Ottawa Valley Expressions

Sources are acknowledged at the end of the list.

Saying

Meaning

A far piece

A great distance

After

As in “I’m after telling you…”

Aigs

eggs

Altogether

As in “that’s a different story altogether”

Omadhaun (also amadan)

A harmless and likeable simpleton

An auld (owl) slop

A untidy person  or housekeeper

Article

Useless - What kind of an article are you?

At all, at all

For emphasis, or ironic too - Crazy? Not at all, at all.

Auld (owled)

Old

Bad ‘cess t’ye

Bad luck to you

bais (beyes)

boys

Be’s

Continues

Bellyachin’

Complaining

Big feelin’

proud

Binge, rip, tear, or toot

A drinking session of several days: go on a toot

bilin or bayling

boiling

birl (a log, later a wheel)

spinning a floating log by taking a series of small, rapid steps digging the spikes of caulked boots into the log.

Blast it, or blasted

Darn it, or damned

Blather or blatherin

Talking nonsense or drivel

Blatherer or blatherskite

A person who spoke nonsense

Blazes

Go to hell

Boink

Bank

Break’st

breakfast

Broke

Broken: the bottle was broke

Bucko

My boy

Boosh

Bush

Cairp

Carp, Ontario. One of my first instructions from a Valley employee at the Experimental Farm was "I'l tak youse bais down to the end of the feeld and serarate youse farty feet apart". (J. Wilson)

Cam

calm -The water is calm.

Cant it over

turn it over

Car

pronounced care

Childern

Children

Chiseller

a sharp bargainer

Coalisle

Coal-oil

Coddin’

(only) joking or kidding

Codger

A fellow harmless and likeable

Coniption fit

A reaction

Consarn it!

Darn it! God darn it!

Cook  (as in cool)

Cook as in book

Cookie

k-oo-kie

cork boots

caulked boots (metal points in the soles)  for good footing on floating logs

Dasn’t

Must not or dare not

Divil the fear

No suck luck

Do be

What do you be doing on Saturdays?

Docterin

You are seeing a doctor about an ailment

Fair to middlin’

I’m not bad, not my best, in between.

Faith (to start a sentence.)

In truth

farty

forty

Food

as in good

For to

for

Fornenst

next to

Futherin’

fooling around in a pokey way

Gadding about

To flit from one place to another for the fun of it.

Galivantin’

hanging out

Get your head in fist

Get boxed on the head

gettay, Herb

Gidday, Herb; good day, Herb

gidday, gidday

hello or good-day

Give ‘er a go

Try something; you may or may not succeed

Glom’

grab, paw over

Gom

fool, stupid person

Good- tongue-lashing

something to be avoided

Good-night

Hello

Gooseberry

a person who is unwelcome

Gop

gape, gawk

Griggin

Taunting someone over what you had and he/she didn’t

gum boots  (esp. English)

In languages other than English, ‘rubber’ goes by a transliteration of ‘gum.’ Even in England, ‘rubber’ boots are ‘gum’ boots.’ (Britannica)

Guff

Enough of your guff! - nonsense, ridiculous talk

Gut

A narrow passage

Hen-hearted

Cowardly

Himself

The head of the family

Hop Short

He’ll hop short if he’s here too long!

How are you now?

This is a mischievous greeting, depending on the listener’s response. It can imply you were ill or suggest a previous meeting when you were ill, or merely mean hello. It is ironic humour if you take it literally and begin a health update.

Isn’t that a turr!

isn’t that a terror, a terrible thing

kittle

kettle

knock a hound off a gut wagon

something very disgusting: enough to knock a …

Lad

any male, any age

loin’s share

lion

Look’t here!

Warning: pay attention for I’m going to set you straight.

Me baiyo

My boy

Meandrin

Wandering or gallivantin’

mickey

a 13 oz flask of liquor

Mind the time when

Remember when

Monday week

a week from Monday

Mucky-muck

People in authority (government or church)

Noody-noddy

Indecisive behaviour

N’r  --- than

Than: this job is better n’r that one

Nary

Not a bit

Oft-times

Often times

Omadhaun

A foolish person

Only just

For emphasis or to be precise: “ only just good luck”

P’sarves

preserves

Palaver

Exaggerated or phoney talk

Pair-alt

Perrault Settlement

Pam

Palm: pam of my hand

Pammer

Back of the Pammer: behind Palmer Rapids

Piker

A shriker, a quitter

Pisherogues

old stories that are not true

Pon my soal

expression of surprise

Poothering

Puttering or putting in time

Pot-walloping

Was cleaning up the kitchen

Prembook

Pembroke

Prettanear  (pret’near)

Almost

Puss, jib, gob

mouth - Give a puck on the gob!

Puttin’ on the dog or Put-on

to put up on airs

quick:  - the quick and the dead

He was moving, so that I knowed he was quick.

Quit ye!

Stop

Quite

Calm -  Is that bull quite?

Reefin’

Exclamation: joy, disapproval, surprise – very flexible

Red-up the dishes

Clean up after a meal

Riggin’ or Rigged

A  thing or to fix up something

Rippin’

angry

Seen – saw

I seen the deer

Shake a shoe

Dance

Shindig

A party with lively dancing.

Short-taken

Now

“Sit in. Make out your meal. “

“I’ll reach.”

Come to the table for a meal. Eat heartily. Response: I won’t be shy or let politeness interfere.

Skallywag

Rascal

Skeddadle

Hurry along

Skeeters

Mosquitoes

Skite

Needs to be disciplined

Slippy

Slippery

Snigh

A narrow path

Snort, swig , (shot), hooker

a drink of whiskey

Snorter

Anyone strikingly intense, violent, extraordinary

Spalpeen

Scamp, rascal

Spondoolicks

money, cash

Spuds, taters, potacs, potaters

potatoes

Sthreiled

stretched, strung

Sthreilish

Untidy, sloppy

Streelish

Untidy of dress and hairstyle

Take him down a peg or two

humble him

Tarpolian

Tarpaulin

Tear, rip

Go on a toot or drunk

The Mount’n

Mount St. Patrick

There’s a fine how are yuh

That’s a pretty kettle of fish!

Thing-a-ma-jig or thing-a-ma-bob

Use to replace nouns when words fail

Tirty-tree

thirty-three

Tom cattin’

Prowling around

Towsy

Untidy

Trethspees

Strathspey

Turrible

terrible, very

Twigged

To catch onto something – I twigged right away.

Up beyant ‘Peongo

Up behind the Opeongo

Up the line

up the Ottawa Valley, (survey, railroad, highway)

Used

Use to

well, sir, now

Opening phrase: indignation, sometimes delight

Whish or Whisht

Be quiet

whithrick  “You whitherick, you!

whitterick – long legged, long billed, gangly bird

Winder

Window

Woe betide you

You’ll get into evil conequences.

Worshing

Washing

Yaller, yalla

yellow

Ye

Did ye people go?

Yerra

An Irish sentence opener

Yoe (yeoman, landowner)

Insensitive, arrogant – You’re quite the yoe!

Youse guys

You guys

Zink

Sink

365

In the past, it was  “learner’s” driving license

24 (two-four)

A case of beer

Expressions Collected By Irene Foran Dooling

Printed in Growing Up Foran: a compilation of words, Irish expressions and idioms familiar to our young ears…no longer heard…too precious to be lost forever. (Ottawa, ON, 2000) Irene had other short ones too that duplicated ones included in the preceding columns.

"Talking through your hat" meant that you were exaggerating, or not to be believed.

Visitors at mealtime were invited to "Sit in" (to the table), and this would be followed by: "Make out your meal, now," to which they might reply: "I'll reach. " (Tables and families were bigger then so a good reach was an advantage!)

Not having "enough on to wad a gun” meant that someone was not warmly enough dressed.

“Close the door on the bread” meant: "don't let in the cold air while the bread is rising". Or it just meant "close the door” if there was no bread rising!

“My beans are burning" was a way to terminate a telephone call! ... but only, I guess, if the other person didn't also use the phrase!

“It would be a fine day”.  “It would be a fine day if God took him”, or “sure it was a fine day for him; he wasn’t going to get better”. These were comments heard when someone was very sick - ("at death’s door, sure”) or had died.

“How is she taking it?” or “She’s taking it hard” were used to describe a mourner’s grief.

A "month’s – mind mass” was held 30 days after a death.

“Talked to/ talking to” meant courting or dating.

"Safe home" - What would you give to hear Mum say that once more?

"Keep your fork"- my favourite...because it meant we were going to have pie for dessert.

"I bar" - was used to lay claim to something. If a sibling "barred" a cookie on the plate, there was an honour-bound thing about respecting it.

"Mind the time"- “remember when?”

"Many’s the time” - "it happened often that..."

“Do away with” or “did away with” - meant cancelled or gotten rid of, or could even mean suicide, if someone “did away with himself”

“Let ye” …- a suggestion meaning “why don’t you?”

"Putting it over on you " - meant that someone was telling you a non-truth, or trying to pull a fast deal on you.

“They saw you coming” – was used when someone was deemed to have made a poor deal or paid too much for something.

“Keep your eyes peeled” or “Keep your eyes skinned” – meaning “watch out for”.

…”put the toe of me boot to him” was a suggested way to persuade someone who needed persuasion!

“You won’t be here for supper, so?” “So” was often heard at the end of sentences, rather than the beginning.

“Brains to burn” – was a phrase used to describe a very smart person.

Around town you might hear: “she was down to Ottawa with her shoulder.” Presumably the rest of her went too!

If someone was drinking, you might hear that he was on a “bender” or a “toot”; “he had a bellyful” or “a few under his beltI” or he was “tight.”

“Take off your hat an stay a while.”  And: stay ‘til the cool of the evening.”  - Two of Dad’s favourites.

“Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.” usually applied to someone who was uppity or thought she/he was high class.

“A fine how-do-you-do.” – This was one of those contradictory Irish expressions…there was nothing fine about what was being described; rather it was somewhat of a calamity/ disaster.

“The makin’ of you/him/her” – meant that the speaker thought such a thing was just what was needed by another person to make them mature or successful.

Many expressions take their origins from Gaelic and several from German. Some arise from the various jobs that are part of logging or farming, and the desire to give a witty response or an apt description.

Appeal to the senses and to humour show there is fun in using words and comparisons for emphasis or to surprise the unwary. Since they were spoken and heard but seldom written, the spelling varies and the tone used shifts the meaning.

Sources: a collection made by students in my writing classes at Opeongo High School, my own family, Irene Foran Dooling’s family, especially those so well explained in sentences, and several from individuals who forwarded their favourites once they read my collection at http://www.ogradys.ca/opeongo/index.html: John Wilson, Dr. Ian Shields, Ron Fitzgerald, Robert Dowdell, Joann McCann. A few are malapropisms, the wrong words that sound like the right ones. There are always a few that never appear in print or get used only among trusted comrades or in a locker room.