WE’RE A NATION of scholars and poets.

Here’s some of our finest (and harshest) work…

Gom

To accuse someone of “acting the gom” or being “some gom” is a savage punishment indeed.

Clown

Again, “acting the clown” or being “some clown” is a heavy cross to bear. Add “f**king” to the mix and you’re really getting the boot in.

Lickarse

Picture the scene:

• You’re 13. 
• You’ve done the homework and someone else hasn’t.
• You remind the teacher about the homework.
• “Lickarse”, comes the hiss across the room.
• Your small world crumbles.
• This feeling perseveres through your adult life and well into your eighties any time the dreaded ‘L’ word is mentioned, even if it’s not about you.

End the lickarse tyranny.

Shitehawk

Used to great effect here:

Sap

Whether the insult is of the “you’ve gone soft” variety or the “you’re a dope” variety, it still cuts to the bone.

Harmless

Ah sure he/she’s harmless.

A cruel, cruel blow, worsened only by tacking on “god love him/her” at the end.

QUIZ: How Much Of A Sap Are You?

12 words and phrases that have a totally different meaning in Cork

Watch 12 hapless tourists struggling to translate Irish slang