Irelandbollix
noun, verb · Vulgar · BOL-iks
A despicable or annoying man. In Ireland it is a person far more often than an exclamation, which is the reverse of British usage.
+1 more sense
Use with care
Ireland
Irish Slang for Insults & Complaints
10 Irish slang terms for insults & complaints, each with its meaning, how it is pronounced and an example of it in use.
Terms for fools, annoyances and things gone wrong. Register matters enormously here — several of these words are affectionate between friends and fighting words between strangers.
culchie
noun · Informal · KULL-chee
Someone from rural Ireland, as seen from a city. Between friends it is teasing and often self-applied; from a stranger in Dublin it is a sneer.
Use with care
eejit
noun · Informal · EE-jit
A fool. Noticeably gentler than 'idiot' — it is what a parent calls a child, and what you call a friend who has locked his keys in the car.
giving out
phrase, verb · Colloquial · GIV-in OUT
Complaining, or telling someone off at length. 'Giving out to' someone is scolding them; 'giving out about' something is grumbling.
+1 more sense
gobshite
noun · Vulgar · GOB-shite
A fool, specifically a loud one who talks confident nonsense. Stronger than eejit and genuinely rude, though common in ordinary adult speech and heard on national radio.
Use with care
gowl
noun · Vulgar · GOWL, rhymes with owl
A contemptible fool. Strong, and strongest in Limerick and the mid-west, where it is a standard insult between men.
+1 more sense
Use with care
langer
noun · Vulgar · LANG-er
An idiot or an obnoxious person. The definitive Cork insult, used constantly there and barely at all elsewhere.
+1 more sense
Use with care
melter
noun · Regional · MEL-ter
Someone who wears you down — a pest, a drone, a person who will not stop talking. Northern, strongly associated with Derry and Belfast.
notions
noun · Colloquial · NO-shunz
Pretensions above your station — ordering the wine, mentioning your holiday, using a word nobody asked for. Accusing someone of notions is Ireland's standard weapon against self-promotion.
wagon
noun · Informal · WAG-on
A woman judged to be spiteful or difficult. Aimed at women only, and although it is often said lightly it is an insult about a woman's character with no male equivalent.
Use with care