craic

English

WOTD – 17 March 2025

Etymology

Variant of crack, respelled after Irish craic (itself a borrowing from English).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Ireland) IPA^(key): /kɹæk/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Audio (Ireland):

  (file)

• Homophone: crack
• Rhymes: -æk

Noun

craic (uncountable)

1. (Ireland) Often preceded by the: amusement, fun, especially through enjoyable company; also, pleasant conversation. [from late 20th c.]
   • 1991, Mary Leland, chapter 10, in Approaching Priests, London: Sinclair-Stevenson, →ISBN, page 172:

     ‘It is a great atmosphere, isn’t it?’ Leon was enthusiastic, not at all cryptic or withdrawn, wholeheartedly enjoying the ‘craic’, as he called it, slapping his hand on the table in time to the bodhrán rhythm from the group singing itself hoarse and unharmonious on the stage.

   • 1995 September 9, “Dara: Ireland’s Most Successful Record Label [advertisement]”, in Timothy White, editor, Billboard: The International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment, volume 107, number 36, New York, N.Y.: BPI Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 84:

     "The craic" is how the Irish celebrate life – with music, with laughter, with joy, with old friends (and new friends just waiting to be made). […] Be careful. "The craic" is mighty!

   • [2004 November 18, John Waters, “What's the crack?”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 January 2022:

     Most Irish people, you see, when asked to name their preferred aspect of living in Ireland, will instance "the crack". "The crack", which is sometimes annoyingly conveyed in the Irish-language spelling "craic", is a quintessentially Irish indicator of what in other cultures translates roughly as "fun" – except that the crack is much more than fun.]

   • 2007 November 19, Kevin Cullen, “His peace in poetry”, in The Boston Globe‎^[2], Boston, Mass.: The Globe Newspaper Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 March 2025:

     [Brendan] Kennelly has been sober for 21 years, but couldn't resist popping into some of the city's myriad Irish pubs. He nursed bottled water and listened to the accents, the stories, the craic.

   • 2015, Ben Ritchie, “A Bit of Craic”, in Phil Murphy, editor, Original Writing from Ireland’s Own: An Anthology of the Best Stories from the Annual Writing Competitions Run by Ireland’s Premier Family Magazine, 2015 edition, Dublin: Original Writing, →ISBN, “Highly Commended” section, page 161:

     "Sure, it will be a bit of craic," said Beth, "when's the last time a fortune teller came anywhere near here?"

Derived terms

• craic killer
• for the craic
• what's the craic

Translations

amusement, fun, especially through enjoyable company (cognates) — see also amusement,‎ fun

• Irish: craic f
• Scottish Gaelic: craic m, crac m

See also

• bonhomie
• conviviality

Further reading

• craic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ARCIC, Ricca, circa

Irish

Etymology

From English crack.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɾˠac/

Noun

craic f (genitive singular craice, nominative plural craiceanna)

1. crack
2. conversation, chat, fun
3. crazy person

Declension

Declension of craic (second declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative craic craiceanna vocative a chraic a chraiceanna genitive craice craiceanna dative craic craiceanna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an chraic na craiceanna genitive na craice na gcraiceanna dative leis an gcraic don chraic leis na craiceanna

Synonyms

• (fun): spórt, spraoi

Derived terms

• craiceáil (“crack”, verb)

Descendants

• → English: craic

Mutation

Mutated forms of craic

radical	lenition	eclipsis
craic	chraic	gcraic

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From English crack.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰɾɛçc/

Noun

craic m (genitive singular craic, no plural)

1. craic, chat, fun

Mutation

Mutation of craic

radical	lenition
craic	chraic

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.