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BLARNEY
BLARNEY. Extravagant eloquence that beguiles and flatters, impresses and deceives, often taken to be typically Irish. In 1602, Cormac Teige Macarthy unwillingly agreed to surrender Blarney Castle in County Cork, so as to have it returned to him as a loyal retainer of Elizabeth I. Afterwards he stalled and, tired of his glib equivocation, the queen is said to have shouted, ‘This is all Blarney—he never means what he says, he never does what he promises.’ In the wall of Blarney Castle is the Blarney Stone, said to bestow Macarthy's gift of eloquence on whoever kisses it. The ritual of kissing the stone appears to date from the 18c. Compare JIVE, PATTER.
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TOM McARTHUR. "BLARNEY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "BLARNEY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BLARNEY.html TOM McARTHUR. "BLARNEY." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BLARNEY.html |
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Blarney
Blarney village, Co. Cork, SE Republic of Ireland. Those who kiss the Blarney Stone, placed in an almost inaccessible position near the top of the thick stone wall of the 15th-century castle, are supposed to gain marvelous powers of persuasion and cajolery. The castle was militarily important in the 17th-century wars of Oliver Cromwell and William III. Tweed is manufactured in the village. |
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"Blarney." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Blarney." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Blarney.html "Blarney." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Blarney.html |
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Blarney
Blarney (An Bhlarna) Ireland ‘The Small Field’. In Blarney Castle is the Blarney Stone which, if kissed, is said to give the gift of eloquence and the ability to flatter— ‘blarney’. The legend is said to stem from 1602 when the Lord of Blarney was able to avoid transferring his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I† with effusive rhetoric.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Blarney." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Blarney." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Blarney.html JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Blarney." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Blarney.html |
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blarney
blar·ney / ˈblärnē/ • n. talk that aims to charm, pleasantly flatter, or persuade: he had the “street charm” of an Irish politician, but this blarney concealed his inner self. ∎ amusing and harmless nonsense: this story is perhaps just a bit of blarney. |
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"blarney." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "blarney." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-blarney.html "blarney." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-blarney.html |
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blarney
blarney cajoling talk. XIX. f. Blarney, name of a village near Cork, Ireland.
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T. F. HOAD. "blarney." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "blarney." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-blarney.html T. F. HOAD. "blarney." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-blarney.html |
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Blarney
Blarney (An Bhlarna) Cork. ‘The small field’.
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A. D. MILLS. "Blarney." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. A. D. MILLS. "Blarney." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Blarney.html A. D. MILLS. "Blarney." A Dictionary of British Place-Names. 2003. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O40-Blarney.html |
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Blarney
Blarneybartenders collectively —Lipton, 1970 |
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"Blarney." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Blarney." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300129.html "Blarney." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505300129.html |
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blarney
blarney
•Annie, ca'canny, canny, cranny, Danny, fanny, granny, nanny, tranny
•Ariadne, Evadne
•daphne
•Agni, Cagney
•acne, Arachne, hackney
•hootenanny
•Afghani, ani, Armani, Azerbaijani, Barney, biriani, blarney, Carney, frangipani, Fulani, Galvani, Giovanni, Hindustani, Killarney, maharani, Mbabane, Modigliani, Omani, Pakistani, Rafsanjani, Rajasthani, rani, sarnie
•McCartney
•antennae, any, Benny, blenny, Dene, fenny, jenny, Kenny, Kilkenny, Lenny, many, penne, penny, Rennie
•catchpenny • pinchpenny
•pyrotechny
•Bahraini, brainy, Chaney, Eugénie, grainy, Janey, Khomeini, rainy, veiny, waney, zany
•halfpenny, shove-halfpenny, twopenny-halfpenny
•Athene, bambini, beanie, Bellini, Bernini, bikini, Boccherini, Borromini, capellini, catenae, Cellini, Cherubini, Cyrene, Fellini, fettuccine, genie, greeny, grissini, Heaney, Houdini, Jeanie, linguine, martini, Mazzini, meanie, Mussolini, Mycenae, Paganini, Panini, porcini, Puccini, queenie, Rossellini, Rossini, Santoríni, Selene, sheeny, spaghettini, Sweeney, teeny, teeny-weeny, tortellini, Toscanini, Trini, tweeny, wahine, weeny, zucchini
•monokini
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Cite this article
"blarney." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "blarney." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-blarney.html "blarney." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-blarney.html |
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