C

Call: Need.

'Sure, there was no call for that, so there wasn't.'

Calve: To faint, to fall down or take a tumble (usually as a result of too much alcohol) From: Sally Kelly

Canny meaning shrewd, 'He is a canny boy that'. From: Des

Carn: a lumpen and brutish person, incapable of refinement, usually with a touch of malevolence. "He's an ignernt carn, that 'un. He'd go through you for a short cut" From: Dominic Campbell

Cast up: Remind accusingly.

'I made one mistake and he's been casting it up ever since.'

Castle: Term used to describe arranging turf/peat to aid the drying process From: Sally Kelly

Cat: Very bad - "I seen that 'Alexander'. Twas cat so it was." From: Brian

Cat melodian- pronounced 'Kyat melodgin'. Same as 'cat', used mostly in Co. Armagh as an expression of disappointment or disapproval. "Thon new one way system roun the toun is kyat melodgin, sot'is." From: Daisy.

Catch yerself on: Warning. caution.

'Catch yerself on, y're throwing good money after bad.'

'Catch yerself on or y'll git a quare dig in the gub.'

Champ: Potatoes mashed with butter and scallions heated in milk.

'A good feed of champ is hard til bate!'

Cheesers: Horse chestnuts, what they call conkers in England.

Cheevie: Noun: A chase initiated by one party causing annoyance to another. Eg. The man from no. 8 gave us a cheevie 'cos we threw stones at his window. From Danny.

Childer: plural of child or chile. English dialect word that lost out to that other English dialect word, children, as the accepted plural. Dominic Campbell adds: Childer: note that the i is pronounced as in children, not as in child.

Chimley: Ulsterese for chimney. From Rex.

Chode - a small fat person! From Matty

Chokin': maddened with thirst, eg: "Have ye got a mineral, I'm chokin'" From: Dominic Campbell

Chughie at - to persevere From David Orr

Chumley - chimney- as in "Thon chumley thonder needs a good hokin' out or it'll cyatch fayer some day soon" From: F. Butler. Dominic Campbell adds: Chimley is another variant of Chumley, used in Tyrone. eg: "Get tee yer bed before Santee comes down the chimley"

Chutie/Chootie: Not in vogue or style, old fashioned, not in style; usually refers to clothing (County Antrim) From: Sally Kelly

Clabber: Mud.

'He went out to play futball and came back up to his oxters in clabber.'

Clap: Dung.'I can't abide the country, it's fulla cow clap.'

Caleeried. meaning a bit daft - thon wans a bit caleeried From Jean Elliott

Clampet - stupid person. From: Barbara

Cla'moul: Throw muck at (Clod mole at) eg "away and clamoul yourself" From Gerard McCurley

Clane (Clean) = Complete, total. 'He cut the hair clane aff him' From Terence Donnelly

Clart: Dirty person.
Clart - a foolish person - an idiot - " Yon boy theres a fierce clart". Can also be used affectionately. From Paul Logan.

Clash: Tell tales.

'Don't you go clashin' til the teacher.'
Clash: To hit with an open hand. From Gordon Curry

Clashbeg: A telltale. (milder than tout).

Class: Adjective very good, brilliant. From: Sally Kelly

Clat, clatty - meaning filth, filthy, extremely dirty. "Luk at the clat o' yer man." From: Johnny

Clatter: An undetermined number.

'Away and git us a clatter o' wee buns.'

Clean: Very ie "He just went clean mad!" trans. "He lost his temper". From: Sally Kelly

Cleek: a hook for hanging things on. From anon

Clegg. as in bejeezzes son thon will come up like a bap after that wee clegg bit ye. (i think it means horsefly). From: Kevin Mac

Clem: stupid person. 'Thon boy's a pure clem.' Widely used in North Antrim. From: Peter McCullagh.

Clift: fool, idiot. 'He's an awful clift with a drop of drink in him.' From: JP Devlin.

Clinch. When playing `cheezers', if the strings become entangled, the first one to shout `clinch' gets the next shot. From - Farnsbarn

Clipe/klipe: A telltale (like clashbeg). From Gordon Curry

Dominic Campbell adds: Clipe is also used to mean lump or swathe. eg: 'He was cuttin' clipes off the door.'

Clipe-clash: a tell-tale. From Ray Thomson

Clobber - 'I will clobber you one if you're not careful.' From: Sarah.

Clock: To sit in a very settled way.

'She's bin clockin' in front of that fire all day.'

'Ah think ah'll just clock at home the night.'

Clock: a large black beetle. From John Sloan

Clod: To throw things (like stones and half-bricks).

'Stap yer cloddin, y'll have somebody's eye out'

Cloggin. Driving fast,"boy, he's really cloggin" From: John Maze

Cloot: Left-handed. From Robert

Close - Humid, "Its wile close the day, the sweat's drippin af me" From Johnny Dallas

Coal hole..grim space under the stairs and accessed from the scullery.....per Sandy Row From Gruff

Coat-puller. A person who is always cadging drink or cigarettes in a bar."Hey Mac, buy us a drink, have ye a feg on ye From: Farnsbarn

Cod: Joke, joker. Foolish individual.

'Ach sure, ah was only coddin', so ah was.'

'Calm down, it was only an oul cod.'

'He was tryin' to make a cod outta me.'

Codology: Nonsense. From Brian

Cog: To copy or sneak a peak at someone else's work/to plagarise. From: Sally Kelly

Coggly: Wobbly, unsteady.

'This table's all coggly, let's sit over there.'

'M'bike's got a coggly wheel, so it does.'

Collogue: Talk in a conspiratorial or scheming way.

'Them two's always colloguin' round the coffee machine.'

Coof - person who acts in a foolish manner. Eg. "wud ya quit actin' the coof!" From: Dale

Coogly: meaning wobbly, unsteady as in: 'boys, thon table leg is gay coogly. North Antrim origins. From: Pete.

Coorse christian: Rough character (generally affectionate). From: Brian

Coort - to go out with (as boyfriend and girlfriend) - and sometimes more. "those two are coortin' now" "he used to coort her" "they were coortin' behind the bike sheid" From: Mark - See Court

Cop: Realise. He never copped on when the table cowped. From Ruairí Co.Down

Coulrife: Someone who never feels warm, feeling cold all the time.

'She's that coulrife she nivver takes her coat aff.'

'He's an oul coulrife, y'd better put the heating on.'

Coupon: Face. As in "he's a bit rough around the coupon", he's rough looking. From Andi

Court- encounter some romance, get a bit of lovin "Did you get a wee court at the weekend?" From: Stephen from Portadown

Cowbeg - Not a nice person. Ya wee cowbeg ye!! From: Gemma G

Cowl: Northern Irish for 'cold'. From: Sally Kelly

Cowp: To fall over, to cause something to fall over.

'Mind yerself or y'll cowp.'

'Cowp thon on til its side til we hav a wee luk.'

Crabbed: Tetchy, irritable, bad tempered, petulant. From: Sally Kelly

Crabbit: bad tempered, cross as in "he's a crabbit 'oul get" (the sort of person who's always girnin' or greetin' about something) From: John Sloan

Crack: Entertaining chat, fun.

'Ye shudda bin there the crack was great.'

'Ach, he's great crack, so he is.'

NB. Sometimes spelt craic these days in the mistaken belief that the word is Irish in origin, because of its popularity in Ireland as a word and a concept, but the word is English in origin. It fell out of use in English in England but was preserved in Irish and Scottish English.
Mark Kelly adds: I think someone has this definition VERY wrong - i suggest looking up craic and the timeline in what it originated in the irish language - long bfore it was used in english.

Craitur: Alternative to crathur- "Ach ye puir wee craitur!" From: Stephen Hewitt

Crathur - person for whom one feels pity, usually a child
"och the poor wee crathur". From: JP Devlin.

Crather - A drop of the crather: a drink of poteen. From: Bill Dill

Cub - small boy

Culchie - someone from the country like a farmer. From Louis Hawthorne

Cursin, foul language. 'Quit yer cursin or I'll hit ye a slap.' From: Donna Knapper.

Cut: Mortified, embarrassed.

'Ah was nivver so cut in all m'born days.'

'God love her, she was all cut.'

Cut: 1. shape, condition or lack of. eg: "Wud ye luk at the cut o' that? It's got neither shape nor make till it."

2. length, extent. eg: "He missed the bus, so he walked the whole cut." From Dominic Campbell

Cute: Shrewd, clever, wily. From: Sally Kelly

Cuttin': Feeling/going ie "How's she cuttin'?"
Snide, abrupt, blunt, brusque. From: Sally Kelly

Cutty: meaning a wee girl From: Joanne

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