Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A town: an element in many place-names in Ireland: as, Ballywalter, upper town; Ballycastle, castle-town; Ballymoney, town on the moss, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective an informal intensifier.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective UK, dated, euphemistic bloody; used as a mild intensifier.
  • adverb UK, dated, euphemistic Very.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective informal intensifiers

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Alteration of bloody

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Examples

  • I try to use the adjective 'bally' - as in bally good coffee, this!

    Word Magazine - Comments 2010

  • These are the bike riders – "the 21st century hell riders" as the slogan painted on to the "bally" or the stage-like area outside and to the front of the wall itself, has it.

    My kids drive me up the wall 2010

  • "He means he doesn't understand what 'bally' is," explained Banty.

    The Shagganappi 1913

  • "He means he doesn't understand what 'bally' is," explained Banty.

    The Shagganappi E. Pauline Johnson 1887

  • Chuckling to himself at the depth and cunning of his intended course of action, he went among the farmers begging for "bally"!

    The Red Man's Revenge A Tale of The Red River Flood 1859

  • It's only something that Raygan would call bally rot in the paper. "

    Winnie Childs The Shop Girl 1901

  • "You'll get your bally head shot off some fine day," Captain Ward growled in answer, as he stepped to the binnacle and took the bearing of a peak which had just thrust its head through the clouds that covered Guadalcanar.

    A SON OF THE SUN 2010

  • She was understandably reluctant to brave German fire to recover German wounded: "I don't mind running risks for our men or the French but I'm blithered if I'm going to have holes put in me by a bally Teuton while I pick up their men."

    Five Best War Memoirs Max Hastings 2011

  • So I handed over the bally thing to Jeeves, who has a head the size of a melon.

    SPECIAL CONTEST ACTIVITY 2009

  • They gave us a good meal – bally beef stew with added raisins – and sent us on our way south, on foot!

    Alan Glass 2010

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