Lost in Translation ……

Cead Mile Failte !!! – Welcome – 

When we first moved to the US from Ireland, we thought that the fact that we spoke English was going to make “fitting in” a breeze.  Boy were we in for a treat.  Even though we speak the same language, a lot of our phrases and sayings literally get lost in translation.

Here’s a few of our favorites:

The Irish LOVE to have the “Craic” (pronounced crack)  so you can imagine how that one went down.  We would say, c’mon, lets have some “Craic” and then we would get some weird looks !!!  “The craic” is our famous expression for “Fun, or Sport”  so when Irish people say, “The craic is only brilliant”  what they actually mean is that “this is soooo much fun”!!!!!

Another common one is relating to a car.

You say “hood” we say “bonnet”You say “trunk” we say “boot”

You say potato we say “spud” (pronounced “shpud”)

How about being in the kitchen – these one’s were great fun.

You say “cabinet” we say “press”  “Get me the biscuits out of the press” means, can I have the cookies from the cabinet.

You say “stove” we say “cooker”

You say  “faucet” we say “tap”                

You say “trash can” we say “rubbish bin”

Simple household chores are categorized as:

Going for groceries would be “getting the messages”

And doing the laundry would mean “doing the washing”

And a “Grand day for drying” means that its dry and windy outside and the clothes hanging on the line will dry great !!!

You say “fanny sack” we say “bum bag”

Hahahaha can you imagine our confusion.

Bathroom etiquette: You go to “The John” and we go to “The Jacks”

Irish people say “sorry” instead of “excuse me” so we probably sound like we are apologizing for ourselves all the time when in fact, we’re

just being polite.

When it’s cold outside, you wear your “sweater” and we call it a “Jumper”
If someone is going to make you a cup of tea – they’ll “wet the tea”

You put gas in your car, we fill up with “petrol”

If you were to ask for a soda or a pop in Ireland you’d ask for a drink of “minerals”

Some of the differences are food related.  What you call “French Fries” we call “Chips” and what you call potato “chips” we call crisps!!!!

Another expression Irish people use a lot is “I will yea” which you might think means that I would definitely be doing something, when in fact,

“I will yea” means “I definitely won’t,”

 

So with that being said, we’ll be away now (we’re done) and we’ll leave you to ponder some of the fun expressions about Ireland.  Whenever you do visit the Oul’ Sod, be sure to remember these pointers so you won’t be looking like an eejit (idiot) there !!!!

All the best

 

Emer & Dervila