Growing up with Irish parents can be a unique experience. It can teach you lots of life skills that may or may not come in handy.
It can prepare you for any ‘hard times’ you might have to come and make you eternally grateful for what you have, always in the safe knowledge that your poor Irish parents never had half of the toys, clothes, trips out or meals you enjoyed as a child.
You will breathe many a sigh of relief that you didn’t have to walk to school in your bare feet, suffer the cane in school or share a bed with nine siblings.
You will know the value of money and be well aware that it does NOT grow on trees and you will always finish your food.
Depending on where you grew up there is a strong chance a small part of you still believes in fairies or some other breed of magical creature.
You will have heard numerous stories from your Irish parents about pixie dust, elves or naughty leprechauns over the years and they have left their mark.
Here are 101 phrases Irish parents will say to their children at least once. The sayings vary for Irish mothers and fathers but if you are the lucky offspring of either you are sure to recognise at least a few.
101 For the love of God!
100 Ask your mammy
99 Ask your daddy
98 Show me your tongue, if it’s black you’re lying
97 Every time you lie, a fairy dies
96 Santy is watching
95 Do you want to get a bag of coal on Christmas morning?
94 We’ll see!
93 You have two chances of that happening
92 I wasn’t born yesterday
91 Do you think I came down in the last shower?
90 Where’s the wooden spoon?
89 You don’t know how lucky you are
88 In my day…
87 You don’t know you’re born
86 You’re not leaving the table until you eat that dinner
85 More sweets? You’ll turn into a sweet
84 Your face will stay like that if the wind changes
83 Mind yourself!
82 Would you look at your woman!
81 The state of that
80 Jesus, Mary and Joseph
79 Ask Saint Anthony to find it for you
78 Say a prayer
77 I’ll light a candle for you
76 I’ll say a prayer for you
75 I’ll get Nana to light a candle for you
74 Wash your hands, you could grow spuds under those nails
73 Pick that up before someone breaks their neck on it
72 Get down off that before you fall and break your neck
71 Don’t speak to your mother like that
70 Wait until your father gets home
69 Here’s his car now
68 There’ll be wigs on the green
67 There’ll be holy murder
66 What will the neighbours think?
65 Get away out of that
64 If he jumped off a cliff, would you follow him?
63 If she put her finger in the fire, would you put your finger in the fire?
62 Get back up them stairs, you’re not going out in that!
61 Where’s my purse?
60 Go on, treat yourself!
59 Put some Sudocrem on it
58 Don’t make me come up them stairs
57 Those biscuits are NOT for you
56 Stop acting the maggot
55 God give me patience
54 Stop trick acting
53 Stop acting the goat
52 You’re doing my head in
51 Did you turn off the immersion?
50 There’s clean towels in the hotpress
49 He’s a gas man that fella
48 Don’t mind him
47 I’m only pulling your leg
46 You’ll catch your death of cold going around half naked
45 I will, yeah
44 I will in my eye
43 I’m only codding ye
42 Are you codding me?
41 You know what you can do for me now
40 Get up the yard
39 That’s a great rig-out altogether
38 Isn’t it well for you heading off
37 Stay away from him, he’s only a gurrier
36 What’s the story?
35 Tell me this and tell me no more
34 Have you any scandal?
33 Where did we get you from?
32 You get that from my side of the family
31 You get that from your dad’s side
30 Didn’t he die?
29 I thought she died
28 You’ll never guess who died
27 He just went to bed one night and woke up dead
26 I won’t go near you, I’ve got a terrible dose on me
25 I’m only going for one
24 He’s some man for the pints
23 He was lorrying into the pints
22 It’s a school night!
21 Straight up to bed after Glenroe
20 You won’t be able to see straight tomorrow
19 You’ll be like a bear with a sore head
18 You’ll be like a bag of cats
17 He doesn’t look well
16 He’s gone to the dogs
15 That’s just the pits
14 Get that muck off your face
13 Make sure you’ve clean underwear on in case you get hit by a car
12 Come here ‘til we have a look at you
11 Can you walk in those shoes?
10 Is that yourself?
9 Myself and herself are off out
8 I haven’t a notion what you’re on about
7 I’m at the end of my tether
6 I’m going up after the ‘Late Late’
5 What time do you call this?
4 You’d want to take a good look in the mirror
3 It’s not off the stones she licks it
2 Who’s ‘she’, the cat’s mother?
1 Right, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye
