Englishour

Caucasian phrases

Our high intermediate level afternoon class. #englishour

FFS, @IrishTimes! There are pallets, and there are palettes, and there are palates. They are three different things. Will I have to go in and teach you all English?

Italian singer, Adriano Celentano, released a gibberish song in the 1970s meant to sound like English. It ended up being a huge hit.

The example here is correct but would it work if today was Friday?

Some useful words to get started with writing things...

Are You Familiar With These Gen Alpha Slangs?

@hellolanemoore @dimphne

@OkeeffeLucille @EoinBKeating @RobLooseCannon Remember him. Carried a log.

@EoinBKeating @RobLooseCannon Hi Owen. Dunno why we called him 40 coats. Think the elders of Booterstown called him that. Was rumours he was an artist. Dunno if true. Woul love to know what happened him. He was a nice aul guy. Always happy.

A humble homeless man called Patrick Joseph Marlow became known to generations as "Johnny Fortycoats." It was from necessity against the harsh elements, rather than as a fashion statement, that he would don several layers, although never actually 40. The Irish Press in 1943 described him thus "Winter or Summer, he dressed as if he were living in some blizzard-stricken spot within a stone's throw of the Arctic Circle". Only in Ireland would a local "tramp" minding his own business, hurting nobody, end up being written about in papers. And his fame didn't end there. Famous folksong writer Pete St. John, who penned both The Fields Of Athenry and Dublin In The Rare Old Times, even name-checked him and fellow street character "Bang Bang" in his song The Mero "And we all went up to the Mero, hey there! Who's your man? It's only Johnny '40 coats', sure, he's a desperate man." Being a semi-legendary vagabond celebrity made it slightly easier for him to subsist off the charity of the people he encountered. He regularly held court outside certain churches to catch the headscarved "aul ones after mass" and certain pubs where alcohol might warm the milk of human kindness. Though there's no indication he drank himself, and certainly no criminal charges were ever made against this gentle man. Such was the generosity of his patrons that he frequently ate in cafés and restaurants. Unfortunately, despite being able to pay for his meals, many places at the time refused him service, citing his lack of dining etiquette. Apparently, he had a nasty habit of spitting on the floor. Of course, his manifold clothing held another purpose beyond heat. His multiples pockets amid those many layers carried his worldly possessions. A treasure trove of toys and sweets and comic strips. The innocent man had a childlike heart, which beamed through his face. It's easy to see why he was always swarmed by Dublin chisellers begging him for a "decko." That was 1940s slang for "give us a look." Less friendly were the gangs of gurriers who would taunt him into giving them a chase. Shouts of "Comere Fortycoats, how many coats are you wearing?!" And worse still, the stone throwers and the thieves. Kids can be cruel, and Dublin ones are clever, too. Like all good local celebrities, there were imitators, other men down on their look who dressed like Fortycoats, and so would be given that nickname. Obviously, these unfortunate individuals were unintentional impersonators. Poverty, cold, and mental illness have a similar effect on the appearance of everyone. One of the side effects of these similarities was that when one of these poor homeless men tragically died, the city's rumour mill would announce the "authentic." Fortycoats was deceased. Until he inevitably turned up alive, to great applause and bonus donations. More than once, the false obituary made it to the newspapers. On one occasion, an Irish Press journalist lamented his death but was forced to write a retraction when the man himself turned up at the offices. The journalist was able to get a direct quote from the very much alive celebrity that he would keep on living his life "wherever me feet take me." Precious little is known about his origins or even when he died. But it was likely 1949. Decades after the beloved Dublin character eventually passed away, his iconic presence would receive another unlikely reincarnation as a slightly creepy children's television character. The 1980s RTE kids show Fortycoats and Co. Actor Fran Dempsey played the eponymous itinerant hero, quoting his catchphrase, "Be me forty coats and me fifty pockets." Personally, it scared the shite out of me, so I wasn't a fan. But I hope I would've been one of those star-struck kids who randomly came across a hero in the street. Like bumping into a slightly shabby Santa clause or a less bestial Bigfoot in the flesh. I'd be that mucky faced wide-eyed youngfella, standing in awe at the presence of Johnny Fortycoats.

A fun and informative #teachertraining session in #englishour today.

Visiting the Dublin New York #portal

@AdrianEdmondson How many looked first behind his right ear?

Only a picture of Tony Visconti - the legendary producer of most of the albums I own - and look at the videos on his shelf, the ones behind his left ear!

The best of luck to #englishour students participating in today’s #tieexam

Dublin City tonight 💙

3 Years Ago Today

@PulledPint @TheRealMarkLevy Lovely!

Post a picture YOU took of a sunset. No description needed but this is Bali last year at Mt.Agung volcano

The former is a verb and the latter a noun. The meaning is the same.

Enjoy the long weekend! #englishour

To one and all! #StPatricksDay

@historyrock_ Sublime

Describe John Lennon with 1 word👇🏻 #TheBeatles