Cavanese: English as spoken in Cavan.

While researching "Kinlough vocabulary" I found this:

"Cavanese: English as spoken in Cavan.

Aftergrass /' :f rgr :s/ n. The crop of grass which grew up after the main crop had been cut. In Cavan and Leitrim it has been extended to the colour of the grass, usually a rather pale and naemic greeny-yellow, or to the colour of the dung left by cows after eating it

Amadan /' m d n./ n. A fool, from Irish amad n.

Arcan, n. The last piglet of a litter.

Ashypet n. A sickly, delicate person who sat close to the fireside..

Bardog (also pardog) /bar'dog/ n. A basket, usually of wickerwork, used for spreading dung on potato ridges. From the Irish.

Basin. /'be:s n/ A style of haircut that suggested a basin had been put on the person's head and the hair cut around. For a long time the most popular "cut" in Co. Cavan, especially for children.

Blitridge or Bletridge n. A mass noun, indicating a large number of people or animals, especially birds. This may be related to Irish bleacht.

Bohillans. /'boh l n/ a. Ragwort, from the Irish buachallain bu .

Brabs /br bs/ n. Lumps of used or disagreeable material. 'Brabs o' skitter'. Probably from the Irish brablach refuse.

Breechin'. The reins etc. put on a horse.

Brusey /'bru;zi/ n. A dish of cooked potatoes mashed by bruising. It was a dish given to convalescents.

Bruss. A mess, as in the phrase 'to make bruss of it'.

Brussnagh. n. Brushwood and sticks for firing.

Buck Nun. n. Similar to a votcheen (see below). A very devout woman, who has missed her vocation in life.

Buddley./'b dli/ (vulgar). n, The clitoris or the un-erect penis..

ullman. n. Someone who is involved in the artificial insemination of cattle.

By-Child. n. A child born outside of wedlock.

Caboose a shimozzle, To. v. To make a mess out of something.

Cant. n. A stall or booth selling second-hand or irregularly acquired articles, especially clothes. The name was also given to a jargon or 'secret language' used by stall-holders at markets. From the Old French encant.

Carn. Local pronunciation of SE ‘carrion’, e.g. 'There’s a smell of carn in here.'

Carffufle or Curfuffle: n. A minor disorder, e.g. 'I got into a bit of a curfuffle on me way home from the match'. From the Scots carfuffle.

Calving (vulgar). Somebody having a difficult delivery on the toilet, accompanied by sounds indicative of discomfort. Also used to refer to human childbirth.

Caw n. An unpleasant expression, a frown, though not necessarily transient.e.g. "She's got a horrid caw on her this mornin' "

Cessman. A rate-collector. Probably from Elizabethan English.

Clat, Clatty.n. & a. Mess or dirty and messy. The domestic staff of St Patrick's College, Cavan were long called by students 'The Clatties". May also be applied to the weather; e.g. 'That's a clatty night'. Macafee vs states that the word comes from Scots and dialectal English, ultimately from the same root as clot. He surmises that it may originate from the Middle Dutch clatte, a splotch and the related verb clatten to daub.

Cleggs. n. Horseflies. From Scots and North English usage.

Clift. n. A stupid person, of below-average intelligence, a village idiot. Macafee vs considers that this term, widespread in Ulster, comes from the Northern English cleft.

Clocker. n. A broody hen, maybe sitting on her eggs. From Old English clucian.

Clownie. n. A relative, especially a distant one or one by marriage. From Gaelic cleamhna .

Cobeen. n. A hat, no doubt from the Irish diminutive caipin little cap.

Cogg-dye, On a cogg-dye. A version of coggle. On an unsteady balance, e.g. 'The tile that fell off the roof was on a bit of a cogg-dye'.

Collogues, To be in. v. Talking to one side, apart from the rest of the group. Macafee points to the use of collogues in Scottish and Lancashire dialects. He surmises that it may come from the French en colloques.

Crabbit. Cantankerous and argumentative. Standard English ‘crabbed’, modified through pronunciation.

Creepin’ Jesus. Someone who moves stealthily and silently around a house.

Croil. A version of crowl. A dwarf or under-sized animal. Sometimes extended to humans. Macafee believes that croil originates, via Scots, from the Middle Dutch adjective kriel dwarfish.

Croochan. A humpy, uneven piece of land. From Irish cruachan a mound.

Cuggerin’. Whispering, maybe conspiratorially. From the Irish cogar a whisper..

Curlies n. Kale or borecole. A reflection of the vegetable’s curled leaves.

Cuttin, How's she cuttin'?. A rather dated form of greeting.

Diddies (vulgar). Female breasts. e.g. 'She had a pair o' diddies on her as white as snow'.

Divil a hate. Nothing at all. From the early modern English The Devil ha’ it.

Doddy a. Adjective used to describe undercooked buns and scones. e.g. 'Light Refreshments!? Could tae an' a couple of oul' doddy buns!'. Maybe related to a high content of dough.

Dose n. An annoying person. Standard English, meaning expanded. Australian slang meaning unknown in these parts.

Drany. /’dra:ni As in a drany voice, i.e. in a monotonous tone. Probably onomatopoeic or possibly related to the English dialect verb drant to speak slowly.

Drawky. a. Damp, cold and miserable; a weather description as in 'a drawky day'. The adjective, according to Macafee, comes from Scots, though it ultimately comes from the Norse drakja.

Dreel. Used in the expression Comin’ in dreels. - Coming in substantial numbers.

Dreep, Doin' a dreep. Urinating. Scots version of SE drip.

Droosle. Any cold, non-alcoholic liquid. Can also be used as a present participle adjective as drooslin’, implying a slurping manner of drinking tea or soup.

Drooky a. Applied to a person, especially a young girl, of low spirits.

Dunkle, n. A dung-heap. A pronunciation of dunghill in which the 'gh' is pronounced as /k/.

Dunky. Cavan pronunciation of SE donkey.

Eegit (/'i:git). Cavan version of ‘eedjit’.

Eggbag out, Putting your eggbag out or burstin' your eggbag.. Making a great effort to achieve a result. Probably related to hens. Also used in Cos. Leitrim and Longford.

Faffelin’. Footering.

Fairy Feet. The stealthy movements of a Creepin' Jesus vs.

Feed o’ drink. A binge.

Fer-gorta. Hunger, from the Irish fear gortach or hungry grass.

Fierce /’fi:yers/. An intensifying adverb.

Flittin’. The process of moving from one abode to another, and the attendant removal of furniture, articles of clothing etc.From Scots, though ultimately from the Old Norse flytja cf Modern Swedish flytta to move..

Footless. a. Drunk

Gahilla. n. A young teenaged girl.

Galloot.n. An awkward, stupid person. Probably from archaic English.

Ganderin'. Loitering or acting irresolutely.

Gandyfaced. Jaundiced.

Gaum. A stupid person: from northern English.

Gimp. A foolish, badly-behaved youth.Maybe the same as the Scots gamph.

Girnin’. Laughing senselessly, especially by children or young teenagers. From a northern English dialect.

Gistard or Gistara. Used in the phrase a dry gistard, a mean person, the type who would not ask you ‘had ya a mouth on ya.’ or someone lacking a sense of humour. Maybe from Irish giostaire.

Glaw. Mud. A version of Glaur. Origins may be in the Irish glar, or the English dialect glaur.

Glommin'. Fooling around.

Gommaluther. The same as gaum.

Greesheen. A delicate person with a hyperchondriacal concern for their health and comfort. In the Bawnboy area such a person is visualised sitting close by the fire with their feet in the ashes. From the Irish grios embers.

Gub n. Mouth or sometimes face e,g, 'What've ya got yan gub on ya for?"

Guggerin’. Planting potatoes. The implement known elsewhere as a steeveen was termed a guggering stick. From the Irish gogaireacht.

Hairy Ned. A rough rope, originally of hay or straw, but increasingly used for any binding material. It was said that some males, lacking belts, held their trousers up with 'a lump o' hairy ned'.

Hallion. n. An uncouth individual. Also found in Fermanagh as hellion. According to Macafee it comes from Scots.

Hames. A mess; e.g. 'He's made a right hames of that job'. According to Macafee vs, the hames were 'the two curved pieces resting on the collar of a horse to which the traces were attached'. From the Scots hems.

Hapes n. Cavan pronunciation of SE heaps (of potatoes etc.) Used especially in the idiom for describing cold weather: 'It's cowld for hapes.'

Hasky a. Cold. As in 'a hasky day.'

Haverill. n. An uncouth person. Dolan vs is of the opinion that this is related to the obsolete English dialect verb haver – to talk senselessly, though Macaffee states that it is from Scots.

Headcase or Header. Eccentric or odd person.

Hen. An abusive description of a house-husband, who may be left looking after children while their mother is out or away.

Highogious. Outrageous, v. Ogious.

Hoghelin'. A version of houghelin'. Twisting or making a mess of something. From Scots hough. Also Houghelin' about. Stumbling.

Howaya. Common form of greeting; the local contracted form of ‘How are you?’. It does not anticipate a response.

Idleset.. Habitual laziness. Also a state of mind e.g. 'There's nothin' wrong with yan fella only pure bloody idleset'.

Jandies. The jaundice.

Jorum. As used in Cavan it refers to a quantity of alcohol brought as a present or gift. 'Ya won't be welcome there if ya don't bring a jorum with ya'.

Ketch, ketchyin’. Loitering e.g. 'Yan fella’s always ketchyin’ around after free drink'. Also a man who stays about the house. cf Hen.

Kilt -‘killed’. As in ‘'kilt with the hunger’ (very hungry) or ‘kilt with the cowlt’ (very cold).

Kippeens. Sticks for burning; from the Irish cip n.little sticks.

Leathering. A beating or thrashing administered with a leather belt, or sally rod; sometimes any physical admonition of a child, such as a sharp slap.

Lick-me-lug. A sycophant or lickspittle.

Lie up. v. Spend too long in bed, maybe as a malingerer.

Lorryin’ (pronounced lurryin’). Giving someone a lift in a vehicle (including a car), though indicating that this is done under a certain amount of duress and that the recipient of the favour is abusing the generosity of the driver. Also used generally in ‘loryying around’ or 'lorrying about' .

Loy. The large heavy spade / hand plough used in west Cavan and Leitrim. From the Irish l i. Because many loys were over a metre and a half in length and were often as long as their users were tall there was the idiom suckin' the loy. This had nothing to do with fellatio but referred to men standing against the loy with the tip of the handle coming up to their mouth. A friend from County Sligo told me of a variant adjective from the county: breast-feedinig, applied to local authority road builders who frequently spend extended periods lying against their horizontal spades.

Lug. Ear

Luggin’. Dragging a heavy load, such as a large suitcase.

Luggy. A term used when addressing a stupid person, or abusively, say to a Gaelic footballer who has missed an easy opportunity to score (on the pitch). Macafee mentions a children’s game of the name, played by pulling the ears.

Lunder. An unassociated and unsorted mixture of different items.

Mar dhea. An expression implying that what preceded is not to be taken at face value and may even be disbelieved. It is often used when quoting the statements of others.

Meas /'m :s/ n. Value or importance, e.g. 'He puts no meas on it at all'. From Irish.

Merns. Border or lie alongside e.g. 'His land merns on mine'. From Northern English mearing. (I am indebted to my good friend Keith Good, originally of Miltown Co. Cavan, now of California, for bringing this usage to my attention.)

Monther. Incoherent in speech. e.g. 'When he arrived home from the pub he was talkin' monther.' > Irish mantach

Mossy Bottom. A cut-away bog in the Glangevlin area.

Mowlogs. A fool or idiot..

Nuckeen. A two-faced person..

Ogious. Really a version of SE odious. An intensifier, as in ' Ya can tell by lookin' at yan fella that he's an ogious eegit'.

Oulfashoned. Cheeky.

Pierty. Used to describe people with a long, thin face.

Pissmires. Ants. From piss with the addition of the Old English mire 'ants'.

Plamawser. n A flatterer, from Irish plam s.

Playin’ in the fife-and-drum (vulgar). Pregnant.

Poochin'. Searching for something.

Pot-child. A child born with some form of disability, who was concealed in and brought up (at least initially) in a large pot.

Pruheen and pruhoge, A cabin or small house. From the Irish pruchach a hovel.

Pruhin'. Coughing.

Residenter. n. A person, usually advanced in years, who had been resident in an area for a long time.The word's meaning has been extended to old cars that continue in use well after it is safe to put them on the road; e.g. 'Isn't it a wonder he wouldn't buy a new car instead o' goin' ev'rywhere in yan oul' residenter'. A popular model for this was the Volkswagon Beetle, some of which remained on the roads for over three decades, until finding their Dammerung as hen houses.

Riby. a. Stringy, especially with regard to plants and vegetation; e.g. "Them flowers I put in earlier in the year got horrid riby in the summer." Macafee considers that the word originates from the south-west Scots adjective ribe, used to describe either a stringy cabbage plant or a long-legged thin person.

Scalded Day. Weather in winter, late autumn or early spring characterised by extensive cloud cover and maybe sharp wind, but which is otherwise dry.

Scaldie. n. A nestling. From Old Norse skalle bald.

Scran. mn. A crowd, most usually associated with children, and implying a largish family. e.g. 'They have a scran o’ childer by now'.

Scutty. a. Short, as in scutty hair i.e. hair cut very short.

Sheugh. a. A drainage ditch. Derived from Old Dutch via Scots.

Sick o’ the foalin’ (vulgar). A woman in labour pains who is probably shoutin’ out. i.e. in labour..

Sickner. n. A disagreeable sort of person.


Skite. n. A slap or other physical remonstrance meted out to a disobedient or badly-behaved child. Also used in ‘a skite of water’ – a short burst of water.

Skitter (vulgar). Either a bout of diarrhoea e.g. ‘to have the skitter’ or the product thereof. Probably a version of the English squitter. Also a child, especially one badly behaved. I have heard it used in the curse 'I hope he gets the skitter for three days’ – surely a stunning survival of Celtic triplism! Obviously of Norse origin.

Slopin'. Loitering, as in the phrase slopin' about. Readers may be reminded of Trollope's Mr Slope in Barchester Towers!

Slutherin'. Sliding, usually with the feet. I have heard it used to describe an old man "slutherin' along in an an oul' pair o' shoes". It is obviously related to the version of slither found in some English dialects mentioned by Dolan vs.

Snipy. a. Crooked or hooked, as in a snipy nose.

Stickin’. pres. part. Collecting branches, brushwood and kipeens for fuel.

Stocious. a. Drunk.

Striddlies. n. Sticklebacks.

Sugarhouse n. A small lean-to shed or other hut housing an outside toilet.

Sugeen. A pointed hat..

Tatter, On the tatter. id. A high-octane drinking session. The same as On the tear or the Australian On the tiles.

Thon or tone. A fright.

Thunderin'. An intensifying adjective, especially used in Cavan in the phrase "a thunderin' eegit' signifying a simpleton who, not content to hide his imbecility under a shroud, indulges in ostentatious and idiotic acts drawing attention and ridicule to himself. e.g. "Yan fella in the museum's a horrid thunderin' eegit". cf Clift.

Tiggeen. n. A cabin, especially one occupied by a settled family of the Travelling community. From Gaelic tig n, 'a small house'.

To it an' at it. Involved in an altercation.

Totherly a Slovenly and untidily. The perennial, ever-green form in which the women of Cavan wear their clothes. Skirt hems may go up or down, or pleats multiply, but the garments will always appear as if the wearer grabbed them at random from a cupboard and donned them in a hurry. Macafee states that this is the same as tattery or tatterly, coming from the Scots tat or taut, and ultimately either from the Old Norse tattur or Old English taettrec.

Trake.n. A minor illness, usually though not exclusively related to a virus or food poisoning e.g.' It looks like yav picked up some oul’ trake somewhere'. It can also imply a contagious infection e.g. 'There’s an awful trake goin’ round'. In Co. Leitrim it refers to non-human, especially poultry ailments e.g. 'The hens have the trake; they're not layin' '. From Scots. Macafee vs traces the word back to Dutch and Norwegian dialects.

Tundish.n. A glutton. Also in the idiom ‘to drink like a tundish’ – to drink a lot. According to Macafee vs. it is a small cylinder attached to barrels, especially those containing beer.

Vext..a. Annoyed. Local pronunciation of SE ‘vexed’.

Votcheen. n. A pious woman, used rather disrespectfully. The term as used in Cavan has no notion of a fanatic, though there may be an attribution of hypocrisy.

Weels. n. Fairly deep scratches on the skin.

Weftin'. Moving quickly and forcefully by foot though not running, cf bleechin.

Yan. a. Demonstrative adjective ‘that’. Obviously related to German jener."

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