A Beginners Guide On How To Speak Wexican
The Wexford accent is a hard accent to pin down. I've always thought of the brogue as having a general disregard for consonants. For example, What's the story? how are you getting one morphs into one seamless bastardised word 'hass-da-stahree-how-ya-gehin-aahn-dere'. It's a very 'vowely' accent.
Here is a thorough guide to adopting the most common Wexford spakes.
Quare/Quaren Bad
Wexican 101 here people. 'Quare' means 'very' as in 'Dat's quare bad' or 'That was quaren handy'. Quare Can also mean strange as in 'That lad in the pub that doesn't drink, he's a bit of a quare fella'.
Eejit
Most, if not all of you will be well acquainted with the term 'eejit'. However in Wexford the pronunciation differs slightly. EE-GIT is the accepted pronunciation in the model county & in my mind its better because it brings together 'git' & 'eejit' into one demeaning super insult. 'Ya curse of God ee-get!'
Again
Again does not mean 'repeatedly' as it does in the rest of modern civilisation. 'Again' in Wexford either means 'beside' or 'by the time'. Example:
'I was up again a wall skullin' cans and again I got home I was in bits'
Showing Surprise
When it comes to exclamations of surprise or shock the Wexford accent has you covered. Pick from any of these:
'Be de Lantern Jaysus'
'Be de Hokey'
'Be de Lord Harry Dog'
'Be God A Man
After
Incorrect: I ran over the dog in the car.
Correct: I'm after running over the dog in the car, lord jaysus.
Chronic
Meaning terrible. Example:
We went to watch the B's play football, they were chronic.
Like A Bastard/Bastardin' Like A Hooer Hooerin'
In Wexford you can do anything like a bastard or a hooer.
'I was trying to cut the bastardin' lawn yesterday and he couldn't get the hooerin' mower to start. But again I got it started I was mowing like a bastard, it's a hooer to go.'
Dart/Hop off
These are versatile verbs and can be used in a range of ways. Example:
I had to dart (go out) to the offy because I wanted to skull some cans. When I got back I gave the leftover pizza a dart (some time) in the oven. After the pizza I started hoppin' off cans (drinking a lot) and got in a fight with my roommate who proceeded to hop off me (beat me up).
Grueller/Taken
Grueller means a 'slagging' and 'taken' means you are embarrassed.
Example: You were quare taken after that grueller.
Well Laaaaa/Alright Saaaaan
Both common greetings of your fellow man. I would break these two phrases by region, 'well laaaaa' for north Wexford and 'alright saaaan' for the south of the county. The only thing that remains constant is the 'aaaaaaaa'. Told you we liked our vowels.
Hun/Duck/Petal
All terms of endearment.
A:You alright hun?
B:I'm okay, thanks duck.
A: No bother, petal
Spa
Term of insult. 'You are sum spa' means you're a fool. Usually reserved for close friends.
M'up Ou'vih
A general term it can be used for showing annoyance at a particular set of circumstances or scolding your fellow man. Originates from 'would you ever come up out of it', presumably.
A: See they stopped selling vanilla coke?
B: Mup Ou'vit.
Poultice
A poultice is someone who is annoying, boring & that completely rots the ear off you. It means is a soft, moist mass that is spread on a cloth and then applied to the skin to treat various ailments. You're basically calling someone a germ rag if you call them a poultice.
I Will Yeah/Aw Would Be
I will yeah - I most certainly will not.
Aw would be - It most certainly wouldn't.
Finally as homework, study this video extensively and you'll be speaking Wexican in no time. Quare handy.