The 7 Ways We All Ask Someone For The Shift In Ireland
We truly have an abundance of words for kissing in Ireland. In fact, we probably have more words for kissing than arse - said no one ever.
Many of these words are known throughout this green isle but we don't always think about their true meaning or origin.
Here are just 7 examples of the ways in which we go about trying to get the shift:
Meet
Meaning: Some people think the best way to meet someone is through the mouth area.
How to use: "Can you meet him?" "Can you meet my friend?" "Did you meet him?" "We're meeting".
Kiss
Meaning: Usually used by a drunk older person trying to show affection.
Origin: 1950's Ireland.
How to use: "Ah gwan, give us a kiss!", "You're only dying to kiss me", "Will you kiss her?".
Neck / Necking On
Meaning: To forcefully kiss someone with your neck.
Origin: Someone saw the two long-necked dinosaurs fighting in The Land Before Time and thought it made sense.
How to use: "Yeah, the two of them were necking on the 27 last week! Me nerves."
Shift
Meaning: A bizarre and wet facial movement.
Origin: The word originated at teen discos somewhere in the Irish Midlands.
How to use: "Fancy the shift?", "They were shifting behind the shed!" "Are we going out for the shift or what?"
Wear/ Wore
Meaning: We have no idea. Talking about 'wearing' a kiss is a little Buffalo Bill for us.
How to use: "I wore the face of him!" "You'd give him a wear wouldn't ya?" "I was wearing him all night long!"
Score
Meaning: The kissing version of scoring a goal.
Origin: Sometime in the 90's during a night at the Wez in Dublin 4.
How to use: "Yeah we were scoring last night", "I scored them", "You scored them?".
With
Meaning: Not to be confused with "I went with her to the shops". It's the only one you truly need to master.
Origin: The first known Irish derivement of the word kiss.
How to use: "Will you be with me?" "He was with her at the party!" "Yeah, I was with him last week *dramatic pause*".
