English As We Speak It in Ireland Part 43

Let out; a spree, an entertainment. (General.) 'Mrs. Williams gave a great let out.'

Libber; this has much the same meaning as _flipper_, which see: an untidy person careless about his dress and appearance--an easy-going _ould sthreel_ of a man. I have heard an old fellow say, regarding those that went before him--father, {286} grandfather, &c.--that they were 'ould _aancient_ libbers,' which is the Irish peasant's way of expressing Gray's 'rude forefathers of the hamlet.'

Lief; willing: 'I had as lief be working as not.' 'I had liefer': I had rather. (General.) This is an old English word, now fallen out of use in England, but common here.

Lifter; a beast that is so weak from starvation (chiefly in March when gra.s.s is withered up) that it can hardly stand and has to be lifted home from the hill-pasture to the stable. (Kinahan: Connemara.)

Light; a little touched in the head, a little crazed:--'Begor sir if you say I know nothing about sticks your head must be getting light in earnest.' (Robert Dwyer Joyce.)

Likely; well-looking: 'a likely girl'; 'a _clane_ likely boy.'

Likes; 'the likes of you': persons or _a person_ like you or in your condition. Very common in Ireland. 'I'll not have any dealings with the likes of him.' Colonel Lake, Inspector General of Constabulary in last century, one afternoon met one of his recruits on the North Circular Road, Dublin, showing signs of liquor, and stopped him. 'Well, my good fellow, what is your name please?' The recruit replied:--'Who are you, and what right have you to ask my name?' 'I am Colonel Lake, your inspector general.' The recruit eyed him closely:--'Oh begor your honour, if that's the case it's not right for the likes of me to be talking to the likes of you': on which he turned round and took leg bail on the spot like a deer, leaving {287} the inspector general standing on the pathway. The Colonel often afterwards told that story with great relish.

Linnaun-shee or more correct _Lannaun-shee_; a familiar spirit or fairy that attaches itself to a mortal and follows him. From Irish _leannan_, a lover, and _sidh_ [shee], a fairy: _lannaun-shee_, 'fairy-lover.'

Linnie; a long shed--a sort of barn--attached to a a farm house for holding farm-yard goods and articles of various kinds--carts, spades, turnips, corn, &c. (Munster.) Irish _lann-iotha_, lit. 'corn-house.'

Lint; in Ulster, a name for flax.

Linthern or lenthern; a small drain or sewer covered with flags for the pa.s.sage of water, often under a road from side to side. (Munster.) Irish _lintrean_, _linntreach_ [lintran, lintragh].

Liscauns; gleanings of corn from the field after reaping: 'There's Mary gathering _liscauns_.' (South.) Irish.

Loanen; a lane, a _bohereen_. (Ulster.)

Lob; a quant.i.ty, especially of money or of any valuable commodity:--''Tis reported that Jack got a great lob of money with his wife.' A person is trying to make himself out very useful or of much consequence, and another says satirically--generally in play:--'Oh what a _lob_ you are!'

Lock; a quant.i.ty or batch of anything--generally small:--a lock of straw; a lock of sheep. (General.)

Logey; heavy or fat as applied to a person. (Moran: Carlow.) Also the fireplace in a flax-kiln.

Lone; unmarried:--'A lone man'; 'a lone woman.' {288}

Long family; a common expression for a large family.

Lood, loodh, lude; ashamed: 'he was lude of himself when he was found out.' (South.)

Loody; a loose heavy frieze coat. (Munster.)

Loof; the open hand, the palm of the hand. (Ulster.) Irish _lamh_ [lauv], the hand.

Loo-oge or lu-oge; the eel-fry a couple of inches long that come up the southern Blackwater periodically in myriads, and are caught and sold as food. (Waterford: Healy.) Irish _luadhog_, same sound and meaning.

Loose leg; when a person is free from any engagement or impediment that bound him down--'he has a loose leg'--free to act as he likes. 'I have retired from the service with a pension, so that now I have a loose leg.' The same is often said of a prisoner discharged from jail.

Lord; applied as a nickname to a hunchback. The hunchback Danny Mann in 'The Collegians' is often called 'Danny the lord.'

Losset; a kneading tray for making cakes.

Lossagh; a sudden blaze from a turf fire. Irish _las_ [loss], a blaze, with the usual termination _ach_.

Lossoge; a handful or little bundle of sticks for firing. (Mayo.) Irish _las_ [loss], fire, a blaze, with the diminutive termination.

Low-backed car; a sort of car common in the southern half of Ireland down to the middle of the last century, used to bring the country people and their farm produce to markets. Resting on the shafts was a long flat platform placed lengthwise {289} and sloping slightly downwards towards the back, on which were pa.s.sengers and goods. Called trottle-car in Derry.

Loy; a spade. Used in the middle of Ireland all across from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e. Irish _laighe_, same sound and meaning.

Luck-penny; a coin given by the seller to the buyer after a bargain has been concluded: given to make sure that the buyer will have luck with the animal or article he buys.

Ludeen or loodeen [_d_ sounded like _th_ in _then_]; the little finger.

Irish _luidin_, same sound and meaning. From _lu_, little, with the diminutive termination.

Lu-oge: see Loo-oge.

Luscan; a spot on the hillside from which the furze and heath have been burned off. (Wicklow and round about.) From Irish _losc_ to burn: _luscan_, 'burned little spot.'

Lusmore; fairy-thimble, fairy-finger, foxglove, _Digitalis purpurea_; an herb of mighty power in fairy lore. Irish _lus_, herb; _mor_, great; 'mighty herb.'

Lybe; a lazy fellow. (MacCall: Wex.) See Libber.

Lyre; the full of the two hands used together: a beggar usually got a _lyre_ of potatoes. (Munster: same as _gopen_ in Ulster.) Irish _ladhar_, same sound and meaning.

MacMa.n.u.s, Seumas, 5, &c.

Mad; angry. There are certain Irish words, such as _buileamhail_, which might denote either _mad_ or very _angry_: hence in English you very often hear:--'Oh the master is very mad with you,' {290} i.e. angry.

'Excessively angry' is often expressed this way in dialect language:--'The master is blazing mad about that accident to the mare.'

But even this expression is cla.s.sical Irish; for we read in the Irish Bible that Moses went away from Pharaoh, _air lasadh le feirg_, 'blazing with anger.' 'Like mad' is often used to denote very quickly or energetically: Crofton Croker speaks of people who were 'dancing like mad.' This expression is constantly heard in Munster.

Maddha-brishtha; an improvised tongs, such as would be used with a fire in the fields, made from a strong twig bent sharp. (Derry.) Irish _maide_ [maddha], a stick; _briste_, broken:--'broken stick.'

Maddhiaghs or muddiaghs; same as last, meaning simply 'sticks': the two ends giving the idea of plurality. (Armagh.)

Maddhoge or middhoge; a dagger. (North and South.) Irish _meadog_ or _miodog_.

Made; fortunate:--'I'm a made man' (or 'a _med_ man'), meaning 'my fortune is made.' (Crofton Croker--but used very generally.)

Mag; a swoon:--'Light of grace,' she exclaimed, dropping in a _mag_ on the floor. (Edward Walsh: used all over Munster.)

Maisled; speckled; a lazy young fellow's shins get maisled from sitting before the fire. (Knowles: Ulster.)

Make; used in the South in the following way:--'This will make a fine day': 'That cloth will make a fine coat': 'If that fellow was shaved he'd make a handsome young man' (Irish folk-song): 'That Joe of yours is a clever fellow: no doubt he'll {291} make a splendid doctor.' The noun _makings_ is applied similarly:--'That young fellow is the makings of a great scholar.'

Man above. In Irish G.o.d is often designated _an Fear suas_ or _an t-e suas_ ('the Man above,' 'the Person above'): thus in Hardiman's 'Irish Minstrelsy' (I. 228):--_Comarc an t-e ta shuas ort_: 'the protection of the Person who is above be on thee': _an Fear suas_ occurs in the Ossianic Poems. Hence they use this term all through the South:--'As cunning as he is he can't hide his knavery from _the Man above_.'

Man in the gap, 182.

Mankeeper; used North and South as the English name of the little lizard called in Irish 'Art-loochra,' which see.