If Des MacHale had to nominate a favourite from the lexicon of insulting and inexplicable terms that comprise Cork slang, it would have to be \u201clanger\u201d.<\/p>\n
Depending on tone and context it can mean idiot, drunkenness or penis, a versatility that baffles outsiders and further enhances the word\u2019s value. \u201cLanger is an absolutely beautiful word. I\u2019m very fond of it,\u201d says MacHale.<\/p>\n
Hence its inclusion in the title of his new book, Langers & Lashes: A Compendium of Cork Slang<\/a>, which bills itself as the most comprehensive collection of the crude, playful, savage and ingenious wordplay that inflects speech in Ireland<\/a>\u2019s second city.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an extraordinarily rich area that most dictionaries avoid,\u201d MacHale says. \u201cIt\u2019s a very real phenomenon of language that hasn\u2019t been taken terribly seriously until now.\u201d<\/p>\n In a foreword, the publisher, Mercier, said it had added explanatory notes to highlight some terms\u2019 \u201chistorical context and outdated social views\u201d and that inclusion did not imply endorsement. \u201cBy retaining these terms as artefacts of the past, we aim to encourage contemporary Cork speakers to embrace the city\u2019s renowned wit while rejecting harmful stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n Sex, drink and religion are common motifs. A \u201cpremature ejaculator\u201d \u2013 a term attributed to the late Cork actor and comedian, Niall T\u00f3ib\u00edn \u2013 is a fellow who must go to the gents after drinking only three pints. \u201cImmaculate conception\u201d describes drinkers who dodge paying their round. \u201cLash\u201d is an attractive woman.<\/p>\n Cork \u2013 known in Ireland<\/a> as the rebel county and also the people\u2019s republic of Cork \u2013 uses local slang more than other parts of the island, says MacHale. \u201cCork slang is very different from Dublin slang, and from Belfast, and from Galway. It\u2019s much more extensive.\u201d<\/p>\n MacHale is an unlikely chronicler. The 80-year-old academic is from County Mayo and his background is not language but mathematics. \u201cI\u2019ve been here for about 55 years so I\u2019m still regarded as a blow-in.\u201d<\/p>\n The University College Cork emeritus professor has authored dozens of books on puzzles<\/a> and humour, including a book of Kerryman jokes that continues to sell 50 years after it was first published. \u201cA mathematician likes to collect, classify and put things together,\u201d MacHale explained.<\/p>\n Des MacHale\u2019s book of Cork slang was published in July. Photograph: Rory Carroll\/The Guardian<\/p>\n His Cork slang credentials are bolstered by having five Cork-born children, including the actor Dominic MacHale, who plays Sergeant Healy in the BBC sitcom Young Offenders<\/a>, which is about hapless delinquents.<\/p>\n For the compendium MacHale drew on two earlier books about Cork slang, which are no longer in print, and conversations with Cork residents. \u201cNearly everybody you meet has got a new word,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why but women seem to be a lot better at remembering the words and using them than men.\u201d<\/p>\n Under A, there is \u201call-a-bah\u201d, a warning you give when someone is about to vomit. A person who is \u201call Gillette\u201d is dolled-up.<\/p>\n Brussels sprouts are \u201cballs of the cabbage\u201d. To be ill is to feel \u201clike a small hospital\u201d or to be \u201cbarely above ground\u201d. A \u201cwooden suit\u201d is a coffin. \u201cBazz\u201d is female pubic hair, not to be confused with \u201cbazzer\u201d, a cheap, self-administered haircut, or \u201cbozzer\u201d, an attractive person.<\/p>\n To \u201cbe doggy wide\u201d is to be very careful. A \u201cbelly bachelor\u201d is an opportunist who cultivates friendships for free meals. To tell someone to get lost, you say: \u201cbite the back of me bollix\u201d.<\/p>\n To \u201clob the gob\u201d is to try to kiss someone. A \u201cmartyr for the quare thing\u201d is someone with a strong libido. To \u201cfertilise the stars\u201d is to urinate in a field and to \u201craise the froth\u201d is to urinate copiously.<\/p>\n A \u201cdullamoo\u201d \u2013 derived from ag dul am\u00fa, Irish for getting lost \u2013 is an unreliable person and a \u201cgedgemeen\u201d is a small, unhappy person. Not all the terms were necessarily coined in Cork<\/a> but are commonly heard there, said MacHale.<\/p>\n \u201cTosser\u201d \u2013 defined as a synonym for \u201clanger\u201d \u2013 made a controversial appearance in parliament this week. During a clash with the taoiseach, Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a>, the opposition leader, Mary Lou McDonald<\/a>, said: \u201cJesus, he really is a tosser,\u201d a remark that entered the official D\u00e1il record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Des MacHale had to nominate a favourite from the lexicon of insulting and inexplicable terms that comprise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-699622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}