1 definition by Con-John a 'Bheirne
Highly versatile word used throughout Ireland (not just the north as has been asserted by some) ,meaning (shared and /or convival) fun, or excitement e.g."great crack at the disco last night!", also news "What's the crack?" It also has a subsidiary meaning of "Funny business". "Don't come that crack with me!" (Don't mess with me) Clearly related to "crack" in standard English, as in "wisecracks,""cracking jokes" etc.While proponents of "Ulster-Scots" (northern Hiberno-English) claim that it was assimilated into Irish and then Hiberno-English from Scots or Ulster-Scots the truth is more complex. The (Gaelic) Irish lexicographer Dineen lists the term "cracaire" (basically an asshole!) neary a century ago while Newnes New Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Languge (circa 1920)ascribes Dutch, Anglo-Saxon and Gaelic antecedents to the word "crack" when used in the sense of fun or chat - but not in Scots (language) except in the sense of "an instant" e.g. "the crack of dawn". The spelling "craic" is of relatively recent origin, probably for pseudo-aesthetic reasons.Whatever its antecedence it is clear that the word has now evolved a uniquely Irish and largely gaelic persona.
Great craic at the disco last night What's the craic?/Any craic? That's no craic! The craic was ninety!craic agus ceol
by Con-John a 'Bheirne March 23, 2010