Irish Slang Words You Need To Know

Irish slang words you need to know for St. Patrick's Day today.  About half of the population will be out celebrating St. Patrick's Day today and about 80% of those people plan to wear green today.  Partiers will be wearing costumes, drinking green beer, eating corn beef and cabbage and talking with the Irish accent today.

There are many Irish terms that you should probably study up on before you head out for the shenanigan's today.

Even though English is the primary language in Ireland, there are still figures of speech used that can be confusing to Americans, so we thought we would list those for you.  This will definitely make your party that much more fun.  Try these on your friends to see if they know the terms.  Irish slang words you need to know.

Kevin tested J.R. and Launa on a few of these this morning and they got 2 right!

“Gaff” - Another word for house. You might hear a teenager say they’ve got a “free gaff,” which means their parents aren’t home and they’re having a party.

“Chipper” - A fast food shop that sells deep-fried foods like fish and chips.

“Manky” - This refers to something dirty, disgusting or rotten and can be used to describe anything from the weather to leftovers found in the back of the fridge.

“Craic” - This roughly translates to having fun or good times, as in “Are you up for a bit of craic tonight?”

“The black stuff” - When someone asks for a pint of the black stuff, they’re served a pint of Guinness stout.

“Bold” - In the U.S. it usually means courageous, but in Ireland, it means naughty, as in bad behavior.

“Plaster” - A Band-Aid.

“Till” - A cash register.

“Dear” -“A ride” - An attractive person, but it can also refer to doing the deed. Not a term of endearment in Ireland, but something expensive.

“Langered” - A langer is a fool or an idiot and being langered means being incredibly drunk.

“Scarlet” - It means embarrassed, as in the color of your cheeks when you’re embarrassed.

“Savage” - Something awesome, excellent or really great.

“The messages” - If you’re getting the messages, you’re running errands or grocery shopping.

“Donkey’s years” - A long time.

It's binge drinker's favorite holiday! St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and we want to share the best Irish pubs in Tampa Bay to celebrate. Many places around the Tampa Bay area will be serving up some green beer and Irish car bombs.

In a recent study done by WalletHub, Tampa ranks 21st for best cities in the U.S. for St. Patrick's Day celebrations in 2025. Tampa takes over 3rd place for most Irish pubs and restaurants per capita. Which means there will be plenty of places to celebrate! WalletHub found this info by comparing 200 of the most populated cities across four factors: St. Patrick’s Day traditions, costs, safety & accessibility, and weather. We were shocked to find out that Tampa didn't rank first in the weather category, it's the most perfect time of year here in the Sunshine State. If you'd like to see how Tampa compares to other cities on the list, check out the full study here. 

As we mentioned earlier, Tampa has a lot of Irish pubs to visit. There's always a crowd at these places on the 17th. Tampa will be hosting a huge celebration on the 15th and that's right, River o' Green Fest is back! The city of Tampa is hosting a huge party at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. They'll even be dying the Hillsborough River green!

We couldn't include all of our favorite Irish Pubs, but we sure did cover the bases. Let us know on social media what your plans are for St. Paddy's day!

Head straight from the River o' Green fest to Four Green Fields in Downtown Tampa. This little hidden gem has some of the best Irish eats! Check out their menu, here. 

Dunedin is a super fun location to be on St. Patrick's Day. Their local Irish Pub Flanagan's is always packed for the occasion.

James Joyce will be serving up the perfect Guinness any day of the week, not just on St. Patrick's Day.

Maloney's in Westchase is going all out for St. Patrick's Day. They are hosting a huge celebration with traditional Irish music and food!

Irish 31 is throwing a St. Patrick's Day party for the whole family for Paddyfest 2024! They'll have inflatables and games for the kids, and plenty of green beer for the adults.

If you want to feel on the fancier side, check out Strandhill Public in Downtown Tampa across the street from Armature Works! This will be a great place to stop at before/after the River o' Green Fest!