Day 13 - Irish Slang: A Bang of Something

Failte romhat agus...

I was going to write happy Friday as Gaeilge, in Irish, but it just doesn't feel right. If you're new to the Irish language, I opened with "Welcome, and..." If you're new to my blog, sure it's great to have you. Friday is Irish slang day. This is week two. For a wee lesson on what 'Hiberno English' is, and the difference between it and 'Irish English', go back to Day 6 there and have a read. 

On Fridays, I'll be writing as I speak. I'll do my best to explain the terms I use as I go along, but it might not be possible for everything. You'll start understanding as we tip along. (Tip along means 'go along.') Should I fail miserably to keep you informed throughout, feel free to bollock me in the comments, or rather, and more preferably, just tell me you're confused, say what you're confused about, and I'll explain. (bollock is give out to or admonish angrily.) We might say things like, "Jaysus, I got a bollocking off her for forgetting to collect the child's birthday cake." 

Inspired Bang

This week, I've landed back in Ireland. WIthin a day of being here, I heard someone say, "there was a bang of bullshit off him." I think it was bullshit the person said. Anyway, I hadn't heard the phrase in ages, so I chose it as this week's term. But there are other ways we use the word "bang" in Ireland, which are equally as wonderful, so I thought I'd share a few of them too. We'll come back to "a bang of X off Y."

Banging Heads

Very simply, you can bang your head, or bash it off something. "Bend down. You'll bang your head off the door frame!" 

You can headbang at a banging gig to a banger of a tune then drive home in a banger. If someone from England is with you, they might be eating a banger while you're driving. When you get home, you and your partner might spend a few hours banging before going to sleep. The day after the gig, if you'd had a few too many sups (drinks), your head might be banging, so you'll bang a few painkillers into you. Friends who weren't out parting with you may tell you there's a bang of drink off you, no matter how many showers, curries or chewing gums you've had. 

What Does It All Mean?

Headbanging is dancing. A banging gig and a banger of a tune are both something 'excellent.' The banger you drive home in is an old, crappy car that's barely working, (but it's working - don't be knocking it now!) The banger your English friend might be eating is a sausage. (picture that however you like ;-D). 

If you're banging for a few hours, you're enjoying a decent, hard session of sexual pleasure with your partner, potentially breaking the surface you're on, or waking your housemates. This usage of "banging" may come from the Old Norse word "banga" - to strike hard or pound with a hammer. One may also be heard to say in Ireland, "he hammered it into me. I'm buckled." (You can figure that one out, reader).

If you're head's banging (*note: not 'if you're headbanding', we've switched the order from verb to noun phrase), you have failed to balance your alcohol and water intake, you eejit! Now, you've got a dirty, throbbing headache and you need to bang a painkiller - take a tablet to ease the pain. (Not saying you should do this. It's merely a language example). 

A Bang of X Off Y

This is a stellar phrase! If your friends have told you there's a bang of drink off you, you basically stink of alcohol. It's coming from your mouth, your clothes and seeping out of your pores towards them. You filthy fecker. There's no getting rid of it until the last dregs of sweat have dripped off you at some stage in the next 24 - 48 hours depending on how much of the stuff you've consumed. 

To stink of something means to smell of it. This one can be literal and figurative. It's used as so: 

There + verb BE + a + bang of + noun + off + person or thing. 

You can change the time of the verb, the noun and the person or thing. For instance: 

• There's a bang of sweat off you.
• There'll be a bang of slurry in the air this week.
• There was a bang of vodka off her.

They're literal examples. What about figurative? 

• Would you look at their jewellery! There's a bang of wealth off them. 
• You could tell he was lying. There was a fierce bang of bullshit in the air.

You can change the form slightly and say, "the bang of sweat in the room when I went in made me want to vomit!" 

Stop Banging On!

Grand, yeah. I'm finished now. 

When you tell someone to "stop banging on about something," they're talking about it at length, often to usually complaining or sharing something wonderful that happened to them which you couldn't care less about. You want them to stop. Later, you might tell your mutual friend "honest to goodness, Kerry wouldn't stop banging on about his new phone."

I'll stop banging on about banging now so, reader. Give me a shout over on Instagram. I'm about to share a reel with some examples from this post. I'd love to hear your favourite use for 'bang' - or even better, which ones I've missed. 

Have a banging weekend!