Faintingviolet is awesome and always on the hunt for research books for me. She sent along “How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads” and I was excited to read this since etymology is something I really enjoy. I was not disappointed.
Daniel Cassidy began his interest of the Irish influence on the American language after inheriting a Gaelic dictionary from a deceased relative and realizing how many American words in modern language link back closely to the Gaelic.
The book is split in two parts; the first is an easily accessible and fast read on the etymology of slum talk, gang name origins, traditional musical lyrics, and the vast vocabulary of the gambling world that explains how, why, and when Irish words mispronounced themselves into the American vernacular. The second part is a very detailed dictionary of common Irish American words with origins, pronunciations and definitions. If you’re writing any kind of historical novel, this is a definite research gem! Cassidy explains how Irish words infiltrated all parts of America geographically and socially, and while his claims sometimes seem far-fetched, most of the information in his book is documented.
His own language is anecdotal, funny and interesting. I particularly enjoyed the segment where he rips Martin Scorsese for his lack of research in The Gangs of New York, and the national perpetuation of a ridiculous myth on the “Dead Rabbits” origins. It was wonderful! I won’t quote it here, because you just need to read it on your own.
There are times in this book where I felt like I was in the part of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” where the father challenges anyone to throw him a word and he will tell you how its origin is Greek. Just insert “Irish” here and it’s exactly the same. There’s definitely more than a hint of Cassidy’s Irish pride coming to the surface, and style wise, his prose was sometimes difficult to follow because he uses the Gaelic translations in parenthesizes for every slang term he’s notating, but if you like etymology and you like good stories, then this book is definitely worth your time!
3.5 Stars!
I am awesome, thanks for noticing :)
I was super excited that this book tore Scorsese a new one, it warmed the cockles of my black heart. I’m not reading it (that’s what you’re for) but I’m glad it was useful for you.
I can’t wait for the next installment “How the Irish Became White”!
I think its in my car right now…
As a very (read: extraordinarily) Boston Irish lass married to a very New York Irish fella, I need to get this ASAP. I’m sure there are some good words and phrases in there that are an everyday part of my family’s vernacular.
Also, so glad to read about Scorsese getting reprimanded. That was absurd.
The rip on Scorsese was the best! I mean, the whole book was enjoyable, but it was so unexpected and glorious, I would recommend the book just on that paragraph :)
Most Irish-speaking people would disagree with you about Cassidy. He is widely regarded as a fantasist and liar on this side of the Atlantic: https://cassidyslangscam.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/dead-rabbits/
I also completely disagree with you about the comment on Scorsese. Scorsese’s latest films have been turkeys but there’s no doubt that he has a substantial body of work to his name. In Gangs of New York, he used the information provided by people like Herbert Asbury. The claim was that the Dead Rabbits were a faction who broke away from the Roach Guard and during a row, someone threw a dead rabbit on the ground as a warning or a gesture of disgust. After that, the Dead Rabbit faction carried a Dead Rabbit on a stick when they went into battle.
Cassidy’s ‘refutaton’ of this story is facetious, silly and bordering on racism (and sorry, how is it even remotely funny?) Cassidy claims that the story must be untrue, because poor Irish immigrants would simply have grabbed the rabbit, skinned it and put it in a stew. Try applying the same kind of nonsense to The Godfather and say that if someone had handed two fish wrapped in newspaper to a Sicilian gangster and told them to deliver it to someone’s family, they would have ignored their instructions because Sicilians love their food so much, and fried the fish in garlic and olive oil and served them with a tomato sauce. See what I mean? Puerile, stupid and borderline racist.
To me, there is really no reason to theorise about origins in other languages. The phrase ‘dead rabbits’ makes perfect sense in English. If there were a word in Irish that sounded just like rabbit and meant ‘a gangster’ or ‘a violent man’ then he might have a point. The fact is, Cassidy found an obscure word from the Galway dialect, ráibéad, in a dictionary, a word which means something like ‘whopper’ – i.e. it’s a word for a big person or object. Hardly a great match, and certainly no better than the obvious derivation from dead + rabbit. (After all, even Cassidy couldn’t find an ‘Irish’ explanation for dead, so he was prepared to accept that that bit WAS English.)
Note that Cassidy spoke no Irish at all. He had no degrees or qualifications at all and he wasn’t a real Professor. As you say, most of the stuff in this book is simply Gus Portakalos-style wishful thinking based on ethnic pride- though someone with genuine ethnic pride would have learned a little Irish, which Cassidy never did.
I appeal to your decency. At best, this is simply incompetent nonsense. At worst, it is a deliberate con-job. Please don’t give this rubbish a kinder review than it deserves.
I’m sorry you didn’t like my review. Believe me, I’m not touting this book as an academic text or a lauded work on the subject, it is merely an entrance point should someone be interested in perusing etymology.
I personally found Cassidy’s craft to be accessible and anecdotal with a subject matter that could be dry and boring. I simply liked the way he set up his book, and I found his dictionary in the back to be helpful. Also, this is my opinion. If you don’t agree, that’s completely fine, and you’re welcome to state your opinion, but I am allowed to have mine as well, and based on my review, it was a 3 star book.
As far as Scorscese’s concerned, Asbury wasn’t correct in his research. I have spent the last seven years researching New York in the 1840s, and Asbury’s claims about the Dead Rabbits and other gangs of this time period are at odds with a vast majority of other researchers of this period. If you’re interested in more on this type of history, I would definitely recommend reading a book called “Low Life” by Luc Sante, and “The Five Points” by Tyler Anbinder. They both deal excellently with this subject matter and have wonderful bibliographies to trace their research.
I’d also recommend reading “The Gods of Gotham” by Lindsay Faye as she does an excellent job of bringing this time period to life as well as heavily utilizing etymologies of the time for a greater authenticity in her fiction. I’ll be reviewing it here soon if you’d like to check it out! :)
Ale, You’re very much entitled to your opinion but I also believe that opinions need to be underpinned by facts. You state that you found his dictionary to be ‘helpful’. Unfortunately, 95% + of the Irish given in that dictionary is simply made-up nonsense. How could that be helpful to anyone? You can easily check the veracity of Cassidy’s claims here: http://www.focloir.ie/. I am interested in what you say about Asbury and the Roche Guard and Anbinder. From my limited knowledge of these things, Anbinder suggests that the Dead Rabbits never existed as an organised group. However, unless you can point to some evidence that the Dead Rabbit phenomenon, whatever it was, had no connection with rabbits, or had a connection with the Irish language, it doesn’t make Cassidy’s case any stronger. If you still think this horrible and dishonest book deserves three stars, fine. I can only point out that you are helping a (dead) con-man to fleece people. What you choose to do with that information is up to you.
I believe at this point we should agree to disagree about this particular issue. I thank you for your knowledge and interest in my review.
You are a gentleperson and a scholar.
thank you :) *hugs*
As you say, we’ll have to agree to differ on this one. As emmalita says, it is quite clear that you are a gentleperson from your dignified and gracious replies to my rather grumpy messages. I am sure you are also a scholar but I’m afraid you’re wrong about this particular book. I’m also genuinely sorry that you’ve been caught in the crossfire between me and Cassidy. Anyway, I’m happy enough, because at least this exchange has given me the opportunity to tell people about Cassidy and to tell it from the perspective of an Irish speaker. So, I hope that anyone reading this will do some research into Cassidy before buying the book – they might well think twice if they do so! Go mbaine sibh sult as an chuid eile den léitheoireacht! (Enjoy the rest of your reading!) :-)
That’s okay :) The world is a big place with lots of different views, and I think it’s great that the internet allows us to share those views in a global setting. If you have any books you think would benefit me as far as Irish etymology, please send them my way! I’m always looking for more info on the subject since I’m writing a novel about the Irish immigration experience (with some fantasy mixed in).
And you should totally join the cannonball read when we reopen for submissions in January. It’s an awesome site with great people who read great books, and as a bonus, we raise money for cancer research. I hope you consider joining our little community, and I look forward to seeing your reviews next year!
Thank you for that. I might well take you up on that, as I love books and reading. Unfortunately, there are no popular books that I know of on Irish etymology, though there are a few good books on Irish English. (I love the Oxford Concise Ulster Dictionary. And if I can help with any words or phrases, let me know! :-)
Will do!