Translating Irish into American

[Maggie]

I mean everyday words and phrases which might have a different meaning in Ireland and/or England.

Starting with horses, as they are on my mind right now.

I have only ever heard the term "horseback riding" in the USA.

In England "horse riding" is the normal term, in Ireland just "riding" automatically means horses,
just as racing means horse racing.
A "hack" is a ride on a horse usually in the countryside.

Dave went to the Navy Exchange and brought home a Rick Steeves' DVD about Celtic Europe, in it Rick made several mistakes, some in pronunciation. We had fun finding them.
He also said "craic" (pronounced crack) means conversation......no, it means enjoyment, fun.

When something is "the bomb" in the USA it means it's good......not so over the water.
To bomb is to fail.
Away with the fairies.......means living in a dream world.

Fey: My Mother often said I was fey....this has different meanings.
My mother meant I was ethereal, able to see future events.....from about the age of three,
I told her I saw and spoke with angels.
I can still remember seeing them and taking it very much for granted, I thought everyone saw them.
Even as a child I predicted things which later came true. I would just casually mention an event,
then days or weeks later it would occur.
With typical humour, my Dad's comment was "why can't she foretell something useful, like the winner of the Grand National?"
Premonitions kept on happening through my teens and twenties. They don't happen so much these days
but I still have one now and again.

[zankoku]

Can I get the winning lottery numbers?

Maggie, remember The Bomb is good, but we also use to bomb meaning to fail.

I remember in Saving Private Ryan the guys used the word Fubar and the geek asked what it meant and the reply was "It's German."

[Maggie]

Can I get the winning lottery numbers?

Maggie, remember The Bomb is good, but we also use to bomb meaning to fail.

I remember in Saving Private Ryan the guys used the word Fubar and the geek asked what it meant and the reply was "It's German."

I know the US Navy version!    Snafu too.
Tell you what Jim - if I ever get the winning lottery numbers you can come and visit as we relax in our Irish home!

By the way.....bomb is never a good word in Ireland.

[zankoku]

Neither is Incoming! And I know SNAFU it's AirForce

[aholinka]

By the way.....bomb is never a good word in Ireland.

Yep, and that's the reason why I'm not sure to use "goosebombs" (german: Gänsehaut) any more!

Axel

[Emily!]

When something is "the bomb" in the USA it means it's good......not so over the water.
To bomb is to fail.

I actually use it both ways.

When I was younger I used to always say "Such and such is the bomb!!!" but I've also said "Oh man, I just bombed that test." Everyone I know uses the latter and knows what it means, so I think that's common in America as well. 

[Lanti SF]

At school we usually only use "to bomb" as to flunk, since there was a psudo bomb threat, and the security guards are really sensitive when someone uses the word "bomb"