Comments on: Beating Skin

By: Dervala

Dervala — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 12:07:43 +0000

Or to understand, say, “Cúirt an Mhéanoíche” (Merriman’s “Midnight Court”). I wish I made a better fist of reading it in Irish.

http://www.dervala.net/archives/000428.html

By: Eimear N� Mh�al�id

Eimear N� Mh�al�id — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 11:37:48 +0000

It may not be the origin of craic/crack, but “ag buaileadh craiceann” is definitely the colloquial Irish phrase for such activities. (“Ag buaileadh (le)” can also mean to meet, so there’s a nice ambiguity in the verb.) “Caint faoi craiceann” is talk about it, so some resonance there with skin trade, skin flicks, etc. Irish can be a fairly earthy language, although most of us don’t get to learn the vocab. to fully understand, say, the poetry of Nuala N� Dh�mhnaill.

By: Dervala

Dervala — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 15:58:34 +0000

The evil comment spammers mean that my comment set-up strips out links, so I haven’t been able to follow through to Kavana’s Craic. And of course I can’t resist learning more. Do you think you could email it to me, Chris? With your permission I’ll post it at the end of the piece?

By: Chris Corrigan

Chris Corrigan — Fri, 20 Aug 2004 17:52:44 +0000

Those of you not familiar with Irish music might want to Google the names in this comment for more!

Years ago I was a party with Ron Kavana, who is an amazing man to party with. The host of the party was turning 50, and on the occaision, Se Black (brother of Mary) called from Los Angeles. When Ron found out who was on the phone, he bawled out in a roaring druken voice tha he had to speak to Se, for he owned himn money from a song he recorded years ago. Kavana slunk across the floor on his hands and knees, past the bunch of us who were playing music. As he crawled into the kitchen his pants started to ride south and suddenly the inspiration for a tune was born: Kavana’s Craic is a reel I wrote and you can hear it
here.

So the skin beating metaphor comes (almost) home.

By: Dervala

Dervala — Sun, 15 Aug 2004 18:03:40 +0000

Well, the Hanley dad, among others, was known to say “That’s enough of that crack!” when the whining got too much at home, bearing out the talk/banter angle.

And “beating skin” did sound a bit free-spirited for the likes of us, though I’d easily believe it of the Brehon era.

You’re a gintleman and a scholar, Ranger Tim. I pronounce you both right.

By: Ranger Tim

Ranger Tim — Sun, 15 Aug 2004 17:49:15 +0000

As an old craic addict, I can�t pass this one up.

I love Eddie�s etymology, though I can�t tell if he�s pulling our legs. In case he�s not, I feel duty-bound to rain on the linguistic parade. Hiberno-English language scholars are pretty sure the word is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and the idea of its ancient Gaelic provenance a wistful Irish popular myth. It seems to have entered Southern Ireland�s lexicon well into the 20th century, almost certainly by way of the Ulster Scots usage of crack to mean �talk, banter�, which you can find quite a bit of in Robbie Burns:

A pint an� gill I�d gie them baith, To hear your crack.
�- Epistle to J Lapraik, An Old Scottish Bard (1785)

The OED cites a similar sense of crack in use in 15th-century England.

This son of Prussians can vouch that the Germanic roots argument feels compelling, as Krach machen is something our own people might have gotten up to on a good night at the beer garden.

- T