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Ar Dhroim (Ar Muin) na Muice: Not Quite The Same as “High on the Hog” Posted by róislín on May 5, 2012
(le Róislín) You might remember a passing reference in the last blog to “dromanna muc” (backs of pigs) in the discussion of caint mheafarach (fhíortha) in general. The only real reason I pluralized it was to emphasize the point that lots of people use lots of figurative speech in lots of situations. So over the…
Between a Rock and a … May Day Fire? (or Life on the Horns of a Dilemma — as Gaeilge) Posted by róislín on May 1, 2012
(le Róislín) Amongst the numerous phrases in English for being, essentially, stuck between two difficult choices, we have “between Scylla and Charybdis,” “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” and, perhaps most widely used of all, “between a rock and a hard place.” Irish, natch, has its equivalents. One is, fairly straightforwardly, “rogha an…
Time Is of the Essence, except for “Eadra” and its Cohorts Posted by róislín on Apr 30, 2012
(le Róislín) Thinking further about all the “time” words we’ve recently discussed, another thought struck me, with interesting vocabulary implications. The following terms use the “-time” suffix in English, but not in Irish. Daytime: there are several ways to express this, none using “-time” as such: an lá (as a noun) and, for “in the…
Taking “uain” by the “urla” (agus focail eile ar “time”) Posted by róislín on Apr 27, 2012
(le Róislín) OK, so what’s that hybrid title all about? The last blog discussed how the word “aimsir,” usually meaning “weather,” can also mean “time” in certain phrases like “aimsir na Cásca” and “in aimsir na bhFiann.” That got me thinking, how many other ways are there to say “time” in Irish? So I figured…
An Focal “aimsir” Posted by róislín on Apr 23, 2012
(le Róislín) A little while ago, there was a query in our Facebook site about the word “aimsir” (http://www.facebook.com/learn.irish, on 8 Aibreán). And truly, I think it is surprising when one finds out that “aimsir” not only means “weather,” but also “time” (including “tide” for holiday times) and, regarding verbs, “tense.” Actually, it’s less surprising…
An Focal “ann” (agus beagáinín faoi “ionam,” “ionat,” srl.) Posted by róislín on Apr 19, 2012
(le Róislín) Some of you might be wondering about the word “ann” in the question “An ann di?” from the recent blog entitled “Cén Ghaeilge atá ar ‘rusticle’? An Ann Di (Dó)?” It is a short but multi-purpose, multi-faceted, and very important word in Irish. The very literal translation of “An ann di?” is, perhaps…
Cén Ghaeilge atá ar “rusticle”? An Ann Di (Dó)? Posted by róislín on Apr 15, 2012
(le Róislín) Amongst the many interesting topics raised by the Titanic centennial, at least one language query emerges. Cén Ghaeilge atá ar “rusticle?” First, let’s define “rusticle,” since it’s a fairly new word in the English language. It was coined by Robert D. Ballard after he discovered the Titanic, draped with strands of rust on…