Irish Slang - A Ride

So you speak English. Why not travel to the land of saints and scholars where English has been lyrically embellished since the dark ages; a week or two in Ireland and I won’t even need a translation dictionary!

A few weeks of hearing your language dancing gracefully and coherantly across the Irish tongue might be more challenging than you think! Ireland may be a predominately english-speaking nation, but the thing that tickled my ears the most when I first moved here and that tends to confuse our stateside guests is some of the slang. So, below is the thirtieth in a series I’m publishing on some common Irish slang that used to confuse us when we first arrived.

A ride - Irish slang for sexual intercourse or the person one has it with (usually referring to a female).

I’ll tell ya, the aul Irish slang entries seem to be getting ruder as the weeks go on! The reason I bring these up is not my salacious nature (or is it?) but that they often get blundered into by tourists and visitors unfamiliar with Irish vernacular.

Where I’m from, a journey in a car is commonly referred to as a “ride.” Imagine the ensuing hilarity when your average yankee asks your average Irish person for a “ride,” or says someone gave them a “ride.”

The proper word to use here is “lift.” For example, one would say,

“Siobhan gave me a lift.”, NOT “Siobhan gave me a ride.”

By Seán | Permalink

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