culchie

What it means

1. 1.

   Someone from rural Ireland, as seen from a city. Between friends it is teasing and often self-applied; from a stranger in Dublin it is a sneer.

In use

• Half the pub is culchies up for the match.

• I'm a culchie and proud of it.

  Note: Reclaiming the word is completely normal; 'culchie pride' is a real posture.

Where it comes from

Disputed. The leading candidates are the Mayo town of Kiltimagh (Coillte Mách), long a shorthand for the back of beyond, and a clipping of 'agricultural'. Neither is proven, and the Irish 'coillte' ('woods') account is weaker than it looks.

First attested: mid-20th century

Other forms

Similar terms:

bogger, muck savage