughs pushed aside by the first: if through a bog,
+the man behind can always avoid the dangerous holes by seeing the first
+sink into them. This proverb preserves the memory of a time when there were
+more woods and bogs than there are now: it is translated from Irish.
+
+In some cases a small amount added on or taken off makes a great difference
+in the result: 'An inch is a great deal in a man's nose.' In the Crimean
+war an officer happened to be walking past an Irish soldier on duty, who
+raised hand to cap to salute. {106} But the hand was only half way when a
+stray bullet whizzed by and knocked off the cap without doing any injury.
+Whereupon Paddy, perfectly unmoved, stooped down, replaced the cap and
+completed the salute. The officer, admiring his coolness, said 'That was a
+narrow shave my man!' 'Yes your honour: an inch is as good as a mile.' This
+is one of our commonest sayings.
+
+A person is reproved for some trifling harmless liberty, and replies:--'Oh
+a cat can look at a king.' (A translation from Irish.)
+
+A person who fails to get what he was striving after is often glad to
+accept something very inferior: 'When all fruit fails welcome haws.'
+
+When a person shows no sign of gratitude for a good turn as if it passed
+completely from his memory, people say 'Eaten bread is soon forgotten.'
+
+A person is sent upon some dangerous mission, as when the persons he is
+going to are his deadly enemies:--that is 'Sending the goose on a message
+to the fox's den.'
+
+If a dishonest avaricious man is put in a position of authority over people
+from whom he has the power to extort money; that is 'putting the fox to
+mind the geese.'
+
+'You have as many kinds of potatoes on the table as if you took them from a
+beggarman's bag': referring to the good old time when beggarmen went about
+and usually got a _lyre_ of potatoes in each house.
+
+'No one can tell what he is able to do till he tries,' as the duck said
+when she swallowed a dead kitten. {107}
+
+You say to a man who is suffering under some continued hardship:--'This
+distress is only temporary: have patience and things will come round soon
+again.' 'O yes indeed; _Live horse till you get grass_.'
+
+A person in your employment is not giving satisfaction; and yet you are
+loth to part with him for another: 'Better is the devil you know than the
+devil you don't know.'
+
+'Least said, soonest mended.'
+
+'You spoke too late,' as the fool said when he swallowed a bad egg, and
+heard the chicken chirp going down his throat.
+
+'Good soles bad uppers.' Applied to a person raised from a low to a high
+station, who did well enough while low, but in his present position is
+overbearing and offensive.
+
+I have done a person some service: and now he ill-naturedly refuses some
+reasonable request. I say: 'Oh wait: _apples will grow again_.' He
+answers--'Yes _if the trees baint cut_'--a defiant and ungrateful answer,
+as much as to say--you may not have the opportunity to serve me, or I may
+not want it.
+
+Turf or peat was scarce in Kilmallock (Co. Limerick): whence the proverb,
+'A Kilmallock fire--two sods and a _kyraun_' (a bit broken _off of_ a sod).
+
+People are often punished even in this world for their misdeeds: 'God
+Almighty often pays debts without money.' (Wicklow.)
+
+I advise you not to do so without the master's permission:--'Leave is
+light.' A very general saying. {108}
+
+When a person gives much civil talk, makes plausible excuses or fair
+promises, the remark is made 'Soft words butter no parsnips.' Sometimes
+also 'Talk is cheap.'
+
+A person who is too complaisant--over anxious to please everyone--is 'like
+Lanna Mochree's dog--he will go a part of the road with everyone.' (Moran
+Carlow.) (A witness said this of a policeman in the Celbridge
+courthouse--Kildare--last year, showing that it is still alive.)
+
+'The first drop of the broth is the hottest': the first step in any
+enterprise is usually the hardest. (Westmeath.)
+
+The light, consisting of a single candle, or the jug of punch from which
+the company fill their tumblers, ought always to be placed on the middle of
+the table when people are sitting round it:--'Put the priest in the middle
+of the parish.'
+
+'After a gathering comes a scattering.' 'A narrow gathering, a broad
+scattering.' Both allude to the case of a thrifty man who gathers up a
+fortune during a lifetime, and is succeeded by a spendthrift son who soon
+_makes ducks and drakes_ of the property.
+
+No matter how old a man is he can get a wife if he wants one: 'There never
+was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to match it.' (Carlow.)
+
+'You might as well go to hell with a load as with a _pahil_': 'You might as
+well hang for a sheep as for a lamb': both explain themselves. A _pahil_ or
+_paghil_ is a bundle of anything. (Derry.)
+
+If a man treats you badly in any way, you threaten to pay him back in his
+own coin by saying, 'The cat hasn't eaten the year yet.' (Carlow.) {109}
+
+'A fool and his money are easily parted.'
+
+'A dumb priest never got a parish,' as much as to say if a man wants a
+thing he must ask and strive for it.
+
+'A slip of the tongue is no fault of the mind.' (Munster.)
+
+You merely hint at something requiring no further explanation:--'A nod is
+as good as a wink to a blind horse.' (Sam Lover: but heard everywhere.)
+
+A very wise proverb often heard among us is:--'Let well enough alone.'
+
+'When a man is down, down with him': a bitter allusion to the tendency of
+the world to trample down the unfortunate and helpless.
+
+'The friend that can be bought is not worth buying.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+'The life of an old hat is to cock it.' To cock an old hat is to set it
+jauntingly on the head with the leaf turned up at one side. (S. E.
+counties.)
+
+'The man that wears the shoe knows where it pinches.' It is only the person
+holding any position that knows the troubles connected with it.
+
+'Enough and no waste is as good as a _faist_.'
+
+'There are more ways of killing a dog than by choking him with butter.'
+Applied when some insidious cunning attempt that looks innocent is made to
+injure another.
+
+'Well James are you quite recovered now?' 'Oh yes, I'm _on the baker's
+list_ again': i.e., I am well and have recovered my appetite.
+
+'An Irishman before answering a question always asks another': he wants to
+know why he is asked.
+
+Dan O'Loghlin, a working man, drove up to our {110} house one day on an
+outside car. It was a sixpenny drive, but rather a long one; and the carman
+began to grumble. Whereupon Dan, in the utmost good humour, replied:--'Oh
+you must take the little potato with the big potato.' A very apt maxim in
+many of life's affairs, and often heard in and around Dublin.
+
+'Good goods are tied up in small parcels': said of a little man or a little
+woman, in praise or mitigation. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+'Easy with the hay, there are boys on the ladder.' When a man is on the top
+of the stack forking down hay, he is warned to look out and be careful if
+other _boys_ are mounting up the ladder, lest he may pitch it on their
+heads. The proverb is uttered when a person is incautiously giving
+expression to words likely to offend some one present. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+Be cautious about believing the words of a man speaking ill of another
+against whom he has a grudge: 'Spite never spoke well.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+Don't encroach too much on a privilege or it may be withdrawn: don't ask
+too much or you may get nothing at all:--'Covetousness bursts the bag.'
+
+Three things not to be trusted--a cow's horn, a dog's tooth, and a horse's
+hoof.
+
+Three disagreeable things at home:--a scolding wife; a squalling child; and
+a smoky chimney.
+
+Three good things to have. I heard this given as a toast exactly as I give
+it here, by a fine old gentleman of the old times:--'Here's that we may
+always have a _clane_ shirt; a _clane_ conscience; and a guinea in our
+pocket.' {111}
+
+Here is another toast. A happy little family party round the farmer's fire
+with a big jug on the table (a jug of what, do you think?) The old blind
+piper is the happiest of all, and holding up his glass says:--'Here's, if
+this be war may we never have peace.' (Edw. Walsh.)
+
+Three things no person ever saw:--a highlander's kneebuckle, a dead ass, a
+tinker's funeral.
+
+'Take care to lay by for the sore foot': i.e., Provide against accidents,
+against adversity or want; against the rainy day.
+
+When you impute another person's actions to evil or unworthy motives: that
+is 'measuring other people's corn in your own bushel.'
+
+A person has taken some unwise step: another expresses his intention to do
+a similar thing, and you say:--'One fool is enough in a parish.'
+
+In the middle of last century, the people of Carlow and its neighbourhood
+prided themselves on being able to give, on the spur of the moment, toasts
+suitable to the occasion. Here is one such: 'Here's to the herring that
+never took a bait'; a toast reflecting on some person present who had been
+made a fool of in some transaction. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+'A man cannot grow rich without his wife's leave': as much as to say, a
+farmer's wife must co-operate to ensure success and prosperity. (Moran:
+Carlow.)
+
+When something is said that has a meaning under the surface the remark is
+made 'There's gravel in that.'
+
+ 'Pity people barefoot in cold frosty weather,
+  But don't make them boots with other people's leather.'
+
+{112} That is to say: don't be generous at other people's expense. Many
+years ago this proverb was quoted by the late Serjeant Armstrong in
+addressing a jury in Wicklow.
+
+'A wet night: a dry morning': said to a man who is _craw-sick_--thirsty and
+sick--after a night's boozing. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+This last reminds me of an invitation I once got from a country gentleman
+to go on a visit, holding out as an inducement that he would give me 'a dry
+bed and a wet bottle.'
+
+'If he's not fishing he's mending his nets': said of a man who always makes
+careful preparations and lays down plans for any enterprise he may have in
+view.
+
+'If he had a shilling in his pocket it would burn a hole through it': said
+of a man who cannot keep his money together--a spendthrift.
+
+'A bird with one wing can't fly': said to a person to make him take a
+second glass. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+Protect your rights: 'Don't let your bone go with the dog.'
+
+'An old dog for a hard road': said in commendation of a wary person who has
+overcome some difficulty. _Hard_ in this proverb means 'difficult.' (Moran:
+Carlow.)
+
+'No use sending a boy on a man's errand': Don't be satisfied with
+inadequate steps when undertaking a difficult work: employ a sure person to
+carry out a hard task.
+
+Oh however he may have acted towards you he has been a good friend to me at
+any rate; and I go by the old saying, 'Praise the ford as you find it.'
+This {113} proverb is a translation from the Irish. It refers to a time
+when bridges were less general than now; and rivers were commonly crossed
+by fords--which were sometimes safe, sometimes dangerous, according to the
+weather.
+
+'Threatened dogs live long.' Abuses often go on for a long time, though
+people are constantly complaining and threatening to correct them.
+(Ulster.)
+
+He who expects a legacy when another man dies thinks the time long. 'It is
+long waiting for a dead man's boots.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+A person waiting impatiently for something to come on always thinks the
+time longer than usual:--'A watched pot never boils.'
+
+'A poor man must have a poor wedding': people must live according to their
+means.
+
+'I could carry my wet finger to him': i.e. he is here present, but I won't
+name him.
+
+'Oh that's all _as I roved out_': to express unbelief in what someone says
+as quite unworthy of credit. In allusion to songs beginning 'As I roved
+out,' which are generally fictitious.
+
+'Your father was a bad glazier': said to a person who is standing in one's
+light.
+
+'As the old cock crows the young cock learns': generally applied to a son
+who follows the evil example of his father.
+
+A person remarks that the precautions you are taking in regard to a certain
+matter are unnecessary or excessive, and you reply 'Better be sure than
+sorry.'
+
+'She has a good many nicks in her horn': said of a girl who is becoming an
+old maid. A cow is said to have a nick in her horn for every year. {114}
+
+A man of property gets into hopeless debt and difficulty by neglecting his
+business, and his creditors sell him out. 'Well, how did he get out of it?'
+asks a neighbour. 'Oh, he got out of it just by a break-up, _as Katty got
+out of the pot_.' This is how Katty got out of the pot. One day at dinner
+in the kitchen Katty Murphy the servant girl sat down on a big pot (as I
+often saw women do)--for seats were scarce; and in the middle of the
+dinner, through some incautious movement, down she went. She struggled to
+get up, but failed. Then the others came to help her, and tugged and pulled
+and tried in every way, but had to give it up; till at last one of them
+brought a heavy hammer, and with one blow made smithereens of the pot.
+
+'Putting a thing on the long finger' means postponing it.
+
+On the evil of procrastination:--'_Time enough_ lost the ducks.' The ducks
+should have been secured at once as it was known that a fox was prowling
+about. But they were not, and----
+
+'_Will you_ was never a good fellow.' The bad fellow says 'Will you have
+some lunch?' (while there is as yet nothing on the table), on the chance
+that the visitor will say 'No, thank you.' The good hospitable man asks no
+questions, but has the food brought up and placed before the guest.
+
+'Cut the _gad_ next the throat': that is to say, attend to the most urgent
+need first. You find a man hanging by a _gad_ (withe), and you cut him down
+to save him. Cutting the _gad_ next the throat explains itself.
+
+When a work must be done slowly:--'I will do {115} it by degrees as lawyers
+go to heaven.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+'That's not a good fit,' as the serpent said when he swallowed a buck goat,
+horns and all.
+
+Time and patience would bring a snail to America.
+
+'The cold stone leaves the water on St. Patrick's Day.' About the 17th
+March (St. Patrick's Day), the winter's cold is nearly gone, and the
+weather generally takes a milder turn.
+
+'There are more turners than dishmakers'; meaning, there may be many
+members of a profession, but only few of them excel in it: usually pointed
+at some particular professional man, who is considered not clever. It is
+only the most skilful turners that can make wooden dishes.
+
+A person who talks too much cannot escape saying things now and then that
+would be better left unsaid:--'The mill that is always going grinds coarse
+and fine.'
+
+'If you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas': if you keep company
+with bad people you will contract their evil habits. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+If you do a kindness don't mar it by any unpleasant drawback: in other
+words do a kind act graciously:--'If you give away an old coat don't cut
+off the buttons.'
+
+Two good things:--A young man courting, an old man smoking: Two bad
+things:--An old man courting, a young man smoking. (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+What is the world to a man when his wife is a widow.
+
+Giving help where it is needed is 'helping the lame dog over the stile.'
+{116}
+
+'Leave him to God': meaning don't you attempt to punish him for the injury
+he has done you: let God deal with him. Often carried too far among us.
+
+A hard man at driving a bargain:--'He always wants an egg in the
+penn'orth.' (Kildare.)
+
+A satirical expression regarding a close-fisted ungenerous man:--'If he had
+only an egg he'd give you the shell.' (Kildare.)
+
+A man wishes to say to another that they are both of about the same age;
+and this is how he expresses it:--'When I die of old age you may quake with
+fear.' (Kildare.)
+
+Speaking of a man with more resources than one:--'It wasn't on one leg St.
+Patrick came to Ireland.'
+
+When there is a prospect of a good harvest, or any mark of
+prosperity:--'That's no sign of small potatoes.' (Kildare.)
+
+Your friend is in your pocket. (Kildare.)
+
+[As a safe general principle]:--'If anybody asks you, say you don't know.'
+
+'A good run is better than a bad stand.' When it becomes obvious that you
+cannot defend your position (whatever it is), better yield than encounter
+certain defeat by continuing to resist. (Queenstown.)
+
+A man depending for success on a very uncertain contingency:--'God give you
+better meat than a running hare.' (Tyrone.)
+
+To express the impossibility of doing two inconsistent things at the same
+time:--'You can't whistle and chaw meal.' {117}
+
+A man who has an excess of smooth plausible talk is 'too sweet to be
+wholesome.'
+
+'The fox has a good name in his own parish.' They say that a fox does not
+prey on the fowls in his own neighbourhood. Often said of a rogue whose
+friends are trying to _whitewash_ him.
+
+'A black hen lays white eggs.' A man with rough manners often has a gentle
+heart and does kindly actions.
+
+Much in the same sense:--'A crabtree has a sweet blossom.'
+
+A person who has smooth words and kind professions for others, but never
+acts up to them, 'has a hand for everybody but a heart for nobody.'
+(Munster.)
+
+A person readily finds a lost article when it is missed, and is suspected
+to have hidden it himself:--'What the Pooka writes he can read.' (Munster.)
+
+A man is making no improvement in his character or circumstances but rather
+the reverse as he advances in life:--'A year older and a year worse.'
+
+'A shut mouth catches no flies.' Much the same as the English 'Speech is
+silvern, silence is golden.'
+
+To the same effect is 'Hear and see and say nothing.'
+
+A fool and his money are easily parted.
+
+Oh I see you expect that Jack (a false friend) will stand at your back.
+Yes, indeed, 'he'll stand at your back while your nose is breaking.'
+
+'You wouldn't do that to your match' as Mick Sheedy said to the fox. Mick
+Sheedy the gamekeeper had a hut in the woods where he often took {118}
+shelter and rested and smoked. One day when he had arrived at the doorway
+he saw a fox sitting at the little fire warming himself. Mick instantly
+spread himself out in the doorway to prevent escape. And so they continued
+to look at each other. At last Reynard, perceiving that some master-stroke
+was necessary, took up in his mouth one of a fine pair of shoes that were
+lying in a corner, brought it over, and deliberately placed it on the top
+of the fire. We know the rest! (Limerick.)
+
+'There's a hole in the house'; meant to convey that there is a tell-tale
+listening. (Meath.)
+
+We are inclined to magnify distant or only half known things: 'Cows far off
+have long horns.'
+
+'He'll make Dungarvan shake': meaning he will do great things, cut a great
+figure. Now generally said in ridicule. (Munster.)
+
+A man is told something extraordinary:--'That takes the coal off my pipe';
+i.e. it surpasses all I have seen or heard.
+
+A man fails to obtain something he was looking after--a house or a farm to
+rent--a cow to buy--a girl he wished to marry, &c.--and consoles himself by
+reflecting or saying:--'There's as good fish in the _say_ as ever was
+caught.'
+
+Well, you were at the dance yesterday--who were there? Oh 'all the world
+and Garrett Reilly' were there. (Wicklow and Waterford.)
+
+When a fellow puts on empty airs of great consequence, you say to him, 'Why
+you're _as grand as Mat Flanagan with the cat_': always said
+contemptuously. Mat Flanagan went to London one time. After two years he
+came home on a visit; but he was {119} now transformed into such a mass of
+grandeur that he did not recognise any of the old surroundings. He didn't
+know what the old cat was. 'Hallo, mother,' said he with a lofty air and a
+killing Cockney accent, 'What's yon long-tailed fellow in yon _cawner_?'
+
+A person reproaching another for something wrong says:--'The back of my
+hand to you,' as much as to say 'I refuse to shake hands with you.'
+
+To a person hesitating to enter on a doubtful enterprise which looks fairly
+hopeful, another says:--Go on Jack, try your fortune: 'faint heart never
+won fair lady.'
+
+A person who is about to make a third and determined attempt at anything
+exclaims (in assonantal rhyme):--
+
+ 'First and second go alike:
+  The third throw takes the bite.'
+
+I express myself confident of outwitting or circumventing a certain man who
+is notoriously cautious and wide-awake, and the listener says to me:--'Oh,
+what a chance you have--_catch a weasel asleep_' (general).
+
+In connexion with this may be given another proverb: of a notoriously
+wide-awake cautious man, it is said:--'He sleeps a hare's sleep--with one
+eye open.' For it was said one time that weasels were in the habit of
+sucking the blood of hares in their sleep; and as weasels had much
+increased, the hares took to the plan of sleeping with one eye at a time;
+'and when that's rested and _slep_ enough, they open it and shut the
+other.' (From 'The Building of Mourne,' by Dr. Robert Dwyer Joyce.) {120}
+
+This last perpetuates a legend as old as our literature. In one of the
+ancient Irish classical tales, the story is told of a young lady so
+beautiful that all the young chiefs of the territory were in love with her
+and laying plans to take her off. So her father, to defeat them, slept with
+only one eye at a time.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+EXAGGERATION AND REDUNDANCY.
+
+I have included both in this Chapter, for they are nearly related; and it
+is often hard to draw a precise line of distinction.
+
+We in Ireland are rather prone to exaggeration, perhaps more so than the
+average run of peoples. Very often the expressions are jocose, or the
+person is fully conscious of the exaggeration; but in numerous cases there
+is no joke at all: but downright seriousness: all which will be seen in the
+following examples.
+
+A common saying about a person of persuasive tongue or with a beautiful
+voice in singing:--'He would coax the birds off the bushes.' This is
+borrowed from the Irish. In the 'Lament of Richard Cantillon' (in Irish) he
+says that at the musical voice of the lady 'the seals would come up from
+the deep, the stag down from the mist-crag, and the thrush from the tree.'
+(Petrie: 'Anc. Mus. of Ireland.')
+
+Of a noted liar and perjurer it was said 'He would swear that a coal porter
+was a canary.' {121}
+
+A man who is unlucky, with whom everything goes wrong:--'If that man got a
+hen to hatch duck eggs, the young ducks would be drowned.' Or again, 'If
+that man sowed oats in a field, a crop of turnips would come up.' Or: 'He
+is always in the field when luck is on the road.'
+
+The following expression is often heard:--'Ah, old James Buckley is a fine
+piper: _I'd give my eyes_ to be listening to him.'
+
+That fellow is so dirty that if you flung him against a wall he'd stick.
+(Patterson: Ulster.)
+
+Two young men are about to set off to seek their fortunes, leaving their
+young brother Rory to stay with their mother. But Rory, a hard active merry
+cute little fellow, proposes to go with them:--'I'll follow ye to the
+world's end.' On which the eldest says to him--a half playful threat:--'You
+presumptious little atomy of a barebones, if I only see the size of a
+thrush's ankle of you follyin' us on the road, I'll turn back and bate that
+wiry and freckled little carcase of yours into frog's-jelly!' (Robert Dwyer
+Joyce: 'The Building of Mourne.')
+
+'Did Johnny give you any of his sugar-stick?' 'Oh not very much indeed:
+hardly the size of a thrush's ankle.' This term is often used.
+
+Of a very morose sour person you will hear it said:--'If that man looked at
+a pail of new milk he'd turn it into curds and whey.'
+
+A very thin man, or one attenuated by sickness:--'You could blow him off
+your hand.'
+
+A poor fellow complains of the little bit of meat he got for his
+dinner:--'It was no more than a daisy in a bull's mouth!' Another says of
+_his_ dinner {122} when it was in his stomach:--'It was no more than a
+midge in the Glen of the Downs.'
+
+Exhorting a messenger to be quick:--'Don't be there till you're back
+again.' Another way:--'Now run as quick as you can, and if you fall don't
+wait to get up.' Warning a person to be expeditious in any work you put him
+to:--'Now don't let grass grow under your feet.' Barney urging on the ass
+to go quickly:--'Come Bobby, don't let grass grow under your feet.'
+('Knocknagow.')
+
+If a person is secretly very willing to go to a place--as a lover to the
+house of the girl's parents:--'You could lead him there with a halter of
+snow.'
+
+'Is this razor sharp?' 'Sharp!--why _'twould shave a mouse asleep_.'
+
+A lazy fellow, fond of sitting at the fire, _has the A B C on his shins_,
+i.e. they are blotched with the heat.
+
+Of an inveterate talker:--That man would talk the teeth out of a saw.
+
+A young fellow gets a great fright:--'It frightened him out of a year's
+growth.'
+
+When Nancy saw the master so angry she was frightened out of her wits: or
+frightened out of her seven senses. When I saw the horse ride over him I
+was frightened out of my life.
+
+A great liar, being suddenly pressed for an answer, told the truth for
+once. He told the truth because he was _shook_ for a lie; i.e. no lie was
+ready at hand. _Shook_, to be bad, in a bad way: shook for a thing, to be
+badly in want of it and not able to get it.
+
+Of a very lazy fellow:--He would not knock a coal off his foot: i.e. when a
+live coal happens to {123} fall on his foot while sitting by the fire, he
+wouldn't take the trouble to knock it off.
+
+Says the dragon to Manus:--'If ever I see you here again I'll hang a
+quarter of you on every tree in the wood.' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+If a person is pretty badly hurt, or suffers hardship, he's _kilt_
+(killed): a fellow gets a fall and his friend comes up to inquire:--'Oh let
+me alone I'm kilt and speechless.' I heard a Dublin nurse say, 'Oh I'm kilt
+minding these four children.' 'The bloody throopers are coming to kill and
+quarther an' murther every mother's sowl o' ye.' (R. D. Joyce.) The parlour
+bell rings impatiently for the third time, and Lowry Looby the servant
+says, 'Oh murther there goes the bell again, I'll be kilt entirely.'
+(Gerald Griffin.) If a person is really badly hurt he's _murthered
+entirely_. A girl telling about a fight in a fair:--'One poor boy was kilt
+dead for three hours on a car, breathing for all the world like a corpse!'
+
+If you don't stop your abuse I'll give you a shirt full of sore bones.
+
+Yes, poor Jack was once well off, but now he hasn't as much money as would
+jingle on a tombstone.
+
+That cloth is very coarse: why you could shoot straws through it.
+
+Strong dislike:--I don't like a bone in his body.
+
+'Do you know Bill Finnerty well?' 'Oh indeed I know every bone in his
+body,' i.e. I know him and all his ways intimately.
+
+A man is low stout and very fat: if you met him in the street you'd rather
+jump over him than walk round him. {124}
+
+He knew as much Latin as if he swallowed a dictionary. (Gerald Griffin.)
+
+The word _destroy_ is very often used to characterize any trifling damage
+easily remedied:--That car splashed me, and my coat is all destroyed.
+
+'They kept me dancin' for 'em in the kitchen,' says Barney Broderick, 'till
+I hadn't a leg to put under me.' ('Knocknagow.')
+
+This farm of mine is as bad land as ever a crow flew over.
+
+He's as great a rogue as ever stood in shoe-leather.
+
+When Jack heard the news of the money that was coming to him he was
+_jumping out of his skin_ with delight.
+
+I bought these books at an auction, and I got them for a song: in fact I
+got them for half nothing.
+
+Very bad slow music is described as _the tune the old cow died of_.
+
+A child is afraid of a dog: '_Yerra_ he won't touch you': meaning 'he won't
+bite you.'
+
+A man having a very bad aim in shooting:--'He wouldn't hit a hole in a
+ladder.'
+
+Carleton's blind fiddler says to a young girl: 'You could dance _the
+Colleen dhas dhown_ [a jig] upon a spider's cobweb without breaking it.'
+
+An ill-conducted man:--'That fellow would shame a field of tinkers.' The
+tinkers of sixty years ago, who were not remarkable for their honesty or
+good conduct, commonly travelled the country in companies, and camped out
+in fields or wild places.
+
+I was dying to hear the news; i.e. excessively anxious. {125}
+
+Where an Englishman will say 'I shall be pleased to accept your
+invitation,' an Irishman will say 'I will be delighted to accept,' &c.
+
+Mick Fraher is always eating garlick and his breath has a terrible smell--a
+smell of garlick strong enough to hang your hat on.
+
+A mean thief:--He'd steal a halfpenny out of a blind beggarman's hat. (P.
+Reilly: Kild.)
+
+A dexterous thief:--He'd steal the sugar out of your punch.
+
+An inveterate horse thief:--Throw a halter in his grave and he'll start up
+and steal a horse.
+
+Of an impious and dexterous thief:--'He'd steal the cross off an ass's
+back,' combining skill and profanation. According to the religious legend
+the back of the ass is marked with a cross ever since the day of our Lord's
+public entry into Jerusalem upon an ass.
+
+A man who makes unreasonably long visits--who outstays his welcome:--'If
+that man went to a wedding he'd wait for the christening.'
+
+I once asked a young Dublin lady friend was she angry at not getting an
+invitation to the party: 'Oh I was fit to be tied.' A common expression
+among us to express great indignation.
+
+A person is expressing confidence that a certain good thing will happen
+which will bring advantage to everyone, but which after all is very
+unlikely, and someone replies:--'Oh yes: when the sky falls we'll all catch
+larks.'
+
+A useless unavailing proceeding, most unlikely to be attended with any
+result, such as trying to persuade a person who is obstinately bent on
+having his {126} own way:--'You might as well be whistling jigs to a
+milestone' [expecting it to dance].
+
+'Would you know him if you saw him?' 'Would I know him!--why I'd know his
+skin in a tan-yard'--'I'd know his shadow on a furze-bush!'
+
+A person considered very rich:--That man is _rotten with money_. He doesn't
+know what to do with his money.
+
+You gave me a great start: you put the heart across in me: my heart jumped
+into my mouth. The people said that Miss Mary Kearney put the heart across
+in Mr. Lowe, the young Englishman visitor. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+I heard Mat Halahan the tailor say to a man who had just fitted on a new
+coat:--That coat fits you just as if you were melted into it.
+
+He is as lazy as the dog that always puts his head against the wall to
+bark. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+In running across the field where the young people were congregated Nelly
+Donovan trips and falls: and Billy Heffernan, running up, says:--'Oh Nelly
+did you fall: come here till I take you up.' ('Knocknagow.')
+
+'The road flew under him,' to express the swiftness of a man galloping or
+running afoot.
+
+Bessie Morris was such a flirt that Barney Broderick said she'd coort a
+haggard of sparrows. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+  I wish I were on yonder hill,
+ 'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill,
+  Till ev'ry tear would turn a mill.
+
+  (_Shool Aroon_: 'Old Irish Folk Song.')
+
+{127}
+
+But after all this is not half so great an exaggeration as what the
+cultivated English poet wrote:--
+
+              I found her on the floor
+  In all the storm of grief, yet beautiful,
+  Pouring forth tears at such a lavish rate,
+  That were the world on fire it might have drowned
+  The wrath of Heaven and quenched the mighty ruin.
+
+A great dandy wears his hat on three hairs of his head.
+
+He said such funny things that the company were _splitting their sides_
+laughing.
+
+Matt Donovan (in 'Knocknagow') says of his potatoes that had fine stalks
+but little produce--_desavers_ as he called them--Every stalk of 'em would
+make a rafter for a house. But put the best man in the parish to dig 'em
+and a duck would swallow all he'd be able to turn out from morning till
+night.
+
+Sometimes distinct numbers come in where they hardly apply. Not long ago I
+read in an article in the 'Daily Mail' by Mr. Stead, of British 'ships all
+over the seven seas.' So also here at home we read 'round the four seas of
+Ireland' (which is right enough): and 'You care for nothing in the world
+but your own four bones' (i.e. nothing but yourself). 'Come on then, old
+beer-swiller, and try yourself against the four bones of an Irishman' (R.
+D. Joyce: 'The House of Lisbloom.') _Four bones_ in this sense is very
+common.
+
+A person meeting a friend for the first time after a long interval says
+'Well, it's a cure for sore eyes to see you.' 'I haven't seen you now for a
+month of {128} Sundays,' meaning a long time. _A month of Sundays_ is
+thirty-one Sundays--seven or eight months.
+
+Said jokingly of a person with very big feet:--He wasn't behind the door
+anyway when the feet were giving out.
+
+When a man has to use the utmost exertion to accomplish anything or to
+escape a danger he says: 'That business put me to the pin of my collar.'
+The allusion is to a fellow whose clothes are falling off him for want of
+buttons and pins. At last to prevent the final catastrophe he has to pull
+out the brass pin that fastens his collar and pin waistcoat and
+trousers-band together.
+
+A poor woman who is about to be robbed shrieks out for help; when the
+villain says to her:--'Not another word or I'll stick you like a pig and
+give you your guts for garters.' ('Ir. Penny Magazine.')
+
+A man very badly off--all in rags:--'He has forty-five ways of getting into
+his coat now.' (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+A great miser--very greedy for money:--He heard the money jingling in his
+mother's pockets before he was born. (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+  A drunken man is a terrible curse,
+  But a drunken woman is twice as worse;
+    For she'd drink Lough Erne dry.
+
+  (MACCALL.)
+
+To a person who habitually uses unfortunate blundering expressions:--'You
+never open your mouth but you put your foot in it.'
+
+A girl to express that it is unlikely she will ever be married says: 'I
+think, miss, my husband's intended mother died an old maid.' ('Penelope in
+Ireland.') {129}
+
+A young man speaking of his sweetheart says, in the words of the old
+song:--
+
+ 'I love the ground she walks upon, _mavourneen gal mochree_'
+  (thou fair love of my heart).
+
+A conceited pompous fellow approaches:--'Here comes _half the town_!' A
+translation from the Irish _leath an bhaile_.
+
+Billy Heffernan played on his fife a succession of jigs and reels that
+might 'cure a paralytic' [and set him dancing]. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+In 'Knocknagow' Billy Heffernan being requested to play on his fife longer
+than he considered reasonable, asked did they think that he had the bellows
+of Jack Delany the blacksmith in his stomach?
+
+Said of a great swearer:--'He'd swear a hole in an iron pot.'
+
+Of another:--'He'd curse the bladder out of a goat.'
+
+Of still another:--'He could quench a candle at the other side of the
+kitchen with a curse.'
+
+A person is much puzzled, or is very much elated, or his mind is disturbed
+for any reason:--'He doesn't know whether it is on his head or his heels
+he's standing.
+
+A penurious miserable creature who starves himself to hoard up:--He could
+live on the smell of an oil-rag. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+A man complaining that he has been left too long fasting says:--'My stomach
+will think that my throat is cut.' (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+'Do you like the new American bacon?' 'Oh not at all: I tried it once and
+that's enough for me: _I_ {130} _wouldn't touch it with a tongs._' Very
+common and always used in depreciation as here.
+
+We in Ireland are much inclined to redundancy in our speech. It is quite
+observable--especially to an outsider--that even in our ordinary
+conversation and in answering simple questions we use more words than we
+need. We hardly ever confine ourselves to the simple English _yes_ or _no_;
+we always answer by a statement. 'Is it raining, Kitty?' 'Oh no sir, it
+isn't raining at all.' 'Are you going to the fair to-day?' 'No indeed I am
+not.' 'Does your father keep on the old business still?' 'Oh yes certainly
+he does: how could he get on without it?' 'Did last night's storm injure
+your house?' 'Ah you may well say it did.' A very distinguished Dublin
+scholar and writer, having no conscious leanings whatever towards the Irish
+language, mentioned to me once that when he went on a visit to some friends
+in England they always observed this peculiarity in his conversation, and
+often laughed at his roundabout expressions. He remarked to me--and an
+acute remark it was--that he supposed there must be some peculiarity of
+this kind in the Irish language; in which conjecture he was quite correct.
+For this peculiarity of ours--like many others--is borrowed from the Irish
+language, as anyone may see for himself by looking through an Irish book of
+question and answer, such as a Catechism. 'Is the Son God?' 'Yes certainly
+He is.' 'Will God reward the good and punish the wicked?' 'Certainly: there
+is no doubt He will.' 'Did God always exist?' 'He did; because He has
+neither beginning nor end.' And questions and answers like these--from
+Donlevy's {131} Irish Catechism for instance--might be given to any length.
+
+But in many other ways we show our tendency to this wordy overflow--still
+deriving our mannerism from the Irish language--that is to say, from modern
+and middle Irish. For in very old Irish--of the tenth, eleventh, and
+earlier centuries for instance, the tendency is the very reverse. In the
+specimens of this very old language that have come down to us, the words
+and phrases are so closely packed, that it is impossible to translate them
+either into English or Latin by an equal number of words.[3] But this old
+language is too far off from us to have any influence in our present
+every-day English speech; and, as already remarked, we derive this
+peculiarity from modern Irish, or from middle Irish through modern. Here is
+a specimen in translation of over-worded modern Irish (Battle of Gavra, p.
+141), a type of what was very common:--'Diarmuid himself [fighting]
+continued in the enjoyment of activity, strength, and vigour, without
+intermission of action, of weapons, or of power; until at length he dealt a
+full stroke of his keen hard-tempered sword on the king's head, by which he
+clove the skull, and by a second stroke swept his head off his huge body.'
+Examples like this, from Irish texts, both modern and middle, might be
+multiplied to any extent.
+
+{132}
+
+But let us now have a look at some of our Anglo-Irish redundancies, mixed
+up as they often are with exaggeration. A man was going to dig by night for
+a treasure, which of course had a supernatural guardian, like all hidden
+treasures, and what should he see running towards him but 'a great big red
+mad bull, with fire flaming out of his eyes, mouth, and nose.' (Ir. Pen.
+Mag.) Another man sees a leprechaun walking up to him--'a weeny deeny dawny
+little atomy of an idea of a small taste of a gentleman.' (_Ibid._) Of a
+person making noise and uproar you will be told that he was roaring and
+screeching and bawling and making a terrible hullabulloo all through the
+house.
+
+Of an emaciated poor creature--'The breath is only just in and out of him,
+and the grass doesn't know of him walking over it.'
+
+'The gentlemen are not so pleasant _in themselves_' [now as they used to
+be]. (Gerald Griffin.) Expressions like this are very often heard: 'I was
+dead in myself,' i.e., I felt dull and lifeless.
+
+[Dermot struck the giant and] 'left him dead without life.' ('Dermot and
+Grainne.') Further on we find the same expression--_marbh gan anam_, dead
+without life. This Irish expression is constantly heard in our English
+dialect: 'he fell from the roof and was _killed dead_.'
+
+  Oh brave King Brian, he knew the way
+  To keep the peace and to make the hay:
+  For those who were bad he cut off their head;
+  And those who were worse he killed them dead.
+
+Similarly the words 'dead and buried' are used all through Munster:--Oh
+indeed poor Jack Lacy is {133} dead and buried for the last two years: or
+'the whole family are dead and gone these many years.'
+
+A very common Irish expression is 'I invited _every single one_ of them.'
+This is merely a translation from Irish, as we find in 'Gabhra':--_Do
+bhéarmaois gach aon bhuadh_: we were wont to win every single victory.
+
+'We do not want any single one of them,' says Mr. Hamilton Fyfe ('Daily
+Mail'). He puts the saying into the mouth of another; but the phraseology
+is probably his own: and at any rate I suppose we may take it as a phrase
+from Scotch Gaelic, which is all but the same as Irish Gaelic.
+
+Emphatic particles and words, especially the pronouns with _self_, are
+often used to excess. I heard a highly educated fellow-countryman say, 'I
+must say myself that I don't believe it': and I am afraid I often use such
+expressions myself. 'His companions remained standing, but he found it more
+convenient to sit down himself.' A writer or speaker has however to be on
+his guard or he may be led into a trap. A writer having stated that some
+young ladies attended a cookery-class, first merely looking on, goes on to
+say that after a time they took part in the work, and soon learned _to cook
+themselves_.
+
+I once heard a man say:--'I disown the whole family, _seed, breed and
+generation_.' Very common in Ireland. Goldsmith took the expression from
+his own country, and has immortalised it in his essay, 'The Distresses of a
+Common Soldier.'
+
+He was on the tip-top of the steeple--i.e., the very top. This expression
+is extended in application: that {134} meadow is tip-top, i.e., very
+excellent: he is a tip-top hurler. 'By no means' is sometimes expanded:--'I
+asked him to lend me a pound, but he answered that _by no manner of means_
+would he do any such thing.'
+
+'If you do that you'll be crying down salt tears,' i.e., 'you'll deeply
+regret it.' _Salt tears_ is however in Shakespeare in the same sense.
+('Hen. VI.')
+
+'Down with you now on your two bended knees and give thanks to God.'
+
+If you don't stop, I'll wring the head off o' your neck. (Rev. Maxwell
+Close.)
+
+The roof of the house fell down on the top of him. (Father Higgins.)
+
+The Irish _air sé_ ('says he') is very often repeated in the course of a
+narrative. It is correct in Irish, but it is often heard echoed in our
+English where it is incorrect:--And says he to James 'where are you going
+now?' says he.
+
+In a trial in Dublin a short time ago, the counsel asked of witness:--'Now
+I ask you in the most solemn manner, had you hand, act, or part in the
+death of Peter Heffernan?'
+
+A young man died after injuries received in a row, and his friend
+says:--'It is dreadful about the poor boy: they made at him in the house
+and killed him there; then they dragged him out on the road and killed him
+entirely, so that he lived for only three days after. I wouldn't mind if
+they shot him at once and put an end to him: but to be murdering him like
+that--it is terrible.'
+
+The fairy says to Billy:--'I am a thousand years old to-day, and I think it
+is time for me to get {135} married.' To which Billy replies:--'I think it
+is quite time without any kind of doubt at all.' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+The squire walks in to Patrick's cabin: and Patrick says:--'Your honour's
+honour is quite welcome entirely.' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+An expression you will often hear even in Dublin:--'Lend me the loan of
+your umbrella.'
+
+'She doats down on him' is often used to express 'She is very fond of him.'
+
+ 'So, my Kathleen, you're going to leave me
+      All alone by myself in this place.'
+
+  (LADY DUFFERIN.)
+
+He went to America seven years ago, and from that day to this we have never
+heard any tale or tidings of him.
+
+'Did he treat you hospitably?' 'Oh indeed he pretended to forget it
+entirely, and I never took bit, bite, or sup in his house.' This form of
+expression is heard everywhere in Ireland.
+
+We have in Ireland an inveterate habit--from the highest to the
+lowest--educated and uneducated--of constantly interjecting the words 'you
+know' into our conversation as a mere expletive, without any particular
+meaning:--'I had it all the time, you know, in my pocket: he had a seat,
+you know, that he could arrange like a chair: I was walking, you know, into
+town yesterday, when I met your father.' 'Why in the world did you lend him
+such a large sum of money?' 'Well, you know, the fact is I couldn't avoid
+it.' This expression is often varied to 'don't you know.'
+
+In Munster a question is often introduced by the {136} words 'I don't
+know,' always shortened to _I'd'no_ (three syllables with the _I_ long and
+the _o_ very short--barely sounded) 'I'd'no is John come home yet?' This
+phrase you will often hear in Dublin from Munster people, both educated and
+uneducated.
+
+'The t'other' is often heard in Armagh: it is, of course, English:--
+
+ 'Sirs,' cried the umpire, cease your pother,
+  The creature's neither one nor t'other.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+COMPARISONS.
+
+Some of the items in this chapter would fit very well in the last; but this
+makes no matter; for 'good punch drinks well from either dandy or tumbler.'
+
+You attempt in vain to bring a shameless coarse-minded man to a sense of
+the evil he has done:--'Ye might as well put a blister on a hedgehog.'
+(Tyrone.)
+
+You're as cross all this day as _a bag of cats_.
+
+If a man is inclined to threaten much but never acts up to his
+threats--severe in word but mild in act:--His bark is worse than his bite.
+
+That turf is as dry as a bone (very common in Munster.) _Bone-dry_ is the
+term in Ulster.
+
+When a woman has very thick legs, thick almost down to the feet, she is
+'like a Mullingar heifer, beef to the heels.' The plains of Westmeath round
+Mullingar are noted for fattening cattle. {137}
+
+He died roaring like Doran's bull.
+
+A person restless, uneasy, fidgety, and impatient for the time being, is
+'like a hen on a hot griddle.'
+
+Of a scapegrace it is said he is past _grace_ like a limeburner's brogue
+(shoe). The point will be caught up when it is remembered that _grease_ is
+pronounced _grace_ in Ireland.
+
+You're as blind as a bat.
+
+When a person is boastful--magnifies all his belongings--'all his geese are
+swans.'
+
+She has a tongue that would _clip a hedge_. The tongue of another would
+_clip clouts_ (cut rags). (Ulster.)
+
+He went _as fast as hops_. When a fellow is hopping along on one leg, he
+has to go fast, without stopping.
+
+Of a coarse ill-mannered man who uses unmannerly language:--'What could you
+expect from a pig but a _grunt_.' (Carlow.)
+
+A person who seems to be getting smaller is growing down like a cow's tail.
+
+Of a wiry muscular active man people say 'he's as hard as nails.'
+
+A person who acts inconsiderately and rudely without any restraint and
+without respect for others, is 'like a bull in a china shop.'
+
+Of a clever artful schemer: 'If he didn't go to school he met the
+scholars.'
+
+An active energetic person is 'all alive like a bag of fleas.'
+
+That man knows no more about farming _than a cow knows of a holiday_.
+
+A tall large woman:--'That's a fine doorful of a woman.' (MacCall:
+Wexford.) {138}
+
+He has a face as yellow as a kite's claw. (Crofton Croker: but heard
+everywhere.)
+
+Jerry in his new clothes is as proud as a whitewashed pig. (MacCall:
+Wexford.)
+
+That man is as old as a field. (Common in Tipperary.)
+
+'Are you well protected in that coat?' 'Oh yes I'm _as warm as wool_.'
+(Very common in the south.)
+
+Idle for want of weft _like the Drogheda weavers_. Said of a person who
+runs short of some necessary material in doing any work. (Limerick.)
+
+I watched him as closely as a cat watches a mouse.
+
+He took up the book; but seeing the owner suddenly appear, he dropped it
+_like a hot potato_.
+
+'You have a head and so has a pin,' to express contempt for a person's
+understanding.
+
+How are your new stock of books selling? Oh they are _going like hot
+cakes_. Hot cakes are a favourite viand, and whenever they are brought to
+table disappear quickly enough.
+
+He's as poor as a church mouse.
+
+A person expressing love mockingly:--'Come into my heart and pick sugar.'
+
+An extremely thin emaciated person is _like death upon wires_; alluding to
+a human skeleton held together by wires.
+
+Oh you need never fear that Mick O'Brien will cheat you: _Mick is as honest
+as the sun_.
+
+A person who does not persevere in any one study or pursuit, who is
+perpetually changing about from one thing to another, is 'like a
+daddy-long-legs dancing on a window.' {139}
+
+A bitter tongue that utters cutting words is like the keen wind of March
+that blows at every side of the hedge.
+
+A person praising strong whiskey says:--I felt it like a torchlight
+procession going down my throat.
+
+A man with a keen sharp look in his face:--'He has an eye like a questing
+hawk.' Usually said in an unfavourable sense.
+
+If any commodity is supplied plentifully it is knocked about _like snuff at
+a wake_. Snuff was supplied free at wakes; and the people were not sparing
+of it as they got it for nothing.
+
+A chilly day:--'There's a stepmother's breath in the air.'
+
+Now Biddy clean and polish up those spoons and knives and forks carefully;
+don't stop till you make them shine _like a cat's eye under a bed_.
+(Limerick.)
+
+It is foolish to threaten unless you have--and show that you have--full
+power to carry out your threats:--'Don't show your teeth till you're able
+to bite.'
+
+_Greasing the fat sow's lug_: i.e. giving money or presents to a rich man
+who does not need them. (Kildare.)
+
+I went on a visit to Tom and he _fed me like a fighting cock_.
+
+That little chap is as cute as a pet fox.
+
+A useless worthless fellow:--He's fit to mind mice at a cross-roads.
+(Kildare.)
+
+How did he look? Oh he had a weaver's blush--pale cheek and a red nose.
+(Wexford.)
+
+When a person clinches an argument, or puts a hard fact in opposition, or a
+poser of any kind hard to answer:--'Put that in your pipe and smoke it.'
+{140}
+
+'My stomach is as dry as a lime-burner's wig.' There were professional
+lime-burners then: alas, we have none now.
+
+I want a drink badly: my throat is as dry as the pipe of Dick the
+blacksmith's bellows.
+
+Poor Manus was terribly frightened; he stood shaking _like a dog in a wet
+sack_. (Crofton Croker: but heard everywhere in Ireland.)
+
+'As happy as the days are long': that is to say happy while the days
+last--uninterruptedly happy.
+
+Spending your money before you get it--going in debt till pay day comes
+round: that's 'eating the calf in the cow's belly.'
+
+He hasn't as much land as would sod a lark; as much as would make a sod for
+a lark in a cage.
+
+That fellow is _as crooked an a ram's horn_; i.e. he is a great schemer.
+Applied also in general to anything crooked.
+
+'Do you mean to say he is a thief?' 'Yes I do; last year he stole sheep _as
+often as he has fingers and toes_' (meaning very often).
+
+You're as welcome as the flowers of May.
+
+'Biddy, are the potatoes boiling?' Biddy takes off the lid to look, and
+replies 'The _white horses_ are on 'em ma'am.' The _white horses_ are
+patches of froth on the top of the pot when the potatoes are coming near
+boiling.
+
+That's as firm as the Rock of Cashel--as firm as the hob of hell.
+
+That man would tell lies as fast as a horse would trot.
+
+A person who does his business briskly and energetically 'works like a
+hatter'--'works like a {141} nailer'--referring to the fussy way of these
+men plying their trade.
+
+A conceited fellow having a dandy way of lifting and placing his legs and
+feet in moving about 'walks like a hen in stubbles.'
+
+A person who is cool and collected under trying circumstances is 'as cool
+as a cucumber.' Here the alliteration helps to popularise the saying.
+
+I must put up the horses now and have them 'as clean as a new pin' for the
+master.
+
+A person who does good either to an individual or to his family or to the
+community, but afterwards spoils it all by some contrary course of conduct,
+is like a cow that fills the pail, but kicks it over in the end.
+
+A person quite illiterate 'wouldn't know a B from a bull's foot.' The
+catching point here is partly alliteration, and partly that a bull's foot
+has some resemblance to a B.
+
+Another expression for an illiterate man:--He wouldn't know a C from a
+chest of drawers--where there is a weak alliteration.
+
+He'll tell you a story as long as to-day and to-morrow. Long enough: for
+you have to wait on indefinitely for 'to-morrow': or as they say 'to-morrow
+come never.'
+
+'You'll lose that handkerchief _as sure as a gun_.'
+
+That furrow is _as straight as a die_.
+
+A person who does neither good nor harm--little ill, little good--is 'like
+a chip in porridge': almost always said as a reproach.
+
+I was _on pins and needles_ till you came home: i.e. I was very uneasy.
+{142}
+
+The story went round like wildfire: i.e. circulated rapidly.
+
+Of a person very thin:--He's 'as fat as a hen in the forehead.'
+
+A man is staggering along--not with drink:--That poor fellow is 'drunk with
+hunger like a showman's dog.'
+
+Dick and Bill are 'as great as inkle-weavers:' a saying very common in
+Limerick and Cork. _Inkle_ is a kind of broad linen tape: a Shakespearian
+word. 'Several pieces of it were formerly woven in the same loom, by as
+many boys, who sat close together on the same seat-board.' (Dr. A. Hume.)
+
+William is 'the spit out of his father's mouth'; i.e. he is strikingly like
+his father either in person or character or both. Another expression
+conveying the same sense:--'Your father will never die while you are
+alive': and 'he's a chip off the old block.' Still another, though not
+quite so strong:--'He's his father's son.' Another saying to the same
+effect--'kind father for him'--is examined elsewhere.
+
+'I'm a man in myself like Oliver's bull,' a common saying in my native
+place (in Limerick), and applied to a confident self-helpful person. The
+Olivers were the local landlords sixty or seventy years ago. (For a tune
+with this name see my 'Old Irish Music and Songs,' p. 46.)
+
+A person is asked to do any piece of work which ought to be done by his
+servant:--'Aye indeed, _keep a dog and bark myself_.'
+
+That fellow walks as straight up and stiff as if he took _a breakfast of
+ramrods_.
+
+A man who passes through many dangers or {143} meets with many bad
+accidents and always escapes has 'as many lives as a cat.' Everyone knows
+that a cat has nine lives.
+
+_Putting on the big pot_ means empty boasting and big talk. Like a woman
+who claps a large pot of water on the fire to boil a weeny little bit of
+meat--which she keeps out of sight--pretending she has _launa-vaula_,
+_lashings and leavings_, full and plenty.
+
+If a man is in low spirits--depressed--down in the mouth--'his heart is as
+low as a keeroge's kidney' (_keeroge_, a beetle or clock). This last now
+usually said in jest.
+
+James O'Brien is a good scholar, but he's not _in it_ with Tom Long:
+meaning that he is not at all to be compared with Tom Long.
+
+If a person is indifferent about any occurrence--doesn't care one way or
+the other--he is 'neither glad nor sorry like a dog at his father's wake.'
+(South.)
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE MEMORY OF HISTORY AND OF OLD CUSTOMS.
+
+_Church_, _Chapel_, _Scallan_. All through Ireland it is customary to call
+a Protestant place of worship a 'church,' and that belonging to Roman
+Catholics a 'chapel': and this usage not only prevails among the people,
+but has found its way into official documents. For instance, take the
+Ordnance maps. In almost every village and town on the map you will {144}
+see in one place the word 'Church,' while near by is printed 'R.C. Chapel.'
+This custom has its roots far back in the time when it was attempted to
+extend the doctrines of the Reformation to Ireland. Then wherever the
+authority of the government prevailed, the church belonging to the
+Catholics was taken from them; the priest was expelled; and a Protestant
+minister was installed. But the law went much farther, and forbade under
+fearful penalties the celebration of Mass--penalties for both priest and
+congregation. As the people had now no churches, the custom began of
+celebrating Mass in the open air, always in remote lonely places where
+there was little fear of discovery. Many of these places retain to this day
+names formed from the Irish word _Affrionn_ [affrin], the Mass; such as the
+mountain called Knockanaffrinn in Waterford (the hill of the Mass),
+Ardanaffrinn, Lissanaffrinn, and many others. While Mass was going on, a
+watcher was always placed on an adjacent height to have a look-out for the
+approach of a party of military, or of a spy with the offered reward in
+view.
+
+After a long interval however, when the sharp fangs of the Penal Laws began
+to be blunted or drawn, the Catholics commenced to build for themselves
+little places of worship: very timidly at first, and always in some
+out-of-the-way place. But they had many difficulties to contend with.
+Poverty was one of them; for the great body of the congregations were
+labourers or tradesmen, as the Catholic people had been almost crushed out
+of existence, soul and body, for five or six generations, by the terrible
+Penal Laws, which, with careful attention to details, omitted nothing {145}
+that could impoverish and degrade them. But even poverty, bad as it was,
+never stood decidedly in the way; for the buildings were not expensive, and
+the poor people gladly contributed shillings coppers and labour for the
+luxury of a chapel. A more serious obstacle was the refusal of landlords in
+some districts to lease a plot of land for the building. In Donegal and
+elsewhere they had a movable little wooden shed that just sheltered the
+priest and the sacred appliances while he celebrated Mass, and which was
+wheeled about from place to place in the parish wherever required. A shed
+of this kind was called a _scallan_ (Irish: a shield, a protecting
+shelter). Some of these _scallans_ are preserved with reverence to this
+day, as for instance one in Carrigaholt in Clare, where a large district
+was for many years without any Catholic place of worship, as the local
+landlord obstinately refused to let a bit of land. You may now see that
+very _scallan_--not much larger than a sentry-box--beside the new chapel in
+Carrigaholt.
+
+And so those humble little buildings gradually rose up all over the
+country. Then many of the small towns and villages through the country
+presented this spectacle. In one place was the 'decent church' that had
+formerly belonged to the Catholics, now in possession of a Protestant
+congregation of perhaps half a dozen--church, minister, and clerk
+maintained by contributions of tithes forced from the Catholic people; and
+not far off a poor little thatched building with clay floor and rough walls
+for a Roman Catholic congregation of 500, 1000, or more, all except the few
+that found room within kneeling on {146} the ground outside, only too glad
+to be able to be present at Mass under any conditions.
+
+These little buildings were always called 'chapels,' to distinguish them
+from what were now the Protestant churches. Many of these primitive places
+of worship remained in use to a period within living memory--perhaps some
+remain still. When I was a boy I generally heard Mass in one of them, in
+Ballyorgan, Co. Limerick: clay floor, no seats, walls of rough stone
+unplastered, thatch not far above our heads. Just over the altar was
+suspended a level canopy of thin boards, to hide the thatch from the sacred
+spot: and on its under surface was roughly painted by some rustic artist a
+figure of a dove--emblematic of the Holy Ghost--which to my childish fancy
+was a work of art equal at least to anything ever executed by Michael
+Angelo. Many and many a time I heard exhortations from that poor altar,
+sometimes in English, sometimes in Irish, by the Rev. Darby Buckley, the
+parish priest of Glenroe (of which Ballyorgan formed a part), delivered
+with such earnestness and power as to produce extraordinary effects on the
+congregation. You saw men and women in tears everywhere around you, and at
+the few words of unstudied peroration they flung themselves on their knees
+in a passionate burst of piety and sorrow. Ah, God be with Father Darby
+Buckley: a small man, full of fire and energy: somewhat overbearing, and
+rather severe in judging of small transgressions; but all the same, a great
+and saintly parish priest.
+
+That little chapel has long been superseded by a solid structure, suitable
+to the neighbourhood and its people. {147}
+
+What has happened in the neighbouring town of Kilfinane is still more
+typical of the advance of the Catholics. There also stood a large thatched
+chapel with a clay floor: and the Catholics were just beginning to emerge
+from their state of servility when the Rev. Father Sheehy was appointed
+parish priest about the beginning of the last century. He was a tall man of
+splendid physique: when I was a boy I knew him in his old age, and even
+then you could not help admiring his imposing figure. At that time the lord
+of the soil was Captain Oliver, one of that Cromwellian family to whom was
+granted all the district belonging to their Catholic predecessors, Sir John
+Ponsonby and Sir Edward Fitzharris, both of whom were impeached and
+disinherited,
+
+On the Monday morning following the new priest's first Mass he strolled
+down to have a good view of the chapel and grounds, and was much astonished
+to find in the chapel yard a cartload of oats in sheaf, in charge of a man
+whom he recognized as having been at Mass on the day before. He called him
+over and questioned him, on which the man told him that the captain had
+sent him with the oats to have it threshed on the chapel floor, as he
+always did. The priest was amazed and indignant, and instantly ordered the
+man off the grounds, threatening him with personal chastisement,
+which--considering the priest's brawny figure and determined look--he
+perhaps feared more than bell book and candle. The exact words Father
+Sheehy used were, 'If ever I find you here again with a load of oats or a
+load of anything else, _I'll break your back for you_: and then I'll go up
+and break your master's back too!' The {148} fellow went off hot foot with
+his load, and told his master, expecting all sorts of ructions. But the
+captain took it in good part, and had his oats threshed elsewhere: and as a
+matter of fact he and the priest soon after met and became acquainted.
+
+In sending his corn to be threshed on the chapel floor, it is right to
+remark that the captain intended no offence and no undue exercise of power;
+and besides he was always careful to send a couple of men on Saturday
+evening to sweep the floor and clean up the chapel for the service of next
+day. But it was a custom of some years' standing, and Father Sheehy's
+predecessor never considered it necessary to expostulate. It is likely
+enough indeed that he himself got a few scratches in his day from the Penal
+Laws, and thought it as well to let matters go on quietly.
+
+After a little time Father Sheehy had a new church built, a solid
+slate-roofed structure suitable for the time, which, having stood for
+nearly a century, was succeeded by the present church. This, which was
+erected after almost incredible labour and perseverance in collecting the
+funds by the late parish priest, the Very Rev. Patrick Lee, V.F., is one of
+the most beautiful parish churches in all Ireland. What has happened in
+Ballyorgan and Kilfinane may be considered a type of what has taken place
+all over the country. Within the short space of a century the poor thatched
+clay-floor chapels have been everywhere replaced by solid or beautiful or
+stately churches, which have sprung up all through Ireland as if by magic,
+through the exertions of the pastors, and the contributions of the people.
+{149}
+
+This popular application of the terms 'chapel' and 'church' found--and
+still finds--expression in many ways. Thus a man who neglects religion: 'he
+never goes to Church, Mass, or Meeting' (this last word meaning
+Non-conformist Service). A man says, 'I didn't see Jack Delany at Mass
+to-day': 'Oh, didn't you hear about him--sure he's going to _church_ now'
+(i.e. he has turned Protestant). 'And do they never talk of those [young
+people] who go to church' [i.e. Protestants]. (Knocknagow.)
+
+The term 'chapel' has so ingrained itself in my mind that to this hour the
+word instinctively springs to my lips when I am about to mention a Catholic
+place of worship; and I always feel some sort of hesitation or reluctance
+in substituting the word 'church.' I positively could not bring myself to
+say, 'Come, it is time now to set out for church': it must be either 'Mass'
+or 'the chapel.'
+
+I see no reason against our retaining these two words, with their
+distinction; for they tell in brief a vivid chapter in our history.
+
+_Hedge-Schools._ Evil memories of the bad old penal days come down to us
+clustering round this word. At the end of the seventeenth century, among
+many other penal enactments,[4] a law was passed that Catholics were not to
+be educated. Catholic schoolmasters were forbidden to teach, either in
+schools or in private houses; and Catholic parents were forbidden to send
+their children to any foreign country to be educated--all under heavy
+penalties; from which it will be seen that care was taken to {150} deprive
+Catholics--as such--altogether of the means of education.
+
+But priests and schoolmasters and people combined all through the
+country--and not without some measure of success--to evade this unnatural
+law. Schools were kept secretly, though at great risk, in remote places--up
+in the mountain glens or in the middle of bogs. Half a dozen young men with
+spades and shovels built up a rude cabin in a few hours, which served the
+purpose of a schoolhouse: and from the common plan of erecting these in the
+shelter of hedges, walls, and groves, the schools came to be known as
+'Hedge Schools.' These hedge schools held on for generations, and kept
+alive the lamp of learning, which burned on--but in a flickering
+ineffective sort of way--'burned through long ages of darkness and
+storm'--till at last the restrictions were removed, and Catholics were
+permitted to have schools of their own openly and without let or hindrance.
+Then the ancient hereditary love of learning was free to manifest itself
+once more; and schools sprang up all over the country, each conducted by a
+private teacher who lived on the fees paid by his pupils. Moreover, the old
+designation was retained; for these schools, no longer held in wild places,
+were called--as they are sometimes called to this day--'hedge schools.'
+
+The schools that arose in this manner, which were of different classes,
+were spread all over the country during the eighteenth century and the
+first half of the nineteenth. The most numerous were little elementary
+schools, which will be described farther on. The higher class of schools,
+which {151} answered to what we now call Intermediate schools, were found
+all over the southern half of Ireland, especially in Munster. Some were for
+classics, some for science, and not a few for both; nearly all conducted by
+men of learning and ability; and they were everywhere eagerly attended.
+'Many of the students had professions in view, some intended for the
+priesthood, for which the classical schools afforded an admirable
+preparation; some seeking to become medical doctors, teachers, surveyors,
+&c. But a large proportion were the sons of farmers, tradesmen,
+shopkeepers, or others, who had no particular end in view, but, with the
+instincts of the days of old, studied classics or mathematics for the pure
+love of learning. I knew many of that class.
+
+'These schools continued to exist down to our own time, till they were
+finally broken up by the famine of 1847. In my own immediate neighbourhood
+were some of them, in which I received a part of my early education; and I
+remember with pleasure several of my old teachers; rough and unpolished men
+many of them, but excellent solid scholars and full of enthusiasm for
+learning--which enthusiasm they communicated to their pupils. All the
+students were adults or grown boys; and there was no instruction in the
+elementary subjects--reading, writing, and arithmetic--as no scholar
+attended who had not sufficiently mastered these. Among the students were
+always half a dozen or more "poor scholars" from distant parts of Ireland,
+who lived free in the hospitable farmers' houses all round: just as the
+scholars from Britain and elsewhere {152} were supported in the time of
+Bede--twelve centuries before.'[5]
+
+In every town all over Munster there was--down to a period well within my
+memory--one of those schools, for either classics or science--and in most
+indeed there were two, one for each branch, besides one or more smaller
+schools for the elementary branches, taught by less distinguished men.
+
+There was extraordinary intellectual activity among the schoolmasters of
+those times: some of them indeed thought and dreamed and talked of nothing
+else but learning; and if you met one of them and fell into conversation,
+he was sure to give you a strong dose as long as you listened, heedless as
+to whether you understood him or not. In their eyes learning was the main
+interest of the world. They often met on Saturdays; and on these occasions
+certain subjects were threshed out in discussion by the principal men.
+There were often formal disputations when two of the chief men of a
+district met, each attended by a number of his senior pupils, to discuss
+some knotty point in dispute, of classics, science, or grammar.
+
+There was one subject that long divided the teachers of Limerick and
+Tipperary into two hostile camps of learning--the verb _To be_. There is a
+well-known rule of grammar that 'the verb _to be_ takes the same case after
+it as goes before it.' One party headed by the two Dannahys, father and
+son, very scholarly men, of north Limerick, held that the verb {153} _to be
+governed_ the case following; while the other, at the head of whom was Mr.
+Patrick Murray of Kilfinane in south Limerick, maintained that the
+correspondence of the two cases, after and before, was mere _agreement_,
+not _government_. And they argued with as much earnestness as the
+Continental Nominalists and Realists of an older time.
+
+Sometimes the discussions on various points found their way into print,
+either in newspapers or in special broadsheets coarsely printed; and in
+these the mutual criticisms were by no means gentle.
+
+There were poets too, who called in the aid of the muses to help their
+cause. One of these, who was only a schoolmaster in embryo--one of
+Dannahy's pupils--wrote a sort of pedagogic Dunciad, in which he impaled
+most of the prominent teachers of south Limerick who were followers of
+Murray. Here is how he deals with Mr. Murray himself:--
+
+  Lo, forward he comes, in oblivion long lain,
+  Great Murray, the soul of the light-headed train;
+  A punster, a mimic, a jibe, and a quiz,
+  His acumen stamped on his all-knowing phiz:
+  He declares that the subsequent noun should _agree_
+  With the noun or the pronoun preceding _To be_.
+
+Another teacher, from Mountrussell, was great in astronomy, and was
+continually holding forth on his favourite subject and his own knowledge of
+it. The poet makes him say:--
+
+  The course of a comet with ease I can trail,
+  And with my ferula I measure his tail;
+  On the wings of pure Science without a balloon
+  Like Baron Munchausen I visit the moon;
+  Along the ecliptic and great milky way,
+  In mighty excursions I soaringly stray;
+  With legs wide extended on the poles I can stand,
+  And like marbles the planets I toss in my hand.
+
+{154}
+
+The poet then, returning to his own words, goes on to say
+
+  The gods being amused at his logical blab,
+  They built him a castle near Cancer the Crab.
+
+But this same astronomer, though having as we see a free residence, never
+went to live there: he emigrated to Australia where he entered the
+priesthood and ultimately became a bishop.
+
+One of the ablest of all the Munster teachers of that period was Mr.
+Patrick Murray, already mentioned, who kept his school in the upper story
+of the market house of Kilfinane in south Limerick. He was particularly
+eminent in English Grammar and Literature. I went to his school for one
+year when I was very young, and I am afraid I was looked upon as very slow,
+especially in his pet subject Grammar. I never could be got to parse
+correctly such complications as 'I might, could, would, or should have been
+loving.' Mr. Murray was a poet too. I will give here a humorous specimen of
+one of his parodies. It was on the occasion of his coming home one night
+very late, and not as sober as he should be, when he got 'Ballyhooly' and
+no mistake from his wife. It was after Moore's 'The valley lay smiling
+before me'; and the following are two verses of the original with the
+corresponding two of the parody, of which the opening line is 'The candle
+was lighting before me.' But I have the whole parody in my memory.
+
+  MOORE: I flew to her chamber--'twas lonely
+          As if the lov'd tenant lay dead;
+        Ah would it were death and death only,
+          But no, the young false one had fled.
+  {155}
+        And _there_ hung the lute that could soften
+          My very worst pains into bliss,
+        And the hand that had waked it so often
+          Now throbb'd to my proud rival's kiss.
+
+        Already the curse is upon her
+          And strangers her valleys profane;
+        They come to divide--to dishonour--
+          And tyrants there long will remain:
+        But onward--the green banner rearing,
+          Go flesh ev'ry brand to the hilt:
+        On _our_ side is Virtue and Erin,
+          And _theirs_ is the Saxon and Guilt.
+
+         .    .    .    .    .    .
+
+  MURRAY: I flew to the room--'twas _not_ lonely:
+          My wife and her _grawls_ were in bed;
+        You'd think it was then and then only
+          The tongue had been placed in her head.
+        For there raged the voice that could soften
+          My very worst pains into bliss,
+        And those lips that embraced me so often
+          I dared not approach with a kiss.
+
+        A change has come surely upon her:--
+          The child which she yet did not _wane_
+        She flung me--then rolled the clothes on her,
+          And naked we both now remain.
+        But had I been a man less forbearing
+          Your blood would be certainly spilt,
+        For on _my_ side there's plunging and tearing
+          And on _yours_ both the blankets and quilt.
+
+I was a pupil in four of the higher class of schools, in which was finished
+my school education such as it was. The best conducted was that of Mr. John
+Condon which was held in the upper story of the market house in
+Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, a large apartment fully and properly furnished,
+forming an admirable schoolroom. This was one of the best {156} schools in
+Munster. It was truly an excellent Intermediate school, and was attended by
+all the school-going students of the town, Protestant as well as
+Catholic--with many from the surrounding country. Mr. Condon was a cultured
+and scholarly man, and he taught science, including mathematics, surveying,
+and the use of the globes, and also geography and English grammar. He had
+an assistant who taught Greek and Latin. I was one of the very few who
+attempted the double work of learning both science and classics. To learn
+surveying we went once a week--on Saturdays--to Mr. Condon's farm near the
+town, with theodolite and chain, in the use of which we all--i.e. those of
+us learning the subject--had to take part in turn. Mr. Condon was thorough
+master of the science of the Use of the Globes, a very beautiful branch of
+education which gave the learners a knowledge of the earth, of the solar
+system, and of astronomy in general. But the use of the globes no longer
+forms a part of our school teaching:--more's the pity.
+
+The year before going to Mitchelstown I attended a science school of a very
+different character kept by Mr. Simon Cox in Galbally, a little village in
+Limerick under the shadow of the Galty Mountains. This was a very rough
+sort of school, but mathematics and the use of the globes were well taught.
+There were about forty students. Half a dozen were grown boys, of whom I
+was one; the rest were men, mostly young, but a few in middle
+life--schoolmasters bent on improving their knowledge of science in
+preparation for opening schools in their own parts of the country. {157}
+
+In that school, and indeed in all schools like it through the country,
+there were 'poor scholars,' a class already spoken of, who paid for
+nothing--they were taught for nothing and freely entertained, with bed,
+supper, and breakfast in the farmers' houses of the neighbourhood. We had
+four or five of these, not one of whom knew in the morning where he was to
+sleep at night. When school was over they all set out in different
+directions, and called at the farmers' houses to ask for lodging; and
+although there might be a few refusals, all were sure to be put up for the
+night. They were expected however to help the children at their lessons for
+the elementary school before the family retired.
+
+In some cases if a farmer was favourably impressed with a poor scholar's
+manner and character he kept him--lodging and feeding him in his
+house--during the whole time of his schooling--the young fellow paying
+nothing of course, but always helping the little ones at their lessons. As
+might be expected many of these poor scholars were made of the best stuff;
+and I have now in my eye one who was entertained for a couple of years in
+my grandmother's house, and who subsequently became one of the ablest and
+most respected teachers in Munster.
+
+Let us remark here that this entertainment of poor scholars was not looked
+upon in the light of a charity: it was regarded as a duty; for the instinct
+ran in the people's blood derived from ancient times when Ireland was the
+'Island of Saints and Scholars.'[6] It was a custom of long standing; for
+{158} the popular feeling in favour of learning was always maintained, even
+through the long dark night of the Penal Laws.
+
+'Tis marvellous how I escaped smoking: I had many opportunities in early
+life, of which surely the best of all was this Galbally school. For every
+one I think smoked except the half dozen boys, and even of these one or two
+were learning industriously. And each scholar took his smoke without
+ceremony in the schoolroom whenever he pleased, so that the room was never
+quite clear of the fragrant blue haze. I remember well on one occasion, a
+class of ten, of whom I was one, sitting round the master, whose chair
+stood on a slightly elevated platform, and all, both master and scholars,
+were smoking, except myself. The lesson was on some of the hard problems in
+Luby's Euclid, which we had been unable to solve, and of which Mr. Cox was
+now showing us the solutions. He made his diagram for each problem on a
+large slate turned towards us; and as we knew the meaning of almost every
+turn and twist of his pencil as he developed the solution, he spoke very
+little; and we followed him over the diagram, _twigging_ readily the
+function of every point, line, angle, and circle. And when at last someone
+had to ask a brief question, Mr. Cox removed his pipe with his left hand
+and uttered a few monosyllabic words, which enabled us to pick up the lost
+thread; then replacing the pipe, he went on in silence as before.
+
+I was the delight and joy of that school; for I generally carried in my
+pocket a little fife from which I could roll off jigs, reels, hornpipes,
+hop-jigs, {159} song tunes, &c., without limit. The school was held in a
+good-sized room in the second story of a house, of which the landlady and
+her family lived in the kitchen and bedrooms beneath--on the ground-floor.
+Some dozen or more of the scholars were always in attendance in the
+mornings half an hour or so before the arrival of the master, of whom I was
+sure to be one--what could they do without me?--and then out came the fife,
+and they cleared the floor for a dance. It was simply magnificent to see
+and hear these athletic fellows dancing on the bare boards with their
+thick-soled well-nailed heavy shoes--so as to shake the whole house. And
+not one in the lot was more joyous than I was; for they were mostly good
+dancers and did full justice to my spirited strains. At last in came the
+master: there was no cessation; and he took his seat, looking on
+complacently till that bout was finished, when I put up my fife, and the
+serious business of the day was commenced.
+
+We must now have a look at the elementary schools--for teaching Reading,
+Writing, and Arithmetic to children. They were by far the most numerous,
+for there was one in every village and hamlet, and two or three or more in
+every town. These schools were very primitive and rude. The parish priests
+appointed the teachers, and kept an eye over the schools, which were
+generally mixed--boys and girls. There was no attempt at classification,
+and little or no class teaching; the children were taught individually.
+Each bought whatever Reading Book he or his parents pleased. So there was
+an odd mixture. A very usual book was a 'Spelling and {160} Reading book,'
+which was pretty sure to have the story of Tommy and Harry. In this there
+were almost always a series of lessons headed 'Principles of Politeness,'
+which were in fact selected from the writings of Chesterfield. In these
+there were elaborate instructions how we were to comport ourselves in a
+drawing room; and we were to be particularly careful when entering not to
+let our sword get between our legs and trip us up. We were to bear offences
+or insults from our companions as long as possible, but if a fellow went
+too far we were to 'call him out.' It must be confessed there was some of
+the 'calling out' business--though not in Chesterfield's sense; and if the
+fellows didn't fight with pistols and swords, they gave and got some black
+eyes and bloody noses. But this was at their peril; for if the master came
+to hear of it, they were sure to get further punishment, though not exactly
+on the face.
+
+Then some scholars had 'The Seven Champions of Christendom,' others 'St.
+George and the Dragon,' or 'Don Bellianis of Greece,' 'The Seven Wonders of
+the World,' or 'The History of Reynard the Fox,' a great favourite,
+translated from an old German mock heroic. And sometimes I have seen girls
+learning to read from a Catholic Prayerbook. Each had his lesson for next
+day marked in pencil by the master, which he was to prepare. The pupils
+were called up one by one each to read his own lesson--whole or part--for
+the master, and woe betide him if he stumbled at too many words.
+
+The schools were nearly always held in the small ordinary dwelling-houses
+of the people, or perhaps a {161} barn was utilised: at any rate there was
+only one room. Not unfrequently the family that owned the house lived in
+that same room--the kitchen--and went on with their simple household work
+while the school was buzzing about their ears, neither in any way
+interfering with the other. There was hardly ever any _school_
+furniture--no desks of any kind. There were seats enough, of a motley
+kind--one or two ordinary forms placed at the walls: some chairs with
+_sugaun_ seats; several little stools, and perhaps a few big stones. In
+fine weather the scholars spent much of their time in the front yard in the
+open air, where they worked their sums or wrote their copies with the
+copybooks resting on their knees.
+
+When the priest visited one of these schools, which he did whenever in the
+neighbourhood, it was a great event for both master and scholars. Conor
+Leahy was one of those masters--a very rough diamond indeed, though a good
+teacher and not over severe--whose school was in Fanningstown near my home.
+One day Billy Moroney ran in breathless, with eyes starting out of his
+head, to say--as well as he could get it out--that Father Bourke was coming
+up the road. Now we were all--master and scholars--mortally afraid of
+Father Bourke and his heavy brows--though never was fear more misplaced (p.
+71). The master instantly bounced up and warned us to be of good
+behaviour--not to stir hand or foot--while the priest was present. He
+happened to be standing at the fireplace; and he finished up the brief and
+vigorous exhortation by thumping his fist down on the hob:--'By this stone,
+if one of ye opens your mouth while the priest is here, I'll knock your
+{162} brains out after he's gone away!' That visit passed off in great
+style.
+
+These elementary teachers, or 'hedge teachers,' as they were commonly
+called, were a respectable body of men, and were well liked by the people.
+Many of them were rough and uncultivated in speech, but all had sufficient
+scholarship for their purpose, and many indeed very much more. They were
+poor, for they had to live on the small fees of their pupils; but they
+loved learning--so far as their attainments went--and inspired their pupils
+with the same love. These private elementary schools gradually diminished
+in numbers as the National Schools spread, and finally disappeared about
+the year 1850.
+
+These were the schools of the small villages and hamlets, which were to be
+found everywhere--all over the country: and such were the schools that the
+Catholic people were only too glad to have after the chains had been struck
+off--the very schools in which many men that afterwards made a figure in
+the world received their early education.
+
+The elementary schools of the towns were of a higher class. The attendance
+was larger; there were generally desks and seats of the ordinary kind; and
+the higher classes were commonly taught something beyond Reading, Writing,
+and Arithmetic; such as Grammar, or Book-keeping, with occasionally a spice
+of Euclid, Mensuration, Surveying, or Algebra.
+
+It very often happened that the school took its prevailing tone from the
+taste of the master; so that the higher classes in one were great at
+Grammar, those of another at Penmanship, some at Higher {163} Arithmetic,
+some at 'Short Accounts' (i.e. short methods of Mental Arithmetic), others
+at Book-keeping. For there were then no fixed Programmes and no Inspectors,
+and each master (in addition to the ordinary elementary subjects) taught
+just whatever he liked best, and lit up his own special tastes among his
+pupils.
+
+So far have these words, _church_, _chapel_, _scallan_, _hedge-school_, led
+us through the bye-ways of History; and perhaps the reader will not be
+sorry to turn to something else.
+
+_Rattle the hasp: Tent pot._ During Fair-days--all over the country--there
+were half a dozen or more booths or tents on the fair field, put up by
+publicans, in which was always uproarious fun; for they were full of
+people--young and old--eating and drinking, dancing and singing and
+match-making. There was sure to be a piper or a fiddler for the young
+people; and usually a barn door, lifted off its hinges--hasp and all--was
+laid flat, or perhaps two or three doors were laid side by side, for the
+dancers; a custom adopted elsewhere as well as in fairs--
+
+ 'But they couldn't keep time on the cold earthen floor,
+  So to humour the music they danced on the door.'
+
+  (CROFTON CROKER: _Old Song_.)
+
+There was one particular tune--a jig--which, from the custom of dancing on
+a door, got the name of 'Rattle the hasp.'
+
+Just at the mouth of the tent it was common to have a great pot hung on
+hooks over a fire sunk in the ground underneath, and full of pigs cheeks,
+flitches of bacon, pigs' legs and _croobeens_ galore, kept {164}
+perpetually boiling like the chiefs' caldrons of old, so that no one need
+be hungry or thirsty so long as he had a penny in his pocket. These pots
+were so large that they came to be spoken of as a symbol of plenty: 'Why
+you have as much bacon and cabbage there as would fill a tent-pot.'
+
+One day--long long ago--at the fair of Ardpatrick in Limerick--I was then a
+little boy, but old enough to laugh at the story when I heard it in the
+fair--a fellow with a wattle in his hand having a sharp iron spike on the
+end, walked up to one of these tent-pots during the momentary absence of
+the owner, and thrusting the spike into a pig's cheek, calmly stood there
+holding the stick in his hand till the man came up. 'What are you doing
+there?'--When the other looking sheepish and frightened:--'Wisha sir I have
+a little bit of a pig's cheek here that isn't done well enough all out, and
+I was thinking that may be you wouldn't mind if I gave it a couple of
+_biles_ in your pot.' 'Be off out of that you impudent blaa-guard, yourself
+and your pig's cheek, or I'll break every bone in your body.' The poor
+innocent boy said nothing, but lifted the stick out of the pot with the
+pig's cheek on the end of it, and putting it on his shoulder, walked off
+through the fair with meek resignation.
+
+More than a thousand years ago it was usual in Ireland for ladies who went
+to banquets with their husbands or other near relations to wear a mask.
+This lady's mask was called _fethal_, which is the old form of the word,
+modern form _fidil_. The memory of this old custom is preserved in the name
+now given to a mask by both English and Irish speakers--_i fiddle_,
+_eye-fiddle_, _hi-fiddle_, or _hy-fiddle_ (the first two {165} being the
+most correct). The full Irish name is _aghaidh-fidil_, of which the first
+part _agaidh_, pronounced _i_ or _eye_, means the face:--_agaidh-fidil_,
+'face-mask.' This word was quite common in Munster sixty or seventy years
+ago, when we, boys, made our own _i-fiddles_, commonly of brown paper,
+daubed in colour--hideous-looking things when worn--enough to frighten a
+horse from his oats.
+
+Among those who fought against the insurgents in Ireland during the
+Rebellion of 1798 were some German cavalry called Hessians. They wore a
+sort of long boots so remarkable that boots of the same pattern are to this
+day called _Hessian boots_. One day in a skirmish one of the rebels shot
+down a Hessian, and brought away his fine boots as his lawful prize. One of
+his comrades asked him for the boots: and he answered 'Kill a Hessian for
+yourself,' which has passed into a proverb. When by labour and trouble you
+obtain anything which another seeks to get from you on easy terms, you
+answer _Kill a Hessian for yourself_.
+
+During the War of the Confederation in Ireland in the seventeenth century
+Murrogh O'Brien earl of Inchiquin took the side of the Government against
+his own countrymen, and committed such merciless ravages among the people
+that he is known to this day as 'Murrogh the Burner'; and his name has
+passed into a proverb for outrage and cruelty. When a person persists in
+doing anything likely to bring on heavy punishment of some kind, the people
+say 'If you go on in that way _you'll see Murrogh_,' meaning 'you will
+suffer for it.' Or when a person seems scared or frightened:--'He saw
+Murrogh or {166} the bush next to him.' The original sayings are in Irish,
+of which these are translations, which however are now heard oftener than
+the Irish.
+
+In Armagh where Murrogh is not known they say in a similar sense, 'You'll
+catch Lanty,' Lanty no doubt being some former local bully.
+
+When one desires to give another a particularly evil wish he says, 'The
+curse of Cromwell on you!' So that Cromwell's atrocities are stored up in
+the people's memories to this day, in the form of a proverb.
+
+In Ulster they say 'The curse of _Crummie_.'
+
+'Were you talking to Tim in town to-day?' 'No, but I saw him _from me_ as
+the soldier saw Bunratty.' Bunratty a strong castle in Co. Clare, so strong
+that besiegers often had to content themselves with viewing it from a
+distance. 'Seeing a person from me' means seeing him at a distance. 'Did
+you meet your cousin James in the fair to-day?' 'Oh I just caught sight of
+him _from me_ for a second, but I wasn't speaking to him.'
+
+_Sweating-House._--We know that the Turkish bath is of recent introduction
+in these countries. But the hot-air or vapour bath, which is much the same
+thing, was well known in Ireland from very early times, and was used as a
+cure for rheumatism down to a few years ago. The structures in which these
+baths were given are known by the name of _tigh 'n alluis_ [teenollish], or
+in English, 'sweating-house' (_allus_, 'sweat'). They are still well known
+in the northern parts of Ireland--small houses entirely of stone, from five
+to seven feet long inside, with a low little door through which one must
+creep: {167} always placed remote from habitations: and near by was
+commonly a pool or tank of water four or five feet deep. They were used in
+this way. A great fire of turf was kindled inside till the house became
+heated like an oven; after which the embers and ashes were swept out, and
+water was splashed on the stones, which produced a thick warm vapour. Then
+the person, wrapping himself in a blanket, crept in and sat down on a bench
+of sods, after which the door was closed up. He remained there an hour or
+so till he was in a profuse perspiration: and then creeping out, plunged
+right into the cold water; after emerging from which he was well rubbed
+till he became warm. After several baths at intervals of some days he
+commonly got cured. Persons are still living who used these baths or saw
+them used. (See the chapter on 'Ancient Irish Medicine' in 'Smaller Soc.
+Hist. of Anc. Ireland,' from which the above passage is taken.)
+
+The lurking conviction that times long ago were better than at present--a
+belief in 'the good old times'--is indicated in the common opening to a
+story:--'Long and merry ago, there lived a king,' &c.
+
+'That poor man is as thin as a _whipping_ post': a very general saying in
+Ireland. Preserving the memory of the old custom of tying culprits to a
+firm post in order to be whipped. A whipping post received many of the
+slashes, and got gradually worn down.
+
+The hardiness of the northern rovers--the Danes--who made a great figure in
+Ireland, as in England and elsewhere, is still remembered, after nine or
+ten centuries, in the sayings of our people. Scores of {168} times I heard
+such expressions as the following:--'Ah shut that door: there's a breeze in
+through it that _would perish the Danes_.'
+
+The cardinal points are designated on the supposition that the face is
+turned to the east: a custom which has descended in Ireland from the
+earliest times of history and tradition, and which also prevailed among
+other ancient nations. Hence in Irish 'east' is 'front'; 'west' is 'behind'
+or 'back'; north is 'left hand'; and south is 'right hand.' The people
+sometimes import these terms into English. 'Where is the tooth?' says the
+dentist. 'Just here sir, in the _west_ of my jaw,' replies the
+patient--meaning at the back of the jaw.
+
+Tailors were made the butt of much good-natured harmless raillery, often
+founded on the well-known fact that a tailor is the ninth part of a man. If
+a person leaves little after a meal, or little material after any
+work--that is 'tailor's leavings'; alluding to an alleged custom of the
+craft. According to this calumny your tailor, when sending home your
+finished suit, sends with it a few little scraps as what was left of the
+cloth you gave him, though he had really much left, which he has cribbed.
+
+When you delay the performance of any work, or business with some secret
+object in view, you 'put the pot in the tailor's link.' Formerly tailors
+commonly worked in the houses of the families who bought their own material
+and employed them to make the clothes. The custom was to work till supper
+time, when their day ended. Accordingly the good housewife often hung the
+pot-hangers on the highest hook or link of the pot-hooks so as to raise
+{169} the supper-pot well up from the fire and delay the boiling. (Ulster.)
+
+The following two old rhymes are very common:--
+
+  Four and twenty tailors went out to kill a snail,
+  The biggest of them all put his foot upon his tail--
+  The snail put out his horns just like a cow:
+ 'O Lord says the tailor we're all killed now!'
+
+  As I was going to Dub-l-in
+    I met a pack of tailors,
+  I put them in my pocket,
+    In fear the ducks might _ait_ them.
+
+In the Co. Down the Roman Catholics are called 'back-o'-the-hill folk': an
+echo of the Plantations of James I--three centuries ago--when the
+Catholics, driven from their rich lowland farms, which were given to the
+Scottish Presbyterian planters, had to eke out a living among the glens and
+mountains.
+
+When a person does anything out of the common--which is not expected of
+him--especially anything with a look of unusual prosperity:--'It is not
+every day that Manus kills a bullock.' (Derry.) This saying, which is
+always understood to refer to Roman Catholics, is a memorial, in one flash,
+of the plantation of the northern districts. Manus is a common Christian
+name among the Catholics round Derry, who are nearly all very poor: how
+could they be otherwise? That Manus--i.e. a Catholic--should kill a bullock
+is consequently taken as a type of things very unusual, unexpected and
+exceptional. Maxwell, in 'Wild Sports of the West,' quotes this saying as
+he heard it in Mayo; but naturally enough the saying alone had reached the
+west without its background of history, which is not known there as it is
+in Derry. {170}
+
+Even in the everyday language of the people the memory of those Plantations
+is sometimes preserved, as in the following sayings and their like, which
+are often heard. 'The very day after Jack Ryan was evicted, he _planted
+himself_ on the bit of land between his farm and the river.' 'Bill came and
+_planted_ himself on my chair, right in front of the fire.'
+
+'He that calls the tune should pay the piper' is a saying that commemorates
+one of our dancing customs. A couple are up for a dance: the young man asks
+the girl in a low voice what tune she'd like, and on hearing her reply he
+calls to the piper (or fiddler) for the tune. When the dance is ended and
+they have made their bow, he slips a coin into her hand, which she brings
+over and places in the hand of the piper. That was the invariable formula
+in Munster sixty years ago.
+
+The old Irish name of May-day--the 1st May--was _Belltaine_ or _Beltene_
+[Beltina], and this name is still used by those speaking Irish; while in
+Scotland and Ulster they retain it as a common English word--Beltane:--
+
+ 'Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain,
+  Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade.'
+
+  ('Lady of the Lake.')
+
+Before St. Patrick's time there was a great pagan festival in Ireland on
+1st May in honour of the god _Bél_ [Bail], in which fire played a prominent
+part: a custom evidently derived in some way from the Phoenician fire
+festival in honour of the Phoenician god _Baal_. For we know that the
+Phoenicians were well acquainted with Ireland, and that wherever they went
+they introduced the worship of Baal with his festivals. {171}
+
+Among other usages the Irish drove cattle through or between big fires to
+preserve them from the diseases of the year; and this custom was practised
+in Limerick and Clare down a period within my own memory: I saw it done.
+But it was necessary that the fires should be kindled from _tenaigin_ [_g_
+sounded as in _pagan_]--'forced fire'--i.e., fire produced by the friction
+of two pieces of dry wood rubbed together till they burst into a flame:
+Irish _teine-éigin_ from _tein[)e]_, fire, and _éigean_, force. This word
+is still known in the South; so that the memory of the old pagan May-day
+festival and its fire customs is preserved in these two words _Beltane_ and
+_tenaigin_.
+
+Mummers were companies of itinerant play-actors, who acted at popular
+gatherings, such as fairs, _patterns_, weddings, wakes, &c. Formerly they
+were all masked, and then young _squireens_, and the young sons of strong
+farmers, often joined them for the mere fun of the thing; but in later
+times masking became illegal, after which the breed greatly degenerated. On
+the whole they were not unwelcome to the people, as they were generally the
+source of much amusement; but their antics at weddings and wakes were
+sometimes very objectionable, as well as very offensive to the families.
+This was especially the case at wakes, if the dead person had been
+unpopular or ridiculous, and at weddings if an old woman married a boy, or
+a girl an old man for the sake of his money. Sometimes they came bent on
+mischievous tricks as well as on a _shindy_; and if wind of this got out,
+the faction of the family gathered to protect them; and then there was sure
+to be a fight. (Kinahan.) {172}
+
+Mummers were well known in England, from which the custom was evidently
+imported to Ireland. The mummers are all gone, but the name remains.
+
+We know that in former times in Ireland the professions ran in families; so
+that members of the same household devoted themselves to one particular
+Science or Art--Poetry, History, Medicine, Building, Law, as the case might
+be--for generations (of this custom a full account may be seen in my
+'Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland,' chap. vii., especially page
+184). A curious example of how the memory of this is preserved occurs in
+Armagh. There is a little worm called _dirab_ found in bog-water. If this
+be swallowed by any accident it causes a swelling, which can be cured only
+by a person of the name of Cassidy, who puts his arms round the patient,
+and the worm dies. The O'Cassidys were hereditary physicians to the
+Maguires, chiefs of Fermanagh. Several eminent physicians of the name are
+commemorated in the Irish Annals: and it is interesting to find that they
+are still remembered in tradition--though quite unconsciously--for their
+skill in leechcraft.
+
+'I'll make you dance Jack Lattin'--a threat of chastisement, often heard in
+Kildare. John Lattin of Morristown House county Kildare (near Naas) wagered
+that he'd dance home to Morristown from Dublin--more than twenty
+miles--changing his dancing-steps every furlong: and won the wager. 'I'll
+make you dance' is a common threat heard everywhere: but 'I'll make you
+dance Jack Lattin' is ten times worse--'I'll make you dance excessively.'
+{173}
+
+Morristown, Jack Lattin's residence, is near Lyons the seat of Lord
+Cloncurry, where Jack was often a guest, in the first half of the last
+century. Lady Morgan has an entry in her Memoirs (1830):--'Returned from
+Lyons--Lord Cloncurry's, a large party--the first day good--Sheil, Curran,
+Jack Lattin.'
+
+It is worthy of remark that there is a well-known Irish tune called 'Jack
+Lattin,' which some of our Scotch friends have quietly appropriated; and
+not only that, but have turned Jack himself into a Scotchman by calling the
+tune 'Jockey Latin'! They have done precisely the same with our 'Eileen
+Aroon' which they call 'Robin Adair.' The same Robin Adair--or to call him
+by his proper name Robert Adair--was a well-known county Wicklow man and a
+member of the Irish Parliament.
+
+The word _sculloge_ or _scolloge_ is applied to a small farmer, especially
+one that does his own farm work: it is often used in a somewhat
+depreciatory sense to denote a mere rustic: and in both senses it is well
+known all over the South. This word has a long history. It was originally
+applied--a thousand years ago or more--to the younger monks of a monastery,
+who did most of the farm work on the land belonging to the religious
+community. These young men were of course students indoors, as well as
+tillers outside, and hence the name, from _scol_, a school:--_scológ_ a
+young scholar. But as farm work constituted a large part of their
+employment the name gradually came to mean a working farmer; and in this
+sense it has come down to our time.
+
+To a rich man whose forefathers made their {174} money by smuggling
+_pottheen_ (illicit whiskey) from Innishowen in Donegal (formerly
+celebrated for its pottheen manufacture), they say in Derry 'your granny
+was a Dogherty who wore a tin pocket.' (Doherty a prevalent name in the
+neighbourhood.) For this was a favourite way of smuggling from the
+highlands--bringing the stuff in a tin pocket. Tom Boyle had a more
+ambitious plan:--he got a tinker to make a hollow figure of tin, something
+like the figure of his wife, who was a little woman, which Tom dressed up
+in his wife's clothes and placed on the pillion behind him on the
+horse--filled with pottheen: for in those times it was a common custom for
+the wife to ride behind her husband. At last a sharp-eyed policeman, seeing
+the man's affectionate attention so often repeated, kept on the watch, and
+satisfied himself at last that Tom had a tin wife. So one day, coming
+behind the animal he gave the poor little woman a whack of a stick which
+brought forth, not a screech, but a hard metallic sound, to the
+astonishment of everybody: and then it was all up with poor Tom and his
+wife.
+
+There are current in Ireland many stories of gaugers and pottheen
+distillers which hardly belong to my subject, except this one, which I may
+claim, because it has _left its name on_ a well-known Irish tune:--'Paddy
+outwitted the gauger,' also called by three other names, 'The Irishman's
+heart for the ladies,' 'Drops of brandy,' and _Cummilum_ (Moore's: 'Fairest
+put on Awhile'). Paddy Fogarty kept a little public-house at the
+cross-roads in which he sold 'parliament,' i.e. legal whiskey on which the
+duty had been paid; but it was well known that friends could get a little
+drop {175} of pottheen too, on the sly. One hot July day he was returning
+home from Thurles with a ten-gallon cag on his back, slung by a strong
+_soogaun_ (hay rope). He had still two good miles before him, and he sat
+down to rest, when who should walk up but the new gauger. 'Well my good
+fellow, what have you got in that cask?' Paddy dropped his jaw, looking the
+picture of terror, and mumbled out some tomfoolery like an excuse. 'Ah, my
+man, you needn't think of coming over me: I see how it is: I seize this
+cask in the name of the king.' Poor Paddy begged and prayed, and talked
+about Biddy and the childher at home--all to no use: the gauger slung up
+the cag on his back (about a hundredweight) and walked on, with Paddy,
+heart-broken, walking behind--for the gauger's road lay towards Paddy's
+house. At last when they were near the cross-roads the gauger sat down to
+rest, and laying down the big load began to wipe his face with his
+handkerchief. 'Sorry I am,' says Paddy, 'to see your honour so dead _bet_
+up: sure you're sweating like a bull: maybe I could relieve you.' And with
+that he pulled his legal _permit_ out of his pocket and laid it on the cag.
+The gauger was astounded: 'Why the d---- didn't you show me that before?'
+'Why then 'tis the way your honour,' says Paddy, looking as innocent as a
+lamb, 'I didn't like to make so bould as I wasn't axed to show it?' So the
+gauger, after a volley of something that needn't be particularised here,
+walked off _with himself without an inch of the tail_. 'Faix,' says Paddy,
+''tis easy to know 'twasn't our last gauger, ould Warnock, that was here:
+'twouldn't be so easy to come round him; for he had a nose that would
+_smell a needle in a forge_.' {176}
+
+In Sligo if a person is sick in a house, and one of the cattle dies, they
+say 'a life for a life,' and the patient will recover. Mr. Kinahan says,
+'This is so universal in the wilds of Sligo that Protestants and Catholics
+believe it alike.'
+
+As an expression of welcome, a person says, 'We'll spread green rushes
+under your feet'; a memory of the time when there were neither boards nor
+carpets on the floors--nothing but the naked clay--in Ireland as well as in
+England; and in both countries, it was the custom to strew the floors of
+the better class of houses with rushes, which were renewed for any
+distinguished visitor. This was always done by the women-servants: and the
+custom was so general and so well understood that there was a knife of
+special shape for cutting the rushes. (See my 'Smaller Social Hist. of
+Ancient Ireland,' p. 305.)
+
+A common exclamation of drivers for urging on a horse, heard everywhere in
+Ireland, is _hupp, hupp!_ It has found its way even into our nursery
+rhymes; as when a mother is dancing her baby up and down on her knee, she
+sings:--
+
+ 'How many miles to Dub-l-in?
+    Three score and ten,
+  Will we be there by candle light?
+    Yes and back again:
+  _Hupp, hupp_ my little horse,
+    _Hupp, hupp_ again.'
+
+This Irish word, insignificant as it seems, has come down from a period
+thirteen or fourteen hundred years ago, or probably much farther back. In
+the library of St. Gall in Switzerland there is a manuscript written in the
+eighth century by some scholarly Irish {177} monk--who he was we cannot
+tell: and in this the old writer _glosses_ or explains many Latin words by
+corresponding Irish words. Among others the Latin interjection _ei_ or
+_hei_ (meaning ho! quick! come on) is explained by _upp_ or _hupp_ (Zeuss).
+
+Before Christianity had widely spread in Ireland, the pagans had a numerous
+pantheon of gods and goddesses, one of which was _Badb_ [bibe], a terrible
+war-fury. Her name is pronounced _Bibe_ or _Bybe_, and in this form it is
+still preserved all over Cork and round about, not indeed for a war-fury,
+but for what--in the opinion of some people--is nearly as bad, a _scolding
+woman_. (For _Badb_ and all the other pagan Irish gods and goddesses, see
+my 'Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland,' chap. v.)
+
+From the earliest times in Ireland animals were classified with regard to
+grazing; and the classification is recognised and fully laid down in the
+Brehon Law. The legal classification was this:--two geese are equivalent to
+a sheep; two sheep to a _dairt_ or one-year-old heifer; two _dairts_ to one
+_colpach_ or _collop_ (as it is now called) or two-year-old heifer; two
+_collops_ to one cow. Suppose a man had a right to graze a certain number
+of cows on a common (i.e. pasture land not belonging to individuals but
+common to all the people of the place collectively); he might turn out the
+exact number of cows or the equivalent of any other animals he pleased, so
+long as the total did not exceed the total amount of his privilege.
+
+In many parts of Ireland this system almost exactly as described above is
+kept up to this day, the collop being taken as the unit: it was universal
+in my native place sixty years ago; and in a way it exists {178} there
+still. The custom is recognised in the present-day land courts, with some
+modifications in the classification--as Mr. Maurice Healy informs me in an
+interesting and valuable communication--the _collop_ being still the
+unit--and constantly referred to by the lawyers in the conduct of cases. So
+the old Brehon Law process has existed continuously from old times, and is
+repeated by the lawyers of our own day; and its memory is preserved in the
+word _collop_. (See my 'Smaller Soc. Hist. of Anc. Ireland,' p. 431.)
+
+In pagan times the religion of Ireland was Druidism, which was taught by
+the druids: and far off as the time is the name of these druids still
+exists in our popular speech. The Irish name for a druid is _drui_ [dree];
+and in the South any crabbed cunning old-fashioned-looking little boy is
+called--even by speakers of English--a _shoundree_, which exactly
+represents in sound the Irish _sean-drui_, old druid; from _sean_ [shoun or
+shan], old. (See 'Irish Names of Places,' I. 98.)
+
+There are two words much in use in Munster, of which the phonetic
+representations are _thoothach_ or _thoohagh_ and _hóchan_ (_ó_ long),
+which tell a tale of remote times. A _thoothach_ or _thoohagh_ is an
+ignorant unmannerly clownish fellow: and _hóchan_ means much the same
+thing, except that it is rather lower in the sense of ignorance or
+uncouthness. Passing through the Liberties of Dublin I once heard a
+woman--evidently from Limerick--call a man a dirty _hóchan_. Both words are
+derived from _tuath_ [thooa], a layman, as distinguished from a cleric or a
+man of learning. The Irish form of the first is _tuathtach_: of the second
+_thuathcháin_ (vocative). Both are a memory of the {179} time when
+illiterate people were looked down upon as boorish and ill-mannered as
+compared with clerics or with men of learning in general.
+
+The people had great respect and veneration for the old families of landed
+gentry--the _real old stock_ as they were called. If a man of a lower class
+became rich so as to vie with or exceed in possessions many of the old
+families, he was never recognised as on their level or as a gentleman. Such
+a man was called by the people a _half-sir_, which bears its meaning on its
+face.
+
+Sixty years ago people very generally used home-made and home-grown
+produce--frieze--linen--butter--bacon--potatoes and vegetables in general.
+A good custom, for 'a cow never burst herself by chewing her cud.'
+(MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+To see one magpie or more is a sign of bad or good luck, viz.:--'One for
+sorrow; two for mirth; three for a wedding; four for a birth.' (MacCall:
+Wexford.)
+
+The war-cry of the great family of O'Neill of Tyrone was _Lauv-derg-aboo_
+(the Red Hand to Victory: the Red Hand being the cognisance of the
+O'Neills): and this cry the clansmen shouted when advancing to battle. It
+is many a generation since this same cry was heard in battle; and yet it is
+remembered in popular sayings to this day. In Tyrone when a fight is
+expected one man will say to another 'there will be _Dergaboos_ to-day':
+not that the cry will be actually raised; but _Dergaboo_ has come to be a
+sort of symbolic name for a fight.
+
+In and around Ballina in Mayo, a great strong fellow is called an
+_allay-foozee_, which represents the {180} sound of the French
+_Allez-fusil_ (musket or musketry forward), preserving the memory of the
+landing of the French at Killala (near Ballina) in 1798.
+
+When a person looks as if he were likely to die soon:--'He's in the raven's
+book.' Because when a person is about to die, the raven croaks over the
+house. (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+A 'cross' was a small old Irish coin so called from a figure of St. Patrick
+stamped on it with a conspicuous cross. Hence a person who has no money
+says 'I haven't a cross.' In Wexford they have the same saying with a
+little touch of drollery added on:--'There isn't as much as a cross in my
+pocket to keep the devil from dancing in it.' (MacCall.) For of course the
+devil dare not come near a cross of any shape or form.
+
+A _keenoge_ (which exactly represents the pronunciation of the Irish
+_cíanóg_) is a very small coin, a farthing or half a farthing. It was
+originally applied to a small foreign coin, probably Spanish, for the Irish
+_cían_ is 'far off,' 'foreign': _óg_ is the diminutive termination. It is
+often used like 'cross': 'I haven't as much as a keenoge in my pocket.'
+'Are you not going to lend me any money at all?' 'Not a keenoge.'
+
+A person not succeeding in approaching the house or spot he wants to reach;
+hitting wide of the mark in shooting; not coming to the point in argument
+or explanation:--'Oh you didn't come within the bray of an ass of it.' This
+is the echo of a very old custom. More than a thousand years ago distance
+was often vaguely measured in Ireland by sound. A man felling a tree was
+'bound by the Brehon Law {181} to give warning as far as his voice could
+reach,' so as to obviate danger to cattle or people. We find a like measure
+used in Donegal to this day:--[The Dublin house where you'll get the book
+to buy is on the Quays] 'about a mountain man's call below the Four
+Courts.' (Seumas MacManus.) The crow of a cock and the sound of a bell
+(i.e. the small hand-bell then used) as measures of distances are very
+often met with in ancient Irish writings. An old commentator on the Brehon
+Laws defines a certain distance to be 'as far as the sound of the bell or
+the crow of a barn-door cock could be heard. This custom also prevailed
+among other ancient nations. (See my 'Smaller Soc. Hist. of Anc. Ireland,'
+p. 473.)
+
+_The 'Duty'._ Formerly all through Ireland the tenants were obliged to work
+for their landlords on a certain number of days free, except that they
+generally got food. Such work was commonly called in English the 'duty.' In
+Wicklow for example--until very recently--or possibly still--those who had
+horses had to draw home the landlord's turf on certain days. In Wexford
+they had in a similar way to draw stones for the embankments on the Barrow.
+The tenants commonly collected in numbers on the same day and worked all
+together. The Irish word used to designate such gatherings was _bal_--still
+so called in Connaught. It was usual to hear such English expressions
+as--'Are you going to the duty?' or 'Are you going to the bal?' (Kinahan.)
+
+(N.B. I do not know the Irish word _bal_ in this sense, and cannot find it
+in the Dictionaries.)
+
+'Duty' is used in a religious sense by Roman {182} Catholics all through
+Ireland to designate the obligation on all Catholics to go to Confession
+and Holy Communion at Easter time. 'I am going to my duty, please God, next
+week.'
+
+'I'll return you this book on next Saturday _as sure as the hearth-money_':
+a very common expression in Ireland. The old English oppressive impost
+called _hearth-money_--a tax on hearths--which every householder had to
+pay, was imported into Ireland by the English settlers. Like all other
+taxes it was certain to be called for and gathered at the proper time, so
+that our saying is an apt one; but while the bad old impost is gone, its
+memory is preserved in the everyday language of the people.
+
+A king, whether of a small or large territory, had in his service a
+champion or chief fighting man whose duty it was to avenge all insults or
+offences offered to the families of the king and tribe, particularly
+murder; like the 'Avenger of blood' of the Jews and other ancient nations.
+In any expected danger from without he had to keep watch--with a sufficient
+force--at the most dangerous ford or pass--called _bearna baoghaill_ [barna
+beel] or gap of danger--on that part of the border where invasion was
+expected, and prevent the entrance of any enemy. This custom, which is as
+old as our race in Ireland, is remembered in our present-day speech,
+whether Irish or Anglo-Irish; for the man who courageously and successfully
+defends any cause or any position, either by actual fighting or by speeches
+or written articles, is 'the man in the gap.' Of the old Irish chiefs
+Thomas Davis writes:--
+
+ 'Their hearts were as soft as the child in the lap,
+  Yet they were the men in the gap.'
+
+{183}
+
+In the old heroic semi-historic times in Ireland, a champion often gave a
+challenge by standing in front of the hostile camp or fort and striking a
+few resounding blows with the handle of his spear either on his own shield
+or on a shield hung up for the purpose at the entrance gate outside.[7]
+
+The memory of this very old custom lives in a word still very common in the
+South of Ireland--_boolimskee_, Irish _buailim-sciath_, 'I strike the
+shield,' applied to a man much given to fighting, a quarrelsome fellow, a
+swaggering bully--a swash-buckler.
+
+Paying on the nail, paying down on the nail; paying on the spot--ready
+cash. This expression had its origin in a custom formerly prevailing in
+Limerick city. In a broad thoroughfare under the Exchange stood a pillar
+about four feet high, on the top of which was a circular plate of copper
+about three feet in diameter. This pillar was called 'The Nail.' The
+purchaser of anything laid down the stipulated price or the earnest _on the
+nail_, i.e. on the brass plate, which the seller took up: when this was
+done before witnesses the transaction was as binding as if entered on
+parchment. (O'Keeffe's Recollections.) 'The Nail' is still to the fore, and
+may now be seen in the Museum of the Carnegie Library building, to which it
+was transferred a short time ago.
+
+The change in the Calendar from the old style to the new style, a century
+and a half ago, is noted in the names for Christmas. All through the South,
+{184} and in other parts of Ireland, the 6th January ('Twelfth Day') is
+called 'Old Christmas' and 'Little Christmas' (for before the change of
+style it was _the_ Christmas): and in many parts of the north our present
+Christmas is called New Christmas. So in Donegal the 12th of May is called
+by the people 'Old May day.' (Seumas MacManus.)
+
+_Palm, Palm-Sunday._ The usual name in Ireland for the yew-tree is 'palm,'
+from the custom of using yew branches instead of the real palm, to
+celebrate Palm Sunday--the Sunday before Easter--commemorating the palm
+branches that were strewed before our Lord on His public entry into
+Jerusalem. I was quite a grown boy before I knew the yew-tree by its proper
+name--it was always _palm-tree_.
+
+_Oliver's Summons._--When a lazy fellow was driven to work either by hunger
+or by any unavoidable circumstance he was said to have got _Oliver's
+Summons_, a common household word in parts of the county Limerick in my
+younger days, originating in the following circumstance. When a good
+plentiful harvest came round, many of the men of our neighbourhood at this
+time--about the beginning of last century--the good old easy-going
+times--worked very little--as little as ever they could. What was the use
+of working when they had plenty of beautiful floury potatoes for half
+nothing, with salt or _dip_, or perhaps a piggin of fine thick milk to
+crown the luxury. Captain Oliver, the local landlord, and absolute monarch
+so far as ordinary life was concerned, often--in those seasons--found it
+hard or impossible to get men to come to do the necessary work about his
+grounds--though paying {185} the usual wages--till at last he hit on an
+original plan. He sent round, the evening before, to the houses of the men
+he wanted, a couple of fellows with a horse and cart, who seized some
+necessary article in each house--a spinning-wheel, a bed, the pot, the
+single table, &c.--and brought them all away body and bones, and kept them
+impounded. Next morning he was sure to have half a dozen or more strapping
+fellows, who fell to work; and when it was finished and wages paid, the
+captain sent home the articles. I had this story from old men who saw the
+carts going round with their loads.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+A VARIETY OF PHRASES.
+
+Among fireside amusements propounding riddles was very general sixty or
+seventy years ago. This is a custom that has existed in Ireland from very
+early times, as the reader may see by looking at my 'Old Celtic Romances,'
+pp. 69, 186, 187, where he will find some characteristic ancient Irish
+ones. And we know that it was common among other ancient nations. I have a
+number of our modern Irish riddles, many in my memory, and some supplied to
+me from Wexford by Mr. Patrick J. MacCall of Dublin, who knows Wexford
+well. Some are easy enough: but there are others that might defy the Witch
+of Endor to answer them. They hardly come within my scope, but I will give
+a few examples. {186}
+
+A steel grey with a flaxen tail and a brass boy driving. Answer: needle and
+thread; thimble.
+
+  Little Jennie Whiteface has a red nose,
+  The longer she lives the shorter she grows.
+
+Answer: a lighted candle.
+
+  A man without eyes
+  Went out to view the skies,
+    He saw a tree with apples on:
+  He took no apples,
+  He ate no apples,
+    And still he left no apples on.
+
+Answer: a one-eyed man: the tree had two apples: he took one.
+
+Long legs, crooked thighs, little head, no eyes. Answer: a tongs.
+
+Ink-ank under a bank ten drawing four. Answer: a girl milking a cow.
+
+  Four-and-twenty white bulls tied in a stall:
+  In comes a red bull and over licks them all.
+
+Answer: teeth and tongue.
+
+These are perhaps not very hard, though not quite so easy as the Sphinx's
+riddle to the Thebans, which Oedipus answered to his immortal renown. But I
+should like to see Oedipus try his hand at the following. Samson's riddle
+about the bees is hard enough, but ours beats it hollow. Though Solomon
+solved all the puzzles propounded to him by the Queen of Sheba, I think
+this would put him to the pin of his collar. I learned it in Limerick two
+generations ago; and I have got a Wexford version from Mr. MacCall. Observe
+the delightful inconsequence of riddle and answer. {187}
+
+      Riddle me, riddle me right:
+      What did I see last night?
+          The wind blew,
+          The cock crew,
+          The bells of heaven
+          Struck eleven.
+ 'Tis time for my poor _sowl_ to go to heaven.
+
+Answer: the fox burying his mother under a holly tree.
+
+
+
+To a person who begins his dinner without saying grace: 'You begin your
+meal like a fox': for a fox never says grace. A fox once ran off with a
+cock--neck in mouth--to make a meal of him. Just as he was about to fall
+to, the cock said--'Won't you thank God?' So the fox opened his mouth to
+say grace, and the cock escaped and flew up into a tree. On which the fox
+swore he'd never more say grace or any other prayer. (From Clare: Healy.)
+
+In depreciation of a person's honour: 'Your honour and goat's wool would
+make good stockings': i.e. your honour is as far from true honour as goat's
+hair is from wool.
+
+'For the life of me' I can't see why you vex yourself for so small a
+matter.
+
+Of a pair of well-matched bad men:--'They might lick thumbs.' Also 'A pity
+to spoil two houses with them.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+A person is said to be 'belled through the parish' when some discreditable
+report concerning him has gone about in the neighbourhood. The allusion is
+to a bellman announcing something to the public. (Moran: Carlow.) {188}
+
+A person addresses some abusive and offensive words to another, who replies
+'Talk away: _your tongue is no scandal_.' The meaning is, 'You are so well
+known for the foulness of your tongue that no one will pay any attention to
+you when you are speaking evil of another.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+'Come and have a drink,' said the dragoon. 'I don't take anything; _thank
+you all the same_,' replied Billy Heffernan. (Knocknagow.) Very general
+everywhere in Ireland.
+
+Regarding a person in consumption:--
+
+  March will _sarch_ [search],
+    April will try,
+  May will see
+    Whether you'll live or die.
+
+  (MACCALL: Wexford.)
+
+When a man inherits some failing from his parents, 'He didn't catch it in
+the wind'--'It wasn't off the wind he took it.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+When a man declines to talk with or discuss matters with another, he says
+'I owe you no discourse'--used in a more or less offensive sense--and heard
+all through Ireland.
+
+When a person shows himself very cute and clever another says to him 'Who
+let you out?'--an ironical expression of fun: as much as to say that he
+must have been confined in an asylum as a confirmed fool. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+When a person for any reason feels elated, he says 'I wouldn't call the
+king my uncle.' ('Knocknagow'; but heard everywhere in Ireland.)
+
+When a person who is kind enough while he is with {189} you grows careless
+about you once he goes away:--'Out of sight out of mind.'
+
+To go _with your finger in your mouth_ is to go on a fool's errand, to go
+without exactly knowing why you are going--without knowing particulars.
+
+When a person singing a song has to stop up because he forgets the next
+verse, he says (mostly in joke) 'there's a hole in the ballad'--throwing
+the blame on the old ballad sheet on which the words were imperfect on
+account of a big hole.
+
+Searching for some small article where it is hard to find it among a lot of
+other things is 'looking for a needle in a bundle of straw.'
+
+When a mistake or any circumstance that entails loss or trouble is
+irreparable--'there's no help for spilt milk.'
+
+Seventy or eighty years ago the accomplishments of an Irishman should be:
+
+  To smoke his dudheen,
+  To drink his cruiskeen,
+  To flourish his alpeen,
+  To wallop a spalpeen.
+
+  (MACCALL: Wexford.)
+
+It is reported about that Tom Fox stole Dick Finn's sheep: but he didn't.
+Driven to desperation by the false report, Tom now really steals one, and
+says:--'As I have the name of it, I may as well have the gain of it.'
+
+A person is told of some extraordinary occurrence and exclaims--'Well such
+a thing as that was never before heard of _since Adam was a boy_.' This
+last expression is very general.
+
+The Chairman of the Banbridge Board of Guardians {190} lately asked a tramp
+what was his occupation: to which the fellow--cancelling his impudence by
+his drollery--replied:--'I'm a hailstone maker out of work owing to the
+want of snow.'
+
+My partner in any business has acted against my advice and has persisted,
+notwithstanding my repeated friendly remonstrances, till at last he brings
+failure and discredit. Yet when the trial comes I _stand black for him_;
+i.e. I act loyally towards him--I defend him: I take my share of the blame,
+and never give the least hint that the failure is all his doing. _Standing
+black_ often heard.
+
+'He's not all there,' i.e. he is a little daft, a little _cracked_,
+weak-minded, foolish, has a slight touch of insanity: 'there's a slate
+off,' 'he has a bee in his bonnet' (Scotch): 'he wants a square' (this last
+Old English).
+
+A man gets into an angry fit and you take no trouble to pacify him:--'Let
+him cool in the skin he heated in.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+A person asks me for money: I give him all I have, which is less than he
+asked for:--'That is all [the corn] there's threshed.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+A man with a very thin face 'could kiss a goat between the horns.' (Moran:
+Carlow.)
+
+'Never put a tooth on it': an invitation to speak out plainly, whatever the
+consequences.
+
+A woman giving evidence at Drumcondra Petty Sessions last year says 'I was
+born and reared in Finglas, and there isn't one--man or woman--that dare
+say _black was the white of my eye_': that is, no one could allege any
+wrong-doing against her. Heard everywhere in Ireland. {191}
+
+A man who is going backwards or down the hill in circumstances is said to
+be 'going after his back.' The sense is obvious. (Moran: Wexford.)
+
+'Come day go day God send Sunday,' applied to an easy-going idle
+good-for-nothing person, who never looks to the future.
+
+When a person is asked about something of which for some reason he does not
+wish to speak, he says 'Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.'
+(General.)
+
+A man who is of opinion that his friend has bought a cow too dear says 'You
+bought every hair in her tail.'
+
+To a person everlastingly talking:--'Give your tongue a holiday.'
+
+He always visits us _of a Saturday_. Halliwell says this is common in
+several English dialects. (Rev. Wm. Burke.)
+
+Johnny Dunn, a job gardener of Dublin, being asked about his young wife,
+who was living apart from him:--'Oh she's just doing nothing, but walking
+about town with a _mug of consequence_ on her.'
+
+'I'm blue-moulded for want of a beating,' says a fellow who pretends to be
+anxious for a fight, but can find no one to fight with him.
+
+  A whistling woman and a crowing hen
+  Will make a man wealthy but deer knows when.
+
+  (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+The people have an almost superstitious dislike for both: they are
+considered unlucky.
+
+'I'll make him scratch where he doesn't itch': meaning I'll punish him
+sorely in some way. (Moran: Carlow.) {192}
+
+When flinging an abusive epithet at a person, 'you' is often put in twice,
+first as an opening tip, and last as a finishing home blow:--'What else
+could I expect from your like, _you unnatural vagabone, you_!'
+
+'I'm afraid he turns up his little finger too often'; i.e.--he is given to
+drink: alluding to the position of the hand when a person is taking a
+glass.
+
+  My neighbour Jack Donovan asked me one day,
+  How many strawberries grew in the _say_;
+  I made him an answer as well as I could,
+  As many red herrings as grew in the wood.
+
+When a person is obliged to utter anything bordering on coarseness, he
+always adds, by way of a sort of apology, 'saving your presence': or 'with
+respect to you.'
+
+Small trifling things are expressed by a variety of words:--'Those sausages
+are not worth a _mallamadee_': 'I don't care a _traneen_ what he says': 'I
+don't care two rows of pins.'
+
+To be rid of a person or thing is expressed by 'I got shut of him,' or 'I
+am done of it.' (Limerick.)
+
+'How did you travel to town?' 'Oh I went _on shanks' mare_:' i.e. I walked.
+
+'His bread is baked'; i.e. he is doomed to die soon. (See p. 109 bottom.)
+
+Banagher is a village in King's Co. on the Shannon: Ballinasloe is a town
+in Galway at the other side of the river. When anything very unusual or
+unexpected occurs, the people say,'Well that bangs Banagher!' or 'that
+bangs Banagher and Ballinasloe!'
+
+'Have you got a shilling to spare for a friend?' 'Indeed I have not.' 'Ah
+you must give it to me; it {193} is for your cousin Tom.' 'Oh, _that's a
+horse of another colour_.' (So he gives it.)
+
+'_Well done mother!_' says the blacksmith when the tooth was out. This is
+how it was pulled. He tied one end of a strong string round the tooth, and
+the other end to the horn of the anvil, and made the old woman keep back
+her head so as to tighten the string. '_Asy_ now mother,' says he. Then
+taking the flaming horseshoe from the fire with the tongs he suddenly
+thrust it towards her face. Anyone can finish the story.
+
+If she catches you she'll _comb your hair with the creepy stool_: i.e.
+she'll whack and beat you with it. (Ulster.)
+
+They say pigs can see the wind, and that it is red. In very old times the
+Irish believed that there were twelve different winds with twelve colours.
+(For these see my 'Smaller Soc. Hist. of Anc. Ireland,' p. 527.) The people
+also will tell you that a pig will swim till the water cuts its throat.
+
+Ah, I see you want _to walk up my sleeve_: i.e. you want to deceive me--_to
+take me in_. (Kerry.)
+
+An expression often heard in the South:--Such and such a thing will happen
+now and then _if you were to put your eyes on sticks_; i.e. however
+watchful you may be. 'Well, if I was to put my eyes upon sticks, Misther
+Mann, I never would know your sister again.' (Gerald Griffin.)
+
+He _is down in the mouth_, i.e. he is in low spirits. I suppose this is
+from the dropping down of the corners of the mouth.
+
+To scold a person--to reprimand him--to give him a good 'setting down'--to
+give him 'all sorts'--to give him 'the rough side of your tongue.' {194}
+
+Anything that cheers you up 'takes the cockles off your heart': 'Here drink
+this [glass of punch, wine, &c.] and 'twill take the cockles off your
+heart.' 'It raises the very cockles o' my heart to see you.'
+('Collegians.') ''Twould rise the cockles av your heart to hear her singing
+the Coolin.' ('Knocknagow.') Probably the origin is this:--Cares and
+troubles clog the heart as cockles clog a ship.
+
+Instead of 'No blame to you' or 'Small blame to you,' the people often say,
+''Tis a stepmother would blame you.'
+
+'Cut your stick, now,' 'cut away'; both mean _go away_: the idea being that
+you want a walking stick and that it is time for you to cut it.
+
+'I hear William is out of his situation.' 'Yes indeed, that is true.' 'And
+how is he living?' 'I don't know; I suppose he's living _on the fat of his
+guts_': meaning he is living on whatever he has saved. But it is sometimes
+used in the direct sense. Poor old Hill, while his shop prospered, had an
+immense paunch, but he became poor and had to live on poor food and little
+of it, so that the belly got flat; and the people used to say--he's living
+now on the fat of his guts, poor old fellow.
+
+Tom Hogan is managing his farm in a way likely to bring him to poverty, and
+Phil Lahy says to him--'Tom, you'll scratch a beggarman's back yet':
+meaning that Tom will himself be the beggarman. ('Knocknagow.') Common all
+over Munster.
+
+The people have a gentle laudable habit of mixing up sacred names and pious
+phrases with their ordinary conversation, in a purely reverential spirit.
+This is one of the many peculiarities of Anglo-Irish {195} speech derived
+from the Irish language: for pious expressions pervaded Irish to its very
+heart, of which the people lost a large part when they ceased to speak the
+language. Yet it continues very prevalent among our English-speaking
+people; and nearly all the expressions they use are direct translations
+from Irish.
+
+'I hear there is a mad dog running about the town.' 'Oh do you tell me
+so--the Lord between us and harm!' or 'the Lord preserve us!' both very
+common exclamations in case of danger.
+
+Sudden news is brought about something serious happening to a neighbour,
+and the people say:--'Oh, God bless the hearers,' or 'God bless the mark.'
+This last is however generally used in derision. John Cox, a notorious
+schemer and miser, 'has put down his name for £20 for a charity--God bless
+the mark!' an intimation that the £20 will never be heard of again.
+
+When a person goes away for ever or dies, the friends and people say 'God
+be with him,' a very beautiful expression, as it is the concentration of
+human affection and regret, and also a prayer. It is merely the translation
+of the Irish _Dia leis_, which has forms for all the three persons and two
+genders:--'with her,' 'with you, 'with them,' &c.
+
+Under any discouraging or distressing circumstances, the expressions 'God
+help me' and 'God help us' are continually in the mouths of the people.
+They are merely translations of _go bh-fóireadh Día orruinn_, &c.
+Similarly, expressions of pity for another such as 'That poor woman is in
+great trouble, God help her,' are translations. {196}
+
+In Dublin, Roman Catholics when passing a Catholic church (or 'chapel')
+remove the hat or cap for a moment as a mark of respect, and usually utter
+a short aspiration or prayer under breath. This custom is I think
+spreading.
+
+When one expresses his intention to do anything even moderately important,
+he always adds 'please God.' Even in our English speech this is of old
+standing. During the Irish wars of Elizabeth, it was told to an Irish chief
+that one of the English captains had stated he would take such and such a
+castle, when the chief retorted, 'Oh yes, but did he say _please God_': as
+much as to say, 'yes if God pleases, but not otherwise.'
+
+'This sickness kept me from Mass for a long time; but _with the help of
+God_, I'll venture next Sunday.' 'Yes, poor Kitty is in great danger, but
+_with the help of God_ she will pull through.'
+
+'I am afraid that poor Nellie will die after that accident.' 'Oh, God
+forbid,' is the response.
+
+People have a pleasing habit of applying the word _blessèd_ [2-syll.] to
+many natural objects, to days, nights, &c. 'Well, you have teased me
+terribly the whole of this blessèd day--you young vagabone.'
+
+ 'Were it not that full of sorrow from my people forth I go,
+  By the blessèd sun 'tis royally I'd sing thy praise Mayo.'
+
+  Translation of Irish Song on 'The County Mayo.'
+
+A mother says to her mischievous child, 'Oh blessèd hour, what am I to do
+with you at all at all!'
+
+ 'Oh we're in a precious plight
+  By your means this blessèd night.'
+
+  (Repeal Song of 1843.)
+
+{197}
+
+'God help me this blessèd night.' ('Mun Carberry and the Pooka' by Robert
+Dwyer Joyce.)
+
+A man is on the verge of ruin, or in some other great trouble, and the
+neighbours will say, 'the Lord will open a gap for him': meaning God will
+find some means of extricating him. Father Higgins, who sent me this, truly
+remarks:--'This is a fine expressive phrase showing the poetical
+temperament of our people, and their religious spirit too.'
+
+When anything happens very much out of the common:--'Glory be to God, isn't
+that wonderful.'
+
+At the mention of the name of a person that is dead, the Roman Catholic
+people invariably utter the little prayer 'God rest his soul' or 'the Lord
+have mercy on him.'
+
+The people thank God for everything, whatever it may be His will to send,
+good or bad. 'Isn't this a beautiful day, Mike.' ''Tis indeed, thank God.'
+'This is a terrible wet day, William, and very bad for the crops.' 'It is
+indeed Tom, thanks be to God for all: He knows best.'
+
+As might be expected where expressions of this kind are so constantly in
+the people's mouths, it happens occasionally that they come in rather
+awkwardly. Little Kitty, running in from the dairy with the eyes starting
+out of her head, says to her mother who is talking to a neighbour in the
+kitchen: 'Oh, mother, mother, I saw a terrible thing in the cream.' 'Ah,
+never mind, child,' says the mother, suspecting the truth and anxious to
+hush it up, 'it's nothing but the grace of God.' 'Oh but mother, sure the
+grace of God hasn't a long tail.'
+
+The following story was current when I was a {198} child, long before
+Charles Kickham wrote 'Knocknagow,' in which he tells the story too: but I
+will give it in his words. A station is held at Maurice Kearney's, where
+the family and servants and the neighbours go to Confession and receive
+Holy Communion: among the rest Barney Broderick the stable boy. After all
+was over, Father MacMahon's driver provokes and insults Barney, who is kept
+back, and keeps himself back with difficulty from falling on him and
+'knocking his two eyes into one' and afterwards 'breaking every tooth in
+his head.' 'Damn well the _blagard_ knows,' exclaims Barney, 'that I'm in a
+state of grace to-day. But'--he continued, shaking his fist at the
+fellow--'but, please God I won't be in a state of grace always.'
+
+When a person is smooth-tongued, meek-looking, over civil, and deceitful,
+he is _plauzy_ [plausible], 'as mild as ever on stirabout smiled.' 'Oh she
+is sly enough; she looks as if _butter wouldn't melt in her mouth_.'
+(Charles Macklin--an Irish writer--in _The Man of the World_.) This last
+expression of Macklin's is heard everywhere here.
+
+A person is in some sore fix, or there is trouble before him: 'I wouldn't
+like to be _in his shoes_ just now.'
+
+A person falls in for some piece of good fortune:--'Oh you're _made up_,
+John: you're a _med_ man; you're _on the pig's back_ now.'
+
+In a house where the wife is master--the husband henpecked:--'the grey mare
+is the better horse.' (General.)
+
+He got the father of a beating; i.e. a great beating. {199}
+
+'How did poor Jack get that mark on his face?' 'Oh he fell over his
+shadow': meaning he fell while he was drunk.
+
+A good dancer 'handles his feet well.' (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+A pensioner, a loafer, or anyone that has nothing to do but walk about, is
+_an inspector of public buildings_.
+
+Those who leave Ireland commonly become all the more attached to it: they
+get to love _the old sod_ all the more intensely. A poor old woman was
+dying in Liverpool, and Father O'Neill came and administered the last
+sacraments. He noticed that she still hesitated as if she wished to say
+something more; and after some encouragement she at length said:--'Well,
+father, I only wanted to ask you, _will my soul pass through Ireland on its
+journey?_' ('Knocknagow.') According to a religious legend in 'The Second
+Vision of Adamnan' the soul, on parting from the body, visits four places
+before setting out for its final destination:--the place of birth, the
+place of death, the place of baptism, and the place of burial. So this poor
+old woman got her wish.
+
+'Well, I don't like to say anything bad about you; and as for the other
+side, _the less I praise you the less I lie_.' (North.)
+
+There is a touch of heredity in this:--'You're nothing but a schemer like
+your seven generations before you.' (Kildare.)
+
+'Oh you need not be afraid: I'll call only very seldom henceforward.'
+Reply:--'The seldomer the welcomer.' {200}
+
+'Never dread the winter till the snow is on the blanket': i.e. as long as
+you have a roof over your head. An allusion to the misery of those poor
+people--numerous enough in the evil days of past times--who were evicted
+from house and home. (P. Reilly: Kildare.)
+
+Of a lucky man:--'That man's ducks are laying.'
+
+When a baby is born, the previous baby's 'nose is out of joint.' Said also
+of a young man who is supplanted by another in courtship.
+
+A man who supplants another in any pursuit or design is said to 'come
+inside him.'
+
+A person is speaking bitterly or uncharitably of one who is dead; and
+another says reprovingly--'let the dead rest.'
+
+When it is proposed to give a person something he doesn't need or something
+much too good for him, you oppose or refuse it by saying:--'_Cock him up
+with it_--how much he wants it!--I'll do no such thing.' Two gentlemen
+staying for a night in a small hotel in a remote country town ordered toast
+for breakfast, which it seems was very unusual there. They sat down to
+breakfast, but there was no sign of the toast. 'What about the toast?' asks
+one. Whereupon the impudent waiter replies--'Ah, then cock yez up with
+toast: how bad yez are for it.'
+
+A very general form of expression to point to a person's identity in a very
+vague way is seen in the following example:--'From whom did you buy that
+horse, James?' Reply:--'From _a man of the Burkes_ living over there in
+Ballinvreena': i.e. a man named Burke. Mr. Seumas MacManus has adopted
+{201} this idiom in the name of one of his books:--'A Lad of the O'Friels.'
+
+'I never saw the froth of your pot or the bead of your naggin': i.e. you
+have never entertained me. _Bead_, the string of little bubbles that rise
+when you shake whiskey in a bottle. (Kildare.)
+
+Of a man likely to die: 'he'll soon be a load for four': i.e. the four
+coffin-bearers. (Reilly: Kildare.)
+
+When a person attempts to correct you when you are not in error:--'Don't
+take me up till I fall.'
+
+When you make a good attempt:--'If I didn't knock it down, I staggered it.'
+
+'Love daddy, love mammy, love yourself best.' Said of a very selfish
+person.
+
+An odd expression:--'You are making such noise that _I can't hear my
+ears_.' (Derry; and also Limerick.)
+
+Plato to a young man who asked his advice about getting married:--'If you
+don't get married you'll be sorry: and if you do you'll be sorry.'
+
+Our Irish cynic is more bitter:--
+
+  If a man doesn't marry he'll rue it sore:
+  And if he gets married he'll rue it more.
+
+The children were great pets with their grandmother: 'She wouldn't let
+anyone _look crooked_ at them': i.e. she wouldn't permit the least
+unkindness.
+
+'Can he read a Latin book?' 'Read one! why, he can write Latin books, _let
+alone_ reading them.' _Let alone_ in this sense very common all over
+Ireland.
+
+A person offers to do you some kindness, and you accept it jokingly with
+'Sweet is your hand in a pitcher of honey.' (Crofton Croker.) {202}
+
+When a man falls into error, not very serious or criminal--gets drunk
+accidentally for instance--the people will say, by way of
+extenuation:--''Tis a good man's case.'
+
+You may be sure Tim will be at the fair to-morrow, _dead or alive or
+a-horseback_.
+
+'You never spoke but you said something': said to a person who makes a
+silly remark or gives foolish advice. (Kinahan).
+
+'He will never comb a grey hair': said of a young person who looks
+unhealthy and is likely to die early.
+
+Two persons had an angry dispute; and _one word borrowed another_ till at
+last they came to blows. Heard everywhere in Ireland.
+
+The robin and the wren are God's cock and hen.
+
+'I'll take the book _and no thanks to you_,' i.e. I'll take it in spite of
+you, whether you like or no, against your will--'I'll take it in spite of
+your teeth'--'in spite of your nose': all very common.
+
+A person arrives barely in time for his purpose or to fulfil his
+engagement:--'You have just saved your distance.'
+
+To _put a person off the walk_ means to kill him, to remove him in some
+way. (Meath.)
+
+A man has had a long fit of illness, and the wife, telling about it,
+says:--'For six weeks coal nor candle never went out.' (Antrim.)
+
+'To cure a person's hiccup' means to make him submit, to bring him to his
+senses, to make him acknowledge his error, by some decided course of
+action. A shopkeeper goes to a customer for payment of a debt, and gets no
+satisfaction, but, on the {203} contrary, impudence. 'Oh well, I'll send
+you an attorney's letter to-morrow, and may be that will cure your hiccup.'
+The origin of this expression is the general belief through Ireland that a
+troublesome fit of hiccup may be cured by suddenly making some very
+startling and alarming announcement to the person--an announcement in which
+he is deeply concerned: such as that the stacks in the haggard are on
+fire--that three of his cows have just been drowned, &c. Fiachra MacBrady,
+a schoolmaster and poet, of Stradone in Cavan (1712), wrote a humorous
+description of his travels through Ireland of which the translation has
+this verse:--
+
+ 'I drank till quite mellow, then like a brave fellow,
+    Began for to bellow and shouted for more;
+  But my host held his stick up, which soon _cured my hiccup_,
+    As no cash I could pick up to pay off the score.'
+
+The host was the publican, and the stick that he held up was the tally
+stick on which were marked in nicks all the drinks poor MacBrady had
+taken--a usual way of keeping accounts in old times. The sight of the
+_score_ brought him to his senses at once--_cured his hiccup_.
+
+A verse of which the following is a type is very often found in our
+Anglo-Irish songs:--
+
+ 'The flowers in those valleys no more shall spring,
+  The blackbirds and thrushes no more shall sing,
+  The sea shall dry up and no water shall be,
+  At the hour I'll prove false to sweet graw-mochree.'
+
+So in Scotland:--'I will luve thee still, my dear, till a' the seas gang
+dry.' (Burns.)
+
+A warning sometimes given to a messenger:--'Now don't forget it like Billy
+and the pepper': This {204} is the story of Billy and the pepper. A gander
+got killed accidentally; and as the family hardly ever tasted meat, there
+was to be a great treat that day. To top the grandeur they sent little
+Billy to town for a pennyworth of pepper. But Billy forgot the name, and
+only remembered that it was something hot; so he asked the shopman for a
+penn'orth of _hot-thing_. The man couldn't make head or tail of the
+_hot-thing_, so he questioned Billy. Is it mustard? No. Is it ginger? No.
+Is it pepper? Oh that's just it--_gandher's pepper_.
+
+A man has done me some intentional injury, and I say to him, using a very
+common phrase:--'Oh, well, wait; _I'll pay you off_ for that': meaning
+'I'll punish you for it--I'll have satisfaction.'
+
+_Dry_ for _thirsty_ is an old English usage; for in Middleton's Plays it is
+found used in this sense. (Lowell.) It is almost universal in Ireland,
+where of course it survives from old English. There is an old Irish air and
+song called 'I think it no treason to drink when I'm _dry_': and in another
+old Folk Song we find this couplet:
+
+ 'There was an old soldier riding by,
+  He called for a quart because he was _dry_.'
+
+Instances of the odd perversion of sense by misplacing some little clause
+are common in all countries: and I will give here just one that came under
+my own observation. A young friend, a boy, had remained away an unusually
+long time without visiting us; and on being asked the reason he
+replied:--'I could not come, sir; I got a bite in the leg of dog'--an
+example which I think is unique. {205}
+
+On the first appearance of the new moon, a number of children linked hands
+and danced, keeping time to the following verse--
+
+  I see the moon, the moon sees me,
+  God bless the moon and God bless me:
+  There's grace in the cottage and grace in the hall;
+  And the grace of God is over us all.
+
+For the air to which this was sung see my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,'
+p. 60.
+
+'Do you really mean to drive that horse of William's to pound?' 'Certainly
+I will.' 'Oh very well; let ye take what you'll get.' Meaning you are
+likely to pay dear for it--you may take the consequences. (Ulster.)
+
+'If he tries to remove that stone without any help _it will take him all
+his time_': it will require his utmost exertions. (Ulster: very common.)
+
+When rain is badly wanted and often threatens but still doesn't come they
+say:--'It has great _hould_ [hold] of the rain.' On the other hand when
+there is long continued wet weather:--'It is very fond of the rain.'
+
+When flakes of snow begin to fall:--'They are plucking the geese in
+Connaught.' 'Formerly in all the congested districts of Ireland [which are
+more common in Connaught than elsewhere] goose and duck feathers formed one
+of the largest industries.' (Kinahan.)
+
+Now James you should put down your name for more than 5s.: there's Tom
+Gallagher, not half so well off as you, _put the shame on you_ by
+subscribing £1. (Kinahan: pretty general.) {206}
+
+In stories 'a day' is often added on to a period of time, especially to a
+year. A person is banished out of Ireland for a year and a day.
+
+The battle of Ventry Harbour lasted for a year and a day, when at last the
+foreigners were defeated.
+
+  There's a colleen fair as May,
+  For a year and for a day
+  I have sought by ev'ry way
+            Her heart to gain.
+
+  (PETRIE.)
+
+'Billy MacDaniel,' said the fairy, 'you shall be my servant for seven years
+and a day.' (Crofton Croker.) Borrowed from the Irish.
+
+The word _all_ is often used by our rustic poets exactly as it is found in
+English folk-songs. Gay has happily imitated this popular usage in
+'Black-eyed Susan':--
+
+ 'All in the Downs the fleet was moored'--
+
+and Scott in 'The Lay of the Last Minstrel':--
+
+ 'All as they left the listed plain.'
+
+Any number of examples might be given from our peasant songs, but these two
+will be sufficient:--
+
+ 'As I roved out one evening two miles below Pomeroy
+  I met a farmer's daughter _all on_ the mountains high.'
+
+ 'How a young lady's heart was won
+  _All by_ the loving of a farmer's son.'
+
+(The two lovely airs of these will be found in two of my books: for the
+first, see 'The Mountains high' in 'Ancient Irish Music'; and for the
+second {207} see 'Handsome Sally' in 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs.')
+
+'He saw her on that day, and _never laid eyes on her_ alive afterwards.'
+(Speech of Irish counsel in murder case: 1909.) A common expression.
+
+A wish for success either in life or in some particular undertaking--purely
+figurative of course:--'That the road may rise under you.' As the road
+continually rises under foot there is always an easy down hill in front.
+(Kerry.)
+
+Regarding some proposal or offer:--'I never said against it'; i.e. I never
+disapproved of it--declined it--refused it.
+
+Be said by me: i.e. take my advice. (General.)
+
+When a cart-wheel screeches because the axle-tree has not been greased, it
+is _cursing for grease_. (Munster.)
+
+When a person wishes to keep out from another--to avoid argument or
+conflict, he says:--'The child's bargain--let me alone and I'll let you
+alone.'
+
+When a person goes to law expenses trying to recover a debt which it is
+very unlikely he will recover, that is 'throwing good money after bad.'
+
+'I'm the second tallest man in Mitchelstown'--or 'I'm the next tallest.'
+Both mean 'there is just one other man in Mitchelstown taller than me, and
+I come next to him.'
+
+'Your honour.' Old English: very common as a term of courtesy in the time
+of Elizabeth, and to be met with everywhere in the State papers and
+correspondence of that period. Used now all through Ireland by the
+peasantry when addressing persons very much above them. {208}
+
+_The cabman's answer._ I am indebted to this cabman for giving me an
+opportunity of saying something here about myself. It is quite a common
+thing for people to write to me for information that they could easily find
+in my books: and this is especially the case in connexion with Irish
+place-names. I have always made it a point to reply to these
+communications. But of late they have become embarrassingly numerous, while
+my time is getting more circumscribed with every year of my long life. Now,
+this is to give notice to _all the world and Garrett Reilly_ that
+henceforward I will give these good people the reply that the Dublin cabman
+gave the lady. 'Please, sir,' said she, 'will you kindly tell me the
+shortest way to St. Patrick's Cathedral.' He opened the door of his cab
+with his left hand, and pointing in with the forefinger of his right,
+answered--'In there ma'am.' {209}
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+VOCABULARY AND INDEX.
+
+[In this Vocabulary, as well indeed as through the whole book, _gh_ and
+_ch_ are to be sounded guttural, as in _lough_ and _loch_, unless otherwise
+stated or implied. Those who cannot sound the guttural may take the sound
+of _k_ instead, and they will not be far wrong.]
+
+    Able; strong, muscular, and vigorous:--'Nagle was a strong able man.'
+
+    Able dealer; a schemer. (Limerick.)
+
+    Acushla; see Cushlamochree.
+
+    Adam's ale; plain drinking-water.
+
+    Affirming, assenting, and saluting, 9.
+
+    Agra or Agraw: a term of endearment; my love: vocative of Irish
+    _grádh_, love.
+
+    Ahaygar; a pet term; my friend, my love: vocative of Irish _téagur_,
+    love, a dear person.
+
+    Aims-ace; a small amount, quantity, or distance. Applied in the
+    following way very generally in Munster:--'He was within an aim's-ace
+    of being drowned' (very near). A survival in Ireland of the old
+    Shakesperian word _ambs-ace_, meaning two aces or two single points in
+    throwing dice, the smallest possible throw.
+
+    Air: a visitor comes in:--'Won't you sit down Joe and take an _air_ of
+    the fire.' (Very usual.)
+
+    Airt used in Ulster and Scotland for a single point of the compass:--
+
+     'Of a' the airts the wind can blaw I dearly like the west.'
+
+      (BURNS.)
+
+    It is the Irish _áird_, a point of the compass.
+
+    {210} Airy; ghostly, fearsome: an _airy_ place, a haunted place. Same
+    as Scotch _eerie_. From Gaelic _áedharaigh_, same sound and meaning. A
+    survival of the old Irish pagan belief that air-demons were the most
+    malignant of all supernatural beings: see Joyce's 'Old Celtic
+    Romances,' p. 15.
+
+    Alanna; my child: vocative case of Irish _leanbh_ [lannav], a child.
+
+    Allow; admit. 'I allow that you lent me a pound': 'if you allow that
+    you cannot deny so and so.' This is an old English usage. (Ducange.) To
+    advise or recommend: 'I would not allow you to go by that road' ('I
+    would not recommend'). 'I'd allow you to sow that field with oats'
+    (advise).
+
+    All to; means except:--'I've sold my sheep all to six,' i.e. except
+    six. This is merely a translation from the Irish as in _Do marbhadh na
+    daoine uile go haon triúr_: 'The people were slain all to a single
+    three.' (Keating.)
+
+    Along of; on account of. Why did you keep me waiting [at night] so long
+    at the door, Pat?' 'Why then 'twas all along of Judy there being so
+    much afraid of the fairies.' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+    Alpeen, a stick or hand-wattle with a knob at the lower end: diminutive
+    of Irish _alp_, a knob. Sometimes called a _clehalpeen_: where _cleh_
+    is the Irish _cleath_ a stick. _Clehalpeen_, a knobbed cudgel.
+
+    Amadaun, a fool (man or boy), a half-fool, a foolish person. Irish
+    _amadán_, a fool: a form of _onmitán_; from _ón_, a fool: see
+    _Oanshagh_.
+
+    American wake; a meeting of friends on the evening before the departure
+    of some young people for {211} America, as a farewell celebration. (See
+    my 'Old Irish Folk-Music and Songs,' p. 191.)
+
+    Amplush, a fix, a difficulty: he was in a great amplush. (North and
+    South.) (Edw. Walsh in Dub. Pen. Journal.)
+
+    Amshagh; a sudden hurt, an accident. (Derry.)
+
+    Ang-ishore; a poor miserable creature--man or woman. It is merely the
+    Irish word _aindeiseóir_. (Chiefly South.)
+
+    Any is used for _no_ (in _no more_) in parts of West and North-west.
+    'James, you left the gate open this morning and the calves got out.'
+    'Oh I'm sorry sir; I will do it any more.' This is merely a
+    mistranslation of _níos mo_, from some confused idea of the sense of
+    two (Irish) negatives (_níos_ being one, with another preceding)
+    leading to the omission of an English negative from the correct
+    construction--'I will _not_ do it anymore:' _Níos mo_ meaning in
+    English 'no more' or 'any more' according to the omission or insertion
+    of an English negative.
+
+    Aree often used after _ochone_ (alas) in Donegal and elsewhere. _Aree_
+    gives the exact pronunciation of _a Righ_, and _neimhe_ (heaven) is
+    understood. The full Irish exclamation is _ochón a Righ neimhe_, 'alas,
+    O King of heaven.'
+
+    Arnaun or arnaul, to sit up working at night later than usual. Irish
+    _airneán_ or _airneál_, same meaning.
+
+    Aroon, a term of endearment, my love, my dear: _Eileen Aroon_, the name
+    of a celebrated Irish air: vocative of Irish _rún_ [roon], a secret, a
+    secret treasure. In Limerick commonly shortened to _aroo_. 'Where are
+    you going now _aroo_?'
+
+    {212} Art-loochra or arc-loochra, a harmless lizard five or six inches
+    long: Irish _art_ or _arc_ is a lizard: _luachra_, rushes; the 'lizard
+    of the rushes.'
+
+    Ask, a water-newt, a small water-lizard: from _esc_ or _easc_ [ask], an
+    old Irish word for water. From the same root comes the next word, the
+    diminutive form--
+
+    Askeen; land made by cutting away bog, which generally remains more or
+    less watery. (Reilly: Kildare.)
+
+    Asthore, a term of endearment, 'my treasure.' The vocative case of
+    Irish _stór_ [store], treasure.
+
+    Athurt; to confront:--'Oh well I will athurt him with that lie he told
+    about me.' (Cork.) Possibly a mispronunciation of _athwart_.
+
+    Avourneen, my love: the vocative case of Irish _muirnín_, a sweetheart,
+    a loved person.
+
+
+
+    Baan: a field covered with short grass:--'A baan field': 'a _baan_ of
+    cows': i.e. a grass farm with its proper number of cows. Irish _bán_,
+    whitish.
+
+    Back; a faction: 'I have a good back in the country, so I defy my
+    enemies.'
+
+    Back of God-speed; a place very remote, out of the way: so far off that
+    the virtue of your wish of _God-speed_ to a person will not go with him
+    so far.
+
+    Bacon: to 'save one's bacon'; to succeed in escaping some serious
+    personal injury--death, a beating, &c. 'They fled from the fight to
+    save their bacon': 'Here a lodging I'd taken, but loth to awaken, for
+    fear of my bacon, either man, wife, or babe.' (Old Anglo-Irish poem.)
+
+    {213} Bad member; a doer of evil; a bad character; a treacherous
+    fellow: 'I'm ruined,' says he, 'for some bad member has wrote to the
+    bishop about me.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')
+
+    Baffity, unbleached or blay calico. (Munster.)
+
+    Bails or bales, frames made of perpendicular wooden bars in which cows
+    are fastened for the night in the stable. (Munster.)
+
+    Baithershin; may be so, perhaps. Irish _b'féidir-sin_, same sound and
+    meaning.
+
+    Ballowr (Bal-yore in Ulster); to bellow, roar, bawl, talk loudly and
+    coarsely.
+
+    Ballyhooly, a village near Fermoy in Cork, formerly notorious for its
+    faction fights, so that it has passed into a proverb. A man is late
+    coming home and expects _Ballyhooly_ from his wife, i.e. 'the length
+    and breadth of her tongue.' Father Carroll has neglected to visit his
+    relatives, the Kearneys, for a long time, so that he knows he's _in the
+    black books_ with Mrs. Kearney, and expects Ballyhooly from her the
+    first time he meets her. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+    Ballyorgan in Co. Limerick, 146.
+
+    Banagher and Ballinasloe, 192.
+
+    Bannalanna: a woman who sells ale over the counter. Irish
+    _bean-na-leanna_, 'woman of the ale,' 'ale-woman' (_leann_, ale).
+
+    Ballyrag; to give loud abuse in torrents. (General.)
+
+    Bandle; a 2-foot measure for home-made flannel. (Munster.)
+
+    Bang-up; a frieze overcoat with high collar and long cape.
+
+    {214} Banshee´; a female fairy: Irish _bean-sidhe_ [banshee], a 'woman
+    from the _shee_ or fairy-dwelling.' This was the original meaning; but
+    in modern times, and among English speakers, the word _banshee_ has
+    become narrowed in its application, and signifies a female spirit that
+    attends certain families, and is heard _keening_ or crying aloud at
+    night round the house when some member of the family is about to die.
+
+    Barcelona; a silk kerchief for the neck:--
+
+     'His clothes spick and span new without e'er a speck;
+      A neat Barcelona tied round his white neck.'
+
+      (EDWARD LYSAGHT, in 'The Sprig of Shillelah.')
+
+    So called because imported from Barcelona, preserving a memory of the
+    old days of smuggling.
+
+    Barsa, barsaun; a scold. (Kild. and Ulst.)
+
+    Barth; a back-load of rushes, straw, heath, &c. Irish _beart_.
+
+    Baury, baura, baur-y[)a], bairy; the goal in football, hurling, &c.
+    Irish _báire_ [2-syll.], a game, a goal.
+
+    Bawn; an enclosure near a farmhouse for cattle, sheep, &c.; in some
+    districts, simply a farmyard. Irish _badhun_ [bawn], a cow-keep, from
+    _ba_, cows, and _dún_, a keep or fortress. Now generally applied to the
+    green field near the homestead where the cows are brought to be milked.
+
+    Bawneen; a loose whitish jacket of home-made undyed flannel worn by men
+    at out-door work. Very general: _banyan_ in Derry. From Irish _bán_
+    [bawn], whitish, with the diminutive termination.
+
+    Bawnoge; a dancing-green. (MacCall: Leinster.) {215} From _bán_ [baan],
+    a field covered with short grass; and the dim. _óg_ (p. 90).
+
+    Bawshill, a _fetch_ or double. (See Fetch.) (MacCall: S. Wexford.) I
+    think this is a derivative of _Bow_, which see.
+
+    Beestings; new milk from a cow that has just calved.
+
+    Be-knownst; known: unbe-knownst; unknown. (Antrim.)
+
+    Better than; more than:--'It is better than a year since I saw him
+    last'; 'better than a mile,' &c. (Leinster and Munster.)
+
+    Bian´ [by-ann´]; one of Bianconi's long cars. (See Jingle.)
+
+    Binnen; the rope tying a cow to a stake in a field. (Knowles: Ulster.)
+
+    Birragh; a muzzle-band with spikes on a calf's or a foal's muzzle to
+    prevent it sucking its mother. From Irish _bir_, a sharp spit:
+    _birragh_, full of sharp points or spits. (Munster: see Gubbaun.)
+
+    Blackfast: among Roman Catholics, there is a 'black fast' on Ash
+    Wednesday, Spy Wednesday, and Good Friday, i.e. no flesh meat or
+    _whitemeat_ is allowed--no flesh, butter, eggs, cheese, or milk.
+
+    Blackfeet. The members of one of the secret societies of a century ago
+    were called 'Ribbonmen.' Some of them acknowledged the priests: those
+    were 'whitefeet': others did not--'blackfeet.'
+
+    Black man, black fellow; a surly vindictive implacable irreconcilable
+    fellow.
+
+    Black man; the man who accompanies a suitor to the house of the
+    intended father-in-law, to help to make the match.
+
+    {216} Black of one's nail. 'You just escaped by the black of your
+    nail': 'there's no cloth left--not the size of the black of my nail.'
+    (North and South.)
+
+    Black swop. When two fellows have two wretched articles--such as two
+    old penknives--each thinking his own to be the worst in the universe,
+    they sometimes agree for the pure humour of the thing to make a _black
+    swop_, i.e. to swop without first looking at the articles. When they
+    are looked at after the swop, there is always great fun. (See Hool.)
+
+    Blarney; smooth, plausible, cajoling talk. From Blarney Castle near
+    Cork, in which there is a certain stone hard to reach, with this
+    virtue, that if a person kisses it, he will be endowed with the gift of
+    _blarney_.
+
+    Blast; when a child suddenly fades in health and pines away, he has got
+    a blast,--i.e. a puff of evil wind sent by some baleful sprite has
+    struck him. _Blast_ when applied to fruit or crops means a blight in
+    the ordinary sense--nothing supernatural.
+
+    Blather, bladdher; a person who utters vulgarly foolish boastful talk:
+    used also as a verb--to blather. Hence _blatherumskite_, applied to a
+    person or to his talk in much the same sense; 'I never heard such a
+    blatherumskite.' Ulster and Scotch form _blether_, _blethering_: Burns
+    speaks of stringing 'blethers up in rhyme.' ('The Vision.')
+
+    Blaze, blazes, blazing: favourite words everywhere in Ireland. Why are
+    you in such a blazing hurry? Jack ran away like blazes: now work at
+    that job like blazes: he is blazing drunk. Used also by the English
+    _peasantry_:--'That's a blazing strange {217} answer,' says Jerry
+    Cruncher in 'A Tale of Two Cities.' There's a touch of slang in some of
+    these: yet the word has been in a way made classical by Lord Morley's
+    expression that Lord Salisbury never made a speech without uttering
+    'some blazing indiscretion.'
+
+    Blind Billy. In coming to an agreement take care you don't make 'Blind
+    Billy's Bargain,' by either overreaching yourself or allowing the other
+    party to overreach you. Blind Billy was the hangman in Limerick, and on
+    one particular occasion he flatly refused to do his work unless he got
+    £50 down on the nail: so the high sheriff had to agree and the hangman
+    put the money in his pocket. When all was over the sheriff refused
+    point-blank to send the usual escort without a fee of £50 down. So
+    Blind Billy had to hand over the £50--for if he went without an escort
+    he would be torn in pieces--and had nothing in the end for his job.
+
+    Blind lane; a lane stopped up at one end.
+
+    Blind window; an old window stopped up, but still plain to be seen.
+
+    Blink; to exercise an evil influence by a glance of the 'evil eye'; to
+    'overlook'; hence 'blinked,' blighted by the eye. When the butter does
+    not come in churning, the milk has been _blinked_ by some one.
+
+    Blirt; to weep: as a noun, a rainy wind. (Ulster.)
+
+    Blob (_blab_ often in Ulster), a raised blister: a drop of honey, or of
+    anything liquid.
+
+    Blue look-out; a bad look-out, bad prospect.
+
+    Boal or bole; a shelved recess in a room. (North.)
+
+    Boarhaun; dried cowdung used for fuel like turf. Irish _boithreán_
+    [boarhaun], from bo, a cow.
+
+    {218} Boccach [accented on 2nd syll. in Munster, but elsewhere on 1st];
+    a lame person. From the fact that so many beggars are lame or pretend
+    to be lame, _boccach_ has come to mean a beggar. Irish _bacach_, a lame
+    person: from _bac_, to halt. _Bockady_, another form of _boccach_ in
+    Munster. _Bockeen_ (the diminutive added on to _bac_), another form
+    heard in Mayo.
+
+    Boddagh [accented on 2nd syll. in Munster; in Ulster on 1st], a rich
+    churlish clownish fellow. Tom Cuddihy wouldn't bear insult from any
+    purse-proud old _boddagh_. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+    Body-coat; a coat like the present dress-coat, cut away in front so as
+    to leave a narrow pointed tail-skirt behind: usually made of frieze and
+    worn with the knee-breeches.
+
+    Body-glass; a large mirror in which the whole body can be seen.
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Body-lilty; heels over head. (Derry.)
+
+    Bog; what is called in England a 'peat moss.' Merely the Irish _bog_,
+    soft. Bog (verb), to be bogged; to sink in a bog or any soft soil or
+    swampy place.
+
+    Bog-butter; butter found deep in bogs, where it had been buried in old
+    times for a purpose, and forgotten: a good deal changed now by the
+    action of the bog. (See Joyce's 'Smaller Soc. Hist. of Anc. Ireland,'
+    p. 260.)
+
+    Bog-Latin; bad incorrect Latin; Latin that had been learned in the
+    hedge schools among the bogs. This derisive and reproachful epithet was
+    given in bad old times by pupils and others of the favoured, legal, and
+    endowed schools, sometimes with reason, {219} but oftener very
+    unjustly. For those _bog_ or hedge schools sent out numbers of
+    scholarly men, who afterwards entered the church or lay professions.
+    (See p. 151.)
+
+    Boghaleen; the same as Crusheen, which see.
+
+    Bohaun; a cabin or hut. Irish _both_ [boh], a hut, with the diminutive
+    _án_.
+
+    Bold; applied to girls and boys in the sense of 'forward,' 'impudent.'
+
+    Boliaun, also called _booghalaun bwee_ and _ge[=o]sadaun_; the common
+    yellow ragwort: all these are Irish words.
+
+    Bolting-hole; the second or backward entrance made by rats, mice,
+    rabbits, &c., from their burrows, so that if attacked at the ordinary
+    entrance, they can escape by this, which is always left unused except
+    in case of attack. (Kinahan.)
+
+    Bones. If a person magnifies the importance of any matter and talks as
+    if it were some great affair, the other will reply:--'Oh, you're
+    _making great bones_ about it.'
+
+    Bonnive, a sucking-pig. Irish _banbh_, same sound and meaning. Often
+    used with the diminutive--bonniveen, bonneen. 'Oh look at the _baby
+    pigs_,' says an Irish lady one day in the hearing of others and myself,
+    ashamed to use the Irish word. After that she always bore the nickname
+    'Baby pig':--'Oh, there's the Baby pig.'
+
+    Bonnyclabber; thick milk. Irish _bainne_ [bonny] milk; and _clabar_,
+    anything thick or half liquid. 'In use all over America.' (Russell.)
+
+    Boochalawn bwee; ragweed: same as boliaun, which see.
+
+    {220} Boolanthroor; three men threshing together, instead of the usual
+    two: striking always in time. Irish _buail-an-triúr_, 'the striking of
+    three.'
+
+    Booley as a noun; a temporary settlement in the grassy uplands where
+    the people of the adjacent lowland village lived during the summer with
+    their cattle, and milked them and made butter, returning in
+    autumn--cattle and all--to their lowland farms to take up the crops.
+    Used as a verb also: _to booley_. See my 'Smaller Soc. Hist. of Anc.
+    Ireland,' p. 431; or 'Irish Names of Places,' I. 239.
+
+    Boolthaun, boulhaun, booltheen, boolshin: the striking part of a flail:
+    from Irish _buail_ [bool], to strike, with the diminutive.
+
+    Boon in Ulster, same as _Mihul_ elsewhere; which see.
+
+    Boreen or bohereen, a narrow road. Irish _bóthar_ [boher], a road, with
+    the diminutive.
+
+    Borick; a small wooden ball used by boys in hurling or goaling, when
+    the proper leather-covered ball is not to hand. Called in Ulster a
+    _nag_ and also a _golley_. (Knowles.)
+
+    Borreen-brack, 'speckled cake,' speckled with currants and raisins,
+    from Irish _bairghin_ [borreen], a cake, and _breac_ [brack], speckled:
+    specially baked for Hallow-eve. Sometimes corruptly called _barm-brack_
+    or _barn-brack_.
+
+    Bosthoon: a flexible rod or whip made of a number of green rushes laid
+    together and bound up with single rushes wound round and round. Made by
+    boys in play--as I often made them. Hence '_bosthoon_' is applied
+    contemptuously to a soft {221} worthless spiritless fellow, in much the
+    same sense as _poltroon_.
+
+    Bother; merely the Irish word _bodhar_, deaf, used both as a noun and a
+    verb in English (in the sense of deafening, annoying, troubling,
+    perplexing, teasing): a person deaf or partially deaf is said to be
+    _bothered_:--'Who should come in but _bothered_ Nancy Fay. Now be it
+    known that _bothered_ signifies deaf; and Nancy was a little old cranky
+    _bothered_ woman.' (Ir. Pen. Mag.) You 'turn the _bothered_ ear' to a
+    person when you do not wish to hear what he says or grant his request.
+    In these applications _bother_ is universal in Ireland among all
+    classes--educated as well as uneducated: accordingly, as Murray notes,
+    it was first brought into use by Irishmen, such as Sheridan, Swift, and
+    Sterne; just as Irishmen of to-day are bringing into currency _galore_,
+    _smithereens_, and many other Irish words. In its primary sense of deaf
+    or to deafen, _bother_ is used in the oldest Irish documents: thus in
+    the Book of Leinster we have:--_Ro bodrais sind oc imradud do maic_,
+    'You have made us deaf (you have _bothered_ us) talking about your son'
+    (Kuno Meyer): and a similar expression is in use at the present day in
+    the very common phrase 'don't _bother_ me' (don't deafen me, don't
+    annoy me), which is an exact translation of the equally common Irish
+    phrase _ná bí am' bhodradh_. Those who derive _bother_ from the English
+    _pother_ make a guess, and not a good one. See Bowraun.
+
+    Bottheen, a short thick stick or cudgel: the Irish _bata_ with the
+    diminutive:--_baitin_.
+
+    Bottom; a clue or ball of thread. One of the tricks {222} of girls on
+    Hallow-eve to find out the destined husband is to go out to the
+    limekiln at night with a ball of yarn; throw in the ball still holding
+    the thread; re-wind the thread, till it is suddenly stopped; call out
+    'who _howlds_ my bottom of yarn?' when she expects to hear the name of
+    the young man she is to marry.
+
+    Bouchal or boochal, a boy: the Irish _buachaill_, same meaning.
+
+    Bouilly-bawn, white home-made bread of wheaten flour; often called
+    _bully-bread_. (MacCall: Wexford.) From Irish _bul_ or _búilidhe_, a
+    loaf, and _bán_, white.
+
+    Boundhalaun, a plant with thick hollow stem with joints, of which boys
+    make rude syringes. From Irish _banndal_ or _bannlamh_, a _bandle_
+    (which see), with the dim. termination _án_, I never saw true
+    boundhalauns outside Munster.
+
+    Bourke, the Rev. Father, 71, 161.
+
+    Bownloch, a sore on the sole of the foot always at the edge: from
+    _bonn_ the foot-sole [pron. bown in the South], and _loch_ a mere
+    termination. Also called a _Bine-lock_.
+
+    Bowraun, a sieve-shaped vessel for holding or measuring out corn, with
+    the flat bottom made of dried sheepskin stretched tight; sometimes used
+    as a rude tambourine, from which it gets the name _bowraun_; Irish
+    _bodhur_ [pron. bower here], deaf, from the _bothered_ or indistinct
+    sound. (South.)
+
+    Bow [to rhyme with _cow_]; a _banshee_, a _fetch_ (both which see.
+    MacCall: South Leinster). This word has come down to us from very old
+    times, for it preserves the memory of _Bugh_ [Boo], a _banshee_ or
+    fairy queen once very celebrated, the daughter of {223} Bove Derg king
+    of the Dedannans or faery-race, of whom information will be obtained in
+    the classical Irish story, 'The Fate of the Children of Lir,' the first
+    in my 'Old Celtic Romances.' She has given her name to many hills all
+    through Ireland. (See my 'Irish Names of Places,' I. 182, 183. See
+    Bawshill.)
+
+    Box and dice; used to denote the whole lot: I'll send you all the books
+    and manuscripts, box and dice.
+
+    Boxty; same as the Limerick _muddly_, which see.
+
+    Boy. Every Irishman is a 'boy' till he is married, and indeed often
+    long after. (Crofton Croker: 'Ir. Fairy Legends.')
+
+    Brablins: a crowd of children: a rabble. (Monaghan.)
+
+    Bracket; speckled: a 'bracket cow.' Ir. _breac_, speckled.
+
+    Braddach; given to mischief; roguish. Ir. _bradach_, a thief: in the
+    same sense as when a mother says to her child, 'You young thief, stop
+    that mischief.' Often applied to cows inclined to break down and cross
+    fences. (Meath and Monaghan.)
+
+    Brander; a gridiron. (North.) From Eng. _brand_.
+
+    Brash; a turn of sickness (North.) Water-brash (Munster), severe
+    acidity of the stomach with a flow of watery saliva from the mouth.
+    Brash (North), a short turn at churning, or at anything; a stroke of
+    the churndash: 'Give the churn a few brashes.' In Donegal you will hear
+    'that's a good brash of hail.'
+
+    Brave; often used as an intensive:--'This is a brave fine day'; 'that's
+    a brave big dog': (Ulster.) Also fine or admirable 'a brave stack of
+    hay': {224} tall, strong, hearty (not necessarily brave in
+    fighting):--'I have as brave a set of sons as you'd find in a day's
+    walk.' 'How is your sick boy doing?' 'Oh bravely, thank you.'
+
+    Braw; fine, handsome: Ir. _breagh_, same sound and meanings. (Ulster.)
+
+    Break. You _break_ a grass field when you plough or dig it up for
+    tillage. 'I'm going to break the kiln field.' ('Knocknagow.') Used all
+    over Ireland: almost in the same sense as in Gray's Elegy:--'Their
+    furrow oft the stubborn glebe _has bróke_.'
+
+    Break; to dismiss from employment: 'Poor William O'Donnell was _broke_
+    last week.' This usage is derived from the Irish language; and a very
+    old usage it is; for we read in the Brehon Laws:--'_Cid nod m-bris in
+    fer-so a bo-airechus?_' 'What is it that breaks (dismisses, degrades)
+    this man from his bo-aireship (i.e. from his position as _bo-aire_ or
+    chief)?' My car-driver asked me one time:--'Can an inspector of
+    National Schools be broke, sir?' By which he meant could he be
+    dismissed at any time without any cause.
+
+    Breedoge [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _bathe_]; a figure dressed up to
+    represent St. Brigit, which was carried about from house to house by a
+    procession of boys and girls in the afternoon of the 31st Jan. (the eve
+    of the saint's festival), to collect small money contributions. With
+    this money they got up a little rustic evening party with a dance next
+    day, 1st Feb. 'Breedoge' means 'little _Brighid_ or _Brighit_,' _Breed_
+    (or rather _Breedh_) representing the sound of Brighid, with _óg_ the
+    old diminutive feminine termination.
+
+    {225} Brecham, the straw collar put on a horse's or an ass's neck:
+    sometimes means the old-fashioned straw saddle or pillion. (Ulster.)
+
+    Brehon Law; the old native law of Ireland. A judge or a lawyer was
+    called a 'brehon.'
+
+    Brew; a margin, a brink: 'that lake is too shallow to fish from the
+    brews': from the Irish _bru_, same sound and meaning. See Broo.
+
+    Brief; prevalent: 'fever is very brief.' Used all over the southern
+    half of Ireland. Perhaps a mistake for _rife_.
+
+    Brillauns or brill-yauns, applied to the poor articles of furniture in
+    a peasant's cottage. Dick O'Brien and Mary Clancy are getting married
+    as soon as they can gather up the few _brill-yauns_ of furniture.
+    (South-east of Ireland.)
+
+    Brine-oge; 'a young fellow full of fun and frolic.' (Carleton: Ulster.)
+
+    Bring: our peculiar use of this (for 'take') appears in such phrases
+    as:--'he brought the cows to the field': 'he brought me to the
+    theatre.' (Hayden and Hartog.) See Carry.
+
+    Brock, brockish; a badger. It is just the Irish _broc_.
+
+    Brock, brocket, brockey; applied to a person heavily pock-marked. I
+    suppose from _broc_, a badger. (Ulster.)
+
+    Brogue, a shoe: Irish _bróg_. Used also to designate the Irish accent
+    in speaking English: for the old Irish thong-stitched brogue was
+    considered so characteristically Irish that the word was applied to our
+    accent; as a clown is called a _cauboge_ (which see: Munster).
+
+    {226} Brohoge or bruhoge; a small batch of potatoes roasted. See
+    Brunoge.
+
+    Broken; bankrupt: quite a common expression is:--Poor Phil Burke is
+    'broken horse and foot'; i.e. utterly bankrupt and ruined.
+
+    Broo, the edge of a potato ridge along which cabbages are planted.
+    Irish _bru_, a margin, a brink.
+
+    Brosna, brusna, bresna; a bundle of sticks for firing: a faggot. This
+    is the Irish _brosna_, universally used in Ireland at the present day,
+    both in Irish and English; and used in the oldest Irish documents. In
+    the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, written in Irish ten centuries ago,
+    we are told that when Patrick was a boy, his foster-mother sent him one
+    day for a _brossna_ of withered branches to make a fire.
+
+    Broth of a boy; a _good_ manly brave boy: the essence of manhood, as
+    broth is the essence of meat.
+
+    Brough; a ring or halo round the moon. It is the Irish _bruach_, a
+    border.
+
+    Broughan; porridge or oatmeal stirabout. Irish _brochán_. (Ulster.)
+
+    Bruggadauns [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _they_]; the stalks of ferns
+    found in meadows after mowing. (Kerry.)
+
+    Brulliagh; a row, a noisy scuffle. (Derry.)
+
+    Brunoge; a little batch of potatoes roasted in a fire made in the
+    potato field at digging time: always dry, floury and palatable.
+    (Roscommon.) Irish _bruithneóg_. See Brohoge.
+
+    Bruss or briss; small broken bits mixed up with dust: very often
+    applied to turf-dust. Irish _brus_, _bris_, same sounds and meaning.
+    (South.)
+
+    {227} Brutteen, brutin, bruteens; the Ulster words for caulcannon;
+    which see. Irish _brúightín_.
+
+    Buckaun; the upright bar of a hinge on which the other part with the
+    door hangs. Irish _bocán_.
+
+    Buckley, Father Darby, 68, 146.
+
+    Bucknabarra; any non-edible fungus. (Fermanagh.) See Pookapyle.
+
+    Buck teeth; superfluous teeth which stand out from the ordinary row.
+    (Knowles: Ulster.)
+
+    Buddaree [_dd_ sounded like _th_ in _they_]; a rich purse-proud vulgar
+    farmer. (Munster.) Irish.
+
+    Buff; the skin; to strip to one's buff is to strip naked. Two fellows
+    going to fight with fists strip to their buff, i.e. naked from the
+    waist up. (Munster.)
+
+    Buggaun (Munster), buggeen (Leinster); an egg without a shell. Irish
+    _bog_, soft, with the dim. termination.
+
+    Bullaun, a bull calf. Irish, as in next word.
+
+    Bullavaun, bullavogue; a strong, rough, bullying fellow. From _bulla_
+    the Irish form of _bull_. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Bullaworrus; a spectral bull 'with fire blazing from his eyes, mouth,
+    and nose,' that guards buried treasure by night. (Limerick.) Irish.
+
+    Bullia-bottha (or boolia-botha); a fight with sticks. (Simmons:
+    Armagh.) Irish _buaileadh_, striking; and _bata_, a stick.
+
+    Bullagadaun [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _they_]; a short stout
+    pot-bellied fellow. (Munster.) From Irish _bolg_ [pron. bullog], a
+    belly, and the dim. _dán_.
+
+    Bullshin, bullsheen; same as _Bullaun_.
+
+    {228} Bum; to cart turf to market: _bummer_, a person who does so as a
+    way of living, like Billy Heffernan in 'Knocknagow.' Bum-bailiff, a bog
+    bailiff. (Grainger: Arm.) Used more in the northern half of Ireland
+    than in the southern.
+
+    Bun; the tail of a rabbit. (Simmons: Arm.) Irish _bun_, the end.
+
+    Bunnans; roots or stems of bushes or trees. (Meath.) From Irish _bun_
+    as in last word.
+
+    Bunnaun; a long stick or wattle. (Joyce: Limerick.)
+
+    Bunnioch; the last sheaf bound up in a field of reaped corn. The binder
+    of this (usually a girl) will die unmarried. (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+    Butt; a sort of cart boarded at bottom and all round the sides, 15 or
+    18 inches deep, for potatoes, sand, &c. (Limerick.) In Cork any kind of
+    horse-cart or donkey-cart is called a _butt_, which is a departure from
+    the (English) etymology. In Limerick any kind of cart except a butt is
+    called a _car_; the word _cart_ is not used at all.
+
+    Butthoon has much the same meaning as _potthalowng_, which see. Irish
+    _butún_, same sound and meaning. (Munster.)
+
+    Butter up; to flatter, to cajole by soft sugary words, generally with
+    some selfish object in view:--'I suspected from the way he was
+    buttering me up that he came to borrow money.'
+
+    Byre: the place where the cows are fed and milked; sometimes a house
+    for cows and horses, or a farmyard.
+
+    By the same token: this needs no explanation; it is a survival from
+    Tudor English. (Hayden and Hartog.)
+
+
+
+    {229} Cabin-hunting; going about from house to house to gossip.
+    (South.)
+
+    Cabman's Answer, The, 208.
+
+    Cadday´ [strong accent on -day] to stray idly about. As a noun an idle
+    _stray_ of a fellow.
+
+    Cadge; to hawk goods for sale. (Simmons: Armagh.) To go about idly from
+    house to house, picking up _a bit and a sup_, wherever they are to be
+    had. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Caffler; a contemptible little fellow who gives saucy _cheeky_ foolish
+    talk. Probably a mispronunciation of _caviller_. (Munster.)
+
+    Cagger; a sort of pedlar who goes to markets and houses selling small
+    goods and often taking others in exchange. (Kinahan: South and West.)
+
+    Cahag; the little cross-piece on the end of a spade-handle, or of any
+    handle. (Mon.)
+
+    Cailey; a friendly evening visit in order to have a gossip. There are
+    usually several persons at a cailey, and along with the gossiping talk
+    there are songs or music. Irish _céilidh_, same sound and meaning. Used
+    all over Ireland, but more in the North than elsewhere.
+
+    Calleach na looha [Colleagh: accented on 2nd syll. in South; on 1st in
+    North] 'hag of the ashes.' Children--and sometimes _old
+    children_--think that a little hag resides in the ashpit beside the
+    fire. Irish _cailleach_, an old woman: _luaith_, ashes.
+
+    Calleach-rue ('red hag'); a little reddish brown fish about 4 inches
+    long, plentiful in small streams. We boys thought them delicious when
+    broiled on the turf-coals. We fished for them either with a loop-snare
+    made of a single {230} horsehair on the end of a twig, with which it
+    was very hard to catch them; for, as the boys used to say, 'they were
+    cute little divels'--or directly--like the sportsmen of old--with a
+    spear--the same spear being nothing but _an ould fork_.
+
+    Caish; a growing pig about 6 months old. (Munster.)
+
+    Call; claim, right: 'put down that spade; you have no call to it.'
+
+     'Bedad,' says he, 'this sight is queer,
+        My eyes it does bedizen--O;
+      What _call_ have you marauding here,
+        Or how daar you leave your prison--O?'
+
+      (Repeal Song: 1843.)
+
+    Need, occasion: they lived so near each other that there was no call to
+    send letters. 'Why are you shouting that way?' 'I have a good call to
+    shout, and that blackguard running away with my apples.' Father O'Flynn
+    could preach on many subjects:--'Down from mythology into thayology,
+    Troth! and conchology if he'd the call.' (A. P. Graves.) Used
+    everywhere in Ireland in these several senses.
+
+    Call; custom in business: Our new shopkeeper is getting great call,
+    i.e. his customers are numerous. (South.)
+
+    Cam or caum; a metal vessel for melting resin to make _sluts_ or long
+    torches; also used to melt metal for coining. (Simmons: Armagh.) Called
+    a _grisset_ in Munster. Usually of a curved shape: Irish _cam_, curved.
+
+    Candle. 'Jack Brien is a good scholar, but he couldn't hold a candle to
+    Tom Murphy': i.e. he {231} is very inferior to him. The person that
+    holds a candle for a workman is a mere attendant and quite an inferior.
+
+    Cannags; the stray ears left after the corn has been reaped and
+    gathered. (Morris: Mon.) Called _liscauns_ in Munster.
+
+    Caper: oat-cake and butter. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Caravat and Shanavest; the names of two hostile factions in Kilkenny
+    and all round about there, of the early part of last century. Like
+    Three-year-old and Four-year-old. Irish _Caravat_, a cravat; and
+    _Shanavest_, old vest: which names were adopted, but no one can tell
+    why.
+
+    Card-cutter; a fortune-teller by card tricks. Card-cutters were pretty
+    common in Limerick in my early days: but it was regarded as
+    disreputable to have any dealings with them.
+
+    Cardia; friendship, a friendly welcome, additional time granted for
+    paying a debt. (All over Ireland.) Ir. _cáirde_, same meanings.
+
+    Cardinal Points, 168.
+
+    Carleycue; a very small coin of some kind. Used like _keenoge_ and
+    _cross_. (Very general.)
+
+    Carn; a heap of anything; a monumental pile of stones heaped up over a
+    dead person. Irish _carn_, same meanings.
+
+    Caroline or 'Caroline hat'; a tall hat. ('Knocknagow': all over
+    Munster.)
+
+    Caroogh, an expert or professional card-player. (Munster.) Irish
+    _cearrbhach_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Carra, Carrie; a weir on a river. (Derry.) Irish _carra_, same meaning.
+
+    {232} Carrigaholt in Clare, 145.
+
+    Carry; to lead or drive: 'James, carry down those cows to the river'
+    (i.e. drive): 'carry the horse to the forge' (lead). 'I will carry my
+    family this year to Youghal for the salt water.' (Kinahan: South, West,
+    and North-west.) See Bring.
+
+    Case: the Irish _cás_, and applied in the same way: 'It is a poor case
+    that I have to pay for your extravagance.' _Nách dubhach bocht un cás
+    bheith ag tuitim le ghrádh_: 'isn't it a poor case to be failing
+    through love.'--Old Irish Song. Our dialectical Irish _case_, as above,
+    is taken straight from the Irish _cás_; but this and the standard
+    English _case_ are both borrowed from Latin.
+
+    Cassnara; respect, anything done out of respect: 'he put on his new
+    coat for a _casnara_.' (Morris: South Mon.)
+
+    Castor oil was our horror when we were children. No wonder; for this
+    story went about of how it was made. A number of corpses were hanging
+    from hooks round the walls of the _factory_, and drops were continually
+    falling from their big toes into vessels standing underneath. This was
+    castor oil.
+
+    Catin clay; clay mixed with rushes or straws used in building the mud
+    walls of cottages. (Simmons: Arm.)
+
+    Cat of a kind: they're 'cat of a kind,' both like each other and both
+    objectionable.
+
+    Cat's lick; used in and around Dublin to express exactly the same as
+    the Munster _Scotch lick_, which see. A cat has a small tongue and does
+    not do much licking.
+
+    {233} Caubeen; an old shabby cap or hat: Irish _cáibín_: he wore a
+    'shocking bad caubeen.'
+
+    Cauboge; originally an old hat, like caubeen; but now applied--as the
+    symbol of vulgarity--to an ignorant fellow, a boor, a bumpkin: 'What
+    else could you expect from that cauboge?' (South.)
+
+    Caulcannon, Calecannon, Colecannon, Kalecannon; potatoes mashed with
+    butter and milk, with chopped up cabbage and pot-herbs. In Munster
+    often made and eaten on Hallow Eve. The first syllable is the Irish
+    _cál_, cabbage; _cannon_ is also Irish, meaning speckled.
+
+    Caur, kindly, good-natured, affable. (Morris: South Mon.)
+
+    Cawmeen; a mote: 'there's a cawmeen in my eye.' (Moran: Carlow.) Irish
+    with the diminutive.
+
+    Cawsha Pooka; the big fungus often seen growing on old trees or
+    elsewhere. From Irish _cáise_, cheese: the 'Pooka's cheese.' See Pooka
+    and Pookapyle and Bucknabarra.
+
+    Cead míle fáilte [caidh meela faultha], a hundred thousand welcomes.
+    Irish, and universal in Ireland as a salute.
+
+    Ceólaun [keolaun], a trifling contemptible little fellow. (Munster.)
+
+    Cess; very often used in the combination _bad cess_ (bad luck):--'Bad
+    cess to me but there's something comin' over me.' (Kickham:
+    'Knocknagow.') Some think this is a contraction of _success_; others
+    that it is to be taken as it stands--a _cess_ or contribution; which
+    receives some little support from its use in Louth to mean 'a quantity
+    of corn in for threshing.'
+
+    {234} Chalk Sunday; the first Sunday after Shrove Tuesday (first Sunday
+    in Lent), when those young men who should have been married, but were
+    not, were marked with a heavy streak of chalk on the back of the
+    _Sunday coat_, by boys who carried bits of chalk in their pockets for
+    that purpose, and lay in wait for the bachelors. The marking was done
+    while the congregation were assembling for Mass: and the young fellow
+    ran for his life, always laughing, and often singing the concluding
+    words of some suitable doggerel such as:--'And you are not married
+    though Lent has come!' This custom prevailed in Munster. I saw it in
+    full play in Limerick: but I think it has died out. For the air to
+    which the verses were sung, see my 'Old Irish Music and Songs,' p. 12.
+
+    Champ (Down); the same as 'caulcannon,' which see. Also potatoes mashed
+    with butter and milk; same as 'pandy,' which see.
+
+    Chanter; to go about grumbling and fault-finding. (Ulster.)
+
+    Chapel: Church: Scallan, 143.
+
+    Chaw for _chew_, 97. 'Chawing the rag'; continually grumbling, jawing,
+    and giving abuse. (Kinahan.)
+
+    Cheek; impudence; _brass_: cheeky; presumptuous.
+
+    Chincough, whooping-cough: from _kink-cough_. See Kink.
+
+    Chittering; constantly muttering complaints. (Knowles.)
+
+    Chook chook [the _oo_ sounded rather short]; a call for hens. It is the
+    Irish _tiuc_, come.
+
+    Christian; a human being as distinguished from one of the lower
+    animals:--'That dog has nearly as much sense as a Christian.' {235}
+
+    Chuff: full.--'I'm chuffey after my dinner.' (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+    Clabber, clobber, or clawber; mud: thick milk. See Bonnyclabber.
+
+    Clamp; a small rick of turf, built up regularly. (All through Ireland.)
+
+    Clamper; a dispute, a wrangle. (Munster.) Irish _clampar_, same
+    meaning.
+
+    Clarsha; a lazy woman. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
+
+    Clart; an untidy dirty woman, especially in preparing food. (Simmons:
+    Armagh.)
+
+    Clash, to carry tales: Clashbag, a tale-bearer. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Classy; a drain running through a byre or stable-yard. (Morris: South
+    Monaghan.) Irish _clais_, a trench, with the diminutive _y_ added.
+
+    Clat; a slovenly untidy person; dirt, clay: 'wash the _clat_ off your
+    hands': clatty; slovenly, untidy--(Ulster): called _clotty_ in
+    Kildare;--a slattern.
+
+    Clatch; a brood of chickens. (Ulster.) See Clutch.
+
+    Cleean [2-syll.]; a relation by marriage--such as a father-in-law. Two
+    persons so related are _cleeans_. Irish _cliamhan_, same sound and
+    meaning.
+
+    Cleever; one who deals in poultry; because he carries them in a
+    _cleeve_ or large wicker basket. (Morris: South Monaghan.) Irish
+    _cliabh_ [cleeve], a basket.
+
+    Cleevaun; a cradle: also a crib or cage for catching birds. The
+    diminutive of Irish _cliabh_ or cleeve, a wicker basket.
+
+    Clegg; a horsefly. (Ulster and Carlow.)
+
+    Clehalpeen; a shillelah or cudgel with a knob at the end. (South.) From
+    Irish _cleath_, a wattle, and _ailpin_ dim. of _alp_, a knob. {236}
+
+    Clever is applied to a man who is tall, straight, and well made.
+
+    Clevvy; three or four shelves one over another in a wall: a sort of
+    small open cupboard like a dresser. (All over the South.)
+
+    Clibbin, clibbeen; a young colt. (Donegal.) Irish _clibín_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Clibbock; a young horse. (Derry.)
+
+    Clift; a light-headed person, easily roused and rendered foolishly
+    excited. (Ulster.)
+
+    Clipe-clash: a tell-tale. (Ulster.) See Clash.
+
+    Clochaun, clochan; a row of stepping-stones across a river. (General.)
+    From Irish _cloch_, a stone, with the diminutive _án_.
+
+    Clock; a black beetle. (South.)
+
+    Clocking hen; a hen hatching. (General.) From the sound or _clock_ she
+    utters.
+
+    Clooracaun or cluracaun, another name for a leprachaun, which see.
+
+    Close; applied to a day means simply warm:--'This is a very close day.'
+
+    Clout; a blow with the hand or with anything. Also a piece of cloth, a
+    rag, commonly used in the diminutive form in Munster--_cloutheen_.
+    _Cloutheens_ is specially applied to little rags used with an infant.
+    _Clout_ is also applied to a clownish person:--'It would be well if
+    somebody would teach that _clout_ some manners.'
+
+    Clove; to clove flax is to _scutch_ it--to draw each handful repeatedly
+    between the blades of a 'cloving tongs,' so as to break off and remove
+    the brittle husk, leaving the fibre smooth and free. (Munster.)
+
+    {237}
+
+    Clutch; a brood of chickens or of any fowls: same as clatch. I suppose
+    this is English: Waterton (an English traveller) uses it in his
+    'Wanderings'; but it is not in the Dictionaries of Chambers and
+    Webster.
+
+    Cluthoge; Easter eggs. (P. Reilly; Kildare.)
+
+    Cly-thoran; a wall or ditch between two estates. (Roscommon.) Irish
+    _cladh_ [cly], a raised dyke or fence; _teóra_, gen. _teórann_
+    [thoran], a boundary.
+
+    Cobby-house; a little house made by children for play. (Munster.)
+
+    Cockles off the heart, 194.
+
+    Cog; to copy surreptitiously; to crib something from the writings of
+    another and pass it off as your own. One schoolboy will sometimes copy
+    from another:--'You cogged that sum.'
+
+    Coghil; a sort of long-shaped pointed net. (Armagh.) Irish _cochal_, a
+    net.
+
+    Coldoy; a bad halfpenny: a spurious worthless article of jewellery.
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Colleen; a young girl. (All over Ireland.) Irish _cailín_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Colley; the woolly dusty fluffy stuff that gathers under furniture and
+    in remote corners of rooms. Light soot-smuts flying about.
+
+    Colloge; to talk and gossip in a familiar friendly way. An Irish form
+    of the Latin or English word 'colloquy.'
+
+    Collop; a standard measure of grazing land, p. 177.
+
+    Collop; the part of a flail that is held in the hand. (Munster.) See
+    Boolthaun. Irish _colpa_.
+
+    Come-all-ye; a nickname applied to Irish Folk Songs and Music; an old
+    country song; from the {238} beginning of many of the songs:--'Come all
+    ye tender Christians,' &c. This name, intended to be reproachful,
+    originated among ourselves, after the usual habit of many 'superior'
+    Irishmen to vilify their own country and countrymen and all their
+    customs and peculiarities. Observe, this opening is almost equally
+    common in English Folk-songs; yet the English do not make game of them
+    by nicknames. Irish music, which is thus vilified by some of our
+    brethren, is the most beautiful Folk Music in the world.
+
+    Comether; _come hether_ or _hither_, 97.
+
+    Commaun, common; the game of goaling or hurley. So called from the
+    _commaun_ or crooked-shaped stick with which it is played: Irish _cam_
+    or _com_, curved or crooked; with the diminutive--_camán_. Called
+    _hurling_ and _goaling_ by English speakers in Ireland, and _shinney_
+    in Scotland.
+
+    Commons; land held in common by the people of a village or small
+    district: see p. 177.
+
+    Comparisons, 136.
+
+    Conacre; letting land in patches for a short period. A farmer divides a
+    large field into small portions--¼ acre, ½ acre, &c.--and lets them to
+    his poorer neighbours usually for one season for a single crop, mostly
+    potatoes, or in Ulster flax. He generally undertakes to manure the
+    whole field, and charges high rents for the little lettings. I saw this
+    in practice more than 60 years ago in Munster. Irish _con_, common, and
+    Eng. _acre_.
+
+    Condition; in Munster, to 'change your condition' is to get married.
+
+    Condon, Mr. John, of Mitchelstown, 155.
+
+    {239}
+
+    Conny, canny; discreet, knowing, cute.
+
+    Contrairy, for _contrary_, but accented on second syll.; cross,
+    perverse, cranky, crotchety, 102.
+
+    Convenient: see Handy.
+
+    Cool: hurlers and football players always put one of their best players
+    to _mind cool_ or _stand cool_, i.e. to stand at their own goal or gap,
+    to intercept the ball if the opponents should attempt to drive it
+    through. Universal in Munster. Irish _cúl_ [cool], the back. The full
+    word is _cool-baur-ya_ where 'baur-ya' is the goal or gap. The man
+    standing cool is often called 'the man in the gap' (see p. 182).
+
+    Cool; a good-sized roll of butter. (Munster.)
+
+    Cooleen or coulin; a fair-haired girl. This is the name of a celebrated
+    Irish air. From _cúl_ the back [of the head], and _fionn_, white or
+    fair:--_cúil-fhionn_, [pron. cooleen or coolin].
+
+    Coonagh; friendly, familiar, _great_ (which see):--'These two are very
+    _coonagh_.' (MacCall: Wexford.) Irish _cuaine_, a family.
+
+    Coonsoge, a bees' nest. (Cork.) Irish _cuansa_ [coonsa], a
+    hiding-place, with the diminutive _óg_.
+
+    Cooramagh; kindly, careful, thoughtful, provident:--'No wonder Mrs.
+    Dunn would look well and happy with such a _cooramagh_ husband.' Irish
+    _curamach_, same meaning.
+
+    Coord [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _bathe_], a friendly visit to a
+    neighbour's house. Irish _cuaird_, a visit. Coordeeagh, same meaning.
+    (Munster.)
+
+    Cope-curley; to stand on the head and throw the heels over; to turn
+    head over heels. (Ulster.)
+
+    Core: work given as a sort of loan to be paid back. {240} I send a man
+    on _core_ for a day to my neighbour: when next I want a man he will
+    send me one for a day in return. So with horses: two one-horse farmers
+    who work their horses in pairs, borrowing alternately, are said to be
+    in _core_. Very common in Munster. Irish _cobhair_ or _cabhair_ [core
+    or co-ir, 2-syll.] help, support.
+
+    Coreeagh; a man who has a great desire to attend funerals--goes to
+    every funeral that he can possibly reach. (Munster.) Same root as last.
+
+    Corfuffle; to toss, shake, confuse, mix up. (Derry.)
+
+    Correesk; a crane. (Kildare.) Irish _corr_, a bird of the crane kind,
+    and _riasc_ [reesk], a marsh.
+
+    C[=o]sher [the _o_ long as in _motion_]; banqueting, feasting. In very
+    old times in Ireland, certain persons went about with news from place
+    to place, and were entertained in the high class houses: this was
+    called _coshering_, and was at one time forbidden by law. In modern
+    times it means simply a friendly visit to a neighbour's house to have a
+    quiet talk. Irish _cóisir_; a banquet, feasting.
+
+    Costnent. When a farm labourer has a cottage and garden from his
+    employer, and boards himself, he lives _costnent_. He is paid small
+    wages (called _costnent_ wages) as he has house and plot free. (Derry.)
+
+    Cot; a small boat: Irish _cot_. See 'Irish Names of Places,' I. 226,
+    for places deriving their names from _cots_.
+
+    Cowlagh; an old ruined house. (Kerry.) Irish _coblach_ [cowlagh].
+
+    Coward's blow; a blow given to provoke a boy to fight or else be
+    branded as a coward. {241}
+
+    Cow's lick. When the hair in front over the forehead turns at the roots
+    upward and backward, that is a _cow's lick_, as if a cow had licked it
+    upwards. The idea of a cow licking the hair is very old in Irish
+    literature. In the oldest of all our miscellaneous Irish MSS.--The Book
+    of the Dun Cow--Cuculainn's hair is so thick and smooth that king
+    Laery, who saw him, says:--'I should imagine it is a cow that licked
+    it.'
+
+    Cox, Mr. Simon, of Galbally, 156.
+
+    Craags; great fat hands; big handfuls. (Morris: South Mon.)
+
+    Crab; a cute precocious little child is often called an _old crab_.
+    'Crabjaw' has the same meaning.
+
+    Cracked; crazy, half mad.
+
+    Cracklins; the browned crispy little flakes that remain after
+    _rendering_ or melting lard and pouring it off. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Crahauns or Kirraghauns; very small potatoes not used by the family:
+    given to pigs. (Munster.) Irish _creathán_.
+
+    Crans (always in pl.); little tricks or dodges. (Limk).
+
+    Crapper; a half glass of whiskey. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Craw-sick; ill in the morning after a drunken bout.
+
+    Crawtha; sorry, mortified, pained. (Limerick.) Irish _cráidhte_
+    [crawtha], same meaning.
+
+    Crawthumper; a person ostentatiously devotional.
+
+    Creelacaun; see Skillaun.
+
+    Creel; a strong square wicker frame, used by itself for holding turf,
+    &c., or put on asses' backs (in pairs), or put on carts for carrying
+    turf or for taking calves, _bonnives_, &c., to market. Irish _criol_.
+    (All through Ireland.) {242}
+
+    Creepy; a small stool, a stool. (Chiefly in Ulster.)
+
+    Crith; hump on the back. Irish _cruit_, same sound and meaning. From
+    this comes _critthera_ and _crittheen_, both meaning a hunchback.
+
+    Cro, or cru: a house for cows. (Kerry.) Irish _cro_, a pen, a fold, a
+    shed for any kind of animals.
+
+    Croaked; I am afraid poor Nancy is croaked, i.e. doomed to death. The
+    raven croaks over the house when one of the family is about to die.
+    (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+    Croft; a water bottle, usually for a bedroom at night. You never hear
+    _carafe_ in Ireland: it is always _croft_.
+
+    Cromwell, Curse of, 166.
+
+    Crumel´ly. (Limerick.) More correctly _curr amílly_. (Donegal.) An herb
+    found in grassy fields with a sweet root that children dig up and eat.
+    Irish 'honey-root.'
+
+    Cronaun, croonaun; a low humming air or song, any continuous humming
+    sound: 'the old woman was cronauning in the corner.'
+
+    Cronebane, cronebaun; a bad halfpenny, a worthless copper coin. From
+    Cronebane in Co. Wicklow, where copper mines were worked.
+
+    Croobeen or crubeen; a pig's foot. Pigs' croobeens boiled are a grand
+    and favourite viand among us--all through Ireland. Irish _crúb_
+    [croob], a foot, with the diminutive.
+
+    Croost; to throw stones or clods from the hand:--'Those boys are always
+    _croosting_ stones at my hens.' Irish _crústa_ [croostha], a missile, a
+    clod.
+
+    Croudy: see Porter-meal.
+
+    Crowl or Croil; a dwarf, a very small person: the smallest _bonnive_ of
+    the litter. An Irish word. {243}
+
+    Cruiskeen; a little cruise for holding liquor. Used all over Ireland.
+
+     'In a shady nook one moonlight night
+        A _leprechaun_ I spied;
+      With scarlet cap and coat of green,
+        A _cruiskeen_ by his side.'
+
+    The _Cruiskeen Laun_ is the name of a well-known Irish air--the Scotch
+    call it 'John Anderson my Jo.' Irish _cruiscín_, a pitcher: _lán_
+    [laun], full: i.e. in this case full of _pottheen_.
+
+    Crusheen; a stick with a flat crosspiece fastened at bottom for washing
+    potatoes in a basket. Irish _cros_, a cross, with the diminutive. Also
+    called a _boghaleen_, from Irish _bachal_, a staff, with diminutive.
+    (Joyce: Limerick.)
+
+    Cuck; a tuft: applied to the little tuft of feathers on the head of
+    some birds, such as plovers, some hens and ducks, &c. Irish _coc_: same
+    sound and meaning. (General.)
+
+    Cuckles; the spiky seed-pods of the thistle: thistle heads. (Limerick.)
+
+    Cuckoo spit; the violet: merely the translation of the Irish name,
+    _sail-chuach_, spittle of cuckoos. Also the name of a small frothy
+    spittle-like substance often found on leaves of plants in summer, with
+    a little greenish insect in the middle of it. (Limerick.)
+
+    Cugger-mugger; whispering, gossiping in a low voice: Jack and Bessie
+    had a great _cugger-mugger_. Irish _cogar_, whisper, with a similar
+    duplication meaning nothing, like tip-top, shilly-shally,
+    gibble-gabble, clitter-clatter, &c. I think {244} 'hugger-mugger' is a
+    form of this: for _hugger_ can't be derived from anything, whereas
+    _cugger_ (_cogur_) is a plain Irish word.
+
+    Cull; when the best of a lot of any kind--sheep, cattle, books,
+    &c.--have been picked out, the bad ones that are left--the refuse--are
+    the _culls_. (Kinahan: general.)
+
+    Culla-greefeen; when foot or hand is 'asleep' with the feeling of 'pins
+    and needles.' The name is Irish and means 'Griffin's sleep'; but why so
+    called I cannot tell. (Munster.)
+
+    Cup-tossing; reading fortunes from tea-leaves thrown out on the saucer
+    from the tea-cup or teapot. (General.)
+
+    Cur; a twist: a _cur_ of a rope. (Joyce: Limerick.)
+
+    Curate; a common little iron poker kept in use to spare the grand one:
+    also a grocer's assistant. (Hayden and Hartog.)
+
+    Curcuddiagh; cosy, comfortable. (Maxwell: 'Wild Sports of the West':
+    Irish: Mayo.)
+
+    Curifixes; odd _curious_ ornaments or _fixtures_ of any kind.
+    (General.) Peter Brierly, looking at the knocker:--'I never see such
+    _curifixes_ on a _doore_ afore.' (Edw. Walsh: very general.)
+
+    Curragh; a wicker boat covered formerly with hides but now with tarred
+    canvass. (See my 'Smaller Social Hist. of Anc. Ireland.')
+
+    Current; in good health: he is not current; his health is not current.
+    (Father Higgins: Cork.)
+
+    Curwhibbles, currifibbles, currywhibbles; any strange, odd, or unusual
+    gestures; or any unusual twisting of words, such as prevarication; wild
+    puzzles and puzzling talk:--'The horsemen are in regular currywhibles
+    about something.' (R. D. Joyce.) {245}
+
+    Cush; a sort of small horse, from _Cushendall_ in Antrim.
+
+    Cushlamochree; pulse of my heart. Irish _Cuisl[)e]_, vein or pulse;
+    _mo_, my; _croidhe_ [cree], heart.
+
+    Cushoge; a stem of a plant; sometimes used the same as _traneen_, which
+    see. (Moran: Carlow; and Morris: Monaghan.)
+
+    Cut; a county or barony cess tax; hence Cutman, the collector of it.
+    (Kinahan: Armagh and Donegal.) 'The three black _cuts_ will be levied.'
+    (Seumas MacManus: Donegal.)
+
+
+
+    Daisy-picker; a person who accompanies two lovers in their walk; why so
+    called obvious. Brought to keep off gossip.
+
+    Dalk, a thorn. (De Vismes Kane: North and South.) Irish _dealg_
+    [dallog], a thorn.
+
+    Dallag [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _that_]; any kind of covering to
+    blindfold the eyes (Morris: South Monaghan): 'blinding,' from Irish
+    _dall_, blind.
+
+    Dallapookeen; blindman's buff. (Kerry.) From Irish _dalladh_ [dalla]
+    blinding; and _puicín_ [pookeen], a covering over the eyes.
+
+    Daltheen [the _d_ sounded like _th_ in _that_], an impudent conceited
+    little fellow: a diminutive of _dalta_, a foster child. The diminutive
+    _dalteen_ was first applied to a horseboy, from which it has drifted to
+    its present meaning.
+
+    Dancing customs, 170, 172.
+
+    Dannagh; mill-dust and mill-grains for feeding pigs. (Moran: Carlow:
+    also Tip.) Irish _deanach_, same sound and meaning. {246}
+
+    Dander [second _d_ sounded like _th_ in _hither_], to walk about
+    leisurely: a leisurely walk.
+
+    Dandy; a small tumbler; commonly used for drinking punch.
+
+    Darradail or daradeel [the _d_'s sounded like _th_ in _that_] a sort of
+    long black chafer or beetle. It raises its tail when disturbed, and has
+    a strong smell of apples. There is a religious legend that when our
+    Lord was escaping from the Jews, barefoot, the stones were marked all
+    along by traces of blood from the bleeding feet. The daradail followed
+    the traces of blood; and the Jews following, at length overtook and
+    apprehended our Lord. Hence the people regard the daradail with intense
+    hatred, and whenever they come on it, kill it instantly. Irish
+    _darbh-daol_.
+
+    Dark; blind: 'a dark man.' (Very general.) Used constantly even in
+    official and legal documents, as in workhouse books, especially in
+    Munster. (Healy.)
+
+    Darrol; the smallest of the brood of pigs, fowl, &c. (Mayo.) Irish
+    _dearóil_, small, puny, wretched.
+
+    Davis, Thomas, vi. 83, &c.
+
+    Dead beat or dead _bet_; tired out.
+
+    Dear; used as a sort of intensive adjective:--'Tom ran for the dear
+    life' (as fast as he could). (Crofton Croker.) 'He got enough to
+    remember all the dear days of his life.' ('Dub. Pen. Journ.')
+
+    Dell; a lathe. Irish _deil_, same sound and meaning. (All over
+    Munster.)
+
+    Devil's needle; the dragon-fly. Translation of the Irish name
+    _snathad-a'-diabhail_ [snahad-a-dheel].
+
+    Deshort [to rhyme with _port_]; a sudden interruption, a surprise: 'I
+    was taken at a _deshort_.' (Derry.) {247}
+
+    Devil, The, and his 'territory,' 56.
+
+    Dickonce; one of the disguised names of the devil used in _white_
+    cursing: 'Why then the dickonce take you for one gander.' (Gerald
+    Griffin.)
+
+    Diddy; a woman's pap or breast: a baby sucks its mother's diddy.
+    Diminutive of Irish _did_, same.
+
+    Dido; a girl who makes herself ridiculous with fantastic finery.
+    (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Didoes (singular _dido_); tricks, antics: 'quit your didoes.' (Ulster.)
+
+    Dildron or dildern; a bowraun, which see.
+
+    Dillesk, dulsk, dulse or dilse; a sort of sea plant growing on rocks,
+    formerly much used (when dried) as an article of food (as _kitchen_),
+    and still eaten in single leaves as a sort of relish. Still sold by
+    basket-women in Dublin. Irish _duilesc_.
+
+    Dip. When the family dinner consisted of dry potatoes, i.e. potatoes
+    without milk or any other drink, dip was often used, that is to say,
+    gravy or broth, or water flavoured in any way in plates, into which the
+    potato was dipped at each bit. I once saw a man using dip of plain
+    water with mustard in it, and eating his dinner with great relish. You
+    will sometimes read of 'potatoes and point,' namely, that each person,
+    before taking a bite, _pointed_ the potato at a salt herring or a bit
+    of bacon hanging in front of the chimney: but this is mere fun, and
+    never occurred in real life.
+
+    Disciple; a miserable looking creature of a man. Shane Glas was a long
+    lean scraggy wretched looking fellow (but really strong and active),
+    and another says to him--jibing and railing--'Away with ye, ye
+    miserable _disciple_. Arrah, by the hole {248} of my coat, after you
+    dance your last jig upon nothing, with your hemp cravat on, I'll coax
+    yer miserable carcase from the hangman to frighten the crows with.'
+    (Edw. Walsh in 'Pen. Journ.')
+
+    Disremember; to forget. Good old English; now out of fashion in
+    England, but common in Ireland.
+
+    Ditch. In Ireland a ditch is a raised fence or earthen wall or mound,
+    and a dyke (or _sheuch_ as they call it in Donegal and elsewhere in
+    Ulster) is a deep cutting, commonly filled with water. In England both
+    words mean exactly the reverse. Hence 'hurlers on the ditch,' or 'the
+    best hurlers are on the ditch' (where speakers of pure English would
+    use 'fence') said in derision of persons who are mere idle spectators
+    sitting up on high watching the game--whatever it may be--and boasting
+    how they would _do the devil an' all_ if they were only playing.
+    Applied in a broad sense to those who criticise persons engaged in any
+    strenuous affair--critics who think they could do better.
+
+    Dollop; to adulterate: 'that coffee is dolloped.'
+
+    Donny; weak, in poor health. Irish _donaidhe_, same sound and meaning.
+    Hence _donnaun_, a poor weakly creature, same root with the diminutive.
+    From still the same root is _donsy_, sick-looking.
+
+    Donagh-dearnagh, the Sunday before Lammas (1st August). (Ulster.) Irish
+    _Domnach_, Sunday; and _deireannach_, last, i.e. last Sunday of the
+    period before 1st August.
+
+    Doodoge [the two _d_'s sounded like _th_ in _thus_]; a big pinch of
+    snuff. [Limk.] Irish _dúdóg_.
+
+    Dooraght [_d_ sounded as in the last word]; tender care and kindness
+    shown to a person. Irish {249} _dúthracht_, same sound and meaning. In
+    parts of Ulster it means a small portion given over and above what is
+    purchased (Simmons and Knowles); called elsewhere a _tilly_, which see.
+    This word, in its sense of kindness, is very old; for in the Brehon Law
+    we read of land set aside by a father for his daughter through
+    _dooraght_.
+
+    Doorshay-daurshay [_d_ in both sounded as _th_ in _thus_], mere hearsay
+    or gossip. The first part is Irish, representing the sound of
+    _dubhairt-sé_, 'said he.' The second part is a mere doubling of the
+    first, as we find in many English words, such as 'fiddle-faddle,'
+    'tittle-tattle' (which resembles our word). Often used by Munster
+    lawyers in court, whether Irish-speaking or not, in depreciation of
+    hearsay evidence in contradistinction to the evidence of looking-on.
+    'Ah, that's all mere _doorshay-daurshay_.' Common all over Munster. The
+    information about the use of the term in law courts I got from Mr.
+    Maurice Healy. A different form is sometimes heard:--_D'innis bean dom
+    gur innis bean di_, 'a woman told me that a woman told her.'
+
+    Dornoge [_d_ sounded as in doodoge above]; a small round lump of a
+    stone, fit to be cast from the hand. Irish _dorn_, the shut hand, with
+    the dim. _óg_.
+
+    Double up; to render a person helpless either in fight or in argument.
+    The old tinker in the fair got a blow of an amazon's fist which 'sent
+    him sprawling and _doubled_ him up for the rest of the evening.'
+    (Robert Dwyer Joyce: 'Madeline's Vow.')
+
+    Down in the heels; broken down in fortune (one mark of which is the
+    state of the heels of shoes). {250}
+
+    Down blow; a heavy or almost ruinous blow of any kind:--'The loss of
+    that cow was a down blow to poor widow Cleary.'
+
+    Downface; to persist boldly in an assertion (whether true or no): He
+    downfaced me that he returned the money I lent him, though he never
+    did.
+
+    Down-the-banks; a scolding, a reprimand, punishment of any kind.
+
+    Dozed: a piece of timber is dozed when there is a dry rot in the heart
+    of it. (Myself for Limk.: Kane for North.)
+
+    Drad; a grin or contortion of the mouth. (Joyce.)
+
+    Drag home. (Simmons; Armagh: same as Hauling home, which see.)
+
+    Drass; a short time, a turn:--'You walk a drass now and let me ride':
+    'I always smoke a drass before I go to bed of a night.' ('Collegians,'
+    Limerick.) Irish _dreas_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Drench: a form of the English _drink_, but used in a peculiar sense in
+    Ireland. A _drench_ is a philtre, a love-potion, a love-compelling
+    drink over which certain charms were repeated during its preparation.
+    Made by boiling certain herbs (_orchis_) in water or milk, and the
+    person drinks it unsuspectingly. In my boyhood time a beautiful young
+    girl belonging to a most respectable family ran off with an
+    ill-favoured obscure beggarly diseased wretch. The occurrence was
+    looked on with great astonishment and horror by the people--no wonder;
+    and the universal belief was that the fellow's old mother had given the
+    poor girl a _drench_. To this hour I cannot make any guess at the cause
+    of that astounding elopement: and it is {251} not surprising that the
+    people were driven to the supernatural for an explanation.
+
+    Dresser; a set of shelves and drawers in a frame in a kitchen for
+    holding plates, knives, &c.
+
+    Drisheen is now used in Cork as an English word, to denote a sort of
+    pudding made of the narrow intestines of a sheep, filled with blood
+    that has been cleared of the red colouring matter, and mixed with meal
+    and some other ingredients. So far as I know, this viand and its name
+    are peculiar to Cork, where _drisheen_ is considered suitable for
+    persons of weak or delicate digestion. (I should observe that a recent
+    reviewer of one of my books states that drisheen is also made in
+    Waterford.) Irish _dreas_ or driss, applied to anything slender, as a
+    bramble, one of the smaller intestines, &c.--with the diminutive.
+
+    Drizzen, a sort of moaning sound uttered by a cow. (Derry).
+
+    Drogh; the worst and smallest bonnive in a litter. (Armagh.) Irish
+    _droch_, bad, evil. (See Eervar.)
+
+    Droleen; a wren: merely the Irish word _dreóilín_.
+
+    Drop; a strain of any kind 'running in the blood.' A man inclined to
+    evil ways 'has a bad drop' in him (or 'a black drop'): a miser 'has a
+    hard drop.' The expression carries an idea of heredity.
+
+    Drugget; a cloth woven with a mixture of woollen and flaxen thread: so
+    called from Drogheda where it was once extensively manufactured. Now
+    much used as cheap carpeting.
+
+    Druids and Druidism, 178.
+
+    Drumaun; a wide back-band for a ploughing horse, {252} with hooks to
+    keep the traces in place. (Joyce: Limerick.) From Irish _druim_, the
+    back.
+
+    Drummagh; the back strap used in yoking two horses. (Joyce: Limerick.)
+    Irish _druim_, the back, with the termination _-ach_, equivalent to
+    English _-ous_ and _-y_.
+
+    Dry potatoes; potatoes eaten without milk or any other drink.
+
+    Dry lodging; the use of a bed merely, without food.
+
+    Drynaun-dun or drynan-dun [two _d_'s sounded like _th_ in _that_]; the
+    blackthorn, the sloe-bush. Irish _droigheanán_ [drynan or drynaun], and
+    _donn_, brown-coloured.
+
+    Ducks; trousers of snow-white canvas, much used as summer wear by
+    gentle and simple fifty or sixty years ago.
+
+    Dudeen [both _d_'s sounded like _th_ in _those_]; a smoking-pipe with a
+    very short stem. Irish _dúidín_, _dúd_, a pipe, with the diminutive.
+
+    Duggins; rags: 'that poor fellow is all in duggins.' (Armagh.)
+
+    Dull; a loop or eye on a string. (Monaghan.)
+
+    Dullaghan [_d_ sounded as _th_ in _those_]; a large trout. (Kane:
+    Monaghan.) An Irish word.
+
+    Dullaghan; 'a hideous kind of hobgoblin generally met with in
+    churchyards, who can take off and put on his head at will.' (From
+    'Irish Names of Places,' I. 193, which see for more about this spectre.
+    See Croker's 'Fairy Legends.')
+
+    Dullamoo [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _those_]; a wastrel, a scapegrace, a
+    _ne'er-do-weel_. Irish _dul_, going; _amudha_ [amoo], astray, to
+    loss:--_dullamoo_, 'a person going to the bad,' 'going to the dogs.'
+    {253}
+
+    Dundeen; a lump of bread without butter. (Derry.)
+
+    Dunisheen; a small weakly child. (Moran: Carlow.) Irish _donaisín_, an
+    unfortunate being; from _donas_, with diminutive. See Donny.
+
+    Dunner; to knock loudly at a door. (Ulster.)
+
+    Dunt (sometimes _dunch_), to strike or butt like a cow or goat with the
+    head. A certain lame old man (of Armagh) was nicknamed 'Dunt the pad
+    (path'). (Ulster.)
+
+    Durneen, one of the two handles of a scythe that project from the main
+    handle. Irish _doirnín_, same sound and meaning: diminutive from
+    _dorn_, the fist, the shut hand.
+
+    Durnoge; a strong rough leather glove, used on the left hand by faggot
+    cutters. (MacCall: Wexford.) _Dornoge_, given above, is the same word
+    but differently applied.
+
+    Duty owed by tenants to landlords, 181.
+
+
+
+    Earnest; 'in earnest' is often used in the sense of 'really and
+    truly':--'You're a man in earnest, Cus, to strike the first blow on a
+    day [of battle] like this.' (R. D. Joyce.)
+
+    Eervar; the last pig in a litter. This _bonnive_ being usually very
+    small and hard to keep alive is often given to one of the children for
+    a pet; and it is reared in great comfort in a warm bed by the kitchen
+    fire, and fed on milk. I once, when a child, had an eervar of my own
+    which was the joy of my life. Irish _iarmhar_ [eervar], meaning
+    'something after all the rest'; the hindmost. (Munster.) See Drogh for
+    Ulster.
+
+    Elder; a cow's udder. All over Ireland. {254}
+
+    Elegant. This word is used among us, not in its proper sense, but to
+    designate anything good or excellent of its kind:--An elegant penknife,
+    an elegant gun: 'That's an elegant pig of yours, Jack?' Our milkman
+    once offered me a present for my garden--'An elegant load of dung.'
+
+      I haven't the _janius_ for work,
+        For 'twas never the gift of the Bradys;
+      But I'd make a most _elegant_ Turk,
+        For I'm fond of tobacco and ladies.
+
+      (LEVER.)
+
+        'How is she [the sick girl] coming on?'
+
+        'Elegant,' was the reply. ('Knocknagow.')
+
+    Elementary schools, 159.
+
+    Exaggeration and redundancy, 120.
+
+    Existence, way of predicating, 23.
+
+    Eye of a bridge; the arch.
+
+
+
+    Faireen (south), fairin (north); a present either given in a fair or
+    brought from it. Used in another sense--a lasting injury of any
+    kind:--'Poor Joe got a faireen that day, when the stone struck him on
+    the eye, which I'm afraid the eye will never recover.' Used all over
+    Ireland and in Scotland.
+
+      Ah Tam, ah Tam, thou'lt get thy fairin',
+      In hell they'll roast thee like a herrin'.
+
+      (BURNS.)
+
+    Fair-gurthra; 'hungry grass.' There is a legend all through Ireland
+    that small patches of grass grow here and there on mountains; and if a
+    person in walking along happens to tread on one of them he is instantly
+    overpowered with hunger so as to {255} be quite unable to walk, and if
+    help or food is not at hand he will sink down and perish. That persons
+    are attacked and rendered helpless by sudden hunger on mountains in
+    this manner is certain. Mr. Kinahan gives me an instance where he had
+    to carry his companion, a boy, on his back a good distance to the
+    nearest house: and Maxwell in 'Wild Sports of the West' gives others.
+    But he offers the natural explanation: that a person is liable to sink
+    suddenly with hunger if he undertakes a hard mountain walk with a long
+    interval after food. Irish _feur_, grass; _gorta_, hunger.
+
+    Fairy breeze. Sometimes on a summer evening you suddenly feel a very
+    warm breeze: that is a band of fairies travelling from one fort to
+    another; and people on such occasions usually utter a short prayer, not
+    knowing whether the 'good people' are bent on doing good or evil. (G.
+    H. Kinahan.) Like the Shee-geeha, which see.
+
+    Fairy-thimble, the same as 'Lusmore,' which see.
+
+    Famished; distressed for want of something:--'I am famished for a
+    smoke--for a glass,' &c.
+
+    Farbreaga; a scarecrow. Irish _fear_, a man: _breug_ falsehood: a false
+    or pretended man.
+
+    Farl; one quarter of a griddle cake. (Ulster.)
+
+    Faúmera [the _r_ has the slender sound]; a big strolling beggarman or
+    idle fellow. From the Irish _Fomor_. The _Fomors_ or _Fomora_ or
+    Fomorians were one of the mythical colonies that came to Ireland (see
+    any of my Histories of Ireland, Index): some accounts represent them as
+    giants. In Clare the country people that go to the seaside in summer
+    for the benefit of the 'salt water' are {256} called _Faumeras_. In
+    Tramore they are called _olishes_ [o long]; because in the morning
+    before breakfast they go down to the strand and take a good _swig_ of
+    the salt water--an essential part of the cure--and when one meets
+    another he (or she) asks in Irish '_ar ólish_,' 'did you drink?' In
+    Kilkee the dogfish is called _Faumera_, for the dogfish is among the
+    smaller fishes like what legend represents the Fomorians in Ireland.
+
+    Faustus, Dr., in Irish dialect, 60.
+
+    Fear is often used among us in the sense of _danger_. Once during a
+    high wind the ship's captain neatly distinguished it when a frightened
+    lady asked him:--'Is there any fear, sir?' 'There's plenty of fear,
+    madam, but no danger.'
+
+    Feck or fack; a spade. From the very old Irish word, _fec_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Fellestrum, the flagger (marsh plant). Irish _felestrom_. (South.)
+
+    Fetch; what the English call a _double_, a preternatural apparition of
+    a living person, seen usually by some relative or friend. If seen in
+    the morning the person whose fetch it is will have a long and
+    prosperous life: if in the evening the person will soon die.
+
+    Finane or Finaun; the white half-withered long grass found in marshy or
+    wet land. Irish _finn_ or _fionn_, white, with the diminutive.
+
+    Finely and poorly are used to designate the two opposite states of an
+    invalid. 'Well, Mrs. Lahy, how is she?' [Nora the poor sick little
+    girl]. 'Finely, your reverence,' Honor replied (going on well). The old
+    sinner Rody, having accidentally {257} shot himself, is asked how he is
+    going on:--'Wisha, poorly, poorly' (badly). (G. Griffin.)
+
+    Finger--to put a finger in one's eye; to overreach and cheat him by
+    cunning:--'He'd be a clever fellow that would put a finger in Tom's
+    eye.'
+
+    First shot, in distilling pottheen; the weak stuff that comes off at
+    the first distillation: also called singlings.
+
+    Flahoolagh, plentiful; 'You have a flahoolagh hand, Mrs. Lyons': 'Ah,
+    we got a flahoolagh dinner and no mistake.' Irish _flaith_ [flah], a
+    chief, and _amhail_ [ooal], like, with the adjectival termination
+    _ach_: _flahoolagh_, 'chieftain-like.' For the old Irish chiefs kept
+    open houses, with full and plenty--_launa-vaula_--for all who came.
+    (South.)
+
+    Flipper; an untidy man. (Limerick.)
+
+    Flitters; tatters, rags:--'His clothes were all in _flitters_.'
+
+    Flog; to beat, to exceed:--'That flogs Europe' ('Collegians'), i.e. it
+    beats Europe: there's nothing in Europe like it.
+
+    Fluke, something very small or nothing at all. 'What did you get from
+    him?' 'Oh I got flukes' (or 'flukes in a hand-basket')--meaning
+    nothing. Sometimes it seems to mean a small coin, like _cross_ and
+    _keenoge_. 'When I set out on that journey I hadn't a fluke.' (North
+    and South.)
+
+    Fockle; a big torch made by lighting a sheaf of straw fixed on a long
+    pole: fockles were usually lighted on St. John's Eve. (Limerick.) It is
+    merely the German word _fackel_, a torch, brought to Limerick by the
+    Palatine colony. (See p. 65.)
+
+    Fog-meal; a great meal or big feed: a harvest dinner. {258}
+
+    Fooster; hurry, flurry, fluster, great fuss. Irish _fústar_, same sound
+    and meaning. (Hayden and Hartog.)
+
+     'Then Tommy jumped about elate,
+        Tremendous was his _fooster_--O;
+      Says he, "I'll send a message straight
+        To my darling Mr. Brewster--O!"'
+
+      (Repeal Song of 1843.)
+
+    Forbye; besides. (Ulster.)
+
+    For good; finally, for ever: 'he left home for good.'
+
+    Fornent, fornenst, forenenst; opposite: he and I sat fornenst each
+    other in the carriage.
+
+     'Yet here you strut in open day
+      Fornenst my house so freely--O.'
+
+      (Repeal Song of 1843.)
+
+    An old English word, now obsolete in England, but very common in
+    Ireland.
+
+    Foshla; a marshy weedy rushy place; commonly applied to the ground left
+    after a cut-away bog. (Roscommon.)
+
+    Four bones; 'Your own four bones,' 127.
+
+    Fox; (verb) to pretend, to feign, to sham: 'he's not sick at all, he's
+    only foxing.' Also to cut short the ears of a dog.
+
+    Frainey; a small puny child:--'Here, eat this bit, you little
+    _frainey_.'
+
+    Fraughans; whortleberries. Irish _fraoch_, with the diminutive. See
+    Hurt.
+
+    Freet; a sort of superstition or superstitious rite. (Ulster.)
+
+    Fresh and Fresh:--'I wish you to send me the butter every morning: I
+    like to have it fresh and fresh.' {259} This is English gone out of
+    fashion: I remember seeing it in Pope's preface to 'The Dunciad.'
+
+    Frog's jelly; the transparent jelly-like substance found in pools and
+    ditches formed by frogs round their young tadpoles, 121.
+
+    Fum; soft spongy turf. (Ulster.) Called _soosaun_ in Munster.
+
+
+
+    Gaatch [_aa_ long as in _car_], an affected gesture or movement of
+    limbs body or face: _gaatches_; assuming fantastic ridiculous
+    attitudes. (South.)
+
+    Gad; a withe: 'as tough as a gad.' (Irish _gad_, 60.)
+
+    Gadderman; a boy who puts on the airs of a man; a mannikin or
+    _manneen_, which see. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Gaffer; an old English word, but with a peculiar application in
+    Ireland, where it means a boy, a young chap. 'Come here, gaffer, and
+    help me.'
+
+    Gag; a conceited foppish young fellow, who tries to figure as a swell.
+
+    Gah´ela or gaherla; a little girl. (Kane: Ulster.) Same as _girsha_.
+
+    Gaileen; a little bundle of rushes placed under the arms of a beginner
+    learning to swim. (Joyce: Limerick.) When you support the beginner's
+    head keeping it above water with your hands while he is learning the
+    strokes: that we used to designate '_giving a gaileen_.'
+
+    Galbally, Co. Limerick, 156.
+
+    Galoot: a clownish fellow.
+
+    Galore; plenty, plentiful. Irish adverb _go leór_, 4.
+
+    Gankinna; a fairy, a leprachaun. (Morris: South Mon.) Irish _gann_,
+    small. {260}
+
+    Gannoge; an undefined small quantity. (Antrim.) Irish _gann_, small,
+    with diminutive _óg_.
+
+    Garden, in the South, is always applied to a field of growing potatoes.
+    'In the land courts we never asked "How many acres of potatoes?"; but
+    "How many acres of garden?"' (Healy.) A usual inquiry is 'How are your
+    gardens going on?' meaning 'How are your potato crops doing?'
+
+    Garlacom; a lingering disease in cows believed to be caused by eating a
+    sort of herb. (P. Moran: Meath.)
+
+    Garland Sunday; the first Sunday in August (sometimes called Garlick
+    Sunday.)
+
+    Garron, garraun; an old worn-out horse. (Irish _gearrán_.)
+
+    Gash; a flourish of the pen in writing so as to form an ornamental
+    curve, usually at the end. (Limerick.)
+
+    Gatha; an effeminate fellow who concerns himself in women's business: a
+    _Sheela_. (Joyce: Limerick.)
+
+    Gatherie; a splinter of bog-deal used as a torch. (Moran: Carlow.) Also
+    a small cake (commonly smeared with treacle) sold in the street on
+    market days. Irish _geataire_ [gatthera], same meanings.
+
+    Gaug; a sore crack in the heel of a person who goes barefooted. (Moran:
+    Carlow.) Irish _gág_ [gaug], a cleft, a crack.
+
+    Gaulsh; to loll. (MacCall: Wexford.)
+
+    Gaunt or gant; to yawn. (Ulster.)
+
+    Gaurlagh; a little child, a baby: an unfledged bird. Irish _gárlach_,
+    same sound and meanings.
+
+    Gawk; a tall awkward fellow. (South.) {261}
+
+    Gawm, gawmoge; a soft foolish fellow. (South.) Irish _gám_, same
+    meaning. See Gommul.
+
+    Gazebo; a tall building; any tall object; a tall awkward person.
+
+    Gazen, gazened; applied to a wooden vessel of any kind when the joints
+    open by heat or drought so that it leaks. (Ulster.)
+
+    Gallagh-gunley; the harvest moon. (Ulster.) _Gallagh_ gives the sound
+    of Irish _gealach_, the moon, meaning whitish, from _geal_, white.
+
+    Geck; to mock, to jeer, to laugh at. (Derry.)
+
+    Geenagh, geenthagh; hungry, greedy, covetous. (Derry.) Irish _gionach_
+    or _giontach_, gluttonous.
+
+    Geens; wild cherries. (Derry.)
+
+    Gentle; applied to a place or thing having some connexion with the
+    fairies--haunted by fairies. A thornbush where fairies meet is a
+    'gentle bush': the hazel and the foxglove (fairy-thimble) are gentle
+    plants.
+
+    Geócagh; a big strolling idle fellow. (Munster.) Irish _geocach_, same
+    sound and meaning.
+
+    Geosadaun or Yosedaun [_d_ in both sounded like _th_ in _they_]; the
+    yellow rag-weed: called also boliaun [2-syll.] and booghalaun.
+
+    Get; a bastard child. (North and South.)
+
+    Gibbadaun; a frivolous person. (Roscommon.) From the Irish _giob_, a
+    scrap, with the diminutive ending _dán_: a _scrappy_ trifling-minded
+    person.
+
+    Gibbol [_g_ hard as in _get_]; a rag: your jacket is all hanging down
+    in gibbols.' (Limerick.) Irish _giobal_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Giddhom; restlessness. In Limerick it is applied to cows when they
+    gallop through the fields with {262} tails cocked out, driven half mad
+    by heat and flies: 'The cows are galloping with giddhom.' Irish
+    _giodam_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Gill-gowan, a corn-daisy. (Tyrone.) From Irish _geal_, white, and
+    _gowan_, the Scotch name for a daisy.
+
+    Girroge [two _g_'s sounded as in _get_, _got_]. Girroges are the short
+    little drills where the plough runs into a corner. (Kildare and
+    Limerick.) Irish _gearr_, short, with the diminutive _óg_: _girroge_,
+    any short little thing.
+
+    Girsha; a little girl. (North and South.) Irish _geirrseach_ [girsagh],
+    from _gearr_, short or small, with the feminine termination _seach_.
+
+    Gistra [_g_ sounded as in _get_], a sturdy, active old man. (Ulster.)
+    Irish _giostaire_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Gladiaathor [_aa_ long as in _car_]; a gladiator, a fighting
+    quarrelsome fellow: used as a verb also:--'he went about the fair
+    _gladiaatherin_,' i.e. shouting and challenging people to fight him.
+
+    Glaum, glam; to grab or grasp with the whole hand; to maul or pull
+    about with the hands. Irish _glám_ [glaum], same meaning.
+
+    Glebe; in Ireland this word is almost confined to the land or farm
+    attached to a Protestant rector's residence: hence called _glebe-land_.
+    See p. 143.
+
+    Gleeag; a small handful of straw used in plaiting straw mats: a sheaf
+    of straw threshed. (Kildare and Monaghan.)
+
+    Gleeks: to give a fellow the gleeks is to press the forefingers into
+    the butt of the ears so as to cause pain: a rough sort of play.
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Glenroe, Co. Limerick, 68, 146. {263}
+
+    Gliggeen; a voluble silly talker. (Munster.) Irish _gluigín_
+    [gliggeen], a little bell, a little tinkler: from _glog_, same as
+    _clog_, a bell.
+
+    Gliggerum; applied to a very bad old worn-out watch or clock.
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Glit; slimy mud; the green vegetable (_ducksmeat_) that grows on the
+    surface of stagnant water. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Gloit; a blockhead of a young fellow. (Knowles.)
+
+    Glory be to God! Generally a pious exclamation of thankfulness, fear,
+    &c.: but sometimes an ejaculation of astonishment, wonder, admiration,
+    &c. Heard everywhere in Ireland.
+
+    Glower; to stare or glare at: 'what are you glowerin' at!' (Ulster.)
+
+    Glugger [_u_ sounded as in _full_]; empty noise; the noise made by
+    shaking an addled egg. Also an addled egg. Applied very often in a
+    secondary sense to a vain empty foolish boaster. (Munster.)
+
+    Glunter: a stupid person. (Knowles: Ulster.)
+
+    Goaling: same as Hurling, which see.
+
+    Gob; the mouth including lips: 'Shut your gob.' Irish _gob_, same
+    meaning. Scotch, 'greedy _gab_.' (Burns.)
+
+    Gobshell; a big spittle direct from the mouth. (Limerick.) From Irish
+    _gob_, the mouth, and _seile_ [shella], a spittle.
+
+    Gobs or jackstones; five small round stones with which little girls
+    play against each other, by throwing them up and catching them as they
+    fall; 'there are Nelly and Sally playing gobs.'
+
+    Gods and goddesses of Pagan Ireland, 177.
+
+    Godspeed: see Back of God-speed. {264}
+
+    God's pocket. Mr. Kinahan writes to me:--'The first time I went to the
+    Mullingar hotel I had a delicate child, and spoke to the landlady as to
+    how he was to be put up [during the father's absence by day on outdoor
+    duty]. "Oh never fear sir," replied the good old lady, "the poor child
+    will be _in God's pocket_ here."' Mr. K. goes on to say:--I afterwards
+    found that in all that part of Leinster they never said 'we will make
+    you comfortable,' but always 'you will be in God's pocket,' or 'as snug
+    as in God's pocket.' I heard it said of a widow and orphans whose
+    people were kind to them, that they were in 'God's pocket.' Whether
+    Seumas MacManus ever came across this term I do not know, but he has
+    something very like it in 'A Lad of the O'Friels,' viz., 'I'll make the
+    little girl as happy as if she was _in Saint Peter's pocket_.'
+
+    Goggalagh, a dotard. (Munster.) Irish _gogail_, the cackling of a hen
+    or goose; also doting; with the usual termination _ach_.
+
+    Going on; making fun, joking, teasing, chaffing, bantering:--'Ah, now I
+    see you are only _going on_ with me.' 'Stop your _goings on_.'
+    (General.)
+
+    Golder [_d_ sounded like _th_ in further]; a loud sudden or angry
+    shout. (Patterson: Ulster.)
+
+    Goleen; an armful. See Gwaul.
+
+    Gombeen man; a usurer who lends money to small farmers and others of
+    like means, at ruinous interest. The word is now used all over Ireland.
+    Irish _goimbín_ [gombeen], usury.
+
+    Gommul, gommeril, gommula, all sometimes shortened to _gom_; a
+    simple-minded fellow, a half {265} fool. Irish _gamal_, _gamaille_,
+    _gamairle_, _gamarail_, all same meaning. (_Gamal_ is also Irish for a
+    camel.) Used all over Ireland.
+
+    Good deed; said of some transaction that is a well-deserved punishment
+    for some wrong or unjust or very foolish course of action. Bill lends
+    some money to Joe, who never returns it, and a friend says:--''Tis a
+    good deed Bill, why did you trust such a schemer?' Barney is bringing
+    home a heavy load, and is lamenting that he did not bring his
+    ass:--''Tis a good deed: where was I coming without Bobby?' (the ass).
+    ('Knocknagow') 'I'm wet to the skin': reply:--''Tis a good deed: why
+    did you go out without your overcoat?'
+
+    Good boy: in Limerick and other parts of Munster, a young fellow who is
+    good--strong and active--at all athletic exercises, but most especially
+    if he is brave and tough in fighting, is 'a good boy.' The people are
+    looking anxiously at a sailing boat labouring dangerously in a storm on
+    the Shannon, and one of them remarks:--''Tis a good boy that has the
+    rudder in his hand.' (Gerald Griffin.)
+
+    Good people; The fairies. The word is used merely as _soft sawder_, to
+    _butter them up_, to curry favour with them--to show them great respect
+    at least from the teeth out--lest they might do some injury to the
+    speaker.
+
+    Googeen [two _g_'s as in _good_ and _get_]; a simple soft-minded
+    person. (Moran: Carlow.) Irish _guag_, same meaning, with the
+    diminutive: _guaigín_.
+
+    Gopen, gowpen; the full of the two hands used together. (Ulster.)
+    Exactly the same meaning as _Lyre_ in Munster, which see. {266}
+
+    Gor; the coarse turf or peat which forms the surface of the bog.
+    (Healy: for Ulster.)
+
+    Gorb; a ravenous eater, a glutton. (Ulster.)
+
+    Gorsoon: a young boy. It is hard to avoid deriving this from French
+    _garçon_, all the more as it has no root in Irish. Another form often
+    used is _gossoon_, which is derived from Irish:--_gas_, a stem or
+    stalk, a young boy. But the termination _oon_ or _ún_ is suspicious in
+    both cases, for it is not a genuine Irish suffix at all.
+
+    Gossip; a sponsor in baptism.
+
+    Goster; gossipy talk. Irish _gastair[)e]_, a prater, a chatterer.
+    'Dermot go 'long with your goster.' (Moore--in his youth.)
+
+    Gouloge; a stick with a little fork of two prongs at the end, for
+    turning up hay, or holding down furze while cutting. (South.) Used in
+    the North often in the form of _gollog_. Irish _gabhal_ [gowl], a fork,
+    with the dim. _óg_.
+
+    Gounau; housewife [huzzif] thread, strong thread for sewing, pack
+    thread. Irish _gabhshnáth_ (Fr. Dinneen), same sound and meaning: from
+    _snáth_, a thread: but how comes in _gabh_? In one of the Munster towns
+    I knew a man who kept a draper's shop, and who was always called
+    _Gounau_, in accordance with the very reprehensible habit of our people
+    to give nicknames.
+
+    Goureen-roe: a snipe, a jacksnipe. (Munster.) Irish _gabhairín-reó_,
+    the 'little goat of the frost' (reó, frost): because on calm frosty
+    evenings you hear its quivering sound as it flies in the twilight, very
+    like the sound emitted by a goat.
+
+    Gra, grah; love, fondness, liking. Irish _grádh_ {267} [graw]. 'I have
+    great gra for poor Tom.' I asked an Irishman who had returned from
+    America and settled down again here and did well:--'Why did you come
+    back from America?' 'Ah,' he replied, 'I have great _gra_ for the old
+    country.'
+
+    Graanbroo; wheat boiled in new milk and sweetened: a great treat to
+    children, and generally made from their own gleanings or _liscauns_,
+    gathered in the fields. Sometimes called _brootheen_. (Munster.) The
+    first from Irish _grán_, grain, and _brúgh_, to break or bruise, to
+    reduce to pulp, or cook, by boiling. _Brootheen_ (also applied to
+    mashed potatoes) is from _brúgh_, with the diminutive.
+
+    Graanoge, graan-yoge [_aa_ in both long like _a_ in _car_], a hedgehog.
+    Irish _gráineóg_, same sound.
+
+    Graanshaghaun [_aa_ long as in _car_]; wheat (in grain) boiled. (Joyce:
+    Limerick.) In my early days what we called _graanshaghaun_ was wheat in
+    grains, not boiled, but roasted in an iron pot held over the fire, the
+    wheat being kept stirred till done.
+
+    Graffaun; a small axe with edge across like an adze for grubbing or
+    _graffing_ land, i.e. rooting out furze and heath in preparation for
+    tillage. Used all through the South. 'This was the word used in Co.
+    Cork law courts.' (Healy.) Irish _grafán_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Graip or grape; a dung-fork with three or four prongs. Irish _grápa_.
+
+    Grammar and Pronunciation, 74.
+
+    Grammel; to grope or fumble or gather with both hands. (Derry.)
+
+    Graves, Mr. A. P., 58, &c.
+
+    Grawls; children. Paddy Corbett, thinking he is {268} ruined, says of
+    his wife:--'God comfort poor Jillian and the grawls I left her.'
+    (Edward Walsh.) 'There's Judy and myself and the poor little grawls.'
+    (Crofton Croker: p. 155.)
+
+    Grawvar; loving, affectionate:--'That's a grawver poor boy.' (Munster.)
+    Irish _grádhmhar_, same sound and meaning: from _grádh_, love.
+
+    Grazier; a young rabbit. (South and West.)
+
+    Great; intimate, closely acquainted:--'Tom Long and Jack Fogarty are
+    very great.' (All over Ireland.) 'Come gie's your hand and sae we're
+    _greet_.' (Burns.)
+
+    Greedy-gut; a glutton; a person who is selfish about stuffing himself,
+    wishing to give nothing to anyone else. Gorrane Mac Sweeny, when his
+    mistress is in want of provisions, lamenting that the eagles (over
+    Glengarriff) were devouring the game that the lady wanted so badly,
+    says:--'Is it not the greatest pity in life ... that these greedy-guts
+    should be after swallowing the game, and my sweet mistress and her
+    little ones all the time starving.' (Caesar Otway in 'Pen. Journ.')
+
+    Greenagh; a person that hangs round hoping to get food (Donegal and
+    North-West): a 'Watch-pot.'
+
+    Greesagh; red hot embers and ashes. 'We roasted our potatoes and eggs
+    in the greesagh.' (All over Ireland.) Irish _gríosach_, same sound.
+
+    Greet; to cry. 'Tommy was greetin' after his mother.' (Ulster.)
+
+    Greth; harness of a horse: a general name for all the articles required
+    when yoking a horse to the cart. (Knowles: Ulster.)
+
+    Griffin, Gerald, author of 'The Collegians,' 5, &c. {269}
+
+    Grig (greg in Sligo): a boy with sugarstick holds it out to another and
+    says, 'grig, grig,' to triumph over him. Irish _griog_, same sound and
+    meaning.
+
+    Grinder; a bright-coloured silk kerchief worn round the neck. (Edward
+    Walsh: all over Munster.)
+
+    Gripe; a trench, generally beside a high ditch or fence. 'I got down
+    into the gripe, thinking to [hide myself].' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+    Griskin or greeskeen; a small bit of meat cut off to be
+    roasted--usually on the coals. Irish _gríscín_.
+
+    Grisset; a shallow iron vessel for melting things in, such as grease
+    for dipping rushes, resin for dipping torches (_sluts_ or _paudioges_,
+    which see), melting lead for various purposes, white metals for
+    coining, &c. If a man is growing rapidly rich:--'You'd think he had the
+    grisset down.'
+
+    Groak or groke; to look on silently--like a dog--at people while they
+    are eating, hoping to be asked to eat a bit. (Derry.)
+
+    Grogue; three or four sods of turf standing on end, supporting each
+    other like a little pyramid on the bog to dry. (Limerick.) Irish
+    _gruag_, same meaning.
+
+    Groodles; the broken bits mixed with liquid left at the bottom of a
+    bowl of soup, bread and milk, &c.
+
+    Group or grup; a little drain or channel in a cow-house to lead off the
+    liquid manure. (Ulster.)
+
+    Grue or grew; to turn from with disgust:--'He grued at the physic.'
+    (Ulster).
+
+    Grug; sitting on one's grug means sitting on the heels without touching
+    the ground. (Munster.) Same as Scotch _hunkers_. 'Sit down on your grug
+    and thank God for a seat.'
+
+    Grumagh or groomagh; gloomy, {270} ill-humoured:--'I met Bill this
+    morning looking very _grumagh_.' (General.) From Irish _gruaim_
+    [_grooim_], gloom, ill-humour, with the usual suffix _-ach_, equivalent
+    to English _-y_ as in _gloomy_.
+
+    Grumpy; surly, cross, disagreeable. (General.)
+
+    Gubbadhaun; a bird that follows the cuckoo. (Joyce.)
+
+    Gubbaun; a strap tied round the mouth of a calf or foal, with a row of
+    projecting nail points, to prevent it sucking the mother. From Irish
+    _gob_, the mouth, with the diminutive. (South.)
+
+    Gubbalagh; a mouthful. (Munster.) Irish _goblach_, same sound and
+    meaning. From _gob_, the mouth, with the termination _lach_.
+
+    Gullion; a sink-pool. (Ulster.)
+
+    Gulpin; a clownish uncouth fellow. (Ulster.)
+
+    Gulravage, gulravish; noisy boisterous play. (North-east Ulster.)
+
+    Gunk; a 'take in,' a 'sell'; as a verb, to 'take in,' to cheat.
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Gushers; stockings with the soles cut off. (Morris: Monaghan.) From the
+    Irish. Same as triheens.
+
+    Gurry; a _bonnive_, a young pig. (Morris: Mon.)
+
+    Gutter; wet mud on a road (_gutters_ in Ulster).
+
+    Gwaul [_l_ sounded as in _William_]; the full of the two arms of
+    anything: 'a gwaul of straw.' (Munster.) In Carlow and Wexford, they
+    add the diminutive, and make it _goleen_. Irish _gabháil_.
+
+
+
+    Hain; to hain a field is to let it go to meadow, keeping the cows out
+    of it so as to let the grass grow: possibly from _hayin'_. (Waterford:
+    Healy.) In Ulster _hain_ means to save, to economise. {271}
+
+    Half a one; half a glass of whiskey. One day a poor blind man walked
+    into one of the Dublin branch banks, which happened to be next door to
+    a public-house, and while the clerks were looking on, rather puzzled as
+    to what he wanted, he slapped two pennies down on the counter; and in
+    no very gentle voice:--'Half a one!'
+
+    Half joke and whole earnest; an expression often heard in Ireland which
+    explains itself. 'Tim told me--half joke and whole earnest--that he
+    didn't much like to lend me his horse.'
+
+    Hand; to make a hand of a person is to make fun of him; to humbug him:
+    Lowry Looby, thinking that Mr. Daly is making game of him, says:--''Tis
+    making a hand of me your honour is.' (Gerald Griffin.) Other
+    applications of _hand_ are 'You made a bad hand of that job,' i.e. you
+    did it badly. If a man makes a foolish marriage: 'He made a bad hand of
+    himself, poor fellow.'
+
+    Hand-and-foot; the meaning of this very general expression is seen in
+    the sentence 'He gave him a hand-and-foot and tumbled him down.'
+
+    Hand's turn; a very trifling bit of work, an occasion:--'He won't do a
+    hand's turn about the house': 'he scolds me at every hand's turn,' i.e.
+    on every possible occasion.
+
+    Handy; near, convenient:--'The shop lies handy to me'; an adaptation of
+    the Irish _láimh le_ (meaning _near_). _Láimh le Corcaig_, lit. _at
+    hand with Cork_--near Cork. This again is often expressed _convenient
+    to Cork_, where _convenient_ is intended to mean simply _near_. So it
+    comes that we in Ireland regard _convenient_ and _near_ as exactly
+    synonymous, {272} which they are not. In fact on almost every possible
+    occasion, we--educated and uneducated--use _convenient_ when _near_
+    would be the proper word. An odd example occurs in the words of the old
+    Irish folk-song:--
+
+     'A sailor courted a farmer's daughter,
+      Who lived _convaynient_ to the Isle of Man.'
+
+    Hannel; a blow with the spear or spike of a pegging-top (or
+    'castle-top') down on the wood of another top. Boys often played a game
+    of tops for a certain number of hannels. At the end of the game the
+    victor took his defeated opponent's top, sunk it firmly down into the
+    grassy sod, and then with his own top in his hand struck the other top
+    a number of hannels with the spear of his own to injure it as much as
+    possible. 'Your castle-tops came in for the most hannels.'
+    ('Knocknagow.')
+
+    Hap; to wrap a person round with any covering, to tuck in the
+    bedclothes round a person. (Ulster.)
+
+    Hard word (used always with _the_); a hint, an inkling, a tip, a bit of
+    secret information:--'They were planning to betray and cheat me, but
+    Ned gave me the hard word, and I was prepared for them, so that I
+    defeated their schemes.'
+
+    Hare; to make a hare of a person is to put him down in argument or
+    discussion, or in a contest of wit or cunning; to put him in utter
+    confusion. 'While you were speaking to the little boy that made a hare
+    of you.' (Carleton in Ir. Pen. Journ.)
+
+     'Don't talk of your Provost and Fellows of Trinity,
+      Famous for ever at Greek and Latinity,
+      Faix and the divels and all at Divinity--
+      Father O'Flynn 'd make hares of them all!'
+
+      (A. P. GRAVES.)
+
+    {273}
+
+    Harvest; always used in Ireland for autumn:--'One fine day in harvest.'
+    (Crofton Croker.)
+
+    Hauling home; bringing home the bride, soon after the wedding, to her
+    husband's house. Called also a 'dragging-home.' It is always made the
+    occasion of festivity only next in importance to the wedding. For a
+    further account, and for a march played at the Hauling home, see my
+    'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 130.
+
+    Hausel; the opening in the iron head of an axe, adze, or hammer, for
+    the handle. (Ulster.)
+
+    Haverel: a rude coarse boor, a rough ignorant fellow. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Havverick; a rudely built house, or an old ruined house hastily and
+    roughly restored:--'How can people live in that old havverick?'
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Hayden, Miss Mary, M.A., 5, &c.
+
+    Healy, Mr. Maurice, 178, &c.
+
+    Head or harp; a memorial of the old Irish coinage, corresponding with
+    English _head or tail_. The old Irish penny and halfpenny had the
+    king's head on one side and the Irish harp on the other. 'Come now,
+    head or harp,' says the person about to throw up a halfpenny of any
+    kind.
+
+    Heard tell; an expression used all throughout Ireland:--'I heard tell
+    of a man who walked to Glendalough in a day.' It is old English.
+
+    Heart-scald; a great vexation or mortification. (General.) Merely the
+    translation of _scallach-croidhe_ [scollagh-cree], _scalding_ of the
+    heart.
+
+    Hearty; tipsy, exhilarated after a little 'drop.'
+
+    Hedge schools, 149. {274}
+
+    Higgins, The Rev. Father, p. 244, and elsewhere.
+
+    Hinch; the haunch, the thigh. To hinch a stone is to _jerk_ (or _jurk_
+    as they say in Munster), to hurl it from under instead of over the
+    shoulder. (Ulster.)
+
+    Hinten; the last sod of the ridge ploughed. (Ulster.)
+
+    Ho; equal. Always used with a negative, and also in a bad sense, either
+    seriously or in play. A child spills a jug of milk, and the mother
+    says:--'Oh Jacky, there's no _ho_ to you for mischief' (no equal to
+    you). The old woman says to the mischievous gander:--'There's no ho
+    with you for one gander.' (Gerald Griffin: 'The Coiner.') This _ho_ is
+    an Irish word: it represents the sound of the Irish prefix _cho_ or
+    _chomh_, equal, as much as, &c. 'There's no ho to Jack Lynch' means
+    there's no one for whom you can use _cho_ (equal) in comparing him with
+    Jack Lynch.
+
+    Hobbler; a small cock of fresh hay about 4 feet high. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Hobby; a kind of Irish horse, which, three or four centuries ago, was
+    known all over Europe 'and held in great esteem for their easy amble:
+    and from this kind of horse the Irish light-armed bodies of horse were
+    called hobellers.' (Ware. See my 'Smaller Social History of Ancient
+    Ireland,' p. 487.) Hence a child's toy, a hobby-horse. Hence a
+    favourite pursuit is called a 'hobby.'
+
+    Hoil; a mean wretched dwelling: an uncomfortable situation. (Morris:
+    South Monaghan.)
+
+    Hollow; used as an adverb as follows:--'Jack Cantlon's horse beat the
+    others hollow in the race': i.e. beat them utterly. {275}
+
+    Holy show: 'You're a holy show in that coat,' i.e. it makes quite a
+    show of you; makes you look ridiculous. (General.)
+
+    Holy well; a well venerated on account of its association with an Irish
+    saint: in most cases retaining the name of the saint:--'Tober-Bride,'
+    St. Bride's or Brigit's well. In these wells the early saints baptised
+    their converts. They are found all through Ireland, and people often
+    pray beside them and make their _rounds_. (See 'Smaller Social History
+    of Ancient Ireland.')
+
+    Hool or hooley; the same as a Black swop.
+
+    Hot-foot; at once, immediately:--'Off I went hot-foot.' 'As soon as
+    James heard the news, he wrote a letter hot-foot to his father.'
+
+    Houghle; to wobble in walking. (Armagh.)
+
+    Hugger-mugger: see Cugger-mugger.
+
+    Huggers or hogars, stockings without feet. (Ulster.)
+
+    Hulk; a rough surly fellow. (Munster.) A bad person. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+    Irish _olc_, bad.
+
+    Hungry-grass: see Fair-gurtha.
+
+    Hunker-slide; to slide on ice sitting on the hunkers (or as they would
+    say in Munster, sitting on one's _grug_) instead of standing up
+    straight: hence to act with duplicity: to shirk work:--'None of your
+    hunker-sliding for me.' (Ulster.)
+
+    Hurling; the common game of ball and hurley or _commaun_. The chief
+    terms (besides those mentioned elsewhere) are:--_Puck_, the blow of the
+    hurley on the ball: The _goals_ are the two gaps at opposite sides of
+    the field through which the players try to drive the ball. When the
+    ball is thrown high up between two players with their {276} commauns
+    ready drawn to try which will strike it on its way down: that is
+    _high-rothery_. When two adjacent parishes or districts contended
+    (instead of two small parties at an ordinary match), that was
+    _scoobeen_ or 'conquering goal' (Irish _scuab_, a broom: _scoobeen_,
+    _sweeping_ the ball away). I have seen at least 500 on each side
+    engaged in one of these _scoobeens_; but that was in the time of the
+    eight millions--before 1847. Sometimes there were bad blood and
+    dangerous quarrels at scoobeens. See Borick, Sippy, Commaun, and Cool.
+    (For the ancient terms see my 'Smaller Social History of Ancient
+    Ireland,' p. 513.) For examples of these great contests, see Very Rev.
+    Dr. Sheehan's 'Glenanaar,' pp. 4, 231.
+
+    Hurt: a whortleberry: hurts are _fraughans_, which see. From _whort_.
+    (Munster.)
+
+    Husho or rather huzho; a lullaby, a nurse-song, a cradle-song;
+    especially the chorus, consisting of a sleepy _cronaun_ or croon--like
+    'shoheen-sho Loo-lo-lo,' &c. Irish _suantraighe_ [soontree]. 'The
+    moaning of a distant stream that kept up a continual _cronane_ like a
+    nurse _hushoing_.' 'My mother was hushoing my little sister, striving
+    to quieten her.' (Both from Crofton Croker.) 'The murmur of the ocean
+    _huzhoed_ me to sleep.' (Irish Folk Song:--'McKenna's Dream.')
+
+
+
+    Idioms; influence of the Irish language on, 4:--derived from Irish, 23.
+
+    If; often used in the sense of _although_, _while_, or some such
+    signification, which will be best understood from the following
+    examples:--A Dublin {277} jarvey who got sixpence for a long drive,
+    said in a rage:--'I'm in luck to-day; but _if I am_, 'tis blazing _bad_
+    luck.' 'Bill ran into the house, and if he did, the other man seized
+    him round the waist and threw him on his back.'
+
+    If that. This is old English, but has quite disappeared from the
+    standard language of the present day, though still not unfrequently
+    heard in Ireland:--'If that you go I'll go with you.'
+
+     '_If_ from Sally _that_ I get free,
+      My dear I love you most tenderlie.'
+
+      (Irish Folk Song--'Handsome Sally.')
+
+     'And _if that_ you wish to go further
+        Sure God He made Peter His own,
+      The keys of His treasures He gave him,
+        To govern the old Church of Rome.'
+
+      (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+    Inagh´ or in-yah´ [both strongly accented on second syll.]; a satirical
+    expression of dissent or disbelief, like the English _forsooth_, but
+    much stronger. A fellow boasting says:--'I could run ten miles in an
+    hour': and another replies, 'You could _inah_': meaning 'Of course I
+    don't believe a word of it.' A man coming back from the other world
+    says to a woman:--'I seen your [dead] husband there too, ma'am;' to
+    which she replies:--'My husband _inah_.' (Gerald Griffin:
+    'Collegians.') Irish _an eadh_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Inch; a long strip of level grassy land along a river. Very general.
+    Irish _inis_ [innish], of the same family as Lat. _insula_: but _inis_
+    is older than _insula_ which is a diminutive and consequently a derived
+    form. 'James, go out and drive the cows down to the inch.'
+
+    Insense´; to make a person understand;--'I can't {278} insense him into
+    his letters.' 'I insensed him into the way the job was to be done.'
+    [Accent on -sense´.]
+
+    In tow with; in close acquaintance with, courting. John is in tow with
+    Jane Sullivan.
+
+    Ire, sometimes _ira_; children who go barefoot sometimes get _ire_ in
+    the feet; i.e. the skin chapped and very sore. Also an inflamed spot on
+    the skin rendered sore by being rubbed with some coarse seam, &c.
+
+    Irish language; influence of, on our dialect, 1, 23.
+
+
+
+    Jackeen; a nickname for a conceited Dublin citizen of the lower class.
+
+    Jack Lattin, 172.
+
+    Jap or jop; to splash with mud. (Ulster.)
+
+    Jaw; impudent talk: _jawing_; scolding, abusing:--
+
+     'He looked in my face and he gave me some jaw,
+      Saying "what brought you over from Erin-go-braw?"'
+
+      (Irish Folk Song.)
+
+    Jingle; one of Bianconi's long cars.
+
+    Johnny Magorey; a hip or dog-haw; the fruit of the dog-rose. (Central
+    and Eastern counties.)
+
+    Join; to begin at anything; 'the child joined to cry'; 'my leg joined
+    to pain me'; 'the man joined to plough.' (North.)
+
+    Jokawn; an oaten stem cut off above the joint, with a tongue cut in it,
+    which sounds a rude kind of music when blown by the mouth. (Limerick.)
+    Irish _geocán_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Jowlter, fish-jowlter; a person who hawks about fish through the
+    country, to sell. (South.)
+
+    Just: often used as a final expletive--more in {279} Ulster than
+    elsewhere:--'Will you send anyone?' 'Yes, Tommy just.' 'Where are you
+    going now?' 'To the fair just.'
+
+
+
+    Keenagh or keenagh-lee: mildew often seen on cheese, jam, &c. In a damp
+    house everything gets covered with _keenagh-lee_. Irish _caonach_,
+    moss; _caonach-lee_, mildew: _lee_ is Irish _liagh_ [lee], grey. (North
+    and North-West of Ireland.)
+
+    Keeping: a man is _on his keeping_ when he is hiding away from the
+    police, who are on his track for some offence. This is from the Irish
+    _coiméad_, keeping; _air mo choiméad_, 'on my keeping.'
+
+    Keeroge; a beetle or clock. Irish _ciar_ [keer], dark, black, with the
+    diminutive _óg_: _keeroge_, 'black little fellow.'
+
+    Kelters, money, coins: 'He has the kelthers,' said of a rich man.
+    _Yellow kelters_, gold money: 'She has the kelthers': means she has a
+    large fortune. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Kemp or camp; to compete: two or more persons kemp against each other
+    in any work to determine which will finish first. (Ulster.) See
+    Carleton's story, 'The Rival Kempers.'
+
+    Keolaun; a contemptible little creature, boy or man. (South and West.)
+
+    Keowt; a low contemptible fellow.
+
+    Kepper; a slice of bread with butter, as distinguished from a _dundon_,
+    which see.
+
+    Kesh; a rough bridge over a river or morass, made with poles,
+    wickerwork, &c.--overlaid with bushes and _scraws_ (green sods).
+    Understood all through Ireland. A small one over a drain in a bog is
+    {280} often called in Tipperary and Waterford a _kishoge_, which is
+    merely the diminutive.
+
+    Kib; to put down or plant potatoes, each seed in a separate hole made
+    with a spade. Irish _ciob_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Kickham, Charles, author of 'Knocknagow,' 5, &c.
+
+    Kiddhoge, a wrap of any kind that a woman throws hastily over her
+    shoulders. (Ulster.) Irish _cuideóg_, same sound and sense here.
+
+    Kilfinane, Co. Limerick, 147.
+
+    Killeen; a quantity:--'That girl has a good killeen of money. (Ulster.)
+    Irish _cillín_ [killeen].
+
+    Killeen; an old churchyard disused except for the occasional burial of
+    unbaptised infants. Irish _cill_, a church, with the diminutive _ín_.
+
+    Kimmeen; a sly deceitful trick; kimmeens or kymeens, small crooked
+    ways:--'Sure you're not equal to the _kimmeens_ of such complete
+    deceivers at all at all.' (Sam Lover in Ir. Pen. Mag.) Irish _com_,
+    crooked; diminutive _cuimín_ [kimmeen].
+
+    Kimmel-a-vauleen; uproarious fun. Irish _cimel-a'-mháilín_, literally
+    'rub-the-bag.' There is a fine Irish jig with this name. (South.)
+
+    Kink; a knot or short twist in a cord.
+
+    Kink; a fit of coughing or laughing: 'they were in kinks of laughing.'
+    Hence _chincough_, for whooping-cough, i.e. _kink_-cough. I know a holy
+    well that has the reputation of curing whooping-cough, and hence called
+    the 'Kink-well.'
+
+    Kinleen or keenleen, or kine-leen; a single straw or corn stem.
+    (South.) Irish _caoinlín_, same sound.
+
+    Kinleen-roe; an icicle: the same word as last with the addition of
+    _reo_ [roe], frost: 'frost-stem.' {281}
+
+    Kinnatt´, [1st syll. very short; accent on 2nd syll.: to rhyme with
+    _cat_]; an impertinent conceited impudent little puppy.
+
+    Kippen or kippeen; any little bit of stick: often used as a sort of pet
+    name for a formidable cudgel or shillelah for fighting. Irish _cip_
+    [kip], a stake or stock, with the diminutive.
+
+    Kish; a large square basket made of wattles and wickerwork used for
+    measuring turf or for holding turf on a cart. Sometimes (South) called
+    a _kishaun_. Irish _cis_ or _ciseán_, same sounds and meanings: also
+    called _kishagh_.
+
+    Kishtha; a treasure: very common in Connaught, where it is often
+    understood to be hidden treasure in a fort under the care of a
+    leprachaun. Irish _ciste_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Kitchen; any condiment or relish eaten with the plain food of a meal,
+    such as butter, dripping, &c. A very common saying in Tyrone against
+    any tiresome repetition is:--'Butter to butter is no kitchen.' As a
+    verb; to use sparingly, to economise:--'Now kitchen that bit of bacon
+    for you have no more.'
+
+    Kitthoge or kitthagh; a left-handed person. Understood through all
+    Ireland. Irish _ciotóg_, _ciotach_, same sounds and meaning.
+
+    Kitterdy; a simpleton, a fool. (Ulster.)
+
+    Knauvshauling [the _k_ sounded distinctly]; grumbling, scolding,
+    muttering complaints. (Limerick.) From Irish _cnamh_ [knauv: _k_
+    sounded], a bone, the jawbone. The underlying idea is the same as when
+    we speak of a person giving _jaw_. See Jaw.
+
+    'Knocknagow ': see Kickham.
+
+    Kybosh; some sort of difficulty or 'fix':--'He put the kybosh on him:
+    he defeated him.' (Moran: Carlow.) {282}
+
+    Kyraun, keeraun; a small bit broken off from a sod of turf. Irish
+    _caor_, or with the diminutive, _caorán_, same sound and meaning.
+
+
+
+    Laaban; a rotten sterile egg (Morris: for South Monaghan): same as
+    _Glugger_, which see. Irish _láb_ or _láib_, mire, dirt, with
+    diminutive.
+
+    Lad; a mischievous tricky fellow:--'There's no standing them lads.'
+    (Gerald Griffin.)
+
+    Lagheryman or Logheryman. (Ulster.) Same as Leprachaun, which see.
+
+    Lambaisting; a sound beating. Quite common in Munster.
+
+    Langel; to tie the fore and the hind leg of a cow or goat with a
+    spancel or fetter to prevent it going over fences. (Ulster.) Irish
+    _langal_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Lapcock; an armful or roll of grass laid down on the sward to dry for
+    hay. (Ulster.)
+
+    Lark-heeled; applied to a person having long sharp heels. See
+    Saulavotcheer.
+
+    Larrup; to wallop, to beat soundly. (Donegal and South.)
+
+    Lashings, plenty: lashings and leavings, plenty and to spare: specially
+    applied to food at meals. (General.)
+
+    Lassog, a blaze of light. (Morris: South Monaghan.) From Irish _las_,
+    light, with the diminutive.
+
+    Lauchy; applied to a person in the sense of pleasant, good-natured,
+    lovable. Irish _láchaiidhe_, same sound and sense. (Banim: general in
+    the South.) 'He's a _lauchy_ boy.'
+
+    Laudy-daw; a pretentious fellow that sets up to be a great swell.
+    (Moran: Carlow; and South.) {283}
+
+    Launa-vaula; full and plenty:--There was launa-vaula at the dinner.
+    Irish _lán-a-mhála_ (same sound), 'full bags.'
+
+    Lazy man's load. A lazy man takes too many things in one load to save
+    the trouble of going twice, and thereby often lets them fall and breaks
+    them.
+
+    Learn is used for _teach_ all over Ireland, but more in Ulster than
+    elsewhere. Don't forget to 'larn the little girl her catechiz.' (Seumas
+    Mac Manus.) An old English usage: but dead and gone in England now.
+
+    Leather; to beat:--'I gave him a good leathering,' i.e., a beating, a
+    thrashing. This is not derived, as might be supposed, from the English
+    word _leather_ (tanned skin), but from Irish, in which it is of very
+    old standing:--_Letrad_ (modern _leadradh_), cutting, hacking,
+    lacerating: also a champion fighter, a warrior, a _leatherer_. (Corm.
+    Gloss.--9th cent.) Used all through Ireland.
+
+    Leather-wing; a bat. (South.)
+
+    Lee, the Very Rev. Patrick, V. F., of Kilfinane, 148.
+
+    Lebbidha; an awkward, blundering, half-fool of a fellow. (South.) Irish
+    _leibide_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Leg bail; a person gives (or takes) _leg bail_ when he runs away,
+    absconds. (General.)
+
+    Lend; loan. Ned came 'for the _lend_ of the ould mare.' ('Knocknagow.')
+    Often used in the following way:--'Come and lend a hand,' i.e., give
+    some help. 'Our shooting party comes off to-morrow: will you _lend_
+    your gun': an invitation to join the party. (Kinahan.) {284}
+
+    Leprachaun; a sort of fairy, called by several names in different parts
+    of Ireland:--luricaun, cluricaun, lurragadaun, loghryman, luprachaun.
+    This last is the nearest to the Gaelic original, all the preceding
+    anglicised forms being derived from it. Luprachaun itself is derived by
+    a metathesis from Irish _luchorpán_, from _lu_, little, and _corpán_,
+    the dim. of _corp_, a body:--'weeny little body.' The reader will
+    understand all about this merry little chap from the following short
+    note and song written by me and extracted from my 'Ancient Irish Music'
+    (in which the air also will be found). The leprachaun is a very tricky
+    little fellow, usually dressed in a green coat, red cap, and
+    knee-breeches, and silver shoe-buckles, whom you may sometimes see in
+    the shades of evening, or by moonlight, under a bush; and he is
+    generally making or mending a shoe: moreover, like almost all fairies,
+    he would give the world for _pottheen_. If you catch him and hold him,
+    he will, after a little threatening, show you where treasure is hid, or
+    give you a purse in which you will always find money. But if you once
+    take your eyes off him, he is gone in an instant; and he is very
+    ingenious in devising tricks to induce you to look round. It is very
+    hard to catch a leprachaun, and still harder to hold him. I never heard
+    of any man who succeeded in getting treasure from him, except one, a
+    lucky young fellow named MacCarthy, who, according to the peasantry,
+    built the castle of Carrigadrohid near Macroom in Cork with the money.
+    Every Irishman understands well the terms _cruiskeen_ and _mountain
+    dew_, some indeed a little too well; but {285} for the benefit of the
+    rest of the world, I think it better to state that a _cruískeen_ is a
+    small jar, and that _mountain dew_ is _pottheen_ or illicit whiskey.
+
+      In a shady nook one moonlight night,
+        A leprachaun I spied;
+      With scarlet cap and coat of green;
+        A cruiskeen by his side.
+     'Twas tick tack tick, his hammer went,
+        Upon a weeny shoe;
+      And I laughed to think of a purse of gold;
+        But the fairy was laughing too.
+
+      With tip-toe step and beating heart,
+        Quite softly I drew nigh:
+      There was mischief in his merry face;--
+        A twinkle in his eye.
+      He hammered and sang with tiny voice,
+        And drank his mountain dew:
+      And I laughed to think he was caught at last:--
+        But the fairy was laughing too.
+
+      As quick as thought I seized the elf;
+       'Your fairy purse!' I cried;
+     'The purse!' he said--''tis in her hand--
+       'That lady at your side!'
+      I turned to look: the elf was off!
+        Then what was I to do?
+      O, I laughed to think what a fool I'd been;
+        And the fairy was laughing too.
+
+    Let out; a spree, an entertainment. (General.) 'Mrs. Williams gave a
+    great let out.'
+
+    Libber; this has much the same meaning as _flipper_, which see: an
+    untidy person careless about his dress and appearance--an easy-going
+    _ould sthreel_ of a man. I have heard an old fellow say, regarding
+    those that went before him--father, {286} grandfather, &c.--that they
+    were 'ould _aancient_ libbers,' which is the Irish peasant's way of
+    expressing Gray's 'rude forefathers of the hamlet.'
+
+    Lief; willing: 'I had as lief be working as not.' 'I had liefer': I had
+    rather. (General.) This is an old English word, now fallen out of use
+    in England, but common here.
+
+    Lifter; a beast that is so weak from starvation (chiefly in March when
+    grass is withered up) that it can hardly stand and has to be lifted
+    home from the hill-pasture to the stable. (Kinahan: Connemara.)
+
+    Light; a little touched in the head, a little crazed:--'Begor sir if
+    you say I know nothing about sticks your head must be getting light in
+    earnest.' (Robert Dwyer Joyce.)
+
+    Likely; well-looking: 'a likely girl'; 'a _clane_ likely boy.'
+
+    Likes; 'the likes of you': persons or _a person_ like you or in your
+    condition. Very common in Ireland. 'I'll not have any dealings with the
+    likes of him.' Colonel Lake, Inspector General of Constabulary in last
+    century, one afternoon met one of his recruits on the North Circular
+    Road, Dublin, showing signs of liquor, and stopped him. 'Well, my good
+    fellow, what is your name please?' The recruit replied:--'Who are you,
+    and what right have you to ask my name?' 'I am Colonel Lake, your
+    inspector general.' The recruit eyed him closely:--'Oh begor your
+    honour, if that's the case it's not right for the likes of me to be
+    talking to the likes of you': on which he turned round and took leg
+    bail on the spot like a deer, leaving {287} the inspector general
+    standing on the pathway. The Colonel often afterwards told that story
+    with great relish.
+
+    Linnaun-shee or more correct _Lannaun-shee_; a familiar spirit or fairy
+    that attaches itself to a mortal and follows him. From Irish _leannán_,
+    a lover, and _sídh_ [shee], a fairy: _lannaun-shee_, 'fairy-lover.'
+
+    Linnie; a long shed--a sort of barn--attached to a a farm house for
+    holding farm-yard goods and articles of various kinds--carts, spades,
+    turnips, corn, &c. (Munster.) Irish _lann-iotha_, lit. 'corn-house.'
+
+    Lint; in Ulster, a name for flax.
+
+    Linthern or lenthern; a small drain or sewer covered with flags for the
+    passage of water, often under a road from side to side. (Munster.)
+    Irish _lintreán_, _linntreach_ [lintran, lintragh].
+
+    Liscauns; gleanings of corn from the field after reaping: 'There's Mary
+    gathering _liscauns_.' (South.) Irish.
+
+    Loanen; a lane, a _bohereen_. (Ulster.)
+
+    Lob; a quantity, especially of money or of any valuable
+    commodity:--''Tis reported that Jack got a great lob of money with his
+    wife.' A person is trying to make himself out very useful or of much
+    consequence, and another says satirically--generally in play:--'Oh what
+    a _lob_ you are!'
+
+    Lock; a quantity or batch of anything--generally small:--a lock of
+    straw; a lock of sheep. (General.)
+
+    Logey; heavy or fat as applied to a person. (Moran: Carlow.) Also the
+    fireplace in a flax-kiln.
+
+    Lone; unmarried:--'A lone man'; 'a lone woman.' {288}
+
+    Long family; a common expression for a large family.
+
+    Lood, loodh, lude; ashamed: 'he was lude of himself when he was found
+    out.' (South.)
+
+    Loody; a loose heavy frieze coat. (Munster.)
+
+    Loof; the open hand, the palm of the hand. (Ulster.) Irish _lámh_
+    [lauv], the hand.
+
+    Loo-oge or lu-oge; the eel-fry a couple of inches long that come up the
+    southern Blackwater periodically in myriads, and are caught and sold as
+    food. (Waterford: Healy.) Irish _luadhóg_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Loose leg; when a person is free from any engagement or impediment that
+    bound him down--'he has a loose leg'--free to act as he likes. 'I have
+    retired from the service with a pension, so that now I have a loose
+    leg.' The same is often said of a prisoner discharged from jail.
+
+    Lord; applied as a nickname to a hunchback. The hunchback Danny Mann in
+    'The Collegians' is often called 'Danny the lord.'
+
+    Losset; a kneading tray for making cakes.
+
+    Lossagh; a sudden blaze from a turf fire. Irish _las_ [loss], a blaze,
+    with the usual termination _ach_.
+
+    Lossoge; a handful or little bundle of sticks for firing. (Mayo.) Irish
+    _las_ [loss], fire, a blaze, with the diminutive termination.
+
+    Low-backed car; a sort of car common in the southern half of Ireland
+    down to the middle of the last century, used to bring the country
+    people and their farm produce to markets. Resting on the shafts was a
+    long flat platform placed lengthwise {289} and sloping slightly
+    downwards towards the back, on which were passengers and goods. Called
+    trottle-car in Derry.
+
+    Loy; a spade. Used in the middle of Ireland all across from shore to
+    shore. Irish _láighe_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Luck-penny; a coin given by the seller to the buyer after a bargain has
+    been concluded: given to make sure that the buyer will have luck with
+    the animal or article he buys.
+
+    Ludeen or loodeen [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _then_]; the little finger.
+    Irish _lúidín_, same sound and meaning. From _lu_, little, with the
+    diminutive termination.
+
+    Lu-oge: see Loo-oge.
+
+    Luscan; a spot on the hillside from which the furze and heath have been
+    burned off. (Wicklow and round about.) From Irish _losc_ to burn:
+    _luscan_, 'burned little spot.'
+
+    Lusmore; fairy-thimble, fairy-finger, foxglove, _Digitalis purpurea_;
+    an herb of mighty power in fairy lore. Irish _lus_, herb; _mór_, great;
+    'mighty herb.'
+
+    Lybe; a lazy fellow. (MacCall: Wex.) See Libber.
+
+    Lyre; the full of the two hands used together: a beggar usually got a
+    _lyre_ of potatoes. (Munster: same as _gopen_ in Ulster.) Irish
+    _ladhar_, same sound and meaning.
+
+
+
+    MacManus, Seumas, 5, &c.
+
+    Mad; angry. There are certain Irish words, such as _buileamhail_, which
+    might denote either _mad_ or very _angry_: hence in English you very
+    often hear:--'Oh the master is very mad with you,' {290} i.e. angry.
+    'Excessively angry' is often expressed this way in dialect
+    language:--'The master is blazing mad about that accident to the mare.'
+    But even this expression is classical Irish; for we read in the Irish
+    Bible that Moses went away from Pharaoh, _air lasadh le feírg_,
+    'blazing with anger.' 'Like mad' is often used to denote very quickly
+    or energetically: Crofton Croker speaks of people who were 'dancing
+    like mad.' This expression is constantly heard in Munster.
+
+    Maddha-brishtha; an improvised tongs, such as would be used with a fire
+    in the fields, made from a strong twig bent sharp. (Derry.) Irish
+    _maide_ [maddha], a stick; _briste_, broken:--'broken stick.'
+
+    Maddhiaghs or muddiaghs; same as last, meaning simply 'sticks': the two
+    ends giving the idea of plurality. (Armagh.)
+
+    Maddhoge or middhoge; a dagger. (North and South.) Irish _meadóg_ or
+    _miodóg_.
+
+    Made; fortunate:--'I'm a made man' (or 'a _med_ man'), meaning 'my
+    fortune is made.' (Crofton Croker--but used very generally.)
+
+    Mag; a swoon:--'Light of grace,' she exclaimed, dropping in a _mag_ on
+    the floor. (Edward Walsh: used all over Munster.)
+
+    Maisled; speckled; a lazy young fellow's shins get maisled from sitting
+    before the fire. (Knowles: Ulster.)
+
+    Make; used in the South in the following way:--'This will make a fine
+    day': 'That cloth will make a fine coat': 'If that fellow was shaved
+    he'd make a handsome young man' (Irish folk-song): 'That Joe of yours
+    is a clever fellow: no doubt he'll {291} make a splendid doctor.' The
+    noun _makings_ is applied similarly:--'That young fellow is the makings
+    of a great scholar.'
+
+    Man above. In Irish God is often designated _an Fear suas_ or _an t-É
+    suas_ ('the Man above,' 'the Person above'): thus in Hardiman's 'Irish
+    Minstrelsy' (I. 228):--_Comarc an t-É tá shuas ort_: 'the protection of
+    the Person who is above be on thee': _an Fear suas_ occurs in the
+    Ossianic Poems. Hence they use this term all through the South:--'As
+    cunning as he is he can't hide his knavery from _the Man above_.'
+
+    Man in the gap, 182.
+
+    Mankeeper; used North and South as the English name of the little
+    lizard called in Irish 'Art-loochra,' which see.
+
+    Mannam; my soul: Irish _m'anam_, same sound and meaning:--'Mannam on
+    ye,' used as an affectionate exclamation to a child. (Scott: Derry.)
+
+    Many; 'too many' is often used in the following way, when two persons
+    were in rivalry of any kind, whether of wit, of learning, or of
+    strength:--'James was too many for Dick,' meaning he was an overmatch
+    for him.
+
+    Maol, Mail, Maileen, Moileen, Moilie (these two last forms common in
+    Ulster; the others elsewhere); a hornless cow. Irish _Maol_ [mwail],
+    same meaning. Quite a familiar word all through Ireland.
+
+        One night Jacky was sent out, much against his will, for an armful
+        of turf, as the fire was getting low; and in a moment afterwards,
+        the startled family heard frantic yells. Just as they jumped up
+        Jacky rushed in still yelling with his whole throat. {292}
+
+        'What's the matter--what's wrong!'
+
+        'Oh I saw the divel!'
+
+        'No you didn't, you fool, 'twas something else you saw.'
+
+        'No it wasn't, 'twas the divel I saw--didn't I know him well!'
+
+        'How did you know him--did you see his horns?'
+
+        'I didn't: he had no horns--he was a _mwail_ divel--sure that's how
+        I knew him!'
+
+        They ran out of course; but the _mwail_ divel was gone, leaving
+        behind him, standing up against the turf-rick, the black little
+        _Maol_ Kerry cow.
+
+    Margamore; the 'Great Market' held in Derry immediately before
+    Christmas or Easter. (Derry.) Irish _margadh_ [marga], a market, _mór_
+    [more], great.
+
+    Martheen; a stocking with the foot cut off. (Derry.) Irish _mairtín_,
+    same sound and meaning. _Martheens_ are what they call in Munster
+    _triheens_, which see.
+
+    Mass, celebration of, 144.
+
+    Mau-galore; nearly drunk: Irish _maith_ [mau], good: _go leór_, plenty:
+    'purty well I thank you,' as the people often say: meaning almost the
+    same as Burns's 'I was na fou but just had plenty.' (Common in
+    Munster.)
+
+    Mauleen; a little bag: usually applied in the South to the little sack
+    slung over the shoulder of a potato-planter, filled with the
+    _potato-sets_ (or _skillauns_), from which the setter takes them one by
+    one to plant them. In Ulster and Scotland, the word is _mailin_, which
+    is sometimes applied to a purse:--'A _mailin_ plenished (filled)
+    fairly.' (Burns.)
+
+    Maum; the full of the two hands used together {293} (Kerry); the same
+    as _Lyre_ and _Gopan_, which see. Irish _Mám_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Mavourneen; my love. (Used all through Ireland.) Irish _Mo-mhúirnín_,
+    same sound and meaning. See Avourneen.
+
+    May-day customs, 170.
+
+    Méaracaun [mairacaun]; a thimble. Merely the Irish _méaracán_, same
+    sound and meaning: from _méar_, a finger, with the diminutive
+    termination _cán_. Applied in the South to the fairy-thimble or
+    foxglove, with usually a qualifying word:--Mearacaun-shee (_shee_, a
+    fairy--fairy thimble) or Mearacaun-na-man-shee (where na-man-shee is
+    the Irish _na-mban-sidhe_, of the _banshees_ or fairy-women).
+    'Lusmore,' another name, which see.
+
+    Mearing; a well-marked boundary--but not necessarily a raised
+    _ditch_--a fence between two farms, or two fields, or two bogs. Old
+    English.
+
+    Mease: a measure for small fish, especially herrings:--'The fisherman
+    brought in ten mease of herrings.' Used all round the Irish coast. It
+    is the Irish word _mías_ [meece], a dish.
+
+    Mee-aw; a general name for the potato blight. Irish _mí-adh_ [mee-aw],
+    ill luck: from Irish _mí_, bad, and _ádh_, luck. But _mee-aw_ is also
+    used to designate 'misfortune' in general.
+
+    Meela-murder; 'a thousand murders': a general exclamation of surprise,
+    alarm, or regret. The first part is Irish--_míle_ [meela], a thousand;
+    the second is of course English.
+
+    Meelcar´ [_car_ long like the English word _car_]; also called
+    _meelcartan_; a red itchy sore on the sole of the foot just at the
+    edge. It is believed by the {294} people to be caused by a red little
+    flesh-worm, and hence the name _míol_ [meel], a worm, and _cearr_
+    [car], an old Irish word for red:--Meel-car, 'red-worm.' (North and
+    South.)
+
+    Meeraw; ill luck. (Munster.) From Irish _mí_, ill, and ráth [raw],
+    luck:--'There was some _meeraw_ on the family.
+
+    Melder of corn; the quantity sent to the mill and ground at one time.
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Memory of History and of Old Customs, 143.
+
+    Merrow; a mermaid. Irish _murrughagh_ [murrooa], from _muir_, the sea.
+    She dives and travels under sea by means of a hood and cape called
+    _cohuleen-dru_: _cochall_, a hood and cape (with diminutive
+    termination); _druádh_, druidical: 'magical cape.'
+
+    Midjilinn or middhilin; the thong of a flail. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
+
+    Mihul or mehul [_i_ and _e_ short]; a number of men engaged in any
+    farm-work, especially corn-reaping, still used in the South and West.
+    It is the very old Irish word _meithel_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Mills. The old English game of 'nine men's morris' or 'nine men's
+    merrils' or _mills_ was practised in my native place when I was a boy.
+    We played it on a diagram of three squares one within another,
+    connected by certain straight lines, each player having nine counters.
+    It is mentioned by Shakespeare ('Midsummer-Night's Dream'). I learned
+    to be a good player, and could play it still if I could meet an
+    antagonist. How it reached Limerick I do not know. A few years ago I
+    saw two persons playing mills in a hotel in Llandudno; and my heart
+    went out to them. {295}
+
+    Mind; often used in this way:--'Will you write that letter to-day?'
+    'No: I won't mind it to-day: I'll write it to-morrow.'
+
+    Minnikin; a very small pin.
+
+    Minister; always applied in Ireland to a Protestant clergyman.
+
+    Miscaun, mescaun, mescan, miscan; a roll or lump of butter. Irish
+    _mioscán_ [miscaun]. Used all over Ireland.
+
+    Mitch; to play truant from school.
+
+    Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, 155.
+
+    Moanthaun; boggy land. Moantheen; a little bog. (Munster.) Both dims.
+    of Irish _móin_, a bog.
+
+    Molly; a man who busies himself about women's affairs or does work that
+    properly belongs to women. (Leinster.) Same as _sheela_ in the South.
+
+    Moneen; a little _moan_ or bog; a green spot in a bog where games are
+    played. Also a sort of jig dance-tune: so called because often danced
+    on a green _moneen_. (Munster.)
+
+    Month's Mind; Mass and a general memorial service for the repose of the
+    soul of a person, celebrated a month after death. The term was in
+    common use in England until the change of religion at the Reformation;
+    and now it is not known even to English Roman Catholics. (Woollett.) It
+    is in constant use in Ireland, and I think among Irish Catholics
+    everywhere. But the practice is kept up by Catholics all over the
+    world. Mind, 'Memory.'
+
+    Mootch: to move about slowly and meaninglessly: without intelligence. A
+    mootch is a slow stupid person. (South.) {296}
+
+    Moretimes; often used as corresponding to _sometimes_: 'Sometimes she
+    employs herself at sewing, and moretimes at knitting.'
+
+    Mor-yah; a derisive expression of dissent to drive home the
+    untruthfulness of some assertion or supposition or pretence, something
+    like the English 'forsooth,' but infinitely stronger:--A notorious
+    schemer and cheat puts on airs of piety in the chapel and thumps his
+    breast in great style; and a spectator says:--Oh how pious and holy Joe
+    is growing--_mar-yah_! 'Mick is a great patriot, mor-yah!--he'd sell
+    his country for half a crown.' Irish _mar-sheadh_ [same sound], 'as it
+    were.'
+
+    Mossa; a sort of assertive particle used at the opening of a sentence,
+    like the English _well_, _indeed_: carrying little or no meaning. 'Do
+    you like your new house?'--'Mossa I don't like it much.' Another form
+    of _wisha_, and both anglicised from the Irish _má'seadh_, used in
+    Irish in much the same sense.
+
+    Mountain dew; a fanciful and sort of pet name for pottheen whiskey:
+    usually made in the _mountains_.
+
+    Mounthagh, mounthaun; a toothless person. (Munster.) From the Irish
+    _mant_ [mounth], the gum, with the terminations. Both words are
+    equivalent to _gummy_, a person whose mouth is _all gums_.
+
+    Moutre. In very old times a mill-owner commonly received as payment for
+    grinding corn one-tenth of the corn ground--in accordance with the
+    Brehon Law. This custom continued to recent times--and probably
+    continues still--in Ulster, {297} where the quantity given to the
+    miller is called _moutre_, or _muter_, or _mooter_.
+
+    Mulharten; a flesh-worm: a form of meelcartan. See Meelcar.
+
+    Mullaberta; arbitration. (Munster.) Merely the Irish _moladh-beirte_,
+    same sound and meaning: in which _moladh_ [mulla] is 'appraisement';
+    and _beirt[)e]_, gen. of _beart_, 'two persons':--lit. 'appraisement of
+    two.' The word mullaberta has however in recent times drifted to mean a
+    loose unbusinesslike settlement. (Healy.)
+
+    Mummers, 171.
+
+    Murray, Mr. Patrick, schoolmaster of Kilfinane, 153, 154, and under
+    'Roasters,' below.
+
+    Murrogh O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquin, 165.
+
+    Musicianer for musician is much in use all over Ireland. Of English
+    origin, and used by several old English writers, among others by
+    Collier.
+
+
+
+    Nab; a knowing old-fashioned little fellow. (Derry.)
+
+    Naboc´lesh; never mind. (North and South.) Irish _ná-bac-leis_ (same
+    sound), 'do not stop to mind it,' or 'pass it over.'
+
+    Nail, paying on the nail, 183.
+
+    Naygur; a form of _niggard_: a wretched miser:--
+
+     'I certainly thought my poor heart it would bleed
+      To be trudging behind that old naygur.'
+
+      (Old Munster song; 'The Spalpeen's Complaint':
+      from 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs.')
+
+     'In all my ranging and serenading,
+      I met no naygur but humpy Hyde.'
+
+      (See 'Castlehyde' in my 'Old Irish Music and Songs.')
+
+    {298}
+
+    Nicely: often used in Ireland as shown here:-- 'Well, how is your
+    [sick] mother to-day?' 'Oh she's nicely,' or 'doing nicely, thank you';
+    i.e. getting on very well--satisfactorily. A still stronger word is
+    _bravely_. 'She's doing bravely this morning'; i.e. extremely
+    well--better than was expected.
+
+    Nim or nym; a small bit of anything. (Ulster.)
+
+    Noggin; a small vessel, now understood to hold two glasses; also called
+    naggin. Irish _noigín_.
+
+    Nose; to pay through the nose; to pay and be made to pay, against your
+    grain, the full sum without delay or mitigation.
+
+
+
+    Oanshagh; a female fool, corresponding with omadaun, a male fool. Irish
+    _óinseach_, same sound and meaning: from _ón_, a fool, and _seach_, the
+    feminine termination.
+
+    Offer; an attempt:--'I made an offer to leap the fence but failed.'
+
+    Old English, influence of, on our dialect, 6.
+
+    Oliver's summons, 184.
+
+    On or upon; in addition to its functions as explained at pp. 27, 28, it
+    is used to express obligation:-- 'Now I put it _upon_ you to give Bill
+    that message for me': one person meeting another on Christmas Day
+    says:--'My Christmas box _on_ you,' i.e. 'I put it as an obligation on
+    you to give me a Christmas box.'
+
+    Once; often used in this manner:--'Once he promises he'll do it'
+    (Hayden and Hartog): 'Once you pay the money you are free,' i.e. _if_
+    or _when_ you pay.
+
+    O'Neills and their war-cry, 179. {299}
+
+    Oshin [sounded nearly the same as the English word ocean]; a weakly
+    creature who cannot do his fair share of work. (Innishowen, Donegal.)
+
+    Out; used, in speaking of time, in the sense of _down_ or
+    _subsequently_:--'His wife led him a mighty uneasy life from the day
+    they married _out_.' (Gerald Griffin: Munster.) 'You'll pay rent for
+    your house for the first seven years, and you will have it free from
+    that _out_.'
+
+    Out; to call a person _out of his name_ is to call him by a wrong name.
+
+    Out; 'be off out of that' means simply _go away_.
+
+    Out; 'I am out with him' means I am not on terms with him--I have
+    fallen out with him.
+
+    Overright; opposite, in front of: the same meaning as _forenenst_; but
+    _forenenst_ is English, while overright is a wrong translation from an
+    Irish word--_ós-cómhair_. _Os_ means over, and _comhair_ opposite: but
+    this last word was taken by speakers to be _cóir_ (for both are sounded
+    alike), and as _cóir_ means _right_ or just, so they translated
+    _os-comhair_ as if it were _ós-cóir_, 'over-right.' (Russell: Munster.)
+
+
+
+    Paddhereen; a prayer: dim. of Latin _Pater_ (_Pater Noster_).
+    _Paddereen Paurtagh_, the Rosary: from Irish _páirteach_, sharing or
+    partaking: because usually several join in it.
+
+    Páideóge [paudh-yoge]; a torch made of a wick dipped in melted rosin
+    (Munster): what they call a _slut_ in Ulster.
+
+    Paghil or pahil; a lump or bundle, 108. (Ulster.)
+
+    Palatines, 65.
+
+    Palleen; a rag: a torn coat is 'all in _paleens_.' (Derry.) {300}
+
+    Palm; the yew-tree, 184.
+
+    Pampooty; a shoe made of untanned hide. (West.)
+
+    Pandy; potatoes mashed up with milk and butter. (Munster.)
+
+    Pannikin; now applied to a small tin drinking-vessel: an old English
+    word that has fallen out of use in England, but is still current in
+    Ireland: applied down to last century to a small earthenware pot used
+    for boiling food. These little vessels were made at Youghal and Ardmore
+    (Co. Waterford). The earthenware pannikins have disappeared, their
+    place being supplied by tinware. (Kinahan.)
+
+    Parisheen; a foundling; one brought up in childhood by the _parish_.
+    (Kildare.)
+
+    Parson; was formerly applied to a Catholic parish priest: but in
+    Ireland it now always means a Protestant minister.
+
+    Parthan; a crab-fish. (Donegal.) Merely the Irish _partan_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Parts; districts, territories:--'Prince and plinnypinnytinshary of
+    these parts' (King O'Toole and St. Kevin): 'Welcome to these parts.'
+    (Crofton Croker.)
+
+    Past; 'I wouldn't put it _past_ him,' i.e. I think him bad or foolish
+    enough (to do it).
+
+    Past; more than: 'Our landlord's face we rarely see past once in seven
+    years'--Irish Folk Song.
+
+    Pattern (i.e. _patron_); a gathering at a holy well or other relic of a
+    saint on his or her festival day, to pray and perform _rounds_ and
+    other devotional acts in honour of the patron saint. (General.)
+
+    Pattha; a pet, applied to a young person who is brought up over
+    tenderly and indulged too {301} much:--'What a _pattha_ you are!' This
+    is an extension of meaning; for the Irish _peata_ [pattha] means merely
+    a _pet_, nothing more.
+
+    Pelt; the skin:--'He is in his pelt,' i.e. naked.
+
+    Penal Laws, 144, and elsewhere through the book.
+
+    Personable; comely, well-looking, handsome:--'Diarmid Bawn the piper,
+    as personable a looking man as any in the five parishes.' (Crofton
+    Croker: Munster.)
+
+    Pickey; a round flat little stone used by children in playing _transe_
+    or Scotch-hop. (Limerick.)
+
+    Piggin; a wooden drinking-vessel. It is now called _pigín_ in Irish;
+    but it is of English origin.
+
+    Pike; a pitchfork; commonly applied to one with two prongs. (Munster.)
+
+    Pike or croppy-pike; the favourite weapon of the rebels of 1798: it was
+    fixed on a very long handle, and had combined in one head a long sharp
+    spear, a small axe, and a hook for catching the enemy's horse-reins.
+
+    Pillibeen or pillibeen-meeg; a plover. (Munster.) 'I'm king of Munster
+    when I'm in the bog, and the _pillibeens_ whistling about me.'
+    ('Knocknagow.') Irish _pilibín-míog_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Pindy flour; flour that has begun to ferment slightly on account of
+    being kept in a warm moist place. Cakes made from it were uneatable as
+    they were soft and clammy and slightly sour. (Limerick.)
+
+    Pinkeen; a little fish, a stickleback: plentiful in small streams.
+    Irish _pincín_, same sound and meaning. See Scaghler.
+
+    Piper's invitation; 'He came on the piper's invitation,' i.e.
+    uninvited. (Cork.) A translation of {302} Irish _cuireadh-píobaire_
+    [curra-peebara]. Pipers sometimes visited the houses of well-to-do
+    people and played--to the great delight of the boys and girls--and they
+    were sure to be well treated. But that custom is long since dead and
+    gone.
+
+    Pishminnaan´ [the _aa_ long as _a_ in _car_]; common wild peas.
+    (Munster.) They are much smaller--both plant and peas--than the
+    cultivated pea, whence the above anglicised name, which has the same
+    sound as the Irish _pise-mionnáin_, 'kid's peas.'
+
+    Pishmool; a pismire, an ant. (Ulster.)
+
+    Pishoge, pisheroge, pishthroge; a charm, a spell, witchcraft:--'It is
+    reported that someone took Mrs. O'Brien's butter from her by
+    _pishoges_.'
+
+    Place; very generally used for house, home, homestead:--'If ever you
+    come to Tipperary I shall be very glad to see you at _my place_.' This
+    is a usage of the Irish language; for the word _baile_ [bally], which
+    is now used for _home_, means also, and in an old sense, a place, a
+    spot, without any reference to home.
+
+    Plaikeen; an old shawl, an old cloak, any old covering or wrap worn
+    round the shoulders. (South.)
+
+    Plantation; a colony from England or Scotland settled down or _planted_
+    in former times in a district in Ireland from which the rightful old
+    Irish owners were expelled, 7, 169, 170.
+
+    Plaumause [to rhyme with _sauce_]; soft talk, plausible speech,
+    flattery--conveying the idea of insincerity. (South.) Irish _plámás_,
+    same sound and meaning.
+
+    Plauzy; full of soft, flattering, _plausible_ talk. Hence {303} the
+    noun _pláusoge_ [plauss-oge], a person who is plauzy. (South.)
+
+    Plerauca; great fun and noisy revelry. Irish _pléaráca_, same sound and
+    meaning.
+
+    Pluddogh; dirty water. (MacCall: Wexford.) From Irish _plod_ [pludh], a
+    pool of dirty water, with the termination _ach_.
+
+    Pluvaun; a kind of soft weed that grows excessively on tilled moory
+    lands and chokes the crop. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Poll-talk; backbiting: from the _poll_ of the head: the idea being the
+    same as in _back_biting.
+
+    Polthogue; a blow; a blow with the fist. Irish _palltóg_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Pooka; a sort of fairy: a mischievous and often malignant goblin that
+    generally appears in the form of a horse, but sometimes as a bull, a
+    buck-goat, &c. The great ambition of the pooka horse is to get some
+    unfortunate wight on his back; and then he gallops furiously through
+    bogs, marshes, and woods, over rocks, glens, and precipices; till at
+    last when the poor wretch on his back is nearly dead with terror and
+    fatigue, the pooka pitches him into some quagmire or pool or
+    briar-brake, leaving him to extricate himself as best he can. But the
+    goblin does not do worse: he does not kill people. Irish _púca_.
+    Shakespeare has immortalised him as Puck, the goblin of 'A
+    Midsummer-Night's Dream.'
+
+    Pookapyle, also called Pookaun; a sort of large fungus, the toadstool.
+    Called also _causha pooka_. All these names imply that the Pooka has
+    something to do with this poisonous fungus. See Causha-pooka (pooka's
+    cheese). {304}
+
+    Pookeen; a play--blindman's buff: from Irish _púic_, a veil or
+    covering, from the covering put over the eyes. Pookeen is also applied
+    in Cork to a cloth muzzle tied on calves or lambs to prevent sucking
+    the mother. The face-covering for blindman's buff is called _pookoge_,
+    in which the dim. _óg_ is used instead of _ín_ or _een_. The
+    old-fashioned _coal-scuttle_ bonnets of long ago that nearly covered
+    the face were often called _pookeen_ bonnets. It was of a bonnet of
+    this kind that the young man in Lover's song of 'Molly Carew' speaks:--
+
+      Oh, _lave_ off that bonnet or else I'll _lave_ on it
+      The loss of my wandering sowl:--
+
+    because it hid Molly's face from him.
+
+    Poor mouth; making the poor mouth is trying to persuade people you are
+    very poor--making out or pretending that you are poor.
+
+    Poor scholars, 151, 157.
+
+    Poreens; very small potatoes--mere _crachauns_ (which see)--any small
+    things, such as marbles, &c. (South: _porrans_ in Ulster.)
+
+    Porter-meal: oatmeal mixed with porter. Seventy or eighty years ago,
+    the carters who carried bags of oatmeal from Limerick to Cork (a
+    two-day journey) usually rested for the night at Mick Lynch's
+    public-house in Glenosheen. They often took lunch or dinner of
+    porter-meal in this way:--Opening the end of one of the bags, the man
+    made a hollow in the oatmeal into which he poured a quart of porter,
+    stirring it up with a spoon: then he ate an immense bellyful of the
+    mixture. But those fellows could digest like an ostrich. {305}
+
+    In Ulster, oatmeal mixed in this manner with buttermilk, hot broth,
+    &c., and eaten with a spoon, is called _croudy_.
+
+    Potthalowng; an awkward unfortunate mishap, not very serious, but
+    coming just at the wrong time. When I was a boy 'Jack Mullowney's
+    _potthalowng_' had passed into a proverb. Jack one time went
+    _courting_, that is, to spend a pleasant evening with the young lady at
+    the house of his prospective father-in-law, and to make up the match
+    with the old couple. He wore his best of course, body-coat, white
+    waistcoat, caroline hat (tall silk), and _ducks_ (ducks, snow-white
+    canvas trousers.) All sat down to a grand dinner given in his honour,
+    the young couple side by side. Jack's plate was heaped up with
+    beautiful bacon and turkey, and white cabbage swimming in fat, that
+    would make you lick your lips to look at it. Poor Jack was a bit
+    sheepish; for there was a good deal of banter, as there always is on
+    such occasions. He drew over his plate to the very edge of the table;
+    and in trying to manage a turkey bone with knife and fork, he turned
+    the plate right over into his lap, down on the ducks.
+
+    The marriage came off all the same; but the story went round the
+    country like wildfire; and for many a long day Jack had to stand the
+    jokes of his friends on the _potthalowng_. Used in Munster. The Irish
+    is _patalong_, same sound and meaning; but I do not find it in the
+    dictionaries.
+
+    Pottheen; illicit whiskey: always distilled in some remote lonely
+    place, as far away as possible from the nose of a gauger. It is the
+    Irish word _poitín_ {306} [pottheen], little pot. We have partly the
+    same term still; for everyone knows the celebrity of _pot_-still
+    whiskey: but this is _Parliament_ whiskey, not _pottheen_, see p. 174.
+
+    Power; a large quantity, a great deal: Jack Hickey has a power of
+    money: there was a _power of cattle in the fair yesterday_: there's a
+    power of ivy on that old castle. Miss Grey, a small huckster who kept a
+    little vegetable shop, was one day showing off her rings and bracelets
+    to our servant. 'Oh Miss Grey,' says the girl, 'haven't you a terrible
+    lot of them.' 'Well Ellen, you see I want them all, for I go into _a
+    power of society_.' This is an old English usage as is shown by this
+    extract from Spenser's 'View':--'Hee also [Robert Bruce] sent over his
+    said brother Edward, with a power of Scottes and Red-Shankes into
+    Ireland.' There is a corresponding Irish expression (_neart airgid_, a
+    power of money), but I think this is translated from English rather
+    than the reverse. The same idiom exists in Latin with the word _vis_
+    (power): but examples will not be quoted, as they would take up a power
+    of space.
+
+    Powter [_t_ sounded like _th_ in _pith_]; to root the ground like a
+    pig; to root up potatoes from the ground with the hands. (Derry.)
+
+    Prashagh, more commonly called prashagh-wee; wild cabbage with yellow
+    blossoms, the rape plant. Irish _praiseach-bhuidhe_ [prashagh-wee],
+    yellow cabbage. _Praiseach_ is borrowed from Latin _brassica_.
+
+    Prashameen; a little group all clustered together:--'The children sat
+    in a prashameen on the floor.' I have heard this word a hundred times
+    in Limerick {307} among English speakers: its Irish form should be
+    _praisimín_, but I do not find it in the dictionaries.
+
+    Prashkeen; an apron. Common all over Ireland. Irish _praiscín_, same
+    sound and meaning.
+
+    Prawkeen; raw oatmeal and milk (MacCall: South Leinster.) See
+    Porter-meal.
+
+    Prepositions, incorrect use of, 26, 32, 44.
+
+    Presently; at present, now:--'I'm living in the country presently.' A
+    Shakespearian survival:--Prospero:--'Go bring the rabble.'
+    Ariel:--'Presently?' [i.e. shall I do so now?] Prospero:--'Ay, with a
+    wink.' Extinct in England, but preserved and quite common in Ireland.
+
+    Priested; ordained: 'He was priested last year.'
+
+    Priest's share; the soul. A mother will say to a refractory
+    child:--'I'll knock the priest's share out of you.' (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Professions hereditary, 172.
+
+    Pronunciation, 2, 91 to 104.
+
+    Protestant herring: Originally applied to a bad or a stale herring: but
+    in my boyhood days it was applied, in our neighbourhood, to almost
+    anything of an inferior quality:--'Oh that butter is a Protestant
+    herring.' Here is how it originated:--Mary Hewer of our village had
+    been for time out of mind the only huckster who sold salt herrings,
+    sending to Cork for a barrel from time to time, and making good profit.
+    At last Poll Alltimes sent for a barrel and set up an opposition shop,
+    taking away a large part of Mary's custom. Mary was a Catholic and Poll
+    a Protestant: and then our herrings became sharply distinguished as
+    Catholic herrings and Protestant herrings: each party eating herrings
+    {308} of their own creed. But after some time a horrible story began to
+    go round--whispered at first under people's breath--that Poll found
+    _the head of a black_ with long hair packed among the herrings half way
+    down in her barrel. Whether the people believed it or not, the bare
+    idea was enough; and Protestant herrings suddenly lost character, so
+    that poor Poll's sale fell off at once, while Mary soon regained all
+    her old customers. She well deserved it, if anyone ever deserved a
+    reward for a master-stroke of genius. But I think this is all
+    'forgotten lore' in the neighbourhood now.
+
+    Proverbs, 105.
+
+    Puck; to play the puck with anything: a softened equivalent of _playing
+    the devil_. _Puck_ here means the Pooka, which see.
+
+    Puck; a blow:--'He gave him a puck of a stick on the head.' More
+    commonly applied to a punch or blow of the horns of a cow or goat. 'The
+    cow gave him a puck (or pucked him) with her horns and knocked him
+    down.' The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his _caman_ or
+    hurley is always called a _puck_. Irish _poc_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Puckaun; a he-goat. (South.) Irish _poc_, a he-goat, with the
+    diminutive.
+
+    Puke; a poor puny unhealthy-looking person.
+
+    Pulling a cord (or _the cord_); said of a young man and a young woman
+    who are courting:--'Miss Anne and himself that's pulling the cord.'
+    ('Knocknagow.')
+
+    Pulloge; a quantity of hidden apples: usually hidden by a boy who
+    steals them. (Limerick.) Diminutive of the Irish _poll_, a hole. {309}
+
+    Pusheen; the universal word for a kitten in Munster: a diminutive of
+    the English word _puss_; exactly equivalent to _pussy_.
+
+    Puss [_u_ sounded as in _full_]; the mouth and lips, always used _in
+    dialect_ in an offensive or contemptuous sense:--'What an ugly _puss_
+    that fellow has.' 'He had a puss on him,' i.e. he looked sour or
+    displeased--with lips contracted. I heard one boy say to
+    another:--'I'll give you a _skelp_ (blow) on the puss.' (General.)
+    Irish _pus_, the mouth, same sound.
+
+    Pusthaghaun; a puffed up conceited fellow. The corresponding word
+    applied to a girl is _pusthoge_ (MacCall: Wexford): the diminutive
+    termination _aun_ or _chaun_ being masculine and _óg_ feminine. Both
+    are from _pus_ the mouth, on account of the consequential way a
+    conceited person squares up the lips.
+
+
+
+    Quaw or quagh; a _quag_ or quagmire:--'I was unwilling to attempt the
+    _quagh_.' (Maxwell: 'Wild Sports': Mayo, but used all over Ireland.)
+    Irish _caedh_ [quay], for which and for the names derived from it, see
+    'Irish Names of Places': II. 396.
+
+    Quality; gentlemen and gentlewomen as distinguished from the common
+    people. Out of use in England, but general in Ireland:--'Make room for
+    the quality.'
+
+    Queer, generally pronounced _quare_; used as an intensive in
+    Ulster:--This day is quare and hot (very hot); he is quare and sick
+    (very sick): like _fine and fat_ elsewhere (see p. 89).
+
+    Quin or quing; the swing-tree, a piece of wood used {310} to keep the
+    chains apart in ploughing to prevent them rubbing the horses. (Cork and
+    Kerry.) Irish _cuing_ [quing], a yoke.
+
+    Quit: in Ulster 'quit that' means _cease from that_:--'quit your
+    crying.' In Queen's County they say _rise out of that_.
+
+
+
+    Rabble; used in Ulster to denote a fair where workmen congregate on the
+    hiring day to be hired by the surrounding farmers. See Spalpeen.
+
+    Rack. In Munster an ordinary comb is called a _rack_: the word _comb_
+    being always applied and confined to a small close fine-toothed one.
+
+    Rackrent; an excessive rent of a farm, so high as to allow to the
+    occupier a bare and poor subsistence. Not used outside Ireland except
+    so far as it has been recently brought into prominence by the Irish
+    land question.
+
+    Rag on every bush; a young man who is caught by and courts many girls
+    but never proposes.
+
+    Raghery; a kind of small-sized horse; a name given to it from its
+    original home, the island of Rathlin or Raghery off Antrim.
+
+    Rake; to cover up with ashes the live coals of a turf fire, which will
+    keep them alive till morning:--'Don't forget to rake the fire.'
+
+    Randy; a scold. (Kinahan: general.)
+
+    Rap; a bad halfpenny: a bad coin:--'He hasn't a rap in his pocket.'
+
+    Raumaush or raumaish; _romance_ or fiction, but now commonly applied to
+    foolish senseless brainless talk. Irish _rámás_ or _rámáis_, which is
+    merely adapted from the word _romance_. {311}
+
+    Raven's bit; a beast that is going to die. (Kinahan.)
+
+    Rawney; a delicate person looking in poor health; a poor sickly-looking
+    animal. (Connaught.) Irish _ránaidhe_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Reansha; brown bread: sometimes corrupted to _range_-bread. (MacCall:
+    Wexford.)
+
+    Red or redd; clear, clear out, clear away:--Redd the road, the same as
+    the Irish _Fág-a-ballagh_, 'clear the way.' If a girl's hair is in bad
+    tangles, she uses a _redding-comb_ first to open it, and then a finer
+    comb.
+
+    Redden; to light: 'Take the bellows and redden the fire.' An Irishman
+    hardly ever _lights_ his pipe: he _reddens_ it.
+
+    Redundancy, 52, 130.
+
+    Ree; as applied to a horse means restive, wild, almost unmanageable.
+
+    Reek; a rick:--A reek of turf: so the Kerry mountains, 'MacGillicuddy's
+    Reeks.'
+
+    Reel-foot; a club-foot, a deformed foot. (Ulster.) 'Reel-footed and
+    hunch-backed forbye, sir.' (Old Ulster song.)
+
+    Reenaw´lee; a slow-going fellow who dawdles and delays and hesitates
+    about things. (Munster.) Irish _ríanálaidhe_, same sound and meaning:
+    from _rían_, a way, track, or road: _ríanalaidhe_ , a person who
+    wanders listlessly along the _way_.
+
+    Reign. This word is often used in Munster, Leinster, and Connaught, in
+    the sense of to occupy, to be master of: 'Who is in the Knockea farm?'
+    'Mr. Keating reigns there now.' 'Who is your landlord?' 'The old master
+    is dead and his son Mr. William reigns over us now.' 'Long may {312}
+    your honour [the master] reign over us.' (Crofton Croker.) In answer to
+    an examination question, a young fellow from Cork once answered me,
+    'Shakespeare reigned in the sixteenth century.' This usage is borrowed
+    from Irish, in which the verb _riaghail_ [ree-al] means both to rule
+    (as a master), and to reign (as a king), and as in many other similar
+    cases the two meanings were confounded in English. (Kinahan and
+    myself.)
+
+    Relics of old decency. When a man goes down in the world he often
+    preserves some memorials of his former rank--a ring, silver buckles in
+    his shoes, &c.--'the relics of old decency.'
+
+    Revelagh; a long lazy gadding fellow. (Morris: Monaghan.)
+
+    Rib; a single hair from the head. A poet, praising a young lady, says
+    that 'every golden _rib_ of her hair is worth five guineas.' Irish
+    _ruibe_ [ribbe], same meaning.
+
+    Rickle; a little heap of turf peats standing on ends against each
+    other. (Derry.) Irish _ricil_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Riddles, 185.
+
+    Ride and tie. Two persons set out on a journey having one horse. One
+    rides on while the other sets out on foot after him. The first man, at
+    the end of a mile or two, ties up the horse at the roadside and
+    proceeds on foot. When the second comes to the horse he mounts and
+    rides till he is one or two miles ahead of his comrade and then ties.
+    And so to the end of the journey. A common practice in old times for
+    courier purposes; but not in use now, I think. {313}
+
+    Rife, a scythe-sharpener, a narrow piece of board punctured all over
+    and covered with grease on which fine sand is sprinkled. Used before
+    the present emery sharpener was known. (Moran: Carlow.) Irish _ríabh_
+    [reev], a long narrow stripe.
+
+    Right or wrong: often heard for _earnestly_: 'he pressed me right or
+    wrong to go home with him.'
+
+    Ringle-eyed; when the iris is light-coloured, and the circle bounding
+    it is very marked, the person is _ringle-eyed_. (Derry.)
+
+    Rings; often used as follows:--'Did I sleep at all?' 'Oh indeed you
+    did--you _slept rings round you_.'
+
+    Rip; a coarse ill-conditioned woman with a bad tongue. (General.)
+
+    Roach lime; lime just taken from the kiln, burnt, _before_ being slaked
+    and while still in the form of stones. This is old English from French
+    _roche_, a rock, a stone.
+
+    Roasters; potatoes kept crisping on the coals to be brought up to table
+    hot at the end of the dinner--usually the largest ones picked out. But
+    the word _roaster_ was used only among the lower class of people: the
+    higher classes considered it vulgar. Here is how Mr. Patrick Murray
+    (see p. 154) describes them about 1840 in a parody on Moore's 'One
+    bumper at parting' (a _lumper_, in Mr. Murray's version, means a big
+    potato):--
+
+     'One _lumper_ at parting, though many
+        Have rolled on the board since we met,
+      The biggest the hottest of any
+        Remains in the round for us yet.'
+
+    In the higher class of houses they were peeled and brought up at the
+    end nice and brown in {314} a dish. About eighty years ago a well-known
+    military gentleman of Baltinglass in the County Wicklow--whose daughter
+    told me the story--had on one occasion a large party of friends to
+    dinner. On the very day of the dinner the waiter took ill, and the
+    stable boy--a big coarse fellow--had to be called in, after elaborate
+    instructions. All went well till near the end of the dinner, when the
+    fellow thought things were going on rather slowly. Opening the
+    diningroom door he thrust in his head and called out in the hearing of
+    all:--'Masther, are ye ready for the _roasthers_?' A short time ago I
+    was looking at the house and diningroom where that occurred.
+
+    Rocket; a little girl's frock. (Very common in Limerick.) It is of
+    course an old application of the English-French _rochet_.
+
+    Rodden; a _bohereen_ or narrow road. (Ulster.) It is the Irish
+    _róidín_, little road.
+
+    Roman; used by the people in many parts of Ireland for _Roman
+    Catholic_. I have already quoted what the Catholic girl said to her
+    Protestant lover:--'Unless that you turn a _Roman_ you ne'er shall get
+    me for your bride.' Sixty or seventy years ago controversial
+    discussions--between a Catholic on the one hand and a Protestant on the
+    other--were very common. I witnessed many when I was a boy--to my great
+    delight. Garrett Barry, a Roman Catholic, locally noted as a
+    controversialist, was arguing with Mick Cantlon, surrounded by a group
+    of delighted listeners. At last Garrett, as a final clincher, took up
+    the Bible, opened it at a certain place, and handed it to his opponent,
+    {315} with:--'Read that heading out for us now if you please.' Mick
+    took it up and read 'St. Paul's Epistle to the _Romans_.' 'Very well,'
+    says Garrett: 'now can you show me in any part of that Bible, 'St.
+    Paul's Epistle to the _Protestants_'? This of course was a down blow;
+    and Garrett was greeted with a great hurrah by the Catholic part of his
+    audience. This story is in 'Knocknagow,' but the thing occurred in my
+    neighbourhood, and I heard about it long before 'Knocknagow' was
+    written.
+
+    Rookaun; great noisy merriment. Also a drinking-bout. (Limerick.)
+
+    Room. In a peasant's house the _room_ is a special apartment distinct
+    from the kitchen or living-room, which is not a 'room' in this sense at
+    all. I slept in the kitchen and John slept in the 'room.' (Healy and
+    myself: Munster.)
+
+    Round coal; coal in lumps as distinguished from slack or coal broken up
+    small and fine.
+
+    Ruction, ructions; fighting, squabbling, a fight, a row. It is a memory
+    of the _Insurrection_ of 1798, which was commonly called the 'Ruction.'
+
+    Rue-rub; when a person incautiously scratches an itchy spot so as to
+    break the skin: that is _rue-rub_. (Derry.) From _rue_, regret or
+    sorrow.
+
+    Rury; a rough hastily-made cake or bannock. (Morris: Monaghan.)
+
+    Rut; the smallest bonnive in a litter. (Kildare and Carlow.)
+
+
+
+    Saluting, salutations, 14.
+
+    Sapples; soap suds: _sapple_, to wash in suds. (Derry.) {316}
+
+    Saulavotcheer; a person having _lark-heels_. (Limerick.) The first
+    syll. is Irish; _sál_ [saul], heel.
+
+    Sauvaun; a rest, a light doze or nap. (Munster.) Irish _sámhán_, same
+    sound and meaning, from _sámh_ [sauv], pleasant and tranquil.
+
+    Scagh; a whitethorn bush. (General.) Irish _sceach_, same sound and
+    meaning.
+
+    Scaghler: a little fish--the pinkeen or thornback: Irish _sceach_
+    [scagh], a thorn or thornbush, and the English termination _ler_.
+
+    Scald: to be _scalded_ is to be annoyed, mortified, sorely troubled,
+    vexed. (Very general.) Translated from one or the other of two Irish
+    words, _loisc_ [lusk], to burn; and _scall_, to _scald_. Finn Bane
+    says:--'Guary being angry with me he scorched me (_romloisc_), burned
+    me, _scalded_ me, with abuse.' ('Colloquy.') 'I earned that money hard
+    and 'tis a great _heart-scald_ (_scollach-croidhe_) to me to lose it.'
+    There is an Irish air called 'The _Scalded_ poor man.' ('Old Irish
+    Music and Songs.')
+
+    Scalder, an unfledged bird (South): _scaldie_ and _scaulthoge_ in the
+    North. From the Irish _scal_ (bald), from which comes the Irish
+    _scalachán_, an unfledged bird.
+
+    Scallan; a wooden shed to shelter the priest during Mass, 143, 145.
+
+    Scalp, scolp, scalpeen; a rude cabin, usually roofed with _scalps_ or
+    grassy sods (whence the name). In the famine times--1847 and after--a
+    scalp was often erected for any poor wanderer who got stricken down
+    with typhus fever: and in that the people tended him cautiously till he
+    recovered or died. (Munster.) Irish _scaílp_ [scolp]. {317}
+
+    Scalteen: see Scolsheen.
+
+    Scollagh-cree; ill-treatment of any kind. (Moran: Carlow.) Irish
+    _scallach-croidhe_, same sound and meaning: a 'heart scald'; from
+    _scalladh_, scalding, and _croidhe_, heart.
+
+    Scollop; the bended rod pointed at both ends that a thatcher uses to
+    fasten down the several straw-wisps. (General.) Irish _scolb_
+    [scollub].
+
+    Scolsheen or scalteen; made by boiling a mixture of whiskey, water,
+    sugar, butter and pepper (or caraway seeds) in a pot: a sovereign cure
+    for a cold. In the old mail-car days there was an inn on the road from
+    Killarney to Mallow, famous for scolsheen, where a big pot of it was
+    always kept ready for travellers. (Kinahan and Kane.) Sometimes the
+    word _scalteen_ was applied to unmixed whiskey burned, and used for the
+    same purpose. From the Irish _scall_, burn, singe, _scald_.
+
+    Sconce; to chaff, banter, make game of:--'None of your sconcing.'
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Sconce; to shirk work or duty. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Scotch Dialect: influence of, on our Dialect, 6, 7.
+
+    Scotch lick; when a person goes to clean up anything--a saucepan, a
+    floor, his face, a pair of shoes, &c.--and only half does it, he (or
+    she) has given it a _Scotch lick_. General in South. In Dublin it would
+    be called a 'cat's lick': for a cat has only a small tongue and doesn't
+    do much in the way of licking.
+
+    Scout; a reproachful name for a bold forward girl.
+
+    Scouther; to burn a cake on the outside before it is fully cooked, by
+    over haste in baking:--burned outside, half raw inside. Hence 'to
+    scouther' {318} means to do anything hastily and incompletely.
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Scrab; to scratch:--'The cat near scrabbed his eyes out.' (Patterson:
+    Ulster.) In the South it is _scraub_:--'He scraubed my face.'
+
+    Scrab; to gather the stray potatoes left after the regular crop, when
+    they are afterwards turned out by plough or spade.
+
+    Scraddhin; a scrap; anything small--smaller than usual, as a small
+    potato: applied contemptuously to a very small man, exactly the same as
+    the Southern _sprissaun_. Irish _scraidín_, same sound and meaning.
+    (East Ulster.)
+
+    Scran; 'bad scran to you,' an evil wish like 'bad luck to you,' but
+    much milder: English, in which _scran_ means broken victuals,
+    food-refuse, fare--very common. (North and South.)
+
+    Scraw; a grassy sod cut from a grassy or boggy surface and often dried
+    for firing; also called _scrahoge_ (with diminutive _óg_). Irish
+    _scrath_, _scrathóg_, same sounds and meaning.
+
+    Screenge; to search for. (Donegal and Derry.)
+
+    Scunder or Scunner; a dislike; to take a dislike or disgust against
+    anything. (Armagh.)
+
+    Scut; the tail of a hare or rabbit: often applied in scorn to a
+    contemptible fellow:--'He's just a scut and nothing better.' The word
+    is Irish, as is shown by the following quotation:--'The billows [were]
+    conversing with the _scuds_ (sterns) and the beautiful prows [of the
+    ships].' (Battle of Moylena: and note by Kuno Meyer in 'Rev. Celt.')
+    (General.)
+
+    Seeshtheen; a low round seat made of twisted straw. {319} (Munster.)
+    Irish _suidhistín_, same sound and meaning: from _suidhe_ [see], to
+    sit, with diminutive.
+
+    Set: all over Ireland they use _set_ instead of _let_ [a house or
+    lodging]. A struggling housekeeper failed to let her lodging, which a
+    neighbour explained by:--'Ah she's no good at _setting_.'
+
+    Set; used in a bad sense, like _gang_ and _crew_:--'They're a dirty
+    set.'
+
+    Settle bed; a folding-up bed kept in the kitchen: when folded up it is
+    like a sofa and used as a seat. (All over Ireland.)
+
+    Seven´dable [accent on _ven_], very great, _mighty great_ as they would
+    say:--'Jack gave him a _sevendable_ thrashing.' (North.)
+
+    Shaap [the _aa_ long as in _car_]; a husk of corn, a pod. (Derry.)
+
+    Shamrock or Shamroge; the white trefoil (_Trifolium repens_). The Irish
+    name is _seamar_ [shammer], which with the diminutive makes _seamar-óg_
+    [shammer-oge], shortened to _shamrock_.
+
+    Shanachus, shortened to _shanagh_ in Ulster, a friendly conversation.
+    'Grandfather would like to have a shanahus with you.' ('Knocknagow.')
+    Irish _seanchus_, antiquity, history, an old story.
+
+    Shandradan´ [accented strongly on _-dan_]; an old rickety rattle-trap
+    of a car. The first syllable is Irish _sean_ [shan], old.
+
+    Shanty: a mean hastily put up little house. (General.) Probably from
+    Irish _sean_, old, and _tigh_ [tee], a house.
+
+    Shaugh; a turn or smoke of a pipe. (General.) Irish _seach_, same sound
+    and meaning. {320}
+
+    Shaughraun; wandering about: to be _on the shaughraun_ is to be out of
+    employment and wandering idly about looking for work. Irish _seachrán_,
+    same sound and meaning.
+
+    Shebeen or sheebeen; an unlicensed public-house or alehouse where
+    spirits are sold on the sly. (Used all over Ireland.) Irish _síbín_,
+    same sound and meaning.
+
+    Shee; a fairy, fairies; also meaning the place where fairies live,
+    usually a round green little hill or elf-mound having a glorious palace
+    underneath: Irish _sidhe_, same sound and meanings. _Shee_ often takes
+    the diminutive form--_sheeoge_.
+
+    Shee-geeha; the little whirl of dust you often see moving along the
+    road on a calm dusty day: this is a band of fairies travelling from one
+    _lis_ or elf-mound to another, and you had better turn aside and avoid
+    it. Irish _sidhe-gaoithe_, same sound and meaning, where _gaoithe_ is
+    wind: 'wind-fairies': called 'fairy-blast' in Kildare.
+
+    Sheehy, Rev. Father, of Kilfinane, 147.
+
+    Sheela; a female Christian name (as in 'Sheela Ni Gyra'). Used in the
+    South as a reproachful name for a boy or a man inclined to do work or
+    interest himself in affairs properly belonging to women. See 'Molly.'
+
+    Sheep's eyes: when a young man looks fondly and coaxingly on his
+    sweetheart he is 'throwing sheep's eyes' at her.
+
+    Sherral; an offensive term for a mean unprincipled fellow. (Moran:
+    South Mon.)
+
+    Sheugh or Shough; a deep cutting, elsewhere called a ditch, often
+    filled with water. (Seumas MacManus: N.W. Ulster.) {321}
+
+    Shillelah; a handstick of oak, an oaken cudgel for fighting. (Common
+    all over Ireland.) From a district in Wicklow called Shillelah,
+    formerly noted for its oak woods, in which grand shillelahs were
+    plentiful.
+
+    Shingerleens [shing-erleens]; small bits of finery; ornamental tags and
+    ends--of ribbons, bow-knots, tassels, &c.--hanging on dress, curtains,
+    furniture, &c. (Munster.)
+
+    Shire; to pour or drain off water or any liquid, quietly and without
+    disturbing the solid parts remaining behind, such as draining off the
+    whey-like liquid from buttermilk.
+
+    Shlamaan´ [_aa_ like _a_ in _car_]; a handful of straw, leeks, &c.
+    (Morris: South Monaghan.)
+
+    Shoggle; to shake or jolt. (Derry.)
+
+    Shoneen; a _gentleman_ in a small way: a would-be gentleman who puts on
+    superior airs. Always used contemptuously.
+
+    Shook; in a bad way, done up, undone:--'I'm shook by the loss of that
+    money': 'he was shook for a pair of shoes.'
+
+    Shooler; a wanderer, a stroller, a vagrant, a tramp, a rover: often
+    means a mendicant. (Middle and South of Ireland.) From the Irish
+    _siubhal_ [shool], to walk, with the English termination _er_: lit.
+    'walker.'
+
+    Shoonaun; a deep circular basket, made of twisted rushes or straw, and
+    lined with calico; it had a cover and was used for holding linen,
+    clothes, &c. (Limerick and Cork.) From Irish _sibhinn_ [shiven], a
+    rush, a bulrush: of which the diminutive _siubhnán_ [shoonaun] is our
+    word: signifying {322} 'made of rushes.' Many a shoonaun I saw in my
+    day; and I remember meeting a man who was a shoonaun maker by trade.
+
+    Short castle or short castles; a game played by two persons on a square
+    usually drawn on a slate with the two diagonals: each player having
+    three counters. See Mills.
+
+    Shore; the brittle woody part separated in bits and dust from the fibre
+    of flax by scutching or _cloving_. Called _shores_ in Monaghan.
+
+    Shraff, shraft; Shrovetide: on and about Shrove Tuesday:--'I bought
+    that cow last shraff.'
+
+    Shraums, singular shraum; the matter that collects about the eyes of
+    people who have tender eyes: matter running from sore eyes. (Moran:
+    Carlow.) Irish _sream_ [sraum]. Same meaning.
+
+    Shrule; to rinse an article of clothing by pulling it backwards and
+    forwards in a stream. (Moran: Carlow.) Irish _srúil_, a stream.
+
+    Shrough; a rough wet place; an incorrect anglicised form of Irish
+    _srath_, a wet place, a marsh.
+
+    Shuggy-shoo; the play of see-saw. (Ulster.)
+
+    Shurauns; any plants with large leaves, such as hemlock, wild parsnip,
+    &c. (Kinahan: Wicklow.)
+
+    Sighth (for sight); a great number, a large quantity. (General.) 'Oh
+    Mrs. Morony haven't you a _sighth_ of turkeys': 'Tom Cassidy has a
+    sighth of money.' This is old English. Thus in a Quaker's diary of
+    1752:--'There was a great sight of people passed through the streets of
+    Limerick.' This expression is I think still heard in England, and is
+    very much in use in America. Very general in Ireland. {323}
+
+    Sign; a very small quantity--a trace. Used all over Ireland in this
+    way:--'My gardens are _every sign_ as good as yours': 'he had no sign
+    of drink on him': 'there's no sign of sugar in my tea' (Hayden and
+    Hartog): 'look out to see if Bill is coming': 'no--there's no sign of
+    him.' This is a translation from the Irish _rian_, for which see next
+    entry.
+
+    Sign's on, sign is on, sign's on it; used to express the result or
+    effect or proof of any proceeding:--'Tom Kelly never sends his children
+    to school, and sign's on (or sign's on it) they are growing up like
+    savages': 'Dick understands the management of fruit trees well, and
+    sign's on, he is making lots of money by them.' This is a translation
+    from Irish, in which _rian_ means _track_, _trace_, _sign_: and 'sign's
+    on it' is _ta a rian air_ ('its sign is on it').
+
+    Silenced; a priest is silenced when he is suspended from his priestly
+    functions by his ecclesiastical superiors: 'unfrocked.'
+
+    Singlings; the weak pottheen whiskey that comes off at the first
+    distillation: agreeable to drink but terribly sickening. Also called
+    'First shot.'
+
+    Sippy; a ball of rolled _sugans_ (i.e. hay or straw ropes), used
+    instead of a real ball in hurling or football. (Limerick.) Irish
+    _suipigh_, same sound and meaning. A diminutive of _sop_, a wisp.
+
+    Skeeagh [2-syll.]; a shallow osier basket, usually for potatoes.
+    (South.)
+
+    Skeedeen; a trifle, anything small of its kind; a small potato. (Derry
+    and Donegal.) Irish _scídín_, same sound and meaning. {324}
+
+    Skellig, Skellig List--On the Great Skellig rock in the Atlantic, off
+    the coast of Kerry, are the ruins of a monastery, to which people at
+    one time went on pilgrimage--and a difficult pilgrimage it was. The
+    tradition is still kept up in some places, though in an odd form; in
+    connection with the custom that marriages are not solemnised in Lent,
+    i.e. after Shrove Tuesday. It is well within my memory that--in the
+    south of Ireland--young persons who should have been married before
+    Ash-Wednesday, but were not, were supposed to set out on pilgrimage to
+    Skellig on Shrove Tuesday night: but it was all a make-believe. Yet I
+    remember witnessing occasionally some play in mock imitation of the
+    pilgrimage. It was usual for a local bard to compose what was called a
+    'Skellig List'--a jocose rhyming catalogue of the unmarried men and
+    women of the neighbourhood who went on the sorrowful journey--which was
+    circulated on Shrove Tuesday and for some time after. Some of these
+    were witty and amusing: but occasionally they were scurrilous and
+    offensive doggerel. They were generally too long for singing; but I
+    remember one--a good one too--which--when I was very young--I heard
+    sung to a spirited air. It is represented here by a single verse, the
+    only one I remember. (See also 'Chalk Sunday,' p. 234, above.)
+
+      As young Rory and Moreen were talking,
+        How Shrove Tuesday was just drawing near;
+      For the tenth time he asked her to marry;
+        But says she:--'Time enough till next year.
+      {325}
+      Then ochone I'm going to Skellig:
+        O Moreen, what will I do?
+     'Tis the woeful road to travel;
+        And how lonesome I'll be without you!'[8]
+
+    Here is a verse from another:--
+
+      Poor Andy Callaghan with doleful nose
+      Came up and told his tale of many woes:--
+      Some lucky thief from him his sweetheart stole,
+      Which left a weight of grief upon his soul:
+      With flowing tears he sat upon the grass,
+      And roared sonorous like a braying ass.
+
+    Skelly; to aim askew and miss the mark; to squint. (Patterson: all over
+    Ulster.)
+
+    Skelp; a blow, to give a blow or blows; a piece cut off:--'Tom gave Pat
+    a skelp': 'I cut off a skelp of the board with a hatchet.' To run
+    fast:--'There's Joe skelping off to school.'
+
+    Skib; a flat basket:--'We found the people collected round a skibb of
+    potatoes.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')
+
+    Skidder, skiddher; broken thick milk, stale and sour. (Munster.)
+
+    Skillaun. The piece cut out of a potato to be used as seed, containing
+    one germinating _eye_, from which the young stalk grows. Several
+    skillauns will be cut from one potato; and the irregular part left is a
+    _skilloge_ (Cork and Kerry), or a _creelacaun_ (Limerick). Irish
+    _sciollán_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Skit; to laugh and giggle in a silly way:--'I'll be {326} bail they
+    didn't skit and laugh.' (Crofton Croker.) 'Skit and laugh,' very common
+    in South.
+
+    Skite; a silly frivolous light-headed person. Hence Blatherumskite
+    (South), or (in Ulster), bletherumskite.
+
+    Skree; a large number of small things, as a skree of potatoes, a skree
+    of chickens, &c. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
+
+    Skull-cure for a bad toothache. Go to the nearest churchyard alone by
+    night, to the corner where human bones are usually heaped up, from
+    which take and bring away a skull. Fill the skull with water, and take
+    a drink from it: that will cure your toothache.
+
+    Sky farmer; a term much used in the South with several shades of
+    meaning: but the idea underlying all is a farmer without land, or with
+    only very little--having broken down since the time when he had a big
+    farm--who often keeps a cow or two grazing along the roadsides. Many of
+    these struggling men acted as intermediaries between the big corn
+    merchants and the large farmers in the sale of corn, and got thereby a
+    percentage from the buyers. A 'sky farmer' has his farm _in the sky_.
+
+    Slaan [_aa_ long as the _a_ in _car_]; a sort of very sharp spade, used
+    in cutting turf or peat. Universal in the South.
+
+    Slack-jaw; impudent talk, continuous impertinences:--'I'll have none of
+    your slack-jaw.'
+
+    Slang; a narrow strip of land along a stream, not suited to
+    cultivation, but grazed. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Sleeveen; a smooth-tongued, sweet-mannered, sly, {327} guileful fellow.
+    Universal all over the South and Middle. Irish _slíghbhín_, same sound
+    and meaning; from _slígh_, a way: _binn_, sweet, melodious: 'a
+    _sweet-mannered_ fellow.'
+
+    Slewder, sluder [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _smooth_]; a wheedling
+    coaxing fellow: as a verb, to wheedle. Irish _sligheadóir_ [sleedore],
+    same meaning.
+
+    Sliggin; a thin flat little stone. (Limerick.) Irish. Primary meaning
+    _a shell_.
+
+    Sling-trot; when a person or an animal is going along [not walking but]
+    trotting or running along at a leisurely pace. (South.)
+
+    Slinge [slinj]; to walk along slowly and lazily. In some places,
+    playing truant from school. (South.)
+
+    Slip; a young girl. A young pig, older than a _bonnive_, running about
+    almost independent of its mother. (General.)
+
+    Slipe; a rude sort of cart or sledge without wheels used for dragging
+    stones from a field. (Ulster.)
+
+    Slitther; a kind of thick soft leather: also a ball covered with that
+    leather, for hurling. (Limerick.)
+
+    Sliver; a piece of anything broken or cut off, especially cut off
+    longitudinally. An old English word, obsolete in England, but still
+    quite common in Munster.
+
+    Slob; a soft fat quiet simple-minded girl or boy:--'Your little Nellie
+    is a quiet poor slob': used as a term of endearment.
+
+    Sloke, sloak, sluke, sloukaun; a sea plant of the family of _laver_
+    found growing on rocks round the coast, which is esteemed a table
+    delicacy--dark-coloured, almost black; often pickled and eaten with
+    pepper, vinegar, &c. Seen in all the Dublin {328} fish shops. The name,
+    which is now known all over the Three Kingdoms, is anglicised from
+    Irish _sleabhac_, _sleabhacán_ [slouk, sloukaun].
+
+    Slug; a drink: as a verb, to drink:--'Here take a little slug from this
+    and 'twill do you good.' Irish _slog_ to swallow by drinking.
+    (General.) Whence _slugga_ and _sluggera_, a cavity in a river-bed into
+    which the water is _slugged_ or swallowed.
+
+    Slugabed; a sluggard. (General in Limerick.) Old English, obsolete in
+    England:--'Fie, you slug-a-bed.' ('Romeo and Juliet.')
+
+    Slush; to work and toil like a slave: a woman who toils hard.
+    (General.)
+
+    Slut; a torch made by dipping a long wick in resin. (Armagh.) Called a
+    _paudheoge_ in Munster.
+
+    Smaadher [_aa_ like _a_ in _car_]; to break in pieces. Jim Foley was on
+    a _pooka's_ back on the top of an old castle, and he was afraid he'd
+    'tumble down and be _smathered_ to a thousand pieces.' (Ir. Mag.)
+
+    Smalkera; a rude home-made wooden spoon.
+
+    Small-clothes; kneebreeches. (Limerick.) So called to avoid the plain
+    term _breeches_, as we now often say _inexpressibles_.
+
+    Small farmer; has a small farm with small stock of cattle: a struggling
+    man as distinguished from a 'strong' farmer.
+
+    Smeg, smeggeen, smiggin; a tuft of hair on the chin. (General.) Merely
+    the Irish _smeig_, _smeigín_; same sounds and meaning.
+
+    Smithereens; broken fragments after a smash, 4.
+
+    Smullock [to rhyme with _bullock_]; a fillip of the finger. (Limerick.)
+    Irish _smallóg_, same meaning. {329}
+
+    Smur, smoor, fine thick mist. (North.) Irish _smúr_, mist.
+
+    Smush [to rhyme with _bush_]: anything reduced to fine small fragments,
+    like straw or hay, dry peat-mould in dust, &c.
+
+    Smush, used contemptuously for the mouth, a hairy mouth:--'I don't like
+    your ugly _smush_.'
+
+    Snachta-shaidhaun: dry powdery snow blown about by the wind. Irish
+    _sneachta_, snow, and _séideán_, a breeze. (South.)
+
+    Snaggle-tooth; a person with some teeth gone so as to leave gaps.
+
+    Snap-apple; a play with apples on Hallow-eve, where big apples are
+    placed in difficult positions and are to be caught by the teeth of the
+    persons playing. Hence Hallow-Eve is often called 'Snap-apple night.'
+
+    Snauvaun; to move about slowly and lazily. From Irish _snámh_ [snauv],
+    to swim, with the diminutive:--Moving slowly like a person swimming.
+
+    Sned; to clip off, to cut away, like the leaves and roots of a turnip.
+    Sned also means the handle of a scythe.
+
+    Snig; to cut or clip with a knife:--'The shoots of that apple-tree are
+    growing out too long: I must snig off the tops of them.'
+
+    Snish; neatness in clothes. (Morris: Carlow.)
+
+    Snoboge; a rosin torch. (Moran: Carlow.) Same as _slut_ and
+    _paudheoge_.
+
+    Snoke; to scent or snuff about like a dog. (Derry.)
+
+    So. This has some special dialectical senses among us. It is used for
+    _if_:--'I will pay you well _so_ you do the work to my liking.' This is
+    old English:--'I am content _so_ thou wilt have it so.' {330} ('Rom.
+    and Jul.') It is used as a sort of emphatic expletive carrying accent
+    or emphasis:--'Will you keep that farm?' 'I will _so_,' i.e. 'I will
+    for certain.' 'Take care and don't break them' (the dishes): 'I won't
+    _so_.' ('Collegians.') It is used in the sense of 'in that case':--'I
+    am not going to town to-day'; 'Oh well I will not go, _so_'--i.e. 'as
+    you are not going.'
+
+    Sock; the tubular or half-tubular part of a spade or shovel that holds
+    the handle. Irish _soc_.
+
+    Soft day; a wet day. (A usual salute.)
+
+    Soil; fresh-cut grass for cattle.
+
+    Sold; betrayed, outwitted:--'If that doesn't frighten him off you're
+    sold' (caught in the trap, betrayed, ruined. Edw. Walsh in Ir. Pen.
+    Journal).
+
+    Something like; excellent:--'That's something like a horse,' i.e. a
+    fine horse and no mistake.
+
+    Sonaghan; a kind of trout that appears in certain lakes in November,
+    coming from the rivers. (Prof. J. Cooke, M.A., of Dublin: for
+    Ulster):--Irish _samhain_ [sowan], November: _samhnachán_ with the
+    diminutive _án_ or _chán_, 'November-fellow.'
+
+    Sonoohar; a good wife, a good partner in marriage; a good marriage:
+    generally used in the form of a wish:--'Thankee sir and sonoohar to
+    you.' Irish _sonuachar_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Sonsy; fortunate, prosperous. Also well-looking and healthy:--'A fine
+    _sonsy_ girl.' Irish _sonas_, luck; _sonasach_, _sonasaigh_, same sound
+    and meaning.
+
+    Soogan, sugan, sugaun; a straw or hay rope twisted by the hand.
+
+    Soss; a short trifling fall with no harm beyond a smart shock. (Moran:
+    Carlow.) {331}
+
+    Sough; a whistling or sighing noise like that of the wind through
+    trees. 'Keep a calm sough' means keep quiet, keep silence. (Ulster.)
+
+    Soulth; 'a formless luminous apparition.' (W. B. Yeats.) Irish
+    _samhailt_ [soulth], a ghost, an apparition; _lit._ a 'likeness,' from
+    _samhai_ [sowel], like.
+
+    Sources of Anglo-Irish Dialect, 1.
+
+    Sowans, sowens; a sort of flummery or gruel usually made and eaten on
+    Hallow Eve. Very general in Ulster and Scotland; merely the Irish word
+    _samhain_, the first of November; for Hallow Eve is really a November
+    feast, as being the eve of the first of that month. In old times in
+    Ireland, the evening went with the coming night.
+
+    Spalpeen. Spalpeens were labouring men--reapers, mowers,
+    potato-diggers, &c.--who travelled about in the autumn seeking
+    employment from the farmers, each with his spade, or his scythe, or his
+    reaping-hook. They congregated in the towns on market and fair days,
+    where the farmers of the surrounding districts came to hire them. Each
+    farmer brought home his own men, fed them on good potatoes and milk,
+    and sent them to sleep in the barn on dry straw--a bed--as one of them
+    said to me--'a bed fit for a lord, let alone a spalpeen.' The word
+    _spalpeen_ is now used in the sense of a low rascal. Irish _spailpín_,
+    same sound and meaning. (See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p.
+    216; and for the Ulster term see Rabble above.)
+
+    Spaug; a big clumsy foot:--'You put your ugly spaug down on my
+    handkerchief.' Irish _spág_, same sound and sense. {332}
+
+    Speel; to climb. (Patterson: Ulster.)
+
+    Spink; a sharp rock, a precipice. (Tyrone.) _Splink_ in Donegal. Irish
+    _spinnc_ and _splinnc_, same sounds and meaning.
+
+    Spit; the soil dug up and turned over, forming a long trench as deep as
+    the spade will go. 'He dug down three spits before he came to the
+    gravel.'
+
+    Spoileen; a coarse kind of soap made out of scraps of inferior grease
+    and meat: often sold cheap at fairs and markets. (Derry and Tyrone.)
+    Irish _spóilín_, a small bit of meat.
+
+    Spoocher; a sort of large wooden shovel chiefly used for lifting small
+    fish out of a boat. (Ulster.)
+
+    Spreece; red-hot embers, chiefly ashes. (South.) Irish _sprís_, same
+    sound and meaning. Same as _greesagh_.
+
+    Sprissaun; an insignificant contemptible little chap. Irish _spriosán_
+    [same sound], the original meaning of which is a twig or spray from a
+    bush. (South.)
+
+     'To the devil I pitch ye ye set of sprissauns.'
+
+      (Old Folk Song, for which see my 'Ancient Irish
+              Music,' p. 85.)
+
+    Sprong: a four-pronged manure fork. (MacCall: South-east counties.)
+
+    Spruggil, spruggilla; the craw of a fowl. (Morris: South Monaghan.)
+    Irish _sprogal_ [spruggal], with that meaning and several others.
+
+    Sprunge [sprunj], any animal miserable and small for its age. (Ulster.)
+
+    Spuds; potatoes.
+
+    Spunk; tinder, now usually made by steeping {333} brown paper in a
+    solution of nitre; lately gone out of use from the prevalence of
+    matches. Often applied in Ulster and Scotland to a spark of fire: 'See
+    is there a spunk of fire in the hearth.' Spunk also denotes spirit,
+    courage, and dash. 'Hasn't Dick great spunk to face that big fellow,
+    twice his size?'
+
+     'I'm sure if you had not been drunk
+          With whiskey, rum, or brandy--O,
+      You would not have the gallant spunk
+          To be half so bold or manly--O.'
+
+      (Old Irish Folk Song.)
+
+    Irish _sponnc_.
+
+    Spy farleys; to pry into secrets: to visit a house, in order to spy
+    about what's going on. (Ulster.)
+
+    Spy-Wednesday; the Wednesday before Easter. According to the religious
+    legend it got the name because on the Wednesday before the Crucifixion
+    Judas was spying about how best he could deliver up our Lord.
+    (General.)
+
+    Squireen; an Irish gentleman in a small way who apes the manners, the
+    authoritative tone, and the aristocratic bearing of the large landed
+    proprietors. Sometimes you can hardly distinguish a squireen from a
+    _half-sir_ or from a _shoneen_. Sometimes the squireen was the son of
+    the old squire: a worthless young fellow, who loafed about doing
+    nothing, instead of earning an honest livelihood: but he was too grand
+    for that. The word is a diminutive of _squire_, applied here in
+    contempt, like many other diminutives. The class of squireen is nearly
+    extinct: 'Joy be with them.'
+
+    Stackan; the stump of a tree remaining after the {334} tree itself has
+    been cut or blown down. (Simmons: Armagh.) Irish _staic_, a stake, with
+    the diminutive.
+
+    Stad; the same as _sthallk_, which see.
+
+    Stag; a potato rendered worthless or bad by frost or decay.
+
+    Stag; a cold-hearted unfeeling selfish woman.
+
+    Stag; an informer, who turns round and betrays his comrades:--'The two
+    worst informers against a private [pottheen] distiller, barring a
+    _stag_, are a smoke by day and a fire by night.' (Carleton in 'Ir. Pen.
+    Journ.') 'Do you think me a _stag_, that I'd inform on you.' (Ibid.)
+
+    Staggeen [the _t_ sounded like _th_ in _thank_], a worn-out worthless
+    old horse.
+
+    Stand to or by a person, to act as his friend; to stand _for_ an
+    infant, to be his sponsor in baptism. The people hardly ever say, 'I'm
+    his godfather,' but 'I stood for him.'
+
+    Stare; the usual name for a starling (bird) in Ireland.
+
+    Station. The celebration of Mass with confessions and Holy Communion in
+    a private house by the parish priest or one of his curates, for the
+    convenience of the family and their neighbours, to enable them the more
+    easily to receive the sacraments. Latterly the custom has been falling
+    into disuse.
+
+    Staukan-vorraga [_t_ sounded like _th_ in _thorn_], a small high rick
+    of turf in a market from which portions were continually sold away and
+    as continually replaced: so that the _sthauca_ stood always in the
+    people's way. Applied also to a big awkward fellow always visiting when
+    he's not wanted, and {335} always in the way. (John Davis White, of
+    Clonmel.) Irish _stáca 'n mharga_ [sthaucan-vorraga], the 'market stake
+    or stack.'
+
+    Stelk or stallk; mashed potatoes mixed with beans or chopped
+    vegetables. (North.)
+
+    Sthallk; a fit of sulk in a horse--or in a child. (Munster.) Irish
+    _stailc_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Sthoakagh; a big idle wandering vagabond fellow. (South.) Irish
+    _stócach_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Sthowl; a jet or splash of water or of any liquid. (South.) Irish
+    _steall_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Stim or stime; a very small quantity, an _iota_, an atom, a
+    particle:--'You'll never have a stim of sense' ('Knocknagow'): 'I
+    couldn't see a stim in the darkness.'
+
+    Stook; a shock of corn, generally containing twelve sheaves. (General.)
+    Irish _stuaic_, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.
+
+    Stoon; a fit, the worst of a fit: same as English _stound_: a sting of
+    pain:--'Well Bridget how is the toothache?' 'Ah well sir the stoon is
+    off.' (De Vismes Kane: Ulster.)
+
+    Store pig; a pig nearly full grown, almost ready to be fattened.
+    (Munster.)
+
+    Str. Most of the following words beginning with _str_ are derived from
+    Irish words beginning with _sr_. For as this combination _sr_ does not
+    exist in English, when an Irish word with this beginning is borrowed
+    into English, a _t_ is always inserted between the _s_ and _r_ to bring
+    it into conformity with English usage and to render it more easily
+    pronounced by English-speaking tongues. See this subject discussed in
+    'Irish Names of Places,' {336} vol. I., p. 60. Moreover the _t_ in
+    _str_ is almost always sounded the same as _th_ in _think_, _thank_.
+
+    Straar or sthraar [to rhyme with _star_]; the rough straddle which
+    supports the back band of a horse's harness--coming between the horse's
+    back and the band. (Derry.) The old Irish word _srathar_ [same sound],
+    a straddle, a pack-saddle.
+
+    Straddy; a street-walker, an idle person always sauntering along the
+    streets. There is a fine Irish air named 'The Straddy' in my 'Old Irish
+    Music and Songs,' p. 310. From Irish _sráid_, a street.
+
+    Strahane, strahaun, _struhane_; a very small stream like a mill stream
+    or an artificial stream to a pottheen still. Irish _sruth_ [sruh]
+    stream, with dim.
+
+    Strammel; a big tall bony fellow. (Limerick.)
+
+    Strap; a bold forward girl or woman; the word often conveys a sense
+    slightly leaning towards lightness of character.
+
+    Strath; a term used in many parts of Ireland to denote the level watery
+    meadow-land along a river. Irish _srath_.
+
+    Stravage [to rhyme with _plague_]; to roam about idly:--'He is always
+    _stravaging_ the streets.' In Ulster it is made _stavage_.
+
+    Streel; a very common word all through Ireland to denote a lazy untidy
+    woman--a slattern: often made _streeloge_ in Connaught, the same word
+    with the diminutive. As a verb, _streel_ is used in the sense of to
+    drag along in an untidy way:--'Her dress was streeling in the mud.'
+    Irish _sríl_ [sreel], same meanings.
+
+    Streel is sometimes applied to an untidy slovenly-looking man too, as I
+    once heard it {337} applied under odd circumstances when I was very
+    young. Bartholomew Power was long and lanky, with his clothes hanging
+    loose on him. On the morning when he and his newly-married wife--whom I
+    knew well, and who was then no chicken--were setting out for his home,
+    I walked a bit of the way with the happy bride to take leave of her.
+    Just when we were about to part, she turned and said to me--these were
+    her very words--'Well Mr. Joyce, you know the number of nice young men
+    I came across in my day (naming half a dozen of them), and,' said
+    she--nodding towards the bride-groom, who was walking by the car a few
+    perches in front--'isn't it a heart-scald that at the end of all I have
+    now to walk off with that streel of a devil.'
+
+    Strickle; a scythe-sharpener covered with emery, (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Strig; the _strippings_ or milk that comes last from a cow. (Morris:
+    South Monaghan.)
+
+    Striffin; the thin pellicle or skin on the inside of an egg-shell.
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Strippings; the same as strig, the last of the milk that comes from the
+    cow at milking--always the richest. Often called in Munster _sniug_.
+
+    Stroansha; a big idle lazy lump of a girl, always gadding about. Irish
+    _stróinse_, same sound and meaning.
+
+    Strock´ara [accent on _strock-_]; a very hard-working man. (Munster.)
+    Irish _stracaire_, same sound and meaning, with several other meanings.
+
+    Strong; well in health, without any reference to muscular strength.
+    'How is your mother these times?' 'She's very strong now thank God.'
+    {338}
+
+    Strong farmer; a very well-to-do prosperous farmer, with a large farm
+    and much cattle. In contradistinction to a 'small farmer.'
+
+    Stroup or stroop; the spout of a kettle or teapot or the lip of a jug.
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Strunt; to sulk. (Simmons: Armagh.) Same as _sthallk_ for the South.
+
+    Stum; a sulky silent person. (Antrim and Down.)
+
+    Stumpy; a kind of coarse heavy cake made from grated potatoes from
+    which the starch has been squeezed out: also called muddly. (Munster.)
+
+    Sturk, stirk, sterk; a heifer or bullock about two years old: a pig
+    three or four months old. Often applied to a stout low-sized boy or
+    girl. Irish _storc_.
+
+    Sugan; a straw or hay rope: same as soogan.
+
+    Sugeen; water in which oatmeal has been steeped: often drunk by workmen
+    on a hot day in place of plain water. (Roscommon.) From Ir. _sugh_,
+    juice.
+
+    Sulter; great heat [of a day]: a word formed from _sultry_:--'There's
+    great _sulther_ to-day.'
+
+    Summachaun; a soft innocent child. (Munster.) Irish _somachán_, same
+    sound and meaning. In Connaught it means a big ignorant puffed up booby
+    of a fellow.
+
+    Sup; one mouthful of liquid: a small quantity drunk at one time. This
+    is English:--'I took a small sup of rum.' ('Robinson Crusoe.') 'We all
+    take a sup in our turn.' (Irish Folk Song.)
+
+    Sure; one of our commonest opening words for a sentence: you will hear
+    it perpetually among gentle and simple: 'Don't forget to lock up the
+    fowls.' 'Sure I did that an hour ago.' 'Sure {339} you won't forget to
+    call here on your way back?' 'James, sure I sold my cows.'
+
+    Swan-skin; the thin finely-woven flannel bought in shops; so called to
+    distinguish it from the coarse heavy home-made flannel. (Limerick.)
+
+    Swearing, 66.
+
+
+
+    Tally-iron or tallin-iron; the iron for _crimping_ or curling up the
+    borders of women's caps. A corruption of _Italian-iron_.
+
+    Targe; a scolding woman, a _barge_. (Ulster.)
+
+    Tartles: ragged clothes; torn pieces of dress. (Ulster.)
+
+    Taste; a small bit or amount of anything:--'He has no taste of pride':
+    'Aren't you ashamed of yourself?' 'Not a taste': 'Could you give me the
+    least taste in life of a bit of soap?'
+
+    Tat, tait; a tangled or matted wad or mass of hair on a girl or on an
+    animal. 'Come here till I comb the _tats_ out of your hair. (Ulster.)
+    Irish _tath_ [tah]. In the anglicised word the aspirated _t_ (th),
+    which sounds like _h_ in Irish, is restored to its full sound in the
+    process of anglicisation in accordance with a law which will be found
+    explained in 'Irish Names of Places,' vol. i., pp. 42-48.
+
+    Teem; to strain off or pour off water or any liquid. To _teem_ potatoes
+    is to pour the water off them when they are boiled. In a like sense we
+    say it is _teeming_ rain. Irish _taom_, same sound and sense.
+
+    Ten commandments. 'She put her ten commandments on his face,' i.e. she
+    scratched his face with her ten finger-nails. (MacCall: Wexford.) {340}
+
+    Tent; the quantity of ink taken up at one time by a pen.
+
+    Terr; a provoking ignorant presumptuous fellow. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Thacka, thuck-ya, thackeen, thuckeen; a little girl. (South.) Irish
+    _toice_, _toicín_ [thucka, thuckeen].
+
+    Thaheen; a handful of flax or hay. Irish _tath_, _taithín_ [thah,
+    thaheen], same meaning. (Same Irish word as Tat above: but in _thaheen_
+    the final _t_ is aspirated to _h_, following the Irish word.)
+
+    Thauloge: a boarded-off square enclosure at one side of the kitchen
+    fire-place of a farmhouse, where candlesticks, brushes, wet boots, &c.,
+    are put. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Thayvaun or theevaun; the short beam of the roof crossing from one
+    rafter to the opposite one. (South.) Irish _taobh_ [thaiv], a 'side,'
+    with the diminutive.
+
+    Theeveen; a patch on the side of a shoe. (General.) Irish _taobh_
+    [thaiv], a side with the dim. _een_; taoibhín [theeveen], 'little
+    side.'
+
+    Thick; closely acquainted: same meaning as 'Great,' which see. 'Dick is
+    very thick with Joe now.'
+
+    Thiescaun thyscaun, [thice-caun], or thayscaun: a quantity of anything,
+    as a small load of hay drawn by a horse: 'When you're coming home with
+    the cart from the bog, you may as well bring a little _thyscaun_ of
+    turf. (South.) Irish _taoscán_ [thayscaun], same meaning.
+
+    Think long: to be longing for anything--home, friends, an event, &c.
+    (North.) 'I am thinking long till I see my mother.' {341}
+
+    Thirteen. When the English and Irish currencies were different, the
+    English shilling was worth thirteen pence in Ireland: hence a shilling
+    was called a _thirteen_ in Ireland:--'I gave the captain six thirteens
+    to ferry me over to Park-gate.' (Irish Folk Song.)
+
+    Thivish; a spectre, a ghost. (General.) Irish _taidhbhse_ [thivshe],
+    same meaning.
+
+    Thole; to endure, to bear:--'I had to thole hardship and want while you
+    were away.' (All over Ulster.)
+
+    Thon, thonder; yon, yonder:--'Not a tree or a thing only thon wee
+    couple of poor whins that's blowing up thonder on the rise.' (Seumas
+    MacManus, for North-West Ulster.)
+
+    Thoun´thabock: a good beating. Literally 'strong tobacco: Ir.
+    _teann-tabac_ [same sound]. 'If you don't mind your business, I'll give
+    you thounthabock.'
+
+    Thrape or threep; to assert vehemently, boldly, and in a manner not to
+    brook contradiction. Common in Meath and from that northward.
+
+    Thrashbag; several pockets sewed one above another along a strip of
+    strong cloth for holding thread, needles, buttons, &c., and rolled up
+    when not in use. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Thraulagh, or thaulagh; a soreness or pain in the wrist of a reaper,
+    caused by work. (Connaught.) Irish--two forms--_trálach_ and _tádhlach_
+    [thraulagh, thaulagh.]
+
+    Three-na-haila; mixed up all in confusion:--'I must arrange my books
+    and papers: they are all _three-na-haila_.' (South.) Irish _trí n-a
+    chéile_, 'through each other.' The translation 'through-other' is
+    universal in Ulster. {342}
+
+    Three-years-old and Four-years-old; the names of two hostile factions
+    in the counties of Limerick, Tipperary, and Cork, of the early part of
+    last century, who fought whenever they met, either individually or in
+    numbers, each faction led by its redoubtable chief. The weapons were
+    sticks, but sometimes stones were used. We boys took immense delight in
+    witnessing those fights, keeping at a safe distance however for fear of
+    a stray stone. Three-years and Four-years battles were fought in New
+    Pallas in Tipperary down to a few years ago.
+
+    Thrisloge; a long step in walking, a long jump. (Munster.) Irish
+    _trioslóg_, same sound.
+
+    Throllop; an untidy woman, a slattern, a _streel_. (Banim: very general
+    in the South.)
+
+    Thurmus, thurrumus; to sulk from food. (Munster.) Irish _toirmesc_
+    [thurrumask], same meaning:--'Billy won't eat his supper: he is
+    _thurrumusing_.'
+
+    Tibb's-Eve; 'neither before nor after Christmas,' i.e., never: 'Oh
+    you'll get your money by Tibb's-Eve.'
+
+    Till; used in many parts of Ireland in the sense of 'in order
+    that':--'Come here Micky _till_ I comb your hair.'
+
+    Tilly; a small quantity of anything given over and above the quantity
+    purchased. Milkmen usually give a tilly with the pint or quart. Irish
+    _tuilledh_, same sound and meaning. Very general.
+
+    Tinges; goods that remain long in a draper's hands. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Togher [toher]; a road constructed through a bog or swamp; often of
+    brambles or wickerwork covered over with gravel and stones. {343}
+
+    Tootn-egg [3-syll.], a peculiar-shaped brass or white-metal button,
+    having the stem fastened by a conical-shaped bit of metal. I have seen
+    it explained as _tooth-and-egg_; but I believe this to be a guess.
+    (Limerick.)
+
+    Tory-top; the seed cone of a fir-tree. (South.)
+
+    Towards; in comparison with:--'That's a fine horse towards the one you
+    had before.'
+
+    Tradesman; an artisan, a working mechanic. In Ireland the word is
+    hardly ever applied to a shopkeeper.
+
+    Trake; a long tiresome walk: 'you gave me a great trake for nothing,'
+    (Ulster.)
+
+    Tram or tram-cock; a hay-cock--rather a small one. (Moran: Carlow.)
+
+    Trams; the ends of the cart shafts that project behind. (North.) Called
+    _heels_ in the South.
+
+    Trance; the name given in Munster to the children's game of Scotch hop
+    or pickey.
+
+    Traneen or trawneen; a long slender grass-stalk, like a
+    knitting-needle. Used all over Ireland. In some places _cushoge_.
+
+    Travel; used in Ulster for walking as distinguished from driving or
+    riding:--'Did you drive to Derry?' 'Oh no, I travelled.'
+
+    Trice; to make an agreement or bargain. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Triheens; a pair of stockings with only the legs: the two feet cut off.
+    It is the Irish _troigh_ [thro], a foot, with the
+    diminutive--_troighthín_ [triheen]. In Roscommon this word is applied
+    to the handle of a loy or spade which has been broken and patched
+    together again. (Connaught and Munster.) {344}
+
+    Trindle; the wheel of a wheelbarrow. (Morris for South Monaghan.)
+
+    Trinket; a small artificial channel for water: often across and under a
+    road. (Simmons and Patterson: East Ulster.) See Linthern.
+
+    Turf; peat for fuel: used in this sense all over Ireland. We hardly
+    ever use the word in the sense of 'Where heaves the _turf_ in many a
+    mouldering heap.'
+
+    Turk; an ill-natured surly boorish fellow.
+
+    Twig; to understand, to discern, to catch the point:--'When I hinted at
+    what I wanted, he twigged me at once.' Irish _tuig_ [twig], to
+    understand.
+
+
+
+    Ubbabo; an exclamation of wonder or surprise;--'Ubbabo,' said the old
+    woman, 'we'll soon see to that.' (Crofton Croker.)
+
+    Ullagone; an exclamation of sorrow; a name applied to any
+    lamentation:--'So I sat down ... and began to sing the Ullagone.'
+    (Crofton Croker.) 'Mike was ullagoning all day after you left.'
+    (Irish.)
+
+    Ullilu; an interjection of sorrow equivalent to the English _alas_ or
+    _alack and well-a-day_. (Irish.)
+
+    Unbe-knownst; unknown, secret. (De Vismes Kane for Monaghan: but used
+    very generally.)
+
+    Under has its peculiar uses:--'She left the fish out under the cats,
+    and the jam out under the children.' (Hayden and Hartog: for Dublin and
+    its neighbourhood: but used also in the South.)
+
+    Under-board; 'the state of a corpse between death and interment.'
+    (Simmons: Armagh.) 'From the board laid on the breast of the corpse,
+    with a plate of snuff and a Bible or Prayerbook laid on it.' (S. Scott,
+    Derry.) {345}
+
+
+
+    Variety of Phrases, A, 185.
+
+    Venom, generally pronounced _vinnom_; energy:--'He does his work with
+    great venom.' An attempted translation from an Irish word that bears
+    more than one meaning, and the wrong meaning is brought into
+    English:--viz. _neim_ or _neimh_, literally _poison_, _venom_, but
+    figuratively _fierceness_, _energy_. John O'Dugan writes in Irish (500
+    years ago):--_Ris gach ndruing do niad a neim_: 'against every tribe
+    they [the Clann Ferrall] exert their _neim_' (literally their _poison_,
+    but meaning their energy or bravery). So also the three sons of Fiacha
+    are endowed _coisin neim_ 'with fierceness,' lit. with _poison_ or
+    _venom_. (Silva Gadelica.) In an old Irish tale a lady looks with
+    intense earnestness on a man she admires: in the Irish it is said 'She
+    put _nimh a súl_ on him, literally the '_venom_ of her eyes,' meaning
+    the keenest glance of her eyes.
+
+    Hence over a large part of Ireland, especially the South, you will
+    hear: 'Ah, Dick is a splendid man to hire: he works with such _venom_.'
+    A countryman (Co. Wicklow), speaking of the new National
+    Teacher:--'Indeed sir he's well enough, but for all that he hasn't the
+    _vinnom_ of poor Mr. O'Brien:' i.e. he does not teach with such energy.
+
+    Very fond; when there is a long spell of rain, frost, &c., people
+    say:--'It is very fond of the rain,' &c.
+
+    Voteen; a person who is a _devotee_ in religion: nearly always applied
+    in derision to one who is excessively and ostentatiously devotional.
+    (General.)
+
+    {346}
+
+    Wad; a wisp of straw or hay pressed tightly together. A broken pane in
+    a window is often stuffed with a wad of straw. 'Careless and gay, like
+    a wad in a window': old saying. (General.)
+
+    Walsh, Edward, 5, &c.
+
+    Wangle; the handful of straw a thatcher grasps in his left hand from
+    time to time while thatching, twisted up tight at one end. By extension
+    of meaning applied to a tall lanky weak young fellow. (Moran: middle
+    eastern counties.)
+
+    Wangrace; oatmeal gruel for sick persons. (Simmons: Armagh.)
+
+    Want; often used in Ulster in the following way:--'I asked Dick to come
+    back to us, for we couldn't want him,' i.e. couldn't do without him.
+
+    Wap; a bundle of straw; as a verb, to make up straw into a bundle.
+    (Derry and Monaghan.)
+
+    Warrant; used all over Ireland in the following way--nearly always with
+    _good_, _better_, or _best_, but sometimes with _bad_:--'You're a good
+    warrant (a good hand) to play for us [at hurling] whenever we ax you.'
+    ('Knocknagow.') 'She was a good warrant to give a poor fellow a meal
+    when he wanted it': 'Father Patt gave me a tumbler of _rale_ stiff
+    punch, and the divel a better warrant to make the same was within the
+    province of Connaught.' ('Wild Sports of the West.')
+
+    Watch-pot; a person who sneaks into houses about meal times hoping to
+    get a bit or to be asked to join.
+
+    Way. 'A dairyman's _way_, a labourer's _way_, means the privileges or
+    perquisites which the dairyman or labourer gets, in addition to the
+    main contract. A {347} _way_ might be grazing for a sheep, a patch of
+    land for potatoes, &c.' (Healy: for Waterford.)
+
+    Wearables; articles of clothing. In Tipperary they call the
+    old-fashioned wig 'Dwyer's wearable.'
+
+    Weather-blade, in Armagh, the same as 'Goureen-roe' in the South, which
+    see.
+
+    Wee (North), weeny (South); little.
+
+    Well became. 'When Tom Cullen heard himself insulted by the master,
+    well became him he up and defied him and told him he'd stay no longer
+    in his house.' 'Well became' here expresses approval of Tom's action as
+    being the correct and becoming thing to do. I said to little Patrick 'I
+    don't like to give you any more sweets you're so near your dinner'; and
+    well became him he up and said:--'Oh I get plenty of sweets at home
+    before my dinner.' 'Well became Tom he paid the whole bill.'
+
+    Wersh, warsh, worsh; insipid, tasteless, needing salt or sugar.
+    (Simmons and Patterson: Ulster.)
+
+    Wet and dry; 'Tom gets a shilling a day, wet and dry'; i.e. constant
+    work and constant pay in all weathers. (General.)
+
+    Whack: food, sustenance:--'He gets 2s. 6d. a day and his _whack_.'
+
+    Whassah or fassah; to feed cows in some unusual place, such as along a
+    lane or road: to herd them in unfenced ground. The food so given is
+    also called _whassah_. (Moran: for South Mon.) Irish _fásach_, a
+    wilderness, any wild place.
+
+    Whatever; at any rate, anyway, anyhow: usually put in this sense at the
+    end of a sentence:--'Although she can't speak on other days of {348}
+    the week, she can speak on Friday, whatever.' ('Collegians.') 'Although
+    you wouldn't take anything else, you'll drink this glass of milk,
+    whatever.' (Munster.)
+
+    Curious, I find this very idiom in an English book recently published:
+    'Lord Tweedmouth. Notes and Recollections,' viz.:--'We could not cross
+    the river [in Scotland], but he would go [across] _whatever_.' The
+    writer evidently borrowed this from the English dialect of the
+    Highlands, where they use _whatever_ exactly as we do. (William Black:
+    'A Princess of Thule.') In all these cases, whether Irish or Scotch,
+    _whatever_ is a translation from the Gaelic _ar mhodh ar bíth_ or some
+    such phrase.
+
+    Wheeling. When a fellow went about flourishing a cudgel and shouting
+    out defiance to people to fight him--shouting for his faction, side, or
+    district, he was said to be 'wheeling':--'Here's for Oola!' 'here's
+    _three years_!' 'here's Lillis!' (Munster.) Sometimes called
+    _hurrooing_. See 'Three-years-old.'
+
+    Wheen; a small number, a small quantity:--'I was working for a wheen o'
+    days': 'I'll eat a wheen of these gooseberries.' (Ulster.)
+
+    Whenever is generally used in Ulster for _when_:--'I was in town this
+    morning and whenever I came home I found the calf dead in the stable.'
+
+    Which. When a person does not quite catch what another says, there is
+    generally a query:--'eh?' 'what?' or 'what's that you say?' Our people
+    often express this query by the single word 'which?' I knew a highly
+    educated and highly {349} placed Dublin official who always so used the
+    word. (General.)
+
+    Whipster; a bold forward romping impudent girl. (Ulster.) In Limerick
+    it also conveys the idea of a girl inclined to _whip_ or steal things.
+
+    Whisht, silence: used all over Ireland in such phrases as 'hold your
+    whisht' (or the single word 'whisht'), i.e., be silent. It is the
+    Gaelic word _tost_, silence, with the first _t_ aspirated as it ought
+    to be, which gives it the sound of _h_. They pronounce it as if it were
+    written _thuist_, which is exactly sounded _whisht_. The same
+    word--taken from the Gaelic of course--is used everywhere in
+    Scotland:--When the Scottish Genius of Poetry appeared suddenly to
+    Burns (in 'The Vision'):--'Ye needna doubt, I held my whisht!'
+
+    Whisper, whisper here; both used in the sense of 'listen,' 'listen to
+    me':--'Whisper, I want to say something to you,' and then he proceeds
+    to say it, not in a whisper, but in the usual low conversational tone.
+    Very general all over Ireland. 'Whisper' in this usage is simply a
+    translation of _cogar_ [cogger], and 'whisper here' of _cogar annso_;
+    these Irish words being used by Irish speakers exactly as their
+    dialectical English equivalents are used in English: the English usage
+    being taken from the Irish.
+
+    White-headed boy or white-haired boy; a favourite, a person in favour,
+    whether man or boy:--'Oh you're the white-headed boy now.'
+
+    Whitterit or whitrit; a weasel. (Ulster.)
+
+    Whose owe? the same as 'who owns?':--'Whose owe is this book?' Old
+    English. My correspondent {350} states that this was a common
+    construction in Anglo-Saxon. (Ulster.)
+
+    Why; a sort of terminal expletive used in some of the Munster
+    counties:--'Tom is a strong boy why': 'Are you going to Ennis why?' 'I
+    am going to Cork why.'
+
+    Why for? used in Ulster as an equivalent to 'for what?'
+
+    Why but? 'Why not?' (Ulster.) 'Why but you speak your mind out?' i.e.
+    'Why should you not?' (Kane: Armagh.)
+
+    Why then; used very much in the South to begin a sentence, especially a
+    reply, much as _indeed_ is used in English:--'When did you see John
+    Dunn?' 'Why then I met him yesterday at the fair': 'Which do you like
+    best, tea or coffee?' 'Why then I much prefer tea.' 'Why then Pat is
+    that you; and how is _every rope's length_ of you?'
+
+    Wicked; used in the South in the sense of severe or cross. 'Mr. Manning
+    our schoolmaster is very wicked.'
+
+    Widow-woman and widow-man; are used for _widow_ and _widower_,
+    especially in Ulster: but _widow-woman_ is heard everywhere.
+
+    Wigs on the green; a fight: so called for an obvious reason:--'There
+    will be wigs on the green in the fair to-day.'
+
+    _Will you_ was never a good fellow, 18, 114.
+
+    Wine or wynd of hay; a small temporary stack of hay, made up on the
+    meadow. All the small wynds are ultimately made up into one large rick
+    or stack in the farmyard. {351}
+
+    Wipe, a blow: all over Ireland: he gave him a wipe on the face. In
+    Ulster, a goaly-wipe is a great blow on the ball with the _camaun_ or
+    hurley: such as will send it to the goal.
+
+    Wire. To _wire in_ is to begin work vigorously: to join in a fight.
+
+    Wirra; an exclamation generally indicating surprise, sorrow, or
+    vexation: it is the vocative of 'Muire' (_A Mhuire_), Mary, that is,
+    the Blessed Virgin.
+
+    Wirrasthru, a term of pity; alas. It is the phonetic form of _A Mhuire
+    is truaigh_, 'O Mary it is a pity (or a sorrow),' implying the
+    connexion of the Blessed Virgin with sorrow.
+
+    Wit; sense, which is the original meaning. But this meaning is nearly
+    lost in England while it is extant everywhere in Ireland:--A sharp
+    Ulster woman, entering her little boy in a Dublin Infant School, begged
+    of the mistress to teach him a little _wut_.
+
+    Witch: black witches are bad; white witches good. (West Donegal.)
+
+    Wish; esteem, friendship:--'Your father had a great wish for me,' i.e.
+    held me in particular esteem, had a strong friendship. (General.) In
+    this application it is merely the translation of the Irish _meas_,
+    respect:--_Tá meás mór agum ort_; I have great esteem for you, I have a
+    great _wish_ for you, I hold you in great respect.
+
+    Wisha; a softening down of _mossa_, which see.
+
+    With that; thereupon: used all over Ireland. Irish _leis sin_, which is
+    often used, has the same exact meaning; but still I think _with that_
+    is of old {352} English origin, though the Irish equivalent may have
+    contributed to its popularity.
+
+     'With that her couverchef from her head she braid
+      And over his litel eyen she it laid.'
+
+      (CHAUCER.)
+
+    Word; trace, sign. (Ulster.) 'Did you see e'er a word of a black-avised
+    (black-visaged) man travelling the road you came?'
+
+    Wrap and run: 'I gathered up every penny I could wrap and run,' is
+    generally used: the idea being to wrap up hastily and run for it.
+
+
+
+    Yoke; any article, contrivance, or apparatus for use in some work.
+    'That's a _quare_ yoke Bill,' says a countryman when he first saw a
+    motor car.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+{353}
+
+ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PERSONS
+
+    Who sent me Collections of Dialectical Words and Phrases in response to
+    my letter of February, 1892, published in the newspapers.
+
+    The names and addresses are given exactly as I received them. The
+    collections of those marked with an asterisk (*) were very important.
+
+  Allen, Mary; Armagh.
+
+  Atkinson, M.; The Pavilion, Weedon.
+
+  Bardan, Patrick; Coralstown, Killucan, Westmeath.
+
+  Bentley, William; Hurdlestown, Broadford, Co. Clare.
+
+  Bermingham, T. C.; Whitechurch Nat. School, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford.
+
+  Boyd, John; Union Place, Dungannon.
+
+  Boyd, John; Dean's Bridge, Armagh.
+
+  Brady, P.; Brackney Nat. School, Kilkeel, Down.
+
+  Brady, P.; Anne Street, Dundalk.
+
+  Breen, E.; Killarney.
+
+  Brenan, Rev. Samuel Arthur, Rector; Cushendun, Antrim.
+
+  Brett, Miss Elizabeth C.; Crescent, Holywood, Co. Down.
+
+  Brophy, Michael; Tullow Street, Carlow.
+
+  Brown, Edith; Donaghmore, Tyrone.
+
+  Brown, Mrs. John; Seaforde, Clough, Co. Down.
+
+  Brownlee, J. A.; Armagh.
+
+  Buchanan, Colonel; Edenfel, Omagh.
+
+  Burke, W. S.; 187 Clonliffe Road, Dublin.
+
+  Bushe, Charles P.; 2 St. Joseph's Terrace, Sandford Road, Dublin.
+
+  Burrows, A.; Grass Valley, Nevada Co., California.
+
+  Byers, J. W.; Lower Crescent, Belfast.
+
+  Byrne, James, J.P.; Wallstown Castle, Castletownroche, Co. Cork.
+
+  Caldwell, Mrs.;  Dundrum, Dublin.
+
+  *Campbell, Albert; Ballynagarde House, Derry.
+
+  Campbell, John; Blackwatertown, Armagh.
+
+  Cangley, Patrick; Co. Meath. (North.)
+
+  Carroll, John; Pallasgrean, Co. Limerick.
+
+  Chute, Jeanie L. B.; Castlecoote, Roscommon.
+
+  Clements, M. E.; 61 Marlborough Road, Dublin.
+
+  Close, Mary A.; Limerick.
+
+  *Close, Rev. Maxwell; Dublin.
+
+  Coakley, James; Currabaha Nat. School, Kilmacthomas, Waterford.
+
+  Coleman, James; Southampton. (Now of Queenstown.)
+
+  {354}
+  Colhoun, James; Donegal.
+
+  Connolly, Mrs. Susan; The Glebe, Foynes.
+
+  Corrie, Sarah; Monaghan.
+
+  Counihan, Jeremiah; Killarney.
+
+  Cox, M.; Co. Roscommon.
+
+  Crowe, A.; Limerick.
+
+  Cullen, William; 131 North King Street, Dublin.
+
+  Curry, S.; General Post Office, Dublin.
+
+  Daunt, W. J. O'N.; Kilcascan, Ballyneen, Co. Cork.
+
+  Davies, W. W.; Glenmore Cottage, Lisburn.
+
+  Delmege, Miss F.; N. Teacher, Central Model School, Dublin.
+
+  Dennehy, Patrick; Curren's Nat. School, Farranfore, Co. Cork.
+
+  Devine, The Rev. Father Pius; Mount Argus, Dublin.
+
+  Dobbyn, Leonard; Hollymount, Lee Road, Cork.
+
+  Dod, R.; Royal Academical Institution, Belfast; The Lodge, Castlewellan.
+
+  Doherty, Denis; Co. Cork.
+
+  *Drew, Sir Thomas; Dublin.
+
+  Dunne, Miss; Aghavoe House, Ballacolla, Queen's Co.
+
+  Egan, F. W.; Albion House, Dundrum, Dublin.
+
+  Egan, J.; 34 William Street, Limerick.
+
+  Fetherstonhaugh, R. S.; Rock View, Killucan, Westmeath.
+
+  FitzGerald, Lord Walter; Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare.
+
+  Fleming, Mrs. Elizabeth; Ventry Parsonage, Dingle, Kerry.
+
+  Fleming, John; Rathgormuck Nat. School, Waterford.
+
+  Flynn, John; Co. Clare.
+
+  Foley, M.; Killorglin, Kerry.
+
+  Foster, Elizabeth J.; 7 Percy Place, Dublin.
+
+  G. K. O'L. (a lady from Kilkenny, I think).
+
+  Garvey, John; Ballina, Co. Mayo.
+
+  Gilmour, Thomas; Antrim.
+
+  Glasgow, H. L.; 'Midland Ulster Mail,' Cookstown, Co. Tyrone.
+
+  Glover, W. W.; Ballinlough Nat. School, Co. Roscommon.
+
+  Graham, Lizzie F.; Portadown.
+
+  Greene, Dr. G. E. J.; The Well, Ballycarney, Ferns, Co. Wexford.
+
+  Hamilton, A.; Desertmartin, Belfast.
+
+  Hannon, John; Crossmaglen Nat. School, Armagh.
+
+  Harkin, Daniel; Ramelton, Donegal.
+
+  *Harrington, Private Thomas; 211 Strand, London, W.C. (For Munster.)
+
+  Haugh, John; Co. Clare.
+
+  Haughton, Kate M.; Lady's Island Nat. School, Wexford.
+
+  *Healy, Maurice, M.P., 37 South Mall, Cork.
+
+  Henry, Robert; Coleraine.
+
+  *Higgins, The Rev. Michael, C.C.; Queenstown, Cork.
+
+  {355}
+  Hunt, M.; Ballyfarnan, Roscommon.
+
+  *Hunter, Robert; 39 Gladstone Street, Clonmel.
+
+  Irwin, A. J., B.A.; Glenfern, Ballyarton, Derry.
+
+  *Jones, Miss; Knocknamohill, Ovoca, Co. Wicklow.
+
+  *Joyce, W. B., B.A.; Limerick.
+
+  *Kane, W. Francis de Vismes; Sloperton Lodge, Kingstown, Dublin. (For
+      Ulster.)
+
+  Keegan, T.; Rosegreen Nat. School, Clonmel.
+
+  Kelly, Eliza, Co. Mayo.
+
+  Kelly, George A. P., M.A.; 6 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin. (For
+      Roscommon.)
+
+  Kennedy, J. J.; Faha Nat. School, Beaufort, Killarney.
+
+  Kenny, The Rev. M. J., P.P.; Scarriff, Co. Clare.
+
+  Kenny, Charles W.; Caledon, Co. Tyrone.
+
+  Kilmartin, Mary; Tipperary.
+
+  Kilpatrick, George; Kilrea, Derry.
+
+  *Kinahan, G. H.; Dublin. (Collection gathered from all Ireland.)
+
+  Kingham, S. H.; Co. Down.
+
+  *Knowles, W. J.; Flixton Place, Ballymena.
+
+  Knox, W.; Tedd, Irvinestown.
+
+  Lawlor, Patrick; Ballinclogher Nat. School, Lixnaw, Kerry.
+
+  Linn, Richard; 259 Hereford St., Christchurch, New Zealand. (For Antrim.)
+
+  Lynch, M. J.; Kerry.
+
+  *MacCall, Patrick J.; 25 Patrick St., Dublin.
+
+  McCandless, T.; Ballinrees Nat. School, Coleraine.
+
+  McClelland, F. J.; Armagh.
+
+  McCormac, Emily; Cnoc Aluin, Dalkey, Dublin.
+
+  MacDonagh, Mr.; Ward Schls., Bangor, Co. Down.
+
+  McGloin, Louisa; Foxford, Mayo.
+
+  MacSheehy, Brian, LL.D., Head Inspector of Nat. Schools, Dublin.
+
+  McKenna, A.; Clones, Co. Monaghan.
+
+  McKeown, R.; Co. Tyrone.
+
+  McNulty, Robert; Raphoe.
+
+  Maguire, John; Co. Cavan.
+
+  Maguire, M.; Mullinscross, Louth.
+
+  Mason, Thos. A. H.; 29 Marlborough Road, Dublin.
+
+  Mason, Thos.; Hollymount, Buxton Hill, Cork.
+
+  Montgomery, Maggie; Antrim.
+
+  *Moran, Patrick; 14 Strand Road, Derry, Retired Head Constable R. I.
+      Constabulary, native of Carlow, to which his collection mainly
+      belongs.
+
+  *Morris, Henry; Cashlan East, Carrickmacross, Monaghan.
+
+  Murphy, Christopher O'B.; 48 Victoria St., Dublin.
+
+  Murphy, Ellie; Co. Cork.
+
+  Murphy, J.; Co. Cork.
+
+  Murphy, T.; Co. Cork.
+
+  Neville, Anne; 48 Greville Road, Bedminster.
+
+  {356}
+  Niven, Richard; Lambeg, Lisburn.
+
+  Norris, A.; Kerry.
+
+  O'Brien, Michael; Munlough Nat. School, Cavan.
+
+  O'Connor, James; Ballyglass House, Sligo.
+
+  O'Donnell, Patrick; Mayo.
+
+  *O'Donohoe, Timothy; Carrignavar, Cork. ('Tadg O'Donnchadha.')
+
+  O'Farrell, Fergus; Redington, Queenstown.
+
+  O'Farrell, W. (a lady). Same place.
+
+  O'Flanagan, J. R.; Grange House, Fermoy, Cork.
+
+  O'Hagan, Philip; Buncrana, Donegal.
+
+  O'Hara, Isa; Tyrone.
+
+  O'Leary, Nelius; Nat. School, Kilmallock, Limerick.
+
+  O'Reilly, P.; Nat. School, Granard.
+
+  O'Sullivan, D. J.; Shelburne Nat. School, Kenmare.
+
+  O'Sullivan, Janie; Kerry.
+
+  Reen, Denis T.; Kingwilliamstown, Cork.
+
+  Reid, George R.; 23 Cromwell Road, Belfast.
+
+  Reid, Samuel W.; Armagh.
+
+  *Reilly, Patrick; Cemetery Lodge, Naas, Co. Kildare.
+
+  Rice, Michael; Castlewellan, Co. Down.
+
+  Riley, Lizzie; Derry.
+
+  *Russell, T. O'Neill; Dublin. (For central counties.)
+
+  Ryan, Ellie; Limerick.
+
+  Scott, J.; Milford Nat. School, Donegal.
+
+  *Scott, S.; Derry.
+
+  *Simmons, D. A.; Nat. School, Armagh.
+
+  Simpson, Thomas; Derry.
+
+  Skirving, R. Scot; 29 Drummond Place, Edinburgh.
+
+  Smith, Owen; Nobber, Co. Meath.
+
+  *Stafford, Wm.; Baldwinstown, Bridgetown, Wexford.
+
+  Stanhope, Mr.; Paris.
+
+  Supple, D. J.; Royal Irish Constabulary, Robertstown, Kildare. (For
+      Kerry.)
+
+  Thompson, L.; Ballyculter, Co. Down.
+
+  Tighe, T. F.; Ulster Bank, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan.
+
+  Tobin, J. E.; 8 Muckross Parade, N. C. Road, Dublin.
+
+  Tuite, Rev. P., P.P.; Parochial House, Tullamore.
+
+  Walshe, Charlotte; Waterford.
+
+  Ward, Emily G.; Castleward, Downpatrick.
+
+  White, Eva; Limerick.
+
+  White, Rev. H. V.; All SS. Rectory, Waterford.
+
+  White, John Davis; Cashel, Co. Tipperary. (Newspaper Editor.)
+
+  Weir, Rev. George; Creeslough, Donegal.
+
+  Weir, J.; Ballymena.
+
+  Wood-Martin, Col., A.D.C.; Cleveragh, Sligo.
+
+  *Woollett, Mr. Marlow; Dublin.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+WORKS
+
+BY
+
+P. W. JOYCE, M.A., LL.D., T.C.D.; M.R.I.A.
+
+ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE
+ANCIENT LAWS OF IRELAND;
+LATE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES, IRELAND
+LATE PRINCIPAL, MARLBOROUGH STREET (GOVERNMENT)
+TRAINING COLLEGE, DUBLIN.
+
+_Two Splendid Volumes, richly gilt, both cover and top.
+With 361 Illustrations. Price £1 1s. net._
+
+A SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND,
+
+_Treating of the Government, Military System, and Law;
+Religion, Learning, and Art; Trades, Industries, and Commerce;
+Manners, Customs, and Domestic Life
+of the Ancient Irish People._
+
+A Complete Survey of the Social Life and Institutions of Ancient Ireland.
+All the important Statements are proved home by references to authorities
+and by quotations from ancient documents.
+
+PART I.--GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW.--Chapter I. Laying the
+Foundation--II. A Preliminary Bird's-eye View--III. Monarchical
+Government--IV. Warfare--V. Structure of Society--VI. The Brehon Laws--VII.
+The Laws relating to Land--VIII. The Administration of Justice.
+
+PART II.--RELIGION, LEARNING, AND ART.--Chapter IX. Paganism--X.
+Christianity--XI. Learning and Education--XII. Irish Language and
+Literature--XIII. Ecclesiastical and Religious Writings--XIV. Annals,
+Histories, and Genealogies--XV. Historical and Romantic Tales--XVI.
+Art--XVII. Music--XVIII. Medicine and Medical Doctors.
+
+PART III.--SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE.--Chapter XIX. The Family--XX. The
+House--XXI. Food, Fuel, and Light--XXII. Dress and Personal
+Adornment--XXIII. Agriculture and Pasturage--XXIV. Workers in Wood, Metal,
+and Stone--XXV. Corn Mills--XXVI. Trades and Industries connected with
+Clothing--XXVII. Measures, Weights, and Mediums of Exchange--XXVIII.
+Locomotion and Commerce--XXIX. Public Assemblies, Sports, and
+Pastimes--XXX. Various Social Customs and Observances--XXXI. Death and
+Burial. List of Authorities consulted and quoted or referred to throughout
+this Work. Index to the two volumes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Second Edition. One Vol., Cloth gilt. 598 pages, 213 Illustrations.
+Price 3s. 6d. net._
+
+A SMALLER SOCIAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT IRELAND.
+
+Traverses the same ground, Chapter by Chapter, as the larger work above;
+but most of the quotations and nearly all the references to authorities are
+omitted in this book.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Second Edition. Cloth gilt. 188 pages. Price 1s. 6d. net._
+
+THE STORY OF ANCIENT IRISH CIVILISATION.
+
+_Third Edition. Thick Crown 8vo. 565 pages. Price 10s. 6d._
+
+A SHORT HISTORY OF IRELAND
+
+FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1608.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Cloth gilt. 528 pages. Price 3s. 6d._
+
+_Published in December, 1897: now in its 80th Thousand._
+
+A CHILD'S HISTORY OF IRELAND,
+
+WITH
+
+_Specially drawn Map and 160 Illustrations_,
+
+Including a Facsimile in full colours of a beautiful Illuminated Page of
+the Book of Mac Durnan, A.D. 850.
+
+Besides having a very large circulation here at home, this book has been
+adopted by the Australian Catholic Hierarchy for all their Schools in
+Australia and New Zealand; and also by the Catholic School Board of New
+York for their Schools.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Cloth. 160 pages. Price 9d._
+
+OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF IRELAND
+
+FROM
+
+THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1905.
+
+_50th Thousand._
+
+"This little book is intended mainly for use in schools; and it is
+accordingly written in very simple language. But I have some hope that
+those of the general public who wish to know something of the subject, but
+who are not prepared to go into details, may also find it useful.... I have
+put it in the form of a consecutive narrative, avoiding statistics and
+scrappy disconnected statements."--_Preface._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Cloth. 312 pages. 16th Edition: 24th Thousand. Price 2s._
+
+A CONCISE HISTORY OF IRELAND
+
+FROM
+
+THE EARLIEST TIMES TO 1908.
+
+With Introductory Chapters on the Literature, Laws, Buildings, Music,
+Art, &c., of the Ancient Irish People.
+Suitable for Colleges and Schools.
+New and enlarged Edition, bringing Narrative down to 1908.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Seventh Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth gilt. Vol. I., Price 5s.; Vol. II.,
+5s._
+(_Sold together or separately._)
+
+THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF IRISH NAMES OF PLACES.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Price 1s._
+
+IRISH LOCAL NAMES EXPLAINED.
+
+In this little book the original Gaelic forms, and the meanings, of the
+names of five or six thousand different places are explained. The
+pronunciation of all the principal Irish words is given as they occur.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Third Edition (with one additional Tale). Cloth. Price 3s. 6d._
+
+OLD CELTIC ROMANCES.
+
+Thirteen of the most beautiful of the Ancient Irish Romantic Tales
+translated from the Gaelic.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Price 1s._
+
+A GRAMMAR OF THE IRISH LANGUAGE.
+
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+
+
+_Cloth. 220 pages. With many Illustrations. Price 1s. 6d._
+
+A READING BOOK IN IRISH HISTORY.
+
+This book contains forty-nine Short Readings, including "Customs and Modes
+of Life"; an Account of Religion and Learning; Sketches of the Lives of
+Saints Brigit and Columkille; several of the Old Irish Romantic Tales,
+including the "Sons of Usna," the "Children of Lir," and the "Voyage of
+Maeldune"; the history of "Cahal-More of the Wine-red Hand," and of Sir
+John de Courcy; an account of Ancient Irish Physicians, and of Irish Music,
+&c., &c.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Re-issue. 4to. Price--Cloth, 3s.; Wrapper, 1s. 6d._
+
+ANCIENT IRISH MUSIC,
+
+Containing One Hundred Airs never before published, and a number of Popular
+Songs.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Paper cover. 4to. Price 1s._
+
+IRISH MUSIC AND SONG.
+
+A Collection of Songs in the Irish language, set to the old Irish airs.
+
+(Edited by Dr. JOYCE for the "Society for the Preservation of the Irish
+Language.")
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Second Edition. Paper cover. Crown 8vo. Price 6d. net._
+
+IRISH PEASANT SONGS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
+
+With the old Irish airs: the words set to the Music.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Twentieth Edition. 86th Thousand. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Price 3s. 6d._
+
+A HAND-BOOK OF SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND METHODS OF TEACHING.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Price--Cloth gilt, 2s. net; Paper, 1s. net._
+
+BALLADS OF IRISH CHIVALRY
+
+By ROBERT DWYER JOYCE, M.D.
+
+Edited, with Annotations, by his brother, P. W. JOYCE, LL.D.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Now ready. Cloth, richly gilt. Price 10s. 6d. net._
+
+OLD IRISH FOLK MUSIC AND SONGS.
+
+A Collection of 842 Irish Airs and Songs never before published. With
+Analytical Preface and a running Commentary all through.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Now ready (March, 1910); 350 pages: Cloth gilt, 2s. 6d. net._
+
+ENGLISH AS WE SPEAK IT IN IRELAND.
+
+CONTENTS.--Chap. I. Sources of Anglo-Irish Dialect--II. Affirming,
+Assenting, and Saluting--III. Asserting by Negative of Opposite, IV. Idioms
+derived from the Irish Language--V. The Devil and his 'Territory'--VI.
+Swearing--VII. Grammar and Pronunciation--VIII. Proverbs--IX. Exaggeration
+and Redundancy--X. Comparisons--XI. The Memory of History and of Old
+Customs--XII. A Variety of Phrases--XIII. Vocabulary and
+Index.--Alphabetical List of Persons who sent Collections of Dialectical
+Words and Phrases.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+Notes
+
+[1] For both of these songs see my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs.'
+
+[2] See my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 202.
+
+[3] See the interesting remarks of O'Donovan in Preface to 'Battle of Magh
+Rath,' pp. ix-xv. Sir Samuel Ferguson also has some valuable observations
+on the close packing of the very old Irish language, but I cannot lay my
+hands on them. From him I quote (from memory) the remark about translating
+old Irish into English or Latin.
+
+[4] For the Penal Laws, see my 'Child's Hist. of Ireland,' chaps. lv, lvi.
+
+[5] For 'Poor Scholars,' see O'Curry, 'Man. & Cust.,' i. 79, 80: Dr. Healy,
+'Ireland's Anc. Sch.,' 475: and, for a modern instance, Carleton's story,
+'The Poor Scholar.' The above passage is quoted from my 'Social Hist. of
+Anc. Ireland.'
+
+[6] See my 'Smaller Social Hist. of Anc. Ireland,' chap, vii.
+
+[7] See for an example Dr. Hyde's 'Children of the King of Norway,' 153.
+(Irish Texts Soc.)
+
+[8] From my 'Old Irish Folk Music and Songs,' p. 56, in which also will be
+found the beautiful air of this.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH AS WE SPEAK IT IN IRELAND***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 34251-8.txt or 34251-8.zip *******
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