Any crack?

Something is really sarting to get on my nerves. Observe the fact that the word 'craic' started out, apparantly as 'crack', as a Scots English term. It has become hijacked to a large extent and is now used shamelessly and withou question by Irish people as 'craic'.

This gets up a lot of people's noses. There was a letter in he Times about it: CRACKING UP OVER 'CRAIC'. Words like 'monstrosity' and 'misbegotten' were used. Frank McNally based an article on the letter, charting its journey through meaning: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/0319/1205706670445.html

I'll tell you what gets up my nose. People complaining about the 'misuse' of the word. For God's sake haven't they heard of linguistic fallacies?

Discuss.

I think too many of us agree with each other around this place.
(i'll have to get a subscription to the IT btw)

Ths Spanish have borrowed the word from somewhere and use it describe a cracker of a footballer, for example (not a cracker of a goal mind you)

Ronaldo is a cracking footballer

People complaining about the misuse of words should shampoo my crotch*

*name the film

Jaysus 905 - I'd be careful about letting any "crack" go anywhere near your nose - yet alone up it.

Ya know - crack cocaine.........







I'll get my coat

I think its well estabhlished that it is not of Irish origin but I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

Theres plenty of other words that would grind me including 'leitís mharfach'.

If you look at the front of that new irish magazine 'Nós' theres a t-shirt with the slogan 'Labhair leis an lámh' which is mildly cretinous but all the same welcome.

And it has a Jerry Springer etymology for fickles sake

Auditor #9 wrote:

I think too many of us agree with each other around this place.
(i'll have to get a subscription to the IT btw)

Ths Spanish have borrowed the word from somewhere and use it describe a cracker of a footballer, for example (not a cracker of a goal mind you)

Ronaldo is a cracking footballer

People complaining about the misuse of words should shampoo my crotch*

*name the film

I am disgusted by the last poster's comments. I find them outrageous, despicable, double standards of the most loathful kind for no particular reason whatsoever. Would that be disagreeable enough for you?

There's a new magazine 'Nós'?

905 you don't snigger at people do you? nor do you like it.

Auditor #9 wrote:

There's a new magazine 'Nós'?

905 you don't snigger at people do you? nor do you like it.

Féach ar seo

www.nosmag.com

Here's the letter in full:

Quote :

Madam, - I read in Alison Healy's account of the racing at Cheltenham (March 13th) that race goers did not let the weather spoil their "craic". What on earth is this "craic" thing about which we hear so much?
When I was growing up in Derry in the 1970s we referred to fun as "crack". This normal English word was from the same derivation as "to crack a joke", "wisecrack" or "to get cracking".
Some time around the mid -1980s, however, Dublin-based newspapers - including, to its eternal shame, The Irish Times, started using the misbegotten term "craic". Why?
Is there any possibility you might drop this monstrosity and instead restore the perfectly usable word "crack" to its rightful position?
- Yours, etc,
MICHAEL HILLS, Singapore.

What's all this sniggering talk?

Auditor #9 wrote:

905 you don't snigger at people do you? nor do you like it.

Now that's a good example of trying to say something but it comes out totally ambiguously..

905 your man in the letter is turning his nose up at the word 'craic' isn't he ? He's not a million miles away from disapproval through sniggering at people who use the word 'craic' either - although he sounds too snobby to be a sniggerer but they are one and the same.

Sniggering is a form of ridicule - something I'd imagine you as a character would strongly disapprove of, that's what I was trying to say/ask.

(i'm really going off the point here but I was thinking recently about language and how so much of it is communicated without words but instead through gesture and sounds etc. I realised there is no name for that sound we make which is a half-snigger of ridicule where we make a disapproving sound in our noses when we see something we think is ridiculous and often want to let someone know about it. Anyone got a name for it or even know what I am on about? )

Auditor wrote

Quote :

I realised there is no name for that sound we make which is a half-snigger of ridicule where we make a disapproving sound in our noses when we see something we think is ridiculous and often want to let someone know about it. Anyone got a name for it or even know what I am on about?

Interestingly, in the context of the discussion, I think the word you need is 'snort'.

If Michael Hills had posted that letter in the Vent forum here, I wonder what the reaction would be.

On the one hand, I think he needs to get out more; on the other hand, I'm still living down being ridiculed on another site for suggesting that public urination is just not on.

(I haven't changed my mind on that, by the way)

sometimes words escape me ... for months

(changed your mind on what kate ? you talkin ta me?)

Public Urination is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

http://www.politics.ie/viewtopic.php?t=30727&start=72&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=baacef45b3e3b9af4a88b31c8a8115c2

Kate P wrote:

Public Urination is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

http://www.politics.ie/viewtopic.php?t=30727&start=72&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=baacef45b3e3b9af4a88b31c8a8115c2

Not ridicule Kate, its just a kind of trade mark thread, which your intransigence will ensure is always remembered.

cactus flower wrote:

Kate P wrote:

Public Urination is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!

http://www.politics.ie/viewtopic.php?t=30727&start=72&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=&sid=baacef45b3e3b9af4a88b31c8a8115c2

Not ridicule Kate, its just a kind of trade mark thread, which your intransigence will ensure is always remembered.

Well, she's quite right though.

You are an ibis of discernment and sophistication beyond your peers.

I am away but there's always an internet cafe nearby or a wifi point.

Friends haven't turned up yet. Judases.

Pity you're not around - I've just invented a new coffee cake and you would have been welcome to a slice had you been here.

email me a slice will you?

Delete that space between ...jpg and [/img] and we'll be sharing in something glorious.

Wha space ?

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Wha space ?

I think Kate P posted an image here, left a space between the html link and [/img]

I was curious as to what it was. I pointed out the error but Kate P deleted the post rendering my exercise pointless.

My fault - I've been following Audi's step by step instructions to uploading a photo from my computer (of above mentioned coffee cake) to here.

But screwed it up - for reasons made clear by A-T and have sent it (successfully - yay!!!) as a pm instead.

Picture is actually a bit blurry and too big and looks a little weird, sadly.

You read the post incredibly promptly - I deleted it in seconds... sorry - and thanks.

You can't email your cake and eat it, you know.

One of the ironic tragedies of life, sadly. It's a very good coffee cake.