Irish Slang For Angry (5 Examples!)

The Irish may have an exceedingly friendly reputation in the world today, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t more than capable of expressing their annoyance with you.

Irish slang is a wonderful and diverse beast with countless ways to say just about anything.

So, when you get an Irish person angry or annoyed, what sorts of slang terms can you expect them to use?

Today, we’re going to look at some of the most commonly used Irish slang phrases for angry.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

I’m all hepped up

There are many similar parallel phrases in other languages to this one.

To be all hepped up is to be very agitated and angry, almost a sort of frustrated excitement.

“I’ve been trying to get through all morning and now I’m all hepped up,” for example.

You’re annoyed about something and it’s making you agitated.

It can also be said as “hopped” up.

The origin of this phrase is certainly interesting, though we don’t know it precisely for sure. It seems to be a corruption of the older word “hype”, and it certainly does share meaning with this term.

“Hype” entered the English language in one meaning in the 15^th Century. “Hopped” specifically seems to have originated from the idea of being “hopped” up on the narcotic effects of the hops plant.

Vowel changes are a common feature of an evolving language, and today, both hepped up and hopped are used largely interchangeably, depending on where you are.

In some contexts, it can have more the sense of simply being excited than angry.

But hepped up generally means angry or annoyed.

Raging

Perhaps the most commonly used and ubiquitous Irish slang term for angry is raging or ragin’.

This word is used just about everywhere, in a huge variety of contexts to indicate that someone is annoyed or angry about something.

Indeed, it suggests someone is extremely angry, since in most English-speaking dialects, “rage” is just about the highest form of anger.

“I’ve been raging about this for a week!” for example.

“Rage” itself has an extremely long etymological history.

It was originally derived from Vulgar Latin rabia, which meant anger or fury. In Anglo-Norman French, it became rage.

So, it seems to have took on the first signs of its modern form in the 13^th Century, at least in English.

How it became such a common Irish expression is really not clear.

It undoubtedly happened after the Irish language was banned by the English Crown in 1537, and English became the common tongue.

It’s possible that “ragin’” took on its modern meaning after the term came to mean “a wild success”, which was first recorded after 1967.

From there, it came to mean simply a great exclamation in Irish English.

Up to 90

One of the main factors that drives a lot of our day-to-day stress and anger is our work.

That’s where the phrase “up to 90” originates. To be “up to 90” means to be extremely overworked, stressed, and ultimately angry.

“I’ve had so much to do I’m up to 90 at this point,” for example.

It’s the kind of thing a parent might exclaim to a pestering child.

When you’re up to 90, you’ve just had enough. It apparently is more often used by women than men.

The origin is quite recent, as it is rooted in the idea of boiling points or your heartrate.

For the first sense, the idea is that you are about to hit your boiling point—you’re “up to 90”, where boiling point is 100.

You’re so angry you could boil.

On the other hand, the idea could be that your heart rate is rising.

The angrier and more agitated you are, the higher your heart rate—thus, you’re “up to 90.”

Precisely when this phrase comes into use is not clear, though it is most likely sometime in the last half a century.

Bullin

Another really short, snappy, and as a result very commonly used Irish slang term for angry is simply “bullin’.”

This is another one that just means you’re raging and frustrated, and something or a variety of things has made you very angry.

“That noise hasn’t stopped all day and I’m absolutely bullin’!” for example.

The phrase has been suggested to originate from the practice of bullfighting, even though there is obviously no tradition of such a thing in Ireland.

This could have had an influence on the spread of the expression, but doubtless the original meaning was simply of an angry bull.

They may not have bullfighting, but they certainly have bulls.

Eat the head off ya

Irish, rightly or wrongly, is also famous for its fighting slang.

Again, the Irish have a reputation for fighting, though this is mostly just a stereotype.

In any case, the phrase “eat the head off ya” is one of these expressions which seeks to let someone know how angry you are with them.

“If you don’t stop that I’ll eat the head off ya!” for example.

Again, the precise origin of this particular phrase is hard to pin down.

There are naturally many variations of such phrases—such as in Britain where someone might say “I’ll bite your head off”.

This kind of threat does seem like rather a natural threat that could have arisen at any time.

But our oldest recorded examples stretch back only as far as the 19^th Century in Ireland.

So, while many of these can certainly sound strange to non-Irish ears, armed with this knowledge you’ll be able to understand what people are on saying when they use these phrases.

And, unfortunately, it’s not good!

The last thing you want to do is draw the ire of an Irish person, so do your best to avoid hearing these words and phrases!

More in Irish Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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