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chipper

CHIP-ernounColloquial

A Hiberno-English slang term. Browse all Irish slang.

What it means

  1. A fish-and-chip shop, and by extension any late-night takeaway. 'Going to the chipper' is the default end to a night out.

In use

  • We'll get a bag of chips in the chipper.

  • Last stop, the chipper.

Where it comes from

Straightforwardly 'chip' plus the -er agent suffix. Many Irish chippers were founded by Italian immigrant families from the 1880s onward — Borza, Macari, Cafolla — which is why the trade has an Italian surname attached to it in most towns.