How to speak '˜Norn Iron' - an A-Z guide

A is for...

‘Aye’ - yes.

‘Ascared’ - a combination of the words afraid and scared - e.g. “I’m ascared of the dark”.

B is for...

‘Blocked’ - intoxicated.

‘Bake’ - mouth - e.g. “shut yer bake” or “look at the bake on yer man”.

C is for...

‘Catch yerself on’ - used by Derry people when they think someone is behaving inappropriately or have said something incredulous.

‘Craic’ - atmosphere, fun.

D is for...

‘Dead on’ - I’m sorry but I don’t believe you.

‘Dander’ - a leisurely walk - e.g. “let’s go for a wee dander”.

E is for...

‘Eejit’ - a foolish person.

F is for...

‘Fegs’ - cigarettes.

‘Fire’ - used to describe the act of throwing something - “he fired a stone at me”.

G is for...

‘Gimme’ - a combination of the words give and me - e.g. “gimme a feg, please”.

‘Gone’ - used to cajole, e.g. “gone go to the shop for me”.

H is for...

‘Happy days’ - fantastic.

‘Hoop’ - a person’s buttocks.

I is for...

‘In de’ - to look favourably upon something/someone - e.g. “He’s really in de you” - “He likes you”.

‘Is that you now?’ - used to ask if a person has finished what they are doing.

J is for...

‘Jammie’ - lucky.

‘Jook’ - have a look at something - e.g. “I’ll can in for a wee jook on my way home”.

K is for...

‘Kick’ - used to threaten someone with violence - “I’ll kick your head in”.

‘Kex’ - underwear - e.g. “I’m going on holidays to Portrush and I need to buy some new kex”.

L is for...

‘Lurred’ - pleased with one’s self - “I am all lurred”.

‘Lifted’ - arrested by the police - “did ye hear he got lifted last night”.

M is for...

‘Member’ - do you recall? - e.g. “do you member the time...?”

‘Mate’ - a friend or pal - e.g.

N is for...

‘Naw’ - no.

‘Norn Iron’ - Northern Ireland - e.g. “I hope Norn Iron win tonight’s match”.

O is for...

‘Offie’ - Off-sales, a place that sells alcohol.

‘On yer bike’ - please leave.

P is for...

‘Poke’ - a whipped ice-cream.

‘Peelers’ - police - e.g. “quick, run, there’s the peelers”.

Q is for...

‘Quare’ - scale of size - e.g. “yer man has a quare size a head on him”.

R is for...

‘Ragin.com’ - angry - e.g. “yer woman was ragin.com when the peelers lifted her”.

‘Ratten’ - rotten - e.g. “that poke was ratten”.

S is for...

‘So it is’ - a re-affirmation of what one has said e.g. “It’s pure cold outside, so it is”.

‘Steady’ - used to describe the status of a romantic relationship - e.g. “I’ve been goin steady for two years”.

T is for...

‘Tellin’ - to make a third party aware of the misdemeanours of a certain person e.g. “I’m tellin me mammy on you”.

‘Till’ - to - e.g. “gone come till the shop with me”.

U is for...

‘Ulster fry’ - the greatest breakfast known to mankind.

V is for...

‘Visitors’ - people who regularly call to your house, often uninvited.

W is for...

‘Wee’ - small e.g. “please enter your wee pin number” and “what’s your wee telephone number?”

X is for...

‘X-Works jeans’ - a popular fashion item worn in Norn Iron in the 1990s.

Y is for...

‘Yip’ - yes.

‘Yousins’ - a group of people - e.g. “I am so lucky to have friends like yousins”.

Z is for...

‘Zip it’ - be quiet.