Craic (sometimes crack)

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David Myer
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Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby David Myer » Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:42 am

I love this Irish/Scottish word because it means something that is not directly translatable into English.

Lots of languages have a similar word although each has a slightly different nuanced meaning. German Gemutlich (I think - no expert on German), French Bonhommie and so on are rough translations, but there really isn't a word in English - or is there?

Does anyone have any ideas on this? And do you suppose the lack of a word is because the English don't know how to enjoy themselves?

misterdoe
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby misterdoe » Mon Jun 01, 2015 8:53 pm

I heard a comedian from Scotland commenting on this word. He said "for the craic" means roughly "for the hell of it." Then he said, "You don't use that expression here in the US, which I learned at the airport..." :lol:

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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby George Kovac » Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:35 am

Two unrelated thoughts about this delightful (and mainly Irish) word:

1. "Cracker" is a term applied to some inhabitants of Florida and Georgia. The etymology is murky, but one theory is that many of the early settlers (who often engaged in raising cattle or farming) were free-wheeling men of Irish (or Scots-Irish) descent, and "cracker" derived from "craic." In practice today the term "cracker" is usually, but not exclusively, pejorative. For example, in 1947, when the students of Florida State University voted to select a name for its new football team, "Cracker" was one of the five options on the ballot. (For readers who know nothing of football or Florida, "Seminoles" was the winning name.)

2. The word "craic" came again to my attention as a result of the Rio Olympics. The word was used in an interview by two Irish brothers, the O'Donovans, who won silver medals in rowing. Here is a headline from The Mirror (UK) on August 16, 2016: “Irish rowers win the Olympics with hilarious interview after claiming silver medals. Brothers Paul and Gary O’Donovan have received a lot of online love for their tremendous 'craic'” The hysterical interview is well worth watching and can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXMj6yNqDCo
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016

Philip Hudson
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:27 am

Gemutlich is easily translated into English. It means happy. Bonhommie in French means cheerful. In many languages it transliterates. Craic is completely unknown to me but I did find a definition. I can't say that I am impressed with the word. A cracker as a pejorative description goes far back in the English language. Etymonline says it is "probably an agent noun from crack (v.) in the sense "to boast". "Cracker" seems not to be derived from "craic." Some city slickers call us denizens of the hinterlands crackers.
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call_copse
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby call_copse » Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:24 am

I'm not particularly convinced cracker is from craic either. Cracker, as far as I understand, as a pejorative, derives from 'those who crack the whip' i.e. a slavery reference.

Craic on the other hand is a nice, easy-going friendly word that has never been offensive to anyone in its life. If you ever meet any Irish folk for any length of time, you'd definitely hear it, delivered in a jocular way, with irresistible bonhomie.
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Aug 26, 2016 12:45 pm

I hear it around here used as a pejorative by African Americans
when referring to Caucasians.
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby Perry Lassiter » Sun Aug 28, 2016 7:32 pm

How is craic pronounced? Crake, crack,crike, or something else.

Philip, don't know whether you've picked up on it, but Richardson is smack in the middle of the Dallas metro. Methinks thou hast become a city slicker!
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call_copse
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby call_copse » Tue Aug 30, 2016 6:43 am

@Perry

It's just pronounced like crack.
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George Kovac
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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby George Kovac » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:21 am

How do you say "craic"?

To hear an excruciatingly authentic (not to say hysterical) pronunciation of "craic," listen to Olympic rower Paul O'Donovan interviewed in the Youtube clip mentioned in my prior post above, which is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXMj6yNqDCo

At about 0:58 seconds into the two minute clip, Paul O'Donovan, with a smile that is equal parts charm and mischief, mentions what a "great craic" he is haf'n in Rio.
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016

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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby Perry Lassiter » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:39 pm

Doesn't sound like the Irish cops on tv, but then southern rednecks don't sound like "southerners" on tv.
pl

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Re: Craic (sometimes crack)

Postby George Kovac » Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:08 pm

The Economist today features a prodigy of the use of the word "craic":

“And there he was in 2007, even more astonishingly, deputy first minister to Ian Paisley, the most diehard of the arch-unionists, laughing along with him and sharing the craic, until they were known as the Chuckle Brothers.” The Economist, obituary of Martin McGuinness, March 21, 2017
"Every battle of ideas is fought on the terrain of language." Zia Haider Rahman, New York Times 4/8/2016


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