Irish Slang For Vomit (Helpful Content!)


Irish Slang For Vomit

The most common and uniquely Irish slang terms for vomit are “boke” or “gawk”. “Boke” is the more common and the one you’ll hear throughout Ireland. “Gawk” is a lot more regional and used primarily in County Cork, though it’s widely understood. Beyond that, the Irish use other common terms like “puke”, “vom” or “sometimes “chunder”.

It might not be something most of us want to talk about in our daily lives, but the fact is that some people need to talk about vomit more than the rest of us.

Whether you’re a student who’s always out on the town or you’re just sick and throwing up, there are plenty of slang terms for vomit in Ireland.

Let’s find out more.

Irish Slang For Vomit

What do the Irish say for vomit?

The Irish have a handful of their own slang terms for vomiting as well as using other, borrowed slang terms from other parts of the English speaking world.

The most widely used and uniquely Irish slang term for vomiting is “boke”.

This is a very common term used throughout Ireland by people of all age groups, although primarily among the younger people.

It’s more likely to be something you’ll hear used in the context of binge drinking.

That said, it’s not exclusive, and people who are ill and vomiting in Ireland will also use this term.

“I need to get to the bathroom, I’m gonna boke,” for example.

Another, more regional but nonetheless uniquely Irish and widely understood slang term for vomit is “gawk”.

As I mentioned, this one is mostly used or at least associated with County Cork.

Naturally, then, it’s more local dialect than “boke”, but County Cork is Ireland’s biggest and third most populous county.

A lot of its customs and slang terms tend to spread or at least are well known across the country.

Again, gawking is mostly used in relation to drinking but can also be used in the context of illness.

“I’ve been up gawking all night, I won’t be able to come to work today,” for example.

These two terms are by far the most commonly used Irish slang terms for vomiting.

However, there are also many other slang terms used by the Irish for vomiting that you’ll also hear in other parts of the English speaking world.

These will vary by location and demographic, but you could hear any common term like “puke”, “vom”, “blow chunks”, “chunder” and others.

Let’s see where these terms come from.

 

Why do the Irish say “boke”?

Though “boke” is certainly used throughout Ireland, it is mostly an Ulster term, so generally heard in Northern Ireland the most.

As I said, though, it’s spread across the whole country and most will understand what this term means at the very least, even if they don’t use it themselves.

The precise etymology of this term is not at all clear, and there are many possible angles you could take to explain it.

In Scots, “bock” meant to retch.

This could be any kind of retching, whether from having something in your mouth to the kind of retching you do when you’re about to vomit.

This is the most likely origin for the term, though when it spread from Scots into Irish slang is not clear.

It did also, and indeed does still, have the broader sense of “to retch” in Irish English, though this is the less common meaning.

Naturally, though, it relates very closely to vomiting.

Some other, much more tentative explanations are advanced by others. Boc in Old Irish referred to a male goat, and some suggest the term originates from the fact that goats eat by chewing their food, swallowing it, partially digesting it then bring it back up and continuing to chew it.

This is also known as “chewing the cud”.

There’s really no direct evidence to link these two terms beyond a superficial morphological relationship.

The truth is, we don’t know for certain where the term ultimately originates.

 

Why do the Irish say “gawk”?

Again, the precise origin of this term is unfortunately not known.

However, there are a couple of angles we can potentially take.

The most likely explanation for this term is a relation to the verb “to hawk” meaning “to spit”.

It may be that “gawk” was simply a corruption of “hawk” used in this more specific sense of “to vomit”.

It may also relate to the sense of “gag”, something which often comes before vomiting.

We just don’t know for sure.

 

What else do the Irish say for vomiting?

Beyond these specific terms, the Irish use many words for vomiting that you’ll hear virtually everywhere people speak English.

“Puke” of course is extremely common and everyone understands what this term means.

The more modern abbreviation “vom” is commonly used among younger people.

Some British slang terms have made their way to Ireland in recent years, too, such as “chunder”.

The Americanism “blow chunks” is perhaps the most rarely used but far from unheard of.

As long as you understand “boke” and “gawk,” then, you’re well equipped to understand conversations people may be having about vomit.

Again, unpleasant as the topic may be, certain groups are going to spend a lot of time talking about vomit, at least relative to the rest of us.

Mostly these terms relate to, or at least are mostly used about, drinking and vomiting from drinking too much.

However, they are also definitely used in other contexts like illness.

 

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  • Polly Webster

    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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