Have you ever wondered what the word codswallop actually means? Or have you heard of the phrase "pearls before swine?"

A survey of about 2,000 people aged 18 to 50 in the UK shows that a lot of phrases and sayings are becoming endangered, and to discuss this more Damien was joined on Déise Today by Dr Chris Mulhall, a lecturer in Applied Languages at WIT.

Chris said part of the problem with some old phrases is that they're coming from very archaic literature, so their meanings can be hard to understand and trace. Chris used the idiom "to kick the bucket," to demonstrate this point, telling Damien that it's thought to come from the olden days in slaughterhouses, but the meaning is complex. Chris said this complexity of origin and meaning is one of the reasons why these old sayings are becoming obsolete.

As part of their chat, Chris also explained the differences between an idiom, a proverb and a simile. (You might remember learning about similes for the Leaving Cert!)

Chris also explained why words like "codswallop" and "amuck" are known linguistically as fossils, and how the younger generation is steering away from terms and phrases that cannot be expressed as emojis.

Irish phrases we want to hold onto

Chris then went on to discuss some Irish phrases that are part of our lexicon and that we really don't want to lose. For example "To fight like Kilkenny Cats" (dates back to the 1798 Rebellion), "By Hook or by Crook" (a local reference, reputedly from the time of Cromwell), "To make a bags of it," and, the very Waterford saying, "On the ball."

Have a listen to Chris' full chat with Damien on Déise Today, through the link in this podcast.

And for all Déise podcasts, click here.