For some time now, some of my on-line friends have advised me to provide a version of CassidySlangScam without the invective aimed at Cassidy and his supporters. In response to that advice, I am working on providing a glossary of the terms in Cassidy’s ludicrous book How The Irish Invented Slang with a short, simple and business-like explanation of why Cassidy’s version is wrong.
This is part of the vocabulary of stage-Irishness. It was used widely in sentimental ballads and plays in the 19th century and there was never any doubt about its Irish origin. All dictionaries and language experts accept that it’s a version of mo mhuirnín, which means ‘my darling’. In other words, it has nothing to do with Cassidy’s thesis.
cassidyslangscam 