# Irish: malafústar



## L'irlandais

Hello,
Another example of a "loan-word" from Gaeilge in everyday English usage in Munster.


> "I will *malafústar* you!"
> It's a punishment threatened by parents against their disobedient children, meaning _"I'll tie your eyebrows in a knot."_


from *mala* = eyebrow + verb
Of course, not knowing how to spell the verb *fústar* correctly, hasn't helped my online search much. 

Any suggestions of correct spelling are more than welcome.


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## elirlandes

There is "feistigh" which is "to tie [something to something]"

By the way - I am much enjoying the threads on loan words from Irish. Perhaps a thread listing the _cúpla focail_ we Irish use in English which are imported from the Irish language would be worth creating. For example, I was shocked recently to hear my Spanish wife ask my son if he had his geansaí with him as he went off to school as it was cold out... [for those of you not from Ireland, _geansaí_ is the Irish language word for jumper/sweater, but we use it as a loan word in English].

As well as that, there are the English language words in Hiberno-english which are not related to Irish, but that are not current elsewhere. For example, I was surprised years ago when I went to college across the water that the English don't know that a "press" is a "cupboard". It took me ages to discover that our "hot press" is what they call an "airing cupboard". etc.


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## L'irlandais

Hi elirlandes,
Thanks for that "feistigh" tip.
The _ould "hot press", _love it.  This "Hiberno" thing spills over into gramatical areas too.
In Ireland it is usual to employ the definite article before a noun, as with both French & German.  Since learning these two foreign languages, I can now see that this practice is a bit unusal in English.
Not so with our dialect of English, _"Are you good at French (or Maths, or whatever)?"  _becomes _"Are you good at the French?" _


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## elirlandes

Mhuise, I'm a great man for the French, myself.


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## Pedro y La Torre

When I was young we always used to call the stuff that is in your eyes when you wake up sometimes "sulugs" (no idea how to spell it, this dictionary gives súlach as the closest thing I can find). 

In any case, my French girlfriend has now taken to referring to "sulugs", as well as going to her _leaba_, in both languages.


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## elirlandes

Pedro y La Torre said:


> When I was young we always used to call the stuff that is in your eyes when you wake up sometimes "sulugs" (no idea how to spell it, this dictionary gives súlach as the closest thing I can find).



"sleep" is what that is generally called in English - although someone tried to convince us all that "eye goobers" was the correct translation...
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=307431&page=3 



Pedro y La Torre said:


> In any case, my French girlfriend has now taken to referring to "sulugs", as well as going to her _leaba_, in both languages.


As in "tiens, il est tard... je vais me mettre au _*leaba*_"...excellent...
Irish also has loan words from French... down in the South East you often hear _Garsún _or _garsúr _for _buachaill _(garc,on)... a throwback to the year of the French some say...


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## L'irlandais

Hi guys,
I agree.  There are loads of French people living in my home town.  It never ceases to make me smile to hear _"How's the craic?"* _from somebody with a strong french accent.
*(Meaning how are you doing? for those who don't have the Hiberno-English.)


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## ewie

elirlandes said:


> "sleep" is what that is generally called in English - although someone tried to convince us all that "eye goobers" was the correct translation...


At the last count we'd found no fewer than _25_ names for that in English, El


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