Bit of an unusual request...

[Piedmon_Sama]

Hi all. The purpose of this thread is a request for the worldlier posters of this forum who might know something about slangwords and phrases particular to Ireland.

One of my all-time favorite characters to play ever (and one I still look forward to playing again) was a fighter/rogue/assassin named Finn Connors. I wanted him to be "very" Irish, but as an American I've had very little exposure to their culture (despite a tall stack of Garth Ennis comics currently gathering dust in my room.) Funnily enough, Finn's one of a very few distinctly European characters I've played in D&D. (Most of mine tend to have a feel borrowed from medieval Africa/Arabia/Persia and its mythology.)

So to help me get into character that much better I'd appreciate anyone so knowledgable as to supply some vernacular unique (or at least common) to Ireland. It can be modern or antiquated, but please note which. I don't mind if Finn's dialect is a little antiquated so long as he sounds like he belongs to a particular era and not like some kind of phrase-borrowing time-traveler. Thanks in advance.

[Jimp]

I'm Irish. Ask me what you want to know and I'll inform you to the best of my ability. Do it though PM or here, whichever works best for you.

[Piedmon_Sama]

K00, thanks. Some phrases that would no doubt come into frequent use when playing Finn would revolve around....

-Slang for substance abuse. Like here in the states we use 'crunk' to mean 'drunk and high at the same time' (I have no idea if this has spread outwards).
-One or more general insults. Varying degrees of nastiness could apply.
-A general exclamation (along the lines of "Great Ceasar's Ghost!" or "Jumpin' Jehosaphat!")
-A slang term to kill someone. e.g, "I'll whack the guy tonight," or "I'll put him on ice for you if the money's good."

Thanks for any info!

[goat]

Swear at everything that moves.

[Deus Mortus]

Swear at everything that moves.

That is so true, when I first visited Ireland I felt like I was finally home!

[Jimp]

Slang for substance abuse:
"out of it" - completely inebriated
"bombed/bombed out of it" - completely inebriated
"pissed" - pretty damn inebriated
That's just a tiny amount. There are plenty of regional favourites too that I can't account for.
Swearing goes pretty much as usual.
Exclamations usually involve the name of your deity or that deities various saints. In a D&D context, whoever you worship would be a good guideline.
Phrases for hurting someone vary a lot from region to region. One town might say "I'll bust him" while another might say "I'll teach him one". Really, it's hard to go wrong since it tends to be different in every county. A general formula you could use would be "Ill (something) him (optional something)".
Something I've noticed is that the Irish treasure common sense and common decency. Calling someone a "Fool" or an "Eejit" would be an insult. Calling someone "Cute out" (very clever) would be a compliment, but can also be meant as a descriptive for someone very keniving (sp?) or slightly underhanded. It depends on the tone of voice used. Calling somone "Sound out" would describe them as being fair or generally friendly and helpful. "Tool" would be an insult, though I'm pretty sure that it's used in America too. If someone misses out on something that they really deserved or is being mistreated/taken advantage of the phrase "the/you poor fella" shows your empathy with them.
Generally adding "out" after an adjective describing a person indicates that they're alway like that or like that 'throughout'.
That's all I can think of off hand. Regional dialects count towards an awful lot of slang and phraseology used however. I can only account for what I have heard recently. You should probably ask your DM about local phrases you can use.
Ask more and I might be able to think of some more.

EDIT: "lousy" (l-ow-zee) can also be used to emphasise how unfair someone is acting or being treated.

[Jimp]

Swear at everything that moves.

You're not far wrong in all honesty. I swear like a sailor :smallbiggrin:

[kamikasei]

Something I've noticed is that the Irish treasure common sense and common decency. Calling someone a "Fool" or an "Eejit" would be an insult. Calling someone "Cute out" (very clever) would be a compliment, but can also be meant as a descriptive for someone very keniving (sp?) or slightly underhanded.

Very true. Calling someone a "cute whore" or, for some reason, "cute hoor" is much the same. Oh, and I think the word you're looking for is "conniving".


Calling somone "Sound out" would describe them as being fair or generally friendly and helpful.

I can't believe I forgot that one myself - more generally, calling someone "sound" is meant in the sense of "a sound structure", to mean the person is reliable, dependable, of good character etc.

Oh, and you can use "quaer" (if that's the accepted spelling) - like the word "queer" pronounced to rhyme with "hair" - to mean "very", "unusually" or "conspicuously", eg, "He's quaer sound" : "He's a really solid, nice guy".

[Jimp]

Also remember that if playing a Chaotic character, a general disrespect or lack of faith in the law has been bred into the Irish people for centuries. It might be a good hook to use. Just remember that it doesn't apply to everyone :P

[Quietus]

Not sure what makes this an unusual request - I'm sure that I'm not the only person who's A) pleased to see that someone is working a bit of realism into their character, and B) has taken advantage of the responses to enhance their own knowledge.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Also remember that if playing a Chaotic character, a general disrespect or lack of faith in the law has been bred into the Irish people for centuries.
I'm suddenly reminded of the article on Catchphrases from Dragon #294. They had a small selection of "Impious" catchphrases related to the Deities from the PHB. Not Irish, but could be useful...
Spit of Moradin!
Garl it!
Pelor's braids!
Larethian's tears!
May Kord's brains guide our foes.
Cuthbert's teeth!
By the rattlng teeth of Wee Jas!
As obvious as Cuthbert's tread.
As tight as Boccob's purse.
Burning groves! (blasphemes Obad-Hai)
By the whining pleas of Olidammara!
Hextor's dung!
Maggots of Nerull!
Vecna's other hand! (this one paired against the Pious "Vecna's hand!")
Tongue of Erythnul!
May your foes be drunk on Gruumsh-wisdom.
No, I don't know why St. Cuthbert gets two sayings and Ehlonna gets none.

[goat]

Pick your religion and method of worship. Pick fights with anyone who worships the same god in a different way.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Thanks all for the advice. I think I've got enough to give my assassin another go and have a good time of it. With any luck I'll be able to perfect my brogue (well, a LOT of luck) and either get some RPing XP for talking in-character all night or.... just annoy everyone talking in-character all night. Thanks again!

[Jimp]

Pick your religion and method of worship. Pick fights with anyone who worships the same god in a different way.

Advice: don't go there :smalleek: There's A LOT of intertwining politics and social history behind it all. A lot as in centuries.

[Thomas]

Not to mention there's some rules about real-world politics and religion on these boards...

[Piedmon_Sama]

Besides, my character doesn't need anything like a "pretext" to kill someone. Motivators will vary from "looks like fun" to "free steak? Sure I'll kill him for you!"

[Josh Inno]

Well if you're going mideval feel... hope I'm not being misinformed by movies and TV again here... but you could call any sweet young woman a "lass" instead of a girl I suppose.

[Thomas]

"Lass" is still fairly modern, as far as I've noticed. (Though it's derived right from Middle English.)


Anyway, why play an "Irish" character? Play an Irish Celtic character. Much more appropriate for a fantasy game. Just read some good old stories - Ulster Cycle and so on.

[Piedmon_Sama]

The setting I have in mind for him is closer to the later medieval/early renaissance period, with large cities beginning to grow, and more organized kingdoms starting to form.

Plus playing a foul-mouthed punque from the big city in the middle of a bunch of guys who still say "thee" and "thou" like they mean it will be great fun. =p

[Thomas]

You mean they only talk in singulars...?

[Piedmon_Sama]

Yes, and only address people one at a time. Don't like it? Tough, wait your turn!

[Jack Mann]

Just remember, thee and thou are used when talking to someone familiar, or of a lower station. Only use it on someone you don't know when you're trying to be insulting.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Heh. We don't actually go in for Shakespearian english at my table. None of us could do it for long without cracking up, I'm sure, so we just go with 20th Century dialects. I mean, the D&D world resembles ours more than the Middle Ages so much more anyway. An attempt by us would probably go like...

Doest thou bight thine tumb at me, sir?

Nay, but I... bite my thumb... sir. >>

DOEST THOU FINDETH IT GOOD OF TASTE, MAGGOT?

Yes... yes, sir. ;_;

[Shhalahr Windrider]

Good thing I wasn't drinking anything.

I actually performed in that scene. Though it was my buddy—the other Capulet servant—that did all the thumb biting. I just egged him on. :smallbiggrin:

[Quietus]

One of the best scenes in all of R&J, by far.