Dictionary

smirt en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /smɜː(ɹ)t/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Blend of smoke + flirt. Apparently coined in Ireland following the ban on smoking in pubs.

Meanings

1. (Ireland, UK, intransitive) To chat up or flirt with (someone) while smoking outside a pub.
   • Smirting - a cross between smoking and flirting - is already a huge hit in Dublin where the ban has been in place for two years 2006 March 25, “BURNING PASSION IN CIGGIE SHELTERS”, in The Scottish Daily Record:
   • I have dated three guys that I smirted with, and one of them is now my current boyfriend. 2007 July 2, Clover Stroud, “Smoke signals: new dating paths?”, in Daily Mail:
   • As a result, despite the ban, the smoking rate in Ireland has been stuck at around 28% and the expected decline in cigarette consumption never materialized. A new social practice quickly emerged called “smirting”, where young Dubliners smoke and flirt with members of the opposite sex 2012, GN Connolly, “How Society Treats Smoking”, in Israel Journal of Health Policy Research:
   • Smirting is believed to have started in Temple Bar, Dublin, in 2004 2008 July 1, “Unintended consequences of the smoking ban”, in BBC NEWS:

Forms