Irish Slang
How to understand Irish people’s secret code
If you took everything literally that we say perhaps you would be pretty confused. Despite the fact that Ireland is absolutely teenchy, we have quite a lot of different dialects (English and Irish) and they don’t always mean what they sound like.
One of the most famous Irish words is ‘grand.’ Unfortunately it has a multitude of meanings depending on context.
For example: ‘Will you put the bins out later?’
‘Yeah, grand.’
It is also the only acceptable answer to ‘how are you?’, even if you are completely wallowing in your own misery. Nobody wants to hear about your problems here, oh no.
While ‘grand’ can also mean fine, or pretense of being fine, it can also be used in an extremely dismissive manner. It can be used to describe something being anywhere from acceptable to amazing, as well, so you really need to assess the situation you’re in.
The next is the phrase ‘I will, yeah.’
Despite what this might sound like, it doesn’t mean you’re agreeing to do the thing. The person saying it is in fact making a point that they won’t.
Example: ‘Tell your wife I said hello.’
‘I will yeah.’
