Jazz, poker, joint, ballyhoo – Irish Gaelic hit the streets of Brooklyn creating the original New York jargon that to this day populates Urban American street slang. The Irish immigrated to America in swarms after the famine to find themselves impoverished living in slums and surviving on their street smarts. Taking up crime, gambling and running from cops and populating the underworld of New York the Irish Gaelic terms melted into American English forming the street gang-street-wise code and lingo that is still in use across America today.
Street
Having street smarts, urban, hip, know what’s up. -She’s so street.
Moolah
Money. -Wow, the new Porsche costs a lot of moolah!
Spunk
Energy, courage, spirit and determination. -That girl’s got spunk!
Ballyhoo
An uproar, a lot of talk, or a sensational marketing promotion. Originally from the Gaelic “bailliú”, describing circus advertising. -There’s a lot of ballyhoo about that new film.
Gee whizz!
Exclamation of surprise, euphemism for Jesus. From the Irish Gaelic “Dia Uas” or “Geeuh Woous” which means “noble god.” -Gee whizz, I won!
Slum
A metropolitan ghetto, from the Irish “slom” meaning bleak. -a high percentage of the world’s poor still live in slums
Holy Cow
Woah, expression of amazement, from the Irish “Holy Cahoo” meaning Holy Grief. -Holy Cow, that’s incredible!
Darn
Used to express dissatisfaction, from “daithairne ort” meaning darn on you, misfortune on you. –My phone line just cut-out again, darn it!
Buddy
Friend, pal, compatriot from the Irish “vuddy” and “bhodaigh” meaning pal. -I’m going out with my buddies tonight.
Swanky
Extremely cool and classy, from “somhaoineach” meaning valuable -The Four Seasons is swanky.
Cop
To get, recieve, purchase, steal, from “ceapaim”, meaning I catch. -Cop a ride with a friend. Also used to describe Police officers (to keep the copper, (the catcher) from catching on.) / -Hide from the coppers or cops.
Racket
A fraud. Scam, sale of black market merchandise, from “reacaireacht” meaning dealing, selling or gossiping. -The Mafia is running a gun racket.
Racketeer
Someone who Bribes, the “reachtaire”, was originally the money-taking administrator at a colonial big house or at a church office back in Ireland, on the streets now the racketeer runs money-taking street crime rackets.
Joint
Place, location. It comes from the Irish word for protection or shelter, a place with a roof. –Let’s get out of this joint.
dig
To understand. From “An duigeann tú?” Do you understand my language? -Can you dig it? You dig?
References
From Daniel Cassidy’s boss book, “How the Irish Invented Slang”, and from Niall Ó Donaill’s “Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla”.
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