Broke my bollix

dirtyden · 06-02-2023 11:38pm

It’s an italian phrase for being worked hard…that’s been coopted by the Irish. Don’t think it’s a Dublin thing I have heard people say they were breaking their bollix, all over this fair isle, generally work or training related but also if you are absolutely bent over laughing at something.

buzzerxx · 06-02-2023 11:55pm

Over the years i have heard less of the term '' broke me bollix laughing'' and more '' broke me shyte laughing'' I always replied, how do u know your shyte was broken?

06-02-2023 11:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120209937#Comment_120209937

came out across two trips I suppose?

Gregor Samsa · 07-02-2023 9:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120209895#Comment_120209895

No, "broke me bollox" is nothing to do with the Italian (American) "breakin' my balls".

"Hey Luigi, I gots your 10 points. Whya ya always havta breakin' my balls, eh? Sheesh!"

vs

"Deko was doin' a wheely down O'Connel street, an' he went smack rih into de Luis. I broke me bollox!"

It's a different shark.

And don't forget, as Ireland's most populous and important city, Dublin slang does of course influences slang all around the county.

dxhound2005 · 07-02-2023 9:40am

Google Ngram viewer records the prevalance of words in published English from the year 1800. In more polite times the word in any of its spellings was extremely rare, but has taken off in the last 80 years or so, both in British and American English. It is still very rare. There is a little bump in the graph in the 1800's, but examining those references reveals that it was an alternative spelling of Bullocks.

https://books.google.com/ngrams/

Vita nova · 07-02-2023 11:14am

Broke me bollocks/bollox/bollix/balls usually has 3 meanings in Ireland depending on the context.

Working hard - I broke me bollocks working on the site today.

Laughing - I broke me bollocks when the lid came off the salt shaker and fell into his soup.

Reprimand - My boss broke me bollocks for being constantly late.

Count Dracula · 07-02-2023 6:46pm

I would tend to works my tits off, that could be southside, although well to do south sides " slave away " or " worked like a slave " etc.

I have broken my bolliix trying to get somewhere on time , so you could throw that in with describing increases in efforts employed to get something achieved, it can often replace the polite encouragism being " put your back into to " , this can also be a phrase used by a bored or underphucked sexual liaisons with which you are not underperforming in..

Agreed on laughing, though I do also laugh my tits off, or the eternal "burst your shight "

I am not sure on the last. When I am motivating colleagues I would give out severe " bollockings " as in " I got a bollocking from the count last week, Jesus man, he is some chunt when he gets goin? "kind of thing.

Be careful when swearing or giving tone to your delivery. It can be easy to turn a straight forward prejorative or maligned observation into a malapropism, then you not only fail to get your point across effectively ( making a bollocks out of it, or a haims of it ), but you also make a bollocks, or a "show "of yourself.

bmc58 · 07-02-2023 6:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120208889#Comment_120208889

You're a right fuc**ng bollox(I'm not happy with you at this moment).

dxhound2005 · 07-02-2023 8:01pm

5. HAMES

"Hames actually refers to two curved pieces of iron or wood forming or attached to the collar of a draft horse, to which the traces are attached. In Ireland, hames is used in the phrase “make hames of” which means to make a mess of something, usually due to carelessness, sloppiness or ineptitude. Often times hames is preceded by an intensifying or modifying term. A soccer player who missed an easy opportunity to score may be said to have made a right hames of it. Or, a complete hames of it, a fierce hames of it, an awful hames of it and so on."