Word of the Day

: March 17, 2024

blarney

noun BLAR-nee

What It Means

Blarney refers to false but charming talk that often flatters the listener.

// The bartender laughingly asked her gregarious patron if anyone ever believed his blarney.

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blarney in Context

“Some tales are mundane, like the song about Molly Malone: ‘In Dublin fair city, the girls are so pretty …’ Did such a woman ever exist? There’s a record of a Mary Malone who lived (and died) in the 17th century. She was likely both a fishmonger and a lady of the night. … Some tales are blarney. Blarney Castle dates to 1446, and there’s a slab of carboniferous limestone near the top. It’s said to be the stone used by Jacob as a pillow when he dreamt of a ladder to heaven. Others say Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees, told Cormac Laidir MacCarthy to kiss the stone so he would be eloquent when defending his home in the court of Queen Elizabeth.” — Kevin Fisher-Paulson, The San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Mar. 2023

Did You Know?

The village of Blarney in County Cork, Ireland, is home to Blarney Castle, and in the southern wall of that edifice lies the famous Blarney Stone. Legend has it that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone will gain the gift of skillful flattery, but that gift must be attained at the price of some limber maneuvering—you have to lie down and hang your head over a precipice to reach and kiss the stone. One story claims the word blarney gained popularity as a word for “flattery” after Queen Elizabeth I of England used it to describe the flowery (but apparently less than honest) cajolery of McCarthy Mor, who was then the lord of Blarney Castle.