10 Cork Slang Phrases You Need To Know
Hello everyone! We are back with another blog post for you to tell you about some important Cork vocabulary.
People who live in Cork are called Corkonians, and they have their own particular accent (which is quite musical). They also have their own phrases and slang which can be a bit confusing and you will notice that we talk really fast too. You might want to do some prep work before you arrive so that you can understand us and we’ve got you covered!
Here are our top ten Cork Slang Phrases:
1. Sound (Adjective)
This has nothing to do with noise but is used to describe someone (or something they did) in a positive way, or to say thanks. For example, “he’s sound” (he’s nice / kind), “that was sound” (that was generous), “sound” (thanks in an informal way, like ‘cheers’).
2. Allergic (Adjective)
This doesn’t mean that someone has an actual allergy but is more to express a strong dislike in a humorous or exaggerated way. For example, “I’m allergic to her” (I really don’t like her), “I’m allergic to that place” (I hate that place – maybe about their place of work or study).
3. Bazzer (Noun)
A haircut. If you notice someone has had a nice haircut, you might say “Some bazzer!”, or if you are thinking of getting a haircut and want to know where they went: “Where’d you get that bazzer?”. Like a lot of phrases in Cork, it is often used with enthusiasm and a high-pitched intonation.
4. Drive on! (Phrasal Verb)
This isn’t about driving a car, but it means ‘keep going’ or ‘continue’. If you’ve been working and then had a break, but it’s time to get going again, someone might say “let’s drive on”. Or if you are doing something new, and you ask someone if you’re doing it correctly, they might say “drive on” to say you’re doing well and should continue.
5. Langer (Noun), Langers/Langered (Adjective)
There is an important difference between these very similar words: a ‘langer’ is an annoying person; but to be ‘langers/langered’ is to be drunk! So, if you say “he’s a langer” it means he’s very annoying, but “he was langered” means he was drunk. It’s very common to hear someone say: “I was completely langers”, which means they were very drunk. This is quite a popular word in Cork, but it’s easy to make a mistake between the noun and the adjective!
6. Mank(y) (Adjective)
This word basically means unpleasant, dirty, or unattractive. It is sometimes used with the ‘y’ at the end, so you could say “my hair is mank” or “my hair is manky” – meaning that your hair is dirty and needs a wash. This word has a negative meaning so be careful how you use it.
7. Gas (Adjective)
This is not about petrol, cooking or heating your house, but humor. So “he’s gas” means that he is very funny. Maybe someone tells a story which is hilarious, and everyone is laughing, you can say “that’s gas” to mean that’s very funny.
8 . Jointed (Adjective)
This phrase is used to describe a very crowded place; a synonym would be ‘packed’. You could say “the pub was jointed” or “the pub was packed” means that the pub had a lot of people in it. Similarly, someone might say “the place is jointed” about a restaurant / cafe / bar to describe how busy it is, and that there are lots of people there.
9. Pure (Adverb)
This is used to strengthen the meaning of something, so it goes before an adjective. For example, “that restaurant was pure mank” means that restaurant was really disgusting – maybe the food was horrible, or the place was filthy. Or “pure daycent” means ‘very decent’, which is like saying ‘very nice’.
10. Your Wan (Pronoun)
This is a way of referring to someone (often, someone you don’t know). If you are in a public place and your friend says “look at your wan” they want, you to look at somebody. Maybe someone is making a bit of a scene in a pub, embarrassing themselves – people might say “look at your wan”.
If you have’nt had enough Cork slang yet, you can find out more backround about it and more slang by clicking here and here.
That’s all form us this week, if you’ve got any pics or videos of you using Cork slang feel free to tag us @corkenglishcollege on our socials or use the hashtag #CorkEnglishCollege.