Tag Archives: St. Patricks Day
Beoir: Uaine nó Glas nó Ceachtar? (Beer: Green/Uaine or Green/Glas or Neither?) Posted by róislín on Mar 22, 2013
(le Róislín) Our last blog primarily covered the actual history of St. Patrick and his name. This blog will take a lighter-hearted look at some St. Patrick’s Day imagery, namely the much-maligned-but-nevertheless-consumed green beer. I’m refraining from value judgments on the topic (unlike many of the online commentators!), but am primarily interested in whether people…
Póit, Poit, Poitín, Póitín, Pótaire, Potaire, or, Mind Your “Síntí Fada” Posted by róislín on Mar 17, 2012
(le Róislín) Continuing with the topic of tippling and toping for Lá Fhéile Pádraig, here’s another interesting assortment of timely tidbits of vocabulary. Four of the words in the title actually have to do with drinking (really three and a variation), and two have nothing to do with drinking, but are simply here as a…
Deir an Dúmheidic (Black Medick): “Ba mhaith liomsa a bheith i m’iomaitheoir freisin!” Posted by róislín on Mar 13, 2012
(le Róislín) In the last blog (blogs.transparent.com/irish/an-tseamrog-the-shamrock/), I noted that there were at least eight contenders for the title of “shamrock,” including seamsóg (wood-sorrel) and various types of seamair (clover). The blog I cited (www.naturalistsalmanac.com/0317stpat.html) mentioned there being eight possibilities, but only elaborated on six (five types of clover and the wood-sorrel). So what are the other…
An tSeamróg (The Shamrock) Posted by róislín on Mar 10, 2012
(le Róislín) Today’s theme, as we approach Lá Fhéile Pádraig, is “What exactly is a shamrock?” The “Naturalist’s Almanac,” by Gale Lawrence, refers to eight contenders, of which five are actually types of clover (seamair), and one is wood sorrel (seamsóg); the site is: http://www.naturalistsalmanac.com/0317stpat.html. She doesn’t specify the other two contenders, so that will…
Súgach go Deargmheisce: From “Tipsy” to “Dead-drunk” in Irish Posted by róislín on Mar 7, 2012
(le Róislín) From “súgach” to “ar deargmheisce,” the Irish language has numerous ways to indicate stages of intoxication. This is, once again, just the tip of the vocabulary iceberg, but one has to start somewhere! Here are some phrases to help get you ready for Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka Lá ‘Éile Pádraig aka St. Patrick’s…
Seachtain Fhéile Pádraig a Trí: Pub-crawling Posted by róislín on Mar 17, 2010
(le Róislín) Aon ábhar ní b’fhearr ná beáir, given the “seachtain” that’s in it? Here are two phrases for pub-crawling in Irish. Both are really based on the idea of “rambling,” rather than “crawling’ as such, which would be “lámhacán ([LAWV-uh-kawn] moving on one’s hands and knees) or “snámhaíocht” ([SNAWV-ee-ukht] loosely, “land-swimming”). 1) Beidh muid…
Seachtain Fhéile Pádraig a hAon: How Many Shades of Green? Posted by róislín on Mar 15, 2010
(le Róislín) It’s such a festive week, I thought we’d take a break from irregular verbs (an gcloisim “hurá”?) and do a mionsraith Fhéile Pádraig. Maybe it’s not exactly 40 shades, as in the popular song, but there are two key words for “green” in most dialects of Irish: glas and uaine. And yes, they…