A Quickie: Big Words and Irish Orals.

A few months ago, I signed up to www.dictionary.com to get their “word of the day” and, let me assure you of this, I haven’t looked back since.

In recent weeks and months, I’ve learned what “consternation”, “virtuoso” and “wanton” mean, but I can safely say nothing shall ever trump today’s word of the day:

spoonerism SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm, noun:
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
For example,
We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish [“half-formed wish”] inside us.
Let me sew you to your sheet [“show you to your seat”].
A well-boiled icicle [“well-oiled bicycle”].

My day’s just been made.
I had a migraine like no other early, and I’ve been asleep all afternoon on strong strong drugs (legal ones of course, to kill the little man inside my head trying to hammer its way out), but the hazy, painful cloud seems to have lifted on checking my emails and finding that! Spoonerism! I wonder if I’ll be able to slip that into everyday conversation once or twice? Hmm, definitely.

In other news, my Irish Oral’s on Thursday.
I’m not all that excited, unsurprisingly. We met with our examiner earlier- she looked stern but seems alright! She’s probably not all too stern at all to be honest; it’s more about the fact that I’m scared or something.
I’m sure I’ll do fine, I’m good at the old spoken Irish I guess.
There are a few questions I’m definitely anticipating, apart from the obvious family-future-hobbies ones, like “Why are you a GIRL in an all boy’s school?”, “Why do you come to school in Waterford if you live in a total different town/ county/ province?” and  the likes, so I’ve them prepared pretty well. I’m sure I’ll get asked something absolutely disgusting now, just to throw me off- something about a cult or something,
Sigh.
I’ll update on how it goes in any case.

Apart from that, I haven’t much Leaving Cert-related news, so I’m off to watch Scrubs. Or study. Or satisfy my newfound Diet Coke addiction.
*shrugs*- so many options.

If you’re here reading the blog, feel free to leave a comment about how your orals are going! Lots of funny stories can come out of them- in my French one last year I was asked about Bertie Ahern- not his policies or the work he did as Taoiseach, no no, nothing like that- I was asked about his makeup.
“Sure Bertie spends a lot of money on makeup, doesn’t he?” I will never forget that evil witch of an examiner.

14 thoughts on “A Quickie: Big Words and Irish Orals.”

  1. Spoonerism! See I did the wrong thing, I subscribed to the urban dictionary’s word of the day service.

    -shudder-

    It’s best not to talk about it. Good luck on Thursday!

  2. My oral examiner asked me what do i do for lunch usually. Simple enough question i thought. Why the feck did i reply ta ocras orm 🙁

  3. I have my oral on Thursday too! Kinda looking forward to just getting it done at this stage!

    The best thing about spoonerisms is that they are named after Mr Spooner, college lecturer who always made them in his lectures. Sigh, what a name and what a name!

    Curiously awakened, only girl in boys school? Hefty travel distances…? Hmmm!

  4. I had mine on Monday, and was a bag or nerves. We had the lovliest examiner ever though, and afterwards I felt silly for being nervous at all! I was asked odd, but not unanswerable questions. I think it went well!
    I’m sure you’ll be fine! Good luck on Thursday!

  5. Had it yesterday. Guy was really sound, which helped dimish the disappointment of not getting the hot chick…

    Speaking of the hot chick (the second examiner), rumour has it that at one point, she actually stopped the tape with one guy and TOLD him what to say IN ENGLISH. All they really want to do is help out.

    What’s wrong with “Overhead door. “?

  6. Grace: Urban dictionary? Aha! A Jennie is, apparently, “Someone with sexy hips, an amazing voice, big boobs, and is all round Sexy”, for example, She is TOTALLY Jennie.
    Sounds about right.
    It’s also “A girl that works in a shop and is very lazy “, which is…. half right 😛

    Owen: It could be a lot worse…. at least you didn’t reply “is maith liom madra” or something completely unrelated!

    Marie: Ah, now, I’m not the only girl in an all boys school. I’m one of about 10. 100:1 ratio. Ka-ching. Aha. (It’s an all boy’s school but they allow females to repeat there. Very complex stuff!)

    Fad: Oh, a-ha, if only I’d seen that comment earlier! I could’ve prepared! There’s still time for the French ones though- shall we?

    johnathan ross: nm, nm.
    (I feel uncomfortable when randommers with fake email addresses leave abbreviated words as comments..)

    Aoife: Ah, I can relate to the nerves beforehand and that feeling of “sure, thare was nothing to worry about!” after – you’re really not alone there!
    Nice blog you’ve got going there by the way, nice to see we’re not the only ones banging on about the LC.

    Emerald: There was a man and woman in my school too- was half hoping for the man, thinking, y’know, “Bheadh mé in ann súgán a dhéanamh de”, but glad I got the woman in the end- sure I can charm anyone- and she was asking the difficult questions I yearn for!
    I got told a story of an examiner who was in a school in my part of the country 2 years ago who was stopping the tape mid-oral exam and telling people to stop saying off learned off stuff. *shudders* That would NOT be cool.

    Anyway, that was a lot of replying.
    *pats self on back*

  7. Urban dictionary has scarred me for life. I will always feel the vomit in the back of my throat when the word “mungeing” comes to mind.

    Go on. Search it. You know you want to…

  8. Liam, I presume your referring to munting………

    Jennie-Irish starts on monday up here, I think wordplay in any oral exam would go down pretty well, Just need context and something to say now 🙁

    The one idiom you should have used “Chomh leamh le uisce portaigh-As insipid as bog water” Oh Irish, will you ever fail me?”

  9. Y’know those packets of sugar with Irish phrases on the back? “Gem” or something…
    Well, earlier I read one which translated as “He would take the legs from beneath a chicken” or something. It means, He talks a lot.

    Absolutely hilarious. Can’t remember the Irish version, I’ll put it on my to-do list.

  10. Just urban dictionary’d munging.
    Liam, I will never sleep soundly again.

    (I’ll be too busy in graveyards in the dead of night. yeow!)

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