If the first batch of Irish family sayings made you laugh, we have bad news: we were only getting started. Our post on 7 Irish family sayings that confused everyone else went further than we ever expected. Everybody has a mother, a father or a granny with a phrase nobody else on earth understands.
So here are seven more. None of them repeat the first list. Every one comes from the kitchen, the hall or the back door, and every one needs a short translation for anybody who did not grow up with it. Read them aloud in your mother’s voice. We guarantee you will hear her.
1. “Giving out”
What it means: Scolding someone, or complaining at length. Irish people use it for both. “Mam was giving out about the state of my room” and “he was giving out about the weather” are both perfectly normal sentences. Wikipedia’s entry on Hiberno-English lists “give out” as “tell off, reprimand” and links it to the Irish tabhair amach.
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When you hear it: The minute you walk in at 2am, the minute the bins go out on the wrong day, and every time the match goes badly. To outsiders it sounds like someone is handing something over. To us it means a ten-minute lecture is coming.
Every family has one person who gives out professionally, and every family has one person who sits through it with a cup of tea and says nothing.
2. “It’s in the hotpress”
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What it means: It is in the airing cupboard. In Ireland a cupboard is often a “press”, and the “hotpress” is the warm one where sheets and towels live, usually next to the boiler or the immersion heater. IrishCentral describes it as the airing cupboard where you store sheets and towels, and Steven Roy Edwards’ list of Irish-English terms agrees that the hotpress is the cupboard that holds the water heater.
When you hear it: When you ask where the good towels are, and you get an answer from three rooms away. Nobody has ever found anything in the hotpress on the first try, either, because it is always at the back.
Outsiders hear “hot press” and picture something else entirely. We picture a pile of folded towels and a very specific smell of warm cotton.
3. “Wet the tea”
What it means: Make the tea. Wikipedia’s Hiberno-English entry gives “wet the tea” (or “the tea is wet”) as “make the tea”, and Matador Network lists the Irish version, fliuch an tae, among phrases real Irish people understand. Tea is already wet, of course, but you would never say that to the person holding the kettle.
When you hear it: The second anyone calls in. A neighbour at the door, a priest, the man to read the meter, a cousin from Boston. “Sit down there, I’ll wet the tea.” The question is never whether you want tea. It is only how many sugars.
4. “I’m only after sitting down”
What it means: I have just sat down. This one is a grammar trick that comes straight from Irish. The “after perfect” uses “after” plus an -ing verb to say something has just happened: “I’m after having my dinner” means “I have just had my dinner”. Wikipedia traces it to the Irish construction with tar éis, which means “after”.
When you hear it: Always at the exact moment somebody asks you to get up again. “I’m only after sitting down!” is the oldest defence in any Irish kitchen, and it has never once worked.
Outsiders hear a sentence that points backwards. We hear a woman who has been on her feet since seven and wants five minutes.
5. “Go way outta that”
What it means: I don’t believe you, or no, don’t be silly, or no, I’m grand. The Wild Geese’s list of common Irish sayings says that when someone answers you this way, they do not believe what you just said or are refusing an offer. Settle.ie lists the close cousin “go on out of that” as an expression of disbelief or playful dismissal.
When you hear it: After a compliment (“Go way outta that”), after good news (“Go way outta that, did you really?”), and during the great Irish ritual of refusing a second helping that we all know will be accepted by the third offer.
Nobody is being told to leave. We are hearing, warmly, that we are codding.
6. “Fair play to you”
What it means: Well done. Congratulations. Good on you. The Irish Post lists “fair play to you” among the English phrases that mean something different in Ireland, a mild way of saying “well done”, and Wiktionary labels it as colloquial in the UK and Ireland, used to acknowledge or congratulate someone. The “to you” (or “to him”, “to her”) usually comes tagged on the end.
When you hear it: When you pass the exam, finish the 10k, win the table quiz, or finally fix the tap that has dripped since spring. It often comes quietly, with a nod, and a little surprise.
Outsiders hear a remark about sport and rules. We hear one of the warmest compliments a family hands out: no fuss, no speech, just “fair play to you”.
7. “Mind yourself”
What it means: Take care. Steven Roy Edwards’ Irish-English glossary defines it as “take care” when someone leaves, or “careful now” when there is a danger nearby. The English-Irish dictionary at teanglann.ie gives tabhair aire duit féin, and the Irish Times has noted the many different ways Irish people use the word “mind”. Roaring Water Journal, writing about West Cork speech, describes it as being careful, looking after yourself and remembering to take time for a cup of tea and a sit-down, all in one phrase.
When you hear it: At the end of every phone call, every visit and every goodbye on the doorstep, usually with a hand already raised to wave the car out the lane.
It is the shortest way we know of saying “I love you” without ever using the words. We never needed them.
Our Family Sayings Say More Than We Notice
Look at the seven again: a lecture, a towel cupboard, a cup of tea, a rest, a refusal, a compliment and a goodbye. Together they sketch an entire Irish household. Nobody is sure where most of these phrases come from. We only know that when we hear them, we know exactly who is talking to us.
If you are far from home, they are also the quickest way back. Our page of real Irish lines for birthdays, thank-yous, sympathy and Christmas, free to copy or send as a card, runs on the same idea. Pick a line, add a name and send a little piece of home to someone who will understand it without a translation. And if you have not read the first batch yet, start with our original Irish family sayings article, then tag the person in your family who gives out the most.
Mind yourself, and happy sharing ☘️
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “giving out” mean in Ireland?
It means scolding or complaining. In Irish English, a person who gives out is telling someone off or grumbling about something. Wikipedia links the phrase to the Irish tabhair amach.
What is the hotpress in an Irish house?
The hotpress is the airing cupboard. It is the warm cupboard, often beside the boiler or water heater, where Irish families keep sheets and towels.
What does “wet the tea” mean?
It means make the tea. Irish families use it for making a pot of tea.
What does “I’m after doing something” mean in Irish English?
It means you have just done it. “I’m after eating” means “I have just eaten”. Linguists link the pattern to the Irish phrase using tar éis.
What does “mind yourself” mean when an Irish person says it?
It means take care. People say it as a goodbye, and also as a warning to be careful.
Where can I find real Irish lines to send to family?
We collected them on one free page. You can copy a line or send it as a card from our Irish lines for cards.
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