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Hello everyone - A woman used an Irish slang term for being drunk and I could not quite get what she said.

Does anyone understand what she says?

It is said at 1:18 in the following YouTube video

Thanks in advance.

Dan Almeida
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  • She said I'm polluted* right now. Though it's not clear whether that's the standard* Irish word for "drunk", or just one of the endless alternatives all varieties of English (and I assume other languages) have for drunk. I'm not Irish, but I had believed the standard term across all Britain was "pissed" (which, by contrast in AmE, means "angry"). – Dan Bron Jan 27 '17 at 12:12
  • @DanBron I've not watched the video, but the thumbnail shows people sitting in front of the Irish Tricolour, so not covered by 'across all Britain', Across the British Isles, maybe... ;-) – Spagirl Jan 27 '17 at 12:21
  • @Spagirl Fine, fine, across the U.K. then ;) I know, I wouldn't want you accusing me of being from New Jersey, either. Anyway, is "polluted" in common use in Scotland? – Dan Bron Jan 27 '17 at 12:23
  • @Dan, Now you've confused me, as 'across the UK' excludes someone from the Republic of Ireland even more categorically... :0 As to the term's currency in Scotland, I'm afraid I'm too old and antisocial to know what the young 'uns say while they're out getting stocious. – Spagirl Jan 27 '17 at 12:27
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    @DanBron - polluted: (slang US) intoxicated; drunk. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/polluted –  Jan 27 '17 at 14:05
  • @Josh As I said, what I'm wondering is whether polluted is the "standard" or most used or at least very frequently used word for "drunk" in Ireland, or simply one of the innumerable alternatives. And though TFD marks the usage "US slang", I've personally never heard it here. Though I wouldn't bat an eye if someone did, for exactly he "innumerable words for drunk" reason. – Dan Bron Jan 27 '17 at 14:27
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    @DanBron - it seems it is an old AmE slang term rather than an Irish one - : polluted meaning "drunk" is from 1912, American English slang. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/polluted –  Jan 27 '17 at 14:31
  • Exploring Language Through the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary : *Polluted*: https://books.google.it/books?id=STv_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=polluted+meaning+drunk+origin&source=bl&ots=gq_groNXSQ&sig=Cit8MFY7FruZPhkuyobqs7-tCcQ&hl=it&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRgryCxuLRAhWF1ywKHXYID0g4ChDoAQgZMAA#v=onepage&q=polluted%20meaning%20drunk%20origin&f=false –  Jan 27 '17 at 14:37

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"Polluted" with the meaning intoxicated is commonly used by all varieties of Northern English and certain countries in the British Commonwealth.

Andy Sayer
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