I love the English language. The variety of words available to describe any particular emotion or feeling, are enough to send me into paroxysms of delight, kinks of laughter or child-like wonderment at the vastness of the available selection.
I love the whispering of the wind. The chattering of the chipmunks. The roar of the rapids and the rippling river. The hoity-toity and the skanky slappers.
Its like being a child in a sweet shop. Alone. Free to pick and choose, to gorge on allsorts, indulging the sheer pleasure of rolling them around one's mouth, to taste and lick, to discard or keep.
The fruit of my loins, like a lot of offspring, delight in finding a chink in the elder's armour. I have been caught, on numerous occasions, reading the dictionary. For some unknown reason, they find this extremely amusing.
Eejit is one of my favourite words. It can be used affectionately, derisively, aggressively or even admiringly. So versatile. It serves as a noun primarily but can also be used as an adjective. But you won't find it in any dictionary. Not of the English variety anyway. I suspect that it is peculiar to this green island. Certainly, the Queen of England wouldn't be having it as part of her verbal repertoire.
Loosely translated, it means "a foolish person". A "clown", of sorts.
"Eoinseach", another splendid word, is the gaelic for eejit. It can sometimes be interpreted as meaning "a bit light on the grey matter" or a "tad short on the smarts". Whatever its meaning, its like a great big clove-drop pinballing around the tongue and teeth.
One can be a great eejit, a big eejit or even a stupid eejit. One can even be a f***ing eejit. The opportunities to shine are endless.
Now, the adjective of this word is Eejity. A different kettle of fish altogether. One can be born eejity (sure god help us all), one can develop eejitiness or one can simply degenerate into an eejity state through no fault of one's own. While trapped in an eejity state, one is rarely coherent, one usually has the unfocused gaze of the bewildered and one should most definitely not be allowed within an asses roar of a motorised vehicle. Sympathy abounds in some quarters for the eejity ones. Compassion is an admirable virtue.
It is 11.45pm and I am dropping with tiredness. I have been decidedly eejity for the last couple of hours.
But I couldn't disappoint the Molly.
See, I am a good little blister.
Eejity but good.
5 comments:
Is eejit not just a slang form of idiot?
How did that picture of you and me end up on the cover of Roald Dahl's book? The rest of our blog brethren are likely shaking their heads and thinking "Shure and aren't those two a right pair of eejits!" And after less than a week of it, I'm thinking they're right!
Idiot is a horse of a different colour. Idiot doesn't make me laugh. But the word "eejit" makes me dissolve into giggles. An idiot is just stupid. But an eejit---shure there's no malice in an eejit---They, or is it "we"[?] are just muddling along the best they ["we?"] can....
muddling eejits - now there's a phrase I can wrap my tongue around ;)
secret agent woman ... Yes I suppose it is ... but here its meaning is a million miles from idiot ....we're a bit odd like that ...
Molly ... its so descriptiuve isn't it? It makes me laugh even to just say the word!
Pauline ... muddling eejits ...I feel another eejity post coming on ... Beware ...
My land does not teach us how to pronounce Irish, I am ashamed to admit, although I grew up surrounded by the Irish accents of the clergy, so how do you pronounce eoinseach?
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