The O'Byrne Files © Dublin Slang Dictionary

Phrase	Meaning
A little fart of a fella	Small person
A shave, a shampoo and a shite and I'm a new man	I need to freshen up to be ready
A soft day	Miserable fucking weather
Are ye headin'?	Are you leaving now?
Are ye lookin for a claim?	Do you want a fight?
Are you lookin at me or waitin on a bus	Do you want a fight?
As fat as a bishop	A fat person
As fit as a cello (an improvement on the fiddle)	Healthy, OK, well
As ignorant as a bag of arses	Un-cultured person
As sure as there's a hole in your arse	Confirming the truth behind your story
Ask me arse / bollix	Dont ask me that / You'll be waiting a long time for an answer
As scarce as hobby-horse manure	Quite scarce
As sick as a small hospital	Very ill
As small as a mouse's diddy (breast)	Small
As thick as horse-shite in a bottle	Very stupid
As useless as a chocolate teapot	Useless
Ask yer auld one	Universal comeback phrase, can be used as a response to nearly any insult, and is generally accepted as the winning statement.
Away in the head	Mad
Be-dah hokey	A pretend expression of surprise or can mean that the person hasn't a clue what you are talking about.
Be Jaysus	An expression of sheer surprise.
Big long drink of water!	Boring person
Bite the back of me bollix	Stop bothering me
Boxin' the fox	Robbing an orchard
Cheese on your chin	Your fly is open!
Dead fuckin' brill	Wonderful (from Nauset3TT@att.net)
Do you want your eye dyed?	Do you want a fight?
Do you want your snot broke?	Do you want a fight?
Do you want your teeth in a bag?	Do you want a fight?
Don't be actin' the maggot!	Stop doing that!, Don't make trouble
Eat the head off	Attack verbally
Fair play to you	Indicates approval of someone's actions or opinions
Fairly lively	With great haste "Run up to the bar and get me a pint fairly lively"
Fit to be tied	Mad, angry.
Gerup (get up) the yard:	Exclamation of disbelief
Get on like a house on fire	To get on real well with someone
Get outta that garden!!	Exclamation of disbelief
Give him a toe in the hole	Kick in the arse
Go away outta tha'	Dismissive response indicating disbelief (I don't believe you) or distain
Go on out of that (pron. "gwan outta dat")	Dismissive response indicating disbelief (I don't believe you) or distain
Goin' around like a constipated greyhound.	Down in the dumps, glum
Go home and tell your mother / father to get married.	An insult
Grand altogether	Same boring state of affairs
Havn't got a baldy	I've no chance
Havn't got a snowball's chance in hell	I've no chance
He arsed his way through the crowd	He pushed his way through the crowd
He was as black as a mourning coach	Badly bruised
He/She hadn't a flitter on him/her	No clothes
He has a face like the Earl of Hell's arse	Ugly person
He/She has an eye like a stinkin' eel	He/She watches everything
He / she ran like a hairyman	Run fast
He / she thinks he's the cat's pyjamas	Conceited person
He / she was fit to be tied	Angry, upset
He / she wouldn't give you the steam off his/ her piss	Mean person
He'd lick it off a scabby leg	He's fond of drink
He'd drink it out of a hooer's boot.	He's fond of drink
He / She'd live in your ear and grow potatoes in the other	He / She'd take advantage of you
He'd live in your ear and sublet your ear-drum	Mean person
He'd shite in your parlour and charge you for it	Mean person
He's a bit of a molly	He's an effeminate person
He's gone for his tea	Someone killed or after dying
He's like the barber's cat, full of wind and piss.	Someone all talk and no action
He's very handy with his feet.	He's a good dancer
He was movin like the clappers.	Moving very fast
I knew him when he hadn't an arse to his trousers.	I knew him when he was poor
He / She has a face like the back of a bus	Ugly person
He / She is very old, but she has all her facilities	An old person of sound mind
He / She'd eat you out of house and home	Someone with a big appetite
He / She's like a bag of cats	He / She's in very bad humour
Head the ball.	Used to call or point out a person. "hey head the ball come over here" or "There's head the ball over there"
How's the form?	How are you?
How's the talent?	Is there anyone good looking/ interesting about?
How's she cuttin'?	How are things? How are you? Catchphrase stemming from a distant time when Dubs knew about agricultural machinery
How's your hoop ?	How u doin ?
Fuck the bastards.	To hell with them!
Fuckin' right.	O.K.!
Fuk dat	An expression of mild displeasure
Get into som'wan	Try to get with someone of the opposite sex
Get outta that garden!! :	Exclamation of disbelief
Go an' ask the butt end o' me bollix!	An impolite refusal
Go home and tell your mother to get married	A derogatory comment on the status the recipient of this comment
Going for a McShit:	Entering a fast food restaurant with no intention of buying food, you're just going to the bog. If challenged by a pimply staff member, your declaration to them that you'll buy their food afterwards is a McShit With Lies.
Gone for his/her tea	Usually used to indicated if someone is in trouble or about to be hurt or killed
Gwan outta dat (Go on out of that)	I don't believe you (from toini@webfactory.ie)
Ile give ya me gaff numba buh if ya buzz me Im gonna buwrst ya!	I will provide you with my home telephone number but if you use it, I will beat you up. (from ruaidhrimack@hotmail.com)
Janey Mack (Mac)	Used to express surprise, "Janey mack I didn't know that". Could be a polite way of saying "Jesus Christ"
Jaysus, I'm grand.	I am fine.
Jaysus, looks like he had a fire on his face that someone put out with a pair of golf shoes	He's got really bad acne (from kol26@talk21.com)
Knacker drinking	Drinking alcohol in a field
I'm feckin knackered	I'm really exhausted
I could eat a baby's arse thru the bars of a cot	I'm very hungry
If you went any slower you'd catch up with yourself on the way back	A complaint about someone who is slow
I knew him when he hadn't a pot to piss in	I knew him before he had anything (wealth)
I'll give you a leather medal!	That was a really stupid thing to say or do. That was a totally useless suggestion. You did your best but it was still hopeless!
I'm only here on a flying visit	I've come for a brief visit
I nearly had a canary	I had a fright
I will in me hat	No, I won't
I will in me arse	I won't do it
I wouldn't bother me arse about that	That's not worth considering
If bull-shit was music, that fellow'd be a brass band.	A good story teller, usually about oneself
If he had half a brain he would be a COMPLETE idiot	An idiot - complete is used in the sense of emphasis.
If the wind blows you'll be left that way	Said to someone with a strange expression on their face
If you want to get along in Dublin, you've got to wet a few throats	Buy the odd drink to get the work done
It gave me the hump	I found it boring
It was the rale (real) Ally Daly	It was the genuine article
It was like throwin' apples into an orchard	It was a stupid thing to do
I've a mouth on me	I'm hungry
I've a throat on me	I'm thirsty
Knock someone up	Pay a visit to someone's house
Like a blue-arsed fly	Running around, hectically busy
Look at the hole on yer one.	That young lady has got a rather nice posterior.
May you die roarin' like Doran's ass!	A curse
Me stomach/belly thought me throat was cut	I was hungry
Miserable article	Miserable person
Missed by a gee hair	Just missed; can be used to describe a near accident
Mutton dressed up as lamb	An aul wan trying to look like a young want.
Off the drink	Not drinking for a while; means you're not drinking for a while. Typically lasts as long as the hangover!
Off your nut	Crazy - 'That fella's off his nut'
One wit more and he'd be a half-wit	Reference to poor intelligence
On the hop	Playing truant from school
On the never never	Hire purchase
On the piss	A prolonged drinking session
Out o' me chunkeh	Drunk, or possibly stoned.
Pucking your ring	Being very sick
Pull your socks up	Get to work/get busy
Pulling me plumb	Doing absolutely nothing
Pullin' me wire	Having a wank
Run your lamps over	Look at, check out
Scalped with an Ash Plant	Hit with a hurling stick
She nearly had a canary	She had a fright
She's no oil-painting	She's not pretty
Shite or get off the pot	Make your mind up!
Six o' one, half a dozen o' the other	Exactly the same
Smell of benji	Rotten smell; also at the back of the 41B bus
Snotty nosed little shite	Stuck up, posh
Soft aul day, it's a	Usually said by old people when referring to a typically Irish day, i.e. a soft rain falling
Sparrow fart	Someone or something small
Specky four eyes	Anyone who wears glasses
Stop the lights!	Really?!
Suckin' diesel	Having a good time
'sufferin ducks!	expression of amazement
Sure even Des Kelly wouldn't lay her, sure the bleedin tide wouldn't take her out.	A way of referring to an unattractive female
That bockedy-arsed oul' bitch!	An insult
That fella is as wide as a gate	A cute person
That fella'd skin a fart	That person will do anything for money
That fella's a right cur	That person is a clever individual
That fellow'll be late for his own' funeral	A slow person
That fella' would steal the cross off an ass' back	Thief
That one is so mean she puts the butter on the bread with a feather and takes it off again with a razor	A mean person
That's an awful mornin'; it looks as if it has been up all night	Bad weather
That's what she said on her wedding night	A term used when someone wants to turn an innocuous comment into a vulgar one. Example; Joe " I've one here for you " Pat " That's what she said on her wedding night".
That snotty nosed little shite	An insult
The fag on the crag	A statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square, Dublin
The floosie in the jacoosie	A statue of Anna Livia on O'Connell Street, Dublin
The hags with the bags	A statue of two women with shopping bags on Liffey Street, Dublin
The head on him and the price of turnips	Who does think he is
The tart with the cart	A statue of Molly Malone on Lower Grafton Street, Dublin
There's no use in bein' iggerant (ignorant) unless you can show it.	A statement about obvious stupidity
There's only one head bigger than Joe's and that's Bray Head. (A hill outside Dublin)	A statement about obvious conceitedness
They're like arse-holes, sure everybody has them	Reference to something in plentiful supply
Thick as a brick	Stupid
Thick as a plank	Stupid
Throwing shapes	Showing off / acting tough
To wet a few throats	To buy a few drinks
Twistin' hay	Starting trouble (usually in a playful way)
Up in the gods	Being high up above the action
Up on a post-box	An erection
Watch yer house	Be careful!
Wet the tea	Make a pot or cup of tea
What am I like	I've been a bit silly
What are ye at?	What are you doing?
What's the crack?	How are you? / have you any news?
Whats de story?	Whats up?
What's bred in the marrow comes out in the bone:	If parents are bad people then their children will turn out to be bad people
Where would yeh be goin' an' no bell on your bike	Phrase used to seek explanation for action
Will ye give it over! (said with an emphasis on over)	Will you ever stop fooling around
Ya bleedin' mule	U (you) fool
Ya bollixya	Phrase used to indicate someone is a bollix
Ya legend	Compliment on a job well done.
Ye comin' for a pint?	Will you be in attendance at the public house this evening to partake in the consumption of alcoholic beverages?
Yer wan w'll be late for his/her own' funeral	Tardy, Slow
Yer man would be a good messenger to send for Death	Tardy, Slow
Yoke-eh-me-bob	A name that can be given to any object
You have no call to that	You have no right to that
You're gas craic ,your mother must have been a cylinder!" :	Gas means funny, Crack (Craic) means fun
Your eyes are bigger than your belly	Reference to greed

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