Dictionary

langer en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈlæŋɚ/ (Ireland)

Etymology

Uncertain. Suggestions include: * from langur monkeys, via the Munster Fusiliers regiment stationed in India * from languor * from lang, variant of long * from "on the lang", supposed variant of on the lam * from leangaire, a word in Cnósach Focal ó Bhaile Bhúirne, a dictionary of the Muskerry Gaeltacht. It means an unusually long slender salmon.

Meanings

1. (Ireland, derogatory, slang) Fool; idiot; annoying or contemptible person (usually male).
2. (Ireland, derogatory, offensive, slang, used in Cork) An annoying person.
   • "Give it up will ya! get a job, ja langer!" 1996, Enda Walsh, Disco Pigs, →ISBN, page 8:
   • And central to it all is wind-up, making a langer out of people, to use that now unfortunate word that can still only be used correctly and said correctly by Cork people, even though the rest of the country has taken to it with gusto, embarrassing themselves like white people trying to talk black slang to be "street". 2006, September 3, Brendan O'Connor Roy: the discreet object of our desire, Irish Independent
   • Langers boy, every wan of ‘em. Golfers are only langers. They’re only golfing cos they can’t hurl. Anyone that golfs in Cork is only a failed hurler and a langer, boy. 2006 November 22, Hurling abuse when there’s no team in sight, Irish Independent
3. (Ireland, slang, vulgar) Penis.
   • He showed me a photograph. There was a woman and a man doing something, but I wasn't sure what. The man was standing over the woman holding his langer (the Cork word) and she was looking up at him smiling. I felt ill and started to walk backwards. 2005, Fergal Keane, All of These People: A Memoir, →ISBN, page 88:
   • Mike opened his knees wide, so that his langer would be framed by the gap between his legs. For first impressions a boner would have been good, but not likely. 2006, Eoin Colfer, “Taking on PJ”, in Ken Bruen, editor, Dublin Noir: The Celtic Tiger Vs. the Ugly American, →ISBN, page 23:

Forms

Deriveds

langers · langered · langerload · acting the langer

Relateds

scanger

Synonyms

tool (annoying or contemptible person) · shithead (annoying or contemptible person) · knob (annoying or contemptible person) · wanker (annoying or contemptible person) · dickhead (annoying or contemptible person) · asshole (annoying or contemptible person)