Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A rascal; a scoundrel.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A mean fellow; a rascal: a term of contempt, or of contemptuous pity, for a man or boy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun colloq. A scamp; an Irish term for a good-for-nothing fellow; -- often used in good-humored contempt or ridicule.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Ireland A poor
migratory farm worker inIreland , often viewed as arascal ormischievous andcunning person. - noun Ireland A
good-for-nothing person, often used so-named during a good humoredridicule .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Git away wid ye, spalpeen!" cries he, and stood waving as the train pulled out, a little black figure vanishing into the hissing steam.
THE NUMBERS 2010
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French champion fled back to France, for no sooner did the dirty spalpeen hear that they were going to bring De Courcy against him, the fame of whose strength and courage filled the whole world, than he betook himself back to his own country, and was never heard of more.
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"Git away wid ye, spalpeen!" cries he, and stood waving as the train pulled out, a little black figure vanishing into the hissing steam.
Flashman and the angel of the lord Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1995
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"Git away wid ye, spalpeen!" cries he, and stood waving as the train pulled out, a little black figure vanishing into the hissing steam.
Flashman and the angel of the lord Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1995
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Two years ago, of course, it was only four, thanks to breaking his leg off a brainless divil of a knock-kneed spalpeen.
Forfeit Francis, Dick 1968
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Two years ago, of course, it was only four, thanks to breaking his leg off a brainless divil of a knock-kneed spalpeen.
Forfeit Francis, Dick 1968
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B. _ O Brown, ye cowardly spalpeen! to stand by and see yer wife abused in sich a manner!
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"Ye turnip-faced spalpeen, oi'll cut yer dirty thrapple wid my gully knife."
The Kangaroo Marines R. W. Campbell
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Because the spalpeen had it in writing from him when the Bill was passed that if he put on a new roof to keep the wet off a dying child he should never enforce the terms of the Act against him ....
Secret Bread F. Tennyson Jesse
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"What will yez do, ye spalpeen?" said the policeman.
The Camp Fire Girls on the Farm Or, Bessie King's New Chum Jane L. Stewart
garyth123 commented on the word spalpeen
Really Irish, but used for itinerant Irish workers who came to Scotland looking for work.
March 15, 2009
Gammerstang commented on the word spalpeen
(noun) - (1) A wanderer. A term of contempt for a man; also used without contempt; from spailp'n, a worthless fellow, a migratory labourer.
--Michael Traynor's English Dialect of Donegal, 1953
(2) Spal, in Irish, is a scythe, and peen a penny - that is, a mower for a penny a day.
--Arthur Young's Tour in Ireland, 1780
January 16, 2018