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Blastanas Turcaí (Blag Deireanach faoi Thurcaithe, ar feadh tamaill!) Posted by róislín on Nov 26, 2009
(le Róislín) You might recognize “blastanas” from two similar, more widely-used words, “blas” and “blasta.” “Blas” is “taste” if talking about food and “accent” if talking about language. “Blas” is also found in Irish English, particularly when discussing the Irish language, “great ‘blas,’” etc. “Blasta” means “tasty,” “delicious,” or sometimes “fluent” (though “líofa” is a more…
Séasúr na dTurcaithe (Turkey Season) Posted by róislín on Nov 24, 2009
(le Róislín) An Mháirt, agus dhá lá go Lá an Altaithe. Séasúr na dTurcaithe sna Stáit. Turcaithe sna fógraí ar an teilifís. Pardún uachtaráin do thurcaí ámharach amháin ar an nuacht. Duine i gculaith thurcaí ag bualadh a sciathán taobh thiar de thuairisceoir na haimsire ar maidin. B’fhéidir duine eile i gculaith thurcaí ina sheasamh taobh…
Bia Lá an Altaithe: Mónóga, Puimcíní, Turcaithe, srl. Posted by róislín on Nov 24, 2009
(le Róislín) Ar na Ceanadaigh is na Meiriceánaigh is mó atá an cheist seo. Easaoránaigh, freisin, agus, bhuel, duine ar bith eile a bhfuil suim aige nó aici ann! Cad iad na cineálacha bia Lá an Altaithe is fearr leat? These will mostly pertain to the Canadians and Americans. Expats, also, and, well, anyone…
Comhaireamh Síos go Lá (an) Altaithe Posted by róislín on Nov 18, 2009
(le Róislín) For years, I wondered what the best way would be to say “Thanksgiving Day” or “Happy Thanksgiving!” i nGaeilge. Since it’s not a traditional holiday in Ireland, or Europe in general for that matter, there is no real precedent for this particular phrase. I’ve experimented with several versions, and since the advent of…
Ag Meaitseáil na bhFocal leis na Seanfhocail Posted by róislín on Nov 13, 2009
Hopefully this will prove an entertaining but useful review of the seanfhocail we just learned. Below we’ll have a few more proverbs to fill in that will be new for this blog (old, of course, mar eolas traidisiúnta). The choices are given first in a word bank, since columns may not work out in the…
Seanfhocail Fhrithráiteacha: An Béal Binn vs. An Roth Díoscánach, and What’s So Bad about Moss Anyway? Posted by róislín on Nov 10, 2009
We recently looked at the proverb “Is binn béal ina thost” (It’s sweet, a mouth in its silence). As hinted at last time, there is also a proverb expressing the opposite sentiment, that is, the advantages of being a squeaky wheel, “Faigheann an roth díoscánach an ola.” So that starts us off with a breakdown…
“Fuist,” “Whisht,” “Éist,” and “Is Binn Béal ina Thost” Posted by róislín on Nov 6, 2009
As you may have figured out, based on the one English spelling above, these are all ways to either firmly request or circuitously insinuate that someone should be silent. We see yet another variation, “whist,” in our Gaelic resource de la semaine, Mary Pat Kelly’s Galway Bay. In one spelling or another, the word shows…