What are some things an American should know about the Irish Culture?

WickedWest

ProudDUB wrote: »

Yes, it's ok to call a guy handsome. Just not to his face. Or he'll blush bright red and run crying for his mammy (*1) coz the scarily pushy American lady made him wet his knickers.

Why would he "wet his knickers" if I called him handsome? In America, that's a compliment!

*2 You'll have to watch Fr Ted to find out for yourself what constitutes a lovely girl.

Welp, it's on Netflix, so I suppose I'll have to!

*1 An Irish mammy is a stereotypically Jewish mother or Italian mama. Only far, far worse, or better depending on whether or not you are her darling boy, or the shameless hussy trying to take him away from her.

What about daughters? No love for us, huh?

*2 Underwear. "Wet yer knickers" here means "pee your pants" stateside.

Yeah, I got that one

WickedWest

Soo, what kind of things should I take as compliments and to what should I take offence?

tuxy

WickedWest wrote: »

Welp, it's on Netflix, so I suppose I'll have to!

Wow, didn't know it was on netflix over there. definitely watch it, it will help you understand the Irish sense of humour .

WickedWest

Also, what is a pocket fish? I can't find it anywhere on the internet!

tuxy

WickedWest wrote: »

Also, what is a pocket fish? I can't find it anywhere on the internet!

It's like a finger box only difference is it's alive.

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac171/PimpAbra/Ayo.jpg

WickedWest

tuxy wrote: »

It's like a finger box only difference is it's alive.

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac171/PimpAbra/Ayo.jpg

Pretty sure that confused me more...

Patri

Ya Father Ted is a great shout watch it! The best Irish comedy, and we didn't even get to produce it!

Doc

I would say not to change the way you talk at all, everyone will understand you and the fact you will say things slightly differently to everyone else will make you interesting and endearing. Sure it will help to understand what people are saying to learn our slang but the most difficult thing for you will probably be the accent and speed of speech rather then the words people say particularly as you will be in Cork which has a very strong accent. We can be a very sarcastic people sometimes so just be aware of that. Your accent will mark you out as foreign so people will accept that you won’t always understand what they are saying and have to repeat themselves and won’t be offended because of it.
I really envy you the experience you are going to have. I wish I had done a similar exchange trip. If there is one thing the Irish are known for it is having a good time and that reputation is justified. You will enjoy your stay and make some great friends.

jimthemental

WickedWest wrote: »

For those of you saying that Ireland is provincial, I guarantee it's got to be more exciting than Nebraska, with continuous miles of nothing but corn, soy beans, and cows. That's not to say that I don't love Nebraska, I do - but it has no distinct culture. What I'm looking for in Ireland isn't big city life, if I were, I'd go to New York.

Cork is the wrong place for you I think. All the culture they have goes into making cheese.

jimthemental

WickedWest wrote: »

Soo, what kind of things should I take as compliments and to what should I take offence?

If a guy says it it's probably a compliment to you but if a girl says something ambiguous I think that you are legally obliged to start a catfight. You should also make sure to video said fight and put on youtube for storage in case it is needed for future legal proceedings.

Cookie_Monster

your one / yer wan = that woman over there
yer man = that man over there
giving out = chastising someone verbally / ranting about something
feck = throw / fuck
pissed = drunk / angry
deadly = awesome
slash = having a wee
college = uni (university)
fanny =/ bum
butt is not used really, we all say arse
cute hoor = shifty / shady operator. Usually reserved for dodgy business men and politicians

all ones I've found some of kiwi's here struggle with that'd prob be relevant to you too.

re making freinds: the universities all have lots of clubs for every kind of activity, just join the ones you're interested in and you'll meet loads of people.

EDIT: also this thread is epic!

WickedWest

jimthemental wrote: »

If a guy says it it's probably a compliment to you but if a girl says something ambiguous I think that you are legally obliged to start a catfight. You should also make sure to video said fight and put on youtube for storage in case it is needed for future legal proceedings.

Catfight, got it!

WickedWest

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

all ones I've found some of kiwi's here struggle with that'd prob be relevant to you too.

What does kiwi mean?

who the fug

WickedWest wrote: »

What does kiwi mean?

A sheep what can play rugby

jimthemental

WickedWest wrote: »

What does kiwi mean?

It's a hairy fruit from New Zealand

WickedWest

who the fug wrote: »

A sheep what can play rugby

Ah, I see now why a kiwi would have trouble with Irish slang.

WickedWest

jimthemental wrote: »

It's a hairy fruit from New Zealand

Now how about a straight answer? Lol, is kiwi slang for something in Ireland?

Doc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRm9Q2KfzBA

Wompa1

WickedWest wrote: »

Now how about a straight answer? Lol, is kiwi slang for something in Ireland?

No. Try not to take anything on here seriously! :P

Here's some for you. We don't say thirty for time like Two Thirty (2:30) is Half 2.

We pronounce some words pretty different. Like garage.

Fag is ciggarette, Chips are Fries, Crisps are potato chips, Rashers are bacon.

Try to limit your driving for the first while. Americans take a while to adjust and have known a few that got car sick because our roads are really windy in the countryside.

When on a night out, guys are going to try every trick in the book. If you reject them they will be nasty and cuss you out.

If somebody asks you if you're American just say you're Canadian. It's a lot less hassle, don't ever tell anybody in person you are a Republican!! A lot of Irish people have a piss poor opinion of American people in general and in particular Republicans. Don't worry though, it's just envy for the most part. Enjoy your trip.

Cookie_Monster

What does kiwi mean?

New zealander, I'm irish, moved to NZ a few months ago

hooradiation

Wompa1 wrote: »

It's a lot less hassle, don't ever tell anybody in person you are a Republican!! A lot of Irish people have a piss poor opinion of American people in general and in particular Republicans. Don't worry though, it's just envy for the most part. Enjoy your trip.

Nobody is ever envious of republicans.

Cokeistan

I'll give you some tips on college life as well as some Irish culture.

I presume it's UCC you'll be studying in? Firstly I would recommend you to get acquainted with either the Old Bar or New Bar on Campus . Old Bar has cheaper pints but the New Bar has heating .

I think the best piece of advice I could give you would be to not live on College Road as your house is likely to get robbed (not a certainty but a hell of a lot more likely than if you were living in a different area)

The Cork accent may be difficult to understand at first but I'm sure you'll grasp it!

I would recommend to not come across as stereotypical American, e.g. saying OMG and other phrases that are associated with American women. I'm not saying every American says these things but it seems to be a common enough view.

Lastly, in the likely event of you going out socializing at night with friends, I would recommend you to avoid Mangan's and Gorby's at all costs, these are extremely bad night clubs. Havana's and The Roxy aren't too bad, probably the best night clubs the city has to offer. Also, if its pubs you like: Crane Lane is a decent enough spot for live music, as is the old oak. There's some good pubs near College too called the Bailey and Bob Fox's. I wouldn't be a huge fan of the Brog but some people like it, maybe you should give it a try once and form your own impression on it.

Hope this helps in some way!

Seachmall

Fanny is vagina, except when it's someone's name.

Dick is penis, except when it's someone's name.

Plumpynutt

WickedWest wrote: »

I am a bit (really) white. Will I get made fun of for that?
Attachment not found.

See? I practically glow

http://5493-files.voxcdn.com/files/resource_media/preview/daffy-duck-is-very-interested-6186_preview.gif


:P

John Doe1

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

When someone says, Hi, How are you? you don't answer that, you say exactly the same thing, we don't actually tell people how we feel, that's a big no no, so if you're the emotional type, stop that carry on, it's not right.

Other ones which are limited to certain types of people
The How are you doing boss... this may be a casual saluation to anybody, usually a friend, but not an actual boss.

Por ejemplo: On bus to cork last week. Bus driver: How are you sir American man: Heartbroken, I lost the girl of my dreams. Awkward silence. Bus Driver: Ah sure, plenty more fish in the sea

onlyrocknroll

When people are insulting each other wildly don't join in until you've got a good feel for it. In my experience it takes newcomers a while to get used to what's acceptable and what isn't.

(And no one will give a rational explanation because there isn't any)

Example

Irish person- "Look at the state of ya big eejit"

New arrival - "Well you're fat and ugly and your mother doesn't love you"

Irish person "Why would you say that?"

I've seen it happen many times

Jen Pigs Fly

"What the f*ck are you looking at??" from a rough type needs to be answered with:

"Nothing much."

mach1982

OP, most of response are are not serious ones. As most of our TV is America imports you'll fell right at home .

Ignore everything people have told , , see if you can get you had on the following movies

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332658/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101605/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193701/

Jen Pigs Fly

Irish girls hate other girls. We only pretend to be nice to one another because we need someone to bitch about other girls too.

Especially foreign girls who come over and rob our men.

Be prepared.

smash

xxxJennyxxx wrote: »

Irish girls hate other girls. We only pretend to be nice to one another because we need someone to bitch about other girls too.

And you only hang around with girls that you think aren't as pretty as you.