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Craic is a word in common usage in Ireland meaning fun, enjoyment, or good times, often in the context of drinking or music. It can also mean a person who is good company.

The word originally comes from the English word crack, used in the more archaic sense of "fun" (cf. "to crack a joke"). This was borrowed into the Irish language with a gaelicised spelling, and the Irish spelling has recently been reborrowed into Hiberno-English to denote a specifically Irish concept of "fun". Until the 1980s this spelling was unknown in English: Barney Rush's 1960s song "The Crack was Ninety in the Isle of Man" uses the older spelling.

Examples of use would be a reply to the question, "How was your evening?" such as "Aye, it was good craic," which could mean several things, but implies that the evening was enjoyable. Craic is deliberately vague in its explanation, as it is used in several contexts, particularly and usually by Irish people, to convey or imply many different feelings or convictions. It is not used, however, evasively or to avoid giving information.

Craic can be used a number of ways. It can be used in a negative sense, such as, "She stole my car when she left me." "Oh, that's bad craic," meaning something negative that happened with intent, or positively, "Oh, the craic was good." "How's the craic?" or "What's the craic?" are common greetings in some parts of the country.

Examples

• English: "How was your evening?" "Aye, it was good craic."
• Irish: Bhí craic agus ceol againn. We had fun and music.

External links

• Grammatical forms of craic

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